The Nation October 05, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Insurgency: Military vows to avenge beheaded pilot

Kwara 2015: Saraki, APC leaders endorse Ahmed for second term

Orders massive air strikes against B/Haram Set to take delivery of Cobra gunships

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Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.09, No. 2992

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SUNDAY

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Fear of Boko Haram attacks mars Sallah

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Skye Bank gets nod to acquire Mainstream Bank –Page 4

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Sect members not Soldiers take over Adamawa Ebola dampens celebrations Muslims, says Jonathan streets; Eid Durbar scrapped across West Africa

WORLD’S FIRST WOMB-TRANSPLANT BABY BORN

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

PAGE 2 First wombtransplant baby born

CAPTURED

Ebola prison Hazardous material cleaners hang black plastic yesterday, outside the apartment in Dallas where Thomas Eric Duncan, the Ebola patient who traveled from Liberia to Dallas, stayed last week. The family living there has been confined under armed guard while being monitored by health officials for Ebola symptoms. The sheet is to prevent particles escaping during the cleaning.

BAROMETER sunday@thenationonlineng.net

Ebola, Boko Haram and Jonathan's unity paradigm

Fayose's surprising defenders

By ADEKUNLE ADE-ADELEYE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

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ENGEANCE: That is the warning from the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, to Boko Haram following claims by the sect to have beheaded a pilot of the Nigeria Air Force.

Although the DHQ on Friday disputed the claim that any pilot was killed by the terrorists, friends of the military man who was shown by Boko Haram in its latest video as the man they murdered, took to the social media yesterday to ‘confirm’ his death in the hands of the terrorists.

The Nigerian Army Support Group as the ‘friends’ call themselves named him as Wing Commander Chimda Hedima, 39.

They described him as “a true Nigerian hero.”

They said of the circumstances of his death: “On 11/09/ 14, a company of NA soldiers attempted to overrun a BH position in Borno. Due to the low

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Boko Haram: Military vows to avenge beheaded pilot FROM: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

altitude, the plane suffered significant damage from the terrorists’ gunfire. Wing Commander Hedima and his partner realised that they were going to crash.

“They, instead of hurriedly parachuting to safety within Nigerian controlled territory, chose to embark on a mission to destroy as many terrorists and their weapons as possible. They parachuted out at the last minute but not before ensuring their plane slammed into a column of terrorists; 63 Boko Haram members were killed as a result of their bravery.

“Wing Commander

•Orders massive air strikes on sect •To take delivery of Cobra gunships soon •Friends identify pilot Hedima was captured. On 12/ 09/14, he was killed.

“He chose Nigeria, he chose all of us. We cannot forget him.

Please share his story. His name should be known by everyone.

“Rest in peace, Commander, we are grateful. May you find eternal peace. Thank you for your service.”

But sources at the DHQ said yesterday that regardless of claims about its missing pilot, the military will battle on and

deal decisively with Boko Haram.

One of the sources said: “In spite of whatever the insurgents may claim, I can tell you that the battle has shifted more to the air than land. The military has ordered more air strikes against all the positions or camps of Boko Haram.

“We will bombard the insurgents into submission. They cannot intimidate our jet fighters. As

a matter of fact, more pilots are willing to join the aerial raid. It is going to be a battle to the finish.

“More fighter jets have been deployed in the relevant areas in strategic manner. The purported shooting down of 10 aircraft is a hoax.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “We are not only after those who claimed to have beheaded a pilot; we will deal with all the leaders of the sect and their members.

“We have the capacity to take the battle to them. We will engage these insurgents and

overcome them.”

Already, the military has placed an order for AH-1 Cobra helicopters for attacks on Boko Haram enclaves in Sambisa Forest and the hilly terrains of Gwoza and Madagali in Borno and Adamawa states.

Another source said: “Actually the AH-1 Cobra helicopters are good for the terrain in the North-East. Many countries, including the United States, have used these gunships in the past.

“The Cobra helicopters were deployed by the US during the Vietnam War. The situation in Sambisa Forest could be likened to what was then obtainable in Vietnam.”

The Huey Cobra, according to Wikipedia “provided support for ground forces during the Vietnam War.” The AH-1 (company designation: model 209) is a twoblade, single engine attack helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was developed using the engine, transmission and rotor system of the Bell’s UH-1 Iroquois.

Some people call it Snake.

Boko Haram members are no Muslims, says Jonathan From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja R E S I D E N T Goodluck Jonathan yesterday dismissed Boko Haram members and other terrorists as no Muslims.

He said that their violent activities such as murder, arson and bombing have no basis in Islam.

“Boko Haram killing innocent children and women in market places, in mosques, schools definitely has nothing to do with religion…What is happening globally now has no religious basis,” he said while receiving a delegation of the Muslim community during a courtesy call on him on the occasion of the Eid-el-Kabir, in Abuja.

“A number of things that has to do with our belief system suppose to encourage us to see our neighbours as ourselves.

Only yesterday (Friday), a British Aid worker was slaughtered by ISIS and that is not Islamic,” he told the delegation led by Vice President Namadi Sambo.

He added:” For us as a nation, this period we should use it to charge ourselves, call on ourselves, encourage ourselves to continue to pray for the forgiveness of those who are doing things that are not religious and for Allah to see us through.

“I believe in this country, I believe that Nigeria has a lot to offer not only to Nigerians but to the world and that surely we will get to where we want to go.”

He said that whatever problems confronting Nigeria now are “very ephemeral and part of history of nation building” that will disappear in due course.

“If you read the history of all nations, there is no nation that does not pass through some challenges but they got over them and move ahead. I think we are getting over our problems.”

Speaking on the significance of the festival, President Jonathan said:”The hajj is quite unique, we just

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•L-R, Permanent Secretary FCT, MR. John Chucks, Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, President Goodluck Jonathan and the of state FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide during the Salah homadge visit to President Jonathan by Muslims in FCT to mark Ed-el Karbir Celebration yesterday.

PHOTO AKIN OLADOKUN.

Security beefed up in Adamawa; Eid Durbar scrapped

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ESTRICTED vehicular movement, worshippers walking long distances to Eid prayer grounds, heavy security and fear of terror attack, yesterday characterized the Eid-el-Kabir festival in Adamawa, Borno, Kano and Yobe states.

The military, citing intelligence report about possible terror attacks during the celebration, ordered vehicles off Borno and Yobe roads until tomorrow.

They advised residents to go for the Sallah prayers at grounds close to their homes.

The order was strictly enforced with armed soldiers and policemen mounting road blocks.

Consequently, worshippers especially those living far away from prayer grounds or had cause to go out had to walk long distances to reach their destinations.

The customary homage which the people usually pay to their traditional rulers was cancelled in many towns and districts.

The durbars that also usually follow the Eid prayers in Kano and Maiduguri were similarly cancelled.

The military task force in Yobe went a step farther on Fri-

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano/Barnabas Manyam, Yola with agency reports

day by imposing a travel ban through the holiday weekend.

Motorists were stopped from reaching their families for the celebration.

A message broadcast on public radio in Yobe instructed people “to remain in their towns and villages until Monday to forestall security breaches as we celebrate the Eid” holiday.

“We were turned back just outside (Yobe’s capital) Damaturu this morning. We were told that we couldn’t proceed because there is a lockdown in the whole of Yobe State,” said Muntari Saidu, who was travelling from Maiduguri to Kano.

“We had no option but to turn back. This means I can’t celebrate the Eid al Kabir with my family in Kano,” he told AFP by phone.

The ban blocks private and public vehicles from travelling on roads throughout the state.

A military source in the state said:”We have concrete intelligence that Boko Haram terrorists are planning massive attacks in Borno and Yobe States.”

The celebration was also subdued in Kano, but Emir Muhammad Sanusi II asked Ni-

gerians and Muslims to persistently pray to almighty Allah for peace and stability in the state and the country in general.

Alhaji Sanusi, in his Sallah message, also charged members of the Emirate Council to always be law abiding and coexist peacefully with one another for the development of the state and the country.

He told thousands of Muslims shortly after the Eid-ElKabir prayer held at the Central Mosque to always abide by the dictates of Islam and avoid committing sins.

He enjoined parents to invest in the education of their children, particularly the girls which would be beneficial to them in future.

Similarly, he called on the well-to-do to assist the less privileged during this period to enable them mark the occasion with joy and happiness.

The Deputy Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, urged the people of the state to continue to pray for continuous peace and stability in the state and the country at large.

“We should continue to pray, so as to enjoy permanent peace and stability in the state, the northern part of the country and the country as a whole,” he

said.

Security was tight across the metropolis and Yola, the Adamawa state capital.

The roads were generally quiet, 48 hours after insurgents struck in Michika Local Government area of the state, destroying the country home of Youth Development Minister Boni Haruna at Kuburshosho.

Haruna is a former governor of the state.

Also attacked was Garta.

The sect’s insurgency in the state has displaced thousands of people from their homes.

Many of them have fled to Yola.

A onetime deputy governor of the state, Mr. David Barau estimated the number of the displaced people at 10,000.

He said several places including Michika are now ghost towns.

Acting Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State yesterday cancelled the traditional Sallah homage in solidarity with the victims of Boko Haram insurgency.

His spokesman, Solomon Kumanga, said in a statement quoted his principal as saying “It is unfortunate that the insurgence has continued despite the doggedness of the Nigerian military to bring it down.”

watched the people who are performing on television. You see that everybody wears the same thing.

It shows that the kind of ranks we give to ourselves here are for the earthly journey.

“There, no president, no messenger. That should teach us that we should be humble and be kind to ourselves in the spirit of the moment, giving gifts and that reminds us about the significance of the moment when Abraham was to sacrifice his son, the only one he had, of course, the angel replaced it with a ram. That is the essence of this period.

“This year is quite significant in terms of celebrating Sallah, the Arafat day came on a Friday and from what I was told it takes a long time to have that coincidence and remembering the fact that 2014 is our centenary year, that shows that something good is happening to this country.

“We may have our challenges as other nations but when things begin to happen in a particular way, I begin to see light at the end of the tunnel.”

Vice President Namadi Sambo thanked Jonathan for his continued support to Muslims in Nigeria to enable them perform one of the cardinal pillars of Islam.

He prayed for continued peace in Nigeria and for God to continue to give President Jonathan the wisdom and the strength to lead the nation and to achieve the transformation agenda.

“We will continue to pray so that in the shortest time we will be able to overcome insurgency and other challenges,” he said.

In the Vice President’s entourage were Police Inspector General Suleiman Abba; Primate of the Anglican Communion, the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh; National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki; Senator Phillip Aduda, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Umar Ghali Na’Abba, ministers and other top government officials.

4 Skye Bank gets nod to acquire Mainstreet Bank T THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

NEWS

HE Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) yesterday announced Skye Bank Plc as preferred bidder for the acquisition of entire issued and fully paid up ordinary shares of Mainstreet Bank Limited.

The AMCON Head, C o r p o r a t e Communications Strategy & Research, Kayode Lambo who disclosed this in a statement, said that Cedar One Investment Partners Limited emerged as the first reserve bidder while Fidelity Bank Plc was named the second reserve

By Collins Nweze

bidder.

The announcement, he said, followed the receipt of approval of the Board of Directors of AMCON. However, Lambo said the completion of the transaction is subject to the fulfillment of the conditions precedent as stated in the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) to be executed with Skye Bank Plc, as well as the receipt of all required regulatory approvals from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

He explained that in the event that Skye Bank is unable to complete the transaction in line with the payment terms and other provisions of the SPA, the SPA entered into with Skye Bank would be terminated and Cedar would become the preferred bidder.

Likewise, should Cedar fail to complete the transaction in line with the payment terms and other provisions of the SPA, Fidelity Bank would become the preferred bidder.

According to the AMCON Spokesman, the Mainstreet Bank sale

process started with interest shown by 25 parties cutting across local and international investors.

The emergence of Skye Bank, Cedar and Fidelity Bank as preferred, first and second reserve bidders, respectively, he said, resulted from a rigorous and competitive bidding process, coordinated for AMCON by Barclays Africa Group Limited and Afrinvest West Africa Limited (Financial Advisers) and Banwo & Ighodalo (Legal Advisers).

Mainstreet Bank Limited commenced operation in August, 2011,

as a full-service commercial bank with a national banking license. The bank is one of the bridged banks wholly owned by AMCON. Mainstreet Bank has nine subsidiaries and a distribution network comprised of 201 branches across 35 out of 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. It equally has nine cash centres and 200 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).

Other bridged banks

Ebola casts pall over Eid holiday in West Africa

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•L-R;National Leader Of APC,Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Lagos State Governor Mr Babatunde Fashola and his children ;Senator Oluremi Tinubu;Senator Gbenga Ashafa;(LEFT) Mr Akeem Bello;Alh Suraju Ayinra;Mr Lare Babalola and Information Commissioner Latifu Ibirogba;during the Eid-el-Kabir...yesterday PHOTO: TAIWO OKANLAWON

2015: Cross River Central stakeholders adopt Jonathan, Ndoma-Egba

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TAKEHOLDERS in the Cross River Central Senatorial District have

adopted President Goodluck Jonathan and Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) for fresh terms.

With the development, Ndoma-Egba stands a good chance of retaining his position as Senate Leader should the PDP win and maintain its present power sharing formula.

The President and NdomaEgba were endorsed at a mobilisation/sensitization/ enlightenment rally held at Ikom, according to the Ndoma-Egba Campaign Organization .

The endorsement was made by 44 youth/women/ Ikom Women in Politics/ Professional groups, led by representatives of the district in the Nigerian Youth Parliament.

Speaking at the rally,

representative of the Central Senatorial District in the Nigerian Youth Parliament, Prince Ayu Ojor declared that it was only proper to return Ndoma-Egba to the Senate.

The statement quoted Ojor as saying: "The people of Central Senatorial District under my leadership in the Youth Parliament officially endorse President Goodluck Jonathan...we want him to continue in 2015.The next generation belongs to us.

"Nobody can dictate to us because this is our time. It is our collective decision that this Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck should reach every youth...

"It's not easy to rise to the position of Senate Leader...the last time we had this kind of opportunity was

in the Second Republic when Senator Joseph Wayas was the Senate President.

"So now, we are have this opportunity, we don't want to lose it. We even hope we get something higher in 2015. I have been directed to endorse the re-election of Senator Ndoma-Egba, the one we know, the voice of the senatorial district; the only one to lead us in the right direction."

Also, the statement said the League of Professionals, including the Grassroots Democratic Movement and the National Association of Nigerians Students (NANS) Zone B, have equally endorsed both Jonathan and Ndoma-Egba as their candidates for next year's polls.

A 12-point communiquĂŠ read by Mr. Demetrius Okim

credited Ndoma-Egba with awarding more than 500 scholarships, sponsoring over 200 pilgrims to Jerusalem/ Saudi Arabia, providing agricultural inputs and training over 500 indigenes in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises ,among other empowerment schemes for his constituents.

Nkongha Yam said Ndoma-Egba has 71 projects across the senatorial district.

On President Jonathan, the Director General of the Ndoma-Egba Campaign Organisation, Hon. Ernest Irek said: "President Goodluck Jonathan is a performer. If you have a good team, do you change that team? We want NdomaEgba back in the Senate so that he can continue with his numerous empowerment programmes...not somebody who would be building hotels all over Calabar and South Africa."

NiMet predicts cloudy conditions, localised rains today

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HE Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted cloudy conditions with localised rains in parts of the North-Central zone and the Federal Capital Territory today.

Areas to be affected in the weather conditions, which the agency said would occur in the

morning, included Lokoja, Makurdi, Mambilla, Jalingo and parts of Abuja.

This is contained in a Weather Outlook issued by NiMet's Central Forecast Office (CFO) in Abuja on yesterday.

It also predicted that afternoon thunderstorms would be experienced in

Yola, Abuja, Minna, Yelwa, and southern Kaduna. ``The Southern coastal areas will experience cloudy conditions in the morning and localised thunderstorms in the afternoon.

"Cloudy conditions are expected in the inland areas with localised rains over

Obudu, Ikom axis in the morning and localised thunderstorms in the entire inland areas in the afternoon," the agency stated.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Northern states will experience partly cloudy condition with frequent sunny spells all day.

owned by the corporation are Keystone Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited. Mainstreet Bank was created from the ashes of the defunct Afribank Plc, while Keystone Bank and Enterprise Bank were created from the defunct Bank PHB Plc and Spring Bank Plc respectively.

The AMCON had acquired the three lenders in August 2011, after the intervention by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the CBN.

HE raging Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 3,400 people in West Africa cast a pall yesterday over celebrations in the region of Eid-el-Kabir.

In Guinea, where an estimated 85 percent of the 11 million people are Muslim, the day appeared almost as any other. The Eid fields and squares were empty, as people heeded their government's warning to avoid large gatherings.

People slaughtered their rams in small groups at home, rather than at the usual large parties. Merchants complained that few people bought new clothes, as is typical for the holiday.

"Look at how people are unkempt. Poorly dressed.

Have you ever seen Tabaski celebration like this? I never have," said Mamoudou Conde, a 28-year-old who sells car parts in Conakry, Guinea's capital. "Merchants had to slash their prices on holiday clothes. They had no clients."

In Sierra Leone, which also has a sizable Muslim population among its six million people, the United Council of Imams warned believers not to shake hands or embrace. It was a reminder that even on holidays, the

Health Ministry's "ABC" guidelines - Avoid Bodily Contact - must be followed.

Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of the sick, and with no licensed treatment available, the only way to stop an outbreak is to completely isolate those who are infected.

But with more than 7,400 people believed infected - most of them in countries with woefully inadequate health systems at the best of times there are far more sick people than beds in isolation units to treat them.

In a bid to stop the spread, the hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone have all issued similar rules, encouraging people to keep their distance and wash their hands frequently. The disease has also touched Nigeria and Senegal, but neither country has had a new infection in weeks. The United States confirmed its first case, in a traveller from Liberia, this week.

"Ebola is undermining the very foundations of our traditions," said Idrissa Sall, a 32-year-old driver in Conakry. "How can I greet my parents, my children when I'm barred from giving kisses?"

Ebola: Lagos provides solar toilet for rural market HE Lagos State Government has provided six communal solar powered toilets to the Oluwo fish market in Epe Local Government as part of its measures to containing the spread of the deadly spread of Ebola virus.

Commissioner for Rural Development, Mr. Cornelius Ojelabi, who handed over the facility, said the toilets were provided for the traders to curb open defecation in the market and also to safeguard the health of the people.

He charged them to always wash their hands regularly after the use of the toilets and also before consuming the food being sold in the market.

Ojelabi further enjoined the market leaders to form a management committee to look into ways of managing the toilets for sustainability, without which he said the toilets will be unusable.

Earlier the Head of Rural Water and Sanitation in the ministry, Mr. Adisa Yinusa,

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By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

said the Ministry constructed the toilets due to series of requests made by the market leaders.

He charged the market women and men to reciprocate the kind gesture of the state government by ensuring its sustainability.

Meanwhile, the government has also provided a cassava processing facility to help empower residents in Igbodu rural community and reduce post harvest losses.

Ojelabi, while handing over the facility, said the government provided the facility to help boost their economic capacity.

He disclosed that the ministry has established a cassava multiplication field at the Centre for Rural Development (CERUD) close to the community to supply enriched vitamin A cassava cuttings to the farmers in order to improve the nutritional values of cassava.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

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EPOSED Haitian dictator JeanClaude "Baby Doc" Duvalier died of a heart attack yesterday, closing the book on a political dynasty notorious for corruption and human rights abuses in the hemisphere's poorest country.

Duvalier's death was confirmed by his lawyer, Reynold Georges. He was 63.

Duvalier inherited power from his father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, aged just 19 in 1971, but fled into exile in 1986 during a popular uprising which ended 28 years of rule by the fatherand-son dynasty.

After spending 25 years in France, Duvalier returned to his Caribbean homeland in January 2011 and was briefly detained on charges of corruption, theft and misappropriation of funds.

A Haitian court in February ruled that Duvalier could be charged with crimes against humanity under international law,

NEWS

Ex-Haitian dictator, JeanClaude Duvalier, dies at 63 and that he could also be held responsible for abuses by the army and paramilitary forces under his rule.

Duvalier consistently denied any responsibility for abuses committed while he was in office.

It was a "shame" Duvalier died before could be put on trial, said Reed Brody of New York-based Human Rights Watch, who helped Duvalier's victims build the criminal case.

Under Duvalier, "hundreds of political prisoners held in a network of prisons died from mistreatment or were victims of extrajudicial killings," said Brody.

Duvalier relied on terror to keep his people at heel in the style of his father, a former country doctor who enforced his rule through the dreaded Tonton

•Duvalier Macoutes, a paramilitary force of secret police agents, while also exploiting popular superstitions surrounding the native voodoo religion.

Duvalier, born July 3,

•Children of the late Vice-Chairman of The Sun newspapers,Dimgba Igwe,at the service of songs ... yesterday.

1951, lived at the center of power from the age of five, when his father won national elections in the former French slave colony and first independent black state in the Americas.

Plump and six feet tall, with long side whiskers, Baby Doc Duvalier was an introvert who shunned public appearances.

In May 1980 he married Michelle Bennett, a young divorcee, in a union seen as improving Duvalier's relations with the Creole middle class disaffected by Papa Doc's heavy hand and sinister ways.

The younger Duvalier suppressed all effective opposition during his 15-year term until his overthrow.

As his problems grew he sought to improve his international image by relaxing his iron fist, but oppo-

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year that has seen a steady stream of insults between the divided neighbors and an unusual number of North Korean missile and rocket test firings.

One analyst called it a "golden opportunity" for South Korean President Park Geun-hye to test North Korea's willingness to improve shaky ties. The South Korean statement said Park had been willing to meet with the Pyongyang officials, but the North Koreans were running out of time because they had to attend the Asian Games' closing ceremonies.

South Korea said its prime minister, largely a figurehead but technically the No. 2 position, met with the delegation later yesterday before the North Koreans left South Korea late in the evening to return home.

The North Koreans were led by Hwang Pyong So, the top political officer for the Korean People's Army and considered by outside analysts to be North Korea's sec-

ond most important official after supreme leader Kim Jong Un. Hwang is also a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission and a vice marshal of the army.

Hwang and his delegation earlier had a closed-door lunch meeting with South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae and national security director Kim Kwanjin.

The visit comes amid rumors in Seoul about the health of Kim Jong Un, who has made no public appearances since Sept. 3 and skipped a high-profile recent event he usually attends. A recent official documentary showed footage from August of him limping and overweight and mentioned he had been feeling "discomfort."

This visit of "a very highoctane group" offers Park a unique chance "to test the North Korean leadership's will and intentions," said John Delury, an Asia special-

He sought refuge in France, leaving behind jubilant Haitians dancing in the street.

Soon after he returned to Haiti in 2011, taking up residence in a villa in a posh suburb in the hills above the capital Port-auPrince, Duvalier issued a brief apology to victims of his government.

The corruption and human rights charges he faced after his return from exile were closely watched by international observers who considered it an important test of Haiti's weak justice system after decades of dictatorship, military rule and economic mayhem.

Duvalier was alleged by his victims to have had a hand in at least a dozen of the most notorious cases involving extrajudicial killings and detention of political prisoners.

He was also alleged to have fled Haiti with more than $100 million stashed in European bank accounts in 1986.

•From left: Mr Sam Amuka-Pemu and Mr. Gbenga Adefaye at the event.

Two Koreas meet for highest level talks in five years

ORTH Korea's presumptive No. 2 and other members of Pyongyang's inner circle met with South Korean officials yesterday in the rivals' highest level face-to-face talks in five years, a possible indication that both sides are interested in pursuing better ties after months of animosity.

There appeared to be no major breakthrough from the meeting that came as the North's delegation made a surprise visit to the close of the Asian Games in the South Korean port city of Incheon. But the countries agreed to hold another round of talks between the end of October and the beginning of November, according to a South Korean statement. The specific topics of Saturday's discussions weren't immediately known.

Still, just the fact that North Koreans at the highest levels visited the South was significant, allowing valuable contact between confidants of North Korea's authoritarian leader and senior South Korean officials after a

nents continued to be arrested, often ending up in exile.

Bennett became a lightning rod for criticism due to her regular shopping expeditions to the most expensive stores in Europe, seemingly contemptuous of the poverty outside the iron gates of Haiti's imposing presidential palace in downtown Port-au-Prince.

In 1983 Duvalier welcomed Pope John Paul II to the island, although the pontiff declared that Haitians lacked "everything that permits a truly human existence."

His dramatic fall from power came after two months of widespread demonstrations and the withdrawal of support for his regime by the United States, which helped him escape.

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ist at Seoul's Yonsei University. "Historically, NorthSouth breakthroughs start from the top down, and if Park is serious that she wants to improve relations and jumpstart the reunification process, this is a golden opportunity."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the talks and was encouraged that both sides agreed to hold more talks later, a statement from his office said.

Both sides expressed hope for better relations in comments to the media ahead of the private meeting.

It was a source of pride for all Koreans that the Asian Games were successful for both countries, which were in the top 10 for gold medals, said one of the North Korean officials, Kim Yang Gon, a secretary in the ruling Workers' Party and senior official responsible for South Korean affairs, according to the YTN TV network. Choe Ryong Hae, another Workers' Party secretary and chairman of the State Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission, also attended.

Turkish president demands apology from Biden

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RESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday demanded an apology from U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and warned he would become "history for me" over comments in which he said the Turkish leader had admitted that Turkey had made mistakes by allowing foreign fighters to cross into Syria.

Erdogan denied ever saying that and told reporters in Istanbul that Biden "will be history for me if he has indeed used such expressions."

Responding to questions following his speech at the Harvard Kennedy School on Thursday,

Biden described Erdogan as "an old friend." Biden added: "He (Erdogan) said: 'You were right.

We let too many people through.' Now they're trying to seal their border."

Erdogan said: "I have never said to him that we had made a mistake, never. If he did say this at Harvard then he has to apologize to us."

"Foreign fighters have never entered Syria from our country.

They may come to our country as tourists and cross into Syria, but no one can say that they cross in with their arms," Erdogan said.

Suicide attacker kills three in Pakistan

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police officer says a suicide attacker has blown himself up in a Shiite neighbourhood in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 3 people and wounding 17.

Police chief Abdur Razzak Cheema says the bomber struck yesterday in the Hazara Town neighborhood in the city of Quetta.

Cheema says the bomber was approaching the local market when police stopped

him at a checkpoint. At that point, he detonated his explosives.

Cheema says a woman was among the three killed, and two women and four children were among the wounded.

The neighbourhood and its surroundings are dominated by minority Shiites and have seen bombings and suicide attacks in the past.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

NEWS

Eid-el-Kabir 2014

Orji tasks Muslims on peace, security

By Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia BIA State Governor, Theodore Orji, has called on Muslims in the country to engage in activities that will only promote peace, security and unity.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Charles Ajunwa, Orji charged Muslims to dedicate this year's Sallah to prayers for the peace and unity of Nigeria.

Orji noted that the war against insurgency was more spiritual than physical and could only be won through fervent prayers.

He called for prayers in support of soldiers and other security agents putting their lives on the line in defence of the country.

"Our prayers to God will help them in the war against insurgency," he stressed.

Orji enjoined Muslims to eschew violence and seek peace with their neighbours in keeping with the tenets of Islam.

He also appealed to all Nigerians to be patriotic and put the interest of the country above parochial interests.

Atiku harps on due diligence

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Amosun, Akande preach violence - free polls From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

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OVERNOR Ibikunle Amosun yesterday urged Nigerians, particularly politicians and their supporters in Ogun State to shun acts capable of throwing the state into violence before, during and after the forthcoming 2015 general elections.

Amosun, who addressed over 3,000 Muslim faithful, including governorship aspirant on the platform of the Labour Party(LP), Alh. Tunji Sarafa, and State Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Alh. Semiu Sodipo, among others, that converged at the Lantoro - Abeokuta Yidi ground for the Sallah prayer, said "violence profits nobody and even hinders genuine development."

According to him, it is only in an atmosphere of peace and harmony can a people prosper in their legitimate businesses.

Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mulikat Adeola- Akande, urged women in Ogun and other Southwest states to restrain their children and wards from being used by unscrupulous politicians to perpetrate violence in the region.

Adeola- Akande said nobody profits in an atmosphere of violence and chaos, warning that whenever violence erupts, it leads to needless loss of lives and destruction of property.

The federal lawmaker representing Ogbomoso North, South and Orire, Oyo State spoke in Abeokuta last week during the empowerment of 100 women members of the PDP Ogun State chapter.

According to her, since women are the mothers of the youths, they would be doing themselves and Southwest region a whole lot of good if they could prevail on them to shun been used for political violence.

•From left: Former Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Ghali Na’Abba; Acting IGP Suleiman Abba; Vice-President Namadi Sambo and the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (Rtd.) during the Eid-el-Kabir prayers ... yesterday PHOTO: NAN

Nigeria needs help, says Tinubu T HE National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has declared that Nigerians must pray for God to raise disciplined leaders that will make the nation work.

Nigeria, he stated, needs divine intervention.

In his Eid-el-Kabir message from his media Office, the former Lagos governor said: "Nigeria needs help. The problems we ought to have overcome now threaten to overcome

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Fayemi greets Muslims

KITI State governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has felicitated with Muslims on the occasion of Eid el- Kabir.

The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, said the festival offers another opportunity for sober reflection, soul searching and spiritual renewal which Allah demands from the faithful.

He advised that the lesson of sacrifice, which Eid-elKabir teaches should not be lost to the pomp and ceremony that accompany the festival.

According to him, Allah brought victory and joy to Prophet Ibrahim and his son, Ismail, after the duo

us. Millions of our people endure the daily grind of poverty and deprivation.

"In the midst of plenty we remain empty. May Nigeria experience a new day."

While congratulating

demonstrated uncommon sense of sacrifice towards fulfilling the will of the Almighty.

Fayemi commended Muslims in the state for the support given to his administration in the last four years, which has resulted in unprecedented success,

Muslims for being alive to witness another celebration, he reminded them that the task of rebuilding Nigeria requires collective efforts.

This, he reasoned, will be possible with sacrifices on the part of all Nigerians.

good governance and transformation in all sectors.

He also used the opportunity to reiterate his call for peace in the state urging Muslims and adherents of other faiths not to relent in praying for the sustenance of peace in the Land of Honour.

Uduaghan cautions against bitterness

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DELTA State Governor, Dr. E m m a n u e l Uduaghan, has appealed to Nigerians to eschew bitterness and hatred as Muslims mark Eid-el-Kabir.

In his goodwill message to Muslims, Uduaghan said peaceful co-existence and understanding among

citizens was essential in the face of the prevailing security challenges in the country.

According to him, the Eid el Kabir celebration was a period of sacrifice and reflection, stressing that Muslims should emulate the virtues of total obedience and selfless service as demonstrated by Prophet

lbrahim.

He enjoined the Muslim community "to be steadfast in promoting the virtues of lslam, which are peace, love and harmony in all their undertakings."

The governor stated: "I urge Nigerians to unite and always pray for peaceful coexistence and understanding

and eschew bitterness and hatred on the basis of faith, ethnicityand political leanings."

Uduaghan said that his administration would continue to consolidate on its economic development model of Delta Beyond Oil for allround development of the state and benefit of all inhabitants.

All will be well with Nigeria, says Fashola

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LL will be well with Nigeria despite the many challenges facing it, Lagos State Governor, Raji Fashola, has stated.

He spoke shortly after the Eid-el- Kabir prayers at Lagos Central Mosque.

He said it is the duty of

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

Nigerians to rescue the country from the vices threatening to pull it down.

According to him: "I am sure that all will be well and it must be well only because we want it to be well.

"If it is well within us, it will be well around us and in our nation."

Fashola said God has been very good to the country by ensuring peace irrespective of the aggressions and vexatious issues.

According to the governor: "We must be

builders in our actions, builders in our actions and in our thoughts and in our general disposition and therefore, tomorrow we can build from today."

He urged Nigerians to be steadfast and prove cynics who think the country will sink wrong.

Aregbesola: Fear God, make sacrifices

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SUN State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has urged Muslims to exercise the fear of God and be ready to make sacrifice for the nation.

In a statement by his Director Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the governor said two things were clear in the decision of Prophet

From: Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo.

Ibrahim in sacrificing his son.

Aregbesola said: "One, he did so to fulfill a promise to God should he be blessed by God. The second is that there was nothing too much or too dear to Ibrahim for him to lose in order to fulfill a pledge.

"If we look at it very critically, these two things are the virtues lacking in modern

day life creating the present topsy-turvy atmosphere that pervades everywhere.

"If those in government demonstrate enough fear of God; resolve to fulfill promises kept and ready to give up anything no matter how dear and costly in order to fulfill a promise, most of the problems of bad governance, injustice and insensitivity to the plight of the common man would

vanish."

He lamented most politicians would go to any length to make promises to hoodwink the electorate.

Saying that nothing should be too much to give up for good governance, Aregbesola said despite the very meagre resources accruing to the state, his government has sacrificed everything to ensure that life gets better.

OMER Vice President and presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar, has said that strict adherence to the procedure of due diligence before entering into contractual agreements is an imperative for the evolution of a progressive nation.

In his goodwill message on the occasion of the Eid-elKabir, Atiku said the significance of the festival is a celebration of trust between man and God, rooted in the fulfillment of promises.

Atiku said: "The significance of the celebration today is not in the blood or the flesh of the rams that are slaughtered.

"The message is for people to be honour-bound to respect the terms xxx of the promises made to other entities.

"As a society, we must place a premium on trust. Our greatness as a country is attainable only when government honours the promises it makes to the people.

"A leader who has a track record of reneging on every promise he makes cannot drive the process of change we desperately yearn for."

He added:"As a people too, we must be vigilant and thorough about the decisions that we take in conjunction with others.

"It is our responsibility to ensure that we enter into agreements with people of proven character and credibility.

"The prevailing mindset of placing trust on people based on primordial sentiments such as ethnic or religious considerations without recourse to due diligence is not healthy for the growth of individuals or nations."

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Mimiko calls for tolerance From Damisi Ojo,Akure

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NDO State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, has charged Muslims to imbibe the spirit of sacrifice in the interest of the nation.

Mimiko, in an Eid-el-Kabir message by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Eni Akinsola, urged Muslim to use the Sallah season to reflect on the importance of sacrifice for the interest of the nation as exemplified by Prophet Ibrahim in the Holy Books.

"At this critical time in the history of our nation and as we approach another general election, I urge all Muslim faithful to rekindle the spirit of sacrifice, demonstrate love and tolerance towards our nation and one another," the governor said.

While urging them not to relent in their prayers for Nigeria, Mimiko said: "Despite the insecurity challenges confronting our nation, we must look inward and reflect on our prospects and continue to pray for peace in our country.

"For us to overcome our various challenges as a nation, we must be ready to make sacrifice, come together in one accord and tolerate ourselves, regardless of the religious, ethinc or political group we belong to."

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

NEWS

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Eid-el-Kabir 2014

•Former Vice President and chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar, in a handshake with former Minister of Finance, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, at the end of the Eid-el-Kabir prayer at An-nur Mosque in Abuja...yesterday

•Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN (3rd right), Aremo Fuad Akiolu (2nd right), Balogun of Lagos, Trimisiyu Ademola Oki (right), Baba Adini of Lagos, Sheilk Abdul Hafeez Abou (3rd left), Osupa Adinni of Lagos, Alhaji Sinari Bolaji Daranijo (2nd left) and Mr. Tunde Folawiyo (left) during the Eid-el-Kabir Prayers at the Central Mosque, Lagos…yesterday PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

•Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed (left), exchanging pleasantries with Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman, at Ilorin Central Eid Praying Ground on Saturday while a former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Shehu Gafar, watches.

•Former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar (right), Niger State Governor, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (left) and Emir of Minna , Umar Faruk Bahago, during the Raka’at Prayer at the Central Mosque to mark Eid-el-Kabir in Minna Niger State...yesterday.

•Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun (2ndright), Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Shuaib Salisu(right), Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Architect Lekan Adegbite (2nd left), and Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alh. Yusuph Olaniyonu (left), during the prayer session to mark Eid-el-Kabir at the Muslim Prayer Ground, Oke-Lantoro, Abeokuta...yesterday.

•L-R, Chief Lamidi Ajadi, Governor Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi, Chief Ismail Fijabi at the Agodi Praying Ground to mark Eld-el-Kabir in Ibadan…yesterday PHOTO BY FEMI ILESANMI, IBADAN

•L-R: Alhaji Akibu Ademola Rufai, President, NASFAT, Alhaji Sheriff Yussuf, Rtd, Perm. Sec., Lagos State, Mr. Sammy A. Oki, and Executive Director, Keystone Bank, Alhaji. Hafiz Bakare at prayer ground, Ikeja, Lagos yesterday.

PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE.

•L-R: Wambai of Agege, Alhaji Rabiu Danjuma, Waziri of Agege, Alhaji Sunusi Ali-Kaura, Sariki Hausawa of Agege, Alhaji Musa Mohammed; Alhaji Musa Mohammed during the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the Muslim Praying Ground Ile-Zik, Ikeja Lagos...yesterday PHOTO: OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5 2014

NEWS

Niger Delta group faults Jonathan on poverty reduction claims

Delta PDP stakeholders flay Uduaghan over Obuh

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughelli

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A

S the struggle for who succeeds the incumbent Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan come 2015 heightened, a group, the Assembly of Delta PDP Leaders and Stakeholders, yesterday, frowned against the alleged imposition of Mr Anthony Obuh as Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan successor.

The group, in a statement after its emergency meeting held at Emede, Isoko South Local Government Area of the State, said there would soon be a serious political crisis in Delta PDP over the imposition of Mr Anthony Obuh by Uduaghan.

The group in the statement by its Chairman, Chief Paul Eriri, vowed to oppose the alleged practice of imposition, which it described as “political ebola,” expressing hope that President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Tony Anenih, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu would prevail on Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to withdraw the purported endorsement of Mr Anthony Obuh.

Meanwhile, a member of the PDP in Isoko South Local Government Area, Mr Lucky Akpezi described the allegation of Mr Obuh’s imposition

by Governor Uduaghan as false, saying that Obuh he knows is running as an independent aspirant just like every other aspirants.

Insisting that Mr Anthony Obuh is not a candidate of Governor Uduaghan, Akpezi said: “Obuh is a Deltan and he is very qualified to govern the State giving his years of experience in the public service.”

‘How Uduaghan influenced Amaju’s emergence as NFF president’ From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughelli

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HE Transition Committee Chairman, Ethiope East local government area, Delta state, yesterday, has attributed the success of Mr. Pinnick Amaju as president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), as the immense contribution of the Delta state government to sports activities in the state and across the nation.

The council chairman, Hon. Sunday Onoriode gave this remark in Asaba, Delta state capital, at the weekend while reacting to the achievements made so far by the state government in the area of sports.

Onoriode who said he was not surprised at the victory of the former Delta FC chairman, Mr. Amaju Pinnick Amaju as the elected president of the NFF, said he was shock that after the first and second round of the election, Mr. Pinnick Amaju from Delta polled 32 votes, Dominic Iorfa from Benue State polled 6 votes and Ogunjobi polled 4 votes.

•Akwa Ibom state governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio presenting a souvenir to Mr. Nolan A. O’Neal, Chairman and Lead Country Manager of ExxonMobil Companies in Nigeria during a courtesy call at the Governor’s Office, Uyo...recently.

JTF assures Bayelsa police on crime fighting T

HE Commander, Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Atewe, has vowed to help the new Commissioner of Police in Bayelsa State, Mr. Valentine Ntomchukwu, tackle kidnapping, piracy and other violent crimes.

Atewe who gave the assurance when

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

Ntomchukwu, paid him a courtesy visit at the JTF headquarters over the weekend, said all security agencies must work together to rid the state of crime.

He said Ntomchukwu was professionally positioned to tackle the internal security challenges in the state.

He said: “If you listen to his speech, you will understand that the commissioner understands the environment because for anybody to succeed in this our assignment, he must have knowledge of the environment, which we call domain awareness.

“When you understood the strategic nature, the political nature, the security

nature of the environment, you will not have any problem.”

Earlier, Ntomchukwu said he was at the JTF headquarters to seek support and synergy with the force to maintain law and order in the state.

He said the work of securing the state and its waterways should not be left to the police alone.

South-south group endorses Buhari for presidency

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GROUP known as South-South/SouthEast Team GMB has endorsed the former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) for the next year’s presidential election.

Members of the group drawn from the two regions who gave the endorsement in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital, after a meeting at the weekend, said Buhari, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress

From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

(APC) is a committed Nigerian who has all it takes to solve the problems of corruption and insecurity that have bedeviled the country for the past 15 years.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the Coordinator of the South-South/South-East, Mr. ChappJumbo Jonathan while justifying Buhari’s endorsement, said Buhari has proved his worth and mettle

in his previous public service, a quality which even his political foes have admitted.

The group also said that they do not want to be part of a generation that does not refer to history or be a people that “believe not in a better future and will not exhibit personal and moral responsibility to make it so.”

This, Jonathan explained is because the 2015 election will be about cred-

ible and responsible change in the national leadership of our country, lamenting that for a long time, “negligible but powerful individuals had opposed change.”

While expressing dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in Nigeria currently, Jonathan also pointed out that Nigerians need a president with ideas and not the one that will inundate them with slogans, jingles and adverts.

