The Nation September 10, 2011

2NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

9/11 ATTACKS... TEN YEARS AFTER

Siblings of 46 twin victims T

WINS, particularly identical ones, have always fascinated me. They are different from the rest of us, living their lives in the context of a ‘we’ rather than the more usual ‘I’.

In 1994, I made the Bafta-award-winning documentary Silent Twins: Without My Shadow, about identical twins and elective mutes June and Jennifer Gibbons, who committed arson and were sentenced, aged just 19, to an indefinite period inside Broadmoor.

Theirs was an extreme tale of an intense love-hate relationship and a struggle for an individual personality, resolved only by Jennifer’s premature death, aged 30. June struggled to carve a separate identity for herself after she lost her sister.

When Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s commissioning editor for documentaries, asked me earlier this year to make a film about the twins who lost their ‘other halves’ in the attacks on New York’s Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, I accepted without hesitation.

Almost 3,000 people were killed in the attacks that terrible day, and 46 of them were twins. The number sounds extraordinarily high, but it is, in fact, in line with statistical probability.

The story of the surviving siblings had never been told and, given the fascinating nature of twinship, the twins of the Twin Towers seemed both a powerful metaphor for loss and a useful prism through which to revisit the events of that fateful day, and to commemorate the tenth anniversary.

For the twins themselves, making the documentary was to prove a much wanted opportunity for their loss to be acknowledged.

As Lisa DeRienzo, 45, whose brother Michael died that day, says: ‘It was shocking to see how many other twins were affected. Everyone else is talked about, but you never hear that they were a twin.

‘I think people need to know that we’re special people, too.’

Greg Hoffman, 46, is one of 13 children and grew up in the New York borough of Queens. He and his identical twin Stephen were gregarious and energetic, entirely as one in their twinship, and very much defined by it.

When Greg, then aged eight, broke his jaw, he cried all night because he thought the resultant scarring would mean that he’d broken his twinship.

‘I didn’t think Stephen and I were going to look alike any more,’ he says. ‘I thought I’d done something irreparable and permanent.’

The pair met their future wives while they attended the same college, set up home near each other, and had daughters, Madison and Madeline, within a year of each other.

Others felt indivisible from their twins – two halves of a whole. Linda McGee, 50, a schoolteacher who lives in the Bronx, lost her identical twin, Brenda, who worked as a systems analyst on the 97th floor of the north tower.

When they were growing up, Linda and Brenda were known collectively as ‘Brendalinda’. ‘If Brenda did something, it was Brendalinda,’ says Linda. ‘If I did something, it was Brendalinda. And it was just like one. So who did it? “Brendalinda.” ’ It was the same for 57-year-old Gary Guja, a physician’s assistant whose identical twin, Geoff, a firefighter, died when the south tower fell. ‘I remember my mother often saying, “I don’t know who did it, but you’re both getting punished now.” ’ Gary says, ‘I love my sisters and other brothers, but there’s just no comparison between the relationship between twins. It’s really a unity. It’s a oneness.’

Zachary Fletcher, 47, a New York City firefighter who lost his twin Andre, also a firefighter, feels that half of him is missing too.

•World Trade Centre When they were growing up, the pair felt their twinship distinguished them from other children.

‘We used to play that we were like superheroes because being a twin, we had special powers,’ says Zachary.

The Twin Towers was an ambitious building project, which rejuvenated New York’s financial district in Lower Manhattan. Completed in 1973, the buildings dominated the Manhattan skyline and could be seen from 25 miles away.

Greg recalls standing and looking at the World Trade Centre with Stephen. ‘We said to each other, “They’re our buildings, man, the twins and the towers, those are our buildings.’’ ’ The need to form a coherent narrative of the events in our lives is often born of the desire to find understanding, and in the case of the twins, their stories of 9/11 have

•Special bond: Lisa DeRienzo and her twin Michael, left, shortly before he was killed

been worked and reworked over ten years in an attempt to comprehend how something so terrible could have happened.

When Greg heard the news of the first hijacked plane flying into the north tower, he immediately tried to call his brother, who worked on the 104th floor for Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment bank that suffered the greatest loss of life on 9/11.

‘The phone rang but it went to his voicemail. I said, “Steve, please call me.

Please call me. See what’s going on.” So as each minute passes, 8.51, 8.52, 8.53, 8.54, it’s like a drum getting louder,’ says Greg. ‘I started feeling as if I was hyperventilating.’

Even as he tells me this, all these years later, his anxiety is palpable.

At 9.02am, Stephen finally answered his phone. Greg asked him if he was alright.

‘He said, “Yeah, we are alright.” And then at that point, I’m looking at the TV and

NEWS 3

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

9/11 ATTACKS... TEN YEARS AFTER

tell their haunting stories

•Overwhelming loss: Greg Hoffman, right, considered suicide after losing his twin brother Stephen in the attack

watching the other plane come in.’

Greg was on the phone to Stephen as the second plane crashed into the south tower.

‘I remember the last thing Stephen said was, “Oh God, look at that.” Then the phone went dead. Then all the mobile phones went.

But at that moment, he was alive.’

A couple of days later, at a gathering organised by Cantor Fitzgerald for the relatives of their dead employees, a woman called Barbara Jackman arrived cradling an answer ing machine.

On it was the last message from her 23year-old daughter Brooke, who was in her first job. Mrs Jackman wanted to know if anyone recognised the voice of the man talking in the background, encouraging and comforting her daughter, who was very distressed.

The voice belonged to Stephen Hoffman, the time was 9.17am and, as the FBI later informed Mrs Jackman, this was one of the final phone calls to come out of the north tower, which collapsed at 10.28am.

Stephen, Brooke and 30 or 40 colleagues were trapped in a con ference room on the 104th floor with no means of escape Zachary Fletcher arrived at the scene shortly before the south tower fell. He had seen his twin Andre’s fire engine going ahead of him and called his brother on his radio. ‘I said, “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Then I said, “I love you.” He said, “I love you too, bro,” ’ recalls Zachary. ‘You know, the weird thing about it is why did I say, “I love you”? I rarely told my brother I loved him. I mean, because we knew it. It was just something you knew.’

It was the last time they spoke to each other.

Gary Guja’s firefighter brother, Geoff, was confined to office duties having been injured in a previous blaze, and wasn’t supposed to res pond to emergency calls at all. From his office window in Brooklyn, he saw the second plane hitting the south tower and tried twice to leave his building to head for Manhattan but was told to stay put.

But his third attempt was successful and he reached the entrance of the south tower just before 9.59am. That’s when it collapsed, burying him under the rubble.

Lisa, failing to reach her brother Michael by phone, had raced to the area soon after the first tower was struck. At the time, she was working as an undercover police officer in vice and narcotics. ‘I saw people

•As one: Dan D'Allara, left, felt the moment when his brother John was killed

‘

The pain Greg felt after losing Stephen was so great that he would stand on Brooklyn Bridge and contemplate suicide. ‘I remember saying to myself, you know, “I jump up on there, I take five steps and jump.

My pain will be over”

•'I love you bro': Zachary Fletcher, left, recalls twin Andre's final words to him

jumping out of the windows and off the roof and people were screaming in horror,’ she says.

Lisa was accustomed to running towards dangerous situations but as she approached the towers, something prevented her from entering them.

She says: ‘When I got a block from the Trade Centre and I saw it and I knew he was in there, I almost felt like he may have kept me out.’ Michael also worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. Like so many of the 9/11 victims, his remains were never recovered.

Some twins believe that their bond means they can literally feel each other’s pain, but neither Greg, Lisa nor Zachary ‘felt’ the moment their twins died and all mourn the fact. ‘I didn’t feel anything,’ Zachary says, sadly. ‘What happened to those special powers that we were supposed to have?’

Only Dan D’Allara, 56, whose twin John was a policeman, felt something at the moment when the second tower fell. ‘I nearly jumped out of my skin with anxiety,’ Dan says. ‘I said, “John! Holy s***, John! I got to get out of here.” And my boss said to me, “Where do you think you’re going?” I said, “I have to get out of here, my brother just got

killed.” ’ The years since 9/11 have been difficult for the twins: no longer part of a twosome, they have had to reinvent themselves.

‘If I knew then what I know now, I think I would have developed more of a Linda personality as opposed to Brendalinda,’ says Linda.

‘I remember the first anniversary... I thought, “Wow, one year as just Linda,” you know.

‘And it seemed as if every year is like, “OK, this is two years as just Linda.” I guess I’m turning ten years old in September.’

For the spouses of the dead twins, seeing the surviving sibling has sometimes proved traumatic and the ripple effect of 9/11 has given rise to animosity and estrangement.

But Greg is still as close as ever to Stephen’s widow, Gabrielle, and his niece Madeline.

At a wedding soon after Stephen’s death, Gabrielle even asked Greg to dance with her. She says: ‘I remember I said, “Dance with me. Don’t talk. I want to pretend I’m dancing with your brother. You feel like him – just dance with me.” And he did and I closed my eyes and I got to dance with my husband in my head and it was wonder-

’

ful.’

The pain Greg felt after losing Stephen was so great that he would stand on Brooklyn Bridge and contemplate suicide. ‘I remember saying to myself, you know, “I jump up on there, I take five steps and jump. My pain will be over.” ’ When he revealed to his wife Aileen that he had a special ‘spot’ on the bridge where he would stand and think about jumping, she took action and formed a support group for the 9/11 twins.

It was the saving of Greg, who feels that ‘it does wonders for the healing in the heart to know that we’ve got each other. Maybe this is the next best thing. It ain’t oatmeal, but cornflakes ain’t bad sometimes’.

Ten years on, they are all doing their best to get on with their lives but they still define themselves as twins. When you spend time with them, you can almost feel the shadow of their missing twin beside them.

But for Lisa, comfort has come in an unexpected form. The children she has had with her girlfriend Kerri Kuhlsen have provided her with what Kerri calls ‘happiness or completeness’.

Kerri gave birth to boys – Cooper and Michael – 18 months ago. They are identical twins.

Source: Daily Mail online

4 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Why governors want fuel subsidy removed –Amaechi Tunji ADEGBOYEGA and Olakunle ABIMBOLA

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HAIRMAN of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has debunked the insinuation that governors want President Goodluck Jonathan to remove fuel subsidy to enable state governments pay the new minimum wage.

Amaechi said contrary to this belief, the governors want subsidy removed because only a few people are benefitting from the current arrangement.

A few weeks ago, the matter became highly contentious and made the headlines at the height of the crisis generated by the new minimum wage when governors, under the aegis of the NGF, were reported to be putting pressure on the President to remove fuel subsidy so they could have more money to pay the minimum wage.

“No, no, no, we didn’t say he should remove fuel subsidy so we could pay the new minimum wage… What we said was that a few individuals are benefitting from the country’s wealth, with billions spent on fuel importation and we are not seeing the fuel, refineries are not in place … if we remove the subsidy, then people will establish refineries … the refineries will employ people and make fuel available,” Amaechi said in an interview.

The governor said that removal of fuel subsidy would engender competition and consequently lower pump prices. He said ‘’although it would initially result in some discomfort, in the long term basis, the benefits we would have far outweigh the current sufferings.”

He called for transparency in the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and demanded for explanations on why Nigeria, which is a major producer of crude oil, should be importing fuel. “You must add value to the product,” he said.

On what the NGF’s position is on the proposed single six-year term for the president and governors, Amaechi declined comment, saying that he would rather the forum made its decision because as the chairman, it would not be proper for him to say what their stand is or would be since they have not deliberated on the matter.

He, however, said the President would have his reasons for making such a proposal. “But I think the President is the president of the country; he must have his reasons … and to be a president, you must be a wise man. So, he is a wise man and he must have his positive reasons to come out with that position,” the NGF Chairman said.

He said his priority as chairman of the forum was constitutional amendment. (See full interview on Pages 54 and 55)

•Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State and his wife, Chief (Mrs) Mercy Odochi Orji (centre) with some Nollywood actors during the 20th anniversary of Abia State in Umuahia.

Wikileaks: Governors, Ministers, others now wary of Ambassadors •Govt may control closed door sessions with envoys

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OLLOWING revelations from Wikileaks, state governors, Ministers and

top government officials are now wary of discussions with foreign envoys.

There may be a gag on top government officials on secu-

CBN plans to restrict lending to environmental friendly firms

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HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks are working out a framework that would restrict lending to companies that adopt and implement environment-friendly policies. By this, international oil companies (IOCs) and other firms that that engage in pollution of the ecosystem will be denied loans going forward.

The CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who made the disclosure yesterday, said if the oil companies that de-

By Collins NWEZE grade the environment and their cohorts in other sectors are starved of funds from both local and international banks, they will have no choice but to comply.

He spoke during the Nigeria Sustainable Finance Week conference tagged “Moving Frontiers in Sustainable Finance” which was meant to attract funding to agriculture, assist in global carbon trading and protect the environment from degradation.

I know nothing about N600m bribe offer –Kutigi Augustine AVWODE Assistant Editor

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ORMER Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi has dismissed as non-existent an alleged N600 million bribe offered to him to stop former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from contesting the 2007 presidential election but which he refused.

Some national newspapers, quoting cable whistleblower, WikiLeaks, had yesterday reported moves by the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency in the build up to the 2007 presidential election to compromise the then Chief Justice Idris Kutigi in its bid to stop Atiku from contesting the election.

According to the report, the Obasanjo presidency allegedly voted as much as N600 million to bribe the now retired eminent jurist, which he turned down, including an offer to nominate his son for federal appointment.

But Justice Kutigi yesterday vehemently denied any knowledge of the alleged move to bribe him. He told our reporter in a telephone interview that nobody offered him bribe and therefore the talk of him rejecting it did not arise.

“I am in my village. I am enjoying my retirement. I don’t know anything about what you are talking about.

All I can tell you is that there is nothing like that. Nobody brought any bribe to me. So, the talk of rejecting it does not arise,” he declared.

According to the report, the bribe offer was aimed at influencing the outcome of the many “lawsuits brought by President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice president Atiku Abubakar in their political battle,” as Obasanjo did everything to stop the latter from standing election.

For him, there is an urgent need for a policy ensuring that people do not carry on their businesses in non-environment-friendly manner and get away with it. He said the agenda will be presented to the Bankers’ Committee to agree on the way it can be realised; reason being that as an industry, banks cannot continue to take savings and deposits from Nigerians and then lend to companies that are destroying the environment.

“Why must Nigeria bring multinational oil companies to destroy our environment?

How do we feel about it?

They can get the funds and still use it in a responsible manner.

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation rity or classified matters in their talks with foreign diplomats.

Also, the government may control closed door sessions with envoys by limiting focus to only the agenda of the government.

But were it not for the experience of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri, in intelligence service, she would have fallen victim of the ex-US Ambassador Robin Sanders espionage tap on public officers.

Mrs. Waziri however paid dearly for it with the verdict of the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton that the EFCC had fallen off.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the presidency, some state governors and top government officials were embarrassed about the leakage of secret security issues with a former US Ambassador to Nigeria . Ms Robin Sanders.

It was gathered that some of the sessions with the ex-US envoy were designed as purely private only to be ‘wired’ to Washington DC .

It was learnt that the government was disturbed about secu-

and spies.

According to findings, some governors and public officers in the last one week have limited discussions with some foreign envoys to only official and open sessions.

The source said: “The Wikileaks messages have caused embarrassment to past and serving public officers because they were designed to cause disaffection in the country.

“The leaks affected key areas of our national development, including the judiciary. It is just unfortunate.

“It is apparent that most of our public officers had opened up too much. They were carried away by the ‘honour’ of talking to US envoys like John Campbell and Robin Sanders in particular.

“I can tell you that governors, ministers and top government officials are now wary of some foreign envoys. The interaction is now being limited to open sessions.

“The government is also contemplating limiting public officers closed door sessions with foreign envoys to mainly bilateral issues.

“Imagine how they are trying to rubbish the President’s image, that of his predecessor and some past public officers.

“We may go back to the era where only designated officers in the presidency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and strategic public officers saddled with security matters may handle sensitive closed door matters with any envoy.”

As at press time, investigation confirmed that the EFCC chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri, managed to survive the menace of ex-US Ambassador Robin Sanders because of her past experience as an intelligence officer and wife of Nigeria ’s former Ambassador to Turkey , Alhaji Ajuji Waziri.

Another source said: “Sanders attempted to court the EFCC chairman to tap her for information but Mrs. Waziri was not forthcoming.

“She became angry to the extent that they both exchanged hot letters to the stage of almost abusing each other.

“But Mrs. Waziri refused to budge an inch. The disagreement climaxed in the visit of the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton when she openly declared that the EFCC has “fallen off.”

“That statement of Hillary Clinton was a retaliatory measure to get at Mrs. Waziri for not playing along with the ex-US envoy.”

Bomb blasts: We can’t fight crime alone – Police F

OLLOWING the increasing wave of bomb blasts in the country, the Nigeria Police has again called on Nigerians to join them in the fight to rid the nation of crime, saying that the police cannot do it all alone.

It also said the impression that police was made up of ungodly people was wrong, noting that with the role the police play in the country, the force has become a sort of guardian angel to the people.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police, Mike Zuokuomor, said this during the Abuja grand launch of the Reach Out Nigeria programme of the Believers’ Love World Assembly (Christ Embassy).

Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja The programme aims to distribute 16 million copies of special October 1 edition of the devotional book, Rhapsody of Realities.

Zuokomor, who was special guest at the launch, described the police as a godly agency always the first to be called in for help ‘’whenever the devil starts his work on earth, like during riots, armed robbery and other crimes.’’

He said: “The police cannot do it alone. We want everybody to participate in the proc-

ess. Your prayers here can even stop the devil in his tracks.

“The police are angels on guard here, just like there are angels in heaven.

“When you are sleeping, you pray and call on angels to watch over you. And when you sleep at night, the police is there to watch over you too,” he said.

He also commended the work of the church, saying that the police was glad to identify with the objective of turning people’s hearts away from crime.

“Your church preaches peace and non-violence, and

that is what we do. So, our work is like yours, and I am glad to be in God’s presence.

We all want peace.”

In her remarks, the Zonal Pastor of Christ Embassy, Abuja , Pastor Linda Okocha, asked Nigerians to stop heaping all their problems on the government, saying the whole country should bear some responsibility.

She said: “You have gone through terrible governments. You have gone through insensitive governments. There are lots of other problems that you cannot blame the government for.

You have to blame individual Nigerians for them. In spite of all you have gone through, you survived.”

5 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2011

• From left: Widower of the deceased, Chief Edwin Igbokwe and her children, Obiora, Chinwuba, Solomon and Lucky, at the funeral service in honour of the late musician, Christy Essien Igbokwe, at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Cathedral, Ikeja, Lagos yesterday.

• From left: Popular musician, Oyenka Onwenu; the First Lady of Ekiti State, Mrs Bisi Fayemi and the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire at the funeral.

PHOTO: John EBHOTA

Code of Conduct Tribunal summons Tinubu F

ORMER Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been summoned to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja on September 21.

He is to defend himself against the allegation that he operated foreign bank ac-

•Ex-governor: It’s a welcome development

counts between 1999 and 2007 while in office as governor, thus contravening section 7 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Cap 56 LFN, 1990.

The summons, dated Sep-

tember 6, was signed by the Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Danladi Yakubu Umar.

Tinubu, in his reaction, welcomed the development.

In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr.

Olakunle Abimbola, Tinubu, who is National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), said: “After years of threats, political mudslinging and media trial on the impending allegations, a formal

ACN urges Appeal Court to order fresh hearing of petition against Akpabio T

HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged the Court of Appeal, Calabar, to order the constitution of a fresh panel to hear on merit, its petition against the return of Godswill Akpabio as winner of the last governorship election in Akwa Ibom State. Akpabio is of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The party also urged the court to de-emphasize technicality and work towards ensuring substantial justice while deciding its appeal against the July 18, 2011 decision of the Akwa Ibom Governorship Election Tribunal, which upheld Akpabio’s election solely on technical ground.

The tribunal held that the petitioner’s failure to seek and obtain its leave before the hearing of their motion for the issuance of pre-hearing notice on parties robbed it of jurisdiction. It dismissed the petition and affirmed Akpabio’s election.

The appellate court has fixed September 13 for judgment in the appeal by ACN, its governorship candidate in the election, Senator John Akpanudoedehe and his running mate, Ime Umannah. The court chose the date after entertaining argument from parties on September 7.

The appellants, in their brief of argument, raised six issues for the court’s determination. They include whether, considering section 294 (1) of the Constitution, the unsigned judgment of the tribunal delivered on July 18 is valid and not liable to be set aside?

They also want the court to decide whether the tribunal was right in dismissing their petition on the ground that their failure to seek and obtain its leave to move its application for the issuance of pre-hearing notice rendered the proceedings a nullity and making the petition liable to being dismissed as an abandoned petition.

Other issues include: -Whether the tribunal was right in holding that there was no valid application for pre-hearing notice as at the date of ruling (July 18), a bases on which it proceeded to dismiss the appellants’ petition and whether the tribunal was right in not holding that the respondents’ motion was incompetent on the basis that they

•Court fixes Tuesday for judgment Eric IKHILAE

(respondents) had waived their purported right to challenge the appellants’ application of July 5.

-Whether the tribunal was right in not dismissing the first and second respondents’ (Akpabio and his running mate, Nsime Ekere) application dated July 11 and whether the judges of the tribunal were right when they gratuitously affirmed Akpabio’s return as governor in the April 26 election when no such relief was sought by either party before the tribunal.

Appellant’s lawyer, Prof.

Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), in his argument before the court on September 7, noted that, by its nature, an election petition has profound constitutional and public interest significance, which outweighs technicalities such as “whether leave is required to apply for leave to issue pre-hearing notice”.

He stressed that “What is in issue here is democratic legitimacy to administer the affairs of an entire state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Accordingly, the decision of the Tribunal must be set aside and the petition ought to be remitted to a newly constituted Tribunal for trial on the merit.”

Prof. Osinbajo observed that the central issue in the appeal was whether the appellants made a competent application for issuance of pre-hearing notice and whether the tribunal was right when it dismissed the petition as abandoned on the ground that no application was made for pre-hearing notice.

He argued that no leave is required by the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) for a motion applying for the issuance of prehearing to be moved. He added that it amount to an “unwieldy proposition” to suggest that paragraph 47 (1) of the First Schedule to the Act which requires leave to be sought applies.

“The implication of the proposition is that the motion to issue pre-hearing notice to initiate pre-hearing session cannot be moved except at the pre-hearing session itself,” he said, arguing

that such motion, which is to kick-start the pre-hearing session, cannot be heard at the prehearing session”.

He contended that the provision of paragraph 47 (1) which provides that no motion shall be moved before pre-hearing session and that, all motions shall be moved with leave of the tribunal can not apply in this case.

Prof. Osinbajo argued that paragraph 18 of the Electoral Act “Is a specific provision governing application for pre-hearing and paragraph 47 which is a general provision on forms of application does not apply.

“This is based on the principle of statutory interpretation that when there are specific and general provisions regarding a subject matter, the specific provision overrides the general provision and must be applied.

Prof. Osinbajo argued that a community reading of paragraph 18 with 47 (as suggested by the respondents) will lead to absurdity.

He urged the court to apply paragraph 18 which specifically regulates issuance of pre-hearing notice. He further asked the court not to allow baseless and unfounded technicalities as that presented to defeat substantive justice because courts have a functional duty to do justice and there is higher obligation to do so in an election petition.

Prof. Osinbajo contended that the failure of the tribunal judges to sign the judgment rendered it a nullity by virtue of section 294 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The section, he added, requires that the decision of all courts must be delivered in writing and authenticated by the judge.

He argued that alphabets “SGD”, typed on the copy of the judgment, falls short of the requirement for the signature of the judge because it lacks a distinctive and unique character which shows that it an original act of the judges.

On their part, the respondents (Akpabio,Ekere and PDP) through their lawyer, Chief

Bayo Ojo (SAN), urged the court to disallow the appeal. As against the submission by Prof.

Osinbajo, Ojo argued that paragraph 18 and paragraph 47 of the First Schedule to the Act must be read together and should be given their ordinary grammatical meaning even if they lead to absurdity.

He contended that the court has a duty to apply statutory provisions even where they are unreasonable. He added that with this approach, an application to issue pre-hearing notice must be by motion on notice.

Ojo argued that based on the provision of paragraph 47 (1), the motion to issue pre-hearing notice to commence pre-hearing session can only be moved at the pre-hearing session itself except with leave of court.

He contended that the tribunal was right in setting aside the pre-hearing notice and dismissing the appellants’ petition because no leave was sought to move the motion for pre-hearing session.

Ojo described as baseless the appellants’ contention that the tribunal’s judgment was unsigned and is a nullity. He drew the attention of the appellate court to the manuscript of the judgment which he has forwarded to the court.

He urged the court to disallow the appeal on the ground that the appellants (as petitioners) failed to present an application for issuance of pre-hearing notice in the proper form under paragraph 47 (1) of the First Schedule to the Act. This failure, he said, amounted to the abandonment of the petition and renders it liable to be dismissed.

The appellants have said copies of the manuscript of the tribunal’s judgment were not served on them and that they were not given any notice to the effect that it would be tendered in court.

According to them, the manuscript of the judgment which Ojo referred to, introduced a new twist to the argument because, it is not part of the records of appeal compiled in 12 volumes and the supplementary record compiled Ojo himself.

invitation to commence trial has finally come.”

Abimbola said Tinubu, as a law abiding citizen, directed that the summons be accepted when he learnt of the development.

He told his staff not to evade service, in conformity with his profound respect for the rule of law.

Tinubu had maintained that he was prepared to defend himself on the allegation and at a point challenged the Code of Conduct Bureau to head for the tribunal if it was sure of its facts.

He called on everyone to keep calm and be vigilant, “while the judiciary does justice to this matter”.

The charge against the former governor, signed by Kyari Ahmed as prosecutor, reads: “That you, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, being a public officer, as listed in part II of the fifth schedule to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and having subscribed to the Oath of office as enshrined in the seventh schedule to the 1999 constitution on assumption of office as such engaged yourself in the operation and maintenance of several foreign bank accounts namely: •”Name of bank- First Heritage Bank, Country Club Hills, Illinois, USA; Account Name, Bola Tinubu, Account Number-263226700.

•“Name of Bank-Citibank NA New York, USA; Account Name, Bola Tinubu & Compass Finance and Invest-

ment Company Ltd; Account Nos-39483134, 39483396, 4650279566, 00400220, 39936383. • Name of BankCitibank International New York; Account Name, Bola Tinubu.

•”Name of Bank-HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 6OJ; Account Name, Sen Bola Tinubu; Account No71253670, SORT CODE-40-0315. •Name of Bank-HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 6OJ; Account Name, Sen. Bola Oluremi Tinubu; Account No-71253670, SORT CODE-40-03-15.

•”Name of Bank-HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 6OJ; Account Name, Sen. Bola Tinubu-Money Market; Account No-04320002DN. •”Name of Bank-HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 6OJ; Account Name, Tinubu Habibat Oyindamola (Miss); Account No1320960111.

•”Name of Bank-HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 60J; Account Name, Tinubu Zainab Abisola (Miss); Account No-172447101.

•”Name of Bank-HSBC,177 Great Portland Street London WIW 60J; Account Name, Tinubu Oluremi Shade; Account No-1916667988. •Name of Bank-HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 6OJ; Account Name, Oluremi Shade Tinubu, Account No41421522, contrary to section 7 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Cap 56 LFN, 1990 and punishable under section 23 (2) thereof as incorporated under paragraph 18, part I, Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Christy Essien Igbokwe finally goes home

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FTER a series of activities put together in honour of the Nigerian lady of songs, Christy Essien Igbokwe, a befitting funeral service was held for her at the Arch Bishop Vinning Memorial Church, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos yesterday, after which her body left by air to Akwa Ibom State where she will be buried today.

The funeral service, like all the other events before it, which included a football match, a symposium and lying-in-state, was very well attended. Present at the funeral service, which started at 10 am, was the wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Adebisi Fayemi; the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Adefulure

Mercy MICHAEL

Orelope; former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah; former President of PMAN, Prince Tony Okoroji; Afro beats musician, Femi Kuti; his sister, Yeni Kuti; the Osun State Commissioner for Youth and Sport, Kola Balogun; Mrs Wunmi Obe; Stella Monye; Ken Olumese; Clarion Chukwura and Bisi Olatilo, among others.

Former president of Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Tee Mac, was also in attendance.

Popularly called the elegant stallion, Onyeka Onwenu thrilled the guests with the popular chorus, Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Kogi poll: PDP Chairman, Speaker exchange words

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ARELY 48 hours after declaring that the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) would rule forever, the acting National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Kawu Baraje , was locked in a hot exchange of words with the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Bello, over the decision to conduct fresh governorship primaries in the state.

The governorship poll is scheduled for December 3 in Kogi State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Top stalwarts of the PDP are, however, threatening protest votes for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), if the PDP Chairman pushes ahead with fresh primaries.

Prior to the shift of the poll to December, a former executive director of the defunct Afribank, Jibrin Echocho, had won the governorship ticket of the party.

But following pressure, the PDP leadership is planning to conduct fresh governorship primaries in the state. The development, which has polarised the party, led to the summoning of a meeting with all the stakeholders by Baraje.

It was gathered that yesterday’s session was at the instance of President Goodluck Jonathan. The session, howeve,r ended on a rowdy note. A top source at the meeting said: “When we arrived at the National

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

Secretariat, Baraje invited members of the National Assembly from Kogi State to his office for discussion.

“But upon reaching there, he only intimated the National Assembly members of the plan to conduct fresh governorship primaries in the state.

“The son of the outgoing governor, Mohammed Idris, told Baraje that there was no need for fresh primaries because all the stakeholders did not want it.

“Also, Senators Smart

Adeyemi and Nurudeen Abatemi warned Baraje that the PDP wouldn’t be able to get out of the crisis which the fresh primaries could generate. They expressed fears that the PDP may lose the state to the ACN.” Baraje, who was adamant on fresh primaries, later led the National Assembly members to where other stakeholders were waiting.

Another source added: “As soon as the PDP Chairman sauntered into the hall, he announced that there would be fresh governorship primaries in Kogi State .

“At that point, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly engaged Baraje in a 15minute heated argument.”

The source quoted the Speaker as saying: “You called us for dialogue; let us sit down to discuss. We are not here to listen to Riot Act.” Baraje also fired back: “There will be fresh primaries; you should abide by the decision of your party; the decision of your leaders.”

The Speaker also told the PDP Chairman: “You should have made an announcement on radio and television instead of inviting us to Abuja

without listening to us.”

Baraje added: “If you have anything against this decision, consultations will continue.”

When the situation became charged at about 6pm, the session came to an abrupt end with Baraje leaving the venue amidst shout of “no, no, to fresh primaries.”

Some of those at the meeting were Prince Olusola Akanmode, ex-Speaker Clarence Olafemi, Chief Alex Kadiri, Jibrin Echocho, Senators Smart Adeyemi, Nicholas Ugbane and Nurudeen Abatemi.

•L-R: Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu; Prof. Richard Joseph, guest of honour; and Prof. Pat Utomi at a dinner reception organised by the Awolowo Foundation to honour Prof. Richard Joseph, a friend of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in Lagos...yesterday PHOTO: Adejo DAVID

Strike: Enugu govt faults NLC's claim

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HE Enugu State government has faulted the claim by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that it has refused to dialogue with the organised labour over disagreements on the implementation of the minimum wage law, even as community and religious leaders have criticised what they described as the labour's hasty decision to declare an indefinite strike in the state.

A statement issued by Chuks Ugwoke, Commissioner for Information, reads in part: "It is on record that the local chapters of organised labour met thrice with the Enugu State government on the minimum wage before now. Two of the parleys were held with Governor Sullivan Chime in attendance.In fact, he was the person who actually initiated them. Also, the team that came from the NLC national headquarters prior to Thursday's ill-advised event also met with government's officials.

"During that meeting, the government representatives had pleaded with the national officers to allow them discuss further with the leaders of the local chapters who also expressed willingness to negotiate. After that meeting, the government paid N18,500 as the minimum wage in August, the first in the SouthEast geo-political zone to have fully implemented the minimum wage law.

"Let me hasten to further clarify that this was in addition to paying the April to July arrears of the minimum wage.

"Will any of the labour leaders say that Enugu State government did not pay

N18,500 as the minimum wage in August as prescribed by law? Since this was done, what is then the justification for calling out workers on strike? If the workers have other demands, would it not be nice to allow the government and the local chapters of the labour unions to dialogue after which the national body can intervene, if there's a deadlock? At all times, the government of Governor Chime will continue to pay priority attention to the welfare of the workers who are our partners in progress."

Also speaking on the matter, veteran journalist and the Igwe of Ogui-Nike in the Enugu North Local Government Area, Igwe Tony

Ojukwu, called for restraint on the part of the labour.

"If we say that charity begins at home, it goes also that dialogue must begin at home. I would want a situation where the labour unions and the government are allowed to dialogue and possibly reach a compromise.

"It is only in the event of a deadlock that the national body should step in. This time, I don't think both parties have exhausted the opportunities for dialogue to warrant what we have in our hands now.

Afterall, how many states have implemented the new minimum wage? Or is our own in Enugu different?"Igwe Ojukwu said.

Speaking in the same vein,

the Anglican Bishop of Enugu, Rev. (Dr) Emmanuel Chukwuma, called for prayers and tolerance.

He said: "I urge that everybody should pray to God to help us out of this unfortunate situation so that our people can go back to work. We don't want to quarrel again in Enugu State.

We don't want anything that can affect the peace and progress we've been enjoying in the state."

Catholic Monsignor (Prof) Obiora Ike said that negotiation, not confrontation was the way forward. He said: "We've sat down to reflect on this matter in all its dimensions and we've decided to appeal to

our people to agree to a roundtable discussion. I'm just coming back from Sokoto (ordination of Monsignor Hassan Kukah as Bishop of Sokoto) and from all the discussions we've had on this minimum wage issue, it came to the fore that not many states have done as much as Enugu.

If there are other grey areas, we must come together first to seek a consensus before we seek outside intervention.

Commercial activities continued without hindrance yesterday in the capital city of Enugu as markets, banks, petrol stations and other businesses opened to businesses even as the ministries transacted official duties, though many workers stayed away from their offices.

Anambra ministry saves 30 babies from traffickers

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NAMBRA State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development has saved about 30 babies from being sold at outrageous prizes to baby seeking couples or baby traffickers.

The babies were recovered from two motherless babies homes at Nise, Awka South and Obosi, Idemmili North.

About 10 babies were recovered from Nise Motherless Babies Home, Nise and 20 from Christian Relief Orphanage, Obosi a.k.a Christian Compassionate and Motherless Babies Home.

Speaking with reporters, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Dr. Mrs Ego Cordelia Uzoezie, said the ministry took custody of the babies when the South East office of

Nwanosike ONU, Awka the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Offences (NAPTIP) closed down the two orphanage homes for shoddy practices.

Uzoezie decried the propaganda against the ministry and its staff that they abducted the babies when they actually took over the two homes to save the babies from untold hardship.

She said the state government would be in control of the homes until “the proprietors prove the allegations against them wrong and reregister with the ministry for proper documentation.”

Furthermore, she noted that the babies at Nise Motherless Babies Home had been reconciled with their various

families, while those of Christian Relief Orphanage were yet to be reconciled with their families.

She said although the ministry had raised the alarm about unclear adoption methods at the two homes earlier and directed the proprietors to visit the ministry to update their records, especially Christian Relief Orphanage, that was registered as a nongovernmental organisation before establishing the orphanage, adding that the orphanages never did until another group, Anambra Association in the United States of America raised the alarm, warranting the NAPTIP to close them.

The Director of Child Development in the ministry, Mr. Emeka Ejide, appealed to the proprietors

to react to the allegations raised against them in the media and stop addressing irrelevant issues, adding that no amount of blackmail would prevent the ministry from doing its duties.

He said the homes would remain closed pending the outcome of the investigations being carried out by the ministry, the State Security Service (SSS), the Nigerian Police and the NAPTIP. Reacting earlier, the wife of the proprietor of the Christian Compassionate and Motherless Babies Home, Mrs Ogazi, said she was not aware of the visit of the officials of the ministry and NAPTIP, but one of the caregivers in the home, Mrs Chinwendu Ibeagha, explained how children were admitted to the orphanage to the best of her knowledge.

Oil output now 2.5m barrels per day, says Orubebe Augustine EHIKIOYA, Abuja

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TEMISING the achievements of the Ministry of Niger Delta, the Minister, Elder Godsday Orubebe, yesterday declared that the current peace in the Niger Delta region had facilitated increase of oil production in the country from 750,000 barrels per day to 2.5million barrels per day.

He made this remark in Abuja during the special media briefing of his ministry in commemoration of President Goodluck Jonathan’s 100 days in office.

