The Nation September 05, 2011

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Nigeria’s truly national newspaper

Jonathan directs ministers to submit four-year plans P6 Yobo, Nsofor win it for Eagles against Madagascar P24 CPC condemns Salami’s successor over shake-up P6 http://www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 7, NO. 1874 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

Nigeria protests killing of its nationals in Libya Foreign Minister gets distress calls UK, France urged to step in

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IGERIA is protesting to Libya’s Transitional National Council (TNC), Britain and France the killing of its nationals in the troubled North African country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Amb. Olugbenga Ashiru abandoned a church service yesterday to take distress calls of Nigerians in

‘

We cannot go out of our homes, my wife and children. We will certainly be shot. We don’t have food and we lack everything.

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

Libya, including their coordinator, Mr. Daramola Siji.

Nigerians are being attacked in Tripoli, Benghazi, Gath, Agadez and Sirte, the hometown of the embattled

Libyan leader, Muammar Nigerians are being killed in tens for no just Gaddafi, whose 42cause. In some inyear grip on power SEE ALSO stances, they rape has been removed by a six-month insur- PAGES 2&3 Nigerian women before shooting gency.

A source said: “Unharmed them to death.

’

“Yet, this is the same TNC that the Federal Government is backing in Libya. The blacks are not involved in Libyan crisis; they do not deserve this massacre.”

In one of the distress notes

sent to the Presidency and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Siji, who is from Emure-Ekiti, said: “We cannot go out of our homes, my wife and children. We will certainly be shot. We don’t have food and we lack everything.

“We can save lives. I am Continued on page 4

CBN probes forex deals

By Ayodele Aminu, Group Business Editor

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HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched a special examination into banks’ foreign exchange transactions.

Twenty-one banks are to be examined, beginning from today. In the first batch are banks that are top foreign exchange players.

These are Stanbic IBTC, CityBank, Standard Chartered Bank, Guaranty Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Access Bank.

The other 14 banks will be examined in the second and third phases of the plan.

The three nationalised banks (Keystone, Mainstream and Enterprise) are excluded because they are new in the system.

The examination will be completed within three weeks.

In banking parlance, special or target examinations are meant for a specific purpose.

Other types include routine examination, which is conducted once a year by the CBN in collaboration with the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and maiden Continued on page 4

GED Y: Relatives of those killed in the attack at Tatu village ... yesterday TRAGED GEDY •FACING A TRA

PHOTO: NAN

Family of eight, three others killed in Jos

SEE PAGE 4

•Bullets at the scene of the attack ... yesterday

We’ve been pushed to the wall, says council chief

•POLITICS P17 •SPORTS P24 •JOBS P25 •CITYBEATS P30 •CEO P39

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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NEWS ENDGAME IN LIBYA

Documents link Gaddafi to CIA, M16 •Khamis Gaddafi ‘confirmed dead’

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HE Central Intelligence Agency and Libyan intelligence services developed such a tight relationship during the George W. Bush administration that the U.S. shipped terror suspects to Libya for interrogation and suggested the questions they should be asked, according to documents found in Libya’s External Security agency headquarters.

The relationship was close enough that the CIA moved to establish “a permanent presence” in Libya in 2004, according to a note from Stephen Kappes, at the time the No. 2 in the CIA’s clandestine service, to Libya’s then-intelligence chief, Moussa Koussa.

Secret documents unearthed by human rights activists indicate the CIA and MI6 had very close relations with Libya’s 2004 Gaddafi regime.

The memo began “Dear Musa,” and was signed by hand, “Steve.”

Mr. Kappes was a critical player in the secret negotiations that led to Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s 2003 decision to give up his nuclear program. Through a spokeswoman, Mr. Kappes, who has retired from the agency, declined to comment.

A U.S. official said Libya had showed progress at the time. “Let’s keep in mind the context here: By 2004, the U.S. had successfully convinced the Libyan government to renounce its nuclear-weapons program and to help stop terrorists who were actively targeting Americans in the U.S. and abroad,” the official said.

The files documenting the renewal of ties between the CIA and Libyan intelligence were reviewed and copied by researchers from Human Rights Watch during a tour of Libya’s External Security agency headquarters in downtown Tripoli. Emergencies Director Peter Bouckaert said he was touring the building on Friday as part of the group’s effort to help the Libyan transitional authority secure sensitive documents left by the Gaddafi regime, which collapsed in August after a fivemonth rebellion.

Mr. Bouckaert said he discovered the files inside the complex in a room that guards described as the former office of Mr. Koussa, who became foreign minister in 2009. Mr.

Bouckaert photographed the documents, leaving the originals in their place, and gave copies to The Wall Street Journal.

Human Rights Watch has been critical of the U.S. policy of sending terror suspects to third countries for interrogation, a practice known as rendition. The practice dates at least to 1995, when Egypt began aiding the U.S. with rendition.

U.S. officials say they obtained assurances from the recipient countries that the rendered detainees would be treated humanely. “There are lots of countries willing to take terrorists off the street who want to kill Americans,” the U.S. official said.

“That doesn’t mean U.S. concerns about human rights are ignored in the process.”

In an April 15, 2004 letter to Libyan intelligence, the CIA proposed the rendition of another man, saying, “We respectfully request an expression of interest from your service regarding taking custody.”

Citing “recently developed agreements,” the CIA asked the Libyans to “agree to take our requirements for debriefings of [the suspect], as well as a guarantee that [his] human rights will be protected.”

The files also show the close relationship that some British intelligence officials had with Mr. Koussa.

Mr. Koussa, who defected from Col. Gaddafi’s government in March, was credited with helping negotiate Libya’s rapprochement with the international community.

The files provide an extraordinary window into the highly secretive and controversial practice of rendition, whereby the agency would send detainees to other countries for interrogation, including ones known for harsh treatment of detainees. The program was ramped up for terror detainees after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Gaddafi’s most feared son Khamis has been killed fighting in Libya, the country’s interim government claimed yesterday.

The National Transitional Council (NTC) said it had confirmed that Khamis had died in fighting close to Tripoli and was buried near Bani Walid, Gaddafi’s last stronghold, which yesterday was besieged by the rebels.

•Rebel fighters check a car at a checkpoint between Tarhouna and Bani Walid, Libya... yesterday.

•An antiGaddafi fighter from the Warfallah tribe flashes the victory sign after he hung up the Kingdom of Libya flag at a telecommunications mast 15 km north of the town of Bani Walid, currently held by pro-Gaddafi forces, in south east Tripoli... yesterday.

•A fighter loyal to Libya's National

•A rebel fighter stands on a Russian-made scud missile that was found in Junine, about 25 km (16 miles) southeast of Tripoli...at the weekend.

Rebels discover missile abandoned by fleeing loyalists

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HEN Muammar Gaddafi’s soldiers fled a field outside Tripoli where they were camped, they left behind their army fatigues, a can of Brut deodorant — and a Scud tactical missile.

Days later, the Soviet-made rocket, loaded on its launch truck and pointing toward the Libyan capital, is still sitting under the eucalyptus trees where they left it.

The motley rebel forces who overthrew Gaddafi two weeks ago have set up no guard to prevent anyone taking it away or looting it for parts.

Western powers and Libya’s

neighbors fear that the power vacuum could allow huge quantities of unsecured weapons left over from the civil war to end up in the hands of Islamist militants, in particular the North African branch of al Qaeda.

Officials with Libya’s interim government, the National Transitional Council, say they are trying to secure these weapons. But there was little evidence of that at the Scud site, in farmland about 25 km (15 miles) southeast of Tripoli.

Abdelhamid Omar Derbek, a colonel at the local anti-Gaddafi military headquarters, said he and his men visit the site several times

a day.

“I patrol here ... and there is another shift that does it as well,” said Derbek, who had a Kalashnikov rifle slung over his shoulder but whose military rank was not evident from his outfit of yellow Lacoste T-shirt, jeans and sandals.

For all his assertions of supervision, however, Derbek is based at a military facility about 15 km (10 miles) away. He drove with a team of Reuters journalists from his camp to the site on Sunday but there was no one stationed there to guard it. A group of curious local people were looking around.

“I heard about it last night and I wanted to come and take a picture,” said one of the visitors, who said he worked for an oil company.

A Scud-launching complex, consisting of an 11-meter (33-foot) rocket with a range of up to 300 km (200 miles) depending on the variant, could be a valuable resource for any insurgent.

Even without launching it, the warhead alone contains up to a tonne of high explosive, which could be stripped from the missile and used to make improvised bombs for urban guerrillas.

“The possibility is certainly

•Gaddafi

there,” said Shashank Joshi, a military expert at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute.

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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NEWS ENDGAME IN LIBYA Rebels surround Gaddafi’s suspected hideout Bani Walid

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Transitional Council guards noontime prayers Friday in the newly renamed Martyr's Square in central Tripoli

IBYAN rebels yesterday said tribal leaders in a besieged pro-Moammar Gadhafi stronghold are divided over what to do and will likely surrender rather than see their followers fight one another.

Rebel forces control most of the oil-rich North African nation and are moving forward with setting up a new government, but the ousted dictator and his staunchest allies remain on the run and enjoy support in several central and southern areas.

The rebels have surrounded Bani Walid, some 90 miles (140 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli, after giving loyalists entrenched there and several other towns until Saturday to surrender peacefully or face an assault.

Col. Ahmed Bani, the rebel’s military spokesman based in Benghazi, said he expects members of Libya’s largest tribe, the Warfala, which dominates Bani Walid, to give up rather than turn against each other.

“They will give up at the end because they are cousins and they don’t want to spill each other’s blood,” he said, without elaborating.

Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, who is representing the rebels’ transitional council in the Bani Walid talks, has said negotiators were holding face-to-face talks with tribal members from both camps — those who want to join the opposition movement and senior officials who remain loyal to Gadhafi.

Rebel officials have given conflicting statements about the situation in Bani Walid and other loyalist areas, and many opposition fighters stationed outside the hilltop town are eager to move in.

NATO, meanwhile, reported bombing a military barracks, a police camp and several other targets near Sirte overnight, as well as targets near Hun, a possible staging ground in the desert halfway between Sirte and Sabha.

It also reported bombing an ammunition storage facility near Bani Walid.

Thousands of rebel fighters have converged on Bani Walid in recent days, with the closest forces at least 10 miles (15 kilometers) from the town center.

Rebels from Misrata, a western port that played a central role in the war, reported late Saturday they faced no resistance when they took over two military camps on the outskirts of Bani Walid.

“Negotiations are over, and we are waiting for orders” to attack, said Mohammed al-Fassi, a rebel commander at a staging area about 45 miles (70 kilometers) from Bani Walid. “We wanted to do this without bloodshed, but they took advantage of our timeline to protect themselves.”

Al-Fassi said more Gadhafi loyalists have moved into Bani Walid from the south, but did not know how many.

The 1-million-strong Warfala make up one-sixth of Libya’s population. Gadhafi said in an audio message last week that the Warfala would be among the tribes defending him to the death.

But Bani Walid also has a history of opposition to Gadhafi. Western diplomats in Libya and opposition leaders abroad reported in 1993 that the air force had put down an uprising by army units in Misrata and Bani Walid. They said many officers were executed and arrested.

U.N. worried over proliferation of weapons in Libya

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•France’s Prime Minister Francois Fillon holds the Kingdom of Libya flag at the end of the summer meeting of the UMP political party in Marseille... yesterday.

Libyan Islamist says interim council should quit

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LIBYAN Islamist military commander who helped defend Benghazi against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces has called on the interim cabinet to resign because they are “remnants of the old regime”.

In an early sign of divisions among the victors in Libya’s sixmonth civil war, Ismail al-Salabi also took a swipe at secular groups he said were trying to give Islamists a bad name and create political strife that would only benefit Gaddafi.

Salabi leads the February 17 brigade which many Libyans credit with the successful last-ditch defence of Benghazi, where the uprising began on that date. Only later did NATO air power tip the balance in

favour of the largely untrained rebel forces.

“The role of the executive committee is no longer required because they are remnants of the old regime.

They should all resign, starting from the head of the pyramid all the way down,” Salabi told Reuters in the eastern city.

He was referring to the National Transitional Council’s de facto cabinet, which is headed by Mahmoud Jibril, who once headed Libya’s state economic think-tank under Gaddafi.

The 40-member NTC is a disparate mix of former officials in the Gaddafi administration, businessmen, academics, lawyers and exiles.

Salabi commands at least 3,000 fighters and reports to the interim interior

ministry in Tripoli, according to an NTC spokesman. He accompanied NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil to a NATO meeting in Doha last month and said he fully supports him.

Abdel Jalil resigned as Gaddafi’s justice minister after violence was used against the protests that erupted on February 17.

Salabi once fought in Afghanistan but denies any links to Islamist groups outside Libya, such as the Taliban and al Qaeda. After the antiGaddafi revolt, his forces received arms from the Gulf Arab state of Qatar.

Without naming anyone, Salabi criticised those he said were trying to cast Libyan Islamist leaders as extremists.

HE proliferation of weapons in Libya has become a major concern and the new rulers need to establish a proper police force and army to replace the hundreds of armed groups who patrol the streets, the United Nations (UN) Special Adviser Ian Martin on Libya said yesterday.

Martin, who is in Libya to compile a report for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on rebuilding the country after its civil war, also said the interim government needed to start the electoral process soon if it is to honor its commitment to establish democracy.

The disintegration of Muammar Gaddafi’s rule after a six-month war has left a security vacuum in the North African country, with no state security forces, rebel fighters who are not part of any formal structure and huge quantities of unsecured weapons.

“Proliferation of weapons is a major concern,” Martin told Reuters in an interview on the second day of a visit to the Libyan

capital.

He went on: “It’s a concern to Libya’s neighbours, quite naturally. The European Union was working on border security issues here in the past and I think it has made clear that it’s willing to assist Libya in future if asked to do so “Clearly it’s a matter of moving from the current situation in which there are many people with weapons who are fighting in this conflict to one where there is a single public security force and the kind of proper state army that didn’t exist in Libya in the past.

“I’ve just been discussing with the Minister of the Interior the challenge that they face in terms of public security, in terms of getting police more fully back on the streets and weapons off the streets and building a democratically accountable police force.” “(That is) not an easy matter in any society, let alone one which is just coming out of 42 years of oppressive security and conflict.”

‘Stop killing Nigerians in Libya’

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MEMBER of the House of Representatives, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa yesterday condemned the reported killings of Nigerians and blacks in Libya over accusation that they were mercenaries working for the deposed leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

Blacks are reportedly being killed in the North African country following the victory of the rebels, which launched an uprising against the 42 years old regime of Col. Gaddafi six months ago.

Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement in

Abuja called on the Federal Government to mount pressure on the rebel-Transitional National Council (TNC) and the remnant of Gaddafi forces to stop the ongoing genocide against blacks in the country.

The lawmaker expressed support for the Federal Government position in recognizing the TNC, but noted that Nigeria must do everything possible to rescue Nigerians and other Africans in the country.

She expressed dismay at the unwarranted killings, describing the development as unfortunate.

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

NEWS Continued from page 1

•Ekiti State Governor Dr Kayode Fayemi (second right) with Commissioner for Housing and Environment Wole Adewunmi (pointing) and Chief of Staff Yemi Adaramodu (right) during an inspection of flooded areas in Ado-Ekiti at the weekend.

CBN probes banks forex deals today Continued from page 1

examination, which is conducted six months after a new bank has been established.

The examination, it was learnt, is to enable the banking watchdog authenticate the huge demands by banks at the foreign exchange market where the apex bank has continued to defend the naira with the country’s foreign exchange, which stood at $32.9 billion, as at August 29.

The naira, which is exchanged at N152.40 per dollar at the official market as against N148.18 at the beginning of this year, has lost N4.22 or 2.83 per cent of its value. It has also depreciated

by N7.80 or 5.05 per cent at the black market, where it trades at N162 per dollar as against N154.20 to a dollar in January.

The consistent rise in forex demand, coupled with increased spread between the official and parallel markets,

according to experts, raise the risk of “round-tripping”, sourcing official funds for onward sales at the parallel market.

Between January and now, the CBN has funded the forex market with about $21billion, which analysts say cannot be sustained if the huge demands persist at the official forex market.

Confirming the examination, a top official of the CBN said although no specific bank has been identified as engaging in arbitrage, “the outrageous demands at the forex market” suggests that there is a problem.

“We cannot continue to defend the naira with the country’s foreign reserves.

This cannot be sustained. We really need to investigate where these spurious demands are coming from to save the economy,” he said.

The CBN has rolled out some measures to curtail the demands at the official forex

market.

Two weeks ago, it increased weekly sale of official foreign exchange to Bureau De Change (BDCs) by 100 per cent to $100,000 from $50,000.

Prior to that, it had raised to $1 million from $500,000 per bank the amount of autonomous foreign exchange banks can sell to BDCs per week – all in a bid to reduce the demand pressure.

At $32.9 billion as at August 29, economists said the prospect of a strong recovery for Nigeria’s foreign reserves this year looks bleak.

At its current level, Nigeria’s foreign reserve seems to have reached its highest level this year, contrary to previous expectations of a steady increase on the back of the sharp increase in the oil price in the first quarter of the year and a sustained high price thereafter.

Nigeria’s foreign reserves climbed to over $60 billion in March 2008 before the global financial crisis.

calling on AU to act and save African families boxed in troubled Libya and if anyone could reach out to the Nigerian government to stop the killing of Nigerians by the former rebels who are now the new leaders in Libya, it will be better.”

In a telephone chat with our correspondent, Siji gave details of how Nigerians have become the targets of the rebels.

He added: “The truth is that when Gaddafi was in office, he had sympathy for black Africans and many have even settled in Libya.

“In fact, there is a city in Southern Libya called Suyima that is mostly populated by Nigerians, especially the Hausa. The city shares borders with Algeria and Niger.

“But due to Gaddafi’s sympathy for the blacks, the rebels assumed that the blacks will naturally do everything to protect Gaddafi.

So, they decided to kill any black man on sight.

“Nigerians have been the butt of the attacks on the blacks because the rebels could hardly differentiate them from Ghanaians, Malians, Nigerians, Burkinabes, Senegalese and Gambians.

“They are really killing many Nigerians and this is just unfortunate.”

The Nation learnt that Amb. Ashiru was moved into action after getting the distress call yesterday. He shelved a church service to attend to the calls.

A government source said: “Apart from talking to Siji directly, the Minister also reached out to the TNC, Britain and France on the need to stop the killing of black migrant workers, especially Nigerians.

“For about five hours yesterday, the Minister was talk-

Nigeria protests killings ing to the TNC leaders, Britain and France on why the genocide must stop.

“The Federal Government has pleaded with Britain and France to prevail on the TNC leaders to ask their foot soldiers to end the massacre of blacks in Libya.

“I think immediate action has been taken and there will be respite for not only Nigerians, but all the blacks in Libya.

“The government has also asked the TNC to liaise with Siji, who will now serve as a coordinator or Liaison Officer on how to protect the blacks, especially Nigerians.

“Also, the Nigerian Ambassador to Ethiopia has been asked to relate with the Nigerian community in the Libyan cities. The Ambassador will also work directly with the TNC. “The Ambassador is also expected to send hourly situation reports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where a desk has been opened to monitor TNC’s attitude to blacks, especially Nigerians, in Libya.”

This is the second time in the last four days that the Federal Government has protested to its TNC ally in Libya over the massacre of black migrant workers.

The Minister said Thursday: “The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wishes to note with concern reports of incessant abuse of helpless civilians in Libya by some unscrupulous elements who continue to take undue advantage of the ongoing crisis in that country, particularly to carry out attacks on Black migrant workers and other Black Africans stranded in Libya arising from crisis in that country.

“Regrettably, these reports revealed outright killings, rape and extortion of money from these helpless Africans

who have taken refuge in camps as well as those in detention and incarceration.

“This development is a deviation from the overall expressed desire of the TNC, the African Union and indeed the United Nations for the restoration of democracy and good governance in Libya.

“These extra-judicial killings certainly run contrary to Nigeria’s call for the leadership of the TNC to be magnanimous in victory and can only stand in the way of peace building, early reconciliation and reconstruction in Libya.

“While confirming that the concern of the Nigerian government on this reported development has accordingly been brought to the urgent attention of the representative of the TNC, the government seizes this opportunity to call on the leadership of the TNC to immediately take steps to check the excesses of these unscrupulous elements in Libya in order to pave the way for the restoration of genuine democracy and true reconciliation for all Libyans.

“Nigeria reiterates its support not only for the yearnings for political freedom by the Libyan people, but also in the ability of the leadership of the TNC to restore order in the Libyan society at the shortest possible time.

“Government believes that the immediate task for the enthronement of democracy, rule of law, political and socio-economic reconstruction and development in Libya should be carried out without hindrance.”

Images of black Africans camping near the port in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, were shown on Sky News yesterday.

The refugees spoke of attacks by the rebels, who raped women. Many immigrants have been killed, they said.

Anger as family of eight, three others are killed in Jos attack

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FAMILY of eight including a three-yearold boy, was killed near Jos, the Plateau State capital, yesterday morning.

Last month, eight members of a family were killed.

The victims of Sunday’s attack were murdered by yet to be identified assailants at Heipang in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area.

Among the victims were the head of the household, Mr Chollom Gyang, his wife, Hannatu and six children, including the three-year-old.

Mark Lipdo, an organiser for a non-profit group, Stefanos Foundation, said besides the eight family members, three others were also killed yesterday.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who visited the house, observed that some of the victims had deep machete cuts all over their bodies; others suffered gunshot injuries.

Mr Emmanuel Dachollom Loman, Chairman, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, told reporters that the assailants came from Mahangar, a Fulani community in the area.

“We have made appeals to the Federal Government; we have told them that the people in the area (Mahangar) have lots of sophisticated weapons, but

STF gives soldiers shoot-on-sight order

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HE military Special Task Force (STF) has mandated soldiers to shoot on sight, any person carrying or using arms on others in Jos. “The STF is now mandated to use all the necessary force within its powers on anybody carrying and using arms or dangerous weapons on another person,” its spokesman said.

Its spokesman, Capt. Charles Ekeocha in a statement in Jos yesterday From Yusufu Aminu Idegu and Marie-Therese Peter, Jos

government has refused to do anything about it.

“I personally complained to a Federal Government delegation that came to investigate the killing, last month, of eight members of another family, but our concerns and fears have been ignored.”

He said men of the military Special Task Force (STF) recently searched a house in Mahangar and recovered sophisticated weapons, but that they did not have the will to search the whole community.

Loman warned that unless the weapons in the area were mopped up, they would continue to constitute threats to the communities.

“Now, our people have been pushed to the wall. We have been appealing to them to be calm and not take the

warned the youths against “testing the might of the soldiers”, saying that whoever did that will be doing so at his or her peril.

Ekeocha said three soldiers shot by the youths were lying critically ill in the hospital. He said they were shot at by people they were supposed to protect.

According to him, “everywhere in the state is infested with weapons, with sporadic shots heard both day and night”.

laws into their hands. We do not know for how long we can wait for government to protect us.

“If our youths go on the rampage, nobody should blame us; we have asked them to constitute themselves into vigilance groups to defend themselves against aggressors,” he said.

Loman said: “I was sleeping when I received the call at about 12:30 early this morning (yesterday) only to be told that some unknown persons came to attack and killed all members of a family. Few weeks ago, seven members of a family were killed in similar attack. This is becoming too much to bear, government should help us in this local government before people come and wipe all of us out one day. I can’t contain this anymore; it’s too much.

The sporadic shooting by the Muslim and Christian youths, is also targeted at the soldiers,” he said and advised politicians, traditional rulers, religious leaders and parents to counsel their wards.

“The soldiers are no more prepared to turn the other cheek,” he warned.

Capt. Ekeocha urged the people to go about their normal activities as the STF and other security agencies are prepared to protect them.

The council boss said: “We are suspecting the Fulani in this attack because this is their route. The Fulani that lived in nearby Mahanger village are heavily armed and I have been crying to government to go to the village in search of arms, but the government is not acting on my cry. You can see that the guns used to attack people here are sophisticated weapons. Government should do something fast before the next attack on another family. Government should go in there and recover all arms they have stockpiled.”

Mr Gyang Fulani, a member representing the area in the House of Assembly, said the people could no longer trust the government to protect them as it had failed them, with the constant attacks.

He regretted that the secu-

rity agents had not fished out the attackers. No arrest has been made. Fulani accused the STF of lacking the will to stop the Jos crisis.

“We said a few years ago that terrorists were in the country, but the government didn’t take us seriously.

Now, it is glaring from the security challenges all over the country.

“The terrorists in Plateau are easy to fight because they are known, but government is complacent about confronting these fundamentalists. It is a ticking time bomb that will soon explode,’’ Fulani said.

He challenged his constituents to rise up to the security threats and defend themselves against the aggressors at all cost.

“We will never calm the youths again; we will allow them rise up to protect their

communities and their land from these unprovoked attacks.

“We now know who the aggressors are. When police advised Izala sect leader Sani Jingir not to go to Rukuba road for the Sallah prayer, he refused and has now put the whole Jos into crisis,” he said.

Mr Francis Jamang, National President, Berom Youth Movement, said the situation had reached a stage where they might be forced to take the laws into their hands, if their attackers were not brought to book.

“The Berom people have now been pushed to the wall; no one should blame us for whatever action we take,” he said.

The state government has condemned the new wave of killings and urged the communities to be at the alert against aggressors.

Commissioner for Information Abraham Yiljap, said the government is sad that violence continued, in spite of efforts to restore peace.

“No matter the number of military and police personnel, they are not enough to protect everyone. So, government is calling on community and religious leaders and politicians to enlighten their people to help themselves.

Continued on page 5

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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NEWS Family of eight, IBADAN FLOOD OF TEARS WITH the victims of the devastating Ibadan floods still counting their losses, some leaders of three others in Jos Apete, the worst hit community in the ancient city, have introduced a new dimension to the killed Continues from page 4 disaster, reports OLUKAYODE THOMAS 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901 should be 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 123456789012345678 “Arrangements to protect the people; let 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 made take measures to 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 people 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 safeguard lives and prop123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 erty in every community,” he 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 said.

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901 Yiljap urged the various 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 123456789012345678 community and ethnic 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901 123456789012345678 to adopt dialogue, 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 groups 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 saying that dialogue still re123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 mained the best solution to the 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 lingering crisis.

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 In a similar development, a 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 bomb planted in the centre of 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901 also in Riyom Lo123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 123456789012345678 a market, Government, was discov123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 cal 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 ered by members of the com123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 munity. They promptly 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 alerted the police.

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 The Improvised Explosive 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 Device (IED) was neatly 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 wrapped in a polythene bag 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 and an empty can of veg123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 etable oil was used to con123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 struct the device.

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 Yiljap, who led government 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 delegation to the scene, said: 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 “This was meant to kill hun123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901 God has refused the 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 123456789012345678 dreds,ofbut the wicked. The bomb 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 plan 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 refused to explode” 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 The Police Anti-Bomb 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 Squad picked the bomb for 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 further investigation.

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 The state government, after 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 paying an on-the-spot visit to 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 the scene, condemned the act 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901123456789012345678 •THE DAM: Still over flowing...yesterday.

THE ELEYELE DAM

PHOTOS: NIYI ADENIRAN

•Mr. Yang

Elders: we must appease the god of the rivers

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NTIL two days ago, residents of Apete, one of the areas worst hit by the devastating floods in Ibadan, could not easily move in and out of the community.

All that ended on Saturday when the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) opened a new bridge for them.

The firm has rebuilt the bridge linking the neighbourhood with other parts of the city. The facility which replaced the make-shift bridge made of planks and bamboo trees was provided at no cost to the Oyo State Government by the firm, it was learnt.

The 50-year-old bridge was swept away by the floods which ravaged many parts of the city, killing more than 100 persons and destroying properties worth several billion of naira.

As the people of Ibadan and environs mourn and count their loses as a result of flooding that wreck havoc on city a few days ago, some elders posits that unless the gods are appeased, the city may witness a worst flood in future, others blame land sellers and dirty habits Olukayode Thomas reports from Ibadan Apete is densely populated because it is cheap for the students of the Polytechnic Ibadan to live in.

“Sometimes you queue for an hour even two before you could cross from one end to the other,” a passer-by recounted his ordeal before the CCECC intervention.

Moved by compassion the Chinese firm moved in to construct a new bridge for the community as part of it Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The bridge was open to human traffic on Saturday at about 5pm, while motor-bikes and other class of vehicles started using the bridge yesterday.

One of the site engineers who simply gave his name as Mr. Yang, an engineer said CCECC provided the bridge for the community free.

“It is at zero cost to the federal, state or even local government. It is absolutely free. Our company got contracts in Lagos and Abuja; this is our own way of giving back to the society,” Yang said.

•’No, land sellers, dirty habits must change’ ‘We need to beg the god. We use to worship Odo-Ona; it is the mother of all the rivers. All the other rivers are branches. In the last seven years, we have not taken and sacrifice to Odo-Ona or worship him and it is angry’ The CCECC official said the new bridge has been fortified to withstand the rains and floods. His words: “We used a lot of stones, very heavy stones. We also remove the dirt in the water before we started work. All the illegal structures on the bank disturbing the flow of the river had been swept away, while we clear the remaining. This bridge is very strong, nothing can affect it.

But residents of Apete learnt little or nothing from the pains of the floods as illegal stalls spring up on the drainage channels.

The situation has created a harvest season for all manners of artisans and sellers of building materials.

There are too many houses that need to reconstructed.

When The Nation visited the community yesterday, many were still mourning their lost ones, other bemoaning the lost of their businesses and properties. The community was also agog with festivities at the weekend as there were marriages and naming ceremonies.

This reporter expressed shock at the people rolling out the drum at Apete, one of the worst hit community by the flood.

In fact, it was the only place Presi-

dent Goodluck Jonathan came down from his chopper to inspect. He viewed other places from the air.

“If we mourn till tomorrow, the dead will not come back neither will lost property be regained, we can only pray to God that we will never witness this kind of flood again. Besides, the date for this wedding ceremony had been fixed about six months ago, there is no way we can shift it” Habeeb Kolawale, whose junior sister got married on Saturday told The Nation.

Apete has no king, looking for house of the Baale (community leader) was an exercise in futility because there are many of such according to residents.

At Ita-Faji, 90-year-old Chief Adekola Alade, the Bobajiro of Apete is coherent, agile and smart. Having livied in Apete for the better part of his nine decades on earth, Alade said he has never seen a worst disaster before.

“I have never seen a worst disaster. This one is worst than Ogunpa.

Only God knows the cause. Nobody can say the actual cause. People will say all sort of things, but there are places without water, yet they experience the flood,” he said.

Going spiritual, Alade posited: “We need to beg the god. We use to worship Odo-Ona; it is the mother of all the rivers. All the other rivers are branches. In the last seven years, we have not taken and sacrifice to Odo-Ona or worship him and it is angry.”

Alade said: “To prevent havoc like the last one, we need to worship Odo-Ona and ask what the god of the river wants. If it is cow, we give it to him. If you get to the garage by the river bank, ask them, they will show you where we used to worship the god. There is a banana tree there, and a peregu (boundary) beside the banana tree. The next day after the floodings a visitor came from Lagos to ask why we stopped worshipping Odo-Ona.” He added: “There was the case of

five women that were carried away by the flood, but the water brought back one of the lady and she was on the bank the whole night, and nothing happened to us. Odo-Ona is hunter and he complained to us, we need to appease him.”

He, however, declined a request to take this reporter to the lady’s house.

His words: “We must not because of Islam and Christianity forget our tradition. Ritual is part of our life.”

Other elders interviewed echoed Alade’s claim. They urged the government to talk to the elders and make sacrifice to Odo-Ona. But some youths of the community disagreed. They blamed the local government officials, land sellers and indiscriminate discharge of waste into the drainage channels. “ We need to educate our people.

This has nothing to do with the gods, but land sellers who sand filled the rivers and sold the land to shop owners. We should also blame the council officials who collected levies from the shop owners. Remember this bridge that was submerged was constructed about 50 years ago. We need to change our dirty habit. If we don’t, a worse disaster may happen,” said Habib Adepoju.

Yinusa Akaji Baba (aka Olopo) said: “It is lie; they just want to swindle the government. Only God knows the immediate cause of the flooding. But we should blame the land sellers who sell to anybody in the dry season after sand filling the river bank.’’

Really, it appears the people of Apete should worry more about the state of the Eleyele Dam, which overflows during the rain. It is still over flowing when The Nation visited yesterday. An engineer, Fassasi Yekini, took the reporter around the facility. All the pumping machines in Plant A and the panel were destroyed.

According to Yekini, the Water Works cannot supply water to the community because all the equipments have stopped functioning.

and urged youths to intensify their security surveillance.

“Government will not relax, until those behind the attack are made to face justice.”

Church services were held under heavy security in Jos yesterday. The Police, acting on rumours that church services will be bloody, moved out their anti-bomb squad to protect the churches.

A nine-man committee set up by Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and Council of Ulama to sensitise youths on the renewed violence in the state is on tour of Jos-Bukuru metropolis.

Chairman of the committee Abdulmalik Aminu said: “In furtherance of efforts being made by JNI and Council of Ulama to restore peace to the state, a central security committee is set up to educate the people on importance of peace and to reassure all citizens that the Muslim community is not against the opposite religion.”

Police Commissioner Emmanuel Ayeni could not be reached for comments. The command’s spokesman, Apev Jacob, could not comment on the development.

STF spokesman Capt.

Charles Ekeocha said the task force had no business with the area.

He said the STF withdrew its men after the communities said they did not want them.

His words: “The security of that area is not the concern of the STF; they have said we are responsible for the attacks.

“In fact, officials from the army headquarters came and investigated the claims of the communities and we are still awaiting the outcome of their findings.

“They have always accused our men of the attacks. So, I do not know who could have attacked them now that our men have been withdrawn.

“There was even a time they claimed to have picked military ID cards at the scene of such attacks. So we are out of their area. I suggest you contact the police or the Plateau-owned security outfit, Operation Rainbow.’’

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

NEWS CPC condemns Salami’s successor over shake-up in court

Salami: ACN warns Fed Govt against distraction

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HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has warned the Federal Government not to capitalise on the controversy generated by what it called the illegal removal of Justice Ayo Salami as Court of Appeal President to distract Nigerians from good governance.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Nigerians are not unaware of the sponsors of the series of newspaper and television advertisements being placed by ‘’shady groups’’ in recent days to confuse the issues involved in the suspension of Justice Salami.

It said: ‘’There is no doubt

By Lekan Andu

that huge public funds are being frittered away on these self-serving advertisements by mushrooming phony groups, who are simply echoing their master’s voice and seeking to distort the facts in a case of serious constitutional infraction. ‘’It is sad however that this dirty game of distraction is being played at a time of worsening insecurity in the land from the activities of Boko Haram, armed robbers and kidnappers; at a time of rising unemployment due to lack of ideas on the part of the government, and at a time that innocent Nigerians are being slaughtered like chick-

en due to the resurgent crisis in Jos. ‘’Nigerians are more concerned that their country is fast becoming a police state, where public buildings and other facilities are being guarded by armed soldiers and the entire polity is militarised, and the government of the day spends little or no time on governance,’’ it said.

ACN repeated its earlier warning that the Salami issue will not go away until those who precipitated the crisis do the right thing, which is to reverse their illegal actions and reinstate Justice Salami. ‘’These people can spend all the money in the coffers or use all the media in the world in their attempt to justify

•Says it’s plot to throw out Buhari’s petition

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Dr. Jonathan

their unconstitutional acts, but they will not succeed in hoodwinking Nigerians. ‘’All they need is a little introspection, and it will become clear to them that only by doing the right thing, which will not even involve wasting public funds, can this lingering controversy be laid to rest,’’ the party said.

HE Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday said the redeployment of Appeal Court registrars by the Acting President of the Court of Appeal (Ag. PCA), Justice Dalhatu Adamu, is another ploy to frustrate the party’s Presidential election petition.

CPC said Adamu has started dancing to the tune of President Goodluck Jonathan, who appointed him.