Delta police arrest pastor over death of teenager

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ELTA Police command has arrested Jonathan Ojigbo, a

pastor, over alleged involvement in the murder of a young boy.

The young teenager identified as Evi Samson allegedly drank a concoction

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From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

administered by the pastor.

The suspect who works as registrar in a magistrate court is also the founder of God Solution Ministry Ozoro, Isoko North L. G.A. Delta Police imagemaker, DSP Tina Kalu

who confirmed the arrest to The Nation over the weekend, said the father of the victim, who resides in Erovie quarters in Ozoro community lodged a complaint at the local police station that the suspect gave his son a black concoction to drink.

The victim, same day,

developed swollen head and eyes in the night and subsequently died, the police said.

The suspect denied giving the deceased concoction, but claimed he gave him a bottle of coke.

Items recovered from his house include some charms from a shrine behind the church.

2015: Delta APC to give women, physically challenged free nomination forms

HE Delta State Executive of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has promised to give women and physically challenged members of the party aspiring for elective positions, free nomination forms.

The party leadership has also warned party leaders to avoid plans to impose candidates on the aspirants in the 2015 general election, urging party leaders to go on consen-

•Warns party leaders against imposition of candidates From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughelli

sus but that where it fails, the party should conduct free and fair primaries for all aspirants.

The state chairman, Prophet Jones Ode Erue made this statement in Ozoro, Isoko North local government area of the state while addressing members of the party at a

stakeholders’ meeting drawn from the 25 councils of the state.

Erue said the stakeholders’ meeting of the party was conveyed to discuss the forthcoming local government election coming up on October 25th, 2014, and ensure that the APC is not rigged out by the ruling party.

Some of the party leaders,

Chief Frank Ovie Kokori and former Senator Spanner Okpozo in their separate statements at the party’s stakeholders’ meeting advised the party members and leaders to shun all forms of imposition and anointing of aspirants, adding that all aspirants be allowed for a level play ground and where the leaders could not agree on consensus candidate.

HE Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged (Centrep) has described the claims by President Goodluck Jonathan that his administration has reduced poverty by 50 per cent as laughable and distortion of facts.

The Niger Delta-based group said the claim, which Jonathan reportedly made at the South-South Peoples Democratic Party’s rally in Benin, Edo State, was an indication that his administration was far from the people.

The National Coordinator of the group, Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi, over the weekend said that poverty has assumed a pandemic level in the country.

Reminding the President of the position of Nigeria in the global poverty index, he said: “Poverty in Nigeria has assumed a pandemic status as millions of Nigerians now live in extreme abject poverty.

“This is such that the United Nations in one of her report in 2013 placed Nigeria as the fifth poorest Nation on earth with 100 million of her population living as destitute courtesy of an earth quaking level of official corruption despite being the sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world.

“The United Nations report above mentioned is corroborated by the volume of official corruption, massive unemployment, frightening level of public infrastructural decay, pandemic poverty and hunger, and a worsening level insecurity nationwide.”

2015: Bayelsa stakeholders insist on zoning From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

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LDERS and leaders of thought from the Bayelsa East Senatorial District on Saturday insisted that their seats in the National Assembly must be rotated between the two local government areas in the district.

They said the zoning system in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must be applied in selecting their representatives at the 2015 General Elections.

The stakeholders in a statement after their well-attended meeting at the Ogbia Brotherhood Hall, Ogbia Town, asked persons occupying the seats to stop dreaming about reelections in 2015. “We reaffirm the existing zoning system in the senatorial district. In view of the success of the rotation formula in the past election years, the next slot for the senatorial seat should go to Brass LGA. “The same also applied to the position of the member of the House of Representatives between Nembe and Brass LGAs which should also rotate to Brass LGA. “In the same vein, in Ogbia LGA, the position for the House of Representatives is also to move to Ayama axis as the Kolo Creek and Oloibiri groups have all taken their turns in the persons of Hon. Clever Ikisikpo and Hon. Nadu Karibo”, they said.

The communiqué was signed by over 95 prominent politicians and elders from the zone.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

NEWS

Enugu-East endorses Ugwuanyi as consensus candidate

Abia command, most peaceful in the country -Abia CP From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

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From Chris Oji, Enugu

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HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the Enugu West Senatorial District has endorsed the candidature of the member representing the Udenu/ Igboeze North Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for the 2015 gubernatorial election in Enugu State.

The caucus made the endorsement via a unanimous voice vote at a meeting held at the Government House, Enugu and presided over by Governor Sullivan Chime.

The motion for the adoption of Hon. Ugwuanyi was moved by a former senator from the zone, Chief Ben Collins Ndu, and was seconded by the Leader of the Enugu House of Assembly, Hon. Ude Okoye.

In attendance at the meeting were chieftains of the party and political leaders in the zone, including party executives, political appointees and both state and federal legislators from the zone. Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo and Special Adviser to the President on NEPAD, Mrs Fidelia Njeze, led the list of federal appointees while Honourables Toby Okechukwu and Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi represented the National Assembly.

Chime informed the caucus that Senator Ike Ekweremadu was aware of the meeting but had sought permission to be excused due to his official engagements

Varsity don to contest Senate seat against Elechi From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

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Professor of Geophysics and lecturer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Benard I. Odoh, yesterday declared his intention to contest the Ebonyi Central Senate seat under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

He stated that APGA is the only party with Igbo identity, aspiration and ideology and remained the party to beat in Igboland. The varsity don stated this in Abakaliki, the state capital. Governor Elechi is also believed to be interested in the same position.

Odoh noted that the achievement of the party in Anambra State since 2010 was a true reflection of what the party represents.

He attributed the high level of poverty in the state to lack of good leadership which he said is responsible for Ebonyi indigenes doing menial jobs in major cities in the country.

He reiterated that he is not in the race under APGA for opposition sake, rather, to make a difference in very critical areas of development that have suffered over the years for reasons of obvious lack of capacity, character and competence.

But the leadership of APGA in the state yesterday denied knowledge of Odoh’s membership of the party or his candidature for the position.

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•The Chief Imam, Col. S. D. Mustapha (left) conducting the prayers at the 82 Div. Nigerian Army Parade Ground. 1st left, front roll is the GOC, Maj. Gen. Shehu Yusuf and other top Military Officers…yesterday PHOTO: OBI CLETUS.

First Lady leads Awka pro-Jonathan rally •Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu govs absent

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HE Governors of Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu States were conspicuously absent yesterday at the Dr. Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, during the For Jonathan’s (4J) Political rally in Anambra State.

The rally, attended by First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, was sponsored by the oil mogul, Prince Arthur Eze, which was also used to empower the widows of South East political zone.

Some of the items presented to the widows by the wife of the President, Dame Jonathan, included sewing machines, garri grinding machines, tomatoes grinding machines, hair driers, trailer loads of rice, beans, soaps, among others.

Although the former governor of Anambra State, Chief Peter Obi’s absence was not explained, his wife Margret was,

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

however, in attendance. Also, the wives of the governors of Abia, Ebonyi and Delta States showed up at the 4J rally.

However, the Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano and his wife, Ebelechukwu, led other dignitaries to the crowded rally yesterday.

They included, Senator Andy Uba, Margery Okadigbo, Nkechi Wogu, Minister of labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha.

Others were former Minister of Women’s Affairs, Josephine Anenih, Kema Chikwe, the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, the Special Ad-

viser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Inter Party Affairs, Senator Ben Ndi Obi. Also, in attendance were the Anambra State House of Assembly Speaker, Chinwe Nwaebili, wife of the Deputy Senate President Nnena Ekweremadu, Senator Hope Uzodinma, the Anambra State Deputy Governor, Dr. Nkem Okeke, former Anambra State Governor, Dame Virgy Etiaba.

Others were the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Prof.

Viola Onwuliri, oil magnate, Ifeanyi Ubah, Hon. Uche Ekwunife, amongst others.

Some of them who spoke with The Nation yesterday said nothing was given to them in such a big rally that drew the highest crowd in the history of rallies in the state.

Speakers, including Sen.

Ben Ndi Obi, state First Ladies, Odochi Orji of Abia, Josephine Elechi of Ebonyi, Roly Uduaghan of Delta, Ebelechukwu Obiano of Anambra all praised the philanthropic gesture of Mrs. Jonathan and Arthur Eze. However, Dame Patience Jonathan harped on the need to have peace in Nigeria despite political leanings.

She commended Eze for supporting the widows with his For Jonathan (4J)Project in collaboration with her project Women for Change Initiative in South-East zone.

She also thanked the people of South-East for believing in her husband since 2011 and urged them to give him support in 2015 presidential election, explaining that her husband had promised to improve the South-East roads and the erosion menace ravaging the area.

The Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano said despite the endorsement of President Jonathan by his state and South-East for 2015, that his party, APGA, will contest all the seats in the zone except the presidency during the general elections.

2015: Obiano, Umeh vow to sack Okorocha

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NAMBRA State Governor Willie Obiano and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, have vowed to sack the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, in 2015 and reclaim the party’s mandate in the state.

The duo and the former Minister of Interior, Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho, told the Imo State governor to prepare to hand over power to APGA, adding that the party is poised to take back its “stolen” mandate.

Speaking during APGA sensitisation rally held at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, this weekend, Umeh expressed satisfaction with the level of preparedness of APGA leaders in the state, which he attributed to the party’s determination to reclaim its stolen mandate in the forthcoming gen-

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

eral elections.

Charging party members to always work harmoniously towards actualising total victory for APGA, Umeh assured that only responsible and true Igbo sons and daughters without questionable backgrounds would be nominated as candidates of the party at different levels in the state to avoid “repeating the mistakes of the past.”

Obiano, in his speech, promised to give all the necessary support needed for the party to reclaim its mandate and win overwhelmingly in the forthcoming general elections in Imo State.

He charged the party members to remain steadfast and committed to the party’s victory in 2015, noting that APGA was formed to realise and protect the

collective Igbo interest.

Obiano acknowledged that it would be a difficult task for any other political party to defeat APGA in Imo judging by its present strength and the grassroots support the party enjoys in the state.

The former minister and the party’s major governorship aspirant, Iheanacho, assured that the party leaders and stakeholders have agreed to close ranks to ensure that APGA reclaims its ‘stolen’ mandate in 2015.

According to him, “APGA as a party has been well repositioned ahead of future political challenges. Imo people have already embraced the party again believing in its ideology and this is a clear indication that APGA has been deeply entrenched at the grassroots to

win elective positions in the state.

He promised to rewrite the history of the state in the areas of socio-economic development, job creation, women and youth empowerment, affordable and quality healthcare delivery, industrialisation and quality education system if elected governor.

Addressing the mammoth crowed the secretary of the Rally Organising Committee and House of Assembly aspirant for Oguta State Constituency, Emmanuel Ogboko, said the huge turnout of party supporters was an affirmation that APGA is the party to beat in the state.

He added that the party has overcome its internal wrangling and has come together to takeover its position in the state.

Mixed reactions over Chukwumerije’s return to Senate

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frontline politician in Abia State, Dan Okoronkwo Agwu, has urged the people of Abia North Senatorial Zone to allow Senator Uche Chukwumereije, representing the zone in the upper legislative chambers, to be reelected for the fourth time for continuity and to complete his projects.

From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

Agwu said allowing the seasoned senator to return to the Senate will allow him the opportunity to finish all the on-going projects he has initiated in all the local government areas that made up the zone, as denying him that chance will lead to abandoning such projects.

However, PDP stalwart from Umunneochi council area, where Chukwumerije hails from, Ugochukwu Uwaeke, who is also a youth leader, said there is no need to allow Chukwumerije to return to the Senate where he has been for the last 12 years with nothing to show for it.

Speaking with newsmen

after a meeting of Abia North stakeholders resident in Aba, Agwu who hails from Alayi, a community in Abia North Senatorial District and member of the PDP, said the renowned senator has so many landmark projects and a several achievements scattered in the five local government areas that make up Abia North Senatorial Zone.

HE Abia State Police Commissioner, Ibrahim Adamu, has described the Abia State Police Command as the most peaceful in the SouthEast and the country at large, adding that the days of violent crimes, including child trafficking which he met on resumption of office in the state, was over.

Adamu, during a familiarisation tour of the Aba Area Command, commended his men and other sister agencies in the state for their commitment in tackling and reducing crimes like kidnapping, child trafficking and armed robbery incidents drastically, stressing that through their commitment to duty, the command has been able to nip crime in the bud in the state.

“It is on record that when I resumed office as the CP of the state, there were reported cases of child trafficking, kidnapping and other crimes. But with your commitment to duty, we have been able to tackle such situations and I am happy to announce to you that peace has returned to Aba and the state.

“Abia State is now safe and people can now sleep with their eyes closed in their various houses and I must thank policemen and other security sister agencies in Aba and the state for their assistance and cooperation,” the CP stated.

The Abia Police chief, while calling on his men to sustain the standard and the tempo, assured them that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba, as part of his plans to encourage hard work in the force, had begun steps towards ensuring improved welfare package.

I can sacrifice my life for Nigeria -Orji From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

T

HE governor of Abia State and chairman, South East Governor’s forum, Chief Theodore Orji, has said that the national honour bestowed on him by the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, will spur him to greater action for the service of the people.

Speaking in Umuahia on his return to the state from Abuja after receiving the national award, Orji said with the honour done to him, he will work harder to render service to the people of the state and the country at large.

Orji said: “The national honour done to me by the country will spur me to more positive action for both the state and the country, and this includes sacrificing my life for the good of the state and country at any given time”.

The governor noted that there is reward for everyone who has in one way or the other served his people diligently.

“Such reward could come in various forms either in cash, in kind or through the reward like the national, honour given to people like us”, he said.

On his absence at the last Ohaneze Ndigbo meeting held in Awka, Anambra State, Orji said, “My absence from Ohaneze Ndigbo held at Awka was a result of the national honours given to me and my brother, Governor Chime of Enugu State, but I sent someone to represent me. I am a committed man to the course of Igbo race.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

•Tambuwal

A

S the 2015 general election draws closer by the day, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), two leading political parties in the country, continue to oil their electioneering machineries in preparation for what some pundits say will be the mother of all political battles in the history of the country.

"Not only will the 2015 presidential election be keenly contested; it will be tense in all ramifications. This is likely to go down in history as the mother of all political battles in our history as a country," Comrade Maxwell Okogene of the Voters' Rights Agenda (VoRA) said.

The VoRA boss added that the next election will be the fight time that two parties with near equal spread and strength would be fielding presidential candidates in the country.

"PDP has been a dominant party for nearly sixteen years. But the emergence of APC after the merger of three or so political parties has upset the apple cart. The new party will give PDP a keen fight for its money," he added.

Such predictions have raised the anxiety of Nigerians as they await the election. Also adding to the adrenalin level of the people are the various permutations in the build up to the presidential contest. While it appears that the ruling PDP may have resolved who flies its presidential flag, same cannot be said of the opposition APC. Already, there is a growing clan of heavyweights jostling for the presidential ticket of the party.

Amongst them are former Head of State, Mohammadu Buhari and former Vice President Abubakar Atiku. There is also Sam Nda-Isiah, a notable publisher.

Lately, Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso have declared their intentions to seek the same ticket in 2015.

While all the aforementioned have come out to say they are interested in the race, Speaker of the House of

2015: What next for Tambuwal?

The political scene has been left guessing as to where the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal belongs in the political jockeying as the nation moves towards 2015. In this report, Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, analyses the game plan.

Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, in spite of regular mention of his name as a possible presidential candidate of the fledging opposition APC, is yet to give the slightest verbal hint that he is interested in vying for the presidency in 2015.

Thus, the next political line of action of the Tambuwal, is one of the most awaited today. Somehow, the 2015 political aspiration of the Sokoto-born federal legislator has become something of interest to both the ruling party and the opposition.

With so much uncertainty and expectation surrounding him, given the various options open to him, sources say the youthful politician has managed to keep everybody, including members of his immediate political family, guessing on the steps he is likely to take next.

A member former member of the House of Representatives from Gombe State who is an associate of the Speaker said the ongoing politics of defection and alignments may be responsible for the silence from Tambuwal on his next political move.

"As it is, we can say Tambuwal is trapped in the ongoing political hide and seek between the APC and the PDP. While he remains a member of the

ruling party on paper, his activities and body languages give him out as a politician on his way to the opposition party.

Weighing the options "But in all the uncertainty surrounding him, he is yet to tell anybody, including those of us his associates what he intends to do. To the best of my knowledge, he is still consulting very widely on the options before him. He is a grassroots politician who will have to take a lot of things into consideration before deciding on what to do," the ex-lawmaker said.

Another source, a former state chairman of the defunct All Peoples Party in the state, speaking on condition of anonymity, said though the Speaker is yet to make any categorical statement on the insinuations that he may soon defect to the APC alongside a large numbers of legislators, his body language and political activities have done very little to clear the air on the issue.

"Tambuwal, and only Tambuwal is in the best position to tell you what he will do next. Yes, I am one of his closest allies here in Sokoto but I cannot categorically tell you where we are headed as a political family. He is our principal. He is yet to tell us where we are going.

"Of course, we discuss the defections and other political horsetrading going on. We also discuss the intra-party squabbles in our party, the PDP. But at no time did he speak of where he is headed. But one thing that is very clear is that he is unpleased with events within the PDP," our source said.

On why there is so much interest in what the Speaker may likely decide to vie for in 2015, Okogene said his current position in the National Assembly, his youthfulness as well as his being a northerner, put together, have positioned him as a politician to watch.

"Tambuwal is more than just any other chieftain of the PDP. He is currently the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He is also from a part of the country that is currently clamouring for the presidency. His emergence as Speaker was against the wishes of the presidency and the party.

"He is seen within the party as his own man. And also important is the fact that the APC is seriously after him and they are not hiding their desire to have him join them. All these explain why there is so much interest in what he will do next," he said.

Speaking on what is likely to be his ambition come 2015, Tambuwal recently said, "I am still consulting my

primary constituency on these crucial matters which affect me, Sokoto State and Nigeria generally. I will come back and engage my people. All politics is local and I will make my final stand on these topical issues known to Nigerians at the most appropriate time".

While it may remain unclear where the Speaker is likely to berth, one thing that is very clear is that whichever way Tambuwal decides to go, his move will have a serious effect on both APC and PDP as well as the 2015 presidential election.

The signs Since his emergence as the number four citizen in the country against all permutations within the ruling party, the Presidency and the PDP have not stopped viewing Tambuwal as a disloyal party man. And given his penchant for what his party described as 'unholy romance' with the opposition, Tambuwal is largely seen as "unreliable" by the leadership of his party and the Presidency.

The fact that it was an alliance with members of the opposition parties in the House that brought him to power at the expense of PDP's discredited zoning arrangement, daily stares the PDP in the face. This has made the relationship between the Speaker and his party very frosty.

On many occasions, he has been the butt of criticism and reprimands by both the Presidency and the party. To some of such he has responded, to others he had merely shrugged his shoulders.

While hosting the leadership of the Rivers State chapter of the party, President Goodluck Jonathan had taken the Speaker to the cleaners accusing him of flirting with the opposition at the expense of the party that brought him into office.

The Speaker, in a tactical response told the President that party supremacy should not be at the expense of democracy. And speaking in Benin, Edo State capital at the birthday and silver jubilee wedding anniversary of the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Dr Pius Odubu, Tambuwal again told his cynics

•Contd. on page 12

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NEWS REVIEW

2015: What next for Tambuwal •Contd. from page 11

that in the House, it is Nigeria before politics.

The Speaker had also recently clashed with the Presidency and his party over allegation of selective compliance with the resolutions of the National Assembly by the executive.

Speaking on the matter, Tambuwal said, "When we came up with the doctrine of necessity, we gave the then Vice-President (Jonathan) the power to act as President. That was promptly implemented and he was sworn in as Acting President. But when we go to other areas, they (Executive) said it is mere advice, which they can implement or do whatever they like with. For now, without sounding defeatist, our resolutions are not being respected."

He however added that the National Assembly was working on a law that would make it compulsory for the Executive to comply with all its resolutions. To this, his party and the Presidency have reacted angrily.

And as the Speaker continue to suffer distrust within his party, the opposition APC has not hidden its interest in having Speaker Aminu Tambuwal on its side. On more than one occasion, leaders of the party have openly invited the legislator to dump the PDP and join the camp of the progressives.

On one of such occasions, the party's National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, described Tambuwal as a progressive who has found himself among the wrong crowd. He urged the Speaker to retrace his steps politically and join people of like minds in the APC. Also speaking sometimes ago, the leader of the APC caucus in the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, gave assurances that members of the party will not move against Tambuwal as Speaker of the House even if they emerge as the majority.

Gbajabiamila said members of the APC are comfortable with the leadership style of the Speaker and as such see him as a fellow progressive who is worthy of being retained as the leader of the house.

Statements like these and some recent utterances of Tambuwal himself have been fuelling insinuations that he is already an ally of the leaders of the APC and may probably just be bidding his time before jumping ship.

To cap it all, observers have been asking how best to describe an occasion where General Muhammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Chief Bisi Akande, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Governor Aliyu Wamakko, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, former governors Ahmed Sani, Bukola Saraki and Abdullahi Adamu, Abubakar Kawu Baraje and Chief Audu Ogbeh are the most prominent guests.

As answer, some people said the event can only be an APC mega rally. Nobody would expect so many APC chieftains to congregate at a social occasion unless their party comrade is being honoured and the event will advance their party's interest.

But the man being honoured with a chieftaincy title this time, Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, is officially a PDP member. In fact, only a few of his PDP mates were present at the occasion in Sokoto.

Deputy House Speaker Emeka Ihedioha and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, were the two notable PDP chieftains at the event.

Apart from these two, no PDP bigwig, local or national, attended the event. Though President Jonathan was touted as the special guest of honour, he neither attended nor sent a representative.

The options, the odds One other reason why many are of the opinion that Tambuwal is on his way out of the PDP is his political relationship with Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State.

The Speaker and Wamakko has been together, politically, for some years now, especially in Sokoto State so much so that many regard them as the Siamese twins of Sokoto politics. The duo have fought and won many political battles together since their days in the defunct All Peoples Party.

It is largely for the above reason that many expect them to flock together even in this era of cross-carpeting and political re-alignment. And with the governor now in the APC, the expectation is that Tambuwal may follow suit sooner or later.

It is this same reason that gave birth to speculations within the state that Tambuwal is the next governor of the state in waiting. To most members of the APC in the state, the Speaker will, on decamping to the party from the PDP, declare his interest in the governorship of the state.

There are also talks that he can remain in the PDP and run for the governorship on its platform.

This speculation is fuelled by a recent move by the troubled party to stop the Speaker from defecting to the APC. Sources in the Sokoto PDP whose membership is fast being depleted by the defection of party bigwigs to the opposition, said

•Wamakko it has launched a bid to keep Tambuwal, under its umbrella at all cost.

"The party is dangling before the speaker, the ticket to fly the flag of the ruling party in the 2016 governorship election in the state. We understand the importance of keeping a politician like him and our leaders are working round the clock to ensure he stays," a member of the state executive committee of the party told The Nation.

"To demonstrate its sincerity, the party at a recent meeting with the Speaker's camp, agreed to reconstitute the leadership of the party across the state to enable Tambuwal nominate candidates who will protect his interest in the party's affairs in Sokoto.

The Speaker is yet to accede to the request of the PDP being championed by national chairman, Adamu Muazu. But I am sure he will remain in the PDP and fly our banner for the governorship position," a national officer of the party from Sokoto said.

Speaking on the rumoured governorship ambition of the Speaker, a former vice chairman of the defunct ANPP in the state, Muhammadu Bafarawa, said it is the interest of the Speaker to remain in the PDP and run for governor as the attempts by the opposition to lure him out may not favour him.

We know he wants to be governor of Sokoto, he should stay in the PDP and continue in that direction because he is a governorship material.

I don't see anything that will stop him becoming governor of Sokoto. The PDP and the presidency of Jonathan are not interested in who becomes governor in Sokoto, so it is up to him to grab the slot and make good use of it.

He is performing well as speaker. His leadership in the House of Representatives has also distinguished him. Unlike the days of Bankole that the House was involved in several scams and corruption allegations, his own dispensation is clean and devoid of known scandals," Bafarawa said.

A source within the APC said the party is also considering throwing up Tambuwal as its governorship candidate in 2016. His performance as Speaker and his closeness to Governor Wammako, our source said, are factors that have made him a leading choice.

"He is close to the incumbent governor, and the incumbent governor is at home with him. As far as who becomes governor in 2016 is concerned in Sokoto, it still falls on Wamakko. And Tambuwal has done well in his current position.

So if Tambuwal maintains his cordial relationship with Wamakko and the other powers that be in Sokoto, he will get the governorship in 2016," our source said.

Responding to speculations that the Governor may not be too keen to have Tambuwal as his successor given the latter's political weight and clout, an aide of the Governor said such speculations are part of efforts by the PDP to keep the Speaker in their fold.

"Wamakko has been the Speaker's godfather and they have bonded along well for a long time.

They moved into PDP together from ANPP. Wamakko was there for him even when the PDP and the presidency didn't want him to be speaker.

He stood by him, ensured he succeeded in becoming the Speaker. And today, he is speaker.

Much as I know that in politics there is no permanent friend or enemy, I think that for now, Wamakko and Tambuwal are working together and they trust each other. The Governor would prefer a loyalist like Tambuwal to take over from him than anyone else," he said.

However, there are strong indications that the Speaker has begun intensive consultations towards declaring to contest the 2015 Presidential election under the APC. The Speaker had flagged off consultations in

recent months and had met leaders, including Obasanjo, and former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida.

Recently, the news broke that he has already set up Tambuwal Presidential Project (TPP) to work out the modalities for the realization of his ambition. Membership of the TPP is said to be drawn from top politicians in the North, members of the National Assembly, as well as APC chieftains.

"It would be recalled that speaker Tambuwal was, a couple of weeks ago, in Otta, the country home of the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for a private meeting with the former leader. That was part of strategies outlined by TPP. Barring any last minutes change of plans, Tambuwal will contest the 2015 Presidential elections under the banner of APC. This is in response to the loud call for the return of power to the North in 2015. He will run as he is well qualified and prepared," the aide said.

But a chieftain of the APC, and close associate of the former Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, has recently declared that Tambuwal, is not qualified to contest the presidential election in 2015 on the platform of the party.

Obono-Obla, a radical lawyer and anticorruption crusader, stated that at the moment, certain provisions of the APC constitution disqualifies Tambuwal from flying the flag of the party, especially as the speaker is still a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Obono-Obla, who served as the Deputy National Secretary of defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), said: "Speculation is rife in the media and rumour parlours of the possibility of Tambuwal defecting to the APC in order to seek nomination as its presidential candidate for the 2015 general election. He has still not defected, despite months of speculation that he wants to defect to the opposition.

Recently, APC released the guidelines for the conduct of its presidential primary election to nominate its presidential candidate for the 2015 general election. Tentatively, the date for the obtaining of the expression of interest form for the presidential primary election is September 24, and the sale of nomination form will start on

September 25 to the October 2, 2015.

Article 20 (iv) (a) of the constitution of the APC, 2013 (as amended) provides that an aspirant seeking nomination at the party primary election must be a financially up-to-date member who has paid all dues as and when due. It is therefore beyond argument that Tambuwal is not a financially up-to-date member of the APC because he is not a member of the party. He is not qualified to contest in the APC presidential primary election."

But Toro Faleke, a chieftain of the party in Ogun State and State co-ordinator of Tambuwal Support Group (TSG), disagrees with Obono-Obla.

He explained that should Tambuwal resign from the PDP with the intent of contesting the presidential election on the stable of the APC, he can do so based on the magnanimity of the party.

"If Tambuwal resigns his membership of the PDP and defects to the APC today, he can be eligible to contest in the presidential primary election if he is granted a waiver by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party by virtue of Schedule II (2) of the APC constitution.

He would be very eligible and I think he is warming up to take advantage of this provision of our constitution. To those saying he is not eligible, I advise they go and read this section of the constitution very well," he argued.

Should Tambuwal get a waiver, Obono-Obla, insisting the Speaker is not the right person to fly the banner of the APC, said the speaker lacks the political support base that can afford him the presidential ticket of the party.

"He does not belong to any of the four blocks that constitute the APC. These are the Bola Ahmed Tinubu's bloc; Buhari's bloc; the old ANPP bloc; and the governors' bloc," Obla argued.

But Faleke dismissed such permutations as baseless. "The situation we are in now is that of Nigerians calling on someone to come and contest.

Tambuwal would not need to belong to any of the said divides before declaring his interest. Once he agrees to run, the rest would become history.

I have no doubt that all the blocs in the party will agree with us that the young man is the best candidate for us to dethrone Jonathan and the PDP from Aso Rock. With that, the coast will become clear for him. The important thing is for him to agree to run; join the APC; and declare his interest," Faleke said.

Ropo Sekoni

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Femi Orebe Page 16

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

The president and the proverbial lizard

tunjade@yahoo.co.uk 08054503906 (sms only)

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated himself over his administration's performance since 2011. It has been wonderful indeed. The president had told Nigerians in his 54th Independence Anniversary speech that he has delivered on his electoral promises.

But, beyond the felicitations and clinking of glasses despite what we were told that the independence anniversary was low-key in Aso Rock, as usual with the Jonathan government's claims, we have done well by way of figures than by actual that Nigerians can see, feel or touch. I mean the assessment was tall in statistics even if abysmally short in reality. Hear Doyin Okupe, the president's senior special assistant on public affairs: "It is an incontrovertible fact (hum?) that Nigeria under Jonathan has reduced its food imports by about 40 percent and increased its local production of rice, cassava, sorghum, cotton and cocoa in percentages ranging from 25 to 56 in the last two years.

Indeed, he singled agriculture for special mention: "For the first time since independence, the Nigerian agricultural sector is attracting unprecedented Foreign Direct Investment.

"Over the past two years, the sector has attracted $ 4 billion in private sector executed letters of commitment to invest in agricultural value chains, from food crops, to export crops, fisheries and livestock. Will Dr Akinwunmi Adeshina, our Minister of Agriculture stand up for special recognition?

Okupe continues: "The number of private sector seed companies grew from 10 to 70 within one year. Over $ 7 billion of investments from Nigerian businesses have been made to develop new fertiliser manufacturing plants, which will (emphasis mine) make Nigeria the largest producer and exporter of fertilisers in Africa". I underscored the word 'will' because many things that governments in Nigeria claim as achievements are things alwaysin the womb of time. Anyway, may be the reason they do this is because, as they say in Yoruba land, 'whether the baby is going to die or survive, we should first congratulate the

Jonathan's self-assessment on Nigeria's 54th Independence celebration

• Jonathan mother.

And if there has been so massive investment in the country, where are the jobs so created? Why are Nigerians still dying on job queues? Indeed, Okupe himself anticipated what would have been going on in the minds of Nigerians by virtue of this claim, so he quickly added that "All these people who are bringing huge resources to invest in the Nigerian economy are no fools or novices". He knew the people would be asking how come people would be investing in a country where the level of insecurity is so high and the power sector comatose.

That brings us to electricity supply; the government also has soothing words (I wonder if Nigerians have not had a surfeit of that).

According to Okupe, "the major component of the reform which is the privatisation of the generation and distribution power

infrastructure was successfully accomplished in 2013, thus putting Nigeria on a sure path of steady power supply in no distant future." Whoever told Okupe that mere privatisation is the 'major component' of the power sector, after 15 years of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rule and in spite of the billions of dollars already invested in the sector! The 'major component', for Nigerians, is steady power supply. The PDP cannot spend eternity to lay the foundation for insanity; if it does, when will it begin to exhibit madness proper? How can the same PDP government be talking about "a sure path of steady power supply in no distant future" in 2014 when by the various targets set by its previous rulers (and even the present of the I go dash you my generator fame), from the days of Chief Bola Ige as power minister, we are supposed to have achieved a certain level of power generation by now, which has never materialised?

Anyway, maybe we have to give President Jonathan the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe he is just bringing out the bird from the bag; we therefore should not be too inquisitive in knowing whether the colour of the bird is black or red.

But, on a more serious note, only Lagbaja and the President's unrepentant arm-chair critics could have regarded these palpable achievements as nothing. Fifty-four gbosas for President Jonathan! Congratulations.

The President should not mind the critics because I know they would soon resort to proverbs, like that of a lizard congratulating itself by nodding when it falls from a wall and the people around do not acknowledge the feat it has performed. How can anyone in his right senses say President Jonathan has not performed; tell me, how? May be such critics do not know that it is possible to forward march to the past. Or that a leader can move his country forward in reverse?

For sure the President cannot be behaving like the woman who has only one child and when told that her child was fighting, she asked, “which of them”?

Ekiti: a dress rehearsal?

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ERHAPS nothing best signposts the times we are in as a nation than the assault on some judges in Ekiti State between September 22 and 24, apparently by some political bandits, led, according to the state chief judge,

by Governor-elect Ayo Fayose himself. I thought I was too young to cite if ever there was any such precedent in the annals of Nigeria’s history, but I was reassured by some people who have seen it all, I mean older citizens who have spent more than seven decades plus on earth, that never in our country’s history have we witnessed such assault on judges. It then dawned on me that the incident may be one of the unusual lows we have witnessed under the Goodluck Jonathan administration and could jolly well be one of the end-time signs that we would be seeing as a nation.

Even the police that should protect the judges happened to be the spectators-in-chief. Maybe the police realised their powerlessness in the matter, hence their lukewarm attitude while the assault lasted. So, the judges who did not were taught a lesson to be able to read the body language at the top, I mean the very top!

No one is saying that people cannot be aggrieved over any matter. But the most civilised way to go is to get the law courts to decide on whatever the

contentions are. However, when we now put the fear of hoodlums in judges, the cause of justice cannot be well served and the citizens are the ultimate losers.

Anyway, in the lighter mood, since nobody gets angry at a dog for barking, just as no one kills rams for fighting. (I am not chanting incantations), please. These animals are only doing what their creator made them to do. So, no one should be surprised at what is happening in Ekiti State. We were told before that the ruling party pushed some people forward in the southwest not necessarily because the people have anything to offer but because they have an infinite capacity to cause mayhem. What is happening in Ekiti could jolly well be a precursor to what to expect in the ‘Fountain of knowledge’ in subsequent weeks, months or even years.

The good thing is that whoever had any doubt about Ekiti being a ‘Fountain of knowledge’ must have realised after the June 14 governorship election that he or she was mistaken. Ekiti has lived up to its billing in that wise by adding to our political lexicon what we now famously know as ‘Stomach infrastructure’, which has significantly contributed to our knowledge.

Many of us have had such thing in mind before but we never knew what name to call it until Ekiti people came up with that ingenious concept. Even Western journalists now famously refer to it in analysing elections in Nigeria. The beauty

of it all is that the concept might soon be internationalised. We should therefore not be surprised if the Americans and the British, etc. start putting ‘Stomach infrastructure’ on their political menu!

That would have been a contribution that would put Ekiti on the global map and if it is already there, it would boost its standing in the league of states with uncommon knack for inventions.

Still in the lighter mood, the Ekiti incident reminded me of a drama by Moses Olaiya, better known as Baba Sala many years ago. He said that given the calibre of people behind him: mo le gba eegun loju; mo le fo olopa leti; ma tun wa so’ko lu adajo’ (I can slap a masquerade; I can also slap a policeman and as well stone the judge!) These are possibilities when you have our kind of federal might solidly behind you. Who is a judge? As one of them in the ruling party said a few months ago, “Ta lo nje ode aperin niwaju ode apeeyan?” (who is an elephant hunter where a human hunter is? } It remains to be seen whether their Lordships will be able to do “as their Lordships please”. Court!

CHIBOK GIRLS. STILL IN LIMBO. SINCE APRIL 15.

Oyo: Quintessential Journalist

O

CTOBER 6, 2006 of every year usually reminds me of a very sad event that is hard for me to forget.

The killing of Omololu Falobi, Founding Executive Director of Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) by unknown gunmen on his way home from work in Lagos still leaves me numb somehow.

An excellent young journalist and foremost crusader against a deadly disease ravaging the world was suddenly cut down in his prime, leaving many, including myself wondering why such people should not have lived longer to continue their good works.

However, Omololu's short life was for me a confirmation of the fact that life is not about how long but how well. He made so much impact using journalism to campaign for the general good of all and will be remembered for his commitment, passion and excellent approach to his various media related endeavours.

The good work he started has continued to blossom, thanks to the visionary leadership he provided his staff who have sustained his legacy. May his soul continue to rest in peace.

Last Thursday, yet another outstanding journalist, Dame Oluremi Oyo, former Special Adviser (Media) to former President Olusegun Obasanjo who was also a member, of the Board of Trustees of his JAAIDS died.

In Oyo, the Nigerian media lost a woman who as President Goodluck Jonathan aptly described her was a trail blazer and an accomplished professional.

Her record of achievements in journalism should serve as an encouragement to women in professions who easily succumb to the believe that their gender is a limiting factor against male colleagues.

Oyo is not only the first and only woman to be named a presidential media aide in the country; she holds similar records as Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).

In all the above positions and many others, she distinguished herself and will always be remembered for her contributions to the development of the media in the country. She was a very passionate journalist who was always concerned about best practices and career development through trainings.

As I write this piece, I can still hear her firm voice and frank views on media issues we discussed the few occasions we met. I remember inviting her for a media training in 2000 where she spoke about the need for journalists to learn about using new technologies long before now when access was still limited.

Such was her love for journalism that she identified with it notwithstanding the positions she attained and fought for the rights journalists in whatever way she could. I know how much personal interest Oyo took in mentoring many female and male Journalists who will ever be grateful for what she did for them.

Like in Falobi's case , I am consoled by Oyo's death based on a quote that good people will die, but their good work shall live forever.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

COMMENT

How to help Nigeria at 54 New leaders - cultural, political, and religious - must emerge if Nigeria must be on the track to sustainable success.

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HE clichĂŠd saying is that a fool at 40 is a fool forever. This probably applies more to human beings than to human constructions such as nation-states or political parties. Nigeria is well past 40 and it has acted for too long like a fool, having used the past 54 years to arrive at nothing more than a failed or a failing state in the reckoning of both pundits and peasants. But the consolation for the country and its lovers is that it does not have to remain a fool for eternity, if it chooses to relaunch or transform itself.

Like many nations and societies threatened in the past internally by failure of leadership and externally by the success of imperialists, it has the possibility of nine lives like the proverbial cat. However, the chance to transcend the status of a country that has become a trope or symbol for doing the wrong things most of the time and expecting the right results all the time, some new leaders-cultural, political, and religious--with visions that are distinct from what the country has experienced for the past thirty years, must emerge to put the country on the right track to sustainable success.

Readers should allow me to give meat to today's piece by borrowing borrow freely from a young boy born in the United States of Nigerian parents some 18 or 19 years ago. This boy was brought to Nigeria by his parents at the age of seven on the excuse that he needed to be brought up as a Nigerian, with a good measure of understanding of a Nigerian language and culture and some cultural and psychological preparation to live in a world that has not been overdeveloped like America and Europe, where human beings look too pampered and thus incapable of taking stress.

The young man at his departure, after fulfilling

his filial obligation to come home and be a part of the life of his Nigerian parents, left his diary behind, deliberately, according to his mother and wrote on the front cover of the diary that he would like as many people to know his feelings. His mother gave me access to the diary to use in my column, without revealing the identity of her son.

The young man's diary is full of expletives about Nigerian leaders. But it is re-assuring that he says several times in the diary that he loves the people of Nigeria, especially ordinary people while he has no respect for most of the country's leaders whose actions and pronouncements he characterises as unbearably below average for a 54-year-old country and one that is a member of all standard-improving organisations across the globe. A recurrent theme in the young man's diary is his worry that even young people of his age, so-called leaders of tomorrow in his own words, are wont to act like their culturally below-average elite while freely using religion to excuse their immoral deeds or thoughts. He gives several examples of acts and pronouncements of leaders that he considers boorish, dishonest or hypocritical. Many of his examples are too detailed and relevant for an 18-year-old stressed by a country that appears to have lost its bearing.

Even one year after the release of the young man's diary about Nigeria to family members, many of the untoward acts and attitudes he commented upon are still happening with more bravado or less apology on the part of political and cultural leaders. A few examples of attitudes and pronouncements by individuals in positions of high power even on the eve of the country's 54th independence anniversary would enrich any narrative that the young man may choose to write later.

For example, with respect to a plane purported to have been leased to a company

that ferried 9.3 million dollars to South Africa, the registered owner of the plane, Pastor Ayo Oritsejefor, the number-one Christian in terms of hierarchy today in his capacity as the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria and also of the Pentecostal churches, known principally for their theology of prosperity, responded in a way that should worry both adolescents and adults in most societies. The man of God said that the Christian Association of Nigeria should not allow enemies of Christians to be putting a cat among their pigeons or throwing sand in their garri.

The revered pastor expects innocent citizens to buy the line that it is either Boko Haramists or anti-Christian Nigerians that are trying to malign him on account of the matter of so much undocumented cash found in his plane in another country. It would have been expected of the pastor to cite the devil in such a crisis, but several commentators are also urging Nigerians to dismiss the hype about the undocumented cash-for-arms from the black market in South Africa as something that must have the hand of the Satan or mortal enemies of Christians in it.

