The Nation February 17, 2013

PDP Crisis: Govs, state chairmen in fresh revolt May defy Tukur to –Page 4 summon NEC meeting

Goldie: Why Crashed Bellview we kept our Boeing 737 had marriage technical defects secret AIB says no conclusive report on Dana crash –Husband –Page 4

–Page 2

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.07, No. 2405

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SUNDAY

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

N200.00

2015 Jonathan agreed to serve only one term

– Niger Gov –Page 2

•ALIYU

It was agreed that Jonathan would serve only one term of four years and we all signed the agreement. Even when Jonathan went to Uganda he also said he was going to serve a single term.

I TOLD OBASANJO ‘I’M NOT YOUR COOK’ –AUDU OGBEH

–Page 5

NEWS Jonathan, Ekwueme laud Olowo at book launch

By Taiwo Abiodun and Musa Odoshimokhe

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan says the contribution of traditional rulers to nation building can strengthen the unity of the country.

President Jonathan, in a goodwill message to the launch of the autobiography of the Olowo of Owo, Ondo State, Oba Folagbade Olateru Olagbegi III, “The Wilderness of Life” at the Nigerian Law School, ,Victoria Island ,Lagos, yesterday, said that through the traditional institutions the people at the grassroots are more accessible.

It is therefore imperative, according to him, to enhance the role of traditional rulers in national development.

He said: “This autobiography clearly manifests the desire of your Royal Highness to share your thoughts and experiences in all facets of life and all those who seek to understand the road that we have travelled as a nation state.”

President Jonathan thanked the author for his immense contribution to nation building and commended him for his literary ingenuity.

Second Republic vice president and chairman of the occasion, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, who was represented by his younger brother, Professor Laz Ekwueme , extolled the virtues of the celebrator .

Ekwueme maintained that traditional rulers can only perform their statutory role with the co-operation of all segments of the society.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

2015: Jonathan agreed to serve only G one term – Niger Gov

O V E R N O R Babangida Aliyu of Niger State yesterday ruffled some feathers in the camp of President Goodluck Jonathan after going public in Kaduna that the President reached an agreement with PDP governors in 2011 to serve for one term only.

But he was quick to add that talks about President Jonathan seeking renewal of his mandate in 2015 should be regarded as mere speculation for now.

The President himself has not declared his interest in contesting although the Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, who is widely acclaimed as his political godfather has said there is nothing wrong in him seeking a second term more so when the constitution allows it.

Aliyu, featuring on Guest of the Week on Liberty Radio (91.7), Kaduna monitored in

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja Abuja, said: “I recall that at the time he was going to declare for the 2011 election, all the PDP Governors were brought together to ensure that we were all in the same frame of mind.

“And I recall that some of us said given the circumstances of the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua and given the PDP zoning arrangement, it was expected that the North was to produce the President for a given number of years.

“I recall that at that discussion, it was agreed that Jonathan would serve only one term of four years and we all signed the agreement. Even when Jonathan went to Kam-

pala, in Uganda, he also said he was going to serve a single term.”

“For now, President Jonathan has not declared a second term ambition and we must not be speculating based on those who are benefiting from the campaign.

“I think we are all gentlemen enough; so when the time comes, we will all come together and see what is the right thing to do.”

On his own much speculated presidential ambition, he said if it is the will of God for him to contest, God himself will create the proper avenue for him to do so.

“But I have not said to anybody that this or that is what I want to do in 2015. We will cross the bridge when we get

to it,” he said.

Aliyu reiterated his support for the merger of ACN,CPC,ANPP and APGA to form All Progress Congress (APC), saying it will engender healthy rivalry.

“I pray for the success of the merger because I want a situation where we will have parties that will challenge one another properly so that we don’t take it for granted that because you have been winning elections you can do as you wish,” he said, adding:”There is a purpose for elections. There is a purpose for setting up government.

You set up government for the competence and efficiency of running an administration.

“You don’t set up government so that a group of peo-

•Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal in a discussion with his predecessor, Hon. Dimeji Bankole at the maiden convocation of Umaru Musa Yar'adua University, Katsina, yesterday

ple can enjoy to the detriment of the majority of the people.

So for me, the success of the merger will look like what is happening in developed countries where one party does it for a period of time and another party does it for another period of time.

“We should encourage a situation where our party becomes rational and very organised and where our party has democracy within because that is the foundation of a democracy of a nation.

“A situation where a party is allowed to handpick candidates and put them up for elections should not be encouraged”.

The governor described fears that Nigeria will break up in 2015 as a result of normal intellectual research after looking at the variables and concluding that if our situation continues to degenerate, there is the likelihood of a breakup.

He told proponents of Nigeria’s break-up that : “ a break up is not going to be as neat as some people think because I recall that when we had the civil war, there were some people who said if you allow that group to go, we would also go.

“Majority of Nigerians don’t want a break up. Only a few individuals are calling for a break up. And you don’t call for a break up simply because you have something today.

“We have gone to Mali to help them fight off what is becoming a civil war. So if it starts in Nigeria, I don’t think the world will stand by and watch. We will ensure that we stay as one nation to enjoy the benefits of what we have been fighting for.”

Last night, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, told The Nation on Sunday he had only become aware of Governor Aliyu's remarks within the hour, and needed more time to consult before commenting.

Security operatives bust terrorists hide-out in Bauchi Crashed Bellview Boeing 737 had technical defects

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COMBINED team of the army and the State Security Services [SSS] yesterday in Bauchi burst a suspected hideout of terrorists. The house, located behind Federal Government Girls College, Abujan Kwata area of the town was, until yesterday, occupied by men believed to be terrorists.

Abujan Kwata is populated by low income earners, civil servants, some retired uniformed men with their families and several jobless youth and school drop-outs.

A senior security source confirmed the operation, saying:”We had a joint operation of the Army and the SSS based on intelligence we received about the criminals whom we traced to the place.

When we got there we cordoned off the area at about 1.

30 am on Friday.

“When the hoodlums saw our men, they started shooting and throwing explosives at us. We could not enter the

By Austine Tsenzughul Bauchi compound immediately because it was walled round so we had to demolish part of the fence to enter, but by then, they had escaped.

“We, however, succeeded in impounding some Improvised Explosive Devices [IEDs] and mobilising our men to pursue the fleeing suspects.”

Residents confirmed sighting two Armoured Personnel Carriers [APCs] in the area.

“We were advised to remain calm and later in the night we heard gun shots and sounds of explosives. We were afraid and could not go out to find out what was happening until this morning,” a resident who did not want to be named said.

Other residents claimed ignorance of the incident but one said some people living in the house never interacted with others.

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HE Accident Investigative Bureau (AIB) yesterday released reports of its investigations of eight air crashes in the country but said there is yet no conclusive report on the June 3, 2012 crash of the Dana Air accident.

It was, however, definite that it Dana crash was not caused by contaminated fuel, the bureau claimed.

It also said of the Dana Air crash: “the aircraft lost both engines within 25 seconds, as it had fuel endurance of three and half hours.”

The other reports covered mishaps involving Bellview, ADC, Sosoliso Airlines, DHL, Bristow Helicopters, Aero Contractors and two aircraft in the fleet of the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology in Zaria.

It attributed the crash of the Bellview Airlines’ Boeing 737 at Lisa Village in Ogun State in 2005 killing all 117 passengers on board to technical defects.

The AIB said it “could not identify the conclusive evi-

• AIB says no conclusive report on Dana crash dence to explain the cause of the accident, but considered several factors that could explain the accident. They include the pilot in command’s training before taking command of the Boeing 737, which was inadequate.

The bureau stated: “The cumulative flight hour of the pilot in the days before the accident, which was indicative of excessive work load led to fatigue.

“The airplane should not have been dispatched for either the accident flight or earlier flights. The absence of forensic evidence prevented the determination of the captain’s medical condition at the time of the accident. The missing flight recorders to reconstruct the flight also preclude the determinants of the performance during the flight.

“The operator could not maintain the continuing airworthiness of its aircraft in en-

suring compliance of its flight maintenance personnel with the regulatory requirements.

“The civil aviation authority’s safety oversight of the operator’s procedure and operations was inadequate. In the course of investigations, it was discovered that at the time of the accident, the technical log book entries were improperly made; rectification actions were ignored, or improperly carried out or placed in hold items list as deferred defects without the authority of the minimum equipment list.

“It was also discovered that all navigational aids were serviceable at the time of the accident, except the radar that was switched off at weekends for routine maintenance.

“Physical examination of the airplane wreckage shows no evidence of high explosives. There was clear evidence of fire, but no conclusion could be reached as to

whether the fire occurred prior to the crash or only as a result of the crash.

“There are noticeable human error factor in the accident. As revealed by the investigations, such as personnel training, maintenance culture, crew rest period, work load and fatigue”.

Meanwhile, Bellview Airlines, according to the AIB, expressed reservations over the cause of the crash. The airline said there is a probability of unlawful interference (explosive) which may have affected or be responsible for the accident.

The bureau said the report on the accidents, though not punitive, is expected to serve as a corrective implementation plan for the affected parties, which it listed to include the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the airlines and other aeronautical agencies.

Column

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Murder, most foul and vicious

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ELIEVING that what personally touches one must come last, this column does not always encourage any emotional incontinence from even its creator. It was a great author who admonished that we must always separate the man who suffers from the artist that creates. But there are moments when the profoundly private cannot be separated from the powerfully public, when what we have all made of Nigeria returns like a monster to stare us in the face, and when an injured man must return to the community for solace and succour.

This morning, Snooper evacuates the cerebral fireworks and the din of agonistic contention from this column to mourn our late and beloved aburo who perished in the hands of hideous hoodlums on the notorious Ife-Ibadan road in the early evening of January 26th. He was returning to Ibadan after a funeral reception in the ancestral town of Gbongan. But he never made it back to the warm embrace of his beloved wife at their Iyaganku GRA residence.

A chartered auditor, Godwin Kolawole Adedeji was a scion of the notable Adedeji family of Gbongan and the famed Ojo family of Ibadan. He was a director in the Federal Ministry of Mines and Power. Before then, he had served his country meritoriously in NAPEP and the Petroleum Trust Fund. He had also worked at the UAC as an auditor before transferring his services to the public sector.

All those who met and interacted with him in the places he had worked spoke of a quiet and reticent fellow, devoted to duty and hard work and given to stoic fortitude and Christianly forbearance.

He was also a man of immense personal generosity, lavishing kindness and affection on all who came his way without any ethnic or religious bias. He was a model Nigerian. Had he been allowed to live, Kola would have turned fifty eight in March.

By all accounts, it was a life of humility, piety and studied selfeffacement. He did not push himself or push anybody around. He was courteous and polite in the extreme. Even in our old age, Kola still greeted Snooper with the Yoruba deferential gesture of halfprostration, despite the fact that he was already a grandfather several times over.

But he was not a softie by any stretch of the imagination. On both sides of the family, he was descended of illustrious warriors, and he could tackle like a compact tank.

As a youth, he was known as the “admiral” and till the end there was still something of a martial gait to his quiet bearing.

His loss is Nigeria’s loss because it was said by those who know of these things that he was in close contention for the post of Auditor General of Nigeria. Now the audit is on the grim statistics of elite haemorrhage in Nigeria. Once again, we mourn for a country which like a deranged old hen must suck life out of its most precious eggs in order to prolong its miserable existence.

How does it feel writing the obituary of your own younger sibling? It is a stark reversal of the evolutionary process. This is too close to call even when one is a compulsive glutton for punishment. How does a traumatised wife explain to the children who have all partaken of a mire humane and civilised existence in Canada that she found their father’s lifeless body with the skull openly split by a crude axe right there on the Ife-Ibadan road near the quarry

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu

•Adedeji

at Wasinmi? What a savagely ironic mockery of that village’s name!

The grim reaper has been at work, scything down anything and anybody at sight like one of those dreaded and iconic Egunguns of Yoruba folklore. Once, we were many youths roaming the wild,

enjoying the bounteous fruits of nature and eating from the communal pot of their father, S.A, the notable teacher and community leader.

Now like a Homeric battlefield, men and women are falling on all sides in a crushing pile. The great

future that we dreamt about is almost behind. It was a life of schooling, but may be we missed something about the school of life. We went to school as we were told only to succumb to those who didn’t.

We have been taught a hard lesson by them. You cannot create a personal paradise in an environment of consuming hell. They will come for you, and as they say in America, just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they are not going to get you. Once your number comes up in the irrational lottery of a dysfunctional society, there is nothing anybody can do about that.

In a traumatised society, metaphysical self belief is often a talisman for physical self disbelief. Last Thursday evening, Snooper departed Kola’s residence in Ibadan after a service of songs in company of a childhood friend who had recently retired as a Permanent Secretary in Lagos State. We were heading for Gbongan to be with the family in preparation for the burial the following day.

It was getting late and a hideous and fearful pall of darkness suddenly descended on the notorious Ife-Ibadan road. Having cautioned his friend about the dangerous folly of travelling on that road at night, yours sincerely was full of premonition and dark foreboding. But like all people who believe they are metaphysically fortified, our friend would have none of Snooper’s words of cautionary wisdom.

As darkness enveloped everywhere and driving becomes a function of autopilot, our friend growled at Snooper. “ I never knew you are this security conscious. Listen, you are travelling with the anointed”.

Snooper took a look at him and quipped. “When the armed robber chaps get hold of your bulky frame, you tell them you are anointed.

They will ask you, oga wetin you say before ramming your skull.” By that time, the anointed will need ointment if not some immediate life-saving surgery.

Unknown to our friend, Snooper was actually thinking that his (our friend’s) older brother, Segun, had perished in a terrible early evening accident on the same road a decade and a half earlier. Decades before this, their father had also succumbed in a different theatre of road carnage.

But even then it is getting impossible to even leave your room these days without being reinforced by some mystical faith in your destiny if not destination.

As if to confirm Snooper’s premonitory hunch, and by an almost

Some political insults for the road

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NE thing that is missing in the contemporary political atmosphere of Nigeria is the great art of political insult such as was evident particularly in the First Republic and classically in the AngloAmerican political theatre. It is an index of the lack of education and preparation of our current political class that they cannot come up with the wit and brio to match the forensic exertions of their illustrious forebears. They are nothing but dismal caricatures and epigones of this distinguished tradition. Since Snooper is in a foul and uncharitable mood, we will supply three political and literary insults for the road.

1 Benjamin Disraeli, the great au-

thor and remarkable politician, was once accosted by a furious younger opposition parliamentarian. “Sir, it seems to me that you will either die on the gallows or of some horrible venereal disease”, the younger man bellowed. “ Youngman, that depends on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress”, the great man shot back.

11 And when the selfsame Disraeli was asked to explain the difference between a calamity and a catastrophe, his eye twinkled with epic mischief..

“You know William Gladstone?”

Disraeli began in reference to his greatest political foe. “Well if Gladstone were to fall into a river,

that would be a calamity”, Then he quickly added the mortal clincher. “But if anybody were to pull him out, that would be a catastrophe.”.

111 George Bernard Shaw, the great Anglo-Irish dramatist was a notorious hell-raiser and incorrigible social gadfly. He was once the object of lavish attention from a leading lady of the London literary saloon and a rich heiress to boot. Thinking that Bernard Shaw would be flattered to be the object of her adulation and public affection, she sent him a telegram of invitation.

“Lady B…will be home tomorrow at 7pm”, the telegram read.

“So will Bernard Shaw”, came the prompt reply by return telegram.

preternatural development, there on the road and at a very sharp bend after Ikire very close to where Kola was murdered was an articulated lorry lying completely athwart the road. But for the prompt and timely intervention of the police who opened a bypass for motorists, the carnage would have been unimaginable. Snooper at this point could hear some fearful rumbling from the anointed. But it was a mere vigorous shaking of the lottery can. Our numbers were not up, not yet. At 8.23 am the following morning, the vehicle was still lying across the road.

How did we get to this point in this country where you leave your loved ones in the morning and you are not sure whether you will be returned to them in a body bag? Or whether it is your spouse that will happen upon your corpse in the middle of the road? Kola’s murder has all the dark hints of a modern whodunit and the satanic ingenuity of a professional execution.

At first, it was given out that he had jumped from a moving car and smashed his head against the road. But the autopsy has revealed something darker and more sinister. His head injuries were from an axe which suddenly struck. Frozen for posterity were the looks of quizzical horror and tormented bewilderment. What have I done to deserve this, he seems to be asking his sadistic executors.

That question must now be answered by the men of Osun State police command. This is one vicious murder that must not be swept under the carpet under the guise of permanent investigation.

The bald and bare facts are there.

Kola did not kill himself. Somebody somewhere must be responsible for this heinous crime against humanity.

By all corroborated accounts, Kola left the funeral reception around six in the early evening to get to Ibadan. He never did. At the bumps just outside Wasinmi and before Ikire, some armed hoodlums intercepted the car and abducted him. He was taken to a nearby bush where it is believed a stormy confrontation took place.

Thereafter, he was struck twice at the back of the head with a crude instrument. His body was taken back to the point where he was abducted and deposited near the road. To remove all evidence, the abductors burnt the car they operated with. They were also hoping that by the following morning the body would have been smashed up by traffic with vultures completing the rest. But this was not to be. The body was discovered in the early hours of the morning by his wife who had set out from Ibadan to find out what was going on.

This is obviously not the work of some amateur killers. This is professional elimination by hard and hardened criminals. The police must find out what is behind this callous execution. All leads must be followed to their logical conclusion, and the criminals brought to justice. There are indications that the highest echelons of government apparatus in Osun State have already swung into action. This is as it should be. This will not bring Kola back to his family but it will effect a much needed closure. May his gentle and noble soul find perfect repose.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

News

PDP Crisis: Govs, state chairmen in fresh revolt FRESH revolt is brewing in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

The masterminds are some governors and state chairmen of the party opposed to his style of leadership.

Their grouse, according to party sources, is alleged drift by the leadership.

They are poised to defy Tukur and convene a meeting of the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC), for the first time since July 2012.

They are said to have commenced collecting signatures of two-thirds of NEC members which is the minimum required for such purpose.

The governors and NEC members are scheduled to meet in Abuja this week to take a decision on handing Tukur a seven-day notice to summon the NEC for a meeting, failing which they will invoke the PDP Constitution to do so.

Tukur is stalling the meeting in view of the festering crisis in the party.

It was learnt that he is bidding for time to enable his team be able to reconcile issues and aggrieved leaders of the party, including the G-84 members.

Although Vice-President Namadi Sambo met with G84 members on Thursday night, some of them and some governors are still unhappy with the situation of things in the party.

According to sources, the NEC members are unhappy that while Tukur is preaching peace in one breath, he is stoking fire in another by allegedly jeopardising the interest of the party in the South-West ahead of the 2015 elections.

Apart from the pending NEC meeting, other unresolved issues are the Adamawa crisis; alleged plot to whittle down the influence of the governors on the party; the sack of the National Secretary of the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; removal of loyalists of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo from the National Working Committee(NWC); the imposition of officers on the SouthWest Zonal chapter of the party; and arbitrary use of power including putting offices of those with legal issues under lock and key when court process is subsisting.

One source said: “A flurry of activities involving stakeholders of the party were held in Abuja during the week at which strategies were mapped out by the Tukur camp to continue with its attempts to seize the soul of the PDP while other stakeholders including state governors also met to appraise the situation and steps to be taken to rescue the PDP from destruction on account of the very dangerous steps taken so far by Tukur and which have pushed the party to precipice.

“State PDP chairmen, who also met in Abuja during the week are even more bitter about Tukur’s style of administering the party; are “fully charged’’ and ready to move against the national chairman of the party, who is believed to be acting on the basis of alleged support of the Presidency.

“There are plans to invoke the relevant provisions of the PDP constitution to convene

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• May defy Tukur to summon NEC meeting From: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

the National Executive meeting of the PDP which gives two-thirds of members the right to issue notice of meeting.

“Members want to give the Presidency a few more days to deal more decisively with the problems created by Tukur after which the stakeholders will move to return PDP along the path of sanity.

“One of the grievances of key stakeholders of the party is Tukur’s alleged intransigence and decision to run the party’s affairs like the African Business Roundtable or Bamanga Tukur Organisation.

“Some of the stakeholders said the national chairman has continued to violate several provisions of PDP Constitution including Article 6.2 which stipulates that “The

policies and programmes of the party shall be determined by its membership and the leadership shall be accountable to the Party’’.

“The last National Executive Committee meeting of the party was held in July 2012.

“I think Tukur is deliberately running PDP like a fiefdom and he knows that his actions and inactions could be subjected to scrutiny by PDP NEC.” Another leader of the party said: “The next few weeks in the party will be interesting. PDP belongs to all of us and we will not allow Tukur to destroy the party for selfish reasons.

“If he claims the NWC stabbed him in the back by reversing the Adamawa issue does Tukur know that all the NWC requires to take actions in the interest of the PDP is two-thirds majority? He

doesn’t have to be present at all meetings for decisions to be reached.

“Even if President Jonathan travels, Vice-President Namadi Sambo presides and decisions are binding on Nigerians. It is simply time for Tukur to bow out honourably or he will be impeached with ignominy as he continues to live in delusion that he is leading a political party.”

The source also spoke on alleged plan to clip the wings of PDP governors, saying: “The battle between the national chairman and PDP state governors commenced shortly before Tukur’s emergence. The governors of the North-East states rejected Tukur at the Zonal Congress of the PDP held in Bauchi.

Tukur scored only two votes while the former acting National Secretary, Musa Babayo won the election.

“However, some state

governors led by Governor Rotimi Amaechi supported President Goodluck Jonathan to install Bamanga Tukur at the National Convention which held on March 24, 2012.

“We are suspecting that the national chairman came with a pre-conceived plan to make it impossible for the governors to have a firm grip of the party. He started putting his act together immediately he came into office to railroad the National Working Committee into approving his actions and policies.

Most of these policies were drawn by his lackeys.

“One of the advisers of Tukur was said to be responsible for issuing unsigned press statements at the PDP national secretariat when the National Publicity Secretary travelled abroad recently. It is absurd.

“The national chairman has preference for taking decisions affecting the PDP after consultations with about 12 special advisers he appointed

•L-R: Chairman of the occasion, Igwe Prof Laz Ekueme; Author, Oba Folagbade Olateru-Olagbegi, his wife, Olori Ololade; Deputy Governor, Ondo State, Alhaji Ali Olanusi and representative of Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Issa Mohammed Jimo, ( Balogun Ajikobi) during the public presentation of the Olowo's book; The Wilderness of Life at Nigeria Law School, Lagos yesterday.

Photo: OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL

Goldie: Why we kept our marriage secret —Husband ARELY 48 hours after Victor Akande, Entertainment Editor and Adetutu Audu pop singer, Oluwabimpe Susan Harvey, fondly known as yan rapper and one of the conGoldie Harvey died, contro- tenders in the BBA Stargame versy over her marital status House. He was reported to be continues. in Nigeria on St Valentine’s Perhaps because of her Day with an engagement ring music career, the late singer for the late songstress. decided to play down her mariAs if that was not enough, tal affairs, and the desire to another woman, who identiparticipate in the Big Brother fied herself as Ifeoma Harvey, Stargame House, without her is claiming the late singer colleagues treating her as a ‘stole’ her husband. The anonymarried woman. mous lady, who claimed to Andrew Leonard Harvey, have two kids for Harvey, said a senior contract engineer that she was Goldie’s best based in Kuala Lumpur, Ma- friend until the deceased selaysia, and husband of the de- duced the man into a secret ceased said everything that wedding in Nigeria. happened in the Big Brother But the wedding pictures House was a game that was which Harvey posted online long over, after the late singer do not suggest any thing sewas evicted. cret about the union. Both parHowever, the controversy ents and family members over the singer’s status has were at the wedding which gone viral ever since these looked elaborate. Harvey’s fresh facts emerged, including dad and mum, who flew in the marriage pictures released from the United Kingdom, on Goldie’s facebook page by were attired in traditional her husband. wears during the engagement.

Fans of the late singer There were also evidences of have been reacting to the en- an elaborate church wedding. suing controversy, one of Harvey almost dismissed which centres on her alleged as untrue insinuations that his romance with Prezzo, a Ken- late wife may have died of

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drug related ailment. According to him, Goldie never used drugs in the last 10 years that he knew her. They were married in 2005.

Perhaps, apart from the fact that the late singer never wore a wedding band, was part of the reasons people never took her seriously each time she mentioned casually that she was married. Harvey said, even he had not been wearing their wedding ring; adding that it was a matter of choice. “We had wedding bands and swapped them at the church wedding, they were oversize. After the wedding I was on assignment in Houston and took them for resizing. The day of leaving, all my things were stolen from my hired car and I had to delay my journey to get new passport and visa. We both agreed that as the blessed rings had been stolen, we did not want to wear unblessed rings.

From there, we decided that neither of us would wear ring again.”

He said, the reason she wasn’t flaunting her marital status was their preference as husband and wife. This, they believed, would keep their

private life out of public view.

He noted that pictures of their wedding were not displayed in their Ikoyi home, as all the pictures and reference have been kept in the UK. On the purported engagement ring that Prezzo was meant to give to Goldie on Valentine’s day, Harvey admitted spotting it on the internet, but said, since the Kenyan never knew about him and his marriage to Goldie, it would be difficult to accuse him of poaching: “But now he knows, the family and I would prefer he maintains a low profile and allow us to grieve our loss. The BBA game is over now,” he said curtly, adding that they had asked the ‘lover boy’ not to attend the burial. He said the family is not happy with the development, and that he thought that Prezzo should respect the wishes of her parents.

On why he is just publishing the photographs of their wedding, Harvey said it was the decision taken by him and Goldie’s family and that it was necessary for the world to know everything before the pop singer is buried.

and who are believed to have formed the parallel National Working Committee.

“This is viewed by members of the PDP National Working Committee as usurpation of their constitutional functions.

“For instance, one of the advisers, Chief Ishola Filani, was on Friday named the chairman of the South-West zonal Caretaker Committee of the PDP. Some other political aides engaged by Tukur from outside are believed to be angling for positions of state governors, senators and members of the House of Representatives.”

Akume faults suit against his election

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HE Senate Minority Leader, Chief George Akume, yesterday ridiculed a court action seeking the nullification of his election on account of presenting forged certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

One Philip Agbese reportedly filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja, to the effect that the certificates presented by the Senator for the purpose of contesting election were forged.

Reacting to the allegations in a statement yesterday, Orpin Beckie, Special Assistant on Media to Senator Akume, dismissed them as laughable, and wondered why some citizens “are allowed to abuse the laws of our land with impunity.”

His words: “This allegation is a classical case of a smear campaign on a thorough breed and it is capable of casting doubt in the minds of well- meaning citizens and may have the possibility of denting the reputation distinguished Senator George Akume has built over time. I therefore set out to clear the air as follows.

“The Senator has an unquenchable taste for knowledge and in spite of his modest background his parents enrolled him in L.G.E.D Wanune at a tender age. He thereafter gained entrance into the then Government Secondary School Otobi now Federal Government College Otobi as one of the pioneer students and graduated with Aggregate 21 in 1971. These records are still there in the school as well as with the examination authorities for any doubting Thomas who cares to check. It is this excellent showing that propelled him to pursue a higher certificate (HSC) at St. Louis College Jos in Plateau State.

“That he gained admission into the Premier University of Ibadan (Jos Campus) and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1978 and a Master of Science in Industrial Labour Relations from the same school in 1986 is not in doubt.

His mandatory one year national assignment took him to Advanced Teachers College, Akwanga, and he has a discharge certificate.

“His successful sojourn in the civil service is not a secret as he rose to the peak and he was severally acknowledged for his diligence and hardwork before he honourably retired.”

News

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

NIPSS alumni elect officers

I told Obasanjo ‘I’m not your cook’ —Audu Ogbeh

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HE Lagos State Chapter of the Alumni Association of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, has elected a new executive council to run its affairs for the next two years.

The new Chairman is Mr. Victor Banjo with Mr. Lasisi Sanni as Vice Chairman. Other executive members include: Mr. Abdulmumini Bello, General Secretary; Mr.Olu Akadiri, Treasurer and Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, Publicity Secretary.

The National Chairman of the Association, Alhaji Jani Ibrahim who attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) that produced the exco thanked the former leaders for a job well done.

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

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HE former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Audu Ogbeh, yesterday said that that his decision to call the bluff of former President Olusegun Obasanjo precipitated their parting of ways and his subsequent removal as party boss.

Ogbeh, now a stalwart of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), said at a meeting of the Benue State expanded executive council of the party in Makurdi that during the confrontation he told the former president that he was nobody’s boy.

According to him, “One day, I summed up courage and confronted Obasanjo at a meeting. I told him point blank that Mr. president, I am not your cook but your party chairman, so you talk to me with respect.”

At the meeting which was held to discuss the merger of ANPP, ACN, APGA and CPC, Ogbeh said he asked Obasanjo to show the party leadership respect and reminded him that when others were building the party he was in prison and should stop kicking people around.

This, according to Ogbeh, did not go down well with the former President who later masterminded the former chairman’s ouster.

He assured ACN members that merger of the party with APGA, CPC and ANPP will work and that APC will be ensure party supremacy.

“Let me also assure you that APC will send PDP out of power in 2015,” he said.

He lamented the current high level of corruption in the Jonathan administration saying it is the only thriving sector in the country. “ When I was chairman of PDP, my son never got involved in oil but two national chairmen after me, their sons pocketed over N400 billion without supplying a tea cup of oil.”

He added, “Chairman of Pension Task Force Team is going about with 20 policemen yet they are deceiving the people that he has escaped. He may have donated the money to fund the party’s campaign, so he’s untouchable.”

Also speaking, Senate Minority leader, Senator George Akume, reaffirmed that the merger is on course and advised ACN members to disregard rumours that it will not work.

He noted that beginning the merger with 11 governors is a no mean achievement.

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•Gov. Murtala Nyako of Adamawa (R) being welcomed by Comissioners and Party officials at the Yola International Airport during his arrival from official trip abroad yesterday.

Gunmen kidnap teacher in Delta From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Warri UNMEN yesterday kidnapped a teacher, Mrs. Esther Mukoro, at Ujevwu town along the ever busy Udu Road, Udu Local Government Area of Delta State.

It was learnt that Mukoro, a teacher with Ovwian Secondary School, was in company of her friends on their way to a friend’s party at about 9:00am at Otor-Udu, headquarters of Udu Local Government Area, when the yet-to-be identified gunmen stopped her Toyota Highlander Jeep Car with plate number KPE 323 AA and ordered them to come out and later asked her (Mrs. Mukoro) into the car and drove off.

Her husband, Mr. Taiye Mukoro, said he was yet to reach the kidnappers and lamented that he does not know what his wife did to anyone that may have led to her being kidnapped, adding that he does not have money to give to kidnappers, appealing to them to release his wife.

Islam is anti-terrorism G say Sultan, Aregbesola •Want terrorists treated as criminals,

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OVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar say Islam is against terrorism, and want those using the religion to perpetrate heinous crimes treated not as Muslims but common criminals.

While the governor insists that a true Muslim must not be a promoter of conflict, contradiction or crisis, the Sultan maintains that Islam will, for ever, remain a religion of peace and development.

They both spoke in Osogbo at the weekend at a dinner organised in honour of the Sultan by the Osun State Government.

The Sultan was delighted at the governor’s achievements and what he called his ability to carry every resident of the state along irrespective of religion and ethnicity.

He stressed that no Nigerian should be treated or regarded as a settler in any part of the country, adding that everyone should be able to find home wherever he chooses to live in.

He said the Osun government has openly demonstrated this by allowing and treating natives and non-natives in the state as equal, which is what the entire nation needs to be able to guarantee peaceful co-habitation among all groups, ethnicity and religions.

He said that terrorists, wherever they are found, must therefore answer personally for their crimes by being treated as common criminals that they are.

He said: “Those who claim to be doing what they are doing in terms of terrorism in

the name of Islam are on their own. They are not doing anything for Islam or Muslims but for themselves. Nothing more, nothing less! And that is why when I hear people refer to these terrorists as Islamic terrorists, I always feel bad. I have said it so many times that Islam does not ap-

prove terrorism or the taking of anybody’s life.”

Aregbesola said a Muslim, who promotes chaos and disharmony has deviated from the teachings of Islam and a good Muslim is required to exemplify the best in conduct through accommodation, tolerance and forbearance for

him to be called a good Muslim.

His words: “Any Muslim that promotes conflict, contradiction and crisis is a heretic.

I should not use that word because it is wrong to say that somebody is not a Muslim.

But I want to say without equivocation that a Muslim that promotes hatred, bitterness and discord is very far from Islam.”

Yobe ANPP endorses merger with APC

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LL Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) stakeholders in Yobe State yesterday backed the merger of the party with Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to form All Progressives Congress (APC).

It was a unanimous decision taken at a meeting at Government House, Damaturu.

Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, represented by his deputy, Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, said the merger is in the best interest of the common people.

APC, according to him, will map out strategies to galvanise support at the grassroots to ensure good governance, accountability and transparency.

He charged all stakeholders, comprising members of the National and State Houses of Assemblies, commissioners, youths and women to “leave no stone unturned in achieving the objectives of merging with APC.” He said: “this will surely enable us bring to an end the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) monopoly of power which has lasted for almost 13 years without results,

From Duku Joel, Damaturu threatening to lead to the total collapse of the nation.

“I have the full hope that with your support and cooperation, the leadership of the new party will strive to correct all the wrongs perpetrated by the ruling party at

the national and state levels where it holds sway.”

Also speaking, Senator Ahmed Lawan, representing Yobe North said the merger has provided a platform for some PDP governors and federal legislators to defect before the 2015 general elections.

Ex-NDDC chief blasts N’Delta governors

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FORMER Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Pastor Power Aginighan, has accused the six Niger Delta State governors of neglecting the oil-bearing communities in the region.

He said rather than develop the area, the governors are locked in a ‘cut-throat competition’ to develop cities in their states.

Aginighan, in a statement , said the situation has left the oil-bearing communities largely inaccessible despite the huge resources accruing to the states for the development of the oil producing areas.

He said: “In this club of major oil producing states that have received hundreds of billions of naira as 13% derivation from the Federation Account from 1999 to date are Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa

From Shola O’Neil , Warri and Delta.

“The press is awash with cut-throat competition amongst these states to build five-star hotels, airports and flyovers to mention a few.

Governors of these states have argued that they are embarking on these grandiose projects to prepare for their states beyond oil.

“My point of departure from this chain of thought is that these development initiatives, some of which should have been private sector-driven have not taken cognisance of environmental sustainability in the oil bearing communities in the respective states that are mostly located in the coastal and riverside areas of the states.”

Aginighan, who is the pioneer Secretary of the Ijaw

National Congress (IYC), lamented that hundreds of communities in the four core oil-bearing states continue to wallow in abject poverty and deprivation.

He added:”If this state of affairs persists until the oil gets exhausted these communities cannot be part of the dream post-oil economy which is expected to be driven by mechanised agriculture and industrialisation; no tractor can move to any of these communities.

“It is therefore my counsel that oil-rich states of the Niger Delta should compete, not in building five star hotels in non-oil producing state capitals, but in linking up the criminally alienated oil-bearing communities in their states, which have borne the excruciating pains of the destruction of their ecosystem for so many years.”

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How free, quality education can work in Nigeria -Afe Babalola From Damisi Ojo, Akure

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MINENT lawyer and founder of the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), at the weekend, gave a recipe of how free quality education can become a reality in Nigeria.

He said government at all levels and other stakeholders should partner together in the provision of adequate funding and availability of necessary infrastructure.

Babalola gave this assertion in a lecture he delivered as part of the activities marking the 32nd convocation ceremony of the Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo.

Speaking on the topic entitled “Free Quality Education: Myth or Reality, the renowned legal luminary noted that although free education is laudable and desirable by many people, its practicability could only be achieved by the initiatives taken by the government at all levels.

The former Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the University of Lagos, described the present educational system being practiced under the guise of free education by some states government as not being free when compared with the situation during the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo era in the defunct Western region.

While Chief Awolowo allocated nearly half of the annual budget of his government to education, the reverse, Babalola noted, is the case in the present era.

‘PDP desperate to stop transformation in Imo’ From: Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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HE Imo State Commissioner of Finance, Deacon Chike Okafor, disclosed at the weekend that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is scared of the massive infrastructural development going on in the state.

Okafor disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja, stating that the petition against the Rochas Okorocha government to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was allegedly orchestrated by members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

He said: “I can speak for the Rochas Okorocha government that it is the most responsive government ever in the history of Imo State, because it has a zero tolerance for corruption. The governor before now had succeeded in his private endeavour, so there is no reason for him to be involved in any form of corruption.

“The issue at hand is political; the money that has come into the state can be seen in the massive infrastructural revolutionary work that is presently ongoing. The state has been transformed in a very short time and that is what is frightening the opposition.

“There is no iota of truth in associating the governor with any form of corruption.

The government has spent more money than it has received in the last 20 months.

They said we borrowed N45billion from Zenith Bank and N25billion from Diamond Bank, all of this is not true.”

Jonathan tasks NIMET, stakeholders on framework for climate services

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday tasked the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and other relevant stakeholders to develop a National Framework for climate services.

The President stated that such framework will engender provision of reliable climate services for the people especially the vulnerable group.

Jonathan revealed this in a message made available to The Nation by NIMET during 2013 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) in Abuja.

From: Olugbenga Adanikn and Jane Maha, Abuja

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) last year adopted the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), which was designed to include sciencebased climate information and prediction into project planning, policy formulation and execution.

Jonathan said: “It is my expectation that the inter-ministerial dialogue on weather and climate challenges in the country will be a regular event.

“The dialogue should also

evolve a National Framework for Climate Services in Nigeria. Such a framework is necessary for the delivery of science-based climate services to Nigerians, especially the vulnerable rural communities.”

However, the President mandated Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to adopt the SRP when presented for project implementations.

Delivering her remarks, the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, restated the significance of accurate weather information.

She noted that rainfall pat-

tern often has intense impact on all sectors of the economy including agriculture, air and land transportation, hydroelectric power generation, construction, among others.

She informed that the ministry has begun plans to develop a comprehensive national framework for climate services.

According to her, “the framework is in consonance with contemporary international practice. The application of weather information for planning in these key economic sectors is therefore imperative. This can be most ef-

fectively achieved through a well-formulated policy. We are therefore initiating steps towards evolving a broadbased national framework for climate services,” Oduah added.

She lamented that about 300 lives were lost and 2 million people displaced in 27 states across the country due to the 2012 flooding.

In his remarks, NIMET Director General, Dr. Anthony Anuforom stated that the 2013 SRP will, be disseminated through partnership with states and local councils across the country.

He added that the agency will involve local councils and communicate this year’s weather report through local languages.

Senior Programme Manager, WMO, Datius Rutashobya, stated that about 50 percent of natural losses are hydrological in nature. In his presentation titled ‘Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS)’, he noted that climate change often introduces additional complexity and uncertainties.

He described climate services as the act of generating and providing information on the past, present and future climate and its impacts on natural and human systems.

“GFCS is to enable better management of natural disasters through involvements of stakeholders for strengthening regional climate capabilities,” Rutashobya added.

Ogun supports first Catholic University in Africa

O •Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu (right) presenting the key and documents of a bus donated to the State Council of the Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU), by the Ogun State Government to Comrade Adebowale Akinwunmi (council chairman), Comrade Sunday Olu Jetro (deputy president) in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

‘Why Nigerians are embracing APC’

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EPUTY Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Rotimi Abiru, has said that the way Nigerians have hailed and embraced the emergence of the new political party, All Progressive Congress (APC), is a clear proof that Nigerians are

By Oziegbe Okoeki

fed up with the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Abiru stated this while reacting to the merger of four

opposition political parties in ann interview with The Nation on Friday.

Describing the merger of the four parties, namely; Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and

‘Expect more flood in 2013’ •Sokoto, Kebbi, Kwara, others on red alert

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ASED on the prevalent condition of making this Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP), rainfall pattern will not be different from the experience of last year, Director General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Dr. Anuforom has warned.

Anuforom identified states such as Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara and other surrounding states as top on the priority list, adding that there will be lower amount of rainfall especially for the South West compared to the devastating flood of 2012.

The DG disclosed this during the 2013 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) organised by the agency at the weekend in Abuja.

Anuforom said: “The summary is that based on the conditions that are prevalent at the time of making the prediction, we are predicting

From: Olugbenga Adanikin and Jane Maha, Abuja

that the rainfall pattern in 2013 will not be different, very different or significantly different from what we saw in 2012.

“However, some areas, especially in the western flank of the country covering Sokoto State, and Kebbi States part of Kwara State, part of Niger State are likely to have higher rainfall than last year.

“However, some other areas, particularly from the South Western part of the country may witness slightly lower amount of rainfall.”

Speaking on the anticipated measure of rain, the DG said the North-Eastern states may experience huge amount of rainfall amounting to about 420 millimetres within 120 days, while the South should expect 2,900 millimetres of rain within 290

days.

According to him, the predictions are based on the “Neutral Phase of the ENSO phenomenon.” The ENSO phenomenon also known as Southern, Oscillation, refers to variations in the temperature of the surface of the tropical eastern pacific ocean and in air surface pressure in the tropical western pacific.”

However, early rains are expected in Niger, Anambra, Delta, Northern Cross River, parts of Ogun and Ondo States.

Anoforom further pledged to review the predictions following the dynamism of weather condition.

Based on the 2013 SRP, longer than the normal length of rainy season is likely for most of the central parts of the country and other parts of Yobe State, northern Cross River and parts of the South-Western states.

Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) as a welcome development, Abiru said with the growing acceptance of the new party by Nigerians, he is sure the merger will work.

According to the lawmaker, “never before have we had these calibre of people coming together to form a political party. These personalities know that sacrifice has to be made to save Nigeria.”

Another plus for the merger, Abiru said, is that ten governors are throwing their weight behind it, adding, “I am sure other opposition groups will be willing to join APC, in addition to some elements within the ruling PDP who believe in the merger and the need for Nigerians to come together under such a platform to rescue the nation.”

Erasing fears of the new party’s possible non registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abiru said the Chairman of the Commission, Prof.

Atahiru Jega, has disclosed that he has nothing against the merger provided it meets with all the rules, regulations and provisions of the electoral laws.

On the new party’s strategy of picking candidates for elective positions, the lawmaker said members of the party are ready to make the necessary sacrifices to ensure that the process is rancor-free.

GUN State Government has expressed its readiness to collaborate with the promoters of Loyola Jesuit University in order to fasttrack its establishment in the state.

Loyola Jesuit University is the first catholic university in Africa to be situated at Ogbere in Ogun State.

Speaking while receiving the delegation of the Catholic Diocese of Ijebu-Ode led by its Bishop, Most Rev. Albert Fashina, the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, said his administration would continue to give utmost attention and recognition to any group seeking to promote the development of education in the state.

“Education is the first of our five cardinal programmes, and has continued to take the lion’s share of our yearly budget because of our commitment to restore the glory of the sector. We will, therefore, support wholeheartedly any noble private initiative in the sector,” the governor said.

Amosun promised to immediately look into the process of fast-tracking the approval for land as well as assist in opening up the road leading to the site of the institution.

Earlier in his remarks, Fashina lauded the efforts of the present administration in the education sector, adding that “various states of the federation have signified interest in having the university situated in their domain, but the promoters have chosen Ogun because of its comparative advantage.”

He disclosed that the university would run a multicampus structure, thereby drawing students from Africa as well as all parts of the world.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Abia sets up revenue courts From Ugochukwu UgojiEke, Umuahia

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HE Chairman of Abia State Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development Fund [PPIDF], Chief Jonathan Agbai Kalu, has disclosed that the state government has set up a high court with the directive to handle levy-related offenses.

Speaking with newsmen in Umuahia, Kalu said that efforts have been made by the present administration through the fund to ensure that residents of the state pay the statutory levies.

He said the court, which was designated by the acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Shedrack Nwanosike, has limitless jurisdiction over revenue collection, adding that offenders will be made to face the law of the state.

He explained that there were five revenue courts presided over by Chief Magistrates but noted that their limitation was that they could not handle cases beyond N3 million.

The PPIDF boss said the major challenge facing the fund was the people’s negative attitude to payment of levies, which are statutory and needed to drive socioeconomic development.

Kalu said “Our major challenge is that people are not responding to payment of levies as stipulated by the relevant laws of the state and they know that it is from the fund generated from such levies that cities are built”.

Government disowns Abia Reborn Agenda From Ugochukwu UgojiEke, Umuahia

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HE Abia State Government has disowned a group known as Abia Reborn Agenda and directs the security agents operating in the state to check the activities of the group and arrest their members if they are still operating afterwards.

Sources at the Government House, Umuahia, said the state governor, Chief Theodore Orji, is embarrassed by some of the activities of the group, which has been using government insignia to embarrass the state government.

The source said the operations of Abia Reborn Agenda is totally at variance with the aims and objectives of the state government and that if they are allowed to continue they may end up misdirecting the people of the state.

The directive to the security agencies in the state was contained in statement signed by the Chief of Staff to the governor, Cosmos Ndukwe, asking the security agencies in the state to be aware of the directive and act accordingly.

He said ‘the state government frowns at the development and would no longer tolerate the activities of the group in the state.’

Dele Giwa’s mother interred beside son

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OTHER of late Dele Giwa, Mrs. Elekhia Ayiyi Giwa, was yesterday interred at the family tomb at Ugbekpe-Ekperi, Estako Central Local Government Area of Edo State.

She was buried beside the grave of her son, Dele, who was killed through a parcel bomb, October 19, 1986.

The burial of Mrs. Giwa was preceded by a funeral service held at the Church of God Mission, UgbekpeEkperi.

Among guests that attended the funeral service were close friends and associates of late Dele Giwa, including Mr. Ray Ekpu, Yakubu Mohammed, Editor-in Chief,

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

Tell Magazine, Nosa Igiebor, Mr. Kayode Soyinka, Dan Agbese, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, Soji Akinrinade and former Media Adviser to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Mr. Tony Iyare.

Officiating Minister, Rev. Abraham Ikpotokin told the congregation to remain steadfast in the lord despite setbacks.

He said death was a neccessary end that must come but that what was important was the kind of life one lead.

At the grave side of late Dele, his friends offered prayers for the repose of his soul and for God’s protection over the family. The prayer was

led by Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi.

Kayode Soyinka, who was with late Dele, moments before the bomb went off, said his presence was a neccessary thing for him to do because of the close relationship between them.

According to him, “Immediately I heard of this occasion, I made it point of duty to be here to give that last honour to mama.

“I was a victim of that bomb. In terms of maintaining his legacy, making sure that he is never forgotten in Nigeria, I think I have been steadfast and very consistent in making sure we get justice.

“We know those who did it, those who sent bomb to us.

They are still alive. They are walking free, going around.

Nigerians know who killed Dele. We will all die one day.

Dele has done his beat. He did very well as a journalist both in Nigeria and internationally. His legacy cannot be erased. For those of us still alive, we will make sure his legacies are continued.”

Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi said the sight of Dele’s grave was a very emotional experience, saying that he felt being close to Dele at that moment.

For Ray Ekpu, ‘It is some kind of nostagia. We were happy the grave has been maintained. We hope to keep his memory in whatever way we can.’

•Children, relatives and friends pay their last respect as the remains of late Mrs. Elekhia Ayiyi Giwa, mother of late Dele Giwa, was committed to mother earth, yesterday, at Ugbekpe-Ekperri, Estako West LGA of Edo State. Photo by Barnabas Uzosike

Fayemi inaugurates new councils

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KITI State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, yesterday inaugurated new caretaker chairmen in the 16 councils of the state.

The council heads, who will hold office for another six months include, Hon. Tope Olanipekun (Chairman) and Jumoke Olaniyan (Secretary) for Ado; Ropo Famubode (Chairman) and Tai Oguntayo (Secretary), Ekiti West; Tajudeen Awe (Chairman) and Tayo Egunlusi, IrepodunIfelodun; Adio Folayan (Chairman) and Tunde Apalara (Secretary), Efon; Bode Agbeleye (Chairman) and Seun Ibitoye (Secretary), Ijero.

Others are Michael Adesoji Bamide (Chairman) and. Funke Fajobi (Secretary), Ikere; Fasoyin Oluwadare (Chairman) and Iyabo Oluwole (Secretary), Ise-Orun; Febisola Adewale (Chairman) and Florence Ogunbuyide (Secretary), Emure; Ademola Atobaje (Chairman) and Akinyemi Akinloye (Secretary), Ekiti East; Femi Awe (Chairman) and Pastor Omowaye Peter (Secretary), Gbonyin; Alatise Yemi (Chairman) and chief Niyi

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

Jayeola (Secretary), Ekiti southwest; Adeleke Michael Adeyeye (Chairman) and Felicia Ibiloye Adebanji (Secretary), Moba; Chief Dele Olatuyi (Chairman) and Ayo Ayeni (Secretary), Ikole; Prince Adegoroye Bamgboye (Chairman) and Samuel Sunday Adetifa (Secretary), Ilejemeje; Kehinde Ogunlade (Chairman) and Mrs. Abiola Adeosun (Secretary), Ido-Osi; and Hon Akindele Ogungbuyi (Chairman) and

Foluso Ojo (Secretary), Oye. Speaking at the ceremony which held at Jibowu Hall, Ado-Ekiti, capital of the state, Fayemi said the move was to “inject freshness into local government administration in the state.”

Fayemi noted that the outgone administrations “demonstrated a lot of statesmanship in the administration of the councils”, saying their tenure witnessed “a lot of developments in the various local governments.”

Some of the councils’ achievements, according to him, included “the ongoing construction of 5km road per local government, acquisition of 1000 hectares of land for agricultural purposes, boosting of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), institutionalisation of Budget Processing, among others.”

Meanwhile, Fayemi equally announced that the second phase of 5 kilometre roads will soon start across the state councils.

Wogu laments bad driving culture as FRSC marks 25

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HE Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, has identified bad driving culture among road users as major challenge to numerous measures being put together by government to address the menace of road crashes in Nigeria.

Wogu made this declaration at a special walking and jogging exercise, organised by the Federal Road Safety Corps as part of activities to mark its 25th anniversary.

According to the La-

bour Minister, as lead agency on traffic administration and safety management, the FRSC has, through innovative ideas, impacted positively on Nigerian roads in the last 25 years. He however, urged the Corps, management to re-double efforts in addressing the menace of bad driving among motorists in the country.

Also speaking, the FRSC Corps Marshal and Chief Executive, Osita Chidoka, described the last 25 years in the life of the

Corps as challenging but also rewarding as the FRSC has been able to reduce the annual figure of road crashes from 25,000 in 1988 to 4,000 in 2012, even in the face of increase in the number of vehicles on the highways and improved traffic engineering.

The 25th anniversary jogging exercise attracted dignitaries such as the Inspector-General of Police, Service Chiefs, top government functionaries and about 2,500 participants.

News 7 Woman stabs hubby over infidelity From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt

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MIDDLE aged woman, Felicia Obi, is currently on the run in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, after she allegedly stabbed her husband, the father of her four children, over alleged infidelity.

Unconfirmed reports by neighbours said the randy husband, Jacob Obi, died yesterday morning after he was stabbed the previous night by his wife, who had allegedly caught him with a yet-to-be identified mistress in their matrimonial bed.

The Nation learnt that the incident occurred at Owori community in Rumueme, when Jacob’s wife suddenly returned home from a journey unannounced to find her husband with another woman in their matrimonial bed.

It was gathered that the infuriated woman drew a kitchen knife and plunged it into her husband’s body before going after the other woman, who promptly fled for her life.

Sources in Owori told our reporter that neighbours that responded to the man’s distress call for help, found him lying in the pool of his blood.

“We found him in a critical condition in a pool of blood and we quickly rushed him to University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) that night but he died yesterday morning,” the source said.

Some neighbours who spoke with our reporter said the fleeing house wife and slain husband quarreled regularly over alleged infidelity, regretting that one partner has now paid the supreme price.

Charity Nna, one of the neighbours, said: ‘The late Jacob has been quarreling with the wife on daily basis over this issue of infidelity, though the man has been cheating on the wife. Each time the wife travelled, another women would enter the house but it could not occur to him that the wife would comeback from the village without informing him.”

Ogbe-Ijoh monarch is dead From Shola O’Neil, Warri

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HE Ogbe-Ijoh traditional council in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State yesterday, announced the demise of the monarch, His Royal Majesty Pere Amakosu Oduwor III of Ogbe-Ijoh/Warri Kingdom.

A statement by the Fiyeowei (spokesperson) of the kingdom, Chief Favour Izoukumor, on Friday stated that the monarch, who ascended the throne in 1976 and was later gazetted in 1979, passed on at the age of 90.

He said the late traditional ruler was the third in the lineage of Oduwor, the first child of Ewein, founder of OgbeIjoh/Warri Kingdom.

Izoukumor, who made the announcement at the OgbeIjoh/Warri Kingdom hall yesterday, said, “His passing away is a painful and unexpected loss. An iroko has fallen.”

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News

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17 , 2013

Delta community threatens violence over abandoned project

ACN South West leaders charge governors on agriculture

From Shola O’Neil, Warri

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

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EADERS of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the South West geo-political zone on Friday held a meeting where they charged the five governors on the platform of the party in the region to give priority attention to agriculture.

