The Nation November 2, 2011

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Buhari kicks as tribunal affirms Jonathan’s victory President woos CPC, candidate

T

HE Presidential Election Petition Tribunal yesterday upheld the April 16 electoral victory of President Goodluck Jonathan.

It dismissed the petition filed by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) for lacking in merit.

In a one-and-a-half hour judgment delivered by the chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Kummai MORE Bayang Akaahs, the panel said ON petition PAGES the failed in its en2-4 & 64 tirety as the CPC could not discharge the burden of evidence.

BABA SUWE IN COURT

From Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

But CPC National Chairman Tony Momoh said the party will file an appeal at the Supreme Court.

Former FCT Minister Nasir el-Rufai said the judgment was not unexpected. He accused the Tribunal of denying the CPC access to the evidence it could have used in arguing its case.

He said this might not be unconnected with the suspension of the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami.

In the unanimous judgment, the tribunal held that Continued on page 4

Governors launch battle to save Sylva •PDP clears four for Bayelsa

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HE confusion over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket ahead of next year’s election in Bayelsa State deepened yesterday.

The party cleared four of the nine aspirants, leaving out incumbent Governor

From Yomi Odunuga and Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

Timipre Sylva.

Also left out are former Presidential Adviser Timi Alaibe and ex-President of Silverbird Entertainment Company Mr Ben MurrayContinued on page 4

•Comedian Babatunde Omidina, alias Baba Suwe, surrounded by NDLEA officials at the court premises in Lagos ... yesterday. He has been held for 22 days. Story on page 5.

PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE

•MONEY P16 •SPORT P23 •LIFE P29 •POLITICS P43 •INVESTORS P47

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

2

NEWS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TRIBUNAL VERDICT

What future for Buhari, ANALYSIS

By Bolade Omonijo, Group Political Editor

H

E is a General, although now retired. He once served as Minister of Petroleum Resources. He was Head of State. And then he said he would be a soldier for democracy. First, he enrolled in the Obasanjo School as a member of the Association for Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria (ADGGN) during the endless Babangida transition to democracy. The dream fizzled out when it became clear that chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who led the Association did not make full disclosure of his agenda. But the experience was enough to introduce Buhari to the world of politics.

Curiously, when the Fourth Republic was flagged off in 1998, Buhari chose to keep a safe distance.

However, two years into the fresh democratic experiment, the former military Head of State chose to get fully involved. He not only plunged into the murky waters of partisan politics, he announced that he would be running against the incumbent in the 2003 presidential election. He located a viable platform in All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and ran a tough race against Obasanjo. He was announced the loser. Buhari did not accept the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) verdict but headed for the tribunal and consequently to the Supreme Court. He lost at both levels.

A dogged fighter, he tried again in 2007. He fought many battles to wrest the ANPP ticket. He won, but when it came to the main war against Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Umaru Yar’Adua, he lost. Buhari kicked. As it was in 2003, he headed for the Presidential Election Tribunal, lost, and proceeded to the Supreme Court.

Eventually, more than 30 months after Yar’Adua was sworn-in as President, the apex court, by a split verdict, upheld Yar’Adua as winner. By then, Buhari had been ditched by his running mate, the late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, and ANPP. It was a major blow from which he never fully recovered.

It then dawned on the General that he had to effect a change of platform if he was to achieve his ambition of running Nigeria. He, at first, realised the need for a

•National Chairman Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Chief Tony Momoh (right), CPC chieftain Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and National Secretary, Buba Galadima

•PDP National Pubicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Alkali, speaking to newsmen after the presidential election petition tribunal judgment

Atiku seeks resolution of poll cases before swearing-in

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ORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar has advocated that future constitution amendment should take into cognisance the resolution of all election matters before swearing in of elected public officers, particularly the office of the President.

The former Vice President made the suggestion in a congratulatory message to President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja yesterday.

In a statement by his media office yesterday, Atiku hailed the verdict of the Presidential Election Tribunal noting that it has paved the way for the delivery of the much-needed dividends of democracy by President Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Atiku advised that the envisaged constitution amendment should

design a strategy for disposing of all election matters before swearing in as was suggested by the Justice Mohammed Uwais-led Electoral Review Committee.

“It is imperative that all election-related court cases be disposed of before winners are sworn in. This is to remove any impediment to the delivery of dividends of democracy to the people,” Atiku said.

He urged President Jonathan to see the reaffirmation of his mandate by the court as an opportunity to implement his transformation agenda in a manner that will be beneficial to ordinary Nigerians.

broad coalition of forces to dethrone the ruling party. As such, he teamed up with prominent politicians like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-governor of Lagos State Bola Tinubu, Chief Olu Falae, among others, under the aegis of the National Democratic Movement. Buhari was the first to

had very little in terms of followership in the three Southern states, could not police its votes in the core Northern states and Buhari’s candidacy frightened the Middle Belt states.

Following yesterday’s dismissal of the CPC’s challenge of the INEC verdict, what next? First, as

opt out to found his own party, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). All other attempts to forge an alliance that could unhorse the PDP failed.

The CPC was an instant hit in the North. But it had too little in terms of resources, structure and time to fight the 2011 general elections. It

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

was the case in 2003 and 2007, Buhari’s party is set to file an appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment. Unlike Chief Olu Falae who was prevailed upon in 1999 to refrain from appealing the Presidential Tribunal verdict, the CPC is set to take his case to the final court of justice. However, there are fears

How Daniel diverted MDG’s funds, by Ogun Assembly

T

HE Ogun State House of Assembly yesterday said it has evidence showing how the cash meant for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was diverted by the past administration of Governor Gbenga Daniel.

Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Abiodun Akovoyan, said the Committee found out that N500 million was diverted in form of loan to one of its contractors, Messrs Aron Nig. Ltd, out of which it repaid only N75 million.

Akovoyan noted that N250 million was also deposited in an account maintained in a branch of the FinBank for investment.

The revelation was made during the Committee’s meeting

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

with relevant government agencies and contractors who handled projects under the MDGs scheme.

Akovoyan directed the Bureau of Project Monitoring and Evaluation to submit a detailed report of all projects implemented under the MDGs from 2008 to date.

The committee discovered that N1.6 billion was paid into the Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS) account of the programme which was executed on a 50 per cent counterpart funding between the Federal Government and the state.

But defending the N500million released to Aron, the former Secretary to the State Government,

Mr Odugbemi Onakoya, who appeared before the Committee said that exigencies of the time made the release of the said sum inevitable.

According to him, the fund was released for the completion of a Youth Centre at Sagamu and hostel facilities at the Tai Solarin University, handled by ARON. He said the major chunk of the fund as of the time it was used was deposited by the government, adding that the Federal Government delayed in releasing its own share.

Onakoya however pleaded with the Committee to show understanding, saying the government at the time, acted in the best interest of the state.

Also, in his defence on the

N250million investment with FinBank, Mr Kayode Sunmola, former Director-General, Budget and Planning, said the state in its wisdom reckoned that part of the fund should be invested so that proceeds from it could be used to pay consultant’s fees.

He said the interest of N30 million generated from the investment as well as N200 million of the principal had been paid back to the CGS account.

The committee also learnt that the remaining N50million was deducted by FinBank to offset the N50 million that the state owed the bank.

Akovoyan criticised the arguments of the two former government officials, saying no approval was gotten for using the MDG

•Daniel

fund for purposes outside its scope.

newsmen after

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

3

NEWS BRT driver attacks The Nation photographer

CPC?

Solomon Adeola, a photographer with The Nation, narrates his experience in the hand of a BRT driver, Udoh Akpan, who assaulted him after destroying his car, writes TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO

A

•From left: counsel to President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN) and Damian Dodo (SAN) PHOTOS: NAN and ABAYOMI FAYESE

that since the case is hinged on allegations of malpractices that border on criminality that would have to be proved beyond reasonable doubt, it may be difficult to assemble sufficient evidence.

It is impossible to conclusively predict how the case would end if it is taken before the judicial lords of the Supreme Court. But, for now, the subsisting verdict is the Court of Appeal decision. It has done enough to cast doubt on the political future of the Daura-born General. Thrice, he has fought the battle, thrice he has lost. Would he try again? Would any party hand him a ticket again? Isn’t he weary from the previous experiences?

Could he come up with new tricks to swing victory in his favour?

Does he have the resources to fight the money gulping war?

What about age? Buhari is 69.

By 2015, he will be 73, is that an age to canvass votes all over the country? It appears unlikely that Nigerians would once again give another General, a former Head of State, the chance to re-enact the Obasanjo act.

His cause is not helped by the standing of the CPC. In most of the states where it was strong before the April elections, CPC has been buffeted by internal wrangling.

Many of those who defected from the PDP and ANPP because of poor democratic mechanism expressed angst that CPC is no different.

Buhari is a General. He is battle tested, but he has no troops. He may have to review his political participation and withdraw from the battle front, taking up a rear guard role.

He has tried his best as a politician.

It is time that the general becomes a statesman.

FoI Act: NUJ sues FCT minister

F

EW months after the passage of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has sued Senator Bala Mohammed and the Secretary of the Social Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Mrs. Blessing Onyeche Onuh, before an Abuja High Court.

The NUJ is seeking the court to compel Onuh, who is daughter of Senate President David Mark, to make available to it detailed information on activities, incomes, expenditure, funding of Non Government Organisations (NGOs), rehabilitation of prostitutes, hawkers, beggers and their likes by her office.

In the application filed by Mr.

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

Austine Uno, on behalf of the union, the applicant averred that it had written to secretariat since October 14, for the office to avail it of the information as required by law but was ignored.

The FCT Council of the NUJ is seeking the relief of the court to enforce the provisions of the FoI Act 2011 as contained in Section 2 and Sections 6, 7 and 8 of the Act. Speaking on the development, Chairman of NUJ in Abuja, Mr. Jacob Edi, said it was time the media begin to enforce the provisions of the FoI Act and hold government agencies accountable, stressing “that the press had fought hard, waited long for the bill to come to life and now it was time to hold all managers of public office accountable to the people.”

BUS Rapid Transit (BRT) driver, Udoh Akpan, yesterday attacked The Nation photographer, Mr Solomon Adeola, damaging his camera and leaving him with a deep cut on the side of his right eye.

Akpan, who drove bus number MO64 with XV31 – FST plate number, attacked Adeola after he challenged him for bashing his Izuzu Rodeo SUV with number plate DX646FST. The incident happened around 12:35pm in Oshodi when Akpan apparently in a haste to enter the BRT lane hit photographer’s car and ran away.

Immediately, he sighted the man whose car he hit and discovered that he is a journalist, Akpan vowed to deal with him if he dare take his photograph and the number plate of the bus.

True to his threat, he landed a big blow on the photographer who was trying to take his photograph.

The lens of the camera was broken. Adeola got a deep cut on the right side of his eyes.

It took the intervention of the police invited by one of Adeola’s colleagues, Afolabi Olabisi in the car before Akpan’s bid to further deal with the photojournalist was curbed.

They were taken to the police station, where they made statements.

Adeola said: “I was driving on Osodi road when the BRT hit my car. I pursued him and caught up with him around Mushin while he was pretending as if he was sweeping the interior of the bus. I challenged him and he denied damaging my car. He said he was not aware of what I was talking about. I brought out my camera and took a shot of him. He said if you dare take my photograph, I will destroy your camera and he carried out the threat by destroying the camera. He also attacked me.

“I was bleeding seriously.

There was a gash around my right eye. But he kept threatening me.”

The BRT driver, who wore a red polo with inscription of Mutual Model Transport Limited and a pair of black trousers, was later arrested by police officers from Olosan Police Station, Mushin. He was still in detention as at the time of filing this report.

Adeola was treated at the General Hospital, Oliyide, Mushin.

In a similar occurrence, another photographer with The Nation, David Adejo was beaten by some BRT drivers at their park in August.

Adejo was whisked from Iyana-Ejigbo to the LAGBUS depot at Ojota.

The Criminal Division of Ogudu Police Station on instruction from the Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos command, DSP Sam Jinadu investigated the matter and ordered the management of the LAGBUS to settle the hospital bill of the photo-journalist.

LAGBUS is yet to pay the bill.

•Adeola...yesterday

‘

I was driving on Osodi road when the BRT hit my car. I pursued him and caught up with him around Mushin while he was pretending as if he was sweeping the interior of the bus. He said if you dare take my photograph, I will destroy your camera and he carried out the threat by destroying the camera. He also attacked me

‘

•Udoh...yesterday

4

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

NEWS It’s triumph of democracy, says Jonathan

P

•Presidential Advisers Ahmed Ali Gulac, Political Affairs (left); Mrs. Mariam Ali, Intergovernmental Affairs; Senator Ben Obi, Inter Party Affairs and Prof. Tamunoprey Agiobenebo, Special Adviser, Economic Matters to the Vice President, during the swearing-in and oath taking in Abuja ... yesterday. Story on page 57.

Buhari kicks as tribunal affirms Jonathan’s victory Continued from page 1

Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo were duly returned by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), having scored the majority of the lawful votes cast.

The five-man panel ruled that the petitioner did not adduce substantial evidence to successfully prove its case.

“From whatever angle one looked at it, the onus is on the petitioner.

“The petitioner did not discharge the burden of proof even when put on the balance of probability,” the tribunal ruled.

The CPC had asked the panel to cancel results of election in 20 states and order a fresh election between it and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 20 states.

Jonathan was the PDP candidate in the poll. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was the CPC’s candidate.

The Respondents are INEC, its National Chairman (Prof.

Attahiru Jega), Jonathan, Sambo, PDP and Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The opposition party alleged rigging, arbitrary votes allocation and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act and irregularities in Lagos, Bayelsa, Kaduna, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Kwara, Adamawa, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Enugu and Cross River.

Others are: Rivers, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo, Anambra, Benue and Plateau states as well as the FCT. The CPC urged the tribunal to hold that Jonathan and Sambo were not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election.

But the tribunal dismissed the statement of the 47 witnesses called by the CPC as “hearsay”, describing their evidence as worthless.

It said the allegation that materials were deliberately not supplied early enough to Sokoto and other CPC strongholds were “hearsay”.

It maintained that INEC has no power to release the electronic data base demanded

by CPC to prove its allegations of rigging and arbitrary votes allocation.

Justice Akaahs said the tribunal reasoned that such electronic data base if released to a

political party, would expose the secrecy of the election and, as such, would run against the law.

Justice Akaahs rejected the allegation by CPC that INEC used military vehicles to convey sensitive election materials to states.He said: “I don’t think there is anything illegal in using the police and Army in transporting sensitive materials, if it was to ensure security.”

Besides, he pointed out that the allegations against security personnel and the evidence against them must be discountenanced since police and Army were not made parties to the petition.

Citing Jigawa State, the panel said if it was true that voters were not duly accredited before the election, then, the “vote registered for CPC and PDP ought to be cancelled”.

Justice Akaahs said for the petition to succeed and the allegation of substantial non-compliance to be sustained, “the court must be satisfied that it will affect greatly the outcome of the result”.

“The petitioner must prove that it substantially affected the result of the election. The petitioner will only succeed, if it was able to prove that it disenfranchised a particular number of voters.

“From the painstaking scrutiny

of the petition and totality of the evidence adduced on alleged corrupt practices, such as rigging, which was done in passive connivance with the first respondent, sharing of money to presiding officers who assisted in multiple thumb printing and allocation of votes to the fifth respondent, with a view to confer undue advantage on the third and fourth respondents, the result of the election was not successfully challenged”.

“The third respondent scored the majority of lawful votes cast at the election in at least two-thirds of the states.

“The petition fails in its entirety. It is hereby dismissed.

There shall be no order as to cost,” Justice Akaah’s said.

Among those at the Tribunal yesterday were Labour Minister Emeka Wogu; PDP National Publicity Secretary, Prof Rufai Alkali; el-Rufai and Momoh.

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday described the judgment as a triumph for democracy and an affirmation of the sovereignty of the Nigerian people.

He spoke through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati.

The President praised the CPC and its presidential candidate Gen. Buhari for their respect for the rule of law and the Constitution, saying their recourse to judicial review of their grievances affirms their faith in the nation’s judiciary.

Extending his hands of fellowship to the CPC and Buhari, the President called on them to accept the decision of the tribunal, put the

past behind them and support his administration’s efforts to transform the nation.

“From this day, let us move forward together as we work to deepen the democratic content of our polity and build a nation of our collective desire,” the President said, adding: “The judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal is a victory for all Nigerians.”

President Jonathan expressed his appreciation to all Nigerians for their steadfastness and support, stating “the resolve of his administration to continue to provide good governance, anchored on the strong foundations of honesty, transparency, hardwork and fairness to all”.

Mark congratulates Jonathan

S

ENATE President David Mark yesterday congratulated President Goodluck Jonathan over his victory at the Appeal Court.

Mark, in a statement by his Media Adviser Kola Ologbondiyan, urged the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to accept the verdict in good faith.

He noted that the judgment represented the wishes of the majority of Nigerians as expressed in the April presidential election.

Mark said “this victory will further spur President Jonathan to consolidate on his transformational achievements”.

‘Judgment meticulous’

T

HE Restoration Agenda, the official campaign organ of Henry Seriake Dickson, a Bayelsa State PDP governorship aspirant, yesterday described the judgment as “a meticulous, brilliant and a comprehensive application of the rule of law in this dispensation of justice”.

He described it as a sincere and historic judgment say-

ing the Justices were thorough and detailed in their submission. He urged the CPC and its candidates to accept the judgment in good faith and join hands with the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to move the nation forward.

The restoration members were at the Appeal Court to witness the judgment.

Jonathan meets governors over SWF, allocation

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OVERNORS were last night locked in a crucial meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The rejected September allocation by the states and the Sovereign Wealth Fund are believed to be on the agenda.

The presence of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Managing Director Mr Austin Oniwon and the mounting of a projector at the venue gave an indication that oil subsidy might also be discussed.

The governors had a meeting

at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, prior to their departure for the Villa for the meeting with the President.

Issues that dominated the meeting were the Sovereign Wealth Fund and the Federal Allocation, it was gathered.

As at 8.4pm when the meeting started, those who were at the meeting included Governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Aliyu Babangida (Niger), Sullivan

Chime (Enugu), Peter Obi (Anambra), Patrick Yakowa (Kaduna) and Danbaba Suntai (Taraba).

Others are Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Abdufatah Ahmed (Kwara State), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Ibrahim Idris (Kogi) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti).

Deputy governors of Lagos, Adamawa, Yobe, Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Benue and Plateau represented their governors.

•From left: Divisional Head, E-Banking Products, UBA Plc, Mr. Lekan Luqman Balogun; Divisional Head, Retail Banking, UBA Plc, Mr. Chidi Okpala; Managing Director, UBA Properties, Mrs Uzo Oshogwe; and Regional Director, West Africa, ACG World, Mr. Babs Ogunade, during the official launch of ‘Ruby Premium Account’ for women by UBA Plc, in Lagos ... yesterday.

My purported disqualification laughable, says Sylva Continued from page 1

Bruce.

Sylva, however, described his purported disqualification as “laughable”. He said he will be cleared to bid for the ticket. The PDP primary is slated for November 19.

Besides, his colleagues from Rivers (Chibuike Amaechi), Delta (Emmanuel Uduaghan) and Cross River (Liyel Imoke) met with the President and the PDP leadership last night, in a bid to save Sylva’s political career.

Those cleared by the PDP are: Oruta Justine Boloubo;

Henry Seriake Dickson; Enai Christopher Fullpower; and Kalango Michael Youppele.

The party described the list as the “first batch” of contestants to be cleared for the primary by the National Working Committee (NWC).

In a statement yesterday, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Prof Rufai Ahmed Alkali, said the screening is ongoing. He said the NWC was considering other aspirants. Alkali was silent on Sylva’s, Alaibe’s and Murray-Bruce’s fate.

Alkali’s statement reads:

“The NWC of the Peoples Democratic Party held an emergency meeting on 31st of October, 2011, and considered reports on the preparations for the forthcoming gubernatorial primaries in Bayelsa State. It also received the report of the Screening Appeal Panel headed Mrs Abiodun Olujimi, former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State.

“After a thorough review of the reports of the screening panel and the screening appeal panel, the leadership of the party has so far cleared

the first batch of contestants for the gubernatorial primary in Bayelsa State “The NWC session to conclude the review exercise continues in order to consider cases of other aspirants on their individual merits. All party members, particularly stakeholders in Bayelsa State, are to please note that the NWC is handling this exercise painstakingly and shall communicate all its decisions in due course.

“Party members are, therefore, advised to await the decisions of the NWC on this

issue and mobilise all our supporters for the success of the forthcoming primaries” A source at the party’s secretariat described the party leadership’s action as “surprising”. He wondered how a sitting governor failed to make the first batch of aspirants cleared.

Sylva said he has the assurance from the highest leadership of the PDP that things will be done in accordance with the rules.

In a statement read in Abuja

by Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information Mr Nathan

Egba, the governor said: “These reports are unfounded, laughable, but disturbing. I have not been disqualified. And there is no basis for my disqualification.

As I speak, no organ of the party has informed me of anything to the contrary.

“My encounter with the party’s screening committee was warm and friendly.

“Consequently, I was issued with the provisional clearance certificate with serial no: 0000012, dated October 28, 2011.”

Continued on page 9

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 2011

5

NEWS

Court orders NDLEA to release Baba Suwe on Friday

•Omidina being led into the court (on the left); and the crowd which came to see him...yesterday PHOTOS: ISAAC AYODELE

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USTICE Yetunde Idowu of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja yesterday granted popular comedian Babatunde Omidina (alias Baba Suwe) bail for N500,000 with one surety in like sum.

She ordered the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to release him on Friday, unless he excretes banned substances such as cocaine or heroin, which he is suspected to have ingested.

The judge barred Omidina from travelling abroad, ordering the agency to hand over his international passport to the court’s Chief Registrar or his deputy.

Justice Idowu asked Omidina’s counsel, Bamidele Aturu, to return on Friday to give a report on whether her order has been complied with or not. It is then she will fix a date for judgment in Omidina’s substantive N100 million suit.

According to the judge, the liberty of a citizen is paramount. “I am very concerned about the liberty of a citizen. God forbid, if anything should happen to him in NDLEA custody. His life is important,” she said.

She added that Omidina has overstayed in detention. “If it takes a person 21 days to excrete something and up till now he has not, will it be fair to keep him forever?” she asked.

The judge noted that the medical reports backing the alleged hard drug ingestion gave no indication as to how long it would take to excrete them. That, she said, was the only way the reports would have “made a bit of sense.”

“The only thing that will stop me from releasing him immediately and unconditionally is the Federal High Court order permitting the respondent to detain him for 15 days,” the judge said. The order will elapse on Friday.

In a fundamental rights enforcement application, the actor sought a declaration that his arrest and detention since October 12 by the NDLEA on suspicion of drug trafficking is in gross violation of his rights.

He demanded a public apology from the NDLEA, to be published in conspicuous pages of two national dailies widely read in Nigeria.

The suit was heard amidst tight security and in a court room that was filled to the brim. Many stood

Nollywood actors, fans show solidarity

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OLLYWOOD actors, actresses and fans yesterday thronged the premises of the Lagos High Court in Ikeja to catch a glimpse of the embattled comedian.

Mr. Babatunde Omidina, also known as Baba Suwe, has been in the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged ingestion of a substance believed to be a narcotic.

As early as 7.00 a.m. yesterday, actors and fans started trooping into the premises of the court in tens to position themselves at vantage places inside the court where the trial was held.

At about 7.45 a.m., Omidina arrived the court premises, escorted by armed officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in a white Toyota Hiace bus marked FG 61-T02 which has a bold inscribtion, SYD with NDLEA logo on its two sides.

The driver of the bus, on sighting the crowd, drove round the premises of the court for about 10 minutes , apparently to create confusion but only to return to meet a bigger crowd which grew by the minute.

The Toyota Hiace bus finally parked in front of the High Court building. The armed NDLEA officials stepped down and took strategic positions on the two sides of the bus.

At 9.02 a.m., Mr. Omidina who wore a white buba and sokoto voil lace and a pair of brown leather

By Joseph Jibueze

all through the session. Outside was an even larger crowd.

Omidina, as ordered by the judge, appeared in court physically, accompanied by his family and colleagues in the movie industry.

Asked by the judge how he was being treated in detention, he said: “I am fine. They do not harass me.” The only problem, he alleged, is that NDLEA serves his breakfast late. So, he buys food to eat early.

“I eat three times a day, but with my money. They bring the food by 11am and I cannot wait till that time, so I have to use my money to buy my food,” Omidina said.

Aturu chipped in that his client has even lost weight, to which the judge joked that it would be difficult to determine that.

“I wouldn’t know whether he is slim or fat because he is always disguised in his movies,” said the judge.

Aturu argued that the law does not allow any law enforcement agency to arrest a person, detain him, and start “fishing” for evidence.

He said NDLEA has not arraigned Omidina for any offence,

By Adebisi Onanuga

slippers stepped down from the bus. He made a turn and facing the inside of the bus, adjusted the rope of his trousers before he was sandwitched in-between four armed officials of the agency who led him into the court.

Omidina, who looked sober and emaciated, did not wave or look at anybody as he was being led into the court.

Omidina‘s case was first called at about 9.09 a.m. but had to be stepped down for five minutes by Justice Yetunde Idowu to allow the lead counsel to the NDLEA get to the court.

The proceedings which lasted about two hours was punctuated with laughter towards the end when Omidina told the High Court Judge that he had defecated more than 15 times since his arrest on October 12 and has been buying food with his own money.

It was, however, a different Omidina who walked out of the court at about 11. 05a.m.

When he saw the huge crowd that came to the court, Omidina was moved to put on a smile and waved at his colleagues and fans, most of whom shouted words of encouragement at him. He earned himself another nick-name, “o ya`gbe ti” (He refuses to excrete).

Officials of the NDLEA, the police and the court‘s security personnel had a hectic time controlling the surging crowd.

and only procured an order from the Federal High Court “after the applicant had spent nine solid days in unlawful detention.”

According to him, the agency has not accounted for the nine days Omidina was kept without a court order, adding that his client deserved damages for the alleged “flagrant abridgement of the constitutional right of the applicant to personal liberty.”

Aturu said the scan reports were conflicting, as one indicated that no drug was found in Omidina’s system.

“Your lordship should send a loud and clear statement to those who feel compelled to deny their fellow citizens of their rights to know that this country is governed by the rule of law,” Aturu said.

NDLEA’s Director of Legal Services, Mr Femi Oloruntoba, opposed Omidina’s application, saying he was not entitled to any of the reliefs sought.

He insisted that Omidina was subjected to body scans within the nine days before a court order was obtained. He said the tests showed positive results that he ingested banned substances.

“Our suspicion is real. We have the jurisdiction not only to arrest

‘

a person for suspected drug trafficking, but to also to prevent the commission of drug related offences.

“How do you take a suspect to court when he has not defecated the substances?” Oloruntoba said.

He added that the NDLEA had an experience of a suspect who excreted hard drugs 15 days after his arrest. A case in the United Kingdom took 19 days, he added.

NDLEA said its detention of Omidina is within the purview of the law.

“To grant this application is to aid the suspect conceal his crime because if he excretes the drugs outside the custody of NDLEA, it will be impossible to seize the drug and investigate the case.

“Drug trafficking has brought Nigeria into disrepute in the comity of nations and the applicant was traveling to Paris, France when he was arrested.

“It is not in the interest of justice to grant this application, as it will prevent the respondent from having the opportunity to supervise the excretion of the drugs ingested by the applicant. It is in the interest of justice to dismiss this application,” the agency said in its counter affidavit.

Alison-Madueke urges NPDC board to perform

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INISTER of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has charged the Board of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) to grow the company from 80,000 bpd to 250,000 bpd by 2015.She spoke while inaugurating the sixth board of the NPDC at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday, Mrs. Alison-Madueke urged the board members to run the NPDC as a profitable business in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry. She urged the NPDC must stand independently for it to compete favourably with other National Oil Companies like the Petronas and Petrobras.

“The task before the NPDC board is an enormous one but with the calibre of the members, I am sure that the aggressive mandate of growing the company from 80,000 to 250,000 bpd will be achieved in the shortest possible time,” Mrs. Alison-Madueke said.

The Minister implored the new board to support the achievements of the vision of the company adding that the board is expected to provide the necessary guidance and leadership in strengthening the operations of the company.

Chairman of the Board and Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Austen Oniwon, assured the Minister and the Federal Government that the board will justify the confidence reposed in it.

“I believe that with the calibre of people on the board, the growth agenda given to us by the Minister and the Federal Government will be achieved and surpassed. He promised that that board will support the management of the Company and allow the NPDC to opertate like other International Oil Companies, IOCs, and National Oil Companies, NOCs.” The NPDC is a wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the NNPC and was set up in 1988 to engage in the business of oil and gas exploration and production nationally and internationally.

Members of the NPDC board include: Andrew Yakubu, Michael Arokodare, Abiye Membere, Goddy Jeddy-Agba, Morrison Fiddi, Ishaya Timothy Ikechukwu Okafor and Ahmed Adamu.

6

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

NEWS Courts get practice directions on election appeals From Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

A NEW ‘practice directions’ on election appeals to the Supreme Court has been issued by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Musdapher.

A statement by the CJN spokesman, Muhammad Adamu, said the guideline was in line with his promised reforms in the judiciary.

It stated: “The new guide is cited as Supreme Court Election Appeals Practice Directions 2011, and is issued in the exercise of the powers conferred on the CJN by Sections 233 (2) (e) and 236 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Order 10 Rule 2 of the Supreme Court Rules 1999 (as amended).

“The 11-point ‘directions’ which is to be observed in the Supreme Court when hearing election appeals from the Court of Appeal, cover, among others, procedures and filing regulations for notices of appeal, rules of service on notices and records of proceedings.

“It also contains timing regulations for oral briefs, filing and service of written briefs of argument, guidelines on cross-appeals and Respondent’s notices including duration for arguments, length of briefs, written submissions/or replies.

“Of particular radical review, Cross Appeals (or Respondent’s Notices) are now not only to be argued together with the appeal as one case, but they are also to be disposed of within the same time allotted for the case. “ The new rules also include payable fees/security for costs as prescribed by the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and further deposits as cost for service of notices/other expenditures.”

Hillary Clinton’s mum dies at 92 DOROTHY Rodham, the mother of United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, passed away at the age of 92 shortly after midnight on Tuesday.

“Her story was a quintessentially American one, largely because she wrote it herself,” said the Clinton family in a statement.

SWF is illegal, unconstitutional, says ACN

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HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has condemned the clamour by the Federal Government to set up the controversial Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), describing it as illegal, unconstitutional, fraudulent and anti-federalism.

In a statement in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said there is absolutely no argument that can justify the creation of the illegal SWF. It said any governor who supports the creation of the fund does not understand what federalism is all about, blatantly violates the Constitution and is therefore liable to impeachment by his or her House of Assembly. ‘’No Governor can spend money without appropria-

By Sunday Omoniyi

tion by the House of Assembly. Therefore, acceding to the creation of the SWF, which purportedly saves money on behalf of the states even without approval from the various Houses of Assembly, amounts to spending money without appropriation,’’ ACN said.

The party explained that the creation of the SWF negates the stipulations of the Constitution,that all monies that accrue to the country must be paid into the Federation Account.

“The sharing formula for accruing funds, however lopsided, is clear, and no money in the Federation Account should be left unshared for whatever reason. The argument that the SWF is being set up to save for the rainy day is

sheer hogwash, because you cannot save my money without my consent. The Federal Government can go ahead and save its own share of the money.

“In any case, every part of the country is crying for infrastructural development.

Why put money aside, illegally, when there are pressing needs for the country? For example, can a father refuse to spend his entire monthly salary, if necessary, if his child is ill and needs life-saving surgery, just because he wants to save for tomorrow?’’ it queried.

ACN also said the creation of the SWF amounts to taking power from the states, and suggests that the relationship between the federal and state governments is a master-servant relationship, hence the former can dictate to the lat-

ter at will.

The party said it should be up to the states to determine what to do with the funds accruing to them from their share of the Federation Account, instead of being dictated to by an overbearing Federal Government.

It also said even the money-saving argument to justify the creation of the SWF assumes that even the saved funds cannot be mismanaged, adding: ‘’For example, what happens if the saved funds had gone the way of the funds lent to Greece?

“Everything is wrong with the creation of the SWF. Right now, the Federal Government has started advertising for those who will manage the SWF. Is it doing so with the permission of the states?

Should they not have an input into how their saved funds

should be managed? Should the management of the funds not be jointly done?’’ queried ACN. The party noted that while there is nothing wrong with the Federal Government benchmarking prices for the sale of crude oil, it cannot keep the balance of the accruing funds. Therefore, this makes even the Excess Crude Oil account itself, a precursor of the SWF, illegal.

“Unfortunately, it is the acquiescence, on the part of the states, to the existence of the Excess Crude Oil account that has further emboldened the Federal Government to graduate to the SWF bunkum. We are totally and unequivocally opposed to the SWF and the Federal Government should immediately jettison the plan to create the fund,” ACN said.

Mark challenges NIPSS on unity From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

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•Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and his wife Bisi, flanked by the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Social Development and Gender Empowerment, Mrs Fola Richie-Adewusi (left) and representative of Executive Secretary, National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP), Mrs Ladun Ayegbesi during the Ekiti State Gender Summit in Ado Ekiti…yesterday

Corruption in public service worries ICPC boss

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HROUGH its acting chairman, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC) yesterday raised the alarm over the rising cases of corruption in the public service, saying such practices was plunging the civil service into disrepute.

The Acting Chair Abdullahi Bako lamented what he called fictitious contract being awarded by civil servants with the intention of siphoning public funds.

Bako spoke at a three-day

From Toni Akowe, Kaduna

training workshop on the Principles and Practice of Organisational Systems Study and Review for members of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units in ministries, departments and agencies.

It was organised by the African Diaspora Initiative.

He noted that reports available to the commission indicate that public funds were frivolously being disbursed by civil servants and other public officers.

Abdullahi, who was repre-

sented by the Commission’s Secretary, Oglafa Elvis said the practice had gotten to an alarming stage, adding that public officers were in the habit of awarding fictitious contracts with the intention of siphoning funds from their agency’s votes.

He noted that “corruption within the public service is widespread and involves common occurrences of delayed files, making wrong claims, favouritism, truancy, outright demand of bribes, abuse of office, which are all systemic in nature.

“Available reports also indi-

cate that public funds are commonly disbursed frivolously for personal gains. In some cases, fictitious contracts are awarded just to siphon funds from votes. “ These practices are carried out brazenly and with impunity. Indeed, it would appear that many public servants today do not even know that these practices define the inefficiency of the service or that they are wrong or are part of what constitute “corrupt practices” for which the country is now internationally notorious.”

ENATE President David Mark yesterday challenged the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) to develop a blueprint on how to solve the socio-political and ethno-religious conflicts facing the nation.

Mark, who spoke when the 2011 Executive Course 3, of the institute visited him in Abuja, added that such a congregation of participants from all walks of life symbolised the unity in our diversity as a nation.

He challenged NIPSS and other research institutes to do more for Nigerians to understand themselves, promote the integration and development of the country.

According to a statement by his media aide Paul Mumeh, Mark urged that all researches should be geared towards development, as well as maintaining peace and unity of the country.

He promised that the National Assembly through its National Legislative Institute would partner with the NIPSS towards finding solutions to the myriads of problems confronting the nation.

According to him, Nigerians from different backgrounds and disciplines must interact more like the convergence in NIPSS so that the people would understand themselves and avoid conflicts.

Court orders retrial of petition against Tinubu’s election

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HE Court of Appeal in Lagos has upturned the decision of the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which dismissed the petition of the Labour Party (LP) challenging the victory of Senator Oluremi Tinubu of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

In a lead judgment read by Justice Helen Ogunwumiju, the three-man panel ordered the President of the Court of Appeal to constitute a fresh panel to hear the petition on its merit.

The panel, which included Justices R.N. Pemu and M. A. Danjuma, consequently ordered that the petition be returned to the tribunal for parties to continue from where they stopped.

The court held that the tri-

By Eric Ikhilae

bunal erred when it relied solely on the provision of Paragraph 18 (2) of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act in dismissing the petition.

The tribunal had, in its earlier decision, threw out the petition on the ground that the LP defaulted on the provision of Paragraph 18 of the Electoral Act by applying for the issuance of pre-hearing notices on parties by way of a letter to the tribunal’s secretary.

It held that the appropriate mode of applying for such notices was by way of a motion.

The appellate court, in overruling the tribunal, relied on the decision by a full panel of five Justices of Court of Ap-

peal, Jos delivered on August 22 this year, in the case between Aliyu Ibrahim Gebi and Garba Dahiru and held that the law was that the manner of applying for pre-hearing notices was immaterial.

It admitted that the Court of Appeal had, in its various decisions on the same issue, handed out “contradictory and confusing” decisions.

Justice Ogunwumiju noted that while some divisions of the court had been liberal in their interpretation of the provisions of Paragraphs 18 and 47 of the Electoral Act, others had acted otherwise.

In choosing to be liberal in her interpretation of the provisions, Justice Ogunwumiju reasoned that justice in electoral matters, being cases in

which parties are highly emotional, should not be sacrifice on the alter of technicalities.

She held that though provisions in Paragraphs 18 and 47 of the Electoral Act were contradictory, the court would prefer to be liberal in its interpretation of the provisions.

She further held that while paragraph 18 was not specific on the mode of applying for a pre-hearing notice, but emphasized the need for a party to apply, Paragraph 47 was specific on such application being a motion.

The judge held that her court elected to be guided by the August 22 decision of the Court of Appeal, Jos because it was given by a full panel as against that by the court on September 23.

In the September 23 decision by the Appeal Court, Sokoto, in the case between Saidu Usman Abubakar and Mallam Abubakar Abubakar, relied on by ACN, Mrs Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the court had held that pre-hearing notices could only be applied for by way of motion to the tribunal.

The court also overruled the preliminary objection filed by ACN and Mrs Tinubu, holding that issues not considered by the lower court in reaching a decision could not be entertained by the appellate court.

The court, in an earlier judgment, dismissed the appeal

by LP’s candidate for the elec-

•Senator Tinubu

tion, Oladapo Durosinmi-Eti, on the ground that it lacked merit. It resolved three of the four issues raised for determination in favour of the respondents.

7

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

NEWS Reps to probe Fed Govt’s NHIS

HOSF seeks NIPPS assistance on capacity building

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

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HE Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOSF), Alhaji Isa Bello Sali, has urged the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) to develop courses for capacitybuilding needs of civil servants to meet the demands of the 21st century.

Sali spoke when graduating participants of the Senior Executive Course 33, 2011 of NIPSS visited him in Abuja.

He said this would ensure that the civil service meets the demands of the 21st century.

Sali said: “Recent national discourse on the civil service has centered on weakness in the areas of policy and strategy for national development. The Institute could assist to address the gaps especially in areas of policy development and analyze the value and limitation of strategic planning among others.

“I intend to continue with the reforms started by my predecessors and to ensure that the Service is properly re-focused on the provision of effective and efficient service delivery to all Nigerians.

“A lot of premium will be placed on the virtues of hard work, integrity and professionalism while we will stop all forms of indolence, apathy, lethargy and corruption as we set out to reposition the service to meet government’s Transformation Agenda,” he said.

The Acting DirectorGeneral of the institute, Prof Tijjani MuhammadBande said the special assignment given to the course participants was on how to achieve sustainable peace and development in Nigeria, despite the diversities of the nation.

“Participants have performed the task with seriousness and achieved tremendous results, which will be presented to Mr. President for consideration and implementation.”

Muhammad-Bande said the institute was deteriorating and appealed for urgent action to redeem its image.

•Iraqi Ambassador Alli Abbus Banda presenting his letter of credence to President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House, Abuja...yesterday

Fuel subsidy: Fed Govt urged to ensure palliatives •Oritsejafor denies backing removal

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TAKEHOLDERS in the nation’s economy yesterday urged the Federal Government to come up with a blueprint on how to cushion the negative effects the removal of fuel subsidy would have on Nigerians, should the government implement the policy.

They faulted the government plan on the subsidy removal, saying the policy is hazy with an unconvincing implementation.

The stakeholders also urged the government to show a blueprint on how it intends to implement the policy and cushion its effects on Nigerians.

The stakeholders, comprising employers, Labour and civil society groups, spoke in Abuja yesterday at a stakeholders’ forum on petroleum subsidy removal organised by the Initiative for Peace and Industrial Harmony (IPIH).

The groups’ spokesperson, Dr Timiebi KoripamoAgary, a former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour, said the forum was to facilitate a national stakeholders’ consultation on deregulation and identify areas of consensus and disagreements.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) rejected the policy on the ground that

From Dupe OlaoyeOsinkolu, Abuja, Dada Aladelokun (Assistant Editor) and Chris Oji, Enugu

past deregulation worsened the plight of Nigerians.

The labour centre argued that the implementation process is not going to be anything different from previous deregulation exercise of the government stressing that the consequences Nigerians would face from the removal of fuel subsidy outweighs the benefits of the exercise.

NLC’s Head of Research and Chief Economist, Dr. Ozo-Ezon said the removal of subsidy is not a Labour issue but a national matter that affects all Nigerians.

He expressed fear that the planned subsidy removal would worsen the state of small scale industries, which account for over 70 per cent of businesses, and make it impossible for them to remain in business.

Ozo-Ezon said: “This is not a Labour issue but an economic matter that concerns every Nigerian. So, Nigerians are rejecting this policy because it is undesirable. If the government was sincere, it would have realised that it had not done its job well. This is not a new debate. We have done it before in the (Senator Ibrahim)

Mantu Committee, set up some years ago, and the report is there. It is not the penchant of revenue or money to spend that should drive the debate. The question we have always asked is: what is the ultimate objective? “...Our argument is that diesel is not the energy of choice of the huge informal sector and the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which account for over 90 per cent of employers, but premium motor spirit (PMS). Now, government wants to raise the price of petrol so that what happened to the real sector would create social chaos in the country because the government wants more money to share. What have they done with the huge allocations?”

The Director-General of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) Olusegun Oshionowo said the policy decision was hasty since the government has not consulted enough with relevant stakeholders before making its pronouncement.

He said: “Our position in NECA is that the policy direction is incomplete. A situation in which we are importing fuel and the government is subsidising is not in

the long-term interest of the nation. If the government had implemented 65 per cent of the recommendations of the Mantu Committee, we will not be where we are today.”

The National Operations Coordinator of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NATO), Alhaji Lawal Isa, kicked against the policy on the ground that it would worsen the plight of Nigerians.

The President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday denied showing support for Federal Government’s planned removal of oil subsidy.

Some newspapers had on Tuesday reported that the CAN President had thrown his weight behind government’s attempt to remove subsidy on fuel.

Oritsejafor, who spoke with The Nation through his Special Adviser, Rev. Ladi Thompson, described the reports as mischievous and unfounded.

Thompson said: “There was never a time he (Oritsejafor) issued such a statement on such a sensitive issue that affects the very soul of our society at the moment. We spoke late last night (on Monday) and he vehemently condemned such a purported statement. It was mischievous and largely unfounded.”

Kogi governorship poll: INEC approves 4,444 voting centres HE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has certified 4,444 voting units for the December 3 governorship election in Kogi State.

A statement in Abuja yesterday by the commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Emmanuel Umenger, said the voting centres were selected to cater for eligible voters.

He said arrangements have been concluded for the training of officials for the election from November 15 to 30.

The electoral officials, he

T

From Augustine Ehikioya and Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

said, would be sourced from the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), federal tertiary institutions and officials of some other federal establishments in the state.

Umenger added that a regiment of voter enlightenment and election activities would be deployed in the state and that a supplementary voters’ list would be published on November 3 for the public.

The INEC director said the

Kogi State governorship election is among 10 that could not be conducted in the April polls because of tribunal judgments.

He said 19 candidates have been cleared by the electoral body to contest the election.

They include: Ambo Fred, (JP); Friday Odia, (Accord); Prince Abubakar Audu, (ACN); Ahmadu Ibrahim, (ALP); Elder Ubolo Itodo Okpanachi, (ANPP); Rev. Prof. Yusufu Ameh Obajeh, (APGA); Ocholi Enojo James (SAN), (CPC).

Others are: Mrs Bola Esther Awe, (CPP); Chief (Mrs) Aisha Abubakar, (JP);

Ibrahim U.A. Tanko, (Labour); Mohammed Danjuma Ali, (ND); Mohammed I. Dangana, (NDP); Gowon Usman Egbunu, (NTP); Aboh Adejoh Samuel, (PAC); Elegbe Amos, (PDC); Capt.

Idris Ichalla Wada, (PDP); Deacon Joseph Onimisi Adigbo, (PPA); Gideon Enema Ojata, (PPN); Lawal Itopa Lamidi, (SDMP) and Abubakar Aliu Gomiwa Bala, (UNPP).

Winner of the January Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in Kogi State, Jibrin Isah Echocho yesterday said

he remained the authentic candidate of the party.

A statement by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, said: “We wish to state quite frankly that Alhaji Jibrin Isah Echocho is not emotionally disturbed; he is not physically worried and not socially destabilised. We, therefore, call on all our supporters in every nook and cranny of Kogi State to be steadfast since the process to reclaim our stolen mandate has been stepped up by the case at the Federal High Court, Abuja, which also came up for definite hearing on October 31.”

HE House of Representatives will soon begin the probe of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) initiated by the Federal Government in 1999.

The lawmakers said the implementation of the scheme has been a huge waste of resources. They have empowered the House Committee on Health to investigate the haphazard implementation of scheme since inception.

Leading the motion, Rasaq Bello-Osagie said the probe became necessary because of the myriad of complaints about the implementation of the scheme.

He noted that the scheme has excluded most Nigerians with only civil servants and a small segment of the private sector enjoying its benefits.

Bello-Osagie said: “NHIS is a failure on the part of the drivers of the scheme, which was not designed to be an elitist programme but an attempt to cover community-based social insurance.

“The scheme is supposed to be a platform for affordable and efficient healthcare for rural dwellers. But it is sad to observe that six years into the scheme, very little is known about it.”

Jonathan urges Army unit to invest in power, others From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has urged the Nigerian Army Corps of Engineers to diversify into power, transportation and housing to sustain the growth of the nation’s economy.

He spoke at the Nigerian Army Engineers’ Sappers Reunion and Rowing Out Parade with the theme: Repositioning The NAE To Meet Contemporary Challenges, at NASME Barracks in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

The President, represented by the Minister of Defence, Dr Bello Mohammed, noted that the professionalism exhibited by the Corps during peace-keeping operations within and outside the country qualified it to be described as an elite corps.

He referred to the feat the Army engineers have achieved in construction of bridges and barracks.

Dr Jonathan urged them to explore the same opportunity in power, housing and information and communication technology (ICT).

He praised the corps for the transformation of the Army Bomb Disposal Unit to a regiment.

The Commander of Corps of Engineers, Maj.-Gen. A.A. Olaniyi, urged the Federal Government to support the Corps to achieve more for Nigeria.

8

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

NEWS Ajimobi seeks repair of federal roads From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

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YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi yesterday urged the Federal Government to set up a committee to oversee the maintenance of federal roads in the Southwest.

Describing the condition of federal roads in the state as “very worrisome,” Ajimobi urged the Federal Government to refund the money spent on the repair of federal roads in Oyo. He spoke in his office at Ibadan, the state capital, while receiving the Southwest Zonal Director of Highways, Mr. Ejike Mgbemene, and Commissioners for Works in the Southwest.

Ajimobi said: “All our roads are in very deplorable conditions. In fact, it will not be out of place to call them death traps. It takes an average of two to three hours to travel from Ibadan to Lagos on the expressway, a journey which normally should take about one hour. This is because of the lack of maintenance.

“Many of us are very anxious to have good roads for the safety of our people and property. We have a lot of money outstanding. We have written a letter and are waiting anxiously to collect the money.”

The governor praised the planned redesign of the entrance to Ibadan from Lagos.

•Ajimobi

He said, when actualised, it would enhance the beauty of Ibadan.

On the refuse heap on the Ibadan end of the Lagos/ Ibadan Expressway, Ajimobi said: “I believe that during your tenure and mine, we will work together to remove all obstacles. In the next two weeks, we would have made up our minds on what to do about the people at the Ibadan Toll Gate. Between now and the end of the month, we want to clear that place.”

Mgbemene said his department is working towards repairing roads in the Southwest.

He lamented the abuse of right of ways, which he said contributed to the August 26 flood in Ibadan.

Mbgemene suggested that federal controllers of Works should liaise with commissioners for Works on how to address the abuse of right of ways.

Another ex-Ondo commissioner quits LP

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NOTHER chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) in Ondo State, Otunba Omoniyi Omodara, yesterday resigned from the party.

Omodara is the former Commissioner for Transport.

In his resignation letter to the LP Chairman in Oba-Ile, Akure North Local Government Area, Omodara said: “Events in our party in the last few months have compelled me to tender my resignation.

“As a founding member of the LP, you will agree with me that my loyalty, commitment and sacrifice to the party have not been in doubt.

“But if as an elder, I can no more sleep with my two eyes closed, owing to harassment and intimidation sponsored by my party members, this is too bad.

“I have paid my dues. I have tried my best to ensure the suc-

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

cess and continued existence of LP, but I have been paid back negatively.

“It is high time I left, for my safety and that of my family members. I cannot continue to cohabitate with people who do not wish me well.”

The former commissioner said he has discovered that some elements in the party sponsored the kidnap of his child two years ago.

The victim was released after the family paid an undisclosed amount as ransom.

Omodara said on October 18, he received a text message bearing threats by unknown persons to kidnap members of his family, which he reported in the daily newspapers.

But said the party leaders did not show any concern for his plight.

Graduate paraded for robbery

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N economics graduate of the University of Ado-Ekiti (UNAD), Ekiti State, Damola Adebayo (28), was among three armed robbery suspects paraded yesterday by the Police Command in Osun State.

Commissioner of Police Mr. Solomon Olusegun said the suspects attacked the home of a woman politician, Mrs. Emiola Fakeye, at Imo quarters, Ilesa and held the occupants hostage for about an hour.

He said the suspects were aided by Mrs. Fakeye’s driver, Afolabi Ajewole.

Olusegun said the suspects dispossessed their victims of money, electronics, jewellery

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

and handsets. They also stole a brand new Toyota Camry with registration number Lagos LX 179 KJA valued at N6 million.

He said the suspects were apprehended in Lagos while trying to sell the car.

Damola said he was lured into robbery by his uncle. After graduating from UNAD, he said he studied data analysis in England, but could not find a job when he returned to Nigeria.

Ajewole and the third suspect, Benard Obey, also confessed to the crime.

Patients stranded at UCH as lab scientists’ strike continues

HE strike by members of the National Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, yesterday forced patients to patronise private laboratotries.

The strike, which affects all teaching hospitals in the country, started on Monday. It was declared by the national leadership of the association.

Patients at UCH were turned back at the laboratory by the striking workers. They opted for private laboratories,

From Bisi Oladele and Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

but were not sure whether the hospital would accept results of tests conducted in private laboratories.

At the hospital yesterday, the striking workers carried placards with inscriptions, such as: “Without medical laboratory scientists, patients are treated like guinea pigs”; “Laws are not to be negotiated”; “Government, implement medical laboratory science scheme

of service and save patients from quackery.”

The Chairman, UCH branch of the union, John Alli, said they were protesting the Federal Government’s failure to implement the law guiding the medical laboratory technology profession.

Alli lamented that despite the existence of a scheme of service guiding the profession and an Act of the National Assembly signed into law by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the system is yet to accord their members recog-

nition as prescribed by law.

