Theniche july 3 , 2016 by TheNiche

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July 03, 2016

Vol. 2 No. 46

Buratai’s Dubai property violates military law, say army officers

Billionaires on the brink

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PAGE 2» SUNDAY WEATHER

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Lagos - 32oC

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Abuja - 31oC

PortHarcourt - 23 C o

Cabal manipulates kerosene, cooking gas prices

Kachichwu By Kelechi Mgboji

Assistant Business Editor

And unless, the leadership of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) under the Minister of State for Petroleum Ibe Kachikwu, rises to the occasion and sanitises the system, the cabal, many of whom were very loyal to the Goodluck Jonathan administration will continue with their stock in trade to create bad image for the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. About two months ago, a 12.5kg of

POLITICS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Abayomi: We're not prepared for change

POLITICS 15» JUDICIARY 25» LIFE 31» FAITH 40» BUSINESS 51» SPORTS 59»

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gas sold for N2,500 and a 20 metric tonnes for N2 million. But today, the same 12.5kg gas is sold for N4,000 while 20 metric tonnes goes for more than N4 million. TheNiche investigation revealed that with the sharp increase in gas price occasioned by artificial acute scarcity, more people who could no longer get it to buy or afford it where it is available now focus on kerosene which is a close substitute for gas.

The consequence is also a sharp increase in price of kerosene to about N220 per litre as the product is in short supply. The NNPC is said to be the only importer of kerosene at the moment. What is the justification for the more than 100 per cent increase? Scandalous profiteering! This is how it is perpetrated be

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ENTERTAINMENT

Wunmi to thrill in Brooklyn PAGE 34»

Ecobank, three others pool 96.5% of N649.63b bad loans

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Spousal killings rise, in growing threat to the family Spousal killing is on the rise in Nigeria. It was perhaps under-reported in the past because of cultural hindrances and inaccessible media. Now, social media is only a click away, and traditional media joins in providing wider coverage. Even in Lagos, with its highest concentration of educated Nigerians and churches, all is not glam and cozy; despite the money, the opportunities, and the freedom. Residents of the most populous and most cosmopolitan state wake up almost on a regular basis these days to hear stories of spousal violence. Reporter HENRY ODUAH exposes one ugly side of broken melodies.

Jafaru and Roseline

unmi and Martins (not their real names) were high school sweethearts. Their vegetable love grew so magnificently even into their university days that nobody doubted they would carry their love like an egg into adulthood. Their marriage was like one made exclusively in heaven. Their young family became a model for intending couples and even married ones. The lovebirds enjoyed a blissful first year in marriage. But the rocks hit their boat not long after they had their first child. The hormones on fire at the outset began to take shelter. Excitement waned. Martins realised his “wifetime” was now shared between him and their child.

Marriage opens the blind eyes of love Frustration set in and their flaws became visible, then they remembered the old saying that “love is blind but marriage will open it.” Soon, the second child came. Hopes were raised that things would get better. Extended family encouraged the couple and reminded them their “for better and for worse” vow. But things got worse.

Clinica Psychiatrist, Chiegboka Martins made alcohol his personal assistant. And he began to find respite in his secretary at the office. They hung out, spent more time together, and before long, she was carrying his child. One Saturday morning, the secretary stopped by at Martins’ residence and broke the news to his wife after she failed to get him to take responsibility for the pregnancy. Funmi, filled with shock, hate, and disgust for Martins, reached for a knife and stabbed her sleeping husband. The cut went deep into his chest. He lost much blood and died. Her marriage, which appeared like it was going to be “happily ever after”, ended in irreversible tragedy before her very eyes. Now she is facing trial for homicide. This narrative is gaining trend among many couples countrywide. News break day after day of deaths caused by marriage disasters. Husbands killing wives. Wives killing husbands. Some own up to the act. Others blame the devil or any other force other than themselves. Rift between newlyweds trying to adjust to the reality of each other in holy matrimony may be understandable. But disasters more common in the news are about couples who have been together for

many years. Whereas longevity should be the foundation for understanding each other better. Spousal violence and killings are carried out by both men and women, although – as in most crimes – men commit more.

Teenager sets husband on fire The Leadership reported on May 19, 2016 that Asiya Lawal, 18, allegedly killed her husband, Iliya Sani, in Funtua, Katsina State. Police said the new bride had a misunderstanding with her husband, locked him in a room and set the house ablaze. Iliya was first taken to the Funtua General Hospital where he was referred to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria. Police prosecutor, Kabir Mohammed, told a Magistrate’s Court that the man died at ABUTH as a result of fire burns in his body.

Killed for having a fling On May 5, Lekan Shonde allegedly slew his wife, Ronke, in cold blood during a fight. They lived in the Egbeda area of Lagos and had been married for eight years. After failed attempts to flee to neighbouring Benin Repub-

lic and then to Ghana, Shonde finally landed in the net of the law. He claimed that he and his wife had argued over her infidelity the night of the incident but denied killing her. “The cause of the quarrel was infidelity. I over-heard her discussing on the phone with one Kayode, who was her boss and lover. “I never killed my wife. We had a normal quarrel after she owned up that she had a man friend. We didn’t talk overnight. She held my legs begging as I was leaving the house that morning. And I pushed her away. “As I left the house my son bolted the door behind me. Later, our nanny called to alert me of what had happened. I immediately called my landlady’s daughter, who confirmed that my wife was dead. “As I was rushing back home, neighbours called to inform me that policemen were there and that I should run away. That was why I ran away,” Shonde told journalists when police paraded him at Oduduwa police station, Ikeja.

Breadwinner wife murdered Also in May, Jafaru Sougie, 49, who lives in the Oshodi area of Lagos, slit the throat of the wife he had been married to for 26 years. His wife, Roseline, was a

“The cause of the quarrel was infidelity. I over-heard her discussing on the phone with one Kayode, who was her boss and lover.” trader, mother of five, and the breadwinner as he was without a job. Just like Shonde, Jafaru accused his wife of infidelity and was frequently heard beating her up, which made landlords to eject them from previous apartments. Roseline’s elder sister, Kate Yakubu, said she (Roseline) was bent on a divorce two years ago but was persuaded to stay in the marriage because of her children. Their son, Richmond, 16, recounted: “My three siblings, our aunt, and I slept in the living room while dad and mum were inside. Around 4am, dad called me from the bathroom. I went to meet him but he did not say anything. “I went outside to urinate and when I came back, I checked the bathroom and saw him lying down, vomiting some black substance and excreting on his body. I think he poisoned himself. “I told my aunt to wake mum up to attend to him. But she didn’t wake up. I shone a flashlight on her and saw blood on the bed with a

wide cut on her neck. I fainted when we discovered she was dead. “When we asked dad how it happened, he said somebody entered and did it; whereas the compound gate is always locked in the night. “It was mum that took care of us. She was the one sponsoring my elder brother, Collins, who just gained admission to a university in Abia State. I don’t know our fate now.” Days later, Jafaru died in police custody as a result of the poisonous substance he drank at home.

Stabbed to death over love child In February in Oyo State, it was a wife attacking her husband in the case of a lawyer with the Ministry of Justice, Yewande Oyediran, where she is a state counsel. She also allegedly used a sharp object (a knife) to kill her husband, Oyelowo. The couple had an argument the night of the incident over Oyelowo’s proposed

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July 03, 2016

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Oyelowo and Yewande

Lekan and Ronke foreign business trip which would include a visit to his son (from another woman) in Europe. Displeased with the plan, Yewande allegedly stabbed him on the left shoulder narrowly missing his heart. He was taken to the hospital by a neighbour. With hope that tension had ended, Oyelowo returned home. The 38-year-old was later heard in pain by neighbours after Yewande allegedly stabbed him again, this time in the neck. He was dead on arrival at the hospital. Yewande pleaded not guilty at the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan. Justice Munta Abimbola will deliver judgment in July.

Man, 70, kills wife over adultery TheNiche reported on June 21, 2015 that Ita Daniel, aged 70, was paraded by the police in Akwa Ibom State for killing his wife with a machete in their one-room apartment. Daniel, from Mbi Okporo village in Nsit-Ibium Council, admitted that he killed Alice, 60, over adultery. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in-charge of state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Mike Okoli, said Daniel confessed to the crime. In a separate interview, Daniel told TheNiche that his wife left him several times but was coming back to the house with other men. “We were no longer together but she was still bringing men to my house. When I complained she would beat me up. There was a day we had a disagreement and fight ensued and my legs were injured. “That fateful day I was sleeping in the room when she came and said she would either kill me or I killed her. That was how it happened,” he narrated.

Man bathes fiancee with acid In July 2014, detectives at the Federal Special AntiRobbery Squad (FEDSARS) in Adeniyi Adele, Lagos held in custody Monday Osakwe for pouring acid on his fiancee

and carrying out armed robberies. Osakwe, 34, was charged to court for "attack and inflicting body harm on another person." Veronica Mbakwe was attacked with acid on June 22 and taken to hospital. Police confirmed that she and Osakwe “have been living in the same apartment as lovers for over five years. Neighbours said they were planning their formal marriage ceremony in December [2014].”

Early warning signs Warning signs are usually visible before a crisis. Relationship counsellors say the moment a man becomes unnecessarily agitated by the slightest provocation, he could be harmful soonest. Spousal killings do not occur in isolation. Experts say women usually identify signs of an abusive relationship before something fatal occurs but lack the will to opt out of it. The signs include insistence on being the bread winner, abnormal jealousy over spouse's success, accusation of infidelity, isolation of spouse from family and friends, excessive monitoring, harsh treatment of people other than spouse, forced sex, and threats to divulge secrets. Some husbands refuse to give their wives money to cook, just to teach them a lesson. Yet, some return home expecting to find food on the table. Reasons vary why women put up with husbands who maltreat and beat them up.

Pressure to stay When it becomes evident to the maltreated wife that her husband would most likely not change, she faces pressure from family and friends to stay in the marriage because it is “for better and for worse”. Women dread the shame of abandoning their marriage and would rather endure the hard man than become the object of ridicule in the society. “Domestic violence is so entrenched in our society that even the victims condone

With hope that tension had ended, Oyelowo returned home. The 38-yearold was later heard in pain by neighbours after Yewande allegedly stabbed him again, this time in the neck. He was dead on arrival at the hospital. such violations of their rights, as some perceive it as sign of love and the socio-religious belief that a broken marriage or relationship is a mark of failure,” wrote Temilade Aruya, who works in the Features Unit of Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy. These wives prefer to keep playing the punching bag with hopes that their husbands would one day change and love them.

Fear of starting afresh Usually in cases where the husband is the bread winner of the family, maltreated wives are afraid of leaving the “comfort” to fend for themselves and their children under another roof. They dread the hard realities of taking responsibility for what their children would eat, drink, and wear in a harsh economy as this; as well as looking for another shelter and paying rent without assistance. “Due to poverty and economic dependence on men, many female victims may also be forced to suffer in silence for fear of losing the economic support of the male perpetrator,” Aruya said.

50% of women battered by husband According to a study, the percentage of women who have reported being physically abused by an intimate partner varies from 10 per cent to 60 per cent depending on the country. In Nigeria, over 50 per cent of women have been battered by their husbands, 65 per cent of whom are educated. In another recent report, 48 per cent of Nigerian women have experienced some form of physical violence.

Weighing the opinions A businessman in Gombe, Sunday Omojuni, attributed spousal violence to upbringing, low self-esteem, mental instability, and alcohol influence.

"A young boy who sees his parents fighting and quarreling all the time would likely behave like them when he has his own wife. “It could also be a health situation, especially for one who is not mentally stable. At the slightest provocation, he tends to be violent. It could be as a result of brain disorder," Omojuni said. Joseph Oni, a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), argued that an abused wife is only permitted to leave her husband's house temporarily, not by divorce, until the issue is resolved. "There is no condition that would make the church support divorce except on grounds of infidelity. It is not easy for them to stay alone. That's why there's room for forgiveness," he explained.

may not be aware of. "Any man who batters his wife has mental challenges because it is often done out of extreme anger, and uncontrollable anger is a mental condition. "When such is seen in any relationship the best thing for the woman is to leave the relationship momentarily and find a way out of harnessing her marriage, putting things that are wrong right, before she gets back and to know whether that man desires her. "Many women are not independent in relationship, they don’t feel they can stay on their own without hanging on a man. That makes them stay even when the man is beating them blue black. "Some women also love such beatings because they feel that is what makes their husbands men. “How you know such is when a woman is given a black eye and is asked to stay away for some time, but she would still want to go back for fear that another woman might come in.”

Reasons for wife’s violence against husband A woman’s lack of maturity or lack of preparedness for marriage can also be a reason for the increase in spousal violence. An immature mind would find the hurdles of marriage too difficult to climb. A journalist who did not want his name in print said the tendency to want to exert control over the man could make a woman batter her husband. He listed excessive possession and restriction of his time, association with friends and

Reasons for husband’s violence against wife Clinical psychologist, Patricia Chiegboka, explained why husbands usually accuse their wives of infidelity. "If a woman is very industrious, a man can because of her financial prowess marry her when obviously there is no love. As time goes on, you see a lot of incompatibilities in them,” she said. "Then if the wife stops supplying the husband money as he demands, there will be misunderstanding, battering, and verbal war. “Then if the husband is not getting what he wants from her, he will start insinuating, because there was no trust initially, that the lady may be having extra-marital affairs. "This would make him search her phone to know who called or stand at a corner to listen to her conversation. "Many times when men beat their wives, they do not intend to kill but inflict pain. But depending on the woman’s reaction, the man could get more furious and that will make him to beat her to ease off his anger.” Chiegboka insisted that any man who beats up his wife has a mental issue which he

Oyelowo

Oyelowo after the stabbing

family, unnecessary monitoring of his movement, depression as a result of living with an “annoying” man as signs of a wife with violent tendencies. Usually in cases where wives become too protective of their husbands, they are scared of losing them to other women, especially if he is well to do. If the husband does not yield, the wife bursts into an argument, the source explained, and because of her familiarity with kitchen utensils, sharp objects like knives come in handy – and the worst happens. Nneka Igwe, a women’s leader in the Catholic Church in Oke-Afa, Ejigbo, Lagos, said disrespect and maltreatment by a husband and his relatives could drive a wife to slay her husband.

Solutions A Pastor, Raphael Amukwe, advised that marriage should be contracted not with the world view but on Jesus Christ as foundation to avoid fatal collapse. Chiegboka advised wives to avoid talking to the extent of annoying their husbands. She recommends that husbands walk away from the heat. "Any man who has a wife that always annoys him should find a way of going for anger management. Men are asked to leave the environment if there is any issue of anger prevailing, then return when the anger has subsided. “The woman who talks to the extent of annoying her husband is told to put water in her mouth when the war is going on.”

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News

Buratai’s Dubai property violates military law, say army officers By Ishaya Ibrahim Acting News Editor

he acquisition of two choice property in Dubai by the Chief of Army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai violates military laws, serving army officers have told TheNiche. A cross section of senior officers who spoke in confidence, said that military laws do not permit serving officers and soldiers acquiring properties abroad, owning businesses outside Nigeria and marrying foreigners as spouses. The law was enacted in 1975 to checkmate espionage or other military spying activities by Nigerian army personnel on behalf of other countries. “The security reason for the prohibition of military personnel from marrying foreigners, owning properties or business concern abroad is simply to avoid a situation of compromise on the part of officers and soldiers. “Yet, they (military authorities) overlook the aspect of owning properties or businesses abroad

simply because almost all of them are guilty of this. But they implement in full scale the law that prohibits marrying of foreign spouse, simply because it is the ordinary soldiers on peacekeeping who run foul of this law,” said onr of the officers. Another military officer said it was easy to compromise a man through his business concern than using his wife. “The chief (Buratai) knows better, and he is simply being smart by half,” the officer said. Sahara Reporters had in a report alleged that General Buratai and his two wives own two properties in Dubai, one of which was worth N120 million. According to the report, General Buratai and his wives had, on January 13, 2013, reached an agreement with the seller of one of the property, Project TFG Marina Hotel, Unit 2711. The asking price was AED 1,542,000.00 (or $419,826.06 or N120m). They alleged that General Buratai paid a total sum of AED 1,498, 534.00 (N115.6m) because the sellers gave concessions of AED 43,466, made up of “incentives, promotions, and early payment

bonus.” But PRNigeria, a media arm of the military, said that the government has investigated and cleared General Buratai over his assets. It said the discreet probe of Buratai indicated that he and his wives only bought shares in some companies instead of wholly owning the property. “The capital market principle that governed the property in issue, as it was found by investigators, was akin to having shares in companies instead of wholly owning the property. “The government, after investigating a recent media report over the acquisition of properties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) by General Buratai, discovered that he and his wives invested as “shareholders” like many other persons in the property mentioned in the publications and were not the sole owners.” Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Usman did not answer his phone when TheNiche called him. He also did not respond to a text to clarify on the law that governs officers ownership of businesses and properties.

Senior Correspondent, Lagos

Ahmed

w a r a S t a t e Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed has said he is prepared to go into big time farming to contribute to the economic growth of the state and ensure food security. The governor said this during an interactive session with Civil Servants on levels 16 and 17 as well as Permanent Secretaries. He said the slide in earnings from federation account from about N3.8 billion at the inception of his administration to a little over N1billion monthly, called for cutting of costs in order to sustain governance and development of infra-

By Onwukwe Ezeru, Special Correspondent, Abia State

Abia state government has set up a committee to oversee the upgrading of the Ariaria market in Aba to an international standard. The committee, which is made up of the commissioners for Land, justice, Works, Industry, Environment, Housing and Trade and Investment is to supervise activities relating to the provision of modern facilities in the market. The commissioner for Information and Strategy, Bonnie Iwuoha assured that no trader in the market would lose his shop on account of the market upgrade which is to be in phases. According to him, government is committed to completing the modernisation of the market in good time and further disclosed that a committee headed by the commissioner for housing, Uche Ihediwa has also been set up to resolve the conflict between Union Homes and the Federal Mortgage Bank which has stalled the realisation of the Unity Garden estate at Osisioma Council. Iwuoha disclosed that government directed that henceforth, any contractor seeking to obtain contract from the state government must have operational office in the state or loose such contracts.

NUJ raises alarm on destitute high mobility in Rivers Joe Ezuma

Asst. Editor (South-South) Buratai

We're going into Agric business, says Kwara Gov By Ayo Bada

Ariaria int’l market to wear new look soon, says Ikpeazu

structure. Governor Ahmed assured the civil servants that despite the prevailing economic challenges in the country, their welfare and regular payment of salaries and emoluments remain his top priorities. The governor said the projection of his administration is to hit N3billion mark on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by the end of 2016, away from the present N1.2bn monthly which was still impressive from the monthly N500 million being generated at the inception of his tenure. “We will continue to ensure that our civil servants are happy, efficient and productive; but to whom much is given much is expected”, he said. According to him, al-

though personnel cost is a critical factor, his administration would not reduce the work force in order not to add to the army of unemployed but would ensure prudence in the management of available resources. The governor asserted that civil servants’ salaries in the State are paid to date, except those who have challenges with their Biometric Verification Numbers (BVN), stressing that once the issues are resolved they would be paid. He warned civil servants who perpetrate acts inimical to the integrity of the service such as age falsification, collection of multiple salaries and fake certificates that such acts would be identified, culprits made to refund illegally earned salaries and prosecuted.

The biting poverty in the country, caused by spiraling unemployment and poverty has engendered high mobility among destitute across the country as most cities record the influx. The Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), called on the Rivers State government to take urgent steps to check the influx of destitute into the state. In the same vein, the State Ministry of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation has gone back to the drawing board to revive the Social Welfare department which had become increasingly idle in most states of Nigeria. The Ministry has therefore embarked on re-orientation of the people to experience the existence and activities of the Ministry in other to benefit from its services, and has subsequently embarked on enlightenment and education and partnership building with critical sectors. Chairman of the NUJ in the state, Comrade Omoni Ayo-Tamuno made the call when the state commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Damiete Miller Albert, paid a courtesy call on the executives of the Union at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre, Port Harcourt. Ayo-Tamuno, who urged the ministry to partner with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to check the movement of destitute into Port Harcourt, the state capital, also advocated for a law to that effect.

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News

Ishaya Ibrahim Acting News Editor 0807 204 0241 iib1000@yahoo.com

Cabal manipulates kerosene, cooking gas prices

Continued from PAGE 1

Jonathan By Kelechi Mgboji Assistant Business Editor

heNiche has uncovered a link between officials of The Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Ltd (PPMC) and a cartel specialising in creating scarcity of gas with the objective of manipulating prices for profiteering. And unless, the leadership of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) under the Minister of State for Petroleum Ibe Kachikwu, rises to the occasion and sanitises the system, the cabal, many of whom were very loyal to the Goodluck Jonathan administration will continue with their stock in trade to create bad image for the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. About two months ago, a 12.5kg of gas sold for N2,500 and a 20 metric tonnes for N2 million. But today, the same 12.5kg gas is sold for N4,000 while 20 metric tonnes goes for more than N4 million. TheNiche investigation revealed that with the sharp increase in gas price occasioned by artificial acute scarcity, more people who could no longer get it to buy or afford it where it is available now focus on kerosene which is a close substitute for gas. The consequence is also a sharp increase in price of kerosene to about N220 per litre as the product is in short supply. The NNPC is said to be the only importer of kerosene at the moment. What is the justification for the more than 100 per cent increase? Scandalous profiteering! This is how it is perpetrated between PPMC which is a subsidiary of NNPC and Nav Gas, a subsidiary of Vitol Group, a private firm based in Lagos. Between PPMC officials and Nav Gas monopoly The sharp rise in gas price is driven by acute scarcity carefully orchestrated by officials of PPMC and Nav Gas. There are two terminals for gas supplied to Lagos marketers by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company based in Bonny, Rivers State. These are PPMC dedicated multi-products terminal at Apapa and Nav Gas terminal strictly constructed for gas. A very reliable source disclosed that what happens is that when ship load of gas arrives from Bonny to discharge the product at PPMC multi products terminal, officials would allegedly divert the vessel to Nav Gas terminal. PPMC officials are said to give priority to premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol and would always take delivery of fuel but divert gas to Nav Gas terminal in connivance with officials of the private firm. “When the PPMC diverts gas discharge to Nav Gas, they create a monopoly which empowers Nav Gas to create acute scarcity and thereafter fixes arbitrary prices and makes a lot of money to settle PPMC officials,” our source disclosed. Our source, who did not want his name in print, added that “ordinarily, as Nav Gas is getting supply,

Bassey PPMC should be getting too. And from PPMC terminal, Conoil, Nipco, Mobil, every other company will key in their hose and take their product to their own tank in their plant. “But because of this frustration, the only terminal that will get delivery is Nav Gas. After, PPMC officials would give flimsy excuses that they did not want the vessel to incur demurage which is about $45,000. “That’s the excuse they always give, saying they would not suspend the discharge of fuel for LPG (gas). So they would now divert vessels bringing gas to Nav Gas terminal. “Curiously enough, these PPMC officials are the ones that schedule timetable for berthing of ships.” Marketers scream foul Both the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers (LPGAR), branch of NUPENG, are screaming foul, and the LPGAR said it is mobilising members for peaceful protests at both the National Assembly (NASS) and the Ministry of Petroleum in Abuja. NALPGAM Executive Secretary, Bassey Essien, said in about five days the price of gas rose from N2.4 million per truck to N4 million until other terminals got supply and it dropped to N3.3 million. He blamed it all on what he called “systematic deliberate manipulation of persons who man the vessels which supply gas such that the supply favours a terminal at the expense of others.” According to him, the way vessels are scheduled is such that if you lose your position, they take it to Nav Gas which can take it over instead of waiting indefinitely, and then you join the queue again for another turn. He explained that if only the authorities can schedule two vessels in a month to supply gas, it would reduce the bottlenecks and restore some sanity in the system. “If there is adequate supply, making sure that every terminal has the product at all times, there will not be distortion of price. The current sharp rise in price is not as a result of any increase because LNG has not increased price. It is price distortion,” Essien told TheNiche in telephone interview. LPGAR Chairman, Michael Imudu, said he strongly suspect that off takers and major marketers who take delivery from the LNG have hijacked the market and created a cartel now manipulating prices for profiteering. “Off takers should tell us what the reason is for the sharp rise in price of gas because LNG has not increased the price, and it is not imported with dollars. “The information we got is that LNG is surprised over what is happening because they are not aware of any supply shortage that could warrant sharp rise in price. “There had been little, little manipulations in the past, and we overlooked them. But now, it has got out of hand. Can you imagine somebody making profit of more than N2 million on a 20 metric tonne truck of gas. We cannot keep quiet any longer,” he

PPM Chairman, Mohammed Buba said. According to him, the steep rise started gradually since April but because of the changes in foreign exchange rate, the increases were taken for granted and customers hardly noticed. Over the period, he recalled, the cartel built up confidence as nobody was able to checkmate their excesses, “now their feeling is that they (cartel) can do anything and get away with it. That is what is happening now. “It is exploitation of the highest order.” Enter kerosene Giving insight into the cause of 140 per cent rise in the price of kerosene, the key stakeholders identified a couple of causes also linked to marketers’ entrenched interest and activities of the cabal, even as the NNPC shares some blame. Kerosene scarcity, which has hit Lagos and other major cities across the country, has caused a hike in price from N500 to N1,200 for four litres (gallon) as few outlets sell the product. The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), had in January, increased the price of household kerosene from N50 to N83 per litre, believing that at that price, the product has been fully deregulated. Despite deregulation, most marketers suspended importation, leaving the NNPC as the only importer of kerosene at the moment. TheNiche investigation revealed that marketers who had benefitted heavily from the discredited regime of subsidy instituted by Jonathan abandoned imports of kerosene. It was learnt that the decision to abandon kerosene import has nothing to do with foreign exchange (forex) crisis as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gives priority to forex meant for petroleum products imports. “Abandoning kerosene imports for the NNPC was purely out of solidarity for previous administration. With subsidy having gone, the marketers no longer find it attractive in any way to import kerosene, instead they are rather keen on sabotaging the system to score cheap point against ruling government,” said a stakeholder who pleaded not to be mentioned. Another factor said to have worsened the skyrocketing price of kerosene is the acute scarcity of cooking gas as customers in major cities have shifted demand to kerosene, leading to demand pressure for the insufficient quantity imported by the NNPC. Energy stakeholders suggested that kerosene price will continue to rise until marketers begin to import it to augment NNPC supply, which is hardly enough for those in the hinterland, the majority of whom rely on kerosene for lighting their homes and cooking stove. “Demand pressure for kerosene will continue for long period because supply is heavily lower than demand. People in the hinterlands where electricity is non existent need kerosene. “Market women in the cities largely use it to light

their local lamps. And huge population of homes use kerosene stoves for cooking. “Now, those who used to cook with gas cannot find gas to buy. They have switched over to kerosene, at least, for the time being. “All these depend on the insufficient quantity imported by the NNPC. So, demand pressure will continue until something urgent is done to address the situation,” said a filing station manager in Ikeja. The manager who refused to give his name for fear of being quoted, also dropped insight as to why pump price of petrol is dropping below the approved price in some filing stations. Approved price for petrol is between N135 and N145 per litre. Currently, some filling stations dispense fuel at between N132 and N145 per litre, and marketers are optimistic that the price will fall considerably from next month due to the latest forex policy. Fuel price drops

Corporate Affairs Manager, Nipco Plc, a popular oil marketing firm, Taofeeq Lawal, was quoted by another newspaper as saying that some marketers were able to access forex at N250 to the dollar when the policy was initially introduced by the CBN, as against the N360 rate at the parallel market. He explained that at the new rate, which was less than the N288/dollar projected by the PPPRA, oil marketers had more chances to reduce petrol price and still make good profit. When asked to state when the petrol price would drop, Lawal said: “The PMS price has crashed; the issue is that maybe the crash is not up to what people are expecting. “At N143, it has crashed by N2 and may still crash further, even if it is 50 kobo. But just hold on, a further reduction in price will come soon. “For example, if you got the dollar at between N250 and N280 since the policy started [two weeks ago], and the government had projected it at between N285 and N289 as contained in the PPPRA template, then you should expect some crash in prices (of fuel) in the near future. “Even if you get the dollar at N250 and order for products, it will take a minimum of three to four weeks before the products will get to Nigeria. “So, if the dollar rate can be maintained and if people can be lucky to get it below the projected N288 peg of government in the PPPRA template; and if you are able to get it at N250 and you want to pull volume, why won’t you reduce your price? “Therefore, if the new forex policy is sustained, there is no way petrol prices won’t fall. So, sustainability is vital, as it will ensure further reduction in price, all things being equal.” Efforts to get NNPC Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Garba Deen Muhammed, proved abortive as his telephone line was switched off. Email message sent to his box seeking his comments over the weighty allegation levelled against the NNPC subsidiary (PPMC) was not replied as at the time of going to press.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

www.thenicheng.com

News FG pledges completion of Second Niger Bridge By Oye Chukwujekwu

Special Correspondent, Asaba

ower, Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Fashola, has stated President Mohammad Buhari’s pledge to complete the Second Niger Bridge in Onitsha, which has been on the drawing board since the days of Olusegun Obasanjo in the Villa. Fashola made the disclosure in the company of Project Coordinator, H.D. Bley, of Julius Berger Nigeria and other stakeholders when they came to Asaba to ascertain the work done so far. He told Delta State Deputy Governor, Kingsley Otuaro, and a gathering of traditional rulers that the main reason for his visit was to seek the full cooperation of the host communities, which include Anambra and Delta, in the completion of

the bridge. He said the project is an extension of the First Niger Bridge which creates wealth and prosperity by connecting the East and the West. The Second Niger Bridge is a national asset, Fashola stressed, which propels the desire of the Buhari administration to complete it in reasonable time. "We are mindful of compensation. If there is peace, compensations will come, we can be building while compensations issues are going on, as all things would be sorted out accordingly,” he pledged. “All the federal government needs is full cooperation from host communities so that workers can go back to site to make the project achievable.” He promised that property owners and host communities whose lands are encroached upon will be compensated. Otuaro gave an assurance that Delta will do everything

possible to facilitate the completion of the bridge to deliver on the campaign promise of prosperity for all Deltans. Otuaro, accompanied by Commissioners James Augoye (Works); Dan Okenyi (Land); Vincent Uduaghan (Transport); Patrick Ukah (Information); and other top officials, commended Abuja for prioritising the completion of the project. Patrick Onyeobi, who spoke on behalf of the Asagba of Asaba, Joseph Edozie, also applauded the federal authorities for promising to finish the construction. He said with the achievements of Fashola when he was Lagos governor from 2007 to 2015, he has no doubt that he will excel in his portfolios. He advised Fashola to be careful with those he negotiates compensation with so as not to fall into the hands of mischief makers. Onyeobi appealed to him to

By Oye Chukwujekwu.

Special Correspondent, Asaba

Fashola also rehabilitate the Illah-Ebu Bridge as part of the projects that will enhance national development. He affirmed the position of

the Delta State government by assuring Abuja of the full cooperation of Edozie and that of other traditional rulers towards the completion of the bridge.

NIMASA Rolls out its Medium Term Strategic Growth Plan By Foster Obi

Motoring/Maritime Editor

he Director General (DG) of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside has rolled out the Agency’s Medium Term Strategic Growth Plan for the maritime industry. The DG, who disclosed the strategy during an engagement with the maritime reporters in Lagos noted that the Medium Term Strategic Growth Plan covering three years is built around his core mission at NIMASA which is to Reform, Restructure and Reposition the Agency for sustainable growth

and development of the maritime industry. According to Peterside, the strategy document is built on five pillars including Survey, Inspection and Certification, Transformation programme; Environment, Security and Search and Rescue Transformation programme; as well as Capacity Building and Promotional Initiatives which entail growing indigenous tonnage, ship building and human capacity. Others are Digital Transformation Strategy; and Structural and Cultural reforms including changes to work ethic and attitude of staff as well as processes and procedures. The DG, who noted that

Peterside Igbuyah NIMASA is committed to the actualisation of its mandate also said, “The Agency has competent and resourceful personnel who require a visionary and a committed

leadership to achieve this vision. “The times are quite challenging given the dwindling global economy, decline in crude oil price and foreign exchange and fiscal policies which have impacted the revenue of the Agency. “This requires ingenious leadership to actualise our policy direction and we are committed to providing that leadership” the DG said. According to Peterside, one of the ways to shore up the Agency’s income to actualise this strategy programme is to block revenue leakages through the full automation of systems and processes to eliminate human contact and

Delta to demolish kidnappers’ homes

Okowa

By Oye Chukwujekwu

Special Correspondent, Asaba

he homes and properties of convicted kidnappers and their collaborators in Delta State will be demolished to check kidnapping and other criminal

activities. Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, told new Commissioner of Police, Zanna Ibrahim, who visited him in Asaba, that the amended anti-kidnapping law would go beyond jail sentence as the homes and properties of culprits would be destroyed because they are proceeds of crime. “We will do all we can to stop

kidnappings in the state; it is becoming a menace in the country. We are amending the anti-kidnapping law in the state to make sure that those involved and their collaborators will not go scot free with the proceeds of the crime. “The houses and properties of those involved, their beneficiaries and collaborators, will be brought down. “We will implement the law to the letter when the amended bill is passed and signed into law,” Okowa pledged. He commended Ibrahim on his plans to partner with communities and vigilante groups in crime prevention and intelligence gathering and assured him of the government’s commitment to a crime free Delta. The vigilante law will be amended to clear all contentious issues, he added. “We welcome your advocacy as it will enable the communities build confidence in the police, and information will be given to the police without fear. “It is difficult to police a state without partnership with the community stakeholders. some

Urhobo politicians laud Delta Speaker's leadership quality

of our people have become apprehensive of the activities of the criminals among the herdsmen and it has spread to the cattle rearers who have lived among us. “We need to sift the criminals from the genuine ones, this advocacy will help us in this process.” Okowa assured Ibrahim of government’s support in mopping up arms and making the state crime free and peaceful for investors, visitors, and all Deltans. Ibrahim expressed appreciation to Okowa for the warm reception, and promised to partner with traditional rulers, community leaders, and other stakeholders to rid the state of crime. “I will synergise with stakeholders and hold advocacy meetings with communities while sharing information with security agencies in and outside the state to check crimes. “We will engage vigilante groups for information and intelligence gathering and mop up light arms so as to make Delta State crim

increase efficiency. On capacity building, the DG affirmed his commitment to providing sea time training to cadets of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme and the judicial application of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to assist local operators to re-fleet and increase the nation’s tonnage. Peterside said that in the short term, the strategic plan of the Agency aims to achieve full automation by the end of 2016, achieve 100 per cent efficiency and effectiveness in processes within the same period and complete its rebranding process by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

Delta Central Politicians Forum (DCPF), has lauded the Delta State House of Assembly Speaker, Monday Ovwigho Igbuya, describing him as a man of honour, an achiever and a listening leader. In a statement, the politicians who are from different political parties in the zone, commended Igbuya for building bridges of unity across ethnic and religious divides and giving purposeful leadership to the House of Assembly. The politicians, who spoke in Ughelli, applauded the cordial working relationship existing between the Legislative and Executive arms of government. “Rt. Hon Ovwigho Igbuya is a pride to Delta State and Nigeria. He is a shining example of honesty, simplicity and humility,” they said. “Chief Monday Igbuya is a brilliant strategist, an inspiring leader and a man of great political courage. He is humble, gentle and genial to the core. He is also honest, generous and selfless. He has taken principled positions on a wide range of state issues. His leadership style has earned him the gratitude and admiration of many while his conviction and willingness to speak out with a clear voice make him the best speaker in the history of the state” the group said. Its spokesperson, Oma Ojighoro, thanked the speaker for playing great roles in the development of the state.