Similarly, on the level of formal or modern politics (as distinct from traditional rulers in politics), Ekiti Governor-elect, Ayo Fayose, has also built his defense against those who alleged that thugs close to him violated the judiciary of Ekiti on the premise that his political enemies are trying to scuttle his swearing-in on October 16. So are his supporters and top members of his party looking away from the issue of thugs beating judges while invoking spiritedly efforts by political enemies to scuttle democracy in Ekiti. The publicity secretary of Fayose's party has invoked, while calling for an investigation into the activities of officers of the Ekiti State judiciary involved in the crisis, the spirit of saboteurs from political parties opposed to Fayose. He suspected an

"underground plot" to scuttle the inauguration of his party man as a "slap in the face of the people of the state, assault on democracy and an attempt to rape the judiciary." Are their leaders out there, apart from members of opposition parties, ready to call for an independent investigation of the allegations made to the Chief Justice of Nigeria by the Ekiti Chief Judge?

As if professional politicians speaking on the matter have not said enough pro or con, Ekiti traditional rulers also said a few hours ago that they would not brook any attempt by anybody or group to delay the crowning of Fayose as the governor freely given the mandate to rule the state by the good people of Ekiti. While the judiciary is blatantly violated by political thugs in Ekiti, traditional rulers who the tradition expects to stay away from partisan politics have out of their own volition chosen to reduce the violation of the judiciary to the work of political enemies.

Even when a building collapsed in the synagogue of T. B. Joshua recently, the pastor addressed his congregation in a way to suggest that he was more interested in chasing shadows.

He told members of his church in a televised service that his enemies and those who do not want to stop his church from growing are after him. He did not forget to assure his congregation that his time had not come and that his adversaries would fail.

Readers should allow me to end this piece by going back to the young man who expressed clearly his love of Nigerians and dislike of their leaders in his diary before exiting the country last year. In the last page of his diary, he urged parents to struggle for a new theology and pedagogy under which new generations of Nigerians can be trained to grow up to be prepared to separate what is bad from what is good, without feeling awkward about doing this. He urged parents to expose their children to value orientation that makes it imperative for them to know that getting what you want at any cost does not always lead to peace and stability. It is creating institutions that promote and sustain values that can lead any country to peace and progress, in the fashion of the old saying: "Righteousness exalts a nation."

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

COMMENT

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Softly, softly, Oritsejafor, Okoh Leaders of the Christian fold in the country should not turn the body to a partisan platform

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VERY time analysts and scholars dissect the Nigerian crisis of development, they are unanimous in returning the verdict that leadership is the bane. It appears that that same challenge has crept into the Christian fold as leaders of treasured moral platforms now take advantage of their positions to feed primordial predilections.

It is unfortunate that a platform as formidable as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is being transformed into an organ of the presidency. Since Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor took the leadership of the umbrella Christian association, the Nigerian people, Christian and non-Christian alike, have observed that the relationship he cultivated with President Goodluck Jonathan and so flaunted has generally eroded the dignity of the office.

Observers are sometimes tempted to see CAN as a parastatal of the Federal Government.

This is a far cry from the standards set by Christ for all those who would follow and serve him and derogates from the vision of the founding fathers of the body. The recent scandal regarding the use of an aircraft owned by the CAN President to ferry $9.3 million to South Africa in circumstances that are yet shady is a blight on the organisation and suggests that many such things might have been on unknown to Nigerians. While it is taken that the CAN President merely owns the aircraft so used, there are still questions as to the role he might have played in getting the contract for the lessee.

Besides, Pastor Orisejafor would not have been enmeshed in the moral crisis if he had not strayed from his primary calling - preaching the gospel. The rate at which pastors chase material things has become so alarming that Church leaders should call themselves to order.

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HE morning, the wise ones say, shows the day.

As Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, would admonish, one 'must set forth at dawn', to make the desired mark in his chosen field of endeavour. And so it was for the young Ajayi Boroffice, who despite the royal blood throbbing through his veins decided from the outset to stoop to conquer.

Determined to carve a niche in the tough terrain that academic pursuits present he applied the unfailing principles of full focus, utmost moral discipline and the search for the fountain of knowledge, unmindful of its rigours. The challenge for any average writer now is the difficulty in pigeon holing this erudite academic of global repute.

Born on 23 April 1949, at Iboje Quarters, Oka-Akoko in

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HE conferment of National Honours is not an everyday event; and such are conferred on citizens who have distinguished themselves from others. As such, when one is accorded the rare honour it always calls for celebration. The Olugbo of Ugboland, Oba (Dr.) Frederick Enitiolorunda Obateru Akinruntan, has been receiving unceasing accolades and congratulatory messages on the award of the

As if that was not enough, the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) chose to give a Primatial award to the President last week.

Everything about the award was wrong. First, why was it created? There is no record that anything like a Primatial award was ever given anyone before. Besides, the Church, beaming the light of the gospel ought to have acted above worldly standards. In Nigeria today, there are all sorts of awards worth nothing. They promote vanity and are designed to extract financial support from those in power. The Anglican Church failed to tell Nigerians the criteria for the award.

Second, we feel uncomfortable by the timing of the award. There are so many questions that Nigerians are asking of their President. Insecurity has never been this bad, the Chibok girls are still in captivity, nothing has changed in critical sectors like education, health and employment. How then did the Church arrive at the decision? We can only imagine that the Church, wittingly or otherwise, has been dragged into the President's re-election bid. The coincidence is too striking to go unnoticed - Primate Nicholas Okoh is Oritsejafor's deputy in CAN and he is TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

•Editor Festus Eriye •Deputy Editor Olayinka Oyegbile •Associate Editors Taiwo Ogundipe Sam Egburonu

•Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye

from Delta State, too.

This time calls for discernment. Leaders of the Church should realise that they are meant to be ambassadors of Christ and shine the light to dispel darkness. We call on leaders of CAN to return to standards set by Prophets of old who spoke truth to power and were not fazed by the grandeur of the office of the monarchs.

This is a critical time in the life of our country. It calls for true men of God to rise to the occasion and ensure that leaders are kept on their toes. The churches are non-partisan platforms and should not be dragged in the mud. Christians are of different political persuasions and should not be willy-nilly herded into narrow partisan choices. Primate Okoh and Pastor Oritsejafor should beware as we move closer to the next general elections.

The reason this comment is necessary is not Christianity per se. But a huge chunk of the Nigerian population professes the faith and it has become a template of conduct and human relations in societies where they prosper. Its mores and values have permeated our society.

Therefore, those who are charged to fend for the spiritual health of that critical cultural group must understand that their burden goes beyond the faith but it is also about faith in the sense of justice and wellbeing of Nigerians, whether Christians or non-Christians.

For the leadership of one of the oldest Christian bodies in the country, even the world, to enmesh itself in a partisan stake is to demean what religion applauds in its highest form.

Oritsejafor and Okoh ought to realise that faith belongs in the realm of the spiritual and not in the murky waters of the temporal. As the good book itself says, “to whom much is given, much is required”.

LETTER

A salute to Prof. Boroffice Ondo State, to the family of the late Pa Zachaeus Omololu Boroffice and the late Mrs. Comfort Aina Boroffice. As fate would have it, the traits of a versatile and fecund mind surged to the fore, right from his primary and secondary school days.

Sequel to his brilliant and excellent performance, he was admitted to pursue his Doctorate degree programme in the department of Zoology.

In 1975, Prof. Boroffice bagged a Ph.D. degree in Genetics. In 1978, he proceeded to the University of Newcastle - Upon Time for a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in Human Genetics.

His work ethics confound mere mortals. He served on various committees and in several capacities while in the University of Ibadan. These include ,among others: House Allocation Committee, Chairman Business Committee of the school's Senate, Secretary of the University Congregation and Assistant hall warden, Kuti Hall.

He was invited in 1985 to assist in the academic development of the Lagos State University, Ojo Lagos.

There, he became a professor of Zoology in 1986. He also held administrative positions

at the Lagos State University including Head of Department, Dean of Faculty, and Chairman of the Committee of Deans.

You would no doubt ask yourself how one man could achieve all these. Another curious aspect of his stupendous wealth of knowledge elicits the question of what a zoologist has to do with the intricate world of Information Communication Technology (ICT)? Or, more precisely the rather intricate profession of launching of satellites. But that is the stuff geniuses are made of. Right from his youth he exhibited the attributes of

…And Oba Akinruntan too Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) which the Federal Government of Nigeria has bestowed on him in the light of his immense contributions to human capital and economic development of our great nation.

A foremost traditional ruler par excellence, Oba (Dr.) Obateru Akinruntan (CON) has continued to exceptionally discharge his primary role as a custodian of his people's tradition and culture. Since his

ascension to the throne of his forefathers, he has placed Ugboland on the global landscape as a result of the panache which he brings to bear on his royal conducts. That the first grade king has been more than influential in the restoration of the traditional institution back to its glorious days is incontrovertible. He has attained an enviable place among his peers, as well as a growing stature which has not gone unnoticed.

The lots of his subjects are being bettered on a daily basis by direct intervention from the monarch towards human capital, economic and community development as well as indirect efforts by Oba (Dr.) Obateru Akinruntan's astute leadership role in creating a peaceful and conducive working environment for various industries in his domain. Sons and daughters of Ugboland now speak about their

one who wants to selfactualize with the aim to use that knowledge to positively impact on his society; on his people, on humanity.

It is instructive to note that under his guidance and excellent leadership, NASRDA became the fastest growing space agency in the world! In addition to the physical infrastructure on ground, he pursued aggressively capacity building in all areas of Space Science and Technology.

Thus, the agency can now boast of over 150 Space Scientists trained in different parts of the world.

As a Senator, the kindgom with glow on their faces. The quintessential monarch has restored their pride, and they reciprocate with their reverence of him.

Against all odds, Oba Akinruntan pulled down the barriers mounted by a background steeped in poverty and pulled up a structure that positions him among the exclusive custodians of the high society.

He did not just fantasise a rosy future; he worked his fingers to the bones to attain a pinnacle beyond his dreams.

Asiwaju of Akokoland has made valuable contributions to his community. These include youth empowerment through skills acquisition and employment as well as provision of boreholes in various communities in Akoko land.

He has been honoured by all strata of the society: the academia, the country, students, professional organisations etc.

With all these beautiful feathers to his towering, brilliant academic and leadership cap, Professor Boroffice has to take his profound impact on the nation to the next level.

Surely, there can be no better time than now that Nigeria is in a desperate search for true heroes.

By Olanrewaju Davies Lagos.

This man of immense stature became a towering corporate titan by building business concerns of global repute.

With the Obat Group, Febson Group and other conglomerates in and outside Nigeria, he has redefined business models that have shaken the entire extractive industry. Without doubt, his story is full of inspiration and crammed with rich anecdotes for every fortune hopeful.

By Prince Akinfemiwa Akinruntan

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

COMMENT

Chief Deji Fasuan at 83: Scaling accidents of life!

In Scaling Accidents of Life, the author is seen copiously quoting, with an amazing power of recall, events of the past 70-75 years both here in Nigeria and elsewhere

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INCERE apologies to the wonderful readers of this column as it momentarily diverts from our ongoing periscoping the ideal APC candidate for the 2015 presidential election to give due honour to one so thoroughly deserving(of it). Had the young Deji Fasuan been only half as rascally as he was in elementary school, he most probably would never have attended Christ's School, Ado-Ekiti, and his entire life trajectory would certainly have been different. Writes the author in his soon to be presented, 415-page autobiography: SCALING ACCIDENTS OF LIFE: 'It was at a class in Are-Ekiti in 1945. I sat on the last row and, as usual, was certainly not listening to my class teacher when I impulsively answered 'I WILL SIR'.

Asked what I was affirming, I looked clueless whereupon he told me: 'Like it or not, I will send your name to Dallimore for the entrance examination to Christ's School, next month'. I would not only subsequently write the exam but pass and got admitted. His life ambition before attending Christ's School was as uncomplicated as just wanting to pass Standard Six, become a pupil teacher and, if lucky, attend St Andrew's College, Oyo, but God purposed by far differently for this octogenarian from Okedoba Quarters, Afao-Ekiti.

As he turns 83 this week, I bring to the public space, glimpses of his life of 'divine' ACCIDENTS, the seventh and last of which, would see

him catapulted to the position of a Chief Executive Officer of a huge Western Regional corporation. A proper review of Scaling Accidents of Life should, God willing, come shortly after the book's official launch already tentatively slated for Thursday, 27 November, 2014.

After a short stint in the civil service, Chief Fasuan in 1955, again miraculously, since he did not apply for admission by himself, gained admission to Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone, where he graduated in Economics in 1959. A rash of jobs later, he soon got employed at the Western Nigeria Development Corporation (WNDC), where, as Liaison Officer, he represented the government of the region on many companies in the emerging Ikeja, Ilupeju and Apapa Industrial Estates.

Among these were the Nigerian Textile mills, Wrought Iron Nigeria, Pepsi Cola, Ikeja Airport Hotels, WAPCO, Guinness, Nigerite, and Dunlop. He would later serve on the board of most of the companies.

In Scaling Accidents of Life, the author is seen copiously quoting, with an amazing power of recall, events of the past 70-75 years both here in Nigeria and elsewhere. In his Foreword to the book, Aare Afe Babalola, Owner/Founder of the incomparable Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti,(ABUAD), wrote: This book is a rare and robust compendium featuring a combination of the author's humble beginning, his rich experience as an

investment banker and public servant of note and one guaranteed to be a useful and helpful companion for those who desire to learn a lesson in contentment and honesty.

Divided into 36 chapters, seven of which are devoted to the seven 'accidents, the book could justifiably have been titled: GOD IN MY LIFE. This piece opened with the very first.

The second teaches a lesson in openness and the essence of not being unnecessarily secretive with friends.

The author's friend, Mr Joseph Adeniyi, leveraged on his knowing the details of his friend's school certificate result to respond on his behalf to an advert for admission into Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone.

That was an advert he stood no chance of seeing as he was visiting home. As it turned out, his letter of admission arrived several weeks ahead of his friend's who had even thought he probably wasn't admitted. The third accident was much more fortuitous.

Cash strapped, most of the time at the university, how he was going to spend his December holidays in 1955 was clearly beyond him as he could neither pay his passage to Nigeria nor afford to pay the university for his feeding and accommodation during the 4week vacation. He was still ruminating over this when on the Saturday preceding the commencement, mother luck took him to the CMS Bookshop in town.

While glued to the section on biographies, he got a gentle tap on the back. Turning, he was face to face with the Archbishop of West Africa, Anglican Communion, who was based in Lagos but made a brief stopover in Freetown on his way to England. On enquiries, His Lordship

not only got to know that he is a Nigerian, but that he was from Christ's School, Ado-Ekiti. 'Ooh, you must be a good boy', said the Archbishop, who promptly introduced him to the local priest. The literally stranded young man would be the priest's guest, not only on that occasion but on many more - the hand of God, indeed.

The fourth also revolved around money -this time, his fees , failure to pay which would see him 'sent down the hill', that is, drop out. His fees, to date, had been paid from personal savings and all manner of hardly sufficient fund raisers by relations but the sheer inadequacy had led him to the Teachers Training College, Ikere Ekiti with which he signed an accord to teach for two years for every year of sponsorship after graduation. By the time the second tranche was due, the school headship had changed and the new principal, if he would continue at all, had added some disagreeable conditions which he , in turn, promptly rejected though he knew not how he was going to pay.

This was when the miracle happened again, as the College Bursar, totally out of the blues, inadvertently sent the money to the university and thus saved his brushes.

The fifth would happen far away in the United States of America. On his way to attend a World Bank Project Analysis course in the spring of '72, he had a brief stopover in London where, at the African Continental Bank branch, he changed his pound sterling traveller's cheques to dollars but inexplainably forgot to collect them from the Manager, Mr C.B Akintola. He did not discover this until his plane landed at the Foster

Dulles Airport in Washington.

Naturally, he looked completely lost as he went through airport formalities. This was the point at which a total stranger forcibly tucked a five dollar bill in his pocket and advised he took a train to his hotel rather than a cab. Entering his hotel room, he met an envelope, addressed to him, containing 25 dollars and intended to cover his preliminary expenses. The ACB Manager later forwarded his traveller's cheque to him. The sixth accident had to do with a plot in his office but which collapsed completely and redounded to his advantage. He was unjustly transferred to the industrial department which they considered a 'Siberia' with the intention of hampering his progress only for him to have much faster rise than the plotters. As it would happen, the incumbent acting Head of Department had to be transferred because he did not possess adequate qualifications and chief was promptly made to head the department.

The seventh, and final accident, has to do with his name being put as number one on the list of those to be compulsorily retired shortly after he had just been promoted Director of Investment Supervision. This was during the general civil service purge but upon further enquiries by the governor, Gen David Jemibewon, the Secretary to the State Government wrote an opinion, describing him in superlative terms. The situation drew the ire of the governor who promptly ordered the immediate removal of his boss and appointed him in his place.

Many more instances will qualify as divine accidents in the life of a straight talking Chief Oladeji Fasuan; a man in whom there is no guile and who has, with enormous justification, earned the reputation of one who says it as it is. Scaling Accidents of Life will be a worthy addition to any library.

The Teachers' Reckoning Once, I attended a wedding where the chairman of the reception was the bride's primary school teacher

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HAT time has come again this year, dear reader, when we take time off the disturbing business of Nigerian politics, which is even now beating the drums of ethnic wars, religious wars and other incredibly asinine wars, and foray into something more cheering. It is time once again to don our skirts and sneakers, brush our pompoms and shekere, take our stand by the edge of the playing field and get ready to shake it for that special group of people we celebrate come every October: the teacher.

Today is teachers' day. Huh! Come on, shake that shekere for all teachers!

What? I can't hear you. What have they done to deserve it? Now wait a minute here, will you?! I'll give you many reasons why they deserve it.

Just last week, I found myself passing through a Nigerian city where I was shown a house under construction belonging to a senator or a House of representative member - don't know which. I was told that the house had been under construction for the past one year, with workers working in and on it day and night. Along the way, I also saw many other houses whose architectural designs and constructions defied any particular explanation other than the fancy that says 'so much money; so little sense'.

I just thought: how many teachers can afford that kind of self-indulgence?

I have always considered that

you can always know a politician's house from every other. One: the typical politician's house is often big and very obscene. They have things called wind breakers, visitor breakers and all kinds of breakers.

Two: they are often impractical. Good thing we do have something called second value here. Many of the houses built now cannot be resold so easily should the need arise.

Unfortunately, I'm sure we know those who have conked off as soon as they finished their elaborate edifices. Anyway, when I wondered where all the money could be coming from, I was told that the constituency allowances of our elected politicians meant for community development efforts are often used to develop personal monuments. Again I ask, how many teachers in this country have even those wind breakers to shield their heads?

At a later forum the same week, I heard a very disturbing story. An elected politician had visited a school where he found that the classrooms were windowless, sandy (because the flooring had scraped off), and bare of any furniture. Worse, the school pupils were in tattered uniforms. He then set off to do something about it: he installed windows, renovated the rooms and furnished them to his satisfaction. He then kitted the pupils properly in new uniforms.

As the story goes, he returned to

a resumed house to face the consequences of his action. He was roundly upbraided by his colleagues for showing them up. Oh yes, said his colleagues, they had heard about his Good Samaritan job. Who sent him? What was he trying to do: make them look bad in the eyes of the public? Didn't he know that the meaning of that constituency allowance? Constituency allowance, they patiently explained to him only because he was a first offender, is for you and your family. Come next time, they let him know, they would not be so easy on him. Now you know why classrooms are dreary here.

I am told that Nigeria has become so advanced that the rather advanced enjoyments we normally associate with the more technologically advanced western world, have been brought right to our doorstep.

Previously, they said, politicians and other government functionaries used to be taken abroad and introduced to behaviours that signified change in levels. Now, there is no need to go that far. When a politician is elected, I am told, there are bars in nearly every Nigerian state capital where he can be taken to be introduced to the good life. There, he is waited on by all kinds of topless bar maids, in terms of clothing that is. You got it: if it's in my city, it's likely to be in yours too; and they are mostly patronized by politicians.

Now, this is the point. Our schools are suffering because our politicians are too busy acquiring and upping their tastes in buildings, acquisitions and good living to pay attention to state matters. I don't

know about you but I think one of the most tedious jobs in existence is looking after a roomful of two or so year-olds. When I had two-year-olds in my charge, I found myself perpetually holding a cane, my brows met permanently in the middle, and my teeth were bared all the time as I snarled 'leave that alone,' 'get away from there' from sun up till sun down.

It was the classical tale of horror.

Yet, for this great job, many teachers hardly get paid enough. Even the little they are supposed to get hardly come to them. So, many teachers had to find other ways out to the detriment of their jobs. As I speak, there are states and local governments in this country that still owe their teachers many months in salary arrears. Yet, the politicians that man the posts of every school in Nigeria, right from and right through the governor, senator, representative, assembly man, councilor, etc, are taken care of or take care of themselves in extraordinary ways, even to the good stuff.

As a tribute to all teachers in this country, I want to tell this story of encouragement. Once, I attended a wedding where the chairman of the reception was the bride's primary school teacher. The choice, I was told, had been the lovely bride's. It had been that bride's way of acknowledging all that the teacher had imparted in her life. The teacher probably earned no more than a pittance, and had no way of knowing that he would not even be forgotten by his charges as soon as they left him to go to secondary school. Yet he did his work well. To his surprise that day, he had not only been invited to the

wedding (to show he was not forgotten), he was made the chairman of the reception (to show he was appreciated).

True, there are teachers who do not do their work well, and they are many. To these we say that there will be a day of reckoning. The teacher's reward may be in heaven or earth, wherever; but the teacher's reckoning is always here on earth I assure you.

A judge once asked his teacher to sit in his courtroom and write five hundred lines for coming late to her hearing. It was in retaliation. There are some who do their work rather indifferently because they are illremunerated; if the children want, let them understand. To such we plead a change of heart. Every effort has its own reward. Believe me, days of chairmanship do come; but our day of reward should meet us worthy of the accolade. There are also teachers who, in spite of their circumstances, still strive to ensure that while their pupils are grasping the teachers' skirts and their neighbours' catapults, they also grasp some knowledge. To these we say carry on.

Today, we pay tribute to teachers the world over for the job they do. If we can pay politicians so much for mixing up and frothing the very air we breathe and turning it to noxious fumes, I think we need to do a rethink on how we remunerate our teachers. Many of them have anxieties about their tomorrow because they cannot feed well or even send their children to school. This is the time to assure them that the country cares. For now, let's just bring out the shekere and shake it to the deserving ones.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

COMMENT

17

(85)

The religion and science, faith and reason controversy - again (1) I

was rather pleasantly surprised by most of the emails that I received from the piece that I wrote for this column last week, this being my reflections on Dr. Adah Igonoh's story about her survival in the battle against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Many people wrote to tell me that they had also found Dr. Igonoh's story very moving, very inspiring. I was pleased to read this, but quite frankly this was not what I found pleasantly surprising in the bulk of the emails that I received on last week's column. What surprised and pleased me in the emails was this: virtually everyone who wrote informed me that, like me and academics of my type, they also think that there is no necessary and inevitable opposition or incompatibility between religion and science. Although it did occur to me that most of those who wrote the emails to me were probably people who generally share my views on many aspects of our country's current crises and challenges, nonetheless it was pleasing to find that many readers of last week's column also think that religion and science, faith and reason should not go their separate ways in any modern-day nation in our world. So far, so good, as the saying goes.

But then I noticed a pattern in these emails that rather disturbed me. This was because in nearly every case, those who wrote those emails to me felt that the need for religion and science to, as it were, "walk together" in any modern state was so obvious that anyone should be able to see and affirm that need. Why I found this disturbing is the subject of this week's essay, thus making it something of an epilogue to last week's column. My central argument in this piece is that though the need for religion and science to work together harmoniously in the modern world seems fairly obvious, that obviousness is not to be taken for granted, not to be assumed to be without any tension, any stress. The struggle of science against religion, more specifically against the fanatical dogma of organized, institutionalized religion, is one of the central themes of modern intellectual history. At the height of that struggle, brilliant and gifted scientists were burnt at the stakes. Those who were not burnt were made to recant on their scientific theories and were banned for life from the pursuit of their scientific vocation. We cannot go into the full details of this history, but in the end science prevailed and religion had to make its peace with the decisive, transformative role of science in modern life, in the specifically modern organization of society and its productive relations and activities.

Since our country and our continent are constituent parts of the modern world, we are heirs to that monumental struggle be-

•Abuja Ecumenical Centre

tween religion and science. Nonetheless, that struggle never took place, never shook society to its foundations in our own part of the world. This is both good and bad.

In this essay, I wish to reflect upon the good and bad parts of this historic fact that in our society, our own part of modernity, science and scientists never had to struggle against the powerful institutional, doctrinal and ideological authority of organized religion.

Let's deal first with the good part of this crucial fact that science and scientists in Africa never really had to wage fierce battles against the forces of organized religion and its historic opposition to rationality as a cardinal basis of life.

As reported by Chinua Achebe in his famous collection of essays, The Trouble with Nigeria, in the 1950s, the Minister of Education in the old Western Region, Dr. S.A. Awokoya, wrote a book titled Why Our Children Die. According to Achebe, Awokoya wrote that book as a medical scientist who took up arms against traditional African cultural beliefs and practices that wittingly or unwittingly caused or promoted high levels of infant mortality in our society. As I have not been able to lay my hands on that book by Dr. Awokoya, I am going by what Achebe says about it in his book.

And what Achebe says is that Dr. Awokoya in his book took up arms in defence or promotion of science and rationality against beliefs and practices in our traditional cultures that militated against rational explanations and remedies for diseases, together with

the practice of private and public hygiene, especially with regard to the great vulnerability of children to diseases and lack of hygiene.

The allusion to Achebe and Awokoya in this discussion helps us to see, I hope, that the "enemy" of science in Africa was not organized religion. More crucially, Achebe and Awokoya were careful to emphasize the fact that it was not the entirety of the African cultural heritage that was against science and rationality; rather, it was some specific and identifiable beliefs and practices that constituted the composite enemy. As a matter of fact, both Achebe and Awokoya were products of the schools of a rationalized, "modernized" form of Christianity that promoted science and the scientific spirit in our part of the world, even as theological and doctrinal branches of these same forms of Christianity waged holy wars against the entire heritage of culture on our continent.

Achebe and Awokoya, as archetypal figures in the story of science, rationality and religion in our continent, showed us that this was and is a complex story in which organized religion, traditional cultures and the scientific spirit could not be divided into a simple pattern of opposites and negatives, illumination and mystification. Some parts of traditional cultures were not in opposition to the scientific enterprise, just as some doctrinal aspects of Christianity opposed all aspects of traditional cultures, not because they were against science but because they were thought to be the antithesis of the one true

God of the Christians or Moslems. In other words, faith and rationality in modern Africa never got caught and fixated in the radical and uncompromising opposition that medieval, premodern Christianity in Europe mounted between religion and science. This is the good part of the overall narrative. We now move to the bad part.

For this, it helps to put matters in concrete and perhaps even dramatic terms. No scientists were ever burnt at the stakes on our continent. But this also means that no scientist ever achieved a heroic stature as the defender of the scientific spirit and enterprise against the forces of religious medievalism. For it was precisely because of these factors that science in Europe was able to win commerce, industry and the popular imagination to its side in the struggle against organized religion. There is another way to put this observation in terms that are perhaps even more graphic and it is this: we do not have a single man or woman of science to match the iconic stature of an Achebe or a Soyinka, none at all. Achebe, Soyinka, Clark, Okigbo and the other icons of modern Nigeria literature achieved their stature because they challenged and overcame the racist, colonialist canard that we did not have what it takes to produce works of literature that are equal to the best literary works from other regions of the world. In our celebration of the achievements of these icons of modern Nigerian writing, we often place too much em-

phasis on their talent, their genius and in the process underestimate the struggles that they had to wage. Thus, though talent and genius are very important, the central factor in this piece is struggle and effort, unceasing and unflagging struggle and effort.

It is perhaps useful at this point to bring these observations and reflections back to Dr. Adah Igonoh's story. In doing this, I wish to place as much emphasis as I possibly can on the fact that in last week's column, I made every effort to highlight and praise the determination and will with which Dr. Igonoh went in search of knowledge and information that could help her prevail over the EVD peril. Repeatedly, I stated that while she spent much time and invested great emotional and spiritual energy in prayers and divine favour, she was also relentless in her search for remedies available from medical science. Please remember that this all took place at a moment in her life when she faced great debilitation from a relentlessly destructive disease. At the risk of offending the sensibilities of many readers who are devout religionists, I wish to point out that at that moment in Dr. Igonoh's battle with EVD, religion and faith were the easy, assured part of the struggle; far more onerous and demanding was the pursuit and absorption of scientific knowledge and information.

Knowledge and truth seeking, in all areas of life and experience, is not for the faint-hearted; this is even more so with regard to science. To be a successful and dedicated woman or man of science takes a lot of hard, grindingly demanding work. With the phenomenal rise and accession to dominance of Pentecostalism in our country and our continent in the last two or three decades, this crucial perspective on what science demands from scientists has been submerged by the belief that you must leave everything, everything, to God. The reason for this is not difficult to find: in many respects, Pentecostalism is medieval in its worldview. It does not exactly have the institutional power and authority that organized religion in medieval Europe had and so it cannot wage a direct assault on science and rationalism as Christianity did in the Middle Ages in Europe. Its assault is more indirect, more subtle in that it comprises the combination of intellectual laziness and fanatical religiosity in which the religiosity provides a cover, a refuge for the intellectual laziness. In next week's concluding essay in this series, we shall explore how and why it has managed to capture many segments of our national intelligentsia that include men and women of science.

Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

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T

Ambode and the politics of BRF's successor

HE release of the time-table for party primaries by the All Progressives Congress (APC) has increased the tempo of political activities in most of the states. Returning lawmakers, particularly those who never frequented their constituencies while in Abuja, were shocked at the number of people already jostling and lobbying for their positions. These days, you see some of these Abuja returnees being nice guys, giving out money and buying Keke Marwa, grinding machines, sewing machines, transformers for the constituencies that they abandoned while in Abuja. The flowing robes and sprawling gowns, the trademark of Abuja opulence and flamboyance, can no longer cover their ineffectiveness, failings and frailties. Now, it is pay-back time. The billboards, the posters, the stickers, the banners, the flyers which are the media of reaching out to the people, are back again.

But beyond the glitz and glamour of the campaign are intrigues and the artifice of the game.

Of particular interest to this writer, is what is going on in Lagos State where the most visible governorship aspirant, Akinwunmi Ambode competes with other aspirants on his trail.

Ambode, a complete gentleman of consummate humility and a meticulous technocrat, was the Accountant-General of Lagos State before he resigned in 2012, and before his foray into politics.

While he was in the service, he worked with Bola Tinubu in different capacities but all within the Ministry of Finance. It was in the course of these interactions that Tinubu, himself an accountant, got to know him as a very transparent, disciplined, hardworking and pertinacious professional.

Ambode's expertise in financial engineering and economic management endeared him to Tinubu who never hesitated to advise him to join politics immediately he resigned as the state AccountantGeneral under Fashola's administration.

Ambode's closeness to Tinubu paid off when it was time to begin the search for BRF's successor. It was not an easy selection. Ambode's eventual choice was, however, made easy when it was agreed at a caucus meeting that the financial situation of Lagos State demanded for a forthright and perspicacious professional who can manage the debt profile of the state in a way that will justify the reasons for obtaining the loans.

According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), Lagos State owes 33.8% of the country's total sub-national external debts. The state reportedly owes $1.01 billion of the total states' external debt of $3.01 billion. Components of this debt include $837.91 million from multilateral bodies and $82.5 million from bilateral sources.

I

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

COMMENT

N recent time, climate change has become an unusual challenge posing as a major threat to the survival of nations across the world.

To underscore the new reality of climate change as a global menace, it is now being appropriately tackled not only as mere environmental worry but as a more complex problem with multiple effects on health, agriculture, water supply, economic growth among other essential human related issues.

Simply put, climate change denotes changes occurring in the earth's climate system and the impacts such changes are having on eco-systems and society. Major features in climate change are changes in the concentration of sunlight getting to the earth and in the absorption of volcanic dust, which reflects sunlight back to space. These factors modify the quantity of sunlight that is taken in by the earth's climate system. As a result of increased in industrial activities and other human factors such as greenhouse gas concentrations, ozone depletion, air pollution and alterations in land use, the threat of climate change has increased considerably across the globe.

Today, lots of the disasters being witnessed in the world are traceable to climate change.

Such disasters include flood, heat, mudslide, landslide, fiercer weather condition, increased frequency and intensity of storms, desertification, and water shortage among others. In recent time, millions of people, worldwide, have been affected by deadly floods resulting from torrential rains in China, Australia, Japan, United States of America, Indonesia and Brazil. All of these experiences are largely traceable to global warminginduced climate change which is posing major threats to lives, food security and businesses.

Lagos has had its own fair share of such agonizing rains in recent time.

Being a government that tackles far reaching social issues with scientific and strategic precision, the Lagos stategovernment has put in place appropriate mechanism to

By Dapo Thomas

Displaying his understanding of the debt issue, Ambode at a political forum defended the state by enlightening the people that debt should not be analysed in isolation but considered in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He added that most of Lagos debt went into financing projects to increase its revenue-generating capability and ensure it remains credit worthy.

His position was reinforced and supported by the DMO which stated that the debt was sustainable and within healthy limits within the context of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

But if Ambode thought that his robust analysis of the state's debt scenario would impress them at Alausa in a way that would make BRF to support his aspiration, he was wrong. BRF, the incumbent, has obviously committed himself to some other aspirant and it is evident from his body language that he is not ready to retreat.

With this declarative stance, BRF seems to have drawn the battle line. Speculation in political circles is that his preferred candidate for the governor's seat is Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, (KOH) the son of Olu of Afowowa Sogaade in Ewekoro Local Governement, Ogun State. Though Hamzat's scribbling supporters have laboured strenuously to exploit the fluidity and fragility of the Yoruba settlements to justify their principal's genealogical claim to Lagos, what they fail to understand is that despite the migratory nature of Yoruba settlers, every Yoruba family can still trace their genealogy to a particular Yoruba town or village. If Hamzat's father therefore was able to trace his roots to Ewekoro and consequently became the Oba of Afowowa, it simply illustrates the fact that the genealogy of the family is rooted in Ewekoro, not Lagos. The dynamics of Yoruba migratory settlements is not a historical justification for automatic conferment of indigeneship status.

Instead, it only attests to the concept of Omoluabi which makes the Yoruba to see themselves as one. It is, therefore, unfair that the accomodationist spirit of the Lagos people is now being used to deprive them of a strategic position that is rightfully theirs going by historical antecedents.

Besides, for Hamzat's father to be crowned an Oba in a village in Ogun State and the son to become governor of Lagos State is nothing but an act of ingratitude to those who provided shelter for the family in the course of their migration to Lagos. The fluidity of the Yoruba

settlements should not be an avenue for political opportunism but rather, it should be seen as a symbol of cultural accommodation. This is just a relevant digression.

The common excuse from the opposition is that Ambode was a bad choice, but the same Tinubu said to be sympathetic towards his bid also made the BRF choice and put his political credibility and integrity on the line by sticking to that choice in the heat of stiff opposition from aggrieved aspirants back then.

Has BRF not proven to be a very good choice?

In a very rare sequence of succession arrangement, the exit of Tinubu heralded the exposure of BRF. Today, BRF's legacy located in massive construction of new roads, light rail, expansion and rehabilitation of existing ones, extensive landscaping and environmental beautification, agricultural and industrial revolution, radical health services, provision of security, expansive infrastructure development and aggressive service delivery have endeared him to both civil society groups and the political class.

In appreciation of this revolutionary impact, the society had unconsciously formulated a new socio-political construct to acknowledge the BRF ideology as an ideal conceptual national platform for good governance. In a piece I did on BRF sometime, I wrote inter alia: "…. It is nonplus that a very apolitical BRF is now being celebrated as one of the governors whose performance has attracted both local and international plaudit.

The standard he has set in governance despite operating at the state level, is as salient as what some country leaders would hawk as epochmaking accomplishments" So, what could have gone wrong that BRF, a product of Tinubu's discovery, would not back the supposed choice of his mentor? Agreed that both of them (BRF and Hamzat) are free to exercise their right to democratic participation in order to realize their political aspiration, I am only concerned about the fact that collision between "father" and "son" could have been avoided.

In trying to repudiate a statement credited to him in his interview with a national newspaper, Hamzat wrote: "I, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat owe Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a lot of gratitude because GOD has been using him for me….. specifically, apart from GOD Almighty, Asiwaju has been contributing to my successes in government and outside. He was the one that brought me back into Nigeria from USA and all that I have achieved politically must be attributed

to his support."

For a man who claimed that Tinubu did all that for him, would it not have been more dignifying, decorous, courteous and gratifying to respect and support Ambode, who's said to be Tinubu's candidate, rather than confronting his choice? By implication, Hamzat is not competing with Ambode but Tinubu. Assuming, but not conceding, that Tinubu's candidate loses to Hamzat, will Hamzat and his sponsor take delight in celebrating their victory and leaving Tinubu to mourn his defeat? They cannot deny that they will not celebrate if they win because there is no sobriety in victory. But what will be the gain if the man who brought them to fame ends his political career in shame? A case of one biting the fingers that fed him!

The story of Gbenga Ashafa will help in elucidating this point. Senator Gbenga Ashafa was employed into the Lagos State Civil Service as a director by Tinubu in 1999. From his position as a director in the Governor's office, Tinubu moved Ashafa to the Ministry of Lands as the Executive Secretary and later he was made the Permanent Secretary of the same ministry. It was from there he forayed into politics and through Tinubu's intervention became a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Like Hamzat, Ashafa was also interested in the governorship. He consulted Tinubu on his ambition and the latter told him to keep working until the caucus decides who to adopt out of an army of aspirants that were lobbying him. Ashafa promised to collapse his group and support whoever was eventually favoured. As soon as signals pointed to Ambode, in deference to Tinubu, Ashafa collapsed his group and started working on his re-election as a senator representing Lagos East. Though some mischievous elements placed Ashafa's billboards at strategic points in the state, those who are close to him knew it was all politics.

Kowtowing and showing reverence to one's benefactor is not stupidity but a sign of strong moral character and maturity. Why must a man be desperate to fulfill his ambition by betraying the one that gave him the inspiration for the ambition? Whatever resources and network those in power have today were made possible by the fact that Tinubu brought them into his administration without them being able to boast of any political structure. The world is full of people with ambitions and if we are all desperate to achieve our ambitions by throwing loyalty to the winds, the ethereal space will become a narrow-gate chaos. Over to you, pool scribblers!

Lagos and the threat of climate change

By Tayo Ogunbiyi

respond to the threat of climate change.

Understanding the danger of global warming to its environment, the state government has been in the fore-front of combating the challenge of global warming in the country. It has held several international global warming conferences in addition to making several advocacy campaigns on the subject in recent time.

The state government has equally evolved several practical measures to deal with the climate change phenomenon. It has, for instance, restructured and empowered the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA), Fire Service, LASAMBUS, the Lagos State Building Control Agency and other relevant agencies to respond as quickly as possible to disasters in order to reduce loss of lives and properties arising from effects of climate change.

Equally, the state government is increasingly combating the effects of climate change through public awareness, legal and institutional framework, campaign against desertification and control of pollution and launching of climate change clubs in schools.

Similarly, greening programme, tree planting and flood control are key programmes of the current administration that are embarked upon in partial response to global warming and climate change.

Also, the Lagos State Summit on Climate Change is one of the steps being taken to draw local and global attention to the threat of climate change. The summit, which started in 2009, offers great prospect to the state government to harness ideas from relevant stakeholders on how to address the climate change concern. This is necessary in view of the recognition that climate change has no boundary.

The crux of discussions by experts and stakeholders at the summit, which has become yearly event, mainly centred on nature, causes, effects and mitigating steps in rescuing the state from destruction by climate change. What this summit has achieved can be inferred from the statement of the state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) at a recent World Habitat Day forum when he disclosed that the government has been using decisions from the hugely successful summits as basis for policy formulation and implementation in the quest to mitigate the effects of climatechange.

To consolidate on the success recorded so far with the previous summits, earlier this year, the state concluded the sixth Climate Change Summit with the theme: "Exploring Business Opportunities in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation". Part of the communiqué at the end of the summit is that Lagos State should share experiences of resilient cities programmes such as those of Kenya and Rwanda and kick start a process, including public consultation on short, medium and long term targets. Others include a review of allexisting Urban Plans and existing Physical Law with an increased focus on mitigating climate change impacts and progress on the Lagos Building Codes initiative, that will promote climate resilient and eco-friendly compact housing to green and climate proof residences in its main urban centres.

As the commercial nerve centre of the country, Lagos state spots a lot of opportunities in the pursuit of climate compatible development, and it is currently channeling its efforts towards harnessing such opportunities which abound in implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Part of the adaptation and mitigation measures which

the government has embarked on are the Eko Atlantic City project and the Great Wall of Lagos, spanning seven kilometers that has helped to protect Victoria Island, return businesses to the waterfront and create jobs and other economic opportunities.

Others are the Lagos Independent Power project, Akute Independent Power project and the Alausa independent Power project which have helped to provide steady and gas fired energy that have resulted in the decommissioning of hundreds of diesel fired generators and reduce carbon emissions. The shoreline protection project of 12 groins out of which six are almost completed are helping to slow down erosion of Atlantic coastline and protect homes in Goshen Beach Estate and will ultimately restore and protect land lost to the sea up to Alpha Beach.

