The Nation October 2, 2011

RESULTS English Premier League Everton Aston Villa Blackburn R. Manchester U. Sunderland Wolverhampton W.

0–2 2–0 0–4 2–0 2–2 1–2

Liverpool Wigan Athletic Manchester C. Norwich C. West Bromwich A. Newcastle U.

Another visa scam – PAGE 55

Germany - Bundesliga I.

Nigerian mafia battles Italian gangs

PAGES 48-49

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

Bayer Leverkusen Borussia Dortmund Hoffenheim Nurnberg Hertha BSC

3 – 1 Wolfsburg 4 – 0 Augsburg 0 – 0 Bayern Munich 3 – 3 Mainz 3 – 0 1. FC Cologne

Spain - Primera Division Osasuna Racing Santander

2–2 1–1

Mallorca Rayo Vallecano

SUNDAY

October 2, 2011

thenationonlineng.net

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.06, No. 1900

N200.00

7-Year single tenure bill

Me, threatened by young actresses?

No way!

Jonathan woos senators, reps with new deal PAGE 4

Rotation of presidency, governorship between zones in new amendments Senators, reps get 6-year renewable tenure Opposition parties bank on North to defeat bill

–Stephanie Okereke –PAGE 32

NLNG relocates HQ from Lagos to P/Harcourt –PAGE 5

L-R: Vice President’s wife, Amina Sambo, Vice President Namadi Sambo, President Goodluck Jonathan, First Lady Patience Jonathan, Senate President’s wife, Helen Mark and Senate President David Mark cutting the 51st Independence Anniversary cake at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday.

Photo AKIN OLADOKUN.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

News

Security: Independence anniversary holds inside Aso Villa

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OR the first time in the country’s history, the independence 51st anniversary was yesterday marked in the forecourts of the Presidential Villa.

It was brisk and devoid of elaborate celebrations, perhaps as a sign of the times.

Last year during the celebrations, twin-bombs had exploded at the Eagle Square.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) had claimed responsibility for the blasts.

This year the 51st anniversary was shifted to the Presidential Villa instead of the Eagle Square which has become the venue of national events since the relocation of the seat of power from Lagos to Abuja.

In the place of the usual military, paramilitary march past was a special Presidential Change of Guard and Signpost.

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja This is the first time a formal Presidential Change of Guard is being held at the forecourt of the President’s office, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

It was also witnessed by carefully selected members of the public and was aired live on radio and television across the country.

During President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, only the cutting of the cake was done at the forecourt after the independence parade which usually held at the Eagles Square, Abuja.

Activities at the Presidential Villa commenced at about 7.30am.

The special presidential change of guard was conducted by two battalions of the Presidential Guards

Brigade, the 177 battalion based in Keffi and the 7th Guards Battalion, Abuja.

The ceremony commenced with the arrival of President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, at 10:05am, and after inspecting the Quarter Guard at the Forecourt gate, he went to the podium where he received the General Salute and the National Anthem was played.

President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ayo Oritsejafor, and the Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque, Sheikh Usman Muhammad offered the invocations (prayers).

The Presidential Change of Guards was performed by 61 soldiers and involved foot and arms drill and calculated steps. Their weapons were checked to ensure that they were cleaned and that no

rounds of arms were left in them. Their uniforms were also checked.

The Presidential Change of Guards is usually performed every Monday morning, and it is aimed at ensuring regimentation and that instructions given are carried out to the letter with no excuses.

After the ceremony, President Jonathan signed the anniversary register. Then accompanied by his wife, Vice President Namadi Sambo and his wife, Senate President David Mark, Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, who represented the Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, Chief Justice of the Federation, Dahiru Musdafar, former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, former President Shehu Shagari, the president cut the anniversary cake.

The President later

released the pigeons signalling peace.

Others who witnessed the ceremony which lasted one hour 25 minutes were ministers, Ambassadors, High Commissioners and members of the diplomatic corps, Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseye Petirin, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Onyeabo Azubike Ihejirika. Others are Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, high profile politicians, members of the organized private sector, among others.

The Federal Government had on Thursday defended its decision to have a low key 51st Independence Anniversary insisting that it does not have any link with the threats by some militia groups in the country.

The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku had said the low key celebration was meant to cut cost given the fact that the country had an elaborate 50th anniversary celebration and; adding that the government also decided to tone down since the centenary celebrations was still ahead.

Maku who was furious at the prominent attention the media was giving to the militia groups like Boko Haram and MEND said the report that the government

chickened out as a result of the threats issued by the militia groups was unfounded.

The Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity Dr. Rueben Abati said that there was nothing unusual in the indoor celebration.

Former President Shagari who spoke to journalists on the mode of this year’s celebration said the fact that the low-key celebration went well was a source of joy to him not minding the fact that it was held indoor.

He also described the security situation which might have necessitated the move as very unfortunate; adding that the nation shall overcome it.

Correction

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N a story titled: “Caught! Now on the run”, published on page 6 of our edition of July 3, 2011, the picture of Nweke Chibueze Francis was published.

It has since come to our knowledge that contrary to the insinuation in our story which suggested that he was on the run from the law, he has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

However, he has appealed his sentence.

We regret the error.

- Editor

BRIEFS

Missing person

S New Market road, Ayobo, Lagos taken over by flood following heavy rain on October 1

PHOTO : OLUSEGUN RAPHAEL

EGUN Deji Akinleye, 34, left his office at Ibafo along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway after close of work on Tuesday, 27th September, 2011, but never returned home.

He resides at Mama Okiki Compound, Asese, Ibafo, Ogun State. Anyone who sights him should report to the Police or call: 0 8 0 2 5 4 8 2 8 2 6 , 08056655408.

Have Your Say The Presidential Panel on Boko Haram headed by Ambassador Usman Galtimari has recommended dialogue with the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, as a means of addressing the security problems its activities constitute to the country. How do you view this recommendation?

— Send SMS with full name and location before Wednesday to 08074473182 Responses to previous week’s question are on pages 48 & 52

• Segun Akinleye

Omotunde jubilee thanksgiving

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thanksgiving service to mark the 50th birthday of Mrs. Emiede Bamidele Omotunde, wife of The Nation’s General Manager (Manpower Development and Training), Pastor Soji Omotunde, will hold today by 2pm.

In double celebration, Pastor Omotunde will use the occasion to celebrate his 30 years as professional journalist with the public presentation of two books.

The event will hold at Praise Palace, headquarters parish of Lagos Province 17 of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Babs Ogunwole Street, New OkoOba, Lagos.

The books to be presented are Destined to Win is a case study of the life of biblical Joseph and This Country, Our Nation, (a compilation of his old writings).

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Column

The revolution Nigeria needs

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S another inevitable ASUU strike loomed, and as the empty rituals of another independence anniversary brought out a frenzy of despair in the citizens, snooper began to long for the therapy and tranquility of the rural village.

With its urban pathologies and array of con-men, cut-throats and cutpurses, the city has a way of driving the most placid of men round the bend. In the run up to this particular independence anniversary, you could be forgiven for thinking that the dreaded apocalypse had finally arrived in Nigeria. You only need to listen in to angry callers on radio and television programmes exploding with fury and frustration about the state of the nation.

In rapidly industrializing Europe and its consequent urbanization, the city became an object of terror and trembling. See Paris and die! With their tortured and sensitive souls, poets and writers are often most affected by the sadism of the society as experienced in the city. When they got tired of London and its urban delinquencies, the Romantic Poets placed a curse on the city, asking everybody to return to the countryside and to nature. In an extreme case of cruelty and metrophobia, the conquering Khmer Rouge of Cambodia ordered all the city dwellers to start trekking.

About one third of the populace perished from sheer exhaustion.

And so penultimate Saturday as the nation roiled in distemper, snooper obeyed the call of nature and headed for the mysterious interior.

But first to the beautiful and becalming Alalubosa Lake District of suburban Ibadan and the swanky residence of Professor Deji Ojo, formerly of the Department of Economics at the then University of Ife and most recently retired from the African Development Bank in Abidjan. Surrounded by rural homesteads on what was the old railway line from Abeokuta, there was something enchanting and idyllic about this agrarian paradise. One could smell fresh and foaming palm wine and freshly dug heaps from the adjoining farmlands.

This afternoon, Deji Ojo and Kike, his beloved wife, were hosting Professor Dupe Adelabu of the Department of Educational Foundation, Obafemi Awolowo University, on her recent elevation to full professorship and even more recent appointment as the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Ekiti State. Snooper was there to represent the Class of ’75 at Ife as self-appointed protem chairman and enforcer from the pits of hell.

Dupe and Kike were members of that set.

Even as huge wraps of pounded yam and the usual Ekiti culinary suspects were being passed round, discussion inevitably veered to the looming ASUU strike and the endemic crisis in the nation’s educational sector.

Professor Ojo calmly steered snooper towards a corner of the expansive sitting room for the commencement

(An afternoon with Professor Deji Ojo)

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu

• Jonathan of serious intellectual jousting.

Without any further ado, the eminent professor located the crisis of the Nigerian state as a crisis of knowledge. In a knowledge-driven society it is criminal to waste intellectual resources and fritter away dwindling cultural capital as Nigerian does, Ojo observed with a sad, faraway look. What he failed to add, and which snooper added, was that in a knowledge-driven global community it is mortally crippling for any country hoping to be taken seriously to be led by ignorant thugs.

But it has not always been like this, my host lamented. In the sixties and seventies and up to the mideighties, Nigeria experienced a brief intellectual renaissance. Like a vulnerable bird learning to fly, it fluttered skywards only to be winged by a combination of military absolutism and an early academic version of Boko Haram. Thereafter, it was the Exodus with the best and the brightest heading back to the West. One of the shameless scoundrels infamously described the then University of Ife as the intellectual fortress of the Yoruba and that the fortress had to be stormed. Darkness prevailed.

The professor located the genesis of the intellectual renaissance in the robust and visionary Staff Training Programme of the old Nigerian university system and heaped generous praises on the visioners, particularly Hezekiah Oluwasanmi and his lieutenants. Oluwasanmi was a rare and unique combination of intellectual giant and administrative genius. He had been part of the think-tank that formulated and drove Awolowo’s radical and path-breaking modernisation project in the old West. When he got to Ife as the Vice-Chancellor, his visionary brilliance assumed an unstoppable momentum.

Ojo is a proud product of that revolutionary scheme, and so was snooper a generation later. According to the notable economic theorist, it was Professor Sam Aluko who wrote to Professor Ojetunji Aboyade at the Uni-

versity of Ibadan requesting for bright graduate students of economics to be sent abroad for further education. As a star among stars, Aboyade called Ojo and asked him to make a choice between staying on at Ibadan or going to Ife to become a pioneer. Ojo chose to be a pioneer and Ife promptly parceled him to the University of Iowa for graduate studies.

On getting to the graduate school at the University of Iowa, Ojo was pleasantly surprised that his professor kept asking about a particular Nigerian called Rufus who had been his classmate at the same graduate school of the same university a generation earlier. Rufus turned out to be none other than Professor Rufus Adegboye later to be known affectionately in academic circles as “Baale” due to his fondness for huge traditional beads and native costumes.

The imposing and regal Adegboye is one of the intellectual prodigies thrown up by the remarkable junction town of Gbongan in mid-century. Among these titans are the late Dr Edward Arowolo of the World Bank, the late Dr Olu Akinrefon, a bosom friend and Gbongan primary school classmate of Dr Omololu Olunloyo, who perished on the Ife-Ibadan road in 1969 shortly after returning to Nigeria, Professor Sunday Adeniran Adeboye of Howard University, Professor Dele Ajayi, a Stanford-trained physicist at Ife, Dr Olawayemisi Sangodeyi, a Pittsburgh-based surgeon, among others. But this is a story for another day.

Back to Ojo, he had been confronted by another graduate school surprise in Iowa. As a diligent student, he had scoured the archives, the records, the journals and the scholarly documents. A generation earlier, there was no such course as Advance Economic Theory anywhere in the school curriculum. But this was a major course the same professor was now teaching with outstanding panache and on which he was becoming an acclaimed global author-

And now the carpenter nails the pen-pusher HESE are not exactly politically rosy times for our own Onukaba AdinoyiOjo, writer, notable playwright, former MD of Daily Times and confidant of the powerful. Having ventured into the murky waters of partisan politics in his home state of Kogi, the urbane and cultured literati has seen his gubernatorial chances all but evaporated, thanks to the tactical ploys and dexterous gamesmanship of the incumbent, Malam Idris, otherwise known as the Carpenter of the Confluence City.

Not a few people have ascribed Onukaba’s plight to what is known as a classic instance of poetic justice, or prosaic injustice as snooper prefers to frame things. Back then when Idris famously upstaged

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Prince Audu, the Ebira-born journalist penned an equally famous piece titled: “How the Carpenter nailed the Tailor”. Smarting from bitter defeat by an underdog, Prince Audu would not have been amused.

While Idris has never denied that he was a carpenter in an earlier incarnation, deep political mischief might have been at play in Audu’s pigeon-holing as a master tailor. Perhaps it all has to do with his fondness for opulent fabrics and grand embroideries. It is hard to imagine the Igala nobility with a tape rule in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other doing justice to a bale of brocade in a dingy room. All we know is that Audu once worked in Standard Bank in Jos where he was a col-

league of John Major, the former British Prime Minister. But you can never trust Nigerian politicians when it comes to moonlighting.

Not since the impossible Godwin Daboh dismissed Wada Nas, Abacha’s trumpeter, as a tailor in Tudun Wada, Kano, has snooper been faced with such a professional conundrum. It is a pity that the matter escaped our attention when snooper had a rendevouz with the immensely clubbable and amiable Onukaba at a Nigerian pepper soup joint in Johannesburg last year. Whatever it is, the carpenter appears to have hit the nail on the head again. Next time snooper meets up with Onukaba, we will have to examine his head for the possibility of radical brain surgery.

ity. The young Nigerian confronted his professor with the fact.

The professor smiled and then calmly responded. “The Ph.D is not the be-all and end-all of knowledge and learning. It is merely to equip you to search and source for further knowledge”. These sagely words recall Louis Althusser’s celebrated dictum that only the production of new knowledge keeps old knowledge alive. Snooper hopes that Nigeria’s beleaguered professoriate are listening. In contemporary Nigeria, the odds are stacked so high and mightily against knowledge and learning that virtually nothing is worth professing again. What we have is subsidized illiteracy, and as Oscar Wilde famously put it, “those who are incapable of learning have taken to teaching”. Before Boko Haram was BOKO HARAM. Ojo dropped another bombshell.

Nowadays, forty years out of graduate school and twenty years out of mainstream and cutting-edge research, he struggles while attempting to read the latest journals of Advance Economic Theory. Such has been the dramatic explosion of knowledge in the field and the ceaseless selfsurpassing of its exemplars that it is virtually impossible to keep pace, particularly if you are stranded in the Third World. It takes a remarkable degree of intellectual humility and honesty to make such a painful admission.

Africa is trapped in the hell-hole of knowledge divestment. We are back to the Dark Ages, that is if we ever left.

Despite the jollification and rejoicing, the mood took on a sombre hue.

Snooper steered the discussion towards social life and relaxation. The memory of the professor etched in one’s subconscious was of a pipesmoking, tennis-playing, boundlessly energetic academic eminence permanently cuddling a steaming cup of black coffee as he argued endlessly with his protégé , Pierre Mutambuka, who took a particular delight in cocking a snook at his mentor. The late Pierre Clavier Mutambuka was a Rwandan refugee who had arrived in the Economics Department in 1974 without a word of English but had gone on to become a star lecturer in the same department. “Fast food and mama put” professors dreaded the

caustic tongue and withering stare of contempt of the Tutsi nobleman.

But for Ojo, advancing age has since intervened. The pipe was gone forever and so has the steaming coffee and the choice cognac. Does the professor still socialize? Upon settling at Alalubosa, Ojo had joined the Ibadan Recreation Club. However, the prevailing atmosphere of insecurity meant that he had to be home by six, no matter what. The fear of hoodlum was the beginning of wisdom. Outside, the endlessly humming and hawing generator reminded one that fifty one years after independence, the kingdom of darkness was very much at hand should the generator degenerate.

It was getting dark indeed and one does not need a soothsayer to divine that Ibadan with its vast array of outof-work political stalwarts, miracle musclemen and anti-social workers is not to be lightly toyed with at night.

Snooper decided to pose one last question for the professor. Can Nigeria in its present form be saved from onrushing perdition? “Yes”, the professor replied with a grim smile and with cautious optimism. “But it will take a serious revolution.”

And then he added the clincher.

“By revolution, I don’t mean a violent revolution in which people are needlessly wasted. Those ones are usually not deep and thoroughgoing enough. I mean a philosophic revolution in which people with the requisite knowledge who have thought through the problem will sit down and decide where they want to take the country. But they must be ready to lose their life in the process”.

It was meant to be an afternoon of enjoyment and mutual backslapping but it turned out to be a sparring session with an opponent of sterling pedigree; a moveable intellectual feast worthy of a medieval monastery or an abbey of cerebral aboriginals. With his head surging and swirling in acute intellectual commotion, snooper headed deeper into the interior and the countryside.

It was a befitting birthday present to the nation. H.A Oluwasanmi, aka High Altitude, would have applauded and savoured the exchange from beyond. May the noble soul of this illustrious Nigerian rest in perfect peace.

Genetic scam in Abuja

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NOOPER suspects a genetic scam in Abuja. What manner of a man is Nigeria’s fourth civilian president? A squeaking lion or a roaring mouse? Mr President may not have heard of a man called Oscar Wilde and his warning that people must avoid falling into the careless habits of accuracy. The painful honesty of his self-categorisation as being neither a pharaoh nor a military strongman has bombed and boomeranged spectacularly. If he had been expecting some public sympathy what he has got is a gale of fast and furious recrimination.

This time around, Goodluck seems to have exhausted that divine commodity. Like a man who has brought smouldering firewood into his own barnyard, our man from Otueke may yet score a major own goal. It is rich to say that he is neither a pharaoh nor a civilian strongman when he is presiding over the worst case of judicial delinquency in the history of the country.

If the hen that swallows corn and other hard digestible begins to com-

plain that it has no teeth, then we must thank God for small mercies.

Please...

Let us put a humorous gloss on this matter in the spirit of independence anniversary. Upon enquiry that a new MP who had been causing some trouble in the opposition bench was a certain Mr Bossom, Winston Churchill exploded in mischievous mirth. “Bossom? Neither one thing nor the other?” the great Englishman drawled in puckish humour. And when he was told that the new Spanish Prime Minister’s name is Plasteras, Churchill noted that he hoped he didn’t have feet of clay.

But the prize for genetic taxonomy still belongs to the former British Prime Minister and master of wounding repartees. Churchill once savagely dismissed Clement Atlee, his bitter political foe, as “ a sheep in sheep’s clothing”. As far as we know, Jonathan is neither a sheep nor a shepherd. Let him now get on with the job without any further self-distraction.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

News

Boko Haram: Council tasks security agencies on intelligence gathering

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L-R: Deputy Governor, Ekiti State, Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka; Governor Kayode Fayemi; and his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, during the 51st Independence Anniversary parade in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday.

7-Year single tenure bill

HE Southsouth zone of the Yoruba Community Council has called on the security agencies in the country to redouble their efforts and do more of intelligence gathering in order to be able to tackle the incessant bomb blasts from the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

The level of insecurity in Nigeria was also described as alarming by the Council, while “strongly” condemning all acts of terrorism and nefarious activities by any sect in the country.

This was contained in a communiqué issued and signed by the PresidentGeneral of the Council, Chief Wale Solagbade and six leaders from other states in Port Harcourt, Rivers State yesterday, af-

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N a bid to ensure its troubled seven-year single tenure bill scales through the national and state assemblies, the Presidency is set to present new proposals that will enshrine the rotation of the office of President between the six geo-political zones of the country in the constitution.

Similarly, there would be constitutional guarantees for the first time ensuring that the office of governor rotates between the senatorial zones of every state.

The existing 1999 constitution is silent on the issue of rotation of such positions between the zones.

It equally does not recognize the zones as legal entities. Presently, only the constitution of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) provides for a loose arrangement where the Presidency rotates between North and South.

If President Goodluck Jonathan’s new proposals scale through the National Assembly, they throw open the 2015 presidential and gubernatorial contests as all zones at state and federal level would have constitutional grounds to vie for any of the positions.

Fresh facts emerged yesterday about a change

From: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

of strategy driving the new proposals. Investigation by our correspondent indicated that the minister coordinating the amendments and some of Jonathan’s strategists have been studying reasons why former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s attempts to amend the constitution failed in 2006.

To avoid a repeat, the new approach will see the government offering senators, members of the House of Representatives and state assemblies a series of carrots and deals in what is essentially a divide and rule approach.

Senior government sources told The Nation on Sunday in confidence that the new bill will be packaged in such a way that there would items in the legislation that legislators would find hard to reject.

“The amendments will be proposed by the government in a manner that will leave members of the National Assembly divided on the tenure bill. At the end of the day, a Senator or Representative will have one cause or the other to support the amendments including the single tenure

proposal”, the source said.

Some of the other carrots being put on the table include a renewable six-year tenure for National Assembly and State House of Assembly members as well as creation of new states and autonomy for local governm e n t s .

Part of the strategy is also to infiltrate the ranks of opposition parties to get backing for the bill. But the government is unsure of the attitude of governors. It is equally apprehensive of a backlash from the opposition and media as was the case with the botched Third Term agenda.

A key opposition leader who wishes to remain anonymous, told The Nation on Sunday: “Jonathan will be shocked that members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the National Assembly will reject the tenure proposal. Feelers from even the PDP governors show that the tenure magic will die on arrival.

“The booby trap for governors is that they will serve a six-year term under a President who will be in office for a single term of seven years. It means that a ruthless president can use state instrument to oppress or deal with them af-

ter leaving office or determine their successors in their states.

“If the tenure proposal has no ill-motive, why can’t the president and the governors have the same exit date?”

President Jonathan is proposing the French model of a seven-year single tenure for the new president and governors coming on board as from 2015.

Although the proposal initially raised considerable dust, the President has vowed to press ahead with the bill. The opposition have, however, vowed to mobilise Nigerians to reject the new tenure bill.

Indications are that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and other opposition parties will soon open talks with Northern leaders in a bid to ensure the defeat of the tenure bill in the National Assembly.

“As far as the tenure bill is concerned, opposition parties intend to join forces to kill the weird proposal.

We have started discussions with key Northern leaders on why the tenure proposal must not fly.

“There is no vision behind the seven-year tenure when we are already operating a system that allow two terms of four years each – making eight years.

Their plan is to make a retroactive tenure to ensure that Jonathan stays in office for seven years,” the opposition leader privy to the discussions said.

ter its quarterly meeting.

The Council noted that the issue of security should not be left for only the government, urging all Nigerians to be security-conscious and report suspicious items or persons to the security agencies.

It said: “We urge officials of the state and Federal Government to bear in mind that they exist only for the security and welfare of the people and not for the security and welfare of select few.

“Whatever action the government takes should be for the security and welfare of the people. Does the removal of fuel subsidy satisfy this criterion? The people’s answer is no. Fuel subsidy should not be removed.”

Amnesty Programme: FG warns fifth columnists

Jonathan woos senators, reps with new deal F • Rotation of presidency, governorship between zones in new amendments • Senators, reps get 6-year renewable tenure • Opposition parties bank on North to defeat bill

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

EDERAL Government has said that it would deal decisively with impostors who go about printing fake forms and extorting huge sums of money from youths of the Niger Delta region under the pretext that they will enlist them in the second phase of the amnesty programme.

The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Matters, Hon Kingsley Kuku, gave this charge yesterday at a grand reception in his honour in Ondo State.

Kuku who observed that it has come to the notice of the Federal Government that some unscrupulous individuals have been going about distributing forms to unsuspecting members of the public ostensibly to fleece money out

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

of them under the guise of a purported second phase of the amnesty programme.

On the independence celebration, he said more needs to be done in the area of infrastructure in the Niger Delta.

He further hinted of plans by the amnesty office to engage three additional companies that will facilitate job placement and on the job re training of delegates who have completed their initial offshore programme.

Former governor of Bayelsa, Deprieye Alameiseigha, urged the Niger Deltans to utilise the opportunities the amnesty programme has brought for massive youth empowerment and poverty alleviation.

Okorocha declares war on kidnappers

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MO State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has declared total war on kidnappers, boasting that his administration has taken steps to make the state uncomfortable for criminals based there.

Okorocha gave this charge yesterday at the official launch of the State government joint security outfit otherwise known as “Operation Rescue Imo” with 100 Ford model security vans with modern security gadgets.

Speaking at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, the venue of the event, Governor

From Emma Mgbeahurike, Owerri

Okorocha said though kidnapping has reduced drastically since he assumed office, his administration would stop at nothing to ensure that the state get rid of kidnapping and armed robbery.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, applauded the initiative of Governor Okorocha, adding that security should be the responsibility of everybody in the interest of peace and harmony.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011 IGERIAN Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) is moving its entire headquarters operations presently located at C&C Towers in Victoria Island, Lagos to Port Harcourt with immediate effect. The movement involves over 400 staff and would be completed by the end of November.

Authoritative company sources told The Nation on Sunday that the decision to fast-track the relocation is causing considerable unease within the company.

It was the single item issue that came up for discussion at the NLNG board meeting which held in Dubai last week.

The board was reportedly divided over the wisdom of the sudden relocation. However, the Presi-

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News

NLNG relocates HQ from Lagos to Port Harcourt

By Festus Eriye dency is said to have come down on the side of those backing the movement.

Originally, the transfer was to be effected in phases, with the process concluding in 2013.

The movement is part of the company’s measures to save costs, ensure greater efficiency by moving operations to the region where the NLNG plants are located. The company operates six liquefaction units

(LNG trains) on Bonny Island in Rivers State where it produces 22 million metric tonnes of LNG per year - roughly 10% of the world’s consumption.

Staff opposed to the move – many of whom have resided in Lagos for very long - are said to be worried about the disruption of family life that the relocation would cause.

Others are said to be afraid that their career prospects could be adversely affected by the movement to Port

Harcourt. There are issues of job alignment between staff holding parallel positions in Lagos and Bonny.

Such is the level of anger and disquiet that the planned relocation causing that some senior management staff are said to threatening legal actions and, in some instances, resigning from the company altogether.

A senior manager who spoke to The Nation on Sunday anonymously

said: “A lot of people are not happy with the way the matter is being handled by a select few. It is against the established practice and tradition in the company.” A staff briefing is expected to be carried out shortly by NLNG management to inform workers on the modalities of the movement.

The movement which would be a boost for the Rivers State economy would affect Lagos State negatively as she stands to

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lose millions in corporate taxes paid by NLNG to the state government.

Nigeria LNG Limited was incorporated as a limited liability company in 1989, to produce LNG and natural gas liquids for export. It is jointly owned by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) 49%, Shell Gas B.V. 25.6%, Total LNG Nigeria Ltd 15% and Eni International 10.4%.

In recent years the company has been trailed by controversies over bribes of $180 million allegedly paid by the TSKJ consortium of engineering companies to Nigerian federal government officials between 1994 and 2004 to obtain contracts worth more than $6 billion for building the LNG facilities.

Independence day tragedies

Bombs explode in Maiduguri • Man sets wife, two sons ablaze

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MID the country’s celebrations of its 51 st Independence anniversary yesterday, two separate bomb explosions occurred in Dalashuwari and Nganaram wards of Borno State.

In Enugu State, a man identified as Alex Ndubuisi Egeonu yesterday set his pregnant wife and two sons ablaze.

Although the number of casualties could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report, it sent panic across the state.

When contacted, The Joint Task Force (JTF) spokesperson, confirmed the incident, adding that he was yet to get any report about the casualties of the blast.

Also in Maiduguri, a butcher at the Baga station market was yesterday shot dead by unknown gunmen who also made away with some money.

Similarly, his son who raised an alarm that his father had been shot was also killed by the gunmen.

The incident caused pandemonium among traders in the market as they scamper for safety.

The gun men were said to have fired gunshots in the air to scare away people as they escaped through a bush path near the market.

Egeonu’s youngest son fell into coma following injuries sustained in the inferno. He was later revived at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu after two hours, while the wife and the first son are now on danger list at the hospital.

The fleeing father of two who hails from Umunoha town in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, according to eyewitnesses, had on arrival at his container shop located at No. 61 Mount Street,

From Joseph Abiodun, Maiduguri and Chris Oji, Enugu

Awkunanaw, Enugu, where he sells musical records and Compact Discs, asked his wife to escort him to the filling station to buy fuel.

The wife willingly complied but shortly after returning to the shop Egeonu at about 11am went to a neighbour’s shop and began to drag the owner (a woman) to his own shop claiming that she was indebted to him.

The woman shouted to attracted neighbours and passersby who promptly rescued her from the man.

“Immediately the man returned to his shop, he tied the hands of his wife and poured the fuel on the floor.

He thereafter locked the wife and his two sons inside the container and threw lighted matches through the window to ignite the fire,” the eyewitness said.

The pregnant woman and her two sons were severely burnt before neighbours forced the container open and brought them out.

They were rushed to the Eastern Nigeria Medical Centre where the last son reportedly died. The pregnant woman and her first son, said to be in critical condition were later transferred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the incident, said the suspect took to his heels after setting his family members ablaze and has not been found.

He said that investigations had commenced to ascertain the motive of the arsonist adding that the police would do everything possible to apprehend the suspect.

• Pakistani supporters of Malik Mumtaz Hussain Quadri gather after a court announced the death sentence for him yesterday for the murder of the governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer Photo: AFP

New revenue formula: Federal govt bides time • No new formula earlier than mid- 2012 • Oil producing states may push for 15 per cent derivation

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ESPITE the receipt of a proposal from state governors for more cash, the Federal Government is bidding time on the agitation for the adjustment of the nation’s revenue allocation formula.

It was learnt that the Federal Government has preference for Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) than new revenue formula Also, there were indications yesterday that funds are as well hampering the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

But oil producing states may push for between 15 per cent and 20 per cent derivation.

At present, the revenue allocation formula is: Federal Government (52%); States (26.72%); and 774 Local Government Areas (20.60%).

But a committee raised by the Nigerian Governors

From: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

Forum, headed by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, has recommended a drastic reduction in the Federal Government’s allocation.

The governors are recommending 35% for the federal government; States (42%); and LGAs (23%).

Investigation by our correspondent showed that the Presidency is not keen on the new revenue allocation formula because there are many issues to be resolved.

These issues are complete autonomy for local governments; acceptance of Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) by the governors; and a slight adjustment of the derivation percentage for oil producing communities.

A top source, who spoke in confidence, said:

“The desire for new revenue formula in the country is riddled with politics between the Federal Government and the state governors.

“The Federal Government may not consent to the adjustment of the revenue formula unless governors are ready for a constitutional amendment that will lead to a complete autonomy for local governments.

“We also have this wrangling between the presidency and governors over SWF Act. The governors are threatening to go to court. With their adamant posture, the presidency is also foot-dragging on the new revenue formula.

“Added to the disagreement on SWF, oil producing states want the derivation percentage to be increased from 13 per cent to between 15 per cent and 20

per cent.

“So, the agitation for this new revenue formula is beclouded by a few challenges which need to be addressed by the federal government and state governors.”

A source in RMAFC however said: “We are ready to make recommendations for the new formula but our immediate challenge has to do with funds to gather data, meet stakeholders, and conduct empirical researches that would enable us reach conclusions on each tier of government.

“We are hopeful that the 2012 Budget will make provision for necessary field work required by the commission.

“So far, I think it is not practicable to have a new formula in place this year again. But I can assure you that we will do a thorough job and in line with the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan ensure that it is legally put into effect.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

News

6

NIGERIA AT 51 Low-key celebration in Bauchi From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

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HE celebration was marked quietly yester day in Bauchi.

Many residents stayed indoors watching the ceremony on TV citing security concerns.

They said it was shameful that the state has become unsafe going by recent explosions.

Those who spoke bemoaned the nation’s backwardness at 51.

75-year-old Saleh Darazo-Lagos said there was nothing to celebrate.

He called for invocation of national conference to discuss the nation’s future existence.

Obi calls for self appraisal From Adimike George, Onitsha

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NAMBRA State Gov ernor, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday advocated for critical self-appraisal to conquer developmental and security challenges in the nation.

Obi in his anniversary message to the state, said “Today, as we mark our 51st Independence anniversary, it naturally calls for critical self appraisal. ‘’How far have we gone to achieve the vision of our founding fathers? Can we in all sincerity say that we are on the right path?

He continued: “If we have to be truthful to ourselves, we have not fared very well as an independent country and all of us should be held responsible. ‘’We have emphasised consumption over production. We are interested in what goes into private pockets than what the nation will gain. ‘’Our 51st Independence calls more for self-examination.

As we reflect and re-assess our past, we must resolve to join hands together to build a better place for our children”.

Aliyu pardons former LG boss, 6 others From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

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IGER State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Aliyu, yesterday granted pardon to former Paikoro local government Chairman, Alhaji Danjuma Baba and six others.

Others are Umar Ahmed Abdullahi Umar, Fedelix Chukwu, Mu’azu Attah, Yahaya Aliyu and Isah Mohammed.

They were pardoned as part of activities to make the nation’s 51st independence.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mallam Danladi Ndayebo, said the governor’s action was in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 210 sub section 1 (a) of the 1999 constitution as amended.

It added that the Governor made due consultation with the Niger state Advisory Council on the prerogative of mercy before granting the pardon.

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AGOS State Governor, Mr. Raji Fashola (SAN), yesterday called for collective efforts to fast track the nation’s development.

He said development is only attainable in a peaceful environment where all hands are on deck.

Fashola spoke during a colourful celebration of the nation’s 51st Independence anniversary at the Open field of Police College Ikeja.

Thousands of school children, immaculate in their voluntary club uniforms, defiled heavy down-

No peace, no development -- Fashola

By Miriam Ndikanwu

pours that lasted for hours to put up a beautiful parade.

The Governor noted that the nation’s advancement towards progress and prosperity are being hindered by many challenges.

According to him, “there was an election that we had to deal with and

about which the overwhelming majority of us were united in our desire to ensure that it was free and fair. ‘’There was a shuttering economy that we had to revive to make it more responsive to the needs and aspirations of the greatest number of our people.’’

He, however said: ‘’It is

important to also say that we must earn it by working hard probably more than we have ever done before. ‘’We must aspire to those better days which lie ahead of us by exercising greatest restrain that we can muster when things are not going the way we expect.”

He explained that while poverty, unemployment

and hunger are intolerable in a country so richly endowed, “the truth remains that we have had one strike too many for there to be a consistent period of expected productive change”.

He assured that his administration would continue to aggressively pursue policies that will lighten people’s burden.

Nigeria needs strong institutions, says Amosun From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

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GUN State Gover nor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, yesterday said only building “strong institutions of governance” and “citizens’ re-birth” can tackle challenges facing the nation.

Nigeria, he said, needs strong institutions that will take the place of strong men, foster quality governance and delivery of dividends of democracy.

According to him, this will re-kindle people’s confidence in government.

Amosun spoke during a ceremony to mark the nation’s 51st Independence anniversary at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, the State capital.

He also said leaders must intensify efforts at confronting the challenges rocking the country using creative and pragmatic approaches.

According to him, “We need to build and strengthen institutions of governance; deliver dividends of democracy and reinforce people’s confidence in government. ‘’As it is often said, we do not need strong men; we need strong institutions that will outlive strong men.”

Almakura: Hopes have been dashed From Johnny Danjuma, Lafia

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ASARAWA state Governor, Tanko Almakura, yesterday bared his mind on the nation’s woes.

He blamed them on greedy and visionless leadership.

Almakura lamented that the hopes of Nigerians for comfortable living have been dashed despite the nation’s stupendous wealth.

According to him, “The high hopes of our people have been cruelly dashed. ‘’Ours has become the perfect example of a very rich country of very poor people, with over 70% of the population now living below the poverty line.

•Service Chiefs welcoming President Goodluck Jonathan to the Change of Guards Parade yesterday.

PHOTO AKIN OLADOKUN

Peace and Reconciliation Committee for Kaduna

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ADUNA State is soon to have a peace and reconciliation committee to calm frayed nerves.

Governor Patrick Yakowa stated this in a broadcast to mark the nation’s 51st Independence.

He noted that the postelection crisis in the state came at a time when the pursuit for peaceful coex-

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

istence was beginning to yield result.

According to him, “the post- election violence gave rise to many actions that were taken to mitigate its negative effects on the citizens of this state.

“It led to the establishment of the Judicial Com-

mission of Enquiry to help un- earth what led to the carnage with a view to finding long lasting solutions.

He went on: “We have received the report of the Judicial Commission of Enquiry and are studying it for appropriate implementation for peace and reconciliation in the state. ‘’In that wise, a Peace

and Reconciliation Committee is being constituted to address this matter. ‘’Local Government Councils, in the state, have been directed to establish similar Peace and Reconciliation Committees at their levels. ‘’This action is being taken in realisation of the fact that Security is the responsibility of all”.

Aregbesola kicks against Sovereign Wealth Fund

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HE Sovereign Wealth Fund scheme of the Federal Government came under heavy criticism yesterday.

Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, described it as a direct assault on the country’s federal system.

In a broadcast to mark the nation’s 51 st Independence anniversary, Aregbesola said the Federal Government cannot arrogate to itself resources that should belong to the states under the guise of the Sovereign Wealth Funds.

He frowned at what he called a unitarisation of the country and called on Nigerians to rise against moves by the Federal Government to continue to subvert the Federal nature of the country.

Aregbesola said, “The federal status of the nation has been under severe assault as our governance structure is increasingly assuming a unitary form by default.

“The Sovereign Wealth Fund is a direct assault on our federal system of government and must be stopped forthwith.

‘‘We must all rise to effect a reversal of this anomaly and demand a proper federal structure, politically, fiscally and organically.”

The governor also assured the people of Osun State that his administration has made adequate provisions to ensure protection of lives and property.

He restated his commitment to good governance.

Aregbesola said “I want to assure our people in Osun State that the good time we have been looking forward to is here. ‘‘We are ushering in an era of prosperity for all, including workers in the state.”

Orji seeks support for transformation agenda

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BIA State Governor, Theodore Orji, has urged Nigerians to support President Jonathan’s transformational agenda.

He made the call during the Independence celebration at the Umuahia Township stadium, Umuahia.

He tasked Nigerians at

From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

home and abroad to deploy their talents to move the nation forward.

According to him: “all Nigerians must resist the growing resort to conflict and violence in resolving issues in the country and be ready

agents to assist the nation in checking corruption”.

The governor decried the constant religious violence and other social ills weighing down the nation.

These crises, he lamented, fritter away valuable resources, maintaining that no nation can develop with so much violence.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

News

7

NIGERIA AT 51

•Lagos State Governor Raji Fashola(SAN) at the celebration in Ikeja yesterday.

PHOTO: MOSES OMOSEHIN

•Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, taking salute as students march pass during celebration at the U J Esuene stadium, Calabar

•Abia State Governor, Dr. Theodore Orji, with a Nollywood star, Chinedu Ikedieze, at the Umuahia Township Stadium

•Akwa Ibom State Governor,Chief Godswill Akpabio, inspecting the guard of honour in Uyo

•L-R: Olu of Imasai, Oba Gbadebo Oni; Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Suraj Adekunbi; Deputy Governor, Prince Segun Adesegun; his wife, Olufunmilayo, Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; his wife, Olufunso; Chief Judge, Justice Olatokunbo Oduyinka Olopade and Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo cutting the cake to mark the anniversary at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta...

•Nassarawa State Governor,Tanko Al-makura, test driving one of the buses inaugurated for transportation in Lafia, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

•From left: Govs. Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Kassim Shettima (Borno) and Adamawa Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Tijjani Maksha, during the visit of Shettima to Adamawa yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

•School children in Bauchi yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Politics

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HE bigger the head, the bigger the head ache. This aptly describes the challenges confronting the Kogi State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Its recent gubernatorial primaries were rancorous and reconciliation remains elusive.

Out of the pack of governorship aspirants, only seven were screened to contest at the primaries.

They are Alhaji Abdulrazak Isah Kutepa (the only aspirant from Kogi West), Jibrin Isa Echocho, winner of the January 9 primary election (from Kogi East), Idris Wada, a private business man and pilot (from Kogi East), Philip Omeiza Salawu, incumbent deputy governor of Kogi State (from Kogi Central) Onukaba Ojo, former Managing Director of Daily Times, (Kogi East), Air Vice Marshall Salihu Atawodi (rtd) (from Kogi East), and Air Marshal Isaac Alfa (rtd) from (Kogi East).

Predictably, the Igala politician, Wada, was declared winner of the shadow poll. However, other contestants rejected the result, claiming that it was fraudulent. They alleged that Governor Ibrahim Idris deliberately manipulated the exercise to pave the way for the emergence of his in-law as flag bearer.

Initially, the governor had thrown his weight behind Jibrin Isah Echocho: that was in January during the botched exercise. However, he changed his mind later and switched to Wada. This did not go down well with Echocho and his projected running mate, Olafemi. A group of protesters from Kogi East Senatorial District even stormed Government House, Lokoja, to press for Echocho’s candidature. They warned that PDP would lose the next election, if he was not the candidate.

President of Echocho Network Group, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, argues that the governor failed to adduce genuine reasons for endorsing Wada.

He said: “We know that the party was almost dead in the state before the candidature of Jibrin, and he happens to be the life wire of the party. We have lost to the opposition in Nassarawa State and cannot afford to lose Kogi to the opposition.”

Wada, on his part, insists his membership of the party was not in doubt. He says he registered at Odu Ward 1, Dekina Local Government Area.

But Ward Chairman, Mr. Ijeje Utonu, and Secretary, Hassan Akeji, denied this at a press conference. They alleged that Wada only stormed the ward at about 10 pm a few days to the primaries and insisted the officials had to register him.

According to Ijeje, hell was let loose when the retired Captain was denied access to the register book as he allegedly ordered his men to shoot into the air in order to intimidate them. He asked the party leadership to investigate his allegations.

He said: “It is worrisome that people who want to lead us will display absolute lack of faith

Kogi PDP: A house divided against itself The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State is experiencing tetchy times in the run-up to the December gubernatorial elections, writes Mohammed Bashir

•Ibrahim Idris

•Jibrin Isah-Echocho

in the rule of law, the constitution of our party and due process.

“This resort to threat and violence all in a bid to be registered in our party just few days to the rescheduled primary election is, to say the least, antithetical to all known tenets of democracy. We call on the Federal Government and the Inspector General of Police to institute a high powered

investigation into this clandestine move to violently undermine our democracy”, he added.

Special Assistant on Media to Idris, Farouk Adejoh, maintains the governor did not support any aspirant: “He is the leader of PDP in Kogi and anyone seeking to contest any position in PDP has Governor Idris’ unconditional support. The said Wada is not a son-in-law of Governor Idris as has

been mischievously and falsely canvassed.

“In any case we do not and cannot hold brief for any aspirant. It is just necessary to put the record straight.”

Wada has consistently denied the allegation of unruly behaviour at the ward secretariat of the PDP. He said those who claimed he invaded the secretariat were playing dirty politics.

He describes himself to a peace-loving member of the party who would not employ violence as he pursues his ambition to lead the state. “I am a citizen of Kogi State and I am free to contest the governorship election if I want. There’s nothing they can do about it”, he said.

Special Adviser to the State Governor on Media, Mallam Adamu Zakari, said that the governor still has tremendous respect for Echocho.

“Echocho was never pushed aside by the governor as he remains a strong contender in the race. I can’t imagine people spreading rumor that the governor dumped Echocho”.

So how did Wada emerge? Was it connected with the visit of Senate President David Mark? A source said the Benue senator persuaded Idris to support Wada. But Wada rejects the notion he was endorsed as the candidate of choice by Governor Idris.