He said the amnesty programme of the federal government paved the way for peace in the region, adding that many infrastructural developments at high levels of completion are going on in the region.

He said: “The ministry in particular has embarked on a number of development projects which include roads, housing estates, skill acquisition centres, shoreline reclamation projects and youth empowerment programmes.

“Partly as a result of these and other efforts being made by the federal government, oil production has increased remarkably from 750,000 barrels per day to 2.5 million barrels per day.

“The creation of the ministry by itself has made a remarkable difference as the region is now receiving the attention it deserves in the development efforts of the nation. More importantly, relative peace has returned to the region.”

On the protests in some part of the region, he said: “The amnesty programme was not designed by the government to continue forever.

“So it is not possible to accommodate the people that did not show interest initially and are now coming up to be included in the programme.”

He also ruled out using the same amnesty programme to tackle the issue of Boko Haram by saying: “You can’t use one framework to resolve all issues. As problems come up, government will look at the various methods in order to decide the best to tackle the issue.”

The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who moderated the media briefing noted that the region had remained underdeveloped in the past 50 years of Nigeria’s independence.

“If we have peace and tranquility in all the parts of the country for the next four years, Nigeria will progress beyond our imagination.

The people of the Niger Delta region in the next four years will see great difference in their condition of living, environment and infrastructural developments,” he said.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Fashola inaugurates economic advisory team

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AGOS State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has inaugurated a 19- member Innovation Advisory Council to drive the state’s economic advancement programme.

Governor Fashola, while addressing the team shortly after the inauguration yesterday in his office at Alausa, said the team is saddled with the ultimate objective of brainstorming on how to make life meaningful for Lagosians.

He said his administration is determined to lead the frontiers of advancement and economic growth of the state, pointing out that present global economic realities demand innovation to make a difference.

Fashola explained that the state government in its bid to make the state an innovation leader in Africa had before the inauguration organised a programme with the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School to identify and strengthen the state’s capacity as a regional development driver through science and innovation.

“A lot of recommendations came up during the programme , some of which included the provision of

Miriam NDIKANWU innovation-led development strategies, the establishment of innovation enterprise vehicles and the Innovation Advisory Council, to name a few.“ He said now that the council has taken shape, it would “provide high level advice to better target and generate practical programmes to focus and improve government’s support for innovation, research and development in Lagos.”

Members of the council are Mr. Adebiyi Mabadeje who will serve as the Chairman; Mr. Wale Goodluck, Vice- Chairman; Ms Moji Rhodes- Secretary; Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe, Dr. Aderemi Desalu, Mr. Yemi Cardoso, Mr. Adeola Ipaye, Mr. Ben Akabueze, Mrs. Shola Oworu, Mr. Peter Bankole , Dr. Nazifi Darma, Mr. Harry Olatomi Davies, Mr. Ayo Gbeleyi, Mr. Jide Sanwoolu, Mr. Sunmade Adelabu, Professor John Adeoti, Mr. Wale Ajisebutu, While Mrs. Aisha Osore and Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan will represent Africa Policy Institute and Local Governments in the state re-

Ogun retires 12 Perm Secs

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Ex-OAU V-C, Omole, gives ‘testimony’ at Archbishop Vining Church tomorrow

GUN State government has announced the retirement of 12 permanent secretaries from the state public service.

According to a statement signed by the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, the affected top civil servants are: Korede A. Lawal, Olajide Adeola Oyenuga, Oluseyi Oludare Banjoko, Tajudeen Atanda Obawunmi, K. A. Ogunfowodu, Alhaji Muyideen ‘Wola Salau and B. A. Oyeti. Others are Adekunle Adegbite, Mufutau O. Lawal, Alhaji Moshood Iyanda Opebiyi, Olubunmi Olusola Okuboyejo, H. O. Adeniji, Alhaji Adesegun Solarin and Babatunde M. Salawu.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun while briefing all the permanent secretaries today (Friday) thanked the affected officers for their service to the state over the years and wished them well in their future endeavours.

•Omole

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RENOWNED teacher and former vice-chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), formerly University of Ife, Prof. Wale Omole, will tomorrow mount the podium at

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Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Ikeja, to give the testimony of his life.

Featuring in the quarterly series of the Catheral’s testimonies by eminent Nigerian personalities of the goodness of God in their lives, Prof. Omole, 69, is an alumnus of the University of Ife, where he received his first and second degrees in Agriculture and was immediately appointed an assistant lecturer in 1970. Shortly afterwards, he proceeded to the University of Alberta, Edmonton, in Canada, where he bagged a doctorate degree in Nutritional Biochemistry in 1973.

Returning from Canada to his old job at the University of Ife in 1973, Dr. Omole rose

through the ranks from assistant lecturer to senior lecturer and, in 1980, was promoted Professor of Animal Science at the age of 38 years. Eleven years later, Prof. Omole achieved the unique precedent of becoming the first alumnus to be appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ife. Prof. Omole, a scion of the Biladu ruling house in Ilesa, Osun State, is a recipient of several honours and titles, including the national honour of Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR).

Prof. Omole once served as chairman, Committee of ViceChancellor of Nigeria Universities; executive board member, Association of African Universities (AAU); executive board member, Association of

Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and life member, International Association of University President (IAUP). He was selected the 1995 Man of the Year for Institutional Management by the American Biographical Institute.

He is a consultant and adviser to a number of corporations on “strategy and value creation from intangible assets.” He is also engaged in conflict resolution and business development, and is a director of public and private companies, including chairman, Kajola Integrated Investment Plc. Prof. Omole is a director of the Guardian Newspapers Limited, where he currently serves as the chairman of the Editorial Board.

Daniel’s appearance at Truth Commission to cost Ogun N36m

T may cost the Ogun State Government at least N36 million a week to have a live broadcast of the proceedings of the Truth Commission (TC) in two television stations should it go ahead to fulfil the conditions given by former Governor Gbenga Daniel to enable him appear before the Commission, The Nation gathered.

The State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, had at a ceremony marking his 100 days in office, announced that the Truth Commission, when it commenced sitting, would carry an inquest or investigation into loss of lives and property by the people without appropriate measures to seek redress.

The panel headed by retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice

Ernest NWOKOLO, Abeokuta Pius Aderemi, is expected to re-open unresolved cases of the killing and disappearance of prominent Ogun indigenes such as the late Otunba Dipo Dina, Mr Age (Lemomu) Animashaun, Dele Arojo, the failed assassination bid on former Chief Press Secretary to former Governor Gbenga Daniel, Mr Wale Adedayo, the murder of 65 political supporters of Senator Ibikunle Amosun among others.

Justifying the establishment of the commission, Amosun said: “You will recall that during the campaigns, we promised that we would not allow the plight of our compatriots who lost their lives, property or were brutalised

and made to suffer different forms of brutality to pass away without appropriate measures to seek redress or at least investigate what happened.”

However, Daniel, in a statement by his media aide, Mr Adegbenro Adebanjo, has since hailed the initiative as well as the composition of TC for having men of proven integrity. But he said he would appear before it to give evidence/testimony provided the proceedings could be on live telecast on local and national television stations.

“As we await the Terms of Reference, Otunba Daniel wishes to confirm his full participation and his personal attendance at the hearing. We, however, believe that to do justice, he will require at least one week to give his testimony

with opportunity for multimedia presentations, and live coverage of the proceedings by both the local television stations and at least a national television,” the statement said.

Investigation carried out by The Nation revealed that a live broadcast in a national television costs at least a million naira per hour, depending on the particular station, and Daniel had hinted that he would need not less than a week to render his testimony before the panel.

It is equally expected that the former governor may spend an average of three hours per day in each proceeding (that is about N3 million a day for a single television station), probably because of the quantum of documents requiring “multimedia presentations” by him.

Family of nine, three others killed in another Jos attack

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HERE seems to be no let up to the killing spree in Jos, Plateau State as another family of nine was among the 12 people killed in two separate attacks on two communities in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state.

According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media to Governor Jonah Jang, Hon. Pam Ayuba, “the two villages attacked last Thursday night were Tsohon– Foron and Guzen Gashish.

The statement said: “The assailants numbering over 30 descended on the family of Nwanta Gulu in TsohonForon and killed the man, his sister, his eldest son and five of their younger ones in their sleep. Also killed was a relation of the family who was said to have passed the night with them. One of the people attacked was said to be lying in critical condition at the Air Force Hospital, Jos. The circumstances under which the three other victims were killed at Guzen Gashish could not be ascertained at press time.

This brought to four the number of midnight attacks targetted at a whole family in Jos North and Barkin Ladi local governments of the state.

More than 30 lives have so far been wasted.

The district head of the village, Ahmadu Shungo Kakpwis said: “I received a distress call at the time of the attack, and I alerted the vigilance

Yusufu AMINU Idegu and Esther MARK, Jos, group in the village immediately. But it was obvious that the youths could not withstand the sophisticated weapons like the AK 47 rifles the attackers used.

Reacting to the attack, the Chairman, Barkin Ladi Local

Government, Hon. Emmanuel Lomang, said: “The attackers have changed their mode of attack to pure acts of genocide; an ethnic cleansing where a family is targeted and wiped out. They also cover their bodies to disguise themselves.’’

Hon. Lomang maintained that ‘’we have been pushed to

the wall and unless something is done by the government, the youths cannot sit back and watch families wiped off.’’

He, therefore, called for proactive steps to be taken by the government to stem the tide, saying: “If things are not done, these people may succeed and then move to other local government areas.‘’

Govt to decide Oyo NURTW’s fate within two weeks

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OVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State on Friday said that the fate of the state branch of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), whose members had in recent times been involved in violent clashes, would be decided within the next two weeks.

The governor disclosed this while receiving the report of the Judicial Commission of Enquiry into the crisis rocking the union from the Chairman, Jus-

tice John Olagoke Ige, in his office.

Sen. Ajimobi, who described the union as “a pacesetter in everything that is bad’’, said that his administration would not, in any way, involve itself in its activities.

“I assure you that this government will not, and I repeat, will not involve itself in the activities of the union. We are not interested in who becomes the chairman of the union; we were elected by the people of this state, and we hope to sustain that.

“We will live up to the expectations of the people; we have nothing to do with the union, and we will ensure that credible people are allowed to take over its leadership,’’ he said.

The governor also said that money, which had been the root cause of the crisis within the transport union, would be checked.

“This state needs a lot of revenue and we will ensure that we get as much revenue from the union as possible,’’ he added.

Yaba council names streets after Opadokun, Oshun

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ABA Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State yesterday named three streets in honour of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) chieftains; Mr Ayo Opadokun and Hon. Wale Oshun, in recognition of their heroic contributions to the cause of liberty and emancipation in the country.

Opadokun, a founding father of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and convener of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER) was the Secretary of NADECO during the dark period of military regime. He was succeeded by Oshun, former Chief Whip of the House of Representatives and ACN National Director of Administration.

Harvey Street, stretching from the clusters of

Emmanuel OLADESU Deputy Political Editor

health schools to the Custom and Excise office, was renamed ‘Ayo Opadokun Avenue’, while Wright Street was renamed ‘Olawale Oshun Street’.

Also, Araoti Street was renamed “Dapo Bode Thomas Street’ in memory of the former state legislator and Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Lagos State, the late Hon. Dapo Bode Thomas.

The two elder statesmen thanked the council administration and people of the LCDA for the honour, promising to remain on the firing line, until the country is liberated from the shackles of injustice.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 2011

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

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OMORROW is the 10th anniversary of the bombing of the Twin Towers of New York in the US by two planes hijacked

by Al Qada operatives on September 11 2001 now aptly tagged 9/11. The unfortunate event happened under the watch of US President George W Bush, the 43 rd president of the US and the bloody incident and its consequences have affected the course of not only the history of the US but the entire world as we know it today.

George Bush reacted boldly to the assault on his nation by Al Qada and those he identified as its collaborators and the impact of that reaction is still reverberating violently in many capitals of the world including that of Nigeria, Abuja, in recent times.

With the aid of hind sight, Al Qada bloodied the nose of America with 9/11 and the US reacted with the fury of a wounded giant and tried to crush its assailant .In the unbridled fury of retaliation however, the US exposed its Achilles heel which those in sympathy with Al Qada- the ant in this elephant and ant debacle - have thrust in a dagger of resentment. It is this feeling that in spite of the provocation of 9/11, America cannot bestride the world like a colossus and expect to be applauded or unchallenged that has fuelled global anger against the US. This in turn has led to Al Qada and global terrorists finding sanctuary in unexpected quarters and this has stretched America’s resources for funding the war from its vibrant economy, the soft underbelly of the titan US industrial and military complex and the goose that lays the golden egg for the highly democratic US presidential political system.

What I am saying in effect is that in retrospect 9/11 has, ten years on, weakened the US economy because of the costs of fighting the war of terror which really is a war of vengeance and has sapped the resources of the US in maintaining not only its economy but also its democracy based on the principle of separation of powers.

There is no better proof of this than the recent bitter debt ceiling debate between the US presidency and the US Republican dominated congress. The acrimony is such that on the September 6 Labour Day speech of President Barak Obama, he said the Republicans are the leaders that do not want US workers ready to get dirty for work, to go to work. In retort the Republicans are working to ensure that Obama is not reelected . Senator Mitch McConnel of Kentucky, the Minority Leader is reported to have said this year that his first goal is to see Obama defeated in 2012 presidential election.

Really this is not out of disrespect to Obama because he is black as diehard black democrats have suggested names of candidates to support for the US 2012 presidential elections other than Obama . Such names include those identified as progressive politicians like Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont and Mark Ridley –Thomas , a Los Angeles County supervisor. But Obama has ac-

Yes ... they have MURDERED SLEEP!

Learning to live with global terrorism

quired all these opprobrium on himself because of the way and manner he has tried to salvage the war economy he inherited from his predecessor in office former President George Bush.

The former president became a hate figure during the last US presidential elections campaigns and must be chuckling to himself in amusement at the way and manner Obama’s enemies and new found hecklers are making themselves merry with the way Obama has handled or mishandled the US economy resulting in no new jobs in August according to statistics and warranting his national address of last Thursday, the contents and promises of which the Republicans are going to take to the cleaners or take with a pinch of salt.

Nevertheless Obama’s domestic woes which threaten his electability have not affected his flying foreign affairs credentials. His foreign policy of Engagement Diplomacy has feathered the nest of democracy and rang the death knell of repression and dictatorship in the Middle East and North Africa. It has made free and fair elections, transparency , accountability and anti – corruption acceptable government policies, if only at the lip service level ,

in black African nations. It has made the US backyard – Latin America - more environmentally friendly if more independent of the US because of the new concepts of independence and equality basic to the new Engagement Diplomacy.Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Brazil’s former President Lula Da Silva blazed a trail in steering the region away from economic dependence on the US and looking for new sources of commercial and trade funds and infrastructural development development from China , India and even Iran, the US implacable enemy.

In a way therefore, the 9/

11 decade ended by creating for the US a new world that seems to redress the balance of the old and nowhere is this more obvious than in good old Europe, the US closest ally in policing the world. For now however, and painfully too, the only silver lining in Europe’s debt laden horizon is the role of liberator and champion of democracy in the Middle East firstly in Egypt and Tunisia and lately in Syria and Libya. Otherwise, Europe is ending the 9/11 decade in tatters and democracy is on trial and attack because of the indignities, disgrace and humiliation of sovereign debts bail out and the austerity measures in the in-

That really is what government is all about and that is the lesson to be learnt by the Nigerian government over the present spate of bombings in the nation

dividual member nations of the EU to prevent the collapse of the euro currency-since its fall as German Chancellor Angela Merkel rightly said , will lead to the collapse of Europe.

Again America’s reaction against terrorism since 9/11 has seen its opponents scampering out of its way and into hiding and in the process exporting terrorism into wherever they can have sanctuary. In Africa, they have found ready havens in Somalia and Sudan and in the Mahgreb and through the Sahel have crept into the North East of Nigeria and now Nigerians are getting used to being bombed by terrorists who claim they do not want Western education.

Since terrorists are warriors and fugitives from the law they destroy lives , property , infrastructure and means of production and livelihood. It follows therefore that they should be stopped by all means by any government worth its name.

In spite of the failings of the US economy and the hatred for President George Bush over the invasion of Iraq, one can give kudos to him and his successor President Barak Obama for ensuring that there has been no successful terrorist strike on US soil since 9/11 ten years ago . That really is what government is all about and that is the lesson to be learnt by the Nigerian government over the present spate of bombings in the nation. It helps no one and calms no nerves in the nation when the National Security Adviser is reported to have said that the nation is not prepared for terrorist bombings or even if that is amended to say that the nation has serious security challenges.

The deaths and carnage in our capital and cities make

the challenges obvious enough but nobody should try to tell us that they are insurmountable. It is the duty of those paid to guarantee the security of the state to do so or get out of the way for those who can before terrorists make their trademark horror a way of life in our polity and create anarchy which is simply unacceptable in any democracy including our great Nigeria.

Needless to say, bad or poor governance resulting in economic hardship and insecurity can create home grown terrorism, resentment and hostility leading to a violent and volatile socio-political environment. This has happened in the Middle East. It is also happening in Europe which is trying to protect the demonstrators of the Middle East. In Greece, a group called the Indignants have promised to create anarchy because they do not believe that Greece is owing that much debt. Instead these Indignants believe that it is the politicians and the rich who have plundered the nation and looted the treasury and are now transferring the tax and austerity burden to the poor people who earn salaries and pay taxes.

The dangerous thing is that these Greek Indignants could have been Nigerians given our level of institutional and infrastructural development, social welfare and pervasive insecurity .The good thing for now is that these Greeks are not Nigerians and it is the duty of government to ensure that Nigerians don’t think along that line. This can only be done by ensuring that Nigerians don’t learn to live with terrorism by snuffing out terrorists and making sure that terrorists don’t have a field day in our nation as the US government has done so successfully since that dark 9/ 11 day ten years ago.

10

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

I wept like a baby and up till now, my mind is still not at rest

- 84-yr-old

Social Scene 41

IBADAN FLOOD

Day I clashed with my professor in medical school over my beard

RE/13 FEATU

Screen/ 23

‘How I escaped death on the set of a movie’

- Ex-Anambra

Governor Chris Ngige

11

Saturday

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

SPECIAL

Sympathisers at the home of the deceased family

See Page 15

How a family of four was wiped out by generator fume in Anambra The late Nwoye

Community demands probe

12

IBADAN FLOOD

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

•A mammoth crowd watching a scene of the Aug. 26 disaster

d e n n a l p r e v o s r a e f r u O s e r u t c u r t s f o n o i t i l o m e d ion chair

t a i c o s s a s d r o l d n a l —89-yr-old face – Governor

T

n a m u h a h t i w e n •It’ll be do gust 26 Ibadan flood disaster has come and gone

HE atmosphere was calm and peaceful.

Every member of the Odo-Ona, Apata community in Ibadan South West Local Government of Oyo State was either found selling in the shops or carrying out other forms of work to earn a living. It was the community where flood wrecked havoc on August 26, destroying properties worth several millions of naira. Scores also died in the disaster.

It took the reporter about 10 minute’s walk with the help of a guide to the residence of Pa Samuel Abosede Gisanrin, an 89-yr-old retired civil servant. From a close observation, the reporter discovered that all was not well with the 89-yr-old man. His mien showed somebody who bore a visible burden.

The source of the burden soon became clear: Pa Gisanrin is the chairman of the Gada Landlords and Tenants Association, Odo-Ona, Apata, Ibadan and he and his people have a lot of trepidation about the plan of the state government to demolish over 150 buildings in the area as part of the preventive measures against a recurrence of the August 26 tragedy.

Pa Gisanrin argued that many of the affected houses were built during the colonial era dating back to 1940s or thereabout .When they were built, he claimed, the Town Planning authorities then consented. “And now government is saying that the buildings violated town planning laws, and they must be demolished”, he said in a discussing with our reporter. This was precisely what was giving the man the jitters.

Many of the buildings, starting with the old Mosque belonging to the Ansar-deen Society of Nigeria, have been crossed with red paint and marked in between the cross TP, an indication that the Town Planning authority has marked the building for demolition.

No fewer than 40 buildings had such marks

The Au y left behind still haunt , but the sorrow, pains and agon . One of the problems the residents of the affected areasth e pl an by th e sta te tra ili ng th e tra gic flo od wa s 0 buildings considered government to pull down over 15 EHEYE OKWUOFU as hindrance to waterways. OS ildings and the state reports that owners of the bu planned demolition. government are yet to agree on the

when The Nation visited the area on Thursday .According the Chairman of the Landlords Association, members of the association planned to meet with the victims of the flood on Friday (yesterday). The stakeholders were expected to reach a consensus on the matter, after which they would present their position to the government.

He said although the buildings have been marked, the government was expected to still meet with the affected members of the community. According to him, it is from this meeting that issues regarding resettlement, compensation and other welfare packages would be exhaustibly tabled and discussed.

“But what we are hearing”, Pa Gisanrin said, “is that such a meeting may not take place, but we don’t believe that. I believe that the present governor, Abiola Ajimobi, is a good leader, who has proved to be humane and civilised in his ways of handling issues. So, we believe that the proper thing will be done on this burning matter”.

Though, some residents in the affected buildings have started packing out their goods from the buildings following the government’s seven-day ultimatum to quit, it was learnt that landlords were also considering legal option

should government fail to meet their expectations. Pa Gisanrin said the alternative to demolishing the buildings is for government to divert the waterway at Odo-Ona, Apata to Agric area where, according to him, there is enough space. “If the government does this, there will be no need to demolish any building in the area .What is required is a proper channelisation which can be done using the Agric area; there is more space in that zone,” the chairman said.

A woman, who identified herself simply as Alhaja, when speaking on the planned demolition, advised the government to resettle those who will be displaced before going ahead with the demolition.

The governor’s Senior Special Assistant (Media), Dr. Festus Adedayo, in a statement on the planned demolition, assured that the governor has ordered that the demolition be carried out in phases. According to him, the governor also admitted that the seven-day ultimatum was too short for the affected people to vacate their property, saying that the demolition would have a human face, so as not to further traumatise the already bewildered victims of the flood disaster.

Dismissing the claim in some quarters that there was no thought for an alternative place

•Pa Gisanrin for the victims, he quoted the governor as saying that the victims would be moved to other areas before their structures would be pulled down.

“We will do it (demolition) in phases. You don’t just begin to demolish houses; you allow the people to pack their belongings; some people have been traumatised. We should not add to their trauma. What we are trying to do is to gradually move them to other areas where they are going to be resettled,’’ he quoted the governor.

On the number of houses so far marked for demolition, he said environmentalists and physical planners were still working on it, stressing that they would soon come out with the number of affected structures.

He attributed the disaster to the bad attitude of the residents of Ibadan towards environmental sanitation, adding that if there had been no obstacles on the waterways, the disaster would not have been that much.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

13

IBADAN FLOOD

I wept like a baby and up till now, my mind is still not at rest •84-yr-old 2nd Republic lawmaker who experienced both the 1980 Ogunpa and Aug.26 flood disasters, recounts Hon. Dorcas Bamigboye,84, had her house flooded in the infamous Ogunpa flood that wreaked havoc in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in 1980. Her house was again worse hit by the August 26, 2011 flood as she cheated death by a whisker.

The octogenarian was rescued at the height of the flood by a muscular male tenant, who backed her and her daughter out of the house when the building got almost submerged. While many victims are counting human and material losses to the flood, Mrs Bamigboye, who was a member, old Oyo State House of Assembly, in 1980, is braving life in a stoic disposition to overcome her trauma and loss. In this encounter with BISI OLADELE, she said both residents and the government have a role to play in finding a lasting solution to flooding in the city.

S

HE is fun to be with. With smiles and brisk steps, Mrs Bamigboye ushered this reporter into an apartment in her storey building near the river at Oke Ayo area of Ibadan. In spite of the devastation, Mrs Bamigboye kept a radiant face to belly the trauma caused by the August 26 flood.

As she interacted with this reporter on the request for an interview, she simultaneously paid attention to workmen carrying out repairs in the flooded one-storey building.

She could easily pass for a 65-year old in her typical smart moves and portable physique.

“This is my best tenant,” she told this reporter, pointing to a middle-aged man who occupies an apartment on the ground floor facing the river. “Since he moved in here, he has not given me any problem. He is an Omoluabi, with his wife,” she announced enthusiastically.

“Can I sit here please?” The octogenarian asked again, still with a bright smile on her face. “Yes ma. It’s for you,” she was told.

Excerpts of the encounter: May we know more of you, ma?

I am Hon. Dorcas Yetunde Bamigboye, a honourable during Chief Bola Ige’s regime in the old Oyo State which started from 1979.

How old are you now?

I am 84 years old When did you build this house?

I started building the house in 1975 and I moved to the house in 1976.

Since you moved to the house, how many times has this house been flooded?

The ground floor was first flooded in 1980 during Ogunpa disaster but after then, I have never experienced this type of flood again in my house.

What was the magnitude of the damage when it was first flooded in 1980?

It was only one room and the occupant just cleaned off the water that entered the house later in the day. There was no damage and nobody was trapped inside the house.

What is the level of damage that you are experiencing now?

There is a lot of damage that has been done.

You can see that the entire ground floor was flooded and several household items of tenants were destroyed. The items will cost hundreds of thousands of Naira to put back.

Having witnessed the two flood disasters, how will you describe your experience, particularly as a state legislator during the first disaster?

The disaster this time is more than what one can ever experience in this life because I have never seen anything like this in my life.

So many houses have been pulled down in this recent flood and if we have to calculate damages, it is 60 percent higher than the one of 1980.

How did the government of that time respond and how did they manage the crisis?

Bola Ige responded as quickly as he could at that time but with me as a legislator, I did not ask for compensation because it was so light in my house. But I hope the present government will also take quick actions on anything they want to do to help those affected in this flood.

How did it go in 1980?

‘

•Hon. Bamigboye

The second, day I went to the House of Assembly and raised the need to help victims of the flood. I also explained that my house was affected. They sent an engineer the following day to come and inspect my house so as to see the extent of the damage and they measured from the fence of my house to the water and it was 165 meters to the water and it was not as wide as it is now as at that time and I had occupancy in my house. Since then, we have not witnessed this kind of disaster.

What did the government do to take care of the victims in 1980?

They gave some people some money as a form of compensation but I did not take any money.

Apart from coming to the aid of the victims, what other steps did government take to ensure that there was no flood again?

As a politician, I cannot reveal so many points but this time I spoke with Governor Abiola Ajimobi when he came to visit this area that channelisation is the most important thing they can do. As from Odo Ona to this place and the water should be channelised as they did that of Ogunpa. That is the only thing that we can trust that we won’t get this type

A family lost eight children... I feel very bad about it because I am a mother to many children. I wept like a baby. Up till this time, my mind is still not at rest, especially for people who lost their relatives and children

’

of flood again and they will have to compensate some of the people who lost their goods. At the same time, they should repair all the roads that have been damaged. At that time, I did not mention the money but this time, I mentioned it to show pity to those who lost their people, their children and so on.

They should be able to show mercy to them because this is too great. A family lost eight children. At a time it was very great and it is more than what anyone can think about. I feel very bad about it because I am a mother to many children. I wept like a baby. Up till this time, my mind is still not at rest especially for people who lost their relatives and children.

During Omiyale in 1980, can you remember how many people who died?

I cannot remember but they were not as many as this because we enacted laws about Omiyale as at that time and there was no report that so many people died.

Can you remember some of the things you did in the House then in reaction to the flood?

I was the one who moved the House quickly so as to accelerate practical steps to mitigate the effects of the flood. I reported my own loss but I did not feel bad about it. I suggested that the government should take action on those who lost their people and their properties. It was my own suggestion that started the debate at that time.

What advice do you have for both the government and the people on the prevention of flood?

Channelisation is the most important thing if the government really wants to work and do something that will benefit those of us at Odo Ona and Oke Ayo areas.

What constituency were you representing during Bola Ige regime?

Osun North East covering Igbajo, Oke Imu, Iresi, Ada and Ororuwo. They voted for me en masse and I defeated my opponent very heavily.

14

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

‘How we met our Waterloo after robbing a wealthy businessman’ NINE-man robbery gang, including a self-acclaimed retired warrant officer with the Nigerian Air Force, Robinson Igbefa Ikefpan, and a fake soldier, Oluchukwu Nnamdi aka Tiga, has been smashed by the Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command.

Other members of the gang include a Benue State indigene, Simon Ogoh aka Don Simon; a spare parts dealer at the popular Ladipo auto spare parts market in Lagos, Prince Eyinna; a barber and Imo State indigene, Promise Okoro; a hotel manager and indigene of Abia State, Chigozie Ozioma; a clearing agent and indigene of Anambra State, Eugen Nweke; a transporter from Imo State, Godwin Chacha and an estate agent also from Imo State, Kenneth Okore.

Already, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Yakubu A. Alkali, has directed his deputy in charge of administration, Mr. Adams Audu, to write to the Commandant of the Nigeria Air Force Base, Ikeja, Lagos to ascertain the authenticity or otherwise of the officer’s claimed to be a retired Air Force officer.

Confessing their involvement to The Nation, four of the suspects said they were armed with locally made guns and other dangerous weapons when they robbed a rich businessman at Abraham Adesanya Estate, Ajah Lagos.

But they said they fired no shot because the victim cooperated with them. They also confessed that they later drove to Chambalane Hotel, Igando, Lagos, to pop champagne and smoke to celebrate the success of the operation and to arrange buyers for the jeep and pick-up van, among other loot.

They said they were surprised at the way operatives of SARS, led by Abba Kyari, managed to locate them and arrested all of them except Bigi, who is still at large.

Explaining his involvement in the robbery incident, the first suspect, Suleiman Adekunle (42), an auto injector specialist with his workshop at Festac Town, Lagos and residence at 75, Ilogbo Road, Ajangbadi, Lagos said: “I am from Kwara State, but my mother is a Ghanaian. She was sick and I went to Ghana to take care of her. I was in Ghana when I received a phone call from Nigeria that I was needed in Lagos for a case involving my boy. I decided to come and see what it was, so that I could go back to Ghana and continue to take care of my mother.

“Surprisingly, the investigating police officer told me that a suspect, Simeon Ogor a.k.a Don Simon, told him that I was the one who gave him the gun he used in the robbery operation.

“I did not know Simeon (Ogor) from Adam. He only brought his commercial vehicle like any other customer and I worked for him and he paid me. I don’t know what he is talking about a gun. I do not know anything about the gun. He is a liar.

I never in my life put any gun in polythene bag for Simeon.”

The other four suspects, led by the self-acclaimed warrant officer, were receivers who revealed that they made money more than the robbery operatives themselves. They said they encouraged the robbers to go on operations in order that they might have goods to take to the market.

Narrating his role in the gang, 33year-old Ogor said: “I am from Ugboju village in Otukpo Local

A

•(L-R) Simeon, Oluchukwu, Prince and Promise

‘

Ebele BONIFACE

He said he used the uniform to intimidate police officers, road safety men, customs officers and other law enforcement agents they met on the road. For easy passage, he would flash his fake army identity card where they proved stubborn and too inquisitive...

‘

Government Area, Benue State. I am happily married with two children.

I reside at No. 6 Mamudu Bada Street, Idimu, Lagos. I am a commercial driver. I am also a marine mechanic on contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). I repair forklifts for them.”

Explaining his arrest by SARS operatives, he said: “We went to rob at Ajah. There were five of us, namely myself, Nnamdi, Prince, Promise and Bigi who is still at large.

Our leader is Bigi. He was the one who contacted us whenever there was a job.

“This time, we went to Ajah to rob a big man. He told Prince that the man was loaded with money. We left Ikotun around 5pm and got to Ajah around 9pm. We were in a restaurant belonging to Bigi’s girlfriend, eating, drinking and smoking cigarettes while we waited for the time to strike. Bigi, a security guard in Ajah, went to his beat to show face and survey the place we intended to rob.

“At about 11.30 pm, Bigi came back and told us to come with him to the victim’s house. At about midnight, he entered the compound and signalled to us to enter. Inside, we met the man. He begged us not to kill him or shoot him. We told him that we didn’t want to kill him. We said we only came to collect money from him and that he should cooperate with us if he loved his life.

“Before we knew it, the man had fainted from shock and lay flat on the floor. We then dragged his wife near him and ordered her to explain why her husband should faint like that. She said he was on drug and we ordered her to get the drug. He took it and recovered.

“He told us to take everything we could lay our hands on. We took one Nissan Frontier Pickup van, one Hyundai jeep and two handsets.

There was no cash.

“We later left Ajah and drove

•Robinson

straight to Igando. We entered Chamberlane Hotel and parked at the back of the hotel. I bought bottled water and Prince bought small stout. We left the hotel around 5 am after sharing our loot.

“In the evening, I called Eugene on the phone to come and buy a vehicle.

I told him we snatched it. He came and priced the Pickup van for N400,000. He gave me N70,000 and gave Nnamdi N70,000, promising to pay the balance when he came back from Enugu. He had not travelled with the car before I was arrested.

I brought my own gun in a

polythene bag.”

On how he got his gun, Simeon said: “This gun was given to me by Suleiman Adekunle, a motor engine injector repairer. There was an injector I bought from him and he used it to repair my vehicle.

Surprisingly the injector did not work. In an attempt to take the vehicle back to him, I discovered a polythene bag which was formerly used to carry the injector containing a locally made pistol.

“When I confronted him, he denied putting the gun in the said polythene bag. I took the gun to the

gang and they told me that it would be important for the operation we intended to carry out. In fact, he was the one who gave me the gun.”

The third suspect, Nnamdi (22), was dressed in the uniform of an army corporal and carrying an identity card of the Nigerian Army.

He hails from Ibuzor in Aniocha North Local Government Area, Delta State, but he resides at No. 13A, Olajide Street, Egan, Igando, Lagos.

He said: “Bigi brought out a gun and tied the man. Simeon, who was also with a gun, threatened to shoot •Continued on page 22

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

15

•The house of the Nwoyes

How a family of four was wiped out by generator fume in Anambra F

OR the only surviving son of Peter Nwoye, life can never remain the same. Although he lives outside the shores of Nigeria, he must have heard how the remaining members of the family were wiped out by generator fume.

The tragedy struck at Ezi Nkwelle Ezunaka in Oyi Local Government Area, Anambra State early on Monday morning.

Four members of the family were found dead in their home.

Neighbours suspected the victims to have died as a result of suffocation from the fume of a generator they kept at the corridor of the house.

The head of the family, Mr. Peter Nwoye, aged 46, was said to be a civil servant, while his wife, Ebele, was in her early 30s.

The two children, Chisom and Rapuluchukwu, were aged 10 and 13 respectively.

When The Nation visited the community on Monday morning, the atmosphere was very quiet as people discussed in hush tones while others sobbed as a result of the tragedy.

According to neighbours of the deceased family members, who hailed from Ezinkwelle village, they were last seen on Sunday night when they went in to sleep but failed to come out of their fourbedroom bungalow around 7:30 the following morning.

It was gathered that when all efforts to wake them did not succeed, their neighbours contacted the vigilance group in the neighbourhood, who forced the doors open only to find the victims lying in their vomit.

According to Peter’s immediate elder sister, Mrs. Theresa Umeagwu, the family had slept with the 6.5 KVA generator working all night in one of the rooms.

“I rushed here from my husband’s place when they told me my brother and his

Adimike GEORGE, Onitsha family members were found dead this morning. I was told that their big generator continued working until this morning when it stopped on its own. I came in to see the whole family wiped out, and was told it was because the generator was on,” Umeagwu said.

But a neighbour told reporters that the family usually chained the generator at the back of the house since they bought it last year, adding that he was surprised to hear that the deceased family left the generator on in one of the rooms.

However, some neighbours blamed the deaths on the power situation in the country, adding that the number of Nigerians who have met with cruel and untimely death as they devise other means of power supply has continued to increase without any respite in sight.

The late Peter Nwoye, it was gathered, was until his death a unionist who constantly opposed the indiscriminate sale of land in the community by a few people without commensurate development.

A source disclosed that when policemen came and broke the door, the late Nwoye and his wife were found naked in the room, with the husband lying on the bed and the wife sitting on a bench at the bedside.

He said the eldest child, Rapuruchukwu, a 13-years old JSS 1 student, and her younger sister, 10-yearold Chisom, had “struggled and vomited before they died.” He believed they must have passed through severe pains before they gave up the ghost.

Another source and close friend of the family said he was yet to believe that the late Nwoye could be careless to the extent of sleeping with a generator in his house,

‘

The eldest child, Rapuruchukwu, a 13-years old JSS 1 student, and her younger sister, 10-year-old Chisom, had “struggled and vomited before they died.” He believed they must have passed through severe pains before they gave up the ghost

stating that he was exposed and knew the danger of being exposed to generator fume.

In another quarter in the community, some residents who had earlier declined comments, later called for a proper investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the Nwoye family, describing their demise as unusual.

