The Nation September 07, 2011

News Sport

Nigeria’s truly national newspaper

Jonathan was never on EFCC list, says Presidency Argentina beats Nigeria 3-1 in international friendly

Business NLC, TUC to protest privatisation on Sept. 22

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VOL. 7, NO. 1876 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

SSS uncovers bombs factory

We weren’t prepared for bombings, says NSA

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•Six suspects arrested

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IX suspects have been arrested in connection with the bombings in Suleja, Niger State.

The State Security Services (SSS), which broke the news yesterday, said it also uncovered a building in Suleja where explosives are being manufactured by members of the Boko Haram sect.

Also yesterday, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) deported 72 Nigeriens handed over by the Brigade of Guards, the Army Unit protecting the President.

From Yusuf Alli and Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

The NIS is looking for a man suspected to be recruiting and sending Nigeriens into Nigeria.

The SSS, in a statement in Abuja signed by its spokesperson Mrs Marylyn Ogar, said: “Following the bombings at the INEC office, Suleja on 8th April, 2011 and the All Christians Fellowship Church, Suleja, Niger State on 10th July, 2011, this Service commenced investiga-

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•A ‘time bomb’ recovered by the SSS displayed in Abuja ... yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

tion to unravel the perpetrators.

“Consequently, on 4th August, 2011, a suspect, who is a Nigerien national, was ap-

prehended in connection with the bombing in Suleja.

“He confessed to his inContinued on page 2

ECURITY agencies are fighting back to contain the spate of bombings and killings.

They are reviewing their operations and fashioning new tactics, following the Boko Haram bombings and killings.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Gen. Owoye Azazi yesterday threw the ball back into Nigerians’ court, saying they should all join to resolve the problems.

He warned that “the security challenges are here to stay; we don’t think they will go away overnight”.

Gen. Azazi spoke at the State House in Abuja after

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

briefing the National Council of State meeting on the security situation.

The NCS meeting was dominated by the security challenge facing the nation in the wake of the series of bombings, the last one being the suicide attack on the United Nations (UN) building in Abuja on August 26.

Twenty-three people died in the attack; more than 80 people were injured.

The Boko Haram sect, which claimed responsibilContinued on page 2

Libyan rebels holding 200 Nigerians hostage More violence against migrants From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

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HE crackdown on Nigerians in Libya continued yesterday, with the arrest of 25 by the rebel-controlled Transitional National Council (TNC), which has slackened Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year grip on power.

The development has brought the number of Nigerians in detention to over 200, The Nation learnt. There are fears that the detained Nigerians may be killed by the rebels, if the Federal Government does not act on time.

A spokesman for trapped Nigerians in Tripoli, Mr. Daramola Siji, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone, said: “About 25 Nigerians were today arrested in Tripoli and they are being detained in Salahdin part of the capital city. We have no access to them at all.

“So far, we have over 200 Nigerians being detained in various parts of Libya. We do not know their fate. We are praying that they will not be killed like other black migrant workers.

“The general pattern is that the rebels mount roadblocks and everytime black people are sighted in a bus, they will quickly arrest them and hound them into various cells in the city.”

Continued on page 2

•A National Transitional Council (NTC) fighter (left) guards three men suspected of belonging to a Gaddafi underground group during a raid in Tripoli’s flashpoint Abu Slim neighbourhood ... yesterday. The city has become dangerous for black immigrant workers.

PHOTO: AFP

•POLITICS P17 •SPORTS P24 •LIFE P29 •MONEY P45 •INVESTORS P47

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

NEWS SSS uncovers bombs factory Continued from page 1

•President Goodluck Jonathan flanked by From left: former President Alhaji Shehu Shagari (left) and former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon after the National Council of State Meeting at the Presidential Villa Abuja yesterday.

PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN

volvement in the bombings as well as his membership of the Boko Haram sect. His confession led to the arrest of a 31-year old indigene of Imo State who converted to Islam in 2003.

“The second suspect, who is born of a Nigeriene mother, was brought up in Niger Republic, where he had his early education. He also admitted to being a member of the Boko Haram sect as well as having worked in concert with a third suspect from Kano State to carry out attacks in Suleja. Their confessions led to further arrest of two accomplices from Borno State.

“The five suspects all confessed that the main supplier of the explosive materials used for their bombing operations is a miner from

We weren’t prepared for bombings, says NSA Continued from page 1

ity for the UN House bombing, also attacked the Police Headquarters in Abuja, using a suicide bomber as well.

Last year when the country was marking their 50th anniversary, there was another bombing in Abuja.

The Boko Haram sect, has been carrying out other bombings in other parts of the North, especially in the Northeast and Northcentral zones.

In Plateau State, there have been religious and ethnic killings.

The National Council of State is a statutory body whose membership comprises of the President, vice president, former heads of state, governors of the 36 states, former Chief Justices of Nigeria (CJN), the incumbent CJN, the Attorney General of the Federation and the NSA. President Jonathan presided at the meeting, which lasted about six hours.

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar at-

tended.

Former Military President Gen. Ibrahim Babaginda, former military Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and former Head of Interim National Government, Chief Earnest Shonekan were absent.

Gen. Azazi said after the meeting: “This morning, I was asked to brief the council on security issues across the country. We reviewed what we believe was the true situation. There are security issues all over; problems in the Niger Delta, crisis in Jos, kidnapping in parts of the country, but the focus was on what was considered topical at this point. Explosives everywhere, especially Police Headquarters, UN building and although there are claims as to who was responsible, the important thing is that we as a nation should realise that we are facing challenges that are relatively new to us.

“The problem is that we were not as a nation prepared for this new level of terrorism.

“All over the world, especially after 9/11 and the July bombings in London, there

are restricted access to public facilities but we have not had that.

“To solve crime, sometimes, you need a national identity database; we are trying to put that together. We are talking of putting up a strategy on protection of critical national infrastructure.

“The security challenges are here to stay, but we don’t think they will go away overnight, the more the public is aware of their responsibilities, the better they could serve the security services. If we are more aware, you could pass the information, but the security services themselves must also improve.

“If you have not had a problem, it is difficult to find a solution overnight. Even our attitude towards the public, performance of our routine duties. We are discussing seriously how we want to meet the aspirations of the Nigerian public and to assure you that at some point, it is always very difficult when you face these terrorists activities but, at least, we want to make sure that the security services are provided enough infor-

mation from which they can produce intelligence and to be more proactive and once you are more proactive, you can do a lot to stem the tide.

“Today as we can see, a lot of work is being done by security services, but when investigations are not complete, it may not be the proper thing to start to expose the level of investigations to the media.

“But, from time to time, we have tried to engage with the media either from the services themselves or myself.

“We agree on the use of technology and you don’t acquire those things overnight.

Issues like registration of SIM card are properly effected; we talked about border control, how to help the Immigration to make sure that there is proper border control; we talk of security in maritime environment.

Those issues were addressed.”

“But the critical thing is to keep everybody abreast that there are challenges and everybody must stand up to face the challenges together as a nation,” he said.

On the Suleja INEC office

bombing, Gen. Azazi said: “I can tell you categorically, that everybody who was involved has being arrested.

By the time you see them being prosecuted you will see that there is no deliberate attempt by the government not to prosecute those behind the insecurity in the country. Everybody is concerned.”

He said the Jos crisis was also discussed at the emergency meeting. “We spoke about the Jos crisis and the President has said that at the next Security Council, I should bring him all the facts available so that we can make a decision on what to do,” Gen. Azazi said.

Benue State Governor Gaberial Suswam, who joined the NSA alongside Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State and Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State at the briefing, said the meeting also discussed the award of national honours appointment of chairman and commissioners for the National Population Commission (NPC) and reconstitution of the prerogative of mercy by Mr. President.

‘Migrants in Libya increasingly target of discrimination, violence’ HOUSANDS of African migrants trapped Libyan rebels holding 200 Nigerians hostage in Libya are in need of

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protection from growing harassment and hundreds more have been arrested by rebels who overthrew Gaddafi, Reuters reported yesterday, quoting aid agencies.

It said more than 1,200 African migrants stranded in a southern Libyan desert town held by forces loyal to the fallen leader fear for their lives and must be evacuated as quickly as possible, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

The IOM called on all sides to protect the workers, mainly from Chad but also Niger, Somalia, Eritrea and Nigeria, until they can be safely evacuated from its transit centre in Sabha. The group includes women and children.

“The migrants are terrified at the idea of being caught in the crossfire,” IOM spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy told a news conference, alluding to the possibility of forces

Asked how Nigerians fell into rebels’ hands, Siji said: “Having been without food, they decided to venture out of their homes to look for what to buy and, in the process, most of them were arrested.

“I wish to appeal to the Federal Government to take action. We could not reach the Minister of Foreign Af-

fairs, Amb. Olugbenga Ashiru, who has been sympathetic to our plight, with the opening up of talks with the TNC leaders.

“Although the Minister designated our Ambassador to Ethiopia to take charge of the situation in Libya, the envoy has remained incommunicado.”

Responding to a question, Siji said: “The rebels felt the

black migrants were the mercenaries used by Muammar Gaddafi to fight them and that is why they are embarking on retaliatory killings.

“But we have made the TNC to realise that the mercenaries used by Gaddafi were mostly Chadians and Nigeriens. No Nigerian fought on the side of Gaddafi.”

A top source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who spoke in confidence, said: “The Minister is away in Sweden for Nordic Ministers meeting. But he is on top of the situation, even from his base abroad.

“We have got assurances from the TNC, Britain and France that black migrants will no longer be attacked.”

from Libya’s new transitional authority storming Sabha if negotiations fail.

A separate group of 1,000 sub-Saharan Africans have taken refuge in the military port of Sidi Bilal, west of Tripoli, in precarious conditions and should be transferred to a safer location, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

“The ICRC is concerned about the stigmatisation of sub-Saharan Africans and certain Libyan communities

in Tripoli and elsewhere in the country,” it said in a statement.

ICRC officials on Sunday visited more than 700 detainees — including many subSaharan Africans — being held in a major detention facility run by the new Tripoli Council, it said.

“These are newly arrested people,” ICRC spokesman Steven Anderson told Reuters.

Some 240 Sudanese oil workers are stranded in the town of Brega, which lacks electricity

and reliable water supplies, as well as a functioning hospital, according to the ICRC. The United Nations human rights office said it had no evidence of killings of migrants but had consistent reports of them being subject to arbitrary detention and harassment.

In a statement, the IOM said “there is no longer any political infrastructure in Sabha” able to support the migrants until evacuation plans are organised.

The IOM evacuated nearly

1,400 vulnerable Chadian and other migrants by air in July from Sabha.

“However, with the likelihood of an all-out assault on Sabha, this route may not be feasible,” the statement said.

Scores of Libyan army vehicles have crossed the southern desert frontier into Niger in what may be a dramatic, secretly negotiated bid by Gaddafi for refuge in a friendly African state, military sources from France and Niger told Reuters.

Continued from page 1

Nasarawa State, who the Service eventually arrested on 30th August, 2011.

“They also confessed that they took part in the killing of four policemen at a checkpoint at Dakwa-Deidei in Bwari Area Council of the FCT on 22nd May, 2011.

“Investigation has indeed revealed that the suspects belong to the Boko Haram cell operating in the Suleja-Abuja axis, which is under the direction and control of a blood-thirsty Boko Haram leader who is now at large.

“Meanwhile, a nondescript building where the Improvised Explosive Devices (I.E.Ds) are assembled has been uncovered at an area popularly known as Chechnya, Hayin-Uku village in Tafa Local Government Area, Niger State.

“Among items recovered in the merchandise of death are: i.

One (1) gas cylinder; ii. One battery connected to a detonator; iii.

Two (2) damaged detonators; iv.

One (1) locally made revolver; v. One (1) gun butt; vi. Two (2) knives; and vii. Ten (10) GSM handsets with SIM cards.”

Other items recovered include ceiling fan coil, metallic cylinders, nine volts batteries ready for use, 200 pieces of detonators, detonating cables, battery chargers, and a Honda Civic car with Borno State registration number AG 94 MNG, among others.

A bomb expert brought in by the SSS, Mr. Adegboyega Adeniyi, told reporters that an assembled combination of some of the items could wreak the kind of devastation at the bombed Abuja UN building.

The identity of the owner of the building is yet to be established by the SSS, even as the villagers, including the village head were not willing to give information about the ownership of the house.

Mrs Ogar, who conducted reporters round the horror house, said the building had been under surveillance and that the suspects, who she did not name, would be charged to court “as soon as we find any court that is willing to try them”.

The NIS yesterday deported 72 Nigeriens as part of the ongoing clampdown on Boko Haram members and illegal aliens.

NIS spokesman Joachim Olumba, a chief superintendent, who spoke with our correspondents, said the deported Nigeriens were taken away from Abuja to the nearest Nigerien border in Katsina State at about 3.45pm.

Olumba said: “An Army officer and some soldiers from the Brigade of Guards on Monday brought a truckload of young men to us and informed us that they were apprehended between 5pm and 6pm somewhere around Dei-Dei while trying to enter Abuja.

“The nature of their movement looked suspicious, but we decided to determine their nationality and mission through screening.

“All through the night, we screened them and conducted investigation.

“After investigation, 80 are Nigerians and 72 are from the Republic of Niger.

“We were able to establish the fact that these people do not have any visible means of livelihood. And given this situation, we reasoned that it will be improper to admit them into Abuja when they have no fixed addresses and no contact.”

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

3

NEWS Why we need stable domestic environment,

by Jonathan

They are a remarkable couple.

The wife made the record as the first to undergo successful kidney transplant at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.

The donor was her husband. For them and for LUTH, it was a moment of faith, reports OYEYEMI GEBNGAMUSTAPHA

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•Mr. and Mrs. Oladeji

‘God inspired me to donate my kidney’

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RS Olufunke Mary Oladeji could not have wished to set this kind of record.

But it was inevitable the 38 year old had to do. To save her life.

The private wing of Ward E7 of the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba recently for home after coming under doctors’ knife as he first kidney transplant patient in the hospital, relatives, friend, and well wishers practically rolled out the drums to thank God for her survins a two year ordeal.

He husband of Evangelist Faith Bible International Mission, Ikotun a suburb of Lagos who donated one of his kidneys for the transplant recalled that she was disarmed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) at the General Hospital, Igando on November 6 th , 2009.

That was after repeated visits to different hospital.

She was heavy then, to lose the pregnancy after eight months.

Pastor Oladeji who is the Registrar of the Mission’s Bible Crusade at Mafoluku, Oshodi said as Christians they began to pray for divine healing, backing it up with medical treatment.

“With money, prayers and Faith we forged on. Right from November 7th, she commenced dialysis.

This was thrice in a week. That consumed much of our money.

Per week, we spent a minimum of N70, 000. That is, if there were no complaints. The amount covered vaccines and drugs. But if there were complaints, the money would shot up”.

The dialyses and drugs ate deep into their savings with some drugs costing as much as N26,000.

Specialist at LUTH, however, warned that dialyses offered no permanent solution, and encouraged them to embrace transplant.

The cost? Seven million naira.

The couple trusted in God. Then came next challenge: where would the kidney come from? The Con-

‘Government should focus attention on kidney failure and pump in fund, just like it is doing in respect of malaria, HIV/AIDS. The money spent on dialysis is much. And it is not a permanent solution... Some don’t have the money, and end up dying’ sultants asked them to explore getting from siblings. But when no one was willing to donate this kidney, the husband volunteered.

What gave him the courage to do that, he was asked. “I got my inspiration to bestow one of my kidneys from the fact that Christ died for us all. So if Jesus can give his life, why can’t I give an organ to the person I profess to love for better or worse. She is my wife.

The mother of my five year old son. I found satisfaction from doing that donation,” he said.

“I see the donation as a form of victory for all pastors in the body of Christ, the reason being that on different occasions, we hear of certain atrocities claimed to be have been perpetrated by pastors. This particular one is positive and the world should know of good deeds that pastors can do. When I made the donation, I felt normal. But as the hospital community was celebrating it, I felt good and I can now encourage more people to toe the line” added Oladeji.

The wife was full of gratitude to God as well as. Even its mask covering her face (to ward off dust or ingesting same) could not hide her spirit. She said she was glad to survive her two year old trauma. She said: “Really, there are many people who have come down with chronic kidney disease (CKD) as indicated by our attendance at the Dialysis Centre of LUTH. There is no age grade. Children, ages eight, twelve, 21 years old are all queu-

ing up for dialysis. It does not know gender or background. It is high time the government created awareness on renal failure.

“Majority of people don’t know about it. CKD patients are at the mercy of government. Government should focus attention on it and pump in fund, just like it is doing in respect of malaria, HIV/ AIDS. The money spent on dialysis is much. And it is not a permanent solution. The least time one should dialyse is three times a week. All things being equal, if there are no complaints, just straight dialyses, it costs N70, 000.

This is because it is a government owned hospital. In private hospital, it is more. Some don’t have the money, and end up dying.

“I bless God that am chosen out of the three people prepared for the transplant. I cannot thank LUTH enough for what it did to me and for me. Starting with the preparation, to the purchase of drugs. Not to talk of the transplant, and then the drugs- antibiotics, drips. They start from N27, 000 upwards. Some are damn too expensive because they are orphan drugs and imported.

And how does she feel being the first kidney transplant patient of LUTH? “I feel very happy. It is by the grace of God. So many people have died. Since 2009, they have been preparing about three of us.

This is because the consultant in charge of my case said I can benefit from transplant. Now that the

transplant has been done, I want Nigerians to come to my aid. I have been placed on special diet.

There are some foods I must take and I cannot drink any how water. I need support financially.

They should also help others in that centre. Many are dying needlessly”.

Her husband added: “Dialysis is time and money consuming. The experience and eventual transplant has consumed a lot of money. I rallied round for help. I met a lot of non governmental organisations (NGOs) to no avail. This is because, most NGOs don’t believe in dialysis but transplant.

The Consultant Nephrologist, Dr Toyin Amira assisted by connecting me to Nathan Foundation. It was ready to assist but the conditions it gave, I could not meet. I was asked to produce my DNA test less than two weeks.

“My appeal to Nigerians with milk of altruism is to still help me financially. The appeal is based on the fact that we’ve spent all we had. We spent a lot from 2009, 2010 till date when the transplant was performed. Because there was no week she won’t be dialysed.

And my wife has just been discharged and requires to eat special food and drink special water.

After the transplant, she still needs to take drugs, and some of these cost N200, 000.00 and above.

“It is the person who feels it that knows how it feels. We’ve been there and we know what it is all about. Anytime I see people who are still undergoing dialysis, I feel for them. My family as a result of this experience is exploring setting up an outfit to help out in the future. Many have died and more will still die as a result of the financial constraint. You see, there is no way one wants to manage it that one will not spend up to N22, 000.00 per session on dialysis. So we need money to stabilise as a family,” said Oladeji.

Northern governors to meet on security

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ORTHERN Governors Forum (NGF) is to convene an emergency meeting of the regional body to proffer lasting solutions to the security challenges facing the country, particularly on the protracted violence in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

The meeting, which is at the instance of the forum’s chairman and Niger State Governor Babangia Aliyu, is to hold in the next two weeks.

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mallam Danladi Ndayebo, said the governors were disturbed by the killing spree in Jos. Aliyu, who returned to the country yesterday after performing the lesser Hajj (Umrah) in Saudi Arabia, had called for a national security summit. He said he was alarmed at

the fresh fighting in the hitherto peaceful state, adding that “the bloodbath must stop now”.

Aliyu said: “I am horrified at the new wave of senseless killings in and around Jos, beginning from the clash between Muslims and Christians at the Rukuba area of Jos, which left 17 persons dead and several others injured.

“Since then, targeted killings have spread to villages around the state capital, taking terrible toll on the

people of Plateau State. This development is condemnable, reprehensible and, therefore, unacceptable.”

Though the governor did not give a specific date for the meeting, he said he was consulting with his colleagues because the crisis in Jos is an emergency that should be treated as such.

Aliyu said the meeting had become expedient to break the cycle of violence and proffer solutions to the sectarian violence in Plateau.

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has said a stable domestic political and economic environment was essential for a successful and robust foreign policy.

He spoke while receiving the Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s foreign policy from the Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations for consideration and adoption.

The President said the 2011 national elections raised the country’s profile in the international arena, but added that the administration would work hard to consolidate on the feat, while a lot of work would be done to strengthen the country’s economy in the next few years.

Jonathan also spoke about the huge sacrifices in lives and resources which Nigeria has made towards restoring peace to many countries in Africa without a commensurate national benefit.

He thanked the Council for the comprehensive review, promising a thorough consideration of the proposals by relevant organs of government.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Council, Ambassador Emeka Anyaoku, said extensive discussions, brainstorming sessions and inputs from very wide participation in the seminar on the review of Nigeria’s foreign policy held from August 1-4, 2011 formed the basis of the proposals.

President Jonathan had in May directed a review of the country’s foreign policy after 50 years of independence.

African countries unlikely to meet MDGs by 2015, says WHO

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N Assistant Director General of WHO, Matshidisco Moeti, on Monday in Yamoussoukro Cotee d’Ivoire said African countries might not meet the targets of the MDGs as they still grapple with weak institutions.

“We recognise that it will be very difficult for countries to achieve the goals as targets for 2015,’’ Moeti told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the just concluded regional meeting of WHO. According to her, some progress will be made in the key targets.

“But I think progress in these areas is being made. We see that it is being made even in the area of maternal mortality reduction.

“We tend to say only two countries are on track but we see that quite a number of countries have made progress in these areas.

“I am very optimistic that we might not hit the 2015 targets as initially planned but it has pushed countries to court and mobilise donors and partners to provide financing and we are in the correct direction,’’ she said.

Moeti said the speed to realise the goals was rather slow among countries but substantial progress was made in the targets, which were basically on human development index of education, poverty and health.

On the Emergency Fund for Africa, Moeti said the Ministers of Health from various countries agreed on some terms for implementation as they continue to consult with their governments.

“I think it is the fact of the unfamiliarity of the process and the fact that they are not the sole decision makers. It has to be a collective decision.

“I don’t think it will drag very much now. I do believe that the resolution that has been adopted at this meeting is one with which most of the countries feel comfortable with,’’ she said.

Moeti said the meeting agreed that each member state would contribute 50, 000 dollars to the emergency fund.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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NEWS COUNCIL OF STATE MEETING

Jonathan was never on EFCC list, says Presidency

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•House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal (left), former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon and former President Olusegun Obasanjo at a Council of State meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja...yesterday

HE Presidency yesterday denied Wikilieaks report describing President Goodluck Jonathan as corrupt during his tenure as Bayelsa State governor.

The report, which was allegedly based on a diplomatic dispatch by a former US Ambassador in Nigeria Robin Sanders was published yesterday by a national newspaper.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, reacting to the publication dismissed it as malicious, disrespectful and disparaging of his principal.

It is well known, Dr Abati said that ’’no charge of corruption was ever made or sustained against the president while he served as governor of Bayelsa State, while his many achievements as governor of the state speak for themselves.

The report, he added was also “an unjustifiable attempt to impugn the president’s integrity by rehashing a well-worn fictional account of alleged corruption by the First Lady which has been dismissed as arrant nonsense by the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.’’

He said: ’’For the avoidance of any doubt whatsoever, President Goodluck EFCC list

of corrupt governors and we challenge anyone to prove otherwise. ’’In point of fact, it was his record of achievements and incorruptibility in public office that recommended him to the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a worthy candidate for the Vice Presidency in 2007.

Furthermore, the cable which purports to be the source of the story is unverified. Moreover, even the alleged cable itself cites as its source “reports” and yet the newspaper went ahead to report an alleged incidence which was not in the purported cable and involved the seizure of large sums of money from the President’s wife while he was governor. ’’The incident described above never happened and is at best a figment of the reporter’s imagination. Let me state categorically that at no time was $13.5 million or any other sum seized from Dame Patience Jonathan at the Lagos airport or any other airport. I would have thought that your paper would have been more thorough in your investigations especially as the former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, who was in office at the time President Jonathan was a governor did state categorically those allegations were not just lies but they were inserted into the media for political purposes.”

Lamido: Yar’Adua’s cabinet not committed, says Wikileaks

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• Governors Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti (left), Isiaka Ajimobi (Oyo), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) and Babatunde Fashola of Lagos

• Kaduna State Governor Patrick Yakowa (left), his Edo State counterpart Adams Oshiomhole, Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Ondo’s Olusegun Mimiko and Gabriel Suswam of Benue

ENTRAL Bank of Nigeria Governor Lamido Sanusi Lamido, believed the late President Umaru Yar’Adua had no cabinet but “just a bunch of politicians trying to survive politically without any commitment to government,” according to a Wikileaks cable.

He reportedly expressed reservations about some of the ministers at a November 2009 meeting with the former US Ambassador in Nigeria Robin Sanders.

Lamido doubted the capability of some of the ministers, especially the Minister of Power, Lanre Babalola and Minister of Finance, Mansur Muhtar, to take the right decisions on their sectors.

Lamido was even more concerned, according to the leaked cable, about the ability of President Yar’Adua and Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe to demonstrate “strong and consistent signals to the international community of where Nigeria is headed on both good governance and reform.”

However, Mr. Sanusi gave Yar’Adua high marks for the support Yar’Adua gave him during the bank audits and sector reform undertaken by the CBN. “What (Yar’Adua) did during this very tough period showed that he is will-

ing when he can withstand the pressure of the politics,” Wikileaks quoted him as telling Sanders.

Sanusi was referring to the fact that Yar’Adua stood against forces in his family that included both his mother and his brother, both of whom put pressure on him to “drop Bank PHB,” from the audit and name-andshame lists.

On the then Minister of Power Babalola, the CBN governor was of the view that not only was he out of his depth regarding what needed to be done in the power sector, he was also reluctant to listen to advice.

Mr. Sanusi was less critical of Finance Minister Muhtar, his former secondary school classmate, whom he described as a “good technocrat” although he expressed concern that Muhtar was feeling overwhelmed by the size and the problems in his Ministry; was not making sound financial decisions; and could not stand up to the politics around him.

Asked by the Ambassador about the integrity of the Finance Minister Sanusi said Muhtar was “not corrupt but weak.”

Lamido said Muhtar was “heavily and unfortunately influenced, of late, by Presidential Chief Economic Advisor Tanimu Yakubu and Agricultural Minister Abba

Ruma.”

“Right now the President is not receiving frank advice on the economy from the people who are supposed to have the responsibility of giving it to him, and at the heart of this is simply corruption,” Sanusi said.

The CBN governor said the President was shocked when he was briefed at a NEC meeting that nearly 70 per cent of the Ministers had yet to spend their budgets given that the fourth quarter ended in December 2009. “He underscored that the fourth quarter ended in December 2009 (and that) 550 billion naira ($3.7 billion) from this year’s budget was still sitting in ministries’ accounts, with the two worst ministries being Works and Housing, as well as Power, which had not yet spent nearly 80 per cent of their budgets.”

On the banks audit, Sanusi told the ambassador that prior to his visit to the Presidential Villa to discuss the issue with Yar’Adua, he told his staff that if the President asked him to drop Bank PHB, he would resign on the spot.

Remarkably, that was not necessary, as Yar’Adua “pushed back on both Yakubu and Ruma, saying that Sanusi’s efforts to clean up the banking sector was helping to give the country a good name.”

Northern Governors to meet on security

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•Governors Hassan Dakwambo (Gombe), left, Sullivan Chime, Enugu and Fayemi PHOTOS: AKIN OLADOKUN

HE Northern Governors Forum (NGF), is to convene an emergency meeting to proffer lasting solutions to the security challenges facing the country.

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Mu’azu Aliyu of Niger State and Chairman of the forum, Malam Danladi Ndayebo said Northern Governors have agreed to step in to halt the spate of killings in Plateau State.

Aliyu, who returned to the country yesterday from the lesser Hajj (Umrah) in Saudi Arabia was alarmed at the

fresh fighting in the erstwhile peaceful state, and declared that the bloodbath must stop now.

“I am horrified at the new wave of senseless killings in and around Jos, the Plateau State capital beginning from the clash between Muslims and Christians at the Rukuba area of Jos which left 17 persons dead and several others injured,” he said. ‘’Since then, targeted killings have spread to villages around the state capital, taking terrible toll on the people of Plateau State. This devel-

opment is condemnable, reprehensible and therefore unacceptable,” Although Aliyu did not say when the meeting would take place, he said the crisis on the Plateau is an emergency and would be treated as such. He said he is already consulting with his colleagues with a view to convening a meeting in the next two weeks.

Aliyu said the meeting had become expedient to break the cycle of violence and to proffer lasting solutions to the sectarian crises rocking the state.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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NEWS IBADAN FLOOD OF TEARS Nigeria’s premier university is mourning its losses in the floods that ravaged Ibadan, the Oyo State capital city. The University of Ibadan (UI) lost some legacies that can never be replaced, according to the Vice Chancellor Prof. Isaac Adewole, reports OLUKAYODE THOMAS

UI’s losses to Ibadan floods, by VC •’More rains in October’

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T appears all is well with the University of Ibadan (UI). Students, lecturers and others who have one business or the other to do on the expansive campus go about their normal duties.

The institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Adewole’s calm mien also gives the impression that ‘nothing dey happen.’ But, all that is needed to know that all is not well with the institution is a tour of its zoo, fish ponds, library and the bookshop.

Then, a chat with Prof. Adewole added a clincher to it: the Ibadan floods have left the institution ‘castrated’.

The floods carried away with it legacy dated to its days as the University College, Ibadan, affiliated to the University of London. And the bad news: many of these legacies cannot be replaced, not even with money.

A rough estimate shows that the institution will need some N10 billion to begin the process of recovering its property lost to the floods, which killed many in the ancient city and left hundreds internally displaced.

Prof. Adewole said: “Our bookshop has lost books worth over N30 million. But, what is most painful is when you lose old books. They are more valuable than the new books, for a university as old as the University of Ibadan. Sometimes when you say how much did you lose? You can’t quantify it. We can never recover the old books. You can get new

books, but you can’t get the old ones.

Many of those books are not in circulation today. That is why most of those we lose may never be recovered.”

The old books are treasures, which have drawn researchers to the institution. Hardly are there other universities in the country, which can boast of books like that. Thanks to its old age, it was able to get these books. But no thanks to the floods, many of the books are gone too.

Never to be replaced. Not for paucity of fund, but because the publishers have stopped producing them.

However, the university has to carry on. To Adewole, the task of rebuilding the university is more difficult given that there are many federal universities now seeking money from the same source.

“When the University of Ibadan was the only one, money was not a problem then. We were virtually spoiled. Right now we are one among many universities,’’ he said.

But despite the funding problem, Adewole is optimistic that there would be light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Adekunle said: “I think the good thing about Ibadan is that we have the human capital; we also have what I will call the goodwill. Friends of the institution have asked the school to launch an appeal fund and open a separate bank account where they will donate money. The school’s alumni association in the United Sates (U.S) has also assured

•The University’s fish farm destroyed by the flood

us of their support. So, I think there is good will and it will guide us through.”

The fear of the October rains has forced the university to clear the drainages.

“We have taken it as our part of community work. We have to do it on time so that this type of disaster would never meet us on our way.

As for the institution, we will rebuild our internal drainage system, because the government has raised a point and the point is: when you have a collapsed drainage system, then flooding will happen when there is heavy rain like the one we had last,” he said.

He added: “The rain did not last for just three hours; it was more than four hours. The rain was unprecedented. For us here, we will rebuild our drainage system. I wouldn’t like to be a prophet of doom. August is not the only month for the rains, we still have October because the peak periods of rain are April, May, August and October. So, we should ex-

Victims leave homes for demolition

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CCUPANTS of houses erected along rivers banks that were flooded in Ibadan on August 26 started evacuating yesterday as officials of the Oyo State Government began marking structures for demolition.

Several houses have been marked for demolition in Oke Ayo, Agbowo and Odo Ona Elewe where the flood wreaked havoc.

The House of Assembly yesterday held an emergency session to give legal backing to the exercise, which it said was needed to free water channels across the city. Majority Leader, Hon. Oyeniran Akande, disclosed this at the launch of his capacity building for youths in his Oluyole Constituency yesterday.

The legislator explained that the demolition was a major step to prevent a recurrence of the disaster.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi had given seven days ultimatum to owners of the buildings to evacuate.

The ultimatum expires today. He said the August 26 flood was aggravated by blockage of water channels by structures and debris.

When The Nation visited Oke Ayo, one of the badly flooded sites yesterday, some residents were seen moving their belongings into waiting vans for relocation. Many landlords, residents and sympathisers were also seen discussing their fate.

While some condemned the idea, saying channelisation of the river

•Relief camps to close tomorrow •Tenants, landlords disagree over largesse From Bisi Oladele and Osheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

alone would serve a permanent solution, some were of the opinion that victims of the demolition should be resettled by the government.

The distance of each house to the river was also indicated in the mark on the building to show that they fell short of legal requirement, which is 150 metres from waterways.

Confusion yesterday reigned at two of the four relief camps set up by the Oyo State government following the August 26 flood disaster.

There was a disagreement among tenants, members of the Landlord Associations, and some party leaders alleged plot to partake out of the donated items.

The items were donated by a former House of Representatives member, Chief Mrs. Folake Olunloyo-Osinowo who visited Sacred Heart School, Oke-Ayo and the United Africa Methodist Church (UAMC), Odo-Ona, Apata camps.

She said: “I was away abroad when I heard about this unfortunate incident. My heart bled and devastated. Immediately, I had to cut short what I was doing and decided to come back home. Please accept this token as my widow’s mite “,

she said.

The ex-lawmaker, who donated clothe materials and some food items, urged the leaders of the camps to use fear of God in distributing the materials.

“I want you to please be orderly by entrusting the sharing of these items to those you have chosen to take the lead among you,” she pleaded.

But, her pleadings fell on deaf ears, as the people continued to oppose the carting away of the donated items to unknown destinations.

There was confusion everywhere as men, women and children protested against what they perceived as injustice. “ How can they be heartless?

Look,none of them (landlords) stayed with us here but they want to take everything people brought here,” one of the victims who identified himself as Adeola said .

Suspected thugs, The Nation learnt, used motorcycles to convey bags of rice and other items out of the camp at United African Methodist Church, Odo-Ona , Apata, Ibadan.

The relief camps opened for the victims would close tomorrow. Wife of the governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi disclosed this while presenting N20,000 to each of the victims yesterday morning.

PHOTO: NIYI ADENIRAN

pect more rain in October. And we won’t allow it to catch us unaware.

Whatever resources we get we will use it in rebuilding our channels.

What we are trying to do is to quickly clear all our drainage. Our priority area is clearing all the channels and we have already started.”

Prof. Adewole, who was also trapped on the campus while the rain poured, also revealed another treasure lost by the institution. He told The Nation that one of its students, a 200 level Statistics undergraduate, died not far from the campus.

“We lost one of our student, not within the campus but it was at Agbowo. I believe she might be sleeping and got drown by the flood. She happens to be a 200 level Statistics student. We just got the report.

Though nobody died within the school premises, but we lost one student outside the campus,” he said.

As the October rain beckons, Adewole promised that UI would not be caught napping. He also urged the state and federal governments to

collaborate in ensuring that all will be well with everyone in the bubbly city of Ibadan.

•Prof. Adewole

IITA: rain was highest in five decades

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HE August 26 rain in Ibadan which wreaked havoc across the city is the highest in more than five decades, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan said yesterday.

A statement by the institute’s Communication Officer, Jeffery Oliver, revealed that the rainfall on that day hit an all-time high of 187.50 mm accompanied by wind gusts reaching 65 kilometre/hour.

The previous highest recorded rainfall was 178.30 mm in September 1987, accordding to the institute.

IITA said the August 26 rains started at 4:40pm and continued until 8:00pm, with intermittent drizzling until 11:00pm. Data showed that rainfall was most intense between 6:10pm and 7:20pm when 75 percent

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

of the rain fell.

The statement said the more than six-hour rain led to flooding, toppled trees and damaged crops in many experimental plots in IITA. The extent of damage, although much at IITA and its neighboring communities was, however, reduced as the institute’s dam served as a buffer and a water ‘collection reservoir’ thereby reducing the amount of water flowing out to the creeks in neighboring communities.

According to IITA’s weather data, the average daily rainfall in August 2010 was 8.9 mm considering all days, and 25mm considering only the rainy days. Maximum daily rainfall for August 2010 was 62 mm.

‘Let Ajimobi demolish structures’ From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

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HE Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC) yesterday urged the residents of Ibadan to allow the government demolish any building on waterways without hindrance.

Its General Secretary, Revd. Olasupo Ayokunle spoke with reporters yesterday.

He said the major cause of the disaster was the disobedience to town planning laws.

Ayokunle, who later led a delegation of the church to the state secretariat, where it donated relief materials, said: “Our people don’t want to respect the law. In Nigeria , we behave as if we are above the law. That is why the citizens take the law for granted and build their houses on water channels.

We should know that water does not flow on the island but on lowland.

When you block waterways and it rains, floods will forcefully take its course.”

He advised that government should replicate the Ogunpa channelisation in the flood prone areas.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

NEWS Lagos Assembly workers: ‘EFCC was misinformed’

By Emmanuel Oladesu Deputy Political Editor

LAGOS State House of Assembly workers have decried the handling of the allegation of N7billion fraud against the Speaker, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying that the commission was misinformed.

The workers yesterday paid a solidarity visit to the Speaker in his office, where they deployed the petition written by one Olawale Williams, alleging that Ikuforiji has credibility problem.

Their spokesman, Gbenga Olatunde, said: “It smacks of professional inefficiency on the part of EFCC to have taken the steps it took on the issue without having to first investigate the allegation and uphold that which is truth”.

He added: “The allegation against the Speaker, honestly, calls for concern because when politics assumes a level as bitter as this, the players should be wary of their actions and utterances.

“It is true that the assembly collects N500million monthly, but do I need to tell you that it is not a sum meant for the Speaker alone? So, why would anyone sit back and accuse one man of having embezzled the money meant for an entire institution, the 40 members especially?

That’s crude and unfair.”

Lagos-Ibadan expressway to have 14 bridges

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I-COURTNEY will build 14 pedestrian bridges to ease crossing after the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The company’s spokesman Dipo Kehunde, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, that the bridges would make crossing the road safe for pedestrians.

He said the bridges would reduce the carnage on the road, adding that the company was concerned about the challenges the highway poses to road users.

He denied that the rehabilitation of the road had been abandoned.

He said: “We have not allowed politics to stop our work because we are concerned about the horrors that road users face on that highway.

“The work is ongoing; it

has moved to Aramed area, near Ibadan.’’

He said that some state government officials were not co-operating by discouraging their citizens from clearing illegal structures erected along the road.

“There is no way we can expand the road if we do not clear the structures on the Right of Way (ROW). But some state governments place public notice telling those who own the structures not to give way.

“All we can do now is to apply palliative measures pending the time that all political issues will be resolved,’’ he said.

Kehinde said that the company had spent about N150 million on asphalt for the rehabilitation of the distressed portions of the expressway under its palliative measure.

“This is further com-

pounded by the stalling of the take-off of our 6.5 million dollars (about N90 million) asphalt plant, forcing us to buy asphalt at a very high cost.

“We have been using two gangs for overlay and two other gangs for patching. So far, we have used over 5,000

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tonnes of asphalt.

“We would have spent less, if we were producing the bitumen from our asphalt plant,” he said.

Kehinde said the company had cleared and back-filled about 600-metres stretch at Ibafo, the southbound carriageway.

Akeredolu to NJC: truth is sacred

ORMER President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu yesterday reaffirmed his position that the National Judicial Council (NJC) should be under the dictate of court.

In a statement entitled: “Truth is sacred and integrity indivisible,” he said: “I have just read the press release credited to E. I Odukwu Esq. Director of Administration National Judicial

Council (NJC) on the power of the Council under the 1999 Constititution.

“I would have ignored the hogwash put out to members of the public purportedly to “set the records straight” but for the veiled reference to me in two of the paragraphs.

“There was a reference to an NBA member of NJC said to be “ infact one of the Lawyers, whose services were retained by a Politi-

Minimum wage: Abia ‘deports’ non indigenous workers From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

NON indigenes on the payroll of the Abia State Government are to be sent back to their different states, no thanks to the implementation of the new minimum wage of N18,000.

Governor Theodore Orji who dropped the hint yesterday also said that arrangements have been concluded by his administration to absorb any Abia indigene affected by a similar policy in other states.

According to him, the step became necessary to enable the state implement the new minimum wage, which has set many state governments against workers under the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) umbrella.

Speaking with reporters in Umuahia, the state capital, as part of the ceremony to mark the 20-year anniversary of the creation of the state and the first 100 days in office of Governor Orji, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Don Ubani, said that the exercise became necessary for obvious reasons.

Ubani said: “The state government has decided to return all non indigenes working in the state civil service back to their states of origin, so that our people who have been displaced in some other states will have a place to work and earn their living.”

•Former Director-General of the NYSC, Brig-Gen. Maharazu Tsiga (left), handing over to his successor, Brig-Gen. Nnamdi Okorie-Affia, at the NYSC headquarters in Abuja…yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

JAMB shuts admission gate against 1.15m candidates

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NLY 350,000 of the 1.5 million candidates who wrote the last Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations would be offered admission into tertiary institutions, an official of the Board said yesterday.

Chairman, Governing council of JAMB, Igwe Samson Upkabi, dropped the hint,at a two-day Second Combined Technical Committee Meeting on Admission to Degree, ND, NID and NCE awarding institutions held in Owerri yesterday,

From Emma Mgbeahurike, Owerri

He said the number would be shared among all tertiary institutions across the country.

He attributed the cause of offering admission to such number of candidates to lack of infrastructure in the tertiary institutions adding that a candidate must meet cut off mark before being admitted.

Igwe said a situation where 100 students crowd in one room while others

stand up to attend lectures owing to lack of facilities for teaching and learning was no longer acceptable.

He advised state varsities to provide the needed infrastructure to enable them admit the number they can cater for.

Imo State Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha decried the drop in the number of catchment universities of Imo candidates from five to three between 1998/ 98 and 2004/2005 .

Represented by his deputy Jude Agbaso, Okorocha

regretted the continued drop in the number of Imo candidates admitted in the past years.

According to him in 2005 only 92,400 candidates sat for JAMB examinations but only 10064 were admitted, while in 2006 77,886 candidates wrote the examination but 98,44 were offered admission .

He called on the authorities of JAMB to consider Imo candidates predicament with a view to offering them equitable consideration.

How Obasanjo pressured Judiciary, by Wikileaks

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JUST released Wikileaks cable shows that Nigeria’s former Chief Justice, Muhammadu Uwais, was so highly fearful of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interference with the judiciary that in 2005, he sought a meeting with the new American ambassador, Mr. John Campbell, so that “someone knows what is happening here” in case something happened to him.

Mr. Uwais told Mr. Campbell that he and other Supreme Court Justices were

experiencing “pressure and harassment” from President Obasanjo because the presidency was concerned that the court might not “do his bidding” beginning with complicated effort of James Ibori, the Delta State governor, to run for the governorship again in 2003 against the background of his alleged conviction for stealing roofing materials years earlier.

At a point in the complicated process that involved all kinds of interests and political manoevres, Justice Uwais told Mr. Camp-

He said this had eased traffic congestion normally experienced along the stretch.

“So far, we have overlaid about 100,000 sq metres at Fidiwo, Sapade, Alapako, Kilometre 90, near Ibadan, Fatgbems at Isheri, Ibafo, and RCCG areas,” he added.

bell that the Ibori case had been followed by attempts to deposit large sums of money into his bank account in order to implicate him.

As the legal challenge against President Obasanjo by the ANPP’s General Muhammadu Buhari over abuse of security forces, lapses in voting procedures and other elements of the severely flawed 2003 elections of Obasanjo’s election by drew to a close in 2005 with the Supreme Court gearing up to announce its decision, pressure on the

judiciary and other participants mounted.

Mr. Uwais told Ambassador Campbell that attempts had been made to bribe, blackmail, intimidate and threaten him. Despite that, the Chief Justice stressed he would see the process through and that had never considered walking away from the challenge.

Expressing his personal evaluation of the candidates, he characterized Buhari as “honest, hardworking and sincere,” and told the ambassador that Buhari would eliminate corruption.

cal Party in the Osun and Ekiti Election Tribunals and Governorship Appeal “. I was one of the lawyers briefed for the Osun State gubernatorial election petition. I was never involved in that of Ekiti State. Truth is sacred and one would expect the facts to be stated correctly in matters of this nature. The reference to a member of the Council involved in election petitions in these two states betrays a regrettable mindset.

“There was also the unambiguous reference to the interview I granted on the embarrassing suspension of Hon. Justice Ayo Salami OFR, President Court of Appeal, copiously quoted by the spokesperson of the Council in another paragraph where he stated “ It is most disturbing and sad for council to read a comment in the Nation Newspaper of 23rd August, 2011, credited to one of its revered members on the Council, ‘If people, no matter how highly placed, are allowed to get away with illegality by taking prejudicial steps in total disregard of the rule of law, then the rest of us should forget about the little respect we still enjoy among the people “ “Let me state, without equivocation that I stand by my statement that the action taken by some members of the Council in respect of Hon Justice Ayo Salam is prejudicial and in total disregard of the rule of law.

“The National Judicial Council is subject to the court proceedings. All established offices under the constitution, including that of the CJN, are subject to judicial proceedings. A situation where we clearly show utter disregard for the Rule of Law is deplorable.

“This country belongs to all of us. We should not shirk from our responsibilities to talk to people who delude themselves into believing that a public office can be used to oppress their fellow compatriots. Let us all remember “ Those who make mischief in the land, on them is the curse, for them is the terrible home (hell)” Surah Ra’d 13:25.