He said: “I came into politics consciously to give back what I benefited from the society. I am 61 years old and I know exactly what I want with the rest of my life, so nobody pulled me into politics.

“Ibrahim Idris has been my close friend before he ever thought of becoming governor. I told him of my political intentions. He told me just as he told others that I should go ahead. Does that mean he had endorsed me?

“When I obtained my intent form, courtesy demanded that I showed it to my friend and state leader of my party. I don’t think there is any big deal doing that. Other aspirants must have done the same.”

Further clarifying his relationship with the governor, Wada said he did not marry the governor’s daughter.

“My brother Musa Wada married one of Ibrahim Idris’ daughters, Asma’u, in 1995. Idris was not a governor then. He was a businessman like me. We were, and are still friends. My ambition has nothing whatsoever to do with Ibrahim Idris.

He is not my direct-in-law as speculated,” he averred.

He said a serious politician must always think of how to win without anybody’s endorsement.

Declaring that he had what it takes to transform Kogi State, promised to use his experience in the private sector to bring rapid development to the state if elected governor.

PDP: Intrigues over choice of South South leader Our correspondent examines the intrigues over the choice of candidate for party’s vacant post in the South-South

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HE countdown to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s National Convention has begun. Although it is scheduled to hold early next year, intrigues and manoeuvrings now cast a long shadow over party unity, especially in the South-South geo-political zone. During the coming convention, party stalwarts are to elect members into the national executive council; the new leadership is to pilot the affairs of the party, including patronage issues, over the next four years.

One major issue that has threatened to polarize the party in the South-South geo-political zone is the sharing of the two party executive positions zoned region. Indications point to River State’s strong determination to corner more than a fair share of the positions.

The incumbent National Vice-Chairman of the party in the South-South, Chief Edet Nkpubre appears to have performed creditably as his supporters point to the prevailing level of peace and stability under his leadership. Moreover, they assert that for the first time in its history, the zone produced the President under Nkpubre’s watch.

In line with its policy of promoting justice, equity and fairness in the sharing of political offices, the ruling party has reportedly zoned the position of Deputy National Chairman and National Financial Secretary to the South-South zone.

Consequently, the president South-South Governors’ forum and party leaders in the zone are expected to meet and decide on the states that would produce candidates for the two national party positions.

Although the South-South PDP stalwarts are yet to deliberate on the issue, groups of prominent politicians from the area are said to be jostling for the post of Deputy National Chairman – a position that comes next only to that of the party’s National Chairman. Contracts and connections in high places are

being utilized to swing the political pendulum in their favour by March 2012 when the party is expected to conclude its decision on the matter.

Among those said to be interested in the position are: the incumbent National Organizing Secretary, Uche Secondus from Rivers State, a former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Senator Anietie Okon who is from Akwa Ibom State, the current National Treasurer of the party who hails from Delta State, Chief Linus Okon from Cross River State, Peter Obadan from Edo State and a few others who are yet to make their intentions known publicly. However, keen watchers of events in the party argue that if the zoning formula often adopted by the party in the sharing of political offices is to be adopted to select the new Deputy National Chairman for the PDP from the zone, states like Rivers, Edo, Delta and Bayelsa would be automatically ruled out from the contest.

This perspective is premised on fact that those states already have more than their fair share of positions and other things under the present administration. Indigenes of these states occupy several juicy federal political offices.

Bayelsa State which has produced President Goodluck Jonathan and Petroleum Minister Diezani Allison – Madueke and outgoing NDDC Chairman, AVM Larry Koriyan (rtd) has already been ruled out of the contest for the PDP Deputy National Chairmanship contest. River state is next only to Bayelsa state in terms of such privileges; an indigene of the state recently got appointed to head the multi-billion Naira disbursements in the MDG office in Abuja.

Moreover, the only ministerial slot zoned to the South-South was produced by Rivers state as Miss Ama Pepple, the Minister of Environment comes from Bonny Island of the state. The outgoing Managing Director of the Niger Delta Devel-

opment Commission (NDDC), Chief Chibuzo Ugwoha is also from River State. River State is the only state in the South-South zone that has two ministerial positions in the zone. The Chairman of South-South Parliamentary Caucus in the House of Representatives, Uche Echendu is also from Rivers State.

In addition, River State Governor is the Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum.

The state’s ongoing scheming to ‘zone’ the position of Deputy National Chairmanship that is already zoned to the South-South to Rivers State may cause some sort of internal crises within the zone.

Delta State appears to be justifiably satisfied; it produced the Minister of Niger-Delta, a position that is very crucial to the development of the entire South-South zone. Also, the immediate past minister representing the South-South in the federal cabinet, Chief Kenneth Gbagi comes from Delta State. A Deltan, Leo Ogor is currently the Deputy Majority Leader in the House of Representatives. Edo State is not lagging behind; though the State lost its governorship position to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), it has not lost out in terms of political patronage. The ‘juicy’ position of Minister of Works is occupied by an Edo indigene while Chief Mike Oghiadome, the Chief of Staff to the President is also from the state.

Moreover, another PDP chieftain from Edo state, Chief Tony Anenih is chairman of Nigeria Ports Authority – the gateway to the nation’s economy and major pot of patronage where the likes of Chief Olabode George once got their fingers burnt.

Of all the six South-South states, AkwaIbom and Cross River states appear to be least patronized in terms of party positions and political appointments. The two ministerial positions allotted to them - Science and Tech-

nology as well as Tourism Development - are not among the A – list ministerial portfolios.

It is a big irony that the positions allocated to the two states are not commensurate with their level of support for President Jonathan’s election in April. Though Cross River State has been compensated with Senate majority leader, the number three position in the Senate; Akwa-Ibom is still left in the lurch.

The state which is a major oil-producing state in the South-South gave President Jonathan more than two million votes but it has not been really lucky with federal appointments – even since the beginning of this democratic dispensation. This explains expectations that the vacant position of Deputy National Chairman ought to be filled by Aka-Ibom.

According to a highly placed PDP stalwart from the Niger Delta, “since inception, the Party has always elected its Deputy National Chairman from the rank of the National ViceChairmen; the precedent is there for the party to follow. When the position of Deputy National Chairman was zoned to the South-West, the then National Vice-Chairman (South-West), Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun was elevated to Deputy National Chairman. In the same vein, Chief Olabode George also moved from National Vice-Chairman to occupy the top party post. It was in the same spirit that the North-West people unanimously catapulted Bello Haliru Mohammed from the position of National Vice-Chairman (NorthWest) to become Deputy National Chairman.

The incumbent National Vice-Chairman in the South-South, Chief Edet Nkpubre appears to have performed creditably as his supporters point to the prevailing level of peace and stability under his leadership. Moreover, they assert that for the first time in its history, the zone produced the President under his watch.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

THE NATION

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ON SUNDAY

COMMENT and ANALYSIS OCTOBER 2, 2011

Uche Chukwumerije and the uses of militancy Festus Eriye

lotufodunrin@yahoo.com 08050498530 (SMS only)

Embracing violent fringe groups is recipe for disaster

efestus2003@yahoo.com 08052135878 (SMS only)

S

ENATOR Uche Chukwumerije’s history of political activism is well documented. Once a socialist who was to be found in the company of the likes of late Mallam Aminu Kano and his defunct Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), he has since come full circle – settling snugly in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where people don’t split hairs over trifling matters like ideology.

In his political odyssey flitting from extreme left to right the senator has stopped along the way to join forces with a few dodgy causes like the short-lived Interim National Government (ING) where he lent his propaganda talents to the abortive bid to snuff life out of the June 12 mandate restoration campaign.

At the dawn of the Fourth Republic he was elected senator from Abia State on the platform of the PDP. Ever the pragmatist or opportunist – depending on which side of the fence you inhabit – he managed to hitch himself to the bandwagon of whoever was governor so long as it guaranteed his senatorial seat.

That strategy has seen him exit and reenter the PDP at different times without any sense of embarrassment. If his political moves can be understood from the position of ambition as motive, his many controversial utterances are less easy to decipher.

Speaking last week at the 2011 Igbo Day Celebration organised by Ohaneze Ndigbo - the Igbo socio-cultural organisation – he proposed an interesting theory.

The major ethnic nationalities have secured the presidency through the deployment of militias.

The Yoruba, through the cultural organisation, Afenifere, used the militant Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in 1999 to install their son in Aso Rock, he said.

“It was the Niger Delta militancy that ensured that President Goodluck Jonathan became President of Nigeria while the Boko Haram sect is being used by the North to achieve its presidency bid in 2015.

“The Igbos should therefore incorporate the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) into its system to ensure that an Igbo emerges as President of Nigeria [in 2015],” he said.

Actually, Chukwumerije’s views regarding the terrorist Boko Haram are not original; these are things many are saying openly – even if firm proof is lacking and most are drawing conclusions based largely on circumstantial evidence.

But if the activities of the terrorists up north are truly being fuelled by regional interests, it is something that deserves condemnation and should not be hawked

Lekan Otufodunrin

•Chukwumerije

as a model to be copied by others.

The senator’s suggestion is not only dangerous, it is indicative of all that is wrong with present constitutional arrangements that have made the quest for power at the centre a life and death struggle.

It is a sad day for the country when mainstream political leaders begin to promote violent fringe groups with dubious goals, and even more dubious mandates, as the way to ethnic salvation.

Even worse, Chukwumerije’s theory has no leg to stand on. His recollection of how the Fourth Republic presidents found their way into Aso Rock is mischievous and turns facts on their heads.

It was not militancy that made Goodluck Jonathan Acting President in 2010: it was good luck and providential positioning. If a Yoruba was Vice President to Umaru Yar’Adua at his demise, the chatter of a thousand Niger Delta Ak47s would not have reversed the constitutional order of succession.

The Niger Delta struggle was not about making one of their sons President; it was about giving the devastated region that lays the golden egg a fairer shake economically and developmentally.

It was not the OPC that made General Olusegun Obasanjo president in 1999. It was the momentum created by the lingering agitation over the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election results that propelled him to the presidency.

He was carried the last few steps by

agents of the northern oligarchy like General Ibrahim Babangida who anticipated that a man they thought they could trust, would four or eight years down the line - by way of a quid pro quo - restore power to the north.

In all of this the OPC was largely a fringe nuisance which generated good newspaper headlines but had limited ability to shape whatever was going on in the ruling military council then led by General Abdusalami Abubakar, or the nascent PDP. Encouraging the legitimisation of groups like MASSOB is dangerous because their stated aim is not securing political office, however exalted in a flawed federation; it is the revival of the secessionist dream of an independent Biafra which was cut short by the Civil War defeat.

It is easy to start a fire, but sometimes bush fires develop a mind of their own and will not stop until everything that fuels them is used up.

For instance, Niger Delta politicians armed thugs for the elections of 1999 and 2003. After the new office holders settled down to governance, the suddenly-unemployed goons became the kidnappers and pseudo-freedom fighters who unleashed a trail of terror that killed hundreds of people in the creeks and damaged the nation’s economy.

Unfortunately, Chuwkwumerije’s advice for every hamlet to start forming their very own Boko Haram is the upshot of the Jonathan administration’s tendency to cave in to every thug waving a Kalashnikov. The government’s approach simply says terror and violence pays.

The only people who not been offered negotiations and amnesty are armed robbers. If they can up the tempo of their activities they may yet get summoned to Abuja for roundtable discussions.

Encouraging mainstream folks to start embracing violent secessionists groups and tendencies is the surest way of actualising the doomsday prediction of the disintegration of the Nigerian nation on or before 2015.

This is something that Jonathan says with such certainty will not happen on his watch – not necessarily because he has a plan to avert that Doomsday prospect, but simply because such talk has a nice patriotic ring to it.

Unfortunately, his policy of appeasing violent thugs is in reality encouraging the very end he dreads. We are already seeing the fruit in proposals like that made by Chukwumerije. Depend on it that the senator is not the only high profile politician thinking like this.

“It was not militancy that made Goodluck Jonathan Acting President in 2010: it was good luck and providential positioning. If a Yoruba was Vice President to Umaru Yar’Adua at his demise, the chatter of a thousand Niger Delta Ak47s would not have reversed the constitutional order of succession”

Salute to a watchdog

S

TAFFORD Sommerfied, Editor of the defunct News of the World from 19601970, sure knows what he meant when in the dedication to his book, Banner Headlines, he wrote: “To those who marry journalists. They have my deepest sympathy”.

His advice to youngsters seeking a career in journalism, according to him, remains the same.

“Don’t become a journalist unless you must and that nothing else will do. Even then think twice. To reach the top you must be dedicated; your work must come before home, family and everything else.

No sensible girl would marry a reporter or be one,” he wrote.

To a large extent, Sommerfied is right.

Journalism is one of the most tasking jobs.

It can also be fun with all kinds of privileges and opportunities, but as Renal Pederson, author of What’s Next? whose book I quoted from last week said, journalism can be “soul-draining”.

This is why journalists need to be appreciated for the great sacrifice involved in being the watchdog of the society. Dogs are supposed to be on guard 24/7 for the owners. This is exactly what we do on behalf of the society which relies on us to publish and broadcast news, reports and other information, if possible, these days, as they are happening.

Despite the “full-time” nature of the job and hazards involved, journalists are not among the best paid professionals in the country.

The conditions of service in some media organisations are very poor and it is not surprising that not many young people are excited about becoming a journalist. But for passion and sometimes lack of option not many old hands want to remain in the profession.

Today in Lagos, the General Manager (Training and Development) of Vintage Press Limited, Pastor Soji Omotunde, will hold a thanksgiving celebration for his 30th year in journalism. I salute him for keeping faith with this not only noble but also necessary profession through thick and thin.

Over the years he has worked with The Guardian newspapers, Thisweek, Times International and African Concord magazines. He has also published an evening newspaper and taught journalism.

He really has reasons to celebrate considering that he probably would have been dead following his abduction by security agents of the Abacha regime on October 25, 1997 when he was Editor of African Concord. He was freed in May 1998 along with some other journalists and political prisoners after harrowing experiences he will never forget.

Pastor Omotunde, thanks for being an inspiration to me and many other journalists. Posterity will remember your labour of love in this profession many love to hate.

Congratulations to your wife who is also celebrating her 50th birthday. She has prove Sommerfield who said no sensible girl would marry a reporter wrong.

Only a sensible girl can indeed marry a journalist and keep him as long as she has done.

12

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Comment & Analysis

A week of lions, tigers and questions Ogochukwu Ikeje ohgeeoh@gmail.com 08084235961 (SMS only)

W

HEN he mentioned animals, he chose the most vicious predators like lions and tigers. When he referred to maximum rulers, the examples that came to him were the despicable, unlovable sort. Pharaoh of Egypt was one of them. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was another. Yet another was Goliath of Gath.

They served his purpose, though.

Last week was one of uncommon candour for President Goodluck Jonathan. It was one to unburden his mind, get things off his chest and say what he thought of what people thought of him and his administration.

Since he became president, scarcely has any day passed without some unflattering comments and barbed criticisms aimed at him. They bordered on the economy which has not inspired any cheer for years, and not since Jonathan came to power. He has been urged to do something about public institutions which remain at best weak. Insecurity has also been a sore point. On all counts, Jonathan has been repeatedly told to be decisive and give the nation a clear direction and sense of safety.

He took it all, speaking little.

Last week, on two occasions, he bared his mind. He spoke on Sunday at a church service, and then again on Tuesday at an

Building institutions takes more than the President suggested independence anniversary lecture, both in the nation’s capital.

Before the congregants, Jonathan declared he is not a lion or tiger, two ferocious predators, excellent in hunting down prey and dreaded for always being right in the jungle. In the same breath, the President stunned the worshippers further, saying he is no maximum monarch of Egypt, one of whom is eternally remembered for his stubbornness, ungodliness and sweeping powers, as well as for his wickedness to God’s people, for which he ultimately drove his troops to the bottom of the deep Red Sea. Jonathan said he is no such ruler. Nor is he another Nebuchadnezzar, a self-conceited Babylonian king who in his supreme vanities forgot there was one above all kings. He too was punished in a most spectacular way. The third fellow our president does not want to be associated with is the incredible, arrogant, largerthan-life war champion from Gath in the land of the Philistines. Goliath fell in his hubris, silenced forever by a stone from a youngster’s slingshot.

Last week, the picture of what our president does not want to look like was clear.

He does not want to be a Commander-inChief or army general wielding a weapon of coercion.

So, what does Jonathan want to be?

He wants to be remembered as the Nigerian president who transformed the country by doing things differently. He said he will build public institutions, put the country on a proper footing, and almost without causing a stir.

Let’s excerpt a few lines from that anniversary lecture paper. “As the current president of Nigeria, we are moving this country forward,” he said. “We are trying to do things differently, not by Mr. President carrying a big stick and breaking the heads of all corrupt people; to be breaking the heads of all civil servants that report to work by 9am.

“I am not going to chase them by carrying a big stick, going into the ministries and breaking the heads of the people, but I believe that for us to get to where we want to go as a nation, we have to build strong institutions and when we build strong in-

“A beautiful Nigeria will emerge when institutions are built. But how can you make omelets without cracking a few eggs? How can the President midwife this new world without sending a whip cracking down the heads of stubborn, ungodly and corrupt people who have crippled the public institutions?”

stitutions, these institutions will drive the process.”

By institutions, we are talking here about the civil service, agencies and organs of government, most of which are, to be charitable, functioning far below expectation. The President himself mentioned the ports, which are eaten up by corruption, and therefore robbing the country of much needed revenue. He also mentioned the civil servants whose poor attitude leaves the service underperforming. There are several arms of government he did not mention, but which continue to hinder national progress nonetheless.

Judging from the tone and spirit of his paper, Jonathan is fixing them all, and getting everything working seamlessly. If we get to that point, as he observed, the President can afford to go on a long leave of absence and the country will not suffer in any way. And, oh, what a delightful world Nigeria would be. At that point, the port chiefs will behave themselves appropriately and keep their minds and hands off evil. The police will be loved again. The ministers will minister creditably. Our children will not only go to school, they will also be thoroughly educated. You can travel Nigerian roads and not have to die several times before death actually comes.

Such a beautiful Nigeria will emerge when institutions are built. But how can you make omelets without cracking a few eggs? How can the President midwife this new world without sending a whip cracking down the heads of stubborn, ungodly and corrupt people who have crippled the public institutions?

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Comment & Analysis

13

Nigeria at 51 Five decades after, the country remains potentially great

N

IGERIA celebrated her 51st anniversary as an independent country yesterday.

Unlike last year when the event was celebrated with pomp and pageantry, the last edition was done in a low key manner, apparently in deference to the mood of the nation.

Catastrophic happenings have been witnessed in parts of the country. Specifically, there is a general wave of insecurity arising, principally in recent times, from the injurious activities of the Boko Haram Islamic sect. Major public institutions, including the Nigeria Police Headquarters and the United Nations House, both in Abuja, had, among others, been bombed, leading to wanton loss of lives and property.

Independence Day is an annual event in commemoration of a nation’s assumption of statehood, more commonly, after ceasing to be a colony or part of another nation or state. It is also an auspicious moment to review the journey so far and project what the expectations should be. In the case of Nigeria, she has remained a potentially great nation all these decades. Nigerians in the better part of the 51 years are just recovering from the trauma of badly organised elections, just as the nation herself has suffered the misfortune of having been ruled by leaders who lack the vision or dream of what it takes to govern a country like ours.

For a nation that has produced talents across every imaginable field of human endeavour, it is sad that brain drain and corruption have become its hallmark. The fad of primitive accumulation and obscene dispossession of the mass of the people of the means of economic empowerment remains major impediment to self discovery on the part of Nigerians.

Yet, some decades ago, the bulletin of the World Health Organisation reported that one

E

RSTWHILE Director – General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.

Gen. Maharazu Ismaila Tsiga (rtd), along with other prominent Nigerians, were honoured with the highest membership status by the Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM) on Monday, September 26th, 2011.

He was named a fellow of the institute. The award is in recognition of his contributions in the area of youth development while he held sway as Director-General of the scheme. It is on this note that I find it proper to revisit the NYSC scheme and highlight some of the achievements recorded during his administration.

Since its inception in 1973, the NYSC has never faced the kind of challenges confronting it now. These include the ballooning number of graduates to be mobilised for each service year, the inability of relevant stakeholders to live up to their statutory responsibilities, as well as the spate of insecurity bedeviling our country. This is worsened by sustained media attacks calling for proscription of the scheme.

Paradoxically, the scheme has never had it so good. The NYSC ranks amongst the most popular organisations in the country. It is not by chance that these important milestones were reached during the tenure of General Tsiga.

He was able to bring about confidence in the ability of the scheme to rise to challenges. This culminated in the use of corps members as officials at the April 2011 national elections.

The welfare of corps members

of every seven medical doctors from Africa was trained in Nigerian universities. Even today, tens of thousands of Nigerian medical doctors are currently practising in the US, Canada and North America, with equal number still on the queue waiting for license to practice in these countries and in the Middle East, Europe and South Africa.

The human resource drain is aggravated by depreciating level of tertiary institutions and infrastructure. Nigerian universities were once comparable with any from developed climes around the world. The University College (now University of Ibadan) at inception in 1948, with other first and few second generation universities remained true tertiary institutions until the mid- eighties when things started getting bad in the country. Right now, university teachers are on strike, a trend that has now become a perennial occurrence.

Fifty-one years after independence, it is shameful that the country still finds management of her educational and other infrastructural issues difficult to handle. What is happening in the educational sector underscores the degeneration in other facets of life.

The health sector is a shambles, with mortal-

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ity rate and wrong diagnosis on the increase. The hope of improvement at age 51 is bleak, except government comes up with holistic reforms to put things in shape.

The problem with Nigeria, however, remains that of inept political leadership. This is an avoidable debacle emanating from the greed, lack of vision and inability of Nigeria’s politicians to administer well the abundant resources that the nation is endowed with. We note, sadly, that one uniting feature of most of the leaders that have ruled Nigeria is the blatant display of affluence, a mannerism that has entrenched a morbid value system in which mediocrity is often celebrated over excellence.

We consider as absurd the reality that 51 years after independence, ethnic-religious/tribal sentiments still dominate the front burner of national discourse in a country that professes unity in diversity. The nation must watch it otherwise, she might be getting closer to the US prediction of Armageddon that might come in 2015.

With proper planning and sincerity of purpose on the part of the government, Vision 2020, that virtuous global policy target in the comity of civilised nations is realisable in the country too. The new era of dignifying citizenship that is in tandem with the rest of humanity which successive governments had promised but which has remained elusive can only become a reality if the present administration appreciates how bad things are and makes conscious and sustained efforts to remedy the situation. We can do better 51 years after independence. That is what the Asian Tigers that were on the same level of development with us in the 1960s have shown. Unlike Nigeria which is described as the ‘giant of Africa’ only on paper, the Asian Tigers are today true tigers that even the developed countries can no longer ignore.

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Tsiga and his NYSC legacy was dear to General Tsiga and the evidence can be seen in the unprecedented increment in the monthly allowances from nine thousand seven hundred and twenty five

naira (N9,725) to nineteen thousand eight hundred naira (N19,800).

The NYSC has equally signed a memorandum of understanding with Health Maintenance Organi-

zations (HMOs) so that corps members could benefit from the National Health Insurance Scheme NHIS programme of the Federal Government. This gives them free

and easy access to healthcare wherever they are.

In his more than two years at the helm, his advocacy visits to stakeholders have brought about positive changes in the scheme. Presently, there are less than 10 states without a permanent orientation camp and more corps lodges have been built across the country.

Tsiga left footprints that the sands of time will never wash and his name, even after serving out his tenure in the NYSC, will forever remain synonymous with the scheme.

Suleiman Kawu, Abuja

Solving Lagos traffic problem H

ORNS. Worried faces. Rough driving. Murmurings. These are what Lagosians experience daily . Lagos traffic has been a problem that has lingered for so long.

Governments have come and gone but nothing has really been done to solve this problem. Lagos state is referred to as the centre of excellence but when it comes to the roads and traffic, a lot still has to be done.

Can you imagine that in Lagos, a journey of 15 minutes could take hours? It can be very frustrating at times in that the traffic tends to change one’s plans for the day. It could even make one miss a very important appointment or interview.

The causes of Lagos traffic are not far-fetched. One of the causes is overpopulation. There are so many people in the city and each day, everyone gets on the roads to make a living. This tends to increase the number of vehicles on the road

thereby contributing to long traffic.

Another cause is the bad driving of vehicle owners. Everyone in Lagos is always in a hurry to get to their various destinations. Drivers, especially commercial drivers usually form illegal lanes and block the roads.

Furthermore, the issue of bad roads is also a major problem in Lagos because most are federal roads which the federal government has left unrepaired. Governor Babatunde Fashola has to be commended for work well done in the repair of Lagos roads and not waiting for the

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which has just scaled through the second reading.

One argument in support of same sex marriage is that, denying same sex couples legal access to marriage and all of its benefits represent discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Another is the assertion that financial, psychological and physical wellbeing are enhanced by marriage, and that the children of same sex couples benefit from being raised by two parent within a legally recognized un-

federal government.

The problem of Lagos traffic can be solved if drivers learn to drive responsibly on the marked- out lanes; if violators are punished and bad roads are repaired.

Abu Esther, Abule Egba, Lagos

Same sex marriage bill

N many countries, same sex marriages are being legalized.

Interestingly, these countries are the industrialized nation and Nigeria is fast paced trailing after them with the millennium goal of becoming one of the best 20 economies in the world by the year 2020.

It is no news that prostitution and abortion have been legalized in these countries, and Nigeria in her bid to retain her decency is passing a bill prohibiting same sex marriage

ions supported by society’s institution.

There are increasing numbers of homosexuals and lesbians in secondary schools and tertiary institutions.

The government can only prohibit it but cannot stop the practice which has already eaten deep into the Nigerian system, as various cases of fathers molesting their sons are on the increase.

Chukwu Chinemere, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

14

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Comment & Analysis

Towards the big dialogue with Boko Haram Ropo Sekoni ropo.sekoni @thenationonlineng.net

M

ANY revelations have been crowding the nation’s screen in the last few days on the future of Boko Haram or of the country itself.

President Jonathan ‘applied his heart unto wisdom’ recently as Christians are fond of saying. He engaged publicly in self-expectoration. He assured Nigerians that he does not have the strength of Goliath or the wickedness of Pharaoh and that Nigerians should not expect him to treat the menace of Boko Haram with the dispatch expected of army generals. He did not get to say that he might have the courage and luck of David. But he left signs to suggest that he might be on the way to having some Solomonic traits with which to transform Nigeria without brute force or raw stamina. In other words, President Jonathan has his own game plan to deal with Boko Haram’s terrorism that is threatening to tear the nation apart.

Not too far from Abuja, Governor Babangida Aliyu threw his own light on the Boko Haram menace. He called on Northern leaders to address the matter of Boko Haram with honesty of purpose and in unambiguous language. He even went further to say that the problem of underdevelopment of the North can be

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

‘I

NDEED our recent political experience, more than at any time in our history, considerably vitiated our past gains. However, the emergence of the progressives in the Southwest – following the recent general elections in April 2011, creates an opportunity to reverse the trend. Part of the actions that must be taken is to formulate and commence the implementation of a composite and irreversible regional development strategy, anchored on providential leverages and strong commonalities, to create synergy and economies of scale. It remains even more imperative given the additional benefit of a shared political ideology.

Indeed, most of the States that constitute the Western Region of old are currently being governed by a single political party- the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)’ This series 1-3, will attempt to democratise, or if you prefer, socialise by bringing to the public space, a strategic document which took long hours of real hard-work which included at least one trip abroad to interact and brainstorm with the YORUBA DIASPORA and was capped by a 3-Day excruciating IBADAN RETREAT that pulled together some of the brilliant and critical minds that abound in the Yoruba nation. The series, though may not come in weekly chronological order depending on happenings in the Nigerian polity which may require some rapid response. They will, however, help in enabling the people for whose economic well-being it was put together to buy into it as well as allow our compatriots from other parts of the country to know that all we seek is happiness and good life for our people. We also

Jonathan needs to invite cultural leaders to dialogue with Boko Haram leader traced to the feet of the region’s leaders.

In sum, he said that if Nigeria is to be rid of Boko Haram, the leaders of the North, the birthplace of the terror gang, must be ready to give development and modernization a chance in their rhetoric and policy.

Furthermore, the Presidential Committee set up to identify the faces behind Boko Haram and the sect’s grievances came out with its own report. Although the report has not identified the faces behind what has become known internationally as Nigeria’s Taliban or Al Qaeda, it however encourages the government to enter into dialogue with the group. What a coincidence! The thinking of the committee is in sync with the self-assessment of the President. Both President Jonathan and members of his committee on how to approach the problem of Boko Haram agree that what is needed to end the menace of Boko Haram is not the force of army generals or Goliath, but the poetry of David or the wisdom of Solomon.

It is instructive to remember that Solomon listened attentively to all sides in a conflict before reaching any conclusion. For example, when two women claiming to be biological mothers of one child came to Solomon for adjudication, Solomon heard each one out before threatening to slice the child into two for the two women and before the final revelation on the true mother of the child. President Jonathan needs to know that the dialogue his government plans to have with Boko Haram must be elevated to the level of polylogue, not just an exchange of views between the ter-

rorists and his government but a national discussion on how to keep the country’s diverse cultures from threatening one another.

To think that Boko Haram is just an organization that is out to create difficulties for the government of President Jonathan is to over simplify the matter.

The sect is also through its rhetoric and actions interrogating the existence of Nigeria as one entity or one nation that can be united despite its diversity. It is one thing to talk members of the sect out of their commitment to bomb government institutions and kill security agents. It is another thing to convince the sect that its ideology is the wrong one for a multiethnic state. Direct and indirect victims of Boko Haram’s ideology of intolerance are from all sections of Nigeria. Those that were not killed by the sect’s bombs have been forced to relocate from where they make a living. In addition, university students have been traumatized by fear of the arrival of Boko Haram’s bombs on their campuses. The average citizen all over the country has been living in fear because of an organization that chooses to impose its worldview on others in a country that is being held together by the promise of democracy and freedom of thought and action.

President Jonathan needs to use the opportunity of dialogue with Boko Haram to invite cultural leaders (as distinct from political representatives currently in the National Assembly) from the country’s nationalities to participate in a national dialogue with leaders of

Boko Haram. This is the time to allow spokespersons for other worldviews in the country (apart from Boko Haram’s) to hear each other out. This is the time for Nigerians that want Sharia and those that want other models of jurisprudence to debate what is best or acceptable to majority of Nigerians. This is the time to hold the national dialogue that has been repressed for too long.

For over forty years, Nigerians have been told that there are certain areas of national discourse that are No Go areas. This is what aids the popularity of the phrase that Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable. If Boko Haram has done any good unintentionally, it is that it has deconstructed the myth of indivisibility and non-negotiability of the Nigeria Project. For Boko Haram to have succeeded in using its method to force a dialogue in a country that has shunned dialogue for several decades is a sign that commands the attention of citizens and self-determination groups: the use of force against the state is not always dangerous for the group that uses such force. On the contrary, it can in fact bring pride to such group, as it appears to have done in the conclusion of the committee on Boko Haram that what is needed is dialogue between the government and the terrorists. For Boko Haram not to become a model for other self-determination groups, there is a need for the dialogue with the sect to be turned into an all-comers polylogue.

This is the time for President Jonathan to provide non-violent Solomonic leadership. This is the time for him and his advisers to recognize that there is division in the land, despite the stridency of the rhetoric of unity. The culture con-

Dawn-development agenda for Western Nigeria (1) ...agitates for competitive communalism in the southwest hope it will ginger up other nationalities because we are, after all, like a giant river being served by various tributaries. If one be polluted, all will be damned. Together, we can achieve true federalism in which each region can develop, unmolested, at its own pace.

I was privileged to be on the Afenifere Renewal Group’s delegation to present the DAWN document to our state governors. In this regard, we have met with Dr Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, Senator Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state and between the very godly hours of 11 -1 am on Tuesday, 27 September, 2011, we were guests of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, governor of Osun state.

Each of these visits have a full story of their own but space constraints will permit that I dwell, a little while later, on only the one to Osun state. Also this article will make a deliberate effort to allow the DAWN document speak for itself.

For purposes of clarity, the following are the principles under-guiding the DAWN document: The dawn vision To make the Southwest region of Nigeria the first place of choice to live, to work and to visit.

The context

By Southwest region of Nigeria, we refer to the Southwest geo-political zone as a definitional boundary comprising Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo. The context also recognises the co-terminosity of neighbouring States that may be willing to engage and be part of this development agenda.

The underpinning philosophy Dawn agitates for competitive communalism that fosters inclusiveness, and will nurture every citizen of the Region as an important

contributor to its social and economic advancement, and an equal beneficiary of opportunities created by the governments of the Region, and can also act as an agent of prosperity in an environment where each one acts as his/her brother’s or sister’s keeper.

Background The Yoruba who populate the South-western states of Nigeria are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. These states are: Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo states, with a sizeable Yoruba population found in adjoining states of Kwara, Kogi and Delta. The Yoruba constitute about 21% of the total population of the country.

Beyond the shores of Nigeria, some of the indigenous communities of the Yoruba are found in Benin Republic, Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica and Togo. The Yoruba, irrespective of their political affiliations, revere Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo for his visionary leadership and achievements, especially while he served as the Premier of the now defunct Western Region of Nigeria.

Some of the widely commended achievements of Chief Awolowo in office include: free universal primary education, free and comprehensive health policies, the founding of the Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), the first television station on the African continent, the building of the Liberty Stadium (now referred to as the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium), the building of the Cocoa House, which for a long time, was the tallest building in Nigeria, the founding of various Research Institutes on agricultural research, and the creation of a world-class and widely respected Civil Service in the Western region of Nigeria.

Historically, the processes that have culminated in the creation of the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Nigeria are the result of a complex political arrangement and rearrangement, rather than a search for economic efficiency. It is safe to assert that it also reflects the fear of the central government not to lose control of its over lordship over the entire country. The outcome is that the atomized states are saddled with important expenditure responsibilities, but the central government retains 52 percent of revenue accruing to the Federation account. This is a paradox, given that independent Nigeria had historically been a Federal system until the advent of the military in 1966. The military retained the name “Federal Republic of Nigeria”, but proceeded to re-structure the entire country along central command lines.

All efforts to restructure have been shot down by successive federal administration possibly out of fear , or respect, of those who inflicted them on the country, in the first instance. Restructuring the country, however, is a thing whose time has come and no amount of gerrymandering will succeed in killing it off. Indeed, the forthcoming constitutional review by the National Assembly should be enough for patriots and lovers of this country to bring this about as the alternative could see Nigeria graduate into another Somalia since as the saying goes, those who make peaceful change impossible make revolutions an absolute necessity.

Let me conclude this first part by quoting here, my report of our visit to the Osun state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com:

flict between Boko Haram and other selfdetermination groups in the country is a sign that must not be ignored. It signals the need for national renewal. It is remarkable that when Nigeria’s traditional rulers met during Obasanjo’s presidency to examine calls from different sections of the country for re-structuring, the Northeast and the Northwest were the two regions that objected to the call for review of the constitution and restructuring of the federation. It is an irony of history that it is the Northeast that is ten years later an indirect promoter of re-structuring through the activities of Boko Haram.

There is no peaceful way for Christians, Animists, and Moslems to live in the same country if one section of the country insists on Sharia (as Boko Haram has done) without risking the experience of Sudan. The signs are clear that Nigerians do not want to balkanize their country unless it becomes difficult to hold the country together. NBA’s recent decision to raise a constitution review panel is a patriotic effort to sustain the nation’s unity. The organisation’s fear is worth noting: “We are witnesses to tragic effects in other nations who, for one reason or the other, were unable to manage their ethnic, religious, racial and other differences through ascertained constitutional framework.”

The opportunity for dialogue between Boko Haram and the federal government should be expanded to put the country on the road to renewal through re-structuring. The current effort to add state police to the menu of security agencies in the National Assembly cannot substitute for the creation of a people’s constitution.

‘We were with Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola between 11-1 AM i.e. past midnight that is, and you would just be proud to be Yoruba.

That man who the enemies would love to see dead from “cancer”, but which God forbid, has completely written off the 25Billion loan those other people took, and ALL of which they drew down the very day it was approved, through a rigorous and hardheaded financial engineering that today leaves the state with a buoyant investibuble portfolio. As you read this Ogbeni has had, ALREADY MANUFACTURED IN CHINA, 40 railway locomotives to evacuate farm products to Lagos .

He has secured from the Nigerian Railway Corporation, FREE freighting of farm products to Lagos just as manufactured goods will come from Lagos to Oshogbo free freight to beat down prices i.e. you will buy at Oshogbo, not a penny more than at Oshodi or Balogun.

For Food Security, three thousand (3000) Hectares of land has been prepared, and ready to be given free of charge to ANYBODY interested and ready to go into food production. But you have seen nothing yet until you hear Ogbeni talk about his major project in Education which he pleaded, consequent upon a question from the writer, should be kept under wraps for now because it is going to be the next best thing to Awo’s immortal Free Education programme in Western Region.

Now I, deliberately leaving out from this report, the sure-footed, hard -nosed socio-political engineering Kayode Fayemi has set apace in Ekiti because ,as I once wrote here, I can follow that gentleman blind- folded into a raging battle.

I narrate all these here just to let it be known to enemies of the Yoruba nation, be they internal or from outside the region, that they act only in vain.

It is certain that it is not a mere co-incidence ,that the SOUTH-WEST today has in place, the gentlemen currently shouldering the affairs of state.

It is obviously the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Tunji

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

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan seems to be catching up fast in talking the talk.

But whether he can walk the talk is a different matter entirely. And this is what precisely his critics want him to do. But the president’s speech at the country’s 51st Independence Anniversary Lecture held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Auditorium in Abuja on September 27, which was meant to be an answer to the criticisms about his style of governance did not sufficiently address the concerns.

The theme of the lecture was “Nigeria in transformation”. Obviously, some sycophantic civil servants selected the theme. And obviously too, they took it from President Jonathan’s inaugural speech on may 29, after the election that brought him to power in April. The president had said then that with his election as president, our lamentations were over and that it was welcome to transformation.

The president has said nothing particularly new concerning his dream.. Part of that dream is to bequeath a legacy of structures that work. “I normally say that, look, when we strengthen our institutions, the system will begin to roll properly…’ One surprising thing about President Jonathan is that he talks as if he does not remember that he has been a part of that past that took us to our present pitiable state. For instance, if the coun-

Comment & Analysis

15

Jonathan and his critics The President’s reply to criticisms does not explain much try lacked structures, is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the president belongs to, and which he has remained a frontline member of right from his days as deputy governor in Bayelsa State not a major contributory factor to this lack of structures? The PDP has been in power at the centre since the return to democratic rule in 1999, what efforts did it make to lay the foundation for enduring structure? Rather than lay foundation for structures, the party has been busy undermining some of the last structures standing, the Judiciary, for example.

Another major flaw of the president is his casual approach to issues. This again manifested in the September 27 speech when he said, and I quote, inter alia: “Now, we are in the process of that transformation. By the time we finish setting up all these structures, surely Nigeria will get to where we are all hoping that we will get to. I have no fear about that” (emphasis mine). I have a feeling that given our experiences with successive administrations, President Jonathan is alone in this not having doubt about that. Nigerians must have learnt the terrible lesson

that when their leaders say something, they have to be at best, cynical, if not completely expect the exact opposite. The fact is that successive governments have made the country another Jeremiah, as she is in perpetual period of lamentation.

The transformation that Jonathan promised is yet to come. It is yet to be felt, and the fear is that it may not come if truly morning shows the day; it may forever remain elusive if the Jonathan administration continues to move at its present snail speed. Nigerians need more than the optimism that the President is always expressing. They want concrete action. They are used to such say-nothing rhetoric. President Shehu Shagari o told us in his time that Nigerians should expect ‘Housing for all by the year 2000’.

That was part of his own dream.

But it never materialised. Indeed, it was never intended to materialise, as the Shagari administration did nothing to make it materialise; it was a mere political slogan.

Again, the president got it all wrong when he said some Nigerians wanted him to be acting like a general. Apparently, the president has forgotten the second leg of his official title, hence, his saying that

“What I am sure of is that whichever tendencies President Jonathan ultimately manifests cannot be a problem. For every Pharaoh, there is a Moses; and for every Goliath, a David. There is God Himself for every Nebuchadnezzar”

he is not a general. Has the president forgotten that he is not just President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but also commander-inchief? As commander-in-chief, he is even more than a general. All generals must bow and tremble at his feet as their commander-in-chief.

But the president didn’t quite get what his administration’s critics are saying. They are not saying he should go gaga in exercising the powers Nigerians handed him at the polls. Rather, what they are saying is that he is not moving at a pace commensurate with the challenges facing the country. What they are saying is that his measures so far do not inspire any hope that we are right on track and that there is hope at the end of the tunnel. And they are right, especially so that the president did not just assume office on May 29. He had remained a part and parcel of the PDP top hierarchy since 1999 by virtue of the various offices he had occupied. .

What Jonathan’s critics expect him to do is to move, not in the dictatorial manner that some of the soldiers who ruled us in the past moved, but there is this decisiveness known with soldiers that people expect him to bring to bear on governance which he does not seem to get.

Anyway, what did it matter if the president chooses to operate whether like Pharaoh or Goliath, this is not new to Nigerians. We’ve had such men in the past, Nebuchadnezzar and all, but Nigerians dealt with them all. Even the one that everyone had thought

could only be removed by bloodshed expired like a chicken, it didn’t cost us a single bullet.

Nigerians may not be able to tell what sort of man Jonathan is today.

But they will soon know. He looks so innocuously harmless, but some of his government’s actions of late, especially that of looking the other way when certain wrongs are being perpetrated, or acting ostensibly in line with common sense, are fast giving us a clue as to his real identity. With the removal of fuel subsidy in the pipeline, and the expected resistance to follow it, the seat will definitely become hotter for the president and this will, hopefully and ultimately, bring out his true colours.

It is then and only then that we will know who the president actually is: Pharaoh, Goliath, general or Nebuchadnezzar. What I am sure of is that whichever tendencies President Jonathan ultimately manifests cannot be a problem. For every Pharaoh, there is a Moses; and for every Goliath, a David.

There is God Himself for every Nebuchadnezzar.

APOLOGY I apologise for my inability to come out in the last two weeks. It was due to circumstances beyond my control. I thank readers who sent in text messages and made calls to find out what the matter was. Thank God I am back.

How not to kill the children’s dreams Postscript, Unlimited!

By

Oyinkan Medubi 08187172799 (SMS only) puchuckles7@gmail.com

M

ODERN children no longer have any dreams; their modern parents dream for them. Just think. From the time of their conception (decided of course by the parents), it is the parents who decide when and where their children receive formal education.

They go ‘We’re homeschooling Jnr. We don’t want him coming in contact with the ruffians they release into the playgrounds these days.’ It is the parents who also decide where Jnr. receives his secondary education. So, when Jnr. goes, ‘But all my friends are going to the public school!’ you’ll say ‘You’ll go to this very special school even if it kills you. Your father went there, your grandfather went there, your great grandfather went there. You think you are too special to go to the same school your ancestors attended?’ Then, it’s the parents who get to perform all kinds of experiments on the little ones.

‘Jnr. is getting too big for his shoes these days, not so? It’s because he doesn’t have to struggle for his food.

Let’s throw him into my uncle’s house where they have ten children and then we’ll see how he grows up.’ As I read somewhere, there is no dictatorship in the world that can compare to that of a parent.