Igbuyah

Court summons churches, businesses in Aba for failing to register By Onwukwe Ezeru

Special Correspondent, Umuahia

At least 2,000 businesses and churches in Aba have been served court summons for failing to register their outdoor advertisement with the Abia State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ABSAA). ABSAA Managing Director, Gan Alozie, told TheNiche in Umuahia that the agency is empowered to collect internally generated revenue (IGR) through outdoor advertisement and to end the indiscriminate placing of posters that deface the state. He said the court summons were served on individuals, groups, churches, and companies to spur them to register and pay their fees. He warned that they will be prosecuted if they con-

tinue to flout the law. The fees range from N5,000 to N100,000 depending on the size of billboards. ABSAA plans to designate areas in cities and towns for advert placement to check the indiscriminate siting of billboards, posters, and banners. Alozie appealed to individuals, groups, churches, and corporate organisations to support the government's efforts to ensure orderliness and sanity in the environment. He said ABSAA would soon devolve its operations to councils with the establishment of offices, reiterating that payments should be made through banks. He warned Abians against fraudsters. ABSAA is mandated to sanitise, beautify, and improve environmental esthetics.

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

www.thenicheng.com

News Extra The Week Ahead Asidere’s Mental Space opens July 4 The recent works of one of artist Duke Asidere will be opened to the public tomorrow, Monday, July 4 at The Wheatbaker, Ikoyi, Lagos. The exhibition, titled “Mental Space”, showcases 38 paintings on paper and canvas revealing Asidere’s intellectual reflection on critical issues in society.

Muslims mark Eld-el-Fitri July 5, 6 Muslims will on Tuesday, July 5 and Wednesday, July 6 mark the end of the Ramadan fast Eid-el-Fitri celebrations. The federal government has declared the two days work free nationwide.

Court hears pro-Biafra killings July 8 A Federal High Court in Lagos will on Friday, July 8 hear the suit filed by human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, against alleged killing of pro-Biafran protesters by soldiers and other security agencies. Security forces were alleged to have killed some members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) during the May 30 Biafran Remembrance Day in Anambra and Delta States.

The True Footprints for launch July 10 Rock of Salvation Church General Overseer, Utibe Emmanuel, will have a public presentation and launch of his new book The True Footprints on Sunday, July 10. The launch of the inspirational book is scheduled to take place at the church headquarters in Iju, Lagos.

Rivers separates Army presence in Ogoni from politics • Seeks residents’ co-operation to combat crime

By Joe Ezuma

Assistant Editor, South South

ivers, a state endowed with the liquid gold but infested with crime and killings, is firing on all cylinders to create jobs, train youths in skills, and to pacify Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Ogoniland to stem the blood spill. Deputy Governor, Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, has urged all residents to join hands with Governor Nyesom Wike to fish out criminals, including cult members, who keep the state under siege. Commissioner of Police, Musa Kimo, has also held a town hall meeting in Port Harcourt where security stakeholders deliberated on the tension between local communities and Fulani herdsmen. Crime is sweeping through the oil-rich but volatile state in the Deep South, with political murders, cult killings, and kidnapping crippling lives and businesses. Banigo urged residents to offer useful tips to the security agencies to fight crime rather than trade blames, since security is a collective responsibility.

Harry-Banigo

Kimo

The aim “is to promote technological and cultural ties with Israel, create opportunities for capacity development, job creation and empowerment of the youth in line with the New Rivers Vision of the present administration.” She implored residents to support the government to actualise its New Rivers Vision and thanked host communities for their co-operation in the execution of projects.

According to her, despite dwindling federal allocation, Rivers has earmarked N23 million to sponsor less privileged youths and ministers of God to Israel in this year’s Christian pilgrimage.

Soldiers in Ogoni

Strategy for jobs, skills, empowerment

Brainstorm on security

Wike recently urged the military to move into Ogoni and crime infested areas, which the All Progressives Congress (APC) described as self reversal, because he had initially opposed the presence of soldiers in Ogoni. But Banigo urged the APC not to misrepresent Wike’s position. ''The opposition should not misrepresent the position of Wike in seeking the support of the military to tackle kidnapping and cult activities in some parts of the state,'' she stressed. What Wike does not want, she explained, is the demand by an opposition party for military presence for political reasons, because it is anti-democratic. Banigo expressed surprise that while Wike is trying to encourage security agents to curtail crime, some politicians are playing politics with security matters. She also stressed that the completion of major roads by the administration in the past one year is a sure way to revive businesses and boost tourism. In her view, the construction of the Borokiri New Road, Abonnema Wharf Road, and 1.3-kilometre Industry Road, will help expand revenue base. She reiterated that Wike is committed to fulfilling all promises made during his electioneering and will improve the state’s economy through the provision of infrastructure to attract investors. Banigo praised Wike for his development efforts toward restoring Port Harcourt to its Garden City status, stressing that the Port Harcourt Pleasure Park on Aba Road would stimulate healthy interaction and recreation for children and adults alike.

The state government has also unfolded measures to strengthen residents’ ability to survive the national economic hardship. The measures include crime reduction, job creation, training programmes, and skills acquisition as well as encouraging sacrifice by the people. Banigo said the government has concluded plans to sponsor 200 youths to acquire vocational skills in Israel and that Wike has directed commissioners and special advisers to buy 10 “Win a trip to Israel’’ ticket lotteries for the less privileged. She said the training in various skills is going on at the same time with the sending of youths and ministers of God to Israel. The aim, as she put it, “is to promote technological and cultural ties with Israel, create opportunities for capacity development, job creation and empowerment of the youth in line with the New Rivers Vision of the present administration …. “Wike gave the directive in fulfillment of his social contract with the people, to bridge the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor and the social disequilibrium in the state.” The programme is to make the participants “employable and be employers of labour,” Banigo added, because the era of going to Israel for pilgrimage as a jamboree is gone. She urged residents to embrace the administration’s philosophy of sacrifice and “be your brother’s keeper”. She said since Wike assumed office a year ago, he has demonstrated the political will to institutionalise sacrifice and hard work among politicians and public office holders.

At the town hall meeting, Kimo called for synergy between communities, security agencies and herdsmen to check the rising attacks of cattle rearers on local communities. Participants included representatives of the police, the Department of State Security (DSS), Immigration, Prisons, Customs, Army, Navy, Air Force, council caretaker chairmen, traditional rulers, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and journalists. They also included members of the Farmers' Association of Nigeria and Hausa/Fulani cattle owners and herdsmen. Kimo said it is necessary to strengthen the “harmonious relationship” between the police and other security agencies on the one hand and between residents and security agencies on the other. ''We experience cult-related crimes that have snowballed into other crimes like kidnapping, armed robbery, killings. “The most recent and very alarming is the phenomenon of herdsmen scourge which is more prevalent in the North Central but also has extended to parts of the South East as well as cattle rustling,” he warned. Kimo noted that lives have been lost, villages pillaged and burnt down, and urged communities, residents, and security agencies to form a formidable front to confront the monster. Participants agreed that police community relations should be energised and the security agencies be pro-active in tackling dangerous herdsmen who have no “business with AK47 riffles.” The meeting sought more powers for councils to combat crime, since they are close to the grassroots where most crimes,

especially herdsmen take place.

attacks,

Stand-off in Niger Delta However, the stand-off between Abuja and Niger Delta militants over pipeline vandalism may drag longer, given the rigid positions of both parties. Most speakers at the flag off of the clean up of Ogoni and other impacted communities in Bodo on Thursday, June 2 traced oil pollution to sabotage and pipeline vandalism as well as laxity by oil multinationals. President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, warned Niger Delta militants, vandals, and oil thieves that his administration will not tolerate‎ any act of criminality. He said crude oil theft, blowing up of facilities, and kidnapping of oil workers, all have negative impacts on gas supply for electricity generation and the economy. Buhari lamented the loss of lives in Ogoni and the entire Niger Delta, and blamed oil companies and past governments for not addressing the environmental hazard ‎ caused by oil production. He warmed that the federal government will deal decisively with oil theft and pipeline vandalism, and called for co-operation in the clean-up to ensure full and proper execution. But Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) shave pledged to continue the destruction of oil facilities in the region because of what they see as unequal distribution of national assets. In turn, the military – particularly the Air Force – has vowed to deal with the NDA if it continues with criminal activities.

''We experience cultrelated crimes that have snowballed into other crimes like kidnapping, armed robbery, killings. “The most recent and very alarming is the phenomenon of herdsmen scourge which is more prevalent in the North Central but also has extended to parts of the South East as well as cattle rustling.”

TheNiche July 03, 2016

www.thenicheng.com

Notes

From

Nnanna Okere okere_nnanna@yahoo.com +358 4684 74258

Finland

Finnish Immigration to handle all permits for foreign nationals from 2017

rocessing of all permit applications for foreign nationals will be handled by the Finnish Immigration Service (FIS) from January 1, 2017, sequel to the amendment of the Aliens Act. New duties for the FIS include all residence permits that foreign nationals apply for such as first, extended and permanent residence permits, reception of citizenship applications, and declarations in Finland. Others are registration of European Union (EU) citizens and applications for their family members' residence cards, duties relating to alien’s passports and

refugee travel documents, and duties relating to service of decisions. Until now the police have handled these matters. The FIS will have nine service points where foreign nationals can submit applications. But asylum applications are not received or processed at these service points, as they are registered by the police or the Border Guard. A statement issued by the Head of Development Immigration Unit of the FIS, Tutta Tuomainen, said there will be service points in Helsinki, Lappeenranta, the Turku region, Lahti, Tampere, Vasa, Kuopio, Oulu, and Rovaniemi.

The service points in Lahti, Tampere, and Kuopio are new. Aland Islands will not have their own service point. Persons living on Aland can use a service point on the mainland or book an appointment in Mariehamn with a public official from the FIS. The change brings clarity and efficiency to the processing of permits for foreign nationals. “When one and the same authority is in charge of the processing of permits for foreign nationals, the processes can more easily be developed. “Furthermore, the division of tasks is clearer which guarantees uniform practices in customer service and decision making.

“The only change that affects customers themselves is the change of location. The service points will be instituted in locations where the number of permit customers has been highest in recent years,” Tuomainen explained. Most applications can be submitted via the e-service, Enter Finland. The applicant only needs to visit the service point to identify himself or herself and show the original copies of documents attached to the application. The service is being used by both the police and the FIS and is already used for applying for first and extended permits. Finnish Interior Minister, Petteri Orpo

Haavisto top favourite to challenge Swedish economic growth best in Nordics Niinisto in 2018

reen League lawmaker, Pekka Haavisto, is a clear favourite to contest in the 2018 presidential ballot against Finnish President, Sauli Niinisto, if he decides to run another term. A survey commissioned by the Finnish language daily Helsingin Sanomat showed 37 per cent of the respondents would vote for Haavisto. Ruling (Centre Party) lawmaker and former Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, emerged second most favourite candidate with 23 per cent, followed by former Speaker of Parliament and (Social Democratic Party of Finland-SDP) leader, Eero Heinaluoma, with 22 per cent. SDP’s Jutta Urpilainen was fourth with 20 per cent support. The Greens have announced they would nominate their own candidate for presidential election, and Haavisto is considering whether to run.

The survey was conducted by TNS Gallup in which approximately a thousand people responded. The margin of error was 3 per cent in either direction. In 2011, Haavisto was nominated as the Green League candidate for the Finnish presidential election of 2012. In the first round of the poll on 22 January 2012, he finished second with 18.8 percent of the votes. In the run-off on February 5, he garnered more than one million votes or 37.4 per cent, yet still lost to the National Coalition Party candidate, former Finance Minister, Sauli Niinisto. Haavisto was the first openly homosexual candidate and the first male candidate to have served in a non-military service instead of the regular military service to make it to the second round of presidential elections in Finland. Last year, Foreign Affairs Minister, Timo Soini, appointed him to serve as his special represen-

Haavisto tative on mediation with special focus on Africa. Mediation is one of the priorities of Finland's foreign policy. The countries in the Horn of Africa play a key role in the migration across the Mediterranean Sea as countries of origin and transit countries.

Denmark to scrap green card

urrent green card holders in Denmark are trying to convince lawmakers to reverse their threat to scrap the controversial scheme. There is a discussion in the Parliament over abolishing the green card scheme and completely withdrawing the rights of extensions of all current holders. Green card holders have been invited to Denmark as qualified professionals for the Danish labour market, at their own expense; to contribute to the economy, health and expertise, and settle down for a long period of time with the prospect of permanent residence. Candidates are asked to bring with them a considerable amount of money to support themselves and families during the first year (as per

rules prior to January 1, 2015). This is under the assumption that green card holders would be able to settle into jobs within the first year. In order to support this scheme there should have been a strong infrastructure in place, to facilitate engagement of this “invited” talent into the local labour market. There have been public out-

Green card holders

cries the green card scheme is a failure because current infrastructure does not serve the purpose and there is a pool of highly-skilled workers already in the country. Making such an abrupt decision to cancel the scheme with no right to extension for current residents will be a terrible blow to many green card holders.

weden has the best economic growth prospects in the Nordic countries, according to a report by a leading ratings agency. But with world export market shares declining, it is not all rosy in Scandinavia’s largest nation. Swedes can take heart from several points highlighted in a new report by Moody’s Investors Service in their global credit research. The diversified economy and a competitive export base dominated by knowledge-intensive products ensure the country has the best chances of growth in comparison to Nordic peers, Moody's said. The agency forecast growth of 3.4 per cent for Sweden in 2016, which will then drop to 2.5 per cent in 2017. It also noted that all of

the Nordic nations are benefiting from macroeconomic stability, skilled labour forces, competitive markets and strong infrastructure bases. It is not all good news, however. Moody’s said Sweden, along with Denmark and Norway, still faces the challenge of high levels of household indebtedness. That will come as little surprise for Swedes, who are among the most indebted in Europe due to a combination of housing price inflation and a congested rental market. Mortgage holders in the country currently have an average debt that is 366 per cent their annual income. Of concern, too, are declining world export market shares among countries where Moody’s said foreign trade plays an “important role”. That echoes the result of

Sweden Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven

the most recent forecast by Sweden’s National Institute of Economic Research in March, which warned that exports and investments would be weaker in 2016 than previously expected.

Fears high as Copenhagen prostitutes expand territory

here are so many foreign women working as prostitutes in Copenhagen these days that the sex trade has expanded beyond its traditional locales in the city and into more visible and tourist-packed areas. Organisations helping sex workers – Hope Now and Reden International – said increased competition among street prostitutes has led them to offer their services beyond Istedgade in the Vesterbro district, the most popular place for prostitutes for years. Sex workers are now found at the Town Hall Square and the pedestrian street Stroget, both major draws for tourists, as well as busy streets such as Gammel Kongevej, leading local politicians to appeal to the national government for help. “When it spreads this much, there is clearly not enough being done to fight prostitution and to help these women, who are

controlled by organisers in their home countries,” said Marie Welling of the Socialist People’s Party, who sits on Copenhagen’s health committee. She accused the national government of “closing its eyes to the problems that come with street prostitution.” Because prostitution laws are made at the national level, Welling reiterated that only Parliament can do something about the problem. Organisations that work with Copenhagen prostitutes said “raw capitalism” forced them to expand their territory in the city. “Right now we are seeing a very saturated market where there are not enough customers for the women,” Reden’s Kira West said. “We can see that there are more prostitutes coming now because the women are spreading themselves across the city because there aren’t enough customers.” West stressed that most of the prostitutes on Copenhagen streets

come from Nigeria or Eastern Europe, often brought to Denmark by financial backers they need to pay off. “They become desperate when they can’t earn enough money and therefore they’ll offer more for a cheaper price. “The obvious example is to do it without a condom or to do things that cross their personal boundaries that they would normally say no to.” Women have also become more aggressive in their pursuit of potential customers, she added. Selling and purchasing sex is legal in Denmark. Jakob Engel-Schmidt, a spokesman for the ruling Venstre party, said the government has no current plans to change the laws, which ban human trafficking and profiting off sex workers. Engel-Schmidt added that the more the public hears about the conditions faced by prostitutes, the less likely men will pay for their services.

TheNiche

www.thenicheng.com

PhotoNews

July 03, 2016

President Muhammadu Buhari (left) with Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar Onyema, during breaking of fast with the President at Presidential Villa.

L-R: Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi; President, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Cao Baogang; and CCECC Managing Director, Jack Lii, during the exchange of Memorandum of Understanding signed on behalf of the Federal Government with CCECC on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Railway at Ministry of Transportation, Abuja.

L-R: All Progressives Congress (APC) Deputy National Chairman (South), Segun Oni; APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun; Chairman, Appeal Committee for Edo State Governorship Primary Election, Opeyemi Bamidele; and committee member, Mustapha Salisu, after the submission of the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report at the party national secretariat in Abuja.

R-L: Former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi; former Head of Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan; former Commonwealth Secretary, Emeka Anyaoku; and Obi's wife, Margaret, during the 240th United States Independence anniversary yesterday in Ikoyi, Lagos State.

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu (left), addressing a press conference in Government House, Umuahia. With him is his deputy, Ude Oko Chukwu.

Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, flanked by members of the newly-inaugurated Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy at the Conference Room, Ministry of Justice, the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (left), giving a souvenir to the Director, China CAMC Engineering Company Limited, Yu Yen; while the Chief Executive Officer/ Managing Director of Urban Tech Engineering Limited, Kingsley Agha (right); associate of the Chinese engineering firm, Chuma Uzodimma (middle); and Deputy General Manager, China CAMC Engineering Company Limited, Ms. Fan Yi look on when the management team of the companies paid the governor a courtesy visit in Government House, Enugu.

Imo State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere (left), commiserating with PDP chieftain, Oliver Biaduo, during his father's burial.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

Diplomacy

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BREXIT: And the nays have it

Cameron

The resounding affirmation of British people to pull out of the European Union (EU) represents a people’s never dying will to preserve cherished values among other implications, writes Correspondent, SAM NWOKORO

ritain has confirmed to the whole world that she is still the mother of modern democracy. Just shortly after allowing a part of her, Scotland, to hold a referendum on whether it should continue staying in the Great Britain, authorities at Downing Street again allowed Britons to decide freely whether to continue relating to the world on the platform of the European Union (EU). EU is the continental economic and political power bloc founded shortly after World War II to guard against future wars in the European soil. After months of intense pros or cons campaigning, the British held a referendum about the wisdom of their continued membership of the EU. The vote tally showed at the end of the day that Britons are fed up with subjecting their ways of life to the anonymity of EU, formerly Organisation of European Community Development (OECD). Those who voted for continued membership were 48 per cent of the voters, while 52 per cent voted for exit. The referendum was adjudged successful by participation, as 71.8 per cent of the about 30 million people of voting age made the decision. And it was the

highest turn-out in United Kingdomwide vote since the 1992 general election. Further, voters’ spread showed that region by region, England voted to leave by 53 per cent to 47 per cent, Wales by 52.5:47.5, while Scotland voted to remain by 62:38 and Northern Ireland also opted to stay by a slight margin of 55.8:44.2. Emotion and passion The British referendum presented one of those tricky moments for Britons, who are known for their fanatical nationalism and fondness for their peculiar ways of life. Months ahead the June 23 date, the international and local media were abuzz with the consequence of the outcome of the referendum. The referendum held against a background of series of frustrations Britons, both leaders and citizens, have been going through since the dawn of the 21st century as new challenges emerge in the world. This tasks British leadership, one of the world’s powerful pillars and stabilising agents that wield authority in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Notwithstanding that modern day diplomatic conducts have come to rely

more on partnerships, consensus and collaboration among states and regional blocs, it is equally undeniable that some, especially the five permanent members of the UNSC (Britain, U.S.A., France, Russia, and China), would prefer that the myth of their invincibility as the major victors of the first and second world wars is not diluted or seen by lesser powers to have evaporated, having been subsumed in the implied anonymity of regional blocs like the EU. Never mind that the EU itself is more of a collection of the most industrialised nations of the world. Such could not be farther from the truth as it concerns Britain and her membership in the EU whose members’ economic might and geo-political influences around the world today is more at an advanced profile than what obtains some 10 or 20 years ago. The EU and Britain under various Prime Ministers, from the time of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Gordon Brown, down to the tenure of David Cameron, have had a surfeit of it since the EU made the move to harmonise currency and introduce the Euro in 1997 following the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty. It is not only on the issue of common currency, migration and consumer

standards that the EU and Britons have always had running verbal brawls. It reaches the very ideal of what extreme British called “surrendering our values to EU” or loss of national identity. But at each stage and at the instance of every occupant at Downing Street, a middle ground is often reached. Until the referendum, it could just be said that Downing Street, for the expediency of contemporary security challenges round the world, had adopted a kind of stealthy, hide-and-seek approach in its relations with the EU – not wanting to send an equivocal no, in order not to endanger strategic alliances and coalitions against common enemies such as terrorists. But it actually would wish it had the guts to tell Brussels, without mincing words, that it no longer wishes to be in the bloc. Thus it was safe to organise a referendum to provide Brussels a clean excuse that the decision was entirely a product of sovereign Britons. It was no surprise that weeks before the referendum, opinion polls had equally been for and against, with the Prime Minister shifting his earlier position from BREXIT (leave) to stay on the later days, obviously after calculating the implication of British partnerships with EU on numerous flash points. One

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Diplomacy

Akinteriwa

of them is containing terrorism afflicting the European continent and domestic concerns over migration which has increased in recent years since the admission of Turkey as observer member of EU. Turkey has always been the most porous route for migrants into Europe fuelling the refuge crisis in the region. One poll conducted by Britain’s most respected domestic opinion company, NATCEN Social Research, in the week preceding the poll had it that 69 per cent of Britons said they were unsure of the impact of BREXIT, 57 per cent thought that migration would be lower if Britons left the EU, four per cent thought that the British economy would be worse off if they leave the EU, while 44 per cent believed BREXIT would make little difference in Britain’s influence in the world. Cherished history An economic and political partnership involving about 28 European countries, the EU began after World War II to foster economic co-operation, with the idea that countries which trade together are more likely to avoid going to war with each other. EU was Initially dominated by the famous 12 founding countries famously called the ‘Concentric Circle’: France, Germany, Britain, Belgium, Italy, Luxemboug, The Netherlands, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. These countries essentially midwifed the Maastricht Treaty that expanded the scope of European political and economic co-operation after the fall of

Utomi

the Berlin Wall in 1991. Later other countries joined the bloc. They are: Portugal (1986), Austria, Finland, Sweden (1995), Croatia (2013), Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania (2007). To date, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia Macedonia and Turkey are still on consideration list, while Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo, which emerged after the Balkan wars of the 1990s, are potential candidates, as they have applied. The preponderance of these new nations and their rickety cultures and economy is, according to international observers, dampening Britain’s enthusiasm in later years not to want to subject her proud pounds sterling to euro’s monetary systems. Nigeria and Britain outside EU Ordinarily, there ought not be much to worry about in Nigeria regarding Britain’s exit from the EU club, except that Britain has largely influenced EU’s attitude towards Nigeria as much as in other Commonwealth nations. The EU usually looks up to Britain to fire the first salvo in the affairs of Nigeria. She remains Nigeria’s major trading partner in the EU, accounting for more than 60 per cent of trade volumes between Nigeria and Europe, both at governmental and private levels. Most Nigerians connect to other parts of Europe from London. Perhaps it may affect the rate Nigerians migrate to Europe, since most Britons are scared of too much immigrants on its shores in these days of terrorism and

Adelegan

global economic crisis. Thus according to analysts, immigration into Britain may get tighter in the days ahead. Britain remains the arrowhead of the EU-African Economic Partnership Agreements (EU-APA) which has since been in effect since 2005. A reduced migration of Nigerian businessmen to Britain and European countries might affect the volume of trade, though the extent depends on if EU will still allow Britain in the common markets and maintain free movement rights, allowing UK citizens in EU and vice-versa after the referendum. Most Nigerians hold British passports. With the exit of Britain, it is sure the coast has been cleared for Turkey whose final ratification as EU member has been stalled by London. Turkey is a major illegal transit point of many Africans, including Nigerians, into Britain. On how the BREXIT affects Nigeria, Professor Bola Akinterinwa, immediate past Director-general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), said: “Some of them (Britons) blame migrants for unemployment. When a British Lawmaker Jo Cox was murdered by a nationalist recently, his killer shouted ‘death to the traitors, freedom to freedom’ in court implying that those who advocated for leaving the EU would be very strict and hostile to migrants in the foreseeable future. The mere fact that migrants are responsible for a lot of problems and the fact that many Nigerians would like to make Britain their second home is a sign that they must prepare for harder days to come.”

Britain contributes up to 15 per cent of aids to Nigeria and gingers EU on a wide range of interventions in Nigeria. Akinterinwa said “this will also affect Nigeria because EU countries are the first direction of our trade. If the Union is suffering from whatever virus, Nigeria will also have its own share.” Professor Pat Utomi of Centre For Leadership Values opines: “The referendum might ginger similar selfdetermination spirit in other parts of the world. “We have arrived at the age of selfdetermination. Making people stay in a union that they don’t like is now the equivalent of slavery in the modern age. It may get to the stage that many of the concocted states of West Africa that came out of the Berlin Conference will begin to unravel.” But for President of Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce, Adedapo Adelegan, the exit of Britain from EU will not have any major impact in Nigeria’s economy. He said the existence of different trade agreements between Nigeria and EU countries that trade directly with Nigeria would prevent a short term impact of the BREXIT on the economy. “We sell directly to the countries and they also buy from us. I don’t see any immediate impact of the exit on Nigeria’s economy.” There is popular view in some sections of the country pushing for restructuring of the country that the British exit from EU is a sure bet that they would enjoy British support whenever they want to formally pull out of Nigeria.

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Civil Society Platform AFI’s walk against drug abuse

2nd left... Nkechi Chukwueke (Mother of ASACADA) Princess Okeke-Amam (Founder and President, ASCN and AFI) middle, Andy Moore (1st Right)

June 26 is United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Reporter, HENRY ODUAH, was at the road walk organised by Adorable Foundations International (AFI) in conjunction with ASACADA, a non-governmental organisation against drug abuse, and the UN.

s cases of drug abuse get alarmingly high, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Adorable Foundation International (AFI), has begun a massive campaign to sensitise Lagosians on the need to stay away from drug abuse. The foundation, in collaboration with ASACADA (A Societal Awareness Campaign Against Drug Abuse) staged a “great walk/campaign” around Lagos on Sunday, June 26, a day set aside by the United Nations as International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. A carnival of a sorts, the colourful road walk began from Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, to the palace of the Eze Ojiofor Ndigbo, Lagos, HRH Cyril Anomneze, for royal blessings before taking the message to Ojuelegba, Mushin, Oshodi, Ikeja, Maryland, Yaba, CMS, Obalende, Awolowo Road and back to the stadium. Founder and President, Adorable Social Club of Nigeria (ASCN) and AFI, Princess Okeke-Amam, filled with excitement for the realisation of the campaign which took a lot of planning, told journalists in a chat that preceded the walk that the day should be a day of sober reflection. “It is very clear that today is the World Drug Day, a day of sober reflection and we are here to support the UN and our government to fight on, though our situation in the country is that of depression. What we are doing is creating awareness on drugs,” she noted. On the Foundation’s plans to take the campaign to other states of the

federation, she said: “As I speak to you, the campaign is on-going in Abuja, even at Awka (Anambra State capital) and in some other state capitals. Adorable International will go round to see that we provide our own support for our country. “What is driving me is the zeal and passion to save a soul. I want to be happy. When we visited Jabi Park, a police officer met me and told me how he took drugs because of depression. After speaking with him, I was so happy, and that is what I intend doing. We want to live up to our slogan, ‘Put a smile on the Lazarus around you’.” On the UN theme of the day, Okeke-Amam said: “I’m happy that the UN theme for this year’s drug day is ‘Listen First’. We have to listen, and that is what we are doing. We have to spread the message (of listening first) to parents, and then to people especially youths, (for them) to know the implication of drug abuse.” She continued that what mattered was not the ‘fun’ in being high on drugs but it’s devastating after-effect on the addict. Mother of ASCN and ASACADA, Nkechi Chukwueke, a lawyer, added that the campaign would soon be taken outside the shores of the country. “It’s a laudable programme. It’s the first of its kind and we intend to do it every year all over Nigeria. Very soon we shall be travelling to (other) African countries before we go to European countries. So we are not just starting to end it in Lagos,” she said. Superintendent of Narcotics, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Lagos State Command,

Musa Aliyu, and his deputy, Usman Mohammed, expressed the agency’s satisfaction partnering with the NGO against drug abuse. Musa advised parents to look out for signs of drug use from their wards. His words: “If you go to their rooms, just observe what is within. You may see lighter or match box, pieces of papers, bottles. If the child is not sick, the parent should ask what brought about cough syrup in the room. “The cough syrup is now taking a new dimension. It is mostly abused by girls who are going to be mothers later. If we allow them to continue taking codeine, they will be unable to reproduce (bear children). The more they take, the more it damages the womb and that would be the end; a child can never be there. “Also, look out for corks (especially from bottles); they are very important in burning cocaine. They usually light a candle under the cork, then they would hold the cork with a scissors or whatever for it to start burning. Initially, they use teaspoon; but now corks are in fashion. “If you see syringes in their rooms, you should ask why, especially if the person is not a doctor. If you check under their mattresses and see some particles of what they smoked, you know what to do. There are also posters of people that do or did drugs that they usually buy from the market. Posters of Fela (Anikulapo-Kuti), Bob Marley’s and their caps with their logos on it. Even wristbands coloured green, yellow and what have you. If you notice that your child is beginning to wear such things, he or she could be going the wrong way.

Sometimes you see them having multiple pockets, they could have about six pockets when they are not selling anything in the market.” Musa added that the ultimate devastating effect of drugs is that they take one’s money and life. “There is nobody that would smoke marijuana for eight years non-stop without running mad, no matter how big his brain is; either he is by the roadside or he is talking to himself.” Lagos-based lawyer and father of the day, Guy Ikokwu, canvassed support for the less privileged from individuals, corporate bodies and the government, which he said drove him to back the Foundation. He spoke further: “Hard drugs lead to total blindness of the mind and opportunities, and what you can do for the creative arts and other things. If you don’t do it well, you cannot pass on the legacy to your children… they start from smoking cigarette, to tobacco, cocaine and all kinds of drugs. You can’t believe that the people manufacturing it don’t smoke or take it. They manufacture it to make money.” Celebrities, women groups and school children who are friends of the club and foundation adorned themselves in red to support the movement around the mega city. Psychiatrists and artistes were part of the train. Senior Registrar, Federal NeuroPsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr. Gbonjubola Abiri, debunked claims that some people who take drugs live till old age. “Unfortunately they are talking from a point of ignorance because the truth is that there may be people who

take substances and it appears like there is nothing wrong with them, but what we always say is that it affects not just the brain but many other organs in the body. It predisposes to medical illnesses and mental illnesses as well. “We always see patients who come down with mental disorders who can’t function and who sometimes lose their lives in the process. So while it may look like it’s not affecting a certain amount of people, you would never know what effect it would have on you. And then even when there is a problem, it’s difficult for you to tell that there’s a problem because the organ that is supposed to be telling the body its problem is malfunctioning heavily under the influence of substance,” she said. She lauded the effort of the foundation, emphasising that the message be taken even to children who appear to be the latest victims of drug abuse. Her words: “A campaign like this is a laudable effort; however, it’s still a drop in the ocean. But we must give it to people like Adorable Foundation, the UN, NDLEA and others working hard to see zero-tolerance to substance abuse. “Efforts are on-going and since the theme for this year is ‘Listen First’, we are looking at children because the age of initiation of these substances is rapidly dropping. Patients tell you that as little as age eight or nine, they got introduced into smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol by people in their environment. So awareness is increasing not because these things haven’t been there; it’s just that these days there’s a lot of awareness towards these substances.”