“We may not be able to scientifically or logically prove it, but we have this instinct that there is more to their death than meets the eye. We want a thorough investigation. That is all we owe them. If at the end of the day it is established that there was no foul play, then they may have died of recklessness,” they said.

They said their suspicions were based on the positions in which the victims were found when the door was forced open, especially with the head of the family leading a faction of the town union, adding that the other camp might have decided to silence him.

’

Another aggrieved youth, who said he was with late Nwoye the previous night, also blamed the constant power failure in the community for the unfortunate incident, saying that every month, they paid exorbitant bills to officials of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) without regular power supply.

He believed that if there was light, the family would not have slept with their generator working.

He, however, dismissed any suggestion of a foul play, saying it was possible that they slept and forgot to put off the generator before the fume engulfed them.

When the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr.Emeka Chukwuemeka, was contacted, he confirmed the incident, saying that the matter was already being investigated.

He said it was not yet clear what could have befallen the family, but that the generator and their vomit had been taken as exhibits, so as to ascertain the true cause of their death.

16

M

RS. Dupe Olowoyo, like most hopeful human beings had lived with the vision of a wonderful future; happy married life, brilliant children, business and social bliss. She lived every day of her life and worked her fingers sore with the thought of the kind of life she had planned from her teenage.

Her birth had not being heralded by a comet, neither did her mother experience anything unusual during labour and so she was born with no particular deficiency at birth, infancy nor teenage.

Having grown into a beautiful young lady, Dupe married her heartthrob of many years, Mr Olawale Olowoyo at a modest wedding ceremony and later bore him two lovely boys, 13 and 12 years old.

Modupe thanked God for his numerous mercies, including her marriage, her children and good life until her joy was cut short with the loss of her ever doting and caring husband, Olawale Olowoyo who passed on to the great beyond in very mysterious circumstances.

Almost immediately after Mr. Olowoyo’s death, different members of his family ravaged the couple’s home and took away their properties with different spurious claims. As usual during such times in a woman’s life, she got different counsels from friends and family, but she held on to her faith and belief in God. Just as she was recovering from the shock of her husband’s death, another tragedy struck. She woke up one morning with an excruciating pain in her pubic region which she thought was just a boil and applied an ointment to alleviate the pain.

As days grew into weeks, the pain continued and the swelling grew, forcing her to visit the pharmacist for drugs for boils in the hope that this wouldl assuage the pain and diffuse the boil. Instead, the pain grew further and the boil soared in size.

W

HAT would make a 25year-old man to take his own life? That is the question being asked by many residents of Anguwar Mahuta, Nasarawa ‘A’ ward, Minna, Niger State, following the discovery of the lifeless body of a local drycleaner, Auwal Bawa, which dangled from the ceiling fan in his dingy room around 2 pm penultimate Tuesday.

Auwal was said to have been full of life when the day broke, giving no one any reason to suspect that he could give a thought to anything like taking his own life. Indeed, suicide would be the last thing a Muslim like Auwal would be thought to nurse in his mind in the holy month of Ramadan; the month considered by Muslims as that of reconciliation and forgiveness for the faithful.

Considering his jovial and quiet nature, the death of Auwal, fondly called “Akame”, remains a puzzle even for the police. A young man, who pleaded anonymity while he spoke with our reporter, said Auwal could have decided to commit suicide over his sour relationship with his girlfriend, Bilikisu, who he had dated for two years.

The source said the deceased might have taken his life when he learnt that Bilikisu was engaged to another man by her parents and might be going to her husband’s house after the Ramandan.

“The rumour that Bililkisu would get married to another man after the Ramadan had given Auwal a lot of concern. Every day, he bemoaned his fate,” the source said.

Another source disclosed that the day before he committed suicide, Auwal had attempted to kill himself by taking a poisonous chemical popularly called Ota-piapia, but some people in the neighbourhood who saw him when he was about to take the lethal substance quickly intervened. He, however, had his way the following day by hanging

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Struck by cancer, mother of two and her children face bleak future •Plead for help from kind-hearted people Scared and confused by the situation, she, in the hope of finding succor, approached a native healer renowned for her ability to cure different kinds of ailments with herbs.

After narrating her experience, she was given some concoctions and instructions on how to apply them. Hopefully, she administered the concoctions diligently and enthusiastically with the hope of getting reprieve, but her expectations were doused further as blood started oozing out of her private part.

It was then that it dawned on her that there was more to her ailment than seeking some cheap quick relieve measures. She rushed to the General Hospital for Specialist attention. It was at the General Hospital that she was told to bring N90, 000 and five pints of positive blood for radiotherapy. Unfortunately,

•Mrs. Olowoyo with her children after the operation

she had no such money or blood.

As a result of her pain, Olowoyo has battled with perpetual insomnia since the ailment returned. She laments that she lives with agonising pains and most of the time just struggles to be available and alive for the moment.

After a series of medical tests, she was diagnosed with cancer of the cervix. Doctors say it is curable, which encouraged her to seek assistance from several people.

Since she was diagnosed with this disease, Dupe has had to spend her life savings on drugs and other essentials, forcing her children to the streets in search of something to eat.

“These young boys had a bright future ahead of them until this misery befell our family. Now my children scout the streets in search of food and other essentials that make life worth living. Their future could be truncated except somebody comes along to help them. They need it badly,” she said.

•Mrs. Olowoyo before the operation

Recently a spirited effort by well meaning Nigerians brought her some succour as she was operated upon and the swelling reduced. But doctors averred that this is not a permanent cure and the cancer may return except she adheres strictly to her medical regime.

The family was recently evicted for their inability to pay their house rent, which has accumulated over the past two years. Olowoyo needs a lot of money to keep this

medical regime and the two lovely boys wish to return to school, so the family is appealing to kindhearted Nigerians to once again come to their aid.

Olowoyo and this young bubbly boys await your soonest assistance in kind or cash to their account named Mrs. Dupe Olowoyo, number 2093010216913 First Bank, Allen Avenue Branch, Ikeja, Lagos.

You can also call 07041867566 for enquiries.

Ramadan tragedy: Jilted by girlfriend after two years of romance, 25-yr-old man hangs self Jide ORINTUNSIN, Minna himself with the ceiling fan.

Auwal, who until his death lived with Hajiya Uwma, the matriarch of the late Alhaji Shuaibu Erena, woke up to perform his usual chores. He tidied up his room and assisted her landlady to clear her sitting room. He was said to have also assisted Hajiya to distribute grains to the less privileged in the neighbourhood. He later settled down to his trade and washed some clothes before taking his own life.

Those who saw him moments before he committed suicide said that about 30 minutes to the time he was found dead, he had instructed some boys who were playing football in front of the house as well as those who sat by his room’s window to leave, telling them that he wanted to rest and that their noise was disturbing his sleep. No one suspected that he was only sending the boys away in order to ensure that the coast was clear for him to commit suicide.

No sooner had he hatched his plan than one of his neighbours simply called Mukhtar came looking for him for a menial job, only to find Auwal’s lifeless body dangling from the ceiling fan in his room.

Recalling the gory sight that confronted him when he pushed open the door, Mukhtar, who claimed to have known Auwal for close to a

•The dangling body of Auwal Bawa

decade, said: “I saw him washing clothes when I was going out and I rushed back to invite him for a job.

I called him several times in front of the house. When I did not hear any response, I decided to check his room to see whether he was sleeping. On opening his room, I was

shocked to see Auwal’s body dangling from the ceiling fan. I rushed out shouting and calling people around to come and see what I had seen.”

Hajiya Uwma was yet to get over the shock of the young man’s death when our reporter visited the scene. ”This incident is still like a film to me. Auwal was here in my sitting room to help in cleaning it this morning,” Uwma said.

Pointing to half a bag of grains in the sitting room, Hajiya recalled: “This was where he helped me to share some grains that were distributed to some people in the neighbourhood. Look at the remaining bags of grains he shared this morning. I am yet to pin his action down to anything. He never complained of any problem. He was a gentle boy and I am at a loss over his action.”

Corroborating her mother, Mallam Abdullahi Shuaibu, the eldest child of Hajiya Uwma and the head of the family, who was sent for when the body was found, told our correspondent that the deceased had been staying in the house for close to 10 years, to keep their old mother company and keep tabs on her. According to him, Auwal, who hailed from Shanga Local Government Area of Kebbi State, became a member of the family when he came to study Quran along with his elder brother, Garba. After his training, upon his request, the family allowed him to stay in the house, because he was willing to take care of the house and their mother.

Shuaibu, who is a Special Assistant to the Executive Governor of

Niger State, said at the completion of his Islamic education, “the family decided to set up a GSM business for him. But after some months, he sold the umbrella, table and chairs and said he wanted to venture into dry-cleaning business, which the family gave him the go ahead to do.

He added: “I never knew he had a problem with his relationship. But I know he was into a relationship because he brought a lady to me three to four months ago and said that he wanted to marry her. I asked him to let me know when the wedding date was fixed, that is two to three months before the wedding, so that our family could prepare for it. We even gave him a larger room, which is an extension of the house, since he wanted to get married.

“The last time I saw Auwal was (penultimate) Sunday. He said he wanted to travel home and I even gave him N2, 000. The next thing I heard was that he killed himself. I never knew he could do such a thing.

“It seems he even prepared for his death, because people around said that he drove away the children who usually played football beside his window before he hanged himself. I am very surprised.”

The lifeless body of Auwal was later removed and taken to Minna General Hospital by the Police for further investigation.

The Public Relations Officer of the Niger State Police Command, Mr Richard Oguche, confirmed the incident, saying that the case was still being investigated.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

The agitation for Ekiti State began in my living room •Elder stateman, Deji Fasuan, reminisces at 80

•Chief Fasuan

Prominent indigene and frontline politician in Ekiti State, Chief Deji Fasuan, clocked 80 years last Saturday. In this interview with SULAIMAN SALAWUDEEN, he reflects on his childhood days and issues of national importance, including corruption in public service, the suspension of Justice Ayo Salami as the President of the Appeal Court and the face-off between two former leaders, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

H

OW would you describe your childhood and growing up days?

I hail from Afao, a village 15 minutes’ drive from Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State. I was born on September 6, 1931. I went to school in my village called Are-Ekiti for my elementary education. They called it elementary in those days, not primary. For my secondary education, I attended Christ School between 1946 and 1951. I obtained the senior Cambridge School Certificate in 1951.

Years later, I proceeded to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where I spent three years at the University College there. I graduated in Economics in 1959, majoring in Economics and Public Finance. I came back to Nigeria the same year and took up jobs in the United African Company (UAC) in Ibadan, Warri, Sapele and Benin. It was a short spell. Then I joined government in 1962 as an industrial officer in Western Nigeria Development Corporation (WNDC), based at the Secretariat, Ibadan. Thereafter, WNDC was changed to IICC, that is Industrial Investment and Credit Corporation, and we moved to Cocoa House where I rose to become the General Manager in 1975.

I had several professional trainings within and outside Nigeria. I benefited very much from these trainings. For instance, I went to the World Bank Graduate School in 1972. The institution is called Economic Development Institute (EDI), where I spent some months. In 1982, I went for a short course at the Uni-

versity of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Even around this time, I did short courses in the then UCI (University College, Ibadan) and then at the University of Ife. I equipped myself as a project analyst and investment banker, and my postings in the civil service reflected this professional background.

How would you compare life now with what it was then, particularly in the area of governance?

It is a world of difference. For example, there was commitment, total professional dedication by civil servants of that time to their jobs.

They hardly attached any importance to material acquisition. We were just emerging from the colonial era, in which the colonial administration laid emphasis on integrity and transparency. This current culture of acquisitiveness, corruption, materialism was not inherited from the colonial government. Let us be frank and sincere to Britain.

We didn’t inherit it from the British system. The military invariably introduced these things into our lives.

The military?

Yes. The military administration which we had for over 25 years in-

troduced corruption and actually institutionalised it. In fact, it made it an institution of state. For example, during the colonial era and immediately after independence in 1960, there was nothing like brown envelope, 10 per cent, kickback or any such aberration as we saw in the long period filled by the military. This is stunning, because the military are trained and expected to be Spartan, disciplined and committed to the nation. But they introduced corruption into our culture and it is growing fast.

Any exception in the military to this dissemination of rot?

Yes, there are exceptions, like Gen. Murtala Mohammed. But his was an aberration in terms of the Nigerian norms and values. Thank God, he worked for only six months and his name has been written and will remain in gold for all time. It was during his time that a lot of cleansing was done in the public service positively and a few negatively. But the man represented the original Sandhurst military officer. The others are Kaduna-oriented.

Because he trained in Sandhurst?

No. All the others like Babangida,

‘

Abacha and Abdulsalami were there as well, but they didn’t imbibe it. Sandhurst is a training ground which equally represents a culture of rectitude no longer found in many of our so-called army officials today. It was that man alone that imbibed the Sandhurst tradition and values. Others are thoroughbred Kaduna and Jaji. We also have exceptions like Adekunle Fajuyi, Gen. Alani Akinriade and Col. Abubakar Umar who have all proven to be above board.

How can we get around the decadence?

Sincerely, I am not sure whether this thing can be arrested with a fiat.

It is going to be a long process. Our laws must be changed. Offenders must be made to face punitive sentences. For instance, there is hardly a day you open the papers without finding a government agent, a director, a former permanent secretary, a minister of statutory corporation or bank official stealing billions of naira, not even millions.

And and all of them are walking the streets.

But are the minders of our judicial system not also involved?

On paper, the Nigerian judiciary

In that living room there, we started the struggle in 1991. I gathered a group of Ekiti people in Ondo State and we started talking about how to carve out a new environment for our own people. We share many things with our cousins in Ondo state, particularly Akoko and Akure. But sharing is not the same as being oneself...

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is second to none in Africa when you consider their credentials and you see the many cases they have handled. But these people are part of the Nigerian society and, unfortunately, it appears the civilian culture which was made for us by the military has now permeated the judiciary. I mean the civilian culture of corruption which was bequeathed to us by the military. You see this every day. You read about it every day. In the past, when a case was in court, you were fully satisfied that justice would be done. But now there are other variables to it.

People no longer have the kind of confidence they used to have in the judiciary.

Recently, former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida , blamed Obasanjo for wasting N16 billion dollars on electricity during his tenure without delivering...

My brother, what is the difference between six and half a dozen? There is no difference between Obasanjo and Babangida; only that one is more dexterous, urbane and refined about it than the other who is brash, rash, crude and uncouth about it.

The much money available to Babangida, he squandered it on personal aggrandisement, entrenching and promoting the culture of corruption. What difference is between that and Obasanjo who literally swam in the billions, but what did we get from him? The power situation is becoming worse and worse by the day. If, out of a population of about 150 million, 50 million are unemployed, if you have uninterrupted power supply today, 20 million of that 50 million will be selfemployed in one kind of trade or the other. But what is the power situation in Nigeria today? It is one of the worst in Africa. And we have all the raw materials and possible inputs to get power supply steady and regular.

Look at our petroleum resources.

Look at our gas. Today, the gas company will be quarrelling with the PHCN while the PHCN will be quarrelling with the Federal Government. Nobody is moving or coordinating the country. It is one whole body of confusion that we have here. Nobody is really doing anything. Most times, they do what they do to benefit the people up there.

What is the solution?

The solution is to restructure the society. I want to say that I was once a believer in mainstreaming; I was one of the mainstreamers in the country.

What is mainstreaming?

I believe the Yoruba enclave, the Oduduwa enclave, should inevitably be in the mainstream of Nigerian politics. Mainstreamers are those occupying major positions of authority, not realising this is defeatist. For a long time, the mainstreamers have been in parties winning the presidency. Why should we struggle to be in the mainstream? Why can’t we get others to share the fundamentals and philosophies of governance and administration with us?

Again, I now see those who are there in the so-called mainstream just gather to divide the commonwealth of the country amongst themselves. We should now return to what they call true federalism. I believe in it. Let us develop along our own tenets, beliefs and norms.

This was the main theme which some people call tribalism.

Awolowo opposed mainstreamers throughout his lifetime. No, we cannot be marching and waiting for people who have no time for progress; who have no intention of catching up.

How do you think the Awo philosophy is faring today?

There are so many fake Awoists.

You know them. There are some fake Awoists who visit state governors’ offices looking for one favour •Continued on page 56

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Saturday

THRILLER

The victim is made to lie face down. His legs are then folded upwards at the knees and tied together at the ankles, and his arms are raised upwards and tied together at the wrists. A pipe or rod, attached at its ends to a rope hanging from a hook in the ceiling is passed between both legs and arms. The suspect is raised towards the ceiling by pulling at the loose end of the rope until suspended in the air in the form of a human bow.

This position soon generates excruciating pain all over the body but particularly in the shoulders, the spine, and the waist. While the suspect is suffering this pain, the interrogating officer subjects him to beating with horsewhips, batons, wire cables, or other instruments.

-Network on Police

Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN) describing the third degree, a torture technique Olatunji OLOLADE, Assistant Editor

‘Officer in Charge…

Torture!’

Alleged torture and abuse of detainees by the Police

I

n the twilight of 2006, Anana lost his mind.

And that happened a couple of times; until his head became parched like a dried gourd rattling a few dry seeds within, every time he opened his mouth to speak. It did not matter how he picked his words. Much of what he said was certified gibberish. He couldn’t possibly mean everything he said you would think, but he did anyway. And he was taken for his words.

But Anana couldn’t take his tormentors for their words. Hence when he claimed to tell the “truth” for the umpteenth time, the police officer didn’t stop torturing him as he promised, he simply twisted the broomstick deeper into his penis cap.

Its five years since his ordeal yet echoes of his squeals still causes his spine to chill. “That was the worst period of my life…it was a nightmare that wouldn’t end,” lamented Anana. The effect was crushing. Pain leapt from his lips like hot lava and spilled onto the air. Bitter-terse memories punctuated his grief and accorded his words a melancholic peal, like Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. According to him, he had been living with his uncle peacefully for five years at his Lagos Mainland residence until the latter was murdered while returning from work in “what was planned to look like a robbery attack.”

Anana claimed that the attack on his uncle wasn’t a robbery assault but an outright murder attempt. And it was very successful. As soon as his uncle died, the latter’s wife whom he identified as a “trophy wife” or sort invited a young man who she identified as her younger brother into the house.

•Continued on Page 20

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

•Some detainees are persistently clubbed at the knees and other body joints

Alleged torture and abuse of detainees by the Police

•Continued from Page 19 Anana never suspected foul play until he caught them together in very suggestive poses twice on the same day. That called for drastic action from the lovers hence they arranged for his arrest. He never saw it coming. According to him, he should have left the house when he caught them the first time but the shock was too much for him to bear.

Few minutes after he caught them, Anana disclosed that he had strolled to the terrace to smoke a cigarette when he caught them “together again cuddling on the car bonnet in front of the garage.”

“I stormed out of the house in annoyance.

It was therefore surprising to me when at my return; I met some police officers who claimed they had come to take me away for questioning.” Anana’s heartfelt pleas and expression of his innocence fell on the police’s deaf ears. “They arrested me and identified me as the mastermind of my uncle’s death just as his wife paid them to do. At the station, they tortured me. They tied me up to the ceiling by the ankle and flogged me repeatedly. They tried to force me to copy a prepared statement of confession to the crime but I refused and they tortured me some more.

“Suddenly, they decided to release me claiming that my uncle’s wife had decided to leave me in God’s hands. They advised me to thank God that I am a very lucky man. According to them, many criminals like me had died during interrogation but I was fortunate that my sister-in-law was a kind-hearted woman, they said. They told me she left a package for me, when I checked it, I found N200, 000 in the envelope…By the time I got home. My uncle’s wife had sold all his property and absconded into thin air. That woman has finished me,” cried Anana.

Unlike Anana, Thomas isn’t “finished.” He is in fact, lucky. On September 20, 2008, Thomas was accused of armed robbery by the police. His ordeal started when he was about to depart from a shop where he had been sent to pick up a television set for repairs.

While on the errand, an alarm was raised by

some of the occupants of the shop and that led to his arrest by the police who took him to “A” Division Jos, Plateau State immediately after his arrest. Thomas had a different story to tell though but he was not believed by the police. They tied his hands and legs and he was hung between two desks with a rod after which he was severely beaten with batons, by the police. He was then beaten with batons. When the beating became unbearable Thomas “confessed” to the crime.

However, a High Court sitting in Jos recently discharged Thomas. The court held that “the various acts of torture meted out to the applicant by the Nigerian Police Force is unlawful, unconstitutional and constitutes a violation of the applicant’s right to the respect of dignity inherent in a human person as well as the right against torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment and treatment as guaranteed by Section 34(1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic on Nigeria, 1999.” Its three years after his illegitimate arrest and torture by the police and Thomas has found a profound cause to smile.

Lacking the capacity to conduct proper criminal investigations, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) relies instead on torture to elicit “confessions,” according to the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), a network of 44 non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In a recent report on the excessive use of torture by the NPF, the network of NGOs stated that the practice of torture has become so prevalent that many police stations assigns an officer to supervise the torture of detainees and a room set aside for the practice.

An earlier investigation by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) had revealed that despite national and international laws prohibiting the use of torture as a means of interrogation; it has become widespread and routine in police stations across the country. The organisation conducted interviews in the cities of Enugu, Lagos and Kano with some 50 victims and witnesses who described brutal acts of torture, dozens of which resulted in death. The violations were reportedly per-

petrated by and with the knowledge of senior police officers.

When injured victims or their families seek redress, police management routinely subverts their efforts by transferring the responsible officers to other parts of the country.

Evidence of their dastardly acts suddenly disappears from the police records. So routine is the practice of torture, that some senior officers charged with the supervision of the interrogation technique are known within the police stations by the nickname, “Officer in Charge Torture.”

“Officer in Charge Torture” The major objective of torture as an interrogation technique by the police is to break the spirit of the suspect or detainee, explained Adeola Ogunro, a Criminal Psychologist and private security contractor. According to Ogunro, the excessive use of force and infliction of pain ultimately wears down the defenses of the victim of torture.

But despite the dangers inherent in the use of such interrogation style, the NPF isn’t ready to soft-pedal in its deployment particularly in extremely sensitive crime cases.

And the reason is hardly far-fetched: the NPF lacks the capacity or inclination to conduct evidence-based investigations, instead relying on confessions that are often obtained through torture.

Consequently, an elaborate system of torture exists to serve this goal. Torture facilities and personnel, including dedicated torture chambers, instruments, and an officer known as “O/C (officer in charge of) Torture” exist in every major police station according to NOPRIN. In most cases, the O/C Torture has chamber entirely to himself, and a seemingly limitless number of options for dispensing suffering and eliciting the confessions that are the principal means of police investigation in Nigeria.

Some of them achieve near-legendary status. In Enugu, for instance, legend subsists of the exploits of a Superintendent of Police (name withheld), who is renowned for his adroitness in breaking suspects and extract-

ing confessions. Many ex-detainees at the anti-robbery section narrated harrowing experiences of torture in his hands.

The torture chamber at the SCID headquarters in Enugu has attained so much renown that it is known as “the theatre.” Also at the SCID in Enugu, detainees speak with dread about a police officer called “Okpontu”— meaning “the Nailer” in Igbo language—after he reportedly drove a nail through the palm of a detainee in 2006.

NOPRIN assessment of methods of police torture discovered many different modes including: beatings, which are often severe in nature and may be directed at certain parts of the body such as the head or genitals, and which may involve several officers even if the suspect is not resisting; tear gas or pepper spray which may be directed at the eyes and nose or, in female detainees, at the genitalia; clubbing of the soles of the feet and the ankles; slapping of one or both ears with a cupped hand which can rupture the victim’s eardrums and banging the victim’s head against the wall or floor.

Other modes of torture identified include burning the victim with cigarettes, hot irons, or flame. Another measure also involves exposing the victim to climatic stress, including cold, damp cells or brutally hot ones.

Then there is the asphyxiation method by which the victim is submerged in water; sexual torture through rape and violation using objects such as bottles and broomsticks.

Mental torture including mock executions, non-therapeutic administration of drugs including pain-inducing drugs or threatening to inject detainees with dangerous drugs or the HIV has also been reportedly used by the police.

Psychological manipulation involving promises to end the torture if victims cooperate, or offering drinks and cigarettes, better prison conditions, or the removal of handcuffs; sleep deprivation; denial of needed medical treatment; starvation and deprivation of water; shooting both legs, known as the “V.I.P. treatment” to mention a few constitute major torture techniques freely de-

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

‘

In 2007, the Oshodi laboratory had only five scientific officers to meet the forensic needs of the entire country. The entire forensic capacity of the NPF in 2007 comprised only one trained forensic pathologist; there was no ballistics expert, and no DNA expert

’

ployed by the police to elicit confessions from detainees or suspects.

Although NPF personnel allegedly employ different methods of torture, they all have common inclinations in the administration of torture to suspects or detainees. One such method involves the disabling of the legs or ankles of detainees by shooting their limbs or repeatedly clubbing it.

For instance, armed robbery suspects are reportedly shot in the legs before interrogation or as part of the interrogation process.

Thus the corpses of many alleged armed robbers deposited by the police in public bear clear evidence of gunshot injuries in the lower limbs.

The case of a political activist in the north is also worthy of note. According to him, he was detained with other activists on the complaint of the local leader of another faction of his party at the Karfi Police Post in Kano.

Narrating his ordeal, the activist disclosed that he was severely beaten by a police officer who used a metal bar thicker than an iron rod—more like a police baton—to hit him all over his joints for almost one hour, particularly on his knees and legs.

Consequently, “I couldn’t stand up on my feet. He then asked me to stand up and I told him I couldn’t. After he became satisfied that I couldn’t stand he then asked me to crawl to the cell. This was around 11:00 p.m. That night I couldn’t sleep. The following day at around 9:15 a.m. he came back with a paper and pen but before he did anything he used that same metal to beat me again all over my body including my head this time around,” said the activist.

For three nights thereafter, the officer ordered him and his co-detainees to crawl out onto the public area of the police compound, forced them to squat knowing that they could not do this on their incapacitated ankles and do a sequence of frog jumps.

He then required the detainees to shout repeatedly in the Hausa language: “We are the children of villagers, who are irresponsible, poor, and useless!” Hobbled by pain, the detainees were repeatedly beaten for their inability to jump on incapacitated ankles.

During each of these sessions, the officer reportedly telephoned the party leader who had engineered the arrests, and put the phone on speaker to have him hear the victims’ agonised cries and as they rained insults and abusive words on their own parents.

Few days later, the officer fetched buckets of mud which he forced the detainees to rub over their bodies. He then required each of them to pay a fine of N1, 000, and proceeded to drive them in a Toyota Hilux to the Kura Police Station in Kano where the detainees were finally granted bail disclosed the activist.

“J5,” “Suicide,” “Third Degree”etc Further findings revealed that the police have invented a whole lexicon for different

•This detainee alleged that he was subjected to severe burns during interrogation forms of torture, including “J5,” “freeze-up,” “third degree,” and “suicide.” The “J5” involves sleep deprivation in a prolonged standing position occasioning painful swelling in the lower limbs. This sometimes results in detainees collapsing or passing out from exhaustion or other related health complications.

During a “suicide,” the detainee is suspended at the end of a rope tied to the ankles with the head down, legs in the air and hands often tied or manacled behind the back. The officer administering the torture determines how long the detainee stays in this position and whether or not this is accompanied by additional beating or other forms of pain.

The High Court of Delta State has specifically declared the “suicide” to be a constitutionally prohibited form of torture. Notwithstanding this decision, the practice continues unabated within the NPF. In one instance, a detainee named reportedly died after being administered a “suicide” at a police station in Abuja during which the police also inserted needles into his genitals.

The “third-degree” combines different elements of physical constriction into what many victims report to be a uniquely excruciating experience. It has been described as follows: The victim is made to lie face down. His legs are then folded upwards at the knees and tied together at the ankles, and his arms are raised upwards and tied together at the wrists. A pipe or rod, attached at its ends to a rope hanging from a hook in the ceiling, is passed between both legs and both arms. The

suspect is raised towards the ceiling by pulling at the loose end of the rope until suspended in the air in the form of a human bow. This position soon generates excruciating pain all over the body but particularly in the shoulders, the spine, and the waist. While the suspect is yet suffering this pain, the interrogating officer subjects him to beating with horsewhips, batons, wire cables, or other instruments.

Why torture?

Nigeria lacks the infrastructure for evidence-based policing. According to a November 2007 report by former Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Coomasie, the NPF’s entire forensic infrastructure comprises a nonfunctioning forensic laboratory in Oshodi, Lagos (which is actually operated by the Federal Ministry of Health); a forensic facility in Ikoyi, Lagos; and two “government chemists” in Lagos Island and Kaduna.

These facilities either do not work or are badly neglected. In 2008, the second Presidential Committee on Police Reform noted: The Oshodi facility, which is owned by the Federal Ministry of Health, has been in existence since 1953. Over the years, it has suffered neglect as a result of inadequate funding and poor staffing. Currently it lacks adequate equipment, working materials and qualified staff to operate successfully.

In 1982, however, the Nigeria Police Force established its Forensic Laboratory in Lagos to support criminal investigations within the premises of the Force CID (Annex). The laboratory was designed to have seven units,

‘

At the station, they tortured me.

They tied me up to the ceiling by the ankle and flogged me repeatedly.

They tried to force me to copy a prepared statement of confession to the crime but I refused and they tortured me some more

’

namely; Chemistry, Biology, Fingerprint, Photograph, Ballistics, Disputed Documents, Tool marks and GSM Information Extraction.

The laboratory currently looks like a ghost house, with little or no activity going on. It has remained in a dismal state, with the existing equipment inadequate and obsolete.

In 2007, the Oshodi laboratory had only five scientific officers to meet the forensic needs of the entire country. The entire forensic capacity of the NPF in 2007 comprised only one trained forensic pathologist; there was no ballistics expert, and no DNA expert.

Unsurprisingly, a 2007 review of the forensics and investigation capabilities in the NPF found “a near total absence of forensic science in police investigation in Nigeria. Fingerprints or photographs of the scene are rarely taken.”

The review concluded that this gives “impetus to the use of third degree policing strategies by police investigators.” Thus within the NPF, there is a tradition of “excessive reliance by the police on information from witnesses and ‘confessions’ forcibly extracted from suspects” which encourages the use of violence.

Additionally, there is no functioning system for the management of criminal justice information and intelligence. The 2006 Presidential Commission on the Reform of the Administration of Justice in Nigeria concluded that the “existing information systems are outdated, fragmented and sometimes require arduous manual search and retrieval of data.”

Poor training, working conditions, and remuneration—in addition to nonexistent infrastructure for communications, investigation, and internal accountability—encourage a tradition of police brutality and an intolerably high propensity for police violence.

These factors create a culture of predatory policing and police-for-hire in which NPF personnel routinely resort to unlawful methods in the treatment of suspects and detainees or exploit their positions through corrupt means to augment their official salaries. Police investigations essentially involve procuring confessions from suspects and detainees by any means necessary, including torture and other forms of coercion.

The 2008 report of the second Presidential Committee on Police Reform acknowledges that “the standard of Police investigation is very low and hardly goes beyond taking statements and coercing suspects to confess.” Over 90 percent of criminal prosecutions are based exclusively on confessions. The NPF lacks the capacity to successfully prosecute the most serious crimes. For instance, “out of the 5,883 robbery suspects held in four of Nigeria’s most populated prisons between 2000 and 2005, only 48 robbery convictions were secured with 4,014 being acquitted.”

In his inaugural address on May 29, 2007, Late President Umaru Yar’Adua promised: “Our government is determined to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies, especially the police. The state must fulfill its constitutional responsibility of protecting life and property.” A lot has happened since the late President’s spirited avowal.

A lot is still happening. Goodluck Jonathan, his former deputy, has succeeded him. In the wake of his assumption, the nation has been thrown into an abject state of insecurity courtesy the sporadic bombings and premeditated murders of which responsibility has been claimed by the northern terrorist cell, Boko Haram.

Two of the prime targets were the United Nations (UN) Abuja house and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) headquarters also in Abuja. That has to be devastating to the Nigerian police. It is. The NPF will make sweeping arrests no doubt. It is however, unclear what manner of interrogation the force would resort to.

Will the police characteristically drag more innocent citizenry into custody in abject frustration? What interrogation techniques will be employed by NPF interrogators nationwide? What was the fate of earlier suspects interrogated by the police?

To arrive at satisfactory answers, one may need to seek guidance by the fate of a former detainee and “suspect” like Anana. Though he didn’t die during interrogation, years after his incarceration and gruesome torture, he is stuck in a limbo or sort, like a traveler between life and death. Some “suspects” never make it quite far.

Additional report sourced from NOPRIN

Police has never approved torture as interrogation technique —DCP Olusola Amore, Police spokesman •SEE PAGE 22

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

‘How we met our Waterloo after Police has never robbing a wealthy businessman‘ approved torture as interrogation technique —DCP Olusola Amore, Police spokesman

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•Other suspected receivers

•Continued from page 14

•Police IG, Hafiz Ringim

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The two bodies have never presented report on Guantanamo Bay. Their only interest is in selective reporting of human rights in developing countries

Olatunji OLOLADE, Assistant Editor and Sanni ONOGU every organisation, there is always room for improvement and that is why the Police reform agenda is taking care of those areas like retraining, provision of logistics and welfare issues.

What message do you have for Nigerians as regards their attitude towards the Police?

Nigerians should co-operate with Nigeria Police as police officers are Nigerians who have fathers, mothers, cousins, uncles, brothers etc. among Nigerians and the organisation is specifically set up to protect their lives and property. They can give

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information through anonymous phone calls, text messages and also report conduct of officers found wanting to appropriate Police departments.

How does the NPF intend to create an atmosphere of mutual trust between it and the public?

We are already doing a lot through our radio programme, Police Diary, on network programme of Radio Nigeria at 8.30 – 9 am every Tuesday and 2.30pm – 3pm every Thursday. The Community Policing Initiative is another strategy to create an atmosphere of mutual trust between the Police and the public and this is actually gaining support and making impact in this direction.

the man and he fainted.

Prince gave him a drug that was brought by his wife and revived him.

“Bigi gave me one key and another one to Simeon to drive the vehicles to Igando.

My role was to search for vehicle keys in the man’s house. My father is from Ubuzor and my mother is from Opanam. But they divorced when I was small.

They said that my father is an occult. I am still searching for him.”

On the Nigerian Army identity card, he said he got it as well as the army uniform from a man called ‘Baba soldier’ at Bonny Camp, Lagos. He said he used the uniform to intimidate police officers, road safety men, customs officers and other law enforcement agents they meet on the road. For easy passage, he would flash his fake army identity card where they proved stubborn and too inquisitive. The gang also used it to stop commercial buses to rob passengers or divert containers carried by trailers.

The fourth suspect, Prince (30), an auto parts dealer at Ladipo Market, Lagos resident at NO 7, Adewale Street Council Area Idimu, said: “It was the woman that we met first. But when we entered, we met her husband and two of their children. It was Bigi who used his bare hands to open the gate and we entered.

“We left Ajah a few minutes after 5 am, because that was the time the vigilance people allow vehicles to pas in Ajah.”

Promise Okoro (21), who hails from Umuakagu village, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area, Imo State but resides at No 34, Ogbudi Street, Iyana Iba, Lagos claimed to be running a barbing salon at No 33, Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island Lagos, making between N1,500 and N2,000 daily.

He said: “Bigi came to my shop and I gave him a haircut.

He liked it and collected my GSM number. He asked me how much I would be delivering to him if he bought

‘

At about midnight, we entered the compound...

Inside, we met the man. He begged us not to kill him or shoot him. We told him that we didn’t want to kill him. We said we only came to collect money from him...Before we knew it, the man had fainted from shock and lay flat on the floor...

‘

HAT measure has the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) taken to eliminate the excessive use of torture as interrogation technique?

Police has never supported the use of torture in interrogation; any officer found using torture is punished.

At what point is the use of torture approved as an interrogation technique by the NPF? Police has never approved torture as interrogation technique.

How often does the use of torture earn Police investigations positive results?

Torture has never been an approved technique because results from torture are not admissible in law court.

The NPF, through its former spokesperson, Emmanuel Ojukwu denied the use of torture claiming “torture and illegal killings are not official Nigerian government policies..”

How will you react to this?

That is the true position.

What is your opinion about Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch reports of NPF’s alleged use of torture and extreme brutality as interrogation technique? Are they on point?

The two bodies have never presented report on Guantanamo Bay. Their only interest is in selective reporting of human rights in developing countries.

The NPF has denied allegations levelled against it by these NGOs, although accounts of detainees and torture victims suggest otherwise. Will you say the NGOs and the victims’ clams are mere fabrications?

Every victim of torture, if there is proof, can seek redress in law court without NGOs making it an issue.

How equipped is the NPF’s forensics unit?