A statement in Abuja by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin said: “Justice Adamu has left no one in doubt as to the reason for his appointment by President Jonathan. The major task

Jonathan orders ministers to submit four-year plans

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has directed ministers to submit their plan of action in the next four years and how to implement the proposals.

The defence of the targets set by the ministers will begin today, it was gathered.

But there were indications yesterday that economic interest will also now drive the foreign policy of the Federal Government.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the ministers were given one week by the President to high-

•Defence of targets begins today as ministers report for work From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

light their four-year plans.

It was gathered that although the ultimatum expired on Friday, the ministers will begin the defence of their proposals today.

To meet the deadline, most ministers spent the weekend to rub minds with their directors and heads of parastatals to fine-tune their proposals.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The President actually demanded for

measurable and achievable plans from all the ministers.

“Their targets will also include timelines within which they will implement those programmes.

“Jonathan said he will not accept the usual flat proposals which successive ministers had indulged in. He felt that having been in charge of their respective ministries in the last two months, the ministers should be able to come up with concrete and realisable plans.

“Also, he emphasised that the four-year plans of the ministers must be in tandem with his transformation agenda, which they are all conversant with now.

“All ministers will now be judged by their action plans and physical evidence of the effects of these proposals on Nigerians.

“Before the middle of his tenure, any minister that fail to live up to expectations will be asked to go.

Another source said: “The tall directive has put pressure on ministers, who have been working round the clock to draft measurable proposals that will fix into the transformation agenda of the President.

“As a matter of fact, most ministers were at their desks at the weekend to fine-tune such proposals. They are behaving as if they are planning to write examinations.

“Some of the ministers have also transferred the aggression to directors and heads of parastatals in their ministries.”

There was pressure on key ministries like Works, Education, Power, Defence, Police, Transport, Labour and Productivity, Finance, Agriculture, Water Resources, Justice,

Interior, Trade and Investment, and Foreign Affairs.

A presidency source added: “The President is not underrating any ministry at all. For instance, even from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he wants a policy that will generate economic development in the country.

“So, besides Africa being the centre-piece of our foreign policy, Jonathan is demanding a new focus which will lead to attraction of economic gains, especially investments that will in turn lead to mass employment.”

When contacted, about five ministers confirmed the directive in strict confidence.

One of them said: “The President told us that he does not want any excuse, which was why he put in place a crack cabinet.

“So, it is really time to sit up. The President wants concrete targets that will impact on the lives of Nigerians; he needs achievements that will show that the government is working.”Another minister said: “To underscore his determination, the defence of our proposals will begin on Monday (today), instead of the normal cabinet session on Wednesday.”

The modalities for the defence of the ministerial targets were kept under wrap as at the time of filing this story.

From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

embarked on by this judicial officer was the reshuffling of the Presidential Election Petition members, a euphemism for ‘hatchet job’.”

The party warned of the dire consequences of the gradual extirpation of the enviable values of a vibrant judiciary by the newly appointed acting President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Adamu.

“Undoubtedly, Justice Adamu is bringing about the same hastiness that attended his appointment in this latest action. What remains unanswered is why a judicial officer in an acting capacity would cause such dishevelling changes in an otherwise smooth process? Why would Justice Adamu feel that the time is propitious for such changes if not to ensure that the CPC Presidential Election Petition suffers irreversible set-back? Does this not give credence to the earlier assertion that it is only a corrupt Bench that can save Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidency?

“It is also reported that Justice Adamu has sought to make changes in the composition of the Appeal Court Justices for the states that PDP may likely lose at the State Governorship Tribunals.

This, unmistakably, is a disservice to the good people of Nigeria that are desirous of seeing the Nigerian Courts as citadels of Justice.

“The CPC believes that the security of Nigeria , or any nation, can only be predicated on dispensation of social Justice.

The scenarios where the oppressed and repressed in the land cannot have their grievances freely ventilated and properly adjudicated on by the Judiciary, can only portend breach in national security. This is why we believe that this chain of convoluted actions by the Acting PCA is portent of grave danger to the health of the Judiciary and inexorably, the Nntion’s security, ”the party added.

How to fight crime, by Falana AGOS lawyer Mr Femi Falana has urged the government to tackle unemployment if it is serious about dealing with violent crime.

He said terrorism, kidnapping and armed robbery will continue as long as impunity reigns and public officers live in opulence in the midst of a poor and hungry population.

The human rights activist, in a statement yesterday, said beyond the arrest of criminal suspects, investigation must be thoroughly conducted by competent security personnel while trials should be speedily conducted by well equipped courts.

According to him, unless the culture of impunity is addressed by the government, law and order cannot be restored in the country.

“More importantly, the government has to confront the menace of unemploy-

L

By Joseph Jibueze

ment and poverty which have continued to force youths to violent crimes while public officers are living in obscene opulence,” Falana said.

He added: “The barbaric attack of the United Nations building at Abuja a fortnight ago has been rightly condemned by the Federal Government, leading politicians, religious groups and other civil society organisations.

“As usual the government has sounded tough and threatened to deal with the culprits. But since similar threats were never carried out in the past they are no longer taken seriously by Nigerians.

“Against the background of official impunity, the country has been witnessing an increasing wave of terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, extra judicial killings

and other violent crimes.

“Suspects that are arrested by the police and other security agencies in connection with such crimes are hardly investigated while those who are charged to courts are released for want of diligent prosecution and unleashed on the society to continue their nefarious activities.

“In the United Kingdom, a riot occurred recently. Most of the suspects were arrested with the aid of CCTV. They were summarily tried, convicted and jailed.

“But in Nigeria, all those who have taken part in several civil disturbances which led to the killing of thousands of innocent citizens and loss of properties worth billions of Naira are immune from prosecution under a neo-colonial criminal justice system that has been hijacked by nihilist forces.”

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

7

NEWS Oritsejafor urges Fed Govt to empower security agencies

My EFCC invitation political, says Ikuforiji

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AGOS State House of Assembly Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji at the weekend described his invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as political.

He spoke with reporters at his Ikeja, Lagos, home on his return from Abuja.

Ikuforiji said: “I was invited and the invitation came late. I got the invitation on my way to the airport for the lesser Hajj (Umrah) last week and I sent a note addressed to the Executive Chairman of the commission that I received the letter late and because it was Ramadan period, I would honour the invitation on Thursday.

“When I came back last Thursday, I called them and the officer I spoke with told

me that I should come that afternoon. And I went. On getting to Abuja, there was a heavy traffic on the road because of this Boko Haram thing.

“I had to call them again that I was in the traffic and the officer I spoke with said since it was getting late, it was better I returned on Friday morning. So, I went there to honour the invitation. I was not at anytime arrested by the commission.”

On the alleged N7billion scam, he said: “The Assembly had a budget of about N6billion. The Speaker is just one among the 40 lawmakers. How he is able to steal N7billion out of N6billion is a question for the petitioners and the authority to answer.

“As for me, I know there was no N7billion at anytime in the House, not over a pe-

riod of one year though. We never had such a thing. So, there was no way I could have stolen N7billion. I don’t even steal at all. You don’t need to suspect this one; this is a very clear case.

“If somebody comes and talks of stealing N7billion out of N6billion; if somebody in his right senses could come up with an allegation of Ikuforiji being an ex-convict in America and convicted of drunk-driving; convicted of credit card fraud in 2005...

“I came to the Assembly on June 4, 2003 and became the Speaker in December 2005. How come you did not have this information or misinformation between then and now? Why now, at the end of 2011, that you start talking of allegations?

For God’s sake, does any-

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

P •Ikuforiji

one, who is in his right senses, agree with a person that an ex-convict visits the United States of America at least once in two months?

“How much of an extraordinary ex-convict is that convict for you to be able to go in and out of America unapprehended? It is nonsense. We all know it is political. For me, it is madness and as a believer, I don’t bother myself about those things because it is one of those things you go through as a leader.”

Osun to construct road to link Ogun, Lagos

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HE Osun State Government has awarded a contract for the construction of a road that will link the state with Ogun State through Ikoyi and Ikorodu to Lagos.

It will bypass Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola spoke on the project yesterday at a church service on the 20th anniversary of the creation of the state, at the All Saints Cathedral Church, Balogun Agoro, Osogbo.

The governor said when the road is completed, those travelling to Lagos from Osun would not experience the hectic traffic in Ibadan.

Represented by his deputy, Mrs Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, the governor reiterated the commitment of his administration to rebuild Osogbo, the state capital, and put it on world map as one of the best state capitals in the world.

Aregbesola said: “This government has awarded a contract that will connect Osun State straight to Ogun State through Ikoyi to Ikorodu and to Lagos. We will cut off Oyo State. So, we will no longer go through the rigours of traffic hold-up in Ibadan.”

The present administration, the governor said, would develop and renew Osun through road construction, among others.

He said the government had begun a renewal programme in the rural areas to show its commitment to agriculture and massive food production.

Aregbesola said Osun would tap various avenues, especially tourism, to increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to develop the state.

He said: “Recently, we launched O-Tour to put the state tourism on the world map because we are endowed with natural things from God and we want to ensure that we become the best state in Nigeria, especially in the area of tourism.

We are determined to bring out the best in the state.

Fayemi to Ado-Ekiti residents: observe town planning rules KITI State Governor Kayode Fayemi has urged residents of Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, to observe town planning rules to check flooding.

The governor spoke when he inspected some parts of the town that experienced flooding last weekend.

The affected areas include Odo-Ado, Igirigiri, Oke-Ila, Ile-Ileri, Housing road in Adebayo, Adehun in Opopogbooro Area and Embassy areas.

Though the flood did not lead to death or destruction of property, it caused apprehension among the residents.

The governor noted that residents should have no fear whenever it rains if they observe proper town planning rules and sanitation guidelines.

He said: “We have to take town planning rules seriously. It is one of the reasons for putting in place urban planning laws in Ekiti, to discourage people from building near

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From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

water banks.

“We can all see that the affected buildings were those put up without recourse to town planning approval; where it was evident that when it rains, there would be flooding.

“Town planning officers should insist on building plans before allowing construction of houses or structures. A lot of houses are bound to be demolished. We are not going to make any apologies about that.

“I have informed some of the people who would be affected that they cannot continue to live in these premises. In the long run, they would praise us for it.

“Right now, they may be unhappy that we are going to demolish their houses, but for us the ultimate objective of government is security and safety. If we cannot guarantee the safety of our people, then we have no business being in office.”

Aspirant to build waterfront city in Lokoja PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Kogi State, Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, has promised to build a modern city on the Lokoja waterfront, if he is elected.

The new city will be called “Confluence City”, AdinoyiOjo said.

Speaking in Lagos at the weekend at a meeting with some business men and women from Kogi, the aspirant unveiled a plan, entitled: Re-inventing Kogi State, to de-

A

velop a beach resort at the confluence of the Rivers Niger and Benue.

He said: “Kogi State is suitably positioned on the banks of Rivers Niger and Benue which both form a confluence at Lokoja. On both sides of the two rivers, it boasts of over 300square kilometers of water front. In one particular portion of Lokoja, there is available for reclamation and development, land in the neighborhood of about 12square kilometers.

“Already, the Lower River

Niger has been dredged and a river port is being built in Lokoja and a jetty proposed for Idah. Besides the Federal Government efforts at relaunching Inland Water Transport System in Nigeria, waterfront activities are still basically a virgin economic terrain. My administration will liaise with the National Inland Waterways Authority to facilitate the completion of the Lokoja River Port and Idah Jetty and lobby for more jetties on both the rivers Niger and Benue.”

RESIDENT of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has urged the Federal Government to provide more empowerment for security agencies to curb bombings in the country.

Oritsejafor, who spoke when he visited the United Nations (UN) bomb blast victims at the National Hospital, Abuja, at the weekend, said strengthening the security network in the country would reduce the incessant loss of lives and properties in the country.

He urged the victims on admission in the hospital to see what happened to them as predestined.

He said: “I pray for your speedy recovery. We lack the words to express our feelings. God’s purpose will still be fulfilled in your lives for Him to have still kept you alive, despite the huge number of deaths recorded in the bomb blast.

“There is nothing we can do for you at this point than to wish you the best and to pray for your speedy recovery.”

Condemning the perpetrators, he said: “It is not right for a man to take another person’s life, because we cannot give life. What you don’t give, you don’t take. It is tragic because it is non-Nigerian. We were not known to be people like that; we were known to be people who cared about our neighbour. This is a lesson; it is a wake-up call.”

“We have 63 tourist centres in the state and we will develop all these to ensure that our IGR improves because, right now in the South-West, we have the least IGR. But within the next six months, you will all be living witnesses to what will happen.”

The governor praised the civil servants, religious leaders and traditional rulers for ensuring the development of the state since its creation.

Punch reporter Falola buried amid tears

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HE Ogun State correspondent of The Punch, Mr. Francis Falola, was buried amid tears on Saturday in his home town, Inisha, Osun State.

The late Falola was redeployed from Minna, Niger State, to Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, by his employers about a year ago.

He died at the State Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta, on August 31.

His final journey began by 2.30pm on Saturday when his remains left the auditorium of St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Inisha, after a brief funeral service led by the Rev. Simeon Fakayode.

The late Falola was buried

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

at the church’s cemetery.

Fakayode said death is inevitable and enjoined the congregation to be wary of where they would spend their eternity after their death.

Members of the family of former Minister Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the late Maj.–Gen. Mamman Vatsa, Falola’s colleagues in the media, the Ogun State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), friends and residents of Inisha mourned the late reporter, who was said to have unfulfilled dreams for his children.

IBEJU-LEKKI LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVITATION TO TENDER The authorities of Ibeju-Lekki Local Government hereby notify the General Public of the intention to embark on People-Oriented Project. Qualified Contractors are requested to bid for: 1. CONSTRUCTION OF OBA ONIBEJU PALACE, IBEJU-LEKKI TOWN Tender documents including Bills of Quantities and Drawing (where applicable) and specifications are available at the office of the Council Engineer at the Council secretariat’s address shown below on the payment of non-refundable Tender Fee of Ten Thousand Naira (N10,000.00) Only The Tender documents should be wax-sealed landmarked in capital at the left hand corner “Tender”, and should be addressed to: THE COUNCIL MANAGER IBEJU-LEKKI LOCAL GOVERNMENT IGANDO-OLOJA TOWN, ALONG LAGOS/EPE EXPRESS WAY The completed Tender should be submitted between 8.00am and 4.00pm Monday through Friday not later than fourteen (14) days from the date of notice of this publication.

Interested contractors/Tenderers are expected to attach the under listed requirements alongside their tender documents:1.

Certificates of Incorporation and Registration 2.

Company’s Profile 3.

Evidence of registration with the Lagos State Government and IbejuLekki Local Government 4.

Evidence of current Tax Clearance 5.

Evidence of pictures of previous jobs (Capital projects) done for Government or any other reputable organization.

6.

Evidence of performance with reputable financial institution.

MR. O. Z. OJIKUTU Council Manager

8

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

9

NEWS Slain Ogun ACN chief buried

Ondo reviews 35-yearold laws •To repair Akure/ Benin road •Defends interim council bosses NDO State Governor Olusegun Mimiko at the weekend presented the newly revised laws of the state to the people.

The 500 reviewed laws will take effect from September 20.

This is the first time the state’s laws are being reviewed since 1978.

Mimiko said the review would pave the way for transformation.

He said: “These revised

O

G

OVERNOR Ibikunle Amosun at the weekend assured the people of Ogun State that the killers of the Southwest Coordinator of the Vehicle Inspection Office (V.I.O), Chief Abayomi Bamgbose, would be apprehended.

Bamgbose (52) was killed two Saturdays ago in front of his house in Abeokuta, the state capital, by unknown gunmen.

Speaking at Bamgbose’s funeral service at the Centenary Hall, Abeokuta, Amosun said government would assist security agencies in tackling security challenges.

He described the late Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chieftain as a dedicated and hardworking civil servant, who would be missed greatly.

The officiating minister of the Church of the Lord, Aladura Worldwide, Rev. James Ajasa urged people to live a godly life.

He said: “Death is the certain and final end of our journey as human beings. Since we don’t know when, where and how we will die, it is our duty to keep God’s commandments.”

•From left: Ondo State Chief Judge Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi; Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Tayo Jegede (SAN) and Mimiko displaying copies of the revised laws…at the weekend From Leke Akeredolu and Damisi Ojo, Akure

laws will give impetus to our aspiration to transform the state socially, economically and politically, as well as regulate human behaviour and ensure peace and order in the society.”

Also, the governor has ordered the repair of bad spots on the Akure road, where 32 people died in an

accident last week.

Although it is a federal road, Mimiko said the repair would be carried outs, pending when the Federal Government would begin its rehabilitation.

At the weekend, the state government faulted claims by the opposition that last week’s swearing in of interim local government chairmen by the governor did not follow due process.

Senior Special Assistant to

the governor on Parliamentary Matters Mr. Ife Fasoranti said: “The swearing in of the new caretaker chairmen was in line with due process. The approval was not hurriedly done as is being speculated; it was done in line with the Rule of Law. Since almost all members of the House of Assembly are members of the Labour Party (LP), there was no need for unnecessary delay.”

Osun orders striking workers to resume today

T

HE Osun State Government has ordered striking workers to resume work today.

The workers have been on strike for four weeks.

They are seeking the full implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage across board.

The Head of Service, Mr. Segun Akinwusi, in a broadcast on the state-owned radio and television stations, reiterated the government’s commitment to the welfare of workers, as evident in its offer to pay N19,001, instead of the N18,000 stipulated by the Federal Government.

Akinwusi said the government was willing to pay N7,429 to workers on Grade levels 8 to 10; N6,611 to those on levels 12 to 14 and N5,096 to those on levels 15 to 17.

Explaining that the government has made its financial status open to the public and shifted its position four times to accommodate the requests of workers, Akinwusi directed them to resume at their duty posts today.

He thanked traditional rulers, religious leaders and other stakeholders for their effort towards resolving the disagreement.

60,000 to benefit from Oyo free health •Osun assists Ibadan flood victims

•Ajimobi

G

OVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi has said 60,000 people would benefit from the Oyo

State Free Health Mission.

Ajimobi spoke at the weekend during its flag-off at Ibadan North Local Government Council.

He said 107 health workers, including surgeons, dentists, opticians, pharmacists, paramedics and others had been engaged for the programme.

The programme was organised in conjunction with the Development Support Initiative.

Ajimobi said specialists on different ailments were on

ground.

He said optical and dental surgeries would be carried out and eye glasses given to patients free of charge.

Ajimobi said beneficiaries would also be counselled on family planning methods.

The programme will be carried out in all the 33 local governments.

The first phase, which started at the weekend, would cover 11 council areas.

Ajimobi said: “Since most of our people cannot afford the high cost of treatment in

conventional hospitals, we resolved to take the hospital to them by providing free treatment.”

Osun State Deputy Governor Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, who was on a solidarity visit to the governor over the flooding in Ibadan, praised the Ajimobi-led administration for the programme and urged the people to take advantage of it.

On behalf of Osun State, she donated relief materials, including blankets, towels, foodstuff and beddings to victims of the flood.

I may go back to PDP, says Fayose

F

ORMER Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has said he may return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if he so desires. he howver said he is still a member of the Labour

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado Ekiti

Party (LP).

Fayose, who admitted that notable members of the PDP were appealing to him to return to the party he left in 2006 after his con-

troversial impeachment, said his return to the PDP would be to reciprocate the honour and respect done him by leaders of the PDP who held talks with him.

Nut he gave a proviso for his return: “If given the

right of place.” He said “anything short of this will not be fair enough”.

Fayose spoke at the weekend in Ado Ekiti at an event organised by Ekiti Youth Congress in honour of some notable PDP and LP leaders.

Ondo PDP gets transition committee

T

HE National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olusola Oke, has announced the constitution of a 10-man Transition Committee in Ondo State.

This is part of efforts to resolve the crisis that has been rocking the state chapter of the party in the last four months, following the list of nominees sent to the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja for federal appointments.

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

The committee will administer the state party until it holds its congress.

A 12-member Elders’ Committee was also set up to resolve the grievances of members.

The resolution has brought to an end the tenure of the Dr. Tayo Dairo-led state executive and the factional Caretaker Committee, headed by Mr. Olu Agbi.

Oke said: “In view of the

internal crisis that the PDP in Ondo State experienced in recent times, the Office of the National Legal Adviser convened a meeting of the Forum of Leaders.

“The meeting comprised people, who represented the contending forces within the party.

“The Forum of Leaders is an assembly of a broad spectrum of leaders, which has resolved to work assiduously for the resurgence of

the state party.”

The only PDP lawmaker at the House of Assembly, Lubi Ebi, criticised the selection of Chief Isaac Kekemeke, a former Secretary to ex-Governor Olusegun Agagu, as the head of the reconciliation committee.

Ebi alleged that some prominent members, including the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs, Kinsley Kuku, were not carried along.

PUBLIC NOTICE GOLDEN GENTS CLUB This is to inform the general public that the above named club has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under Part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act NO.1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEE ARE 1. Mr. Oyelade Abdulfatai Oluwashina 2. Mr. Rufai Ibrahim Adeniran 3. Mr. Gidigbih Kazeem Abiodun 4. Mr. Oladoja Arimiyau Bayonle 5. Mr. Rufai Idris Adewunmi

President Vice President Secretary General Treasurer PRO

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. The welfare of members 2. To cooperate and assist Muslims in activities towards the propagation and defence of Islam.

3. To donate for the less privilege Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED OYELADE ABDULFATAI 0.

7th Avenue U Close Block 2 Flat 1 Festac Town Lagos

PUBLIC NOTICE SHOW SOME LLOVE OVE FOUNDA TION FOUNDATION The General Public is hereby informed that the above named organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

The Trustees are: 1. Mr. RICHARD IKIEBE - Chairperson 2. Ms. TOYIN FAJUSIGBE - Coordinator 3. Ms. LALA AKINDOJU - Secretary 4. Mr. DELE AGUNLOYE - Treasurer 5. Ms. JADE OSIBERU Administrative Head Goals and Objectives The goal of Show Some Love Foundation is to Provide Assistance to inmates and exconvicts in the Nigerian Prison System and aims to provide assistant to the needy in the society.

The Objectives are: 1. To provide opportunities for inmates to empower themselves through Education.

2. To provide legal aid to inmates (where necessary).

3. To provide opportunities for ex-convicts to rehabilitate themselves with a view to becoming productive members of the society.

4. To provide financial, employment and business-related aid to ex-convicts.

5. To assist the needy and less privileged in society.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to The Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: TOYIN FAJUSIGBE (COORDINATOR)

PUBLIC NOTICE MUSLIM UMMAH OF SOUTH WEST NIGERIA CARE GIVERS This is to notify the general public that the above named Society is in the process of SOCIETY applying to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE 1. Prof. Dawud Olatokunbo Noibi 4. Prof. Muheez Alani Durosinmi 2. Prof. Lateef Akinola Salak 5. Alhaja Moridiya Omolara Adeyemo 3. Mrs. Radhiyat Aramide Labinjo AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To increase awareness and sensitization about diseases, ignorance and squalor among the southwest muslims population of Nigeria 2. To propose programmes and projects to foster behavior change as an important means of controlling diseases.

3. To improve understanding and acceptance by south west muslims of the principle that all must take responsibility for prevention of diseases, transmission and provision of care and support for those infected and affected.

4. To initiate programmes and projects to explore and provide access to care and support for south west muslims infected and affected by diseases and to empower them through training, counseling and education to cope with their circumstances.

5. To develop and propose prevention programmes targeted at vulnerable groups such as women, children and migrant labour.

6. To institute the process of complete eradication of diseases, ignorance and squalor among south west muslims of nigeria.

Any objection to the proposed registration must be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

Signed Francis T. Akinlotan Probitas Partners 70, Queens Street, Off Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba, Lagos.

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

10

NEWS

Monarch killed in Bayelsa

T

HE Ebeni Ibe of Attisa Kingdom, Bayelsa State, Godwin Igodo, has been kidnapped by gunmen at the weekend.

A source said Igodo (70) was abducted when two men, posing as visitors, stormed the monarch’s home.

He said: “His daughter reportedly opened the door, and in the process, met two strangers, who asked for her father at gun point.

“The hoodlums forced

From Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

their way into the monarch’s room and whisked him away to a waiting boat.

“They shot sporadically into the air and escaped with the king.”

Police spokesman Eguavoen Emokpe confirmed the incident. He said men of the investigative department have started investigating the incident.

The kidnappers are yet to contact the family.

This is the second time in three months that a traditional ruler is being kidnapped.

The ruler of Amassoma Kingdom, King Oweipa Joans Ere, was kidnapped at his business site in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he was taken away for over two weeks.

The traditional rulers’ council, led by its Chairman, King Joshua Igbagara, has condemned the development

Delta dismisses claims of profligacy

T

HE Delta State Government, yesterday, refuted allegations of profligacy following its decision to sponsor some local government officials for a retreat in South Africa.

Commissioner for Local Government Affairs Newworld Safugha, who made this clarification in Asaba, said contrary to media reports that N230 million is being spent on the trip only N40 million was approved

by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.

His words: “The officials going are National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) state executives; NULGE local government executives; Chairman and three commissioners of the Local Government Service Commission and my self.

“I do not see anything wrong for government officials to travel and have training abroad. It will go a long way in motivating them to do their best for the state. The experience garnered will be

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

unquantifiable. The trip is in two batches and the total figure is less than N40 million.

“It is not true that we are spending N3million on each person and by the way, we are going to South Africa to upgrade our managerial skills as done everywhere.

We are not politicians who would be travelling with our wives.

“The amount is not even up to N700,000 and it covers the entire two weeks which we think is reasonable. As the new leaders, we have to acquire knowledge in labour management and I don’t think it’s out of place.”

Last week, some junior workers in the civil service had protested an alleged N230million workshop in South Africa.

But it was gathered that the retreat would cost the Sstate N230 million to sponsor the Heads of Personnel Management, who are now the acting chairmen, following the

dissolution of the executive councils.

Also alleged to be beneficiaries are the acting council treasurers, their wives and NULGE leadership.

Safugha refuted the claims, noting that though the NULGE chairmen in the 25 local governments were embarking on a workshop, the cost was much less than alleged.

He also denied that wives of NULGE executives were involved in the trip.

A group of junior employees of some of the councils said it was “unthinkable” that at a time, the government was introducing cost cutting measures; such a huge amount of money would be spent on a “jamboree”.

“When we are arguing over N18,000 minimum wage, some people are spending N3million per person for what they term exposure retreat which we see as a waste of the state funds,” they maintained.

Warring communities settled From Osagie Otabor, Benin

•Oba Erediauwa

T

HE lingering boundary dispute between Ugbor and Amagba

communities in Benin Kingdom has been settled by the Benin Monarch, Oba Erediauwa.

Several persons have been injured in clashes between both communities over boundary disputes.

Oba Erediauwa, in settling the dispute, said it was an error to refer Ire, a community, as a river and boundary between Ugbor and Amagba communities.

A statement by the palace said the Oba queried the Ugba community head for allowing individuals to encroach on the parcel of land given to him by the community.

The statement said the Oba ruled that the area where the community shrine known as Okhuahe and Nometene N’Ugbor is located should remain as the buffer zone between the communities.

Warri Rotary Club raises cash for projects

T

HE Rotary Club of Warri has installed Emmanuel Ogoru, a Warri-based businessman, as its 33rd President. The club has also secured donations and pledges totalling over N3 million for implementation of philanthropic programmes.

In a statement by Blackwell Idiahi and Yemi Eda, Ogoru

pledged to focus on improvement of sanitation, adult literacy and rural health in his tenure.

They said the projects will be implemented as a strategic fit into the theme of the 2011/2012 Rotary Year which is: Reach within to Embrace Humanity.

Former President Andree Edun said during his tenure

he achieved the construction of a water bore-hole at the Warri Prisons, Okere; donation of books to primary school pupils; micro-credit scheme and distribution of vaccines to infants.

Rotary Club of Warri is one of the foremost clubs in Rotary International District 9140. It was inaugurated in 1979.

5,000 to pray for Jonathan

T

HE National President of Ijaw Monitoring Group (IMG), Joseph Evah, said yesterday that over 5,000 Niger Deltans in Lagos will hold a prayer session at the National Theatre, Iganmu, to pray against violence in the nation.

They will also pray for wisdom for President Goodluck Jonathan.

By Kelvin Osa- Okunbor

Evah, who said the prayer session was long overdue, alleged that the spate of bombings across the country was an attempt by some people to derail the Goodluck Jonathanled administration.

He called on those who are involved in the bombings to embrace dialogue as the Fed-

eral Government is favourably disposed to negotiating with those who feel aggrieved.

The Ijaw activist spoke at the send-forth of 82 ex- militants from the Niger Delta to Israel and Philippines for a six-month programme on agriculture and deep sea pipeline and under-water welding.

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

11

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

The problem we have in our rail transportation is associated with the challenges of road transportation. The roads are overstretched and that is why most of them start becoming bad after one or two years.

-Senator Idris Kuta, Minister for Transport

Interbank rates ease on T-bill maturities

BofA, JPMorgan among 17 banks sued by US

I

NTERBANK lending rates eased marginally to an av erage of 8.33 per cent last week, from 8.41 per cent penultimate week, owing to inflows from repaid matured treasury bills and a trading week shortened by two bank holidays, traders said last Friday.

Traders said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) repaid over N160 billion ($1.033 billion) in matured secondary market treasury bills in the week, helping to boost liquidity and impact positively on the cost of borrowing, while a two-day holiday to mark the end of Ramadan had reduced demand for funds.

The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) rose marginally to 8.0 per cent from 7.75 per cent last week, 75 basis points below the CBN’s benchmark rate and 1.25 percentage points above the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate.

Overnight placement was unchanged at 8.50 per cent, while call money dropped to 8.50 per cent from nine per cent penultimate week.

Traders said the market opened with a balance of N178.67 billion last Friday, against N408.66 billion the previous Friday.

“We see rates going up next week (this week) because of funding for foreign exchange purchases and a possible primary market treasury bills auction,” one dealer said.

Dealers said rates were relatively unchanged in the week, partly because the holiday meant there was only one forex auction by the central bank instead of two, reducing the impact of outflows on cost of borrowing.

Indicative rates for the Nigeria interbank offered rate (NIBOR) also eased, with seven-day funds closing at 8.95 per cent compared to 9.25 percent last week.

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$109.7/barrel Cocoa - $2,856/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢78.07.pound Gold -$1,161/troy ounce Rubber - ¢146.37/pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N7.3 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion

RATES Inflation -10.2% Treasury Bills -2.64% Normal lending -24% Prime lending -18% Savings rate -3% 91-day NTB -6.99% Time Deposit - 6% MPR -8% Foreign Reserve -$34.7bn FOREX CFA 0.281 • 213 £ 241.00 $ 150.7 ¥ 1.5652 SDR 240.3 RIYAL 39.3

B

•From left: Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Mahesh Sachdev and Dean, Lagos Business School, Dr Enase Okonedo, during a discussion on “Unlocking Business Possibilities: Lessons from Nigeria-India Partnership,” at the Lagos Business School.

UN building bomb blast: Insurers to pay N1b claims T

HE bomb blast that rocked the United Na tions (UN) building in Abuja would cost about N1billion in claims the Chairman, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Abuja Branch, Mr John Atselefun, has said.

An explosion went off at the UN House in Abuja penultimate Friday, killing at least 23 people and injuring scores of others. The Boko Haram (Western education is sin) claimed responsibility for the explosion.

Speaking with The Nation, Atselefun said the claims would be huge because of the damages that are beyond the building that was hit by the suicide bomber.

He noted that individuals who have proper insurance cover and who suffered losses in the incident would be paid.

By Chuks Udo Okonta

The CIIN boss said:“In terms of claims settlement, there are a lot of collateral damages beyond the building. We are looking at the claims to be close to N1billion or there about.

“If the building is insured, usually there would be extension for fire and burglary policy- terrorism cover, just like the extension for riot and civil commotion, which is added to fire insurance. These are added to fire policy in the event that if anything happens, it would be covered. And if the whole building has liability insurance, may be public liability, it would cover the property of all those who suffered loss in the mishap.”

He said those who died in the disaster would also be catered for if they have life covers that extended to terrorism.

“Surely, those who lost their lives will be catered for if their live cover is extended to terrorism. But, if their policy does not extend to terrorism it would be difficult to determine their claims.

“The message for the public is that everybody should endeavour to have a cover or the other, especially those who do not have the means for replacing their loss. For these kind of people, insurance would always come to their aid to enable them to replace their losses, such as property and even if life is lost, insurance would help support the family that is left behind. So, insurance is very important, especially for the poor, they should endeavour to have a cover. We also encourage companies with more than five employees to have a group life to provide for indemnity for the staff,” he added.

Commissioner for Insurance Mr Fola Daniel, also said the mishap would have effect on the insurance industry as properties and individuals that are properly insured would be indemnified.

He said the emerging risks have thrown up the need for Nigerians to embrace insurance as it remains the best way to mitigate risks.

“I think there is no better time for Nigerians to be conscious of protecting their properties through insurance. This is because the risks are getting higher and the prices of items have escalated. Really, when you have issues, such as these, this is the time for people to be conscious and hold on to what they have and insurance is the cheapest mechanism of protecting one’s life and property,” he said.

BPE sends proposals to prospective PHCN investors

T

HE Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has sent Requests for Proposals (RfP) and Information Memoranda to the prospective investors interested in acquiring the successor companies created from the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN.) The BPE, said in a statement at the weekend, that it would send draft Concession Agreements and draft Share Purchase Agreements to the prospective investors.

This is a follow-up to the draft Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and the draft Vesting Contract documents re-

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

leased a forthnight ago. The PPA is intended to be executed between power generators and the power offtaker. For now, the off-taker is the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NEBT) Plc, also known as the Bulk Trader.

The Vesting Contract is expected to be executed between the Bulk Trader and the power distribution companies. It is a mechanism that is used during the transition period in the electricity industry reform to ensure that the available power is shared equitably among the distribution companies.

The core investor sale strategy will be employed in the privatisation of the 11 electricity distribution companies and four thermal plants in the country. The privatisation of the three hydro power stations will also be carried out through concession strategy.

Potential bidders should be existing power distribution companies or core investor groups with power distribution companies as long-term t e c h n i c a l partners. Successful bidders will be responsible for operating the distribution companies, making the necessary investments to improve the

distribution network and customer service in line with the objectives of the Federal Government as set out in the National Electric Power Policy (NEPP.) As for the generating companies, potential bidders/ concessionaires, who should be existing local and/or international power generators or investors, with power generators as long-term technical partners, will be responsible for operating the stations, improving the generation capacity and making the necessary investments in line with the objectives of the government as set out in the NEPP.

ANK of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) were among 17 banks sued by the United States to recoup $196 billion spent on mortgage-backed securities bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, filed 17 lawsuits in New York state and federal courts and in federal court in Connecticut.

The FHFA accuses the banks of misleading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about the soundness of the mortgages underlying the securities.

“The loans had different and more risky characteristics than the descriptions contained in the marketing and sales materials provided to the enterprises for those securities,” the FHFA said in a statement.

FHFA is seeking to rescind the transactions plus other damages, including civil penalties and punitive damages in cases alleging misconduct.

In addition to JPMorgan and Bank of America, the agency filed complaints in federal court in Manhattan yesterday against Citigroup Inc. (C), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Merrill Lynch & Co., Barclays Plc (BARC), Nomura Holdings Ltd., HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Societe Generale SA, Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN), Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) and First Horizon National Corp. (FHN)

Lagos to unveil Alimosho model city plan

L

AGOS State government will today unveil the Alimosho Model City Plan (Final Plan) for the transformation of the area to a modern city during a presentation of the model city plan to members of the public at the Brainfield Centre in Alimosho.

The Plan, according to a statement made available to The Nation, consists of the old Alimosho Local Government and parts of Ojo Local Government area - Ijagemo and Ijedodo in particular.