All the governors in the zone, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (Lagos), Senator Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Senator Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), were conspicuously absent at the meeting.

Sources disclosed that the party leaders deliberated upon the on-going merger plan by the party with other opposition parties and strategies to be put in place to ensure the continued dominance of the party in the South West beyond 2014 and 2015.

The leaders at the parley, including the National Vice Chairman, Senator James Kolawole, Rev. Tunji Adebiyi, Mr. Ayo Afolabi and the party’s state chairmen from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun and Ekiti States met the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on arrival in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Thursday evening.

About 10 am on Friday, the leaders paid a visit to a chieftain of the party, Senator Ayo Fasanmi, at his residence where he urged them to do all that is humanly possible to ensure that the Peoples’ Democratic Party is chased out of power at the centre in 2015.

Fasanmi said the formation of the All Progressive Congress (APC) through the merger of some political parties, including the Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress of Progressive Change and others, comes to reality.

At a special meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Osogbo, the leaders charged the governors on the platform of the party in the region to go the extra mile and put more attention to agriculture in order to ensure food security in the region and boost the economic development of the zone.

•L-R: Former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Alani Akinrinade, former Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife and Col. Joe Achuzie (rtd) during the National Convention of Igbo Youth Movement…yesterday PHOTO : OBI CLETUS

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single alcoholic drink per day can increase risk of developing certain types of cancer, including breast cancer in women,a new research has shown.

Though people have long believed that a glass or two of wine can be good for your heart, the new study, conducted in conjunction with researchers in the U.S., Canada, and France, shows that the cancer risks far outweigh any heart-healthy benefits.

“Alcohol has long been known and recognized as a human carcinogen, so even some alcohol consumption raises your risks,” Dr. Timothy Naimi, an alcohol researcher at Boston University’s School of Public Health in the USA and a physician at the Boston University Medical Center who helped design and direct the study, told Yahoo!

Shine in an interview.

“On the balance of all people who begin drinking, many more people are killed by alcohol than helped by it.

“No public health body or clinical body recommends that people start drinking to improve their health,” he added.

The research, published Friday in the American Journal of Public Health, relied on existing data about cancer deaths, alcohol consumption, and risk estimates from other scientific studies. It marks the first time that researchers have

Moderate drinking linked to increased cancer risk examined alcohol-related cancer rates in 30 years.

They found that alcohol could be blamed for about 20,000 cancer deaths each year, or 1 out of every 30 cancer deaths in the United States, which was about what they expected.

But while heavy drinkers faced the highest risks, about a third of those deaths were among people who drank only small amounts of alcohol—1.5 alcoholic drinks or fewer per day. And it didn’t matter what type of drink was consumed; standard servings

of beer (12 ounces), wine (5 ounces), and hard liquor (1.5 ounces) all contain the same amount of alcohol.

The stats sound scary, but Naimi told Yahoo! Shine that the risks for mild to moderate drinkers are very low. “The people who drink small amounts of alcohol needn’t be duly concerned about this,” he said. “But it is important to recognize that when it comes to cancer, there’s no free lunch.”

While more men die from alcohol-related cancers than women (men do tend to drink

more), women have more adverse consequences from drinking, not only because they tend to have less body mass than men, but because they also metabolize alcohol less efficiently. The study found that about 6,000 female breast cancer deaths each year—or 15 per cent—could be attributed to alcohol consumption; for men, cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus were the most common types of alcohol-related cancer. Alcohol is also linked to cancer of the liver, colon, and rectum.

Partner with FG to fund national teams, Rep urges private sector

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member of the House of Representatives and Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Spain and the Vatican City, Dr. Kingsley Sunny Ebenyi, has called for financial support for the national teams from corporate bodies and wealthy Nigerians.

The lawmaker praised the cash rewards to the Super Eagles team and its officials by the Chairmen of Globacom, Otunba Mike Adenuga, and

Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, respectively, over nation’s successful outing at the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa, while urging other wealthy individuals to emulate the patriotic gestures of both men.

While congratulating the players and their technical crew for the feat, Ebenyi, who represents Enugu East/Isi-Uzo Federal Constituency, stressed that efforts must be redoubled to

build a formidable team for the Confederation Cup coming up in June so that Nigeria can become the first African country to win the trophy.

He said, “Our success at the Confederation Cup later this year will further boost our chances at the 2014 World Cup to be hosted by Brazil,” pointing out that the Chief Coach, Stephen Keshi, must be given all the support he needs to build a formidable team.

HE people of Okerenkoko Community in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State have given the state government a 30-day ultimatum to compel contractors handling projects in their communities to return to site or face unpleasant consequences.

The warning was contained in a letter to the state Commissioner for Works, Hon. Funkekeme Solomon.

The letter signed by Chief James Tangbowei and Ernest Bebenimibo, chairman and secretary respectively, noted that the threat was necessitated by the pitiable state of affairs in the oil-rich community.

The letter noted: “We are deeply constrained to alert you about the desire of our peace-loving people to take our destiny in our hands by confronting your ministry should you fail to direct the under listed contractors to report back to their project sites in Okerenkoko Federated Communities within the next 30 days.

“Six years after the James Onanefe Ibori administration magnanimously awarded the Okerenkoko-PeppeamaKokodiagbene road project to Wokson Nigeria Limited, we are pained to report that the project has been abandoned and the contractor demobilised from site.

“Also, of very important note to our community is the Okerenkoko rebuilding multi-billion naira project awarded to Accelerated Building Technology (ABT) since 2009 after the Joint Military Task Force air bombardment that reduced the over 300 houses in the community to ash. Nothing tangible is on ground as the contractor has also demobilised from site,” they lamented.

“The history of Okerenkoko in the Niger Delta struggle is well known and since our efforts to resolve this issue amicably is proving abortive, we have no choice than to resort to confrontation and violence which remains the only language that your government understands,” they added.

EBONY TV starts film on domestic abuse

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BONY TV has begun the filming of another reality progrmme. The programme involves four of Nigeria’s hottest Nollywood stars in the fight against domestic abuse.

Driven by a production crew led by Pamela Ofoegbu, Director, Reality programming Ebonylife TV, the film is being shot in Calabar, Cross River State, Ofoegbu said: “We have

signed up four electrifying Nollywood divas, who will each play a role in the short film as well as becoming the executive producers of this film as we see them in action behind the lens. Due to their

•L-R: Fair Director, Mr. Jerry Orhue; Head, Corporate Affairs, Intel Corporation, Mr. Osagie Ogunbor; representative of Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Mrs. Bunmi Lawson; representative of Minister of Technology, Mr. Lawrence Okoro, and Miss Ayomide Oseromi of Sherpered College, Ado-Ekiti, during the 9th National Festival of Schools Science and Quiz competition in Lagos at the weekend. PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

tenacity, talent and achievement on and off the silver screen, our divas will give stellar attention to the salient issue of domestic abuse while giving voices to those unable to speak up, as they raise the spotlight on a very dark issue.”

Also, the Executive producer, EbonyLife TV, Mo Abudu, said: “The Reality TV Series being filmed right now follows the highly successful recent wrap-Up of one of our flagship programmes ‘SISTAZ!’.Our current filming will bring our viewers to that compelling intersection between entertainment and reality as we bring some of Nigeria’s most celebrated Nollywood screen goddesses to highlight and fight the scourge of domestic abuse, an issue prevalent in the African, and indeed, Nigerian daily life, through Reality TV.” The series is also set to highlight the life and times of the spectacular actresses and filmmakers in the thrilling 3week filming journey. The series will end with a preview of the directors cut and with a Pan African launch later on in the year on EbonyLife TV.

NEWS REVIEW

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

•Tompolo

•Refinery

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HE Egbema/Gbaramatu Central Development Council (also known as Ijaw Regional Development Council) was set up by Chevron Nigeria Limited to develop about 20 oil-bearing and impacted communities in Egbema and Gbaramatu kingdoms of Warri area in Delta State. It is a product of the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) signed in 2005 between the communities and Chevron at the end of the Warri crisis.

Under the terms of the GMoU, the council gets N1.3 billion from Chevron over its three-year life span.

The fund is disbursed in over N400million annual allocation that is drawn quarterly. From the fund, the 32-man body pays allowances, maintains staff and carries out development project in the communities.

The oil firm also keeps close watch on the management of the resources with its accountant and representatives of the state government and other agencies as signatory to a near foolproof account.

However, the council is now faced with the strongest test in its short history as leaders in the Gbaramatu Kingdom are at war over the choice of a chairman. A source in the kingdom told our reporter that the "Council has not generated as much interest as it has done in this new dispensation."

Representation at the board is drawn from the oil-bearing communities in the two kingdoms who must first be elected (or selected) from their various communities or quarters. The elected community representatives then meet and choose leaders for the various positions, including chairman, secretary and public relations officers, among others.The heat generated by the new board reached a crescendo recently when the chairman, Mr. Edmund Doyah-Tiemo, raised the alarm over alleged threat to his life by Chief Government Ekpemupolo, a highly

Oil money sets brothers on war path Oil rich Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State is again gripped by tension over the constitution of the committee which manages N1.3 billion development fund given to the community by an oil company. Shola O'Neil writes on the intense scheming that is threatening the peace of the riverside community. influential Gbaramatu personality and former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

Doyah-Tiemo said Effurun-Warri that Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) wants to impose a new executive on the council. According to him, "He (Tompolo) called me and threatened my life. He (Tompolo) said if I go ahead to inaugurate a new chairman, he would find me wherever I am and deal with me."

Tompolo, however, debunked the claim as mere fallacy. He told our reporter that his only interest in the affairs of the council is hinged on a GMoU recently signed with Chevron and the interest of his people.

Speaking through his media aide, Paul Bebenimibo, Tompolo urged

Doyah-Tiemo to stick to his Egbema Kingdom and allow his Gbaramatu kinsmen decide their affairs."DoyahTiemo is an Egbema man; he is not from Gbaramatu. So, he should be minding his business as an Egbema person and not dabble into the issues of Gbaramatu," he added.

A highly placed chief in the kingdom explained the interest thus: "It is not about N1.3bn; it goes further than that. This board has a lot of influence with Chevron and its recommendation in terms of contracts and others is weighty.

When it was first inaugurated in 2005, there was not much interest because that was the era of militancy and people had several other interests, including bunkering but today it is different."

The alleged threat is just one of several controversies that have been sparked off by the constitution of the board. Prior to the claim, dozens of armed policemen and soldiers had invaded the council's secretariat off Airport Road, Effurun in late January and disrupted the board's meeting.

The invasion was on the alleged behest of one of the contestants, Chief Michael Johnny, who was accompanied by his retinue of armed security men to the event.

The Benikrukru community which is yet to submit its list is also embroiled in crisis, sources in the community fingered one of its most prominent members, Mr. Mathew Tonlagha, as the arrowhead. It was gathered that Tonlagha, who made his fortune as a top shot of

indigenous oil service company, Fenog Nigeria Limited, was angling for the inclusion of the community chairman, Mr. Jeffrey Ojogu, as its representative, and eventually, chairman of the new board.

However, one of his opponents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the people are suspicious because "We think Tonlagha wants to add the Benikrukru to his list of personal assets. He already is very rich and he just needs Ojogu to be there to secure his dealings with Chevron."

Yet, our investigation revealed that the drama is not restricted to Tonlagha/Ojogu conspiracy theory.

Tompolo is said to be taking more than a passing interest in the activities in recent times. Several prominent Gbaramatu leaders, who spoke on strict condition of anonymity, said the former warlord is determined to have a say in who becomes the next boss of the council.

One source said Tonlogha could be one of his plots to gain foot hold in the running of the affairs of the council. One of the strongest candidates in the race, Chief Dan Ekpebide, a key player in the Warri crisis and founding member of the highly influential Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC), is also linked with Tompolo. They are childhood friends and allies in a number of interests and fronts.

Then, there is also the boisterous Chief Michael Johnny, from Okoitoru community of the high-yielding Marakaba Field, who has been at loggerheads with Tompolo for several years, until they reconciled in the dying days of last year. The reconciliation is seen as part of a complex scheming for the plush seat.

However, his detractors say Gbaramatu leaders are not too comfortable with his relationship with an Itsekiri youth leader and a very influential member of the Itsekiri RDC, fearing that he could become an ally in a partnership that may not serve the interest of his people.

But the youthful traditional titleholders said he is too "comfortable" to be tied to anybody's apron strings, insisting that his emergence in the race was based on pressure from his kinsmen.

Also in the race to head the council is Sheriff Mulade, an indigene of Benikrukru and Kokodiagbe, who is believed to be an independent candidate. A member of the old board, he is believed to enjoy the support of the grassroots and inner caucus of the council.

Ekpebide faulted claims that his candidacy and those of others are backed by Tompolo, insisting that "Tompolo is my younger brother and we are friends. I did not approach him for support. He is from Kokodiagbene while I am from Benikrukru."

He said the people demanded change because their former representative, Pastor Emmanuel Imeleye, had spent two terms. In the same vein, he said the people of Benikrukru are desirous of producing the chair because their counterparts from Kokodiagbene had tasted the position through Dr. Tolar, the pioneer chairman of the council.

He said rather than being castigated, Tompolo should be commended for his effort at peacefully resolving the impasse and inviting the PAC to this end.

In the meantime, tension has risen in the kingdom as interest groups insisted on the February 28 date that was chosen for fresh election after the state police command waded in and gave Benikrukru one month to resolve its dispute.

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Iran not seeking nuclear weapons -Khamenei

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RAN's Supreme Leader said yesterday that his country was not seeking nuclear weapons, but that if Tehran intended to build them, the U.S. couldn't stop it.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, also rejected direct talks with the U.S. over its nuclear program despite the pressure of sanctions.

"We believe nuclear weapons must be abolished and we have no intention of building" such weaponry, Khamenei said in remarks posted on his website, leader.ir. But he added: "If Iran had the intention to build nuclear weapons, the U.S. could in no way stop the Iranian nation."

He said Tehran would hold talks with the U.S. if Washington respects Iran's rights instead of resorting to bullying. "They want to deny the Iranian nation of its definite and inalienable right to uranium enrichment and peaceful use of nuclear energy. Of course, they won't succeed," Khamenei said.

Addressing a group of Iranians at his home in the capital, Tehran, Khamenei also scolded President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his conservative rivals for factional fighting, saying they should unite rather than quarrel at a time when the West was stepping up sanctions on Iran.

Iran recently has highlighted a religious decree Khamenei issued more than seven years ago that bans nuclear weapons in an effort to back up its claim that Tehran's nuclear program is being used for peaceful purposes and medical research.

Egypt president's son may earn $133 per month

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HE head of Egypt's holding company for airports and aviation says President Mohammed Morsi's son has applied for a job that pays $133 a month starting salary. Captain Magdi AbdelHadi dismissed accusations of nepotism and denied reports that the starting monthly salary would be $5,000.

He said yesterday that Omar Morsi went through regular procedures to apply for the internally advertised job, including passing English and computer exams. He says the president's son is still being evaluated for the position, which pays 900 Egyptian pounds, roughly $133 a month. Abdel-Hadi says after six months, salaries rise to some 1,200 pounds, or $180 a month.

The $5,000 figure is unheard of for new graduates in Egypt, where the starting salary for a government job can be as low as $75.

Israel treats Syrians wounded along frontier

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

News Review/World

HE Israeli military says troops have provided medical help to Syrians near the countries' border and transported them to a hospital in Israel for further treatment.

A military spokeswoman says soldiers treated five Syrians wounded yesterday near the northern security fence along the frontier in the Golan Heights.

She would not elaborate and spoke on condition of anonymity in line with protocol. Syrian activists reported fighting in the Quneitra region yesterday, which is on the cease-fire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights.

Israel and Syria are bitter enemies and have fought several wars.

Vatican raises possibility of T early March conclave HE Vatican raised the possibility yesterday that the conclave to elect the next pope might start sooner than March 15, the earliest date possible under current rules that require a 15-20 day waiting period after the papacy becomes vacant.

Vatican spokesman The Rev. Federico Lombardi said that the Vatican rules on papal succession are open to interpretation and that "this is a question that people are discussing."

"It is possible that church

authorities can prepare a proposal to be taken up by the cardinals on the first day after the papal vacancy" to move up the start of conclave, Lombardi said. He explained that the 15-20 day rule is in place to allow time for the arrival of "all those (cardinals) who are absent" to take part in the conclave

in the usual circumstances of convening after a pope dies. But in this case, the cardinals already know that this pontificate will end on Feb. 28 with the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, and therefore can get to Rome in plenty of time to take part in the conclave, Lombardi said. The date of the

•After two months away from office and a fourth cancer-related surgery in Cuba, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez on Friday is pictured surrounded by his daughters and holding Thursday's edition of the official Cuban newspaper Granma at hospital in Havana.

AFP

Bomb rips through Pakistan market, killing 63 bomb hidden in a water tank ripped through a crowded vegetable market in a mostly Shiite neighborhood in a southwestern Pakistani city yesterday, killing at least 63 people and wounding some 180, officials said.

Police said many of those wounded in the explosion in Quetta remain in critical condition. The blast, which police said targeted the country's minority Muslim sect, left many victims buried under rubble, but authorities did not know how many.

It was the deadliest incident since bombings in the same city killed 86 people earlier this year, leading to days of protests that eventually toppled the local government.

Shiites, a minority in this Sunni Muslim dominated country, have been increasingly attacked by militant groups who view them as heretics and non-Muslims. Many of the Shiites in Quetta, including those in the neighborhood attacked yesterday, are Hazaras, an ethnic group that migrated to Pakistan from Afghanistan more than a century ago.

Quetta police chief Zubair Mahmood told reporters that the bomb was hidden in a water tank and towed into the market by a tractor. He said the blast destroyed shops in the neighborhood and caused a two-story building to collapse.

"We fear some victims may be found buried there," he said.

Mahmood said police did not yet know who was behind the

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bombing but a local television station reported that Lashker-eJhangvi, a Sunni extremist group that has targeted Shiites in the past, had called to claim responsibility.

Senior police officer Wazir Khan Nasir said the bomb, set off in a residential suburb, was detonated by remote control.

Another officer, Samiullah Khan, said the bomb was detonated while dozens of women and children were buying produce for their evening meal. Local residents rushed the victims to three different area hospitals.

A massive plume of white smoke rose over the area after the bomb blast. Television footage of the scene showed the rubble of the destroyed buildings mixed with fruits and vegetables and shattered street carts scattered across the ground.

Near one of the hospitals where the dead and wounded were taken,

a man stood weeping as people were being taken in on stretchers.

"Look at our misery! We are helpless," he said.

Members of the minority Shiite sect took to the city streets in angry protest, blocking roads with burning tires and throwing stones at passing vehicles.

Many also started firing into the air in an attempt to keep people away from the area in case there was a secondary explosion.

Sometimes insurgents stagger the explosions as a way to target people who rush to the scene to help and thus increase the death toll. Police cordoned off the area.

Most of the Shiites in the area are Hazaras, and they were quick to blame Lashker-e-Jhangvi.

"This evil force is operating with the patronage of certain elements in the province," said Qayum Changezi, the chairman of a local Hazara organization.

Libya arrests suspected Christian missionaries

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Libyan security official says four foreigners have been arrested on suspicion of distributing books about Christianity and proselytizing, a crime in the predominantly Muslim North African county.

Police spokesman Hussein bin Hamid said yesterday the four were arrested in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday.

The group is under investigation for printing and distributing books that proselytize Christianity. Police

say they found 45,000 books in their possession and that another 25,000 have already been distributed.

Bin Hamid says an Egyptian man is among the four, and that embassy officials have visited them. He would not say where they are being held.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry confirmed that a dual national Swedish-American citizen was arrested while traveling on a U.S. passport.

The U.S. Embassy in Libya declined comment.

conclave's start is important because Holy Week begins March 24, with Palm Sunday Mass followed by Easter Sunday on March 31. In order to have a new pope in place in time for the most solemn liturgical period on the church calendar, he would need to be installed as pope by Sunday, March 17.

Given the tight time-frame, speculation has mounted that some sort of arrangement would be made to start the conclave earlier than a strict reading of the law would allow. Questions about the start of the conclave have swirled ever since Benedict announced on Feb. 11 that he would retire, the first pontiff in 600 years to abdicate rather than stay in office until death.

As a result, his decision has created a host of questions about how the Vatican will proceed, given that its procedures for the socalled "sede vacante" - or vacant seat - period between papacies won't begin with a pope's death.

Lombardi also gave more details about Benedict's final audiences and plans for retirement, saying already 35,000 people have requested tickets for his final general audience to be held in St. Peter's Square on Feb. 27.

He said Benedict would spend about two months in the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome immediately after his abdication, to allow enough time for renovations to be completed on his retirement home - a converted monastery inside the Vatican walls.

That means Benedict would be expected to return to the Vatican, no longer as pope, around the end of April or beginning of May, Lombardi said. He was asked if and when the pope would meet with his successor and whether he would participate in his installation Mass; like many open questions about the end of Benedict's papacy, both issues simply haven't yet been resolved, Lombardi said.

Group asks Congo to release imprisoned journalist leading media advocacy group is calling on Congolese authorities to release a journalist who was sentenced in December to six months in prison on defamation charges.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said yesterday that Joachim Diana Gikupa, editor of daily newspaper La Colombe, should be released pending an appeal. U.N. radio Okapi reported that Gikupa's lawyers filed an appeal saying he was in poor health. CPJ says that Gikupa was convicted of criminal defamation for publishing a report alleging that a Chinese company managing a local hospital had sold expired medication, among other things.

It condemned Congo's use of criminal defamation charges to jail journalists for critical reporting. The group says the Chinese company, Gen Tai, denied the allegations and filed a complaint against the Feb. 9, 2012 report.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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EBRUARY is Black History Month. Accordingly, it is timely to discuss the condition of our race. Before we embark on that journey, an excursion is in order into comments received for last week's article criticising the Obama Administration's belief that it possesses the legal authority to kill American citizens suspected of terrorism without charging the person with a crime or bringing them to court.

My thesis opposes the Administration's. I don't believe the executive branch has the unfettered power to kill people by labeling them terrorists based on secret criteria and evidence of which only a handful in government are apprised. Democracy requires an informed public. The people must vigilantly guard their rights but also must be explicitly informed about what is wrong. Here, the Obama administration reserves the right to summarily execute an alleged terrorist while also reserving the right to keep secret the information and criteria upon which the mortal decision was based. Democratic due process is confounded when government refuses to publish the elements of a crime prior to taking any citizen to task for committing the crime. Individuals commit crimes in secret. However, government should not copy this behavior by defining crimes in the same nocturnal, clandestine manner. In broad daylight, government should openly publish what constitutes a crime, especially one attracting capital punishment by bringing down the full and terrible wrath of American military power on a person like a descending anvil.

Many people thought enough of the subject to express views contrary to mine. This is welcome and helpful.

However, a troubling strand wove through most opposing comments.

We need to pluck this string not because it is a bit frayed. This column is not an abstract exercise. Its intent is to provide a heterodox, progressive viewpoint on the global political economy so that you are not automatically seduced by the mercenary opinions and hired facts that describe mainstream media. I write to spur you to think for yourselves and not as the establishment would have you do.

The common denominator in most opposite comments revealed a tendency to think as the government would like.

The train ran thusly: "Those killed by government are terrorists and thus are right for the killing. Why else would government kill them?" At bottom, this is circular reasoning somehow resulting in a dead end. It implies government infallibility. If, by nature, government is infallible, then the hunt for democracy is indefensible. Being imperfect, the people should not be sovereign. Being perfect, government should be sovereign. The flawed public should serve this perfect instrument as a serf would serve his lord. Unerringly segregating terrorist foe from innocent neutral and permanently restraining itself from wrongfully depicting as terrorists other types of political enemies is an extremely complex task. If it can manage this, then government should have free rein to enact secret policies covering all spheres of the political economy. Such reasoning is anathematic to democracy. It is also hogwash.

Few quibble with the notion that active, known terrorists are due whatever comes their way. The thorny issue is how a person is proven to be a terrorist, who does the proving, and who judges the proof. Whenever all these critical aspects are assumed by one entity, due process is absent. A police/ security state nears. Dictatorship readies itself in the shadows cast by avarice and ambition. Greece and Rome fell in like straits. Terrorists have never felled a great nation. Creeping despotism and the democratic dry rot are mortal dangers to great civilizations, reducing them to ash. Yet, we so fear the transient danger that we become susceptible to that which may author harm irreparable.

Because terrorism is heinous, people too easily support what government claims to be the counterterrorism pursuit. Herein lurks the danger. The

News Review/World

Black History Month: But what colours the future?

•Obama

BRIAN BROWNE

assault against civil liberties is gradual and usually begins with the most reviled elements. Thus, respectable peoples are unconcerned about the encroachment. Steadily, the encroachment spreads until all are touched and most have become afraid. Then it is too late.

The state has become too intolerant.

Even mild dissent is smashed by the clenched fist. People too willing to trust whatever government does on matters of internal security may be a people too insufficiently vigilant to hold inviolate the democracy they have. This is true in America. It is a lesson for Africa.

Those who believe the American government infallible in circumscribing enemies forget history. Approximately 60 years ago, communism malingered as the evil specter. The national security apparatus suspected a communist onslaught the next day. A legion of next days came and went. The red avalanche never did. Still, the law enforcement machinery looked for communists under every bed, in every closet and kettle. They trafficked fear; the resultant hysteria ruined the lives of multitudes. The witch hunt was all legal because laws were written for the very purpose of targeting people for the flimsiest reasons. It was legal but immoral and smacking of evil gowned as patriotism.

J. Edgar Hoover, the transvestite racist who headed the FBI for roughly fifty years, distained Martin Luther King, calling him a communist agent.

That King personified American public morality gave Hoover no pause. He attacked King like a mad dog jumps a wounded hare. King was blackmailed by the FBI and jailed by southern police departments. He was castigated as the most dangerous man in America simply because he wanted legal equality.

The establishment of his time thought King a domestic terrorist.

The more radical Black Panthers received harsher treatment. While their symbolism was militant, their goals were fairly modest and local. Still, law enforcement ceaselessly pounced on them with billy clubs and bullets until this human species of panther became an endangered one. Malcolm X was

killed in a vulgar hit bearing traits of something sponsored by a clandestine agency. X's crime: Being a black man with a piercing wit and too honest a tongue.

This brings us to Black History. Today, no Black American leader lies in danger of assassination for trying too avidly to advance his race. They are in greater danger of being fired from their assumed roles of ambassadors of the establishment to Black people instead of vice versa. We now suffer an erosion of Black Leadership so profound that most Blacks rightfully deem themselves leaderless. This was not always the case.

One hundred years ago, Black American leaders were exceptional.

W.E.B Du Bois and his ilk formed the core of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). They fought for legal rights/ political justice. Conservative Booker T. Washington discounted political integration, instead focusing his gaze on economic progress. Jamaican immigrant, Marcus Garvey, preached a conservative but militant Black nationalism. He wanted to return to Africa en masse. Despite the outlandishness of his solution and pomposity of his person, his searing critique of America racism spoke to average Blacks. He was a heroic figure who you either loved or detested. As with so many Black heroes, his fate would be tragic. Attempting to finance his quixotic project, he was convicted on questionable fraud charges and unceremoniously deported. Conversely, Mr. Washington's political moderation was supported by the White establishment. To his credit, he apparently gave clandestine aid Du Bois although they maintained a picture of public animosity. Both realized they complemented each other.

The Du Bois quest for legal equality became the dominant thrust. The closer Blacks advanced toward equality, the more the elitist Du Bois began to see it as a hollow stick. Toward the end of his life, he recognized the transcendent importance of economic matters. Becoming a socialist, he spent his last years in Ghana under the hospitality of Kwame Nkrumah.

Although selecting different paths, these Black Americans dedicated their lives to Black progress in an era where championing Black people directly undermined a person's natural desire for a long life.

The next generation produced Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Both surrendered their lives for their people. No need for judge or jury to decide if these men were principled envoys. There is but one conclusion to draw from their lives. Lesser, more militant figures like Black Panther leader Huey Newton occupied the radical flank of the Black movement.

After decades of broken bones and dashed dreams, the door swung ajar.

With legal discrimination ended, Black people looked to a new day.

Change was not as dramatic as hoped.

The new day would look more like a new dusk. Still, this period represents the height of Black American leadership thus far.

Something strange happened on the road to comprehensive equality.

The establishment began charging an exorbitant toll which only a few Blacks could tender. The result produced a sea change between Black leadership and White establishment.

Previously, Black leaders presented the interests of the Black race to the White establishment. Since 1970, whose embassy the post-civil rights generation of Black leaders mainly carries has become indecipherable.

Reverend Jesse Jackson is an exception to this because he is really one of the last remaining civil rights era stalwarts.

He is a vanishing breed.

Ironically, progress in integration endangered the very type of leaders who made possible progress toward integration. The modern Black leader has access to two worlds. He can waltz with the establishment or moonwalk with the home folks. The greater the access to money and power, the greater the likelihood of preferring the waltz.

Consequently, this period shall be known as the time of the great taming of Black leadership. An obvious sign of this era is the lack of a radical Black leader of national stature. The lineage from Garvey to Malcolm X has been extinguished. No one wants to be John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness.

The smart guys are more comfortable playing Herod.

The radical strain has been supplanted by its diametric opposite represented by Justice Clarence Thomas and Herman Cain, the unsuccessful Republican Party presidential nomination candidate. Neither has seen anything white he does not like and nothing black he does not detest, including the face in the mirror. Both kowtow to Whites and both know the role of buffoon. In years past, this duo would

11

have been derided as Uncle Toms.

Today, they are the elder statements of what should only be called the Black Tea Party. Shame on them for making a career of self-hate and wide, ready grins.

The new leadership model also produced Colon Powell. Powell is regarded as a luminous figure simply because he rose to the top of the American military hierarchy. That he climbed is undisputable. But for what purpose? Powell brought no significant change in military policy or strategy. The consummate insider, Powell reached the heights by going along with how things were. He was not a Black man in the Army. He was an army soldier in black skin. Whenever forced to decide between the interests of Blacks against the steady operation of his beloved military, he sided with the institution. This is a rebirth of the ante-bellum house slave mentality.

When he became Secretary of State, the servile orientation failed Powell, permanently sullying his legacy as a statesman. Because his bosses so ordered, he sat before the entire world publishing falsehoods he had reason to suspect. He did as ordered and thus became complicit in a war that needn't have been, a war that reduced hundreds of thousands to their graves. In prior generations, Black leaders opposed wars against weaker, non-European states. Today's Black leaders question nothing.

Enter President Barack Obama, the nonblack Black President. Obama spent a noticeable portion of his first term explaining to Black people why he could not do anything to help them because he was the president of all Americans not solely of Black people.

Sounds fair and impartial, yet it was a deception. Obama is the manservant of another group, the financial establishment. He never told the financial establishment that he could do nothing special for them because he was president of all Americans and not just the handkerchief of Big Money. Had he told them such a thing, it would have been a lie.

His first term presided over the largest transfer of government assistance to the financial community one nation has ever made in the history of humankind. During that same period, the net worth of Black America plummeted to levels not seen in three decades. A Black president is something good but only if he is interested in a purpose other than guiding the ship as it has always been steered. If he is not daring enough to act in proximate accord with the progressive political traditions of his community, I fail to see the collective value in his ascendance. It is a personal victory, nothing more. Welcome to the "Audacity of Nope."

Despite the fanfare surrounding Obama, Black America suffers like a wingless bird. Unemployment stagnates at levels associated with economic depression. Black incarceration is larger than the population of a small nation. So many young men rot in jail that the race itself can be deemed a penal colony. Should the negative trajectory of our leadership continue, Black Americans should brace for even hellish times ahead. It is sad for a people who have experienced so much to fall again because they have been deserted by those who should lead them. As things worsen, people will be forced to wake from numbed desolation to realize they walk toward molten danger. Only acute desperation will cause them to propel new leaders to the fore. Until then, the decline persists.

Africa must be cognizant of this trend in Black American leadership not just because it affects a related group of people but because similar political and economic forces trouble Black Africa. If Black Africa repeats the decline in leadership quality, the Black race will face its most intricate challenge in generations. What does a race do when it seems to have only enough political and economic freedom to mortgage its future? Black History Month should be a celebration of overcoming injustice. If we are not careful, it may become our dirge.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

13

COMMENT and ANALYSIS THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

After Ratzinger, enough with the old European Popes!

He was supposed to be ‘God’s Rottweiler.’ In Newsweek, A.N. Wilson looks at the paradox of Benedict XVI.

Otufodunrin@thenationonlineng.net 08023000621 (SMS only)

Advancing media career

M

Y wife exclaimed, when she heard of the pope’s surprise announcement to retire: “It’s bad enough having one old man thinking he’s infallible—now there’ll be two of them!” Our conversation went on to imagine the election of yet another octogenarian, who might well in turn resign before the demise of Benedict. Pretty soon, the Vatican could fill up with retired infallible old men, most of them Italian, all nodding in front of the daytime television in the geriatric wing, and all—all—infallible.

My guess is that this time, they won’t go for yet another ancient European, and they will plump for a cardinal either from Africa or South America. Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana would be good. Another possibility is Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria—an arch-conservative who makes Ratzinger seem like a wishy-washy Anglican. (Which in many ways he is!)

But my money is on Cardinal Leonardo Sandri of Argentina. At 70, he is the ideal age— with 10 years, at least, before he joins the other infallibles in the dayroom. Additionally, he has the great advantage of being, at present, in charge of the Vatican’s relationship with the Eastern churches—and it is surely the moment in history to reunite Rome with the Orthodox.

And he is also a voice of South America—and that must be heard. Europe and North America have grown deaf to the faith, and the church needs someone from elsewhere to nourish the flame once more.

Whatever happens, for a pope who was elected on the traditionalist ticket, it was a curious thing to retire. Popes just don’t retire.

And then he did. Ever since his moment of truth in 1968, when the rioting students of Tübingen converted the liberal-minded Joseph Ratzinger into the Enemy of the Enlightenment and Defender of Catholic Reaction, this has been a man—surely—who wanted to revert to the way things were in the good old days, back in ... er ... when exactly?

That has always been the problem for “traditionalists” or “conservatives” in any sphere of life—church, politics, family life. How far do you want to go back? At what point, exactly, did things begin to go wrong?

Appointed as John Paul II’s righthand man, Ratzinger was the Nasty Cop, engaged to wage war on the liberals. But in point of fact, he was always a much subtler figure than his enemies—or, more dangerously—his fans believed. Almost the first thing he said to the English Archbishop Cormac MurphyO’Connor was: “When are we going to make Newman a saint?”

John Henry Newman, the 19th-century convert from Anglicanism, in 1845 wrote a worldchanging book—literally—called The Development of Christian Doctrine. In it, he posited that nothing stays the same; everything is in a state of flux and development. He popularized the Hegelian view of the world for English speakers, and thereby prepared the world for Darwin and modern political democracy. But it took a while for the church—in the Second Vatican Council—to catch up. Ratzinger, behind the old-fashioned vestments, and the occasional sharp message to American or German liberal theologians, has always in fact been a Newman Catholic, aware that the church, for all its historic roots in the world of late classical antiquity, is ever changing, ever new.

Dante Alighieri, not a poet who minced his words about popes, had no hesitation in sending to hell the only pope who had resigned in his lifetime. True, he did not put the resigning pope in the very pits of hell with those who sell political office, or who betray their country or their friends. But there he is, cowering on the borders of hell at the very beginning of the Inferno. “And then I saw—and knew beyond all doubt—the shadow of the one who

Lekan Otufodunrin

W •Turkson

•Ouellet

By A.N. Wilson made, from cowardice, the great refusal”—che fece per viltade il gran rifiuto.

They are tough words, especially if we take them to refer to a man whom the Catholic Church venerates not merely as a holy pope but as a saint: Saint Celestine V. No one would compare Benedict XVI, a highly intelligent and articulate man, with the poor hermit peasant-friar who was chosen as a compromise candidate for the papacy in 1293.

Unable to make up their minds between rival French and Italian rascals, the College of Cardinals—only 12 men in those days, dithered for 27 months! Eventually, someone had the idea of appointing a saint to the Holy See. Poor, illiterate Padre Pietro was an 85-year-old hermit living in a little grotto on a mountainside in the region of Naples. He accepted the papal office, but was terrified by it, and after only a few months begged to be allowed back to his cell. The cardinals accepted his choice. He was canonized relatively quickly, in 1313, less than 20 years after his death. Modern scientists examining his skull found the unmistakable traces of a nail having been driven into the poor old man’s head, so he was evidently murdered, and in all likelihood, it was his suave lawyer-successor, Boniface VIII—Dante’s bête noire—who arranged the murder.

It was an unedifying episode in medieval history, and we would probably not know much about it if Boniface VIII had not, in addition to murdering his predecessor, sent Dante into exile from his native Florence. Boniface thereby made himself into one of the villains of world literature, and all of Dante’s hatred was poured out on the pope’s head.

There is matter for meditation here. Celestine V was a holy and good man, but a very bad pope. Boniface, if only half the things his enemies said about him were true, was far from a good man. But he was a brilliant pope who rescued the Western church (for a time) from some of the worst crises in its history: the breakup of Christendom itself being the worst, with the Eastern Orthodox churches going it alone, while the Western church was riven with schism. Add to that the European wars and the ever-present threat of Islam in Spain and in Eastern Europe.

Benedict XVI is neither a holy hermit nor a criminal. But he is a paradox. Before he became pope, he was the white hope of the archconservatives in the church—”God’s

•Sandri

•Arinze Rottweiler”—the man who was going to send the liberals howling to their lairs while the universal church once again reasserted the old ways.

And in some ways, it looked very much as if this was what Benedict set out to do when he was first elected. He wore a variety of extremely old-fashioned vestments—the little red cap trimmed with white fur bearing more than a passing resemblance to that of Father Christmas—and those scarlet loafers made by Prada.

He brought in from the cold the ultraright conservatives who followed Archbishop Lefebvre.

(But he failed to do a name check with all of them, and found himself acknowledging as a bishop an English oddball called Richard Williamson, who was a Holocaust denier.) He restored the old Tridentine Mass, for those who wished to use it—a semi-cynical move, since how many priests are left who know how to perform the old rite?

But also, from the very first, he revealed a surprising intellectual flexibility. The very first address he made to the cardinals, just after his election, was a remarkable piece of prose for anyone to have written—but even more for a German Catholic. For a German pope, it was actually astounding, for he acknowledged that Martin Luther, father of the Reformation, had in effect been right, and that Christians are saved not by the mere performance of religious observances but by faith in Christ. His first encyclical, “God Is Love” (“Deus Caritas Est”), followed up the theme with an exaltation of love in all its human forms. It contained none of the usual carping papal denunciations of gays or divorced people. It was a simple celebration of love—as simple as Dumbledore’s when he tells Harry Potter that he had been saved by “love, Harry, love.”

Oh, yes. Harry Potter. That too. When a sourfaced old Austrian Catholic schoolmarm went to the boring trouble to write a book denouncing Harry Potter as encouraging magic and the black arts, Benedict carelessly endorsed her thesis. But when it was pointed out to him that, as a matter of fact, J.K. Rowling was on the side of the angels, he was gracious enough to withdraw his denunciation.

In other words, Joseph the Unbudgeable, Ratzinger the Ironclad Bismarck of Church Politics, transmogrified into a gentle, unpredictable, accident-prone old pope, more absentminded professor than Grand Inquisitor.

Continued on Page 68

HAT does it takes to advance a media career in Nigeria despite the various challenges faced by journalists in the

country?

IrecentlyaskedJeniferEhidiamen,aformerYoung Nation columnist with this paper to share her thoughts with a group of journalists in Lagos. She was very reluctant, claiming to be too young in the profession to be advising her seniors.

Ehidiamen may be young in the profession but she has learnt and accomplished a lot to qualify to speak on the issue of succeeding in whatever career one chooses. Her prescriptions are not only good enough for media profession but for anyone who wants to make a success of his or her career.

Trainings and Fellowship In my final year thesis that was focused on The Factors the Influences Journalist’s Productivity, one of the findings in the research was journalist’s interest in embracing training opportunities. However, most journalists who were surveyed in the Vanguard and the Nation admitted that most of the trainings they have been to are mostly self-sponsored. The management rarely provide training opportunities that can advance their career. However, as journalists we must not limit ourselves to the limited training opportunities provided by our organizations. If we really want to move ahead in our media career then we must be ready to maximize every training opportunity available. Popular online resource where we can find training and fellowship opportunities include: www.ijnet.org; www.internationalreporting.org etc.

Embrace the New Media The new media is changing the face of journalism.

But how many of us here are maximizing the tools to advance our media career? A lot of people I know who are active on social media and very proactive in reproducingnewscontentsfromthenewsprofessional journalists publish have no prior training in journalism.

Yet, they are the ones making the best of the new media tools. What are professional journalists doing?

There are different tools we must be willing to embrace in order to become more visible online.

Some of the tools I use most are: Twitter, FaceBook, GooglePlus, Blog, LinkedIn etc. Each of these tools has a strong way of helping us have a more impactful online presence. We must not settle for just creating news contents for our traditional media alone. We each can own a website or create a free account on Blogger or Wordpress and use them as channels to amplify our voices on issues we are passionate about.

The more people know that you are actually a journalist and not just another blogger, the more they are likely to visit your blog for original and accurate reports you publish. We can use the new media to engage others, network, collaborate and advance our career.

Profile: Tell your story right Journalists are very good story tellers. We do a very good job telling the stories of others but not our story. The other day my former classmate was having a challenge with filling a space in an application that required her to tell her story. The space required over 700 words. But all she had was some 390 words or so.

I was perplexed after I read through the profile. “You are more than this,” I said to her. I could not figure out if she was trying to be modest or she was just too timid to tell her story. As journalist we need to have an audacious voice in sharing our experiences with others. Our profile should speak for us. How is your current LinkedIn page, is it up to date? Is the picture you used on point? People are interested in learning about where we have been and why we do what we do. Without an up to date profile that accurately tell of our work, they cannot learn this. Don’t get me wrong, this is not same as blowing out own trumpet. I think we are each shortchanging ourselves from possible opportunities that might come knocking if there is nothing about our story that draws those opportunities on.

Ehidiamen is a 2013 IRP New Media Fellow reporting on issues of global health and development in Nigeria to the International Reporting Project (IRP) at Johns Hopkins University SAIS

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Comment & Analysis

Road to achieving zero new HIV infection in Lagos W HEN AIDS emerged from the shadows three decades ago, few people could predict how the epidemic would evolve, and fewer still could describe with any certainty the best ways of combating it. Today, we have passed the stage of conjecture. We know from experience that AIDS can knock decades off national development, widen the gulf between rich and poor nations and push already-stigmatised groups closer to the margins of society. Unlike time when the affliction of HIV/AIDS was considered by many as the Western World’s burden, the concern of everyone today is about the best way to tackle the spread of this killer disease.

The AIDS epidemic is a global catastrophe responsible for over 20 million deaths world-wide, leaving tens of millions of children orphaned and some 33 million people living with the dreaded virus. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 25 million of these people and estimates from the joint United Nations AIDS programme (UNAIDS) revealed that not less than 3.14 million Nigerians were found living with HIV as at the end of 2011.

Currently, Nigeria bears the second highest burden of HIV/AIDS in Africa, next to South Africa and third in the whole world after South Africa and India. It is estimated that approximately 220,000 people died of AIDS in Nigeria in 2009 and the disease has also been associated with Nigeria’s declining life expectancy which in 2010 was only 52 years. Since HIV is found in body fluidssuch as blood, semen and vaginal secretions, it can be transmitted when fluid from an infected person enters the body of another person. Given this modes of transmission, everyone is at risk of contracting the virus.

This can happen through sexual intercourse, during blood transfusion, when using unsterilised skin piercing instruments and from an infected mother to her baby during child birth or after birth through breastfeeding.

Regarding HIV/AIDS, it is worrisome that the average Nigerian have turned

From Rasak Musbau

knowledge is power into knowledge is death certificate. Despite the availability of many voluntary counseling and testing services in various hospitals/centers across the country, very few know their HIV status.

For instance, in Lagos, there are currently over 57 free HCT sites run by government, civil societies and the private sector. There are 29 free PMTCT (prevention of mother to child) sites, 24 free ART (Anti-retroviral therapy) sites, 6 EID (early infant diagnosis) sites in secondary and tertiary health facilities across the state.

Till date, the figures on HIV in Nigeria are still one obtained through surveys of women attending antenatal clinics. Yet, only few comprehend how to assess risk to HIV with behaviour and practices that increase risk of HIV infection still rampant among our people. The big question, of course, is can we get to zero new HIV infection? We can achieve zero new HIV infection by committing large sums of fund to prevention especially when it is a fact that HIV is largely a preventable infection. We can achieve it by first of all attaining zero discrimination.

Persons living with HIV and AIDS require information, counseling, care and support and not discrimination.

Given its strategic place and importance in Nigeria, Lagos State has been very proactive and in the forefront of the national response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic through strengthening of institutions, social mobilisation and enlightenment.

In Lagos, the State Law for the Protection of persons living with HIV and AIDS was signed into law in 2007. To ensure full implementation of the law, a mechanism whereby PLWHA (People living with HIV and AIDS) who have had their rights infringed upon can seek legal advice at no cost was set up. This is in line with the views of Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia when he said: “paradoxically enough, the only way in which we can deal effectively with the rapid spread of HIV/

AIDS is by respecting and protecting the rights of those already exposed to it and those most at risk”. How apt!

A vital means of achieving zero new infection in the state is what is being done at the health facilities concerning encouraging all pregnant women to get tested for HIV and providing ARVs to all pregnant positive women. Over 80% of infections in children under 15 are acquired from their mothers. PMTCT interventions, when properly implemented, have been proven to reduce the risk of MTCT of HIV to less than 2% (from about 40% in the absence of any intervention). It is therefore obvious that one of the fundamental pillars of getting to zero would be to ensure increased uptake of PMTCT services. This is already being done at the 29 PMTCT sites located in secondary and tertiary institutions across the state.

Another way is to provide care and support to PLWHA. People should be aware that AIDS is NOT a moral issue- it is a public health problem. The vicious circle of fear, prejudice and ignorance has not and cannot help our quest to eradicate the problem. This is high time people should stop imagining number of partners PLWHA must have slept with to be in the condition. Do we turn our back on thousands of children who are infected and are living with the virus due to circumcision by untrained health personnel? What of many who got infected through transfusion by unscreened blood? Do we also turn our back on millions of children who got infected by their positive parents?

Ed Koch said: “if you turn your back on these people (PLWHA), you (yourself) are an animal. You may be a well-dressed animal, but you are never the less an animal.”

The state government has also scaled up its counseling and testing. Beside the over 57 free HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) sites, in marking last year World Aids Day; the Lagos State Government provided mobile HIV counseling and testing campaign in the five divisions of the state. The large attendance of Lagosians at

the five centres gives hope that the journey is achievable. In 2013, the target of the state is to get 1.3 million people in the HCT net.

Treatment as prevention is a new buzz phrase that is doing the round in the HIV and AIDS field. The raising of the CD4 threshold for treatment from 200 to 350 means more people are eligible for treatment and is expected to translate into fever new infections.

But how do we get people on treatment if they do not know their status? HCT is the entry point to all services. People who tested negative would have had access to information which would hopefully influence their lifestyle. Positive people are referred to whatever service they need and can prevent progression to AIDS. One other way through which the government is working to achieve zero new infection is strengthening of prevention programs by targeting young people in and out of school. Reaching young people even before their sexual debut with information about HIV and other reproductive health issues would help to avert new infections.

There is one British AIDS education slogan which could also be adopted in our schools.

It goes thus: Every time you sleep with a boy you sleep with all his old girl friends.

In Lagos State the availability of a screening test to detect HIV in donated blood has nearly eliminated blood transfusions as a possible source of infection.

Other preventive efforts include education about safer sex practices, such as consistent condom use, and avoidance of needle sharing among people who inject drugs.

It is hoped that with desired interest from all stakeholders, increase and expansion of interpersonal communication and community mobilisation approaches at the LGA level, the journey will become interesting and reaching the destination will become easier.

Musbau is of Features Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Comment & Analysis

15

The Pope’s worthy example From Rome, a lesson in leadership

T

HE position of the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope, is easily one of the world’s most powerful and visible spiritual offices with tremendous political influence. Apart from its huge congregation of at least 1.2 billion adherents globally, the Catholic Church has a rich historical tradition that dates back several centuries. All of these make the office of the Pope one of the most coveted, revered and glamorous as the occupant wields enormous spiritual and moral authority. This is perhaps why, in about 700 years, only five Popes had voluntarily resigned from office. The first was Celestine V, a hermit who stepped down from the office in 1294, just a few months after his ascension, because he wanted a simpler and less physically demanding life. And in 1415, Pope Gregory XII resigned from office to help bring an end to rival claims to the papacy and preserve the cohesion of the Catholic Church.

It is against this background that the decision of the current Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, to voluntarily step down as from February 28, is significant in the contemporary history of the church. On February 11, Pope Benedict announced to a shocked world that due to advanced age and increased physical as well as mental incapacity to cope with his responsibilities, he is giving way for the emergence of a new Pope in accordance with the church’s procedures.

Through this action that has been widely lauded as courageous, ennobling and selfless, Pope Benedict XVI has shown a worthy example in a world filled with too many instances of individuals striving to hold on to spiritual or secular positions at all cost. His words announcing this decision clearly show a man of deep

W

HEN Stephen Okechukwu Keshi said in January that ‘’white coaches are not doing anything that we (blacks) cannot do’’, some people thought he was a joker.

In support of the above, Clemens Westerhof, the Dutch coach who won the Nations Cup for Nigeria in 1994 and qualified Nigeria for its first ever World Cup finals in USA ’94 and the man who made Nigeria the best football country in Africa before the plunge started when he left, spoke thus, ‘’I will send my regards and tell him how happy and excited I am that he is in the final of Africa Cup of Nations.

When they appointed him, I told Nigerians to support him.

As a player, Keshi had leadership abilities. When I was leaving Nigeria, I told him to get ready to take over.’’

Keshi, the Illah (Anioma) Delta State-born saw his new appointment as a greater challenge to affect the Nigerian society more positively; he remained focused and eventually led the Super Eagles to victory.

Immediately the tournament took off, when the Super Eagles were not exhibiting professionalism and excellence, many Nigerians started calling for the immediate removal of the coach, which was too early and had no foundation in reality. It is a truism and abundantly clear that through patience, Super Eagles’ victory has brought another good luck to all Nigerians.

To this end, therefore, one

humility, simplicity, transparency and honesty.

As the Pope simply put it: “After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine Ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which, in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me”. Following this extraordinarily candid confession, the Pope went on to declare that “I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor to Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April, 2005, in such a way that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is”. In a most

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

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moving gesture, the Pope asked for pardon for his defects as well as continued prayers for himself, his successor and the church.

There is no doubt that Pope Benedict XVI has demonstrated his abiding love for the Catholic Church, and a readiness to sacrifice his own self-interest for the good of the church.

As Pope Benedict moves from the palatial residence of the Pope to a life of prayer and reflection in a monastery in the Vatican, and reverts to the title of Cardinal and his natural name of Joseph Ratzinger, there will be contrasting perspectives on his eight-year reign. Within the context of increased moral relativism and laxity in the world, many support his Papacy’s strong conservative stance against abortion, gay rights and divorce.

Yet, more liberal elements argue that the church under his leadership alienated more traditional Catholics by refusing to be more flexible towards a more secular world. His critics also contend that the strong moral authoritarianism, which he sought to enforce was undermined by widespread allegations of child and sex abuse in the church; crimes which he was perceived as not acting decisively enough to expose and punish. The Pope’s image and judgement was no doubt further tarnished by the conviction of his trusted personal butler for illegally leaking confidential papal memos.

Pope Benedict XVI’s strong sphere of missionary interest was Europe probably because of the historical roots of the church there and the dwindling membership of the church in the region. But in picking the next Pope, the conclave of Cardinals cannot be indifferent to the surging growth of the church in Africa and Latin America, as well as the need for a Pope with the mental and physical vigour to confront the daunting challenges of the church in a changing world.

LETTERS

All for Super Eagles and Keshi can proudly and happily say that Keshi is vibrant, focused and result-oriented in piloting the affairs of the team.

For the coach, permit me to quote the words of John Quincy Adams: ‘’If your actions inspire you to dream more, do more and become more, you are a leader.’’ No doubt, Stephen is a designer with a relentless appetite for excellence. He is what he repeatedly does. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit. Like Dr. Nnamdi

N

IGERIA and its northern states have got an issue in their hands. In the last three years or so the north has been burning. There is bombing in the streets and slums of Maiduguri, Kano, Yobe, Bauchi, Kaduna, Adamawa and on the plateau.

There are prison breaks in Bauchi, Maiduguri, Kogi etc.

There are killings in police stations, schools, in the hospitals, in churches and even in mosques of rival Islamic clerics. The air is permeated with the sounds of improvised explosive devices and punctuated with trigger-happy and rag-tag insurgents baying for blood of the innocent and helpless masses. There is maiming,

Azikiwe (of blessed memory), Stephen Keshi believes in the dissemination of light to the Super Eagles, leaving them to find their way to victory.