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Civil Society Platform

July 03, 2016

Freedom of expression around the world can be enhanced – Alexander Elizabeth Alexander, an American poet, essayist and playwright, is the director of creativity and free expression at the Ford Foundation. She is the inaugural Frederick Iseman Professor of Poetry and a Thomas E. Donnelley Professor of African-American Studies at Yale University. In this interview with Senior Correspondent, ONYEWUCHI OJINNAKA, the 54-year-old egghead talks on civil society organisations in Nigeria, human rights among other issues. Alexander

hat is your perception of civil society organisations in Nigeria? I can say that I am learning a great deal about that. That is why I have come here with my work to observe, and what I have seen yesterday, for example, the convening of amazing people who are working in areas of investigative journalism, art and culture and film, there are very robust activities of the civil societies here, especially in the area of creativity. Today, we saw young people whose imaginations and training have enabled them to vision a more just civil society and therefore a more productive Nigeria, a more productive Africa and a more productive world. In what ways can these organisations be funded? That is a great question. So many organisations need funding to do what they want to do, and there are a lot of ways to go about supporting an organisation. No one entity can support everyone. To me, the question is how they can be very strategic, about who to support, whose work is exemplary, whose work is normally wonder-

ful and touches lives and also shines some light on a sector, empower a sector, create linkages and networks within a sector that can essentially have large impact on such organisations. What about monitoring the fund? Another excellent question. The programme officers at the Ford Foundation, for example, are very scrupulous and careful, and this foundation has varied elaborately and designed systems of engagement that partner with grantees to ensure that monitoring is taking place and the funds are well-utilised. What measures should be taken if some lapses are discovered in the management of the funds? I think the way we try to do it lies with different levels of management, and they deal with it before getting to that point. So, deal with it before you get to that point. The programme officers have very rigorous relationships with the grantees they work with, and a lot happens before we get to the point of actually making a grant. So there are real partners. These are people we are working with. These are the people we know. These are the people we are investing on with our eyes wide open.

As director of Creativity and free Expression at the Ford Foundation, what is your position on Freedom of Expression and human rights in Nigeria? This is not where I live. I would not offer an informed opinion, but what I would say is that freedom of expression around the world can always be enhanced. I think that if we look to the creative sector, we can create and encourage conditions that will allow free expression to thrive. What are the objectives of Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative? It is not a Ford foundation-funded organisation, and so it is really the organisers that can say that. But as I understand it, the central premise is that we need to look to our empowered youths, to find solutions to the questions that are facing them for the coming generations. So we have presentations where young people are talking on how to increase the number of young women in some professions, for example, activating the entire neglected portion of the society from young people by bringing them to the fore. We also had some solutions from young people on how to think about

the young people living in Makoko area and the ways they might be empowered to be more productive in their communities. So I think the basic premise is that young people need to be engaged to manage the future. What about empowerment? I felt that in our society today, there are professionals in various fields who are part of the empowerment mission by giving very honest, direct, constructive feedback to each of the teams on their proposals. So I think the way young people commit their time and talent will help them to be better and help them to sharpen their skills. That is one of the most important steps on the road to economic empowerment which will bring about the needed change. What advice would you give to civil society organisations? What I will say is that Nigeria is a nation with extreme history and have very powerful culture and very powerful sense of self. I think that their culture is an invaluable commodity and so they need to continue to think about where they stayed, who they represent and what the people they represent have to say, and show the unique powers of what flourishes in Nigeria.

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International Letter from Africa: Nigeria's disappearing storytellers In our series of letters from African journalists, Nigerian novelist and writer, ADAOBI TRICIA NWAUBANI, considers if Nigerians are getting worse at writing good stories.

n September 2015, the judges of the $100,000 (ÂŁ65,000) Nigeria Prize for Literature announced that there would be no winner for 2015. Professor Ayo Banjo, chairman of the advisory board for the prize, declared that none of the 109 book entries met the required standard. "Each book was found to manifest incompetence in the use of language," he said. Another judge described the entries as riddled with "grave errors". Only books written in English are eligible for the prize. And, in Nigeria, quality of English is usually directly proportional to quality of education. As the country's educational system has declined, the effect can be read and heard when Nigerians communicate in the tongue that was gifted us by our colonial rulers of yore. Over the six years of Goodluck Jonathan's tenure as president of Nigeria, his wife Patience kept many middleclass Nigerians entertained by her customised version of the English language. For example, she once extolled her husband's commitment to maternal health saying: "Goodluck said that ... no woman will die again under pregnancy. He said that all Nigerian women, you have died enough." And when she paid a hospital visit to some victims of a Boko Haram attack in Abuja, the former first lady expressed satisfaction that "the doctors

and nurses are responding well to treatment". But the laughter was usually accompanied by disdain. Some described her as a disgrace to Nigeria and complained that someone who spoke such poor English had no right to represent our country on the world stage. These critics were inadvertently calling for the majority of Nigerians to steer clear of the public stage. They were suggesting that millions of Nigerians keep their mouths shut.

Mother tongue v English Often when I watch TV, listen to radio, read newspapers or interact with groups of people, locally, I arrive at the conclusion that, as far as grammar and pronunciation are concerned, many Nigerians have decided that Queen Elizabeth may go ahead and speak her version of English while they speak their own. The mistakes and malapropisms may not be as amplified as Patience's, but they are nonetheless very much there. Most Nigerians attend government-run schools, which these days have poorly paid and poorly trained teachers. Patience herself was a qualified teacher, with a National Certificate in Education (NCE) from the Rivers State College of Education to prove it. The privileged Nigerians who attend privately owned schools learn better English, but usually pay heavy fees. An option might have been

The Jonathans were Nigeria's first couple from 2010 until May 2015. Image copyright AFP

for Patience to stick to her mother tongue, an interpreter constantly by her side. But, in a country with such fragile ethnic fault lines, a national figure only engaging in her mother tongue could easily send the wrong message. She may have been perceived as the first lady of a region rather than of the entire country. Nigerian writers face a similar dilemma. Undoubtedly, indigenous works form an essential part of a people's literary heritage. There is a place for them. But, had Chinua Achebe or Wole Soyinka written in Igbo or Yoruba, they would probably not have been recognised beyond the boundaries of their ethnic groups. These world-acclaimed writers may not even have been read widely among their own clans. Not even the English are born with the ability to read their language. They are taught, usually in schools. And the United Nations reports that more than one in three adults in sub-Saharan Africa are unable to read and write, while 47 million young people aged between 15 and 24 are illiterate. In April 2015, no fewer than 10.5 million children in Nigeria were reported to be out of school, the highest number of any country in the world. If poverty in the country remains at the current dire level, fewer and fewer Nigerians will be able to afford to learn correct English. Fewer, no matter how skilfully they can tell a good story, will possess the competence in the use of the English language required by most literary prizes. Consequently, many of Nigeria's greatest storytellers will continue to be denied a place on the literary stage. And, sadly, their wouldbe page-turners will go with them to the grave. â&#x20AC;˘ Culled from www.bbc. com

Poet Tade Ipadeola was awarded with the prestigious Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2014. Image copyright AFP

Most Nigerian children go to government-run schools. Image copyright AFP

"If poverty in the country remains at the current dire level, fewer and fewer Nigerians will be able to afford to learn correct English."

Achebe's 1958 novel Things Fall Apart has sold millions worldwide. Image copyright AP

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is another award-winning Nigerian novelist who writes in English. Image copyright Getty Images

PARLIAMENT

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Emeka Alex Duru Editor, Politics & Features 0805 4103 327 e.duru@thenicheng.com nwaukpala@yahoo.com Daniel Kanu Assistant Editor 0805 618 0203 kanuemperor@yahoo.com d.kanu@thenicheng.com

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Echoes of constitutional crisis GRASSROOTS

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Ugbolu: Lamentations of neglected Delta community

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Clarke: Banning govs from foreign trips not constitutional, but…

Abayomi: We're not prepared for change Right activist and Ondo State governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), Tunji Abayomi, in this interview with DANIEL KANU and HENRY ODUAH, speaks on the travails of Senate President Bukola Saraki, President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership and his governorship ambition, among other issues.

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Interview Abayomi: We're not prepared for change

hat is your view on the litigation by the AGF against the Senate leadership? With regard to Senator Bukola Saraki, everything that is going on is normal and according to law. It is important to understand the processes. First, an event took place in the National Assembly; that is the election of the principal officers, an event that is to hear the concurrence of the members of the National Assembly. When I say “concurrence”, I mean the process was supposed to have been supported or accepted. Now some members of the Senate complained that the outcome of that process was improper and didn’t follow due process, in the sense that the rule of order was altered in order to bring it about. Their complaint was sent to the police. The police that are mandated by law to investigate allegations of crime conducted the investigation and recommended that there’s a prima facie case for prosecution. They forwarded recommendation to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) that is empowered by the Constitution as the chief law officer of the federation to institute prosecution against anybody. In exercise of the discretion given to him by law, he initiated prosecution, since no one is above the law and the court is there for anyone to prove his innocence. I don’t see any problem at all. I believe that the noise and resistance in the Senate is inappropriate. What I think the leadership of the Senate as lawmakers should do was merely to tell the people of Nigeria, “well, we do not agree, we have not committed any crime (if in fact that is their view); we will get to court and we will prove our innocence.” And they would just stop there. To begin to stigmatise the President who obviously has nothing to do with the process or to suggest that he should impede the process or interfere

with it on their behalf, which is their suggestion, an indirect suggestion, I think, would be inappropriate. Some critics say Saraki was not a principal officer when that process was altered, and that the former Senate President and others should have been invited to be part of the case. The issue as to whether Saraki was there or wasn’t there is not for the AGF to decide. It is important for us to appreciate that the AGF cannot be a judge in the case. The only person that can judge the case is the judge in a court to which the case is charged. So if Saraki is of the view or some people are of the view that Saraki wasn’t there, then they should have sufficient confidence in our judicial system to prove their innocence and to believe that they would get justice in the court. Some perceive political victimisation in all of these since Saraki was not the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Senate Presidency ab initio. If there were efforts to remove Saraki as President of the Senate by his own party, that is an internal affair of the party. I don’t think it should be our problem because they belong to the same party. There may be legitimate political reasons they want to remove him. It is also his responsibility, if I were him, to resolve such a problem internally. For example, now I’m speaking as a politician; if I were Saraki as a politician, the moment the party said, “we will recognise you as president of the Senate; please accord us the regard to accept the other principal officers in order to appease them”, I think in the interest of appropriate rapprochement and orderly administration of political party and conviviality, he should have agreed. The issue that is on the ground now is whether there was a wrong done

under the criminal law. The AGF thinks there may have been one, and the only way he can annul it is to go to court. Don’t forget that if the AGF, despite the complaints, refuses to go to court, he may be accused, by the senators who complained in the first instance, of having taken money from Saraki to kill the case. So if he didn’t act, he may be in some kind of jeopardy; if he acts, he may also be in some form of jeopardy. So where do we go? I think the AGF has acted professionally, and I do not believe that he deserves any blame nor should he be persecuted or demonised by the Senate that in my view acted wrongly by summoning him to appear before them when he was doing his job. But the AGF is an appointee of the President, and there is also this feeling that he may not want to offend his boss. Well, that may be a possibility. But that is why the court exists. If the AGF is appointed by the President, the judge in the court is not appointed by the President and the AGF is not the judge over the case. So the attempt to demonise the AGF is unnecessary.

But the AGF could influence judgment in the court. Well if the position is that the AGF can influence judgment, where do we go? We can’t go to heaven to have justice done. Somehow, despite the imperfect state of our state, we must still have some level of unchangeable faith in some systems, one of which is the judiciary. Today if I’m charged before the court, I still have to go before the court; there’s no other way. I cannot say that because I don’t have faith in the court refuse to defend myself. If I refuse, I will be convicted and put in jail by the government because, as far as they are concerned, they still have faith in the judiciary. So where do we go? In my opinion, the most sensible thing is to trust that the judge handling the case will do justice. And if you look at it, it appears as if the judge is committed to it, after all he granted bail taking into consideration the prestige of his office and the character of his personality. Saraki’s case in the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) demanding his time, morning to evening, seems absurd to many.

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But it is the senators that created unnecessary demonstration about the case. When a man is charged to court and the entire Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria follows him to that court, they’ve sensationalised it. At a point, the judge said it looked like intimidation and the court is treating the case sensationally. You cannot blame the court. If, for example, he was the only one or maybe one person was going with him, it would have been treated like an ordinary case. But they treated it like an extraordinary case, and extraordinary cases in court deserve and demand extraordinary attention. That is what the CCT case has demonstrated. Nigerians are dissatisfied with hardship in the country. There are doubts if this was the change they called for. What is your reaction? Where we are is not the change we called for. Where we will be is the change we called for. But the Nigerian people themselves must be ready for that change. The truth of the matter is that, in this nation, we are not prepared for change. A lot of the problems of leaders of government is activated by the people themselves. We are very quick to blame those leaders, but we created them by our choices, interests, pressures and tensions in our normal lives. So while we are condemning and complaining about leaders, I think it’s also important to take a look at ourselves as a people. Are we not largely responsible for the type of leadership that has brought this nation to the point that we are now? Like I said recently on television, our nation has largely been governed by a corrupt, pitiless oligarchy. We need to have internal re-examination, mental review and look at the ideals of government that we want. We need to make sacrifice that will guarantee the future. Where are the people that are willing to sacrifice? The people are not ready for the sacrifice; for the pain of childbirth before the child comes and smile follows. The leaders see the people as weak, ephemeral, uncertain, easily deceived and they take advantage of them. I think one of the lines of Biafran song says the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Where is the vigilance in the land? Yes, it is not what we want, but can we doubt that the President is actually looking at the fundamental problem of this nation which is deep-rooted corruption that has eaten into everything. That is why this nation is undeveloped. If this government gives us pain now, it is, in my view, for a purpose, and it is important for us to recognise it. Who will doubt Buhari? I don’t think anybody can doubt him. A man who has been President and he does not have a big house; he has been head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and does not have a petrol station or an oil block; he has been a General in the army and he doesn’t have a house in Dubai; he

has commanded the army and doesn’t have a housing development in Abuja. How can you doubt such man? He is an exceptional man. He is not one of us, but he is good for us, in my view. What can you say about allegations of nepotism against Buhari, and what does the Chief of Army Staff (COAS)’s ownership of Dubai houses mean for Buhari’s fight against corruption? I have two responses to that. First and foremost, with reference to the COAS, who is alleged to have a house in Dubai; there’s nothing wrong in having a house in Dubai, but you must be able to justify it. And lucky enough, the press is already asking questions. I understand that the military is going to do some investigation on the issue. The immediate past President of Russia said a nation is rich when it has wealthy people. I don’t think our nation is against wealth, but wealth without character is what our nation should be and is against. The COAS has a duty, being a public officer, to convince us that his house in Dubai was acquired legitimately, especially considering the government’s stand on anti-corruption and considering that this nation has been a victim of leadership through all sorts of chicanery. With regard to nepotism, there is a lot of concern. I have heard that concern too and people have complained about that. I think the President who swore to protect the Constitution, which insists on Federal Character such that the apparatus of government should not be dominated by one ethnic group, should be advised, in my view, to listen to the voice of the people and to make amends where necessary. There’s a resurgent call for the restructuring of the country. What is your take? I am of the view that this nation has no structure. So, if we’re talking about restructuring, the nation must first of all have a structure. We need to understand the nature of our nation. Nigeria is a very peculiar nation. God created this nation in a unique way. It puts in this nation different ethnic groups, but what is outstanding is that these different ethnic groups are geographically located in different places and uniquely concentrated in those places. So the Igbo are in the South East, Yoruba in the South West, Akwa Ibom and others South South, the Tivs, Jukun etc in the Middle Belt while the Hausa and Fulani and others in the North. Now these separate peoples want

to form a nation. In my view, the only sensible thing to do is to have what I call ‘political banquet’ where they sit together and agree on the terms of their unity. That has never happened in Nigeria. Before Independence, it was a writ of summons; we were summoned as a people after being conquered under colonialism to Lancaster and they told us the type of constitution they wanted, largely to their benefit. We didn’t have much choice nor could resist. After colonialism came the military and dictatorship covered the firmament of the nation; so much that the military that had no power legally or legitimacy to give us a constitution did give us. A constitution that lied to us, one that gave us Decree 24 of 1999. In the whole world, our constitution is the only one that is a decree. And a decree is a forced law. Now you must understand the error of this nation. When the military took over power in 1984, it gave itself the power to make laws like the National Assembly. It never gave itself power to make a constitution. And a constitution is not law. In my book, Constitution Powers and Duties of the President, I set out 10 differences between a law and constitution. A law, for example, is enacted by an act of legislature, but a constitution is agreed upon by the people. That is why this whole issue of national conference is nonsensical in my view, apart from its unconstitutionality. The Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa and all others should have met on their own and put issues on the table in the formation of this new nation. Then we bring it to the universal political table to make a

nation. But this has not happened, and because of that, there will continue to be disorder, resistance, shaking of the nation, ethnic intolerance, religious difference and regional disorder in this country. Until we reach that point, we are not going anywhere. Are you optimistic that you’ll get your party’s ticket for the governorship election? Like every aspirant, I hope for the best. But I think comparatively, like one of my friends from Ijaw said when they’re asking to govern the people, the people should ask if they’ve gone to jail for the people because in that we know that they’re willing to make necessary sacrifice for the people. As for me, I have gone to jail for the people. I believe I have stood for something for the people of Nigeria and Ondo. I have been consistent. I have done all that I think is possible; so I hope that as I stood with the people, they’ll stand by me. But if somebody else is picked and he follows due process, there’s no problem. I’ll continue my adventure through life to do what I can. If I can touch somebody as I pass through this path, if I can lift pain from the heart, if I can feed the hungry, if I can give helping hand to the needy, then my life has not been in vain. My adventure into politics is to see if I can do a little more for the people. All that a human being can ask God to give him in his journey through life He has given to me. I am a contented man, but your contentment cannot be deep when you see pain, hunger, denial, unwarranted anguish and uncaring poverty around.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Big Issue

Abia: Still God’s Own State?

Ikpeazu

Ogah (left) receiving his Certificate of Return

The issuance of Certificate of Return to Abia Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Uche Ogah by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the face of an appeal by Okezie Ikpeazu over a court judgment ousting him as governor sets the stage for a long-drawn battle in the state. Editor, Politics/Features, EMEKA ALEX DURU, writes.

here was, literally, no governance in Abia State on Thursday, June 30. The state was rather in a state of confusion and near anarchy. The governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, who had no inkling of the uncertainties ahead, had set out for Abia State University (ABSU), Uturu, for a function in which he was billed to deliver the keynote address. He was yet to get to the venue of the function when news filtered in that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had issued Certificate of Return to Uche Ogah, who was trailing him in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary, as the duly-elected governor of Abia. That was the climax of the confusion that had crept into the state since Monday, June 27, when a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja delivered a judgment ousting Ikpeazu as Abia governor and directed INEC to issue Ogah with Certificate of Return. It also ordered that Ogah, the President of Masters Energy Group, be sworn in as the authentic candidate of the party. Ogah had, shortly after the 2015 governorship primary of PDP, approached the court with allegation that

Ikpeazu was unfit to stand for election because of inappropriate filings in his tax returns. The case, which initially went in favour of the governor at the lower court, was ordered for retrial by the Supreme Court. It was in the process of retrial that the court rendered judgment in favour of his opponent. The governor, however, faulted the judgment and filed an appeal where he asked the Appeal Court to set aside the judgment of Justice Okon Abang. In a notice of appeal filed by his lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, Ikpeazu faulted the judgment on five grounds, saying that the Federal High Court lacked the power to order him to vacate the seat of Abia State Governor. The Appeal Court hearing on the matter is expected to commence tomorrow. Ogah gets certificate The case, however, took more uncertain turns when INEC issued Certificate of Return to Ogah. INEC National Commissioner in charge of the South East, Lawrence Nwuruku, who made the presentation, said the commission acted in obedience to the lawful order of a court, adding that if the

court subsequently orders a reversal of the action, the Commission would not hesitate to do its bidding. “The situation is that we are simply obeying the court order. The court said, with immediate effect without wasting of time, we should issue him Certificate of Return and that is what we have done – to obey the court order. If the court tomorrow issues another order, we would obey the same,” he said. This was what immediately raised the bar of uncertainty in Abia. With what seemed a looming anarchy, Abia became the topic of conventional and social media discourse. While reports had it that Uche, armed with INEC certificate, was heading down to the state from Abuja, the governor made a detour on his scheduled assignment in ABSU and raced down to Government House, Umuahia, to take charge of affairs. Momentary relief, however, came to the troubled residents and citizens of the state when a high court made an order preventing the state’s Chief Judge from swearing in Ogah. In what also seemed a deft political move to defray the rising tension and apparently to prevent Ogah from hav-

ing his way, the state hastily declared a two-day public holiday on Friday, July 1, and Monday, July 4. The government said the public holidays were declared as sign of respect for immediate past Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Canada, Ojo Maduekwe, an indigene of the state, who died in Abuja on Wednesday. But even as the government made this explanation, many saw in it a quick move to halt Ogah in his mission of taking over the Government House. The action, it was also reasoned, would save the Chief Justice the suspicion or allegation of taking sides with any of the parties in the unfolding situation. But whether that would ultimately afford the obviously embattled Ikpeazu the needed breather remained another issue. Back to the trenches What is, however, certain is that with last Thursday’s development, a new phase has opened in the recurrent battles that Ikpeazu appears to have been fighting in a bid to remain on his seat. His travails, which commenced shortly after his emergence as PDP candidate, took a more definite shape

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

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Kalu

following the stiff challenge he encountered in the hands of Alex Otti, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), before, during and after the April 11, 2015 gubernatorial election. In the build-up to the election, though other political parties campaigned and actually participated in the election, it was obvious that the exercise was a straight encounter between Ikpeazu and Otti. Ikpeazu, who rode on the platform of the then Governor Theodore Orji’s political structure, had brandished continuation of the policies of the administration as his trump card. But that became a basis for Otti to dismiss him as a lackey of a government he said represented the years of the locust in Abia history. While the two regularly took tirades at one another, their supporters also engaged themselves, at times, in manners that almost compromised the peace in the state. It was with such testy climate that the state limped into the April governorship election. When INEC, therefore, declared Ikpeazu the winner, Otti and his camp cried blue murder, alleging that the election was rigged. The APGA candidate promptly headed for the state’s elections petitions tribunal, where he alleged massive electoral fraud by PDP. His prayer was for the Tribunal to nullify Ikpeazu’s declaration and declare him the rightful winner of the poll. Ikpeazu countered the allegations, insisting that he won the election squarely. He called out witnesses and tendered documents in support of his position. In its ruling, the Tribunal dismissed the petition by Otti and upheld Ikpeazu as the winner of the poll. The judgment prompted Otti to proceed to the Court of Appeal. His argument remained that he was rigged out in the election and should be declared the winner. He particularly made case on alleged over-voting in some councils, insisting that the disputed results from them should be cancelled.

Orji

The Justices of the Appeal Court upheld his argument, did the computations and declared him the rightful winner of the election. Ikpeazu appealed the judgment and was eventually declared the winner of the poll by the Supreme Court. Abians speak While the court processes lasted, governance suffered gravely in Abia. There are fears of the same energysapping legal processes and cost on governance taking place in the current exercise. Those close to Ogah, for instance, say that he is endowed with enormous financial war chest and granite commitment in any given engagement. In the current encounter, he is said to have vowed to go the whole hog in ensuring that he takes the governorship position that he insists was denied him by the then Theodore Orji-led administration, using state machinery. “If I truly know Uche, as indeed I do, I can bet you that we have not seen anything yet in this battle. Ikpeazu can come up with any antic at survival, but Ogah that I know will not be deterred. He will pursue the case to a logical conclusion and may come out triumphant,” volunteered a former council transition committee chairman in the state, who asked not to be mentioned. A group, Abia Renaissance Movement, interpreted the issuance of Certificate of Return to Ogah and the order to swear him in as governor a serious violation of legal procedures and invitation of anarchy to Abia. A release by the organisation’s President, Godwin Adindu, said that the directive was unimaginable, given that Ikpeazu had formally filed a notice of appeal and a stay of execution. “Nigeria is not a jungle. We are not in an animal kingdom. Let all the extraneous forces bent on causing mayhem and turning Abia into another Syria think twice. “Governor Ikpeazu is a peace-loving man and an ardent believer and respecter of the rule of law. “We ask for nothing less and noth-

Otti

ing more, but that the rule of law must prevail. Else, all parties involved in this grand conspiracy and sabotage against the will of the people of Abia and against the law and the constitution of Nigeria should wait for us. We shall meet at Phillipi,” he stressed. Other supporters of the governor are equally not relenting on the matter. Last Thursday, the state chapter of PDP vowed that it would resist any attempt to inaugurate Ogah as governor of the state. “We are ready for them, we are ready to die,” the party said, adding, “If they do it, then they are inviting anarchy and confusion in the state.” The party made the declaration at the end of its emergency meeting in Umuahia. The state chairman of the party, Johnson Onuigbo, said the party was poised for showdown over the planned inauguration. He described the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which ordered that Ogah be sworn in as “a rape of democracy”. His words: “We want to inform the world that there is tension in Abia because democracy is about to be raped. “As a party, we will resist any move by anybody to undermine the peace in the state. “We are ready for them, we are ready to die,” he said. “If they do it, then they are inviting anarchy and confusion in the state.” Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye, a journalist and newspaper columnist, sued for caution in the development in Abia. “This is not the first time a governor has been sacked by a court and the sacked governor appealed the judgment. So is someone trying to unleash anarchy in Abia? “The Ogah fellow should not allow anyone to use him to cause breakdown of law and order in his own state. At the end of the day, it is the ordinary people that will suffer if there is crisis. “Ogah and the person eager to swear him in should exercise a little more patience. The appellate court may yet give judgment in his favour...and

based on the Supreme Court ruling on Peter Obi’s case, his tenure will commence from the date he was sworn in,” he wrote on his Facebook page. Governance on recess? The fear by concerned analysts in the Abia situation is the danger of the state slipping to the uncertain times of the first term of former Governor Orji. On account of the frosty relationship that existed between Orji, fondly called Ochendo by his supporters, and his predecessor, Orji Kalu, the greater part of his first tenure was spent on the tussle over the control of the state’s politics. Ochendo, who eventually had upper hand in the encounter, told this reporter in an encounter that he needed to embark on the battle to free the state from the clutches of godfather dominance. He said: “I did what majority of Abians wanted. That was to make Abia to be free. That was to remove Abia from the clutches of one family, to remove Abia from the clutches of undemocratic processes. That was the thing that made me achieve it. This state belongs to all of us. It can never be the property of one person. It can never be the property of one family, and no person in Abia can decide the fate of every other person. And they wanted somebody who would do that; they wanted Abia to come back to them and God used me to achieve that.” Achieving that came with huge cost on administration of the state. The former governor admitted that the exercise amounted to a great deal of distraction to him and his agenda for the state. In the process, many jeered at his administration as lacking in mission and focus. Not even Orji’s spirited efforts at infrastructural repositioning of the state in his second term were enough to reverse the unflattering performance rating of the administration by the Abia electorate. This is the rocky route, many fear, Abia will travel again as the legal entanglement between Ikpeazu and Ogah lingers.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Interview ‘Nigerians must be regretting voting APC’ Ebonyi State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Onyekachi Nwebonyi, in this interview with Special Correspondent,CHIJIOKE AGWU, speaks on his recent election, his agenda at repositioning the party, Buhari’s one year in office, among other issues.

Nwebonyi

ictory and celebration as Ebonyi PDP chairman So many things might have accounted for that. Being the youngest chairman of PDP in the state since the inception of the party may be one of the reasons. Second, there is a saying that facts speak for themselves. Maybe, people that I had come in contact with who actually understood my personality felt it was the right decision. People who know me know my values, my hatred for corruption and my respect for people. That, I think, might have contributed to the jubilation. I contested just like every other person and, as God wanted, party leaders, elders and supporters said they wanted me to serve them. I am very grateful to God for that. Ebonyi PDP under the new leadership Under my leadership, PDP is going to experience

unprecedented growth. By that I mean that I am going to scout for more members. I will embark on aggressive membership drive to boost the membership strength of the party in the state. I will also ensure that those who left the party for one reason or another are brought back to the party because politics is a game of numbers. Since the beginning of this democratic dispensation in Ebonyi, PDP has been in power and it has been as a result of our ability to maintain more members than other political parties in the state as well as our ability to keep our campaign promises. I will also ensure that those elected on the platform of the party fulfil their electioneering promises and act in line with the party’s constitution because that is the only way the people will always vote for us during elections. This is because governance is a social contract between those in power and the people. If the people vote you in, it is expected that

you provide social services to the people. And failure to do that is a breach of the social contract. I, as the party chairman, will make sure that our flag-bearers act in accordance with this understanding. Funding the party, given the decline in the state revenues and the seeming reluctance of the governor to fund it Going by the constitutional provisions of our party, there are many ways of generating funds for the party such as grants from individuals and associations, levies from members and, of course, we can venture into business. I believe that if these avenues as stipulated are properly harnessed, we will have the financial strength to move on. Assuaging the feelings of aggrieved members I don’t think anybody is aggrieved over the outcome of the congresses. However, this game is one of interest. At some point, one’s interest may appear not

properly protected; but at the same time we should work as brothers. If it is not your turn today, tomorrow it might be yours. I am the chairman today, tomorrow another person will be here as others were here before me. It is a matter of time and turn. However, I will still talk to the elders of our party to meet with them, if any is aggrieved. Ebonyi governor’s performance, one year after The government of PDP in this state as led by David Umahi has done so well in virtually all sectors. You can see the new look of the state capital. It was never like this. The rural roads are receiving attention too. There is massive human empowerment going on. The Bible is correct in saying that when the righteous is on the throne, the people rejoice. In Ebonyi, we are happy. I think the heavens are also happy. Youth-friendly PDP in Ebonyi First of all, our governor is

a youth-loving governor. He has so many programmes for the youths. There is an ongoing YOUWIN programme for the youths being spearheaded by the office of the Commissioner for Economic Empowerment. Even in the Nigerian democracy generally, despite setbacks here and there, I believe that we are getting there gradually. Assessment of the APCled federal government under Buhari one year after The APC federal government has failed. It could not even deliver on any of its campaign promises. The economy has crumbled. The government has further thrown the people into severe hardship by increasing the price of fuel. The purported fight against corruption is fake. It is just a clampdown on opposition elements in the country. Nigerians must be regretting voting for APC. In 2019, PDP will replace APC because APC has failed Nigeria.

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

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Interview

Nigeria heading for total collapse before Buhari’s emergence – Ekechi National Director, Election Planning and Monitoring for All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council in the 2015 general elections and former Imo State Commissioner for Information, Theodore Ekechi, speaks on President Muhammadu Buhari’s one year in office in this interview with Assistant Editor (South East), CHRISTIAN NWOKOCHA. Ekechi

erceptions on President Muhammadu Buhari, one year after I am not happy with the situation of things on the ground. I am not also happy that we have not met expectations of Nigerians perhaps in the last one year. But I am however very happy, and it is very important, either by design or providence, to have a person like Buhari as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because it could have been worse. To fix this country, foundation is key. It could have been worse, in the sense that some of the promises were made on the basis of what was or seemed to be working in government. The mindset then was on the economic profile that was presented to Nigerians by the previous administration and the price of oil which later dwindled. Take it to be a coincidence that as soon as Buhari came into office, the price of oil which was about 95 per cent of the earnings of the country nosedived. It will also give reason for anybody to believe that the same 95 per cent of Nigeria’s earnings is no longer there. If you have a critical look at this, you can agree with me that Nigeria was already heading towards total collapse before Buhari’s emergence and that was why I said it could have been worse. It is not the fault of either Buhari or APC. The problem is global. Nigerians losing confidence in Buhari I do not believe that Nigerians are losing confidence in Buhari’s

administration. There are people who expected Buhari to fail. So, I completely disagree with you that Nigerians have lost confidence in Buhari. On the contrary, Nigerians are beginning to hope that Buhari will fix this country, having noted that we lived a false life as Nigerians in the past. We are moving away from the position of pretence and falsehood to the position of reality. This comment of loss of confidence is coming from areas where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is holding the people hostage. That we are still together as a nation is as a result of the transparent nature of the man, Buhari. Because of his anti-corruption agenda, some sections of Nigeria obviously would want to talk about loss of confidence. PDP members are badly hit by this anticorruption agenda. However, the Nigerian situation today is where we need to pile a foundation for better structures. Nigeria having credibility problem on account of comments by the President abroad I will disagree with you again. Probably you are referring to comments in the United States, London and India trips. When a nation puts on trial its former National Security Adviser (NSA) for a sin that is obvious, when a nation puts on trial Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) for corruption, when a nation puts on trial the publicity secretary of the former ruling party, when a nation puts on trial former ministers, other government officials for corruption, when a nation parades former governors, when a na-

tion probes military officials who embezzled funds meant to fight for the people, will it not amount to fool-hardiness if anyone in Nigeria continues to pretend that no one is corrupt because the President said it? The essence of these trips is to lay siege to corrupt Nigerians who stole money and sent them abroad. With what the President is doing, there is no more hiding place for these corrupt government officials. The President is being proactive. If he agrees with the international community that some Nigerians are corrupt, the next line of action is to plan how to return the loots in their domain. We want them back to our country. Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, portraying Nigeria as broke Permit me to say that in a critical situation where Nigeria found itself, the whole truth can be made public. We must run away from the era of political decoration and perhaps say things the way they are, depending on who is saying it and at what occasion. So I don’t really see what is bad in being frank. You tell the international community that you are rich when you are broke, that is the pretence that has kept us where we are today. If we must pretend that all is well with us, why do we travel to China, Saudi Arabia and many other countries of the world seeking help? Nigeria can be broke but not to the point of insolvency because we have abundant material and human resources that can keep us moving.

Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade targeting members of the opposition Again, that is the propaganda of the opposition party. That is the dilemma of a frustrated political party which ruled the country with false impression. That is the position of the opposition party, stinking with a bad image. This country was ruled by one party in the last 16 years through “who do you know in government?”. The last regime infiltrated every nook and cranny of the country and institutionalised corruption. If it is true that most people who handled contracts and rendered services to Nigerians are PDP, then you cannot remove the fact that most people who will be called to render account of services must be PDP. APC has just come to power; therefore its members should also know that in case they lose election at the centre or at any level, they will also be called by the party in power to come and render its account in office. It is a good beginning for Nigeria. But I want to state that the former PDP members who later joined APC are facing trial too. Let me remind you that the anticorruption agencies of government work on information and petitions backed with facts. So if anybody can identify anyone in APC, let the person come up with a petition. For me, the people should not bother so much because there will be a day of reckoning even for the APC members who are now in

power. Buhari’s achievements within one year in office Yes. Impunity has reduced. Our respect and status have been restored as a leading developing country among others. Buhari has laid foundation for future development. Nigerians have changed in the way they carry out government business. There is discipline among Nigerians in the exercise of their powers. Those in power no longer take people for granted. People can now believe that corrupt practices can be punished. There is confidence in the electoral system, otherwise PDP couldn’t have won re-run elections in some states of the federation. Certain contracts and fake contracts outside the country, using Nigeria’s hardearned money, have all stopped. The 2016 budget was made an issue because the President, for the first time, wanted the right thing done. Now that the budget has been passed, Nigerians, in the next few weeks, will witness rapid infrastructural development. Today, we have a President who cannot be intimidated. Leadership is about taking the people where they should be and not where they want to be. Respect for Nigeria as the most populous nation in Africa has been restored. Gone are days you looked down on the Nigerian President and treated him with a wave of hands. We have keyed into the committee of respected nations and we can also be heard. Buhari’s government has reasonably reduced Boko Haram’s fighting capacity. Foundations have also been laid to which developments will thrive.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Perspective

Why the Igbo do not hate...but may not trust Buhari

Buhari By Igbonekwu Ogazimorah

read a post in the inverse of the first tranche of this title recently. My response appears to disappear into thin air. But I have a view quite different from that of the poster. President Muhammadu Buhari cannot actually be said to be hated by the Igbo. Mere fact of difference in political considerations cannot translate to hatred. This is a democracy, and opinions ought to be free. In my profession, we say, “facts are sacred, comment is free.” Fact is that Buhari belongs to the gang of retired national military cabal that sprang from the spoils of the wholesale massacre of the Igbo and the subsequent Nigeria-Biafra war. Yes, Buhari was just a middle level commander in some theatres of the war without any strong trace of such bestial conducts of some other brutal officers who took pleasure in the killing of even innocent Biafrans. Indeed, August Okpe, one of the great Biafran Pilots says of Buhari in his book, The Last Flight: “My neighbour in the Apapa Barracks, Muhammadu Buhari, told me that those who were making the troubles leading to the massacre of the Igbo were Sani Abacha, Murtala Muhammed and TY Danjuma.” This suggests that Buhari was personally offended by the unbecoming killings as planned out by these men who worked for Yakubu Gowon. In the Owerri theatre of the war leading up to Okigwe, Buhari was present and not much of atrocities were reported. He was in the first set of Land Rovers that successfully passed through before the deadly Abagana bang that claimed men and armour in the quintessential Ogbunigwe top performance of the era. Then after, he was Brigade

Gowon

Major at Awka up till the end of the war. Though strong suspicions still abound, there is no evidence that Buhari took part, or was present during the massacre of over 300 refugees who were rounded up in the Apostolic Church in Onitsha, bound hands and feet, and executed in cold blood by Nigerian soldiers. The Irish missionary report of that incident revealed a level of bestial depravity never known in history of modern wars. As Military Head of State, Buhari was not known to ever ask a single question about the plight of the Igbo, especially over the abandoned property in Port Harcourt, of which it is suspected that his undeclared building in that city was a part. He also did not appear to have had time to consider the magnitude of damage done to the Igbo by the Gowon government over the issues or seizure of people’s bank savings, even as disguised reparation against the Igbo. Today, as President of democratic Nigeria, so to say, he has not appeared to prove Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) wrong in the 1985 statement that he, Buhari, did not have sufficient latitude for accommodation of varied views for a diverse polity as Nigeria. One stunning case in point now is the composition of his service human infrastructure, which is clearly skewed against all except a section of the North, but worse for the Igbo, who, by any of the prevailing national faith, are not represented at all. But let us leave that. I personally joined, uninvited, to campaign for Buhari, praying he would defeat former President Goodluck Jonathan, if only to prove that an emerging Nigeria political hegemon can be ousted. I was also disgusted by Jonathan’s style of letting thieves take over the national coffers as if there would be no future for us

Babangida

and our children. Yes, since the emergence of Buhari, there is this robust engagement of his handlers by all, very vehement among them being Igbo, who I think erroneously think they lost a thing in the defeat of President Jonathan. To me, they lost nothing other than the repeated deceit made in promises of goodies and some promotions of individuals who have been in the corridors of power only for themselves and their stomachs. But in all, the Igbo, especially the youth, cannot be faulted in their loud protestations, not necessarily about the person of Buhari, but more about what is feared he represents. Mind you, not a few, especially among those who are just getting the details of the Gowon pogrom against the Igbo, can actually situate such development where the actions of about five young army majors, who planned their coup in secrecy, killing political leaders of other ethnic groups, could arouse the entirety of the North to descend on defenceless Igbo, military and civilian – not just nudged on by the complicit silence of the state – but actually with full deployment of national muscle of violent destruction, to exterminate a whole race. Further assent of the state was given in the 30-month war, in which Gowon handed down the limit of the brutality of the state in his bid to get the old East to accept his suzerainty. The whole world witnessed it. To worsen matters, stronger facts of the war are emerging today, as various governments, agencies and families declassify the erstwhile secret reports of the pogrom and the war. These reports are gory. It is just dawning on all that things far more terrible than were reported, than were known, actually happened. In one of the recent clips released by an Irish family whose

head was in the war all through as Mercy worker, it was established that the pattern of targeting and slaughtering the vulnerable as the sick, old, children, sleeping, etc, as carried out these days by the herdsmen on rampage are a mere well-practised tradition of revenge against despised people. The pattern of sword-strokes, the chant of battle, the numb-response or bare-faced lies of the leading elements, the pretension it was only a flash which would not be repeated, have always been there. These youths, who are far more exposed to these new releases, are usually information and communication technology (ICT)-savvy, and are bound to get more, even as the government has made efforts in decades to erase such facts of history. It is not as if it is too incorrect to try to control the information dished to the young public. The real mistake was in Gowon’s perfidy, and subsequent pretensions of other administrations since the ugly development. My former boss, Uche Ezechukwu, once wrote in an article, “...it is not unexpected that Nigeria would be getting it all wrong until all the so-called Generals who fought in Nigeria-Biafra war get phased out...they are burdened by a certain superiority complex....” Was he wrong? Let him be wrong, but he was not non-prophetic. In 2008, a tussle ensued between Ojo Maduekwe, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his Ambassador in the United States, General Oluwole Rotimi. The General, resorting to the usual grandstanding of old soldiers suffering the same superiority complex penned a memo to his boss: “(blah...blah...blah)... I was the Adjutant General of the Nigeria Army which defeated your rag-tag Biafra forces...(blah... blah...bla”. Of course, President Umaru Yar’Adua (of blessed memory)

approved his instant removal and recall. Maduekwe, a law student in the University of Nigeria Nsukka at the outbreak of the war, rose to the rank of Captain in Biafran army, and the colourful General Rotimi could not bear the political ascendance leading to a mere Captain in a rag-tag army being his boss. The Igbo youth cannot be said to be daft to miss these. But if you insist on their hating Buhari, why not ask if they hated Yar’Adua, same Fulani, from same state as Buhari. Why didn’t they hate Shehu Shgari, same Fulani, who even became President a few years after the war that led to the destruction of the Igbo race? And for God’s sake, would the Igbo hate Buhari for Jonathan whose Ijaw people seized Igbo property in Port Harcourt in the course and after the war? In a way, something is emerging, which is making this vociferous push more robust. Buhari has not helped matters. If his friend, fellow coupist and power-glutton, IBB, declared to the whole nation that Buhari was provincial in his views and actions, even as Nigeria’s variety demanded otherwise, it is a shocker that Buhari would load and loop the entire national defence and security command in the hands of one section covering just about a radius of 400 square kilometres, in a state of over 200,000 square kilometres. I am yet to find anything more clannish, insensitive and show of disdain for others. Yet, there is still time. These can be righted, and every section will have a sense of belonging. Then Nigeria may be on its way to being great again. Ndigbo do not hate...but they can rightly be distrustful! • Ogazimorah, erstwhile Enugu State Information Commissioner and former Newspaper Editor, wrote from Enugu.

TheNiche

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Grassroots

July 03, 2016

Still on Ugbolu, neglected Delta community

Dilapidated classrooms

Ugbolu market

Okowa

Special Correspondent, OYE CHUKWUJEKWU, who visited Ugbolu, Delta community, writes on the infrastructure challenges faced by the people.

he paramount ruler of Ugbolu community in Delta State, Diokpa Amonu Christopher Okonkwo, has continued to lament the neglect of the community by successive administrations in the state. Okonkwo, who took our correspondent to the dilapidated areas of government-owned primary and secondary schools in the community, including its market that ranks among the largest in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, called on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to come to their aid. The Diokpa, who also spoke on the menace of flood in Ugbolu, noted that the youths of the community had embarked on self-development, to avert the incursion that is threatening the community’s market and about 200 homes of his subjects, adding that if nothing is done urgently, many will be rendered homeless. Earlier in his address, a senior official of the secondary school in the community who pleaded anonymity noted that the school needs more classroom blocks, given that the current structures are in bad shape. The school, she added, also lacks administrative block, adding that the teachers and students had on occasions contributed money to fortify the collapsing buildings and the road leading to it. According to her, over N153,000 was spent on both projects,

adding that the school laboratory needs urgent attention. The school, our reporter gathered, also has no perimeter fence, thereby giving room for intrusion by non-students and for students to sneak out to the community during school hours. TheNiche further learnt that on account of the dilapidated nature of the structures in the school, when it rains, most classrooms become waterlogged. Aside the classrooms, the toilet system is unhygienic. There is also no potable water in the school, forcing the students to fetch water from local streams. The borehole system in the school, she disclosed, has been abandoned. The community’s primary school also faces the same challenges as the secondary school. The headmistress, Mrs. Josephine Ochonogor, told TheNiche that “the school is always burgled” because of lack of security, adding that the classrooms are not safe for teachers and pupils, as some structures are in various stages of collapse. The headmistress appealed to the Diokpa-in-council to mobilise stakeholders in the community to institute an education trust fund that will encourage the children to come to school. Diokpa Okonkwo has, thus, appealed to Governor Okowa to urgently address their problems, to save them from the challenges plaguing the community.

Dilapidated school building

Bad road

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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From the states

Battle for the soul of Imo PDP

Ohakim

Udenwa

Uzodinma

Ihedioha

Zoning of key offices and attempts to hijack the party structure ahead 2019 politics set key members of Imo State wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on collision course, Assistant Editor (South East), CHRISTIAN NWOKOCHA, writes.

he dream by the major opposition political party in Imo State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) government led by Governor Rochas Okorocha in 2019 may remain far-fetched following issues arising from its controversial congresses in the state. This is in addition to alleged attempts by some party chieftains to hijack its structure against the interest of other members who, it is feared, may defect to other political parties. The party’s congresses from ward to the state levels were rescheduled on several occasions following attempts by notable members of the party to dominate the process. The ward congresses, which took place under stressful moments, can be described as a huge joke. While some party members claimed that most of the ward leaders were handpicked by moneybags, the official results of the exercise at the local government level are yet to be released due to allegations of the outcome being tampered with by those desperate to secure the party’s governorship ticket in 2019. The three major power players within the state’s PDP hierarchy are Senator Hope Uzodinma (Orlu zone), the former Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha (Owerri zone), and former Governor Ikedi Ohakim (Okigwe zone). Each of the three is incidentally nursing governorship ambition in 2019, desperately in need of the entire party

structure to secure the party’s ticket. Uzodinma is alleged to be working with Governor Okorocha of APC, who incidentally comes from the same senatorial zone with him, for a swap of offices in 2019. The deal, according to sources, would entail Uzodinma paving way for Okorocha to contest and become senator after his second tenure as governor, while Okorocha is, on his own, expected to pave way for Uzodinma to become governor. Working on the alleged deal with Okorocha, Uzodinma appears desperate to have firm grip of the party structure in the state to ensure he secures the party governorship ticket in 2019. Ihedioha, the party’s governorship candidate in 2015, is also not taking the matter lightly. There are indications that he still has a firm grip of the party structure from the national headquarters to the state level given the prominent role he played in his last position as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. Though he lost his governorship bid in 2015, he is seen as enjoying the loyalty of members, particularly from his zone, who are working hard to ensure he maintains the grip of the party’s structure to enable him secure its ticket in 2019. In similar stead, though Ohakim lost his second tenure bid in 2011 to Okorocha, he appears not done until he wins another four-year tenure. He is undoubtedly in charge of his senatorial zone and wields lots of influence in the area. The former governor is also working hard to ensure he has a firm grip of the party structure to enable him secure

its ticket. While the three push their agenda desperately, there are fears that they may drive the PDP into similar mistakes that made it lose to Okorocha in 2011. Among these factors, imposition of candidates, greed, total disregard to the party’s constitution, anti-party activities, mutual suspicion among members and unwillingness to let go contributed a lot to PDP’s loss of power in Imo in 2011, and at the national level last year. In what seemed a replay of the old order, the state congress of the party slated for Wednesday, May 18, 2016 was postponed indefinitely. The main issue for now is about who will produce the state chairman of the party and which of the three geo-political zones the chairman would come from. This development has severally stalemated meetings of the leadership of PDP in the state. Even with the obvious disquiet in its fold, Ohakim, Uzodinma and Ihedioha had, in a recent meeting with journalists, insisted that there were no cracks in Imo PDP. But irked by the uncertain developments in the party, a pressure group known as Coalition of True Imo PDP Democrats emerged within the party with a view to streamlining the activities of the party, using its constitution. The organisation led by Udenwa and former state chairman of the party, Dr. Alex Obi, said it will look beyond party moneybags and work for credible candidates that can win elections for PDP on merit. The coalition, which prided itself as

the conscience of the party, eventually came out with a template which contained the zoning of party offices and other elective positions. Obi said their intervention was necessary, given the activities of some party leaders whose intention was to buy the party for personal use. According to the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1991, the congresses held so far in Imo were not in line with the people’s expectations. “It is for this the pressure group emerged from the party. The intention of the association is to restore party ownership to the teeming grassroots members who are the original owners of the party. But the moneybags have continued to flout the constitutional provisions and conventions, the general principles of justice, equity and fair play, thereby destroying the image of the party,” Obi lamented. The essence of zoning, he added, is to ensure that no zone dominates. According to him, the chairman of the party has been zoned to Okigwe zone, secretary and treasurer zoned to Owerri and Orlu zones respectively. Other political leaders in the state appear to be comfortable with the zoning, but Uzodinma frowns at the arrangement, which he suspects is skewed to scuttle his governorship ambition. He is, in fact, alleged to be buying time to woo party delegates who will vote whoever he nominates as party chairman, a move being checkmated by Ihedioha and Ohakim.

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

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Judiciary

Onyewuchi Ojinnaka Email: onyewuchi_ojinnaka@yahoo.com 0811 181 3060

Judiciary handicapped until ACJ Act 2015 was signed – Sagay

L-R: Samin Amaddin from EFCC, Godwin Obla (SAN), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) and Richard Nwankwo of Crusade for Justice and Babatunde Ogungbamila from Olisa Agbakoba Legal at the 2016 NAJUC Annual lecture in Lagos

Professor of law and Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption, Itse Sagay, was chairman at a forum organised by the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Lagos State chapter. At the event, he spoke on issues that affect the judiciary in the administration of justice and the easing of the problems by the New Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015. Senior Correspondent ONYEWUCHI OJINNAKA reports.

ntil May 2015, the judiciary had taken the blame for delays in administration of criminal justice. It is just not the fault of the judiciary, but the application of old rule that stifled prosecution. But the signing into law of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 (ACJA 2015) brought great relief to the whole administration of criminal justice because it considerably reviewed the rule for defence counsel to indulge in frustrations and delays, thereby ridiculing the whole system. This explanation was made recently by Professor Itse Sagay, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), while speaking in Lagos at the 2016 Annual Lecture and Award Ceremony organised by the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Lagos chapter. TheNiche gathered that the ACJA 2015 responds to Nigeria’s dire need of a new legislation that will transform the criminal justice system to reflect the true intents of the Constitution and the demands of a democratic society, eliminate unacceptable delays in disposing of criminal cases and improve the efficiency of criminal justice administration in the country. The purport of ACJA is to enhance accelerated proceedings and prosecution of corruption and related crimes. It introduces innovative provisions that will enhance the efficiency of the justice system, builds upon the existing framework of criminal jus-

tice administration in the country and fills the gaps observed in these laws over the course of several decades. Main objectives of the Act are specifically to promote effective management of criminal justice institutions and speedy dispensation of justice, to protect the society from crime, and protect the rights and the interests of the defendant and the victim. They are captured in Section 1 of the Act. It is deliberate shift from punishment to restorative justice which pays attention to the needs of the society, the victims, vulnerable persons and human dignity. At the forum, with the theme ‘The Judiciary, Media, Anti-graft Agencies and the Fight against Corruption’, Sagay, while explaining the essence of ACJA, said: “Once a case commences, it must go on from day to day and of course, like any other law, there are exceptions that when it becomes necessary to have adjournment, then one could be granted, but would not be longer than two weeks and normally not more than five adjournments in one case.” Citing another provision of the Act, Sagay said when the aggrieved party files appeal at the appeal court, and applies for stay of execution, the case would go on regardless of the appeal. The appeal proceedings would go on simultaneously with the high court proceedings. Another very important provision of the Act is that it stops counsel from filing frivolous applications such as preliminary objections on jurisdiction, to cause delay or stall proceedings. In such cases, the court would

be totally involved in the determination of, first, whether it has jurisdiction or not. He cited cases in which matters that went to the Supreme Court were later referred back to the high court, thereby causing the matter to start de novo (afresh). An example is Joshua Dariye’s case which commenced since 2007. “The Act states that if you bring a preliminary objection, the court would simply hear that objection and listen to the counter by the prosecution counsel, but gives no ruling. After that, it will go on with the main case. At the conclusion of the case, the court will give a ruling on the preliminary objection and give a ruling on the main case of corruption. “Once that happens and if the aggrieved party wants to appeal, he appeals both for the preliminary objection and the main case, and for ever and ever, that case will never come to the high court again. That is the present position,” the learned gentleman stressed. One other thing under the new Act, TheNiche gathered, is that, previously, when a judge was elevated to the appeal court and another judge appointed to replace him at the high court, the case will start de novo and if the matter had stayed for four years, that time would have been lost. But now, once a judge is promoted to the Court of Appeal, he is compelled to hear the cases he was handling at the high court in addition to the cases at the Court of Appeal. The judge must sit on the cases that are outstanding and nothing would

be suspended. The previous practice had caused lot of problems for the administration of criminal justice. Sagay absolved the judges and prosecution of blame for delays in court proceedings and instead blamed defective laws which serve as tools for the court to operate. “It was entirely not the fault of judges neither was it the fault of prosecution to cause delays in administration of criminal justice. The law itself, which they would use as an implement, was defective. I do not say all judges are perfect; there are some bad eggs obviously. But overwhelmingly, I think we have a good judiciary “This new tool, this new Act, I think, if you observe, there has been a dynamic and fast progress in the prosecution of cases,” he asserted. TheNiche gathered that so many corrupt cases are going on at full speed and the judges are sitting, hearing and directing their causes effectively. However, notwithstanding the new Act, some defence counsel have devised other strategies to prolong cases, especially corruption cases. Some of the new ploys include: using many hours for cross-examination, accusing a judge of bias in order to make him withdraw from hearing the case, and provoking the judge. Some counsel would withdraw from appearance, only for the new defence counsel to inform the court that he has just taken the brief and needs time to study and regularise the case file.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Editorial

» PoliticsXtra

With Sam Akpe

sidonlookme@yahoo.co.uk 0805 618 0195

Time for INEC to conclude Nigerian varsities: An all re-run polls intolerable anachronism

fter so much pussyfooting, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last week expressed its commitment to conclude suspended elections in Rivers, Imo, Kogi and Kano states not later than July 31, 2016. The electoral umpire said it has tentatively fixed July 23 and 30 for the conclusion of all outstanding re-run elections in the country. The re-run elections, INEC claimed, were suspended after they were disrupted by violence, which forced it to pull out its staff. The commission said it had agreed, in consultation with other political stakeholders, to hold the suspended re-run elections in Imo and Kogi States on July 23, while those of Rivers and Kano States will hold on July 30. Yet, there was no note of finality that the elections would definitely hold. INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who made the announcement, said the commission would further engage the stakeholders, and where necessary, after due consultations, review the dates with respect to all or any of the states, adding that, “Nothing is cast in stone.” He lamented that inconclusive elections were due to the perpetration of violence in the affected states, stating that although INEC was determined to conclude all the elections, the level of violence would determine the speed. But the commission’s Director, Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, gave Nigerians cause to be even less hopeful when he reiterated in a statement that despite the INEC’s “commitment,” “It would not return to conduct elections or hesitate to further postpone or discontinue the suspended elections in any area where there was imminent threat to lives or to peace or security, especially where such threats were likely to lead to breakdown of law and order.” It is instructive to note that these elections were part of the general elections of 2015, which held more than a year ago. It is also worthy of note that most of these re-run elections were supposed to be conducted within 90 days after the annulment of the original ballot. Yet, several months after, INEC is unable to conclusively deal with the issue. The unfortunate implication is that more than a year into the new political dispensation, several constituencies have been denied their constitutionally guaranteed right of quality representation at both the National and State Houses of Assembly for no fault of theirs. Such people have been wittingly excluded from the governance of this country and from participating in the authoritative allocation of our collective values. The claim by the INEC helmsman that elections anywhere in the world are not automated processes as they are conducted by human beings begs the issue. Just as his contention that disruptions in one polling unit can change the tide in the results hence the commission would not improperly conclude elections is not only hollow logic, but also puerile. The government enjoys the monopoly of the control and command of the state’s instruments of coercion. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the government led by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to provide the security that will enable INEC to carry out its constitutionally assigned duties. So, while it may well be true that the re-run elections in Kogi, Kano and Rivers were characterised by large scale disruption and physical assault on INEC staff, the blame should be put on the doorstep of the government that has scandalously proved incapable of providing the enabling environment for violence-free polls. When the fact that all these inconclusive polls and stand-alone elections is thrown into the mix, then the magnitude of the crisis becomes amplified and scarier. If government cannot conduct free, fair, violence free and conclusive poll in one senatorial zone or federal constituency, what is the guarantee that it will be able to conduct general elections in 2019 when the entire country will go to the polls in one swell swoop? But the case of Anambra Central senatorial re-run poll which INEC didn’t include in the elections to be concluded in July is even more worrisome. While the electoral umpire is quick to point at the legal quagmire entangling the poll for its reason not to conduct the election, the fact remains that INEC’s inability to play by the rules is responsible for the morass. For no fault of theirs, and because of INEC’s sheer irresponsibility, the good people of Anambra Central senatorial zone have stayed for months without representation at the Senate. It is worrisome that the inconclusive elections have become the norm rather than exception since the inception of the APC-led federal government and appointment of Mahmood Yakubu as INEC chairman. This is frightening. Elections have always been conducted in Nigeria with the politically misguided leaning towards violence. But that tendency has never deterred a determined government and electoral umpire from carrying out their constitutional duties. Nothing has changed, and nothing should, indeed, change from that norm. The Muhammadu Buhari-led government and INEC should ensure that all outstanding polls arising from the 2015 general elections are concluded. The era of tentativeness should be over.

By Tochukwu Ezukanma

fter two months of closure, the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) reopened on Sunday, June 19, 2016. The school was closed down following students’ protest against an unfair academic policy: the insistence of the school authorities that students still owing tuitions will not be allowed to take their end of semester exams. Most Nigerian families are impecunious; and many students lack the financial means to readily pay their schools fees in due time. If a student has been allowed to register for the semester, and has devoted his time, energy and resources to the academic demands and rigours of the entire semester, it is then unconscionable to stop him from taking the examinations at the end of the semester. During the protest, the school authorities called in the police, and the Nigerian police, globally notorious for their trigger-happiness, killed two students. The students were to return to school on Sunday, July 19, 2016 and to take their exams on Monday, July, 20. To re-open the school on Sunday and have the students taking their exams the next day was most insensitive. Was it not obvious that students that were on a two-month forced holiday, on return to school, would need a little time to prepare for their examinations? To demand that they take end of semester exam less than 24 hours of their arrival in school was grossly unfair, even wicked. What of those students who, due to unforeseen hitches and glitches, failed to return on that Sunday? One of the conditions for the students’ resumption of classes was that they sign an undertaking, promising to be of good behaviour in future. What is good behaviour in this context; servility, submissiveness or conformity? Good behaviour as dictated or defined by who? Nigerian dons – supposed polymaths that have mostly lost their sense of mission? Engrossed by the hedonism and wealthconsciousness of the Nigerian society, they became too distracted by the pursuit of quick money and immediate gratification. Discontent with the modest lifestyle of their scholarly and prestigious profession, they covet the opulence of the business tycoons and politicians. Devising ways of making quick money, they stooped from the transcendence of an honourable profession to wallow in pettiness like ‘sorting’, selling of handouts and trading good grades for money and sex. A major problem of the Nigerian society is that most Nigerians with any modicum of power tend

to exercise it at the expense of others. Frazzled by this general abuse of power in the country, the average Nigerian is timid and lives in fear. He quakes in trepidation of soldiers, policemen, lawyers, landlords, employers, etc. Ordinarily, the church would have been a marvelous source of encouragement and sense of worth for these terrified Nigerians. But lamentably, the men and women that preside over many of our churches are obsessed with money and power; they have also taken to fleecing and frightening the people. With their distortions of the teachings of the Bible, they dispossess their members of their money and terrify them into total submission to the personal will of the pastors. They get the people to believe the staggering nonsense that to question a pastor (an anointed of God) will bring the wrath of God on you in this life and consign you to hell fire in the hereafter. So, the church, instead of being a fount of the truth, and thus a wellspring of liberation from fear and diffidence, reinforces the dread and dismay of the Nigerian masses. For the good of Nigeria, our universities, the intellectual powerhouses of the country, must be devoid of the fear, timidity and passivity that pervade the Nigerian society. They should be bastions of freedom of thought and expression. For the good of the country, our educational system, especially at the university level, must discourage passivity and conformity. It should encourage iconoclasm and dissent. After all, it takes nothing to conform; any dim-witted lickspittle can conform. On the other hand, it takes independent-mindedness, courage, self-confidence, conviction, and even powerful ego – all the qualities we should desire from the best of our youths – to dissent. It is understandable that students’ youthful indiscretion, exuberance and libertine will periodically clash with the lecturers’ pedantry, fastidiousness and formalism. But then, the lecturers and university administrators should be exceedingly understanding and extremely accommodating of these elements of an inescapable stage of human development that are playing out in our youths. Lamentably, Nigerian university authorities exercise their powers at the expense of the students; to browbeat them into passivity and conformity. Not too long ago, a number of students at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). Ile-Ife, were suspended for six semesters for insulting a professor. You are forced to wonder the kind of insult that could have necessitated such a penalty, and whether the insulted professor is a king and the

Observations from...

What’s the fuss about Dangote gaining from currency squeeze?

n international currency trader asked my opinion on businessman Aliko Dangote gaining from the “Nigerian currency squeeze”. My answer was short and direct: I’m cool with it. Reuters wrote a piece titled, “African richest man got a fistful of dollars from Nigerian currency squeeze.” It said: “As Nigeria grapples with a foreign exchange crisis, one person stands out in the scramble to obtain hard currency: Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man. “When the government restricted the supply of dollars in June 2015 to prop up the value of the Nigerian naira, firms owned by Dangote landed a healthy share of dollars available at the cheap official rate, a study by Reuters shows. “Reuters examined foreign currency transactions made during an 11-week period in March to May this year. Over that time, Dangote businesses were able to buy at least $161 million in hard currency from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). That was around 9 per cent of all the hard currency the bank sold over the period. In a single week in March, one dollar in every eight went to Dangote companies. “There is not enough data to see how that stacks

up with the companies' share of foreign trade. “Compared with buying dollars on the more expensive unofficial market, though, Dangote companies benefited to the tune of about $100 million.” But I disagreed, from a capitalistic and free market perspective, nothing was wrong with Dangote’s currency transaction. Businesses and corporations are supposed to look after the best interest of their entities and shareholders. Dangote did not break any law, the transaction was legal. He has invested heavily in Nigeria and Africa, providing jobs. He is part of the solution, and I wish many of our businessmen and women would emulate his investments traits. Many are busy siphoning their wealth and resources to foreign lands but Dangote chose to invest in Africa and Nigeria in particular. For that, he deserves some preferences and recognition for doing well. Dangote’s corporate responsibility has benefited many Nigerians and that outweighs any pothole. • Emeka Chiakwelu, principal policy strategist at Africa Political & Economic Strategic Centre (AFRIPOL). info@afripol.org

TheNiche on Sunday welcomes letters, maximum 250 words, from readers. Send to oguwikeng@y

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

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On the beat Oguwike Nwachuku

insulting student a slave. The punishment was disconcertingly reminiscent of Dark Age cruelty. Although the world is many centuries out of the Dark Ages, many Nigerian academics and university administrators, despite their supposed education and penchant for the trappings and amenities of modernity, remain welded to Dark Age proclivities. As such, they can be vicious and mean-spirited. They are puffed up, arrogant and grasping for prestige. Ironically, knowledge does not puff up. Arrogance and megalomania are characteristics of the ignorant. Knowledge sobers and humbles because the knowledgeable are dwarfed by their knowledge of the extensive body of knowledge available to mankind and the individual’s ability to grasp only an infinitesimal fraction of this ineffable body of knowledge. Those that we entrust with the education of our youth, which is, by extension, the future of our country, should be the civilised and enlightened. Civilisation and enlightenment are founded, not in number of degrees, academic titles or other prestigious frills, but in the successfully “taming of the savageness of man”. The suspension of a student for six semesters for insulting a professor, the closing down of a university for two months because of students’ protest, or calling in of policemen to shoot at students is savagery (barbaric cruelty). It is an anachronism, totally, out of sync with the times. The Nigerian society, as a whole, should repudiate such barbaric, Dark Age, Stone Age punishments in our universities. Ezukanma wrote in from Lagos, Nigeria.

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Needless hullabaloo in Abia

rdinarily, A b i a n s should be in mourning mood going by the shocking and unexpected death of one of their illustrious sons, Ojo Maduekwe, at the age of 71 on Wednesday, June 29, in Abuja. Regardless of whether Maduekwe, who was more visible at the national and international arena, impacted the lives of his people at home significantly or not, one issue he would have gladly made himself available to resolve is the fast looming anarchy that is staring his kith and kin on the face over who is now their authentic governor, Okezie Ikpeazu or Uche Ogah? It was the ruling of a federal high court sitting in Abuja on Monday, June 27, which decided that Ikpeazu, Abia State governor, was not qualified to hold the office, that set the tune for the raging hullabaloo trending in Abia, if nothing is done urgently to avert the situation. During the ruling by Justice Okon Abang, Ogah, who came a distant second during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries in 2014, was ordered to be given the Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and installed the new governor of the state. At the said primary for Abia State governorship poll, Ogar received 103 votes behind Ikpeazu who got 487 votes. Abang, the presiding judge, gave judgment in a suit filed by Ogah, a PDP member‎ and governorship aspirant in the Abia State election, against Ikpeazu. Ogar had contended in the suit that Ikpeazu evaded tax prior to his election, and as such was‎ not qualified to hold an

elective office. The judge upheld the argument and ordered the removal of Ikpeazu for submitting false information to the PDP in the course of the party’s primary election. Justice Abang also ordered the INEC to declare Ogah, the President of Masters Energy Group, as the elected candidate by withdrawing the Certificate of Return earlier issued to Ikpeazu and handing it over to Ogah. However, what exacerbated the tension that started building up in Abia since June 27 when Justice Abang made his judicial pronouncement was the issuance of the Certificate of Return to Ogah on Thursday, June 30, by INEC and the report that he was headed for Umuahia to be sworn in as the new governor. In issuing the certificate of return to Ogah, the INEC Commissioner in charge of the South East, Lawrence Nwurukwu, said the commission did so in compliance with the court order which directed INEC to issue the certificate to Ogah with immediate effect. Nwuruku said: “The situation is, we are simply obeying the court order. The court said with immediate effect, we should issue him Certificate of Return, and that is what we have done. “If the court tomorrow issues another order, we will obey the same. By the grace of God, I am the INEC Commissioner in charge of South East. I will do the same thing if the court orders us to issue the certificate to another person. “In this case, the court ordered us to issue the certificate to the person who won the election and that is Uchechukwu Ogah. I was the person who issued the Certificate of Return to Governor Ikpeazu because he was declared winner of the election then. Now the court is saying

otherwise.” This is, perhaps, the latest‎ in a series of legal battles Ikpeazu has faced since assuming office. His election was previously challenged by banker, Alex Otti, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance‎ (APGA) in the April 2015 governorship election. Although an election petition‎ tribunal upheld Ikpeazu’s election, he was sacked at the appeal court before the Supreme Court returned him to power. I have been trying to get a handle on the legal import of the looming crisis in Abia, but it appears the judiciary, by its submissions, is even the one deepening the flame of misunderstanding hovering around who, for now, should be held accountable as the governor of God’s Own State as Abians call their state. Take, for instance, the submission of Constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN). He said: “It is hogwash, unnatural, curious and questionable. It constitutes a blatant breach of the hallowed doctrine of ‘lis pendes’... What is the hurry about it when the sitting governor has already appealed with a motion for stay of execution? The certificate is dead on arrival, as dead as ‘dodo’, having regard to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act. “As soon as INEC became aware of the appeal and motion for stay of execution, it should have been guided by discretion and waited… “Meanwhile, in law, the governor remains the governor until the appellant’s appeals are exhausted at the Supreme Court. This is a constitutional right… To be sure, the Abia High Court has powers and coordinate jurisdiction to grant the injunction it did to prevent electoral crisis.” The issues that are contending

for interpretation in the Justice Abang ruling are: issuance of Certificate of Return, vacation of office by Ikpeazu, and swearingin of Ogah by the Abia Chief Judge. Already, INEC had complied with the order on Certificate of Return. But the effort to get Ogah sworn in on Thursday, June 30, was thwarted by the “non-availability” of the Abia Chief Judge, which would have paved the way for Ikpeazu to vacate office and eventually getting all the other orders complied with. I did not expect that Ikpeazu would not head for the courts to stop his removal. What rankles me is whether he had made the right moves to stop the court’s pronouncement regarding his status. Ogah and his handlers believe that only the appeal court could have issued a stay of the execution of Abang’s ruling, and not the Osisioma Ngwa high court where the governor procured an interim injunction restraining the Chief Judge from swearing in Ogah. “The order did not emanate from a higher court, but from a court of coordinate jurisdiction and does not in any way vitiate or invalidate the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court in which the Chief Judge of Abia State was ordered to swear in Dr. Uche Sampson Ogah. Only a higher court, in this case Court of Appeal, has the jurisdiction to reverse the judgment of the Federal High Court. “Note also that appeal of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu before the Court of Appeal does not operate as a stay over the judgment of Justice Okon Abang. In the absence of any express order of the high court or the Court of Appeal ordering stay of execution, the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on June 27, 2016 should be obeyed by all the par-

ties,” Monday Ubani, Media Adviser to Ogah, said. If history is anything to go by, we should be guided by the Rivers State scenario involving Rotimi Amaechi and Celestine Omehia. One recalls that though the court made similar pronouncement bordering on Certificate of Return, handing and taking over of office and swearing-in by then Chief Judge of Rivers State, the case still ran its full course till the Supreme Court gave its landmark judgment. Although some of the sections of the Supreme Court in the case had been tinkered with to suit the Electoral Act, for instance, that those taking part in election must have passed through the electoral processes, the Act is still clear on cases like the latest one. Section 143 (1) of the Electoral Act states that: “If the election tribunal or the court, as the case may be, determines that a candidate returned as elected, was not validly elected, then if Notice of Appeal against that decision is given within 21 days from the date of the decision, the candidate returned elected shall, notwithstanding the contrary decision of the election tribunal or the court, remain in office pending the determination of the appeal.” There is also a second scenario in Section 143 (2) of the Electoral Act: “The candidate whose election is nullified or set aside shall remain in office pending the expiration of the period of 21 days which is the period for an appeal.” Even, in Section 17 of the Court of Appeal Act, the court enjoins a restraint when a notice of appeal and motion for stay of execution are filed. The parties are to maintain the status quo. Therefore, if an appeal in legal terms is akin to stay of execution, why the hullabaloo?