Police forensics unit is well equipped but Police will continue to improve because science is developing.

What is the annual budget for the forensics unit?

It is adequate but could make do with more fund as science is a developing subject.

What has the NPF not gotten right?

Nigeria Police is trying its best possible within the environment but like

a well-furnished container shop and I said N5,000 every week.

“For two weeks, I did not see him. So, I started disturbing him on the phone about his plan to help me. On the day we robbed at Ajah, he called me on the phone to come and meet him at Ajah. I got there at about 11.30 pm.

“When I saw strange faces (gang members), I became worried. But Bigi told me to relax, that they were his friends. I later followed them to the house where we robbed and Bigi asked me to load a plasma television and other property into the black jeep.”

The first receiver of the goods, Chigozie Ozioma (33), said: “I was the one who welcomed them from the operation. When they came back, I opened the gate for them and served them water

and drinks. I drank together with them before they left.

Later, SARS men came and arrested me.

“I knew Prince Obinna where we used to play lottery.”

The second receiver, Nweke (38), who claimed to be a clearing agent, said: “My involvement is that Simeon called me and told me that he had a Nissan Frontier jeep to sell. I helped him to make the contact. I called one Oga Robinson to buy it for N400,000, but he made a part payment of N250,000 and took the vehicle.”

The third receiver, Godwin Chacha (35), claims to be a transporter who delivered containers from Wharf to warehouses in Lagos or any part of the country.

He said: “I know Prince. He brought one black jeep for me to buy and told me that he bought it from Cotonou. I later called Kenneth to come and buy the jeep and he said he had somebody.”

The fourth receiver, Kenneth Okorie (52), claimed to be an estate agent. He said he knew Godwin because he married from his hometown.

He said: “I brought the man from Benin. We used to address him as ‘Chairman’ and he agreed to buy the jeep for N800,000. He paid only N450,000 into my account and promised to pay the balance before the bubble burst.

The fifth receiver, a selfacclaimed retired Warrant Officer, Robinson Igbefa Ikefpan, claimed to have retired from Nigeria Air Force Base, Ikeja, Lagos in 2008.

Apart from teaching members of the gang military tactics in confronting law enforcement agents, during robbery operations, he used his contact to solicit the release of members whenever they were arrested. It was only in their last operation that he found it difficult to wield his power.

Confirming the arrest of the suspects, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, DSP Samuel Jinadu, said: “It is intelligent policing at work, and this is just a tip of the iceberg.”

LOCATION

BACKSTAGE

SNAPSHOT

REEL NEWS

MUSIC

SCREEN

Edited by: VICTOR AKANDE

Tel: 08077408676

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

ntertainment

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

23

How I escaped death on the set of a movie h p e s o J Anita

N , s s e r t c a d ollywoo

24

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

STANDh BY! Wit

VICTOR AKANDE

Afro Hollywood Best Entertainment Writer 2009

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com Tel: 08077408676 (SMS only)

THINK

nt part of An importa s of any the succes is its civilisation late the mu ability to e t led to the a factors th f other success o s.—Eric civilisation rt Reine

SNAPSHOTS

The Ibadan flood in cinema

•Clarion

Are Clarion and Shina Peters back?

•Daniel with Doris Simeon

Because the challenges of governance are numerous, it is important that the people will rise with social responsibility projects that will keep government on its toes at all times. A filmmaker's tool of social responsibility is his camera and techniques of motion picture reportage

WRITE TO US! Do you watch Nollywood movies? What do you think of the Nigerian motion picture industry? Send your review of any movie or short essay on any topic of your choice about the film industry in not more than 200 words. Send entries by e-mail to: victor_akande@yahoo.com or SMS your short comments to 08077408676

My wife is not a star at home—Daniel Ademilokan

25

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

RE ELNEW S

SNAPSHOTS

Christy never Gold Coast honours for Papa Ajasco sang for Abacha —Onyeka Onwenu

Excitement, fun as Dance Gig sets Ibadan ablaze

•Wole Soyinka

November date for Afro Hollywood awards 2011 •Onwenu

Bolanle Koko Mansion finally surfaces

•Maltina Dance Gig participants

George Bush, 9/11 documentary series still rocks Dstv

•Bolanle

26

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

I was robbed of a Grammy —Orlando Julius

•Orlando Julius

When James Brown came to Nigeria, I was in Ibadan then.

I met him and I gave him a new album of mine and he went back home and did ‘I Feel Good’ which was a global hit. He got that song from my album...

27

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Timi Dakolo drops Beautiful Noise Ahmed BOULOR

•Timi Dakolo

2Face, MI, Obesere to headline Top 10 Mic

eLDee seeks talented producers

Tuface

MI

•Obesere

Saheed Osupa wins ‘more souls’ Dada ALADELOKUN Assistant Editor

WizKid, nominated alongside Seun Kuti, Dbanj for MOBO Awards 2011

•Wizkid

Osupa

28

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Project Fame auditions rocks Abuja

W

ITH the National Women Development Centre Abuja being the venue of the Abuja leg of the ongoing MTN Project Fame Season 4 auditions, a huge crowd of aspiring music acts from the FCT and neighbouring states converged take their chances in being a part of the music talent hunt.

Arriving the venue of the audition as early as 7am on Saturday, September 3, the enthusiastic applicants gave a good account of themselves before the judges who had the herculean task of making decisions about who will be asked to go or will proceed to the next stage.

Of the numerous contestants who thronged the venue to be auditioned, Nneka Eze, 25, who hails from Ebonyi State, was among the few availed the opportunity to participate in the audition and for making it possible for her to proceed to the next stage in Lagos.

“This is the time I have been waiting for. I know that since I have crossed the first and second hurdles, I am sure I am going into the academy and I hope to win the grand prize,” Nneka said.

Kamal Simon Kachuk, another contestant from Kaduna State has participated in the past three editions of the project and believes this is his time to go all out and win the coveted prize in the nationally acclaimed music reality show.

“I have been taking part in the auditions since inception and interestingly, I have never crossed over the first stage.

Now that I am going to Lagos for the second phase before the academy, I am very sure that I will win,” Kama boasts.

Taking place simultaneously in Kaduna, the judges expressed optimism in the quality of talents discovered, despite the expectation from the region. One of the judges, Cletus Samaila Ogwuchie, popularly known as 'DH' said the expectation from Kaduna is higher this season because people expect to see a contestant from this city emerging winner of the competition. “But with the quality of talent we have seen here at this audition, I see a contestant from this city making it to the final and possibly emerging winner of the show,” he predicted.

MCSN calls for peace

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

COVER

‘I never dated Kelly Handsome’

I am a pretty woman; I love and cherish every part of my body. If I should lose an arm today the socalled beautiful buttocks won't be attractive again.

So, I cherish my voice and my body because they are my biggest assets. With no healthy body what will you use to showcase the talent in you?

37

Mikel eyes away Nigerian medallists win with Chelsea speak from Maputo

Pg. 30,35

Pg. 34

Nation Saturday, September 10, 2011 •Fulham's Dickson Etuhu, right, and Blackburn Rovers' Jermaine Jones battle for the ball duringthe English Premier League match at Craven Cottage

Aiyegbeni faces Etuhu in Blackburn debut Pg. 34

30

35

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

NATION SPORT

NATION SPORT

G

RACE Daniel, Badminton gold medallist We won the team event and defended our title which we won in Algiers. We were very excited because we really need to win the gold and it was a very good game and tough one for that matter. We are all very happy to make our country proud for giving them the first gold.

By God’s grace we hope to get more gold medals in the individual game because we have all it take and we put every thing in God’s hand.

The only challenge is South Africa, they are our only strong opponent and it did not start today. They have beenj a threat for a long time now and we pray that with God, everything bwil be possible Tosin Atolagbe, Badminton gold medallist Lets first thank God what he did for us because we are so happy, it’s unbelievable, we don’t even expect it, but glory be to God that we made it, we are still expecting like five more gold medals and we pray it will be ours in Jesus name.

Ibrahim Adamu, Badminton gold medallist We are happy for our first team event gold medal and we thank God for everything. We are going into our individual game with the same spirit, we wish to grab the remaining gold.

Olufemi Akinjide, badminton gold medallist It’s not easy winning gold but we have a strong opponent in South Africa. We thought we would lose the match because it was 2-0 down not until our first doubles pick up the men’s double and singles. So the ladies double which was the last match of the day and we beat them two straight set. I’m very sure that we are going to grab the remaining gold med-

Nigerian medallists speak from Maputo After a long wait, Nigeria finally won her first gold medal at the ongoing All Africa Games, Maputo 2011 with the Badminton team beating South Africa in the final of the team event. The Table Tennis team also gave the country a silver medal in the team event, while the Karate teams grab a silver and a bronze medal in their team event.

NationSport duo of AKEEM LAWAL and STELLA BAMAWO met some of the medallists and these are what they have to say: als.

Efezino Akpotu, Karate bronze medallist (-75kg) I will say I’m a bit disappointed winning a bronze medal because I actually prepared for the gold medal but I couldn’t get it and I’ll manage the bronze. I want to say a word of thank you to Nigeria for giving me the oppor-

tunity to represent a great country like Nigeria. I consider it a big honour to have been selected from a country of 150 million people, I consider it a great privilege, so a big thank you to Nigeria.

Hope Adele, Karate silver medallist (+84kg) I got a silver medal for Nigeria and I’m a little bit excited because this is

•Ibrahim Adamu

actually my first international outing for the country, fighting for the weight class. Although I was supposed to go for the gold but something happen along the line and God is a just God. It’s all about preparation and the guy prepared well and we had very less time to prepare. But all things been equal, I got to the final and got a silver for Nigeria. I’m very proud of it, I’ll take that home and celebrate about it.

Segun Toriola, Table Tennis silver medallist I won silver at the team in Table Tennis and I feel very sad anyway. Every body is expected us to win a gold medal but we feel unhappy, both male and female. What makes us feel so sad is because we lost both. Well, we still have five more events and we want to concentrate on that.

Haruna Quadri, Table Tennis silver medallist

We didn’t feel much bad because that is not the main qualification for the Olympics, our main focus is just to qualify for the London 2012 by doing so well in the single event. If two out of us qualify to the semi-final of the singles event, it is sure we will go to the Olympics and finally, if any of us should win the single event, we will be going to the Olympic, the player that win the singles event and the team will also go, so what matters most is the singles event an we will do our best to win them.

Cecilia Otu, Table Tennis silver medallist Our lost in the final of the team event to Egypt I believe was due to hard luck.

In games, especially team games, good luck really matter. What I’ll say is that we did not have good luck, we played all our best and we were supposed to win but we were not lucky.

•Grace Daniel

•Haruna Quadri

•Hope Adele

•Segun Toriola •Cecilia Otu

•Efezino Akpotu •Olufemi Akinjide

•Tosin Atolagbe

AKINLOYE AT LARGE 08050246155 atlarge84@yahoo.com

The war not yet over THE Super Eagles won the battle of Madagascar in Antananarivo early in the week but the war is not yet over.

The war moves to the National Stadium, Abuja, which has become Nigeria’s slaughter slab, in the last qualifier against the Syli Nationale of Guinea.

Therefore, all celebration must stop for work to resume on how to beat the West Africans who leads the group table with 13 points. Guinea need a draw to win the group and that they will play for in October. It means that they will play defensively in Abuja in their dream to pick the group ticket.

Their confidence will be boosted by the first round victory they got over Nigeria. They will sit back at home and counter attack. They even will attempt to win if Super Eagles try to be too adventurous. Syli Nationale and Eagles are not in the same category. Nigeria are higher in FIFA ranking.

They have won the Nations Cup twice. They also won the Afro-Asia Cup as well as the Olympic gold and silver. Nigeria have also won the U-17 World Cup thrice and two silver medals in the U-20 World Cup. So in terms of achievement, Guinea are nothing. But tactical discipline which they have in abundance can turn a minnow to a giant. Guinea’s recent rise in football in the continent came from the expertise of Michel Dissuyer who has gotten results in all matches they have played except one and that one is a draw. Dissuyer is the tactical discipline which Guinea have on their bench. The summary of the story is that Eagles must be very careful of the Guineans in Abuja for they have the wherewithal to create an upset in the last qualifier. The Guineans can match us professional for professional.

Italy-based Kevin Constant scored the winner against Nigeria in Conakry.

Larsen Toure plays for a French club, called Brest. He is an efficient winger.

The two is built around the two. Guinea function when the two are in their element. Dissuyer will deploy Toure in his tactics to stop Eagles through counter attack.

Defence is the strongest point of the Guineans. They have conceded three goals in five games, which means they can let in 0.6goal per game. Eagles need to score twice to win the group. The Syli Nationale attack has scored 11 times, which means they are capable of scoring two goals per game.

Statistically, both countries are evenly matched. The defence is the strongest point of the Eagles too. They have let in three goals in five games, which mean they can concede 0.6 goal and score 2.2goals per match. Home advantage could switch the game in favour of the Samson Siasia’s boys.

Ivory Coast are the most potent force among the African teams on parade.

They have scored 17 goals in five games and conceded three. They are capable of scoring 3.4 goals peer game and concede 0.6 goals. They are followed by Senegal which are capable of scoring 2.8 goals per game and let in 0.4 goals per match. Ghana follow Senegal. The Black Stars have claimed 11 goals in five outings and conceded one. They can score 2.5 goals per game and let in 0.2goal. This, they shared with Sudan, Morocco and Libya.

The Ivorians will be tipped as at last time to win the Cup of Nations, but the good news is that they will not stop Nigeria •Igali from winning the cup for the third time. Every thing will fall into place and Siasia should prepare the half backs for Eagles to soar. The defence needs some tightening. The weakness in the central defence is a problem which must go away in time. The midfield needs to be properly honed to make the team a winning force in the game. Taye Taiwo should get more involved in the game when playing for the national team. His contribution these days does not exude confidence. He needs to get more involved. Efe Ambrose on his part has a long way to go in the heart of the defence. Chibuzor Okonkwo needs to stake his claim for the right back position so that it is not taken away from him.

Mikel Obi also should be told that it is not enough to say he is the big star in the national team. He needs to raise his game while playing for the national team. IT is not enough for him to bank on his name and club form to gain a shirt. He has to justify his selection.

A capable replacement should also be found in no time for Yobo Joseph.

The Super Eagles captain can only play one match peer week and that is the reason he opted out of the Argentina friendly. The problem is the right leg. He was told by the doctor not to belabour the leg. He may have scored some important goals for the country, but a time will come when he would fail the country and it would be too late to do anything about it. This is why Yobo is surplus to requirement in Everton and is not in the plans of David Moyes for the season.

I do not hate Yobo or Siasia. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.

INBOX No excuses! The so-called bumpy pitch in Madagascar must have also been certified okay for the qualifiers by CAF and I am also sure FIFA at some point. This is in addition to facts you gave. Prior to the botched friendly against Ghana, I had read some excuses like EAGLES TEAM B FACE GHANA. When the match failed to hold, they were acting disappointed and claimed they were fully prepared. The energy of excuses should be redirected. Every victory went through a fight.

Sunnie, Abuja I think there is a replacement of Yakubu in Anichebe. If he stays injury free, he can be a proven striker. Players like Anichebe, Ganiyu Oseni and Obafemi Martins are better when playing as lone striker just like the great Ronaldo de Lima, Romario, Thierry Henry, Raul and van Nisterooyl.

Anichebe is a great asset to Siasia’s team.

Lekan, Ota It is not even only about preparation, it is also about credibility. The best team should be able to win a game, even if it is on away soil. Let Benin win it in Ghana. Let Gambia win it in Togo. IT is going to encourage keen competition and also influence influx of spectators and sponsors. That is good for WAFU Anonymous

THE NATION SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

31

NATION SPORT

AManageras an Emperor M

Y usual shower reflections this Tuesday morning centered on the successful outing of the Super Eagles in Madagascar and all the issues that ensued. Thanks to the twitter social media and Colin Udoh, the Super Eagles Media Officer who was on ground in Antanarivo, every moment of the game was captured. Udoh had actually begun the tweets from Abuja, providing live updates of the goings-on in the camp up to the departure melee. Nigeria returned to strong reckoning for a place in the Nations Cup 2012 following that 2-0 triumph over the Madagascar U-23 team with goals from skipper Joseph Yobo and Obinna Nsoffor. Now we can thump our chests and impose our say on how the ticket to GabonEquatorial Guinea 2012 will be decided.

When Udoh tweeted that first choice goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama had requested and been granted permission to return to his club, Lille of France, the alarm bells jangled. Media report prior to the departure was that Enyeama, Mikel Obi and Victor Anichebe were not happy with the team’s suggested mode of travel from Nigeria. They subsequently missed the coach that conveyed others to the airport and nearly missed the flight. While we thought the affair ended with the team’s departure to Madagascar, the scar of the rebellion has stuck on Enyeama who lost his first team gloves to Dele Ayenugba in the match. Thus, while there was a deliberate but commendable effort on the part of the media to play down the rift between the coach and the three players that led to their late and separate arrival at the airport, the dropping of Enyeama indicates that another round of playercoach crisis is in the offing. We are getting to a situation of ‘one game, one crisis’.

Going by some of the reactions of Nigerians to the development, it is obvious that we have unwittingly created another crisis that will trend for some time. The next couple of weeks will feed on a distraction over who is right and who is wrong at a time we ought to be appraising the squad options available for Nigeria towards a successful campaign for 2014 World Cup. Every successful Manager must have a grip on his team and have the final say on matters pertaining to the organisation of the team. A team without discipline is any football manager’s Achilles’ heels, and it is safe to read Siasia as working to entrench a command structure that will instill all the parameters for success in the Super Eagles squad under his watch.

Real Madrid’s Jose Maurinho cuts the image of a modern successful coach given his relative youthfulness, style and achievements. But Maurinho was little known while he served tutelage at Barcelona and later attained success in the Champions League with Porto

VOICE OF SPORTS

With Clement Nwankpa Jnr. sportswar@yahoo.com

By Harry Iwuala

of Portugal. Fame trailed him from Porto and reached a peak with his arrival at Chelsea to expose his total personae to the football world. The football world acknowledged his coaching credentials and the media dug deeper into his coaching bio-data to promote the subsequent dub of strict disciplinarian attached to his profile. I have a feeling that Maurinho is Siasia’s hero, someone he craves to attain his rank both in result and reputation. But there is a street saying that if you crave Albert’s haircut, make sure the shape of your head is like that of Albert.

I will return to this shortly.

Having laid the above background, it is necessary to deconstruct Siasia, the Super Eagles Manager. He got the job not because his primary employers preferred him to the lots that queued for the position. Sisia got the job by the popular demand of Nigerians who saw in his track as coach of the junior national teams, a capacity to deliver at the highest level. This popular movement was easy for the government at the centre to accept when Siasia’s minders pushed the agenda to the Presidency headed by a fellow Bayelsa man that had shown a fondness for him. This backing from the ‘above’ and the vociferous public has injected in the Manager a measure of swagger that is not too good for his relationship with the federation. There is an attitude of ‘you can’t sack me’.

A second personality of Siasia can be pinned to his quest to dominate his environment especially as it relates to his dealings with the players. In attempting to take charge, he sunders into territories that are exclusive to the players. Beyond enforcing statutory camp rules, it will be fool hardy for any official to try to control adult players such as we have in national teams. In psychology, persons of certain age brackets are known to seek freedom and resist established norms. This is the age bracket of most players in the national team, especially the crop of young ones in Siasia’s stable. It is the adventurous and rebellious age group which requires advanced tact, sophistication and wisdom to manage. They are hot-headed and would naturally challenge any semblance of forced allegiance. Those who knew Siasia in his active career years can help with a play back of his antics in the national team.

Recalling the period when Clemens Westerhof enjoyed a father-figure image in relating with Siasia and his mates in the Super Eagles in the 1990’s, it was the senior players in camp like Stephen Keshi, Siasia and Chidi Nwanu that were the most problematic.

These were the players who became their own men without the favour of Westerhof unlike others like Thompson Oliha,

…And siasia listened

•Siasia

Okechukwu Uche, Finidi George etc that he assisted to find places in Europe. There must be a science to this behavioral pattern. Most of today’s players in the Siasia squad having run-ins with him are in the category of Keshi, Nwanu etc as their career paths have already been charted before Siasia’s appointment as national team manager.

They owe allegiance to him only to the extent of national duties and this may explain why Mikel Obi didn’t think it a big deal when Siasia threatened to exclude him from the Beijing Olympic Games team. In Mikel’s thinking, his performance at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was more of a favour to Siasia’s coaching credentials than to the scramble for his signature by Manchester United and Chelsea.

So, while the Federation may lack the muscle to sack Siasia, the performance of the players can make or mar his stay on the job. The staying power of any coach is determined by the results and before any one alludes to Arsene Wenger’s six years drought at Arsenal, his is an exception that may be rooted in the success of the club’s financials. I am not sure that the masses who championed his hiring will tolerate his continued stay if Nigeria loses the 2012 Nations Cup and 2014 World Cup tickets. They will ask for his sack with the same aplomb they canvassed for his hiring. A workman need not quarrel with his tools and the players are the critical tools a manager works with.

It is not the field, not the salary and definitely not the equipment supplied by the federation. It is a sign of bad workmanship if a manager is at odds with the most essential kit required to deliver results.

I see Siasia always quarrelling with his tools (players) Prior to the celebrated case of Osaze Odenwingie, there was a long running spat between Siasia and Chelsea’s Mikel Obi. It all started from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the culmination was the exclusion of Obi and Taye Taiwo from the squad.

Obi was subsequently finding

ways to avoid national callups and when Siasia eventually invited him to the Super Eagles, it was celebrated that a truce has been struck.

Osaze’s case was almost dividing the football community until wisdom prevailed with the intervention of the federation to bring about the truce. It is yet to be seen if this is a truce from the heart of all parties to the rift. In the matter between the Super Eagles Manager and Brown Ideye, the untold truth is that his exclusion was fueled by the effrontery of the media to question the successive lists that included players of inferior performance.

In the matter at hand, it is curious that of the three players that challenged the decision of the Manager, one was singled out for punishment.

Some contributors on the social network platforms have argued that it is the prerogative of the Manager to decide who to punish and who to let off. No sir.

In the words of Martin Niemoeller in 1945 “When the Nazis came for the Communists, I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. When they came for the Jews, I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. When they came for the Trade Unionists, I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist. When they came for the Catholics, I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then, they came for me and there was no one left to speak up for anybody”. There must be justice for all if any good must be achieved. A society built on injustice is headed for the rocks.

Harry Iwuala is a renowned Journalist based in Lagos, Nigeria APOLOGY: I must apologize for not being able to talk about Coaches and Coaching yet. I will treat it in a couple of weeks.

Thank you all.

NOTE: This piece was written and sent to press before Vincent Enyeama sent his letter of apology to coach Samson Siasia.

I must admit today that, after Super Eagles matches this week, particularly the game against Argentina, I have more respect for Super Eagles chief coach, Samson Siasia. I have remained a critic of his two-man midfield combo of Mikel and Joel Obi and writing under the topic ‘Two Games, Two scenarios’ last week, I had warned against filing out against the Albiceleste without a defensive midfielder shielding the Obis. I had advocated for a three-man midfield against the Argies. This was even as I proffered that fielding the offensive duo of the Obis against Madagascar will not be wrong since it was a mustwin game against a much weaker opposition. In my own estimation, filing out the duo against the Argies will be suicidal and I had stated “Imagine Lionnel Messy falling deep to embark on those mazy runs without any inhibition from the midfield”.

It‘s good to note that Siasia heeded to that advice. Against the Madagascans, he had lined out the Obis and after a barrage of sustained attack, the Eagles edged past 2-0. Then two days later, against, the star-studded Argentina, he lined out midfield enforcer Fengor Ogude behind the Obis in a three-man midfield. That was the first time Siasia was adopting the threeman midfield formation. It meant he understood the different demand of that occasion. It meant he took into cognizance the varying strengths of both oppositions. Frankly there was no need featuring a defensive midfielder against a Madagascan team that would pose little or no threat but doing so against the Messi-inspired vengeance seeking Argies would have spelt doom.

Ogude’s presence was largely responsible for the scoreline remaining that respectable. Yes, it could have been worse. He curtailed Messi’s forays from the midfield and shielded a makeshift back line without the increasingly influential skipper Joseph Yobo, Taye Taiwo and keeper Vincent Enyeama. Ogude has enjoyed rave reviews on this page and I even tagged him ‘our own Essien’. On the strength of his performance in Dhaka, I think I have been vindicated. On current form, Ogude should be the first name on the list of Eagles midfielders. Even if Siasia wants to stick to his traditional two-man midfield, it should be Ogude and one other. But I have always stated that the safest formation for Siasia is the midfield triangle with Mikel and Ogude at the base and Joel at the top.

Didn’t Mikel have one of his best games in the Nigerian colours against Argentina? Save for that moment of indecision when he lost the ball to Messi leading to the second goal, he didn’t put any foot wrong. Perhaps, he was buoyed by the captain’s band but the fact is that with Ogude behind him, he had the license to bomb forward, maintain some balance at the centre of the pack with less defensive responsibilities. At the moment, Mikel can best function as a deep-lying playmaker akin to the likes of Andreas Pirlo and Xabi Alonso and not the main water carrier. He may no longer be the quintessential playmaker but he is not your ideal steely defensive midfielder in a defensively frail team like the Eagles.

Given Siasia’s formation against Argentina, it is heartwarming to note that Siasia’s two-man midfield combo was not cast in stone after all. When the team went two goals down, he had removed Joel for Chinedu Ogbuke. It meant he noted the need for some offensive urgency while shielding the defense against the marauding Messi with Ogude and Mikel. The change paid off instantly as Ogbuke pulled one back. Siaisia finished the match with the two-man midfield formation subsequently pulling out Mikel for Emmanuel Ekpo. I will vote for a threeman midfield any day but as long as Siasia takes cognizance pf the opposition before filing out his wards, I wouldn’t have anything against him occasionally deploying his preferred twoman midfield, by the way, we all know how much he loves to attack. But, most importantly, he should take the team’s weak back line into consideration while filing out his midfielders.

With this tactical flexibility, Siasia would succeed in this task of moulding a new-look Eagles that should re-enact the glory days.

YO-GOAL! It was here that I first termed Joseph Yobo ‘captain fantastic!’.

It was interesting to note some headlines reading ‘Captain Fantastic!’ aftermath of his goal-scoring outing against Madagascar in Antananarivo. He it was who surged forward and grabbed the equalizer against the Ethiopians in Addis Ababa when the hosts seemed set to deal a heavy blow on Eagles Nations Cup chances and when the Bareas proved a hard nut to crack last Sunday, he popped up to open scores.

The goal was just a result of his numerous forays into the goal area of the hosts.

This guy is really leading by example. Every successful team needs such a leader; one who would take responsibilities when the going gets tough and inspire his team mates. The golden era of the Eagles was under the captaincy of Stephen Keshi.

Yobo is having the same degree of influence in the current setup. If he was available in Dhaka, I am sure the result wouldn’t have been the same. Siasia badly missed Yobo’s commanding presence in Dhaka. When the Guineans come calling in October, Big Joe will be key to pulling down their resistance.

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HAT is your target in Maputo?

My target is the same that I set for myself in Abuja 2003 and Algiers 2007 - to totally express myself in the ring, and do my best at every point in time. Successfully defending my title will be very nice, and I really want this to be the outcome. I am here to defend my title. On a broader note, I want the team as a whole to do very well. We have an uphill task to turn history on its head, as the highest number of gold medals Nigeria Taekwondo has ever won in the AAG is 3 gold medals. This was in 1987; after that, we have averaged 2 gold medals per AAG. Nonetheless, we will put in our all in this AAG in Maputo to get favourable results.

What is your assessment of the Nigerian Taekwondo team for the games?

Like every team, we have weak and strong links. Some athletes stand out over others, and naturally will be expected to do very well. But I love the attitude of all my teammates - they really believe they can win a medal and this is a good feeling to have before a tournament. The team wants to put up a fantastic performance during the AAG. For me, this attitude is very important, because we have to want to win as badly as our opposition. I think we have a good team, but I am also aware there are some great teams from Africa coming, and it will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

Do you think the team can exceed the two gold medals won at the last games in Algiers?

A target has been set for us by the NSC - the athletes are aware of the target, and is determined to

ALL AFRICAN GAMES

I’m in Maputo to defend my title —Chukwumerije give it their best shot. I know some of the opposition and it is going to be a very difficult AAG. I know for certain that countries like Egypt, Mali, Senegal, Cote D'ivoire, Tunisia and Libya are coming with very serious, wellprepared and battle-hardened teams. I have talked to my teammates about this, and made them aware of the challenges that lie ahead of us. I have never been one to declare we are going to win all the gold medals, but I can tell you this - the taekwondo team has given its all during training physically, psychologically and mentally. They will do the same when the get into the ring in Maputo, and it is my sincere hope and prayers that the hard work

He came to limelight after his bronze medal feat in the Taekwondo event at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. A graduate of Mechanical Engineering and son of Nigerian Politician, Uche Chukwumeije, Chika Chukwumerije has not relented in his efforts to ensure that he surpassed his last achievement when the London 2012 Olympics gets underway next year. But as the All African Games (AAG), ongoing in Maputo, Mozambique enters its eight day today, Chika, competing for the first time in the National team together with his elder sibling Perez in this interview with INNOCENT AMOMOH from Maputo explains how defending his African title in the +80kg class won at the Algiers games has become his main priority, as he also intends to motivate his teammates to increase the medals haul in Taekwondo and many more.

Excerpts.

All-Africa Games that were held they have put in over the past months will translate into a medal count that surpasses that achieved in Algiers.

Is there any comparison between this year's team and the 2007 team?

The 2007 team was full of veterans, who were mostly having their last stint with the National team.

In that team, only two or three athletes were younger than I was.

This current squad is very different from the last one - it is a good mix of experience and youth. The young ones from Algiers made it to this current squad, and that is an excellent thing. There are more young athletes in this squad that can be groomed for the next AAG in 2015, and the Brazil 2016 Olympics. I definitely like the outlook of this team - what they lack in experience, they more than make up for it in zest and determination. This team is inspired by the events that have occurred in the past 4 years that has seen a rapid increase in the popularity of Taekwondo, and the athletes yearn to write their names in history's books. This will be the first AAG for many on this team, unlike in the last team, and I am hopeful that that raw hunger and determination will fill in the gap of inexperience.

What hope do you have on the coaching crew?

Every coaching crew, no matter the sport, feels as much pressure as the athletes they coach. For the coaches, their jobs, reputations and future careers depend on results that are achieved. So I am sure that the taekwondo coaches feel the heat, and they will go the extra mile to make sure the athletes are ready when the time comes. They are the National Coaches; thus, I cannot afford not to put my hope and belief in them.

When I go into the ring, and they speak to me, I will listen and do as instructed. The entire team is also of this point of view - it is very essential that the athletes trust and respect the coaches, both in and out of the ring. Anything less might affect the anticipated results.

Mali's Modibo will be a major challenger for you in the +87kg.

What is your take on the challenge he will pose?

Modibo is a great fighter and a gentleman - I respect him a lot and appreciate all he has done for himself, his country (Mali) and Africa generally. He won two world taekwondo championships back-to-back, and unfortunately, he was not at the last World Championship to defend his title because of a knee injury.

I think it is simply fantastic that he has inspired young taekwondo people in his country and around the world. Most times, I look beyond the fact that we are opponents, and I take an in-depth look at the individual.

He is an achiever, and no one can take that away from him. However, in as much as I admire what he has done, the truth remains that he is still my opponent and will continue to be until he or I retires. Thus my admiration ends outside of the ring; in the ring, I feel no such admiration, and I mean business. I approach him no differently than I approach any other athlete - with seriousness, respect and determination.

We might potentially meet during the AAG in Maputo, Olympic qualifers (Egypt) and the London 2012 Olympics. So there will be many opportunities to meet this other great fighter from Africa, and I am very sure each meeting will be spectacular.

How do you feel competing in same team with your brother who is the captain of the team?

It feels great. We are the last Chukwumerije siblings competing, and I have always wanted to represent the country together with my brother Perez. He narrowly missed out on the past two AAGs, and I was very pleased when he won the final trials in style to secure his ticket. We have competed together in some internationals in Germany, but this is the first time we will be competing together in the National Team. Perez has been my captain since I was a child. When we were young, he used to guide me and teach me a lot of things. Our fighting style is strikingly similar,

and that is because he taught me everything I knew in the earlier days of my career. Nigeria has always had good taekwondo captains, and Perez is proving to be no different than the fantastic captains before him - he rallies the team in and out of training sessions, and generally likes to make sure nothing troubles his athletes.

I am sure that he will play a pivotal role in supporting the taekwondo team when the taekwondo event starts on the 14th of September. He is an awesome fighter, and a great captain, and I am honoured to be on the same National Taekwondo team with him.

Career record Chukwumerije first garnered attention while training for the 2003

in Abuja, Nigeria. During the qualifications, he and partner Friday Dirisu fought hard against Lucky Ojemudia and Micheal Obiora to win the two spots in their weight categories. He won a bronze medal in the Heavyweight Male category, along with Ngala Munayi of Kenya.

Chukwumerije was chosen for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens at the Olympic qualifiers in Cairo, Egypt in late January 2004. He came in second in the regional qualifications, behind only Abdelkader Zrouri of Morocco. He finished in 11th place in the men's +80 kg event after failing to advance beyond the preliminary round. He was defeated

by Pascal Gentil of France, the eventual bronze medalist in the event.Despite this, he was considered by several sources to be one of Nigeria's best medal prospects at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, citing the amount of training he had undertaken and the experience that he had gained since the last Olympics. His father had paid for him, as well as fellow taekwondo practitioner Isa Adamu, to be trained in the United States and Europe and compete globally. This financial backing was unavailable to most other Nigerian athletes.

Chukwumerije spent six weeks training in the United States, although the American embassy refused to grant his training partner Adamu a visa. They did, how-

ever, train together in Manchester and worked with coach Osita A. Green. They also trained in Taiwan and Germany.

At the 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria, both Chukwumerije and Adamu won gold medals in taekwondo, the

“It feels great. We are the last Chukwumerije siblings competing, and I have always wanted to represent the country together with my brother Perez. He narrowly missed out on the past two AAGs, and I was very pleased when he won the final trials in style to secure his ticket. We have competed together in some internationals in Germany, but this is the first time we will be competing together in the National Team.”

former in the +80 kg class. They then headed to Tripoli, Libya, where they earned their qualification tickets for the Beijing Olympics.

Competing in the men's +80kg event, Chukwumerije defeated Vietnam's Nguyen Van Hung in the preliminary rounds. He defeated Mali's Daba Modibo Keïta in the quarterfinals, but lost to Greece's Alexandros Nikolaidis, the eventual silver medal winner in the event. In the repechage, he defeated Akmal Irgashev of Uzbekistan to claim one of two bronze medals. The other went to Arman Chilmanov of Kazakhstan. In doing so, he earned an incentive offered by LG Electronics, who offered to furnish the home of any Nigerian Olympic competitor who won a medal. In September 2009 he entered the University of Liverpool for a one-year master's degree program in mechanical engineering.

THE NATION SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

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woke up mid-week firmly of the view that at the moment, Nigerian football is on the right course and all we need is for the players, administrators, coaches and all those workers in the game to work much harder so that we can remain on Sunshine Street.

The rays filtering through the shutters of my room at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka, Bangladesh appeared to agree that the future is indeed bright and we should simply be ready to put in the efforts needed to sustain us on the road.

Two matches in two days could not have constituted renaissance but they brought hope and came with properties that we had always been praying for in order to take the step to the next level.

Against Madagascar in Antananarivo, we needed very much to win, with the media aptly tagging the game ‘make-or-mar’, ‘win-or-walk’, ‘make-or-break’, ‘win-or-bust’.

And the players responded, despite some irritation, and we still got the win.

Yeah, it looked very tough and there were those who had lost hope, as the clock ticked beyond the hour mark in Antananarivo. On my seat, my mind kept replaying dreadful memories of Addis Ababa, where we expected victory but had to be struggling to earn a point in the end, and when we did equalise, the winner failed to come.

However, eight minutes after the hour mark, Captain Yobo stepped up and did what he had done so many times before in the past – lead the way in exemplary manner.

The strikers took a cue and Obinna Nsofor got another and we earned three precious points that has taken us close to a place in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea – though of course, we still need to work hard to beat Guinea by the minimum margin next month.

Without those two goals, we would not even have had the heart to approach the friendly in Argentina with so much gusto. I am told that some persons would rather have us cancel the match and forget everything if we had failed to win in Madagascar!

The win made every other thing easy and we all felt happy on our way to Dhaka, Bangladesh by that allbusiness-class seats jet.