Keshi has got a beautiful playing and coaching career, he was captain of the squad for the 1994 FIFA World cup and played in five different Africa Nations Cup tournaments. His last club was Perlis FA in Malaysia. In 2000, a testimonial match was arranged for him in Lagos.

As part of his efforts to always demonstrating ability, agility, and professionalism, between 2004 and 2006 Keshi coached the Togo national football team, unexpectedly bringing them to their first World Cup tournament, Germany 2006. Having secured Togo’s unlikely qualification, he was promptly replaced by a German coach, Otto Pfister prior to the finals, after Togo showed a dismal performance and failed to advance to the knock-

out stage in 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Whatever the case may be, Pfister did not last beyond a controversial World Cup campaign that nearly resulted in a players’ strike over pay and Togo remained without a manager until February 2007 when the Togolese government reengaged Keshi in time for a friendly match against Cameroun.

Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has got many awards, notably

among them, Africa Nations Cup (ANC) 1994 (with Nigeria); West African Club Championship, 1983, 1984 (with new Nigeria Bank FC); Coupe Houphoet Boigny, 1985, 1986 (with Stade of Abidjan); Cote d’Ivoire premier division 1986 (with Africa Sports); Jupiler League 1991 (with Anderlecht); and Belgian Cup 1988, 1989 (with Anderlecht).

Finally, for us to continue to perform well in all areas in Nigeria, we must not be ethnic-conscious and indulge in all manners of cutting corners to make money at the expense of the country. Kudos to Stephen Okechukwu Keshi for bearing this in mind and leading Super Eagles to victory.

• Charles Ikedikwa Soeze, Effurun, Delta State.

On insecurity in the North killing and harassment with impunity in the north. The north, it seems is at war with itself.

This past three years the north has witnessed massive bloodshed. Boko Haram has killed more than 3000, bombed and burnt more than 150 churches and properties worth billions of naira have gone down the drain. This insurgency has delivered a punch that has hit the economy and social environment of the north and its fledging credibility of hospitality which is now politically and religiously wounded. This shows how

politically inept the so called “northern leaders and elder statesmen” are. As this wind of insecurity blows across the north and continues to gather momentum - and its political, economic and cultural fortune begins to dwindle by the daythe sign of a failed political and religious leadership pollutes and dents the firmament of the legacy of the Ahmadu Bellos, the Tafawa Balewas and the Aminu Kanos.

The northern elites and political leaders took the easy path; follow the political sentiment instead of showing the way of conflict resolution and

religious harmony. In today’s north there is something cowardly about its leaders’ handling of the Boko Haram imbroglio; they take a French leave and look the other way when security fails. But the elites did just this, they abdicated their responsibilities by refusing to be arrow-head of cohesion when it was needed; the result of their inaction is the insecurity the north is harvesting. Think of the bombing, think of the absolute anarchy, think of the people at the mercy of joint military tasked force (JTF) and the insurgent and think of the fail-

ing northern Nigeria. Yes, the zone that cannot maintain law and order, a north that cannot enforce peace and protect lives, a north that can be overpowered and overwhelmed by a sect brandishing “jihadism” and “IEDS”, a north that appeases politicians and religious extremists at the expense of the masses.

This insecurity in the north is sad and dangerous for Nigeria. But it’s worse and a tragic event for the north and families of those who died for no good reason.

• Moses Sunday Ajehson Kubwa, Abuja.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Comment & Analysis

Yoruba marginalisation: to what effect? 1 Ropo Sekoni ropo.sekoni @thenationonlineng.net

ORUBA marginalisation as a theme of public debate is gaining more attention by the day. Afenifere Renewal Group first raised the issue formally a few months back. Just a few days ago, a group of older Yoruba professionals and politicians (than those in Afenifere Renewal) held a press conference on the topic, at which the group’s spokesmen reeled out details of efforts by the Jonathan regime to neglect and relegate Yoruba interests to the back burner of Nigeria’s socio-economic process. Members of the Ikenne front for Yoruba unity had also visited President Jonathan to complain about non-inclusion of Yoruba politicians in top-notch positions in his government. Media pundits have also come on board to analyse and find reasons for this condition of the Yoruba under

Y

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

‘Those who aspire to political leadership must on no account be sheltered from the hard knocks which a political career in a democracy inevitably entails’ –AWO.

W

HILE linguists are thematic in explaining phenomena and the scientist advances knowledge by formulating a question, collecting data and then testing a hypothesis, a historian, like me, prefers the use of epochs in analysing historical events.

We therefore proceed to address today’s topic from epoch to epoch in the hope that it will serve as a guide in making our choices in the series of elections that will commence in the region, come 2014, long before the general elections of 2015, God keeping Nigeria intact. I begin then with what I call: AWO’s GOLDEN ERA Awo’s golden era in Yoruba land did not come on a platter. And to prove this, we need not re-invent the wheel. Rather, we take sanctuary in AWO -THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHIEF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO, from which we shall quote at some length. He wrote: ‘I fully recognise that the healthy growth of a democratic way of life requires the existence of an enlightened community led by a group of people who are imbued with the all-consuming urge to defend, uphold and protect the human dignity. At the very beginning, wrote the Avatar, ‘ in the region, outside Lagos, democratic practices were unknown. At the local government level, many Obas and Chiefs were autocrats with legislative backing. Native courts, where justice were expected to be administered, were dens of corruption and instruments of tyranny and oppression. ‘As things

Jonathan’s government increasingly marginalises the Yoruba Jonathan’s presidency.

It is hard to identify why any president would choose to diminish the significance of the Yoruba in a federation in which they form close to 22% of the population. But if there is no surprise in third-world politics, then where should anyone expect to be startled and confused?

But this phenomenon, as volatile and dangerous for the country’s unity as it might be, needs to be understood in all its ramifications, to prevent the Yoruba from being associated with cry-baby syndrome by other regions.

What has been observed as marginalisation can be broken into two types: apparent and real neglect. Apparent marginalisation is evident in absence of Yoruba in the political pantheon that directs the life of the country. All appointive positions are essentially political.

In a winner-takes-all ethos, political appointments are restricted to trusted members of the ruling party. It is true that there are many Yoruba in the PDP that controls all political appointments, but it is also clear that those in the power house in Abuja know that such Yoruba represent mostly themselves. If they represent anybody else, it

must be a tiny minority of the Yoruba nation. And this feeling is despite the fact that Jonathan won more votes than Buhari in most Yoruba states in 2011 presidential election. It is, therefore, easy for those holding the lever of power in Abuja to ignore Yoruba individuals in the PDP, just as it was when Obasanjo had more Yoruba votes than Buhari in 2003 presidential election.

Jonathan’s men and women must know that the heart of the average Yoruba is not in the ideology that subtends policies and actions of the PDP, even though their votes came into his ballot boxes in 2011. They know that Jonathan’s party is not ready to give to the Yoruba region what it needs. They probably know that the value of the Yoruba had disappeared after the election, more so that they are sure that Transformation, which the Yoruba must have voted for had also lost its edge after the election.

The current travails of Olagunsoye Oyinlola is a graphic illustration that leading Yoruba in President Jonathan’s party have more nominal than substantive value, because they are deemed to have only a handful of Yoruba voters behind

them. Should it have been so? Not necessarily. But anyone that can be ignored in politics without any threat to the party’s consolidation of power is generally the first to be neglected in the competition for appointive posts. If there is any group that should complain about marginalisation of Yoruba by Jonthan, it should be Yoruba men and women in his ruling party. Is anyone surprised that Yoruba members of the PDP are not complaining about neglect?

Therefore, marginalisation of Yoruba in political appointment cannot be held against Jonathan, more so that his party members from the Southwest are not complaining. Jonathan is only upholding the values of winner-takes-all political culture. Even if Yoruba PDP members have been appointed as some of those that actually rule the country, this may not filter down to Yoruba people.

A few Yoruba were so appointed during the administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo without any noticeable impact on Yoruba life. Organisations that are sending delegations to Jonathan for redress should not worry about appointive positions. The Yoruba

have gone that route before.

Yoruba thrived in the days of NPC and NPN, when those that held most political appointments were largely Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and representatives of the so-called minority groups across the country, just the way it is today. It must be added though that in the days of NPC and NPN, the leaders of the two parties did not ever think that they could take the Yoruba for granted, as it appears to be the case today.

Actual marginalisation concerns unfair hiring or firing policy.

If Yoruba people are retired unduly from the public service or are jumped over in hiring to the public service for career and professional positions in a federation to which they belong and pay taxes, there are other ways to address this issue, in addition to sending delegations to President Jonathan or creating media events about it.

There is a need for individual Yoruba individuals, retired without just cause or disregarded in the hiring process, to engage the Federal Character Commission by going to court to challenge any manner of injustice against the Yoruba.

To be continued

Perspectives in goverance: The Southwest as case study ACN Governors in Southwest will leave their names in Gold stood, we knew on which side we should be: the poplar side, the peoples’ side’. But we wanted to try to carry the Obas and Chiefs with us though, for them, it was going to be a sudden transformation from the ancient to the modern. Awo, through tact and great seriousness of purpose, succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in doing precisely that.

‘But,’ he continues: ‘there were the other freedoms –freedom from ignorance, freedom from disease and freedom from want which would, doubtless, encounter towering problems of an intractable character’. But he did not flinch.

The government promised to introduce the following peoplefriendly policies before the end of its five-year term. 1. Free, universal primary education for all children of school age; 2. Free medical treatment for all children up to the age of 18; 3. One hospital each for each of the 24 administrative Divisions in the Region which did not yet possess one; 4. Improvements in agricultural technique and higher returns for farmers; 5. Better wages for the working class; 6.

Improvement of existing roads and bridges and the construction of new ones; 7. Water supply to urban and rural areas.’

To accomplish these, Awo and his colleagues were determined to blast their way through whatever problems, and compel the force of any adverse circumstance to serve their will’. This was because, in his words, they ‘had put in long and hard preparations to meet the challenges and they had evolved elaborate plans which they were ready to launch at a moment’s notice.

What is more –I quote Awo again –‘we had an abiding, flaming faith in the soundness and practicableness of our plans. We regarded ourselves as crusaders in a new cause, and as eminently qualified for the

pioneering role which we had imposed on ourselves’. All these, if nothing else, demonstrate that Awo saw governance as serious business; not the same way some gold-chain adorning, skin bleaching governors did in their time.

With such preparations, many times going far into the nights when some of his political opponents were busy carousing with women of easy virtue, his millennial achievements which have continued to make the SouthWest a primus inter pares, should not be a surprise. The fact that, in addition to free and universal primary education, the region had colour television long before some European countries, that the Liberty Stadium was built or that Cocoa House, then arguably Nigeria’s tallest building, erupted, not out of oil, but cocoa money, could only have been expected from such singlemindedness.

THE MILITARY YEARS The least said of those years of the locust the better. It was a long period during which soldiers, total strangers who had probably never heard of an Awo and what economic miracles he wrought in the region , were foisted on us and did with us as they deemed. As for the few of them, Yoruba, today’s parlous state of Cocoa Industries, Ikeja, remains an unforgettable testimony to their stewardship.

PDP’s STERILE 8 YEARS One of Obasanjo’s main reasons for railroading the Southwest into the PDP was to compete with, or probably, overshadow Awo, the man he had earlier derided as never achieving the Nigerian presidency which he, in turn, got on a platter of gold. But that chimera fizzled out only after eight years as the people soon banished the pretenders to political Siberia.

It was even short-circuited in Ekiti

via an inchoate impeachment and declaration of a pre-meditated emergency rule. When I write about the PDP the way I do, it is not out of disrespect. Rather it is because of the laisser-faire, and thoroughly unserious manner in which they take governance. They want power solely for its perquisites but never for its huge responsibilities. While I know, for instance, that both Rauf Aregbesola and Kayode Fayemi are students of Awo and I am aware, on good authority, that Fashola carries Awo’s books he is reading even into his rest room, barring perhaps Gbenga Daniel, which of the then Southwest PDP governors ever opened a rigorous book by Awo? How then could they have been motivated by the man they all love to claim as their own too?

How could they have learnt from the many problems which confronted him both from within and without? How could they have realised, like Awo knew then, that the people must be the focus of government policies, indeed, its raison d’être, such that they would not indulge in those things in government which they could not afford through their own personal means? Obviously without reading Awo’s thoughts and getting to know the philosophical underpinning of his socio-economic policies, Regional Integration would never have meant a thing to those gentlemen even if they served as governors for their entire lifetime. I have conscientiously sought, but in vain, for one single mention of Regional Economic Integration during those 8 years.

It never surprises me that all we remember of PDP years in control of the Southwest are decayed infrastructure, run-down education, mayhem, total neglect of the elderly among us and a complete absence of pan-Yoruba peace which the

present regime of peace daily brings into bold relief.

THE A C N YEARS OF HEALTHY COMPETITION AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION At first glance the above looks like a contradiction in terms. But it is not. While the I’s of Regional Integration are being dotted and the serious work required for its proper formulation are being undertaken by the DAWN Commission under the absolutely patriotic and determined leadership of its chairperson, Hon Wale Oshun, the governors, in turn, are learning from one another and assiduously replicating the good plans they have for the people.

In Education, the governors are equipping pupils and teachers with computer hardware and paraphernalia; schools are being rehabilitated as Ekiti has done for all its 183 schools; Osun is more than doubling up on agriculture, urban renewal and roads are progressing admirably in Oyo and Ogun states respectively while Lagos remains simply unbeatable. I recently listened to Dr Femi Hamzat, Lagos state commissioner for Works, on the Opeyemi Agbaje T.V Programme, and I was completely stupefied at what the Fashola government has done in the area of transportation infrastructure in the state and its plans even for the next 25 years. Such brain work you never found in the PDP which is really what pains any serious observer of our polity and the very reason I always argue that our politicians are not all the same.

There is, indeed, a world of difference because, after all, the governor currently making waves in Akwa Ibom is of the PDP. But in the Southest, we never one day saw them rule for the well being of our people. It was all about self. Granted that the tenure of A C N governors is still largely a work in progress, I haven’t a scintilla of doubt that they will all leave their names in gold, since morning, as they say, shows the day.

Comment & Analysis

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Tunji

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

T

HIS year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), has come and gone, but its sweet and bitter memories linger; yes, sweet and bitter memories; depending on which side of the divide one falls. For us in Nigeria, it was an event to remember because our football ambassadors, the Super Eagles, brought the coveted trophy home. A country like Burkina Faso who lost to us will continue to rue that loss for some time to come. But I must confess I am no longer a football enthusiast. I lost the enthusiasm years back, when our local league became moribund, making Nigerians to join the rest of the world in celebrating European football.

I remember how in years past, we used to celebrate our own great teams like Enugu Rangers, IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Mighty Jets of Jos, Alyufsalam Rocks Football Club of Ilorin, Stationery Stores of Lagos, Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt, to mention just a few. I also remember, albeit nostalgically, how in those years Nigerians trooped to any stadium where any of these great teams was playing to watch soccer as well as entertain themselves. But that was in the years when Nigeria was an issue and Nigerians could still look to the future hoping that it would be better than the present. We savoured the fine soccer that our players displayed on the fields, the panache, the victories, and even sometimes the defeat, especially when we realised that the losers really played well but the god of soccer was not favourably disposed to letting them win the match.

Postscript, Unlimited!

By

Oyinkan Medubi 07057012862 (SMS only) puchuckles7@gmail.com

L

IKE everyone else, I have heard stories about the activities of various orders of monks in various erstwhile monasteries to develop or show their faith. Some have sounded just plain incredible. There was, I learnt, the order that chose to walk barefoot. Fair enough, I think, when you remember that the cost of shoes has a habit of rising astronomically and not necessarily in direct proportion to their functions or aesthetic qualities. Another order prefers to walk some minutes a day on hot coals. Honestly, you couldn’t pay me to even look at hot coals. Most horrendous of all, why, I always think, would anyone choose to belong to the order that indulges, I say indulges, mind, in self-flagellation? I would have refused to believe it if they did not have the stripes to show for it. If I had a choice, I would have chosen to belong to the order of those who get together once a year to eat very costly satisfying dinners in order to raise funds for the hungry poor and wretched of the earth. You see, pity is pithier and more cynical when you are able to do it from a certain detached height.

I believe that cynical kind of pity is what our federal government is feeling for its citizens right now.

We the citizens are bursting our sinews protesting the decision of

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AFCON 2013, Keshi’s resignation, etc.

We have won the trophy, but there are daunting issues to address But all that is gone! Just as we now look back and keep asking ourselves how we came to this sorry pass in other spheres of life; so we are also asking today how we lost all that patriotism and sentimental attachment to our local league to some funny European teams whose names are so popular in our homes today that we hardly remember that it had not always been like this. As a matter of fact, some of us had become so fanatical about these foreign teams that they had killed fellow Nigerians in anger over matches played by the teams.

It was in this ‘I can’t care less’ attitude that I was when AFCON 2013 began. Like many Nigerians, I did not have any hope that the Super Eagles would go far. As a matter of fact, I started convincing myself that the team would come back home sooner than expected after watching their first match against Burkina Faso in which we played 1-1.

By the time we played the second match with Zambia, I had lost interest completely, with that match again ending 11. But this lack of interest in the team had nothing to do with the team or the coach; it is just this thing about our sports administration, particularly that

of football. Like the tortoise, they are so ubiquitous that their names keep coming up when the issue is the ignoble.

We have heard all kinds of stories about them. For instance, when some of the foreign coaches were recruited, we read of allegations against them (football administrators), for instance, that some of them went into deals with the foreign coaches and were getting part of the mouth-watering salaries that the coaches were paid. We have heard allegations of how they creamed off players’ allowances; how they return home from events outside the country with more luggage than the plane can carry, as if their primary mission on those foreign travels is more for mercantilist than for soccer purposes. We’ve heard stories of how their ‘entourage’, comprising all manner of persons, including girlfriends and concubines, far outnumber the number of players and other auxiliary officials needed for the teams, etc.

Quite strangely, hardly is anyone punished in spite of all these allegations.

The best we have seen is that if there is too much noise, the government replaces the person causing the brouhaha and we move on. It would seem most of the

‘But Nigerians should be grateful to the Aliko Dangotes and the Mike Adenugas for their generous financial gifts to the Super Eagles. This is how to nurture a team; you don’t do that by giving ‘golden handshake’ (whatever that means) in a country where everything has been monetised and these boys and other Nigerians see people in positions help themselves to billions of public funds.’

people posted to administer our soccer are king’s goats that no one dares to touch. Since merit is never an issue in the appointments, we hardly get any good result. And when we do, as in the last AFCON, it is in spite of these characters, and not necessarily because of any effort they put in. Perhaps if their contribution to soccer is just to steal the funds, we would not complain much.

But they go further by placing all kinds of hurdles on the path of coaches who refuse to dance to their tune and in the end, the coaches fail. Where they are not recommending the players to be selected to reflect ‘national spread’ (as if soccer is about quota), they dictate who to bench and which number the players should wear.

But thank God for Keshi; because if he had failed, they would have turned his nostrils into a trumpet. As a matter of fact, he was the envy of all last Sunday night at the world press conference that he addressed alongside the team’s captain, Joseph Yobo, after the Super Eagles victory. His mien did not betray the fire that was burning underneath his cloth, caused by improbable masters who had never thought anything good could come out of his Nazareth. The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), specifically had allegedly told Keshi he would be sacked; that was apart from calling his selection to question. His salary, we were even told, was withheld. Meanwhile, in spite of their own incompetence and all, their salaries are paid promptly. But, in spite of everything, Keshi carried on as if nothing was amiss, only to tender his resignation after winning the AFCON trophy.

Since only failure is an orphan, the Super Eagles have been well celebrated

by friends and foes alike. Even the NFF that had hitherto been threatening their coach has had its mouth padlocked by the Super Eagles victory. But Nigerians should be grateful to the Aliko Dangotes and the Mike Adenugas for their generous financial gifts to the Super Eagles. This is how to nurture a team; you don’t do that by giving ‘golden handshake’ (whatever that means) in a country where everything has been monetised and these boys and other Nigerians see people in positions help themselves to billions of public funds.

But this victory should not becloud our sense of judgement that the AFCON victory is not one that would always come. We have to do things differently to expect different result. The fact of the matter is that government cannot take us far in soccer and sports generally because it is not disciplined itself. The state of our stadia across the country (that we spend humongous sums to build or repair whenever we are to host an international event) is enough proof of this.

Many people have said this time and again; but the government would not listen because making it hands off sports would plug the source of money for some of its boys.

However, now that Keshi has withdrawn his resignation, time and only time will tell whether he acted right by so doing. The fact is that it is easier to get the World Cup ticket for the country than it is for him to dislodge the entrenched interests in the football house. They have been beaten once by Keshi; whether he will beat them for all times is another kettle of fish entirely.

What is the government celebrating exactly?

A time may still come when this kind of celebration will not only be auspicious but will suggest itself; it is, however, not today because there is no freedom in the land yet from want. the government to go ahead with the centenary celebrations. I don’t believe that the government suddenly developed an inability to understand English. I think that the problem rather is that the government has as usual gone deaf in one ear. It tends to do that many times, mostly when the people are speaking or when the people are saying what it does not want to hear.

That’s when it turns the bad ear to the public and the good one to the other side where it hears itself speak. This is why the government perpetually sees the people’s lips moving but hears itself speaking.

So, you see people, the government has no idea that there is any opposition to the centenary project because it cannot hear us. It can only hear itself humming a joyful tune sometimes made into song by bus ‘conductors’, ‘Go on soun jare, o wo mbi’ (the road is clear here).

Clearly, it fails to appreciate what people say about the road which is that the light is always green when they see a fool coming. Please don’t look at me; people say it, not I. Anyway, because the government has failed to hear, understand and appreciate our opposition to the centenary project, we simply must make our arguments more vociferous and pass them through strident voices; that’s all. No violence please; I hate violence. There is absolutely no need to go jabbing stubby fingers at the chest of the president’s dog. Everything else apart, you might get bitten.

To start with, I had a hard time comprehending what the cente-

nary celebrations were about. I asked everyone around me, what centenary? The last time I counted, Nigeria was fifty-two. No, explained someone very patiently, clearly believing he was speaking to a dumb one, independence is different from amalgamation. I coughed, reluctant to ask, what amalgamation? Luckily, the bright one read my thoughts and further patiently explained that the amalgamation was when the north and south of the country were joined together to make one. The natural question that should follow that, of course, is how come I never heard of this before?

Don’t get me wrong. Every beggar in this country has heard of how Lord Luggard sauntered into the territory, looked left, right and then left again, then declared, the north and south will be one; you know much the same way we are told that day and night and conjoined twins came together. So, I knew all that, but I had no idea the fact was worth celebrating.

Frankly, every pair of conjoined twins I have ever read about has always rued the day it was born; none has ever yet gone to church or mosque to thank God for joining their two heads or two bodies together. The inconveniences you get from any joining are just too many and painful to rejoice over.

For instance, when a priest declares a couple as being ‘joined’ together, I think he does so in a manner of speaking. For I am yet to see a couple happily going about their business literally tied together at

the waist. So, no thanks, this amalgamation thing is nothing to rejoice over but something to weep over, for it has resulted in a troublesome case of conjoined triplets or quadruplets or any number of lets you might care to use. Ideally, the country should be in the hospital where the doctors would be trying their best to prise it apart as carefully as possible without losing too much blood.

In any blessed case, who the deuce are the celebrators? The government? Hmm, yea, I guess. The government and all its functionaries are well cared for so they do not lack. Indeed, I think they have every reason to rejoice. I have never been to Aso Rock but I imagine PHCN is not allowed to practice the profligacy it flagrantly displays on the rest of us there. Therefore, since they have electricity all the day and year round, they do not need to fend for themselves; they do not need to go looking for fuel; they also do not even need to look for food – food comes to look for them.

So, why are the people not celebrating? I am the people, and I say I am in no mood to jolly around but rather to weep for the many problems I have to get myself out of. Right now, I am busy extricating myself from the generator fumes of people who cannot sleep (poor things) without relief from the heat through their fans powered by their generators because there is no electricity. I am likewise busy extricating myself from the high cost of fuelling my car now because the government cannot

rein in its friends and friends’ children who are robbing the country dry through fuel scams and I must pay. Yes sir, I am too busy extricating myself from the hunger forced on me because the prices of foodstuff in the market have aimed for the sky. So, pardon us, government for not celebrating this centenary thing with you but please go ahead, don’t let us stop you.

It is time, however, that we raised the level of our national intelligence. Believe me, the world is not mocked when Nigeria portrays herself as a wealthy nation when everyone but the government knows that people here are hungry, tired and getting angrier by the day. To go around celebrating something that should be swept under the carpet for now does not send a very good message to the world. It posits that there isn’t a sufficient level of intelligence in the country so that our children do not stone our graves.

To be sure, a time may still come when this kind of celebration will not only be auspicious but will suggest itself. At that time, the people will lay tables of food, produced on the land, along their streets and invite passers-by to join them. They will waive the national flag with joyous abandon amidst the smiles and coos and laughter of freedom from want. Today, however, is not auspicious because there is too much want in the land.

For now, I think we should do well to let the government celebrate alone and we the people should just wish them happy celebrations.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

PHOTO SPLASH

When Bamanga Tukur visited Amaechi

R •Governor Amaechi and Bamanga Tukur inspecting the new Nne Kurubo Model Secondary School in Eleme

ECENTLY, the Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, played host to the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who paid a two-day working visit to Rivers State. During his stay, Alhaji Tukur visited several developmental projects done by the Amaechi Administration and commended the governor for his excellent performance, describing Amaechi as the best among his peers. Alhaji Tukur was also hosted to a grand reception in Government House, Port Harcourt. Below are some of the photographs from the visit

• Governor Amaechi and Alhaji Bamanga Tukur inside the Language Studio of the new Nne Kurubo Model Secondary School in Eleme

• Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and the National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamang

• Alhaji Bamanga Tukur being assisted by Governor Amaechi to lay the foundation stone of the Bamanga Tukur Institute of International Trade and Development.

• Governor Amaechi makes a point to Tukur at the Afam Power Plant

•Governor Amaechi showing Bamanga Tukur a theatre inside the state-of-the-art Maxillo-Facial Dental Hospital built by his administration.

• PDP National Chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur making his speech at the grand reception in his honour. Seated and laughing heartily is host Governor Rotimi Amaechi

• Govenor Amaechi pointing at the 42km Port Harcourt-Owerri road, a federal road project constructed by his administration to PDP National Chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

•Governor Amaechi and Alhaji Bamanga Tukur inside the Language Studio of the new Nne Kurubo Model Secondary School in Eleme.

POLITICS

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

•Yar’Adua

•Abubakar

•Anenih

2015 and the return of Yar’Adua’s men

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ITING the need to protect the common interest of its members, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), the political machinery of the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, are currently leaving no stone unturned in their determination to revive the movement ahead of the 2015 general election in the country.

Sources said the group, which recently elected new officials to pilot its affairs and lead the way in its quest for total revival, has received the support of some leaders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to reposition itself so as to once again be able to influence decision making in the party.

Expectedly, the development is causing some leaders of the ruling party to shiver.

Sources within the party said speculations are rife that the rejuvenated PDM is designed to checkmate any re-election plot by President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2015 presidential race. ”Consequently, plots are already being hatched to stop the ongoing move by PDM leaders to regroup their members within and outside the party. There is already an allegation that the revival of the group will contravene the latest move by the PDP to outlaw caucus and factions within its rank. The idea is to stop the revival of the group because it can cause serious damage to the unity of the PDP,” a southwest executive committee member of the party said in Lagos.

But when asked whether the revival of the association will contravene any rule of the PDP, a leader of the group, Mallam Shehu Garba, said there is no rule of the PDP that forbids the revival of the PDM. “PDM is not a caucus; it is only an interest group within PDP. It is just a situation where people with common interest decide to come together to protect their common interest,” he explained.

Among the pioneer members who have sensed the need to renew acquaintance with the movement are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Chief Anthony Anenih, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, Chief Dubem Onyia, Prince Tonye Princewill, Dame Titi Ajanaku, Professor Ango Abdullahi, Professor Aborishade, Alhaji

Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan takes a look at the ongoing reforms in People’s Democratic Movement and wonders whether the platform created by the late General Shehu Yar’Adua is still relevant.

Kabiru Sa’idu and Dr Faruq Abdulaziz, just to mention a few.

It would be recalled that the PDM was the most influential component of the PDP at the formation of the party in 1998. Parading political heavyweights which included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former works minister, Tony Anenih, amongst others, the group was so strong that it was regarded as the engine room of the party for years.

Its influence, however, diminished over the years as the party gradually subsumed it. Although some members of the group continued to play crucial roles in the party and the successive governments it formed since the return to democracy, the cohesion and unity for which the PDM became a household name, was no longer visible amongst its members.

As witnessed during the 2007, 2011 and lately, 2015 general elections, it became difficult for the group to take common position on issues. Members openly disagreed on political issues and the group’s place within the ruling party was no longer assured.

The situation got so bad that some PDM members left the PDP and pitched their tents in other political parties thereby leaving their associates behind. Although some of such deserters like Atiku did return to the PDP years later, sources said the division among the group was yet to be healed.

“It is this division caused over the years by various issues and actions that we are out to put behind us with the formal revival of the group.

PDM was never dead. It is an organisation built in the minds of its members. We never for one day forgot our common platform, but the truth was that the movement was no longer in a position to protect our interest within and outside the ruling party,” a member of the group told The Nation.

However, questions are now being raised on the ongoing discussions between the group’s

contact and mobilisation committee and some politicians as well as politicial groups outside the PDP. “There is need for decorum within the political space and that we intend to see to. Our party will not condone such anti-party activities. There is no way these people will claim to be PDP members and they will be hobnobbing politically with various groups and people opposed to the aims and aspiration of the PDP. We are not unaware of their antics,” our source said.

But the PDM debunked such allegation, saying its committee is only discussing with organisations of like-minds with a view to finding ways of solving some pressing national problems. In a communique signed by Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, Prince Tonye Princewill and Murtala Shehu Musa Yar’adua, PDM further fuelled the controversy surrounding its revival when it said Nigerians are tired of things being done the same way for too long.

“The Movement resolved to open discussions with the organisations of like-minds, with a view to finding common grounds on issues of principle, policy and strategy in order to move the Nigerian project to the next level.

‘These discussions must be open, transparent and above all, in the best interest of the peace, unity, stability and economic progress of Nigeria and Nigerians as a whole. The era of business as usual should be dead and gone.

‘Politicians must begin to do things differently henceforth in order to save Nigeria from imminent collapse. Nigerians are sick and tired of more of the same and are clamouring for change, a change which they deserve,” the group said.

The group’s position on the alliance among some of Nigeria’s opposition political parties is also fuelling suspicion that there may be more to its revival than the public is yet to be told.

Coming just short of endorsing the newly formed All Peoples Congress (APC), the PDM

urged it to provide a credible alternative to Nigerians.

“The movement received briefing on the ongoing merger talks among opposition political parties in the country and commended the opposition for its resolve to give Nigerians an alternative political platform. We call on all opposition political parties and organisations across the country to close ranks in order to provide Nigerians with a clear choice between conservative and progressive ideologies.

“While we are gladdened by the development, we implore the opposition to define its own identity based on progressive ideology, with clear and contrasting policies and programs capable of pulling Nigeria out of the current state of despoliation, despair and debasement. Telling Nigerians how bad things are simply won’t suffice. Clear and practical solutions are what Nigerians need.

‘PDM is developing a clear roadmap for the entrenchment of profound national social, political and economic reforms which will lead to creating jobs, steady power supply, improved security, transparent and credible elections and bring corruption in all its manifestations to an end,’ the group said.

During the week, the PDM announced the formation of two new organs, a National Elders Committee and a National Caucus.

Members of both are to be announced soon alongside those of State Coordinators, Youth and Women Leaders for the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT. The group also presented a new zonal, state, senatorial and local government area management structure across the country.

According to the new leadership of the group, all the new structures are to take effect immediately.

From the current look of things, it is unclear whether the PDM simply wants to reclaim its former position within the PDP as a power bloc or it is actually out to do more than just that ahead of the 2015 general election.

Some close observers wonder if a new political party is about to be born from the current reform efforts. It is just a matter of time before a clearer picture emerges.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Politics

S

INCE Wednesday, February 7, 2013, when the leaders of the new mega party, All Progressives Congress (APC), announced its arrival, all has not been well in the camp of one of the named participating parties, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

The internal crisis within the party, which has been discreetly managed by its leaders, could no longer be hidden, following open disagreement of some of its leaders over the party’s involvement in the mega party.

Announcing the arrival of the much awaited mega party, its founding leaders, after a meeting in Lagos, said the foundation participants in the grand merger of the country’s opposition parties and the formation of All Progressives Congress (APC) include the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

Following the presence and active participation of Governor Rochas Okorocha at the meeting where the merger and the arrival of the new party were announced, close observers had no reason to suspect that his party, APGA, would deny being part of the merger.

So, both supporters of APGA and other interested Nigerians cold not but express their shock, when some other leaders of APGA, shortly after the arrival of APC, denied their involvement, alleging that the party never mandated Okorocha and Senator Annie Okonkwo to represent the party in the merger negotiations.

In a statement signed by Tim

The battle for the soul of APGA Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports that Governor Rochas Okorocha’s current efforts to lead All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the merger bid of the progressives has exposed the deep crisis threatening to strangulate the party Menakaya, a member of APGA’s Board of Trustees, the complaining leaders of APGA said, ‘Our attention has been drawn to a press conference by a group of 10 governors, including Owelle

Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, after meeting in Lagos, endorsing a “merger of some opposition parties in Nigeria.”

‘While we are not against the establishment of a mega opposi-

tion party, we believe that the issue of merger of political parties is a very serious matter that needs adequate consultations before a governor participates and makes public statement. We wish to

state after due consultations with most party members, that we were never invited, consulted or informed about any political parties merger.

‘We wish to make it clear that

New twist in an unend Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, takes a fresh look at APGA crisis

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•Umeh

O say the All Progresives Grand Alliance (APGA) is synonymous with crisis is to say the obvious. The party has been bedeviled by internal wrangling and supremacy battles of all sorts.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, which upheld the expulsion of Chekwas Okorie, APGA’s founding National Chairman, from the party, it was widely expected that peace will return to the embattled political party. The death and burial of Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, national leader of the party, shortly after, was even believed to have united the feuding factions within the party.

But such assumptions turned out to be far-fetched as a faction of the party recently got an Enugu State High Court presided over by the state Chief Judge, Justice Innocent Umezulike, to order Chief Victor Umeh to stop parading himself as national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

And as Nigerians were still wondering what the implications of such an order will be, the two governors elected on the platform of the party decided to return the party to the ways of crisis when they openly disagreed on the level of the party’s involvement in the formation of the new All Peoples

Congress (APC).

While Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State had led representatives of the party to enter into a merger agreement with three other leading political parties in the country, a faction of the party loyal to Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State disassociated itself from the merger.

This latest development confirmed earlier suspicions that, on the issue of how to move the party forward and the issue of 2015, the two APGA governors do not agree.

According to party sources, in spite of several denials of any animosity between them by both camps, “Not even the burial of Ikemba could make them come to an agreement on anything. That explains why the two states had separate programmes for the burial ceremony,’ a source said.

And if members of the party thought the Obi/Okorocha fight and the struggle by Umeh to revalidate his leadership of the party is all they will have to cope with, they must have been further traumatized by the return of erstwhile national chairman, Chekwas Okorie, to lay claims to the party’s chairmanship position.

Speaking during the week, and surrounded by some foundation members of the party, Okorie

said it was wrong for anybody to say he is out of the party. He said he is determined more than ever before to bring sanity to the party following the nullification of Umeh’s claim to the leadership of the party.

He said the judgement is a confirmation of his position that Umeh is illegally occupying the position of national chairman of APGA. He urged members of the party to give peace a chance and be prepared for a new beginning in the party.

The curious thing about the renewed discord in the party is that the open involvement of the two governors left no one to mediate between the warring factions.

Before now, Governor Obi has been championing the struggle to return APGA to the path of peace.

Although one of his aides, Sylvester Nwobu-Alor, is one of the eggheads of the anti-Umeh movement, Obi outwardly gave impression that he was in support of the Umeh-led APGA. All that seem to have come to an end since the announcement of APC. Also, there is fear that last minute efforts for reconciliation in the party may have failed especially with the return of Okorie, which has further compounded the situation.

And for Umeh, it is not as if all is over. Some APGA leaders in the South East have risen in his support, urging him to appeal the judgement all the way. Rising from a meeting in Awka, the party

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Politics

• Okorocha

• Obi

we have nothing against the formation of any mega opposition party, but we categorically state that All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has never participated in any merger talk with any political party and is therefore not in the

merger. We were never consulted by anybody before such statement of our involvement was issued.

“The National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Party was held in July, 2012 and various stakeholders’ meet-

ending crisis chieftains said Umeh remains the national chairman of the party.

The party-men, while affirming to be the grassroots leaders of APGA in the southeast, said Umeh’s leadership of the party is still acceptable at all levels within and outside the region.

They dissociates themselves from all activities aimed at removing him from office and called on members of the party to remain supportive of what they called the authentic APGA under Umeh’s leadership.

They described majority of the anti-Umeh elements as people long expelled from the party.

The face-off between Okorocha and Obi further blossomed on Wednesday when the Imo state governor accused Obi and his group of anti-party activities. He said the current crisis in the party is caused by some APGA leaders whose loyalty is to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Okorocha said that the authentic APGA and not PDP’s APGA is involved in the arrangement. He made the statements while fielding questions from journalists at the end of a meeting of opposition governors in Abuja. According to him, irrespective of the hues and cries by some members of the party, the fact remains that the authentic APGA is in the merger.

“Let me say emphatically that APGA is in the merger talk and we have our little challenges we are trying to sort out about who are the actual APGA-APGA and PDP’s APGA. “The APGA-APGA is already in the merger and I also want to say emphatically that if the CPC which ought to have been a regional party, the ANPP and ACN have agreed to come together for a bigger mega party, APGA should not be an exception.”

Okorocha further said that the merger

must be seen as a collective responsibility of all progressive parties to form a formidable party that can stand the test of time come 2015 and beyond.

“At the end of the merger meetings, you will see that APGA is in the merger. We are fully in the merger,” he said.

And on the same day, the Governor Obiled faction of the party issued a statement describing Okorocha’s statements as “ridiculous and unfortunate”.

Given the complexity of the current crisis within the embattled party, questions are being asked as to whether the erstwhile darling political platform of the southeast geo-political zone can once again rise from the ashes of these hard times.

•Okorie

•Menakaya ings have equally been held in the last one year. In all these meetings, the issue of merger with other political parties was never discussed. For one of our governors to participate in a meeting where the merger of opposition parties was endorsed is ridiculous and unfortunate...

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to reiterate that the issue of merger with other political parties is not on the agenda of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA for now. Our concern at the moment is to restructure, nurture and build a strong APGA capable of winning elections across the states of Nigeria.”

Menakaya, in the statement, said the decision was reached after consultations with some APGA leaders, including Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, Ambassador Frank Nchita Ogbuewu, the 2011 APGA Governorship Candidate, Ebonyi State and Former Minister of Culture and Tourism, Chief Reagam Ufomba, the 2011 APGA Governorship Candidate, Abia State, Obiora Obiegue, the 2011 APGA Governorship Candidate, Enugu State and Prof.

Dora Akunyili, Former Minister of Information and Communications, who contested for a Senate seat on the ticket of the party in 2011, among others.

ACN’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, reacting to APGA’s published disclaimer of the APC, said in a statement issued in Abuja that the new party “has absolute respect for the rights of individuals or groups on whether or not to associate within a democracy.”

The statement explained how APGA was included in the list of parties that consummated the merger thus: ‘We recognise the person and status of Gov. Rochas Okorocha, who as Imo Governor has been a great player and figure in Nigerian political landscape, as well as Senator Annie Okonkwo, a seasoned politician and respectable lawmaker.

“We believe in their representation that APGA is interested in the merger, hence we worked with them in good faith. They participated effectively and positively in the meeting of all governors of the parties concerned and in the meetings of the merger committees of the parties, leading to the communique released by all the governors endorsing the merger and the one by the merger committees announcing the formation of the APC.” The statement also said, “going by the statement signed on behalf of some APGA members by Dr. Tim Menakaya, the APC

21

had come to the full realisation that there is dissent in the rank and file of the party (APGA).

“In spite of this, and since democracy is about choice, alignments and re-alignments hinged on the fundamentals of individual freedom of association, we respect their position, and will like to describe as unfortunate whatever misconception the purported full involvement of APGA in the merger may have generated.

“We also assure APGA that we are willing to work with the party whenever it normalises its internal process and is ready to join the platform. We all remain brethren within the Nigerian family and our doors remain open, in the spirit of the new party,” Explaining, however, that it is not only parties that can join APC, ACN said progressive individuals and groups are welcomed to the fold of the new party.

“On this basis, therefore, individuals such as the Imo State Governor and others of like minds are still considered members of the APC,” the party said.

The Nation learnt that various stakeholders, following up on the development, have been meeting to straighten the position of APGA on the merger arrangement, even as concerned elders of APGA have desperately launched reconciliation meetings to save the obvious split.

A source close to the embattled leadership of APGA lamented that the merger matter coincided with the Enugu High Court ruling that, according to him, ‘makes it difficult for Chief Victor Umeh-led National Executive to handle the matter as it would have done. I regret the situation because if care is not taken, we may lose out completely. I think someone is making a mistake somewhere,” the source said.

Efforts to speak with the members of the Umeh- led executive on this matter failed as they insisted that they are currently concerned with the need to upturn the judgement that sacked it. But it is obvious that every member is worried over the development.

An elder of the party, who refused to be named ‘in order not to jeopardise the ongoing reconciliation process, said during the week that most members of the party would ordinarily like to be part of the merger, ‘but they are worried that APGA may be swallowed up and if we have to do that, everybody must be sure that our interest is well taken care of. That is why we are worried that many of us were not part of the negotiation in the first place.”

The source also alleged that most of the people opposed to Okorocha in this matter are ‘agents of President Goodluck Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party. So, as you can see, we are worried because it has become obvious that many interest groups are interested in swallowing up APGA ahead 2015. That is why we have to be careful and take care of our house before it is too late. We are on it now,’ he said.

The criticisms building up against Okorocha notwithstanding, The Nation gathered that he is not likely to change his mind on the matter, even though some insiders said part of the reconciliation meetings in APGA today are geared towards convincing Okorocha to withdraw from the planned merger bid.

Prince Eze Madumere, the Chief of Staff to Governor Rochas Okorocha, for example, told The Nation in a telephone chat during the week that the merger is the solution to the country’s political problem.

According to him, “The merger is for real.

It’s obviously the long awaited solution to the political problems of Nigeria. To effectively challenge PDP and snatch power away from it, we need a very strong party and this is what All Progressives Congress is poised to offer. I do not see why all well-meaning Nigerians should not support this bold move.”

Asked if it is true that the leadership of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) were not carried along, Madumere said, “As you know, my principal, Governor Rochas Okorocha, has clearly explained the situation. He has made it clear that the real APGA is neither complaining or claiming not to have been carried along. It is the PDP-APGA that is complaining.

And let me tell you, when the progressives want to move forward, they would not need the approval of those opposed to positive change.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Politics

HE race for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2014 governorship election is fast gathering momentum. A growing number of gubernatorial aspirants have stepped up very intense political activities aimed at being positioned as frontline contenders for the party’s ticket.

In fact, so intense are the political activities daily being organised by aspirants on the platform of the PDP that the state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, recently described them as unnecessary distraction to governance in the state.

Aside Fayemi, the PDP itself is feeling the heat emanating from what has become a supremacy battle among chieftains of the party. The current factionalisation of the party with aspirants and their godfathers alike controlling splinter groups within the party, is a fallout of the ongoing struggle.

The return of former governor Ayo Fayose to the party, last September, has contributed to the frenzied political activities in the state.

Shortly after being granted a waiver by the national leadership of the PDP last year, the former governor declared his intention to vie for governorship position in 2014.

His supporters have been painting the streets with his posters and organising rallies. His group, which has a firm control of the party leadership in the state, has also been very outspoken in criticising the Fayemi-led Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) administration in the state.

Fayose is not alone in the race for Fayemi’s job. About a dozen of other PDP chieftains are currently oiling their political machineries to give the sitting governor a run for his money in 2014. But first, they will have to slug it out among themselves to determine who flies the party’s flag.

Others who have already thrown their hats into the ring for the contest include Bisi Omoyeni, former deputy governor and a former Managing Director of Wema Bank Plc. His entrant into the race is still seen by many as a surprise given the manner he left his job as Fayose’s deputy some years back.

Another former deputy governor of the state, Chief Abiodun Aluko, is also keen on getting the PDP ticket to confront Fayemi in 2014. He made his intention to contest the forthcoming governorship election in the state known at a rally in Ikere Ekiti.

While many see Aluko’s ambition as a continuation of the frosty political relationship between him and Fayose, his former boss, the Ikere-born politician is quick to say that he is not at loggerheads with the ex-governor.

“Fayose and I have no quarrel at all because we have been able to put the past behind us. He was personally present during my official declaration in Ikere Ekiti and he promised to work with me if I end up clinching the ticket to run as the candidate of our great party,” he said.

But the constant clash between the supporters of these two politicians and the fact that they belong to different factions of the party puncture their claim of friendship and expose the battle for supremacy currently raging between them.

The immediate past senator representing Ekiti North, Mr. Ayo Arise, former member of the House of Representatives, who represented Ekiti North Federal Constituency 1, Mr. Wale Aribisala, and a former senator from Ekiti South district, Mr Gbenga Aluko, are some other chieftains of the party currently jostling for the gu-

2014: Ekiti PDP leaders in supremacy battle Ahead 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports that the fortune of opposition People’s Democratic Party is being threatened by factional interests and endless supremacy battle.

•Fayose

•Oni

bernatorial ticket ahead of the 2014 election.

The race to dislodge Fayemi also has another estranged ally of Fayose’s, Yinka Akerele, Ropo Ogunbolude, who was a Special adviser to former governor, Chief Olusegun Oni, a former chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in the administration of Oni, Chief Dayo Adeyeye, and Second Republic Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Bode Olowoporoku in contention on the platform of the PDP. There are also very strong indications that the Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd), may also be interested in the party’s governorship ticket.

Although Olubolade has not signified intention to contest, sources said interest groups are daily springing up within and outside his political party across the 16 local government areas of the state to push for his emergence as the party’s candidate in the 2014 governorship race.

Following the rumour of the minister’s ambition, the Fayose camp has been viewing Olubolade with suspicion. It would be recalled that the minister and the former governor joined forces to snatch the control of the party in the state from former governor Segun Oni’s faction.

At PDP congress, held on March 18, 2012, the group loyal to Olubolade and Fayose polled 318 votes to produce Makanjuola

Ogundipe as the chairman, defeating Akin Omole who polled 310 votes. Omole is loyal to the Oniled faction of the party.

The Fayose group also produced all other party executive members. Prompted by Oni and other party chieftains opposed to Fayose’s rising profile in the party, Omole declared himself as a factional chairman.

The national leadership of the party recently recognised the Ogundipe-led executive and mandated the party in Ekiti to spare no effort in bringing the Omole group back into the recognised PDP. But the ongoing struggle for the gubernatorial ticket of the party may have further divided the party into splinter groups as all the aspirants and their godfathers are daily scheming on how to grab control of the party machinery in the state ahead of the 2014 election.

Recently, the Omole group said there can be no reconciliation except the state executive is harminised. Former governor Oni, who is believed to be the pillar behind the group, made the statement.

“There can’t be serious reconciliation without harmonisation. If they said they are reconciling, the question is, did they fight each other? What brought the disagreement was that some people felt left out from the running of the party.

That is why we have to seek accommodation everywhere for those that are left out. We must accommodate everybody so we can all work together to achieve our

objective of taking this party to the promised-land as quickly as possible,” Oni said The fear of the Oni-led faction, according to sources within the party, is that with the control of the party firmly in the hands of Fayose’s associates, it will be difficult for them to stop the imminent emergence of the former governor as the candidate of the PDP in 2014.

But Fayose and his allies are not ready for any reconciliation that will tamper with the current leadership of the party in the state.

They argue that the proposal is a calculated attempt by some people to weaken the party ahead of the governorship election.

The former governor, while calling for caution on the part of some notable chieftains of the party, said the Ogundipe-led state executive is open to reconciliation and ready to readmit disgruntled members back to the fold. But he was quick to add that whoever is still thinking of harmonisation should stop dreaming.

Determined to find a way out of the current gridlock within the party, some party chieftains are now clamouring for the expansion of the State Working Committee to a 40 –member executive to accommodate the aggrieved members.

The proponents of this new peace initiative, led by former deputy governor, Abiodun Aluko, said it will allow all factions and groups within the party to have a sense of belonging in the affairs of the party while also not tamper-

ing with the place of the current executive members.

“In the election, someone polled 318 to defeat the main challenger who polled 310. So it will be difficult for those victorious in the congress to sideline those who lost out because the election was too close. But I want to emphasise that the present executive should be allowed to stay, but new offices can be created because the 14 – member executive is not sacrosanct, so that peace can reign,” Aluko said.

But the state executive members would want Aluko ignored.

According to them, the initiative is just another ploy to throw spanner into the wheels of the party’s determination to win the 2014 governorship election.

“We know these people very well. They are our people and we can read them well. What they want is for us to succumb to their evil plots of either harmonisation or expansion so that latter on, they can go to court and say the composition of the state executive is not known to law. That way, they will drag the party into litigation and stall our match to victory,” a leading member of the executive said.

With the governorship election in Ekiti fast approaching, analyst are saying unless the ongoing supremacy tussle within the PDP in the state is put to rest as quickly as possible, it may be very difficult for the party to make good its promise of returning to the government house in 2014.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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HE shape of things to come A Goodluck Jonathan presidency beyond 2015 will defer a potential Igbo presidency to 2027 or, more realistically, 2039. It’s blatantly clear that President Jonathan will not handover the presidential seal to an Igbo man either in 2015 or 2019. Anyone who entertains the notion that he is thus disposed is in a delusionary state.

Rational people who place stock by reality now accept that the upcoming presidential contest will be a straight battle between the Ijaw nation, superbly and preferentially led by President Jonathan, and the North, led by no one at the moment. The authentic power broker, sitting pretty in the middle, is the West, occasionally rancorous but strategically led by Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Who leads the East in this political coliseum?

President Jonathan will need to sustain the broad coalition that propelled him to victory in 2011 in order to retain the presidency in 2015. This means that he must count on the seven Northern states that he carried in 2011 plus five Western states, five Eastern states to add to his six South-South states to prevail again. The margin for error is razor-thin, given the constitutional requirements.

The 19 northern states gave Jonathan over 8.3 million votes or 37.1% of the total votes allocated to him in 2011 (I will return to the comprehensive figures presently).

This reality, augmented by demography and a Boko Haram-altered realpolitik, exposes President Jonathan’s electoral indebtedness in degrees. The North is first in line for his reciprocal support - a gesture that, some might argue, carries greater credibility than the intellectually feeble and anti-democratic politics of “zoning” or arbitrary powerconcession. The debt he owes to the North must be repaid. And it will take precedence over all others. The only question is: which presidential election cycle – 2015 or 2019? Thereafter, both the East and the West will have a competing claim to the presidency. And no thoughtful Nigerian will bet on the East prevailing in that competition, given the customary chaos that often defines its politics. So, it could be a man or woman from the West in 2023 or 2027. It will, then, take a national wave of pity to deliver the presidency to the East in 2039 – in the unlikely event that there occurs a national awakening whereby an Igbo cause is recognised as worthy of na-

Politics

Political The North, Igbos, Politics turf Jonathan and 2015 duel Polity, Politics

with Bolade Omonijo boladeomonijo@yahoo.com

By Emmanuel Onwe

tional sympathy.

Consider a different scenario, decoupled from the People’s Democratic Party’s internal arrangements. If the proposed merger of the main opposition parties were to deliver the presidency to the North with a Vice President from the West in 2015, we might, to all intents and purposes, have a president from the West in 2023. This presents a genuinely viable prospect for 2015. CPC or its successor in title will simply need to repeat its solid performance in the twelve states it won during the 2011 presidential cycle. It will need to add Adamawa and Nasarawa states to its column – a task it could easily accomplish in the predicted conditions of 2015. A switch of support

by ACN from PDP to CPC will give the alliance 20 states, excluding Edo State, which will most unlikely go against Jonathan, but including Ondo State, which will remain dependably progressive. Again, fortune will befall the West because its political leadership is smart and possesses a first class understanding of the dynamics of Nigerian politics.

No sane and fair minded Nigerian will begrudge them.

The Igbo scenario is rather more complicated, abetted by the indifference of a fiercely self-reliant but disillusioned population which has grown to see all central governments as fundamentally anti-Igbo and its own leaders as merchants of self-interest. Unlike the West, where there exists a viable and confident opposition to the centre, the new conservative politics of the East is generally pro-Jonathan, with a residual sceptical and progressive elements operating at the fringes. To this extent, therefore, its path to the presidency is extremely circumscribed. The All Progressives Grand Alliance could be the vehicle that contains the essential ingredients for a cross-

Niger coalition. But APGA controls only two states and is currently under the ruinous grip of its own internal contradictions. Within the PDP itself, it’s inconceivable that any candidate who stands against President Jonathan in a contest for the Igbo delegates votes will fare any better than former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2011 presidential primaries - unless there is a radical shift in emphasis to Igbospecific priorities.