Just as parents have learnt to be tyrannous, so children have learnt to be wise. There is no sage in the world, not even Solomon, who can confront the wisdom of children. Children learn early that life is a lot more comfortable and easier when they simply obey mama and papa. They also tend to live longer than the parents. It’s not just the destiny thing at work; it’s the fact that they sit back, relaxed, as they watch their parents sweat themselves out taking decisions about their children’s lives, and then proceed to source for the means to execute the decisions. And so, while the parents are huffing and heaving on how Jnr. can finish school and go to Europe for his Masters, the said Jnr. is setting benchmarks for the town’s social life with his pals who find themselves in the same boat: waiting for their parents to get the money for their trip. Now, tell me, who is wiser?

Growing up in the habit of not thinking for themselves, our children have gone out of control mainly because their parents have spiraled out of control in their mindless pursuit of relevance in the lives of the poor things. I once spent some early morning hours looking for hostel accommodation for my sleeping son. Many children are not even allowed to think.

‘And what do you want to be when you grow up?’ ‘I don’t know yet.

I’ll ask my mum’. Mum says, DOC-

TOR, and Jnr. returns: ‘I want to be a doctor.’

One of the most unfortunate things about this country is this lack of policy about anything other than ‘let everyone go and grow up in the best way they can’. Just as there is no transport policy other than ‘don’t ride on other people’s backs’, no housing policy other than ‘make sure your house does not topple on anyone other than yourself’, no town planning policy other than ‘don’t build on Aso Rock’, no speeding policy except ‘speed but don’t get caught’, so also there is no youth policy other than ‘children, go to school’. And so, children find themselves completely at the mercy of their parents and their peers on life’s little advances and rules. Yet, no one is more unequipped to hand out good rules than parents who are caught in the throes of deriving severe pleasures from the tyranny they exercise over their children. To prolong this tyranny, many parents have been known to beg, borrow or steal.

Why do parents have a compelling need to control their children’s lives in Nigeria? I honestly don’t know. In Europe, I understand children are released to make their own way in the world by the age of eighteen, no matter how rich their parents. In Nigeria, however, some unreleased masochistic tendencies are standing in the way of good sense. Did you notice that these tendencies began to manifest at about the same time that the AIDS virus was released into the air? The two have some things in common too.

They generally affect men and women, do not discriminate be-

tween rich and poor and both are terminal diseases. Perhaps, some parents’ educational-cum-career development processes were so tough in the days of few opportunities that they swore their children would not be so inopportune. Perhaps, and this is my favourite, many parents have realised that the world has been made so unsafe (possibly by them) and so they have to protect their wee ones. Perhaps, modern Nigerian parenthood is now a minefield filled with mines of vanity and ego … Who knows, really?

Whatever the causes, there are no doubts about the results. Somewhere in the deep recesses or the twilight zones of dreams lie those of these children. Rather than fight to realize them, the children spend their days in a daze of wonder: what is the next instruction, O Parent Almighty? Worse, they find themselves moving from one dizzying experience to another, with nothing in their control, until they snap. One such son did, not too long ago. The papers reported how he had been so indulged in drink and drugs that he hardly knew what he was doing anymore, not even being able to account for how he came to have killed an unfortunate young lady. Rather than help him face his demons, however, his all-knowing parent, mother precisely, ‘helped’ him to flee justice by parceling him abroad. There, he fared no better, of course, until he was forced to come back home and resume his lifestyle. In frustration one day, he was said to have come to his own eureka – his mother was behind his ruin. In snuffing the life

out of her, he reasoned, he was uprooting the source of his ruins.

There is yet the story of another young man who had also been indulged from youth because he was the only male among a bevy of female children. Well, generally speaking, most females often continue their education somewhat after marriage. But God help the son who is not able to resolve his own internal turbulence, like this son; it’s worse than a hurricane or a raging inferno. That’s right. He set his parent’s house on fire for their tardiness in providing him what he had been used to. I know of yet several stories in which sons (it happens to daughters too, I know) sold their doting mothers’ entire investments of jewelry while both women were abroad. It led to their deaths, at different times, of course.

Parental Guidance (PG) is only a license given to adults to practice law within the home, not a right to practice the tyranny of indulgence as many of us do presently. When a modern Nigerian parent learns that his recently graduated son has fixed his starting salary at over two hundred thousand Naira in a job interview as we reported on this page sometime ago, does he become outraged?

Most of us are not. That is where the problem lies. We should be outraged. In fact, we should be so outraged that we want to spank his graduate behind. Rather, most of us are so proud of his savvy that we shake his hand and croon, ‘Well done, son, you are your father’s scion,’ and that is our tragedy. Do let the children have their dreams back, please.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Focus

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

17

NIGERIA AT 51

Living in pain C

HARLES Nweke, 48, tells everyone who cares to listen he is a walking corpse. ‘’I died many years ago my brother,’’ he reiterated last Wednesday. He had attempted suicide more than four times.

On each occasion, vigilant neighbours rescued him. The graduate of Economics lost his job over eight years ago. The textile company where he worked in Isolo, Lagos folded up following severe economic down turn and the unrestricted importation of textiles and fabrics. Since then, living has been anything but pleasant for the father of five.

He rides a rickety motorcycle which his brother-in-law passed on to him about two years ago. Everyday Nweke picks welldressed passengers in the Isolo-Oshodi axis, he tells them he is an employable graduate.

“I have a degree but I am just doing this

As the country marks its 51st Independence anniversary, millions of Nigerians live without basic necessities, making living extremely difficult, writes Sunday Oguntola (riding motorcycle) to survive.’’ Last week’s encounter was particularly touching and heart-rending.

Appalling standards of living Nweke while narrating in graphic details his daily struggle with poverty said: “To say living has been tough is to understate the fact. My family has been surviving on only what could be described as ration meals. My three older children are hawkers in Oshodi. I can only manage to send them to a public school with intermittent stoppage owing to financial difficulties. My wife is down with a curable sickness; so she cannot even do anything.’’

Every day, he makes an average of N1,

500. But he goes home with less than N500 after paying park fees, settling policemen and sundry expenses. ‘’This is what Nigeria has reduced me to, a graduate riding ‘okada’,‘’ he bemoaned. A visit to the park revealed most of the riders have one academic qualification or the other. Four of them are graduates like Nweke; two have National Diploma (ND) while five have Senior Secondary School certificates. Yet, they are resigned to a lifetime of riding motorcycles.

But Nweke is still a king compared to Tobi Agboola, 34. He is one of the several homeless boys in Oshodi. They call him ‘’King of boys’’ in the ‘dungeon’ where he lives in a run-down building close to

because the trickledown effect is low and it may take longer time than anticipated.

There is little reason to believe that this wider diversion can be narrowed without much intensive effort”, he said.

Growing poverty cycle Current figures from the National Population Commission (NPC) put Nigeria’s population at about 150 million.

If, according to Sanusi, 70 per cent of this figure live below the poverty line, then 105 million Nigerians are in this position, with only 45 million above the line.

Mafoluku. Surviving has been a tug of war for him. Every day he wakes up as early as 4am after severe night cold to source for commercial vehicles. He works as a conductor.

Despite the enormous physical and energetic demands of the job, he goes home with less than N500 every day. ‘’My driver gives me N750 every day. By the time I eat and do other things, I am left with less than N500,’’ he stated during an encounter.

Last year, he ‘graduated’ as a vulcaniser after three years of rigorous apprenticeship. He learnt the trade for just two hours in the evenings every day. But his dream of eking a living out of the trade appears dead. ‘’I don’t have money to rent a space or even buy equipment. There is no one to help out.

All I make is just to get by,’’ he submitted. He had been tempted to join bad gangs around him many times but had been restrained by his late mother’s warning. ‘’She used to tell me that a good name is better than gold and silver,’’ he reminisced.

If Agboola is getting by, Kingsley Emeka, 27, merely exists. He works in a Lagos middle-class neighbourhoods as a scavenger.

He combs gutters, dustbins and abandoned buildings for household items, which are sold for recycling. ‘’I make like N200 every day,’’ he revealed. That is even when business ‘‘moves’’. It comes at great risk and effort. ‘’I work everywhere, everyday. I start from the morning and stop whenever I am totally tired. Sometimes, people chase us.

Some more wicked people have released their dogs on us or even ask their security guards to chase us away. But this is the only ‘way’ I know and I cannot stop now because I must eat,’’ he stated.

If the World Bank or any of those international agencies are looking for someone who lives on less than the proverbial one

• Continued on page 18

• Continued on page 56

Still poor at 51 For a country that held much promise at Independence owing to its enormous natural and human resources, at 51, poverty has become for most Nigerians, a metaphor of existence, writes Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

I

•Lamido

N times past, things were at tolerable limit for most Nigerians, but the poverty situation in the country today is so grim that it would take a miracle to turn the tide.

Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, captured the situation succinctly at a public forum earlier in the year. Speaking at the 5th Annual Microfinance Conference and Entrepreneurship Awards in Abuja, Sanusi said the number of people living below poverty line has increased to about 70 per cent.

“The scenario is unacceptable to CBN

18

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

NIGERIA AT 51

Rich nation, poor citizens • Continued from page 17

The poverty ration was previously put at 54 per cent.

Echoing similar views, the DirectorGeneral of the National Office for Technological Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr Umar Bindir, while speaking at the third yearly National Programme Management Conference on Technology Acquisition and Promotion recently attributed the crisis of poverty in the country to lack of effective leadership.

According to Dr. Bindir , “60 per cent to 70 per cent of the Nigerian population, which translates to more than 100 million Nigerians, live in poverty in a typical Nigerian situation”.

With this grim statistics it is perhaps right to conclude that Nigeria should forget about its tall dream of becoming even one of the top 40 developing economies in the world. Majority of the poor people reside in rural areas and cut across youth, women and elderly people. It is estimated that 12 million out of the 150 million Nigerians are unemployed, youth and women form the chunk of this figures and majority of them lack access to credit facility.

Besides, the financially excluded people in Nigeria are 46.3 per cent of the population and there is low level of bank penetration in the country.

According to statistics, 49.9 percent of youth within the age of 15 and 24 years residing in the urban areas have no job while 39.6 percent of their counterparts in rural areas are also not employed.

Figures from the National Bureau of

•Another fuel queue

Statistics (NBS) put the number of unemployed women in the urban areas at 22 per cent and those in the rural areas at 24 per cent.

Sadly so, all indices paint a gloomy picture for Nigeria in nearly all facets of her national life.

For instance, the Human Development Index (HDI) first developed by the late Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, which is a summary composite index that measures a country’s average achievements in three basic aspects of human development: health, knowledge, and income, have shown in successive years, Nigeria’s slow pace of development.

Nigeria’s HDI is 0.423, which gives the country a rank of 142 out of 169 countries with comparable data.

The HDI of Sub-Saharan Africa as a region increased from 0.293 in 1980 to 0.389 today, placing Nigeria above the regional average. The HDI trends tell an important story both at the national and regional level and highlight the very large gaps in well-being and life chances that continue to divide our interconnected world.

2010 Report Advances in the HDI have occurred across all regions and almost all countries–the only exceptions are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Widening corruptive malaise It is however instructive to note that corruption is at the centre of the crisis of poverty in the country.

Besides, successive leaders have failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 95% of foreign exchange earnings and about 80% of budgetary revenues.

Beyond systemic decay, corruption in the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government at all levels is alarming to say the least.

Funds, both from home and abroad had also been secured in the past and purportedly invested for the purposes of growing the sector. Most of these efforts,

“Current figures from the National Population Commission (NPC) put Nigeria’s population at about 150 million. If, according to Sanusi, 70 per cent of this figure live below the poverty line, then 105 million Nigerians are in this position, with only 45 million above the line.”

•Making do with second-hand clothes

unfortunately, had been lost to severe corruption. Excruciating debts have left the economy in a parlous state for decades.

However, following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion credit from the IMF, both contingents on economic reforms.

Nigeria pulled out of its IMF programme in April 2002, after failing to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it ineligible for additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club.

In November 2005, Abuja won Paris Club approval for a debt-relief deal that eliminated $18 billion of debt in exchange for $12 billion in payments - a total package worth $30 billion of Nigeria’s total $37 billion external debt.

Since 2008 the government has begun to show the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as modernizing the banking system, curbing inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and resolving regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry. GDP rose strongly in 2007-10 because of increased oil exports and high global crude prices in 2010.

But analysts are hard pressed to believe that the country may have literarily worked itself back to the debt trap, with the recent approval of advanced funding of about $550million from the Brentwood institution.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the nation’s Economic Manager, made reference to this while speaking with the press last week in Washington DC, after the recent meeting of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF).

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

PAGE 19

When intellectuals celebrate yam Page 21

•A medical laboratory technician on duty •A Standard medical laboratory

A

LL the tell-tale signs clearly suggested that Mrs Helen Oladejo, a private secondary school teacher resident at Ogba, Ikeja area of Lagos, was pregnant.

For over one week she was throwing up, most times early in the morning. She also felt dizzy and so weak that preparing for the day’s work an arduous task.

This happened just three months after her marriage. With subdued excitement, but not wanting to be too optimistic that she was indeed pregnant, she broached the issue with her husband, Dele, a pharmacist.

Also excited about the prospect of being a father for the first time, the 36 year old health professional, Dele, however, calmly instructed his wife to undergo a medical test to ascertain her actual health status.

Helen, 29, quickly called her boss for permission to resume duties much later in the day. Pronto, she dashed to a medical laboratory tucked inside a busy street just three bus-stops away from her residence.

After clearly stating her mission to the personnel on duty, her blood samples were taken, with the result expected within 30 minutes.

Deep inside of her, Helen Oladejo was quickly praying that the result of the test should confirm her expectations.

But she was stunned when the man who took her blood samples returned to where she was seated, and casually handed her a sealed envelope containing the ‘result’ of the test.

Curious to find out if truly she was pregnant, Oladejo had asked the man, “is my pregnancy test positive?” But she was stunned when the man, looking halfawake retorted, “Madam, you are not pregnant; what you have is small malaria, small typhoid!”

Obviously displeased with what she’d been told, but simply not ready to engage in any arrangement with the ‘medical laboratory scientist,” Oladejo quickly took her exit.

Her husband, too, had his doubts about the authenticity of the result. The following

False tests Fake laboratories are sprouting rapidly all over Lagos State and other parts of the country generating concern among the populace and health industry, reports Remi Adelowo day, he personally took his wife to another medical laboratory, which was recommended to him by a colleague. And to say that the young couple were over the moon when it was confirmed that the wife was pregnant is like stating the obvious.

Mr and Mrs Pious Omofuma, another couple, also had a similar experience.

On this particular day, their second child, Peter aged 6, had developed a very high temperature.

Then, an argument ensued between husband and wife whether the boy should first be taken to a medical laboratory or the hospital.

Eventually, Mrs Omofuma bowed to her husband’s argument that Peter should be subjected to a test at a nearby medical laboratory at Egbeda of Lagos.

According to Mr Omofuma who spoke to The Nation on Sunday, “I should have listened to my wife. The laboratory we went to carried out a test on my son and the result, according to the man in charge, indicated the boy had typhoid.

“I thought it was something we could

handle ourselves. And so, I bought some antibiotic, believing the boy would recover in matter of days. But instead, his condition got worse. We took him to the General Hospital, Ikeja, where another test conducted, showed that the boy had swallowed an object while playing with his mates in school.”

In Lagos and other states in the country, millions of Nigerians have ugly stories to tell of their experiences in the hands of quacks masquerading as qualified medical laboratory scientists, who are fleecing them of their hard-earned money all in the name of conducting medical tests on their clients.

Even more worrisome is the increasing cases of registered medical laboratories conducting sub-standard tests on patients, thus resulting in fake results.

In an interview with The Nation on Sunday, Mr Lawrence Dele-Adeagbo, who is Managing Director/CEO, Latma International Medical Diagnostic Centre, Lagos, the rate at which quacks and nonprofessionals are feasting on the industry indicates that it is a lucrative business

“In Lagos and other states in the country, millions of Nigerians have ugly stories to tell of their experiences in the hands of quacks masquerading as qualified medical laboratory scientists, who are fleecing them of their hard-earned money all in the name of conducting medical tests on their clients.”

through which they make quick money.

While describing the situation as “worrisome”, Adeagbo though admitted that setting up a medical laboratory is lucrative, he said that should not be the motive for setting it up. “This is a humanitarian service and a professional with his or her name must put the lives of patients into serious consideration while carrying out his or her work,” he said.

His views were in tandem with that of two other medical laboratory scientists, Mr Ayandare Muritala Onaolapo and Mr Fred Ujadughele.

Onaolapo, a 1994 graduate of Medical Laboratory Science from the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, who runs Onaolapo Medical Diagnostic Centre, Lagos, said, “Some people are simply exploiting the ignorance of Nigerians by setting up medical laboratories that are not well run.”

For Ujadughele, an Ibadan, Oyo Statebased medical laboratory scientist, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, “I think this is a Nigerian problem. Just as we have fake hospitals, there are also fake medical laboratories. The general belief is that there is money to be made in the industry.”

Factors responsible Adeagbo, Onaolapo, Ujudughele spoke extensively on the other factors responsible for the influx of quacks into the industry and the increasing rate of registered laboratories giving wrong medical results to their patients.

•Continued on page 20

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Life

False tests •Continued from page 19

Adeagbo submitted, “First, is the issue of sub-standard equipment leading to improper diagnosis of a patient’s ailment.

Improper diagnosis is caused mainly by using sub-standard reagents, which are the kits used to test patients.

“These reagents can malfunction at the least expected time and a good professional must always check and re-check his reagents to ensure they are functioning at optimal level.”

Onaoplapo provided more insights. He said, “Apart from fake laboratories all over the place, you also find registered medical laboratories which give wrong results of medical test to patients.” He lamented the serious dearth of properly trained medical laboratory scientists from the nation’s higher institutions. His words: “When you interview some of our new graduates, you just feel sorry for this country.

Professionalism has been relegated to the background.”

Onaolapo also pointed out that the seeming lucrative nature of the business has prompted many hospitals to open inhouse medical laboratories.

He continued, “Out of every ten hospitals, at least eight of them have inhouse laboratories. But the problem is that some of these hospitals don’t employ qualified hands to run their lab. You can quote me on this. That is why I blame the monitoring agencies for not doing their job properly. They know these places and even the fake laboratories around, but they turn the other eye due to the Nigerian factors.”

State of Infrastructure Onaolapo and Ujadughele also stated that the epileptic power supply is also responsible for the poor service delivery in the sector. Ujudughele had pointed out, “For the effective functioning of reagents, there must be adequate power.” Onaolapo added, “As we are talking now, there is no power. But, I’m aware that manufacturers of this equipment are producing some reagents that can work for a certain period without electricity.”

Apart from the reagents, our correspondent also learnt that 90 percent of other equipment used by medical laboratories are imported.

Adeagbo, who commended NAFDAC for checking the importation of substandard equipment, also praised local engineers for manufacturing some of the equipment. He, however, added that poor

•A standard medical laboratory

finishing of the equipment has been a source of concern by stakeholders.

The role of monitoring agencies?

While Onaolapo insisted that monitoring agencies know the unregistered laboratories and should clamp down hard on them, Adeagbo and Mr Olawale Oladubu, the chairman of the Association of Medical Laboratories of Nigeria (Lagos State chapter), disagreed. Adeagbo disclosed, “This issue has been on for a long time; the Medical Laboratory Council has been working to sanitise the industry.

Every year, the officials go out and once they find any lab that is not properly registered or professionally run, they close it down.”

Oladubu stated, “We have two bodies – The Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, which is empowered by law to regulate, monitor and administer the sector, while the Association of Medical Laboratories of Nigeria is interested in the overall welfare of its members. We have been conducting regular monitoring in the last five years and it’s an ongoing exercise.”

Killer labs: Tell tale signs What prospective client must watch out registered with the relevant authorities.

According to Adeagbo, “Any good For every prospective patient walking into laboratory must have a qualified medical a laboratory for the first time, all the experts laboratory scientist. There are laboratories who spoke to our correspondent gave the manned by medical laboratory technicians, following tips: First, ensure that you go to a who are mainly graduates of Microbiology, laboratory based on a strong referral. Second Biochemistry or Parasitology. A medical you must watch out for neon signs or stickers laboratory technician can open a laboratory displayed in front of the outfits, and a certificate but such a person must work under the from the Ministry of Health and the supervision of a medical laboratory scientist.”

Association of Medical Laboratories of Nigeria, Ministry of Health’s position which must be conspicuously displayed at When our correspondent contacted the the reception of the laboratory. You must also spokesperson of the Lagos State Ministry of ask relevant questions when in doubt.

Health, Mr Olatunbosun, he declined to speak Those qualified to open a medical on the issue. But an official of the ministry, laboratory who spoke under the condition of anonymity, Though the experts said anyone with the said, “The Ministry of Health has been doing financial wherewithal can set up a medical its best to clamp down on fake laboratories. laboratory, they, however, added that such a Just about two years ago, we published in the person must collaborate with a qualified newspapers names of registered medical medical laboratory scientist, who would use laboratories in Lagos that people should his operating license to get the outfit properly patronize and we would continue to do that.” for

‘I can’t continue with this burden alone’ An entertainer in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Ayodele Orimogunje cries out that his wife eloped with another man, leaving a three-day old sick baby three years ago, Taiwo Abiodun reports

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HIS is one of the trying periods for Ayodele Orimogunje ,31. Looking downcast with misty eyes, Orimogunje walked into the newsroom of the Nation on Sunday with his three year old baby girl. He fought back tears as he narrated the ordeal he is going through.

According to him, he now lives from hand to mouth and, worse still, his three year old daughter, Olounwa Oluwafunmilayo Orimmogunje had been abandoned by his wife who ran away from home and left their ailing baby for him to mind.

According to Orimogunje, when Olounwa was three days old, she developed medical complications as she could not defecate through the normal route ,anus and the mother abandoned her . Now, according to him, the baby seems to be on her way to recovery. However, she needs help, he said.

He said the baby was operated on few days after her condition was discovered.

The operation was carried out by a team of surgeons at the Federal Medical,Hospital Idi -Aba , Abeokuta in Ogun State .They operated on her and

she is now able to release waste through one side of her stomach .She wears pampers on her tummy, and he cleans and washes her whenever it is necessary.

He said his wife fled home when the baby was three days old. He said all efforts to make her come back and take care of the girl proved abortive. He eventually learnt that she eloped with another man.

The last time he heard of the woman, she had delivered a baby for the new man he got married to .

He said he learnt she lives in a remote area where he cannot have access to her .

“I am at a loss as to how a woman would abandon a three day old baby she had as first child . I believe she thought the baby might not survive,” he stated.

Asked whether he reported to her parents , the man replied, “My brother it was hell. I went to report to her parents and begged them to assist me in taking care of the girl. They refused to cooperate.”

Orimogunje, who claims to be financially handicapped, is now appealing to public-spirited individuals to assist him in offsetting the medical bills of his daughter who is due for further operation to perfect her healing.

•Orimogunje with his daughter

•Olounwa

Life

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

I

T was a day of joy and festivity last weekend, as lecturers of Igbo extraction at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, Osun State, along with their friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate the new yam festival.

It is no longer news that the Igbos see and regard yam as the king of all crops. It is the only crop that is celebrated every year by the Igbos. In some parts of Igbo land, the measure and strength of a man is determined by the number of barns of yams he has.

It is not that this is a story only told by Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart, it is a practical reality of life that up till today, yam remains the only crop that can make a farmer a millionaire overnight if he gives all he has to it.

This was why lecturers of Igbo stock at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), IleIfe, Osun State, gathered their friends and well-wishers together last weekend at Ife to celebrate the new yam festival.

In Igbo, it is simply called Iri ji, that is, eating yam, but in a deeper connotation, it is the celebration of yam, the king of all crops.

In order to make this celebration more meaningful, this set of lecturers have formed what they tagged the Umunna Meeting. This is an umbrella under which they meet from time to time to articulate ideas, reminding themselves about the various aspects of Igbo traditions and customs that bind them together. In the first place, Umunna is a name that evokes love, brotherhood and passion. It means a group of people of the same origin, who can trace their ancestry even many generations back, to one father, hence Umunna, meaning children of the same father.

Bearing all these in mind, these lecturers chose to use the essence of new yam festival and a few other ingredients of Igbo norms to stick together and thus keep their kith and kin in the know about who they are and where they come from.

Although this was the second edition of the celebration, the depth of the ceremony went far beyond rhetorics. The lecturers turned out in their numbers with their wives, kids and relations. The arena was adorned with colourful canopies and chairs, while the celebrants turned out in their best traditional attires.

For a while, you’d think it was an arena for a chieftaincy celebration or a place where a king was celebrating his Ofala.

All the chiefs among them came out colourfully in their different red chieftaincy caps decorated with feathers. Some had white horse tails indicating that they are indeed traditional chiefs from their homes and would therefore not violate the customs of their ancestors.

The ceremony began with the traditional ritual of breaking kolanuts. For the Igbo man, kolanut is profoundly symbolic.

It is the soul of friendship and a man has to welcome his visitors with it. It is with it that he wakes up in the morning to salute Chiukwu, his God who gives him life and health.

Chief Anthony Mbanefo who chaired the occasion equally eulogized the place of kola in Igbo norms and beliefs.

A titled Chief from Ogbaru in

When intellectuals celebrate yam Edozie Udeze attended a new yam festival organised by an unusual group of people at Ile Ife, Osun State

•Dr. Alumuno cutting the new yam

•Professor Agbakwuru performing the new yam ritual

Anambra State, Mbanefo first thanked Dr. Victor Alumuno, who hosted the yam festival, for presenting bowels of kolanuts to his visitors. He said in Igbo, “this commodity does not speak, understand or appreciate any other language but Igbo. In our tradition whoever brings kola

brings life. On this occasion, it shows that we are properly welcome by Dr. Alumuno in whose house we are celebrating this Iri ji. People of Igbo descent should continue to respect the kolanuts. Teach your kids this tradition, let them know the processes and procedures of

breaking the kola so that they do not violate the norms of our ancestors.”

He went on, “if your host does not give you kolanut, what he is telling you is that you are not welcome in his house. And it has to be the traditional kolanut with more than two

“The lecturers turned out in their numbers with their wives, kids and relations. The arena was adorned with colourful canopies and chairs, while the celebrants turned out in their best traditional attires. For a while, you’d think it was an arena for a chieftaincy celebration or a place where a king was celebrating his Ofala.”

21

lobes. That is the one we adore and not otherwise.” Mbanefo stated. Then he broke the first kola and then gave some key people in the gathering to do same. Thereafter, it was shared to declare the yam festival officially open.

The Iri ji, was begun properly with the cutting of roasted yams.

The yams were placed on a large tray with kitchen knives to do the cutting.

Then Augustine Agbakwuru, a professor of Surgery who has been conferred with the title of Ezeji Ndi-Igbo, was called forth to cut the yam.

As he stood up, he fished out an oja (flute) from his breast pocket.

He blew it to signal the importance of what he was about to do.

Having cut the yam, he declared that it was time to eat.

The yam was served with oil bean which is called ugba in Igbo.

With this, the taste of the roasted yam became more delicious and appealing. People eat this type of delicacy that is rare in the society these days with relish.

As big as the yams were, they were well roasted and it stunned most people how that feat could have been accomplished. It indeed formed part of the beauty of the traditional rites accorded yam in its glory and splendour.

While the yam was being eaten bowls of palm wine were served to go with the food.

Mbanefo explained that the joint eating of yam gives kinsmen that huge sense of love and togetherness. “Today, what we are doing is novel, because even as far from Igboland as we are, we still wish to bring ourselves together under one canopy.

Therefore, we need to encourage one another to be of more help to our youths, by teaching them the ideals of what bind them together as a people,” he said.

Later in the evening, pounded yam was served with ofe egwusi interspersed with bitter leaf. With soothing Igbo music playing in the background, the ceremony went on in a more relaxed and joyful mood. It all showed that an Igbo man is grateful to God for the gift of the yam.

Why not other crops? Some people wanted to know. Yam is bestowed on the people with plenty of dignity, the theory goes that a little of it planted on a good soil and well attended to can grow into a huge size. Again, a man can start his life with a few seedlings of yam, before long, if his Chi is alive, he can grow into a bigger farmer. That is the truth about yam and it is only God who understands that mystery some traditionalists believe.

Present at the occasion were Professors C.E. Onukaogu, Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Joe Nwachukwu, Herbert Iloh, a former chairman of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) branch of ASUU, Chijioke Uwasomba, among other academics. Others were Chiefs Umerah Ezekpo, Anne Emecheta, a retired Colonel in the Nigerian Army and many more. Equally present were friends and colleagues of the lecturers from other parts of the country.

Professor Awopetu whose wife is an Igbo woman, while addressing his in-laws, removed his cap from his head as a mark of respect.

Then he said, “I have been told that this is the tradition and I have to abide by it.” This attracted a lot of respect from his in-laws who equally saw in him a worthy son-in-law.

22

Life

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

VOX POP

Abia State Police Commissioner responds to Abia gang rape scandal Keeping tabs on people and events in cyber space

PICTURE OF THE DAY

• Local sand dredgers trying to make a living in Lagos . Source: www.facebook.com

WEIRD INFO Mexico set to legalize ‘mutual short-term’ marriages

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ALA Abdulahi Hassan, the Abia State Police Commissioner has revealed that an investigation into the Abia gang rape scandal would not be pursued unless the victim came forward In an interview conducted by Sahara Reporters, it was discovered that Bala Abdulahi Hassan, the Abia State Police Commissioner, was relying on Internet sources to discover any leads in the case, therefore he and his staff were also dismissing the rape.

This was a week after federal minister and the National Human Rights Commission claimed serious investigations had begun to unravel the perpetrators of the video-taped rape.

Asked if anyone within his jurisdiction had watched the circulating video, he said “No!”. He then explained the procedure by which someone can report a rape case. “As police commissioner, I rely on the reported crime I see in my crime diary,” he said.

In this particular case after checking the state police official crime diary he found nothing.

A few hours after this interview was conducted,

•Hassan

the police commissioner claimed two students were arrested, but he refused to give the full names of the suspects, only giving their aliases as “Zaki” and “Emeka”.

The full clip of the interview can be found at www.saharareportes.com

Comments Frank Andy This chap does not qualify to be a police officer let alone a police commissioner. I cannot imagine a police officer reasoning the way Hassan has demonstrated. A police officer; be it a detective or not, should always have his or her wits on and be thinking multidirectional. Why wait for

the victim to come and make an allegation?

This is a case where common sense needs to prevail. If the victim is at large, then we are having a case of missing person and every effort should be deployed to locate her. Appeal should go out on local and national television.

Then to identify the suspects, human intelligence is required through a reward appeal. It is paramount also to identify the scene. Once suspects are identified, they should be arrested for rape, false imprisonment and assault.

Tafa Balogun A product of quota and federal character! He stood logic on its head! Just smiling to the bank collecting salary for under-performance. He might as well be the next Inspector General as usual. Nigeria we hail thee.

Nwanyi Owerri Its painful but it has been done, its only the victim that can unravel the identities of the criminals, let her come forward other wise the matter might end up being wsept under the carpet after recieving so much publicity...God bless Nigeria.

JOBS ONLINE

• The fake murder scene

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EXICO City lawmakers want to help newlyweds avoid the hassle of divorce by giving them an easy exit strategy: temporary marriage licenses. Leftists in the city’s assembly, who have already riled conservatives by legalizing gay marriage, proposed a reform to the civil code this week that would allow couples to decide on the length of their commitment, opting out of a lifetime.

The minimum marriage contract would be for two years and could be renewed if the couple stays happy.

The contracts would include provisions on how children and property would be handled if the couple splits.

“The proposal is, when the two-year period is up, if the relationship is not stable or harmonious, the contract simply ends,” said Leonel Luna, the Mexico City assemblyman who coauthored the bill.

“You wouldn’t have to

go through the tortuous process of divorce,” said Luna, from the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, which has the most seats in the 66-member chamber.

Luna says the proposed law is gaining support and he expects a vote by the end of this year. Around half of Mexico City marriages end in divorce, usually in the first two years.

The bustling capital, one of the world’s largest cities, is much more liberal than the rest of the country, where the divorce rate is significantly lower although on the rise.

Abortion is legal in Mexico City, while the Supreme Court ruled this week to uphold state laws in Baja California that say life begins at conception.

Leftist Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, who angered the Catholic Church when he made Mexico City the first Latin American city to legalize gay marriage in late 2009, announced this month he would soon step down to run for president.

The church criticized the proposed change.

“This reform is absurd.

It contradicts the nature of marriage,” said Hugo Valdemar, spokesman for the Mexican archdiocese.

“It’s another one of these electoral theatrics the assembly tends to do that are irresponsible and immoral.”

The Church holds considerable sway in the country with the world’s second largest Catholic population after Brazil.

Source: www.msnbc.com

DID YOU KNOW... …THAT a shrimp’s heart is in it’s head. …that rats and horses can’t vomit. …that people say “Bless you” when you sneeze because when you sneeze,your heart stops for a mili-second …that If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.

OB vacancies exist at GLOBACOM NIG. Public Sector Team (Leads)

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and a Public Sector Sales Executive are needed for employment.

Applicants for the position of Public Sector Team (Leads) are to posses a good first degree a reputable university. Relevant professional qualification will be an added advantage. 8-10years relevant work experience in Public Sector Marketing, previous experience in Civil/Government Parastatals or relevant Agencies with knowledge of workings of government is required.

Good understanding of Public Sector dynamics, demonstrable Leadership Skills and ability to lead teams, excellent oral and written communication skills as well as excellent Negotiation and Presentation skills.

For the position of Public Sector Sales Executive, the candidates should have a good first degree a reputable university. 2 – 5 years relevant work experience in Public Sector Marketing, experience in Civil/Government Parastatals or relevant Agencies is required. Excellent oral and written communication skills, ability to work individually and as part of team, a good level of numeracy and computer skills are also necessary.

MTN Nigeria is searching for a qualified personnel to occupy these positions: Team Lead, FSE. The successful applicant will be stationed in Rivers State and is expected to posses the following requirements; B.Sc. Electrical/ Electronics (Telecommunications), at least 4 years

hands-on radio network operations and maintenance experience in a telecoms environment and two (2) years in a supervisory/team leadership role.

The employment status is permanent and the job vacancy expires on the 5th of October, 2011.

Regional Account Partner in Lagos. Candidates who will be selected will be employed on a permanent basis are to posses a First degree in Business Administration, Commerce or any other related discipline, 4 years work experience including experience in the sales environment of a telecommunications company, preferably customerfacing and exposure to strategic planning. This vacancy expires on the 6th of October, 2011. Visit http:/ /careers.mtnonline.com for other job offers, application and further details.

23 SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

War in Ekiti T

HE whole arena was charged with the boisterous and endless beating of Bata drums. People were in high spirits, mixing freely and discussing the event of the moment.

Adorned in different kinds of colourful traditional wears and caps, singers waited eagerly for the arrival of the descendants of the main combatants and the primary actors in the Ekiti – Parapo Kiriji wars of the 19 th century Yoruba expeditions. Indeed within the bounteous hearts of the organizers of the play was that persistent prayer that these people should appear to give colour and glamour to the show.

Then suddenly, the tempo of the drums increased. A blue 406 car was immediately ushered into the premises of Adetiloye hall, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State venue of the programme. In a flash, the two back doors swung open. It was no more time to uttter obscene and provocative words or invoke the ire of Ogun the god of war to send thunder and brimstone on his arch-enemies. It was Chief Ogboriefon and the Aare Latoosa Adegboyega who came into the arena, dancing frantically to the mad frenzy of the bata drums. Although it

Ogun Kiriji is a new play packaged by Ekiti State government to commemorate the 125 th anniversary of the end of the 19th century Ekiti Parapo wars. Edozie Udeze who watched the play in Ado Ekiti, reports. was not time for war, yet it was obvious that those two were no strangers to that.

Their measured steps and energetic displays depicted those of warriors and men of valour, whose bloods were still hot.

And then slowly and more majestically, Chief Ojekanmi Ogedengbe emerged from the front seat into the waiting hands of the ushers.

He was everything a warrior. Adorned in flowing red Agbada with red beads and cap to match, he strolled radiantly into the hall. He neither looked left nor right, while his followers stooped one after the other to pay obeisance to him.

The occasion was the staging of the play entitled Ogun Kiriji by the Ekiti State Government. Ogun Kiriji depicts and re-enacts the Ekiti Parapo wars of the 19 th century. It was a war that lasted

for 16 years during which Aare Latoosa of Ibadan consistently raided Ijesa and Ekiti and its environs with his forces for years. But in order to hold back Ibadan, Fabunmi of Ekiti and Ogedengbe of Ilesa combined forces to quell Ibadan military advances. And so for 16 unbroken years, no side yielded grounds; no one agreed to give up on the quest to maul the other.

“It was the fiercest and most cruel intra-tribal war ever recorded in history,” was how Asiwaju Akinade Nurudeen from the Aare Latoosa royal family described it in an interview.

Although the play was staged by the government to mark 125 years after the war, it was also meant to reconcile the various families and the sub-ethnic groups they represented. The moment Ogedengbe, Fabunmi and Latoosa

mounted the stage to embrace and hug one another, the hall erupted with deep throaty exhilaration; their joys knew no bounds. As they clapped to usher in a new era of peace and togetherness, the three Chiefs did a little mesmerization typical of those moments of war and fear.

Addressing the audience, Ogedengbe said the war was fought to prove a point – no single group in Yoruba should oppress the other. He recalled how his progenitor had learnt the act of wars from Ibadan and left to be his own master in Ilesa. But Latoosa was annoyed regarding him as a dissident or a renegade. It was those secrets Ogedengbe learnt that helped him to form his own formidable forces to hold Ibadan back. “But today we are here for peace, we want peace, we need progress as a people in these modern times,” he said. As he spoke, he pranced gracefully like a typical warlord while the crowd applauded, hailing him thus: “Ogedengbe o, hero of his people.”

The play, staged in Yoruba Language drew an unprecedented •Continued on page 24

24

Arts

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Ekiti hosts Kiriji war

•Ogedengbe

“It was the fiercest and most cruel intra-tribal war ever recorded in history”, was how Asiwaju Akinade Nurudeen from the Aare Latoosa royal family described it in an interview. Although the play was staged by the government to mark the 125 years anniversary of the war, it was also meant to reconcile the various families and the subethnic groups they represented.”

•Reconciling the combatants to end the war •Continued from page 23

crowd from various parts of Yoruba land. The stage was built to synchronize with an ideal jungle, a village pattern that was yet to explore and experience civilization. As the play opened, there were staccato sounds of guns booming from every angle.

There on stage were women of

Ekiti and Ilesa in their droves, mourning, suffering and sorrowing; Ibadan had consistently dealt devastating blows on them. There was total darkness everywhere. But Ogedengbe would come in from time to time to console them. As he did so, he secretly built his own forces, perfecting his own military strategies in the process. He was fearless

and courageous.

When the various traditional rulers discovered that he could actually thwart the boldness of Ogboriefon and Latoosa from Ibadan, they gave him the mandate to lead the people. With this in place, Ogbedengbe was duly charged to assemble Faboro of Ido-Ekiti, Fabunmi of Okemesi and

Babawale: The making of a star

By Vincent Nzemeke

• Babawale

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ROFESSOR Olatunde Babawale can best be described as a man of many parts. In fifty years he has done so much for himself and humanity which makes it impossible to talk about great men in Nigeria without mentioning his name.

As the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Black and

African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), Babawale has touched so many lives and etched his name in the sand of time as a worthy custodian of African arts and cultures.

Under his leadership, the organisation, which he he has led since August 2006, has made significant progress.

Born on the 4 th of October 1961, in Inisa near Osogbo, Osun State, Babawale had his postprimary education at Inisa Grammar School from 1973-1977. Later that year he moved to the then University of Ife where he got a Bachelor of Arts degree in History (Education). He also obtained a Master’s Degree in International Relations with specialization in International Relations and Political Economy from the same institution.

Babawale was an exceptional student whose talents could not be hidden. While studying at Ife he won two prestigious academic honours: Scholar, University of Ife, 1983-1984 and Departmental Scholarship Grants for Best

Graduating Overall Performance of the Department of International Relations, 1983/1984 session.

For his National Youth Service in 1981-1982, he was deployed as a teacher to Government Secondary School, Numan, Adamawa State. Babawale’s career as a teacher officially began as an Assistant Lecturer at the Adeyemi College of Education in 1985. Burning with a desire to do more intellectually, he sought greener pastures at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) where he was appointed as a Lecturer Grade I in 1991.

With hard work, focus and steadfast commitment to achieving his goals, Babawale attained the zenith of his academic career in 2002 when he was appointed a Professor of political Economy by the department of political scence.

Babawale, a seasoned administrator and a master planner has held sensitive positions at various levels where he has also distinguished himself.

From 1993-1996, he was Secretary of the UNILAG Chapter of Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU). He was also the Assistant Dean of Students Affairs from 1998-2000, and a member of the University Panel of Enquiry on cult activities and the Hall of Residence Management Committee from 1997 till date.

others to face the Ibadan forces spearheaded by Ogboriefon and Latoosa.

On stage, Latoosa was totally in control, using his well-trained soldiers to demoralize his neighbours. He feared no one and addressed his opponents with high level of arrogance and impunity.

Not only that, he looked down on people; he refused to be amenable to peace, which, on the other hand, irked Ogedengbe to no end. At every point Ogedengbe would send Latoosa’s emissaries back to Ibadan to tell him to stop his atrocious acts against his people. When Latoosa could not take the effrontery of this dissidents any more, he mobilized for a full-scale war, which, while it lasted, created and caused more confusion, fear, poverty and hatred among the length and breadth of the land, stretching from Ibadan down to Ekiti to Yagba in Kogi State and even beyond.

In the words of Nurudeen of the Latoosa family, “when the war intensified, every nook and cranny of Yoruba land felt it. Yes, it was a war that actually torched all parts of Yoruba land from Yagba in Kogi State to Lagos. And it lasted for 16 years during which no one knew any peace.

Today, we are here to consolidate on that peace to move Yoruba land to the next level,” he said. Asked if he still has war in his blood like his forefather, Nurudeen enthused, “Yes I do. It is still there in my blood. But we will no longer fight ourselves. It is no more time for guns and machetes. We can only fight now with our brains and hands rebuilding the Yoruba race. Ogedengbe was the head of the Ekiti people while

Latoosa was that of Ibadan.

Fabunmi Okemesi fought under Ogbedenbe. Then Ajayi Ogboriefon fought under Latoosa. Now you can see all of us here tonight to show you that we need peace in Yoruba land. This is why we have embraced to show that we have forgotten the past,” he said.

Oba Gbadebo of Okemesi, who is equally the Chairman of Ekiti State Council of Obas, recalled some of the exploits of Fabunmi whom he described as the saviour of his people.

Although he regretted that the roles ascribed to Fabunmi in the play were not elaborate enough, he thanked the state government for deeming it fit to have the play on stage. “We have made several attempts to stage this play, to use it as an opportunity to bring our people together for reconciliation.

Today it has been fulfilled and so we thank Governor Kayode Fayemi for this effort.”

On his part, Governor Fayemi praised those who put the show on stage as worthy ambassadors. “The war had been fought. This is an era of peace. But the war showed the resilience of our people and how we can finally forge together for peace. The people could not be intimidated.”

Present at the occasion were the former governor of old Ondo State,EvangelistBamidele Olumilua, representatives of Osun State government, members of Ekiti State executive council, Obas, members of the state House of Assembly and actors and actresses from across Nigeria.

But when the war ended in 1886 at the instance of Captain Bowen of Britain, not only the combatants, but the people themselves were excited and happy. It was a situation of no victor, no vanquished.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

C

HIMEKA Garricks starts on a dreary note as morose as Tomorrow Died Yesterday, the title of his first published novel. He maintains that Nigeria is in for a bleak future. Yet, seating before an audience of fans and book lovers at the Lagos reading of his book at The Life House, Lagos, penultimate Saturday, he remains cool. But his voice takes resolute steel while he declares “I don’t see a future in Nigeria.” His book, a novel based on the kidnapping in the Niger Delta area also touches on common everyday experiences.