He said: “Our protest is about the emancipation of our profession. The Federal Government, in 2001, gave a scheme of service, which determines our career progression. It gives room for us to reach the peak of our career, which is the director, but that has not been implemented.”

UCH Chief Information Officer Ayodeji Bobade said there was nothing the management could do about the strike because it is nationwide.

•Mrs. Laoye-Tomori (right); Erelu Abiola Dosunmu (left); Professor Tunde Babawale (second left); andAkinrinade ...yesterday

Aregbesola says development is crucial

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SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said infrastructural development is a complex issue, which requires patience, professionalism and determination to tackle.

Aregbesola spoke yesterday at the 56th Annual Congress of the Historical Society of Nigeria, held at the main campus of the Osun State University in Osogbo, the state capital.

He was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori.

The theme of the conference was: “Economy and Society: The Challenges of Infrastructural Development in Nigeria.”

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From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

Reiterating his administration’s commitment to developing infrastructure, Aregbesola said his vision is to reenact the glorious days of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the Southwest through his six-point integral programme.

He said infrastructure can only be developed through people, adding that infrastructure cannot survive without improving the status of people that put it to use.

Aregbesola said: “Our institutions, which include infrastructure, cannot survive without addressing the comfort of our people. If our peo-

ple feed well, they would run our institutions better than was done in the past. “We must, therefore, develop the capacity of our people in areas, such as agriculture, vocation, education and in practical engagements that would generate immediate benefits to their livelihood.

“Also, we in government, composed of men and women, regulate and control those institutions. Therefore, we must make sure we treat those working with us with utmost concern.

“That is why we were one of the few states that responded positively to the welfare challenges of our civil service.

Today, our governing struc-

tures are better off.”

Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University, Professor Sola Akinrinade said the two major problems of the country are insecurity and lack of infrastructure.

Akinrinade said the society would submit proposals to policy makers on how to develop infrastructure. He also emphasised the need for partnership with the private organisations for effective infrastructural development.

Professor Dahiru Yahaya of Bayero University, Kano; Prof. G. Oguntomisin of the University of Ibadan; and Prof. Siyan Oyeweso; were conferred with the society’s fellowship.

Ex-Ogun Lands D-G denies N6m bribe

HE former Director– General (D-G) of the Ogun State Bureau of Lands and Survey (BLS), Olugbenga Ogunnoiki, yesterday appeared before the state’s Lands Judicial Commission of Enquiry in respect of a controversial land deal.

Two private companies, Zubair Ventures Nigeria Limited and Inputs System Limited, are contesting the ownership of the 16 hectares of land situated on the Obafemi–Owode Local Government stretch of the Lagos/ Ibadan Expressway.

Both companies got allocations from BSL. Managing Director, Inputs Systems Limited, Mr. Gabriel Ikenwe said he paid N6 million to Ogunnoiki for the land, but got a receipt of N 1.5 million.

He lamented that structures worth over N40 million erected on the land were pulled

•’Double land allocation is human error’ From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

down by Zubair Ventures Limited.

Ogunnoiki denied collecting money from Ikenwe. He said he approved the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to Zubair Ventures Limited in 2009 and was not aware that Inputs System Lim-

ited was also interested in the same piece of land.

Ogunnoiki said such an occurrence was possible due to the volume of applications handled by his office.

He said: “Under no condition did I take money from Inputs System. If I meet the man on the road, I won’t even recognise him. They should

ask him how he gave me the money, whether in my office or somewhere else. In my 32 years of service, I have never been maligned. My family and I have suffered so much because of this man’s claim.”

Ikenwe said he had documents to prove his allegation, but “would leave Ogunnoiki to his conscience.”

Group seeks option to subsidy removal

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HE pan-Yoruba group, Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum (YRLF), has urged the Federal Government to seek alternative solution to the withdrawal of oil subsidy.

In a statement by its Secretary-General, Mr. Akin Malaolu, the group said: “Government should look in other directions for its transformation agenda. It is worrisome that the government does not have alternative measures to achieve its economic programmes aimed at ameliorating poverty.

“The government is also not brave enough to confront economic bandits that exist in the downstream petroleum sector.”

YRLF faulted a statement credited to Petroleum Minister Mrs. Diezani Alison–Madueke in Australia that the take off of the subsidy withdrawal may no longer be in January.

It said the statement is contradictory to President Goodluck Jonathan’s letter to the National Assembly on the take off date of the subsidy withdrawal.

9

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

NEWS Yuguda, CPC know fate in two weeks From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

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• Members of Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) taking their oath of office in Jos...yesterday

PHOTO:NAN

Family of five die in their sleep in Niger

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IVE members of a family died early yesterday in their sleep in Mokwa, Niger State. Three other were found unconscious.

Those who died are the head of the family, his wife and three children. Those found unconscious are receiving treatment at Mokwa General Hospital.

Sources close to the family told The Nation that the fam-

•Three others found Unconscious From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

ily might have inhaled fumes from their generator.

Neighbours were said to have noticed that no member of the family came out for the 5.30am prayers. They became alarmed when none was seen later in the day.

Neighbours forced the doors open, leading to the discovery of the bodies and the three gasping for breath.

The dead were taken to the township general hospital for autopsy.

Police spokesman Oguche Richard Adamu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police

(ASP), said investigations were ongoing.

He said: “The police are interested in knowing the circumstances that led to the death of the family. The First Information Report (FIR), however, showed that they could have died from inhaling generator fumes.”

Boko Haram: Trial of 65 suspects adjourned •JTF begins house-to-house search for weapons • ‘Some people have surrendered their arms’

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HE trial of 65 Boko Haram suspects before a Maiduguri High Court suffered a setback yesterday as the case was adjourned again.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suspects were arrested at different locations in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, for their alleged complicity in the 2009 sectarian disturbances.

The court released them on bail early this year, but the proceedings have always been adjourned.

At the resumption yesterday, 61 of the suspects were in court while four were absent.

Prosecution counsel Haruna Izge pleaded for an adjournment, saying the

From Joseph Abiodun, Maiduguri

hearing could not continue in the absence of the other suspects.

Defence counsel Tahir Gundar did not object to the prayer.

Justice Wokil Gana adjourned the matter till December 13 to enable the other suspects appear for the hearing.

The Joint Task Force (JTF) for restoration of peace in Borno State yesterday began a house-to-house search for arms and ammunition in Maiduguri and environs.

The JTF had given the residents, especially members of the Boko Haram sect, till October 31 to surrender their weapons to security agencies or face the house

search.

The security agencies include the State Security Services (SSS), the Borno State Police Command, the 21 Armoured Brigade headquarters and the JTF. The Nation learnt that the exercise started at 2am yesterday at Gomari, Jajeri and Nganaram wards in the metropolis.

Most residents in the affected areas deserted their homes when they learnt that the task force had begun house-to-house search, for fear of harassment and intimidation.

The streets were deserted as JTF cordoned off the affected areas.

Some residents described the exercise as a welcome development, “if it will

help to bring back peace, law and order”.

They noted that contrary to the alleged harassment of residents by members of the JTF, during house search, there was no case of intimidationby the task force officials.

It was gathered that the JTF used detectors, which were placed in front of the house to be searched and, if there were weapons inside, the machines would detect them.

JTF spokesman Lt.-Col. Hassan Mohammed, in a telephone interview, described the exercise as successful, saying it was carried out in line with the task force’s operational guidelines.

Tribunal upholds Kwankwaso’s election

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HE Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kano, the Kano State capital, yesterday upheld the election of Governor Musa Kwankwaso of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

It dismissed the petition filed by the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) candidate, Alhaji Salihu Sagir Takai, challenging Kwankwaso’s victory in the April 26 elelction.

Tribunal Chairman Justice Iyabo Oladunni Kasali described the complaints by the petitioner as ridiculous and lacking in substance. She said they do not amount to a violation of the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended.

Counsel to the ANPP candidate, Mahmud Magaji, had

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

alleged that the conduct of the election in 23 local governments was fraught with irregularities, ranging from multiple-voting, under-age voting to financial inducement.

He argued that these amounted to substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, as amended.

But Justice Kasali disagreed with the petitioner’s submissions, insisting that most of the complaints were false and do not provide sufficient grounds for the tribunal to nullify the election.

She said: “The final votes for the first petitioner stand at 1,048,313 while the first respondent got 1,108,345. So, either way, the complaints

raised by the petitioner do not affect the results of the election in 23 local government areas of Kano State.

“The petitioner wanted the tribunal to conjure and conjecture an anomaly for it, and this is of course what the tribunal will not do. The tribunal, therefore, considers this as an unexplained anomaly.

“The petitioner failed to prove the allegations of substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act. It is persuaded that the election in 23 local government areas was in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act and, as such, cannot grant the relief sought by the petitioner.

“The petition is, therefore, repealed for lack of merit and the second respondent,

Kwankwaso, is hereby declared the duly elected governor of Kano State.”

The lead counsel to the ANPP candidate, Mahmud Magaji, expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict, saying he would challenge it at the Appeal Court.

He said: “My Lord, we thank your Lordship for the industry and the adroitness put into this case. But we would like to test the efficacy of this judgment at a higher court.”

There was jubilation in the city as news of the verdict filtered in.

Scores of PDP supporters and admirers of the governor danced on the streets to celebrate what they described as “a victory for democracy and the triumph of the will of the people”.

HE Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Bauchi, will, in a fortnight, deliver judgment on the petition filed by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) candidate, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, challenging the election of Governor Isa Yuguda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Tribunal Chairman Justice David Mann yesterday said the date of the verdict would be communicated to the petitioner and Yuguda.

Tuggar, CPC, Yuguda, PDP and Independent National Election Commission (INEC) have filed their written addresses, having completed their submissions, which began in July.

Counsel to the petitioners and respondents have also adopted their addresses.

Olawale Akonni (SAN), Tuggar’s attorny, told the tribunal that the April election was fraught with irregularities, such as multiple thumb-printing, thuggery, intimidation, harassment of voters, hijacking of election materials, financial inducement and bribery, contrary to the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

He prayed the tribunal to accept the evidence the petitioners tendered. This include the forensic report, which was submitted and certified by the tribunal.

I’m still in the race says Sylva •Continued from page 4 Sylva, while stating that he will not leave the PDP because he is a loyal party member, said: “I am in touch with the national leadership of our great party, including Mr. President.

“I have received solid assurances at the highest level that the party will base all its actions concerning the Bayelsa gubernatorial primary on law.

“I am happy about that. As a sitting governor, I expect protection from my party and all its organs. All sorts of machinations can be plotted against me.

“I assure all the people of Bayelsa State, my supporters and others that I remain in the race for re-election as Governor of Bayelsa State on the platform of the PDP. “I am in this race to win. I am a founding member of the PDP and we all look forward to a free, fair and transparent contest.

“The decision to seek reelection is not personal. It was the collective decision of our people for a leadership that will consolidate the gains of the last four years.

“The battle is not about me.

It is about Bayelsa State. It is about the people,” Sylva said.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

10

NEWS Reps probe presence of security agencies in Niger Delta From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

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EMBERS of the House of Representatives have decried the inability of the Federal Government to check illegal bunkering in the Niger Delta.

They were unanimous that the Executive lacked the political will to arrest the situation while questioning the role of the security agencies deployed to secure the coastal areas and quell violence in the region.

The lawmakers wondered what has happened to all the impounded illegal bunkering vessels, confiscated barges and crude oil.

Daniel Reyenieju, who moved the motion on ‘Unprecedented upsurge of illegal oil bunkering activities in the Nigerian coastal region’, argued that the rise in the illegal act is posing a serious threat to security.

He said: “An oil company was forced to shut down its exploration and exploitation activities at Imo Rivers field because of the encroachment of bunkerers into its facilities.”

Friday Itula said the government lacked the political will to curb the illegal act, saying: “If the Executive wants to stop it they can.”

Chudi Nwazurike identified enforcement of necessary protocols against the act as well as punishment for offenders as factors which must be urgently addressed.

Razak Bello Osagie said: “The problem is that the security agencies seemed to have become part of the problem as many of the soldiers allegedly lobby to be posted to the region.

The House mandated its committees on Petroleum (Upstream) and Navy to investigate the matter.

One killed in cult clash

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NE person has been killed in a cult clash in Auchi, Estako West Local Government of Edo State.

The victim was one of the sons of the late Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader in Edo North, Ahmad Inu Umoru.

Umoru, in his 20s, was killed by suspected cultists on Warake Road.

Sources said he was rushed

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

to Irrua Specialist Hospital from where he was referred to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), where he was confirmed dead.

Police spokesman Ejiroro Ahwara confirmed the killing.

“The matter was reported and police is investigating”, he said.

Police rescue kidnap victims in Akwa Ibom, Rivers •One killed •Five arrested over land tussle

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HE Akwa Ibom State Police Command yesterday said it rescued a 26-year-old woman, Genevieve Effiom, from her abductors.

Also in Rivers, the police rescued two kidnap victims and arrested 47 suspected hoodlums.

Effiom was said to have been abducted by a six-man gang in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, by suspected kidnappers on October 29.

She was said to be returning home from school when the kidnappers grabbed her.

Police spokesman Onyeka Orji confirmed the incident. He said the victim was rescued unhurt.

Orji said one of the suspects was killed by the police when he wanted to collect a ransom of N500, 000 from Effiom’s family.

His words: “Genevieve Effiom was kidnapped on October 29 by six armed men.

“In a bold and courageous operation, she was rescued un-

Ex-Edo Speaker’s wife abducted

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IFE of ex-Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly Bright Omokhodion, Fidelia, was abducted by suspected kidnappers on Sapele Road in Benin.

Family sources said the kidnappers were yet to demand ransom.

Her husband could not be reached for comments.

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo and Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

harmed while one of the kidnappers was killed while attempting to collect a ransom of N500, 000.

“Efforts are on to arrest other fleeing members of the gang.”

The Commissioner of Police, Solomon Arase, said five suspects have been arrested in a communal crisis rocking Ini Local Government.

Arase said normalcy had returned to the troubled area but his men were still there to restore peace and order.

The police chief said the crisis rocking the communities had been a protracted one.

His words: “Normalcy has returned to the area. We are getting the government to get a commission of enquiry to mediate in the matter.

“The crisis has been a protracted crisis between the communities. It bothers on land matter.

“So far, five people have been arrested. They will soon be arraigned in court.”

Sources said the people of Mbente village were said to have invaded Ikot Akpan; Ikot Offrong and Ubienkene villages where a lot of houses were razed.

Rivers police spokesman Ben Ugwuegbulam said Rumuji Divisional Patrol men arrested five robbery suspects.

Ugwuegbulam said the suspects: Chikwere, Nyeche, Kunchi, Chimele and Ozule, had been robbing people around Rumuji, on the EastWest Road.

A locally-made pistol was recovered from them.

He said the police also received information on a robbery at Ogoloma, Onne, near Port Harcourt.

Two women, Ugwuegbulam said, were also abducted.

The spokesman said Onne patrol teams swiftly responded and chased the hoodlums, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.

“One of the kidnapped women was rescued and one of the kidnappers, Tamunoiduabia, arrested.

“The search for the second kidnap victim continued with the support of the arrested suspect and within one hour, she was rescued,” he said.

The suspect’s confession, according to the police spokesman, led to the raid and arrest of 41 suspected hoodlums.

IYC: Fed Govt goofed From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

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HE President, Ijaw Youth Council, Mabiye Kuromiema, yesterday said the Federal Government goofed on the move to remove fuel subsidy without addressing the fundamental problems confronting the country.

Kuromiema said the Presidency should resolve the issues of stewardship, accountability and corruption.

Kuromiema spoke yesterday at IYC’s eastern zonal convention in Ibeno Local Government of Akwa Ibom State.

He added that states should be productive rather than depend on the Federal Government for allocations.

The president said the country can only move forward if states begin to run an effective and productive economy, which is based on ownership and control of resources.

Court vacates injunction

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HE High Court 1, Ughelli, Delta State, has vacated the order stopping the installation of Agovwe Ofugbeya as the ‘Odion’ of Uwheru kingdom, Ughelli North Local Government of Delta State The court had on October 6 granted an application by Clarkson Ununugbe for an order to restrain the Otota (spokesman) of the clan, Efa

From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Warri

Igberedjor, from installing Ofugbeya as the traditional ruler of the kingdom.

Justice G.E Akperi held that the order stopping Ofugbeya’s installation had abated after hearing arguments from counsel for both sides-- A.O. Ainerua and A.E Duku

Delta graduates 25 doctors

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OMPENSATION came yesterday for 25 doctors, who spent 12 years in school, as they were offered automatic internship by the Delta State Government.

The doctors graduated from the State University, Abraka.

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan broke the news at the State Teaching Hospital in Oghara, Ethiope East Local Government at the first graduation of medical students from the university.

The highlight of the ceremony was the oath-taking by the doctors.

Uduaghan said the offer was done to encourage the doctors

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

after years of toil.

He promised to put the best equipment in the hospital and make it a centre of excellence.

The governor also promised to employ more specialists to boost the image of the hospital and attract students and patients from far and near.

His words: “Teaching Hospital, Oghara will have the best facilities and a time will come when it will take over market from India.

“From far and near, students and patients will come to this hospital.”

•The protesters...yesterday

Protesters storm NDDC headquarters

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GGRIEVED persons from EgbemoAngalabiri and Agbediama communities in Ekeremor Local Government of Bayelsa State yesterday stormed the headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to protest against alleged neglect.

The Bayelsans said they have nothing to show for

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

having four flow stations and other oil facilities, in terms of development and empowerment.

The protesters, armed with placards and banners bearing various inscriptions, pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan to come to their rescue.

Their spokesman, Pius

Wareyai, decried what he called the neglect of the communities by the NDDC. Some of the placards read: “NDDC, give us our right to development projects”; “NDDC, listen to the oppressed people”; “NDDC has forgotten us”; “No to marginalisation and underdevelopment” and “Make crude oil a blessing, not a curse.”

The protesters lamented

Four sisters arraigned for attempted murder

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HE Police in Asaba, Delta State, yesterday arraigned four sisters, Onyeka Ochonogor(17); Joy Ochonogor(25); Udoka Ochonogor(20)and Chinenye Ochonogor (32) for allegedly stabbing their neighbour.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused are facing a three-count charge of assault, damage and attempted murder at the Asaba Magistrate’s Court.

The Police Prosecutor, Faith Esenwah, told the court that the accused committed the offence on October 9 at 4 Nwobodo Street, Asaba.

Esenwah said the accused assaulted Queen Oliaye by stabbing her with a broken bottle on her left shoulder.

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

He said the offence contravened Section 355 of the Criminal Code C21 Vol.1 Laws of Delta State, 2006.

Esenwah added that the accused on the same day and place also assaulted Oliaye by beating her up.

The accused, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, were granted bail in the sum of N100,000 each and a surety each in like sum

by Magistrate Augustina Monye.

Mrs.Monye also ordered the sureties to show proof of landed property within Asaba; provide two recent passports photographs each and swear to an affidavit.

She adjourned the case till November 17.

that since the establishment of the Federal Government’s intervention agency, it has not considered their communities for any project.

The protesters said: “We are aggrieved that despite being host communities to Opukushi and Opukushi North flow stations (Shell); and the Clough Creek flow station (Agip), we are still lacking development projects.

“We are suffering from the effects of oil pollution. Our water, streams and rivers have been polluted.

“We do not want to take the law into our own hands, neither do we want to sabotage oil facilities. We have written many letters to NDDC but have gotten no reply.”

The protesters also urged the new management of the commission to urgently address their demands, thereby giving them a sense of belonging.

The Head of Corporate Affairs of NDDC, Toye Abosede, could not be reached for comments.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

Cheap Libyan crude affects exports

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RUDE supplies from Libya, which barely came out of a fratricidal war of liberation from its 42-year-old dictator, the late Muammar Gaddafi, is affecting Nigeria’s sales to the United States of America.

So far, US demand for Nigerian crude and light Angolan crude has been limited. ConocoPhillips has bought about three cargoes of Libyan crude for this month and is reducing purchases of Nigerian crude, Reuters reported traders as saying.

Differentials on Nigerian and Angolan crude eased on Monday due to increasing oil supplies from Libya and weaker gasoline cracks, traders said.

“There was some talk that offer levels were lowered and that seems to have brought in buyers for some grades,” a trader said.

However, three cargoes of Qua Iboe, two of Bonny Light, one each of Forcados and Agbami, have been committed to Indian refinery tenders for December.

India’s Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is expected to buy some West African crude via a tender, which closes later this week.

But the latest tender from the country’s largest refiner, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is already for January loading barrels,and it suggests any upside in demand for December loading Nigerian crude might be limited Nigerian benchmark Qua Iboe for December was offered around dated BFOE plus $3 a barrel late last week, traders said, but it could not be confirmed whether the grade has been sold.

Bonny Light was assessed about 10/20 cents below Qua Iboe, while traders said Okono and Okwori, other variants of Nigeria’s crude, have been sold out.

When the price of oil in the international market fell from $140 per barrels some years ago to $40 per barrel, imagine what would have happened if we didn’t have the excess Crude Account as the saving grace.

-Dr Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance

Currency adjustment imperative, say experts

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CONOMISTS have en dorsed the proposed adjustment of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) target band for the naira, saying it is imperative.

They hinged their support on the likelihood of contin uous pressure on the naira and the fall in oil price.

The endorsement by the experts came just as the naira firmed against the United States dollar on the interbank market yesterday, after the CBN intervened by selling dollars directly to some lenders, helping to provide liquidity and support for the currency.

CBN Governor Lamido Sanusi had said on Monday that he may lower the official exchange rate to N155N156 per dollar.

Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr Bismarck Rewane, said the proposed currency adjustment is imperative given the pressure that had been on the naira and the nation’s foreign reserves, which stood at $33 billion on October 27, compared with $32.3 billion at the end of last year.

“I am not surprised. Currency adjustment is very

• Naira firms as CBN intervenes

By Ayodele Aminu, Group Business Editor

imperative. It is necessary.

It is a typical and orthodox tool for maintaining financial stability in any economy. Big economies, such the US have also gone through this. So, it is a welcome development,” he said.

Yvonne Mhango, a Johannesburg-based economist with Renaissance Capital also in an e-mailed note to Bloomberg News yesterday, said the devaluation of the naira is inevitable.

“The likelihood that the oil price will, on average, be lower in 2012 than it was in 2011 and the missed opportunity to improve the foreign-currency reserves position in 2011 as well as the downward pressure on reserves suggests that devaluation is inevitable, in our view.

“The fact that it has traded much lower than N150 in 2011, and even lower than 160 in the recent past, is indicative of what the market thinks the value of the naira is. The naira may be trading lower following Sanusi’s

comments yesterday because it’s the first time that he has clearly spoken of devaluation,” ,” Mhango said.

Razia Khan, Head of Africa research at Standard Chartered, also said it would be difficult for the banking watchdog to curtail expectations of further devaluation of the naira, “In our view, allowing the official FX rate to react to market conditions is a positive, suggesting that the exchange rate, rather than external reserves, will adjust to heightened demand for FX. But having announced a devaluation once, curbing expectations of further currency weakness – especially if oil prices should come under pressure – may prove more difficult,” she said.

Khan said rather than signal a meaningful devaluation of the naira, the newly announced official mid-point of the naira trading band will merely close the spread that had emerged between the official and interbank dollarnaira markets, while preserving Nigeria’s foreign reserves.

She said confidence in the CBN’s ability to commit to the new mid-point will be key to forex market outcomes in the future.

Meanwhile, the naira closed at N157.80 to the dollar, firmer than the N159.52 to the dollar on Monday’s close.

Reuters News said the CBN sold dollars to some lenders towards the close of the market, where the naira had weakened at N160.90 to the dollar initially, helping the currency to rebound.

Sanusi said on Monday the bank would review its target band for the naira in the next few days.

Dealers said those comments initially put downward pressure on the market.

“The market initially reacted to the central bank statement that it will review its target band for the currency in the next few days to around N155-N156 to the dollar midpoint, but later strengthen after the regulator intervened in the market,” one dealer said.

The naira weakened on both the interbank and biweekly auction on Monday as demand for the greenback outweighed

‘Don’t allow importation of barite’ From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

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DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$112/barrel Cocoa -$2,856/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,161/troy ounce Rubber -¢146.37pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N6.747 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -9.3% Treasury Bills -7.08% Maximum lending-22.42% Prime lending -15.82% Savings rate -2% 91-day NTB -10.23% Time Deposit -7% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $30.8b FOREX CFA EUR £ $ ¥ SDR RIYAL

-

0.281 213.2 245.00 156.91 1.5652 245.8 40.57

supply.The apex bank sold $200 million at a foreigncurrency auction on Monday, less than the $252.3 million demanded by lenders. The marginal rate depreciated 0.1 per cent to N150.25 per dollar, compared with N150.05 at the previous auction on October 26.

Mounting demand for dollars had pushed the naira outside its band targeted by the CBN, with the currency weakening to a record N166.6 per dollar on October 10 The apex bank has been struggling to keep the naira within its target as oil prices declined and demand for imports surged.

“We believe this would happen around the turn of the year in preparation for the 2012 financial year,” Matthew Pearson, the London-based head of Africa equity sales at Standard Bank Group Ltd., wrote in an e-mail yesterday.

“Perhaps the overriding desire has been for the CBN to be ‘driving the change on its terms’ rather than risk being forced into the change at an illiquid time of the year or by market forces,” he added.

• From left: GM, Crista Digetal Ltd, Magdalene Ugoanusi; MD/CEO, Jetlink Ltd, John Nwosu; a representative of Justice Minister, Jide Agbaje and MD/CEO, OAS Helicopters, Capt. Evarest Nnaji, during the opening of Sambung IT Plus shop in Lagos.

PHOTO: JOHN EBHOTA

Visafone blames govt for CDMA woes

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HE Federal Government has been criticised for the poor turnout of the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) segment of the nation’s telecommunications sector.

CDMA is a digital cellular technology that uses spreadspectrum techniques. Proponents of the technology say it consistently provides better capacity for voice and data communications than other commercial mobile technologies, allowing more subscribers to connect at any given time, and is the common platform on which 3G technologies are built.

Speaking with The Nation, Deputy General Manager,

By Adline Atili

Marketing and Strategy, Visafone Nigeria, Mr Cliford Onyeike, noted that the harsh licensing policy of the government made it impossible for the earliest CDMA operators to have a good spread in the country.

He said when CDMA licences were given to the operators, they were only regional-based. As such, the operators could not extend their reach and coverage to areas beyond their licences.

“Across the world, CDMAs have been the enabler of economic revolution in any of the emerging markets. It is the CDMAs, which took the first

step to empower the man on the street and not Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). But when CDMA licences were given by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), they were regional licences.

“An operator given a licence to cover Enugu only covered Enugu specifically. It was in 2007 when universal licences were given, that CDMAs were able to broaden their coverage. At that time, GSM had gained ground. We lost about eight years of advancement. GSM prevailed and ruled the luxury market,” Onyeike said.

He urged the NCC to review the interconnect rates to

maximally favour the CDMA segment to ensure level playing-field.

According to him, there is always a special concession for CDMA operators in other countries where the technology has been successfully deployed.

He said: “For the CDMA success story to be shared worldwide, NCC has to play a major role. NCC should look into the interconnect charges, which has been a major dampener for us.”

The telecoms market is dominated by GSM players MTN, Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat- which account for over 80 per cent of total mobile connections.

HE Association of Min ers and Processors of Barite (AMAPOB) yesterday appealed to the Federal Government not to allow the importation of barites into the country.

National President of the association, Chief Steve Alao, stated this at briefing in Abuja. He said his group is making the appeal in response to an application that a multinational wrote to the Federal Governmentfor a waiver to lift the ban on the importation barites.

But the association claimed that should the government allow the importation of the product, the processing firms in Nigeria will be adversely affected and could result in their closure and eventual loss of jobs.

He said: “The issue is that some family will starve to death. If you visit some areas where we mine, the mining pit is their farm.

That is what they live on; that is what they use to train their family and feed themselves. ‘’But by the time you grant waiver to a company that is a major buyer of the commodity, whatever you produce, they will buy it at any price because it has enough stock. They will even refuse to buy. So, there is a lot of economic hazard that will come to Nigeria. Most of us will be out of business. The artisanal miners will also be out of business. And the processing plants we have in Nigeria today will all be shut.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

12

BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule

Arik Air is five • Carries eight million passengers

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

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

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

1.

2.

3.

4.

Arik Aero Arik Aero

1. Arik 2. Aero 1.

2.

3.

4.

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

LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10

08.30 09.10 11.50 12.45 13.40 15.20 16.30 16.40 08.50 12.40 14.10 17.20 12.15 12.45 09.10 11.00 11.10 16.20

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

2.

3.

4.

5.

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

08.40 08.40 14.55 15.10 17.40

1.

2.

3.

4.

Arik Aero Arik Aero

LAGOS – WARRI 08.15 11.50 11.55 14.55

09.1 12.50 12.55 15.55

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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

08.50 09.45 09.40 14.00 15.45 19.55

LAGOS – OWERRI 07.20 14.00 16.30

08.30 15.10 17.40

LAGOS – UYO 10.35

11.35

1. Arik 2. Arik 3. Arik 1. Dana 1. IRS 2. Arik

LAGOS – MAIDUGURI 11.15 13.15 15.50 18.00

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

08.00 18.00

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

A

• From left: Chief Executive, Oando Gas and Power Bolaji Osunsanya,discussing with Ogun State Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun, at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Perth, Australia.

CBN set to reduce e-payments by 30%

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HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is planning to reduce the cost of electronic payment services by banks by 30 per cent.

The move, according to the apex bank, is to encourage the use of electronic payment platforms by the public; facilitate growth of electronic payment and increase availability, reliability and security of electronic channels.

It claimed fraud on Automated Teller Machine (ATM) has reduced by 98.5 per cent.

CBN Director, Banking and Payment Systems, Mr Gaius Emokpae, disclosed these in a keynote address he delivered at a conference on electronic payment organised

By Adline Atili

by the Electronic Payment providers Association of Nigeria (EPPAN).

Emokpae said: “The CBN is working with stakeholders to reduce the cost of providing e-payment services to the public by 30 per cent.”

He said CBN is working on some initiatives to ensure that epayment transformation aimed at making Nigeria cashless is attained.

He said the apex bank has established the Payments System Policy and Oversight Office (PSPO), aimed at adding impetus to the CBN’s efforts at enforcing

compliance to regulations and articulate modifications in policies.

Meanwhile, Emokpae said the guidelines on security of electronic payment schemes, including the ATM and Point of Sales by the CBN and migration from magnetic stripe electronic card to Chip+PIN in 2010 has paid off, with reduction of about 98.5 per cent in ATM fraud in the country.

He, however, said despite the reduction in payment fraud, it is still a source of worry among stakeholders, including the system providers, banks, the CBN and other relevant government agencies.

He called for concerted effort ato tackle the menace.

NNPC, PPPRA overdraw subsidy by N1.079tr in nine months, says RMFAC

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RAMA, accusations and rising temper characterised yesterday’s investigation by the House of Representatives into the non-remittance of N450 billion into the Federation Account.

Federal Government top officials openly disagreed and confronted each other over the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) yesterday accused the NNPC and the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) of overdrawing the subsidy projection for 2011 by N1.78 trillion.

The Chairman of the RMFAC Elias Mbam told the House of Representatives joint Committees of Finance, Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream) and Gas resources, investigating the matter that the NNPC crude account is secret.

Mbam in his presentation said though the proceeds of export of crude oil and gas lifted are paid directly into the Federation Account with JP Morgan, “the proceeds from the domestic crude oil and gas lifted by NNPC are paid into NNPC’s account.”

On the subsidy deductions, he said: “It is clear that by the Appropriation Act 2011, the NNPC is to be paid N81.720billion from January to September, 2011. However, the NNPC has so far deducted N615.670billion, which shows a difference of over N533.950billion. ‘’Similarly, the PPPRA Marketers’ subsidy provides N102.753bilion as Appropriation for Subsidy in the 2011 Budget for the period January to September 2011, but by September 2011, the PPPRA (Marketers’ subsidy) has been paid N647.660billion, which

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

shows a difference of over N544.907billion.”

The RMFAC boss said Signature Bonus, which is a premium from concession granted on oil blocks “is currently not being paid into the Federation Account. Such fund ought to have been paid into the Federation Account. At present, the revenue realised is being used to provide for manpower development in the Oil and Gas sectorthrough the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).”

He said it is the view of the Commission that any budgetary allocation due to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) should be appropriated accordingly.

On crude oil remittances, he said the J.P. Morgan Account, where the payments for export crude oil and gas are made “are not largely being supervised and constitutionally monitored by the major stakeholders of the Federation Account,” particularly RMAFC.

“This situation makes the operation of the Account to be shrouded in secrecy and therefore, subject of several criticisms, suspicion and lack of confidence by all stakeholders.

The RMFAC boss said the operation of NNPC’s domestic crude oil and gas Account “does not promote transparency and accountability. Indeed, NNPC pays revenue from its domestic crude oil and gas into its operational Accounts and subsequently direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to transfer specific amounts to the Federation Account. In the circumstance, NNPC should maintain a separate Federation Account for the domestic crude oil and gas. This will then allow for effective monitoring, transparency, accountability in the operation and remittance into the Account. It will then go a long way to check all deductions from the revenue due to the Federation.”

But Minister of State for Finance Yerima Ngama said it was wrong for Mbam to describe the NNPC’s activities as being kept in secret.

FirstNation set for inaugural flight today

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FTER many months of spade work, the Airbus 320 belonging to FirstNation Airways will today be airborne as it is set to launch its inaugural flight on the Lagos - Abuja routes.

Officials of the airline said yesterday that management have secured Air Operators’ Certificate (AOC) from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA).

Securing the AOC, is a mandatory requirement by the NCAA for any airline to start official flights in line with the standard requirement of the aviation regulatory body.

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

A statement by the Head of Corporate Affairs of FirstNation Airways Pelu Awofeso, said: “FirstNation Airways, Nigeria’s new flag airline, received her Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) on October 31, 2011. The AOC was handed to the Airline’s management at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s Head office by the DirectorGeneral, Dr. Harold Demuren, who congratulated and commended the management and staff of FirstNation for their dedication and courage throughout the certification.”

RIK Air has celebrated five years of robust business with the airline’s management saying it carried over eight million passengers on both domestic, regional and intercontinental routes during the period.

The carrier also said before the end of the year, it would kick-off flights from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos into Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates; Bamako in Gambia as well as Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso capital.

Speaking at a news conference at the Arik Air Centre in Lagos yesterday, its Managing Director, Mr Chris Ndulue, explained that in the past years, the airline positively shaped developments in the aviation industry, with the introduction of brand new aircraft. He said the carrier has also created jobs for over 2,000 Nigerians and added value to the air travel.

Ndulue said in the past five years, Arik Air has connected major state capitals with Lagos and Abuja, with the airline’s route expansion programme.

He disclosed that with its over 120 daily flights, Arik Air remains the leading carrier in the domestic scene consolidating over 40 per cent share of the load factor. Besides, he said the airline continues to have an edge in 21 destinations as Africa’s leading carrier.

Ndulue explained that with Arik Air’s strides of flying into 44 routes across the globe, the airline has filled the vacuum in addressing the difficulty in connecting flights in Africa, with its wide route network into eight countries in the West Coast of Africa, as well as Central Africa.

ACAP is Oceanic vintage fund manager From Nduka Chiejina, Assistant Editor

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LTERNATIVE Capital Partners Limited (ACAP) has acquired the fund management interest of Oceanic Bank International in the Oceanic Vintage Fund.

This has resulted in the first-ever acquisition and transfer exercise of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered unit trust scheme and will remain listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange Memorandum Quotation.

A statement from ACAP said the decision was taken at the firm’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) , where unit holders were notified of the voluntary retirement of Oceanic Bank as fund manager to the Oceanic Vintage Fund.

Also, at the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Oceanic Vintage Fund on the same day after the AGM and execution of the necessary transfer documents, unit holders unanimously approved the resolutions to reposition the Fund under the management of the new Fund Manager, ACAP. ACAP, a SEC registered Fund/ Portfolio Manager and Corporate Investment Adviser, has commenced management of the Fund having rebranded the Fund to the ACAP Canary Growth Fund.

At the EGM, ACAP assured unit holders that the change would herald the beginning of a more analytical and fundamentally based investment approach for the Fund.

Consequently, the Fund has instituted a new investment policy towards achieving capital preservation and incremental growth.

Also corporate governance structures have been strengthened with the appointment of United Bank for Africa Plc (Global Investor Services) as the Fund Custodian as well as an independent member of the Fund investment committee.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

13

ISSUES

What makes telecom business tick?

Many see the telecom industry as a money spinner, after oil and gas. To them, as long as man exists, there will be need for him to communicate and that, in turn, will translate to more revenue for operators.

However, operators and other industry players are groaning under a myriad of challenges, reports ADLINE ATILI

T

EN years after the introduction of the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) services in Nigeria, the sector has recorded phenomenal growth, both in terms of subscriber base and infrastructural development.

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC), Dr Eugene Juwah said deregulation of the sector, and the subsequent award of Digital Mobile Licences to operators in 2001, marked the tipping point for the industry which, since then, has grown in leaps, surpassing all expectations.

According to him, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) have grown in excess of about $18 billion; there has been increased revenue to the Federation Account, as well as

• A telecommunications tower

employment of Nigerians in the downstream sector of the industry, including the ‘umbrella’ phone booths which the world telecom regulatory body, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has hailed as a unique Nigerian feature.

Paradoxically, operators are groaning under a challenging environment despite the glowing achievements of the sector. Apart from the challenges of growth, convergence, customer churn, business transformation and technological change, telecom operators are facing regulatory and operational pressures.

These include expanding subscriber base to managing the astronomical growth in markets, government liberalisation, network convergence and globalisation. The Internet has opened the doors to new competition and collaborative possibilities that

are reshaping the activities of operators.

Challenges According to the Director of Customer Care, Globacom, Ms Maria Svensson, power is one of the biggest challenges facing telecommunications operations in the country.

She bemoaned the cost of providing power for base stations, saying government should urgently address the issue.

She said high cost of doing business, coupled with insecurity, decayed social infrastructure, multiple taxes and duties and the activities of social miscreants, hinder the ability of operators to provide optimal services to subscribers. She urged the NCC to slash the interconnect rates, in order to enable further tariff cuts for the benefit of sub-

scribers.

On the deadline for Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards registration, Ms Svensson, noted that the six months ultimatum was too short to carry out the exercise because of what she described as “registration complexities” of the scheme.

“Six months is too short to carry out this exercise because of the registration complexities. We have to chase our subscribers all over the place to persuade them to register their SIM cards; it’s very challenging. Aside from this period of harmonising the captured data, I think NCC should consider extension to enable us carry out the exercise successfully,” she said.

To the Chief Executive Officer, Visafone, • Continued on page 14

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

14

ISSUES • Continued from page 13

Mr Sailesh Iyer, Quality of Service (QoS) is one of the biggest challenge operators and consumers face. He said increased investment in infrastructure will ensure delivery of quality services. As a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator, Iyer noted that the biggest challenge is being in that segment in a lopsided competition against bigger GSM operators.

He argued that the ecosystem of CDMA is not well-developed in Nigeria unlike in other countries where CDMA is the preferred operator. The ecosystem, he added, does not give the operators enough benefits.

He said: “Across the world, CDMA has been the enabler of economic revolution in the emerging markets. When an economy picks up, the services sector drives the growth of that economy. This is where the need for Internet access comes to play, and there is no better technology, as we speak, to access information than the CDMA technology.

“In India, where the reforms started in the 90’s, CDMAs drove the revolution, just like in other countries like China, Brazil and even Nigeria, too. It is the CDMAs that took the first step to empower the man on the street, not GSM. But GSM prevailed and ruled the luxury market; we lost seven to eight years of advancement to GSM. “But the NCC can play a major role for the CDMA success story to be shared worldwide, by first, reducing the interconnect rate to favour CDMA operators as it is done in other countries. Revision of the interconnect charges of the CDMA operators will enable us compete effectively. In other countries, there is a special concession for CDMA.” Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria, Mr Wale Goodluck noted that the challenges Nigerian operators face are not different from challenges operators in other parts of the world face. He said after 10 years of telecom operations, the focus should not be on challenges operators face so much that resolving them to provide quality services to subscribers is completely forgotten.”I think that after 10 years, we should be resolving our day-to-day challenges to provide quality services to our subscribers.”

He noted that the nature of the telecom industry puts so much strain on operators to deliver effective and uninterrupted service.

“Our industry is a bit more temperamental than other industries, that is why consumers think we are not doing anything. If power goes off at a brewery somewhere, for instance, the consumer drinking beer at a joint elsewhere does not know. But if a telecom switch goes off somewhere, it creates a lot of problem for everyone.

“We are working assiduously to solve these challenges. We’ve been able to solve the power challenge through the use of generators. But these are environmentally-unfriendly and make telecom operations very expensive.”

The biggest challenge of the industry, Goodluck said, is human capital and ensuring that the support industries work productively with the telecom sector.

He said: “The biggest challenge we have as operators, is human capital and ensuring we have support industries to work with the telecom industry. Our support industry must grow at the same pace we are growing for us to deliver the quality of service we want.”

He also identified multiple regulations and taxation as a barrier to effective service delivery. “Multiple regulations and multiple taxation are problems we face in the industry. In the past, to bring up an identified site takes 12 weeks. Now it takes 15 to 18 months.

To resolve congestion takes 15 to 20 months.

Permit and licensing requirements is another problem we’ve had to contend with over the years.

“As you know, mobile is a technology that relies on towers and masts. We have to build base stations and masts and power them with at least two generators and batteries. In terms of building a base station, the set back requirement is five metres. Now I am fighting with conflicting regulation with another agency who wants 10 metres.

“That means all the sites acquired will not qualify for the new regulation. You see, operators are ready to build. They have resources, but ability to deploy these resources is a problem. When we build, there is capacity. There is choice. There is empowerment,” Goodluck said.

Regulators President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) Mr Titi Omo-Ettu said at the eighth

What makes telecom business tick?

• Goodluck

• Ms Svensson

• Iyer

Telecom Consumer Parliament in Lagos that the problems of the industry are like those of the country. He, however, said what makes the industry’s problem unique is that while telecom took the option of liberalisation, the same cannot be said of other supporting sectors.

“The problems of the industry are the problems of the country. What makes our own problems unique is that while we have taken the option of liberalisation in our industry, we’ve not been able to sell the idea to other supporting sectors in the country. Take energy and aviation, for example. Today, what we have proved is that liberalisation works and has worked.”

To address the challenges of the sector, Omo-Ettu recommended raising the bar in regulations and guidelines for operators in forms of punishment and sanction.

He said: “We have not been able to provide a cost for inaction or delayed action.

When in 2000, NCC proposed that NITEL should expand its fibre infrastructure and because of privatisation, we failed to do that expansion, somebody should have paid for that inaction.

“Another example is the fact that, it was not supposed to license some fibre infrastructure provider at the time it was done.

When we gave out the Second National Operator (SNO) licence, we should have regulated. I insisted that the SNO built infrastructure rather than provide mobile services.

Perhaps we would not be facing this dilemma today.

“Regulation must be better now than in the past. We have been creating and building the industry, and I think now is the time for the NCC to begin serious regulation, especially in the area of quality of services.

Sanctions and fines must be imposed stiffly on defaulters,” he said.

President of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr Gbenga Adebayo, said the unfair taxes and billing levied on Telcos was a drawback to the success recorded so far in the telecom industry. He condemned government agencies at federal, state and local government levels for taking the industry as ‘extractive’ with multiple taxes and levies.

He added that because telecom infrastructure are not protected, these agencies have much leeway to shut down base stations at will to the detriment of uninterrupted service delivery to subscribers.

Former Executive Vice Chairman of NCC Dr Ernest Ndukwe said the major challenge

faced by operators is network capacity constraints. He said this greatly affects the ability of the operators to deliver quality services.

He said: “The major contributor to the Quality of Service challenge has always been network capacity constraints. The operating companies have not been able to expand their networks fast enough to meet the evergrowing demands by subscribers.”

Ndukwe bemoaned the ruin of the first national carrier, NITEL, saying it further aggravated the challenge of offering quality services by the operators.

“QoS challenge was further aggravated by a few factors such as the total collapse of NITEL’s long distance transmission infrastructure which a number of service providers depended on for their interstate links initially.

“With the fall of NITEL also came the collapse of MTEL and, therefore, the subscribers to the MTEL services migrated to the other networks with its attendant effect of network congestion. Other issues such as major deterioration in the public power supply situation; security challenges; theft of equipment; transmission cable cuts; delay in securing approval for sites for new base stations; harassment by some government agencies especially at the state level, also contributed in various degrees to the problem.”

This, he said, made the commission to stop promotional campaigns engaged in by operators.

“In addition, the commission at various times stopped the service providers from engaging in promotional campaigns that led to an increase in the volume of traffic until such a time as there were substantial improvements in the quality of service provided by the networks,” he added.

voice and keypad inputs.

Goodluck said further: “We’ll ensure that we incorporate other Nigerian languages apart from the existing ones. It won’t happen overnight. As operators, we are taking necessary steps to ensure customers get value for money. Tariff will continue to come down.”

Iyer said Visafone would constantly organise customer forums and increase customer touch points across the country to get feedback from subscribers.

Ms Svensson promised that the Globacom network would be greatly improved.

“We’ll roll out more base stations. We will create more employment opportunity for Nigerians. We are not outsourcing our customer care services. They are on our payroll. We’ll create more Glo Zone franchises.

We’ll cover all the states in Nigeria with Glo zone. We are expanding. We plan 300 more Glo zones across the country by 2012.”

She urged the National Assembly to address the endemic power crises. She said Globacom would address the issue through the building of base stations with solar panels.

Ndukwe noted that to sustain the progress made in the industry, government should continue to maintain stability in the policy and regulatory space.

“The high investment levels that have been attained in the sector was not because Nigeria suddenly became one of the most-desired investment destinations for information communication technology (ICT) in Africa or because of its large population, but largely because of the stable policy and regulatory regime that the industry enjoyed since 2000. This must, therefore, be maintained. It is also important to maintain the political and financial independence of the regulatory institution.

“Regulators need to be able to regulate the market fairly and earn the confidence of investors, consumers and other stakeholders. Nigeria must strive to maintain an operating environment that is conducive to attracting investment by avoiding actions that can constitute a disincentive for investment. The telecom sector is very capital intensive and therefore, to continue to encourage timely network expansion, improve quality of service and ensure national coverage in Nigeria, emphasis must be on ensuring an attractive operating environment,” Ndukwe said.

The Manager, Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Damian Udeh, said the National Assembly should make telecom network infrastructure critical national infrastructure.

According to him, if this is done, there’ll be protection against agencies of government and individuals that vandalise equipment.

Juwah assured that the commission would provide regulatory intervention to curtail the challenges operators face.

“Erratic public power supply, vandalism of telecom infrastructure, lack of basic infrastructure, high level insecurity, multiple taxation and militancy all collectively affect expectations from the industry. At NCC, we’ll ensure we have a telecom industry that is robust, vibrant and efficient, and which will be an impetus for greater economic development of the country,” he said.

Addressing the challenges For enhanced service delivery, Goodluck advocates the building of more infrastructure to carry traffic.

“As operators, we must continue to build.

We must ensure that what we build is able to carry traffic. We need the cooperation of all stakeholders. At MTN, we will take steps to enhance consumer experience. We’ll triple the number of customer touch points and also double the number of call centre agents.

We’ll also invest in Interactive Voice Response (IVR) infrastructure.”

IVR is a technology that allows a computer to interact with humans through the use of

‘The high investment levels that have been attained in the sector was not because Nigeria suddenly became one of the most-desired investment destinations for information communication technology (ICT) in Africa or because of its large population, but largely because of the stable policy and regulatory regime that the industry enjoyed since 2000’

15

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

NEWS

Sokoto council saves N235m from staff audit

Kwara to renovate 16 hospitals

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•To build 150 primary health centres

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HE Kwara State Government has said it would rehabilitate 16 general hospitals and build 150 primary health centres in line with its commitment to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency Model.

The government said it would renovate the Apollo International Hospital, India, to improve access to health care.

Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said the rehabilitation would include the renovation of buildings and installation of modern equipment in each hospital.

The governor said the first phase of the project includes the recovery and overhaul of the Ilorin General Hospital from the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) and the renovation of Offa, Kaiama, Omu-Aran and Share General Hospitals for N1.6 billion.

He said restoring the remaining 12 hospitals would take three years.

Ahmed said the government would also build 150 primary health care centres to ensure that every ward has a health facility in line with the administration’s target of a 500-metre access to health care.

The centres, the governor noted, would be based on the National Primary Health Care Agency Model in structure and equipment.

A statement yesterday by

Immigration promotes 34 officers From Marie-therese Peter, Jos

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HIRTY-four newly promoted officers of the Plateau State Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) have been urged to imbibe the culture of reading and research to update their knowledge in service delivery.

They were also advised to liaise with other security outfits to combat crimes in the zone.

The advice was given yesterday in Jos by the Assistant Comptroller-General of the NIS in Zone C, Mr. Bakari Betso.

Betso called on them to see the promotion as a reward for excellence that should motivate them to do more.

Earlier, the State Comptroller, Mr. Gambo Wuyep, stated that the officers are expected to give an enhanced performance always, adding: “To whom much is given, much is expected”.

Wuyep urged the officers and men of the command to be committed and loyal to constituted authority.

He said security cannot be compromised and called on those who were not promoted to prepare themselves for the next exercise as it is continuous.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, the newly decorated Assistant Comptroller of Immigration, Mr. Philemon Dole, said the promotion would motivate them to do more.

•Ahmed

the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media, Dr Muyideen Akorede, quoted Ahmed as saying that the new 150 primary health care centres are part of his administration’s emphasis in providing quality health care.

HE Sokoto North Local Government Area said it has saved N235 million in three months from staff verification.

The council Chairman Abdullahi Mu’azu Hassan said from what it saved in three months - July, August and September, more projects were embarked on.

Speaking with The Nation in Sokoto, Hassan said the council has awarded about 400 projects, including water supply, education and roads.

He said the contractors have been paid 30 per cent as down payment, adding that the projects have reached 50 per cent completion.

Hassan said the measure became necessary as the monthly salary bill was running into N45 million, ‘’a figure considered too high.’’ ‘’We conducted staff verifi-

From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

cation and were able to identify 1,000 ghost workers, which reduced salaries and allowances to N29 million.

The chairman said: “It is out of the council’s monthly allocation that we initiated the idea just to ensure that development goes round the communities through judicious use of public funds.’’

He added that through the verification, the council was also able to determine the number of workers the council needs.

But Hassan noted that some graduate workers who failed at the exercise were reabsorbed elsewhere.

His words: “ Those we later identified as graduates and were not employed through due process were absolved to

teach in primary schools in collaboration with the state Universal Basic Education Board.

Hassan, who also spoke on the council’s effort at improving its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), said it has developed a policy to enable staff in the revenue section

work for their salaries.

He said: “I have made it a policy that revenue collected will have a separate account from which their salaries will be paid. ‘’So if they are able to generate more revenue for the council, the better chances they have of getting their salaries on time.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

16

MONEY

Banks seek AMCON’s nod to grant D debtors fresh loans EBTORS whose debts have been bought by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) have a hurdle to scale before they can secure fresh bank loans.

They need AMCON’s approval before they can, henceforth, get loans.

According to AMCON Managing Director, Mustafa Chike-Obi, only customers who have shown the willingness and ability to repay would be considered for fresh loans.