By the way, I respectfully disagree with those who insist that a General Babangida candidacy during the PDP presidential primaries would have fared better against President Jonathan.

They’ve either ignored or underestimated the depth and poisonous quality of the anti-North conspiracy, led shamelessly and aggressively by some northerners, over the weeks and days prior to the Convention of January 13, 2011. The conspirators, particularly many northern governors, wanted something which neither Babangida nor Atiku could give to them. They also had a fear which neither Babangida nor Atiku inspired or threatened. If the animus towards Atiku by certain northern politicians was at all a factor, then, in quantitative terms, it made a difference of perhaps 10 percentage points to the outcome – and this is the most generous assumption.

Jonathan would still have prevailed by a little less than the crushing 77% he scored.

Senator Onwe is the Director of Operations, National and Diaspora, Njiko Igbo

•To be continued

Political

ripples Southwest PDP Board of Trustees?

T

23

HE PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, has introduced another dimension into the crisis within his party in the South West.

During a meeting with some leaders of the PDP in the South West, Tukur referred to them as the BOT members of South West PDP. Already, questions are being raised •George on how and when Tukur, or is it the Presidency, arrived at the choice of these men and women for the ‘newly formed’ BoT for the South West.

One crucial corner where discontent is visible is the Obasanjo camp of the party. A close disciple of the ex-President who is also an aide to the Minister of Agriculture already described the Shuaibu Oyedokun and Bode George-led BoT as a pack of elders who could not settle their own backyards.

As it is, Tukur who described his meeting with the alleged BoT as “a dream come true’’ will have to quickly provide answers to the many questions trailing the emergence of the new body.

•Maina

Maina: The hunter now the hunted

W

HEN the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) headed by Abdul Rasheed Maina, was instituted, it was meant to expose suspected mismanagement and theft of pension fund.

But no sooner has the reform team settled down to work than it was bogged down by an allegation of bribery with figures as huge as N2 billion being mentioned.

Today, rather than hunting down pension thieves as directed by the president, Maina himself has gone into hiding after failing to appear before the senate. As at last count, the senate had summoned him six times.

And in a not so funny case of the hunter being hunted, security agencies have launched a manhunt for him with the Police urging him to either surrender himself or risk arrest anywhere in the country.

and Politicians T

HE turf is, no doubt, tough. For more than four years now, I have used this platform to comment on the political environment, the politicians who parade themselves as leaders and the nature of politics in the country. Of central concern to me is how the activities of those who seized or happened on power underdevelop Nigeria. I have raised issues with the Visionless Vision 20:2020.

Questions have been asked here about the principles that inform actions of those in power and reasons for the loud silence from the general public. Commentaries, reports and investigations on critical national issues have formed the fulcrum of my activities in the past 25 years. And, I believe it is time to look back, serve the menu in a different dish and see if the soul of the country can be stirred thereby.

This is the main reason for the compilation of my articles and the launching coming up on Tuesday.

Throughout my period of reporting politics, dating back to The Nigerian Economist days, the same questions have been repeatedly asked and they are still relevant today.

What is the political turf made of? Who are the major and fringe players? What is the mode of recruitment? What are the motives for actions taken by the rulers?

Elections present special challenges to reporters and politicians. When you are striking a balance, you please nobody. When, based on objective analysis, you come to the conclusion that the pendulum would swing in a particular direction, the other camp raises the alarm. You could only have been bought over. With the loser, you could never win.

During the period that I have been privileged to stand in the gap for the people, the powerless and dispossessed, I have, many times, received insults. Been hounded about and exposed to danger. I covered riots and wars. Yes, I was in Liberia, but was lucky to have survived. In a country where men in power see themselves as the law, criticisms are regarded as sacrilege. This has never deterred me from talking to power. The attendant angry responses were many.

These scenes are covered in The Nigerian Political Turf: Polity, Politics, Politicians, due to be presented to mark my years in journalism. It is indeed a first volume of a work that even a careful selection could have reduced to about 1,000 pages. The 362 pages represent a forerunner to a more powerful second volume that will be released by His grace next year.

The underlying philosophy is that, if Nigeria must change for the better, the discerning section of the public must rise to the challenges of the moment, we must work to free our country from vampires who have held it hostage.

And, where we see men who have contributed positively to the change movement, we need to acknowledge them.

This is done in the present volume and more will come in the second part.

To underscore this, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State will be on hand to deal with the theme of the book. He is billed to speak on Nigerian Polity, politics and Politicians: The perspective of an active participant. All patriots and nationalists have been invited to come around to reason together. It is a platform for discussion and sharing ideas.

It is time to revisit what when wrong in past Republics and transition schemes. How did General Ibrahim Babangida impact on the polity? How and when did the promise fade? What impact did his ban on oldbreed politicians and the attempt to breed a new leave on the turf? What informed the endless IBB, Abacha transition schemes? What about the interim arrangement. How was the house built and why did it crumble within three short months?

The most important task before us as a people is to ask: What is the way out. Dr. Fayemi has the charge to lead this discussion and provide us with food for thought as we prepare for a very uncertain future. It cannot be the end of the debate. It cannot foreclose further discussions, but, with dignitaries with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, Governors Fayemi, Uduaghan, Fashola, Amaechi, Gaidam, among others, there is no doubt that the outcome would advance the course of progress and advancement.

The future is here. We all must put our hands on deck to save a sinking shape. I am, overall, convinced that the future will be brighter than the past.

• This article was first published on August 5, 2012.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

THE SUNDAY INTERVIEW

‘By 2015 JAMB will only use e-testing’ Being first or pioneering new ideas, either alone or as a team player in a group of people sharing a passion, is f a s t becoming second nature for Professor Dibu Ojerinde. Besides being the first to occupy a Chair in Tests and Measurement, he was the pioneer Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, National Primary Education Commission (NPEC), first Registrar/Chief Executive at the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the first Registrar/Chief Executive, Joint Admission Matriculations Board (JAMB) to introduce online application in the conduct of examinations in Nigeria. In this interview with Adetutu Audu, Ojerinde bared his minds on new developments in JAMB. Excerpts

The last seminar we had, we asked ourselves what are those things that could fail? We say light and we said the alternative is back-up generator and for computers we said UPS. And I am sure all these can’t fail at the same time. Within three and half hours, it is not likely that all these things go wrong.

One of the advantages of Computer Based Tests (CBT) is to guard against manipulation and the JAMB e-testing is going on as planned. We have about 77 centres where the CBT will hold.

This year, we are no stranger to the system. Over one million candidates have registered for the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UMTE) and more than 500,000 are still expected to register. The CBT is not compulsory as candidates have a choice to choose either the paper/ pencil testing or the dual based testing, where candidates would read

“

Candidates who don’t follow instructions are likely to fail exams, we are not magicians, what you feed the computer with is what you get out of it. They flout instructions and that is the problem.

“

W

HY E-testing?

The internet age has come to stay with us, hence as actors in the new age, you cannot afford to stay on the fence, you must be prepared to join the train or else you’ll be left behind. The programme was designed to migrate candidates from the use of paper and pencil in examinations to full usage of computers. Candidates must know how to use the computer before the full adoption of the system in 2015. One of the benefits of the innovation is that candidates will receive their results 30 minutes after the examination.

It would also eliminate cases of incomplete results or result blackout and it will ensure prompt delivery of raw scores and will also check examination malpractices. We went out to six different centres to test if it would work.

We were at the University of Ilorin, University of Lagos, Abuja and Rivers State University of Technology, Port Harcourt. From our office, we sent questions straight and it took them seven minutes to get them. From JAMB office, Bwari to anywhere in the world, seven minutes you get the questions and they were downloaded. We had about 600 candidates that day. I don’t want to discuss the issue of saboteurs, but whether we like it or not we have local and international saboteurs. But we are making efforts to block them. If you go to Rivers State University of Technology, everything is internet based. They operate paperless world.

How credible are the people behind the system?

the questions on the computer and answer on the paper with a pencil.

By 2015, the CBT will become mandatory for all candidates. Out of the one million that have registered so far, only about 4,000 registered for CBT. The idea of CBT is that after 30minutes of the examination, a graphical result will be sent to the candidates’ mobile phones, while specific scores will be sent within four days. The results will show the subjects passed averagely by the candidates which is 50 percent and 59 above average 60 and above.

Below average are 49.

Those who have been able to fill their forms online are having difficulties; they were not able to thumbprint or upload photographs. Even the café attendants were complaining. How is JAMB going to handle that?

I can boldly tell you that we have registered over one million candidates. We started late last year. Let me tell you some of the things that can lead to the difficulties.

For instance, cybercafés are accredited by us because of our previous experience and cheating tendencies of these cafes. About two years ago, 12 candidates ran into a centre with their slips that they wanted to do the exam in Abuja; they went to the centre allocated to them and found that other people were sitting on their seats. And they ran to where I was, journalists were also there. When they checked the details biometric, we discovered that those who were there before were the original owners of the •Continued on Page 25

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

THE SUNDAY INTERVIEW

“

By 2015, the CBT will become mandatory for all candidates.

Out of the one million that have registered so far, only about 4,000 registered for CBT. The idea of CBT is that after 30minutes of the examination, a graphical result will be sent to the candidates’ mobile phones, while specific scores will be sent within four days.

We’ve started using the civil defence and other paramilitary agencies for our exams and, I tell you, that it has helped in no small measure to curtail malpractices. We also now use the Biometric data capturing system; it is not only for candidates but for staff. When you resume work you thumbprint and when going, you do the same.

By that, the time you came in and went out is recorded. So, we can identify those who don’t come to office, those who come late, and at the end of the month we print out and keep for use for staff upgrading.

Some people are still criticising the Unified Exam System you introduced. What will you say about it?

It is ignorance. Now all the candidates who sit for exams have the same background; all of them went through the same secondary school system and possess SSCE. In fact, English and Mathematics are requirements, so why wouldn’t they write the same exams? Also, can we reduce the cost of testing them? Yes we can, but the income of JAMB has reduced as a result of the unification, yet we say just pay for one exam and have a choice of six institutions; two Universities, two Polytechnics and two Colleges of Education. Don’t forget that before now, students would go and write separately for universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, now we say reduce the cost on your parents, just write one exam and you have six choices to make. The Polytechnics and Colleges of Education love it and I know it is the best for the country.

Universities are conducting post UTME exams and are arguing that it is UTME that should give way for post – UTME and not the reverse..?

It’s wrong. If they know the reason JAMB was set up, they wouldn’t say this. JAMB was set up to bridge gaps. It has a unifying role it plays in Nigeria. If you localise it, as they now say, some people will remain educationally backward. I know that those who call for the scrapping of JAMB never mean well for Nigeria. Even in the United Kingdom, you have what is called University and College Admissions Service (UCAS), it’s a clearance body like JAMB. Even with their level of development, they have not scrapped the body. The same goes for Turkey and countless countries with peculiar circumstances like ours.

Those who established JAMB knew why they did it and I think it is in meeting that desire they so did. Look at the dichotomy between polytechnic and university graduates today, which is very unnecessary.

It is easy for you to release results these days, but that also comes with problems like missing results and other issues.

What are you doing about this?

We release results on time because we have engaged technology and that is what is helping us.

The days of releasing results after three months are gone. Last year alone, we had about 82,000 candidates who had missing results. Instead of four, they got three, or two or one, depending on the shading patterns.

Candidates who don’t follow instructions are likely to fail exams, we are not magicians, what you feed the computer with is what you get out of it.

They flout instructions and that is the problem.

You have reduced examination cheating to a bearable minimum. How did you do it?

When I came in 2007, we had 15.7% cheats, it has reduced to1.67% in the last exam. The scanner is there at the gate to screen out handsets, the Biometric system also came to our rescue. We even capture the pupil of your eyes and then the thumbprint that brings out your picture and so it’s no longer easy to come and cheat. I must not forget the marvellous work members of the Civil Defence and other security agencies are doing for us, we now also use only fenced centres for exams so that we can restrict movement in and out of exam centres.

There is this lingering crisis over the change of University of Lagos (UNILAG) to Moshood Abiola University of Lagos (MAULAG). Which does JAMB recognise?

“

I know that those who call for the scrapping of JAMB dont mean well for Nigeria.

Even in the United Kingdom, you have what is called University and College Admissions Service (UCAS), it’s a clearance body like JAMB. Even with their level of development, they have not scrapped the body.

“

•Continued from Page 24 seats. Those 12 people were cheated by a particular cybercafé. And we asked them where they registered, they mentioned the place and I told them to go back and collect their money. So we decided to be accrediting cafes to forestall such in future. If a candidate gets to a cafe, he should ask if it is accredited. If they do, there is a code, before now we can even register in the comfort of our homes and schools. But you have to have a code now.

Those people who have problems, possibly the café are not recognised by JAMB. Without code, they cannot access our site to register.

Some of the cafes have limited bandwidth and wait till night when the narrow bandwidth will be fast. We have seen people who are male and were registered as female. Ogunrinde was registered as Ojerinde. To be frank, cybercafés are part of our problems and we cannot do the registration alone. Our bandwidths have been designed in such a way that it expands as candidates registered.

Some people used their toes instead of fingerprints. We have had cases of people coming to the centre without their documents, we asked them to thumb print, once their pictures come up, and they can write the examination.

But without that I am sorry.

I can’t say it can’t go wrong. But practice makes perfect.

We have done these three or four times before the end of the year, and we are going to try it again in February. We are working with a high internet service provider.

You are the current President of International Association for Education Assessment (IAEA). What function does it perform?

It is an association made up of examination bodies all over the world, ETS – Educational Testing Service is a member, Cambridge in the UK is also a member, the exam body in Netherlands is also a member, in fact all the reputable exam bodies you can think of all over the world are members of the association. It is a body of professionals in testing, measurement, evaluation and in public examinations.

In particular we rub minds together, think together to find a way of doing things better. When you learn from a particular group, you go and implement in your own country. I have been a member of the organisation since 1978 as a student in the United States of America. I joined as a student. I have worked with them and they have identified and come to value my contributions to testing and other areas and this was why they made me President. For example, it is under my leadership that UNESCO took up the sponsorship of some programmes in Africa and I was able to attract their sponsorship to Nigeria.

You have been in JAMB for some years now. What have been your achievements so far?

Well, we have done a lot; I have been able to put up a computer building in JAMB, which was not there when I came in. Knowing the importance of Information Technology to an organisation like JAMB, we have also equipped it with modern facilities, scanners, and everything required that today we can say it’s the best in the country. We had only five scanners then, today we have over 30 scanners, that is why you do exams today in JAMB and, like magic, in five or six days the results are out. You know the reverse was the case before now.

In terms of construction, our Test Development building is now there, it was not there before. We furnished and generally renovated the headquarter building.

Worthy of note also is the fact that since the inception of JAMB, it had no office anywhere in Nigeria outside the Headquarters in Bwari, today we have within this period built about six offices wholly owned by JAMB and we are still counting. There are now JAMB offices in Jigawa, Oyo, Kwara, Delta, Ekiti and Niger; this completes Phase 1 of our expansion plan. Now we are embarking on Phase 2, and we intend to do over ten offices also. The issue of training is no longer a joke in JAMB. Within the past two months, 16 staff have gone to Netherlands for Item Response Theory Training and that’s what we want to deliver to Africa.

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For now we recognise UNILAG.

“

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Politics

•Ohakim

•Okorocha

Okorocha, Ohakim and Imo probe fever Recently, Governor Rochas Okorocha set up some probe panels to look at the books of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim’s administration. Since then the crossfire has become more intense by the day, reports Okodili Ndidi in Owerri

T

TWO years into Governor Rochas Okorocha’s administration, just when everybody, especially the opposition, has gone to sleep after licking the wounds of the last elections, when the political scene was almost healed of the bruises caused by power shift in the state, the war drum has been sounded for another fierce battle, and the state is suddenly agog with cry of justice, spurred by vengeful anger.

The governor, who had resisted earlier calls and pressure to probe his predecessor, suddenly okayed an intensive probe of all financial dealings of the immediate past administration, with a view to putting the past governor and other indicted government officials, to trial.

Much as this move has been applauded and condemned, depending on the side of the divide the analysts belong, some questions have remained pertinent: What is the state government set to achieve with the probe? Can the government remain focused while the probe lasts? Does it have the political will to take the fight to an end? Will it not via off the rescue mission track and at the end will the state be better for it?

However, given the clamour and widespread agitation by Imo people for a probe of the Ikedi Ohakim’s administration, the state government, apparently like every other responsible institution, has little or

no choice than to concede to the demands of the people and punish those that allegedly impoverished the state.

Although Ohakim and his team appeared not to be troubled by the brewing storm, The Nation’s findings revealed that political associates and close friends of the ex-governor are warming up for a possible showdown with the state government, dusting files and searching for possible loopholes in the financial dealings of the current administration that it can leverage on.

In the last two months, more than four groups, including professional bodies, have joined the call for the probe of the previous administration. While some of them hinged their agitation on the need to punish offenders and thereby entrench accountability in public service, others were merely pursuing vendetta. The situation reveals that for a long time to come, the political scene will be dominated by the politics of probe.

Already, the state government has set up three probe panels, aside from the Accounts Reconciliation Committee headed by the deputy governor, Sir Jude Agbaso, to look into the financial dealings of the previous administration.

But addressing members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) recently during a rally in the state, Ohakim told a mammoth

crowd of supporters that he was not afraid of the plan by the state government to probe his tenure in office. He insisted that due process was religiously followed in all financial dealings during his tenure.

However, his claim was contradicted by the first report submitted by the Accounts Reconciliation Committee, which said that the Ohakim-led administration allegedly spent over N62 billion on ‘dubious’ transactions and non- existent projects.

The committee revealed that the same administration and the local governments received a total of N420, 215,108,265 during its tenure in addition to N18.5 billion bond proceeds out of which N5.1 billion was utilized.

The 23-page report also sighted discrepancy in N1.594 billion JAAC proceeds to the LGAs, payment of N1.1 billion to DDB under various vouchers, N110 million and N414,555,608.55 to the same company and transfer of N6.514,550,000 from Skye Bank to Zenith Bank Plc. The report, however, noted that the only projects credited to the Ohakim-led administration, were the new governor’s office building, Governor’s Lodge Abuja, uncompleted Ahiajoku Convention Centre and the uncompleted traditional rulers’ parliament.

Also backing the call for the probe is the State House of Assembly. The Speaker,

Rt. Hon Benjamin Uwajumogu, said the move will sanitise the polity and deter others from plundering state resources.

However, a media assistant to the former governor, Dr Ethelbert Okere, described the composition of the committee and its report as ridiculous. ‘In less than 24 hours after Okorocha announced the setting up of three judicial panels to probe his predecessor, he released a report indicting the same fellow he wants the panel to probe”.

He added, “It is a clear insult to the eminent jurists heading those panels. The governor was merely telling them to go and rubber stamp what he has just released.

We wait and see if those respected judges will take such an insult and go ahead with that assignment,” he said.

In the last few weeks, several groups have called for Ohakim’s probe. One of such groups was the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), which barricaded all major roads in the state capital in solidarity for the ongoing probe. Following in a quick succession was the Joint Action Group (JAG). This group made up of artisans and market women, gave Okorocha an ultimatum to probe Ohakim or risk mass revolution.

Describing the activity as another wild goose chase, a political analyst, Nze John Ufomba, noted that, “out of all the past corrupt leaders in the country who were purportedly probed, how many of them were convicted? The case of Imo won’t be an exemption. The governor should concentrate on the duty of rescuing the state from years of wanton embezzlement.

According to him, ‘some of those calling for the head of Ohakim, are on a course of vengeance, most of them were denied contracts or other forms of government patronages.’

Although startling and mind-boggling fraud have already been allegedly unearthed by some of the probe committees in their preliminary findings, Ohakim’s foot soldiers are still stuck to their guns as they battle frantically to exonerate their principal, by harping on alleged short comings of Okorocha’s administration.

Recently, in what appeared like the case of the hunter becoming the hunted, Okorocha’s Commissioner for Finance and the State Accountant General, were recently arrested by the EFCC for an alleged N40 billion scam, a situation that helped Ohakim’s sympathisers to sustain the pressure.

In his comment, the South-East Zonal Chairman of Campaign for Democracy (CD), Uzor A Uzor, doubted if the probe would yield positive result. He argued that such probes in other states of the federation, were merely a waste of time and resources as those indicted are still walking the streets, flaunting their ill-gotten wealth.

He however said if the governor wants to continue with the probe, ‘he should extend it to the tenure of Chief Achike Udenwa’s wasteful eight years, where over N600 billion was collected from the federal allocation with nothing to show for it.’

The Acting National President of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Comrade Uche Durueke, said, “although on assumption of office, Okorocha said he was not going to probe Ohakim, but I don’t have anything against the probe, but I think he is probing him because of the various petitions against the state government by the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), over the Local Government Allocation, but it was not wrong because the people have the right to know how their resources are spent”.

Durueke, however, insisted that, the “probe should not be turned into witch hunting. Ohakim should be given the opportunity of fair hearing”.

Imo State Secretary of ALGON, Hon Enyinna Onuegbu, however, alleged that “ the probe was only aimed at beclouding the ongoing EFCC investigation over the large scale misappropriation of Imo LGA funds since 2011 till date, which is over N90 billion”.

As the crossfire continues, observers said it is part of the unfolding political under-currents that will characterize the politics of 2015 in in Imo State. Observers also say will ultimately clip Ohakim’s political wings and those of his associates.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

How Arugba changed my story –Pages i m e y o w A y –Bukk 34 & 39

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Glamour

Kehinde Oluleye Tel: 08023689894 (sms)

You can’t go wrong with a Tee-shirt VEN ladies who are not fashionable know that the Tshirt is a must-have. You can't just afford not to have one in your wardrobe. The T-shirt is an important part of a man and woman's outfits. With a welldesigned and quality T- shirt, you can look good and smart for any occasion. It is a wardrobe essential that is great on any day of the week.

T-shirts come in a variety of fabrics and designs. They have great versatility and they are one fashion item that has remained constant.

And they are likely to remain like that for ages to come. Most T-shirts are tailored to fit and there is always something nice for all sizes and ages.

They are a wardrobe staple and their artworks are of different varieties, style and colour. You can't go wrong with a Tee-shirt when you want to be comfortable. Along with an accompanying trousers or blue jeans, it can determine just how hot a guy or a lady is. The wardrobe staple comes as diverse as the millions who wear it.

Classic t-shirt The basic, form-fitting T-shirt can be dressed up or down, tucked into pencil skirts or worn with a sleek blazer to the office. Go with a neckline that suits your personal taste, whether a V-neck or a high crew.

Vintage-inspired T-shirt Style stars like Yvonne Ekwere appear effortlessly cool in pieces that look plucked from the depths of a chic vintage store. She mixed them with jeggings and a hippy jacket.

E-mail: kehinde.oluleye@thenationonlineng.net

•Yvonne Ekwere

•Matse Uwatse

•Hauwa Bello

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Glamour

Antiquity L

lace

ACE from time immemorial, and up till today, has always been identified as a luxury garment.

The lace trend is still going strong and there are more ways than ever to wear your lace dress. Whether your style is demure and ladylike or edgy rocky chic, there are many different styles and hues of lace dresses available. Both men and women seem not to be able to do without it. And that's why laces are some of the most

29

diversely sown dresses. They range from classic iro and buba, stylish gown, trendy skirt and blouse to buba and sokoto, and Ibo men's jumper.

Lace is, therefore, a universal apparel. Fashion buffs would agree that lace is the unannounced official wear of most events and it is the favourite fabric of so many society men and women and it may undoubtedly be the fabric of the future.

•Yetunde Ojo

Tips on how to rock lace dresses

T

HERE are a number of different factors at play when looking at when and how to wear lace dresses.

From casual shifts to glamorous gowns, the following are just a few tips on how to wear lace dresses this season.

Coloured lace - A big trend this season is coloured lace.

Stray from black and white lace dresses and head for

banana yellow, bright red and pink. As coloured lace makes quite a statement, team these dresses with neutral accessories. A red lace dress would make an excellent party dress and is a great alternative to the LBD. -Pair a lace top/blouse with a tailored pants or jeans and a pair of heeled shoes.

-For example, if you have a long and slender neck, opt for

a turtle neck lace top/dress with puff sleeves or full sleeves. This will embrace the beauty of your slender neck and at the same time add the classy vintage look.

-Avoid the turtle neck lace designs if you have a shorter neck, instead opt for a round neck or a slightly deep boat neck which reveals your collar bone.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Glamour

•Brown cufflinks

Beautify your shirts with cufflinks Olanike Akinrim

isi

•Cufflinks

•Cufflinks •Cream base red & black cufflinks

•Green cufflinks

•Orange & pink cufflinks

•Orange cufflinks

•Sky blue cufflinks

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Glamour

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1

Celebrity artiste cum jewelry designer, Davina Achema, reveals her favourites to Kehinde Oluleye

Favourite shoe designer Jimmy Choo

2

Favourite bag designer Louis Vuitton (LV)

3

Favourite wrist-watch designer Swatch

4

Favourite fashion designer Frank Osodi

5

Favourite perfume designer Angel by Thierry Muglar and Chance by Chanel 6

Favourite casual wear Jeans with tank top

7

Favourite underwear designer Victoria secrets

8

Davina’s

top

10

Favourite holiday spot Obudu Cattle Ranch

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Favourite quote As your lay your bed so you lie on it.

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Favourite skirt Short skirt

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Glamour

RIHANNA

life’s

My

nobody’s

business Rihanna opens up about fans, fearlessness, and how to take the perfect self-portrait on Instagram. The Bajan beauty also dishes about working with Future and Eminem, and what she's numb to.

I

S there anything too private that you wouldn't want to share with your fans on Instagram?

Yeah, that's why I can't tell you. [Laughs.]

But you're pretty comfortable with connecting with your fans on social media.

Of course. They know who I am, that's why I feel comfortable being myself around them.

Really, I want to encourage them to be that way. If you don't live your life, then who will?

You have a special connection with your fans. How did you and The Navy become so close?

Well, at first I didn't really use anything in the social network world. I was so anti-social network, which is kind of ironic. I actually first started on a chat room on my fan site.

My fans didn't really believe it was me. They were asking all these questions and I was giving them real answers, but they wouldn't believe me. I was like, “Oh my gosh.” So I said, You know what? This is the same thing as Twitter. Twitter is just like a giant chat room that you can text. Almost like you can text your fans.

Then I just started talking to them again.

They would ask real questions and I would answer. I guess we started building a relationship like that and getting really close.

They started to find out things about me, I started to find out a lot of things about them, and you realise how much you really have in common with people. They're definitely a fun groupthey're really funny. It's hilarious even to just watch them. They're so entertaining. As much as they think I'm entertaining, they entertain me just as much, if not more.

Congratulations on your album. It's my favorite so far.

Thanks so much.

You have twelve No. 1 singles which is already a huge accomplishment, but how important was it for you to get that No. 1 U.S. album? Was that the goal?

You know what? I thought about it for the first few albums and then, after you don't

get it, eventually it just goes out of your mind. Then, with the seventh one, I really was thinking to myself, “This album needs to be good enough to be a No. 1 album.”

Not that the others weren't. I just want people to know that it's good enough. I put so much pressure on myself when I was making this album that Jay-Z actually spoke to me and said, “If you're making this to be a No. 1 album, then you're doing it for the wrong reason.” It kind of snapped me right out of it. I said, “You're right. All I need to make is a great album." And that's where the pressure really laid for me.

I wanted this music to be so good because it's number seven and you don't get that back. It just had to be perfect for me. And I got worried that it wouldn't be finished in time. I knew I would be able to finish all the songs I had so far, but I didn't know for sure that that was the body of the album. All the songs were fantastic but sometimes you're like, “Maybe we need a little more this or a little less of that.”

So I was getting worried in the end, right up to the very last second, then it fell right into place.

One of the themes in the album seems to be about how people think they know your personal life, but they really don't know the half

of it. Was that your intention when you made this record?

I had no intention when I was making this record, except the truth. That's all I wanted.

So whatever is there is real, it's raw. It's all the elements that I am, that I've grown to become so far. That's why the album is called Unapologetic, because it's the truth.

So were you ever apologetic?

Not apologetic necessarily, just that I held back before. I didn't show a lot of myself. I was very guarded and it just didn't feel safe to be like that. I felt like I just needed to be open and free and really just fearless with who I am.

What's the worst that can happen? They'll hate me? They've done that before.” I just felt like you have to stay close to the ground. You really have to.

Some of the songwriters and artists on t h e

album you are working with for the first time. Do you reach out and pick these collaborators yourself or do these songwriters come to you?

Initially, when we start putting the album together and when we're trying to find the sound, I pick the people that I think can execute it. We put kind of a little camp together and we switch people in and out and put producers together, put writers together in a room and see where they go.

That kind of lays a foundation and gets people started in a bit of a direction. When you get one that you love, then everybody knows, “OK, this is where we're going.”

It was that way with “Diamonds.” I mean we had some other songs before, but “Diamonds,” when I heard that, I knew this is exactly what I want to feel. I want to feel this the whole time. Whether it's fun or whether it's mellow, I want to just have it here [puts hands on her stomach]. And you also have to spend time with the writers, you have to spend time with the producers and really go in the studio, allow them to really know me so it's really easy for them to help me get my story into words.

Then there's the other half, where the writers write the songs and then they send it to you, and we had a couple of those that kind of just blew our minds. Like the record with Future to be specific. For that one, I just called him and told him, “Just write me a song for you, don't write me a song for me.

Just write a song you would love.” Because I picked up that he had some songwriting skills that could kind of work for a female. A female could also achieve those melodies and it would work. And he sent me that record and the minute I heard it, I was like, “Oh my God. Oh my goodness.” It was really shocking. And sometimes you get ones like that that you have nothing to do with. [Laughs.] It was perfect.

What did you hear from Future that made you want to work with him?

I heard a couple songs on his album that just had some unexpected melodies. I wanted him to just write something that people wouldn't really expect to come from him. But I didn't want to say that, because I didn't want to make him overthink it. I just wanted him to write something that he loves, because he already knew he was writing it for me. It was supposed to be me singing the hook on "Loveeeee Song," but I really loved his tone on it. I said we're definitely keeping him on it. Because I love his demeanor on the record.

I love it, because I love “Turn on the Lights.” He's such a sensitive thug.

[Laughs.] Yeah, that one for sure. For sure.

The melodies in that? Ugh, sick.

What are the other things that you think about?

Love. I think about love.

Do you like singing about love the most?

I think love is one of the purest things you can sing about. One of the best things you can sing about.

But I like songs that are quirky too, like “S&M.” I like fun records as well, but love isthere's nothing wrong with it. It'll never get old.

“Numb” is very different from your previous collaboration with Eminem. How did this one come about?

The moment I worked with him on “Love the Way You Lie,” I wanted to work with him again, and we did “Love the Way You Lie Part 2.”

And then I wanted to work with him again. [Laughs.] I just love working with Eminem. He's just one of my favorite rappers, and his lyricshe's a true poet, and I enjoy that about him. For this song, I needed someone with not only his skill, but his personality.

And I needed someone who really understands the perspective and the metaphor in the song of going numb and being numb to everything around. Eminem is definitely the perfect guy for that.

What are you numb to?

To the world, to opinions that •Courtesy: complex magazine

THEATRE

With VICTOR AKANDE

t

BIGSCREEN

SOUND TRACK

plus

victor_akande@yahoo.com

G

Bob Manuel gets political appointment

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Tel: 07029013958

Another J-Martins work makes continental appeal

OING by his mission-like style of music, which mostly celebrates Africa as a people with common ties, the refined lyricist has, again, made a frantic effort to flutter his fans' hearts with a Pan African video he shot across the continent. The new video, first from him in 2013, aptly dubbed Good Life was shot

by Sesan, a rave of the moment music director.

Like his ageless numbers and pulsating percussion: Good or Bad, Oyoyo, Eva, Fine Fine Love and E No Easy, among several others, the new video is expected to be another continental success.

Music pundits say the song, a stimulant for divine appreciation, is such that provokes the will to thank God ultimately for the grace of life. Delivered in smooth English and pidgin rhythm, Good Life was shot in Abidjan, DRC Congo and South-Africa. The 9-man crew effort was rounded off in South Africa.

“Good Life is a sequel to the single I did titled Good Time.

And Good Life means that God means well for you irrespective of what you're going through at the moment. We all go through different travails, but the fact that the grace of life is still available to you, it means you have a life so good. You may be complaining of hunger, joblessness, financial hard times, but when you see those whose legs are hung at the orthopedic hospitals,

J

OINING the likes of Linda Dokubo, RMD, Nkiru Sylvanus, Nollywood actor and former Gulder Ultimate Search host, Bob Manuel Udokwu, has received his appointment letter on February 8th as Senior Special Adviser on Creative Media to Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, if reports are anything to go by.

The actor was said to have made the announcement on his Blackberry asking friends and family to thank God with him.

With the appointment, Bob is now on the list of Nollywood A-list actors who got political appointment in recent times.

you'll realise that you have a good life after all,” Martins explains.

The music and its focal point, lyrical blends and reflection of African culture make it an acoustic pleasure for Africans.

He believes that “music is one of the things we do to earn respect and admiration of our brothers and sisters across the continent and for this singular reason, we must also employ this tool to teach them how best to put music together.”

Interestingly so, the chorus of the song was taken off the music of a group from whom he heard the song when he was barely 17 years old.

“They are called the 'Les Garagistes' from Ivory Coast. It's a group of four men and they're also part of the video. I fell in love with the song at age seventeen and they sang it the best way they knew how. But now that I've grown up, I just made the decision to work on the song since it's one I love so much. I had to go all out to get the original owners of the song for the copyright and get all papers signed last year,” he said.

J. Martins is currently managed by NOW Muzik, a label which has other great acts like 2face Idibia, Timi Dakolo and Seyi, among others.

•Jmartins (m) with Crew

Mercy Johnson shows off daughter

S

TILL reveling in the state of being a mother, talented and delectable Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson Okojie, has proudly shown off her new child, Purity, to scores of her fans.

The Kogi State-born screen queen gave birth to her first child in the last days of December 2012.

Sources reveal that Mercy is really excited being a mother and her joy knows no bounds as she revels in her new found status as mom. She is also happy that her daughter, Purity, has her nose as she recently disclosed: “she (Purity) has my nose o."

Purity clocked six weeks this week and informatio n reaching us reveals that Mercy will return to Nigeria before the

•Jmartins

Funsho Adeolu set to bag honour

I

•Mercy

N a bid to appreciate sons and daughters of Ikaleland that have contributed to the development of Ondo State and the society at large, the Ikale Community in Lagos is set to honour star actor, Funsho Adeolu, and other prominent citizens of the state.

In a statement signed by the chairman organising committee, Clement Olayeye, Funsho will be honoured alongside other prominent sons of Ondo State such as former governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu; Abayomi Sheba, a Federal Character Commissioner; Chief Kola Emaye; Mr. Adeolu Ijose, a staff of UBA; and Afolabi Iwalewa, a member of Ondo StateHouse of Assembly.

According to Olayeye, the next Ikale night will come up on the 22nd of February at Big Soul Hotel and Garden, Agbede Ikorodu, Lagos.

Olayeye explained further that “the annual Ikale night we organise is to foster unity among ourselves for the sole purpose of developing our community and the society at large. This year's event is coming up in a different form because we are going to celebrate our sons and daughters who have distinguished themselves in their respective

•Funsho

34

Entertainment

Bukky Awoyemi started her journey into the make believe world in the English movies, but later crossed over to Yoruba when she played the lead role in Tunde Kelani's Arugba. The actress' career can be described as soaring, what with her own movie at hand. In this interview with DUPE AYINLAOLASUKANMI, she talks about her challenges in producing her first job and achievement so far. Excerpts

‘How Arugba changed my story’

and asked what I wanted. I replied that I wanted to speak to the MD, and the person asked what I wanted again and I asked if they had space for IT and the person replied no. I was sad, but if you have a dream you shouldn't just sit down and expect magic to happen; you have to take some drastic steps. And you don't have to do some dirty stuff to get there; don't be desperate. I called again and I was able to convince the person to let me come over to their office. I went back to my uncle, who gave me money and direction; they didn't want to discourage me.

I went back in 2006 and introduced myself and he said he didn't know me. And he asked what I wanted and I said I wanted to act. Then they were working on Abeni, but he was through with casting and ask ed me to try other places, which I did.

On December 19, 2007, my birthday, I prayed to God and said I wanted a birthday present. I didn't know he was working on Arugba; he had auditioned a lot of people, in fact celebrities. I just went and said, sir do you remember me? And he said he had not seen me before (laughs).

I said I have been coming, and that I was done with school, youth service and all I wanted to do now was act. He asked if I could speak Yoruba, that I speak English too much. I said I can sir. So he gave me a script, called another lady who I was auditioned alongside. He asked me to come back and gave me the script again to read. I did and went back that I was through, he asked me to go back again, and I was like this one is strict o. After that he asked me what I was doing for Christmas and I said I was travelling, so he gave me the script to take with me. I didn't know I had gotten it. That was it.

What about your move to the English sector?

I started with English movies. And my very first was in Ilorin. The producer was new too, and it was an English movie; but a Yoruba setting and I played the lead. The movie only made waves in Ilorin. I also did the sound track of the movie. That was the movie a Yoruba producer saw and called me to come to Lagos to act a Yoruba movie titled Mundia, I played sub-lead.

After I did that I was not getting any roles again because Yoruba movies do not do auditions. So 2007 I made up my mind to start going for auditions in English movies and I was getting roles. I got so many roles; in fact God didn't start with me with waka pass. But I was at that moment not particular about any, I just wanted to act.

It went as far as getting to Abe Igi at the National Theatre, and the crowd you will see there, you will know it is only God that can pick you out. You too, you will pray for waka pass. My first English movie was Poisonous Affairs. I played sub-lead alongside Monalisa Chinda, Desmond Elliot and others.

After that I got other sub-lead roles playing alongside A-list actors. So, the whole of 2007 I was doing English and then one Yoruba movie with Oga Bello, who God used for me too in my career.

At the end of 2007 I got Arugba and the whole of 2008, knowing how Tunde Kelani works; he is someone that he will not be satisfied until he releases the movie. I didn't have the time to go back for auditions. That was what took me away from the English movies, and I pray I am still going to do English as time goes.

Were you intimidated working with the Alist actors?

I was not intimidated. I am a professional actress, a Theatre Arts graduate. If you only have the talents and are not a professional you can be intimidated acting alongside your senior colleagues for the first time. When I was jittery was when I got Arugba, where the likes of Bukky Wright, Lere Paimo, Dele Odule were mentioned and I was playing the lead.

So I was like how can this small me be playing lead, while they were playing sub?

What would I do now? I was scared. These were people that I have been watching before I became an actress. But Tunde Kelani and God made it simple for me. He said you will do your own and they will do their own.

What was your parent's reaction when you told them you were moving out?

I came for my youth service, I stayed with my uncle but then he moved to his own home in Mowe. Which was far for me, and then I was going for auditions and then we were having problems. I would be out late and they won't

i m e y o w A y —Bukk

T

ELL us about your new movie......................................

I thank God almighty for giving me the opportunity, because it has always been my dream to tell a story of my own right from school. Actually, this was not the first that I thought I would produce because I had one particular story that I wrote while I was still in school. But I wrote it for the stage while in my 300 level.

As I was writing it, I was seeing it on screen; I was not seeing it on stage. But since I was still a student I wrote it for the stage. So when I graduated I converted it from play to screen play. I won't say I am a filmmaker like my boss Tunde Kelani, but I will just say I have a story to tell in my own little way. That is what I am doing presently.

Are you saying this new movie was written while in school?

No, this particular one I am working on currently was written after I graduated. But the one I wrote while in school was the one I thought I would produce first. But looking at the logistics I kept it aside. Probably, it will be the next.

This one you are working on, is it on a lower budget than the other one?

Well, I decided to do this first because I feel if I want to achieve the other one, a lot of things have to be put in place because it is traditional. I feel every story or movie has its own challenges, this just came by and I just started writing and decided to do it first.

What about your experience as a new producer?

It gave me a lot of experience, like being a producer and also acting at the same time. Being an actress and a producer are two different things. Producing and acting at the same time is the most challenging situation anybody in the industry could find him or herself. I tell you, you will have to concentrate on the success of the production because sometimes you might be waiting on an actor, or one is not even going to show up.

And probably you are shooting somewhere and you are being given problems, like you are not sure they are going to let out the place for you to shoot. And you have to pick up your script and act again. It is like swinging from one mood to another. Honestly speaking, if I would have my way, if I want to produce, I don't think I would want to act.

Why didn't you drop one for the other when you discovered the challenges?

It was my first time, because the story was written by me.

I saw everything and the storyline was written around the things I could do, because the character in the movie sings, and I sing. I also did the songs and wrote it myself to the glory of God. So I felt I could do it; since it was written by me, it would be best delivered by me. But on getting to the set, I saw a different ball game on location.

Sometimes I would wake up at 5am and sleep at 5am. It is as good as not sleeping at all, and I have to be awake by 8am again and start shooting. I feel to really concentrate on production, just be a producer. But for people who have done it severally, it is just a piece of cake for them. But for me it was very challenging, because I wanted everything to be perfect.

Why the choice of Uche Nwaezeazu, GUS 6 winner, and ID Cabasa?

While I was writing I wanted a new face; I didn't want a face that was already there. I wanted people to see it from another light and not just the normal Yoruba movie.

Bringing in an Igbo guy was not intentional. I wanted a new face and thought of a Yoruba guy. But as God would have it, an Igbo guy came along. I was telling my friend Bola Lawal who helped in the screen play too that the kind of guy I wanted for this script is a tall, huge, dark-skinned guy.

And she said there is this guy that comes around to Surulere, we could just talk to him. And I asked what he looked like and then we went on the internet and checked him up. So I said he is tall and cute. We contacted him and he said he has never done a Yoruba movie before. I asked

Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

him if he could speak Yoruba and he said he could try.

And he said this is just divine connection and he did it. I tell you Uche is a great actor. As we all know ID Cabasa is a producer and he produced all the three songs I did in the movie. We had already produced the songs before commencing the movie. So I felt since I would need a producer in the movie, why not use a real one? That was how he came in.

The actress, then producer and now a singer…

Everything is God's talent, and you just have to use everything. You will just have this love to use everything that s embedded in you. While growing up I was in the children's choir. But all along I didn't know I had a voice.

It was when I got to secondary school that I said maybe I can sing. We had a school choir, and then I would mime Celine Dion, Wyclef Jean and all the other songs I loved easily. Then I discovered that I could write songs and compose poems.

What category would you place your songs?

I won't call them traditional songs; I would need to give it a name. Because it sounds like R&B, but most lyrics are in Yoruba because it is featured in a Yoruba movie. By God's grace I might end up releasing its audio or video later. It is like R&B, I am yet to place a name on it.

I grew up listening to the likes of Whitney Houston, but R Kelly is my best. And I love worship songs too. ID Cabasa really tried, he was God-sent; the way he mixed it, it will cut across deep traditional people and the present contemporary world. My dad and my grandma could hear the lyrics.

The period TK found you and now, what can you say about it?

I thank God because the road to the top is not all smooth.

If I tell you all has been smooth, then I am not telling the truth. I read that if you are aiming for the top and everything is straight, then it is not leading anywhere. You

If I am playing the role of prostitute, I will have to wear my short dress, but you don't have to see my boobs.

If it happens you see it, it is by accident.

Not that it is intentional need to go back. I won't say everything has been straight.

There are times that everything would be all nice and it would be like magic. I mean like from one movie location to the next; then get invite for award, travel abroad and I would be like life is sweet. And then, next, everything will be like “phew”.

I might just go broke, no awards, no travelling and face some challenges. All these things make me sit back and know that there is somebody called God. It is not that He can't make everything straight for us, but because we are human beings, if He makes everything straight for us, we won't remember Him and may feel it's by our own strength that we are making it. Making this movie was very challenging for me; it's been God, even meeting Tunde Kelani himself was the making of God. I am not a Lagos girl, but grew up in Ilorin all my life and here I am, starring in the best filmmaker's movie. Things that could have been a bit difficult have been easy for me.

Would you say you got the role of Arugba because of your innocent look?

It was just God o. Before I got that role, I was still an undergraduate, which was in 2003. And 2004 I came to Lagos for a proper visit to do my IT at MITV. That was the time I made up my mind that I would look for Mainframe Production outfit. I didn't even know there was someone called TK. With their movie jacket I collected from Ilorin, I asked my uncle who I was staying with at Ojodu Berger where Oshodi was.

I took the jacket and went to a call centre to call their landline that same day I got to Lagos; somebody picked it

sleep and be worried to know if I was fine. So I moved to stay with a sister who is in the industry.

I wanted to get a house when I was still serving, but my dad said never, you will not stay alone. So I went to stay with my cousin, who is married now. But you know staying with people, you know how it is. So when my dad saw how it went, he didn't have a choice. It was few months I finished my youth service that I got Arugba. I was just moving from one place to another and surviving in Lagos is not easy. And acting roles were coming, they could not ask me to come back to Ilorin. And during my youth service I had done like three movies which I took home for them to see.

So, they were like, okay, this is success, they can't stop me. And since they don't live in Lagos, so where will I stay? I stay alone with God and His angels.

With your beauty, why are you still single?

It's a very funny question when people ask, why are you still single? Everybody wants to get married though some don't believe in marriage.

But for me I believe in marriage, I grew up in a Christian home; a happy home. So I want a happy home for myself too. I pray very soon God will do it. I will have my own husband and kids.

You are yet to take up challenging roles.

Why? As an actress I can play any role. But I don't believe in you exposing part of your body, I don't see it as fashion. If I am playing a prostitute, I will have to wear some dresses that will tell who I am.

So is playing a banker or lawyer without you hearing my lines.

If I am playing the role of prostitute, I will have to wear my short dress, but you don't have to see my boobs. I don't like exposing my boobs. If it happens you see it, it is by accident. Not that it is intentional.

Are you saying on a normal day, you can't be caught wearing short wears?

Nah nah, on a normal day, you won't see me like I am dressed going out; I'm not on set and you see my boobs out.

2011 was your year of awards. What happened in 2012?

It was my year of nominations, but I didn't get any awards and it was my year of mov ies too. I mean I was just doing movies. But 2011 I was just getting nominated and getting awards, I got like six.

And 2013 you should expect a lot because you will be seeing me in another light.

Everybody wants to get married though some don't believe in marriage. I pray very soon God will do it.

I will have my own husband and kids

39

Habdullmedia unveils two new acts

•YQ

A

BDULLRAHEEM Abdullahi Bamiji, the boss of Habdullmedia ventures LTD, as well as the CEO of popular Bankulli Entertainment, is set to add two new acts to his already filled cabinet.

The dude has worked with several top celebs and entertainment gurus like Segun Arinze and LAFACE Entertainment for Felabration in 2005 and 2006. He was also involved with Psqaure during the Get squared and Busy Body promotion, as well as Mohit's record for the CV album.

At the moment, Habdul media is working with Yemisax to promote his music and media management. Another female singer, IBAN, is under the management of Habdullmedia.

It will be recalled that Habdullmedia discovered wave-making hip-hop sensation and Lamba crooner, Hakym The Dream, about seven years ago on the street. One year after the discovery, he got a Channel O nomination and other awards, as well as getting a record deal with SERENGETI Records.

Other artiste on Habdullmedia include top hiphop star, Yakub Jubril, popularly called YQ, and Kolasoul.

Ankara Nite at Gloryland Christian Dome Mercy Michael

I

T was an evening of music, dance, and comedy at the Glory Christian Ministries, when it held its annual Ankara Nite Special inside its main auditorium in Apapa Oshodi Express Way, Ijeshatedo, Lagos.

It was indeed a true atmosphere of praise and worship, as different acts, including Gloryland acts, trilled the congregation to different praise songs. The obviously ecstatic congregation, all clad in Ankara of different shades, colours, and styles danced and sang to the lord.

Ace comedian, Holy Face, was among the acts that wowed the congregation. In the shortest of time, he got them laughing out their hearts with his hilarious jokes.

The programme was anchored by delectable comedian, Ebiyan, who was awesome on stage, as she added colour to the event.

The church's dance group, Gloryland Dance gave a spectacular choreography which got the church screaming for more.

One of the highlights of the day was the performance by Acho, a main stream act who raised the bar as he performed one of his popular songs. It was a brilliant performance by the dude.

Other acts that thrilled included Immortal and Lisa C. Pastor Ben Chiadika, the resident pastor of Glory Christian Ministries, engaged the youths with a very short prayer session.

THE NATION SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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PASCAL REVEALS My iPad, my best friend!

Inside David's stunning £15,000 -a-night Parisian hotel suite

“Golf keeps my BP, diabetes under control”

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NATION SPORT & STYLE SUNDAY, February 17, 2013

CELEB FITNESS

NATION SPORT & STYLE

PASCAL REVEALS My iPad, my best friend!

IKOYI GOLF CAPTAIN, EBI PINNICK,

Golf keeps my BP, diabetes under control

SHINA PHILIPS SO SURE 'Victorious Super Eagles to boost pitch awards'

O

RGANISERS of the maiden Nigeria Pitch Awards are reeling in joy over the Super Eagles' superb success at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) since it will boost patronage of the event slated to hold on March 24th in Calabar.

Shina Philips, Chief Executive Officer of Matchmakers Consult, the brains behind the Nigeria Pitch Awards, speaking with The Nation Sport & Style, said Calabar remains the ultimate venue for the event, particularly with the idealistic 'theatre of dreams' that is the Calabar Cultural Centre.

“The Nigeria Pitch Awards is for celebration of excellence and it is great that it’s coming on the heel of Super Eagles' success at the 2013 AFCON,” Phillips said matter-of-factly. “We have carefully chosen Calabar as the host city for the maiden edition because of its huge reputation when it comes to entertainment and show business.

“In fact, one of the reasons we have chosen Calabar is Super Eagles because they would be playing their next World Cup qualifier against Kenya on March 23rd there and the second reason being the fact that Calabar Cultural Centre has one of the best theatres in the country.

“We are going to make use of all the available entertainment facilities in Calabar including the Tinapa Resort because of its serenity for the accommodation of all our guests,” he revealed.

Matchmakers Consult International are already

By Taiwo Alimi

O

By Morakinyo Abodunrin trailblazers having conceived and executed a successful two-day FIFA/NFF Players' Agents Workshop in 2011, but Phillips has sensationally said that members of his team are planning a mother of all soccer awards that Nigerians would be proud of.

“The Nigeria Pitch Awards is going to be a grand event because we have to celebrate our players when they are alive,” noted Phillips. “We have given ourselves a benchmark and we are going to do everything possible to make the occasion something that we would all be talking about positively in many years to come. It is going to be an annual event just in celebration of excellence.”

He further explained that the Nigeria Pitch Awards is novel since it would be an opportunity to reward persons in all playing positions on the field, as well as officials, players' agents, state governments and the media in an atmosphere that would compare favourably with some of the best awards in global entertainment industry.

Excerpts....

What makes the Nigeria Pitch Awards different from the so many players of the year awards that had been in existence?

The Nigeria Pitch Awards as conceived would be the best ever because this is the first time the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) would officially

Contd on page 38

(2ndfrom right) Mr. Ian Birkmyre & his colleagues from the British High Commission, with Matchmakers Consultancy's Nelson Olafisoye(in cap) and Shina Philips

By Innocent Anomoh, Just back from South Africa

T

HE Encarta English Dictionary defines Pascal as 'a high-level general-purpose computer language designed to encourage structured programming'.

No wonder Patrick Pascal, a member of the historic 1996 Atlanta'96 Olympic Soccer Gold medal-winning team, has sensationally told The Nation Sport & Style that his newfound best friend is a technology gizmo, iPad. Speaking exclusively with our correspondent in Nelspruit, South Africa, Pascal revealed that the iPad is now his constant companion for obvious reasons.

“I try to relax by watching the television,” stated Pascal, a Business Management graduate of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi. “I play basketball and I make sure I do my workouts.

“But I'm also crazy about sourcing the internet and my best friend now is my iPad which helps me in monitoring happenings around the world.

“I like listening to news and that is why I've found the iPad very useful. When you see me, you see my iPad; it keeps me busy always and it exposes me to new things around the globe, “he added.

Apart from iPad, there is another thing close to the heart of Pascal: Politics.

There is indeed some genuineness in the saying that 'politicians are born not made' as far as Pascal and politics is concerned. Unlike some of his contemporaries that have retired to coaching, Pascal has turned his attention to his first love and has seamlessly fit into politics like fitting gloves in the hands of a boxing champion.

After his football career, Pascal went back to school and studied Business Management at the Federal Polytechnic in Bauchi, which he said has prepared him for other challenges. He is the current Chairman of Bauchi Meat Factory and also serves as Personal Assistant on Youth Development to President Aminu Maigari of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

“I'm a football politician as well as a proper politician serving my people,” stated Pascal, a 1996 FA Cup winner with Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan. “I long realised that all of us can't be coaches and managers, hence my focus on the administration of the game.