The plan, under the auspices of the state’s Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, was prepared by FirstPlus Planning Consultants, an indigeneous company with offices in Lagos and United Kingdom.

The project started with the collection of baseline data and review in November 2009, followed by preparation of plan alternatives and draft final plan last year. It is designed to be implemented in three phasesstartingfrom2010 - 2020.

Managing Director, FirstPlus Planning Consultants, Mrs. Helen Adesuwa Fadipe, said: “The vision for Alimosho is to create a green and pleasant city that is functional, well -connected, economically vibrant and sustainable.’’

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

12

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

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

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

1.

2.

3.

4.

Arik Aero Arik Aero

1. Arik 2. Aero 1.

2.

3.

4.

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

LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10

08.30 09.10 11.50 12.45 13.40 15.20 16.30 16.40

been creating and building the industry and I think now is the time for the NCC to begin serious regulation, especially in the areas of quality of services,” he said.

Chief Executive Officer, Backup Networks Limited, a quality of services measurement company, Mr Monday Ogbe, who also addressed participants at the forum said: “In 2008, the volume of minutes of calls on all the networks of telecoms operators in the country was 45 billion minutes, but the figure dropped to 41 billion minutes by the end of 2009 due to the dwindling quality of service in the country.”

Ogbe, who attributed the incessant poor QoS on telecoms networks to poor network management system, tasked the operators on the need to measure QoS on their networks, using the KPIs, already designed by the NCC as industry’s benchmarks for ensuring QoS. He said while deploying more BTS across the country would help

address the QoS issues by the network operators, “Improper management of such facilities to determine the status of QoS received by the subscribers would not make any meaning in solving QoS issues.”

Noting that poor QoS has negative implications on businesses and individuals’personal communications needs, Ogbe said improving network quality by“deploying online real-time geographic onthe-spot situation event view of all network nodes down to subscriber level by operators” is critical.

Managing Director, AAA Infotek Limited, an ICT infrastructure company, Mr Akinlabi Akinbo, advised the operators to upgrade their network to accommodate the increasing traffic on their networks to address the problem of poor quality of service in the country.

“Operators must increase their transmission and radio resources to cater for the increased traffic on their network in other to reduce the incidence of poor quality of services on their networks,” Akinbo said.

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By Adline Atili

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HE volume of successful tele phone calls per minute made

by Nigeria’s subscribers on all networks yearly decreased by four million to 41 billion as at December 2009 due to poor quality services in the nation’s telecoms sector.

Telecoms experts disclosed this at the three-day training in Lagos organised by the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Information Technology Association of Nigeria in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for Information and Communication Technology reporters.

The experts said the volume of minutes of calls in 2008 stood at 45 billion as a result of a decrease in quality of services on the operators’ networks, which manifested in forms of dropped calls, congestion on networks and service outage.

Meanwhile, the President, ATCON, Mr Titi Omo-Ettu, has challenged the NCC to sanction telecoms operators that fail to comply with the Key Performance Indicators, which has been drawn for them to meet to ensure quality of services on their networks.

“We have not been regulating well in the past; rather, we have

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Subscribers’ annual minutes of calls drop to 41b T

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

Don calls for increase in SMEs funding

By Daniel Essiet

A

don, Prof, Biyi Daramola, has has called for an increase in the funding of small businesses.

Daramola of the Department of AgricEconomics, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, said the small and medium sized firms require more government support.

Daramola, also a Consultant to African Development Bank(AfDB), said the economy faces the challenge of providing better economic opportunities to its citizens, and this could be achieved through sustained growth by the private sector .

He said it is time the government invested in micro enterprises, adding that they are the key to future growth and prosperity.

Also, President, Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), Prince Saviour Iche, said many small business enterprises failed to grow due to lack of capital.

Iche said many entrepreneurs are seeking to bankroll good projects and that only a small percentage of them have access to funds to grow their businesses.

He said some entrepreneurs failed because of lack of access to fund.

Iche said some micro enterprises could have expanded if they had not been starved of capital.

He urged the government to take action to ensure that growth in the industry is sustained and the small business players move to a more balanced and diversified economy.

Iche said microenterprises in Nigeria face different challenges, opportunities and dilemma than their counterparts in other parts of West Africa,Europe or the United States.

Edo partners Japanese firm on training of artisans From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

• From left: Head, Small Business Group Retail Banking, Skye Bank, Wole Aderinkomi; winner of N1million, Mr Ashogbon Ajayi and Business Development Manager, Skye Bank, Akowonjo Branch, during the prize presentation of Skye Bank Savers Promo, at the Akowonjo branch of the bank

Oando shareholders get N5.4b dividend

S

HAREHOLDERS of Oando PLC, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest integrated energy group with a primary and secondary listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has received a total dividend payout of N5.4 billion on August 31, this year.

In a chat with The Nation, the Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Meka Olowola, confirmed the payment. He said the payment represents N3 for an ordinary share of 50 kobo totalling 1,810,169,256 shares held as at April 29, 2011.

The proposal by Oando’s Board of Directors, he said was approved by the shareholders at the company’s 34 th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, on June, 30 2011. This is in addition to one for two bonus share for every ordinary share already held by the shareholders. The 2010 dividend payout increased by 100 per cent compared to N2.7billion paid the year prior, inclusive of an award of ‘one for four’ bonus shares.

A cursory look at the Group financial result for last year showed that turnover increased from N336.9 billion in 2009 to N378.925 billion in 2010, while Profit before Tax (PBT) stood at N24.318 billion compared to N13.512 billion in 2009. Sources in Oando said the

company is poised to surpass this performance in 2011 as half-year turnover grew by 55 per cent to N267.8 billion from N172.9 billion in 2010. Profit-Before-Tax surged by 33 per cent to N12.8 billion in relation to N9.6 billion posted in 2010, while Profit-After-Tax rose by 25 per cent to N6.7 billion compared to N5.3 billion same year.

This performance underscores the resilience of Oando’s integrated business model, which leverages scale, diversity and market leadership in delivering a positive result in the face of a challenging environment.

Shareholders said the dividend payout was a welcome development. They commended Oando for keeping to its promise of delivering value and paying dividend year on year. Also, applauded was the bonus awarded to shareholders for the second year.

Over the past five years, Oando has maintained an exemplary dividend payout.

Loyal shareholders of the company may be in for another bumper reward for the next financial year as at least two of the company’s SBUs will benefit tremendously from changing regulatory frame work, such as local content act and PIB in favour of local energy companies. The gas and power division

has consistently shown growth increase with foray into power and natural gas infrastructure. Oando Marketing, the company’s long term cash cow continues to seek new game changing offering in the LPG business while sustaining market leadership in other fuel retailing categories.

According to Vetiva Capital, one of Nigeria’s leading stock broking firms, Oando offers an exciting suite of energy opportunities. In its review, the company states: “Our revised sum-of-the-parts valuation gives a fair value of N60.89 and a target range of N69.61 – N75.05. Our target range indicates a midpoint of N72.35, which underpins an upside potential of 48 per cent relative to the stock’s current price. Our valuation of the E&P business (the biggest driver of OANDO’s Valuation) is based on conservative crude oil price of $80/bbl and moderate growth rates in production volumes - rising at a CAGR of 12 per cent over the next five years to 8,411 bpd (lower than company’s near term target of 10,000 bpd). We have not included potential new finds to our valuation, which, if successful would boost valuation even further. We have also taken a conservative stance on other divisions (midstream and downstream). Based on the foregoing, we maintain a “BUY” rating. “

T

HE Edo State government has signed a Memorandum of Un derstanding (MOU) with a Japanese firm, A and Global Enterprises, to train artisans in the state.

Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Donald Osikhena Boi, who spoke during the signing of the MoU in Benin, stated that the initiative was taken as a measure to empower youths and take them off the streets.

In a statement, Boi pointed out that unless drastic measures are taken to empower the artisans, namely, mechanics, vulcanisers, carpenters, welders and electricians , the rising wave of unemployment caused by the influx of less qualified expatriates into the country would not abate.

He said: “I would like for the consultants to ensure that the purpose of the scheme is achieved through the provision of essential tools to the artisans at subsidised rates, training and retraining of the artisans to keep them up to date in modern technology and provision of credit facilities for expansion.

“The empowerment can come through employment generation; this way, the masses will feel the impact of the present administration in the state. The firm should do all it could to inculcate in the trainees the wealth of experience gathered over the years in Japan and if possible, send some of the trainees to Japan for further exposure.

He called on the artisans to cooperate with the firm handling the training, particularly in registration, stating that the fee N3,500 fee paid by each artisan is to give them a sense of belonging and commitment to the scheme.

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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ISSUES

•Prototype of mobile payment

Mobile banking operators are looking for deposits, following the approval given to them by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN). Many of them are after a big chunk of the unbanked markets to record growth. To achieve this, they have built structures, forged partnerships with stakeholders and introduced various products. In this report, AKINOLA AJIBADE looks at their strategies to attract customers.

Battle for depositors’ cash F

OR the lucky 16 of the 25 companies that jostled for licence to operate a mobile bank, another battle front has been opened. They are looking for funds to grow their business.

The only way to get the needed cash is to win depositors’ confidence. So, the scramble for depositors’ fund has begun in the same way that they battled for

licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Mobile banking involves transacting business through mobile phones unlike commercial banking that is done in banking halls. It is a form of specialised banking that provides depositors with the opportunity of paying for goods and services through of their mobile phones. The

only physical aspect of mobile banking is the distribution and collection of cash at designated centres as outlined by the operators.

The idea was conceived for the unbanked population conservatively put at over 70 per cent of the entire population, and to promote a cashless economy.

Since the 16 operators got their licences

a few weeks ago, major stakeholders have been busy seeking ways of making the best use of the opportunity.

On one hand, are Nigerians who are keen on getting jobs in mobile banking firms and operators of Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) that will provide interconnectivity services.

• Continued on page 14

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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ISSUES in the industry, adding that they would use the mobile banking platforms to increase their deposits on take-off..

They said FirstBank generated N1.9 trillion depositors as at June, adding that the bank has the tendency of increasing its deposits greatly soon. According to them, the bank has what it takes to surpass the N1.9 trillion deposits soon, in view of its achievements in the industry.

Battle for depositors’ cash

Telcoms ’ perspectives

• Continued from page 13

On the other, are the licensed operators.

They had earlier conducted a six-month pilot study to determine whether they can operate the scheme successfully.

They are Fortis Microfinance Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc/MTN, Stanbic/IBTC Plc and Ecobank Nigeria Plc. Others are Paghtec, Paycom, M-kudi, Eartholeum, ETranzact, Parkway, Monitise, FET and Corporeti.

They have cast their net wide to get a sizeable portion of the unbanked population, and further stimulate growth.

They need the deposits to stay afloat.

The Nation gathered that many operators have been building structures, forging partnerships fund and introducing different products to woo depositors.

One strategy is the purchase or acquisition of latest software to aid mobile banking.

Sources said operators are competing for the control of the market by acquiring some of the best software. Guaranty Trust Bank, FirstBank and Fortis Microfinance Bank have acquired Fundamo software to provide efficient mobile banking services. A source said the banks went for Fundamo software because it has the capacity to meet the needs of depositors.

Chief Executive Officer, Mobile Money Africa, Emmanuel Okogwale, confirmed this development.

“Fundamo is one of the best mobile financial application in the world,” Okogwale said, adding: “The software is used actively by MTN in 22 countries because of its huge capacity; the software will help mobile banking operators to achieve huge success.”

He said Ecobank Nigeria and FETS Technology acquired Roamware to meet their needs and further penetrate the market. The operators, he said, are deploying the softwares because they are capable of helping them to meet their goals.

But, there is a need to examine some issues vis-à-vis the efforts of the mobile banking operators at carving a niche for themselves.

Operators’ perspectives Operators are upbeat about the prospects of mobile banking. For instance, UBA has established a mobile payment company, Afripay, to encourage growth.

The company is tasked with the responsibility of operating a mobile payment service called U-Mo. To get a sizeable portion of the market, Afripay has introduced three products.

The products are U-Mo Silver, U-Mo Gold and U-Mo Platinum. U-Mo Silver allows a customer to deposit N3,000 daily and N30,000 monthly, U-Mo Gold allows a customer to deposit N10,000 per day and N100,000 per month and U-Mo Platinum allows customers to deposit N100,000 a day and N1 million a month.

Afripay’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Yinka Adedeji said the company introduced the products to enable customers make their choice.

Adedeji said the company has been ready for operation since November, adding that it is courting the banked and the unbanked for growth. He said the granting of the final approval to the company was a demonstration of the superior, financial and business readiness of the firm.

Deputy Managing Director-Designate, UBA, Kennedy Uzoke, promised that the company would achieve success in mobile banking.

Uzoke said phone users would be able

•Phillips Oduoza UBA

•Segun Agbaje GTB

Since the idea of mobile banking was mooted last year, many telecoms service providers have shown interest in exploring opportunities offered by the system.

Of note, is MTN Nigeria and Globacom Nigeria. They intend to leverage on their deeper vaults, huge subscribers’ base and goodwill to win businesses in mobile banking. Records show that both firms have over 30 million subscribers’ base each, and this is expected to development will work in their favour.

Interestingly, the companies are not leaving any stone unturned to get their own share of the mobile banking services.

A few weeks ago, Globacom partnered UBA to provide mobile banking services to Nigerians. Speaking during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Lagos Globacom’s Chief Operating Officer, Mohammed Jameel said the partnership would promote the apex bank’s drive towards encouraging a cashless economy.

Jameel said mobile phone users would be able to access cash, going by the business ties between the two companies.

“All Glo outlets, their dealers, and their resellers nationwide will complement UBA outlets across the country, to provide mobile money services. This would ensure broad spread and coverage across the nooks and crannies,” he said.

He said the vision of the partners is to drive financial inclusiveness in the unbanked population, and subsequently stimulate the economy’s growth.

Wealth creation

•Mohamed Jameel, Globacom

•Bisi Onasanya, FirstBank

to pay their utility bills and DSTV charges, among others, through the company. He said the company’s services would be upgraded to support more applications in the future.

Fortis Microfinance Bank is also leveraging on Fundamo software for its services. The bank is said to be targeting low-income earners to record growth.

Sources said the company’s management was planning to woo small and middle income-earners into its savings net to boost its deposits.

“The bank will, no doubt, cash in on its mobile application called Fundamo

to achieve a considerable level of growth.

The bank is planning to increase its deposits base, provide customers with more flexible options of paying for services rendered to them, and carve a niche for itself in the sub-sector. I think the bank is on course to double its deposit base by the time, mobile banking starts fully,” he said.

Besides, First Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank are making efforts to explore opportunities in mobile banking. Industry observers said both banks boast of huge shareholders’ funds, turnover, deposits and a considerable measure of goodwill

‘All Glo outlets, their dealers, and their resellers nationwide will complement UBA outlets across the country, to provide mobile money services. This would ensure broad spread and coverage across the nooks and crannies’

In the last five months individuals and corporate organisations have been trying to increase their capacity to generate more income through mobile banking.

Some are doing this, through being mobile money agents. Mobile money agents serve as intermediaries between the operators and their depositors. They are required by law to open centres or shops where they will make cash available to depositors on requests.

At a seminar organised for mobile money agents at the University of Lagos, many expressed their desire to work in that capacity on commission. The seminar entitled: “Training, sustainability, and management of mobile payment agents,” was attended by Okogwale, who said there are bountless opportunities to make money in mobile banking. He said people can work as wholesale, retail and unit agents, depending on their needs.

He said mobile banking is operated in Ghana, Kenya, among other countries.

He advised Nigerians to cash in on the opportunity to increase their income.

“There are 22 million account holders spread across the 24 banks. The figures are far lower than the 150 million population of Nigeria. Also, the 8,900 branches owned by banks cannot provide enough services to the estimated 150 million population. Based on this, there are huge potentials untapped by Nigerians. I think the best opportunity for Nigerians to make money has come, in view of the approval given to some operators,” he said.

Anticipated bottlenecks Mobile banking system is fraught with certain challenges.

Industry observers argue that bigger operators would dominate the market in future. They said commercial banks have dominated the microfinance sub-sector, adding that the same thing would happen to the operators of mobile banking.

For instance, banks have the financial wherewithal to expand their activities and dominate the market.

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

Four months after the April governorship election in Abia State, Governor Theodore Orji is yet to heave a sigh of relief as his opponents at the polls are still battling him at tribunals.

UGOCHUKWU EKE examines the development.

W

HEN in 2007, the incumbent governor of Abia State, Dr, Theodore Orji assumed office as the third executive governor of the state, not many gave him a chance as he was seen more as a seasoned civil servant than a tested politician. In four years, however, he seems to have learnt the ropes.

A major test of his understanding of politics came when he decided to jump ship from the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) through which he came to power, into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). For that move, many people had thought that he would never return as governor of the state.

Orji was to prove his detractors wrong when he scored a total of 641,158 votes to beat his rivals. The result was not found funny by his opponents who zoomed to the governorship election tribunal seeking to upturn the victory.

Those at “war” with Orji include Chris Akomas, his former deputy and candidate of the PPA; Stanley Ohajuruka, his younger brother and candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and Reagan Ufomba of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). The former Transition Chairman of Isuikwuato Local Government Area of the state, Emenike Owanta of the DFPF also joined in the race to unseat the governor.

Ufomba’s case must have suffered first as his party allegedly betrayed him by withdrawing from the tribunal, citing lack of interest in the case, while the tribunal dealt its final blow when the case was thrown out on technical grounds, saying it lacked merit Ufomba, had joined PDP, INEC and the Resident Electoral Commissioner as corespondents, challenging the validity of the election and the declaration of Governor Orji as the elected governor of the state.

In his ruling on the motions brought

by Orji, PDP, and INEC, Justice Mobolaji Ojo, the chairman of the three-man tribunal held that the petition was “statutorily and constitutionally ungrantable”.

Justice Ojo held that the grounds of the petition and the relief sought by the petitioners were incongruous, incompetent, manifestly unsupported by the claimants and devoid of any merit known in law.

He said: “The petitioners embarked on a wide goose chase and the entire grounds of Paragraph 11, which canvassed that there was no election known to law in Abia was a breach of the Elec-

• Akomas and Orji before they parted ways.

Opponents still after Orji’s seat in Abia toral Act as amended”.

The governorship election tribunal chairman held that, “if there was no election, known to law, the issue of noncompliance, in paragraph 12 of the petition will not arise.”

On the issue of irregularities, Justice Ojo held that the non-joining of the police, the military, transition committee chairmen was fatal to the case, adding that the tribunal would not arrive at giving the required justice on the petition without them.

He said that parties were free to alleged irregularities and gross irregularities in ordinary parlance, but in law and in election petitions, he averred that wherever it was alleged, the matter despite anything, is bound to fail.

However, the governor, at a forum, described the ruling of the tribunal as welcome development, adding that he had implicit confidence in the country’s judiciary at all times as the last hope of the common and oppressed people at all times.

Orji also described the petitions against him by those whom he defeated at the election as the beauty of democracy where those who feel aggrieved proceed to the courts or the election tribunals to seek redress instead of taking the law into their hands.

He disclosed that he had made several attempts to seek avenue to negotiate with Ufomba, adding that he had always rebuffed any appointment he made to meet with him.

Orji used the forum to call on Ufomba

and others challenging his victory at the April 26 governorship election to withdraw their petitions and join hands with him to not only move the state forward but to fast-track its development.

The second case that followed was the one of the DFPF through which Owanta was seeking to unseat the governor, alleging that his party logo and his name were not on the ballot paper. It was one of the cases over which the governor expressed serious apprehension since the omission of such magnitude was a serious offence in the electoral act.

However, Owanta was to go the way of his APGA counterpart when the same tribunal again threw out the petition filed against the governor by the governorship candidate of the DFPF, also for lack of merit as well.

The tribunal chairman, Justice Ojo said that the DFPF candidate Owanta failed to file the name of his running mate 60 days before the election as stipulated in the electoral act as amended.

Justice Ojo also said that the names and number of party members which must not be less than 50 in a state were not enough, adding that the ones the party submitted were not realistic.

The tribunal then ruled that based on the above facts, INEC did not err for omitting both his name and his party since he was not qualified ab initio and thereafter threw out the case.

The case of Owanta is not different from that of Ufomba as both of them

‘For Orji, the battle is not over as Akomas and Ohajuruka are still fighting at the lower tribunal, while the other two whose cases have been decided at the lower tribunal have gone to the appeal tribunal. For Orji, the battle for survival is still on and he has vowed to square up with them as well. Whoever will laugh last, time will tell’

were dismissed on technical grounds, after having cited INEC rules and bylaws as regards election matters. This is because there is no candidate who will go for an election without a running mate and he is alleging foul play somewhere, believing that his former running mate must have sold out.

Speaking after the case was thrown out, Governor Orji said that it was the deadliest among the cases against him, adding that he made many overtures to ask the defeated candidate to settle out court but was rebuffed.

His words: “I made many overtures to him for him to withdraw the case, by sending prominent men from the state and his area to appeal to him which he vehemently rebuffed. His behaviour made me to follow him to the tribunal and I also called up my legal team to go to the legal war with him and he lost again. However, I appeal to him to join hands with me to move the state forward”.

However, Ufomba has proceeded to the Appeal Tribunal to seek redress, as he believed that the lower tribunal erred in its judgment against him. He said that he decided to go on an appeal to avoid filing his appeal out of time.

Ufomba described the lower tribunal as nothing but a PDP and Governor Theodore Orji’s tribunal, which has been programmed to dance to the dictates of both the party [PDP] and the directives of Abia State government, stressing that all election petitions before it would suffer the same fate.

Also, Owanta, whose case was the most feared by the governor as it was filed based on fundamental issues of missing party logo and his [the candidates] name on the ballot paper, has gone on an appeal as well.

For Orji, the battle is not over as Akomas and Ohajuruka are still fighting at the lower tribunal, while the other two whose cases have been decided at the lower tribunal have gone to the appeal tribunal. For Orji, the battle for survival is still on and he has vowed to square up with them as well. Whoever will laugh last, time will tell.

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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The National Frontiers (TNF) Democracy, Justice and Rule of Law.

JUSTICE AYO SALAMI: MUDDYING THE WATERS “All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; and Third, it is accepted as self-evident.”

— Schopenhauer

T

he advertorial placed in THISDAY of Friday, Sept. 2nd 2011 by a phony group that goes by the name ‘Equity and Justice Forum’ did more to expose the authors as mere political jobbers than to serve the cause of truth.

Those behind the slanderous advert showed in clear terms that they are like pigs at the trough who, in the haste to also insert their snouts into the endless flow of government cash being pumped into the anti-Salami campaign on radio, television and newspaper, simply threw caution to the wind and muddied the waters just to cover the truth.

But for the age-long dictum that ‘’a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth’’, we would have simply ignored the rantings of the authors, who did a hatchet job in such a poor manner, just to justify their huge payday.

To set the records straight however, we have decided to repeat, for the umpteenth time, the issues at stake in the case of Justice Ayo Salami, believing that eventually, as German philosopher Schopenhauer said, the truth will become self-evident.

ISSUES AT STAKE - The cause of the crisis in which the judiciary has unfortunately become enmeshed is traceable to the Sokoto State gubernatorial election appeal. The immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, had through a letter arrested the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the matter before the eventual dismissal of the matter by the Supreme Court. It must be noted that the then CJN had earlier failed to prevail on Justice Salami to either disband the Sokoto Appeal Committee or give judgment in favour of the PDP. - The Supreme Court’s intervention in the Sokoto appeal contravenes Section 246 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (before the amendment), which gave the Court of Appeal the finality of Determination and, of course, no jurisdiction to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s attempt to justify its undue interference by invoking its general powers and the need to save the judiciary from drifting into chaos is a strange concept to Nigerian jurisprudence. The motivation for the interference, whether it is good faith or not, is secondary. It is like saying a robber robbed in good faith!!!

- Justice Salami’s unprecedented ‘promotion’ to the Supreme Court, shortly after he refused to compromise in the Sokoto appeal, shows the true intention of those who had upturned the constitution by interfering in the Sokoto appeal.

- Justice Salami went to court to challenge the Greek Gift that the promotion constitutes. In the affidavit in support of the Originating Summons deposed to by Justice Salami, he averred that prior to the intervention of the Supreme Court in the Sokoto Appeal, Justice Katsina-Alu had invited him to the Supreme Court and told him (in the presence of Justice Dahiru Musdapher) to either disband the Sokoto Appeal Committee or cause it to give judgment in favour of PDP. - Justice Salami’s suit necessitated the quick intervention of the NJC, which then prevailed on him to withdraw his suit and allow it to look into the matter. In line with this, the NJC set up a five-man Reconciliation Committee headed by Justice Babalakin (rtd.). The Babalakin Committee in its report exonerated Justice Salami of any wrongdoing but indicted Justice Katsina-Alu for having used his position as the CJN to arrest the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the Sokoto election appeal. We challenge the NJC to publish the report of the Babalakin Committee.

- Apparently not satisfied with the report of the Babalakin Committee, because it failed to meet their expectations of preparing the ground for the removal of Justice Salami at all cost, the NJC set up the Justice Abdullahi Committee, which absolved Justice Katsina-Alu but said the CJN was motivated by an apparent urge to protect the administration of justice and avoid breach of peace.

We find it rather strange that a Committee of judges and legal practitioners of note would come to this conclusion in the face of the provision of Section 246(3) of the 1999 Constitution (prior to its amendment). The Court of Appeal had finality of determination and the CJN had no business interfering in the constitutional duty of the Court of Appeal.

on criminality, on which none of the committees set up was capable of adjudicating. It is trite that perjury as alleged can only be subject of adjudication before a competent court of law. In other words, if any of the panels so found as a fact that Justice Salami perjured, it is for the State to arraign him for perjury and the complainant, the CJN, to take up a defamatory action. It does not lie within the competence of any of the panels nor even the NJC itself to sit upon the matter. Thus, apparently, the NJC, and by implication, the President has acted ultra vires and for which a breach of the rule of law is established.

- It is a settled fact that both the NJC and President Jonathan had full knowledge of the existence of the case instituted by Justice Salami before deciding to suspend Justice Salami and appoint Justice Dalhatu to act in his stead. Both the NJC and President Jonathan have grossly violated hallowed principles of the law meant to protect the courts in the administration of justice. The President of Nigeria has, simply, said “to hell with the courts!”.

The Courts have never minced words in condemning this brazen act of lawlessness on the part of the President. The Supreme Court in the landmark case of Gov. of Lagos State v. Ojukwu [1986] 1 NWLR (part 18) 621 admonished the government to uphold the rule of law and not interfere with a matter that the court is already seised of. At page 636, paragraph B-D, Obaseki, JSC held thus: “Once a dispute has arisen between a person and the government or authority and a dispute has been brought before the court, thereby invoking the judicial powers of the state, it is a duty of the government to allow the law to take its course or allow the legal and judicial process to run its full course.”

Also, at page 634, paragraph E-F, Eso, JSC considered this as a sabotage of the judiciary by the executive arm of government. His Lordship held thus: “Another very important matter emanating from the act of the applicant. They have no right to take the matter into their own hands once the court was seized of it. The essence of the rule of law is that it should never operate under the rule of force or fear. To use force to affect an act and while under the marshall of that force, seek the court’s equity, is an attempt to infuse timidity into court and operate a sabotage of the cherished rule of law. It must never be.

Applying the foregoing to the act of the President, President Jonathan, a civilian President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, carried out an act of sabotage against the judiciary when he appointed Justice Dalhatu as the acting President of the Court of Appeal. In effect, President Jonathan is saying the judiciary is incapable of resolving the matter, therefore, it was left to the executive to carry out judicial functions. President Jonathan was aware of Justice Salami’s motions ex-parte and on notice seeking interim and interlocutory injunctions against the NJC and the other parties. Yet, he carried out a subversion of the course of justice by attempting to foist a fait accompli on the court.

- It is reasonable to submit that President Jonathan has acted in flagrant abuse of his power and grossly violated the hallowed provisions of the Constitution he swore to uphold. He has allowed his personal interest to dictate his conduct as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Paragraph 1 of Code of Conduct for Public Officers, Fifth Schedule to the Constitution provides that “[a] public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.” President Jonathan’s need to protect his presidency by all means necessary motivated him to overreach the court and take steps prejudicial to the rights of Justice Salami despite the notice of the pendency of law suits. His personal interest assumed the driver’s seat while the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the rule of law took the back seat.

- It is also worthy of note that the NJC made an unconstitutional recommendation to the President and the President acted on it. Section 292 of the Constitution and Paragraph 21 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution provide for the removal of the President of Court of Appeal and the powers of the NJC as regards the appointment and removal of the President of the Court of Appeal. Under Paragraph 21, the NJC is empowered to make only two recommendations to the President namely: appointment of a judicial officer and removal of a judicial officer. There is no provision for recommending the retirement of a judicial officer.

- Subsequent to the submission of the report of the Abdullahi Committee, the NJC set up another Committee headed by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, which found that having approached the mass media to ventilate his differences with the then CJN, Justice Salami was guilty of violating Rule 1(1) and Rule 2(9) of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Committee simply took judicial notice of this “approach to the mass media”. Although from the report, neither was there was any evidence of Justice Salami having approached the media nor was it part of the brief of the committee. There was no indication at all that Justice Salami took the matter to the media.

Section 292 buttresses the point that a judicial officer retires when he reaches his retirement age.

NJC is not constitutionally endowed with the power to recommend the forceful/early retirement of the President of the Court of Appeal to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is reiterated that such recommendation is unconstitutional. Yet, the President acted on it.

- Acting on both the Abdullahi Committee and the Auta Committee reports, the NJC at its emergency meeting convened by the CJN held on August 9, 2011 held that Justice Salami’s allegation against Justice Katsina-Alu is false and concluded that that this violated Rule 1(1) of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It, therefore, decided to warn Justice Salami and demanded that he should apologise in writing to Justice Katsina-Alu and the NJC within one week of August 10, 2011.

CALL LOGS

- Justice Salami instituted another action against the NJC, Justice Katsina-Alu and others, challenging the validity of NJC’s Investigation Committee and its composition on the ground that they are in gross violation of the principles of natural justice, and his constitutionally guaranteed right to fair hearing under Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and, therefore, unconstitutional, null and void.

To the so-called Equity and Justice Forum and its paymasters, we can only say that no amount of lies and distortion of facts will end the controversy over the unjust, unconstitutional and premeditated removal of Justice Salami, until the untenable decision has been reversed.

- Despite knowing of the pendency of these matters, on the expiration of the one-week ultimatum given to Justice Salami to apologise to Justice Katsina-Alu and the NJC, the council convened a meeting wherein it purportedly resolved to suspend Justice Salami and recommended his retirement to President Jonathan.

- Finally, assuming for the sake of argument that the allegations against Justice Salami are true, have President Jonathan and NJC followed due process of law in the steps they have taken so far? Has the rule of law been observed? Beyond all shadows of doubt, the answer is in the negative.

We have refused to fall into the same trap as the desperate ‘Equity and Justice Forum’, which threw caution to the wind and dwelt extensively on an issue that is subjudice. Cases are pending in court on this issue and we shall not dwell on it until the cases are over.

No amount of mudslinging and name calling, as the ‘Equity and Justice Forum’ did in taking on the NBA, the media, individual lawyers and even Justice Salami, will convince discerning Nigerians to support the illegality engineered by the NJC, acting under the spell of then CJN, as well as a President who is more concerned about his personal interest than his duties and responsibilities under the law.

- Treading the path taken by NJC, President Jonathan, purportedly pursuant to Section 238 (4) of the Constitution, appointed Justice Dalhatu as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal.

If they are in doubt that their actions are not grounded in law, the President and the NJC can commission an independent pollster to find out what Nigerians think of their deliberate shredding of the constitution.

LEGAL IMPLICATION OF THE ACTIONS OF THE NJC AND THE PRESIDENT

One thing is clear, however: Sooner than later, the truth in this case will become self-evident.

- If the NJC concludes that Justice Salami lied on oath concerning whether or not the CJN asked him to disband the Sokoto Appeal Committee or give judgement in favour of the PDP, then this bothers

COMRADE WOLE BADMUS National Executive Secretary

SIGNED COMRADE ILMEGA GODWIN National Coordinator

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

19

EDITORIAL/OPINION EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

Christine Lagarde’s tough message

Still far away •Nigeria is crawling, with only four years to the 2015 MDGs target date

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N the year 2000, the UN, moved by the decrepit situation of the world’s poor nations and their downtrodden peoples, decided to do something definitive about the receding basic living conditions of man. In concert with her 193country strong membership and about two dozen world bodies, she devised eight goals - the most basic of human needs, to be achieved by her mendicant member countries in 15 years.

Christened Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), they are: the need to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; to achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women and reduce child mortality.

Others are: to improve maternal health; to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; to ensure environmental sustainability and to develop a global partnership for development.

After over 10 years of implementing the

‘One reason why the MDGs seem to have fallen far short of expectations is that Nigeria’s governments at all levels have shown little commitment towards giving Nigerians the very basics of social amenities and economic leverages. For instance, the most visible organ of the MDGs is a unit in the Presidency headed by a special assistant ...’

MDGs initiatives world-wide, reports out of Africa indicate that the goals are far from being achieved, with Nigeria’s performance reportedly abysmal. In fact, a recent review of the MDGs implementation milestones shows that Nigeria has been most lackadaisical towards the initiative, making her one of the worst examples in Africa.

Speaking recently in Kaduna, a director in the MDGs office, which is under the Presidency, Mr. Oluwole Edun, noted that about N120 billion has been spent by the Federal Government on the MDGs in the last three years. This comes to an average of roughly N3 billion per state over this period. Considering the size and population of Nigeria, this is paltry.

With barely four years to the target date of 2015, one needs no elaborate statistics to prove that the level of poverty in Nigeria today is not markedly different from what it was 10 years ago. Child and maternal mortality is anything but in recession, while free primary education is still largely in the realms of political campaign promises; common diseases like malaria and cholera have not stopped ravaging parts of Nigeria.

One reason why the MDGs seem to have fallen far short of expectations is that Nigeria’s governments at all levels have shown little commitment towards giving Nigerians the very basics of social amenities and economic leverages.

For instance, the most visible organ of the MDGs is a unit in the Presidency headed by a special assistant. For such an impor-

tant and fundamental programme that affects the lives of the majority of the population, a stronger implementation organ ought to have been put in place over the years.

At the state level, most governors have been remiss in keying into the initiative while it is almost non-existent at the local government level where it ought to be rooted. Where the MDGs are implemented in some states, it is signposted by misappropriation of funds, substandard and non-functional projects, especially in water and health care projects.

As a proof of the lack of seriousness in the MDGs initiatives, a team from UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics (UIS) which visited Nigeria recently lamented its frustration at accessing up-to-date data, especially as regards the MDGs. How could a project of this magnitude which is fundamental to the people’s existence achieve its objectives without quality data?

Little wonder that Nigeria perpetually ranks low in world’s human development index? Particularly intriguing is why the Federal Government has, in the last few years, embarked on another initiative to make Nigeria to rank among the 20 largest economies in the world in the year 2020. How can a country still grappling with poverty and common diseases grow to a high-end world economy?

With only about four years left to pursue the MDGs, we urge Nigeria’s governments at all levels to redouble efforts to achieve some, if not all the laudable goals of the MDGs.

Guilty as ‘charged’ •Lagos NBA panel’s findings on Osun call logs cast moral burden on the dramatis personae HIEF Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN), the lead counsel to former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola during the hearing of the 2007 governorship election petition in Osun State may soon hear from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), if the national body of lawyers accepts the views of the disciplinary committee set up by its Lagos State arm. The panel looked into the allegation of professional conduct levelled against Chief kalejaiye.

But, as we ponder the NBA panel’s report, we urge the National Judicial Council (NJC) to expedite action on its own investigation into the matter.

The NBA committee said it had established a case of professional misconduct against Chief Kalejaiye, alleged to have engaged in telephone conversations with the then Chairman of the Osun State Election Petitions Tribunal, Justice Thomas Naron, while the case was still pending before the tribunal, and consequently indicted Kalejaiye.