Reading theatrically and deploying the pidgin twist, Eghosa Imasuen, author of To St. Patrick and soon to be published Fine Boys, recaptured the portion where Tubo, the hustling half-caste character, was throwing around unimaginable feats of Thunder Balogun to a bunch of nine year olds.

Garricks, who has no formal training as a writer said “I’m always going to write like this,” referring to the writing style where he tells his intriguing story of the Niger Delta crises through five narrators. They are Amaibi, a pious environmental activist is arrested in a set up, and framed for kidnapping, Deola, a medical doctor youth corper who tends to him at Port-Harcourt prison, and Kaniye, a lawyer who had dropped law practice for some years. Amaibi is facing trial and at the centre of the prosecution is Imperial Oil and Tubo, the half-caste personnel officer of Imperia Oil, while the Doughboy or Doye is the kingpin kidnapper, whose acts paces the book.

The narrators are four friends Kaniye, Doughboy, Tubo, and Amaibi share a history from childhood which Deola is not privy to. However, an event which

Books

Niger Delta: ‘We never blame ourselves’

• Garricks

READING

By Joe Agbro Jr.

happened in 1997 scars their relationship in different ways. And it was a portion of that ‘97 incident that Garricks said was hardest for him to write. It was a scene which involved Dise, Amaibi’s wife, who was raped by soldiers that raided and massacred people of Asiama Town, over the death of their colleague who died through

injuries he sustaned on his own. Garricks said the rape scene was very hard to write.

“When I wanted to write the scene I knew I had to picture her .... but, I couldn’t.”

It is a story of friendship and love. The issues focused in the book transform b e y o n d kidnapping, highlighting how normal prison conditions can be influenced, corruption in the form of overbloated contracts and unexecuted projects, ethnic animosities and nuances of daily life, especially peculiar to the Niger delta.

He says his favourite character is Deola, but, again, he said, “I’m a little bit of all of them.” Having spent four years crafting the 429 page book, Garricks said the personalities of the characters in the book grew from his initial conception.

Though, militancy is the running theme, distancing himself, the soft spoken author however says “I detest militants.” The inspiration to write the story,

Garricks said was anger. “There was a time the Niger Delta kidnapping thing used to annoy me... there were times when me and my wife were driving to work and I am listening to news and I’m shouting,” he said.

Reading from the book, a member of the audience, Idris BelloOsagie, said his father had to pay ransom for someone who was mistakenly kidnapped instead of his father. Throwing accolades on the book, he said it was one of the best books he has read that written by a Nigerian. “I like the fact that you cannot read the book and remain the same....,” he said.

Concerning the unrests wich has pervaded the Niger Delta, Garricks however laid much of the blame on the people. “When we talk of the issue of the Niger Delta, we are always blaming the oil companies, the government,” he said. “With my book, my main message was that the problems are with us, the people.”

The author, an only child who was born in Dublin, was brought to Port-Harcourt as a baby and started writing at age 19, after seeing poems of a ‘hard man’ who he thought could not write.

Garricks is described on the jacket of the book as ‘lawyer by day, a writer at night and a football fanatic at weekends.’ He started writing the book in 2005 and Tomorrow Died Yesterday is the first title to be out on the stable of Paperworth Books founded by publisher Ibiso Graham Douglas.

REVIEW

Walking with God

The Gadfly

A

T

HE universality of God through the history of mankind has been touted, so much that it is hardly contested anymore. And to re-enforce this position is the collection of poems, Sound of Broken Chains by Betty Abah. The testament of God’s supreme powers is the running theme of the book.

In Incomprehensible God!, Abah, though resigned, seems to be baffled about God’s ways. Citing some stories of the bible, Abah wonders at the mysterious ways God works. The travails of Job, Jonah, and Joseph, the absurd battle that fell the walls of Jericho, and the resurrection of Lazarus are some of the examples she deploys to craft the poem.

She also touches on the tetchy questions many humans ask about God. The poem, Why do good people die? which could be better titled Ake’s Daddy’ questions how death snatches people, especially good ones. In the poem, Abah writes, ‘God, did you kill Ake’s Daddy?/ Ake’s gentle, generous Daddy/ Who brings us many, many stuff/ Who admires our plays/ Who plays soccer with us/ Buys us cars and aeroplanes/ And listens to our little talk/ When daddy is too busy in his study/ And waves us quickly out/ And mom spends hours remaking hair/ And screams and scares us/ When we whine about worn

By Joe Agbro Jr.

out sandals.’

Abah also makes use of images to drive home her poems.

In Child of Destiny, a little girl upturns a metal bowl over her head. While in the poem Apples, the picture of apples brings to mind the biblical scene of the Garden of Eden where Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit.

In He Won My Heart, she writes of different stages of love that a reader might think that this is finally filial love. But, she takes a different twist by concluding; ‘For Jesus is the only lover of my soul.’

Though few poems seem to deviate a bit, it is clear that Sound of Broken Chains is Abah’s reflection on God’s hope, peace, strength, and love.

S the search for Muammar Gaddafi is going on , Abla Ungalski succumbs to writing a story about the autocratic ruler. Abla’s interest in Gaddafi dates back to his childhood when Gaddafi wrote an article about his favorite author, William Shakespeare, claiming that Shakespeare falsified his name and birth place.

Since then Abla has been intrigued by the colonel And he wrote Gaddafi’s Gaffes which is a collection of quotes from the Libyan ruler’s speeches and declarations. He highlights contraditions, inconsistencies, absurdity and the comic nature of some of Gaddafi’s thoughts and declaration. He also uses visual images to gain better insight into the emotions behind the quotes.

Though most of these quotes can be obtained either online or from the green book, Abla juxtaposed Gaddafi’s contradicting ideas in a way that provided better insight into the colonel’s mind. In 2005 while the colonel addressed some members of the russianduma, thinkers, writers and men of letters, he said,”.... In actual fact the green book was not written by Algathafi but by the history of mankind....”, but he contradited himself in 2007 by saying in a speech to the students of cambridge university that”..... I read the history of the world and followed the experience of humanity. I saw the reasons for war, peace,

By Omololu Shade

happiness, misery and external and internal problems. I compiled them in my green book.” In 2009 during a speech to the students and falculty of cambridge university he said “Let the Darfur tribes fight...” However, in a speech addressed to the United Nations general assembly he said “why are we silent? We must never be war devils” Abla also cited some of Gaddafi’s absurd quotes such as “woman is a female and man is a male,when a woman does not menstruates, she is pregnant” In all, Abla succeeded in providing a better insight of Gaddafi’s perception of the world.

25

REFLECTION

I am Nigeria

By Kola Dairo Jnr

AM Nigeria, the heart of Africa - at least by virtue of my geography; a nation uniquely designed and endowed by God on account of my deposit of vast natural resources, possessing the potential for exponential growth and prosperity. I am a wealthy nation of many accolades. I am the most populous black nation on earth and the world’s largest producer of cassava; OPEC’s 2nd largest oil exporter; the 3rd largest economy in Africa; the 4th fastest growing economy in the world; the 5th largest supplier of crude to America and Western Europe; the 6th largest crude oil producer globally; the 7th most populous nation in the world; the potential 8th wonder of the world; the 9th largest producer of natural gas; and a country with the 10th largest online audience in the world.

I am Nigeria – the putative giant of Africa. Thrice, I had a vision to be an economically advanced nation – initially by 2000, then 2010 and now 2020. I built my vision on woolly thinking instead of committed action; so much that these visions have become trite and I have begun to lose faith in myself. The challenges that confront me are many. I am a rentier state, a ticking time bomb, with 54.7% of my population below the poverty line and 64.7 million youths (of which 41.6% are unemployed) not expected to live beyond 48 years. Consequently, my youths may not live to attain my present age and I am relatively young in the committee of nations!

I am Nigeria, I belong to over 250 tribes and I speak 521 languages; I have a high regard for culture and tradition; I respect my elders. I am enterprising and I possess a strong sense of self-worth. I am rugged and resilient, ready to push the boundaries of any limitation. I am an eminent scholar; a business magnate; a peacekeeping soldier; a nobel laureate; a musical genius. I am hospitable; my people possess a vibrant communal spirit and they derive strength from my diversity.

I am Nigeria, I am rich, but my people are poor. My motto reads Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress, virtues which my citizens pay lip service to. My intention at independence was for my people to live in peace, and be united towards the common goal of progress through faith in God and our capabilities. Instead, my people are united along political, tribal and religious lines often towards selfish ends. I generate my electricity, I secure my residence and I provide my own water.

I am a militant, an internet scammer, a materialist, a graduate willing to work but without a job. I am who I am because my leaders are not who they are required to be.

I am Kola Dairo Jnr, a voice in my generation of 64.7 million youths craving for a paradigm shift.

I am not just a ‘leader of tomorrow’; I am today’s future, I am today’s leader. I choose to harness my strengths rather than dwell on my weaknesses. I am a problem solver; Nigeria’s problems are my opportunity. She may seem hopeless, but she is not beyond redemption; her condition is acute but not without a solution. I am an active advocate of Nigeria’s potential for greatness not a passive stakeholder. Change begins with me. God bless Nigeria!

I

•Kola Dairo Jnr is a project finance specialist and writes from Tunis.

26

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Arts

1st Chapter Rising like a great tower

W

HETHER I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously.

Inconsideration of the day and honour of my birth, it was declared by the nurse, and by some sage women in the neighbourhood who had taken a lively interest in me several months before there was any possibility of our becoming personally acquainted, first, that I was destined to be unlucky in life, and secondly, that I was privileged to see ghosts and spirits: both these gifts inevitably attaching, as they believed, to all unlucky infants of either gender born towards the small hours on a Friday night.

I need say nothing here on the first head, because nothing can show better than my history whether that prediction was verified of falsified by the result. On the second branch of the question, I will only remark that, unless I ran through that party of my inheritance while I was still a baby, I have not come into it yet. But I do not at all complain of having been kept out of this property, and if anybody else should be in the present enjoyment of it, he is heartily welcome to keep it.

The year before he died Charles Dickens wrote of David Copperfield, “ Of all my books, I like this the best.” The story of the abandoned waif who develops a “disciplined heart’ through challenging encoungters with distress and misfortune is a supreme example of Dickens’ skill as a novelist. In this great work plots and counterplots are interwoven into one intricate, grand design I was born with a caul, which was advertised for sale, in the newspapers at the low price of fifteen guineas. Whether seagoing people were short of money about that time, or were short of faith and preferred cork jackets, I don’t know; all I know is that there was but one solitary bidding, and that was from an attorney connected with the billbroking business, who offered two pounds in cash and the balance in sherry, but declined to be guaranteed from drowning on any higher bargain. Consequently the advertisement was withdrawn at a dead loss—for as to sherry, my poor dear mother’s own sherry was in the market then—and ten years afterwards the caul was put up in a raffle down in our part of the country, to fifty members at halfa-crown a head, the winner to spend five shillings. I was present myself, and I remember to have felt quite uncomfortable and confused at a part of myself being disposed of in that way.

The caul was won, I recollect, by an old lady with a hand-basket, who, very reluctantly, produced from it the stipulated five shillings, all in halfpence, and twopence halfpenny short—as it took an immense time and a

great waste of arithmetic to endeavour without any effect to prove to her. It is a fact which will be long remembered as remarkable down there, that she was never drowned, but died triumphantly in bed, at ninetytwo. I have understood that it was, to the last, her proudest boast that she never had been on the water in her life, except upon a bridge, and that over her tea (to which she was extremely partial she, to the last, expressed her indignation at the impiety of mariners and others who had the presumption to go “meandering” about the world. It was in vain to represent to her that some conveniences, tea perhaps included, resulted from this objectionable practices. She always returned, with greater emphasis and with an instinctive knowledge of the strength of her objection, “Let us have no meandering.”

Not to meander myself at present, I will go back to my birth.

I was born at Blunderstone, in Suffolk, or “thereby,” as they say in Scotland. I was a posthumous child. My father’s eyes had closed upon the light of this world six months, when mine opened on it. There is something

strange to me, even now, in the reflection that he never saw, and something stranger yet in the shadowy remembrance that I have of my first childish associations with his white gravestone in the churchyard, and of

the indefinable compassion I used to feel for it lying out alone there in the dark night, when our little parlour was warm and bright with and night, when our little parlour was warm and bright with fire and candle and the doors of our house were— almost cruelly, it seemed to me sometimes—bolted and locked against it.

An aunty of my father’s and consequently a great-aunt of mine, of whom I shall have more to relate by and by, was the principal magnate of our family.

Miss Trotwood, or Miss Betsey, as my poor mother always called her, when she sufficiently overcame her dread of this formidable personage to mention her at all (which was seldom), had been married to a husband younger than herself, who was very handsome, except in the sense of the homely adage, “Handsome is that handsome does”—for he was strongly suspected of having beaten Miss Betsey, and even of having once, on a disputed question of supplies, made some hasty but determined arrangements to throw her out of a twopair-of-stairs’ window. These evidences of an incompatibility of temper induced Miss Betsey to pay him off, and effect, a separation by mutual consent. He went to India with his capital, and there, according to a wild legend in our family, he was once seen riding on an elephant in company with a Baboon, but I think it must have

been a Baboo—or a Begum. Anyhow, from India tidings of his death reached home within ten years. How they affected my aunt, nobody knew: for immediately upon the separation she took her maiden name again, bought a cottage in a hamlet on the sea-coast a long way off, established herself there as a single women with one servant, and was understood to live secluded, ever afterwards, in an inflexible retirement.

My father had once been a favourite of hers, I believe, but she was mortally affronted by his marriage, on the ground that my mother was “a wax doll.”

She had never seen my mother, but she knew her to be not yet twenty. My father and Miss Betsey never met again. He was double my mother’s age when he married, and of but a delicate constitution. He died a year afterwards, and, as I have said, six months before I came into the world.

This was the state of matters on the afternoon of what I may be excused for calling that eventful and important Friday. I can make no claim, therefore, to have known, at that time, how matter stood, or to have any remembrance, founded on the evidence of my own senses, of what follows.

My mother was sitting by the fire, but poorly in health and very low in spirits, looking at it through her tears, and desponding heavily about herself and the fatherless little stranger, who was already welcomed by some grosses of prophetic pins in a drawer upstairs, to a world not at all excited on the subject of his arrival; my mother, I say, was sitting by the fire that bright, windy March afternoon, very timid and sad, and very doubtful for ever coming alive out of the trial that was before her, when, lifting her eyes as she dried them to the window opposite, she saw, a strange lady coming up the garden.

Nobel Greats

Imre Kertész

Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature 2002 “for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history”

I

Born: 9 November 1929, Budapest, Hungary Residence at the time of the award: Hungary | Language: Hungarian

MRE Kertész was born in Budapest on November 9, 1929. Of Jewish descent, in 1944 he was deported to Auschwitz and from there to Buchenwald, where he was liberated in 1945. On his return to Hungary he worked for a Budapest newspaper, Világosság, but was dismissed in 1951 when it adopted the Communist party line.

After two years of military service he began supporting himself as an independent writer and translator of Germanlanguage authors such as Nietzsche, Hofmannsthal, Schnitzler, Freud, Roth, Wittgenstein, and Canetti, who have all had a significant influence on his own writing.

Kertész's first novel, Sorstalanság (Eng. Fateless, 1992; see WLT 67:4, p. 863), a work based on his experiences in Auschwitz and

Buchenwald, was published in 1975. "When I am thinking about a new novel, I always think of Auschwitz," he has said.

This does not mean, however, that Sorstalanság is autobiographical in any simple sense: Kertész says himself that he has used the form of the autobiographical novel but that it is not a u t o b i o g r a p h y .

Sorstalanság was initially rejected for publication.

When published eventually in 1975, it was received with compact silence.

Kertész has written about this experience in A kudarc (1988; Fiasco). This novel is normally regarded as the second volume in a trilogy that begins with Sorstalanság and concludes with Kaddis a meg nem született gyermekért (1990; Eng. Kaddish for a Child Not

Born, 1997; see WLT 74:1, p. 205), in a title that refers to the Jewish prayer for the dead. In Kaddis a meg nem született gyermekért, the protagonist of Sorstalanság and A kudarc, György Köves, reappears. His Kaddish is said for the child he refuses to beget in a world that permitted the existence of Auschwitz.

Other prose works are A nyomkereso" (1977; The pathfinder) and Az angol labogó (1991; The English flag; see WLT 67:2, p. 412).

Gályanapló (Galley diary; see WLT 67:2, p.

412), a diary in fictional form that covers the years 1961-91, was published in 1992. Valaki más: A változás krónikája (1997; I - another: Chronicle of a metamorphosis), continues this inner monologue in the form of notes made during the years 1991-95. After the political upheavals of

1989, Kertész was able to make more public appearances. His lectures and essays have been collected in A holocaust mint kultúra (1993; The holocaust as culture), A gondolatnyi csend, amíg kivegzo"oztag újratölt (1998; Moments of silence while the execution squad reloads), and A számu"ött nyelv (2001; The exiled language).

Imre Kertész was awarded the Brandenburger Literaturpreis in 1995, the Leipziger Buchpreis zur E u r o p ä i s c h e n Verständigung in 1997, the Herder- Preis and the WELTLiteraturpreis in 2000, the Ehrenpreis der RobertBosch-Stiftung in 2001, and the Hans Sahl-Preis in 2002.

His works have been translated into numerous languages, including German, Spanish, French, English, Czech, Russian, Swedish, and Hebrew.

Mikel Pg. 28 listed for Bolton tie

Etuhu may miss QPR clash Pg. 28

Nation •Mikel

Sunday, October 2, 2011

PAGE 27

THE BATTLE OF LONDON Pg. 45

Gunners, Spurs clash for points

•van Persie

•Adebayor

KICK-OFF: 4:00pm Nigerian time

28

Redknapp: Adebayor will get abuse

T

• Redknapp

C

OTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp is sure that there will be no repeat of Emmanuel Adebayor's infamous goal celebration if the striker scores against former club Arsenal again on Sunday.

Adebayor was heavily criticised two years ago when he ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans after he scored against them for Manchester City.

Already an unpopular figure for leaving for the Lancashire club, the incident made Adebayor a hate figure among some sections of the Gunners support.

Adebayor was constantly heckled

by Arsenal fans that afternoon at the Etihad Stadium - and the booing and taunts are likely to be even greater in number at White Hart Lane this weekend given that the 27-year-old now plays for Arsenal's bitter north London rivals Spurs.

Adebayor will be confident of scoring against Arsenal given that he has scored three times in three matches since signing on loan from Manchester City.

Redknapp feels he has no need to talk to Adebayor about any potential goal-scoring celebrations this weekend and is confident that his star striker will not go over the top if he does.

The Spurs boss said: "I'm sure he won't over-react again. I think he apologised last time. He's got a lot of respect for Arsenal still but he loves it here now, he's a Tottenham player.

"I've never spoken to him about it.

I hope he does score a couple of times. I hope he slides on his knees and celebrates.

"I am sure he's going to get plenty of abuse come the weekend but he has just got to get on with his game.

"You can't react to that. He's got to

Mikel listed for Bolton tie

HELSEA midfielder, Mikel Obi will today be filling out with his teammates against Bolton Wanderers in a Premier League clash at the Reebok Stadium.

The Nigerian international played the whole 90 minutes in the Champions League match away to Valancia, and manager Villa - Boas will be counting on the experience of the player to get the deserve cover for the Blues in his holding midfield role.

Chelsea will also be leveraging on the possible return of Daniel Sturridge Chelsea line-up for the fixtures in the trip to Bolton.

But for Bolton manager Owen Coyle, who faces further selection issues ahead of his side’s Barclays Premier League clash, the three points at stake will be his priority.

Though he is already without a number of long-term injured, with the casualty list compounded this week when it was announced midfielder Stuart Holden faces another six months on the sidelines with a knee problem, Coyle is confident to get a result.

To add to his woes, on-loan Gael Kakuta is ineligible as he cannot face his parent club, David Wheater and Ivan Klasnic are suspended, and goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen is doubtful with a leg knock.

Provisional squad: Jaaskelainen,

Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Eagles, Robinson, Muamba, Reo-Coker, Petrov, K Davies, Tuncay, Bogdan, Gardner, M Davies, Pratley, Ngog, Blake.

Daniel Sturridge could return to the Chelsea line-up for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League trip to Bolton.

The forward missed Saturday’s win over Swansea with a knee injury and also sat out Wednesday night’s Champions League draw at Valencia, but he is fit to return to the

NationSport

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

NationSport

club where he spend the second half of last season on loan.

Goalkeeping understudy Hilario is still a week or two away from recovering from a hip and back complaint, while Michael Essien (knee) is a long-term absentee.

Provisional squad: Cech, Ivanovic, Bosingwa, Alex, Ferreira, Terry, Luiz, Cole, Bertrand, McEachran, Mikel, Romeu, Ramires, Lampard, Meireles, Mata, Malouda, Torres, Drogba, Anelka, Sturridge, Lukaku, Kalou, Turnbull.

• Mikel

get on with it. Fans are entitled to give players all the stick in the world so long as it's in the bounds of decency."

Today marks the 15th anniversary of Arsene Wenger's appointment as Arsenal manager, but if his team's recent form is anything to go by, there is not much reason for the Frenchman to celebrate.

Rocked by the departure of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri this summer, Wenger saw his team put in their worst start to a season in 58 years.

They lost to Liverpool at home, Blackburn away and endured the humiliation of an 8-2 hammering at Old Trafford, although they have rallied somewhat with wins over Swansea and Bolton.

Some Arsenal fans have called for Wenger to go, but sacking the man who has brought three Barclays Premier League titles to the club since he moved from Japan would be foolish, Redknapp says.

"You know what it's like in football. You lose a few games and suddenly Arsene Wenger's a poor manager," Redknapp said.

"The man's been a great manager at Arsenal and I am sure he will be for many years to come. God knows what people are saying about him on the radio.

"They have had injuries. That has been the problem. I think the centre half (Thomas) Vermaelen is top drawer.

"They have missed him. I think he is a fantastic player."

Unlike Arsenal, Tottenham managed to hold on to their mostwanted player, Luka Modric, this summer despite Chelsea's interest.

However, that did not stop Spurs from losing their first two games the second of which was an embarrassing 5-1 home defeat to Manchester City.

BATTLE OF LONDON

Gunners, Spurs clash for points R

ESSURGENT Aresenal of England will be out to prove critics wrong this afternoon away to Tottenham at the White Hart Lane, as they will be looking forward to continue their winning run in the last two games.

With a 3-0 win over Bolton last weekend, the Gunner are set to rekindle the confidence reposed in them by their teeming supporters, as they started the league on a shaky note.

On paper Spurs should have this game sewn up before kick-off. Football, however, is still played on grass and therefore the form book and comparative squad strengths go out of the window. Something Spurs themselves, have proven many times over the last 10-15 years.

But again, none of that matters.

Arsenal and their manager especially, are under pressure and they will know that a big victory on today will appease their fans immensely.

For many Spurs players, this will be the first time that they take to the pitch as genuine favourites for a derby and it will be interesting to see how they react to that. Harry Redknapp will need to be on top of his game to make sure his players

know exactly what is at stake and the way they must approach this game.

Arsenal’s defensive woes are well documented, with Olimpiacos unlucky not to get more than one goal midweek and Blackburn – the worst team in the Premier League putting 4 past them recently.

Adebayor’s impact at Spurs cannot be understated, the way he created the first at Wigan is something Spurs have lacked since Berbatov and Keane were doing their thing a few years back.

His all round game is up there with the very best in the Premier

League and Spurs midfield are able to supply him with the ammunition to put this game out of Arsenal’s reach.

Nothing will give Adebayor greater satisfaction than putting one over on his old team mates and he could well be the key to a Spurs victory.

Manager Harry Redknapp made ten changes to his team for the Europa League win over Shamrock Rovers, but will revert to his usual first-team for the North London derby.

Aaron Lennon face a fitness test after he was subbed at half-time of the match against the Irish champions

time since suffering a double leg break in January.

Midfielder Kieron Dyer also remains sidelined with a foot problem.

Provisional squad: Kenny, Derry, Hall, Taarabt, Campbell, Bothroyd, Faurlin, Buzsaky, Orr, Connolly, Barton, Young, Smith, Helguson, Murphy, WrightPhillips, Ferdinand, Puncheon.

Fulham forwards Bobby Zamora and Mousa Dembele are both available for this match after recovering from illness.

The Cottagers will give Aaron Hughes (knee) a fitness test tomorrow and Matthew Briggs is also a doubt with a bruised ankle that he suffered in last night’s Europa League win against Odense.

Simon Davies remains sidelined by a long-term knee injury but Fulham boss Martin Jol said today that he hopes the midfielder will be available for selection by November.

Provisional squad: Schwarzer, Hughes, Hangeland, Baird, J Riise, Kelly, Briggs, Sidwell, Duff, Kasami, Murphy, Dempsey, Dembele, Ruiz, Zamora, Etheridge, Senderos, Briggs, Grygera, Frei, Gecov, Sa, Johnson.

with a stiff groin.

The other injury worries are William Gallas (calf), Michael Dawson (Achilles) and Tom Huddlestone (ankle) are out, but Steven Pienaar may feature for the first time this season after overcoming a groin problem.

Also Arsenal have there fare share with central defenders Laurent Koscielny (ankle) and Johan Djourou (hamstring) are injured, whilst Theo Walcott (knee) and Gervinho (hamstring) face late fitness tests.Yossi Benayoun (thigh) and Sebastien Squillaci both return to the squad after training this week.

• Wenger

It makes no difference playing away —Wenger A RSÈNE Wenger admits he has always been baffled by the suggestion that playing away from home is a hindrance.

The Frenchman takes his side to White Hart Lane today for an eagerlyawaited North London derby and a chance to secure a second consecutive win in the Premier League.

But regardless of whether the game is at Spurs or Emirates Stadium, Wenger insists his side will stick to its guns.

“Never in my life could I understand the difference between away and home,” he said. “For me it is a football match and no matter where we play you try to play well.

“The next game against Tottenham is always a test of course.”

Dickson Etuhu may miss QPR clash T HERE are doubts that Fulham midfielder, Dickson Etuhu may not make the final cut for all - important league match against Queens Park Rangers today at home.

The Nigerian international was making only his second appearance after spending a months on the sidleines with a thigh injury and he could not hide his relief to be finally back on the pitch again.

But with his name missing in the team's provisional list released on Friday, Etuhu may not get to feature in the match probabely as a result of a slite injury sustained in the Europa Cup match against Odense in Denmark.

QPR defender Armand Traore is also supended for today’s west London derby at Fulham following his red card against Aston Villa last weekend.

Danny Gabbidon looks certain to miss out again with a knee injury picked up in Rangers’ Barclays Premier League win over Wolves almost a fortnight ago, while the game comes soon for Jamie Mackie, who this week played in a friendly for the first

45

Arsenal have won their last three matches in all competitions following Wednesday night’s Champions League win over Olympiacos, and the manager believes his team is growing in stature with every positive result.

“Every win makes you stronger, especially when you come from a difficult period,” he said. “For us it's important to get wins together and get the confidence back.”

Drogba ready for Trotters clash

A

• Etuhu • Etuhu

NDRE Villas-Boas reported no new injury concerns as his Chelsea side prepare for their weekend trip to the Reebok Stadium, with the Blues looking for their second Barclays Premier League away win of the season.

The Portuguese tactician will pit his wits against a familiar face, having known Bolton boss Owen Coyle from their time together studying for the same pro-licence course in Scotland in 2007.

But whilst it will be nice to renew acquaintances on the touchline on Saturday, as soon as the whistle blows, Villas-Boas insists it will be back to business as usual, with three points very much the target, following their midweek European excursion.

"We have had two days of recovery sessions, bearing in mind the effort and the delayed flight this week," he revealed.

"We came back from a very strenuous trip but we should be okay as we have enough time to recover, so I think physically the team will respond accordingly so no worries in that sense."

Fernando Torres will begin his threematch suspension, but there is no shortage of strikers available with the recently injured Didier Drogba and Daniel Sturridge both in good condition.

"Drogba, in terms of fitness, is ready," Villas-Boas continued. "He has

been selected for a few games now and we wanted to give him a run in the Fulham game which wasn't possible because of the circumstances of the game.

"Against Swansea we thought about the same but circumstances left us with only the option to bring him in

later in the game, but he is in top form and we just have to decide what we want strategically in the game.

"Sturridge is fully fit and the selection decision will be taken tomorrow.

He has played his part in the last games apart from Swansea and Valencia and he is a player that we trust."

• Drogba

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2011

Style Watch 29 In-Vogue Social Circuit Oops & Kudos Parade Well-Being Entertainment plus

Me, threatened by young actresses?

No way!

– Stephanie Okereke 32

RISSIKAT BADE

Nigerian beauty who conquered London –Page 35

32

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Glamour

C

ONGRATULATIONS on your new achievements. How does it feel to be the face of two world-class brands at the same time?

I think it is wonderful. It is a fantastic relationship working with both and I am having so much fun. Working with the companies is quite fun and I am just happy at the moment with all the endorsements coming-in If you weren't an actress, what would you have been?

I don't know. I could still be in the show business for sure. Right now, I am not only an actress, I am also a producer and director and I call myself a businesswoman. I just found myself in this business and l will be in show business regardless.

Do you think Nollywood can ever catch up with Hollywood?

Yes, but I think people should stop comparing the two industry. It is just like comparing America with Nigeria. So, there is really no base for comparison. We all should be proud of what we have and see different ways which we can improve them, and a lot of ours have been working really hard to see that Nollywood move from the stage it is right now to a different stage, and also stand on the same stage with other counterparts like Hollywood, Bollywood etc.

What future do you see for the Nigerian film industry? l see a very bright future: We have seen a lot of young, talented and eager people who are willing to make a change, willing to let their voice be heard, willing to express their creativity, so there is a whole lot of bright future and also the Nigerian public, their mind is open to show business and they are also embracing it, and every young person want to be a musician, actress unlike before where you don't get to see a lot of people trying to get into the industry. Also, it is a fantastic industry in the sense that, it's also catered for the disabled, the able skilled and unskilled.

Do you feel threatened by the new set of actresses?

No! I am a pace setter, so l don't feel threatened. We are happy that a lot of young and talented people are coming into the industry and that is what we want. And I am also telling the female that it's not only acting that you can do; there are other things you can do like producing, directing, etc. l try to think of new things that are not there that l can do. So feel threatened? Not at all!

Besides acting, what else do you do?

Is acting not enough? I act from Monday to Sunday, working from morning till night. So, what other job do you want me to do.

Who is your favourite actor and movie producer?

I have a lot of people and l don't really know who l am going to name and leave the others. Also, I learn from everyone; l think everyone have something to give or something you can really admire or take away from. There are lots of great producers in Nigeria and a lot of our artistes are wonderful and l admire a couple of them.

What best suits your style-acting, directing or producing?

I am an actress any day anytime, the others l try.

What are your plans for the future?

I just lost a very good friend of mine and now that you are asking me about the plans for the future, l really don't know. l take it one day at a time.

What is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to you?

The chance that God gave me back my life and gave me a chance to work again and also that I have a wonderful man in my life.

Your lowest point When l had my accident, it wasn't really the lowest actually but it was very shocking.

What was your growing up like?

I grew up in a very strong Christian background with very loving parents who try to give their best.

How will you describe style?

Style is an expression of your inner self, how you want to be presented and what you want people to feel about you.

It is just basically the expression of who you are. Although people tend to use style or fashion to express themselves in different ways.

So, how will you define your style?

I like to be simple, elegant and chic, with a little bit touch of sexiness here and there. l try to dress for every occasion and also not to move with the trend. I dress to suit my body type, things that are good and work for me.

And your dress determinant My mood and the occasion How often do you exercise? l hardly do that which is so bad but l try to eat the right things. I am trying to go back to it especially with long tennis.

What are your statistics?

Oh my God, I don't know How many hours do you spend in front of the mirror every morning?

When you have this routine play and play over time, it doesn't take so long because you know what to do and what to put. 30 minutes to 45 minutes, although it also depends on the occasion. If it were a normal day, l usually wear light or no make-up and this is totally different from a red carpet event.

How do you like to spend your weekend?

With my loved ones and sometimes, I go out to watch movies, eat and cook because l have good friends around.

Are you a great cook?

I think so.

What is the secret for your flawless skin?

The main thing is...as far as you have your bath morning and evening, I am sure you are going to have a good skin. It is just simple hygiene and if you practice it religiously, that will make you have a good skin. Take care of yourself like you are supposed to and this is what I do.

Your favourite colour l don't have a favourite colour. I like black and white but l used to like blue but I don't like it again. I am in different, I am adventurous with colours.

Your favourite perfume The one that is going to be my favourite is the one that I am going to make but l have a lot of perfume that are used that are great and that is also what spur me to produce my own signature.

Your favourite shoes and bags designers I try to have an open eyes for any good and classic pieces that are not very popular, l am open to anything as long as it is very cute and unique even with the popular designers.

Stephanie Okereke’s acting prowess and striking beauty are well acknowledged. In this interview with Kehinde Falode she reveals more about her style and personality

‘I am a pacesetter’

33

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

–an eye on celebrities and society people

08023201831(sms only)

Reality TV and its

Stars

By Patience Saduwa

Karen Igho

lyse. This includes her much-hyped recent wedding to her footballer husband, Kris Humphries.

Now, we have seen couples that look odd together. You know the type that make you wonder, how did these people get hitched? However, these two seem to be vying for the record of the oddest-looking couple in celebrity land. He's like twice or thrice her height.

While the guy is like a fully grown Iroko tree, Kim looks like a work in progress, like unfinished businessas if she's still growing. Thing is, at 30 years of age, her growing days are long over. She's so small, he might need a torch light or a shakabula-the smoky lamp market women in Oshodi use to light their wares at nite- to see her in the dark.

She barely reaches up to her husband's shoulders even in the extremely high heels she favours. The result of the height discrepancy (her 5 feet nothing to his 6 ft 9) Tonto Dike

T

HE season is upon us again; the reality TV season, that is. It's that time of year when wannabee stars of the movie and music genre vie for the title of next music star, next movie star, next top model and all the other nexts.

The genre has made a name for itself by featuring outrageous displays of conduct Big Brother Africa (BBA), dangerous stunts, catfights and living on soaked garri with ancestral spirits, mosquitos, snakes and other wild animals for company in the forest Gulder Ultimate Search, (GUS), ear-drum ruining music from participants with a deluded idea of their musical prowess (Project Fame et al), and others too numerous to mention.

There are many, who oppose the genre claiming that reality TV shows are rooted in immorality. Such haters believe that the genre reflects a culture that worships vanity and wealth, rather than virtue, hardwork and humility. The critics believe that reality TV mirrors what our society has become-a community of materialistic morons who don't blink twice about running around naked or swallowing live cockroaches if it means winning millions for doing so.

Whatever the case for or against this genre of TV programming, there's no denying its given some young people the platform to launch their careers.

Amongst these are actress, Tonto Dike, singers Timi Diakolo and Omawumi, Ebuka Uchendu, Kevin Pam and a few others.

The odd couple Talking about reality stars brings us to the queen mother of them all -Kim Kardasian. This American TV 'star' has made a career of putting her life and every move she and her small clan of relatives and hangers-on make, on TV for viewers to see and anaKim and hubby Kris

is that holding a face-to-face conversation must be a real pain in the neck for madam. And giving the hubby a simple peck on the cheek as loving couples are wont to, will likely require some serious planning. And some essential props like a pair of 12 inches Lady Gaga-style heels, a stool or even a ladder to climb on (like the type ill-mannered and cantankerous NEPA officials mount to disconnect the light of their equally cantankerous and belligerent customers).

Even with all these 'working tools', the giant hubby still needs to bend down to meet her at her level. Now, we know what David looked like besides Goliath, with this modern-day version of the most ill-matched enemies and combatants in history. The only difference is that instead of throwing stones, rocks, daggers, swords and other ancient weapons of mass destruction at each other, all this loving couple exchange are kisses and hugs, even if the tiny Mrs has to climb a ladder to do it.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Glamour Lifestyle Health Nutrition Fitness

39

with Patience Saduwa

08023201831 (sms only) psaduwa@yahoo.com

‘Soy protein key to healthy growth’ Jim Hershey is the Executive Director, World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH), an advocacy group dedicated to enhancing human well-being through soy. He was in Nigeria recently where he spoke with some journalists on the socio-economic benefits of soy and soy by-products. Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf was there

W

HAT is the importance of adequate nutrition in human development, especially children?

Nutrition is vital to the immediate health and survival of children. We know that in Nigeria, more than half of childhood mortality comes as a result of under nutrition and malnutrition. So, the immediate survivability of the children is very important. But over a long term, chronic malnutrition, especially that brought on by vitamin deficiency of protein, means that even if the child survives and gets to the point of 5years old or school age, if the child hasn't had sufficient protein and other nutritional diet, the brains would not have developed in a way where they can be as bright as their genetics programmed them to be.

So, the question arises: how can you develop the economy to a maximum potential if 40 % of your children are stunted mentally as well as physically?

It is interesting that many people in the world now have recognised that childhood malnutrition negative nine month, is to say at the point of conception, so, the first few months of pregnancy, and are important. And increasingly, throughout the

pregnancy, mother's nutrition is very vital. Once the child is born, breast-feeding is always a must.

The mother must continue the need to eat well up to what we call a thousand days of a child's life.

But then when it's six month, breast feeding is no longer sufficient for the child development. In such case, then you must move into complementary meal, which must be appropriate and diverse for the kid.

For instance, you cannot make a two year old or 18 month old baby sit to a family bowl of rice and fish, that child needs a special type of food that could be made in Nigeria way, such as the local cereal, whether it is sorghum flour, and then some soy.

I know that in Nigeria government has invested money and time in people to understand the importance of soy nutrition as well as been able to provide soymodified food to the young child.

So those first thousand days from conception to 24 months of a child are vital so that they get the right food, at the right time, including the mother.

In Nigeria, there have been issues of death related to eating foods that contain protein such as

•Jim Hershey

beans. Is there any such issue with soy?

First of all, there is nothing in soy that is toxic, not like the cyanide in cassava. What is in soy is something called the trimpson inhibitor; it is an enzyme in the bean that prevents your body from digesting in the soy. But if you eat cook soy it is not going to hurt you.

But you won't get the full nutritional benefit of having eaten it unless you cook it well. And this

actually is what we hear from the villages and from people in the cities, that if they buy soybeans and try to use them like the traditional Nigerian, they are not so successful, because sometimes it takes so long to cook them to make them tasty so you want to eat them...If you don't cook soy well, you get some energy, the oil, but the protein may not be available as it should be.

Now, in the case of eating soy prepared by someone else, which some other companies processed in a modern way, through roasting, grinding the soy, as I mentioned, there is a factory now in Nigeria that does what they call crushing and extracting the oil from the soy bean, that is like cooking.

Soy that is being processed into something else has no trimpson inhibitor active any more. It is simply bio-available, and one of the best proteins you can even have.

What is your advice to policy makers on the socio-economic benefits of soy?

One of the things would be to encourage over demand growth of soy that would help increase production of soy here in Nigeria.

Farmers respond to agriculture

system, to market signals. We know that Nigeria is soy deficient both at the household level and also at the macro-economic level, because we know that people are looking for more protein in their diets. At the industry level, poultry farmers are looking for more protein for the poultry. So policy decisions should be able to increase the supply and lower the cost of soy to users would be a god initiative.

But it is not unusual for countries to be protein deficient. Europe is protein deficient, China is protein deficient, Central America is protein deficient as well. The only people in the world that aren't protein deficient are the North and South Americans because we grow more soy than we eat. Everywhere else, including Nigeria grows soy almost a million tonnes but it is still not sufficient. So, Nigeria is like Europe, Asia, like Russia and like so many other countries as far as protein-deficiency is concerned.

What you can do to address this gap, I think, is by encouraging your local farmers to produce more. You can also encourage trade and development. These are the things that will combine to improve nutrition in Nigeria as well as agriculture development and as well as economic opportunities.

‘Health Bill critical to sector’s resuscitation’ N ATIONAL Programme Manager of Partnership for Transforming Health Systems Phase II (PATHS 2), Mr. Mike Egboh has described the National Health Bill as the panacea to resuscitating Nigeria's ailing health sector.

Egboh who made this known during his lecture delivered at the 5th T.A.I Grillo Distinguished Alumni lecture series of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, however, pointed out that this could only be achieved if the government of Nigeria moves from just lip service to signing the Bill into law.

He also noted that the health sector will continue to be clogged even with the brightest minds at the head of the supervising ministry until the appropriate approach is adopted.

In his description of the country's health system, Egboh said, “The Nigerian Health System

can be described as a car with a broken engine: we keep changing the drivers with the hope it will perform better forgetting that until we fix the engine even Michael Schumacher, the world car racing champion, will not make the car perform.”

Adding, he said, “Clearly, until we fix the Nigerian health system, even the brightest Minister will find it difficult to make significant improvements to Nigeria's appalling health indices.”

He decried the fact that Nigeria is virtually at the bottom of almost every development index just slightly better than countries that have suffered significant internal conflicts and have considerably lower per capita gross domestic product (GDP).

Speaking further on whether Nigeria has what it takes to get its health sector back to optimum performance, Egboh said, “Nigeria has never been found wanting in terms of developing conceptual frameworks, programs or

formulating excellent policies. The best designed policies and programs can be found in Nigeria and other countries have come to learn and borrow those ideas.”

The PATHS2 National Programme Manager said although the challenges within Nigeria's health system are huge, there are glimpses of encouraging signs.

“The recent passage of the National Health Bill after seven (7) years by the National Assembly is a positive sign in the right direction. It is hoped that once the President assents to the bill, it will lead to improved funding for the health sector,” Egboh said.

He, however, noted that the greatest fear for those in development and the political cycle lies in the behaviour of the managers of the system.

According to him, “behaviour, attitudes and values must be

tackled going forward if we are to achieve the MDG targets.”

“The good news is that despite the picture painted above, there are positive initiatives that if properly galvanized will take the country out of the current doldrums beyond theories and rhetoric,” he added.

This “framework” can be applied to understand how the Nigerian health system functions, especially why less impressive progress has been made towards achieving significant progress in key health indices comparable to that of other health systems despite concerted reform efforts that date back to preindependence.

He suggested any workable framework to be adopted for Nigeria's health sector must seek understanding of the context, while looking for connections between parts of the system, programmes, demand and supply, as well as across different

•Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu

sectors.

Egboh said the framework must seek to set direction and vision, including putting in place rules and regulations as well as incentives; understand the influence of the organizational structure i.e. how ministries are organized, how development assistance is provided, affective behaviour in the system; and inculcate use of data to guide decisions.

40

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Relationship

T

HE devout woman was excited that her son was finally getting married. Her son had a small registry wedding two weeks after introducing his fiancé to her. To crown her joy, within seven months, she was holding in her hands her first grandchild. But she felt something was wrong as she held the healthy, big baby in her hands.

Her son had told her that the baby came early at barely seven months.

But the baby she was holding in her hands looked like one who had stayed some extra weeks in the womb. She did not want to think that her son was having premarital sex. She had brought him up to treat his body as the temple of the Holy Ghost. She decided to ask the doctor if the baby had come early. The doctor looked at her, smiled and said “The baby was on time but the marriage was late”.

The sequence for most couples getting married nowadays is first they fall in love, then they start having sex and afterwards they consider marriage. For genuine Christians the sex should not come before the marriage. What the sequence should be is ‘Love, marriage and sex’. Unfortunately, many Christian singles do not understand what love is and therefore are finding it really difficult to live their lives in a godly way.

When people say that they have fallen in love, it should be because they have been around love and

Relationship Deola Ojo 08027454533 (text) pastordeegfc@yahoo.com

Love, sex, & marriage then they fall in. For instance someone who fell into a lake must have been around a lake. Suppose someone does not understand what true love is, is it possible for this person to fall in love?