•Obasanjo

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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NEWS UN bombing: National Hospital to transfer two victims for counselling

Monarchs remanded over ‘complicity’ in Benue violence

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OUR traditional rulers in Guma Local Government Area of Benue on Monday appeared before a Makurdi Chief Magistrates’ Court for complicity in the violence in Agasha village in May. The rulers - Chiefs Joseph Chekwu, Simon Agah, Ikyowe Adebur and Gideon Tiev - were charged with criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, inciting disturbance and causing death by fire.

The prosecutor, Mr Godwin Ebonyi, said the actions of the suspects contravened Sections 97, 221, 114 and 337 of the Penal Code.

Ebonyi told the court that Mr Stephen Kpev, the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of Tarka Local Government Council, reported at the State CID Department that the accused conspired with youths to set Agasha community ablaze.

Kpev, who is the principal complainant, further stated that as a result of the fire incident, some members of the community, including two people, whose names were given simply as Akila and Hileme, lost their lives.

When the case came up for mention, no plea was taken for want of jurisdiction.

However, the prosecutor said that investigation was still on-going and asked the court for another date for further mention.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr Dan Ogo, ordered that the accused persons be remanded at the Federal Prisons, Makurdi and adjourned the case to Sept.

14, 2011 for mention

‘Corps members’ security my greatest challenge’ From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

THE former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Maharazu Tsiga, has said his greatest challenge during his tenure was the security and welfare of corps members.

He spoke yesterday in Abuja when he handed over the mantle of leadership of the scheme to Brig.-Gen. Okorie Nnamdi Affia.

Tsiga said he regretted the death of corps members during the April postelection violence in Bauchi State.

He attributed the success story of the scheme to its outstanding staff and corps members, urging the workers to extend the same cooperation to the new director-general Tsiga said: “My greatest challenge while in office was the security and welfare of corps members, although it is the concern of the state and local governments to provide security for corps members and where since the law clearly states that it is the primary responsibility of all to protect the corps members but such duties have been neglected.”

He urged the new helmsman to tackle the challenges confronting the scheme, saying he needs to avoid praise singers and improve on the welfare of the corps members.

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

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• Lagos State Deputy Governor Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, cutting the tape to launch the Peak Extra Fortified Plus Milk at the Martinos Hall, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos...yesterday. With her is the Managing Director, WAMPCO, Mr. Bob Steetskamp (left) and Deputy Managing Director, Mr Peter Eshikena (second right).

PHOTO: RAHMAN SANUSI

Presidential tribunal dismisses CPC’s application T HE Presidential Election Petition Tribunal yesterday dismissed the application filed by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) against the April 16 electoral victory of President Goodluck Jonathan for lacking merit.

The party had asked the panel to enter judgment in its favour by default.

It based its application on an allegation that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was conniving with Dr Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to frustrate its petition.

The tribunal had ordered the commission to allow the petitioner access to some sensitive electoral materials.

A few weeks after the order was granted, CPC returned to the tribunal, accusing INEC of frustrating efforts to access the materials.

The petitioner asked for judgment to be entered in its favour by default because INEC violated the tribunal’s order.

But Justice Mohammed Garuba, who took over as chairman from the Appeal Court President, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, dismissed the application for lack of merit.

•‘It’s sad day in dispensation of justice’ From Kamarudeen Ogundele and Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

In a unanimous ruling, the tribunal members said there was no ambiguity in its order granting the CPC access to the electoral materials.

Defining the word “access”, Justice Garuba said it is not the same as releasing the materials to the petitioner but for its observation.

The CPC yesterday expressed disappointment over the ruling of the tribunal.

The court dismissed the order to inspect the election materials by the CPC be dismissed.

Garba dismissed the application to allow CPC access to the election materials in its custody, based on the order by the tribunal on May 24.

In a statement, CPC described that judgment as “a sad day in the dispensation of Justice in the land.

Undoubtedly, this ruling was not unexpected because a plot of the trajectory of the

demeanour of the terrestrial powers in the land, in recent times, showed the nauseous compromises in the Nation’s judiciary”.

The statement by CPC National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin said: “The CPC brings to the notice of Nigerians the ruling of the Presidential Election Tribunal sitting at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Tuesday, September 06.

“Today’s (yesterday’s) ruling by the tribunal is at variance with the order of the same court on May 24…”

It quoted the second and third paragraphs of the 12Point Order, which stipulates the conditions for the inspection of electoral materials, among others.

The statement added: “Undoubtedly, today’s ruling has further exacerbated the feelings of anguish and angst from the citizenry occasioned by the unprecedented vitiation of the rule of law, ably spearheaded by the top echelon of the nation’s judiciary in recent times. The

obviously convoluted ruling ominously left many questions unanswered: •”Is it possible for the petitioner to reinforce its petition in the court without submitting copies of the anomalies (if any) discovered in the course of its inspection?

•”Was the court’s ruling of 6th September, 2011 not contradictory to the unambiguous order of 24th May, 2011?

•”Was the Court ruling not at variance with the provision of the Electoral Act Section 77(1)?

•”Can an inspection be done without the follow up action of taking copies for more perspicacious analysis of ascertaining valid votes?

•”Was it not a colossal waste of the Nation’s resources for a whooping N87Billion Naira to be spent on preparing a Database that would not be used to facilitate the growth of the Nation’s Electoral Process?

•”Does this not clearly show the trepidation of the Citizenry with the interests shown in reviewing the membership of the Tribunal?

•”Was this the Judicial seal of approval on the Electoral infamy of April 2011?”

HE Chief Medical Director (CMD) of National Hospital, Abuja, Prof Bala Shehu, yesterday said two of the five victims of the United Nations bomb blast receiving treatment at the hospital would soon be transferred to the Psychiatric Unit for counselling.

He noted that this would enable the victims to come to terms with their new status.

Shehu gave an update on the victims when he received the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina.

He said: “On the state of the remaining five patients in this Hospital as at this morning, they are all alive , they are responding to treatment but at various degrees of injuries, they are getting better but two of them will be transferred to a Psychiatric Hospital so that they can be counselled on ways of accepting their new status. It is unfortunate but there is nothing we can do about it, they just have to accept their fate.”

He commended Nigerians for responding to the call for blood donation which, he said, contributed greatly to the recovery of the victims.

The minister, who urged Nigerians to embrace, said: “Without peace, we cannot achieve anything in this country. We have gone a long way all these years; we are known to be a peaceful nation. We have been our brother’s keepers, but just overnight, we woke up and violence erupted; unbelievable things that we hear about other countries now happen in Nigeria.

“I am calling on Nigerians to give peace a chance so that we can stay and enjoy this country as there is no place like home. We have to support the government so that the transformational agenda of the present administration can be achieved.”

She charged Nigerian women to educate their children on the hazards of bomb blast so that they can avoid violence.

Hajia Maina also urged religious leaders to continue to preach peace so that Nigerians can realise that destruction of lives cannot bring harmony to the country.

I stand by my position on Obasanjo, says IBB

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ORMER Military President Ibrahim Babangida yesterday said he stands by his statement that former President Olusegun Obasanjo wasted $16billion on power without any result.

He said he did not recant his criticisms of Obasanjo, particularly on the administration’s wasteful spending.

Babangida made the clarifications in a statement in Abuja by his spokesman, Prince Kassim Afegbua.

He said he would not allow history to record him as keeping quiet when he was called a fool.

The statement reads: “We have read several news reports suggesting that former President, General Babangida,

•Insists Obasanjo wasted $16b on power From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

recanted his comments on former President Obasanjo.

He wishes to state very clearly and without fear of contradiction that there is nothing like ‘recant’ on his part.

“What IBB stated on August 30 was that the media misquoted him on his earlier interview granted prior to his birthday on August 17. The contents of the newspapers’ reports were different from the screaming headlines that were carried. That perhaps informed Obasanjo’s misplaced outburst to the effect of calling IBB a fool at 70.

“IBB still stands by the con-

tents of that interview, where he made allusion to the squander-mania that characterised Obasanjo’s government with particular reference to the $16billion reportedly wasted on a fruitless power project, as revealed by the National Assembly power probe panel. There was nothing extra-ordinary in what IBB said to warrant Obasanjo’s outburst and scathing remarks on Babangida.

“In the light of the above, he wishes to state unequivocally that the idea or notion or impression of a recant does not arise at all. His response to Obasanjo’s outburst remains in force and valid,

hence it will be wrong for anyone to report that ‘IBB recanted’ on his earlier position.

He will not allow history to record it for him that he kept mum when someone reportedly called him a fool. All the issues raised in his earlier response have not been contradicted by Obasanjo save that he resorted to name-calling and abuse.

“He still holds the position very strongly that Obasanjo’s regime recorded the highest revenue in the history of Nigeria, from Independence in 1960 till 1999, when his government came into force.

“Over N16trillion was shared among the three tiers

of government during Obasanjo’s government, out of which about N7.4trillion was spent by the Federal Government.

“This is aside from other non-oil income that accrued to his government within the same period. Needless to state that the government went on a spending spree, which culminated in several sharp practices and abuses, particularly in the privatisation exercise.

“The records are gradually becoming glaring for all to see, no thanks to the National Assembly probe panel.

“He (Babangida) will be prepared to offer further clarifications should the need arise, but let it be recorded that there was nothing like recantation as previously reported.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

8

NEWS Man hangs self in Akure

Fashola bans vehicles in unapproved colours

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

A

By Miriam Ndikanwu

THE Lagos State Government yesterday gave a 9day ultimatum to owners of commercial vehicles to comply with the state approved yellow and black colours.

It also ordered commercial vehicles with unlawful emblems, inscriptions of the military and students’ union to remove them immediately.

Anyone who fails to comply with these laws will have his vehicle impounded, the government said.

Commissioner for Transportation Kayode Opeifa said the directive was part of effort to restructure the sector.

Opeifa said it would ensure that commercial vehicle operators comply with existing laws, ensure sanity and protect lives and property.

He said: “Henceforth, no inscription should be written on any commercial vehicle that operates within the state. Inscriptions written on some commercial vehicles, such as GALLANT MOPOL; DISABLED SPORT; COMPETENT HANDICAP; AWUA; AHUA; JATTO; BEBETO 777 LASUSU; SAIL NAVY; AKALA KK MOB WATER; KEN1; LAW SUPER; AGBALAYA; INSPECTOR; among others, should be removed immediately.”

The commissioner warned that all campus and military shuttle buses must restrict their operation to their approved coverage routes.

Only buses on the State Government Franchise Scheme, such as City Buses, T&M, TW BAMD and those on pilot tests with special approved colours are exempted from the law.

Opeifa said only the above mentioned buses are allowed to ply Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Obalende, and warned others to stay off.

Lagos shuts DSTV office over N150m tax

By Miriam Ndikanwu

THE Lagos State Government yesterday shut the Lagos Office of Multi Choice Nigeria Limited, operators of DSTV for evading N150 million tax.

Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Fashola on Taxation and Revenue Bola Shodipo said: “It is an offence for any individual or company not to pay tax, which is a major source of revenue for government.”

He said the power to prosecute defaulters, as conferred on the board of the Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), had been used in many cases in the past year to enforce payment.As at press time, the management of Multi Choice Nigeria were discussing with LIRS officials on how to offset the bill.

•From left: Ekiti State Deputy Governor Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka; her Osun State counterpart Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori; Secretary to the Osun State Government Alhaji Moshood Adeoti; the Chief Launcher, Prince Sanmi Eludoyin; Chairman of the occasion, Chief Pius Akinyelure; Professor Siyan Oyeweso and Osun State House of Assembly Speaker Najeem Salam at the presentation of the Book “From Leo Ajiborisade to Rauf Aregbesola: Perspectives on Osun State at 20” in Osogbo, the sate capital...yesterday

45-year-old man, Adebayo Ojo a.k.a Paraga, has hanged himself in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The deceased lived with his wife and children in a shop owned by his father, where he sold video and audio cassettes on Oda road.

It was learnt that the late Ojo locked his family, who were fast asleep, in the shop on Monday night and hanged himself on a tree within the premises.

His wife discovered his body after forcing the door open with a cutlass.

Police spokesman Adeniran Aremu confirmed the incident.

Aremu said Ojo’s body had been deposited at the State Hospital’s morgue.

Police sources said the deceased was notorious and a regular face at Police Stations for criminal offences.

Police parade two kidnap suspects in Osun

Why Salami was removed,

by ACN T T HE speedy disbandment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal constituted

by Justice Ayo Salami may have finally exposed the reason he (Justice Salami) was removed as Court of Appeal President, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) said yesterday.

In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said all other illegalities committed by the Nigeria Judicial Council (NJC) and President Goodluck Jonathan in removing Justice Salami aside, it is now clear to everyone that he was actually eased out to pave the way for judges, whom those behind his removal perceive as ‘friendly’, to sit on the tribunal.

The statement said: “That

By Sunday Omoniyi

Justice Dalhatu Adamu, Acting President of the PCA, quickly dismantled the panel, even as time is running out to hear the case filed by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) challenging the President’s election, seems to be a confirmation of the rumours making the rounds that President Jonathan was afraid that his election may be overturned by the old panel, hence he acceded to the illegal recommendation of the NJC to remove Justice Salami. ‘’Even if there is no sinister motive for the action by Justice Adamu in dispersing the judges sitting on the case, which is possible, his

hasty action - at a time the controversy over the way Justice Salami was removed is at its peak - is enough reason to sow the seeds of doubt over his action,’’ it said.

ACN said the disbandment of the election petition panel now makes it difficult for anyone to believe that enlightened self interest is not the reason why the President ignored the Constitution in aligning with the recommendation of the NJC on Justice Salami.

The party said if the removal of Justice Salami and the disbanding of the tribunal is considered along with the fact that President Jonathan is a party to the

pending case before it (tribunal), it seems more evident than ever that the President failed to abide by the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, as contained in the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution. ‘’Paragraph 1 of the Code states: ‘[a] public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities’. ‘’This is one more reason why the President must reverse his action on the Justice Salami case today.

Otherwise he would expose himself to the accusation - and rightly so - that he allowed his personal interest to dictate his conduct as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,’’ ACN said.

Party accuses Mimiko of muzzling opposition

T

HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State has accused Governor Olusegun Mimiko of muzzling the opposition and non-performance.

At a press conference in Lagos yesterday, Ondo ACN Chairman Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose alleged that Mimiko connived with the Nigeria Broadcasting Commision (NBC) to stop an independent Radio Station in Ondo, Adaba FM, from airing a popular program, Oja-Oro. This, she said, was an infringement on the right to freedom of expression of the station and sponsors of the program.

Mrs. Anifowoshe said: “There was nothing inciting in the program. It is about the use of Yoruba idioms and philosophy.”

On the composition of the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODSIEC), she alleged that the

newly appointed members were card carrying members of the Labour Party (LP) in contravention of Section 4(2) of the commission’s law.

Mrs. Anifowose said: “The law states that the commission’s chairman must occupy a position equivalent to a permanent secretary or a legal practitioner with not less than 10 years post-call experience, but the new chairman, Dr. Olugbenga Ige’s position as an acting dean is not an equivalent of a permanent secretary.

“As such, no free, fair, credible and acceptable local government election can be guaranteed.”

She lamented that as the fifth largest oil producing state in the country and the richest in the Southwest,

Ondo had nothing to show for it.

Mrs. Anifowoshe urged the people to vote for the ACN in 2013 to ensure measurable progress.

The Ondo State Government, however, debunked the allegations. In a statement, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kolawole Olabisi, said: “Mimiko is not the owner of Adaba FM and could not have stopped any program on the station.

“The NBC ordered the stoppage of a particular offensive program that was out to incite the people and we had nothing to do with it.

“As firm believers in the freedom of speech and expressions, we gave vent to everybody on the stateowned radio and television stations, a sharp practice from what was the situation

HE Police Command in Osun State yesterday paraded two suspected members of a sixman gang of kidnappers, who had been terrorising the state.

They are Peter Tominie and Fawole Damilola.

Commissioner of Police Solomon Olusegun, said the suspected were arrested at Gbongan junction while trying to pick up the N800,000 ransom paid by the family of one of their victims, Madam Victoria Babatunde (70).

Olusegun said investigation revealed that the Delta State based gang was responsible for the kidnapping of Alhaji Rauf Olaiya, a beer distributor in Osogbo, the state capital, on March 20.

Olaiya was released on March 25.

‘Leave Lagos Speaker alone’

S

•Govt: it’s not true

By Emmanuel Oladesu and Ojo Damisi, Akure

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

•Mimiko

in the state before we came on board.

“On ODSIEC, what we did was legal and the members were properly constituted.

The chairman, Dr. Ige, is an academic of no mean repute and he is eminently qualified. But if they feel a breach of the Constitution has been committed, they are free to go to court.

“This administration has executed numerous unprecedented projects, which have received accolades from within and outside Nigeria. Many of our projects have been dubbed benchmarks not only for Nigeria, but Africa as a whole. Ondo State is working and to God be the glory.”

OME of Ikeja, the constituency Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji is representing, have criticised his invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

They advised the antigraft commission to look elsewhere because the speaker has not abused his office.

The Councillor representing Onigbongbo in Ikeja local government, Wahab Akerele, who spoke on behalf of a group of citizens said: “My people are not happy with Ikuforiji’s invitation because he has not done anything wrong.

“The issue of N7 billion is a false dream of his enemies, because the budget of the Assembly in one year is not up to that.”

Akerele urged the EFCC to do a thorough investigation, which it said will absolve the speaker.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

9

NEWS Igbo leader seeks national conference AN Igbo traditional Chief, Romanus Ugochukwu, has called for the covocation of a national constitutional conference to decide the future of the country.

“We cannot continue to pretend that all is well with the citizens of this country when the ship of the nation is heading towards the rocks,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to set up a committee to convene the conference, the groups to allow the various interest decide how they would live together.

Addressing reporters in Lagos, Ugochukwu said the security situation created by Boko Haram sect has confirmed the prediction of the United States of America (U.S.A.) that Nigeria may disintegrate in 2015.

He alleged that a cabal has been working against the success of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Ugochukwu condemned the activities of the Boko Haram sect and warned that the prediction would come to pass if anything should happen to Jonathan.

Navy parades 45 suspected militants in Abia

N

AVY Finance and Logistics School Base, Owerrinta, Abia State, on Monday paraded 45 suspected militants, including nine women.

The Commandant of the Base, Commodore Christopher Goon, said the suspects were apprehended by the Navy Covert Team on August 28.

He said the team intercepted a convoy, which was later discovered to be that of the Special Assistant to Imo

State governor on security for Okigwe zone escorted to Aba by persons on Naval uniform.

Goon said the 11 suspects, who could not properly identify themselves as Naval officers, were arrested with four rifles.

He said on interrogation, the suspects claimed to be members of Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, Isiala, Mbano, Imo State.

According to him, he detailed his men to their camp

at Isiala Mbano where another 20 of the alleged militants were arrested and one more rifle recovered. The others were picked up somewhere in the state.

He said the Navy released four persons among the suspects.

The commandant noted that the men being trained in the use of arms at Isiala were capable of breaching the peace as they did not have any means of livelihood.

He said the suspects would

be handed over to the State Security Service (SSS) for investigation .

Goon advised the public to look out for such groups and report them to the appropriate authorities.

He warned miscreants within and outside the state to look for alternative means of livelihood as their activities would no longer be tolerated.

Goon urged security outfits in the state to brace up to contemporary security chal-

lenges facing the nation in line with the Federal Government’s directive.

He said the Base had commenced intensive patrols and covert operations to dislodge threats to security in the area.

Leader of the group, Commodore Abraham Inam, from Akwa Ibom, who claimed to reside in Port Harcourt, said he formed the body as a “paramilitary” organisation.

Ebonyi workers begin strike over minimum wage

E

BONYI State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has directed civil and public servants in the state to embark on an indefinite strike from today. Its directive followed the failure of the state government to pay the N18,000 minimum wage signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The resolution followed the deadlock of the meeting between organised labour and the government yesterday at the office of the Secretary to the State

From Ogbonnaya Obinna, Abakiliki

Government,Fidelix Mbam which lasted for more than three hours.

The workers; union had, shortly after the meeting, expressed dismay at the attitude of the SSG whom they accused of walking out on them after the labour rejected the chart presented to it by the government.

The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the NLC, Ike Abugu, said the chart presented to the union puts

civil servants on Grade Level 01 Step 2 at N218,400 annually while civil servants on Grade Level 02 Step 1 will earn N218. 000.000 annually.

He said: “The chart presented to us is ridiculous.

How can a civil servant in the state on Grade Level 01 Step 3 earn N220. 800 annually while a civil servant on Grade Level 02 Step 1 earns N218. 000. Those on Grade Level 03 Steps 5 will earn N230. 000 annually while those on Grade Level 04 Step 1 will earn N225. 400.

It is unbelievable that the state government could present such a chart to workers. How can a civil servant on Grade Level 1 earn higher than a civil servant on Grade Level 2? I wonder who is deceiving who.”

Abugu also noted that the chart does not reflect any increase in those on Grade Level 07 and above, adding that the chart reflected a slight increase above the N6, 500 minimum wage currently being paid by the state .

•Ebonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi

Anambra Assembly sacks Electoral Commission chair

F

OLLOWING the report of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) which allegedly indicted its chairman and other officials, the House of Assembly yesterday

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

sacked the chairman of the commission, Prof. Titus Eze. According to the lawmakers, he was sacked be-

cause of his financial imprudence.

The report was made available by the executive arm of the state through the Auditor-General, G. Abadom.

But Eze described the

lawmakers’ action as null and void.

He told The Nation on phone that the lawmakers should have called him to know his side of the story, instead of taking what he described as a one- sided

action.

Eze added that the decision of the House would not stand.

The lawmakers, however, described the ANSIEC chairman as incompetent, adding that his removal

would pave the way for local government election.

The Nation had reported that the money released to the commission by the state government was not properly accounted for.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

10

NEWS Kidnap suspect discloses hideout

A

KIDNAP suspect, John Onwudiwe, has disclosed the major hide-out of his gang to the police.

Onwudiwe, who was paraded before reporters by Linus Nwaiwu, the Imo State Police spokesman, said their hide-out was located at Ukwa village in Rivers State.

He said he had been in the kidnap business for six years, adding that the last mission, which led to his arrest on Sunday was spearheaded by Onyekwere, who was allegedly killed during a gun duel with the police.

It was learnt that five members of the gang had attacked and abducted Mrs Rita Onyeahala on Sunday at the Ohaji/Egbema St. Andrew’s Catholic Church.

The gang was attacked by the police who killed

one and arrested another.

The rest escaped.

Onwudiwe, who hails from Rivers State, pleaded to be set free. He promised not to indulge in kidnapping again.

He advised other kidnappers to desist from the act, saying his situation should serve as a lesson to them.

The police spokesman said the command was working hard to arrest the three fleeing kidnap suspects, noting that the abducted Onyeahala had been rescued.

Nwaiwu said the police could only manage crime in the state through useful information from the public and called on the people to always provide relevant information that could lead to the arrest of hoodlums.

Church inducts new prelate

E

TERNAL Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church will, today, induct its eight prelate, Elder Lazarus Onyealeonu.

He is the seventh in succession since the demise of the founder. Lazarus succeeds elder Oludotun Okeyemi. This was made known at a news conference yesterday at the church headquarters in Lagos by the Secretary of Advisory Board , Elder Dadaye BobManuel.

The 86- year- old Baba Aladura, the first from the eastern part of the country, who will lead the 86- year -old church, urged Nigerians to pray for the survival of the country.

Man beheads aunt in Anambra

A

MAN, simply identified as Chidi, has allegedly killed his aunt, Mrs Margaret Nwanna, at Amawbia, Anambra State.

The suspect allegedly cut off her head and dumped the rest of the body in a cesspit of an uncompleted building. Chidi has been arrested by the police in connection with the killing.

The deceased, Mrs. Nwanna, was declared missing on Friday as none of her relations who lived in the same house with her could give account of her whereabouts.

Following the development, they called in the police, which arrested every

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

member of the household.

The boy, who the police said had confessed to crime, is being held with her mother, brother and sister.

Police spokesman, Emeka Chukwuemeka, told reporters yesterday in Awka that despite the confession of the prime suspect, the police would carry out further investigations.

He said: “ This is a heinous crime as far as we are concerned. The suspect was arrested on Tuesday.

“We are working on the lead that he could not have committed the crime alone.

We will eventually arrest

‘We are working on the lead that he could not have committed the crime alone.

We will eventually arrest those that must have carried out the act with him’ those that must have carried out the act with him.”

It was during police in-

terrogation ,Chidi was said to have confessed and took the police to the place where the body of the deceased was dumped.

Family sources said there was no love between the deceased and the family of the suspect.

The Nation gathered that the suspect’s mother had been married to the brother of the deceased before now.

But she left to have other children with another man.

The woman later returned to her husband, but she and the children never made up with her sister inlaw (the deceased), it was learnt.

Tension in Anambra over N25m land allocation T

HERE is tension in Anambra following the failure by the state government to compensate allottees of Obinwanne Housing Estate in Awka, 11 years after.

The 100 allottees allegedly paid N250,000 each to the state government in 2001.

The allottees are Anglican and Catholic bishops, lawyers, doctors, university dons, civil servants and others.

A counsel to the allotees, Uba Anene, has petitioned Governor Peter Obi .

The petition was copied to the Speaker of the State

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

House of Assembly, the Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development and the Managing Director of Anambra State Housing Development Corporation.

It reads: “These gentlemen are eminent citizens of our state, professionals in various fields who responded to the invitation of your predecessors in office to join hands in the development of the young state.

“With a view to contrib-

uting to the infrastructural development of our state in the area of housing, they applied for, and received allocations to a proposed Obinwanne Housing Estate, Uvunu, Amawbia, Awka Capital Territory.

“Having scrupulously complied with all requirements for allocation, especially with regard to the full payment of the allocation fees of N250, 000 each, duly received their letters of allocation to various plots of land in the estate between 2001 and 2002.

“Anambra Home Own-

•Obi

ership Company began to flounder. Their inquiries elicited no meaningful response from the official bureaucracy.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

11

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

We are not growing the agricultural and manufacturing sector of the economy. Many manufacturing firms have closed down in the past few years due to numerous challenges.

–Prof Pat Utomi, Director, Lagos Business School (LBS)

Nigeria’s foreign reserves fall to $32.3b

Lawyers protest poor services at CAC

N

IGERIA’s foreign ex change reserves fell to $32.3 billion by September 2, the same level they were on June 24, and down from a six-month high in August, the Central Bank’s latest figures showed yesterday.

The country’s foreign reserves according to Reuters peaked at $35.9 billion on August 8, its highest in six months, but fell to $32.92 billion at the close of last month.

Africa’s top energy producer’s forex reserves were also lower than a year ago, when they stood at $36.01 billion.

The CBN said it plans to diversify its foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar by switching up to 10 per cent into yuan.

From: Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

L

• From left: Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Bola Okuneye; representative of Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Prof. Femi Olokesusi; and Director-General, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Mr Peter Hartmann, at the monthly economic forum of NISER in Ibadan...yesterday.

PHOTO:NAN

NLC, TUC to protest privatisation on Sept 22

European banks face unsecured bonds test

E

UROPE’s banks are brac ing for a fresh test this month: whether they can successfully sell unsecured bonds.

The region’s banks according to the Financial Times of London, have sold less debt in total so far this quarter than in any comparable period going back to 1996 – when their financing needs were a fraction of current levels.

Although United States’ companies and banks have continued to tap the market through the summer, Europe’s traditional August lull turned into a freeze as fears over banks’ liquidity caused broad market turnoil and drove borrowing costs sharply higher.

Bank’s ability to sell bonds has wider consequences since higher costs or a prolonged freeze will restrict their ability to lend, potentially worsening the economic slowdown.

“European banks have unquestionably been squeezed in funding markets in recent months, and it would be surprising not to see this start to show up in lending surveys before long,” said Joseph Faith, credit strategist at Citigroup.

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 -8.75% Foreign Reserve -$32.3bn FOREX CFA 0.281 • 213 £ 241.00 $ 153.7 ¥ 1.5652 SDR 240.3 RIYAL 39.3

T

HE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and their Civil Society allies have planned to protest in Abuja all privatised entities on September 22, 2011.

NLC President, Comrade Abduwahed Omar, who disclosed this at a press conference yesterday, stressed that the outcome of the Senate Sub-committee on Privatisation report should not be swept under the carpet like the previous ones.

He insisted that the Federal Government must publish the committee’s report, adding that the findings and recommendations should be farreaching “to expose and punish those who ruined the national patrimony with impunity.”

Besides, he said the distortion and rot in the past 12 years should be corrected.

NLC President said the protest “is to ensure that Ni-

• Plan rally over wage for tomorrow in Enugu From John Ofikenua, Abuja

gerians become sensitised and mobilised to defend their national assets against future theft through privatisation and guarantee the release of the probe report.”

The TUC President-General Comrade Peter Esele; NLC Acting Secretary-General, Comrade Owei Lakemfa and Isah Aremu were in attendance.

Omar, however, pointed out that some state governments had reached agreements on the implementation of the N18,000 National Minimum Wage, while some were discussing the matter. However, a few had decided not to implement it.

He noted that Enugu State had imposed its form of wage on the workers.

The NLC boss noted that despite the

congress’intervention, the state government refused to negotiate with it.

He said: “Following this intransigence, the NLC had issued a two-week ultimatum to the state government, which expired on September 7, 2011.

Non-compliance by this date will compel the leadership of the Labour movement to call a protest in Enugu State. The rally set to be staged for this action will be led by the President of the NLC supported by the TUC President-General on Thursday.”

While commenting on the minimum wage issue, Esele said the Enugu rally was targeted at making the state as a scapegoat for other state to learn from.

He noted that while Adamawa State had signed agreement for the implementation, Nasarawa and Taraba

had already implemented the new wage.

Omar, however, commiserated with the United Nations (UN) and humanity for the bombing of the UN House in Abuja.

The NLC President also condemned the treatment meted out to the people of African descent specifically Nigeria in Libya.

The Congress, according to Omar, urged the Federal Government to call National Transition Council to order and immediately carry out an extensive evacuation of Nigerians from that war torn nation.

On privatisation and protest, he said the Senate was shocked to discover that the privatisation of public enterprises had been shoddy and handled with such unimagined levity that had left the nation largely short-changed.

PHCN privatisation to end next year, says Nnaji

T

HE Federal Government will conclude the final phase of privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) next year, Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, has said.

He also said it is unlawful for communities to be forced to pay for transformers.

Nnaji disclosed these in Abuja yesterday during the special ministerial media briefing to mark President Goodluck Jonathan’s 100 days in office.

He said the conclusion of the process will enable the successor companies to take charge in ensuring stable and reliable supply of electricity across the country.

He said the Federal Government had also empowered the chief executive officers of the successor companies to take certain decisions to develop the sector instead of travelling to Abuja to get clearance.

• ‘It’s illegal for communities to purchase transformers’ From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

Nnaji noted that there had been requests for proposals and information memoranda to prospective investors interested in acquiring the successor companies created from the unbundling of the PHCN. He explained that there was no longer need depending on promises made in the past, but that the Federal Government was putting in place practical promises that could be delivered by solving the problems on ground.

The minister said what happened in the past, was not so much about funding as the sector was critically underfunded during the military administrations.

On the PHCN staff making

communities to contribute money to purchase transformer for them with specific reference to stadium quarters in Suleja, the minister said the allegation would be investigation and that the Chief Executive of the Abuja PHCN who oversees Suleja would be summoned for explanations.

He warned electricity consumers to be wary of falling into the bait of being made to pay for transformer, saying “when there is such incident, you should report to us and we will take action.”

The minister said plans have been concluded to add 1, 000 megawatts of electricity to the current megawatts being generated by the end of 2011.

These would be generated from the National Integrated

Power Projects (NIPP) that would be on stream by end of year.

He said, at the moment, the national power grid is on 230 KVA and 130 KVA network.

That would be increased to 750KVA. The minister also revealed that the Federal Government would not commit further funds to the revival of the moribund Oji River hydro power plant located in Enugu state.

According to him, there are plans to prioritise government developmental agenda by discarding any plans or suggestions to finance the revival of the power plant.

Nnaji said the government will rather focus its efforts at the construction and inauguration of a new 1000 Megawatt (MW) coalfired power plant in Enugu.

AWYERS accredited to conduct business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) yesterday decried the poor service delivery at the commission.

Lawyers under the aegis of Lawyers of Conscience yesterday staged a protest to boycott services at the Commission over the deteriorating state of services The group came out for a peaceful protest to press home their grievances, but the attempt was stalled by the presence of heavily armed mobile policemen.

The police moved into the premises of the Commission with three Hilux vehicles filled with armed mobile police men to stop the lawyers.

The protest led by Che Oyintunmba did not start until the Police troupe left the premises by 8:45am, before they started their protest. He alleged that CAC had failed to keep pace with the reforms started by the previous leadership of the Commission. They refused to be discouraged by NBA and the Young Lawyers Group.

He said: “The CAC as you all know is the first port of call of would be investors in Nigeria. The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has not put any Nigeria in doubt that it is committed to repositioning Nigeria as the destination of foreign investors.”

UDBN signs MoU with S’African firm

P

RICE Waterhouse Coo pers Corporate Finance Ltd (PWC) and the Urban Development Bank of Nigeria (UDBN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on infrastructural development in Nigeria.

The agreement was signed in Johannesburg last Monday.

Mr Reg Max, the Associate Director of the South Africabased company, who spoke at the ceremony, noted that Nigeria was endowed with huge investment opportunities, which could not be ignored by any international investor.

“Given the fact that Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa, it has become critical that we support various sectors that are right now lacking, to ensure that the goal of the World Bank is achievable,” Max said.

He said for PWC and other international investors, “Nigeria is a very important destination, within Africa and to ensure that we meet those goals, even in 15 years, there is need for infrastructural development.’’

Max said the organisation would mobilise resources to ensure that the UDBN became the premium development bank in Nigeria.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

12

BUSINESS NEWS AfDB cuts African growth forecast

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HE African Development Bank (AfDB) cut its growth estimate for the continent to as low as 3.2 per cent for this year on concern the global slowdown will reduce demand for the region’s goods, Chief Economist Mthuli Ncube said.

Gross domestic product may be 0.3 percentage point to 0.5 percentage point lower than the Tunis-based lender’s initial 3.7 per cent expectation for this year, Ncube said in a phone interview yesterday. The AfDB, according to Bloomberg news, still expects growth of 5.8 per cent in 2012, the highest since 2007, after conflicts in Ivory Coast and Libya subsided, he said.

Job growth in the US, unexpectedly, stagnated in August, the weakest payrolls reading since September 2010, government figures showed September 2. World Bank President Robert Zoellick indicated that risks to the global economy are intensifying.

A global slowdown “will effect trade for Africa and therefore contribute to a drop in GDP growth,” Ncube said. “We see a bigger impact in South Africa than the rest of Africa” as “the economy is more integrated with the US and global market.”

Growth in South Africa, the region’s largest economy, is expected slow to as little as 3.3 percent from an original estimate of 3.6 per cent, Ncube said.

South Africa’s economy expanded an annualised 1.3 per cent in the second quarter, its weakest pace in almost two years, Statistics South Africa said on August 30. The Reserve Bank will act “appropriately” to an economic slowdown, Governor Gill Marcus said on August 23. The Reserve Bank has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.5 per cent this year to help boost the recovery in the nation’s economy.

“There is room for a rate cut,” said Ncube. “It will weaken the rand a little bit and South Africa needs that to increase export earnings, and that will contribute to growth.”

The rand has strengthened 32 per cent against the dollar since the start of 2009, the best performer in the period after Brazil’s real and Chile’s peso.

Firm wins best HMO award

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NE of the leading healthcare providers, Clearline Inter national Limited, has been adjudged the best health maintenance organisation in the country for 2011.

The institution won the award for the fourth consecutive time, having won it in 2007, 2008, and 2010.

Speaking during the Lagos Enterprise awards, Executive Director, Lead Africa, Mr Jide Peters, whose firm organised the awards, said Clearline defeated THC and Hygeia Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO) to the second and third place to win the award.

He said beneficiaries’ satisfaction, office network nationwide, active call service were some of the yardstick for picking the winner.

Others, he said, include survey among doctors with HMOs nationwide, prompt payment of claims and capitation, referral system and HMO/Provider interaction.

Receiving the award, Managing Director of Clearline International, Dr Segun Ogundimu, thanked the organisers for recognising excellence.

The former Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, who dedicated the award to Lagos State Government, however lamented that Nigerians were yet to fully take the benefits of health insurance.

Capital ratios for banks to rise in 2012

Flight Schedule

• Rating agency could upgrade industry

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

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HE Banking industry ratings could be upgraded as capital ratios are expected to rise to 20 per cent next year, from their current 14 per cent, Agusto & Co. Nigeria’s oldest ratings agency told Reuters on yesterday.

A senior Agusto & Co. official maintained the banking sector rating at “Bb” on a stable outlook, after downgrading it from “BBB” in 2008, saying the capital ratio which remained at 14 per cent this year, after it fell by more than half last year, could rise in 2012.

The ratio was 25 per cent in 2008, before a bad loans crisis engulfed the banking sector, prompting the central bank to bail out nine lenders.

Five of those lenders have since signed merger deals, three have been nationalised and one has scaled down to become a regional

By Simeon Ebulu with agency report

bank.

Access Bank and rescued rival Intercontinental Bank have announced a shareholder meeting to approve their merger deal, and Ecobank and Oceanic have done the same, raising hopes of an end to Nigeria’s banking crisis before year end.

“If by next year, a lot of the banks have made improvements in profitability and risk management, we might change it (rating),” Yinka Adelekan, Agusto’s head of financial institutions, said.

“With the inflows from AMCON into the banks that had capital problems, we expected the base ratio for the whole industry to go between 18 and 20 per cent.”

The minimum capital ratio re-

quirement in Nigeria — the percentage of a bank’s capital to its loans — is 10 per cent.

Agusto & Co last year assigned a “Bb” moderate risk rating with positive outlook to the banking sector, citing weak capitalisation and a sharp deterioration in credit quality.

Yinka said the current improvement in earnings the banks have so far were largely down to an injection from the state “bad bank” AMCON, which took on their nonperforming assets.

“It could take at least three years for profitability to return to the banking industry,” she added.

Nigeria bailed out nine banks in 2009 and injected $4 billion into the lenders because auditors deemed them so weakly capitalised that they posed a risk to sub-Saharan Africa’s second biggest economy.

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• President, Institute, Chartered Secretaries of Nigeria (ICSAN), Olatunde Busari with President, ICSA UK, Mr. Martin Jacob when Busari led a delegation of ICSAN to the international headquarters of the association in London.

Fed Govt begins overhaul of three hydro all the units are working at their HE Ministry of Power says it has begun overhauling three power stations installed capacity without con-

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hydro-power stations to boost the nation’s power generation.

Special Adviser to the Minister on Media, Mr Cdon Adinuba, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

He said Jebba, Shiroro and Kanji Dam hydro-power stations were producing at low capacity because they had long been due for overhauling.

According to him, the Kanji Dam hydro-power station, which has installed capacity of 750 mega watts

(mw), hardly generates 60 mega watts due to the poor state of the turbines.

He said some of the turbines, which were installed in 1968, had not been overhauled since then.

“But since the overhauling began, Kanji-Dam hydro-power station generation has increased from 60 mw to 400 mw. ``Our hydro plants can generate at their full capacities if effectively overhauled.

“What we need is to ensure that

straints,’’ Adinuba said.

Chief Executive Officer of Shiroro Hydro-power Station, Mr AbdulAzeez Daudu, also told NAN that the station would soon start generating at its installed capacity of 450 mw.

According to Daudu, the station is currently generating about 300 mega watts because one of the four turbines is faulty and it is being overhauled.

He said that the overhauling of the turbine would be completed in November.

Sanusi sees China yuan becoming reserve currency

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HINA’s yuan will inevitably become a global reserve cur rency, Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi said, adding that the country’s need to diversify reserves grew more urgent after one credit agency stripped the United States of its top-notch debt rating.

A day after Nigeria said it would diversify a 10th of its $32 billion foreign exchange reserves into the yuan, Sanusi said Beijing would allow the CBN to use yuan to buy Chinese bonds, which are open to a small group of qualified foreign investors.

In a separate interview with Reuters Insider yesterday, Sanusi said euro holdings would be decreased to make way for yuan holdings.

Welcoming the access that Nigeria gets to China’s tightly-controlled capital markets, Sanusi said the country may allow Beijing to settle its Nigerian oil purchases in

yuan.

He said the two countries may also set up a currency swap, but he did not say how big that may be.

“There is already renminbi being traded on the streets of Nigeria, so this shows the market is ahead of us and we are just catching up,” Sanusi told reporters in Beijing, noting that China is making the yuan more convertible.

The renminbi is another name for the yuan.

Despite Sanusi’s ambitious plan, China’s lack of a deep and liquid yuan market could make other developing countries slow to follow in Nigeria’s footsteps, said Wei Yao, China economist with Societe Generale in Hong Kong.

“China is gradually opening up its capital markets and developing a deep financial market with better liquidity and more (investment) alternatives, so it’s going to take

time,” she said.

Sanusi said he looks forward to China investing more in his country, especially in the energy, agriculture and processing sectors.

“The US debt crisis has added a sense of urgency” to Nigeria’s decision to diversify its reserves away from the dollar, Sanusi said. At present, 79 per cent of Nigeria’s reserves are invested in dollars. “(It) appears to me there is less and less appetite for holding dollars,” he said.

Global stock markets were roiled last month after Standard & Poor’s stripped the United States of its AAA debt rating, fuelling some investor fears that the dollar may be debased in the long run owing to America’s yawning deficit.

However, US credit markets actually strengthened as investors flocked to US Treasuries as safe haven investments.

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

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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

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

13

ISSUES

Racing against time The eight rescued banks are rushing to beat the September 30 deadline for their recapitalisation. With the approval granted by the courts to four of them to proceed with their Extra-ordinary General Meetings (EGMs), there is hope that they will beat the deadline.

Although the reforms anchored by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) two years ago came with sanctions for some banks, the regulators, including the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), have rekindled depositors’ confidence in the sector, COLLINS NWEZE writes.

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HE banking sector has been in the news in the past two years. Stories of how managers of eight banks allegedly mismanaged depositors’ funds, crippling their financial standings, reputations and commitment to stakeholders abound. But reforms instituted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to rescue the sector from collapse, have yielded dividends. Four of the five rescued banks are to hold Extra Ordinary General Meetings (EGMs) this month to tie up loose ends with core investors.

That all these happened without a customer losing a kobo in any of the banks, including the nationalised ones, Springbank, Bank PHB and Afribank, is an indication that the reform was not a waste, especially when compared with similar situations in the United States and Europe where hundreds of banks were liquidated. The resolution of the banking crisis may yet be in sight following the approvals given the four banks rescued by the courts and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Stakeholders’ perspective Stakeholders have proffered divergent views on the possible ways of managing the crisis.

Former executive director in the defunct Bank PHB Raymond

Obire said the reforms were necessary to correct anomalies created by past managements of the eight banks that failed to pass the stress test conducted by the CBN and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC). For him, a quick resolution of the crises remains the best option as prolonged action may spell doom for the institutions. He said there was no evidence the banks would take meaningful steps to resolve their problems, if not for the CBN intervention.

Obire said shareholders of the banks went to sleep at a time that past managements were running their banks down. “The shareholders were given opportunities to recapitalise the banks, but nothing concrete was done. The shareholders funds were gone. Shareholders’ funds were already in red and CBN’s action, as far as I am concerned, is proactive, and timely,” he said.

Corporate governance expert, Oladele Adelabu, said the banks should see the reforms as a quicker process of resolving the problems they found themselves in. He said if not for the bailouts by the CBN and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), a possible run on the banks was imminent. However, he said the banks should ensure that they have a say in who forms part of the boards being set up by new owners of the banks. He said getting the board membership wrong at this time may be the beginning of another

• Mallam Sanusi

round of crises in the coming years.

“I think the apex bank revoked the operating licenses of the banks weeks ahead of the September 30, 2011 deadline given them to recapitalise or face either liquidation/ nationalisation because there was nothing on ground to show that they would attract investors before the expiration of the ultimatum,” he said. His thinking was that if the banks were left till the end of the deadline, they would have become “carcasses” as their financial health had deteriorated.

President, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) Olufemi Timothy said shareholders have to co-operate with CBN to ensure they do not lose further investments. Such cooperation, he insisted, should start at the EGMs, as anything otherwise, including legal actions, may fail.

“The banks are distressed and the Bridge Bank option was to help secure depositors’ and creditors’ funds,” he said.

Chairman, Concerned Shareholders Association of Nigeria Segun Owolabi said shareholders are at a disadvantaged on the matter. For him, the beauty of the exercise is that no depositor has lost his funds, and that the banks will continue as going concerns. He said shareholders have to face the facts because their investments in these banks have been eroded.

One of the founding members of the Solidarity Shareholders’ Association of Nigeria (SSAN), Gbadebo

Adetokunbo, said shareholders should cooperate with the regulators. “We (shareholders) should blame ourselves for not allowing the banks to be recapitlised,” he said.

He also blamed shareholders groups - some of which he accused of colluding with the sacked managers that were removed in 2009 after the joint CBN/NDIC stress tests found them wanting.

“Expectedly, there would be legal fireworks to test the legitimacy of the government’s actions as some shareholders have expressed their intentions. The legal implications of the actions may dissuade credible foreign investors from acquiring any of these banks,” he said.