The petition was filed by Kunle Adegoke, counsel to the then Action Congress‘s (AC) governorship election in the state, Rauf Aregbesola. Adegoke had, in a petition dated July 15, 2008, stated that the unusual communication between the tribunal chairman and Chief Kalejaiye was confirmed by the MTN call logs published by The News Magazine of July 14, 2008, which revealed regular voice calls and exchange of text messages between both of them.

Upon the receipt of Adegoke’s petition, the panel asked him to furnish it with the dates and duration of the election

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petition tribunal’s sittings. The document forwarded by the petitioner showed that the Justice Naron-led tribunal sat 55 times between June 22, 2007 and July 15, 2008 and that Chief Kalejaiye and Justice Naron even exchanged calls and text messages on some days that the tribunal sat.

The panel said after going through all the documents before it, it came to the conclusion that a case had been duly made against Kalejaiye under section 34 of the Rules of Professional Misconduct for Lawyers. The panel has forwarded its report to the National Disciplinary Committee of the NBA. Chief Kalejaiye’s indictment by the panel, especially in the face of the evidence tabled before it, is instructive. This is much more so that Chief Kalejaiye who had threatened to sue The News magazine over the allegation has not done so, years after. This is curious coming from a man known for being fiercely protective of his reputation. He had a similar case with the magazine on the murder of Chief Bola Ige, former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, which he handled differently. The question now is why has it become so difficult for him to sue the magazine this time around?

We commend the Lagos NBA for looking into the matter. But, beyond that, we note that the same matter has been pending before the NJC for long. Indeed, it became a subject of litigation at a point, and we guess the council could say that was why it has been unable to deal with it.

This would be double standards, though, especially considering the speed with which the same council disposed of the issue between the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius KatsinaAlu, and the suspended President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Ayo Salami , despite the fact that it was also pending in court.

The NJC owes Nigerians the sacred duty of letting the world know what really happened concerning the call logs.

The council has had to deal with cases of corruption in the judiciary in the past, with some judges given the boot when found guilty. We do not know why it is postponing the dispensation of justice in the Osun State offensive call logs. It is too serious a matter to be swept under the carpet.

‘But, beyond that, we note that the same matter has been pending before the NJC for long. Indeed, it became a subject of litigation at a point, and we guess the council could say that was why it has been unable to deal with it. This would be double standards, though, especially considering the speed with which the same council disposed of the issue between the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, and the suspended President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Ayo Salami , despite the fact that it was also pending in court’

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ESS than two months after being chosen to lead the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde shook up last weekend’s conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., with an urgent, much needed plea for bolder economic policies in the United States and Europe to head off a looming double-dip recession.

When Ms. Lagarde, then France’s finance minister, was campaigning to become the fund’s managing director, it was uncertain whether she could look beyond the politicians’ obsession with austerity that has repeatedly defeated efforts to contain Europe’s worsening debt crisis and continues to stymie effective policy making on both sides of the Atlantic.

Now free to speak her mind, her blunt remarks and prescriptions were just what the central bankers needed to hear. She rightly called for: rebalancing global trade by stimulating demand in developing countries with big export surpluses; more aggressive mortgage relief in the United States; and giving job creation priority over deficit reduction in the United States and Europe.

She also called for substantial injections of public and private capital into dangerously frail European banks.

And while citing the necessity for longterm deficit reduction, she made clear that near-term policies must give priority to generating jobs, stimulating demand and renewing economic growth.

For Europe, specifically, Ms. Lagarde prescribed more financing for debt bailout plans, a concerted effort to strengthen vulnerable banks and, most importantly, a common political vision about the euro’s long-term future that has been grievously lacking.

For the United States, she called for new efforts to resuscitate consumer demand by attacking long-term unemployment and mortgage foreclosures. She suggested “aggressive principal reduction programs for homeowners,” in addition to the kind of refinancing programs the Obama administration is now considering.

American political leaders haven’t taken much notice of her speech.

European financial officials have been sputtering ever since. Ms. Lagarde cannot make any of these things happen by herself. If she keeps pushing hard, the politicians may finally wake up.

•New York Times

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

20

EDITORIAL/OPINION

IR: Nigeria is a country of many nations in one. She became “a nation” via the British-induced amalgamation of 1914.

Since then, “the nation” has been trying to patch what is proving to be in-patchable. We went through a catastrophic civil war. Consequently, the north became dominant, militarily, and dictated the course of Nigeria’s politics. As a corollary, Islam also became the dominant religion, with Christianity struggling to survive, particularly in the north.

The constitutional provision to tame public abuse of religion via the policy of state secularity is resisted on the large right, and the small left is only having its say but

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Only justice and equity will save Nigeria not its way. That is the religious reality as I see it.

Politically, in 1999, the north decided, along with some political leaders from the south, that the presidency should shift to the Southwest, which is one of the six geopolitical zones into which Nigeria is divided, and that henceforth, it will rotate to the other zones, to cre-

ate a sense of belonging, equity, and national cohesion. Thus, after the tenure of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (a Yoruba, south-west) in 2007, the presidency was taken to the north.

Unfortunately, the president chosen, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, died about three years into his four-year tenure, and his deputy, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan had to

carry-on.

At the end of the tenure in 2011, another election became due. Some prominent northern politicians asked that the presidency be returned to the north as earlier agreed, and as was in the case of the South-west. Meanwhile, Dr. Jonathan, from the south-south geopolitical zone, together with his

yield the global attention it deserved as a terrorist group, bringing down the UN building certainly did the magic. As expected, many people home and abroad have deplored the attack. There is nothing honorable about attacking an organization such as the UN that works assiduously for world peace.

But beyond the frenzy and hoopla generated by the attack, it was another presidential moment lost. We needed a president with the audacity of Barak Obama and aggression of James Cameron to hit our screens and assure us that all was well. It was a moment when the entire nation waited desperately for a proactive president strong in spirit and character and willing to put up a fight. Sadly, that moment never came. Another presidential

moment frittered away like the other ones.

With this recent attack, President Goodluck Jonathan has once again justified the claims of his critics that he lacks the bravery required for leadership. It is not Jonathan’s quiet and harmless disposition that hurts, but the fact that he appears unwilling to fight. Each time something as deadly as the last attack happens, he does nothing other than visit the scene, condole with the families of the victims and reel out un-inspiring rhetoric. As if the grandiloquence his speech and his sympathetic demeanor will bring back the dead and reconstruct buildings that were brought down.

There is no new measure put in place to arrest the situation. No one gets hired or fired. We rely on the

same security that has failed us to save us. The sad thing about this approach is that it changes nothing.

Unless the Jonathan comes up with a pragmatic solution, Nigeria will continue to suffer more dastardly attacks from Boko-Haram and other terrorist groups. There is an urgent need for the president and all other stake holders mandated with the responsibility of safeguarding Nigerians to wake up from their slumber. They cannot to treat with kid-gloves sensitive issues such as the safety of citizen’s lives and properties.

If we must fight Boko Haram and other terrorist group that threaten our existence as a nation, the president must act now.

• Vincent Nzemeke Lagos

Jonathan’s missed presidential moment

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IR: There comes a time when a nation truly needs a president. It is that time when citizens need that assurance that all will be well even in the face of despair.

It is that moment in history when a leader needs convince the people that he has the guts to bear their burdens and confront challenges.

Such moments not only bring relief to the people, it ignites the feeling of nationhood and a commitment to cooperate with the government for the good of the state.

It is a pity that in Nigeria we don’t have such moments. Our leaders don’t inspire us, rather they oppress us. The average Nigerian leader cannot lift the spirit of the people in moments of despair neither can he offer hope when things turn awry.

Last Friday when one of my relatives in Abuja sent me a text about the explosion at the United Nations (UN) building, I took it as one of his many jokes. A short while after reading the message, news and pictures of the explosion inundated television stations and social media networks.

It was like a scene from a horror movie. Blood and tears flowed freely. People scampered for safety as thick black smoke defiled the air.

Emergency workers, firemen, police and other Para- military officials battled gallantly to rescue those trapped in the building. When the dust settled, 23 persons, including nine UN workers were feared dead while scores were injured and taken to various hospitals.

At that point, it became obvious that Boko-Haram, the latest addition to our ever growing list of national nightmares had struck again.

If all its previous attacks failed to

supporters, insisted that he must succeed himself. Given the political situation of Nigeria, that has become our national undoing.

Jonathan’s opponents left nobody in doubt that they will not take any form of opportunism lying low in respect of the rotational presidency.

Although the deadly Boko Haram predated Dr. Jonathan, it had not adopted suicide bombing, and I suspect that his northern opponents find the group handy. As usual, my friend, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, is prosecuting his own case in court of law. To clear himself, he asks the government to unmask the Boko Haram sponsors.

My opinion is that division or separation cannot save Nigeria, because the country will perish under border disputes. Security agencies cannot save Nigeria either.

What can save Nigeria is a just system, politically, electorally, financially, and religion-wise, and all of that are in a terribly corrupt shape.

Nigeria must take her constitutional secularity serious, and unite in her ethnic diversity. I hope America can use her good influence to help restore a just order in Nigeria, along those lines, much better than seeking security where disorder, injustice, and selfaggrandisement are in vogue.

Before the Boko Haram can be tamed, political disorder and greed must be tamed. Although I am not a PDP, I always support rotational presidency to redress zonal marginalization. Each zone must present a popular candidate, however.

• Pius Oyeniran Abioje, Ph. D, University of Ilorin.

Blame past administrations for Ibadan flood disaster

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IR: Although the flooding that trailed the downpour in Ibadan on August 26, brought with it a monumental disaster to the people of the ancient city, the effect would probably not have been much if past administrations had been up and doing, particularly in the area of flood control.

It is quite sad that the city could be so ravaged by flood in one fell swoop. Was it the number of citizens who were swept away by the flood that we want to talk about or those whose houses were levelled by the raging waters? What of the areas that had been cut off by collapsed bridges, as well as other valuables that went away with the torrential rain? It was simply indescribable!

The question here is: What did

past administrations do with the ecological funds that had accrued to the state? It is my belief that mere expansion of some of the rivers in Ibadan would have prevented water overflowing their banks and thus prevented the disaster.

It is also disheartening that some of the bridges said to have been constructed by past administrations could not stand the test of time, as most of them collapsed during the downpour. Even the roads that were constructed. Take for instance the Odo Ona Elewe road constructed by the Alao-Akala government. It was one of the roads that gave way during the flood. This has no doubt called to question the quality of the bridges as at the time of their construction.

I think the Economic and Finan-

cial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) should be invited to look into the books of past administrations on how ecological funds were administered. Otherwise, innocent citizens will continue to bear the brunt of profligate regimes.

The failure of these past administrations to check indiscriminate erection of structures in Ibadan, the state capital, can also be linked to enormity of the disaster.

However, one thing that gladdens the heart is the prompt response from the Oyo State Government. Top officials of the state government rose to the occasion by moving round the ancient city, not only to sympathize and identify with the victims in their moments

of despair but also, to salvage the situation and provide immediate succour. Their response, which has been widely acknowledged, is highly commendable. Perhaps for the first time since the advent of the civilian administration, the Pacesetter State is being blessed with an administration with milk of human kindness which will not, for a moment, leave the citizens to their fate.

It is an indication of the dimension that Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the governor of Oyo State, wants his administration to take and this is commendable.

It is my prayer that such a disaster will not occur in the ancient city, and indeed, in Oyo State again.

• Kola Ayanwumi Odo-Ona, Ibadan Oyo State

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

EDITORIAL/OPINION

Ghaddafi: Any lesson for our leaders?

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FTER 42 years on the throne, defiant Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi has now become a hunted man with remnants of loyalists. With a price tag placed on him, his days of glory are surely over. The seat of power has been under the siege of the Western-backed rebels with the entire nation enveloped in fears and trembling as gunfire crackles as if in a film show.

Gaddafi’s unknown whereabout would still not encourage the declaration of total victory by the rebels even as his prime minister, Al Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi was reported to have escaped to Tunisia and his family to Algeria. The last voice of one of the world’s longest ruling leaders that was heard from his hideout was a vow to die fighting rather than surrender.

“Even if you cannot hear my voice, continue the resistance,” Gaddafi instructed his scanty leftovers in a message broadcast on the 42nd anniversary of the coup which brought him to power.

“We will not surrender. We are not women and we are going to keep on fighting.” Further: “If they want a long battle, let it be long. If Libya burns, who can govern it? So let it burn,” he added in the message sent from an unknown location, with a boast that his last bastions were impregnable.

How can Ghaddafi surrender? Iraqi’s late Saddam Hussein never surrendered until he was flushed out of the rats and rabbits burrow that replaced his golden palace. He has sent his family to safety before urging other citizens to fight to their death.

Whether he gives up or not, his time has expired and he is merely treading the path of final ruination.

Meanwhile, many Libyan embassies abroad are already hoisting the flag of the rebel’s Transitional National Council (TNC) as Western powers whose deployment of air power in its support keep mobilising nations in efforts to see the total collapse of 42 years of absolute power after six months of an engineered civil war.

To reveal the root of the bloody conflict for power which has taken thousands of lives, international competition is already warming up for Libyan oil in order to suppress Russia and China’s criticism of the West’s assault on Gaddafi.

The truth is that Western countries are in Tripoli not because of their love for Libyan people but because of oil. As is their tradition, they dabble into other nation’s internal affairs mainly because of their self-interest. Yes, Gaddafi over-stayed, but the West which human rights activist lawyer Femi Falana labelled oil hunters have also over-killed just in the ploy to strengthen their

sagging economy.

While the African Union is refusing to recognise the rebel’s transitional council, Nigeria has rushed to identify with the rebels.

If care is not taken, the hasty step might turn counter-productive.

The irony is that the West that Nigeria is supporting might not be the loving ally it is posing to be. Notwithstanding the applause for the country’s decision to recognise the NTC as the representative of Libya, the West’s earlier prediction of Nigeria’s disintegration as a nation by 2015 might as well be a cursor to the bearing of its discreet diplomatic agenda that would eventually work in its favour.

While we must admit that Ghaddafi’s decapitation by the supreme will of the people is a clear demonstration that no one, no matter how powerful and influential, can hold a nation to ransom for ever, there have also been concerns that tribal, ethnic and other divisions among the diverse opposing armed rebels could lead to the kind of blood-letting that followed the overthrow of Saddam in Iraq.

Indeed, with the experience in Tunisia, Egypt and the ongoing conflict in Libya, the wave of liberation is blowing across the

African landscape. Emancipation achieved through revolutionary struggle often pays off. As was the case in neighbouring Ghana, Libya after Gaddafi might become a better and truly democratised nation. This is a lesson that must not be lost on Nigeria.

And this is where Nigeria ought to be conscious of its own future. Unmitigated corruption in spite of the noisy battle to curb it, aggravating poverty in the midst of abundance, and the new trend of judicial injustice is worse than what led to other African revolts. On-going hoopla over the executive-sanctioned carefree manipulation of the laws of the land, including the courts and judicial institutions to achieve the inordinate purpose of a few in positions of power and authority are sure pathway to national crumpling and disintegration.

With the wind of change blowing around the world, only a fool would wave aside the possibility of a Jerry Rawling-type revolution that brought back unrepentant past corrupt rulers to judgment. Afterall, Ghana is better off today. If indeed the grace of God has upheld this nation thus far, must we then continue in unrighteousness and expect that grace to abound?

Surely, a word is enough for the wise.

Boko Haram: Let the truth be told

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OULD it be true that President Goodluck Jonathan is not happy with what is going on in the country? We are told that he blamed the unending incidents of bombings across the country on failure of intelligence on the part of the security chiefs and their institutions. We are also informed that he has ordered the security chiefs to fish out the masterminds of the serial bombings.

The news has it that the President is particularly embarrassed by the recent bombing of the United Nations House in Abuja and the inability of the security agencies to find those responsible for the devilish activities of Boko Haram.

Few days after the report, a response came. Two hungry looking errand boy-likes were paraded as masterminds of the UN House bombing. The one named as their leader, Mamman Nur, yet to be arrested and whose picture was not released was declared wanted.

State Security Service (SSS) Assistant Director, Public Relations, Marilyn Ogar, did the briefing, leaving so many questions unanswered. Her update sounded like a tale of killing the tail and leaving the head. She claimed her office got intelligence report ahead of the devastating blast. Then one should ask: why was the attack not foiled? Of what use is getting intelligence report and not acting summarily on it?

Were the two men arrested before or after the attack? Why was Nur not picked up after returning from his Somalia training? Or did he not pass through the immigration check point? Instead of giving us the engine and chassis numbers and date of purchase

and registration of the vehicle, do we have the owner of the vehicle and details of the suicide bomber?

Really, how prepared is our security agencies to face the challenges posed by the Boko Haram menace? To further prolong the nightmare of insecurity and senseless killings, Weekly Trust reported that the terrorist group has pledged to carry out more atrocious attacks. Quoting the group’s spokesman, it said “more attacks are on the way. We have more than 100 people who are willing to give their lives to the cause.” Which cause? Destruction of innocent souls?

Is it possible for the type of paraded hungry-looking lads to sponsor this calibre of crime? The bombing we are being harassed with is beyond the scope of a Boko Haramists who claim to detest Western education. The truth is that there are those intent on making Nigeria ungovernable for the sake of their self-interest, but using religion as veil. I believe the government knows them.

Instead of dissipating efforts on the errand boys of mucky godfathers and evil men, all we need the security agencies to do is to fish out the real guns financing Boko Haram. Until those who should know show seriousness and exercise bravery in saving the nation from enemy destruction, we’ll just be dancing round disaster.

Let’s believe that the President is now ready not to spare any sacred cow. Boko Haram is not operating from the air. There is a base. When the head is cut off, other parts of the body will become worthless.

Sovereignty and security: Any interface?

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ELLO is a professional space scientist working in one of Nigeria’s elite science research institutes in the nation’s capital.

On a particular holiday period, he decided to visit his extended family members in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State in North-east Nigeria. He said that for over a dozen years since he returned from the United States where he went on scholarship, he has never visited his ancestral home. On this momentous and well deserved visit, Bello witnessed what he never bargained for in his wildest imagination.

From existential experiences, Bello’s part of Yola, in Adamawa State can comfortably enter the Guinness book of record as one of the most crime free environments in the entire North East Nigeria. But on this day, Bello did not have to wait for a soothsayer to make him change his impression regarding the security and safety of his place of birth because of the enormity of the vicious violence unleashed by some well armed hoodlums.

Bello told me pointblank that the violence he witnessed can only happen in places where the apparatuses of state have collapsed like in Somalia or other war-torn countries just as he further raised the conundrum whether Nigeria was truly a sovereign entity.

During the course of my investigation for this piece, six serving high ranking security operatives confessed to me that virtually all the security agencies in the country have witnessed prolonged periods of what can also be termed as “assets-stripping’ through corrupt practices by those who have had the privileges of presiding over these institutions. Tafa Balogun, erstwhile Inspector General of Police was arrested, prosecuted and handed a mild sentence by an Abuja High Court for alleged theft of several billions of naira belonging to the police force.

Other resource persons in the security community spoken to, were of the opinion that the crisis facing Nigeria’s security community is much more than skin deep and must be curbed through “forensic and surgical panacea” which must include intensive, comprehensive and effective reforms, capacity building and total personnel overhaul in order to inject fresh blood and new trainable hands, lacking in criminal records so that these persons of integrity can drive the new focus of the security community. This would revolve around building formidable intelligence data bank that could be activated by the touch of a button.

These resource persons said that the critical segments of the nation’s security community have suffered prolonged period of ‘integrity deficit’ on the side of the leaders and that rotten heads over the years have adversely affected the body of the diverse security agencies in the country which has unleashed the current security nightmares that Nigerians are facing from armed splinter groups. In his words: “the logistical nightmares imposed on the different security institutions by their past and

By Emmanuel Onwubiko current hierarchies are responsible for the security nightmares that the country faces now”.

August 26 bomb attack on the premises of the United Nations in the Nigerian capital city has made it inevitable that we must interrogate the issues of whether there is a symbiosis between sovereignty and security or put differently, is there sovereignty without security?

The cab driver that took me from the Central Area to Wuse who incidentally is an agent of the Nigerian State Security Services (SSS) told me during an informal conversation that most of his colleagues are scared that if sufficient budgets are not deployed transparently to train operatives in intelligence gathering methods, then the criminals who perpetrate these kinds of crimes against humanity will continue to have field day in the country.

This insiders’ information once more reinforces our interrogation of whether there is a synergy between sovereignty defined as undisputed political power of a political entity and security of that entity.

John Fonte, a senior fellow and Director of Hudson’s Center for American Common Culture believes that American sovereignty is irretrievably tied to American security.

Quoting Robert Kagan, Mr. Fonte reminded us that in the 21st Century, three conflicts of world politics will ‘combine and collide’ and he listed them to include what he calls great power rivalries; ideological tensions between autocracy and democracy; and the violent challenge of radical Islam. Fonte further identified a fourth conflict which he stated will combine and collide in our contemporary times as the struggle between the forces of transnational global governance and the liberal-democratic nation-state.

Observers with considerable security knowledge believe that the ongoing unprecedented security nightmares constituted by the reactionary forces that are now throwing bombs all over Nigeria have indeed challenged Nigeria’s claims to sovereignty since sovereignty is not valid without security.

For Mr. Emmanuel Onyema, a doctoral degree student of political science and Defense studies, insecurity remains a great threat to Nigeria’s sovereignty. He said insecurity portends the fragility of the nation and potentially makes Nigeria a dangerous investments’ environment which will invariably weaken our economic independence since multinational companies will be scared away from bringing foreign direct investments.

In December 2007, Max Manwarring in a research work, identified gangs and other illicit transnational criminal organizations as some of the contemporary challenges confronting the political concept of sovereignty. His 2005 monograph titled; “Street gang: the new urban insurgency”, illustrates that gang and gang-generated instability leads to threats to national, re-

gional and global security, nation – state sovereignty, falling and failed states, and a “clash of civilizations.”

The above line of reasoning logically brings us to the urgency that the Nigerian government ought to attach towards battling the upsurge of skirmishes and targeted bomb attacks by insurgents given the universal fact that continued state of insecurity is a big threat to the sovereignty of Nigeria.

The country’s permanent Representatives to the United Nations, Professor Joy Ogwu told the international media in the wake of the bomb attack at the United Nations House in Abuja that what happened was a big transnational crime which demands immediate multilateral/global remedial measures to check such violence of unprecedented crimes from happening.

The United States President Mr. Barrack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have both rapidly reacted to the wave of insecurity and sectarian targeted killings in Nigeria by promising to work with the security community in Nigeria to put a check to this ugly development.

It is inconceivable that some opinion leaders in Nigeria could raise objections to the clamour for Nigeria to seek for concerted international security assistance to check the emerging threats to our sovereignty. Why for instance will some persons with easy access to our local media oppose the federal government’s proposed approach to the United States and Israel for security assistance to battle the menace of organized state of war against the Nigerian state by different armed splinter groups? Why will these opinion leaders say that approaching foreign countries for security assistance could undermine our sovereignty when in actual fact it is the continuous threats of violence by the armed religious extremists that have indeed threatened our sovereignty?

My take on all this is that the federal government will be right to approach the United States and Israel for security assistance to battle our emerging state of insecurity because sovereignty and security are like inseparable Siamese twins. The time for the federal government to act to save the nation’s sovereignty from the reactionary violent forces of darkness is now.

• Onwubiko is of Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria and can be reached on doziebiko@yahoo.com.

‘It is inconceivable that some opinion leaders in Nigeria could raise objections to the clamour for Nigeria to seek for concerted international security assistance to check the emerging threats to our sovereignty. Why for instance will some persons with easy access to our local media oppose the federal government’s proposed approach to the United States and Israel for security assistance to battle the menace of organized state of war against the Nigerian state by different armed splinter groups?’

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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EDITORIAL/OPINION

The terrorists are here

Emeka Omeihe 08058105720

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VENTS of recent weeks appear to have underscored most poignantly that terrorism may soon assume a very dangerous dimension within our shores. A timely intervention by the police mid August in Maiduguri saved the state police headquarters from being bombed by a suspected suicide bomber. According to the state police command, the suspect was shot dead at the gate as he approached in a Honda car loaded with improvised explosives.

Apparently because the information was coming directly from the police or because that lethal danger was averted without loss of lives and property, that incident did not attract much attention thereafter. But last week in Abuja, the same incident repeated itself, this time leaving in its trail 23 people dead and scores of others wounded.

In the Abuja incident which has attracted condemnations and serious outrage, a suicide bomber drove into the headquarters of the United Nations in a Honda vehicle loaded with explosives after driving in through two exit gates. Having beaten the tight security there, he crashed the vehicle at the basement of the building wreaking incalculable damage on it and killing several innocent people.

There is palpable fear, shock and awe that amidst the numerous problems plaguing the country, we may inevitably have to add terrorism as the latest one. This view is further reinforced by the claim by the Boko Haram religious sect of responsibility for

this despicable act. Given the gravity of that terrorism attack and all that would have gone into its conception, planning and successful execution, there have been suggestions that apart from the Boko Haram sect as a potential source of the attack, the government should expand the scope of other possible sources of culpability.

From the look of things, it would appear that Boko Haram is more of a political organization masquerading under a religious garb. For no less a person than the governor of Bauchi State Isa Yuguda recently told reporters at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos that the Taliban religious sect actually gave rise to Boko Haram.

The devastation wrought on the UN building and its high casualty level amply instruct that we can continue to ignore the sect at a great peril. Isa Yuguda has said that the sect is an offshoot of the Taliban.

Speaking from such a vantage position and given that Bauchi has been host to incessant religious riots that had also left devastations in their wake; Yuguda must know more of what he is saying. But if the Boko Haram sect is an offshoot of the dreaded Taliban sect, their ideological and philosophical motivations are not exactly the same. Boko Haram in our local parlance means “education is evil”. The group espouses strong aversion to western education. But that is not exactly the ideology propelling the Taliban group even though their strategies of suicide bombings bear some semblance. There have been suggestions that the federal government should engage the Boko Haram sect in constructive dialogue. The government has already bent over backwards to offer an olive branch to the amorphous and faceless group.

Despite this, respite does not seem to be at sight.

Yet, we want to negotiate with them. One begins to wonder on what plank such negotiations will be erected. May be the way out is for this nation to do away with western education and all that goes with it so that they can be pacified. There is the added danger that the way we treat this group may well have wider repercussions in defining the nature and character of the politics of this nation. Then any group can wake up

flaunting some moribund and discredited ideology backed with bombs and mortars to extract concessions from the government.

When this happens, we would have put this country at grave risk.

But the question remains: what has it achieved by that senseless destruction of lives and property? Where does it proceed from there and what kind of relief does it seek from the world community. It is not enough to throw bombs and kill people. It is also not enough to inflict on our people the culture of suicide bombings which before now have been alien to them. We need to know where to proceed to after the bombings and killings. We need to know what these grievances are and what it takes to address them. All these have remained largely illusory expect that troops should be removed from the streets of Maiduguri.

But how does that resolve the fundamentalism rooted in their hate for western education ?

But more seriously, all these systemic dysfunctions point to the inevitable fact that there are very fundamental differences among the constituent units that make up this federation regarding the basis for its organization. This is the inevitable truth that has been thrown to the fore by the constant crises that have tended to hold the nation down these past years. It also shows that nation building; inculcating in our citizens a sense of common identity that ought to follow political independence has still remained a mirage. That accounts for the easy resort to religion, primordial sentiments and separatist tendencies at the slightest disagreement by the constituent units. For, most of the manifestations that take the coloration of religion are in actual truth political agitations that can only become attractive when they wear the garb of religion. That seems to be the point some well meaning Nigerians make when they consistently agitate for the convocation of a national conference where the various nationalities will engage themselves on the way forward.

It would appear to me that the need for the various units that make up the country to engage themselves is now most compelling. It is inherently contradictory

for us to claim to be a nation when from all available indications some of the constituent units regularly espouse ideologies that are not only utopian but inconsistent with our continued existence as one entity.

The time has come for us to re-examine old issues from fresh perspectives. The time has come for us to convince ourselves that we did not make mistakes by opting for the form of government we currently operate.

Such a forum could also further reinforce our collective faith in the federal entity or speak differently.

Obviously, its outcome will be better for the nation than the current cat and mouse game that has characterized the relationship between the constituent units. We ought to see the current menace posed by the Boko Haram sect as a clarion call for sober reflection. This is because such constant distractions are not only at the root of our underdevelopment and slide but they have the frightening prospect of turning this nation into another Afghanistan.

Already, the latest attack has dealt a deadly blow on efforts made to strike out Nigeria from the list of potential terrorist countries.

Not only has it shaken the confidence of potential investors, it has obliterated any doubt there may be regarding the place of Nigeria in the terrorism matrix.

‘But if the Boko Haram sect is an offshoot of the dreaded Taliban sect, their ideological and p h i l o s o p h i c a l motivations are not exactly the same. Boko Haram in our local parlance means “Western education is evil”. ‘ email: EmekaOmeihe@yahoo.com

VIEW FROM THE FOREIGN PRESS

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IBYA’S rebel leaders say they want to try Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, if and when he is captured, in Libyan courts.

In principle, Libyans deserve the satisfaction that only domestic justice can bring. National trials would advance the rule of law and allow Libyans to fully own their political transition.

One problem: the International Criminal Court, based 1,400 miles away in The Hague, has already issued arrest warrants for Colonel Qaddafi, his son and second-incommand Seif al-Islam, and his intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi. The United Nations Security Council, recognizing that Colonel Qaddafi’s alleged crimes were not just against Libyans but against humanity, asked the I.C.C. in February to investigate the situation in Libya. Now the I.C.C. legitimately wants to try the three for atrocities committed since the uprising in Libya began last winter.

Some argue that the new Libyan government would be legally bound to transfer Colonel Qaddafi and his associates to The Hague. Others argue that the I.C.C. must defer to Libyan authorities if they are willing and able to try Colonel Qaddafi fairly in their own courts. A better option should

‘An I.C.C. trial in Tripoli would have practical and symbolic benefits. Most important, it would be closer to the communities that most need to see justice done. It could involve more Libyans in the proceedings, a step that would afford the I.C.C. greater access to victims and give young Libyan lawyers and other professionals experience with a modern system of justice’

What to do with Qaddafi

By David Kaye satisfy both I.C.C. partisans and the new leaders of Libya: allow the I.C.C. to try those indicted, but to do it in Libya.

As important as national trials are, postQaddafi Libya would, at least in the short term, lack the infrastructure necessary for such complex prosecutions. As in Iraq soon after Saddam Hussein was ousted, the willingness to adhere to basic due process could be severely tested.

The I.C.C., however, has the experience, expertise and legal infrastructure to try mass crimes. It has put significant investigative muscle into documenting crimes committed since mid-February. A fair trial process could start fairly soon.

Where the trials should be held is another question.

Trial in The Hague would face limitations.

I.C.C. proceedings normally take place far from the scene of the crime, in a foreign language, often according to rules and procedures that may be impenetrable to victim communities. And the court has had difficulty educating local communities elsewhere in Africa about its work, a problem that didn’t occur for the Special Court for Sierra Leone in Freetown and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh, which are hybrid courts that have elements of international and national law and personnel.

An I.C.C. trial in Tripoli would have practical and symbolic benefits. Most important, it would be closer to the communities that most need to see justice done. It could involve more Libyans in the proceedings, a step that would afford the I.C.C. greater access to victims and give young Libyan lawyers and other professionals experience with a modern system of justice. It would give the I.C.C.’s staff members an opportunity to engage

directly with the society for which they are doing their work, while serving as a platform for the international community to help Libya rebuild the rule of law.

Trial in Tripoli, with significant Libyan participation, could also signal a new direction for Libya, one that favors the rule of law and integration with the institutions of international life. It could foster criminal prosecutions of lower-level perpetrators and truth-and-reconciliation processes at the national level, as well as investigations of any serious crimes committed by rebel forces, a signal that the new government believes in fairness within a unified society.

It could give new Libyan leaders some breathing room as they build their new system, while not precluding them from later trying Colonel Qaddafi themselves for the crimes of the past four decades.

An I.C.C. trial in Tripoli would undoubtedly require substantial resources to build or renovate court facilities. NATO or other forces blessed by the Security Council could help arrange security for defendants in custody. The I.C.C. itself would require strong security, lest it become a target for remnants of the old regime. The Security Council, which was happy to refer Libya for investigation, should help now by authorizing this kind of support and identifying sources of funds and expertise for the trial.

At the same time, not all proceedings need to take place in Libya; pre-trial proceedings could begin in The Hague while preparations for the actual trial move forward in Tripoli.

None of this should seem extraordinary.

The Nuremberg trials after World War II drew much of their power from the fact that they took place in the country responsible

for the worst crimes of the 20th century. And the I.C.C.’s charter, the Rome Statute, leaves open the possibility of trials outside The Hague.

After decades of oppression and six months of war, Libyans deserve the opportunity to bring their oppressors to justice. The international community should support that kind of effort, and reinforce it by assuring the basic norms of international law. For Libyans, trial by the I.C.C. in Tripoli should be a bridge toward taking ownership of their future.

Kaye is the executive director of the International Human Rights Law Program at the University of California, Los Angeles.

New York Times

Qaddafi

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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NATION SPORT

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OBI STARS of Makurdi manager, Dominic Iorfa was on his way to Bauchi when he sighted Sunshine stars of Akure staff and the match designated officials at a road junction in the city of Jos, Plateau state. He immediately alerted Soldiers on patrol, who accosted the men and they turned out to be match officials that would officiate the league match between Lobi Stars of Makurdi and Sunshine Stars of Akure at the Bauchi stadium the following day. It was however, discovered that the match commissioner was not with the officials. In a twist of affairs, they made phone calls to their people and the match commissioner to give false information that the Jos crisis at that time, had prevented

NATION SPORT

Premier League match fixing scandal •How Soldier caught referees

•Soldiers accosting the officials

them from crossing over to Bauchi. So when Iorfa got to Bauchi, he did not tell the match commissioner anything. But the next day, the referees have been changed and new ones ordered for the match.

That was when Iorfa now opened up to the match commissioner what happened when he was on his way to Bauchi for the game.

The names of the match officials are 1 Santos Okoro Imo State 2 Auwalu Barau AR 1 Kaduna 3 1 Durunna AR 2 Abia

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authority to preside over the Congress announced that the Emergency Congress is postponed indefinitely” “Only Seven Clubs out of Twenty Premier Clubs purportedly attended the Kangaroo meeting called in a hotel room by 2.00a.m and that does not form a quorum of the NPL Congress because article 26 (4) of the NPL Statutes requires Eighteen Clubs to form a quorum at any NPL Congress”. “Also to convene an NPL Emergency Congress a notice of at least 21 days is to be served to Premier Clubs but in this kangaroo Congress, only 24 hours notice was given to the Clubs”.

“All these schemes are to stop Chief Victor Baribote who the NPL Electoral Committee has declared the Sole Candidate for the NPL Chairmanship Re-run election because they know that Baribote will expose all the embezzlement that kept the Premier League in such a poor state that the League Clubs cannot pay their Players and Coaches”.

“Otherwise, why are they so desperate to ensure that Chief Baribote does not get what God has already destined”.

Yobo, Nsofor win it for Eagles S

UPER Eagles refocused their sights on Group B leaders Guinea in their Africa Cup of Nations 2012 qualification match with a 2-0 defeat of Madagascar on Sunday.

Joseph Yobo and Obinna Nsofor scored the goals for Nigeria late in the second half.

The first half ended goalless in the half-

There was no congress – Igbokwe HE Leader of the Credible Football Election Group in Nigeria, Barrister Iyke Igbokwe has declared that the Emergency Congress of the NPL did not hold due to the disruption intentionally caused by the remnants of Owumi elements in the NPL calling itself the Executives of the Club Owners Association, an illegal body that cannot be located anywhere in the entire NPL Statutes and Nigeria Corporate Laws.