There are three kinds of love we need to look at. Phileo, which is friendly affection or love that emanates from the pleasure received from another person. Eros, which is a sexual affection for another person. Agape which is goodwill based on God’s love, unconditional affection, which is pure in motive and noble in expression.

When a Christian falls in love, it should be based on a combina-

tion of Agape, Phileo and Eros. A man who does not love his father, mother, brother and sister cannot suddenly fall in love with a lady.

He may fall into lust with her, but he cannot fall in love with her because he does not know what love really is. A man, who is always angry, bitter, has no friends and treats everyone around him badly cannot fall in love. If he suddenly meets a lady whom he feels that he cannot do without, it is definitely for the wrong reasons. He does not know how to have friendly affection, so if he falls in love, all he has is sexual love. The problem with sexual love is that it is not enough to sustain a mar-

Mr and Mrs Kehinde and Lola Olowa at their Traditional Wedding ceremony in Lagos recently.

riage. Married couples cannot have sex all the time. In the early days of a marriage, it is possible to have sex every day. Perhaps some couples may even have sex twice a day, but for how long?

After a while, one or both partners will get tired of having sex. For most couples, that is when they start feeling that there is something wrong with their marriage or with their partner. So if Eros is the only love a marriage is built upon, it is bound to fail.

Some ladies say that they do not want to marry a man who has close family ties; because they think that his family will interfere with their marriage. While it is true that such a man will need to balance his relationship with his extended family, he is more likely to express love to his spouse after marriage. He understands what it means to care, share and love another human being. If he is not a Christian, he has been using phileo in his relationship with his family. He understands love which is based on giving and taking. He understands kindness and is able to reciprocate that kindness. While he may not be generous or be unconditional in his love for his spouse, he has the ability to be civil. The degree to which he has practiced love in his relationships with his fellow human beings will greatly impact his marriage. A man who has a cordial relationship with neighbours, friends and family members will make a better marriage partner than someone who is known to be antisocial, mean, selfish and bitter towards everyone. Such a person does not understand love and has not practiced the use of phileo love in relationships. The same is true for ladies. A lady who does not get along with her family members and is always quarreling with her friends may turn out to be a cantankerous wife.

For a Christian, the foundation of the marriage must be Agape, Phileo and Eros. Phileo is the first kind of love we all encounter when we are born. We see the expressions of Phileo from our parents siblings and other family members. As we grow and become more social, we are taught to express this love to other family members and people around us. A person who is raised in a genuine Christian home will grow up seeing expressions of both Phileo and Agape from family members and church members. By the time s/he gets born again, s/

he is able to continue to express these. When two singles of the opposite gender who share these values meet each other, they can immediately start expressing these two kinds of love to one another. An increasing impression of these loves for each other is what should make them pray to seek God’s guidance and direction for both their lives. An increasing impression and expression of these loves can also indicate compatibility. As the pleasure they receive from each other’s company grows, their friendly affection for each other grows.

When a Christian man meets a Christian lady, their first expression of love should Agape, which is then followed by Phileo as they get to get to know each other. It is possible for this friendly affection to grow into Eros. But by this time they should have had time to pray and to find out God’s direction for both their lives. If they believe that God wants them to get married, then they should get married before they start having sex.

Does love at first sight really exist? Is it possible to fall in love with someone that one does not really like and has not expressed phileo for? While it is possible for a man to meet a woman and feel attracted to her and vice versa, this is not love. There may be something in a stranger that elicits interest. It is possible for a single person to meet another single and be immediately drawn to that person. But if the first expression they feel for each other is Eros, it may turn out to be a harmful relationship.

What should a Christian marriage be built on? Agape, Phileo and Eros are the three kinds of love that will produce a strong, healthy and lasting marriage.

Love(Agape and Phileo), Sex(Eros) and Marriage, Christians who have grown in their Agape and Phileo love for people around them, find a natural expression in marriage towards their spouse. Christians who have stunted Agape and Phileo may find marriage challenging, even if they have a strong erotic love for their spouse. The fact that we are Christians does not automatically mean that we have developed our capacity to express Agape love. Our personal growth in Agape and Phileo will have direct impact on our marriage. We must continue to grow in Agape, Phileo and Eros if we want to have a healthy marriage.

Ways to nurture long-distant relationship L

ONG distance relationships may sound challenging but it’s not impossible! If you want to keep the relationship, then no one or nothing should persuade you to do otherwise – not your family and friends, and most especially not the distance. Being geographically challenged shouldn’t be seen as being unlucky in love or falling in love with the wrong person. Distance should be defied and considered as a test to make the bond stronger. Here are the ways to nurture relationships across the miles.

Schedule communication Many couples draw out a schedule for talking on the phonesome talk first thing in morning or at bedtime. Others do both and some do in between. Regardless of your schedule, the most important thing is keeping in touch. Always ensure all communication lines are opened. Spontaneous chats are always welcome. It’s also particularly useful for couples in different

By Christiana Idu and Shade Omololu

time zones for whom ‘checking in at bedtime’ doesn’t apply to keep each other informed about your friends and activities in your home town. Sharing mundane details integrates your partner into the rest of your life, which increases your staying power once you two are in the same area code.

Visit often when it comes to physically connecting, visitation is very important. Try to see each other frequently or at least at regular intervals. Experts suggest meeting at a geographical halfway point. Neither partner feels put out, nor over tasked. Make the place you visit ‘your spot’ in order to spice up things a little. Always having an in-person meeting scheduled gives you something to look forward to during the long times in between.

Beam yourselves up

One accidental plus to longdistance relationships is that you’re often first to adopt new technologies. You’re able to do things that used to only be in the movies.

A digital camera shows off a new hairdo the same day, and you can IM someone in another country more than you chat with your colleague in the office using yahoo messenger, live messenger, blackberry messenger etc. There’s also video calling on Skype. And as tech prices quickly drop, long-distance couples can upgrade often.

Date outside the box Creativity keeps your relationship alive. While same-city couples can easily wind up watching a movie together, those in long distance relationships could also on virtual date- they go to the movies (separately of course) watch the same movie and then comment on it as they actually together at the cinemas. Some couples pick a particular TV show or football match

to watch and they commend, critic and argue, talking on the phone the entire time.

Fight fair-and fast Distance can intensify a budding relationship because the emotional connections thrive and you crave the other person. But on the flip side, a tiff that might be resolved with a quick hug or a sincere ‘sorry’ can be exacerbated by distance. Because there’s no body language to provide context in emails, a message can easily be misunderstood. Be rest assured, this situation occurs in every long-distance relationship. To resolve them quickly and calmly, explain why you’re upset during your next regular phone call. Calling immediately can make a partner feel ambushed, especially if they’re at work, and e-mailing or texting can create more misunderstandings. If things do escalate, stick to a rule: When it comes to telephone conversations, it’s okay to take a break

and arrange to call back later, but never just hang up.

Plan for the future Try having a long talk about the relationships every once in a while, have a DTR (define the relationship talk) so that both individuals are on the same page. If neither person plans to move for the other, for example, it’s vital to know that so you can evaluate your future. Take stock of what’s working, what’s not, and what you both want to happen next. There might be some stumbling, but that happens between people who live mere minutes apart, too. Remember: What matters isn’t where your perfect partner lives, but that you’ve been lucky enough to find one another.

Do not be afraid, you are not alone, I was once there. And so are Millions and millions of people all around the world. They survive it on a daily basis. And so can you!

THEATRE

With VICTOR AKANDE

Save for the content of the posters that welcome the visitor on entering the street leading to the Ikeja home of Evangelist Ebenezer ObeyFabiyi, there atmosphere wore a pre-celebration mood. Obey buttresses this himself when he told VICTOR AKANDE, Entertainment Editor that he was not mourning but celebrating Juliana, his wife of over 48 years who died on August 23 at the age 67. The widower used Bible references to explain the state of his mind on the demise of his wife and life in general.

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e-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

D’prince turns businessman

A

LL is looking well for the Mohits crew as one of its artistes; Charles Enebeli has joined the league of club owners.

Named Jonzing, the club was launched on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at the club address, along Ajose Adeogun, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Known as D'Prince, the artiste revealed that the club is a multi million naira project, which has a bar, restaurant, VIP section, a dance arena for fun seekers, VVIP categories with holding capacity for over 1000 people and a massive main floor that allows artistes performances.

According to the artiste, despite its aesthetic look and the quality of services fun seekers will receive, the drinks are affordable to every young person to party in the Omoba's territory.

“The motive is not for me to be part of night •Evangelist Ebenezer Obey with late wife Juliana life as an entertain er, but also be the creative innovator and brain behind OW did you meet your late wife? despite the aspiration of my parents, my no more, my friend, my mother… but entertainment as We met at her elder brother's place. mother especially for me to either be a greater than the pain is that solace in the a whole. I am very And you know that whatever God sure that fun seekers Lawyer or Medical Doctor, the Lord made word of God. For example, the Bible says we will really have a nice prepares, he ordains and whatever God me an acclaimed celebrity through music. are sojourners on earth. That means we are time during their Ordains, comes to manifestation.

We often hear some women say they pilgrims on pilgrimage here on earth. visit to the club,” What year was that? wouldn't want to marry a musician because Therefore, if we are pilgrims here on earth, D'Prince stresses. of the busy nature of the job and the Many years back. We have been together it means we have limited time to spend here •D’prince artiste's exposure to different other for 48 years; that was before 48 years ago. before we return to where we came from women; was there any form of reluctance What are the fond memories of the which is home. Heaven is our home, and we from your late wife in agreeing to marry beginning of your relationship? must all go back there. But the appointed All I know is that the moment I saw her at you? time to go back, God did not give to the No. The point is this - I met my wife when knowledge of any man. You find out that her brother's place, I knew immediately that I was struggling. I was into music at that she was my wife. That was why I said today, we have the technological NTERPRISING comedian, time, but the fame was not there yet. And I whatever God ordains, he arranges and Koffi Idowu Nuel is about now advancement that can screen the baby in a must say that she knew that this was her brings to manifestation. The moment I saw putting heads together with his pregnant woman and tell you that it is going husband, the same way that I knew that she to be a boy or a girl. These days they even project team as they get set to host the her, the spirit of God struck me in a way was my wife. As a mater of fact, some of her tell you the month and date. But the maiden edition of Koffi's Comedy that says 'this is your wife'. And I told her Nite Live. relations were advising her not to marry me. technology can never say that this man is brother; your sister is my wife, and God 'Why are you going to marry a musician?'

The event is a concept of the award brought it to manifestation. going to die on a particular day; that has not winning comedian, musician and the asked her.

At that period, you were an aspiring been given to any man. It is God who has actor, Koffi. The event is also How would you describe your state of musician… that in His power, and at the appointed designed to give families, couples and (Cuts in) I have always been a musician all mind now, that your second half, as they time, He just calls people home. That is why lovers the opportunity to relax, say, is no more? my life. My talent was discovered in school. no matter how long we live here on earth, network and enjoy unlimited comedy In the first place, I am a man of God who I was actually inspired by a church by being we are going to live in heaven longer than spiced up with music. believes solely in the word of God. I live and a member of the choir and its band and later that.

“This maiden edition is my own eat the Word of God. Jeremiah said that I on as leader of the school band. I took it as a How much would you say you miss your way of celebrating Nigeria at 51, found the Word and I eat it. Eating the word wife? hobby and I never knew it would become a though we have had our experiences means allowing him to pass through your profession because my mother wanted me Eternity is our place and that is why it is as a country , but there is need for us inner being. Letting the Holy Spirit teach to either be a Lawyer or Medical Doctor. I to celebrate and thank God for what certain by the word of God. Heaven is real, and interpret the Word to you. But even was a star from school in that whenever I he has done and so many good things Hell is real and whatever we do here on entered the school premises, the atmosphere when you eat the word, you still feel the earth determines where we will go. So when that He will do in this country , Nigeria will be great that I know, changes- people would start shouting Obey! pain and you say oh, my wife of over 48 we allow the word of God to guide us, there Koffi affirmed.

Obey!! Obey!!! So music was what God had years has gone; the mother of my children is is peace in our heart. So, I miss my wife This highly rated ordained for me but we didn't know then; because she has gone to meet the Lord, it comedy show comes we just thought it was something casual. As pains me, there is nothing I can do about it, up on Saturday, 1st time went by, it was confirmed. One thing but the Lord said in the Book of John, October, 2011 at the led to another and this resulted in the Chapter 14: “Let not your heart be troubled, prestigious, Kingsize formation of the Boys and Girls Youth Club, believe in God and believe also in me. In my in Oregun, Ikeja. because all the people who were in the father's house there are many mansions…”

There will be music department were elderly people. And When Jesus was saying that, he was performances by from the formation of the Boys and Girls preparing every body because he knows we Workerman Youth Club we had Ifelodum Mambo have a limited time here. No matter how movement, Owen Orchestra, then we changed the name to beautiful any house may be here on earth, it Gee, Sound Ontario Mambo Orchestra, and wherever cannot be compared to the mansion over Sultan, Lepacious Bose, Goldie, there. The reality of life is that, the end of we went, I was the star. Soon, the elderly Teju Baby face, man must come on earth but the joy is that brothers in the business knew it was my Bash, Olujazz those who die in the Lord do not die in the show. Then I formed my first band called and real sense of the word. I stand upon the the Royal Mambo Orchestra, that way, God Bowjoint. confirmed what he wanted me to do and —Continued on page 42 •Koffi

We are not mourning; we are celebrating my late wife —Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi

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Koffi gears up for Comedy Nite Live

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The reality of life is that, the end of man must come on earth but the joy is that those who die in the Lord do not die in the real sense of the word. I stand upon the word and know the word of God is the solid rock

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‘We are not mourning’ —Continued from page 41

word and know the word of God is the solid rock. Jesus is the solid rock. So there is nothing I can do about my wife's death. Emotion would come when it needs to come, tears would come when it needs to come and we shall wipe our tears when we need to wipe our tears. So that is life. The Bible says we should thank God for every thing.

What part would you say your late wife played in your Christian life?

Oh, she played several important roles in my life. Like in the music world, she knew how I operate, she understood what I wanted. She has actually helped me to live my life as a, musician. As an artiste, you don't need a chaotic atmosphere, and my wife made my home a peaceful one. So I operate in a peaceful home and that gave me an advantage to compose good and meaningful lyrics. So, God gave me the right wife and she actually succeeded in taking charge. As I was going all over the world in the course of the job, I laid the rule that by 8:30pm my doors must be locked and all my children must be in bed and despite the fact that I was always away, she kept all the laid down rules and that was how we were able to raise our children with the standard that God has helped us to lay down.

Then when the call came (inspiration to become an evangelist) she was the first person that I discussed with. She just said that if that is what God wanted me do, she cannot go against the will of God. And this was at a period that some other people did not show total signs of support. She had been a supportive woman of God in running the ministry. In our ministry they called her Mummy G.O and different people have been saying different things about her. So I thank God for her life and that is why we just need to celebrate her.

Talking about her support for your music career, did that also include helping you to manage the supposed rivalry between you and King Sunny Ade? There was no rivalry. It was the curiosity or the imagination of the press that actually started that. When I sing, they say I am singing against Sunny, when Sunny sang; they would say he is singing against me. But there was nothing like that. As a matter of fact, we were close because he was visiting me and was going to his place too. Even when the elderly people in the music industry like I.K Dairo of blessed memory saw what was happening, they called us and we said there was no problem. We even went ahead to do records to clear the rumour. Now after several years, you are still asking the same thing.

You were meant to do a concert alongside King Sunny Ade in October of last year, what happened to the project?

We agreed with the promoters to stage the concert because we saw that it was a good initiative. But there were some shortcomings from the promoters' side: as they were going on with the plan, they saw that it was getting bigger than they had envisaged and so, they asked for more time.

When was the last time you saw or spoke with KSA especially sine the passing on of your wife?

He was here to commiserate with me on the passing to glory of my wife. As a matter of fact, he had to break his rest holiday to come and see me.

They say that a man's hobby keeps him kicking, when was the last time you performed?

During the ministry, I use music as a medium of communication. I do that all the time. And apart from that, I have what I call special appearance through an outreach department, which is something I do apart from ministering in Churches. Why it is special is that I do the little that I can because I do not want anything that will disrupt the work of God.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

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HE humour market is not a very saturated one but when it comes to ratings and success, it obviously is a turf war. When anniversaries come, it comes not just for the need to celebrate but also for a chance to sit back and reflect on achievements. And so Tee-A, real names Tunde Adewale, gears up to mark 15 years on stage.

When it comes to comedians who helped shaped the entertainment industry, the name Tee A easily stands out. Sustaining 15 years in the comedy field is no easy task and so the artiste has decided to take time off to celebrate with friends and family, Sunday October 2, 1011, at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja with a kick-off of the first in a series of live concerts of TymeOut with Tee A, a show

15 years on stage: Tee-A in perspective!

Ovwe MEDEME

lacks the magic viewers desire. In May 2010, which he describes as an Comedian Teju Babyface took “independence gift to our a bold step in his career when friends in Abuja.” he floated his own show, The For one who has done a Teju Babyface Show which he decade and a half, the said is fashioned after big entertainer boasts of three programmes like Ellen programmes Tyme Out with DeGeneres', Arsenio Hall, Benny Tee-A, Tee-A's Laugh Out loud Hill and The Tonight's Show.

Comedy Concert Tour and Just one year down the line Celebrity Old Skool Costume and the show has been the Party but every artiste will toast of comedy lovers as it agree that the trick lies in has hosted greats in different sustaining the programmes before the audience. Except fields of endeavours. for the television show, Tee-A prides himself as, the Tyme Out with Tee-A, the first Nigerian comedian to others seem to have stage a one man standup fallen into oblivion. comedy concert in July 2000; he is also the first local The TV programme, people Nigerian comedian to perform will agree, has come at the world famous Hackney a long way but when empire theatre bullion room in Oct and Nov 2001 among a place alongside The host of other grandstanding Teju Babyface Show firsts. In the midst of all these run by fellow comedia firsts however, the comedian is somewhat perceived as n, it obscure among his peers.

For instance, Tee-A had gained prominence before the likes of AY, I Go Dye, Basketmouth and others who can be regarded as his contemporaries.

Today, they are the toast of comedy lovers and the darling of corporate bodies who give them •Tee-A one endorsement or the

MCSN gets new board members

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NDERGOING restructuring and repositioning to strengthen its operation and hold in the intellectual property protection business, the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) has reinforced its Board with new members.

At a meeting held in August, the General Council (Board of Directors) of the Society announced the appointments of Ms. Yinka Davies, Mr. Ope Banwo and Mr. Solomon Arueya as directors and members of Council of the Society.

•Yinka Davies

other, brand them ambassadors and use them as MCs for their events- a trend which Tee-A has not been known to be part of in recent times.

AY, as a comedian has turned into a brand name with a television show, a talent hunt programme and an always sold out show dubbed The AY Live.

Basketmouth on the other hand is everywhere picking up endorsements with corporate bodies and getting shows, the latest being the MTV's television show, The Big Friday. Lost in the scheme of things, Tee-A's TymeOut cannot even be placed close the Julius Agwu's Crack Ya Ribs, perhaps for the lack of that special magic.

For a pioneer comedian celebrating 15 years in the industry, it is expected that comedy greats turn out to celebrate him but the line-up of comedians billed to show their support to the celebrant does not include heavyweights in the comedy genre but averagely gifted comedians such as Princess and MC Abbey, both regulars on Tyme out with Tee A, Gbenga Adeyinka, Holy Mallam, Omo Baba, Tunde Ednut, Headmaster and the likes.

Triple J Plus set for debut album release

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ITH contemporary she is set to resume further gospel genre of studies in the USA, this year. music becoming Seen as a move to fill certain The group's exhilarating more popularized, the vacancies in the Board of the and well choreographed Nation's music industry is Society, the appointments, performance at the last about to experience a new gig National Children's Day according to the Governing as kid dynamites, Triple J Council, were also aimed at Celebration hosted at Power making the Board represent the Plus, is poised to drop their City International, was an debut album tagged various interests existing attestation of what to expect “Complete Again”. within the organization. from these young stars.

For instance, while Yinka The new work from the Speaking on behalf of her Davies is a classical music youthful singing sisters siblings and group mates, songwriter and performer, she (Jemima, 17, Jesimel, 15, and Jemima said that “Triple J is seen as an activist who has Jewel, 8), all daughters of the Plus has a sure word championed MCSN's causes at faith-teaching preacher, Dr. foundation and roots in the various fora including high Abel Damina, is coming after unabridged word of God.” level representation before the months of hard work within This, she said, has produced Federal Government. Her and outside Nigeria. Aside results such as their appointment along with other contemporary gospel, the trio commissioning and female members of the board, who just returned from a very endorsement last February by it is said, would make the successful musical outing in Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Board more gender sensitive. the Bahamas, on the (National President Christian Mr. Ope Banwo, the founder invitation of Dr. Myles Association of Nigeria) as and Chief Executive of Munroe, is also heavily into well as Pastor Mathew Stingomania Group is a music Pop, Rock, Hip-hop and RnB. Ashimolowo (KICC, London). and film businessman with According to the music acts, many artistes who are already their academic works have members of MCSN on his not suffered any publishing and recording backlash, platforms while Solomon despite their Arueya is the owner of heavy Westside Music Inc., a music engagements publishing outfit with deep in recent interests in artistes' times development and promotions. musically, All the new Directors have as written to formally accept and Jemima, thanked the management of the the Society for the eldest of appointments. them say •Triple J Plus

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Smooth 98.1FM Smooth Divas live concert

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ITH the introduction of 3 international female musicians, the 2011 edition of Smooth 98.1FM's Love Music Love Life Luxury Concert has taken a new turn. Though the divas are yet to be unveiled, the organizers assure that the artistes are currently making waves on billboard charts, radio stations and concert stadiums.

Tagged “Smooth Divas,” the Concert will take place on Saturday November 5, 2011 at the Expo Center, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

According to Ayoola Sadare, Inspiro Production, “The month of November is a great one for Jazz and live music in Nigeria starting with the smooth 98.1FM Divas Live Concert then the Lagos Jazz Series and The Lagos

•Wizkid with Banky W

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International Jazz Festival,” he said The first Smooth 98.1FM Love Music Love Life Luxury Concert was held in November 2010 with performances by Angie Stone, Gerald Albright, Richard Bona featuring Mike Stern, Bez, Tiwa Savage, and Pure and Simple.

•Dbanj and Don Jazzy

T •Hugh Masekela

Banky W, Wizkid join MTV Base Shuga Series

WO of Nigeria's biggest music acts, Banky W and Wizkid are jetting off to Kenya to appear in Shuga: Love, Sex, Money, the critically acclaimed sex-and- relationships TV series from the stable of MTV Base, The Staying Alive Foundation, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and The Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation.

Both artistes will play themselves in the series, performing during emotionally hard-hitting club scenes shot at luxury Nairobi hangout, Skylux Lounge. Nigerian viewers will get the chance to see WizKid and Banky W in action from 14 February 2012 when Shuga: Love; Sex; Money premieres on MTV channels around the world.

Joining Banky W and WizKid in the series will be Kenyan singer Avril (Miss B'have) and cast members Sharon Olago (Violet), David Omwange (Skola), Nick Mutuma (Leo), Antony Mwangi (Kennedy) and Valerie Kimani (Sindi), Nick Ndeda (Angelo), Nancy Wanjiku (Baby), Brenda Wairimu (Dala), Edward Nyanaro (Rayban), Ikubese Emmanuel a.k.a.

9Con - (Femi), Christopher Otieno (Slim) and Wairugi Mutero (Njoki).

Shuga: Love; Sex; Money is directed by South African veteran director Teboho Mahlatsi and Lupita Nyong'o, who played the pivotal character of Ayira in the first series of Shuga. Nyong'o, an award-winning documentary maker and actress, returns on the other side of the camera as codirector and will also be making a brief cameo appearance in the series.

The first series of Shuga was

Media Image scorns D'banj and Don Jazzy arrest hoax

filmed in Kenya in AugustSeptember 2009. Starring a young cast of upcoming Kenyan actors and actresses, Shuga told a bitter-sweet tale of love, loss, sex, heartbreak and relationships, set in the clubs, bars, campuses and hangouts of contemporary Nairobi. With a raw and uncut view on the lives of sexually active young Kenyans, Shuga spot lit the risks associated with unprotected sex and the partyhard lifestyles of urban Kenyan youth, told through the interlinked characters and storylines.

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HE rumour mills are grinding and celebrated artiste D'banj and the CEO of Mo'Hits Records, Don Jazzy are, once again, in the mix of it.

Late Sunday night through Monday, Internet and Blackberry broadcast emerged claiming that the duo were 'arrested' in the US with 1,000 kilograms of substance suspected to be hard drugs and are believed to be under Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) detention.

However, the media company for the Mo'Hits Records, Media Image Managers, has come out to, in strong terms; refute the rumours before it does more damage. “WE find it really mischievous and wicked for somebody to sit in the comfort of his home and send out messages capable of damaging the lives of his fellow human being.”

The stars' publicist in the statement described the news as the handiwork of people who

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NOWN for his shortdreads even before he took the music industry by storm in 2009, we can authoritatively tell you that rave artiste DJ Zeez has changed his look and now wears a low cut, this is addition to his relocating from Bariga, his father's house to his Vanilla Villa House which also

want to bring down any successful person. “It is this Shoot Him Down Syndrome (SHDS) that has pervaded the country for years now, and artistes as well as celebrities bear the brunt more.

We want to state categorically that Dbanj and Don Jazzy are in Lagos. They are nowhere near New York or even Ghana.”

According to the publicists, the two respected artistes are proud Nigerians doing the country proud worldwide. “They do not need to peddle drugs as they are successful young men who worked hard to get to where they are today. The report making the rounds that they were arrested in America on Sunday is false and an attempt to tarnish the image of these proudly Nigerian artiste,” the statement said.

Livid in their approach, the media managers called on the Federal Government to bring Nigerians to order by way of enlightenment on the need to

DJ Zeez changes look houses his studio in Gbagada area of Lagos.

Rumour has it that DJ Zeez who is set to shoot the video of his latest single Take It Easy, is at the moment hunting for a director to

SwagWestAfrica: The making of another reality TV show

HE Nigerian airwaves over the last 10 years have been awash with a variety of reality TV shows which have given scores of fame seeking youths the opportunity to display and develop their individual talents. Adding to the already clustered line-up of talent hunt programmes on TV is Swag West Africa; a new reality TV show which will have 30 housem ates from different

African countries for 30 days in one house.

The selected housemates are expected to compete to be part of the best African musical video.

Contestants are expected to exhibit their style, creativity and talent in the production of the best musical video, which would be judged by the audience through SMS collation.

The

•Eugene Obadan •Iris Ojieh

•Ojo Adedamola

verify information before they spread it further. “D'banj and Don Jazzy, two successful artistes are target today (so many people had been targets in the past), who knows the next target? These young men even when they were yet to break into limelight did not do any illegal thing, so it would be most sad now that almost a decade of hard work that has paid off would be rubbished by engaging in anything illegal,” the release concludes.

D'banj and Don Jazzy aside winning many awards were recently signed American superstar Kanye West's G.O.O.D Music sparking off rumours that the duo, perhaps with other members of the mohits crew have been initiated into the occult society, Illuminati. In recent past, there has also been a rumour of the ban of D'banj's Oliver Twist video which the Nigerian Broadcast Commission (NBC) debunked only last week.

objectives of the reality TV show which is being mid-wifed by the trio of Eugene Obadan, C.E.O Eugenes Entertainment Newtwork, Ojo Adedamola, Head Marketing and Iris Ojeih, Logistics are to: influence African youths positively and give them a sense of direction, provide youths with the opportunity to be selfreliant and confidence building among other virtues.

Activities of the housemates would be closely monitored by CCTV cameras. The reality TV show which will be broadcasted on STV, AIT and Channel O. Housemates will be rated according to their lifestyle, attitude, performance and grace.

Winners would be given record deals and financial rewards and much more while would be participants are expected to log on to www.swagwestafrica.com for more information on how they can participate.

handle the video shoot. When contacted on why he's not using Sleek of 'JJC and the 419 Squad' that shot the video for hit singles Fokasibe and Boobie e, he had this to say, “Yes, I'm working on shooting the video to my latest album but I have not come out to say that Sleek will not shoot or will shoot the video. Right now, I've not made up my mind on who is directing the video but I'm working on shooting the video soon,” he said.

Zeezy as fondly called by friends, has been busy touring the different states of the nation performing for multinational brands like MTN, Etisalat and a host of others. It is still not confirmed whether he will be part of Felabration but gist has it that the artiste has be contacted and might headline the event along with other stars in the Nigeria music industry.

•DJ Zeez

FROM THE CAMPUS PAGE 46

THE NATION SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2011

NIGERIA AT 51

A Sporting toddler?

By Bunmi Ashebu grew up a very proud child only for one reason; I was born on the 1st of October. I loved celebrating my birthday on the same day as my beloved country Nigeria; it was always a double celebration for me. I’d take part in the independence match pasts and return home to celebrate with friends and family.

Unfortunately today, the joy and pride have been replaced with fading dreams, sadness, shame, pity and fear.

What is there to celebrate today anyway? Is it power failure, comatose education sector, non-existent health care, lack of accountability, corruption, embezzlement, electoral fraud, nepotism and of course very recently terrorism?

Politics is not my forte, sports is and even the sports sector is not any better than the others in Nigeria.

In my opinion the sports sector is most unfortunate because there was a time when we were united in sports. In the days when we had dictators as leaders, when there was no freedom of speech, movement etc., one thing we had was sports.

Football in particular. The Super Eagles were our pride and joy.

Was it not in 1996 that Chioma Ajunwa became the first Nigerian to win a gold medal and shortly after that, the U-23 team after beating Brazil and Argentina in the semi-final and final gave Nigeria the second gold medal in Atlanta? To think that this was under the dictatorial reign of Sani Abacha!

As I write, the Nigerian premier league is in shambles.

We are yet to conclude the 2010/2011 season yet every football loving Nigerian I know, celebrated the start of the 2011-2012 European league season like we all hold European passports. Who can blame us really? I can’t remember the last time anybody I know went to the stadium to watch an NPL game, yet week in week out people are displaying pictures of their visits to Old Trafford, Emirates, Camp Nou, Bernabeu etc. whilst Nigerians are paying a premium to get into these stadia, we can’t even brag of an average attendance of 4000 spectators per game in the NPL. Are our administrators so daft and clouded by individual interests that they can’t see the business aspect of sports? Can somebody please tell them that we can’t develop the league without private sector ownership of clubs and stadia, that way, the league will be self-sustaining. I mean how can players be owed salaries at all, talkless of being

With Prof. Emmanuel Ojeme

I

• John Mikel Obi recently visited Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to express his gratitude to the government for the safe return of his father owed for as long as six months?

It is the height of cruelty.

This is 2011, elsewhere, not just in Europe or America, but in Africa, sports administrators are looking at sports like football, basketball, cycling, polo, golf, cricket, tennis, baseball, rugby and other sports that could turn their kids into entrepreneurs, and they are investing in them.

The kids start taking tutorials at age five, by 15 or 16 years, they are already the new kid on the block, and by the time they are in their late teens and early twenties they have the world at their feet. It’s called youth development.

This was how the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena became global brands, Nadal, Tiger Woods, Messi, Wayne Rooney, and hundreds of others. South African youths are making millions from Golf, Polo, Rugby, Cricket and even football, where are the sports administrators of the giant of Africa?

Also in this same Africa, sports administrators are thinking daily on how they can work with experts in labour and crime and use sports to engage their youths so that they can be gainfully employed. Imagine what Chelsea and England captain John Terry would have been without football. His father was a drug dealer and his mother was a kleptomaniac (“tif” like my people will say), but thanks to football, Terry’s course in life has changed.

But here, nobody is thinking about our youths and the business side of sports. Here, sports have been reduced to participation in All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games, Olympics Games, African Nations Cup and the World Cup.

In 2011, yes in 2011, 51 years after independence, even in the 1960’s till late 1980’s it was not this bad. How did they get it so wrong? Like a friend said, “how is it possible to mess up our national obsession”?

Then we had a very competitive and lucrative football league. So good that Brazilians, Argentines and even Europeans came here to coach, while footballers from all over Africa wanted to play in our league. But today, our premier clubs are feeder teams to clubs in Sudan, Gabon, Ghana, even Ethiopia yes, it is that bad.

Then Nigerians played tennis at a very high level, we had Nigerians making good money from boxing and other sports. But today, the only area of sports we are excelling in is under age football and athletics, as for the true age of the players and the athletes, that is a story for another day.

The irony is, we have more money in sports today, and we have more talented athletes, more facilities and better education. What we lack today are managers who can build institutions. Usain Bolt and our Olusoji Fasuba have the same DNA. Fasuba’s mother, a former sprinter from Jamaica comes from a family with rich history of winning medals in the Olympics and other major championships, would Fasuba have ruled the world if he were to be born in Jamaica, most probably yes, the success of Francis Obikwelu, and other athletes who failed here, but have succeed elsewhere, have shown that our sports administrators are the problem, not the dearth of talents.

The whole of this week we have all been praying and fasting for Nigeria but we cannot continue to rely on

divine intervention to get us out of the mess that we have found ourselves in. Do countries like England, Germany, U.S.A. and even Jamaica pray as much as we do? Yet they seem to be steadily forging ahead in their sports sector. We cannot keep praying and not prepare and expect those who have worked hard, who are better prepared and more committed not to go through. How do we expect to thrive on a shaky foundation? God is not partial.

However, I don't think that the situation is irredeemable.

To forge ahead we have to start by getting rid of the administrators who have no business being in sports; an administration that is polluted by untrustworthy and unpatriotic administrators. A bunch of unprogressive minded people who must realize that until they understand that sports especially football is a business run by professionals for professionals, then there’s no hope.

Imagine in 2011 no TV deal, no merchandise, zero marketing, no confidence incorporate Nigeria to support football…….I heard the NFF couldn’t get sponsorship for the FA Cup, does it sound right? Simply involve corporate Nigeria if not the NFF will continue to wander around in tatters with begging bowl in hand.

We cannot let ourselves be buried alive by a greedy and nepotistic bunch of inept civil servants, who alongside stealing our wealth, have also stolen our “national obsession”.

Happy independence day great people!!!!!!!

Super Eagles second encounter with Syli Stars of Guinea

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HE National team of Guinea, known as Syli Stars, will be in Nigeria on October 8th 2011, to play against the Super Eagles in the African Cup of Nations qualifier. The Syli Stars leads their group with three points while the Eagles are second. The Eagles need to win this game resoundingly in order to qualify. I watched the first leg game played in Conakry , Guinea , where the Eagles played badly and lost. I find it important to share some of my observations about the game played by the Eagles in the first leg as well as the depth of character displayed by the Syli Stars on that occasion. Much of these observations and comments are taken from a previous article published on this subject matter after the game. The Eagles showed the following characteristics: (1) Absence of basic strategic movement of players on the field (2) Very low mobility (3) High turn over (4) No initiative or clue to outwit the opponent (5) Hesitation to tackle or mark the opponent (6) Unnecessary display of arrogance on the field.

(7) Inaccurate shooting in front of goal (8) Lack of pace (9) Poor passes (10) No commitment to call to duty on behalf of fatherland.

Unlike our own team, the Syli Stars were the exact opposite of the characterization of the Eagles as outlined above. So, it outclassed and clipped the Eagles wings very badly. I feel bad because the Eagle is a symbol of our nation.

It is significant to point out that the set of players that featured against the Syli Stars in the first leg, are now playing under a new Coaching Crew. There are some signs also that the social psychology of the team has undergone some changes. It is expected that they will play differently to achieve the desired result. The truth however, is that this team, in the last few years has always struggled to qualify for African Cup of Nations Competitions and the World Cup, from the Africa Zone. The Eagles has always played itself in to tight corners, from where it struggles.

This game against Guinea in Nigeria must be used to redeem its image and ensure that our Flag is hoisted at the venues of next year’s African Cup of Nations.

The NFF has the big role of providing logistic support to help the team carry out this assignment. This game is a milestone game, more crucial than the recreational home and away encounters with the Argentine national team. Both the NFF and the Eagles must remember the blow that football gave to our national image and psyche when Ghanaians eliminated our male and female teams from the 10th All Africa Games in Maputo .

Did the NFF even bother to investigate or probe these fatal and disgraceful failures of coaches and teams?

Siasia must make the Eagles play a combatant, mobile and compact game. The team needs a high work rate to win against an opposition that has a very clear advantage of three points, leading the group. I wish the opponent is the team pursing us from behind. The former Coach of the Eagles, in the first leg game, confessed that he did not know much about the team but relied on the information given to him by one of his players. It means that the Technical Department also failed in its duty on that occasion because it needed to provide videos of the opponents and other relevant information to the coach. I do hope that this time around, Siasia has had the opportunity to see the Video Clips of the last encounter. Nigeria needs this game, not just marginally, but in a trouncing manner to reach the finals of next year’s African Cup of Nations. It is a defining moment both for the NFF and Samson Siasia as head coach.

May God help us Amen!

• Ahmed Musa

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

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Have Your Say I

T is the contention of respondents that for as long as the minds occupying the corridors of power in Nigeria remain anti-education, so long would the country continue to experience such industrial action like the one-week warning strike observed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) last week in protest against the Federal Government’s sickening disposition to the agreement it reached with the body in 2009.

Many consider as reprehensible the attitude of the FG to matters concerning the nation’s educational development, arguing that the demands made by ASUU are not unrealizable.

The attitude of the Federal Government is irresponsible, callous and inconsiderate. Otherwise, it shouldn’t take another threat of industrial action for the agreement reached with ASUU about two and a half years ago to be implemented. It’s all the more embarrassing when one thinks of the fact that Mr. President was once a lecturer!

A vital point we should all keep in mind is that a country that neglects its educational sector is doomed.

Dr. (Mrs.) Makanjuola, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The failure of the FG to honour the agreement willingly signed in 2009 calls the integrity of our leaders to questioning. It is obvious they were not since in the first place. Jonathan should take bold step by implementing it in order to avoid another catastrophe.

David Binta Oloyede, Offa, Kwara State.

Though no tier of government in Nigeria is serious about education, that of the Federal Government is more perilous and dysfunctional. It is as if there is no means to fund the universities. You only need to visit some rich states even in the Southwest to see some suicidefriendly operations going on in their educational system. No president in Nigeria has ever taken positive steps to better university education than they met it. They would renege on any promise made during their campaigns. But President Jonathan should be different.

At least he had university education which others lacked.

Akinduro, H. O., Okitipupa, Ondo State.

It has shown us how irresponsible and self-serving our government is. This matter would have been long over if it concerned their (that is those in power) wages. On the other hand, I blame ASUU for always calling off the strike when the government has not initiated any plans to fully implement the agreement reached.

Arc. Akuse Moses, Makurdi, Benue State.

In the first place, the Federal Government was wrong to have gone into such an agreement with ASSU, most members of which have immensely contributed to the moral and academic decadence in the country. There is no doubt that the extension of retirement age will expose innocent undergraduate girls to more years of forceful illicit affairs with randy lecturers who always refer to such shameful act as “benefit of service”. More disturbing is the fact that lectures are no longer free in higher institutions. Undergraduates are compelled to buy handouts, the contents of which in most cases bear little or no relevance to the needs of Nigerians. The FG should renege on the agreement until ASUU purges its members of the academic and moral menace.

Olaniran Afolabi A., Benin City, Edo State.

The apathy of the FG towards its agreement with ASSU shouldn’t be a surprise to ardent and realistic watchers of events in Nigeria. A government that is irresponsive to the yearnings the citizenry is irresponsible. Nigeria is

How do you view the attitude of the Federal Government to the agreement it freely reached with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the conditions of service, university autonomy, and funding of education in 2009? is today.

Ola Kolawole, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

The attitude of the Federal Government to the agreement reached with ASUU in 2009 is a confirmation that the educational sector has been relegated to zero level. Most of the children of our political office holders attend the best universities abroad financed with the money corruptly amassed from our commonwealth. Thus they care less about our university system. The FG must be told in clear terms that it has failed in all sectors of governance. There is an implosion looming. Mark my words. I am not a prophet.

Barr Ayo Olalere, Ibadan, Oyo State.

• Prof. Mrs, Ruqayyatu Rufai, Minister of Education

being ruled by charlatans. They don’t care a hoot about what happens since their children are using their parents’ loots to enjoy smooth educational programme in foreign countries. ASUU should consider students’ interest and soft-pedal. We are dealing with deaf and blind drivers at the wheel of governance.

The masses shall triumph at the end.

Bayo Alimi, Lagos State.

It is only an insensitive and insincere government that would renege on an agreement freely reached on glaring issues. The union should not relent in engaging them until victory is achieved.

Com. Livinus Omini, Calabar, Cross River State.

The PDP-controlled FGN has not articulated any well-thought-out policy or shown any commitment to upholding the UN’s recommendation on funding of public educational institutions. Reneging on an agreement it freely entered into with ASUU is just another attestation to how “qualitative” the power entrusted to the PDP-led FGN is being administered. Nigerians are, as usual, being taken for granted, scorned by their own government. Nigerians, arise! Let us call this government to order. Let us make it put an end to the downward drift in our public educational institutions.

John Otaru, Lokoja, Kogi State.

I think the failure of the FG to honour the pact it signed with ASUU since 2009 up to this moment has shown the lackadaisical attitude of the FG towards our educational system. Therefore, as a matter of urgency the FG should honour the agreement to avoid any forms of brain drain, shortage of human resources, and total collapse of our educational system.

Bello Kazeem, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The attitude of the FGN to ASUU is regrettable. Why? Because this is the first time Nigeria produced a President who is a Ph.D holder and from the academia.

As ASUU member then, wasn’t he taking part in their previous strikes? If no, then it’s okay. But if yes, then he should reflect on how he felt when nothing was done.

Danjuma Azi, Jos, Plateau State.

The attitude of government is a display of the sustained insensitivity of the insensitive elements that we call our leaders in Nigeria. A government that cannot keep to the agreement that it freely entered into with such a distinguished, respectable and vital body like ASUU is irresponsible, and this attitude is capable of producing more Boko Haram, MEND and other militant groups. This government should honour the

agreement with ASUU and the President and others should realize that it is education that makes it possible for them to be where they are today, especially the President who had no shoes. It is criminal of any government to breach a freely entered agreement.

Samuel Ekanem, Calabar, Cross River State.

I don’t think that the Federal Government should be taken seriously in spite of the agreement it reached with ASUU. Hence, I think the only language that our government understands is strike action.

Muniru Gambia, Iwo, Osun State.

In China and Japan, lecturers are the highest paid. In Nigeria, they are paid stipends. How can a serious government renege on an agreement reached since 2009 even with a Ph.D holder as President?

I am not surprised since most of their children school abroad.

Bello Lukman, Pol. Science Department, UNIJOS. I believe ASUU doesn’t deserve the manner of treatment that is emanating from President JONATHAN’s administration despite that the helmsman was a member of the union during his active days as a lecturer.

Azeez Adeyemi, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The attitude of the FGN is an act of irresponsibility. It’s shaming not to have acted on and respected the agreement. It’s only in Nigeria that government reneges on agreement. My honest advice is that the government should start the full implementation of the agreement without any further delay in order to arrest the downward state of the university education.

Akin Omole, Abuja.

Simple! It is that of complete neglect, insensitivity, unseriousness, lack of focus and planlessness on the side of the Federal Government. Education MUST be accorded its true position and respect so as not to put the future of our children in jeopardy. The FG MUST ACT NOW. Samuel Ishaya Shammang, Mangun Town, Plateau State.