Strength, resolve and character are the hallmarks of every great team and I believe we are seeing these qualities in the Super Eagles at the moment. With hard work aimed at achieving consistency and commitment from all concerned, effectiveness will be uploaded and we can then talk of more hard work.

The papers have talked about the lavish reception and the royal treatment that the team got in Bangladesh – which are bound to come if the world takes you serious and you take yourself serious. Somehow, I reflected that the match in Madagascar was so important to us that at a time, we were wondering how we would be able to take in the match against Argentina without hurting the process and the preparation for the former. On hindsight, I believe we did the right thing to accept the match.

Now, having played Argentina twice in three

faces Etuhu Inside The Aiyegbeni in Blackburn debut Glass House B WITH AMINU MAIGARI

We only need to work harder (1)

months, and with credible results each way (we even had the upper hand if you put both results together), the onus is on our Match Agent (s) to work out even stronger opposition that will make the Super Eagles even stronger.

Surely, the matches against Argentina have toughened the texture of the Eagles. At kickoff time at the Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka on Tuesday, Nigeria was 38th on the FIFA ranking while Argentina was 9th. Argentina have won the FIFA World Cup twice while Nigeria have only been in the Round of 16 twice.

By all means, the South Americans are the global powerhouse of the game, but our boys went in there with great determination and belief and we nearly pulled it off.

I have never doubted the ability of the Nigeria football player when given the opportunity and the platform.

Should we be able to pull more matches of high calibre (and I see no reason why we should not), the team can only get better and better.

The road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals would be rough but it is said that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. From the Day One of the World Cup qualifiers, with matches against Malawi and the survivors of Kenya/ Seychelles and Namibia/ Djibouti, to the final two-leg against one of the best teams in the continent, it would inevitably come down to character, steel, resolve and the question of who wants it more.

I am not a technical person or instructor, but against Argentina, I saw, like everyone with an ordinary eye (as different from technical eye), a battling performance and a commitment to the cause that is heartlifting.

When suffering a 4-1 humiliation by our boys in Abuja on the first day of June, the South Americans made heavy weather of the fact that they came with a secondstring team. No problem. In Dhaka on Tuesday, we were also there without several of our top stars.

There is no taking anything away from goalkeeper Dele Aiyenugba who did his best, but the truth is that our first choice goalie is Vincent Enyeama and he was not in Dhaka. Enyeama stood tall against the Argentines at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa last year summer (the two teams’ last competitive meeting) and would have driven some scare into even Messi himself (remember

Messi found no way past our Vincent then). Also, Captain Joseph Yobo, left back Taye Taiwo, midfielders Kalu Uche and Yusuf Ayila and forwards Osaze Odemwingie and Victor Anichebe were absent.

Even Emmanuel Emenike, who scored one of the goals against Argentina in Abuja in June, was injured though he was on the bench in Dhaka.

Going back to the team that played against the Argentines at the FIFA World Cup, there was also no defender Chidi Odiah and midfielders Haruna Lukman and Dickson Etuhu.

So, we can also go on and on about the fact that we did NOT field our first team.

While I have nothing to say about the little irritation that developed before the team’s departure, which resulted in one player being axed for the game in Madagascar, I must point out that there are minimum universal code of ethics that guide being a member of a group or a community, and discipline is a key one. I am happy that the Head Coach dealt with the issue as appropriate and the player has himself realized the mistake and apologized to the group, the NFF and Nigerian football fans.

Back to the gains of Dhaka, I have joy that all the players gave their all. It was a big match by every standard (even though a friendly, the attention that the Argentine team received and their passion to avenge the loss in Abuja increased the stakes) and our team was not found wanting.

Messi’s magical flick that resulted in the first goal and the mazy run down the right flank of Eagles’ defence that resulted in the second simply confirmed the man to be the World Best Player. We have seen him do similar things in almost every match and against every opposition.

We simply would have gotten more from the game if Obinna Nsofor had not miscued his shot from that wonderful early opportunity created by Brown Ideye, and that elegant run by Ahmed Musa, if he had skewed his final shot a little to the left, and not a little to the right (this has absolutely nothing to do with political ideologies of yore)!

Next time, the South Americans would perhaps want us to play in Buenos Aires.

And why not? The two teams have played in Abuja and played on a neutral ground.

We would not mind going to their home in South America.

And we would also can do

with more world-class games as we prepare for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the finals proper. Well done, Super Eagles.

Captain Magnificent!

Joseph Yobo has been so magnificent in his commitment to national assignment that I am compelled, against the grain of regular discourse, to heap plaudits on a man who truly deserves some.

Since fully taking over as captain of the Senior National Team following the retirement of Nwankwo Kanu after the FIFA World Cup in South Africa last year, Yobo has shown remarkable sobriety, humility and excellent flair for team harmony, and yet energy, dynamism and patriotic fervour that he is no walking on the path of the greats.

In Antananarivo, he once more showed fragrant leadership qualities. He had his club career to deal with and could not join the team in Abuja, but Yobo flew all the way to Madagascar to join the team on the same day the delegation arrived.

Then, on Sunday, the leader came up with the very important goal that showed the strikers the way.

On reflection, Yobo has scored a number of very crucial goals for Nigeria.

Against Algeria in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying game in Abuja; against Sierra Leone in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Freetown; against Equatorial Guinea in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Malabo and; against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa in June. I can go on and on.

Well done, Captain Magnificent.

Hail Supersand Eagles...

The National Beach Soccer team, Supersand Eagles, deserve our commendation for the steel, creativity and energy they put on display at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup finals in Ravenna, Italy.

Whatever was the result against perennial world champions Brazil in the quarter finals on Thursday, the team has shown its ability at the highest level and we must praise the way they bounced back into the competition following an opening-day loss to Russia.

For reaching the last eight alone, Coach Adamu Audu and his boys have matched our previous best at the competition – a quarter final berth that ended with a 3-1 loss to Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro in 2007.

LACKBURN’s new arrival Nigeria international Yakubu Aiyegbeni will make his debut for the English Premier League club on Sunday against compatriot Dickson Etuhu at Craven Cottage.

Aiyegbeni was a last minute buy for Blackburn from Everton and has gained match practice in a behind closed doors game against Celtic last Tuesday.

The Nigerian striker who admitted that he cannot wait to get going at Ewood Park is guarantee a first team shirt, something that ‘The Yak’ has not been able to get at Everton since slipping down David Moyes’ pecking order.

"It's a good club. If you look at the history of the club, I think for me to be here is really, really great. I am looking forward to playing and helping the team get points and stay in the Premier League," Aiyegbeni said.

Aiyegbeni claims he is also looking forward to working under Blackburn boss Steve Kean.

"I have met him already and he is a great manager. For me to be here today, without him

By Bimbo Adesina

I don't think I would be here.

I have to give credit to the manager and he was the one that made me come to this place. Being here is great."

According to Blackburn boss Steve Kean, the arrival of Aiyegbeni has added quality to the club's strike force.

“We’ve managed to add Yakubu, together with Goodwillie earlier on in the window, so we’ve got different types – Jason Roberts, Yakubu, Formica, Goodwillie, there’s different permutations. We’ve got great young ones coming through and a good stable senior group.”

“But I’ve always said if that comes off then that’s fantastic but as long as we’ve got the backbone. Now we’ve got Scott and Yakubu added together with other lads, I think we’ve got a strong backbone right through our club.If we can get somebody in the next window that we think has still got football left in them and they’re a big name, then all well and good,” the coach added.

•Mikel

Mikel eyes away win with Chelsea

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IGERIA's Mikel Obi return to Chelsea's line-up today after an international break as they travel to Stadium of Light to face Sunderland in the English Premier League.

After two home fixtures, against West Brom and Norwich, a draw at Stoke, on the opening weekend of the season, Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas will aim for his first away win which may add to Steve Bruce`s woes.

The expectation levels are high this season, Chelsea fans will be looking to regain the title crown they lost to Manchester United last season.

With two successive Premier League away games, many might be guilty of looking ahead to the titanic clash with Manchester United next weekend.

Villas-Boas takes his squad north with a relatively clean bill of health. Providing nobody returns from international football with an injury, the only two players

not available for consideration is, one being the long term injury victim, Michael Essien, and the other being Didier Drogba. Having been carried away on a stretcher, heavily concussed, in the last match against Norwich, the Ivorian is being given more time to fully recover.

Petr Cech, who had been suffering with a knee injury, is back in full training although we`re still awaiting reports on Josh McEachran`s slight hamstring problem, an injury that saw him sent home from the U-21 squad.

The Sunderland trip provides the Chelsea boss with the opportunity to shuffle his starting eleven around. David Luiz, who hasn`t started yet this season after returning from summer international duty with an injury, is fit again, whilst Daniel Sturridge, after serving a three game suspension picked up whilst completing his loan spell at Bolton, is now available for selection again.

Olubanwo Fagbemi

On Sport Sport On SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

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e-mail: deewalebf@yahoo.com

In search of a playing culture (I)

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•De Gea

Arsenal eyes fresh start with clear heads

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RSENAL hope to make a fresh start to their Premier League campaign when they entertain newcomers Swansea City this weekend armed with new signings and clear heads after a welcome international break.

While free-scoring Manchester rivals United and City have blasted out of the blocks with a 100 percent record, Arsene Wenger'ssidehavepickedupjust one point from their first three matches as well as several injuries and suspensions.

ThedeparturesofCescFabregas and Samir Nasri compounded their problems but they have replenished their squad with a host of transfer deadline-day signings such as Mikel Arteta, Yossi Benayoun, Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos.

The near fortnight break for Euro 2012 qualifiers and international friendlies may have comeattherighttimeforthenorth Londoners,whohostSwanseaon Saturday (1400 GMT).

"We've had a good think about stuff (during the break)," Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey told Sky Sports News.

"We've brought in some new players and I think everything is going to be sort of a fresh start now so hopefully we can just get the three points and build on that and get ourselves back into the race."

While Arsenal are hoping for change, City and United want nothing of the sort after a perfect start to the season.

The champions make the short trip to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday(1630),wheretheycould only draw 2-2 last season, and could give a first start of the campaign to Mexico striker Javier Hernandez who has been sidelined after a concussion.

FIXTURES Arsenal v Swansea Everton vAston Villa Man City v Wigan Stoke v Liverpool Wolves v Tottenham SUNDAY Norwich v West Brom Fulham vBlackburn

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ANCHESTER United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed goalkeeper David de Gea as a great prospect ahead of a stern test at Bolton on Saturday.

An £18million summer signing from Atletico Madrid, 20-year-old De Gea has endured a difficult start to life at Manchester United.

Ferguson had to defend the Spain Under-21 star for his performance in the Community Shield at Wembley.

But while an argument on De Gea's behalf could be made over Manchester City's two goals, there was nothing anyone could say to lessen the impact of an error that gifted West Brom an equaliser in the opening game of the season.

Since then, things have got better for De Gea. He kept a clean sheet against Tottenham on his competitive Old Trafford bow, then contributed an excellent penalty save to the astonishing 8-2 win over Arsenal, even if Theo Walcott's goal did fly through his legs.

Next up are Bolton, who may no longer be quite as abrasive as before under the stewardship of Owen Coyle but, with Kevin Davies leading their attack, are well capable

of making life very difficult for De Gea. "David made a couple of mistakes in his first games, which we didn't expect and nor did he," Ferguson told Inside United.

"It was unusual because his form at Atletico Madrid as an 18-year-old was sensational.

"There is no doubt we have a player of great potential. Our job at this club is to realise that potential and make sure he becomes a top goalkeeper.

"He'll do that once he gains experience and adapts to the physical nature of the league.

Suarez: I don't need a rest

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IVERPOOL striker Luis Suarez has insisted that he feels ready to play every game despite having barely had a break all summer.

Having made a big impact at Anfield during the second half of last season, Suarez quickly had to prepare for international duty with Uruguay in the Copa America.

He inspired his country to glory at the July tournament and then had just a week's rest before returning to Liverpool for the start of the new

EPL TABLE AS AT AUGUST 28 Man United Man City Liverpool Chelsea Wolves Newcastle Aston Villa Wigan Stoke City Bolton Everton QPR Sunderland Norwich City Swansea City Fulham Arsenal West Brom Blackburn Tottenham

"It is a different game here compared to Spain - there are more crosses to deal with and there is more contact. Bit by bit, we will get there with him."

Ferguson's comments could have been made with Bolton in mind.

However the same things might have been said about Javier Hernandez 12 months ago and the little Mexican did not do too badly in his debut season.

Hernandez was among those who did not find the target during that Gunners' destruction.

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Pts

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2

3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 2

13 12 6 5 4 3 3 3 2 7 1 1 1 3 0 1 2 2 2 1

3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 6 2 5 4 4 10 5 6 8

10 9 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 0 -5 -1 -2 -4 -3 -8 -3 -4 -7

9 9 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0

Premier League campaign.

Suarez showed no signs of fatigue for the Reds during the first few games of the season, although he did start on the substitute's bench against Arsenal as Kenny Dalglish tried to manage him carefully.

The 24-year-old has just embarked on a 3,300-mile round trip to Kharkov to play Ukraine, while Craig Bellamy has been signed to give Liverpool an extra option up front, but Suarez does not want to be left out at Stoke on Saturday.

"I want to play in all the games I can for Liverpool," he said in the Daily Mirror. "I don't want any rest at all.

•Suarez

ABOTAGE is a strong word, but I’m tempted to use it anyway. It partly describes the national team’s approach to last Sunday’s Equatorial Guinea/Gabon 2012 Africa Nations Cup qualifier against Madagascar and the international friendly against Argentina in Bangladesh the following Tuesday. And player and coach were as guilty.

With distractions occasioned by player revolt over travel plans and pre-match as well as match-day obstacles, the Super Eagles managed to subdue the Barea of Madagascar 2-0 last Sunday in Antananarivo to make next month’s final 2012 Nations Cup qualifier in Abuja worthwhile.

As speculated here often, however, Eagles chief coach Samson Siasia was bound to encounter lethargy and deliberate interruption of his plans in equal measure in the quest to sort out the playing system. Where, perhaps, Siasia is culpable is handing former youth team wards consistent invites, and possibly sustaining acrimonious relationships with some players. While the latter flaw is in danger of trite mention, players involved in some misdemeanour or the other since the coach’s advent must take care lest they are branded perpetual brats.

I refer, specifically, to Mikel Obi’s, Vincent Enyeama’s and Victor Anichebe’s decision to opt for private arrangement instead of team travel plans for Madagascar. But it wasn’t fair that Enyeama only bore the brunt of Siasia’s big stick. With more than a hint of vindictiveness from the coach, the erstwhile Eagles choice goalkeeper didn’t make the cut for Madagascar and Argentina, thus giving the punitive measure a personal hue.

Siasia would have done well to delay the measure until a subsequent national assignment when ring leader and the led could be reined in together, thereby increasing the chances of having his corrective measure taken in good faith. Targeting Enyeama whose unsettled status with new French club Lyon was compounded by the availability of Dele Aiyenugba as a close substitute sadly stressed Siasia’s alleged weakness in personnel management.

Still, in starting with a weakened squad against Argentina in Dhaka, Siasia advertised resolve to welcome any result. With the more capable Ikechukwu Uche, Ahmed Musa and the lately impressive Chinedu Ogbuke lounging on the bench, it was hard to see how the less-experienced Brown Ideye and definitely less-gifted Solomon Okoronkwo would fire the team to victory against an Albiceleste bristling with Real Madrid and Barcelona talent and a supporting cast from some of the best clubs in Europe.

It was no surprise that the Nigerians exhibited incoherence common with today’s Eagles in the first half. The central defence combination didn’t click in the absence of skipper Joseph Yobo, the two Obis – Mikel and Joel – strained to master alternative roles in midfield, and the attack lacked ideas as highlighted by Okoronkwo’s poor initiative and Obinna Nsofor’s profligacy.

As a result, Argentina jewel and current captain Lionel Messi mercilessly sliced through the midfield and defence for efforts that culminated in two of his side’s three goals. If appointing Messi skipper

by Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella was a masterstroke that fetched two wins out of two matches in charge, Siasia’s corresponding move fell flat as Mikel resumed his back-passing ways and, in one heartrending moment, even gifted Messi possession.

Helped by the heat which seemed to hinder the opponents in the second half, the Nigerian team seized initiative briefly following Ogbuke’s decisive 46th minute goal and I wondered why the same spirit was missing in the first half. Siasia’s increasingly worrisome tendency to put out a questionable starting eleven in the first half is one reason; the other is fatigue from the Madagascar encounter.

But as he did in Madagascar and consistently before, the coach read the match well to make inspired substitutions. That is a strength and obvious edge over rivals.

Yet, Siasia ignored the signs of trouble for too long. He should have tried out the evidently rusty central defence pair of Dele Adeleye and Efe Ambrose with the Eagles in cruise control in earlier matches, and it did shock to see, after so many matches, the two Obis still running around confused in the midfield.

Siasia should know by now that he parades a fragile midfield without an enforcer, a water-carrier in the mould of Sunday Oliseh at best and Sani Kaita – of the World Cup ‘kick-boxing’ fame – at worst. Should he complement the favoured duo with a grittier midfielder as he did with Fengor Ogude in Bangladesh and sacrifice one of the wings, or effectively use the traditional 4-2-4 system that accentuated the flair of great Nigeria sides in the past?

That is the million-naira question, but one to be answered quickly as Siasia’s legacy depends in part on it. Few would have enjoyed watching the sloppy display that handed Argentina redemption after the 4-1 thrashing suffered by the South American team’s B squad in an international friendly played in Abuja last June.

Whether FIFA will accord the latest result similar scrutiny of betting patterns remains to be seen, by the way.

Despite the Bangladesh loss, Ogbuke and company demystified Argentina’s full squad, allowing the Eagles to decide never to again play in Argentina’s shadows. In the competitive world of international football, a 3-1 win does pale beside a 4-1 triumph, but the Argentines, who are clearly work-in-progress despite all the talent, managed to grab the Eagles by the balls and would likely go for the jugular at the next meeting unless the Eagles bare talons in response.

In the interim, it might just be easy to query Siasia’s rather lukewarm approach, even under the disguise of typical sluggishness by his team. Contrast that with Ghana’s gutsy 10man surrender to Brazil in a friendly days before and you question how long it will take Nigeria to cultivate commensurate football culture.

38

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

RE ELNEW S Dance234 enters eviction stages

BACK STAGE

How Star gave me my first flight experience —Winner of Star TV Game Show, Francis Omamogie Dance234

Cowboy and the Aliens hits Ozone Cinemas

I boarded my first plane courtesy of Star.

They brought me all the way from Auchi to Lagos for this game show''. Then, as reality sinks, he adds: 'I just made the first million naira of my life because of Star. I am speechless. I don't know what to say

39

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

“P

LEASE go to school, I am begging you, please go to school. You know why?

If you don’t go to school; You will spend the rest of your life hating those that went”. Those were the words of a motivational speaker, I once listened to his tape. As he was delivering his speech, he suddenly chipped in this above quotations, trying to emphasize the gross importance of education.

My late mum, of blessed memory came from a family of eight girls and a boy. She always told us how their father will often say to them, the higher your level of education, the higher the husband you would get. This is so true using my immediate environment as a yardstick, the things I see on television, news items, our public officials, and even in foreign countries.

I have read about women who used their resources, sold their wares to put their husbands or fiancées through the four walls of the higher institutions yet fails to educate themselves. I have read how the men will come out and dump them afterwards claiming that they no longer belong to the same class. Does this sound familiar to us? I am sure it does. I have heard some men say “Oh, she is not my type” Guess what, this assertion comes after he feels more groomed than his wife. Here is the thing, it is essential that one grows with one’s man. It will be foolhardy for any right thinking lady not to groom herself and then expect to land herself a groomed husband.

Fair is fair.

Yes, I have heard about opposite attracting; but, how many times have you heard or attended weddings when a man with his master’s degree is getting wedded to a lady with school certificate. Not often, •No doubt about the goodness in breastfeeding. I thank my wife for breastfeeding our kids for 1 year on the average. I wasn’t surprised because she told me her mother breast fed her over 2 years. Women can breastfeed in the public but it be done discreetly without exposing one of the secret part of the body. No man would want to see his wife’s breast shown to the public or on TV (TV cameramen need orientation on this). I detest seeing exposed breast in the newspaper or TV. I think this is one of the challenges precluding the ‘aje-butter mummies from breastfeeding publicly.

High education, high husband right?

This is reality; you see, sometimes love is not enough. At a particular point, your eyes will begin to open to reality. Oh and if you are not careful, it could be one big mess. Recently, I attended our old student association after so many years. We could not hold it often, because almost everyone is scattered abroad. The few of us here in Nigeria sometimes get too busy to agree on particular dates for meetings.

So, it has now been agreed that we tentatively meet twice in a year. It was at that meeting that we met one of our then mathematics guru, Toyin, a guy. When we were in our final year in secondary school he openly dated a girl in our class named Mutiat. Oh, they were so into each other, that most of us thought this union was surely alter bound. So, when we met at the reunion the question on everybody’s lips was “where was Mrs. Mutiat Toyin”. Toyin, with a straight face said to us, “we broke up after nine years together” That we were shocked would be putting mildly.

Everyone had thought that theirs was, you know, “meant

to be” obviously we were wrong. People grow and people change. Call us curious but been old pals we sought to know what went wrong. Toyin told us how he immediately got admitted to the university after we left school, he also told of how Mutiat opted to go for business instead of furthering her education. He said however that did not stop nor deter him from loving her.

He promised himself that no other person would take her place in his heart. (I told you they were in love). So, according to him, each time he had a break from school his first port of call was usually Mutiat’s place. He went further to swear to us that for the entire four year he spent in the university, his only girl was Mutiat (remember Rihanna’s song “make me feel like I am the only girl in the world) He said while they dated, he proposed to her.

But at some point; he noticed how inferior she began to feel around him particularly during his undergraduate years.

He talked about how she had guys that looked like school drop outs always flocking around her. Those were the

things he could no longer tolerate. So, after bitterly admitting to himself that they obviously not compatible he took the proverbial bow and chose to move on with his life. Today he is happily married with kids and so is Mutiat with kids too.

Of course we know who ended better than the other.

Education to me is beyond academic excellence. It should include self-development in whatever career one has chosen. It could be hair dressing, fashion designing etc., it is about distinguishing yourself in your field. Recently, a meeting was held with us by our Managing Director. It was during the meeting that he reminded all present that marketing had gone beyond what it used to be. “Gone are the days when a woman’s beauty alone got her very far.

If a lady depends on her goods look alone and cannot articulate her thoughts to her prospective clients, such a lady will be dismissed without a second chance” These days it is about the beauty and the brain.

Gone are the days of sleeping one’s way to the top.

I am often elated when I see

Text messages Re: Should breastfeeding in public be allowed?

Kayode •There’s absolutely no justification in opposing breastfeeding of infants in public places, therefore I agree with you completely. Your piece is great indeed. Oga, Makurdi •Please tell the few aje-butter mummies that as we pray their breast not to sag, but remain firm… we would also pray that the cow-milk fed babies behave like the cows.

Anonymous

•Re-Should breastfeeding in public be allowed? Vera, I have always said that I bother less about the lifestyle of the whites being copied by some of our blacks! Some are good, to copy, others may not be mandatory to imbibe. Babies and infants may need food in form of breast milk or artificial. Before the mum gets home for real full food, breastfeeding will relieve both of them of the public noise, the mother however should be cautious of the environment to breastfeed. It must be safe, it

must be filter-free and mother should be decent in exposing the ‘thing’ for the aje-butters who want to pretend to behave as whites. Good luck to them.

Their skins can not become the whites. I am in support of breastfeeding babies and infants wherever babies are pressed, public, notwithstanding!

Lanre Oseni, Lagos •Dear Vera, you are a genius, it is not decent for married women to expose their breast in the public for whatever reason. Nigeria women are decent, they breastfeed their babies at home, corner side or isolated places even in public places. It is a sin against humanity if any woman refuse to breastfeed her child and she will reap what she sowed in latter days. Remain blessed.

Evangelist Okoye Richard •That was a good piece.

Women should be free to breastfeed babies any where though discretely. My worry is ladies not breastfeeding but display their breast in churches, wedding ceremonies, campuses, etc. Mothers look the other way? Teenage boys are exposed to evil daily. God help us from these ladies. Peter.

•The families of the late Prince Cornelius Ademola Odukomaiya of Ibefun, Ogun State, and Pa Okundaye Iyamu, of Okhuokhuo-Nisi Uhumwode Local Government Area of Edo State were united in marriage recently when Princess Adebusola Odukomaiya, and her heart-throb, Mr. Amenze Iyamu, walked down the aisle at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Ikeja, Lagos.

The couple (at the centre) with their parents shortly after the ceremony. Others beside them are (from left) the Rev. Stephen Adesoye, Deaconess Olufunmilayo Odukomaiya (bridge’s mother), Prince Henry O. Odukomaiya (bridge’s uncle) and the Rev. Alfred M. Oluwatuyi (officiatig priest).

•Vera, thanks for supporting breastfeeding. Today, young ladies and married women wear clothes that expose their two beasts even in churches. So, what excuse would such have for starving their kids of breast milk?

•It is highly commendable. I

women holding key positions.

I am even happier to see the grace, panache, dignity with which the carry themselves and handle their offices. Note that it has not in any way reduced their dress sense. There are female ministers, Deputy Governors, etc. who still look good despite their heavy workload.

Talk about the Oluremi Tinubus, Waziris, the Dora Akunyilis, the Abike Dabiris, the Daisy Danjumas etc who still look good despite their heavy work loads ( I must not forget to add that Dora Akunyilis husband is a doctor, little wonder why he chose her for his wife.) My point here is that it is easier to attract good things if you are a good thing yourself.

However, if by a stroke of luck nature smiles on you and your husband is given a big office; say, the office of a minister or even a governor. It follows that you are automatically the First lady of the State.

So, what do you do? You are expected to grow with your man. Yes, you grow with him.

Everything now happens with decorum. The way you talk, walk, or even smile. You walk with grace, your head high, mean the columns you have dedicated so far to the most tender, sensitive and useful part of a woman (breast). For it’s the breast that is sucked by both would be rascals and gentlemen, geniuses with imbeciles.

There will never be a logical reason to disallow breastfeeding in the public. A single woman will not even support such legislation; it’s like saying you want to ban rainfall in the public. Thanks for tutoring women who do not really care about breastfeeding and allow cows to ‘feed’ their infants for them. May the heavens bless all breasts that have fed us.

Seun Osinkolu, Ogbomoso •As far as Africans are concerned, one cares less whether you breastfeed in public or not, but ladies that don’t do it reserves them for their male partners.

•Initially, in most African setting there is no law guiding that women shouldn’t be breastfeeding their infants in public. However, ours take that here. Vera, to be candid feeding baby(s) outside there is not something that violating probation but culture; “meanwhile they can” and is permissive.

Jide Obokun, Saki •Another wonderful write up, so educating and enlighting, if the scenario can happen in US, it means a lot and kudos to all women that naturally breastfeed their child without any infraction.

Segun Makinde, Ibadan •How are you Vera, hope you are fine. I love you and your work. More grease to your elbows.

shoulders back. Thereafter, you begin to fill up your head as well.

You read more; especially newspapers listen to news more, so that you are abreast with happenings around you.

Your husband can come home and discuss with you on the same level. You can make imputes to the decisions he takes or makes. Bottom-line is that you are growing simultaneously with your man. Do not give them reasons to stray.

If he loves football, try and develop interest in that sport.

Go an extra mile and know the names of some of the footballers. If he has a club he identifies with e.g. Chelsea, Arsenal , Barca; If you don’t chose his club, choose yours, it adds colour to your union.

To reiterate what the motivational speaker said, please go to school. If you haven’t, thank God, there is no age limit these days. Develop yourselves, because if you don’t; you will spend the rest of your life, hating those that have distinguished themselves. It is called the beauty and the brain. How else do you think a ‘beyonce, landed a Jazy Z’, one of the forces to reckon with in the music industry today. She is right on top of her game, that’s how!

So what about you?

•I must commend you Vera for the great work you are doing, am FOlusho a registered nurse, according to anatomy and physiology either your breast feed, remains a virgin and no man touch your breast when the aging process sets in the breast goes flabby. The vagina shrinks, pubic hair becomes thin and scarce due to reduction in hormone oestrogen so breast feeding should be anywere and of course anytime the aje butter mummies are deceiving themselves, most at times when I breast feed in the public men tend to look away.

•Vera, babies should be breastfed anywhere and indeed everywhere, babies, we know, have no control over their agitation for food and should therefore be fed anywhere necessary.

What nursing mothers must not do is to go about this routine duty indecently. Nursing mothers, in feeding their children in public, need to be more professional by not exposing that treasure of theirs. Vera, you once said on this page that a woman’s assets are her breasts. If this is an incontestable fact then a woman should try to appreciate her God given assets by being matured about the way she breastfeeds her baby in public.

Remi Adesina, Ibadan •*Vera denying babies their food in public tantamounts to denying them the right to freedom of live since they cannot speak when hungry, so therefore rather than abolish it, nursing mothers should be educated on what to wear.

Ugwu Gret, Obudu

40

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Hello darlings, I was drinking tea this morning when I took time out to read the inscriptions on one of my favourite mugs. In beautiful colours and embossed into heart shapes it says: Tease me, squeeze me. Please me.

Hmm… Funnily enough, I’ve had that mug for a long time and the message never really struck me until today.

You may wonder what came to my mind. Guess. It’s not what would pop up in the minds of guys. Far from it. My mind went to life. Yes life. Life is not always what we want it to be. It could be some-

times so good you don’t want the day to end.

And it’s sometimes so cruel and you would want to hide somewhere else in the universe. At such times when life doesn’t look so promising, just pray silently that it should tease you and make you smile.

Squeeze you gently and make you happy and that it should please you so much that life would be worth living.

Whatever side of the coin life is presenting to you today, look at it and say things will get better. I leave you with a heart filled with love. Enjoy!

He asked me to go spiritual due to lack of sex between us You’re welcome back; we all missed you.

I have been dating this guy for the past 7 months. We play all sorts of play but I said no to sex.

I help him cook at times. A few months into the relationship, he advised we should go and pray that maybe we’re compatible. He wanted me to believe he’s serious about the relationship. But to me, I saw it as a trick in other to convince me to allow him ‘get through me’.

Anyhow, I was the one now disturbing him about his own outcome of the prayer after I had told him mine. He, he later said something which I’m not comfortable with. He told me he can’t keep a relationship without sex and this is someone who isn’t ready to settle down now. Aside that, I don’t even know any of his family members, except friends and his neighbours. I know he has principles but now he reacts somehow to any little mistake I make and he even

talks to me as if I’m one of his younger ones. The question is this: how long more do I have to be preaching abstinence from sex to him or should I rather let him off because it’s glaring that the guy is angry because of the sex issue.

My sensible sister, I like your style. Nope. I’m not admiring you for your refusal to have sex. I like you because sex or no sex, you are wise enough to know that when you’re with a guy for a while and he does not think it right for you to meet his family, then it may mean lack of seriousness on his part.

The friends and neighbours you have met happen to be people you would ordinarily meet even if you were his refuse collector. They’re people who are with him whether he has a woman in his life or not.

You were right to be suspicious when he asked you to seek spiritual guidance as per the chances

of the relationship ever working or otherwise. If a man loves a woman and wants spiritual guidance, they will most likely seek help together. That way, whether what their seers have to say is true or not, both of them would hear it at the same time.

The best would have even been for them to go together for prayers so that their future together would be happy. Not to go and check. Check what? Forget it!

I know that in the part of the country where I come from, it is normal (now) to feel and taste before marriage. Some will even want the woman’s stomach to start protruding before they see her parents. While I won’t totally condemn that practice, I won’t also give a pass mark to it.

The choice in the matter of having pre-marital sex or abstaining is usually left for people to decide.

We all have an idea of what’s good for us at the end of the day.

Lastly, I wouldn’t blame the guy for treating you the way he does. He’s only human and he’s bound to be aroused by the presence of a young woman shaking her bum at him, with all her curves and shape, cooking his meals, playing with him, giving him all the come-on signs but still saying no. No! Is when you don’t tempt him at all. Watch how you spend time alone with him except of course you want to announce to him that from now on, he’s your brother and nothing more.

Hearts With Adeola Agoro E-mail: libranadeola@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 08023162609

I was an armed From my mail box robber; please Hello, it’s nice having you back. I really missed your help me get a job are advices, which sometimes act I was an armed robber; please help me get a job I honourably beg the Federal Government of Nigeria to help me. I was an armed robber due to years I spent in an orphanage. I spent 7 years awaiting trial at the Federal Prisons, Port-Harcourt.

But Pastor Nature Dumale preached the gospel to me in prison and I repented. He also got a lawyer who helped with my case and they set me free.

Since I came out, I have no job, no living place and nobody. I’m a native of Iko in Andoni LGA, Rivers State. I’m 25 years old, I have a diploma and I live at Ex Militants Camp of Pastor Nature.

I need a job urgently.

(08130707476).

Governor Rotimi, Nigerians, Please Note!

Thank God for people like your Pastor Dumale who gave you another chance. Thank God that you have also chosen to live a good life. I pray that the governor of your state and well-meaning Nigerians rise up to this cry and save you (and us too) from crimes.

I believe that if there are mentors everywhere, some of our youths would dump negative things and embrace goodliness and decent lives.

I will personally send out letters on your behalf. Pray along with me for us to see the eyes of God. I wish you well.

P.S: A lot of people are going to be calling you, some would be serious and some will try to mock you, just trust in God and pray to be led to the genuine ones.

My people too, please exercise caution before inviting this man into your home and offices until you’re sure that he has come really clean. God help us all.

as tonic when things are not moving as expected. Once again am glad that you are back and I hope it is for good and better. 07060708070.

Dearest Adeola. You need to see the way I felt last Saturday when I saw the Hearts page on page 40 of The Nation newspaper. So Hearts with Adeola Agoro is back with a bang! I feel elated, joyous and happy. To me, I see this as an answer to the prayers of your overwhelming fans. You need to know the vacuum your absence caused. I say a BIG welcome to the queen. May the Lord continue to anoint your pen, fill you with great wisdom from above and may God bless you richly, amen.

– Ola Bakare (07052857165).

The Book, Hearts with Adeola Agoro During the time I was away, the book, Hearts with Adeola Agoro (foreword by Sen. (Mrs.) Oluremi Tinubu, OON was presented to the public. It answers some of your questions on sex, teenagers, marriage, disappointments etc. Email me for your copy.

Matchmaking I’m sorry to tell all you all (over 2,000) who have sent in requests for matchmaking that it is no longer open to nonmembers. Please request for your form to register. Only when we’re sure that you qualify to meet decent and hardworking people can we link you up. No sugar mummies please!

I’m a full man yet my male organ is that of a child I am 28yrs old of age but my penis is as small as that of a 5 year old boy. Please what do you think I can do to correct this problem of small penis? Thanks.

O. from Lagos.

•Otunba Thomas Adesanya cutting his 70th birthday cake at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Ketu, Alapere, Lagos

My goodness! Upon all what you have to worry about in life, the size of your male organ happens to compete with them. It’s natural for you to be disturbed when all we hear these days are music about those who are endowed.

The good news I have for you first of all is that women do not require a long penis to experience sexual pleasure. And it’s important for you to know that the lifeless penis length is never ever the same length with an erect penis length. So what you consider to be small might actually be normal.

For your sake, I tried to find out what a normal penis size is and I have this for you: The results of several studies seem to indicate that the average erect penis length is between 5.1 inches and 5.9 inches in length.

So, anything longer than that can probably be considered big and several studies have described an average mid-shaft circumference to be 4.49 inches and 4.97 inches when fully erect.

How do I measure my penis size?

Any measurements that you take should be done when your penis is erect, as that’s all that matters when you’re pleasing a woman. To measure your penis length, simply measure from the base of the penis to tip of the penis with a ruler. Make sure, however, that you don’t measure from the underside; the base you should measure from is on the topside of your penis. For circumference or girth, take a piece of string and wrap it around the mid-shaft (halfway up the length of the shaft), then transfer the string to a ruler.

Is penis size related to body size?

Simply put, yes. Height appears to be related to overall penis size and has been associated in at least four studies. Weight, on the other hand, has been asso-

ciated with penis size in some studies, but not as consistently as height. Generally speaking, body size is somewhat related to penis size, but the relationship is complex and not directly proportional.

Interestingly, index finger length was found to be related to overall penis size in at least three studies. So, if you’re a tall guy with a freakishly long index finger, chances are that you have a pretty big penis.

Until what age does the penis grow?

Boys enter puberty when they’re about 10 to 14 years old.

Penises will likely stop growing around age 16 to 21, when puberty is complete. If it’s been a couple of years since you’ve stopped growing in height, it’s a good time to start accepting your penis size.

Finally, I know that many men dream of getting a big penis and of course but there are existing techniques to make your penis longer, but they can be quite painful. Ask yourself, is it worth it?