Igbokwe who made this statement in Abuja also petitioned the NFF to immediately investigate the source and authors of the fake communiqué purportedly issued after the kangaroo meeting by few Clubs and some members of the NPL Board which has brought another crisis into the NPL Re-run Election and threatening the Nigerian Football industry.

The fiery Sports Lawyer stated “I was at the Emergency Congress to represent Ocean Boys FC and there was no Congress”. “Sports Journalists were there when Acting Chairman of the Emergency Congress, Joe Amene who had no

MADAGASCAR /NIGERIA CLASH

filled stadium in Antananarivo, where the hosts had fielded a weakened Under-23 side.

Nigeria needed all three points to keep pace with Guinea, who host Ethiopia in a late game on Sunday.

Captain Yobo scored from a John Obi Mikel’s corner kick to give the Super Eagles the lead after a nervy hour.

Nsofor shot well to make it 2-0 on 75th minute, giving the visitors confidence as the hosts looked for a way back, making for a nervous finish where Nigeria was concerned.

The Super Eagles now have 10 points and will need a home victory against Guinea in Abuja in October if they hope to secure automatic qualification for Afcon 2012.

NSF crisis hots up

•Aka, Gora face removal

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•The game is up

HE crisis rocking the Nigeria Scrabble Federation at the weekend took a new dimension with the Concessionaire of Federation, Verallen Nigeria Limited acting to remove the President of the Federation Olobaloke Aka and his first Vice President Suleman Gora. Citing Article 4.1.10 (a) and Schedule 1 Clause 1 of the Concession Agreement signed between the Company and the National Sports Commission (NSC) on 9th June, 2009, the company said henceforth that the Board members have been replaced by Allen Egbe (President) and Aquaisua Edet (1st Vice President) .

In a letter to Director General of the NSC dated 2nd September, which

From Patrick Ngwaogu, Abuja receipt was confirmed in the DG’s office same day, and the concessionaire said they deemed it expedient to inform the Sports Commission of the development having regards for their partnership in the management of Scrabble Federation in Nigeria.

In a separate letter to the former President and his Vice, the Concessionaire quoted as follows: Pursuant to Article 4.1.10(a) and Schedule 1 Clause 1 of the Concession Agreement executed on the 9th day of June, 2009 between the National Sports Commission and Verallen Nig. Ltd, you

hold your office at the executive board of the Scrabble Federation of Nigeria, at the pleasure of the Concessionaire. You are by this letter removed as President of the Executive Board of the Scrabble Federation of Nigeria with immediate effect and you are to handover all items belonging to the Federation in your possession to the Secretary General of the Federation. Thank you for your representation thus far of the Concessionaire on the Executive Board of the Federation, wishing you the very best in your future endeavours” the letter said.

The letter was signed by the Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of the Company Allen Egbe. It was signed and received on behalf of Toke Aka at his No. 18 Benue Crescent Area 1, Garki Abuja by one Jerry Kuje on 2nd September. 2011.

2011 WORLD WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

Boltic, Daniel, Oborodudu set to shine in Turkey

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HE trio of Sinivie Boltic, Amas Daniel and Blessing Oborodudu seem powerfully set to create an upset in ther wrestling arena as they hit Istanbul in Turkey for the 2011 World Wresting Championship kicking off on the 12th of September.

The trio were very outstanding during the 2011 African championships staged in Darkar in May where they all emerged African Champions their various weight categories of 98, 60 and 63kgs respectively.

With the world championships just afew days away, NationSport spoke with them in yenagoa where they are putting finishing touches to their preparations. Their determination and confidence cannot be underestimated.

They are set and they are very sure they are going to fly the green-whitegreen colours high in Turkey.

SINIVIE BOLTIC, 98kg: I’ve been wrestling for a long time.

This is my 15years or thereabout inthe national team and am the captain. I’ve won several medals in wrestling within these years ranging from All Africa Games, Commonwealth games and Afircan and other wrestling championships.

I’ve won several gold medals, the peak been the gold medal in Delhi in freestyle. With the kind of training that I have received from my trainers, espoecially Victor Igali whom I am very happy to have as a coach, I’m sure to make something out of it. I also hope to be at London olympics so am preparing for the world championships towards the olympics and I believe that God will make it possible for me. I hope to make Nigeria proud in Turkey.

AMAS DANIEL, 60kg: I started wrestling in 2004 with the national sports festival. I won gold that year and also in Ogun 2006. My last was KADA 2009 where I concluded also with

From Florence Nkem Israel, Port Harcourt gold. I went to the national camp for All Africa Games 2007 but had injury and could not make it. In 2009, I won gold in Morroco African Championship and from there, I knew with hard training that I could be an African Champion. In 2010, I became an African champion after beating my Egyptian opponent. In 2011 I reapeted the feat again.

As we go to world championship, I hope to be in the medal table because my dream is to be a world champion, it is my ambition. The olympics too is another ambition am having. Am wortking very hard and with a man like Igali as my trainer, am sure that am not far from both the world and Olympic

champion.

BLESSING OBORODUDU, 63kg: I started wrestling in 2006 and my first championship was here in Nigeria and I won a bronze medal. The second championship, I won silver medal and in the third, I won a gold medal in 2008.

After then, I’ve been winning gold medals. I’ve been twice an African champion. At the commonwealth games in Delhi, I was a silver medalist.

At Senegsl 2011, I was a gold medalist.

My expectation is to qualify for the Olympics from the world championships and not just to qualify but to bring medals to Nigeria from the championships. I want to make those that have invested in me proud by bringing a gold medal from the world championships.

Yobo’s fury at Toffees snub

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OSEPH YOBO is still hoping to seal a move to Fenerbahce before today’s Turkish transfer deadline after being frozen out by Everton.

The defender hasn’t been named in the Toffees’ 25-man squad for this season and according to the Nigerian national team press officer Colin Udoh, he went ‘pure ballistic’ when he found out.

Everton have been locked in talks with the disgraced Turkish champions all summer, with matters further complicated by the matchfixing allegations against Fenerbahce, but the two parties have so far failed to come to an agreement.

David Moyes is desperate to get the player off the wage bill as he no longer has a future at Goodison Park, and a return to the club he spent all of last season on loan with, would be welcomed by all involved.

Have you an opinion on this story?

Put your money where your mouth is and claim a free £25 bet.

•Yobo

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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• Trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange

Honing the skill of stock brokers Brokers must be certified before they can practise. They must be registered with the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and work with a dealing member of the Exchange. But, experts believe that they must improve their skills to remain relevant, AKINOLA AJIBADE reports.

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ANY brokers are becoming complacent and it is showing in their work. They are not interested in acquiring additional skills to enhance their performance. They rely so much on their ability to sell and buy stocks on behalf of investors. They believe in their capacity to analyse stocks based on their fundamentals, enter and exit the market at the right time, and identify the strength and weaknesses of quoted companies well. They believe that they are transparent in their dealings, and will always get patronage.

They seem to have concluded that they have all it takes to succeed.

But experts disagree. They said brokers who don’t acquire more skills will fizzle out soon. They said it is only through

skills acquisition that brokers can sustain their jobs, and further contribute to the growth of the market. They said brokers can increase their knowledge of financial markets, through regular training.

The former General Manager, Heritage Investments and Securities Limited, Mr Tayo Bello, said stockbrokers who fail to improve their skills would lose their jobs.

Bello said in-house training would enable brokers to know what regulators require of them at any given period.

He said over-pricing of equities, unauthorised sales of shares, market hypes, lack of best practices of corporate governance, and non-compliance with directives on Know Your Customer (KYC) have caused untold damage to the market, advising stock brokers to acquire more knowledge in these

areas.

The problems, he said, can be avoided or reduced, through regular training of the operators.

He said Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have been organising workshops to enhance the growth of the market, urging brokers to take the workshops serious.

He said: “The two bodies hold the ace in the capital market. They have the power to suspend or withdraw the licence of any errant operators. When brokers keep the rules guiding the market, their chances of committing infractions are very slim. When brokers minimise their errors, they would attract more patronages. They would increase their profits as well. For brokers to live above boards, they must improve their skills

by attending training programmes organised by SEC, NSE, and the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS),” he said.

He advised brokers to learn from financial journalists, arguing that nobody has monopoly of knowledge.

Bello urged stockbrokers to acquire forensic knowledge to earn more income, and further contribute to the growth of the market. He said forensic knowledge is needed to investigate and diagnose issues relating to frauds in the capital market.

He said brokers in developed markets have acquired forensic knowledge, adding that those operating in Nigeria can only catch up with their colleagues from • Continued on page 26

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

JOBS

Honing the skill of stock brokers •Continued from page 25

other climes when they acquire such expertise. Also, the Executive Director, CashCraft Asset Management Limited, Mr Bolade Agboola, urged brokers to attend regular training to enhance their skills.

Agboola said it is through training and retraining that brokers can fully realise their potential, and further aid the growth of the market.

He said brokers must study happenings in other markets to improve their skills, adding that cross-border transfer of knowledge is key to their growth.

Brokers, he said, can achieve much success, when they understand the workings of the economy.

“Stock broking is beyond selling and buying of shares on behalf of investors. One must understand how the economy works to survive in that profession. The knowledge

of macro economy is essential before brokers can function well. The changes in the market forces, inflationary trends, interest rates, and operations of foreign exchange market , are some of the areas that brokers must be interested in. With these, brokers would be able to analyse, project and predict the trends of the market,” he said.

Similarly, the Vice-Chairman, Anchoria Investments and Securities Limited, Dr Olusola Dada, said brokers need to improve their skills irrespective of the knowledge they have acquired in schools.

Dada said capital market activities are technical, sensitive and challenging, and therefore requires commitment on the part of the operators.

He said the market is volatile, adding that operators must understand it well to before they can succeed. He advised brokers to acquire both local and offshore skills to stimulate growth, adding that a

• DG, SEC Arunma-Oteh

• DG, NSE, Oscar Onyema

combination of skills is needed to achieve optimal results.

“I think brokers can only sustain whatever achievements they have recorded, by regularly updating their skills. They need to go for refresher courses in Nigeria and beyond, study the performance of markets in other jurisdictions, abide with regulatory rules, and should not do things beyond their

control”, he added.

He said it is pertinent for brokers to upgrade their skills, in view of the happenings in the global economy.

He said market operators in Europe and United States are receptive to new ideas, calling on their Nigerian counterparts to follow their footsteps.

The former interim administra-

tor, NSE, Mr Emmanuel Ikhazobor, said operators in the market must improve their skills to achieve growth. Ikhazobor said brokers are doing a sensitive job, and must be very careful in their dealings. He said capital market operations are volatile globally, advising brokers to train themselves to achieve results.

He said capital market crisis is not limited to Nigeria, noting that markets in developed economies have experienced shocks in the past.

He said operators cannot swim against the market tide, when they are careful, hardworking, efficient, and keep to the best practices of corporate governance.

From the above, three deductions can be made. First, complacency should not be allowed among brokers if they want to succeed. Secondly, brokers need to update themselves regularly to achieve their goals. Thirdly, their contributions to the growth of the market cannot be under-estimated.

In the light of these, brokers need to sharpen their skills, if they want to get to the pinnacle of their careers. They need to interact with colleagues from other markets, to understand financial issues better.

But these can be achieved when the market is moving in a positive direction, via increase in turnover.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Bukar emerges CSCS MD/CEO

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• Bukar

HE Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has named Mr. Kyari Abba Bukar its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.

His appointment followed the retirement of the company’s Pioneer MD/CEO, Dr. Onyewuchi Asinobi.

Bukar emerged as most suitable candidate for the job after a recruitment process involving a

human resources (HR) consulting firm and the CSCS Board.

Before joining CSCS, Bukar was the MD/CEO of Valucard Nigeria Plc where he was instrumental to turning round the company from a nil-profit-making entity to what could aptly be termed a highly profitable entity.

Bukar worked with HewlettPackard (HP); one of the world’s leading information technology (IT) companies as Research and

Development Engineer, Manufacturing Development Engineer, Marketing Program Manager, Senior IT Consultant and Worldwide Technical Marketing Manager.

Bukar also worked with FSB International Bank Plc (now Fidelity Bank Plc) as Executive Director in charge of Electronic Banking, Information Technology and Operations.

Bukar holds a B.SC in Physics

from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, and a Masters Degree (M.Sc) in Nuclear Engineering from the Oregon State University in the United States.

CSCS has also hired Mr. Vincent Ukoh and Mrs. ‘Bunmi Morenikeji as Head of Finance and Head of Human Capital and Administration.

They are trained accountants; who possess impressive work experience which they hope to bring to bear on the company as it repositions for greater challenges in the capital market.

CAREER MANAGEMENT

J

OB hunting has striking similarities to marketing a product.

Like the four Ps of branding, the “P”-words for a successful campaign are positioning, process, and persistence followed closely by performance, personality, and pricing. The product is the candidate.

In order for a candidate to have the opportunity to sell their value to the targeted buyer/employer, the strategy driving the search has to be effective which means choosing the correct focus and developing the right approach.

Your job search project may be one of the most demanding, and rewarding, campaigns you will ever manage. Let’s look at ways you can improve odds in your favour through savvy job hunting and best practices job search implementation skills.

Positioning The first step to launching a successful campaign and propelling it forward is to identify what makes you a unique candidate. With such stiff competition, it is imperative that candidates distinguish themselves. This means creating a message or an identity that is remarkable and memorable, one that will separate you from the pack of resumes hitting recruiters’ desks.

It is sometimes difficult to develop this for yourself especially if your career has depended on doing this for others. You may want to seek advice and counsel to establish your value objectively.

What is it that you do better than

Six Ps job search

By Olu Oyeniran

others? What is it about you that enables you to succeed where others don’t? Is there something in your background that others easily remember? This bit of specialised, personal data is your tagline.

If you get the positioning targeted correctly, your campaign will be focused on the right employer market with a message that the buyer will value generating more employer interest. Once you have captured an employer’s attention, then you have created a chance to demonstrate your abilities that eventually may produce a job offer, the goal of your job search campaign project.

Process The swiftest route to a new opportunity is to identify your target employers and then address their needs in terms of how you can meet them better than anyone else.

Don’t wait around for a company to advertise for a job that is perfect for you. Rather, go out there and seek out a company where you are confident you can make a positive impact, especially one measurable in dollars saved or made.

Double back to ensure that your positioning vis a vis your target employers is consistent with your

most outstanding ability or characteristic that an employer will instantly value. In other words, the better the match, the greater the likelihood for capturing the employer’s interest immediately to actually satisfy their needs and exceed their expectations.

If you understand the dynamic between meeting employers’ needs first and then promoting your skills against these requirements, your chances of making a connection are much greater than if you concentrate only on your achievements and accomplishments without customising them for an individual company in a way that unmistakably proves your value.

Cite ways you can save money, save time, retain customers, reduce costs, increase sales or profits, etc.this will offset their expenses of adding you to headcount.

Persistence and perseverance The early bird, the first candidate to impress the decision maker, has a competitive advantage. So be the one to create a new job just for you by introducing yourself to employers you want to work for. This also means staying in contact with individuals with whom you “clicked” but didn’t reach an em-

ployment agreement for whatever reason. That positive interpersonal chemistry can make or break a situation in your favor so don’t let a good relationship slip away because the timing was off for hiring you.

Sticking with your job search goals also means doing a whole lot more than simply submitting a resume or an online application—go and find out who is the hiring manager and speak with them directly.

This will get you name recognition and hopefully allow you to pitch them on the phone or in person with your credentials; a much better method than a written marketing document/resume by itself.

A word about focus and establishing priorities: concentrate your resources on activities with the largest potential return on your investment. While all search methods have their place, most executive jobs are filled through one avenue: personal referrals. Keep track of your contacts and refresh them periodically.

Use different methods to stay in touch varying phone, email, snailmail, an article or clipping, invitations, face to face, etc. according to the recipient preferences. Remember that in networking, maintaining contact is key to results—out of touch can mean out of mind. Ask your contacts for advice, introduc-

tions and information—not directly for a job. Rely on your professional network and return favours generously.

Persistence in personal interactions is guaranteed to be the very best way to identify a new opportunity. Recommendations carry tremendous weight over cold calls and unsolicited inquiries. If you can get a colleague to make a direct referral to a prospective employer, your chances of being given serious consideration are much higher.

If one colleague asks another to meet with a third person, this usually happens and once you are face to face, this is the best possible circumstance to create good interpersonal chemistry and share ideas.

Interactions like these often lead to creating a new opportunity specifically in response to a candidate being available; in other words an unadvertised position in the hidden job market is created just for a particular candidate. Let this be you!

Good luck and see you next week for the concluding part.

This article relied heavily on a presentation by Debra Feldman of Jobwhiz.com Olu Oyeniran is the Lead Consultant, EkiniConsult & Assoiciates.

Website: www.jobsearchhow.com E-mail: oluoyeniran@yahoo.com Tel 08083843230 (SMS Only).

CSR ‘Give loans to rural women’ Ogun 29

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

EMPOWERMENT

Skilled blind twins need help

Ondo trains 1000 entrepreneurs Ondo

SOS

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Lagos

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Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

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Workshop for Ogun council chiefs

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•Hon. Oladipo (left) with ALGON chairman, Abeokuta South Local Government, Alhaji Olawonyin at the workshop

HE Ogun State government has organised a two-day orientation workshop for chairmen and transition committee members in the 20 local government areas.

The government collaborated with the International Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Development (ICLED) in putting the workshop together.

The transition committee, constituted barely two months ago, do not have the luxury of time. Expectations of people at the grass -root are high and the most pressing ones among them need to be addressed.

The committee members were given tutorials on how to bring genuine change to their areas. As leaders, they were told to approach their jobs with drive and vision, and lay the foundation for a new era that will transform the lives of people in the local communities.

Of particular interest is the need to encourage small business at the grassroots.

Another issue is making efficient use of resources to enthrone change across the state.

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

Hon. Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Muyiwa Oladipo said that the major thrust of the the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the Southwest adn Edo states is anchored on delivering the dividends of democracy to the citizenry.

“This workshop is one of the tools envisaged to assist our new political appointees to understand and have a grip of the necessary machinery that will enable them meet the needs and yearnings of our people at the grassroots level,” he said.

“The efficient and effective administration of government resources at the Local government level is to enhance the overall performance of governance, thereby allowing the government to meet the yearnings and aspirations of our people.”

Oladipo enjoined them to avail themselves of the opportunity the forum has offered to make meaningful contributions to the improvement in the lives of people •Continued on Page 29

Farmer lifts community Employs youths, grants scholarship

H

E started with 50 chicks. Today, he has over 127,000 birds. In the 80s when his farming story began, nobody gave him a chance to succeed. But today, Mr. Ugo Okparaeke is easily one of the most successful farmers in Anambra State.

It goes without saying that he has also done very well for himself. But his story goes beyond self. He has injected new life into his village Umuchu in Aguata Local Government Area of the state. He has offered jobs to scores of youths from the village and beyond.

He is not just a chicken farmer. He rears pigs, goats, cows, too, and each section is manned by mostly people from Umuchu and environs.

Okparaeke has also been giving scholarship to villagers, helping them through primary and secondary school. So far, 147 students have benefitted from the scheme.

Apart from this, the 53-year-old man has renovated Umuchu Technical College and Mbalafor Ozarakwukwa Primary School buildings to the delight of the people of the community, and that was even before Governor Peter Obi’s intervention in the education sector.

The scholarship scheme, according to him, costs the foundation over N500,000 each year. His branded books are distributed to students.

Though, only student from Umuchu

•From right: Okparaeke, Mgbemena with some workers at the factory From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

community have benefitted from the scholarship, Okparaeke told Newsextra that very soon it would be extended to the entire Aguata Local Government Area.

It was further gathered that the education support fund is not managed by Okparaeke, but rather by a team of retired school principals and headmasters from the community.

The farms are scattered in eight locations spanning over 87 plots of land with over 35 pens, accommodating thousands of animals. The sheep alone are over

3,000. Some of the farms are in Imo State, others in Anambra.

The farm has also metamorphosed into food processing, producing palm kernel cake to feed the animals.

Okparaeke started the business in 1980 but began building the factory in 1986 which was inaugurated by then military administrator Group Captain Emeka Omeruah in 1987. By 2012, he said, his Eagle Food Processing Industries will venture into producing vegetable oil instead of wasting kernels in the name of selling them to other manufacturers.

Based on his record in the agriculture

sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in October 2007 under the leadership of Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, awarded him the best poultry farmer in Imo State under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF).

Has he had any challenges? Sure, he said, lots of them.

“If I had not had faith and determination, I would have pulled out of the business,” Okparaekwe said. “We are having problems with water, electricity and roads.

•Continued on Page 29

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

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Free health services in Oyo

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•Ajimobi

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YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has flagged off free health services for all residents in the state.

The project, which is in partnership with the Development Support Initiative (DSI), was inaugurated at the secretariat of Ibadan North Local Government Area in Agodi.

The chairman of thecouncil, Mr Idris Lapade, explained that all residents in the state were free to access the free medicare that began in 10 local governments across the state.

According to Lapade, 120 medical workers including 10 surgeons, dentists, opticians, pharmacists and other paramedics, were lined up for treatment of different ailments

Awujale cautions politicians

HE Awujale and paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona has urged politicians to desist from acts capable of undermining the growth and development of Nigeria.

The monarch gave the advice during his Eld-el-Fitri message at Ijebu-Ode praying ground.

The Awujale said that politicians should not see their offices as an avenue for selfenrichment but rather, they should engage in the development of the country.

Oba Adetona urged politicians to remember all the promises they made to the electorate during their electioneering campaigns, adding that the electorate would hold them accountable if they failed to deliver.

“If the politicians fail to fulfil the promises they made to the electorate during their campaign but rather engage in corrupt acts,

Ogun we shall meet again after four years“, the monarch declared.

The Awujale, however, urged politicians to put the fear of God in everything they do, stressing that the country could only develop when politicians use the available resources at their disposal judiciously.

Oba Adetona also urged the Federal Government to work towards increased development of communities.

In his remarks, the deputy Chief Imam of Ijebu-Ode Central Mosque, Alhaji Abdulrazak Salaudeen, urged Muslims to continue in the fear of Allah even after the Ramadan, adding that piety did not end with Ramadan.

Ondo to train 1000 entrepreneurs

Oyo From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

at the council headquarters at the event, 10 beds were provided for surgery with large number of drugs being dispensed by pharmacists.

Aside general consulting, dental care and eye treatment, the scheme also had a good provision for maternity .

Lapade, who explained that available drugs were aimed at treating 5,000 patents alone, also added that the project would soon be integrated into the primary health care system in the state such that all patents that patronise health centres would enjoy free health services. All types of ailments were diagnosed and treated including those that needed referral He said the programme would be repeated every two or three months till it becomes integrated into the state’s healthcare system.

One of the general consulting physicians, Dr Oluyombo Peters, who spoke to our correspondent, explained that common ailments reported as at the time of the interview were hypertension, diabetes and some minor ailments. He added that some flood victims also showed up complaining about skin and eye problems. The medic also disclosed that there was provision for relief materials for those in need.

The sections operated were reproductive health, optamology, dental care, surgery, pharmacy and general consulting.

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•From left:Chief Nike Akande, National President, Association of National Honours Awardees (ANHA); Asiwaju Alex Sokan and the National Spokesperson, Dr Ausbeth Ajagu at the monthly meeting of the association at Sheraton Hotel, Lagos PHOTO: ADEJO DAVID

‘Aregbesola prevented flood disaster’ T HE flood disasters in some part of the country would have been worse in Osun State if not for the precautionary action taken by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, an ACN official has said.

Aspirant to tackle water shortage

B

ARIGA Local Government Area chairmanship aspirant, Alhaji Morufudeen Sulaiman, has pledged to tackle the water problem confronting the people of the community if he is given the mandate to serve.

Sulaiman, who made the pledge while commissioning a resuscitated borehole that was abandoned over the years, maintained that water was the source of healthy living which government cannot downplay.

The aspirant, who is contesting on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), stressed that as one of the cardinal programmes of the party, he intends to provide water to the people at minimal cost.

He said: “I don’t like the idea where people buy water from those hawking it with truck.

The one they sell is not too hygienic and we cannot afford to compromise the health of our people for no justifiable cause”.

He praised the party leadership for its determination to deliver dividends of democracy despite tough economic challenges.

Sulaiman noted: “This informed the philanthropic steps I have taken in the past; in 2003, I distributed 35 GCE forms to indigenes of Bariga; in 2010 I gave out 24 GCE also all to

Lagos

By Musa Odoshimokhe

complement the efforts of our parents who didn’t have the means to enrol their wards for such examination.”

He maintained that his vision to transform Bariga to a business hub which other would envy is paramount in his heart. “My vision for Bariga LCDA is to transform it into a mini-London where many people would like to live and do business.”

He expressed sasisfaction with the seriousness ACN attaches to developmental projects. This, according to him, will provide the ground for it to take over the central administration of the country in no distant date.

Having worked as a teacher for over 10 years before transfering his service to the local government servce commission on the request of one of the past council chairmen , he said he was well positioned to offer grassroots services to the people.

“I worked for 10 years as a class teacher and became head teacher in 1991 and later transferred my servce on special request becuase of my competence.”

• Sulaiman presenting a high voltage stabiliser to Hon Oluwaseyi Jaji to keep the pumping machine working

•Mr Olaseni Fawehinmi, Corporate Marketing Services Manager, UAC of Nigeria Plc, in a class with students at the on-going UAC Goodness League Free Weekend Classes at Gbagada Senior Grammar School, Lagos

NTDC to sanitise hotels

T

o stall crimes and sanitise operations in Nigerian hotels, the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) has stepped up the inspection and standardisation of hotels across the country.

The Zonal Coordinator, NTDC (South West), Mr. Nasir A. Kaka, who made the disclosure to Newsextra in the week, disclosed that he had heightened the operation in his domain, adding: “It did not just begin; we have been on it for a while now.”

Just recently, the director-general of the Corporation, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, during a chat with reporters had vowed: “At the end of the current administration when stock-taking will be made, I want to ensure that improved tourism is counted among the main achievements of the administration and indeed, a major source of income for the government.

This is why as part of our tourism drive, we are seeking better welfare for tourists at our hotels nationwide.”

Kaka spoke in the same vein, emphasising that in line with the mission of the Corporation, all its members of staff had remained on their toes in ensuring the realisation of the goal in response to pressures from the leadership of the Corporation.

“When we have hotels that are friendly to customers, visitors into our country including investors will be well convinced that ours is a society to inhabit and do business. We are also doing

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Lagos

By Dada Aladelokun

whatever we can to see to it that the operations of our hotels do not allow for any crime that can discourage visitors. Once you know that you can spend time in our hotels without any fear that you may be robbed, then you will be encouraged to come. It is a total operation that we have extended to other aspects of our statutory operations,” he said.

He enjoined all owners of hotels in the country to cooperate with the NTDC and share in its dream for better welfare of the hotels in the interest of all. “Any hotelier that does not abide by our terms or share in our dreams will be taken care of by the laws. There are set standards that our hotels must measure up to, all in the interest of customers and our corporate image. As for us on the matter, there is no compromise; it is a task that we must achieve,” the z o n a l coordinator •Kaka warned.

Osun

The Chairman, Chief Adelowo Adebiyi, made the observation while speaking with journalists in Osogbo.

It would be recalled that flooding has been a perennial problem in Osun before Aregbesola assumed office on November 26 last year.

Adebiyi said as soon as Aregbesola came into office, he knew that flood might ravage the state and he put measures in place to checkmate it.

“Had it not been that the governor was visionary enough, the state would have had a flood disaster on its hand. Look at what is happening in many other states.

“But because the governor saw it coming, he ensured adequate dredging of the rivers before the rains started,” he said.

Aregbesola had ordered the release of N187.5 million for the dredging of Okoroko, Alekuwodo and Ogbaagba flood prone rivers in the state.

Particularly, Gbonmi River, where flood disasters were recorded every year, contractors have completed dredging there before the current rainy season.

Adebiyi therefore urged striking workers to show concern for the state’s finances as the government had a duty to carry out other developmental projects.

Briefly

Council chief seeks re-election HON. Kamal Bayewu, the outgoing chairman of Ajeromi Ifelodun LocalGovernment Area, Lagos, has hinted of plans to seek for re-election under the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the forthcoming local government polls scheduled for October.

He gave this hint at a formal ceremony organised on his behalf by his campaign organisation, Bayewu Campaign Group 2011.

The highlight of the event was the unveiling of some of the projects embarked upon during Bayewu’s administration in the past few years.

Rev. E.O Ayorinde, the chairman, Bayewu Campaign Group, while giving a scorecard of the last administration, said some of the few milestones recorded include the provision of good road network, improvement in the education and health sectors.

Other achievements recorded by the Bayewu-led administration, Ayorinde said, were in the area of security through the provision of facilities to boost crime prevention as well as welfare for the aged in the community.

The present administration, Ayorinde stressed, “Has really done exceptionally well economically and socially because most projects executed by the administration have never been done before in the history of the local government.”

HE Ondo State government has concluded arrangements to train 500 co-operative groups and another 500 small scale entrepreneurs.

The Special Assistant to Governor Olusegun Mimiko on Community Development and Non-Governmental Organisations [NGO], Mrs. Bolanle Olafunmiloye, who disclosed to reporters in Akure said, government was ready to provide financial assistance to the people after the training.

She noted that the goal of the recently launched Community Based Entrepreneurial Development, otherwise known as COMBED by the state government, is to produce entrepreneurs that can fend for themselves and create employment opportunities, thereby contributing to the socio-economic development of the state.

At the end of the training, she said, government would encourage the participants to go into businesses such as; cassava and palm oil processing, poultry and fish farming, sawmill industry, soap making, bakery and plantain chips production, in line with the available raw materials within their localities.

She disclosed that the programme will be executed in conjunction with the officials of the state Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Bank of Industry.

Having noted that the lack of access to adequate fund is the problem of the

Church remembers the poor

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HE Redeemed Christian Church of God, Levites Assembly, Owodunmi Street, Onipanu, Lagos last week put smiles on the faces of residents of Onipanu, Palmgrove, Igbobi, Fadeyi and Mushin when it sold personal and household items at give away prices.

The items included clothings, electric irons, cookers and shoes. Buyers paid as low as N50.00 to have some of the items.

Speaking on the programme, Pastor Ikem Ojugbana said: “It is evangelistic in nature, it is service to humanity.

The items are of high quality as they command high prices in the market.

We are into this to help our immediate communities”.

Ondo From Damisi Ojo, Akure

entrepreneurs and not non-availability of human or natural resources, Olafunmiloye confirmed that the state government in partnership with the Bank of Industry had made available the sum of N2 billion which will be disbursed as loan to the participants. “ The rolling out of COMBED some few weeks ago is aimed at promoting the establishment of micro projects and make the existing ones to flourish while working on the human resources to create jobs. It’s an affirmation of the present administration’s commitment to industrialise the state, thereby creating jobs and boosting the economy” She expressed confidence that the newly inaugurated members of the monitoring and evaluation team will perform their duties

effectively towards achieving the desired results as she promised that government will provide them all the necessary logistics.

Amuwo Odofin sensitises on use of nets

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HE Lagos State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) has organised a forum for stakeholders,preceding the distribution of Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs).

The campaign will entail sensitising residents to use nets and distributing 4.2 million LLINs across all the local governments and local council development areas; with each household receiving two nets each.

Lagos State, it will be recalled, is a beneficiary of the Global Fund Round 8 grant for scaling up malaria control interventions in all the 20 local government areas and the 37 local council development areas, with the NMCP the principal recipient of the grant.

At the forum, held at Sheraton Hotels and Towers, and chaired by the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola, the chairman of Amuwo-Odofin Local Government

Lagos Area, Comrade Ayodele Adewale was nominated as a Net Mentor in recognition of his contribution towards the development of the local government in the area of health, and to further support the propagation of net utilisation among the people of AmuwoOdofin.

At the occasion, Mrs Fashola, confirming him as an official Net Mentor, graciously decorated the council chief.

It will be recalled that Amuwo-Odofin has taken a giant stride in healthcare services in the past three years, with emphasis on primary healthcare delivery service.

At present, the local government has 21 doctors in all of its four health centres, and 83 health workers, with a cumulative total of 68,429 patients attended to in all the centres.

‘Education is cure for poverty’

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N activist, Mrs Benedicta Attoh, says education is the key to breaking the circle of poverty in the country.

Attoh, the Senior Special Assistant to Edo Government on Non-Governmental Organisations, said this in Benin while speaking with reporters.

She said: “Not just formal education but also informal education and skill acquisition. I will say that education in any form is the key to breaking the circle of poverty.’’

Residents solicit support on council headquarters T HE Ilaje indigenes of Ondo State have appealed to the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to locate the headquarters of the proposed Ilaje North West Local Government in Atijere.

Speaking with newsmen on the creation of the proposed local government area in Lagos, the Molokun of Atijere, His Royal Highness, Oba Samuel Olumide Edema, said that the creation of the proposed Ilaje North West Local Government from the present Ilaje Local Government was necessary to enable grassroots people in the area feel the impact of governance.

He noted that the proposed local government would also help to rally all the Ilaje-speaking communities together within Ondo State.

On the location of headquarters at Atijere, Oba Edema said that Atijere has been the headquarters of the Ilaje communities from 1915, when the town was the headquarters of the Ilaje Division, adding that even at the creation of the Okitipupa Division in 1928, Atijere continued to be the headquarters of Ilajeland.

The traditional ruler said, “Atijere was made the headquarters of Ilaje District Council between 1955 and 1976 under the Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo Western Regional Government. Until 1976, when the Ilaje Ese Odo Local Government was created by military decree as a merger of Ilaje and Ese Odo District Councils with the headquarters at Igbokoda.

“Atijere is central to all the Ilaje communities. There is a law stating that a local government headquarters should not be far from the communities that make up the local government. The law also stated all the communities must not cross other state to access their local government headquarters. Atijere is within the state and

•Mimiko

Ondo

By Gbenga Aderanti

accessible through waterways and roads.”

He said that since 1976, Ilaje people have been agitating for a central place as their local government headquarters; adding that in 2002, Atijere was made the local government headquarters of the Ilaje North West Local Governmment when the late Chief Adebayo Adefarati regime created five additional local government areas before it was later scrapped.

On why the enforcement of the Child’s Right Act has yet to be fully embraced in the state, she said “we need to work closely with parents on this aspect.

“We need to empower parents both financially and on information dissemination for them to also be able to empower their children.

“I don’t believe that parents should be criminalised and punished for alleged child abuse as enshrined in the Act. “I think that they should be educated on this aspect and continuous awareness programme on the Act is advocated’’.

Attoh said: “Parents and stakeholders should be made to be aware of the consequence of not sending their children to school.

“They should be taught and enlightened that culture is dynamic and that poverty is man- made and that it can be eradicated.

The SSA, therefore, said the issue of enforcement of the Act should not be left to government alone saying that: “there is so much we can do in terms of awareness.

“But we need to also create the enabling environment that will ensure that the law becomes most effective in the state,” she added.

• Chairman, Ikeja Local Local Government Area, Hon. Wale Odunlami (left) being congratulated by Major-eneral Hafix Momoh (rtd) after receiving his Distinguished Worthy Ambassador Award of Excellence from the University of Ibadan

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

29

NGO urges banks to give loans to rural women

A

GENDER-BASED non-governmental organisation (NGO), Women’s Development and Empowerment of Communities (WODECO) has urged commercial banks operating in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to give something back to their host community as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

One way they can do that, WODECO noted, is through soft loans to rural dwellers, especially women.

The NGO conceded that banks are in Abeokuta for business primarily, but urged that they can serve the people better by giving to the community out of their abundance.

No fewer than 10 commercial banks - four old and six new generation ones- have branches at Abeokuta metropolis.

WODECO Executive Director, Mrs Mary Ajayi, said banks can

•Participants at the event From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

demonstrate their CSR by granting microcredit to small- and medium-scale women entrepreneurs

either to establish petty businesses or boost existing ones.