How on earth can the FG enter freely into agreement with ASUU for professors to retire at 70 when they all have unemployed children, grandchildren and scores of relatives at home? Why not until death? This is insensitive, obnoxious, selfcentered and annoying considering the fact that a professor’s pay can take care of three graduate assistants. All that majority do is ask the PG students to surf the Internet and give them a long list of books.

We are all responsible for the state Nigeria

It is disheartening that the FG could renege on so many agreements it willingly entered into with ASUU. This shows that the people in government are not sincere about the development of the educational sector of the country. Let the government implement what is in the agreement and there will be peace in our institutions of learning.

Sunday Oladeji, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

ASUU is not being realistic with some of its demands. On the issue of university autonomy and funding of education, I think the FG should accede to that. But on the issue of conditions of service, they are using their demand for extension of retirement age to 70 years to cover up. It is senseless and unrealistic.

Bams, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The FG is not serious about the state, standard and even the welfare of the university lecturers. So, its attitude is not surprising.

Ogaje Francis, Kubwa, Abuja.

Our leaders have forgotten the definition of integrity. That is the reason the FG will “freely” enter into agreements with unions that it is not ready to implement. The country’s problem is that of leadership and we are gradually becoming a failed state. The FG should keep its side of the agreement in order to prevent the total collapse of higher education in the country.

Dr Diatah James M., Otukpo, Benue State.

I strongly support ASUU on the strike action because the FG is not serious with education at all.

Zaharaddeen Getso, Kano State.

Please permit me the space to state that the PDP-led Federal Government’s agreement with ASUU is not worth the piece of paper on which it was written.

ASUU would be very naive if it thinks that the government would grant our universities autonomy when the government clearly believes that positions in the Governing Councils of our ivory towers must be reserved and partitioned as political patronage to party stooges, loyalists, friends, family members and malleable traditional rulers without recourse to the qualification, relevance and competence of such persons.

Barr S.E. Irabor, Makurdi, Benue State.

The attitude of the Federal Government to the agreement, to say the least, is an act of irresponsibility. It is a sign of unseriousness on the part of the government. Government is continuous.

It should be bound by the agreement signed by the previous government.

Ojo H.O., Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

Continued on page 52

DIS GENERATION

By Jennifer Ehidiamen 08054503875 (Sms only)

Don't forget: ‘The Ministry of Youth Development is your Ministry’

T

HE minister of youth development recently met with some youth leaders in Lagos. It was an interactive session, which allowed him share the Federal Government's plan to engage Nigerian youth in decision making process as well as other facets of the President's Transformation Agenda in relation to youth development.

The youth leaders who were present had the unique opportunity to share innovative ideas on how the ministry can better engage young Nigerians and close the yawning gap between the ministry and youth at the bottom of the pyramid.

It was inspiring and a bit reassuring to hear the youth minister, Alhaji Bolaji Abdulahi and his team, express genuine interest and commitment to make a difference in this new administration. He said he is ready to learn and listen. In his words "…the ministry is your ministry. I cannot understand issues of young people other than young people."

The founder of LEAP Africa, Mrs Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, in her opening remark pointed out that the way forward for Nigerians to tackle the many issues affecting the country is to take personal responsibility.

Among the many things she said was the need for youth and youth organizations to collaborate more. If we continue to work as solos, we can't move forward. She also encouraged youth leaders to be authentic leaders.

This means being consistent in walking the talk, reflecting the values we advocate. "You have to have integrity for others to be inspired," said Mrs. Nwuneli.

Fela Durotoye, in his closing remark summed it up as "we must drive the future of Nigeria."

So, the take away?

•The Ministry of Youth Development, under the leadership of Alhaji Abdulahi, is ready to engage the Nigerian youth. The passion we use for complaining should be channeled towards innovating solutions for the many problems the Nigerian youth is saddled withUnemployment, Health challenges, Violence, Poor Education system etc.

•We must be ready to hold the leaders accountable, all through the process •Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration! To move things forward, youth, NGOs and other stakeholders working to tackle issues affecting the youth should build synergy and work together instead of competing against one another.

•Join others to drive the change you want to see in Nigeria. Don't give up.

Twitter Meet-up with Youth Minister In September, the Youth Minister held a Twitter Town-Hall meeting with Nigeria youths, giving young people an opportunity to ask questions, raise issues and share ideas.

As a commitment to carry on the culture, the October edition will take place on October 4th by 2pm. The focus of the discussion is NYSC reform. It is hoped that it will be a solution-focused discussion. The hashtag to follow the discussion is #NGMYD. To participate during the meeting, follow @BolajiAbdullahi and tweet him your questions or ideas.

48

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2 , 2011

Crime

Nigerian mafia reshaping An uneasy partnership between Italian and Nigerian gangs has led to a boom in human trafficking and the drugs trade in Italy Chiara Caprio reports

“I

DREAMT about going to school, learning a trade and getting married.

Nothing complicated.” But life had other plans for Gloria Erobaga. After being trafficked and forced into prostitution for years in Italy, she was repatriated and is now back in Benin City in southern Nigeria.

Today, thanks to a local NGO, she manages a local shop not far from her hometown, a village on the outskirts of Benin City, the Nigerian city that has now become the main hub for sex trafficking between West Africa and Europe.

Erobaga is a survivor. “They promised me another job,” she says, recalling her life on the street, where “they were going around at night, with guns. Some girls were killed and dumped in plastic bags”.

But if one woman escapes, many more remain trapped in a profession that has become the third biggest criminal enterprise in the country. UNODC, the UN office on drugs and crime, has released shocking data on the subject – more than 6,000 women are trafficked to Europe every year for sexual exploitation, earning criminals more than $228m (£150m) annually.

They are well organised, from homeland to destination. “They have agents, trolleys and madams,” Igri Edet Mbang, a Nigerian intelligence officer, says.

“Agents are in charge of recruitment and they know how to do it.

They know their language, they know their families.”

And Nigerian gangs are now increasing their power in the country where most of these trafficked women end up being forced into prostitution: Italy.

According to UNICRI, the UN’s inter-regional crime and justice research centre, Italy is the destination of more than 10,000 Nigerian prostitutes, trafficked from Benin City to the European hub of Nigerian criminals, the Domitiana, a long road that connects Naples to the Italian capital, Rome. Once a favoured holiday destination for Neapolitans, the area of Castel Volturno has provided a fertile ground for African gangs to grow their business. Here, they manage and – export their main “products” – drugs and women.

Castel Volturno is a small town of 25,000 people, but it hosts more than 15,000 illegal African migrants who began to arrive in the 1980s to work in the local tomato fields. As that industry declined, Africans continued to arrive, attracted by the dream of a new life in Europe.

But many of them ended up in the hands of African and Italian criminals, whose only aim is to make money out of people any way they can. Prostitution is the main evidence of their presence, a symptom of a new criminal geography that goes inland from the coast, reaching the area of Caserta, the biggest city in the area. “There are many areas where migrants live, but these new African mafia groups have taken over the whole territory,” says Stefano Ricciardiello, a police detective in the local force,

•Italian police arresting a suspected prostitude

“According to the report, Nigerian criminals are the only international gangs who are able to make agreements with everybody, from the Italian mafia to Latin America’s cartels.

It’s a characteristic that has won them the business of drug smuggling between Africa and Europe.”

• Giuseppe Setola gang boss arrested for the attacks on Nigerians

based in a busy headquarters overwhelmed by documents about criminal offences, illegal migrants and local Italian mafia members.

It is no coincidence that this is the area in Italy where the Nigerians have gained their main territory. But they have had to fight for it.

In 2008, six West Africans were killed by a local mafia com-

mando, led by Giuseppe Setola, a killer and member of the local Casalesi clan who spread terror in the roads of Castel Volturno and the nearby area of Casal di Principe – the hometown of the local mafia.

With the killings, Setola and his gang wanted to show the entire African community in Italy that no business was allowed

without the mafia’s consent. But one of the Africans survived and the gang was arrested. Last May, Setola and the other killers were given life sentences for the massacre, with the aggravating circumstances of terrorism and racial discrimination. After the massacre, migrants took to the streets and protested at a murder that left a wound in the relationship be-

tween Italians and the foreigners.

The killing attracted the attention of journalists from all over Europe, but a more sinister and silent signal was launched a month earlier when Setola and his gang tried to kill a group of Nigerians who were having a meeting.

That time, the gang failed but the reason behind the attempt was clear: Africans, Nigerians in particular, were to pay protection money to the local clan to run their illegal business. A sum of •40,000 euros (£35,000) was due every •Continued on page 49

Crime

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2 , 2011

49

Italian crime landscape

• BUSTED! Suspected prostitudes arrested by police.

month for permission to import and sell people and drugs.

After Setola’s arrest, many other bosses of the local Casalesi clan were arrested and there was a period of calm. “This is just a temporary situation,” Alessandro Tocco, head of the special antiCamorra unit in Casal di Principe, says. “Nigerian organised crime is growing and we are deeply worried: after Setola’s massacre, there is a strange silence. They found an agreement. They made a peace between Italian and Nigerian mafias. But when this peace comes to an end, we will experience a new war in the streets.”

Too many interests are involved for the situation to pass.

Women are trafficked to Italy for prostitution, but not only that.

They, along with men, are also used as drug mules. Drugs are the other growing illegal trade from West Africa: cocaine and heroin are sent to Nigeria and other African countries from Latin America and countries such as Afghanistan.

In their homeland, Nigerian criminals have managed to change their status from intermediates working on behalf of Mexican and Colombian cartels to controllers of the import-export business, even in countries such as Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast and Kenya. Drugs are then sent to Europe, mainly to Spain and Italy, two territories of business controlled by Italian mafias. And they mainly deal with the Casalesi clan.

•Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister

“Nigerian criminals are able to make agreements with everybody, from Colombians to the Chinese, but in Italy they have found two elements: a local mafia who controls the territory and Italian clients who are always looking for Nigerian women,” says Giovanni Conzo, an anti-mafia prosecutor from Naples who has been inves-

•Giovanni, mafia prosecutor

tigating Nigerian criminal groups for years.

Conzo and his men discovered a huge human-trafficking and drugs-smuggling Nigerian ring in the area of Naples and Castel Volturno. A number of people were arrested in 2008 but others are still fugitives. “We have also discovered a new trend,” he

says. “Today, they traffic drugs using European mules from the former Eastern block. In the past, they were controlled by our criminals; now, they are in control.”

A recent report from an Italian anti-mafia agency painted a worrying picture about the gangs’ growing reach: “Nigerian organised crime is growing in many Ital-

ian regions, with Umbria, Campania and Emilia Romagna on top.”

According to the report, Nigerian criminals are the only international gangs who are able to make agreements with everybody, from the Italian mafia to Latin America’s cartels. It’s a characteristic that has won them the business of drug smuggling between Africa and Europe.

But they’re not getting away with it completely. In 2010, 36 members of the Nigerian mafia (affiliated with the local groups of the Black Axe and the Eiye) were sentenced to more than 400 years in prison for human trafficking, drugs smuggling, slavery and murder, as hundreds of witnesses kept telling the judge the same story.

The two groups – what remains of the former university’s confraternities, now considered illegal in Nigeria – were using death threats against other Nigerians to enslave them in their illegal businesses. “One of them approached me as I was going back to my place,” a Nigerian victim told to the court. “They wanted me to become a member of the Eiye, but I said no. After few days, I was sitting at a local café and they came to talk to me. I went out and I was surrounded. They took their axes out and started beating me....

They even cut my penis and I will never be able to have children.”

Culled from The Independent of London

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Arts & Life

50

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

POLITICKLE

A brief history of Nigeria •Continued from last week

CHEEK BY JOWL

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

FOURTH REPUBLIC. Economic stagnation. Inflation. Collapsed infrastructure.

Rampant corruption. Forced retirement. ‘Political’ military officers. Debt recovery. Resource allocation debate. Odi. Rape of Choba. Zaki Biam. Shar’ia. Communal violence. Benue. Taraba. Nasarawa.

Nuhu Ribadu. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Nasir elRufai. FCT. Demolition. Land allocation. Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC). ‘Due Process’.

2003 re-election. Police brutality. Apo Six, etc. National census. Questionable.

2003 All Africa Games (COJA 2003). Ngige versus Mba. Crisscross of the Anambra Chrises. 2007 elections. Widespread rigging. Umaru Yar’Adua. Goodluck Jonathan.

Petitions. Election tribunals.

Korea 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. Victory. Upturned election results.

Rivers. Edo. Adams Oshiomhole. Ondo. Ekiti debacle. Militants. Niger Delta. Joint Task Force (JTF). Bombardment. Collateral damage. Fragile peacefire. Boko Haram.

ASUU strike.

Bank debtors. Nigeria 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. Silver medal. Contract scam. PDP chieftain Bode ‘Boy George’. Jailed. President ill. Vice President warms up. Xmas, fuel scarcity. Nigerian suicide bomber. Jonathan, Acting President. Dora Akunyili. Memo. Fear of Cabal. President Jonathan. Jos violence. Army indicted.

Sudan deportees. 2011 elections timetable. NECO, mass failure. 2010 FIFA World Cup. Lars Lagerback. Tired legs. Nigeria crash. Nigerian hospitals. Flashlight-powered surgery. INEC chair Maurice Iwu sacked. Ahmed Sanni Yarima. 13 year-old Egyptian bride. Rampant carpet-crossing.

Electoral reform? Amnesty. Militants. Tribunals. 32 states elections thus decided. 50th anniversary celebrations. Extravagant. ‘Presidential Facebook’. Zoning furore. Minimum wage. New INEC boss Attahiru Jega. 2011 elections, N87.7bn approved.

WASSCE. 75 per cent failure. PHCN workers strike. N57 billion monetisation arrears settled. Tanker drivers’ strike. Ex-militants. Study abroad. Boko Haram menace. Jailbreak. Bauchi Prisons. Gradual indebtedness. Kidnappers. Five female corps members. 15 school children in Rivers and Abia States.

50th anniversary celebrations. 10 dead, 30 injured in explosions. Jos bombed.

INEC. 80, 000 Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines. Update of bank accounts.

Harried. Voter registration. Schools closed. Some open. Hitches. Corps members scapegoat. DDC machines. Stolen, hijacked. Cash-and-carry primaries. Jonathan v Atiku. Mudslinging.

84 senators, 280 reps. Lost return tickets. Jos mayhem. WikiLeaks. Executive indictment. Intercepted Arms. From Iran. For The Gambia, Isreal, Niger Delta, Jos, Boko Haram? Ghost workers. Power generation. 4, 000 megawatts – on paper.

Jega. Imperfect elections outlook. Illegal refineries.

CJN v Court of Appeal president. Promotion to NJC. Ayo Salami rejects. Arab spring. Nigerian refugees. 2011 elections. 66 million registered. Southwest rascals.

Jonathan declares. Jos crisis. Kidnappers. Boko Haram. Libya returnees. WikiLeaks.

Presidential debate. Jonathan no-show. Zoning, 2015 furore. NASS polls. Shifted.

Akwa Ibom governorship. Akpan Udoedehe harassed. Osun Monarch. Rape. Corps member. Bombed. INEC office, Suleja. Tearful final rally. CPC presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari. John Togo, militant.

Presidential elections. Jonathan wins. Worldwide commendation. Systematic rigging – ACN. Post-elections violence. Yet another panel. 10 NYSC members murdered. Kaduna bomb factory. Election results. Buhari sues. Jonathan, Jega.

House of Reps N10 billion loan. Former Speaker Dimeji Bankole probed.

New electricity tariff mooted. Kerosene scarcity. Super Eagles friendly. Argentina walloped 4-1. Sweet. Police HQ, Abuja bombed. Sour. Sanusi’s prescription. N150, 000 cash withdrawal limit. Cabinet reconstitution. Ngozi OkonjoIweala returns. Debt expertise needed?

Ibadan flood. Havoc. Cement price. Exorbitant. Christy Essien Igbokwe, late.

Flood, lightning, building collapse. Cholera. Bombings, shootings, kidnap. Ghost workers. More rains – meteorologists. Nigerians deported. NLC. Minimum wage warning strike. FG surrenders.

More ex-militants abroad. Islamic banking. Controversial. Single-term tenure too. Al-Mustapha court diversion. Sam Loco Efe, late. IBB at 70. Brickbats with Obj. NJC. Salami suspended. Jonathan ratifies. Bomb scare. NASS, elsewhere. Illegal immigrants expelled.

Bombed. UN House, Abuja. 20 dead. WikiLeaks. 3-1 in Bangladesh. Argentina replies. Jonathan’s 100 days. Criticised. Maputo 2011 All-Africa Games. Team Nigeria third. ASUU strike. Jos. Boko Haram. Independence Day. Tense.

•Concluded

Jokes Humour A WOMAN decided to have her portrait painted. She told the artist, “Paint me with diamond rings, a diamond necklace, emerald bracelets, a ruby broach, and gold Rolex.”

“But you are not wearing any of those things,” he replied.

The Painting “I know,” she said. “It’s in case I should die before my husband. I’m sure he will remarry right away, and I want his new wife to go crazy looking for the jewelry.”

•Culled from the Internet

Skill Workshop 8 Good Writing Practices by Neil Gaiman

•Write.

•Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.

•Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.

•Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.

•Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.

•Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.

•Laugh at your own jokes.

•The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

SUDOKU 1ST STEP IN SOLVING PUZZLE: (340) Look at the 3 right vertical (ghi) 3x3 boxes.

The top box has 5 in cell Ai, while the bottom box has its 5 in cell Hh. The middle box must, therefore, have its own 5 column g, where there are 2 vacant spaces - cell Dg and Fg. But, since

PUZZLE 340

A B C D E F G H I

5 2 6 3 4 3 6 1 9 3 5 7 2 8 9 1 6 4 8 3 5 2 7 5 3 4 9 8 a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

02/10/2011

row D already has a 5- in cell Dc, the only space available to accommodate 5 in the middle box is cell Fg. Reasoning along these lines, try and fill in all the other vacant cells.

Solution on Saturday. Happy Puzzling!

Enjoy your anniversary holiday tomorrow!!!

SOLUTION TO PUZZLE 339

9 7 5 8 1 6 3 2 4

4 1 8 2 3 7 5 6 9

3 2 6 9 5 4 8 7 1

7 8 2 6 9 1 4 3 5

6 4 3 7 8 5 1 9 2

1 5 9 4 2 3 6 8 7

2 9 1 5 6 8 7 4 3

5 6 7 3 4 2 9 1 8

8 3 4 1 7 9 2 5 6

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

51

Young Nation Hello children, Now that you are back to school, hope you enjoyed your first week. I wish you all the best in the new session

08056745268

WORD WHEEL This is an open ended puzzle. How many words of three or more letters, each including the letter at centre of the wheel, can you make from this diagram? We’ve found 17, including one nine-letter word. Can you do better?

Riddles with Bisoye Ajayi 1. I am something, if I am not around, human beings cannot survive, what am I? 2. I am a name of a girl, when you remove the first two letters; I become a material used for fishing.

What am I? Miss Ajayi is a JSS 1 student of Queens College, Yaba, Lagos.

WORD SEARCH

Musicians

•Grade 9 to 12 students of the American International School decorating the new oncology paediatric ward of Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi-Araba, Lagos on September 17, 2011

What I will do if I become the Nigeria’s president

I

F I become the president of this country I will make all necessary amenities to make my country great among other countries. I will also give jobs to the graduate so that they will not be a liability to themselves and so that unemployment and crime would reduce.

I will also provide stable electricity in all the states so that there artisans can be more productive.

I will make sure that food, cloth, and housing is available to every Nigerian.

I will also make the roads better and construct overhead bridges on all the roads in the states to prevent unnecessary deaths. I will also give free education and scholarship to people.

I will also provide for the less privileged people like the orphans

• Taiwo Sanni and the widows.

I know it is tough but I will do my best to reduce the suffering of people.

Taiwo Sanni 10 years old, Pry 5, Grace Nursery/Primary School, OkoOba, Agege, Lagos

POEM My country Nigeria NIGERIA My country Nigeria Nigeria is my fatherland Where milk and honey flows A country where great things are achieved A country where young ones aim high Nigeria is moving higher like a flying eagle whose mission is always aiming higher Nigeria my fatherland A land whose culture is the best A land where respect and dignity of the people are protected Nigeria my fatherland Nigeria my home There’s no place like my country

A musician is an artist who is skilled in any kind of instrument. It may or may not be the person’s profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music. An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument. A multi instrumentalist plays a diverse range of instruments such as different forms of percussion, plucked strings, vocals etc.

A composer is always a musician, but a musician is not necessarily a composer. Musicians are those who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano. A number of other well-known musicians may write some of their own songs, but are usually called singers instead.

By Jeminah Oguntoyinbo

Nine-letter word: fourpenny Other words: fen, fern, ferny, foe, fop, for, fore, four, foyer, Freon, fro, fry, fun, funny, fur, fury ASA DARE ART ALADE D BANJ EBENEZER OBEY ICE JIMMY JATT LAGBAJA

MODE NINE OLU MAINTAIN OMAWUMI PAULPLAY PSQUARE RUGGGEDMAN

SASHA SOUND SULTAN SUNNY ADE TIMAYA TUFACE WEIRD MC WIZ KID

Word search created by Ifeoluwa Onifade Answer to Riddle 1. Oxygen.

2. Janet

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Life

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

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HE sun was shining brightly and I was feeling incredibly hot. I was sweating profusely as I strolled around the park hoping to find a shaded area where I could sit and wait for my colleague, who left me to go see a client.

After a few minutes of searching, I found an excellent spot and I breathed in relief as I sat down hoping my colleague would find me because I had wandered far away from her, when I heard voices.

“Humpty dumpty sat on a wall, humpty dumpty had a great fall, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put humpty together again.” I looked around and discovered the source as some children seated on the grass a few meters away from me.

“What are children doing here at this time,” I wondered after glancing at my watch. It was just past noon and they were supposed to be in school, weren’t they?

I ignored them and was about closing my eyes when I spied more children moving towards my direction. “Something must be wrong,” I concluded as I walked to the nearest adult to inquire.

After exchanging greetings, I asked, “What’s happening today?”

I had to wait a few seconds for her to coax her baby to stop crying.

She looked at me curiously before replying, “It’s children’s day…that’s why this place is so full. I wish they had to go to school today,” she said pointing to her children who were among the lot seated on the grass, “but the school is closed today and the children wanted to come to the park. I…” I thanked her hurriedly, walking away before she could launch into a tirade about her whole family. As I sat on the chair, I heard the children sing another rhyme, this time they sang one of my favourites. As a little child, I had a lot of favourite rhymes but I disliked “Humpty dumpty”. At that time, I disliked the concept of

Continue from page 47 Hmm, ASUU and every year strike. Na students dey suffer o! It is quite amazing that in spite of the unemployment bedeviling the country, an elitist union like ASUU is still agitating for passage of the bill on 70 years as retirement age for professors. Besides, university autonomy would be like Boko Haram bomb on parents struggling to see their children through tertiary level of education. Please, they should reconsider and agitate for good funding and non-payment of their allowances and forget the rest.

Nnaemeka Achebe, Abuja.

Looking at things critically, one will see that the Federal Government is not willing to fulfill the agreement it reached with ASUU. All these problems here and there are due to the bad leaders that are manning or ruling Nigeria today. When Nigerians were told not to expect any good from our present president and the NASS, some people see me as a prophet of doom. But today, my words are true. Jonathan must go.

Ekhal M.A, Emma, Ilorin, Kwara State.

Governments at all levels have money for frivolities to the detriment of the educational sector, and that is why our nation still crawls at 51. Very sad!

Remi Adegbola, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The founding fathers of this great nation made life very comfortable for these present leaders, but it is unfortunate that even in the midst of plenty our leaders are making life unbearable for us. Why? Abdullahi Musa Uke, Ede, Osun State.

It shows the kind of people who

Shor Shortt Stor Storyy Rita Ohai Rita Ohai

07089069956 (sms only) e-mail: pearlohai@yahoo.com blog: www.ritaohai.blog.com

Humpty dumpty Written by Morenike Fadayomi

falling and the illustrations in my rhyme book which depicted humpty dumpty as a round man on a wall who broke into pieces when he fell, frightened me a lot.

The sun was finally easing up a bit and I was getting rather impatient with Isioma, my colleague. “She should be here by now,” I thought aloud, “Maybe I should go back to the office”. I was about acting on my thoughts when the same detested rhyme assaulted my ears and it

suddenly made me feel jumpy. I decided to move away from that part of the park, but with toddlers and children skipping around the park, what were the odds I wouldn’t hear the same rhyme again.

As I walked away, the “Humpty dumpty” rhyme rang in my ears and I wondered why it bothered me this particular moment. Maybe it was because until three years ago I was just like Humpty dumpty…

I was opportuned to be from a

privileged family as my parents spared no expense in making sure their children got the best education.

I graduated from a prominent university in the UK with a Bachelors and Masters degree. Following my education, I travelled back home for my Youth Service after which I got a good job in a new generation bank. I never complained about the hectic nature of my job but simply carried out my duties with pure delight and I was rapidly promoted, even above some of my senior colleagues. I was successful, intelligent and soon engaged.

My problems started when I lost my parents in a plane crash. They were travelling from Lagos to Abuja when the ill-fated plane they boarded lost one of its engines. I had received the bad news from my brother via a phone call and I tossed and turned in my bed that night praying that he was simply mistaken.

On getting home the next day, I found the news to be true and I was inconsolable but oblivious to the fact that more bad news was to follow. A few days after, I was informed by my brother that our parents had some outstanding bank loans running into millions of naira, money they had used to buy their house and run their businesses. I was shocked as I had thought that we were rich but had to overcome my reaction as we made plans to offset the loans. This drained a lot of money from my purse and I had to explain to my fiancée about a wedding postponement, she was furious and didn’t speak to me for a while.

My financial and relationship problems began to affect my work as I wasn’t concentrating and began making errors which made customers

How do you view the attitude of the Federal Government to the agreement it freely reached with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the conditions of service, university autonomy, and funding of education in 2009?

The agreement the FG is reneging on may be one of the path to realizing the Vision 20-20-20.

Pastor Eniola Roland, Suleja, Niger State.

A chapter in God’s holy book says, “We should not be rash with our mouth in making decision”.

The Federal Government did not put into mind the implications of the freely reached agreement before went into it. Obviously, some of the conditions, especially the 70 years as retirement age, are too much – health-wise. However, the FG has no option but to put in place what they agreed upon.

Sunday Joseph, Egbe, Kogi State.

Nobody knows who is always fooling who, or who is fooling the public! If former President Obasanjo was perceived to be stubborn and unyielding, is President Jonathan Goodluck stubborn and unwilling to yield? No. So many academics are in Jonathan’s government after all. And how will funding be adequate when ASUU wants its members to retire at 70 years of age? When and where will other graduands work? Autonomy is not

bad for our universities, but ASUU is carrying its autonomy too far.

To me, let there be a television programme where the ASUU chairman and the Secretary, Minister of Education, NUC Secretary, and the Minister of Finance explain to Nigerians what the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement is so that we know who is reneging or who is greedy.

Lanre Oseni, Lagos State.

Money should not be everything. The menace call ASUU is a greater challenge to the falling standard of Education. I don’t want them to go to hell when they die.

Their lecturing career is more of NGO, no wages. For now the economy of the country is in bad shape. Their agitation amounts to corruption.

Alamu Osagie, Asaba, Delta State.

The attitude of the Federal Government to the agreement it freely reached with ASUU could be likened to a situation where a man agrees to marry a wife but tries to escape from paying the mandatory bride price. It is not in our culture.

Cornel Ellah, CRUTECH, Calabar, Cross River State.

A gentleman agreement to my understanding is a situation where

complain to my boss.

On a fateful Monday morning, my boss asked to see me. As soon as he left, I felt the eyes of everyone in the office on me though they did their best to appear busy when I looked back, and as I left to go to the branch manager’s office, I could swear that I saw some pitiful stares.

I entered the branch manager’s office thinking he wanted to complain about my recent work attitude again but was shocked as I left the place with a suspension letter.

I was informed that a minor fraud had taken place and during investigations, they found out I approved the fraudulent cheq http:/ /bootstrike.com/LaughterHell/ Misc/miscs13.php ue. I was speechless as I tried to recollect signing the cheque, it was my colleague that told me his customer needed to withdraw some money and I didn’t ask for confirmation before going ahead. I pleaded with my boss but I was eventually sacked as I faced the panel a week later.

After losing my job, it was difficult for me to get another as my reputation had been tarnished due to events at my last workplace. My brother and friends tried to help and support me, and though I got another job later, it was never quite the same again.

I could feel someone tapping my shoulder and I was brought out of my thoughts.

“A penny for your thoughts” Isioma had returned and found me leaning against a tree.

“I really hate that rhyme,” she commented as we heard “Humpty dumpty” again.

“Me too.” I laughed as we walked out of the park.

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Have Your Say are leading us in this country – people who cannot fulfill their part of an agreement. This is too bad!

Taiwo Egberongbe, OOU, Ago Iwoye.

52

what is agreed between two parties will be hounorably done to the satisfaction of all the parties. All I am saying is that the FGN should try to be a gentleman about the agreement it reached with ASUU for peace to reign in our universities.

Emma Nduwuaku, Calabar, Cross River State.

Even with government funding, extortion by the university authorities still exist. University autonomy will create much higher extortion by the university authorities on the students.

Akpabio Paulinus, Cross River State.

The only promise kept by the Jonathan-led administration is perhaps the promise or promises made to fellow politicians. Aside those, there is no other one. What a great disappointment from Jonathan! Well, he is a human being – not God. Mr Ekundayo, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Defaulting on agreement with ASSU is a dent on the integrity of the FG and an indication that we might all this while have been deceived as well that the FG has been subsidizing many of our essential goods and services especially fuel.

A government that obtains

industrial reprieve by tricks cannot inspire public trust. President Jonathan as a learned child of God, not as a conservative ideologue, should be sincere to his sacred duty of focusing honest attention on our educational system as a basis for value reorientation without which there can never be progress in this nation.

Bisi Adefila, Osun State.

Decorum is doing what is right at the time required. The future of education and the legacy we hand over to the next generation lay in the hands that are frustrating the wellbeing of the university. All eyes are on Mr. President. Being lettered himself, definitely he will not stand akimbo to see education in crises.

Nagya, Mokwa.

This is one country where the people running the government have continued to show that they lack integrity and never respect the oath of office they took to defend the interest and promote our development.

Abdul Sediq, Kaduna State.

The attitude of the Federal Government to the agreement it freely reached with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is very wicked and absurd. It shows that Jonathan’s government cannot be trusted with agreements. After two and a half years of signing the agreement nothing tangible has come out of it. It shows that our socalled leaders are inept, selfish and self-centered zealots. They are not worried even if the universities are closed for one thousand years because their children are not affected. To me the strike is welcomed!

Shehu Audu.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011 CHANGE OF NAME CHANGE OF NAME CHANGE OF NAME OKEKE I,formerly known and addressed as Okeke, Augustina Nkemjika, now wish to be known and addressed as Anekwe, Augustina Nkenjika. All former documents remain valid.The general public should take note.

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53 CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

AUGUSTINE

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I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olaoluwayemi Grace Abiola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olaoluwayemi Grace Akinsulire. All former documents remain valid. General public, take note.

TOWOLAWI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olabisi Pedetin TOWOLAWI, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olabisi Pedetin AKALA. All former documents remain valid.

LASU, NYSC, The Bells’ University of Science and Technology and general public, take note. AFOLABI I formerly known and addressed as Mr. Fadeyi Moses Afolabi now wish to be known and addressed as Mr.ola-Atunbi Moses Afolabi.All former documents remain valid.The general public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME That Fubara Fubara Isreal Fubara, is the same person as Israel Fubara Junior, now wish to be known and addressed as Isreal Fubara Fubara.All former documents remain valid.The general public please take note.

OKWUKWE

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Ugwu Joy Okwukwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Agboeze Joy Okwukwe. All former documents remain valid. ESUT, NYSC and general public should take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME That Aniekwe Obiajulu Adanna and Aniekwe Obianuju Adanna refers to one and same person. I, now wish to be known and addressed as Aniekwe Obianuju Adanna. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

OLADEPO I formerly known and addressed as Miss Oladepo Idayat Folashsde,now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Agboola Idayat Folashade. All former documents remain valid. Osun state Polytechnics Iree and general public should take note.

ADESOYE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adesoye Abosede Adeladun, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Aleem Abosede Adeladun.All former documents remain valid(SUBEB)LGEA osun state and general public should take note.

HABILA

I, formerly known and addressed as Mr Habila Samson Barau now wish to be known and addressed as Mr Joshua Peter Barau. Kaduna state college of Education, Kafanchan and Dorben Polytechnic Bwari/Garam should take note. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

YARO

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Alheri Yaro now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Alheri Sunday Kpaya. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

INAH

I, formerly known and addressed as Inah Catherine now wish to be known and addressed as Ofem Catherine. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

EZEOHA

I, formerly known and addressed as Ezeoha Adakwere Ogechukwu now wish to be known and addressed as Onyeanuforo Adakwere Ogechukwu. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

FRIDAY I, formerly known and addressed as Mr Chirman Musa Friday now wish to be known and addressed as Mr Chirman Musa Nannim Friday. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

UNUM

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Lucy Sewuese Apeon, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Lucy Sewuese Unum.All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

SOLA I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Sola Bukola Ireti, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ogundeji Bukola Ireti. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

ADVERT: Simply produce your marriage certificate or sworn affidavit for a change of name publication, with just (N3,500.)

The payment can be made through FIRST BANK of Nigeria Plc. Account number 1892030011219 Account Name - VINTAGE PRESS LIMITED Scan the details of your advert and teller to gbengaodejide@yahoo.com or thenation_advert@yahoo.com For enquiry please contact: Gbenga on 08052720421, 08161675390, Emailgbengaodejide @yahoo.com or our offices nationwide.

Note this! Change of name is now published every Sundays, all materials should reach us two days before publication.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

54

Narrow escape Pastor attacked at home by one of those he has been assisting morally, spiritually and financially. Taiwo Abiodun reports

Solution to Boko Haram

T

HE Guardian of September 28 leads the rebellious group today: “SIM registration: Subscribers in last minute rush….” Conscience, Nurtured by Truth: lastminute rush.

“Battle over control of vigilante group hots up in Nsukka” (DAILY SUN Banner, September 28) South-East Report: vigilance group Still on the SUN: “Conoil to set-up cooking gas plants in Abuja, other states” Business News: set up in this context.

The final word from Wednesday SUN (Voice of the Nation): “Amodu blames Nigerians over (for) Siasia-players’ rift” “For us in the African continent…” (National Mirror, September 28) All the Facts, All the Sides: on the African continent “Customs hand (hands) over seized drugs to NAFDAC” (Source: as above) Poverty of headline casting was profusely demonstrated by DAILY CHAMPION of September 27: “Oyo releases N30m for Ishola’s funera” Last respects: funeral.

“What does insurance contributes (contribute) to California’s economy?”

“Robin van Persie refuse (refuses) new Arsenal deal” “Union commends Senate over (on/for) investigation of public enterprises” “We are commited to growing Nigeria’s economy” Spell-check: committed, but commitment.

“I advocate follow up on Boko Haram peace initiative—Izuogu” Banner advocacy: follow-up.

Lastly from Champion House: “2001-2011: A decade of death (deaths) on the Plateau” “Physiotherapists advocate for optimal level of exercise for wellness” (DAILY SUN Headline, September 27) Yank off ‘for’ to foreclose obesity!

“The small group…literarily (literally) lives off the society….” (BUSINESSDAY COMMENT, September 27) You don’t have to be a member of the literati to know this!

Financial Vanguard Headline of September 26 goofed: “Post-independent leaders have mismanaged Nigeria—NIM President” This way: Post-independence leaders “…failure of which will result into (in) the banks being nationalized.” (National Mirror, September 26) “They all presented

general complain of poor vision….” (THE NATION, September 26) Eye treatment: a general complaint….

The next two blunders are from THISDAY EDITORIAL of September 26: “WHO statistics also reveals (reveal) that tobacco….” “…research has demonstrated that majority of smokers pick up the habit at a young age.” The President and the Tobacco Control Bill: a/the majority of smokers.

“No microwave solution for Boko Haram” (THE NATION ON SUNDAY Headline, September 25) My comment: solution to (not for) Boko Haram “Nigeria may break-up soon—NBA President” (Newsstar Front Page Banner, September 24) Still on the abuse of phrasal verbs: break up “It is political witchhunting” (Source: as above) Persecution of Tinubu: political witchhunt “Lagos Speaker reacts to fallouts (fallout) of arrest over (for) alleged N7bn fraud” (SATURDAY TRIBUNE Headline, September 24) “…the Plateau State capital and it’s environs.”

(DAILY INDEPENDENT Editorial, September 23) Government and the Jos killings: its (possessive) environs.

“The allegations of a hike in the tuition fees payable by the students was (were) false.” (THE NATION, September 23) “Jonathan swears-in (swears in) Mudapher (sic) as CJN Monday” (DAILY SUN Headline, September 23) ‘Rite it right: Musdapher.

BUSINESSDAY Front Page of September 22 circulated two blunders in the lead sentence: “…one of the biggest private sector development support initiative (initiatives) in (on) the continent.”

“There is the erroneous tendency to blame all the shortcomings in the electoral process at the doorstep of the Independent National Electoral Commission.” Get it right: blame on (not at).

“Though recent amendments to the Electoral Act have changed some deadlines with regards to the submission of the lists of candidates….”

Either as regards or with regard to.

“President Goodluck Jonathan addresses a world press conference to flag-off….” Still on phrasal verbs: flag off.

“Four years ago, when the former governor pro-

claimed his presidential aspirations with palpable bravado and fanfare under (on) the platform of the PDP.” “Salami’s so-called grouse with President Jonathan is not.…” This way: grouse about (not with) GEJ. “As Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) observed during his tour of the troubled spots....” Get it right: trouble spots.

“Guaranty Trust Bank restructures, to boast staff welfare.” Inside Business: boost (not boast) staff welfare.

“Arab leaders appeared not to have put their acts together to join….”

Libya: get their act (not acts) together.

“Okonjo-Iweala, at Belgium, canvasses global war against money laundering” The world’s 87 th most popular woman and head of Nigeria’s economic team was in (not at) Belgium.

“I remember once when he came to Port Harcourt we worked on a case till 5 a.m. in the morning” No! ‘A.m.’ indicates morning, while ‘p.m.’, of course, refers to the evening belt. So, ‘5 a.m. in the morning’ fondly reminds me of Abraham Lincoln’s advice: ‘Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak (or, if I may add, write) and remove all doubt.’

“In the meantime, there has been series (a series) of systems collapse....” Also note that ‘collapse’ is both a countable and an uncountable word (usually).

“Disagreement ensued resulting into shooting to death of one of the okada members by the police.”

This Life: resulting in the shooting….

“It was sometimes (sometime) in 1993 while I was still in Abuja….”

“For a NAFDAC that has in almost two years been performing creditably towards ensuring that food and drugs need of Nigerians are (is) given standard manufacturing preparation….” Yet another S-VD challenge. “…his predecessors who were on (in) seat for years without actually doing the work for which they were paid.”

“It is also on record that the same government shot itself in the foot by dismissing the recommendations of the audit committee as junks.” The last word in the extract is noncount.

“Police warns against protests in states” No news: Police warn (plural verb).

F

OR Primate Ayoola Omonigbehin, 70, who lives at 31, Aliu Street, Ikotun Egbe, life has been hell for him for the past three weeks.

Reason: He was attacked by one of those he assists materially , spiritually and otherwise.

Narrating his ordeal, he said ’’I was attacked by one man whose nickname is Gbogunmi whom I had been helping. The man who is still a Bachelor at 40 could not get married because of the epileptic fit he has .Each time he falls he always foam in the mouth .One day I met him where he was down again with the problem in the public and I prayed for him and even followed him to his house at Isolo .I met his parents who showed appreciation . Since then we became family friends ‘’ According to Ayoola, when they became family friends, the man started coming to his house as he preaches the words of God for him always, and he gives him food which also made him to be closer.

Tragedy occurred on September 3, when Gbogunmi came to his house. ‘’ After I had prepared

•Ayoola

food for both of us Gbogunmi became charged and attacked me.

The Primate said .’’He just gripped my pants,took a knife and attempted to stab my stomach . I then used all the energy in me to seize the knife. When the knife dropped he then ran after me , bite my eyes and I started screaming and shouting for help, yet nobody came to rescue me .He dragged me outside and dipped my head in the gutter where I forced myself to drink from the dirty water.

About five landlords were there watching. Not only that, I saw two pastors passing by and

begged them to free me from the man but they turned their back on me.’’

However, help came as a man suddenly appeared from nowhere and gave Gbogunmi a big blow thus rescued the 70year old pastor from being killed . ‘’When I was freed from the hands of the suspected killer , the landlords in the area were even abusing the man that assisted me. The landlords even told Gbogunmi to lie against me that I wanted to use him for ritual. I went to the police station half naked because all the clothes I wore had been reduced to shreds .My body was covered with blood and blood was oozing from my nose , and I was also vomiting blood too. When the housewives saw me they were making jest of my nakedness and abusing me for no just cause ‘’At the police station where we went to report , the Investigating Police Officer dismissed us and asked us to go and treat ourselves.’’

I need help , the man has promised to come for me again.

I am a preacher and also an old time journalist .This is one of the hazards we face during evangelism , I pray May God forgive my attacker, the old man said in tears .

Safety and Security Alert!

Robbery threats and safety measures (1)

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AN-MADE threats emanat from human actions which are capable of undermining the security of families, organisations and community if not ‘nipped in the bud’. We elucidate a few of these in the next couple of weeks.

Robbery Robbery is a regular feature of every human society, even among animals. For instance, in wildlife clips, we see hyenas catching prey like antelopes. But shortly, a group of lions may emerge from nowhere chasing away the poor hyenas and rob them of their catch. This shows that the incidence of robbery is not limited to human beings but also in the animal kingdom.

What is robbery?

Robbery is a crime of using instruments of intimidation, violence and coercion by a party (ies) against another party (ies) with the aim of compelling the victim party to concede his/her property in question to the other. Instruments like gun, knife, sword, cutlass, grenade, or other dangerous objects are usually used to force victims to yield to their demand.

Types 1. Car-snatching or Car-jacking It is the crime of forceful seizing and taking possession of the victim’s car with the use of dangerous weapons like gun. The gun could be real or toy. Car theft is different from car-snatching. The former involves stationed car being removed from park while the latter dragging out the driver while in motion.

Effect, victims could suffer; i. Trauma ii. Degrees of injury or iii. Death.

2. Piracy This term is used to describe offenders who steal the works of

other people especially for moneymaking motives in intellectual property and copyrights law.

The UN Convention of 1982 describes piracy as: (A) Any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed: (i) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft; (ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State; (B) Any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft; (C) Any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in subparagraph (a) or (b) (UNCLOS, 1982: Article 101).

It is a form of robbery that involves all violent acts perpetrated on the seas but does not include criminal activities perpetrated by passengers against other passengers on same vessel.

3. Streaming is another type of robbery that involves organised criminal activities being perpetrated on underground trains. The crime ranges from intimidation and violence like rape, assault and murder.

4. Highway robbery is a great threat to security. It is a kind of robbery often experienced by many commuters on roads, streets, or even bridges with hotspots across the nation.

5. Armed robbery is another type of robbery, which involves the use of weapons which may not be deadly which may be table knife, big sticks, physical strength.

6. Aggravated robbery means a form of robbery where offenders use deadly or dangerous weapons in the course of carrying out their

dangerous act. Aggravated robbery can also be defined as: ....the use of a deadly weapon or what appears to be a deadly weapon. If someone robs a store with a toy pistol, will still be aggravated robbery, because the weapon appeared to be deadly. It is also aggravated robbery to cause or threaten serious bodily injury or death during the commission of the robbery.