However, CBN Deputy Governor, Financial Systems Stability Kingsley Moghalu said the apex bank was prepared to handle any legal actions that may follow its decisions. He advised that it was in the interest of the shareholders to cooperate with the regulators to ensure that the process of recapitalisation is finalised.

Road to recapitalisation The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, last week, granted orders to Oceanic Bank International Plc, Finbank Plc and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc to convene their courtordered meetings in respect of their proposed recapitalisation on September 27, 29, and 30. Finbank

also last Friday secured a court order to hold its EGM on September 29. These have given the four lenders and their shareholders a high hope of meeting the CBN September 30 recapitalisation deadline.

A week earlier, the Federal High Court granted Intercontinental Bank Plc a similar order to convene its court-ordered meeting on September 26 in relation to the bank’s proposed business combination with Access Bank Plc. Oceanic Bank entered into a Transaction Implementation Agreement (TIA) with Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), which will lead to the bank’s capitalisation by ETI and a subsequent merger of Oceanic with ETI’s Nigerian subsidiary, Eco Bank Nigeria.

Union Bank of Nigeria also entered into a TIA with the African Capital Alliance Consortium (ACAC), which will lead to the recapitalisation of the bank by its potential investor ACAC is expected to inject an initial $500 million of equity and a subsequent $250 million of Tier II capital to take the bank to the minimum capital adequacy. Shareholders of Union Bank will also have an opportunity to increase their stake in the bank through a Rights Issue due to be announced

• Continued on page 14

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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ISSUES • Continued from page 13

at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja.

Finbank has also entered into a TIA with First City Monument Bank (FCMB), which will lead to the recapitalisation of Finbank and a subsequent merger with FCMB. Intercontinental Bank’s transaction with Access Bank as outlined in the TIA will be effected through a Scheme of Arrangement and a subsequent Private Placement.

Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) had earlier signed a TIA with Sterling Bank Plc and at the time of this report they appeared to be making progress and should complete their transactions on or before September 30.

All the banks will be recapitalised by AMCON before the investments by the core/strategic investors.

Racing against time

The Beginning The CBN and NDIC in July 2009 carried out a special examination of all the 24 banks, with the aim of assessing their health, paying attention to their liquidity, capital adequacy, risk management and corporate governance practices.

Ten banks - Oceanic, Afribank, Intercontinetal, Finbank, Spring Bank, BankPHB, ETB, Unity Bank, Wema Bank, Union Bank - were adjudged to be in grave states with deficiencies in capital adequacy.

Of these, eight also had significant deficiencies in liquidity, risk management practices and corporate governance policies; Wema and Unity Banks had capital adequacy issues. The 10 banks got a lifeline of N620 billion in the form of Tier 2 Capital.

Three of the banks, Springbank (now Enterprise Bank), Bank PHB (Keystone Bank), and Afribank (MainStreet Bank) were on August 5, handed over to NDIC, that later sold them to AMCON, which has given the banks a N679 billion lifeline to enable them to continue as a going concern.

The resolution has seen Wema, Unity and Union banks capitalised on stand-alone basis while Intercontinental Bank, Oceanic Bank, Finbank and ETB were acquired by other banks. Oceanic international Bank has said it would seek shareholders’approval for the transfer of 40.17 per cent of its holdings to Ecobank Transnational Incorporation (ETI), which it signed a merger deal with last month. Access Bank said it would spend N50 billion to acquire a 75 per cent stake in Intercontinental Bank. Shareholders hope such deals will mark the beginning of the end of the banking crisis.

• GMD Union Bank, Mrs Funke Osibodu

• GMD Intercontinental Bank Mahmoud Lai Alabi

•GMD Oceanic Bank John Aboh

• GMD Finbank, Mrs Suzzane Iroche

maintained that since the interbank guarantee from the CBN for the banks will subsist till December 31, the banks still have time to plan for their EGMs. He said AMCON did not mandate banks to hold EGMs before September 30, but only advised the affected banks to do so in their own interests.

“If a bank has good reason for not holding its EGM before that date, it is still acceptable. AMCON cannot fix EGM for banks, but can only advise on how best to handle the issue,” he said.

Chike-Obi said AMCON’s acquisition of these banks has helped avoid a domino effect in the interbank markets. Some healthy banks had closed interbank trading positions with the three, while others were on the verge of doing so but their recapitalisation has renewed hope of survival at the interbank market.

Analysts insist that the banks’ credit to the economy has improved since AMCON took over non-performing loans worth N1.7 trillion from the banks. For the first half, 16 banks have extended N441 billion in new loans to the economy. The data were obtained from the second quarter results of the banks.

AMCON forecloses nationalisation AMCON has refuted claims that plans are underway to takeover two of the five banks that have signed TIAs with their core investors.

The Nation learnt from a source who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, that there are underground plans to nationalise two more banks by government.

But AMCON CEO Mustafa Chike-Obi told The Nation that the claims were unfounded as the agency has no plans to bridge more banks. “That is not true. I am not aware of plans to bridge any more banks,” he said.

The AMCON boss, however, warned that if any of the banks is incapable of recapitalising itself, all other options must be on the table to protect depositors, employees and stakeholders of these banks. He added that he was pleased with the steps the banks have taken in their recapitalisation plans. “I am satisfied with the progress that the banks have shown so far,” he said.

Chike-Obi earlier told Bloomberg that he expected five of the nine rescued banks to call EGMs by September 30, to enable shareholders to sign recapitalisation deals with investors. He explained that he expected shareholders to accept the deals, or the regulators would explore all options to protect depositors, employees and the financial markets.

Interbank Guarantees The signing of TIAs by five rescued banks with their core investors has been described

by CBN as depicting an irreversible level in the transaction plan. The CBN also extended interbank guarantee for the five rescued banks till December 31. CBN said the extension was not meant to whip any bank into line, but to acknowledge concrete achievements by the successful banks.

The AMCON boss said it was optional for five of the intervened banks that signed their TIA to hold EGMs before September 30. He

The new banks Chike-Obi said the capital provided by AMCON would strengthen beneficiary banks’ liquidity positions to enable them meet their obligations to depositors since before their take over. They were living on life support from the CBN. “They were not able to mobilise deposit or attract new customers, they didn’t have liquidity except the ones that they borrowed from other banks and other banks naturally would not give them a kobo but for the CBN guarantee,” he said.

Experience in US, Europe The United Sates of America had its own share of banking crises. But unlike Nigeria where the Banking Sector Resolution Cost Fund was put in place to bear cost of resolving banking crises, the US Government has spent $76.8 billion to rescue banks from 2008 through 2010. In 2009, the deposit insurance fund fell into the red.

‘The resolution of the banking crisis may yet be in sight following the approvals given the four banks rescued by the courts and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’

The cracks in the sub-prime market, which came to the fore in 2007 became deeper, taking significant toll on financial institutions and markets, and driving the global economy into a recession. Investors’ confidence dipped to its lowest as financial institutions lost confidence in one another and stopped lending to themselves after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.

As a consequence, the credit market practically froze and business sentiment fell to its lowest in decades. Indeed, the collapse of the 158 years old investment bank sent shock and panic across the globe and exposed the seriousness of the crisis and fragility of the international financial market.

The crisis and its contagion effect raised serious concern as government after government, unveiled bail out plans for institutions in distress, to stabilise financial markets and prevent economies from sliding into recession. Fears were heightened by the fact that entities which were mostly affected were some of the most respected and important financial institutions.

Many of the institutions were highly exposed to other institutions with unimaginable systemic consequences, if they failed.

The activities of many of them were also global. Thus, the risk of failure was not only to national economies but the global economy. Institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG, Bear Sterne, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, HBOS, Dexia, Wachovia, Bradford & Bringley, Fortis and Hypo Real Estate, all announced serious financial difficulties.

The crisis was so ferious that by the end of 2008, only two of the five largest US securities firms, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, were still standing though considerably “bruised”. The firms had sought commercial banking licences, bringing into question the future of investment banking business model.

Last year, regulators liquidated 157 banks, the most in any year since the savings-andloan crisis two decades ago. Those failures cost around $21 billion. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said last year likely marked the peak for bank failures from the Great Recession.

In 2009, there were 140 bank failures that cost the insurance fund about $36 billion, a higher price tag than last year because the banks involved were bigger on average.

Twenty-five banks failed in 2008, the year the financial crisis struck with force; only three were closed in 2007.

US regulators last week closed two small banks in Georgia, bringing to 70, the number of American bank failures this year. By this time last year, regulators had shut 118 banks.

The FDIC seized Patriot Bank of Georgia in Cumming, Ga., with $150.8 million in assets and $111.2 million in deposits, and CreekSide Bank in Woodstock, Ga., with $102.3 million in assets and $96.6 million in deposits. Atlanta-based Georgia Commerce Bank agreed to assume the assets and deposits of the two failed banks.

The failure of Patriot Bank of Georgia is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund $44.4 million. CreekSide Bank is expected to cost the fund $27.3 million. Georgia has been one of the hardest-hit states for bank failures. Regulators closed 16 lenders in Georgia last year. The closures of Patriot Bank of Georgia and CreekSide Bank brought to 19 the number of banks shut down in the state this year. California, Florida and Illinois also have seen large numbers of bank failures.

The European Debt crises have been deepening after a 256 billion euros aid for Greece, Ireland and Portugal failed to restore order.

Europe also faces hurdles in trying to widen the powers of its rescue fund, with German lawmakers demanding a veto over its operations.

The 17-country euro area’s troubles “are going to get worse, not better. We are in this vicious circle which is likely to have systemic effects in the euro region,” Nouriel Roubini, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, told Bloomberg.

Greece’s predicament deepened, last week with the forecast of a worsening economic contraction and a two-week suspension of a European-International Monetary Fund economic review mission to give the government time to plot a pro-growth course.

It was inevitable that national governments would examine their regulatory architecture to learn lessons and build pillars to strengthen financial markets. The US Financial Reform Bill and the UK Turner Report are examples of initiatives to strengthen national financial markets.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

The election petition tribunals in Ebonyi State have been busy reviewing allegations of electoral malpractices following complaints by aggrieved parties. OGBONNAYA OBINNA chronicles proceedings at the tribunals and captures the drama as petitioners and the defence try to outdo one another.

Ebonyi tribunals keep Elechi, Ucha waiting T

HE April 2011general elections may have come and gone with the winners declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

By the results, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the Ebonyi governorship poll, the three senatorial seats and five out of the six House of Representatives’ seats. The remaining went to All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

In the State House of Assembly elections, the PDP won 22 out of the 24 seats while the ANPP won the remaining two seats, including one in the House of Representatives.

There have been accusations and counter accusations from both the ruling party and ANPP, over alleged massive irregularities during the general election. While the ANPP accused the PDP of rigging in areas where it recorded victory, PDP accused the opposition of fraud in Ezza North and part of Ishielu Local Government Areas.

The election equally threw up cases of violence. No fewer than 10 people were killed, with properties worth billions of naira destroyed. Just before the election, the parties had constituted legal panels to handle litigations at the election petition tribunal.

As anticipated, the ANPP, PDP, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the People for Democratic Change (PDC) all headed for the tribunal to seek upturn of the INEC verdicts.

At its inaugural sitting at the State Judiciary headquarters, the National/State Assembly election petitions tribunal chairman, Justice Henry Olusiyi, assured the parties that the tribunal would discharge its duties without fear or favour.

So the chairman of the governorship election petitions tribunal, Justice Nuhu Galadanchi, equally assured.

The tribunals received a total of 26 petitions - six on House of Representatives, three on senatorial, four on governorship and 13 challenging the House of Assembly elections results.

The four governorship election petitions include those filed by the ANPP governorship candidate, Senator Julius Ucha, challenging the re-election of Governor Martin Elechi; that of APGA governorship candidate, Ambassador Frank Ogbuewu against the governor; one by PDC candidate Kevin Opoke (rtd AIG) against the governor and another by Opoke against INEC for exclusion of his party’s logo from the ballot papers.

Only the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate, Chief Adol Awam, has not headed for the court.

There have been anxiety and fears among candidates and their supporters since the commencement of the cases. The tribunal has granted several applications by the parties. One was the directive given to the INEC to allow the ANPP candidate for Ebonyi Central Senatorial seat, Chief Innocent Ugo Chima, it his counsel or any forensic expert retained by the petitioner to inspect, scan or take copies of some of the materials used for the election in the district.

The order followed an ex-parte motion brought by Hon Chima and ANPP against the declaration of Hon Paulinus Nwagu of the PDP as the winner of by INEC the election conducted on April 9, 2011.

Justice Olusiyi listed the materials to be inspected to include ballot papers, result sheets, voters’ register as well as entries and data in the Direct Data Capturing (DDC) Machines.

• Elechi

• Ucha

‘There have been accusations and counter-ac-

cusations from both the ruling party and ANPP, over alleged massive irregularities during the general election. While the ANPP accused the PDP of rigging in areas where it recorded victory, PDP accused the opposition of fraud in Ezza North and part of Ishielu Local Government Areas’ This, he said, was in line with Section 151(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), adding that the examination of the materials would help the case.

Counsels, to Anthony Anazor argued that since the petition contains pleadings of multiple thumb printing and that some of the votes were not actually generated from the polling units where the senatorial elections were conducted, it was necessary for the materials to be inspected in order to prove the case.

Shortly after the ANPP was granted leave to inspect the materials, the PDP candidate for Ebonyi Central Senatorial Distirct, Senator Nwagu also brought a motion, asking the tribunal to allow it inspect the materials used during the election. It was

also granted.

There was renewed fear within the PDP as the tribunal had earlier accepted the results of the forensic experts, detailing the figures scored by the candidate of ANPP, Hon Chima and Senator Nwagu in the Ebonyi Central senatorial election.

The result of the forensic examination presented to the tribunal by Chief Maurice Umanna, a finger-print analyst, which indicated massive multiple votes and foreign body impression was opposed by counsel to Senator Nwagu, S.O Oke (SAN) who argued that the tribunal should not accept such document to be tendered before it as evidence.

In its ruling, Justice Olusiyi who accepted the document in evidence said that

the tribunal decided to accept the document since the petitioner had sought for the leave of the tribunal before embarking on the examination which was long granted with the provisions of section 151(1) and (2) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

A document signed by Chief Umanna, a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police and made available to The Nation reads: “These votes comprise of smudged-prints that could not be analyzed and prints that do not have enough identifying features for comparison. And additionally, ballots that are devoid of multiple votes and foreign body impression’. The remainder of the votes was as a result of multiple finger/thumb printing, foreign body voting, invalid votes and deliberate inflation of PDP votes in the election result sheet. The number of votes affected is 16, 700.”

The tribunal has also dismissed several petitions, but the one that seems to give the PDP a sigh of relief was the dismissal of the petition filed by Mr Francis Elem of ANPP challenging the election of Chief Tobias Okwuru who represents EzzaSouth /Ikwo Federal Constituency.

Similarly, the Election Petitions Tribunal has also struck out the petition filed

by ANPP candidate in for Onicha West State Constituency Hon Umanta against thePDP Candidate Hon Valentine Okike.

In the governorship election tribunal, it has been a ding-dong affair between the ANPP and the PDP. Counsel to Chief Elechi, Dr. Jacob Ibik, had, among other things, filed a motion, asking the tribunal to strike out the petition filed by the ANPP on the grounds that the petition was filed out of time.

Justice Galadanchi ruled that the petition was filed within the time stipulated by law and therefore, he refused to grant the motion filed by INEC and PDP to strike out the petition.

The jubilation that greeted the decision was well understood by political analysts since the petition brought by APGA governorship candidate, Ambassador Franklin Ogbuewu against Elechi was struck out three days earlier.

Ogbuewu had filled a petition challenging the declaration and issuance of certificate of return to Chief Martin Elechi by the INEC as the winner of the governorship election in the state.

Ogbuewu asked the tribunal to nullify the election following alleged ballot box snatching, multiple thumb printing, intimidation of eligible voters, among other alleged irregularities witnessed during the April election. This was dismissed by the tribunal.

The Ebonyi State Government in its reaction to the ruling said that the petition was meant to distract the Elechi administration. “The people’s mandate was overwhelming; while Ebonyi State government is enthused about the court judgment, we wish to assure Ebonyi people that the government is firmly founded and nothing will be allowed to detract it from its mission of consolidation and progress”.

This brings to three, the number of governorship election petitions so far dismissed by the tribunal out of the five brought before it.

As the tribunal continues in the discharge of its duties, supporters of the different political parties are eagerly a waiting petitions and likely appeals the outcome of the remaining.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

18

POLITICS

LP, ACN set for Ondo council polls

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HE die is cast between the rul ing Labour Party (LP) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which is the main opposition party in Ondo State. The forthcoming local government elections would determine who holds the ace in the Sunshine state. Labour, led by Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Deputy Governor Ali Olanusi and Senator Femi Kunlere, has boasted that it would maintain its hold on the 18 councils. The ACN has cautioned the chieftains, saying that the bravado could herald an unimaginable nightmare.

The election date is shrouded in controversy. The State Electoral Commission headed by Prof Ige is yet to release guidelines. Opposition parties have not criticised the composition of the commission, which means that the commissioners have no credibility problem.

Analysts have warned that the hot contest for power at the ‘third tier’ may unleash tension, if politicians approach the contest with their peculiar ‘do or die’ tricks. Fears of violence are also rife, especially if the exercise is not free and fair.

ACN chieftain Chief Wumi Adegbonmire, an associate of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, told our correspondent that the election would mark the eclipse of LP in the Southwest state. “I have been in this game since 1951. I worked with Awolowo and Ajasin.

I participated in the SDP and AD politics in this state. We don’t have treasury to empty. But we are certain that no propaganda will work this time around. We are ready and we will win. If the date is set, we are ready”, he said.

It is a very challenging moment for the two competing parties. For now, the political career and survival of Mimiko revolve around the success of LP. He cannot afford to sleep on guard. But there are signs of cracks on the wall. The chairman of the party, Chief Olaiya Oni, a former Minister of Education, resigned suddenly last month. In response, LP waved off the possibility of strain, saying that a tree cannot make a forest.

However, Adegbonmire, who was Secretary to Government under the Adefarati Administration when Mimiko was Health Commissioner, disclosed that many who had defected from LP would be received into ACN by the national chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, anytime from now. The determination of ACN to bounce back after its defeat in the last general election in the state has sent the ruling party and government jittery. Mimiko is still popular in Ondo State, but not exactly as he was in 2007.

Row over state/ council joint accounts

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Deputy Political Editor

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•Mimiko

By Emmanuel Oladesu

ACN is still perceived as a struggling party, although with a lot of goodwill and potentials. Many believe that it is still beset with organisational problems, although Adegbonmire disclosed that “we have put them right”. What is also worrisome to many members of the party is the perception that the party’s leadership is weak. A chieftain of the party, Kisu Akinjo, complained that the party should be restructured to make it accommodate more defectors from LP and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is now a shadow of itself in the state. Akinjo, a former chairman of Okeigbo/Ile-Oluji local government, nevertheless, said: “We are getting ready for elections. We expect them to tell us the date”.

At least, nine governorship aspirants are scrambling for the ticket of ACN in the next election scheduled for the first quarter of 2013.

They are former Steel Minister, Dr Olu Agunloye, grassroots politician and former Commissioner for Finance, Chief Segun Ojo, party chairman and former Justice Commissioner Mrs Jumoke Anifowose, former Finance Commissioner Hon. Wale Akinterinwa, and Dr Tunji Abayomi, frontline human rights crusader.

Other aspirants are Hon. Alasoadura, Senator Olorunnimbe Farunkanmi and Chief Jayeola Ajatta, a former member of the House of Representatives. More contenders are still expected when Akande visits the state to welcome defectors. For these gladiators, there is a hurdle to cross. A party source hinted that, if any of them fails to deliver his local government during the critical council poll, it may affect his rating and chance during the primaries or se-

•Anifowoshe

lection process.

Top political leaders in the state want to cut the influence of the governor, who is fondly called ‘iroko’.

But he is said to be popular with the masses. Ahead of the polls, Mimiko has continued to advertise his achievements in office, especially the ‘Ile Abiye’ project, roads and other infrastructure. He has also invited the media to vet his claims. To him, there is no dull moment in the state, adding that he has impressed the voters with his people-oriented programmes.

The ACN leaders disagreed with his submissions. Dissecting the administration, Adegbonmire, an ally of former Governor Ajasin in Akureland, said it was all propaganda, stressing that “no propaganda will work to the advantage of Mimiko”. He added: “Mimiko is dancing around. If a young man comes now and captures the treasury of Ondo State, I don’t have that advantage or disadvantage. If they think they can squander the commonwealth of the state, they will fail”.

Adegbonmire obviously relies on his reputation as he returns to the firing line. He ruled out any apprehension on the part of ACN, which he said, could withstand what he described as the antics of LP. Adegbonmire said: “People are ready for a new crop of leaders in Ondo State. We are mobilising and organising ourselves. More people are ready to defect to ACN. Some are still in LP because of juicy things they get from the governor, but their hearts are with ACN. ACN is stronger than LP now”.

The two parties are flexing muscles. Their leaders are glued to the drawing board; scheming and perfecting their strategies. On poll day, the success of one will ultimately become the failure of the other.

• Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun (left) and former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba at a ceremony marking Amosun’s 100 days in office at Kuto Cultural Centre, Abeokuta on Monday with them is Hon. Suraju Adekunbi.

PHOTO: JOHN EBHOTA

HOULD the State/Local Government Joint Accounts be scrapped? This is the major question that has elicited dichotomous response from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

President Goodluck Jonathan, who has proposed a bill to the National Assembly seeking the separation of the joint accounts and his party believe that the move would strengthen grassroots development.

Articulating their view, a Lagos State PDP chieftain, Chief Olayinka Amos, told reporters that the bill would fortify the third tier and pave the way for speedy development at the grassroots.

The ACN has a contrary opinion. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had advised Jonathan to jettison certain aspects of the proposed constitutional amendment, which aims at scrapping the existing States/Local Council’s Joint Accounts.

ACN also argued that scrapping the accounts and allocating the local councils their share of the Federation Account directly would amount to making them federating units, which can stifle development and deal a further blow to the nation’s wobbly federalism.

At issue is whether the local government is a tier of government under the current federal arrangement.

At the stakeholders meeting of ACN in Lagos, the national leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, disagreed that the local council is the third tier of government.

He said: “There are only two tiers. There is the federal and there is the state.

The local government is the affair of the state government”.

As former governor of Lagos State, he had a running battle with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the operation of the federal principle, which he maintained, was lopsided. When additional councils were created, following a referendum, the federal government seized the allocations to Lagos councils, causing them untold hardship.

Lawyers who spoke with our correspondent submitted that, in a federal system, there are only two tiers; federal and state; adding that council administration is within the purview of the state.

ACN chieftain, Isiaka Adekunle-Ibrahim, lamented that the federal principle is still beyond the understanding of the President, stressing that the defective 1999 Constitution, which gave some powers to the federal organs to interfere with local affairs, was being deliberately abused.

He added: “The federal government can only connect with the local councils through the states. Third tier is an aberration in the type of federalism we practice in Nigeria”.

PDP chieftain Amos however, objected to this line of thought, insisting that the current system, where the state and councils operate joint accounts, cannot herald meaningful grassroots development. To him, local council is supposed to be a third tier.

Amos said: “There is no justification for continuous operation of joint accounts between the state and local councils because, from what we have seen so far, the third tier of government has been completely muzzled in the country because of undue interference with funds accruing to them by some states executives.”

The politician argued that, since the constitution creates three tiers of government, each must be allowed maximum independence, but with necessary and stipulated checks and balances.

He added: “The chairman of a council should be as powerful as the state governor or the president in his local council. But the system where the council or its allocation is subjected to the control of state government negates the principle of democracy and development. The council chairmanship position is an elected position and must enjoy autonomy.

“Many local council areas cannot function properly in the country because they operate joint accounts with their state governments. It is the people at the grassroots that suffer.”

Amos said that, while the councils should, as a matter of fact, receive their allocation directly from the federal government in separate accounts, a system must be put in place to ensure that the allocations them were announced and well accounted for at the end of the day.

“It is also expedient that each local council should declare its internally generated revenue on monthly basis. In Lagos State, it is true that Governor Babatunde Fashola has achieved a lot at the state level, but what is the performance ratio of the local councils in the state? Who is monitoring the revenue collected by local councils?

Chime tasks aides on performance

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OVERNOR Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has charged political office holders in his government to focus on those factors that would help the administration accomplish its obligations to the people and serve them better.

Addressing tparticipants at a two-day retreat for his Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants in Enugu, Governor Chime reminded them that their primary assignment is to help him achieve the four-point agenda and other programmes of the government. ”As SSAs and SAs, you work directly under my office and your primary assignment is to help me achieve the four-point agenda and any other objectives or programmes of the government”, he said.

Governor Chime who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Amechi Okolo, informed them that government, as a matter of policy, was determined to refine and refocus the strategies for the implementation of the four-point agenda to improve on its ability and expand its resources to meet the key developmental needs of the people.

He explained that the retreat was packaged to give them proper tutorial on the visions, aspirations and operational philosophy of the administration and also prepare them for the task of assisting government to attain its set ideals, visions and targets.

The State Chief Executive urged them to shun corruption and laxity, adding that the obligation to deliver the needs of the people is “urgent and imperative now”.

The Governor said, “We cannot afford to allow the gains of yesterday become the failure of today; all the indicators of good governance, including accountability, political stability, effectiveness and efficiency of government regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption do become visible in our day-to-day operations as a government.”

Governor Chime reminded them that as ambassadors of government, they should be above board in all they do, warning that “anyone found wanting in the discharge of his/her duty will not continue to enjoy our protection or patronage.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

19

EDITORIAL/OPINION EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

Murders most foul

•For how long will the murderers in Jos continue to escape justice?

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HE gruesome massacre, in the morning of September 4, of a family of eight in Tatu village, Heipang District of Bzarkin Ladi Local Government in Plateau State, as well as the murder of 11 others in the night of the same day in the state have merely opened another gory dimension to the killing field that the crisis-ridden state has become.

Chollom Nangup Gyang, his wife and six children – including a three -year-old baby were murdered in their sleep by unknown assailants in what seemed a planned, well-staged mission. That was in the morning. Then at night, a 74 yearold man, Chukwak, his 70 year-old wife and their two grandchildren were also killed in their home at Dabwak vilage while seven others were killed in TarganBabale in Jos North Local Government Area. Three others were injured in the village when their houses were set

‘Both the federal and state governments must share in the blame for the failure to bring the situation around the Jos area under control. We cannot but wonder at the ease with which roving bands of militia have access to sophisticated weapons which they routinely use to unleash murder and mayhem in spite of large presence of security agencies in the state’

ablaze.

Yet again, in all of these murders, it seems unlikely that the murderers will ever be found. But then as always, we remind the parties in the Plateau State conflict that murder under any guise is untenable, unacceptable and un-Godly.

Apart from being a criminal act, all known religions equally enjoin their practitioners to refrain from shedding innocent blood.

This latest act of wiping out of an entire family, the second of such to be reported within a month, is therefore as deplorable as it is sad. It is increasingly illustrative of the collapse of the moral order, the slow but dangerous descent into the state of nature in the Plateau.

Killing an unarmed citizen in combat situation would be considered heinous enough – not to talk of the murder of innocent citizens, including women and children, on their beds.

Both the federal and state governments must share in the blame for the failure to bring the situation around the Jos area under control. We cannot but wonder at the ease with which roving bands of militia have access to sophisticated weapons which they routinely use to unleash murder and mayhem in spite of large presence of security agencies in the state.

For how long must we continue to make the point that murderers are no ghosts anymore than they are able to vanish into thin air after committing their heinous acts? They live among the people. The failure to apprehend them and hence bring them to book must be held responsible for the wave of impunity. The lat-

est incidents are yet another wake-up call on the security agencies to step up on intelligence gathering in addition to their traditional law enforcement duties.

There are simply too many arms in circulation among the population. A comprehensive strategy to retrieve them would have to be put in place.

We do not accept the suggestion that the security agencies are so helpless as not to be able to bring the situation under control. The statement credited to the spokesman of the Special Task Force in Plateau, Captain Charles Ekeocha, to the effect that the task force had no business in some parts of the state because the communities had earlier said that they did not want his men is most unfortunate. Is the task force spokesman saying that his men would stand by and watch hoodlums unleash mayhem under some circumstances?

The other aspect of the crisis that seems to have escaped due attention is the role of traditional authorities, including religious bodies in the crisis. It has become tempting lately, to see the once revered traditional institutions being sucked into the crisis. Simply because we are under no illusions that the crisis can be resolved without close collaboration between the government on one part, and the religious and traditional institutions on the other, we can only plead that leaders at all levels in the communities henceforth see themselves as partners with government in finding solutions to end the crisis which has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

For democratised LGs • Constitutional Confusion to blame for their muzzling by state governments HE 1999 Constitution, it is true, is a federalist’s nightmare. It declared itself a federal constitution, which supposes codified power-sharing between two tiers of government: the federating states and the Federal Government.

Yet, it went ahead to literally decree a three-tier system consisting of the federal, states and local governments. The Constitution also listed the 774 local government areas, without the proviso that the list was an accident of history, being the existing local government areas when the 1999 Constitution came into force.

By that, therefore, it failed to anticipate the bad faith and ruinous politicking that trailed the creation of more local governments in Lagos State, which though the Constitution puts squarely in the hands of state governments, the federal authorities back then were determined to muzzle.

These systemic legal problems tend to account for much of the confusion in the administration of local government affairs, particularly in the councils’ relations to the Federal Government on one hand; and the state governments on the other. In this delicate balance, the local governments, which strictly are administrative creations of their respective states, look up to the Federal Government as saviour against states, perceived by councils as administrative bullies.

Still, not even this conceptual confusion should justify the evolving bad political culture, in which ruling parties, in every state, tend to usurp the constitutionally guaranteed democracy in local

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government administration. That was the point Femi Falana, the famous human rights lawyer was making, when he accused governors of truncating democracy at council level.

In making that allegation, Mr. Falana touched on raw nerves. And many state governments, if they choose to be combative and cynically legalistic, could even come out smoking, branding enabling laws to justify whatever actions that, on the surface, look undemocratic.

Still, the bitter truth remains that local government administration could decidedly be more democratic than it is.

To start with, it has become a disturbing norm that state governments, for sundry reasons, think little of freezing elected councils, and replacing them with caretaker committees. It is true the Constitution empowers state legislatures to pass such laws, under some circumstances. But the spirit behind the Constitution, not to talk of its express dictate that guarantees democratised local governments, should have dictated more democratisation at the grassroots than it is right now. That only 11 states, out of 36, have elected local government councils just shows how brazenly this constitutional dictate is being breached.

But by far the most pernicious of this bad political acculturation is the almost divine right with which the state ruling parties think they can sweep local government council polls. It may well be that some ruling parties are popular, still the clean sweep of local elections negates a very crucial aspect of democracy: grassroots elections serving as nurseries where differing political ideas and ideologies test-run their ideas and offers,

and test their acceptability or otherwise at the polls.

Even during the Babangida transition programme, there was a zero-party council election experiment, used as a prelude to party formation. In other democracies, smaller parties use local elections to carve out a slice of the electorate, no matter how small, as a prelude to bigger elections.

This key ingredient of democratic deepening – allowing free and unfettered election at the grassroots – robs even the ruling parties of a fair appraisal of their government’s performance, which could have given the party ample time to adjust before the next general election. Worse, it denies the deepening of democratic ethos, which continues to make Nigeria the odd paradox of a democracy without democrats.

That is why everyone concerned should take the Falana allegation as a challenge to do the right thing. It might just provide the key to sustainable democracy.

‘To start with, it has become a disturbing norm that state governments, for sundry reasons, think little of freezing elected councils, and replacing them with caretaker committees ... That only 11 states, out of 36, have elected local government councils just shows how brazenly this constitutional dictate is being breached’

The jobs crisis

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HE August employment report, released on Friday, is bleak on all counts, but at least it leaves no doubt that the United States is in the grip of a severe

and worsening jobs crisis. That should lend a sense of urgency to the speech on jobs that President Obama plans to deliver this week.

The economy added no jobs in August — zero — and the anemic numbers for June and July were revised downward. The unemployment rate is stuck at 9.1 percent, but it would be 16.2 percent if it included the swelling ranks of those who find only part-time work and the millions who have given up looking for jobs that simply do not exist.

In his speech on Thursday, Mr. Obama does not need to alert Americans to the dire situation; they have been telling pollsters for months that job creation — not budget cuts — should be policy makers’ top priority. This is his chance to present a plan big enough to ramp up job growth in the near term, while initiating long-term fixes to improve the economy and sustain employment.

He should not calibrate his policies to fit what he hopes will be acceptable to his Republican opponents. The House Republicans are never going to give Mr. Obama anything, and they are ideologically opposed to the government’s acting on the scale that is needed.

The American people will understand if Mr. Obama makes his case clearly and powerfully. The Republicans will refuse to, and the president should speak candidly about their disregard for workers. (Last week, the Republicans showed their disregard for the presidency by fighting over the timing of the address.)

The first step is to not make matters worse. The main cause of unemployment now is a lack of consumer demand. Americans — unemployed, underemployed, underwater in their debts, and understandably anxious about the future — are unwilling or unable to spend. To counteract that, it is vital to extend federal unemployment benefits and the temporary payroll tax cut for employees beyond year’s end, a move that would put some $160 billion into Americans’ pockets and preserve some 1.5 million jobs.

The next step is to create jobs. The highway trust fund must be reauthorized before it expires at the end of September, a step that would prevent furloughs of current workers and create some 120,000 jobs a year over the next three years via investments in transportation. In addition, a $50 billion school renovation program would employ 500,000 workers, out of 1.5 million unemployed construction workers, and could be easily scaled up.

The federal government must also stop the hemorrhaging of state budgets, which has led to the elimination of nearly 700,000 teaching jobs and other government positions in the last three years. Analysts estimate that for every government job lost, at least one job is lost in the private sector, as laid-off government workers stop spending and private contractors lose work. The fastest way to get aid to states is to increase the federal Medicaid share. The states will then have money to pay employees and contractors.

In August, joblessness was nearly 18 percent among Americans under 24. They need more federal jobs in parks, community centers and on college campuses, as well as in service programs like AmeriCorps.

It is vital that Mr. Obama push for mortgage relief, to boost consumer spending and help repair household balance sheets.

Mr. Obama cannot order Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-run mortgage companies, to refinance the mortgages of underwater borrowers in good standing. But he can apply pressure by making it clear that it is profoundly in the public interest that they do so. Mr. Obama should also support principal reductions for troubled borrowers in bankruptcy, in legal settlements, and in other loan modification efforts.

Immediate measures must be accompanied by longterm plans. In particular, Congress should heed Mr. Obama’s call for an infrastructure bank, to combine public and private investment in large-scale projects.

Mr. Obama should explain that the efforts will be paid for, over time, by tax increases and spending cuts that will begin as the economy recovers. For now, they will require more borrowing, which is prudent, given the need and today’s low interest rates.

Republicans will insist that the nation cannot afford to do the things necessary to create jobs. We can’t afford not to.

Mr. Obama must be clear about that on Thursday.

– New York Times

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

20

EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR: Throughout its history, many attempts have been made to destroy Olabisi Onabnajo University , Ago Iwoye, a legacy of foresight by Chiefs Obafemi Awolowo and Bisi Onabanjo. None of those attempts have inflicted so much mayhem as the regime of Gbenga Daniel, the immediate past governor of Ogun State. It was during his administration that OOU witnessed its lowest ebb in history. Daniel’s imposed administrators especially in the twilight of his government could be described as slow learners, academic terrorists and power drunks.

Committed staff - academic and non-academic – were horrified at the speedy destruction of OOU’s reputation wreaked by the inept leadership of Alex Onabanjo’s Governing Council. My perception was, and always has been, that the situation in OOU is more manageable under the former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Odutola Osilesi, than his two successors whose regimes have been marred with unnecessary hypocrisy, show of shame and unparalleled debauchery and thirst for position.

The Alex Onabanjo’s Council that imposed the present Vice-Chancellor and his team came with the intention to reform OOU but hurriedly resigned a day to Governor Daniels’s last hours in office which naturally suggested that the council chairman goofed and failed in many of his unilateral decisions within the short period in office.

Instead of the Council to take on board and address complaints on their merits, it opted for a cleansing exercise under the guise of reorganisation. Regrettably in Alex Onabanjo’s OOU, criticism-even valid or constructive- was not well received. There was a distinct ‘shoot the messenger’ response by the Council chairman ably guided by

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OOU visitation panel: matters arising the present Vice-Chancellor. They both chose to sack the vast majority of productive members of staff whom they considered as administrative risks and too critical to handle not because those staff were violent, indolent or unproductive but because they would never compromise their integrity and high moral standard.

Those with long memories will need little reminding that during Alex Onabanjo’s repressive reign as OOU’s Governing Council chairman, many outstanding professors,

senior lecturers and hundreds of well groomed staff were unfairly sacked. It was and still unthinkable that a university that was rated by National University Commission as understaffed would get rid of top rated academics just because an individual was to be pacified. The most unfortunate of all these bickering is that OOU had invested hugely in academic progression of some of the sacked staff many who are now serving other universities when OOU that ought to be reaping its investments is suffering paucity

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education that forced tears out Jakande’s eyes, but the future of the nation, particularly its development which anchors on education of its citizens which at present at lowest ebb.

It is instructive that Chief Obafemi Awolowo before Jakande lamented the state of the Nigerian economy in the early 80s. Awolowo emphasized regrettably that the ship of the nation was heading to a rock that unless the crew woke from the slumber, the ship would hit the rock with devastating consequences. The powers that be then mocked Chief Awolowo as a prophet of doom. Few months later, the government declared austerity measure to stem the tide of economic crisis starring the country in the face.

Equally, late Chief Sam Mbakwe, the governor of the old Imo State in

IR: When an elderly person weeps in Yorubaland, people believe such weeping portends danger or evil for the society. The same extends to an elder who sweats when speaking.

It is in line with the above summation that one situates the weeping of the first civilian governor of Lagos state, Alhaji Lateef Jakande over the pitiable state of the nation’s educational system, during his 82nd birthday lecture at the Lagos State University on July 25.

According to the reports, Baba Kekere, as he was fondly called while he held sway in Lagos, regretted that those who benefited from Awo’s free education in the 1950s and his own in 1980s are paying lip service to free education. As a matter of fact, it is not only non availability of free

of staff at all fronts.

Having left OOU with both administrative and academic graveyard, it is inevitable that Mr Daniel and his foot soldiers at OOU should have a few bones to pick with the present visitation panel. I do not wish to do added damage to the ozone layer by fulminating further on the wanton administrative and academic destruction that Mr Daniel has visited on OOU by his ill advised; self-serving choices of Council chairman, the immediate past Acting Vice Chancellor and the in-

When elders weep the second republic publicly wept over the future of Imo State, and nation at large. Some called him a weeping governor. Despite the fact that the state had been split into two, those who write about Imo State today emphasize that none of the governors since 1983 had surpassed the feat performed by Mbakwe.

Furthermore, in the build up to the last presidential election, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, former head of state and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) wept at the closing of his presidential campaign in Abuja. He equally warned Nigerians against voting for the People Democratic Party (PDP). He emphasized that, should they make the mistake they would commit political hara-kiri.

Skeptics called Buhari names –

No to planned removal of fuel subsidy

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IR: Kindly accommodate this view on the much talked about and over stretched national issue of removal of fuel subsidy. The call for its removal is uncalled for, wicked and the greatest acts of insensitivity on the part of the leaders to the masses.

The recent analysis by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance and Co- ordinator, National Economic Management Team (NEMT) that, subsidy has continued to drain the economy, does not hold water. The federal government should block all loopholes of cor-

ruption in the fuel and power sector and other areas, being their constitutional responsibilities.

Any slight increase in fuel prices would translate to over 100 percent increase in the prices of goods and services. Facilities being provided by governments elsewhere are non-existent in Nigeria.

We have in Nigeria bad roads everywhere, unreliable electricity, inadequate water supply, high food prices and a near total lack of security, there is high unemployment, no social security, poor health care delivery system, a crumbling edu-

cational system among others.

Petrol and other fuel products are the only remaining benefits left for an average Nigerian. Only a small group who benefit from oil importation are the beneficiaries.

It is a great regret that corruption, greed and unrighteousness are rampant within the rank and file of our leaders and followers; vast majority of Nigerians are not benefiting from the oil money, and the price of fuel that should be reducing with the windfall in the world oil market, is, instead going up for the people.

President Goodluck Jonathan, states governors and local government chairmen need to focus on serious business of good governance finding ways out of resolving the precarious financial situations in their domains by – increasing sources of revenue, reduction in government spending, blockage of leakages, borrowing funds to augment from federation accounts and deliver dividends of democracy.

• Prophet Oladipupo FunmiladeJoel, Lagos, Lagos State

cumbent. However having benefited from OOU’s largesse and Alex Onabanjo’s frustrations, it is advisable that the visitation panel goes an extra mile to exhume the judgmental errors in Alex Onabanjo’s actions. It is equally pertinent to revisit the process that produced the incumbent principal officers at the expense of more qualified sons and daughters of the state that aspired for same offices. While appointment of Principal Officers is mostly political, it should be noted that the future of OOU is at stake and political will alone would not make the desired future happen. More so, it will be in nobody’s interest if OOU is paying an exorbitant price for replacing the concept of public service with the venal self-service which was introduced by the present Governing Council.

• Tola Osunnuga, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State

disgruntled, failure, etc. Nigerians indeed voted P.D.P., three months in the life of the new government, Nigerians are grappling with insecurity of lives and property, violent armed robberies in the cities and on highways, collapsed infrastructures including roads, BokoHaram insurgency, bombing incidents particularly of Police and United Nation’s Headquarters at Abuja, avoidable ecological disaster, crisis in the nation’s judiciary etc.

Chief Jakande’s tears portend danger for the future of this country unless our leaders at all levels rise up to the task of nation building. In a situation where according to Alhaji Jakande, quoting UNESCO source, about 17 million children of school age are roaming the streets is dangerous! Government has a lot to do to reverse the ugly trend in our education. As he correctly said, free education is still possible with the resources available in the country but the fact is that our leaders lack the will. They are equally selfish and only cater for themselves, children and family. They have forgotten that those that are recruited into armed robbery and kidnapping gangs and insurgents such as Niger Delta militants groups, Boko-Haram sect and who are disturbing the peace of the society and giving the government sleepless nights are some of the children they failed to cater for. The tears of elders portend danger and our leaders should wake up.

• Adewuyi Adegbite Apake, Ogbomoso

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

EDITORIAL/OPINION

Great Ibadan Flood – donate pls! FRSC N255b Licence scheme- Extortion or safety?

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HE tragedy of the 2011 Great Ibadan Flood is daily being unravelled as people and businesses are counting the cost in lives lost, injuries, hospitalisation, Tony businesses and liveliMarinho hoods ruined and ‘all our worldly possessions’ lost. Dazed people recall a wall of water 20+ feet high sweeping all before it with massive loss of buildings and personal property, roads washed away, power poles and cables destroyed, fish ponds swamped with thousands of fish displaced.

Shocked people tell of snakes dumped as water receded.

Many Nigerians work from home and have lost all their goods and money. The loss of documentation in this country that still demands ‘original’ employment letters from 65 year old pensioners is horrendous, creating administrative nightmares as they seek true certified copies of destroyed ‘certificates’ – birth certificates, driving licences, passports, WAEC/NECO/ GCE/university, and employment documents. This will create a bonanza of corruption for officials and a mountain of misery.

You can act! Use any of the charities or send money and material through an established religious body. The other avenue for donations is the Red Cross, that old volunteer organisation, which is neglected until an emergency when everyone expects it to ‘perform’. How do you expect members of the Red Cross to move around unless you support them with travel funds and donations of buses and ambulances? Even Red Cross/Blue Crescent volunteers need transport and food. Now is the time to remind governments, families, communities and businesses to encourage the youth and young adults to join a volunteer body like the Red Cross, Blue Crescent, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Boy’s Brigade, Man O’War –which should be renamed Man O’Peace. Children in school must belong to a volunteer organisation for moral upbringing and ‘positive time management’ and should be

M

ANY years ago, travelling in Nigeria was a pleasant experience. If you had a car, it was possible then to measure the length of time your journey would take before you reached your destination.

The cars were generally in good condition. If you didn’t have a car, you could dash to the nearest motor park and board a bus or taxi to your destination. What you paid was even meagre, especially if your destination was not that far. As you entered the parking lot, hordes of canvassers or touts would confront you and try to woo you to their side.

What you would pay at the end of the day would depend on your final choice or maybe taste. If you settled for a bus, you were likely to pay less than if you had settled for a taxi. And you were sure of possibly arriving safely at your destination.

However, if you were one of the nouveau riche around and you craved for air transport, you would simply walk into the airport and pay at the counter and wait for departure. The only thing you would suffer then was the length of time you would have to wait before you could board.

There were few airlines with even fewer aircraft.

Nigeria Airways was the dominant airline in the 1970s and early 1980s until Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion introduced Okada Airlines. Others followed – Harka airline owned by a retired Nigerian Air Force officer, simply called Salisu; Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the publisher of Champion newspapers, also had one; so also was the late business mogul, MKO Abiola, who had

financially supported by Parent Teacher Associations. Remember that growing is about role models. Can you remember a role model in a Red Cross, Boy Scouts or Girl Guides uniform? So you see the problem?