The state government is also working on ways of reducing gas emission through the Green Economy Technologies and the creation of alternative energy sources from solid wastes. For effectivemanagement of Lagos State coastal and marine ecosystem in the face of climate change, the state is investing in the institutions to predict local impacts, partnering with adjoining states to build regional response capabilities and flexibilities.

Undoubtedly, Lagos has shown the way forward in the bid to lessen the threat of climate change in the country.

With more extreme weather and devastating natural occurrences likely on the prowl, according to experts, public safety and economic security depend on enlisting the collaboration of all stakeholders in combating the menace of climate change in the country.

• Ogunbiyi is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

19

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

Ogun 2015: PDP blocs form alliance against Amosun PAGES 20

Jonathan has no excuse over Chibok girls – AdeniranOgunsanya

I’ll fight US charges till end - Buruji Kashamu PAGE 25

PAGE 21

Danjuma and Taraba power struggle Recent allegation that fomer Defence Minister, General T Y Danjuma, has anointed Hon. Darius Ishaku for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Taraba State has deepened the political intrigues in the state. Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, takes a look at Danjuma’s roles in the Taraba political quagmire since 2013, when ailing Governor Danbaba first returned home

• Danjuma INCE some reports last month claimed that former Defence Minister, General T. Y. Danjuma has anointed the Chairman of Southern Taraba Stakeholders Forum (STSF), Hon. Darius Ishiaku, for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Taraba State, the role of the elder statesman in the prolonged leadership crisis in the state has been in focus.

As would be expected, the alleged endorsement has been the subject of strongly worded advertorials and verbal exchanges between the various stakeholders in Taraba; ahead 2015. For example, in an advertorial last month by Concerned Youths of Southern Taraba, entitled “Re: Open Letter to our Elder Statesman, General TY Danjuma- Rejoinder,” the group appealed to the people of Southern Taraba to be very alert of what they described as “any attempt to set us up against one another,” adding, “Our desire to produce the next governor of Taraba State has the support of all wellmeaning Tarabans who believe that the spirit of live and let live is the only way forward in Taraba

S

Project.”

It would be recalled that shortly before the alleged position of the retired military leader and elder statesman in the ongoing agitation for power change in the state featured in the news, STSF had set up a committee which screened aspirants and reportedly recommended three: Senator Bwacha, Hon. Ishiaku and Retired Col. Agbu.

That exercise itself generated so much controversy that insiders said it helped to further divide rather than cement the state PDP. For example, while some stakeholders alleged then that Danjuma and other respected elder statesmen and traditional leaders were behind the decision of the screening committee, others said the retired army general had nothing to do with the development.

So, as recent reports directly alleged that Danjuma had singled out Ishiaku for the plum job in 2015, political temperature of the state expectedly rose very rapidly. As a result, the retired general, who is one of the most revered elder statesmen in the state, has also become a subject of public criticism.

For example, during the week, a group in Taraba, known as DSK

Project 2015, openly faulted Danjuma over the alleged endorsement of the Minister of State for Niger Delta, as consensus candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Southern Taraba.

Director-General of DSK Project 2015, Senator Abdulaziz Ibrahim, made the position of his group known at a press conference in Jalingo. At the conference Ibrahim said Danjuma was “misinformed” by “Abuja-based politicians into endorsing Ishaku as against the earlier decision of the southern zone which chose Chief David Sabo Kente as its consensus candidate.”

He said: “While we respect Gen. TY Danjuma as a national elderstatesman and distinguished military general of Taraba State extraction, we fear he allowed himself to be misdirected-through misinformation-by a group of politicians who are based in Abuja, who have no direct contact with the grassroots - our local populace in Taraba”.

He alleged that Danjuma had earlier accepted the outcome of Southern Senate’s Committee on the aspirants but has now turned around to endorse another candidate.

According to him, the Southern

Senate Committee, headed by Chief D.S. Nyapuri, with support of Danjuma had prior to this time scrutinised the candidature of all 13 aspirants of Southern zone extraction and came up with the name of Kente.

“We, the DSK Project 2015 group and I particularly, as the DirectorGeneral, distance ourselves from the attempt to divide southern zone in order to derail our objective of power shift. We abide by the decision of the first and authentic southern senate under Chief Nyapuri, which endorsed Chief David Sabo Kente as the consensus aspirant in PDP from the Southern Zone.”

But reports from some people who described themselves as Danjuma’s loyalists said the elder statesman is still for the Minister of State of the Ministry of Niger Delta, notwithstanding the criticisms.

Former Commissioner of Information in Taraba, Emmanuel Bello, was for example quoted in the news during the week as insisting that “the emergence of Ishaku had the blessing of all stakeholders from the Southern zone and that all other aspirants have thrown their weights behind him.”

Danjuma’s and the Taraba gov-

ernorship crisis Since the first return of ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai in 2013 and the leadership crisis that followed, Danjuma has remained one of the elders of the state the world looked upon to help resolve the impasse. Investigation confirms however that he has not failed in showing interest in resolving the thorny matter. What however seems to be a subject of controversy is the allegation from Suntai’s opponents that the elder statesman may have taken sides in the political crisis.

As far back as October 2013, exactly a year ago, Danjuma was first accused by some stakeholders of taking sides in favour of his political grandson, Governor Suntai, because he allegedly held secret political meeting with the governor’s wife, Hawwa, in their home.

Ishmael Joshua, a resident in Jalingo, however countered allegation that the said meeting was a secret meeting. According to her, the news of the said meeting was broadcast in Jalingo and the general only said it was a private

•Continued on Page 23

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

POLITICS

Ogun 2015: PDP blocs form alliance against Amosun

• Amosun

I

N the run-up to the 2011 general elections, the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was virtually in tatters.

For some reasons, including the ego of the leading gladiators which resulted in the failure of the party to forge a common front, the party was whitewashed in the governorship election by the then opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Prelude At the heat of the crisis, the principal actors who included former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; exgovernor, Gbenga Daniel; former Minister of Commerce, Jubril MartinsKuye; major financier of the party, Buruji Kashamu, amongst other chieftains, did not see eye to eye.

On one hand, Obasanjo, who had fallen out with Daniel, had seized control of the party structures using his influence at the Presidency to have his way. In concert with Kashamu, who invested heavily in the project, the former president ensured the emergence of Gen. Tunji Olurin (retd) from Ogun West Senatorial zone as the PDP governorship candidate.

Daniel somehow saw this coming and had a Plan B. Having realised that he was losing grip of the Ogun PDP and, like most outgoing governors desirous of handing over to a trusted ally, Daniel had surreptitiously floated another political party, Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), a platform he used to install his former aide and close associate, Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka, as the party’s 2011 governorship candidate.

Though the PPN won a sprinkle of seats in the House of Assembly elections and at the House of Representatives mostly from the Ogun West zone, its candidate and that of the PDP were defeated by the now defunct ACN’s Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

Failed reconciliation moves With the 2011 election already won and lost, Kashamu putting his wealth to maximum advantage took control of the Ogun PDP by facilitating the election of his supporters from the ward to the state levels. In the process, he fell out with Obasanjo, who also wanted one of his allies, Senator Dipo Odujinrin, as the state party chairman.

Several attempts to broker truce between the two warring camps were unsuccessful due to disagreements over the sharing formula of party offices. One of such reconciliatory meetings was held at the Lagos residence of former minister, Jubril Martins-

• Obasanjo

• Daniel

Hitherto sworn political enemies in the battle for the soul of Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are back as friends to achieve just one objective: get Governor Ibikunle Amosun out of office in 2015. In this report, Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo, examines the prospects and the thorny issues that could likely endanger the alliance Kuye, with Kashamu; a former senator, Lekan Mustapha and other party chieftains in attendance.

With Obasanjo having also fallen out with President Goodluck Jonathan, Kashamu soon began to call the shots in Ogun PDP and by extension a few other state chapters of the PDP in the South West.

Piqued by this development, the Obasanjo camp became completely ostracised from the party and have kept a distance from the affairs of the Ogun PDP. Jonathan 2015 project With the PDP determined to make an inroad into the South West in order to brighten the chances of Jonathan in the 2015 presidential elections, underground moves commenced to bring former members of the party back into the fold.

One of such members is Daniel, who had since berthed in the Labour Party (LP) and has been installed by the national leadership of the party as the Ogun LP leader.

The former governor, who would be formally received back in PDP on October 8, had earlier spoken of his desire to work in alliance with the PDP to ensure Jonathan wins the South West zone in 2015.

But his gesture was not welcome by Kashamu. However, the former governor refused to be bullied. In a statement issued some weeks ago, he described Kashamu as “suffering from political inexperience and over-confidence.”

Kashamu, who is currently the Chairman, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of South West PDP, fired back in salvos. Describing Daniel as “someone suffering from an overdose of political prostitution,” the PDP chieftain in a statement by his media aide, Austin Onyiokor said, “It is Daniel that is suffering from overdose of political prostitution as a result of his serial defeat in the battle for the souls of the various parties he sought to ply his trade.

“It is laughable that a renowned political prostitute like Daniel can refer to someone, who has defeated him several times as inexperienced and over-confi-

dent. What Daniel probably presumes to be his experience is how he uses party platform to negotiate and feather his own nest just like he did in 2011. The national leadership of our great party, the PDP, is wiser now and will not fall for such tricks anymore.

“Perhaps, he thought we have forgotten that it was the same Daniel, who jumped from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the PDP and from PDP to PPN, now PPN to LP, after the PDP made him all that he claims to be today.

“Now, he has gone back to LP and yet he says he wants to collaborate with us to chase away the APC government in Ogun State. We say no. How can you collaborate with us to chase away the APC government when you are fielding candidates for the same offices apart from the Presidency?”

Truce at last?

In the last few weeks, Daniel had held separate meetings with Kashamu and Jubril Martine-Kuye preparatory to his formal return to the PDP. The agenda of these meetings, it was gathered, is on the need to present a united front against Governor Amosun ahead the 2015 governorship elections.

It is, however, not clear yet whether concrete agreements have been reached by the gladiators on issues such as the sharing of party offices and choice of governorship candidate.

Who picks the PDP ticket?

The Nation gathered that one of the issues that may prove contentious within the new alliance is the choice of a governorship candidate and the state leader of the party.

But a former commissioner in the Daniel-led administration, who is a PDP chieftain, disagreed. He told our correspondent on the condition of anonymity that only one goal is paramount among PDP leaders in the state.

He said: “Nobody is talking about who will be the leader of the party in the state at the moment. The agenda right now is how to defeat (Governor) Amosun. And the only way that can happen is for our

• Martins-Kuye

leaders, who are scattered in different parties, to unite. Anything short of that would spell doom for the party at the polls, because to defeat an incumbent has never been as easy task.”

While expressing his optimism on the prospects of achieving unity in the party, the former commissioner added, “Once we choose our governorship candidate, that person would serve as the rallying point for the party in the state.”

The list of governorship aspirants in Ogun PDP include a third term lawmaker, Abiodun Akinlade, who is also the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology; two former federal lawmakers, Kayode Amusan and Sikiru Ogundele.

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, is also rumoured to be interested in the ticket, but sources disclosed that he is yet to formally declare his intention due to the “negative signals he is getting from leaders of the party in Ogun State.”

Bankole, according to a source, is wary of plunging headlong into the race unless he receives fool-proof assurances from party leaders to back his aspiration.

But those assurances may be hard to come by, as other aspirants, particularly Akinlade, has since taken off from the starting blocks in the race for the PDP 2015 governorship ticket.

In the last five months, the lawmaker, who hails from Ogun West zone, which is yet to produce the state governor since its creation in 1976, has been quietly mobilising party leaders from the three senatorial zones in the state in furtherance of his ambition.

Kashamu tackles Daniel for Ogun East senate ticket Another thorny issue that may put the impending alliance in jeopardy is the alleged plan by Buruji Kashamu to contest for the Ogun East Senatorial ticket against Daniel, who is also interested in the seat.

This development, according to a source, is a clear indication that Kashamu is not ready to cede his leadership status in the party to Daniel.

Kashamu’s camp is afraid that if Daniel wins the seat, he could use his privileged position to assume the leadership of the party, particularly if the PDP fails to unseat Amosun.

As the reconciliation process trudges on, it remains to be seen whether this would be enough to dislodge Amosun from the Oke Mosan Government House.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

Y

OU are one of those who have been very outspoken on the issue of the kidnapped Chibok girls. Days after their kidnap, the federal government says it is doing everything possible to get them released. What’s your take on this?

Like I said few weeks back, this is a tough one for us as a nation. It has really exposed our weakness as a republic. How can these happen to us? It shows the value our leaders place on human lives.

We are in a situation that we have never been before. It’s sad that 170 days after, our kidnapped schoolgirls are still not back. I’m feeling really disappointed and I’m sure that majority of Nigerians feel this same way I feel. The implication of this is that our nation is an aeroplane with no pilot and no attendant in sight and we don’t know where we are heading.

There is no excuse for the government.

We have no excuse as Nigerians. This shouldn’t happen to us I repeat. We are a brilliant and intelligent race. Our current state is a bad omen. Definitely, it is beyond imagination that this is happening in Nigeria. The government has no excuse for its shortcomings.

But why do you think it is so difficult to get the girls out of captivity?

Obviously, there is something missing in the present day Nigeria; a development that has sent a clear message to lay people like me about the security of this country. If we can’t fight to return the missing Chibok girls, what would we do if there was an external attack on this nation?

God forbid! How will the people of Nigeria be defended? Should we all accept that we are on our own and we have nobody to defend us? This is not the Nigeria we grew up in. The country I knew as mine will not abandon innocent kids in the hands of marauders.

When you pick up the newspapers today, the stories that stare you in the face are the horrified accounts of how people are being butchered; how innocent women and children are being kidnapped; how villages and towns are being razed. The number of deaths Nigeria recorded since insurgency keeps growing and the government appears helpless.

This is not good enough. So sad! I bet this would not happen during the era of the first generation of Nigerian leaders. The names like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa, Obafemi Awolowo and the likes, whose faces appear on the Nigerian currency, have earned great credit both home and abroad. That is why we still talk about them today.

Are you saying the current leadership cannot measure up to what obtained in years gone past?

We still have some good leaders around but with all due respect, one could feel the absence of those men of honour and integrity. There was something special about them. They exuded honour and integrity in all ramifications. Those who were opportuned to come in contact with them would attest to this. You felt something whenever they are around you.

I remember when Tafawa Balewa spoke at the Commonwealth Conference in England; people commended Nigeria.

People commended me as a Nigerian and I remember feeling very proud. They said to me, ‘I like the intonation of your Prime Minister.’ Truly, he had a golden voice and that made you feel proud. The way the then leaders carried themselves was quite unique and they were not after what they can acquire. They were motivated by the desire to serve the people. They had the interest of Nigeria at heart; a lot of them. Talk about Awolowo, talk about Azikiwe and you will be talking about great examples of leadership. These were not leaders that will abandon kids in the hands of scoundrels. I am a mother, I know how it feels. I can tell you I know what the mothers of those girls are feeling like now.

According to you, as a child, you watched the electioneering campaign of the First Republic and even participated in some. What would you say are the difference between the electioneering of that era and what we have today?

The electioneering campaigns of that era were something to be proud of as a young Nigerian. You cannot compare what we have now with what obtained

POLITICS

‘Jonathan has no excuse over Chibok girls’ Princess Adenrele Adeniran-Ogunsanya is the Secretary-General of the Lagos State Women’s Forum and former Secretary to Lagos State Government during Governor Babatunde Fashola’s first term. Her father, the colourful Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya, was a frontline politician in the First Republic as a chieftain of the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroun (NCNC). In this interview with The Nation, she spoke on the politics of Lagos State, Chibok girls, her experience as a female politician and other contemporary issues in an interview with Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan.

•Ogunsanya

in those days. The political campaigns we organise now lack class and decency.

Then, it was about issues and colour. Now, it’s not about issues, it’s the use of vulgar languages; throwing barbs and mud at one other. Murder and all other forms of violence are now part of electioneering in our country, all because they want to serve the people. The same people they kill and maim to get to power.

Your group, the Lagos State Women Forum, as you said, was set up to encourage women to make their presence felt in politics beyond singing and dancing. How well have you fared with the initiative?

We have done well. But more still remain to be done. We are not there yet. We are still being short-changed by you men.

We made it known through protests that we are being short-changed, despite that we have a superior numerical strength over men in all political gatherings. Check out at meetings; at rallies, even at the polls.

Aside these, we are active members of all the political parties. We get the men into offices. But we get the crumbs, just the crumbs afterwards. That is what we are kicking against. We want to help bridge the wide gap between women and our men folk in politics and other public

endeavours. This is a deliberate attempt on our part to get our women actively involved in the mainstream of political activities, because politics, whether we like it or not, is an agency for change. Women are more into politics than men. So, we are seeking more recognition; more roles and more challenges in politics and governance. I believe we will get there soon.

You once said Lagos has done well in promoting women in politics.

Yes. Lagos State has not done too badly for women when it comes to appointment but more can still be done to address inequalities. We are more productive than the men. We are more passionate about achieving results for the party than the men. And

by God’s grace, I see a woman winning governorship election in Lagos State very soon.

So, you want a woman governor in 2015?

Not necessarily in 2015, but if it is possible; why not? In Lagos, we have set a standard; what is important for now is that we want a young and vibrant person to become the governor of the state. And Fashola has set that pace. We want that to continue. Male or female; we want an equally effective governor to succeed Fashola.

And personally, I am in support of the agitation of my people from Ikorodu to pro-

21

duce the next governor of the state.

Ikorodu had been short-changed in terms of political office sharing and allocation in Lagos State. Ikorodu division should produce the next governor of the state in line with the tenets of equality and justice.

We have supported others in the past to take their turns. Now, it is the turn of Ikorodu. And that is why we are soliciting the support of all other divisions in the state because as the saying goes, “one good turn, surely, deserves another.”

That is as far as I see the Lagos 2015 governorship race.

But perhaps, Nigeria needs a female president now to move farther, because, I think in most cases, women do their jobs well and they try to excel. And, when you find a woman in a position you know she is 20 times better than the man.

Certainly, a woman can be the president of this great country and do the job well.

Tell us about your late father, the colourful Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya.

When I talk about my father, I largely want to talk about honour and integrity in politics. That is what I remember him for the most. He taught me to be honourable in public service at all times.

At the end of the Second Republic, while other politicians went into hiding, he submitted himself for probe. Despite the trump-up charges of embezzlement levelled against him, he was not only exonerated, the military government handed back to him over half a million naira wrongly taken from him.

My father was one of Zik’s closest associates. And they would put me on the campaign vehicle to sing and say the slogans of the NCNC. And once or twice, they would put me on the platform to sing at campaigns. My father kept me near himself. Whenever he wanted to have a meeting with his colleagues, he would call me to take a chair, get closer and listen. I used to get angry because I wanted to play or watch the TV. Of what use, I often asked myself then, was this information?

I think all these were intentional by my father to groom me for politics. I think he recognised my flair for politics and had been sending me to represent him at political gatherings since I was 19, but I started full blown politics in 1977.

Talking about you as a politician, you left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the then Action Congress now All Progressive Congress (APC). Any regrets?

I have no regrets about joining my party. I have said it over and over again.

It took time for me to change. I tried my best to stay in PDP. I had been part of the formation of that party, the PDP, through the likes of Chief Bode George and many others. But it was obvious I could no longer remain there. I was not wanted there and that was in PDP Lagos, not by the general body. Our views are not the same.

In any case, this is the state that I belong to, I have no other state. I can claim I’m a Nigerian. I can claim any other state and even by association, claim the Eastern part of Nigeria. You know the relationship they have with my father and the great affection my father had for the Igbos. I also have great affection for that particular area but this is where I have my roots.

And how would you describe life after office as SSG? Serving as the Secretary to the State Government in Lagos was a very dynamic experience for me. I have been on board at the federal level and I have been an executive member of various committees but I have never really worked in government as a daily job. I learnt a lot and I have become very versatile as a result. The job did not disturb my relationship with my friends and I always had people around me. I didn’t get carried away with the position either.

However, life after office is normal for me. Not much has changed, except for the fact that I do not attend functions or parties. In any case, I have never been a party person. I would not call myself a socialite. I only attend parties that I feel are very important.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

POLITICS

S early as 10.00 am, they began to arrive at the Lokoja Township Stadium bearing different banners and campaign posters of party chieftains and chanting the praises of the party while denigrating the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. It was a rally organised by the party to receive members of the PDP who were dumping the party for the APC. All roads leading to the stadium were practically taken over by the supporters, while the police had a hectic time controlling the crowd.

Campaign posters of former military Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso were everywhere in the stadium and so were those of the aspirants to the various political offices in Kogi State, from the State House of Assembly to the Senate. Surprisingly, there were no campaign posters for the position of the governor at the stadium.

While the people waited for the dignitaries to arrive for the rally scheduled to begin at 12.00 noon, they sang, danced and made caricature of the PDP. The arrival of Governor Kwankwaso threw the stadium into excitement which grew stronger as other personalities arrived the stadium. Atiku Abubakar, General Muhammadu Buhari and the leader of the party in the state, Prince Abubakar Audu, all arrived at the stadium almost at the same time to the admiration of the people.

But with the event ready for a smooth take off at about 1.35, The Master of Ceremony and former member of the House of Representatives, Dino Melaye, announced that the plane carrying one of the national leaders of the party and former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was on his way to the event with two unnamed governors from the South-West were prevented from landing at the Obajana Airstrip. He announced later that former Kwara State governor, Senator Bukola Saraki, was also prevented from landing in the state to attend the event.

The Nation gathered that the present PDP government in the state has practically frustrated some of the party leaders in the state, including a former party chairman of the PDP for eight years, relegating them to the background in the administration of the state and failing to heed advice to develop the state.

Speaking at the event, the APC Chairman in the state, Alhaji Haddy Ametuo, said the day marked the end of the PDP in Kogi State and Nigeria. Ametuo expressed the belief that with some of the top leaders of the ruling party joining the main opposition party in the state, the state was set to witness a tremendous transformation. He said that under the PDP government, Kogo has suffered from

When APC leaders stormed Kogi Tony Akowe captures the rhythm of the recent All Progressives Congress (APC) political rally in Kogi where many chieftains of Peoples Democratic Party defected to APC

what he called leadership kwashiorkor. According to him, the APC was the best party for Nigeria and Kogi State, saying “we have to vote the PDP out in the forthcoming election”. He told the decampees that “as you join the APC, you have become equal partners with the founders of the party.

We must join hands to push out the party that has saddled us with insecurity and lack of development for a long time”.

National Chairman of the Party and former Edo State governor, Chief John OdigieOyegun, who arrived the stadium alongside some national officers of the party just as the Deputy National Chairman was receiving the decampees, told the gathering that they had remained out •Oyegun of power and allowed Idris Wada to mismanage the state because they failed to protect their votes. He said “As I drive to this stadium, I saw serious mismanagement of resources as the road was virtually impassable. Look at the roof of this stadium, it is an eyesore.

We must not allow what happened during the election into the Niger East Senatorial election to happen again. I will tell you a story. I was at an event during the election and the chairman of the occasion was a PDP member. When the results were coming in, he left his seat and came to show me the results he had received. From that result, it was clear that where we were winning because there was nowhere they got up to 25

percent of the votes. But we started celebrating and went to sleep; but they did not go to sleep and that was how we lost that election.”

Oyegun said further that “the APC is growing so fast.

Many of you know I have been here three times in the past and I tell you this is the greatest number of crowd I have seen.

The PDP is finished anyway.

Have we forgotten the N20 billion? Have we forgotten the N225 million armored tank?

Can we forget the $9.6 million?

Can we forget Boko Haram?

And, look at it here in Kogi State, look at the very stadium we are standing, where the government cannot fix its roofs.

But, I want to tell you that as soon as APC comes into power, we will change all these for the

better. Teachers are not paid, workers are not paid and it is a challenge for you to ensure that they do not rise again. It is not an easy job, but we shall not make the mistake we made in the past.

I want to assure you that APC is the only party with vision, dependable and willing to do the needful.”

The Deputy National Chairman, Senator Lawal Shuibu, who received the decampees which include two former Speakers of the Kogi State House of Assembly and a two time PDP chairman in the state, said the event marked the end of the PDP in the state with the exit of some of the former leaders of the party since 1999. He explained that the APC believes in good governance which has been lacking in the state, pointing out that since the inception of PDP government, the state has witnessed total lack of development and insecurity.

Other speakers emphasised the need to vote out the PDP in the next election, especially in the state which has suffered from lack of development since the inception of the present administration. Buhari told the gathering that the only way they can vote out the PDP was by ensuring that they collect their voters cards, while those who have lost theirs, or destroyed them should take advantage of the update of the voters register to go and register.

He assured them of the determination of the APC to secure and effectively manage Nigeria, promising that the party, if elected, will provide good

healthcare, security and qualitative education which had eluded Nigerians since 1999. He said “the APC will stop the stealing of the money that belongs to all. This is the only opportunity we have to get the only country we have back into good reckoning. Let those who cannot perform give way to those who can do the job”. He reminded them of the task ahead saying “in the next five months, there will be no sleep, there will be no rest until we take over Aso Rock”.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who stole the heart of the audience with his Change Wada and Change Jonathan slogan told them that they lost the government house to the PDP because they failed to defend their votes in the last elections and enjoined them not to allow the same thing to happen in the next elections.

In the next election, he said the people must be prepared to defend their votes if they hope to have a quality government in place in the state, pointing out that both Governor Idris Wada and President Goodluck Jonathan have failed Nigerians.

Atiku, who had his supporters in good numbers displaying his campaign posters, expressed confidence that APC will emerge victorious at the next presidential election in 2015.

Kwankwasiyan exponent, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, expressed worry about the rising rate of corruption, insecurity and total lack of development in the country. He assured that the APC was prepared to give the country a new type of leadership and free it from bad leadership. The Kano state governor said: “There is corruption in the land, in the air and water, crude oil theft, Boko Haram in the north, kidnapping in the south, no electricity and no jobs. This is why we need change in the country. APC is prepared to make the country a better place”.

While welcoming the defectors to the party, he urged all those who may have left the APC to make a detour in order to join hands with the progressives to salvage the country.

Other dignitaries at the rally included, APC Deputy National Chairman, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, National Deputy Chairman, South West, Engr. Segun Oni, former governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, former Minister of State for Petroleum, Shuaib Abdullahi, APC National Treasurer, Bala Muhammed and National Organizing Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, among.

Those who joined the party with their supporters are two former speakers who at one time or the other acted as governor, Clarence Olafemi, Abdulahi Bello, Alhajj Ibrahim Aliko, Chief John Odanwu, Amb. Isaac Onu, former members of the state House of Assembly, including, a member representing Kogi Constituency, Salihu Akawu, and 10 former chairmen of local government councils.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

POLITICS

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‘APGA not collapsing into PDP’ Edozie Udeze had a recent encounter with Chief Anselem Dunu, the member representing Anaocha Constituency II in Anambra State House of Assembly. The chieftain of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) says, among others, that in a democratic society, politicians are free to join or defect to new parties, adding that APGA is not collapsing into PDP.

F

OR some time now the political situation in Anambra State has been hot and a little confusing. In this respect Dunu’s contention therefore comes on the heels of incessant carpeting and cross-carpeting of many politicians in recent times. “You see, we are in a democratic era. And as a democratic society, every citizen of this country has some rights and privileges.

These are the sort of rights no one can trample upon or try to deny them. Politics, as far as we know, is a game where players feel free to be who they are.

Therefore that some former members of APGA, the ruling party in the state, have decided to move to another party is still part of the game of politicking.

No one can deny them of that right. Indeed, decamping, cross-carpeting and political re-alignments are all part of the game,” he said.

Danu who was once the SecretaryGeneral of Ichida Town Union and a former civil servant contended that this is a society where people are free to associate with whomsoever they wish. “It depends on the person and who he or she wants to associate with. I have no quarrel with those who have elected to dump our party for another. I felt however that it would have been better if they had remained in the party. This is so because it was APGA that gave them the limelight. It was APGA that sponsored them into where they are today.

All the same, everything is left for the Nigerian constitution to take care of.

Well, I personally wish them good luck; they can go and I must tell you here that does not in any way affect APGA. The party, to the best of my knowledge, is waxing stronger and stronger. To us, the party can do without them,” he said.

Dunu, an economist, defended the party as one that has a national spread.

“Let me make it clear here that APGA is not a regional party. No, it is not. The National Chairman of the party is from Anambra State, but what of other officers of the party? Have you talked about the secretary and other officers? APGA has offices in all states of the federation; we contested the senate by-election that was just conducted in Niger State and

•Dunu

the party’s presence was visibly felt. We didn’t win, but we have the spread. Then coming down to the basics, the party must have places where it is always very strong. Our party is strong in Anambra State. There is no doubt about that and it is there for all to see.”

The lawmaker, however, made reference to the person of the Late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, whom he said his spirit is still behind the progress of the party. “In fact, the strong spirit that happens to be behind APGA is that of our great hero, the Ikemba Nnewi. You cannot deny that fact. Now, I cannot say because APGA is the one controlling Anambra State, that makes it limited to the state or the region. In Imo State, the party is strong and alive. The only thing is that we won there but they stole our mandate. But we are poised to gain it back in 2015. In Abia State too we are making serious

incursions. The progress there is fast and rapid. With time, others will join. In Igboland, at times, we find it difficult to understand certain things. But once we understand and the person understands where you are going, he will follow you. Come 2015, you will see a difference. I can assure you of that.”

Concerning the efforts being put in place to ensure that the Igbo cultural and linguistic values are not allowed to fizzle out, the lawmaker said; “Well, in the first place, it is not the responsibility of the House to force people to keep to their cultures and norms. It is not necessarily for the Assembly. This is a job and responsibility of everyone who calls himself an Igbo man or woman. Yes, the Assembly will lead the way; it will set examples for others to follow. But other persons must follow. Indeed, there is a need for Igbo cultural revival. Our children are missing it and we are missing our children. Most of them do not know how to speak their mother tongue again. It is a cause for concern and with the law the State Assembly enacted that said every Wednesday of the week both the government and the people, in fact every official transaction in the state must be in Igbo, we have set the pace already.”

So far, most Houses of Assembly in Igbo land have insisted that the local language be taught in all the catchment areas. This way, children are made to be in tune with their language and are able to communicate very well in it.

On the insinuation that APGA is gradually collapsing into the PDP, he said, “No that is not true. What we are saying is that President Jonathan is doing well. And since he is doing well, let us give him a second chance. The support is not for the PDP; it is for the president so that he will have the opportunity to do more. There is no way our great party can collapse into another one,” he stated with deep conviction.

Danjuma and Taraba power struggle •Continued from Page 19 visit. “Are we saying he has no right to visit the family of the ailing governor?

I can’t see how that amounts to taking sides. Even if he does, how many of the critics can lay claims to knowing what is good for us more that TY,” she querried.

Before the alleged secret visit, the return of Suntai, who is regarded as Danjuma’s political godson, had created ripples in the state’s political circles and split the loyalty of the leadership and members of the state House of Assembly between the governor and his deputy, Acting Governor Garba Umar.

Although Danjuma described his visit to Suntai as “private” and declined to talk to journalists, it was reported that he threw his weight behind Suntai in the crisis that involved that State House of Assembly and pleaded that in the political impasse, the law should take its course, a position his critics said would favour Suntai.

One year after, with the alleged endorsement adding up to heat up the Taraba polity, it seems Danjuma and other elder statesmen like him in the state have no option than to rise above criticism to douse the tension and prepare the state for peaceful elections

ahead 2015.

With the second return of Suntai last month, the tense political situation in Taraba is not only renewed, it has indeed peaked with the latest claims that Danjuma, just like what he did in 2013, may have resolved not to sit by and watch the worst happen to his state but to be part of the process that would help ensure a radical change in the state. Like before, that effort, according to Dr. Lawrence Sani, has been “deliberately misinterpreted by political bigots who are using this opportunity to heap up insults on the elder statesman. Knowing how courageous TY is, I do not see him feeling intimidated.”

So far, the atmosphere, fired by the fuel of suspicion and wild allegations, is becoming hotter by the day.

Commenting on the development, Acting Governor Garba Umah said, “We have once again stepped into a tense situation occasioned by the second return of His Excellency, Governor Danbaba Suntai, from treatment abroad.

The insistence by a powerful bloc on the state that I hand over to my boss even against professional advice is at the centre of the current impasse.”

Umar made the observation when he visited the national headquarters of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last week.

He emphasised the fact that the request was against professional advice that Suntai is not fit to govern for now, and told the members of the National Working Committee of the party that a panel raised by the State House of Assembly would determine if the governor was fit to rule or not.

According to him, “The state of affairs in our state has generally been stable since the intervention as His Excellency Governor Suntai continues to receive medical care within and outside the country. As can be clearly seen over this period, the medical condition of Governor Suntai is improving. And we are waiting for the doctors to certify him to be fit to resume his duties.

“This has forced the State Executive Council to request the State House of Assembly to set up a medical panel to verify the state of health of our beloved governor. I’ve heard people say the motive behind the setting up of the panel is to remove the governor. This is not true. It is merely intended to determine if I can hand over to him or not.”

Observers said it is a repeat of the 2013 scenerio, a confirmation that in the strange power game in Taraba, the state has gone a full circle.

Where all these intrigues will leave the state remains to be seen as the 2015 general elections draw nearer.

Understanding Ogun politics

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BOUT five months to the general elections, it is yet unclear who is where in Ogun State. Who are the governorship aspirants in the Peoples Democratic Party? Who is contesting for what office on the platform of the All Progressives Congress? And, is the Labour Party still attractive to those seeking one to hire for 2015?

In concrete terms, is President Olusegun Obasanjo still a loyal member of the PDP? Would he be willing to back the official candidate of the party for the presidency and governorship? In view of the hijack of the party by Chief Buruji Kashamu and his men, could the party accommodate the former President?

Also, former Governor Gbenga Daniel appears to be floating. Is he staying back in the LP? Or would he cross over to PDP and join forces with others to fight Governor Amosun?

Another former governor, Chief Segun Osoba, is a bitter man. He could not fathom what Governor Amosun is up to. Osoba’s men are already talking to the PDP and would only accept to work with the governor if he agrees to cede as many legislative offices as he got in 2011 to him. This appears an impossible condition for the Amosun faction that believes it was shortchanged in 2011.

The worst hit of the political parties appears to be the APC, as Chief Osoba is already looking out for new friends.

He used the National Conference as an opportunity to point out to suitors that he was available and, his men, especially those in the National Assembly, have started jumping ship.

This could be dangerous for the Amosun bid.

The PDP success in Ekiti has shown that politics is actually the art of the possible. The terrain in all the states of the South West is actually slippery and whoever thinks he stands firm should beware lest he falls.

Amosun is generally believed to have performed creditably in his first term. The model schools and roads constructed by his administration attest to this. But, again, as Ekiti showed, voter behaviour is not altogether dictated by performance in office. The same people hailing him for bringing their communities closer to humanity could be influenced to vote against him for sentimental reasons.

The two main gladiators for the APC need to realise that the progressives stand to lose more than the conservatives. It would be a reproach to the political tradition of the region following the defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko to the PDP and Fayose’s emergence in Ekiti.

Chief Osoba should realise that the term elder statesman is not a mere appellation. It is earned through experience and tolerance. He has paid his dues, both in journalism, his first love, and politics. However, it would be myopic to expect that the governor would easily yield ground to him by ratifying the greedy allocation formula of 2011.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun, too, has a lot to lose if he fails to make concessions. While not expecting him to lay a foundation that would lead to the collapse of his political edifice, it will do him no harm by finding means of acknowledging that Osoba is one of the respected elders of the party.

The crisis rocking the APC in most of the states is an indication that the elders have a lot to do yet. And in no time too. The likes of the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former chairman Chief Bisi Akande, General Muhammadu Buhari, among others need to work out solutions to check the slide.

Already, the party has lost Ekiti and Adamawa States.

Nasarawa is not particularly sure given the ethnic division and PDP dominance of the House of Assembly. The party is facing a peculiar challenge in Oyo State where Accord has a foothold and could split the APC votes in Ibadan.

Ogun is not irredeemable. Should the elders step in now, and, if the combatants decide to put aside selfishness, neither the PDP nor Labour stands any chance. The reality is that the elections have to be woven around the governor. He holds the structures of the party and has proven his charisma and sagacity at the polls.

In 2007 when he was handed the governorship ticket of the little-known All Nigeria Progressive Party (ANPP), he came a close second to the ruling PDP. The ACN was a distant third. This accounted for the head-hunting that led to making him the ACN candidate four years later. He did not disappoint as he resoundingly defeated the heavyweights in the PDP and PPN. Now that he is in power, it is inconceivable to shove him aside and impose unrealistic conditions on him.

In Ogun, Amosun is the man of the moment. Chief Segun Osoba is an elder and should be pacified to accept the new reality. However, should both men decide to go different ways, the wall of the party would have split open and the lizards would thereby gain access. The PDP is a foe that should not be underrated. A divided house cannot stand.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

POLITICS

N denying his petition for a writ of mandamus, Justice Richard A. Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, made this tongue-in-cheek observation: “If he (Kashamu) wants to fight the charges, he has only to fly from Lagos to Chicago; there are loads of reasonably priced flights. See Priceline.com, ‘Cheap Flights from Lagos, Nigeria, to Chicago, IL.” The PDP chieftain is not amused by the American jurist’s attempt at levity. He says: “Mr. Posner apparently intent on changing a fundamental principle of criminal and International Human rights law, places upon a suspect who has never been in the US before (merely upon being informed of allegations against him before a US court) the responsibility to buy a cheap ticket from www. priceline.com, come to the US to surrender himself into the arms of the US judiciary (to prove his innocence of the charges against him?) and, as recommended by him, in my case, to face a possible life sentence before a judge whose mind is already made up even without evidence.”

For Kashamu, the allurement to fly to the United States of his own accord and expense to taste American justice is clearly uninviting. He says it is akin to telling someone who had been miraculously healed of cancer to bring it upon himself again just to show off the miraculous powers of his God. Events leading to Posner’s September 15 ruling were triggered by a motion filed earlier this year by Kashamu in which he sought a dismissal of the indictment against him on grounds that the court had no personal jurisdiction over him because he had never been in the US. He also argued that the speedy-trial clause of the Sixth Amendment bars his prosecution because the American government has not sought for his extradition for 11 years.

While acknowledging that Kashamu had never been to the US, as well as the fact that the British court had rejected an earlier bid by the Americans to get him extradited to face the drugs trafficking charge, the judge insisted that the recourse to the speedy-trial clause as grounds for dismissal was premature. He said the indictment had no expiration date. “An original indictment remains pending until it is dismissed or until double jeopardy or due process would forbid prosecution under it.”

Posner would rather the politician come to the US to stand trial and during that process renew his bid for dismissal of charges on the basis of the speedy trial clause. The second option would be to apply for the writ of mandamus – as he has done – but now while facing trial.

Kashamu’s 16-year battle to extricate himself from his legal nightmare began in May 1998 when he was charged in an indictment by a Chicago grand jury along with 13 others of allegedly conspiring to import and distribute heroin into the United States.

Following that indictment, Kashamu who was then living in Benin Republic travelled to Britain and was held at the request of the US authorities.

He recounts that event thus: “In December 1998, I travelled to London as part of my business activities. I recall that it was a Friday afternoon at the city airport in London.

I had on me between 300,000 and 400,000 pounds. The police asked how I got the money and I showed them documents. Not knowing what was in their mind, I was asked to come back on Monday for the money because they wanted to carry out an investigation. I left them and went to my house in London.

“If it were somebody involved in any shady deal, he would have run away. But I did not run away. I went back to the police on my own volition the following Monday. It was when I got there that they told me about the drug case. I was told that the suspects in the case had mentioned an ‘Alaji’ as the leader of the ring and that it was believed that I was the one. I was told that there was an international arrest warrant for my arrest issued by the United States.

That was the beginning of my nightmare in the hands of American authorities. I was detained and an application for my extradition to the US was made to the British Courts by the US authorities through the British Crown Prosecution Service.

“I declared from the moment of my arrest that I was not the person involved in the alleged narcotics business and that this was a case of mistaken identity. As a result, an identification parade was conducted by

I’ll fight US charges till end - Kashamu

The recent judgment of a United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeal dismissing politician and businessman, Prince Buruji Kashamu’s, second bid to quash an indictment over drug trafficking charges, could not have come at a worse time for him. As chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Contact, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee in the South West, he is battling to assert himself as the ruling party’s pre-eminent figure in the zone – a task made more difficult by the ammunition which the judicial setback has provided for his political rivals. But in this report by Festus Eriye, Kashamu insists that he’s being wrongly accused and prosecuted by the US for an offence he didn’t commit, and one for which a British court had absolved him.

•Kashamu the British authorities and the leader of the confessed criminals in the US clearly stated that I was not the man they knew as ‘Alaji’. However, the US authorities decided not to reveal this information to the British court and were able to secure an order in their favour in 1998 for my extradition to the US. “Fortunately for me, the result of the identification parade came into the hands of my lawyers early in 1999 before I could be taken to the US and they immediately commenced a Habeas Corpus action in the English High Court, Queens Bench division, for my release and the vacation of the committal order made by the court.