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TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Words &Worlds

Let’s stop criminalising our entrepreneurs! IT IS OFTEN said that it would amount to madness to continue doing a particular thing in one way and expecting to obtain a different result. The mode of operation must change for a different kind of outcome to be obtained. Now, nobody doubts that our nation, Nigeria, is in need of change. Indeed, it can be claimed that it is that realisation that swept the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) into power in the 2015 elections. And we had actually witnessed some interesting changes in the land since then, like the announcement by several state governors that the salaries and allowances of high-level government appointees would be reduced by as much as 50 per cent. Now, one wonders whether those announcements were actually followed through with action. The development was seen as a significant one in Nigeria, where the leaders’ tendency has mostly been to impose belt-tightening measures upon the people, while they continue to feed fat and not have to give up even the tiniest portion of their own perks. While the federal and most of the state governments were owing their workers several months of salaries, it was not certain if the commissioners, ministers or special advisers had to go without receiving even one month of their salaries and allowances. We need to embrace change in many other areas of our corporate

Mac Odu INDELIBLE MARKS 0806 8909 467 profmarkodu@yahoo.co.uk

Remi Sonaiya

he professional class compromised their detachment from wealth and lost the tradition of firmness. It could be proffered as subject for debate that Hope Harriman’s generation was responsible for the drift from proper professionalism. My generation, who derived our efficacy from them, had to labour hard to combat the cankerworm they had glamorously engendered. We failed. The singular goal of wealth and power within the socio-economic system had become overbearing to the elite. They ditched the culture of professionalism for the glamour of wealth. All that mattered to them was money.

life too, for us to be lifted out of the present mire. One such area was pointed out in Abimbola Adelakun’s article in The Punch newspaper of Thursday, June 25, 2015 on ‘Ogogoro and the Nigerian parable’. The point made in the piece, and which was widely acclaimed, is the need for a complete re-think of our approach to certain activities that might be considered as “illegal” or involving the “substandard” production of certain goods, like ogogoro. Instead of hounding down the people involved in the ogogoro business, Adelakun argued, would it not be more beneficial for the country, specifically in terms of job creation, to seek to standardise the process and empower the people who are involved in that cottage industry? This applies equally to the people who are accused of operating “illegal” refineries. Could the attitude, rather, not be one of seeking to help them to improve upon their operations and at least contribute that much to the development of the nation’s economy? We complain that our legally established refineries are either not functioning at all or functioning optimally, and yet we do not seek to encourage those who are contributing to making refined fuel more available in the country. It is clear that we need a totally new orientation, one which will stop criminalising ordinary people’s efforts to make a living for themselves and at the same time contribute to growing

our economy. The point of view stated above finds support in a response to Adelakun’s ogogoro article written by Professor Fakinlede, Dean of the Faculty of Technology at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). He states: “Just like Customs really expect us to clap that they have burnt millions of naira worth of contraband textile instead of sewing prison uniforms, clothing the Internally Displaced Persons or the destitute, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control thinks its job is done when it publicises arrests and destruction of substandard regulated products!” Rather than continue this senseless destruction of probably useful articles and sending to jail individuals who actually should be treated as innovators, there ought to be government and private support to transform them into our industrialists – or, at the very least, to help them effectively and profitably run their small-scale enterprises. Professor Fakinlede argues that “if the chemists and chemical engineers of Nigeria were tasked with providing simple processes for ensuring the quality and safety of the local distillation of these products, the market could expand and provide jobs and other derivatives in medical and other applications.” The time has come to stop criminalising everything that does not conform to our narrowly defined laws. While those who are stealing

us blind, robbing the nation of billions – and even trillions! – of naira continue to move freely and enjoy their ill-gotten wealth, hard-working people are being accused of engaging in illegal practices, simply because their installations are crude and rudimentary. If our governments had busied themselves with providing the services they were voted into power to give us (like running water and electricity), those crude refineries would be much better operated today. We are living in times that require out-of-the box thinking and a dynamic, innovative approach to governance. Let us hope that the sheer magnitude of the challenges facing us as a nation at this time will force our leaders to move away from the well-worn ways of doing things, and begin to seek solutions that have the potential of bringing about the kind of radical change that many of us are hoping for. Specifically, our young and energetic Nigerians must be encouraged in every way possible. The devil will always find a job for idle hands; and certainly idleness – and the resultant poverty – has pushed many of them into criminal behaviour. But that need not continue. Let us recognise the efforts many of them are making to survive, and give them that extra push which will transform them into real businessmen and women. • This is a revised version of an earlier article.

Echoes from my past (5)

The partners were fast becoming moribund themselves. They could bluff it off with a strong retinue of professional staff by refusing to make comments on professional issues for some time. Certainly at some point of need they ought to have discovered their inadequacy. It happened. Ben Epega had later to go to UK for a master’s degree and thereafter enrol for a doctoral work in an arm of the profession I do not now remember. It must have been Land Economy, for that is the discipline in which Harriman, his partner, had earlier earned an MSc.degree from Cambridge. I had sufficient reason to leave. On March 15, 1974, I wrote my letter of resignation from the practice. The practice had assisted me with obtaining my registration with the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board in 1973, and

I had the trappings of a disciplined practitioner. I left for Jos in Plateau State shortly after submitting my letter of resignation. Festus Edomobi shuddered at the abruptness of my action. I confirmed to him that I was sane and that I had made up my mind from empirical data as well as from my concept of myself and my future as a professional, to leave the practice. He nodded in half satisfaction. But I could not be bothered with his opinion. I had enough pupillage and I had a long distance to traverse in a short while. Only self-employment would do for me. I sought the steps for employing myself and embraced them. I made up my mind to build a practice that would restore the pristine glory of professionalism. And this is what I aimed at on leaving the firm of Harriman and Epega. I must say that I am grateful to Harri-

man for the large mind he showed me throughout my term with him. I am grateful to Epega for his understanding of my desire to fly. It is a pity that he had to suffer a stroke afterwards that left him a shadow of his robust former self. But I must record that Ben was a people’s man. He did not know any difference between him and other professionals, junior or senior colleagues alike. I was comfortable in his presence. Chief Harriman, the Sobaloju of Ife, was different. He fell into impressionistic spells that compelled him to show off the gulf between him and his juniors. I would not have been uncomfortable with that if he had offered much more than glamour to a thirsty and adventurous young professional that I was, when he and I struck an arrangement regarding Shell Nigeria assets early in 1972. (Concluded)

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TheNiche

July 03, 2016

In crushed Lagos

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with Emeka Alex Duru

igeria diminished in number and essence last Wednesday when a hawker was killed on Lagos road in controversial circumstances. The late teenager was said to have been knocked down by a truck while trying to evade arrest from officials of state’s environment monitoring outfit, Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) in front of Maryland Mall on Ikorodu Road. Different versions had since trailed the incident. Initial assumption that he was killed by a bus in the fleet of the state’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) prompted the vandalism of BRT buses by concerned residents and street urchins. Lagos Commissioner for Information, Steve Ayorinde, however clarified the situation later, stressing that the hawker was actually killed by an articulated truck belonging to a soft drink manufacturing company that he did not name. Apparently on account of the ugly incident, the governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Friday, July 1, declared that from that day the state would commence a total enforcement against street trading and street hawkers, saying that the law banning their activi-

ties across the metropolis would take its full course. The law, according to him, makes both the hawker and the buyer liable. “The issue is, we need to enforce our laws because we already have a law in respect of that and then there is a clause in it which says the buyer and the seller are both liable and that we are going to fine them either N90,000 or a six months jail term,” he said. Going by ugly experiences of commuters and other road-users in the hands of hawkers and the collateral danger involved in the exercise, it is not likely that the governor’s position can be faulted. Aside accidents – fatal and minor – that

often occur on account of activities of the hawkers, there have been incidences of road-users being robbed by criminal elements in their midst. Some of the street traders also easily yield to unwholesome agenda of mischief-makers who use them for odious purposes. There have been occasions of hawkers serving as informants to robbers or even concealing deadly weapons for them. Many are known to have been run over by careless drivers. Some have ended up victims of ritual murderers, while the girls among them often fall victims to sex maniacs. It is in a bid to guard against these occurrences and to show interest in the welfare of the hawkers that various governments have come up with pronouncements that include free and compulsory education for the young ones among them. But even when most of these declarations have in most cases ended up mere public relations stunts, the kid hawkers, on their own, have failed to grab the opportunities at their disposal by states that match the programmes with actions. This is one of the negative effects of their early exposure to money and easy lifestyle that hawking offers those on the loose end. Taken from this backdrop, the Lagos governor may have meant well in his tough talk against the traders. But beyond the declaration by Akinwunmi and his colleagues on hawking, there are many questions surrounding the engagement that have not been genuinely answered. Who, for instance, are these hawkers?

And why do they engage in the hazardous exercise? On the first question, many of the hawkers, in the event of non-availability of accurate population data by the country, can be said to be Nigerians. Part of the reasons for their involvement in the vocation had been proffered above. But there are many unexplained reasons behind the street trading exercise. And those are the issues of the matter that cannot be wished way. The people that, for example, embark on hawking, particularly those of the school age, are usually children and wards of the artisans and low income-earners in the society. Aside occasional instances of deviants among them who choose to be outlaws, even in their adolescence, some of the kid hawkers contribute to running their various families. Some are orphaned early in life; hence they begin to attend to responsibilities beyond their ages at relative infancy. Whatever misgiving we may have towards the engagement, those in this category must survive. The situation is made trickier by the nature of our society that has near zero consideration for the downtrodden or the less-privileged. Most governors, who have publicly proclaimed free and compulsory education in their states, are known to have kept the pledge in breach. In a system where the leadership does not factor in social welfare for those in the lower economic rung into the scheme of things,

Historical materialism and surplus value (1) patazurunwa@yahoo.com 08023033488 (SMS only)

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PAT AZURUNWA

t creation, the world was meant to be a perfect setting. God had intended a blissful and everlasting life for every man and woman, with control and dominance over animals and all other creatures, following the Lord’s command to man to subdue the earth. But following man’s fall, occasioned by disobedience, God withdrew the privileges, and instead gave man a just reward for insubordination, summarised simply that man shall sweat and toil before eating; and for the woman, she shall feel the pains of child-bearing. Since God said it, it has remained so. The only way to escape it is to live according to His laws, so that at the end of time, the hope of life after death can be realised. For man to sweat and toil, it presupposes that he must be busy with his hands, and, as most occasions demand, his head. The Bible says that there should be no food for a lazy man. So, man is made to work – whether he likes it or not. But how and where does he find it? He needs a roof over his head, food on the table, and clothing. He may have the physical energy, professional skill, or both, but may lack the financial muscle to be self-employed. Even when self-employed,

one still has to wade through the labyrinth of competition, government policies and other challenges germane to one’s line of enterprise. The world has moved from feudalism, an economic, political and social system that existed in Europe during the middle ages whereby noblemen gave out lands to labourers who were protected by the noblemen while they tilled the land, and rendered military and economic service in return. Hoes and machetes were in use then, being the level of technological development at that time. The output was more or less for self-sustenance and at best for communal consumption. Now, we have capitalism, a social and economic system where the ownership and control of businesses and industry is in the hands of private people, and for the sole aim of profit. The instruments for production are more sophisticated, and employment or engagement of workers is more economic than social and political. However, capitalism, especially as practised by greedy business owners, has thrown up issues as abuse of dignity of labour, alienation and exploitation. These business owners with capacious pockets have abolished unionism in their work-places, leaving the workers with no strength for agitation, and permanently under threat of job loss. The conditions of service are unbearable, even as these men and women enjoy being referred to as slave drivers. Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) remains the most critical of capitalism owing to the extreme obstacle to emancipation caused by the owners of businesses and industry in their fatalistic belief in the power of capitalism. This led to his propounding of the famous Histori-

cal Materialism theory, based on dialectical materialism, affirming that history is a process of conflicting opposites, especially social and economic forces. It holds that the class struggle will result in the overthrow of capitalism by the dictatorship of the proletariat, after which a classless society will emerge from the withering away of the state. Much as the possibility of a classless society appears far-fetched, there is no doubting the tempestuous relationship between the capitalist and the labourer. Capitalism alienates the labourers because, according to Marx, “the wage labour system imposes its own tyranny on labourers by forcing them to do that which will pay enough to secure their subsistence on terms that are decided by the owners of capital. If the capitalist does not need labour, then the labourer has nothing to sell. If he does need labour then he can purchase it, and therefore direct the life of the labourer towards ends that are not really his. The capitalist fixes the terms of the labour contract and will seek to maximise the amount of labour power for the minimum return.” The labourer is employed in the capitalist system as a servant of the machines he operates, and it is the machines that become most important because labour is easily replaceable, as a result of the low skills created by the division of labour. For Marx, labouring, which should be the most complete expression and fulfilment of our species-being, becomes something outside our control which tyrannises us, and which ultimately decides whether we live or die. Capitalism is equally exploitative, as the capitalist is only able to function because he exploits the labourer by extracting Surplus Value from the labour power of the workers. Surplus value is the difference between what the labourer creates through the exercise of his labour power and what the capitalist must pay to acquire that labour power. For

Marx, the capitalist is not merely a meanspirited individual constantly trying to drive down cost, instead he must exploit his workers by extracting surplus value to purchase and service the machines that labour depends upon. Surplus value is the key to capitalism. Though it is created by labour, it is controlled by the capitalist. Marxism as a philosophy is adamant that only a revolution will solve the problem of class – between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat – because the relations of production in a capitalist society reflect the exploitation at its heart; therefore, freedom cannot be achieved by political or legal reform because politics, law and even religion are premised on exploitation. Capitalists are no fools, and on daily basis struggle to exert more influence on the workers with threats of sack, redundancy, wage cut and career stagnation. The economic melt-down affecting many countries has more or less empowered employers to see themselves as merely “helping” their workers, considering the number of jobless people who are willing to work for even one-half of the wages of those currently employed. This situation is not helping the cause of Marxism in its belief that the dictatorship of the proletariat will overthrow the capitalist system resulting in the emergence of a classless society. Rather, capitalists all over the world now get involved in politics as the state woos them because of their enormous financial strengths to assist her in running some state-owned enterprises under the now-popular PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP). Comparatively, it will be much wiser, easier and cheaper for the state to moderate the exploitative powers of capitalists by insisting on minimum standards of safety and welfare in work-places and the crafting of an enforceable modus vivendi between the capitalists and the labourers.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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FREE SPEECH By Bob Etemiku

y friend Imuetinyan (not real name) lives in Milan, Italy. At other times, you’ll likely find him in Iceland, hot at the heels of a master’s degree. But he has told me that he is more at home in Milan than in any other city in Europe. The last time we spoke via Skype, it was possible for him to let me see the cleanliness in the pavements and sidewalks of both Helsinki and Milan. But he has assured me that feeling at home in Italy has nothing to do with the fact that he sometimes runs into his brethren from Edo or Delta state, or that he could visit an African shop and buy yam or plantain. Imuetinyan says that most times he walks home from work, he runs into ritual sacrifices – calabashes with bloated goat head, chicken and blood strewn at road junctions. My friend tells me that though the Italians as well practise juju and are involved with voodoo, theirs is more to get the attention of an object of affection. He tells me these are the sacrifices of sex workers from Edo and Delta who seek the assistance of the gods of Igodomigodo to corner easy prey or clientele. Most of these sex workers are said to be in a covenant with their madams, those who have sponsored or trafficked them to Europe. These covenants are said to be sealed with very private items of these sex workers, and the covenant is said to invoke the spirit of death on the sex worker if contravened. A recent CNN expose on the horde of migrants who have either died or rescued off the Italian coast of Lampedusa revealed that nearly half of the migrants who brave

After BREXIT: Who’ll sponsor me to Europe?

the odds via roads and sea are from Edo and Delta states. When one of the lads rescued from one of the boats was asked why he was leaving his country for Europe via a boat, he said that back in his village in Edo, bombs and gunfire from the Boko Haram war with Nigerian soldiers constantly fall and sizzle past him. But can this be so? Why are so many young men, women and girls mostly from Edo and Delta running away from home? Why are they seeking to be sex workers and drug peddlers in Europe? Edo and Delta are oil-producing states. A report from the Independent newspaper of Tuesday, June 21, 2016 said the Federal Government of Nigeria had spent over N7 trillion between 2010 and 2014. Edo and Delta have governments seen to be more forward-looking than all other previous ones. Despite this, both states do not have the kind of industries and capacity-building programmes to engage young people and make it easy for them to explore their entrepreneurial potentials. But is this the real reason the young ones are running away to Europe, draining Nigeria of her human resources? What brings the situation a bit closer home is that there is an economy in Edo and Delta funded from the proceeds of prostitution and drug. In the early 90s in Edo and Delta where there were no facilities for the personal and collective development of our young people, dilapidating houses were getting torn down and in their place imposing mansions which had no relationship with the incomes of the owners of those houses sprang up. As a matter of fact, as well, very flashy cars sent into town from Europe were also running on streets with the kind of potholes you find on Ibiwe Street in Benin City.

Life in Benin City in those days was a communal one, where everyone knew the other person both by name and by family background. Therefore, if an Osaro whom everyone knows to be a never-dowell eventually finds his way to Europe and returns with six or seven choice cars, what clout would a serious-minded person on that street have to be able to exercise any leverage and continue to be seriousmined? The values that our forefathers left us would have been for everyone to come together in a ‘family’ meeting to ask Osaro where in the world he came by six posh cars. But ultimately, values and customs have collapsed and paved the way for parents to begin to look for sponsorship, either from the devil or from man, for a chance to send their children to Europe either to prostitute or peddle drugs or do both to send money home. A report carried out on Western Union several years ago had it that there were more remittances from Europe to Benin City than to any other city in Nigeria. As soon as that report hit the streets, nearly all the banks in Nigeria began to scramble for space in Benin City and Delta to benefit from those remittances. In those days, banks would serve you tea with shortbread just to entice you to always come to their bank to collect Western Union. But in trying to ascribe theoretical affiliations to the spectre of migration from Nigeria to Europe, I went to town to pick the brains of a man I consider very wise. He agreed to talk to me if I keep his name from this discussion. He said to me: Edo and Delta people are closely tied to their cultural antecedents. This is a bond which takes from them without giving something back. As a result, what you have is a people who

would be looking for succour in faraway lands which do not offer them anything apart from an exploitation of what is inherently negative. In 2015, onward migration from Edo and Delta states was over a million girls and boys. That accounted for about 0.59 per cent of Nigerians who live outside their country of origin. A migration app run by the International Office of Migration (IOM) reveals that there is no other country whose citizens are as migratory as Nigeria. Therefore, I want to say that the plan by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to partner with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) to strengthen access to justice and victim support is one way to tackle this problem. But we must make one fact very clear: Nigeria is one among nations endowed with human and natural resources. Spain, Italy, Portugal and some of the countries our boys and girls are running to are not wealthier than Nigeria. Their young boys and girls are not migrating to Africa and Nigeria. Unfortunately for us all, we – our people, leaders and followers – are the ones driving our youth away from this great country. If we do not ensure that there is transparency and good governance in the conduct of public business and expenditure; if we do not condemn impunity and official high-handedness; if we continue to allow and wallow in ethnic, religious and primordial considerations to drive the heart and soul of the great country, we may just as well invite the British to colonise us once more.

said: “We are on the brink of a historic and unprecedented moment.” The former Secretary of State, former New York senator and former First Lady scored a significantly greater lead over Sanders than Obama had over her in 2008. Obama led Mrs. Clinton by 131 pledged delegates and 105 super delegates at the point he clinched the nomination in 2008. The icing for Mrs. Clinton is her recent endorsement by President Obama. According to Obama, having worked with Mrs. Clinton for some time, there is no better candidate to succeed him order than the former First Lady. Many had referred to Obama’s backing as a boost for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential aspiration, while others simply see it as an albatross considering what they termed “Obama’s un-impressive presidency”. This, of course, is just by the way. The way things currently stand; Mrs. Clinton has, no doubt, made history in the political annals of her country, and her political antecedent as a former First Lady, former senator and former Secretary of State are by no means intimidating. She has shown herself as a woman who has the will to tread where others tremble. The strength of her political conviction, resolve and will power know no bounds. She is a daring and focused woman who only pays attention to her destination and not what happens on her path to destiny actualisation. Characteristically, advocates of gender equality across the world and, especially in Nigeria, have been celebrating Mrs. Clinton’s victory which they see as a victory for the

womenfolk. The mainstay of their argument is that there is no better way to draw global attention to their course than a Mrs. Clinton presidency. To them, when and if it eventually happens, a Mrs. Clinton presidency would undoubtedly help to further their cause. Expectedly, in Nigeria, many gender equality promoters are rooting for Mrs. Clinton to make it to the White House. This is based on the conviction that Mrs. Clinton’s rising political profile will further boost their drive for gender equality campaign in the land. Understandably, as a result of limited opportunities and the resultant stiff competition for space across almost every sector, drive for gender equality seemingly has some merits in our clime. However, and in all honesty, I have always viewed campaign for gender equality as disrespectful for the womenfolk. This is why one takes exception to the recent bashing of Ooni of Ife’s wife, Wuraola, in the social media over her stance on the same issue. Campaigning for gender equality tends to give an impression that women do not have what it takes to secure relevance but should all the same be considered for such on account of femininity. This, to me, is a rather derogatory position. The fact, of course, is that women, either in our country or anywhere in the world, have all it takes to take their rightful position across all sectors. But it should be emphasised that this could not happen if all what women rely on is emotional appeal to their femaleness. Competence, vision, resourcefulness, drive, ideas among others is what is needed for anyone to ascend the lad-

der of greatness and recognition in life. And history and contemporary happenings have consistently shown that the sky is always the starting point for anyone, irrespective of gender, who possesses these qualities in reasonable proportion. Hence, clamouring for a woman or a man for that matter to occupy a particular position on the basis of gender contemplation is, to say the least, contemptible. In the case of Mrs. Clinton that is being celebrated presently, it should be affirmed that those that voted for her did not do so based on such ephemeral concern as gender egalitarianism. No! Rather, they preferred her on the basis of her competence, suitability, experience, perseverance as well as the strength of her political convictions. Ironically, according to a latest survey, younger American women are not even rooting for Mrs. Clinton. They prefer the maverick Donald Trump. As it has been previously stated, Mrs. Clinton had been in the game for quite some time. She knows the American political terrain. She has the needed political connection and she is blessed with a unique political conviction. Yes, she can be celebrated for being the first woman in America’s political history to get this far in her political aspiration. But certainly, she would not get to destination White House solely on a feeble femininity card.

• Etemiku wrote in from Benin City, Edo State.

Hillary Clinton and gender equality

By Tayo Ogunbiyi

t is no longer news that former American Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, on June 4, 2016 became the first woman in American history to become a presumptive presidential nominee for a political party. Mrs. Clinton clinched the Democratic Party nomination for the forthcoming United States presidential election after reaching the required number of delegates that puts her on 2,383, the number needed to make her the presumed nominee. She reached the threshold with a super big win in Puerto Rico over fellow Democratic hopeful, Mr. Bernie Sander. It has taken a long 227 years to get even this far since George Washington was elected president of a newly independent America in 1789. The journey of Mrs. Clinton’s White House aspiration did not just begin. It started precisely on January 20, 2007. That was the first time she declared her aspiration for the White House, only to be surprisingly trounced by a relatively unknown Barack Obama who dazzled Americans and, indeed, the whole world with his extra-ordinary oratory and unrivalled political networking. With the unlikely prospect of out-foxing Obama for the coveted seat, Mrs. Clinton had to wait for another eight years to actualise her dream. That her exhilaration knows no bound at achieving such unprecedented heroic should, therefore, be understandable. Shortly after attaining the historic feat, a visibly excited Mrs. Clinton, while addressing an equally elated crowd of supporters,

• Ogunbiyi is of the Features Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Ikeja.

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July 03, 2016

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Bolanle Olukanni, Uche Chikelu win #ChivasDads

Wunmi to thrill in Brooklyn PAGE 34»

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Nigerian music industry is at its best – Floxy Bee

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Oby Ezekwesili: Br another award

The coming honorary doctorate degree award to the convener of #BringBackOurGirls, Obiageli Ezekwesili, by University of Essex, England, on July 12, is a testimony of the woman’s uncommon accomplishment in advancing the cause of humanity. Correspondent, SAM NWOKORO, profiles this chartered accountant and co-founder of Transparency International.

n this age of extreme selfishness and warped orientation, it is certainly big news that the humane attribute of a Nigerian is celebrated the world over. When such a person is an African woman, those species whose lot is thought to be in the kitchen, then the attributes of Mrs. Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili comes into sharper admiration. The tragedy here is that we don’t celebrate our best while they are alive. But the ‘whiteman’ who appreciates values and the worth of the human capability does not fail to locate the good ones among us. That is precisely what the message the 55-year-old University of Sussex, England, is showcasing by awarding Doctor of Letters (LittD) to Mrs. Ezekwesili. The event will take place on July 12 during its 2016 convocation. A letter sent to the former Minister of Education by the school noted that the award was in recognition of her “inspiring activities and accomplishments” both in and out of government, particularly her campaigns against the kidnapping of girls by Boko Haram terrorists. “Our honorary degrees are presented to outstanding individuals to recognise their contributions to arts, sports, industry and public service. “With the award, Mrs. Ezekwesili has joined an elite crowd of awardees which include notable personalities like Nuela Mole, an international human rights lawyer who led some of the world’s pro bono legal advice and advocacy organisations; and Annie Lennox, a successful musician and founder of the SING campaigns which supports women and children affected by HIV/AIDS; among others,” the school said. Reformer extraordinaire The antecedents of Mrs. Ezekwesili as an accomplished public servant needs no much research. The most important thing is that those reforms have been of fundamental value constructs in Nigeria’s institution-building that they have become the global parameters for measuring countries’ performances. And by the time those reforms she wrought were made, those aspects of national life were, to say the least, chaotic: from budget monitoring and implementation to educational policy reforms, to enhanced school enrolment for children, and to girl-child education. From the trenches of pro-democracy and good governance to development issues, Ezekwesili’s life has undoubtedly been one of selfless service, no matter the cost to her pocket, time and energy. It has been one founded on higher and nobler virtues and dreams of utilitarian value to our generation and those yet unborn. Her brain – cocooned in her low-cut hairstyle – always comes up with ingenious ideas. Her forages into the public domain has been an eye-opener to the elite and the plebian on how Africa has shortchanged her people for long. Her involvement in social activism instantly draws the hitherto apathetic public into the act, a measure of the woman’s sincerity of purpose and altruism of all time. She may rightly be ranked among great women in history; women who possess the physical features of the feminine gender, but masculine hearts, guts and drive. Her activism in the social space, arguably, towers above that of her contemporaries. Any African woman privileged to have been exposed to similar opportunities and environment as Oby (as she is fondly called by admirers) would have been swimming in scandals. But not her. Accord-

ing to one of her thousands of Facebook acquaintances, “It is amazing Oby has been a former World Bank Vice President. It is heartwarming she helped other African countries in many of her developmental strides through loans and grants advances. But she did not become a billionaire. She did not steal money from Nigeria… I doubt if there can be any other Ezekwesili in this our shores.” Impactful service It is on record that somebody just came to Nigeria and demystified the activities of Aso Rock kitchen cabinet. That person was Oby Ezekwesili when she was President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Senior Special Adviser on Budgets and Policy Monitoring. It was during her term in 2003 that the hitherto obscure office where facts and budget figures were padded became somewhat transparent and its activities open to public criticism. That earned Ezekwesili the sobriquet, “Madam Due Process”. She insisted that public procurement followed due process of vetting in line with budgetary provisions to avoid prodigality and ensure that budget projections and allocations meet targets. Notwithstanding the byzantine nature of the presidency then, with its often controversial face-off with the legislature, it was public knowledge that Ezekwesili was one person the Ota farmer could not rubbish. The accomplishment of the woman as presidential adviser on budgets so impressed the President that he made her Minister of Education. And she did not disappoint. Knowledge-loving amazon The boom in knowledge acquisition through private schools, especially secondary education, is to Ezekwesili’s credit. The number of tertiary educational in-

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From the trenches of prodemocracy and good governance to development issues, Ezekwesili’s life has undoubtedly been one of selfless service, no matter the cost to her pocket, time and energy. It has been one founded on higher and nobler virtues and dreams of utilitarian value to our generation and those yet unborn.

stitutions witnessed significant growth. The child Right Act, The Girl Education Act are some of the landmark initiatives which Ezekwesili’s relentless campaign for equitable treatment of the girl child brought about. Her tenure as minister encouraged state governors to embark on campaigns which saw increment in school enrolment in all the states of Nigeria. Policies as well as teacher training were also improved. Her era in the education ministry made it compulsory for teachers to be formally trained as teachers irrespective of specialisation of discipline, and this also helped the quality of education. Girl-child education, vocational education and skill acquisition, elements in Nigeria’s education sector had hitherto being given only mouthing concerns, were also given priority. It is no doubt that she bankrolled the #BringBackOurGirls campaigns, an awareness project that kindled global concerns about the release of the over 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State. But for her campaigns, the issue would have been swept under the carpet like others before it. Any success the authorities in Nigeria acclaim regarding the Chibok girls goes to this woman who managed to keep the tragedy in public consciousness for that long. Democracy activist It is

not only in the educational sphere that Ezekwesili has given a redemptive service. She also champions the cause of good governance and democracy. She grants interviews on the way Nigeria ought to move in modern times. She says Nigeria is still operating archaic governance methods that are not in tandem with modern governance trends all over the world. For this present government and its change mantra, Ezekwesili opines that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is akin to the days of military jack-boot. A proficient public speaker and motivator, deeply inspired in all her engagements by righteous zeal, Madam Due Process knows no class. She identifies with the desires of the yuppies, the elite and the hoi polloi. Change agents have just that disposition. They draw inspiration from public complaints and worries. They are not much after pecuniary benefits. That is why she missed several international organisation board appointments while she was campaigning for the release of the Chibok girls. Mrs. Integrity The Nigerian extractive industry owes its credibility today to the efforts of Mrs. Ezekwesili who co-founded the Transparency International. The Nigerian arm of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has helped waken consciousness about the sleaze that go on in Nigeria’s extractive industry, especially in the byzantine oil and gas sector. She and EITI have been able to waken global consciousness about the criminality in the extractive sector and the long term implication of such criminality to global energy sustainability and Nigeria’s fragile ecosystem. To date, Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has released annual reports on Nigeria’s energy sector up to 2013. Nigerian authorities are getting conscious more than ever in the manner the energy sector is being exploited. Development agent Most countries in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) owe their current development projects to the grants and loans Ezekwesili advanced to them while she held sway at the World Bank as Vice President (Africa). Most states in Nigeria too, especially in the Niger Delta region, com-

menced development programmes to shift their dependence on oil revenue derivation on the strength of the sundry credits the woman advanced to them from World Bank. Even most telecom companies benefitted from her foresight. It is on record that while she was at the World Bank, most African countries had access to credit more than they used to. For instance, Delta State’s ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ rides on the wings of World Bank facilities which the woman advanced to the state in times past while she was at the World Bank. Ezekwesili, until she disengaged from World Bank in May 2012, was the Vice President of Africa for five years. She oversaw more than 1,800 staff and is responsible for the delivery of projects and economic and sectoral work in 47 SSA countries. Under her leadership, the Bretton Woods institution committed $40 billion in new project lending in Africa in grants. The knowledge services to countries in Africa were through over 400 economic and analytical studies, including Technical Assistance (TA). She was appointed Minister of Solid Minerals (Mines and Steel) in June 2005 during which she led a vibrant reform programme that led to Nigeria’s global recognition as a credible mining investment destination. In June 2006, Ezekwesili was appointed the Minister of Education, holding this post until World Bank President, Paul Wolfowitz, announced her appointment as VicePresident for the Africa Region starting on May 1, 2007. As Minister of Education, she led a comprehensive reform programme that led to the attainment of Education for All (EfA) targets and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). She also introduced the Public-Private Partnership models for education service delivery; revamped the Federal Inspectorate Service as an improved quality assurance mechanism and introduced transparency and accountability mechanisms for better governance of the budget. She led the establishment of the Innovation and Vocational Enterprise Institutions initiative which focuses on the development of skills for economic competitiveness and – in conjunction with the Nigerian Stock Exchange – launched the ‘Adopt-A-School’ programme, an initiative that fosters philanthropy by corporations; community groups and individuals. Prudent custodian Ezekwesili began her career with De-

loitte & Touche Akintola Williams. She then served as a founding Director of Transparency International (TI) for Africa from 1994 to 1999. Between 2000 and 2002, she worked with Professor Jeffrey Sachs as Director of the Harvard-Nigeria Economic Strategy programme, during which she was also appointed as an aide to then President Obasanjo. In 2003, she was designated Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence. As Minister of Solid Minerals from 2005 to 2006, Mrs. Ezekwesili oversaw the passage of the Minerals and Mining Act, the establishment of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office and the opening of the sector to private participation. She was a member of the widely acclaimed Obasanjo administration’s Economic Team and was responsible for its comprehensive Governance, Transparency, Accountability and Anti-Corruption strategy. As Vice President of the largest unit of the World Bank, her close attention to the needs of clients, engagement with African leadership and with regional institutions such as the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as well as with the United Nations and other partners has been instrumental in the bank’s enhanced effectiveness across Africa. The bank’s new strategy for Africa and its implementation plan developed under her leadership. Ezekwesili is embarking on a new Soros Foundation-funded initiative of establishing a public policy centre based in Abuja focused on providing economic policy advisory support for pro- reform governments in Africa as well as the founding of an Africa-wide graduate school of public policy to produce capable and competent public servants for African countries. She holds a Masters in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government as well as a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Education from the University of Nigeria (UNN). In 2006, she was given the national award of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) and has received several national and international awards. She is married to Pastor Chinedu Ezekwesili and they have three sons.