They use sophisticated rifles and grenades. Therefore, the high level of violence calls for grievous concern. This warlike situation in contemporary time underscores the need to appreciate re-engineering and re-formulation of security strategies.

FEEDBACK Re: How to integrate Community Policing into National Security Geographic Information System (GIS) as a course of study in tertiary institution should be encouraged by the government before adopting Community Policing (CP).

Mr. A. Armann, Warri 0818-132****.

Re: I am of CDIA and I am so interested in your teaching and topic - ‘How to gather effective intelligence for National Security’.

Areas I don’t understand are SIGNIT, IMINT, MASINT and OWVL. Pls, give me the meanings.

More so, I want to learn more from you so how do I reach out to you.

Thanks Sir. Mr. P. Ogbarisi (Bayelsa) 0803-789****

Please, send comments, responses and contact the undersigned for security and safety challenges by sms or e-mail.

By: Mr. Timilehin Ajayi (Safety and Security Consultant) E-mail: timilehinajayi@yahoo.com 08095683454, 08075518732

55

T

Life Extra

HE premises and the fields of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos were practically under siege a few Sundays ago. Nigerians running into thousands had converged there from different parts of the country. This group of young Nigerians, some of whom came with their loved ones, family, friends and colleagues to bid them goodbye had been promised the citizenship of Canada by a company named Jonathan King Limited. Its head office is said to be located on the 6th floor of the Cocoa House Building, Dugbe, Ibadan, Oyo State.

“We were told to come here this morning so that we will be taken to the airport from where we will be airlifted to Canada in batches and through different routes and air lines”, was how Esisi, one of the affected persons put it.

According to Esisi, who is a graduate of Microbiology and a native of Warri, in Delta State, the owners of the company had assured them that on arrival at the National Theatre on the 11th of September, everyone would present his/her serial number which was issued to them online by Jonathan King.

“Once this is done you’ll get your passport and visa with which you’ll be directed on what flight to board”, he said.

Unfortunately that was not to be.

With each person clutching to his/ her travelling bag walking to and fro, hoping to get at least a glimpse of Jonathan King or any of its representatives, the gloom in the air became palpable. Most of the people who came from outside Lagos had travelled all night in order to meet the 7am arrival time, for it was like first come, first served.

Aggrieved travellers While they waited to be attended to, some who could help it dashed

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Disappointed or fleeced?

Intending emigrants groan Penultimate week many Nigerians from different parts of the country gathered at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos waiting to be transported to Canada. This was not to be. Edozie Udeze who witnessed the scene reports across to join some brethren in a church service, praying fervently for God to touch the hearts of Jonathan and his people. By noon, when it became crystal clear that they’d been duped, most of them became hysterical, looking desperately around to see if there was any staff of the Theatre within reach to vent their angers on. By then rumours had circulated that some of staff of Jonathan King were inside the Theatre holding a meeting. In fact, one or two staff of the Theatre who arrived at that time really got a bit of the ire of the stranded Canada-bound passengers.

“One of them asked me why I should park my car in the parking lot. Don’t you know this passage is not for cars?” That was how Mrs. Pamela Udoka, a staff of National Troupe of Nigeria described her experience in the hands of some of the aggrieved persons on that day.

“You see, when I drove in, the crowd was so large and rowdy that I began to wonder what was amiss. Being a staff here, I knew we had no programme on that day. Everywhere was filled up that you could hardly have space to drive your car. When I was so accosted, one of the security details quickly signaled to me to rush into the foyers of the Theatre, for, in

his own words, ‘those Canada people are aggrieved’.

It was after she got the true picture of the situation that she calmed down a bit. But then, why were they asked to converge at the Theatre in the first place? “They said it is a place all of us can locate easily in Lagos”, so said Emmanuel from Cross Rivers State who was detailed to domicile in Toronto, Canada. Emmanuel is a HND – holder in Civil Engineering and had been unemployed for ten years. “The programme was on radio for a very long time”, he explained. “But I really got hint of it from a friend”, he said pointing at a lady sitting not too far from him. “She too is going to Ontario as a hair dresser. When she told me and showed me the form on-line, I believed her. From the details there, you have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the whole process”, he said.

Each applicant was made to pay 550 Canadian Dollars (CAD) which is an equivalent of N85,000 for visa.

To process the visa, each person was mandated to cough out N8,500 payable on-line to Jonathan King or a bank draft written in favour of the Receiver General for Canada (whatever that means). Part of the letter to that effect reads: ‘This could

be purchased through your own bank. Please make efforts to purchase the draft from your own bank or ask a relative/friend in Canada to help purchase the draft on your behalf.

However, if you have serious problems getting this done, Jonathan King Ltd could assist you to purchase the amount through our own bank or our own sources”.

Another section of the letter showed that this “application for visa” guarantees you citizenship of and immigration to Canada for permanent residence. Thank you for your interest in Canada. The government of Canada is very much interested in approving permanent resident visa for as many people as can demonstrate genuine interest and proof of ability to be economically viable in Canada.

Therefore we at Jonathan King Ltd are determined to assist and guide you to achieve your aim of living and working in Canada…”

Where necessary the company also promised to assist to make the passage of the forms possible. With all these lofty promises in the kitty, so many Nigerian youths were conned.

By 5p.m. when it dawned on them that they’d been cheated, some who had money on them resorted to drinking at all the available bars and

restaurants at the Theatre. Those who came from far and had nowhere to go within Lagos, began to build make shift beds for the night. Actually these set of people slept at the premises till they left for their houses the following morning.

Many of the victims were aggrieved that they have lost the money deposited and have not been able to retrieve their passports.

“I don’t know what to do,” Charles from Abia State cried. “I have said goodbye to my mum and relations”, he said, gloom written all over his face. “Now I have to start all over again. This exercise cost me close to N300,000”, he said, grinding his teeth and clearing the mist on his sad face.

Asked why he even showed interest in that sort of arrangement, Charles retorted, “My brother, I am tired of this country. You see I became a qualified welder about 15 years ago.

In the past ten years I have tried to ride Okada because down in my village Ibeku, we don’t usually have electricity. Twice I have suffered Okada accident and how long will it be like this? This was why I opted to leave this country. At 38 years of age, of what use is it to me to continue to hope for nothing, when the government has no plan for the youth?” with that he scurried away, dragging his bag along.

However, when contacted in Ibadan, a spokesperson of Jonathan King said the company was not aware of the deal. He said the company did not ask anyone to assemble at the National Theatre on the said date. He denied that the company had anything to do with the crowd. But some of the victims spoken to blamed the electronic media which allowed their airwaves to be used to advertise and sponsor some programmes on their stations.

56

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Focus NIGERIA AT 51

• Continued from page 17

dollar a day, Emeka fits the bill.

Last week, he came under the weather.

For months, he was immobilised and unable to work. He could not access treatment or afford drugs. He only relied on local herbs from unhygienic sources. The more he took them, the worse the sickness became. ‘’I thought I was going to die,’’ he recalled. ‘’But somehow, someone came to my rescue when he heard about it. He took me to hospital and paid N3, 000 for my treatment.

In two days, I was back to shape. Doctors said I had severe typhoid because of stress’’.

But for that Good Samaritan, Emeka would have become history. Inability to pay N3, 000 would have sent him to an early grave.

Nweke, Agboola and Emeka are among the nation’s vast army of poor citizens. At 51, over 80% of Nigerians live below poverty line. For them, living is as brutish as hellish. They survive on less than $ 2 daily and struggle to afford three-square meals.

Buying new clothes is totally out of their reach. Other basic necessities such as housing and schooling remain even more elusive. They barely exist and do not live in the real sense of it. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ranked Nigeria 142 out of 169 in its 2010 Human Development Index rating. This is despite increased earnings from oil.

One income earner, several dependants The few who earn a living do not earn enough to enjoy comfortable life. They are hampered by vast dependants and hangers-on. Mary Eke falls in this group. She works in a private school where she earns a meagre N7, 000 every month. She resumes as early as 7am and closes at 6pm. This leaves her with no time to moonlight with any other income generating venture. But she has two sisters and a brother staying in the one-room apartment she shares with a friend. Her aged mother in the village also expects monthly up-keeps from her.

Eke said she is practically working and ‘existing’ for others. ‘’After feeding my siblings and sending something home to my mother, I am left with less than N2, 000. Out of this, I feed and sustain myself. I have so many unmet needs. I end up broke every month,’’ she lamented. Efforts to augment her earnings have been futile, making her utterly frustrated. These days, she is edgy and depressed. She said it all boils down to her economic status. ‘’I don’t understand how to get out of this web. What I earn is not even enough to sustain me, let alone others. How to survive remains unknown to me’’.

This is the situation confronting many workers across the country today.

Aside from fending for their immediate family members, many of them have hangers-on and dependants from extended relations to deal with. Ola Bankole, a cashier in

Living at the fringes ‘’After feeding my siblings and sending something home to my mother, I am left with less than N2, 000. Out of this, I feed and sustain myself. I have so many unmet needs. I end up broke every month”

a new generation bank, is considering dropping her job altogether. ‘’I am quitting,’’ she screamed few weeks ago. ‘’I mean I cannot go on like this. Many people just think I owe them monthly obligations and stipends. I earn N45, 000 but by the time I send N5, 000 to this and that, I am left with less than N10, 000. How can I cope with this situation?

When you tell them off, they turn to your enemy. I better stop so that I can have my peace back,’’ the National Diploma holder said.

Harsh business environment Unfavourable policies and unfriendly environment have made doing business in Nigeria a Herculean task. Most employers who spoke with our correspondent lamented acute and spiralling costs of doing business in the country. They lamented that this is making paying staff a living wage almost impossible.

Leone Chukwuma, Executive Director of Artleon Communications, a media outfit, said it takes more than toughness to survive

in the nation’s business environment. ‘’You know they say you must be tough to be an entrepreneur but in Nigeria, you need much more. I mean everything just appear targeted against your success. ‘’In my little office for example, I run diesel with N10, 000 per day. In 30 days, that is N300, 000. I can employ over six additional staff with that kind of money. But it is lost to power generation. This is aside servicing the generator and making other infrastructures work. Even a tough man would cry with such a situation,’’ she submitted.

Deji Oladimeji, a small scale business owner, echoed the same. His shoe-making business is suffering from lack of fund injection and power supply. ‘’I have demands that I cannot meet,’’ she began. “This has left me poor and helpless. Efforts to raise loans have been unsuccessful because I have no collaterals’’.

In other climes, small scale businesses are the main economic drivers. But in Nigeria, they are nowhere to be found. They

are overstressed and underutilised. Their owners groan under harsh environment, unable to attract capable hands. The businesses lag behind, suffering from policy somersaults. They are unsupported and underfunded. Workers are underpaid and overworked. They reserve their best for greener pasture, hoping to jump ship at the slightest opportunity.

The cumulative effect is that willing, qualified and competent workers are never engaged. Even when they are, they are underpaid. This has led to agitation for living a wage, a development many labour employers said cannot be helped. ‘’If my workers ask for more now, I will simply disengage them and recruit others willing to earn less,’’ a private business owner confided.

The nation’s economy consequently suffers. Many industries in the nation have closed shops while several others are merely crawling. Those operating are laying-off workers and cutting costs on all sides. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said over 500 companies have shut down in the nation in the last one year.

The stings of inept, corrupt leadership These economic woes, experts said, are attributable to lack of political will, economic know-how and corruption. Victor Areo, an economic analyst, said the nation’s economy has been held back by years of politicisation and greed. ‘’Everything in the nation’s economy is about politicking. You wonder why infrastructures like railway and good transport system cannot function in this country. We move goods across the nation in lorries instead of by rail. How can our economy grow? ‘’Power is essential to business growth but how come it is epileptic in this country?

Don’t we have the money or technical knowhow to make it work? It is simply because importers of generators are colluding with government officials to ruin the power sector. So, you see politicking, greed and corruption interplaying in the nation’s woes,’’ he submitted.

Dr Chris Eke, a university lecturer, agrees. He said the nation has been ruled by corrupt, wicked leaders without any thought for the masses. ‘’You see that they don’t concern themselves about the people at all. They are just happy sitting on everything. They form a cartel and make policies that will favour their cronies. This is the shame of this nation,’’ he said.

The result is the appalling standard of living among Nigerians. Most households are living from hands to mouths, on tight shoe-string budgets. The few with access to the nation’s treasury loot with reckless abandon. Eke said there is a direct connection between unequal wealth distribution and corruption. ‘’When those who should get something get nothing, it becomes survival of the fittest. That is why corruption is endemic in the nation,’’ he explained.

He said government must address the poor standards of living in the country to prevent a bloody revolution. ‘’You know we are toying with fire by depriving the poor.

They are the masses and one day, they can become angry enough and blow off everyone’s head. When that happens, this country would never be the same again,’’ he stated.

As the country entered its 52nd year yesterday, many wonder when this slide toward the cliff would stop.

57

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2011

Tackling bureaucracy at seaports Despite concerted efforts to ensure speedy cargo clearance at the nation’s seaports, administrative bottlenecks remain a hindrance, report Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf and Uyoatta Eshiet

U

NLIKE other climes, Nigeria’s seaports are notorious for delays as far as cargo clearance is concerned.

Of course, the reason for this is not far to seek: importers still contend with different administrative hiccups, and this sadly remains an albatross to speedy cargo clearance.

However, in fairness to the Federal Government, a lot of strident measures have been taken to ameliorate the challenges responsible for the delays.

Introduction of ASYCUDA and other measures

The introduction of Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA), the leading system for Customs modernization worldwide, is one of different measures adopted by the Federal Government to nip delays at the nation’s seaports in the bud.

ASYCUDA is a computerized system designed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for the management of customs procedures and operations.

It was designed to harmonize and standardize customs procedures in the country, leading to better management and improved productivity in the Nigeria Customs Service. It was designed to eliminate much human contacts with cargo in order to facilitate trade.

Founded in the early 80’s to automate the operations of Customs Administrations, the UNCTAD ASYCUDA software is today the core component of comprehensive, Integrated Customs Information Systems in more than 80 countries.

The ECOWAS Community Computer Centre (ECOWAS/CCC) installed the ASYCUDA Ver. 2.7 in Nigeria from 1999 onwards through a project financed by the Nigerian Federal Government.

Key deliverables of ASYCUDA

The key deliverables achieved with the ASYCUDA are summarized as follows: among other things, it aided the implementation of one single customs declaration model – SGD, in current use, replacing the previous 39 forms.

It introduced the use of international codes, with template installed and operational in 15 Area Commands (customs offices).

Also, customs officers gained computer skills and a relatively high percentage of them are already trained in the operation of this version of ASYCUDA just as bonded warehouses keepers have implemented with NCS assistance ASYCUDA Ver. 2 in their premises, on their equipment and provide office space to trained customs officers.

Salutary effects of measures

Besides ASYCUDA, other measure adopted to ensure a seamless transition of cargoes at the nation’s seaports, is the concessioning of port operations to the organised private sector.

One of such companies which offer support services at the nation’s seaports is Sifax Group, a conglomerate with interest

•Stacks of containers awaiting clearance at the seaports in shipping, cargo and aviation handling.

In an interview with The Nation, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, who is the Group Executive Vice Chairman/Managing Director, Sifax Group, said with the level of quantum investment in infrastructural development at the ports, there has been a turnaround of the ports because things were now done faster than they used to be.

“For this reason, we think things are getting better for the maritime business in Nigeria. You should not forget that the port is the gateway to the economy. That we have shown concerns about this is one way we can get others too to invest in our economy.

Through this approach, people can take the necessary steps to help sustain the economic growth,” he said.

Echoing similar views, Comptroller Abdulkadir Azarema (former CAC, Apapa Area 1 command) of the Nigeria Customs Service, while assessing the activities of the different concessionaires at the seaports in an interview recently, said the idea of port concessioning was to ensure that port operations are smooth. And this, he stressed, has paid off.

According to the customs boss, “One of the achievements that I can easily say is the port development in terms of physical

•Dikko

•Shittu

infrastructures. You can see that some modern buildings are springing up; some terminal operators are trying to acquire modern equipment for cargo handling and for stacking, and in terms of road construction, they are trying their best.”

While noting that clearance of cargo in the port depends on the level of compliance with the rule and regulations on the part of the importer, the clearing agent and other stakeholders that are operating in the port, Azarema stressed that: “The concessionaires have come to do business in Nigeria. So, definitely they will put certain things in place so that they can recoup their investments. They might fix some charges for cargo handling which is a little bit higher than what NPA was charging and these importers and clearing agents will certainly complain about. But, when services are provided or given promptly, definitely more charges will go up. So, if they render their services promptly then they justify the charges. With the modern cargo handling equipment and computerisation of the system, definitely, it is a little bit easier now to clear goods than before.”

Cargo clearance ill at ease

But to some maritime analysts, with the

•Nweke

benefit of hindsight, some of the measures, save a few exceptions, it may appear that not much difference has been made as there are still high incidence of delays on account of encumbrances encountered by prospective importers at the nation’s seaports.

The issue of delay in cargo clearance at the ports has always been blamed on the Nigerian Customs Service because according to the customs spokesman in charge of Tin-Can Ports Complex (TIPC), Mr. Chris Osunkwo, the customs is the major clearing agency.

“This blame game had gone on for ages with clearing agents accusing customs as the cause of the delays but customs is not the cause as we have done everything possible to overcome delay in the process of cargo clearance. This was made possible by the introduction of an electronic- based data capturing and sharing system called ASYCUDA which fast-tracks the clearing process as well as training and re-training of customs officers and men”, Osunkwo stressed.

Expatiating, Osunkwo said before now every delay in the course of cargo clearance was always attributed to customs, so the •Continued on page 58

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P HOTO N EWS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Clearing bottlenecks at the ports •Continued from page 57

•L-R: Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer, Oceanic Bank Plc, Mrs. Oyinkan Adewale; Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. John Aboh and Chairman, Apostle Hayford Alile at the 14th Annual General Meeting of the Bank held in Lagos recently.

customs high command decided that 70 percent of all activities associated with clearance that customs used to handle before should be left in the hands of the importers and their agents with customs now handling just about the remaining 30 per cent of that whole processes. This process he said is called “self assessment.”

While explaining the modus operandi of ASYCUDA, the NCS spokesman said all a trader does on getting his bill of lading is just to get to a DTI (Direct Trade Input) café, make his declarations truthfully into the system directly.

He said: “On receiving the information, the system that has been programmed will assess the form and place you on notice.

The system will tell you how much you are to pay. All you do then is just pick up your payment slip, walk into the nearest designated bank and make your payment, obtain your receipt, approach customs for a release of your consignment. Customs will not have any option than to release your goods if the information that will be sent to customs electronically by the ASYCUDA system has no discrepancy.”

Causes of delay

• L - R: Head Assets and Liabilities Product, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Olanike Kolawole; winner of the brand new Kia Soul from the Ecobank Salary Domiciliation Promo, Uyouko Efiok Nyong and his wife, with Regional Head South South and South East, Mr. Godwin Eton, during the bank's Salary Domiciliation Promo prize presentation and second draw held in Akwa Ibom recently.

•L-R: Commissioner, Engineering Standard and Saftey, Engr (Mrs.) Awolokwu; Commissioner, Legal Licensing and Enforcement, Dr. Steven Andzenge; CEO, Power Holding Corporation of Nigeria, Ikeja, Engr. Okaa Akamnonu, at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission Power Consumer Assembly held in Lagos recently

•L-R: Francis Egbuke, Dealer; Charles Iji, Executive Marketer; Happiness Ikechi, B2B Telemarketing/ Aftersales Executive; Philip Ani, Dealer; Eddy Okeke; Managing Director/CEO; Dr. Adetunji Haastrup, Moderator; Engr. Chidi Nwanneche, Executive Director (Sales & Admin); Confidence Nwanyanwu, Executive Secretary; Rufus Ilo, Store Manager; Chukwuma Enechukwu, Dealer during a two days training programme for Leodic Nigeria Limited staff and directors by Global Education Network/ICPM held in Lagos recently.

PHOTOS: BADE DARAMOLA

Rather than heap the blame at the customs over delay at the ports, Azamera said that “the customs procedure has been classified into two parts, which is called the trader zone and the customs zone.

Trader zone is the zone where the clearing agents or the importer will make declarations from his office; that is, if he has the facility to connect to ASYCUDA; those who can afford it are already connected to ASYCUDA. The Nigeria Customs Service has opened the window for them such that they can do things from their offices. When the importers and the big time clearing agents make declarations, they access and they go to the banks for payment.

“So, depending on the integrity of the importer; if he has been complying with the rules and regulations for a reasonable period of time, the ASYCUDA computer system will scan him for the green lane, that means that he can carry his goods from the port without customs examination. But, this green laying has been deactivated for a period of time because the level of compliance by the importers is very low.”

The national President of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Mr. Eugene Nweke, said the trading community (importers and their clearing agents) are not 100 per cent compliant with the provisions of trade laws and the application of clearing procedures to eliminate time wastage during the clearing processes.

This, he said, often triggers ‘selectivity’ after examining a particular importer and noticed discrepancy; the customs will not allow such importer to go with such goods until everything is sorted out.

He said when the system triggers ‘selectivity’ such cargo will have to go through serious scrutiny. The delays arising from this is not caused by customs.

“If the trading community (importers and their agents) do the right thing and customs always do the right thing as they are supposed to do, then everything will work out fine for everybody,” he assured.

He said Nigeria is not a dumping ground for fake or adulterated products, adding that with the present efforts from the Directors- General of SON, NAFDAC and that of the present management of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) led by the Customs Controller General, Alhaji Abdullahi Inde, Nigerians will soon be buying goods worth the value of their money.

Lending credence to the foregoing, the National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu said the clearance of cargo within 48 or even 24 hours is achievable by customs were it not for other government agencies that are

making the process to drag.

He said the government is to be blame, since according to him, about 24 other government agencies take part in the clearance process, thereby leading to bureaucracy and legal entanglement as affecting the work of customs and these other numerous government agencies.

He said these other agencies belong to different ministries and are independent at the port, they are not under the control of customs and as such, they will not take instructions from customs. He insisted that there is need to have what he called ‘a lead agency’ at the ports that will supervise all the other agencies.

Shittu said before the introduction of ASYCUDA, all these other agencies were departments in custom but with the military carving out NDLEA and making it autonomous all the other agencies followed and the result today is that there are 24 agencies operating, how can there be trade facilitation with these agencies asserting their independence? The law made them autonomous.

What he thinks should be done as it is done in other societies, is that before customs conduct examination the importer would have sorted himself out with the relevant agencies or they are made to be present at the examination bay. He suggests that there are supposed to be trained customs officers in NAFDAC, SON and the rest of the agencies operating in the ports.

The issue with delay of clearance of goods in our ports may still remain with us for because as one senior customs officer who did not want to have his name in print put it, “we are non-compliance in Nigeria” and the system is ‘integrity –driven’ and integrity is lacking so much among the importers and even within the customs, he stated. Nigerians, he said always look for how to cut corners and enrich themselves in the process.

The ANCLA national president revealed that with the efforts of customs at the Apapa port with the introduction of their Wi-Fi system, one can stay in his office if you are within the coverage area, access customs website, access your account, settle with the bank and every other agency as they are supposed to be connected via the ASYCUDA, pay your correct duties and just approach customs with your generated form from ASYCUDA and have your goods released to you if your declarations are truthful and no discrepancies noticed. In this way customs or the other agencies will not have physical contact with goods and by this goods can be released within 24 hours.

Way out

The national president of ANCLA advises President Goodluck Jonathan to reduce the number of agencies in the ports and to empower customs to be the “lead agency” in the port because they have what is required; the manpower, training, technology and other resources, to be the lead agency and this will facilitate trade.

Shittu of ANCLA, Eugene of NAGAFF and others who did not want their names mentioned however urged the National Assembly to expedite work on the single window clearing system to help fast-track clearance of goods. The single window will bring all streamline activities and make things work faster.

On the issue of corruption at the ports, Eugene said the trading community should be blamed mostly though he did not exonerate customs. He said customs did not import substandard products, it is the importers and when they have problems with its clearance, the issue of bribing will arise.

The issue of training of the importers was also raised. They need to be reminded that they can help to facilitate trade by being truthful in their declarations. This means if their goods can always come out at the ‘green channel ‘where there is no need for physical examination.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

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‘Criticisms against FERMA unwarranted’ Mallam Abdulkabir Abdullahi has been the Managing Director of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) since August 2009 until he was redeployed to the Federal Ministry of Works recently. He spoke with Tajudeen Adebanjo on the activities of the agency and other sundry issues before his redeployment.

T

HERE is a general consensus among the members of the public that the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has been a serious drain on the economy over the years as the agency has little or nothing to show for the allocation it gets from the Federal Government. How will you react to this?

I think there are misconceptions from the public because the agency has never been adequately funded.

Since we took over, we‘ve been managing the meagre resources allocated to the agency and I think we have done a lot. For instance, in the area of road rehabilitation, especially those roads that were nearing collapse, we have been able to rehabilitate them and make them motorable for commuters.

The agency also embarked on construction of mass drainages to save total destruction of the roads.

We did install many streetlights across the country, ultimately to safeguard the roads from total collapse.

The insinuations that FERMA is not doing enough are not correct judging by the enormous work we have done these past years.

There are many works we did across the country. And of course, there was no time the agency was given up to 50 per cent of the budget. What we got were not enough to maintain 35, 000 kilometres of roads network in the country. A lot of money is needed to make the agency perform.

Having said that, I make bold to say without any fear of contradiction that since we assumed the management of the agency few years ago, we have made appreciable progress.

In fact, since we came on board, we have received commendations from appreciable number of Nigerians among them monarchs and community leaders even from members of the National Assembly. Many said if not for the intervention of FERMA, many major roads would have totally collapsed, such that Nigerians would have been forced to park

their vehicles at home. So to that extent, I think FERMA is doing its best. But like all things human, there is room for improvement, we can still do better.

You once said Nigerian roads need total overhaul, how do you come about this conclusion?

You know FERMA has a mandate and it is to maintain the Federal roads. Generally speaking, the works on Nigerian roads include construction, rehabilitation and maintenance.

These are the ways we address the issue of road repairs. But the duties and responsibilities as far as these repairs are concerned, are spelt out.

For instance, construction and rehabilitation are handled by the Ministry of Works and Highway Department while FERMA supervises the maintenance aspect.

However, when we took over, we discovered that the roads are in total damage, as such, we had to move into action immediately to ensure that many of these roads are given a facelift.

Thankfully, the situation of many of the roads has changed.

We worked on many roads across the country since we came on board. Almost 70 per cent of roads are bad and people expect us to do a miracle and fix them overnight.

We have prioritised those ones to do first due to paucity of funds.

Aside from inadequate funding, what are other challenges facing FERMA? Apart from financial constraints, we also face technical challenges.

The issue of overloading is also a major challenge. Most of our roads are designed to carry 30 tons but some of the trucks on the roads are carrying 40-50 tons of load. Even, if the road is repaired, it will not take time to get damaged due to overloading and heavy duties on it. Another challenge is the issue of dumping of refuse in the drainage, which leads to the blockage of the drains and the roads get flooded. So, there are many challenges. But the major one is financial. The agency needs

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THE EXECUTIVE

•Abdullahi

adequate funding to be able to perform optimally. We must ensure that adequate funds are released to maintain those roads.

Looking back, would you say you have been able to achieve your vision for the agency?

Before the advent of FERMA, there was a public outcry over the state of our roads. However, since we took over the agency, the condition of many of these roads has changed considerably. I think I can say so far, so good.

How many roads did you

rehabilitate in the past two years?

Like I told you earlier, we worked on many roads. I can say for certain the exact number of roads we worked on. But we have worked on many roads across the country since we came on board.

Is there a mechanism in place to monitor your contractors to ensure total quality management?

To the best of my knowledge, the contractors who work with us are doing their best. But we do have monitoring team that go

around to supervise the work on site. Most of the roads are old, their lifespan have expired, it’s just like the clothe you wear. We even have laboratories to conduct test on the materials used by the contractors.

So far, so good, we have worked on over 35 per cent of our target.

FERMA is not an agency that its contractors would not put their best to deliver good job for Nigerians. We monitor their activities day and night. And, it is part of my resolution to ensure that people remember me for good work and someone who did his best to lift the agency.

I must say that it is a thing of joy and happiness when people come to our office to appreciate the work we have done. It makes us believe that the essence of creating FERMA is being justified.

In your view how best can the government tackle the issue of inadequate funding?

There are many ways. First, the infrastructure requires adequate funding. Another is the Private Partnership Project. Government alone cannot fund all these infrastructures, construction and maintenance. But if there are private investors to look after those structures, it would be properly maintained.

Will public private partnership not lead to imposition of tariff and surcharges?

What they need to do is to conduct an opinion poll before embarking on the project.

Government and its private collaborators must know if the people plying the routes are willing to pay for the services rendered or not. Also there is the need to construct alternative routes for those who may not be able to pay the toll. It is just a matter of time before the people realise whether to join those who are willing to pay or not. With this, the crisis over payment of toll-gate will be resolved and government would have time to concentrate on other areas that need its attention, in terms of road construction.

First Bank emerges most innovative bank in Africa One of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, has been named the Most Innovative Bank in Africa by the African Banker, organisers of the annual African Banker Awards.

The award ceremony held during the 2011 IMF/World Bank Meetings at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel, Washington DC, United States of America.

According to Omar Ben Yedder, Group Publisher of African Banker magazine, the award goes to the African bank that has demonstrated original and practical uses of technology to provide customer convenience, better and cheaper services, and greater access to the financial services industry in Africa. Other nominees for this category of the awards were BIM, Banco International de Mozambique,

Diamond Bank of Nigeria, Equity Bank of Kenya and Kenya Post Office Savings Bank. FirstBank is the only Nigerian bank that received an award at the occasion which had in attendance over 300 guests including bankers, financial analysts, consultants and businessmen.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Bank, Folake AniMumuney, Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, said the award is a global recognition of the giant strides the Bank has achieved over the years in the areas of deployment of technology to power its operations and services and ultimately making banking services more convenient, accessible and faster, adding that all these are major feats in the Bank’s customer-oriented and innovative financial plans.

•Former Head of State, Chief Ernest Shonekan with Executive Vice President/Company Secretary, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Tijjani Borodo on his conferment as a Fellow of the Institute of Directors Nigeria (IoD) at the Institute’s 2011 Fellows Night in Lagos recently

NATION ON SUNDAY 60 THE OCTOBER 2, 2011

Business

CBN, banks to boost agric funding T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and banks are looking at possibilities of increasing funding for agriculture in the country. The emphasis would be on getting small scale farmers secure loans from the banks. The parties are working with Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and other key stakeholders to develop an innovative financing mechanism, tagged Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi, speaking at the 4th African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association conference in Abuja, put the state of the farming sector in perspective.

His words: “Agriculture occupies a priority status in the national economy as the sector serves as the key driver of growth, wealth creation and poverty reduction. It is the leading economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa as it contributes 20 to 30 percent of its Gross Domestic Product.”

Sanusi further disclosed that “The annual demand for agribusiness financing over the next 40 years is projected at $6.5bn per annum, compared to the current annual fund supply of $1.5 to $5 billion. This presents a huge financing gap which a forum such as this should be able to critically examine and develop

Stories by Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

policies and implementation frameworks to minimize the gap in the interest of agricultural development in the region.”

The apex bank boss added that the initiative will help unlock access to bank finance, critical for stimulating agric lending and increasing food and crop production in the country.

Chief Executive of the Standard Bank Group, Mr. Jacko Maree stated that the large share of agriculture in Africa’s GDP suggests that strong growth in agriculture is necessary for overall economic growth. “There is a need and an opportunity for investment that will develop the middle ground in Africa’s agriculture. Africa has enormous natural potential and the continent has to unlock this potential in order to reap the benefits of its natural resources”, he stated.

The initiative builds on Standard Bank’s funding models developed to finance small-scale farmers. These models also include risk mitigating tools such as price hedging instruments and crop insurance. The lack of usable collateral makes

traditional lending products inappropriate.

Head, Agriculture, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Jacques Taylor said this goal of empowering farmers would be achieved through bespoke schemes and initiatives currently being implemented by the institution. The bank is also working with a number of government agencies and multilateral organisations to spearhead a true agricultural revolution in Nigeria leveraging on the Standard Bank group experience and expertise in agricultural financing.

He said that AGRA and other partners are also providing a guarantee fund, and in turn, Standard Bank made $100 million available for lending over three years.

As a follow up, the CBN also, allocated N200 billion into the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) meant to fasttrack the development of the agric sector through the provision of credit facilities at a single digit interest rate to large-scale commercial farmers. So far, participating banks have given out N133.11 billion to beneficiaries of the CACS. The fund is meant to boost the sector’s funding from financial institutions. The 139 beneficiaries, comprising 115 individuals/private promoters and 24 states of the federation, accessed the funds through the deposit money banks.

Oshiomhole, Akpabio, others for SERA awards

C

OMRADE Adams Oshiomhole, the Executive Governor of Edo State and Chief (Dr) Obong Godswill Akpabio, Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State are among the distinguished recipients of the annual Social Enterprise Report and Awards (the SERAs) in recognition for strides achieved in the socioeconomic development of their respective states in line with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Other special guests

include Labaran Maku, the Honourable Minister of Information and Communication who will deliver the keynote address; Ifueko Omogui Okauru, Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Dr. Joseph Odumodu the Director General of Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON).

TruContact Limited, organisers of the annual the awards, said, the awards, which was originally slated for September 30, 2011 at the Shell Hall, MUSON Centre,

Onikan, Lagos, has been postponed to Saturday October 15, 2011 at the same venue.

Ken Egbas Managing Partner of TruContact said, “once again to celebrate Nigeria’s finest corporate citizens who through their planned social responsibility programmes are contributing to sustainable development of Nigeria.”

The 2011 edition of the SERAs is the fifth, following four hugely successful editions implemented in collaboration with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON).

NCC shuts down firm over illegal frequencies

I

N exercise of its mandate of ensuring proper usage of spectrum frequency in Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), over the weekend sealed the offices of Cobranet, a telecom company based in Lekki, Lagos, for illegally occupying frequencies in some bands mapped out for broadband services in the country, and disrupting the services of other service providers.

According to the NCC, the commission had in 2009, developed guidelines for the deployment of frequency services on the 5.2 – 5.9GHz bands.

In April 2011, the commission declared the 5.470 – 5.725 portion of this spectrum as licensed, licensable and not license-exempt in Nigeria.

Consequently, it warned all companies without a license from the commission to avoid transmitting signals, or using

By Adline Atili equipment on this frequency band.

However, the Commission after final warning on the issue in June, 2011, discovered that Cobranet, was transmitting signals on the affected frequencies, hence an enforcement action against the company, resulting in its being shut down by the commission, with its transmission equipment confiscated.

Head of Compliance Monitoring of the commission, Mr Efosa Idehen, who led the enforcement action, said Cobranet will also pay some yet-to-bedetermined amount of money to be calculated by the frequency department of the Commission with reference to the space and time the company had illegally

occupied the band.

Head of Media and Public Relations of the NCC, Mr Reuben Muoka, said the clampdown on Cobranet is a signal to other operators who may be operating without proper authorisation or recourse to the rules of the telecommunications industry.

Muoka said the current leadership at the commission is focused on compliance and enforcement of rules, hence the need for all operators to adhere to the conditions in service provisioning for the benefit of subscribers and the nation.

He said that the frequency spectrum is a finite resource which use must be in accordance with set guidelines and conditions.

Contacted, the Quality Control Manager of Cobranet, Mr Marcel Bejjani said when his company was served the notice, it efforts to acquire the spectrum legally but was delayed by regulatory bottlenecks.

•L-R: Dr. Kunle Megbo, Head of Marketing,Clearline HMO, Dr. Segun Ogundimu,Managing Director, Dr. Charles Fagbohunlu, Head Quality Assurance, and Dr Chioma Ogunameri, Head of Corporate Service, at a media interactive session on Retail Health Insurance Scheme Independence Anniversary Gift for Nigerians.

Executives, others at Smirnoff launch

S

MIRNOFF, one of the worlds most popular spirit brands recently launched the Smirnoff Midnight Circus in Lagos, as part of the global Smirnoff Night Exchange Project featuring famous Disc Jockeys in the globe.

In a cruise which lasted for over an hour, guests comprising mostly upwardly mobile executives and high networth individuals, in attendance at the launch were treated to a unique experience cruising in a special boat on the serene Victoria Island waters, with magnificent sites to behold.

The Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria/Diageo Brands Nigeria, Mr. Devlin Hainsworth, said the boat cruise was a tip of the iceberg.

Smirnoff, he stressed, is offering its numerous consumers an insight into the unique night life experience starting with the Lagos event on November 12, 2011.

Guests at the event also enjoyed the best of music by Nigeria award-winning musician Ikechukwu who is the Smirnoff Midnight Circus Ringmaster while they also danced to the scintillating disc jockeying of DJ Jimmy Jatt and DJ Neptune.

Present at the event were celebrities like the famous On Air Personalities like Yaw of Wazobia FM, Freeze of Cool Fm as well as Tajudeen Adepetu of Sound City, ID Ogungbe of Primetime to mention a few. Musicians present at the event include Tufab, Elajoe, RootTop MC among others.

According to the organisers, the launch is a countdown to 12 November 2011, the date when the party phenomenon that has been sweeping the globe will truly change the nightlife landscape forever.

Like in previous shows, the organisers have assured

•Ace rapper and Brand Ambassador of Smirnoff, Ikechukwu and Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria/Diageo Brands Nigeria, Mr. Delvin Hainsworth, at the Smirnoff Midnight Circus launch in Lagos.

that night party goers here in Nigeria will paint the town red with thousands of other fun lovers around the world in a wave of specially created original and unforgettable experiences that will kick off in 50 countries around the globe including Brazil, the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Vietnam, Thailand and Australia.

Those who will be at the events can expect to be thrilled to a once-in-a-lifetime evening that will include extraordinary and spectacular entertainment, the most incredible music from the world’s most popular DJs, the chance to enjoy amazing Smirnoff cocktails mixed by the best barmen in the world and a special collaboration with Madonna.

ICSAN gets new president

T

ESLIM Olatunde Busari, has officially emerged as the 23rd president and chairman of council of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), at an investiture ceremony held at Civic Centre in Victoria Island.

In his valedictory speech, the immediate past president of the Institute, Deacon Moses Adeisa,

described the incoming president as “a man who has the mettle, clout and connection that are required to consolidate on the gains that have been recorded over the years.”

In his acceptance speech, Busari pledged to “maintain the good standard, values and best tradition that have been set by my predecessors in office.”

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The real pirates of the Caribbean For Riches and Power, A Man will sell his soul, deluding himself that what he has amassed will enable the purchase of a new one.

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EFORE heading to the Caribbean, we must detour through Washington. Bear with me. In this excursion, context is as telling as content.

One could not reasonably expect America’s first Black president to favor Blacks above others. That type of racism is the reserve of White Presidents who from the beginning of the Republic have rigged policies that favor Whites over others. To some extent this is because Whites have held the majority in terms of numbers and in power. Yet to a significant extent, it is due to racism.

This is a blunt, unassailable truth.

Although President Obama could not carve for them a preferred category, Blacks justifiably hoped he would do them no greater harm and treat them with a respect that prior Chief Executives eschewed. Though justified, these hopes wonder unrequited. In word and deed, President Obama put boot to the fundament of Black people, telling them to enjoy the kick because it came from a black foot. During the annual Congressional Black Caucus awards banquet last week, the President spent little time assuaging fears about a Black unemployment rate double the national average. Nor did he empathize with the pain felt by an entire community that has witnessed its meager financial gains and savings disintegrate because of the 2008 debt crisis and recession. In effect, he told Blacks to stop thinking of their own predicament because it was sapping the energy he needed them to expend to get him out of his own predicament. He demanded that they stop thinking of their lack of jobs in order to work on saving his.

His operative words were: “Take off your bedroom slippers.

Put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complainin’. Stop grumblin’. Stop cryin’. We are going to press on. We have work to do.”

This was the acme of condescension. A sentient Black American with a passing knowing of the racial profiling that has wracked this nation’s history would have felt ambushed by the President. He exploits the ageold canard of Blacks being a listless, murmuring brood who send their day lying about half in, half out of bed. Little they do to improve their condition save complain and expect industrious others to hand them something for nothing. This is the mainstream conservative image of the Black man and America’s first Black President used it against his own people not because it is true but because it is the accepted stereotype that proves his bona fides to those who most line his campaign coffers.

This is not the first time he has done this thing. Almost every time he stands before a Black audience he inflicts a barb highlighting the alleged social pathos of the Black race.

He dare not scold another racial group. His recent dialogue with the Latinos was dignified and issuesbased. He knows they will not court such nonsense. Had he told them to quit “eating tacos and get to work” the only thing left would have been to start packing his bags because he would surely be cast from the White House in 2012.

His statement implies the shaken condition of the Black community was its own fault. It had nothing to do with the uneven trajectory of decades of government policy, particular his government’s policies. In fact, Blacks should be satisfied simply with the fact that he occupies the White House. He blamed Blacks like

By Brian Browne every mainstream moderate and conservative has blamed them for half a millennium. Well, at least, he was being consistent in a historic sense. Thus, was fashioned the Obama Corollary to John Kennedy’s famous line: “Ask not what your country can do for you…” Regarding Black people, the Obama Corollary is: “Ask not what your Black President can do for but ask what you can do for him.”

His address would rank as his most pitiable performance if not so mephitic. He talked down to the audience with the familiar disdain of an arrogant man talking down to a cloddish relative at the family reunion or of a shameless cad speaking to the wallflower girlfriend he strings along because he needs the use of her new car to impress a more attractive damsel. He believes he has special license to talk roughly to Blacks yet has no special responsibility to protect them from the workings of a system fashioned to harm them. He not only has become part of that grinding system, he is both its central fulcrum and willing lubricant for the time being. Around Whites he is the courteous listener who seeks consensus and compromise even with those who hate him. He conducts himself as one does in a parley among equals. His demeanor changes around Blacks. With them, he listens not yet talks coarsely. The sheepish president transformed into roaring lion. He demands and commands.

With Blacks, he does not see himself among equals; he believes he is surrounded by subordinates of an inferior make.

For this address, he even shifted his tongue to speak an artificial “street brother lite” dialect to deceive the crowd that he was one of them.

This part of the performance was comical as the former University of Chicago constitutional law professor clipped the “g” from choice words like “complainin’, grumblin’ and cryin’.” Mindful the speech would be broadcast to the general public, he clipped the words in his unique, milquetoast style so the Whites who might hear the excerpts would not conclude he had gotten too soulful or had gone native. On this score, he deftly walked the racial tightrope to the intended cynical destination. Because he looked and sounded like them, most Black listeners were so taken by these superficial aspects that they missed the insult underlying his message. To the power structure, he again proved himself the loyal factotum. He succeeded in making Blacks feel better by administering an obvious, cheap placebo. He demonstrated he could still tame the savages by fooling them with magic tricks.

By calling himself “post racial,” President Obama engages in further gimmickry. Given the racism at the core of America’s history, talk of transcending racism in politics is intellectual chaff. He has not transcended racial politics but has bent it differently. Before him, no famous Black politician could hold national stage because most Whites feared he would favor his own as they have theirs. Obama comes along and convinces the establishment that he is their man because he can use race to contain and befuddle the Black community to the point where he gets them to accept policies that otherwise would have engendered protest if not a riot. President Obama is more subtle but as manipulative in the use

• Obama of derogatory biases and symbols as the southern politicians who 50-60 years ago won elections by striking fear in the White electorate about the “Black menace” and in giving the word “nigger” it most vile pronunciation then yelling it louder and more frequently than their opponents. Obama’s more sophisticated claim is that by the saccharine platitudes rolling from his lips, he can keep Blacks spellbound without resorting to the lash. He can keep injustice nice and tidy by camouflaging it in a good sheen and smile.