“Generally, footballers usually complain about crass incompetence of some administrators and you can often hear some saying something like 'why are these people coming into our business.' I thought about it and told myself; 'I'm going to enter their business too.'

“This is very simple, all our lives as footballers, we have made people happy by being good to them and helping them to solve their domestic problems. That should qualify any footballer to aspire to higher office and that is one of the reasons I joined politics.

“My transition from the pitch to politics has been very

simple. I said so because politicians want people with names, they want people to know that they are there and they need popularity to win votes from the electorates.

“Without any doubt, footballers and sportsmen generally are popular than politicians. As a player, people love you because you gave them so much happiness. I equally reasoned that if all retired footballers become coaches, who would protect our interest in other areas of life?

“Most of us did not go to school during our playing days for obvious reasons. While others were going to schools in the morning, you were going to the field for training. The time frame was not good for us but after our career as footballers, We have gone to school and this has given us the opportunity to enter into the business of those who are coming into our own jobs!

“Most of our players, when they finished playing just forgot to develop themselves. The question is how many coaches do you want to have out of all these former footballers? All of us can't be coaches and all of us can't be politicians but we can always be relevant by looking at ways we can contribute to the development of the game,” explained the Atlanta'96 soccer Gold winner with the Nigeria's U-23 national football team, known as the Dream Team, and tutored by Dutchman Jo Bonfrere as he speaks on sundry issues. Excerpts...

Do you miss playing football?

Yes, of course. I miss football a lot because it is my way of life. The game made me what I'm today. So when you talk about football, it is a game I will forever cherish. It brought me from nowhere to somewhere today.

How did you start your football career?

I started with Wikki Tourist Football Club of Bauchi

I like listening to news and that is why I've found the iPad very useful.

When you see me, you see my iPad; it keeps me busy always and it exposes me to new things around the globe

between 1991 and '92, and from there I moved to Shooting Stars of Ibadan where I won two trophies; the League shield and the Federation's Cup. I also played in the then Africa Champions Cup final (now CAF Champions League). From where I moved abroad to Turkey. I also played for another Club Altali also in Turkey, before moving to Royal Antwerp of Belgium. I finally moved to China where I ended my career.

So football has been all I have done in life before turning my attention to administration.

The name Patrick Pascal reminds one of the Atlanta '96 feat of the national Under-23 team?

Yes, that was a competition that will be in our memory forever. It started in Harare in the U-20 and the team graduated to the U-23. Atlanta came and we had a blend of those coming from the junior team and the foreign-based professionals at that time. It is a good feeling when I remember that I was part of the team that won the first soccer Olympic gold medal not only for Nigeria but Africa.

How will you compare football in your days and what we have now?

In those days, we played the game for the love we had for it.

We played because we wanted to play. We considered the interest of the country and we wanted to make names for ourselves. We loved the game and we wanted to play it.

What is your major motivation in life?

Life itself is a motivation. Each time I wake up and discover I am alive I am motivated and committed to do my best. Also realising that in my entire football career, there was never a time I sustained any form of injury gives me cause to be grateful. Even the slightest form of injury did not occur. I am more than happy about that and it also motivates me to know that I was destined to play football in a special way.

How large is your family?

I have a wonderful family. A wife and three children( two female and one male child): Tracy, David and Tehila.

How far do you hope to take your career as a football administrator to?

To the highest level. That is what I have chosen to do in life. I am already in the system and trying to learn and grow. I started as theTteam Manager of Wikki Tourist and later became the Special Adviser to the Governor on Sports. I have also served as Chairman and Vice- chairman of Wikki Tourist, and so I have gone through stages and have learnt a lot.

And what is your best food?

Rice with any other thing. I just love rice a lot but preferably with plantain.

Which one is your best car?

I am not selective when it comes to using a car. I can use any car as long as it can take me to wherever I want to go. I didn't come into this world with a car and so I am just okay with any car. I don't live a flamboyant life. I am very disciplined and live life as simple as possible. I just want to be a good example to those coming after us.

UTGOING captain of Ikoyi Club 1938 (Golf Section), Ebiyemi Pinnick, has been playing golf for 27 years. In this interview with TAIWO ALIMI, the retired Exxon Mobil geologist opens up on his fitness routine. Driven by challenges and the desire to achieve, the energetic amateur golfer says golf and controlled walk have helped keep his sugar level and blood pressure down. It is interesting as well as educative.

How long have you been playing golf?

I started playing golf in 1986 and that is about 27 years ago. l started playing in Dallas, USA when l was in training at Exxon Mobil and since then l have not looked back. I have played golf as low as 5 handicap, which shows that l am dedicated to it. And l have served this section on several capacity as handicap secretary and helped it start a golf clinic for children, which has yielded good fruit. For example we have two kids that came through it and are doing great abroad now and Nigeria needs to look at their side towards the 2016 Olympics in the area of golf.

Golf is simply interesting. It is like life and the only difference between golf and life is that in golf you make some decisions and the result is obvious to you immediately, unlike life when you execute a decision, you might wait a lifetime to see the full result. If not that, it is entirely the same. In golf you do not have a referee you are entirely playing with your friends and fellow players and against the course. It encourages honesty because you have to understand the rule and score yourself correctly.

In term of fitness, how well has golf been of help to your all-round wellbeing and health?

Well! Golf has helped. There was a time l used to say that the only reason why l work is to get enough money to play golf that is why l worked for Exxon then. At a minimum, l play twice a week; Saturday and Sunday, and l practise on Wednesday or sometimes l like to use the range. And if you ask me, that's a lot of hours to put into golf. A round of golf is about four or fourand-a-half hours, but playing Ikoyi course is about five hours.

What other fitness routine do you indulge in, even if it is in preparation for golf?

I used to use the gym a lot and when l was in the USA l do a lot of walking. That helped to put my blood pressure down and my diabetes is also under control doing that and golf. I've not been able to find places l can do such extensive walk in Lagos because of the undulating surfaces and condition of our roads, which is not good for somebody like me that have had my knees removed and replaced with plastic. I also wear cartilage, so walking on undulating surface is not good for me. In the USA l do a lot of walking because they have paths that are perfect for people to

walk on. In Nigeria, especially in Lagos, it is more difficult for somebody like me to walk because of the change in levels and traffic.

So the golf course offers me that opportunity and that is why l do play golf a lot because it is like walking and playing.

I also have a stationary bike and electrical machines in my house which l'm supposed to be using well, but right now because of the dictate of my present assignment as Ikoyi Golf section captain, l do not have time to use it as often as l like. But as soon as l hand over the captain's baton l will have more time in the morning to ride the bike and work the machines.

Do you have a special diet to help you in your fitness approach?

I try not to eat too much carbohydrate. I would rather like to eat fish more than meat but l have not been able to keep to that rule very well and that comes with living in Lagos- when you visit someone or are sitting with friends, or at a party they bring something with pepper and meat and you just get down to it. l also eat little of eba and stay away from rice as much as possible and it goes straight into the blood stream and it makes you fat. The maximum amount of eba l would eat is like two or three morsels. But with rice you have to fill up the plate. I am probably not a role model in the habit of feeding because l eat at odd times, l eat only when l feel the urge to eat. I retired about a year ago and l have shelved about 20 pounds because l play more golf and l intend to play even more when l am no longer the captain.

That would help me maintain better health.

In effect, you are saying that people that are diabetic and suffering from high blood pressure should play golf to help their conditions?

If they have the time, yes. I'm not a doctor but from experience l know that one of the treatments for diabetes is education; that is meeting with educators, who would educate you in the does and don'ts and treatment of diabetes. From such education, l know that in order to control diabetes, you have to use up the sugar in your system and exercises like aerobic, walking and cycling help. And since golf is associated with walking it helps get sugar out of your system. Walking helps convert sugar to energy. Golf also helps keep one active and fighting diseases. The psychological aspect of it is that golf keeps you alive and energised because you are always looking forward to a round of golf. For example, anytime l play a round of golf and check my blood pressure and sugar level the next morning, it is absolutely under control. I plan to play golf more when I'm out of office, consult and take care of my investment. But l would give it all up if l find anything that is important for charting a better course for Nigeria and where l can serve as role model for the younger ones.

I want to show Nigerians that there are many good Nigerians that can do a good enough job for this country. My drive is not to make money but offer people better life Onyewuchi withthan and better•Kanu services they areAbia getting now.

SKIMPY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

PAGE 38

Tamara shows off hot bikini in Dubai

ONLY THE BEST FOR BECKS! Inside David's stunning £15,000 -a-night Parisian hotel suite

H

E was applauded by fans worldwide when he announced that he would be donating his Paris St Germain salary to a local children's charity.

But despite his incredible gesture, when it comes to where he stays while in the city, David Beckham will settle for nothing less than the best.

The footballer is staying in the £15,000-a-night luxurious Imperial Suite at Le Bristol hotel, located on the Faubourg Saint Honoré in the centre of town.

The stunning 3,475 sq ft suite is the largest at the hotel and can house up to twelve guests, so will be the perfect home away from home for David, Victoria and their four children, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper.

Complete with various bedrooms, a dining area and sitting room, the main bedroom also its own sitting room as well as a large dressing room - the perfect spot for fashion designer Posh to choose her outfit for the day - and a 325 sq ft bathroom.

But such luxury certainly doesn't come cheap, with a night in the suite costing €17,000 (£14,638).

And with Beckham signed up for a fivemonth contract with PSG, his temporary abode could set him back a whopping €2,040,000 (£1,756,549).

However, it is believed that David's

B

room will be paid for thanks to the team's strong ties with the hotel.

As well as the stunning luxury inside the hotel, its location means that it's the perfect spot from which Victoria can hit all the designer shops.

And when the mother-of-four and her footballer beau work up an appetite, they can dine on treats from the in-house hotel chef Eric Brechon including his trademark pot au feu

with black truffles.

Meanwhile, David's arrival in Paris has been heralded with a puppet version of the footballer making its debut on popular French satirical TV show Les Guignols de l'info.

The puppet, which spoke a mixture of French and English with a heavy English accent, took centre stage in the

EING an heiress is by no means an easy task, with a seemingly endless stream of parties to attend and the whole world to travel.

And so Tamara Ecclestone made sure to take some time out of her hectic holiday schedule by enjoying a relaxing puff on a shisha pipe on Thursday afternoon.

Reclining casually on a sun lounger as she made the most of her last few hours of sun in Dubai, the 28-yearold socialite seemed to be in her element as she inhaled the hookah while her pal looked on smiling.

Chilling out with her close chum Scott HarveyNicholls, the daughter of Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone cut a confident figure as she paraded her killer tan and showstopping curves in a skimpy purple bikini.

She's going for an all over tan! Tamara Ecclestone barely covers her curves in skimpy blue bikini as she hits the beach in Dubai Tamara's been tangoed! Socialite Ecclestone shows off her glowing tan as she parties in Dubai Shielding her eyes from the glaring Middle Eastern sun with a pair of Ray-Ban shades, the Billion $$$ Girl star looked happy and relaxed as she chatted away to Scott as he sipped on a bottle of beer.

Despite the soaring temperatures, Tamara wore her dark hair loose around her shoulders, while accessorising her beach outfit with a blingy gold watch and a dark mahogany tan.

After taking a paddle through the crystal clear waters to cool off from the heat of the afternoon sun, the star covered up in a loose-fitting white vest and denim Daisy Dukes as she and Scott took a stroll along the white sands.

Carrying a taupe Chanel beach bag, the socialite seemed to be in great spirits as she chatted and joked with her pal.

And it would seem the friends enjoyed a fairly romantic Valentine's Day, spending their last night in Dubai having dinner at the exclusive Armani Hotel, where Scott treated Tamara to a stunning bouquet of roses.

'Victorious Super Eagles to boost pitch awards' Contd from page 36 be partnering with another firm to institute awards to reward players, administrators, media and anyone that had contributed to the upliftment of the game in a year under review. It is going to be the best because we are going to bring glamour and we already had a picture of how the gala event was going to look like. It is going to be a grand event that Nigerians would be proud of. Soccer is a team sport and everybody that has contributed to the game, irrespective of the position you play, would be rewarded. Unlike some previous awards, we are also going to use the Nigeria Pitch Awards to address one of the major problems confronting development of African football, and that is trafficking of young players all in the name of taking them to Europe for professional football career.

You've talked about two things. 'Kicking Out Human Trafficking from Football', is this not a distraction from the main event?

We have perfectly visualised and conceptualised what we are going to do and at what stage, so none of these would be a distraction to the other. Human trafficking in football is real and it is a big shame that we were all turning our eyes away from something that can destroy the fabrics of our football not only in Nigeria but on the African continent in general. We want to draw proper attention to this problem as well as finding solution to it. We are going to involve the United Nations in curbing the trafficking of young players to Europe which more often than not does not materialise. Majority are usually abandoned along the way, some die before they reach their destination; this is not a good advertisement for football on the continent. The more we talk about the awards ceremony, the more challenged we are to put up a superlative show.

Superlative show in terms of what? What are we going to see that we have not seen before now?

Personally, I have a solid root in entertainment and we are going to leverage on this in order to put together a great show. The Nigeria Pitch Awards ceremony is going to be huge and I think the NFF has implicit trust in our company, Matchmakers Consult International, to deliver a spectacular show. Don't forget that we organised the first

and very successful FIFA/NFF Players' Agents Workshop in Lagos in 2011 and I think that demonstrated our ability to go into an unchartered territory. We are excited at the opportunity to organise a show-stopping football awards that will reward persons in all playing positions on the field, as well as officials, players' agents, state governments and the media. The NFF has given us the mandate and we are ready to deliver a good show, I want Nigerians to just wait and see.

Are the Nigeria Pitch Awards not going to be a duplication of efforts since we already have some awards for players and administrators?

There is this popular saying that the sky is wide enough to accommodate all birds. Though the Nigeria Pitch Awards ceremony is going to be huge, we are not out to rubbish what others had done in the past. We are only competing against ourselves by raising the bar. Agreed, no two awards are the same but we are taking a cue from what is happening in the global entertainment industry whereby there are so many awards from different platforms. We have the Grammy, Oscar, Hollywood, and Golden Globe Awards, amongst others. But each of these awards has its own unique values. You won't hear people saying the Oscars are bigger than the Golden Globe because they all complement each other and we all look forwardsto this despite the fact that they are given out to the same people within the entertainment industry. The Nigeria Pitch Awards is going to be a celebration of excellence and we are going to glamorise the event like never before.

You said this is a big project, how big is it in financial terms?

I can't exactly tell you that this is how much it is going to cost but what I know is that we are not going to spare anything in order to achieve a perfect show. We are bringing equipments and high-tech stage for the event.

Solid entertainment companies from Europe are involved with this project so that we can have a perfect evening. I don't want to give you an exaggerated budget but what I know is that nothing should be too big in our quest to take Nigerian football to the next level. We are very grateful to the NFF for giving us this opportunity and it’s our desire to organise a perfect show that Nigerians all over the world

40

Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Actress Omotola Afolayan weds

I

T was a memorable moment when actress Omotola Afolayan got married to her hubby, Olabode Okudero, at a lavish wedding in Lagos.

The solemnisation of the holy matrimony took place at the Chapel of St. Luke Presbyterian Church in Ikeja on Saturday, February 2nd, 2013.

It could be recalled that the bride's father, late Afolabi Afolayan (Jagua), died over ten years ago and his wife, Elyzer Afolabi Afolayan, also died in 2011. Omotola who is also a movie producer has forged ahead with her late father's legacy by securing a spot for her new series titled the Jagua's sitcom on terrestrial television.

Despite losing both parents, the wedding reception which took place at the Banquet Hall, Agidingbi in Ikeja still turned out to be a star-studded affair with a large presence of the bride's colleagues most especially from the Yoruba speaking genre of the movie industry.

The wedding reception anchored by star actor Ajirebi, better known as Pa James, and another actor, Alado, had in attendance Nike Peller, Kemi Korede, Ayoka, Henrietta Kosoko, Iya Awero and Lambert Dike. Others included Chairman of Lagos FIBAN Yomi Mate (Ifankaleluya), Alhaji Ade Adenrele, former president of ANTP, Adebayo Salami and Ajala Jalingo. Talented Juju musician, Femson Ayeni Bobo, rendered danceable beats to the delight of guests in attendance.

The couple has since proceeded on a honeymoon to a choice hotel in Victoria Garden City on the outskirt of Lagos.

•Omotola Afolayan with Olabode Okudero

E-Rave hosts Gbenga Adeyinka

E

-Rave is here again, and all is already set to stage a lavish industry party in honour of ingenious entertainer, Gbenga Adeyinka D 1st.

E-Rave, an initiative of Klick Promotions, in partnership with Ruffsounds and Nasville, will host ace comedian, Gbenga Adeyinka, on Thursday, February 21, 2013, at Octopus Reloaded, located at Adebisi Street, off Herbert Macauley Road, Yaba, Lagos.

The weekly show, with its funfilled atmosphere, will yet again mesmerise its audience, as Gbenga Adeyinka, popularly referred to as CFR (Comedian of the Federal Republic), will officiallyvunveil his GCON (Grand Comedian of Nigeria) brand.

Sure enough, this event promises to be fun-filled as it will have all the trappings of A-list parties, with the attendance of major stakeholders in the entertainment industry.

The event, which will be hosted by popular comic acts, Georgewill and Lepacious Bose, will have other top acts, actors,

S

•Genevieve

comedians, artistes, DJs and great entertainers on ground to make it a memorable event.

It would be recalled that E-Rave has in the past hosted A-list celebs like Julius Agwu, Tonto Dike, DJ Jimmy Jatt, eLDee, Uche Jombo and Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA) 2012 nominees.

Since the debut of this most anticipate

Genevieve Nnaji, others endorse Movie Moments

TARTING from February 18, Movie Moments, the publishers of entertainment website, www.momo.com.ng have promised Nollywood fans an authentic source of news on their favourite film stars. Movie Moments seeks to become Nollywood's premiere news source where Nollywood enthusiasts can access latest information, movie trailers, photo shoots, locations’ occurrences and gossip, according to its publishers.

Excited at the prospects the site brings, actress Funke Akindele says the launch of Movie Moments is a welcome development. “I have high hopes and believe Movie Moments would close the

void that has been in the reportage of Nollywood,” she says.

Other artistes who have expressed enthusiasm for the site include Genevieve Nnaji, Present AGN president, Ibinabo Fiberisima and Nollywood sweethearts, Doris Simeon and Nse Ikpe- Etim. “I am eagerly looking forward to the February 18 launch date,” Nse Ikpe Etim says Movi e Moments is publ ished by Movie Moments Limited, a wholly Nigerian Nollywood media and awards com

Comedian Sanyeri for UK concert

P

OPULAR Yoruba film comedian, Olaniyi Afonja, popularly known as Sanyeri, will be visiting UK for the first time. The visit, according to reports, is a business tour and concert that is billed to take off early next month.

The first leg of the six weeks’ concert, being packaged by popular London promoter, Charles Ajibade Odunlami, CEO of Charles And C Productions, we gathered, will take place in the United States of America. Artistes billed to be on parade at the US event include ace Fuji act, Isa Mirinda, Sunday Alaba Pedro, the talented singing son of late veteran Highlife writer and singer, Pa Alaba Pedro. Sunday will be performing live with the surviving band of his father.

Sanyeri who through determination and hard work has become a household name in

Nollywood, we heard, will be on stage at the UK concert with new generation star music acts like X-Project, Vector tha Viper, Oritshe Femi, Sabi (of Show Your Style fame), and many more.

An excited Sanyeri said he is happy that the UK trip is coming at a most auspicious time of his career, more so when he has been to almost all foreign countries that matter for shows, except the UK, promising to give the best to his London fans.

“I'm much ready for the London show. I've been to Canada, America, Malaysia and other countries. I want my fans all over the world to know that Sanyeri is not just for one country. I do not restrict myself to any country or continent, so my London fans should

•Sanyeri

WAPTV announces bonanza S

INCE it made its debut on October 1, 2012, wapTV has released fresh episodes of contents like Superstory, Thislife, Papa Ajasco & Company, Nena & Friends, Odd World and Binta My Daughter, as well as the best selection of Nigerian movies, soaps, music videos and comedies which cut across different age groups.

Thus, the need to recoup investment through this family entertainment channel, which has quickly grown to become one of the most popular digital TV channels in the country.

Announcing an advert bonanza during the week, Managing Director of the company, Wale Adenuga Jr, said this will enable businessmen and women to advertise on the hugely popular station at a very affordable fee for a limited period.

“The advert bonanza will benefit small-scale businesses, as well as entrepreneurs, by enabling them shoot and air their TV adverts on wapTV at a very affordable rate and then profit from the nationwide exposure given to their products and services.”

100:100:100 artistic project underway

I

N commemoration of the centenary anniversary of Nigeria, 100 different artistes and musicians will be performing and exhibiting in 100 different locations, for 100 different days all over the federation for Nigeria at 100 in an artistic project tagged '100:100:100'.

An initiative of Inspiro Productions, an event and entertainment consultancy firm, the programme will be part of celebrating 100 years of the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates into the nation called Nigeria in 1914.

The 100:100:100 project Director, Ayoola Sadare, said that in spite of all the challenges facing us as a nation, Nigeria remains one. "Nigeria's entertainment and creative industries are veritable tools for national re-orientation. The industry which has put up strong showings in recent times is an emerging force to be reckoned with. At a time when Nigerian musicians, actors, literary and art practitioners are making impact both locally and internationally, an event

Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

41

Why I work with my wife —Darey Art Alade Soul R&B singer, Darey Art Alade, is out with a new concert series, Darey Presents; putting to rest rumours that he has dropped off the Nigerian entertainment radar. The son of the late Highlife legend, Modupe Art Alade, gives an insight into his early life as a singer, among other issues, in this interview with OVWE MEDEME

C

AREER-WISE, what have you been up to?

The show Darey Presents love Like a Movie is what is happening with me right now. I have got new music that has been prepared already and this has taken the front burner. I might release one or two songs in the show; I don't know yet. I have shot videos for not just myself but for my artistes, Mo'Eazy and Zaina. After the concert, we will continue our momentum, release new music, new videos and then move on to the next thing. We have big projects that are coming up as well but we don't want to give you too much information.

Most of the time, movies are known to be fictional. Why did you use it as an analogy for your show?

The same issue why the US is having issues with gun violence and there is high percentage of death and they try to blame Hollywood. We forget that movies are a mirror of the society. Have a look at our Nollywood. Everything is fetish. Movies are based on stories we hear around. I think at the end of the day, love is like a movie. It is so dramatic, it is full of ups and downs.

We have seen shows come and go.

What measures have you put in place to ensure the sustainability of this one?

The game plan is to change the face of concerts, to change the face of production.

With everything that I do with Soul Music, with our videos and music, we take our time. We make sure it comes out classy and different. If anybody believes in us and trusts what we have done in the past, then it is a no brainer. Once we say we are going to do something, we do it and you are more than welcome.

Both artistes on your label are returnees. Is it that you have a soft spot for returning artistes?

They are both Nigerians. Anybody who knows me knows that I support a lot of homegrown artistes. I don't hesitate to give anybody my support. Take Phil as an example. We did a song together some years ago. We flew to South Africa to shoot a video for it. That answers the question. Today, Clarence Peters is one of the top music video directors. His first music video in Nigeria was my music video. Talking about giving local talents breaks, we have done that and the fact that they are returnees doesn't take away the fact that they are Nigerians.

So far, how have they lived up to their billing?

The advantage they have is the exposure. That always makes a difference as far as entertainment is concerned. I like to work with professionals because at the end of the day, they bring their experience to bear. By the time we combine that with my experience here, having done a lot at home, the combination is awesome. In terms of local support, we are about to go live with our studios in Abuja where sessions are open.

t with •Darey on se

a model

anybody. I am not saying I am better than anybody. I just have my own thing I am Anybody, especially people in or around doing. I have created my niche and I have Abuja, can always come with their my market. My market may be one projects to record. percent but check it out; one percent of Why did you opt for Abuja, 150 million is much. So if I have them considering the fact that Lagos is every year or every six months, I am perceived as the entertainment hub of content. I am not trying to sell a hundred Nigeria? million records. I don't want everybody to Hollywood is perceived as the sing to my music. entertainment capital of the United States Did growing up as the son of Art but people make music all over the States.

Alade have an influence in your career I think we need to also stop the choice? stereotype or the I have always been stigmatisation. Abuja is 45 I make all the surrounded by music, not minutes away by flight, so just from my dad or my money and she what are we talking about? mum but from my entire Nigeria is the size of Texas. spends it. I am family. My great Distance does not equal grandmother, my late uncle, not quality. You don't need to be Wole Bucknor was in Lagos to make good complaining, Captain the director of music at the music. she is not Nigerian Navy. My other You don't need to be in uncle, Richard Bucknor still complaining Lagos to shoot a great music is the Choir Master at the video. The bottom line for either.

Cathedral Church of Christ me is that I have reached a where I used to be a Sometimes I level in my career that I can chorister. My great make music from anywhere don't even grandmother was one of the in the world. I have the first pianists in West Africa know how machinery; I have publicists, and was a teacher of piano producers and people at my much I make.

I and music, so it has just been disposal everywhere in the there. don't really care world. I can be in Lagos There were others I never when I need to be. That is about money met.

Coming from that, it how I keep my uniqueness. I doesn't mean that I knew am not in Lagos to compete. how to do it. I had to learn a lot of things Lagos is congested. A million artistes growing up. From singing with bands, come out everyday even though I always travelling around, joining choir, I had to feel like a new artiste. I am warning new learn how to sing. artistes to be very wary of someone like me because I am still hungry.

How many instruments do you play?

Your style of music is not seemingly popular. How well would you say it has My first instrument was the drum. I paid you? play the piano, the percussion and the conga. I also sing because the voice is an My style of music is Soul R&B and it instrument. has paid me very well. People say I am in a class by myself. Sometimes it gets lonely Is there a particular reason why you because I am not trying to compete with don't remix much of your father's songs?

First of all, my father was more of a live performer. He never recorded much. He was famous for being a spontaneous live performer on TV so a couple of recordings he had, I have covered one already many years ago when I was starting out. As far as his music is concerned, there is not too much I can do with it. But again I am also a live performer. From shows that I have got from bank AGMs, weddings and things like that, I do a lot of old highlife music on that platform. Not everything has to be recorded.

At what point does your life as an R&B artiste meet that as a Highlife performer?

That is a futuristic question and I like your line of thinking. To answer that, you just have to look out for my new project.

It actually encompasses what you are talking about.

A lot of men don't like working with their wives but you do that. What is the secret?

We have a great chemistry. We work together. I make all the money and she spends it. I am not complaining, she is not complaining either. Sometimes I don't even know how much I make. I don't really care about money. It is people who worship money that care about it.

What then are your cares?

I care about making people happy. I care about changing people's lives.

If not for the money, why are you in the arts?

There is no limit to creativity. The day you stop being creative is the day you die.

As long as I am alive, there will always be ideas and Love like a movie is one of those projects.

What inspires your dress sense?

I dress to be comfortable. I wear what suits my body type, keeps it edgy, dress appropriately. You can't wear bathroom slippers to a meeting. It is relative, it depends on what you believe in style, but never let your style be as a result of somebody else's. You can borrow and be inspired but don't take everything hook

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Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Tonto Dikeh bids to join Nollywood exclusive list

F

OR Tonto Dikeh, Friday March 1 will be a definitive day. In this era where a star's brand rating is determined by how well his or her movie performs at the cinema, Tonto will be making a Cinema debut in a new movie titled My Life, My Damage.

Genevieve Nnaji is the most bankable actress with total gross revenue at the boxoffice at N83 million, Omotola and Funke Akindele made N60 million and N56 million respectively.

Many had posited that Tonto's box office credibility will be helped by her 'notoriety' as she seems to be the most notorious in recent times.

If My Life, My Damage crosses the N10 million mark, Tonto would be the first to combine notoriety and commercial viability. She •Tonto Dikeh

has told close friends that she believes she can break into the circle of actresses who have had success at the box-office.

The movie tackles the effects of drug abuse, its negative consequences, and essentially the harm in getting distracted from life's aspirations. In the movie, the sultry actress plays a young girl who travels out of the country with the intention of being a medical doctor. She, however, gets distracted and that's where the story begins.

Bukky Wright is making a comeback in My Life, My Damage after a long hiatus from the industry that gave her fame and wealth. The movie is produced by actress cum writer, Uche Jombo.

Uche Jumbo, who is also a script writer, has been in the Nigerian movie industry for quite some time. She has featured in a number of blockbuster movies and has written several home videos including The Celebrity, Games Men Play, Holding Hope, Girls in the Hood, A Time to Love, Be My Wife, Perfect Planner, Price of Fame, to

CINEMA GUIDE LAGOS Wreck It Ralph Featured Actors John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch Genre Comedy and Sequel Running Time 101min A Thousand Words Featured Actors Eddie Murphy, Cliff Curtis and Kerry Washington Genre Comedy Running Time 91min Hotel Transylvania Featured Actors Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Andy Samberg Genre Comedy ARGO Featured Actors Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman Genre Drama Running Time 120 min Twilight Saga 2 Featured Actors Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 115min Skyfall Featured Actors Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Naomie Harris Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 143 The Meeting

PORT HARCOURT Harris Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 143 The Meeting Featured Actors Rita Dominic, Femi Jacobs, Linda Ejiofor, Jide Kosoko, Kate Henshaw & Nse Ikpe Etim Genre Drama Running Time 120Min

Reason for ‘Love Hope and War’ Concert—Bouqui

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•Bouqui (2nd left) with other artistes

ONTEMPORARY gospel artiste Bouqui has revealed the essence behind staging the concert tagged “Love Hope& War Tour”- an event put together

by Bouqui's Place Entertainment in collaboration with Xist Music USA. The concert tagged “The Love Hope & War Tour” featured American gospel artiste DA T.R.U.T.H, a twotime Grammy an- Dove Awards nominee. The artiste who is also a four time Stellar Award-winner also performed alongside Bouqui last week at the Unilag Sports Complex, Akoka Yaba, Lagos.

“One of the reasons behind staging this tour is to bring the best of gospel hip hop music worldwide to Lagos and to promote love and hope amongst the youth.

It is also an opportunity to promote the new and sixth studio album by DA' T.R.U.T.H titled Love Hope & War released on Jan 29, 2013.

“It will also serve as an opportunity to unveil my forthcoming double album titled Marks of a General and Eve of Independence set for release in the second quarter of the year 2013. It is also a platform to preach the gospel, gain rededication and win more souls for Christ the lord our saviour through the

2Face’s Campus Connect to storm 12 more locations

ARGO Featured Actors Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman Genre Drama Running Time 120 min Twilight Saga 2 Featured Actors Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 115min Skyfall Featured Actors Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Naomie

Featured Actors: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans Genre: Action/Adventure Married but Living Single Featured Actors: Funke Akindele, Joke Silva, Joseph Benjamin, Tina Mba, Femi Brainard, Kiki Omeili, Yemi Remi Genre: Action/Adventure Men in Black III Featured Featured Actors: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin Genre: Action/Adventure Dark Shadows Featured Featured Actors: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Eva Green Genre: Action/Adventure

ABUJA

1

2 schools have been listed as the potential campuses set to host the forthcoming 2face tour of higher institutions, also known as Campus Connect.

The list of schools were released by Hypertek Records recently and the schools were voted for by, presumably, their students on the http://www.2faceonline.com/ platform.

2face's return to campuses, which was lauded and met with cheers by attendees of the Playas' Ball event held in his honour back in December when the announcement was made, will see him performing at 4 of the 12 possible locations. Some of the 12 locations include: University of Lagos (Unilag), University of Benin (Uniben), University of Ibadan (UI), University of Calabar (Unical), University of Ilorin (Unilorin), University of Jos (Unijos), and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).

The other locations are: University of Abuja (Uniabuja), University of Port Harcourt (Uniport), Lagos State University (LASU), Benue State University (BSU) and Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu.

Voting for the definite 4 slots continues on http://www.2faceonline.com/ and will close on February 20 by 10pm with a possibility of additional locations included in the final list. Some of the artistes expected to join 2face on the tour include Olamide, Dammy Krane, Rocksteady, EFA, Sheyi Shay, Durella, Capital FEMI, Harrysong, Sound Sultan, Crystals, Basket Mouth and Timi

Featured Actors Rita Dominic, Femi Jacobs, Linda Ejiofor, Jide Kosoko, Kate Henshaw & Nse Ikpe Etim Genre Drama Running Time 120Min Dr . Bello Genre Action/Adventure Hotel Transylvania Featured Actors Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Andy Samberg Genre Comedy Running Time 91min Shaolin Featured Actors Andy Lau,

•2Face

A Wish Featured Actors Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse and Bingbing Fan Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 131min Here comes a boom Featured Actors Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Andy Samberg Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 91min Premium Rush Featured Actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon and Dania Ramirez Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 91 min Argo Featured Actors Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 120 min Sparkle Featured Actors Jordin Sparks, Carmen Ejogo and Whitney Houston Genre Drama Running Time 116 min Skyfall Genre Action/Adventure The Meeting Genre Drama

Taken 2 Featured Actors Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace.

Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 91 min •Hoodrush Genre Comedy •Taken 2 Featured Actors Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 91 mins •The Dictator Featured Actors Sacha Baron

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Glamour

‘ I dumped banking t’ s li y t s ir a h e m a c e b d an Bruno Oaikhinan was the Head, Internal Communication, Skye Bank. After 14 years in the industry, he decided to follow his passion, hair styling, and partnered with renowned hair stylist, Bobby Eke of Bobby's Signature. Bruno speaks with ADETUTU AUDU and DANIEL POPOOLA on how he made success of his new calling, his days at the bank and why he promised his wife not to do home service.

Y

OU were the Head of Internal Communication, Skye bank. Suddenly, you quit and moved to hair styling.

What informed that decision?

This happened about five years ago. Then, I was working at the then Prudent Bank. There was turbulence in the industry and I was affected. I told myself that I needed a plan B. So in the process, I was looking for something I can be doing with my hand that will fetch me money. I remembered that when I was courting my wife, I used to take her to salon and I noticed that there were some things that they are not doing right.

This was coupled with the fact that while I was growing-up, I used to make use blade with comb on my hair.

I said to myself that somebody can actually go into that and will generate money. Later, I got a teacher from Elegant Twins who used to come to my house to teach me. After the lady had taught me for a year, I perfected it. Shortly after, I was called back into the banking industry and this time around it was Skye Bank. I just decided I needed somebody who had gone far in this business that would be able to run with my own vision. And that was the reason I met Bobby of Bobby's Signature.

The first time I went to his office and told him I wanted to learn, he almost fell from his chair, because that day I was wearing my suit.

Immediately he said, you a banker, and burst into laughter. So, he decided to teach me free of charge. That was how I started.

Last year June, I went into partnership agreement with Bobby's. We opened a branch in Magodo, which is doing very well, and another one in Omole. Here in Opebi, I decided to use another name so that it will not be Bobby's. I just decided to give it another name so that I will not put all my eggs in one basket. With the knowledge I have acquired in the banking industry, I want to grow Nigerian economy. We need to invest in the small scale industry. It is because this place is small, that is the reason we have four stylists. When you get to our Magodo office, we have about ten stylists.

But it was alleged that your wife was the brain behind this, but later on, she lost interest, and you quickly took that advantage, because you didn't want the money to go to waste. How true is this?

Let me tell you, at the initial stage, I wanted to do the business that my wife will administrate, and I later noticed that my wife was a career person and I had invested some money into the business. But later on I noticed that the passion was also in me. So I just converted it and started learning it myself. I remember those days that I would have to wake-up in the mid-night, and I had this baby-toy that I used to learn with. You can imagine that I would go to work early and I come back late in the night. I would then put on my generator and used it to learn how to

43

make hair, and by the time I would be through with the practice, I would wakeup the next day and go to work (in the bank). That alone shows the interest I have for the business. I did all that and nobody knew.

What has been your wife's reaction?

She is happy of course. But at the initial stage, you know how it is, the complaint was that, 'you are going to be massaging women hair; you are going to be touching women hair.' At the initial stage, it was tough for me but as a woman, she can understand. She has seen what I have

done with Bobby's, I think she is even encouraging me to do more.

Did she want to partner with you?

She is working, she is a career person, and she has her Masters.

What about your kids, how do they react to your kind of business?

I barb my hair; I even barb my kids' hair when I am less busy.

How was the transition from the banking world to the beauty world for you?

I am fulfilled in it; because it is something I enjoy doing. I find so much joy when I hold woman's hair. I came into the banking world just because I wanted to make money, I knew from day one that I could not last as a banker because I have passion for fashion. I knew there is something inside of me, I am a creative person, and banking was just like a platform for me to make money. I can't say I am making as much money that I made in the banking industry but I have so much time, and if you convert that time into money, I can tell you that I feel fulfilled in life than when I was in the banking industry.

What are you actually missing outside the banking industry?

I'm not missing anything, I only miss my friends. Let me tell you this, I am a brand person. I actually went to the best and the first branding school in Africa, Orange Academy. I had worked in an advertising agency before, and a marketing company. I am a sales person, but along the line, I was looking for something that I could be doing with my hand, something I can run with, something ordinary that I can make extraordinary.

Was banking imposed on you?

You know how it is now; parents will want you to do a profession that people will be able to reckon with so that they will be able to say my son is doing this and that profession. Hair styling is a profession that people have really looked down on. If you engage yourself in this kind of profession, you are seen as someone who is not serious at all.

You are in a business where the ladies rule, how do you cope?

This is even small.

When you come to the banking industry, you will come across a lot of ladies.

So, having worked with them, I have no problem with that. If you actually want to go into this kind of business, you have to be disciplined and professional.

And you have to be cautious, authentic and passionate about the business.

Do you do home service?

We don't do home services.

We are even too busy for that, and that is one promise I made to my wife, that I will never go for home service.

That is one of the covenants we had together. In this kind of business, you

44

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Glamour

Social

ADETUTU AUDU (E-mail: crownkool@yahoo.com, Tel: 08023849036)

Ohakim and Anunobi united in love

T

HESE are best of the moments for the former governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim. The ex-governor, who had laid low after his failed bid to return to office, celebrated his first son's wedding last weekend.

Obia Ohakim got married at a low-key ceremony to Oby Anunobi, the daughter of one his father's aides while he was in office. The couple had a low-key engagement last year December; the last weekend ceremony was their court wedding.

Son takes over from the late Bimpe Sorinolu

Adaobi Nwakuche changes gear

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Glamour

45

Tosan Jemide soars high

Amaka Mbonu Nike Oshinowo's settles with hubby love for Tuface Idibia

Kayode Oke joins private jet owners

Toyin Lawani now concentrates on daughter

F

UN-LOVING Toyin Lawani took the social scene by the storm and she has remained a recurring factor in the showbiz . Toyin, who has her hands in many pies, runs Amala.dot.com and Tiannah's Place, which boast few subsidiaries in health, beauty and fashion.

Pretty and very light-skinned, her appearance on the social scene was not without some idle talk. A frequent party goer, Lawani's flashy looks and highflying lifestyle set her apart.

Though she has been linked with many men in the past, the gist is that the mother of one now focuses more on building her numerous businesses and raising her child. She is so crazy about her daughter that she recently tattooed her image on her back.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

47

Choosing your advertising agency I

T took some time to cast the topic for this piece, for the same reason we thought of working on it. The options were various as they were finely different in meaning and implication.

Our choice was finally determined by the need to eliminate ambiguity, controversy and argument, just so that the import is not lost in us. We are also clear in our minds, the need to cut out any such distractions occasioned by semantics, flamboyance for reasons of modernity.

To begin, therefore, advertising agencies will remain Advertising Agencies as we know it. We do not have any qualms with those who like to be seen and referred to as creative hot-shops, brand activators…and all such other identities which, at best, come across as desperate attempt at differentiation, it all comes down to ideas and creative work that sell. According to Drew Cannon in her article “How To Choose an Advertising Agency” posted on inc.com in August 11, 2011, unlike in the past when advert agencies were traditionally defined along certain structures, agencies now come in varying forms today, starting from 10-men experimental to enormous traditional firms with global reach, and everything in-between.

We have come to accommodate these products of change, not minding how they present themselves, provided they keep the underlying essence of creative ideas and work that sell brands.

The focus of this piece is draw attention to the importance of advertising agency engagement and the need for brands or brand owners to see the process as very crucial to the success of their brand(s) and entire marketing success, and as such, to strictly adhere to the process, for their own good. Brand management is systematic, procedural, creative and objective-driven. These characteristics explains why on value measurement, what you get is a direct consequence of what was invested (the computer’s GIGO – garbage in, garbageout).

Last week, we considered a set of variables in the process of developing brand communication or brand advertising messages, grouped as the imperatives of the creative process. In it we laid out those key elements that must be derived in the creative process. Every one of those listed elements is weighty and consequential upon the quality of creative product in form of advert or campaign. Characteristically, they can only be derived by working through every step of the creative process.

Because of their importance, deriving these creative elements is the essence of the advertising agency engaged for the job or assignment of working through the creative process. Suffice, therefore, the agency’s quality, strength, capability has a direct relationship and consequence on the quality of the final creative output or product. In other words, an agency-driven brand support is only as good, effective, creative, impactful and successful, to the extent the engaged advertising agency is competent. Interestingly, the competence or strength of any creative team or advertising agency can be determined, just as the creative imperatives for good and effective creative process and products are derived.

Therefore, just as it is the job of the creative team to derive the imperatives for

top-end creative product(s), so it is the duty of the client and/or its representative to determine the right advertising agency or team to be engaged to manage their brand.

There-in lays the justification for a systematic (and creative) agency selection process.

As in every process, selecting or appointing an agency is indeed, only a process. It is open to individual determination along the gamut of adherence. The extent to which the process which we see as equally a creative process is adhered to is a function of the extent to which the selecting team considers it as important, understands its import and consequence, and its intellectual and creative capacity to judge the weighty issues. There must be the will and ability to work the process.

There have been instances where Agency selection process stretches for very long through several stages. For some clients, consultants are engaged to guide them through the process. There have also been cases where the selection process results in a tie between two or more agencies, and the final choice becomes dependent on news and more critical factors. In a situation where it becomes too difficult to clearly agree on the winner-agency, a particular business or account is shared between two agencies because they are considered equally tied based on the agreed parameters set for the selection process.

Selecting and engaging the advertising agency for a brand is serious and as important as developing the brand itself.

That is why, in ideal situation, the process is devoid of emotion. In her article “HOW TO CHOOSE AN ADVERTISING AGENCY” (posted on in.com on August 11, 2011), Drew Cannon, among other

submissions, break the process into four major steps: ASKING – about for the agencies that fall within the pre-determined consideration bracket, WRITING – a request for proposal (in other words, writing the brief), SEARCH thoroughly (carefully run through a guided selection procedure), and ENTER into selection meetings prepared (agency engagement). Cannon’s submission can be taken as a very brief summary of the ideal agency selection and engagement process, open to expansion and a more detailed and functional model. But the important thing here is that it captures the reason and operative guideline for a proper agency selection process: THE (MARKETING) OBJECTIVE! Marketing and its attendant consideration and actions are derived and determined at every point. The process starts with and ends with the client, but focused on the brand and the target market, which is the reason for being. It is the consequence of every such action on the bottom-line (which is the marketing objective for the brand and brand-owners, that makes it imperative for the right decision to be taken at every step of the way. In turn, that right step is as spelt out on the (client’s) brief.

It all starts with THE BRIEF. The process starts with the client’s brief to the initially chosen agencies, inviting them to a pitch. It is upon the strength of the client’s brief, the agencies prepare for presentation at a pitch setting. In turn, invited agencies make a presentation of their proposal, which should essentially be their understanding and interpretation of the client’s brief. After the presentation, the client goes back to score the agencies based on the strength of their presentation, with the initiating brief as the reference

point. Nothing is given to chance, whims and caprices; the brief takes preeminence over every other consideration. The very important consideration in the entire process is the brief. Therefore, the brief has to be professionally written, focused, strategically focused and robust in its consideration of immediate and future success of the brand at the market place.

The flip side of this analysis is the compromise of the ideal agency selection and engagement process. Unlike in the ideal scenario, the compromised system does not respect the brief. It is all based on personal gains, unstructured method, unsystematic process based on the whims and judgment of individuals who operate outside any pattern. The compromised system does not take the brand into consideration.

The decision maker’s choice is based determined by personal relationship, immediate financial gains and other selfish considerations. That is why, as at today, over 75% of big brand management businesses are in the hands of service providers who either outright non-professionals or those who engaged in distant related endeavors such as journalism and public relations, but now positions as brand management consultants BECAUSE THEY ARE CONNECTED TO THE MAN/ WOMAN WHO DECIDES WHO MANAGES THE BRAND. In our market place, mediocrity has taken over professionalism as a consequence of corruption, greed and selfishness. Apart from the profession and professionals who suffer from this corrupt system, brands are failing, the consumer/market is suffering and investments are failing – except we go back to the ideal situation.

48

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Omorinsola Abaniwonda is the daughter of the late ministerial nominee and chieftain of the Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Al-Mustain Abaniwonda. A graduate of Environmental Management, she returned after a long hiatus in Canada, packed up her university degree and set up her dessert café, Helado Delicia.

During an interview with Rita Ohai, she talked about losing her father, her new-found passion .

T

AKING a wild leap and making a major career change can be a daunting process. However, when people are able to achieve this successfully, there's a lot to be thankful for.

Morinsola Abaniwonda has travelled the world and seen the huge potential in the food-making industry; this fanned the embers of her courage as she joined a competitive market and set up her icecream shop.

In her words: “I love desserts and as I travelled to different parts of the world

and visited different ice cream parlours and cafés, I knew I just had to open a dessert restaurant here in Nigeria. Just before I moved back to Nigeria from Canada, I took an intensive six months' course in dessert and pastry-making. This was very different for me as I do not have a culinary background. However, as the months went by it got easier.”

Although playing with forks and knives might be a walk in the park for her, it still takes a lot of effort to turn a blind eye to crazy drivers, mean and slothful people.

One of the things she cannot stand about living in Nigeria is the craziness experienced on Lagos roads, she says, “I can't stand how impatient Nigerian drivers are. A majority of the people on the road have zero driving skills.”

Further, she shared, “I do not like it when people do things without the fear of God. As humans, we will all pass on eventually and on the Day of Judgment each and every one of us will be held accountable for our actions. I believe that in all that we do we should always have this at the back of our minds. The world will be better place if we do.

“Finally, I don't like laziness. In my opinion, for you to attain success, one has to be very hard working.”

Certainly not a lazy person herself, Abaniwonda, a lover of African meals, now enjoys cooking. When she gets home from work, Edikan ikong is one of the special dishes she prepares due to the 'variety of ingredients and its aromatic nature.'

The death of her father, Chief AlMustain Abaniwonda, came as a shock to many. While many believe there was some foul play involved, Morinsola and her family are simply

thankful for the good life he lived.

However, they still miss his presence.

“We were so close,” she says. “I miss him every single day. I miss chatting with him. I miss his voice. I miss his kindness and warmth. His death left a huge whole in my heart and every day I pray for him to continue to enjoy eternal rest and for Allah to grant him AlJannahFirdaus.”

While his demise shook the family to its core, they have found a way to grow in spite of it all; “Coping, since he passed on, hasn't been easy but God has

‘My dad's death left e l o h e g u ah ’ t r a e h y m in

been wonderful. We are all doing great.

Everyone is excelling in all aspects of their lives. My older sister just got married about a month ago and my younger ones are just about finishing their university education in Canada and the UK.” Still speaking on marriage, when asked if she would ever agree to be a second wife, Morinsola expressed: “I will never agree to be a second wife because I am a very possessive person and I don't want to be an option. I will always want to be the only option.”

While many shy away from speaking on their rights as women, this lady makes bold to share her stand on the liberation of her gender.

Listen to her: “I strongly believe that every woman in the world can be empowered if she is given the right resources. In Nigeria today, women still do not have equal rights. Women are required to be lower, w e a k e r , inferior and subordinate for back stage a n d backbench positions.

The Nigerian c u l t u r e endorses this view often to the detriment of the woman's overall w e l l being a n d state of mind.

F o r Nigeria a s a countr y t o really devel o p , t h e basic needs o f women cannot b e ignored.”

Revealing some of the challenges faced in her industry, Abaniwonda says, “The major difference between culinary industry in Nigeria and Canada is that in Nigeria cooking is viewed as a way of life and not a profession.

In the western world it's viewed as a profession and in a lot of cases even viewed as an art. It is taken a lot more seriously over there. Here in

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17 , 2013

New WOMAN

How safe is your feminine heart?

I

T didn't raise any red flag in Mrs. Bunmi Adekeye's mind when she began noticing how quickly she got tired after doing every little activity. She had no symptoms.

So when she travelled to the United Kingdom to seek greener pastures and was asked to go for a routine medical check-up as part of the requirements for employment, it was with shock she received the news that she had a life-threatening hole in her heart.

Too scared to deal with the information, she bought a few drugs and ignored it.

By the time Bunmi, a mother of three, was brought to the hospital five years later, she was in a wheel chair with irregular heart palpitations, a climbing blood pressure and she couldn't carry on a conversation without sweating.

A battery of tests revealed Bunmi

with

YETUNDE OLADEINDE

molaralife@yahoo.com

A pedigree dog lives here…

F

By Rita Ohai had a malfunctioning heart valve, which trapped the blood in her heart and stopped it from flowing. As a result, the large blood vessel that pumps blood from the heart to the rest of the body was beginning to bulge like an overfilled water balloon.

Left untreated, the artery might burst and kill her.

Bunmi, at 39 years of age, had to undergo an open heart surgery, but more importantly, she needed to find a heart donor that would match.

N9million and six successful surgeries later, she is almost as healthy as she was before her illness, only this time, she would spend a large chunk of her money paying for quarterly medical check-ups each year for the rest of her life.

Dr. Eunice Alegbe, a medical

practitioner at Health Sinai Diagnostic calls Bunmi lucky; “What she went through is actually something that is becoming a regular occurrence. I cannot count the number of times patients come to the hospital at the last minute after they have tried every other means. And when they come, they want us to perform some kind of miracle!

“Sometimes, they show up at the beginning, you run a check-up and you will not see them again. Next thing you hear is they have passed on.

The lady was just fortunate to be in an environment where she could quickly access good medical treatment, if not I do not know what her story would have been.”

Ignoring the symptoms of an ailment can be unhelpful. Even if a woman needs to pray for a miracle, it would be great if she identifies them and starts praying on time.

From slum life to Disney film: The story of an orphan teen girl

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HE grew up in one of the poorest spots on earth. She couldn't read or write. As a child, she scrounged for food each day for herself, mother and brother.

But a chance encounter with a chess coach turned her into a rising international chess star, the subject of a book and the protagonist in a future Disney movie. Her father died from AIDS when Mutesi was around 3.

"I was living a hard life, where I was sleeping on the streets, and you couldn't have anything to eat at the streets. So that's when I decided for my brother to get a cup of porridge," the teenager told CNN, describing her childhood in Katwe, a slum in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.

Robert Katende, a missionary and refugee of Uganda's civil war, had started a chess programme in Katwe.

He offered a bowl of porridge to any child who would show up and learn.

Mutesi did not become a top player overnight. But from the time she first showed up in 2005, her aptitude was clear.

She liked chess, and started training and practicing regularly. "It took me like a year to get very good,” she said.

She walked about four miles a day

49

to practice and to get that precious food. Soon she found herself beating the older girls and boys in the programme.

Mutesi wakes at 5 a.m. every morning to "begin a two-hour trek through Katwe to fill a jug with drinkable water, walking through lowland that is often so severely

flooded by Uganda's torrential rains that many residents sleep in hammocks near their ceilings to avoid drowning," he wrote.

Disney has optioned the rights to "The Queen of Katwe," and is starting work on a movie, Crothers said.

As her world travels take off, she's in for more culture shock.

OR Susan, falling in love was not a new idea. As a matter of fact, she had been in and out of the love nest over a dozen times. At a point, it became very unappealing and she just wasn't dreaming of another emotional hide and seek process. For her it had become a routine; something she could almost predict its outcome.

Just when she thought that the idea was best read in story books and poems, a romantic dude strolled into her life.

They actually met in a café and somehow she did not take the connection seriously. The Romeo on his part was very enthusiastic and he took her number and gave her his phone number too.

Another emotional bullshit! So she did not bother to give him a call. “What is the point starting another failed project; a project that brings heartaches and cumulative stress?”

He did not give up, so she gave in reluctantly. That was a romantic turning point that she did not bargain for. The first phase of the relationship was done via phone calls and they got along pretty well. His magnetic voice was a major accomplice, and gradually he swept her off her feet in style.

In a short while she was lost in another emotional 'jungle'.

A love deal? Why not! Date, time and venue were agreed upon and her heart was opened, widened, ready to explore the possibilities available via this window of emotional opportunity. Confusion? Yes, she just couldn't sleep till the D-day. It was also tough finding something exciting to wear.

How can you satisfy someone whose lifestyle is still unclear?

Everything she actually touched was good enough but somehow she it was difficult making a choice. She finally settled for a pink and blue combination and it looked like a good 'formula' to solve this emotional equation.

Unfortunately for this dehydrated love bird, the neighbourhood wasn't a familiar terrain. So she had to comb the nooks and crannies to discover the house. She finally found the place and the edifice looks great from the outside.