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Wunmi to thrill in Brooklyn

unmi will rock the summer in Brooklyn, New York from July 1 to 4, at the 45th International African Arts Festival taking place at Commodore Barry Park. The phenomenal dancer, singer and designer who founded the Wow Wow clothing line will be live in performance at the festival on July 4 on the Mainstage. But that is not all, she will also be showcasing her latest designs in one of the booths at the event. “Summer time in New York City. Summertime in Brooklyn. There’s nothing better,” said a statement from

the artiste's managers. It goes on to say that it is the music, the street fairs, being out in the summer sun in the city’s gathering places, with our families and loved ones-- this is what weds us to this crazy city. “We are so happy to share this July 4th weekend with you. We will be at the 45th Annual African Arts Festival, to greet you in our Wow Wow by Wunmi booth all weekend long, to enjoy with you a spectacular line-up of world class, legendary, entertainment, and finally, joy of all joys, Wunmi and her band will share with you their magic, having the honour of headlining the mainstage on July 4”.

The winners at DIFF 2016 are...

Martha & Niki

he Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) 2016 announced its award-winners on the evening of June 25 at the closing ceremony of the festival’s 37th edition at the Playhouse prior to the screening of the closing film, The Space in Between – Marina Abramovic and Brazil. The award for the Best Feature Film went to The Violin Player directed by Bauddhayan Mukherji. The jury’s citation said: “A seductive and mysterious tale of a violin player’s mundane life and an interesting take on how chance encounters are almost predestined. By successfully weaving offbeat editing, brave cinematography, simple screenplay, honest direction and a lot of surprising elements, the film shows us that art, no matter how unimportant it may seem, can change people’s lives. “ The award for Best South African Feature Film went to Tess (a 2013 Durban FilmMart project), directed by Meg Rickards, which the jury described as “a measured and uncompromising debut feature.” The Best Documentary award went to Martha and Niki directed by Tora Mkandawire Martens, which the jury describes

Tess

as “visual feast that skilfully intertwines a profound reflection on (an) art form with the inner journey of two compelling characters.” The jury made a special mention of Action Commandante, also a former Durban FilmMart project, by Nadine Cloete, for “its exceptional quality and commitment to its subject matter.” The Best SA Documentary went to The Journeymen, directed by Sean Metelerkamp. The citation from the jurors said “The Journeymen takes an unflinching look at who we are by holding up the proverbial mirror to South African society. The honesty, bravery and commitment of the film crew results in a mosaic picture of our country with warts and all. This is strong and uncompromising cinema that is simultaneously disturbing and life-affirming.” Best Short Film went to Grandma’s Day (Dzie’n Babci) directed by Milosz Sakowski. The jury also made special mention in this category of the film Ave Maria directed by Basil Khalil. The Best African Short Film Award, which is supported by the Gauteng Film Commission, went to New Eyes directed by Hiwot Admasu. eKhaya (Home), directed by Shubham

The JourneyMen - Beaufort West

Mehta won the Best South African Short Film award, which is also supported by the Gauteng Film Commission. The shorts jury also made special mention of two other films in this category - Amagugu directed by Ndududo Shandu and Discovery of Fire directed by Gerhard Pretorius. The Best Actor Award went to Mohsen Namjoo for his performance in Radio Dream, directed by Babak Jalali. The award for Best Actress went to Christia Visser for her role as Tess in Tess directed by Meg Rickards. The awards for Best Direction went to Ciro Guerra for Embrace of the Serpent, Best Cinematography to Chris Lotz for The Endless River and Best Screenplay went to Ciro Guerra and Thoedor Koch-Grunberg for Embrace of the Serpent. A new award, the Best Editing , sponsored by SAGE (South Africa Guild of Editors), went to Tess, which was edited by Linda Man. The award for Artistic Bravery was given to Neon Bull directed by Gabriel Mascaro for its unique portrayal of a little-known community of Brazilian Rodeo workers. The Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award for the film that best reflects

The Violin Player

human rights issues which comes with a cash prize donated by the Artists for the Human Rights Trust went to Noma, directed by Pablo Pineda. The international jury this year was made up of four jurors: Bianca Balbuena, an award-wining producer from the Philippines, Fibby Kioria, the programme director of Maisha Foundation, an initiative founded by Mira Nair to empower visionary filmmakers in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, Sherif Awad a film critic who currently works for the Luxor African Film Festival and Trevor Steele Taylor a veteran of festivals in South Africa, having programmed for the Cape Town International Film Festival, the Weekly Mail & Guardian Film Festival and DIFF and is the curator for film the National Arts Festival. The South African feature film jury consisted of film-makers Jahmil Qubeka and Melissa Parry while the documentary jurors were film-makers Rehad Desai, Omelga Mthiyane and Riaan Hendricks, and the short film jurors were film-makers Neil Coppen and Sumayya Rawat. The Amnesty Jury consisted of Coral Vinsen, Nonhlanha Mkhize, Betty Rawheath and Mark Povall.

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July 03, 2016

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with Terh Agbedeh

Stakeholders drum support for AFRIMA

n an emotion-laden appeal, the meeting of experts and ministers of youths, culture and sports in Africa called on African Union member states to give enormous support to the activities of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA). The event was the African Union Second Ordinary Session of the Specialised Technical Committee on Youth, Culture and Sports (STC-YCS2) held at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from June 13 to 17. The experts and ministers of tourism, culture and creative arts in Africa as well as their youth and sports counterparts salute the African Union and AFRIMA for the partnership and for making AFRIMA work. The ministers encouraged member states for further collaborations and called on African corporate giants to support AFRIMA initiative which will drive unity and growth on the continent. In his support speech, The Deputy Minister of Culture and Communication, Senegal, Remi Sagna, said “AFRIMA cannot come at a better time than this. With our support, AFRIMA will serve the vacuum to promote African music and realness as well as encouraging our youth to be the best.” AFRIMA is in line with The African Union Agenda 2063 being a framework for Africa’s development for the next 50 years presents itself as a crucial source to guide and inform initiatives by member states to provide their contribution from the culture and heritage sectors to the sustainable development of the Continent. Aspiration five of the AU Agenda 2063 addresses cultural issues and it aspires: “An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics; inculcating the spirit of Pan Africanism; tapping Africa’s rich heritage and culture to ensure that the creative arts are major contributors to Africa’s growth and transformation. Reacting to the common cultural identity, the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Ghana, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, stated that “AFRIMA is a good initiative and has the capacity to promote Africa beyond borders. You have our support.” One of our cardinal objectives at The African Music Council, AMC, is to promote regional musical cooperation, interregional and international music cooperation. Therefore, we welcome AFRIMA contributions to Africa integration. We are solidly behind you. Said the President, The African Music Council, Lupwishi Mbuyamba. At the end of the meeting of Ministers, there

Favourites

Ikponmwosa Gold Song: ‘Ballerina Girl’ by Lionel Richie. Music Video: ‘Get on the dance floor’ by 2face. Movie: Any James Bond movie. Book: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Birthday

Norbert Young

Norbert Young, one of the most talented veterans in the Nigerian movie industry, Nollywood is a year older today. Married to the actress Gloria Young, with whom they have a daughter, the actor has starred in notably movies and is also popular for his outstanding stage performances. This talented actor started his acting career at the University of Ibadan, after his Diploma in Theatre. He also attended the University of Benin. He was part of the detective drama series, Third Eye, which ran in the 1980s on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). He also played the character of Emeka Anyanwu in the soap Edge of Paradise.

L-R: Head of Culture Department, African Union Commission (AUC), Ms. Angela Martins, and Chief Brand Strategist, PRM Africa and President /Executive Producer AFRIMA, Mike Dada

was a recommendation to make AFRIMA work and ready to promote the narrative of African story and asked everybody (corporate and government) to come on board to be part of the growing cultural movement of AFRIMA. In recognition of its contributions to inspire African youths and raise the consciousness of African identity and renaissance through music, culture and entertainment for continental growth and development, an invitation was extended to AFRIMA through its President and Executive Producer, Mike Dada to address the STCYCS2. AFRIMA is a music property developed to celebrate, reward and showcase the rich musical culture of Africa, stimulate conversations

New Music

‘One More Try’ among Africans and between Africa and the rest of the globe about the great potentials and values of the African musical and artistic heritage for the purpose of creating jobs, reducing poverty, calling attention of world leaders to Africa and promoting the positive image of Africa to the world for global competitiveness. For the 2016 edition, AFRIMA 3.0 calendar opens as entry submission closes on July 30. The entry submission is open for entries from Artistes, Songwriters, Music/Entertainment Journalists, Video Directors, Music Producers, and unrecorded artistes across the continent and Africans in Diaspora. The 2016 edition tagged “AFRIMA 3.0” will hold in November in Nigeria.

Bolanle Olukanni, Uche Chikelu win #ChivasDads

hivas Regal, a luxury whisky has announced the winners of the #ChivasDads competition–the Father’s Day campaign. At the core of the brand’s essence ‘success with purpose’ and generosity celebrates male figures-mentors, friends and husbands who have been dependable in character and generous in spirit. Two winners, Bolanle Olukanni and Uche Chikelu, emerged from a pool of hundreds of participants who posted images and captions celebrating their dads on their social media pages. In her post, Bolanle describes her dad as ‘an awesome father! He is loving and kind not just to his family but to anyone he comes across’. She goes on to celebrate all dads ‘who aren’t afraid to become whoever they need to be to make their wives happy and their children smile’. Uche in his post reflects on how he ‘now understands the meaning of responsibility, Learning to earn love and respect and not demanding it’. He thanks his father ‘for making me see it is okay to make mistakes and his children ‘for giving me courage to pursue better’. The campaign was also extended to participating Shoprite, Spar and Game supermarkets where shoppers were rewarded with customised bottles from the Chivas

Fast-rising R&B Sensation Kolade Alade popularly known by his teeming fans as KollyDee has continued to demonstrate that he is all about breaking stereotypes with the release of his buzzing single titled ‘One More Try’ to delight of music fans and critics. His smooth delivery and unmatched flavour of the Sweet 90’s R&B on this record, sets the replay tone for music addicts. ‘One More Try’ marks an important milestone in Kollydee’s career as he officially graduates as a medical doctor. This release is a way of saying thank you to his fans, for their unflinching support all through the demanding school years. ‘One More Try’ audio and video is enjoying great reception on the social networks, radio and TV stations across the continent.

Location

The Wedding Party EbonyLife Films has not only announced the cast for its romantic comedy The Wedding Party, it has also hit location to shoot the film. The movie directed by award-winning filmmaker and New York Film School alumni, Kemi Adetiba, will be in cinemas nationwide in December 2016. Set in Lagos, Nigeria, The Wedding Party is the story of Dunni Coker (Adesua Etomi), a 24-year-old art gallery owner and only daughter of her parents about to marry the love of her life, IT entrepreneur Dozie (Banky W). The couple take a vow of chastity and is looking forward to a ground-breaking first night together as a married couple. The Wedding Party stars Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD), Alibaba, Ireti Doyle, Banky W, Adesua Etomi, AY and Sola Sobowale.

Winning enteries range. Chinedu Anazodo emerged as winner from the supermarket draw. In partnership with Nigeria’s leading menswear designer Mai Atafo, the winners would be treated to a full makeover which involves male grooming, bespoke tailoring, sartorial advice and a photo shoot.

The 2016 Father’s Day campaign according to Samuel Odesanmi, Chivas Brand Manager ‘was a huge success. We read a lot of compelling stories and we are particularly proud of our winners as they exemplify the essence of the competition and the brand’.

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July 03, June 19,2016 2016

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Event

Innocent, Josephine turn golden

Ford Foundation representative for West Africa, Innocent Chukwuma, and his wife, Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, recently celebrated their birthday in Lagos.

Innocent Chukwuma (2nd left) with his colleagues at Ford

The celebrants cutting their birthday cake

L-R: Ada AginaUde, Koffi and Joe Okei-Odumakin

Josephine (3rd left), Bishop Matthew Hassan-Kukah (2nd left), Ndidi Nwuneli (left) and other guests

Innocent (left) with Edetaen Ojo of Media Rights Agenda

Josephine flanked by Kate Henshaw (left) and a guest

Daughter of the celebrants Amarachi Chukwuma (2nd right) with friends

Prof. Omolade Adunbi (left) and Babajide Morounfolu

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Nigerian music industry is at its best – Floxy Bee Queen of Hikosso music, Yeye Asa, is popular as Floxy Bee. Well-travelled, versatile and talented, she has done music for over three decades. Special Correspondent, RENN OFFOR, cornered her, after a show recently, to talk about her aspirations, which range from supporting and mentoring up-and-coming artistes and sundry issues.

Floxy Bee

ou put up a fabulous performance tonight! How long have you been doing this? I’ve been doing it for 30 years! But I’ve been away from Nigeria. Since I came back, this is one of the few shows I’ve had, because in July (2015) I did the unveiling of my brand, ‘Yeye Asa’, and that of my designer wears, handbags, and all that. Today, I am doing the show of the century. Breeze was here, D’Legendary Sisterz were on, and a bunch of other artistes. Who really is Yeye Asa? I’m Foxy Bee, the queen of Hikosso music, Yeye Asa, mother of the culture. It is called mother of the culture because I’ve been promoting African music in the Diaspora. Now, I’m back home to continue, doing the same thing, and using the same forum to promote other artistes who are into promotion of African culture like Breeze, Starfaz, China Wonder, Judy King and a bunch of other wonderful artistes doing African music, and not deviating doing hip-hop, jazz, and all that. What is Hikosso, and from where do you get your inspiration? Hikosso is a mixture of Highlife and Makosso. I grew up listening to my father playing Nigerian highlife music. I grew up listening to Rex Lawson, Osita Osadebe, Victor Uwaifo, Oliver de Coque and the like. My father is an ardent lover of those highlife music. That is why I am in love with that genre of music. The best music that I deliver today is highlife. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it’. For me, growing up actually moulded me to be what I am today. In 2012, I was made the Yeye Asa (Mother of the Source) Ile-lfe lyanfoworogi, in recog-

nition of my musical achievements and my efforts over the years to further the culture and musical traditions of Nigeria in the Diaspora. Since the age of 16, I have been performing and recording. I’ve received numerous awards for my Hikosso – a mixture of highlife, makossa, soukous, juju and afrobeat – music. I’ve also received citations from the cities of Boston and Newark for my efforts to bridge cultures through music. My father was a captain in the Nigerian army, and growing up on the several army bases allowed me develop a deep understanding of the many cultural and musical traditions of Nigeria, as the army is the melting pot of all of Nigeria’s ethnic groups. Even going to Church gave me an understanding of the rich African Christian tradition. The traditional culture was inscribed in me as an infant and again as a young girl. Achieving success for a woman in Africa is difficult, and as a singer even harder. The Yoruba believe that a person is born with a purpose. Anyone hearing me, Floxy Bee, sing would know that my purpose is to make music. And, truly, God on my side, I’ve done so well in Africa and in America. You mix both Igbo and Yoruba languages in your songs. (Laughs) That’s why I am the mother of culture. As a mother of culture, it means you appreciate a lot of cultures and should be able to sing in or speak several languages. I also sing in French, Spanish, Yoruba and Hausa. It’s only an ignorant man that will neglect his own culture and embrace another man’s culture. By embracing your culture, you are showing respect to your people. You were away from Nigeria for a while. Now, you’re back. How would

you rate the acceptance the Nigerian music scene accords to you and brand? It’s been beautiful. Nigerian music scene is at its best right now. Nigerian artistes are so versatile and talented. And now they use their language to sing. They sing in Yoruba language, and the language is accepted in Cuba, Brazil and all over the world. A lot of people are learning Yoruba language, and they want to practise the culture. A lot of people want to hear Nigerian music, watch Nigerian movies because they know they’re coming from a place of originality. What are the various things Yeye Asa is into, and how would you rate Nigerian music? I’m into fashion and clothing. We sew clothes for women of plus sizes. Nigerian and African women must have the curves, that’s what makes the African women beautiful and unique. And the Nigerian music is totally different from hip-hop, jazz and what have you. When are we expecting your new album? I just dropped my new album with the video. It’s called Mo ye ge, meaning victorious. We released the album without fanfare, launching or party. It is out in the market, it is being played on television and radio. This year, I have released about six songs. Some of them are ‘Because I can help myself’, ‘Opami bi oti’ which is a love song. I also did ‘Moments of silence’, and ‘Eje ka t’aye se’, a song which people love. I wrote, arranged and produced the music myself. What are some of the challenges you’ve had to contend with since coming to Nigeria and pushing your brand? I shot the video to my music in Paris, but

they refused to air it here on the excuse that it’s “Christian-like”. It’s so sad. I was asked to go back to the studio and re-do the song because there was a particular word that would not be acceptable. So, I went back to the studio and corrected it. Still they wouldn’t air it. How does Yeye Asa relax? I relax by playing my akungba drums or keyboard. I love to be among people. I like to laugh, smile. I love to be happy. If you were to set up a legacy foundation to impact on people, what would you be focusing on? My philosophy of life is, ‘Live, and let live’. Never judge anybody. Do not discriminate. Love everybody, because I believe in love. I would like to have an institute where they train artistes. What is your advice for ladies who are struggling to fulfil their dreams? I always say to them, ‘Go and get your education’, and after that come back to music. You should always have something to fall back on. The African music is very hard, except you make it big time. I’ve had to go to school. I am a chef, a personal trainer, voice coach. I’m also a security officer. I am so many things. And I love music; it’s my life and what I do best. Where do dream to perform? I’ve performed in Appollo Theatre and other big stages abroad. I’ve performed with Lucky Dube, the Lematoys Sisters, with our own Osita Osadebe, when he was alive. I performed for the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Sijuade, and for (former President Olusegun) Obasanjo, I can go on and on! My target is where the Lord will take me to, the highest of heights!

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

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Relationship Family first “Therefore will a man leave his mother and father’s house, and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one” (Genesis 2:23-24). A family starts from the outset of marriage; when a man decides to make his desired woman his wife. This family is part of the social agent that forms the society. In a general term, a family consists of the man, his wife, and child(ren). The head of the family is the man. These individuals in the family are with different, unique and a variety

of character, personality, wants, need, and so on. Putting your family first means relating with one another accordingly, having in mind that you are all unique beings in the relationship. This helps to develop a good family relationship. As children start to grow, they learn the btasic and complex things from what they experience through the relationship with their family. This relationship can affect many aspects of their lives. As they mature, the family relationship touches all areas of their develop-

ment – thinking, social, emotional, physical, behavioural, and moral. Good family relationships that are stable in the early years help children develop good self-confidence, motivation to learn and perform well in school. Later in life, they contribute to the ability to talk instead of fight, knowing the difference between right and wrong, making and keeping friends and being a valued family member. In order to develop a good family relationship, one must find time to be together as a family, remembering to talk, share

Tinu Agbabiaka and laugh. Children have opportunities to learn important lessons from the family and to acquire important habits with the help of the parents. Parents should include their children in their daily life and routines, such as assigning chores in the kitchen to wash dishes while you cook, washing the car together, and so on. These provide more opportunities for one-on-one attention. You will be able to really listen to what your child is saying and focus a reply to extend his or her thinking.

I want to marry him, my mother says no Dear Agatha For some inexplicable reasons, my mother has decided to make my life very miserable. I have been in this relationship for five years and this happens to be my last year in school. Before now, my mother had always pressured me to get married as soon as possible. However, her song changed when she met my fiancé. I have been through a lot with this guy. He is not rich but comfortable enough to take care of me and the family we plan to have. He also doesn’t have a permanent job but is occupied through the contracts he gets from time to time. But my mother is insisting I marry a rich man hence has refused to be involved in anything that has to do with us. My fiancé is also under pressure from his family and have even told him to find someone else since it appears I’m not ready to settle down now. I’m seriously confused as I love him very much and don’t want to lose him at all but how can I plan a wedding without the support of my family? Yetty. Dear Yetty First and foremost, understand these basic facts; a marriage is between two people and not between

one person and a multitude. Also, the issue here involves your entire life. Importantly, there is a huge difference between wedding and marriage. Whereas, the wedding ceremony involves the multitude, marriage is just the two of you. Therefore, for a marriage to work there must be understanding, appreciation, love, friendship, loyalty between the two people that have decided to become one. Money is not what makes a marriage succeed; it is the determination engineered by love and friendship that makes marriage a success. Ultimately, it is the quality of your feelings for the person you want to spend your life with that would determine the extent of sacrifices and selflessness you are willing to invest in the marriage. If money were all that is required to make a marriage work, the super-rich would not know what divorce is all about. The fact that we have more break-ups among the rich and famous than between average people underscores love, and not money, as the major ingredient a good marriage requires to endure. Much as the approval and concerns of your mother are important, you are the one whose life is on the line here. Take it from me, a bad marriage can completely affect one’s life negatively

if not properly handled. The success we record as adults depends to a large extent on how happy we are in our marriages. The moment one starts having issues in a marriage, it becomes almost impossible for the person to give his or her best to work. Some people with weak shock absorbers either develop terminal illnesses or die from the effects of their thinking of their marital challenges. The crowd can push you one way but will they be there to help you shoulder the emotional aches and regrets? Your mother has lived her life. The fact that you are not from a rich family means, she (your mother) settled for love and not money. To demand you sacrifice your life for money is not right. If you agree to her suggestions, you would be starting again with a complete stranger; one you would be marrying solely to please your mother whose craving is premised on money and not your happiness. As long as her reasons for opposing your boyfriend are because he lacks the financial base to make her happy, go ahead and follow your heart. But be sure, you and your husband-to-be have what it takes to withstand the storm that comes with every marriage. Anyone who tells you that marriage is one simple journey is lying. It is an in-

tricate and nerve shattering journey. Some days are absolutely wonderful, the fulfillment of all one’s fantasies; while on other days, you will come close to cursing the day you said yes to each other. The road is never smooth but is made smooth by that deep conviction that, come rain or sunshine, this is your better half. Marriage is a journey of the body, spirit and the soul. It is living in the body of your partner always; or else the walls of security that marriage bestows on the couple will fall completely. Rather than dwell too much on what your mother thinks of your fiancé’s financial position now, concentrate on the ingredients that would make your planned marriage work. Step outside your comfort zone to look at him once again as dispassionately as you can. • Is he the kind of man that would always support you to achieve your dreams? • The kind, no matter the situation, you will always be happy with? • Do you see yourself growing old with him? • To what extent are you willing to make sacrifices for him? • Is he sensitive to your needs? • Is he the kind you can laugh with and at? • What is that vital ingredient in this relationship that would continue to give you

Certified relationship expert

0817 313 7189 info@pclng.org, botl@pclng.org You may be able to tap into your child’s concerns or ideas and strengthen your bonds through sharing and understanding. While involving your child in your daily routines, you may also be able to clarify some basic things to your child, talk to him/her about what you are doing, why you are doing it, and how it is meaningful not just to you or the child, but to the whole family. Relationships are built

through trust and support, and a child begins building his/hers at home. Through mutual respect, positive and consistent time spent together, and involvement in daily routines, your child develops a deeper understanding of his or place within the family community. All the skills your child learns through these routines may be used when he or she goes into the wider community and builds

Auntie Agatha 0805 450 0626 (sms only) gathedo@gmail.com peace even when you are in the eyes of a very bad storm in your marriage? These are more important issues than money. No amount of money can ever buy you peace or determination. Marriage does not work that way. As long as you are certain that both of you are on the same page, plenty of money or no money, you will have a good marriage. From the little you have said about your mother, she appears to be the one influencing your family but there will always be someone who can talk sense into her. Look for that moderate and understanding voice in your family who can help you talk to your mother to let you be. It is not as if the man is not engaged in a form of occupation. He may not have a steady job but since he appears to be investing what he makes from his contracts wisely, that should be sufficient for her. Besides, your job as his wife-to-be is to help him further expand his scope of investment. As a matter of fact, his success later in life depends on your worth as a good wife and adviser. If he is comfortable with the money he is making now, it follows that he has the credentials of hitting it big with the right support from you. These are points that whosoever is going to mediate on your behalf should

put across to your mother. It is also significant your mother is asked if money is her only reason for objecting to your choice of a husband. If at the end of the day, she has no worthwhile reasons for objecting to your choice, go to your dad and his family for support. Make it clear that this is the man you want to spend the rest of your life with. If you do not learn to fight for your happiness at this nascent stage of your journey, you will never be able to wrestle your happiness from those who hold a contrary view to yours. The danger of indecision is that you could lose him to another woman while you, on the other hand, may never be able to attract the attention of another man sufficiently to want to marry you. The plain truth is that the number of men eager to marry is increasingly decreasing by the day. Most young men want children but not their mothers. To have survived five years of courtship together means you both have something more than the average. But before anything else, go to God in prayers for His support and direction. As long as you do not misinterpret God’s decisions for you, you will never have reasons to regret your decisions in life. Good luck.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

Faith

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Blasphemy killings and religious intolerance

With continued attacks against Christians in the North, Nigerians wonder if the country will ever grow beyond religious violence. Reporter HENRY ODUAH collates their views.

lthough Ramadan is a period when Muslims are supposed to show goodwill, mercy, forgiveness, kindness, and share love with people around them, hardliners demonstrate their lack of understanding and attack others for what they term ‘blasphemy’ against Muhammad. Bridget Agbahime, 74, was mobbed and killed on June 2 in Kofar Wambai Market in the Northern commercial hub of Kano after she prevented a Muslim from performing ablution in front of her shop. In Kakuri, Kaduna State, perhaps motivated by the slaying of the septuagenarian in neighboruing Kano, another Christian was attacked on June 8 for not observing Ramadan fast. Francis Emmanuel, 41, a carpenter, received several deep machete cuts in the attack and was taken to St. Gerald’s Catholic Hospital. Ignorance, overzealousness Emmanuel narrated to reporters that “I went to buy wood to do some work. When I came back I bought food to eat. As I was eating about six Hausa boys came and asked me whether I am a Muslim or a Christian. I did not answer them. “They asked why I am not fasting. I told them that I am not a Muslim. “Before I knew it, one of them slapped me. As I stood up, the rest came and surrounded me and started attacking me with knives. I don’t know them. “Nobody could come to my aid because of the type of dangerous knives they were carrying. They used machetes, scissors and knives on me. I became unconscious, I don’t even

Buhari know who brought me to the hospital." Michael Igwe, a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Gombe Province, blamed the attack on overzealous Muslims. “Usually it is the overzealousness of some of the adherents of Islam. Sometimes it could be due to ignorance. When people are ignorant of the laws of the land, they may want to take laws into their own hands,” he explained. “I think Christians have done the right thing; they showed understanding in handling the case. The action of the government helped a lot to calm nerves because some would have gone to retaliate.” Igwe praised the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for handling the case without instigating counterattacks. “CAN and other groups handled the case maturely. That should be the case

CAN President, Samson Ayokunle

“In a democratic nation like Nigeria, there is freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of religion. Nobody should be forced into any religion. “When you meet knowledgeable Muslims, they understand that violence is never a tool of Islam.” with Christians. When such thing happens you demonstrate love.” He believes the law must be upheld for fanatics to learn that Nigeria is a secular state. “In a democratic nation like Nigeria, there is freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of religion. Nobody should be forced into any religion.

“When you meet knowledgeable Muslims, they understand that violence is never a tool of Islam.” Another Pastor in the province, Paul Bambe, recounted the ordeal of another woman in Gombe who lost her life to religious violence. “There was a woman killed that way too. Her husband was from down

South and was working in the Specialist Hospital, Gombe. When he got married, he brought his wife to Gombe. “She started teaching in Government Secondary School, Gandu. While teaching there, there was a time during exam and some of the children were hiding ‘chips’ in their Qu’ran. “She tried to find out what was happening after spotting a female student looking into the Qu’ran. “Suddenly they raised an alarm that she tore the Qu’ran, the school went haywire, fanatics came from outside, dragged her and burnt her alive claiming she desecrated the Qu’ran.” Solidarity visits Governors Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna) and Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano) displayed gallantry and solidarity in their visits to the victims,

but it is questionable if such visits can send a No message to Muslims who attack Christians. Such maddening acts lend justification to ElRufai’s contentious antireligious bill. The Qur’an Sura 5, ayat 33 in the Qur’an says: “The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter.” The Bible The Old Testament instituted death penalty for some category of sins

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Suspects paraded in Kano over the murder of Agbahime (crimes), and those who blaspheme God were punished with death by stoning. “Two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, ‘Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!’ Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died” (1 Kings 21:13 NKJV). However, Jesus Christ abolished the death penalty in the New Testament because this is His dispensation of grace, not revenge. "To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also” (Luke 6:29 NKJV). Old Testament: “He that kills any man shall surely be put to death. And he that kills an animal shall make it good; animal for animal. And if a man causes a disfigurement in his neighbor; as he has done, so shall it be done to him; Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he has caused a disfigurement in a man, so shall it be done to him again. And he that kills an animal, he shall restore it: and he that kills a man, he shall be put to death” (Leviticus 24:17-21 KJV2000). New Testament: “You have heard that it has been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That you resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue you at the law, and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also” (Matthew 5:38-40 KJV2000). Old Testament: “The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death”

(Leviticus 20:10 NKJV). “You shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones” (Deuteronomy 22:24 NKJV). New Testament: When a woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus Christ, her accusers reiterated that the Old Testament law demanded that she be stoned to death. Jesus Christ told them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7 NKJV). He stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger. All the accusers went away, one by one. “When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more’” (John 8:10-11 NKJV). In the Old Testament, the sin of adultery attracted immediate capital punishment for both the man and the woman, without room for repentance and forgiveness. In the New Testament, however, Jesus Christ saw that the woman caught in adultery repented in her heart and told her to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11 NKJV). By this, Jesus Christ abolishes instant capital punishment in New Testament, giving sinners (or criminals in civil society) the opportunity to repent in this dispensation of grace. If sinners fail to repent, they will still die – but naturally What it means is that, in the New Testament, someone who commits crime deserving the death penalty is to be tried in the court of law and sent to jail, “the cities of refuge” (Numbers

El-rufai paying a visist to Emmanuel at St. Gerald's Hospital

35:11-28 NKJV), to repent. If a sinner or criminal does not repent in prison, or after serving out a jail term (exhausting the grace period), he or she will still face the death penalty in the end and go to hell, but it will be through a natural death, not one effected by fellow man. The Old Testament law repaid evil for evil. But the New Testament says, “See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men” (1 Thessalonians 5:15 KJV2000). “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse …. Repay no one evil for evil” (Romans 12:14, 17 NKJV). Response from Aso Rock A statement issued by President Muhammadu Buhari’s Media Adviser, Femi Adeshina, expressed the president’s condolences with Bridget Agbahime’s husband, Mike, who is a pastor. “The incident at Kofar Wambai Market, Kano city, is utterly condemnable, and the state government has been quite proactive. “When law and order breaks down, those who become victims are never distinguished on the basis of religion or ethnicity. “Let us ensure that we keep the peace, as justice will be done. Let us learn to respect each other’s faith, so that we can know each other and live together in peace,” the statement read. CAN vocal against killings Although the Presidency has shown interest in the case by declaring that the slain would get justice, many warn of the religious volatility in the country. The killing pegged on blasphemy and non-observance of Ramadan has

Ganduje formed bad blood among religious leaders in the North and beyond. CAN is very vocal on the killing of Christians. After a meeting with Southern Nigeria Christian Elders’ Forum, CAN South East urged Northern governors to protect lives and property in their domain regardless of religious or ethnic differences. “How can Christians be treated like cows and goats in the Northern part of Nigeria with impunity while we claim that Nigeria is a secular state?” the group wondered in a communique issued after the meeting. “This is a sign of total Islamisation of Nigeria, which is very dangerous to the corporate existence of the entity called Nigeria. “The beheading of Bridget in Kano and the murder attempt on Emmanuel in Kaduna should be the first and last of such because no one man or section has the monopoly of violence and we must do everything to stop such from reoccurring.