“The English High Court in December 1999 delivered its judgment in which it agreed that the order for my committal was null and void having been the product of unfair proceedings in which exculpatory evidence had been suppressed by the prosecutor. The US authorities did not appeal that decision but immediately had me rearrested and commenced a second extradition process against me at the Bow Street

Magistrate Court in England before District Judge Tim Workman.

“The Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) sent two of its top operatives to give oral evidence and to be cross examined during the proceedings. This trial lasted three years with several witnesses attending the trial to give oral evidence before the court, and mountains of documents being tendered.”

In the end the judge declined to extradite him on the ground that Kashamu’s brother was one of the co-conspirators mentioned in the Chicago indictment. Following his release, Kashamu returned to Nigeria to pick up the pieces of his life. Unfortunately for him, the unresolved US indictment continues to follow him like a shadow.

Again, he’s forced to respond to what he terms “misconceptions on my efforts to obtain justice within the US judicial system.” He says he’s doing this so people are not misled. His lawyers are currently exploring opportunities available for appealing Posner’s September

judgment.

Shedding light on his reservations regarding the judgment, he said: “Before my political adversaries begin the usual perversion of truth, I wish to underline that Judge Posner ignored the facts on record and the findings of the English courts in coming to his conclusions that: I have no rights under the American Constitution because I have never been in the United States and, ‘It would be very odd that someone with so attenuated a connection to the United States would have rights under the US Constitution.’

“The Judge also ruled that, ‘But no matter; even if the government is incorrect and Kashamu does have constitutional rights, he still loses, because they haven’t been violated.’

“I want to note that in working his way to these conclusions, he had already made, Judge Posner wrongly finds that only two options are available to me: The first is to ‘return’ to the US which I had never visited and ‘stand trial and at the trial renew his motion for dismissal on the basis of the speedy trial clause’ and second ‘is to obtain from us, as he is trying to do, a writ of mandamus ordering the District Court to dismiss the indictment.’

“Judge Posner came to these wrong conclusions to create a scenario of a stalemate between me and the US authorities whereby he states that I will not come to the U.S. to fall into the clutches of the US judiciary and that the US authorities in turn have little hope of ever extraditing me to the US in view of my prominence in Nigeria and the findings of the British courts, thus he then concludes: ‘as he won’t risk the first path to relief, which would require him to come to the United States and fall into the clutches of the federal judiciary, he must rely entirely on mandamus’ “He then proceeds to reject the application for mandamus for the reason that I have not come to the US to ‘face the judicial music.’

“Judge Posner in building the stalemate scenario then expresses his disbelief in the US Government’s statement, in response to my application, that it has now found the atmosphere in Nigeria more favourable for my extradition to the US and responds to their vaunted optimism thus: ‘But the government may be whistling in the dark in saying that it’s optimistic about being able to extradite him from Nigeria (no doubt it was opti-mistic about being able to extradite him from the United Kingdom). The proof of the pudding is in the eating: the government has not tried to extradite Kashamu from Nigeria and for all we know may be feigning “optimism” in order to un-dermine Kashamu’s claim that the threat of extradition is a sword of Damocles disrupting his life with-out our government’s having to undergo the expense and uncertainty of seeking extradition of a foreign big shot exonerated (though only partly) by the judiciary of our British ally. Given Kashamu’s prominence in Nigerian business and government circles, and the English Magistrate’s findings and conclusion, the probability of extradition may actually be low.’

“Judge Posner in conclusion, for the above reason, finds in favour of the US government, that it has no duty to attempt any extradition of any suspect charged for an offence in the US since all it needs do is to inform that suspect that a charge has been made against him in the US and that suspect thereupon be-comes duty bound to take the next plane to the US at his own expense to challenge the charge and prove his innocence.

“Mr. Posner feigned ignorance of the statistics that show a serious racial prejudice against blacks and foreigners (especially from de-veloping countries) by the mainly white dominated federal judiciary of the United States. However, his own prejudice is quite patent in the casual manner he has treated this important matter and attempts to call a dog a bad name in order to hang it.

“The use of the phrase “though only partly” to qualify his own concession that the British judiciary had ‘exonerated’ me again shows that Judge Posner either lacks a thorough grasp of his own record or is being mischievous. The statement of the British court which he refers to as only part exoneration is as follows: ‘As a result of the evidence that the Defence has placed before me and the evidence which the government •Continued on Page 68

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

POLITICS

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AN you confirm the rumour that you are interested to succeed Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso in 2015?

Well, friends and supporters across the state, especially at the grassroots level have been agitating that I should run for the governorship race. Meanwhile, I am in the process of consultations, as one cannot take such a monumental decision without consultations.

So, we are consulting and whatever the outcome of the consultations, we will make it known to the public very soon.

How far have you gone with consultations and preparations for this project?

Well, consultations have no limit, as politics is essentially about consulting, so we have been consulting people for a pretty long time, since the resurfacing of governorship election issues, particularly after the congresses, which we held recently.

What would be your agenda if you are voted into office?

In a contest like this, there are two stages; the first stage is to get the party’s nod to run as the party’s flag bearer. To that extent, one has to sort it out within the ranks and file of members of the party, particularly those who will go to the state congress to elect the gubernatorial candidate. Once that is accomplished, one faces the general populace and put forward his programmes, as well as the party’s position and the like.

PDP as a party has a platform or manifesto, which it issues at the end of every four years, prior to the beginning of each electioneering season, which will be the case this time round, as every candidate of the party would be expected to campaign on the platform of the party’s manifestoes and programmes. However, if consultations turn out to be positive that one should run and if I do run and clinch the party’s ticket, my immediate priority would be to assemble officials, who I will saddle with the responsibilities of bringing positive change in all sectors in the life of Kano people.

Are you confident that PDP will recapture Kano in 2015?

Well, incumbency in Kano politics has been demystified when it comes to election. Previously, I was the head of Kwankwaso/Ganduje campaign team, way back in 2003, we had the incumbency factor but unfortunately, it did not work in our favour; we lost to Malam Ibrahim Shekarau of the then ANPP, which was little known and it wasn’t a party that was popular in Kano but all of a sudden it just came up due to so many factors. Also, in 2011, nobody ever gave Kwankwaso any chance because of the incumbency factor but again Kwankwaso became governor for a second mandate after being out of office for eight years. So, there are two cases we can cite in the contemporary history of Kano, where incumbency factor has been demystified, so, that is no longer an issue for us.

You know, this kind of development will continue to happen. You cannot have full grown democracy until you have a situation whereby the incumbent can lose power. An incumbent party can be in and out of power at any time, just like the opposition can be in and out of power at any time. That indicates some kind of positive development. It has happened twice in Kano.

You once highlighted some of the late Governor Abubakar Rimi’s landmark achievement. Which of them, would you want to embrace in future?

There is no policy of the late Rimi’s Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) administration that any sensible Kano leader in government would not want to repeat and build on. Indeed, it would be my model of governance for Kano State. For example, the late Rimi ran a people’s centered administration. He championed and implemented an aggressive adult literacy programme, which won Kano State the UNESCO medal for adult literacy, the second time that medal was awarded in the

•Indabawa,

‘If elected, I will revive Aminu Kano’s ideology’ Dr Akilu S. Indabawa, former Political Adviser to exPresident Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and one time Political Adviser to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, is an aspirant for the Kano State governorship seat on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Akilu, who is currently the PDP National Youth Leader, served Governor Rab’u Musa Kwankwaso as Senior Special Adviser on Political Affairs between 1999 and 2003. A one-time lecturer at the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Education, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Akilu was also the Secretary, Confab Presidential Organising Committee at the recently concluded National Conference in Abuja. He spoke to newsmen in Kano and gave an insight on his mission and ambition to govern Kano.

Kolade Adeyemi was there. Excerpts... world, the first time being in the mid 1970s when it was awarded to Fidel Castro for his Adult Literacy Campaign in Cuba. The second time the world had seen that medal was when Rimi ran a massive adult literacy programme and he won in a space of one year between 1980 and 1981, the PRP administration that he led made about a million or thereabout Kano people, who were earlier illiterates, to be literate within one year. That was an award winning programme. Number two, Rimi had women focused intervention in many areas, the first time women were appointed commissioners in Kano State was when he was governor. He appointed three women at a stretch, as it was a taboo at that time. Now, women are playing more significant roles in Kano politics, if they could get three slots on the cabinet at once in 1979, then definitely, they deserve a better deal this time around.

Also, there is no reason why people in Kano, who fall sick, will be afraid of going to the hospital because of their inability to

afford the bill. The world has moved at a very fast pace. We will introduce radical health insurance policy, which will enable people to have access to world class health system. We will be able to recruit top quality and world class medical experts and procure top class medical equipment and facilities that are of international standard.

We have proposals for the radicalisation of governance in Kano State. We have proposals for the active engagement of the youths. Most of our leaders rose to stardom in their youth, mention them, President Shehu Shagari, Yusuf Maitama Sule, Danmasanin Kano and their contemporaries, all became prominent in their 20s. The late legend, Aminu Kano, started the struggle when he was 25 years. Also, Danmasini Kano became a Member of Parliament at the age of 25 or thereabout, same thing with Shagari; many of them were very young when they became somebody in the society.

We will engage the youths actively at all levels of government, we will engage them as stakeholders, not as veranda boys, give

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them drugs, buy them little weapons and they start shouting your name, who the bloody hell do you think you are?

As I said earlier, all these depend on the outcome of my consultations; if it turns out that one should run, so be it. If by the grace of God it eventually happens, then Kano people should be ready for a very radical administration, an ideologically based regime. Ideology is not dead as we will prove to the world that the ideology of the late legendary Aminu Kano is alive.

We will prove to the world that the ideology of the late Mohammed Abubakar Rimi is alive. We will prove to the world that the ideology of the late Sabo Bakin Zuwo is alive. We will prove to the world that there is more to governance than just going into government to make money, as they are competing with the richest people. Some of these people that in government are largely there because they want to compete with Alhaji Aminu Dantata and Aliko Dangote and that is why they always want to engage them.

They go to China and woo some companies to come to Nigeria and they award them useless contracts, without following due process. They will account for all that.

How would you revive folded industries to Kano?

We will address the power sector, which is very critical to industrialisation.

Kano industries cannot run where there is no power or water. So, we have to generate additional power, spread it to Kano industries and they will be able to work.

There are also other incentives, whereby we will have to sit down with the industrialists, engage them as stakeholders and work collectively with them. There are things that we would like to do, like introducing tax incentives, some time government will lose revenue but at the end of the day, the loss of revenue from tax exemptions or tax holidays granted to industrialists would result into employment generation for the youths and income generation for a large percentage of our people.

I am ready to allow for that, as we are ready to collaborate with the business community, the industrialists, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and other stakeholders to put together an aggressive package of industrialisation.

One of the problems we had in Kano has been a recurring decimal of industrialists of going into the same line of production.

Once furniture is in vogue, everybody will veer into furniture production, no diversification. We will have to harmonise the situation by sitting down with the stakeholders and agreing on result-oriented programmes, as the basic line is power and the issue of tax incentives by way of tax exemptions and other macro-economic inputs, which we can give to industries. That would be done and we are hopeful that the results would be positive. Our focus would be on revitalisation of industries, so that the economy can be expanded to have absorptive capacity.

Once you increase the absorptive capacity of the economy, it will absorb these young men and women you find roaming the streets and it will generate income and savings, then to God be the glory.

What plans do you have for Kano youths who are roaming the streets?

I earlier told you there has to be a radical transformation of the education sector, that includes remedial education; you have to create an avenue for them to utilize those skills, that is what I am saying, we have to first of all expand the economy, so as to increase its absorptive capacity before we can address the problems of the youths. The bottom line is economic and so in whatever decision you want to take, you must bear that in mind, make sure that you revive the economy. Once the Federal Government of Nigeria is doing its own, the Kano State Government must do its own bidding by way of making sure it adopts the right economic policies and programmes that will now expand the capacity of the local economy and so forth.

If at the end you are elected Kano State governor, what would be your promise to Kano people?

I will promise them that we will run a good government that everybody would be proud of.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

ETCETERA

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SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi

POLITICKLE

deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

Samba memoirs Chapter Five: In Pelourinho

CHEEK BY JOWL

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

AFTER comparing the cost of available rooms in hotels in and around Pelourinho, I head to Irawo Hotel for the second half of my stay. There I gobble Nigerian food and tread floors that with every creak of plank and panel suggest 17th and 18th century tales and twists to construction and initial occupation by Portuguese overlords. The building typifies colonial-style storey buildings with miniature balconies fenced by rusty railings that share walls in apparent harmony.

Behind me now is Patamares Praia, where ocean waves lap the sand and sunlight warms the soul on early morning walks. As I witness, the historic centre drives Salvador’s tourism industry. On mornings with nowhere else to explore, standing at the hotel’s entrance yields reasonable results. Even if it can be helped, the eyes feast on female figures of voluptuous proportions and a cultural collage in perpetual flux. Beyond stirring interest, the feline form meticulously packaged in suggestive vests and hot pants provoke ceaseless examination of African history. Why, I wonder, does the Bahian woman tip the scales when the original back home barely reaches midpoint on the same measurement of vital statistics?

It’s the food they eat that makes them so big everywhere, says Johnson Abe, a Nigeria-born resident referencing affordable diet rich in protein. I may not go as far as ‘everywhere’, but this much I vouch for: with due respect to Nigerian women, the most beau•Bahian woman tiful women on earth live in Brazil, nay, Bahia.

And the mood on the street is ever celebratory. Brazilians covet holidays enough to embrace just about any cause for one. Such is the sustained tempo of revelry that rarely a day passes without multiple performances by Afro-Brazilian marching bands among which ‘Olodum’ catches the most fancy. Under the direction of hyperactive conductors, the bands stop traffic and draw generous applause. On the side, Rilwan’s music-mad toddler, Malek, threatens to join up and is only stopped by his minders.

Among the appreciative crowd trailing the band skips a lunatic, as I watch once. His antics fairly draw hoots, but there follows more. Behind him sways an inebriated woman eating from a plate at the same time. Soon, she taps the madcap on the shoulder and, upon his turning, hands him the leftover. Interrupted mid-move, he accepts in a daze, but disappoints onlookers expecting a violent reaction by hissing and dumping the plate on the sidewalk to resume his jig.

The carousing is not consigned to the cobblestone streets, however. Tourists attempting to master the labyrinthine precincts are inundated by fliers from pretty girls in skimpy outfits announcing regular club and bar activity.

Loath to late-night risks for much of my stay, I brave the nightlife towards the end. I tag along as Abe searches for an interesting spot, finding one at last at the base of a slope.

Inside an open club, limbs and torsos flail to the beat of loud percussions and rousing lyrics from a live band. From the doorway, I try to decode the complex, quick steps of the samba dance and fail. Poor imitation by Abe isn’t helping my confidence either. Just as I decide to join the fray nonetheless, policemen walk in to break up the party.

It’s all quiet at once and we realise there is nowhere else to go in the dead of the night. We return to the hotel, Abe somewhat unful•Street scene filled and I rather in Pelourinho pleased with the scene recently seen.

Jokes Humour Lucky Driver A POLICE officer pulls a driver over and informs him that he has just won N50,000 in a safety competition, all because he is wearing his seat belt.

“What are you going to do with the prize money?” the officer asks.

The man says, “I guess I’ll go to driving school and get my licence.”

His wife says, “Officer, don’t listen to him.

He’s a smart one when he’s drunk.”

A guy in the back seat pops up out from under a blanket and says, “I knew we wouldn’t get far in this stolen car.”

Just then a knock comes from the trunk and a voice calls out. “Are we over the border yet?”

Murderous Neighbour A JUDGE asks a defendant to please stand.

“You are charged with mutilating a garbage man with a hammer.”

From the back of the courtroom a man shouts. “You lying bastard!”

“Silence in the court!” The judge turns to the defendant again and says, “You are also charged with maiming a vendor with a

shovel.”

Again the spectator howls. “You stingy man!”

“Quiet!” said the judge. “You are also charged with injuring a delivery man with a rake.”

“You cheap son of a ...” the spectator starts to say.

The judge turns to the irate spectator. “I will hold you in contempt! What is the reason for your outbursts?”

“I’ve lived next to that lying fool for 10 years now, and he never had a tool when I needed to borrow one!”

Drawing God A KINDERGARTEN teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s artwork.

As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.

The girl replied, “I’m drawing God.” The teacher paused and said, “But no one knows what God looks like.”

Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing the girl replied, “They will in a minute.”

•Adapted from the Internet

Writer ’s Fountain ow to create real way has emotional truth built in. It glows with characters: Character can be developed authenticity. It’s also fun to write. painlessly without all the personal baggage Another idea is to have members of a and emotional blockages entailed in ‘writing writing group to which you belong pretend to you’. each be a main character in his or her story.

Needless to say, reserve that technique for Have the other members fire questions at them; just a few pivotal points in your story, where the more incisive the better. “How do you feel your character faces a life-changing situation. about sex education, corruption or global You’ll naturally know how your creation warming? Female priests? Gay marriage?” The would respond to any event. You’re now answers the author gives should not be their inside your character. It’s you, yet not you. opinions but their character’s.

This can be an invigorating exercise, apart Then the group can have fun and probe from its use in crafting a story. You thus deeper. “How can you defend your belief in discover the boundless potential of your own capitalism when it continues to cause personality. You might even become that inequality?” How would your character defend person, at least while immersed in your story. himself? It doesn’t matter whether the author To write a sequel is easier. Just stand back and believes in capitalism or not. let your other self do it. A story written in that His character does. How would your Fear factor: ‘character’ defend himself? A few rounds of •More people are afraid of open spaces that and, if you’re the author, you’ll know your (kenophobia) than of tight spaces fictive character better than yourself. (claustrophobia).

Then it’s someone else’s turn. If you don’t •King Henry III of France, Louis XIV of have a willing group available, persuade that France, and Napoleon all suffered from useful friend you enlisted earlier to act as your ailurophobia – the fear of cats. interrogator. And if you’re both writers you •The artiste, Madonna suffers from can take turns. The process is helpful. It will garophobia (the fear of thunder). enrich your story and transform your life.

H

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

•Ajayi

•Ohiwerei

•Bring Back Our Men by Ajayi

T

New order for colourists

HE catchy word in the theme of the exhibition was what pulled many art enthusiasts to the hall to view the works. With The New Order, a title that set most minds racing and wondering, four renowned Nigerian artists – Sam Ovraiti, Olu Ajayi, Pita Ohiwerei and Tony Okujeni, indeed stirred the soul and ignited the art scene with huge fire of imagination. The venue was Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos, penultimate weekend when the array of art works they displayed showed artists who do not only belong to the same Auchi traditional art school, but have been working in concert with one another to keep the visual art sector quite aglow.

This is why they are referred to as colourists – artists who focus primarily on colours as a means of exploring far-ranging concepts and concerns. They are known and often referred to as the first set of Nigerian artists who had the boldness to venture into serious studio art practice. For them, art is total commitment to professionalism and that is why their works have continued to evolve and metamorphose from stage to stage, from form to form, laying compelling emphasis on how to move from the mundane to more complicated and eccentric art.

“It is for us to show that art should not be made to remain static,” Olu Ajayi informed.

“We need to continue to move away from what we did yesterday, to do more new things in order to give the art and indeed our works new forms of experiment. You can’t continue to do the same thing over and over again. There has to be some form of modernisation, a sort of paradigm shift to make art classical and more appealing.”

Viewing the works, it was easy to see works that dwelt on the pressing problems of the society. So compelling and provoking are the works that they reinstate and reiterate freedom, purity, change, a new life and more, often reflecting on the present state of art in Nigeria. Now, how can art be used to make political, social, religious and economic statements that can guide the people towards Eldorado? This was why most of the works dwelt on expressionism. Even though the artists painted independent of one another, they later discovered that they each had the same goal, the same pattern, the same impression and theme, all represented in their works.

Moved by the level of deterioration in the Nigerian society, four of Nigeria’s foremost studio artists in the persons of Olu Ajayi, Sam Ovraiti, Pita Ohiwerei and Tony Okujeni put in place an exhibition of art works entitled the New Order. The works were more of colours in multiple dimensions, techniques and styles, reports Edozie Udeze

“So evolving new order shows that we all think alike,” Pita Ohiwerei stated.

Ohiwerei who now does what he termed scratchee art and who lives in the United States of America but comes home regularly to be at home with his pals believes his new style has brought him more fame and patronage. “Yes, scratchee is a technique I discovered in 1992. It happened while I was painting. I am that kind of artist that does not believe in the same type of technique all the time. After I did one painting, I didn’t quite like it. So, I began to scratch the surface. Surprisingly what came out was a better work of art, very appealing to the eyes.

After a few days, a lady came to my home to buy some of my works. Lo and behold, it was that scratched work that she preferred to buy.”

From then on, a new technique was born and Ohiwerei decided to dwell and concentrate on this sort of art and today even though he wants to move on to a new technique, scratchee still remains his exclusive signature and style. “Even some of my works here now at this exhibition, I scratched them. Yes, if I have a landscape work, I can scratch it and still have the same result. In fact, I can scratch anything. Even though scratchee is very much in demand, or has somewhat become boring to me. Now, it is time to move on: time to approach art from a different angle. It is like when I get back to scratchee, I will be doing a new thing with it.”

To Ohiwerei, at times scratchee has two different effects when you scratch on it. Some would be intriguing when you look at them and at other times, they inspire you to do more. “It doesn’t kind affect my choice of

colours, but it kind of limits its usage and application. It kind of reduces the intensity so that in the end, it gives me the sort of glow and effect that gives me a total scratchee.

Therefore new order now is for us to evolve new way of seeing the art, experimenting with it to give it new flavour and appeal. To us, we do not copy what we see, we do our new experiments as you can see from the works here for this exhibition.” And so, for this new order, the likes of Ohiwerei believe that life goes on; the need to continue to give art its new frontiers has to be the responsibility dear to the hearts of the people.

For Olu Ajayi who has been in the forefront of efforts to move the art away from the ordinary, the exhibition comes at a time when the society has to make for concerted change. “You can’t be doing the same thing every day, every year. We have passed that stage. Even though it is time for us to educate people, let people scratch their heads to decode our works. We can’t continue to look ordinary so that people will continue to appreciate us so easily.”

Ajayi insisted that Nigeria is what it is today because we have refused to learn. People have refused to think; to subject their brains to task. “Now, let me tell you, we are so surrounded by French speaking countries, yet we’ve refused to learn a word of French. Is that good enough! So, we need to do more. We need to give our art new phases, fresh ideas and styles and techniques. That is what we are doing here with this exhibition.”

Ajayi’s artistic deep nuances was therefore demonstrated to their fullest in one of his works entitled Bring Back Our Men (pro-

test). In it, he displayed the true posture of men, Nigerian men for that matter, whom he said have left the women to be in-charge.

“Men labour, a few though and in the end, they end up giving out the money to women.

Also they spend more time buying the latest and most expensive cars in town, yet the society is fast drifting. No one is prepared to work for a change to push the government to do well for the people. Therefore, where are the men, we need to bring back our men.

A society where the men do not think well, where the men have abandoned their primary responsibilities of working for a change is doomed,” he said.

The background of the painting shows the sign of change hanging loosely in the air. The men stood aimlessly in the background; they are not only clueless, they look like a bunch of people in dire strait. It is pitiably idiotic and the artist brought it all out to lampoon the men folk. If the men are weak and docile, then what is the next step?

It is a work embedded in innuendos, hyperbolic in its stance, deep in its satiristic presentation and realistic in its conceptualisation.

Like Ajayi stated, both Ovraiti and Okujeni believe also that art can be used to curry for a change in the society. If every professional person uses his works to call the government to order; if the people themselves are serious for change, of course, change will come. Art therefore serves as a wonderful platform to call attention to the myriad of deterioration and rot in the larger society.

On the whole, there were about 32 works on display, works profoundly etched on colours, messages and techniques. Even when the prizes are high and a bit unaffordable, the artists still believe the works were done to get the best messages across to the people. Ovraiti said in a statement, “Even though this collection does not and cannot capture the totality of the wondering spirits of these artists, it however reveals a measure of truth proclaimed in the painters selected for this exhibition.

These works have to be viewed and appreciated for what they are and what they stand for,” he said.

56

ARTS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

Culture as agenda setting W

ITH the appointment of Chief Ferdinand Anikwe as the new Director of the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation, (CBAAC), the coast in now clear for the centre to begin a new era for the continued promotion, projection and protection of African cultural values. In a press briefing last week, Anikwe made it clear that his appointment would not rob the centre of its previous strides. He reiterated that the idea of African cultures and civilization as CBAAC is meant to project is to always ensure that all peoples of African descent anywhere they are in the world should be made to be in touch with their roots, reminiscing on their cultural values and doing all they can do preserve their heritage.

He said: “It is globally believed that the 21st century is the century for African development. Truly, indices from some African countries point to the fact that gradually and steadily, Africa is beginning to take the necessary steps towards growth and development. Therefore, there are also evidences that the leadership and governance of most African and Diaspora countries are becoming more transformational rather than transactional and it is in fact within this content that their growth could be explained,” he said.

Disclosing that deep cultural values can be used to take Africa to the next level if all the peoples of Africa can work assiduously for it, he reminded leaders that time had come to accord due attention to the sector to ensure speedy growth both socially, politically, economically and otherwise. According to Anikwe, “There is

By Edozie Udeze

no gain-saying the fact that if Africa and its Diaspora are to come to the table of humanity on equal terms with the rest of the human race, she has to move at an accelerated rate.

Beyond that however, she has to explore some hitherto neglected resources in her quest for development. One of such resources is her indigenous or traditional ways of life known as culture.”

He stated that the total beauty of culture lies in the fact that it can be used to safeguard humanity, put an agenda in place and allow people to live those indices to move on ahead in life. “Culture involves both tangible and intangible ways by which man adapts to his environment in a bid to make the world a better place than he met it. Though Africa has tried so many models in her efforts to drive development, •Idia mask, it is clear that her cultures have not been sufficiently incorporated into her quest for development.” And so, it is in his avowed interest to use CBAAC to redraw attention towards total cultural transformation both locally and internationally.

This is why come November, the centre, in collaboration with the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, will organize

symbol of Festac 77

•Anikwe, the new CBAAC boss

a conference with the theme as Culture in the transformation agenda of Africa and in Diaspora in the new global order. Scholars from different parts of the globe are expected to deliver papers on different themes and sub-themes of the conference. In the words of Anikwe, “this conference shall have scholars and practitioners from Nigeria, Africa and the Diaspora. Institutional representations are also expected

from UNESCO, African Union, various African cultural institutes responsible for the promotion of African cultural values, and artists from both local and elsewhere are meant to participate.”

With all these in place, the idea is to use culture to rebuild families, teach the youths what they ought to know, inculcate discipline in them, among other issues.

Author to promote effective and sustainable cash-less society in Nigeria

W

ITH the aim to help Nigeria to fully become a cash-less economy which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced to Nigeria on January 1 st 2012 and implemented in phases, a banker, Mr. Sunday Olowoyobiojo, has launched a book; titled ‘Cashless Nigeria: Benefits, Opportunities, and Challenges’.

He said the book which was launched recently in Lagos is targeted at promoting and supporting the cash-less economy in Nigeria and thereby reduce insecurity.

He said cashless economy would help to mobilise funds from the informal sector and reduce corruption among others, because people will no longer carry so much cash around in the cause of payment for goods and services.

“The cashless system will also reduce cost of processing cash in banks, ensure Title: A Pain In Vain Author: Soji Obebe Publisher: Xlibris Publishing Company, UK

O

NE striking feature of Soji Obebe’s novels is that they come in slim and handy paperbacks of less than 200 pages.

Perhaps they could be described as novellas. This mode of storytelling appears to be intentional.

They whet reader’s appetite and end where the reader will be asking for more. A Pain in Vain comes in like manner.

Obebe’s 120-page Pain in Vain is quite a breathtaking narrative. It lampoons the misconduct that attends a general election in a fictitious Federal Republic of Geriana which can as well be Nigeria, the author’s home country.

Though the tale is a follow-up to his previous work, A U-turn to Grief, published in 2003, the protagonist, Ralph Maywa, is presented to the reader as a returnee presidential candidate of the Coalition Party.

Maywa returns from exile in Ghana on the prodding of his former political associates, a man of God, and the dreams he had, coupled with his personal conviction that he has a mission to salvage his country, Geriana, from the grip of political prostitutes, profiteers and corrupt politicians running its affairs.

For anyone who has read A U-turn to Grief, his assumption may be right. When he was Governor of Bagua State, before he was forced into exile, he turned around the fortunes of Bagua so much that

By Olatunde Odebiyi and Amaka Nzenwa

safe and secure banking system and thereby guarantee security for the citizenry because it will prevent fraud or robbery attack.” he said.

He said the book was written to address the issue of the cashless economy in Nigeria, to sensitize and enlighten Nigerians about the benefits, opportunities and challenges of cash-less society and in general to contribute to nation building.

He said the book is timely and strategic to the emerging cash-less society in Nigeria because it was designed to promote grassroots sensitization and mobilize sustainable cash-less and financial inclusive society in Nigeria.

“The book cut across all ages and class.

•Olowoyobiojo

It covers areas including; the genesis of money and banking, alternative banking channels, tips for strategic approach to cashless transactions, benefits/ opportunities of cashless policy and challenges of a cash less Nigeria.

“Other topics the book has addressed are; Why cashless Nigeria, the cashless era, e-branch and ATM gallery, agent banking and galvanising action for a cash less society” he said.

He urged Nigerians to buy and read the book in order to educate themselves, family and friends in order to have the cash-less society of our dream. He also appealed to individuals, corporate bodies and government to sponsor the mass production of the book so that it can be distributed free to students, bank customers and the general public.

A moment of grief the state became the envy of other states. But he had a running battle with those who want to be feeding fat on the resources of the state without doing anything for no other reason than that they are politicians.

In this second coming, Maywa and his party face the Herculean task of wresting power from the ruling party. They hope through the next election, they will achieve this but the ruling party employ incumbency through rigging to hold on to power.

As the opposition party leaders are not keen on rocking the boat in spite of the bungled elections, the youths across the country rise in unison against the rape on democracy and set off a protest that snowballs into a mass uprising that eventually lead to the splitting of the country?

This tale is a sad commentary on conduct of general elections in African countries. Though one is told that the events take place in a nonexistent Federal Republic of Geriana, who says worst things are not happening in reality in most African countries? Obebe’s story cannot be mistaken for a condemnation of past electoral malpractices in Nigeria. The author creatively hides his barbs of disgust to send darts of criticism of electoral manipulations in his country that continually breed ineffective leaders. Square pegs ending up in round holes robbing the nation of effective and efficient leaders and thereby bring about underdevelopment.

From the way the tale rounds off, the author seems to be predicting that the future of countries like Geriana lies in the hands of the youths who, if they can stand up in one accord, can call the bluff of older men and women manipulating their ways to power all the time. Refusal to honour the will of the youths may result in disintegration as it occurs in Geriana.

Despite the writers flowing style and good diction, there are minor typo errors which, hopefully, will be addressed in subsequent editions. Also one may wish to advise the author to be less judgmental in his narratives. He should tell the story and leave judgment to the reader.

He should also allow readers to fill in the gabs rather than tell it all. The readers’ imagination should be given free reign.

One fact one cannot rule out, however, in Obebe’s writings and which one comes across in A Pain in Vain is that events in his stories are within the province of reality. If not for alteration in names and locations, one can almost pin-point the characters in the story from happenings in Nigeria. Many may even see the story as fact-ion, a blend of facts and fiction. This is a plus for the author because one of the key attributes of a good thriller lies in identification with reality. Besides, writers are supposed to mirror the goings on in the society.

In this story, Obebe shows what evil men in power do to retain power and calls on them to be

careful how they comport themselves in public office and organize elections. They should realize that being in office ought to be at the consent of the people, the electorates, not at their own will.

Though no one could rightly predict what success any book will attain, as it comes in good print and packaging, A Plain in Vain will definitely win the hearts of many readers, especially lovers of democracy and Africa.

57

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

-- Page 53

'How N5billion fund will boost agric funding'

10 years of Transcorp: So far, so...

Page 58, 59

•Olaoluwa

Page 60

'I'm firm and fair'

Crew members, Ecobank square up over unpaid salaries F •We’re not aware- Ecobank

C

REW members aboard a vessel, the M.T. Tumini are set to tussle with Ecobank over unpaid salaries from April 2013 till date.

The vessel previously named Tradewind Sunrise was purchased by Petroleum Brokers Limited in December 2008 from V. Ships Florida, USA. However, the crew made up of Guyanese nationals was unable to sail and deliver the vessel to Lagos because of mechanical reasons. Hence, it remained in Trinidad.

Tonye Claude Wilcox, the Managing Director of Petroleum Brokers Limited, however, died in 2011. Following Wilcox's death, officials from Ecobank Nigeria Limited visited and held a meeting aboard the vessel, stating that Mr. Tonye Claude Wilcox financed the purchase of the vessel through Ecobank and that the bank is looking at options for the way forward for the vessel.

A decision was made and

By Joe Agbro Jnr. Ecobank left the vessel with Wimmar Limited as management/agent for the purposes of trade. Ecobank kept the crew and continued to finance the vessel's operations in terms of fuel, crew wages, dry docking, technical shore services, agency fees, repairs and others worth millions of US dollars.

But according to a SOS from the crew, by April 2013 Ecobank stopped financing the vessel's operations when they enquired of their salaries and Mr. Gerald Andrews of Wimmar Limited informed them that the funds will be coming shortly. "The matter will be resolve shortly," said Andrews who represents Ecobank at Wilmar Limited by way of explanations for the delayed payments. He continued asking for time saying, "the bank is trying to resolve the matter."

Last October, the crew took

the matter to the Seaman and Water Front Workers Trade Union (SWWTU) which is the local representative in Trinidad and Tobago for the International Transport workers' Federation (ITF).

The SWWTU and its attorney wrote to Ecobank and Petroleum Brokers Limited. The attorney told the crew members that Ecobank sold the mortgage on vessel to a loan recovery company-AMCON in Nigeria.

Subsequently, Prof. Toyin Ashiru, CEO of Tricontinental Group came forward and stated that Ecobank gave him a Letter of authorisation/contract to operate and manage the vessel.

Ashiru in discussions with the union and its lawyer agreed to settle all outstanding wages.

However, the crew only received salaries for between April and July 2013. And presently it is being owed wages from August 2013 till date along with other back payments which

includes: vacation pay, overtime, contract work and others.

Presently the crew is seeking legal help for the situation locally in Trinidad. The crew has met with several organisations - Nigeria Embassy, Guyana consulate, Ministry of Labour and Foreign Affairs, Maritime Department - in Trinidad to no avail.

The crew now wonder why Ecobank has not paid them off as it seems it has abandoned both vessel and crew. They have even vowed to file a petition to President Goodluck Jonathan if Ecobank does not resolve the situation.

Speaking in an interview with The Nation over the weekend, Mr. Austen Osokpor, of the Corporate Communications Department of Ecobank, who initially feigned ignorance, however, pleaded for more time to get to the root of the matter. “Where is the vessel you’re talking about? Is it in Lagos or where? We’re not aware. Okay, we will get the details,”Osokpor stressed.

Page 62

•Orekoya

Conoil declares N2.78billion dividend

OR shareholders of Conoil Plc, the front line petroleum marketing business has been good. They made this submission recently as they commended the company's declaration of N4.00 dividend, translating to N2.78 billion cash payment for its last financial year, despite the harsh operating environment witnessed by the downstream petroleum sector, during the period.

The shareholders expressed their delight at the company's 44th Annual General Meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital.

"We are impressed with the record performance and the balance sheet. We are indeed happy that Conoil is paying quality dividend amid the tough challenges facing downstream operators in this country. It shows that the board and management of the company hold every shareholder in high esteem," National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, said.

"I am particularly pleased that the board kept to the promise made at the last meeting to boost bottom-line and ensure adequate returns on investment for shareholders. The revenue and profit growth compared favourably with industry performance. We can only wish that they continue to strengthen and consolidate on the company's leadership position in the industry," Executive President of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), Chief Timothy Adesiyan said.

Echoing similar sentiments, the Chairman, Ibadan Zone Shareholders' Association, Chief Sola Abodunrin, commended the company for ensuring that the shareholders earned returns on their investments.

NBA reaffirms commitment to rehabilitation of Kainji, Jebba dams From Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

T

• From left: Managing Director, RMB Westport, Mr. Micheal O'Malley; Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu; and Development Manager, RMB Westport, Mr. Roy Hamlyn during the launch of The Wings Office Complex developed by Oando Plc, Argentil, RMB Westport and Standard Bank in Lagos…recently

'Textile industry loses $600b to counterfeiters'

T

HE textile industry lost about $600b globally as at the end of 2013, the Director, Brand Protection of Vlisco Group, Monique Gieskes has said.

Gieskes who came to Nigeria to launch brand initiative for the Group in a chat with The Nation said, the case of counterfeit is high in the west and central Africa where the African prints is in high demand.

She also disclosed that over 800m yards of fabrics

are also lost to counterfeiters yearly.

"We do receive official figures from Chinese government and customs and they are available. With trademarks and design infringement, it becomes more difficult when consumers are crying for help.

And because we are attentive to our consumers, that is why we are responding to their requests .We, want to help consumers to differentiate from our quality brand and

our designs."

Gieskes lamented that the counterfeiters are killing the industry since the over $600b is not captured any where economically, because the counterfeiters are not paying taxes and other applicable fees.

She further revealed that Nigeria is the most consumption market for Vlisco, hence deliberations are ongoing with the Federal Government on plans to invest in the country.

"We have plans to investment in Nigeria We are keen in developing a fashion institute in collaboration with Kinabuti. Where talented young girls can be trained already, a memorandum of understanding has been signed by the parties involved," Gieskes noted.

As to how to authenticate and identify genuine Vlisco brands, she said the sun logo, design number on the edge on the label as ways to achieve this.

HE Niger Basin Authority has reaffirmed its commitment to complete the rehabilitation of Kainji and Jebba Dam as it would improve electricity supply in the country.

The dams, when completed, will also boost economic activities among member country in the Basin. The Executive Secretary NBA, Collins Ihekire said this in Abuja during the opening ceremony of the Technical Committee of Experts Meeting preparatory to the Extraordinary Council of Ministers.

He said the rehabilitation of the project will foster economic development in selected Niger River Basin countries of Benin, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.

Ihekire noted that the authority had embarked on investment programmes among them are the rehabilitation of Jebba, Kainji, Lagdo dams and the construction of three new dams in Suomi, Guinea and Niger Republic to generate wealth for member countries.

In 2011, the Federal Government and World Bank signed a contract agreement on the rehabilitation of Jebba and Kainji Dams and the Power plant under the Niger Basin Water Resources Development and Sustainable Ecosystem Management Programme .

The Project is being coordinated by Niger Basin Authority (NBA) and facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources as the National Focal Structure and implemented by Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Project Implementation Unit.

He disclosed that the basin has already acquired a machine tool for the mechanical and electrical workshops and spare parts including priority valves and oil deflector for the Jebba hydropower stations which helps to ensure the generation of 758 Mega Watt of electricity.

Ihekire also noted that the Water Resources Development and Sustainable Ecosystems Management in the Niger Basin would improve the auxiliaries of the Kainji dam to ensure a supplementary production of 320 MW of electricity in Nigeria as from April 2015.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

BUSINESS

58

10 years of Transcorp: So far, so...

J

UDGING by the kind of media razzmatazz that attended the establishment of Transcorp Nigeria plc in 2004, it was only normal that many Nigerians who were keen on investment opportunities of the nature being advertised by Transcorp fell for it. For good measure too, the company had and still has government's backing and tried to build on the goodwill. But the rest as they say is history.

The making of Transcorp Incorporated on November 16, 2004 and quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Transcorp has a shareholder base of about 300,000 investors, the largest of which is Heirs Holdings Limited, a pan-African proprietary investment company.

One of the things going for Transcorp is the myth built around its fortunes. Some market watchers hold the view and very strongly too that Transcorp shares offer investors disciplined and targeted exposure to three fastest growing non-cyclical sectors of the economy namely: agro-allied, oil and gas and hospitality sub-sector.

Besides, Transcorp enjoys a credible reputation with lending institutions. Prior to approaching its bankers with new proposals for investment, the Group performed its independent rigorous analysis to ascertain the investment's cash flow potential , ability to pay down debt, competitive equity return on a standalone basis.

Each new investment must meet the Group's internal criteria of debt repayment capacity from internally generated funds and retained profits before presentation to the banks.

The Group's exposure to a single sector, hospitality is due to its exit from the telecoms sector and temporary delay in the takeoff of its upstream investment.

Rising investment portfolio Since the company began operations in 2005, Transcorp has made investments in three sectors: hospitality, energy and telecoms. Specifically, in the hospitality sector, Transcorp has invested in the Transcorp Hilton Abuja (October 2005) and the Transcorp Metropolitan Hotel Calabar (June 2010).

However, in its quest to further raise its stake in Transcorp Hotels Plc, the board and management of the hotel group held a "Facts behind the Offer" presentation at The Nigerian Stock Exchange in Lagos, of its Initial Public Offering of 800,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N10 per share. The offer which commenced on the 25th of September is expected to close on October 17, 2014.