Then she took a look at her wristwatch and discovered that she was almost one hour behind the affection schedule.

Luckily (or was it unluckily), the gate was open and she walked in quickly with a better-late-than-never look on her face.

There was a notice on the gate which read: “A pedigree dog lives here”, but our dear friend did not take cognisance of this because she was in a hurry.

Looking great, she walked towards the front door, hoping to see her Romeo. Her calculations were wrong and the pedigree dog showed her the stuff that it was made of. In desperation she took to her heels and the dog chased her all over the compound. By the time she found her way out of the gates, she had been to hell and back.

The dog with pedigree was on the other side, barking in anger. A good Samaritan came to her rescue and promised to help fish the lover boy. Hisses and sighs…Would she go back in there? No way! This wasn't a good first impression at all. Thank God that she was still in one piece, after a quick calculation of the physical and emotional loses. Luckily, they were things that could be replaced: The heel of one of her sandals was damaged, her clothes were dirtied and 'injuries' done to her accessories.Oh dear, she looked awful and so confused.

What stupid dog to encounter on a date! What kind of pedigree does it have? Well, the crux of the matter is that a dog is a dog. At least there was a warning, but our lovestruck angel was too 'blind' to see this. A lot of times, we go into relationships this way. The signs and symptoms are boldly written on the faces of those we fall hopelessly and helplessly in love with.

Instead of taking a deeper look, we look the other way until we get into trouble. We wake up to reality when we get chased by 'pedigree dogs' (people who also desperately want the one you are falling in love with). In this emotional space, there is great competition by lovers, friends as well as family members. You can, however, survive in this ferocious love battle when you have answers on your fingertips. The slogan usually should be survival of the emotionally fit.

Of course, there are times when we don't get any notice(s).Yes, you are right. Sometimes, the people we fall in love with hide 'the pedigree dogs' that live with (or in) them from us. We don't actually get that they could be really wild and intolerant when they see 'emotional strangers' around what they love and cherish. If you find yourself in that state, then you may just have to run fast and find a way of closing this emotional gate. It is not the end of your love world; it may actually open a better gate. A gate that would eventually usher in a patient dog offering a fat emotional bone.

No matter the odds there must be something propelling you to go on and on. A school of thought also believes that if you run the first time, chances are that you are going to keep on running at different intervals; you must know how to subdue your rivals and make them accomplices in the quest up the emotional ladder.

50

Etcetera

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi

POLITICKLE

deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

The song within In acknowledgement of Nigeria’s growing leadership in African arts and culture, the reader is minded to recall this piece on talent shows fashioned after foreign initiatives. While the method of discovery may not be original, the product is unmistakably indigenous as the continent-wide appeal of the Nigerian artiste lately attests. To see the country noted for something positive beyond its shores deeply warms the heart, and the writer can only hope the mood is infectious.

CHEEK BY JOWL

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

THEY say there’s a song in everyone. They say too that everyone has a story to tell. The writer holds these views to be true for men of all colour and creed. Until recently, he believed creativity – the means by which talent is farmed – to be vibrant elsewhere but in this country.

However, recent developments have necessitated a change of opinion.

Now he is convinced that were the local environment more receptive of extraordinary effort, appreciative of merit and commemorative of patriotism and valour, progress in scientific methods and endeavour would not be limited to the more developed countries of America, Europe and, of late, Asia.

The writer decries the sacrifice of genius for instant material gain. The fact that nearly every organisation keen to market products dangles the ‘win-a-million’ carrot to stimulate sales reflects general affliction with the get- rich-quick-by-any-means syndrome. While similar devices exist in more advanced societies, success at the end of hard or exceptional work is prized more. Besides, the process of identifying and grooming talent is more sophisticated and constantly improved upon.

Yet, progress has gifted the public greater initiative. Specifically, the writer refers to artiste discovery through talent shows. Initially, he dismissed early local versions of the shows as pandering to foreign whim and unlikely to last in more conservative settings. To his consternation, the shows proliferated; morphing, it seemed, in alarming degree and theme.

In the increasing high stakes of entertainment business, sponsors and producers appeared to him too willing to replicate foreign-bred shows with little consideration for societal differences. While the scandals and criticism poured forth, the writer began to realise that the shows would endure primarily because of the Average Joe’s fascination with the sordid details of Plain Jane’s fall. So it was in ancient Rome where crowds bayed for blood as gladiators disintegrated in the claws and fangs of beasts and under their own swords and clubs.

On the whole, the writer welcomes the idea of talent or reality shows for singers. He chooses not to dwell on the drawbacks of such projects because the entertainment value and lateral opportunities attending each episode screened weigh more. For instance, a contestant may not possess a fantastic voice but, with abundant confidence and performing ability, could offer Nollywood movie and TV soap opera producers fresh and more intelligent alternatives to the stale pool they perpetually draw from.

Judges and viewers may influence final results but the writer knows that in weeks of contest, contestants prove themselves in varying degrees. None, therefore, should take official rating as ultimate suggestion of potential.

Much like the best student in class does not necessarily end up the most accomplished in life, the most successful artiste is he that works hardest.

Talent matters, but effort matters more. The late music icon Michael Jackson’s amazing harness of singing and dancing talent with intense work drive remains a stellar act to follow, here and beyond.

Witty Valentine’s comments •When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain —Mark Twain •A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. And a successful woman is one who can find that man — Anonymous •My girlfriend told me that she was seeing another man. I told her to rub her eyes —Emo Philips

QUOTE A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.

—Chinese proverb

Jokes Humour Older View MABEL and Mary are old friends. They have both been married to their husbands for a long time, but Mary is upset because she thinks her husband doesn’t find her attractive anymore.

“As I get older he doesn’t bother to look at me,” Mary says.

“I’m so sorry for you, as I get older my husband says I get more beautiful every day,” says Mabel.

“Yes, but your husband is a dealer in old and historic materials!”

The Art Collector A FAMOUS art collector is walking through the city when he notices a mangy cat lapping milk from a saucer in the doorway of a store and he does a double take.

He notices that the saucer is extremely old and very valuable, so he walks casually into the store and offers to buy the cat for two hundred naira.

The store owner replies, “I’m sorry, but the cat isn’t for sale.”

The collector says, “Please, I need a hungry cat around the house to catch mice. I’ll pay you two thousand naira.”

And the owner says, “Sold.” Then he hands over the cat.

The collector continues, “Hey, for two hundred bucks I wonder if you could throw in that old saucer. The cat’s used to it and it’ll save me from having to get a dish.”

And the owner says, “Sorry buddy, but that’s my lucky saucer. So far this week I’ve sold sixty-eight cats.”

Gender Differences AN ENGLISH Language teacher wrote the words, ‘Woman without her man is nothing’ on the blackboard and asked the students to punctuate so that it made sense.

The boys wrote: ‘Woman, without her man, is nothing’.

The girls wrote: ‘Woman! Without her, man is nothing.’

•Adapted from the Internet

M

AKING your Writer ’s Fountain writing glow: Is there a definite formula for writing stories head. Your object is not to write great literature. Just that sell? Yes, and a thousand writing experts on the get it finished! There’s no point in playing word internet will hustle to show you. But there is only games. Not just yet. Probably you’ll ditch that whole one formula that succeeds, time and again. And episode at the final ‘cut’ anyway.

Amazingly, the garbage approach works. You here are five steps to the magic that most top authors will have no problems going back to a page of use. rubbish and, with an amused sigh, edit it into Don’t be afraid to write rubbish.

You may have heard that you must write every something sensible. Writer’s block? Forget it. There’s day. Well, it’s true. But what do you write? Perhaps no anxiety in this approach so your mind stays calm. you are developing a story or novel. You know You can hack out nearly 2, 000 words a day, without where it should be going, but you are stuck for pain.

So, make it your goal to draft total nonsense for words. The solution? Write garbage. And write it an hour. You can then have fun improving it later. fast.

Drop in the first phrases that come into your Study television dramas or soap operas.

Now you have a great excuse for watching television.

Mammalian moves: Study how the actors in sitcoms and soaps behave.

•All mammals have tongues. And all Every five minutes, somebody will insult, distress mammals, except man and monkey, are or romance somebody else. Watch their faces, lips, colour blind. and body movements. Also hear how their voices •A bat is the only mammal that flies. change. Jot it all down. The actors may overact, but •A blue whale’s heart only beats nine times you could use that body language, toned down, in per minute. your stories.

•A zebra is white with black stripes and Also take careful note of every ‘scene hanger’, not the other way round. that is, the way an episode closes. Maybe it’s an •All elephants walk on tip-toe because the unresolved question or note of alarm. That back portion of their foot is made of fat and uncertainty will tease you into the next scene, even not bone. across a commercial interlude, as you will find.

THE ARTS

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

‘How Olori Oko made me’ Adedayo Liadi is a choreographer and dancer.

He is equally the creator and owner of Ijodee Dance Company whose concept is for the development of modern African dance patterns. He was also the lead dancer in the Olori Oko dance projected by the Infinity musical group. In this chat with Edozie Udeze, Liadi discusses how contemporary dance has made him popular, rich, and created a brand for him and lots more

T

HERE’S this product that has been branded in the name of Ijodee, your dance company. What does it entail?

The performance which we had recently in Lagos was connected with a new car engine oil called bestlub. It was branded in my name by the owner. It has just come into the market. I have been signed to be the ambassador of the product.

The name of the director is Jide Taiwo and the performance on that day was a big ceremony to bring all his customers together. He did that because he believed in my pattern of dance, especially with the role I played in Olori Oko. In that programme too, we had in attendance many Nigerian young and up coming dancers. It was an opportunity for them to see one of their own being branded. The idea too was for them to witness it and see how dance can be used as a tool to re-engineer Nigeria and make the youths focus on it as a profession. That was why the likes of Frank of the Big Brother Africa was there as one of the judges of the event. Nneka, a teacher in Maltina Dance Hall, was also present. Uche Onanwu of the same Maltina fame was part of the show.

Generally, it was an opportunity to use dance to reach out to a lot of people. That was why Mr. Taiwo did not want to miss that opportunity of ensuring that prominent dance practitioners were in attendance. That was why also he used the Agape Hall in Gbagada to do it so as to give dancers ample space to dance and entertain the guests.

What is happening to the concept of Olori Oko which you helped to create?

I don’t really know. All I know is that I was just a dance consultant for Olori Oko. Olori Oko dance as it was constituted then belonged to Infinity. Infinity as a team is still much together. However, about two of the members of the team have left. Last year, I performed again with them. This year again, they have contacted me about the many shows they intend to do. Even though one or two people had left, they are still doing their thing.

What is so unique about Olori Oko dance pattern that young dancers want to identify with it?

What happened in Olori Oko, for instance, was the display of the unique technique of Ijodee. And as a dance critic, you should know what that sort of concept does to the mind of the young. They want to identify with it. That was actually what made me popular in the Nigerian dance scene.

Olori Oko was an eye-opener for me and that was why I decided to do it. It was for me to show the people how to use dance in a good music like that. It was to let people

know that we don’t really need to dance from behind all the time. We are supposed to make a statement with the movements we display on stage.

It was for us to show our bodies, for that was the training I received as a choreographer, dancer and music exponent.

When I was trained in Europe, the concept was how to make statement with movements and not just to exhibit your body on stage. It wasn’t so much as to display nudity in musical ideas but to let the people appreciate how the body moves on stage. That was the idea.

Who created the Olori Oko concept?

I’d say we shared the ideas about it. It was between the Infinity group and my self. I brought all the ideas of the movement. I set the stage actually, brought in the drums and positioned them. Then, I brought all the dancers and did my dance patterns.

Then the director liked what I did and that was how we went on with it.

They did their own stuff too. But the idea of the stage light was done by me. All these made the work of the director much easier.

On the whole, it was more like an experiment, because we had an idea.

Then we said to ourselves let us see how we can make it work and it did work out. Today we give all the glory to God. What does contemporary dance mean to you?

Contemporary dance to me is now.

Contemporary to me is today. It is what you create now, what you have done now. It doesn’t really have a long meaning or concept. It is a dance of the moment and your ability to create the necessary dance steps and patterns to go with the concept.

And because you just create it now, it means contemporary. By tomorrow, if you decide to change it, because you can change it, it still means the same thing. But what happens is that contemporary dance makes sense, it makes meaning, yet a lot of people do not know that. With the kind of dance people do in Nigeria, they do movement for the sake of movement.

But in reality, with contemporary dance, you do it to make statements.

How do you imagine the dance patterns that give you the movements on stage?

I conceptualise a lot of things before I take them into the stage. I also take a lot of ideas from people around me. I listen to people a lot and I don’t keep a lot of things to myself. When I am working, I even listen to my dancers. A statement can spring up an idea in my head. I am not rigid when I am working. I am usually open to a lot of ideas, ideas that help to create dance patterns in my head.

In the end, I take home the idea that makes more meaning to me. This helps me to create the ideas that have made Ijodee Dance Company what it is today.

•Liadi

You have brought this sort of dance closer to the people. Do you think you are being appreciated?

I will say to God be glory… Oh, yes, I have been very much appreciated. When we started it was very difficult; no one gave us a chance. But today, Ijodee dance patterns have come to stay. After the success of Olori Oko, people could see what we can do with contemporary dance.

Today, more people have chosen to be dancers and the profession is growing.

We have seen what we can do with African dance movement on stage and how they can be used to entertain the people.

It has all shown us how far we can go; how far we can develop our African dance patterns. We don’t need to wait for the West to do it for

us. This is so because we have the idea; we have the training to be our own masters. That is why I am happy that indigenous coaches have become important in African football. That is what we need to do in music, in dance too, so that our people can take over and make a lot of money from it. That’s my joy as a choreographer, as a professional dancer and composer.

You have trained a lot of people in this business. How do you assess their progress so far?

I will also say to God be the glory.

It is one of my dreams to train people, to help them discover who they are.

It is not just me, because today I have plenty of such people working on their own. They are all doing fine now especially in the area of modern African dance. I am still work-

ing together with lots of the people who passed through me. And I am glad it is so.

Are you really making money from this dance?

Eh, yes, there is money in it. Yes, I will say I am making money. But we shouldn’t look at the money aspect of it. We have also to consider the professional aspect of it and the proper statements we have to make with the dances we develop. Yes, if you do it well, it gives you money, real money.

Just like me, I have decided not to do anyhow productions. It is only good productions that can give you money and make you popular. And that’s what I do and that’s why I have got to the level I am today. And I must tell you I am happy doing what I am doing. It gives me a lot of joy.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Arts/Reviews

Book: When Clerics Kill Playwright: Shehu Sani Publishers: Kraftgriots, Ibadan Year of publication:2013 Reviewer: Edozie Udeze

What manner of clerics!

W

HEN Clerics Kill, a play written by Shehu Sani, one of the most seasoned human rights activists from the Northern part of Nigeria, is a treatise on the nation called Nigeria. It is a compendium of both political, religious and social vices in this society where bigotry, avarice, hatred, ethnicity and narrowmindedness have become the order of the day. But in compiling the many issues that bedevil some certain groups of people in the North, the playwright is somewhat hard in both his use of language and the way he apportions blames here and there.

The core issue here is the never-ending hatred between Muslims and Christians in the North. Sani is certain that it is the utterances of religious and community leaders that incite

Book: History of Okeagbe (Akoko, Ondo State), 1924 – 1999 Author: Olusanya Faboyede Publishers: Okeagbe Book Company, Yaba, Lagos Year of Publication: 2011.

Reviewer: Dr. Victor Osaro Edo

T

HE 175 - page book is a compendium of the history of a seemingly insignificant community in a frontier zone of Yorubaland, namely, Okeagbe Akoko. It contains six chapters apart from the bibliography and appendices, which makes it a scholarly work. Besides, the book as complemented with the numerous maps, pictures, figures, plates and organogram depicting the author’s interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary approach to scholarship as well as paying attention to details. The book tells the story of four independent and unique communities that coalesced into one. It examines the nature and character of integration of these communities into modern day Okeagbe. One immediately becomes curious to know how these hitherto disparate communities (communities of different languages and cul-

people to violence. Over time, people from various backgrounds have lived harmoniously together as brothers and

sisters. Now, some certain groups of people from both religious groups come on to preach discrimination, hatred and intolerance. The play abhors this in its totality.

The playwright is sure that with these half baked preaching, embers of hatred have been built.

As it is with Christians so it is with Muslims. The problem still remains the core issue of those who are settlers or those who are regarded as sojourners and those who originally own the land.

The people used in the play rummage in this problem, while the Hausa-Fulani keep tormenting those around them with threats and counter-threats with the way they invade people’s farmlands.

The issues raised are so heavy that they drip with flood and unfathomable fear as you read through the pages. They are not the kind of issues that should be raised in public glare. This is so

because, even if you want to use them to illustrate an issue, it would have got out of hand before you realise it.

The playwright is deliberate in pitching the two groups – the two foremost religions in Nigeria – against each other in the play.

The tone is heavy, the language too strong to make for a stage play.

Even though Sani says it is to help reconstruct and make amends, the rancour and bitterness recorded in the book can explode on stage if it is allowed to go that far.

Moreover, making references to other issues of unemployment and social vices in the society where the youths, the leaders of tomorrow, are perpetually idle, adds a serious dimension to the play. In a way, it is a play anchored on the state of the nation.

There is hardly any aspect of the societal problem, since fifty years ago, that is not included in the drama. It all shows how Sani, as a versatile writer, has been following Nigerian problems over time. It shows an

A people and their history tures) united into one entity.

These communities, Faboyede identified as Afa, Oge, Ido and Aje. Thus, the book has succeeded in telling us how communities got formed into a town and being able to co-exist peacefully in an environment not devoid of intra-ethnic crises. It is worthy of note that the coming together of these four groups in 1924 culminated in 1994 into a cultural integration in 1994, with the celebration of their first socio-cultural annual, the Okeagbe Day. It is significant, therefore, that this book examines the historical dynamics of the cultural transformation of the Okeagbe Community from inception in 1924 to 1999, when Nigeria began the current nascent democratic journey. The book thus fills a vacuum in Yoruba history and brings to the fore the place of Okeagbe in Yorubaland. The book focuses on the socio-political and economic development and community of Okeagbe. Significantly, it analyses the nature and character of intra-group re-

lations among the four communities as well as Okeagbe’s relations with her immediate neighbours, the Ekiti, Benin, the Okun Yoruba and others.

Indeed, the author adopts a thematic approach, which he combines with a well knit periodisation. The book is therefore well-structured. The first chapter discusses how the people originated and peopled Okeagbe, along side the nature of settlement pattern. Chapter two deals with the economic activities of the four communities of Okeagbe aided by the socio-political organisation of the groups and their relationship with neighouring communities. In no time, their political cum economic relations brought them in conflict with Nupe who subjugated them during the Ogidi war.

The focus of the third chapter is the place of Okeagbe under the British Colonial rule, a trend that was not peculiar to Okeagbe alone during this period up to the time of independence in 1960. However, the trend changed with the attainment of independence in 1960,

which is the concern of chapter four, noting that between 1960 and 1999, there were major landmarks in the growth and development of Okeagbe.

The author, while admitting that colonialism in a way helped in the development of Okeagbe, also notes that the emergence of Development Association in the 1970s and 1980s, Okeagbe continued to witness further development. These developments were in the area of electrification, pipe-borne water, banks, post office, and hospitals et cetera.

The fifth and the last chapter beside the conclusion focus on Okeagbe personalities, twelve of whom were discussed pointing out their modest contributions to the growth and development of Okeagbe overtime.

In no mean manner, Olusanya Faboyede has succeeded in arousing our interest in mini-states, and especially a multi-cultural community such as Okeagbe. One hopes that a cue will be taking from his works to develop the study of micro-societies.

Nevertheless, the history that the author has attempted to write will become imperfect if the author could corroborate his facts with interviews

Diego Fazio: The new face of pencil art

W

ITH a norm-breaking, style-defying body of works, Italian visual artist Diego Fazio makes a statement that has come to be described as photorealistic. Recently, the attention of the world was tickled when the young artist awed art lovers with only a pencil and paper.

His paintings draw their uniqueness from the fact that viewers find it difficult to tell whether they are actual paintings or photographs. A former tattoo artist, the 22year-old has an affinity for giving his sketches life.

Also known as DiegoKoi, the artist held a solo exhibition in Singapore of 10 of his black-and-white photorealistic pencil portraits. The show opened at Raffian Art gallery at Queen Street on Jan 26, and prices range from $3,000 to $18,500.

Titled Sensations, it featured a work called Rampage, which won him a prestigious Italian award, the Cairo Prize, last year.

Rampage pictures an old man with a heavily-lined brow and an intense stare.

author who can preach as well as chronicle issues that affect the larger society. His sequential presentation is commendable.

To him, both the government and the people around them have been the ones distorting the progress of the society. There is no more honesty in the system. And leaders – both secular and spiritual - have found time to intimidate everybody with their divisive and obnoxious sermons. It is this tendency that has become worrisome.

But everybody can come together to harmonise their differences and make the society a better place for all.

The issues raised in the play are too binding to be wished away just like that. That is what the playwright is saying.

However, if it goes on stage, the play director can try to water down on the abrasive and tenacious usage of divisive expressions employed by the playwright. This is so because the play is meant to correct and not to play up more sentiments in the minds of the people. And again preachers or clerics, no mater where they come from need to be more cautious and careful with their tongues.

POETRY

By Ovwe Medeme

As with his other works, Rampage draws its neatness from precise pencil strokes, deftly giving life to the image with different shades of grey.

The young artist only started drawing in 2007 and gained recognition by posting his drawings on social networks such as Facebook and DeviantArt, an online community which allows users to share their original artworks. Today, DiegoKoi who prides himself in being self-taught has almost 37,000 fans on Facebook.

On winning the Cairo award, Fazio says: “I do not care about fame, I’m interested in drawing. That is all. I see people liking my artworks on Facebook, posting it on their walls, discussing them. It means that people like what I am doing, they appreciate my art.”

He began his career designing tattoos and perfected his photorealism. In his home country, he won an award in 2011 for Best New Artist and has been gaining fame and accolades ever since.

I

• Rampage by Diego Fazio

granted by the monarchs of the four communities rather than with the descendants of the late kings.

On the whole, specialist researchers and students will find this book an invaluable collection of source materials with which to corroborate and expand existing studies on the history of micro and integrated societies.

Lime

T’S season of harvest again!

Harvesters assemble with bucolic baskets.

While parents garner the ripe produce, Infants caper about kicking rotten ones Till worms devour the remains.

Visible is the sorrow of the rotten limes: Driven by the whirlwind off their Destined-nutrient branches and roots; They lay to be trampled underfoot by men And later blazed with withered leaves

Harvesters amass the best of fruits That survived the wind and fierce storm Into barrows, out of plethora of flora; To make limeade for kings And herb for herbalists

I wonder what to make of these rotten ones, When even in the mind of the ripest lime Lays the sadness of the incertitude of therapy usage: Knowing that ripe ones gathered in previous seasons Still tarry—unused—in the barn.

They hold a feast to the gods For yet another fruitful season— For the timely rain and sun; That kind Nature preserved and nourished These small yellowish green citrus fruit-balls Amidst this fruitful mirth,

What will be the destiny of these rotten ones?

Or of the seeds yet to be sown— for the coming seasons.

Kayode Odumboni

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Care, trauma and coping with childhood cancers

53

—PAGE 55

Inside Ogedengbe’s house of war High Chief Oyekanmi Ogedengbe Obanla IV who occupies the royal stool of his forefathers laments that his grandfather and great Yoruba warrior, Ogedengbe Agbogungboro, has not been given his deserved honour. Taiwo Abiodun, who visited the royal house in Ilesha, reports

•Entrance to the royal house

H

•Yoruba warrior, Ogedengbe Agbogungboro

IS name rings, bell across the length and breadth of Yorubaland. In the wars that raged in the land in the 18th century his name featured prominently. He fought in many battles that conquered many cities and towns in Yorubaland. He became a war legend by dint of his brawn. However, in spite of his exploits and being a ‘saviour’ of his kinsmen he seems to have been forgotten. His grave in the royal house is unmarked.

Lamenting this neglect, the ruling Obanla IV said, “ In the year 2010 when the family members celebrated 100years of his exit, some institutions of higher learning, state governments and individuals made pledges to make sure he was accorded honour befitting his status. Osun State Government promised to turn the royal house into a tourist attraction centre while the University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University, IleIfe were not left out as they too announced their pledges but none has come up to redeem their pledges.”

The mystery royal house At the entrance to the big compound is the drawing of two guns across each other, signifying the house of a warrior. Obanla IV pointed at the drawing and said, “ those guns there are sign that this is a warriors’ family house. We have no other job than going to the warfront. I believe it runs in the family, Ogedengbe’s grand children are about 24 in the Nigerian Army, excluding those in the

PHOTO: TAIWO ABIODUN

Air Force and the Navy,”he boasted.

In the big compound are courtyards and rooms of different sizes. It is full of dark and windowless rooms! To view the war relics in the room, one needs a candle light. The room looks so secretive and fearsome, but most of the walls have caved in, while some of the log of woods and the iron roofing sheets are still very strong.

According to Ogedengbe IV, there are about five courtyards in the compound and each courtyard has about 20 rooms .”There are cell rooms or guardrooms here where the late Ogedengbe used to punish his slaves , family members and followers whenever they committed any offence. There are sacred rooms where no one enters but the late warrior only.

Some rooms were used as armoury where arms and ammunition were kept while he also had rooms where he kept his juju or charms.”

A box in one of the rooms was filled with remnants of juju and various charms of different types and sizes. As the reporter was being conducted round he was warned to steer clear of touching any of the materials or be ready to bear the consequences. A forbidden exit for strangers in the courtyard was shown to this reporter too.

Saucers, which were said to have been used by the late warrior for eating, guns, daggers and long necklace the late warrior used in the 17th century, were all on display in the palace, with •Continue on Page 54

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Life •Continued from Page 53

his photographs conspicuously hung on the wall.

The big shrine which he used to visit to perform rituals before going to war has been preserved for posterity. It is called Atoni, named after his mother’s farm.

A forgotten hero?

Obanla IV is not happy at the way his grandfather’s valour and gallantry have been relegated. According to him, the Osun State government is yet to fulfil the promise that it would turn the courtyard into a tourist centre or monument. He is also unhappy over the relocation of the late warrior’s statute in the town and failure to rebuild his grave. He said, “The university of Ibadan promised to come here and build a tomb on the grave, they demanded for the relics of the war like guns, clothes and his other personal effects but nothing has been heard from them again. The Osun State Tourism Department said they wanted to turn this place into a tourist attraction centre when we celebrated 100 years of his death in 2010 but nothing has been heard from them again. I know that the Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola appreciates culture and history, he will definitely do something.”

He expressed displeasure over the decision to replace the late Ogedengbe’s statute placed at the roundabout in the town with that of Owa Ajibogun, saying the decision to place Ajibogun’s statue at the roundabout and remove Ogedengbe’s was unfair and standing history on its head. “My father’s statue was erected here at the centre of this town in 1934 by Captain Bower, and it was here the Army Parade paid homage and saluted him as a warrior but when Oba Aromolaran came he removed it and placed the statute of Owa Ajibogun, the traditional head of warrior in Ilesa, instead of Ogedengbe’s. Ajibogun was the first Owa but he died in Ibadan. It was his children that got to Ilesa.

Ajibogun never reached here. It was the present monarch, Oba Aromolaran, who replaced it and placed a cutlass in Ajibogun’s hand. Now when the soldiers are celebrating and marking the fallen soldiers they are misled and would go to Ajibogun instead of Ogedengbe to pay homage. I want this to be corrected. We the family members of Ogedengbe are not happy at all.”

Asked whether he would renovate the tomb if there is no response from those who promised to assist, he said, “I would have renovated the grave but I was advised to leave it for the government knows how and what to do with it.”

Kiriji War According to Obanla IV, the war that made his grandfather popular was the war between the Ibadan /Oyo and Ekiti/Ijesa in the 17th century. It was caused by the consul who seized a warrior’s wife while she was on her way to Imesi to give her husband, Fabunmi, food and palm wine.”They did not only seize the food and palm wine from her but they also raped her. When she told her husband, Fabunmi, he was annoyed and went after the Oyo consuls, and started beheading them and sending their bodiless heads to Ibadan.

This annoyed Latoosa the Generalisimo of Ibadan who swore to reduce Ijesa and Ekiti to rubbles. It became a war between Ekiti/Ijesa and Ibadan. In fact, it was the first civil war before Biafra.”

“Ogedengbe used to get his weapons through trade by barter by exchanging his slaves for arms and ammunition from Germany. These weapons were imported by one Mr. Braham who used to come from Germany to buy slaves in exchange for arms and ammunition from Ogedengbe.”

During the war, he said, Ogedengbe exhibited his magical feat. Each time he observed that his foot soldiers were tired he would just touch the trees which would transform into human beings and would fight the enemies. “Not only this, he was so powerful that when he was beheaded while fighting, he quickly used his bare hand to cut a woman’s head to replace his severed

Ogedengbe’s sacred juju rooms

•Oyekanmi

•Remnants of the arms

•Juju box in one of the juju rooms

head to search for his own! When he saw his own head he removed the woman’s head from his neck and replaced it with his own and continued the war!

“While the war was going on, he appeared and disappeared. It was not a myth or imaginary, my late father told me all these stories and they were real,” he affirmed, adding, “In a place in Edo State, he rescued them and today they worship his cap and built a shrine for

Ogedengbe there!”

He continued, “Ogedengbe had powerful charms that made him to be feared! When he was to be taken to Iwo (exile) by Captain Bower who came with his aides, one of Captain Bower’s aides struck Ogedengbe’s second in command, head, Alimoro, with sword, the sword broke into four pieces but Alimoro too cut off the aide’s hand.

Seeing the hand on the ground Ogedengbe picked it and blew air to it

and glued the hand back! He was powerful and strong, he had juju.”

Describing his ‘charmed’ war clothes, Obanla said, “his war jacket was so heavy that about four people used to carry it yet it is hung on a spider’s web. But the British took that away.

However, we all know it would not be possible for them to take it away without the connivance of some of Ogedengbe’s foot soldiers.”

There was the story that when he returned from war, the people offered to make him king but he declined, saying he was a warrior and would not be able to go to war while on the throne.

His refusal led to suspicion that he would continue to levy wars and the chiefs became afraid. They reported him to the Governor General in Lagos. He was ordered into exile. This annoyed him and led him to curse Ijesa people that “they would carry their loads but would not be able to place it on their heads!”

“While in exile, he became more popular as the public trooped to see the strong and powerful man whom everybody dreaded but for a fee while the money realised went into the government purse. In fact , people came from foreign countries to have a glance at this great warrior , Ogedengbe who became a celebrity “, the grandson said.

House of legacy Ogedengbe’s palace is full of strange things. He said strange things used to happen in the palace, “strange things are happening here, for example we use to hear strange voices in the night and also the booming of the guns, clanging of metal objects and the shrill cries of dying men like the ones we heard in war!. Not only this, at times Ogedengbe would appear wearing his war jacket or white apparel while the monkey would be screeching and the dogs too would be barking. There is nothing we demand for that will not be provided each time I am in need and I go to his grave to cry.“We keep Gboroko Kapee , a monkey here. It is compulsory to keep it for it has a purpose. The late Ogedengbe had four, my father Ogedengbe II had three while my late brother Ogedengbe III who did not spend up to one year on the throne kept too. A man once came here to harm my father while on the throne , it was the monkey Gboroko Kapee that discovered it for it started behaving strangely as it defecated and slammed it on the man’s face. When the man was

searched we found charms on him, he confessed that he came to harm my father. An owl once came here, and it is a bad omen and the monkey started screaming, on the second day we heard that one of my brother’s sons died.

“We offer sacrifice every week in this compound, and here we worship Ogun, god of iron called Iwude, and it is compulsory for the Owa to come here spend hours with us during the festival.”

Ogedengbe not a name Obanla IV said Ogedengbe is not a name but an appellation.”Many did not know that Ogedengbe is not a name but a nickname. The warrior’s real name is Orisaraibi Apasanforijiwa but was nicknamed Ogedengbe because of his prowess in fighting. He was a great wrestler that could face eight to nine people at a time! He would carry his opponent up and slam on the ground without stress, no matter how hefty the opponent is. It was from this that he got the appellation Ogedengbe, which was used to describe how he used to lift his opponents up and slam them on the ground.

His birth was a mystery, it was said to have been predicted by an oracle that a powerful man would be born.

Immediately he was delivered his mother died and it was believed that he killed his mother so it was in annoyance that they dumped him in a small pit where traditional weavers work, wanting him to die too. On the third day his cry was heard and baby Ogedengbe was found to have been covered with ants and rubbish.

Everybody was surprised that he was still alive, he was later taken care of till he grew up with his uncle who was a blacksmith manufacturing dane guns in the Atoni village. When he was 16 he shot and killed a pregnant woman, seeing how grievous his offence was, he escaped and fled to Ijoka in Ilesa “We are praying to the OOdua race as a whole not to let history die. How many people remember this Ogedengbe again? We even read it in history but now we don’t teach history as a subject again. We have rich and powerful history that cannot be wished away.”

On a final note, he appealed to the governors of the Southwest region, to, in the spirit of the regional integration, return the teaching of history to the school curriculum so as to teach our children the history and valour of the Yoruba race.

Your HEALTH

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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HOUGH Theresa's words flowed smoothly, a quaver in her voice signalled all was not well. How could it? Her son, was placed on admission in the children oncology ward in the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, (LUTH), Idi-Araba.

Despite the cheerful artworks of the walls, the mood of the patients here is far from cheerful.

While cancer in children comes as a rude shock to many, children are actually afflicted with the ailment. And the number of afflicted children is increasing. This deadly killer has been rampaging children and there are no signs of it stopping. February 15 has been set aside as a day to draw attention to the cause of children living with cancer.

According to reports, about 11,630 children in the United States under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2013. And while statistics to determine the incidence of cancer among Nigerian children is scarce, a visit to tertiary health institutions in the country reveals that the disease is blind to ages. According to Patience Okoro, a matron who has worked in LUTH for 17 years, cancer in children is on the increase.

“We used to have few cases before, but last year we had over 30 cases.”

Also, the survival rate is still low in Nigeria where only about 10 to 20 percent cure occur compared to the 80 to 90 percent figure which obtains in other developed countries. With poverty overwhelming many victims, it is going to be tough redressing this situation.

According to Dr. Ajekigbe, “there are many who can't afford the treatment.” The solution, he says, is “either we use alternatives that are much cheaper that even we are convinced will not do the job because the body has requested for another thing. That is the truth. But having said that, some non governmental organisations (NGOs) help minimally but they are also not rich.”

However, in Nigeria, one organisation which cares for this category of patients is the Children Living With Cancer Foundation (CLWCF), founded by Dr. Nneka Nwobbi in 2002.

According to Dr. Nwobbi, there is also the lack of information amongst some victims' families, thinking the disease is a result of the child's fault. “Some of these children think it is their fault that they have cancer,” she said. “They begin to think it is punishment for something they have done.”

No doubt, the treatment of cancer is expensive. But the cost would have been reduced if treatment were available locally. For instance, Dr. Remi Ajekigbe, Head of Radiotherapy and Oncology Department, LUTH, said that machines for treating cancer with radiation in the country are functional in three of the cancer centres: LUTH, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Kaduna State and Eko Hospital, Lagos. But, he said, a situation where there is “just one functional machine for the whole hospital is not just good enough because any machine can break down.”

Anyway, as it stands, children cannot speak out for themselves.

“They need people to speak for them,” Dr. Nwobbi said.

Alice Ada Bissong, a nurse and social worker who has worked in a number of public hospitals before retiring from the National Hospital, Abuja about four years ago, agrees that the scourge of cancer is on the increase in children. She has helped to save the lives of some people who would

Care, trauma and coping with childhood cancers

By Yetunde Oladeinde and Joe Agbro Jr.

have died of cancer and other terminal ailments. “I was not well myself . I had recurrent umbilical hernia. I actually did surgery at the National Hospital and at a point I had obstruction and had to go to India for another surgery.”

Luckily, her life was saved and the experience made her decide to help other people. “When I came to Lagos I discovered that there were so many cases of people affected by cancer in different ways. It then occurred to me that I could touch the lives of people who were having problems like me.”

Bissong added that “I called Dr Milind Wagh and he had a seminar on reconstructive surgery. I

brought the surgeons to Nigeria, and after that they realised that most of those people who were coming up were indigent and this gave birth to my organisation.”

Challenges? “Getting funds to help them with the prognosis can be really bad. But then we cannot leave them to die. I have an eightyear-old boy called Hamilu from Kogi State who was born with a complicated heart condition. It degenerated to cancer and he is battling for survival at the moment.

Of course, you know that we cannot leave someone who is eight years old to die. We also have 10year-old Eze Ebube whose right hand was amputated. He is a very brilliant boy with a lot of potentials.”

Crystal Chigbu is another woman who is passionate about helping children in this regard.

“We have been able to provide prosthesis for Kelechi, a two-yearold bilateral amputee that lost both legs after a brief illness. With her prosthesis, she now stands and walks.”

Chigbu's daughter had cancer of the bone and the ailment opened her eyes to the trauma many parents go through. “About three years ago, I went into labour and had my child. Along the line, we found that she had a funny thing with her leg and we were referred to the National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu where it was detected that she had congenital absence of her tibia and patella.”

The family made a number of medical consultations and they were given a lot of options like fusion of the tibia. “But we wanted to seek a better option or a second opinion. It is not easy to amputate your child's leg. We even travelled abroad but everything pointed towards amputation. At a point, we just had to take a decision that was best for the child. She was in school and was the only one crawling in her class at the age of two,” she informed.

Beulah's leg was amputated about two years ago and she is doing very well now. “I believe that the worst kind of disability is in the mind and it is important to be positive at all times. So I am driven to share with all kids with limb loss, their families and care-givers ways to manage limb loss with the right outlook.”

This led to the birth of the Irede Foundation (TIF) which provides prosthesis and other helpful aids to indigent children between 0-18 years. ''Our focus is on children who are living with limb loss, either congenital or acquired. We also encourage children living with limb loss to live a life of fulfillment.

Over the first year of launch, our goal is to sponsor the provision of 18 prostheses to indigent families with limb loss cases. We also plan to capture 50 families in our support group.''

The types of cancers that occur most often in children are different from those seen in adults. The most common cancers in children include leukaemia, brain and other nervous system tumours, neuroblastoma, wilms tumour, lymphoma, Rhabdomyo sarcoma, retinoblastoma and bone cancer. Other types of cancers are rare in children, but they do happen sometimes. In very rare cases, children may even develop cancers that are much more common in adults.

Help wanted to help Joseph fight bone cancer

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OR many children, playing soccer is an activity they cherish. But in the case of eightyear-old Joseph Olorunlagbara, such would remain a dream. The reason for this is that in place of where his right leg should be, there is nothing but a stump. Even, if the latest decisions of his doctors are to be taken, he may lose this stump.

Speaking on the ailment which started in 2011, Pastor Olorunlagbara Sunday, Joseph's father, narrated: “His case started in November 2011. According to what he (Joseph) told me, he was going like this and a boy pushed him from the back. When he fell down, he began to shout and the others told him, 'Joseph, get up now.' Then, he said he couldn't get up. When the teacher got there, they discovered that his thigh was fractured. So, they called me. I rushed there.”

Thinking the case was the usual case of a fracture, Joseph's father took Joseph to a Bayelsa man who specialised in bone-setting. By December, Joseph, a Basic 1 student at Ajoke Group of Schools, Magbon, along Badagry Expressway, had started walking. He was due to resume school on January 9, 2012 but the fuel subsidy strike stopped that. On the 10th of January, 2012, his father asked him to wear his clothes and prepare to go and see the 'doctor.'

While his leg was tied and

By Joe Agbro Jr.

held in position with sticks, Joseph complained of itching. After going back for a check-up, it was discovered that the fractured leg was getting shorter. The next step was that Joseph was then taken to a private hospital in Ikeja, Lagos.

When the leg was scanned, it was discovered that that portion of fracture on Joseph's leg had turned milky.

Joseph's father said; “The doctor said there is problem, he took samples of his blood and took money from us that he was going to do some tests and recommended some drugs. He removed the sticks the 'doctor' used to hold it.”

However, the condition did not subside. “The pain escalated and the boy could not sleep,” he said.

And it was also confirmed from the scans that the leg was getting shorter. The father now said, “We have to stop that before we talk of treatment.”

Bone cancer was also diagnosed.

And it was a difficult decision for

•Joseph

the Olorunlagbara family that Joseph's right leg be amputated.

The amputation took place on April 14, 2012. The stump, however, began to swell and pains began. Confused, the father was then referred to LUTH. He was subjected to physiotherapy five days a week for six weeks. But for Pastor Olorunlagbara, who pastors a Christ Apostolic Church, Magbon, along the Badagry Expressway, distance was an issue.

He was, however, fortunate to come across a missionary, Touch A Life, who gave him a room.

Though, the initial plan was for him to occupy the room for two weeks. Hence, since September 26, 2012, he has been holed up there while Joseph has been in admission for the past two weeks.

At the moment, it is with excruciating pains that little Joseph endures the dressing of his stump daily, waiting for surgery.

According to the scans, the cancer might have infiltrated Joseph's body, and Joseph's father said the doctors told him that the only remedy left for Joseph's condition was to remove the bone from the socket.

Despite his despair, he's forging on. “All along that I have been managing him singlehandedly and I have spent millions of naira on him,” he said. “I belong to Christ Apostolic Church and my district coordinating council headquarters (Itire DCC headquarters) at Surulere and pastors like me have been very supportive. Some of them went to their churches and

raised money for me, even my friends, my relatives and my inlaws. Also, good spirited Nigerians who have read Joseph's ordeal in the newspapers have donated N250, 000 to help his cause. “It is the money that we are using to manage his condition now,” he said.

And while the father appreciates the efforts of concerned Nigerians, he nevertheless asks for more.

Already, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Children Living with Cancer Foundation (CLWCF), founded by Dr. Nneka Nwobbi, is positioning to help the family. But, with a staggering cost of N20m required for Joseph's treatment abroad, this venture is beyond them.

There is little chance of his parents raising that sort of money and the family is calling for help.

An earlier publication by this newspaper (January 8, 2013 edition) had carried Joseph's story.

From that publication and that of others, Joseph's father said the family has received N250, 000.

Though, this is a far cry from what he needs, he is very appreciative. “I want to thank everybody who has contributed to the survival of this boy. Those who have prayed for us, those who have given us money and have assisted us morally,” he said.

ACCOUNT DETAILS BANK: UBA A C C O U N T N A M E : Olorunlagbara E. Sunday ACCOUNT NUMBER: 2001112603

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Your HEALTH

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Stakeholders ask Jonathan to sign National Health Bill into law

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fresh call on President Jonathan to sign the health bill into law has begun. The bill has been ignored since its passage by the sixth National Assembly in 2011. Many believe that giving assent to the bill and its implementation will speed up the needed improvements in the health sector.

H o w e v e r , m a n y professionals believe the controversy surrounding the bill is one of the major causes of the healthcare problems of the country, with Nigeria having one of the highest medicalrelated death rates in the world.

In a recent interview, National President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Osahon Enabulele, described the NHB as a necessary tool for transforming the struggling health system, especially as it sets standards

for the provision of health services in the federation and provides a framework for operation.

“By defining the rights of health workers and users of health services/ facilities, the NHB provides Nigerians an

opportunity to hold government accountable for their health rights, including equitable access to healthcare.

“It stipulates guidelines for the formulation of a national health policy, with a guaranteed basic minimum

health package for all Nigerians, including the provision of free medical care for children under five years of age, pregnant mothers, the elderly (above 65years) as well as people with disabilities,” he said.

Alzheimer's numbers to triple by 2050, report says

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HE number of people living with Alzheimer's will triple in the next 40 years, which means that over 13.8 million will have the mindrobbing disease by 2050, researchers projected Wednesday.

Previous estimates of what many call “the tsunami of Alzheimer's” hitting our society as the population ages have come up with similar numbers. This latest projection is notable because it is based on an analysis of more than 10,000 people 65 since 1993.

Researchers interview the volunteers every three years to monitor the number who develop Alzheimer's as they grow older.

Census data project that as the baby boom generation ages, between ages 65 and 84 will approximately double by 2050.

At the same time, the number of those 85 and older will increase almost four-fold to a total of nearly 14 million. The study estimates that 36.6 per cent of that population will suffer Alzheimer's.

“These projections emphasise the need to find either prevention or treatment for Alzheimer's disease dementia in order to decrease the burden of future disease on individuals, families and the medical care system,” the team at Rush Hospital in Chicago writes in the journal Neurology.

What are the chances of better treatments any time soon? In a few words: not great. Drug companies and academic researchers are carrying out many trials and we can hope for an unexpected great success. But none is apparent.

•Spending quality time with your baby helps develop their mental and social skills better.

PHOTO: Google

Autism linked to traffic pollution

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UTISM is part of a range of disorders that can cause difficulties with communication and social skills.

The researchers from the University of Southern California said those exposed to high levels of pollution were three times more likely to have autism than people who grew up with cleaner air.

Uta Frith, a professor of cognitive development at University College London, said: "It seems to me very unlikely that the association is causal."

She said the study did not "get us any further since it does not present a convincing mechanism by which pollutants could affect the developing brain to result in autism."

One of the challenges with this style of study is that it is difficult to account for every aspect of life which might affect the probability of developing

autism, such as family history.

It means the study cannot say that autism is caused by traffic pollution, merely that there could be a link between the two.

Sophia Xiang Sun, from the University of Cambridge's autism research centre, argued that cutting pollution would be a good idea anyway.

"We know that traffic-related

Men more likely to fall asleep while driving

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OST of people are familiar with the dangers of drunken driving, but drowsy driving can be just as deadly. Studies estimate 15 to 33 percent of fatal crashes involve tired drivers.

Men were more likely than women to falling asleep at the wheel, according to a new

Heavy smokers can be successful lung donor candidates

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OU might think that heavy smokers make for bad lung donors. But a new a study finds donors who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day for more than 20 years were strong candidates for double lung transplant donors.

It has been found that the patients who received the smokers' lungs had similar short and medium term survival rates as those who

received lungs from people who did not smoke heavily, however, tended to stay in the hospital for a few days longer for recovery. Over a two-year span, scientists found that lung function and death rates in recipients who had received heavy smoking donor lungs was similar to those who received healthier lungs.

As the number of people in need for double lung transplants has grown, doctors

air pollution can contribute to many other diseases and conditions, and it is biologically plausible it also has a role in pathways of autism.

"However, whether or not the potential association between autism and trafficrelated air pollution exists, reduction of traffic-related air pollution would be good for public health.”

have had to expand the donor pool. According to Dr. Sharven Taghavi, lead author of the study and a surgical resident at Temple University, “Historically, these smoking donors were excluded. They were generally considered to be less than ideal.

"But some patients are in a very dire situation. They may not have the time to wait, so they have to use the lungs that are available.”

health experiment. They're also less likely to regularly get enough sleep.

"We live in a sleep-deprived culture," Dr. Michael Howell, a sleep expert with the University of Minnesota, said.

"There's a reason why there's a coffee shop on every corner. We don't sleep at home as much as we should."

Being sleep-deprived slows our reaction time. That can mean hitting something we might otherwise avoid, like a child on a bicycle who suddenly veers off the sidewalk.

If you wonder why more people have road rage, it is because we're also more impulsive when we're tired.

"We respond to things without thinking them through," Howell said.

HEALTH Ways to care for a newborn infant

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AKING care of a newborn is both the simplest and most difficult thing you have probably ever done in your life. The sense of responsibility, particularly after years of being responsible only for yourself, can be overwhelming. So here's your first bit of advice: Breathe. And the second: Relax. Your baby knows when you're uptight and anxious. You transfer that anxiety to him and then he can't relax!

•First, know that your baby will sleep much of the time. Newborns generally sleep up to 20 hours a day of the first few weeks. Unfortunately, it may not be in large chunks! That's because they also need to eat quite often. Their tummies are tiny and their nutritional needs enormous. If it feels like you spend every hour of every day with your breast or a bottle in your baby's mouth, that's not unusual.

•The most common reason for baby's crying is hunger. If they're not hungry? Check the diaper. If that's not the problem, try wrapping her or him tightly in a receiving blanket. Newborns are used to the tight confines of the womb, being out in the world and having their arms and legs flapping around can be scary.

•After feeding and crying, the other new thing you have to get used to is washing your baby.

Until baby's umbilical cord stump falls off, just use a warm washcloth to wipe around her face, bottom and hands.

•When it's time for her first bath, fill the basin or sink with about an inch or two of warm water with a couple of squirts of baby wash. Make sure you have everything you need at hand before you undress the baby. That includes baby wash, shampoo, washcloth and towel.

•Holding baby against one arm, slowly lower her into the water and, using the other arm and hand, wet the washcloth and begin gently washing her. Don't let go and don't ever leave any young child unattended around water. You can use the washcloth to wash her hair, too. It's best if you have two people doing thisone to hold her and one to wash herbut you can do it on your own.

•When you're finished, lift her out of the tub and lay her on the towel. Wrap her securely in the towel and take her off to be diapered and dressed.

Drug which helps mice lose weight to be tested on humans

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relatively obscure drug used to treat mouth sores has made obese mice thin and the mice didn't have to eat less or exercise more, according to a study at the University of Michigan.

Doctors at the university will begin studies in human beings later this year. Hopes are high, even though many drugs that work in mice do not work in humans.

"It is a tour de force and offers a new and potentially exciting opening for developments of new anti-obesity drugs, something which is badly needed," says Dr. George Bray, chief of the Division of Clinical Obesity and Metabolism at Pennington Biomedical Research Centre at Louisiana State University.

In the study at the University of Michigan, researchers gave mice a high-fat diet, and they became obese. They then injected the animals with a drug called amlexanox, which has been on the market for more than 15 years to treat canker sores. The mice lost weight, even though they kept eating the same number of calories. When they were taken off the drug, the mice gained all the weight back.

If amlexanox works in humans, Bray said it could become like the story of Viagra, which was originally developed to treat one condition, chest pain, but serendipitously was later found to treat a different condition, erectile dysfunction.

"It could well be that what works for one disease will turn out to work for another, even though that wasn't the original intent," he said.

The researchers screened several drugs and found that amlexanox, used in an ointment to treat canker sores, changed the action of genes that control metabolism. When injected in mice, the drug worked by increasing metabolism, not by suppressing appetite.

"One of the reasons that diets are so ineffective in producing weight loss for some people is that their bodies adjust to the reduced calories by also reducing their metabolism, so that they are 'defending' their body weight," says Dr. Alan Saltiel, the lead researcher at the University of Michigan. "Amlexanox seems to tweak the metabolic response to excessive calorie storage in mice.”

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WORSHIP THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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S Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation, many look to the prophetic writings of a twelfth century Irish saint who was said to have predicted the exact number of popes before the end of the world.

Saint Malachy of Armagh, a Roman Catholic bishop who died in 1148, was said to have had a vision while on a pilgrimage to Rome wherein he learned the exact number of all the popes who would rule from his time to the Apocalypse.

Rather than give their names, Malachy gave each of these future pontiffs Latin mottos, which believers in the Medieval saint’s prophecies claim bear a strong resemblance to the figures they described.

For example, Pope John Paul II was number 110 on the list and was dubbed by Malachy as “De Labore Solis”, which literally means “From the Toil of the Sun” but is also rendered “Of the Solar Eclipse.” John Paul II was born on a date that had a solar eclipse.

According to Irishcentral.com, there are connections made between the line of popes since the 12th century and the Malachy list.

“Many of the prophecies are spot on. For example, the one about Urban VIII is Lilium et Rosa (the lily and the rose); he was a native of Florence and on the arms of Florence figured a fleur-de-lis,” wrote Irish Central staff writers. “ P e r e g r i n u s apostolicus (pilgrim pope), which designates Pius VI, appears to be verified by his many journeys to new lands.”

With the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, there remains only one Latin motto left on the list: Petrus

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HE United Nations Human Rights Council has been called to intervene in the case of American pastor, Saeed Abedini, who remains imprisoned in Tehran, Iran, after he was sentenced to eight years in prison following what has been widely labeled, an unjust trial.

The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), an affiliate of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), filed a statement on Monday in Strasbourg, France, asking the U.N. Council to call for the release of the pastor, much like the U.S. State Department has done.

“Pastor Saeed Abedini, a Christian with dual United States–Iranian nationality, is currently imprisoned at Evin Prison in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran, because he encouraged peaceful assemblies of Christians in private homes,” the ECLJ reminded the U.N. in the written statement.

How many Pope’s before Judgment Day?

•Pope Benedict XVI

The sudden resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has spawned all manner of theories and stories. Among the most intriguing is a medieval prophecy that claims there’s just one more Pope until Judgment Day comes. By Michael Gryboski.

Romanus, or “Peter the Roman.”

According to the writings of Malachy, this will

be the final Pontiff: “In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman,

who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the sevenhilled city will be de-

stroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people.

The End.” As with other end times

theories, this one has its own factual disputes. For example, the original list of popes predicted by Malachy was said to include only 110 numbered names plus “Petrus Romanus.”