“All the Muslims in the South should as a matter of urgency speak to their people in the North to desist, because if the killings continue, it will affect everybody both in the North and in the South. “If God has brought us together, then let us live in unity. “We call for adequate compensation for the lives lost and the medical bills of Francis Emmanuel be paid fully by the state governments involved.” Religious intolerance Legal practitioners argued that Agbahime had the right to allow or refuse whatever would be done around her place of livelihood irrespective of religious observances. Analysts said Emmanuel was attacked because of religious intolerance since he has a Christian name and by virtue of that has nothing to do with Ramadan. Amid calls for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators, some wonder if Muslim leaders bother to

re-orient their members to shun violence. Teaching against violence would help tackle the problem at the root instead of the fire brigade approach of arrest and prosecution.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

Mr and Mrs Uriah (2) Becoming the best • Continued from last edition.

Why was the marriage of Uriah and Bathsheba not working? The marriage was against the will of God. Uriah was a Hittite while Bathsheba was a Jew. God had told the Jews specifically not to marry the Canaanites (Deut. 7:1-4). If you marry against God’s will, then you are bound to have problems They were from different backgrounds. Bathsheba was a princess of Israel while Uriah was a Hittite. You may be spiritually compatible, but you may have different backgrounds; different families, different friends and different attitudes to life. We need to understand who we really are and what our backgrounds are. They had different visions. Uriah had a vision to serve king and country, but Bathsheba was a woman in love with her own body and in displaying her assets. A lot of couples live completely separate lives. There are also changing attitudes and changing circumstances in a marriage which some couples do not address. They did not have children. Childlessness can be a source of stress in a marriage. Their sex life was poor. There is no where it is written that Uriah went to sleep with his wife. Sex

can be a problem, whether it is too much or too little. A lack of understanding of what marriage is about. A lot of people go into marriages with storybook ideas. We need to understand the whole concept of marriage. Presence of extra-marital affairs. The presence of extra-marital affairs automatically destroys the marriage. What the Bible says is that a man must love his wife as his own body. That means total and unconditional love.

Some basic principles for a successful marriage Before you go into marriage, the following principles must be in place: Maturity on the part of the partners. There is a depth of maturity regarding a marriage. Before Eve came, Adam was already a man and not a boy. Marriage is for a fully-grown and mature man and not for boys. It for a fully-grown and mature woman not for girls. The partners must be filled with the breath of God. The man must be alive and filled with the breath of God to be able to successfully marry (Genesis 2:7). Adam received the breath of God and became a living soul. The man must be living, which means that he is born again. Lots of relationships outside Christianity are based on the wrong foundation and are not

Ituah Ighodalo

really working the way they Senior Pastor, Trinity House should. If a Zion Center man/woman e-mail:pastorituah@trinityng.org is not truly born again or does not understand God, they cannot truly a man has the following in place before he gets married: understand or appreciate marHome: A man must have his riage. own place. It could be just a room Resources needed to sustain or even a small flat; but it should the relationship must be in place. be his or one on which he is the Adam was already in Eden before one paying the rent. A serious reEve joined him. Everything you lationship needs a home that the need to sustain a relationship man is responsible for. Couples must be available within the living with parents can be very relationship and not far from stressful. it. A relationship should not be Job: Adam had a job. A man expensive. must be doing something producThere is bound to be conflict if tive for God and humanity, and a relationship is too expensive, have a purpose and a vision. or if you have to go far outside God’s instruction: Genesis 2:16 of it to get things to sustain the says, “the Lord commanded”. You relationship. You must be able to must be under the instruction of operate within your limits. Please God to be able to successfully avoid “high maintenance” relationship, except you are very rich. manage your marriage. Be ready to listen to God. Adam and Eve’s A lot of marriages or relationdisobedience of God’s instruction ships are based on financial led to the first marital breakdown, considerations. I know boys who quarrel, loss of face and dignity. look out for high-class society The devil will always test the ladies, and girls who date a man relationship, so we all need to be because of the size of his walwatchful. let. For some women, the more Knowledge of survival: A man money spent the deeper the love. should have received the instrucThis is not necessarily so. tions for survival. The Lord told I pray, however, that you will Adam not to eat of a certain tree. not marry a miser. Men should It means that every man needs learn to be generous to their to know what he needs to do to wives with what they have. survive in life. A man who cannot Women should also ensure that survive cannot successfully man-

The soul of the universe How to understand the universe as the external body of God The conception of the virat universal form of the Lord, as appearing in the material world, is imaginary. It is to enable the less intelligent [and neophytes] to adjust to the idea of the Lord's having form. But factually the Lord has no material form. —Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.30 This Is a Very Important Verse. When we speak of "formless" we mean that God or the living entities—all of us—have no material form. Our present form—our body—is temporary, and after death it will never come again. As soon as this form is finished, I will have to take another form. And that form may not be exactly like this one. Unlike us, Krsna has no material form. He has a spiritual form. Therefore His form is eternal. Because our form changes, we do not remember our past lives. But Krsna remembers because His form does not change. The evidence for this appears in Krsna's teachings in the Bhagavadgita. Arjuna asked Krsna, "How can I believe that You spoke this philosophy of Bhagavad-gita to the sun-god 400 million years ago?" Krsna replied, "Yes, you were also present there, because you are My constant companion. But you have forgotten; I remember." As long as our form stays the same we do not forget things. But when our form changes we forget. We experience this every night. My form is lying on the bed, but I am dreaming in a different form: I am flying in the sky and forgetting that

my real form is lying on the bed. We forget "I am American" or "I am the son of such and such gentleman." We forget everything. As soon as the form is forgotten, then everything is forgotten. The impersonalists are very fond of the universal form. But what is the universal form? It is an external expansion of the supreme form, Krsna. We living entities are very minute spiritual forms. Materially we cannot understand this. We cannot see the spiritual form with our material eyes. But we get information from the sastra, scriptures. Sastra says that the size of the living entity is one ten-thousandth the tip of a hair. Just imagine the tip of a hair, and divide it into ten thousand parts. One such part is the size of the living entity. "When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul." (Svetasvatara Upanisad 5.9) That is the dimension of the living entity. That atomic particle of spiritual energy takes shelter by superior control. When a person dies, the spirit soul is taken to the court of judgment of Yamaraja, the lord of death. And according to the living entity's previous actions, he is then given a new body for his next life. How? The Srimad-Bhagavatam states, karmana daiva-netrena: "by superior arrangement." When you work somewhere, your service record is kept. So many things are judged. At the end of the year, or at the end of some period, the service record is checked, and you are

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given a promotion. Similarly, all our activities are being recorded. And after death we are taken to the court of Yamaraja for the day of judgment. As the higher authority, Yamaraja decides what kind of body we shall get. You cannot say, "Now give me the body of a king." Now you are an American, but you cannot dictate, "Give me another American body—as the son of Rockefeller." No. What you have done will be judged, and you will get your next body accordingly. Of course, you have received your present opportunities because of past pious activities. To take birth in a rich family or nation is due to pious activity. Janmaisvaryasruta-sribhih. Janma (birth),aisvarya (riches), sruta, (education), and sri (beauty)—these things are obtained according to past activities. Not that everyone becomes educated. There is no such chance.

Nothing by chance We were discussing this morning how nothing happens by chance. Everything depends on some cause. Not that by chance anyone becomes a very rich man. No. One has to work for it. Not that by chance one becomes very educated. These things are not chances. So if there is no chance, then there must be a cause, and there must be judgment. Otherwise why is one man born rich while another man works hard but has to sleep in the street? By superior judgment the small spiritual particle—the living entity—is transferred to the semen of a particular father. Then the living entity is injected into the womb of

age a marriage. Vision: The man should have a vision. Do not get involved with a man who does not know where he is going or is unable to tell you where he is going or a woman who does not know what she wants. In any relationship, you must be ready to see the faults, accept them, make excuses for them and move on. Learn to love and love deeply. How many are ready to be there always in good or bad, rough or easy, tough or smooth conditions? How many are living with imagination rather than dealing with reality? A relationship is not for sex; it is not for pride or exhibition, or to prove oneself. It is far more than that. A relationship is for the completion of an established man or woman. You see, marriage is a covenant till death. What they say is “till death do us part”. If it is so dangerous, then a decision concerning it should not be taken lightly. Everyone has a right to happiness and marriage can be a great source of happiness if done right. It is my prayer that the Lord will make us of quick understanding and enable us to do the right thing and do things right.

Self-discovery Kavikarnapura Das

iskcon.lagos@gmail.com 0706 601 1800, 0812 324 5864

the mother, the male and female secretions combine, and the living entity develops a body. This is the science. If you use contraceptives, that means you contaminate the emulsion, and the poor living entity cannot take shelter there. You cannot kill the living soul, but you make the circumstances unfavorable for his staying. Then he has to be transferred to another womb. After conception the body develops. That we can see. Not that on the day of pregnancy the body develops at once. No. First it is just like a small pea, then gradually it develops. After birth the child also develops. That is not really development but transmigration from one body to another. For example, in a cinema film there are many pictures, but when they are moved very swiftly we see the action. Similarly, the process of our change of body is so swift that we cannot perceive it. We think the body is growing. But the body is not growing; we are getting different bodies.

Krsna's external body So our point is that the small spiritual spark develops the body. Similarly, the huge gigantic body of the universal form is the development of Krsna's external body.

As your bodily functions go on nicely because the spiritual spark is within, similarly all material activities in the universe are going nicely because of the presence of the Supreme Lord. The rascal scientists cannot understand that our bodily functions are going on nicely only as long as the spirit soul is there. But any sane man can understand this. Similarly, the big manifestation of the material world is going on nicely because Krsna is there. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Arjuna asks, "Krsna, kindly explain how Your energies are acting." Krsna explains in the Tenth Chapter. Then He says, "Arjuna, I shall go on explaining how My energies are working, but you can summarize that I—in one of My plenary portions—enter the material world, and therefore it is going on so nicely." (Bg. 10.42) As our material body is not our real form, the universal form is not Krsna's real form. Our body is described as a garment. A garment is made when there is a real form. Because you have arms, your coat has arms. But you are not the coat. Similarly, because we are spiritual forms we grow our hands and legs and head and so on. We are materially "coated."

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

Health www.thenicheng.com

Cleft lip, palate deformity curable, says Ogunlewe

By Ayo Bada

Senior Correspondent

left lip and cleft palate, also known as orofacial cleft, is a group of conditions that includes cleft lip (CL), cleft palate (CP), and both together (CLP). A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate is when the roof of the mouth contains an opening into the nose. These disorders can result in feeding problems, speech problems, hearing problems, and frequent ear infections. Less than half the time the condition is associated with other disorders. Cleft lip and palate are the result of tissues of the face not joining properly during development. As such, they are a type of birth defect. The cause is unknown in most cases. Risk factors include smoking during pregnancy, diabetes, obesity, an older mother, and certain medications (such as some used to treat seizures). Cleft lip and cleft palate can often be diagnosed during pregnancy with an ultrasound exam. But can a cleft lip or palate be successfully treated here in Nigeria? Omobolanle Ogunlewe, a professor of oral and maxillofacial, College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), answered in the affirmative in her inaugural lecture. She said: “Yes, it can be successful treated with surgery. This is often done in the first few months of life for cleft lip and before 18th months for cleft palate. “Speech therapy and dental care may also be needed. With appropriate treatment outcomes are good.” Ogunlewe, in her lecture entitled “Changing the world one smile at a time”, delivered at the main auditorium of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), gave credence to an international charity organisation, Smile Train, for making the treatment and surgery possible in Nigeria. She also cited the moral, active support and commitment of former CMUL Chief Medical Director, Professor Akin Osibogun. The lecture, which was

Ogunlewe

chaired by UNILAG Vice Chancellor, Professor Rahamon Bello, marked the epitome of her career as a professor in the school. Ogunlewe added: “In the last nine years, I have concentrated most of my practice on cleft care. In the more developed countries, most patients have their defects repaired within one year of birth. “Repairs can be delayed for several reasons such as fear of death, lack of fund to pay hospital fees, inadequate facility, where facility is available (long distance from their place of abode), lack of skill and lack of awareness. “This explains why we still have some individuals carrying the defect till adulthood. “Over the years, I have searched for an area of maxillofacial surgery that will meet my patients’ expectations and at the same time give me feelings of fulfilment and satisfaction. “I could not achieve this with cancer surgery. This is because 90 per cent of our patients report very late, when ‘their mouths have already killed them’. “At this stage there is very little the surgeon can do other than watch them die slowly but peacefully. This is very disheartening! “When surgery is carried out and the lesion is not completely eradicated, the outcome is not good and the patients’ appearance is worse off; despite that, the patient will sill move

to the great beyond. “I was therefore delighted when Smile Train came to Nigeria in 2007 and has been providing treatment grants for 65 health facilities for the surgical repairs of cleft lip and palate deformities in children. “Smile Train is an international children’s charity organisation based in the United States. Since it arrived, it has put smiles on the faces of 13, 850 children, whose worlds have been changed so also the worlds of their parents. “They are also providing funding for free cleft care in 87 countries. They also support training of health care personnel. “I know of a Nigerian nongovernmental organisation (NGO), H.E.W.S Foundation, which is replicating what Smile Train is doing in Nigeria. “It has also funded the surgeries of some of our patients

with benign jaw tumours. Where are the other NGOs? “Tremendous progress has since been made in the area of cleft care due to the partnership with Smile Train. “This partnership has also increased the awareness of these congenital anomalies in our country. Before then, we had thought that cleft lip and palate deformities were not a common occurrences in our environment. “Going through our records, we were treating an average of 15 patients a year before the partnership with Smile Train, but now we have treated over 530 patients from 2007, putting smiles on the faces of parents and babies. “We have indeed transformed the lives of these patients and their families. With the Smile Train grant, we have been able to improve our surgical skills, train more doc-

Before and after treatment

tors and provide better care for cleft patients. “During my Residency training programme only the consultants operated the cleft patients, but today, my resident doctors can carry out surgical repairs on their own. “We have also been able to provide a holistic approach to the care of these patients incorporating other specialties like orthodontics, pediatrics cardiology audiology and paedodontics. “The main objective of the management of cleft deformity is to achieve functional and anatomic repair of bony and soft tissue defects such that the child’s ability to speak, hear, and eat will be improved. “Facial appearance will also be improved. Along with my colleagues, we advocate early treatment before the child begins peer interaction. This will minimise the social discomfort such children may experience as they grow. “The lip is thus repaired at three months and the palate between one and one and half years. The management of babies with cleft lip and palate

deformities is best provided by an interdisciplinary team of specialists. This is because of the multiple and complex problems associated with this deformity. Ogunlewe said while she desires a maxillofacial surgeon to restore smile to the faces of patients, it sometimes comes with challenges. “One of the challenges is arriving at the diagnosis of the disease. Treatment may be delayed when the nature of the disease is not fully understood, coupled with lack of appropriate facility to aid diagnosis. Some rare cases pose diagnostic challenges.” She enumerated three ways to change the world. “The first is to focus on inner renewal day by day. Let us renew ourselves and have a better relationship with God. If we can change our ways and allow God to change us, then the world will change through us. “Second is to start where you are. You don’t have to be a doctor, a governor or a president neither do you need billions of naira or foreign currency before you can touch lives. “Wherever you reside, work or play, at any particular moment, once you have people around you that is a world in itself. There is hardly any one that lives in isolation. “The third and final way is to identify the specific problem in your environment. If you want to make a change in your community, identify what is wrong. “Figure out what you can do to change the situation. Find people of like minds who feel the same pain and have a passion for that issue. Team up with them and effect the change.”

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Kiddies

Arena

Temitope Ojo ibilade@gmail.com t.adegboye@thenicheng.com 0708 479 6140

Historical personality

Brain tickler

Nwafor Orizu (1915-1999)

You are in a cabin and it is pitch black. You have one match on you. Which do you light first, the newspaper, the lamp, the candle or the fire?

Solution You light the match first.

I am owned by the poor, the rich does not need me. If you eat me, you will die! What am I? Answer Nothing

Invention Umbrella

The word "umbrella" comes from the Latin root word "umbra", meaning shade or shadow. Starting in the 16th century the umbrella became popular in the Western world, especially in the rainy weather of northern Europe. The basic umbrella was invented over 4,000 years ago. We have seen evidence of umbrellas in the ancient art and artifacts of Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and China. These ancient umbrellas, or parasols, were first designed to provide shade from the sun. The Chinese were the first to waterproof their umbrellas for use as rain protection. They waxed and lacquered their paper parasols in order to use them for rain. At first it was considered only an accessory suitable for women. Then the Persian traveller and writer, Jonas Hanway (1712-1786), carried and used an umbrella publicly in England for 30 years. He popularised umbrella use among men. English gentleman often referred to their umbrellas as a "Hanway." The first all umbrella shop was called "James Smith and Sons".

wafor Orizu was a Nigerian of Igbo origin and the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second Senate president from November 16, 1960 to January 15, 1966, during the First Republic. Orizu was also acting president of Nigeria from late 1965 until the military coup of January 1966. He was born in 1915 into the royal house of Nnewi, Anambra State. He went to the United States in 1939, earning a degree in government at Ohio State University and an M.A. at Columbia University. He was an advocate of the "horizontal", broad system of American education as opposed to the narrow "perpendicular" British system, and earned the nickname "Orizontal", a play on his name and a reference to his constant discussion of the theme. He established The American Council on African Education (ACAE), which obtained numerous tuition scholarships from American sources for the benefit of African students. Orizu established a newspaper The West Africa Examiner and became ts managing director, while M.C.K. Ajuluchukwu was the editor. He ran successfully for election as an independent candidate to represent Onitsha Division, and became the chief whip in the Eastern House of Assembly. Later he joined with other independent candidates to form the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC). He played a central role in helping

Nnamdi Azikiwe become premier of Eastern Region, using his influence in the NCNC to persuade Eyo Ita to resign as premier. Zik appointed Orizu the minister of local government. When Nigeria attained independence on October 1, 1960, Orizu became the president of the Senate. A coup was launched on January 16, 1966 by a group of disaffected young military officers led by Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu. After the coup, Orizu faded from the political scene but remained active in education.

TheNiche

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July 03, 2016

Kiddies Arena StarKid Name: Vaniah Pinnick Age: Four Best colour: Blue Best food: Rice and chicken Career goal: Pilot School: Kingdom Heritage Model School, Katsina Road, Kaduna Be our StarKid: Send your child's full-sized photograph and details to ibilade@gmail.com.

Too Honest

Poems

By Lawrence S. Pertillar Have I 'ever' lied or cheated? Under what? Hypnosis? An array of xrays? Or as I layed butt naked, Being probed by doctors... During periods my health decayed? And even 'then' what lies could I secretly save? I am too honest. And have to invent activities I have yet done. Because everything about me, Has been exposed and documented... Under oath to someone. Now... I cannot say I haven't been betrayed, By those extremely creative. Be our poet: Send your poems to ibilade@gmail.com.

TheNiche

Arts July 03, 2016

with Terh Agbedeh

REVIEWS&PREVIEWS

he death has occurred of famous author, Elechi Amadi. Sources told TheNiche he died on June 29 at the Good Heart Hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at the age of 82. Born on May 12, 1934, in Aluu, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, he is best known for his 1966 first novel, The Concubine, acclaimed all over the world. He also wrote Sunset in Biafra. He attended Government College, Umuahia (1948–52), Survey School, Oyo (1953–54), and the University of Ibadan (1955–59), where he obtained a degree in Physics and Mathematics. He worked for a time as a land surveyor and later was a teacher at several schools, including the Nigerian Military School, Zaria (1963–66). Amadi served in the Nigerian army, remained there during the Nigerian Civil War, and retired at the rank of Captain. He then held various positions with the Rivers State Government: Permanent Secretary (1973–83), Commissioner for Education (1987–88) and Commissioner for Lands and Housing (1989–90). He has been writer-in-residence

and lecturer at Rivers State College of Education, where he was also Dean of Arts, Head of the Literature Department and Director of General Studies. On May 13, 1989, a symposium was held at the University of Port Harcourt to celebrate Amadi’s 55th birthday. In May 2004, a conference was organised by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Rivers State Branch, to mark his 70th birthday. On January 5, 2009, Amadi was kidnapped at his home in Aluu town by unknown gunmen. He was released 23 hours later. The one-time chairman of the Rivers State Scholarship Board has written many other works including drama and poetry. He was among the Nigerian authors who featured prominently at the events marking the Port Harcourt World Book Capital (PHWBC) in 2014. His awards include: Rivers State Silver Jubilee Merit Award (1992), Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in Education, honoris causa, awarded by Rivers State University of Science and Technology (2003), Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) and Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Education (2003).

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Sunset in Biafra at last, as Elechi Amadi dies

Amadi

8th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series holds in Lagos

he eight edition of the Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series is scheduled for Wednesday, July 13, by 10am at NECA Building, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos. This year’s lecture themed ‘Tax education, national development and the seminal role of the media’ will be delivered by Mrs. Adebimpe Balogun, the first female president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN). There will also be other discussants from various sectors critical to the theme. A statement from the centre’s Motunrayo Alaka says the choice of this year’s theme is to contribute a veritable opportunity to raise critical questions and national debate on issues surrounding taxation in the country. Such issues, Alaka said, range from the importance of taxation to development, evaluating the compliance rate, the lack of trust for wise use of funds generated by the government, the level of reportage of the issue in the media, among others. The lecture series, which first held in 2008, is designed to peri-

odically examine varying topical issues that affect the performance of the media, on the health of Nigeria, and its democracy. It is usually a well-attended programme with a good spread of media professionals, civil society organisations, students, government officials, leaders of industries and members of the diplomatic corps. It had featured respected personalities like Prof. Harry Garuba of the African Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Olatunji Dare, an Associate Professor of Journalism at Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, and former editorial page editor of The Guardian (Nigeria); Prof. Bayo Olukoshi of the United Nations African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (UNIDEP); Prof. Biodun Jeyifo of Harvard University; Prof. Abiola Irele, doyen of African literature; and Nasir el-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, as guest speakers. The tradition of holding the event on July 13, which this year is Professor Soyinka’s 82nd birthday, started in 2009 in the bid to honour the Nobel Laureate and draw attention to current national issues.

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

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Arts P

erformance artist, Jelili Atiku, and five others have been advised to go and settle out-of-court with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police. Mrs. J.O. Adeyemi of the Ejigbo Magistrate Court, conferring with counsel to both parties after trials had barely begun, recommended a recourse to amicable resolution. It was the fourth court hearing of the lawsuit against the artist. Observers all over the world monitoring the case saw a turn in the court proceedings on Monday, June 27, when the Magistrate advised the parties to “explore amicable, peaceful settlement” instead of the lingering situation that might end up exacerbating the prevailing tension in the community. The prosecutor had called three witnesses for cross-examination by the defence counsel. However, only the primary witness, Fatai Ibrahim, was present. The lead defence counsel objected to crossexamination by drawing attention to pending application for the record of proceedings, which was yet to be made available to the legal team. According to him, without the record of proceedings, it would be difficult for the defence counsel to properly cross-examine witnesses. An amicable resolution, the magistrate stated, would give way to peace, knowing that, “the law court is capable of dispensing justice at any time. Even after this is done, given the family ties

Jelili Atiku: Magistrate advises amicable resolution

between Jelili and Oba Morufu Ojoola, hostilities might persist, and the best way to forestall peace is an out-of-court dialogue.” This, she said, would help curb worsening tension and possibly fend off internal wrangling between members of same Ejigbo ruling family at the expense of the community. Addressing the media, Adeola Samuel Ilori, one of the counsel to the defendants, expressed satisfaction with the alternative method which he sees within the magistrate’s jurisdiction and a worthwhile option to conflict resolution. “This is the best option regardless of the temporary remand suffered by my client at the beginning, which I believe will be addressed. Peace and serenity will reign. Law guides every society irrespective of who rules it. This out-of-court move, having looked at the matter, the court considers this alternative as the best. It doesn’t preclude the case. It has not been overruled. The case subsists, only suspended pending the workability of this option.” The dialogue is scheduled to hold at the court chamber, as adjourned till July 18. As part of its mandate to promote and defend the rights of artists across the continent, Arterial Network Nigeria has been in the forefront of this case, to ensure that the truth is established, and prove that this case against Atiku is an outright violation of his fundamental human right of freedom of expression as guaranteed in the Nigerian Constitution and several international conventions of which Nigeria is a party.

Jelili Atiku (right) confers with his lawyers

Nigeria hosts cybersecurity conference

gsecure 2016, an international information security conference, is billed to take place at Four Point Hotel, Lagos, on July 26 and 27. According to the Conference Director, Kayode Eyinade: “With the increasing sophistication of criminal and terrorist acts, new and innovative surveillance and monitoring systems have become very imperative. Globally, next to terrorism, socio-economicwise, CyberSecurity challenges pose the next major threat to humanity. Nigeria is strategic to the CyberSecurity campaign, being the largest internet user in Africa.” Out of the estimated 3.5 billion internet users in the world, Nigeria records 67,101,452 in a population of more than 170 million, which is about 37 per cent internet penetration. The non-existence of a national policy on information security or even the guidelines on monitoring and censoring internet content makes CyberSe-

curity a daunting task. InfoSecurityNigeria Conference (NgSecure) 2016 will bring to the table all security issues. These critical issues will be highlighted, discussed and dissected by thoughtful leaders and professional players in the field of information and communication technology (ICT), telecommunication, financial services, civil services, national security, law enforcement agencies, judiciary and the legislature. security, money laundering, data breaches, electronic fraud, cyber laws and compliance legislation, social media security, national identity and privacy issues in today’s changing security landscape will be combed and solutions proffered. “Cyber threats, no doubt, have evolved and increased exponentially, occurring on a more frequent basis and with greater sophistication than ever,” Eyinade said. “Because financial and almost all institutions are now dependent

The Domestication of Munachi Author: Ifesinachi Okpagu Publisher: Parresia Publishers Limited Pages: 181 By Mmedaramfon Umoren This book, The Domestication of Munachi, can strongly be termed a true description of the journey of life, which some ladies have passed through and are passing through in some places today. It showcases the stress and pressure they are made to face, in a bid to wipe shame off their parents’ faces and make them meaningful members of the society they live in. Set in the south eastern and south western parts of Nigeria, The Domestication of Munachi centres around a family consisting Ekwutos, Elizabeth, Adanna, Munachi and Chimuanya. Munachi is a beautiful girl from Awka, who has reached that stage in life when parents expect their girl-child to marry, in order to be seen as complete by the community. Despite her parents’ wish for her, she makes up her mind to disappear rather

on cyber technology for critical operations, they are ordinarily exposed to vulnerabilities that need to be anticipated and managed. These are necessities that gave birth to Difensore Consulting, organisers of Ngsecure Conference 2016.” The target areas are banks telecoms, IT organisations, lawyers, IT personnel in various industries, educational institutions, journalists and civil society organisations. It will be the largest gathering of professionals and academics. Riveting and engaging panel sessions on technology and corruption will be moderated by Prof. Femi Odekunle. Technology and strategies deliberations are on the menu as well as information security mythologies and tactics exchange. There will be the 2015 cyber law reviews (privacy and human rights concerns) together with live hack sessions, to wit, practical techniques to detect and protect networks and systems. It all

than put up with a marriage she will not find happiness in. Having witnessed a case of infidelity and battery on her father’s side and bondage on her sister’s side, she fights for her own will, in order not to end up a victim. Her aunt, Chimuanya, similarly, desires to make money for herself before getting married, but is heartbroken after losing her virginity to the supposed fiancé. Resentment for marriage set in. The life of Chimuanya informs the reader that no matter what you achieve in life, without a husband, you are not accepted, yet Munachi rejects her husband. Her parents are shame-filled by Munachi’s actions and even go as far as sending Ngo, another aunt, to bring her home. But she is entangled in the web like some typical Lagos girls, due to the renewal of her mind by Chimuanya’s constant preaching. Adanna, on the other hand, refuses to divulge her marital issues to her family because she does not want to be regarded as a failure. But her father’s infidelity, well nurtured in her mind, grooms an alter ego that surfaces on one occasion to teach her husband a lesson. This earns her a de-

will be capped with innovative techniques and technologies to address latest risks. Basil Udotai, a technology lawyer and former Director of Cyber-security, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), will be on the panel. Segun Olugbile, Cyber-security expert and online child protection expert, will also lend his renowned expertise on the panel. Discussants and attendees include the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed; former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase; member, Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Prof. Femi Odekunle; and Professor Olumide Longe, a cybersecurity expert and Fulbright scholar. The conference chair, Prof. Pat Utomi, who is a political economist and co-founder of the Lagos Business School (LBS), will be supported by a sizeable number of international cybersecurity experts to be announced later.

spicable image. However, she is content with the knowledge that her family is on her side. Essentially, the book reveals explicitly that no one should be pressured into marriage, especially when the person isn’t interested in or barely knows the supposed partner. Reading this book is intriguing since it is a true reflection of life itself, the various ways certain women are treated by their husbands and the society. There is also the strength and courage they display in trying to keep their homes, even when they are fed up. It gives an idea of emancipation for the girl-child, who is not expected to have a will of her own, but be in total agreement with the man of the house at all times, even to her detriment. With the theme of love, self-will, disappointment and conflict, the story is wellthought-out and spiced to result in perfection. Every reader would find it amusing, very intriguing and suspense-filled. The author’s tone is very convincing, such that it captures the reader’s attention and keeps them focused on it to the last page. It is beautiful to note that every

chapter is introduced by a heading which informs the reader the character from whose perspective the chapter is. The book also beautifully highlights the various attitudes of certain Christians in big cities, going to church for the hot music, displaying the latest fashion and meeting people rather than listening to the sermon. It as well highlights the insensitivity of people in places of authority to the needs of their populace. City life in Awka and Lagos are brought into the picture. The language is simple, the everyday language which anyone can understand. However, there are one or two typos, which do not necessarily impair the storyline, as most readers can figure out the right expressions in such cases. The glossy and hard details of the cover are well crafted with the title written in cursive lower case letters which adds to the aesthetics. The portraiture on the cover, which is a representation of the girl-child, is alluring. This book is, indeed, a fantastic work, which is a must-read for everyone, especially young and single ladies.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Fashion

Temitope Ojo ibilade@gmail.com t.adegboye@thenicheng.com 0708 479 6140

World of Fragrances at Luxury Beauty Brunch

‘World of Fragrances’ was the theme of the fourth edition of the World PR Media’s Luxury Beauty Brunch held at Oriki Spa, Victoria Island, Lagos. Speakers included Tope Omai, perfumer and founder of Mystiquee Perfumery; Stephanie KaluUche of Stephanie Nicholas Wellness; and Moriam Musa, spokesperson for Mahnoush Beauty Place. Omai spoke on the topic “art of perfumery.” She delved into the specific “notes” and varieties of “essential oils” required to make perfumes, and disclosed her trips to France and other places to source for “raw essences”. She said customs related issues are a “fixable” barrier in normal business but her passion far supersedes any possible challenge. Kalu-Uche spoke

on “Nonescents” which explain why some range of “natural” products are “fragrance free”. Supreme Bouquet, bosses Mariam Afolabi and Helen Akinbamiyorin, ensured guests sampled their perfumes while taking them through how they started their line of perfumes. The organisers partnered with Zaron Cosmetics as the official cosmetics brand, and Casper and Gambinis Nigeria was the hospitality partner. Partnership support also came from GalaRosa Wines, Pure Cosmetics, Mahnoush Beauty Place, Aweni Organics, Stephanie Nicholas Wellness, and Madmoiselle Aglaia. The event, hosted by both Layole Oyatogun, media personality and actress, and Tayo Afolabi. Here are some of the attendees: Kalu-Uche Adeola Adebiyi

Supreme bouquet display

Omai

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July 03, 2016

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Tewa Onasanya

Oyatogun

Omoni Oboli

Guests

Ajibs

May Ikeora

Toni Tones

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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FOOD &DRINK

Keeping food poisoning at bay HERE are set standards that should be observed and maintained in the kitchen. Some of them are ensuring that the kitchen is clean and the utensils are well arranged. This is termed kitchen hygiene. Kitchen hygiene is extremely necessary, as germs that cause food poisoning are mostly transmitted from the kitchen. The germs that can cause food poisoning are usually controlled by heating (cooking) or chilling (refrigerating) the food. But given half a chance, they can easily spread around the kitchen through the hand, chopping board, cloth, knife and other kitchen utensils. One of the major domesticated gripes is seeing someone who is supposed to be a cook wearing his or her jewellery, or mix ingredients with bare palms, without first removing their rings. The jewellery may be beautiful. The microscopic germs skulking on and under its surfaces could cause food poisoning. Therefore, before cooking or baking, the following should be observed: *Ensure that your nails are short, not polished (chips of polish can contaminate food, and colour hides dirt under nails). No nail extensions.