In an interview with The Nation, Chike-Obi said although banks had written AMCON for approval to lend to indebted customers, the decision to lend rests with the lender.

“We get requests from banks asking us the status of accounts already with us, for which we always oblige them. However, the final decision to lend or not will be made by the banks themselves,” he said, adding that part of the consideration would be whether the loans have been restructured to ease repayment, and if the customer is still in good terms with the corporation.

Chike-Obi reiterated AMCON’s determination to recover the over

Stories by Collins Nweze N1.7 trillion loans it bought from banks. He said the corporation would use all its powers to ensure that every debtor, no matter how highly placed, paid back, stating that AMCON would even go beyond liquidation to ensure the funds are recovered.

Also, some banks have been compelled, in consultation with the AMCON and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to sell “systemically important loans” to AMCON to forestall any further crisis in the sector. Most notable among these are loans to Zenon Petroleum, worth N150 billion; Seawolf Industries, worth N100 billion and Geometric Power Industries with a debt profile of N25 billion.

Chike-Obi explained that taking over the loans from the lending banks would stabilise the industry and remove the adverse implications of default on the banks’ liquidity. He said those loans were up and running, but too large compared to the lender’s balance sheet

structure.

AMCON, he said, has restructured and recovered over 10 per cent of NPLs it acquired. In the process, AMCON has tried to balance maximum recovery with minimum disruption of viable businesses, keeping in mind that employment of Nigerians is paramount to government.

Chike-Obi had earlier advised debt collectors to follow processes that will make it easier for the borrower to keep their businesses running while trying to repay their loans.

“Debt recovery agents should deal with debtors with consideration in order not to kill their businesses. We are here to build the economy and not kill businesses,” he stated.

He said, in the next eight to 10 years, AMCON will be dedicated to recovering toxic assets as much as possible, adding that AMCON is positioned to acquire toxic as-

sets from banks once such loans rise above the mandatory five per cent of a bank’s bad loans portfolio. AMCON will be around to soak such excess toxic assets from the banks anytime they occur.

AMCON is legally empowered to recover loans, far and above what is obtainable in any part of the world. “Our constitutional power to recover loans is very strong. The agency believes that complaints by some banks that the five per cent paid by AMCON on unsecured loans is little is not proper. Chike Obi foreclosed any further payment on such loans.

Likewise, Magadaline Dike, a debt recovery agent with Anoka & Associates, said part of the briefs given to them, aside recovering of non-performing loans, included taking non-compliant borrowers to court.

The firm has recovered over N3 billion in the last one year for banks and AMCON, especially oil

and gas, manufacturing, capital market and import finance facilities. She said negotiation, mediation and peaceful resolution remained the best approach to recovering non-performing loans.

According to her, it is only debtors who are not well informed about the law establishing AMCON that would prefer litigation to peaceful resolution, adding that negotiation remained the best approach to recovering loans, because there is no bad blood between the borrower and recovery agents.

“The biggest recovery has been through negotiation and amicable resolution. AMCON can enter into negotiation on terms of repayment that favours the customer and protect his business. That is working more than going through litigation,” she said.

For her, AMCON has modalities on how to recover the loans and would do so no matter how long it takes. “AMCON has its own process of recovering the bad loans. It can take 10 years, or 15 years, but definitely the debtors will pay,” she said.

Stanbic, FATE Foundation partner

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TANBIC IBTC Bank has reiterated its readiness to serve as a strategic partner to facilitate the growth and development of small and medium- scale business sector. The bank demonstrated its passion for SMEs with the sponsorship of the 10th edition of the FATE Foundation Alumni General Assembly Meeting, an entrepreneurship forum, in Lagos.

Head, Personal Banking Distribution, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Tolu Oladipo, said the bank possesses proven expertise in helping indigenous companies expand their business capabilities and play stronger roles in stimulating economic growth.

“Our commitment to the SME sector is well known across Africa, and

we have a strategic promise to drive the growth of small and medium sized companies in order to build a strong mid-market and corporate sector in the decades to come. We have been assisting SMEs for several years now and have developed a range of products for them from business loans and internet banking, to various flow channels,” he said.

“We see great potential for growth with more SMEs coming under the Stanbic IBTC Bank umbrella, even as we continue to actively expand our lending to these businesses. Stanbic IBTC Bank aims to become the small company’s first banker and then to stay its banker, offering support as it grows into a bigger business,”Oladipo added.

‘Common market will promote trade’

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ROUP Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Skye Bank Plc Mr Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti has said the establishment of a common market and the adoption of a common external tariff by ECOWAS member states would promote a viable regional capital market.

According to him, a viable capital market will attract investment capital from other markets, with inflows from such markets contributing towards financing projects that will help industrialise the region.

The Skye Bank boss said this in a paper entitled “ECOWAS common external tariff: Potential implication for the manufacturing sector” which he presented at a public lecture/annual general meeting

organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ikeja Chapter.

Durosinmi-Etti, who said a uniform tariff would ensure transparency in Customs’ formalities, said such development would improve the investment climate and competitiveness of the private sector within the sub region.

Besides, he said the establishment of a common market and the adoption of a common external tariff by ECOWAS states would curb smuggling, thereby increasing Customs’ revenue.

He contended that if national policies were set within the framework of the union, there would be greater synergy in trade, fiscal and monetary policies among ECOWAS states.

Govt/CBN’s reform similar

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RESIDENT and Chairman of Council, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Hajia Maryam Ladi Ibrahim has said the reforms in the banking industry is a sub-set of the economic reform agenda of the government.

Speaking during a stakeholders’ programme in Lagos, Hajia Ibrahim said there is no difference between the government’s reforms program-mes and that of the banking industry.

She said privatisation, deregula-

tion and liberalisation of the key sectors; developing infrastructure especially electricity, transport and water; stimulating real sector financing by mobilising cheap longterm savings; creating effective regulatory regimes and executing programmes targeted at private sector growth are the strategies adopted by the government to facilitate economic growth.

She said some of the strategies are reflected in the reforms initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN).

• From left: Regional Head, Consumer Banking West Africa, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), Mrs. Carol Oyedeji; Mr Daniel Asapokhai, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC); Mrs. Ebun Ayodele, Managing Director, FEMEB Nigeria Limited and Mrs. Ebehijie Momoh, Head, SME West Africa, SCB, at a seminar organised by the bank and PWC in Lagos.

Firm adopts anti-card fraud plans

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ISA Incorporated, a global payments technology firm, has adopted a threepronged strategy to reduce card frauds. The strategy involves prevention, protection and swift response in cases of frauds. Visa enables consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments to use digital currency (electronic payment cards) instead of cash and cheques.

Its Country Director, sub-Saharan Africa, Ade Ashaye, told The Nation that while focusing on getting people in remote parts of the country involved in banking, there was also the need to protect their deposits.

“I think the first thing bank customers demand is security of their funds. We are committed to ensuring that their funds are secured,” he said.

Ashaye explained that the firm builds secured technology that makes it difficult for fraudsters to hack into, especially with migration to EMV which is a more-secured platform for the prevention of frauds.

EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and VISA, a global standard for inter-operation of integrated circuit cards or chip cards which can be used on point of sale (POS) terminals and automated

teller machines (ATMs), for authenticating credit and debit card transactions.

It is a joint effort between Europay, MasterCard and Visa to ensure security and global interoperability so that Visa and MasterCard cards can continue to be accepted everywhere. He said EMV cards are one of the best in preventing card frauds. To protect cards, VISA stores card user’s data in secured system and also have the ability to respond swiftly to stop fraud.

Ashaye explained that the coming of cashless banking, a lot of money outside the banking system will be channelled into the system for onward lending to the real sector. “A lot of money in circulation is outside the banking system and the CBN less cash policy is simply targeted at encouraging people to make payments electronically rather than cash,” he said.

Financial inclusion is being widely pursued because there has always been a problem on how to reach people that is far away from banks. This, he said will involve banks opening more branches and getting their customers into embracing mobile banking services.

The firm, he said is providing mobile banking through phone usage, more people will be involved in

banking services.

Ashaye said that by encouraging electronic payments, banks will have more money to lend to industries. “A lot of cash is outside the banking system, a practice which will be reversed when more transactions are done electronically using cards,” he said.

He said that VISA is also advising the CBN and banks on how to ensure that the global best practices are achieved in course of implementing the less cash policy of the apex bank. It He said there is need to create awareness on how to make people understand how to use the electronic banking products. He said achieving financial inclusion will require the banks expanding their networks to remote areas to reach more people.

Moody’s Economy.com recently completed a study to measure the economic impact of the shift from cash and checks to digital currency in 51 economies worldwide. He said that findings support the assumption that digital currency enables commerce to operate more efficiently. According to the Moody’s report these efficiencies come in various forms: Convenient access to resources digital currency gives consumers immediate access to all of their financial resources.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

17

MONEY

Survey: Nigeria tops Africa’s unbanked chart N

IGERIA has the highest number of unbanked people in Africa, a survey has shown.

In a report jointly released by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and MasterCard Foundation, over 80 million Nigerians do not have access to financial services.

The report tagged: “Chart for countries with financial inclusion in Africa,” listed Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as trailing behind Nigeria, with 48 million people.

The report said there were high concentrations of financial service providers in East and West Africa, noting that significant gaps exist in Central and parts of Southern Africa. It said a survey was conducted on 23,000 financial providers in Africa, to determine the countries with huge unbankable population.

It said: “Despite the distribution of hundreds of microfinance banks across Nigeria, there is a huge gap between the people that have access to financial services and those that do not have. The situation in the Congo is similar, with data on almost 200 credit unions and several dozen NGOs in our sample. On the contrary, Cape Verde and Kenya, are the only markets in which the

Stories by Akinola Ajibade

number of accounts exceed the population living below the national poverty line. In Kenya, the unbanked population has reduced due to the country’s achievements in mobile banking. Mobile banking enables Kenyans to have access to both savings and credit services”.

Though the number of mobile banks is small in Kenya, they have a wider reach. The banks boast of 18 million account holders. Out of this, 12.6 million account holders are reached through Safaricom’s MPesa products, with another five million via Vodacom and MTN products”, he added.

The report noted that the financial institutions targeting the poor have over 71 million accounts across sub-Saharan Africa, adding that majority of the institutions are small credit unions.

“Savings products are mostly offered through a network of thousands of cooperatives that reach 18 million people. Also, commercial banks, postal savings banks, regulated MFIs and informal savings groups, provide means of accessing financial services to people. Each of these own between four to six million accounts. Most credit comes

from banks and specialised microfinance institutions,” he added.

Meanwhile, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has just licensed 16 mobile banking operators to enable Nigerians have more access to financial services. The development follows the discovery that only a fragment of the population has access to savings and credit facilities in the country.

The issue has brought smiles to millions of Nigerians, hitherto denied access to financial services.

The Managing Director, Mobile Money Africa, Mr. Emmanuel Okogwale, said the number of the unbanked population would be reduced, in view of the approval given to some companies to operate mobile banking in the country.

Okogwale said mobile banks are meant for the poor, adding that Nigerians would definitely embrace the idea. He said peasants would now be able to save money, and further access credits through the mobile banking initiatives.

He said banks like United African Bank (UBA) Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, among others institutions licensed to operate mobile banking would leverage on their performances to win more customers into the saving nets.

CBN urged to recapitalise MFBs

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HE Chairman, Board of Directors, Heritage Microfinance Bank, Olaniyi Babatunde has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recapitalise microfinance banks, saying they are more vulnerable to economic shocks.

He said this at the weekend in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital at the 16th annual general meeting (AGN) and presentation of annual reports and accounts for 2009 and 2010 financial years.

His words: “As part of the banking reforms of CBN, the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) was established to purchase all the margin loans and majority of non performing loans in the banking sector. The eight banks in which the CBN intervened in 2009 in response to the apex bank’s directives have either recapitalised or been taken over by bridge banks.

“Unfortunately, this gesture has not been extended to microfinance banks which are more risky and closer to the active poor. We call on CBN to do more support for MFBs as they are more vulnerable to economic shocks.

“The consequences of global economic and financial meltdown of 2008 persisted during the period under review. The Naira, which had been relatively stable at $1 to N150

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

has been depreciating. Similarly, the stock market has had mixed fortunes.

“After a recovery in 2010, both total recapitalisation and the share index have gone below the 2009 low. Oil revenue has equally remained volatile and state of our infrastructure remains parlous. All in all, the country is yet to witness sustainable development in spite of being the third fastest growing economy in the world in 2010.”

Mr. Babatunde said the business environment has remained very challenging for HMFB “but I am pleased that the bank continues to make good progress. It unaudited account for the first half year shows an operating profit before tax of N7,323,894.6 or 200per cent increase on total profit.

“With increasing insecurity threat from Boko Haram, poor state of infrastructure and the political/economic implications of the impending oil subsidy removal, we need to brace up for more challenges.” HMFB board of directors chair added that “notwithstanding the good performance the bank posted, the board is unable to recommend payment of dividend until the negative balance in the profit and loss account of N16,280,171 is wiped out.”

Limit role in business, govt told

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O fight corruption, the Federal Government has been urged to limit its roles in economic activities.

According to Dr Eddie Onwuchekwa, corruption thrives when the government gets too involved in virtually all economic activities.

He spoke at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountant’s (CIMA’s) induction, seminar and certificates award ceremony, in Lagos. Onwuchekwa delivered a paper entitled: Internal management audit a key tool for shielding developing nations transformation.

Onwuchekwa said: “From an institutional perspective, corruption arises where public officials have wide authority, little accountability and perverse incentives.”

He added that transparency, oversight and sanctions strengthening would aid accountability. “The conduct of those who take care of public money should be professionally scrutinised with tested code of ethical standards,” he added.

Onwuchekwa said the terms of unemployment should be redesigned in public services to improve incentives.

‘Optimise business opportunities’

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• From left: Head, Regional Sales, South South and South East, Etisalat Nigeria, Enekwachi Aja; Corporate Social Responsibility Specialist, Tola Oduyemi and British Council Representative and Programme Instructor, Akari Akiodi at Etisalat’s teacher training initiative in Port Harcourt.

CBN’s policy will stifle credit to private sector

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HE recent hike in Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 275 basis points will starve the private sector of the much-needed fund, Afrinvest West Africa, an equity and investment outfit, has said.

In a statement, the agency said there has been a negative correlation between the credits advanced to the private sector and the benchmark rates, since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shot up the rate from nine to 12 per cent.

It said: “We think the CBN’s reliance on a healthier banking system, following the conclusion of banking reforms, may not be a sufficient condition to offset the liquidity tightening effect of the hike in the MPR. We observe that credit to the private sector has shown a strong negative correlation with benchmark rates in recent history, even in the pre-crisis era. We opine that the sharp rise in the MPR could stifle credit growth to the private sector. We therefore expect the CBN to revert to a more accommodative monetary policy stance in the short to medium term.”

It said the increase in the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) from four to eight per cent; a decrease in Net Open Position of banks from five to one per cent, the Reversal of Reserve Averaging, among other decisions taken by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), would have adverse effects on the economy.

“The increase in the CRR is a direct measure aimed at reducing the liquidity position of banks, which should inevitably serve as a restriction on credit creation by the banks.

By limiting the cash position of banks, the CBN expects to curtail the liquidity induced Dollar demand. On the flip side, we expect loanable funds to be reduced proportionately,” the company said.

It said the increase in CRR would endanger short-term volatility in the inter-bank market since banks would not have enough money to lend for growth, as well as weakening their liquidity positions.

It also noted that the foreign exchange exposure of banks will be significantly reduced as banks are now required to keep their net

open positions at a maximum of one per cent of shareholders funds.

“The effect of this is a reduction in the foreign exchange speculative activities of banks which should further support the Naira.

Prior to the new regulations, we estimate that Nigerian banks held between $400 million to $700 million in aggregate net open position, adding that: “Overall, we share the CBN’s view that there are clear threats to the Naira and external reserves. We believe it is particularly more imperative to defend the Naira and reverse plummeting external reserves position in the light of unfavourable global economic outlook and oil prices.

“However, we observed that MPR adjustments have shown limited effectiveness in tempering exchange rate movements in Nigeria as depicted in figure 2 below.

Hence, we are of the view that the rather direct adjustment to banks’ balance sheets (reviews of CRR, net open position and reserve averaging) will prove more potent in defending the currency.”

USINESS opportunities which abound in Africa should be optimised through the formation of right partnerships guided by visionary and effective leaders, speakers at the launch of Vodafone African Business Leaders Forum (ABLF), have said.

“Everywhere we look we see opportunities to build infrastructure, boost trade and investment, improve governance, bolster education and human development and strengthen regional partnerships,” Executive Director of Business & Financial Times (B & FT), Mrs. Edith Dankwa, said.

A statement from B&FT said the launch is preceeding the November 10 to 12 event where business leaders, corporate executives and public officials will share their insights and knowledge with delegates at the event.

This year’s AVBLF, the statement explained, is to create a platform for business leaders within and outside the continent to brainstorm on the creation of opportunities out of the misfortunes that have been experienced by the continent over the years. It will seek to advance the need for the pursuit of development and economic transformation for the continent.

South African credit growth down

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OUTH African credit growth slowed to 5.5 per cent in September from a year earlier, adding to chances that the central bank will keep the benchmark lending rate at a 30-year low next month to support economic growth. The rate of expansion in lending to households and businesses fell from 6.06 per cent in August, the Pretoria-based Reserve Bank told Bloomberg. The median estimate in a survey of 11 economists was 5.9 per cent.

“As credit growth remains weak and growth is likely below trend, the South African Reserve Bank is likely to delay or play down hiking fears,” Carmen Nel, an economist at Rand Merchant Bank, said.

“It is likely that they will keep the rate on hold through 2012.”

The Reserve Bank kept the bench-

mark rate at 5.5 per cent last month as consumer confidence slipped and after the economy expanded at the slowest pace in almost two years in the second quarter. Gross domestic product grew an annualised rate of 1.3 per cent as manufacturing and mining output contracted.

The consumer-sentiment index dropped to a two-year low of per cent in the third quarter, First National Bank said on September 12.

Growth in household spending slowed to an annualised 1.3 per cent in the second quarter from 7.9 per cent in the previous three months, the central bank said on September 13.

Meanwhile, the rand yield on the benchmark bond due in 2015 was little changed at 6.56 per cent. The yield has dropped 79 basis points this year.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

18

SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

How to start business with N100,000

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HERE are few businesses one can start with N100,000. To impress people with your professionalism, select a good-looking stationery system consisting of highgrade letterhead and business cards.

Get a separate phone line so that no one answers the phone and just says, “Hello,” which could turn off potential customers. Get a fax machine, an answering machine or voice mail and you are in business.

Marketing arts and crafts Nigerians love art, photography and cane furniture. You can get a few of them and sell to friends and companies. You can liaise with craftsmen and women who have wares to sell. They will be happy to engage u to help them clear their stocks. They pay commission. You can buy and sell at your price. It will be your responsibility to advertise the sale. To the target is eventually to set up an art and crafts shop. Sell the art of local artists.

There are plenty of artists out there who are making art but who have no place to show their works . You will make a percentage of whatever the paintings sell for.

Firewood delivery You might not be aware, a lot of

Stories by Daniel Essiet

Nigerians still use firewood to cook.This is means this is business opportunity for firewood delivery entrepreneurs. . They sell to residential customers and to the owners of restaurants, inns, etc. It is a business run all year in most areas of the country and produce quite a nice profit. You need to decide what market you want to serve. Small customers require smaller bundles of wood.

There are customers who need larger quantities also. Every state will have firewood customers.

The firewood market may require one to deliver firewood to their door. You limit your market if you expect people to come and get their firewood themselves. Small sawmills are a source of wood for firewood business. They have mill ends that can be purchased. One can buy in quantity and then package into sacks of firewood. Furniture factories and woodworking shops are sources of scrap wood that may be used as firewood.

Dish rental business You can think about starting a dish rental business if you have

enough dishes at home that you are not using. There are plenty of people in catering businesses and you can start a business just renting your dishes to them. You’ll have to buy a few sets of dishes that can accommodate up to 100 place settings—or more. You’ll also need to have a van to deliver and pick up the dishes at the end of the event. You start from home with a phone line.You can keep the dishes in the kitchen or in your garage . There’s a really, really good profit in the business , and if you keep the overhead down, it can just be amazing what you can make out of it. One can break into full party rentals. This comes with some expenses . You'll need a truck or a small trailer.

Domestic Cleaning Service It is a new area. You can start out farming out the cleaning jobs to employees and sit back and just book the jobs. Pick up a batch of cleaning supplies, place an ad and get ready to make money. You charge per flat. You wash the windows, floors and even the dishes.

Place an ad and watch your business grow. Word of mouth is an excellent way to build this business.

TIPS

Investing in granite quarrying

By Edwin Agbaike

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HE mining industry has been contributing to the development of nations for centuries. Nigeria, being a country located in the tropics, is richly endowed with granite stones. The nation has these in commercial quantity and it is a means of livelihood for many in some parts of the country.

In the past, it was mined manually, but now there are sophisticated equipment that make quarrying very easy. A vibrant mining sector provides a good platform for a country’s growth and development. Quarrying, a branch of mining is one of the bedrock of the construction sector in any economy.

It is clear that construction is one of the major sectors that contribute immensely to any development. Building of improved standard structures, construction of durable/quality roads and bridges had been a signal of development in any economy. The strength, durability and moderate specific gravity of granite makes it a suitable rock for aggregate production. Apart from construction usefulness, granite quarrying contributes to the economic development in so many areas. Quarrying is labour intensive. Therefore, lot of employment is created with infrastructural developments. Most of the urban cities in Nigeria are still embarking on very serious building and construction projects. Thus, commercial granite quarrying is an investment that will meet the need of a ready and ever-growing market. The major raw materials required for crushed stones production include - high explosives, electric detonators, detonating cords/ connecting wires (these are blasting material); and other consumables are diesel, engine oil, lubricants, etc.

Plants and machinery for successful operation of a commercial granite quarrying may consist of mobile jaw crusher, mobile screen, surface crawler drill rig, earth moving equipment, workshop equipment, dump trailer and prime movers, generators, light vehicles, etc. There are many renowned Companies within and outside the country that can supply the above machinery/equipment. Also, supply spare parts, offer after sales/maintenance and training services, including technological backup.

The quarrying begins after the geologists have found an appropriate site which contains a large supply of rocks beneath the earth’s surface. A permit for the quarry site is obtained before work within the quarry site actually starts. To get to the rock beneath the surface of the earth, the land for mining has to be cleared. Other technical details on the quarrying process can be obtained on request.

Cost of machinery/equipment, other assets/acquisition of the quarry site will require a minimum start up of about $5.5 million USD. This amount can be scaled down or increased, depending on the financial capacity of the project promoters. The project has great economic potentials if properly planned and implemented. The returns in terms of turnover and profits are considerably very high; sometimes running over 45 per cent. It is, therefore, recommended that interested investors contact the consultant for help and a detailed feasibility report.

This project stands a good chance of attracting both local and off-shore funding, which can be obtained from any of the commercial or foreign banks. A well-packaged feasibility report is a pre-requisite to securing finance for the project. This can be provided by the consultant on request.

For details on how to implement this or any other projects, please contact us. We are willing to assist potential investors on any aspect of the project. Prospective investors may get in touch with us at the address stated hereunder.

Kris-ed Brilliant Limited (Brilliant Consulting), No. 34, Little Road, Yaba –Lagos. Tel. Nos. 08023381900; 08098525122.

E-mail: krisedbrilliant@yahoo.com.

Entrepreneurs’ conference to hold in Lagos •From left: Mr Samson, Dr. Ojeagbase and Mr Olumide Emmanuel, a motivational speaker, at the event.

Youth empowerment key to tackling employment

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ESPONSIBLE youth entrepreneurship is the key to tackling economic and employment challenges, an expert has said.

The Managing Director, Business Impact Limited, Olatunde Samson, who stated this during the ‘Below 45 Entrepreneurs conference in Lagos, urged youths to look for productive ways of being self-employed.

Samson said the need for sustainable youth enterprise was urgent as the economic crisis has taken a toll on job creation.

The challenge, he explained, is enormous as there are young women and men already in the labour market. He said the conference was organised with the aim of providing new and inno-

vative opportunities for youth entrepreneurship and jobs creation across the world.

He said the youth need mentorship to combine their skills and resources to establish enterprises that are able to compete effectively in local and national markets.

The conference, he noted, highlight entrepreneurship culture campaigns, promotion of young successful entrepreneurs as role models, business ideas generations.

The result, according to him, is to equip young people with entrepreneurial attitude and skills, which will benefit them in other areas of life, their communities and the society as a whole.

The conference, Samson explained, is a business mentoring programme that will connect aspiring business owners, and small and medium enterprises.

The conference attracted eminent entrepreneurs, including Dr Sunny Ojeagbase, chairman, Success Attitude Development Centre/Adeolu Akinyemi; Chie Execitove Officer, Generic Solutions Limited, Gbenga Sesan; Chief Executive Officer, Paradigm Initiatives, Steve Harris; Chie Executive Officer, Edgecution, Olumide Emmanuel; Chief Executive Officer, Common Sense Limited, Ayo Arowolo; Chief Executive Officer, Enlightened Media among others.

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NTREPRENEUR Buddy a NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO) and PearlSoft Limited, is to hold global entrepreneurship week at the Centre for Management Development (CMD), Shangisha, Lagos next month.

Its theme is Unlocking Innovation Networking & Collaboration.

The founder, Entrepreneur Buddy, Tope Egbetokun, said the conference is aimed at helping individuals and youths unleash new ideas and innovation through constant networking and collaboration with others. She said innovation and entrepreneurship are fundamental drivers of today’s economy.

Egbetokun said the conference will bring together small businesses, aspiring entrepreneurs and career-oriented professionals to learn, share and collaborate on ideas.

“Steve Jobs was a technological innovator, whose creativity in computers, electronics and film led to Apple Computers, Ipad, Ipod, Iphone and built Pixar into one of the world’s leading animation companies. Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is a social entrepreneur and innovator, pioneer of microcredit – small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to be considered by ordinary banks – and founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.

•Tope

“We create EntrepreneurTalk to spark new ideas and innovation among individual and youths to create the next Steve Jobs (Apple), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Oprah Winfrey (Media), MuhammedYunus (Father of Social Entrepreneurship), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Barack Obama (US President) of Africa through Entrepreneur Buddy.”

She went on: ”What will fuel more innovation is working together like never before, with combined expertise, experience and insights, collaboration and networking is the new and important source of competitive advantage.

One way that businesses can develop new ideas is to cultivate relationships with other entrepreneurs, technology expert, corporate body, private entity, and government sector.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

19

EDITORIAL/OPINION EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

America, renewed

191 out of 192

•That is the ranking of the quality of our roads in the world

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IKE everything else in our national underdevelopment, our roads have been rated among the most deplorable in the world. According to Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Osita Chidoka, at the 2011 Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals’ Conference in Warri, “Nigeria is currently 191st out of 192 countries of the world’s ‘unsafe’ roads”.

In the estimate of the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 1.3 million people are killed in road accidents and 50 million suffer various injuries annually while over 80 percent of reported cases occur in developing countries, with African countries recording the highest number of deaths. Nigeria, as usual, takes its worrisome ‘pride’ of place among the countries with the highest

‘That we cannot manage our roads, prevent or minimise accidents is perfectly consistent with our numerous failures as a nation. That is why some people think that Nigeria could better be described as a failed state, and that precisely is what our ranking as 191st out 192 countries having the world’s most unsafe roads seems to have proven beyond reasonable doubt’

number of road accidents. Unacceptable is the fact that all available data of auto crashes indicate that, at least, 162 persons out of 100,000 Nigerians are regular victims. This calls for serious concern by the federal and state governments.

Road accidents are inevitable but they can be reduced to the barest minimum.

The alarming rate of road accidents in Nigeria needs to be curtailed. The pity of it all is that, to ordinary Nigerians and members of the international community, deaths on Nigerian roads are as common as the fresh air that we breathe. What is not common knowledge is that Nigeria occupies the top position among the most dangerous countries in the world, with respect to highway calamities – 191 out of 192 or second to the last, which is almost at the very top of the list of dangerous countries in this regard. Unfortunately, this negative and hopeless ranking is a common phenomenon in all spheres of our lives.

Trillions of Naira had been spent on Nigerian roads since 1999 with little or no result. The rich, especially government functionaries, hardly use these roads as they fly most of the time to and from their destinations.

Paradoxically, road accidents are more common and more ghastly even on good roads, than on the bad ones, owing to reckless driving, excessive speeding and lack of understanding of how to use the roads, mostly by illiterate and semiilliterate drivers.

Moreover, more than half of those

driving on Nigerian roads do not have genuine driver’s licences, which means they were not subjected to rigorous driving tests. The role of the police has compounded the matter. Policemen who are not required to perform the duty of traffic officers abound on our roads, often collecting bribes from vehicle owners and sometimes resulting in accidents at the check-points. When that happens, the policemen disappear into the bush.

Vehicles that are not roadworthy even carry overloaded goods and passengers.

Apart from the problem created on our roads by greedy and undisciplined policemen, there is the attitude of drivers which probably accounts for more than half of accidents on good and bad roads. Impatience and greed to make quick money by commercial drivers account for most of them. And when you add the danger created by articulated vehicles, most of them unfit for the road; the careless and reckless driving and indiscriminate parking by their often drunk drivers and stationary vehicles, the high incidence of ghastly accidents on our roads becomes a foregone conclusion.

That we cannot manage our roads, prevent or minimise accidents is perfectly consistent with our numerous failures as a nation. That is why some people think that Nigeria could better be described as a failed state, and that precisely is what our ranking as 191st out 192 countries having the world’s most unsafe roads seems to have proven beyond reasonable doubt.

A cold, cold world

• The story of the Chinese hit-and-run toddler is a testimony to the fact that there is hardly sympathy left in this steel- and- concrete world

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AS the world grown dead in the heart or is this a peculiar Chinese phenomenon? The story was so blood-cuddling that many could not view the video clip: a Chinese little girl of about two years of age had been knocked down by a hit-and-run driver in a busy market road in Forshan, in China’s w e a l t h i e s t southern province of Guangdong. As the report goes, this little, nameless baby of migrant parents nicknamed Yue Yue was said to have been lying there on the road bleeding. As the street camera later revealed, about 18 people were said to have passed by without stopping to help, warranting another vehicle hitting the poor ‘thing’.

For all of seven minutes, the baby was left for dead by a cold and soulless world. It was a garbage collector who later removed the bleeding mass from the road, placed her by the curb and called for help.

Her mother who had been tending to her laundry while her child wandered away later came along to take her to the hospital where the baby died.

Though both the first driver who gave himself up three days later, and the second one are in police custody awaiting trial, Yue Yue is a harsh testimony to the fact that the world has grown very cold and unsympathetic having been drained of its milk of human kindness. The human life is held so sacred that man goes to great lengths to save its kind

from danger.

Therefore, a human body drenched in a pool of its blood and sprawled on macadam would ordinarily arouse the pathos of the watching world and make it stop in its tracks. On the other hand, a baby caught in the same scenario would be something of an abomination; it would be like a fire searing the heart of humanity. But the people felt nothing as they walked on by the squashed body of little Yue Yue. We may put it down to capitalism.

Communist China that used to put the community above the individual would never have left the damaged body of a two-year-old baby lying on tar as if it were a sacrifice to the gods of lucre. Well, on the other hand, Furshan may never have become rapidly urbanised and were it not for capitalism. The Guangdong province is perhaps capitalism’s best showpiece of its conquest of the Communist world. Said to be the fastest growing region of the world, rivalling any other in terms of sprawling industrial concerns, the squelching of Yue Yue’s body on tar may represent China’s final breaking with her genteel past.

There is also the issue of extreme poverty and the rat-race for survival which has pushed most people to the end of their wits as they struggle to stay alive. Apart from the stream of passers-by who were obviously inured to their immediate surroundings, Yue Yue’s migrant father was reportedly nearby, tending to the family’s hardware store while

mummy was busy hanging laundry as baby wandered away unknown to them. Poor migrants. Ironically, they seemed to have put their ‘survival’ above everything else.

The world will have to take solace in the fact that the hit-and-run drivers are now facing trial. The street cameras were functional and the entire incident was captured on video. The horrendous picture itself has become a tool for soul-searching for billions of Chinese and the watching world who are aghast that it happened in a human community.

Some of the cold-blooded people who walked past the stricken child are also on parade on the world-wide web. While our heart goes out to the little Yue Yue, we hope that her death will help reconnect the world to her soul.

‘For all of seven minutes, the baby was left for dead by a cold and soulless world. It was a garbage collector who later removed the bleeding mass from the road, placed her by the curb and called for help. Her mother who had been tending to her laundry while her child wandered away later came along to take her to the hospital where the baby died’

O

N Friday, a brilliant morning sun piercing their eyes, 125 Americans-to-be got ready to take the citizenship oath on Liberty Island.

Officials were collecting Form N445’s and passing out little flags.

Television crews were taking video for the morning shows while an organizer of the event coached the group to cheer like a studio audience. But none of the bustle and distraction — part of a day of celebration for the Statue of Liberty’s 125th birthday — could dim the power of the ceremony.

They were from 46 countries — a good sampling of the New York City area. Some were poor, some frail and old. Though overshadowed by the statue, they were the real deal, not the symbol. They raised their right hands and plowed through the long, stilted oath “I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law. ...” They got to the end (“So help me God”), and at that moment, America was as new as Friday morning.

A speaker, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, ennobled the event by going off script. He urged the citizens to engage in civic life, to push for immigration reform so the undocumented will “not live in the shadows of fear, but come into the sunlight.” He did not mention how badly the government has failed that job. He did not mention the elected officials, Republicans mostly, who have urged punishment without mercy on those who violate laws that they refuse to reform.

Soon these citizens may take up that struggle, but, on Friday, they had other things to do. Tiberiu Gireada, 22, from Romania, had to go back to Hunter College. Saidou Zakou, 34, from Niger, had told his boss at a Bronx clothing store that he had something to do in the morning but would be back at work after.

A nurse from Manhattan, Young Sun Kim, kept her 10-month-old twin daughters, Julia and Rachel, plied with bottles and sliced bananas. When she and her husband, Seong Il Song, went up for their certificates and the four became an American family, the girls were sound asleep in their fuzzy mouse-ear suits, American flags on their laps. Someone tried to start the “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” chant, but it didn’t catch on. This was a gentler victory.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR: Dr. Abubakar Imam Aliagan of the University of Ilorin, and his colleague, Alhaji Olohunoyin, run a Friday message on the Harmony FM of Radio Nigeria, based in Idofian, Kwara State.

On Friday, October 28, the two Islamic clerics harped on their objection to spending public funds on religious obligations that are meant only for the faithful who could afford it. They argued that public funds should no longer be spent on buying ram for anybody. They recalled how Chief Gani Fawehinmi rejected the two rams presented to him by former Governor of Lagos State, Buba Marwa, asking him to give the rams to those who could not afford it.

That Friday, the clerics lamented the parlous state of many Nigerian roads, the high cost of education, a situation in which a teacher has more than 100 students or numerous pupils in a class, and so on. They wondered how a government could justify spending public funds on giving religious festival gifts to anybody in the circumstance in which the country has found itself. They lamented how some commissioners had more than 20 rams left after the ram festival was over, notwithstanding the presence of teeming beggars on Nigerian streets.

Dr. Aliagan and Alhaji Olohunoyin want those in government to spend their legitimate personal savings on religious festivals, and not public funds and stolen funds.

They enjoined fellow clerics, Islamic and Christian, to stop misleading those in government because of selfish interest. The message included the warning that those in government must have the courage

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Timely message from Islamic clerics and the political will to change the status quo. The clerics said the fact that the current rulers met a particular situation in place did not mean they could not or should not change it.

I was captivated by the timeliness of the message. Beyond the fact that the Sallah Festival is around the cor-

ner, this is a time the federal government is claiming that it must remove the so-called fuel subsidy, and Nigerians are saying, prioritize, curb corruption, economize, and subdue your own self-aggrandizement. The message of Dr. Aliagan and Alhaji Olohunoyin has encapsulated all of that. They also want the rulers to

emulate countries like Malaysia where siren is not used to terrorize ordinary citizens out of the road because the almighty ruler wants to pass.

Those in government may or may not listen. Permit me to add my voice by saying that other Islamic and

S

The Governor has not defaulted in remitting the cooperative and pension’s deductions since he assumed office and has also pledged to pay the un-remitted deductions made by his predecessor.

But NLC state chairman, Akeem Ambali, would not hear of that. October 12, he led other members of his executive committee to physically chase out workers from government offices and rain curse on any one who returns to his or her desk until the warning strike was over.

Coincidentally, while Ambali was at Oke-Mosan, the EFCC was in Isabo-Abeokuta to arraign former governor Gbenga Daniel before a state high court over sundry allegations including the diversion of N1bn being Cooperative and Pensions deductions from the salaries of workers over a period of time.

The trial judge, Justice Olanrewaju Mabekoje fixed Friday October 14

for the hearing of the bail application.

Judicial workers, like their other colleagues in the civil service, were at home in deference to Ambali’s order. But something strange happened. Ambali’s NLC looked the other way when some judicial workers unilaterally suspended the strike 24 hours after its commencement and resumed work to facilitate the bail application for Daniel!

Had the judicial workers continued with the strike action, the former governor would have stayed in EFCC cell till Wednesday, October 19 when the strike was planned to end before his application could be heard. He would have spent 13 days in EFCC custody. But Ambali’s NLC spared him the inconveniences.

Unfortunately, while saving OGD’s face, the labour hierarchy revealed its own soft under-belly.

Their decision to look the other way

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• Pius Oyeniran Abioje, Ph. D, University of Ilorin.

Conning Ogun State workers?

IR: Civil servants in Ogun State recently embarked on a seven-day warning strike to compel the administration of Governor Ibikunle Amosun to jettison its planned implementation of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) 2004. To the workers, implementing the PITA would be tantamount to taking with the left hand what the state government gave with the right hand.

Determined to halt the implementation of PITA, the state NLC declared a trade dispute and dragged the government before the conciliator at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity.

Not a few workers felt the declaration of warning strike was in bad taste and an attempt at destabilising the new government. As far as many of them were concerned, Amosun was being blamed for Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s misdemeanours.

The killer pill called Ngozinomics IR: Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the World Bank returnee Finance Minister, de facto driver of the national economy via her coordination of the economy was here between 2003 and 2006 when she and other members of the Obasanjo Economic Management Team propounded and promoted NEEDS. The strategy was a revised version of the highly loathed SAP, which was an economic prescription from the

Christian clerics who may not have been as passionate about how Nigeria is run, should tow the revolutionary line of Dr. Aliagan and Alhaji Olohunoyin, so that even those who are deaf and dumb among our rulers may receive the gift of healing or be sacked by popular agitation, as happened to the Coach, Samson Siasia. This is not a laughing matter!

Nigeria is said to be indebted to the tune of N6.02 trillion. How can the government account for that, infrastructurally? For how long will Nigeria continue to go from pillar to pole?

Breton Wood institutions, the IMF and the World Bank, whose laissezfaire policies are essentially designed to service economies of the metropoles.

The thrust of the economic mantra is anchored on the disappearance of state intervention in the welfare, wellbeing and social bearings of the people. It prescribes subsidy removal, transfer of the commanding height of the economy to private-

driven concerns and the conspicuous absence of any positive impact of the state on the lives of the citizenry. This economic fetishism had been experimented in several countries with calamitous consequences. It is this doctrine that widens the gap between the haves and the have-nots as well as bringing to fore the question of the desirability of a state.

Dr. Iweala should spare Nigerians the agony of social dislocations

through her disaster-prone economic pill that she is selling to the Goodluck Jonathan administration if she does want the type of treatment meted out to Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak and Gaddafi to be visited on the government she is serving.

Aunty Ngozi will do well to tread softly.

• Akinrolabu Babatunde Omonitan, lkeji-lle ljesa, Osun State.

while the court workers violated their order strongly indicates that they are OGD agents. It further shows that they are not in NLC to protect the workers interest but to use the platform to fight some sinister and selfish battle.

How can NLC explain the fact that they turned a blind eye to some workers returning to office when actually they had the day before physically chased out some others from their offices? Why did they later consent to the idea that some workers should suspend the strike to allow OGD standing trial for allegedly diverting their savings regain his freedom?

That most of the NLC demand arose from the illegal actions of the OGD era made no difference to the NLC leader only showed that he had succeeded in doing the bidding of his godfather even if it means deceiving the hapless Ogun workers.

Unfortunately, by siding with the workers’ oppressor to fight their friends as it were, Ambali’s NLC has also sent a signal to the state government that workers in Ogun state doesn’t appreciate the goodwill Amosun demonstrated by approving the immediate implementation of the national minimum wage when workers in several states are still on bent knees.

Is this not another case of abuse of office?

• Tolulope Obalanlege, Oju-Ore, Ota, Ogun State

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 , 2011

EDITORIAL/OPINION

JAMB war; Customs 15 days auction law; Police psychologists, court stenographers pls!

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HE exchanges at the Senate enquiry into Post-UTME exams are revealing and frightening. It confirms how fickle our policies are and how easily they are initiated and terminated leaving little

Tony Marinho

for the merits or demerits of the argument. It shows that who shouts loudest may win and how the same information is used or misused as arguments for both sides. At the welcome National Assembly (NASS) investigation, officials on opposite sides of the argument argued heatedly on policy. No wonder we have no books in schools. It does not take democracy since 1999, 12 years to return books to 70,000 schools abandoned by the military.

The leadership in the Ministry of Education over the years is suspect in motive, dedication and direction. Unimaginable, serious academics take 2-4 years to get curriculum change because of the 9-13 education agencies turf war for control and approval. The vitriol of JAMB officials turning 180 degrees and blaming university lecturers for JAMB failings was incredible. Just like government blaming Nigerians for the ‘fuel subsidy’. We must really fear for Nigeria.

To further question the quality of leadership, see how Customs thought it was OK, and ethically consistent with government policy to sell off or ‘auction’ off, perhaps to special buyers, highly technical equipment specifically to fit into power plants being built to help solve the Nigeria power failure estimated at 3,000Mw with a deficit of 45-97,000Mw. Just how mentally defective are we that the Customs does not know that electric power is our number one failure and priority? Customs should get the power machinery and all other containers through the ports as quickly and as free of corruption as possible. Do our ministries not even talk to each other or network?

Mr Customs, we, the IPP commission, have some power plant machinery coming in, do not delay them but collect your correct money OK? Nigeria expects that Customs will rise to the national interest, for once! After all, even Customs families

will benefit from Nigeria having 24/7 electric power! But that is obviously too much to expect from yet another Nigerian uniform!

Imagine the stress, emotional and financial, of the Independent Power Plant, IPP contractor anxious to perform and meet deadlines to supply Nigeria and reduce suffering.

Suddenly he cannot finish the job to specifications. This is because the container with the machinery has been seized and sold, without informing the owner, by suspect Customs officials ‘officially’ at auction after a mandatory 15 days, to some suspicious characters, perhaps related to Customs officials by blood or money. One can understand if the container was one of those falling off the stranded container ship off Australia/ New Zealand but it was not. Is 15 days reasonable time to evacuate containers if Customs or others want your container for corrupt reasons? Should NASS alter the law to protect the container owner better from Customs where there is no appeal?

As usual in such scams, the power company will follow the auctioneers trail and buy the container back from the auction winner, paying twice, once for the goods and then to get them back. The company will pass the cost to the consumer – just like the ‘oil subsidy’ scam, I mean scheme. Is that not criminal collusion or sabotage of the national agenda by the very guardians of the country’s borders? Does nobody or any organisation love Nigeria above themselves? Remember the IPP which could not deliver the machinery for two years because the road/bridge network was not modified due to inter-ministry bickering? Seeing some serving senators and representatives, FRSC, Police, VIOs in ‘action’ makes you wonder where Nigerian patriots are!

There are sparks of light. Information is the key, like the revelations of N6,300,000,000,000+ local and international debt and the wise senator who fantastically classified states according to impending bankruptcy and financial liquidity with most of them sinking. Hopefully that will put an end to the ridiculous spate of ‘we want a state for our backyard’ visits to Abuja! I pray he also classifies Nigerian senators and representatives according to salaries and allowances when compared to other legislators in other poor countries. Is it worth being top of the international political salaries chart but at the bottom of the African and international university

ranking even as people seek to cancel the Post Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations because of inter-agency, JAMB vs. NUC/Universities rivalry?

And other agencies are also guilty. Uniforms make Nigerians mad! The complexities of obtaining a new licence, visited on Nigerians by FRSC, are beyond belief and demand urgent review to relieve Nigerians of another round of serial fraudulent demands. Citizens will have to take almost five separate days off, times 30m population for Nigeria, from work to get a licence every three years- an unacceptable waste.

Again more stupid unprotected laws!

The weekly murder, extrajudicial killings, by police gunfire over checkpoint corruption, a major crime in Nigeria, devaluing life to N20, and the subsequent mere ‘dismissals’ without justice, call into question the entire ‘police-is-yourfriend’ mantra. Arab Spring revolutions were caused by less and next time the IGP should resign immediately! Again we call for 500 police psychologists to be employed for police reeducation and 5000 stenographers in courts for speedy justice –job creation. Few Nigerian think positively about the police or judiciary apart from politicians controlling ‘bag-carrying police’. We need dedicated 5-10 day speedy trials instead of adjournments. Fear for Nigeria O!

‘Uniforms make Nigerians mad!

The complexities of obtaining a new licence, visited on Nigerians by FRSC, are beyond belief and demand urgent review to relieve Nigerians of another round of serial fraudulent demands. Citizens will have to take almost five separate days off, times 30m population for Nigeria, from work to get a licence every three years- an unacceptable waste’

Revving the war on corruption

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HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been in the news with different opinions being canvassed on the future of the anti-graft body.

The climax was last Wednesday when a bill seeking to amend the EFCC Act 2004 and make the headship of the anti-graft agency the exclusive preserve of retired justices of either the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court passed the second reading at the House of Representatives.

The bill is being sponsored by Bassey Ewa, a member of the House from Cross River State. In the bill, Ewa claimed that the EFCC, as presently constituted, was deficient in prosecuting corruption cases. He said that the commission’s modus operandi had been to file charges it could not substantiate in court. In his view, a retired judge would do a better job because such a person would know the charges that could be sustained in court.

He also wanted the EFCC to be headed by a retired judge, as is the case with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, which Ewa claimed, had done “more successful prosecutions than the EFCC”. The lawmaker also blamed part of the alleged weaknesses of the EFCC on the absence of an investigation unit.

Ewa was not alone. Some other lawmakers in their contributions to the debate alleged that the EFCC had become a political tool. After all the arguments, the lawmakers passed the bill in a unanimous voice vote to the Joint Committee on Justice, Drugs, Narcotics and

Financial Crimes for further deliberations. It is unclear whether the Senate will concur to the bill after it has scaled third reading at the House. This is because, earlier last week, a proposal by Ita Enang, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, to merge the EFCC and the ICPC failed on the floor of the Senate.

Listening to the debates in the National Assembly, one could deduce that even our lawmakers are ignorant of the workings of the EFCC. I say this because Ewa claimed that no investigation unit existed in the commission. If it is so, how has the commission been able to investigate corruption cases that have earned people jail terms and asset forfeitures in the past? I am familiar with the operation of the commission and I know that there exists a strong investigation unit. To claim that it is non-existent is to display polished ignorance.

At any rate, the EFCC has consistently come under heavy criticisms in recent times. One of the reasons is that many Nigerians are yet to see a drastic reduction in corruption in the country. It is believed that, unlike at the inception, when the commission displayed some measure of uncommon courage, the present leadership of the commission may have simply gone to sleep.

The lull in the fight against corruption has manifested in reports by some agencies of late. In its 2010 report, Transparency International listed Nigeria among the nine countries where there is increase in petty bribery since 2006. According

‘It is obvious that the EFCC cannot fight corruption unless government shows signs of transparency in the polity. Corruption would thrive in our land in so far as governments operate like Mafiosi’

to the report, more than 20 countries have reported significant increases in petty bribery since 2006. The biggest increases were in Chile, Colombia, Kenya, FYR Macedonia, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Senegal and Thailand.

This is a classic case of Nigeria where every Nigerian believes that everybody in public office is corrupt. There is total loss of faith in the government and its agencies, including the EFCC, in fighting corruption. The situation has left on the shoulder of the current EFCC operatives, under the watch of Farida Waziri, a responsibility of proving to Nigerians that all hope is not lost.

As if to buttress the position of Nigerians, Waziri recently remarked “… a few individuals were bleeding the wealth of the nation and causing great pain to the larger society”. Many Nigerians now wonder if it is enough to remark on what is obvious. The question is: how effective is the EFCC in the war against corruption, especially as it involves high-profile Nigerians? Nigerians have since concluded that rather than solving or curbing the menace of corruption, the EFCC has slowed down the fight due to what has been described as high-level interference in the affairs of the commission and the lack of will on the side of the current leadership to address the issues without sparing anyone.

Without mincing words, inside the commission itself, the morale of the staff has dropped to the lowest ebb. Many of the operatives know that the fervour and dexterity at inception has since taken flight.

Many of them, well trained on the job, are roaring for action but the leadership seems to be clay-footed.

Perhaps, the courts too, have not been helpful. What is obtainable is that we have criminal trials going on for years. This is a major problem. Therefore, the judiciary cannot also be exonerated from

lacklustre performance of the EFCC. Today, there are many cases that are yet to leave the plea stage, especially high-profile cases, even four years after they have been filed.

This is contrary to the spirit of our constitution.

Several factors have been responsible for this. These include interlocutory injunctions, defence counsel’s deliberate attempts to stall trials, procedural laws and our criminal justice system. I believe the special court being proposed will address these and several other obstacles to expeditious trials so that the confidence of the people in the judicial system can be fully restored.

But the problem again here is that even if the special court is established and it decides on a case, what will the prosecutor do if an application for stay of execution is granted? It is obvious that the EFCC cannot fight corruption unless government shows signs of transparency in the polity.

Corruption would thrive in our land in so far as governments operate like Mafiosi.

Some people have advocated a merger of the EFCC and the ICPC. If we are really serious at fighting corruption, that sort of a thing should never happen. The agencies’ roles are clearly defined. ICPC fights corruption among government officials, right from the federal and state to the local government, while EFCC fights economic and financial crimes.

Offences relating to crimes in the bank or against the economy, including smuggling, are those that are handled by the EFCC. When we have an unusual situation, we should adopt unusual tactics to solve it. That is why people are now looking at the use of forensic accounting to solve the monstrous corruption now ravaging the country and threatening to pull it down. Forensic accounting is the application of a

Dele Agekameh combination of accounting, auditing skills and information technologies in the resolution of a finance-related dispute or crime.

Often times, a forensic accountant unravels a dispute or crime that is accounting related, but not necessarily fraud-based.

Although forensic accounting is practiced in developed countries, it is yet to be embraced here in Nigeria. Adopting it means that we are ready to step on toes and identify chronic exploiters who take advantage of institutional loopholes to milk the system. This is so because forensic accounting has the ability to unravel what happened, who did it, how it happened, why and when it happened, especially when it comes to white-collar financial crimes that pervade all gamut of the society.

It is also important and proactive for our financial institutions to have forensic accounting department or control department, headed by a forensic accountant or a certified fraud examiner. This is a department that exclusively focuses its strategic plans on how to prevent fraud or detect it whenever it happens. This way, collectively, we shall wage a titanic war on corruption and win.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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EDITORIAL/OPINION FROM THE CELL PHONE ‘Dr. Dare Sir, Haba! You forgot to mention a few other gallant patriots like those on the commitee on Aviation who require private jets plus expatriate aircrew and have had to settle for mere Camrys. Why are you so inconsiderate?