There is urgent need to commence a micro-credit facility to kick-start the flood victims’ lost businesses. In this country with no mortgage loans or bank loans how is the property damage to be repaired? Maybe through the extended family contribution system - the first NGO? Only few workers will get loans from their offices. This is a critical time to lose one’s livelihood as it is ‘return to school’ month – September. Thousands will need school fees and school kit even as they search for food and replacement possessions. To be plunged into penury overnight is terrifying. There are many unaffected directly by the flood who have no jobs because their jobs have been wiped out, destroyed. So there are many needs to support. And of course do not forget the many 419s who will report fictitious financial losses to hoodwink donors into illegally getting ‘flood money’. There are tens of thousands of needy and you can help. It would be nice if the corporate bodies suspended their instant millionaires and other socalled promos and donated the money or some of their products to the ‘Flood Funds’ and victims. We still have not come to grips with what the reality of the flood is and what it means to tens of thousands of men, women and children deprived of even a bed at night.

One wonders why the army is not able to build Bailey Bridges across even 50 feet span of broken bridges. Is it because they do not have Bailey Bridges? The Army should help solve this major war situation transport and safety problem, somehow. Who is thinking? For example, the hundreds of six feet iron sleepers removed from the refurbished railway lines in Ibadan are abandoned carelessly beside the railway tracks. They must be recycled, retrieved, reshaped and re-used to temporarily strengthen our numerous broken bridges. Urgent repair should today not tomorrow.

So the best the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, can do for us is to make families pay N6,000 x 2, N12,000 for driving licence for husband and wife and N15,000 x 2 for a New Num-

ber Plate for each car, all totalling N27,000 –N42,000 by August 2012. Add a driver and the cost is N48,000/family of two cars. Assume 30m with driving licences and that will be N180,000,000,000 or N180b. Add about five million vehicles, some dilapidated and unregisterable, each @ N15,000 licence fee, N75,000,000,000 or N75b, all totalling N255b.

Do we all have to visit Abuja to ‘personally’ obtain these items-an extra cost? All this in a nation with no school libraries, toilets or teaching aids and a NECO pass rate of 30% and no FRSC signboards for potholes. Once again, Nigeria has managed to turn a service into a draconian consumptive monster. Where is the National Assembly, NASS, public hearing on this? New driving licences, new vehicle licences, for security drive and theft control necessary and yes. But Nigerians deserve better treatment. They did not cause the previous corruption ridden FRSC licence mess and should not be punished to correct it. Old driving licences should be phased out as they expire. New vehicle licences should be cheaper-not $100. The original FRSC registration scheme was also ‘fool and corruption proof’ and ‘easy reference’. Who abandoned and corrupted it? Was it not FRSC’s internal politics of negligence and now Nigerians have the burden of a N250+billion price. Nigerians should not pay for official incompetence and corruption in FRSC, pension and other government scams, I mean schemes.

‘New driving licences, new vehicle licences, for security drive and theft control necessary and yes. But Nigerians deserve better treatment.

They did not cause the previous corruption ridden FRSC licence mess and should not be punished to correct it’

Travelling in Nigeria Concord Airlines. There were Triax, Kabo, Chachangi, Sosoliso, ADC, Bellview and Albarka, owned by Buba Marwa, a retired general and former governor of Lagos State. Among them were EAS airlines, which was later acquired by Jimoh Ibrahim; IRS; and Aero Contractors, which started as chartered helicopter flights shuttling from oil-rich Warri and Port Harcourt to Lagos until it transformed into a bigger airline. There were also others that came to the scene and disappeared in no time from the skies.

Gone are those days! I remembered at a time in 1989, airfare was a paltry N350 to Abuja. The geometric rise followed: N500, N750, N1,250, N1500, N3,000, N5,000, N7,500, N9000, N12,000, N15,000 and N18,000. Now the same trip costs a fortune in the neighbourhood of N27,000 and N30,000.

What this means is that travelling in Nigeria is no longer a pleasure neither does it come cheap.

First the pleasure on the roads has been eroded and replaced with hardship, agony, sorrow and even death. If you go on the road these days, you will thank your star if you arrive safely at your destination. You could end up in the hospital with severe or minor injuries arising from road accident. If you find yourself in the casualty or emergency ward, it means God loves you. You might as well end up in the morgue, as a BID (brought in dead in hospital parlance). Then

“From my experience at the airports, the worst airport in Nigeria is in Port Harcourt”

it means that you will have to leave the hospital securely locked in a coffin.

There are several types of misfortune on the highways: you could be wounded or killed by the very automobile you rely on to move from one point to another. You could be shot dead by a trigger-happy policeman at a roadblock or silenced by rampaging armed robbers who also mount their own roadblocks on the highway. Road accidents are caused by bad roads, faulty vehicles or troubled drivers either acting under the influence of alcohol, cannabis or any other psychotropic substances. Thus, you have your life at the mercy of the road, the vehicle or the driver.

In the case of the airport, you could be delayed for more than eight hours waiting for your flight without anybody offering you any reason for the ‘embargo’ placed on your movement. You first encounter a problem at the screening counter where very rude airport staff can embarrass you. Since the advent of terrorism in Nigeria, you could be screened so intensely as if you are one of Osama Bin Laden’s siblings or a member of Al-Qaeda or Boko Haram group. If you are a man, it could take the form of squeezing even your balls, as I witnessed recently. A passenger was squeezed in the groin and when he complained, a lady security operative merely said, “He needs to check you properly because na there them dey hide the thing now.” That was shortly after the arrest of Umar Abdulmutalab, who has come to be known as the “underwear bomber” in the United States.

I have also heard people losing valuables, including money, at screening points at the airports.

Some of those watching the scanners are in the habit of begging you for money: “Oga, happy weekend sir”. If you pretend not to have heard, the fellow will repeat the phrase again and again or back it up with other ‘marketing tricks’ all to extract some cool cash from you.

From my experience at the airports, the worst airport in Nigeria is Port Harcourt. Many times, I have engaged in subtle altercations with the operatives of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, in Port Harcourt.

Once one of them saw my company’s seals in my luggage and told me that I was only entitled to carry one. At another time, I had a new set of batteries that had not been opened which was to be used for my tape recorder. The chap threw up so much dirt that I had to abandon the unopened batteries there while I walked away. Recently, I had some cash in the region of about N600,000 in my luggage.

The chap there pointedly told me that I was only entitled to move about with nothing more than N500, 000. I stood my ground and demanded that he show me where it is written under the Nigerian law.

Apparently they do all these to force some money out of your pocket and nothing more.

Though the airlines seem to be relatively safe for transport, the age of the aircraft being used, the maintenance culture and civility of hostesses need to be seriously looked into. So also are the everincreasing airfares that have gone beyond the roof.

As for road transport, most of the vehicles lack adequate spare parts and this usually leads to catastrophes on the highways.

The roads too are serious death

Dele Agekameh traps, yet the government seems to be insensitive to the cries of commuters. Many lives, some of our best brains and promising talents are daily wasting away through avoidable deaths on these roads.

The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, has been doing its best to reduce carnage on our roads. But there is little they can do in the face of overwhelming deplorable condition of the roads, poorly maintained vehicles plying the roads as well as drunk driving prevalent among commercial drivers.

But we should not give up. Government should ensure that our roads are motorable all year round, put adequate mechanism in place to check the integrity of vehicles and the drivers, and ensure that law enforcement agents do their work diligently.

Airport users should also be protected by enacting laws that will deter airlines from their now rampant arbitrary flight delays and cancellations. The security agents at the airports should learn to treat airport users with caution and courtesy.

Send reactions to: 08058354382 (SMS only)

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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EDITORIAL/OPINION FROM THE CELL PHONE ‘Freedom to deal ruthlessly with all suspects of such crime. Enough of that! Let us await the outcome of the crude discovery in Kwara, my dear state. I do not know why NNPC was blinking, fuming and unhappy in its comment on the alleged discovery, two weeks ago. it is a good and additional hope for Kwara and Nigeria if eventually the discovery is real. From Wahab Lanre Oseni, Lagos’

• Jonathan

For Olatunji Dare This Aran Orin Crude Oil joke is fast becoming a serious matter. Was seismic data gathered and analysed underground the site? I had thought that the governor had gone fasting weary! And bravo! That was super on Dame (Dr) Patience Jonathan’s offer ‘to stage a summit on military etiquette for retired generals....’

Thank you for a refreshing early morning read. From Olatunde Dare.

Good day elder Dare, I thank you immensely for the Godly and timely advice given to the imbecilous, idiotic, iresponsible, unpolished, uncultured and bootlicking swine, Kazim Afegbua, for his satanic induced defence of a deranged adict and evil genius. OBJ is not and can never be in same league as IBB and his group of madmen. From Dave Blankson ‘Excellent people don’t lie.’ ‘Dame [Dr] Patience Jonathan’- Sir, na yu dash am PhD? Wetin be d title of her ‘thesis’ self, you sabi am? But I adore always your emphasy on meanings. You shall surely be, when the new Day breaks in Nigeria. Anonymous.

Why will Babangida not engage in that kind of thing? He kept quiet for so long and you bended columnists hurled all the halitosis of the country at him. How can you describe a statement as heavy as calling somebody a fool, a measured restraint? Haba. How can? You are being economical with the truth or you decidedly introduced a tribal dimension to the whole talk. There is also life after OBJ. Let your OBJ contradict any of the statement creditted to us. We will return word for word anytime the occasion demands.

Anonymous.

Sir, before you move to Edidi ponder over the likely problems of alienation, marginalisation and environmental pollution that will gush out with the crude oil when Shell and Nigeria government come calling. Barka da Sallah. From Sunday Orinya, Abuja Just read your ‘Matters Miscellaneous’.

You are 100% welcomed as an Edidi citizen where I am a bonafide son and prince, when coming please come with all my cousins which will give you permit to apply for permanent residence and an oil licence to be the first miner in our mysterious oil field. From Kayode Olawepo the Kwara State ACN Chairman.

It is gladdening to read ‘Matters miscellaneous’ again. The most ungentlemanly trick a man can be guilty of, is to come among the members of his profession, with innovations which are a libel on their time honoured procedure.

Rtd. Generals Obasanjo and Babangida have foibles from which no quarantine could purify them. Are they not hypocrites who will always discredit others by advertising their own honesty or efficiency? They should hand over good morals to the younger ones please. From Adegoke O O. Ikhin, Owan East L/G, Edo State.

A loud mouth friend of mine says that

the search for oil in Northern Nigeria is like the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. The oil may have travelled to a neighbouring clan, and shall return before long. We only need to try more. From Adeneme Edward, Opoji, Edo state.

Uncle Tunji you can’t leave me here. Am packing up to move with you to near that gusher! Tell madam say I be your sister pikin.

Anonymous.

Thank You, Dr Dare, for your objective observation on the “face off” between IBB and OBJ ( The Nation, 30/8/2011). Your reasoning goes against the grain, vis-a-vis the mindset of the editors and columnists in The Nation, who, in trying to foist their political world view on the rest of us, perhaps think that only daily contumely against OBJ would convince us to accept their opinions. The IBB vituperation on OBJ, at 70 when he should be reflecting on his past and seeking for forgiveness, was completely premeditated, unwarranted and malicious. The two most known political actions IBB took, “June 12” and Northern presidential candidacy, are jointly responsible for the quagmire we are in today. These actions show IBB as a sectional, ethnic and religious chauvinist.

His attack on OBJ could only be interpreted thus: the frustration of a man who thinks OBJ was the one who stopped him from executing his parochial, chauvinistic agenda which he only suspended when he “stepped aside” during the darkest months of 1993. From Bar Chiji Nkaru, Aba. You can now understand why IBB was a professional coup plotter, always disgruntled. Anonymous.

Freedom to deal ruthlessly with all suspects of such crime. Enough of that!

Let us await the outcome of the crude discovery in Kwara, my dear state. I do not know why NNPC was blinking, fuming and unhappy in its comment on the alleged discovery, two weeks ago. it is a good and additional hope for Kwara and Nigeria if eventually the discovery is real.

From Wahab Lanre Oseni, Lagos.

Re - Matters miscellaneous. OBJ and IBB are both close-courteous colleagues, we need not be bothered about them. Now that it has been magnified and given publicity by you, the journalists, my verdict is that, both of them played a 1-1 draw. OBJ had once publicly criticised IBB’s SAP. Anonymous Enough of OBJ/IBB call on Gowon to pray fo them. From Sunde, UYO It is because Nigerians forget things easily especially you the Press l just can’t believe that you are now singing praises of Aikomu after his death not miding the role he played during June l2 that caused so many deaths including MKO Abiola.

God cannot be fooled. Anonymous IBB failed political game. When IBB was stepping aside in 1994, he knew that Abiola would not succeed him because he knew that Abiola rode the back of military to fame and would be destroyed by the military, that was why he look for baba Shonekan to percify the Yorubas/Egbas but baba panicked in the hand of Abacha.

But IBB was not done because he knew one day he would ask for the Yoruba’s votes. He now thaught of baba Iyabo believing that one good turn deserves another. But baba Iyabo knew those he

would not allow to succeed him.

Disappointed by baba’s attitude, he made that statement on his birthday. From Gabriel Olanrewaju Agbede, Ikorodu Good day Mr. Dare. I guess you received my text on Tuesday, I talked about OBJ, the insane and useless Kassim Afegua and the deranged addict from the hilltop at Minna, well, go read page 61 of The Nation today, IBB jived his absurdity, now, Mr. Dare, how and where will the two deliquents, Kassim and Fani Kayode hide their ugly minds? From Dave Blankson For Segun Gbadegesin Good morning sir. Your comment is the bitter truth about the Nigeria security. You see, when a president won an election on sentiment and not on merit, what do you except? This has been the Nigerian’s problem ever since. Anonymous Dear Prof. Gbadegesin. “Slouching towards Hades.” My response: Aja nloso a lo kowo ra obo, obo baba iloso. Nigeria? Sorry o! Didirin. Engr Ajuwon Jonathan Segun Gbadegesin’s write up “Slouching towards Hades” is timely. We seem to be sitting on a keg of gunpowder which is capable of having a cataclysmic effect when it explodes. This is the naked truth.

Anonymous Yes, we are slouching towards Hades because in our elections “the best man does not have to win” by subtle design, no! by grand design. From Gbola Gbolagunte.

Uncle Segun sir, your down-to-earth article of today was a master piece and to gladen my heart the former military head of state ‘Abubakar backs national dialogue’ it is d right time to call it quit with this ill faited country called “Nigeria” a land with leadership problems. Let us all join hands peacefuly to say “To your tents o! Israel” and let everybody go back to his/her ancestral place of birth with the good/bad luck of inactions or are we truly one nation? We should ask ourselves as we continue to postpone the evil day that will surely come soon. Dr. Taiwo Ade Taye Sir, the purported rot in the judiciary was caused by Ayo, Alu, and the Press. The two should have resigned and sue sombody to restore their damaged reputation. From Harris Segun, You hit the nail on the head with your theme: Slouching towards Hades.

Truly, Mr. President is wasting away the goodwill and confidence of Nigerians. He is obviously not in charge. Mediocrity and lack of will power are the greatest flaws of this administration. Poor Nigeria! From Emma Zenebosei, Odo. It is unfortunate that a weak and near imbecile of a president is now saddled with our destiny as a nation. Very many thanks to lopsided arrangement of power mongery PDP that left us with no choice than to vote en masse for Mr. President.

Let Jonathan know he was voted for by all and history will judge him more severely for leaving the major for minor as his mischievious suspension of Justice Salami practically suggests. From Oladosu S. B. Ilorin.

Your article on the back page of The Nation of 2/9/11 no doubt, is a wake up call to our government but I suggest you also include suggestions on how we can get out of this mess. From Emeka.

Like husband like wife. Did you see the

•Justice Salami

president’s wife on her visit to injured victims? Did you see the smile that did not reflect the national pain? God dey. Thanks for your piece. Federal Government should bury its head in shame. Anonymous Re: Slouching towards Hades. Mr. Gbadegesin sir, as usual, your article has been masterfully delivered. Having read through same, I can decisively tell you what strategy the state will employ as counter terrorism measure, absolutely nada! They will pray for this bad dream to pass, for collective amnesia to set in and resume the systematic theft of our commonwealth and whenever a major contract is incidental to the grand theft?

They make it look like we are being done a favor. They are all the same! Forget tribe, zone or Religion. From Shi Kenan!

I just read your write up in The Nation now. Yes! A lion will ever remain a lion forever. Rid on, the philosopher of our time. From Ajibade Adio.

Segun, your piece today is another masterpiece. But like I always ask who is really reading and listening. Like you said, how can long term National security strategy st clowns. Continue to write, may be some day things may change if this card of house does not go to pieces before then.

From Uwalaka Val, Porthacourt.

Oga Segun, thank you for your timely piece. The real tragedy of this country is that of inept and clueless leadership. Is it our woeful lot to be burdened with an incompetent, kleptocratic, hypocritical, spineless and self-centred elite? How did we come to such a sorry pass as a country?

Nigerians on our own part are a very docile bunch; we swallow every shit they give us without a protest. Anonymous Your expression of disappointment at this regime’s failure to provide security for Nigeria shows you had hope. I did too, until 6/16. It became crystal clear that this administration has lost the initiative and the will for any meaningful response to this “terror”. To your tents O Israel. From Tony.

Dear Segun, I read your write-up “Slouching towards Hades” and wept for my beloved country. What country and what a follower! Nigerians had a better choice in the last election of voting for a visionay president in person of Ribadu but opted for mediocre and ineptitude Jonathan. What an irony! The end has justified the means. What we have now in my country is terriorism and insecurity of life and property. The fear of Boko Haram is the begining of wisdom. Youth uneployment and poor infrastructure is the order of the day. The sack of Justice Salami is a sign post to the judicial murder of rule of law. From Tope Omobulejo.

Sir, I feel we should start to arrange the best way to exit from this project called Nigeria. It looks, in my view, very hopeless.

We should do so without bloodshed.

Nigeria should go bye-bye! Too much blackmail and insincerity abound.Thank you. From A. A. Muhammad, Minna.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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NATION SPORT

NATION SPORT How Mozambique got a free 42,000 capacity stadium to host Games •Plans to sell Olympic Village apartments for $140,000

Mozambique gets $6000 for beating Nigeria

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HE President of Mozambique,Armando Guebueza has pledged to give each of the players of her female basketball team $500 x 12 players) which totals $6000 and also treat them to a state banquet for beating the Nigerian basketball side on Monday.

NationSport gathered that the girls who were camped in Portugal (their erstwhile colonial masters) for more than a month had vowed to give in their best after they were paired with the Nigerian side. This according to a Mozambiquan, Carlos Litulo who spoke with the NationSport was a dream come true to have beating the Nigerian side, 52-54.

Litulo said: "I think we do quite good in basketball especially among our women. And that is our hope because they are quite good, they have been playing well. It is really amazing and great to have beating Nigeria. We know that the Nigerians are good so it was a very difficult game.

Defeating Nigeria means that we

are on the right path to victory. The government will treat them to a good lunch, they will dine with high and mighty in power. This is one of the most rewarding victories for us.”

The country's national dailies, radio stations and indigenes were also caught in the euphoria of victory as they were all in a festive mood. The NationSport caught up with some of the indigenes who were all chatty with the NationSport reporters after realizing that they were Nigerians.

They said in faltering English: "You, a Nigerian, we beat you silly. It is good. You are good in football, not very good in basketball, we beat you." Where is Kanu Nwankwo? In the same vein, the national daily papers based in Maputo, Mozambique: Noticias Publiciadade, suana semanario Independent newspapers splashed the pictures of the victorious team on the cover of the newspapers with screaming headlines.

Nigeria fails to make impact in triathlon

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IGERIA was unexpectedly missing as South African athletes the first gold medals to be awarded at the 10th All-Africa Games in Maputo, at the men's and women's triathlon.

21-year old Erhard Wolfaardt won the men's triathlon in a time of 58 minutes and 30 seconds. The event consisted of 800 metres deep water swimming at Maputo's Miramar beach, followed by a cycle dash through the streets of the city, and then a 5,000 metre race.

Wolfaardt was always in the lead, and finished a minute ahead of Namibian Wian Sullwald, who took the silver medal. Another South African, Abraham Louw, took the bronze.

In the women's event, 21 year old Carlyn Fischer took the gold with a time of one hour, six minutes and 25 seconds. Her fellow South African, Andrea Steyn, took the silver, while Fabianne St. Louis of Mauritius was in third.

Despite parading six athletes at the Games which include Victor Aladdin and Perelate Gbagi, both

who have undergone a fast tracked triathlon education, Nigeria could not make any impact at the games.

Both Aladdin and Gbagi were identified by the Nigerian National Triathlon Federation, the Nigerian Triathlon Union, as talented swimmers with strong running ability who just needed to get more experience in cycling.

They did this when they travelled to Johannesburg in South Africa to complete final fine tuning under the watchful eye of ITU coach and facilitator, Franz Studer. Studer has an ongoing relationship with the Nigerian Triathlon Federation after presenting a coaching course in the Lagos in 2009 and together he and wife Charmaine, who saw to their daily needs, took them to training venues and ensured that their nutritional needs were met the two athletes completed an intense preparation for triathlon’s All Africa Games debut.

Libyans adjudged most confused athletes •But still involved in Games

T

HERE are claims that Libyan athletes are the most confused lot at the ongoing All Africa Games holding in Mozambique.

The debate which became topical at the Press center on Tuesday morning drew the ire of various journalists who came from all over Africa as they could not help but discuss the plight of the Libyan athletes whose country has been ravaged by war.

However Mozambiquan photo

journalist who painted a funny picture of the way the Libyan athletes stormed the of match pasts carrying placards however drew smiles from everyone present.

Although it is still surprising to many that Libyan athletes are still taking part in the competition. This they claimed shows that despite all the troubles at home Libyan athletes might still be up to the task of competing at the Games just as there are also confusion on the part of those who claim that the Libyan athletes are the most confused lot at the Games.

T

HE NationSport can exclusively report that the biggest stadium in Mozambique, Estadio Nacional De Zimpeto which is serving as one of the venues used to host the 2011 All Africa Games was built for free by the Chinese government and could be said to be a gift to East Africa from Asia.

The stadium which is the biggest in East Africa with a masterpiece architectural design according to our source was initially planned to be used by the 2010 World Cup bound teams to train then but could not be completed before the world football tournament.

NationSport learnt that the foundation for the stadium was laid in 2005 but could not be completed until 2011. The completion according to the NationSport source came in handy for the hosting of the Games.

The other four big stadia among the whole lot was, however, built by the Mozambiquan government. But the brand of cars, Hyundai Elantra (2011 model) which is more than sixty in number were donated by the Korean makers for half of the price. The cars stand out on the streets of Mozambique as they are painted in white and some others black with the All Africa Games logo placed on each of the cars. Names of countries are

also placed on the vehicles to take each of the officials to the venues of the events which are far apart.

There are also claims that the Olympic village where the athletes are housed is one of the best in Africa.

A Nigerian official could not help but express awe as he showed the NationSport round the Olympic village on Monday. The NationSport gathered that for the Olympic Village, the Chinese took responsibility for the building materials while Portugal contributed their own quota by constructing the building.

However, there is the fear of whether the, stadia and Olympic village would stand the test of time after the Games as most African countries are known to lack maintenance culture.

NationSport, however, scooped that the apartments in the Olympic village would be sold off for $140,000(One hundred and forty thousand dollar) This will be purchased by the rich Mozambiqans who still has a dominance of citizens of their erstwhile colonial masters Portugal.

NationSport learnt that to build a house in Mozambique could cost $24,000 dollars depending on the individual’s taste. Hence the raising of eye brows by some citizens on the intended prices of the apartments in the Olympic village.

Odemwingie returns to training N

IGERIAN striker Osaze Odemwingie has returned to full training with English Premier League side West Brom after recovering from from an ankle injury.

He is tipped to return to action next Sunday as the Albion faces Norwich.

Boss Roy Hodgson has restricted him to one substitute appearance so

far this season.

“Peter is OK, I think. He has trained this week and things are looking OK. With Shane it’s too early to say. It’s a calf strain, it’s not a pull or a completely damaged muscle, it’s just the fibres.

The medical staff are working on it at the moment but I think his chances are being put at 50-50 by the medical staff and time will tell.

“It all depends how quick a healer he is really.”

Osaze was ruled out of Albion's last match, against Stoke nine days ago, after suffering a reaction to his previous ankle problem.

The injury has forced him to miss Nigeria's games against Madagascar and Argentina - but Hodgson says the striker's rehab is on track.

Yobo thrilled with Fenerbahce return E

VERTON defender Joseph Yobo has rejoined Turkish giants Fenerbahce on a seasonlong loan.

The Nigeria international, 31, spent last season on loan there, helping the club secure the Super Lig championship.

Yobo, whose Everton contract runs until 2014, did not play in any of their pre-season fixtures and is relieved his future has been sorted out.

"I'm delighted everything is resolved, it's been a frustrating three

Newcastle has faith in Sammy Ameobi

N

EWCASTLE coach Alan Pardew has revealed that Sammy Ameobi has been improving all the time in training

•Sammy Ameobi

over the last few months, and it’s unlikely he will now be sent out on loan, since he’s too valuable to the Newcastle first team squad.

“For the last four or five months he has been improving every day.” “He can be a big player for us, but he needs to concentrate on his game.”

“He’s got a great brother behind him who is a fantastic character at this football club.” “Sammy also has great parents, so he has a great chance to be a big player at Newcastle.”

“Some of the things you get out of him are unbelievable. When he gets into certain situations you just think ‘get rid of it’.

“But he brings two or three players into games and once he wriggles out of those situations they become active.” “He also showed what he can do in terms of scoring goals.”

Sammy has been so good of late we expect that if he keeps up his excellent form, he will even get a call from the England Youth sides. ought that right leg of Sammy’s was just to stand on.

Man City faces cash dilemma with Onuoha M ANCHESTER City face a cash dilemma over defender Nedum Onuoha.

The People says City failed to shift Onuoha, back from loan at Sunderland and now stuck at Eastlands on £35,000a-week although he will struggle to get his £8,000-a-game bonus.

The big defender was the subject of bids from QPR and West Bromwich Albion but said ‘no.’ Aston Villa and

Everton came in with loan attempts but failed to agree terms.

And as Bolton stuck with Gary Cahill and Blackburn opted for Scott Dann, City are left with Onuoha for the campaign, costing them around £1.5m.

City will have to pay a chunk of Onuoha’s wages if he goes out on loan.

Odibe, Kaita make debut

M

ICHAEL ODIBE has made his unofficial debut for Arsenal Kiev in the 1-1 draw with Lucky Idahor and Sani Kaita's Tavria.

In an exhibition game held on Tuesday at the National Center for Paralympic and Deaflympic training ground, the young defender featured for 75 minutes. Also playing his first game for Tavria was Sani Kaita who

played for 45 first half minutes.

Tavria opened the scoring after 15 minutes through Gigiadze. Arsenal Kiev restored parity on 90', an accurate strike from Odibe's replacement, Chernenko.

The Ukrainian Championship resumes on Friday with Julius Aghahowa's Shakhtar Donetsk playing Volyn at the Donbass Arena, (Donets'k).

months to be honest," he said.

"A little hitch here and there but finally I have rejoined a club where I found relative calm, happiness and excitement last season. I am happy with the decision that I have taken, it is normal for a player to seek regular playing time and I know Fenerbahce guarantee that."

Fenerbahce were keen to retain his services and a new loan deal was completed before the Turkish transfer deadline passed at 2200 BST on Monday.

Yobo had looked set to join Fenerbahce at the end of the 2010-11 campaign but instead returned to Merseyside.

Since then the club have been at the centre of a match-fixing scandal and lost its league title and its European qualification.

But Yobo is not ready to be drawn into the allegations.

"We are a strong team and will fight harder. We will prove again that we are the best team," he said.

"We have a passionate and massive fan base, we have dedicated players and the management is top notch, so we are stronger once again.

"I thank Everton Football Club for their support, Nigerian fans, players and officials for their understanding now is the time to give my best to Fenerbahce once again."

Dann happy to team-up with Aiyegbeni

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•West Bromwich Albion's Peter Odemwingie, right, and San Jose Earthquakes' Ellis McLoughlin vie for the ball during the first half of an international friendly match

COTT DANN is happy he's been joined at Blackburn Rovers

by Yakubu Aiyegbeni.

The defender has spent his first days as a Rovers player during international week.

Dann said: "Yakubu’s come in, which is a good signing, and he said no-one was going to be leaving, which makes the team even stronger.

"Being out there on the training pitch, albeit not everyone being there with the internationals being away, the quality out there is very good.

"When they all come back it’s going to be even better. We’ve got a very strong squad. Chris Samba is a great defender and he’s been brilliant for the club. I’m looking forward to playing alongside him.

"It’s good that he’s stayed here and no-one tried to sign him in the end."

Heartland gets cash boost INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

H

eartland have been paid half of their signing-on fees for the season ahead of their Nigeria Federation Cup final against Enyimba.

An excited Heartland skipper Chinedu Efugh told MTNFootball.com: "We have been paid half of this season's sign-on fees and most of us have collected our money.

“Sure, this will to a very large extent boost the players' morale for the final of the Federation Cup. The players are in very high spirit after this payment."

Heartland last featured in the cup final in 1999, where they lost to Plateau United.

They defeated Bayelsa United 2-1 in the semi-finals, while stopped Ocean Boys 4-3 on penalties after scores were tied at 1-1 by fulltime.

No date has yet been fixed for this year’s cup final in Lagos, but it is not expected to be before Enyimba’s final group game in the CAF Champions League against Cotonsport of Cameroon on September 18 in Aba.

The eventual cup winners will feature in next year’s CAF Confederation Cup.

Argentina beats Nigeria 3-1 S

•Chinedu Efugh

UPER EAGLES striker Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi came on as a substitute to score Nigeria's only goal when Argentina gained revenge for their June loss to Nigeria by defeating the Super Eagles 3-1 in Bangladesh on Tuesday.

Before a sell-out crowd at the 25,000-capacity Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka, Gonzalo Higuain opened the scoring for the South Americans after 24 minutes.

Moments later, his Real Madrid team-mate Angel di Maria doubled the lead.

Although Chinedu Obuasi Ogbuke reduced arrears a minute after the break, an own goal from Uwa Echiejile after 65 minutes wrapped up the win.

Unlike the game in June, when Argentina fielded a secondstring side preparing for the Copa America, the South Americans fielded a strong team.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi was the standout star, creating two of the goals, with Javier Mascherano and defensive duo Pablo Zabaleta and Nicolas Burdisso also in attendance.

•Aiyegbeni

•Yobo

Gun-wielding Ezeugo arrested in Bangladesh

F

ORMER Nigeria international Emeka Ezeugo was detained on Monday evening in Dhaka for unlawful possession of a firearm, but was later released after questioning.

Gulshan police also released the original owner of the revolver, former national football captain Kaiser Hamid on Tuesday morning.

Both men could now face prosecution. Hamid for giving his weapon to Ezeugo, and the Nigerian for being in possession of a firearm unlawfully.

The police, however, seized the loaded revolver, which is licensed to Kaiser. After his arrest, Emeka claimed that Kaiser had given him the revolver. Police called Kaiser to the Gulshan station and questioned both of them.

Gulshan division deputy police commissioner Khandaker Lutful Kabir on Tuesday told bdnews24.com that they were released after signing a bond but the firearm was seized.

"The gun is indeed licensed to Kaiser, but he should not have given it to Emeka. Legal measures will be taken against them," Lutful Kabir said.

Kaiser Hamid said there was no reason to get so worked up with such a 'trifling matter'. "I don't think it is such a big deal."

The archway metal detector at the entrance of Westin Hotel at Gulshan gave Emeka away as he was about to enter the five-star Starwood hotel housing the Nigerian national football team around 11:30pm on Monday. The police found the revolver in Emeka's bag when the alarm led to a search of his belongings. The Super Eagles played against Argentina in a friendly on Tuesday at 7pm in Dhaka.

When security personnel asked him of Kaiser's whereabouts, Emeka told them that he was at the Bangladesh Football Federation.

Police then took Emeka to Gulshan station and also asked Kaiser to go along.

Gulshan police said Emeka rented room 1004 at Westin on Sunday and was detained on his way to his room.

A towering central defender, Kaisar Hamid, played together with Emeka for the Mohammadan Sporting Club several years. Kaiser received National Sports Award in 2003. Emeka used to play for Mohammedan and Kolkata-based East Bengal in the late 80s.

Ezeugo was invited for the friendly by the Bangladeshi Football Federation.

TESTIMONIAL

CAPACITY

DOWNSTREAM

‘My score as council chief’

40,000 farmers trained

Suswam inaugurates mega petrol station

Lagos

Adamawa 28

27

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Benue

40

Page 25

Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

I

T is usually a colourful ceremony. Ndigbo, clad in their traditional best, roast some sizeable tubers of new yam and eat with a good helping of palm oil. Prayers and good-natured speeches often accompany the eating of the new yam but this year, the ceremony will be lowkey among the Igbo in Kubwa, an Abuja community.

His Royal Highness, Igwe Jonathan Ozor Nkweke, Eze Ndi Igbo II of Kubwa blamed it on the insecurity occasioned by bombings in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and environs. But the security challenges did not dampen their spirit of unity and sense of purpose. In fact, Igwe Nkweke urged unity among his people, telling them to focus on their business with all the seriousness they can muster.

New Yam festival (Iwa ji) is an annual harvest festival celebrated by the Igbo of Southeast Nigeria at the end of the rainy season.

It is a unifying harvest celebration that binds individuals, friends and communities together to mark the iri ji (eating new yam).

Yam is revered by the Igbo as the king of crops. It is to the Igbo what potato is to Irishman. Lavish celebration of the New Yam festival therefore speaks eloquently of the rich cultural heritage of the people.

But speaking in Kubwa at the 2011 pre-New Yam festival briefing Ozor Nkweke said the festivities will be low-key “because of the prevailing security situation we’ve found ourselves in Abuja.”

Though he explained that the annual celebration will still be observed “to thank God for sparing our lives to see another end of farming season,” the royal father said it became imperative to take necessary precautions following security challenges in the FCT. His words: “We have decided to scale down the celebration, no thanks to insecurity. I advise

•Abuja (inset: Igwe Nkweke)

Monarch rallies Ndigbo at yam feast King urges cohesion among kinsmen in Abuja Insecurity tones down festival people who more often than not From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor

Igbos in Kubwa and FCT in general to appreciate the fact that we’re strangers who came to Abuja to

look for our daily bread.

“They should eschew their differences and come together for us to achieve our purpose individually and collectively. As people who are always marginalised, and

T

•Some of the participants

hanks to a workshop, many Nigerian journalists can now practice better. The workshop, which held in Kano, helped them to make better use of data obtained in the line of duty.

They confessed they had been shying away from data-driven storywriting. Reason: they lacked the skills to humanise data, a situation Dr. Ayobami Ojebode of the University of Ibadan described in his paper as “numerophobia” –the phobia for numbers or figures.

He said: “one of our big goals in the storytelling process is to humanise the statistics. It’s hard for people to care about numbers, especially large numbers”.

Ojebode quoted Westbrook (2010) to define data-driven news reporting as “journalism in its truest essence: uncovering what the public

become victims of unprovoked attacks, they should come together to chart a common course because our destiny is in our hands.”

Igbos, he said, should more than ever before be security conscious as well as shun all forms of

criminality.

“Igbos in Kubwa and other parts of the FCT should be peaceloving, avoid all forms of illegal businesses and continue to trust in God in whatever they do.”

Ozor Nkweke who was crowned Eze Ndi Igbo of Kubwa on December 10, 2006, noted that apart from ensuring that the Igbo within his area of jurisdiction are secured, he has another target.

The target, he said, is to build a befitting civic centre that would be the pride of the people in Kubwa. But he said that a major stumbling block to the realisation of the dream is that a piece of land allocated to the Igbo community for the purpose has been taken over by alleged illegal oc•Continued on Page 26

UNICEF trains journalists From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo

do not have enough time to do themselves, interrogating it, and making sense of it before sharing it with the audience”.

Why should newsmen use data?

“Data gives credibility to a story, and makes readers gain something”, Ojebode said.

Now, however, the 44 journalists who attended the workshop can make research findings newsy. They can now mine through any hard statistical datum and turn it into a story that readers want.

The participating journalists came from 10 northern states, which included Taraba, Adamawa, Gombe, Jigawa and Plateau, among others.

The training took place at the

Nasarawa Guest Inn, Kano State.

It featured two facilitators: UNICEF Project Officer, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr. Danjuma Almustafa and UNICEF Communication Officer, Mr. Samuel Kaalu, all from the Bauchi Field Office.

It was learnt that data could be a set of whole numbers, fractions or percentages, or it could be descriptions such as colour, heights, shapes, perceived success or failure, etc. Evidence was looked at as a set of facts on defined variables generated by routine records, census, surveys and experiments to indicate the status of progress or otherwise.

•Continued on Page 26

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

26

‘My scorecard as council chief’ Three years as chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Lagos, Comrade Ayodele Adewale explains how he lifted the profile of the council and its people. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA reports

I

F it was not for Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, it would probably have taken a longer time before Ayodele Adewale realised his dream of becoming chairman of AmuwoOdofin Local Government Area, Lagos. He was in his early 30s then, just out of Lagos State University but he thought he could make a difference as chairman. To some, he was too young and too inexperienced to take a shot at the council chairmanship when there were other apparently more qualified candidates.

Aregbesola who was then the state Commissioner for Works thought otherwise and took his convictions to then governor of the state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. That settled the matter. Comrade Adewale said he has not proved his critics wrong, but also demonstrated the need for renewed focus on the youths in the constituency as agents of change in the country.

He spoke on his success drive. On his assumption of office in 1998, he said saw the need to be inspired to drive his manifesto.

He therefore chose Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu as his mentor. He also saw the need to engage his constituency on how to move it forward in line with the manifesto of his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

“When we were sworn in on October 31, 2008,” he said, “I noted that we lacked mentorship in governance in Nigeria. So I adopted Asiwaju as our mentor and that’s why I adorn his cap all the time. We also recognised the need to organise a town hall meeting to acquaint our people with our various programmes. We called all stakeholders within and outside the council, highlighted our programmes from education,

health, infrastructure, youth empowerment and others. We now coined out that phrase: ”Idea is the key to harnessing economic potential.”

Another headache for him was how to make a clean break from the status quo where some elements see revenues from the local government as their birthright, and where certain youths see government as a national

cake to be shared.

“Though we understand that as government, we must offer employment to the youths, some others believe they must come here every Friday to receive free meal tickets. But we attempted to build their mind toward self-sustainability and de-link them from government,” he said.

This done, Comrade Adewale moved fast to actualise his agenda. In education, primary healthcare, security, sports, agriculture, youth empowerment, his imprints are there, Newsextra gathered.

The four health centres, which used to be mere dispensaries, received new life, and attracted medical personel with robust welfare packages to motivate them to continue to give 24-hour medical service to his constituency.

“We have rehabilitated our four health •Adewale centres - two at the riverside and the other two upland to service our people for 24 hours. us at 30 per cent discount from what is On assumption of office, we met only one obtainable outside the local government Chief Medical Officer here, and we had to perimeter. We also provide free drugs for quickly talk with the Nigerian Army and people within the 0-16 age bracket and 60 Nigerian Navy and the NYSC (National and above at the cost of N500,000 each month.

Youth Service Corps) to give us more doctors Regularly, we work with some health based and nurses, which they did. And we had to organisations who come and give us health create a provision for them that any doctor talks, and we also give free medical services that chooses to stay at the riverside, we will to indigent people within the communities.”

“I remember that we sent a baby with a give them N100,000, provide shelter for them and equip it with kitchen utensils, set of hole in her heart to India and spent N3 million furniture, air conditioning and DSTV just to on her. There was also a lady that had a kidney stay there. For those upland, we give them problem for whom we provided N1 million.

There was a man who had multiple N70,000. Right now, we have 20 doctors. We also have pharmacists, and physiotherapists. complications whom we sent to India at the Already, we have arrangement with Profix •Continued on Page 27 Pharmaceuticals that their drugs are sold to

UNICEF trains journalists •Continued from Page 25 •32Road, Festac Town

Data, as Dr. Almustafa pointed out, could be quantitative (figures) or qualitative (descriptions), which could be obtained from primary sources (observations) or secondary sources (publications or records). Quantitative primary data was said to be the most reliable. “And the reliability of any source depends on the integrity of the collection methodology”, he said.

The quality of any data depends on a number of factors such as methodology, sampling and analysis. But before gathering a datum, certain questions are useful guide; why (the data)?

What data? Who collects it? How and how much? What analysis to be done? What limitations? Etc. Almustafa emphasized that ‘indicator’ –such as a simple or proxy indicator is one of the key concepts and methodologies in data collection.

“If the indicator is bad, the data quality will be poor”, he said. He gave example of the indicator temperature, which could be used to dictate heat or cold, depending on whether the temperature is high or low.

Random sampling is among the best approximation to observing a whole population, when gathering data, it was learnt.

Participants were also lectured on the tools of data collection, which include: Range, Mean, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation. The data could be presented in tables, graphs, maps, histograms and bie-charts.

Kaalu noted that data-driven reporting takes time and contemplation so journalists need patience while surfing through some data to make it newsy. He added that journalists are links between data makers and users, and shouldn’t be emotional while reporting. “They (journalists) should see data-driven reporting as a social service –which could save lives, other than a commodity they could sell”, Kaalu noted.

He gave ‘human interest’, ‘proximity’, ‘oddity’, ‘inverted pyramid’, ‘headline’, and the ‘lead’, as the basic considerations while writing data-driven stories.

He said numbers should be interpreted and made attractive to readers, while winding sentences, stereotypical expressions and tautology should be avoided.

He said: “examine trends or changes over time, examine magnitude and significance and consider implications (of the story) for the reader or nation”.

The facilitators urged the participants to use the knowledge and skills gained, to not only gather and use data for news reporting, but to sensitise stakeholders within their domains on the need to always make data available for stories. They are to use data in a positive way to demonstrate social responsibility towards guiding stakeholders on the right path.

Above all, journalists are to assume the roles of child/maternal survival and child rights advocates, which is the focus of UNICEF.

Nigerians in diaspora urge better security

N

•Dancers at yam festival

Monarch rallies Ndigbo at yam feast •Continued from Page 25 cupant.

“We have official papers of the land duly signed by the appropriate authorities. We have reported the illegal encroachment into the land to the FCT Development Control.

The structure erected in the place has been marked for demolition but nothing has been done for over one year now.

‘We are law abiding hence we don’t want to take the law into our hands. We are appealing to the authorities concerned to look into the matter and restore our land,” he said.

Asked why it is necessary to celebrate New Yam festival in Abuja that is not part of Igbo land, the royal father said it is to keep one of the most revered cultural heritages of the

Igbos alive.

According to him, “Our people marry in Abuja , they bear children in Abuja , their children grow up in Abuja . Through the celebration of the festival the children who seldom travel to Igbo land will be abreast with their culture.”

He also dismissed the view that the celebration is shrouded in idol worship saying that for all intents and purposes New Yam festival has nothing to do with idol worship.

“We don’t worship yam but as Igbos we revere and respect yam as the king of crops.

There is nothing like ritual. No name of any deity is mentioned. We pray to God and thank God for a new yam season. The festival remains a thing of joy to our people all over the world. It is part of our history,” he said.

IGERIANS in Diaspora have asked the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency to address the insecurity problem threatening the nation especially the recent bomb blast at the UN House as well as the skirmishes in States in the north which have left hundreds dead and thousands injured with property worth billions destroyed.

The group lamented that insecurity will scare away its members who have the interest of investing in the nation thereby robbing them of the opportunity to contribute their quota to the economic development of the nation.

Spokesperson of the group who is also the Coordinator, Goodluck 4 Nigerian Movement, Mr. Charles Efe Sylvester said, “This latest attack came to us as a huge shock. The Federal government should check the rising wave of terrorist attacks in the country. We want the federal government to go beyond the rhetorics and unearth the source of the blast and those behind it” Mr. Sylvester, who spoke to newsmen in Jos described the attacks as dastardly and unwarranted and called on security agents to unmask

From Marie-Therese Peter, Jos

those behind the attack and bring them to justice so as to serve as a deterrent to other.

“We Nigerians abroad condemn in totality this latest aggression at an international building. An attack on UN is an attack on the whole world and we want the federal authorities to fish out the people behind this shameful act and deal with them accordingly.

“These are some of the criminal activities that drive away foreign investors from Nigeria and security authorities must treat this latest incident with all seriousness.”

Condoling with with the families of those who lost their lives, the human rights campaigner said, “This wicked act is unacceptable and we must fight to stop it.”

“These attacks cannot attract foreign investors to Nigeria and will not encourage Nigerian entrepreneurs abroad to come and invest their hard-earned money hence the sponsors of these killings, kidnappings must be unmasked and punished to deter others from engaging in crime”, he maintained.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

27

NBC celebrates 60th anniversary with renewed CSR commitment

N

IGERIAN Bottling Company (NBC) Plc has restated its commitments to community and social projects that impact on the wellbeing of the people and the development of the country.

As it continues with the celebration of its 60 years of operating in Nigeria, chairman of NBC, Ambassador Segun Apata said the company would impact on 15,000 students in disadvantaged communities across the country as part of activities marking the celebration of its 60th anniversary in Nigeria.

According to him, the planned commemorative activities which have been designed to touch the company’s stakeholders will include a community project that will equip more than 15,000 students in disadvantaged communities across the country with ‘Back to School’ materials.

Besides this, he said the company would also during the period of the celebration appreciate its dealers across Nigeria, adding that consumer appreciation programmes and an arts competition will be opened to the general public among others while the anniversary will the anniversary will be rounded off with a gala dinner.

The chairman remarked that from a modest operation in 1953, two years after its incorporation, NBC now has 13 plants, 60 depots and 400,000 partner distributors across the country as well as providing livelihood for millions of Nigerians.