Saturday

Profile Partying Happenstances Style

SOCIAL SCENE

SPECIAL

THE NATION SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

41

Day I clashed with my professor in medical school over my beard -Ex-Anambra Governor Chris Ngige

44

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Dr. Chris Ngige, medical doctor, former Anambra State governor and now a senator, looked relaxed and cool as he sat, ready for an interview. But that posture belied the experience and turbulence he has had to go through as a politician. And in this encounter with CLEMENTINA OLOMU, he relives a bit of it. Excerpts:

•Dr. Ngige

‘My tenure as Anambra governor brought out the best in me’

posted her to the hospital, where there was a clinic section. Sometimes she would come around to say hello to me. Sometimes I would go to the hospital, I would see her.

I took interest in her because by that time, my mother was pressurising me to get married and I was searching for a wife. She caught my fancy. From there, we started talking. I asked her for a date. I had a friend then who kept encouraging me, saying you must settle down with this woman, this should be your last bus stop, Dr. Chuks Okongwu who was once the Minister of Budget and Plan-

‘

ning . He encouraged me on and in 1993, we got married.

Apart from the fact that your mother wanted you to get married, what really attracted you to her?

I saw her as being pleasant; she was a pleasant girl at that time, very good looking and pretty.

Somebody told you, this should be your last bus -stop, did you have other bus-stops before her?

Of course yes, I told you I qualified in Medicine in 1979, did my housemanship in 79-1980 and in 81, did my NYSC. You think I wouldn’t have girlfriends in those periods? I had girlfriends. I’m not

into women as such, but I had girlfriends at intervals. There was never a time I was fallow.

How were your bachelorhood days?

It was long, a lot of my mates left me and got married. Why it was so was that in 1983, I had a fiancé, we were at the brink of doing the traditional marriage when it collapsed.

What happened?

She went into a church, became ‘born again’ and insisted I must join her there, that my refusal meant that the devil was in possession of me. I thought it was a joke. We’d done the introduction

The best of turbulent times, it brought out everything in me. It brought out courage in me, my resistance to bullies, compassion with people.

It actually brought out the best in my administrative skills...

‘

Sir, how do you want to be address? In the past, you were addressed as Dr. Chris Ngige. At a point in time, you became His Excellency; and since you became a senator, the ‘Dr.’ has been dropped?

You can address me any way you want. I’m a medical doctor.

That one sticks and it sticks for life; and I also find myself in another constituency where they say that that if you are a member of the National Assembly, precisely the Senate, you don’t put any other appellation, just a senator. This also sticks for life. Once a senator is always a senator.

Outside the Senate, we can use any other appellation we have. I can use ‘His Excellency’, ‘Senator’ or ‘Dr’. Chris Ngige. Whichever way, it is okay by me. You can even drop all. I’m primarily a ‘Mr’. before I started acquiring all those titles. I have a national honour too, which is the Officer Order of the Niger (OON). I’m also a Knight in Saint Johns International in the Catholic Church, where I profess my faith and I’m also a Chief.

When you were growing up, were you a stubborn child?

I wouldn’t know. I only know that I can differentiate between what is good and what is bad and has always resisted what is bad.

But I know that I was being bullied when I was in secondary school, but nobody can do that to me in the university. The only attempt was in my final year when I decided to keep my beard and one of my professors wanted me to shave it off on the ground that medical students don’t grow beard. I refused on medical grounds that I was having bumps each time I shaved. So I went to my physician, he gave me a medical exception paper. The professor refused and threatened to fail me in the final MPPS exams. I reported him to the medical faculty board and the case was resolved in my favour.

What did you do as a child that probably brought tears to your mothers eyes?

When I left home and went to stay with his brother, I noticed that my mother did not like my idea of leaving home, this really touched her.

When did you meet your wife?

I met my wife when I was in charge of the Federal Government staff hospital in 1004. By then, I was shuttling between the headquarters, I was supervising the hospital. Then, she reported for duty as a newly employed medical officer and I did her posting. I

in my town, she was also from there. You know, then marrying someone from your town was in vogue because of marriage stability and of course I listened, but it did not work out.

‘Love knows no border, why didn’t you follow her?

I was trying to follow, but the type of praying there, I could not close my eyes and see the Holy Spirit take possession of me and all that. So there was no need going in there. I was a catholic and my family is a staunch catholic.

She was also a catholic before she joined the other church. In those days, it was rare for a catholic to enter into such faith. We preached to her, but she would not listen.

How have the challenges of yester years prepared you for the position you now find yourself?

I’m grateful to God that He made me pass through the challenges of yester years , which I had right from my school days. I had my secondary school education in a village setting. When I finished my primary school education in Enugu, where I was resident with

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

•Dr. Ngige

geting and implementation. I have no regrets about my sojourn in the civil service, it enriched my wealth of experience.

As a student on campus, did you ever had fun? From all what you have said so far, it has been all work?

I was a medical student, and we are not known to have fun. But I can say that I created time to have fun, because all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Some of my colleagues and I ‘rebelled’ against that situation for medical students, we attended parties with other people, we did birthdays with them, went to clubs, some were regarded as finicky clubs. Most importantly about three of us went into the student union portages, we were the first group of persons to enter it in medical school. They libelled us that we would all fail and drop out of school.

I was the student representative counsel, it was like the student parliament. We were also king makers in that parliament, we made some union presidents. We made Orji Nwaforizu President of the University of Nigeria on campus. He was a law student. We made the current Chief Judge in Anambra State, Justice Peter Umeadi, among others.

We were able to do that because the medical students had the largest population apart from architecture, our students ranged from first year to the sixth year. With this we were able to canvass for votes.

At a point in time, a year five medical student wanted to contest, we discouraged him on the ground that he cannot make a good student president since his profession as a medical student is very challenging and needed more time. We told him this and he refused. We worked against him and a year two lawyer won that election. I was involved in my environment, it was not all books, books all the time.

How did this wealth of experience help as Anambra State governor, as you said?

My movement all over the place assisted and exposed me in knowing what the needs of my people

were and their suffering. When I was in charge of the federal staff clinic that was meant for civil servants and their families, their dependants also wanted to use the

‘

In my final year I decided to keep my beard and one of my professors wanted me to shave it off on the grounds that medical students don’t grow beard. I refused on medical grounds, that I was having bumps each time I shaved.

So I went to my physician; he gave me a medical exception paper. The professor refused and threatened to fail me...

‘

my parents, l had to go to secondary school in my home town, which is Alo, in Idemili South Local government. It was a ‘bush’ school then, the only path leading to the school was bush.

In those days we had only one bus going that way, it traversed the school road at about 7:00am on its way to Onitsha from Ogidi to Obagekete to Alo. It would leave Onitsha between 1 and 2 pm. Once you missed it, you were in trouble.

It prepared me well, and we did not have insertions, so we did much of reading. It was a Catholic School and there was discipline.

My teachers and principal who was a reverend father were all nice people. We woke up by 5:30 every morning, to go to the stream to fetch water. Later, we would go to the chapel for morning mass; then refectory for meal and later to the classrooms. We had very a good teaching and disciplinary life. All these formed the basis of how we grew up. There was time for everything and we also read our books appropriately. There was time for everything, siesta, night out and time to pray. Fortunately, I came out of school with very good grades but my schooling was interrupted by the war in 1964 by 1966 and 67, I went back to school.

In 1970, I had my school certificate.

In 1971, unfortunately, the entire school had their result cancelled on the ground that six people were caught cheating, the penalty was for the entire school result to be cancelled, while this was happening, I’d already passed my exams into the universities of Nigeria, Nsukka and Lagos. I had no school certificate to present, so I repeated my school certificate in 1972 and I came out in flying colours. I made a distinction and I was admitted to read Medicine in the University of Nsukka and I badan.

All this was good training, the perseverance and disappointments. I later went for my National Youth Service Corp ( NYSC ) having done my housemanship in Medicine at the General Hospital in Onitsha.

From there, I went to Lagos for NYSC. I worked at the National Assembly Clinic where I became NYSC medical officer. Two of us served and were later employed. I was assigned to the Senate President’s office in my second year as a physician. I did the work of a Senate President’s physician for six months and that job was terminated in December.

When the military struck, I was sent to the clinic in 1004. I was there for a while, later sent to the Federal Government guest house, it was an annex of Dodan Barracks at a time, and I stayed there for about three to four years. From there, I came back and was deployed to headquarters where I was in charge of outdoor medical services. When they had conferences, seminars like Organisation of African Unity ( OAU ) in Abuja, I was the officer who would go and take charge of medical services. I’d also worked at the Federal Medical Centres in Umuahia, Owerri. I was also in Abeokuta, where I opened a staff clinic there, likewise Porth Harcourt and Kaduna.

My experience in civil service also enriched my background. When I was made medical director, I was in charge of the budget of the department, defending it at the Ministry of Finance during the military regime. All these helped me when I became the governor of Anambra State.

All those years I was doing all these, I was not happy. I thought I was being tossed up and down in terms of posting. I had a director who did not like my face and was posting me all over the place, but at the end of the day, it paid off. It has assisted me in whatever I’m doing even up till today as a senator, because most of the things we are doing in the Senate are all about bud-

facilities. At a point, one of my directors refused; of course, l rejected and we quarrelled. I was not a director, I was just a level 13 officer.

We took our case to the then Minister of Health, Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, he supported me, saying if these workers took their dependants to General Hospitals, they would not come to work; that was my argument. During that period, I was president-general of my town’s union. I was relating with everybody in my village, settling disputes among the people even market women when they refused to pay levies.

All these exposed me to the plight of the people in the communities and what their needs were. At that time, I noticed that electricity, good roads, water supply and security of lives and property were the four needs in a village setting. I also noticed that they were the basic needs in the urban centres as well. So when I became governor, it was easy for me to concentrate my application to these four core areas, and of course health and other areas of complements in government, like agriculture.

The 7th National Assembly of the Senate has the largest number of ex- governors in Nigeria. Every one of you has related with people from different social economic background. Do you all share similar ideas on issues affecting Nigerians in the Senate?

We are now a sizeable colony in the Senate. Experience is the best teacher, all of us there were chief security officers of our state when we were governors, by name; we were not exercising authority with even police commissioners as such.

Sometimes, they tell you they need to do clearance with their boss, the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

When that happens, he tells them to hold action that he wants to clear with the president. So when security issues come up in the Senate, we tell them our fears.

Do they listen?

Of course, they do. In the area of security of lives and properties in the states, kidnapping among others, the Senate president listens. He is an experienced person; he was a military governor; even as at that, when there are issues, he also refers to us who were democratic governors.

Will all these facilitates, Nigerians will expect quick actions on the passage of bills compared to what we had in the 6th assembly?

This seventh National Assembly will obviously be better; from the morning, you know what the day will bring. There are certain things we have taken into consideration.

For instance, you have read in the papers that our allowances have been cut to 40 percent; it is actually 50 percent; because the members of the sixth assembly have taken some part of the funds during the period of January into June; they were taken based on their projection of what was in the original budget.

When we came in, we agreed on 40 percent, and we were still short of funds; some of the funds were not available. We now went back and agreed that what we now get as running cost for our offices in the National Assembly, offices in the states and local governments be slashed again by another 10 percent. We receive 50 percent less than what our predecessors got, but we don’t mind; these are sacrifices we have to make for the country and the economy. We took that decision and communicated it to the Senate president before we were sworn in, in our individual capacities.

My party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) made it categorically clear that we must resist the issue of jumbo pay. They insisted we must go down by 30 to 40 percent, and this was exactly what we did.

We as senators were also convinced that this is the time for everyone to tighten his or her belt. In our execu-

tive session when the announcement was made, there was much rumbling, a lot of people did not like it, most especially the new members, but we were able to convince them; and the Senate president quickly supported us.

The quality of people now in the seventh assembly is a better refined quality, so we expect that we will do well. In fact, the whole opposition components of the National Assembly have also risen. In the Senate, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot boast of two third majority. Likewise, the House of Representatives. From this, you can see that there will be a change.

What was your greatest challenge as a governor?

My greatest challenge? Were you not in this country? My greatest challenge was to survive and be alive to govern my people, give them what they want. The Federal Government did not want me to be alive and they were doing everything possible to frustrate me, even in terms of the execution of government policies. These were all of equal proportion. I don’t know which you consider as my greatest.

It depends on you sir, which do you consider the greatest?

To be alive, I had no security at a point in time, they were withdrawn and I had to resort to orthodox method which was not right. I must tell you confidently that people were not expecting much from me as a man who was fighting the battle of his life to be alive. I said history would judge. At the time the history of the state or my regime will be written, I will not be there to defend myself. I will not be there to tell stories that I did not do this or that due to one reason or another.

So I gathered my boys and I started working as if nothing was happening, applying the funds of the state in the rightful places.

First, I had to clear the backlogs of debts. We were owing financial institutions, banks and contractors.

Some debts were genuine, others were not. Foreign agencies that were in partnership with government like World Bank, communities on aids, health systems and development funds among others.

If you were to write a book on yourself, what aspect of you will you write?

I will write on the aspect of my life as governor, the best of turbulent times, it brought out everything in me. It brought out courage in me, my resistance to bullies, compassion with people. It actually brought out the best in my administrative skills in terms of vision and leadership. It brought out everything you can think of in a human being.

What’s your take on the six year single tenure?

President Goodluck Jonathan was thinking aloud, they were trying to test the waters with the six-year single tenure. They’ve not brought the bill to the National Assembly to ask for that. People share different opinion about it because they feel the timing is wrong. Some are of the opinion that the president should have first thought of addressing major national issues and providing the basic needs for the people.

Otherwise, it would have been a good idea. If you ask me I‘ll support the six-year single tenure because it allows concentration and development. When a man knows he has a single tenure, he starts working from day one, electoral violence and the idea of spending huge amount of government funds on election will be minimized.

What is your advice to the upcoming generation?

My heart bleeds seeing most of them going about with absolutely nothing to hold on to. A good number of them come to me with their curriculum vitae, but where are the jobs? During my days, there were too many opportunities. My generation really needs to work hard to turn things around for them.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Bustier: A must for every woman F

OR trendy upper clothing without cramps or flab, a bustier is a must-have. You don’t have to spend a fortune on body trimmer or body magic to have that amazing look you have been craving for.

A bustier helps by making sure you look amazing in your dress.

They slim, flatten and hoist all while looking smooth and seamless under your gown. It is a necessity for the bride who wants to feel like the most beautiful woman on earth when you walk down the aisle. Most bustier starts at the bosom and goes down to the hips. They are like corsets in that they feature boning that helps keep everything in place. They are totally seamless and feature hidden underwire and a low-cut back. Though they are ideal for wearing under a skirt and blouse, strapless gown and tube top, it is unfortunately that increasingly some women are wearing strapless bustier as top.

•Black underbustier for a bride

•White bustier

•Sexy lace check pattern strapless corset bustier

•Satin bustier

Tips for men

Cleaning smooth leather shoes

•Remove dirt by cleaning with a leather cleaner made specifically for smooth leathers.

•You can use saddle soap or a smooth leather shoe cleaner.

•Shoe cleaners that come in gel, foam, spray, liquid and cream.

Many leather cleaners come with an applicator top, or you can use a soft shoe brush to aid in removing dirt from the surface of the shoe. This will also help to remove dirt from any cracks in the shoes.

•After cleaning, let the shoes dry for a few minutes and begin shining the shoes with a soft cotton cloth - either a shoe shine cloth, or even an old t-shirt as long as it’s soft and made of cotton.

•Layole Oyatogun

•Robe bustier from Linternaute

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

17-year-old wins the Elite Model Look Nigeria 2011

T

HE Elite Model Look Nigeria, the fourth in the series was held at the prestigiuos event centre, Civil Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos last saturday. The show is the only regular modelling event in the world, and it is aimed at exposing and launching young models into the international scene, and by so doing, promoting African culture. The event, billed for 7pm, did not start until an hour later. Eloquent and charming Eku Edewor was the compere. The hall was decorated with touches of black, white and silver.Vivacious Tiwa Savage thrilled the audience with tracks from her popular album.She also sang her popular hit “Kelekele Love”, hitting the crowd in the right places. The audience actually sang along with her.Davido with a special by Naeto C also performed.

The grand finale saw 14 girls who were picked from four preliminaries that were held in different parts of the country, contesting for the crown. They were later trimmed to six, out of which the winner, Chinwe Elere, first runner-up-Alieze Dorathy, second runner-up-Ruky Imalele and the third runner-up-Ruth Okereafor were picked.

Some fashion international designers of repute-Eki Orleans, Republic of Foreigner, Melissa Odabash, Virgo’s Lounge and Bridget Awosikaalso used the opportunity to showcase their products. They dazzled all with their various innovative and spectacular designs.

Chinwe gets the opportunity to represent Nigeria at the Elite Model Look Finale in Asia 2011, a chance to win a modelling contract with Elite Model management and a chance to win 150,000USD, among others.

Elite Model Look Nigeria 2011 WinnerChinwe Elere

Dolce & Gabbana dress Beyoncé for her pregnant VMAs performance Dolce & Gabbana are ecstatic that they got to dress Beyoncé for her pregnant VMAs performance Dolce & Gabbana had the awesomely momentous honour of dressing Beyoncé for her VMA performance on Sunday night for the finale of which she ripped open her sequin jacket and flaunted her baby bump. Those few seconds made diva history, to be sure. “We are very happy for her for her maternity, and we are proud she announced it while wearing Dolce & Gabbana. She is versatile, determined and never afraid of changes“said Domenico Dolce.

Photo reality show holds in November The first Nigerian photography television reality show will be held in November The show named, Project True Image, is aimed at producing the first photo king in Nigeria.

The photo king will be given N1million, the first runner-up will go home with N500,000, while the third prize is N250,000.

The ultimate aim of the organizers, V/6 Media, is to create the first picture bank of images of Nigerian traditions for Nigerian youths in the country and the diaspora.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of V/6 Media, Alhaji Mohammed Butu, the historic images will be from colonial monuments, cultural festivals, contests, tourist attractions, among others.

Butu disclosed this during a press briefing at the Eko Hotels and Suites in Lagos on Thursday. He said the shortlisted 20 best photographers from different parts of the country will collect the required images round the country.They will be chosen through auditioning in their respective zones.

The Zone A audition will be done in Legoon Villa Hotel in Yola, Adamawa on October 6. Zone B is on Octobert 11 at Algos Hotels and Suites in Abuja. The Ivory Hotel and Suites in Port Harcourt will host the audition on October 13 , while October 19 will be the last at the Eko Hotels and Suites in Lagos.

The project co-ordinator, Mr Bartholomew Otu, said the TV show would start on November 1 and would be done within 30 days.

According to him, registration is free.

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SOCIETY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Osun celebrates 20 years of existence in style

I

T was a gathering of eminent persons in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State during the week, as the sons and daughters of the historical town rolled out the drums in celebration of the state’s 20th anniversary.

The organisers of the memorable event also seized the opportunity to engage the indigenes in stock-taking in respect of the developmental strides of the state since it was created two decades ago.

Among the programmes lined up for the anniversary were a thanks giving service at the All Saint Cathedral, Balogun Agoro, Osogbo and a public lecture and book launch at the Centre for Black Culture and international Understanding, Governors Office, Osogbo.

At the launch of a book titled Perspective of Osun State at 20 from Leo Ajiborisa to Aregbesola, a visiting scholar, African Studies Centre, University of Pennsylvania, USA, Prof. John Adebunmi Ayoade, also delivered a lecture on “Democratic Federalism: Alchemy for A Just Nigerian Order.”

The book was reviewed and edited by Prof. Siyan Oyefeso The three-day colorful event was graced by government functionaries and chieftains of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), including the deputy governors of Osun and Ekiti states, Otunba Grace Titi Laoye Tomori and Mrs Funmilayo Olayinka respectively; the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem

Salam and the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Manshood Adeoti.

Others include the Asiwaju Adini of Yorubaland, Alhaji Tunde Badmus, representing the leader of ACN, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; the Chief of Staff to the Osun State Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola; ACN Acting Chairman in Osun State, Elder Adebiyi Adelowo; the Chairman, Collaboration of Opposition Parties in Osun State, Alhaji Waheed Lawal, commissioners, special advisers and members of the House of Assembly, among others.

The celebration was capped with an award ceremony in which cultural icons in the state were honoured by the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

•From left: Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Mrs Funmi Olayinka; Osun State Deputy Governor, Otunba (Mrs) Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori and Chairman of the occasion, Chief Pius Akinyelure

•From left: The Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Ashiru Olatoye Olaniyan 11 and the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun.

Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (left) in a handshake with one of the awardees, Hon. Rotimi Makinde, while the Head of Service, Elder Segun Akinwusi looks on.

•Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salam.

•From left: The Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, discussing with the Osun State Head of Service, Elder Segun Akinwusi.

•Alhaji Fatai Diekola

•Alhaji Tunde Badmus (TUNS)

What and Where?

•Pa. Ayo Fasanmi

Oshinowo for burial

T

HE burial rites of Deaconess Grace Bisola Oshinowo, the founder of Grace Schools, Gbagada, Lagos, who passed on, on August 28, 2011, continues on Sunday September 11, 2011 with an outing and thanksgiving service at Patriarch Bolaji Methodist Cathedral, Ita-Elewa, Ikorodu, Lagos. The ceremony commences at 10 am .

Dorah Osobase goes home

T

HE final burial rite for Madam Dorah Osobase, a community leader in Ewohimi, Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State has been announced.

According to a statement signed by a grandson of the deceased, Prince Lewis Osobase, a wake will be held on September 30, 2011 while final burial ceremony will hold on October 1, 2011 in the family compound in Ewohimi.

The statement reads in part: “The family has decided to celebrate our matriarch for what she stood for in her life time as a dutiful housewife who sacrificed so much to raise her children after the death of her husband.

We are indeed happy that she lived long to enjoy the fruits of her labour, and it is for these reasons that we have line up a series of activities to give her a befitting burial”.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

•Leisure seekers at Ikogosi

Warmth returns to Ikogosi S

PARKLING hot water gushes out from the bowel of the rock and makes its way down, leaving behind hot steam as it evaporates into the sky. The intensity of the hot water reduces as it meanders towards the base of the rock. Even more amazing is that just ten metres from where the hot water gushes out, there is another spring, but this time, it is cold spring water. At the base, the hot spring and cold spring meet, but despite the diluting, the water still retains its warmth. This is what makes Ikogosi a natural wonder. Were it

to be in ancient Greece, many would have believed that the water must be becoming from the furnace at the workshop of Vulcan, the Greek god of iron. The water is clean and therapeutic. The water is a natural sauna that refreshes both the outside and inside,leaving visitors with a refreshing experience. That is the allure of Ikogosi natural warm and cold spring in Ikogosi, Ekiti State.

A drive from Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, to Ikogosi warm and cold spring is about 25 minutes.

The best bet for a tourist is to first get to Ado Ekiti and take a taxi to

Ikogosi. Construction work still going on on the road. It snakes through one or two villages.

Therefore,visitors unfamiliar with the route ought to be very careful.

The vista of the countryside that opens before one’s eyes as one drives through is pure natural beauty: the rolling hill formed by the flora leaves one in awe at the creation of God. It leaves one clicking at his camera to capture the images that were unfolding before one’s eyes. Between Ado Ekiti and Ikogosi,the views of rustic countryside mixed with the picturesque landscape keep one busy right till

Ikogosi.

According the keepers of the spring, the place was discovered by the white missionaries who used the place as a kind of resort to unwind and relax. They built a swimming pool and a few accommodation facilities. It was later expanded into a full resort and abandoned. Mismanagement brougt it down. That such a unique natural endowment should be allowed to degenerate into disuse is baffling.

But there is a ray of hope as work is currently on to turn the resort to be among the best.

The Special Adviser to the Ekiti State Governor on Tourism, Segun Ologunleko, talked about the tourism vision of the state. “ Prior to coming of the current administration of Dr. kayode Fayemi, not much has been done to fully access the potential of the place.

“When this administration came on board, we saw untapped opportunities. We saw a situation that could have been of great value to Ekiti State in a dilapidated condition. It was rotting away. We met facilities that had not been put to use for past seven, eight or nine years. We saw buildings that naturally went to waste. There was nothing on the ground. What we saw there was a sorry case. It was an embarrassment for the government.

“There was no operation; there was no management ; there was even no property to run because the existing structures were di-

lapidated and there was no operation. What were left of the Ikogosi Warm Spring were just the water coming from the rock and the uniqueness of the place.

“When we were growing up, we heard our parents say that cold water came out of the rock; we never heard it said that hot water came out of the rock. But in Ikogosi, we see warm water coming out of the rock. At the point of its coming out , the temperature is about 65 degrees. It is quite high and after it has travelled for up to a kilometre, you can still see that the temperature is up to 40 degrees centigrade.

The interesting thing about the warm spring is that it retains its thermal identity, even when it

????????????????????????????????????

•Meeting point of the warm and cold stream

Continued on Page 50

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Ikogosi: Rare phenomenon Continued from Page 49

comes in confluence with cold spring that comes also from the mountains at a very close place to the source of the warm spring.This is a phenomenon,”Ologunleko said.

He said other tourism sites in the state would also be developed.

“First and foremost, Ekiti State is a destination on its own. Every where in the state tells you about tourism-mountains, rolling hills, valleys, serene environment. There are still many unidentified resources in every local government. Every day, we keep identifying them. There are many tourist sites with unique features that we find every day.

“Story of tourism is all about unique things and Ekiti State has a thousand and one things that are unique. For example, the Arinta waterfall, which is about 10 to 12minute drive from Ikogosi, has natural wa-

•Tourists relaxing in the stream

ter gushing from the rock; portable water gushing every second from the rock on a daily basis. In terms of quantifying it, you say something like 100 litres gushing out per second. It is something really special and the entire environment is also marvellous.

Every one that has been there always says it is a totally different experience.

“Apart from Arinta, if you get to Efon Alaye, which is around that place, there are mountains. The climate there is also special. So, we have natural endowments all over Ekiti State. If you move further, there are also areas of spiritual tourism. People go to the mountains to pray. At some times in the year, you could be touching the sky.

We are endowed with numerous tourism opportunities.

“Another thing is about people of Ekiti State. Our people, if I may put it this way, are still with ‘our un-spoilt nature.’ You still find our people with their natural smiles; unsophisticated life which is one of the things that actually matter most in tourism. Everybody is looking for something that is different. It doesn’t have to be so sophisticated. It has to just be natural, welcoming and unique. We have all those elements in Ekiti State, and they put us ahead of all other states. Also geographically, our location is uniqe.We are right in the middle. Let me put it like this. Abuja is to the north; Lagos is to the south. We are right in the middle surrounded by all the other states in the south west, so it is possible for us if we do it right to have all the opportunities surrounding Ekiti State,”he said.

Before the end of the year, the first tourism offering by the Ekiti State government, which is the improved Ikogosi Warm and Cold Tourism Resort, will unfold. It will be the first statement towards turning the state into a destination. It is a development one hopes would be replicated by other states.

•Chalets under construction

•Swimming pool under construction

Kehinde FALODE: 08023689894

Chicken savoury rice

Foluke ADEMOLA

Tired of eating carbohydrate , you can try this wonderful piece; it gives you the diet you need for good growth.

Ingredients •2 shredded chicken breasts •115g diced pancetta or chorizo sausage •1 onion, chopped •1 red pepper, chopped •1 clove of garlic, crushed •4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped •Garbage peel and chop •Chop carrot •1 cup frozen peas •1 cup of parboiled rice • pint chicken stock •2 tablespoons olive oil •Salt and pepper

Method •In a large casserole dish, put in your olive oil and leave to steam. Put your shredded chicken in the oven for some minutes •When the olive oil is hot,stir in the onion, garlic, garbage, carrot and pea, and cook for some minutes •Add the pancetta, parboiled rice, salt and stock. Stir and bring to the boil.

•Season, cover and gently cook for 10 minutes.

•Add the red pepper, tomatoes and peas and leave to cook for about 15 minutes and stir regularly.

Healthy and nutritional value of garlic Garlic is one of the richest sources of organic selenium and germanium. Together, garlic’s disclosed and yet undiscovered nutrients combine to make it one of the best nutritional spices in the world.

It has been sued for millennia to treat ear infections, cholera and typhus. It also helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure, improves circulation and lowers blood sugar levels. It is one of the most effect antibiotic plants available, acting on bacteria, viruses and parasites, and was used during both world wars to disinfect wounds.

It also helps in the reduction of the risk of heart disease and lowers blood pressure, since the laboratory tests by the American Heart Association showed that garlic dramatically reduced the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries.

Garlic is an excellent source of minerals and vitamins that are essential for optimum health. The bulbs are one of the richest sources of potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc and selenium.

Selenium is a heart-health protective mineral, and is an important co-factor for anti-oxidant enzymes in the body. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase. Iron is required for red blood cell formation.

Since time immemorial, garlic has been recognized in almost all the cultures for its medicinal, as well as culinary properties. This wonderful herbal plant, grown for its underground root or bulb, contains many health promoting phyto-nutrient substances that have proved beneficial against coronary artery diseases, infections and cancers.

Most people at some points in their lives suffer from acne to some degree. Companies make a fortune selling facial washes and creams to help. The problem is that there are many reasons for acne, including hormones, diet and stress. Although garlic on its own is unlikely to cure acne, it can certainly be used in conjunction with other treatments.

Onions are low in calories, but high in taste—they’re an excellent way to boost the flavour in light and savoury dishes.

Onions contain only a trace amount of calcium and iron, but are a good source of potassium. Comparatively speaking, 1/2 cup of chopped onion yields about 240 mg of potassium (similar to 1/2 banana or 1/2 cup of orange juice).

Garlic is thought to work because of its antibiotic and blood cleansing properties.

When using garlic in your food, make sure you crush and chop it up. This will help release the active compounds. Another way to take garlic is by placing a few cloves in a bottle of olive oil and then drizzle it over a salad.

Allicin also decreases blood vessel stiffness by release of nitric oxide (NO), thereby bring reduction in the total blood pressure.

It also blocks platelet clot formation and has fibrinolytic action in the blood vessels which helps decrease the overall risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), peripheral vascular diseases (PVD) and stroke.

51

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Arik Air appoints Remlords GSA

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EMLORDS Travel and Tours has been appointed first General Sales Agent (GSA) in Nigeria by Arik Air, West and Central Africa, largest and the continent’s fastest growing airline. By this appointment, Remlords is now authorized to promote and sell Arik Air’s products and services in both Cross River and Akwa Ibom State. With this, Arik Air has opened new sales offices in Calabar and Uyo. These offices were opened on Monday, September 5 , by the airline’s Senior Vice President, Commercial, Kevin Steele and the Special Adviser on Tourism to the Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Gabe Onah.

Elaborating on the agreement,Mr. Steele said:”The new offices will bring Arik Air’s

products and services closer to our guests in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States. It is now easier to book tickets from Uyo and Calabar to fly to Lagos and Abuja and enjoy Arik Air’s services” Chairman of Remlords Nigeria Limited, Mr. Nkereuwem Onung, said:“Partnering the largest and most successful airline in the region gives us an opportunity to provide world-class travel services to our people in this area. It brings seamless travel to the homes of thousands of travellers in the region and we feel honoured to be the chosen partner.

“Arik Air is the West and Central Africa’s largest domestic airline and Africa’s fastest growing airline for the last two years and as

such being chosen as their GSA excites and propels us to deliver great value.

“This partnership further strengthens one of Remlords core businesses, travels, while other areas such as tourism, car rental and logistic services and so on, will also be enhanced. It will be easier to do tour packages to anywhere in Nigeria, Africa and other Arik Air destinations all over the world.

“We are determined to add value to the efficient services rendered by Arik Air. In fact, we are poised to be the Biblical Joseph of Arik Air Nigeria. We, therefore, invite the travel public to patronize Arik Air and make them the preferred irline”.

The event was well attended by dignitaries from the business and political community in Calabar

NCPC holds retreat T

HE Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commis sion (NCPC) annual pre-pilgrimage retreat was held recently.

The retreat,which is for 2011 Christian pilgrims travelling to to Israel, Rome, Greece and Conference of States, will be declared open by the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio.

The retreat is meant for chairmen and secretaries of state Christian Pilgrim Welfare Boards, the NCPC and relevant stakeholders in the pilgrimage sector.

In the meeting, critical areas of the pilgrimage operations will be discussed and dealt with.

The theme of the retreat is: “Pilgrimage as a Tool for National Transformation”, scheduled to take place at the Meriden Hotel, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State from September 15-17.

It would also serve as a veritable platform for the state Christian Welfare Boards to meet with the NCPC on the pilgrimage exercise.

In another development, following the recent approval of the air carriers for the 2011 pilgrimage by Mr. President, the official signing of the air carriers’ agreements would take place in the NCPC Corporate Headquarters on September 15.

Okun cultural radio programme debuts on air

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KUN Radio, a radio programme designed to promote the interest of the Okun Yoruba people of Kogi State, North Central Nigeria, will soon be aired on the Radio Lagos/ Eko FM. The birth of the programme, which is in collaboration with the radio stations, will seek to educate, inform and entertain millions of its listeners, particularly Okun Yoruba people who live in Lagos and elsewhere across the world.

Chairman, Okun Development Association, Lagos/Ogun Chapter, Chief Akereniyi Owoniyi, while announcing the birth of the radio programme at a monthly meeting of the association in Lagos recently, said Okun Radio was painstakingly designed to promote the development of the Okun Yoruba people in all ramifications.

SUDOKU

•L-R: Chief Asuquo, Chairman Devendy Group; Ikechi Uko, Publisher, ATQ Magazine; Gabe Onah, Special Adviser on Tourism CRS; Kevin Steele, Senior Vice President, Commercial; Nkereuwem Onung, Chairman, Remlords; and Mrs. Onung at the event

Healthy growth of tourism in first half of 2011

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NTERNATIONAL tourism grew by al most 5 per cent in the first half of 2011 totalling a new record of 440 million arrivals. Results confirm that, in spite of multiple challenges, international tourism continues to consolidate the return to growth initiated in 2010.

International tourist arrivals are estimated to have grown by 4.5 per cent in the first half of 2011, consolidating the 6.6% increase registered in 2010. Between January and June of this year, the total number of arrivals reached 440 million, 19 million more than in the same period of 2010.

Growth in advanced economies (+4.3 per cent) has maintained strength and is closing the gap with emerging economies (+4.8 per cent), which have been driving international tourism growth in recent years. This trend reflects the decreases registered in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as a slight slowdown in the growth of some Asian destinations following a very strong 2010.

“The sustained growth registered in tourism demand in such challenging times clearly makes the case for the sector and reinforces our call to consider tourism as a priority in national policies. Tourism can play a key role in terms of economic growth and development, particularly at a moment when many economies, for the most part in Europe and North America, struggle for recovery and job creation,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

All world (sub)regions showed positive trends with the exception of the Middle East and North Africa. Results were better than expected in Europe (+6 per cent), boosted by the recovery of Northern Europe (+7 per cent) and Central and Eastern Europe (+9 per cent), and the temporary redistribution of travel to destinations in Southern and Mediterranean Europe (+7 per cent) due to developments in North Africa (-13 percent) and the Middle East (-11per cent). Sub-Saharan Africa (+9 per cent)

The Americas (+6per cent) was slightly above the world average, with remarkably strong results for South America (+15 per cent). Asia and the Pacific grew at a comparatively slower pace of 5 per cent, but this more than consolidates its 13 per cent bumper growth of 2010.

Results from recent months show that destinations such as Egypt , Tunisia or Japan are seeing declines in demand clearly reverting. “We are very encouraged to see demand picking up in such important tourism destinations and call for continued support to these countries which are today fully ready to receive travellers from all over the world,” added Mr. Rifai.

So far, the growth of international tourism arrivals is very much in line with the initial forecast issued by UNWTO at the beginning of 2011, 4% to 5%, for the full year 2011, a rate

slightly above the 4% long-term average.

As international tourism receipts were more affected by the 2008-2009 crisis and recovered somewhat slower than arrivals in 2010, this year should also see their further improvement.

Following an encouraging first half of 2011, growth in the remainder of the year is expected to soften somewhat as recent months have brought increased uncertainty, hampering business and consumer confidence.

“We must remain cautious as the global economy is showing signs of increased volatility. Many advanced economies still face risks posed by weak growth, fiscal problems and persistently high unemployment. Simultaneously, signs of overheating have become apparent in some emerging economies.

Restoring sustained and balanced economic growth remains a major task,”said Mr Rufai.

1ST STEP IN SOLVING PUZZLE 323: Look at the left vertical (abc) boxes. The bottom box has 8 in cell Ib, while the middle box has its 8 in cell Fa. The top box must, therefore, hae its own 8 in column C, where there are 2 vacant spaces - cells Ac and Bc. But, since row B already has an 8-in cell Bi, the only space available to accommodate 8 in the top box is cell Ac. Thinking along these lines, try and fill in all the other vacant cells.