Transcorp Hotels Plc, which is the hospitality subsidiary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), hopes to create maximum and sustainable value for stakeholders, as well as to build Africa's choice hospitality assets underpinned by excellence, entrepreneurship and execution.

Transcorp Hotels will focus on Nigerian expansion in the short to the mid-term and thereafter develop a strong African footprint in high population and

The last 10 years has been anything but rosy for the much hyped Transcorp Nigeria plc, which has experienced a rather chequered existence thus far. In this report, Bukola Afolabi takes a look at the fortunes of the emerging business conglomerate vis-à-vis its strengths, potentials and weakness.

•Transcorp building •

competitive cities. Over the next five years, the company will take a phased approach in developing high-end hotels and apartments in prime locations, including Ikoyi, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

In addition to the new developments, the Transcorp Hotels has also commenced the facelift of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja with a view to consolidating its position as the premier hotel destination in Nigeria. This will involve the modernisation of the hotels core facilities for which the Company plans to spend approximately US$57.5 million (N9.2 billion) over the next three years. The funding for this will be sourced from the Company's internal operating cash flows.

As a part of the company's growth strategy, Transcorp Hotels is undergoing an Initial Public Offering to raise fresh funds from the capital market to support the development of two hotels in ikoyi, Lagos and Port Harcourt, Rivers state. The offering will be followed by a listing of the entire shares of the company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, Managing Director/CEO Transcorp Hotels Plc observed that: "The Nigerian hospitality industry is fast becoming more competitive with the presence of international brands in recent years. We have a strong brand and success story in Nigeria as well as good long term relationships with established suppliers in Nigeria.

These, coupled with our partnership with the Hilton Worldwide for management of our facilities, opens up a large opportunity for our proposed developments in the high density areas of Nigeria to attract a considerable portion of business travel and tourist traffic which should translate to adequate guest patronage."

Also speaking at the event, Emmanuel Nnorom, the President/ CEO of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc said the

Group was its achievement, been the first initial public offering of one of its subsidiary businesses in Nigeria, a development, he stressed, "Illustrates our continued drive to create value to our shareholders, by unlocking the value of the existing assets in our subsidiary and growing exponentially."

Besides, in energy sector, the company invested OPL 281 during the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) 2006 oil bid round, while in the telecoms sector, Transcorp won the bid to acquire 51% of NITEL, the telecoms company in July 2006.

In 2007, the DPR revoked the Group's license for OPL 281, in spite of its payment of an 80% signature bonus. Transcorp has held high-level meetings with government officials to recover the block.

These demarches are receiving consideration and the Group is hopeful that the issue will receive a resolution in its favour.

After its successful acquisition of NITEL, Transcorp encountered significant challenges in implementing its turnaround and investment program at the telecoms company.

In 2009, the Group reached an amicable settlement with the Federal Government to transfer NITEL back to national ownership.

As at the fourth quarter of 2010, only the hospitality assets are generating income for the Group.

Other high profile investment under the Group include but not limitedto the following: Teragro Commodities Limited, operator of Teragro Benfruit Plant - Nigeria's first-of-its-kind juice concentrate plant; Transcorp Ughelli Power Limited which acquired Ughelli Power Plc, owner of the 972MW Ughelli Power Plant and Transcorp Energy Limited, operator of OPL 281.

Resurgence at Transcorp Commenting on the achievement and outlook of Transcorp, Tony Elumelu, the company's chairman expressed happiness

that those investors who bought the shares at inception, before the price fell to a ridiculous 51 kobo each, have recovered significantly by remaining shareholders of the company that have become and are poised to become even much more prosperous group.

Transcorp, recently added power generation to its portfolio of strategic business interests, presented to shareholders its impressive audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 2013.

Prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the 2013 audited financial results reported gross earnings for the group at N25.2 billion, representing a 60% increase over the N15.8 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2012.

The Group's Profits before tax rose by 129% from N3.9 billion in 2012 to N9.0 billion in 2013.

At the meeting, its shareholders unanimously approved the 2013 audited financial statements as well as the proposed N1.93bn dividend on the basis of 5 kobo per share. The shareholders were visibly excited about this fulfilment of Transcorp's promise, made at its previous AGM. One shareholder commented, "Indeed this is a first in the history of Transcorp and we are confident this is an indication of an even brighter future ahead for Transcorp and the shareholders."

During the meeting, the Chairman of Transcorp, Tony O. Elumelu, stated that "the past year for Transcorp has been exceptional; we launched new businesses and projects and expanded existing ones. The results of our efforts have become visible and are rightly being acknowledged by our stakeholders, including the investing public. Looking ahead, we expect the company to continue on this growth trajectory and the board has set a target of profit before tax of N30bn for management for 2014, which we believe is very achievable."

In pursuit of this target,

Transcorp has positioned Ughelli Power Plc, its most recent acquisition, as a leader in the Nigerian power space.

Elumelu continued, "When we took over the power plant, its generating capacity stood at 160 MW. Today, we are proud to announce that capacity at Ughelli has more than doubled to 400MW. Our target is to reach 700MW by the end of this financial year. We want to be recognised as a company that has contributed to Nigeria achieving one of its most critical developmental needs."

The President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp, Mr. Obinna Ufudo, thanked the company's shareholders for their continued support and commitment as always, noting, "Last year, we began phase 2 of our transformation plans to expand our business lines. This financial year, we will push the frontiers of our three operating areas - energy, hospitality and agriculture - for greater financial results. We will begin construction of Transcorp Hilton Ikoyi Lagos in April, and we envisage completion within the next 36 months. In addition, we plan to repair 3 more turbines (5 turbines have been fixed so far) at the Ughelli power plant to hit our group 2014 revenue target of N65billion. These should give us improved financial performance positioning us to pay larger dividends next years.

Building the power base Transcorp's 2013 results included early gains from the acquisition of the Ughelli Power Plant in 2013. Transcorp, through its subsidiary, Transcorp Ugheli Power Limited (TUPL), had in 2013 acquired Ughelli Power Plant for $300 million from the Federal Government of Nigeria. With installed capacity of 972 megawatts, current generating capacity of 360 megawatts and potential output of 1070 megawatts, the Ugheli power plant thickened the basket of the conglomerate's businesses in strategic sectors including

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

•Elumelu

Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja; Transcorp Hotels, Calabar; Teragro Commodities Limited and Transcorp Energy Limited, operator of OPL 281.

Power, upstream oil, hospitality and agriculture; the combination of businesses and sectors makes for a robust outlook, given the synergies in these fastest growing and dominant sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Often cited in relation to the boom in the telecommunications sector, most analysts perceive the power firms as cash cows that would not only generate power but significant returns for investors.

The monopolistic nature of the system and centrality of the success of the privatization to government's transformation agenda confer enormous advantages on the power companies.

Transcorp Ughelli Power Ltd (TUPL) early this year signed a capacity-expansion agreement with General Electric to expand the Ughelli power plant by 1000 megawatts over the next three to five years. Transcorp and GE also signed a separate agreement to rehabilitate the damaged GT 15 turbine at the Ughelli plant, which will add 115 megawatts to the plant's output. Currently, the Transcorp Ughelli power plant generates 360 megawatts, up from 160 megawatts on November 1, 2013 when Transcorp took ownership of the plant. With the additional 115 megawatts, as well as other rehabilitation works planned at the plant, the company projects that output at Ughelli will increase to 700 megawatts by December 2014. The Ughelli power plant is Nigeria's largest gas-fired electricity generation asset.

Both Transcorp and GE believed the partnership would drive new momentum in the power industry. Chairman, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), Mr. Tony Elumelu and Global Chairman, General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt, who signed the agreements were enthusiastic about the potential of the conglomerate. Elumelu noted that GE would bring its proven global leadership in power technology development to bear on the Ughelli plant expansion project.

"With this, we've taken a bold step in fulfilling our promise to Transcorp's stakeholders and the people of Nigeria. In a very short period of time, we have achieved significant impact - power production has more than doubled, and with this agreement, we will see increased output before the end of this year. We are confident that this partnership with GE will further accelerate the achievement of our goals in the power sector," Elumelu said.

The Ughelli power plant agreement came on the back similar deal by the conglomerate with Hilton Worldwide to build a new premier hotel in the up-market suburb of Ikoyi, Lagos. The proposed Transcorp Hilton Lagos, a full service, 350-room hotel on Glover Road, Ikoyi, will be the Hilton Group's second hotel in Nigeria by Transcorp, following the awardwinning Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja, which is one of the leaders in Hilton's global network. The new hotel will be jointly owned by Transnational Hotels and Tourism Services Ltd, the hospitality subsidiary of Transcorp and Heirs Holdings.

Elumelu outlined that the Ikoyi development, along with the extensive refurbishment and upgrade of the group's existing hotels in Calabar and Abuja, demonstrated the group's commitment to driving growth in real estate and hospitality, a strategic sector for Nigeria's economic development.

According to him, the new Transcorp Hilton Lagos will not only present an additional worldclass venue for the increasing numbers of investors, businessmen and tourists to Nigeria, but is creating much-needed jobs for citizens, enabling their social and economic development.

Managing Director, Transnational Hotels and Tourism Services Limited, Valentine Ozigbo said the Transcorp Hilton Lagos will grant the many Hilton Honors customers their desire to see a world-class establishment under their preferred brand in the Lagos.

He said the hotel will boast of full conference facilities, meeting rooms, gym and spa, and a swimming pool in an iconic design that will certainly add verve to the Lagos landscape.

Besides, Transcorp has recently undertaken several strategic initiatives to enable stable growth.

Last year, it raised N12.91 billion through a rights issue of 12.91 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N1 per share. The net proceeds of the rights issue estimated at N12.52 billion was scheduled mainly to refinance the loan taken to acquire the Ugheli power plant.

About 79 per cent of the net proceeds amounting to N9.84 billion would be used to refinance Ugheli Power.

The conglomerate would use N1.63 billion, 13 per cent of net proceeds, for exploration and development of its oil block, Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 281. It had revised the terms of partnership in the OPL 281 to fully take responsibility for the operation of the block in its bid to become a leading Nigerian indigenous oil and gas upstream company with production.

The balance of N1.05 billion, representing 8.0 per cent of net proceeds, would be used to develop new hotels Port Harcourt and Lagos; in order to boost the conglomerate's hospitality business in the South-South and SouthWest of Nigeria.

The many successes recorded

by Transcorp notwithstanding, the jury is out these strings of successes are not a smokescreen after all.

In the view of analysts, perhaps, one of the greatest albatross of Transcorp is instability of its management. In the last count, the Group has had at least six different CEOs, most of who lost their jobs on account of alleged infractions and malfeasant.

The high turnover of its management staff, analysts further argued, is a big minus for Transcorp, a development, many believe is not good for the company aiming to become a behemoth.

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•From left: AkwaIbom State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Pastor ItaUdoh; Head, Corporate Communications, Dana Air, Mr. Samuel Ogbogoro and Chairman, AkwaIbom Tourism Board, Dr. Michael Eyong during the opening ceremony of the Ibom Tourism Summit in Uyo that was supported by Dana Air...recently. PHOTO: ISAAC AYODELE JIMOH

'Wings Towers will lure multinational business'

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ULTINATIONAL businesses are set to get more attraction to site their activities in Lagos as Wings, a brand new office complex is expected to berth in the bustling Lagos Island.

According to the investors and development managers of the Wings office complex located on Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue in Lagos, RMB Westport, Stanbic Bank, Argentil Asset Management, and Oando Plc, the development will have a two 12-storey Towers resting on a four-storey parking and reception platform will cost $180 million.

Conceived over five years ago, the Wings office complex being built by Cappa and D'Alberto,has a 32-month construction period and is expected to be completed by November 2016. It comprises 27, 000m2of lettable space, and upon completion, the complex will feature meeting rooms, jetty, public lobby, Porte Cochere, a waterfront restaurant, bank, and function deck for social events and corporate gettogethers. The building which also features a 700-bay parking lot is also accessible by boat via the Five Cowrie Creek.

"It's an iconic building," said Mr JubrilAdewaleTinuubu, Group Execu-

Stories by Joe Agbro Jr.

tive Officer of Oando Plc at the market launch of Wings last Tuesday in Lagos. "I think it's a testimony that whatever we do in Oando, we do in a special way."

BidemiFadayomi, Head Asset Development of Argentil Asset Management, financial advisor of Oandoin the transaction, said the coming of the Wings will be setting the stage for a global type of business.

"I think one of the challenges of international businesses when they look to come into Nigeria is the availability of good quality real estate not just from an office perspective where they can run their business but also residential where they can house their employees," Fadayomi said. "We saw that there was a gap between the expectation of the tenants and the reality on ground. So, I think that this building is the start of what would be in Nigeria or Lagos State's response in meeting international demand for real estate. It also sends the right signal to the international world that Nigeria is ready to play to international standard."

Though, it is not definite that the office units are going to be cold or leased, for returns, Fadayomi said the

consortium hopes to realise between 35 to 40 percent of the ROI. "Rental levels are obviously under pressure," Roy Hamlyn, development manager of RMB Westport, said.

"We try to achieve a most competitive rental and we also try to achieve a rental that is comparative in the market."

Each floor offers about 1000 square metres let on a single, dual, triple, or quadruple tenancy. According to Fadayomi, "the rent is roughly about a$1,000 per square metre."

Already, one of the investors, Oando Plc, an indigenous oil company has signed an agreement to lease one of the Towers while the other tower is open for commercial lease.

"We believe the building would be offering our tenants the service that will be unmatched within the industry,"Fadayomi said. "In terms of returns, we do believe from the investor's side, it would be offering us above market returns."

ChinweAjene-Sagna, regional director of Jones Lang Lasalle Nigeria, one of the leasing agents harped on the flexibility payments for tenants.

"You can pay for the sites quarterly," she said, "before or on the date of your quarterly payments."

Akpabio to host communities: 'Withdraw case against ExxonMobil'

A

KWA Ibom sate governor, Godswill Akpabio has charged ExxonMobil's host communities to withdraw impending court cases to enable the company to execute special community projects in their areas.

Akpabio, who gave the charge Thursday when the Chairman/ Managing and Lead Country Manager of ExxonMobil Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Nolan O'Neal, paid him a courtesy visit at Governor's Office, Uyo, noted, "I thank you for the assurance that I should pass to the people of the State that the special community projects that we had negotiated and agreed upon that you finally receive leadership approval and the money is ready to start the project.

"But what is impeding the projects is that some of the communities went to court and there are about 14 cases pending in the courts. I think it is in the interest of those communities affect to immediately withdraw those cases from courts to allow contractors to be mobilised to set and commence meaningful projects in the areas", the Governor observed.

He explained if those projects are not executed as at when they should, the communities would be at the losing end, considering the bureaucratic procedure involved in getting approval for such community projects.

Akpabio directed Commissioners for Health, Housing and Urban Renewal, Environment, Culture and

Tourism as well as Special Adviser on Labour and Productivity to work with the Secretary to the State Government in persuading those communities to withdraw those cases from courts to ensure amicable settlement within one week to enable Mobil to execute the meaningful development projects in the communities.

The Governor while assuring the management of ExxonMobil that the State Government would ensure that

the impending court cases are withdrawn extolled the symbiotic relationship between Akwa Ibom State and ExxonMobil.

"We believe that we have a symbiotic relationship such that will outlive many administrations. We are excited, it is like renewing the cordial relationship, the fraternal relationship and business relationship that existed for decades and will exist in future as far as oil production continues to remain", he stated.

From left: Mrs. Lolade Adeniji, Chairperson, Planning Committee, Mrs. Bose Ayeni, President, Mrs. Kehinde Kamson, Trustee and Prince Yemi Adetiba, Legal Consultant of the Association of Fast Food Confectioners of Nigeria (AFFCON) at a press conference to announce the 2014 National Annual Conference in Lagos…recently

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

BUSINESS

60

A

CCESS to finance remains the number one challenge of enterprises in the country especially among the Micro Small Medium MSME business models.

Entrepreneurs have continued to call on the government through policy interventions to come to their aid, but whenever such interventions arrive majority are unable to access them, not for lack of trying but due to technicalities.

As most scientists would state, "one cannot do the same thing over and over and expect a different result each time."

So what are those defects of loan applications and what can would-be loan seekers avoid/improve on in their next loan applications, especially with the recent launch of a N5billion Cottage Agro Processing CAP Fund by the Bank of Industry (BoI) recently, in order not to bite the dust of bitter disappointment and start witch-hunting government, loan administrators and even relatives in the village again.

Addressing newsmen at a media launch of the Fund in Lagos , the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of BoI, Rasheed Olaoluwa, disclosed that the loans will be granted at a single digit interest rate of nine per cent per annum with a total management fee of one per cent, for a five-year tenure with a moratorium of six months.

He said that the Fund has been projected to help create an estimated 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, even as the priority products for each state have been identified and a number of partners have been pooled together to ensure effective operation.

Underlining the development institution's commitment to achieving the objective of the CAP Fund, Olaoluwa said, "We want to encourage all SMEs to take full advantage of this Fund. Loan applicants must come prepared with viable business plans. We expect them to utilise the loans judiciously, add value and create jobs."

He assured that full and timely repayment of loans under the Fund will attract bigger project loans from BoI to the beneficiary entrepreneurs, in order to ensure greater wealth creation opportunities for their companies.

"We wish to also inform all our stakeholders that the CAP Fund is only the first in a series of Funds targeted at specific sectors and customer segments of the Nigerian economy.

As more Funds become available to BoI, we shall in due course, unveil them to enable us play our developmental role and create employment for millions of our youths," he said.

According to Olaoluwa, the Fund size of N5bn for the CAP was only a starting point, as the bank intends to deploy a second phase after the full utilisation of this initial Fund.

He noted that as a result of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of President Goodluck Jonathan, significant progress in crop production was being achieved in the

'How N5billion fund will boost agric funding' Access to finance has remained the number one challenge of enterprises in the country especially among the Micro Small Medium MSME business models, with the government's intervention through the recent launch of a N5billion Cottage Agro Processing CAP Fund. But the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Rasheed Olaoluwa has allayed entrepreneurs' fears as he gives valuable tips on how to access the fund in this interview with Bukola Afolabi country, resulting in some very significant investments by notable investors like the Dangote Group and the Olam Group.

"The objective of the federal government's ATA is not only to increase crop production, but also to create valueadded food processing industries, as a means to reduce food imports and create jobs. This is where the role of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development intersects with that of BoI. I am pleased to report a very active and fruitful engagement between us," he said.

In fulfillment of its commitment to launch special funds targeted at specific sectors and customer segments in order to deepen its penetration, the Bank of Industry Limited (BoI), has announced the es- •Olaoluwa tablishment of a new dedicated fund, Cottage Agro Processing (CAP) Fund, to boost Agriculture in the country.

The fund is targeted at small and medium industries at the low technology, labour intensive end of the agro-processing spectrum. It is also designed to enable BoI, being Nigeria's leading development finance institution, play its catalytic role of paving the way for other financial institutions to follow.

Besides, Olaoluwa said that the bank was

'Banning tobacco will create worse problems for Nigeria'

P

OLICY analysts and industry groups have strongly canvassed against the outright banning of tobacco production in Nigeria. Banning the legitimate production and distribution of tobacco products, the groups argued, will spark off a series of developments, including smuggling and criminal money laundering, whose consequences will portend far worse problems for Nigeria, they warned.

This counsel is coming in the wake of deliberations held on the proposed tobacco bill in the Senate on September 24, 2014.

The proposed bill seeks to regulate the production and consumption of tobacco products in Nigeria. While Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, Majority Leader of the Senate and other Senators canvassed balanced regulation of the tobacco industry, some members of the Upper Legislative Chamber canvassed for an outright ban of tobacco production in Nigeria.

"What we are saying is that the legislation should be such that is enforceable and its outcomes, realistic and predictable," said Olusegun Sotola, Head of Research and Advocacy at the Initiative for Public Policy Analysis, IPPA, an independent policy research organisation based in Lagos.

"Banning the production and consumption of cigarettes will affect legitimate producers in Nigeria and lead to a closure of factories and losses of thousands of jobs with serious economic backlash on many fami-

Stories by Bukola Afolabi lies."

"Demand for cigarettes," he said, "given our porous borders will simply be met by smuggling of cigarettes into Nigeria, which could

working with the Ministry of Agriculture on N13billion Rice Intervention Fund, to establish 10 integrated rice mills and six cassava mills across the country.

Speaking at the launch of the N5billion Cottage Agro Processing (CAP) Fund designed to finance 1,000 cottage projects with focus on processing activities across the country in Lagos, Olaoluwa, disclosed that the loans would be granted at a single digit interest rate of nine per cent per annum with a total management fee of one per cent, at a fiveyear tenor rate and a moratorium of six months.

He said that if processors take advantage of the opportunity, an estimated 20,000 direct and indirect jobs would be generated, adding that priority products for each state have been identified and a number of partners have been pooled together to ensure effective implementation of the scheme.

Olaoluwa said: "We want to encourage all SMEs to take full advantage of this Fund. Loan applicants must come prepared with viable business plans. We expect them to utilise the loans judiciously, add value and create jobs."

He assured that full and timely repayment

of loans under the Fund will attract bigger project loans from BoI to the beneficiary entrepreneurs, in order to ensure greater wealth creation opportunities for their companies.

"We wish to also inform all our stakeholders that the CAP Fund is only the first in a series of Funds targeted at specific sectors and customer segments of the Nigerian economy.

As more Funds become available to BoI, we shall in due course, unveil them to enable us play our developmental role and create employment for millions of our youths," he said.

According to Olaoluwa, the Fund size of N5billion for the CAP is only a starting point, as the bank intends to deploy a second phase after the full utilisation of this initial Fund.

He noted that as a result of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of President Goodluck Jonathan, significant progress in crop production has been achieved in the country, resulting in some significant investments by notable investors like Olam Group.

"The objective of the Federal Government's ATA is not only to increase crop production, but also to create valueadded food processing industries, as a means to reduce food imports and create jobs. This is where the role of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development intersects with that of BoI. I am pleased to report a very active and fruitful engagement between us," he said.

He stated that recently BoI successfully implemented the N3.4 billion Cassava Bread Fund, established by the Ministry of Agriculture and designed to finance the establishment of 41 processing plants for High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF).

The Bank explained that the objective of the Federal Government's Agricultural Transformation Agenda is not only to increase crop production, but also to create value-added food processing industries as a means of reducing food imports.

worsen the security challenges in the country.”

Citing examples from other countries that had in the past attempted to impose draconian regulations on tobacco production, Sotola explained that the rate of cigarette smuggling went up drastically in such countries as a consequence.

"An important point the legislators should ponder is why any government hasn't banned the sale of cigarettes," posited Tony Ogbulafor of the Campaign for Social Justice, CSJ, a civil society group.

Multichoice amplifies care services

•From left: Moses Adeisa, Hakeem Ogunniran, both past president of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN); Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa, President, and Mr. Tunde Busari, immediate past president, during the Institute’s Award Night held in Lagos…recently

P

ROVIDER of premium pay-TV content on DStv and GOtv platforms, Multichoice, has stepped up its consumer engagement drive in Nigeria with its DStv open house initiative. In furtherance of the company’s commitment to enriching lives, the DStv open house will provide consumers with instant access to a range of services, including customer care, subscription payment, self-help channels, technical support and much more. The activation is scheduled to hold in residential estates across selected areas in Lagos State between September 27 and November 1, 2014.

Speaking at the first leg of the initiative at Victoria Garden City in Ajah, Caroline Oghuma, Public Relations Manager, DStv, reiterated the company’s commitment to deepening its engagement with its subscribers and providing them with platforms to access sound and convenient sales and service infrastructure.

“Given the overwhelming support that we have received from our customers, we have decided to bring our services to their doorsteps. This initiative amplifies our customer-centric approach to business.

With us, the customer comes first. Our customers in Ikeja, Egbeda, Ikoyi, Festac Town, Mafoluku and many more can look forward to the road show in their neighbourhoods in the weeks ahead,” she said.

61

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

S

OME measured optimism is being expressed concerning the emergence and ranking of the Nigerian economy as a member of the Top 20 League come the year 2020. Part of that optimism is freighted on the recent grading of the Nigerian economy as Africa's foremost, following its breasting the tape ahead of South Africa. What the grading has shown is that, in spite of years of mismanagement, distorted planning and unrelieved corruption - particularly during the period of stratocracy, from the mid'80s up to well into the Fourth Republic, is the remarkable resilience of the Nigerian worker, taxpayer and the economy itself.

Some development economists, like Dr.KayodeFamiloni, formerly of the Department of Economics, University of Lagos, Akoka, tend to argue that the remarkable stubbornness with which the Nigerian economy, since the Babangida regime's structural adjustment programme (SAP), has resisted what is regarded as "an ever-dose of fiscal and budgetary distortion", is a faint tip, under which there's an iceberg of entrepreneurial spirit yet untapped. Dr.Rotimi Oladele, who's the Executive Secretary of the Institute of Entrepreneurs, Nigeria, figures that it may require unleashing, with a combined force of unswerving political and economic determination, the nearlimitless Nigerian entrepreneurial acumen underneath the iceberg - if Nigeria, with some fair ease, is to sail into the league of Global First - 20 (GF-20) economies, come the target date of 2020.

There's a pressing need, said Oladele, for what may pass for an approximation of renaissance in entrepreneurship in the Nigerian economy - not, necessarily, in the political economy or the macro unit, which, sometimes, is mistaken as the sole, rightful beneficiary of trillions of naira in government budget.

It's dysfunctional, in Oladele's view, to act on such a marginal or far-from-progressive point.

While Oladele advised against a vertical or horizontal economic planning and implementation, as the main speaker, at the induction of about 40 new members of the Institute of Entrepreneur, Nigeria, in Lagos, recently, he offered that the renaissance should be in tandem with the trend in global economic practice for which economic policymakers and entrepreneurs are into the acquisition of what he called "diagonal" skills, in terms

F

ROM the President of the Association of Fast Food Confectioners of Nigeria (AFFCON), Mrs Bose Ayeni, has come a clarion call: prospective investors should gird up theirs loins as they stand to benefit a lot from Nigeria's economy because it's a goldmine that is waiting to be tapped.

Mrs. Ayeni made this call at the press conference held in Lagos to announce the second annual national conference of AFFCON in Lagos, scheduled for October 10.

She said: "In spite of the huge challenges Nigeria is grappling

'Nigeria's economy needs professional entrepreneurs'

By Nduka Uzuakpundu of informed, eclectic education, new entrepreneurial behaviour, attitude and practice, which, combined, are an index of a blustery force that propels economic growth or expansion, and micro economic activities.

What Oladele's argument implies is that it would require an encompassing economic model predicated on diagonal, inter-discipline skill acquisition behind policy-making and execution that accords recognition to army of entrepreneurs yet to be in the potentially rich medium- and small-scale sector of the Nigerian economy. It makes far less economic sense to have a budget, in trillions of naira, that, for want of a better expression, is almost hairlessly disdainful of how well to ignite a rewarding rejuvenescence in the relationship between the macro and micro sectors of the Nigerian economy.

It makes, besides, far little economic meaning when such colossal budgetary allocations tend to ignore, at the price of sustainable economic growth and expansion, the creation or emergence and participation of new entrepreneurial ambassadors of the Nigerian economy. The basic principle of diagonal entrepreneurial skills, it appears, is borne out of the agonising experience of the countries of North America, the European Union and, to some extent, Africa and Asia, on account of the 21st Century's first, global economic depression occasioned by the collapse, in 2008, of the United States-based Lehman Brothers.

By inference, Oladele's view is linked to a binding need to have new entrepreneurs who'd drive the Nigerian economy. With diagonal entrepreneurial skills and behaviour pumped into the Nigerian economy, a solid foundation would have been laid, anew, by a countless number of Lehman Sisters, who would be determined to protect the Nigerian economy from the destructive practices and effects of the Lehman Brothers. It's, perhaps, plausible to argue that there's a need to have, henceforward, a founding team of Lehman Sisters, Nigeria - with Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Dr.NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, as the captain. The intent should be to test-run

•Oladele a project with an eye to handing the running of the Nigerian economy over to Nigerian mothers, who are, presumably, more entrepreneurial than their fathers counter-parts.

Truth is that they are the less entrepreneurial fathers, who have mismanaged the economy of this blessed country.

Currently, the country's debt profile is, again, on the rise.

Oladele believes that the unsavoury debt peonage that was one of the Lehman Brothers-like experiences of the Nigerian economy, caused by the Babangida regime, could be avoided with a rebirth of the entrepreneurial spirit amongst key players in the macro and micro sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Nigeria can be saved from the kind of economic catastrophe suffered by such countries as Iceland, Portugal, Ireland and Greece for which they had to go a borrowing from such multi-lateral institutions as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Oladele's position as the acquisition of diagonal entrepreneurial skills and behaviour is instructive: it was the lack of entrepreneurial spirit that led, in part, to the collapse of some once-virile and dominant Nigerian business outfits, like textile industries, savings and loans (S and L) merchant banks, airlines, road trans-

portation, print and broadcast media, hospitals, shipping etc. and the attendant loss of many jobs.

Going beyond profit towards growth was what produced the Asian tigers. It has taken a driving entrepreneurial spirit to post the economy China to where it presently is; so close to that of the United States that, some say, it's a question of time before it dominates the world.

The absence of a culture of entrepreneurial spirit in the Nigerian economy find a notable expression in the dishonourable idleness of most state governments, who do nothing with the huge petro-naira they collect from Abuja each month: no infrastructure, no economic development, no encouraging business milieu, no credible and sustainable employment opportunities for the teeming population of virile youths.

Oladele says Nigeria must shift from the decay that is cover-dependence on oil and be, now, about other sources of financial capital - mostly solid minerals, with which the country is abundantly endowed, tourism and hospitality, a more aggressive, but less-hostile-to-business, tax and excise regime - sans the current regime of multiple tax that is eating into the health of some promising, private businesses - agriculture not, necessarily, another fraud with an alias like "Green Revolution" - but one rested on an awakening of the river basin authorities, mechanised farming and

'Annual revenue from food valued at over N200billion' with, the size of our GDP shows that our economy is a goldmine waiting to be tapped. And food is essential to keep our large population of 170 million alive, nourished and going."

Ayeni also drew the public's attention to the urbanization and rise in social media penetration as factors that would boost business.

"Globally, we are living through the largest wave of urbanisation in history," said the AFFCON President. "Urban population, being more prosperous, aided by the steady decline in poverty

arising from economic growth, will give rise to a greatly expanded consumer group. We as operators must understand the nature of this expanding consumer group. In Nigeria, they are largely youthful and culturally diverse. We must understand the strategies required to reach them.

"Between 2012 and 2013, total global social media audience increased from 1.47b to 1.73b.

With 25% of the population now online using social networks, we cannot be left out of the opportunities that abound in

tapping into the use of social tools for business values. It is against this trend that for this year's conference, we have a sub-theme of how we can utilize Technology to improve our business effectiveness."

This year's national conference of AFFCON, which holds at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Friday, October 10, 2014, will have the Lagos state governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, as special guest of honour, while Ms. Evelyn Oputu, former Managing Director of Bank of Industry, is

a boost to agriculture in the rural areas, and many more.

In which case, as Oladele puts it, it's an exercise that would require patriotic professional entrepreneurs.

An economy blessed with patriotic, professional entrepreneurs is a bright future. Armed with diagonal skills, it has a reserve of resources when the unexpected - a dislocation in economic activities on, say, happens. The real entrepreneurial is not the Nigerian business manager who stops at profit.

He or she is the risk- taker, said Oladele, who can distinguish between business budget or capital and profit. Such an entrepreneur is a person who, guided by an engrafted entrepreneurial spirit, distances himself from the capital on which his enterprise leans. Such an entrepreneur has a cap on which is boldly inscribed "integrity."

It was a manifestation of the professional entrepreneurial spirit in the skippers of the multi-national company that they targeted the youths and a popular musician to revive their ailing business. If it's a rejuvenation of the agricultural sector, the professional entrepreneurs some of them facetiously referred to as Oladele brought-ups - are ready to take over.

Solid minerals - coal, iron ore, steel, lead - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, ground-nut, hides and skins? Yes, the professional entrepreneurs are ready; ready to create not only employment but also generate tax.

There are professional entrepreneurs who are willing to fix the network of both federal and states roads, based on some mutually-agreed terms - including time-bound collection of tolls. It creates wealth and profit, just as it drives growth and sustainable employment.

Oladele believes that Nigeria would do well to redesign its educational curriculum such that the products of its universities would be well equipped with entrepreneurial skills that would make them less dependent or have to wait in vain for government jobs, as is presently the case.

It helps crime that springs, in most instances, from unemployment. •Uzuakpundu is a Lagos-based journalist

expected to give the keynote speech under the theme: 'Food Industry in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities.'

Ayeni noted that the organised Nigerian fast food industry is a key contributor to the Nigerian economy, with an estimated annual revenue of N200 billion. "Given that the food industry also employs over 500,000 people at the processing and retailing levels, a lot of whom are youths, we are certainly contributing much to the reduction of unemployment, which is a focal point of the Federal Government," she added.

October 10

POLITICS EXTRA

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

65

2015 : Idoma battles Tiv for power shift

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HE battle for power shift to Benue South Senatorial Zone, otherwise known as zone c, held sway by Senate President David Mark has begun in earnest.

For 35 years since Benue was created out of BenuePlateau State, the people of Benue South Senatorial zone, especially Idoma, have been crying of marginalisation from their Tiv brothers.

Tiv and Idoma are the two major tribes in the state, with Igede coming third.

They are three senatorial districts in the state. The Tivs, who are in the clear majority, both in landmass and population, dominates two senatorial districts ( A and B) and 14 local government councils , while their Idoma brothers are in minority with just nine local government councils , even out of this numbers , they share it with Igede people.

Another ethnic group occupied two of the local government (Oju and Obi) , leaving David Mark’s kinsmen with only seven local government councils .

From the aforementioned, the •Suswam Tiv people are the dominant ethnic group in Benue State and have effectively used their numerical strength to occupy the governorship position at every election year.

But, ahead of 2015 general election, the Idoma people in Benue South wants power to shift away from zone A and B to C. They insist the best time is now and have therefore begun the campaign.

Recently, at stakeholders meeting , which took place in Otukpo, headquarters of Benue South Senatorial District, in Double K Hotel, all those who spoke resolved to persuade their Tiv brothers to cede power to Benue South.

From Minister of Interior, Abba

•Mark

behind David Mark’s reelection bid expressed confidence that an Idoma man as governor would have no choice than to perform credibly in office.

But the question today is whether Tiv people are actually prepared to cede power to their Idoma brothers?

The relationship between Tiv and Idoma is like cat and mouse game. While the Tivs felt that Mark has cornered all the federal appointments for his kinsmen, Idoma on their part cry of marginalisation at the state level.

A group known as Tiv Federal Quota( TFQ), led by Chief Har Joseph, told The Nation there is no way power would shift to Zone C, because Idoma people have shown that they are effective minority by cornering all the federal appointments.

Har noted that in recent recruitments into the Army, Immigration, Navy, Police, Civil Defence, Road Safety and other federal agencies, Idoma names come top, even in Tiv speaking local government areas, so it would be suicidal to allow such a group to take power in the state.

“They have shown

Ogbole of Economic and Financial Crime Commission ( EFCC), Abuja.

They remaining governorship aspirants were ask to step down and queue behind the lucky three.

Hon Austine Awodi, a former member of the Benue State House of Assembly, representing Adoka/Ogbole told The Nation that come 2015, power should shift to Benue South for justice and fair play.

Awodi said even though , the Tiv people are in the clear majority , God did not make a mistake of creating them in one state and called on all political parties in the state to zone the governorship position to Benue South so that in 2015, they would produce the governor for the first time.

Awodi, who threw his weight

that if they occupied Government House, Makurdi, there would be nothing left for the Tiv people, so we are not prepared to let the governorship position of Benue go to Idoma. Just like he added that politics is a game of numbers.

Already , some Tiv people have allegedly zoned the governorship position to MINDA, a group among the Tivs’ spread in four local government areas of Gwer, Gwer west, Makurdi and Guma LGAs. So, it seems that the Tivs are not yet prepared for power shift, but for the Idomas, the battle for power shift has already begun. This means that only time will tell where the pendulum would swing at the end of the political battle.

Uja Emmanuel in Makurdi takes a look at the current battle for power shift in Benue State and reports that the Tiv are yet to agree with their Idoma brothers on this issue

Morro, who represented the Senate President, David Mark, to national and state lawmakers , among them , party elders, youths, women, opinion leaders and political office holders, they unanimously agreed that power must shift to Benue South come 2015.

Idoma elders also used the meeting to prune down the number of governorship aspirants from Benue South Senatorial District to just three in order to boost the chances of the Idoma people to clinch the governorship position next year.

The three governorship aspirants selected by Idoma elders are deputy governor, Chief Steven Lawani, former Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre ( FMC) Makurdi , DR. Mathias Oyigeya and Barrister Paul Harris

Nwaogu promises to develop Abia’s gas resources

T

HE Senator representing Abia Central Senatorial District, Mrs. Nkechi Justina Nwaogu, has promised to use her wealth of experience and reach as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Oil and Gas Resources to attract investors and put Abia on the global map of gas processing states if elected the governor of the state in 2015.

Nwaogu, speaking at the Aba Recreation Club during a town hall meeting with stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abia South Senatorial District, said she would bring in investors that will invest in the abundant and untapped gas deposit in the state, especially the Ukwa East and West part of the state, which according to her, was going to create more job opportunities for the unemployed in the area as well as boost the economy of the state.

The senator, who is also one of the speakers against the recent zoning of the governorship slot to Abia South by the state PDP caucus, urged the people of Abia South not to be complacent and further warned that such a step was intended to promote discord and

From Sunny Nwanwko, Aba

enmity among the Ngwa nation.

According to her, “There has never been any time in the political history of the state where power was zoned to a particular area; from 1999 till 2010. Why is it now that power will be zoned to a particular zone? I have not heard that a party zoned its governorship position to a particular zone. This is politics. Power is not given, people struggle for it. So, this issue of zoning for me is a clear attempt to cause division among the Ngwa nation. I must tell you that it is a ploy by some group of persons to weaken our strength which you and I should resist to happen.

“All I am asking is for you (delegates to the coming PDP primaries) to make an appraisal of all the governorship aspirants and their antecedents. Ask the right questions of what they have done before now so as to avoid making a wrong choice. Give us a level playing ground and let us test our popularity at the poll during the primaries,” she suggested Earlier in his speech, the DirectorGeneral of Nkechinyere Campaign Organisation and a former House of

Representative Member, Chief Tony Enwereuzor, urged Abia South stakeholders who are going to be delegates during the PDP primaries to make an informed decision of candidates they were going to elect to fly the flag of the party in 2015 election.

According to Enwereuzor, “this is the time for you people to make the right decision of candidates that will deliver dividend of democracy to you.

These candidates must be chosen based on their antecedents and their political sagacity and not because of what you stand to gain immediately; monetarily and otherwise.

Responding on behalf of the stakeholders, the zonal chairman of PDP Abia South, Captain Ebere (rtd) described Senator Nwaogu as a woman that has done the state proud in all the assignments she has been assigned to and assured her of the support of the people of the area.

•Nwaogu

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

POLITICS EXTRA

66

‘You cannot compare light with darkness in Abia’

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O you agree with Orji Uzor Kalu that Governor Theodore Orji is misrepresenting facts regarding his (Kalu’s) tenure as Abia state governor?

The evidence relating to Kalu’s dismal performance as Governor of Abia State between 1999 and 2007 is legion. He has raised issues about the buoyant financial state of affairs that he left behind in 2007. The facts available reveal that his Government left a debt of over N29 billion which was cleared by this Government. He laid false claims to building multiple roads in Abia especially in Aba. The fact is that by 2008 no one could access Aba through the Aba-Owerri Road and most of its major roads were in a state of disrepair because the drainages on the few roads that were constructed by him had been blocked by the numerous shops built on these drainages which problems still prevail till today.

So much has equally been said on the liberation of Abia State which slogan Kalu and his cronies appear not to be in terms with. The truth remains that Abia under Orji Uzor Kalu was in bondage. The state was under his stranglehold and his cabal consisting of members of his immediate family. Responsible and eminent Abians were excluded from the affairs of the state and in most cases physically prevented from entering Abia. Some of them abandoned the state to Kalu and his helmsmen. The story has long changed as there is peace and tranquility within the state and respect for elders and all other accomplished Abians.

Did the former governor design a roadmap for Abia State and what are the basic contents of the map?

Only Orji Uzor Kalu can explain or show the world the roadmap he designed for Abia State. As someone who joined Government in 2009, I found absolutely nothing to show for the eight years he was in Government. The basic structures of a modern state were all lacking. In my ministry, which is the Ministry of Justice, I met about four poultry-like bungalows making up the Ministry.

There were no furnitures and the entire premises were in a derelict state. This was the case in all other ministries including the Government House. All the industries, like the Golden Guinea Breweries and Ceramics had been sold in questionable circumstances. The state was indebted both to foreign and local contractors and the few roads he claimed he built in Aba were impassable. With all these and more, it is difficult to talk about a roadmap. In my mind those eight years, 1999 – 2007, can be regarded as the years of the locust which experience, I must tell you, Abians will have to pay for a long time to come.

Talking about roadmap, I can conveniently tell you that the foundation for a new Abia has just commenced. This can be seen in the provision of the basic structures which the present Government in Abia State is struggling to provide.