The chairman further explained that the anniversary would give the company the opportunity to appreciate Nigerians for making Coca-Cola the huge success that it is in the country.

Apata also pledged the continued commitment of NBC to growing the business in Nigeria by investing in the modernization of infrastructure, enhancement of supply chain capabilities, strengthening of the commercial platform and expansion of its corporate social responsibility programmes.

“In the century, we will continue to refresh our consumers by offering a wide range of high quality beverages, create wealth for our customers and value and benefits for our local communities,” Apata said.

NBC was incorporated in Nigeria in November 1951, as a subsidiary of the A.G. Leventis Group with the franchise to bottle and sell Coca-Cola products in Nigeria. From a humble beginning as a family business, NBC has grown to become a predominant bottler of non-alcoholic beverages in Nigeria, responsible for the manufacture and sale of over 33 different Coca-Cola brands.

Other popular brands of beverage produced by the company are Eva Water, Five Alive fruit juice and the newly introduced Burn energy drink.

The company presently has 13 bottling facilities and over 80 distribution warehouses located across the country. Since produc-

•From left: Ambassador Segun, chairman; Mr. Ben Langat, MD, both of Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) and Mr. Kelvin Balogun, MD, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited at NBC’s 60th anniversary celebrations

In the century, we will continue to refresh our consumers by offering a wide range of high quality beverages, create wealth for our customers and value and benefits for our local communities tion started, NBC Plc has remained the largest bottler of nonalcoholic beverages in the country in terms of sales volume, with about 1.8 billion bottles sold

yearly, making it the second largest market in Africa, after South Africa.

Presently, the company is part of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bot-

‘My scorecard as council chief’ •Continued from Page 26 cost of about N1.8 million. Severally, we do screening ranging from malaria, cancer, diabetes and several others. So far we’ve been able to touch about 36,000 lives.

Another problem Adewale inherited was bad roads especially in Festac Town which, before him, were an eyesore. Not given to looking the other way, Ayodele established a Public Work Bureau, involved quantity surveyors, mechanical and civil engineers, architects and a seasoned consultant to man the bureau. Today, about 14 major roads have undergone a facelift; ditto for the drainages too which, like the roads, had been abandoned by the Federal Government that owns the property.

“In Festac, we had to start with de-silting drainages which had not been de-silted for over 25 years. We had to use backhoe excavators. We opened drainages and tertiary drainages and tertiary drainages. If you look at 3rd Avenue the drainages there are about 13 feet deep and 10 feet wide.

“We now embarked on felling some trees that have collapsed the drainages; and for every tree we felled, we planted seven in replacement. So far, we have planted over 40,000 trees. We went to the Mile 2 area and constructed what we call a Circlular Road that we now call Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way which is about 4km. We also constructed drainages along the Circular Road.”

“If you know the Festac pattern very well, it was originally designed for barely 100,000, but today we have over 300,000 residents and this population growth is posing great danger for us. Unfortunately the Federal Government has not been paying enough attention to its property nationwide.

Across Amuwo-Odofin , blue and whitestriped mini-buses with inscription AmuwoOdofin shuttle, ply the paved roads courtesy

•Newly commissioned tricycles in the council

of the Public Private Partnership. Ayodele has now announced a plan to open talks with automobile outfit Coscharis, a move he said is geared towards further raising the employment bar of residents.

“Now, we want to start discussing with Coscharis. They also have miniature buses.

We are going to procure about 100 of them at a go which means we will be creating 200 additional jobs, one for the conductor and the other for the driver,” Adewale said.

Every month Comrade Ayodele said the council holds a security meeting with residents, State Security Service, police, Nigeria Civil Defence, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in order to keep antisocial elements at bay.

The council has also enjoyed a leap in the facet of agriculture. Its vocational centre in Abule-Ado area is now rehabilitated. With the assistance of some consultants, the centre

now has a training unit that offers training in areas small-scale farming, craft, soap making, cream making, tye and dye, among several others.

The council has also supported small and m e d i u m enterprises, f o r g i n g partnership with LASU to give soft loans. “So we have a N40 million fund which our people can borrow from.

We created a p o v e r t y alleviation unit and we just signed the pact and people are

tling company (CCHBC), one of Coca-Cola Company’s largest anchor bottlers worldwide.

CCHBC operates in 28 countries, serving 540 million consumers and selling over 1.3 billion unit cases of beverage yearly, upgrade of other manufacturing infrastructure, distribution and delivery facilities.

With more than 6000 employees, 200,000 sales outlets nationwide and its some of the most ubiquitous and best known brands, there is doubt that NBC which started from a modest beginning has now become a colossus in the Nigerian beverage industry through diligence, determination and ability to successfully manage the rather difficult Nigerian operating environment.

already borrowing,” he said.

One significant thing Adewale will be remembered for is his ingenuity at raising the council’s internally generated revenue (IGR).

He said: “When I came on board, I met an IGR of barely over N40 million per annum.

The very month I got here, the IGR that was recorded was N30,000. But right now, we have improved to about N70 million per annum, and we are still growing because our target is to realise an IGR of about between N250 and N300 million per annum.”

Adewale also wants to build a state-of-theart secretariat along with a four-star hotel.

“We met a lot of challenges on ground,” Adewale recalled. “But we are determined to change the old order. I remember on three occasions, I’ve been attacked and I’ve received several threat text messages, but we are not afraid. When you want to change the old order where people are not in support of things that will help the local government get better, definitely you must confront them; and that is why we call for local government police so that you can have enough security to protect us. ”Go to our roads, you see barriers there.

We have prevented containers from coming in here because we realise they are run by some mafia, but as soon as you try to fend them off, they also attack you, but we have remained undaunted. But the major challenge is to make people plug in willingly into our vision of progress. ”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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Adamawa trains 40,000 farmers

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Governor Nyako

OME 40,000 families have been trained on commercial farming in the fight against poverty in Adamawa State.

Governor Murtala Nyako made this known while receiving the Emir of Mubi, Alhaji Abubakar Isa, who paid him a sallah homage in Yola.

Nyako said many of the trained farmers now realise 40 bags of grain in areas that they used to harvest 10 bags.

The governor said that government was planning to train additional 20,000 families on the modern farming techniques, adding that experts were also invited to the state to boost fish, poultry and livestock production.

Wamakko seeks traditional rulers’ support

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OVERNOR Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State has solicited support and prayers of traditional and religious leaders in the task of nation-building.

Receiving the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar 111, who paid him the traditional Sallah homage at Government House, Wamakko said that active participation of traditional rulers in government activities would ensure good governance.

The governor noted that the desire of every Nigerian to do things right will be possible only in peaceful atmosphere.

“We will continue to work hand in hand with the Sultanate Council for peace, progress and political stability of our state,’’ he said.

Wamakko also promised that the state government would continue to initiate programmes that would better the standard of living of the people, irrespective of political party differences.

“I appeal to our royal fathers to sensitise

Sokoto parent on the need to send their children to school to acquire Western along with Islamic education for the overall political growth of the seat of the caliphate,’’ he said.

He said that the state government would continue to accord priority to health care delivery, education, water supply, roads and agriculture, among others.

Earlier, Abubakar praised the efforts made

by Wamakko’s administration to implement people-oriented programmes.

“We will continue to give all the necessary cooperation to enable you move our state forward,’’ he said.

According to him, the respect accorded the council by the state government would go a long way in ensuring good governance.

District head seeks more police stations T

HE district head of Gombi community in Adamawa State , Alhaji Shu’aibu Barde, has called for the establishment of more police stations in the area.

Barde, who made the call in Gombi while speaking to newsmen was reacting to the recent attack launched by armed bandits on the community.

He said the attack on some commercial banks in Gombi ought to attract the attention of both the federal and state governments in order to ensure the safety of lives and property.

Barde said additional police stations would reduce the dependence on reinforcement from

Adamawa He praised the Mubi Emirate Council for its commitment to peace and security in the state.

He gave an assurance that all needed support would be provided for the emirate, which borders Borno and Cameroun Republic, to sustain its efforts in the area of security.

Earlier, Isa said his entourage was in Yola to pay sallah homage and show their unflinching support to the administration and other constituted authorities.

Abubakar called for the state government’s intervention on the deplorable state of the federal road from Hong to Mubi.

According to him, the bad state of the road has been negatively affecting business and other development activities in the commercial border town.

He also complained of the influx of commercial motorcycles in the border town and the growing menace they caused other road users.

“Your Excellency, there is need to register all the cyclists by the appropriate authorities for security reasons.

“If possible the government should introduced tricycle (Keke Napep) in Mubi to check the problems associated with those cyclists,” the emir pleaded.

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Borno imposes curfew in Biu Borno •Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Morro (left) with Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Chief Samuel Ortom after being decorated at a reception organised by the Benue State Government

Zamfara: Fed Govt spends N250m on Fadama III

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HE Fadama III project has so far disbursed N250 million to 537 Fadama User Groups (FUGs) in Zamfara State.

The Fadama Programme Coordinator in the state, Alhaji Aliyu Altine, said this in Gusau at a two-day training initiative for facilitators on cooperative savings and credit scheme.

He said the user groups were made up of fishermen, pastoralists, irrigation farmers, hunters, poultry farmers as well as vulnerable groups such as widows and the physically challenged.

Altine said that the project was aimed at empowering the people to take charge of their own development agenda through a Community Driven Development Approach.

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Zamfara He also said that the programme would assist in reducing poverty, generate employment opportunities, boost food production and guarantee food security.

Altine said that over N6 million was saved in various Fadama User Equity Funds, adding that this would be used to replace equipment as and when due.

He listed some of the projects executed to include 10 watering points to reduce farmers and herdsmen clashes, a 2.6 kilometre road, shops and procurement of agro-processing machines.

Also speaking, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Malami Aliyu Yandoto, said

Adamawa

Yola, the state capital. “ Whenever there is an emergency, we rely on reinforcement from Yola, the state capital, and considering the distance, we need a police formation where we can get immediate response,’’ he said.

The district head, however, enjoined the people of the area to be security conscious and report suspicious persons to the nearest police station.

the council’s continued effort aimed at improving the health status of people in the area.

Hajiya Aisha Suleiman, Director Health in the council, praised the council and called on the PLWHA to reciprocate the gesture by supporting government policies and programmes.

She also advised them to always attend the designated hospitals in Katsina for regular check-ups and collection of anti retro viral drugs.

One of the PLWHA, Malam Muhammadu Yanhoho, thanked the local government for the support.

government would continue to accord agriculture top priority in order to create jobs.

Yandoto said government would also support the Fadama III project to improve the living condition of the people, enhance agricultural production and guarantee food security.

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HE Borno State government has imposed curfew on Biu, Headquarters of Biu Local Government Area after a violent clash between the Army and civilians.

Several people were believed to have been killed in the incident.

Alhaji Zanna Mustapha, the State Deputy Governor, told newsmen in Maiduguri that the curfew was imposed in order to restore law and order in the town.

It would be recalled that the crisis began when some suspected militants allegedly attacked a military officer, who later died.

Many houses and shops were also destroyed when the Army staged a counter attack to retaliate the death of the officer.

Mararaba protests power outage

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HE prolonged power outage in Mararaba, a densely populated settlement in Nasarawa State, near Abuja,has prompted residents to send an Save Our Soul (SOS) message to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

A cross-section of residents, who spoke with newssmen, lamented that the area had remained in “total darkness” for over seven months now.

Mr Arikpa Daniel, the Manager of Big Brother Laundry, off Sergeant Kunu Street, Mararaba, told reporters that “my business is gradually facing extinction” due to the lack of electricity supply in this area.

“I buy diesel now for N150 per litre at the filling station, to power my generator, and at the black market rate, we buy diesel for N200 per litre.

“Engine oil is sold at N480 per litre for us at the filling station in Mararaba and I often spend over N1,500 every other day in order to remain in business without gain.

“Most often, I resort to the use of Box

Abuja Iron with charcoal which is sold for N50 per pack.

“I also have to buy kerosene at N110 per litre at the filling station, while at the black market, it is sold to us for N130.

‘I buy petrol at N65, and you have to pay extra N50 for jerry cans at the filling stations before you are attended to, while in the black market, we buy it at N100 per litre’’. Malam Wada Isa, a civil servant, residing along Calvary Street in Kabayi area of Mararaba, said, “we have not experienced a blink of electricity light in this area for over five months now”.

Isa said: “Every where, there is the sound of generators owned by those who can afford its high cost and maintenance”.

He noted that: “These generators emit fumes into the atmosphere which is dangerous to the health of the people”.

“I understand the only transformer serving the whole of this area was vandalised by unknown persons and the PHCN officials have abandoned this area.’’

Isa stated.

BRIEFS

Delay in prepaid meters supply explained •Workers milling rice at the National Cereals Research Institute In Badeggi, Niger State PHOTO: NAN

Ex-police officer seeks reinstatement

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• From left: Vice-chairman Ejigbo, Local Council Development Area, Alhaji Monsuru BelloObe, Chairman of the council, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan and Mr Tunji Bello, Commissioner for Environment with a guest at the inauguration of public toilet at Ejigbo

Kebbi to establish onion processing factory

HE Kebbi State government has voted N155.6 million to establish an onion processing factory in Aliero.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Sani Kanya, told reporters in Birnin Kebbi that the factory would process raw onions into bottles and tin containers.

He said the idea was to preserve onions for a longer period of time and reduce the loss suffered by onion producers, especially when there was no market for the commodity.

Council donates food items to PLWHA AITA Local Government Council in Katsina State has donated food items in support of People Living with HIV and AIDS in the area.

Alhaji Sada Imam, acting Chairman of the council, said the donation was part of the council’s effort in making the PLWHA have a sense of belonging.

On the occasion, Malam Bala, Director Personnel in the council, who represented the acting chairman, said the council area would support the infected in spite of its lean resources.

He cautioned against stigmatisation of people living with HIV and also expressed

37

N official of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr. Wey-Gandad S. Eboh retired over a wrong allegation of his link with the then dreaded Lawrence Anini armed robbery gang, has urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to reinstate him.

In a petition by his lawyer, Gloria Nweze, Eboh said he decided to write the IGP to direct his attention to his case which has remained unresolved years after an Edo State High Court voided his wrongful retirement and ordered his reinstatement.

“We hereby use this medium to bring the matter to your notice and we are of the firm belief that you will use your good office to look into this matter and do justice in the case. While in service, Wey-Gandad S. Eboh displayed uncommon candour and dexterity in his duties as attested to by his service records,” it was said in the petition.

Eboh was wrongfully retired on July 31, 1987 in a letter with reference number TH.6360/

FS/T.1/40 signed by Mrs. C. B. Ugowe (Assistant Inspector General). He was retired on the ground that he was one of the officers who aided and abetted the Lawrence Anini gang.

The Police authorities investigated Eboh’s involvement and absolved him of any complicity in the crime. The finding was made public during a press briefing through the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Duncan Ogunniyi, in charge of operations in the then Bendel State In spite of his exoneration by the Police authorities, he was still wrongly retired, a decision he protested severally, but without reprieve by the Police. He later approached the court for redress of the wrong.

An Edo State High Court in Benin presided over

by Justice D. E. Hayble gave a judgment in Eboh’s favour and ordered his reinstatement with effect from July 14, 1987. Despite the court’s judgment, the Police authorities are yet to react till date.

The petitioner argued that it amounts to a clear disobedience of the order of court and apparent disrespect for the Rule of Law.

THE management of the PHCN has given reasons behind the delay in the supply of prepaid meters to its customers.

The Principal Manager, Public Affairs, Benin zone, Mrs Grace Nwobodo, who spoke with reporters in Benin, attributed the initial delay to logistical challenge.

Nwobodo said that PHCN at the beginning,, had nothing to do with the supply of the meters which was strictly handled by a South African firm.

She said that PHCN only helped and acted as collection and collation points

of paid receipts from customers for onward submission to the contractors.

“We, in most cases had to wait to have substantial number of applications before forwarding same to the firm.

“The process took between three months and four months from the time payments are made and the time the meters are imported and delivered to customers,’’ she explained.

She, however, said that PHCN had fully taken charge of the process of importing and distributing the meters, hence the reduction of the delay to about a month.

Kebbi Kanya said the factory would also help in encouraging farmers to produce the commodity in higher commercial quantity.

He added that the factory would employ 65 workers in addition to some experts who would be deployed from the state ministry of agriculture.

The commissioner said the factory was expected to begin operation early next year, noting that experts and the necessary machinery had been deployed to the site.

He explained that onion farmers in the state who engaged in large scale production of onion lacked the facility to preserve the commodity.

Kanya said about 1,000 hectares of land were being cultivated annually to produce onions,

•Governor Dankingari with the advantage of providing jobs for the youth.

He explained that government decided to site the factory at Aliero because of the strategic importance of the area in onion production.

‘Govt alone can’t develop infrastructure’

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WARA State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has said that the development and maintenance of infrastructure should not be left to government alone.

Ahmed said this in Offa during the 20th year anniversary celebration of Offa Local Government Area.

He said that the state could not develop without the participation of all residents irrespective of political and ethnic differences.

The governor said he was overwhelmed by the developmental efforts made by the people of Offa inspite of being the only ACNcontrolled council area.

Ahmed,who was represented by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Issa Bawa, urged other council areas to emulate Offa which set aside political differences to initiate community projects.

The governor further said: “On behalf of the government and the people of Kwara State, I heartily congratulate the founding fathers, living or dead, traditional rulers and indeed, the good people of the local government area

I

Kwara on this joyous occasion.

“In the last 20 years, we can safely posit that Offa Local Government Area has come of age, surviving through thick and thin to set the pace for other local government areas to follow.

“I admire the love of the fatherland, the painstaking efforts to transform the landscape and the determination to turn the fortunes of the people around which constitute the hallmark of the activities of Offa Local Government.

“Let me reiterate that the government of Kwara State is for all of us. “ We are running an open administration where Kwarans can freely express themselves and benefit without let or hindrance from the dividends of democracy.”

Earlier, a chieftain of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Chief Lola Ashiru, had described the council as a unique one that would not discriminate in community development efforts.

Firm acquires new equipment

N line with its corporate objective of adding value to Nigerian businesses, Digital Reality Print Limited recently acquired and installed three brand new world-class printing machines for high-quality imaging offset print and finishing.

With the new installation, Digital Reality Print Limited hitherto is now a total print solution provider for quality printing from prepress, press and finishing utilising brand new state-of-the-art printing machines that meet print user needs.

According to Mrs. Folorunso Alakija, Group Managing Director of the company, the procurement was in response to her clients demand for quality offset print whichthe company has been known for in digital large format print,saying: “with our objective of adding value to Nigeria businesses, we decided to acquire the machines so that our customers will continue to enjoy unsurpassed quality and respected customer service we are known for in the industry”.

Speaking during a press conference at the Digital Reality Open House and

Demonstration, Mrs. Alakija further disclosed that the new printing machines are the latest operator-friendly models of computer to plate, printing and finishing equipment for perfect dot-to-dot registration, high addedvalue multi-colour printing, and design that meet safety standards. Mrs. Alakija noted that, “the machines perfectly respond to our needs of the future as they afford us the opportunity to drastically shorten our make ready time, cuts paper waste, and reduce printing time while maintaining the high print quality and high productivity that are characteristic of Digital Reality brand. Hence they are our precise solutions for high-quality and precision offset printing”.

The event which took place on September 1 at Digital Reality Print Limited Surulere office, was heralded with a presentation by suppliers of the machines along with live demonstration of the machines capability for quality print production of magazines, company annual reports, journals, books, company stationery and brochures.

Islamic group urges Muslims to shun corruption THE Islamic Missionaries Association of Nigeria (IMAN) has urged Muslims in public office to shun corruption and set good example in the discharge of their duties.

The group gave the advice in a communique issued in Ilorin to mark the end of the Ramadan.

The communique was signed by IMAN Secretary-General, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi.

It enjoined Muslim parents to embrace western education and allow

their children and wards to seek for quality education that would mould their character.

The communique also called on government at all levels to invest in the provision of quality healthcare in order to boost the life expectancy of the common man.

It further appealed to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara to give emphasis to youth empowerment, job creation as well as religious teachings in public schools.

•From right : Mrs Elsie Akin-Adesola, Group Head - Digital Reality Print Ltd, Mrs Alakija, Group Managing Director and and official of the company

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Life

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Text only: 08023058761

•David showcasing his bata skill

PHOTO: EVELYN OSAGIE

‘Fela ignited my interest in Nigeria’ •David Tullips, a 22-year-old American, who fell in love with Bata drumming, recounts his experience at Obatala Centre for Creative Art, Iragbiji, Osun State • SEE PAGES 30 Illiteracy hinders productivity, says minister – Page 32

Uniting music, literature and photography – Page 34

Group rewards children – Page 35

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

30

The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

Twenty-two-year old American David Tullips is passionate about drumming. His passion brought him to Nigeria to study bata drumming at the Obatala Centre for Creative Arts, Iragbiji, Osun State. The high point of the three-week workshop was his participation in the drums festival. A student of African History Studies, Carleton College, Minnesota, United States, Tullips shares his experience with EVELYN OSAGIE.

‘Fela ignited my interest in Nigeria’

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T what point did you decide to study bata drumming?

My interest in Nigeria started with Fela Kuti. I took an African music class and fell in love with him instantly. That was three years ago in my freshman year in college. I have all his CDs; and listens to them religiously. My favourite drummer is Tony Allen – his drum-set player. From there, I got into the older generation of Juju musicians, such as King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey and Victor Uwaifo; and then into the modern stuff which is mainly Afrobeat. This took me to Femi Kuti and Lagbaja, who confounded me when I first saw him. I had no idea what to think of him.

Then, last year, Prof. John Thabiti Willis, a lecturer of African History who did his doctorial research on the Egungun Festival, came to our school. He became one of my favourite professors; I will be taking my third course with him next fall which is Masquerades in Africa. I told him I was interested in doing fieldwork, that no one teaches you what to do at school.

They are only interested in writing papers, reading them in books. He showed me videos and explained a couple of things.

He, then, asked if had an interest in going to Africa? And I said ‘yes’, because I had already been to Mali. And heasked me to apply for a fellowship; that if I get it, I can, then, come to Nigeria with him. I applied and got the Lison Fellowship given by the school’s alumni for $4,000: $2,500 was for flight ticket. And that gave birth to my trip to Nigeria.

How long did the training last?

Three weeks. I would have loved to stay longer. But three weeks is how long the money could take me. Still on, my inspiration that led to my coming to Nigeria...I got the fellowship by doing a senior thesis on African music, particularly Nigerian music. My professor pointed me towards Lagbaja and made me think about him in a different way. And I am doing my project on him and the use of the mask and the Egungun tradition, bata, and, how he fuses that with hiphop and R and B and various influences. I am also trying to understand how Nigerian contemporary afrobeat and some hip-hop artistes have incorporated their traditions and culture into their music.

To achieve these, I couldn’t treat it as some writing on paper.

I had to actually experience it. And since I am looking at drumming, I needed to have some foundation in traditional Yoruba drumming before I can say something substantial about it. And that was how I came here to learn bata as a kind of leeway to learning about the Yoruba culture and language.

And, in the process, I got people like Boye, Chief Oyelami’s son along with him to translate a couple of Lagbaja’s songs and some bata rhythms for me into English. You can’t find them anywhere. And then, I used my knowledge of the bata to supplement that as a foundational research of my project on Lagbaja.

So, for you, it is more of an academic thing?

I call it research and school work so that the school will give me money to come here. But, really, it’s because I really love drumming, particularly bata drumming and it touches my soul than any other music has. My parents are classical violinists: they play in symphonies. I grew up with a drum set in my living room. And I never wanted to study classical music. I have always been leaning towards rhythmic music – drum-oriented music. First, I was into funk and then rap.

How were you able to cope with the challenge of not understanding the language while learning bata drumming?

Chief Oyelami made it easy. I learnt the rhythm first before learning the meaning and the poems afterwards. He has written everything out graphically – all the rhythms in a book entitled Yoruba Bata Music: A New Notation with Basic Exercises and Ensemble Pieces. It has the Iya ilu and the Omele Abo parts all written out and translated. And I can’t say I have memorised all of it yet… I have memorised the small ones like Yannije, which is the beginning. Learning the rhythms first helped me with the tones; and I was able to sing it and just worry about the syllables. The bata drum consists of three separate drums – Iya Ilu, Omele Abo and Omele Meta. I started by learning each separately: first the Omele Meta. I had lessons five hours a day for the three weeks: it really helped. I had three teachers - chief, Wasiu and Taofik. Wasiu, 35, is a member of the Osun State Ensemble. At the beginning, he had a hard time teaching me but he got a lot better on realising what I wanted and what would help me understand.

How was the experience like?

•David performing with Taofik (left)

•David and Oyelami

The first three days were extremely hard for me because I was a drum set player and my hands work differently from a bata drummer. It took me a long time to get the wrist motion and the technique and using these flimsy little bilala took me a while. So, it was trial and error for me, trying to figure out what works: how best to hold it and keep it from flying out of my hands. Once I understood the foundational rhythms, I moved to the Abo’s and to the Iya Ilu. And for every rhythm I

PHOTOS: EVELYN OSAGIE

learnt on the Iya Ilu, I had to learn the supporting part for the Abo because they work in tandem. The Iya Ilu has three tones – the low, the middle and the high. And the low is much higher than the middle and the high tones. So, the Abo helps bring out the middle and the high tones. So, in all these poems, every time there is middle or a high, the Abo has to play as well. So, once I’ve learnt the rhythms and the sequence, I insert the Abo which is quite hard. I played it over and over •Continued on page 31

‘I would love to make an afrobeat band with the features of a hiphop artiste; and be free to experiment with all kinds of rhythms. I love the afrobeat thing; I started playing saxophone because I wanted to play Fela Kuti’s music’

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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‘Tourism is strength of a new Nigeria’

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IGERIA’s future depends on the development of its potential in tourism, which has been neglected for long, the Chairman, WhiteHouse Group, Mr. Austin Eruotor, has said.

He stressed the need for the government and its agencies to change their attitude and adopt policies that are tourism friendly because the sector will soon be sought after by investors. He noted that tourists like to explore, which is an added advantage for the industry which potential remains untapped.

According to him, the government should look into areas, such as security and energy because they are critical. He spoke at a pre-anniversary tourism forum at the White House Conference Centre Annex, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.

Eruotor observed that many cities have no facilities that can take a large volume of tourists. For example, he said, Lagos has no capacity to cater for tourists if it was to host an event that will attract over 200,000 people from all over the world. He stressed that, in Lagos alone, there was the need for over 150 hotels in the status of Sheraton and 100 of Protea to meet up such demand.

He urged the government to involve religious and political leaders in providing adequate security for the citizenry, noting that the National Orientation Agency needed to create attitudinal and communication-based programmes that would imbibe good moral values and positive attitude in the people.

A participant at the forum, Mr Felix Uwawah, noted the challenge posed by flood and bad roads across the country and called on government to look into the issue and attend to it with urgency because “it is affecting all facets of life in the country.”

In appraising the sector in the post-independent years, he said,’ indeed, the industry has made a remarkable progress but there is a lot of room for improvement. We need to catch in on that and ensure that the area is well developed to support the economy and contribute towards the new economic drive, insecurity and war against unemployment, because the sector is a huge employer of labour all over the world. He added that, engaging the idle hands and minds will make useful contribution to the fight against crime.

“The Delta Leisure Resorts, Oleri and Asaba, Delta State, West Africa’s first world class theme Park and Resorts of over 250 haetres of land is one of the spectacular thing that has happened to the industry in recent past. This

‘It is a well known fact that tourism generates a lot funds in other parts of the world that our people like to go to we should work hard to develop our own because the future lies in tourism’

•Eruotor

By Nsikakabasi Daniels

singular effort of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Delta State governor and Mr Richard Mofe-Damijo, commissioner for Culture and Tourism, as the arrow heads is a welcome development that will make life more exciting and vibrant for the host communities. He saluted the courage of Princess Abiodun Oyefusi, oversea partners – Sarner PFM for investing $250 million in the project which is estimated to employ over 3000 people. This, he said is a clarion call for the government at the center and other states to do something in order to better the lot of the people.”

Commenting on the effort of government in projecting the Nigerian brand, he advised that the media should strive to project the country in good light because there is a lot of good side to Nigeria in order to check negative

reports of the foreign media. He says, “In Nigeria there are so many of historical sites that are not yet put into use the way it should be.” He urged government at all levels and her concerned agencies to look in this direction by reviewing her policies especially in the area of tax and infrastructural development. According to him, “it is a well-known fact that tourism generates a lot funds in other parts of the world that our people like to go to we should work hard to develop our own because the future lies in tourism.”

Furthermore, Mr Eruotor added that across in the world tourism is more viable than gold not to mention of crude oil. Thus, if all that God has blessed the country with is well utilised for the people the world will be envious of Nigeria in this area. He pointed out that the need for accessible and professionally trained human capital must be given an urgent attention by the industry if players are to transcend some of the current challenges.

• Daniels writes in from Lagos

‘Fela ignited my interest in Nigeria’ •Continued from page 30

again to pick up speed because I was slow at first because my hands didn’t move fast.

Aside drumming, what else did you learn?

I learnt the greetings, the vocabulary like parts of the body ahun (voice), enu (mouth), Imu (nose), ekono (fingers), atele wo (clap), animals; food,. I tried to develop an ear for the words and how they are put together because I didn’t understand the grammar. If I come back, I’ll make sure I take language classes. But I was able to get by with the few I learnt.

How did you feel performing alongside renowned traditional drummers at the festival?

I was excited and nervous and hoped that I would not mess up. I did not get much sleep the night before because I was nervous. It was the highlight of my drumming experience; they would judge whether I have learnt it well enough and recognised what I am playing. But they were allnice. They congratulated me and said I did well after the show. I knew I may not be as good as their regulars because I have just had training for three weeks. They were amused; but I wanted them to really like it because I am good and see me as a drummer, not just some white boy who came to learn drumming.

Why Yoruba drumming?

Because the rhythm you play actually means something.

Yoruba drums are refreshing - the elegance of the rhythms.

There is a drum language which you are speaking when you play – all those proverbs that have been passed down from generation to generation. They have so many meanings as if one is tapping into ancient cultural knowledge. What I’ve

played in the past – drum set, jambe, conga – it is all about how fast you can play, not how innovative or elegant you can be with the rhythm.

With the training in bata drumming, do you intend to become a professional bata player?

I would jump at the opportunity of making it my job to teach others bata drumming or any kind of drum I have learnt.

I have three rock, funk, and jazz-fusion bands that I have organised. I plan to bring bata drumming in somehow. The problem is finding another drum set player to play with.

However, since I have all these drums (bata and drum set) experiences, I’d like to make a bata ensemble in my college where I’d teach two or three others how to play the parts. And then every term, we would do a performance, playing two or three songs and that would be the traditional repertoire. And, in addition to that, I would incorporate it, however I can, into my other music. I have high hopes for the funk band because there is another drummer there. In an ideal world, I would love to make an afrobeat band with the features of a hiphop artiste; and be free to experiment with all kind of rhythms. I love the afrobeat thing; I started playing saxophone because I wanted to play Fela Kuti’s music. That is in my mind and is probably not going to happen.

Why? Finding others with the same interest and dedication like me; it takes a lot of work to work that thing out. It is not all about making money; if I could play music for a living that is all I want. At school, we play for fun, usually twice a weekend at the club and shows. Last term, we had 20 shows in 10 weeks. I did two or three bands in each show. That is what I love doing drumming. And I know I want to continue drumming till I die.

I know I am going to incorporate these things, whether they are the actual bata drums and its rhythms, or the feel because it is completely different from what you have in the States.

So, you hope to become a professional musician?

I am not banking on it. But I hope to keep doing music: I am going to continue playing in bands when I get out of school and go to graduate school at some point. Maybe because my parents have been telling me, my whole life, which it is super-hard making a living as a musician and you shouldn’t try to do that. They were always trying to get me to be a doctor, a lawyer or a businessman. And I’ve always said ‘no’. I am wide open. I could do anything. But I hope to make music a big part of whatever I do.

You were around during the celebration of the late Ulli Beier. Compare youself…

I am so much unlike Ulli Beier. He is innovative than I

•David with his bata drums

think I am. I am studying a programme that has been set out for me; he came here, clear it up by himself, wanting to find the most primitive, authentic and raw cultures he could. So he is an inspiration. To come here when it was still colonial days and stay here for as long as he did and lived the way that he did and become so dedicated to it. He had more gust than I do. I see myself settling down in the States because that is where I am from and is; and I am most comfortable there. But that doesn’t mean I won’t make trips here often. My model is my professor. He lived here for two years: did his research and come every year, either to visit or for research. He is African-American. So that makes it a lot easier for him. While he is not living here, he is very much connected to the people and culture here.

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•From left: Ayakoroma, Uwandu, Prof Amali and Prof Ojewuyi at the event

PHOTO: OZOLUA UHAKHEME

Illiteracy hinders productivity, says minister

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ULTURE, Tourism and National Orientation Minister Chief Edem Duke, has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to the restoration of the reading culture among children and youth. He said such efforts would guide the youth towards broadening their knowledge, encourage intellectual endeavours and build a nation at the forefront of an intellectualbased economy.

Duke, represented by the ministry’s Director of Planning, Research and Documentation, Mr. Chudi Uwandu, spoke at the recent national quarterly media workshop organised by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), in Abuja.

“The Federal Government’s concern and interest in promoting the book and reading culture is predicated on the understanding that no country can achieve meaningful progress if its citizens are illiterate. The Vision 20: 2020 blueprint which aspires to make Nigeria one of the 20 top developed economies in the world by 2020 will be a mirage if the citizens are not properly repositioned to appreciate and imbibe the culture of reading which is imperative for global competitiveness,” he said.

Duke stressed that there is a strong correlation between the quality of a country’s human resources and its development as a well educated workforce remains a source of high productivity which, he said, would translate into national development. Continuing, he added: “There is, therefore, no gain denying the fact that the theme of this work-

Stories by Ozolua Uhakheme Assistant Editor (Arts)

shop is not only apt but could not have come at a more auspicious time as we collectively strategise to achieve national growth and development as a people.”

The theme of the workshop was Media Strategies for propagating the book culture in Nigeria. He assured NICO of the ministry’s support to ensure that the institute’s mandate is achieved through its various programmes.

NICO Executive Secretary Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma said promoting the reading culture among Nigerians waa s the latest in the series of NICO’s programmes designed to promote value orientation and underscore the importance of culture to national development. This, he said, is in line with the Bring Back The Book initiative of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Ayakoroma noted that there is low level of literacy and poor reading culture among Nigerians. He explained that the workshop was designed to sensitise Arts writers and editors as well as media and

public relations officers on the urgent need to publicise and popularise reading not just for the purpose of examination but as a life-long hobby. He described reading culture as the process of building up positive reading attitude among a people and as one of the most effective tools for the acquisition of knowledge.

According to him, the process of developing a reading culture should start in childhood and nurtured into adulthood.

The chairman of the occasion and Vice Chancellor of Nasarawa State University Prof. Shamsudeen Amali spoke on the significance of the workshop. He charged everyone to read, read and read, noting that it is the first commandment from Allah to mankind. He stressed that if one fails to read, he would regret it.

“It is important Nigeria knows that if we must lead the African Continent, we must read. With Jonathan’s Bring Back The Book, we should listen and read,” he added.

According to him, there is a systematic killing of humanity in the school system, which must be resisted.

A leading culture administrator and

‘Leadership is actively involved in primitive acquisition of wealth. We no longer respect those who engage in the growth of education. In fact, an emergency should be declared in the sector, especially the book project where a marshal plan should be designed. This should be a media-driven strategy with roadmap outlining targets’

former deputy editor of The Guardian, Mr. Ben Tomoloju, observed that the book and media are always having an interface and that the media is a close kinsman to the book.

Prof Segun Ojewuyi, who is on sabbatical at the Nasarawa State University, believed that, in the academia, writing and reading are norms, saying as Africans, “we had the first culture of reading and writing, which we shelved for commerce.”

Reading, he added, is what will set the peoples’ minds to the highest goal, which NICO is spearheading. President Goodluck Jonathan, on December 20, 2010, flagged off the national book campaign tagged Bring Back The Book, and presented his book, My Friends and I: conversations on policy and governance via Facebook to the public.

Resource persons were Major-General Mathias Efeovbokha (rtd), former Editor of Sunday Times, Mrs. Dupe Ajayi and the Chief Operating Officer of Peoples Daily, Mr. Ali Mohamed Ali. In his paper, Efeovbokha noted that the book culture died shortly before the civil war as impostors came into governance thus, bringing the enthronement of illiterate leadership. He observed that, up till date, the draft copy of the book policy is yet to be enacted.

“Leadership is actively involved in primitive acquisition of wealth. We no longer respect those who engage in the growth of education. In fact, an emergency should be declared in the sector, especially the book project where a marshal plan should be designed. This should be a media-driven strategy with roadmap outlining targets,” he said.

Garden City Literary Festival organisers set benchmark

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OUNDER of Rainbow Book Club and organisers of Garden City Literary Festival Mrs. Koko Kalango has promised to turn Port Harcourt, Rivers State, into a city that celebrates literary icons from across the globe yearly.

She said: “I want Port Harcourt to be known and famous for literature instead of oil and gas, which are at present synonymous with the city and the Niger Delta. I also want the Garden City Literary Festival to be known as the biggest literary festival on the continent.”

The festival, which is in its fourth edition, has attracted great literary scholars, such as Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka; Prof J. P. Clark, Gabriel Okara, Elechi Amadi, Kenya’s Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ghana’s Kofi Awoonor, Okey Ndibe, Zainab Jallo, Helon Habila, Seffi Atta, Igoni Barrett, Kaine Agary, American Petrina Crockford and Adaobi Nwuabani.

Speaking with arts writers in Lagos, Mrs. Kalango said though the festival was yet to hit the peak it is growing steadily every year.

She explained that from attendance at past three editions, the festival has improved tremendously.

“We have advertised the festival on several media including the web thus, expanding the space to create awareness,” she said.

This year’s edition, which will open on September 12, at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, will feature renowned American civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, multiple awards winner Chinua Achebe and Ghanaian playwright, poet and novelist Ama Ata Aidoo, among oth-

ers. Achebe will, however, deliver the keynote address via video on the theme, Literature and Politics.

Besides, the festival is offering more this year by increasing the contact hours of each programme to enrich the participants. Such additions are the directing workshop, a command performance of Chinua Achebe’s play, A Man Of The People, the public performance of Ola Rotimi’s Man Talk, Woman Talk, and Ama Atta Aidoo’s The Dilemma of A Ghost, jazz and poetry evening.

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BOOK REVIEW

VISUAL ART

Title: Customer Relationship Management Author: Benjamin Ejeohimen Esechie Reviewer: Ozolua Uhakheme Publisher: Closelink Communications Limited Pages: 122

Art fraud trial rocks Germany

Making the customer king

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I

N this age when communication and marketing know no borders, no thanks to information technology, customer relationship management like any other discipline across the globe, may not be an exception. And if truly the world is a global village, it then means that what obtains in one society can also hold sway in another, maybe not wholly.

Practice they say makes perfect. But, such practice should be done a little bit more to separate you from the crowd. These, perhaps, inform the content and focus of a 122-page book, Customer Relationship Management - a pivot for self and organisational success, by Benjamin Ejeohimen Esechie.

The book is a compendium of relevant strategies to achieve a set goals and objectives. Though packaged like a handbook on customer service, the 12-section book covers topical issues, such as image and self-projection, managing conflicts, communication skills, business-writing skill, corporate governance, tools and skills for marketing success, among others.

In the introduction, which also serves as section one, the author lists those key factors that have direct bearing on the character of an individual, which he says include voice, appearance and visibility. He notes that ‘whether innate or acquired, service must be something that you enjoy doing without being prompted…In order to be of service, you must first become aware of the special gifts that you have to offer. What makes you unique? Perhaps it is a special set of skills and knowledge.’

Addressing the power of communication skills, the author acknowledges that in every communication process, the balance between submissiveness and aggression is assertiveness, which however does not guarantee success. One area that improves relationship with customers is through gracious speech and good communication.

The author, who has a rich media experience at This Day newspaper, emphasises the significance of choice words as well as chosen words that can convey vivid mental impression. “If you use words that appeal to the senses, your listeners will ‘see’ and ‘touch’ the things about which you speak, ‘taste’ and ‘smell’ the foods to which you refer, and ‘hear’ the sounds that you described and the people whom you quote,” he says about choice of words in communication.

Still he identifies the following as key messages in all of this: listen actively, show others you understand, explain your feelings, seek and build on other ideas and work to a joint solution using everyone’s ideas.

Section three dwells on customer care and strategies, which include how customer should be respected as king, how to handle complaints and crisis effectively, how to convert dissatisfaction to satisfaction. Esechie gives adequate treatment to strategic issues in customer servicing, in which he enumerates those control points to customer services effectiveness. Among them are the seven big mistakes to avoid, performance assessment, customer centred, customer service and loyalty, and customer loyalty programme, which form the thrust of discussions in sections four and five.

Expectedly, Esechie brings to light some tips on how to manage staff-customer conflicts, which often create bad image or blood between organisation and its customers.

He, therefore, advises that: such conflict should be tackled early to keep it from escalating, avoid instinctive reaction, refrain from offering your own opinion before understanding the full picture, stay assertive, don’t fight anger for anger and don’t handle conflict in public among

others.

In these days of Global System of Mobile telecommunication, the place of telephone behaviour as it affects corporate image might not be as fundamental as it used to be twenty years ago. Notwithstanding, the author gives consideration to why front line staff of any organization should be given to polite and proper disposition that impact positively on people. He also provide in the book, the ten key rules of telephone behavior in Section Seven.

Business writing skills, tools and skills for successful negotiation form the topics in sections eight and nine.

With ease, the author provides how to engage in a conversation with customers which must be expressive, tactful and yet firm. Beyond these, he did not lose sight of the essence of dressing appropriately well, keeping pone’s emotion under control, and how these can improve relationship with colleagues and customers too. In section 10, he explains in detail what emotional intelligence is and its relationship with organisational effectiveness.

Sections 11 and 12 are expansion of the other key elements in every conversation. This informs why the author decides to treat issues such as listening and questioning skills, manpower needs and utilisation strategies in organisation growth as part of the publication that is done in a reader-friendly package. The book, Customer Relationship Management, is a handy publication that will be very useful for most organisations be they multinational, medium and small scale enterprises. Its contents know no boundaries and as such serves all.

However, aside the appealing graphic design of the book, the photographs used as illustrations do not fit well into this environment. If the book is meant primarily for the Nigerian and the African audience, one wonders why the use of photographs of AfricanAmericans or Europeans as illustrations. One hopes the law allows the author to use such photographs without infringing on the privacy of the owners.

All said, the book should have gone through several editors to clean up the copies as there are typos and other minor grammatical errors. For instance, “His advice, strict and disciplined mentoring puts me on a good stead and thus was able to remain assertive in that office.” “My gratitude also goes to Mr Kayode Komolafe, Deputy Managing Director, ThisDay Newspapers (the comrade-inchief), who’s ‘fatherly’ characteristics and disposition encouraged me through my ThisDay service.’ Again, the dedication and acknowledgement pages were not signed, maybe because the author wrote the foreword and preface which precedes these two.

HE trial of four people behind an alleged art forgery scandal in Germany has got under way in Cologne. The group is accused of selling 44 fake paintings over the past decade, purportedly by 20th Century masters. Wolfgang Beltracchi, 60, is alleged to be the mastermind behind the scam which defrauded art collectors including Hollywood actor Steve Martin of millions of dollars. More than 160 witnesses are expected to appear over 40 days of the trial.

Beltracchi’s wife Helene, his sister-in-law Jeanette and her husband, Otto Schulte-Kellinghaus, were also arrested last year, accused of playing a part in the ploy.

Paintings by the likes of Kees Van Dongen, Max Ernst, Max Pechstein and Heinrich Campendonk were faked, along with certificates of origin and labels.

Many dealers, museums and art collectors were duped into believing the previously unknown masterpieces had been hidden for years by two secretive Cologne collectors and kept safe during the Nazi years. After art experts had been fooled into confirming their authenticity, it sparked a buying frenzy with galleries and auctions offering the works. But the forgeries came to light in 2008 after a buyer purchased what was thought to be a Campendonk through a Cologne auction house for 2.5 million euro (£2.2m) and had the work scientifically tested. The painting was shown to contain a colour that had not yet been invented at the time when it was painted. Hollywood actor Steve Martin found himself caught up in the scandal after he purchased another “Campendonk” in 2004 from a Parisian gallery. He later sold it in 2006 before the forgeries were discovered. A judgment on the case is expected to be issued next March.

WORKSHOP Creative writing workshop for FCT students

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RGANISERS of the Abuja Literature Prizes for FCT schools have kicked a three-day non-residential creative writing workshop for some selected students of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) schools. The event, scheduled to hold from yesterday to tomorrow at the Korean Cultural Centre, Abuja is being facilitated by some notable Nigerian writers and will cover poetry, prose, play writing, journalistic writing and reading workshop.

The organisers said the participants would after the workshop be expected to demonstrate what they have learnt by re-writing their entries for the competition. “We have plans to publish all the entries for this competition into an anthology of short stories by student of FCT schools. So rather than do the editing for them, they would be expected to practicalise what they have learnt by re-writing their stories for the proposed anthology,” the organisers added.

Okoli Mary Ann and Ikpebe Ene Patricia of School for the Gifted, Gwagwalada, Abuja. Adeyemo Victor of Government Secondary School Bwari who won the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes of N30,000, N20,000 and N10,000 respectively with their stories ‘Not a Bed of Roses’, ‘My Pride’ and ‘The Traumatic Experience of John’ in the Abuja Literature Prizes for FCT Schools (Short Story Writing Competition) are some of the students that will benefit from the creative writing workshop.