God bless Nigeria’. From Shima

• Tambuwal

For Dare Olatunji Heroism indeed! What a laugh? Uncle Tunji, I understand your sarcasm and cannot agree less. They should bury their heads in shame. From Israel, Abuja.

Surely, if you ever reincarnate, you will come as a journalist. Hope our dumb legislators won’t give you kudos for your satirical piece. May your ink never go dry.

Anonymous

By God’s special grace and the guardian spirit of every Nigerian on whose behalf these oversight duties are needful, they will do a compulsory oversight on hell and there would be provided a specially made Boko Haram bomb to despatch them there, for loving Nigerians this much. From Wole Jones Dr. Dare Sir, Haba! You forgot to mention a few other gallant patriots like those on the commitee on Aviation who require private jets plus expatriate aircrew and have had to settle for mere Camrys.

Why are you so inconsiderate? God bless Nigeria. From Shima Sir, I have always been a fan of your column but for this, I sincerely agree that this is a country where the fools are ruling the idiots. From Adetokunbo O., Ondo Prof., you seem to forget that it’s rulers and not leaders that we have in Nigeria.

From Feyi Akeeb Kareem Re: “With gratitude to our legislators.” I thank you Mr. Dare for your outstanding display of a satire to despise the nonending insatiable appetite and unrepentant attitude of these dishonourable legislators. Sir, I would appreciate it if you could go further, as a corollary, to do a commentary on the Westminster legislators who misrepresented their various communities in the UK. At last count as at October 2011, over 15 of them are in jail. What about the Shadow Defence Secretary who recently resigned for abuse of office and he is now being seriously investigated. At times I wonder where we blacks come from especially those in responsible positions with smear consciences. Thank you sir. From Chief Enobun.

Re: “With gratitude to our legislators.”

In addition to your informed analysis, is there no commitee of the house carrying out oversight on Boko Haram and MEND and yet another on terrorism as the removal of subsidy on petroleum products amount to an act of terror? Then and only then can I be grateful to them for settling for a Camry in ‘the land of’ PRADO, LEXUS, ARMADA and LANDCRUISER. My two legs up for Tambuwal’s house!

From Kayode A., Abeokuta.

I have not stopped laughing since I read that piece on “With gratitude to our legislators” infact I laugh like OBJ. More grease to your elbows my brother. They deserve all that you have mentioned but let them remember Gaddafi. From Shipinen Agbyoko, Makurdi Re: “With gratitude to our legislators”.

Our honorables? This crop of selfish people. Are they not Nigerians that they want to be gratified for doing their job. god help Nigeria. Anonymous

Thanks for today’s article titled “With gratitude to our legislators”. To lead a people, you must first identify fully with them. It is extremely hard to steer a ship when a significant part of you is in another vessle. The legislators, by ‘embarking on another car-purchasing bing’ are again confirming to those who mistakenly elected them that they are grossly insensitive to the poverty level in the country. Those who do not know right from wrong will do more wrong than right. Pity of pities! From Adegoke O. O. Ikhin, Edo State.

Infact, your article made me laugh till I cracked my ribs. They need exocet missiles to move in convoy with them, to provide cover, whenever they are on oversight duties. From A. I. Olisadebe.

You gratitude to our legislators is an exposition of the insensitivity of the occupants of the green house to the plight of the people they represent. They are only postponing their dooms day as our “African Spring” looms in the horizon.

From Kayode Olalekan, Agege Lagos.

Dear Olatunji Dare, your cynicism in your article: “With gratitude to our legislators” is highly applauded. My only grief is that those whom your write-up is directed at are, like the biblical Pharaoh, either deaf, dump, blind or impervious to public outcry. Soon, like Ghadafi, their day of reckoning shall come. Anonymous My brother, I don’t know you but I read your write-up in The Nation Newspaper titled “With gratitude to our legislators”.

You know what, we Nigerians are the architect of our problems, we are too docile, we accept everything thrown at us by these fools that called themselves legislators, you don’t give what you don’t have. It is share the money as usual which is PDP’s logo and mentality. The masses need to fight back. Please organize a public debate on this. We have a lot of problems in this country, infrastructures we don’t have, employment no, security zero.

Please we don’t need them to legislate on our behalf, they should forget that oversight function, it is just another way to enrich themselves. Continue to write on our behalf, camry is too small, give them bombproof battle tank. Anonymous My brother yours of today in The Nation is comendable. That is Nigerians for you instead of looking at every action objectively they always think of the negative angle. From Abu Gotomo, Abuja.

Dare, you sound like someone who has been paid by a group of people, what is wrong in democracy for people to say their mind. This not the first time legislators are demanding for outrageous incentives. Patriotism starts from what you can do for your country not what you can get from the government. Let them use airconditioned buses to oversight functions if truely they are there to serve the masses. Anonymous Nigerians should indeed be grateful to our legisrobbers. Who can challenge them? Patricia Etteh, Dimeji Bankole, now it is Tambuwal’s turn. Anonymous Tambuwal, tell us, the N2.5b cars to youselves,and the N18000 minimum wage to civil Servants, which one is more important? Patricia Etteh and Kole Dimeji robbed Nigeria, we are watching. From Margaret, PortHarcourt “The second scramble for Africa: Do China and India really mean well with their new scramble for the African continent, or is this modern colonialism?

One can lurch in the nooks and cranies of our continent, grabbing land for peanuts and exploiting our labour force, all in the

name of foreign investment, while our political leaders collect their take and look the other way. Oh my Africa! Let’s watch how Ghadafi left. From Richard Onyegasi, Ajaokuta Re: “With gratitude to our legislators”.

Yeah, we sure need to show gratitude to our legislators and infact our “leaders” for knowing how to manage failure.

Furthermore we need to thank them for emphasizing our Nigerian orientation where we learn these unprogressive attitudes from homes. For instance, in most of our homes, it is a fact that the ‘father’ would eat the choicest piece of meat or meal while in real since it is the ‘kids’ that need the nutrients more. It’s a shame but time will tell. I appreciate your write-up. From Henry Garba.

Dear Bro Dare, reading you on page 64 of The Nation nearly confused me. Nigeria needs patriots in all sectors- polical, economic, social, etc. Patriots who think about and pursue the needs of the common Nigerian which include shelter, food and security. Legislators should be given basic materials to perform their duties but they seem insensitive to clear evidences of lack of maintenance of infrastructures e.g roads, schools, railways. Visit Lokoja and see what I mean, as you travel from state secretariat to Kogi House of Assembly not to talk of roads outside Lokoja. Please continue your good work and save Nigeria from the gaping disgrace we are in. From Pastor S. E. Olorunyomi, Lokoja.

For Gbenga Omotoso Dear Gbenga, your piece titled ‘A distressful week’ is quite revealing. All I will tell you and your kind is that you guys should brace up for more battles.

This country is on a free fall; nothing is working. Your profession is such that you must say the truth and there lies your dilemma. Are you going to close your eyes to the filth going on in the name of government or tell the truth with the hope that one day our leaders will be shamed enough to make amendments? What kind of people are we? I am so ashamed of myself. I regret voting for GEJ. From the refineries to power, education, Agriculture, infrastructure, and even the Judiciary is completely corrupted and yet our leaders will not want to hear the truth.

Must we all pretend? Nigerians are dying of hunger in droves. Go to the hospitals and see the pretense we call health care. I pray for you all at The Nation; you will overcome your enemies and those of Nigeria. May the fate of Ghadafi be their portion: they will be found hiding in a hole alone and helpless. From Irhete P. Uncle Gbenga! It is vissible to the blind and audible to the deaf that if there is no original there can never be a fake! There is still a question that is left unaswered, was the letter published the original or the fake? While await their response, I will like to use this moment to commend The Nation for the maturity displayed during the unwarranted harrasment, I think there should be no other delay in demanding compesation. From Hon. Babaeko. O. OAU Ife. I wonder if the presidency is being teleguided by the ex-military powers? The bully attitude of the cops against a newspaper publication reminds me of fellow Nigerian days and a regret of wasting the whole day at the polls. But as a citizen to exercise my civic right, I had to vote one of the two evils. Appeal court saga is still fresh and now using presidential muscle against the voice of

•Jonathan

reason instead of a civilised alternative.

The world is watching! From Ayodele Ajakaye, Jos “A distressful week”: President Goodluck Jonathan, a day after his leaving office, will end up regretting what he did not do with his powers. I sincerely pray that our President shall not remain confused till the end of time. From Chukwudozie P. Onochie, Lagos For Segun Gbadegesin I like your simplicity and guts to speak the truth about the situation of the country. But I have a question: do you know what will become of Nigeria when Jonathan Goodluck’s tenure expires? This is the very question every Nigerian should be asking. Anonymous Dear Segun, halving the salaries and emoluments of the entire political office holders in Nigeria will surely pay for the oil subsidy. That should be the stand of the masses. Anonymous IBB is the right person to answer this.

Who killed Dele Giwa? Infact, had it been there is justice in this land IBB would not have been a freeman today, because to my understanding, IBB is responsible! From Ibrahim Muazu Attahirullah, New Liji, Gombe state.

Please warn Tambuwal, N2.5b can open factory for employment. He dare not join Patricia Etteh and Kole Dimeji in their robberies saga, the legislators already have cars. From Margaret, PortHarcourt Segun, your article, “The danger this time,” as usual, was very incisive and I believe our lawmakers are not there for us but for themselves yet we elected them.

A Chinese philosopher said, “Humaneness and justice are the means by which people are governed properly.

When government is carried out properly, the people feel close to the leadership and think little of dying for it. In essence, if our leaders or lawmakers can be humane and just in their dealings, sharing both the gaings and the troubles of the masses, then the masses will be loyal, patriotic and they will naturally identify with the interests of the leadership. But, our lawmakers are found wanting in this trend. They are not humane and just in their dealings with the masses they represent. This makes the people feel cheated and alienated from the government. Whenever the people think of their plights, they pray never to have anything doing with democracy again.

Why, becauce greediness, inequality and the widening gap between the rich and the poor pervade the society. As a result, citizens find it hard to identify with the programmes of the government and think very little of dying for the country becauce what has the country done for us, they asked? We all have inalienable rights and freedoms within the scope of the rule of law and our lawmakers should not bastardise these rights and freedoms with their behaviours. From Prince Adewumi Agunloye

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Joel Obi battles Enyeama for knock-out rounds

Pg. 41

Eucharia begs for second chance

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NFF s e h s sla ’ s e l Eag s e s u bon Pg. 24

• Joel Obi

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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NATION SPORT

NATION SPORT

Eucharia begs for Dream Team stars for Euro shuttles second chance

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MMEDIATE past Super Falcons' coach, Eucharia Uche has pleaded with the NFF technical committee to give her a second chance to make amends to her short comings.

Uche's Falcons failed to beat the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon for the London 2012 Olympic Games ticket.

Consequently, the NFF executive board last Thursday ratified the termination of her contract and directed the technical committee to recommend a replacement.

The committee meets on Tuesday in Abuja for the daunting task But the amiable coach who won gold at the 2010 African Women Championship in South Africa believes that she has learnt her lesson and wants to be recommended to continue in that stead.

"I have learnt a lot of lessons from this, and I wish to promise that if I am given another chance as the coach of the team, I will make up for the losses," the coach told SuperSport.com.

The former Nigerian international who acknowledged the pain their failure to qualify for the Olympics have caused Nigerians, explained that they were unfortunate to lose the ticket to Cameroon via penalties.

"I am mindful and sensitive of the injury caused to our people by our loss.

"The Falcons’ technical crew with the able guidance of our respected NFF technical committee member, Christian Chukwu did everything humanly possible to ensure that we won the game in Cameroon. The Cameroonians did everything to

frustrate us. As women, the odd against us doubled when one of our defenders was issued a red card as early as the 25th minute thereby disorganising our match plan of winning the game.

"That put us in a very tight corner especially playing against a home side that employed all the unimaginable advantages. I am not making excuses, I just want to tender an unreserved apology to my employer, NFF, NSC and millions of football followers for our failure to get the Olympics ticket," she said.

Uchebo set for Stoke talks

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• Eucharia

European champion seeks Obudu history, $50,000 top prize

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ECENTLY crowned European mountain running champion,Ahmet Arslan is seeking to become the first European man to win the men's title and the accompanying $50,000 top prize when the 7th Obudu International Mountain Race is flagged of on Monday November 28 at the Obudu Ranch Resort in Obudu,Cross River State.

Arslan,who won the European title for the fifth time last month in Bursa,Turkey was also crowned the World Mountain Running Association overall grand prix winner barely weeks after picking the silver medal at the 27th World Mountain Running Championships in Tirana, Albania.

The Turks,who has already confirmed his participation at this year's race will be banking on his form and pedigree to outrun his African adversaries,mainly Kenyans and Ethiopians who have been dominating the scene after Australia's Ben Dubois won the inaugural title in 2005.

His main foe will, however, be Ethiopia's two-time winner, Abebe Dinkesa who will also be hoping to become the first man to make it a hattrick of titles at the prestigious event after equalling his countryman,Habtamu Fikadu's feat of winning the title twice.

Sir William Archibong, head of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the race is excited at having,once again,the best mountain runners in the world, asemble in Obudu for what has become the best mountain race in the world in terms of the prize money and quality of the field.

'We at the LOC are very delighted that a mountain running legend and five-time European champion will be competing at the 7th Obudu Mountain Race.This is a confirmation

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IGERIA Olympic team are considering having some of their top Europe-based stars like Ahmed Musa and Rabiu Ibrahim shuttle between the qualifiers in Morocco and their base in Europe.

The arrangement followed the reluctance of Dutch clubs VVV Venlo and PSV Eindhoven to release the players for the final Olympic qualifying tournament, which begins on November 26 in Morocco.

“There are huge doubts over the availability of some of these players because the competition is not on the FIFA calendar, but we are also trying to be a lot more creative and are now suggesting to the clubs for the affected

of the growing popularity of the race the world-over as well as the confidence the world mountain running family has in our ability to organise a world class event',said Archibong.

Patrick Ugbe, the Honourable Commissioner for Information in Cross River state also expressed delight at the coming of Arslan and heaped praise on Senator Liyel Imoke,the Cross River State governor for providing the LOC the support and the enabling environment for the race.

'His Excellency has been the pillar behind the successes we have recorded so far.He has made the race one of the most anticipated races in the calendar of the world mountain running association.He is leaving no stone unturned at ensuring that the Obudu Ranch hosts the 30th edition of the World Mountain Running Championships in 2014", revealed Ugbe.

The Obudu International Mountain Race is an annual 11.25 km mountain running competition which has the largest total prize-money available of any mountain race and is known as "the world's richest mountain race".

The men's and women's competition winners receive US$50,000 each,and there is a total prize pot $278,000. The combination of the distance of the race and the rewards on offer means that it attracts world-class road running athletes as well as mountain running athletes.The race which was devised as a means of raising awareness of Obudu Cattle Ranch – a tourist resort is an associate member race of the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) and is also endorsed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The course begins at a height of 800 m above sea level and as it traces a path towards the summit of Mount Obudu it climbs a further 800 m, with the finishing point of the race being a total 1600 m above sea level.[2]

OUNG Nigerian striker Michael Uchebo is set to travel to Stoke City for talks about a move to the Potters.

The 21-year-old is with Dutch club VVV Venlo but is out of contract next summer although a move could materialise before then.

The 6ft 5in highly-rated forward is yet to play for Nigeria's senior squad although he has represented them at a youth level.

But it is thought that he may have a problem in being issued with a work permit to play in the Premier League.

VVV sporting director Mario Captein has revealed that Uchebo could travel to England for talks within the next fortnight.

Captein told Voetbal International: "They want to talk to Michael. You should see it as a sort of interview.

"You always want to talk to a player before you agree to sign them. It shows at least that Stoke's interest is very serious.

"Next week there are no matches in the Eredivisie so that would be a good time (for him to go to Stoke)."

players to shuttle between their bases in Europe and the tournament in Morocco,” a top team official disclosed to MTNFootball.com “This will be one of the issues the coach, Austin Eguavoen, will bring before the Nigeria Football Federation.”

Morocco is a popular holiday destination for Europeans and so there will be daily flights from Europe to cities like Tangiers and Marrakesh.

Ahmed Musa, for one, managed such a shuttle arrangement with the country’s U20 team, the Flying Eagles, during the African Youth Championship in South Africa earlier this year.

He jetted in from Amsterdam for the crucial opening group game against world champions Ghana to help the Flying Eagles win before he headed back to his Dutch club.

However, VVV then refused to release the forward for the other AYC matches.

NFF slashes Super Eagles’ bonuses T

HE Super Eagles win-bonus has been slashed and a code of conduct for the country’s top stars is underway as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) attempts to enforce team discipline.

Each player was paid $10,000 for a win and $5,000 for a drawn game. This was a carry-over of the playing conditions put in place by the Presidential task Force for the 2010 World Cup. However, NFF president, Aminu Maigari, has disclosed that this will now have to change as efforts are now being geared to restore pride and discipline in the national team.

“We have resolved to slash the match bonus of the players and their officials,” revealed Maigari, who equally admitted that the previous

win-bonus rate was a heavy financial cross for his federation to bear.

“Anyone who is not ready to accept the new rate should stay away as the NFF is not ready to compromise on this.

“We are also looking at a code of conduct for the team to check the indiscipline that was the bane of the team under Siasia.”

He added: “I think we gave too much power to Siasia and he did not manage it well and that is why we have decided to re-introduce a code of conduct to check the excesses of the players and the coaches.”

Sacked Eagles’ coach Samson Siasia publicly rowed with some of the Eagles’ stars like Osaze Odemwingie, Vincent Enyeama and Mikel Obi as he tried to enforce discipline in the team.

Several top NFF officials have also admitted that the players have not shown commitment to the national team and as such drastic measures need to be taken immediately.

Players have long kicked against a code of conduct, insisting they are mature enough to know what is good and bad while in the national team.

Joel Obi battles Enyeama for knock-out rounds

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IGERIA duo of Joel Obi will slug it out with Vincent Enyeama tonight in the UEFA Champions League as Inter Milan welcomes Lille to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

Obi will be aiming for a win with Inter to advance to the knockout stage of the European money spinning league.

Inter will be looking to put their Serie A troubles to one sideas they lie fourth from bottom after a disastrous start to their league campaign in which they have won two and lost five of their nine games so far.

They also had a poor start to their

Sammy Ameobi suffers racist abuse

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AMMY Ameobi Ameobi was a late substitute in Monday's victory over Stoke

Newcastle and Sammy Ameobi have called in police after the striker was the subject of racist abuse on Twitter.

The comment was made on Sunday and the offending account has now been deleted.

A statement said: "The club and Sammy have reported the matter to the police, who are now dealing with the incident.

"The racist comment is wholly unacceptable. Newcastle will not tolerate racism of any kind and will take the strongest possible action against those responsible."

Ameobi, 19, the younger brother of Shola, appeared as a late substitute in Monday night's 3-1 Premier League victory at Stoke.

Newcastle's statement comes at a time when the Football Association are investigating allegations that QPR defender Anton Ferdinand was the subject of a racist slur by Chelsea captain John Terry.

Champions League campaign when they fell to a 1-0 home loss to outsiders Trabzonspor, although they have since recovered.

Victories away to CSKA Moscow and Lille have put the Italians in pole position to progress from Group B and a victory tonight would all but assure their name goes into the pot for the second round draw.

They have proved more clinical than their opponents in their last two European games but have not been visibly superior.

However, leading the group by two points and with two homes games out of three to come, puts them in a strong position.

Lille, on the other hand, are in the last chance saloon. They sit bottom of the group on just two points and knowing that a defeat would virtually end their chances of progressing.

They have already thrown away leads against CSKA and Trabzonspor, drawing games they could have won before also losing at home to Inter. Even a draw would see them facing an uphill battle to finish in the top two in the group so they are going to need to attack.

One thing that may also encourage them, other than Inter's awful league form, is the fact that Inter have also lost three out of their last five home matches against French opposition, winning only one.

The Italians have at least improved their shoddy defence – the third worst in Serie A – conceding just three goals in their last four games in all competitions.

It is only 18 months since Inter lifted the Champions League but that was under Jose Mourinho. Since he left they have had four different coaches and have steadily got worse as a team.

Following five straight league titles they finished second last season while in this campaign they already have an uphill battle to finish in the top three and qualify for next season's Champions League.

They may even need to win it this season to be in the next competition.

FIFA gets $300m in World Cup hospitality deal

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IFA announced another improved World Cup deal Tuesday after selling the rights to market corporate tickets at the 2018 and 2022 tournaments for $300 million (?219 million) to current partner MATCH Hospitality.

FIFA said it would also get a share of MATCH’s profits on high-end ticket sales for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and Qatar in 2022. The deal also covers Confederations Cup and Women’s World Cup tournaments from 2017-23.

The deal was announced days after FIFA revealed it sold $1.85 billion (?1.3 billion) in broadcast rights for 2018-2022 in the United States, Australia, Canada and the Caribbean.

It previously clinched $1.7 billion (?1.2 billion) in broadcast sales covering the Middle East and parts of Asia and Latin America.

FIFA also extended its contract last week with second-tier sponsor Anheuser-Busch InBev for the Budweiser beer brand through 2022.

The value was not disclosed.

MATCH paid $240 million for hospitality rights to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and 2014 event in Brazil.

It acknowledged heavy losses in South Africa, reported to be almost $50 million, but predicted returning to profit in Brazil.

“MATCH Hospitality delivered a successful hospitality programme in 2010 despite the very challenging economic situation influencing this particular industry at the time,” FIFA’s marketing director Thierry Weil said in a statement. “FIFA has renewed and extended with a company and partner that brings together the most experienced team in the hospitality industry.”

The company licenses sales to agents who have exclusive rights in national markets.

Drogba opens new contract talks C

HELSEA powerhouse Didier Drogba has revealed he has opened contract talks with the club about a new deal at Stamford Bridge.

The Ivorian's current deal is set to expire next summer and he is yet to commit his future to the club past that point.

Drogba, who is currently recovering from arm surgery, is thought to be holding out for a two-year deal while the club would prefer a 12-month extension.

The 33-year-old's future at Chelsea was the subject of speculation in the summer with Fernando Torres seen

Nigerian youngster booked for celebrating goal IGERIA-BORN Wycombe's Jordan Ibe was booked for celebrating his first senior goal with his family in the stands as his side lost to Sheffield Wednesday.

Jose Semedo tapped the Owls in front when he reacted quickest after Ryan Lowe's shot hit the post.

But Ibe equalised on his first Football League start with a shot from 18 yards.

Lowe, starting his first game for the Owls, converted Semedo's inswinging cross to win it as Wycombe had Gareth Ainsworth sent off for two bookings.

Ainsworth, 38, had made 116 career appearances before his new team-mate Ibe was even born.

The game also saw Owls boss Gary Megson sent to the stands late on for his protests as he tried to get defender Rob Jones back on the pitch after receiving treatment for a cut.

Wycombe manager Gary Waddock told BBC Three Counties Radio: "I really do feel for everyone at the moment because the players have shown 100% commitment and are just not getting the rub of the green.

"It didn't help when we went down to 10 players. They have got experienced players and an experienced manager as well. They are a massive football club.

On Jordan Ibe's goal: "If it was a senior player, you would be saying what a fantastic goal. He is 15 and to do that your debut tells you the quality the lad has got.

"We just want to make sure he goes on an fulfils the potential he has got and possibly he could go and play at the highest level.”

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

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as first-choice striker and the arrival of Romelu Lukaku from Anderlecht, along with Dean Sturridge returning from his loan spell at Bolton, increasing competition for places.

However, Drogba is not worried about the competition for places in Andre Villas-Boas' side and is ready to prove he deserves a new contract.

"Talks have started," Drogba told L'Equipe. "Everyone knows what I want.

"I am not afraid of the competition.

I always had to face it here with Gudjohnsen and then Shevchenko."

• Blatter

Togo FA boss to visit Adebayor

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• Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo (r) and Osaze Odemwingie during a training session

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HAMPIONS Enyimba will have to be at their best against a Lobi Stars team who have defied most predictions to stay within the top 10 in the NPL. ‘The People’s Elephant’ are now playing for pride after losing out of all the competitions they entered this year.

They lost the federation Cup to local rivals Heartland and failed to advance to the final of this year’s CAF Champions League after they fell 1-0 at Wydad Casablanca of Morocco.

Even a top-three finish in the NPL looks beyond them now as they are on 57 points and in sixth place on the table.

Lobi may add to Enyimba woes Skipper Chiedozie Johnson has rejoined the team after he missed the team’s two straight home wins over Kaduna United and Crown FC, but goalkeeper Chijoke Ejiogu and striker Junior Osagie have stayed away.

Defenders Markson Ojobo and Chinedu Udoji are expected to be released from the Olympic team camp in Ibadan to join the Aba team in Bauchi for this game.

Lobi are ninth on the table and have

had vice-chairman and former international Dominic Iorfa running the sidelines as he doubles up as coach.

Enyimba coach Okey Emordi appears to have resigned himself to fate with several key absentees since the club crashed out of the Champions League.

“It is very pathetic the situation we have found ourselves. Ever since we crashed out of the champions League, I have found it difficult having a full complement of my playing staff and

that is very worrisome,” Emordi lamented to MTNFootball.com “Even if I lose about six of my regular starters to the national team, I would not have worried one bit if others do come for training but the reverse is the case and there is nothing I can do other than go to Bauchi and do the best with the much I have.

“It will be extremely difficult but you never know with the game of football.”

OGO Football Federation (FTF) president Gabriel Ameyi announced today he would be travelling to London to visit Togo former captain Emmanuel Adebayor in view of concluding talks over his return to the Sparrow Hawks to help the team prepare for the qualifiers of the 2013 African Cup of Nations and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Togo football body and the Tottenham striker have been engaged in months-long dialogue over his possible return to the national team, nearly two years after he bowed out of international football in the wake of the Togo team bus attack prior to the 2010 African Cup of Nations held in Angola.

“Emmanuel Adebayor is still missing in our national team and we’ll do everything to get him back,” Ameyi said. “We need him to help build a new squad for the benefit of Togo football and the entire

population.

“This is why I’m going to London few days from now to personally meet him and conclude modalities for his return. The national team needs him as he too needs the team,” he added.

In April, the former Manchester City forward gave the FTF his conditions to return to the set up, which were essentially based on security.

“I’ve given them my conditions. I’m

getting older by the day, if it’s all about returning to the team and still be travelling under terrible circumstances to play matches, they should count me out,” the 27-year-old Togo’s all time best scorer had said.

“I’ve told them that when they send a player a call up, they should also send an air ticket so all the team members can travel in good conditions. If that could be ameliorated, then I’m in.”

Egypt wants Dream Team

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GYPT'S Olympic team have opened talks with Nigeria over playing a friendly ahead of the CAF Under-23 Olympic qualifying tournament later this month.

Egypt coach Hany Ramzy told Ahram Online that both countries are in discussion for a game on November 18.

“There are communications with the Nigerian Football Federation to hold a friendly with them on 18 November,” he

said.

The Egyptian Olympic team have already confirmed two friendlies against Senegal in November.

Ramzy has named a 30-man squad of local players for the friendlies, and expects to trim that number down to 21 after the games.

Egypt’s U-23 team, which are drawn with the Ivory Coast, South Africa and Gabon in the final phase of qualifiers, are bidding for their first qualification since 1992.

REMEDY

DISASTER

ORIENTATION

‘How to tackle environmental challenges’

Flood ravages 14 councils

Pupils embrace road maintenance campaign

Lagos

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

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ASARAWA State has taken steps to enhance the effectiveness of its workforce, especially in the public service.

To that effect, a two-day training workshop was organised for senior staff of the state’s civil service. The workshop aimed at improving the capacity of the workers in order to boost their overall productivity.

Enhanced productivity is crucial for the administration of Governor Tanko Al-Makura.

As in many other states, AlMakura came into office amid high expectation from the people. The governor was aware of this, and set up a hefty committee to determine the people’s core needs and make same available to him. Among other things, it was discovered that the civil service needed capacity rejuvenation.

That was what essentially informed the workshop, which was organised by the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), in collaboration with Jos Business School.

The Executive Director of Jos Business School, Mr. Ezekiel Gomos said that since 2009, CIPE has been partnering with the school on the project. That partnership has led to the training of over 200 House of Assembly members and their staff in Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa states on how to create businessfriendly legislation.

The collaboration, according to him, has also been able to build capacity for over 100 businessmen and women representing nearly 20 business and professional associations and trade groups.

For this reason, Gomos said, “in 2011, CIPE and JBS decided to extend the project to Niger, Kwara and Kogi states and have already trained about 100 businessmen and women in advocacy skills, organisational development and strategic planning.

“Similarly, we will also be building the capacity of all those of Assembly legislators and the

•Akawu (left), Gomos (right) and a participant at the event

Nasarawa trains civil servants Workshop for senior officials From Johnny Danjuma, Lafia

legislative staff in making business-friendly legislation”.

The Head of Nasarawa State Civil Service, Dr. Amos Bala Akawu bemoaned the challenges in the state’s workforce.

He said: “Lack of per capita growth has remained a key drawback to our aspiration for socioeconomic development over the years.

“This is despite the human potentials and huge natural endowments at our disposal...What we need to do to depart from this culture of poverty is a deliberate partnership that will stimulate the creative talents and energy of our people. This is with a view to putting these resources to effective use for the good of the citizens”.

United States Senator Fred Whitin who attended the workshop also lamented the paradox of

the country’s potentials and its poverty.

“There is a great deal of opportunities in Nigeria,” he said. “You have many advantages that many other countries don’t have like the advantages of a huge population, a large market as well as mineral and human resources”.

But he pointed out that there are many things that need to be worked on to get things right. Infrastructure is one area that needs attention, but electricity demands even more focus so that investment can come into the country.

Whitin also said the country should expand its industrial base beyond petroleum, adding that agriculture is one area that can really be tapped into to create job opportunities for a large number of people.

Whitin said there is hope for Nigeria and that what the workshop is hoping to achieve is to discuss with the participants who are mainly from the state government establishment on the need to partner with the private sector for the development of the state and the country.

Plateau residents urged to invest in state EOPLE Of Plateau State origin, especially those from the southern part, have been urged not to leave the development of the state to the government alone.

They were asked to invest in their locality in order to improve the living standard of the people and complement the government’s efforts.

The advice was given by former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Jonah Wuyep at Mabudi, headquarters of Langtang South Local Government Area.

Wuyep was speaking during the first and second Annual General

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•Governor Jang

From Marie-Therese Peter, Jos

Meeting (AGM) of the First Lowland Micro-Finance Bank Limited, the only banking facility in the locality.

Many of the indigenous people of the state’s southern zone live outside their localityy and are said to have investments in various parts of the country.

Wuyep, who is the chairman of the micro-finance bank, said the rural nature of the zone should not discourage people who have the intention of investing there. He said investing in the zone will improve the

lot of the locality.

“Many people may be discouraged that they may not reap the benefit of their investment but everything requires patience,” he said. “When we started the bank in 2008, many people did not give it a chance but now things are picking up and we are glad that our local people are exposed to the rudiments of banking and of saving their money in banks instead of keeping it at home”.

Also speaking at the event, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Amos Balami told prospective investors that the

road may be rough but with perseverance, the profit would come.

His words: “Since we opened our doors to customers on the September 3, 2008, it has been steady but challenging experience for all stakeholders. The idea of opening the micro-finance bank was a wellthought-out one and it has brought blessings to the people of the community and beyond.

“We have given employment to the youth and women, given loans of over N160m to local farmers •Continued on Page 26

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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‘How to tackle environmental challenges’

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AGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola has said that the review of the state development plans, layouts, building designs and other urban planning programmes and strategies will be a major step in mitigating the impact of climate change.

The governor disclosed this at an event to commemorate this year’s World Habitat Day in the state.

The event, which held at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium Alausa, had dignitaries including the former governor of the state, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Environmental specialist, Dr. Newton Jibunor, traditional rulers, stakeholders in the sectors among others in attendance.

The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Oluranti Adebule, said it was important to critically examine the role of physical planning system as a tool for mitigating and adapting the climate change effect.

Governor Fashola explained that the government had, in the last few years, employed urban planning as a veritable tool for environmental protection of city, adding that planning policies

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LLELA Local Government Area of Sokoto State has beefed security at the border with Niger Republic in order to prevent smuggling and the influx of small firearms into the area.

Chairman of the council Alhaji Garba Sabon Gari said that the move became necessary in view of the recent crisis in Libya.

Sabon Gari disclosed this while speaking to journalists in Illela, the council headquarters, adding that firearms could bu smuggled into the Nigeria by immigrants from war-torn Libya.

Illela, an entry and exit border

By Miriam Ndikanwu

and strategies are formulated to mitigate the risk involved in climate change.

He listed other steps taking to include the annual Lagos State summit on climate change which provides a platform to create awareness and sensitisation on the public.

“This annual international workshops have provided participants the opportunities to discuss the nature, causes, effects and mitigating steps to be taken by stakeholders in rescuing our city from destruction by climate change,” he said.

He said the government in implementing some of the recommendations of the summit, has entered into partnership with other tiers of government in Nigeria, the C 40 group of cities, international development and donor agencies, private sector/investors and non- governmental organisations to form an alliance in advocacy, knowledge, sharing and supports.

Earlier, the state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olutoyin Ayinde, said the state is progressively combating the effects of climate change through public aware-

•Chairman, LSPWC, Gbenga Akintola (standing); Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure, Ganiyu Johnson (second, right); Rasheed Teslim-Balogun (right) and Head, Mechanical, LSPWC, Olamide Daniju (left) at the event

ness, legal and institutional framework.

The guest lecturer, Prof. Dele Olowokudejo advised the government on steps which he said

would assist in mitigating the impact of climate change.

He listed these steps to include establishment of coastal management policies including enforce-

Council steps up border surveillance From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto point between Nigeria and Niger Republic is an important security spot that requires proper attention against external threat.

He said: “Libya is a neighbhour to Niger Republic while Nigeria is also the immediate neighbour of Niger Republic.

“Illela Local Government being a local government bordering

Birnin Konni in Niger Republic; we will really be in a dicey situation if there is any problem.”

Sabon-Gari said that the local government has been holding regular meetings with the border security agencies from Nigeria and Niger Republic. ”This is to share intelligence in order to nip any security problem in the bud. This is also to ensure the prevention of cross-border crimes,’’ he explained.

He said that security agencies in

the country need to be fully equipped to function effectively like their counterparts in other parts of the world.

“This will enable them to be abreast of recent developments in the areas of logistics and modern equipment for their job,” he added.

Sabon-Gari commended the people of the area for cooperating with

and traders who have paid back over 90 per cent of them and we have provided safe custody for their money.

With the loans, their businesses are boosted. They have acquired assets, built houses, paid their children’s school fees, transfer and receive money with ease, among other things.”

Though lamenting the initial apathy the people showed towards the micro-finance bank, Balami added that the residents are now favourably disposed to the idea as they have noticed that the bank is for them.

“Since the inception of the bank, we have seen four successive administrations in Langtang South Local Government. This has, in no small measure, created inconsistency in government policies, salaries of teachers and civil servants were paid across the counter instead of through the bank. However, the bank, the 33bed capacity Wuyep Specialist Hospital and the construction of the first standard filling station in Mabudi, •Ejigbo LCDA chairman Kehinde Bamigbetan congratulating elected councillors after they were sworn in at the council secretariat

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Councillors elect leaders

By Duro Babayemi

nessed by the council chairman, ACN leaders and members in the council area. It culminated in the emergence of Hon. Tajudeen Sulaimom, from Ifoshi Ward as the Deputy Leader, while Hon.

Onadeko Damilola from Aigbaka Ward was elected the Majority Leader. Hon. Jimoh Alesinloye representing Ilamoshe Ward was elected as the Chief Whip, while Hon. Muritala Tanigbola from Ailegun Ward and Hon. Rabiu Wasiu, from Fadu Ward are other members of the House.

the various security agencies in the area, saying “it has greatly helped in nipping all cross-border crimes and smuggling activities in the area in the bud. This will boost the security of lives and property and boost the socio-economic development of the country,” the chairman noted.

Plateau residents urged to invest in state •Continued from Page 25

HE new legislative arm of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State has elected its leaders after its proclamation by the council’s chairman, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan.

Hon. Adeniyi Abayomi representing Oke-afa Ward was elected the Leader of the House.

The election, which took place inside the council chamber was wit-

ment of setsback lines, use of lowcost erosion control technology and flood defense measures as well as prevention of new development in the coastal zone.

have changed the landscape of the town and transformed the economic outlook of the local government area.

Balami was optimistic that more businesses would spring up in the area, even as he called on would-be investors to look into the areas of building a main market, block industry, sachet water production, plant, construction of ware houses, and cold-room for frozen foods among other things.

However, stakeholders at the AGM unanimously agreed to increase their investment in the bank so as to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria requirements of N120m which would move the bank from the unit micro-finance bank to state micro-finance bank as this would enable them to have branches in other localities within the state.

Meanwhile, the bank called on its customers to engage in the 3rd anniversary bonanza which would close in December, 2011 as this would enable them to win prizes.

He urged them to buy shares in the bank as its share value has appreciated from N1.00 to N1.50k per share.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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HE peaceful nature of the people of Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State was put to test recently when a political conflict in the area caused the creation of a temporary secretariat of the local government with the two secretariats in Dengi, the local government headquarters.

The bone of contention was the cold war among the elected chairman of the local government Dr. Saleh Kanam, the former council boss and the Plateau State Governor, Jonah David Jang who have been at logger head since 2009 over who is in charge of Kanam Local Government.

Dr. Saleh, a university law lecturer believed the third tier of government should be autonomous and should not be dictated to and monitored by the state government. He is also of the view that being the executive chairman of his local government, he does not owe the state governor any form of loyalty.

This tough stand of the council boss does not go down well with Governor Jang who believes that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has placed the control of the local government under his grip and any council chairman, elected or appointed, should be loyal to the governor. Should he act otherwise, his action would be treated as insubordination.

It got to a stage that Saleh was said to have allegedly joined an opposition party working to out-stage Governor Jang in the April general elections. A month to the governorship election, Jang effected a dissolution

27

Conflict over Plateau council From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

of the Kanam local government led

by Dr. Kanam alongside his legislature. In his place, the governor asked his deputy to take charge of the council. But the governor soon discovered that the deputy of the suspended council boss remained loyal to the suspended chairman and was still relating with him on financial matters.

Two months after, Governor Jang announced the dissolution of the entire executive of the local government and appointed Hon. Usman Danjuma Gar as head of the council administration.

Dr. Saleh, the lawyer-turned politician went to court to challenge the action of the state governor. In his suit Dr. Saleh claimed that his fundamental rights have been abused and that he was not given fair hearing.

He claimed that he was elected by the people of his local government

and the state governor has no power to suspend him since he was not an appointee of the governor.

In the initial judgment of the Federal High Court Jos, Justice Ambrose Alagoa ordered Governor Jang to reinstate the suspended council boss to his office with all the privileges of his office. The court therefore voided Governor Jang’s action in suspending Dr. Saleh.

The Plateau State Government quickly appealed the judgment claiming it was done in error.

While the appeal lasted, the suspended council boss mobilised some youths in the area and tried to force his way back to his former office claiming he has been returned by the court judgment. But he was disallowed by the security agencies. This led to the creation of a temporary secretariat by the appointed head of administration of the council. The temporary secretariat then began to

The existence of the temporary secretariat became necessary given the fact that the Nigerian Constitution has no room for vacuum at the local government level

operate from a primary school in Gar, Dengi. The move was done so as not to abuse the court order.

When Dr. Saleh was refused entrance into his office, he ran back to the High Court, Jos to file a fresh suit asking the court to compel the state government to obey the order of the court.

Responding to the suit, the state government argued that the Federal High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain issue bordering on local government. The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Plateau state Edward Pwajok added that it was within the purview of the state High Court.

Ruling on the argument of counsels in Jos over the lingering case, Justice Alagoa reversed his earlier judgment and held that the issues raised in the suit by Dr. Saleh indeed fall within the jurisdiction of the state High Court.

He said: “The subject matter of the suit bordering on election of the plaintiff, his certificate of return, the committee set up by the Plateau State Government and the complaint about rights are issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the state High Court and cannot therefore be handled by a Federal High Court.

“The preliminary objection succeeds, and the matter is to be transferred to the Plateau State Chief George for re-assignment.”

This last ruling, according to Pwajok, means that the earlier court judgment which said the suspended chairman be re-instated to his office is null and void because the court that gave that order has no jurisdiction on the matter and has admitted as such. It then means that the first judgment was actually done in error.

Pwajok said: “The head of administration Usman Danjuma Kanam can now occupy the original secretariat of the local government since no court of law has stopped him from operating as head of the local government.

“Since the court has declined jurisdiction on the matter, it then means that there were no order from the court as those earlier were made in error. Now the court has found out that it has no jurisdiction.”

However, Hon. Gar said: “The existence of the temporary secretariat became necessary given the fact that the Nigerian Constitution has no room for vacuum at the local government level. The former chairman is under suspension and I have the authority of the state governor to fill the vacuum until another election is held to produce a democraticallyelected chairman and councilors for the local government.

Hon. Gar called on all stakeholders in the area to support him so as to maintain the peace and unity for which the council has been known.

Villagers demand access to farmland

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OR the people of Isa -Laderin Village in Obafemi Owode Government Area of Ogun State, it is about time the state government looked into their plight.

They said a large expanse of land which they were strongly attached to culturally, historically and even occupationally was allegedly taken away from them by the state government during the past administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

For seven years, the villagers have carried their burden with no willing shoulders to lean on for a relief. Their situation is made more pathetic by the seeming ignorance, low income and little education of the people which ensured that they were unable to pay for legal service to pursue their case in the court.

It was for this reason that they approached the Lands Commission of Inquiry for redress.

The Lands Commission of Inquiry was established in accordance with the existing laws of the state

by Governor Ibikunle Amosun

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

with a mandate to investigate cases of alleged illegal land deals, acquisitions and allocation of Ogun State landed properties during Daniel’s era and offer recommendation where necessary.

It is empowered to inquire into the “sales and concession of government property” between January 2004 and May 2011 as well as investigate “any form of transfer of interest in any property held in the corporate name of Ogun State government.”

At the time the inaugural sitting began last October 24, the Commission had received a total of 114 memoranda from individuals and organisations, including that of the Laderin villagers, who felt short– changed without redress over land matters in Ogun State.

Members of the Commission include a serving judge, Justice Abiodun Akinyemi (Chairman)

Mr. Dipo Onabanjo, Mr. Ayo Biobaku, Mrs Bisi Olumide, Mr. Niyi Oguntula and Gbenga Kareem (Secretary).

At the Commission’s public sitting to entertain documentary and oral evidences from witnesses to alleged illegal land deals, acquisition and allocations, the panellists heard how the Laderins were weaned of their farmland without compensation.

The villagers’ case was brought before the Commission by the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), the Nigerians’ ombudsman, Ogun State office.

Mr. Mustapha Musibau Olalekan who represented the State Director of PCC, Alhaji Razaq Adesola Obey, told the panelists that the Isa Laderin Village land was acquired by the Ogun State government in 2005 and that a letter emanating from the State’s Housing Ministry promised the villagers that they would be accommodated at the Laderin Housing Estate when com-

•The National President of Nigeria Army Officer’s Wives Association, Mrs. Nnenna Ihejirika (left) presenting a gift to the GOC, 82 Div, Nigeria Army Enugu, Maj-Gen. Sunday Idoko during her working tour of the facility PHOTO: OBI CLETUS

pleted but said seven years after, the government had not fulfilled its parts of the bargain.

Olalekan said repeated cries by the villagers to the government to address their situation had only fallen on deaf ears, adding that their inability to get the attention of the State government informed why they ran to the Public Complaints Commission to give voice to their years of unheard grievances on the land matters.

And buoyed by this, the Villagers in their hundreds trooped to the Oba’s Complex, Oke–Mosan, the venue of the sitting.

They had wanted to take the witness box in large numbers to testify in furtherance of the case but the Commission Chairman, advised that they chose a spokesman, who knows the history of the affected land, to give evidence on behalf of others.

And testifying on oath, Mr David Gbemisola, who is the first Son of the Baale of Isa–Laderin, late Chief Michael Gbemisola, said conceded their farm land because the government promised to build school, hospital, market and water system for them, lamenting that till date the villagers are still without the promised amenities.

He said individuals and officials of the state government are not only encroaching on their lands beyond areas given out, they now selling their lands to the highest bidders between N1m and N1.5m per plot, saying this contravened the original purpose the land was acquired.

He prayed the Commission to

•Justice Akinyemi prevail on the state government to return their lands to the Isa-Laderin villagers and to also compensate handsomely for the years they were denied the use the said land for farming and other purposes.

The Commission after listening to their case, instructed the Ministry of Housing to check its record to ascertain if peradventure someone or a group of person had been paid compensation in respect of the land without the Villagers knowing and if the land in question falls within the Laderin Estate.

The Housing Ministry is expected to report back to the Commission before the expiration of their assignment to enable the Panelists make appropriate recommendations on Isa – Laderin land Petition.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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Skill acquisition centre for farmers

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ORNO State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Baba Garbai says the state government is to establish a skills acquisition centre for farmers in Damboa.

Garbai, who announced this while inspecting projects in Damboa Local Government Area, stated that farmers would be trained in modern farming technology at the centre.

He said that the state government was determined to give agriculture top priority so as to boost food security.

The commissioner advised parents and guardians to enroll their wards in schools to enable them contribute to national development.

He also urged the caretaker chairman of

•Shettima

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Kebbi awards contract for erosion control

S part of efforts to curb ecological problems, the Kebbi State government has awarded contracts worth N357m for erosion control in Birnin Kebbi, an official has disclosed.

The state Commissioner for Environment, Mr Ishiaku Daudu disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Abuja.

He identified desert encroachment as the major ecological problem confronting the state.

"The biggest problem we are experiencing in the state is desert encroachment into our farmlands annually; and our people are migrating to other states for greener pasture.

"We also have some other erosion problems that need Federal Government’s intervention.

"We have started some that our fund can take care of and we have tendered our case at the last National Council on Environ-

Kebbi ment in Kaduna State.

"In 2010, we experienced flooding; we are hoping on the Federal Government to come to our aid.''

He said that the state government had increased the state's shelterbelt to 20 kms to prevent wind erosion.

The commissioner also said that the state raised seedlings every year for planting to reduce desert encroachment.

"We raise seedlings and give them free to our people every year for planting and we also use our corps members to plant them.''

He called on the Office of the Ecological Fund to provide the state with intervention fund as it is one of the 11 frontline states faced with desertification.

Borno thecouncil, Alhaji Abu Hong, to embark on the provision of social amenities and execution of developmental projects.

Garbai gave an assurance that the state government would pay attention to improvement in the standard of living of the

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citizenry.

Earlier, Hong said that the council administration would strive to make life more meaningful for the people.

He said the council had dug some boreholes, constructed class rooms and renovated many dispensaries inaddition to procurement of drugs to enhance healthcare delivery.

Police donate to orphanage

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N what is seen as a deliberate move to change public perception about the Nigeria Police, the Kano State Police Command has donated various items worth millions of Naira to orphanage homes in Kano state.

The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris who presented the items yesterday in Kano, said it is the responsibility of the police not only to protect vulnerable members of society but to also make life more comfortable for them.

Idris said the concept of community policing connotes empathy and giving every member of society a sense of belonging.

The Police Chef explained that he was at the Nassarawa Orphanage Home not to carry out an investigation or raid the area as is often the case when police officers and men come knocking, but to donate humanitarian aid to those who it need the most.

"It is the responsibility of security agencies not only to protect vulnerable members of society, but to make life more comfortable for them.

"We need to make them feel like every other member of the community, and make them feel wanted and loved so that they can have a sense of belonging."

The Permanent Secretary in the Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social development, Hajiya Salamatu Garba, who received the items, unbehalf of the orphanage

NGO challenges lawmakers on food CTIONAID International, a Non Governmental Organisation, has urged lawmakers in Africa to legislate and bring into their various constitutions the concepts of `Right-to-Food' and ` Food Sovereignty'.

Its Coordinator, `Africa Right-to-Food' programme, Mr. Buba Khan, made the call in an interview with journalists in Abuja.

Khan said that legislation on these concepts would go a long way to protect humanity and the dignity of Africans.

According to him, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) statutes provide for the right to food as a fundamental human right.

"It is stated in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that every person, by virtue of being born as a human being, has a right to food and governments should fulfill, protect and promote that right to food; no action of government should undermine this process.''

Khan stressed that the current trend of acquisition of agricultural lands in Africa by foreigners is a violation of people's fundamental rights. He accused governments of countries where agricultural lands had been taken away from their original owners of violating their

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

homes, said a new vista of cooperation between the police and the Kano society has now been opened, She said the erroneous impression about the Nigeria Police would soon be replaced with a positive image.

Items donated include food items, clothing, toiletries among others .

•From left: Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar; Bauchi State Amiru’l Hajj/Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Adamu and Deputy Amiru’l Hajj/Speaker Bauchi State House of Assembly, Alhaji Yahya Miya on departure for Hajj 2011 at Gombe International Airport

Association urges co-operation among women

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Non Governmental Organisation, the Country Women Association of Nigeria (COWAN), Plateau State Chapter, has stressed the need for women to form a formidable force to address challenges confronting them holistically.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja , Mrs Charity Bello, a founding member of the organisation, said that women faced many challenges which could only be tackled successfully, if they spoke with one voice.

Bello said that the challenges ranged from battery, to losing their business capital to their husbands and sometimes children.

In the area of health, she noted that women faced peculiar reproductive and sanitation challenges.

Plateau She also noted that women in agriculture lacked access to land, credit, and input just as those in the political arena faced discrimination. Bello decried a situation whereby men often took decisions that jeopardised the interest of women, failing to realise that both were partners in progress.

On the activities of COWAN, she said that the organisation had executed many projects with a view to addressing some of the challenges confronting women in Plateau State According to her, COWAN has been working with WaterAid, an international NGO, to provide boreholes and latrines for communities.

“When we go to a community, we mobilise them, sensitise them, train them and even when we provide them with boreholes, we teach them how to manage the boreholes and we set up Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Committees (WASHCOM).

"Anybody that goes there to fetch water will drop something little, so that when the pipes get spoilt, they can repair them by themselves.

We are presently working with UN Habitat in the urban slums. We are providing them with sanitation micro credits and latrines.

"We have clinics built by COWAN for the women. They build the clinics and we support it with equipment and then we give drug revolving loan which they pay back. We have three of such hospitals," she said.

Kwara to partner chambers of commerce

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HE Kwara State government says it will continue to partner the state Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (KWACCIMA) to boost the economy of the state.

The state Commissioner for Commerce and Cooperatives, Alhaji Saka Onimago, disclosed this in Ilorin while launching the prospectus for the fifth Kwara Trade Fair.

Onimago reiterated the state government's commitment to take the state to the next level of development, saying that government has concluded arrangement to employ another set of 2,000 youths.

He said the development could only be achieved through the co-operation of the private sector of the economy.

Onimago thanked the KWACCIMA for acting as a catalyst in driving the economic development of the state through the organisation of annual trade fairs.