What are those specific structures the ex-governor lays claim to?

None, because the facts are there for everyone to see. Government is a continuum. It is unfortunate that Orji Uzor Kalu spent all his years in Government globetrotting and moving all over the country in his bid to project himself as a statesman and expanding his business empire while leaving behind the serious task of governance. This is the price

Abia State Attorney - General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Umeh Kalu, is a leading member of the Abia Patriots who are campaigning to protect the achievements of Governor T.A. Orji against attacks by former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu while bringing to the attention of the Federal Government the decadent state of federal roads in Abia. Agamnetochi Onoh reports

•Kalu

we are paying today in Abia State. All his claims of being an action Governor were all make belief as there is absolutely nothing to show for his it. If Kalu had found it worthwhile to provide drainage and build good roads in Aba, we would not be talking of bad roads in Aba by now. If his Government had found it worthwhile to make Umuahia the State Capital in the real sense, this Government would not be spending money to change the face of the city in order to make it a befitting State capital. There is no comparison between the former Governor and the present in terms of performance.

Abia Patriots advertorial claimed Kalu has been blocked from joining the PDP by Abia stakeholders while he points at the governor. Can you explain the intricacies of this matter?

Few days ago, the vice-chairman of PDP, South East, Col. Austin Akobundu (Rtd) and the Abia State Chairman (PDP) Senator Emma Nwaka all came out publicly to refute Orji Uzor Kalu’s claim to PDP membership. This was in response to Orji Uzor Kalu’s visit to the PDP headquarters in company of Ikedi Ohakim to see the Chairman of the PDP. For me, I know you don’t join a political party from the national level but from your

ward and upwards. It is unfortunate that Chief T. A. Orji is suffering misplaced aggression and persecution from Kalu. Chief T. A. Orji cannot be his problem in his bid at rejoining the PDP. The issue of his rejection has always been there even before Chief T. A. Orji joined the PDP. I recall that in 2010, Kalu made an effort, just like he is presently doing, to rejoin the PDP but was stoutly and unanimously resisted by all major stakeholders in an all night meeting at the Hilton, Abuja. Those stakeholders who resisted him in 2010 while Chief T. A. Orji was in APGA preparatory to join the PDP are still united in their resolve not to let him into the party.

Equally during the tenure of Bamanga Tukur as Chairman, he made another effort and was resisted again.

If I were to advise him his option would have been to resurrect his PPA and engage it as a vehicle towards the realisation of his senatorial bid as he did in 2011.

Any way the former governor’s posters and billboards suggest he is back to PDP to contest the Senatorial election for Abia North; what’s your comment?

Abia PDP members, of whom I am one, know their members. I can further tell you that I have not seen Orji Uzor

Kalu in any of our PDP meetings, either at the state level, Abia North Senatorial level or National level. Billboards and posters do not constitute membership and even membership cards as they can be gotten anywhere.

What is the Federal Government doing to complement Governor Orji’s efforts in revamping infrastructure in Aba? The problem with the roads in Abia State is concentrated within Aba-axis. Government has identified this problem and it is being addressed. The major one is that of poor drainage, followed by non-adherence to town planning regulations by house owners who build on drainage lines. So much has gone into desilting of the drainages while buildings built on drainage lines must go in order to make way for easy passage of flood.

But let me equally say here that most of the major roads that beg for attention in Abia State and especially in Aba are federal roads which the Federal Government should give attention to. Abia State Government would have even undertaken to do these roads, and have in fact in the past carried out some interventions on these roads, if we had the financial capacity like our neighbouring states of Akwa-Ibom and Rivers. The state of disrepair of these federal roads is the focus of the call by Abia Patriots and Abia legislators at the National Assembly, on the Federal Government to take up their responsibilities by repairing these roads.

The former governor dwelt heavily on his role in installing Governor Orji as his successor. What do you have to say in this regard?

Kalu is bitter, full of regrets and in dire need to tell the world that he is a better man than Chief T. A. Orji, both in character and in performance in the art of governance. Kalu was not alone in the political calculation that brought the Ochendo to power just like other Governors who had endeavoured to enthrone a successor of their choice. The question is what is the basis of his regret? His sadness arises from the abrupt end Chief T. A. Orji brought to his meddlesomeness in the affairs of Abia State and the fate of its citizens and the decision to tow a different political part from his.

It is common knowledge in Abia State that after Orji Uzor Kalu’s tenure ended in 2007, he boasted he would continue to rule Abia State for the next twenty-five years. The commencement of his proxy reign was through Chief T. A. Orji, whom he believed would do all his biddings on who gets what in the state including T. A. Orji’s successor. That was Orji Uzor Kalu’s proposal as a human being but he never knew God had His own plans, as man proposes but God disposes.

For Kalu to think he would be in control of a state like Abia with its enormous and eminent personalities for twenty-five years is unthinkable and a futile exercise at playing God. Can you comment on other issues arising from the advertorial and Kalu’s presentation of his stewardship between 1999 and 2007?

Kalu’s comparison of his stewardship with that of Chief T. A. Orji is not only an affront to the people of Abia State but insulting to our sensibilities; it is like comparing light with darkness. Kalu’s stewardship belongs to the past and remains in history books and in the memory of discerning Abians.

His continued thinking that he remains the issue in Abia politics or even the politics of the Igbo will remain an illusion for his time is past.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

67

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

68

EBERE WABARA

WORDSWORTH 08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

‘Banter’ non-count

HE GUARDIAN Opinion Page of September 29 welcomes us to the beginning of the last quarter of this year: “When my name was published (a comma) friends threw banters (banter) at me insinuating that by accepting to serve I had become a member of the dreaded….”

Let us take some contributions before returning (no ‘back’ o!) to our spring.

FEEDBACK WHO is a correspondent? Our broadcasters often call all their reporters ‘correspondents’.

This should not be so.

The reporter is no longer a jack of all trades as his colleagues of yesteryear.

Their functions and skills are being differentiated as communication technology impacts the world. Specialization is also going on in journalism as in other professions. Today a correspondent has a specialized knowledge, a generalist in his own field and subject. He/she is an experienced reporter on a beat—foreign or local—e.g. health, politics, culture or outside the country as a foreign correspondent. Therefore, the reference to every journalist or reporter as a correspondent on our radio and TV is unprofessional today. New editions of leading dictionaries have since reflected the current meaning and application. Ebere, who is to blame for the shortcoming: the journalist, his teacher, the editor or our educational system?

Please join the debate.

(Sunny Agbontaen, Benin City, 08062998165) THE next intervention is by Mr. Kola Danisa (07068074257): RayPower reported the row between Benjamin Adekunle’s first wife and the second wife over where to bury him, stating that the second wife “bursted into tears….”

(Thursday, October 2, News Bulletin at 6 p.m.)

The past tense/past participle remains ‘burst’.

ALWAYS a pleasure reading your column every Sunday. I am so happy that you are now into broadcast news in English. Tune in to Zuma FM 88.5 Suleja, Niger State. Listen to the news at 12 noon daily. Keep on correcting us, brother. (Oby Nwabufo, Abuja, 08036487027) “WORDSWORTH” is

T

worth my N200!” (Abbey Aminu, 08037125985) Now back to our surgical clinic: “A well deserved honour” Adjectival application: A welldeserved honour” “Olabisi Onabanjo varsity (sic) re-opens (reopens)” “Army sets up another court-martial to try erring soldiers” In national and grammatical Interest, end it at ‘court-martial’. The remaining four words are redundant because they are implied.

“Police tear gas (teargas) Hong Kong ‘Occupy Central pro-democracy demonstrators” “But there are some sticking points.” Sticky points, please.

“This, he said, will (would) encourage other companies to do same.”

I encourage the inclusion of ‘the’ before ‘same’. It shows scholarship.

“Home-based players poise for action” I am sure they poised for action.

“Change in the form of development programs tend to disturb the existing system of social stratification in any given society or locality.” The verb phrase determinant in this extract is ‘change’–not ‘programmes’, which calls for ‘tends’.

“This fledging establishment….”

Either: fledgeling or fledgling; never ‘fledging’.

“The depletion of the ozone layer otherwise known as the greenhouse effect has further added to the spate of natural disaster worldwide.” Get it right: spate of natural disasters.

The next three errors are from SUNDAY TRIBUNE of September 28.

My comments come after the quotes.

“The fear, it was learnt, is that demonstrators may break into these amoury and utilize the weapons.” Of course, a mob that accesses an armoury will use the arms. Therefore, the subordinate conjunction (utilise the weapons) is irrelevant. And the plural of ‘armoury’ is armouries.

“The main plank of the unanimity which came from grassroot Nigerians. “ Linguistic agreement: grassroots (always) Nigerians.

“Demanding that equity and justice be done in the matter, Oba Bajowa added that the people had been show-

ing restrain because….”

Noun: restraint; verb: restrain. What applies here is the noun.

“Most of the questions put to the governor bordered around.…” (NTA Network News, October 2) Without any question: border on or upon (not around).

“But this particular money bag (sic) was not impressed and decided to remind us that we were poor.” (Source: as above) A wealthy or an avaricious person is known as money-bags. A money-bag refers to a bag of money.

“The man was conspicuously absent….”

This is quite an old line.

If you belong to the transformative school, delete ‘conspicuously’.

“By 8.30 p.m. the venues had been filled with invited guests and pressmen….” This sounds preposterous. A venue is filled by guests, but filled with inanimate objects.

“And, of course a maximum of 60 per cent which implies that either of the two parties….”

‘Either’ indicates two elements. Therefore ‘two’ is redundant here.

‘It is not enough for superiors to defend their subordinates set out on the field or believe everything or allegations levied against other citizens.” We level allegations at.…

“Source close to the presidency also said that many delegates lobbied for ministerial appointments.”

(Daily Newswatch, October 2) Either way: ‘a source close’ or ‘sources close…’

If singular, there must be a determinant (‘a’ or ‘the’), depending on context.

“In Akwa Ibom, they recommended the creation of Atlantic State comprising of Oron….”

(Daily Newswatch, October 3) I recommend the deletion of the second ‘of’ in the extract.

“Crude oil prices soar higher” Would it have been lower? ‘Soar higher’ is obtuse!

“Financial allocation for waterways and airways far exceed that of the railways.” The verb determinant in this instance is ‘allocation’; not ‘waterways’ and ‘airways’.

“The realignment of curves to improve train speeds have not been undertaken as….”

Realignment…has; not have.

Peace of Allah to all Muslim readers!

I’ll fight US charges till end - Kashamu •Continued from Page 24

has tendered in rebuttal, I find the following facts: that the defendant has a brother who bears a striking resemblance to him; I am satisfied that the defendant’s brother was one of the co-conspirators in the drugs importation which involved Catherine and Ellen Wolters…

I am however satisfied that the overwhelming evi-dence here is such that the identification evidence, already tenuous, has now been so undermined as to make it incredible and valueless. In those circumstances, there is then no prima facie case against the defendant and I propose to discharge him.’

“If this clear judgment of ‘the judiciary of their British ally’ is only part exoneration I wonder what more the US judges want or what is really behind this persecution.

“Although the US court in its extant ruling has doubted the likelihood of the US authorities pressing any extradition charges against me, describing any such attempt as “whistling in the dark”, I would not give up. In fact, some of my friends and associates have advised that since I had been exonerated by the British courts on the basis of the same allegations with the full representation of the US authorities, as represented by its prosecutor, one Mr. A Coleman, I should stop further litigations, especially since an ‘indictment’ is not a judgment, I insist that I will fight the purported indictment to its logical conclusion because I am innocent of the allegations.

“Many of those who do not understand the history of the case have either wondered why the Nigerian government has not handed me over to the US authorities or why have I not voluntarily turned in myself.

My response to the first set of people is that it is not about the US authorities or the Nigerian government requesting for me or handing me over, it is about the law and due process that has to be fol-lowed. It seems to me that but for some vested interests, the US that is the bastion of democracy, equity and justice would not embark on this kind of a wild goose chase.

“We live in a world governed by laws and conventions.

We are not in a banana republic where someone can be abducted to face fresh round of trial after two competent courts had exonerated one.

“It is quite simplistic for anyone to think that a sovereign government would just hand over its citizens to another sovereign state on the mere suspicion of involvement in an alleged crime that had been tested and found to be unfounded. Other countries of the world would never sheepishly surrender their own, especially where the citizen had been arrested, tried and acquit-ted of the spurious allegations.

“And to the second school of thought, my response is that I was tried by one of the world’s best judiciary, with a U.S-appointed prosecutor prosecuting me and the British courts found that I was not the one involved in the alleged crime. Do they want to say that I was never arrested, tried and exonerated of the same allegations? If they can

•Kashamu

forfeit their freedom, I cannot.

“With the findings and conclusions of the British courts which Mr. Posner himself referred to, I do not have any case to answer. If they were sure that I was the same person, why did they not appeal the two British court judgments that exonerated me?

“Anyone who has suffered the indignity of being denied his freedom, especially unjustly as in my case, would appreciate what it means to regain it, more so in a foreign land where you have the remotest pos-sibility of victory with a trial that lasted four years and over 46 court appearances. I appreciate my exoneration and the freedom, which the British courts had given me and I am not about to forfeit it in order to satisfy anyone. I went through a full trial by a court of competent jurisdiction and was exonerated.

And for over a decade now, the US authorities have not appealed the two British court judgment that exonerated me. I was released in the presence of the American prosecutors. I went to my residence in London, stayed there for sometime before I returned to Benin Republic and then Nigeria.

“If only most people knew the kind of battle I waged against the US authorities, they would know that the victory and freedom that I enjoy today were hard fought and won. It might interest you to note that my case was cited in the British Law books (Nicholls, Montgomery, And Knowles on The Law of Extradition and Mutual Assistance. Third Edition 2013.

See R v Governor of Brixton Prison, ex p Kashamu, 6 Oct 2000, CO/2141/2000, Pp 6.50, 7.59) as the first person to test and benefit from Article 5 (4) of the European Convention on Human Rights in 2000.

“In the citations mentioned, the British court as per Pill LJ quashed the committal order against me because of ‘serious non-disclosure by the Government of the United States of America.’ The ‘serious non-disclosure’ referred to is the suppression of the identity evidence showing that I was not guilty of wrongdoing.

“The court also agreed with my submission that my arrest and de-tention were done in bad faith, an abuse of power, and in violation of Article 5 (4) of the European Con-vention on Human Rights.

“I do not believe that justice has been done. And it is not over yet. The facts of the matter, which should be restated are that: % The heart of a criminal matter or extradition is identification. The criminals said I was not the one who conspired with them and also disowned what was supposed to be my voice recording during several telephone conversations % The telephone number and address that were used was not mine. They were found to be my step brother’s. % There were proofs that even two years after I had been arrested and detained, members of the syndicate still continued their illicit transactions with my half brother, transferring over $2 million to the Bank of Africa in the Republic of Benin. The Interpol discovered the account in the course of their in-vestigations at the instance of the US Authorities and made it part of the evidence tendered in the British courts. % I have never stepped my feet into the US, neither do I have any business there. % I was wrongly accused, arrested, tried and freed over the same indictment that the US authorities have refused to drop even when they were fully represented in all the proceedings in the United King-dom. Indeed, my arrest, detention and trial were at its behest and the US authorities fully participated in the whole proceedings. If after a full trial on the basis of the same allega-tion, the British courts exonerated me, which other indictment are they talking about? What happens to the general principle of International Law on double-jeopardy?

It is com-monsensical that even without any judicial pronouncement the indict-ment is technically dead. It cannot possibly be awaken again.”

Kashamu vows to fight the case to its logical conclusion and says he won’t withdraw from public life because of his legal troubles.

“I do not have anything to hide. That is why I can freely associate with people in the course of my business and political activities. None with such a sordid past, as my detractors would want to ascribe to me, can be bold enough to come to the open to fight the kind of popular causes that I have championed, not with the kind of opposition stacked against me.”

69

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

INTERVIEW

N

IGERIA was 54 last week as an independent nation.

How would you assess the country?

When I was younger, I felt the impact of government even in the rural area where we lived. My father was a teacher in the primary school. The school was lively; education was very good. Even in the village back then, we had extra curricula activities such as agriculture, band and sports. Everything was impressive.

We wrote common entrance and passed with our rural background. That formed the background of my life today. Those days were very good. As we grew, we saw there were unity, peace and progress. You could live in any part of this country without fear of molestation. Food was readily available and job seekers got employment.

I'd say Nigeria has progressed in many ways but there are other sides that are not very pleasant. That we are still together as a nation is a plus. We have done fairly well but there is a large room for improvement.

You just came on board as the Bishop of Evangelism and Discipleship. What has changed since your assumption of office?

You know so much has changed. There is renewed vigour and zeal for evangelism in our work. We have travelled round doing crusades and seminars as well as retreats. We have seen that interest in the work of God among us has greatly increased. We see many people coming to Christ and those in the system are getting revived. I see that people are very eager and hungry to go the way for God. How much has the insurgency in the north-east affected the works of the church?

We have been seriously affected. We have churches there. We have a main church in Maiduguri, which has been there since the early

'Terror cannot stop the gospel' The Bishop of Evangelism and Discipleship, Methodist Church Nigeria, Rt. Rev. Edoka Amuta, believes that no amount of terror or persecution will stop the gospel. He spoke with Sunday Oguntola on this and sundry issues.

Excerpts: 80s. I have been involved in church-planting activities personally in the north-east.

I recall a time we were there.

We planted about 10 churches across Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

They were growing but since this insurgency, they have been largely affected.

A few of them closed down but again I got a report that one of them has been revived again. Among the abducted Chibok girls, we have it on good information that about eight or nine of them are Methodists. We feel the pain because we would have spread further but for the insurgency. Our growth there has slowed down.

Don't you think it is best for the churches there to close down pending when the security will improve?

Well, the thing is that the message of the gospel must be preached. While people are affected, there are souls still living there. They need the gospel of Christ there.

They need succour and hope to stay alive.

Should that be at the expense of their lives?

Well, you know we don't use violence to promote the message of Christ. It is the gospel of love. It cost the life of Christ and if we want to really show the world the love of God, we should be ready to give it whatever it will take. Sometimes, it could be our lives. So, we have some Methodists who are standing there.

Our ministers are there despite the crisis though many churches are folding up there. We don't have plans to evacuate them though we move those who want to leave. Those who want to stay, we encourage and take care of them. We keep communicating, especially

•Rev. Amuta

in terms of assistance for sustenance.

If they can't totally close down, shouldn't they go underground and operate as cell groups instead of exposing themselves to danger?

There are various approaches to God's works.

In some cases, people have the grace to operate openly while some have to operate underground. We are exploiting both to promote the gospel of love. Either

way, the fact is no amount of terror will stop the church of God. How committed is the church to evangelism and discipleship?

Evangelism and Discipleship is at the front burner of our operations. In 2006, the church took a serious decision to make evangelism its major focus. It adopted a vision to be one of the spiritually-vibrant and largest churches in Nigeria.

Until then, we didn't come

out with a concrete decision on evangelism despite the fact that we are an evangelical church.

So, the whole activities of the church now are geared towards evangelism.

To make it stronger, the person heading the Directorate of Discipleship and Evangelism is a Bishop.

I happen to be the second person in that office. That indicates our commitment.

The church has decided that every budget at all levels from the local church, circuit, dioceses and archdiocese, twenty percent of it should be allocated to evangelism. So, the church is ready to fund evangelism while members and groups are also doing several things in this direction.

The Council of Knights has adopted a particular state capital in the north as their mission ground. They have acquired a land, will build a church and hand it over to us. The women's group is also doing something. I visited the youth wing of a Diocese in Rivers that has planted two churches.

The exodus of youths from the Methodist is high.

Is that a bother to you?

Yes, that is a fact. The renewed interest of the church is meant to address that. We have policies of making our services youthfriendly. We have youth churches in some of our big churches. We have youth pastors now overseeing the youth wings of the church.

These are stemming the tide in the church. It is a concern but we are addressing it.

How about discipleship? Are there plans, beyond planting churches, to ensure that those in the system are real

Disciples of Christ?

We have put in place measures of re-focusing the clergy in this direction. This year, we have held retreats for the priests and presbyters, who are very serious ministers. Not long ago, we held retreats for others too. We are using these to revive ourselves and refocus ourselves on discipleship.

We have a bible study guide which we prepared for our members. It is used for weekly bible studies in all our local churches.

Sometimes, it is used on Sundays. We also have Daily Reflections, which is our daily devotional for members. We have the Young Minds' Reflection for younger members. From next year, we want to put it on apps so that our youths can access it online for devotions.

We also encourage mentorship, sometimes intentionally getting older Christians to look after younger ones through winning their respect and confidence. We are taking on that seriously.

You are just starting but what would you think will be the highest point when you are bowing out of office?

My prayer and desire is to see a church that is vibrant in the Spirit and righteousness. I want to see a church where the gifts of the Spirit will operate in all lives. I want to see a church where people will be hunger to know and serve God while placing their lives and resources in the hands of God for kingdom expansion.

Will Nigeria survive the many challenges against it?

Yes, I believe Nigeria will survive. You see this country is of God. God destined us to be together and no amount of human efforts to put us asunder.

Two, we are working towards nation-building.

We are holding our national convention next January where the theme will be Aglow in the Spirit. We intend to teach people how to be good citizens through impartation and prayers.

NEWS

T

HE Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Christian Matters, Rev Sam Ogedengbe, has appealed to Church leaders to encourage their members to join politics and sanitise it.

Ogedengbe spoke at a Leadership summit and book launch of the Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Agbado/OkeOdo Local Government Development Area Chapter and Parish Priest of St Alphosus Catholic Church

'Church leaders must prepare members for politics'

By Adeola Ogunlade

Aboru, Rev Monsignor Livinus Ukoh.

Tagged the unfinished business of the life and politics of power, the event attracted church leaders, politicians, captains of industries and laymen, among others.

Ogedengbe stated that the solution to the nation's problems rests on the church, stating that Christians must brace up for the challenges of

active participation in politics.

He said that the rot in the political system can only be addressed by Christians ready to beam the light of Jesus and His values in this dark world.

Ogedengbe lamented that the Church has remained indifferent and aloof to governance, which has consequently drawn the country back.

He said: "The church is

the custodian of authority to rule. Governance belongs to the church and Christians who are god- fearing have to take charge of what belongs to them."

The cleric, who congratulated the author on his narrative on the church and politics, said: "We appreciate you for adding value to the system and God will greatly reward you."

The President, Eclectic Network, Rev Moses Iloh,

stated that politics offers the best opportunity for Christians to demonstrate their virtues and convictions in politics, saying that politics is proper management of the affairs of men preferably by the righteous.

He noted that it is sad that Nigeria with over 80 million Christians vote for thieves and people with questionable characters, who he stated have done more harm than good to governance.

Iloh, who is over 80 years old, said that the church must go beyond building cathedrals but prepare, sponsor and support God's people to take over governance at levels.

"We have government over the years who have come to steal, kill and destroy the social fabrics and they are growing in leaps and bounds because the churches have refused to take active part in politics," he explained.

70

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014

WORSHIP

COLUMN

$ 9.3m saga: TEKAN berates attacks on Oritsejafor

T

HE Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria (TEKAN) has condemned the series of attacks against President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, over the leasing of his personal private jet for a cash-for-arms trip to South Africa.

TEKAN's President, Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Dziggau, said the attacks against Oritsejafor were most unfounded and undeserving.

He warned those condemning the CAN's helmsman to desist.

Dziggau, told reporters last week: "I struggle to understand the reasons why respectable publications and

By Sunday Oguntola

news outlets across Nigeria continue to allow quotes and release reports based on halftruths, hearsay and conjecture.

"The facts surrounding the case- as far as the involvement of Pastor Oritsejafor goes - seem to be quite clear.

"Although he has an interest in the plane, he has none in the company that operates the plane. He had no involvement in chartering the flight itself.

"Indeed he does not even have an interest in the company which hired the plane and then chartered it to a third party."

The head of the 25-million member strong bloc with 13 denominations questioned the

motives and timing of those attacking Oritsejafor.

He added: "Pastor Oritsejafor is now trapped in a cacophony of accusation based purely on the dreameed up conspiracies of others.

"Based on the facts of the case that have been made public so far, he is so far removed from the incident he surely cannot have had anything to do with it.

"Next, these crackpots will be suggesting the flight attendants were part of the conspiracy, or maybe even the mechanics that refuel it."

He advised those calling for the head of Oritsejafor to allow investigations into the case concluded before crucifying him.

• The founder of the foundation, Pastor Lawrence Olasehinde with all the award winners after the lecture in Abuja

… Exercise caution, Atilade appeals

T

HE South West Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN), Archbishop Magnus Atilade, has advised Nigerians to await conclusion of investigations into the $9.5million cash-for-arm deal before jumping into conclusion.

Atilade spoke with our correspondent last week ahead of the 3-day national day of prayer and re-dedication by the body.

The prayer session is slated for October 17-19 at Hoares Memorial Methodist SaboYaba, Lagos with The Dr Chukwuemeka Uche as preacher.

He condemned most reactions and statements on the arm deal that involved the private jet of CAN's National President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, as sentimental and preemptive.

He stated that all the attacks on Oritsejafor are unfair since investigations were still ongoing and no jury has found him privy of the flight to South Africa.

Atilade said: "It is true that Pastor Ayo owns the jet, which he has admitted to but he also stated he already leased it to someone.

By Adeola Ogunlade

"You are not always there to monitor what they do and I want to believe until I am proven wrong that Pastor Oritsejafor at anytime is not involved in this illegal arm deals."

Atilade, who lauded the intervention of security agencies in investigation, said: "I would appeal to everyone not to hastily jump into conclusion on this matter."

He added: "I appeal to Nigerians to be patient and let the case be concluded before we make our own judgment. I know the CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor will

•Archbishop Atilade

come out vindicated. Don't crucify anyone."

He cautioned Christian leaders to be more careful and prayerful, stating that the church is being persecuted spiritually around the globe.

Atilade, who assured the church of Jesus of great triumph over every foe, enemy and persecutor, said that no matter what the church will be victorious.

On the national prayer and rededication service, he said it was informed by the dire need for divine intervention in the face of daunting challenges facing the church and the nation.

He appealed for the cooperation of all churches during the exercise, which ends by 3pm on Sunday with prayers in all local assemblies.

He informed that the body has decided all Christians should contribute N500 monthly to rebuild burnt churches in the north and enhance operations of CAN across the nation.

Tagged CAN Trust fund, the contribution, he stated will be targeted at improving ecumenical efforts, especially in the north where many Christians have been displaced in the last four years.

Shun violence, cultism, cleric begs students CLERIC, Pastor Lawrence Olasehinde, has called on students to shun violence, drug abuse and cultism so as to become good citizens.

He spoke in Abuja while delivering a lecture during the 2014 Pastor Lawrence Olasehinde Youth Development Foundation (PLOYDEF) annual essay competition.

The competition featured contestants in junior and

A

secondary school categories.

Olasehinde expressed worries over the preponderance of drug abuse and cultism among students.

He said: "Drug addiction among youths and teenagers is silently creeping into families and destroying the potential of many promising children in our society.

"It is an issue that is of grave concern to the society as its consequences do not end only with the addicted children

but its consequences affect our society now and in the future."

The cleric called on parents to get educated to be able to detect when their children and wards display signs of drug abuse while also monitoring the company their children keep.

He explained the foundation was set up to help youths and teenagers imbibe Christian characters while developing positive spiritual and intellectual capacities.

Living Faith

By Dr. David Oyedepo

Encounter with Destiny from His Book!

W

ELCOME to October, your month of total recovery and the season of new beginnings. God will visit you in a special way this month and you shall not miss any of His blessings, in Jesus' Name!

This week, I shall be teaching you on how you can encounter destiny from God's Holy Book, the Bible! Let us please understand that the Bible is a Book of visions for the redeemed and every encounter with the Word is an encounter with destiny.

We also understand from scriptures that redemption entitles us to a glorious destiny and we are predestinated according to God's purpose to obtain an inheritance. As it is written: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will (Ephesians 1:11; see also Romans 8:29-30).

Furthermore, every great testimony in the Kingdom is traceable to encounters with the Word. For instance, Abraham encountered the Word of the Lord, which made him the father of many nations and a symbol of transgenerational blessings. Jacob also encountered the Word of the Lord, which turned him to a nation (Romans 4:18-21, 22:1-18, Isaiah 9:8).

Remember, God's Word is the spiritual mirror that

shows us God's picture for our lives?who we are in Christ, what we carry, what we can do and how to do them (James 1:22-25).

Let's examine two pictures of who we are from scriptures: •Every child of God is redeemed a Spiritual Eagle: From scriptures, we have a picture of the Father God as an eagle. We also understand that we have been redeemed as sons of God and by the law of procreation, like begets like. If we are His children and we have an Eagle Father, then we are redeemed as eagles after the order of our Father.

This connotes that we are redeemed to soar where others struggle; that is, ride in the high places of the earth, scale strange heights and enviable altitudes (Deuteronomy 32:913, John 1:12).

However, we must see ourselves as spiritual eagles, before we can become one.

God said to Abraham, "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever." We also understand from scriptures that we are seeds of Abraham.

Therefore, there is a demand on us, as seeds of Abraham, to see it before God can deliver it (Genesis 13:14-15, Galatians 3:29).

For instance, in July 1977, I came across a devotional written by Oral Roberts, where

I saw my picture as a spiritual eagle. From that moment, I refused to settle for anything less than high places. It is important for us to understand that whatever we cannot see, it is not permitted to be delivered. If we see ourselves as eagles and we are willing to align with the responsibilities, then we have committed God's integrity to cause the eagle in us to be made manifest. However, although we have been redeemed as eagles and ordained to soar, it comes with a cost.

I will continue with this teaching next week. The Exceeding Grace of God will culminate in His Strange Acts in your life this season.

Friend, the grace and privilege to encounter destiny through His Book are available, but to the redeemed.

Are you a born again? You become a child of God, by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. You can be God's child now, if you haven't been, by saying this prayer: "Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You, for saving me! Now, I know I am born again!"

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get my books: Walking in Wisdom, Ruling Your World, Commanding The Supernatural, and Operating The Supernatural I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. respectively.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

NEWS

TREM fast, pray for Nigeria

T

HE Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) worldwide has begun a 31-day prayer and fasting for the nation.

The exercise, which started on October 1, has as its theme Enough is Enough.

The Presiding Bishop of TREM, Dr. Mike Okonkwo,

kicked off the exercise at the international headquarters in Anthony-Oke Lagos.

All branches of the church worldwide have also joined the exercise.

A statement by the General Manager Operations (TREM), Rev. (Mrs.) Oluwayomi Uteh, said the church will be

specifically praying for a peaceful and united Nigeria as well as violence-free elections in 2015.

She said there will also be prayer sessions for the President, Vice-President, Governors, National Assembly members, security operatives and other key stakeholders.

WHAT AND WHERE?

The Fulfillment of Christ Covenant Church (C&S) celebrates

T

HE 10th anniversary of The Fulfillment of Christ Covenant Church (C&S) holds on Sunday October 12 by 11am at 199, Ebute Road, Ojuri area

Ibafo.

The theme of the celebration is After He had patiently endured, He obtained the promised (Hebrews 6:15).

The host, Senior Apostolic

Mother/Prophetess Elizabeth O. Adeyoju (JP), said the celebration will afford the church the opportunity to thank God for a decade of impact and project for future achievements.

CCC Oko-Oba parish III adult harvest today

T

HE Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) Oko-Oba parish III (District Headquarter), 9b, Jonathan Coker New Oko-Oba Lagos will today hold its 34th adult harvest thanksgiving.

Tagged: Harvest of unexpected blessing (Psalm 126:1), the service begins by 10am prompt.

The Shepherd-in-charge, Venerable Most Senior

Evangelist M.A. Gbiri, said that this year's harvest will usher unexpected blessing from God from all four corners of the world.

"This year's adult harvest will turn to be a turning point of many people. God has promised us that He will make us well but many have lost faith on receiving God's will.

"That unexpected blessing will be for everybody and

Nigeria will remain bless in Jesus name," he stated.

The bazaar sales will be anchored by Most Senior Evangelist G.O Ojediran, Honourary Senior Evangelist Olusegun Ogunbayo, Mother Celestial E.A Ayinde (JP), Honourary Senior Evangelist Adebayo Odemo, Leader Gbenga Atanda, Mother Celestial .C. Shobiye and others.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

72 CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE CHANGE OF OF NAME NAME

ORUNGBEMI

FAPOHUNDA

I, formerly known and addressed as Orungbemi Omanale ‘Toyin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Gabson, Omanale ‘Toyin. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

MUTIU

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mojisola Aduke Bolajoko Fapohunda, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mojisola Aduke Bolajoko Ojeme All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AWOTOLA

I, formerly known and addressed as Mutiu Olawale Odunsi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mutiu Olawale Odunsi-Esilokun. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Awotola Olanrewaju Akanbi, now wish to be known and addressed as Olutola Jerry Olanrewaju. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Esther Olawunmi Adeleye, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Esther Olawunmi Arimoro. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Idowu Madinah Adebola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Idowu-Osho Madinah Adebola. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADELEYE

AYOOLA

I, formerly known and addressed as Aderounmu Samuel Ayoola, now wish to be known and addressed as Adeleke Adedeji Samuel All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

SALU

I, formerly known and addressed as Fatimah Modupeola Salu, now wish to be known and addressed as Fatimah Modupeola Orekoya. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

OKORIE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chinenye Martha Okorie, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chinenye Martha Uyabe.

All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AKWAGBE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ebiere Hema Akwagbe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ebiere Hema Ebenezer. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

MADUEKE

I, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Ndukwu Madueke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Ndukwu Chinatu Japheth. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

IDOWU

OSIELE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Osiele Naomi Ohuma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Joseph Naomi Ohuma. All former documents remain valid.

Ministry of Environment, Ogun State and general public should please take note.

AKINOLA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Akinola, Oluwafunke Hannah, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kolawole Oluwafunke Hannah. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OKUNUGA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oluwaseun Modupe Okunuga, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oluwaseun Modupe Babatunde. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ENIKANOLAIYE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Enikanolaiye Oluiwaseyi Grace, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Jegede, Oluwaseyi Grace. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OMOROWA

POPOOLA

I, formerly known and addressed as Omorowa Eric, now wish to be known and addressed as Eghe Odeh Eric. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OLASEENI

I, formerly known and addressed as Joy Kokomma Edak Bassey Ekanem, now wish to be known and addressed as Joy Kokomma Odunuga. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Popoola, Anuoluwapo Enitan, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Sodiq, Anuoluwapo Enitan. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olaseeni, Tosin Folukemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ibituyi, Tosin Folukemi. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, (EKSUTH), Ekiti State and general public should please take note.

UKPONG

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Imaopong Akpan Ukpong, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Imaopong Peter Saviour. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note. Ebunoluwa Omolara

IORSUE

EKANEM

UGBOMA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ugboma Idu Edna, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Edna Idu Osakwe. All former documents remain valid. Delta State School of Nursing, Agbor, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria and general public should please take note.

OWATE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Owate, Oluwatosin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ayobasan Oluwatosin Grace.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

OJEHE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Iorsue C. Angbiandoo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Amene C. Angbiandoo. All former documents remain valid.

Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ojehe Blessing Folashayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adeyemi Blessing Folashayo. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ONI

I, formerly known and addressed as Tayo Catherine Adekemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Tayo Catherine Adekemi Fashola.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Kemi Oni, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kemi Omede. All former documents remain valid. Nigeria Police Force, First Monument Bank Plc. (FCMB) and general public should please take note.

ADEWALE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Grace Aderonke Adewale, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Grace Aderonke Adepoju. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

IDRIS

I, formerly known and addressed as Idris Adefolakemi Kalif, now wish to be known and addressed as Idris-Lawal, Folakemi Kalifat All former documents remain valid.

Dangote Group and general public should please take note.

AGARAWU

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Atinuke Shakirat Agarawu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Atinuke Shakirat Adams All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ANUKAM

I formerly known and addressed as Miss ANUKAM ADLINE OGADIMMA, now wish to be known as Mrs. OKEKE ADLINE OGADIMMA. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ADEKEMI

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

OPALEYE

KANNU

FALUYI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Opaleye, Blessing Esther, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Idowu, Blessing Esther. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

DIYOKE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Diyoke, Ngozi Evangeline, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ezeh Ngozi Evangeline. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

EBHODAGHE

I, formerly known and addressed as Ebhodaghe Beatrice, now wish to be known and addressed as Ehinor Beatrice. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADEDEJI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adedeji, Latifat Omolara, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olatokun Latifat Omolara. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OLADEYIN

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oladeyin, Elizabeth Oluwaseun, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olaleye, Elizabeth Oluwaseun. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OGUNDEYI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ogundeyi, Omowunmi Lydia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mosuro, Omowunmi Lydia. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

FALADE I, formerly known and addressed as Falade, Idowu, Abiodun, now wish to be known and addressed as Abioye Abiodun Peter. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OGUNKEYE

I, formerly known and addressed as Ogunkeye Bunmi Funmi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Bunmi Funmi Otu. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

FAGBEMI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Fagbemi, Olubunmi Mary, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Egbewole Olubunmi Mary. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Ogunleye Omowumi Ponle is the same person as Ogunleye Omowumi. All former documents remain valid. Osun State Polytechnic, Iree and general public should please take note.

OKAFOR

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OKAFOR STELLA CHIGOZIE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS CHUKWUMA STELLA CHIGOZIE. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

YUSUF I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Timilehin Aina Yusuf, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Timilehin Aina Okunrounmu.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

NDUKWE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ndukwe, Chinemerem Ada, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ezeh Chinemerem Ada. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OTI

ADETOLA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Maureen Nneka Oti, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Maureen Nneka Ebochuo. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

OJIAKOR

I formerly known and addressed as Miss DEBORAH ISRAEL DUDUN, now wish to be known as Mrs. DEBORAH STEPHEN AFAMEFULA. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adetola Modeayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olatubora Modeayo. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss IJEOMA OJIAKOR, now wish to be known as Mrs. IJEOMA ISAAC. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

LAWAL

I formerly known and addressed as Miss LAWAL HABIBAT BUKOLA, now wish to be known as Mrs. SULEMAN HABIBAT BUKOLA. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

AKPORE I formerly known and addressed as Miss AKPORE OGHENEOVO YOLANDA, now wish to be known as Mrs. IFEACHO OGHENEOVO YOLANDA. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Taofikat Olabisi is this same person as Taofikat Olaide Richards .

All documents bearing the above names remain valid. General public should please take note.

DUDUN

AROWOLO I, formerly known and addressed as MISS BOLASIMI FAITH AROWOLO, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS BOLASIMI FAITH IBEJI. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

UMANA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss KANNU CHIGOZIE CELESTINE , now wish to be known as Mrs. ALAKA CHIGOZIE CELESTINE. All former documents remain valid. Anambra State Civil Service Commission. And the general public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME JOHNNY IHEANYI NYECHE and JOHNNY IHEAYI IWEZOR refers to one and the same person now wish to be known as JOHNNY IHEAYI IWEZOR. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME CHIZI JEFFREY WORKS NYECHE and JEFFREY CHIZI JOHNNY refers to one and the same person now wish to be known as JEFFREY CHIZI JOHNNY all former documents remain valid general public please take note.

OGBUEWU

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Vivian Nwankwo , now wish to be known as Mrs. Vivian Ogbuewu. All former documents remain valid. Public Complaints Commission (PCC) and the general public please take note.

OWOYEMI

ADEOLA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adeola Elizabeth Oluwatosin now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adeola-Adepoju Elizabeth Oluwatosin. All former documents remain valid. INEC, University of lbadan and general public should please take note.

LAWAL

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Lawal Rasheedat Bukola now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adelani Rasheedat Bukola. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

OSAGIE

I formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Osagie Eseohe Grace now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Omokhuale Eseohe Grace. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ALAKA

I formerly known and addressed as MISS OWOYEMI OLUWASEUN CECILIA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ADESINA OLUWASEUN CECILIA. All former documents remain valid. EKSU, INSOURCING NIG LTD, FIRST BANK and general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Alaka Ololade Olaolu Ayisat now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Yusuf Ololade Olaolu Ayisat. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

NASIRU

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Okoye Ngozi Perpertual now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Uroko Ngozi Perpertual. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This is to notify the general public that both Mr. Ohiomah Oluseyi Isu and Mr. Ohiomah Oluwaseyi Isu refers to one and same person. All documents bearing the above names remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS DEBORAH TEMITOPE NASIRU now which to be known and addressed as MRS DEBORAH TEMITOPE ROGERS all formal document remain valid. General public should take note.

SEKUNDA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss SEKUNDA FELICIA OLUBUNMI now which to be known and addressed as MRS ADEBAGBO FELICIA OLUBUNMI all formal document remain valid Boluwaduro Local Gorvernment Osun State and general public should take note.

DURU I, formerly known and addressed as MISS DURU IMMACULATA CHIAMAKA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS NWAOKORO HENRY IMMACULATA CHIAMAKA. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

ALAEZI

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ALAEZI CHINENYE MARY, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OKOROCHI ALAEZI CHINENYE MARY. All former documents remain valid.

The general public please take note.

OKOSUN

I, formerly known and addressed as Airiagbon Charles Okosun now wish to be known and addressed as Airiagbon Charles Chamuke. That all document bearing my former name remain valid. The general public should please take note.