The event will be rounded off with a brief ceremony to celebrate this year’s International Literacy Day under the chairmanship of the National President of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Dr Jerry Anthony Agada. He will be accompanied by other invited guests such as Senator Phillip Aduda.

A brief talk on Literacy and Peace will be delivered by Mr Abdul Mahmud as part of activities to mark the International Peace Day.

Invisible Borders heads for Addis Ababa

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HE third edition of the road trip photographic project, Invisible Borders 2011, a trans-African photography initiative will hold from November 2 to December 16,

2011.

It will involve 13 artists (10 from Nigeria and the other three from Ghana, Sudan and Ethiopia) travelling about 12,000 km from Lagos (Nigeria) to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

Participants will include few of the old members and new members from the four countries involved. There will be eleven photographers and two writers (Nike Adesuyi

Ojeikere and Nana Oforiatta-Ayim) who will be writing for the blog as well as on a much broader context.

The group will make stops of about five to seven days in the capital and important cities of Nigeria, Tchad, Sudan and Ethiopia to create artistic works in collaboration with the indigenous artists in the cities, while networking within the art community. Once again, the approach will be a focus on creating works which reveal the richness of the daily living of the people and the interactions with their environment - images that usually go unnoticed in the quest for

blatant headlines. But this will not deter them from exploring themes centered on socio-political discourses prevalent in the continent.

This year’s edition is generously supported by HIVOS Arts Collaboratory (The Netherlands), Canon Europe, Shoot Me Film + Music Festival Den Haag, French Cultural Centre Abuja, Institut Français de Tchad, Intitut Français de France, Next Newspapers Nigeria, DAL Group Sudan, Demotix Online Photo Agency, New Museum of New York and Desta for Africa, Ethiopia.

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Uniting music, literature and photography IKE sparkling nuggets, El Anatsui’s work drapes loosely from the walls of the Blanton Museum in the University of Texas, Austin, where I am the Director of the Centre for the Arts of Africa and its Diasporas. Blanton hangs no other work by an African artist in its galleries. As an African viewing this piece in Blanton, I congratulated Anatsui for breaking the barrier.

But the piece also gives me a mnemonic sense of nostalgia when I, as one of the exponents of Onaism, revisit Anatsui’s inspirational value to my fledging ideas. A collective concept, Onaism emerged in the late ‘80s as part of a larger postcolonial artistic production in Africa. As members of the Ona Art Movement honed Onaism into a visual aesthetic, I explored works by kindred spirits, including Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Ayi Kwei Armah, and Anatsui, as catalytic prologues.

Perhaps because one was born in the Slave Coast (now Nigeria) and the other in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), or because one expressed his talent musically, and the other in writing, Fela and Armah are two crucial creative dots that, at first, seem unconnected. Clearly, both are passionate revolutionaries, irreverent ideologues, and uncompromising twins of Afrocentric propaganda. Connecting the two dots is the figure of Anatsui, who left Ghana to grow his artistic gifts on the post-independent soil of Nigeria. Stewed in the broths of Fela’s musical spices, flavored with Armah’s literary condiments, and gingered in Anatsui’s pictorial grill, Onaism emerged as an amalgamated cuisine from the heated cooking pot of a post-racial aesthetic menu.

Both Fela and Armah were October gifts: Fela in 1938, and Armah in 1939. Fela who needs no further introduction died in circumstances that daily assume mythic dimensions. But his music lives on. Conversely, Armah is still alive. But the news of his creative existence seems greatly exaggerated. In every appearance, Armah’s prodigious literature is already interred with his bones, as he appears buried alive with his written words, and those he is yet to write. In his consummate work, Two Thousand seasons, Armah declares, “Receiving, giving, giving, receiving, all that lives is twin. Who would cast the spell of death, let him separate the two. Whatever cannot give, whatever is ignorant even of receiving, knowing only taking, that thing is past its own mere death.

It is a carrier of death. Woe the giver on the road to such a taker, for the victim has found victorious death.” First published in 1973 by the East African Publishing House, Two Thousand Seasons did not enjoy the wide distribution that it received in 1979 when it was released on the bigger list of the now defunct African Writers Series. That same year, Haki Madhubuti’s Third World Press, based in Chicago, distributed an edition of the novel in the United States.

Armah’s work was a milestone of the African Writers Series. But until the revival of the series in the early nineties, Heinemann, publisher of the African Writers Series, produced only a couple of works after circulating Armah’s novel in 1979. That same year, they published his equally fascinating epic, The Healers. Perhaps his work had pushed the genre of Afrocentric writing far beyond the limits of international tolerance. Nowadays, Armah’s literary production is largely unknown in Western academies of letters. His erstwhile dominant figure is also marginalized in many African literary circles. Few professors and students of African literature in the West seem aware of Two Thousand Seasons. But the shelving of Armah’s work is unfortunate: at its best, Two Thousand Seasons produces a luminescent poetic luster that compares with the shinning nuggets in Anatsui’s work.

The year that witnessed the global distribution of Armah’s Two Thousand Seasons was an important landmark for Afro Beat music and its founding father, Fela. It was the year that he began to rekindle the flames of his music, after suffering a setback following the destruction of his house and studio in 1977. Fela’s troubles began when he seemingly diverted attention from FESTAC by refusing to participate in the international cultural jamboree. Megastar musicians and artists, notably Stevie Wonder, Mighty Sparrow, Gilberto Gil, and Sun Ra, came from all over the world to participate in FESTAC events. But they spent most of their time in Fela’s ramshackle “Kalakuta Republic,” shunning the ultramodern FESTAC village built by the Nigerian military government, under the presidency of Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo.

Stealing the show from FESTAC and constantly criticizing the military government, in addition to his public display of a marijuana-using alternative lifestyle, had predictable consequences for Fela: he became the undisguised target of hostility from Nigeria’s military government. When he recorded his song titled “Zombie,” a blatant critique of the military administration’s ineptitude for managing Nigeria, Nigerian troops described as “unknown soldiers” destroyed Kalakuta Republic. Exiled, he moved to Ghana in 1977.

When Fela returned in 1978, Nigerian music had moved on without him. The Juju music of Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Ade, combined with the reggae rhythms of Sunny Okosun, occupied the center of Nigerian night life, and monopolized airwaves. When Fela flew to Germany in 1978 to participate in the Berlin Jazz Festival, his music received negative press reception. Audiences at home and abroad felt that his stellar musical career was already over.

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•El Anatsui installation

By Moyo Okediji

A surprising turn of event came in 1979 with his collaboration with Moyo Ogundipe, a young television producer for the Western Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.

Ogundipe organized a musical concert for Fela in the amphitheater of Oduduwa Hall, on the University of Ife campus. The concert drew pilgrims from all over Nigeria, especially young people who traveled to the Ile Ife campus from various institutions of higher learning. While delivering the opening address, Wole Soyinka publicly declared his support for Fela, and announced that Fela was his cousin.

The ensuing celebration of Fela’s music by Nigerian youths, and the acknowledgement of his genius within the intellectual circles of country, clearly contributed to Fela’s rehabilitation and the rapid reassessment of his music.

I was commissioned to design the poster for the Fela event in Ile Ife. Ogundipe, the producer of the show, explained to me that he wanted something “simple, mysterious, and mindblowing, just like Fela’s music.” What immediately came to my mind was African sculpture. The figures look simple, yet there is a mysterious measure of transcendental disposition that imbues the sculptures with “mind-blowing” qualities, which often defies visual analysis. In my research of these sculptures, I noticed the element of exaggeration as a prominent aspect of African sculpture. The exaggerated parts of the objects bring emphasis to the focal areas. Equally important is the rhythmic movement that connects the exaggerated sections, enabling them to generate rhythmic patterns. I perceive these visual aesthetics in the Fela’s music because he uses repeated phrases to emphasize his messages, as in the lyrics of his song, “Zombie”: Zombie-o, zombie (Zombie-o, zombie) Zombie-o, zombie (Zombie-o, zombie) Zombie no go go, unless you tell am to go (Zombie) Zombie no go come, unless you tell am to come (Zombie) Zombie no go turn, unless you tell am to turn (Zombie) Zombie no go think, unless you tell am to think (Zombie) Zombie-o, zombie (Zombie-o, zombie)….

In my drawing for the poster, I emphasized Fela’s head. I see this exaggeration in Yoruba depictions of Esu, Ogun, and Sango images. I repeated this exaggeration in the size of his saxophone, which I distorted to resemble smoking paraphernalia, as an allusion to Fela’s “inhaling” habit. Large dark areas blend as shadows with luminous parts to produce chiaroscuro effects. Lines and circular shapes repeat the rhythmic effects radiating throughout the body. I twin Fela’s lithe body with his saxophone through a Siamese connection.

That same year, El Anatsui was exploring the assemblage of pieces of wood, which he arranged as repeated patterns embellished with rhythmic details. Each of these panels contained simple shapes translated from African indigenous traditions of textiles, sculpture, ceramics, and painting. But when brought together as an assemblage, the overall effect is “mind-blowing,” with his allusion to music, poetry, and performance arts. Anatsui’s images have now culminated in the monumental sculptural panels that he constructs with discarded bottle tops. He visual alludes to what Armah describes in his novel as “Receiving, giving, giving, receiving, all that lives is twin….” While appropriating principles of American abstract expressionism and color field painting, and he contributes his indigenous concepts of African sym-

•Yoruba artist, fluitist

bolism, color, and textile configurations to global artistic expression. His work visually manifests these twinned configurations.

Onaism borrows from this twinning tradition. “Ona” is a Yoruba term denoting creativity in all artistic ramifications.

“Ism” is a western suffix for conceptualizing ideas, as in Cubism, futurism, modernism, and pointillism. Onaism twins Western and African equations into a hybrid cocktail that is evident in the poster that I produced for Fela in 1979.

It was not until the middle of the eighties that Onaism gained full and collective articulation in the Ona Art Movement founded at the Obafemi Awolowo University. Preludes to Onaism are, however, extant. In the amalgamation of the writing of Armah, the images of Anatsui, and the rhythm of Fela, a prologue to Onaism serenades my 1979 poster design for the historic Fela’s concert. As I view Anatsui’s work in the Blanton Museum, I couldn’t but wax nostalgic.

•Okediji is of the University of Texas, Austin, USA.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

35

The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

BOOK REVIEW Title: Jungle Drumbeats Reviewer: Uzor Maxim Uzoatu Author: Uche Ezeh Al; Publisher: Mindshred Media, Lagos; 2011; Pagination: 382

T

HE issue of Biafra is without question the greatest arrester of the imagination of Nigerian writers. There is apparently no wishing away of the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 to 1970.

It is remarkable that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who was not even born at the time of the war won the coveted Orange Prize for her Half of a Yellow Sun. The thriller tradition suits a war that was fought with so much force and hate and surprise. Uche Ezeh Al in Jungle Drumbeats follows up in the thriller mode of Eddie Iroh who published his trilogy, Forty-Eight Guns for the General, Toads of War and The Siren in the Night, which all took their setting in the Biafra war.

British interest in the Biafra war is a twice-told story.

In Ezeh Al’s Jungle Drumbeats the British Prime Minister at the time of the war is named Harros Witson, read Harold Wilson in the lived history of the time. A British investigative reporter at the London Sunday Mirror, Ian Whitehead, digs up unsavoury clandestine memos on the involvement of the colonial masters in the dastardly act of annihilating the Igbo secessionists. The happy-golucky Whitehead fends off the charges of his bosses such as the conservative Harry Leadbitter, the Sunday Mirror’s associate editor, in the life-and-death pursuit of the Biafra story. Whitehead’s determination to pursue the story to its very end in the heart of Biafra is at odds not just with the editors but with Whitehall.

Even before Whitehead boards the plane for the fateful journey into Biafra, Ezeh Al sets the stage in the jungle of Biafra where some 41 sorcerers are in conclave over the coming war. At the head of the ghoulish company is Iruputihe, who is described as “the shriveled chief sorcerer and lord of all the assembled savages”. Iruputihe puts this warning across over the coming war: “let not the fiery dragon thrust the land and its people into an ill-conceived and ill-prepared rebellion.” The meeting becomes disturbed via the unbidden appearance of the principality known as Dr. Wise, “the overly ambitious dark prince from Njaba and one of the most formidable sorcerers ever to roam these sleazy patches of man’s universe.” The irrepressible

Thriller in Biafra Dr. Wise affects a coup of sorts by winning over the other sorcerers from Iruputihe.

The book Jungle Drumbeats is thus poised on intrigues, subversions, sorcery, cannibalism, witchcraft, blood and gore. The hapless rebels such as Captain Udo and Sergeant Lebechi attempt the impossible battling in the Ukele

Bush, and the crucial Umuoma battlefield is a showpiece of mutual destruction.

Whitehead encounters the Biafra-Nigeria divide from the portals of Bristol Hotel in Lagos to the dark forests of the rebel wonderland. He survives sure death where he is hidden in a jet plane against the search of furious Nigerian soldiers.

Ezeh Al writes with considerable assurance, thus: “Except for its enlarged figure-eight double fuselage, the C97 looked no different from the B29 Superfortress bomber. Its interior seemed to have been freshly chiseled and reconstructed for cargo freighting purposes and was mostly devoid of passenger amenities. The crew members were mostly white, with just a few African Americans and other dark-skinned men, presumably from South America.”

The staying power of Lt-Col. Theo Okafor and Sergeant Joe Adikibe is a counterpoise to the shenanigans of Dr Wise. Even Captain Udo comes up short, not unlike Colonel Ukpanam who is neither here nor there. The ordinary people hold aloft the dream even in ungodly deprivation. Unheralded Jerome takes the cake for standing for something.

The Biafra dream comes crashing not unlike Dr. Wise in the cave, leaving Whitehead to report back to Lady Maggie in Britain about: “The severed head of an interesting wizard-god called Dr. Wise… The wizard-god was a spectacular creature, so full of mystery and some powerful black magic too… I intend to bring his head all the way to England to kick-start my private mystery museum or something. At the moment, it’s lying low, buried in an ancient cave in the Biafran jungle.” The end of the tale is akin to the end of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart where the white voice takes over the story with the introduction of The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. Achebe’s twist in the tale is of course his irony which is definitely not the case here.

Uche Ezeh Al in this his debut novel, Jungle Drumbeats, makes a strong case for himself as a compelling writer of thrillers. The sad dimension is that he takes wholesale, hook, line and sinker as it were, the “jungle”, “savage”, “cannibal”, “sorcery”, “paranormal”, “blood-sucking” pejoratives of early European writers of thrillers on Africa such as H. Rider Haggard of King Solomon’s Mines and She, Captain W.E. Johns of the Biggles series, Edgar Rice Burroughs of Tarzan of the Apes etc. The cynicism is unrelieved. Uche Ezeh Al, given his very obvious talents, should move away from such concerns. He is a gifted weaver of words whose future work is greatly anticipated. Jungle Drumbeats is a sure pointer to a brave new world worthy of spirited navigation shorn of stereotypes.

Group rewards children

F

OR their roles at a leadership workshop in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capaital, some pupils were presented with household items. They included 14 Yamaha keyboards, seven BMX Bicycles, three DVDs with screens, 10 hair dryers, 10 clippers and over 300 story and educational books. The winners are also to serve as Ambassadors of Triple Fun Club for the year 2011/2012.

The event held at the grand finale of the club’s 2011 literary, oratory and leadership week at the Atlantic Hall, Hotel Presidential. The theme of the workshop was Ambassadors for Excellence.

Chiamaka Nwachukwu emerged first in the public speaking (senior secondary category), while Sorbari Lahben got the first runner-up prize. The second and third runners-up were Ekemini Udom and Gift Ahaneku. In spelling bee, senior secondary category, Chiamaka Nwachukwu won, and first and second runners-up were Chinelo Meniru and Sorbari Lahben.

Chinelo Meniru won the speech writing (senior secondary category) in speech writing, while Favour Nyoyoko and Chiamaka Nwachukwu took second and third positions.

Ejiro Emuobo-Eje won the public speaking (junior secondary category) while David Udioko and Solomon Akuro took the second and third places. For spelling bee (junior secondary category), Onyekachi Meniru won, while first and second runnersup were Tochukwu Nwachukwu and Jesse Jehu.

In speech writing (junior secondary category), Iniobong Ekong won. Onyekachi Meniru and Jesse Jehu came second and third. For public speaking (upper primary category), Daniella Megbele came first. The first runners-up were Chioma Menakiti and Osinachi Nwankwo while second runners-up were Ugonna Maduabuchi, King Perterside, and King Gbadeyan. For spelling (bee upper primary category), Amarachi Ekeke beat Itohanosa Isibor and Onanna Maduabuchi, who clinched the second and third positions.

The champion for reading fluency (lower primary category), was Elona Erivon, and Daniel Ugoji and Jerry Ugwuodo as first and second runners-up. For spelling bee (lower primary category), Roghenema Ofogba won. Daniel Ugoji and Jerry Ugwuodo came second and third.

The workshop was aimed at teaching children effective communication (oral and written) and leadership skills, and drawing attention to children’s innate skills and the need to harness them for their overall development.

The children who were drawn from schools across the country were told to be focused on things that are truly important to ward off negative peer pressures. Sound character principles,

•Ononye (right) presenting a BMX bicycle to one of the winners

such as respect, responsibility, caring for others also formed part of the development sessions. Guest speaker and Chief Executive Officer, African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), Mrs. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, stressed the need for children and teenagers to enjoy their childhood and not be in a hurry to become adults since adulthood would naturally come.

She also tasked children and teenagers to spend more time developing values that would work for them as against those that would hamper their prospects as future leaders; and to justify their parents’ investment in them. The chairman of the event, Mr. Analiefo Nzegwu, spoke on the need for all to support the laudable initiative of Mr. Chidi Ononye (founder and Chief Executive Officer, Triple Fun Club) through the activities of the club. Nzegwu expressed confidence in the ability of the club to achieve its aims and objectives. He called on organisations to

exercise their corporate social responsibility by harnessing the opportunities the club provided for children and teenagers so they could benefit from the club’s literacy, oratory, and leadership programmes.

Chief Executive Officer, Optima Healthcare, Lagos, Dr. Femi Olaleye, who spoke on the Ten Things Teenagers Want Their Parents To Know, tasked parents to spend quality time to bond with their children, saying such bonding provided moral and psychological support for children’s growth.

The chief host, Mrs. Victoria Diete-Spiff, who was represented by the head teacher, Bereton Montessori Primary School, Mrs. Esther Oguamanam, commended the club and the values it represents. She stressed the need for literacy development, advising that it should be made an integral part of children’s development, especially since every other pursuit is founded on the ability to read, write, and comprehend.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

36

The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

10-year old boy wins promo grand prize

A

10-YEAR-OLD BOY, Akinnusi Iyanuoluwa Joseph, led the pack at the ongoing Win Cash with Loya Milk promo that produced another set of 12 winners last week. He won the grand prize of N250,000.

The draw was held at the Corporate Head office of Promasidor Nigeria Limited in Lagos.

Other winners are Mr Arubaba E. O., Mr. Apansile Samuel and Miss Joy Ephraim Edem, taking away N100,000, N150,000 and N250,000 while Miss Onyemara Mary, Juliet E. Chiedu and Anunukwen Jovita won N100,000, N150,000 and N250,000. Miss Opara Nnneoma, Mr. Lawal Nojim and Akinnusi Iyanuoluwa, taking away N100,000, N150,000 and N250,000 while Ugwu Christian, Olajumoke Adebayo and Osadede Nnambi won N100,000, N150,000 and N250,000.

Ikechukwu Anakor, Christopher Ikeh and Adekoya Aderonke won N100,000, N150,000 and N250,000.

The winners when contacted on phone expressed sheer excitement and registered their appreciations with Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of premium Loya milk, adding that, they were surprised at the news, and could not hold the swell of enthusiasm it produced in them.

The N50 million ‘Win Cash with Loya Milk’ promo started on Thursday, August 4, this year, to reward and excite consumers of Loya milk brand for their unflinching patronage and, has since then, produced several winners across the country.

Promasidor, the leading food company, recently launched a N50 million Win Cash with Loya Promotion to reward and excite its teeming consumers across the country. The brand was re-launched in September 2010 to reposition it and further strengthen its equity in the premium segment of the Nigerian dairy market. The objectives of the promo are to reward loyal consumers of the brand as well as create fun and excitement around it.

The promo is targeted at stylish and sophisticated mothers with children aged 4-16 years who belong to A, B, C1 of the social economic class (SEC) and children aged 4-16 years. It is also targeted at the media and the general public. The promo mechanic will be in two parts: instant win and raffle draw across the country. The cash will be redeemed at any branch of Zenith Bank Plc.

•A drummer at IBA dance performance at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos

PHOTO: OZOLUA UHAKHEME

‘The promo is targeted at stylish and sophisticated mothers with children aged 4-16 years who belong to A, B, C1 of the social economic class (SEC) and children aged 4-16 years. It is also targeted at the media and the general public’

Print media must prepare to unplug the printing press, says expert In a time when the future of journalism and the effects of Internet on print media are debated non-stop, newspaper companies must be ready for changes.

To learn more about how newspapers and journalists should prepare, IJNet interviewed Toni Piqué, a newsroom integration and organisation consultant who has worked with dozens of media outlets in Europe and Latin America. The Barcelona-based adviser also co-founded the Paper Papers blog.

R

ECENTLY, the debate around newspapers has revolved around apocalyptic visions on the future of journalism. How do you see this phenomenon?

It’s like (Antonio) Gramsci said: “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” These are the times when opportunistic people appear, the ones who could not join the profession, and take revenge.

Is print journalism coming to an end?

Yes, the paper will die. But it has nothing to do with philosophical questions. The paper will die because of financial issues. It’s expensive to make, print and distribute. And it has many disadvantages compared to another distribution system called the Internet which gives you a huge variety of formats and possibilities to customise.

The fact that many more people, thanks to technology like the Internet and its offshoots, are able to participate in the reporting process, providing information or points of view, doesn’t mean that journalism is dead. Quite the opposite. It means that journalism is expanding.

By Valentina Gimenez

So, this debate about the end of journalism is the result of the transition process?

Sure. We’re not talking about the science of making bridges, where someone has to watch that the builders are strong, safe and experienced, because if not there would be consequences.

Journalism is about a human right, not the property of a professional group or corporation. It’s like health; it’s owned by the people. When you get sick you go to the doctor, although we know how to manage some diseases.

I have a headache, I take an aspirin and I feel better. But this does not make me a doctor.

It is very easy to talk about citizen journalism, but nobody would like to be cured by a citizen doctor, or wants highways built by a citizen engineer. It does not work that way [in those situations] and it doesn’t in journalism either.

What does it mean to be a newspaper consultant now?

It involves telling people one thing: you must be prepared to unplug the printing press. And they must prepare now: what day of the week will be the first one when

the newspaper won’t be printed, which will be the second, which will be the third.

Being a consultant also means rethinking content strategy. You have to think about a company that is more broadcast and less print. There’s a difference, (but) the reporting is the same. What the reporter does on the street is the same and the important editing part is the same as well. Go here, don’t go there. That remains the same.

We also have to get newspaper editors out of that (…) mentality that newspapers are the essence of journalism and everything else is not. Remove the thinking that everything out in the web is noisy and vague. Or (the ideas) against Twitter. Those who say, “What can you say in 140 characters?”

The approach has to be much more positive. I have all these tools that allow me to be a journalist, not only for a few hours each day but longer. Today I can publish more during over more time. I didn’t become a journalist to make a newspaper. I became a journalist to inform the public.

•Culled from the web.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

38

ABUJA REVIEW Beggars return to the streets T

HERE were high hopes when government promised to look into destitute plight in

2003.

The then Federal Capital Territory Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai promised to pay them N4,000 as stipend each month when they were relocated from the city centre to Karomajiji-a settlement on Abuja Airport Road.

This promise he kept until sometime in 2006 when the payment was stopped with no explanation from the government.

However, they felt help would come their way. Abandoned by successive ministers, they have returned to the city. The destitute are back to the streets of Abuja because government has failed in its promise to keep them off the streets by backpedalling on the promised welfare package.

When Newsextra visited Karomajiji recently, sets of rusted corrugated iron roofing sheets which are testimonies of dilapidated houses stare one on the face.

The air of poverty surrounding the place was obvious. The people dressed shabbily. The nature of their shelters, as well as the presence of naked children, especially those of school age roaming the place when they

•Beggars From Bukola Amusan

should be in school; indicates that this is a shanty not befitting the status of the city as a capital.

Unfortunately, owing to the cost of accommodation in Abuja, many civil servants in whose hands the fate of other Nigerians are live in this deplorable settlement. One could understand the frustration in the faces of many of them when they resume work. Only the rich and the privileged could stay in the town.

The civil servants share the place with the beggars who were removed from the main city in 2003 and abandoned to their fate by government.

These beggars are quite popular here as the first person from whom inquiries about them were made was quick to direct our reporter to their abode.

These beggars once were all over the streets of Abuja where they plied their trade until they were asked to relocate to Karomajiji temporarily pending when the government will get a permanent place for them to settle.

The relocation of these beggars from the streets of Abuja was aimed at keeping the streets clean and ensuring that it maintains its cosmopolitan look.

The beggars agreed to leave the streets but not until the government promised to take care of their welfare. Now they are back

on the streets.

The disappointment in government was succinctly captured by Suleiman Mohammed, the leader of the disabled.

“When we initially got here in 2003, the minister was paying us a stipend in order to make sure that we do not go back to the streets begging. He continued paying the money for three years but stopped in 2006 and since then, we have not heard or received anything from the government.

“Three ministers had assumed office after el-Rufai but none of them have deemed it fit to see to our plight and they have banned us from begging on Abuja roads.

There is no way we won’t come back to the city,” Mohammed said.

Shelter in the colony are made up of tiny batchers made from iron roofing sheets, as they cannot afford to put up befitting structures for habitation.

Expressing disappointment over the development, Mohammed said: “We have written to the government several times requesting things which we consider legitimate and not too much for a people to ask. The last and most recent letter to the FCT Minister was in March.

“What we are demanding is schools for our children. We know the value of education and we have the desire that our children should be educated so that they can be better citizens. Our hands are tied in that regard. It is not as if there is no school within Karomajiji but what we are demanding is a school for our children specifically where everything can be free. The available schools are too expensive. We cannot afford it; we have no source of income.”

He maintained that the government can also come to their aid by helping them to acquire some kills so that they can be selfreliant and not wait for government to give them money anymore.

Mohammed went on: “We want to be able even though we are disabled. Government has been tossing us around ever since. When we wrote to the minister, they told us our letter had been sent to the Director of Welfare and that he was going to attend to us. Ever since then, we have not heard from them.

We are Nigerians living in our country and we should be treated as such and not like outcasts.”

The beggars are also asking government to provide a hospital for them where they can receive treatment at a reduced rate if we cannot get free healthcare.

•Continued on Page 39

Champion of Hilton Kitchen apprentice programme emerges

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WENTY-FOUR-YEAR-OLD Stephen Effiong has emerged the overall best graduate and winner of the 2009 class of the Transcorp Hilton Abuja’s Kitchen Apprentice Programme.

At the final practical assessment which took place at the Zuma Grill Restaurant, Stephen beat five other finalists to clinch the first position.

The class of 2009 started out with about 300 apprentices out of which only 12 fulfilled the requirements to qualify for the programme. After series of theoretical and practical assessments, six apprentices dropped out while Stephen Effiong, Ferdinand Nwodo, Juliana Dadu, Kelechi Obasi, Michael Yusuf and Samson Yusuf survived the rigours of the two-year intensive programme to be eligible for the final assessment and graduation.

The Zuma Grill Restaurant, venue of the dinner and practical assessment, played host to a large number of guests that comprised the jury, journalists and invited guests. Everyone watched with ex-

From Nduka Chiejina

citement as the apprentices busied themselves in the kitchen. And one after the other, they dished out their menus, which they earlier chose by lucky dip.

Then came the moment of reckoning; the contestants stood before the guests as they listened attentively to their scores. Stephen Effiong’s joy knew no bounds. In fact, tears of joy trickled down his eyes when he was announced the overall best graduate and winner of the 2009 Class of Hilton Kitchen Apprentice Programme.

For his efforts, Stephen was rewarded with Full Diploma Certificate, employment with the Transcorp Hilton in addition to cross-exposure training in one of the Hilton hotels in the Middle East.

He also received a luxury set of kitchen knives.

Reacting to his victory, Stephen said: “It has been a very rigorous two years but I’m happy that all the efforts I put into the pro-

•From left: Executive Chef Frank Noack, Kitchen Apprentice Winner Stephen Effiong, General Manager Andre Herrenschmidt and Public Relations Manager Shola Adeyemo gramme have been rewarded. I’m grateful to the Executive Chef and the Hilton management for creating the programme and giving us the opportunity to learn and develop our talents.”

Conceived by the hotel management to train and develop a pool of quality chefs for the hospitality industry, the Kitchen Apprentice Programme consists of theories, practical cooking and periodic examinations.

Commenting on the programme, the General Manager, Andre Herrenschmidt said: “Hilton has long served as the launching ground for many great chefs and we’re always excited to provide the stage for up-

It has been a very rigorous two years but I’m happy that all the efforts I put into the programme have been rewarded. I’m grateful to the Executive Chef and the Hilton management for creating the programme and giving us the opportunity to learn and develop our talents and-coming talents for our industry.

“From what we’ve seen of this year’s six finalists, the Transcorp Hilton Kitchen Apprentices Pro-

gramme has become a veritable training ground for well-grounded chefs who could hold their own anywhere in the world.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

39

ABUJA REVIEW

FCTA moves to decongest city centres

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HE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has concluded plans to provide critical infrastructure to the rural areas in as part of measures to combat population explosion.

Senator Jibril Wowo who is the Senior Special Adviser on Political Matters to FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed said this while answering questions from report-

From Bukola Amusan

ers in Abuja.

He said that the provision of these most important social amenities occupies a central part of the policy thrust of the present FCT Administration to make the areas more appealing for living to FCT residents and visitors.

He maintained that the centrali-

You cannot be talking about development while isolating some areas of your jurisdiction. Previous ministers had concentrated development per say at the city centre…That is what has brought us to the problem of saturation of the city

sation of infrastructure in the city centre was responsible for the increasing population which consequently has stretched the available facilities to its limit; thus the need for re-appraisal of the development policy of the FCT. According to Wowo the direction of the present administration offers hope and development opportunity for the area councils which are in dire need of same for the overall benefits of the communities and the administration of the council and the FCT. According to him, the development of the FCT would spread across board to all the nook and cranny of the FCT and all the area councils to enable members of the public to have confidence in living in any part of the FCT without lacking basic amenities like water, road and power.

“We have always clamoured for a minister who will be appointed to realise the development of the FCT which has to be all-encompassing.

“You cannot be talking about development while isolating some areas of your jurisdiction. Previous ministers had concentrated development per say at the city centre.

“That is what has brought us to the problem of saturation of the city. You can see that the social amenities that the government has provided in the city are overstretched. If the area councils were also given attention in terms of development, it would have been better.

“I do know that the present administration has embarked on that now by opening up so many access roads in the local councils headquarters.

•Muhammed “This is what some of us were clamouring for, but the resources that were available to the councils were not enough to take care of the developmental needs of these area councils.”

Beggars return to the streets •Continued from Page 38 They lamented the harrowing experiences they are subjected to when they go to the neighbouring general hospitals any time their health fails them. They also bemoaned the high amount of money they are charged by the hospital authorities without any consideration for their status in the society.

For Suleiman Abubakar, life has been very difficult staying in Karomajiji.

“I was a tailor before I came to this place. I had an accident that incapacitated me and since then life has been a tale of woes.

Everything we do here is through our effort. We are our own government and we do everything here communally.”

Even though they are waiting on the government, they still try their hands on certain things in order to keep body and soul together.

Most of them hawk food items; soap; kerosene and recharge cards, among others.

To ensure they are not totally illiterate, they have organised for themselves a classroom where one of the beggars who is a bit literate teach others on how to communicate in the English language at no cost.

At present, he has about 60 students in his class which is also the leader’s office.

Some of the disabled youths in the community have also formed a football team, which keeps them busy.

The men in the community are also not left behind. Many of them are seen in the Wuse Market where they trade in items such as biros, identity card holders, and more.

Most of them display the goods on their wheel chairs while others display them on the ground.

According to them, they have sordid stories to tell in the hands of the men of the environmental task force who they alleged harass them from time to time.

For Mustapha Dan- Hisbah, he awaits the day when he can do business peacefully without any form of harassment from anyone.

He said: “I am not one of those who go out to beg because I have a family and begging for alms cannot cater for my family. That is why I decided to go into business.

The problem I have now is that I do not have a place where I can display my wares. There is no market here so I normally take my goods to Wuse to sell but men of the task force keep on driving us away from the place. The irony of it all is that government has not created or given us a place where we can do business.”

Hajia Fatima Abdulrasheed is the representative of the disabled women. Her view was not different from others.

Since the monthly stipends they enjoyed in the past is now a tall dream even after the beggars had kept their own pact of the agreement, she is begging government to, at least, train them in skills, even as she threatened going back to the streets to beg.

•Another set of beggars Newsextra however observed that some of these beggars are already returning to the streets. Once in a while, they sneak into the streets to beg at peak periods of the morning as people go to work and late in the evening when they are returning, especially during traffic jam. They prefer these periods because men of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) may not see them at this time.

Some lucky ones sneak out and

come back successfully, while others are not so lucky.

The men of the environmental task force have devised another means of keeping them off the streets permanently.

Aisha who has fell victim before said: “When they arrest you, they take you to their office and in the midnight, they will take you out to another state and dump you there.

“They arrested me and kept me in their office for months without

South Korea donates mobile clinics

T

HE Government of South Korea has donated two mobile clinic vehicles to the National Hospital and the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH).

The donation, made by the Ambassador of South Korea to Nigeria, Mr. Park Young-Kuk is to support healthcare delivery and help road traffic accident victims in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Speaking at the inauguration at the UATH, Mr. Young-Kuk said that Nigeria has maintained a good partnership with his country, adding that the mobile vehicles would not only be used for medical treatments but also for training of medical doctors in the hospitals.

“Korea regards Nigeria as one of the most important partners in the African Continent in many fields including trade, energy and development cooperation. We are cur-

From Olugbenga Adanikin

rently participating in a number of development projects in Nigeria through KOICA, our development agency.

“Korea is not only eager to donate the mobile clinics but also wish to share its developmental experience with the Nigerian government,” he said.

He commended the Korean Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) and the Hyundai Motor Company for their gesture towards improving the nation’s health sector.

Young-Kuk however promised to provide trainings and other required assistance to ensure the mobile vehicles are put to best use.

In his remarks, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu said that the mobile clinics are vital to realising the eight goals of the

National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP).

He said the mobile clinics would assist to boost the National Emergency Ambulance Service (NEAS) programme, stressing that his ministry would make available ambulances for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other relevant agencies to curtail road traffic accidents and natural health disasters in the country.

The minister explained that one of the vehicles would be for Internal Medicine and Digital X-ray while the other is to be administered for general mobile clinic service.

“This kind gesture will, in no small way, contribute to the healthcare service delivery which is a cardinal point in our prioritised eight goals of the NSHDP. The donation will also help in strengthening our NEAS which is aimed at

alleviating the masses due to road traffic accidents, medical emergencies as well as health disasters that are currently becoming issues of public health concern.

“The Federal Ministry of Health has instituted measures and policies in this regard by planning to establish Trauma Centres, the establishment of National Blood Transfusion Service with branches in all the six geo-political zones; the establishment of NEAS with members drawn from health, FRSC, NPF, NEMA, NSCDC and the UN Decade of Action for Prevention of Road Traffic Injuries,” he added.

Onyebuchi commended the South Korean Government for the donation as well as volunteering to train physicians, nurses, biomedical technicians among other personnel that would operate the mobile clinics.

charging me to court, without bail and food. It was only when they seized food from street hawkers that we get something to eat. When I was arrested, they took me to Lagos and dumped me there. I had to go on the streets begging for alms before I got the money to come back.”

The women called on the government to come to their aid especially in the area of education so that their wards can receive education. They also would want government to replicate what they did for lepers in Gwagwalada by building houses for them.

These experiences may have informed the two-week skill acquisition programme recently organised for the women in the area.

The Secretary, Social Development of the FCTA, Blessing Onuh who declared open the event said the programme was aimed at addressing the several years of neglect of the people. The FCT Administration decided to embark on capacity building for the less-privileged in the area and also to promote social equity.

She further said the FCTA was making efforts towards addressing the plight of the vulnerable groups in the area.

Mrs. Onuh said the training was organised to provide skills with a view to generating employment and creating wealth for the community. This, she said, will help to create positive attitude and self-confidence in the women that they too can contribute to the growth of the society.

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It is becoming almost impossible for people to get loans either to start or expand their businesses. But if one is a member of any genuine cooperative society, one would be able to obtain double the amount one has in one’s account

Nigerians urged to join co-operatives

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IGERIANS have been urged to form or join cooperative societies in order to improve their well-being.

Elder Isaac Orisoji Akinsola, an Engineer, gave the advice while speaking at the second annual general meeting (AGM) of Ifedapo Ijegun Cooperative Thrift and Credit Society held at ECWA Church ground, Ijegun in Igando/ Ikotun Local Council Development Area of Lagos State recently.

Elder Akinsola, who is the immediate past first Vice-President of Lagos State Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (LASCOFED), an umbrella body for all community and industrial based cooperative societies in the state, noted that cooperative societies occupy important position in the country’s economic development, adding that its significance lay in the development of micro-economic sector of the nation’s economy.

He said that with the difficulty in accessing loans for expansion of individuals’ businesses, cooperative societies become handy in this regard because “it is becoming almost impossible for people to get loans either to start or expand their businesses. But if one is a member of any genuine cooperative society, one would be able to obtain double the amount one has in one’s account. With that he or she would engage in useful economic venture which, invariably adds up to the nation’s gross domestic product.”

The President of Temidire Ketu

By Chinaka Okoro

CTCU Limited told Newsextra that without the assistance of the various cooperative societies in terms of disbursement of loans to their members, many individuals would have become jobless, idle or may have gone to their respective villages.

Elder Akinsola advised governments at all levels to encourage establishment of cooperative societies in order to enhance people’s economic well-being, even as he disclosed that Lagos State Government is genuinely doing the best it can to promote cooperative societies through which it gives out loans to well-established ones for onward disbursement to their members.

“About two months ago, Lagos State Government inaugurated the Lagos State Micro-finance Institutions (LASMI) through which all the societies are called together to sensitise them on its plans to give out micro-finance loans to members of the various cooperative societies, artisans and other groups who come together. It is through these societies that the loans would be disbursed so that the loans would be refunded since the loans are revolving ones,” he said.

Welcoming the members and guests to the occasion, the President of the society Mr Ayo Odetola, an Engineer, expressed his happiness over what he called an unprecedented achievement with two years of the society’s existence. He

•Members of the cooperative said he was particularly thrilled by the level increase in membership and the committed saving culture the members exhibited so far.

Mr Odetola disclosed that “during our first annual general meeting (AGM), members of the committee promised to put our best into the operation of our society. We are here again to witness the celebration of our second AGM with a promise kept…By our records which, by the grace of God show overwhelming and commendable achievements were made during the year under review. Our net surplus is a testimony of these achieve-

ments.”

Praising the members of the society’s committee and the entire members for their genuine dedication and loyalty, Mr Odetola advised the members not to relent in their efforts and commitment in order to further improve the fortunes of the society.

He said: “I wish to further encourage our members not to relent in contributing their quota to the success of our society. It should be noted that every successful society requires the cooperation of both the management committee and members. Without your cooperation, no

Suswam inaugurates mega petrol station

As earlier as 8:30am, the venue of the brief ceremony was taken over by guests, even though it was slated for 11am.

Among them were commissioners, politicians and youths across Katsina Ala local government area from where the proprietor of the petrol station hails

B

ENUE State Governor Gabriel Suswam and members of the state executive council were treated to enthralling Swange dance as a new mega petrol station came on stream in the state. The governor inaugurated the station.

Swange, popular with the Tiv, a major tribe in the state, involves intricate waist movement, thrusting of the hand and heavy drumming and singing.

Many trouped to witness the inauguration of the petrol station owned by P-Kura Oil and Gas Company, and located on FRSC Road Junction on MakurdiEnugu express way.

As earlier as 8:30am, the venue of the brief ceremony was taken over by guests, even though it was slated for 11am. Among them were commissioners, politicians and youths across Katsina Ala local government area from where the proprietor of the petrol station hails.

The guests had quite a while to wait for for the arrival of the governor. But there was hardly a dull moment, as the Swange dancers kepty everyone entertained, with their engaging footwork and gesticulations.

The Benue State Council for Atrs and Culture gave a good

significant success can be recorded.”

He urged individuals residing in Ikotun and its environs who are yet to embrace the principle of solving individual problems collectively to join the society because of its incalculable benefits.

Account for 2009 and 2010 were rendered and approved by members who commended the management committee for performing excellently well. Dividends were given to members, even as honorarium gifts were distributed to deserving members.

•Swange dancers performing at the filling station on inauguration day From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

account of themselves, thrilling the audience with music and dance until the arrival of governor Suswam.

Suswam was represented at the occasion by the Commissioner for Land and

Survey Hon. John Tondo. In his brief keynote address, he commended the owner of the petrol station Hon. Paul Kura, popularly known as PK, for his foresight in investing in oil business and called on others to emulate him.

The priest who blessed the

facility, Rev. Fr. Imo Jime, in his brief sermon, advised politicians not to depend on politics alone but invest in small business to create employment opportunities for the youths.

Imo Jime also advised the owner of the filling station not just to buy and sell petrol but also

go deeper into the business in order to expand and create more employment opportunities for youths.

The representative of the governor, Tondo gave out 500 litres of petrol to the first 50 vehicles, while the priest splashed holy water all over the petrol station in what was believed to be a spiritual fortification of the petrol station against enemy attack.

The Reverend also prayed for the owner of the facility as well as for his wife.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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MONEY

Banks record drop in non-performing loans, default charges ratio T

HERE appears to be good news from the banking sector, despite the crisis bedevilling it.

There is a drop in default charges, and non-performing loans ratios, it was learnt.

According to Afrinvest West African Limited, an investment and financial analysts, the drop came as banks adjusted to the new lending guidelines issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) in conjunction with the American Corporation of Nigeria (AMEN).

In its 2011 Banking Sector Report entitled: “Value play in recapitalisation end game”, Afrinvest said plans were in the offing to restructure banks’ balance sheets.

The report provides an overview of the banking sector in the last one year; tracks the various regulatory developments within the sector and market responses to those changes.

It indicated that bank managements were still cautious as evi-

Stories by Collins Nweze denced by high capital adequacy and loan to deposit ratios, raising hopes of further expansion by the banks.

Meanwhile, following the cautious loan portfolio growth adopted by banks after the crisis that rocked the industry, analysts at Renaissance Capital (RenCap) insist that banks are sitting on too much liquidity.

It expects interbank rates would be more reflective of the credit risk of the borrower than they are at present. “We expect excess liquidity of the clean banks to be invested in treasury bills and bonds, with credit creation picking up increasingly afterwards.

Basically, we expect clean banks to be conservative with their balance sheets in the short term whilst there is still some uncer-

tainty in the market,” it said in a statement.

ReinCap also pointed out that banks are also comfortable with the return on relatively low-risk liquid assets in their move to avoid risk, adding that the competitive landscape in the Nigerian banking sector is quickly shaping up.

According to the firm, what has happened is the big banks have remained big while some of the previously mid-small banks have

leapt into the big banks league, hence, more top-level concentration.

It added: “Traditionally, lowrisk government treasury bills, and recently government guaranteed interbank assets, offer highsingle digit to low-double-digit returns, which encourages banks to run their balance sheets like hedge funds. This it said, runs contrary to proper economic intermediation of funds, as the ad-

ditional return on lending for the increased risk involved is, at times, simply not worth the risk.

“The flipside of high capital and liquidity levels is that Nigerian bank balance sheets, individually and collectively, are significantly underleveraged.”

RenCap maintained that the structure of Nigerian banks’ balance sheets, on average, highlighted a very cautious, underleveraged banking system that could comfortably squeeze-out more leverage, and therefore bigger profits, without dramatically shifting out of their low-risk comfort zones.

N20b loans for MSMEs

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IAMOND Bank Plc has disbursed N20 billion as loans to Small and Medium Enterprises. Its Coordinator, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Propositions, Chima Nnadozie, made this known at the bank’s 15th BusinessXpress Enterprise Seminar entitled: Business Opportunities: Agriculture, a Ladder to Success, organised for the MSMEs. He lamented that many SMEs were yet to tap from the fund because of lack of information, adding this is a reason for the periodic seminars to educate them.

According to him, of the bank’s over 75,000 Small and Medium Enterprise accounts, only about 6,000 customers make up the pool of borrowers. “That tells you that finance is not everything for SMEs,” he said.

The bank has reiterated its commitment to complementing the Federal Government’s effort at diversifying the economy into the non-oil sector, particularly agriculture. Nnadozie said the bank was working out a strategy on how to properly approach agriculture.

He said it this would be the first time the bank was hosting a seminar to focus on the agricultural sector of the economy because of its importance not only to the bank but the economy as

well as SMEs, which would want to use agriculture as launch pad into the business arena.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Admiral Environmental Care Limted, Shedrack Madlion who was the guest lecturer urged participants to embrace agriculture because of the huge potentials that are yet untapped.