Earlier, the president of KWACCIMA, Dr

•The wife of Oyo State Governor , Mrs Florence Ajimobi inaugurating the mini-clinic established for widows and the aged at the Atiba Local Government headquarters, OfaMeta, Oyo State while the chairman of the council, Prince Akeem Adeyemi watches

Flood ravages 14 councils

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• From left: Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Housing, Dr Femi Hamzat; Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr Tola Kasali; Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Ademomi Kuye and former chairman, Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area, Prince Bayo Balogun at the inauguration of Elemoro Shopping Complex and inspection of the ongoing coastal road at Ibeju Lekki

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Kano

Abuja people's fundamental rights for not evolving policies to protect their land.

"The issue of land grabbing is a violation of people's right to food, because if you grab people's land where they are supposed to produce food, eventually you are violating their rights.

"If you are not able to put in policies that should ensure that those lands are not grabbed, you are equally violating the right to food of the people. So what governments should do is to ensure that they are able to provide the enabling environment for farmers, for communities and all the other stakeholders to play their role to be able to influence and promote the right to food.''

The coordinator urged African governments and their people to cooperate and collaborate to address challenges hindering agricultural development to restore past glory of the sector.

He noted that the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme was a demonstration of the willingness and enthusiasm of African leaders to revive African agriculture.

Council spends N29.3m on water

HE Executive Secretary of State Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (SERERA) Kano, Mr Abubakar Jibril, has disclosed that 14 local government councils in the state were affected by flood this year.

Jibril, who disclosed this at the distribution of relief materials to displaced people in some of local government areas, pointed out that while Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso provided the initial support to the victims, the Federal Government through NEMA also donated truckloads of food items and building materials.

While praising NEMA for its efforts so far, Jibrin urged the agency to also look at the rehabilitation process where it could assist rehabilitation centres for the aged, handicapped and retarded people especially since part of NEMA's mandate is to "distribute emergency relief materials to victims of natural or other disasters and assist in the rehabilitation of the victims, where necessary."

The Director-General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi, said the gesture of

Kano the agency was part of its mandate to provide relief materials to victims of natural and man-induced disaster in the country and would continue to assist whenever the need arises.

Represented by the Head of Public Affairs in NEMA, Yushau A. Shuaib, the NEMA boss called on the state government to activate and adequately fund its emergency outfit to enable it discharge it duties as required by the laws. He also commended the state governor for working towards passing a law for the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) The Chairman of Bichi Local Government Council, Alhaji Musa Kambai Sumaila while receiving some of the items on behalf of the victims in his area, commended the open and transparent distribution process by both the state and federal governments in ensuring that the real victims are the beneficiaries of the relief interventions.

Kwara Hezekiah Adediji, said small and medium enterprises formed an integral part of the economy, which was the bedrock of any development.

Adediji, whose address was read by the Deputy President, Dr Ahmed Raji, called for the revitalisation of small and medium enterprises for sustainable economic development of the state.

Also speaking, Mr Tunde Oyawoye, the organising chairman of fifth trade fair, enjoined civil servants and the public not to see the fair as an act of buying and selling alone.

He said that a lot of gains would be realised in the fair being organised yearly in the state including technological development.

Oyawoye called for partnership with security agencies to ensure the security of lives and property during the fair slated for this month.

Briefly

HE Tangaza Local Government Council of Sokoto State says it has repaired some water supply schemes at the cost of N29.3 million.

The council Chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Sahabi, told newsmen in Gidan-Madi that the schemes included four boreholes rehabilitated at the cost of N2.5 million in GidanMadi and Tangaza towns.

Sahabi also said that the reticulation and extension of water supply networks at GidanMadi, Tangaza and Ruwa-Wuri cost N25 million.

"Over N1.8 million was also expended on the repair of two solar powered boreholes in Kawuri and Sabiyo villages.

"Water is life and it affects the health status of the people directly and we are determined to provide adequate potable water,''he said.

Sahabi further said that N5.5 million was

•Governor Wammako

Sokoto spent on the construction of the 12kms GidanMadi-Raka road.

According to him, the completed two mosques at Gidan-Madi and Kalenjeni towns cost N1.2 million and N 2.3 million respectively.

He appealed to the people to protect all the projects from the activities of vandals.

Taraba, agency to train fish farmers

T

ARABA is partnering with the NorthEast Zonal Office of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) to train fish farmers on the production of fingerlings.

The state Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources,Mr Anthony Jellason, disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Jalingo.

Jellason said that the state government had provided the agency with access road to its new office along Kona Road, to enable it to effectively discharge its duties.

He noted that the state was blessed with abundant fish resources through its rivers and natural ponds scattered across the 16 local governments.

"When given the training, it would not only equip the farmers with the technical knowhowin fish production, but also improve their occupation, boost their economy and provide

Taraba direct and indirect employment opportunities to young school leavers."

The commissioner said that the state government was encouraging the formation of fishing cooperative societies, especially in communities along the major rivers.

He said that after the training, the beneficiaries could access loans from funding institutions to set up small-scale fish production holdings.

Jellason said that the Ministry of Agriculture was also collaborating with the state branch of the National Union of Fishermen and Seafarers (NUFAS) , to boost fish production in the state.

According to him, Taraba State has the capacity to become a leading fish producer in the country, with the enabling environment.

Council chief inaugurates councillors

T

HE Chairman of Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area, Hon Taofeek Adaranijo has sworn in the six councillors for the area.The ceremony took place at the council secretariat last Saturday.

The coucil lawmakers took oath of office amidst cheers from party faithful.

Adaranijo described the inauguration as another milestone in the annals of democratic history of Lagos State in its pursuit of excellence in all aspects of human endeavour.

He urged the legislative arm to tap from the experience of the Lagos State House of Assembly by ensuring mutual cooperation with the

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

executive.

Democratic government at the local government level, he said, is very essential if development of the nation is to be guaranteed and sustained.

"I hereby announce the dissolution of both the legislative and executive arms of this council and proclaim the new session of democratic governance," he said.

The council chief thanked the outgone legislative and executive members for their support in the last three years.

Church holds harvest THE Celestial Church of Christ, Gloryvine Parish, Eyin Oju Oluwa, 14, Taiwo Akinsanya Street, Ilamose Estate, Oke-Afa, Ejigbo will hold its fifth adult harvest on November 6 at the church auditorium. It is tagged: Harvest of a New Thing.

According to the host shepherd, Most Senior Evangelist Mobolorunduro Babayemi, it is a harvest where people will receive a new thing into their lives to replace whatever they may have lost to satan.

Ministering at the event are Prophet Tunde Balogun, Most Snr Evangelist Kintosu Batholomew, Prophet Michael Hanson and Superior Evangelist S. K. Daniel.

Songs ministration will be done by host choir, Gloryvine Voices, Ipinle Otito Voices and Elmorijah Voices.

Legislative council sworn in

By Emmanuel Oladesu

THE chairman of Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Lagos State, Hon. Shamsudeen Olaleye, has inaugurated the Legislative Council led by Hon. Adedoyin Pikuda at a ceremony attended by stakeholders. He charged the councillors to embrace council administration as a joint enterprise involving them, members of the executive committee and people of the area.

Olaleye unfolded his plans for the LCDA before the House, urging them to support his policies and programmes for the upliftment of the area. He said the welfare board that would co-ordinate packages for widows and bursaries for indigent students would be inaugurated within 24 hours.

The chairman promised to upgrade a number of roads within the first 100 days, rehabilitate delapidated primary schools and re-invigorate the primary healthcare system. He asked for the co-operation of the stakeholders, saying that it is critical to the success of his administration.

Olaleye welcomed cogent reforms by the state ministry aimed at curbing corruption at the local level, stressing that the “systemic fault” must give way to foster accountability. He described the financial leakages at the local councils as endemic, assuring that the loopholes would be blocked.

•Hon. Adaranijo (right) congratulates councillor representing Ward ‘C’ Hon. Moshood Badmus

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Text only: 08023058761

‘Writing for children requires special skills’

When art looks strange

– Page 31

– Page 34

•Cross River State contingent at the event

A festival of colour and culture •Display of art, carnival at NAFEST

• SEE PAGE 30

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A festival of colour and culture With a clement weather and maximum government support, the Canaan City of Calabar, Cross River State, last week raised the bar at this year’s yearly National Festival of Art and Culture (NAFEST). The host-state put up a show to mark the silver jubilee of the festival, with the theme: Nigerian Traditional Music: A vehicle for economic transformation and unity. OZOLUA UHAKHEME, Assistant Editor (Art), was at the event.

T

•Edo State contingent in a colourful display

HE city of Calabar, Cross River State is not alien to hosting big festivals. It is home to top flight tourism destinations such as Obudu Resort, Tinapa Business Resort and the famous annual Carnival Calabar.

Featuring the largest contingent on parade at the

opening of the 25th edition of the National Festival of Art and Culture (NAFEST) the U.J Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Cross River State, literarily overwhelmed other states with its colourful costumes and dance performance that reflect the diverse culture.

From the colourful Moninkim dance, a maiden performance among the Ejagham, to the Nyok of the Efik, and the Ndebe, a traditional war dance of the Nde, in Ikom Local Government Area, the host-state contingent was a spectacle to behold.

But the various cultural performances by the participating states held at the Cultural Centre Complex, Calabar further spiced the festive mood that enveloped the entire city. These ranged from command performances by the host state to traditional music presentations, traditional wrestling, drama presentation, food and cuisine fair and colloquium. And for the competitive events, Nasarawa State emerged overall winner followed by Akwa Ibom State while Ogun and Bayelsa states emerged joint winners of third position.

Speaking at the opening, President Goodluck Jonathan called on the private sector to invest in the development of culture as a vehicle for the transformation agenda and realisation of the Vision 20:20:20 programme.

Jonathan, who spoke through Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke, urged Nigerians to sustain the new thinking in culture administration. According to him, the new thinking places culture beyond jamborees and festivities to focus on the role, which culture and its associated industries can play in the arrest of youth restiveness, job creation, citizenship empowerment and such national development vehicles.

28 state contingents attended the opening of the festival, which entered its 25th edition this year. Many of the states featured colourful costumes during the march past while a handful also entertained with masquerades, songs and drama.

President Jonathan noted that following Nigeria’s celebration of 50 years of independence last year, the country has now stepped into the second half of its first hundred years as a nation. His words: “We must resolve to use all the cultural resources at our disposal to track down and solve every problem of our modern existence.”

Culture, Tourism and National Orientation Minister, Chief Edem Duke, said his vision is to re-organise the ministry’s programmes and activities towards making it one of the preferred sectors that would drive the present administration’s transformation agenda in the area of job creation, economic empowerment of the youths, women and the rural populace. He explained that all the activities of the ministry and its parastatals are to be reviewed from an entrepreneurial perspective and with a view to exploring merchandising opportunities associated with them.

The minister said he desired that the sector should be objective driven with specific goals and demonstrable achievements adding that the content of NAFEST is being re-organised to key into the vision.

He, therefore, challenged the stakeholders to bring out their best with a view to demonstrating the undisputed fact that Nigeria is the cultural pot of Africa. He identified advocacy to reposition the festival and re-engineering the marketing of the cultural products . He noted that the nation’s egg-heads need to think deep in the direction of culture.

Reacting to the seeming lukewarm attitude by some states to host the festival, the minister said some states have their peculiarities in planning for such event adding that the challenges might be in those driving the policy at the federal level. “We should network and interface with the states for them to understand the value of NAFEST. If the leadership in the country has taken culture serious, the states will find it relevance. In fact, we have to come to a new knowledge of our cultural products,” he added.

He hinted that the long awaited implementation of the nation’s cultural policy would find actualisation in 2012, noting that the Tourism Master Plan too must transit from plan to action.

•Cross River State contingent on parade

•Some tourists at the event.

On Abuja National Carnival, Duke identified the need to renew its content as one major challenge confronting the carnival. He said Abuja carnival has always tended to draw more from NAFEST, but that he believed that the carnival could be re-engineered. “It does not have to be a carnival of various states. Nigerians are at liberty to organise themselves into specialised carnival bands. So, there is no reason why we can’t have various interest groups organising themselves into bands. Carnival does not have to begin and end in street parade. It is not strictly to be state by state parade.

“For instance, we will like to see top government officials like the Senate President leading the Benue dancers on parade. Carnival is a wedding of spirit and body of the people. When we do this, we find a new stimulus, and we can grow it into another FESTAC, thus making Nigeria the

‘Abuja carnival has always tended to draw more from NAFEST, but that he believed that the carnival could be re-engineered’

PHOTOS: OZOLUA UHAKHEME

Mecca of Black man,” he said.

This year’s festival recorded some low and high points, especially in the participation by states in some events. For instance, the traditional furnished apartment, which is a competitive event, recorded only 13 states including the FCT while 15 states took the stage for the traditional music contest.

Unfortunately, in the traditional music contest, many states dwelt more on drama instead of traditional music presentation. At the cultural market, only six states and three agencies of the ministry (National Council for Arts and Culture, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, and National Institute for Cultural Orientation) had stands. There were more individual stands where second hand items such as shoes, electronics and foreign textile materials, were showcased.

However, observers are of the view that a more effective mechanism should be adopted in marketing the festival to private sponsors rather than waiting for state executives to approve fund at the last minutes. The old ‘waiting game’ has done more harm to the festival than good as many states do not always get enough time for preparations even if the meager fund is released. A case in point is Osun State that arrived on Wednesday after the opening ceremony.

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Prof. Abiola Odejide, retiring professor in the Department of Communication and Language Arts at the University of Ibadan (UI), has contributed immensely to the promotion of Nigerian Literature, particularly, the children genre. She has written and researched into Children’s Literature for over two decades. A writer and critic, she has also served as a judge for prizes on children’s literature. As she takes her leave after 37 years of teaching, she is set to keep her passion alive.

She shares her thoughts with OLAKUNLE ABIMBOLA, EVELYN OSAGIE AND ADEMOLA ADESOLA. Excerpts.

H

OW would you assess the development of Children’s Literature in Nigeria, particularly given the fact that this year’s NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature was awarded in this category?

Books that were first written for or read by children in the old days were from Britain. The same books that children in Britain read – Tom Brown School Days, The Adventures of Crusoe, Tom Sawyer, etc. Those were the books that I read in secondary school. They were fascinating books – school books, adventure stories. Most of those written initially for Nigerian children were folk stories, retelling of folktales. But then we also had people who began to write adventure stories.

One thing that is striking about Nigerian Children’s Literature is that the same people who have written for adults, (Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, etc.) wrote for children.

During my study, I found fascinating, that, to paraphrase it, you can’t afford to ignore the children. In other words, the values that you are trying to inculcate in the new country (that’s talking about people writing in the 60s) have to start with the kids. That was how they looked at it. They looked at what the core values are, the things that our various communities value – hard work, integrity, respect – and thought those couldn’t be left for other people to do for us; we have to do it ourselves. That is how it started.

Unfortunately, many people who have no business with Children’s Literature are writing them. I mean these people think that children’s book is like a softer option. Something like: ‘if you haven’t mastered your grammar very well or the techniques of writing; go and write for children’. That is not the way. If you are going to write for children, you must have good writing skills. You must also have a child’s point of view.

You must be able to relate to the child. Think about things that are important to children. That is missing in many books on children. I have acted as a judge for the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) many times. What people submit as children’s books are not children’s books. They are preaching at the children, sermonizing. That is not the way. If the child picks up the book and sees that you are preaching at him from page one, he won’t read. Their attention span is very short.

They will just drop it.

I am happy that this year’s NLNG Prize is for Children’s Literature. That is how it should be. But over and beyond the prize, we must build up a culture of reading. The way to do that is to get back to the basics. First of all, do what we do here at the department: teach reading skills, not just learning to read. You go beyond that and then read to learn. Then you read for leisure, and read for your professional, social development. Unfortunately, at some point they decided to drop Literature from the syllabus of junior secondary school and said it would be taken care of in the English class. And so what happened was that it was just ignored completely. We have to get back to it. If you want children to read, then you have to do that. Also, they must see adults reading. Adults are not reading either. Well, there are some professionals who read nothing other than the materials in their areas. If you move them out of that area, they become completely lost. They are not well informed about what is happening in the area of the economy, medicine, climate change and the environment generally. If you are going to be a well-educated person, you must be a well-rounded person. We have to get back to the schools and make sure that we interest the children in reading.

What is your view on the Bring Back the Book campaign launched by President Goodluck Jonathan?

It is a good initiative, but we are dealing with the symptoms.

We have to get back to the root cause. It is a big celebrity event, photo-ops and so on. The VIP, or whoever it is, goes into one of the schools to read. But you must sustain it. In the 80s there was actually a reading promotion campaign in Nigeria. All the states were involved in it. And we were working with school libraries. It is not a one-off event. And you need to use a variety of methods to make sure that people continue to read. Make systemic changes that will make it possible for the children to continue to read. You will need to also work with parents and NGOs. Use our celebrities – those of them who read. If it is a footballer that reads, have him go to schools.

Encourage the reader-meet-author event, very beautiful. I am a children’s book writer. I have published a number of books.

If I go to a school, where the teachers would have made the children to read my book, the children will be surprised to see that the author is a real human being because sometimes they think a writer is a ghost from Mars. Then they can ask questions: “How did you write?” They will tell you what interest them, and some of them will begin to write.

In this age of Internet, what would you advise Nigerian children to read?

Everything that is wholesome! Whether on the Internet or in the print form, read good stories, fiction, history and biographies. The Internet is not an enemy of the print. Rather, they complement each other. In other countries, if a book comes out and the book is successful, you will present it on television, and you will make cartoons about the same books. The wise marketers will produce school bag, food flask, biro, Tshirt, etc. That is what is called the children’s culture. It is a good way of getting money out of parents because they will say I must buy so and so book, T-shirt, bag.

Our children can read cartoons; there is nothing wrong with cartoons. In fact, one of the beautiful books that we had in the

•Prof. Odejide

‘Writing for children requires special skills’ past, published by African University Press, was a series of cartoons on folktales. I still have the books; I love them because they were so ingenious. What they said then was that probably children don’t want to read books, but they always want to read cartoons. Then you also have speaking books.

You do the recording. The child opens the book and there is a recording there playing back to the child. It is a combination of so many effects – visual, hearing and touch. And another thing about children’s books is that they are very, very creative. There is one book that I found very interesting. It was something about the spider eating, and then the first page of the book has a small hole. The second page there is a bigger hole. The spider has eaten more. So, by the time you get to the last page, the spider has virtually eaten up everything. That is part of the way they experiment with children’s books. Then you have club books for young children. There is also cloth book. It falls on the floor and it is dirty. You pick it up, wash and iron it. It is a book.

But isn’t there some technological challenges for the African market when it comes to speaking books?

I remember sometime back we had some very good technologists in the Department of Linguistics here. And wewere looking at children’s books, asking what we could do. For instance, why can’t we have speaking books too? We got one

‘Many people who have no business with Children’s Literature are writing them... these people think that children’s book is like a softer option.

Something like: ‘if you haven’t mastered your grammar very well or the techniques of writing; go and write for children’

of the old crops of actors here then and we said, “Here is the book. You record”. Then we got the technologists to bring in music, Nigerian music and so on. We did it together and the book was there. Those were the days of tapes. We produced the book and the tape. That is the rudiment. There is no technological challenge at all. You write the book and you do the CD. So, the child is looking at the pictures (you must use very good illustrators) and also listening to the tape.

So, why are people not making use of this?

Well, I think the major challenge is that people think that it won’t sell. They will put in so much efforts and money, yet it won’t sell. And then of course, there is also the question of book piracy. That is also a disincentive. So, it is not for lack of technology. It is not rocket science. There is also expertise in the country to do it.

Does the government have a role to play in marketing books?

The government has to recognise that it has to put its money where its mouth is. You are saying you want children to read; therefore you have to encourage those who are in that area. Right now, publishers make their money from textbooks. That’s where the money is.

You mean ‘recommended textbooks’?

Yes, recommended textbooks. You are right. That is another thing.

If it is not recommended, then you can forget it. It is the textbooks that sell. But you also need to have readers that go along with the recommended textbooks. So, if it is Book One, then there will be readers to go with that level and it will be a more leisurely reading thing. At the same level there is vocabulary and grammar as the Book One textbook. Nobody is looking at that again. All they are just concentrating on is just the textbook; teacher’s book if they have the time; work book if they have the time. And then no more readers. By readers I mean those books that go along with the textbooks. And then just leisure reading.

There was a time when as a member of the Reading Association of Nigeria, and also as a member of the Children’s Literature Association and International Board of Books for Young People, working with Nigerian Publishers Association, we kept on appealing to the government to reduce the tariff on paper, ink and all those things used for publishing for children. But the policy is never consistent. Sometimes they will remove it •Continued on page 32

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ONA trajectory: The disputable claims of a traducer •

I

T is rather unfortunate that Moyo Okediji is now denying the obvious. His motive is still a mystery to me. I appreciate his significant roles as the most senior of the five, having graduated in 1977. I graduated in 1980 while Wewe, Campbell and Nasiru did in 1983 and 1984. Okediji was also a Graduate Assistant when I was in the final year. We were, however, contemporaries and by association became friends. He claimed that I played minor and peripheral role in Ona Group, and declared me as having "modest" talent! I will not be a judge in my own court, but Okediji should know better… I graduated with a Second Class Upper in 1980 - a privilege he never had in 1977. My eventual creative and scholarly achievements are known to the unbiased researchers.

In order to further confute the fictitious claims of Okediji that he was the sole founder and sole financier of Ife Ona Group, it is worthwhile to ask some rhetorical questions: If, indeed, he formed the Ona Group in 1986, What were the activities he carried out using Ona as a group name? Why hold the Ona maiden exhibition in 1989 with the catalogue proclaiming the pioneering members of five and the birth of Ona as a group? Was Okediji aware of Akatakpo's 1988 article on Ondo Ona before he began his specious claims? Was he not the editor and writer of the ebullient comments made on my lino-print in his article in Kurio Africana Vol.1:2 of 1990? Why did Okediji in his 2002 book entitled African Renaissance: devoted about five pages on me as an artist and recognised me as "a founding member of a group of artists named Ona?" Was his relocation to USA fait accompli to the demise of Ona in spite of glaring continuing flowering and relevance of Ona artistic style and philosophy in Nigeria?

As a student of Yoruba language, Okediji should know that Egan o ni ki oyin ma'dun - disdain does not diminish the sweetness of honey.

It was impossible for Okediji to single handedly fund the group with his "less than Nine Thousand Naira per annum".

One should wonder what Tola Wewe and I, who also earned salaries, were doing! As artists, who participated in exhibitions, commissions and sales of art works in Ondo, Ife and Lagos, we were able to supplement our earnings. I recollect vividly that Bolaji Campbell, who was a graduate student in 1989, often made significant financial contributions towards the running of Ona activities.

Our activities were quite dynamic and demanding. One person couldn't have done it all alone! We contributed money, distributed responsibilities, received moral but limited financial support from the department of Fine Arts and especially from Senior Faculties such as JRO Ojo, Agbo Folarin, Ige Ibigbami, Ola Olapade, PSO Aremu and Lamidi Fakeye. There were other well wishers that assisted us.

Tayo Ojomo - the painter/architect; Lade Adeyanju - art educator, and Moyo Ogundipe, whom we regularly visited during our activities in Lagos being a great painter and a 1974 graduate from Ife. Professor C.O. Adepegba warmly allowed us to use the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ibadan for an exhibition. It was there that Nkiru Nzegwu (who also graduated from Ife in 1976) saw our works and later did a remarkable joint exhibition titled Pushing the Limits of Vision in September, 1989. We also had the support of Janet Stanley of the Smithsonian Institutions who offered to print the proceedings of our conferences.

Moyo Okediji became ridiculous in his attempt to attribute a collective beginning to himself by using totalitarian and uncomplimentary words. He wrongly claimed to have "conscripted" Wewe and I having "feted" us to a point of "inebriation". He also claimed that Wewe more or less "dragged" me into exhibiting since I was "inclined to hang out with the rest". Okediji in his irritable

•Filani

By Kunle Filani

article claimed that in 1986, Fakeye lamented that the Ife Art Department lacked a body of rigorously committed scholars and artists to promote its flagging artistic image". It is obvious that Fakeye could not have said such, considering the array of notable scholars and artists lecturing in the department in 1986. Prominent among the Professors were Babatunde Lawal, Abiodun Rowland, JRO Ojo, Agbo Folarin, Ola Olapade, Ige Ibigbami, PSO Aremu, among others.

Okediji had earlier demonstrated impudence when he alluded to his senior colleagues and former teachers as "dormant after the departure of Rowland Abiodun and Babatunde Lawal". He became suffused in egocentric euphoria and declared that "as the first product of Ife to also teach there, I received the mantle of leadership and Ona Movement emerged and marched forward, under my total and unquestioned command". What an impetuous braggart!

I expected Okediji to be more circumspect in his writings and claims. For example, he claimed that Ona Movement stopped as soon as he left Nigeria for the United States in 1992. This is implausible in the face of overriding facts of robust continuity of Ona activities till date. The truth is that my efforts and those of Wewe encouraged many artists, especially Ife and Ondo graduates to imbibe and internalise the principles of Onaism. Solo and joint Exhibitions were held to consolidate and espouse the fundamentals of Onaism. Those that explored Ona stylistic tendencies in their works since the middle and late 90's included Wewe, Kunle Filani, SCA Akran, Tunde Ogunlaye, Idowu Otun, John Amifor, Don Akatakpo, Rasheed Amodu, Victor Ekpuk, Wole Lagunju, Deji Dan, Ademola Ogunajo, Mufu Onifade, John Tukura, Steve Folaranmi, Segun Ajiboye, Abiodun Akande, Kunle Osundina and a host of others from Ife and even other schools.

The Best of Ife yearly exhibitions that I started and organised with Donatus Akatakpo in 1993 promoted the Ona spirit in many enduring ways. It flowered into a significant rallying point among Ife art graduates. Those that nurtured, it apart from me, included Victor Ekpuk, Wewe, Rasheed Amodu, Wehinmi Atigbi and more than others Mufu onifade who elevated the Best of Ife from mere yearly exhibitions to include intellectual debates and symposia.

The five founding members of Ona started shifting base from Ondo and Ife in 1991. This made it difficult to hold regular meetings and pursue activities. Tunde Nasiru was

the first to relocate to the United States, while Wewe moved to Lagos in 1991. I also moved from Ondo to Lagos in April 1992 to start a new Art Department at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka. Okediji left for US in late 1992 and Campbell also relocated to the US in 1994. We never dissolved the group because Okediji left Nigeria as he said. Bolaji Campbell continued editing Kurio Africana while Wewe and I focused on uniting Ife graduates in Lagos. Bolaji Campbell always came to Lagos to meet with us before he eventually travelled.

Moyo Okediji and Tola Wewe did joint exhibitions in 2004 and in 2011 without informing me at all. I was even in London when the recent one held and was unaware of the furore created by Janine Sytsma and Mufu Onifade's writings. It is therefore ridiculous for Okediji to claim that I wasn't included in the exhibitions because I claimed "not to have time to make art". In spite of my busy schedule as Provost and Chief Executive of a tertiary institution in Nigeria, I have held two Solo exhibitions within four years and participated in several joint ones at home and abroad.

True, my production slowed down because of the exigencies of my office; however I have continued to practise, teach, research and promote art internationally. I consciously decided to overlook conspiratorial exclusions since the creative and intellectual field is wide enough for all to explore.

My dynamism was not only defined by Ona membership.

For the records, I also initiated the coming together of art graduates of the University of Benin when Akin Onipede joined me to organise an exhibition tagged Ekenwa Art Graduates in 1996. We feted Prof. Solomon Wangboje and I was glad to have gingered up the formation of Association of Wangboje School of Creative Arts (AWANSCA) by Frank Ugiomoh soon thereafter. I have played more vigorous roles as a member and pioneering President of Culture and Creative Arts Forum (CCAF) - a proactive group of artists/scholars that was initiated by Ademola Azeez in 2000.

In conclusion, I consider the on-going debate as a good opportunity to enlighten the arts community about the formation, articulation and dynamism of Ona Group and Onaism as a definable art movement in Nigeria. I have given my honest version and I have documents to support all my claims. It is important to note that the space for scholarship and artistic creativity is wide enough for all to travel without injuring collective sensibilities. It is unhealthy to cast aspersions and vilify others because of surreptitious gains.

At older age, Okediji shouldn't have allowed default emotions, spiced with malice to over flow at the expense of collective heritage and long standing comradeship. For now, the rest is silence.

Corrections in the book • • • • • • • •

Page 2, Par.1, line 3 (In consequence of the appeals) In difference to the appeals X Page 5, Par. 2 Last line (Pejorative) - Pejurative X Page 5, Par. 3 (1991) – 19991 X Page 6, Par. 2, line 3 (Need to redefine) - redefined X Page 10, Par. 1, line 5 (efforts and those of) - that of X Page 10, Par. 1, line 11 (Ekpuk) – Ekpu X Page 10, Par. 1, line 12 (Folaranmi) – Page 11, Par. 1, line 5 (Federal College of Education Technical Akoka) - FCE Akoka

‘Writing for children requires special skills’ •Continued from page 31

and at another time they will say they can’t afford to do that. So, government has to give that kind of support. Government also has to, over and beyond textbooks that they support, recommend and pay for, encourage those who write Children’s Literature to support the reading culture. Then they also need to equip the libraries, not appoint librarians who are sitting over empty shelves. And when you talk about library, you are talking about a whole media resource, which include using the Internet, talking books, and so many other things. All of these have to be provided in the modern day library.

What is the state of the criticisms of this literature in Nigeria?

Not very high! Because the same thing that affects the writing also affects the criticism. People think there is nothing there to criticise. It was part of the initial problems I had when I started my doctoral work – I just had commentaries here and there.

But when I went to the US, I saw solid theoreti-

cal issues, different schools of criticisms for children’s books. There are so many layers of criticisms of Children’s Literature. For example, it was there I learnt about reader-response theory criticism, which says that there isn’t one right answer to literary criticism. And that was very enlightening for me. I could relate to that, once I had this broad perspective of critical schools.

Unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of sophistication in literary criticism of children’s books now. If you are going to be a children’s book critic, you must be well grounded, not just the text. You must also be able to look at the illustration. And not many people have that expertise in both fields. What are the illustrations saying? Do they enhance and develop the story?

You must look in a very critical way. Unfortunately, we don’t have that level of criticism now.

We teach it, but it’s usually a very small class. It could be an endangered species if you don’t keep on pushing it. There are students that are interested in this. Some of them even write, and others indicate interest in editing. I link them up with book publishers. I feel that I have mentored them.

Aside children’s literatures, you are also passionate on gender matters. At what point did you become actively involved in gender advocacy?

Funny enough, when I was doing my doctoral work on Children's Literature, I wasn't into Gender Studies then. But I noticed a pattern where if they were talking about women and so on, you hear "mother is gold, mother is this and that". But if it is their wives, you see a different dimension. For many years now I have been involved in trying to deal with gender issues in this university and even in our university system generally. When new students come here, we try to do sensitisation for them. We put the male and the female together because if you are just working on the girls alone, you are defeating your purpose. They have to deal with each other. And they must recognise and respect each other.

I benefited a lot from people who were gender-sensitive when I was growing up. Take my parents, for instance. It didn't matter to them whether you are male or female. If you wanted to go to school, you went to school. After I fin-

ished school certificate there was no problem about whether I was going on to higher school or not. Fortunately for me, I also married a man who was also gender-sensitive, who didn't think that being female or being married to him should be a disadvantage to me. So, he kept on encouraging me. There were difficult times. For example, when we were in Scotland, he was doing his programme in Psychiatry. Normally if it were the traditional thing I would be at home doing no other thing but looking after toddlers. But we made sacrifices so that I could continue with my studies. And when it came to the point when I had to go to Leeds University, which is a commute of about three hours by train between Edinburg and Leeds, he said "No problem; I will take care of the children at home". So, week days he would take care of the children, and I would come home at weekends then go back on Sunday. That was how I did my Master's. If I hadn't done that, if we hadn't made that sacrifice, and if he had been the Nigerian traditional man, there was no way I could have done that Master's. Once I did that, I was employed from Britain with that Master's.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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POEM

“Three Thousand Votes” and Counting...

By Wale Adebanwi

“Three thousand votes” and still counting....

Tell us, Messrs. Injustices, how does the arithmetic of fraud add up to the mathematics of duplicity?

Does Fela’s poser about the “magic” of injustice make de sprit catch dem on the wrong side of judicial infraction?

•L-R Okediran, Prof. Adesanya, Prof. Badejo, and Prof. Salami.

PHOTO: ADEMOLA ADESOLA

Okediran returns to his roots In its relentless quest for a productive relationship between the Town and the Gown, the Institute of Cultural Studies at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, last week organised a book reading that featured Tenants of the House, an awe-inspiring faction authored by Wale Okediran. For the author and audience, it was a memorable outing, reports ADEMOLA ADESOLA.

T

HE expansive hall of the theatre of the Dramatic Art Department, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), was last Wednesday filled with literary enthusiasts who left all other assignments to partake in the book reading session involving one of the institution’s eminent alumni.

The fact that Dr Wale Okediran was between 2003 and 2007 a member of the House of Representatives, and was expected to read from his latest book detailing some of the incredible realities of the House, contributed to the large attendance.

For the author, it was a sweet homecoming and a memorable pleasure to read from his book to members of the university which in 1980 gave him to the country, nay the world, as a trained medical doctor.

The Vice-Chancellor of Wesley University School of Technology, Ondo, Prof. Tola Badejo, in his opening remarks, regaled the gathering with some anecdotes about his friendship with Okediran at the then University of Ife (now OAU), where they were undergraduates studying Zoology and Medicine. He recalled their involvement in student politics and their adventurous forays into the world of writing. He praised the author for his commitment to the medical profession and his unalloyed faithfulness to his writing career, adding that he made many people proud by coming out of the House of Representatives unsoiled. Noting that he ensured he read the novel before coming for the event, and had to excuse himself from a meeting of VCs with members of the House in Abuja so as to be able to chair the reading session, Badejo called on Nigerians to read Tenants of the House. “This is a book every Nigerian must read, especially if you want to know the intrigues going on in the National Assembly. The young people who want to go into politics need to read the novel in order to broaden their knowledge of politics,” he exhorted.

The Acting Director of the Institute of Cultural Studies (ICS), Associate Prof.

Gbemisola Adeoti, submitted that the reading was organised as a way of arresting the much-talked-about dwindling culture of reading gnawing bitterly at the artery of the country. He observed that encouraging people to read literature was one of the cardinal parts of the culture that the ICS seeks to promote. According to him, “attention to serious writing is diminishing. It is because of the need to arrest this slide that this forum is organised. When we read, we develop more interest in our language and humanity as a whole. We at the ICS are committed to promoting a better relationship, as they say, between the gown and the town. You can regard Okediran as part of the town. We are quite delighted to have him share with us his ideas about writing, and more importantly his experiences as a politician.

Our hook has indeed caught a big fish”.

The Dean of Faculty of Arts, Prof. Dipo Salami, encouraged young members of the audience, particularly the resplendently dressed pupils of Sunshine Nursery and Primary School, to take a cue from Okediran who in spite of being a medical doctor has authored many award-winning novels.

Salami also challenged the ubiquitous claim that Nigerians are averse to reading, arguing that the problem is that many Nigerians don’t read the right books. “Many read and respond to newspaper stories and articles.

They read things on the Internet. Go and see Oyedepo’s books; many people buy them.

But do they read Soyinka, Achebe, and others? I challenge our young people to go beyond reading Facebook. They should read the works of Chimamanda, Sefi Atta, Habila, etc. They are all accessible. This also explains why we bring writers like Okediran here to come and read to us. At least if the mountain of our young ones will not go to their (writers’) Mohammed, the Mohammed of these writers will go their (young people’s) mountain. It is intellectually stimulating to read what our writers are writing,” he said gravely.

The importance of keeping a diary of daily

occurrence was what the Deputy ViceChancellor, Prof. Jimi Adesanya, who stood in for the OAU VC, Prof. Tale Omole, harped on. He decried the unwholesome habit of many Nigerians who have scant or no regard at all for diary keeping, noting that it was the diligence of Okediran at keeping a diary of his daily encounters at the House that culminated in the writing of The Tenants of the House. He said, “Most of the documentary films on slavery that we see today were products of some people’s diaries. But if you ask our politicians today for their diaries, they don’t have them”.

Therefore, he advocated that Nigerians should imbibe the culture of keeping diaries, reading widely and spending time to see educative TV programmes rather than the often limiting sensational films produced in Nollywood.

After the impressive reading of the equally formidable citation of the amiable doctor cum literary merchant by Prof. Dele Layiwola, members of the audience were seen repositioning themselves on their seats, getting ready to ensure that they catch a better glimpse of the Iseyin-born author. But before Okediran started his reading, he first treated the audience to a riveting tale about the instruction his father handed down to him on the day he brought him to school as a freshman. “Though you are not yet a doctor, I have already informed many people that you are one. Therefore, I want you to face your studies squarely,” he said, quoting his father. According to him, the man took him to the Student Union Building, Moremi Hall where female students reside, and the sports complex, instructing him to “stay away” from those places. But midway into his first semester, he had visited those “blacklisted” places – at SUB he learnt about the essentials of politics; at Moremi he would find his “missing rib”; and at the sports complex he would find a lasting companion in hockey, through which he won laurel for the university and got scholarship for three years as the captain of the team.

Foundation charts lifeline for widows, others

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RIVEN by the desire to assist vulnerable people such as widows, the MTN Foundation recently brought together policy makers, experts and advocates to identify and prioritise the most pertinent areas of those people’s need.

Chairman, MTN Foundation, Ambassador Hamzat Ahmadu, represented by Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, Director, MTN Foundation, said the foundation had received various requests for assistance from widows and widow-serving organisations.

“Widowhood presents enormous multidimensional challenges for widows themselves and the society at large. Therefore, these challenges require proper understanding before any strategic and sustainable intervention can be achieved. We believe that the final report of this workshop

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

will provide the necessary direction for a meaningful intervention,” he said.

Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina represented

by Mrs. Laditan Bolatito Arinola, Deputy Director, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, described the practices that widows are subjected to in many parts of Nigeria as universally pathetic, degrading and dehumanising.

She emphasised the resolve of her ministry to improve the plight of women in general, and widows in particular. She thanked MTNF for putting the workshop together and appealed to the foundation to commit a reasonable amount of resources to the laudable project on a sustainable basis.

Director, MTN Foundation, Mr Akinwale Goodluck assured the minister that project

sustainability is one of the prerequisites of MTNF interventions in all its focal areas, namely, education, health and economic empowerment. “All the interventions made by the MTN Foundation are on the basis of reliable research and information. In addition, the sustainability of all our projects is a goal that we continuously strive to achieve, and this area of intervention will not be an exception.’

The workshop brought together a broad range of stakeholders which included the First Ladies of Lagos and Imo states, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola and Mrs Nneoma Nkechi Okorocha; senior officials of the Federal and State Ministry of Women Affairs; private sector practitioners; Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), especially those that work with widows; advocates; women media practitioners and many other participants, drawn from across the country.

“Three thousand votes,” you say; who voted that psephological scam into jurisprudential swindle?

Why does your Sahara desert the Savannah?

Does appealable history prick your whereas scruples?

Is this the age of Ju-RUIN-prudence, or has the currency of con counterfeited judicial prudence?

Does the errant jurisprude ever run into one sovereign named the electorate?

“Three thousand votes” and steal counting...

On the hills of Ekiti, where martial ancients, wielding dignity and carrying crude guns, showed the battle-tested local-foreign army the limits of its expansionist agenda, humbling the new inheritors of the collapsing empire...

On these same hills, would electors stand kete to the rackets of history?

While the “victorious” savour the ‘tory of purchased bailiffs and purchasable magicstrates, let them remember the primus poet...

Before history was stolen on the streets of Lagos, and turned into HIStory on the outskirts of Ibadan, where the Agbekoya fired the salvos that shamed the new authorities and their armies of occupation while the people wetie-d against the RUINpublic of Federal Inequity...

Before Kano slashed its “outsiders” with the homicidal dagger of hate, dumping bodies-politic into Lugardian wells that denounced 1914, as Orlu’s masquerades comforted the genocidal remains of things fall apart...

Before twelve two-thirds became twothirds of regional damnation, while attorneys put their skills in the service of arithmetical villainy...

Before the chain-smoking dim muted the vitality of our seconded Republic...

Before swindlers wore army uniforms, with their bullets straying into Salvationist rhetoric...

Before SAP sapped our collective dignity while an evil genius showed the IMF how to depose “conditionalities” against our fiscal prudence...

Before the Annulment by bloody annulers, assassins-in-service and their tea-cups...

Before the Vagabond in Power, the insipid VIP and blind militariat, slept his way to India...

Before secession came in quick succession, while the milk of the land was sucked dry by vagabond suckling, and its honey licked by drifters in exaggerated lunacy, while the Niger Delta became naija Delta...

Okigbo was there, gently announcing: “Thunder can break”!

“Three thousand votes” and stiff counting...

Hear this once, m’Lord, History asks of you: How do you ever wake, when your conscience never wakes?

“Three thousand votes”? Count!

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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LIFELINE

TPT wins award

T

PT International, a Public Relations consulting firm, has clinched the PR Golden Eagle Award for the most outstanding PR campaign.

The award is organised yearly by the Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) to recognise and encourage outstanding PR practitioners. The event took place at the Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The firm was recognised for the excellent crisis management campaign it handled for Milcow, a dairy brand from the stable of Rofico Nigeria Limited. The Managing Director of TPT International, Mr Charles Igbinidu, who received the award on behalf of the company, expressed his appreciation to NIPR, stating that TPT would continue to work earnestly as a team to launch more outstanding campaigns.

“It is an honour for us to be recognised and awarded by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and it is a tribute to all of our hardworking staff. This will serve as a push for us to keep doing our very best for all our clients and a strong impetus to us to keep our performance among the best”, Mr Igbinidu added.

When art looks strange

I

N the snowy, dark, and cold winter of 2007, Wole Lagunju arrived Denver, Colorado, (USA), to relocate from Nigeria. Soon upon arrival, he produced Iyaloja Market, a vast body of figural units constructed from household waste. Lagunju’s Iyaloja Market, Victorian Udondian’s Family Portrait (2009), and Gbenga Offo’s Conference of Elders (2009 do not look alike in any way, shape, or form. But each work is a successful and illuminating depiction of the human figure.

Most painters in Nigeria unfailingly include the human figure in their compositions, in one form or another. They experiment with a wide variety of conventional and innovative styles and mediums of painting for reconstructing the human figure. But rarely do Nigerian figural artists explore conceptual dimensions as Lagunju does in this work: he translates the Nigerian figure into a diaspora body of foreign signs. In his installation of figures, the spoken world alienates its speaker. From Lagunju’s Iyaloja Market, the diaspora characters in the landscape of capitalism speak a foreign visual language of the exile. Using the genre of figural art, Lagunju ornaments Onaism with elegant badges of alienation, in a cold spoken world.

Lagunju, Udondian, Offo, and other figural painters are convinced that within the scope of the human figure, within the spirit and flesh of the human body, lies an answer, or at least a series of questions, that might illuminate the path toward a form of answer about the Nigerian character. With their figure paintings, they reveal the visual manifestation of that emergent being who is both a victim and a benefactor of colonial and imperial heritage. But what is the question that the artists pose? What is the meaning of this search for figures in contemporary Nigerian art? What do these artists seek from their relentless interrogation of the human figure? What do they think they can learn and teach the rest of us about the Nigerian figure?

The human figure embodies humanity in all its cultural ramifications, and the figure painter is fascinated, intrigued, and inspired by the endless variations of the common human condition. With figure painting, the artist ponders the answers and questions with a passionate and thorough dissection of the human configuration. Contemporary Nigerian painting therefore generates a dialogue between artists and their audiences on the state of humankind. Because they are aware of the larger world in which they live, the artists and their audiences situate that deliberation within the context of the emergent global consciousness of the modern world.

The diversity of styles, and the range of depicted human characters in Nigerian figural painting reflect the nuances and variations of Nigerian cultural values. The art works are signs and stories of people

SOS Village hosts exhibition

By Charity Williams

By Moyo Okediji

struggling and grappling with ordinary daily events. In psychological terms, the art is a mask that conceals and reveals: it is a wonderful catalogue of delightful images that show Nigeria in its most brilliant colors and successful accomplishments, as in Offo’s sweet palette. But Offo’s colors are also masks that conceal stressful and traumatic crises of life, which is heightened in Udondian’s painting.

The bright colors, luminous patterns, and radiant light of Offo’s paintings thereby balance Udondia’s elegiac signs of and strategies for coping with mysterious posttraumatic stress disorder, or what Fela popularizes as “Shuffering and Shmiling.”

Despite her abundance of manpower wealth and the potentials for unimaginable achievements, Nigeria has experienced its quota of social, economic, political and other struggles. These are the hidden allusions in the figural works by Lagunju, Udondian, Offo and other figural painters.

The diversity of styles in contemporary figural painting is unprecedented in Nigerian history. The density of figural artists is high, and the diversity and individuality spreads across a vast landscape of regions, peoples, traditions, political views and personal convictions.

To attempt to classify all the types of figures in contemporary Nigerian art painting is to undertake an impossible task.

Yet a measure of observation and generalization about styles and significances is useful.

Many years before Lagunju, Udondian, Offo, the Yaba-based master, Yusuff Grillo, painted figures with cool colors applied in fine layers of relatively smooth strokes. Others such as Zaria-based colorist, Gani Oduntokun, preferred bold pigments placed thick on the canvas. The Benin-based matriarch of contemporary Nigeria art, Etso Ugbodga-Ngu, explored color as light to produce dramatic statements about her subjects. Ondo-based Tola Wewe drags his figures into a mythic arrangement of lyrical colors and shapes that induce a sense of wonderment and mystery.

Nothing connects the entire body of figural painting in Nigeria beyond an intuitive understanding of the human nature, translated into clever use of colors and patterns. The artists help to sweeten the taste of daily life, and brighten the mundane and grey hours of the routine human experience.

But because the relationship between contemporary Nigerian art and the reality of the people is best described as a voyage and forage, the artists forge along different paths on a quest to define the character of the nation.

That Lagunju, Udondian, Offo and other figural artists are searching is beyond dispute. Before them, Ugbodaga-Ngu, Grillo and Odutokun also struggled with styles and

themes. From generation to generation, one school to another, and from style to style, the artists have concentrated on researching the Nigerian figure. Often regarded as the first figural painter in Nigeria, Aina Onabolu, at the beginning of the twentiethcentury, began a diligent search to the question of depicting the Nigerian figure with realistic accuracy. He rejected as primitive the symbolic styles of figurative art in indigenous African traditions, especially the wooden sculptures. The embodiment of a Nigerian artist raised during the colonial imposition British values, Onabolu used imported art materials such as oil paint, watercolor, canvas and gesso. Onabolu’s individualistic, solo, and heroic search for the Nigerian figure was largely among fellow Nigerians of his own elitist class. Onabolu’s new hero is a New Nigerian, the determined individual forging ahead by seizing all the opportunities afforded by the emergent colonial environment. Mostly men, they were educated, confident, and poised to lead, if they were not already recognized as leaders.

They seemed isolated and rather remote in the cold immortalization of their bodies within Onabolu’s portraits. He therefore succeeded in locating the Nigerian figure in a select body of men emerging as the prototypes for colonial adulation. But the chilly countenances of these elite figures foreboded a grim future for the nation. To succeed, Nigerian leaders must blend a culture of selflessness with the unbridled drive for individualistic desires that Onabolu figuratively unmasks in his sitters.

The portraits reflect, no doubt, the personal selections and values of the painter. But they are also the psychological portraits of an era on which the foundation of contemporary Nigeria was constructed.

You may contrast Onabolu’s search with that of Akinola Lasekan, who made his artistic mark largely as a cartoonist and a painter. Although Lasekan, a la Onabolu, mastered the use of western painting materials, Lasekan’s search for the Nigerian figure was more open to a wide range of subjects. Lasekan’s work shifted the focus of painting from the individual Nigerian figure to group identities. His subject of folk culture led him to depict people in various situations.

The distinctive and often arrogant pose of Onabolu’s elitist figure gives way to a more genial folk anonymity and loss of character in Lasekan’s compositions. Weary of colonial culture, where could a young nation search for answers to character building?

Lasekan’s suggestion of looking at indigenous traditions coincided perfectly with the sentiments of “returning” to an African past, as propounded by the Negritude thinkers at that time in the 1950s.

•Okediji is of the University of Texas in Austin, USA.

T

HE President of The Art Gallery, Chief Frank Okonta, has challenged the government to create an enabling environment for youngsters to exhibit their talents and contribute to the development of the society.

He spoke during an exhibition of paintings, prints, beadworks and mixed works by SOS children’s villages tagged: Rhythm of life, at the National Gallery of Art in Lagos. The art works are reflection of events happening in African societies especially Nigeria as well as influences from what they read about the arts of other African cultures.

SOS youths talented in painting exhibiting their wares for sponsor and the general public to see and purchase as a way of encouraging them in their chosen profession. The exhibitions are expected to last for one week and using the media to attract supporters.

Also speaking, the Interim National Director, Mr Eghosa Erhumwunse, said SOS Children Villages in Nigeria, are acting for children as an independent nongovernmental society development organisation.

P&G gets best company award

P

ROCTER and Gamble (P&G) Nigeria, a leading consumer goods company, has won the award of the ‘Best Company’ in community involvement and development– involving interventions covering the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Child-Focused CSR).

It was announced at the Social Enterprise Report and Awards ceremony (The SERA 2011) in Lagos. P&G also emerged as one of the top three finalists in the categories of Best Company in Human Rights and Gender and Best Company in Health.

This year, the theme for the awards was Leading Change: Building Competitive and Green Brands.

According to TruContact, the organisers of the event, the objective of the awards is to promote corporate investment in the social development of Nigeria.

President of the SERA awards jury, Mr Peter Ogudoro explained that the award was conferred on the firm based on their commitment to the society and also the originality of its works. “A good number of those who will win awards tonight, we found that their works were original, impressive and also environment friendly. We are happy with their works and would like to encourage them that success is not a day thing but rather a growth that is constantly under construction especially in the fast racing world we live in today,” Ogudoro said.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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Blending beauty with history in quest for Eden

K

ANMI Olatoye's The Denkyira Chest is a robust novel plotted on the historical interactions between Europe and the continent of Africa, a relationship that predates the slave trade era. What constitutes the thread of the novel is the long, torturous search for a buried treasure, an element which the novel shares with many stories involving pirates. The treasure in this particular story is the ormolu chest which is presented as a gift by the powerful monarch of the Denkyira kingdom in the south of Kumasi old Gold coast to Baruch Savage, one of the four sons of otto von Savage, a prominent Dutch brewer whose business concerns are concentrated in the Nederlands, his native land. The gift described in the novel as a masterpiece and an archetype of African skill and artistry (p.54) is later taken to to the patriarch of savage dynasty in the Nederlands where the chest soon acquires the status of family icon. However, much later, during the time of Overmars, the ninth in the line to the patriarch the chest is taken back to Africa by Johnnie, Overmars' adventurous son who decides to travel to the continent referred to as the dark continent in search of business opportunities. Unfortunately, the young man arrives with his mistress, at a wrong time. He gets to Ideju, an island in the Bight of Benin, in the heat of a hot kingship tussle between the two ruling houses in the British colony then known as Eko later named Lagos. Oba Kosoko has just dethroned Akintoye, leading to a bitter battle between the two personalities and their factions. Johnie's ship is attacked and he manages to escape into the bush where he encounters a sacred snake which he kills innocently. That innocent sin eventually costs him his life. However, he manages to bury the treasured chest before paying the supreme price. Susan is taken to the king from where she is assisted to go

BOOK REVIEW Title:

Denkyira Chest

Author:

Kanmi Olatoye

Reviewer: Folu Agoi Publisher: Hoofbeat Publishers, Ikeja, Lagos

Year:

2010

back to her London homeland. These are some of the events that set the mood for the great search which is the main preoccupation of the novel.