What does all of this have to do with the Caribbean? Plenty, his disregard for Blacks recognizes no territorial limits. What transpires in domestic affairs has its foreign policy mirror. Nowhere is this more tragic but well concealed than in Haiti.

Just as his perception of his relationship with Black America is a cold, political calculation, President Obama has no special place in his heart for Haiti despite its legacy as the first Black nation in the western hemisphere and first republic in the history founded by slaves of any color.

After last year’s earthquake, it seemed America led the world in mounting a humanitarian response. The President even named former President Bush to head American disaster relief and former President Clinton was appointed to a similar position by the United Nations. To the uninitiated, this appeared to be a large dose of American humanitarian generosity to a hapless and dirt-poor neighbor. The truth is more ambivalent. There are literally subterranean motives for American preoccupation with Haiti; these motives have little connection with the welfare of the inhabitants of the ill-fated land.

Haiti has been subjected to a number of American military and nation building interventions during the past century. These interventions have left Haiti no better than it was before. However, the police actions gave American corporations and the government that does their bidding a chance to explore the tiny nation from top to bottom. America positioned its surrogates at the top but it is what they discovered at the bottom, below the surface, that really enchanted them. Decades ago, American oil companies got an inkling of several large finds. They delayed exploration for two reasons, one economic, the other strategic.

First, production costs in the Middle East were much lower, making profit

margins much higher. Second, they likely decided to deplete oil reserves in the far-away Arabian Peninsula and elsewhere before exploiting the proximate Haitian lode. This way, American access to bountiful oil would be secure long after supplies in remote nations over which they could exercise less control had been exh a u s t e d .

Hardliners in Washington began to informally think of Haiti’s oil as part of America’s long term strategic reserves.

Haitian sovereignty was deemed to be gossamer film. Since then, Washington and the oil corporations have tried to hide the existence of Haiti oil.

Sadly, this has succeeded to large degree; the vast majority of Haitians have little knowledge of the riches that lie beneath their poor soles. The world is largely ignorant of this fact.

But such thing cannot be kept a total secret.

According to a French geologist, Haiti has larger reserves than Venezuela, one of the world’s largest producers. Comparing two holdings, the Frenchman commented that Haiti was as an Olympic pool while Venezuela was but a glass of water.

Add to this, reported veins of precious metals like gold, platinum and iridium. A 2008 American government report estimates that, under the islands of the Great Antilles (Cuba, Haiti/Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico), probably sit over 1 billion barrels of oil and over a trillion cubic feet of gas. This report likely underestimates the size of the reserves as, to the chagrin of the United States, Cuba has already announced a stupendous find of a single field with 20 billion barrels in its territorial waters. Since American companies cannot sink their hooks into Cuba due to the combative bilateral relationship, Washington is making sure its companies write the rules and control the game in Haiti.

America maintains keen interest and effective suzerainty over Haiti not for humanitarian purposes but in self-interest. In other words, American feigned concern is an act of congealed hypocrisy topped with a meringue of greed.

Former President Clinton, whose foundation is sponsored by some of the nation’s largest corporations, is busy pressuring the Haitian government to deregulate and privatize the best of its meager assets as if his penchant for deregulation has not already caused enough harm to American and global financial system.

Clinton is also focused on a 55 million dollar deal that would transform a large parcel of Haiti’s picturesque, virgin northern coast into a “tourist playground.” Seems that Clinton and the money behind this deal seek to remake Haiti into the laissez faire Gomorrah that was Cuba prior to Castro’s ascendance. Meanwhile, the purported massive post-earthquake international humanitarian intervention has had minute effect. Despite the billions of dollars purportedly allocated to relief, the majority of people rendered homeless by the tremor, remain homeless. According

to several independent NGOs, more than 80 percent of the earthquake rumble remains untouched. The place looks much the same as it did the week after the quake. Other NGOS complain the UN has been slower than its normally glacial self in distributing relief assets and UN troops appear more a hindrance than a help. In fact, the cholera outbreak that claimed so many lives after the earthquake was traced to a UN contingent. It was the United States Government that requested UN intervention and thus far that intervention has proceeded in America’s interests rather than Haiti’s.

The more time passes, the less Haiti is provided sufficient levels of humanitarian aid. The more the nation will be susceptible to economic encroachment by its stronger northern neighbor. The real motive behind American action slowly unfolds but does so in obscurity. The masters of this game hide behind the lack of sustained public international attention. They know people have taken their eyes off Haiti. With the spotlight gone, they perfect their scheme.

That the Obama Administration disregards the people’s welfare was evident prior to the earthquake.

Barely five months into its existence, the Administration brandished its imperialist credentials. Economically, Haiti occupies the same tenement as sub-Saharan Africa. Most Haitians exist on less than a dollar a day and roughly 80 percent live on less than two dollars a day. Haiti is synonymous with penury. Attempting to improve these appalling statistics, the Haitian parliament passed a minimum wage law in May 2009 raising the legal wage from roughly 20 cents an hour to 70 cents. The Obama Administration put the hard shoulder to the Haitian president to veto the measure because it would cut into the profits of textile contractors exploiting the cheap labor. The Obama Administration did not want a Haitian textile worker to earn a paltry five dollars a day because that might temporarily reduce these companies’ profit margins. The companies would not have suffered in the long term. Had they simply increased the price of the goods by a few cents they would have recouped the labor costs. This is the Obama economic doctrine at work in the first independent Black nation in the western hemisphere. On all accounts, it was unregenerate.

Erase the warm smiles and glib rhetoric, the Obama Administration is impervious to the plight of the Black poor in America, Haiti or anywhere. This is not simply because President Obama is captive to the system. He is a wily volunteer in perpetuating customary, almost venerated, modes of injustice. He has simply given the old system its newest face. It would be naïve to think he could have launched a direct attack against all forms of bias in the government and corporate establishment. Yet it would be even more naïve to think that he even harbored a fraction of such a desire. If he has a reformist bone in his body, he has yet to find it. Moreover, his perceptive of the Black race is an ambivalent, sometimes coldly indifferent supportive one. He could at least have tried to alleviate some fraction of the injustice and inequality meted to Black Americans or to Black nations like Haiti. If the toll for rising to the top of the power elite is the jettisoning of his race, then the President has made his payment in full. This Black man is no more a friend of Black people than any other president and may be less of a friend than a few of them. In a fundamental sense, America still awaits to elect its first Black President.

(08074473182 sms only)

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Foreign News

Talks with Taliban useless, says Afghan President

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FGHAN President Hamid Karzai, who for years pushed for reconciliation with the Taliban, now says attempts to negotiate with the insurgent movement are futile and efforts at dialogue should focus instead on neighbouring Pakistan.

The Afghan leader explained in a videotaped speech released by his office yesterday that he changed his views after a suicide bomber, claiming to be a peace emissary from the insurgents, killed former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani at his home on Sept. 20. Rabbani was leading Karzai’s effort to broker peace with the Taliban.

CHANGE OF NAME AKINYELE I, formerly known and address as Miss Akinyele Toyin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oni Kikelomo Toyin. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

BAMISILE I, formerly known and address as Miss Bamisile Adegolarin Heleen, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Abu Adegolarin Heleen. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Teaching Service Commission and general public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME AHMED I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ahmed Oluwaseun Fatima, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ogunleye Oluwaseun Fatima. All former documents remain valid. Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and general public please take note.

ADAMU I, formerly known and addressed as Barr Williams Abdul Adamu now wish to be known and addressed as Barr Williams Abdul Adamuattaguba. All former documents remain valid. The Nigerian Bar Association, The Council of Legal Education, The International Bar Association, The Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the general public please take note.

OTU

•President Karzai

CHANGE OF NAME AMAECHI I, formerly known and address as Miss Amaechi Odinakachi Anastecia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nmerengwa Odinakachi Goodluck Anastecia. All former documents remain valid. The Management Of Living Word Academy Secondary Aba and general, public please take note.

ABIODUN I, formerly known and address as Miss Abiodun Oluwafunmike Olayinka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olagunju Olawafunmike Olayinka. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Mr Etiese Godwin Otu now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs God’slove Obiduk Obiduk Jnr. All former documents remain valid.

Silverbirds and general public please take note.

NWEKE I, formerly known and address as Miss Nneoma Sheila Nweke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nneoma Sheila Ekwuruibe. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OZUZU

I, formerly known and address as Miss Ozuzu Linda Chinenyenwa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Familusi Linda Chinenyenwa. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

AMARIWE

I, formerly known and address as Miss Amariwe Rita, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. David Rita. All former documents remain valid. Nigeria Police Force and general public please take note.

ONWERE

I, formerly known and address as Miss. Florence Onyinyechi Ifeyinwa Onwere, now wishes to be known and addressed as Mrs Anugwa Florence Onyinyechi. All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and general, public please take note.

OLAPADE I, formerly known and address as Miss Olapade Leah Lola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ogundari Leah Lola. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

MUSA I formelly called Miss Mariamu Lawretta Ibhade Musa, now wish to be called/ adressed as Mrs Krystal Ibhade Tamunosiki. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

UDENSI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Udensi Janeth Uloma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Obia Janeth Uloma. All former documents remain valid. ASUBEB, SEMB Umuahia Abia State and general public should please take note.

ELEKWA I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mercy Elekwa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Mercy Nwankwo. All former documents remain valid.

Arochukwu Local Govt Area Abia State and general public should take note.

NWEKE I, formerly known and address as Miss Nkiruka Nweke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nkiruka Iwuchukwu. All former documents remain valid. NYSC, Abia State Polytechnic and general, public please take note.

AGWU I,formerly known and address as Miss Agwu Esther Chidinma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kalu Esther Chidinma. All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and general public take note.

AFOLABI

I, formerly known and address as Miss Afolabi Oluwatobiloba Ayoka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oni Oluwatobiloba Ayoka. All former documents remain valid. Zenith Bank Plc and general public please take note.

OJO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUCTION! AUCTION!!

AUCTION!!!

On the instruction of OJO LOCAL GOVERNMENT Oto Awori Local Council Development Area. There will be an auction of unserviceable vehicles in their premises on Thursday 6 th October, 2011 at 10.00am prompt.

J. F. OBITUNDE Government Licensed Auctioneer 08033466559

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

Worship

INTERVIEW

Living ‘How to make Nigeria work’ Rev Tony Ahove is general overseer of Conquerors’ Faith N Chapel International, Alagomeji, Lagos. He spoke with Sunday Oguntola on the nation’s journey since indeBy David Oyedepo

The mystery of gratitude!

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AVE you been making frantic efforts on your own to enjoy progress in your career, business or family, without any meaningful success? Has breakthrough unlimited been elusive to you since the beginning of the year?

The reason for your predicament may be due to your nonengagement of a tangible force in order to enjoy overall breakthrough. That force is gratitude. That is why this week, I will be teaching on The Mystery of Gratitude.

Every man is ordinary, and can only generate ordinary results.

Only our marvellous God can generate marvellous results. One mystery behind the ever-increasing grace of God anywhere on the earth is gratitude. When gratitude becomes your lifestyle, you’ll scale higher altitudes by the day.

What Is In Gratitude?

The Word of God says: It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night… (Psalms 92:1-14). What happens when you engage in the mystery of gratitude?

1. Access to His presence: You are deprived of His presence without the attitude of gratitude. People that carry His presence don’t know pressure. I have never had a sleepless night in this ministry in my life, simply because of the divine presence we provoke through our gratitude to Him. 2. Access to divine strength: Access to God’s presence moves you from strength to strength physically, spiritually and emotionally (Psalm 84:7). Thirty years ago, Jesus delivered this mandate to me and 30 years after, I have not lost one ounce of energy. I have gained more pounds of energy! That means you are deprived of spiritual, physical, and emotional strength without gratitude.

3. Access to fresh oil: But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil (Psalm 92:10). Thanks givers are ever fresh. There is a fresh oil that answers on the lives of genuine thanks givers. God anointed David because he was a renowned thanks giver (Psalm 89:20-24).

4. Victories over your enemies: Verse 11 says: Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked… It is in thanksgiving that God takes over your battles.

When God takes over your battle, your victory becomes eternally sealed. So, you transfer your battle to God in thanksgiving.

Every time you thank Him for what He has done, you remind Him of what remains, and He steps in. When He steps in, the enemy must step out.

5. Access to Supernatural flourishing: Verse 12 says: The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

The righteous that engage in gratitude as a lifestyle shall flourish like a palm tree. Every thanks giver supernaturally flourishes.

Jesus gave thanks and five loaves and two fishes were more than enough to feed 5,000 people. Thanksgiving guarantees supernatural flourishing.

6. Access to Supernatural Liftings: Verse 12 (b) says: …he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. That’s far above supernatural liftings.

Supernatural liftings are in gratitude.

7. Supernatural fruitfulness: Verse 14 says: They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing. You will be commanding results till old age.

Gratitude is one of the vital forces that have brought us here today. If God is sure of getting all the glory, He will be committed to deliver timely. When God is sure of all the glory, you have committed Him to do the unusual.

Where you are today is by grace. Acknowledge that grace, celebrate the Source of that grace, Who is God Himself, and then you are ready for the next phase. Every time you complain, you complicate your matter (Numbers 11:1). Every complainer ends up a victim; it is gratitude that makes you a victor.

Friend, the power to engage the force of gratitude is the exclusive privilege of those who are saved. The questions now are: Are you saved? Are you born again? Are you a bona fide child of God? You are saved by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour of your family.

You can do so now if you haven’t been, as you say this prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. I cannot help myself. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the Living God. From today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I know I am a child of God. Thank You Father, in Jesus’ name!

Next week, I will show you some steps to take to your next level in life. Don’t miss it for anything! May God bless you!

I am glad to inform you that from December 6-10, 2011 at Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Idiroko Road, Ota, many destinies will be transformed to higher levels of greatness at SHILOH 2011 tagged, Waves Of Glory! SHILOH is the annual prophetic gathering of the Winners’ family worldwide. Don’t miss this special event for anything. Be there!

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get my books — The Wonders Of Praise, Understanding The Power Of Praise and Exploring The Secrets Of Success.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: BISHOP DAVID OYEDEPO, Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: bishop@davidoyedepoministries.org

IGERIA at 51 We thank God He has bought us this far.

We are still one despite all the permutations to the contrary. But everyone will agree with me we are far from where we should be. What I find is missing is skill acquisition. It is so bad now that we now import skilled technicians from Ghana and neighbouring West African nations. You cannot get a good carpenter anymore in Nigeria and this is a shame.

Unfortunately, it is the middle class that is suffering most. They are supposed to be the main drivers of the economy but they are no more there. Nigerians are the most brilliant people elsewhere. I have been to almost all the continents of the world and realise Nigerians are competitively involved at the topmost levels. How come they cannot function here? I was in France some years back and there was a conference in the hotel I was staying. I joined them since I had nothing to do. There was a question and I answered them. Unknown to me, the owner was there. He approached me after the session and said ‘’I hate you’’. I thought it is because I am black but he said it is because ‘’you Nigerians don’t love yourself’’.

On what is wrong with Nigeria It is simply education.

The minds of Nigerians are not educated towards the right direction. The right

pendence and how to experience real development

•Ahove

value system is just not there.

If the right value system is there, there would be character. Once a man has character, he has everything. We are brilliant but not positively. Our government should pump money into education and moral upbringing. The informal sector such as churches and families should also help out. An average Nigerian is sharp but lacks character and good value system. Our problem is because we have neglected our knowledge sector.

On insecurity This did not begin today. It has always been there. I read the President saying he cannot be an Army General or dictator. I agree with him because there is nothing wrong with being different. And being different does not mean being ineffective. Now, the issue of Boko Haram would have happened regardless of the kind of President we have. It was waiting to happen one day. It has always been in this country. Until Nigerians begin to see security as a collective issue, we would continue to suffer.

Everyone must be vigilant and involve in surveillance around us. We must assist security agencies and ensure we report suspicious movements. We cannot continue to blame government because security belongs to us.

Armoured tanks and guns cannot help much. They are

inadequate on their own. No police force anywhere in the world can So, I think we should give Mr. President benefit of the doubt. He is working on process and not just instant results. We should not be pulling our leaders down every time.

No to needless politicking What I see in our political circle everyday is fighting and rumbling. We don’t seem to remember the nation at all. Where is the Nigerian interest in all of these? Look at the Tinubu’s ongoing trial. I mean what will that solve of all the problems in Nigeria? We look to pull ourselves down instead of building the nation. Nigeria should come first in all we do. What we need is visionary leadership that can be sustained for years.

Americans have predicted this country won’t be one by 2014. My reaction is anybody can predict anything. But only what you believe matters. If you believe it won’t happen, so be it. If you say it won’t happen, what are you doing to avert it? So I believe in such issues as long as we don’t believe the prediction and work against it. God is saying let there be peace in Nigeria. Let’s remember there is eternity.

CONTROVERSY

Jehovah’s Witnesses at war

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HE official magazine for Jehovah’s Witnesses has described those who leave the church as “mentally diseased”, prompting an outcry from former members and insiders concerned about the shunning of those who question official doctrine.

An article published in July’s edition of The Watchtower warns followers to stay clear of “false teachers” who are condemned as being “mentally diseased” apostates who should be avoided at all costs. “Suppose that a doctor told you to avoid contact with someone who is infected with a contagious, deadly disease,” the article reads. “You would know what the doctor means, and you would strictly heed his warning. Well, apostates are ‘mentally diseased’, and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings.”

A copy of the magazine, distributed by Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world, was given to The Independent by a current member of the church who has become unhappy with official teaching but is afraid to leave for fear of losing his family.

“Many like me remain associated with the Witnesses out of fear of being uncovered as an ‘apostate’

Attack on ‘mentally diseased’ worshippers who leave church provokes outcry reports Jerome Taylor

and ousted, not just from the organisation, but from their own friends and families,” said the man, who would only give the name John. “I find I am now branded as ‘mentally diseased’ – giving any who discover my true beliefs free licence to treat me with disdain.”

As a faith with a centralised leadership, many forms of discipline are used to counter criticism of doctrine, with punishments ranging from restriction of official duties to excommunication. Those who have been thrown out of the church often find themselves

ostracised by fellow believers.

A growing number of former and current Witnesses have begun to argue that the church’s use of the word “mentally diseased” to describe defectors could be in breach of Britain’s religious hatred laws.

A group of former Witnesses in Portsmouth have now made an official complaint to Hampshire Police about the article and police are currently investigating.

Angus Robertson, a former Witness “elder” from Hampshire, who was present at the meeting with police officers, said: “The way scripture is being used to bully people must be challenged.

If a religion was preaching that blacks or gays were mentally diseased there would understandable outrage.”

Critics are also considering whether to complain to the Charity Commission.

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Britain, which prints church doctrine in the UK, is a registered charity.

Rick Fenton, a spokesperson for the Watchtower Society, insisted last night that ostracisation was “a personal matter for each individual to decide for himself”. “Any one of Jehovah’s Witnesses is free to express their feelings and to ask questions,” he said. “If a person changes their mind about Bible-based teachings they once held dear, we recognise their right to leave.”

The offending quote Taken from ‘Will you heed Jehovah’s warnings?’

The Watchtower, 15 July 2011 “Jehovah, the Great Physician, tells us to avoid contact with them. We know what he means, but are we determined to heed his warning in all respects?

What is involved in avoiding false teachers? We do not receive them into our homes or greet them. We also refuse to read their literature, watch television programmes that feature them, examine their websites, or add our comments to their blogs. Why do we take such a firm stand?

“Because of love. We love ‘the God of truth’, so we are not interested in twisted teachings that contradict his Word of truth.”

S o u r c e www.independent.co.uk

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

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RESIDENT of Christian Welfare Initiatives (CWI), Archbishop Magnus Atilade has urged government officials to deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

He said only good governance can take the nation to the Promised Land.

He urged Nigerians to make government officials accountable on delivery of quality services.

Atilade, who is also the President of Gospel Baptist Church in Nigeria and Overseas, spoke last week in Lagos during the investiture ceremony of Institute of Public Management Nigeria.

He said: ‘’Only good governance and dividends of democracy can move this nation forward. ‘’The average citizen does not care how much government officials speak but how much impact they feel. ‘’That is why government at all levels must change the society otherwise we risk the kind of revolution taking place in the Middle East and Arab World’’.

He also lamented the

Worship

Aregbesola, Atilade advocate for good governance

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Sense of Life with adeWale Adefuye

Mr. President: Which is it? Which will it be?

P •Atilade with Tomori at the event

He said: “Legitimacy is the first necessity for good governance. A government not supported by its people is spiritually and morally incapacitated to deliver the dividends of governance.”

According to Aregbesola, good governance, as an end in itself, is a means to some

other ends.

He therefore contended that if there is good governance, the nation will get every other thing right, saying the rule is “Seek ye good governance and every other thing shall be added unto you.”

Okoh urges trouble makers to embrace peace HE Arch Bishop of Church of Nigerian (Anglican Communion), Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh has urged

Making

By Kayode Odumboni

nation’s inability to tackle the scourge of epileptic power supply despite its excellent and accredited intellectual resources, a situation he blamed on “corruption, poor leadership and bad public management which remains an endemic challenge to all Nigerians.”

Osun state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, charged all stakeholders in the Nigerian political circle to seek the enthronement of true democratic process.

He said only democracy can guarantee good governance in the nation.

Aregbesola lamented what he called the subversion of democracy and the totalitarian tendencies evident in the nation.

He was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Titilayo Tomori.

By Musa Odoshimokhe

those engaged in bombing to lay down their arms and join government in tackling the

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challenges facing the country.

He spoke at the consecration of six new Bishops of the church in Lagos last

week.

Reverend Okoh explained that no nation can make progress when her material and human resources are wasted with impunity.

He noted that such a country will perpetually bleed and trail behind our nations who enjoy relative peace.

He said: “We call on Nigerians themselves, those who are bombing the people to lay down their arms. ‘’We can only make progress if we live in peace, those who have continued to arm their neighbours are not friends of the nation and they are equally not interested in the progress of their own lives.”

He urged government and other agencies to move swiftly in securing the lives of the people.

He challenged the newly ordained bishops not to be disobedient to constituted authorities and place God above every other thing.

He said they were consecrated for a purpose which they have to fulfill by transforming lives.

“I urge you to show mercy, be good shepherd and not wolf, seek the lord, help the downtrodden and be diligent in the discharge of your spiritual duties. ‘’You cannot help somebody except you first help yourself therefore you should apply the scripture to yourself,” he charged.

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan is a devout Roman Catholic. So he knows that a Pope, on assumption of office, adopts a name to portray the image or tone he wants to set for his papacy. The current pope is actually named Joseph Ratzinger, but he chose Benedict as his papal appellation because it connotes peace and goodwill, which is how he wishes to present himself to the world, especially since he formerly had a reputation for being quite the opposite as a cardinal. Such designation forms an easy benchmark and a constant reminder of the Pope’s aspiration. We, therefore, present the following - a mix of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the kings of ancient Israel and Judah - for Mr President’s consideration.

King Asa: Led a national reformation, cleansed the land of idolatry and urged the people to seek the Lord. He fortified the land by building defence cities and assembling a formidable army. He also removed his grandmother from being the Queen Mother because she had an idolatrous shrine in a grove. Now that took some nerves! He went on to bring dedicated wealth to the temple treasury because it had been set aside to the Lord. In modern parlance it would be judicious use of national treasury.

King Josiah – Came to the throne at a young age, but had godly counsellors. In the twelfth year of his reign, he began to purge the land of idolatry (a dangerous strain of corruption); six years later, he commanded the priests and workers to repair and cleanse the temple during which process the Book of the Law was found in the temple and read to the king. While the king listened, he was deeply moved. He sent to Huldah the prophetess for instructions from the Lord (2 Kings 22). Her message was that the people had forsaken God and therefore judgment was coming, but because of Josiah’s sincere repentance, judgment would not come during his reign.

King Josiah didn’t wait for the temple repairs to be completed before calling the whole nation to repentance. He led from the front: declared his assets publicly; made a covenant with the Lord and led the people in renouncing corruption and returning to the Rule of Law. King Ahab: A weak man who had no convictions (except those of his wife) and always took the easy way out of any situation. He allowed his evil wife, Jezebel, to turn him into a monster. Jezebel, a clever, strong, bold, and unscrupulous woman, sought to utterly destroy whatever would not bend to her imperious will. That she would not shrink from the wholesale murder of those who resisted or opposed her follows almost as a matter of course.

The name Jezebel is familiar to people today and has even made it into the dictionary: “Jezebel—an evil, shameless woman.” To call a woman “a Jezebel” is to put her on the basest level of society. The infamous episode of Naboth’s vineyard, a land-grab scam that involved an illegal trial and several murders, reveals the lawlessness of King Ahab and his evil wife, Jezebel.

King Manasseh: The most evil man ever to reign over the kingdom of Judah. The son of godly Hezekiah, Manasseh came to the throne when he was only twelve years old; the officials around him easily influenced him toward idolatry (corruption). “Manasseh led the people of Judah astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.”

King Jehoiakim: No better than his brother and “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.” He taxed the people heavily in order to pay tribute to Egypt, and then he agreed to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. After Jehoiakim reneged on that promise, Nebuchadnezzar took him prisoner to Babylon and took the temple vessels with him.

King Zedekiah: The last king of Judah; a weak, vacillating man who feared his officials more than he feared the Lord. His reign, too, was evil as far as the Lord was concerned, for he refused to take godly counsel. Zedekiah would ask Prophet Jeremiah for help while at the same time courting ambassadors from neighbouring nations and plotting rebellion against Babylon. He allowed his princes to persecute and even imprison Jeremiah, though he himself had secret meetings with the prophet as if he were seeking to know God’s will.

So, which is it? Which will it be?

adeWale Adefuye, info@walefuye.com, +44762 481 3 184 (SMS ONLY)

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2011

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NATION SPORT

Osaze's poor form worries Hodgson W

EST BROM manager, Roy Hodgson has lamented the poor form exhibited by Osaze Odemwingie in recent times.

The Baggies boss has admitted the striker's performances are worrisome and has suggested both the player and the club may be suffering from 'second season syndrome' Last season the Nigerian turned out to be one of the transfers of the season following his switch from Lokomotiv Moscow, as he bagged 15 goals, securing the Baggies an eleventh place finish.

His form so far this season, however, has been less than inspiring, and Roy Hodgson is conscious both Odemwingie and the team may be suffering from 'sec-

ond-season syndrome'.

"There's a second-season syndrome for clubs and players,” Hodgson told reporters.

“It's a very valid observation that syndrome exists. If a player does really well he suddenly become a marked man.

"When Blackpool started last year, Charlie Adam and David Vaughan were not players people were talking about but then it was all about, 'Can we stop Adam?

Can we stop Vaughan?'.

"Peter has got to come to terms with that, which won't be a problem - he's experienced and has played in Russia and France and played many games for Nigeria. But he's got to realise it's not going to be easy for him this year, so he's got to work harder for his goals."

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HEAD of the Super Eagles clash with Guinea next weekend, Hapoel Tel Aviv central midfielder Nosa Igiebor has urged football fans in Nigeria to cheer the Eagles to victory at the Abuja National Stadium. ''The name of the match on October 8 is winner takes all.

The Guineans won't be a walkover, as they are coming to Nigeria to fight with their hearts, '' says Igiebor to allnigeriasoccer.com and contin-

ues: '' We too are prepared for battle. I think at the end of proceedings next week, all Nigerians will smile. And I think the fans have a big role to play on that day. So let them come out in their numbers to cheer the Eagles to victory.''

Igiebor played throughout the duration of the game in Hapoel's 2-3 loss to Legia Warsaw in the Europa League on Thursday.

Heartland players express gratitude to Okorocha

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• Osaze

possession and found Bannan, whose ball over the top was seized on by Agbonlahor.

He turned inside Gary Caldwell before lashing a powerful shot past Al Habsi from 15 yards.

Agbonlahor began the second half in the same vein as the first and almost doubled Villa's lead within 60 sec-

WBC ELIMINATION BOUT

Ajose defeats Chebah N

IGERIA'S Olusegun Ajose in the early hours of yesterday defeated Algeria's Ali Chebah in a World Boxing Council (WBC) junior welterweight mandatory eliminator in California, USA. Ajose, who holds an intimidating record of winning all 30 bouts, with 14 knockouts in his career, including the one against Chebah, will by this victory be gunning for the world title in few months time.The scores were 120-106, 119107 czand 119-107.

The Commonwealth Champion won the fight in a twelve round decision over Ali Chebah, an Angerian born, Canadian boxer (35-2, 28KOs).

With this victory, Ajose becomes the mandatory challenger to champion, Erik Morales.

Ajose put on a spectacular show, coming out with fast combinations, throwing a lot of punches with both hands. In the third round, he was winding up with his punches and dropped Chebah two times. He was

Support Eagles, Igiebor urges Abuja fans

FED CUP LARGESSE

Agbonlahor sinks Wigan A

STON Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor underlined his case for an England recall as he scored his fourth goal of the season in Saturday's 2-0 win over Wigan at Villa Park.

Agbonlahor has fallen out of favour with England coach Fabio Capello after briefly breaking into the Italian's squad two years ago, but on this form he looks good enough to regain his place.

After being frozen out by former Villa boss Gerard Houllier, Agbonlahor has been revitalised under new manager Alex McLeish this season and he opened the scoring in the first half before providing the assist for Darren Bent to score the second after the break.

Only a series of fine saves

by Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi prevented Villa - who are still unbeaten in the league this season - from winning by a more emphatic margin.

Fourth bottom Wigan only threatened after the introduction of former Villa midfielder Shaun Maloney in the final quarter of the game and have now suffered four successive league defeats.

Villa were the first to threaten with Agbonlahor making a powerful run but his eventual shot was deflected into the hands of Al Habsi.

A deep ball into the Wigan box from Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov was headed

by Bent into the path of Agbonlahor but he was unable to keep his shot down.

Bent was looking sharp and it needed a fine save from Al Habsi to keep Villa on level terms when he chested down Barry Bannan's pass and shot from close-range.

It came as no surprise when Agbonlahor put Villa ahead after 36 minutes.

Stephen Warnock won

NATIONS CUP QUALIFIERS

By Innocent Amomoh showboating and almost landing at will. In a dramatic fourth, both fighters were stunned and survived at different points on the round. Ajose controlled much of the action and landed a lot more punches to buckle Chebah a few more times in the fight.

Chebah tried to get something going, but he often took four punches in return for one.

Meanwhile, rising lightweight contender Darley Perez (23-0, 18KOs) stopped

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Oscar Meza (22-5, 18KOs) in six rounds.

Perez started with a busy pace.

He was working a strong jab in the first, and landing left hands off the lead punch. Perez started to let his hands go more often in the second round. Perez shaken a little bit in the fourth and then there was an accidental clash of heads in the fifth.

After taking some more punishment in the sixth round, Meza did not come out for the seventh round.

HE players and officials of Heartland FC of Owerri have expressed gratitude over the N1Million reward announced by the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha for each player as well as each members of the team, following their Federation Cup feat last Sunday in Lagos.

Heartland FC’ spokesman, Cajetan Nkwopara while expressing the team’s gratitude to the governor in Owerri on Friday, also, denied a newspaper report which claimed that some players had grumbled over the governor’s package as being small.

“We, as members of the Heartland FC family, individually and collectively, are grateful to His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and indeed, the entire people of Imo State for both the privilege and generosity granted to us.

We’re thrilled by the wonderful reception given to us on arrival in Owerri after the game and we’ll continue to remem-

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out of Nigeria Premier League (NPL) side, Kaduna United.

SuperSport.com has been informed that Cooreman is displeased with the working conditions at Kaduna United.

Cooreman is said to be shocked by the poor financial handling of contracts involving himself and players by the club management.

It has been learned from a source that players at the club are owed salaries for the past five months.

The former Ocean Boys' manager is also said to have expressed displeasure with

• As Macjef wins tourney From Florence Nkem Israel, Port Harcourt Harcourt.

The team, MacJef had beaten their counterparts, Port Harcourt City Academy by 5-4 on penalties after a keenly contested encounter that ended goaless at full time.

Speaking with NationSport after Presentation of trophy to MacJef Fc,

ber the governors’ solidarity and support by coming to Lagos to cheer us during the final game,” he stated.

Nkwopara said despite the largesse from the governor, his Deputy, Sir Jude Agbaso , the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ben Uwajumogu and the First Lady, Lolo Nkechi Okorocha all made good donations to the team.

The spokesman also thanked the people of Lagos and indeed all Nigerians for the massive support they gave to his team, Heartland FC, during the epic encounter with eastern rivals, Enyimba Int’l of Aba. “We won because God wanted us to win, we won because Lagosians and in fact Nigerians supported us and they prayed for us to win. One thing we cannot forget is that we enjoyed tremendous goodwill from Nigerians all through the competition,” concluded.

Cooreman snubs Kaduna ELGIAN coach, Maurice Cooreman contract talks could be on his way the club for allowing key

Obuh applauds Samsung

HE Nigeria National U20 coach, John Obuh applauded Samsung West Africa on Friday at the Liberation stadium for their contributions in grass root sports development.

John Obuh had graced the second phase celebration of the Samsung West Africa week football tournament, in which MacJef FC emerged the winners of the 2011 Samsung Cup competition played at in Port

From Tunde Liadi

Coach Obuh of the National U-20 team applauded Samsung for investing in grass root football saying that early discovery of these talents allows for better knowledge of their capabilities and also called on other corporate bodies to follow suit.

"Discovering these talents early allows for knowledge about them so as to be able to

players go on trials in the middle of their CAF Confederation Cup debut.

The situation at the club has led to the 68-year-old Belgian refusing to discuss his future with the club, as his contract runs out at the end of the current season.

Kaduna United officials refused to make comments on the development when contacted.

Cooreman has managed other Nigerian clubs such as Bendel Insurance, Enyimba, Lobi Stars, Gabros International and NPA (now Warri Wolves) pass good judgment on them as they grow.

"I’m so impressed about Samsung because they did the same thing in Lagos where they also invited me. Now they have also done the same in Port Harcourt , I wish that other companies will follow suit, atleast it will help keep these youths from vices and help them to become good ambassadors".

Earlier in the third place match, Bethlehem Angels had beaten Legend FC by two goals to one to win the bronze medal and the third place trophy.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2011

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http://www.thenationonlineng.net

QUOTABLE “The current incidents of violence and terror in parts of the country will surely be overcome. We will secure the safety of our citizens, for only when we do this will we be able to build the needed peace and tranquility in all parts of the federation.”

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2011 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 6, NO. 1900

— President Goodluck Jonathan on the occasion of Nigeria’s 51st Independence Anniversary yesterday.

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WO instincts are always at war in President Goodluck Jonathan’s mind. One side of him yearns to be an effective and transformational leader.

This is the side he sells to us, the side we are still gingerly examining. The other side of him ensconces itself in the geniality and simplicity of his youth, an uncomplicated earthiness he grew up knowing and loving, one he is sometimes loth to disown especially when he is confronted by the complexities of ruling modern Nigeria. Judging from his sojourn in power so far, and the oscillations between firmness one day and galling hesitations another, he seems quite unenthusiastic about resolving the dilemma his personality and presidency confront daily. If my reading of him is realistic, it is unlikely the dilemma would be resolved soon or even before the expiration of his tenure.

More perplexing, in my opinion, is his refusal to determine, by books, what his understanding of leadership should be or the kind of leadership he should give his country, or even the sort of leadership his country requires at this time. Jonathan was given some moments to declaim on a topic of his interest during the 51st Independence Anniversary service in Abuja last Sunday. There he shocked us with an improper grasp of the topic of leadership, though he still managed to say what kind of leadership we should not expect from him, the kind he thought, by the examples he assembled from the Bible, was unacceptable to him and probably to any nation. At least now we are no longer in the dark as to what sort of leadership he detests. But, as we found out from Jonathan’s homily last Sunday, he finds it much more difficult to say what kind of leader he aspires to be.

This is not surprising. Most people face identity crisis at one point or another, and sometimes for an entire lifespan. Those who define who they are early in life may have been lucky to face what historians call defining moments, in which circumstances compel them to stand courageously for truth or principles, or to yield supinely to or accommodate the forces of the moment.

Jonathan has faced political trials that offered him great moments to define himself and his presidency, a few of them during the interregnum, and others after he won the presidency. When it came to politics, he has found it quite distressing to summon the great character with which notable world leaders tackled the exigencies of the day, or to summon the great principles that ennobled the policy options of great leaders in defiance of the flatteries of their loyalists and supporters.

Jonathan has been heavily disparaged for asserting he would not gratify the wishes of Nigerian critics who he claimed wanted him to rule like a medieval king – like Egypt’s Pharaohs, like an army general, like Nebuchadnezzar, or like a lion. Perhaps because the time he was given was short, he did not tell us whether he thought all the Pharaohs who ever ruled Egypt were bad,

Style and the man: Jonathan’s speech and homily

• Jonathan

•Obasanjo

or what part of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign he objected to. And if he were to rule like a lion, he did not also say what reservations he had about being likened to the king of the jungle.

Two days after, however, he gave us an insight into what he really meant. At a lecture to mark the 51st Independence Anniversary, Jonathan gave a definitive prescription for Nigeria’s greatness. Rather than leadership style or the strong personality of the leader, what a nation aspiring to greatness needed, the president said, were strong institutions.

So, if any of us expected Jonathan to offer strong Pharaoh-like leadership, we would instead, as he put it inelegantly, receive nothing from him but strong institutions, which he was erecting through the process of transformational leadership. I have written on the subject of leadership on more than four or five occasions in this place. I am tired of repeating myself to people who hardly take the pain to peruse critical views about themselves. Let Jonathan and his aides, if they are so minded, call for those articles in order to inform the president on the subject. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that he needs both style and substance as a leader. His presidency is as much about his personality and style as it is about strong institutions, whether the institutions are created through transformational programmes or improved upon. Strong institutions can always be weakened and subverted by weak or strong leaders; but strong leaders always tend to

create or improve strong institutions. Our colonial and post-colonial history proves this.

I fear that Jonathan’s ambition does not exceed leaving the country much the same way he met it – a united and fairly stable country. His talk of transformation looks undoubtedly at variance with what his ambition seems to evoke. I have an enjoyable habit of annoying some of my readers by my sometimes trenchant dismissal of their pretensions and sham intellectualism.

They can rail at me all they wish; I am not deterred by their menaces, uncouthness, uncultured, not to say uninformed and unprincipled, vituperations. However, I must assert with all the energies in me that Jonathan’s disavowal of style and personality is nothing but escapism. All he is doing is attempting to hide his inability to boldly confront the major problems of the day behind the advocacy of strong institutions.

Many commentators have advised Jonathan to just give effective leadership instead of generating polemics on leadership style. The issue, I believe, goes beyond that. Jonathan, thankfully, does not appear to have uncultured and abusive aides, partly, I think, because he understands that whatever they say naturally and unavoidably reflect on his presidency. Let him keep that fine attitude. But except he confronts the issues of style and personality, his presidency

Boko Haram takes Nigeria on emotional rollercoaster

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HEN the Presidential Panel on Boko Haram headed by Ambassador Usman Galtimari turned in its report on Monday September 27, and some of the recommendations were unveiled, it seemed sure that the Federal Government would finally get its wish to enter into dialogue with the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram. The government was, however, pipped to the post once more, as it was wont to every time it hesitated in the face of national emergency.

A spokesman of the sect barely allowed the ink to dry on newspapers that reported the panel’s recommendation before he announced defiantly that they were not ready for peace, nor favoured the Sultan of Sokoto or anyone for that matter negotiating on their behalf.

There were times when peace looked

tantalisingly close on the terrorism matter, and there were times when the heart sank just considering the sheer apocalyptic scale of the violence unleashed by the sect. Since the recrudescence of Boko Haram in 2009, the government has been unsure what to do. From being typically overbearing, the government could quickly metamorphose into a lethargic and ponderous apparatus of law enforcement. Until it comes out clearly to tell us what it hopes to do, we may never know how the government will react to the panel’s report. The panel insists, and so too do many northern groups, that dialogue is welcome. The government would have used the pretext of the panel’s report to enter into dialogue. But with Boko Haram’s public denunciation of negotiation, the government is likely to be either

somnolent with its peace moves or giddy with its sometimes irrational law enforcement.

The government needs to demonstrate its seriousness by speedily prosecuting those responsible for the extrajudicial killing of the sect’s leader, Mohammed Yusuf, and scores of his followers, by offering to rebuild the sect members’ houses unlawfully demolished, and by compensating families of executed sect members.

It should not take terror attacks to convince the government to do what is right.

However, not only should the government refuse to negotiate with Boko Haram, it should also bring those who planned and executed terror attacks to justice. If law enforcement agents who broke the law in 2009 deserve punishment, so do terrorists, no matter how just their cause is.

will disappear unremarkably at the end of his tenure as a mere footnote in the annals of our nation. The problems we face today are the worst since independence, far in excess of the disagreements that led to the civil war. The Nigerian structure is not working; Nigerians have lost faith in their country; there is a chasm between our peoples, a chasm that cannot be bridged by fair words and homilies; and we have no sense of nationhood. Against these problems, strong institutions, as desirable as they are in a polity that works, are mere palliatives.

If it is not too late, I would like to remind Jonathan once again to seek refuge in books written by great leaders, some of whom he carelessly and almost recklessly dismissed.; for surely, among the welter of egotistic drivel of the Pharaohs, he will find pearls and nuggets worth both the sleuthing and his presidency. Let him burn the midnight oil on other great biographies, against which if he measured his presidency he would discover his inadequacies. As he is configured, and with his one-dimensional appreciation of leadership, if Jonathan were in Lincoln’s shoes before the American Civil War, he would endure slavery, reconcile with the South in mistaken abhorrence of fratricidal conflict, and take a dim view of history.

Given his present attitude to the current Nigerian constitution, if Jonathan were de Gaulle, confronted in 1958 by the problematic constitution of the Fourth Republic, he would make his peace with the constitution by amending it rather than replacing it. Richard Nixon, a former United States president ascribed the stability of the French Fifth Republic to the replacement of the Fourth Republic constitution by de Gaulle, even as he put the post-war instability of Italy down to the lack of similar leadership vision and strong personality as France mustered.

If Jonathan were Churchill before World War II, he would have made peace with Hitler in order to avoid war and escape the inconveniences of sacrificing millions of lives and possibly a political career in the defence of noble and lofty principles. After all, was Jonathan not disposed to negotiating with Boko Haram until the sect proved annoyingly intransigent? Are strong institutions enough to curb the crises engendered by unstable and weak political structures? Did strong institutions produce Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus the Great, Genghis Khan, etc or the other way round? They were strong leaders for their eras. We are at new and historic junctures in human history; and our era, and Nigeria in particular, still needs strong leaders. Strong leadership is, of course, not the same as dictatorship.

Jonathan needs to do more than attack terrorism with platitudes, as he did bemusedly in his Independence Day speech. We have reconciled ourselves to the sombre reality of his uninspiring speeches. But he exceeds even his own monotony when he called on politicians to eschew partisanship while he himself yields to his ruling party. It is surprising he has not placed his finger on the real factors that discourage business in Nigeria and make insecurity to flourish. However, his speech this time gave editors catchy headlines, but there was nothing said about the issues he raised that support those brave headlines.

If Jonathan is to reposition his presidency, he will need the firmness of Obasanjo without the latter’s bucolic rage, sanctimoniousness and obscurantism. He will need Gowon’s fairness and humanism pepped up by a fiery crusade against national and intellectual slothfulness. He will need Murtala Mohammed’s impatient activism circumscribed by a deeply intellectual and reflective understanding of both narrow and national issues. But at the core of the recommended eclecticism must be a powerful self-conviction that only great books can unearth, a self-discovery that will quieten his warring instincts and smother the tendency for escapism that has dodged his every step since he was unleashed upon the nation by the scheming Obasanjo.

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