However number 111, identified as Gloria Olivae (“The Glory of the Olive”) was reportedly added by the Order of Saint Benedict after Malachy’s death.

Pope Benedict XVI is identified as being number 111.

Individuals have also argued that since “Petrus Romanus” was not given a number like the other popes on the list, there might be pontiffs who show up between Pope Benedict XVI and the unknown Peter the Roman.

In a 1950s booklet titled “Prophecy for Today,” Catholic author Edward Connor noted that there were roughly 400 years between when the prophecies were said to have been written down and when they were first published in 1590.

“Of the 112 Popes described in the prophecy 74 had already reigned when the list was discovered and opponents of the prophecy claim that the descriptions of these are far more exact then those of subsequent Pontiffs,” wrote Connor.

“Was not the list the work of a forger who simply used hindsight to describe the Popes of the preceding four hundred fifty years, and clever ambiguity for the Popes of the future?”

As the College of Cardinals will soon meet to decide who will be the next Bishop of Rome, it is unknown how much influence the Malachy list will have on their decisionmaking.

•Source: Christian Post

UN intervention sought for jailed pastor Pastor Abedini has been held in Tehran since September 2012, when he was arrested on one of his trips from America to Iran to work in a children’s orphanage.

Abedini, who converted to Christianity in 2000, was accused by the Iranian court of endangering national security by aiding underground Christian churches, and was sentenced to eight years in prison by a notorious “hanging judge.”

The ACLJ, who are representing the pastor’s wife, Naghmeh, and their two children back in the U.S., have been at the forefront of campaigning for Abedini, leading a petition that brought news of the pastor’s plight to the U.S. State Department, and which led to new Secretary of State John Kerry calling for the pastor’s release.

•Abedini with his family

“As a Member State of the UN, the Islamic Republic of Iran is obligated to ad-

here to norms set forth in the UN Charter, such as those requiring members

‘[t]o achieve international cooperation . . . in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and . . . fundamental freedoms . . . without distinction as to [inter alia] religion,’” the ECLJ further noted in its statement to the U.N. “Filing this written submission is a vital first step in our formal U.N. efforts to free Saeed,” Jordan Sekulow, Executive Director of the ACLJ, who also serves as Senior Counsel of the ECLJ, said in a press release. “Next, we’ll attempt to engage each of the 47 members of the Human Rights Council, in hopes that one or more of these states will raise Pastor Saeed’s case in oral comments at the Council’s next plenary session.” Sekulow added that the case was reaching a “critical stage.”

Pastor Abedini’s supporters are hoping that the latest push for his release will keep the spotlight on his case. The pastor has shared fears that his plight in prison might soon be forgotten, and has said that he is being beaten and prevented from speaking with his family.

“When I heard this from my husband, I cried. It broke my heart. Behind those walls he feels helpless and relies on us to be his voice.

It is so easy to feel forgotten in the walls of the prison.

Please help me make sure he is never forgotten,” Naghmeh Abedini shared about her last conversation with her husband earlier in February.

Source: Christian Post

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Love fever Pastor Taiwo Odubiyi CHRISTIAN ROMANCE SERIES

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HEN Tosin was ready, she called Sade and gave her instructions. “Don’t open the door to anyone except Ladi, and take good care of Tireni.” Then she told Tireni, “Darling, Mummy will be back soon.”

She told Sade, “Please carry her and give her ice cream.”

Then she left, closing the door after her.

She opened her car door and put the key in the ignition to start it. It spluttered and stopped.

She tried again, the car spluttered and stopped again. Frowning, she leaned back against her seat. Not now! What’s wrong with this car? Disbelieving, she tried the key again but to no avail.

She sighed and got down wearily, opening the bonnet. Could it be fuel problem? Carburettor? Injector? The battery?

She took the spanner from the boot and hit the head of the battery a number of times. She checked and turned some other things but nothing succeeded in making the car work.

She glanced at her watch. It was already five o’ clock. She was one hour late. Deciding to go by public transport, she got down and locked up the car.

She pressed the front doorbell and when Sade opened the door, she informed her she wasn’t taking the car. Then she went to the main road where she got a cab.

There were many cars already parked in front of

the house by the time she got there. She looked round and spotted Joe’s car.

He’s here already!

Inside, she looked around, most of the staff were there. The large room was crowded but she could still pick out the figure of Joe as he stood talking with a lady. He wore an evening jacket over a white shirt and black trousers.

Tosin greeted some of the staff before going inside a room in search of Lola to greet her.

She soon came out and as she was looking for a seat, someone grabbed her hand.

“Mrs. Bayonle, good evening.” Joe stood in front of her, smiling.

“Oh good evening, er … Mr. Olayemi.”

He made his gaze to slide from her head down to the shoes she wore, as he asked her, “How are you?”

“I’m fine. And you?”

“Guess I’m fine too.

Have you just come?”

“Yes.” “In that case, join us at our table.” Joe invited and took her hand, not giving her a choice.

Tosin greeted the other people that were seated at the table.

Joe pulled the chair beside his out for her and she sank into it. The lady she had seen with him earlier was nowhere in sight, she noticed.

There was a table spread with food and uniformed young men and ladies who were employed to serve, moved around.

Joe signaled to one of them and asked him to serve Tosin. As Tosin ate, they chatted lightly. She was aware of his eyes on her, considering her coolly the way one would consider something of interest. She laughed and talked, enjoying the attention he gave her as she felt comfortable and alive.

At half past eight, she told him she had to leave.

“Did you come in your car?” He asked.

Tosin shook her head.

“No. It wouldn’t start, I had to come in a cab.”

“Well, in that case, I’ll run you home.” Joe said laughingly.

“No, you don’t have to.

I’ll get a cab.” She assured him.

“I don’t mind. It’s no bother.”

“Thanks.” She got up.

They said the necessary goodnight to the others and left, walking in silence to where Joe’s car was. Soon, Tosin was sitting in the passenger’s seat of the car.

By the time he pulled up outside her house, she had known a lot of things about him. He was born in the month of August. His parents were separated.

His mother lived in Ijebu while his father resided in Abuja. He had four sisters and a brother. He was the youngest. One of his sisters had a six month old son who resembled him and whom he adored.

They also shared some interests - he liked to eat Ikokore, a local Ijebu delicacy prepared by mashing yam and mixing it with the right quantities of ingredients like dried fish, crayfish, pepper, tomatoes, palm oil, onions, and so on, all cooked together and salted appropriately, which she liked too.

“But I’ve not eaten it in a long while. I can cook it but my husband doesn’t like it, so I don’t bother.”

Tosin had told him.

“Ha, I love it.’ Joe had said dreamily. “There’s a place I go sometimes to eat it. I’ll take you there one of these days. You’ll love it.”

He promised her.

He also liked to play indoor games, which she liked too. She had got Ladi to play chess with her a number of times when they just got married but later, he never had time again.

Adebiyi, successor for Apostles of Peace 15th anniversary

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HE outgoing Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West, Anglican Communion, Dr. Peter Awelewa Adebiyi and his successor, Bishop -Elect of Diocese of Lagos West , Ven. Odedeji will today preside over the 15th anniversary of Apostles of Peace.

The chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Lagos State Chapter, Chief Dele Ajomale, will also participate in the anniversary, which will hold at St. Paul’s Anglican Church Ishagatedo, Isolo.

The Initiator of the society , Mr. Siyanbola A.

Oladapo, recalled it was formed in “response to a rather tense atmosphere in a parish within Lagos West Diocese of an Anglican communion characterised by frequent changes of Priests, near absence of unity amongst English and Yoruba congregation, frequent frictions between the Clergy and the laity. “ The group also set up a foundation for retired clergymen, a peace grant for indigent students and economic empowerment to the unemployed to give bite to its motto “peace to homes, churches, nation and the world”.

He added the society boasts of many chapters in various Christian denominations and is spreading to European countries.

The 2013 peace award will be conferred on Prince Ade Adefioye, while Ajomale will chair the reception event. for Oladapo, who was recently voted 1st National President ,said :‘’We are not just counting the 15 years of our establishment but what we have achieved, because we know that, It is not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

•Proto-presbyter, Methodist Church of The Trinity, Tinubu, Lagos, Very Rev. Steven Adegbite (left); Synod Secretary, Very Rev. Ominiyi Omisakin; Bishop of Tinubu, Rt. Rev. Sunday Oluyemisi Ogunlere and Lay President-elect of The Trinity Church Council, Sir Ademola Ogunbiyi, at a press conference to round off the 25th yearly Synod of The Trinity Church Council held from Thursday, February 7 to Sunday, February 10, at Methodist Church of The Trinity, Tinubu, Lagos … yesterday.

PHOTO: CHRIS IREKAMBA

How to overcome insecurity, hard times, by Fakeye •as C&S church choir celebrates 40th anniversary

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ENERAL Leader of the Cherubim & Seraphim Movement, Special Apostle Prophet Gabriel.O. Fakeye , has said developing an attitude of praise will help in the face of daunting security challenges and despondency confronting Nigerians.

He stated this at a press conference heralding the 40th choir anniversary of the church.

The theme of the anniversary is ‘Celebration in Canaan’.

Speaking through his representative, Senior Apostle Ajayi Akande, Fakeye said : “in the face of current difficulties, hardship, insecurity and general despondency among the populace gospel songs and praise worship generally comes in handy.

By Oziegbe Okoeki “As the praise goes up to God, the grace of God comes down and gives us hope and security and turns insecure situations to a secure situation”.

The songs and music of the choir, he said, has impacted on so many people in various situations in their lives.

According to him:”there are so many testimonies to that effect. We minister to the world comfort and happiness through our songs, we have also done a lot in taking care of the needy, providing for them as well as reaching out to the motherless, widows and elderly”.

He added the choir has been a leading light “in the propagation of Christ and has also produced avalanche

of God fearing young and talented stars responsible and highly respected persons.”

He disclosed that the first music album of the choir titled ‘Paradise/Ohun Emi’ was produced in 1978 and “today the choir has recorded over 35 albums, all to the glory of God”.

Delivering his address, the Choir Master General, Senior Apostle Sunday Funsho, said the anniversary is a celebration of the choir successfully crossing the wilderness in the past 40 years into the Promised Land (Canaan).

The anniversary celebration ,which will span about two months , will also feature, spiritual health seminar, re-union of all choir members that have passed through the church, choir day, prayer week and will culminate with a thanks giving service on 14th of April.

Christianscanparticipateinpoliticsif...

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HRISTIANS can participate in politics only if they are committed to serving the people and doing the will of God, Pastor Samuel Olutoye, has said.

Olutoye, who is the General Overseer of Eternal Life and Revival Ministries Lagos, said even though Christians are free to vie for political positions, they must be careful not to emulate the lifestyles of non-Christian politicians.

He said: “There is nothing wrong with Christians getting involved in politics.

After all, the Bible says the people rejoice when the righteous rule and since Christians are the righteous, they are free to participate in politics.

However, Christians who go into active politics must be careful not to engage in ungodly activities that are common among our politicians.”

The clergy, who is also a former President of the Kaduna Branch of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), said the pressure of politics sometimes forces Christians to compromise.

He alleged that some Christians, especially pastors, who ventured into politics have derailed from the will of God because it is hard to combine politics and Chris-

By Vincent Nzemeke

Olutoye tianity.

“It is very hard to be a politician and still remain a genuine Christian because the pressure of politics can be very intimidating.

“I know some pastors who have ventured into it and have derailed from the will of God now. They started well, but within a short while they became worse than the politicians themselves. I know one

who married a second wife as soon as he became a senator,” he stressed.

He advised Christians interested in politics to ground themselves in the word of God to withstand the pressure of politics.

While advising Christians interested in politics to ground themselves in the word of God in order to withstand the pressure of politics, Olutoye cautioned preachers on prosperity messages. He said the corruption in the country has spread into the Church because many pastors have made prosperity the focal point of their message teachings. He admonished such pastors to emulate Christ by focusing on messages that will promote holiness, faith and other aspects of the gospel.

“The Church today has become so corrupt because too many preachers now focus on prosperity. They have forgotten that while Christ was on earth, he focused on wining souls through messages of holiness, faith, love and other aspects of the gospel. We must go back to such messages in order to save the people we have been sent to.”

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The unity/ communion factor Bishop Abraham Olaleye

REVIVAL HOUR

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HE other factor that sustained the revival fire in the early Church is fellowship among the brethren.

This unity and oneness began from the upper room where they stayed together to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 2:1, the Bible records that they were all with one accord in one place. This oneness had nothing to do with their outlook. It was unity in mind and in purpose. They had no peculiar doctrine that branded them as a sect. They had no resemblance of a cult. They communed together; they shared together and broke bread together. Whatever one had, he shared with the rest. So much was this communion that the book of Acts records that “all who believed were together, AND HAD ALL THINGS IN COMMON, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, AND BREAKING BREAD FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE …” (Acts 2: 44-47).

This Spirit of communion and sharing soon became a lifestyle. Few years after, the Bible says that the multitude of those who believed was of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own but they had all things in common. Furthermore, the Bible says there was none among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the Apostles’ feet; “AND THEY DISTRIBUTED TO EACH AS ANYONE HAD NEED” (see Acts 4:32 & 34-35).

This is an important factor for revival that the church today must strive to reclaim if we truly desire to experience the manifestations of the early Church. One of the reasons we have waited and not yet seen the glorious move, the Holy Spirit pointed to me, is because of the greed of those who are supposed to lead this revival.

As long as we want to keep accumulating wealth and ignoring the need of the brethren around us, revival will tarry. We are living in a time

Rick Warren to start new Radio Show

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ASTOR Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California announced during the week that he will begin a radio show the first week of April.

Warren said at a media gathering at Georgetown University that he is doing the show to bring hope to a country that is in a discouragement period and that he

when ministers are accumulating wealth and are not willing to share anything with the needy close to them. Sharing is one of the greatest secrets to revival that comes with signs and wonders following.

THE APOSTOLIC COMPANY In this chapter, I want to deal with an important issue that affects the move of God in the land. I trust the Lord to use this known but ignored insight to help all those interested in the end-time revival. This insight is that when it comes to the move of God, the days of solo effort is totally gone. The defeat of Goliath may not only be because he was an uncircumcised gentile but he was also a one-man squad.

God will continue to use individual ministers and ministries to accomplish specific and definite purposes on the earth and in such case, the individual will himself alone be responsible for what he or she does and does not do. But when it comes to revival that crosses the four corners of our local churches, God will, as in the early Church, use a team of people to carry out his purpose. Many great men in the past have singularly done what a team of people should have done. The result of such solo efforts is that little or no success was achieved. Infact, it did not take the enemy long before getting rid of such people. Samson was a very good example of a oneman hit squad. He had the raw energy through the anointing that the Lord placed on this Nazirite. With the jawbone of a donkey, he killed a thousand men.

At another occasion, when the Philistines thought they had captured him, he removed the gate of the city and carried it away. With bare hand, he killed a lion. Samson’s fall, as I see it, was more of his solo effort than his woman weakness. Every man has his area of strength as well as the area of his weakness but when we keep a good company, we do not easily fall. Jesus was never alone except in personal prayer with his Father.

Everywhere you find him, you will surely find his disciples with him. When the religious authority in the early Church persecuted the Apostles, the Bible says they returned to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them (Acts 4: 23-24).

Peter could have taken a solo lead since the Lord had given him the lead role coupled with the fact that the Lord had called

By Vincent Nzemeke wants to speak out more about the deterioration of religious freedom in the United States and around the world.

The show will be syndicated through Salem Communications and air for half an hour, Monday through Friday, in the 25 largest radio markets, he said at a press gathering hosted by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs’ Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Even though Warren is one of the most well-known

him a rock and prophesied upon him that the gates of hell shall not prevail against him (Matt 16:18). Peter and John were not alone. They had their own company. There are ministers today who do not belong to any Apostolic company. The Bible says that this Apostolic company lifted their voices and prayed to God who answered them with a mighty outpouring of great power and great grace (Acts 4: 26- 32). At no time did the Apostles walk alone, a factor that made it hard to eliminate them.

When the Apostles were arrested and imprisoned the second time, an angel of the Lord miraculously brought them out of the common prison. The Bible says that Gamaliel, a leader of the Pharisee, who was well respected cautioned the authorities to be careful with the Apostles. In his words, he told the authority, “Leave these men alone” Note the word “these men” and not “this man” (Acts 5:38). #3 THE WORD & PRAYER FACTOR In revival, prayer and the word take prominent place in ministry and in the personal lives of God’s children, particularly the leaders of the revival moves. The word and prayer are two great divine influences that I call twin brothers. Both come under joint supply. They work together in fulfilling the purpose of God on earth. It is not possible for one to pitch tent against the other. It is like David’s slingshot and the stone that was used in bringing down Goliath, the giant from Gath.

The stone, which is the word, was fired with the slingshot, which is prayer. It is also like the bullet and the gun. The bullet cannot by itself kill anything, except it is fired with the gun. These twin brothers were the weapons the Apostles used in enforcing the victory of the cross throughout their ministry.

It was also the reason that great revival lasted so much.

Each time they faced persecution with the religious leaders of their time; they prayed with the knowledge of the word and had great deliverance.

Miracles became a regular phenomenon all the time the revival lasted. Genuine evangelistic conversions followed every miracle that the Lord wrought through their hands.

Because of this, the Apostles did not allow anything to distract them from these divine sources of their power. Neither success nor challenges could distract them from keeping close focus on the Lord, the centre of the ministry and the Holy Ghost, the executor of all the signs and wonders they experienced. The ministry kept growing, the word was being preached and the name of Jesus was reaching every home.

Violent Faith: Key to the Supernatural (3)

Since the traditional period of mourning that follows a pope’s death won’t have to be observed, the roughly 118 cardinals can convene quickly. They’ll vote twice each morning and twice each evening until a two-thirds majority is reached. There’s no time limit, but the cardinals would like to have a new pope in place by March 24, when the Holy Week before Easter begins.

While Benedict won’t vote on his successor, he has hand-picked most of

the cardinals who will.

That makes a radical choice unlikely.

Ken Pennington, professor of church history and law at the Catholic University of America, notes there’s no modern precedent for a retired pope who could retain the loyalty of the faithful, especially if the new pope becomes unpopular.

Pope Benedict XVI said he plans to serve the church for the remainder of his days “through a life dedicated to prayer.”

Living Faith

By David Oyedepo

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WELCOME to your regular column.

Last week, I showed you two brands of wine that stir violent faith in us. This week, I will throw more light on what faith is, and why we need violent faith.

Recognize that faith is our most valuable asset in redemption.

Everything works by faith in the Kingdom. For things to keep working in one’s life, one must keep working on one’s faith.

Let us start by looking at what faith is: v. Faith is not a religious logic; it is a spiritual weapon with capacity to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Ephesians 6:16). There is no logic that can quench the fiery furnace or stop the mouths of lions. v. Faith is also the master key to a world of unlimited possibilities. If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23).

That means, faith rejoices at whatever has been dubbed impossible, because every situation is reversible by faith. v Faith is not a religious creed; it is a violent force (Matthew 11:12) that works, delivers, heals and makes whole. For instance, they brought the paralytic man through the roof, and Jesus saw their faith (Mark 2:1-12). Also, the woman with the issue of blood pressed through the crowd, to touch the helm of Jesus’ garment, and He said, “Thy faith has made thee whole” (Luke 8:43-48). Faith is not cheap talk; faith is a violent force!

Let us look at why we need violent faith: • There are giants in your Promised Land. In every man’s Promised Land, there are giants. It will require violent faith to dispossess them of your possessions.

In Numbers 13:25-29, the 10 spies came back and their report was that they could not take the land, because there were giants there. God promised them the land, and yet He allowed giants to be there. Why? Because, it would require their faith to possess their possessions.

There are giants whose

ACROSS THE GLOBE pastors in the country, Warren resisted for 32 years from doing a radio or television program. “I don’t like televangelists,” Warren said.

There are three reasons, Warren explained, that he did not want to do a radio or television program. He does not want to turn his church into a studio and lose the intimacy of a congregation; he does not like the style of TV preachers; and he does not want to do fundraising.

But he changed his mind for several reasons, includ-

mission is to resist your healing, by giving you dangerous diagnoses that are enough to kill you, without even knowing what they mean. So, you need violent faith to secure your glorious destiny, and possess your possessions.

•Violent faith is key to divine strength. We have this humbling testimony of Caleb’s strength at 85 years, in Joshua 14:7-11. By violent faith, he tapped into divine strength. The 85-year-old was operating with the energy of a 40-year-old.

Hebrews 11:11 says: Through faith also Sara herself received strength…So, faith is a vital access to divine strength, because it taps into virtue and anointing that quicken our mortal bodies (Romans 8:11).

You need violent faith, to tap into strength in the days of weakness.

• Violent faith is the master key to the supernatural.

God delivered the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego because they trusted in Him (Daniel 3:28). The supernatural broke forth through their violent faith.

They told the king: We are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us…But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods…(Daniel 3:16-18).

Their violent faith provoked the supernatural.

Consequently, Jehovah came down into the fire, and quenched the fiery furnace. So, it’s not just faith that engenders the supernatural, but violent faith.

Violent faith stops the mouth of lion. Daniel opened the windows of his house, and started praying audibly. When he was reported to the king and he was thrown into the lion’s den, his violent faith translated him into a supernatural being! What violent faith does is to change your status. Consequently, God came bodily into Daniel and no lion could eat him!

Daniel became a divine being by violent faith (Daniel 6:7-22).

• Violent faith is key to all manner of healings and

deliverances. Every violent faith illustrated in scriptures enjoyed instant healing. The paralytic man went through the roof to receive his healing.

This was a demonstration of violent faith. He took his bed immediately, and went home (Mark 2:1-5).

Blind Bartimaeus violently broke all protocol, cried out audibly and Jesus healed him, because of his violent faith (Mark 10:47-52).

Also, the Canaanite woman, whose daughter was terribly “vexed with a devil,” secured her daughter’s healing by her violent faith (Matthew 15:2228).

Every situation in life is reversible and recoverable by violent faith. Lazarus was dead and buried. After four days in the grave, he began to stink.

Jesus put violent faith into action. He shouted, “Lazarus, come forth,” and he that was dead came forth” (John 11:4344).

• Violent faith guarantees your heritage of longevity.

Everyone serving God is entitled to long life! Everyone under the canopy of Jesus is entitled to long life. …With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation (Psalms 91:16). So, redemption entitles you to longevity, but it takes violent faith to realize it.

• Violent faith is the only way to command dominion. Your dominion cannot be established except by violent faith.

Friend, the power to display violent faith is available, if you are born again. You get born again by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. If you are set for this, please say this prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins.

Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You for saving me. Now I know I am born again! I will conclude this teaching next week.

Welcome on board Double Portion Flight 2013!

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get my books — The Unlimited Power Of Faith and Exploits Of Faith.

I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have three services on Sundays holding at 6.30 a.m., 8.45 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. respectively.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with us through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

ing that “America, right now, is in a discouragement period,” Warren said.

Two-thirds majority needed to elect new Pope

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HEN Pope Benedict XVI steps down later this month, the process to select his successor will begin almost immediately.

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BUSINESS

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ESPITE recordbreaking increases in remittances coming into Nigerian and many other African countries in recent years, local enomonies are yet to feel the impact of the surge.

The recorded remittance flow to developing countries is estimated to reach $406bn in 2012 with Nigeria topping the list of recipients in Africa with $21bn (N3.28tn). Another report prepared by the Migration and Remittances Unit of the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group stated that Nigeria would top the list of recipients of officially-recorded remittances for 2012 with a likely $21bn, a 91 per cent increase over the $11bn remitted to the country last year.

The bank said remittances to developing countries were projected to grow by 7.9 per cent in 2013, 10.1 per cent in 2014, and 10.7 per cent in 2015 and to reach $534bn in 2016.The World Bank pointed out that it had revised its methodology to estimate remittances for Kenya and Nigeria. It said, “in the past, data on Kenya’s remittances reported in the IMF Balance of Payment’s (BoP) statistics were significantly smaller than data cited by government officials. By contrast, in the past, Nigeria’s data reported in the IMF BoP showed a significant upward revision, raising questions as to the definition used to maintain consistency with the previous data series. We estimated remittances to Nigeria by applying the growth rate of the new data series to the old data series.”

According to Ayo Teriba, an Economist, Nigeria has a strong and growing Diaspora community, especially in the US, Europe and Asia, many of whom are responsible for this remittance flows.

Quoting the recently updated World Bank brief on global migration and remittances.

“The top recipients of officially recorded remittances, estimated for 2011, are India ($58 billion), China ($57 billion), Mexico ($24 billion), and the Philippines ($23 billion). Other large recipients include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam, Egypt and Lebanon.”

Teriba added that the negative aspect of it is that Nigerian youths, after receiving training in Nigeria and use their skills to develop the country, resort to travelling abroad to work.

Diaspora bonds can be a powerful financial instrument for mobilising Diaspora savings to finance specific public and private sector projects, as well as to help improve the debt profile of the destination country.

As for Indians, they get their remittances through the Diaspora Fund. Nigerian government should capitalise on their citizens who are based abroad, because this figure is for private individuals, but government should provide saving instrument for them so that the government can

•Nigerians queuing at a money transfer counter

Low impact of Diaspora dollars benefit from Nigerians in the Diaspora, said Teriba.

The World Bank report indicates that in 2012 Nigerians living abroad remitted home £13.3 billion, ranking first in Africa and fifth in the world, behind India and China, with each receiving more than £38 billion, Philippines (£15 billion), and Mexico (£15 billion).

The updated data showed that in 2010 it was estimated that remittances flow into Nigeria from its people abroad would be $9.9B, when the actual figures came in, it was over $10B, at exactly $10.045B. In terms of the share of

The recorded remittance flow to developing countries was estimated at $406bn in 2012 with Nigeria topping the list of recipients in Africa with $21bn (N3.28tn). Remittances from Nigerians in the Diaspora have, in the last decade, become a huge foreign exchange earner for the country with its concomitant positive effects on the economy not fully tapped yet, reports Bukola Afolabi GDP of the remittances flow into Nigeria, while it was estimated at 4.1% last year, it was actually 4.5% in real terms afterwards.

Other top recipients of remittances among developing countries are India ($70bn), China ($66bn), the

Philippines ($24bn) and Mexico ($24bn). “Our estimate of remittance flows for the current year is based on available monthly and quarterly data released by central banks and the International Monetary Fund’s balance of payments. We esti-

mated growth for the remaining period of 2012 based on the year-to-date growth rate in 2012,” the report stated.

The size of remittance flows to developing countries is now more than three times that of official devel-

Remittances and other transfer flows to developing economies

opment assistance. For Nigeria, the size of its 2012 remittance inflow amounts to about 7.7 percent of 2012 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and nearly 50 percent of CBN foreign exchange reserves. The cost of sending remittance is a key driver of remittance flows, World Bank research shows. Consequently, reducing remittance cost has been identified as a key policy objective to facilitate these flows.

The global average remittance price has declined over the same period from 9.81 percent in 2008 to 8.96 percent in the third quarter of 2012. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most expensive region to send remittance to, with a transfer costing (in third quarter of 2012) about 12.4 percent of the amount transferred. This is almost twice the corresponding figure of 6.5 percent for South Asia.

Mobile phones have also been used to facilitate international remittances.

Services such as mobile cash-out allow households to receive money in accounts linked to their mobile phones (mobile wallet) and subsequently use it to conduct mobile transactions or cash-out the money at an agent. Mobile cash-in services allow migrants to send money from their mobile wallet. Other branchless cash-out services allow migrants to send money to a cash card held by recipients, who can then withdraw funds at ATMs or make purchases with the card.

As at early-2012, only 20 percent of 130 mobile banking operators worldwide offered international remittance services. Traditional money transfer operators, such as Western Union and Moneygram, have also partnered with some of these providers to offer international remittance services via mobile phones.

Sadly, Nigeria is not a major player in this category. Cross-border mobile remittances have not taken off due to a variety of reguContinued on page 61

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

BUSINESS

Low impact of Diaspora dollars Continued from page 60

latory and operational challenges. Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and “know-your-client” requirements also exacerbate the regulatory hurdle for mobile money operators that raise cost and operational burden.

Mobile remittances fall in the regulatory void between financial and telecom regulations, a reality which creates regulatory uncertainty for potential market entrants. Many central banks do not allow nonbank entities to conduct cash-in and cash-out services. Mobile remittances will not take off until central banks and telecom authorities come together to craft rules that facilitate branchless banking.

According to Femi Olumide, an analyst, “Nonmonetary forms may include clothing, medicine, gifts, dowries, tools and equipment. In recent years, remittance flows rank behind foreign direct investment (FDI) as a source of external funding for developing countries. Global flows of migrant worker remittances were estimated at US$182 billion in 2004, up 5.7 percent from their level in 2003 and 34.5 per cent compared to 2001 (World Bank, 2004).”

The forty-two-year-old man adds: “It is estimated that migrant remittance flows to developing countries now surpass official development aid receipts in many developing countries.

Migrants’ remittances are currently ranked as the second largest source of external inflows to developing countries after foreign direct investment. Over the last decade, Nigeria has been the single largest recipient of remittance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria receives between 30 percent and 60 percent of remittances to the region.’’

He continued: “Remittances from Nigerians in various parts of the world was USD 2.8 billion in 2004 (International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2004), ranking second only to oil exports as a source of foreign exchange earnings. Nigeria was among the top 20 developing countries recipients of remittance in 2003. Commercial bank executives report that in 2006 the recorded flows were estimated at US$4.2 billion dollars, representing 700,000 transactions and a 30 percent increase from 2005. In 2009, Nigeria received $10 billion in remittances from citizens living in the Diaspora and she is currently ranked first among the top 10 remittance recipients in 2010 in sub Saharan Africa.”

The large bulk of remittances in Nigeria are person-to-person flows mainly from the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and other Western European countries. Most transfers are through Money Transfer Organisations (MTO’s). In-

•Sanusi

formal sources include relatives and town unions and individuals entering Nigeria from their domicile foreign countries among others. Estimate of internal remittance is not known.

Despite the ever-increasing size of remittances, both internal and international, there has been little effort to analyse its effect on economic development, especially on poverty in Nigeria.

As a result, policy measures that will enhance putting remittances to their best uses do not exist. The situation persists in spite of the recognised fact that a well-articulated remittance management regime can aid growth and development by providing much needed foreign exchange, and serve as a palliative for its balance.

“There are, however, some serious downside risks to the bank’s outlook for international remittance and migration flows. Persistent unemployment in Europe and the U.S. is affecting employment prospects of existing migrants and hardening political attitudes toward new immigration. Volatile exchange rates and uncertainty about the “direction of oil prices also present further risks to the outlook for

•Okonjo-Iweala

remittances.

“The bank has established a ‘Task Force on the Implementation of Diaspora Bonds to facilitate the provision of technical assistance to developing country governments.’ The bank now houses considerable expertise in this area and we look forward to working with client governments in developing alternative sources of financing for development projects,” said Ratha.”

The Director of the Centre for Demographic and Allied Research (CDAR) of the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, Professor Cletus Agu, claims that Nigeria accounts for about 60 per cent of all remittance inflows to sub-Saharan Africa.

He stated this in Abuja recently at the research dissemination workshop on ‘International Remittances, Poverty and Inequality: The West African Case (IRPITWAC)’, where stakeholders deliberated on the preliminary findings on the study supported by International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Agu, who is also the head, Department of Economics of the nation’s first

indigenous University, affirmed the World Bank’s report.

Stakeholders at the workshop also agreed with the study, which provides answers to these core questions using three West African countries, namely Nigeria (the most populated nation in West Africa), Ghana (with rich migration data-base) and Cote d’Ivoire (a Francophone African country). These issues are studied based on conceptual frameworks drawn from economics, demography, sociology and anthropology, history and geography.

The World Bank report also indicates that as a share of GDP, the largest recipients in Africa are Lesotho (28.5 percent), Togo (10.7 percent), Cape Verde (9.4 percent), Senegal (9.3 percent), and The Gambia (8.2 percent).

While the report deals with formal remittances, it is believed that a huge chunk of money are also being informally remitted to Nigeria and other countries.

Nonetheless, the report observed that “formal channels for remittances from outside Africa and

within the region are heavily dominated by money transfer companies, particularly Western Union.”

For the Sub-Saharan African countries, according to the report, only about 2 percent of households receiving remittances from outside Africa use banks; “the share is slightly higher in Uganda (12.5 percent), Kenya (16.2 percent) and Nigeria (22.3 percent).”

Also, Biodun Ogunyemi, a banker observed that “the role of other intermediaries including post offices, microfinance institutions, savings and credit cooperatives, and new technologies such as Internet transfers and mobile money transfers are even more limited for remittances from outside Africa,” from where it is believed most of the remittances flow to countries like Nigeria are coming.”

Recorded remittance flows to the African continent are similar in size to official aid flows, according to the report. For instance, they are several times larger than official aid to North Africa (3.3 per-

61

cent of GDP versus 0.6 percent of GDP) and twothirds the size of official aid flows to Sub-Saharan Africa (2.2 percent of GDP versus 3.7 percent of GDP).

Equally, remittance flows in many African countries, it was further disclosed, “are larger than private capital flows, such as FDI and portfolio debt and equity flows.”

It was also noted that while evidence on the implications of remittances for inequality is less clear, “households that receive remittances, especially from outside Africa, may have been richer to begin with (allowing a family member to migrate in the first place); they may also have higher incomes because of migration and the receipt of remittances.”

The report said by discouraging exclusive partnerships—for example, between banks and international money transfer agencies—remittance costs would reduce, “benefiting both migrants and remittance recipients.”

It stated that this discouragement of exclusive partnerships, has already led to policy changes in some African countries and has been implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Rwandan authorities.

Indeed, remittance costs have fallen steadily from 8.8 percent in 2008 to 7.3 percent in the third quarter of 2011 due to increasing competition in large volume remittance corridors such as UK-Nigeria and UAE-India.

However, remittance costs continue to remain high, especially in Africa and in small nations where remittances provide a life line to the poor.

Globally, the World Bank said while the economic slowdown is dampening employment prospects for migrant workers in some high-income countries, global remittances, nevertheless, are expected to stay on a growth path and, by 2014, are forecast to reach $515 billion.

Of that, $441 billion will flow to developing countries, according to the latest issue of the Bank’s Migration and Development Brief.

Top Recipients of Remittances 1.

India ($70 billion) 2.

China ($66 billion), 3.

Philippines ($24 billion) 4.

Mexico ($24 billion) 5.

Nigeria ($21 billion) 6. In 2012, the World Bank estimates that migrant workers sent $406 billion in savings to their families in developing countries.

(World Bank blog) 7. The World Bank expect this to reach $534 billion by 2015.

8. Remittances sent to all countries in 2012 (developing and high income) was $534 billion.

9. These remittances were three times greater

than aid budgets to the developing world.

10. The figures for remittances underestimate the actual total because they only include money sent through official channels.

11. The World Bank state, that banks and transfer unions are taking an unfairly high commission (up to 20%) with the average transfer fee being 9%.

Sub Saharan Africa has one of the highest costs of sending money to. Reducing commission fees would substantially improve the benefit of remittances.

Remittances and other Transfer Flows to Developing Economies

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

BUSINESS

FG floats solid minerals development fund

Beyond Talent

By Adetayo Okusanya Email: adetayookusanya@hotmail.com

The mark of a true professional

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•Jonathan

T

HERE was a major breakthrough on Tuesday in the implementation of the Federal Government’s plan to pursue an alternative economic mainstay following the consistent threat of the United States to exit oil export by 2025. Upon the drafting of a new economic agenda, government considered the exploration and exploitation of the solid minerals, which outnumber the grains of sands in all the states of the federation a safety net in the absence of oil importation or in the face of dwindling oil and gas revenue. Besides, economic analysts have always advised the country to invest hugely in the mining sector since it can create jobs than oil which production mostly yields monetary gains.

Despite the enactment of the Mining and Mineral Act 2007, the Minerals and Mining Regulation Act of 2011 and other government incentives, the sector has defiled economic rules as investors are reluctant to entrust their funds to the capital intensive projects that are characterised by long gestation periods. But the Federal Government achieved a monumental success that could soon culminate in the removal of the aforementioned encumbrance on Tuesday as the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Musa Sada, inaugurated the board on the Solid Minerals Development Fund.

The board, according to the minister, “is to support the ministry’s policy framework to develop the sector.

The board is therefore to provide the necessary administrative management of the fund in the following ways: development of both human and physical capacity in the sector; funding of geo-scientific data gathering; storage and retrieval to meet the needs of private sector mining industry.” The min-

•Sada

Following the yearning for investments in the mining sector and the current worldwide boom circle in the industry, the Federal Government has inaugurated the Board on Solid Minerals Development Fund as a step up for the realisation of its economic agenda, reports John Ofikhenua ister also explained that the board is saddled with the responsibility to manage the fund for equipping institutions to enable them perform their statutory functions. Besides, it is to manage funding for the extension services to Small Scale and Artisanal Mining Operators and provision of infrastructure in mines land.

The Fund, following Section 37 of the Minerals and Mining Act of 2007, is described “as any sum appropriated for the Solid Minerals Development under the Revenue Act or any other Federal Law”. It is also “any sums appropriated for Solid Minerals Development under the Small and Medium Industries equity Investment Scheme (SMIEIS). Any funds received as grant , donations, foreign loans, bonds and long term swaps. Any sums appropriated to it by the Federal Government budgetary allocation. The establishment of the Solid Minerals Development Fund is also in line with the Transformation Agenda which aims at making Nigeria the 20th economy by 2020.”

President Goodluck Jonathan constituted the board membership, which he mandated Mr. Utsu Linus Adie to chair. He also asked Mr. Mahe Shehu Ahmed to serve as the Secretary . Other members of the fund are Alhaji Sani Shehu, Chief (Ms) Loreta Aniagulu, representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bankers’ Committee.

The chairman, who is assigned to drive the board to success, has bestridden the mining sector like a colossus from his studies in the university to the management of solid minerals projects in

varying circumstances. Essentially, Linus Adie’s curriculum vitae is a catalogue of robust experiences in the industry from which federal government mandated him to manage the $120m World Bank assisted Sustainable Management of Minerals Resources Project from 2005 to 2012. The project that he coordinated facilitated the formulation of the current New Mining Policy, Law, and Fiscal Regime for the country. The project, under his supervision, established the Mining Cadastre Office as a key public institution for the grant and management of mining titles. The World Bank project also established the Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences.

Prior to his World Bank job, Adie was the Special Technical Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals from 2000 to 2004. In other words, he served the Cross River State in various capacities in the mining sector.

Also, at the federal level, he was a Deputy Director, Ministry of Solid Minerals Development from 1996 to 2002, where he retired as a director in 2007.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Adie highlighted the challenges in the sector. According to him, “access to credit and financing remains a serious challenge to mining in the country.

While local banking system lacks experience in mining practices, the operators are deficient in the preparation of bankable documentations.”

He thus submitted that there is a strong urgency to build capacity in the banks and within the operators. The board chairman added that, fortunately, at least seven higher institutions in the

country now offer graduate and post graduate programmes in Mining Accounting and Finance, which Adie said was the courtesy of the World Bank assisted Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Projects.

He also pledged that in not too distant time, efforts must be made to bring the mining cooperatives currently registered into clusters.

This, said Adie, will facilitate the provision of extension services, common ability in equipment utilisation and capacity building . The chairman also vowed that the local content programme must commence as soon as possible to ensure that the mining industry to a large extent is serviced within the country, stressing that the industrial base of the country must be diversified into beneficiation of locally produced minerals.

Meanwhile, he told the minister that “some of the current challenges are highlighted to amplify the magnitude of work still needed to take mining in Nigeria to the hill rest of development.

By the Grace of God, we shall be there!”

Adie noted that in all, the mining industry is dynamic worldwide and moves in circles. Therefore, the current boom cycle regarded as mega cycle is ongoing. But government, according to him, has not wavered from its commitment to provide a conducive environment to attract private investment into the sector and share in the mega cycle. He submitted that “it is in the realisation of this objective that the government is stepping up the momentum by establishing the Solid Minerals Development Fund Board.”

HAT is professionalism and how will you know if you are truly a professional? Are you a professional simply because you were formally educated, work in a formal organization and know how to wear a suit and tie?

Can an “okada” driver be more professional than a bank executive?

There was a time when the term “professional” could only be applied to someone who is characterized by or conforms to the technical or ethical standards of a profession, such as doctors, lawyers and clergy men. Today, the term can be more broadly applied to anyone who exhibits a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace.

I have outlined below six characteristics that, in my opinion, are fundamental to professionalism, I encourage you to identify the areas where you can do better and make a commitment to yourself to indeed do better. Imagine how great Nigeria would be, if everyone (“okada drivers, petty traders, teachers, small business owners, government officials, religious leaders, employees, corporate leaders, etc) would live by the tenets described below.

You know you are truly a professional when: 1. You make a habit of striving for mastery in your profession. You continually invest time and resources in acquiring up-to-date knowledge and competencies that enable you satisfy the needs and reasonable expectations of your employer, colleagues and customers. You stay abreast of new developments in your field and attend professional courses that enable you provide and sustain quality products and service to others.

You are not a true professional when the tools and knowledge you are applying in your work cannot sufficiently address the current and emerging needs of your employer, colleagues and customers.

2. You make a habit of avoiding conflicts of interest. You never place your personal interest above the best interest of your employer, colleagues and customers. You do not subvert the ethics of your profession or organization. You act with the highest level of honesty, fairness and transparency. You avoid situations that are, or have the appearance of, potential conflicts of interest such as the acceptance of gifts/bribes, self-referral, self-contracting, hiring of family members, and personal use of corporate or public resources.

3.

You make a habit of applying the highest standards to the quality of your product or service. You work conscientiously to exceed the expectations of your employer, colleagues and customers. You complete your work in the most satisfactory and timely manner, and follow through on your promises to others. You hold yourself accountable for your work output and refrain from making excuses or blaming others when you fail to meet your commitments. You benchmark yourself with existing standards and strive for continuous improvement in yourself. You take pride in your work and recognize that it is a reflection of who you are and what you stand for. You do not compromise on standards even if “It is not your father’s business”. You are not a true professional when you deliver poor quality work to your customers or refuse to fix your mistakes.

4.

You make a habit of conducting yourself in a way that reflects positively on your employer, colleagues and customers, at all times. This includes being punctual, showing courtesy, using polite language, maintaining a positive attitude, exhibiting positive body language, remaining poised under pressure, cooperating with colleagues, providing great customer service, separating your personal and professional lives, maintaining good body hygiene, and dressing neatly, conservatively and appropriately to work. You are not a true professional when you take frequent personal telephone calls at work, assault your colleagues or customers physically or verbally, or conduct personal business during office hours.

5. You make a habit of treating others with the highest level of dignity, respect, care, compassion and courtesy. You use the authority and power conferred upon you as a service provider to accomplish enormous good. You contribute positively to an environment where everyone enjoys equal respect and opportunity, irrespective of disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion or status. You make it your responsibility to refrain from behaviors or language that will result in discrimination, harassment or bias against others. You are not a true professional when you make a habit of wasting other people’s time by making them wait needlessly for you.

6. You make a habit of keeping the confidentiality of your employer, colleagues and customers, in line with organizational policies, laws and regulations. You protect and restrict access to their personal information and corporate data and do not disclose such information without the express approval of the parties involved. You are not a true professional when you misuse the intellectual property of others, reveal your employer’s trade secrets to others, disclose customers contact details without their approval, or discuss company plans that have not been made public at home.

• Okusanya is CEO of ReadinessEdge

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

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CONSUMER WATCH With

JILL OKEKE

jillokeke@yahoo.com, 07069429757

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

R-

ECENTLY on this page we discussed whether we actually need food supplements. We also said that most of the nutrients we could have got from the food we consume most often get destroyed during the course of processing, post-harvesting, preparing, storing and even cooking these foods.

In the end, we gulp down chaff believing we have eaten food rich in nutrients.

How do we destroy food nutrients and how can we retain these nutrients in food in order to get all bodily requirements of nutrients?

Unfortunately, the easily destroyed nutrients in food are vitamins and minerals and these are what we really need to consume in high quantity because the body does not make them. The body can only get them externally through the food we eat and food supplements taken. So when we cannot even get them through food consumption the body is left with none.

The most sensitive food nutrients are vitamins and minerals. They can easily be destroyed by water, heat, light, very low temperature.

That is why people are advised to handle fruits and vegetables with care if they must get the needed nutrients from the consumption of these products.

Nutrients can easily be destroyed in fruits by plucking unripe or immature fruit. When a fruit is boiled or soaked in hot water, so as to force it to ripe, the fruit is left with only the colour and maybe minor vitamins. But the vitamin C which is very sensitive to heat would have been destroyed completely.

Nutrients in vegetables can easily be lost by over-cooking it, processing it and by the way it is handled. People are advised to wash their vegetables whole before shredding it. If you shred the vegetable before washing it, the nutrients will leach from the cut surface into the water. For instance, if you cut pumpkin leaf and wash, you will notice that the water used in washing the cut pumpkin leaf will change to green. In other words, it is the soluble nutrients from the vegetables that has faded into the water When vegetables are cut, apart from leaching, oxidisation also occurs. That is, heat extracts the nutrients from the cut surface of the vegetable.

Unconsciously, the person ends up eating vegetables which lack vitamins and minerals.

Prolonged washing of vegetables should be discouraged. For instance, by the time we finish washing bitter leaves, we are left with nothing except fibre.

There is equally no need why people should squeeze and wash spinach as some people do. Such people only end up with chaff as spinach.

Decanting of water used for cooking vegetables should be totally avoided.

When you decant or sieve the water, you equally decant the nutrients, especially water soluble vitamins which are vitamins C and B. The longer the cooking time of vegetables, the higher the loss of nutrients.

The right thing is to add vegetable last in your cooking so as to preserve the nutrients. Like we said before, vitamins

Make your skin an asset

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How not to kill nutrients and minerals are sensitive to heat.

Whenever possible, it is best to cook vegetable with their skins intact since discarded peels will contain valuable nutrients. The decision on whether or not to cut vegetable before cooking depends on how the cooked vegetable is to be served. But vegetables must be washed whole before cutting.

For best results in nutrient retention, taste, colour and texture, vegetables should be added last to the cooking.

That is when the food must have done.

Vegetables should not last more than two minutes on fire.

Green vegetables like spinach and pumpkin leaves need just enough water that clings to their leaves for cooking. Do not ever sieve or decant water.

Root vegetables like yam, potato, whenever possible should be cooked with skins intact since discarded peels will contain valuable nutrients.

Soaking of yam, etc. is discouraged because nutrient material from the plant tissues is lost to the surrounding water.

Whether or not to cut yam before cooking depends on how the cooked yam is to be served. Cutting raw yam into small pieces is in most cases undesirable because large amounts of soluble nutrients from the cut cells will be lost to the cooking water. Roots and tubers should only be cut into average pieces not very small.

Baking roots and tubers in their skin inhibits nutrient loss through water solution thus eliminating mineral loss and some vitamin loss. A temperature of 3500F (I 770C) is desirable for baking root vegetables.

For best results in nutrient retention, all root vegetables must be cooked in a moderate amount of boiling water in covered saucepan, using about one cup of water for four servings. The water should be brought to a full boil, the root vegetable added, and the water brought back again to boil.

Steaming and pressure steaming can also be employed because they have the advantage of conserving nutrients and retaining the shape of the food products.

Frying is another method through which we lose nutrients in food. When food, for example tomato, is fried deeply on high heat, we destroy the nutrients and end up with just colour and fibre. The same goes for meat and fish. At times we fry meat and fish as a way of preserving them but we do not know that in doing this, we end up destroying most of the nutrients. For instance, protein will be denatured.

Frying and roasting meat very dry adversely affects the vitamins and the protein content. Also the Vitamin E in vegetable oil is easily destroyed by high temperature. Egg protein can also be denatured when the egg is fried too dry.

Also always wash your meat and fish before cutting them, wash them whole in order to prevent the water soluble nutrients from leaching into the water.

As much as possible, avoid burnt foods as most of the nutrients would have been damaged. The idea of par boiling and washing rice should be stopped completely. Rice should be washed raw before boiling it, the first wash is enough. Washing rice after it is boiled only encourages nutrient loss.

Over freezing equally destroys food products. Vegetables and fruits should be left in the fridge compartment without any ice. Things like meat and fish should be kept in the freezer compartment.

Avoid buying spoilt foods, especially vegetables and fruits. Some people do it to save money but end up being the losers. Avoid damaged and bruised food as some of the nutrients would have been lost through oxidisation. Also avoid shrunken and dry food products as most of their natural nutrients have been lost.

Do not store food for long. Always store food products in airy places to help preserve their food value.

The whole idea of eating food is to keep healthy (not just filling our stomachs) and we can only achieve this health by eating nutritionally high foods.

EPLACING fast food with fibre is one of the keys to achieving good looks.

The psychological importance of skin is incalculable. It is how others see us. A skin disfigured by pimples, cratered scars and flaky patches undermine confidence and self-esteem. It affects relationships, both social and sexual. Skin is not just a protective covering. Like the lungs, the kidneys and the bowels, it is all-important organ of elimination, helping the body rid itself of waste products. No skin treatment is complete without careful attention to diet. A poor diet deprives the skin of vitamin minerals and trace elements essential to its health. A junk-food diet produces irritating toxic wastes that may trigger further problems. Sugar, fats, alcohol and refined starches are often the worst culprits. Low levels of nutrients in particular tend to show up fast in skin disorders: vitamin a, vitamin c and Zinc.

Nutrition therapy seldom works with great speed and this is especially true with skin disorders. It may take weeks, even months, before the beneficial effects of a good diet start to show. However, perseverance will ultimately reap rewards.

Super Foods Best bets: Carrots, water cross, pumpkin seeds, melon, avocado, chicory, dandelion, millet, strawberries, oats, sprouted seeds.

Fruits: Apricoats, oranges, grapes, kiwi fruit, peaches, nectarines.

Vegetables: Cabbage, broccoli, kale, celery nettles, spinach water cress.

Grains: Wholewheat products, wheat germ, buck wheat.

Nuts, seed: Walnuts, walnut oil.

Herbs: Parsley, sage, thyme, celery seeds.

Danger Foods Dairy products: Eczema is aggravated by milk cream, cheese and butter. Meat and animal fats: Farm animals may be fed growth-promoting hormones, which can have a dire effect on acne. Always trim the fat off meat.

Sugar: Bad for acne; use honey or molasses instead.

Coffee: There are more than 650 chemicals in coffee, apart from caffeine.

Alcohol: Best avoided in all skin complaints.

Fish: Can trigger eczema in some sufferers.

Three-day clean up Many factors affect the condition of skin, including stress, anxiety, depression environmental pollution, menstruation and the menopause. But whatever the cause of your skin problem, thorough cleansing through a three-day elimination diet will be beneficial. As toxins are eliminated through the skin, brace yourself; its condition may appear worse to begin with. However, improvement will follow Day one Breakfast: Juice of half a grapefruit, topped up with hot water and apple juice, plus celery, fennel, water cress; all apple. Day two, as day one, until evening; main meal, a baked potato, sugar-free baked beans and a celery, walnut and redish salad Day three Breakfast: Oat flakes with lemon juice, a spoonful of single cream, grated pear.

Mid-morning: Glass of vegetable juice.

Light meal: A big mixed salad with a moderate serving of tuna, all apple.

Mid-afternoon: A glass of grapefruit and apple juice.

Main meal: vegetable and barley soup; whole meal bread; dried fruit Culled from Sunday Times.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

EBERE WABARA

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WORDSWORTH 08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

Ayo Ositelu’s seventh round knockout

“I desire to go to Hell; and not to Heaven”.

– Niccolo Machiavelli, 16th Century Italian philosopher.

Legislators’ reactions N

T

HIS column is today dedicated to two language legisla-

tors!

“The feeling is that many don’t want to be seen to take a position which would be interpreted as confrontational and as such they have resulted (resorted) to lobbying prominent figures outside government to….”

“These 17 luxury cars and SUVs of Alhaji Abubakar Audu which will make any Arabian Sheik grin (green or green with envy) are parked in Audu’s GRA Jos adopted home.

“The actual name of the person expected to chairman (chair/preside over) this occasion is….”

Wrong: atimes; right: at times (two words) “Those who have the power to release the suspect but are passing the bulk (buck) to the courts should be informed that it is against the national interest to refuse to release….”

“The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, explained that it was not the first time that banks would be liquidated and that the history of bank failure in the country dated (dates) back to 1958 or 1959.”

Note: dates back to or dates back from is a stock expression.

“In reaction to the leaflets being circulated, the Kano State Commissioner of Police…made a radio and television broadcast telling the people to ignore the leaflets which he described as the handiwork of mischieve (mischief) makers.” Special note: makebelieve (not make-belief).

“When the storm rages, men can do nothing about the storm, but when the storm has seized (ceased), its destruction can be redressed.”

Theoretical linguists, curriculum experts and “educationalists” (educationists or educators), working together or separately, have been busy putting forward suggestions for language education reform. Note especially: “educationalist”, like “unwieldy” or “invitee” or “indisciplined”, is not in any respected dictionary.

These comic words were invented by Nigerians.

“Armed robbers again jolted the commercial city of Lagos last week Friday (last Friday/Last Friday week or on Friday, last week).”