Mrs Ajayi who spoke at the interactive forum between WODECO and bank executives in

the city, lamented that financial institutions in the town have not done much to encourage women entrepreneurs, adding that poverty has regrettably been feminized because of the prevalence of poverty among women.

She appealed to the banks, especially their decision makers, to have a change of attitude, noting that if the low income and poverty of the women in their host community are to be tackled, they should be assisted with loan facilities to invigorate their small and medium scale businesses.

“We believe that banks can do more than they are doing now to encourage women,” she said. “Besides, as an NGO, we have only benefitted from the benevolence of only one bank in Abeokuta in our 14 years of existence and we believe banks can do more for us to serve the people better.

“It is people within the locality who patronise the banks for various transactions; it is these same people who are often disturbed by the irritating noise and rough driving of the bullion vans, their lives

Workshop for Ogun council chiefs

•Okparaeke’s farm

•Continued from Page 27

• His birds •Continued from Page 27

“The issue of road was settled in this area when the former governor, Dr. Chris Ngige came to the rescue of Umuchu. He worked on the road that links the community with Umunze”.

“Also, during the military era, Omeruah gave us borehole but till date it does not have sumo; we are lacking water, govern-

are at risk when unfortunate incidents like armed robbery attack occur.

“WODECO strongly believes that it is only fair that the banks should compensate the people for their patience and tolerance by sowing into non-governmental organisations’ activities.”

Seh said high interest rates, stringent conditions and sophistication of the banking environment are making it difficult for the rural women to access bank facilities for their petty enterprises.

However, the banks - Guarranty Trust Bank, FinBank and Bank of Agriculture, that participated in the Interactive Forum admitted encountering challenges in their locality but assured that something positive would come the way of the women and WODECO. Mrs Olabode Dayo of the Bank of Agriculture and Mr Muyiwa Akande of FinBank, their banks keep certain percentage of funds to cater for the loan facility for women particularly the small scale business operators among them.

Farmer lifts community ment does not help farmers, rather they see us as those who are not serious and instead of helping us to grow, they beam their searchlight on politicians.

“Before now banks were refusing us loans but today, we are hot cakes; we should give

thanks to the state governor, Mr. Peter Obi for recognising the importance of farmers in this state. He has really helped the farmers”.

“Instead of looking for what the country will do for us, we resorted to helping to build the nation.”

at the grassroots to complement the efforts of the state government.

Mrs. Olajumoke Familoni, the CEO, ICLED pointed out that development starts with leadership at the grassroots. She said the strategies the participants acquired for developing their communities should be deployed for the target purpose.

“There should be basic service, developing leadership vision, and setting the tone of orientating the state. Cottage industries will grow and the local government will function the way they should, so that we can together learn better than we met the state,” she said.

“You must consult the opinion leaders- traditional and community, in identifying the areas of their felt- needs and properly addressing them in order to enlist the confidence of your people in your ability to deliver what is generally referred to as dividends of democracy,” she said.

Also, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local

Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Babajide Oyeti, who was one of the resource persons, emphasised the importance of “agenda setting,” saying it should not be a major priority but should equally be rooted on the existing legal structure at the Local Government level.

Oyeti counseled team spirit working in cooperation with Council staff, the important individuals and organizations in the Local community that can help strengthen the economic base of the area.

He urged participants to understand that the local government, as the third tier of government, is charged with the responsibility of making life better through prudent spending, vibrant investment initiative and mild internally generated revenue for developing their communities.

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

CITYBEATS THE NATION

30

E-mail:- ynotcitybeats@gmail.com

T

HEY trooped to Lagos in search of better life.

They had heard that the city is flowing with milk and honey. So, they came in droves to try their luck. They realised that they had been fooled, when they saw that Lagos’ streets were not strewn with gold.

Without jobs and a decent accommodation, many of them resigned to live in shanties along the waterfronts. They eke out a living doing menial jobs and hustling tourists on beaches.

This is the lot of many of the waterfront dwellers, a community of people left with no hope, but, soldiering on and keeping up bright faces in their makeshift abodes at the Kuramo, Alpha and Eleko beaches, among others.

Though their blighted existence went unnoticed, until recently, the impact of the climate change and the environmental disaster threatening their continued existence have brought their plight to the front burner.

They were rendered homeless by a surge that ravaged the Alpha and Kuramo beaches in Eti-Osa Local Government Area, their properties submerged.

The surge, which occured last week, swept through Kuramo, Alpha and several other places on Victoria Island, causing many residents to flee their homes, leaving their properties to the whims of the angry tide.

A resident, Ayodeji Olamilekan, was in tears as he took stock of his loss. He described the surge as the most dangerous and worst, ever witnessed in the area.

“Nobody expected this kind of thing. If not that people were not asleep when the surge occurred, the casualty rate would have been heavy. The government should do something about this problem,” he said.

He said the residents had anticipated an earlier respite to the threat when President Goodluck Jonathan visited the state as part of his on-the-spot assessment of the coastal erosion upon the ship wreaks along Olomometa, a coastal community within the area.

That was after the flood of July 10.

“When President Jonathan visited this area after the July 10 flood, we were happy that soon there would be a solution to this

•The wreckage by the sea waves

Ocean surge washes away communities •Waterfront dwellers bemoan fate • Lagos seeks Fed Govt’s aid

By Miriam Ndikanwu

environmental threat. But, unfortunately, nothing happened until this disaster took place,” he said.

For Olamilekan, the challenge is massive and should not be left to the Lagos State Government alone.

He said: “President Jonathan should please come to our aid because we are also citizens of this country. If nothing is done to checkmate the situation, more damage could be done.”

Another resident, Rosemary Udoh, a trader, said

everything she had lived for was destroyed in the surge.

“I have been selling on this beach for two years and I live here with my sister.

Right now, we have nothing left in the whole world, I lost everything,” she lamented.

A woman, who gave her name as Iya Koffi, a restauranteur, was short of words on the devastating impact of the surge. She said her home which was more than 100 metres away from the coast is barely saved.

Water is now less than two metres from her door, even at low tide.

“At night, we dare not stay

inside because the tide reaches every part of the house. I have never seen this ocean like that in my life. In the last two weeks, it has been rising steadily, but we did not imagine it would even be this worse. Where the ocean is raging right now used to be where people used to sit to drink and relax,” she said.

When the ocean surged last Sunday, only a few lucky residents were able to salvage some of their property.

Those who only do business in the area got a surprise of their lives on Monday when

they arrived to find that their shops were gone.

A mosque on the beach was reduced to rubble. A church in the area has also been washed off. A resident, Nicholas Duka, said commercial sex workers, who ply their trade in the area, were also displaced following the destruction of their brothels, which were mostly constructed with wood.

“Those girls make this place interesting. But they dare not come here in the evening or night anymore.

This place is now a danger

zone.

“What makes this place more frightful is that this is not like the flood which ravaged most places in Lagos more than a month ago.

This is the Atlantic Ocean at work. You cannot construct drainage or anything to stop the tide. It destroys anything on its path. That is why you cannot find any shop on the coast anymore,” he said.

“A tarred road runs parallel to the beach. The road was broken by the strong tide that hit the beach that Sunday; the washed-off asphalt was deposited by the walls of the few remaining

•SEE PAGE 31

Police Officers Mess inducts new members

Akiolu, cleric urge Lagosians to be tolerant

LAWMA distributes 500,000 refuse bags

POLICE officers promoted Assistant Superintendent (ASP), were last week inducted into the Officers Mess of the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos.

Also inducted were two honorary members.

Twenty-six officers from the Police College, Ikeja, were promoted ASP. President of the Mess Committee and Deputy Commandant of the College, Deputy Commissioner of Police Aminchi Baraya, conducted the induction.

He enjoined the new officers to appreciate their responsibilities, adding that they can no longer afford to behave like the rank and file.

OBA Rilwanu Akiolu of Lagos and Chief Imam Garuba Akinola, have enjoined Muslims to imbibe the lessons of Ramadan.

They gave the advice in their messages at the Obalende Praying ground in Lagos where Muslims converged to worship at the end of the Ramadan fast.

Akiolu, who commiserated with families of victims of the Ibadan flood disaster and the Abuja bomb blast, prayed Almighty Allah to give them the fortitude to bear the loss.

Akinola urged Muslims to ensure peaceful co-existence with others, irrespective of race, greed or religion. He said only peaceful co-existence could enhance rapid development and growth of the state and the nation.

LAGOS Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has distributed 500,000 trash bags to residents to aid proper waste disposal.

A statement from the authority said the bags were handed out free as part of its commitment to a neat and healthy environment.

The agency also asked the 350 Private Sector Participants (PSP) operators in waste disposal to sustain the cleanliness in the city.

The distribution of waste bags during festive periods began four years ago, and aimed at ensuring that refuse were properly bagged and disposed in containers which would be evacuated by the assigned PSP operator for each vicinity.

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

31

CITY BEATS

Ocean surge washes away communities

•Continued from page 30

•The late Admiral Aikhomu

Security firms mourn Aikhomu THE late former Chief of General Staff and Military Vice-President, Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, has been described as the principal architect of modern industrial security in Nigeria.

Aikhomu, it was learnt, was instrumental to the passage of the Private Guards Decree No. 33 of 1986, by the then Gen. Ibrahim Babangida administration. The decree was the first to provide a framework for security companies operation and regulation.

In a statement in Lagos, the President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), Dr. Ona Ekhomu, said Admiral Aikhomu worked tirelessly to lay the foundation for the phenomenal growth in professional private security.

Ekhomu described Aikhomu as a passionate, visionary and fiercely patriotic leader.

Don eyes LCDA chair A DON, Dr. Ayo Ogunjobi, who is a member of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), is to contest for the position of Chairman in Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA).He disclosed this at a press conference in Lagos on Monday .

Ogunjobi, who holds a doctorate in Political Science and specialised in Public Administration, lectures at the Lagos State University (LASU).He said he wanted to exhibit his potentialities and put in his working experience into governance. His words: “I have taught in the University environment. I have travelled far and wide and above al, I am a grassroots man. I live among them and I know the problems they are facing and I believe I am in the right position and in the right party to assist them'' He added: '' I have contributed my quota to the local government. I am sure I will scale through the political screening of tomorrow if it is free and fair.''

1. Fire and Safety Services Control Room Phone Nos: 01-7944929; 080-33235892; 080-33235890; 08023321770; 080-56374036.

concrete shops on the beach.

The road has been eroded, creating a gorge more than three feet deep on the beach.”

The Commissioner for Waterfront and Infrastructure, Prince Segun Oniru and his counterpart in the Environment Mr Tunji Bello, during a visit to the area to assess the damage, urged the Federal Government to come to the aid of the state and find a lasting solution to the environmental challenge.

According to Oniru, who blamed the disaster on neglect by the Federal Government, the problem would have been solved a long time ago, if the apex government had redeemed its promises to assist Lagos to solve the problem.

“You will recall that we came here about three months ago with President Goodluck Jonathan, to show him the enormity of the ecological disaster looming on our waterfront. From that

time till now, we have lost about 10 metres of our land to ocean surge and people’s lives and properties are constantly threatened by the surge. ”What we need here is a permanent solution to the problem, something like what we did at the Bar beach.

That is why Ahmadu Bello Way is not flooded. This problem is not a Lagos problem.

It is a national problem. The Federal Government should come to the aid of the state government. A huge amount of money is required for a permanent solution and the state government alone cannot finance this,” he said.

He lamented that tourism operations have been paralysed at the beaches, following the ocean surge, adding that the incident has adversely affected the state’s economy. The commissioner corrected the erroneous impression that the surge was caused by the building of the Eko Atlantic City in the Lagos Atlantic zone, saying

‘

“the problem is a global problem. The construction cannot cause ocean surge. It is a ripple effect of the hurricane in the Caribbean.”

Bello said it was disheart-

ening to see teeming Lagos residents become refugees in their own country, with nowhere to lay their heads any more.

Bello said the people’s

means of livelihood have also been destroyed, appealing to the Federal Government and well-meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of the victims.

Youth group organises free GCE training

A

N organisation, Ikorodu Youth Forum (IYF), has organised free coaching for youths in the division to prepare them for the forthcoming General Certificate Examination (GCE).

The programme, according to its Chairman, Comrade Akadiri Adeleke, is for those who enrolled for the examination, but cannot afford the cost of booster class.

The programme, Adeleke said, is powered by a mem-

•Another face of the destruction at Alpha Beach

By Oziegbe Okoeki

ber of the House of Assembly, Sanai Agunbiade, and Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Otunba Fatai Olukoga. It is supported by the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Salaudeen Oyefusi and his wife, Muyibat; Ikorodu Local Government, Lagos State University (LASU), Ikorodu campus management; Muyi Consult,

The Ikorodu Youth Forum is one of those organisations that have taken up such challenges to provide free annual GCE coaching for pupils

’

Funcity, Ikorodu branches of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Homat Group of Schools and Boras Supermarket.

He said more than 600 youths are taking part in the coaching, which will last for eight weeks, adding that this is the third year of the programme.

Speaking at the programme’s opening event at LASU’s Ikorodu campus, Olukoga said the thrust of the state’s education policy is provision of qualitative education and pursuit of academic excellence.

Olukoga said the state has

•A cross section of beneficiaries

2. Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Lagos Zonal Command Phone No: 080-77690200; 01-7742771 Sector Commander Phone No: 080-776909201; 01-2881304 FRSC Emergency No: 070-022553772

a policy of free education at all levels, but due to the everincreasing population various philanthropists, nongovernmental organisations and corporate outfits are supporting the government in providing education for all.

“The Ikorodu Youth Forum is one of those organisations that have taken up such challenges to provide free annual GCE coaching for pupils in

Lagos to rehabilitate youths

L

AGOS State Deputy Governor Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adufulire, has advocated the teaching of entrepreneurial skills in schools to accelerate economic development.

Besides, youths roaming the streets are to be rehabilitated, she said.

She spoke after inspecting some environmentally blighted areas in Ojodu on the outskirts of Lagos. She said there was the need to ensure effective education measures to promote entrepreneurial skills in the youth.

Mrs. Orelope-Adefulire lamented that hoodlums and miscreants have turned school premises to their abodes, noting that the Ministry of Education, Youth and Social Development Ministry will ensure that public schools are properly fenced with gates.

She said the gates would be manned by security personnel to prevent the hoodlums from further turning schools to hideouts.

“We have directed the Youth and Social Development Ministry to facilitate the rehabilitation of some of

EMERGENCY LINES 3. LASTMA Emergency Numbers: 080-75005411; 080-60152462 080-23111742; 080-29728371 080-23909364; 080-77551000 01-7904983

Ikorodu division, who are preparing for the WAEC/ NECO examinations, " Olukoga said.

He said the programme was part of the solutions to the poor performance of students in WAEC/NECO. Olukoga advised the youth to take advantage of the programme to increase their knowledge and brace up for the challenges in the future.

4. KAI Brigade Phone Nos: 080-23036632; 0805-5284914 Head office Phone Nos: 01-4703325; 01-7743026 5. Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Phone Nos: 070-55350249; 070-35068242 080-79279349; 080-63299264 070-55462708; 080-65154338

By Miriam Ndikanwu

the youth roaming the streets and hanging around our schools, engaging in all forms of social vices.We know most of them are victims of circumstances, that is why the Youth Ministry will invite them for counselling, rehabilitation and ensure they acquire some skills and do something good for themselves,” she said.

Mrs. Orelope-Adefulire cautioned contractors handling various projects against doing shoddy jobs to avert the revocation of their contracts.

She also urged resident associations and community development committees to be involved in the monitoring of ongoing projects within their areas and ensure that such projects are properly implemented by contractors, according to specifications.

The deputy governor also charged the residents to report errantcontractors who fail to deliver according to specifications to the state government.

767 or email: rapidresponsesquad@yahoo.com 6. Health Services – LASAMBUS Ambulance Services Phone Nos: 01-4979844; 01-4979866; 01-4979899; 01-4979888; 01-2637853-4; 080-33057916; 080-33051918-9; 080-29000003-5.

32

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

33

34

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

CITY BEATS

Shun illegal migration, youths warned

FROM THE GRASSROOTS

Second term ticket excites council chiefs

C

HAIRMAN of Itire-Ikate Local Council Development Area Hakeem Bamgbola and his Iru-Victoria Island counterpart, Prince Muideen Daramola, have saluted the leadership of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), in Lagos State for giving them an opportunity to re-contest.

The party’s leaders in the Central Senatorial District led by Prince Tajudeen Olusi, are satisfied with the performance of the council chiefs.

Daramola pledged to continue implementing the programmes of the party.

The Iru-VI council boss boasted that residents of the council would enjoy more dividends of democracy.

"I want to assure the party leaders that they will not regret giving me a return ticket. Our party has yet again display what it takes to be a leading opposition party and

‘

During our 'Thank You' tour to various wards, many came out to express appreciation for the work our administration has done within the last three years

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

ITIRE-IKATE party of the people by aligning with the voice of the people.

If re-elected, Daramola promised to actualise the building of new council secretariat that has been in the works for a long time.

"Also, we are going to improve on the provision of basic amenities that would make life better for the inhabitants," he said.

Bamgbola commended the foresightedness of the party leadership to identify with the yearnings of the electorate.

"During our 'Thank You' tour to various wards, many came out to express appreciation for the work our administration has done within the last three years. They clamoured for continuity and our party has consented to their request. We will not disappoint them for the trust repose in us," he said.

He pledged that once re-elected at the October 22 council elections, his administration will focus more on people-oriented projects.

"We will continue to improve on our health facilities and qualitative education at primary school level.

We need to consolidate our efforts on construction of more roads and drainage. The empowerment projects would be giving a more impetus to accommodate more people. These and other numerous programmes have been lined up for people during the second term," Bamgbola said.

’ Councils challenged on public T

HE Lagos State Government has tasked council chairmen to complement its efforts in tackling sanitation challenges confronting the state by providing public toilets at strategic locations within their territories.

The Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Tunji Bello, gave the charge to the 20 Local Government and 37 Local Council Development Area Chiefs last week, at the inauguration of five public toilets constructed by the Ejigbo Local Council Development Area.

Cutting the tape on the toilet at the Mechanic Village Phase I, in Ailegun Ward of the LCDA, Bello praised the council Chairman Kehinde Bamigbetan for what he called "the delivery of a functional project."

He said: "These facilities should be replicated by all council chairmen at strategic places for the use of the people. What the chairman of Ejigbo LCDA has done should be emulated by his colleagues.

"These toilets were not just provided on the road, where nobody will use them, but sited in strategic places where there are traders

‘

These toilets were not just provided on the road, where nobody will use them, but were sited in strategic places where there are traders and other categories of people

’

sanitation

By Yinka Aderibigbe

EJIGBO and other categories of people.

This is what we call a functional project."

Acknowledging that the toilet is a right step in the right direction, Bello explained that if people have toilets and water, they will be able to eliminate many communicable diseases.

He congratulated Bamigbetan and the people of Ejigbo for the milestone. He said: "It is one thing for a leader to recognise the needs of his people, and another to take action. Our chairman has taken action in this regard."

Earlier in his address at Ona Iwa Mimo Street, Bamigbetan explained that the decision to locate a public toilet in the area was borne out of the fact that there is a high turnover of people coming from under the bridge to perform spiritual bath regularly. In the process, they mess up the environment. He added that during the 120-day sanitation campaign launched by his administration, he discovered that a public toilet close to the bridge will go a long way to solve the problem.

Bello also declared open another toilet facility within the premises of Low Cost Primary School, Jakande Estate, where he appealed to residents of Ejigbo to maintain a clean environment, as it will bring about healthy living and reduce the amount of money they will spend treating themselves at hospitals.

He advised Lagosians not to throw refuse into drainages around them, warning that heavy rains like that of July 17, are expected in Lagos.

He listed the blocking of drainages by refuse as a major cause of the flooing in the state.

N

IGERIAN youths have been warned to shun illegal migration, through the desert, to Europe.

President of a Non-Governmental Organisation, Patriotic Citizen Initiatives (PCI), Osita Osemene, gave the warning in Lagos, at a media parley to dissuade illegal migration of youths to Europe as part of the group's activities to mark its one year anniversary.

The theme of the event is campaign against desert migration to Europe.

According to him, many young Nigerians are stranded in the desert as they embarked on their illegal journey, with thousands dead before they arrived to their presumed destinations.

Osemene, who had been on such journey, described it as deadly and unrealistic. "The youths travel be-

By Wale Adepoju

cause of promises that they would get a better job but that is often not the case. The journey is full of horror. The dead bodies of our youths are lying there in the desert. Some died in the Mediterranean Sea while some were stranded in the desert," he said.

He said it was high time the Federal Government did something about the problem.

Osemene said: “Many of our young girls have been made sex slaves in the desert. The cartels have sold them into forced prostitution.

I witnessed how our young girls were sold for $3000. Each of them had to make $9000, before she was freed. Sadly, a lot of our youths are still being deceived into this journey."

He identified misinformation and

'Be more involved in road preservation' T

HE Lagos State Government has urged residents to be more involved in preserving public infrastructure, especially roads.

The Managing Director of Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC), Mr Gbenga Akintola, said the time has come for Lagosians to show interest in the preservation of public utilities because they were procured with public funds.

He said: “Time has come for all of us to be more interested in our roads. Our attitude in the past was to watch as people willfully damaged our roads. That is wrong. We must own these roads because they were built and are being repaired by public funds. We cannot continue to wait for the government to inject money into repairs at every turn. Let all of us be interested in what happens to our roads."

He listed roadside cooking, spillage of grease, engine oil and other gasoline materials, random road cuttings, and pressures exerted on the roads by articulated vehicles and other heavy duty motorised vehicles, as agents responsible for the early collapse and damages on roads across the state.

Akintola issued the red card to those involved in such activities. He said the government would soon

desperation among youths as reasons they fall victim to the offer of such journeys."I want the government to create jobs because the challenging nature of the economy is the compelling factor why youths venture into such journeys," he said.

Osemene said the mission of the agency was to create awareness about the dangers of desert migration and human trafficking through mass campaign programmes. Others are to embark on rescue mission to the transit camps, within the desert, to save those stranded, and to rehabilitate returnees and to build moral, patriotic and efficient citizens.

He said the agency would also inculcate in the leaders the need to improve the well-being of the people, adding that it would make sure that youths' characters are reformed to enable them think and act accordingly.

By Yinka Aderibigbe

begin to arrest any culprit whose actions endanger the roads.

"Presently, we are imploring all those cooking by the roadside to stop doing so, as the heat generated by their cooking affects the road.

Same goes for those mechanics who prefer to repair damaged vehicles by the roadside, rather than taking such to their mechanic garages.

Grease, oil and other condensates that get spilled on the roads, ultimately spoil them. We are also imploring those using articulated vehicles to stop using all trunk c roads as these roads were not constructed to absorb such pressure. The wear and tear of these vehicles does a lot of damage to roads especially the inner roads in the state," Akintola said.

The road agency chief, who revealed that most of the roads have outlived their designed life, said while the state government is doing everything to redesign and expand some of the roads, a development he said would require huge capital, the agency is geared towards maintaining existing ones..

He disclosed that the agency is well equipped to handle its assign-

•Akintola ment efficiently and will audit roads in the state soon.

Akintola said the agency will continue to work at making roads motorable all-year round, adding that under his watch, the agency has increased its repair gangs from five to 24, while its workforce is primed to improve on road conditions at all times.

He said residents should challenge anyone seen cutting roads, indiscriminately, to see whether such people had obtained the necessary permit from the state’s infrastructure development agency before embarking on the project.

‘Christians can patronise Islamic banking’

A

CLERIC Prophetess Ukiri Esho, has described as unhealthy, the heated religious sentiment generated by the proposed establishment of Islamic banking. For her, there is nothing wrong if Christians patronised it.

Mrs Esho, who is the National President of the United Aladura Churches, said the religious sentiment introduced into the proposed banking model is unnecessary and unhealthy for the economy.

According to her, rather than crucify the CBN Chief, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, over the Islamic banking model, Christians can also go ahead and agitate for a platform for the establishment of its own bank.

She said: "It will be very wrong

E

By Paul Oluwakoya

for Christian leaders to discourage prospective Christian clients who are interested in prospecting the non interest products that would be on offer when the Islamic banking option goes into operation."

Prophet Esho spoke at the 20th Anniversary of the Esther Band of the Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Obanikoro, Lagos. She also dismissed the likelihood of any religious uprising as a fall-out of the activities of the Boko Haram sect in the country, alleging that the sect is being used by some disgruntled politicians to settle political scores.

"Those attacking the nation only disguised under Boko Haram, a sect

Agents urged to embrace STATE agents and landlords rent edict have been advised to coop-

erate with the Lagos House of Assembly and Governor Babatunde Fashola, to make the newly introduced rent edict work.

A chieftain of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Alimosho Local Government Area, Mr. Bola Smart, gave the advice at a press briefing in Lagos.

He praised the House Assembly and the governor for the introduction of the edict.

He also praised the state Commissioner for Information and

By Gbenga Aderanti

Strategy, Hon Abdullateef Aderemi Ibirogba for his humility and love for the people of Lagos.

The chieftain also charged the ACN supporters to rally round the state governor and the leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for total success in the forthcoming local government election in the state.

which has morphed into a militant group rampaging the peace of the nation. Those people are not any member of any religious organisation or denomination. I know they are political hoodlums" she said.

Also speaking, the Church's priest Apostle Babatunde Odele described the Esther Band as a set of divinely inaugurated women folks that are vibrant in evangelism and propagation of Christian living and faith.

He said: "Train a woman then you have trained the nation. These are women that have been trained to bear the noble of Christian faith and models for other women. They have continued to throw their wealth to the growth and development of the church. Since inception of the group their contributions have been immense and in fact today, they are financing a building project in the church.

The band leader Rev. Ogunbona, praised God who has continued to preserve the church and members of the association, just as she praised Him for peace that has been reigning in the state.

"There have been series of vision about the threat of the devil to destabilise Lagos State. The band has been praying to avert it and we have reason to praise God that the devil has been defeated and we pray that the victory shall be permanent," she said.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

CITYBEATS

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QUOTE

OF THE WEEK “The youth must believe in the importance of key democratic values and virtues such as tolerance of divergent view points, support for the rule of law, principle of justice, equity and fairplay and also to learn how to analyse and absorb them.”

Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Youth and Social Development, Enitan Dolapo-Badru at the final ceremony of this year’s youth week.

Council tackles poverty

H

• Mrs. Fashola with some of the pupils and an official of the programme

Fighting social vices through summer programme HE has a great passion for hairdressing from childhood.

But Miss Mary Dominic, a pupil of Leelan College, Oregun, Lagos has never had the opportunity to undergo training in the vocation of her dream due to her parent’s rejection of the idea. But Mary, 16, never lost sight of her passion, as she usually prayed to God for a chance to have her dream fulfilled.

At Oregun Government College last week, Mary Dominic had her prayer answered as the Lagos Empowerment and Resource Network (LEARN), provided her an opportunity to realise her dream.

Mary, who lives with her parents at the Alausa Police Barracks is among 4, 200 other pupils across the state attending summer school and vocational training. The students were drawn from the six education districts of the state.

LEARN, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), initiated in 2007 by the Lagos State First Lady Emmanuella Abimbola Fashola, has been in the vanguard of vocational training for school kids.

Since this year’s edition kicked off on August 4, Dominic said she had learnt not just about hairdressing, but also on her civil rights and obligations, which she agreed are not part of the school curriculum.

She said:”This programme has really helped me. I now know many other things outside the school curriculum. I now have clear idea of my civil rights.”

For another pupil, Miss Sekinat Amzat, aged 14, the programme has been a blessing in disguise.

Amzat of Ikorodu Government College said she underestimated the impact of the training when she was picked as a beneficiary.

Within three weeks, she acknowledged that her life has been transformed. She cited an excursion to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), as one of her life changing experiences in the programme.

She said: “I have never been to the Airport before.The programme gave me that opportunity. I never heard about civil education. But I

S

By Yinka Aderibigbe

now know so much about my rights and responsibilities. Already, I am being trained in hair-dressing. I chose it because I plan to go fully into it by the time I gain admission into a tertiary institution.

Each of the 4, 200 beneficiaries of the LEARN Summer School Empowerment Programme in all seven centres across the state, has positive testimonies to share with their colleagues when a new session begins in September.

And this complements LEARN Project Manager, Mrs. Bisi Awoyomi’s position that the programme was designed to take students away from vices during the vacation. She said LEARN sets out to train the students in a vocation of their choice to endear in them the spirit of entrepreneurship.

Awoyomi said Mrs. Fashola's passion to groom future leaders gave rise to the initiative in 2007 and the long vacation, which spans between June and September, has been utilised to engage the students from dabbling into vices.

She added that the programme started with about 500 participants, and it turned out "to be a huge success.

“In 2008, we tripled that number and have to increase the number of our centres and got more volunteers to teach the participants courses, such as Moral & Civil Education, Leadership Studies and Sex Education," she added.

She disclosed that about 13,200 pupils from different ethnic, religious and social backgrounds have benefitted from the programme.

The Ikorodu Centre Co-ordinator, Mrs. Funmilayo Soneye, said the initiative was not aimed at merely educating the pupils, but to strategically groom them to take up leadership positions in the future. That is why we were not limited to the regular subjects contained in the school curriculum.

Soneye said LEARN's objective is to equip young people with vocational skills and moral values which, according to her, are essential in their march to the future.

She said only English and Mathe-

matics, "are taught during the summer programme. But we essentially teach them moral and civic education, leadership studies and sexuality education.

"The programme runs through a period of six weeks, during which each participant has a unique opportunity of undergoing a vocational training of his choice. We have nine different vocations, which include catering, tailoring, barbing, hairdressing, nail fixing, bead-making, hat-making and event decoration," she added.

Awoyomi said the programme was organised to reach out to as many young people as possible.

“This informs why we reached out to them not only in the metropolis, but also in suburbs such as Ikorodu and Badagry. By 2012, the Epe centre will be ready. We are not urbanbased. We are passionate about young people irrespective of where they are," Awoyomi added.

UNDREDS of beneficiaries smiled home recently, as the executive and legislative council of Yaba Council Development Area (LCDA) in a rare show of compassion, jointly reached out to the impoverished rersidents of the council.

The council agreed that its token would go a long way in cushioning the effect of poverty in the lives of the beneficiaries.

Hundreds of residents received sewing machines, grinding machines, hair dryers, mechanic tools, fishing tools and canoes. Others also smiled home with clippers and generators, bags of rice, crates of minerals and telephone handsets and recharged cards.

Each of the nine wards in the council also got a set of DSTV decoder and a colour television to get the youth busy and entertained. A charge, however, went to the community development associations to preserve them and find a suitable location for public viewing.

Traditional rulers, community leaders, local politicians and market leaders poured encomiums on the council Chairman, Hon. Jide Jimoh, and his team of supervisors, councillors and workers for sparing a thought for the poor and needy.

Yaba leaders, including 90-yearold Pa Aliu Dawodu, in whose honour a health centre has been named, former council chairman Otunba Tayo Oyemade, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chairman Chief Alade Grillo and Community Development Association (CDA) Chairman Apostle John Ojo, hailed the kind gesture and urged other councils to take a cue.

At the ceremony, which held at the council secretariat, Jimoh told the beneficiaries that the items cannot reduce want and misery, unless they are put into use.

He said: " We want the beneficiaries to see anything they receive today as seeds. When you eat your corn seedling, it is gone for ever, but when you plant it, though it may take a little time, it multiplies and increases. The little seeds you receive today, I implore you to plant it and water it well. Sooner than you expect, your harvest time shall come."

Jimoh explained that an aspect of the empowerment programme was

By Emmanuel Oladesu

deliberately targeted at the youths because they are the leaders of tomorrow. He said concerted efforts must be made to keep them off the streets and stop youth restiveness and gangsterism, because, an idle mind is the devil's workshop. Jimoh said the CDA in each ward would be responsible for the monthly subscription on the decoders.

Apart from the poverty alleviation scheme, Jimoh unfolded plans to open a new health centre for the benefit of the council. He also announced the resolve of the council to sell kerosine at 50kobo per litre, instead of N250.

The chairman said Yaba residents deserve more. He thanked them for their support for his administration.

Jimoh described his administration as a people-friendly, which has fulfilled its manifestoes. "We have come, we have seen and we have conquered," he added, highlighting his achievements in office.

The chairman said Yaba LCDA has become a model council as reflected in the sheer number of awards and accolades it has garnered. He stressed that, apart from providing infrastructural facilities, he has made the people's welfare his priority.

"Every month, we set aside funds from which we give financial assistance to people in need. Through this, we have helped people to pay children school fees, hospital bills, house rents and take care of other personal needs.

Jimoh said when people started to take advantage of this, he resolved to empower them so that they can be self-reliant, instead of relying on doled out cash.

He was optimistic that the measure would stem unemployment and assist beneficiaries to make modest contributions to the local economy.

Jimoh said: "As a starting point, about 150 individuals and groups have been carefully selected to benefit from this economic empowerment programme. This idea is to set people up in various trades and professions and give a boost to those already in the trade."

•The Chief Imam of Lagos, Alhaji Garuba Akinola, leading prayers at the Obalende praying ground to celebrate the Eid-el-Fitri... last Tuesday

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

38

We appeal to well-meaning Nigerian’s to support the twins to set up a business. If you touch their lives, you have touched the lives of the rest of the blind people who want to be accepted as responsible citizens

Skilled blind twins need help

T

AIWO and Kehinde Lawal look trim and beautiful like any other women. They stare at you while you speak and take in every detail, smiling most of the time. But one thing about them is that those are sightless.

They were born with visual impairment.

Taiwo, who resides at 5 Olutunfese Street, Ketu, Lagos, headquaters for the Niger Delta Blind People’s Association, expressed her gratitude to the association, which is male dominated for offering her shelter. Kehinde prefers to live in their home state, Ondo, where they grew up.

On getting to the home of the Niger Delta Blind People’s Association, this reporter was given a warm welcome by the President of the association, Mr Ben Omietimi and the secretarycum house keeper, Mrs Blessing Nwagbo.

The first thing that strikes you is the staircase that leads you to the four bedroom apartment. How does a visually impaired ascend and descend such a staircase? Mrs Nwagbo replied: “they even run on it”.

Mr Omietimi noted that the home serves as a refuge for the visually impaired throughout the country.

He said: “The association was formed to fight for the interest of the blind. The blind cannot feel comfortable in the midst of the sighted. When they come here, they feel a sense of belonging”.

Speaking about the twin girls, he said: “Taiwo is the only blind fe-

•Taiwo and Kehinde Lawal (middle) with some members of the Niger Delta Blind People’s Association

By Janice Nkoli Ifeme

male who lives with us. Others come in from time to time but she is here because she does not have anywhere to go. They are very nice girls. Please do whatever you can to assist them”.

The girls said that they are fed up with repeating the story of their lowly upbringing. “We need money to start our business. We really need help”. Taiwo spoke on behalf of the twins.

She recalled the history of their 32-year sojourn, sightless among the sighted: “We were born like that. We come from Akoko in

Okeagbe in Ondo State. People were telling our mother to kill us.

We lived with her until we were 16. Our father denied us, on seeing that we were blind so we do not know him till today. Our mother was poor and crippled and took care of us through the help of people. At 16, we resumed school at the Ondo State School for the Blind. From there we came to the Vocational Institute for the Blind at Oshodi, Lagos. It is from there that I started living here because I do not have anywhere to go.”

Taiwo, who has a four-year-old son born to another blind man who is now married to another, expressed her hope saying: “My

dream is to get some money to establish a trade so that I can move on. It has not been easy but with God, I know we can make it. Please help us with some money to establish the trade we have already learnt. We want to establish a trade in soap making, Izal, detol, bead making, polythene bags, slippers, sandals and many others. All we need is money to start the business, so that we can contribute to the society and not be a liability”.

She continued: “I want to own a shop where I can produce these items and sell them”.

On the father of her son, she said: “He is in Kwara. He is also blind.