Beyond the denotative interpretation of the work, the novel could be viewed as encapsulating man's quest for the Garden of Eden or lost glory.

Path to credible election

Osuolale o, olowo Eko o Ma binu pe mo pe o l'oruko Agba ti'o binu l'omore npo jojo Omo afinju w'oja gbendeke

BOOK REVIEW Title:

A Handbook for Winning Elections In Nigeria

Reviewer: Nsikak Daniels Author:

G

LOBALLY, especially in the developing world, issues of elections conduct have always attracted global interest, depending on the level of stakeholding of those involved. In most cases, unresolved election challenges have led to eruption of crisis that the end result would not be beautiful to discuss. In Africa, examples abound. In Nigeria, the 1993 general election was given a universal endorsement as the freest and fairest ever and yet it was annulled. Similarly, the conduct of the general election was highly praised by the international community, but a few saw it differently.

Unfortunately, winning of election has since become a do-or-die affair to some. The healing balm for these untamed animalistic tendencies informed the writing of this well researched 10-chapter book, A Handbook for Winning Elections In Nigeria.

The author has painstakingly

The novel is mainly set in the west coast of the Gulf of Guniea and the Nederlands in the 19th century. The events in the story take place in places like Ideju, the Nederlands, London and Russia, where the reader is taken to the scene of the Crimean War. The story also takes us through the various phases of Lagos from 19th century to the present time.

The Denkyira Chest, a 263-page novel divided into 36 chapters presented in four parts, is a product of a rigorous research and exploration of the interplay between history and literature. The story, woven around the treasured chest and its movement across continents, reflects a cyclic structure, moving from Africa ( the old Gold coast) to The Nederlands, back to Africa(Snake Island), back to The Nederlands, and finally reincarnating in Lagos as the object of The Golden Quest, the popular television reality show.

The language employed in the narrative is quite lucid, with vivid descriptions reflecting fertile imagination. Many parts of the novel feature poetic language with metaphorical expressions like the following expression on page 45: Nancy had found expression in the wings of freedom.' And on page 133: the dense leaves of the trees provided a shade from the afternoon sun but the rays of the sun still managed to sip through the umbrella of leaves and made disjointed patterns on Nancy's dress and the ground.'

The narrative also features panegyric poetry (oriki) which is a distinctive feature of African literature; eg the piece on page 258:

Emma Anyagwa

Publisher: Reli Communication Limited, Lagos.2011 Pagination: 100

provided an in-depth path to tow when stepping out with the dream to winning votes from the electorate without using unacceptable universal ways, but an unfamiliar application of research. No doubt, the 2007 presidential campaigns berthed the new trend. The book has emphasised how benefiting it is to the candidate to do a proper voter’s analysis based on realistic findings.

Chapter 2 deals with the way the planned campaign is organised and the steps to follow, involving the

manifestation materials of the candidate. The book also points the direction of the benefits of a good message development, which is a big challenge. The author stresses blessings of the synergy of the message, pre-campaign techniques and the due processes without ignoring interest groups and their emotions and sentiments.

Though today, the crazy social media landscape has overwhelmed the traditional lines, these too, must be well defined, to take optimal advantage of its usefulness, bearing in mind that the terrain – the grassroots is not yet fully ripe for the so called social media.

Raising funds for projects of any kind is the same across the world and it’better in the developed clime of the

Obun a w'oja a pa sio sio Iwo l'omo erin j'ogun ola Omo olokun ahoruru, omo olosa a mi lengbe ….

The author has also demonstrated a keen eye for details in the narrative. He, like Nance, a prominent character in the story, demonsrates the penetrative and liberated mind of an artist.'

Characterisation is employed in the novel with much attention to psychoanalysis, as the author dissects each of the characters, and takes us into their minds, showing us not only what happened but why and how it happened. This helps create a cathartic effect on the reader who is taught to understand and sympathise with the characters in their trials. The good ones are rewarded while the bad ones are made to pay for their sin.

The author's sense of patriotism is also evident in the novel. The advertisement of made-in -Nigeria products, such as Glo, Zinox, Ovation, Sunny Neji, Beautiful Nubia etc seems to be one of the preoccupations of the novel. The inclination is obvious in the description of the Excelsior in Amsterdam and the subsequent reference to Eko Suites and Obudu Ranch Resort as our local versions of the grand hotel.

The Denkyira Chest is a plump fictional presentation plotted on historical facts pertaining to personalities, places and events, a feature the novel shares with some world classic like Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. The novel has effectively portrayed its author as a highly imaginative writer brilliant academic historian conservationist and many other things rolled into one a writer with a mission. Barring a few editorial slips, the novel is agreat work of art in the mould of national epics like War and Peace. Perhaps one of the lessons in the story is what is expressed on page 235: the savages sure knew how to treseaure souvenirs and preserve history.'

world where sources of funds are questioned by constituted agencies and well meaning individuals. The author brings to the fore the necessary things to do and the best way it should be done for the interest of posterity. Every professional conceptualised public relations idea ends with research. Thus, evaluation is the key and an insight index must be provided, which will also serve as salient radar to arrive safely at the pre-determined destination - victory. The book gives a peep into election landmarks and renounces rigging in chapter nine and 10 with pages of instructive, educative and enlightening scholarship. The author anchors the piece with useful samples of campaign charts. The book is a worthwhile effort, which will surely leave the reader better than he was, especially politicians, researchers, students and those who are involved in the affairs of state.

The book will be presented by noon on Saturday, at Ijewere Hall, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Victoria Island, Lagos, under the chairmanship of Mr Fola Adeola, Mr Babatunde Fashola, (SAN), the Governor of Lagos State, as special guest of honour. Dr. Sam Amadi, Chairman, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)is the guest speaker while the book will be reviewed by Yomi BadejoOkusanya.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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•Mrs Mordi (second right) and other members of DSFN cutting the cake

•Mrs Ogan and Mrs Buchi-Chukwu

DSFN celebrates 10 years of touching lives

D

OWN Syndrome Foundation of Nigeria (DSFN) celebrated its fundraiser/award dinner at the Lagoon Restuarant, Lagos with lots of festivities.

It was star-studded.

Tagged: Down Syndrome Unplugged, the event doubled as its anniversary celebration.

The dinner, which is part of activities marking its awareness week, drew dignitaries from all spheres of life. It featured, among others, award presentation, raffle draw, dance performances and art exhibition.

Guests were treated to a documentary on the foundation, entitled: The Journey so far, which gave them an insight into how it came to be.

DSFN was founded by a woman, who saw the need for a foundation to cater for people with the genetic condition called Down Syndrome (DS), Mrs Rose Mordi. She is the foundation's National President.

Speaking at the event, Mrs Mordi said: "The journey of this organisation is a story weaved in love, driven by passion and executed with a desire to touch humanity in a little way. We have had our challenges, our difficulties, and our happy moments and have also rejoiced together in our successes and achievements.

"It has also been 10 years of great support from Nigerians, the media and government, especially the Lagos State Government which has always been there for us. We thank corporate organisations, religious organisations, educational institutions, telecommunications companies, individuals and the general public

By Evelyn Osagie

for believing in this vision and lending a hand in this duty bestowed on us," she said.

The First lady, Mrs Patience Goodluck, was represented by the wife of the Minister of Health, Mrs Osinachi Buchi-Chukwu, who praised the foundation's efforts, saying: "It is a good initiative."

She said: "The first lady is impressed with the cause of the foundation. She is interested in improving and encourages programmes that would advance the lives of people living with Down Syndrome. She is encouraging parents with children with DS not to be ashamed to integrate them into the society. She condemns discrimination against them."

The foundation launched its proposed multi-function resource centre which would include an educational and child development facility set over 4,000 square metres at Ikorodu, Lagos State. The project would cost about N161.200, it was learnt.

The Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, who has been supporting the foundation over the years, said: "This centre will have the potential of taking in more persons with Down Syndrome than they are handling now at their facility, which was gotten on lease."

Anyim, who was represented by Dr. Shade Caiafas, said: "I have been interacting with this foundation for a very long time, since the days they were a small organisation known as the Down Syndrome Association of Nigeria (DSAN) with a very humble office in Surulere, Lagos State. Little as that place was, these children were

12 artists for workshop

‘Culture sector to become govt’s major focal point’

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Stories by Ozolua Uhakheme Assistant Editor (Arts)

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OURISM, Culture and National Orientation Minister, Chief Edem Duke, is unhappy with the state of public sector, especially his ministry. He is not only disturbed by the level of human capacity development, but also worried by government’s perception of culture and tourism in national development plan.

The minister, who barred his mind in Calabar, Cross River State at the recently, concluded National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST), said his dream is to shore up the rating of his ministry as a place for professionals, not where people hang on to pending when they get juicier offers. He said that the ministry’s programmes and activities must be objective driven and not activity driven.

Notwithstanding, his determination is to bring culture and tourism into the mainstream because people think they are intangible. He said it is very important to develop a new advocacy that would make culture and tourism one of the major focal points of the government. According to him, the ministry and its programmes have not received frontline attention.

“It is important that what we do is objective driven, not activity driven and noise in the media. What is the objective of activity and how does it fit into the general objective and goals of the administration? These questions must be given answers otherwise at the end of the year, there will be no impact. So, one has to do training. We have to strengthen our capacity and building of structures, which are critical.

There are plans to send officials of the ministry to other countries for training, especially in hospitality business. “ he said.

He disclosed that by the end of the year, he would open office for the operation of the Tourism Master Plan, noting however, that structures for marketing the brands are very weak. This, he said, was why the ministry is examining the need assessment and developing a tourism identity for the nation.

On Abuja National Carnival, the minster observed that

taught, groomed, educated and trained to be independent and live a normal life. There, they had cases of members with health challenges, heart problems and other ailments and they showed more concern and love towards one another as they ran to individuals, offices and wrote hundreds of letters, seeking support.

They have been succeeding in these efforts. The foundation has been blessed to have lived up to 10 years and we must celebrate and consolidate on what they are planning to do more."

The foundation presented awards to individuals and organisations that have supported the cause of people with Down Syndrome in Nigeria. Among the awardees were Chief G. Giwa-Amu, Mrs Funke Ogan, Manager News, Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) Lagos Channel 10; General Manager of Metro FM, Ndidi Osaka; Chioma Obinna, Vanguard newspaper; Edith Effiong, News Agency of Nigeria; Mrs Chidinma Ihema; and Exxon-Mobil and a reporter with The Nation.

Ogan also commended the foundation's efforts, saying: "I call it compassion; just as Jesus did. If we can exhibit such trait, life would be a better place."

Guests at the event included Chief Femi Giwa-Amu; Special Adviser to the Lagos State Government on Youths and Social Development, Dr. Dolapo Enitan-Badru; Dr. Janet Ajuluchukwu (Associate Prof of Medicine, LUTH); Prof. Paul Ajuwon, Missouri State University, US; Executive Director, Stratrite Mayton and Co, Mrs. Delphine Misan-Arenyeka, and staff and students of Grange Secondary School.

•Duke

rather than be a competing carnival to others, it should transform into as festival of Black Arts and Culture.

“Through that, we will begin to build a new product for a wider acceptance. What can Abuja Carnival negotiate apart from branding? So, let’s build a new product so that NAFEST will be a base-line,” he added.

He assured that as soon as the Oronsaye panel concludes its assignment, the ministry would consider bringing back to the Culture Ministry, agencies and parastatals that are in Justice and Information ministries. “We are waiting for the Oronsaye panel that is handling the restructuring to conclude its duties. Once that is done, we will partner with the British Council to chart a new plan in the area of entrepreneurial promotion,” he said.

Duke stated that the $200million intervention fund by the president should not be mistaken for grant and that the ministry is working with the Indian NEXIM Bank and Nigerian NEXIM Bank to facilitate easy access for artistes.

But, he noted that Nollywood stories must be diversified by considering epic stories, first class comedy and thriller so that movies don’t get monotonous. He admitted that the Nollywood holds huge potential for job creation.

WELVE finalists have been selected by the African Artists Foundation (AAF) for a 14-day workshop holding between November 14 and 28 at the Abraka Resort, an artists residency in Delta State.

They are Babson Ajibade, Chris Echeta, Gerald Chukwuma, Erasmus Onyishi, Folashade Ogunlade, Jude Anogwih, Chidinma Nnorom, Samuel Palmtree Ifeanyichukwu, Olayinka Sangotoye, Taiye Idahor, Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Uche Uzorka and Chike Obeagu.

The first prize winner will go home with N2million, while second and third winners will get N1.5million and N1 million respectively.

The workshop, which will be led by industry professionals, is being organised by AAF and Nigerian Breweries Plc, as part of the Fourth National Art competition with the theme, Documenting changes in our nation.

According to the organisers, this year, the competition is emphasising art creation rather than the end product with a star prize of N2million. Works created at the workshop will be exhibited. “With AAF’s renewed focus on artistic processes, an agenda which we will pursue rigorously for a three-year period starting this year, has as its theme: Process to Product.

AAF will, over the next three years focus on processes of fine art production,” the organisers said.

To qualify for the competition, artists were required to submit a brief written proposal highlighting how they intend to interpret the theme through their chosen medium.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Akintola said there is need to involve school children in the campaign in curbing road damage because they are future leaders and habits inculcated in their youths are likely to stay with them through life

Pupils embrace road maintenance campaign

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AGOS State government is doing everything possible to woo every segment of the state population. One of its latest efforts in this regard is the plan to involve school pupils in the road maintenance campaign.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has been engaging students of primary and secondary schools in series of activities to promote safety measures on roads geared towards ensuring free flow of traffic and accident-free state.

The success story of LASTMA recently prompted the Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) to mobilise students from the 20 Junior and Senior Secondary Schools across the six educational districts in the state at a forum where they intensively deliberated on measures address the challenges of road maintenance in the state.

The event which held in the Banquet Hall of LSPWC Complex, Ojodu Berger with the theme ‘Roles of the Public in Curbing Road Damage’ had in attendance Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure Mr. Ganiyu Johnson, Special Adviser to the Governor on Parastatal Monitoring Office Mr. Gboyega Salvador-Adebayo, and Desk Officers in Co-curricular Department in the six educational districts.

Chairman, LSPWC, Mr. Gbenga Akintola in his opening remark explained that the state government is saddled with enormous responsibility of providing basic amenities to members, with road maintenance being one of

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LHAJI Garba Sabon Gari, chairman of Ilela Local Government council in Sokoto State has revealed that the council slated projects valued at N130 million for execution in towns and villages across the area.

He said such projects include rural road contruction, water supply, health, education, power sup-

By Miriam Ndikanwu

those responsibilities.

He said there was need to ensure that the funds spent on road maintenance is not wasted as a result of man-made damage to roads.

Akintola said there is need to involve school children in the campaign in curbing road damage because they are future leaders and habits inculcated in their youths are likely to stay with them through life.

He reiterated the corporation’s commitment in ridding Lagos roads of pot holes and making them more accessible to motorists, with the assurance that LSPWC’s work force will continue to work tirelessly in achieving this and will not hesitate to explore available opportunity such as festive periods in doing so.

Also, Director, Lagos State Public Works Corporation, Mr. Rasheed Teslim-Balogun, noted that the forum was the fourth in its series as others held in the past focused on key stakeholders who are most concerned on the advocacy campaign issues, such as market men and women, Community Development Association leaders, landlord association leaders and National Union of Road Transport Workers.

He said the corporation, following the directives of His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State is determined to use varied channels to seek and obtain the co-operation of members of the public in protecting the roads at all times, so as to get best value for money whenever taxpayers’

• The pupils at the forum

money is spent in either constructing or maintaining roads in Lagos.

Delivering his lecture at the forum, former Head of Projects of the Corporation, Mr Ganiyu Aiyepe enjoined the students to serve as change agents of road usage.

He stressed the need for them to inculcate the habits of not only desisting from behaviour capable of causing damage to roads but also to spread the message

learnt at the forum among their peers, parents and guardians on the reasons why they must desist from such habits.

Aiyepe said that the road surface consist of a black material known as Asphalt which is not friendly with water, thereby making retention of water on roads the most critical challenge to sustaining good and motorable road surface.

He also dwelt on key issues in the corporation’s advocacy cam-

paign, such as dumping of refuse in drains, burning of tyres and other items on roads, cooking or frying on roads, indiscriminate cutting of roads, excess axle load of tankers and containers on roads, spillage of car wash water on road, and pouring of petroleum products on roads.

He called on school children to act as agents in partnership with the State Government in spreading the message of the damaging effect of these habits on roads.

Council maps out projects for execution From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

ply and economic empowerment, among others.

Sabon Gari who disclosed the

development to newsmen in his office at Illela, headquarters of the council, explained that a comprehensive report on the projects proposal has been made to the state

Ministry for Local Governments.

“The estimates have been forwarded to the Ministry for Local Governments for its final approval and nothing less than N100 million will be approved finally by the ministry.

He continued, saying “the projects are aimed at further improving the living standard of the people and to fulfil our various campaign promises.”

He said when the projects ate approved, the local government will pay 40 per cent of the money to the contractors in advance.

He said, “We will also be making more payments to them as soon as their projects are certified by our engineers to expedite action on their completion,” In the same vein, the Chairman said that his administration was already on course on the rehabili-

tation of the road and drainage networks at the Illela international market.

Sabon Gari explained that the gesture was aimed at boosting the socio-economic activities of the traders as well as enhance the local government’s internally generated revenue base.

“This will make us to complement the monthly allocation from the federation account, thereby enable us to execute more developmental projects.”

Accordingly, the council boss disclosed that his administration was currently conducting a staff verification exercise to ”fish out” ghost workers. ‘’This will also make us to save more money to execute more developmental projects and social services for the people,” he stated.

The estimates have been forwarded to the Ministry for Local Governments for its final approval and nothing less than N100million will be approved finally by the ministry •Masta Blasta band members perform at Calabar Carnival

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

39

INSURANCE

‘Industry’s N500b capital is under-utilised’ T

HE insurance industry’s over N500 billion capital base is under-utilised, the President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) Dr Wole Adetimehin, has said.

Adetimehin told The Nation that though the industry’s capital base remains one of the highest across Africa, insurers are not doing enough business with the capital at their disposal.

He noted that most operators in a bid to deploy their excess funds have extended their operations abroad. He urged insurers to deploy their funds through the design of people-oriented products.

He said: “The capital base of com-

Stories by Chuks Udo Okonta

panies in Nigeria is reasonably large, more than what you would find within this continent. Even in Europe and America, our capital base is larger than most firms. The facts remain that we are not doing enough business with it. That is why some of the operators have to move to the west coast.”

Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Fola Daniel, said insurers do not need another round of recapitalisation, adding that they are under-trading with the capital at their disposal. He said the industry is been groomed for riskbased recapitalisation that would

enable operators to raise capital in line with the business they underwrite.

“The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is not looking at the direction of fresh recapitalisation. We are rather looking at what we call risk-based capital. By risk-based capital, we would be asking an insurance company to recapitalise in accordance with the risks it is taking.

“So, if you are insurance company that does aviation and oil and gas underwriting, then you must have the wherewithal to absolve those risks. If you are an insurer that does motor insurance alone, you do not need the same capital.

That is the concept of risk-base recapitalisation.

“That is what we have in other climes such as Britain, United States and Canada. So, we need to migrate, because if we go to N20 billion and some insurance companies have capital in excess of N20billion, yet their ability to take large risk is very limited. So, why N20billion if you cannot underwrite businesses in aviation, oil and gas?” he said.

He said the industry has been moving very slowly and that NAICOM is poised to speedy the pace in which the operators should operate. He noted that many opportunities have been created for

operators to develop their business.

“We have opened a lot of windows. It is just for them to walk in and tap the opportunities. We are not going to sell insurance products as regulators. What we are going to do is really to create opportunities, which we have created. We have created many opportunities through the MDRI; the Federal Government also has created opportunities through the instrumentality of the Nigerian Content Bill. And the bill is a multimillion dollar, Pounce, Euro businesses. When you translate that to Naira, you would see that the trillion premium target is achievable,” he added.

Insurers embrace holding structure

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•New President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) Mr. Laide Osijo, presenting a plaque to Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who was the guest speaker, at her investiture as the 16th president of the Council, in Lagos.

NSURANCE companies have begun discussions on how to harmonise their subsidiaries into a holding structure The Nation has learnt.

The Group Managing Director, Capital Express Assurance Limited, Mr Tony Aletor, who confirmed this, said his company has adopted they measure to meet its objectives.

He noted that though the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has not come up with the initiative for companies to do so, the company is being pro-active against such a policy in the future.

He said: “The management will not relent in its efforts to meet the company’s short, medium and long terms objectives.

One of the key aspects we are closely examining is the organisation’s structure. The new holding company structure just prescribed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the banking sector has caught the attention of management.

“Though our regulatory body

has not come up with a similar pronouncement for the insurance industry, we are very much conscious of the fact that our organisation currently runs a similar structure to some of the banks.”

To stem the abuse of operations subsidiaries in the industry, NAICOM urged insurers not to invest in their parent company “No insurer/reinsurer shall invest in its parent company, insurance funds shall not be invested in any subsidiary, investment of shareholders funds in associates, subsidiaries and related companies should be limited to 25 per cent of such funds,” he said.

“Not more than 20 per cent of the total equity investment shall be placed in the security of one company. All investment decisions shall be guided by the board approved investment policy, and the basis for investment selection shall be properly documented for independent review,” it added.

Capital Express posts N1.89b profit

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APITAL Express Assurance recorded a gross premium of N1.89 billion last year, its Chairman, Babatunde Adenuga, has said.

Adenuga, who disclosed this at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, said the net profit increased by four per cent from N1.75 billion

in 2009 to N1.82 last year.

The company was granted approval by its shareholders to change its name to Capex Assurance Group Limited.

He said: “In spite all the challenges we had to face as a company, we were able to increase our gross premium income from N1.80 billion in 2009 to N1.89 bil-

lion in 2010. This was a moderate increase of 4.5 per cent.

“Our net premium income, also increased by four per cent from N1.75 billion in 2009 to N1.82 in 2010.”

He said initiatives and strategies embarked upon by the company helped in repositioning its operations. He said the com-

pany would continue to be a strong player in the internationally.

“On the international front, we will continue to be a formidable player in the African markets to enable us to benefit from the various opportunities that are springing up within the continent. In readiness for this, we

have strengthened the supervision of our offshore offices by incorporating a subsidiary called Capital Express Assurance Global Franchise Limited. This company has its separate board and management and it is charged with supervising and monitoring our foreign operations,” he added.

Conference on youth empowerment coming

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OYAL Exchange Plc is partenring with a NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO) Foundation, For Youth Education on an empowerment conference.

The conference, scheduled to hold in the second week of November, is expected to bring together over 800 secondary school prefects from 40 schools across Lagos State and will be held at the Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba, Lagos.

In a statement, its Group Managing Director, Mr Chike Mokwunye, said the company is motivated by an abiding sense of duty and patriotism to contribute to nurturing the youths to be productive and responsi-

ble citizens.

“The students attending the conference are already in positions of authority in their respective schools, and we want a situation where they continue to be seen as examples for others to follow. At the end of the training, we expect the prefects to be role models, ready to lead, direct and positively influence others around them,” Mr Mokwunye added.

“The Royal Exchange brand is well-known for its empathy and high sense of patriotism. This partnership reflects our belief in the potential of the spirit and the ability of the youth to soar and excel in their chosen field when given the opportunity,” he added.

•From left: Former President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Broker (NCRIB) Dr Teslim Sanusi; Commissioner for Insurance Mr Fola Daniel and Chairman, Nestle Plc, Mr Olusegun Osunkeye, at NCRIB’s conference in Lagos.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

40

PENSION

Real estate properties to get cover

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LL properties, whether fully developed or undergoing development, shall have comprehensive insurance cover provided by a reputable insurance company, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said.

PenCom stated this in a guideline it issued on direct estate investment by closed Pension Fund Administrators and Approved Existing Schemes (CPFA/AES).

It noted that CPFA/AES shall make available to the commission during on-site examinations, all relevant documents and minutes of meetings used in arriving at the decision for direct investment in real estate.

It said the guidelines seek to standardise procedures to be

adopted by CPFAs and AES that operate defined benefit schemes and have or intend to have direct investments in real estate.

It said: “CPFAs and Approved Existing Schemes (AES) that operate Defined Contributory Schemes and have direct real estate investments may maintain such investments but, as from the effective date of these guidelines, shall not make new direct real estate investments.

“Direct investment in real estate involves the purchase of an already developed property or financing the development or construction of a property to generate income for the pension fund.

“The parcel of land upon which any direct real estate investment is situated shall be

fully owned by the CPFA/AES, either by outright purchase or a leasehold agreement,” it said.

It noted that the source of funding for the purchase or development of the property shall wholly be from the pension fund/scheme.

“Where a real estate property is to be sold, the CPFA/AES shall obtain prior approval from the Commission. The Commission’s approval or otherwise, shall be duly communicated not later than two weeks after receipt of request by the CPFA/ AES, provided all relevant documentation required for the assessment had been submitted to the Commission. The request for approval by the CPFA/AES shall be accompanied with relevant documentation,” it added.

‘Fight apathy with enhanced service delivery’

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HE Managing Director of LASACO Assurance Plc, Mr Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi, has identified qualitative service delivery as a panacea to apathy on insurance services.

In a statement by the company, Ladipo-Ajayi reaffirmed his organisation’s commitment to exceptional service delivery He noted that the company has set out goals to deliver exceptional stakeholder value by offering firstclass, innovative products and services to all segments of customers.

He said: “We have the irrepressible desire to remain pro-active and flexible in order to meet the changes constantly occurring in the

UK sets 2014 for Solvency ll

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•From left: Managing Director Sterling Assurance Mr Fatai Lawal; Dr Wole Adetimehin and General Secretary African Insurance Organisation (AIO), Ms Prisca Soares, at an event in Ibadan.

PenCom to harmonise PFAs’ operations

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HE National Pension Commission (PenCom) has put in place an Information Technology (IT) device to harmonise operations of Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs), its Director-General Mr Muhammad Ahmad has said.

In a statement, Ahmad said the Commission would leverage on the state-of-the-art information and communication technology to enhance its surveillance and supervisory activities in the industry.

He expressed optimism that the deployment of the Risk Management and Analysis System (RMAS) would enable PenCom to obtain direct information on different activities of the pension funds operators to ensure a safe and sound pension industry.

“Similarly, the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) would assist the Commission to identify multiple registrations using biometrics of the RSA holders. The Oracle E-business Suite application would also enhance the efficiency of the operations of the Commission.

Stories by Chuks Udo Okonta

Arrangements have already started toward ensuring the completion and implementation of these applications this year,” he said.

He noted that the Commission would intensify its compliance and enforcement strategies through public enlightenments, awareness campaigns and prosecution of errant employers as well as continue to support the efforts of state governments in the implementation of the PRA 2004.

“As part of its efforts to strengthen the pension industry, some strategic initiatives were outlined for implementation this year as part of the commission’s strategic plan for the years 2010 to 2013.

To ensure a strong and competitive pension industry that would be driven by fit and proper persons, the Commission would raise paid-up capital requirement for licensed operators. In addition, the guidelines for qualification of top management staff of licensed operators would also be

updated towards achieving this goal,” he added Ahmad said the commission’s maintenance of the risk-based supervisory philosophy helped to sustain the pension industry and accounted for the major breakthroughs it has recorded. It added that on-site and the off-site examinations were carried out on Pension Funds Operators using the risk based supervision model adopted by PenCom. Besides, it noted that the examinations revealed that Pension Funds Custodians (PFCs) has standardised the processes of safekeeping, settlement, and corporate action, and show that PFAs have remarkably improved on pension and benefit administration.

He said reports from examinations carried out by the commission, confirmed the effectiveness of the various risk based measures implemented by PenCom in the discharge of its supervisory responsibility and identified areas of challenge to the industry requires some regulatory intervention.

‘Reasons for non-compliance with pension scheme’

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EAK business environment, semi-formal nature of most businesses, perceived increased personal costs are responsible for the non-compliance with the contributory pension scheme by firms, Commissioner Technical, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms Eyamba Henshaw, has said.

Henshaw said the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has intensified efforts to educate organisations on the need for them to embrace the scheme to forestall a situation where people retire and have nothing to leverage on.

She urged pension operators to

intensify efforts in their market drive, customer service and branch expansion to boost awareness on the scheme, adding that the nation stands to benefit tremendously if the scheme is effectively entrenched.

Henshaw called on operators to keep their customers abreast of trends in their operations.

Managing Director, Nigeria Life and Provident Company Limited, Mr Emmanuel Olutoyin, Eleoramo, who spoke on why remittance is delayed said the gap between the collections of contributed pension by the Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs) and the transfer of the funds schedule to the Pension Funds Cus-

todians (PFCs) is responsible for the delay in remittance to contributors.

He noted that the problem will soon give way as the sector takes its rightful position, adding that PenCom is working with operators to move the industry forward.

“Since the pension sector is still developing, we are bound to have challenges. These challenges will be resolved as the sector grows. Note that the system is made up of three tiers – the contributors, employers and pension managers. ”The contributions from the companies go to the fund custodians, while the schedule is sent to the pension administrators,” he added.

environment in particular, in the industry, as well as the peculiar requirements of the clients.

“The emergence of LASACO as the lead underwriter for the consortium of companies providing cover for the new communications satellite to be launched at the end of the year. This clearly positions the company as one that is forward looking and dynamic in its business approach.

“Through its strategic growth, LASACO has maintained a consistent focus on excellence. We are poised as an organisation to achieve a seamless transformation in all aspects of our operations and service delivery,” he added.

HE United Kingdom (UK) insurance regulator’s decision to delay full implementation of Solvency II until 2014 may mean large insurers will have to comply with two sets of solvency rules in 2013.

While the Financial Services Authority’s announcement this month adds some clarity to the start date for Solvency II, significant uncertainties remain about which requirements insurers will have to fulfill in 2013.

According to Insurancenews.com, the risk-based capital regulatory regime for insurers and reinsurers previously was slated for introduction across the European Union on January 1, 2013.

But recent moves by European Council committees and the European Parliament mean a January 1, 2014, start date is more likely, with some elements of the new rules being phased in over several years.

In saying that it had revised its planning assumptions for Solvency II, the London-based regulator said it expects January 1, 2013, to remain the date at which national regulators and the European regulator, the Frankfurt, Germany-based European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, would need to have Solvency II transposed into law. But the FSA also said that January 1, 2014,

is the date it assumes that “Solvency II requirements would be switched on for firms.”

Companies that wish to have an internal capital model approved by the FSA have from March 2012 until mid-2013 to submit their models to the regulator for assessment.

Internal models are likely to lead to lower capital requirements for companies than using the standard model contained in Solvency II, but each internal model used by the companies must be approved by a regulator.

This is good news for companies seeking internal model approval from the FSA, said Janine Hawes, a London-based director in KPMG L.L.P.’s Solvency II technical group.

“This will give firms greater flexibility around their implementation plans,” Ms. Hawes said.

Small UK insurers may “breathe a sigh of relief” given the FSA’s extension, said Gareth Haslip, London-based head of the risk and capital strategy group for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Aon Benfield Analytics, a division of Aon Corp.

Larger insurers that already have invested heavily in preparing for a January 1, 2013, start date should capitalise on their readiness and use the investment in risk management to help their business strategy, he said.

Motor policy price declines, says report

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THREE-YEAR surge in British car insurance prices that has bolstered motor insurers’ flagging financial performance may be running out of steam, according to a survey from the AA roadside recovery group.

According to worldinsurancenews.com average price of comprehensive cover fell by 0.3 per cent in the three months to September 30, reducing the annual increase to 16 percent from 40 per cent at the end of March, the AA has said.

The quarterly decline is the first since April 2008, and suggests that the upturn in prices “has hit the proverbial wall,” analysts at Credit Suisse wrote in a research note.

British motor insurance industry, bedevilled by intense competition and soaring personal injury claims encouraged by “no win, no fee” lawyers, has made an underwriting loss every year since 1994, according to the Association of British Insurers.

The increase in prices has im-

proved the sector’s profitability, but the industry still paid out 1.20 pounds in claims for every pound in premium it took in last year, according to accountants Deloitte.

The AA said the drop in average premiums reflected the reemergence of competitive pressures after a three-year gap, and predicted that prices would continue to rise overall, albeit at a “much more modest rate.”

Insurers say a government move last month to ban lawyers from paying fees to those who refer accident victims to them should curb the increase in personal injury claims, boosting profits.

The sharp increase in motor insurance prices last month prompted consumer watchdog the Office of Fair Trading to launch a probe into the market.

Britain’s biggest motor insurer is Royal Bank of Scotland, owner of the Churchill and Direct Line brands, and its main competitors are RSA, Admiral, Aviva and mutually-owned Liverpool Victoria.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

ONDO 2012

• Mimiko

• Anifowose

• Ojo

• Ibrahim

• Agunloye

• Abayomi

• Akinterinwa

Ondo State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirants have embarked on the mobilisation of the people for the next election across the 18 local government. Can they withstand the Labour Party (LP) arsenal? Deputy Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the intra-party struggles for the governorship ticket in the opposition parties.

LP, ACN, PDP battle for Ondo Govt House W

HENEVER the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) blows the whistle for the governorship election in Ondo State, three parties; Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), would be locking horns.

Expectedly, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, a native of Ondo Kingdom, is the flag bearer of LP, the ruling party. He wields enormous influence in the state. His party is formidable. It also has solid structures at the grassroots. Rooting for him are traditional rulers, many opinion moulders, civil servants and youths.

However, to ACN, the ruling party is a fading platform. Its chairman, Mrs Jumoke Anifowose, who served in the Adebayo Adefarati Administration as commissioner, like Mimiko, said the power of incumbency would collapse on poll day, adding that the people of the Sunshine State are yearning for change. It is not an empty threat, judging by the way ACN aspirants are gathering forces in the nooks and crannies of the state.

PDP has also not given up despite the decimation of its membership. Like wounded lions, its chieftains are on the prowl, seeking whom to devour. There is no shortage of hope among the die-hard chieftains.

Other parties are just warming the register of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Many of them, sources said, are ready to trade their weak platforms for money by either endorsing Mimiko, ACN or PDP candidate. This has reinforced the fact that the paper-weight parties serve as sources of income to their officers during electioneering.

For Mimiko, it is a challenging period. Since he entered politics in the Second Republic as a young medical practitioner, he has not looked back. He has worked with many politicians in the state who are now his political foes. Out of exuberance, he had followed Chief Akinwole Omoboriowo briefly before the former deputy governor finally crashed in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Members of the three parties, it can be rightly argued, have tasted power in the state before. When the Third Republic broke, Mimiko had become an outstanding actor. He was a colleague of his successor, Olusegun Agagu, in the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), on whose platform the latter served as deputy governor. In that Olumilua Administration, and much later, under Adefarati, the LP leader was the Commissioner for Health.

Mimiko, fondly called Iroko by admirers, is a former Secretary to Ondo State Government and Minister of Housing. He became the governor by merit.

Since then, his party has never lost any election in the state. In the April parliamentary elections, which the governor described as a mid-term assessment for his administration, LP won all the senatorial, House of Representatives and Assem-

bly seats.

ACN leaders at the state and national levels have vowed to dislodge Mimiko, saying that the “iroko” must be cut to sizes. Firing back, Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, said: “The threat to hack down the hack down the “iroko” in 2013 is an empty threat. When the time comes, the people of Ondo State will determine their true leader.

The Ondo people will never worship on any foreign alter”.

Suddenly, cracks appeared on the wall. LP chairman and former Education Minister Olaiya Oni called it quits with the party. He said it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to work with the governor he had toiled with in the days of trouble. Two days ago, the vice chairman of the party, Senator Gbenga Meroyi, also left the party.The State Executive Council was dissolved.

When it was reconstituted, some commissioners lost out. Now, the unlucky ones have started holding meetings with the opposition.

LP has two major enemies; ACN and PDP. But there are also aggrieved members within. PDP, led by Dr Tayo Dairo, perceives Mimiko as a member on holiday from the camp. To PDP chieftains, LP is a faction of the PDP in the state taking refuge on another platform. Thus, there is the persistent rumour that the governor, who is the livewire of LP, may retrace his steps.

Although it is becoming old fashioned to brand PDP as a credible alternative in the Southwest, owing to its stigmatisation as a rigging machine, the party cannot be ruled out completely, especially in the South District. Unlike PDP, the profile of ACN is soaring in the region and in the next election, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Lagos ACN leader would morally and financially solidarise with their Ondo counterparts.

Ondo PDP suffered a setback recently when President Goodluck Jonathan did not appoint any of its members as a minister. Therefore, the party lacks an arrowhead, as it were. However, if the President is convinced, he may pump money into the campaign of the party’s candidate. The dilemma is that President Jonathan may not perceive Mimiko as a direct foe.

Currently, governorship aspirants in the PDP include include Senator Olorunnimbe Farunkanmi, Dr Tayo Dairo, Prof Agbi ,Dr Agagu, who lost his deposit at the recent senatorial election in Ondo South, and his former deputy, Omolade Oluwateru. PDP sources said

that the former Defence Minister, Tokunbo Kayode, and businessman Jimoh Ibrahim are also eyeing the governorship.

ACN has the highest number of governorship aspirants. Since the gates of LP appears closed and the PDP has a bad image, the only credible alternative is the ACN. Both LP and ACN would now move swiftly to get the remaining mushroom political parties on their sides for strategic reasons.

ACN governorship aspirants include Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), Akinola AwodeyiAkinsehinwa, Hon. Tayo Alasoadura, Dr Tunji Abayomi, Hon. Segun Ojo, Comrade Sola Iji, Mrs Jumoke Anifowose, Dr Olu Agunloye, and Hon. Wale Akinterinwa.

Unconfirmed sources said Farunkanmi may later defect to the party. They are eminently qualified to run the affairs of the state. Since aspirants are many in ACN, post-primary crises are likely, unless top party leaders are able to persuasively tame the ambitions of the gladiators as they did in Oyo and Ogun states before the April elections.

Since 2007, ACN has indicated its desire for generational shift. This may not be applicable to Ondo State. Currently, the average age of the ACN governors in the Southwest is 48. Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola is 53. His Ogun counterpart, Ibikunle Amosun, is 50. Governor Babatunde Fashola is 47. Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi is 46. However, ACN chieftains aspiring to succeed Mimiko are nearer to 60 than 50. Abayomi is over 60. Agunsoye is 62 and Anifowose is 61. Iji is around 50. The odd could only favour Akinterinwa. But this is not the only criterion.

Last week, Abayomi, who holds a doctorate degree in Law, became the first aspirant to officially declare his interest in the race in ACN. At over 60, he is hale and hearty. The pro-democracy crusader is a legal mind and man of great ideas. In the dark days of the military, he opened his chest for bullets durinhg numerous demonstrations. A principled politician, Abayomi is from Oke-Agbe, Akoko Northwest local government.

Akinterinwa, former Commissioner for Finance in Mimiko Administration, is from IleOluji, Ile-Oluji-Okeigbo Local Government. A likeable personality, he had contested for the House of Representatives in 2003 in AD, but the PDP rigging machinery aborted his dream. Last

‘LP, ACN, PDP and other mushroom political parties are on the track in Ondo State waiting for the whistle to blow. Eyes are on them as the next governorship election beckons. Analysts predict a tough battle. Which party will eventually lift the crown?’

year, he left LP for ACN. Immediately, there was also a change in perception. Many started to see the difference between LP and ACN, which, previously, they ignorantly perceived as the same. A chartered accountant and administrator, he has experience.

Iji, former ACN chairman, is from Igbogini, Ose Local Government. He is a lawyer and unionist; politically consistent. Party men think that he lacks enormous resources to run a state-wide campaign Agunloye, a university don from Erusu-Akoko.

As the former boss of the Road Safety Commission, he was a household name. He is a former Minister of Power and Steel, who was not named in the monumental fraud that rocked the sector.

He also held the at the Ministry of Defence (Navy).

His campaign organisation has been nurturing structures, ‘Omoluabi Platform’ across the councils in the last five months.

In the race is Anifowose, former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and daughter of former Governor Adekunle Ajasin. She is the chairman of the party.

Another contender is Alasoadura, a strong politician and leader of the strongest group in Ondo PDP. He was Commissioner for Finance under the Agagu Administration. Alasoadura is a man of determination; very firm and courageous. But there is the strong feeling that, if he fails to get the ticket, he may defect from ACN. Senator Farunkanmi is 68. He is a prince from Iju. In the Second Republic, he was a fierce legislator on the platform of the Unity Party of Nigeria.

Later, fate catapulted him into the Senate for three months. In 1999, became a founding member of AD. He dazed his compatriots, when he defected to the PDP. Later, controversy dogged his steps , when, as a PDP card-carrying member, he became a National Electoral Commissioner. He is an old hand with lots of experience.

Segun Ojo has been nicknamed the “General” of Ondo politics. A former Finance Commissioner, he can stand up to Mimiko, because he knew how he emerged. A native of Emure, Owo local government, he is a fordable figure. Ojo holds a Masters Degree in Economics/Statistics. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Statisticians, England and member of Nigeria Economic Society. He has authored many academic books for use in secondary and tertiary institutions. In 1991, Ojo served as Secretary to Owo local government. Between 1994 and1997, he was Board Director, Nigerian General Insurance Company, an Oodua subsidiary, He was state deputy chairman of AD , member of Ondo State University Governing Council, Adekunle Ajasin University Governing Council, National Financial Secretary of Afenifere, the panYoruba socio-political organisation, and former Patron of Labour Party.

The zonal distributions of the aspirants shows that Iji, Akinterinwa and Ibrahim are from the South District. Alasoadura, Mimiko, Agbi and Dairo, are from Central. Agunloye, Kayode, Abayomi and Ojo are from the North.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

POLITICS

I am a better man outside government, says Kayode Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. Tokunbo Kayode is 50. To mark the attainment of the golden age, he spoke with reporters in Lagos on national issues. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE reports.

H

OW was it like for you as a young lawyer practising in Abuja?

After leaving Law School in Lagos, that time my father was in Jos, and as at that time, we were already getting used to the north. He was posted to Lagos in 1974, so by the time I graduated in 1981, he was already seven years in the north, and we were already used to going for vacation first by train. He wanted me to come and serve in Jos after my Law School programme. I did my law school a attachment in Jos with Barrister Makanjuola. For my national youth service, I was posted to Niger State. As of then, FCT did not have its own NYSC office, so corps members posted to Niger state could be redeployed to the FCT. I was redeployed to the Legal Aid Council in Gwagwalada, FCT. That was how I got to Abuja. That time, everybody, including the FCT minister, was residing at the life camp in Suleja. One man called Alhaji Minji Daji in Gwagwalada was the administrator of the FCTA which was the development of the FCT. Then, the FCTA was in charge of local administration, and all the development areas, known today as council areas, were under him and were based in Gwagwalada, while the minister was based at Area One in the city. Three of us, corps members, went to greet the gentleman, Alhaji Minji Daji and introduced ourselves to him as lawyers.

He welcomed us and directed somebody to give us accommodation. That was how I spent my youth service year at Life Camp in Suleja. every youth corps member, apart from doing the Legal Aid work, I attached myself to the only chambers free then in Suleja, Ogedengbe and Co. Before the end of the service year, I had been introduced to the AttorneyGeneral of Niger State, chief Orifunmise from Magongo in the present Kogi State. I was also close to the then governor of Niger State, Awal Ibrahim who is now the emir of Suleja.

After my service, I joined Orifumise and co. he arranged to have an office in Suleja which I was managing for him.

To talk about my experience that time would be a matter of volumes which we will work out at the right time to be an impetus to young professionals and the average Nigerian young person that if you work hard, with little element of luck, you will definitely make it.

There is hardly any country like Nigeria in the world where it is easy to make it if you are ready to work hard.

What actually drives your passion for legal practice?

First of all, I love legal practice which I did for 25 years, and I practised in every court right from the area court, to the magistrate court, customary court, sharia court of appeal, high court, the court of appeal, the Supreme Court and all the tribunals including rent, investment and election tribunals. I just find the legal practice very interesting.

It is a matter of interest. If you pick interest in it, you would prosper in it.

And it is not as difficult as surgery. In surgery, for instance, you cannot afford to make the slightest mistake, but in law, if you don’t go to court with your authority or you are not well prepared, you could find a way to dance around and get another chance. in legal practice, you must also have the gift to understand facts of cases because the facts are sacred. You must understand the logical sequence of facts that are germane to your case. If you can get your factual picture clear, applying the law is simple.

And a good lawyer is the one who knows where to get the law, not necessarily who has all the laws in his head. a lawyer must also be meticulous.

•Tokunbo From the beginning, I was interested in procedure and evidence, and I read my procedure rules like the Bible. I never joked with my evidence acts, even till today that I have gone back to legal practice again because I know that is the foundation for which most cases are built.

The joy of every lawyer is to become Attorney-General of the Federation, the day you were appointed AttorneyGeneral of Nigeria, what was your feeling like?

The truth is that every lawyer wants to be Attorney-General of the Federation. The day I was appointed Attorney-General, it came like boat of lightening. There was no indication that that would happen. Definitely, we were in a state of political flux and we knew that some changes could take place, but for me, I never expected it to happen that day. So, when it happened, I was numbed. It was like a drama, and I was just looking at it from afar. I was detached from it. Mr. President just said there would be some changes and that I would move from the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to Justice Ministry. Thereafter, we took the national anthem, and everybody took off. Some colleagues then came to greet me. I think I was quite elated and I really appreciated that. And the short period I stayed there, I think I really appreciated the volume and the quantum of pressure on the Attorney-General. It is very difficult office, though prestigious.

And I have now understood that every lawyer, who wants to help our nation’s judicial system and the rule of law, must honestly support the AttorneyGeneral. He has a very difficult task. If you think something is not done right or he ought to be doing something, send a memo to him because he has I think I am grateful to God that I had the opportunity of being there. It is a very interesting office. It is a very influential office. It is an office one has to be prayerful and circumspect. It is very difficult office and demands hard work How has life been with you since you left the Federal Executive Council?

First of all, unfortunately for me, I had thought that, after the council was dissolved, I was going to take a vacation, but I could not because immediately, my old and new clients started coming to me for cases. So, I am back in my chambers. I also want to strengthen my grasp of principles and practices of

‘Life after the Federal Executive Council has been very interesting, and I am a better man. I have a wider world view now and I now understand the pressure on the government and some of the challenges facing our nation’

international commercial arbitration.

Right now, I am a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitration and member of several international arbitral bodies. I need to strengthen myself. So, I have been doing some courses under the international chamber of commerce and other relevant bodies. So, life after the Federal Executive Council has been very interesting, and I am a better man. I have a wider world view now and I now understand the pressure on the government and some of the challenges facing our nation and can contribute maybe slightly better than I could before my appointment.

Before the incumbent ministers were appointed, some people thought you would bounce back as minister, but were shocked not to see that happen…

I am grateful for serving my country for four years. In a population of 150 million people, if you are opportuned to serve for four years, you should be grateful to God and the key Nigerians who put you in those positions. and right now, I am serving the nation as a Senior Advocate, international arbitrator, commentator on critical issues affecting the country and as part of the nation building process, contributing my quota to helping the less privileged in my community, and I think that is adequately important.

What would you like to be remembered for?

I know many good things will happen in the future, but now, I want to see how I can help the less privileged either in the law profession or the vocational training generally. I am very passionate about vocational training.

I want to get people to work, and I think that is one of the greatest challenges facing our country today, and I am happy the president has identified this and has keyed into it and he must not let it go until he is able to get on top of it. Employment is so important. When people are employed, poverty would be minimized, and we would begin to have a safer society with less crime. We have skill challenges and we must emphasize skill development. It is very important. If you read Law, Yoruba, History or any other course, you must acquire the skill to practice anything. So, skill development is very important. The skill challenge facing this country is equal to the challenge of poverty. There is a huge skill gap in the country. We have graduates, but are they employable?

We must make our graduates employable. There is also skill mismatch.

That is, we produce more arts graduates than science ones. We produce fewer engineers, medical doctors. So, everybody, including the federal government, the National Directorate of Employment, should emphasize skill development. We talk of farming, where are the skills? And those who have the skills don’t want to work in the farm. So, the government must make farming lucrative, desirable and must enhance skills. if that is done, the problem of hunger will be solved.

It is everybody’s responsibility to be in a position to either employ people or employ him/herself.

What has been your greatest lesson in life?

I have learnt a lot of lessons in life, but the one that humbles me most is the ephemerality of life, the temporariness of life. Everything will pass away. Life is so temporary that we don’t need to put in so much bitterness that we are in now. And I look at those who were in power yesterday, they are nowhere to be found today, and those who are in power today will pass to nowhere.

Former Adamawa State Governor Boni Haruna was the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) senatorial candidate in Adamawa North District. He speaks in Lagos on why he is challenging the result of the poll at the tribunal. Deputy Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.

‘Electoral robbery still on’

H

OW is life outside power?

Well, for every situation you find yourself, you must give praise to God for His grace and His Mercies. I cannot complain because even if there is something to complain about, there is nobody to complain to. The situation is, in this country, you only need to be at the right place and at the right time to be counted. Look at some us that fought the third term. We are still grappling with the consequences of our choice to be on the other side of the divide then. If at a point you happen to be at the wrong place and at the wrong time, it becomes an endlessly fruitless battle to prove yourself even when there are changes in leadership. It would have been wired into the system that you are an invalid who must be kept out of the system on account of your antecedents which may have been noble but may be unacceptable to others. It is really tragic.

You contested the last senatorial election, and many thought being a former governor it should be a walkover for you, but INEC declared your PDP opponent winner; why was that?

You are absolutely right. It was actually a work over given my accomplishment in the area. To represent that zone in the senate in the past, we have had a professor, a former Vice-Chancellor and a former minister from 1999-2007 who was eminently succeeded by a retired Nigerian army Colonel and a former military governor from 2007-2011. It was in keeping with the tradition of electing quality representation that the people massively came to vote for me within the short period of my declaration for the senate seat. I could have neatly rigged myself in. Having been in a leadership position in this country, i resolved to go into the election as a statesman and contribute to free electoral process. I worked for clean votes. But what happened during the election was quite intriguing.

INEC for whatever reason chose not to apply the same rule in Adamawa North senatorial district as it did in Anambra Central where it declared the election inconclusive and ordered a rerun because the margin of win by the leading candidate was less than number of registered voters in the area where election was cancelled or did not hold. Such was the case in Mijilu ward in Mubi North of Adamawa North Senatorial district where election didn’t hold. The Senatorial election was declared inconclusive by the same INEC in its Adamawa REC report which was mischievously dated 23rd April 2011, clearly two weeks after the elections but refused to order a rerun like was ordered in Anambra Central.

What was your response to the verdict of the tribunal upholding the victory of your opponent in the April senatorial election?

I am not new to unpleasant judgments of election petition tribunal. In 2003, i became the first sitting governor in the country whose election was annulled by an election petition tribunal through a ridiculous and unprecedented judgment of over 400 pages. The Appeal court upturned the judgment describing it as scandalous. The judgment of Adamawa election petition tribunal was really very unpleasant. Here was a tribunal which without any pleading from any party to the petition ascribed to itself the duty to conclude for INEC its inconclusive election by admitting purported form EC8A results of the disputed Mijilu ward which was never included in forms EC8D& EC8E or added to the overall results declared by the INEC for the election. The strange results came through a motion by the respondents which were tended from the bar after we had closed our case. No witness was called for us subject the crebility of the evidence to cross examination. Most importantly, the strange result was not frontloaded during the pre-trial hearing. At the court ordered inspection of all the INEC materials used in the conduct of the elections which were pleaded for by us, only those for Mijilu ward were not made available to us for inspection. No ballot papers, voter’s registers and other election materials in respect of Mijilu ward was given to us.