SOLUTION TOMORROW. HAPPY PUZZLING!

PUZZLE 333 A B C D E F G H I

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SOLUTION TO PUZZLE 330 9

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•Tarzan Balogun displaying a Star Award for the Best Marine Tourism/Transport Operator of the Year bagged recently in Ghana

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52

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Don’t just talk, communicate (2)

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EARReader, It is great to have you back this week to this exciting column. Last week, I commenced a teaching on effective communication between husband, wife, and family members.

I said no matter how good you think your communicating skill is right now with your spouse, it can yet be improved on.

There are certain things that make for effective communication in marriage. That is why, this week, I will be discussing on, Components of Communication!

Communication has been defined as the art of passing across news, information, feeling or whatever, to somebody else. Commu-

F

OR some women, conceiving can be as easy as tossing out their contraception, whether they’re working on their first baby or their fourth. For others, reaching the goal of fertilization becomes a nightly chore, a mad mating dance that revolves around ovulation kits, specific sexual positions, and, more and more commonly, a succession of fertility tests to help pinpoint possible problems.

Whether a woman have just started trying to become pregnant or have been at it for a while, heeding some common sense advice that is based on good science can help boost her odds of conceiving. Here, noted fertility experts have outlined the do’s, don’ts, and don’t-bother-with’s of getting pregnant.

Have sex frequently: It may seem like a no-brainer, but given many couples’ hectic schedules, it’s easy to overlook this one. If a woman is not timing her cycles or she has irregular periods, she can cover her bases by having sex every other day, say fertility specialists.

Figure out ovulation date: Women with very regular 28-day cycles can just count 14 days from the first day of their period to determine their ovulation date.

If a woman’s cycles are not regular (or even if they are), an ovulation kit can help her pinpoint her most fertile time.

Most ovulation kits measure the level of luteinizing hormone

nication is done mostly in words.

But in marriage, communication is more than passing across a feeling, thought, message or desire. It also involves how a thing is said, and when it is said.

The long word “communication” in marriage is broken down to “communion”, which means “sharing thoughts and feelings.”

To commune means to “speak together as close friends.” Communication, therefore, is a major component that makes oneness possible.

Men who are too busy to spend quality time with their families, are courting trouble. For instance, my children and I fully understood my husband’s vision, so it’s easy for us to make the necessary sacri-

fices to ensure he doesn’t fail.

A sister met me some time ago, bemoaning her lot. She said she and her spouse were contemplating divorce, just after three months of marriage. They lived like cat and dog. Probing further, I discovered that the problem did not start after their marriage, but earlier, while they were still courting. They never spent time talking and getting to know each other. That was why a marriage of just three months was cracking already.

What are these components of communication?

1.

Trust!

There’s no solid foundation for communication outside trust.

God’s Word says: And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25). The man and his wife must work at being trustworthy, for it is only then that they can earn the trust of each other, giving communication a solid foundation.

Women complain that while they love to tell their husbands what their fears, hope and aspirations are, the men say nothing.

Perhaps, that’s why H. Norman concludes, “Many men believe

women perceive information differently, and they share in public what men see as only personal.

However, trust is essential, if we are going to be able to communicate always with our spouse.”

2.

Understanding!

God’s Word says: Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established (Proverbs 24:3). Understanding is the basis of effective communication, which is where successful homes are established. When understanding is in place between couple, less friction is bound to occur.

Misunderstanding is the reason many homes have been destroyed.

Husband misunderstands wife’s actions, the woman also reads meanings into simple statements made by the man. That is why God’s Word says: Good understanding giveth favour… (Proverbs 13:15).

3.

Openness!

No one keeps secret from himself. God’s Word says: Hide not thyself from thine own flesh (Isaiah 58:7). Openness and transparency here, are not talking about saying everything and anything

5 Tips for getting pregnant …Fertility specialists share expert tips to boost fertility and get pregnant fast (LH) — one of the hormones that signals the ovaries to release an egg — present in a woman’s urine. LH begins to surge around 36 hours before ovulation, but most kits don’t detect it until 24 hours prior. A woman with a 28day cycle should start testing her urine on day nine or ten after the start of her period so she doesn’t miss her surge.

A new palm-size, electronic device called ClearPlan Easy measures LH and estrogen levels, and can signal ovulation up to five days in advance.

Monitoring cervical mucus is another way to track ovulation.

“It’s not as reliable as a kit,” says Sandra Carson, M.D., professor of obstetrics-gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, “but it doesn’t cost anything.” This method involves checking her secretions for a few months until she notice a pattern. Estrogen causes mucus to thin after her period, while rising levels of progesterone right after ovulation make it thicken.

Once a woman pinpoint when she ovulate, she can plan to have sex several times leading up to that day.

The drawbacks. Many women

•The best way of getting pregnant quickly is for couples to have sex on a regular basis especialy before and after ovulation find this method inconvenient, or inaccurate since such factors as nursing and antihistamines, even fertility drugs, can dry up

mucus.

Charting her basal body temperature is useful for figuring out when she ovulate. “Your tem-

What are the risks of diabetes in children?

The frequency of diabetes is rising around the world, and studies are showing children are at increasing risk of developing the disease.

More than 180 million people worldwide have the illness, a number likely to more than double by 2030 without intervention, according to estimates released in 2004.

The reasons for the growing threat are not fully understood.

Over time, diabetes can damage the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves - causing chronic problems and early death.

Type 1 diabetes (sometimes called insulin-dependent or childhood-onset diabetes) occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar.

The cause is not known, but it is thought to be the result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Many countries are documenting higher numbers of newly

diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes, particularly in younger children.

Interestingly, some disease patterns among children resemble infectious disease epidemics. Currently, there is no known way to prevent type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes (sometimes called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes) happens when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Often preventable, it can result from excess body weight and physical inactivity, and sometimes, a genetic predisposition.

Recently, type 2 diabetes has increasingly been reported in children and adolescents, so much so that in some parts of the world, type 2 diabetes has become the main type of diabetes in children. The global rise of childhood obesity and physical inactivity is widely speculated to play a crucial role.

Healthy eating and lifestyle habits are a strong defence against the disease.

that comes on your mind; that may be dumping garbage on your spouse. No! Communication, simply entails, maintaining an attitude or openness, with nothing to hide.

To efficiently exhibit the aforesaid components of communication, you need to become born again. Being born again connotes confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. If you are ready for this new birth experience, please say this prayer of faith: Dear Lord, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I know I am born again!

Congratulations! Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 234-1-7747546-8; 07026385437, 07094254102.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Making Marriage Work and Building A Successful Family. perature usually dips by half a degree 24 hours before you ovulate; then it goes up as you ovulate,” says Pette Zarmakoupis, M.D., an obstetrics-gynecology and director of the Kentucky Center for Reproductive Medicine, in Lexington. But since basal body temperature can be thrown off by a number of things, such as illness, a woman should not rely on it alone.

Step up Sex before ovulation: As soon as a woman pick up a hormonal surge, she should have sex that day, plus the next two days. Pregnancy rates peak two days before ovulation, says Clarice Weinberg, Ph.D., chief of biostatistics at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Some experts speculate that is when cervical mucus is at its optimum for helping sperm travel to the egg and break down its shell-like coating.

Sperm can live inside the uterus for 24 to 48 hours, which means there will be plenty on hand to greet the egg once ovulation starts.

Another reason to have sex before a woman ovulate, as opposed to the day it happens: An egg survives for only 12 to 24 hours after ovulation, so if she begin to ovulate in the morning and wait until nighttime to have sex, the egg may lose its viability by the time the sperm gets to it. In addition, says Dr. Zarmakoupis, cervical mucus starts to become thick and impenetrable right after ovulation, rendering it “hostile” to the passage of sperm.

Enjoy yourself: “The most important thing to remember is to keep sex fun,” says Felicia Stewart, M.D., co-author of Understanding Your Body: Every Woman’s Guide to Gynecology and Health. When it becomes a chore, it is easy to view sex as just one more item on the to-do list.

Give it time: Barring fertility problems and other conditions or habits that can interfere with conception, half of all couples get pregnant within six months, says Dr. Stewart, and 85 percent do so within a year.

53 Coping with diseases

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Traditional medicine and conventional medicine: Matters arising (2) Dear Dr. Bola, Good Morning Ma. I am M. Abubakar, 24, a Pharmacist in Nigeria. I have come across cases of drug toxicity problems caused by use of herbs prescribed by TAM practitioners. So reading your article yesterday lightened me a bit albeit the practice is still rampant. I want to commend you.

But also, I want to point out that there have been drug discoveries as a result of literature reviews compiled from TAM. I think there should be a reasonable integration of ethnomedicine not necessarily TAM into orthodox medicine.

And also, I think the lapses of orthodox medicine had serve to bolster TAM. In my project work, which was later published in NJPS- Nigerian Journal of Pharm. Sciences, it was appalling to discover that of 3 brands of a popular antipyretic in our markets, none could score up to the required percent for active constituents.

With this only a case in a sequence of problems facing contemporary orthodox medicine, I feel it would be difficult torejuvenate or rather bring out only the benefits of TAM. It’s a complex problem, candidly to say too, here to stay. Anyway, I am happy to have read your column. Keep it up Ma. Dear Mustapha, I thank you for your generous contribution to this column. Some

S

TAPHYLOCOCCUS infection is a major cause of infertility in both male and female. Most women would have contracted this infection even before marriage usually as a toilet infection, but due to ignorance or nonchalant attitude the infection would have affected the reproductive organs. If you are a lady and in one time or another you have treated one infection or another especially a venereal disease, you have to make sure that you are totally cured. One mistake that most ladies make is that once they experience itching in their private part they go to chemists to buy drugs to stop the itching. Once the

people do believe in integrating traditional African medicine with conventional medicine in Nigeria. However, perhaps because of the disparities between the two, logistically, it has not been possible in the past 50 years of effort at it at federal government and at other levels. What generally pertains is that people choose between the two and that is why I made a comparison. Conventional medicine absorbs aspects of ethno medicine or indigenous medicine once they are scientifically proven and then they simply become conventional, less traditional.

Many medicines are derived from plants. Well known examples are methyl salicylate from wintergreen oil, quinine and quinidine from cinchona bark, digitalis from foxglove, physostigmine from Nigerian Calabar beans, and morphine from opium poppy plant. In the past fifty years or so, the practice was that scientists and pharmaceutical companies extracted the active chemicals from the plant parts and then formulated such chemicals as medicines that are used in conventional practice. In the last decade or two the interest in plant parts as natural medicines (rather than just in chemicals extracted from them) has surged and herbal medicine production is now big business. Conventional

with Prof. Dayo Oyekole

Male fertility

I medicine in many parts of the world now supports herbal medicine usage.

In many countries, herbal preparations are also sold for general health usage apart from clinical practice. For example, many Americans take chamomile tea as a relaxant, ginseng for adapting to stress, St John’s worth as an antidepressant,tea tree oil for athlete’s foot and fungal skin infection, cannabis forpain relief, Echinacea as an immunity stimulant, and garlic as an antibiotic. Aloe vera is a household name with multipurpose usage. Prescription herbal products and dietary supplements include preparations such as Garlique® which is used for a healthy cardiovascular system and for maintaining good blood cholesterol levels.Many Chinese herbal medicines are manufactured in the USA. You can see a list of such herbs for different ailments at Dr.Shen’s website http://www.drshen.com/ which claims useful herbs for many problems from acne, hair loss, and alcoholism to Alzheimer’s, asthma, arthritis, and breast cancer.

Herbal medicines are sold

over the counter or over the Internet and many do not require prescription and have made self-medication easier and more rampant than in the past. They are attractive because they are natural which psychologically translates into “safe”. The American Government health information site Medlineplus http:// www.nlm.nih.gov/ m e d l i n e p l u s / druginformation.html gives information on herbs. Unfortunately becauseherbs are now part of big business and consumer demands for them are high, there is a tendency for manufacturers of herbal preparations to blow up the properties of lucrative products and to exaggerate their usefulness.

Government and professional regulations are necessary. In Nigeria, we certainly can produce traditional medicinal plant products commercially and this is possibly a trend we would see soon.

Dr. ’Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910

Staphylococcus infection itching stops, they feel they are okay and free, not knowing that they have only cured the infection externally but internally the infection is still there.

The internal infection may not show any serious symptoms for some years, but it will gradually be affecting the internal reproductive organs. When such women now get married, they now find it difficult to conceive, running from one gynecologist to another. Such lady could have save herself and her husband from such trouble if only she had done the right thing at the

right time.

If you are a lady and you have any of the following symptoms you may need to come for medical checkup: • Itching in the private part •Vaginal discharge •Irregular menstruation •Swollen breasts •Painful intercourse •Painful menstruation •Back ache •Internal body heat •Stomach making funny noise •Moving sensation in your body.

Once you have some or all of the above symptoms then there is need for serious concern because it could lead to any of the following ailment, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. (P.I.D.), Fallopian tubal blockage, candida, ovarian cysts, all of which can cause infertility.

Infertility in men is usually due to history of venereal disease that was treated before, but not totally cured.

When a venereal disease is not well treated it paves way for staphylococcus to set in and such a man will always complain of the following: • Internal heat •Worm like movement within the body •Weak erection •Reduction in size of male organ •Inability to go more than a round (low libido) •Body weakness •Premature ejaculation Once you start to experience any of these symptoms then it could lead to the vic-

tim having a low sperm count (oligospermia), watery sperm, no sperm count (azoospermia) etc. Unlike female that it may just take some few hours or days to detect the infection, especially vaginal itching, in male it may take some months or years before the major symptoms begin to manifest.

That is why in most cases when a couple are married for some years without any issue, the man usually believes there is nothing wrong with him because he feels he is physically fit and erroneously lays the blame on the woman. Even the society is not also being fair to the women, whenever the issue of giving birth arise.

Once there is delay in a woman conceiving, we usually believe the fault is from her. This reminds me of a couple that came to our office for consultation on the issue of fertility, the man believed that there was nothing wrong with him since he is physically fit and performs his function as a husband to his wife.

He believes since he is sexually active, he does not think there is any problem from his side until a test was carried out and he knew his state. We thereafter administer our remedies and he got his desired result.

•Dr B. Filani is the Chief Consultant of Sound Health Centre, Lagos. You can contact him on 08023422010 or on facebook or email soundhealthcentre@yahoo.com.

NFERTILITY is a condition in which a man and woman try to have children but the woman does not become pregnant. Primarily, infertility affects 15 per cent to 20per cent of couples who wish to conceive. Approximately one-third of cases result from male factors, one-third from female factors, and one-third from combined factors. It is therefore crucial to evaluate both partners before deciding on any form of natural or artificial intervention.

Such evaluation is warranted if there is no pregnancy after 6 months of regular, unprotected intercourse. Hormonal profiles and detailed semen analysis are the cornerstones of laboratory investigations after the history and physical examination.

Investigations for causes in the male are safer and simpler; consequently, they are normally performed first to save cost and to save the woman a series of tests, if a cause can be found in the male. Unfortunately, most men do not submit themselves to fertility tests. Rather, they ascribe the shortcomings to their wife’s conditions only.

Men are sometimes unable to make their women pregnant because they have fewer sperm than is normal. This condition, scientifically called Oligospermia, is the presence of less than 20 million sperms per milliliter in the ejaculate; while Azoospermia is the total absence of sperm cells.

Causes of male infertility include testicular abnormalities, chronic infections such as Gonorrhoea, Chlamydia, Herpes, Staphylococcus, Trichomoniasis, Candidiasis, etc., as well as environmental factors (such as irradiation), nutritional imbalance, drugs, sexual habits, etc.

In trying to solve the problem of male infertility, it should be understood that spermatogenesis, that is, the process from sperm formation to maturation takes approximately 74 days. It is therefore necessary to go back to nature and observe events while exercising patience over a period of about three (3) months, before drawing conclusion on viability or efficacy of bio-medical intervention.

Thus, a repeat sperm analysis is only meaningful after three (3) months of intervention. It is also important to note that hormones and other medicines commonly given to men who cannot have babies almost never do any good; magic cures are not likely to help either.

Unfortunately, most men with problem of infertility would want it solved overnight; thereby patronizing phony, unscientific and self-acclaimed instant healers!

Be careful not to waste your money on things that will not help.

Education, with respect to the proper timing for intercourse in relation to the female’s ovulatory cycle as well as the avoidance of spermicidal lubricants is very important. In cases of toxic exposure or medication-related factors, the offending agent should be removed. Patients with active genitourinary tract infections should be treated appropriately.

Oligospermic and Azoospermic patients will benefit immensely from the holistic natural remedies scientifically formulated from herbal extracts of local plants such as Bombax buonopozense, Triumfetta cordifolia, Momordica charantia and Musa paradisiaca.

For further information and consultation on Holistic Lifecare research and services, especially on Blood Infections, Infertility, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Chronic Debilitating Conditions as well as mental and social problems, please call on: 0803-330-3897 or visit: Mosebolatan Holistic Lifecare Centre, Adeyalo Layout, OgbereTioya, Off Olorunsogo Express Bridge, Ibadan. Website: www.holisticlifecare.com. Distance is no barrier, we can send remedies by courier if need be. We also have facilities for accommodation, admission and hospitalization in a serene and homely environment.

INTERVIEW

54

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Fuel subsidy removal is in Nigerians’ interest —Amaechi

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Y September 5, you would have been 100 days in office ... How do you see your 100 days in office this time around, compared to the same period in your first term?

No, I am not into this 100 days thing. I am not. In fact, some contractors met me and said, “oh, we can deliver this in 100 days”. I said I don’t want 100 days. I don’t mind though, if you deliver in 100 days but I mind that quality job be done.

In fact, if you are still willing to stay, I can, on my way back from the village [Ubima, the governor’s village] take you to some of our projects for you to see, especially the ones that are due for completion. There is this road (in fact I will call the man now), which contractor said he would deliver in 100 days. I will call the man now to ask him if he is ready to deliver it by the end of the month because he should be asphalting by now. I think it is about three kilometres of road.

I don’t do 100 days because I am aware that your mandate is for four years. In 100 days you have not finished planning, you have not even finished feasibility studies, you have not finished the engineering design. You see, before they just asked people to build roads. But now, we sit down and ask, can we see the design? Before, they awarded roads without design. But if you did not have a design, how do you cost it? Now we cost it based on the design. You don’t get a feel of quality without engineering design. Besides, what about due process? In three

•Amaechi

months, you are not even through with due process. Three months is 90 days. All these explain why I don’t believe in the 100 days phenomenon.

In 2007, then President Olusegun Obasanjo said your election /selection had “k’ leg. We don’t know what kind of leg this one has.

No, this was straight from the beginning (laughter).

As Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), your forum asked the President to remove oil subsidy to enable your pay the new minimum wage.

No, no, no, we didn’t say that he should remove fuel subsidy so we could pay minimum wage. We said that – I don’t want to use the word, let me not use the word that I don’t want to use – What we said was that few individuals are benefitting from the country’s wealth, with billions spent on fuel importation; and we are not seeing the

‘

fuel: refineries are not in place and we are still importing fuel when we have crude oil.

So, if we remove the subsidy, then people will establish refineries and the subsidy can then be used for the establishment of refineries, the refineries will employ poeple and make fuel available.

And when there are so many refineries which have employed people, then there will be competition and the price will go down.

So, it is a matter of, okay, for the time being, we would suffer some discomfort. But on the long-term basis, the benefits would far outweigh the current sufferings.

But if they don’t want to remove it, they should include me as one of the contractors! (laughter) It is so inequitable. Go to Imo State, there are many places in Imo State where they are selling fuel at N150.

So, the subsidy is not there. These people, these fuel contractors, are just carting away our money and

doing nothing. We want transparency in NNPC [Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation].

Yesterday, (August 16) if you watched AIT, I was live on that station explaining government’s stand. We receieve so much this year, and we did some much with it. Last month, we received so much, and we did so much with it. That is the same thing we want NNPC to do; tell us how much it costs to produce one barrel of oil, and then why should the country that produces crude oil be importing fuel? You must add value to the product.

What is your view on the proposed single six-year term for the President and Governors?

I am the Chairman of the Governors Forum. I won’t help the Governors Forum to take a position.

But I think the President is the President of the country; he must have his reasons...and to be a President you must be a wise man. So,

What we said was that few individuals are benefitting from the country’s wealth, with billions spent on fuel importation; and we are not seeing the fuel: refineries are not in place and we are still importing fuel when we have crude oil. So, if we remove the subsidy, then people will establish refineries and the subsidy can then be used for the establishment of refineries, the refineries will employ poeple and make fuel available

‘

Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, governor of Rivers State, spoke with visiting TUNJI ADEGBOYEGA and OLAKUNLE ABIMBOLA, both members of The Nation Editorial Board, at Rivers State Government House, Port Harcourt, on the policy thrust of his administration, among other issues. Excerpts:

he is a wise man and he must have his positive reasons for the benefit of the country, to come out with that position. But I don’t know what the Governors Forum position will be. You have to tilt towards what the Governors Forum will do.

But sure you must have a personal opionion?

No, I don’t have a personal opinion on the matter.

Some people have said Nigeria must embrace fiscal federalism to develop. What is your take on this?

But I said so a long time ago – that true federalism is the solution to Nigeria’s problem. The centre is too strong. We need a weak centre.

What are your priorities as NGF chair?

Constitutional amendment. We need to amend the Constitution to accommodate a lot of things. Take, for instance: why should I hire workers and the Federal Government tells me what to pay? Why should the Federal Government approve for me who to appoint as a judge or as chief judge of my state? Why can’t I have a state judicial council or commission to do that? These are basic questions you need to ask and provide answers to. They are basically federal questions that must be addressed.

A recent UN Environmental Protection Agency report indicted Shell for doing so little about the oil spillage in Ogoniland and the people have given the Federal Government a 30-day ultimatum.

What does that amount to and

what does the state government intend to do?

We have not heard about it, we are not aware of the report ...

But we are aware of it.

Perhaps. But I did a lot of advocacy for them to really come this far to ameliorate the enviromental problems in Ogoniland and other areas. What we have done is to provide emergency water to both Ojemelu and Okrika; and we are doing rural water schemes in Ogoni for all the local governments. These are emergency measures .... and they will get water in the next three to four months.

In the church [St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Diobu, Port Harcourt], you made a reference to St. Andrew’s. Did that have anything to do with your model schools?

Yes, and the Anglican Church has been so supportive to the state government in the area of land, for our school programmes. That is why whenever they invite me, I oblige. We’ve taken more land from them than from any other churches. They have been supportive. Don’t forget that the law allows the govt to hold the land through the Land Use Act in trust for the people.

Rivers State won the UBE Best Performing State Award. How did you go about it? Was it the making of your government or it was due to the efforts of the past?

Which past? (laughter). We are demolishing all primary schoools, about 1,300 in all. We are replacing them with our new model primary schools. Some of the old primary schools had 130 pupils in a class and it was not palatable. So, we decided that we would knock them down and build new ones.

Before, they had no toilets, we now have toilets; no libraries before, now we have libraries, no computer centre, now you have a computer centre; no reception class, now we have reception classes.

Still on education, the state government is building a University of Science and Technology (an upgrade of the current RSUST) at a cost of N150 billion; and it will admit about 20,000 students. Even the first generation universities don’t have that capacity...

Actually, the projected student population is 40, 000. It was to be 60, 000, but the cost was just too high and it had to be scaled down. Yes, a N150 billion project, by any means, is huge. But to me, gigantic structures are not what make a university, although they add to the mix.

What makes a university is the attraction of world clases scholars and teachers; and sustaining that culture of academic excellence, in a Nigerian environment that has, for many years now, has been shattered. That is our dream and vision for the university – a university that is worldclass, both in terms of building and infrastructure, and in terms of teaching and learning.

What is the latest on the waterfront demolition case?

We’ll still demolish the place. It is uninhabitable. Criminals live there and I have asked the people: bring out the criminals if you don’t want us to demolish the place, because they can’t afford to live among us.

We know where they live and we will go after them. Once they see you in a car or a see a policeman, they dive into the water.

You once had a spat with the First Lady [Dame Patience Jonathan]on this issue.

Yes. So, who blinked first? It seemed the matter had died a natural death.

We have been discussing the situation with the First Lady, that there is no solution to that problem apart from demolition.

Your government seems to be borrowing so much; but it seems you are now tired of explaining the rationale, as could be deduced from the way you reacted at a public forum?

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

I explained it yesterday at the public forum, but unfortunately you were not around. I would have wanted you to be at that forum. It was unfortunate you were not. I explained it and everybody was delighted. In fact, I announced that I would borrow another N100billion.

Every month we get money from the Federal Government but it is not enough for what we want to do.

Now, we say we will borrow N200 billion and go to the capital market for N150billion bond. Now, we will pay back because the money from the FAAC [Federation Account Allocation Committee] we wont spend anymore; we would use to pay our debts. So.... give me this money, I will pay you at the end of the month, not that I will pay you 10 years after. So, what are we quarrelling about? It’s not a thing we should quarrel about; it’s me saying, listen, six months for construction, that’s all I have. I don’t have 12 months like Sokoto or Kano. Six months after, there will be heavy rainfall for six months. But if I have N100billion, our contractors can work quickly before the rains come. But here you give them (maybe) a N10billion contract and give them N6billion to start. They work up to May and they stop for the rains; or when they finish the money. They say they are looking for money and you say you don’t have money yet. Of course, with delays, which always come from no money when it is needed, you have to review the contract. So, eventually you pay more. Yet there are still many areas you have not touched.

There has been hoopla about your government’s decision on some state assets like Supabod and Rison Palm, Airport Hotel, etc.

What do you have to say?

We didn’t sell. We only leased out for 40 years. Let’s take the example of Supabod. There have been a lot of arguments for and against, but for more than 40 years, government did not bring it down and government did not invest in it. It’s been lying down there, but it didn’t create any employment opportunity. It was worsened by the fact that they now created a route that passes there

‘

Why should the Federal Government approve for me who to appoint as a judge or as chief judge of my state? Why can’t I have a state judicial council or commission to do that? These are basic questions you need to ask and provide answers to.

They are basically federal questions that must be addressed

,

out of Government House and they say they won’t allow anybody to pass through. And I come and said no, no, no, one man should not determine the fate of 5.6 million people. But there is an investor today, ready and willing to put N2billion investment. At the end of 40 years, however, business becomes that of the government.

Now, how is that a bad investment?

I am about to sign for another concessionary agreement for Rison Palm, which had been near fallow

since 1993. But as a result of the concession, I am told Rison Palm would be able to take between 2, 000 and 3, 000 people out of the unemployment market. I am also told that Supabod would take no less than 600 persons out of the unemployment market.

What am I doing? Creating employment with state assets. I wouldn’t have minded selling them, but because people are emotionally attached to them, we decided against outright sale. But when you hear or read about stories like these, that Amaechi is selling off all state assets, it is the opposition behind it and not any other person. What the media does is to amplify it. When the media started all this attack, I went back to do a radio programme.

But not one person called me to ask me any question about what the media carried on the assets. (laughs).

I said, on the radio programme, that I was there because some people claimed I was becoming unpopular.

So, I wanted to test my popularity.

Yesterday, I said the same thing on AIT live. I said the reason for calling you is that I hear I am becoming unpopular, so, let me test my popularity. But not a single person raised the issue that the media was feasting on. Not one person!

But there were issues that concern the people and which they promptly raised. They talked about security and I asked them, gentlemen, has security not improved in Rivers State? They said ‘yes’, and the people virtually roared. Before, I added, you couldn’t come out; before you couldn’t go to hotels; before you couldn’t eat out there; before you couldn’t drive or move around. But now there is an improvement. So, it is the basic things of life that people are interested in, not all the things that the opposition is talking about and the media is amplifying.

You promised free health. Is it on now?

It is done. (Laughs) and free tuition, free school uniforms, school sandals, and a free books scheme for children in primary schools across the state.

And how do you fund all these?

The worry is whether it can be sustainable when I leave office. I say, at least, I will keep on doing it until I leave office. Somebody even say that I am building hotels in the name of model secondary schools because we have in our boarding houses two students per room and each room has its bathroom and toilet.

Doesn’t the question of sustainability after you bother you?

Yes, it does. That is why we are addressing the issue of sustainability. Already our internally generated revenue is already up to around N5 billion a month, and it is still going up. We hope to structure our finances such that any future government would not find it too difficult to sustain the programmes.

IGR of N5 billion? Isn’t that rather modest, when compared to Lagos, and given the fact that Rivers has petroleum which Lagos does not have?

Yes, it may be modest. But don’t forget that many people that fled the state to other places during the militant crisis are just coming back with the improved security. We are careful not to burdent them with too much taxation. The whole thing therefore has to be gradual to build investor confidence.

You are sure the legacy would not die?

No, the legacy will not die. What the people are bothered about is not the schools, but the cost of free education; because they think that the cost of free education can be used to maintain the schools. So, I now said okay, you are right, but let the government pay the school fees and pay to the schools so that they can use it to maintain the schools. We send 300 students oversees every year.

How is the selection process done?

By examination.

Your Excellency, this is a very personal question. One could relate with Chibuike, one could relate with Amaechi, but Rotimi...

(Laughter) My parents were living in Lagos. My father, my mother were both living in Lagos. But they are both Ikwerre.

56 •Continued from page 18

or the other. You see them here today and tomorrow you see them at another place. And they parade their past credentials, saying I was this and that during Awolowo’s reign. But today, you see them with the negative, reactionary and impugned forces of society.

Are you talking about the conservative forces?

No, I don’t believe in the nomenclature of artificial divisions of the so-called progressives and conservatives. That is not my own idea; just people who mean well for society. I think welfarism is a better term than progressives.

Are you saying ‘progressives’ and ‘conservatives’ are not sufficiently definitive terms?

I think the terms are used very loosely. It should be either the welfarists or the capitalists. A welfarist is somebody who advocates a welfare state, systematic change and progress in society for the ultimate goal of the people. That is my view, and that was what Awolowo had in mind, which some people vacuously labelled progressives. A welfarist canvasses a situation in which the society is organised in such a way that nobody would lack and nobody would have an opportunity to swim in obscene opulence.

But don’t you think the structure of the country as it is today allows even an angel to want to tinker with the commonwealth? A structure which enables anyone who emerges at any level of power to play god, as there are virtually no impediments on his/her way?

As they say, to be like the Joneses, you join the Joneses. What do you do when you got to a position where you are structured to be corrupt; where every other person looks in one direction? To be a fish out of water? A fish rightly belongs to water. If everybody around you is inside water and you jump into a sandy environment, you become a fish out of water. Anyone who gets into positions here inevitably falls in line. Nigeria is structured to be corruption-compliant. The problem is fundamental.

How do we now rectify that fundamental problem?

I think it is going to take time. As I said, the first step is to restructure the country, because our norms are so different from one another. There is no way we can achieve the level of development, the level of cohesion, the level of discipline and a welfarist structure with all three major components opposed to one another in terms of norms, values, upbringing and world view. We are so different. The first step is to restructure the country. Let us first go back to a parliamentary system at the centre. Secondly, we should regionalise. I mean Nigeria should be a loose federation with very strong regions. Roles and powers between the centre and the federating regions should be clinically, clearly defined. So much money is available to the centre. Nigeria cannot progress like this.

As you said earlier, even if angels come to the centre as it is now, they must become sinners overnight because too much money is available to the centre. Look at how much money is returned to the treasury every December. At the federal level these days, no one goes on leave in December because they would in evil concert rush to award fake contracts instead of returning the money to the treasury. Why do you make money available to them in such quantum in the first place when they would return the bulk of it by November/December? They have learnt their lessons; they don’t return.

When you have restructured, then regions/states would return to the centre a percentage of what they have or have made over a certain

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

‘There’s nothing abnormal in Obasanjo ‘ quarrelling with Babangida’ Both he (IBB) and Obasanjo are entitled to fight. Why can’t they quarrel?

Are they not human beings? I don’t share the view that the two cannot or should not fight. Why can’t they fight?

Are they angels who cannot quarrel? Their quarrel cannot dislocate the society. They are ordinary human beings; they may only be obscenely wealthy

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period. So, the centre will be living at the mercy of the regions. The regions should feed the centre in a proper federation. The centre will take care of overall things like defence, foreign policy and currency.

That is all. Or what they now call territorial integrity of Nigeria, if there is one. Bakasi has shown there is nothing like that. It is all a ruse.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo lived a life we all recall with nostalgia these days. What role should the Awolowo family play in the renaissance that we all dream of?

I think it’s unfair to single out an entity called the Awolowo family, saying they behaved in one way or another. Awolowo family members are individuals with their own beliefs and traits. They should not be put in compartments coterminous with their father’s. They should not be put into compartments which seem to reflect possible wishes of their father alone. They should be allowed as human beings to live their own lives, venture into areas even not known or foreseen by their father.

You said the military institutionalised corruption...

They cannot deny that. Babangida looks serene, perceptive and incisive, but he knew what he introduced into the Nigerian polity. He can deliver a speech as if he wrote it. Look at the punches he is throwing. Although I must say both he and Obasanjo are entitled to fight.

Why can’t they quarrel? Are they not human beings? I don’t share the view that the two cannot or should not fight. Why can’t they fight? Are they angels who cannot quarrel?

Their quarrel cannot dislocate the society. They are ordinary human beings; they may only be obscenely wealthy.

We should return home. What changes have you noticed of late in Ado Ekiti?

First, I am happy about the creation of Ekiti State out of the former Ondo State. What you are seeing today is a fallout of that creation. If Ekiti is not a separate entity within Nigera, you won’t be seeing these

•Chief Fasuan

changes. I was telling some highly placed people a few days ago that Ado was a big village up till a few days ago when all these attachments on the main roads were being removed. So, within the next six months or one year, Ado will be so modernised.

To whom would you ascribe that?

I now discover the current administration of Governor Fayemi is not talking brash. They are talking what they are planning and what he is now doing. Can you imagine a civilian administration doing all these things, clearing this mess on our roads? People extending the frontage of their houses up to the last inch before the main roads. No setbacks again! This man is turning AdoEkiti into a city. In a year, you will see what will happen.

What do you see about the agitation for state creation by some other states nowadays, given your experience?

I don’t see any state being created by a civilian administration. I am talking from practical experience.

The only state that was created by a civilian administration was done to spite Awolowo, and that was the Mid-Western Region or state. That was 1963. It was done as a con-

spiracy of the regional government with the then Federal Government of Balewa. But that conspiracy turned out to be a good thing in the long run. Since that time, many states have been created by military fiat. No civilian administration can create a state.

Let me give an example of our own story. In that living room there, we started the struggle in 1991. I gathered a group of Ekiti people in Ondo State and we started talking about how to carve out a new environment for our own people. We share many things with our cousins in Ondo state, particularly Akoko and Akure. But sharing is not the same as being oneself. There were so many conflicting economic interests in governance that we felt only a new entity could serve. We struggled for six and a half years.

We enlisted the support of the obas.

The obas gave us the desired leadership because they are appreciated more than the commoners of this world. One million Fasuans cannot make one Ewi in terms of cultural and national acceptability. We knew our onions. We got the sympathy of the obas and they gave us support and led the way.

Simultaneously with our own, there were five other requests. There

were requests for Ijebu, coastal, Ibadan, Oduduwa and Okeogun states. But they were not as articulate and committed as we were. We did our job as if our whole life depended on it and we struggled for six and a half years and it came through. Six states were created in Nigeria; one from each geo-political zone. We got that of Western Region here. Today, there are requests for 36 more states. That is insane.

Which of these 36 states will you say is most valid?

I don’t really know the elements or force of their arguments, but the best they can do is to continue to talk in the national parliament, because how many states can the government create? If they use the criterion of one state one region, there would be fighting. In the West now, our own region, we are asking for Ibadan State. Ijebu people are very strong in their agitation for their own state. Okeogun people are repeating what they lost in 1996. In all of these, we have not talked about the northern and eastern blocks. So, we would perhaps settle for the present situation: talk-talk, shout-shout, dance-dance in the National Assembly and end up getting no more states, at least in the foreseeable future.

How can the National Assembly assist the Nigerian condition against the unyielding executive?

I think the National Assembly is one of the greatest problems Nigerians have. I’m happy you mentioned it. The National Assembly is unfortunately one of the greatest problems this country has today.

They can assist Nigerians in two ways; and these two ways are unassailable. They are stealing Nigeria’s wealth. Anybody who goes home in this country with N10 million a month is a thief; whatever definition you call it. And you have a collection of such people! I believe their earnings should reflect what obtains in the society.They should be more realistic and cut down on their earning excesses which they call allowances and which the revenue commission did not approve in the first instance but which they have awarded themselves.