He is working at the Arts and Cul-

T

•From right: Mrs. Fashola and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Culture, Mrs. Doyin Olusoga during the Eid-el-Fitri celebration at Lagos House, Ikeja

Akiolu, Fashola’s wife, urge peace at Ramadan

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IFE of the Lagos State Governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola, Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwanu Osuolale Akiolu, have urged Muslims and Lagos residents to abide by the lessons of Ramadan.

They spoke at the special celebration of the 2011 Eid-el Fitri Celebration organised by Lagos Ministry of Home Affairs and Culture at the Lagos House, Ikeja, Lagos.

Addressing the large audience at the celebration, Mrs Fashola enjoined Muslims not to relent in their prayers as this is necessary for peaceful co-existence in the state.

She said that Lagos would continue

By Miriam Ndikanwu

to maintain the leadership role not only in Nigeria but in Africa where residents tolerate other religions and dwell harmoniously.

In his remark, Akiolu thanked Allah for sparing the lives of citizens to mark the month of Ramadan, saying that Muslims should constantly pray for peace of the nation.

In his sermon, the Chief Imam of Lagos, Imam Garuba Akinola, said Muslims should put the lessons learnt during Ramadan into practice and ensure that they did not depart from them.

Akinola urged them on proper

conduct and the need to leave in an atmosphere of peace irrespective of race and religion, which according to him, would enhance rapid development and growth of the state and the nation in general.

He also commiserated with the families of the victims of both Ibadan flood and the Abuja bomb blast and prayed that the Almighty Allah would give them the fortitude to bear the loss.

Present at the celebration include, members of the Lagos State Executive Council, market leaders, politicians and Muslim clerics.

HE Ilamoshe community in Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Lagos, has praised the developmental efforts of the council chairman, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan.

The commendation was made at Ejigbo Town Hall during the inauguration ceremony of the execution members of the Community Development Association (CDA).

Speaking at the occasion, the chairman of the associati o n , P ri n c e W a l e E d a gb e j a said the council chief has brought development to the community, something which, according to him, had eluded them in the past.

He promised that the CDA will assist the government in contributing to the growth of the council.

In his address, the secretary general of the association, Otunba Dele Macaulay

ture and is now married to someone else. We are no longer together”.

Taiwo, who declined discussing her ex-lover, expressed her hope to get married some day and so did her sister, Kehinde”.

The secretary and house keeper of the home where Taiwo resides, Mrs Blessing Nwagbo urged Nigerians to assist the girls to make something out of their lives. She said: “They are good girls. They have learnt a trade, which they are well skilled in. They are greatly skilled at bead making, soap making, slippers, sandals and many handiworks. Please, we need people to donate substantial amount of money to enable them start a business:.God will surely reward everyone who comes to their aid.”

President of the Niger Delta Blind People’s Association, Mr Ben Omietimi said: “This is one of the reasons for which we established this association-to take care of people like Taiwo who have nowhere to go. We appeal to well-meaning Nigerian’s to support the twins to set up a business. If you touch their lives, you have touched the lives of the rest of the blind people who want to be accepted as responsible citizens. The blind are going through a lot and need all the assistance they could get to be able to live a responsible life.”

When asked how much she would need to establish a trade, Taiwo said: “If I can get like N200, 000, I can start something. If it is up to N500, 000, better.

On hearing about the girls’ ordeal, the Founder/Patron, African Refugees Foundation (AREF), Ambassador Segun Olusola said he would have loved to come to come to the of the girls but lacks the means to do so. He appealed to everyone who feels concerned to come their aid.

Community hails council chief thanked the council chairman for providing a conducive environment for the CDA to operate.

The secretary used the forum to show his appreciation to Mr Bamigbetan for his recent intervention in the crisis that rocked Ilamoshe CDA, in Ejigbo a community with over 100,000 inhabitants. He said: “If not for your quick intervention, the crisis would have degenerated into communal war that could have led to loss of life and property. So, it is people of this calibre with exposure and good networking that we want to lead us in Ejigbo.”

Mrs Fashola enjoined Muslims not to relent in their prayers as this is necessary for peaceful co-existence in the state

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

THE CEO

‘Delay in PIB passage affecting business’ Environmental Remediation Holding Corporation (ERHC), now ERHC Energy Inc, is an American company quoted on the New York Stock Exchange. Its President/ Chief Executive Officer, Peter Ntephe, speaks on the firm’s plans and other oil and gas issues.

EMEKA UGWUANYI, Assistant Editor (Energy) reports.

W

HAT are the milestones recorded in your operation and investments in West Africa’s oil and gas industry in the last one year?

We have finished drilling our five wells in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ). At the moment, ERHC has two core interest areas – the Nigerian Sao Tome Joint Development Zone and Sao Tome and Principe Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). So, in the last one year, we’ve finished exploration Phase 1 in the JDZ blocks 2, 3 and 4. We drilled five wells there to a depth of 3,900 metres each from the surface, that’s deep offshore well.

Natural gas was discovered in three of the wells. Currently, studies are going on based on the results of the wells to determine how we progress.

Those five wells met our commitment on Exploration Phase 1, according to our production sharing

• Ntephe

‘The truth is that we don’t have infrastructure in Nigeria.

For instance, electricity. We do have a lot of problems, although we certainly have the best industry in terms of the oil in the ground. So, you balance that with external, social, economic and infrastructural challenges’ contract (PSC). Exploration Phase 2 commenced in April. So, the studies we are doing with the results of the wells will determine how we proceed with Exploration Phase 2.

That is one milestone from the JDZ. On the EEZ, we said ERHC had interests to exercise. But those interests have been exercised and we have been awarded blocks 4 and 11 of the Sao Tome and Principe EEZ. We hold those blocks 100 per cent. We have further right to exercise more 15 per cent in two more blocks. Next year, I hope to tell you about our acquisitions in several other African countries because, in the last one year, we have worked very hard to diversify our portfolio.

We have several concessions in other African countries that we have been negotiating on. We hope that, in a short while, we will be able to say we have acquired some more acreages in Africa. ERHC

model is to be a non-operator. We don’t operate; we bring in technical partners to operate our concessions. But our target is, in the next five years, to be the holder of the largest exploration acreages on the western coast of Africa.

Are you running away from the Nigerian environment?

I am not running away from Nigeria. Nigeria is a major stakeholder in the JDZ, which it jointly owns with Sao Tome. Nigeria owns 60 per cent. This is business and you have to cut your cloth according to size and it is progressive. Nigeria is so big and we are not ruling out Nigeria but there are other places with more prospective assets for a company our size, places you can move in quickly.

We have not ruled out Nigeria, there are several negotiations going on in Nigeria. We have accessed 18 marginal fields, so there are discussions going on there. But

there are places in Africa where we are closer to conclusion. So, those are our priorities because we are a small company and we have to prioritise. We can’t chase everything at the same time.

What are the challenges you faced in exercising the rights in the JDZ and EEZ and those in developing the assets?

The challenges are not extraordinary. But, for a small company, it is more difficult to ensure that our major rights are involved. I must say we have good cooperation from the Join Development Authority (JDA) and we have had a long-standing relationship with the government of Sao Tome and Principe. We are the first international oil company to have an exclusive agreement with their governments; this was in 1997. Those rights have been renegotiated within a legal framework. That makes sure that those renegotia-

tions ended in a position where both sides mutually benefited. That was the challenge. But in terms of respecting legality, the two countries – Sao Tome principally – where our rights derived respects legality. We have always used legal means on the negotiating table and have always negotiated contractually.

Last year, you said your company was looking forward to being quoted on the London Stock Exchange and South African Stock Exchange. How far have you gone with this plan?

We have gone very far with the London Stock Exchange. But because we are not a typical company coming to the Exchange, which is new or a company that has been in operation for 25 years, so they have to do due diligence on you and it is that due diligence that they want. That is why it is taking a little longer. Our target date was December, but our due diligence is not yet complete because they are looking at our records and we have an immense amount of records. They are looking at our records over 25 years. So, we expect that sometime this year because we have done a lot of job on that, very advanced one and can say 70 to 80 per cent of the work is complete for listing.

When are we looking forward to the completion?

Hopefully, in summer this year.

What of the South African plan?

The South African plan follows immediately because we will, essentially, use the documentation prepared for London. That is what we will take to South Africa.

With the passage of the Nigerian Content Act, what kind of opportunities does it present to investment companies like yours?

First of all, you have to understand our business model. What we do is to provide the financial contribution to the operation of the assets. For instance, for our blocks in Sao Tome, we went into technical partnership with an operator doing the same thing we did in JDZ. In JDZ, we brought in Addax and Sinopec into the JDZ blocks 2, 3 and 4. And whatever residual interest, we make our proportionate contribution to the cost of operating the acreage. This means that companies like us can be virtual companies. We can run this company from anywhere in the world.

You can run it from a computer and that is why we remain small but we bring very strategic contributions into the oil and gas.

We research the industry and it is actually small companies like us that are in the majority. The companies that operate are quite few.

Companies like us go into an area, like we did in Sao Tome, where an operation is going on, we negotiate with the government, get things concretised and bigger companies buy in. We are actually the people that go in search, and that is why it is called ‘Wild Catting.’

The operator doesn’t want to take the whole risk, so we share the risk and when oil is discovered and is being produced, we take our proportionate share of the production.

Since you started your operation in West Africa, have you hit commercial find?

No, because we have concentrated so far in Sao Tome and Principe and Joint Development Zone (JDZ). Our first drilling operation was JDZ Blocks 2, 3 and 4, in which we have discovered natural gas but you know the target is always crude oil. So, our studies, based on what we found now, will determine how we go forward with phase 2 and the target is always to discover crude oil or natu• Continued on page 40

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THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

THE CEO • Continued from page 39

ral gas in much quantity because those are very deepwater depths, so you have to discover in such quantity that will make it commercial for you to build the infrastructure for such water depths to explore the gas or oil.

With the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) expected to be passed before the end of the year, to boost activities in the oil and gas, are you positioned to bid in the round?

We are strategically positioned, of course, for the next bidding round, even as we are today. But we are an American public company and so, we operate on specific guidelines. We don’t operate on conjecture. Once the guidelines come out and we assess what they are, we will operate within that legitimate framework only.

Last year, you said you were assessing some of the assets in Nigeria to see where you can plug in. Have you identified any attractive marginal field, which you can explore?

There are so many attractive fields. Of course, we are bound by confidentiality, but there are many fields that we are in advanced talk with. However, there are other challenges. The fact that the PIB is still not passed is having real impact because that will have real impact on your taxation. So, when you are doing an appraisal of an investment and you are uncertain about the tax regime that is going to apply, it will affect your economics because you will want to model it on certainty. So, we are in an advanced talk, but hope that the PIB is passed sooner than later, so that we can go on with what we are doing.

Why are upstream companies not quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as obtainable in many countries?

Oando has an upstream division and it is quoted. But recall that as far as the upstream is concerned, these are the local content fields that are meant to encourage indigenous Nigerian companies. Therefore, the upstream Nigerian operators are still in their infancy. And you find out that even these quoted companies didn’t start out as being quoted when they were at the stage the indigenous companies are. They (indigenous companies) are better placed to be private companies because they are in their nimble and able to make quicker growth. They need to achieve a certain level of growth before looking at listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. You don’t just start and list. Most times, in the first decade of upstream, all you do is to spend money. The usual indices by which a company’s stock is rated will not exist for you. You will not have revenue, no proven reserves and earnings before tax.

These are indices Shell is divesting some assets it considers un-commercial and smaller companies find them attractive. Are you among companies queuing to acquire such assets?

No, we haven’t taken part in that. We want to concentrate on the ones we can do because we can’t do everything. What we might do is when those interests have been obtained by the companies that bid for them; we might do a commercial farm-in in at least small percentages.

As a company that operates in other countries, how would you assess issues, especially the fiscal regimes raised by International Oil Companies (IOCs) against the Petroleum Industry Bill?

I am not an expert on fiscal regimes because you might be comparing apples and oranges. The Nigerian environment is completely different from other environments.

Sometimes better, sometimes worse. First of all, we have more oil and very quality oil. We have proven reserves no one in the Gulf of Guinea can match not even Angola.

That’s on one sid,e but, of course; there are other external challenges in doing business in Nigeria. The truth is that we don’t have infrastructure in Nigeria. For instance, electricity. We do have a lot of problems, although we certainly have the best industry in terms of the oil in the ground. So, you balance that with external, social, economic and infrastructural challenges.

But I wouldn’t like to compare our regime with regimes in other places. I want us to look at things subjectively, before comparing with anyone else. We first check whether such policies promote our industry. I am not for or against the IOCs but what they say need to be taken into consideration should not override the national interest. So, it’s a question of marrying both the IOCs’ interest with that of the national interest. But also remember that the majority of the assets are being operated under the joint ventures and the majority interest is actually owned by the government of Nigeria.

‘Delay in PIB passage affecting business’

• Ntephe

‘The fact that the PIB is still not passed is having real impact because that will have real impact on your taxation. So, when you are doing an appraisal of an investment and you are uncertain about the tax regime that is going to apply, it will affect your economics because you will want to model it on certainty’

• Ntephe What are your strategies to boost upstream assets in the Gulf of Guinea?

Right now, we have a diversification strategy for the life of this company. Since the mid-90s, our concentration has been Sao Tome, the Nigeria-Sao Tome Joint Development Zone (JDZ) and the Sao Tome Exclusive Economic Zone. I will not be blowing

our trumpet to say it was because of ERHC that JDZ was set up.

We played a prominent role in the setting up of the zone. The activities going on right now on JDZ blocks 2, 3 and 4 are directly traceable to ERHC. We brought in the operators that drill the wells in other blocks apart from block 1, which we do not have

interest in. This block was awarded at the same time like ours in the licensing round and has commenced activities since 2005 when the licensing round was completed.

Only these three blocks in which ERHC has interest are witnessing activities. We drilled five wells which cost us almost $300 million, a proportionate share of that, even though we have carried it to $600 million.

This has been our concentration for the past 10 years and that is how we got the JDZ to where it is. Our focus is to try to diversify.

The focus of ERHC has always been West Africa. When I say West Africa I mean the western coast of Africa right down to Namibia.

Which countries will you look at when diversifying?

We will look at Nigeria, Gabon, Angola.

We don’t just come only to Nigerian oil and gas activities and conferences, we attend similar conferences and activities in Sao Tome and we will be in South Africa at the end of the year. We are working in Angola.

But we attend Nigeria conference more for the fact that it is the biggest producer in West Africa. There is no way we can’t appear here. Indeed, a lot of ERHC staff have Nigerian root, either they work here or they are born here or they have an affiliate in Nigeria. The second one, we have plans but not a major focus to diversify into other sectors. Our concentration so far has been in upstream. So, what we are trying to do is to diversify into other countries, move beyond the Sao Tome area and diversify our holdings so that we can have holdings in Gabon, Angola, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

What are the prospects of your assets in Sao Tome?

We drilled five wells between September 2009 and January 2010. In three of our blocks; blocks 2, 3 and 4, we partnered Addax and Sinopec in that drilling, they are the operators. As I said earlier, we joined them, they took majority of the share and they actually conducted the drilling. In block 2, one well was drilled, block 3, one well was drilled, block 4, three wells were drilled. Out of these wells, we found gas. So far, they haven’t been declared commercial. These are the commitment for exploration phase one and those commitments were completely met on schedule and within budget. The cost of each of those well is $60 million. The operators are analysing the results of the gas that was discovered because we are supposed to commence phase two. This implies that we need more exploration work. So, we have not had the kind of result we had wanted by this time but what happened is not unusual in the industry at all, they were the first people to drill there. We are the first people that drilled. We can do all sorts of analyses and all sorts of geological correlations on the result that we have seen and use it to interpret our analysis much better for future exploratory work. So, work is still ongoing in the JDZ What benefits have you derived from attending conferences in Nigeria?

It is not just benefit but our own contribution. I want to make this clear. Conferences in Nigeria such as the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) is really about showcasing the Nigerian industry and our own participation is about contributing to showcasing an industry that we will want to participate in. As far as benefits are concerned, the more you show yourself, the more people know about you, the more you develop business. A lot of the time when you do all these things, you can’t really measure it in terms of tangible quantity. It is goodwill that the company is developing. We are not talking about how much that is being generated. We are talking about visibility, industry perception and credibility, that’s the first thing we do. Any other thing that comes directly as far as business development is concerned is a bonus.

The case of marginal fields just like what Shell is selling now, the entire marginal fields have discoveries in them, and you know what you are going into. It is not an exploration field where it is really a gamble.

The wells are there, but they have been capped for some reasons or they were never developed. We are negotiating currently with at least three owners of marginal fields even though that is still being done in confidence. We didn’t bid for Shell oil blocks because we think the time was not right for us for a lot of strategic reasons. May be in future asset sale, if opportunities present themselves, we farm-in from people who will get them. We might get involved commercially and take non-operating interest but for us to put things together as a consortium, it will come too soon with all other things we are doing.

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THE IJAWS WANT TURU – EBE STATE FROM PARTS OF BENIN LAND THE BENIN PROTEST

D

uring the last quarter of the twentieth century, some Ijaws moved into the riverine areas of the present Ovia Local Government Area of Edo State. The area which is part of the South Senatorial District of Edo State make up some of the traditional hallowed grounds of Benin Land.

The movement was promptly reported to the Oba of Benin, the traditional landlord of all Benin lands with suggestions that they be flushed out. The Oba was even at that time, a more committed Nigerian than many of our leaders of today. He advised that the Ijaws be left alone as they were only on the land to make a living. They have since hatched and pursued a deliberate policy of ethnic cleansing by gradually bringing in more of their brothers and armed colleagues from the Ijaw homeland to terrorize the indigenes of the area, thus forcing them to move out for safety.

The result is that only the brave youths among the indigenes who are prepared to fight back are now left in the area. The rest have fled to Benin City and out-lying villages. Even the Okao of Gelegele and the Edionwere of the other villages have fled to Benin. On the 2nd day of June, 2011, the Enogie, the traditional ruler, of Obazowa-Iko, donated a piece of land to the State Government for a model Secondary School in his domain. When they were busy measuring the piece of land the next morning to ensure that the land was big enough for the purpose, they were attacked with cutlasses, cudgels and guns by Ijaws from Ikoro, a village some few kilometres away, and driven into the bush, escaping with machete cuts and contortions. Their claim was that the land belonged to them. The matter was promptly reported to the police. The result is not yet known.

i. No one State should be in a position to dominate or control the Central Government. ii. Each State should form one compact geographical area. iii. Administrative convenience, the facts of history, and the wishes of the people concerned must be taken into account. iv. Each State should be in a position to discharge effectively the functions allocated to Regional Governments. v. It is also essential that the new States should be created simultaneously.

All these criteria have to be applied together. No one principle should be applied to the exclusion of others. To give an illustration of what we have in mind, given the present size and distribution of the Nigerian population and resources, the country could be divided into not less than eight and not more than fourteen States. The exact number of States will be determined through the detailed application of these criteria and will be fully debated in the Constituent Assembly (Reflections on Nigeria Development – Allison Ayida pages 6-7").

These principles are as essential now as they were during General Gowon’s era.

No historical or geographical description of Ijaw land puts them in the area on which they now want to found a State. Nor can they fit into the principles for the creation of new States prescribed in the constitution, Some two weeks after this, some four male indigenes who were working not even as advised by General Gowon in 1967. But we are aware that in their farms at Ughoton, were abducted and taken away into the Ijaw States have been created and are being proposed for creation to satisfy village near Gelegele. It took the timely intervention of the Edo State the whims and caprices of individuals and groups of power seekers.

SSS to get them released after a few days of detention. It is obvious that This is inimical to the progress and well-being of the nation, and should our people are being pushed to the wall, and we cannot suppose that be stopped. anyone will accuse us of being rash if we now decide to stand our ground.

That is why we think it has become necessary to make the situation We dream of Nigeria as a nation where every governmental action is known to all Nigerians, especially the Presidency and the National purpose driven. The creation of States should therefore be purpose Assembly to where the Ijaws have sent their request for a new state to driven, with regular and uniform principles for all those areas that make the request. These principles should be fixed, and if they are not already be carved out of our land. They certainly have abused our hospitality. in the Constitution, then no more States should be created until the The Ijaws had come into our land in trickles and lived in fishing settlements. constitution has been provided with enabling provisions. The present It is important to make the fact now that the Ijaw homeland does not have situation in which individual and groups of power seekers make a common boundary with any part of Benin land. How they can jump incomprehensible request and go ahead to push them through cannot from the banks of Opobo River, their geographical boundary, and over a be acceptable to well-meaning Nigerians. If the present 36 States large area of Delta State, and over Benin River, to Gelegele to claim structure is not enough, then 250 States will not be enough for the self land is unfathomable. As a matter of fact, at independence, they were seekers. What is required is the creation of States along the lines of not at all in the area which they now claimed as their own. This area ethnic nationalities with each group kept together as much as possible. actually was the arena of the so-called Benin Massacre of 1897, which This is what had been sought for and advocated since independence. was the British excuse for their Benin Expedition of the same year. i. But the Ijaw homeland, Bayelsa, or as described in all history books now available, is neither historically nor geographically For those Nigerians who may require their own States, the historical contiguous with the Benin territories. make up of our country, based on the large number of ethnic nationalities, has provided indisputable principles for State creation. Dr. Azikiwe’s ii. Their population in the area, referring to the population figures of Political Blueprint’ for Nigeria, Chief Awolowo’s strong postulations on the last two census exercises, does not even justify their claims. the subject, and the NCNC Freedom Charter all of the 1940s, all agree that the boundaries of the ethnic nationalities, or their combination, should iii. Moreover, their claim over parts of the area has been contested provide State boundaries, and the British overlords at the time based by them up to the Supreme Court level, and they lost the claim. their amalgamation principles of Indirect Rule on the 23 provinces which This present State issue is only a strong arm-twisting substitute to encompassed all the ethnic nationalities of Nigeria. acquire Benin land, which for a Nation that seems to pride itself on the Rule of Law, would be dishonest and perverse.

When Gen. Gowon created States in 1967, he said: “this brings me to the major question of the creation of new States. I wish to make it clear iv. Even stronger still as reasons why we cannot abandon this area to the nation that honestly, I personally have no vested interest in the to the Ijaws are the facts that we have important historical creation of any particular State, but there is no doubt that without a definite monuments in the area: commitment on the States question, normalcy and freedom from fear of (a) At Gelegele, there is the Okun shrine which was established by domination by one region or the other cannot be achieved. The principles the legendary Prince Ekaladerhan early in the 11th Century, AD. for the creation of new States will be:

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

THE IJAWS WANT TURU – EBE STATE FROM PARTS OF BENIN LAND THE BENIN PROTEST (b)At Ugbine, there is the landmark monument marking the place where the British invaders first clashed with Oba Ovoranmwen’s emissaries, which eventually led to the Benin Expedition of 1897. (c)At Ughoton, Oba Ewuare planted seven ‘U’ bolts (Aban Ihinron) to stop pursuing soldiers from getting to Benin. These Aban(s), planted in the 15th century are still there. (d)Also at Ughoton is Oke N’ Alubode, the hill which was then regarded as the exit route of departing souls of the dead.

Whatever anyone may think, these to us are very important historical and cultural monuments which we must keep alive. v. Strongest of all our considerations is the fact that there are four Traditional Rulership stools in the area. a) The Okao of Gelegele b) The Enogie of Obazowa-Iko c) The Iyase of Udo d) The Enogie of Siloko I am sure no Nigerian will expect Benins to abandon four Traditional Rulers of their land, their landed area, and their stools, to the Ijaws.

We know that in spite of the quantum of oil around their own land, this is all about the small oil found in Gelegele.

We must not forget however, that oil is a wasting asset, and when it dries up, Niger-Delta will leave us with nothing. Meanwhile, we would have deprived our future generations of their share in the wealth. We all must join hands to ensure that some assets are left for future generations of Niger-Deltans. Unlike others we have been here before the birth of Christ, and that is why maps of the 15th century correctly designated most of West Africa as Benin, and named the waterfront along the West African coast as Bight of Benin. We cannot therefore, ignore the future or work towards its obliteration.

Those who attack us in our land are merely trying to rewrite history, but this is impossible. We as a people would not stand in the way of any agitation for States because it is not our position to do so. However, those agitating for States should avoid including the territories and land of other Nationalities in the map they configure for the purpose.

For us Benins, we shall resist with everything we have, any attempt to conscript our land and people into any arrangement that does not emanate from us as a people. We would be doing our heritage an irreversible damage if we compromise.

What Nigeria needs which we have also been advocating is dialogue, or a National Conference to enable us re-negotiate Nigeria that would lead to the promulgation of a People’s Constitution. The military constitution of 1999 is unsuitable for a 21st century democracy, and should be discarded. Ganging up to amend this Constitution to enable self seekers to have States created for them, no matter how adversely it affects others, is beneath the status of Nigeria, and seriously demeaning to the National Assembly. The National Assembly should prevent such a derogatory and denigrating action.

The Ijaws may be given as many States as they want, but such States should be created from their homeland, NOT FROM EDO LAND, NOT FROM BENIN LAND. CHIEF SAM O. U. IGBE, Iyase of Benin.

HRH, OGIEFO IDUOZEE, Enogie of Evboesi

His Excellency, CHIEF JOHN ODIGIE OYEGUN Former Gov., Edo State.

On behalf of the Oba, Chiefs and people of Benin.

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 2-09-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES Company Name ADSWITCH PLC CAPITAL OIL PLC MCNICHOLS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 3 1 5

Quotation(N) 1.71 0.50 1.02

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 318,869 545,265.99 150,162 75,081.00 2,487,408 2,537,156.16 2,956,439 3,157,503.15

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Company Name FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 11 21 33

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50 7.60

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 373,626 186,813.00 2,855,573 1,427,786.50 485,500 3,705,644.00 3,714,699 5,320,243.50

Quotation(N) 2.05 6.65

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 435,500 896,224.20 374,051 2,547,571.76 809,551 3,443,795.96

Quotation(N) 0.50 1.31

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 7,128,655 3,564,327.50 102,402 134,446.64 7,231,057 3,698,774.14

Quotation(N) 5.91 4.20 2.95 5.26 2.03 11.05 0.50 13.33 9.48 0.70 1.15 5.64 1.44 4.13 2.09 0.55 0.78 12.94

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 20,183,806 117,760,836.71 13,080,839 53,905,660.06 1,820,418 5,131,537.37 687,627 3,602,235.02 2,502,775 5,049,350.89 14,208,229 156,487,703.04 514,259 257,129.50 19,824,508 258,778,724.87 536,412 5,003,204.84 11,551,674 8,086,171.80 5,063,764 5,823,328.60 2,675,722 14,868,918.89 1,621,086 2,307,396.84 9,376,667 38,698,490.27 1,661,707 3,472,967.63 753,709 416,402.64 2,317,771 1,737,285.17 17,040,037 219,843,044.42 125,421,010 901,230,388.56

Quotation(N) 4.46 218.00 5.85 2.26 82.61

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,000 4,670.00 220,210 47,959,881.20 136,875 800,718.75 1,000 2,150.00 1,597,930 131,711,080.13 1,957,015 180,478,500.08

Quotation(N) 19.39 7.36 104.00 42.00

Quantity Traded Value 841,008 29,712 401,805 232,534 1,505,059

Quotation(N) 3.16 26.50 1.32 10.53 1.07

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 11,100 33,411.00 33,386 885,772.00 66,638 83,963.88 36,000 360,360.00 52,000 55,640.00 199,124 1,419,146.88

AIR SERVICES Company Name AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 12 39 51

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Company Name DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 37 13 50 BANKING

Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC FINBANK PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC. OCEANIC BANK INTERNATIONAL PLC SKYE BANK PLC. STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 222 146 37 31 50 566 26 547 39 30 84 85 23 218 99 17 45 450 2,715 BREWERIES

Company Name CHAMPION BREWERIES PLC GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC JOS INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 60 7 1 104 173 BUILDING MATERIALS

Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 65 5 44 25 139

of Shares (N) 15,947,917.11 216,818.40 41,574,997.87 9,729,042.30 67,468,775.68

CHEMICAL & PAINTS Company Name AFRICAN PAINTS (NIG.) PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC DN MEYER PLC NIGERIAN-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 7 7 2 3 20

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Company Name Secure Electronic Technology PLC RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 10 12

Quotation(N) 0.84 2.65

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 203,000 170,520.00 409,200 1,066,176.00 612,200 1,236,696.00

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Huge demand fails to forestall market loses

ESPITE huge demand for equities traded in the market last week, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) key indicators still closed southwards leaving the Market Capitalisation and AllShare-Index to drop by 1.72 per cent each.

Capitalisation of the market reduced by N121 billion to close at N6.909 trillion, while the Index dropped 377.89 points to close at 21,598.98 points.

The market as a whole recorded a turnover of 0.68 billion shares worth N3.6 billion in 13,712 deals in contrast to a total of 1.72 billion shares valued at N12.04 billion exchanged the previous week in 24,817 deals.

The Stock Market opened for three days as Tuesday 30th and Wednesday 31st of August, 2011 were declared public holidays by the Federal Government to mark Eid-el-Fitri.

The Banking sub-sector was the most active during the week with 366.58 million shares worth N2.21 billion exchanged by investors in 7,185 deals. Volume in the Banking sub-sector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Intercontinental Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. Trading in the shares of the four banks, accounted for 183.68 million shares, representing 50.11 per cent and 26.85 per cent of the sub-sector’s turnover and total volume traded.

No of Deals 6 6

Quotation(N) 3.25

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 48,240 149,061.60 48,240 149,061.60

Quotation(N) 1.99 6.51 29.25 6.11 0.80 39.00 27.10

Quantity Traded Value 11,620 103,925 360,687 4,986 4,206,497 287,770 819,584 5,795,069

Quotation(N) 55.11 0.50 3.64

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 30,464 1,631,135.28 9,489,899 4,744,949.50 333 1,272.06 9,520,696 6,377,356.84

CONGLOMERATES Company Name A. G. LEVENTIS (NIGERIA) PLC JOHN HOLT PLC PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC SCOA NIGERIA PLC TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC UAC OF NIGERIA PLC UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 6 1 53 2 48 56 72 238

of Shares (N) 22,078.00 676,551.75 10,778,727.95 28,968.66 3,246,644.19 10,928,988.82 22,365,786.30 48,047,745.67

No of Deals 5 10 1 16

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Company Name CUTIX PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 5 5

Quotation(N) 2.18

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 48,962 105,302.54 48,962 105,302.54

FOOD/BEVERAGES & TOBACCO Company Name 7-UP BOTTLING CO. PLC CADBURY NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIGERIA PLC HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT COMPANY NIGERIA PLC NESTLE NIGERIA PLC NORTHERN NIGERIA FLOUR MILLS PLC TANTALIZERS PLC UTC NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 23 36 17 54 65 10 42 54 1 1 3 306

Quotation(N) 45.00 16.55 9.13 10.21 76.00 4.40 4.20 402.00 22.61 0.50 0.53

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 52,069 2,311,891.34 372,399 6,203,731.43 118,250 1,079,622.50 2,606,866 26,616,101.86 280,168 22,025,299.22 26,397 110,339.46 502,989 2,113,681.80 188,824 76,007,921.30 183 4,137.63 498,693 249,346.50 101,000 53,530.00 4,747,838 136,775,603.04

HEALTHCARE Company Name EKOCORP PLC EVANS MEDICALPLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 5 4 15 16 7 6 30 83

Quotation(N) 5.31 0.94 1.61 27.00 3.80 1.33 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 35,257 178,047.85 166,000 156,040.00 287,349 460,330.32 112,288 3,029,353.04 65,080 234,938.80 106,200 141,246.00 15,994,650 7,997,325.00 16,766,824 12,197,281.01

Quotation(N) 7.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,510,500 11,328,750.00 1,510,500 11,328,750.00

HOTEL & TOURISM Company Name CAPITAL HOTEL PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 4

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Company Name B. O. C. GASES NIGERIA PLC NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 1 5 6 15

Quotation(N) 7.10 42.66 0.50 5.72

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 7,872 53,530.60 1,285 51,400.00 830,159 415,079.50 56,024 321,723.80 895,340 841,733.90

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Company Name CHAMS PLC STARCOMMS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 3 6

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 350,000 175,000.00 142,500 71,250.00 492,500 246,250.00

Quotation(N) 0.65 1.02 0.50 2.52 0.50 1.12 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,154,768 1,387,508.20 56,666 58,215.98 2,458,400 1,229,200.00 129,195 330,211.40 7,626,500 3,813,250.00 266,056 296,124.39 5,617,000 2,808,500.00 500,000 250,000.00 9,822,580 4,911,290.00 7,496,069 3,748,034.50 134,000 67,000.00 3,318,889 1,659,444.50 3,860,000 1,930,000.00

INSURANCE Company Name No of Deals AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 40 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 2 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE CO. PLC. 17 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSURANCE PLC 15 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 9 GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 12 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 22 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 20 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 40 LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC. 4 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 10 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC 22

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 2-09-11 N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. OASIS INSURANCE PLC PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC UNIC INSURANCE PLC. UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

22 2 4 3 1 10 12 46 315

0.50 0.50 0.50 1.65 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

5,059,168 71,800 751,000 28,160 5,000 4,759,947 2,007,066 17,441,722 73,563,986

2,529,584.00 35,900.00 375,500.00 46,336.16 2,500.00 2,379,973.50 1,003,533.00 8,720,861.00 37,582,966.63

Quotation(N) 0.90

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,868,201 2,585,694.90 2,868,201 2,585,694.90

Quotation(N) 0.97

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 3,937,899 3,681,701.43 3,937,899 3,681,701.43

LEASING

CONSTRUCTION Company Name JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC MULTIVERSE PLC ROADS NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

The Insurance sub-sector was boosted by activity in the shares of NEM Insurance Plc and Universal Insurance Plc on the week’s activity chart with a subsector turnover of 109.75 million shares valued at N60.038 million in 1,919 deals.

It was learnt that institutional investors took advantage of bargain prices in the banking sector in the just concluded week, mopping up shares of both top-tier and mid-tier banks.

These banks, Zenith Bank, GTBank, First Bank and Access Bank, were major contributors with corresponding price increase of 4.8 per cent, 4.6 per cent, 2.0 per cent and 1.0 per cent respectively.

Although sentiments for UBA, Skye Bank and FCMB turned positive by the end of the week, it was insufficient to erase the losses of the previous sessions, resulting in dip of 1.0 per cent, 1.1 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively.

The building materials sector was bearish, with only Lafarge Wapco rallying at the close of the week with a 2.4 per cent gain. Bearish sentiments shaved off 6.4 per cent from Dangote Cement, while Ashaka Cement and CCNN lost 1.0 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.

In the food and beverages sector, negative reactions trailed the second quarter result released by Dangote Sugar, subsequently leading to a 13.5

per cent loss in its share price last week. Dangote Flour also continued on its free fall, with a 14.2 per cent loss, while Flour Mills, Nascon and Cadbury, lost 6.8 per cent, 6.7 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.

Nestle was the lone gainer in the sector last week.

Two of the four sectoral indices appreciated during the week compared with all four that so depreciated during the preceding week.

The NSE Banking Index appreciated by 3.00 points or 1.07 per cent to close at 316.23, the NSE Oil & Gas Index appreciated by 0.66 points or 0.26 per cent to close at 258.27, while the NSE Food & Beverage Index depreciated by 32.29 points or 4.28 per cent to close at 731.73 and the NSE Insurance Index depreciated by 0.54 points or 0.34 per cent to close at 147.23.

Nineteen stocks appreciated in price during the week, same as in the preceding week. Guinness Nigeria Plc led on the gainers’ table with a gain of N3.00 or 1.4 per cent to close at N218.00 per share, while Okomu Oil Palm Plc followed with a gain of N1.36 or 8.00 per cent to close at N18.37 per share.

On the flip side, forty-six stocks depreciated in price during the week, higher than the forty-three of the preceding week.