“Students write exams half naked (half dressed/ half clothed/half covered or half clad, or naked/ bare to the waist).”

“I stood up, took another coin out of my pocket and put it near my half–empty (half–full) beer glass.” Special note: in editorial English, we say or write: half clothed/ half covered/half dressed/half clad (‘clad’ is obsolete as a participle) naked or bare to the waist or clothed from the waist down or naked/bare, or fully dressed: half-full (not half-empty); semi-literate/half or sub-literate/ half lettered (not semi illiterate); half sighted (not half blind); half alive (not half dead); employment problem or unemployment (not unemployment problem).

Unlike other intellectual leaders of Nigerian progressive movement, such as Professors Ikenna Nzimiro, Eskor Toyo, Akin Oyebode, G.G. Darah, Doctors Edwin Madunagu, Ola Oni, Segun Osoba, O. Onoge, Bala Usman, Dr. Tunji Otegbeye is not an “academician” (academic) in a formal sense. Special note: ‘an academician’ is not synonymous with ‘an academic’ just as ‘presently’ is not synonymous with ‘at present.’ ‘Presently’ always means SOON and ‘at present’ always means NOW. Another note: an academician is somebody who works in or is a member of an academy—for instance, the Nigerian Defence Academy, the French Academy or the Russian Academy. It does not mean the same thing as a university don/ guru/intellectual or scholar—such a person is called an academic. Its plural is academics.

“But the selfsame (same) Britain did rule this country, Nigeria, for “a whole 100 (good 100 or all of 100) years.” Special note: ‘whole’ is used for a SINGULAR NOUN (e.g. a whole year, the whole country, a whole university graduate) and NOT for plural nouns.

“How is the programme fairing (faring) in Bauchi State?”

Note: How did you fare

(not fair) in your examination?

Ebere, you have become, like Ndaeyo Uko, a man well-known for his sardonic wit and wisdom and for his penchant for the use of irony and pun.

Truly, some Nigerians, including journalists, writers and columnists, are trying their hardest to un-English the English language beyond recognition, just like the people of Virgin Islands! These people’s variety of English is called ‘Calypo English’ just as the African– Americans have ‘South or Black English.’ And Nigerians have ‘Nigerian English’! But English, like truth, is one.

It should be noted that although “still yet” is not accepted as a standard phrase, “yet still” is quite accepted. “Yet still” is used by modem writers, particularly British journalists and writers. Example: “At home (in the U.S.A) the terrifying problems of crime, racial violence, social disharmony refused to yield to oratory, however inspiring, or to law, however comprehensive yet still the Kennedy magic advanced. He was not really a radical; if anything, he was a careful conservator.

Some select people called “speech writers” are very fond of mechanical errors that result in failed, fractured or diseased English.

It is very sad. Yes, it is our moral duty to ensure that some folk are not allowed to kill this universal language.

Please note that while ‘general consensus’ is unacceptable, ‘broad consensus’ is and while ‘heavy downpour’ is not allowable, ‘great downpour’ is.

The foregoing was contributed by Baba Bayo Oguntunase from Ikorodu/Lagos/ 08056180046.

“IT is wrong and insulting to the Office of the Vice-President (V-P) to write ‘Vice President’ as journalists do without hyphenation. In my opinion, ‘vice president’ (without hyphenation) is a president who is immoral and wicked. My view is based on one of the meanings of the noun ‘vice.’ I stand to be corrected. (Stanley Nduagu/English language teacher and principal, Evangel Secondary School, Isiala Ngwa/Abia State/08062925996)

ICCOLO Beanardo Di Machiavelli, the founder of Modern Political Science died in June 21, 1527. Before his body was dumped inside an unknown grave, his last words were as badgeringly poignant as were his works.

On his deathbed, Machiavelli prayed, “to go to Hell and not to Heaven. In the former place, I shall enjoy the company of Popes, Kings, Princes and Senators, while in the latter are only Beggars, Monks and Apostles.”

Ayo Ositelu, Great Editor, Sports Ambassador, Tennis Buff, Goalkeeper, Local Government Administrator, Director and Deacon of the Aladura sect, died without any known last words attributed to him.

Like his mountain of disciples, Ayo must have been surprised by his hurried demise. However, for those of us his friends, editorial colleagues and cultist of the sports writing fraternity who sailed with him on the mission of restoring respect to the fraternity; swam with him promoting the beautiful game of tennis; rode with him to fulfil his destiny, we proclaim before his marked grave at the Ositelu House in Ogere, that Ayo lived his expectations. His golden odyssey ended in a blessed ascension.

I met Ayo for the first time on the tennis courts of the National Stadium, Surulere. I had left the tempestuous German coach, Gotleib and the Julius Berger FC training camp at Mushin that early morning when we decided to hit some, it was a surprise. Segun Balogun, Bamidele, national champion, Ajayi, Nduka Odizor and their national coaches, Thompson Onibokun and Lawrence Awopegba moved from the centre courts to watch me and the Arena swing at each other. They moved not so much because we were hitting the balls any better.

They were attracted by the full-kitted gentleman on the other side. Ayo had the grunt and mannerism of a Carolina baseball brawler. He had three graphite racquets; his head was ringed above the ears with a sexy bluish tennis headgear.

There was a bubbling orange beverage deposited in coolers on the umpire stand, beside some very clean white towels.

We met again on a flight from Lagos to Bamako on an assignment to cover Bendel Insurance FC of Benin playing against a Malian club side.

Those were the boom days of Nigerian sports writing, starring Sunday Ojeagbase, Mitchel Obi for The Guardian. ‘Arena’ Ayo Ositelu for the Punch and Emma Okocha, supported by Muyiwa Daniel, Yemi Ojo for the great Concord. Echiejine, the big boss of the Sports Radio showed early promise and I was the G.O.C. Concord Combat, Nigeria’s Pioneer Centre spread sports magazine. Paul Bassey was the Champion in the champion stable and Chief Iwuanyanwu paid him a coach’s salary.

Chris Okojie, Ikedi Isiguzu, Anibueze and Ubani held the fort in the Vanguard.

•Ositelu

By Emma Okocha

Yinka Craig and Charles Ojugbana for the first time expanded the reach at NTA, making it a hot medium. There were no other channels and the NTA had no competition.

Chief Abiola was the Pillar of our Sports, and without any discrimination he sponsored the clubs and flew out the Sports Editors covering the sports events to any part of the world. For the flight to Bamako we sat near each other. For one thing, we were two arrogant tennis players, who had played football to college and national levels. At the end of all that drub in the dry, dusty city of Bamako, Ayo Ositelu stood aside. He was the only official, journalist, who maintained discipline. He departed the Malian airport for Lagos, without bags of rice or rings of French made tyres pulling behind him.

Ayo headed the Punch Sports Desk at a time those sports departments were stampeding through innovations.

Before him, those sports desks were tied to the fortunes of the newsroom where the News Editor was supreme. Where there was any measure of independence, the Sports Editor was usually the under-performing news staff who never played the game. Most of the time, never had the language.

He was the reporter or the editorial hand who was posted to the sports desk to maintain his seniority. The News Editor of those days regarded the sports desk as an appendage beat, not in the same significant notes as the Political, Foreign or the Finance departments. Ayo’s training in the United States, his courageous stint as the last man on the stone in the Punch, and of course his ability to invent his own language added to the sports Writing Revolution of that era. Suddenly, the sports writers who could write more than soccer and the javelin were in hot demands.

Concord under the great editor, Duro Onabule decided to send us on double assignments.

The gifted reporter could easily report the finished game between the Super Eagles and Hurambee Stars of Kenya and sneak through the Indian Oceans and confront the failed state of Somalia, report the Ethiopian intervention and analyse the impact of that intervention for the warring countries and its consequences for Africa.

We had everything and we did not need a boarding pass to fly. Chief Abiola did not fly the pastors. The planes were for busy journalists, athletes and those flights were in business to make more money for the kind baron.

Ayo later abandoned general sports writing and like Ingenesia Somiari, who specialised in golf, Ayo specialised in tennis. His coverage of the world Grand Slam was given editorial accolade

by The Guardian editorial. We are happy that Nigeria’s pioneer Wimbledon licensed agent, Richard Akindele has moved to replace him on that respected board.

When the busy Sports Writing Fraternity returns from their South African Football Tourney, we shall assemble again in memory and in respect for the Nigerian sports writing Icon.

The Nigerian tennis family, the Guild of Editors and the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), will play one last one for the Arena who had asked us to do that for him at his 70th birthday.

Inside the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, sitting all the executives of the Nigerian Tennis Clubs, including the oldest ones of Calabar and Asaba 1886, Ikoyi 1934, his own Ikeja Country Club, Kano, Abuja, Benin Ibadan, etc., we shall play.

The tennis playing governors: Fashola, Lagos, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Delta, the SWAN captained by Kienka, the Editors with Punch’s Fagbenle as playing Captain, the Armed Services, represented by Denny Akaar, Deputy Director General, Nigerian Immigration, partnering Major General Chioba of the Military Headquarters all will assemble to hit the crosscourt for Ayo who crossed the seas without saying goodbye.

Leading on points against the unforgiving death on the red corner, the Arena was almost making it to the final rounds, when the red one without keeping to the rules suddenly released a devastating wicked hook to the Arena’s chin and chest. Ayo against the run of play was knocked down before the final rounds of the seventh. He did not make it to the ripe age of 70, but Ayo like many of the missionaries before him anchored his boat.

His legacies are ample. As a sportsman he was like his Igbobi contemporary, my uncle, Sydney Asiodu, who suffered from tyranny of talents but was able to put some together and won the gold. As a deacon he was true to his religion. Incorruptible. Ayo the Arena, in his life time brought respect to the sports writing beat and before he died, working with the U.S. Embassy, brought the Williams Sisters home to Lagos and Badagry.

•Okocha wrote from Lagos.

66

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

67

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

ADEBOWALE

OGUNDOWOLE

OKOLO

BALOGUN

AHAIWE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Foluke Omotolani Lawal Adebowale, now wish to be known as Mrs. Omotolani Rasheedat Meyungbo. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This is to confirm that Ariyibi Morenikeji Grace and Ariyibi Morenikeji Adunni belong to the same and one person. All documents bearing remain valid. WAEC and general public please take note.

ARCHIBONG

I formerly known and addressed as Archbong Lucky, now wish to be known as Adejoh Elijah Lucky. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OSARENREN I formerly known and addressed as Omoruyi Sylvester Chukwuyem, now wish to be known as Osarenren Sylvester Chukwuyem Osagie. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

SENBORE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Senbore, Olawunmi Oluwaseyi, now wish to be known as Aboyade, Olawunmi Oluwaseyi.

All former documents remain valid.

Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, NYSC and general public please take note.

ZAWAN

I formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Victoria Zawan, now wish to be known as Miss Victoria Maikudi.

All former documents remain valid.

National Examination Council (NECO) and general public please take note.

BABAWALE I formerly known and addressed as Babawale Victor Oluwagbemi, now wish to be known as Ademola Victor Oluwagbemi Isreal. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ILERHUNMWUWA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ilerhunmwuwa Sonia Itohan, now wish to be known as Mrs. Omomagiowawi Sonia Itohan. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Eze Hezekiah Uchenna is the same person as Ezeh Hezekiah Uchenna.

All documents bearing the above names remain valid. School Certificate/GCE, Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, NYSC, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and general public please take note.

BABALOLA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adenike Comfort Babalola, now wish to be known as Mrs. Adenike Oluwole Fagun. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OYENIYI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Oyeniyi, Titilayo Mary, now wish to be known as Mrs. Williams Titilayo Mary. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

BARDE I formerly known and addressed as Miss Abigail Danjuma Barde, now wish to be known as Mrs. Abigail Sylvanus Dannana. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

NSA-AWAN I formerly known and addressed as Miss Nsa-Awan Aye Nsa, now wish to be known as Mrs. Maryfavour Asikpo Asikpo. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OMOTAYO

I formerly known and addressed as Omotayo Oloruntomi Debrah, now wish to be known as Paul Omeiza Deborah. All former documents remain valid. University of Ilorin and general public please take note.

OLUWOLE I formerly known and addressed as Williams Gideon Oluwole, now wish to be known as Williams Victor Olugbenro. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Ogundowole Atinuke Dammie, now wish to be known as Oriola Atinuke Damie. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Okolo, Christiana Ojorumi, now wish to be known as Mrs. Awoh, Christiana Ojorumi. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

UKAZU

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Olanrewaju, Anifat Layoke, now wish to be known as Mrs. Obisiji Anifat Layoke. All former documents remain valid. University College Hospital, Ibadan and general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ukazu Chioma Ezinwanyi, now wish to be known as Mrs. Okoro, Chioma Ezinwanyi. All former documents remain valid.

Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Umuahia, Abia State and general public please take note.

EBOH

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Chidinma Charity Eboh, now wish to be known as Mrs. Chidinma Uche Echeweozo. All former documents remain valid. Evangel University Akaeze Ebonyi State, Crusader Sterling Insurance Company and general public please take note.

OBASI I formerly known and addressed as Miss Obasi, Nwanneka Linda, now wish to be known as Mrs. Oni, Nwanneka Linda. All former documents remain valid. Federal Ministry of Police Affairs, Police Hqtrs, Bendel road, Abia State Command, Umuahia and general public please take note.

OLAJUMOKE I formerly known and addressed as Silifat Abdulrahaman Olajumoke, now wish to be known as Mrs. Silifat Abdulhamid Jawondo. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

UMOH I formerly known and addressed as Miss Florence Emmanuel Umoh, now wish to be known as Mrs. Florence Edeme Elensi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

NNORUKA

I formerly known and addressed as Nnoruka Obiageli Beatrice, now wish to be known as Mrs. Ajamma Obiageli Beatrice. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

OLORUNRIDIAYE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Olorunridiaye, Dorcas Iyabo, now wish to be known as Mrs. Akindoyeni, Dorcas Iyabo. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

ADETAYO I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adetayo, Tolulope Bolude, now wish to be known as Mrs. Ayodele, Bolude Tolulope. All former documents remain valid.

SUBEB and general public please take note.

OSINUBI

OKPARA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Okpara Chinwe, now wish to be known as Mrs. Ibe Chukwudi Chinwe. All former documents remain valid. Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and the general public please take note.

OGUNLOLA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ogunlola, Yemisi Victoria, now wish to be known as Mrs. Oyewole, Yemisi Victoria. All former documents remain valid.

The Polytechnic, Ibadan and general public please take note.

UZOMA I formerly known and addressed as Onyemerekwe Magnus Uzoma, now wish to be known as Barnabas Magnus Uzoma. All former documents remain valid. Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State and general public please take note.

FIAGBEY I,formerly known and addressed as Fiagbey Dzifa Hilda, now wish to be known and addressed as Alamudun Dzifa Hilda. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AKINTOYE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Akintoye, Tolulope, now wish to be known as Mrs. Dele, Tolulope Oluwakemi. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

AJIBOYE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ajiboye, Eniola Olubunmi, now wish to be known as Mrs. Alabi, Eniola Olubunmi. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Hospital Mangement Board and general public please take note.

ADELURE I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adelure, Kikelomo Deborah, now wish to be known as Mrs. Oluwatayo, Kikelomo Deborah.

All former documents remain valid.

Nigeria Police Force and general public please take note.

SULEIMAN I formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Bosede Christiana Suleiman, now wish to be known as Mrs. Bosede Animat Ogunlade. All former documents remain valid.

Access Bank Plc., Alagbaka and general public please take note.

UDO I, formerly known and addressed as Unyime Edem Udo, now wish to known and addressed as Unyime Offor Ifeanyi. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

NWOKOLO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Temitope Labake Osinubi, now wish to be known as Mrs. Temitope Omolabake Ugwumadu.

All former documents remain valid.

Lagos State government Institutions and general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Nwokolo, Ifeyinwa Annastesia, now wish to be known as Mrs. Onyema Ifeyinwa. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OGUNKOYA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Uduak, Michael Akpabio, now wish to be known as Mrs. Uduak Michael Ekanem. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Ogunkoya Adetutu Oriyomi, now wish to be known as Jaji Fatimah Adetutu. All former documents remain valid. Lagos State government Institutions and general public please take note.

ABANKUL I formerly known and addressed as Miss Abankul Josephine N., now wish to be known as Mrs. Dzungwe, Josephine. All former documents remain valid. Benue State Science and Technical Board and general public please take note.

IFEBI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Juliet Nneka Ifebi, now wish to be known as Mrs. Juliet Nneka Mathew Chukwudum. All former documents remain valid. Fidel Polytechnic, Gboko, NYSC and general public please take note.

ONYIBA I formerly known and addressed as Miss Onyiba Martina Ego, now wish to be known as Mrs. Enemuo Martina Ego. All former documents remain valid. National Root Ciorps Research Institute, Umudike, Umuahia, Abia State and general public please take note.

OLANREWAJU

SHOYOMBO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Shoyombo, Omobola Kehinde, now wish to be known as Mrs. Ayeni Omobola Kehinde. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

SOBOWALE

I formerly known and addressed as Mr. Sobowale Mufutau, now wish to be known as Mr. Sobowale Mufutau Olalekan. All former documents remain valid. Ogun State Housing Corporation, OkeIlewo, Abeokuta and general public please take note.

AKPABIO

ALI OBAJE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ali Obaje Grace, now wish to be known as Mrs. Grace Bosa. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

WAHEED

I formerly known and addressed as Waheed Fatai Alaba Olamide, now wish to be known as Akindele, Olamide Abdulfatai A.. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

UDUGBA

I formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Udugba Atinuola Suwebat, now wish to be known as Miss Ashimi Tinuola Ebunola. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

EBONG

I formerly known and addressed as Mr. Udeme Macaulay Ebong, now wish to be known as Mr. McKlintz Macaulay. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

NGUMOHA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Chibuzo J. Ngumoha, now wish to be known as Mrs. Ezealla Chibuzo J. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Balogun, Azeez Oluwatobi, now wish to be known as Balogun Azeez Oluwatobi Adisa. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EKEMITA I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ekemita Cordillia, now wish to be known as Mrs. Cordillia J. Oghieaga. All former documents remain valid. Auchi Polytechnic and general public please take note.

ADEBAJO

I formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Adebajo, Olawunmi Shjerryfat, now wish to be known as Miss Olawunmi Sherryfat Otubambo. All former documents remain valid. Auchi Polytechnic and general public please take note.

MUNA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Muna Mayowa Mordiyah, now wish to be known as Mrs. Mordiyah Mayowa Badru. All former documents remain valid.

Education district IV (Lagos State) and general public please take note.

OKOYE I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OKOYE EBELE ANN now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. NDOCHIEM EBELE ANN. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

NWAOGU

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. AHAIWE UDODIRIM now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. UDODIRIM DANIEL GODWIN. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ADIMOHA I, formerly known and addressed MISS. ADIMOHA CHINEDU NGOZI now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. IKEOBI CHINEDU NGOZI. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME OGUNLEYE

I formerly known and addressed as OSANYINGBEMI OGUNLEYE, now wish to be known and addressed as OLUWAFEMI OLALEYE. All former documents remain valid . All Embassies and general public should take note.

HONVU I formerly known and addressed as Miss HONVU HANNAH MAUTIN, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. CHARLES HANNAH MAUTIN. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

OBI

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. DORIS OBI now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. DORIS AMOS. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OBI

AMADI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Obi Nkechi Angela, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ochemba Nkechi Angela. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

CHIMBO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Bassey Esther Okon, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Motwani Anita Deepakchand. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. AMADI AKUNNA CHINEYE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OHIRI AKUNNA ANNABEL. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. AMARACHI ULUNMA CHIMBO now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. AMARACHI ULUNMA EGWUAMAEFULA. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EZENWAKA

OKON

TED I formerly known and addressed as Ted Chijuka, now wish to be known and addressed as Frederick Rorob.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

AWE

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS NWAOGU CHIBUZOR MARGARET now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. CHIGBU MICHAEL-MARK MARGARET CHIBUZOR. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. EZENWAKA UKAMAKA MARY now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ONWUEGBUNA UKAMAKA MARY. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Awe Olapeju Kehinde, now wish to be known and addressed as Olorundare Olapeju Kehinde. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

NKIRU

ADESOJI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Aderemi Omowumi Florence, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olaniyan Omowumi Florence. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

JOSEPH

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Yunus Taiwo Ajoke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Lawal Taiwo Ajoke. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MRS NKIRU CHUKA-IFEORA now wish to be known and addressed as MS NKIRU NNAMAH. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Folasade Esther Adesoji, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Folasade Esther Oke. All previous documents remain valid. General public please note.

NOMSULE

I formerly known and addressed as Joseph Toyin. Now wish to be known and addressed Balogun Toyin. All former document remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as DOOSHIMA DINNAH NOMSULE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS DOOSHIMA DAZEMA MAAKUNA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

KIMBIR I, formerly known and addressed MISS LADI MOSES KIMBIR now wish to be known and addressed as MRS LADI SAMSON DAMKOR. All former documents remain valid.

Universal Basic Education Board Area 2, Abuja and general public take note.

SALIHU

I, formerly known and addressed SALIHU BINTA MARYAM now wish to be known and addressed as SALIHU MARYAM. All former documents remain valid. Universal Basic Education Board Area 2, Abuja and general public take note.

JOAQUIM

I, formerly known and addressed as DR MISS FOLATURA ABIOSE JOAQUIM now wish to be known and addressed as DR MRS FOLATURA ABIOSE AMAO. All former documents remain valid.

Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Federal Medical Centre Ido Ekiti and General public should please take note.

OSUORJI I formerly known and addressed as Emmanuel Osuorji, now wish to be known and addressed as Emmanuel Ejike. All former documents remain valid general public should take note.

NWILE

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. TOM HELEN NWILE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. UYI OSAGIEDE HELEN. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

ONYEKWELU

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. ONYEKWELU NDIDIAMAKA EUCHARIA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. EZENNA NDIDIAMAKA EUCHARIA. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EHIEMERE I, formerly known and addressed MISS. CHINWENDU ONYEKACHI EHIEMERE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. CHINWENDU MARTIN WOKOMA. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

FADARE

ADEREMI

YUNUS

CHIAKA

I formerly known and addressed as MRS FADARE TAIWO FATIMO. Now wish to be known and addressed MRS POPOOLA TAIWO FATIMO. All former document remain valid . Ekiti State Judiciary and General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Chiaka Chima Emmanuel, now wish to be known and addressed as John Chima Emmanue. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

FADARE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Abdulrafiu Lateefat Olawunmi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olabanji Lateefat Olawunmi. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS ADEBISI ADEFUNKE GRACE. Now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ADEBAYO ADEFUNKE GRACE. All former document remain valid. Ekiti state local Government Service commission Ado Ekiti,community Health Practitioners Registration board of Nigeria, Abuja college of Health Technology Offa and General public to take note.

OWOEYE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Owoeye, Kemisola Iwalola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Owoniya, Kemisola Iwalola. All former documents remain valid. NYSC, Obafemi Awolowo University, IleIfe and general public should take note.

ASHIYANBI I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Ashiyanbi Fehintola Temitope, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ariyo Fehintola Temitope. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Agboke Taofeek Toyin is the same and one person as Agboke Taofeek Toyinbo.All documents bearing the above names remain valid. GTBank Plc. and general public should take note.

ASHIYANBI I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Akande Temitayo Ruth, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Abiodun Temitayo Ruth. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

OSO I formerly known and addressed as Miss Oso Omowumi Oluyemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Agbaje Omowumi Oluyemi.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

OLOFINTUYI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Olofintuyi Yemisi Victoria, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Adebisi Yemisi Victoria. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ABDULRAFIU

NWALUPUE I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Nwalupue Ifeyinwa Valerie, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Uduh Ifeyinwa Valerie. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

OGINNI I formerly known and addressed as Miss Oginni Oyebolanle Mowunmi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Kalejaiye Oyebolanle Mowunmi. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

OLUGBENGA I formerly known, called and addressed as Miss Olugbenga AIna Funmilayo, now wish to be Known and called and addressed as Mrs FAJANA - FOLORUNSO AINA FUNMILAYO. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Local Government Service Commission, Ado Ekiti and the general public should take note.

ERNEST I formerly known and addressed as Miss Sarah Ernest, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Sarah Udochukwu Nwadioke. All former documents remain valid.

Supreme Court of Nigeria, Council of Legal Education and general public should take note.

ADVERT: Simply produce your marriage certificate or sworn affidavit for a change of name publication, with just N4,500. The payment can be made through - FIRST BANK of Nigeria Plc. Account number - 2017220392 Account Name VINTAGE PRESS LIMITED Scan the details of your advert and teller to gbengaodejide @yahoo.com or thenation_advert @yahoo.com For enquiry please contact: Gbenga on 08052720421, 08161675390, Emailgbengaodejide@yahoo.com or our offices nationwide.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

68 Continued from Page 13

After Ratzinger, enough with the old European Popes!

IKE other university professors thrust into the unfamiliar public spotlight, he made some ridiculous gaffes and howlers. Most notable was when he went to his old university, Regensburg, in September 2006, and quoted the derogatory remarks of some medieval writer about the “essential violence” at the heart of Islam. It might have been a remark that one old professor could make to another with impunity behind the closed doors of a seminar room.

But this was a public figure on the world stage about to make a state visit to Turkey. He spent his week in Istanbul apologizing.

When he came to Britain, with the prime purpose of beatifying his hero John Henry Newman, he surprised the secular and Protestant world by his gentleness and charm. When he addressed the crowd at Westminster Hall, the

Members of Parliament listened, rapt, as he spoke of the new world order, European peace, and the need for justice. The raucous Scots loved the gentle, slightly camp, little professor, as he was paraded through the streets of Edinburgh wrapped in a specially designed tartan. And then in Hyde Park— polluted old Hyde Park in the middle of London, scene of pop concerts and political rallies of all persuasions, site of many a dodgy sexual encounter, and a million family picnics on the grass—the pope gave the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and for a while the mighty heart of a cynical, secular city was still.

So, Benedict is a bit of a mystery, more complicated than many of us wanted to imagine when he appeared. Was he a “good

pope”? The mind goes to the scene in The Wizard of Oz, when the wizard is winding up his scaryvoice machinery behind a flimsy screen. When denounced by Dorothy as a very bad man, he answers: “Why, no my dear, I’m not a bad man, just a very bad wizard.”

Ratzinger took over a church strapped for cash, riddled with the scandal of child abuse, and with numbers of mass attendance in the developed world hemorrhaging.

He has been honest and repeatedly apologetic about the child abuse.

(Maybe the Germans have just had to become very good at apologizing.) On the other hand, the inner world of the Vatican Court and the Roman Curia, the ministries that assist the pope in governing the church, sounds as

murky as it ever did. When the pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, was arrested last year for stealing documents, the ensuing scandal merely unearthed a snake pit of intrigue and corruption that we all knew had always been there. After all, the questions that hover over the Vatican Bank and the tales of money laundering go back beyond the pontificate of John Paul II, and the shady dealings of the Banco Ambrosiano.

And now, surely it is the sheer tackiness, the seediness, of the Vatican Court that will make the non-Italian cardinals unite to find an African or a South American to deliver them from themselves.

Cardinal Newman agonized when Pope Pius IX declared himself to be infallible in 1870. When asked his opinion, Newman said he

would drink to the pope—but conscience first. Maybe, by declaring his frailty in mind and body, Benedict is subtly endorsing Newman’s verdict that the declaration of infallibility was, well, a mistake.

And perhaps Benedict has not lost all his old political cunning.

Given his reasons for retiring, the College of Cardinals will look rather foolish if they elect yet another ancient European no one has ever heard of. The pressure will be on to elect a much younger man.

Already the electioneering has begun. Cardinal Turkson of Ghana, a spring chicken of 64, has said that it is time for the church to consider having a pope from South America or ... surprise, surprise, Africa.

Conspiracy theorists will be

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

OMOIGUI

SALIU

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, ANU ADEYEMI ANUOLUWA and ISREAL ADEYEMI ANUOLUWA are one and the same person, now wish to be known and addressed as ANU ADEYEMI ANUOLUWA. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Augusta C. Adikwu, now wish to be known as Mrs. Chibuzor A. Osuagwu. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

L

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Omoigui Ekiowie Margret, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Longe Ekiowie Margret. All former documents remain valid . General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Okhai Goodness Saliu, now wish to be known and addressed as Okhai Goodness Raphael. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ASADE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Akibu Julian Aina, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Fagbenro Julian Aina. All former documents remain valid . General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Mrs Asade Olabisi Olajumoke , now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Malik Mutiat Olabisi Olajumoke. All former documents remain valid. Ministry of Defence and general public should take note.

AJAYI

OGUNTALA

AKIBU

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ajayi Mofoluwaso Susan, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Odewale Mofoluwaso Susan. All former documents remain valid . General public should take note.

ALAO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Alao Oluwaseun Titilayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Moiett Oluwaseun Titilayo Christianah.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Oguntala Vitoria Ayanpeju, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Moronkola Vitoria Ayanpeju. All former documents remain valid. Ministry of Defence and general public should take note.

IKOT

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Abasiama Ime Ikot, now wish to be known as Mrs. Abasiama Aniefiok Brown. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

DIMKPA

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. DIMKPA ESTHER IWAI now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ASONYE ESTHER IWAI. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

AGBOLUAJE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Agboluaje, Omolara Olayemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Adewumi Omolara Olayemi. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ONWUNALI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Onwunali Nnenna Lucy, now wish to be known as Mrs. Ogbo Nnenna Lucy. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

ADIKWU

AKPAN

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Akpan Grace Inyang, now wish to be known as Mrs H’SOWN GRACE IYENEOMIE. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

UDEH

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Udeh Ekpereamaka Huldah, now wish be known as Mrs. Anya Ekpereamaka Huldah. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

BADA

I formerly known and addressed as Bada Omotunde Samiat now wish to be known and addressed as Aremu Omotunde Samiat. All former document remain valid and general public please take note.

IRUOLAGBE I formerly known and addressed as Miss.

Iruolagbe Aizenata Stellamaris, now wish to be known as Mrs. Eke Aizenata Stellamaris, All former documents remain valid.

Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma and general public please take note.

LOTO I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Loto Funmilola Francess, now wish to be known as Mrs.Ajonibadi Funmilola Francess. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

BAMIRO I formerly known and addressed as Miss Bamiro Adebukola Olutoyin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Amodu, Adebukola Olutoyin. All former documents remain valid. Osun State Hospital Management Board and general public should take note.

asking themselves whether, in standing down, Ratzinger wants to unleash some real conservatives on the church— those who believe in female circumcision and for whom gay rights or feminism are the works of Satan. I doubt that very much.

You don’t need a conspiracy theory to guess why he is quitting.

In a gentle way, he is a vain man, and he watched his predecessor die in public. He was there on the balcony while John Paul II stooped, drooled, stumbled, even on one occasion vomited, in public. It is to spare himself, and the faithful, a repetition of all those humiliations that the German shepherd is leaving the scene.

Courtesy: Newsweek

CHANGE OF NAME KALAKARI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Kalakari .E. Alabo, now wish to be known as Mrs. Elfridah S. Briggs. All former documents remain valid. Nigerian Police Service Commission and the general public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME Royals Maxwell Ndubuisi and Njoku Maxwell Ndubuisi refers to one and the same person, I now wish to be known as Njoku Maxwell Ndubuisi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME Mr. Olomu Stanley Ogheneovo and Mr. Magbegor Olomo Stanley Ogheneovo refers to one and the same person. I now wish to be known as Mr. Magbegor Olomu Stanley Ogheneovo. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2013

69

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THE NATION SPORT SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

SPORT EXTRA

James Peters quits Ranchers Bees

R

Keshi to NFF: I will never beg for a job

By Stella Bamawo

ANCHERS Bees' technical adviser, James Peters, has quit his position with the management of the Kaduna-based side.

The former Nigerian assistant coach resigned after his side's 0-1 defeat at Sokoto United on Match day 8 of the Nigeria National League (NNL) in Sokoto.

An official of Ranchers Bees, Vincent Akinbami, said the coach resigned for personal reasons and that the chief coach, Taiye Yusuf has been charged to lead the team against their match day 9 foes, Jigawa United, on Saturday in Kaduna.

Pressed further to comment on what would have led the technical adviser to quit his job, Akinbami said the coach may have not taken kindly to the spate of criticisms from the fans over some poor results the team have recorded in recent matches.

"Coach James Peters have resigned his job with Ranchers Bees on Wednesday after our Week 8 loss to Sokoto United and he said his resignation is due to personal reasons.

The (club) management has accepted his resignation while wishing him well in his future endeavours.

"The chief coach, Taiye Yusuf has been asked to take charge of the team.

Yusuf was a former Ranchers Bees' player, former coach of Plateau United as well as DSS FC. "Though coach Peters didn't offer additional reasons for his action, I guess he is not comfortable with the team's poor away records as well as series of criticisms from the fans or he may have secured a better offer elsewhere," he said to supersport.com.

After Match day 8, Ranchers Bees have managed 10 points from a maximum of 24 and are placed 10th on the NNL Group A log.

Contacted, Peters admitted resigning his position with the Kaduna-based side on Wednesday strictly on personal grounds and declined further comments.

...As Tom Tom showers cash gift on team

Guinness fetes glorious Super Eagles in Lagos

NPL changes name

T

HE interim management committee (IMC) of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) has effected a change of nomenclature for the Nigerian top flight and the league will now be referred to as the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPLF).

The draws for the 2012/13 NPFL were held on Friday in Abuja with Enugu Rangers playing host to Enyimba FC in the standout game.The first round of Matches are expected to be played on march 9.

The IMC led by Nduka Irabor had wanted the season to be an abridged one but the clubs kicked against the plan and the 2012/13 campaign will now be played in its regular format with midweek games set to be accommodated into the calendar.

Betis manager demands goals from Igiebor

T

HE manager of Real Betis, Pepe Mel, has encouraged Nosa Igiebor and the rest of the Betis squad, to continue playing as they have been, only to add some more goals into the equation.

Los Beticos have picked up just the two points from the last 12 available in La Liga and have not scored a goal for 358 minutes of play.

Even so, heading into Sunday's trip to Espanyol, their Coach is adamant that little needs to be changed about the team.

“As far as we are concerned, I hope the team keeps believing, as they did last weekend at home to

Real Valladolid,” Mel said in Saturday's Press conference.“ Obviously, as in every game, we will go for the win. And so we must score goals, a fact that restricted us the other day. The rest of the things we are still doing well.”

Espanyol have taken a step forward in the League and have confirmed the good team that they are.

They come into this game having played well in Bilbao and having beaten Levante, and they have established themselves in the table.

They will be a tough opponent, as they were in the reverse fixture earlier this season. The important thing for us is to continue how we have been playing, and do things well.

Igiebor has just joined his team NOTHER Nations Cup star has subsequently been fined and told mates following Nigeria's success been punished in Spain, as to train by himself until at the Nations Cup in South Africa.

Espanyol punish 'absentee' Wakaso

A

African stars across Europe continue to miss the deadline given to them for return to club duties.

New Ghanaian goal scoring sensation, Mubarak Wakaso, was fined and ordered to train away from his teammates by Espanyol, after returning late from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Wakaso was in action for Ghana at the competition until last weekend's third place play-off defeat to Mali and was due back a couple of days later.

However, he only returned to Catalonia on Thursday and has

otherwise instructed.

The 22-year-old told reporters upon returning to Spain that a fever had been the reason for his delay and that he had already informed Coach Javier Aguirre of this.

However, reports on Saturday are that Aguirre and sporting director Oscar Perarnau told the player of their annoyance at his actions, before sending him off to train alone, accompanied only by one of the coaching team.

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Pillars pound Olympique Bangui 5-1

N

IGERIAN champions Kano Pillars Saturday got their CAF Champions League campaign to a bright start as they cruised to a 5-1 win in their first round, first leg game against Olympique de Bangui of Central African Republic.

The game which took place inside the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano saw the Kano aristocrats starting like a house on fire and were ahead within the first 15 minutes as the highly experienced Bello Kofomata netted the opener.

Ali Nasiru was on song to double the lead for the Coach Baba Ganaru

tutored side as he got the second goal for Pillars in the 38th minute.

The visitors who are not willing to lie low and be run over pulled a goal back just before the half time break.

Pillars who before going into the game had boasted that they will be gunning for a big win so as to make the return leg a mere formality stepped up their game in the second half and added three more goals to their tally.

Substitute Nofiru Ali scored a brace while Rabiu Aminu scored to ensure that the Nigerian representatives head to the second leg with comfortable a 5-1 advantage.

Arjen Robben slams Arsenal's transfer policy

A

RJEN Robben believes that Arsenal's trophy drought is sure to continue if the Gunners continue to fail to hold onto their top players.

The North Londoners, who take on Robben's Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League, have seen some of their top talents depart Emirates

Stadium in recent seasons, including captains Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas.

Arsenal have not won a trophy since their FA Cup final triumph over Manchester United back in 2005 and Netherlands international Robben expects that drought to continue if Arsene Wenger's side are not able to keep their•Pitropia top stars.

“I think you can see it,” Robben told the Sun. “It's not my opinion, it's also a fact. The last eight years no trophies.

That says it all.

If you look around at the moment there are some teams in England that are maybe stronger than Arsenal. I cannot speak for Robin. He made his decision.”

71

THE NATION SPORT SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

SPORT EXTRA

Heynckes salutes ´great´ Bayern

B

AYERN Munich coach Jupp Heynckes believes his side showed they are a great team in their 2-0 win over Wolfsburg on Friday.

The Bundesliga giants continued their march towards the title and extended their lead at the top to 18 points, with their nearest rivals to play on Saturday.

Goals from Mario Mandzukic and Arjen Robben helped Bayern to the win and Heynckes had nothing but praise for his players.

"We played against a team that has surely played the best they have played all season," Heynckes told reporters.

"Wolfsburg gave it their everything so it was a tough game for us. They were aggressive, hard-running and gave us a lot of trouble early on.

"These are the games you need to win.

We have again shown that we have a great team."

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was thrilled with the victory and pleased to have kept a clean sheet, their fourth straight.

"We're enjoying it and we always set out to concede no goals, although there'll come a point when we let one in again," he said.

Drogba-Sneijder partnership delights Terim

F

ATIH Terim insists that Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder can play together following the duo's maiden appearance for Galatasaray.

The pair played together for the first time in Galatasaray's 2-1 Super Lig win over Ahkisar Belediyespor.

The Ivorian striker, whose move to Istanbul was sanctioned by FIFA on Wednesday, made an instant impact on his debut with the club, coming off the bench to level the scores before assisting Burak Yilmaz's winner just three minutes later.

Gala fans were only treated to 16 second-half minutes of their Champions League-winning pair featuring simultaneously, but their coach is in little doubt that both Drogba and Sneijder will soon strike an understanding.

"Drogba will have no problem playing with Sneijder. They are both experienced, technical players," he said after the victory.

"Sneijder could've stayed on a little longer, maybe, but it's better that we got all three points. They are important, talented players who help the others perform better.

"Drogba played the last half-hour but I spoke to him before he came on. He has not played in a while due to the Chinese league ending in November.”

Police driver suspended after Nani crash

M

ANCHESTER United winger Nani was involved in a car crash on Friday evening when his vehicle was hit by a police car.

The 26-year-old was not physically harmed in the crash but witnesses claimed that the accident left him 'dazed'. The car driven by a police officer hit Nani's 180,000-pound Bentley while responding to an emergency call.

A Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman told Goal.com: "At about 18.40GMT on Friday, February 15, 2013, an unmarked police car responding to an emergency call was travelling along Gatley Road at the junction with Kingsway, Stockport.

"As the police car entered the junction it collided with a Bentley, Continental.

"The passenger in the police car received minor injuries and only minor damage was caused to both vehicles.

"The police driver has been suspended from driving duties in line with normal procedure." A witness told the Manchester Evening News: "I could see the Bentley had gone head-on into the bollards at the traffic lights and the car had been a bit bashed up at the front.

Spartak slam N8.8b tag on Emenike

T

O be able to land AFCON 2013 hotshot, Nigeria's Emmanuel Emenike, English Premier League (EPL) top club, Liverpool, must cough out a staggering 42 million Euros (8.8b) his buy-out clause at his Russian club.

Liverpool are reportedly considering a summer swoop for the bullish forward as they are not sure of holding on to Luiz Suarez who may depart Anfield in the summer, according to the Express.

The Spartak Moscow star, who fired four goals at the AFCON in South Africa to finish as Goal King, has also been linked with Reading and Arsenal in the past.

Emenike has said he is thrilled to be linked with a move to the English Premier League.

The striker added that he is aware of the interest of EPL teams in him and expressed his desire to play in the Premier League in the near future.

"I am playing in Russia at the moment and I have a contract that I intend to respect. But to be linked with the Premier League is a dream comes true. I would love to play there in my career.

There are many great clubs there," Emenike said.

Liverpool are now keeping close tabs on Emenike, ahead of a potential approach in the summer transfer window, the Express reported.

He joined Spartak Moscow in July 2011 from Fenerbahce for a fee of €10 million.

The Anfield giants want Emenike as a potential replacement for Luis Suarez, who is now being courted by several top European clubs including Bayern Munich, Barcelona and PSG for summer switch.

Liverpool reportedly sent scouts to watch the Nigerian international in action during the AFCON.

•Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (right) tries to find his way past Grant Hanley (left) during the FA Cup tie

FA Cup: Blackburn send Arsenal packing

C

OLIN Kazim Richards scored the only goal of the game as Blackburn stunned Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Arsene Wenger's decision to rest a host of stars for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich backfired spectacularly and they now must

PISTORIUS' SAGA

Uncle refutes premeditated murder charge

O

LYMPIC athlete Oscar Pistorius is "numb with shock, as well as grief" after the shooting death of his model girlfriend at his home in South Africa, the runner's uncle said Saturday, as his family "strongly refutes" charges that he planned to kill her.

Arnold Pistorius spoke with The Associated Press and two other South African journalists about his nephew's arrest in the killing of Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot four times on the morning of Valentine's Day. Arnold Pistorius spoke to reporters from his three-story home in the eastern suburbs of South Africa's capital, Pretoria.

The statement, the first on camera and directly made in person by Pistorius' family, also came out strongly against prosecutors seeking to upgrade the charge against Pistorius to one of premeditated murder, which carries a sentence of life in prison.

"After consulting with legal representatives, we deeply regret the allegation of premeditated murder," Arnold Pistorius said.

"We have no doubt there is no substance to the allegation and that the state's own case, including its own forensic evidence, strongly refutes any possibility of a premeditated

murder."

Arnold Pistorius did not discuss the circumstances of the shooting, but said that his nephew and Steenkamp had become very close since they started dating in November.

"They had plans together and Oscar was happier in his private life than he had been for a long time," the uncle said.

win that competition to avoid an eight consecutive season without a trophy.

Ironically Blackburn got the only goal of the game in the 72nd minute of the match just moments after Arsenal had brought on Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere in a bid to avoid a replay.

They won't have to worry about that though as they struggled to turn mountains of possession and corners into meaningful attacks as Blackburn scored with one of their few ventures forward.

After having been knocked out of League Cup by League Two Bradford, it is the second cup humiliation against lower league opposition this season for Arsenal.

The goal that undid them was cruel on Arsenal though as Kazim Richards actually scuffed his shot into the ground; but it spun into the corner of the net after the Turkish international

had been the first to react when Wojciech Szczesny could only push Martin Olsson's halfvolley into his path.

Arsenal threw everything at Blackburn from then until the final whistle but the Blackburn defence was expertly organised with Grant Hanley in particular standing out at the heart of the defence and Jake Kean also making some important saves in between the sticks.

Arsenal dominated possession in a drab opening 45 minutes but struggled to break down their Championship opponants.

As well as the big three that came on in the 72nd minute, Lukas Podolski and Aaron Ramsey were also on the bench, as Wenger decided to give some fringe players the chance to do the job.

The Gunners had an incredible 12 corners in the first-half but only really made an impact with two of them.

Flying Eagles held by Benin

•Obuh

QUOTABLE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 7, NO. 2404

"Impunity and laxity is beginning to set into my party (PDP). We are beginning to feel that no matter what we do and how we comport ourselves, we would always win. So, f a member feels cheated and complains, we are beginning to develop the tendency of not even reading his complaint, let alone attending to him. That is bad for Nigeria."

— Former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, lamenting the challenges confronting the ruling People Democracy Party (PDP).

T

HE elders of the Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), and before them the Young Turks of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), have stridently complained about the indefensible marginalisation of the Southwest. The YUF has even gone ahead to publish a two-page advertorial in the newspapers spelling out precisely some of the areas in which the Yoruba in the Southwest are marginalised. The details are very disturbing. The advertorial indicates that no Yoruba is represented in the first 12 top positions that constitute the country’s power hierarchy, yet other powers in the country flow from these 12 positions. It also says that the Yoruba head only three of the 36 MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies), yet these MDAs constitute the principal economic and financial agencies in the country. In addition, says the publication, no Yoruba is represented in the controlling echelons of the judiciary and anti-corruption agencies, and many more, including alarmingly the security agencies. On top of these, says YUF, some ministers, such as that of Aviation, have specialised in sacking the Yoruba from agencies under their control and replacing them with favourites from their preferred ethnic groups.

The question of Southwest marginalisation became a debatable issue last year, and the presidency cannot claim to be ignorant. When eventually the President Goodluck Jonathan government deigned to respond, it chose the unlikely agency of the melodramatic Dr Doyin Okupe to speak on the issue. But in the context of allegations of unhealthy deployment and recruitment in the Army and Immigration, it was expected that when these complaints began to come to light, the presidency would take urgent steps to study and, if required, remedy the problems. Instead, the problems and the controversies have been left to fester, and the government now unfortunately comes across as parochial, insensitive and divisive.

And so, instead of indicating that the Jonathan government is determined to take targeted and responsive steps to tackle the alleged marginalisation of the Yoruba, Okupe prefers to lay the blame on the Yoruba themselves. Hear Okupe’s warped logic: “The issue of marginalisation of the South-West was a political misadventure and political accident, brought about by the Yoruba themselves. If you would recollect, the Yoruba were supposed to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives, which is the number four position in Nigeria. Due to political mishandling of the leadership of the Yoruba and also the sabotage of the Yoruba people by Yoruba leadership elsewhere, I am talking of the ACN now, the Yoruba leadership in the ACN conspired against the Yoruba people and allowed that position to be taken away. That was the beginning of the marginalisation. You see, when people sit down to share what is not enough and you don’t have anybody to speak for you, there is a problem.”

Okupe also suggested that the marginalisation of the Yoruba could not be blamed on Jonathan. As he put it: “It is not President Goodluck Jonathan’s problem. I am not saying it is not his problem; the President is sympathetic towards the Yoruba people. It is not true that the president hates the Yoruba people; that is not correct. It is our (Yoruba) own making that the election of the House of Representatives was badly handled by the leadership of the Yoruba in the PDP. And also the conspiracy of the Yoruba in the ACN for personal interest and wickedness and evil plotted against their own men. This was the beginning of our problem.” Not being a judicious man, Okupe is of course never given to moderation in speech or thought.

As I have noted in this place more than once, the eminent medical practitioner and politician can defend the two sides of the

Okupe on Southwest marginalisation (1)

•Falae

•Okupe

same coin with perfect equanimity, conviction and subversive joy. His conclusion that the Yoruba brought this misfortune on themselves is both crassly political and an indication of deeper underlying malaise in the Southwest. Indeed, because there are many like him running riot with that heresy, Okupe’s statements deserve closer examination.

In presenting their petitions before the president and the public, neither the ARG nor the YUF argued that the Yoruba were responsible for the orchestrated discrimination against the Southwest. In this first part, this column will limit itself to Okupe’s injudicious conclusion. The statistical proof presented by the two Yoruba organisations is of course unimpeachable. If it had been riddled with errors or demagoguery, the Jonathan presidency does not lack attack dogs to punch holes in them and to present a suitable counterpoise. It says a lot about the temper and disposition of the president himself that such shocking discriminatory practices go on unchallenged under him. Even if he didn’t know that the Southwest was so discriminated against in his government, it calls to question his own competence, the diligence of his aides who should keep a tab on things, and the bureaucratic perverseness of many of his appointees who have become indifferent to the factors that predispose the country to crisis and disunity.

Dr Okupe says Jonathan does not hate the Yoruba, in spite of the glaring evidence to the contrary. Well, there is no evidence that he loves them either, or that he harbours no malice against them. During the 2011 governorship campaign, the president was in Lagos to bolster the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chances of winning the state. On the soapbox, he said a few things that should have cost him even the presidency itself. He told the crowd of support-

ers that if the other ethnic groups (that is, the non-Yoruba) came together, their electoral weight would be of such significance that they could unhorse the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate. That was not just a puerile play of the ethnic card; it opened a window into the ethnically-prejudiced mind of the president. In addition, during the fuel subsidy protests of January 2012, the president was unsparing in condemning those he described as the arrogant elite of Lagos who owned three or more cars and whose pampered underage children cruised around in luxury cars. Again, this was not just a harmless opposition to Lagos’ protest culture; it was an exhibition of unadulterated bitterness against a people.

In spite of Jonathan affording us a peep into his closed mind, many people still thought his statements had no disturbing implications, or perhaps they put them down to both his desperation to help PDP take Lagos State and his discomfort with the unrest that threatened his shaky government. I saw more than that, however. His statements were obviously a Freudian slip that helped us measure the level of his statesmanship and competence. When he made those insensitive statements, I immediately concluded that the country was unlikely to prosper or unite under him. I have been proved right.

The country is in turmoil today.

More, there is no element of veracity in Okupe’s opinion that Jonathan does not have a grudge against the Southwest.

Not only does the president nurse a grudge, he has pretended not to notice the discrimination his government is promoting against the Yoruba. Moreover, he seems embittered by the criticalness of the zone, its holier-than-thou attitude, and the insufferableness of its business and political elites, including the region’s

“There is no element of veracity in Okupe’s opinion that Jonathan does not have a grudge against the Southwest. Not only does the president nurse a grudge, he has pretended not to notice the discrimination his government is promoting against the Yoruba.

Moreover, the president seems embittered by the criticalness of the zone, its holier-than-thou attitude, and the insufferableness of its business and political elites, including the region’s untameable and effervescent press. I go as far as saying that the president’s main headache is not even the ongoing insurrection in the North, but the censoriousness of the Southwest”

untameable and effervescent press. I go as far as saying that the president’s main + headache is not even the ongoing insurrection in the North, but the censoriousness of the Southwest.

If the president is afflicted by lack of insight into how a modern and complex society should be governed, and also lacks the temperament to bring groups together and forge a harmonious whole out of them, Okupe is even much worse and infinitely more mischievous. He argues that the Yoruba are responsible for their own marginalisation. The only proof he tenders is that a faction of the PDP in the Southwest and the entirety of the ACN voted for Hon. Aminu Tambuwal for the position of Speaker House of Representatives, when in fact the position had been zoned to the Southwest, and one Hon Mulikat Akande-Adeola had offered herself for the position. Okupe argued that this amounted to betrayal and wickedness. He glossed over the fact that the Reps were in a fever to checkmate the influence of the executive and its undisguised attempt to impose a candidate on the lower chamber. Jonathan’s candidate, as well as Obasanjo’s, was Hon Mulikat. Not only did the lower chamber feel insulted that the executive wanted to manipulate and control the legislature, many of them also felt Obasanjo was too narrow-minded and unpopular to impose anyone on the Reps.

To vote Hon Mulikat was to give in to the malfeasances of the executive and Obasanjo.

But it is even needless defending the Reps’ choice of Tambuwal, notwithstanding Okupe’s obfuscatory arguments. As far as the marginalisation of the Southwest goes, and as far as the observable bias against the zone is concerned, the position of Speaker is just one tiny block in the Jonathan government’s architecture of discrimination. If Okupe is promising presidential action to redress this major wrong, he is only trying to help the president against what is certain to be electoral debacle in 2015. But no matter what the president does between now and the next election, it will be too little too late. The zone is competent to tell the difference between righting a wrong for electoral reasons and knowing Jonathan for who he really is. I do not think the zone can be fooled. From start to finish, they know Jonathan has not done any major work in the zone. Instead, he has caused more division, displayed unmanageable temper and made incendiary statements when the subject is the Southwest, insulted the zone’s elites, and on top of these, refused to appoint anyone from the zone into notable or sensitive office.

Yet, Okupe gives the impression the president may be unaware of the marginalisation of the Southwest. Does Jonathan not meet with his men? What faces does he see? Who are the people in his inner caucus, and what amperage of insularity do they display? Is he apprised of the country’s history, and does he have a comprehensive and holistic grasp of the issues troubling the people he pretends to govern? I suspect the president is mixed up with the wrong aides who can’t offer him qualitative or educated advice. Yet he needs a qualitative crowd around him to mitigate the damaging effects of his obvious shortcomings, nay, his provincialism.

But why is it always easy to discriminate against the Southwest, marginalise it, or as the YUF sentimentally alleged, purge the Yoruba from key positions in government without fear of repercussions?

I will attempt some explanations next week, for these explanations are even more relevant to understanding the current pressures the Yoruba face than the seemingly nugatory exercise of merely drawing attention to any perceived discrimination against them or debating who is or who is not responsible for the marginalisation.

To be concluded next week

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