ERIRE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Esther Omokaro Erire now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Etuokwu Esther Erire. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, DAISY ASANGA, NSIMA OKON, ASANGA OKON NSIMA, DAISY NSIMA ASANGA, MRS. DAISY NSIMA UKPONG, MRS. DAISY NSIMA GODWIN UKPONG, MRS. DAISY GODWIN UKPONG and DAISY-UYAI OKON ASANGA refers to one and the same person. Now wish to be known and addressed as DAISY OKON ASANGA. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ESUKU

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS JOAN IWON ESUKU, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. JOAN IWON WHYTE. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

AKPO

I, formerly known and addressed as UMANA UDO UMANAH, now wish to be known and addressed as SAMUEL UDO UMANAH. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as AKPO EBIARE EBIKEBINA, now wish to be known and addressed as ESTHER JOSEPH. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADEGITE

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS. ROSELINE STEPHEN AFANGIDEH, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ROSELINE IDORENYIN UDOIKPONG. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adegite Comfort Arinola now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adenuga Comfort Arinola.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Mr. Faluyi Oluwatoba now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Oluwaromiluyi-Samuel Oluwatoba. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AFANGIDEH

Funeral for Mbakwe

OKOYE

ENENDU I, formerly known and addressed as MRS. PATIENCE CHINWEOKWU ENENDU, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. PATIENCE CHINWEOKWU OJUKWUENENDU. All former documents remain valid. First Bank and general public should please take note.

IMONEGAME

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss. IMONEGAME SHERIFATU, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. OKOLO SHERIFATU. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ONUOHA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Onuoha Assumpta Amarachi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nwoti Assumpta Amarachi. All former documents remain valid. The Federal Road Safety Corps, Stanbic IBTC Pension, UBA and general public should please take note.

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•Mbakwe

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HE remains of Chief T h e o p h i l u s Mbakwe will be buried in Ubahu, Amaigbo in Imo State on Friday, October 10.

Aged 80, Mbakwe was the founding President of the Paints Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

He was a devout member of the Anglican Church where he was honoured with the Knighthood of the Order of Saint Christopher in 1994.

The community leader held the title of Akuruo Ulo I of Amaigbo.

He is survived by eight children, 10 grandchildren and other relations.

Rivers 2015: Group backs Ogoni’s candidate From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt KWERRE/ETCHE Peoples’ Forum, which is made up of two ethnic nationalities in Rivers State has backed the recent decision by Ogoni Leadership Forum to only support political parties that could feature Ogoni candidate.

The group, Ikwerre/Etche Peoples’ Forum, has six local governments under its operation and is one of the influential ethnic groups in Rivers state that has been canvassing for Ogoni candidate in 2015.

In a ward rally yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital, the group lauded Ogoni Leadership Forum for taking a decisive conclusion that no Ogoni man will vote for any political party without Ogoni man as candidate.

The President General of Ikwerre/Etche Peoples’ Forum, Hon. Emmanuel Amadi said his group will join hands with Ogoni leadership Forum to ensure that their decision to back only political parties that feature their sons and daughter will be supported.

He said his group is visiting ward by ward in the state to canvass for Ogoni candidate come 2015 which he believes is the only way to address the injustice against the Ogoni people.

“Our objective is to support Ogoni candidate in 2015, it is ideal to look for constituencies or a place where the people have not tasted the leadership of Rivers State. The former governor, Dr. Peter Odili is from Rivers West Senatorial District, the incumbent governor Rotimi Amaechi is Rivers East.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

FG urges EU to invest in proposed Development Bank Nduka Chiejina (Assistant Editor)

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HE Federal Government has urged the European Union (EU) to invest in the proposed Wholesale Development Bank through the union’s development financing outfit, the European Development Bank (EDB).

The Minister of State for Finance, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, made this appeal while receiving a delegation of the European Union led by its Ambassador to Nigeria, Michel Arrion, in his office in Abuja.

Yuguda also revealed that the bid for a Wholesale Development Bank has raised significant interest among global funding agencies.

According to him the World Bank has pledged $500 million while other development- oriented financial institutions like the African Development Bank (ADB) have also committed some funds for the take off of the bank.

The minister explained that the aim of the bank is to boost the growth of the real sector by ensuring long- term financing and drastically cutting down interest rate.

He added that the Federal Government would soon be embarking on a road-show to some specific countries to raise more capital.

Yuguda urged the EDB to take advantage of the investment opportunities open in the proposed bank.

He thanked the bank for its rigorous procedure in ensuring that the facilities granted Nigerian banks were aligned to the nation’s development priorities.

The EU envoy hinted that EDB is already well established in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal as a development financier, adding it would like to boost its activities in Nigeria by funding long- term projects.

‘FG spends N327.96b on varsity students’ From: Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja

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HE Federal Government spends not less than N327.96 billion on university students annually, the Pro-Chancellor of Baze University, Senator Yusuf Datti, has said.

Datti spoke during a briefing to announce the maiden graduation ceremony of Baze University at the weekend in Abuja.

He however pointed out the expenditure was being wasted considering the unemployable status of most university products.

Datti said: “N327b of government money is going to waste because if the turnover of Nigerian universities is 260, 000 annually and about 60 to 70 percent of the graduates are not employable, it means N327.97b wasted.”

He said based on this amount, about N1.8 million is spent on every graduate by government, excluding examination fee, cost of handouts, among other sundry expenses in public universities.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

Michael Hodd, noted that to train a graduate in the university in three years for a fouryear programme will cost about N1.6 million per annum.

NEWS

Arrest unemployment, Sultan tells govt

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HE Sultan of Sokoto and President General National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged government to concretise measures aimed at solving the problem of youth unemployment and restiveness.

He said there was urgent need for government to encourage the youths to be meaningfully productive not only to themselves but the country.

Abubakar also appealed to politicians, especially those seeking elective posts

From: Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

to conduct peaceful campaigns.

While noting that Nigerians are brothers and sisters, he said politics should not divide the long-standing national unity.

According to the revered leader:” God gives and takes leadership. Sokoto has remained largely peaceful and united and other states should emulate it,” he added.

Abubakar made the remarks in Sokoto yesterday in his Sallah message to the

Muslim Ummah in the country.

He noted that the issue of youth unemployment was principal catalyst to the current problems in the nation.

To him:”This is the genesis of most of the problems plaguing Nigeria currently.”

While acknowledging the efforts of government towards giving hope to the youths, Sultan Abubakar observed that they were doing their best “but the problem is becoming more endemic now across Nigeria.”

He commended the federal government for ensur-

ing the timely airlifting of the nation’s intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia despite initial delays.

“The Saudi Arabian government delayed the issuance of visas to our pilgrims due to the Ebola virus disease issue.

“The proactive efforts and actions of the federal, Lagos, Rivers and other state government on the problem were timely.

“This is commendable and the Saudi government also deserves a commendation for having faith in Nigeria.’’

•L- R: The celebrator, High Chief Simeon Oguntimehin; former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) and Otunba Adekunle Ojora, during the installation of Oguntimehin as the Lisa of Ondo Kingdom and his 80 birthday at the Cathedral Church of St. Stephen Oke-Aluko, Ondo State at the weekend PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

Japan to invest N2.8b on health, education

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IGERIA and Japan have signed an agreement for grants of $4.1 million and $13.2 million to support the health and education sectors in the country.

The Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, who signed the grant on behalf of the federal government, said that the project will fill the critical gaps in Nigeria’s development drive and complement efforts in education and health.

Sulaiman said that the Japanese education grant, which will be used in Oyo State, will have a very strong positive impact on the sector.

He explained that the Japa-

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

nese Government has been very supportive of Nigeria’s development drive in form of grants and technical assistance covering several sectors, including water and sanitation, health, education, defence and security, energy and power, small and medium scale/enterprises development and agriculture.

The minister stressed that of particular importance is Japan’s support in technical assistance to Nigeria, which contributes in enhancing the capacity of the country’s workforce.

He commended the Japanese African Business Entrepreneurs Initiative, which seeks to empower young Af-

ricans with relevant skills and competence, the latest in Japan’s technical support to the country.

The Japanese Ambassador, Ryuichi Shoji, who signed on behalf of the Japanese government, said that the overall objective of the grant was to create inclusive society for growth through providing support for health and education sectors.

He further said that Japan made a commitment to provide financial support of $500m in the health sector, emphasising the importance to promote Universal health coverage (UCH) in Africa.

Shoji also stated that Japan has decided to extend a loan of up to $85m to Nigeria for

the Polio Eradication Project.

The efforts, he pointed out, reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to the future of Nigeria.

The grant, he explained, will see the Japanese government support the health sector with the sum of JPY 400, 000,000 ($ 4.1m) to equip teaching hospitals, federal medical centres, special centres and general hospitals with medical devises and instruments produced by the Japanese SMEs. The support for education in the sum of JPY 1,277, 000, 000 ($ 13.2m), is for the construction of 261 classrooms, 258 toilet booths and other school facilities in 36 schools in Oyo State.

Causes of industrial unrest, by minister

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HE Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu has blamed inequity, poor training and unfair labour practices in the workplace for frequent industrial unrests.

Speaking at the public presentation of the Compendium of Nigerian Labour Laws and Other Related Laws” and “Guidelines on Labour Laws in Nigeria”, the minister said there was the need for employee education and empowerment for well informed workforce and reduction of industrial disputes.

The ministry, Wogu explained, has initiated and implemented proactive policies and programmes to enhance the development of

From Tony Akowe, Abuja

the sector in line with international best practices.

As Nigeria attracts investments as one of the leading economies in the world and the largest economy in Africa, the minister that it was vital to equally develop and maintain a professional and productive labour force that meets the needs of investors and the labour market.

He stressed that the newly unveiled books were mustread for all organisations, stressing that the publications contained valuable information that would make it easier for people to apply the provisions of Nigeria’s labour

laws efficiently for conflict resolution, productivity improvement and socio-economic development.

The books, he said, provided all parties involved in investment decision-making with relevant labour market information and guidance on the labour laws operational in the country.

He also said that the Labour Ministry’s commitment to professional service delivery has transformed the Labour Sector with the production of such policies as HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy, Child Labour Policy, National Productivity Policy, Local Employment Contents Guidelines, Guidelines on the Oil and Gas Sector, Contract Staffing Policy

and Regulation on the Use of Elevators and Escalators with Guidelines.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Clement Illoh, said that the publications have the potential to bridge the knowledge gap in understanding labour relations.

“Labour laws mediate the relationship between workers, employers, trade unions and the government.

“In recent years, labour issues are very sensitive and affect every aspect of the economy.

“The present compilation underscores the importance of understanding the legal framework on employer/employee relationship,” he stated.

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PHCN retirees beg for pensions

By Vincent Ohonbamu, Gombe

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ETIREES of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to alleviate their sufferings by paying up their outstanding fourmonth pension.

Mr. Taiwo Idris and Malam Nuhu Abdullahi, who spoke on behalf of their colleagues, said their families were going through very hard times because they can hardly meet up their obligations.

They said they were promised payment by those responsible for the pension but lamented actions have not been matched with words till date.

“The Federal Government and officials in charge of the pension should come to our aid. This is our entitlement and we need it to meet up with our family commitments.

“We are asking the authorities to respond to the voice of reasoning because staging protests will not solve the problem and we are not even ready for that in the first place,” the retirees added.

They expressed dismay over what they described as nonchalance and lack of concern by the appropriate authorities, stating that they were being held to ransom.

They recalled that newspapers have reported that arrangements had been completed for the payment of June, July, August and September 2014 pensions, wondering why nothing has so far been paid.

Privatisation killing workers, says union leader From Grace Obike, Abuja

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HE Federal Government is making workers to suffer under the guise of privatisation and commercialisation, the national President of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Service Employees (AUPCTRE), Comrade Solomon Adelegan, has alleged.

He pointed out that workers have been retrenched under government’s claim of downsizing the economy, lamenting that several of them were relieved without pay.

The situation, Adelegan stated, has led to the untimely death of many of the retrenched workers.

The union leader said workers have nothing to celebrate on the occasion of the nation’s 54th independence.

Many of them, he regretted, are struggling with a minimum wage of N18, 000 that can hardly take them home, let alone satisfying their needs.

Adelegan, who spoke in an interview, said: “This government, under the pretence of privatisation and commercialisation is making the workers suffer.

“We know how many of our members that have been retrenched as a result of privatisation which has led to several untimely deaths of many of these workers.

“We know that of PHCN. After the privatisation, PHCN is even worst. Who are the people that buy this equipments and companies? Is it not the people who are there?

“The government is contemplating privatising the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), an agency that is set up ordinarily to ensure that housing is affordable to the common man.

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Fayemi commissions projects at Ekiti varsity

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s part of activities marking the fourth anniversary of the Dr. Kayode Fayemi administration, the governor would today lead other prominent citizens of the state to commission projects at the Ekiti State University, AdoEkiti .

Projects to be commissioned include the Pharmacology/ Biochemistry Building, medical students' hostels and a two-kilometer road.

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, will be special Guest of Honour at the event.

Cleric stresses importance of unity in nation building

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prominent Islamic cleric, Sheikh Hussein Ayanda Mohammad, has called on all Nigerians irrespective of religious differences to promote unity and harmony in the country.

Speaking during his sermon to mark this year's Sallah, the cleric also called on Muslims to imbibe the lessons inherent in the celebration such as the spirit of sacrifice to God's injunctions, humility and contentment.

Quoting relevant scriptures from the Holy Quoran, Sheikh Mohammad while urging Nigerians to desist from engaging in acts such as corruption and acquisition of ill gotten wealth, added that the promotion of equity and justice must be embraced if Nigeria must fulfill its potentials.

While praying for peace to reign in the North East region and the entire country, the cleric also advised politicians to desist from promoting thuggery and other acts capable of causing chaos and violence in the country.

Ebola: medical experts charge Nigerians on prevention From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

NEWS

HERE is need for Nigerians and all stakeholders to join hands with federal, state and local governments to build the capacity for detection and biosafety through culturallysensitive approaches to prevent the spread of Ebola virus.

The Principal, Investigation Center for Control and Prevention of Zoonoses in the Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan, Dr. Babasola Olusaga, gave this charge at a symposium on Ebola disease organised by the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), Oyo State branch held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

In another lecture delivered by an Epidemologist, Dr. Abbas Gbolahan, he highlighted the strategies for the control of EVD, which include personal hygiene, early report of sick people to health facilities, among others.

He disclosed that the Oyo State Government has put in place measures to prevent the spread of the virus by ensuring functional public health, laboratory for confirmation of outbreak and effective surveillance.

Family remembers MIC boss, son

Ekiti crisis: the law must take its course, says Oni T

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ORMER Governor of Ekiti State, Engr. Segun Oni, has advised Nigerians on the importance of respecting the sanctity of the law.

Warning that to act otherwise is to lay a "fertile ground for chaos," Oni, who is currently the Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

noted that based on the supremacy of the country's constitution, every Nigerian irrespective of status must conform to its tenets in order to ensure the survival of the nation's democracy and the society.

Speaking against the backdrop of the recent violent

attack on a Judge of the Ekiti State Court by suspected political thugs loyal to the Governor-elect of the state, Mr. Ayo Fayose, Oni who spoke to reporters in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, shortly after a meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, warned the country's democracy is endangered if the judiciary cannot discharge its

responsibilities without hindrance.

He said: "The sanctity of the law must be respected by everybody. If this can't be the case, we will be leaving a fertile ground for chaos and there will be trouble for all. Those who take delight in brigandage should not be allowed to become role model for lawlessness."

2015: My victory is certain-Ladoja From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

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ORMER Governor of Oyo state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, says he is confident of emerging victorious if the incumbent governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and former governor, Adebayo AlaoAkala emerge the governorship candidates of their respective political parties.

Ladoja, who is also the National Leader of the Accord Party (AP), said the people of the state having experienced the his administration even though beset by political crisis, and are now able to compare with that of Ajimobi and Akala.

Speaking with journalists after observing the Eid El Kabir prayer at the Central Mosque, University of Ibadan, he said his confidence is premised on the support base of his party across the 33 local government areas of the state.

Expressing sadness at the poor performance of Oyo State students in the West African Examination Council (WAEC) results, Ladoja said his administration would tackle the challenge by providing a conducive atmosphere for teachers to work, in addition to regular payment of their salaries, provision of grant and equipment.

Osun monarchs warn against use of beaded crowns, walking sticks From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

* L-R: Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Science and Technology, Nike Animashaun; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN); Chief Strategist, Chain Reactions Nigeria; Israel Jaiye Opayemi; Managing Director, Grenadines Homes, Noimot Olatunji and Chief Executive Officer, 3Invest, Ruth Obih, during the Real Estate Unite Property Conference held in Lagos at the weekend.

* PDP governorship aspirant, Engr Seyi Makinde (in white muslim robe) with the Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Alhaji Suara Busari Haruna (second right) with other Islamic clerics

2015 election may be violent, SAN warns renowned legal practitioner, Mr. Dele Adesina (SAN), has expressed fears that the 2015 general elections may result into violence.

He stated this during the weekend while delivery a lecture titled 'Non-Violent approach to conflict resolution in Nigeria,' at the 2014 edition of Sir Olabanji Akingbule annual public lecture and award ceremony held at Ondo town, Ondo State.

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HE first anniversary of the death of MIC proprietor, Mr. Olatunji Okusanya, his son, Olatunji (jnr), four workers and others in a plane crash last year will held in Lagos on Friday.

The plane, which was conveyed the remains of former Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, crashed on its way to Akure, the Ondo State capital for the late governor's funeral.

Activities mapped out for the event include the opening and dedication of Jay's Garden, an eco-friendly haven created in memory of late Okusanya (Jnr) at Merrymaid Water Gardens Limited in Somolu area of Lagos where he was a director.

There would also be thanksgiving service and prayers for the deceased on October 12 at the Chapel of the Healing Cross, Idi-Araba, opposite the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

With the elections just a few months away, the legal luminary warned of the ominous signs ahead as a result of the seeming desperation of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to cling onto power and the determination of the major opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to dislodge the PDP. He said: "Democracy has become a matter of life and

death. There is a compelling need to device new approach to politics in Nigeria. The politics of winner-takes-all must be terminated. We must begin to look beyond our political parties' compartments to fetch out capable hands and brilliant brains for appointment into political offices to enable all assist in the serious business of nation building."

Emphasising the importance of unity in nation

building, Adesina posited, "We must collectively renew our zeal for the promotion of national integration in Nigeria by emphasising the things that bind us together and de-emphasising those things that separate us."

Earlier, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the lecture, Chief Ayo Akingbule, called on Nigerians at all levels to close ranks and work for the growth and progress of the nation.

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RADITIONAL rulers in Osun State have warned unauthorised persons to desist from wearing beaded crown, walking stick and other insignia of traditional institution.

In a communiquĂŠ signed by its Chairman and the Orangun of Ila, Oba Wahab Kayode Oyedotun and Secretary, the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdulrasheed Olabomi, the monarchs under the aegis of the Osun Divisional Conference of Obas, called on relevant agencies of government to sanction violators of the directive.

The traditional rulers further called on the state government, the House of Assembly, Commissioner of Police, Department of State Security Service (DSS), and the Ministry of Justice to implement relevant portion of Cap 25 Laws of Osun State Nigeria and prosecute all the violators of the law.

The traditional rulers argued, "In as much as nobody is above the law, we desire that nobody should be treated as a sacred cow. Whoever that is not authorised by extant law to adorn himself with the paraphernalia of an Oba should be arrested and prosecuted."

Ajimobi's wife empowers 500 widows From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

Ajimobi assures Oyo residents of A positive changes O YO State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has said that his vision in the next dispensation is to consolidate on his previous achievements and bring the required positive change to the state.

He made this pledge in a chat with newsmen shortly after observing the Eid-el Kabir prayer at the Agodi Praying Ground, Ibadan on Saturday.

The governor said that his administration would place more emphasis on aggressive execution of developmental

projects that would have direct impact on the lives of the people.

He said: "Everybody talks of change; this government is a change agent. Stopping of thuggery is a change; we stopped armed robbery, it is a change. Construction and rehabilitation of roads, provision of social infrastructure are all changes.

We are talking of positive and progressive change.

"We want to continue to have progressive change in Oyo State so that the lives of the people will be better. We don't want our people to experience retrogression in the state.

Continuity of progressive change is what we need in Oyo State, not introduction of retrogressive change."

He added that youth employment would be accorded priority in the next dispensation, adding that his

administration's target would be to employ more unemployed youths in the state.

"Some people talk of stomach infrastructure, we are not only doing stomach infrastructure but we are doing the entire body infrastructure, that is, the totality of the wellbeing of the citizenry. Our workers are now earning salaries than our neighbouring states. We increased their salaries without any strike or protest. We thought it was right to help the workers and they are now very happy,'' he declared.

S part of the activities marking this year's EidEl-Kabir celebration, no fewer than 500 widows in Oyo State were yesterday feted by the state governor's wife, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, under her Ajumose Widowhood Initiative program.

During the program which was held at the Government House in Agodi, the widows were selected from five different groups in the state and were giving cash, food and other items.

In her speech, the governor's wife disclosed that this year's event was organised to coincide with the Sallah celebration.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 5, 2014

NEWS

Boy, 14, kidnaps five-year-old in Makurdi

Sanusi seeks persistent prayers for peace

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14-year-old Kenneth Kahaga has kidnapped a five- year- old boy, James Ikyoor, who is a pupil of Nativity Nursery and Primary School Makurdi.

It was gathered Kahaga went to the primary school and convinced Ikyoor that his father sent him to take him out for break.

On leaving the school premises with his victim, the kidnapper reportedly removed his pieces of clothes, tied the boy’s hands and legs.

It was learnt that he dumped him in a nearby bush behind St. Catherine Primary School and rushed to Railway Market to buy a rope to tie the boy properly and some juice drinks to feed him.

Luck, however, ran out luck of the kidnapper as one Pastor Orshio, who was in one of the classes for a church programme, overheard someone crying at the back of the building.

He was said to have rushed out to the scene where he saw the little boy and untied him.

The pastor saw Kahaga returning back with the items after which his five-year-old victim identified him as the one who tied him.

The Nation gathered that it was the suspect’s second attempt to snatch the five- year- old boy from the pastor that attracted passersby, who assisted to apprehend him.

He was later handed over to the police.

The Chairman ParentTeachers Association (PTA) of the school, Mr. Fabian Nyabo, advised parents to always educate their children on security and inform their teachers when sending unknown persons to pick them from school.

The father of the victim, Samuel Iorlaha, thanked God for using Pastor Orshio to rescue his son.

But the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Daniel Ezeala, said the two boys had a misunderstanding where the older one tied the other in the bush.

He, however, said his men were investigating the matter and would soon unravel the truth.

Photojournalists hold exhibition From: Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja

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HOTOJOURNALISTS Association of Nigeria (PJAN), Abuja Chapter has concluded plans to organise an exhibition on the democratic history of the nation.

The 2-day event tagged Democracy archive is scheduled to hold on 16th- 17th October.

In a joint statement signed by the PJAN Chairman, Abayomi Fayese and Secretary, Jide Oyekunle, the exhibition will feature display of contemporary and historical pictures of the country’s journey to democratic governance.

“As Nigeria celebrates her 54th independence anniversary and nationhood, the association deems it fit to showcase the evolvement of events that have shaped the unity and cohesion of this country as an indivisible nation.”

Dignitaries expected at the event include the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku; Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed and Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide.

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From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

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•From left: Secretary to Sokoto State Government, Alhaji Sahabi Gada; Gov. Aliyu Wamakko; Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar III and Galadima Sokoto, Alhaji Altahiru, at the Eid-el-Kabir praying ground in Sokoto..yesterday PHOTO: NAN

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ORMER governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki, and other stakeholders have endorsed Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed for a second term in office.

This lay to rest months of speculations and anxiety that the Senate Committee Chairman on Ecology and Environment might not consider his godson for another term in office.

The endorsement was the outcome of a crucial meeting at Government Reserved Area (GRA) Ilorin home of Senator Saraki on Thursday night.

The general consensus at the meeting was that Governor Ahmed stood out for ensuring peace and harmony within the party during his first tenure.

Though they admitted there are challenges, the stakeholders stated it was better to endorse Ahmed for a second term in office due to his loyalty to the party, the people and his humility.

A former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Alhaji Yusuf Aiyedun, after the opening for-

Saraki, others endorse Ahmed for second term

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

malities, specially requested the support of other stakeholders from Kwara North and Kwara Central to grant Kwara South the opportunity to produce the state governor for a second term.

Alhaji Aiyedu, who is from the same Kwara South senatorial district with the governor, was said to have hinged the request on the performances of Ahmed and the need to deepen the legacy of continuity and equity.

The Kwara central senatorial chairman, Alhaji Jimoh Adesina, according to a source, also aligned with the request of his counterpart from the south The source quoted Alhaji Adesina to have said: “Governor Ahmed has shown unequalled humility and loyalty

to the party structure, leadership and the people of the state despite his gubernatorial position.

“I, however, advise the governor to ensure wider spread of dividends of democracy across the board.”

A party elder from Kwara North, Senator Ahmed, said the governor has achieved a lot despite the shortfall in revenue.

He, however, advised the governor to consider other zones for political patronage.

The APC woman leader, Sarah Adebayo, on behalf of the women folk endorsed the second term bid with a request that effort should be made to ensure 35 percent affirmative action.

Saraki, who is the APC leader in the state, it was gathered, marvelled at the 100 percent loyalty of the governor, which makes him deserve an-

other term in office.

Referring to Governor Ahmed’s decision to defect with him to APC, Saraki hailed him for remaining steadfast despite serious pressure to turn back.

He added that Kwara is the only state in the country which has remained peaceful despite a transition.

Speaking with reporters yesterday in Ilorin, the state capital, on his decision, Saraki said: “In my own view, I believe that he has performed. He has provided leadership.

“He has built up from where we left. He has been able to bring significant development despite the paucity of funds in the state.

“He has shown responsibility and we believe that leaves him in that direction for another four years for him will be good for the state.”

Huge turnout at Eid-el-Kabir prayers in Yobe

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HERE was huge turnout of worshippers in Damaturu at different Eid praying grounds despite apprehension of a possible attack by Boko Haram insurgents.

The expansive Yobe Islamic Centre recorded an unprecedented crowd of worshippers.

Other Eid grounds at 3 bedroom Gujba road, Waziri Ibrahim, Phase I, Nayinawa, Ben Kalio Housing Estate and Zanna Zakaria Estates all

From Duku Joel, Damaturu

within Damaturu metropolis were also filled with worshippers.

Security operatives were on ground to ensure strict compliance with the restriction of vehicular movements to Eid praying grounds.

To avoid trekking for long distances, worshippers decided to observe their prayers at praying grounds closer to their homes.

Amidst tight security, the

Deputy Governor, Engr.

Abubakar Aliyu, in company of the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other members of the State Executive Council joined other thousands of worshippers at the Yobe Mosque and Islamic Centre to observe the two Rakat prayers.

There were strict checks and screening of worshippers by stern- looking security agents before access to the expansive arena of the Yobe Mosque was granted.

In his sermon, Imam Algoni Mohammed called on the privileged in the society to take special care of orphans and the needy, adding that “Allah rewards greatly those who take special care of the need.”

Reports across the state indicated a peaceful sallah celebration at the time of filling this report.

Some of the worshippers expressed gratitude to Allah for keeping them to see the day.

FG commences distribution of 230,000 bags of fertiliser

R

URAL farmers across the nation will benefit from over 230,000 bags of fertilizers, the federal government has announced.

The distribution has already commenced in different states.

Speaking in Abuja during the flag-off of the initiative, the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan said: “What you see here is only symbolic as distribution is already being done in phases using the logistic network of the Cellulant Group that removes middlemen and ensures these bags of fertilizers reach the intended beneficiaries.”

She charged all beneficiaries to take advantage of the

From: Faith Yahaya, Abuja

opportunity to generate sustainable income and create wealth.

While making case for the farmers, Mrs. Jonathan said: “I make bold to inform you that this event is long overdue, as we should regularly motivate our farmers for greater productivity.

“I consider it an honour to be present here with the people that matter: those who toil and cultivate our land thereby feeding us and improving our economy.”

Acknowledging efforts of the farmers, she said: “The task of tilling the ground and producing agricultural prod-

ucts is a difficult one especially in our context where resources are limited, where mechanised farming is uncommon, where storage facilities are scarce and where farmers do not get the needed support that they deserve.

“In the face of all the constraints they face, our farmers have stayed the course and have been consistently dutiful in their chosen vocation.”

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), Dr. Precious Gbeneol said: “The significant thing about this distribution is that in previous years, farmers were getting fertilizers they paid for but these ones,

they did not pay for it.

“They are not paying for this fertilizers, the federal government is giving them to enhance their produce free.

The direct farmers will get it.

It is going on in the 36 states of the country including FCT.” Gbeneol noted that the government is using the Cellulant group as distribution channel to reduce leakages and ensure that crucial farm inputs get to farmers in timely manner.

She also disclosed that Nigeria has been able to meet over 50% nutritional needs of the country through various government agricultural initiatives.

HE Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, yesterday in Kano called on Nigerians and Muslim faithful to persistently pray to Almighty Allah for the sustenance of peace and stability in the nation.

In his sallah message, the royal father also charged members of the Emirate Council to always be law- abiding as well as co-exist peacefully with one another for the development of the state.

Addressing thousands of Muslim faithful shortly after the Eid-El-Kabir prayer at the Central Mosque, the Emir also called on Muslims in the state to always abide by the dictates of Islam and avoid committing sinful acts to avoid the wrath of God. Sanusi II enjoined parents to invest in the education of their children, particularly the girl-child, which would be beneficial to them in future.

Apart from that, the traditional ruler called on well-todo individuals to assist the less privileged during this period to enable them mark the occasion with joy and happiness.

The Emir commended residents of the state for their cooperation and support in ensuring the immunisation of their children against the numerous various killer diseases.

800 for Christian pilgrimage in Niger

By Jide Orintusin, Minna

E

IGHT hundred Christians are to perform this year’s pilgrimage to Holy land in Israel from Niger State, the head of government delegation, Barrister Abrahim Yisa, has said.

Briefing newsmen in Minna yesterday, Yisa said 199 of the intending pilgrims are sponsored by the state government while the 25 local government councils are sponsoring 140 pilgrims.

He also stated that a set of 100 intending pilgrims are to enjoy 50 percent sponsorship from state government while another set of 100 would have 30 percent of their expenses paid by the government.

The head of government delegation, who just returned from a pre-pilgrimage visit to Israel, said the state government through the Pilgrims Welfare Board has prepared for a hitchfree exercise.

Yisa further said that sensitisation of pilgrims, clergymen and medical personnel would be organised to ensure that the pilgrims are educated on what to expect during the pilgrimage.

He said that the pilgrims may be airlifted from the Minna Airport to save them the stress of being airlifted from Abuja.

He appealed to Christian politicians and organisations to sponsor the less- privileged who may want to visit the holy land to promote evangelism.

QUOTABLE “In deciding on an appropriate response to such calls (contest for second term), I will place the greater interests of national harmony, cohesion, unity, security, political stability, progress, equity, justice and fairness above any personal ambition or selfish agenda.”

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 9, NO. 2992

— President Goodluck Jonathan giving an assurance that he would put national interest above any other consideration in deciding whether or not to seek re-election next your

I

N his response to allegations suggesting he was indirectly liable in the illegal haul of $9.3m cash to South Africa by two Nigerians and an Israeli, Ayo Oritsejafor, Pastor of Word of Life Bible Church, Warri, and President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), equated the attack on him with an attack on the Church in Nigeria. This is an insufferable conclusion. After finally but belatedly acknowledging that the aircraft used to ferry the money to South Africa was his, but only leased to a third party, he then launched into a winding, threatening and provocative defence of his conduct, also attacking those he describes as his enemies and enemies of the church.

Hear him: ‘In order to ameliorate the cost of maintaining the aircraft, I sought and got the permit to allow the aircraft fly in and out of Nigeria. Based on this, I leased the aircraft on August 2, 2014 to a company to run it. It was the lessee that entered into an agreement with the people who carried out the transfer of funds. Having leased the aircraft to the Green Coast Produce Company Limited, any transaction undertaken with the aircraft can no longer be attached to me. Inasmuch as I am shocked and distressed by the incident, I wish to appeal to Christians in Nigeria to remember that a war has been waged against the Nigerian church. This war is being fought on many fronts and this unfortunate incident is another dimension in the assault against the church. It is clear that those who manipulated this conspiracy desire to create a schism in the church. The media hype and the deliberate distortion of information that followed it confirmed that forces that desperately desire to cause division and disunity in the church are at work.”

Pastor Oritsejafor was wrong to suggest he owed only the church an explanation for his conduct. As a preacher of the gospel, and obviously now as an economic player leasing jet and receiving incomes from it, he owes all of us an explanation. Indeed, he has not yet fully come clean, as his one-sided and heavily edited statement suggests. It is important to know the details of the lease arrangement with Green Coast, the revenues that have accrued, and how much tax has been paid. We recall that he at first only

$9.3m scandal: attack on Oritsejafor not attack on church

•Jonathan

•Oritsejafor

acknowledged a ‘residual interest’ in the jet, and was at first silent over whether it was the same jet he said a committee in his church presented to him for evangelism in 2012. Now that the jet is his, has he explained to the church how an evangelism jet, notwithstanding maintenance expenses, has suddenly become a commercial jet?

When the controversy broke, he first got CAN to defend him. In a bad-tempered statement by the body, CAN displayed the worst forms of worldliness that even those who are not Christians would balk at. In the CAN statement, the body attacked politicians and especially the All Progressives Congress, and threatened obliquely that payday (electoral response, perhaps) was around the corner. The statement all but described the APC as an Islamic party, as if there were no Christians in the opposition party, and as if Christ had anointed one party above the other.

But Pastor Oritsejafor may wish to disavow the CAN statement for its poor logic, though it is unclear why he would do that. His own statement is, however, equally riddled with threats, bad logic and intolerable pride. He would go to court, he warned, to deal with those who suggest the plane was gifted him by the president. By far the worst logic in his statement concerns his conclusion about the interchangeability of his person and the church. He sees the attack on him, the association of his person with the cash export scandal, and his indefensible closeness to Dr Jonathan as an attack on the church. But Pastor Oritsejafor is not the church, and given his serial blunders, worldliness and humanity, can’t be the church. Had he not become the personal chaplain of the president, had he not fished in the murky waters of politics, had he not insensitively tried to drag the entire CAN into the PDP, no one would have accused him of politicising or corrupting

Mimiko finally defects, adopts implausible causes

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FTER many months of pussyfooting, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has finally defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), putting himself out of his selfcreated misery. He was received into the ruling party on Thursday by, among others, Vice President Namadi Sambo, who is himself struggling to stay on the President Goodluck Jonathan ticket for the 2015 race, and Senate President David Mark, who increasingly sees and leads the Senate as an arm, not of government, but of the Executive branch. Last month, the chairman of LP, Dan Nwanyanwu, had indicated his desire to step down from the party’s top post, pretending to be fatigued by years of leadership. He probably took the decision because of Dr Mimiko’s defection.

With the exit of Dr Mimiko from LP, the supposedly working class party will struggle to stay alive. It never operated as a left-ofcentre party, nor was it even really ideological. It was at best pragmatic, and its policies and politics either ultra conservative or instinctive. In its truest essence, the party had no soul and was nothing but a vehicle in the hands of politicians equally ideologically and philosophically vacuous. From all indications, LP’s long foretold death will not entitle it to even a perfunctory requiem mass.

Defections in Nigeria show neither rhyme nor reason. Dr Mimiko’s defection is, therefore, unlikely to raise any moral question. He has the freedom to take his affections anywhere, just as others have exercised theirs across party lines, and sometimes back and forth the same parties. Had Dr Mimiko not been helped by the progressives, he would not have become governor. But that hardly matters now. What is important is that he has

returned home to the PDP, as the vice president says. Those who lured him back to the PDP expected he would help swing votes in favour of Dr Jonathan’s second bid to govern Nigeria.

And as Senator Mark also suggested, with Dr Mimiko leading the charge, the PDP would make progress in its quest to pacify the Southwest and make it politically amenable to the PDP. As they received the Ondo governor, PDP chiefs were both upbeat and expectant, especially because they also have Ekiti in their bag. They perhaps do not expect to take the whole of the Southwest in the coming poll, but they are now confident they will make a huge impact, far bey o n d their expectations.

After all, Dr Mimiko himself has said the real reason he is defecting to the PDP is to help Dr Jonathan win the presidency a second time. He has the right to support whomever he wishes, considering he has never really being motivated by any principled desire to cause a major social change in Nigeria or to contribute meaningfully to the restructuring and redefinition of Nigerian politics.

But by far the most important effect of Dr Mimiko’s defection is the collapse of the consensus built around him by a faction of the Yoruba sociopolitical and cultural pressure group, Afenifere.

The group had conceived him a new champion of the Yoruba, a champion around whom a new political force for the ‘liberation’ of the Southwest was expected to coalesce. That consensus was never really substantial even from the very beginning,

nor was it ever imbued with any nobility. Now, it is all but doomed, for Dr Mimiko and others like him will now be lost in the Jonathan crowd, their expectations and hopes forfeited to the political subterfuge and constitutional chicaneries of the president. Dr Jonathan has no cause he is fighting, no principle so priceless he would die for, and no precept so sublime by which he wants to be ennobled. Neither does Dr Mimiko. It is perhaps fitting that both gentlemen have found each other, and have joined forces.

It is clear that in their calculations for 2015 and their assumptions of the political behaviour and values of the Southwest, Vice President Sambo, Senator Mark and other PDP leaders appear to understand that the region is also suffering from a lack of philosophical core.

Like the rest of Nigeria, a faction of the Southwest elite takes decisions and makes judgement that negate the zone’s historical antecedents. For them, it is no longer important that a president or governor is either underperforming or not performing at all. In fact, it is no longer important that the political leader they support should stand for anything.

In defecting, Dr Mimiko had described Dr Jonathan as “...a President that is as focused as he is patriotic, (and heads) a team that has demonstrated so much promise in its commitment to democracy.” He could not be describing Dr Jonathan. In any case such dubieties have become commonplace in the Southwest, and the perversion of principles and ideas will obviously continue for some time to come in that apostate region and elsewhere.

the body.

A former CAN president, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, indicated in an interview two Saturdays ago that Pastor Oritsejafor had belittled CAN and unadvisedly pressed the body into service for a president who incompetently ruled the country. And contrary to what Pastor Oritsejafor says, no one is manipulating the private jet controversy to undermine the church. The controversy is entirely his making, and if the church is disunited, the pastor’s politics and style of leadership are entirely to blame.

Today, it is clear Pastor Oritsejafor is more a businessman and politician than a pastor, more vituperative than temperate of speech, more divisive than unifying, more worldly than heavenly, and more contemptuous of his enemies than accommodating. So steeped in the affairs of the world has he become that he simply is unable to see just how much damage he is doing to the unity and sanctity of the church.

Pastor Oritsejafor hopes to punish the opposition in the next presidential poll, and perhaps wishes God would inflict much additional punishment on those he considers the enemies of the church. But the pastor has no example in scripture to learn from — not Moses whose humility and grace of speech overcame potent and internal opposition to his leadership; not Elijah who retained his moral force by immeasurable self-sacrifice and spoke truth to power; nor Peter who condemned doctrinal pollution and worldly gain; and certainly not Jesus Christ whose beatitudes stand in direct and mortifying refutation of all that Pastor Oritsejafor exemplifies with uncanonical self-importance.

Boko Haram: Nigeria turns East

A

FTER complaining that Europe and the United States were unwilling to help Nigeria combat terrorism, with government apologists even suggesting that Western powers were aiding and abetting the terror war against Nigeria, the President Goodluck Jonathan government has turned to China and Russia for help and arms. The East turn will not last, though it is underscored by low oil export to the West and higher oil export to the East. But the problem is not that the West is unwilling to help; the problem is that they ask too many unsettling questions and also insist on certain political and moral minimums. They worry about corruption in the Nigerian military, marvel at graft in the arms procurement processes, and are miffed by the unwillingness of Nigerian troops to engage Boko Haram militants. They also complain that Nigerian soldiers were adopting the brutal methods of the terrorists.

Neither Russia nor China will ask questions of Nigeria, nor cavil at our methods, no matter how repressive. Apparently Nigeria prefers its friends to wink at its foibles. As historians know, however, Russia under both Lenin and Stalin, and to a little extent under their successors, projected certain cultural and political values pertaining to workers’ welfare and also international socialism. Modern China does not project such values or see them as priorities. But Central Asia and ancient China under the Mongoloid ruler Genghis Khan projected values and precepts strong enough to underscore his empire’s drive for territorial expansion and dominance. Modern history suggests that countries and powers that do not have a philosophical or civilizing core, and do not project great and ennobling values, are unlikely to exercise too much influence beyond their immediate borders and neighbours.

This will not be the first time Nigeria would turn East. It did so during the 1967-70 civil war; but the friendship with the East soon cooled. History will repeat itself, for not only is the East now substantially shorn of the enticing political, social and economic values Nigerians instinctively identify with, even Nigeria’s leaders are too suspicious of the superficial ascetism that Eastern values vaguely denote to lend it long-term support and affinity.

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Website: www.thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 E-mail: sunday@thenationonlineng.net Editor: FESTUS ERIYE