Besides Dangote and Flourmills, other losers were PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Unilever Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries Plc, B.O.C Gases Plc and John Holt Plc.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

COMPUTER & OFFICE EQUIPMENT Company Name TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 21 21 MARITIME

Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 96 96

MORTGAGE COMPANIES Company Name ASO SAVINGS AND LOAND PLC RESORT SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1 1 3

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 240,000 120,000.00 2,000,000 1,000,000.00 27,000 13,500.00 2,267,000 1,133,500.00

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Company Name CRUSADER NIGERIA PLC. DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT AND TRUST PLC ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 17 4 15 36

Quotation(N) 0.50 2.02 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 3,778,124 1,889,262.00 174,000 351,480.00 464,052 234,592.22 4,416,176 2,475,334.22

Quotation(N) 2.01 1.05

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 915,980 1,808,578.64 200 210.00 916,180 1,808,788.64

PACKAGING Company Name NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC POLY PRODUCTS (NIGERIA) PLC. Sector Totals

No of Deals 36 1 37

PETROLEUM(MARKETING) Company Name BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA OIL & GAS PLC. FORTE OIL PLC MOBIL OIL NIGERIA PLC. OANDO PLC TOTAL NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 9 32 42 4 26 172 16 304

Quotation(N) 0.50 63.86 34.36 4.46 17.41 148.00 28.75 203.32

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,390 1,195.00 11,828 732,754.50 69,485 2,352,020.00 728,342 2,981,285.88 2,079 34,386.66 60,764 8,552,233.88 1,309,035 37,584,039.30 9,095 1,846,503.97 2,193,018 54,084,419.19

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Company Name LONGMAN NIGERIA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 25 26

Quotation(N) 4.75 3.95

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,500 6,780.00 960,415 3,820,730.32 961,915 3,827,510.32

Quotation(N) 19.69

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 109,020 2,053,126.88 109,020 2,053,126.88

REAL ESTATE Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 17 17

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST Company Name SKYE SHELTER FUND UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRU Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 8 9

Quotation(N) 100.00 50.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 20,000 2,000,000.00 188,450 9,422,500.00 208,450 11,422,500.00

ROAD TRANSPORTATION Company Name ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 8 8

Quotation(N) 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,782,150 891,075.00 1,782,150 891,075.00

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Company Name ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Sector Totals Overall Totals

No of Deals 29 29

Quotation(N) 13.08

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 879,660 11,754,756.40 879,660 11,754,756.40

4,778

278,335,778

1,516,824,282.16

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

55

MONEY LINK

CBN advocates PPP, BOT in infrastructure funding

By Collins Nweze

T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is advocating ‘Public, Private Partnerships’ (PPP) and ‘Build, Operate and Transfer’ (BOT) options in developing the nation’s infrastructure.

This stemmed from the fact that government resources alone are not enough to develop the infrastructural base of the country, hence the need to explore such other options.

The apex bank has also approved a Development Finance Department that would work with stakeholders in financing infrastructure development and to draft an Infrastructure Finance Policy for the country.

The proposed policy is expected to, among others; specify the infrastructure financing options, dispute resolution mechanisms, roles of stakeholders, and incentives offered by relevant government ministries and agencies. This will serve as a guide to investors and other stakeholders in making infrastructure project investment/financing decisions.

The policy is expected to leverage private finance for infrastructure development; diversify and develop the non bank sources of long term debt finance of Infrastructure and reduce the cost of projects. It will also promote the involvement of specialised funds and/or multilateral agencies and international banks in financing a growing number of development projects and determine and recommend incentives to spur local and international investors to invest in infrastructure projects in the country.

The CBN said there is need to explore infrastructure finance policies in other jurisdictions, especially in emerging economies to determine what can be leveraged from such experiences and liaise with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on their current policies on infrastructure financing and/

or incentives provided for PublicPrivate Partnerships (PPPs).

It is also crucial to identify the funding options in the private sector, make periodic reports on the progress of work to the InterAgency Committee on the Drafting of the Infrastructure Finance Policy as well as prepare a comprehensive policy for driving for the project.

A statement from the apex bank, said the initiatives taken so far, have in no small measure addressed the huge challenges confronting the nation, adding that such pro-activeness has provided a roadmap for resuscitation of critical infrastructure.

The CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said the present administration appreciates the key role of infrastructure in the economic devel-

absence of risk sharing structures and lack of refinancing facility to boost liquidity for banks engaged in infrastructure financing . Other impediments to infrastructure finance, according to him include, inadequate capacity building for stakeholders and policy reversal by government.

He said it was the concern to reverse this ugly trend and put Nigeria on a permanent path of development through infrastructure finance platform, that the bank has taken far reaching measures to encourage commercial banks to lend to the real sector and also approved the amended prudential guidelines on loan loss provisioning and rules and regulations on margin lending.

The CBN, said the reversal of universal banking structure was also

opment of the nation; hence, “concerted efforts are being made to reverse the infrastructural decay in the country. He gave the assurance that the government shall continue to create a conducive environment to attract foreign investments in the area of infrastructural development.

Sanusi, underlined the symbiotic relationship which exists between infrastructure and economic development, and decried the absence of their convergence due to poor performance of state-owned enterprises involved in infrastructural development, huge financing gap and absence of maintenance culture.

He identified the major challenges confronting infrastructure financing in Africa and indeed, Nigeria, to include non-availability of long term funds, harsh economic environment,

T

HE Chief Executive Officer, En terprise Bank Limited, Ahmed Kuru, has said the bank has been fully recapitalised and would emerge as one of the most profitable banks in the country within the shortest possible time. He said with enough funds to run its businesses, the bank is poised to utilise its potential to grow rapidly.

The bank chief, who commenced visits to top customers as well as town hall meetings with staff of the bank, said the bank is committed to actively

launch into the market and compete favourably with its peers. Kuru, made the declaration in separate meetings with top customers and staff recently at Aba, Port-Harcourt and Lagos.

He said, the recent tripartite intervention in the defunct Spring Bank Plc by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) led to the creation of a fully recapitalized bank with the injection of N111 bil-

lion by AMCON. During the town hall meetings organised as part of a meet-the-staff change management programme, he acquainted them of the objective of the new administration, he urged staff to focus on quality service delivery, team spirit, performance, good conduct and ethical practices as well as integrity and transparency to enable the new management realise its set objectives of building a sound and

O

CEANIC international Bank has said it would seek share holders' approval for the transfer of 40.17 per cent of its holdings to Ecobank Transnational Incorporation (ETI), with which it signed a merger deal last month.

It was the second such announcement of detailed plans on how five banks that have struck recapitalisation deals with bailed-out

pushed Nigeria's equity index to 20month lows In a notice to shareholders obtained

by Reuters, Oceanic also said the proposal would hand over 49.80 per cent of its shares to the state-owned Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), in exchange for the N290.15 billion rescue package it had received over this year.

The scheme giving AMCON a con-

rivals, intend to carry out their mergers. Access Bank, said last Thursday it would spend N50 billion to acquire 75 per cent stake in rival Intercontinental Bank .

Shareholders hope such deals will mark the beginning of the end of Nigeria's banking crisis. Uncertainty over its resolution has weighed on banking stocks, which make up about two thirds of the stock exchange, and

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($)

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2011 “ 14-04-2011

GAINERS AS AT 2-9-11 SYMBOL DIAMONDBNK ACCESS OKOMUOIL GUARANTY ETERNALOIL IBTC AIICO SKYEBANK GTASSURE NB

O/PRICE 4.00 5.63 17.50 12.50 4.25 9.04 0.62 5.38 1.07 79.02

C/PRICE 4.20 5.91 18.37 13.33 4.46 9.48 0.65 5.64 1.12 82.61

CHANGE 0.20 0.28 0.87 0.63 0.21 0.44 0.03 0.26 0.05 0.59

LOSER AS AT 2-9-11 SYMBOL NAHCO NEIMETH DANGFLOUR JOHNHOLT DANGSUGAR INTBREW AIRSERVICE NSLTECH ADSWITCH PAINTCOM

O/PRICE 7.00 1.40 9.61 6.85 10.74 6.15 2.15 0.88 1.79 1.12

trolling stake, was approved by a Federal High Court on Thursday, it said. A court-ordered mandatory meeting to vote on the deal would be held on September 27, the notice said. At the mandatory meeting, the bank would seek to reduce its share capital to N889.31 million, comprising 1.778 billion shares of 0.50 naira each, through the cancellation of the entire paid up capital.

DATA BANK

Amount N

Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

profitable bank.

He said: “As members of staff of Enterprise Bank Limited, we cannot afford not to be enterprising in our overall and collective approach to business from now on. Therefore performance will remain the watchword.”

Kuru announced that fresh appointment letters will be issued to employees in the new bank, adding that as a performance–oriented bank, there would be a reward system that would benefit deserving staff.

Oceanic to transfer 40.17% holding to Ecobank

Tenor

OBB Rate Call Rate

targeted at creating room for specialised banks that would be involved in infrastructural financing.

Enterprise Bank fully recapitalised for growth, says CEO

FGN BONDS

NIDF NESF

•CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi Lamido

C/PRICE 6.65 1.33 9.13 6.51 10.21 5.85 2.05 0.84 1.71 1.07

CHANGE 0.35 0.07 0.48 0.34 2.53 0.30 0.10 0.04 0.08 0.05

Amount Sold ($)

Exchange Rate (N)

Date

450m

452.7m

450m

150.8

08-8-11

250m

313.5m

250m

150.8

03-8-11

400m

443m

400m

150.7

01-8-11

EXHANGE RATE 26-08-11 CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency

Year Start Offer

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD NGN GBP

147.6000 239.4810

149.7100 244.0123

150.7100 245.6422

-2.11 -2.57

NGN EUR

212.4997

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

Bureau de Change 152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

(S/N) Parallel Market

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

NSE CAP Index

NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N)

23-08-11 N7.137tr 22,313.23

24-08-11 N7.135tr 22,308.22

% Change -0.03% -0.03%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

(S/N)

153.0000

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

Aug ’11

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

8.75%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 9.4%

Offer Price

Bid Price

9.17 1.00 117.62 112.11 0.78 0.01 0.97 1,620.90 9.61 1.39 1.87 8,827.74 193.00

9.08 1.00 117.16 111.16 0.81 0.01 0.97 1,618.90 9.14 1.33 1.80 8,557.73 191.08

ARM AGGRESSIVE KAKAWA GUARANTEED STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND THE LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL BGL SAPPHIRE FUND BGL NUBIAN FUND NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY THE DISCOVERY FUND • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

Rate (Previous) 24 Aug, 2011 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 26, Aug, 2011 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK Previous

Current

04 July, 2011

07, Aug, 2011

Bank

8.5000

8.5000

P/Court

8.0833

8.0833

Movement

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

56

NEWS ‘Malaria accounts for 60% patients in Taraba hospitals’

PDP: we’re not aware of six-year single tenure

•1m insecticidal nets for distribution

S

IXTY per cent of outpatients in Taraba State hospitals and clinics are suffering from malaria, caused by mosquito bite.

The high prevalence of malaria in the state is due to the ubiquitous streams, ponds and rivers that serve as breeding sites for mosquitoes, Commissioner of Health Prince Mustapha Hammangabdo said at the weekend.

“Malaria accounts for about 60 per cent of out-patients in Taraba,” he said.

The commissioner addressed reporters in the Sani Abacha Conference Hall at the Taraba State Secretariat, Jalingo.

He was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Philip Duwe.

The event was organised by the National Malaria Control Programme, under the Federal Ministry of Health, in conjunction with Roll Back Malaria, Taraba State.

Hammangabdo described journalists as agents of change and urged them to play a major role in sensitising the public and stakeholders on the efforts of the government at managing malaria.

“The media are agents of change. Without them, we shall go nowhere, despite the government’s efforts at reducing malaria mortality and morbidity,” he said.

Team leader of the National Malaria Control Pro-

From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo

gramme Mr. Gabriel Mbong emphasised clean environment, and other vector management, such as the use of drugs and long-lasting mosquito-treated nets.

State Coordinator of Roll Back Malaria Mr. William Burba noted that only 41 per cent of fever cases are reported within 24 hours.

He said despite malaria’s devastating socio-economic impact, Nigerians still perceive it as an ordinary disease.

“Malaria is the commonest cause of absenteeism from offices, schools, farms and markets, resulting to lower productivity,” Burba said.

He added: “It is more severe and life threatening among children under five years and expectant mothers and their unborn babies.”

The National Malaria Control Programme has procured 1,046,000 Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) for be distribution to the 16 local governments on September 22.

The nets were brought to the state last year.

Mbong said each household is entitled to a free treated net.

He said before distribution, the households would be registered and issued net cards and educated on how best to use it.

“One net card, two nets, but no net card, no net,” Mbong said.

•Party urges dialogue over minimum wage •Governor Danbaba Suntai

An LLIN can last four years, it was learnt.

The distribution in Taraba is part of the ongoing LLIN campaign by the National Malaria Control Programme in the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

T

HE ruling Peoples Democratic party (PDP) at the weekend said it was unaware of President Goodluck Jonathan’s sixyear single tenure.

The party said it was yet to be officially informed about the President’s plan on the controversial single term.

PDP Acting National Chairman Abubakar Baraje told reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, that the President

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

was only thinking aloud.

He said: “If the President thought that it is good for him, he has a way of presenting it to the party to accept it. But he has to pass the suggestion to the National Assembly in the form of a bill.

“It has not gone through all these stages. What the President is doing now is thinking aloud to the public. As far as

Agency to present 2012 clearance certificates

T

HE 2012 National Clearance Certificates of the Mobile Advert/ Loading and Offloading Agency (MOAN/LOLAN) will be presented at its Town Hall meeting in Benin, the Edo State capital, on September 16-17.

A statement at the weekend by its Secretary-General, Oguntolu Bukola, and the Director of Public Affairs, Bonaventure Agu, said the meeting would afford members, consultants and mobile advert officials the opportunity to come together under one umbrella.

President of the agency Otunba Mike Osimen Eboziegbe urged members to attend the meeting, saying issues on welfare/insurance cover and the challenges facing members’ work would also be discussed.

The statement said clearance

certificates would be available to consumers from the first week of November after their presentation to members of the agency.

The statement warned the public not to collect fake certificates, saying the signatures of designated officials of the agency must appear on certificates in each category of its operations before they can be regarded as authentic.

It listed the signatories to the MOAN national clearance certificates as Eboziegbe, Oguntolu, Chief Sunday Offobrequtta and Afiz Lawal.

Those for the LOLAN certificates are: Chief Richard Ibeto, Agu, and Robert Odibo Oriabure.

Also, Chief Francis Odunna, Yemi Adedeyi, Emmanuel Asuquo Udoefe and Alhaji Gam-

bo signed the Environmental Sanitation certificate.

The statement said while radio certificate is signed by Chief Arthur Obiora, Prince Emeka Ugwu and High Chief Adekunle, the hackney clearance certificate is signed by Emperor Osahon Aire, Adaeze Egabor and Cletus Abu. It added that the sewage certificate is signed by Chief Nathaniel Kolawole Aladesoun, Ese Archibong and Sunny Ikem.

The statement also said new members have been appointed for its National Task Force.

They are: Ben Ogbekilu, Chief Nwokocha, Ken Okojie, Mike James, Charles Eseigbe, Charles Chucks, Helen ObekiTaiwo, Muyiwa Adeyemo and Basia Salawu.

Others are: Patrick Okeika, Pat Osueni, A. O. Alanre and Raymond Salami.

we are concerned at the party level, we are yet to be informed by Mr. President that he is going to propose a sixyear term of single tenure. But we are quite aware that the President is thinking aloud.

“By the time we are properly informed at the party level, all the organs shall do a lot of consultations and come up with the decision to agree or disagree with the President.

“Nigerians have exaggerated the proposal. It started from the Mohammed Uwais-led committee. The committee recommended it as a way of stemming the tide of election violence, rigging and malpractices generally. But the then government dropped the idea.”

Baraje said the party had directed governors elected on its platform to implement the new N18,000 minimum wage.

The PDP chairman said the party urged the governors to dialogue with labour leaders in their states before implementing the new salary.

Baraje reminded workers that the era of strikes over demands was gone.

He urged the governors to table before the labour leaders the revenue accruing to their states’.

Baraje noted that if this was done, labour leaders would appreciate what the states were able to do in implementing the new minimum wage.

THE NATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

57

NEWS Tension in WAEC over conflicting results •Council sets up investigative panel

F

•From left: Osun State Deputy Governor Mrs Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori; Osun State House of Assembly Speaker, Najeem Salaam; Chief Judge, Justice Olaniyi Ojo; Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti and Head of Service, Elder Segun Akinwusi at the state’s 20th anniversary thanksgiving service at All Saints Cathedral, Balogun Agere, Osogbo...yesterday.

‘Non-implementation of minimum wage may cause revolution’

T

HE Southeast chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has said the nonimplementation of the N18,000 National Minimum Wage by Southeast governors may spark industrial revolution in the zone.

In a communiqué signed by the President and Secretary of the five Southeast States at the end of a zonal meeting in Abakiliki at the weekend, the union warned that the continued delay by the Southeast governors to implement the new wage

From Ogbonnaya Obinna,Abakiliki

may force the workers to embark on revolution.

“The minimum wage is non- negotiable, it is an act of the National Assembly, it is regrettable that the governors in the country, especially the governors in the Southeast, are still dragging on the issue of implementation. NULGE has reviewed the situation and are calling on the governors of the Southeastern states to implement the wage without delay,” they said.

“We know what it means

not to implement the minimum wage because when workers decide to down tools, the economy of the zone will be crippled. We are making a timely call because this issue the governors are handling like this may lead to a revolution. It is pertinent to note that no one in the zone is happy because they perceive the actions of the governors as deliberate attempt to deny them what is due to them.”

The union also described the federal roads in the zone as death traps and called on President Goodluck Jonathan and governors of

the Southeast to ensure the rehabilitation of the roads.

The union also decried the delay in the payment of June/July salaries to Imo State local government workers and urged government to pay the workers without further delay.

The union also frowned at the inability of Anambra, Imo and Enugu States to fully implement the Unified Local Government Scheme of Service as it affects placing of local government Head of Administration on salary grade level 17 and called for its implementation.

OLLOWING acceptance by the management of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) for the release of two different results on its website, which threw candidates who sat for the Senior School Certificate Examination of May/June into confusion, some of the staff may lose their job over the development, it was learnt yesterday.

WAEC had released the first result on August 10 where it said only 472,906 candidates representing 31 per cent obtained five credits, including Mathematics and English.

But, owing to what the Head of the WAEC National Office, Iyi Uwadiae called human error, another result that was not “quality checked

by Quality Control Department” was released on its website on August 26.

Uwadiae said the organi-

From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

sation’s system was not hacked and it was not a mischievous act by WAEC. After the release of the second results, students were graded differently from the first issued on August 10.

Consequently a panel has been set up to investigate the matter. The panel is expected to submit its report and recommendations to the Governing Board of WAEC. Explaining how the error occurred, Uwadiae said at a news conference convened by the Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike in Abuja , that after releasing the first result on August 10, the examination body went on to resolve queries which involved results that could not be released then due to errors during registration and examination.

APGA calls for Umeh’s removal From Ugochukwu Eke,Umuahia

LL Progressives Grand Alliance [APGA] stakeholders in Abia State have passed a vote of no confidence on the party’s National Chairman Victor Umeh and called for his removal from office.

This was contained in a communique after a meeting in Umuahia and signed by the state Legal Adviser (Charles Elodi) and Vice- Chairman (Christian Umeugo).

The stakeholders accused Umeh of incompetence in his running of the party and turning it into his personal estate, “combining both the office of National Chairman with those of Treasurer, Financial Secretary, Cashier, Auditor, Deputy Chairman, PRO, Legal Adviser, among others.”

He was also accused of not accounting for party funds for the past seven years he has been overseeing the affairs of the party, “including INEC subventions, nomination fees, membership subscriptions, donations and others.”

A

Kashamu, Odunowo slam N1b suit on Mustapha

T

HE founder of OmoIlu Foundation Buruji Kashamu and the Ogun East senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in last April election Tahib Odunowo are seeking N500million compensatory damages each from Senator Lekan Mustapha.

According to Suit No FHC/L/CS/1015//2011 filed at the Federal High

Court, Lagos, Kashamu is seeking the compensation for the injury suffered as a result of “the malicious design of Senator Lekan Mustapha to humiliate him and infringe on his right to liberty by the false allegation that the fund donated by Mustapha to OmoIlu Foundation was obtained under false pretences.”

Avoid friction, Suswam tells ministers From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

G

OVERNOR Gabriel Suswam of Benue State has warned the two ministers from the state - Samuel Ortom and Abba Morro, that the people will not forgive them if they engage in friction, instead of attracting development to the state.

In his key note address at the reception organised by the State Government in honour of the ministers, Suswam charged Ortom and Morro to work closely with Senate President David Mark to enable Benue people derive the benefit of their appointments.

He advised the people of the state to support his administration, irrespective of party affiliation, to develop the state.

Suswam used to occasion to highlight the progress made by his administration in the provision of road, water, electricity and education.

The Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Morro, commended Suswam for the honour and promised to work closely with the Senate President for the benefit of the people of the state.

Iwuanyanwu’s wife dies

W

IFE of businessman, politician and Publisher of Champion Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu Lolo Eudora is dead. She died at a London hospital.

She was a devout Christian, dutiful wife and community leader.

A statement by Champion Managing Director, Ugo Onuoha said the late Eudora’s remains would be flown

•The late Eudora

home this week. The body will be accompanied by her first daughter, Mrs. Nwadiuto Iheakanwa and son, Jidechukwu Iwuanyanwu, and other relations.

58

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FOREIGN NEWS Medical report says Chirac unfit to face trial

A

MEDICAL report has said that former French president Jacques Chirac is mentally unfit to face trial.

This is coming two days before he is due to face charges of misusing public funds.

The report raises the possibility that Chirac, whose legal troubles have captivated France since he lost his presidential immunity in 2007, could avoid trial over charges that date back to his time as mayor of Paris in the early 1990s.

Judge Dominique Pauthe will decide how to respond to the medical report when the trial opens with a procedural hearing on Monday.

Among his options, which include asking for another medical opinion or a postponement, are dropping the case.

Chirac’s lawyers, Jean Veil and Georges Kiejamn, said in a statement seen by Reuters on Saturday that the former president may not be competent to participate in trial hearings, and referred to the report, submitted to the court on Friday.

“President Chirac indicates to the court his wish to see the trial go ahead and his desire to assume his responsibilities, even if he is not entirely capable of participating in the hearings,” the statement said.

Man jailed for stealing $10m from 9/11 victims

F

ORMER city worker Natarajan Venkataram was sentenced to 15 years in jail for siphoning $10 million meant for identifying 9/11 victims. Ten years after the Sept. 11 attacks, excity worker Natarajan Venkataram says he’s sorry he stole millions of dollars meant for identifying the remains of trade center victims.

He’s just not sorry enough to turn over $400,000 sitting in his bank account in India.

The city has recovered $7 million of the $10 million he and an accomplice stole, but he went to court to hold onto this final portion of his illgotten gains.

In a phone interview from the federal prison camp at Fort Dix, N.J., Venkataram, 46, whined about jail conditions and apologized repeatedly for his crime.

Asked about the disputed cash, Venkataram said: “All the issues are still pending in the court.”

The city medical examin-

NEWS NTI to re-train teachers NATIONAL Teachers Institute (NTI) is to re-train 125,000 primary and junior secondary school teachers as part of its Education-For-All (EFA), Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and vision 20-20-20 programmes.

The programme will be inaugurated today at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. Teachers are to receive their re-training programme at 250 designated centers.

According to the Director General/Chief Executive of the NTI, Dr. Aminu Ladan Sharehu, the first phase of the programme will be between today and Wednesday at Northcentral, Northwest and Southsouth zones. The second phase will take place between September 12 to 17 at Northast and Southwest zones.

The programme is sponsored by the Federal Government to boost quality education especially at the basic education level.

Dr. Sharehu was honored with highest fellowship award of Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM)during its Jubilee Fellows Awards.

er’s office got millions of dollars from the feds to help identify the remains of nearly 3,000 victims.

Venkataram, then a manager dealing with the medical examiner’s computer system, and his girlfriend, Rosa Abreu, siphoned off millions via shell companies and fake contract bids.

When Venkataram learned probers were on to him, he transferred $1 million to his Indian bank accounts, prosecutors say.

Arrested in 2005, Venkataram pleaded guilty to embezzlement and money laundering. He got 15 years in jail, Abreu got six.

Strauss-Kahn back home in France •Strauss-Kahn

D

OMINIQUE StraussKahn returned home to a mixed welcome in France yesterday, for the first time since attempted rape accusations by a New York hotel maid unleashed an international scandal that dashed his chances for the French presidency.

New York prosecutors lat-

er dropped their case against Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, because of questions about the maid’s credibility.

But the affair cost StraussKahn his job at the helm of the IMF and exposed his personal life to worldwide scrutiny that has stained his image and left the French divided over what he should do next. His high-profile return home yesterday reflects how large he looms here.

Smiling and waving silently, he stepped off an Air France flight Sunday at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport a different man from the one who, just four months ago, had been the pollsters’ fa-

vorite to beat President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year’s presidential elections.

Few expect Strauss-Kahn to return to French politics soon — his Socialist Party is already in the throes of their presidential primary — but his supporters have been eagerly awaiting his return after a monthslong legal drama in the U.S. that they saw as unfairly hostile to him.

Jack Lang, a former Socialist government minister and a neighbor of Strauss-Kahn, told The Associated Press that his friend would play a “very important role, not necessarily in the campaign, but in the life of France, the life of Europe.”

Lang said that the French people will eventually forget the scandal. “What scandal? In my eyes, he is innocent.”

As head of the IMF, Strauss-Kahn was widely praised for his management of the institution and its role in the European debt crisis — an expertise some in France may covet as the problems of deficit and debt deepen.

Residents of Sarcelles, a working class Paris suburb where Strauss-Kahn used to be mayor, were largely enthusiastic and empathetic about his return.

“I’m happy for him. It’s the end of an ordeal. Now ... we should leave him alone a little bit,” resident Laurent Giaoui told The Associated Press.

Activists clash with police in London

M

EMBERS of a farright group clashed with police at a rally in London, despite a government ban on marches imposed after deadly riots that rocked the country last month.

Police said they arrested 60 people after scuffles broke out and firecrackers were thrown by the crowd of more than 1,000 activists from the English Defence League.

EDL leader Stephen Lennon addressed the crowd in Aldgate, east London, saying he had defied bail conditions

imposed for an earlier football hooliganism offence in order to appear at the rally.

“I’m meant to sign on at a police station on a Saturday, I’m not doing that ... The credible outcome is I will be put on remand in prison for my democratic right,” Lennon said.

“That’s what’s going to happen and when I go to court, if they let me out of court with any bail conditions that restrict my democratic right to oppose militant Islam, I will break them the minute I walk out.”

Around 1,500 counter-protesters from an anti-fascist group gathered nearby in the Whitechapel area while more than 3,000 police monitored both protests in the overall area, which is home to large ethnic minority populations.

At the protest police arrested 16 people for offences including affray, drunk and disorderly and assault on a police officer, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

They later arrested another 44 people on a coach on suspicion of violent disorder

after the vehicle carrying EDL members broke down in east London and there was a clash with local youths, police said.

The EDL has held a number of demonstrations around the country since it was formed two years ago, many of which have turned violent.

The protests were the first since riots erupted in London and several other cities in August, leaving five people dead, and the government has been on high alert ever since.

WHO SAID WHAT ‘What the President is doing now is thinking aloud to the public. As far as we are concerned at the party level, we are yet to be informed by Mr. President that he is going to propose a six-year term of single tenure.

But we are quite aware that the President is thinking aloud’

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2011 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL.7, NO. 1,874

C OMMENT & D EB ATE EBA

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ITTLE attention has draped the economic team of President Goodluck Jonathan, and that is understandable. Economic teams often are not football teams. So, no one is rugged, a dribbler or a deft goal scorer. They are also not rock or rap bands.

So, no D’Banj-like rhythm or irreverent lyrics endear them to us. Nor are they a milky way of movie stars.

They are often an array of drollery, men and women who are distinguished by intellect or industry. They are not jocks but nerds.

Even in the United States, where virtually any activity or calling is invested with a Hollywood brio, the council of economic advisers to the president is a backseat gem.

Recently, President Obama announced Alan Kruger, a labour economist, to chair the council. But it played second place in the news to music and dance maestro Beyonce who announced she was pregnant. Americans thrilled as she flaunted her baby bump to the country’s glitzy community and televisions across the world.

But Jonathan seems to understand the importance of gathering a set of men and women whose pedigree show that they know a thing or two about how the Nigerian economic system works. The question is whether Jonathan has developed or will develop a clear pattern of ideas on which the men and women will work. Some of the people include Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, stormy petrel Atedo Peterside, business magnate Aliko Dangote, Access Bank helmsman Aigboje AigImoukhuede and tax queen Ifueko OmoiguiOkauru. Also in the team are some strategic ministers like petroleum and the departments like Debt Management Office.

Okonjo-Iweala is a familiar personality.

Her background in the province of international capitalism gives her the advantage. I have never believed in her economic world view. This is because she looks at the socalled developing countries from the paternalism of the IMF and World Bank, and they believe they can rescue our economies by making us appendages of their systems.

That is why she was a big role player in the OBJ years when we had to pay a mammoth portion of our foreign exchange to pay loans when the nation still lagged in many indices of development. We required funding to work power, infrastructure, education and health care. But the payment, which baffled even some Western analysts, seemed to me more of a deal for individuals than for the Nigerian people. But Okonjo-Iweala is still important as her knowledge base and influence can be tapped by Jonathan. Having served as vice president and also having

SAM OMATSEYE

IN TOUCH

omatseyesam@yahoo.com 08054501081(sms only) •Winner, Informed Commentary 2009 (D.A.M.E) •Columnist of the Year 2009 (NMMA)

Don’t waste this team ‘The men and women do not show great difference in world view.

Neither are they revolutionary, but they have knowledge and experience and views that can be channelled under the rubric of a good vision.

Jonathan has to make use of these persons well’

•Dr. Jonathan

urites to replace Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank, her personal influence would be a goldmine if Jonathan knows how to deploy her.

Peterside has brought to the table an independent streak and leverage as a man who helped build a major bank. Again, he has a censorious presence in the financial system.

He was one of the vocal persons in defence of Central Bank Governor when Sanusi routed bank heavyweights for mismanaging the system. That pits him as an anti-establishment establishment man, a sort of outsider insider, a conservative radical. It is a special flavour Jonathan can use. AigImoukhuede who heads Access Bank is cut from a different cloth of temperament. While

RIPPLES

HARDBALL

over 40,000 people and the demographic of his staff traverse the kaleidoscope of Nigeria’s ethnic map. Whatever any critic could say of this billionaire, he does not belong to the Nigerian class that carts a lot of money from the system but employ only guards, cooks, security men and the rest of their billions help other countries in this day of dire joblessness. He is involved in a wide sweep of businesses including freight, cement, food, drinks, etc.

His views and knowledge would also be vital in tackling the job crisis in the country and also the tragedy of firms leaving our shores.

Omoigui-Okauru is one of the quiet gems of the system. She sits atop the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which has raked in huge revenue on her watch. Her value in this team can be well-appreciated from the fiscal perspective and financial engineering of a system.

Her background is not often touted. She was the first Nigerian female to be employed by Arthur Anderson – now KPMG – at a high level and that followed stellar performances in high school where she scored Grade one, and distinction in Higher School Certificate (HSC). She bested all her mates when she finished at the University of Lagos. Like Okonjo-Iweala, she does not belong to the vanity fair of the Nigerian women elite who crave headlines for trivial triumphs.

The men and women do not show great difference in world view. Neither are they revolutionary, but they have knowledge and experience and views that can be channelled under the rubric of a good vision.

Jonathan has to make use of these persons well. Right now, the President has not articulated a coherent vision for the economy.

His speeches are distinguished by their repetitious predictabilities and clichés about the economy. No fresh air. But he still has a chance to turn things around, to get the people to key into a system of thought for rescuing the country.

The economy is in doldrums and the Naira keeps plummeting against international currencies, such as the Dollar, Euro and the Pound. It means our import-dependent economy will suffer under inflationary pressures. This will mean lay-offs, company shutdowns and a spinoff of social upheavals.

It is one thing to have a great team, but if the coach is not in charge in the realm of ideas and direction, it is like a baby that is still born. We have seen football teams who seemed destined for championships but the coaches sterilised the potentials. Let it not happen with this team.

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Tambuwal and Southwest PDP grouse

CORRUPT LEADERS WILL SOON FACE GOD’S WRATH–Cleric

H

...they should face EFCC first!

Peterside can be irreverent, AigImoukhuede is sunny and conformist. The Access Bank chief, who trained as a lawyer, has become more adept at turning money around than sparring with the ins and outs of the law. He worked in major banks and he has also, like Peterside, managed a bank from near obscurity to prominence today.

These two persons working together and looking at the financial industry from colliding perspectives give Jonathan an invaluable asset to confront the leaky and often exploitative region of our life.

Dangote is a special addition. He belongs to what many describe as the real economy.

He is involved in buying and selling, which makes him a clear asset. He also employs

ABUBAKAR BARAJE

ON Aminu Tambuwal, Speaker of the House of Representatives, will in the short to medium run continue to cast wary glances over his shoulders as Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and his men in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign for his replacement. Twice the campaign has floundered, partly because Tambuwal was newly elected into the top Reps position. But as he continues in that office, perhaps managing to offend a few of his colleagues in the sharing of positions, his stalkers in the ruling party will feel tantalisingly close to achieving their objective of putting a Southwest lawmaker into the Speaker’s position. Tambuwal will not be helped by the fact that he will continue to be on the defensive, unable to attack, and increasingly vulnerable as his enemies become more desperate, vicious and relentless.

The latest signal to upset the Speaker came from the Abeokuta meeting of the Southwest zone of the PDP hosted by the chief antagonist himself, Obasanjo, on Saturday. Three interesting things came out of the meeting.

First, the meeting, speaking through the former president, insisted that Tambuwal must give way in order for the inequity suffered by the Southwest to be corrected.

According to them, that inequity came out of the disregard for the party’s zoning formula, an action that gave the Northwest both the vice presidency and the Speaker’s office.

Neither Obasanjo nor his followers, if they can be so described, felt uncomfortable that they were at the forefront of demolishing the party’s zoning formula, or zoning as a whole, when they wished to advance the candidacy of Dr Goodluck Jonathan in the last elections.

Second, Obasanjo was specifically quoted as arguing that the loss of the Speaker’s position could jeopardise the fortunes of the PDP in the coming elections. It is not hard to see why. But the illogicality of that argument should have occurred to the former president and his men. They lost a major election across many states in the zone when their man, Hon Dimeji Bankole, still held the Speaker’s office.

If they could lose when they were in power, for reasons that are not alien to them, how could they win when those reasons are still valid? The Abeokuta meeting insisted the PDP lost because of disunity and indiscipline, not because of incompetence in government when they ruled most of the Southwest states. They are living in denial. They lost because their governors were incompetent, autocratic, frivolous and visionless.

Third, even if they lost because of disunity, Obasanjo’s acerbic statements seem to suggest that the lack of party unity will continue with them for much longer than they hope. The former president, obviously referring to Gbenga Daniel, said he could not stay in the same party with the former PDP governor of Ogun State whom he described as deceptive and incorrigible.

Some of the top party leaders also referred to Ayo Fayose, former PDP governor of Ekiti State, in very unflattering terms. How selective reconciliation will help their cause of regaining power in the zone is an intriguing question only they can answer.

But much more fundamentally, it is a measure of the Abeokuta meeting’s disrespect for the democratic principles they claim to know so well that they are plotting an undemocratic removal of Speaker Tambuwal, who was freely elected by the entire House of Representatives. Obasanjo’s definition of democracy, a concept he holds in contempt, is so insular it is clear all he cares about are power, position and privilege. It is of course his right to advance any cause, no matter how base, but it should humble all right-thinking south westerners that such baseness is projected as their cause.

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