He said government was not capable of sustaining food importation valued at billions of naira annually. According to him, 67- per cent of currently active farmers are lost to ageing while 72 hactares of farmland remained uncultivated.

Nnadozie said: “The objective here is to grow the knowledge base of MSMEs because we realised that there are some shortcomings: a lot of entrepreneurs didn’t finish school, some didn’t have time to go to business school-some didn’t even study business-they just went into it.

“So we realised that there was need to educate them; things like recruiting the right kind of human resource is something that not everybody knows, even though you are in business-you realise that human resource is a very big part of your business, your business depends on people who work for you but how do you get them?” he queried.

Sanusi, Aganga for Abuja conference

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HE Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and Trade and Investment Minister Olusegun Aganga will be participating in a conference tagged: “Development from global perspectives: agriculture versus oil and gas”.

The conference holding on September 26 in Abuja is organised

by Muregi Associates. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum are expected to participate in the conference.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Muregi Associates, Hussaini Mohammed said the conference is part of its efforts towards intellectual capacity building and deepening fi-

nancial policy formulation and implementation in the real sector of emerging economies.

“You are very much aware of the devastating impact of the global financial crisis, which has abated but certainly is far from over. The impact of this crisis is still very much felt within our own financial institutions, in spite of our initial denial of its effect on our financial system,” Mohammed said.

One of the world’s most renowned development strategists and author of several books, including “The End of History”, Prof Francis Fukuyama, will present a paper on “Development from global perspectives,” with focus on the key issues of governance, leadership and the prosperity of nations.

• From left: Chairman, Equitorial Trust Bank, Mr. Adewale Sangowawa; Company Secretary, Mr Imo Esiet and Managing Director, Mr Gbolahan Folayan, at the Extra Ordinary General Meeting of the bank’s shareholders in Lagos.

LCCI canvasses tax dispute resolution mechanism P RESIDENT of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Femi Deru has asked the state government to set up a dispute resolution mechanism.

Deru made the call during a visit to Mr Bola Shodipo, Special Adviser on Taxation to Lagos State Governor.

Deru explained that a dispute resolution mechanism that is fair, independent and businesslike will, in no small measure, assist professionals in doing their job.

He said there was an urgent need for the government to put the structure in place as it would inspire confidence in tax payers.

Deru described the visit as an important step in promoting un-

By Miriam Ndikanwu

derstanding between the organise private sector and the government, assuring that the chamber will continue to give its full support to enable the government realise its objectives.

He said there was the need for government to address issues of multiplicity of taxes and levies especially at the local government, stressing that the fewer the number of taxes the better for both the authorities and tax payers.

“There is also the problem of arbitrariness in the determination of tax liabilities at the local

government level.” he said while urging government to simplify compliance processes and procedures for all levels of tax in the state.

Responding, Shodipo explained that a resolution has mechanism been established, adding that government will see to their demand and make sure that these centres are more visible for accessibility.

He said government planned to stimulate the economy to ensure business growth.

He said the issue of multiplicity of tax has been a recurring decimal in the state. He said that taxation is based on law urging them to have in-depth knowledge to avoid exploitation.

Firm trains staff on IFRS

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O ensure the smooth takeoff of International Finan cial Reporting Standard (IFRS) next year, Baker Tilly International has organised a training aimed at enhancing skills of operators in both public and private organisations on the subject.

Speaking with reporters at the workshop, Senior Partner, Baker Tilly International, Mr. Titus Soetan, explained that they organised the training to upgrade and acquaint their members of staff and clients with what IFRS entails.

He stressed the need for private

and public organisations to embark on similar training to facilitate a clear understanding before the next year implementation target.

“There is the urgent to boost the capacity of clients and those concerned with the operation.

The world has become a global village and IFRS is the bedrock of reporting standards. Adoption

by Nigeria would be of great advantage. Apart from foreign direct investments, the adoption would also align our financial reporting standards with that of other countries of the world,” he

stated.

Soetan, who is also a board member of Financial Reporting Council (FRC), lauded efforts being made by organisations, such as FRC, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), accounting firms and others to ensure the effective implementation of the standards.

Also speaking at the event, Partner, Baker Tilly International, Deacon Solomon Adeleke, noted that Nigeria’s adoption would bring its accounting standards at par with global financial reporting standards.

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MONEY

IoDs suspends accused bank chiefs A LL bank chief standing trial in courts have been suspended from the Institute of Directors (IoDs).

They will lose their membership of the institute, if convicted, immediate past president of IoDs, Dr Olusola Dada, has said.

Their suspension, he said, would subsist until the courts determine their cases.

The institute, he said, has developed a code of corporate governance for its members.

He said the code is meant to check the excesses of directors in banks, insurance, among other institutions that are fond of contravening rules relating to corporate governance.

The IoDs Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have formed a Centre for Corporate Governance to keep a close tab on the records of directors of companies, he said.

“We developed a code that was circulated among members recently. The code is to see to what extent members would be held responsible for offending corporate governance rules. If you are found guilty of contravening corporate governance rules, your

By Akinola Ajibade names would be delisted from the IoD membership lists.

“For the directors that have been dealt with by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a disciplinary committee was set up to suspend them pending the outcome of court’s judgments.The code is one of the measures put in place to check financial discrepancies in the banks, among other quoted companies,” he said.

He said such directors would not only lose their membership, but would lose their relevance in the industry by not being able to sit on the board of any company again.

The new code of corporate governance issued by the SEC stipulated that quoted and unquoted companies should refer to the institute of directors the names of people that they want to appoint into their boards, Dada said.

“In the new code issued by SEC, two key members of the IoDs were part of a panel set up on corporate governance. I’m one of the

two members. The reason for making IoDs members of the panel is to screen or clear whoever a company wants to appoint into the board. If somebody has been removed for breaches of corporate governance in a company, we would mark the person down.

“Anytime the issue of appointment crops up in another company, we would state our own position on the issue. We will ensure that the person lose the opportunity of getting the job, if the person has been found guilty of corporate governance issues,” he added.

He said regulatory bodies such as CBN, SEC, and National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) are known for keeping records of directors in their headquarters, adding that IoDs is also keeping the records of such people for clearance.

“That is why we are encouraging all Nigerian directors to be members of the institute. In fact, we are trying to work out an arrangement with SEC or CBN that if an individual is to be employed as a director, he must be registered as a member of IoDs,” he added.

Stanbic IBTC gets mobile payment licence

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HE Central Bank of Nige ria (CBN) has granted Stanbic IBTC licence to operate mobile payment services.

This will give impetus to the drive towards a cashless economy. The bank was among those fully licensed to operate mobile money services in accordance with the Mobile Payments Regulatory Framework.

Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mrs. Sola DavidBorha, said the bank had since 2009 shown commitment to technology driven branchless banking under its retail banking division. The bank in 2009 launched a product called e.susu (BlueSave), a formal and technology-driven version of the traditional esusu savings model which has been highly successful at banking traders, artisans, and lower income population groups.

Mrs. David-Borha said with the licence, the bank is poised to deliver even greater value to stakeholders across the mobile money value chain. In so doing, the bank will leverage on the experience and expertise of its parent company, Standard Bank Group, which operates mobile money

services in various markets in Africa, including Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa.

“We consider the license as another platform and opportunity through which we can showcase our bank’s ability to help customers simplify their lives, using relevant technology to make available products and services targeted at their needs. We will be launching various mobile payments products and services designed to enhance financial inclusion in the country,” she stated.

Head of Financial Inclusion at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Ada PhilUgochukwu, says beyond its commercial potential, mobile payments have both social and economic benefits; they will promote urban to rural remittances, savings and borrowing, allowing families to pursue economic initiatives, generate new streams of income, and accumulate small amounts of net worth.

“Mobile money will definitely open new channels of delivery which will hugely reinforce the Central Bank of Nigeria’s quest to enthrone a cashless economy in the country”.

MFBs broken into 12 zones

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•From left: President, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Demola Aladekomo; President, Internet Services Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN), Dr. Chris Uwaje and outgoing president, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Prof Charles Uwadia, at the handing-over and inauguration of new executives in Lagos.

Bank of America to sack 10,000 workers

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HE Executives of Bank of America Corporation are discussing how to slash the companywide workforce by more than 10,000 jobs.

According to Bloomberg, the Charlotte-based bank is planning to shed 25,000 to 30,000 jobs over several years, the sources said.

The bank hasn’t said how many jobs will be eliminated, although some reports have said the number could reach 10,000. Executives are still working on final plans.

Broader cuts would be similar to London-based HSBC’s plan to eliminate 30,000 jobs, or about 10 percent of its workforce. At the end of June, Bank of America employed about 288,000 workers. A reduction of 30,000 would equate to a little more than 10 percent.

Bank of America has more employees than any large U.S. bank.

The more profitable JPMorgan Chase & Co. has nearly 38,000 fewer workers.

“It’s certainly going to be in the tens of thousands, and it’s going to be at that level in other large banking institutions,” said Dick Bove, a banking analyst at Rochdale Securities who follows Bank of America.

Bank of America chief executive Brian Moynihan in April launched an effort called Project New BAC that aims to reduce costs and streamline the company as it works to improve profitability and build its capital cushion.

Bank of America spokesman Larry Di Rita declined to comment on possible job cuts.

In the first phase of the program, Bank of America executives are examining the consumer side of the bank, the mortgage business and staff functions. In the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year, they will tackle capital markets, wealth management and commercial banking operations.

In a memo to senior leaders last month, Moynihan said the management team will meet for a third and final review of “ideas for change” early this month.

“We expect to begin communicating major outcomes and next steps soon thereafter,” the memo said.

The project is designed to take grassroots ideas from employees to reduce bureaucracy for workers and improve service to customers. At a time when it’s difficult for banks to increase revenue, cutting costs boosts profits, allowing the bank to accumulate the capital it needs to absorb mortgage-related losses and meet new international standards.

Moynihan said the programme would come to fruition as we “go past Labour Day” and that savings from the program will be “both material and substantial based on our work to date.”

ICROFINANCE banks (MfBs) are strategising to put up a good performance, and avoid the pitfalls that characterised their operations in the recent past.

Under this plan, over 150 MfBs have been delinated into 12 zones in Lagos State. The zones are Lagos Island, Ikorodu, Kosofe, Mainland, Surulere, Alimosho, and IfakoIjaye.

Others are Agege, Mushin, Oshodi, Isolo, Ibeju-Lekki and EtiOsa. The Chairman, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMBs), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Olufemi Babajide, said the zoning was based on the geographical locations of the banks, and not on their numerical strengths.

Babajide said the banks were zoned to stimulate growth and further improved their administrations.

He said the zoning would enable the banks to participate well in the training programmes organised by the association. He said capacity building is vital to the growth of the sub-sector, adding that efforts are being made to ensure that

By Akinola Ajibade operators are able to meet day-today challenges in the industry.

He said there is prerequisite knowledge that microfinance banks’ operators must possess to record growth, noting that microfinance banks and commercial banks differed greatly in sizes, policies, orientations, and objectives.

He advised operators to focus on micro-savers in line with the MFBs policy thrust, and stop dissipating their energy on things that would bring growth.

Also, the Managing Director, Gold Microfinance Bank Limited, Mr Lanre Abiola, said it is good that operators are trained in such a manner that they would understand the basics of micro financing.

Abiola said many people use the knowledge of commercial banking run microfinance institutions, and burn their fingers in the process. He said the sub-sector requires specialised training distinct from that of commercial banks that deal with huge volume of deposits.

Skye Bank rewards customers

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KYE Bank Plc has rewarded some customers in its ongoing happy savers promotional campaigns. The bank, in a statement, said an employee of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Mr Ashogbon Ajayi, won the N1 million star prize in the promo.

Other winners are Mrs. Chinwe Ofomata and Mr Mohammed Ahmed, who won an air conditioner each.

Ashogbon, while receiving his cheque from officials of the bank recently, expressed gratitude to the bank for changing his life and improving his financial position.

He explained that out of the four bank accounts he had, God used Skye Bank as his path to financial breakthrough. He also thanked a late colleague of his who made him open an account with the bank.

Speaking on the promo, the

Skye Bank’s Head of Small Business Group, Retail Banking Division, Mr Wole Aderinkomi, said the bank would continue to reward its loyal customers from time to time.

Aderinkomi said the savings promo would help in entrenching the savings culture among Nigerians, stressing that savings would help many people in the future.

The Skye Bank savers promo which began in June and would last for six months. So far, two Totoya Corolla cars had been won while another four and a Toyota Prado jeep are also to be won during the promo.

Savers must save a minimum of N25,000 for a month to qualify for the draw, while savers with a minimum balance of N50,000 for the six months during the promo will also qualify for the Prado jeep.

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INVESTORS Banks plan massive share reconstruction B

ANKS are contemplating reconstructing their issued shares to reduce cost of share management and enhance their trading values and returns.

Total outstanding shares by quoted banks stand at 424.4 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, representing an average of 20.2 billion ordinary shares per bank.

Banks, which account for a little more than nine per cent of total number of quoted companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), have the largest issued shares of nearly one third of total shares outstanding on the bourse.

A source said many banks have proposed share consolidation and may use the last phase of the ongoing banking reform to reconstruct their outstanding shares.

Share consolidation is reduction in the number of outstanding shares by exchanging a specific number of new shares for certain number of outstanding shares. The value of the reduced or cancelled shares is factored into the new shares, which technically increases the market value of the new shares in the secondary market.

Besides the cost of managing multi-billion shares, large outstanding shares have thinned out banks' earnings and adversely affected pricing of banking stocks.

Existing large issued shares also diminish the ability of the issuing company to offer new shares either through capitalisation of reserves or new ones for subscription.

Many banks that have traditionally maintained regular bonus issue year-on-year have recently ei-

Stories by Taofik Salako

ther declined to issue bonus shares or alternatively increase the ratio of the issue.

Unity Bank has the largest number of shares at 33.7 billion shares. First Bank of Nigeria follows with 32.6 billion shares while United Bank for Africa and Zenith Bank trail with 32.4 billion shares and 31.4 billion shares.

Other banks with large above-average outstanding shares include Guaranty Trust Bank, 29.2 billion shares; Fidelity Bank, 29 billion shares and Oceanic Bank International, which has 22.2 billion shares.

A substantial quantity of banks' outstanding shares was issued during the 2005 to 2007 capital raising exercises, which were later deemed as bubble capital by financial services authorities.

•Managing Director, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Mr. Kyari Abba Bukar, ringing the closing bell during his visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). With him are the Chief Executive Officer of NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema (middle) and Executive Director, Market Operations and Technology Mr. Adeolu Bajomo.

Oando's shareholders get N22b dividends in six years

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HAREHOLDERS of Oando Plc have received about N22 billion cash dividends in the past six years in addition to an increase of about 88 per cent in the volume of their shareholdings.

With substantial increase in net earnings and subsequent built up of reserves due to retained earnings, Oando had, in 2009, capitalised reserves by distributing bonus shares of one for four shares and

followed this with a bonus issue of one for two shares in 2010.

A six-year dividend payout analysis showed that average gross payout per annum stood at about N3.7 billion during the period while dividend payouts have increased significantly in the past three years.

Oando distributed N1.43 billion in 2005 and increased this by 60 per cent to N2.29 billion in 2006. Gross dividend increased by 216 per cent

Analyst seeks govt intervention in stock market THERE is a need for the government to intervene and resolve the lingering problems of illiquidity and debt overhang in the capital market, Managing Director of Partnership Investment Plc, Mr Victor Ogiemwonyi has said.

According to him, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) would need to determine the extent of the problems in the capital market, particularly the value of margin lending and thereafter take out all the underlying se-

By Tonia Osundolire

curities at a discount.

The problems of over valuation of the stock market and the corrupted issuance process for securities, he pointed out, resulted in creating several billion shares of banks without commensurate values. "In my opinion all the efforts put into resolving the financial crisis will come to zero if the problem of the stock market is not solved. The crisis in the financial sector started

with the crash of the stock market resulting in significant value erosion. Any solution will logically start from the stock market. Any solution that is not targeted to tackle the problem from the root, will be cosmetic in my opinion," Ogiemwonyi said.

He noted that if AMCON had initiated a swift clean up of the margin account defaults and other capital market related debt problems the value gain in the market would •Continued on page 46

to N7.24 billion in 2007. In spite of the recession in 2008, the company distributed N2.71 billion to shareholders and increased this to N2.72 billion in 2009. Notwithstanding the 25 per cent increase in outstanding shares, the company maintained its payout per share rate thus increasing gross dividend to N5.43 billion for the 2010 business year.

The dividend distribution for the 2010 came on the back of strong growth in sales and profit. Audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2010 for the Group showed that turnover increased from N336.9 billion in 2009 to N378.925 billion in 2010. Profit before tax stood at N24.32 billion compared with N13.51 billion in 2009.

Already, there are indications that the company might further increase payouts in the period ahead. Oando Plc grew pre-tax profit by 33 per cent in the first half as the turnover of the energy group rose by 55 per cent.

Unaudited report of Oando for the six-month period ended June 30, 2011 showed that the group's profit before tax rose from N9.6 billion in the first half of 2010 to N12.8 billion in 2011. The group had recorded a gross profit of

Forecasts Q3 CUTIX PLC Turnover N537.5m PAT N3.32m DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY Plc Turnover N38.448B PAT N1.695b

Forecast for Q4 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE Plc Gross Premium N1.106b PAT N106.17m

LAW UNION & ROCK INSURANCE Plc Gross Premium N6.200b PAT N676.83m

N33.23 billion, representing an increase of 20 per cent on N27.7 billion posted in comparable period of 2010.

Highlights of the report showed that turnover grew by 55 per cent to N267.8 billion compared to N172.9 billion in 2010 while profit after tax grew by 25 per cent to N6.7 billion as against N5.3 billion in previous week.

The company is optimistic that it would improve on its performance in the second half and at least two of its strategic business units would benefit tremendously from changing regulatory framework such as the Local Content Act and Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which favour Nigerian energy companies.

Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Mr Wale Tinubu, said the half-year results underline the group's focus on building and developing the higher margin upstream and midstream divisions while sustaining its performance in the downstream division.

According to him, the company focused on the development of its exploration and production assets to ensure that it can increase its production and benefit from the favourably high crude oil prices.

"Our energy services business maintained a 98 per cent rig up time on drilling operations and we are finalizing the refurbishment of the third rig, which has already been awarded a drilling contract by an international oil company. We •Continued on page 48

UPDC Plc NESTLE NIGERIA Plc Turnover N12.541b Turnover PAT N24.127b N1.695b PAT N2.670b INTERNATIONAL ENERGY UAC OF DANGOTE SUGAR NIGERIA Plc INSURANCE Plc Plc Gross Premium Turnover Turnover of N6.310b N60.024b N40.294b PAT PAT PAT N841.509m N10.666b N5.660b PREMIER CAP Plc BETA GLASS PLC PAINTS Turnover Turnover N2.968b Turnover N4.140b PAT Loss after tax PAT N315.405m N21.07m N805m

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THE NATION INVESTORS Oando's shareholders get N22b dividends in six years •Continued from page 47 completed the construction of our second pipeline franchise in the East, which will soon be operational and we look forward to additional customer connects from the expansion of our Lagos gas pipeline," Tinubu said.

He added that the downstream division continued to contribute to the group's performance with increased importation, supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.

He noted that the group approached the second half of the

year with the promise of a renewed drive in the promotion of an enabling environment for indigenous participation in the oil sector ultimately resulting in superior value creation for the shareholder.

Analysts say the Oando's fundamental performance and its current relatively low market value at the stock market offers an exciting opportunity for discerning investors.

Analysts at Vetiva Capital said their fair value for Oando is N60.89 with a target range of between N69.61 and N75.05. Oando is currently trading below N29 per share at the stock market.

"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 exploration and production 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 compound average growth rate of 12 per cent over the next five years to 8,411 bpd, lower than company's near term target of 10,000 bpd," analysts noted.

Upstream and midstream segments of the group's business still hold strong upside with upstream and midstream together expected to deliver top line growth of 28 per cent in 2011.

FACTS

T

HE downstream oil sector, no doubt, faces serious, sometimes uncontrollable challenges. With a stymied reform, petroleum-marketing companies have adopted various strategies to cope with the operating environment. Forte Oil Plc, formerly African Petroleum (AP) and Conoil Plc, like many other oil-marketing companies, had initiated extensive financial and operational restructurings aimed at enhancing efficiency and sustainable profitability irrespective of the challenges.

Both Forte Oil and Conoil are similar in quite many perspectives.

The two companies were hitherto owned by the Federal Government and were privatised about the same period. Privatisation, it has been argued, engenders efficiency and enhances prospects of stable growth and returns. The privatisation brought about new managements and boards of directors. With new funds, new core investors, new managements and newly constituted boards of influential directors, they were quite appraised for growth and steady returns.

But the fundamentals of the two companies over the years have been telling different stories. Forte Oil appeared to have suffered from contraindication. With declining sales and negative profit margin, Forte Oil has been reeling in losses, which have not only been eroding total assets but also shareholders' funds.

On the other hand, Conoil has maintained a stable growth trend outshining most other oil majors in both actual and underlying profit and loss and balance sheet items.

Conoil has so far shown to be a more efficient, nimble and resilient company. It has managed to sustain positive outlook over the years in spite of the sluggish top-line that has characterised the industry in recent years.

Sales Generation Forte Oil's top-line performance has worsened over the years with average decline per annum standing at about 9.4 per cent. Total revenue dropped by 1.7 per cent in 2009 and crossed the double-digit to 17 per cent in 2010. Conoil, whose sales had dropped by 18 per cent in 2009, struggled to keep positive in 2010 with a marginal increase of one per cent. Sales growth was an exceptional measure of performance in the downstream oil sector in the immediate past year given that sales by many petroleum-marketers dwindled considerably. Besides, in a low-margin, almost monolithic industry like petroleum-marketing, top-line growth is indicative of the extent of profitability.

Profitability Both actual and underlying measures of profitability placed Forte Oil on the downside. With 8.1 per cent decline in gross profit, the company's bottom-line has been in red in the past two years. However, the losses in the immediate past year were lower than the previous year, a trend that indicates some degree of success in cost management. Also,

TO

Analyst seeks govt intervention in stock market •Continued from page 45 have saved the banks recently nationalised.

He added that the government should do take the right action now by aiding the recovery of the stock market noting that all stakeholders share in the blame for the infraction in the stock market.

"We all were part of it. Inexperienced regulators, irresponsible stockbrokers and their casino bankers as well as, and of course, greedy investors, together created this problem and we must all agree

FACTS

Forte Oil vs Conoil: Two oil majors, two results

By Taofik Salako

indicative of improved performance, gross profit margin increased above two-year average of 8.75 per cent to 9.2 per cent in 2010 as against 8.3 per cent in 2009. Pre-tax profit margin improved from -5.6 per cent in 2009 to -2.1 per cent in 2010, lower than two-year average of -3.85 per cent.

While Forte Oil is struggling to get out of the woods, Conoil has evidently shown greater efficiency and profitability in terms of yearon-year stand alone analysis as well as peer comparison. Conoil has shown a more resilient underlying profitability with improvements in both gross and pre-tax profit margins. While gross profit increased by 6.7 per cent in 2010, gross profit margin was above average at 13.3 per cent as against 12.6 per cent in 2009. Profit before tax margin also increased from 3.7 per cent in 2009 to 3.9 per cent in 2010, indicating average margin of 3.8 per cent. Actual pre-tax profit, however, increased by 6.3 per cent in 2010 as against 15.2 per cent in 2009. After tax, net profit grew by 21 per cent in 2010 as against increase of 27 per cent in 2009.

Actual Returns The recent losing streak has undermined both payouts and actual returns of Forte Oil. While shareholders have not received any cash dividends in recent years, an average negative return per share

•Chairman, Forte Oil Plc Mr Femi Otedola

•Chairman, Conoil Plc Dr Mike Adenuga (Jnr)

of about 19.3 per cent has been locked in their reserves. Return on equity stood at about -11 per cent in 2010 while return on total assets was -4.0 per cent. Notwithstanding, Forte Oil's performance in the immediate period was an improvement on 2009 when returns on total assets and equity stood at -10.4 per cent and -27.7 per cent.

Conoil, meanwhile, has sustained positive returns over the years. The company recorded above-average returns in the immediate past year with return on total assets rising from 5.8 per cent in 2009 to 6.7 per cent in 2010. Return on equity also inched up to

18.3 per cent in 2010 compared with 17.1 per cent in 2009.

The Bottom-line Petroleum-marketing industry is highly susceptible to external shocks, which often undermine management 'strategies'. But a truly strategic approach will factor in the fluctuations domestically and globally. While waiting for the full deregulation of the downstream sector, oil-marketing companies need to evolve a competitive private-sector driven growth model rather than dependence on government-allocated growth. The tough operating environment calls for aggressive and sustainable sales strategy, given

FACTS TO FACTS

Forte Oil

Turnover growth Gross profit growth Pre-tax profit growth Gross margin Pre-tax profit margin Net profit growth Return on Assets Return on Equity

2010 % -17 -8.1 -68.1 9.2 -2.1 -70.0 -4.0 -10.8

that an all encompassing solution must be found to save the stock market," Ogiemwonyi, who isa member of the Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said.

According to him, the massive bail out of banks was necessary, just as there is need for massive intervention to stabilise the stock market is necessary now. He said the delay in launching a direct government-sponsored intervention into the stock market was responsible for the stunted recovery of the market and urged AMCON to seize the initiative and act decisively now.

that sales growth is the major driver of long-term profitability.

Forte Oil needs to shrug off the recent controversies and reassert itself as a major oil-marketing company. Innovative product packaging and marketing, streamlined operating structure, continuing investment in operating capacity and proactive risk assessment are the distinguishing factors for success in the petroleum -marketing sector. Conoil appears to have found the right mix for stable growth in its deep understanding of the Nigerian market, aggressive investments and technical know-how.With a double in pre and post tax profits in the first half of this year, Conoil is in good stead to significantly improve performance. Interim report and accounts of Conoil for the six-month period ended June 30, 2011 showed that profits before and after tax rose by 97.2 per cent and 97.52 per cent while sales grew by 86.23 per cent. The report further indicated improvement in underlying profitability of the company with a pre-tax profit margin of 4.4 per cent in 2011 as against 4.1 per cent in comparable period of 2010.

Conoil posted a turnover of N79.91 billion in first half 2011 compared with N42.91 billion in first half 2010. Profit before tax nearly doubled at N3.51 billion as against N1.78 billion while profit after tax doubled from N1.21 billion to N2.4 billion. With earnings per share at N3.44 as against N1.74, actual and underlying returns to shareholders almost doubled as return on equity stood at 14 per cent compared with 7.9 per cent.

Conoil 2009 % -1.7 -224.8 8.3 -5.6 -279.5 -10.4 -27.7

Average % -9.35 -4.05 -146.45 8.75 -3.85 -174.75 -7.2 -19.25

Pre-tax profit margin (Forte Oil)

Turnover growth Gross profit growth Pre-tax profit growth Gross margin Pre-tax profit margin Net profit growth Return on Assets Return on Equity

2010 % 1 6.7 6.3 13.3 3.9 20.8 6.7 18.3

2009 % -18 15.2 12.6 3.7 26.9 5.8 17.1

Average % -8.5 3.35 10.75 12.95 3.8 23.85 6.25 17.7

Pre-tax profit margin (Conoil)

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SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP TIPS

‘Cake baking is a goldmine’ C

AKE making is a multimillion naira business. The market is large.

Some people will need birthday cakes, others wedding cakes. From birthday to wedding cakes, Mrs Idara Ubong Usen, Co-ordinator of Prefect Cake Sugar Art Studio, said one can cash in on such opportunities provided by different events where cakes are symbols of celebration.

If one targets 20 people, who are willing to pay N50, 000 per cake, then one will be a millionaire in six months.

To achieve this, one has to attend advanced cake decorating classes.

This helps the designer to build and diversify her portfolio of successful cake designs.

One explores and reviews traditional techniques plus new ones that have emerged in recent years.

Taking cake decorating classes from time to time, Mrs. Usen, said is an excellent way to stay current.

For example, recent trends include wedding cakes made out of cupcakes, vibrant colours, gum paste art, sculptures, and cupcakes for a wide range of social occasions.

Whether one is looking for new ideas to dazzle friends, or how to keep up with changing fashions,Usen said regular training is essential.

There are certain items one needs to start. Things such as a heavy duty mixer, mixing bowls, food

Producing glucose from cassava

By Don Abraham

By Daniel Essiet

colouring, spatulas, the right cake pans, enough room to work without being cramped, and an oven.

Mrs Usen has been making cakes and getting praises. One of her major works was designing a cake that looks a football.

She said there are cakes that cost as much as N250,000. According to her, opportunities are vast, especially celebratory functions which can be taken advantage of.

Mrs Usen said cake baking is a goldmine for anyone who is creative.

There is a difference between a cake baker and decorator. A cake baker creates and bakes cakes. Most professional cake bakers create cakes for special occasions, such as wedding cakes, corporate events, or for mass consumption, as cakes that are sold at grocery stores. Bakery owners who bake their cakes, but who do not consider themselves cake decorators will hire professional cake decorators to take care of this aspect of the final cake design.

Mrs Usen said cake bakers are working on improving their decorative skills.Her goal is to make cakes that are beautiful masterpieces.

For a starter, she said one needs a work area at home-ample space to bake and decorate the cakes.

G

•Usen

Then, ample counter space for mixing and cooling cakes, enough room for various colors of frostings, and to decorate the cakes.

She said the business is not capital intensive. One can start with N3000.

Mrs Usen started out offering cakes to friends to get her foot in the door.

Before taking on cake decorating job, she said one has to make sure the cake is of quality. The nicer the cake looks upon presentation for an event, the more people will ask about the decorator. The strategy is to create a wider market appeal.

As one keeps working at getting enough business, they will fall on one’s lap. She goes around where she can take orders from co-workers, friends, colleagues and clients.

It has taken her several years to build a nice sized cake baking business on word-of-mouth. She said if the cake looks really good, one will get referrals from the wedding. According to her, the first few years will be very lean indeed. Making a name for one self will make the difference.

One has to accumulate several photos of one’s works cakes before looking for big jobs. When one is starting, the price should be low enough to build one’s reputation.

Mrs Usen said a good decorator is resourceful and accommodating.

•Fooball cake

Making money through web consulting

T

HERE are enormous opportunities in web consulting because of the rapid rate of technological advances,Chief Executive, ServiceForts Resources Limited, Efe Imiren has said.

She said businesses are in search of web marketing consultant to help them develop marking

plans.

She said companies are looking for ways to generate traffic to their sites and the subsector is a money spinner.

The role of the web consultant, she noted, also include improving conversion rates, increase sales on the sites, as well as helping site

achieve a greater visibility in search engine rankings.

She said there is a growing need for web consultants by companies who want to have web exposure and that they are thirsting for such expertise.

•MD Feteco Global Services Anthony Imiren and, his sister Efe, at a seminar in Lagos

LUCOSE, a kind of sugar, can be in solid or liquid. It is a colourless, clear syrup that is formed in and derived extensively from many fruits, grains and tubers which contain sugar or starch. When it is solid , it is called grape sugar or dextrose. That is the Glucose D which every athlete or sportsperson should be familiar with. Although there is a high demand for it and has an estimated annual growth .

Glucose has many uses. Industrially, it is used as a sweetener in making wine and soft drinks, fruits and vegetable canning, candy, confectionery and bakery, caramel, ice cream, alcoholic fermentation, jam, jelly, marmalade etc. It is also a very important component in pharmaceutical intra-fusion solution commonly known as drip which is very useful for fluid replacement in patients in hospitals, clinics and other medical centres and outfits.

Glucose Market The glucose market has experienced steady growth for the past two decades. This is due partly to the growth in the above-mentioned industries that use it. This growth is bound to persist and even increase as more entrepreneurs rush into these sub-sectors of the economy to establish more industries to tap the golden opportunities there. As our population continues to explode, more people will need the products of these various industries and so will the demand for glucose be. Because there are not many producers presently around, the demand-supply gap will always be there and will even increase. This will only be met through importation and smuggling as has been the case in the past unless more industries are established to augment the output of the existing ones. Allied to this is the inability of the few indigenous manufacturers of glucose to produce for the export market when the local demand has not been met even though there is high possibility of large market out there.

It is public knowledge that sweeteners and syrups used to prepare soft drinks and confectioneries are a rapidly growing market in West and Central Africa. All their glucose needs are met through importation. For instance, Ghana imports 920 MT of the product per annum.

The demand for cassava tubers is derived. It is a function of the demand for their various derivatives. On the local scene, the petroleum drilling industry needs over 240,000 MT p.a. of cassava starch for use as a dispersant in oil drilling.

My research shows that the soft-drinks sub-sector alone of the food and beverage industry needs not less than 174,000 metric tonnes of syrup concentrate per year. Because the high demand for it cannot be met from local sources, a lot of foreign exchange is expended annually importing dextrose monohydrate for conversion into powdered glucose, the delight of athletes, sportspeople and households.

There is no gainsaying that any entrepreneur, who ventures into glucose manufacturing at this time, will never regret it as the market will need his product. The implication of the above situation is that the existing demand-supply gap will widen over time with its adverse technological, employment and foreign exchange disadvantages unless the trend is arrested and reversed by the indigenes going into the local production of glucose. The market for the product exists, is large and expanding.

Raw Materials The major raw materials for glucose production come from the sugar-containing fruits, especially citrus (grape mainly) and starchcontaining grains and tubers,such as yams, refined cassava flour and chips, potatoes, beats etc. To produce dextrose and syrup one needs to use the already refined cassava starch that can easily be sourced abundantly from local sources. This starch has to be produced under very stringent hygienic conditions in accordance with international specifications. It must have low contents of protein and other soluble impurities. Other important raw materials are sodium carbonate, powdered activated carbon, hydrochloric acid, filter aid etc.

The type of packaging materials to be used will depend on the demand made by the target market. Generally, plastic containers, tins, glass bottles, drums etc. are used. All these are locally obtainable also.

Machinery and Equipment The following machinery and equipment, which should be of stainless steel construction, are to be employed. They are: slurry tanks, hydrolysing chamber, neutralising machine, deodoriser, steriliser, evaporator, spray drying machine, sieving, filling and bagging machines, capping machine (if syrup is to be manufactured), quality control laboratory, other accessories like weighing scales, wheel barrows etc.

A small factory operating on a single shift per day, 250 days a year and at a utilisation capacity of 50 per cent can produce between 500 and 600 metric tonnes of glucose. Given this scenario, at least 348 factories of this capacity will have to be operational in Nigeria if the yearly glucose demand of the soft drinks sub-sector of the economy alone will be met. Stretch your imagination a little over the terrain and you will have an idea of what the market for glucose is like and the need for this project. The implication of this is that glucose manufacturing is a highly profitable and rewarding venture and consumers will be waiting to snap up your product.

A joint venture between three researchers in Nigeria has produced an equipment with the kind of yield that is “almost equal to production yield obtained elsewhere such as Thailand”. This equipment can be stepped up to cater for small and medium enterprises.

Process Technology Due to space constraints, the details of the technology involved will not be fully discussed here but should be contained in a good and comprehensive feasibility report needed to implement the project.

Generally, however, the process of glucose manufacture includes refined starch production or purchase from well known and experienced producers, slurry making, screening, hydrolysis (acidification), neutralisation, refining, concentration, crystallisation and packaging.

(0818-888-1655; 01-8755-405; 0803-725-1974 ; 0812-478-3187) E-mails: wealthcreationideas@yahoo.com: talk2dco@yahoo.com please contact (0818-888-1655; 01-8755-405; 0803-725-1974 ; 0812-4783187)

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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NEWS refuses to disqualify self in Lagos demolishes structures Judge trial of ex-Bank PHB MD Atuche on drainage alignments J

By Joseph Jibueze

•One of the demolished structures... yesterday

T

HE Lagos State Government yesterday lived up to its promise to rid the drainage alignments of illegal structures. Its demolition ‘gang’ traversed the over two-kilometre stretch of the Adiran drainage channels and demolished properties worth billions of naira.

Leading the ‘gang’ was the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, who told reporters that the measure was to save the metropolis from floods. Adiran, he said, is one of the 10 drainage outlets established by the government to channel flood from the Eti-Osa axis into the Lagoon.

Also affected are properties, fences and makeshift stalls erected on drainage channels in Somolu, Gbagada and Bariga areas.

Bello described yesterday’s outing as the beginning of work, stressing that the government remained commit-

By Miriam Ndikanwu

ted to the re-establishment of the various drainage channels to permanently tackle flooding.

He said: “This is the beginning of the work. There are areas that will be aligned and others dredged. What we are enforcing now is a follow up to the visit of the governor after the July 10 incidence in the state.

“The governor, during an assessment tour of floodprone areas, gave instructions that properties on drainage channels be removed and that is what we are doing. We need to re-establish and align the canals because it is from then that we can construct the channels.”

The commissione, who said the effort was not the only antidote to flooding in Lagos, however, urged to residents to stop dumping refuse in the channels, saying it is through the cooperation of

residents that the objective would be achieved.

Bello said: “I cannot promise you a flood-free Lagos because this is an impact of the climate change all over the world. The climate has changed dramatically all over the world and we are having more rains and that is bringing a lot of flood all over the place. You can see what is happening in Japan and all over the world.”

He promised that the government will do everything within its means to reduce flooding. “This government is sensitive, responsive and is willing to help address the challenges.”

The commissioner also warned traders especially those operating in Mushin, Cele and Ladipo markets to comply with the state environmental laws to avert the wrath of the law.

“It has come to our notice that traders in these markets are dumping refuse in the

•Bello.. yesterday PHOTOS: OMOSEHIN MOSES

drains. We have invited them for a meeting and warned them to desist from doing so.

But if they don’t heed our warnings, we will shut the market and I want to inform them that any markets shut now will be for a minimum of three months.”

Bello also said that the government will not re-open the closed Yaba market until the traders identify and hand over those who attacked officials of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade deployed in the Ware point to enforce compliance with sanitation laws.

USTICE Lateefat Okunnu of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, yesterday refused to disqualify herself in the trial of former Bank PHB Managing Director, Mr Francis Atuche and two others.

Atuche had accused the judge of bias, expressing fears that he Might not get justice in her court.

He therefore asked the judge to excuse herself from presiding over the trial and to return the case file to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned him, his wife, Elizabeth and a former Chief Financial Officer of the bank, Mr Ugo Anyanwu on an amended 27count charge of conspiracy to commit felony and stealing.

They were alleged to have stolen N25.7 billion from the bank.

But Justice Okunnu ruled that Atuche failed to back up his claims of likelihood of bias with facts.

She held that there was nothing in her records to support Atuche’s claims, and that the court was mindful of its duties in ensuring access to justice and fairness to all.

Justice Okunnu declared that the refusal of an application by a judge does not amount to bias, and wondered why Atuche should entertain such fears.

“The burden is on the prosecution to prove the case. It is not for the defendant to prove his innocence,” the judge said.

It would amount to a waste of time and tax-payers’ money she said, to reassign cases, which have to start afresh before a new judge, based on mere suspicion that the first judge is biased. Besides, Atuche’s co-defendants could be held to ransom, she said.

She promised to do justice in the case. “There is no cogent, real and substantiated fact to support this application.

“However, I will, by the grace of God, guarantee the defendants’ right to fair hearing.

“I cannot act in favour of the applicant. The application hereby fails and is accordingly dismissed,” the judge ruled.

Justice Okunnu also refused to halt the trial, discussing Atuche’s application for stay of further proceedings.

Atuche had urged the court to halt trial pending the hearing and determination of an appeal he filed at the Court of Appeal, Lagos challenging an earlier ruling of Justice Okunnu.

“I cannot entertain any stay of proceedings at all in any guise,” said the judge, and adjourned trial till October 12.

Meanwhile, the trial of a former Managing Director of Finbank Plc, Mr Okey Nwosu, resumed yesterday before Justice Okunnu, with the bank’s Divisional Head, Credit and Risk Management, Mr Bisola Ojo, testifying.

The EFCC arraigned Nwosu and former directors - Agnes Ebubedike, Danjuma Ocholi and Dayo Famoroti – on a 26count of stealing N10.9 billion from the bank.

Their trial was adjourned till October 26.

Award for Lagos council chairmen

T

EN local government chairmen from Lagos State will receive this year’s ‘Community Service Award’ from the Community News Network (CN News), the organisers said in a statement yesterday.

Its Managing Editor Mr Felix Orisunola, said the award was designed to boost democratic grassroots governance, encourage efficiency and foster healthy competition among the chairmen.

He said the names of the beneficiaries would be announced at the venue of the event in Lagos.

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MONEY LINK

B

Banks restructure loans to ease repayment

ANKS, which hitherto pursued their debtors with debt collec tion agents, have settled for a debt repayment plan, allowing ‘genuine’ loan defaulters the option to restructure their debts. Under the arrangement, such customers now have the leverage to either get their facilities restructured or secure additional funds to support their businesses.

The banks, which hitherto were insisting on outright repayment, had to retreat to give customers willing to make payments, but without the means, a safe landing, The Nation has leant.

Before these considerations, banks were using the services of debt recovery agents to pressurise the debtors into making quick repayment.

A debt recovery agent, Leonard Anoka of Anoka & Associates, who

By Collins Nweze

confirmed this development, said banks will first, find out if the loan was utilised for the right purpose or diverted. “If the loan was properly utilised, but due to some circumstances, the customer was unable to repay, such borrower can get the facility restructured, or refinanced,” he said.

But where it was discovered that the borrower diverted the funds, the bank may seek other options outside loan restructuring, adding that where restructuring of the loans is the option, a bank can look at the customer’s cash flow, inject more funds and stagger the repayment plan.

“The bank can decide to stagger the repayment plans to favour the borrower’s cash flow. There is also

fake addresses making it difficult for the loans to be recovered.

Debt collectors had earlier advised banks to allow debtors pay only the principal sum without the accrued interests, a plea many of the banks declined.

The banks’ defence, he explained, was that the borrowed funds belong to depositors, who have not written off their interests, and therefore, it will not make business sense to write off the interest on the loans.

The financial institutions, he explained, portrayed the debt collectors as only being more interested in their commissions rather than the continued existence of the lenders. Okorie, said the banks needed to consider that most of the funds were lost during the global financial crises, especially where borrowers were into margin trading, or involved in sale of petro-

need to consider whether the borrower can afford a bullet repayment plan, get a waiver on interest rate among other considerations,” he said.

Anoka, said in many other cases, the bank can give a customer a moratorium period, during which the borrower will not be servicing the loans.

Another loan recovery agent, Kingsley Okorie, said the level of recoveries done in many of the banks were dependent on approach and customer involved. “The strategy adopted by a bank and recovery agent depends on the customer involved.

In some cases, we use dialogue, in others we apply force,” he stated.

He said, some customers decided from day one, not to repay the loans.

They can provide defective title and

leum products.

The firm, a key player in debt collection, is handling several of such cases for banks. "I think that the banks should consider collecting the principal of Non Performing Loans (NPLs) as full and final payment and in other cases, need to restructure the loans. It is a good option for them," he said.

The CBN prudential guidelines, categorised problem loans into substandard loans, as those with unpaid interest/principal outstanding for more than 90 days, but less than 180 days.

But the loans become doubtful when there is unpaid interest and principal outstanding for at least 180 days but less than 360 days. Such loans are considered lost when the principal /interest are unpaid for 360 days and above.

ETB Board, shareholders ratify TIA with Sterling Bank

T

HE Board and shareholders of Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) have ratified the Transaction Implementation Agreement (TIA) reached with Sterling Bank Plc. The endorsement was done at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the bank held in Lagos, on Monday.

The meeting was held in fulfillment of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive for banks going into merger to hold their EGM and conclude the merger process before September 30, 2011.

In a statement, the bank said the endorsement was a demonstration of its commitment to meeting its recapitalisation plan before the September 30, 2011 deadline, and ensure a hitch free merger process with Sterling Bank.

The shareholders said the bank’s merger with Sterling Bank Plc will produce a strong brand that would compete favourably with its peers

and emerge a reference point in the nation’s banking industry especially in the provision of customized banking services.

“It is expected that the merger of ETB, which prides itself as a strong brand in public sector and retail banking with its binding relationship in the oil, telecommunications sectors and Sterling Bank, would produce a

strong financial institution capable of meeting the needs of its customers,” analysts said.

The Managing Director, Gbolahan Folayan, who described the meeting as successful, stated that the stage is set for the merger of ETB and Sterling Bank Plc, adding that everything is on course to meet the expectation of the regulatory authorities and other stakeholders on schedule.

The merger of the institutions would produce a combined branch network of about 185, driven by clear strategic considerations on the expected benefits that would come after the merger as “the two banks will emerge as one of the formidable banks in the industry positioned to provide cutting-edge financial services to the banking public based on

comes at a time when the clamour for increased local content in the oil and gas sector is at its loudest and seeks to provide financial support to local oil service providers to enable them fulfill their contractual obligations in the industry.

The Nigerian Content Act, insists on exclusive consideration for indigenous service companies which have demonstrated ownership of equipment, Nigerian personnel and capacity to execute work on land and

swamp operating areas in the oil industry.

According to General Manager, Corporate Banking, Mr. John Obi, the fund was introduced to boost indigenous participation in offshore and onshore operations in the oil and gas industry.

He pointed out that the bank’s efforts would complement the Nigerian Content Development Act which aims at stimulating the development of indigenous capabili-

Fidelity Bank to support Local Content Act

F

IDELITY Bank Plc, has intro duced a special funding pack age to support the participation of indigenous companies in the oil and gas sector.

Known as the Fidelity Local Content Finance Fund, this product is the bank’s attempt to arm and support entrepreneurs in the technology-driven, capital intensive oil and gas industry, for increased competitiveness.