Earlier, we had sought to tender the INEC report which we subpoenaed the REC to produce in court. The tribunal rejected our motion to tender the INEC report through the Evidence-in- Chief on the grounds that it was not pleaded in our petition. We decided to use the report at another level. This time in opposing the motion to tender the strange Mijilu results, we deposed to the Certified True Copy of the INEC report in our counter motion. Curiously the tribunal ruled against us arguing that rules governing election petitions should not be rigidly applied. We already have an interlocutory appeal pending against this particular ruling. So you can see that given the proceedings of the tribunal, their judgment did not come to me as a surprise. If the tribunal’s admission of the strange Mijilu results was ridiculous, more ridiculous was their computing of the results and adding same to the overall results of the petitioner and the first respondent when nobody pleaded for or complained about lack of inclusion of Mijilu results. Secondly, just like in the case of Mubi North, Mubi South and Maiha House of Reps, where INEC didn’t call any of the witnesses it had deposed to, so did INEC not call any witness in my own case. The elections were held on the same day by the same INEC and processed to its logical conclusion by the same INEC. Similarly, the same tribunal handled election petitions on the senate and house of reps election in the Adamawa North Senatorial district and delivered judgment in straight succession starting with house of reps on the same day. For INEC’s’refusal to call witnesses it had earlier deposed to, the tribunal in its judgment for house of reps, described INEC’s action as surprising. The tribunal abandoned our pleadings in the face of overwhelming documentary evidences including our findings of inspection of INEC materials which were effortlessly tendered and admitted without any objection from the respondents. Instead, it( the tribunal) went on an unsolicited damning voyage by the kind of judgment it delivered.

Will you be appealing the verdict?

We will definitely challenge it. This kind of judgment should not be allowed to remain in our jurisprudence and serve as a reference document to our younger lawyers, especially in election petition. I will want to pay tribute to my counsels, Emeka Ngige, SAN, my lead counsel and A.J. •Haruna Owonikoko, SAN.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

45

NEWS Text of a statement by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on the establishment of the controversial Sovereign Wealth Fund.

Sovereign Wealth Fund: the ends do not justify the means N IGERIA struggles to become a nation governed by the rule of law and the principles of federalism. Establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund represents a grave challenge to these democratic concepts. The government tries to paint the SWF as evidence of financial prudence. In reality, the SWF reveals a government that has little regard for law. Operation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund is an unprovoked onslaught on the rule of law.

The SWF is illegal because it violates the constitutional provisions concerning the allocation of revenue to the three tiers of government. In effect, the SWF improperly confiscates funds meant for state and local governments to use these funds for purposes determined solely by bureaucrats hired by the Federal Government.

This gives rise to a second point.

The SWF changes the balance of federalism by giving the Federal Government practical ownership and control of funds intended for the states. In other words, the SWF strengthens the Federal Government at the expense of state and local governments.

The third point is that the SWF as currently envisioned gives too much latitude to the ‘Authority’ established to administer it. The structure lacks transparency and this lack of openness will encourage malfeasance and the misuse of the funds.

Need for a review First, this law is fatally flawed and must be revised in two important ways. First, deductions from state and local budgetary allocations should not be involuntary. The SWF bill should allow for voluntary participation by state and local governments. Those states wishing to participate in the scheme should be able to do it. However, those that do not want to join should receive their full allocations without penalty or pressure.

Second, the structural flaws in the law that provide the administering Authority the unfettered right to set up an unlimited number of shadow companies worldwide, to hire any number of outside consultants, to incur unlimited debt and to investment in all types of risky investment should be revised to place more stringent safeguards on the investment of what is not this Administration’s money but is the patrimony of every Nigerian present and in the future.

An obvious breach of law It is clear the SWF is an attempt to subvert the Constitution by giving the Federal Government the power to undermine the states’ fiscal independence. The intense lobbying efforts by the Federal Government to convince governors to drop their opposition to the SWF are telling indications of the law’s infirmity.

The Federal Government fears the law would be invalidated if states took the matter to court. If the Federal Government had faith in the legality of its position, there would be no need to lobby the governors.

The Federal Government would not waste its time trying to convince the states of the rightness of the Federal Government’s purpose. If it knew its legal position was strong, the Federal Government would simply enforce the law and dare the states to go to court to overturn the law. However, the Jonathan government would rather settle this by political accommodation because it knows that the rule of law is not on its side. An impartial court would rule the SWF unconstitutional It is important that state governors not be tricked. Whatever Abuja offers or tells them can’t change the illegality of the SWF. State governors must not be complicit in this

unconstitutional weakening of their own fiscal position. To do so would only encourage future unconstitutional infringements. State governors should insist that their fiscal status be preserved and that constitutional rule be followed.

To put it bluntly, the SWF violates fiscal federalism as enshrined in the Constitution.

The SWF purportedly was established to bring greater probity to government finance by ensuring funds are not squandered but used for developmental purposes. The SWF is supposed to invest funds in a manner that brings either generous returns on investment or creates projects accelerating the nation’s reconstruction.

The SWF insults the constitution as did is predecessor, the Excess Crude Account.

The excess crude account disrespected the Constitution because it sequestered funds rightfully due to the states. The SWF perpetuates this constitutional infraction. Those who will benefit from the creation of this fund seek to convince you that it will bolster Nigeria’s financial standing. Because we are a pliable citizenry that does not regard the rule of law as we should, we are easily fooled into thinking the uncertain financial benefits claimed by SWF supporters should outweigh the clear violation of the Constitution the SWF poses. We should inquire of ourselves when was the last time the obvious abrogation of the Constitution ever benefitted the people? The answer is never. The SWF will be not be an exception.

Under the Constitution, all government revenue should be deposited into the federation account.

Once funds are placed in the federation account, they must be automatically distributed to federal, state and local governments according to the formula established by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). If this mechanism had been properly implemented, the Excess Crude Account would not have been established because there would not have been any ‘excess revenue’ to account for. Neither the Constitution nor the RMAFC allocation formula contemplates federal, state or local government having ‘excess revenue’. Obviously, the Federal Government has the right to designate any of its own funds as excess and to place these federal monies in such an account or an SWF. Individual states have the right to voluntarily deposit any portion of their money into such an account as well.

However, the Federal Government has no right to unilaterally withhold one naira of state or local funds. This device is the product of a nefarious mind seeking to enlarge federal power by weakening the states’ fiscal positions. This is an act to concentrate power instead of distributing it to the states in accordance with fiscal federalism.

To establish the SWF, the Federal Government stood the revenue allocation and budgetary processes on their heads. Instead of basing federal, state, and local allocations on actual revenue received, Abuja now is attempting to base state and

local allocations on federal budgetary estimates instead of on aggregate revenues received. This process is clearly wrong and does injury to the letter and spirit of the Constitution. Revenues the states receive should not be contingent on Federal Government revenue projections and the estimated federal budgets. State revenues should be based on actual revenues received into the federation account.

To determine the funds a state actually receives by how theFederal Government estimates its own budget is to circumvent the Constitution and federalism. It is to place inordinate power over the fiscal destiny of the states in the hands of the central government. The Federal Government purposefully uses a below-market-figure for the price of oil in order to lower the earnings expectation upon which the federal budget is based. This malpractice is not evidence of fiscal discipline as the Federal Government would have us believe. It is a trick so that a higher percentage of the total national revenues will be considered ‘excess and thus subject to Federal Government control. This effectively lowers states’ allocations and control over revenue while improperly channeling the misplaced revenue to the Federal Government to use at its unguarded discretion. This is tantamount to creating a massive Federal Government slush fund and it has the broad political and economic repercussions attendant upon the creation of such a fund.

Imagine total revenues were 20 naira and the federal: state: local allocation ratio was 5:3:2. Properly, the Federal Government would get 10 naira, states 6 naira and local government 4 naira. However, the Federal Government purposefully set its budgetary projection at 5 naira. While the Federal Government is provided the 5 naira, the states only get 3 naira and local government 2 naira. 10 naira would be counted as excess or earmarked for the SWF. In effect, this would give the Federal Government control over 15 naira, depriving state and local government of the 5 naira rightfully due them. This is an unconstitutional confiscation of funds that mocks federalism and paralyses the ability of states to develop themselves according to their own plans and priorities.

SWF Advocates have been reduced to claiming the Constitution calls only for “distribution” of funds but not the actual transfer of the funds to the states. What they are saying is that, as long as the proper percentage of money is said to belong to the states, the federal government does not have to pass those funds to the states. These supporters further claim the SWF law explicitly provides that the states still own the money placed into the SWF and they will get a piece of paper as documentary proof of ownership.

This is mere wizardry with words.

The ownership as defined in the SWF is meaningless.

This shows the length people will go to defend an indefensible position. It makes a mockery of the revenue process. If this position were

true, then the Federal Government could legally pass a measure that removes every last kobo from the hands of the states as long as the legislation says the funds have been ‘distributed’ and are still ‘owned’ by the states. The Constitution cannot be interpreted to allow for this unjust outcome. Anyone who supports this contention cannot be taken seriously on this issue. The contention that the Federal Government could indefinitely withhold state funds would render meaningless all constitutional provisions regarding the allocation of revenues to states and local government.

Section 162 (2) of the federal Constitution provides the National Assembly pass a revenue allocation formula after receipt of formal advice submitted by the RMAFC. Subsections (4) and (5) state that all revenues due the state and local governments shall be distributed to them as prescribed by the National Assembly. The prescription of the National Assembly relates to its power to develop the revenue formula described in subsection (2). The National Assembly has no power to exceed that constitutional limitation by creating another fund to effectively withhold state monies.

The SWF law does not give the states any voice in the amount of their money placed in the SWF. States have no true voice in how the SWF will operate. The only participation states will have is in the Governing Council. State governors are members but this Council can only meet once yearly. The Council is headed by the President and major economic members are also on the Council. There is little chance the Council will allow for independent input. After the President takes a position, who dare challenge him in such a forum? The Council was conceived to be a public rubberstamp of what had already been decided in private.

The Authority can only make a distribution of funds to the so-called ‘owners’ based on unanimous vote of the Authority’s Board of Directors whom are all appointed by the President. If the states feel entitled to a distribution, but theFederal Government opposes, the funds will not be forthcoming because unanimous consent would be unattainable. Also, distributions must be approved by resolution of Governing Council. Again meaning there must be unanimity and also it can only take place once yearly.

Also, the law explicitly prohibits states from assigning, transferring or mortgaging its so-called ownership interests in the SWF. While SWF supporters assert states retain ownership of their funds, this alleged ownership prohibits the states for access to the funds, from control of the funds and to sell or in any way exchange their so called ownership interests. This is as if you bought a C of O for a home only to be told that you had no right to reside in the home, to determine who uses it, to transfer your ownership interest in it and that you could only view the house once a year by walking by it. No one in their right mind would call that ownership. Thus, we should not call what the SWF offers as actual state ownership of the funds. No matter the word they use, this is a confiscation.

Funds cannot be considered to be-

‘The SWF violates fiscal federalism as enshrined in the Constitution...it insults the Constitution as did is predecessor, the Excess Crude Account’

•Tinubu long to the states unless the states have actual custody and control over them. To claim a state owns funds but cannot decide their usage is not ownership but a mockery of ownership and of federalism.

A fiscal bind on the states The SWF could not have come at a more inopportune time. Just as the Federal Government seeks to keep funds from the states and local government, it passes legislation asking states to satisfy unfunded mandates such as the new minimum wage. A better minimum wage is a good thing but this combination of laws is not the way to achieve it.

The Federal Government is unwittingly turning a beneficial thing into an unsustainable burden that may wreck state budgets.

It is insensitive to keep money from the states while demanding they increase recurrent expenditures. A state cannot develop economically if an ever greater share of its artificially suppressed allocation must now be devoted to salaries. This is a formula for turning states into paupers. The Federal Government is placing states in a terrible bind. If state government refuses to honour the measure, it invited labour unrest and unpopularity. If it honours the measure by cutting the budget elsewhere, other citizens will be denied essential services such as medical treatment or education. If a state lays-off a significant number of workers in order to keep the aggregate wage bill static despite the per capita increase, this will cause hardship for the laidoff workers that may result in economic contraction in the state because of the sudden surge in unemployment.

Truly, a better wage structure is needed. In a perfect setting, the increased wage would prompt an automatic recalculation of the revenue allocation between federal and state governments by lowering the former and raising the latter. If the Federal Government is serious about the wage, it must go back to the drawing board and do this in a more equitable and transparent fashion.

The structure of the SWF is flawed Aside from its constitutional flaws, the operational anatomy of the SWF reveals a scandal in waiting. The law gives too much power and latitude to the SWF “Authority” to invest funds and to borrow.

There is too little transparency and oversight. The SWF will become a den of corrupt practice.

The Act permits the SWF Authority to establish an unlimited number of branches nationally or internationally. The Authority can also establish an unlimited number of wholly or partially owned subContinued on Page 46

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

46

NEWS Sovereign Wealth Fund: the ends do not justify the means Continued from Page 45

sidiaries in any part of the world.

However, there is no restriction on whether these subsidiaries can open their own subsidiaries and under what conditions, structures and laws. Wholly owned subsidiaries can bind the Authority to secured debt instruments and obligations.

Authority can also fully guarantee the debts of the wholly owned subsidiaries. Partially owned subsidiaries can incur unsecured debt obligations. All of this creates a giant loophole with regard to oversight and transparency. At its sole discretion, the Authority can establish a complex maze of worldwide offices and subsidiary holding companies. Money, profits and debts would be impossible to trace. A normal audit of the Authority will not adequately examine the operations of the subsidiaries. In the hands of a few ingenious people, the SWF could operate as a gigantic investment shell game. Put it more bluntly, state funds could fall into a black hole and we would never know it.

The new Authority will be authorised to invest oversees in financial instruments and investment vehicles not allowed in Nigeria such as complex derivatives. Thus sovereign money is going to do abroad what is improper at home. Worse, the Act does not provide any criteria for the quality of Fund investments. For example, it would have been a prudent requirement to mandate that the Fund invest a certain percentage in AAA or AA rated securities or to place a cap on investment in foreign real estate or junk quality bonds. Because there are no such investment parameters, all the funds can be invested in high risk endeavors at home and abroad.

The SWF will actually consist of three trust funds: Future Generations Fund Infrastructural Fund and Stabilisation Fund Regarding the Infrastructure Fund, the Authority is instructed to devise its own infrastructure plan but coordinate to the extent possible with appropriate federal and state agencies involved in infrastructural development. This sounds good in theory. In practice, it will result in nothing but confusion and incoherent overlap. In practice, the Authority will do its thing and any harmony with what other government agencies are doing will be by pure chance.

Regarding the Stabilisation Fund, the Finance Minister has the unilateral right to withdraw from the Fund if the actual quarterly federal revenues fall below a certain point.

This should not be a unilateral decision. Also the acute inexactness in how the Federal Government calculates actual revenue means this provision can be manipulated particularly when there is nothing that requires the Minister to detail how the funds will be used.

As with most laws we pass, this law seems more interested in setting up an unrestrained bureaucracy than it seems interested in the substance of the work that bureaucracy is to perform. Consequently, the Authority can hire unlimited asset managers, advisors and consultants and no maximum cap is placed how much can spend on these outsiders in a given year. This will encourage abuse. The SWF will become a place to hire political cronies and distribute political favours.

As such, it will bankrupt the Fund that was allegedly intended to enrich Nigeria.

Additionally, we have no idea how much the Board of Directors shall be paid and what their performance incentives will be. This is an important point because how a person gets paid will determine

how they manage the Funds assets.

Last, the Act does not ensure sufficient transparency for the amount of money that is involved. The Act does state that the Authority’s annual report shall be made public but this is of no great use. As history as shown, banks have distributed beautiful annual reports one day only to be found insolvent the next.

The Act also requires an audit but it does not require that audit to be made public. They can keep the superficial report. It would be better to publicise the audit so that we can really see what is happening. That is much better than only getting the information the Board wants us to see.

Conclusion In the final analysis, the SWF must be scrapped or substantially modified. The law unduly abrogates the revenue allocation mechanism established by the Constitution. This improper law must be changed or it must be challenged in the court in order to set a historic precedent for our constitutional democracy.

We must jettison the mindset that whatever is done by those in authority is beyond question and automatically lawful. The SWF is popular in many quarters and thus many people want the law it to remain although they know it is unconstitutional. We tread a danger path when we value the transitory popularity of a measure more than its inherent legality. Once you cast aside the requirement of legality, those in power become free to exploit that same measure in unpopular ways that were not originally contemplated.

The occupants of high office must be confined to the Constitution if Nigeria is ever to be governed by the rule of law and not the whim of man. More to the point, the SWF is not sound fiscal policy or economics. State governments are imperfect and need reform. Still, they are more responsive to the people’s needs than the Federal Government. There is no evidence that giving funds to the Federal Government would put the funds to better use. I have no faith the Federal Government is less profligate than the states. To the contrary, I am confident the state governments of Edo, Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Oyo would do more good with their share of the funds than would the Federal Government’s SWF. I am not opposed to an SWF. Properly established, it can be useful. If the Federal Government wants to establish a SWF funded from a portion of its own revenue allocation, it may do so. This would be a proper exercise of federal authority.

Those states wanting to participate can join as well. Even there, the current structure of the SWF needs to be amended so that its operations are more transparent and as made to be more prudent.

However, those states that want to use their funds for their own projects should not be denied their money. If people do not like how their governors use their funds, they can vote them out. That is what democracy is about and what elections are for. The SWF represents an unwarranted federal surcharge on the states. This is not constitutionalism, federalism, democracy, fiscal responsibility or economic development. It is an encroachment that establishes a risky precedent. Should we allow it to stand, it will be the opening move in a series of federal actions that bleed the states to feed Abuja. Our states will be in danger of becoming the dangling appendages of a swelling Federal Government. Let’s stop and go no further down this road. Let’s reaffirm federalism and our best chance for economic development by challenging the SWF for being the unconstitutional transgression it is.

•President, Sunshine Foundation, Mrs Rose Odiete (right) speaking at a meeting organised by One Thousand Women on Soft Power and Leadership in Lagos. With her are Director, Price Water House Coopers, Mrs Chinyere Almona (left) and Women Leader, Association of Non-indigenes of Nigeria, Mrs Mary Azuka Okeke.

PHOTO: NIYI ADENIRAN

The report cited by Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi representing Ekiti North District classifying Enugu as among some states that are financially distressed has drawn the ire of the state government. In this letter to the distinguished senator, an analyst, Ambrose Agu, did not only puncture the claim, but said the state has been fulfilling its obligations without borrowing.

‘Enugu is not bankrupt’

•Chime

S

ENATOR, recently you made a baseless statement concerning Enugu State in the Senate.

You claimed that Enugu State is in a financially critical state and that she is facing bankruptcy. You did not state the basis of your assertion.

You offered no extraneous proof.

You did not explain whatever informed your assertion. You simply tossed out such a weighty statement.

Senator, you are wrong and we believe that a retraction and an apology from you would be in order.

Senator did you know that since May 2007, Enugu State has paid salaries on time, every month, without fail? Did you know that Enugu State, WITHOUT BORROWING, has paid October, 2011 salaries even when the federal allocation for the month of October 2011 has not been shared, even before the ‘healthy states?’ Did you know that this is not the first time such has happened and that Enugu State does in fact pay monthly salaries, on time, every month, whether monthly allocations have been shared for the month or not? Senator, did you know that Enugu State is not owing a single contractor despite the massive infrastructural projects that Governor Sullivan Chime has embarked upon since 2007? Did you know that Enugu State was the first state to pay the minimum wage in the South East, and was perhaps one of the first two or three in the whole country to first pay the minimum wage? Did you know that Enugu State was buoyant enough not only to pay the minimum wage

but to also clear the minimum wage arrears beginning April, 2011?

Senator, did you know that unlike some other states, Enugu State has not rushed to the capital market to raise long-term bonds to finance the numerous infrastructural developmental projects that Governor Chime has embarked upon since 2007. Senator, you and I know that bonds are debt, and that the proceeds from such bonds, if misused, could spell future financial doom for the states in question. Thus states such as Lagos (N15billion) in 2002, Lagos (series 1-N50billion), Lagos (series II-N57.5billion), Imo (N18.5billion), Kwara (N17billion), Niger (N6billion), Bayelsa (N50billion), Kaduna (N8.5billion), Ebonyi (N16.5billion), Ogun (N50billion), Delta (N5billion) in 2007), Kebbi (N3.5billion) in 2006, and Yobe (N2.5billion) in 2002 are in a comparatively more precarious situation than Enugu State.

Again, Senator, Enugu State did not rush to the capital markets to raise bonds/ borrow and perhaps mortgage her financial future. Instead Governor Chime has used a sound and uncanny fiscal sense to manage the little allocation/IGR that Enugu State gets every month. Senator does it not amaze you how Governor Chime has achieved SO MUCH with so little?

Senator, did you know that since May 2007, Enugu State has religiously paid up her counterpart contributions for almost all of her syndicated-funding projects?

Did you know that Enugu State has invested heavily and prudently in key sectors of her economy? Did you know that with her sound investments in agriculture and food production that Enugu State is geared to achieve self-sufficiency in food production by 2013 (well short of her earlier goal of 2015)? Did you know that Enugu State’s wise investments in physical infrastructure especially in the metropolis is now paying off with increasing investor interest in the state, and a population boom through migration from other states to Enugu State, and healthy and increasing real estate values, and a returning manufacturing/ industrial base, and a downward unemployment index, and a rising middle class etc?

Senator, we cannot believe that you did not know these things before you made such a baseless and irresponsible claim against Enugu

State in the hallowed halls of the Senate. So, we presume that you must have chosen to ignore these facts, deliberately.

But why?

Well, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi , with all due respect, we understand you. We understand where you are going with this baseless and irresponsible claim against Enugu State. Of course you calculate that if Enugu State can be labeled “financially distressed and facing bankruptcy”, then Enugu State would be considered not viable enough to stand alone as an independent state, let alone have another state(s) created out of it (Adada and/or Equity). Your desired conclusion being that no new state(s) should be created out of Enugu State. In other words you are telling us to forget about Adada State and/or Equity State.

Instead you imply that Enugu State should possibly be merged with another state. We understand your calculations, Senator, but such baseless and irresponsible claims against Enugu State are not a legitimate and acceptable argument against new state creation in the South East as is obviously your stand. Senator, you can argue against creation of new state(s) in the South East (if that is your honest conviction), but it is unacceptable for you to so recklessly and falsely label Enugu State in the process. We understand this your “intellectual” subterfuge, this little mind game of yours. We will defend against it. It will fail.

Furthermore, Senator, on the matter of the revenue allocation formula between the federal, state, and local governments, we also understand that you and Senators Ndoma-Egba, James Manager, Sola Adeyeye etc, would like an upward review of the allocation formula so that the state governments would end up with a higher percentage than the Federal Government as is currently the case. We understand that you want to portray that the current financial state of the state governments compel your desire for an upward review, but you did not have to attach a false, baseless and irresponsible label on a fiscally prudent and exemplary state such as Enugu in order to make your point. In conclusion, Senator, you were wrong. A retraction and an apology from you would be in order.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

47

THE NATION

INVESTORS Banks seek buyers for subsidiaries B

ANKS have stepped up search for investors for their non-banking subsidiaries ahead of the June next year deadline for their divestment.

Under the on-going reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), banks are required to concentrate on core banking and dispose of the non-banking businesses.

The new model requires banks to either sell all non-core banking businesses or form a holding company for them. There businesses include insurance, asset management and capital market.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and

By Taofik Salako

Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc have opted to keep their subsidiaries. Others such as Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Zenith Bank and Wema Bank are pursuing divestments from non-banking subsidiaries.

Sources said banks have sent up sales proposals to local and international investors and some more deals may be closed before the end of the year.

They, however, said the crisis in several advanced and emerging economies and the

slowdown in the country’s capital market is hampering the sales bids.

Only two banks have so far been able to complete sales of two subsidiaries. GTBank last week completed the sale of its 67.68 per cent majority equity stake in Guaranty Trust Assurance (GTAssur) Plc to Assur Africa Holding (AAH). The shares were sold at N1.76 per share for a total consideration of N11.910 billion, approximately $76 million. GTAssur thus ceased to be a subsidiary of GTBank.

Diamond Bank had earlier sold its insurance subsidiary-ADIC Insurance Limited to new core investors.

Some 77 subsidiaries of banks including three quoted companies are up for sale in

• From left: Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, Human Resources Executive, MTN; Mr Abiola Popoola, President, Chartered Insititute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and Country Chair, Shell Development Company Limited, Mr Mutiu Sunmonu, at the 43rd Annual National Conference of CIPM in Abuja.

B

ENUE State Governor Gabriel Suswan has called on local and foreign investors to take advantage of the investment opportunities in the state.

He made the call while presenting a paper entitled: Investing in Benue State, Nigeria, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia.

The governor said investors stand to gain from the huge agricultural, mining, hospitality and tourism potential of the state.

He said the state is endowed with mineral resources that can support the growth of industries in the state and beyond. He said limestone can be found in (nine local government

Benue woos foreign investors

By Akinola Ajibade

areas of the state), gypsum in ( six local governments), lead in (five local governments), zinc ( five local governments), coal (two local governments), glass sand( five local governments), brick clay( four local governments), kaolin( four local governments), and salt ( 23 local governments).

The governor said the state has huge tourism potential, as evident by its beautiful waterfalls and springs, inclement weather and topography, and 130,000 hectares of land suitable for ranch and resort

development. Others include long beach corridor, wildlife and zoological parks, local arts and traditional festivals, and hotels to gear up tourism activities.

On agriculture, Suswan said private investors stand to benefit from the state-owned projects such as Taraku Vegetable Oil Mills, Ber Agbum Fish Farm, Agricultural Development Corporation, Ikyogen Cattle Ranch, Raav Cattle Multiplication and Breeding Centre, and 100,000 hectares of land for cultivation.

He said 80 per cent of the population are engaged in subsistence

Lasaco Assurance makes N2b premium income LASACO Assurance Plc made N2.04billion premium income last year, its Group Chairman Mr Edward Leigh, has said.

Leigh, who disclosed this at the Companies Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ada, Osun State, said the companies also paid N406.185million as against N414.61million it incurred in 2009.

He noted that the company made a gross profit of N3.30billion in 2009, adding that the profit before tax for last year

By Chuks Udo Okonta

was N322.56million as against N658.91 recorded in 2009. And that the profit after tax for last stood at N 249.65million against N 498.23million in 2009.

He said the company's performance was adversely affected by the global economy meltdown, adding that efforts are being made to improve on this year's result.

Leigh noted that the company has established a governance risk

compliance department to manage risks arising from its operations, adding that the process would protect the company's resources against unexpected losses.

He said: "We would continue to emphasize good corporate governance at all levels of our operations. We have established a Governance Risk and Compliance department with full compliance staff, headed by a chief compliance officer of the status of a Deputy General Manager.

"The objective is to establish a

what promises to be the largest divestment within the same time frame. These include Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI), Law Union and Rock Insurance and Intercontinental Wapic Insurance, which are all quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and currently valued at more than N6 billion.

According to The Nation investigation yesterday, GTBank still has four subsidiaries to sell including its share registration company- GTB Registrars Limited. Diamond Bank also still has six subsidiaries to sell; Wema Bank and Skye Bank will sell seven subsidiaries each. Wema Bank owns GNI; Skye Bank owns Law Union and Rock Insurance.

With the acquisition of Intercontinental Bank, Access Bank Plc is expected to sell some 11 subsidiaries including two of its own subsidiaries and nine of Intercontinental Bank, which owns Intercontinental Wapic Insurance.

Sterling Bank is also expected to sell five subsidiaries including its high-profile capital market subsidiary- Sterling Capital Markets Limited and share registration companySterling Registrars Limited.

Also, Zenith Bank may offer eight subsidiaries for sale including Zenith Registrars Limited; Fidelity Bank is expected to sell a subsidiary.

Ecobank Nigeria Plc, which recently acquired Oceanic Bank International, may offer 14 subsidiaries for sale including six subsidiaries acquired from Oceanic Bank.

Where the new core investors for the nationalised banks decide to divest from noncore banking, MainStreet Bank, formerly Afribank Nigeria Plc, may offer for sale its flagship share registration companyAfribank Registrars and four others. Keystone Bank, previously known as Bank PHB, will sell four subsidiaries.

Market analysts said the divestments, especially from insurance companies, may lead to mergers and acquisitions as some core investors might explore opportunities of buying two medium-size companies to form a major operator.

A source said AAH, which just completed purchase of GTAssur, may be interested in buying another insurance company to create a relatively large company in line with its commitment to play big in the insurance industry.

agriculture, adding that opportunities abound for people that are interested in commercial farming.

He said: " 364,000 hectares of land is available for irrigation farming.

21,668.5km of upland soil available for rainy season farming. The state is located in (Guinea Savannah) which supports a wide variety of crops, including tree crops like oranges, mangoes, tomatoes, pineapples, pawpaw etc. There is Fadama soil with high organic and nutrient content regularly replenished by seasonal overflows of the rivers. River Benue and

Katsina-Ala provides huge opportunities for Fadama operations".

The governor noted that the state produced 2,903,730 metric tonnes of yam in 2009 (3,562,950 metric tonnes of cassava), 45,630 metric tonnes of sesame), (275,000 metric tonnes of Rice), 179,760 metric tonnes of soya beans), (191,440 metric tonnes of sorghum), and (138,880 metric tonnes) in 2009.

He said there are investment opportunities in the energy sector, advising investors to leverage on the potential in Rivers Benue, Katsina-Ala and Huge Coal Deposits at Owukpa to grow the sector.

systematic approach to identify measure and manage all risks arising out of our operations.

This process would protect our resources and income against unexpected losses and identify business opportunities and modification of our insurance products for profitability.

One of our main priorities for year is to develop and implement an appropriate quality management system for our organisation. The key reasons for our quality management system implementation are to increase our business and operational excellence.

Forecasts Q4 Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc: Turnover N18.658 billion Profit after tax N1.016 billion Longman Nigeria Plc: Turnover N3.0 billion Profit after tax N521.6 million Alumaco Plc: Turnover N285.0 million Profit after tax N3.1 million

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

48

THE NATION INVESTORS

I

NVESTORS are apprehensive about the potential impact of the planned divestment of Bilfinger Berger AG, the majority core investor in Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, from the construction company.

Since the public announcement of the partial divestment three weeks ago, the share price of Julius Berger, which had shown appreciable resistance prior to the announcement, plummeted to its lowest value this year.

With Julius Berger leading the losers chart for weeks, market capitalisation of the construction company dwindled from about N56.6 billion at the time of announcement to about N46.1 billion at the start of trading this week, representing a loss of about N10.5 billion or 19 per cent.

Julius Berger opened this week at year-to-date low of N38.43 as against its trading average price of N47 per share at the point of an-

Anxiety over core investor's planned divestment from Julius Berger nouncement of the divestment.

Market analysts said Julius Berger has been under pressures sales, which have broken the resistance level of the company and created a divergent downward trading pricing trend in spite of the recovery in the overall stock market position.

Bilfinger Berger AG, which holds 49.87 per cent majority equity stake in Julius Berger, had indicated plan to substantially reduce its shareholding in the company.

Bilfinger Berger holds 598.4 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

Other substantial shareholders include Lagos and Benue states, which hold 6.99 per cent and 5.27

per cent through their investment companies. Plateau and Nasarawa state also hold 4.61 per cent and 0.01 per cent.

Julius Berger had in the notification to the investing public indicated that the divestment by Bilfinger Berger would be undertaken in the months ahead alongside steps by the company to strengthen the independence of its operations.

Analysts said investors were worried about the prospects of successful transition, the possible new core investor and knowledge and skill transfer. In the case of split of Bilfinger Berger's stake among many investors, the business community is worried about the possi-

FACTS

T

HE Nigerian health care sector has evolved over the course of some seven decades from a mainly foreign-dominated industry to a largely indigenous sector.

Highly fragmented and diminutive, the sector comprises largely of small operators with less-than-adequate research and development capabilities. With this, the more lucrative top-end of the industry remains in the control of multinational companies.

Even at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) where nine health care companies are listed, the market capitalisation of a multinational tripled the market capitalisation of the eight other largely-indigenous companies.

The health care industry generally faces many challenges that often-time militate against the performances of the companies. Beside the acute infrastructural challenges faced by manufacturers, health care companies suffer under the hydra-headed problems of counterfeits, substandard products and dumping. These are compounded by policy inconsistency that tends to favour import rather than local production. This importdependent policy leaves several companies at the mercies of the foreign brand owners as withdrawal of foreign brands can lead to serious corporate dislocation.

However, many companies have learnt to cope with the operating environment, although the uneven growth curves remind of the underlying problems. May & Baker Nigeria Plc and Evans Medical Plc are two of the oldest health care companies in Nigeria. Incorporated in 1944, May & Baker had transmuted from a foreign-owned company to a wholly-owned indigeneous firm after the exit of the foreign core investors.

Evans Medical, meanwhile, still has substantial foreign ownership. Both companies are historical companies with several similar characteristics and products.

Audited reports of the companies showed a common underlining factor: the excruciating impact of financing and operating costs on investors' returns. Evans Medical is struggling to its feet after a scandalous corporate malfeasance built up losses and turned its reserves into negative. May & Baker, however, has sustained its profitability over the years, though it has increasingly lost grasp of the margins.

Sales Generation Turnover of the two companies increased in 2010. May & Baker's top-line resumed on the uptrend in 2010 after it declined by 15 per cent in previous year. With 0.8 per

TO

ble drag that the absence of a majority core investor with overriding significant equity stake might constitute in the post-sale company.

Julius Berger has, however, said Bilfinger Berger would however continue to be a relevant shareholder in the company.

In order to strengthen its corporate independence, Julius Berger said it would enhance its on shore and off shore technical and logistic capacities by establishing a newly incorporated subsidiary, Prime Technology Design and Engineering Nigeria Limited to provide design and engineering support services to the company.

The company said it would also acquire a controlling majority

FACTS recovery driven mainly by tax adjustments rather than operations.

May & Baker, Evans Medical: Two firms, similar products

Actual returns May & Baker has sustained positive returns on shareholders' equities and other assets. Returns on total assets and equity stood at 2.8 per cent and 6.7 per cent in 2010.

These however fell below yearly average of 3.3 per cent and 7.65 per cent. Return on assets had stood at 3.8 per cent in 2009 while return on equity was higher at 8.6 per cent.

With the tax gains, Evans Medical showed a semblance of positive bottom-line. Return on assets was marginal at 0.2 per cent while return on equity stood at 15.8 per cent.

By Taofik Salako

cent marginal sales increase in 2010, the company's average sales growth however remained negative at 7.3 per cent. Evans Medical grew turnover by 12 per cent.

Profitability May & Baker maintained an edge in terms of profitability in spite of worrisome continuing decline in margins and actual earnings.

Gross profit grew by 8.3 per cent in 2010 just as gross profit margin improved from about 38 per cent to 40 per cent. Pre-tax profit margin however dropped from 7.5 per cent in 2009 to 6.6 per cent in 2010, indicating two-year average margin of 7.05 per cent. With these, profit before tax dropped by 19 per cent and 11 per cent in 2009 and 2010, implying average yearly decline of about 15 per cent. Profit after tax dwindled by 17 per cent in 2010, continuing the downtrend that characterised the previous year when net earnings dropped by about 45 per cent.

Evans Medical tottered between recovery and a relapse. Gross

FACTS TO FACTS Turnover growth Gross profit growth Pre-tax profit growth Gross margin Pre-tax profit margin Net profit growth Return on Assets Return on Equity

•MD, May and Baker, Nnamdi Okafor

• MD, Evans Medical, Mr Olubunmi Olaopa

profit grew by 47 per cent in 2010, reflecting appreciable top-line cost management that saw gross profit margin improving from 36 per cent in 2009 to 47 per cent in 2010. However, a negative pre-tax profit margin of 1.4 per cent indicated the

hangover from the previous losing spree. Pre-tax profit margin had stood at -27.2 per cent in 2009, which altogether implied average loss per unit of 14 per cent in recent years. Its modest net profit after tax was therefore a technical

May & Baker

The Bottom-line Both May & Baker and Evans Medical are suffering from haemorrhage from high financial leverage. With banking loans averaging some 36 per cent of their turnover, midline costs remained a major challenge to the companies.

While recent sales initiatives are expected to further accentuate topline performance, there is need for balance sheet restructuring with the aim of reducing debts and increasing equity funds to support the long-term growth aspirations of the companies.

Evans Med

2010 %

2009 %

Average %

0.8 8.3 -10.6 40.3 6.6 -16.8 2.8 6.7

-15.4

-7.3 4.15 -14.6 38.9 7.05 -30.65 3.3 7.65

-18.6 37.5 7.5 -44.5 3.8 8.6

share of the technical and logistic business and operations of Bilfinger Berger Nigeria GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany, which would assure Julius Berger of total control of all required services such as planning, procurement, recruitment and capacity building.

Julius Berger said it has signed a Letter of Intent with Bilfinger Berger which would form the basis of the mutual negotiations for the transaction, the execution of which is planned for the beginning of next year.

The board of Julius Berger hopes that the strategic business directions would achieve a sustainable increase in the company's efficiency and responsiveness as well as set the basis for future long lasting success.

Julius Berger is Nigeria's most capitalised construction company, with market capitalisation twice the combined size of six other listed companies.

Pre-tax profit margin (May & Baker)

2010 % Turnover growth Gross profit growth Pre-tax profit growth Gross margin Pre-tax profit margin Net profit growth Return on Assets Return on Equity

11.9 47.2 -94.33 46.8 -1.4 -100.99 0.2 15.8

2009 %

Average %

35.6 -27.22

5.95 23.60 -47.165 41.2 -14.31 -50.495 -11.1 -668

-22.4 -1351.8

Pre-tax profit margin (Evans Med)

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

49

THE NATION INVESTORS CORPORATE SCORE BOARD

D

IAMOND Bank Plc witnessed appreciable growths in revenues and profit in 2010, putting the overall outlook on a steady recovery.

Audited report and accounts of the bank for the year ended December 31, 2010 showed appreciable improvements in key core banking and corporate performance measurements with the bank replacing a N12 billion loss in 2009 with profit of about N5 billion in 2010.

The report indicated significant growth in both core banking and non- core banking incomes. Underlying indices showed improvements in the bank's capital adequacy, profitability and assets quality with profit margin on core banking operations improving by four percentage points to 57 per cent. However, the bank witnessed a slowdown in deposit generation and lending activities during the year, ostensibly as a result of new credit risks assessment implemented during the year.

Capital adequacy Diamond Bank's paid up share capital had remained at N7.24 billion in the past two years. However, shareholders' funds inched up from N105.65 billion in 2009 to N106.63 billion in 2010. With declines in both earning and fixed assets, total assets dropped by 8.5 per cent to N594.8 billion in 2010 as against N650.4 billion in 2009.

Total liabilities also dropped by 10 per cent from N544.30 billion in 2009 to N487.7 billion in 2010, reflecting partly 15 per cent decline in deposits from N482 billion in 2009 to N412 billion in 2010.

Key indices showed that the bank's capital adequacy improved in 2010 with better equity supports for business operations.

Shareholders' funds increased to about 18 per cent of total assets in 2010 as against 16 per cent in 2009.

Shareholders funds could now also finance 35 per cent of loans and advances in contrast with about 33

Diamond Bank: bouncing back

By Taofik Salako

per cent in 2009. The proportion fixed assets to equity funds also reduced from 36 per cent in 2009 to 35 per cent in 2010.

Assets quality Diamond Bank witnessed appreciable improvement in quality of its risk assets as indicated by reduction in proportion of non-performing loans to gross loans portfolio. Non-performing loans dropped by 25 per cent to N51.12 billion in 2010 as against N68.23 billion in 2009. Gross loans and advances stood at some N345 billion in 2010 compared with N378 billion in 2009. Thus, the proportion of non-performing loans to total loans and advances reduced from 18 per cent in 2009 to about 15 per cent in 2010. Classified risk assets posed less threat with classified loans/equity funds ratio at 48 per cent in 2010 compared with about 65 per cent in 2009.

Profitability Diamond Bank saw a strong rebound in profitability in the immediate past year with actual profit and loss figures and beyond-the-surface profitability ratios indicating a generally positive profit outlook. The bank's expansive business growth saw a 34 per cent increase in gross earnings to N91 billion in 2010 as against N68 billion in 2009. Corebanking interest incomes had grown by 29 per cent from N50.7 billion in 2009 to N65.3 billion in 2010. Non-interest incomes rose more rapidly at N25.2 billion in 2010 as against N16.6 billion in 2009, representing an increase of about 52 per cent. The proportion of non-interest income to total revenue thus improved from 25 per cent in 2009 to 28 per cent in 2010. With 35 per cent reduction

Fiscal Year Ended December 31

2010 %

•GMD, Diamond Bank, Mr Alex Otti

in interest expense from N24.9 billion in 2009 to N16.3 billion in 2010, net interest incomes shot up by 90 per cent from N25.9 billion in 2009 to N49 billion in 2010.

However, operating expense shot up by 55 per cent to N46.6 billion in 2010 compared with N30.1 billion in 2009, representing 51 per cent of gross earnings in 2010 as against 44 per cent in 2009. Operating profit doubled by 123 per cent to N27.6 billion in 2010 compared with N12.4 billion in 2009.With additional provisions for risk assets totaling N22.9 billion in 2010 as against N24.74 billion in 2009, pre-tax profit stood at N4.77 billion in 2010 compared with loss before tax of N12.4 billion in 2009. After taxes and minority interests, net earnings remained positive at N1.3 billion in 2010 as against net loss of N8.14 billion in 2009. The bank's basic earnings per share consequently reversed from -56 kobo in 2009 to 9.0 kobo per share in 2010.

Further analysis showed that the positive actual profit and loss performance was underpinned by im-

2009 %

Asset Quality Gross Loans and Advances (Nm) Classified loans (Nm) % of classified loans Loan Loss Reserves/Classified Loans Classified Loans/Equity Stock

345,000 51,122 14.8 NA 47.9

378,000 68,234 18.3 NA 64.6

Capital Adequacy Equity/Total Assets Equity/Loans and Advances Permanent Assets/Equity

17.9 34.7 34.5

16.2 32.7 35.6

Liquidity Ratios Loans & Advances/Total Assets 51.6 Cash & Bank Balances/Total Liabilities 19.4 Loans & Advances/Total deposits 74.5

49.6 31.6 67.0

Profitability ratios Pre-tax Profit Margin Return on Total Assets Return on Equity Net Interest Margin Interest Income/Loans & Advances Interest Paid/Total Deposits Operating Expense/Total Revenue Non-Interest Income/Total Revenue Pre-tax Profit Per Employee (Nm) Staff Costs per Employee (Nm) Staff Costs/Gross Revenue Earnings per share (basic)(kobo) Dividend per share (kobo) Dividend cover (times)

-18.3 -1.9 -7.7 52.5 15.7 5.2 44.4 24.5 NA NA NA -56 NA NA

5.2 0.8 1.2 57.1 21.3 4.0 51.2 27.7 NA NA NA 9 15 0.6

provements in the intrinsic profitmaking capacity of the bank. Net interest margin, which measures profitability of the core banking operations, closed 2010 higher at 57 per cent as against about 53 per cent in 2009. Pre-tax profit margin, which measures the profitability of the bank as a going concern, turned positive at 5.2 per cent in 2010 as against -18.3 per cent in 2009. Returns on total assets turned from -1.9 per cent in 2009 to 0.8 per cent in 2010 while return on equity reversed from -7.7 per cent in 2009 to 1.2 per cent in 2010. The bank also showed better cost-to-income ratio with average cost of fund dropping from 5.2 per cent in 2009 to 4.0 per cent in 2010 while average income per loan unit increased from 53 per cent in 2009 to 57 per cent in 2010.

Liquidity The liquidity position of the bank slipped slightly during the year, although it remained within acceptable limits. The proportion of cash and bank balances to total liabilities dropped from 32 per cent in 2009 to 19 per cent in 2010.

Loans and advances were up to about 75 per cent of total deposits in 2010 as against 67 per cent in 2009 while the proportion of loans and advances to total assets increased from 50 per cent in 2009 to 52 per cent in 2010.

Governance and structures Incorporated in 1990 and listed on the Nigerian stock Exchange (NSE) in 2005, Diamond Bank is a mid-tier retail bank owned by a highly diversified group of individual and institutional Nigerian and foreign shareholders. The board and management of the bank remain stable. Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe still chairs the board while Mr. Alex Otti oversees daily operations of the bank as group managing director and

chief executive. The bank broadly complied with all relevant codes of best corporate governance practices as stipulated by the Nigerian financial services authorities.

Analyst's opinion The gradual comeback of Diamond Bank as indicated by the general performance outlook in 2010 is reassuring and shows commendable level of stability in the post-crisis period. Recent key decisions taken by the bank and ongoing initiatives are expected to further nudge and stabilize performance in the years ahead. Diamond Bank has started divesting from non-core banking businesses while recapitalizing its operations.

The divestiture from non-banking businesses, which contribute less and sometime drag down group performance, and focus on core banking operations, as an international bank under the new licence regime of the Central Bank of Nigeria, would allow for better efficiency and productivity.

Low performing subsidiaries and provisions made thereon were responsible for the relatively low profit in 2010.

While Diamond Bank as an entity posted pre and post tax profits of N9.5 billion and N6.52 billion respectively, group profits before and after tax slumped to N4.8 billion and N1.3 billion respectively. Besides, the decision to strengthen the capital base of the bank, in spite of the fact that its current equity funds of N107 billion is twice the minimum statutory requirement of N50 billion for international banking licence, would undoubtedly provide expansive supports for the bank's aggressive business strategy. Overall, there is a reasonable basis to assume that Diamond Bank might improve on its performance in the years ahead.

Fiscal Year Ended December 31 Nmillion

2010 12 months

2009 % change 12 months

Profit and Loss Statement Gross earnings Interest income Interest expense Net Interest income Total Non-interest income Total Non-interest expense Profit before tax (loss) Profit after tax (loss)

91,022 65296 16293 49,003 25,197 46,565 4,773 1,288

34.4 28.7 -34.6 89.6 51.7 54.8 -138.6 -115.8

67,736 50746 24,896 25,850 16,608 30,087 -12374 -8142

94,421 51,303 307,135 558,044 36,751 594,795

-45.1 464.4 -4.9 -8.9 -2.2 -8.5

172,092 9,090 322,821 612,829 37,567 650,396

412,032 487,710 7,238 106,629 594,795

-14.5 -10.4 0.0 0.9 -8.5

482,056 544,303 7,238 105,647 650,395

Balance Sheet Assets: Cash and balances with other banks Short-term investments Loans and advances (net) Total earning assets Fixed assets Total assets Liabilities and capital: Total deposit liabilities Total liabilities Paid-up share capital Shareholder's funds Liabilities and Equity

50

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

51

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

52

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 1-11-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES Company Name FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 2 11 14

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50 7.80

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 1,100,000 550,000.00 19,000 9,500.00 235,742 1,837,206.00 1,354,742 2,396,706.00

Quotation(N) 2.04 5.90

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 20,000 42,800.00 296,682 1,738,764.78 316,682 1,781,564.78

Quotation(N) 0.50 1.70

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 50,000 25,000.00 324,855 552,511.50 374,855 577,511.50

Quotation(N) 5.36 3.40 1.98 4.00 1.74 9.81 14.60 8.31 4.95 1.33 3.02 0.54 0.64 12.90

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 20,189,826 108,117,803.56 28,235,953 93,830,134.96 363,203 719,163.60 2,823,632 11,294,716.50 2,695,766 4,682,054.64 12,735,075 124,738,527.05 42,573,929 619,682,661.75 2,926,528 24,382,732.20 25,351,978 121,716,652.68 515,531 681,158.67 50,072,989 154,622,143.00 2,167,175 1,174,527.30 164,386 104,649.96 32,261,613 406,585,980.54 223,077,584 1,672,332,906.41

Quotation(N) 210.00 91.51

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 403,712 84,222,941.33 692,706 63,357,849.05 1,096,418 147,580,790.38

Quotation(N) 15.43 5.25 108.00 40.01

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 392,590 6,049,707.15 274,535 1,389,300.12 253,347 27,081,620.56 241,178 9,699,367.98 1,161,650 44,219,995.81

Quotation(N) 9.45 18.00 9.51

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 6,281 57,157.10 190,691 3,297,148.95 3,934 35,563.36 200,906 3,389,869.41

AIR SERVICES Company Name AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 28 29

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Company Name DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 13 14 BANKING

Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC SKYE BANK PLC. STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 134 49 20 54 69 440 542 58 90 21 265 25 21 240 2,028 BREWERIES

Company Name GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 71 134 205 BUILDING MATERIALS

Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 47 8 20 29 104 CHEMICAL & PAINTS

Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC NIGERIAN-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 31 2 35

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Company Name Secure Electronic Technology PLC RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 16 17

Quotation(N) 0.80 2.42

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 8,000 6,080.00 530,000 1,294,420.00 538,000 1,300,500.00

COMPUTER & OFFICE EQUIPMENT Company Name NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. OMATEK VENTURES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1 2

Quotation(N) 7.67 0.50

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 50,000 383,500.00 500.00 1,000 51,000 384,000.00

Quotation(N) 6.43 30.00 6.11 0.65 30.45 26.05

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 1,000 6,110.00 154,159 4,673,398.25 1,783 10,359.23 3,042,930 1,991,673.50 270,498 8,236,664.10 363,496 9,595,281.37 3,833,866 24,513,486.45

Quotation(N) 38.43 6.83

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 59,818 2,202,760.26 104,381 712,922.23 164,199 2,915,682.49

CONGLOMERATES Company Name CHELLARAMS PLC PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC SCOA NIGERIA PLC TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC UAC OF NIGERIA PLC UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 30 1 26 30 59 148

Oteh blames losses in capital market on stakeholders

T

HE Director General of the Securities and Ex change Commission Ms Arunma Oteh, has again attributed the huge losses suffered by investors in the capital market to direct investments by stakeholders in the capital market.

As part of its effort to enhance confidence in the capital market, Oteh said SEC is set to strengthen the Collective Investment Scheme (CIS).

Ms. Oteh, who spoke at the investment forum organised by the Commission on Monday, in Abuja, attributed the huge losses suffered by investors to direct investment in equities, saying, “in most advanced economies, retail investor does not invest directly in equities but through a collective investment scheme.”

She stated that SEC is determined to enhance the CIS and Investment Advisers through appropriate regulation. “ We will try to see that this sector of the capital market grows so as to be able to perform its function effectively.

“It is also a clear signal that the reforms, which we have implemented in our market in the recent past, are yielding fruits. We at the SEC, and our partners, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and Investment and the Central Bank of Nigeria are doing our best to impact on the economy.”

She explained that project 50 is a commemoration of 50 years of capital market regulation in Nigeria, saying it is not entirely correct to think of this event as the 50th birthday ceremony of the SEC. “It may interest you to know that capital market regulation in Nigeria predates the establishment of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission,” she stated.