It is even illegal to award yourself salaries and allowances outside the purview of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). Secondly, the pattern of enacting laws; look at how many years it took them to enact your so-called FOI Bill. See how many years it took them. Then look at the way they are fumbling with the power situation. They would set up a committee, the committee would make beautiful recommendations, identify problems, but with the intervention of certain individuals, they would bury that.

In essence, the real culprits would never be brought to book. Of course, they lack the constitutional right to bring anybody to book. But they can recommend. They never would do that. Just those two things: illegal award of pay for themselves and then reluctance to make laws that would promote this society and reduce corruption.

How do you see the drama going on in the judiciary?

Can you or any right thinking person imagine what is unfolding at the apex of the judiciary in the land?

Somebody is doing his job as he should and you want to sacrifice him? They don’t know that the whole country is behind him. Somebody is doing well and you want to punish him and remove him because of that? They are playing with fire.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 2011

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60 NEWS

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UPPORTERS of the former Kano State Gov ernor and presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the April election, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, yesterday defied the ban on rallies and political gatherings. They staged a rousing reception for him on his return from Umrah, the lesser Hajj.

Thousands of residents, believed to be supporters of the former governor, thronged the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano as early as 7am, though Shekarau was scheduled to arrive the state at 4pm from Saudi Arabia.

Police Commissioner Ibrahim Idris had suspended gatherings, rallies, or cam-

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Shekarau’s supporters defy police ban Kolade ADEYEMI, Kano

paigns, prior to the arrival of Shekarau, saying the suspension was because of the security situation in the country.

But the ANPP supporters were adamant, as they trooped out in their thousands to welcome the Sardauna Kano who arrived the airport at 4pm.

Before the former governor’s arrival, his supporters carried placards and posters, chanting: Sai Shekarau, Sai Sardauna Kano.

Security was beefed up at the airport and Shekarau’s

home was cordoned off by heavily armed security agents.

But they became helpless as the surging crowd defied the security arrangement and forced their way into the former governor’s compound at Mundu Bawa Quarters in Bompai area of Kano metropolis.

Despite the apprehension by security agents, the welcome ceremony for Shekarau was peaceful.

There was no record of violence at the time of filing this report.

Efforts by reporters to speak

with the former governor were abortive due to the uncontrollable crowd.

But one of his close associates and the former Commissioner for Land and Physical Planning, Ibrahim Ahmed Yakassai, told The Nation that Shekarau was pleased over the reception.

He said: “You have seen for yourself that we are very peaceful people. This is also to show that Sardauna Kano remains popular and loved by his people. These people you see here came to show their affection for a man that so

Jang to Plateau residents: We must end violence

P

LATEAU State Governor David Jang yesterday told the residents that the time has come to end the bloodshed that has recurred in the state for months.

The governor spoke at the Yakubu Gowon Airport, Jos when he returned from a medical check-up abroad.

He said: “I received security reports about the last crises in some parts of Jos and I instructed the security agencies to ensure they prevented the impending bloodshed before I travelled out.

“My trip was unavoidable because it had to do with my

T

Yusufu AMINU IDEGU, Shelong WATDIYEL and Esther MARK, Jos health. I had an appointment with my doctor. But I was confident that we had adequate security to prevent any threat of violence. I don’t know why the crises were allowed to happen. I’m yet to be briefed.”

He also said: “I don’t know why some people are interested in bloodshed on the Plateau. As you know, the issue of peace and security on the Plateau is being handled by myself and the Federal Government. Now that I’m back, I will

liaise with the Federal Government to see which strategy to adopt to bring lasting peace to the state.”

On the call for a state of emergency in the state, Jang said: “That is the target of the enemies of Plateau State. They have been making such calls.

But if they have the power, let them go ahead and declare it. I will advise them to start from the headquarters of Boko Haram.”

The governor expressed his administration’s concern over the crises and urged the residents to remain calm.

From the airport, the governor drove to the University of

Jos Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BUTH) to visit the victims of the violence.

Plateau State Police Commissioner Dipo Ayeni linked the protracted crises in the state, particularly in the Jos North Local Government Area, with some drug-addicted youths.

He urged everyone to solve the problem so that peace would return to the area and the state.

The police chief spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting he convened at the Police Officers’ Mess, Jos.

The salaries of officers on Grade Level 08 to 17, according to the agreement signed by the Head of Service, Elder Segun Akinwusi, and the Commissioner for Human Resources and Capacity Building, Ms. Mobolaji Akande, on behalf of the government, would further be upwardly reviewed as soon as the financial situation of the state government improves.

State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Saka Adesiyan; the Trade Union Congress Chairman (TUC), Oladele Adetunji; and the Joint Negotiation Council Chairman (JNC), Bayo Adejumo, and other labour leaders endorsed the agreement.

Oyetola said the implementation of the new minimum

wage took effect from August 1, 2011 for officers on level 08 to 17, while those on level 01 to 07 took effect from March 1.

The Chief of Staff, who assured that no worker would be punished for participating in the strike, called on all workers to resume at their various duty posts immediately.

Oyetola urged the workers to increase their productivity and justify the confidence of Governor Aregbesola in their ability to assist his administration to successfully implement its programmes.

Responding on behalf of the labour leaders, Bayo Adejumo announced the total suspension of the strike and directed the striking workers to resume work immediately.

Osun civil servants suspend strike

HE strike embarked upon by the Osun State workers was yesterday suspended as the state government agreed to pay N19, 012.95 as the minimum wage.

Labour leaders commended Governor Rauf Aregbesola for showing concern for workers.

The suspension of the action was announced by the Chairman, Joint Negotiation Council (JNC), Bayo Adejumo, who spoke on behalf of the labour leaders.

He said the decision to suspend the strike followed the agreement reached and signed by the labour leaders and the government.

Communicating the agreement to journalists after the resolution, the Chief of Staff, Office of the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, said both parties had agreed on the implementation of the signed new salary table based on the minimum wage of N19,012.95 for officers on level 01 to 07.

Moral questions •Continued from Back Page Yobo and Taiye Taiwo in the defence. There was no one to tell the new kids what to do.

Unfortunately, goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was serving a punishment; so, the defenders strayed like lost goats.

Siasia should drop Ambrose Efe, Chibuzor Okonkwo, Solomon Okoronkwo and Dele Adeleye. They excelled as youth internationals for Siasia.

But their current form seems woeful. The coach needs to comb Europe and the Nigeria league for youthful replacements.

Will Siasia have the courage to drop the quartet from the Eagles? We have better players in the Olympic Games squad. He could use the game against Guinea to introduce substitutes for Chibuzor, Ambrose Efe and Adeleye. I hope Danny Shittu would be fit to play against Guinea. He is better than Efe to pair Yobo in the central defence position.

It was a tactical blunder not using Ikechukwu Uche, Chinedu Ogbuke and Ahmed Musa from the beginning of the game, given the way they played as second half substitutes. No good coach goes to a soccer war with his best stars on the bench.

I didn’t see our midfielders take charge, until Ogbuke was introduced, but he needs to open his eyes to pass the ball to a freer mate than to balloon

it into the sky. The coach must groom replacements for Taiwo and Yobo in the defence, although I know that Dele Aiyenugba can compete for the goalkeeper’s shirt, if given more matches to perfect his act.

touched their lives for eight years he steered the ship of Kano State. We are very happy

and we commend security agencies for their efforts to ensure peace and order.”

THE NATION SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

61

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 9-08-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES Company Name CAPITAL OIL PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 10,000 5,000.00 10,000 5,000.00

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Company Name PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 7 7

Quotation(N) 7.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 39,500 282,122.00 39,500 282,122.00

AIR SERVICES Company Name AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 59 62

Quotation(N) 1.95 6.21

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 22,364 43,555.80 344,343 2,162,553.83 366,707 2,206,109.63

Quotation(N) 1.30

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 17,648 23,433.40 17,648 23,433.40

Quotation(N) 5.40 4.01 2.75 4.81 1.99 10.65 0.50 13.05 9.50 0.70 1.15 5.51 1.48 4.00 2.09 0.50 0.71 12.60

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 11,176,194 60,577,418.84 10,341,668 41,279,132.23 330,716 899,674.86 384,640 1,778,039.04 4,660,340 9,205,141.83 8,704,297 92,305,868.81 53,900 26,950.00 17,069,382 221,549,535.68 2,691,012 24,841,579.10 1,279,605 895,723.50 6,500 7,475.00 234,708 1,270,597.99 2,012,502 2,908,986.63 9,071,117 36,069,968.01 186,839 390,493.51 5,953,343 2,979,538.31 2,432,150 1,749,172.19 9,219,462 117,426,044.80 85,808,375 616,161,340.33

Quotation(N) 228.00 6.06 81.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 287,385 62,267,162.92 50,000 296,455.00 646,639 52,266,114.60 984,024 114,829,732.52

Quotation(N) 19.18 7.36 100.00 42.55

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 504,093 9,599,977.58 72,674 527,668.40 936,169 94,075,337.92 27,478 1,179,936.65 1,540,414 105,382,920.55

Quotation(N) 9.41 25.50 1.14 0.97

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 162,100 1,519,629.33 31,798 807,339.00 1,000 1,100.00 1,000,000 970,000.00 1,194,898 3,298,068.33

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Company Name R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 12 12 BANKING

Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC FINBANK PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC. OCEANIC BANK INTERNATIONAL PLC SKYE BANK PLC. STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 160 89 23 41 62 507 3 538 35 14 1 38 36 202 19 60 34 277 2,139 BREWERIES

Company Name GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 62 4 87 153 BUILDING MATERIALS

Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 58 10 30 10 108

GTBank assures shareholders of positive return T

HE Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank, Segun Agbaje, has assured shareholders of continuous return on their investments. Agbaje, said the bank is committed to improving the quality of its service offerings, growing market share and add value to all stakeholders in the years to come.

The GTBank boss, made the comments on the recent N0.25 dividend recommended by the board of directors of the bank, which he observed showed impressive growth across all indices.

He attributed the bank’s successful outing during the half year perio, to the dedication of the employees, a clearly defined operating strategy and adherence to the institution’s founding principles of service delivery, innovation, professionalism and integrity.

The bank’s audited financials for the 2011 half year period, showed a 50.8 per cent growth in Profit after tax from N18.2 billion to N27.5billion, while Shareholders’ funds stood at N220.7 billion as at June 30th, 2011.

Agbaje, further said shareholders who had submitted mandates for e-dividend payment, would have their dividends credited to their accounts immediately, while

•Pays N7.2 billion interim dividend

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

physical dividend warrants would be mailed to outstanding shareholders. He said the bank’s desire to continually reposition its service offerings and make banking easier for its customers, were the reasons for the recent innovations like the GTBank exclusive in-branch banking service, called ‘fasttrack.’

This service, , is a fast, secure and innovative inbranch banking solution that allows GTBank customers perform all cash based banking transactions with only their debit cards and PIN-PADS, a new, secure technology available in all GTBank branches. The service has been described as convenient, secure and efficient. The Bank has also commenced a strategic deployment of e-branches pan Nigeria.

Meanwhile, on the trading floor of the NSE yesterday, the twin market indictors continued their downward slide with another significant drop of 1.16 per cent each. Market capitalisation reduced by N79 billion to close at N6.725 trillion while

CHEMICAL & PAINTS Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC DN MEYER PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 7 18 1 1 27

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Company Name RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 17 17

Quotation(N) 2.40

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 510,760 1,226,349.00 510,760 1,226,349.00

Quotation(N) 1.99 28.76 0.82 39.01 27.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 6,920 13,148.00 161,740 4,837,639.30 3,827,225 3,102,950.78 155,658 6,072,851.47 157,963 4,258,110.70 4,309,506 18,284,700.25

Quotation(N) 55.00 3.64

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 77,893 4,308,069.50 10,000 38,200.00 87,893 4,346,269.50

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 9-08-11 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. STACO INSURANCE PLC UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Sector Totals

4 3 2 18 122

No of Deals 2 40 65 43 41 191 CONSTRUCTION

Company Name JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC ROADS NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 12 2 14

Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 5 5

No of Deals 2 36 73 39 121 8 33 29 3 3 347

Quotation(N) 45.00 17.00 7.22 9.50 79.80 3.86 4.00 401.00 22.61 0.51

No of Deals 7 13 10 2 10 5 47

Quotation(N) 0.94 1.56 26.00 3.80 1.21 3.87

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 16,000 15,040.00 293,840 456,761.16 71,603 1,871,863.70 3,100 11,191.00 60,500 69,575.00 13,625 50,140.00 458,668 2,474,570.86

HOTEL & TOURISM Company Name CAPITAL HOTEL PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 3

Quotation(N) 7.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 30,400 227,852.00 30,400 227,852.00

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Company Name B. O. C. GASES NIGERIA PLC VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC VONO PRODUCTS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 9 1 11

Quotation(N) 7.10 6.00 2.88

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 500 3,375.00 44,795 263,587.45 15,000 43,200.00 60,295 310,162.45

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Company Name CHAMS PLC STARCOMMS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 9 11

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 304,000 152,000.00 5,000,000 2,500,000.00 5,304,000 2,652,000.00

Quotation(N) 0.67 1.03 0.50 2.52 0.50 1.02 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 886,375 592,108.79 190,000 195,700.00 500,000 250,000.00 149,090 375,483.50 8,101,000 4,050,510.00 1,405,448 1,421,927.46 100,000 50,000.00 28,000 14,000.00 10,265 5,132.50 5,800,242 2,900,121.00 1,000 500.00 37,000 18,500.00

INSURANCE Company Name No of Deals AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 30 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 4 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE CO. PLC. 6 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSURANCE PLC 7 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 4 GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 31 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 1 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 1 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2 N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. 7 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 1 OASIS INSURANCE PLC 1

3,750.00 16,757.50 44,284.50 450,000.00 10,388,775.25

Quotation(N) 0.94

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 136,388 127,404.72 136,388 127,404.72

No of Deals 40 40

Quotation(N) 0.92

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 811,761 740,664.12 811,761 740,664.12

Company Name AFROMEDIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 0.51

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 47,500 24,225.00 47,500 24,225.00

MEDIA

MORTGAGE COMPANIES Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 639 30,192.75 495,668 8,424,182.35 550,271 3,976,781.02 485,198 4,609,130.40 1,834,494 143,308,269.27 95,500 368,630.00 519,104 2,106,353.97 23,618 9,451,727.73 7,742 166,298.16 11,050 5,525.00 4,023,284 172,447,090.65

HEALTHCARE Company Name EVANS MEDICALPLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC Sector Totals

2,500 33,515 88,569 900,000 18,233,004

MARITIME Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES 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 NORTHERN NIGERIA FLOUR MILLS PLC UTC NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

1.57 0.50 0.50 0.50

LEASING

CONGLOMERATES Company Name A. G. LEVENTIS (NIGERIA) PLC PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC UAC OF NIGERIA PLC UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

the All-Share-Index dropped 247.92 points to close at 21,104.10 points.

Investors traded a total of 85.808 million shares worth N616.161 million in 2,139 deals while the Insurance which came second traded 18.233 million shares worth N10.389 million in 122 deals.

Others with significant volume were Information & Communication Technology, Conglomerates and Food Beverages and Tobacco with 5.304 million shares, 4.310 million shares and 4.023 million shares.

On the price movement tables, 31 equities recorded price drop with twelve stocks appreciating while the remaining 19 reduced in value. Academy Press led the gainers table with an increase of N0.15 followed by Transcorp, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank and Flourmill with price gain of N0.03, N0.34, N0.04 and N2.05.

On the losers table, Ecobank Transnational led with a drop of N0.64, followed by Dangote Flour with a drop of N0.38. Others on the table were Honeywell Flour, Paint Company and Universal Press Limited with price drop of N0.20, N0.05 and N0.18.

Company Name RESORT SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,000 500.00 1,000 500.00

Quotation(N) 1.86

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 805,767 1,511,395.56 805,767 1,511,395.56

PACKAGING Company Name NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 43 43

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 Deals 11 26 33 6 18 100 19 213

Quotation(N) 63.86 34.36 5.29 14.20 148.00 29.00 203.32

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 37,648 2,395,763.64 58,421 1,950,807.60 197,021 993,956.85 4,792 64,644.08 34,289 4,899,454.62 842,321 24,481,070.09 16,252 3,139,396.72 1,190,744 37,925,093.60

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Company Name ACADEMY PRESS PLC. UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 24 9 33

Quotation(N) 3.32 3.60

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 545,867 1,799,398.44 109,380 399,727.98 655,247 2,199,126.42

Quotation(N) 17.55

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 7,000 117,620.00 7,000 117,620.00

REAL ESTATE Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 9 9

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST Company Name SKYE SHELTER FUND Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 100.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,500 150,000.00 1,500 150,000.00

ROAD TRANSPORTATION Company Name ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 2

Quotation(N) 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 465 232.50 465 232.50

Quotation(N) 0.60

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 730 438.00 730 438.00

TEXTILES Company Name UNITED NIGERIAN TEXTILES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Company Name ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Sector Totals Overall Totals

No of Deals 47 47

Quotation(N) 12.16

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,686,530 20,658,012.80 1,686,530 20,658,012.80

3,668

128,324,008

1,118,001,209.44

62 COMMENTARY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 2011

Boko Haram: Before we crucify Azazi, others

I

AM not a security expert. I have never pretended to be one and will never pre tend to be one. I am a journalist first and last. That much would be clear to those who are familiar with this column.

I have never trained as a boy scout, much less as a soldier or a policeman. The closest to military training I had was the six weeks I spent at the orientation camp of the National Youth Service Corps, preparatory to my primary assignment as a youth corps member. The six weeks had looked like eternity because of the stress that went with all manner of physical exercise and parade our military guides made us to undergo. After the experience, I needed no one to tell me that I would have no chance in the army or the police force.

Neither would I have a chance in any of the paramilitary professions, particularly those that have to do with investigating crimes. Even on the home front, my efforts at getting to the roots of some infantile mischief my children engage in from time to time have ended up in monumental failure. Sometimes, If Camara Laye had not written his Radiance of the King before they were born, I would have screamed that Noaga and Nagoa, two rascally characters in the novel were fashioned after my last two children. For two weeks now, I have laboured in vain to unveil which of them spoilt a rechargeable lamp I had bought to serve as an alternative source of light in the face of frequent power failure. Both of them insist they are innocent. I know it is one of them, but I have no way of knowing the particular culprit.

Against this background, one cannot but

appreciate the enormity of the job involved in maintaining national security, particularly in a populous country like Nigeria ‘where all the factors that promote crime are available in profuse abundance. Frustration is a permanent companion for most Nigerians. The huge population of welders, barbers and other artisans who should form the base of our economy cannot function because of persistent power failure.

Our roads are in decrepit states. Workers are poorly paid. Agriculture is grounded and majority of the populace live at the mercy of hunger and starvation.

This unseemly state of affairs has given rise to a huge population of dissidents who have resorted to various criminal activities because they can no longer endure the pains of the extremely harsh conditions of living that prevail in the country. The matter is compounded by the minority who divert state funds into their private pockets and complacently flaunt their ill-gotten wealth at the face of the frustrated majority.

This, as many would now realise, was the genesis of the rise of militant groups like the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the Ijaw Boys and the Egbesu Boys, among others.

The latest in the series of aggrieved groups is the Boko Haram which, unfortunately, has graduated the expression of discontent from militancy to terrorism. In the past one year, our security agencies have grappled with the group that declared western education a sin probably because all that the educated elite who have occupied positions of authority in the country appear capable of doing is to divert funds meant for public good into their private pockets.

Unfortunately for the country, the group emerged at a time Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda group was on a desperate mission to internationalise terrorism. They found a willing ally in Boko Haram and decided to fund and train their members in the art of suicide bombing.

It follows, therefore, that suicide bomb-

‘

The ugly trend is here with us, and it will amount to sheer self-delusion if we think we can terminate it with any convulsive approach. Exactly why I chuckle when some people suggest the removal of the present set of security chiefs

’

ing is a brand new challenge our security agencies had not anticipated, much less prepared for. For many years, we took it as an exclusive preserve of agitators in the Middle East where it had been a regular occurrence for decades. We saw no need to engage our security agents in anti-terrorism training because we believed that terrorism would never be our lot. But like the National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Azazi, hinted during his meeting with the Council of State on Tuesday, the ugly trend is here with us, and it will amount to sheer self-delusion if we think we can terminate it with any convulsive approach.

Exactly why I chuckle when some people suggest the removal of the present set of security chiefs appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan last year after the ignominious roles the former service chiefs played in the nocturnal return of the late former President, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, from his hospital bed in Saudi Arabia to the presidential villa in Abuja. I take it for granted that the President must have employed the current set of service chiefs and security adviser because he believed in their ability to deliver. That much they seemed to have demonstrated in the manner they

handled the last general election. Besides, we cannot delude ourselves with the thought that in the event that Azazi and other security chiefs are removed, their replacements will come from the moon. They will have to be another set of Nigerians devoid of the experience the present squad have already gathered in the fight against terror.

Terrorism is a trend against which we must begin to initiate measured and deliberate policies involving not just the security agencies but the entire populace. For instance, the people who perpetrate the killings are not spirits. They live among law abiding Nigerians who are in the know of their nefarious activities, but would not raise the alarm out of sheer apathy or for sentimental reasons. That is why I believe that many government institutions given billions of naira every year are doing far too little to merit their continuous existence.

What, for instance, has the National Orientation Agency done to sensitise Nigerians in this regard since the Boko Haram problem assumed a calamitous dimension?

I am yet to hear a single jingle appealing to well-meaning Nigerians to expose suspected members of terrorist groups. Why would our National Assembly go on recess at a time the nation was literally on fire?

With the bombing of the United Nations’ building in Abuja, the National Assembly of a serious nation would have cut short their recess, reconvened and even instituted a public hearing.

The arrest early in the week of an Igbo man suspected to be a member of Boko Haram is enough to tell us that the problem is much more complex and more widespread than the north eastern part of the country where our minds had confined the issue. The development could well be a subtle confirmation of the claims made by some security experts that more than 26 different dissident groups scattered around the country might have found a cover in Boko Haram to vent their anger on the land.

National security is our collective responsibility. We can only leave it entirely to the security agencies at our own peril.

When Azazi pokes a finger in truth’s eye Knucklehead

W

HEN gold rusts, what will iron do? In this uncer tain times when Wikileaks has opened an insight ful window into the indiscretions of our so-called ‘leaders’, the nation’s spy chief, General Andrew Owoye Azazi, deserves a laurel in official prevarication for summoning the courage to tell us what some of us have suspected for a long time. He magnanimously told us that the security agencies were simply unprepared for the spate of bombings and violence ravaging the land. At least, it should be comforting that someone that is highly tucked inside the seat of power has unveiled this hidden truth. Though Azazi recanted later, he was merely toeing the line of his superior officers in the Army and former heads of state, Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida who found a scapegoat in the Nigerian media after fooling around over some national issues. So, we should be able to accept the latest media bashing in good faith.

By the revelation and with Azazi’s admission that “the security challenges are here to stay and we don’t think they will go away overnight”; would it be right to assume that those saddled with the responsibility of tracking down the debased minds behind the bombings, killings and maiming are prepared to face the ‘new challenges’ that global terrorism poses for Nigeria? That, I guess, is too early to say.

However, it is not too difficult to understand the spirited effort being put in by the security agencies to dab their obvious blotches with a scent of seriousness. No one would have expected them to sit by and watch as a critical and frustrated public continues giving them the knocks. Therefore, it did not come as a surprise to many that the State Security Service bounced back into reckoning when it announced the arrest of six suspects and the discovery of a bomb factory in Suleja, a crowded town in Niger State which shares border with the Federal Capital Territory. It was also the day the Nigerian Immigration Service picked to tell a tired populace how well it has been working assiduously to stop the influx of illegal and dangerous immigrants handed over to them by the Brigade of Guards. How marvellous! Had they been up and doing in the discharge of their responsibilities, Nigeria would not be brimming with illegal migrants, now posing serious danger to our collective peace.

Azazi’s straight-faced confession could not have come at a better time. Aside the raging anger over the security lapse which enabled a suicide bomber to wreak tears, blood and sorrow at the United Nations House in Abuja, Jos, the Plateau State capital, has been turned into a canvas of blood

as the harbingers of death continue to claw families down in the dead of the night. In the last two weeks, over 29 people have lost their lives. According to reports, over 1000 lives and property worth billions of naira had been wasted in the 10year-old sickening madness. That is aside the killings in some parts of the country including kidnappings and fatal armed robbery attacks being carried out daily with brazen brutality.

Add that to the prevalence of millions of unemployed ablebodied youths, endless social calamities, catastrophic political leadership and natural disasters; then, you will understand why Nigeria is crammed with disenchanted people who would rather chuckle at statements credited to government officials. After many years of deceit, can anyone blame them?

Nevertheless, there is something in Azazi’s statement that gives a flicker of hope. Surely, it is not in his hand-wringing blurting about an ill-equipped security apparatus that continues to bungle one operation after the other. Instead, that glimmer of hope can be gleaned from his admission that the National Council of State, under the leadership of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has agreed on the use of technology to track down criminals and improve on the security of lives and property.

His words: “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 infrastructures. The more the public is aware of their responsibilities, the better they could serve the security services.

“We agree on the use of technology and you don’t acquire those things overnight. Issues like registration of SIM cards are properly effected; we talked about border control; how to help the Immigration to make sure that there is proper border control and we talked of security in maritime environment. We spoke about the Jos crisis and the President has said that at the next Security Council, I should bring him all the facts so that we can make a decision on what to do.”

He may not have planned for it, but Azazi has succeeded in unravelling the truth about the epileptic convulsions in governance. For long, we begged the government to embrace a national identity scheme with the biometrics of every Nigerian in a database. By the time government hugged the scheme, it came up with a shambolic arrangement where billions of naira was creamed off the contracts. Today, some of those involved in that scam are walking the streets as free men while the scheme has gone the ways of many others. It has been abandoned. As it is, we have to start all over again hoping that the present government would not re-package the contract to its lackeys! That is our fear and it is a bleeding

With

Yomi Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913

truth about a government that is run at the whim of one man.

It is interesting that, after countless vandalisation of oil installations and the October 1, 2010 bombing, this ‘proactive’ government has suddenly realised the need to begin ‘talks’ on protecting the nation’s critical national infrastructures and sensitise the public on their responsibilities to the insensate security agencies. So, they now know that SIM card registration could help the security agencies in curbing and detecting crime if ‘properly effected.’ In a sudden rush of ideas, the eggheads in sensitive positions now know that the Immigration Service, which is as old as the nation, is more interested in some other duties than stopping illegal migrants from having a free ride into the country! They now know that something urgent must be done about our maritime environment beyond the lip service being paid to it in the past. What cheek!

What were some these folks doing in office all these while?

Merely sharing contracts while claiming to be doing ‘governance’?

In all this, Azazi’s disclosure on the Jos crisis is not only confounding but also beggars belief. At a time the state is in dire need of swift and decisive presidential intervention, Azazi revealed that the matter would be dealt with at the next Security Council meeting where all “the facts” on the crisis would be tabled before the President before “a decision on what to do” can be made! Now, what do you make of this? Does this speak of any sense of urgency and a desire to put a stop to the senseless killings in Plateau State? Does this give you inkling into why the agents of anguish and sorrow arrogantly walk the streets as free citizens? Do you feel echoes of hope or that of hopelessness in the latest canticles coming from the corridors of power?

Question is: if the file on the carnage in Jos has taken eternity to reach the President’s table for immediate action, why should we stop being cynical about government and the much vaunted preparedness to do things differently as we prepare for more pounding by terrorists?

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 2011

63

Tomorrow in THE NATION PUNCHLINE

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.5, NO. 1871

The Nigeria movie industry has unwittingly fallen into one of the dangers of media consumption. They think they reflect the thoughts and perceptions of their audience —Oyinka Medubi

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USTICE Dahiru Musdapher has since assumed office as the 14th Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) pending his formal confirmation by the Senate. If confirmed he will, God willing, retire from that office on July 14th, 2012, when he clocks 70. He has approximately eight months or 240 days to make or mar history during his tenure. One of the best beloved and most impactful leaders Nigeria has ever had was the late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed. The tempestuous soldier-reformer was cut down by the assassin's bullets just after 200 days in office. Yet, within that short period, he overcame the moral baggage of his past and offered Nigeria a most purposeful, dynamic and visionary leadership. What will Justice Musdapher make of the next 240 days (approximately 5,760 hours) that he will sit at the apex of Nigeria's embattled judiciary? Will we be celebrating him as a hero at the end of his tenure or will we be saying good riddance to bad rubbish as has been the case with his immediate predecessor, Justice Aloysius Katsina Alu, of unlamented memory?

"The down turn in the society has not left the judiciary alone, no doubt about it", the CJN declared after taking his oath of office.

Raising hopes of positive change, Justice Musdapher said, "God willing, we will do everything to ensure that things are better in the judiciary. We will face the challenge squarely and make sure that it becomes one of the best in the world. Delay in dispensation of cases will be reduced to the barest minimum. We'll make sure that we look at the procedural rules and all the laws governing the procedures". Despite the scepticism these words of hope may spur in some quarters, Justice Musdapher certainly has the pedigree and experience to live up to his promises if he can summon the requisite will and courage.

A product of the prestigious University of London School of African Studies, Justice Musdapher was called to the English Bar in 1967 and the Nigerian Bar in 1968.

After a stint in private practice, he served as Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Kaduna State from 1966 to 1979; Chief Judge of Kano State from 1979 to 1985 and a Justice of the Court of Appeal from 1985 till his elevation to the Supreme Court in 2003. But given this wide experience and accumulated knowledge, why didn't Justice Musdapher distance himself from the prevalent judicial putrescence that characterized the Katsina-Alu prurient era? Why did he allow himself to be projected as Katsina Alu's right hand man in the latter's

Justice Musdapher: 240 days of history?

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If the new CJN does not move to halt these blatant and sinister manipulations, his 240 days in office would be a sheer waste, moving us nearer to the final blackout

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• Musdapher

obsession with removing Justice Ayo Salami as President of the Court of Appeal at all costs for no just cause? How did the new CJN become enmeshed in the Sokoto Gubernatorial Election Petition debacle that remains an open wound on the judiciary's deadened conscience still awaiting the healing balm of truth?

It is not impossible that Justice Musdapher shares Katsina Alu's all too evident conservative ideological judicial orientation that places premium on the preservation of the status quo and values stability above justice. There is absolutely nothing wrong in this. All judges have their value frame of reference. What was morally indefensible was Katsina-Alu's alleged attempt to force Justice Salami, an activist jurist who will declare justice even if the heav-

ens fall, to toe his own pro-establishment line in the Sokoto case. Again, in playing along with Katsina Alu as Deputy Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Musdapher may have been sensitive to the politics of a judicial structure in which the CJN is the be all and end all. He may have thus resolved to toe a safe, loyalist line that would not jeopardize his own chance of succeeding Katsina Alu as CJN in the all too treacherous terrain of Nigeria's bureaucratic politics. Now that he is safely ensconced in the cockpit of Nigeria's judicial craft as the number one officer in the temple of justice, Justice Musdapher can be his own man, initiate fundamental reforms and bequeath a re-invigourated judicial system to a grateful country as he leaves office in a blaze of glory in the next 240 days.

The choice is his.

One step it has become imperative for the new CJN to take, for example, is to reduce the expansive powers of the apex office, enhance greater checks and balances within the judiciary and stregthen good corporate

governance for efficient administration of justice. Another moral burden that the judiciary must deal with is the purported suspension of Justice Ayo Salami as President of the Court of Appeal (PCA) and the ongoing judicial process to redress the percieved injustice. Justice Musdapher himself seems to have realized more than ever before, that largely as a result of its handling of the Salami matter, the reputation and credibility of the NJC lie in shreds all around him.

So embarrassing has the matter become that Justice Musdapher had to bar all agencies of the judiciary from commenting directly or indirectly on matters before courts without clearance from his office.

The CJN's gag order was informed by an attempt by the NJC Director of Administration, Mr. Eugene Odukwu, to respond to the avalanche of criticisms against the council's recommendation on Salami and the indecent haste with which President Goodluck Jonathan appointed an Acting PCA to a non-vacant position. Clearly on the defensive, Odukwu alleged that the public is being misled on the issue "through misinformation, misconception, misrepresentation and distortion of facts". Yet, the overzealous official did not help matters when he said that Justice Salami was sanctioned for misconduct and not for any criminal offense! If he was not found guilty of the criminal offense of perjury as earlier alleged, on what basis then was Salami asked to apologize to the former CJN and the NJC? The sad reality is that the NJC image and reputation have been near fatally damaged in the public perception. NJC members' who tried to evade service of court processes; who made a punitive pronouncement on a matter pending in court; who brazenly lied about which of the former CJN or suspended PCA lied on oath; who took statutory decisions without allegedly forming a quorum? Matters have not been helped by a President Jonathan who remains pathetically clueless in containing incessant bomb attacks but very swiftly sanctioned the detonation of an explosive device of brazen illegality capable of devastating the very foundations of our justice system. And right before our very eyes, we are all watching a veritable judicial coup in slow motion as an illegitimate Acting PCA, for no just cause, reconstitutes the panel sitting on the CPC appeal against the President's election clearly with the intention of achieving a predetermined objective. If the new CJN does not move to halt these blatant and sinister manipulations, his 240 days in office would be a sheer waste, moving us nearer to the final blackout.

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday

Moral questions

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HERE is trouble in the soccer family.

The story in town is that some referees were seen inside the car belonging to of one of the opponents of a Nigeria league game, a day before it held in Bauchi.

Is that what the rules provide for? Whose duty is it to cater for the referees’ transportation? Is it right for referees to be seen with either of the teams, especially the away side?

These are some of the moral questions that should agitate the minds of Nigeria Premier League chieftains in taking a decision on this matter.

NPL chiefs used to challenge accusers in such scandals to produce enough evidence to nail the accused. We have seen games in the Nigeria Premier League produce scandalous results as 9-0 and 13-0 to aid teams to gain promotion or to avoid relegation.

Even when such teams had not scored five unreplied goals in the 37 matches before the 38th, NPL chiefs ruled a no-case submission when the matters were table at their meetings. They always wanted concrete evidence.

Gentlemen, here is one; the scenario on Jos

road.

One of those fingered in the movement of “stranded” match officials meant to handle their next game said he saw “his friend” by the roadside and offered to give him a lift.

What is puzzling about his story is the fact that he also carried other passengers, whose identities he couldn’t verify. They were cotravelers with his friend, he said. When the referees showed him their travelling tickets, like he claimed, didn’t he ask them what they were going to do. Nor did he ask who they were?

Equally laughable is his submission that he didn’t know that they were referees until they were accosted by soldiers at a checkpoint.

From the photographs in the press, one of the passengers sat in the front seat with this club official. Is he saying that he kept his friend at the back seat whilst a stranger sat in front? I imagine that the first passenger offered the lift was his friend. And if he was alone, that friend would have gladly sat in front, knowing that it was vacant.

The question for the referees is: what did they do when they saw the driver of a car wearing the away jersey of one of the teams whose game they were scheduled to handle the next day? Did the referees not know that

it was inappropriate for them to be seen with anyone associated with an away team, a day before any league game? If they had any incident, shouldn’t they have alerted the host Football Association (in this case Bauchi) officials or those of the home team to inform them of their predicament as provided for in the rules book?

If they were not spotted by the vigilant home officials, would they have had the courage to handle the game and take decisions against the away side that helped them out of a travelling quagmire, if they infringed on the rules of the game?

Did it not occur to them that they were in the wrong vehicle, considering the ethics of their profession as FIFA badge referees, a rule which forbids unholy alliances with team officials?

If truly the referees were stranded, was it not the duty of the transporter to make an alternative arrangement for them to get to Bauchi? How come it was when they were stranded that the Ondo State numbered vehicle was passing? Was that scenario not sufficient to arouse their curiosity?

One cannot understand why one of those caught is ranting that he took the pictures under duress. If indeed he did under duress, why did he wait until the media splashed

the pictures for him to complain?

What stands out clearly is that the match referees were found in the vehicle belonging to the away side. The home official who caught them did the right by insisting on having them replaced. One is, however, shocked that the away official who was caught with the referees was rationalising that they didn’t handle the game after all.

The Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF’s) disciplinary committee would deal with this matter with dispatch to send a clear message to all: enough of dirty deals. The domestic game stinks. This is the deodorant that NFF needs to clear the mess. We cannot wait.

Lessons from Messi Lionel Messi is definitely the soccer world’s best. He underscored that when he ran Super Eagles’ defence line ragged before smashing a shot that rebounded off Efe Ambrose for Argentina’s second goal in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Tuesday.

Messi’s mercurial outing exposed some of the flaws of the team and I hope that Samson Siasia took down notes. Siaisa must today scout for a strong man-marker to intelligently police witty players such as Messi. If we had one- perhaps a Sani Kaita, the Eagles could have fared better.

Again, the team felt the absence of Joseph •Continued on Page 60

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