Fidelity’s Local Content Finance,

FGN BONDS Amount N

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 OBB Rate Call Rate

7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2011 “ 14-04-2011

GAINERS AS AT 6-9-11 SYMBOL ETERNAOIL IBTC AIICO ETI UNITYBNK BAGCO NB LONGMAN

O/PRICE 4.68 9.20 0.68 13.00 0.54 1.99 82.61 4.60

C/PRICE 4.90 9.50 0.70 13.38 0.55 2.00 83.00 4.61

CHANGE 0.22 0.30 0.02 0.38 0.01 0.01 0.38 0.01

LOSER AS AT 6-9-11 SYMBOL TRANSCORP UAC-PROP FO AIRSERVICE PRESTIGE DNMEYER ACADEMY REDSTAREX GTASSURE NEIMETH

O/PRICE 0.80 18.71 16.54 2.05 1.65 1.26 3.17 2.78 1.10 1.33

ties and increasing the contribution of the oil and gas sector to the national GDP. “Our product will also support the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in realiSing its objective of increasing the participation of indigenous companies in the oil and gas industry and the continuous growth of the Nigerian content in all oil and gas projects, operations and transactions,” he further explained.

DATA BANK

Tenor

NIDF NESF

adequate capitaliSation and quality product offering, he said.

The bank’s chief executive officer also noted that with the array of seasoned bankers and other professionals in related fields which the bank will be contributing to the pool, the new bank will be fortified with the right human resources to drive its vision.

C/PRICE 0.76 17.78 15.72 1.95 1.57 1.20 3.02 2.65 1.05 1.27

CHANGE 0.04 0.93 0.82 0.10 0.08 0.06 0.15 0.13 0.05 0.06

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 1.00 117.50 112.11 0.79 0.01 0.97 1,620.90 8.70 1.39 1.87 7,745.89 193.00

9.08 1.00 117.16 111.16 0.81 0.01 0.97 1,618.90 9.14 1.33 1.80 7,502.11 191.08

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 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

57

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 6-09-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES Company Name PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 16 7.60 16

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 90,834 687,064.60 90,834 687,064.60

AIR SERVICES Company Name AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 4 1.95 52 6.50 56

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 70,000 136,500.00 297,096 1,935,111.78 367,096 2,071,611.78

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Company Name R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 10 1.30 10

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 142,181 184,827.30 142,181 184,827.30

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 DealsQuotation(N) 176 5.80 58 4.25 34 2.75 47 5.10 93 2.00 614 10.70 9 0.50 457 13.01 41 9.50 16 0.70 12 1.15 115 5.70 22 1.36 196 4.08 9 2.09 47 0.55 39 0.73 319 12.51 2,304

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 5,532,068 32,966,606.79 11,517,164 48,943,132.64 809,850 2,283,703.64 2,011,276 10,259,941.60 5,731,363 11,471,888.72 16,114,610 172,739,997.51 92,839 46,419.50 5,847,260 76,985,055.03 9,791,238 92,929,474.54 299,073 209,351.10 1,077,800 1,239,470.00 6,431,803 37,281,997.60 968,131 1,307,871.23 6,244,712 25,537,716.36 181,826 380,016.34 1,789,990 943,664.80 1,545,132 1,116,164.60 10,252,606 130,387,500.16 86,238,741 647,029,972.16

BREWERIES Company Name GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 47 218.00 34 5.61 141 83.00 222

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 180,556 39,079,337.96 1,608,350 9,168,981.24 1,437,693 119,086,267.41 3,226,599 167,334,586.61

BUILDING MATERIALS Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 60 18.79 5 7.36 21 101.50 23 42.55 109

Quantity Traded Value 686,569 10,356 121,595 190,869 1,009,389

of Shares (N) 12,731,706.03 72,716.12 12,328,387.50 8,128,307.31 33,261,116.96

CHEMICAL & PAINTS Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC DN MEYER PLC NIGERIAN-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 8 9.90 14 25.50 7 1.20 3 10.53 1 1.07 1 5.11 34

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 20,285 190,881.85 119,327 3,026,815.70 127,850 153,420.00 5,000 50,050.00 300 306.00 200 972.00 272,962 3,422,445.55

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Company Name RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 7 2.65 7

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 107,019 283,600.35 107,019 283,600.35

COMPUTER & OFFICE EQUIPMENT Company Name THOMAS WYATT PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 1 1.38 1

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,387 3,150.84 2,387 3,150.84

NSE delists Bank PHB, Afribank, Spring, Nampak, NBC •Approves N38b for Flours Mills, 2 others

T

No of DealsQuotation(N) 36 29.25 13 0.76 54 39.00 74 28.00 177

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 188,738 5,580,055.32 2,155,950 1,639,322.00 747,562 29,157,348.94 20,586,461 566,371,008.58 23,678,711 602,747,734.84

CONSTRUCTION Company Name JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC MULTIVERSE PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 15 55.11 1 0.50 16

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 239,215 13,179,127.75 5,000 2,500.00 244,215 13,181,627.75

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Company Name CUTIX PLC NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 2 2.18 2 0.52 4

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 680 1,496.00 8,300 4,250.00 8,980 5,746.00

million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N1.40 per share.

In what may herald a long list of State bonds, the council approved the plan by Niger State to raise N9 billion through a bond issue.

The state’s 14 per cent fixed rate redeemable infrastructure development bond 2011/2018 of N1,000 each, would be offered at par value, implying a tenor of seven years and a coupon rate of 14 per cent.

At the trading floor, the negative overall market situation worsened yesterday, with the benchmark index dropping by 1.11 per cent as against a marginal decline of 0.28 per cent in previous trading session.

The All Share Index (ASI) dropped from 21,538.04 points to 21,298.07 points, while aggregate market capi-

‘The depreciation worsened the year-to-date return on the NSE to -14.02 per cent as the bears rattled highly capitalised stocks’

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 6-09-11 REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC UNIC INSURANCE PLC. UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 12 45.00 24 16.55 381 8.41 77 9.42 77 76.00 9 4.27 20 4.15 70 402.00 4 0.50 674

No of DealsQuotation(N) 2 5.31 3 0.94 15 1.61 15 26.00 12 3.80 1 1.27 1 3.87 49

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 10,000 50,500.00 3,000 2,810.00 151,825 236,524.25 149,980 4,015,138.30 136,842 493,999.62 50,000 63,500.00 2,686 9,884.48 504,333 4,872,356.65

HOTEL & TOURISM Company Name CAPITAL HOTEL PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 6 7.50 6

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 8,648,940 64,833,750.00 8,648,940 64,833,750.00

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 DealsQuotation(N) 4 7.10 5 40.53 1 0.50 15 6.00 25

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,336 15,768.00 7,350 283,048.50 7,000 3,500.00 74,338 438,923.62 91,024 741,240.12

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Company Name CHAMS PLC STARCOMMS PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 1 0.50 6 0.50 7

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 500 250.00 93,901 46,950.50 94,401 47,200.50

INSURANCE Company Name No of DealsQuotation(N) AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 52 0.70 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 6 1.02 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE CO. PLC. 5 0.50 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSURANCE PLC 7 2.52 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 1 0.50 GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 30 1.05 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 3 0.50 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 2 0.50 LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC. 14 0.50 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC 1 0.50 N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. 26 0.50 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 1 0.50 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. 2 1.57

0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

1,800 3,000 1,324,000 11,750 14,508,099

900.00 1,500.00 662,000.00 5,875.00 8,879,051.79

No of DealsQuotation(N) 6 0.92 6

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 780,212 689,396.84 780,212 689,396.84

MARITIME Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 78 0.93 78

Company Name AFROMEDIA PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 1 0.51 1

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,811,313 2,641,323.27 2,811,313 2,641,323.27

MEDIA Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 14,652 675,980.00 232,075 3,840,290.20 17,835,501 154,169,055.93 1,148,878 10,871,613.02 611,702 46,683,758.42 35,710 145,112.60 261,531 1,098,211.71 119,967 47,437,061.43 1,127,000 563,500.00 21,387,016 265,484,583.31

HEALTHCARE Company Name EKOCORP PLC EVANS MEDICALPLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC Sector Totals

1 1 2 4 158 LEASING

Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

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 TANTALIZERS PLC Sector Totals

talisation of quoted equities slipped from N6.86 trillion to N6.78 trillion.

The depreciation worsened the year-to-date return on the NSE to -14.02 per cent as the bears rattled highly capitalised stocks.

Dangote Cement recorded the highest drop of N2.50 to close at N101.50 per share, while UACN Property Development Company and Forte Oil, lost 93 kobo and 82 kobo to close at N17.78 and N15.72 respectively.

Nigerian Breweries however led the few gainers with a gain of 39 kobo to close at N83. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, followed with a gain of 38 kobo to close at N13.38, while Stanbic IBTC Bank gathered 30 kobo to close at N9.50 per share.

Turnover stood at 170.83 million shares worth N2.16 billion in 4,379 deals. The three most actively traded stocks were Unilever Nigeria, with 20.58 million shares; Dangote Flour, 17.84 million shares and First Bank, with 16.11 million shares.

The banking sector however remained atop the activity chart with a turnover of 86.24 million shares worth N647 million in 2,304 deals. Conglomerates sector recorded a turnover of 23.67 million shares valued at N602.7 million in 177 deals, while food and beverages sector pooled 21.38 million shares for N265.5 million in 674 deals.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

CONGLOMERATES Company Name PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC UAC OF NIGERIA PLC UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

HE Nigerian Stock Ex change (NSE) has delisted three banks, including Bank PHB, Afribank Nigeria and Spring Bank that were recently nationalised after they were adjudged to be incapable of meeting recapitalisation deadline.

The delisting of the banks finally sealed the fate of the beleaguered shareholders in the affected banks, who had continued trading on their shares even up to the day of their sudden expropriation.

The NSE also delisted Nampak Plc from the Daily Official List, while at the same time approving the delisting of the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC). Both companies had sought and received shareholders’ approvals for voluntary delisting.

Meanwhile, the council of NSE has approved requests

by Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Studio Press Nigeria Plc and Niger State Government to raise about N38 billion from the capital market, in a move that may signal the recovery of the primary market.

In the three applications, Flour Mills would be raising about N28.3 billion through a rights issue of 455.57 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N62. Also, Studio press Nigeria would be raising N353 million through a special placement of 252.10

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,546,117 1,058,742.86 96,230 98,161.50 500,000 250,000.00 50,900 128,629.00 10,000 5,000.00 1,932,912 2,049,185.86 124,925 62,462.50 3,761,667 1,880,833.50 712,577 357,288.50 7,195 3,597.50 4,324,375 2,162,187.50 5,000 2,500.00 95,651 150,188.07

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 39,000 19,890.00 39,000 19,890.00

MORTGAGE COMPANIES Company Name RESORT SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 1 0.50 1

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 100,000 50,000.00 100,000 50,000.00

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Company Name CRUSADER NIGERIA PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 1 0.50 1 0.50 2

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 5,000 2,500.00 10,000 5,000.00 15,000 7,500.00

PACKAGING Company Name NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 43 2.00 43

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 801,965 1,569,687.96 801,965 1,569,687.96

PETROLEUM(MARKETING) Company Name MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA OIL & GAS PLC. FORTE OIL PLC MOBIL OIL NIGERIA PLC. OANDO PLC TOTAL NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 4 63.86 15 34.36 44 4.90 19 15.72 9 148.00 144 29.00 18 203.32 253

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 3,941 241,619.20 26,859 879,111.69 697,004 3,266,943.11 138,170 2,172,032.40 14,037 2,054,053.00 503,584 14,640,931.03 53,648 10,422,712.10 1,437,243 33,677,402.53

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Company Name ACADEMY PRESS PLC. LONGMAN NIGERIA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 11 3.02 3 4.61 27 3.57 41

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 427,546 1,291,188.92 298,740 1,377,191.40 657,039 2,449,620.38 1,383,325 5,118,000.70

REAL ESTATE Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 12 17.78 12

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 54,067 961,340.56 54,067 961,340.56

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST Company Name SKYE SHELTER FUND Sector Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 23 100.00 23

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,050,010 205,001,000.00 2,050,010 205,001,000.00

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Company Name ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Sector Totals Overall Totals

No of DealsQuotation(N) 32 13.38 32 4,367

Quantity Traded Value of0 Shares (N) 501,426 6,517,957.00 501,426 6,517,957.0 170,596,488

2,071,325,165.97

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

58

NEWS

Ex-militants shut East-West Road

A

LARGE crowd of exmilitants yesterday barricaded the EastWest road at Mbiama, a border town in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The former militants were protesting their “neglect” by the Federal Government.

Mbiama is 34 kilometres to Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

As early as 5 am, the exmilitants barricaded the road, preventing travellers from moving into Bayelsa and Delta states.

The protesters, who were singing anti-government songs, did not molest motorists and passersby.

The famous Mbiama Tuesday market was disrupted.

The situation was tense as gunshots were heard from Igbogene, a boundary town between Rivers and Bayelsa states.

The Joint Task Force (JTF) and policemen from both states had a hard time controlling them.

Some of the placards carried by the protesters read: “Amnesty is granted to all repentant militants, why paying some and leaving the rest?”; “President Jonathan must take immediate action”; “We should not be neglecte after accepting amnesty offer.”

‘No more amnesty’

T

HE Presidential Amnesty Office has said the programme cannot accommodate more persons.

In a statement in Abuja yesterday, the head of the Media and Communication Department, Henry Ugbolue, said the protesting ex-militants wanted to be included in the third phase of the programme.

He said the programme, which kicked off in 2009, does not have a third phase.

According to Ugbolue, the Amnesty Office, under the leadership of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku, has not received any directive from the Presidency to include more ex-militants in the programme.

The statement reads:”Against the background of the protest in Bayelsa State today by persons who identified themselves as ex-militants who want to be included in the ‘Third Phase’ of the Amnesty Programme, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku, seeks to clarify once again that the Amnesty Programme does not have a Third Phase.

“Kuku is reiterating that the Amnesty Office is not admitting and has not been directed by President Goodluck Jonathan to admit new entrants into the programme.”

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt and Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

Their spokesman, ‘General’ Para Ekiyes, said they could no longer endure the neglect by the Federal Government.

He said they would not leave the road, until President Goodluck Jonathan takes action.

Ekiyes said: “It is very sad that we are being neglected and treated this way, at a time when a Niger Deltan is the President.

“Former President Umaru Yar’Adua meant well for the Niger Delta people, especially the former militants, this Jonathan ought to sustain.

“If the issue of neglect is not immediately addressed,

we will continue protesting.

In fact, we are ready to die.”

It was learnt that the soldiers and policemen pleaded with the protesters to leave the road, but they refused.

The security personnel decided not to apply force, in order not to aggravate the situation.

Rivers State police spokesman Ben Ugwuegbulam, who confirmed the incident, said the Area Commander and other senior police officers were at the scene, to maintain law and order.

JTF spokesman Lt. Col. Timothy Antigha said the ex-militants have a right to express their grievances through protest.

He said: “We are aware that they are holding a peaceful demonstration to press home their demands.

“They have a right to demonstrate. But they should not disrupt public peace.

“Our men are there watching them, and want to ensure that no life is lost.

We don’t want to react in a way that will cause loss of life.

“I am certain that the situation has been resolved because our men have been sent there to handle it from escalating to crisis.”

236 witnesses for Delta tribunal

T

WO hundred and thirty six witnesses are to testify before the Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

The tribunal adjourned till September 6 for hearing in the substantive suit of Democratic Peoples Party’s (DPP) Great Ogboru’s petition, challenging the victory of Governor Emmanuel Uduagahan.

A breakdown of the witnesses showed that Uduaghan (first respondent) will call 90 witnesses; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) (second respondent) 40 witnesses and Independent National Election Commission (INEC) 43.

Ogboru will call 63 witnesses.

INEC stormed the tribunal with seven truckloads of electoral materials used for the April 26 election in the 10 local government areas in dispute.

The local governments are Warri North; Warri South;

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

Warri Southwest; Burutu; Bomadi; Ethiope West; Udu; Ughelli North; Ughelli South and Patani.

The tribunal had granted the petitioner’s application for subpoena ad Testificandum and Duces Tecum on the Resident Electoral Commission (REC) to produce materials used during elections.

Activities marking the Delta State 2011/2012 legal year come up on September 13.

According to the Director, Protocol and Public Relations, State High Court, Mr. Stanley Elliot, activities will start with a church service at the Cathedral Church St Peter's (Bishop's Court) at 10am.

The ceremony will continue same day with inspection of a guard of honour by a detachment of the Nigeria Police by the State Chief Judge, Justice Abiodun Smith.

A special court session at the High Court will round off celebration

270 robbery, 108 kidnap suspects OBBERY and kidheld in Rivers napping in Rivers

R

State increased between June and August, according to police records.

The records, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Monday, showed that 40 robbery and 37 kidnap suspects were arrested in May. In June, there were 61 robbery and 19 kidnap suspects as against 121 robbery and 30 kidnap suspects in July.

The records also showed that by mid-August, the police had arrested 48 robbery and 22 kidnap suspects and by the end of the month, the

number of robbery suspects skyrocketed to 270; while the number of kidnap suspects shot up to 108.

On casualties, the records showed that 51 robbery suspects and 19 kidnap suspects were “fatally wounded”.

Seven police officers were killed by criminals during the period under review Furthermore, the police said 90 AK47 rifles, 34 stolen vehicles, motorbikes, hundreds of live ammunition, one laptop and 22 phones were recovered from the suspects during the period.

Monarch’s abductors demand N25m

T

HE abductors of the Ebeni Ibe of Atisa Kingdom in Bayelsa State, Godwin Igodo, are said to be demanding N25 million ransom before they can set him

free.

It was gathered that one of the kidnappers, who called Igodo’s family, demanded N25million as ransom.

The caller was said to have spoken in the monarch’s Epie dialect, an indication that Igodo may have been abducted by outsiders, conspiring with some of his subjects.

The whereabouts of the monarch remained unknown, 72 hours after his abduction.

A source said youths in the community have started searching for the monarch .

Police spokesman Eguavoen Emokpae said he was yet to be briefed on the matter by Igodo’s family.

Igodo was kidnapped on September 1 in his palace.

SSS explains constraints in arresting kidnap suspects •The women protesting...yesterday

Ijaw women seize NNPC/Chevron site in Delta ORK on the multibillion naira Escravos to Lagos gas pipeline of the Nigerian Gas Company and Chevron Nigeria Limited was disrupted yesterday at the Chanomi Creeks, Warri, Delta State, following a protest by Ijaw women from Gbaramatu Kingdom.

The pipeline is to serve as the backbone for gas distribution network to Lagos and the northern states of the country.

The protesters, comprising women, children and grandmothers, stormed the

W

From Shola O’Neil, Warri

site of the contracting firm, Fenog Nigeria Limited, to protest alleged non-provision of basic amenities, including water and electricity, They alleged the failure of the Federal Government to connect their communities to the national grid.

The protesters asked workers to vacate and move out their equipment from the Seitorobubor site.

They displayed placards blaming government and the Nigeria National Petro-

leum Corporation (NNPC) for the continued neglect of their communities.

The women, drawn from communities, such as Oporoza, Okerenkoko, Otunana and Kunukunuma, set up temporary structures on the site and vowed to remain there, until their requests were granted.

Their leaders, Madam Gulder Ebikeme, Mrs. Ati Dafe and Justina Timiyan said the operations of the oil multinationals have not benefited them, since the commencement of oil operations in the area.

A worker of Fenog said the company was not the target of the protest, stressing that it was just a victim caught in the middle.

The worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “The demands of the communities, although genuine, are beyond our company, they are things that only the government can address.”

The Officer in Charge of Camp 5 Base of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Capt Jacob Marsa, advised the protesters to direct their grievances to the appropriate quarters.

S

TATE Security Service (SSS) yesterday explained why it is constrained in arresting some suspected kidnappers, who collect ransom from their victims.

It blamed families of kidnapped victims, who hurriedly pay ransom money without informing the agency.

SSS Director in Edo State Bakori Bello-Tukur yesterday said the family of the late musician, Omoregbe Okpeyen, would have called to inform them about the ransom payment on Sunday night.

He said: “Before we start working with the family, we usually hear they have paid the ransom.

“The family does not report on time until it has degenerated to a critical point and at the end they pay without dis-

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

cussing with us.

“There is no kidnapping without the knowledge of an insider and we need all necessary information to kick kidnappers out of this state.”

Three persons, John Kingsley, Frank Ikhine and Ehibogy Ogorchukwu, who kidnapped and raped their 18year old victim, were paraded by the SSS. They were said to have taken their victim to Asaba from Benin, where they raped her and demanded for N7million.

Others paraded were Paul Sambo, Godwin Sambo and Ohron Akpan.

They allegedly duped their victim of N270,000 and threatened to kidnap her if she did not part with N400,000.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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NEWS Bauchi to pay minimum wage From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

THE Bauchi State Government has said it would pay the N18,000 minimum wage to its civil servants.

Head of Civil Service Abdon Dalla Gin signed the new wage agreement on behalf of the government while Comrade Hashimu Mohammed Gital signed for the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

This followed weeks of negotiations between the government and organised labour in the state.

The payment of the new wage is with effect from April 1, for those earning below N18,000 monthly while those earning above this would have theirs from September 1.

Gin addressed reporters at the signing ceremony at Government House Council Chamber, Bauchi, with NLC leaders.

He said no worker would be punished or victimised for taking part in the negotiation or contributing to the agreement.

The government is to pay arrears of three months to those who earn less than N18,000 monthly from April to September.

Gital thanked the government for approving the payment of the new minimum wage, urging civil servants to put in their best.

He appealed to them to be punctual, dedicated, and committed to their duties.

Plateau workers end six-day strike

Muslims, Christians urge security overhaul in Jos

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USLIMS and Christians in Plateau State yesterday called for an overhaul of the nation’s security system, particularly in Jos, the state capital, to enable peace to return to the city.

Leaders of both faith addressed reporters yesterday at different fora.

The Muslims, through its Council of Ulama, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to tackle increasing violence and insecurity in Jos. In a letter to the President, the Muslims alleged that the current violence was caused by the attack on their members during last Sallah prayer at Rukuba.

The letter was signed by the Chief Imam of Jos, Sheikh Balarabe Dawud, Sheikh Muhammad Sani Yahya Jingir and Sheikh Alhassan

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu and Marie-Therese Peter, Jos

Sa’eed.

The statement reads: “Muslims were attacked with stones, bows and arrows as well as guns. The act led to the death of many innocent Muslims, while hundreds, including children and the aged, were injured and over 200 vehicles of the Muslim worshippers burnt down.

“We view the act as the height of intolerance and taking the persecution of Muslims in Jos to a new but dangerous level. This illegal act occurred even when security operatives were duly informed of the Muslims’ convergence for prayers but the

Christian mob had a field day for hours, inflicting havoc on the hapless Muslims.

“We are disturbed by the continued silence of both Plateau State and Federal Government over this ugly development. We also note with sadness that up to the time of writing this letter no single arrest to our knowledge was made in that area where the unfortunate incident took place despite the fact that some of the perpetrators of the heinous act are well known.”

The letter, which called for the immediate intervention of the President, requested him to “order a thorough investigation into the matter to ensure that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are brought to book in the inter-

HE Chairman of Silame Local Government in Sokoto State, Alhaji Mani Maishinko, has said flood has destroyed farm produce worth more than N1 billion in the area.

Maishinko told NAN yesterday in Silame that rice, millet, beans, onions, sweet potatoes, pepper, tomatoes and guinea corn, among others, were destroyed by the flood.

He said more than 60,000 farmers were affected in Silame, Gande, Gaukai, Katami, Falanje, Jekanadu, Tozo, Daankala, Laimi, Maje, Marafa, Dalmi and Kulalu communities, among others.

“Over 80 per cent of the people of Silame Local Gov-

ernment are either farmers or fishermen and they were all affected. The incident occurred last Friday when River Rima overflowed its banks and the entire local government area was overwhelmed,” he said.

He attributed the recent flood to climate change.

Maishinko said: “There was a devastating flood in September 2010, which led to massive loss of lives, property, farmlands and farm products.

“But this year, it was predicted that there was going to be heavy rainfall at the onset of the rainy season,” he

explained.

He noted that the rains did not peak earlier as predicted by weather experts.

“So, the farmers planted but the rains were not heavy initially and that was what stunted the growth of the farm produce.

“They should have been spared if they had grown earlier. That was why they were destroyed when the rains became heavy,” Maishinko said.

He said a committee had been set up to find out the remote and immediate causes of the flood.

Maishinko said: “Some houses were also destroyed by the flood but the actual number will be ascertained by the committee.”

Yakowa: Tribunal adjourns indefinitely for written addresses From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

•Yakowa

T

HE Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kaduna yesterday adjourned indefinitely the petition by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) candidate Haruna Saeed Kajuru challenging the election of Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa.

The tribunal Chairman, Justice Garba Kwajafa, urged the parties to serve their written addresses and responses on each other for a date to be fixed for the adoption of the addresses.

Praising the parties for their cooperation, Justice Kwajafa said: “The respondents have 10 days from today (yesterday) to serve the petitioner with their written addresses while the petitioner has seven days from the day of service to respond, after which a date will be fixed for the adoption of the addresses.”

Yakowa closed his case yesterday after calling seven witnesses.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it was not calling any witness because it was in agreement with the governor.

At a sitting, which lasted about five hours yesterday, lead counsel to Yakowa, Joseph Daudu (SAN), announced that the respondents were closing their case after presenting seven witnesses, who were cross-examined by

the counsel to the petitioners, Adebayo Oba Adelodun (SAN).

Counsel to INEC, Emmanuel Toro (SAN), also spoke in the same vein, concurring with the first respondent’s position.

There was a mild drama when the counsel to the petitioner attempted to tender a voter’s register containing the names of one of the witnesses, Danladi Usman, who claimed that he voted after being accredited.

He alleged that the column for accreditation against his name was not marked.

The counsel to the first and second respondents opposed the tendering of the document, saying the time limit for it had expired.

Addressing reporters after the sitting, one of the governor’s counsel, Yunus Ustaz (SAN), said the respondents closed their case because “we don’t want to waste the tribunal’s time.”

Gunmen shoot youth leader in Bauchi

S

OME gunmen, suspected to be assassins, yesterday shot a Bauchi youth leader, Uba Boris, at his home in Bauchi, the state capital.

He sustained injuries on his head, hands and thigh.

Boris spoke with The Nation on his hospital bed, saying: “I was in my house last night when some people came in and threatened one of my wives to lead them to

est of justice”.

The Christian community urged the Federal Government to overhaul the Special Task Force (STF) for the restoration of peace in Jos. The state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), through its Chairman, Rev. Philip Dafes, addressed reporters yesterday at the association’s secretariat in Zawan, Jos South Local Government.

The state Council of Chiefs, an umbrella body of first-class chiefs, yesterday urged the federal and the state governments to overhaul the nation’s security machinery because of the emerging threats that have caused the loss of lives and property.

Rising from its quarterly meeting at the Government House, Rayfield, Jos, its spokesman and Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Buba, condemned the recent violence in the capital city as well as the public workers’ strike, which has paralysed economic activities in the state.

The Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisies, code-named Operation Safe Haven, has named Brig-Gen. Pat Akem as its new Commander.

Akem was a Directing Staff at the National Defence College, Abuja, before his appointment.

In a statement yesterday, STF spokesperson Captain Charles Ekeocha said Akem urged the residents to support him as they did for his predecessor, Brig-Gen. Hassan Umaru.

Flood destroys N1b farm produce in Sokoto T

From Marie-Therese Peter, Jos

THE Plateau State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as well as the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) have called off the strike by government workers on the new minimum wage.

The strike had begun on September 1, with Labour insisting that it would be indefinite unless the government agreed to pay the N18,000 new wage.

An agreement ending the strike was endorsed by Mrs. Helen Shaldas, Dr. Ishaya Agaldo and Felix Adawana, the Permanent Secretary, Establishment; Permanent Secretary, General Administration; and Solicitor-General/ Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice; and Comrade Jibrin Bancir (NLC); Comrade Austine Agbo (TUC); and Comrade Yusuf Zambuk (JNC).

•Chiefs call for tighter security •STF gets new commander

From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

where I was or they would kill her.”

It was learnt that when the assailants entered his room, they told Boris that they were sent to kill him.

Boris said the suspected assassins, who were unmasked, collected his cell phones and other valuables.

According to him, an argu-

ment ensued “between them and me and they shot me on my thigh. As I struggled with one of them, they stabbed me on my head and macheted me several times before they made away with my generator”.

The gunmen also stabbed Boris’s wife several times before they fled.

Boris said he did not suspect anybody for the attack, thanking God for his narrow

escape from death.

The youth leader has reported the attack to a police station, but no arrest had been made.

Boris said he would not be able to identify his attackers because he did not look at their faces.

Contacted, Police Public Relations Officer Mohammed Barau, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), denied knowledge of the attack.

VACANCY FOR REGISTERED NURSES AND REGISTERED MIDWIVES Applications are invited to fill vacancies for registered Nurses and Midwives in an inpatient and out-patient private hospital.

Send Resume to P.O. Box 8552, Wuse, Abuja.

INVITATION TO TENDER FOR CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTS AND PURCHASE OF ITEMS. Tenders are hereby invited from reputable and registered contractors with Bassa Local Government Council for the following projects: 1.

Rehabilitation of Rimi Road.

2.

Fencing of Fuskan Mata Clinic.

3.

Electrification of Ta’agbe.

4.

Construction of Secretariat Gate.

5.

Purchase of Tipper.

6.

Purchase of two 300kva Transformer.

7.

Fencing of Binchin Clinic.

Interested contractors should apply and collect unpriced bills of quantities and other details regarding the projects from the Works Department of Bassa Local Government Council upon payment of non-refundable fee of Fifteen Thousand Naira (15,000.00) only.

NOTE: Tenders are to be returned on or before 12 th September, 2011 in sealed spiral binding of 3 copies each and addressed to: The Executive Chairman Bassa Local Government Council Plateau State.

Also the council is not bound to contract any of its projects to the lowest or highest bidder please.

Signed: ENGR. MARK T. SHOW Director of Works For Executive Chairman Bassa Local Government Council

LOSS OF TITLE DOCUMENT This is to inform the general public and the Land Registry, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos that the original copy of the Deed of Conveyance dated 2nd day of August, 1960 and registered as No 46 at Page 46 in Volume 392 at the Land Registry Ibadan but now within the confines of the Lagos Land Registry Alausa which belongs to the Joseph Boyoye Ajibesin Family in respect of the property at No. 13, Alaba Street, Mushin, Lagos is missing.

Since all efforts to locate the said document has proved futile, we urge the General Public and the Lagos State Government to take notice of this loss.

Signed: MR. ADEBAYO AJIBESIN For the Ajibesin Family

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

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FOREIGN NEWS Pro-democracy groups intensify protest in Swaziland THE “Global Week of Action for Swaziland” planned by the Swaziland Mass Democracy Movement to intensify its pro-democracy campaign commenced yesterday in the Swaziland capital of Mbabane.

The demonstrations, notably with apparent discrepancies of the actual numbers of the masses proceeded, despite reports that the government tried and failed to get an interdict barring them, albeit for reasons not yet disclosed by Prime Minister, Sibusiso Dlamini’s administration.

The demands of the group remain the same as previous demonstrations, including: •an end to corruption; •the unbanning of political parties; •the release of political prisoners and ‘unconditional’ return of ‘Swazi exiles’ - (a contested concept); and •the abolishment of the ‘one party state’ political system of governance referred to as the Tinkhundla, that will lead to the return of multiparty democracy in Swaziland.

Israeli Army chief warns of Middle East war

Pakistan bars CIA informant on Bin Laden from travelling

T

HE Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA track Osama bin Lad-

en to his compound in the town of Abbottabad has been barred from leaving the country.

The official Pakistani commission investigating the alQaida leader’s presence in the country announced yesterday that Dr Shakil Afridi and others it wanted to question are banned from going abroad without its permission. This is a blow to Washington’s efforts to get Afridi freed from Pakistani custody and give him sanctuary in the US. The Guardian revealed in July that, before bin Laden’s death in May, Afridi had set up a fake vaccination programme in Abbottabad in the hope of being able to obtain

DNA samples from the house where the al-Qaida chief was suspected of living.

The CIA was never sure of bin Laden’s presence in the Abbottabad house, even when the decision was made to launch a unilateral American special forces operation to raid the compound on 2 May. The doctor had been recruited by the CIA for an elaborate scheme to vaccinate residents for hepatitis B, a ploy to get a DNA sample from those living in the house to see if they were bin Laden family members.

Pakistani and American officials are at loggerheads over the fate of Afridi: Washington sees him as a hero, while Islamabad says that he committed a serious crime by working for a foreign intelligence

agency. The commission’s latest decision will be helpful to the Pakistani authorities in resisting American demands to free Afridi.

The issue of Afridi is entangled in Pakistan’s anger over the operation to kill Bin Laden, which was undertaken without its knowledge, and the Pakistani military’s fears that the CIA has established an extensive spy network in the country using Pakistani citizens.

Afridi was arrested by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency three weeks after the bin Laden operation, on the outskirts of Peshawar, in north-west Pakistan. He has not been charged with any crime. His real job was working as a government health official, in charge of a part of

T

•Pakistani President Asif Ali

the tribal area that borders Afghanistan. He has been held ever since. Washington wants to give Afridi and his wife and children a new life in the US. Pakistan felt humiliated by the bin Laden operation: not only was the al-Qaida leader living comfortably in a picturesque garrison town, but an American special forces squad was able to enter its territory by helicopter and kill him before Pakistan’s defence forces were alerted.

Somali leaders agree to hold polls in 12 months

L

EADERS in Somalia signed a deal yesterday planning to hold elections within a year, aiming to end a string of ineffective transitional United Nations-backed administrations.

The deal commits the government to a new constitution, stipulates reforms in governance and security services and calls for talks with armed opposition groups. It also says African

Union troops supporting the government should spread beyond the capital of Mogadishu.

That is all the territory the transitional administration currently holds. Most of the rest of southern Somalia is held by Islamist insurgents, although allied militias hold a few other areas in southern Somalia.

The plan says the international community will provide financial support based

on the achievement of results. The government currently gets little direct support from Western donors, who worry about corruption. But over the past two years it has received tens of millions of dollars in cash, mainly from Arab states.

Most of that is unaccounted for.

The plan is an “important measure” that sets out timelines and benchmarks, said Augustine Mahiga, the top

United Nations official working on Somalia.

“The Somali people are expecting us to achieve full security so that they can have a good life. We will sustain and honor their dignity, and will lead them to prosperity,” said Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed.

A long-running feud between the president and the speaker of parliament is one reason the government has remained weak and divided.

HE commander of Israel’s Home Front has issued a stark warning that the Middle East is headed for a full-scale, multi-front war that would see the use of weapons of mass destruction.

“After the Arab Spring, we predict that a winter of radical Islam will arrive,” Major-General Eyal Eisenberg told a press conference in Tel Aviv.

“As a result the possibility for a multi-front war has increased, including the potential use of weapons of mass destruction.”

But yesterday Israel’s Defence Minister Ehud Barak did his best to discredit General Eisenberg’s dramatic prediction.

While touring the Syrian border in Israel’s north he said he could see no reason for Israel’s adversaries to launch a large-scale conflict.

“I am also convinced that none of our enemies will dare use chemical weapons against Israel, not now and not in the future,” he added.

General Eisenberg himself took to Israeli army radio to explain that his comments had been taken out of context. He maintained, however, that the threat of a Middle Eastern conflict was increasing and pointed to strained relations between Israel and Turkey as a cause of further instability.

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http://www.thenationonlineng.net

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL.7 NO.1876

Tomorrow in THE NATION ‘We have few options left outside dialogue. Increasingly, we have become more vulnerable. . We cannot today identify those who are Nigerians. The ID project that would have brought a measure of sanity was sabotaged by PDP dealers and wheelers and those who benefit from anarchy in our nation’ JIDE OLUWAJUYITAN

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

M

AJOR Hamza al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, may not be most people’s idea of a hero, given the widespread belief that, in the words of the Nigerian Tribune (September 2), he was “the pointman of a regime which debased human dignity and abused human rights.”

Even then his 12-year incarceration, mainly over the murder of Alhaja Kudirat, wife of late Chief MKO Abiola, seems to have attracted much public sympathy to him.

Obviously this public sympathy is not due to the length of his trial alone. In addition, the man has apparently been a good student – master is probably the more accurate word – of propaganda. This much is obvious from the way he seems to have succeeded in diverting public attention away from the charge he faces since the resumption of his trial last month.

That his claim of a grand conspiracy to bury “June 12” by hanging the murder of Kudirat on his neck - or by even killing him - because he knew too much about the conspiracy is so much drivel should be pretty obvious from the fact that his trial was never meant to be secret. On the contrary, it couldn’t have been more open. As for killing him he, of all people, should know, as a self-styled spymaster, that doing so after he’d already said so much would have amounted to shutting the gate after the horse had bolted away.

All of which makes it truly amazing how many otherwise sensible and intelligent people seem to believe so much in his conspiracy theory that they apparently think behind his smokescreen there must be a fire.

People, for example, like the editors at Newswatch, the otherwise respectable pioneer of weekly newsmagazine journalism in Nigeria. In its August 11 edition, the magazine ran a cover story on the resumed hearing of the Kudirat case before the Lagos High Court, Igbosere, on August 1. In the story, it said former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, “...is said to be working hard to ensure he (al-Mustapha) remains behind bars.”

Sources, it said, “told Newswatch that Abubakar allegedly visited Lagos on July 12, and held a meeting with Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, and Hafsat Abiola, daughter of the late Abiola, in furtherance of this objective.”

I don’t know about Hafsat, but I know Newswatch did not talk to Abubakar to verify the allegation. Chances are it also did not talk to Asiwaju Tinubu. However, it didn’t even have to talk to Abubakar to see that it was unlikely he would sit in the same room with Hafsat to discuss anything when it was well-known that she had accused him in an American court, not too long ago, of killing her father.

As for Tinubu, Abubakar did indeed once sit down with him to discuss al-Mustapha’s trial. But this was when the Asiwaju was governor. And, far from asking for alMustapha to be jailed, Abubakar’s plea was for his release or speedy trial. Tinubu, I can confirm, told Abubakar quite rightly that it

RIPPLES I MAY GO BACK TO PDP, says Fayose

Please do...you must be ‘BROKE’ by now

People and Politics By MOHAMMED HARUNA ndajika@yahoo.com

al-Mustapha: Time to set this canary free

•al-Mustapha

would be politically suicidal at the time for him to enter a nolle for the accused given the prevailing sentiments in his constituency over the murder of Kudirat.

Two weeks ago, when I first wrote on this al-Mustapha’s repackaged old song, I concluded that his conspiracy story was essentially fiction dressed as fact. However, I did not elaborate. Instead, I said the elaboration was a subject matter for another day.

Last weekend, the press reported Abubakar as responding to questions from reporters about al-Mustapha’s allegations during his Sallah visit to the Government House, Minna, in the company of General Babangida, with an answer that he was preparing his response and they will hear from him at the appropriate time. This, I thought, was an opportunity for the elaboration I promised. Hence this piece.

“I am,” Abubakar reportedly said, “not making any political statement; when a general prepares for battle, he makes programme and plan. My plan is on and you will hear of it at the right time.”

Reading those remarks I thought the general misspoke not only because generals don’t do battles with majors even in an army like Nigeria’s where, as a former army chief, General Salihu Ibrahim, once said, “Anything goes.” The former head of state also misspoke because one needed little more than the most casual attention to the way al-Mustapha had turned himself into a chatterbox to realise that he had, by talking too much, since given his game away.

“Many officers,” he told the Lagos State High Court at his resumed hearing, “wanted to become Head of State, but God gave me the wisdom and I assisted General Abdulsalami Abubakar to become president. But this is the price I am paying for my loyalty and assisting him.” So, there.

What al-Mustapha did not add, but what was inadvertently revealed in an interview by his former orderly, Sergeant Kyari Gadzama, in last week’s Sunday Sun, was that he probably fancied himself among those “many officers” worthy of succeeding his departed boss. al-Mustapha, said the still loyal Gadzama, “could have taken over power at that time because he was eminently qualified by the Military Act...But he was not greedy and he chose to hand-over to General Abdulsalami Abubakar. Nobody could have challenged him if he had taken over power. Now he is paying for his loyalty.”

Clearly, al-Mustapha suffers from delusions of grandeur; among others, the delusion that Abubakar, as the greatest beneficiary of his presumed grace to anoint a head of state after his boss died, owed him a huge debt for life.

However, far from returning his grace, Abubakar, in al-Mustapha’s self-delusion, pretended he was helpless to do anything about his trial for the murder of Kudirat. Worse, the general even wanted him jailed for it!

The role al-Mustapha played as Abacha’s CSO

HARDBALL

I

T is perhaps a reflection of the unfair international power structure, particularly as exampled by the dominance of the United States, that public officials from developing countries readily offer deep insights into the inner workings of their governments to US diplomatic personnel.

We have the whistle-blower site, Wikileaks, which has uploaded tons of secret US diplomatic communications on the Internet, to thank for exposing that unseemly and embarrassing reality. This is not the first time US diplomatic cables would be made public. But just as we thought the worst was over, new and more humiliating revelations have surfaced on the Internet. So far, three concern us, and we are sure to receive responses from the affected Nigerian officials in the coming days. Those responses are likely to say they were quoted out of context, or that the statements attributed to them were either distorted or not made at all. And it will be safe to make such denials because the US will not join issues with anyone to authenticate the statements.

One of the three Wikileaks documents credits Gen Abdulrahman Danbazzau, former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, with a scathing remark about the character of President Goodluck Jonathan. In a meeting he

Wikileaks and its tremors was said to have held with the American ambassador to Nigeria at the time, Dr Robin Sanders, Dambazzau allegedly said that Jonathan, like Yar’Adua before him, had been caged by a clique from his home state. In addition, the COAS was alleged to have described the president as a simple man who was easily influenced. Now, no matter how we analyse Danbazzau’s alleged statement, it is an unflattering description of the man who now rules about 150 million Nigerians, among whom are some difficult and obstreperous interest groups.

A second Wikileaks posting quotes Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, former boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), glibly passing judgement on his mentor, former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He was reported to have met with the same ubiquitous Ambassador Sanders and heartily discussed the anti-corruption battle he was leading. According to Wikileaks, Sanders quotes Ribadu as dismissing Obasanjo’s anti-corruption war. Obasanjo, alleged Ribadu, was hypocritical in the anti-corruption war, was clev-

in the dehumanisation of President Olusegun Obasanjo as a coup convict under Abacha’s gulag, is well known. So also is Obasanjo’s well known vengefulness in spite of his selfdeclaration as a born-again Christian upon his release from prison in 1998. To expect that anyone, even Abubakar who played a vital role in Obasanjo’s return literally from hell to glory and power, could stop Obasanjo from getting his pound of flesh once he became president in May 1999 was like expecting hell to freeze over.

It was, therefore, not surprising that in September 1999, barely three months into office, he gave the go ahead for al-Mustapha and several others, including Sergeant Barnabas Jabila Mshelia, aka Sgt Rogers, the alleged marksman in several alleged extrajudicial killings under Abacha, to be prosecuted for sundry crimes, including the murder of Kudirat.

Sgt Rogers soon became the star state witness against the others. It eventually transpired that Rogers was never tried for any crime. Instead, he was surreptitiously recalled back to army duty in 2005, possibly earlier.

This led to widespread public bewilderment and suspicions that the trial of al-Mustapha and co. was, to begin with, more political than a drive for justice. The bewilderment and suspicions have been fuelled further by the fact that all except al-Mustapha have since been discharged by the courts. al-Mustapha, as I said at the beginning of this piece, is hardly most people’s idea of a hero. Certainly, he isn’t mine. But then even a villain deserves speedy trial and alMustapha’s has been anything but speedy.

There are lawyers like Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, who say al-Mustapha has only himself to blame for the delay because of his antics in court, among which was his allegation that a judge in the case had asked for a N10 million bribe to set him free. This is not to mention the innumerable adjournments he’d asked for; 49 at the last count, the senior lawyer said in an interview with the Daily Trust (May 11).

Osinbajo should know if only because for six years he had personally prosecuted the case as one time Attorney General of Lagos State in which the murder of Kudirat took place.

Even then 12 years seems a long time to try anyone for conspiracy to murder. It’s time the courts set him free or convicted him so that, his antics notwithstanding, he may quickly be granted a presidential pardon having languished in jail long after all his other coaccused for the conspiracy to murder Kudirat, among other crimes, have been discharged.

•For comments, send SMS to 08054502909

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above erly corrupt himself, and the corruption under him was worse than under the late military head of state, Gen Sani Abacha. Stunning as these revelations are, the most interesting thing about them, was the ease and effectiveness with which the American ambassador coaxed weighty information from willing Nigerian officials. Given the weight of the disclosures, it is unlikely Sanders will be in a hurry to visit Nigeria soon.

Finally, according to Wikileaks, a US embassy political officer met a broad range of traditional leaders from the North and intelligence chiefs who revealed to him how they allegedly conspired to undermine law and order in Nigeria by ensuring preferential treatment for Boko Haram terrorists. The Sultan of Sokoto and some 13 emirs are mentioned. There will be reactions to these weighty allegations, and it will be interesting to hear whether they discussed with the American ambassador and her representatives or not. If they did, we would like to find out why they did it so enthusiastically.

Lastly, we should also like to know what the Nigerian government feels about its top generals and leaders freely given sensitive information to foreign diplomats and, impliedly, intelligence agents. Do our ambassadors and political officers have the same access to top American generals and heads of sensitive agencies?

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