CONSTRUCTION Company Name JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC ROADS NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 14 2 16

No of Deals 10 10

Quotation(N) 1.70

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 1-11-11 Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 100,400 172,910.00 100,400 172,910.00

FOOD/BEVERAGES & TOBACCO Company Name 7-UP BOTTLING CO. PLC CADBURY NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIGERIA PLC HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT COMPANY NIGERIA PLC NESTLE NIGERIA PLC UTC NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 20 31 71 49 83 25 14 43 7 343

Quotation(N) 48.00 14.20 5.60 5.68 61.50 3.13 4.50 400.00 0.50

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 24,188 1,161,301.85 253,481 3,511,638.31 740,770 4,277,574.07 1,728,484 10,032,232.74 410,696 25,741,342.63 321,600 957,463.25 221,241 995,530.05 104,775 41,930,036.01 200,000 100,000.00 4,005,235 88,707,118.91

HEALTHCARE Company Name EVANS MEDICALPLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 12 1 10 1 27

Ms. Oteh, said the first major structure with a mandate to oversee segments of our capital market was the Capital Issues Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria, constituted in 1962, one year after the Lagos Stock Exchange (now NSE) came into existence.

The committee, she explained, was empowered to monitor the fledgling stock exchange and other aspects of the capital market, and to reach decisions on the “timing, price and amounts of all issues by public companies.”

She noted that successive governments at the federal level, reviewed the system of market oversight, an effort that culminated in the formation of the Capital Issues Commission in 1973, adding, “ this time, the commission, though a subsidiary of the Central Bank, had a measure of quasiindependence, as it was backed by a Decree.

In 1976, the Federal Government set up the Pius Okigbo Financial System Review Panel to study the structure and operations of Nigeria ’s financial system. Following the recommendations of that panel, the Federal Government created the Securities and Exchange Commission by a Decree promulgated in 1979.

In January 1980, under the leadership of President Shehu Shagari, who receives an award to that effect today, the present day SEC Nigeria, took off.”

Oteh, noted that the Honorable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was well disposed to the reforms in the capital market and has given her backing to Project

Quotation(N) 0.91 1.36 27.00 2.46 1.65

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 13,315 12,307.37 264,050 355,968.00 500 13,250.00 143,484 336,398.21 200 314.00 421,549 718,237.58

Quotation(N) 2.25 4.32

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 15,951,958 34,529,010.52 300 1,296.00 15,952,258 34,530,306.52

STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC UNIC INSURANCE PLC. UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 62 1 63

No of Deals 17 17

No of Deals 2 1 2 5

Quotation(N) 5.80

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 297,197 1,630,491.86 297,197 1,630,491.86

Quotation(N) 0.50 2.73 0.50

No of Deals 22 2 1 48 1 5 18 2 2 2 1 5 2 1

1,447,550.00 25,000.00 1,000,000.00 7,087,164.63

No of Deals 5 5

Quotation(N) 0.89

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 101,300 86,157.00 101,300 86,157.00

Quotation(N) 0.77

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 4,768,107 3,577,799.60 4,768,107 3,577,799.60

MARITIME Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 71 71

MORTGAGE COMPANIES Company Name RESORT SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 2

Quotation(N) 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,001,000 500,500.00 1,001,000 500,500.00

Quotation(N) 1.70

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 683,706 1,172,563.78 683,706 1,172,563.78

PACKAGING Company Name NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 29 29

Company Name MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA OIL & GAS PLC. FORTE OIL PLC MOBIL OIL NIGERIA PLC. OANDO PLC TOTAL NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

Quotation(N) 0.55 1.01 0.50 2.78 0.50 0.50 1.40 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.18 0.50

No of Deals 10 28 4 12 22 139 17 232

Quotation(N) 63.86 35.00 4.80 9.12 141.00 27.46 200.00

Quantity Traded Value 17,214 56,734 129,000 18,158 40,349 632,965 27,110 921,530

of Shares (N) 1,044,373.38 1,967,160.43 619,200.00 173,772.06 5,413,808.55 17,495,167.95 5,302,822.70 32,016,305.07

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 101,000 50,500.00 100 260.00 153,846 76,923.00 254,946 127,683.00

INSURANCE Company Name AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CORNERSTONE INSURANCE CO. PLC. CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSURANCE PLC GREAT NIGERIA INSURANCE COMPANY PLC GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC. LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. STACO INSURANCE PLC

2,895,100 50,000 2,000,000 11,032,189

LEASING

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Company Name CHAMS PLC IHS NIGERIA PLC STARCOMMS PLC Sector Totals

0.50 0.50 0.50

PETROLEUM(MARKETING)

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Company Name VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

38 1 1 152

Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

HOTEL & TOURISM Company Name IKEJA HOTEL PLC TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

50.

“So too has the Honorable Trade and Investment Minister, Dr Olusegun Aganga.

Above all, Mr President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has expressed his strongest endorsement for our effort, by urging the SEC “to use any means backed by law to bring all those who abuse the capital market to book,” Oteh said.

Meanwhile, the stock market suffered a relapse yesterday as profit-taking transactions pushed aggregate market capitalisation of all quoted companies to N6.612 trillion as against N6.627 trillion recorded in previous trading session. The All Share Index (ASI) contracted to 20,837.58 from its opening index of 20,934.96 points.

Investors staked a total of N2.1 billion on 273.22 million ordinary shares in 3,617 deals with banking sector accounted for 223.08 million shares valued at N1.67 billion in 2,028 deals.

Hotel and tourism sector staged a distant second on the activity chart with a turnover of 15.95 million shares valued at N34.53 million in 63 deals. Insurance sector ranked third with 11.03 million shares valued at N7.09 million in 152 deals.

On price movement, Guinness Nigeria topped gainers’ list with a gain of N7.94 to close at N210 per share. UAC of Nigeria followed with a gain of N1.45 to close at N30.45. NCR Nigeria gained 36 kobo to close at N7.67 while Roads Nigeria added 32 kobo to close at N6.83 per share.

On the other hand, Lafarge Wapco Nigeria led the losers with a loss of N1.99 to close at N40.01. Flour Mills of Nigeria lost N1.51 to close at N61.50.

Oando dropped by N1.44 to close at N27.46 while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated dropped by 47 kobo to close at N11.50 per share.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Company Name CUTIX PLC Sector Totals

From Tonia Osundolire, Abuja

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 1,207,020 681,217.63 58,534 60,090.02 400,000 200,000.00 427,800 1,163,611.00 23,360 11,680.00 2,128,250 1,064,125.00 576,525 794,790.98 600,000 300,000.00 10,100 5,050.00 105,000 52,500.00 500 250.00 539,000 269,500.00 10,000 11,300.00 1,000 500.00

Company Name UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 2

Quotation(N) 3.65

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 50,100 182,879.00 50,100 182,879.00

Quotation(N) 12.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,123,858 13,345,630.17 1,123,858 13,345,630.17

REAL ESTATE Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 21 21

ROAD TRANSPORTATION Company Name ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 7 7

Quotation(N) 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 50,500 25,605.00 50,500 25,605.00

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Company Name ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Sector Totals Overall Totals

No of Deals 19 19

Quotation(N) 11.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 288,125 3,321,819.41 288,125 3,321,819.41

3,617

273,221,902

2,088,596,184.76

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

53

MONEY LINK

‘Training, diversified skills, key to banks stability’

T

HE Managing Director, Fi nancial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), Mrs. Lucy Newman, has said training and diversification of board members’ skills are crucial in a achieving a stable and viable banking sector.

She said the Institute, having realised the need for training and continuous skills upgrade, has trained 45,000 top level bankers over the past 30 years, thereby improving boards competence in the nation’s financial system.

She stated that FITC has continuously empowered board members of banks through continuous onthe-job training to enable them improve on their skills and competencies.

Speaking during the Continuous Education Programme for Bank Directors organised by the FITC, Mrs. Newman, said the recent crisis in the sector was largely due to lapses on the part of board members of some of the affected banks.

Also, the former FITC helmsman, Yemi Agbelusi, called on the directors to be upright in their conduct, stressing that the crisis in the sector could be addressed if banks’ chief executive officers, would live above board in their dealings. “As a bank director, you know that the entire monies in the vault are under your custody, but it is more important for you to understand that these funds were placed in your care because of depositors’ trust in your bank,” he advised.

He blamed the banking crises on negligence by directors of banks in the course of their duties, saying weak corporate governance, lax board oversight, inadequate disclosure, poor credit underwriting standards, insider abuses and lack of transparency in banks led to the capital inadequacy and liquidity shortages that affected the fortunes of the rescued banks.

The Deputy Governor, Financial

By Collins Nweze

System Stability, Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, said board members should be active in discharging their duties, and called on directors to check the excesses of members with fraudulent intentions.

“Banks must as a matter of fact

as to how banks should operate,” he said.

He advocated the need to appoint credible board members for banks, saying only such people would form an effective board structure.

He called on the directors to balance the membership of their boards by making sure that individuals with diverse competencies

conduct annual board performance appraisal in order to build effective and high impact board of directors. This will make members of the various banks’ boards to have clearer understanding of their duties, because from our stress test two years ago, and since then, we have come to realise that some board members lack strategic plan

UBA woos women with ‘Ruby Premium Account’

U

NITED Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has developed a product targeted at high profile women. The Ruby Premium Account, is designed to meet the needs of women as they progress from one stage of life to another.

The product is meant to empower women attain the highest potentials in their chosen careers and family endeavours..

UBA Divisional Head, Retail Banking, Chidi Okpala, explained that there are many women entrepreneurs, politician and bankers that have distinguished themselves

designed by Google.

Other benefits include, customised debit cards and cheque book; no limit on number of withdrawals or deposits; up to 50 per cent discounts on services from Ruby Partners, among others, as well as allow customers enjoy preferential pricing on the consumer loans of the bank.

The introduction, Okpala, explained, was informed by the need to provide convenient banking for women, especially professional and businesswomen, who place a premium on convenience banking. Women control over 60 per cent of household expen-

By Collins Nweze and Adhekegba Ernest

in the society with high purchasing power who are the major target for the product.

The Ruby current account, has a minimum opening balance of N500,000 and requires a minimum daily balance of N500,000, making the product a target of the upper class in the society. However, the product pays two per cent interest per annum and is commission on turnover (COT) free. The customer also has access to consumer loans, and enjoys a free website and email accounts for Women in Business

D

IAMOND Bank plans to grow its business network to 300 branches from its current 220 by the end of next year as it focuses on retail banking, its Chief Executive, Alex Oti, has said.

He stated that the bank, will in the medium term, grow organically, al-

lic. It set up new subsidiaries in Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Senegal at the end of the third quarter, he said.

Otti, said, Diamond has indicated interest to sell some of its non-performing loans to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), adding that management

though it remained open to acquisitions as the opportunity arose. “We intend to grow to 300 locations in Nigeria by the next financial year,” Otti told Reuters.

Diamond operates outside Nigeria in mainly Franco-phone West Africa and has 17 branches in Benin Repub-

T

the industry, top government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, as well as major stakeholders in the public and organised private sectors of the economy.

In s statement, CIBN Chairman and Chief Executive of Kakawa Discount

Dinner being organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). It would provide an opportunity for the apex bank’s boss to give insights into the expectations for the banking industry in the coming year.

The event will also attract captains of

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2011 “ 14-04-2011

GAINERS AS AT 1-11-11 SYMBOL ASHAKACEM REDSTAREX NCR ECOBANK CUSTODYINS NAHCO HONYFLOUR UAC-PROP GUARANTY BAGCO

O/PRICE 14.70 2.42 6.97 1.92 2.57 5.45 2.88 11.59 14.15 1.73

C/PRICE 15.43 5.54 7.31 2.01 2.69 5.70 3.00 12.00 14.60 1.78

CHANGE 0.73 0.12 0.34 0.09 0.12 0.25 0.12 0.41 0.45 0.05

LOSER AS AT 1-11-11 SYMBOL IBTC PHARMDEKO VITAFOAM PRESTIGE AFRPAINTS ACCESS MAYBAKER TRANSCORP UBA AIICO

O/PRICE 9.20 3.68 5.94 1.24 3.16 5.77 2.46 0.70 3.29 0.58

C/PRICE 8.74 3.50 5.65 1.18 3.01 5.51 2.35 0.67 3.16 0.56

Amount

Offered ($) Demanded ($)

MANAGED FUNDS

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

House Limited, Joseph Jaiyeola, said, “from day one, the Institute has always supported the reforms, as long as it would bring about a safe and sound banking system, protect the interest of our members, depositors, the industry and the economy in general.

DATA BANK

Amount N

Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

is not distracted by that and would concentrate on organic growth for the moment.

Diamond Bank posted a pretax loss of N425.47 million in the nine months to September, due to higher loan loss provisioning, compared with N7 billion pretax profit in the same period last year.

Sanusi to unveil 2012 Economic Policy in Lagos

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, will on Friday, November 4, unveil the Federal Government’s Economic policy for 2012 to stakeholders in Lagos. The programme would be done at the Annual Bankers’

Tenor

OBB Rate Call Rate

ditures,” he said.

He added that there has been an increase in the number of women in top flight executive positions and more successful self-employed professionals, financially independent and are contributing significantly to economic growth and development, who are the primary target of the product. The bank has also partnered with several organisations under which customers are to secure discounts for products purchased, or services offered.

The product is seen as a gender specific personal current account, specially designed and targeted at discerning women.

Diamond Bank targets 300 branches by 2012

FGN BONDS

NIDF NESF

are appointed “The appraisal must be done at least once every year, because the CBN wants to see a high level of performance and commitment among members, adding that before now, there were instances where board members complained of being ignorant of key decision making processes in their banks.

Amount

Exchange

Sold ($)

Rate (N)

Date

450m

452.7m

450m

150.8

08-8-11

250m

313.5m

250m

150.8

03-8-11

400m

443m

400m

150.7

01-8-11

EXHANGE RATE 26-08-11 CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency

Year Start Offer

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD

147.6000

149.7100

150.7100

-2.11

NGN GBP

239.4810

244.0123

245.6422

-2.57

NGN EUR

212.4997

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

Bureau de Change 152.0000 (S/N)

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

Parallel Market

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

NSE CAP Index

NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N)

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

(S/N)

153.0000

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

Aug ’11

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

8.75%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 9.4%

Offer Price

Bid Price

9.17 1.00 118.31 100.28 0.77 1.02 0.91 1,639.36 8.24 1.39 1.87 7,230.13 193.00

9.08 1.00 117.70 99.71 0.74 1.02 0.90 1,634.12 7.84 1.33 1.80 7,028.67 191.08

ARM AGGRESSIVE KAKAWA GUARANTEED STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND THE LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL BGL SAPPHIRE FUND BGL NUBIAN FUND NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY THE DISCOVERY FUND • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED

CHANGE 0.46 0.18 0.29 0.06 0.15 0.11 0.03 0.13 0.02 0.06

• STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

Rate (Previous) 24 Aug, 2011 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 26, Aug, 2011 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK Previous

Current

04 July, 2011

07, Aug, 2011

Bank

8.5000

8.5000

P/Court

8.0833

8.0833

Movement

54

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

55

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

NEWS

Workers won’t lose jobs over minimum wage, says Ebonyi

T

HE Ebonyi State Government yesterday said it would not sack workers to enable it pay the N18,000 national minimum wage.

The government said the compilation of names of those who come to work late and the opening of an attendance register to monitor absenteeism is not aimed at downsizing the workforce.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands, Survey and Housing, Princess Ann AgomEze, spoke during her routine check of the attendance register in the ministry. She explained that government’s action has nothing to do with the implementation of the national minimum wage.

From Ogbonnaya Obinna, Abakaliki

Princess Agom-Eze said the ministry would punish any erring contractor, especially those handling pilot schools.

She said the project would uplift the education sector and urged the contractors to speed up their work.

The permanent secretary noted that besides the routine check of workers attendances, the ministry would also carry out regular supervision on the pilot schools in the 13 local governments.

She warned that the state government would revoke the contract that failed.

She said the synergy between the management and

commissioner,Friday Nwogha, has raised the productivity level of the ministry in terms of issuance of Certificate of Occupancy ( C of O) to the people and the manner in which the workers come to work.

“The ministry had adopted a work strategy which ensures that documents are promptly attended to without delay. The ministry had in the last one week produced 444 Certificates of Occupancy which would soon be ready for collection by their owners. We have done so much in ensuring that our production level improves.

“There is no more gallivanting for workers in the

ministry and contractors handling our projects. I told them that they need to change their attitude. I told them that it is not going to be business as usual. I told them that we need to rebrand to give the ministry a better image.

“Government has no intention to victimise anybody.

Whatever we are doing here is to ensure that the ministry is reckoned with as the number one ministry in the state.

The government is not aware of most of the things we are doing here. We are making sure that we put in the best we can, so that people from outside will see what we are doing and others will be encouraged,” she said.

NAFDAC seals off eight medicine stores in Abia

T

HE Aba branch of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed off eight patent medicine shops at the Ariaria market in Aba, Abia State.

The owners of the shops reportedly ran away on sighting the NAFDAC team.

The team was on a routine check in the market to ascertain the efficacy of some drugs.

Addressing reporters in Aba shortly after the exercise, Deputy Director, Ports

From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

Inspection Directorate, Mrs. Abisola Adekoya, said some banned drugs were still sold in the open market.

Adekoya said one of the drugs, Septrin, has been banned since 2004, “because some local manufacturers have been making the drugs locally and the Federal Government decide to ban it to give the manufacturers room to survive”.

She urged the dealers to monitor their drugs before

they buy, adding: “If the drugs fail the test it will teach them to change the source of their supply, as it means that their source is not right”.

The NAFDAC chief urged producers to buy a testing machine to help them test their drugs before pushing them out to consumers.

Adekoya said malaria, diabetes and cancer drugs were tested during the exercise, adding that the drugs for these illnesses are easily faked.

She listed the drugs they took away as Man-up, Ampi-

Enugu govt distances self from labour leader’s arrest

T

HE Enugu State Government has dismissed insinuations that it was behind the current travail of self- styled labour leader in the state, Osmond Ugwu.

The labour leader is currently facing charges in court for attempted murder.

The government also dismissed the threat reportedly made by a group to “make Enugu State ungovernable” if Ugwu was not released from prison custody within one week. It described the threat as uninformed.

The government spoke in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Sullivan Chime, Chukwudi Achife.

The government said labour issues in the state were sponsored by disgruntled el-

Fromm Chris Oji, Enugu

ements trying to create a false impression of crisis in the state. It said even the most uninformed person would know that a criminal trial was a matter within the domain of the judiciary and that an order to remand an accused person in prison custody can only be made by a court.

The government said even though the group mentioned in the report remained faceless and amorphous, “it was still important to observe that a demand that the state government should release someone, who has been remanded by a court, can only stem from either ignorance of judicial processes or a mischievous intent of the person making the demand.”

It noted that the demand by

•Chime

the group for the governor to give an account of his stewardship within one week and the reflection of similar comments made by a “defeated governorship candidate in the same story, clearly confirms the sinister motives of the people behind it.

Senate drops motion on arrest of 28 Osun indigenes in Lokoja

T

HE Senate yesterday dropped a motion to debate the controversial arrest of 28 indigenes of Osun State in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital last week.

Entitled: “Violation of the constitutional rights of 28 Nigerian citizens to free movement,” the motion was sponsored by Senator Olusola Adeyeye (Osun Central).

Police officers on October 25 stopped 28 Nigerians travelling from Osun State to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja in Lokoja and forced them to discontinue their journey.

Listed in the Senate Order Paper yesterday, the motion

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor

sought the upper chamber’s mandate to empanel its Joint Committees on Police Affairs and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to investigate the incident and ensure that officers who committed the flagrant abuse of police power are subjected to full reprimand and sanction.

It said that sanction was necessary in order to ensure that “ Nigeria is not denigrated into a police state where civil liberties are suffocated by overzealous and capricious state apparatchiks.”

Before Adeyeye withdrew the motion because “the mat-

ter is in court” he said: “ Our rule says that when any matter is in court, we should not discuss it. But I want to add that the Constitution should always be respected both by those in the Executive and the Legislature.” .

He referred specifically to Section 41(1) of the Constitution which states in part that “every citizen is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof.”

Senate President, Senate David Mark, thanked Adeyeye for adhering to Senate rule and ruled that “the motion is accordingly withdrawn.”

clox, Lofnac 100, Duo-Cotecxin anti-malaria Mycostatin and Imodium Syrup.

According to her, some of the drugs were not registered with NAFDAC. The NAFDAC chief said of the 28 states they have visited, Aba in Abia State has the highest number of fake drugs. She called on those behind the fake drug business to desist from the nefarious act.

Adekoya advised the people not to buy drugs from the open market,”people should buy drugs from registered pharmacy shops to avoid buying fake drugs”.

Four held over stolen items From Adimike George, Onitsha

T

HE Anambra State Police Command yesterday arrested four suspects in connection with the stolen items recovered from Our Lady’s Industrial Centre, Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government.

According to an eye witness, some policemen attached to Ogidi Police Station trailed a vehicle conveying the stolen items from Our Lady’s compound where they were stolen to a nearby scrap market.

The principal suspect, Augustina Obiakor, a tenant at the Centre had allegedly hired a truck to evacuate the metals which she assembled from the Centre.

The source hinted that after loading the stolen items into the truck, Obiakor allegedly instructed one of her daughters, Onyinye and 11 year- old- boy Odinaka Eweluzor to accompany the truck driver to the scrap market.

But security operatives attached to the Centre alerted the Ogidi police who trailed the truck with a motorcycle to the scrap market.

The police arrested Oranu, Eweluzor and the driver of the truck.

They also arrested the principal suspect, Obiakor.

The suspects have been detained at the Ogidi police station while the goods have been released to the owners.

Ogidi Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Rowland Omatoje confirmed the arrests.

Hospital director escapes assassination

T

HE Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMD), Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Dr Abali Chuku, escaped death by the whiskers on Monday night as a gang of gunmen shot him twice in front of his official home.

The incident occurred while he was trying to retrieve some materials from his vehicle shortly after a meeting at the centre.

The Medical Director was shot at 7.30 pm and left to die.

Believing that he was dead, the gang allegedly jumped over the fence to make their escape on Ikot Ekpene road.

Abali is on admission at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital.

From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

The Senior Staff Association of the hospital has requested that he be flown abroad for further treatment.

He was said to have concluded a meeting with a delegation from the Federal Ministry of Health, which was sent by the Minister of Health to look into the crisis between the hospital management and Medical Laboratory Scientists.

Commissioner of Police Bala Hassan confirmed the incident. He said he has visited the hospital.

Bala said the police have begun investigation into the incident.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

59

NEWS Lagos PDP protests results of council polls

M

EMBERS of the Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday protested against the outcome of the local government elections. The poll was conducted by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) on October 22.

The protest kicked-off at Ikeja as the demonstrators were addressed by the chairman of the party, Setonji Koshoedo, who alleged that the election was rigged in favour of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He was accompanied by Chief Bode George and former governorship aspirant, Dr Adegboyega Dosunmu. However, other PDP chieftains, including Senator Seye Ogunlewe, Chief Yomi Finnih, Alhaji Muritala Ashorobi, Dr Wahab Dosunmu, Chief Rafiu Jafojo and Mrs Modupe Sasore, shunned the protest.

Koshoedo said PDP won many councillorship seats across the 57 councils, adding that LASIEC boss, Justice Fatai Adeyinka (rtd) was biased against the opposition party.

Council chiefs hailed SOCIO-POLITICAL group, the Progressives Likeminded, has congratulated all the elected chairmen and councillors on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). It described their victory “as welldeserved”.

In a statement by its Chairman and General Secretary, Alhaji Babs Adebunmi and Alhaji Muniru Kadiri-Alaga, the group hailed the people “for voting overwhelmingly for the ACN”.

The Yomi Pearse-led group also praised the “other aspirants for working for the party’s success.

It urged the people to continue to support the ACN in future elections, adding that the party will not disappoint them.

A

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Nneka Nwaneri and Tolulope Ogunkanmi

Calling for his resignation, he said he was a partial umpire.

ACN chieftain and Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Ademorin Kuye said that PDP chieftains were protesting blindly, instead of going to the tribunal.

Also, the Publicity Secretary of the ruling party, Comrade Joe Igbokwe, chided the PDP chieftains for causing obstruc-

tion on the road.

He said: “Don’t they have lawyers to advise them that the tribunal is open to the aggrieved in an electoral contest?

Why are they behaving as illiterates? What did they want to achieve through the thoughtless protest? Lagosians cannot vote for PDP. What is the attraction of PDP in Lagos State? Did they even support the creation of the councils?

What is their pride? What is their argument? They are tactless. They have failed and they will still fail in the future”.

Ali’s wife, Atiku’s man, others join Jonathan’s team

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday urged Nigerians to accept the changes initiated by his administration to move the nation forward.

He made the appeal at the swearing in of four special advisers at the State House, Abuja.

One of the Special Advisers is Senator Ben Obi, a former

vice-presidential candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in the 2007 election. Obi was running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar at the election. He is Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Inter Party Affairs.

Dr. Maryam Ali, wife of the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmadu Ali is the Special Adviser on

Inter-governmental Affairs.

Others are Mr. Ali Gulak, the Special Adviser, Political, and Prof. Preye Ogbenobo, Special Adviser on Economic Affairs (Office of the VicePresident).

Jonathan said that in every developmental stage of a man or a nation, changes are inevitable because they are the catalyst for development.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

60

FOREIGN NEWS

World Bank chief urges G20 to act on food prices

T

HE head of the World Bank yesterday called on Group of 20 leaders at an upcoming meeting to find ways to deal with increased global food price volatility that is hurting poorer countries.

The call by the institution’s president, Robert Zoellick, ahead of the Nov. 3-4 meeting in Cannes, France, comes as the World Bank’s quarterly food price index showed global food prices remain high and volatile.

The index showed a small dip of one percent in September, settling at 5 percent below its February peak, but it is still 19 percent above its September 2010 levels, the World Bank said.

The meeting of leaders from major industrialized

and emerging market countries is scheduled to consider actions to help countries manage price volatility using risk management tools, to promote more productive and resilient agriculture, and look at getting food to the needy fast through emergency regional humanitarian food reserves.

“The food crisis is far from over,” Zoellick said in a statement. “Prices remain volatile and millions of people around the world are still suffering”.

The World Bank said concerns about a slowing global economic recovery, particularly in the United States and euro zone, could dampen demand and push food prices lower.

Poorer countries would be

hard hit by weaker global demand as trade would likely slow.

“The persistently troubled global economy must be monitored vigilantly because the risk of a global deceleration in demand is real,” the World Bank said.

Floods in Thailand, the worst in 50 years, have added to uncertainty in the short run with rice production losses estimated at 4 million to 6 million tonnes, or about 16 percent to 24 percent of expected total production, the bank added.

A separate report prepared by the World Bank for the G20 meeting cautioned the world economy was entering “a risky phase” and called on G20 leaders to focus on ways to boost growth and create jobs.

UN Security Council concerned over Libya arms stockpile HE United Nations Security Council has expressed “concern” over the fate of the massive weapons stockpile built up in Libya under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

The council called on Libya and its neighbours to stamp out the proliferation of looted arms.

It was worried they could fall into the hands of al-Qaeda and other militant groups.

Many weapons were destroyed in Nato operations, which ended at midnight on Monday.

However, officials said it was not clear how many were still in circulation.

The resolution, drafted by Russia and adopted unanimously, said that a huge stock-

T

pile of shoulder-fired missiles, which had been accumulated by Col Gaddafi, could still pose a threat to passenger aircraft.

It emphasised that the “proliferation of all arms... in particular, man-portable surfaceto-air missiles, in the region, could fuel terrorist activities, including those of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb”.

The resolution also called on the new Libyan government to destroy chemical weapons in co-ordination with international authorities.

26,000 sorties flown since Nato took charge of Libya mission on 1 April 9,600 strike sorties 5,900 targets destroyed 600 tanks or armoured vehicles destroyed 400 artillery/ rocket launchers destroyed 16

countries supplied air assets Source: Nato The vote came as Nato formally ended its seven-month air campaign. The mission formally came to an end at one minute to midnight Libyan time (21:59 GMT) on Monday.

Operations began under a UN Security Council mandate to protect civilians on the evening of 19 March, as Col Gaddafi’s forces moved to crush the uprising in the eastern rebel-held city of Benghazi.

Overall, Nato aircraft flew more than 26,000 sorties, including nearly 10,000 strike missions. More than 1,000 tanks, vehicles and guns were destroyed, along with Col Gaddafi’s command and control network.

Greek PM Papandreou faces party revolt over referendum

•Papandreou

S

IX leading members of Greece’s governing Pasok party have called on Prime Minister George Papandreou to resign, the day after he called a referendum on the proposed EU bailout.

A Member of Parliament

has defected from Pasok, cutting Mr Papandreou’s parliamentary majority to two seats - 152 out of 300 - ahead of a confidence vote on Friday.

The opposition has called for early elections, saying the referendum jeopardises Greece’s EU membership.

European markets have fallen sharply.

Last week, eurozone leaders agreed on a 100bn-euro loan (£86bn; $140bn) to Athens and a 50% debt write-off.

In return, Greece must make deep cuts in public spending, slashing pensions and wages and making thousands of civil servants redundant.

Earlier yesterday, Pasok MP Milena Apostolaki quit the parliamentary group but said she would keep her seat to fight the referendum as an independent.

“I have an obligation to resist this erroneous political choice that divides the nation,” she said.

Shortly afterwards, another MP from Mr Papandreou’s centre-left Pasok party, Vasso Papandreou (no relation) called for a government of national unity, to be followed by snap elections.

The Greek referendum call is, while it lasts, effectively a plebiscite on euro membership.

Hundreds of rebels killed in Sudan clashes

H

UNDREDS of rebels have been killed in Sudan’s South Kordofan state following clashes with the army, officials have said - claims denied by the rebels.

Governor Ahmed Haroun said the SPLMNorth rebels were killed when the army repelled an assault on Talodi city.

But a rebel spokesman said fighting was continuing and “many” government troops had been killed.

Talodi lies near the border with South Sudan, which became independent from Sudan in July.

The BBC correspondent in Khartoum says capturing the strategic city of Talodi would be a major success for the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North rebels.

He says they hold a considerable amount of territory in South Kordofan, though largely in difficult to reach mountain areas.

It is also fighting the government in Blue Nile state, but our correspondent says this is a more conventional war which is easier for Khartoum.

“Hundreds of soldiers from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-North) were killed during an attack on the city of Talodi this morning,” Mr Haroun said.

Mr Haroun has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur, where he used to be governor, and our correspondent says he is feared by the SPLM-North rebels.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

61

NATION SPORT

•Tymoschuk

Tymoschuk: I still have a lot to offer B

AYERN Munich have made a fantastic start in both the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League this season. What are the reasons for the team's current success?

The team enjoys a lot more freedom under the new coach (Jupp Heynckes). The players have more belief in their own abilities and we've managed to find the right balance between defence and attack. At Bayern, anything other than a victory is considered a failure. We're top of the Bundesliga and on course to reach our goal, but it's very tight at the top of the table and we have some big challenges ahead. The Champions League is another tournament we could win, but everyone knows how difficult that is.

Your contract with Bayern expires in 2012. Have you had any thoughts about moving on?

I haven't thought about it just yet. I did receive a few proposals from other clubs both in the Bundesliga and abroad over the summer, but at the moment I’m happy at Bayern. I haven't thought about ending my career either because I feel I still have a lot to offer, but as I've said several times in the past, I think it would be fitting to see out my playing days with one of the clubs I enjoyed success with in the past.

You are the vice-captain of the Ukrainian national team. How much does it mean to wear the armband?

Things could hardly be going better for Anatoliy Tymoschuk. A regular for both Bayern Munich and the Ukrainian national team, the 32-year-old midfielder also has next year’s UEFA EURO 2012 on home turf to look forward to.

In an exclusive interview with FIFA.com, Tymoschuk discusses his future, next summer's finals in Poland/Ukraine and his ‘lucky’ armband.

The role of captain is a great responsibility for any player, although it's hardly anything new for me. I've played in a lot games as captain for my clubs and for the national team. The most important thing is to give your team-mates the support they need and help them to adapt, especially in the national team where there is often a lack of time to prepare. You have to set a good example to help the team reach its potential.

Does it make you proud to be Ukraine's record caps holder with 111 international appearances?

It’s great to have played so many games for the national team. It’s quite an achievement, but I’m not one to rest on my laurels. I'm thankful every time I pull on the blue and yellow jersey.

Ukraine take on Germany in a friendly on 11 November.

Will it be a particularly special match for you considering you know the likes of Neuer, Lahm, and Schweinsteiger from Bayern?

It's a very important game for us because the German national team is one of the strongest in the world. And yes, the match will be special for me because I know a lot of their players from Bundesliga. Many of them played or play at Bayern, so it'll be interesting to go toe to toe with some of my club colleagues.

When we exchange shirts, I think I'd like to add Miroslav Klose's to my collection because we're good friends.

Ukraine have lost games against France, Uruguay, Czech Republic and Sweden in recent months. Do those results reflect the strength of the national side?

If you consider the skill of our players and how well we played, we didn’t deserve those results, but these things happen in football. Our upcoming fixtures will show whether we've learned from the defeats and where we go from here. The Ukrainian national team is physically very strong and we always show the required desire and commitment because it’s never nice to lose.

What can Ukraine achieve as co-hosts of UEFA EURO 2012 next year?

It’s a home championship for us, so we should try to enjoy it and get the results our fans deserve. Our main priority is to get out of our group. None of our players have played at a European Championship before, so we have to make use of the experience we’ve gained in our international matches to date and make sure the younger players get used to the level of the national team. Then we can show what we’re really capable of.

How much have things changed in Ukraine since it was announced the country would be a co-host of the tournament?

Several new stadiums have been built, including the one in Kyiv where we will play Germany. Stadiums, airports and infrastructures should all be ready in time to satisfy visitors from all over Europe. The atmosphere of the tournament will convince our guests to come back again and again.

The next major international tournament after the European Championships is the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Ukraine have been drawn alongside England, Montenegro, Poland, Moldova and San Marino in qualifying.

What are your thoughts on the group?

It's undoubtedly one of the strongest groups, and we're going to have to perform at our very best if we want to make it to the World Cup. We must show our best football in every game. We played England few years ago, so it'll be interesting to play against them again, although most of our attention will be on the two games against Poland.

You will be 35 in 2014. Are you hopeful of playing at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil?

Any player who has taken part in a World Cup and experienced the unbelievable atmosphere will always want to do it again at least once. I can’t predict what will happen, but I feel great and I’m in good physical condition.

If there is a chance I can be a part of it, I'll grasp it with both hands.

Brazil is a football country and I'm sure the tournament will make a positive impression on everybody.

Finally, there is an interesting story that when you were captain at Shakhtar Donetsk and at Zenit St. Petersburg, you wore Lothar Matthaus' armband from the 1994 FIFA World Cup. That’s right, I wore the armband for the first time as captain of Shakhtar. The assistant coach, Alexandru Spiridon, played for Moldova and when they played against Germany, he exchanged armbands with Lothar Matthaus after the game. When he found out that I’ve always liked Matthaus, he gave me the armband. It brought me lots of success too: the Ukrainian league title, the Ukrainian Cup and the Super Cup, as well as the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. I think it brings me good luck. It's in a bank safety deposit box at the moment.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

62

SPORT EXTRA

Osaze charged on Arsenal Fortis outclass Fidelity N clash T BANKERS FOOTBALL:

IGERIA tional

internaOsaze

Odemwingie has been charged by West Brom's teammate Billy Jones to take lessons from their Liverpool defeat ahead of this weekend's English Premier League trip to Arsenal.

The Baggies will be hoping for a repeat of last season's venture to Emirates Stadium, when they secured a 3-2 win.

However, West Brom suffered a 2-0 home loss to

Liverpool on Saturday after Roy Hodgson's former team brushed them aside with a convincing display.

And Jones, a defender insists Albion must get back to basics and rediscover their discipline if they are to cause another upset in North London.

He told the Express and Star: "That is what has got us success with the wins over Wolves and Villa. We had 11 players 'bang at it' and buying into the game-

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plan and that got us the results.

"To beat Liverpool, you've got to have 11 players playing well. I think we started poorly but we will learn from the Liverpool

game, I am sure, because it is obviously a massive test away to Arsenal."

NFF appoints Ifeanyi Ubah, Falode

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HE Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) has appointed business mogul, Mr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah as Ambassador for youth football development.

The 40-year old, a passionate football fan and investor, is a leading light in Nigeria’s business and economy sector.

In the letter appointing the Chief Executive of Capital Oil and Gas Nigeria Ltd, NFF President Aminu Maigari wrote: “This appointment is in recognition of your keen interest in, and tremendous contributions to, the programmes of our National Youth Teams, and your expressed willingness to do even more for the general development of the Nigeria youth at home and internationally.

“We have faith in your capacity to contribute even more meaningfully and generously to the growth of the Nigeria game...”

Also, the NFF Executive Committee has approved

the appointment of foremost broadcast journalist Aisha Falode as Coordinator of the Women National Teams.

Falode, a member of the CAF Media Committee, is expected to bring her experience and exposure to bear on the organization of the women national teams for the benefit of Nigeria football.

ABLE- topping Fidelity Bank dropped their first points at the ongoing Bankers’ football championship when they lost to Fortis Micro Finance Bank 3-1 in Abuja at the weekend The result saw debuting Fortis Micro Finance move to second position behind Fidelity with same positions but with less goals advantage. The two high scoring sides are now the setting pace for others in the three-week old competition In an earlier match of the day between Ecobank and Federal Mortgage Bank the first goalless draw of the tournament was. The latter were clearly in charge of the game from the kick-off with their strikers showing top class skills and mastery of the ball to the admiration of fans.

However, all attempt at goal was futile as Ecobank goalkeeper Yahaya Musa stood between them and the

net saving all attempts and showing why he was rated the best goalkeeper in the maiden edition of the championship with his superlative saves.

The dominance of the mortgage boys was, however, short lived as one of the midfield players Patrick Idoko jersey no 14 was issued a red card as a result of second yellow card in the 38th minute of the first half.

Kudos must go to the Mortgage boys for holding their own for the next 52 minute playing one man down as they were able to contain the attacks from Ecobank team who got their first point of the tournament as a result of the draw.

The third match of the weekend between defending champions Unity bank and FCMB ended 3-1 in favour of the defending champions who last year scored on average of five goals per match.This result places FCMB at the bottom of the table with no point.

Unity stars maul FCMB 3-1

U

NITY Stars produced a dazzling performance with a convincing 3-1 victory at the Abuja FIFA training pitch against First City Monument Bank FC. The setting is the ongoing Bankers Football championship being organized by Lisadeen Consult.

Aliyu Mohammed raised the curtains five minutes into the game through a tailored pass from Hamisu Haruna that put him ahead of the FCMB Team defend-

ers. He chose the left side to beat Prince Iwara in goal.

Abbas Balarabe added the second through Tukur’s initiative, with a combined Aliyu Mohammed’s stamp at the FCMB’s vital area. On the 45th minute, FCMB were awarded a penalty when Abubakar Ibrahim rough handled a player in the box. Henry in goal parried away the kick taken by Azubike but his defenders who were to clear the ball away were asleep, only for

Azubike to have another chance to slot in, thus ending the first half 2-1 in favour of Unity Stars.

Mesmerizing Tukur Abdullahi who was playing his first game was unable to have his name on the score sheet despite several blinders he unleashed that were either parried away or misdirected.

Jamilu Amadu who partnered with Aliyu Mohammed upfront hardly found his bearing and together with Aliyu and Abbas they squandered more than five clear scoring chances.

However, a combination of Hamisu and Tukur put Aliyu through for his second and third goals for Unity Stars when he lifted a high one against the FCMB on rushing goalkeeper..

After Aliyu’s goal in the in the 28th minute of the second half, squandering of chances by both Teams took the centre stage until the end.

Chibuzo Okonkwo returns from injury From Tunde Liadi, Owerri

S

UPER Eagles’ right full back and Heartland FC of Owerri player, Chibuzo Okonkwo has recovered from the nagging ankle injury he copped while on club duties in Owerri and is billed to make his much anticipated return today for the Naze Millionaires in their brought forward NPL Week 38 duel with Oriental brothers, Enugu Rangers.

Okonkwo who was ruled out of action for few weeks prior to the all important African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tie against the Syli Stars of Guinea told NationSport that he started real training last week without pains and would be ready to be part of the crucial home tie with Rangers at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri if the coaches included them.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

63

NATION SPORT

S

ERENA Williams captured the Rogers Cup women’s tennis title Sunday to continue a remarkable comeback from injury and illness.

The 29-year-old American star dispatched No. 10-seed Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-4, 6-2 to win her first Rogers title since claiming the Canadian tournament crown in 2001.

The Rogers Cup was just Williams’s fourth tournament since being sidelined for 49 weeks, first with a foot injury she suffered when she stepped on a piece of glass in a restaurant in Germany, and

then with blood clots in her lungs.

The mighty Williams had Stosur on her heels all match long with her powerful strokes. She broke the 27-yearold Aussie to go up 5-4 in the opening set and would break her twice more in the second in the one hour and 17-minute match, winning in emphatic fashion with her ninth ace of the game.

The former top-ranked Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion, was unseeded in the tournament and is ranked just 80th in the world as she continues her comeback.

She’s projected to rise to No.

Murray far from happy

C

•Serena

Williams wins Rogers Cup title

APITAL distance star Freya Murray (Edinburgh AC) was disappointed with her performance in finishing ninth in 54 minutes 49 seconds in the BUPA Great South Run ten-mile event in Portsmouth yesterday.

It was more than two minutes slower than on her debut last year but this time the conditions were much worse.

“I stayed with the leading group till six miles but then the Kenyans ran away,”

commented Murray, who will be hoping for better luck than last year when she picked up an Achilles tendon injury after the race.

Sunday’s winner was Aselefech Mergai, the 2009 World Championship marathon bronze medallist who led a Kenyan 1, 2, 3 in 52:55.

Andrew Lemoncello (Fife), fifth in 48:17, achieved his target of beating the year’s top GB marathoner England’s Scott Overall by just six seconds.

Alonso still targets second spot

W

ITH Sebastian Vettel clinching the 2011 Formula One World Championship earlier this month, attention turns to who can claim to be 'best of the rest'.

McLaren's Jenson Button looks to be best placed to take this honour, with the 2009 F1 World champion once again coming second to Vettel, this time in India.

The result meant that he pulled a further 3 points clear of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to take his lead to 13, with just 2 races remaining.

Mark Webber, is a further 6 points behind Alonso, whilst Hamilton's seventh place finish leaves him trailing his team-mate by 38 points.

'After this race, second place in the Drivers’ championship is still possible, but it will be very difficult because McLaren is on great form at the moment, even if the gap is only 13 points.' Alonso told formula1.com after the race.

Tomorrow in THE NATION

www.thenationonlineng.net

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL.7 NO.1932

‘Jonathan is unmindful of history. To him, whatever posterity likes it may say about him. What matters to him is the here and now. Even at that, what is he doing to improve the lot of his countrymen?. ’

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

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HERE is something cynical about the decision by the Federal Government to remove the so-called fuel subsidy on petrol beginning from January. And it’s not just the fact that since the oil subsidy debate begun back in 1985, government’s arithmetic on the subject, as on all other subjects, has never really added up nor has it been transparent. In addition to lying with statistics there is the fact that it seems government would rather subject ordinary Nigerians to collective punishment than square-up to the challenge of taking on members of the “oil cabal” – its own words – that, on its own admission, have profited immensely from socalled oil subsidy.

I have advisedly used the word so-called in describing our oil subsidy because it is debatable that it exists at all. Or that if it does, it is no where near the figures successive governments have bandied around.

Chief Olu Falae, an economist and leading politician and, before then, a leading banker, once gave a simple but telling illustration of the dubiousness of government’s claim to subsidising oil consumption in the country.

Chief Falae should know; in addition to being a banker and an economist he was the leading advocate of deregulation as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and subsequently Finance minister under military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, who first introduced the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) that has defined the political-economy of this country ever since.

In an interview in Sunday Trust (November 8, 2009), he debunked the idea of oil subsidy. He did this by comparing the price of Star beer in Nigeria and in the UK. Subsidy in Economics, he pointed out, “is the difference between the price government says you should pay at the cost plus profit of a company producing that product.”

If, he said, the Nigerian Breweries sells Star at N130 per bottle, the price covers its cost of production, transportation and profit. Now if government says it should sell the beer at N100 then the N30 difference is the subsidy.

“Let’s take the example of beer again,” he said in making his comparison with the cost of Star in the UK. “In London, the last time I was there about a year ago, I bought a bottle of beer (Star) there for one pound and 20 pence. And with today’s exchange rate here it is about N260. That is the price at which Nigerian Breweries sell beer in London. It sells to you here at N130. Why doesn’t Nigerian Breweries say because we sell beer in London for N260 you should pay N260 in Nigeria? And because you are not paying N 260 you think that is subsidy. There is no subsidy. At N 130 they are making profit. So similarly if you go to the oil sector, if our refineries are working and they buy crude oil from Nigerian Oil Company at the cost of product plus profit to the company and they refine it and they sell it...By the time they cover these elements of price (i.e. cost of pro-

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People and Politics By MOHAMMED HARUNA ndajika@yahoo.com

The manipulation of ‘oil subsidy’

‘

Eliminate the cabal with all the capacity its members have for manipulating the price of oil to the detriment of the rest of us, and you are well on your way to bringing down the subsidy, to the extent that it exists, to a sustainable level •Dr Jonathan

duction, transportation and profit), if the price is still N 50 per litre there is no subsidy...The truth of the matter is that the price of oil in the international market bears little relationship to the cost of production...Summarily, I am saying once the price we pay covers the price of producing the oil, transportation within Nigeria and the profit of the companies; once the price covers those three elements, there is no subsidy even if the price is far lower than the international price.”

If I have bored you with an extensive quote from the chief, I am sorry. But you’ll agree with me that it was useful, perhaps even necessary, to expose the fallacy of the argument for the removal of oil subsidy.

Of course the chief’s argument contained caveats, not least of which is efficient refineries. And we all know that our refineries have not been working for decades now, never mind being efficient. But then we also know why they have not been working; corruption, in one word.

If President Goodluck Jonathan truly wishes to tackle the problem of so-called fuel

‘

subsidy he should know that this is the monster he must confront. As Professor Sam Aluko, one of the country’s leading economists said in an interview in The News magazine (October 9, 2000), something must be wrong with us that we have been unable to make our refineries work. “How,” he asked rhetorically, “can we have four refineries in the country and then the four will break down at the same time? Even when we tried to award the contract to Total, they kept telling us that Total could not do it.

Total has seventeen refineries around the world; they are all working, it’s only our refineries that they cannot put in order. You know something is wrong somewhere.” Without using the word it was obvious that the man meant corruption.

Professor Aluko’s solution then was to stop importation of oil products. “I,” he said, “alerted the nation that as long as we continue to import, it would not work. We’ll struggle and it will work temporarily only for the problem to come back again...There is a cabal made up of importers who cause the problem.”

Today, we have become so import dependent on oil products that it is not possible to apply Aluko’s solution at one go. But a determined

HARDBALL

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IVEN the rancour that preceded the 2011 general elections, there is probably no Nigerian who would say the result of the April presidential election was 100 percent accurate. What was in dispute, as the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) angrily headed to court after the April 16 poll, was the degree of accuracy of the election returns, whether they were of such fidelity as to generally represent the wishes of the electorate. The five Appeal Court justices that handled the case unanimously concluded yesterday that the CPC case lacked merit.

Jonathan’s election as president, they said, was substantially in accordance with the Electoral Act. The judgment was expected, not because the people thought the justices would be biased, but because everyone knows that in spite of electoral malpractices in some parts of the country, the result generally reflected the wishes of the electorate.

One of the main legs of the CPC complaint was the sexed-up figures from the SouthSouth and Southeast. Some analysts have defended the huge 73.67 percent turnout from the South-South and the equally substantial 63.40 percent turnout from the Southeast as realistic given the fact that the president is from the South-South and the Southeast hoped

Jonathan’s Appeal Court victory to earn the president’s support in the presidential race of 2015. It is true that on closer scrutiny, the figures from both geo-political zones displayed a veneer of artificiality. However, even if the seemingly sexed-up figures were regressed to the national average of 53 percent turnout and the figures for the CPC presidential candidate were left untouched, Jonathan’s lead would still remain unassailable. Given this arithmetical foundation – and the Appeal Court justices are themselves not novices – it is doubtful whether any court can be found, up to the Supreme Court, to overturn the Jonathan plurality.

A CPC spokesman has indicated that their party would appeal. This is a waste of time. The case against the CPC is so loaded that any further effort in the courts would be a sheer waste of resources. It is perhaps time to put the litigations behind us. The most pressing danger we face is not the accuracy or otherwise of the presidential election figures, as suspect as they seemed to be. What ail the country are the

LAWAL OGIENAGBON

President Jonathan can phase out oil importation within a year. And he can also confront members of the oil cabal because it not a faceless clique. By definition they are prominent members of society.

Then there are things that he can do to demonstrate to ordinary Nigerians that he truly has their interests at heart that do not require the will he needs to tackle the admittedly formidable oil cabal. One of these is to cut down the cost of governance. It speaks volume of his commitment to rein in government overhead that, for example, only this week he appointed four more presidential special advisers – remember these are of the same status as ministers - at a time he is asking ordinary Nigerians to make sacrifices.

Similarly, it is also instructive that only recently the House of Representatives which is dominated by his party ordered for 360 top of the range Camry saloon cars at a cost of N 2.5 billion for its members.

Now even if there is oil subsidy, such waste and mixed-up priorities in government spending can hardly persuade anyone that removing it should be government’s main weapon of economic management.

At N 65 per litre, perhaps there is some degree of oil subsidy. But as government itself has admitted in its recurring battle against the subsidy since 1985, the principal beneficiaries are members of the famed oil cabal, not ordinary Nigerians. Eliminate the cabal with all the capacity its members have for manipulating the price of oil to the detriment of the rest of us, and you are well on your way to bringing down the subsidy, to the extent that it exists, to a sustainable level.

The fact of the matter is that there is no economy in the world, including capitalist America, where government subsidy in one form or the other does not exist. The difference lies in who the beneficiaries are and how sustainable the subsidy is. The comparative advantage of Nigeria having huge reserves of oil and gas dictates that no Nigerian should pay an arm to consume petrol and other oil products.

And those who say government has no business in the business of commerce and production are obviously not being honest with themselves. As we have seen with Japan and among the so-called Asian Tigers, government can succeed in business just like the private sector. All it takes is good governance and transparency.

For President Jonathan to advocate a doubling of the price of petrol - perhaps even more - from January is to admit that his government has neither the capacity nor the will to bring about both in this country. In other words, all his talk about transformation is no more than mere empty sloganeering.

•For comments, send SMS to 08054502909

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above frightening vacuity of the Jonathan presidency and its abdication of the economy to Western orthodoxies. Not only is it now apparent that electing Jonathan was a pig in a poke bargain, his government appears poised to enact some of the toughest economic measures ever seen in these climes with only lip service and leisurely theories paid to safety nets. This is the looming danger that must be obviated in the coming months, and it is as well that the issue of legitimacy is finally done with.

Jonathan has the legitimacy he craves; he must now summon the will and the gumption to turn it into an advantage for the country. He needs to be both a democrat and a firm president. But he makes too many Freudian slips about democracy and suffers too many policy lapses on the economy to convince us about his bona fides. As for whether he has the firmness and will to turn things around, about the only gesture in that direction so far is the misdirected fury of his appointees, not the least among whom is the Police boss. To carry the country along, he must show empathy, convince us his prognoses are unimpeachable, and exhibit such fairness and justice that even his opponents would grudgingly admire his spunk and sagacity.

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