*Take off all jewellery, including necklaces, wristwatches and brooches, to prevent falling into food and bringing contaminants. *Ensure there are no loose labels on clothes; that is why it is important to wear an apron to protect the food from the contaminants on your clothes. *Consider a hair net or hair cover (even as it looks a bit odd), if you have long hair. *Wash your hands thoroughly in the washhand basin, washing well between the fingers and scrubbing the nails. *Remove plug from sink before drying your hands –preferably with a paper towel. *Disinfect the work surfaces using the kitchen surface cleaner. Food preparation *In making use of a chopping board, choose the right one for the job, as most of them are usually colour coded. Choose a ‘raw’ or a ‘cooked’ knife, to avoid contamination. This means assigning a knife for raw foods and another for cooked foods. *We should be knowledgeable about micro-organisms that cause food poisoning, the main one is bacteria. Bacteria are living things that have only one

cell. Under a microscope, they look like balls, rods, or spirals. They are so small that a line of 1,000 could fit across a pencil eraser. Most bacteria will not hurt the body – less than one per cent of the different types of bacteria make people really sick. Many are helpful. Some bacteria help to digest food, destroy diseasecausing cells, and give the body needed vitamins. Bacteria are also

Sip

There are some foods that are considered as high risk in terms of contamination. Examples are meat products, including milk, cream, artificial cream, custards and dairy; cooked eggs and products made from eggs like mayonnaise; shellfish and other seafood etc. Bacteria multiply with warmth, moisture and can multiply every 10 minutes and grow in the danger zone. Therefore, foods that

are high risks should be stored in the refrigerator at the required temperature *When handling these high risk foods, clean kitchen surfaces after every stage and always wash your hands and utensils before touching anything else. *After cooking, it is preferable to wash all your dishes and utensils with hot water and dishwashing liquid.

Wine Of The week

eating out ip restaurants and bar is a sophisticated destination for lunch, dinner, and private dining in a cosy environment. Exceptionally different from other lounges, Sip is the combination of a restaurant, lounge and bar. Exotic luxury decorations gave the place a touch of class. What with the colourful artworks. Sip creates the perfect setting

used in making healthy foods like yoghurt and cheese. But infectious bacteria can make one really ill; they reproduce quickly in the body. Many give off chemicals called toxins, which can damage body tissues. Examples of bacteria that cause infections are streptococcus, staphylococcus, and e.coli. Bacteria can be killed by thoroughly cooking the meal.

for your next dining experience or event – social, charitable or corporate – with its conducive atmosphere. It refreshes the dining experience you can taste and feel; combining class, comfort, intimacy and diversity, serving mouth-watering meals like pasta, rice, different chicken recipe and your choice of drinks. Sip RestauLaunge is at Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

FirstClass red grape juice from Italy meets the growing demand for fine and healthy drinks. It is pure and 100 per cent natural without sugar, preservatives, colouring, water or anything else. Rich in mineral salts, its ideal for adults and children. The pureness and high quality are perceived as elegance and freshness hence its name FirstClass.

BUSINESS UNUSUAL

TheNiche

FINANCIAL NICHE

PERSONAL FINANCE MARKETING NICHE

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

ICT

July 03, 2016

BUSINESS

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INFLATION Inflation month RATE Inflation rate

MONEY Broadmoney (M2) 18,718,193.11 SUPPLY (Trillion) Narrow Money (M1) 7,148,592.67

May 2016 15.6%

PAGE 56

Gold

COMMODITIES SUMMARY

Silver

PER OZ

$16.96

$1,234.18 TROY OZ

$49.22

PER BARREL

Brent Crude $49.30 PER BARREL

How to solve Nigeria’s shipping challenges, by experts

Union, Unity, Wema Banks' N397b earnings rob shareholders PAGE 55

WTI

Maritime

Stock Market

Kelechi Mgboji Assistant Business Editor 0803 469 0996, 0811 181 3047 kckmgboji@yahoo.com

OIL PRICE INDEX

Tin

$7.93

Platinum

Copper

$1,011.10 $2.28

PER OZ

PER LB

Nickel

$4.28

Wheat

$467

GRADE A

Lead

Palladium

Exchange Rates

$0.81

$608.25

Cocoa

$3, 132

PER OZT

N-$

N-£

N-€

RATE

198.8

N288.62 220.02

Billionaires on the brink • AMCON targets assets of Adenuga, Kashamu, Ifeanyi Ubah, Jimoh Ibrahim, others By Kelechi Mgboji

Assistant Business Editor

he assets of more than 100 high profile billionaire businessmen are on the radar of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for seizure because they fail to engage in talks for repayment of their debts, cumulatively running into N6.6 trillion. AMCON’s spokesman, Jude Nwauzor, told TheNiche that the list of the 100 chronic debtors, out of a total of 12,744 in their book, are on their seizure radar, and once the courts grant them the confiscation order, they would swing into action. “The beautiful thing about the list AMCON published is that none of the 100 debtors has contested his or her inclusion,” he said. As at March, AMCON adUbah mitted before an investigative panel of the House of Representatives that its debt profile had risen to N6.6 trillion due to accumulated interest payment of N2.1 trillion on the original debt of N4.5 trillion. The House ad-hoc committee headed by Albert Abiodun Adeogun investigating the sale of banks by AMCON, had raised eyebrows at the rise in liabilities, particularly as AMCON owed the Cen-

Adenuga

tral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) N4.5 trillion. The CBN said it was closely monitoring and supervising AMCON to ensure that its liabilities were cleared by 2024 when the corporation was expected to wind up operations. AMCON’s statement obtained by TheNiche stated that the corporation was being owed over N4.5 trillion by about 200 companies who have be-

come “recalcitrant despite obvious efforts of the corporation to deal with the situation.” AMCON recently increased the tempo of its recovery activities using firmer negotiation strategies as well as utilising the special enforcement powers vested on it by the Act that established it to compel some of its debtors, especially politically exposed persons and

business heavyweights to pay their debts. On February 4, the Corporation listed its debtors to include: Seawolf (N160.09 billion), Capital Oil and Gas, (N104.8 billion), Resort International Limited (N36.30 billion), but its promoter, Wale Babalakin (SAN), said he has a N132 billion judgment debt against Continues on PAGE 52

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Cover

Billionaires on the brink

Sani Dangote

Continued from PAGE 51

the federal government, so AMCON should offset its indebtedness from the judgment debt. Other debtors include: Tanzila Petroleum Limited (N49.2 billion), Home Trust Savings (N25,749 billion), Suru Worldwide Ventures (N24.41billion), Roygate Properties, (N23.261 billion), Ziklagsis Network Limited (N20.334 billion), Lexcap Partners (N18 billion.) AMCON also listed Anyiam Osigwe Limited as owing it (N17.247 billion), Iorna Global Resources Limited (N15.873 billion), Hosanna Properties Limited (N14.983 billion), Unudike Enterprises Limited (N14.16 billion), Bulk Pack Services Limited (N13.493 billion), Global Haulage Resources Limited (N11.472 billion), Taka Continental Limited (N11.378 billion), JAG Global Resources Limited (N11.108 billion), Felshade International Nigeria (N10.979 billion), AFRIJET Airlines Limited (N10.886 billion), Hotel De Island belonging to Senator Buruji Kashamu and family (N10.797 billion), and Petroleum Brokers Limited (N10.681 billion), and hundreds of others. According to the corporation, companies that have been listed are those that failed to respond to its repeated calls for discussions on their loans repayment plans.

Ibrahim

Murray-Bruce

Ben Murray-Bruce losses assets On June 24, the Corporation announced taking over the Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt premises of Silverbird Galleria, and all the companies co-owned by Senator Ben Murray-Bruce and his brothers, Guy MurrayBruce, Michael MurrayBruce, as well as his son, Jonathan Murray-Bruce for failing to payback its N11 billion debt. There are insinuations that AMCON’s latest move has political colorations coming just a day after the vocal member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had said in a tweet that President Muhammadu Buhari should consider dealing with anti-corruption and economic exigencies simultaneously, implying that the ruling party was only fighting corruption at the expense of the economy. According to AMCON, Senator Bruce, using his firms in 2005 and 2007, borrowed various sums of money from the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and defaulted in his obligations to pay back. AMCON bought over the loans from the bank and reached agreement with Senator Bruce on repayment. But the lawmaker could not make up the debt with AMCON, prompting the takeover.

Dangote’s brother losses too Bulk Pack Services Limited, a beverage

package manufacturer and suppliers, owned by Sani Dangote, younger brother to Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, had earlier been taken over by AMCON in mid-May as part of the efforts to recover trillions of naira owed the corporation. The receiver, Urua Essien, confirmed the development to another newspaper, saying he had taken over the firm which specialises in the manufacture and supply of packages for major beverages companies like Dansa Foods Limited. The company located at Dangote Regional Office at Oluwole Street, off Oba Akran Street, Ikeja Lagos, is affiliated to the Dangote Group.

Jimoh Ibrahim risks bankruptcy Penultimate week, a Federal High Court in Lagos granted an interim injunction to the AMCON to confiscate assets belonging to Jimoh Ibrahim in Abuja, Lagos, Dubai and London, over an alleged indebtedness of N50billion. Ruling in an application to that effect by AMCON’s lawyer, Yusuf Ali (SAN), Justice Saliu Saidu said the order would suffice until a suit filed by AMCON against Ibrahim and his companies was fully determined. AMCON claimed that NICON Investment Limited, Global Fleet Oil and Gas Limited and Ibrahim were indebted to it to the tune of over N50 billion.

Also affected by the order were Ibrahim’s Nigeria Re-Insurance Company Plc, NICON Insurance Company Plc, Nigeria Stockbrokers Limited and NICON Trustees Limited. The judge also restrained Ibrahim and the companies from making any withdrawal from all their known bank accounts pending the determination of the suit by AMCON.

Adenuga’s multiple debts AMCON also listed second richest man in Nigeria, Mike Adenuga as one of the country’s debtors for a N2.4billion loan his real estate company, Covenant Apartments Complex Limited, took from Wema Bank. AMCON acquired the loan from the bank in 2010, after Covenant Apartments failed to pay up. In a report published by PREMIUM TIMES, Adenuga is owing three companies (two foreign and one local) a combined debt of over $140.5 million. The Newspaper said one of the companies has successful secured an interim order from a federal high court to place one of Adenuga’s companies under receivership. American oil and gas firm, Baker Hughes, was forced to lodge a court petition to wind up one of Adenuga’s companies, Belbop Nigeria Limited, over a USD $12.09 mil-

lion bill they had been unsuccessfully trying to get the company to pay. Baker Hughes, the company, argued that in 2009, Belbop awarded it a contract for the provision of directional drilling, MWD/LWD services and supply of drilling fluids and drilling bits, logging cabin and surface acquisition system. The company told the court that after it duly discharged its obligation and rendered all requisite services, Belbop refused to pay. Baker Hughes said it incurred a liability of $9.4 million in the course of executing the contract. On April 12, 2016, Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court in Lagos placed an interim injunction on the accounts of Belbop pending the

Kashamu

determination of the suit. The judge appointed the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court as the receiver/manager of Belbop until the substantive suit is determined. Adenuga’s mountain of debts, according to the report, has already crippled the operations of Depthwize, an oil servicing company, which ConOil owed $40 million. The refusal of the management of ConOil to pay Depthwize, a small drilling contractor, has forced the company to lay off workers and shut down services on two of ConOil’s rigs until the money is paid. The report also said Adenuga is owing multinational oil firm, Total, $28.5 million debt since 2009.

TheNiche

Financial Niche www.thenicheng.com

July 03, 2016

CBN, Citibank execute first naira-settled FX futures Stories by Kelechi Mgboji Assistant Business Editor

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Citibank have executed the country's first naira-settled futures trade against the dollar, according to market regulator, FMDQ Overthe-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange. Futures is a financial Derivatives product easily traded between parties other than the two initial parties to the standardised forward contract. The parties initially agree to buy and sell an asset for a price agreed upon today (the forward price) with delivery and payment occurring at a future point, the delivery date. Futures contracts help to mitigate the risk of unfavourable price or exchange rate fluctuations by allowing parties to fix prices or rates in advance for future transactions. The naira had been on speculative attacks in the last 18 months due to anxiety which saw a lot of business men front loading their demand for dollars. On Monday, June 27, the CBN introduced an OTC futures market on the currency, to help manage dollar demand, quoting the naira firmer at N279 to the dollar in a month's time and at N210 by April next year. However, the rate at which the futures deal was done and the size of the trade on Wednesday, June 29 was not disclosed, Reuters reported. The bank had auctioned $3.5 billion on the futures market to clear a backlog of currency demand after it lifted its 16-month-old peg to allow the naira to trade freely on the interbank market. It sold $697 million in onemonth futures, $1.22 billion in two-month contract and $1.57 billion due in three months, in order to clear a backlog of $4.02 billion of demand. In the non-deliverable forwards market, the naira rose against the dollar on Wednesday, with the one-month contract quoting the currency at

N283, converging almost with the spot market, which traded the naira at N282. Associate Vice President, and Divisional Head Market Development and Regulations, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Olajumoke Olaniran, noted that as a hedge product, Futures will cushion foreign exchange (FX or forex) risks and eliminate speculative attacks on the naira, stressing that it is a timely and appropriate instrument to moderate fluctuations in exchange rate value. It enables contracting parties hedge FX trading risks ahead of maturity date, or the time to make payment or need the forex. Olaniran, hinged her expectations on this planned introduction of financial Derivatives as hedge products which can cushion FX risks and eliminate speculative attacks on the naira. "Now that you have Futures where the price is guaranteed at the exact time and date you need it, you don't necessarily have to come to the market right now because on the day you execute Futures transactions you're certain that there will be payment on the maturity date," said the analyst. On how Futures contracts work, she told a local television programme that everything happens on the maturity date. "If you enter into the market today, and you enter a futures contract, you are comfortable because you have locked in an exchange rate at which you hope to obtain the hard currency. "Therefore, the buyers under futures contract are not exposed to fluctuations of the exchange rate in the spot market. "Futures is one that gives you a lot of flexibility such that you can make your choice ahead and decide your price ahead and you are guaranteed the price on the maturity date. It doesn't matter what the spot rate is on that day. “You may purchase the form in the spot market but the way the settlement happens is that the differentials

CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Sarah Alade paid back to you bring you back to the guaranteed price at m the end of the day. "So, if you have entered into a futures contract for say N300 per dollar three months ago, and on the maturity date you have to purchase the currency at say N350 per dollar, your counter party on the futures contract will pay you N50 differential. "On other hand if you have the spot market people selling N280 per dollar, which means you have N20 in your favour but you have been guaranteed N300, you will have to pay your counter party N20." CBN Deputy Governor (Economic Policy) and FMDQ Chairman, Sarah Alade, said the naira-settled OTC FX futures contracts will boost liquidity, transparency, price formation and diversification in the FX market, making the market globally competitive. “This innovative product will bring liquidity, transparency, price formation and diversification into the forex market, making the market globally competitive,” Alade

explained in a statement "FMDQ, the market organiser and the ‘OTC FX Futures Exchange,’ in collaboration with the CBN and other stakeholders, is adequately equipped to deliver the needed transformation in the Nigerian financial market. “This achievement in the Nigerian financial markets has indeed been a long time coming, spanning 30 years, when the inter-bank forex market in Nigeria commenced and the Exchange Rate Liberalisation Policy was introduced in 1986, to the introduction of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995.” The naira-settled OTC FX futures market started with the CBN selling the OTC FX futures contracts of non-standardised amounts for different tenors from one month through to 12 months, which will settle on bespoke maturity dates, providing liquidity in the product that will enable corporate treasurers effectively and efficiently manage their

DMO Director General, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo forex risk. FMDQ said: “To ensure credibility of the contracts, especially at maturity, the spot FX rate will be the FMDQ spot FX rate benchmark – the Nigerian Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Fixing, an independent fixing of the inter-bank FX market. “The naira-settled OTC FX futures product, while of tremendous benefit to Nigerian corporates, is equally of immense importance and advantage to, among others, the CBN, the Nigerian forex market, and the nation’s economy as a whole. “The OTC FX futures market will serve to, inter alia, minimise the disequilibrium in the Spot FX Market and cause the rate to moderate; attract significant capital flows to the Nigerian fixed income and equity markets; and achieve exchange rate stability.” In another development, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has disclosed that the government would raise between N305 billion and N395

billion in 2021, 2026, 2036 bonds in the third quarter of 2016 (Q3 2016). Reuters reported the $1.08 billion - $1.40 billion bonds would be local currencydenominated with maturities ranging from five to 20 years. The DMO said it would auction between N105 and N135 billion worth of bonds maturing in 2021, 2026 and 2036 in July 2016, N95 and N125 billion worth in August, and N105 and N135 billion worth in September. In its latest debt issuance calendar, the DMO said the 2021 paper was a new issue, while the 2026 and 2036 maturing paper re-opened previously issued debt. The government through the DMO issues sovereign bonds monthly to support the local bond market, create a benchmark for corporate issuance, and fund its budget deficit. The government plans to borrow about N900 billion locally to finance part of the N2.2 trillion deficit in its 2016 budget.

Ecobank, three others pool 96.5% of N649.63b bad loans

our banks accounted for 96.5 per cent or N626.6 billion of banking industry total bad loans of N649.63 billion in 2015. It was not surprising therefore that the banks – Ecobank, Diamond, Union Bank and one of the tier one banks – returned little or no dividends to shareholders in 2015. A report of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had indicated severe deterioration in the quality of the loan

portfolio of 22 banks, with 18 out of the 22 banks recording increase in bad loans. Although the CBN did not state the amount of bad loans pooled by each bank, investigation by TheNiche showed that Ecobank recorded $967 million (N190.7) and the tier one bank over N350 billion. Loans and advances to customers in 2015 by the two banks stood at about N2.23 trillion and N1.82 trillion respectively, about 9 per cent and 19 per cent of the loans. Banks in Nigeria recorded a 30 per cent decline in loans and advances to customers in

2015 to N5.78 trillion but Ecobank and the tier one bank accounted for over N4 trillion. Ecobank Group Chief Executive Officer, Ade Ayeyemi, admitted in a statement that the Group’s financial performance in 2015 was disappointing. He said the group was faced with a difficult operating environment due to the slowdown in economic growth across Africa, as a result of lower commodity prices. However, the bank’s financial position was weakened more by unguarded credit advances than any other fac-

tors as the bank embarked on credit advance spree. Further investigation by TheNiche showed that Diamond Bank recorded N56 billion bad loans while Union Bank N25.9 billion in 2015. The CBN report said the number of banks that exceeded the regulatory limit of 5 per cent for ratio of bad loans to total loans rose from three in 2014 to eight in 2015, with three banks exceeding 10 per cent. The report added that the ratio of bad loans relative to total loans rose 4.88 per cent, which is 1.2 per cent less than

the regulatory limit. Diamond Bank reported a bad loans ratio of 6.9 per cent in 2015 from 5.1 per cent in 2014, Union Bank moved from 5.03 per cent to 6.67 per cent. The sharp increase in bad loans, according to the CBN, was due to a host of external and internal factors. These include low and volatile oil prices; uncertainty about severe fiscal imbalance at the sub-national level of government, weak output growth, and eroding investor confidence. Diamond Bank Chief Ex-

ecutive Officer, Uzoma Dozie, explained in a statement that “2015 was undoubtedly a challenging year for us owing to a mixture of external factors not limited to regulatory headwinds and a difficult macroeconomic environment. “Whilst this led to additional impairment charges following a prudent review, we have further tightened the criteria for loan originations in order to better align our loan portfolio with the macroeconomic conditions. “As a result, we are confident that the overall quality of our loan book remains high.”

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Business Extra

Banks' Q1 profits shrink N18b to N118b • TSA, CoT, forex policy blamed

Union Bank CEO, Emeka Emuwa

Stories by Kelechi Mgboji Assistant Business Editor

naudited profit before tax of 13 banks dropped 13.4 per cent to N118 billion in first quarter of 2016 (Q1 2016) as against N136.2 billion they recorded in Q1 2015. No thanks to the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) which stripped banks of slush government funds, removal of commission on turnover (CoT), rigid foreign exchange (forex) policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria

FCMB Group Managing Director, Peter Obaseki

Access Bank MD, Herbert Wigwe

(CBN) in the last 16 months, and declining income from loans/credit. These factors and more combined to erode the earnings of Union Bank, Access Bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Ecobank, Sterling Bank, Diamond Bank, First Bank, Wema Bank, Fidelity Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), Zenith Bank, United Bank of Africa (UBA), and Unity Bank. Union Bank recorded a significantly improved profit before tax (PBT) which rose 101.2 per cent to N4.7 billion in Q1 2016 from N2.38 billion in Q1 2015. Access Bank also an-

nounced improved result with increase of 37 per cent in profit, from N16.5 billion in Q1 2015 to N22.58 billion in Q1 2016. The other banks recorded declines in PBT in Q1 2016 from Q1 2015, ranging from severe to mild. • Unity Bank – 73.2 per cent to N972 million from N3.6 billion. • FCMB Group – 62 per cent to N2.2 billion from N5.8 billion. • Ecobank – 30.6 per cent to N20.6 billion from N30.5 billion. • Sterling Bank – 32.4 per cent to N2.8 billion from N4 billion.

• Diamond Bank – 20 per cent to N6.69 billion. • FBN Holdings – 18 per cent from N26.9 billion to N22.05 billion. • Wema Bank – 17.9 per cent to N505 million. • Fidelity Bank – 14.5 per cent to N4 billion. • GTBank – 6.1 per cent from N32.65 billion to N30.7 billion. • Zenith Bank – 3 per cent from N33 billion to N32 billion. • UBA – 1.7 per cent from N18.04 billion to N18.04 billion. Renaissance Capital had explained that the slump in oil prices has impacted negatively on banks’ earnings and

NIPOST eyes banking services to boost earnings

Shittu

anking services are to be added to the functions of Nigeria Postal Services (NIPOST) to

tap deeper into its potential and make more earnings. Communications Minister, Adebayo Shittu, said NIPOST has several buildings in remote parts of the country that could be converted to banks to aid money transfer between rural and urban centres. “The government can establish NIPOST bank capable of doing e-banking. With the properties we have all over Nigeria, our buildings can serve as cash depot for people living in the rural communities where banks are not

present. “By doing so, we will improve on the efficiency of the agency and solve cash receipt and transfer problems among people living in those communities,” Shittu explained. He disclosed in Ibadan that other government properties lying idle across the country would also be activated for optimum use to raise revenue. “There are many locations (where NIPOST buildings are built). For example, the Ikoyi Post Office is sitting on 10 acres of land, we are planning to build offices and shopping malls on public/private partnership arrangement. “This will bring more money for the government. NIPOST is going to be a 21st century postal agency that will compete with other companies like banks, be it local or foreign. “To make this work, we plan to acquire helicopters to aid and ensure quick and

perfect services.” Shittu confirmed that the government loses about $287 million revenue to software piracy annually, but his ministry has stepped up intellectual property protection and enforcement to promote creativity. With the continuous growth in demand for online workers on international and local markets, he said, Nigeria will train its youths and enhance their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capacity. “As the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria is already a regional hub for West African countries. We must now become the preferred destination for vendors to set up operations that cover the entire West African sub region. “This will provide opportunity for the country to act as a supply hub for training, skills transfer, technology leadership and investment.”

the economy in general. It said Nigerian banks are facing significant asset quality risks that could crystallise in the near team. It warned in a report that “we now think the prolonged and continuous decline in oil prices presents the sector with unprecedented scenarios that risk management systems at both the banks and regulator would have to deal with for the first time on this scale of magnitude. “The risks arise not solely from the impact of low oil prices on the direct lending the banks have made to oil and gas firms, but also from the ancillary impact this has

had on economic growth, which has declined to 2-3 per cent from 5-6 per cent historically, and foreign exchange liquidity, which has materially affected the CBN’s ability to satisfy demand for foreign exchange. “In our view, the challenge with managing these risks is not only that none of the banks assumed an economic scenario where foreign exchange becomes scarce, but that the longer the difficult conditions persist, we could see banks needing to recapitalise, or see forced mergers, with the regulator stepping in to coordinate the process.”

Corrigendum In the story on page 54 on June 26, 2016, headlined ‘NAF, Innoson deal lifts indigenous tech’, we inadvertently published the picture of Ford Foundation West Africa Representative, Innocent Chukwuma, as that of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Chairman, Innocent Chukwuma. Below is the picture of the subject of the story, Innocent Chukwuma, who is also called Innoson. The error is regretted.

55 ICT education TheNiche

July 03, 2016

www.thenicheng.com

Stock Market

with

Union, Unity, Wema Banks' N397b earnings rob shareholders

Jed Adeyemi 0811 475 8106, 0909 128 6488 jedlafrica@yahoo.com

ICT in modern economy (3)

• Continued from last edition

Union Bank CEO, Emeka Emuwa

Stories by Kelechi Mgboji Assistant Business Editor

nion Bank, Unity Bank, and Wema Bank reported N397 billion loss retained earnings in 2015, with the effect their shareholders earned no returns for their investment in 2015. This amount represents an increase of N62 billion or 19 per cent compared to N334 billion retained deficits in 2014. A sharp decline in profits recorded by banks last year spurred deficit retentions after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a guideline governing dividends payment. In its circular, the CBN said before dividend is declared, reserve fund must be in excess of the paid-up share capital and transfer to the reserve fund a sum equal but not less than 15 per cent of the profit. CBN Director (Banking Su-

Unity Bank CEO, Henry Semenitari

pervision), Tokunbo Martins, explained in a circular that no transfer shall be made until all identifiable losses have been made good. Union Bank has the highest deficit in its retained earnings, as it rose slightly higher by a little above 1 per cent from N243 billion in 2014 to N244.9 billion 2015. It had recorded a decline of 48 per cent in profit after tax to N14 billion in 2015 and failed to declare dividends since 2008. Wema Bank in 2015 also maintained a deficit retained earning that rose 2 per cent to N35 billion as against N34.79 billion in 2014. Unity Bank had a deficit retained earning at N117 billion in 2015 from N56 billion in 2014. In their financial statements in 2015, Unity Bank and Wema Bank reported 56 per cent and 2 per cent respectively, eroding dividend payment to shareholders. Analysts said investors in search of dividend stocks

Wema Bank CEO, Segun Oloketuyi

in the banks should look beyond these three banking stocks, regardless of their occasional price appreciations. Union Bank Chief Financial Officer, Oyinkan Adewale, had blamed the CBN policy on retained earnings for not paying dividends to investors whom the bank had given hope of dividend payment after core investors recapitalised the rescued bank. He said Union Bank has to abide by CBN guidelines on dividends payment, stressing that “the hard reality is that as long as we continue to have negative retained earnings, there is absolutely nothing Union Bank of Nigeria can do about paying dividends to its shareholders. "We will keep on appealing to ownership of the company to understand that it is absolutely out of our hands.” The General Secretary of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Adebayo Adeleke, said: “Shareholders are sympathetically concerned about

the bank's inability to pay dividend over the past eight years. “It goes to reinforce the fact that shareholders must be alive to the responsibility of holding corporate managers to high standards of good corporate governance.” “The bank would turn the corners hopefully soon,” he enthused. Wema Bank Chief Finance Officer, Tunde Mabawonku, recently said the bank is working on improving its negative retained earnings, which would enable dividend payment. He disclosed at the annual general meeting in Lagos that “we are going to seek shareholders’ consent during the year once we get clearance from our regulators. “We will call our shareholders to do some scheme of rearrangement to move some balance of negative retainers to share premium and until we do that the bank will not be in a position to pay dividend.”

CBN’s loan to banks rises to N342b

entral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan to banks increased to N342 billion as of Friday, June 24. Data on the CBN website showed that borrowing by banks through Standing Lending Facility (SLF) surged from N47.7 billion the previous week to N342 billion at the close of business on June 24. This implies that banks operating in the country are relying on CBN funds in order to satisfy reserve requirements using the overnight lending market. The cost of borrowing had peaked at 60 per cent for overnight lending on the interbank on Wednesday, June 29 and eased to 35 per cent the following day after banks resorted to rediscounting their fixed income instruments to get short-term cash from the CBN. Thursday, June 39, some banks increased borrowing from the SLF of the CBN to N421 billion in a bid to ease liquidity crunch, after the CBN

debited commercial lenders for foreign exchange (forex) purchased at the new forex market. The cost of borrowing at the CBN SLF window was 14 per cent, but not all commercial lenders choose to resort to the facility because they are required to pledge their treasury bills or bond holdings as collateral for borrowing. The new CBN flexible forex has continued to drag foreign reserve, dropping by $21 million or 0.08 per cent to $26.424 million last week from $26.445 million as of June 17, 2016. The CBN had announced clearing of existing forex demand to allow free float of naira at the interbank market. On Monday, June 27, the CBN through a Special Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) sold $3.5 billion on the forward market after it auctioned $532 million and intervened on the interbank market to clear a backlog of hard currency orders worth around $4.02 billion. On Tuesday, 28 June, the

regulator also intervened and sold undisclosed amount of hard currency on the interbank market to ease dollar shortage and provide importers the dollar to pay for imports, traders confirmed on Tuesday, June 28. However, a total $51 million traded on the interbank market just before the market closed on June 28, which traders attributed to CBN”s intervention. The naira ended at N282.50, slightly weaker than the N281 to the dollar it first traded at on June 28. The CBN has been selling dollars on the interbank market since it ended its 16 month-old currency peg a fortnight ago and it sold again on June 28, asking currency traders for bidoffer quotes from them. The old currency peg had set a rate of N197 to the dollar, which over-valued the naira and led to a shortage of dollars that choked off growth in the economy. The shortage was exacerbated by plunging prices for oil,

Nigeria's biggest export and its main source of hard currency. Nigeria abandoned the peg to allow the currency to trade freely on the interbank market, but lack of liquidity has curbed activity, traders say, leaving the central bank as the main supplier of hard currency. Removing the peg has narrowed the gap between naira rates available on the official and black markets. Even so, the naira was trading 20 per cent lower on the unofficial market than it was on the interbank market on June 28, at N355 to the dollar. The CBN on June 27 introduced an over-the-counter futures market for the currency, to help manage dollar demand, quoting the naira firmer at 279 to the dollar in a month's time and at N210 by April next year. In the non-deliverable forwards market, the naira rose against the dollar on June 28, with the one-month contract NGN1NDFOR= quoting the currency as firm as N283, after hitting N296 a week ago.

A Business Intelligence Analysis (BIA) builds logic for a software. It functions in stages one and two of the software development cycle; that is, requirements gathering, and analysis and design. You may find a software developer who can perform the role of a BIA in his projects. You may also find a BIA who knows nothing about coding (implementation). He carries out analysis and design, and hands it over to a coder (programmer) to implement. I recommend that software developers acquire competence in BIA. This may be rare in Nigeria, but it is common in developed economies. In Nigeria, most software developers do their BIA by themselves and code (implement) the algorithm (logic). The summary is that a BIA builds logic (algorithms) for a software. Most use Unified Modelling Language (UML). This entails analysing and diagramming the class diagram, activity diagram/flow chart, use-case diagram, entity relationship diagram (if there is a database component), et cetera. Usually, the BIA and the programmer work hand-in-hand. It is common to meet programmers who claim they don’t need a BIA, and they don’t do the BIA task themselves, they just go ahead to code. Well, coding without a thorough analysis and design is a recipe for disaster, especially in large projects. A BIA builds the logic of the software after analysis and design, usually accomplished by diagramming the logic according to industry standards using UML. Among all the diagrams a BIA may come up with during and after analysis, activity diagram/flow chart is the most important. It shows the flow in step-wise form of a particular action or task to perform on that app. This diagram cannot be read and understood by a layman. But it can be read, understood, and implemented into a program by a programmer. If a BIA is properly done, implementation, up-scaling, down-scaling of the app, and debugging of the app, can be easily done when challenges occur in the software’s life cycle. Software is developed by software developers, and software is developed with the user in mind. A software is as important as its user. Put in another way, the target user is as important as the software. In these modern times, every educated person should be a user of software. In fact, as an educated person, that may be unavoidable. There is a software for your job. That is, there is a software relevant to your job, learn to use it. • A typist, secretary or administrative employee has to learn to use Microsoft Word. • An accountant, statistician,

banker or related profession needs Excel. • A graphic artist, photographer, or related profession must use CorelDraw or Photoshop. • Microsoft Word is a basic software for those in the academia. All lecturers engage in some form of administration. For a software developer, your target user is as important as your software. Without users, whatever your software is, no matter how attractive or sophisticated, it is useless. The obvious goal is for your software to be used, and by so doing, add value to society. The principle is “user-friendliness”. That is, build your software (especially the user interface, UI) to be as self-explanatory as possible to the user. Your user should not have a hard time trying to learn or master your product. The more user-friendly it is, the more it is likely to have a wide circulation. As they say in marketing, “the customer (in this case, user) is king”. But there is a flip side to it. The price for user-friendliness is paid by the developer. Generally, the more userfriendly an app, the more hard work the developer put into it. The algorithm is usually more robust, and by implication, the codes are more. This is an incentive for software users in modern times; since software is designed and built with user-friendliness in mind, a person should be encouraged to learn the software relevant to his profession. Why do I make these explanations? I keep meeting highly educated and placed persons everyday who cannot do basic things on the computer – opening a browser, checking email, opening a file. I observe from experience as an ICT trainer and counsellor that their problem is “technophobia”; the fear of technology products. It is a kind of inferiority complex. Before they see a computer or software, they are already afraid, and conclude that they cannot use or learn it. They may say it is too modern, sophisticated; it is for youths and children, or they can always call somebody to operate it for them. They are not open-minded to attempt to learn or use the software or computer by themselves. However, most software in these modern times are highly user-friendly. If you can read and write, you would be able to use software if you give it a go. One of aims of this column is to bring ICT to every reachable person in society in cost-effective ways. An educated person should be able to use basic software relevant to his job or profession. Pick the software, get it installed on your system (if it is not yet installed), open it, and try it out calmly and patiently. With its user-friendliness, you may be able to learn and master it on your own. The experience will add much value to your life

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Maritime

How to solve Nigeria’s shipping challenges, by experts

Stories by Foster Obi

Motoring/Maritime Editor

lthough the history of Nigerian shipping dates back a century, it is still grappling with challenges associated with lesser nations. Stakeholders in the industry believe that this has a lot to do with official neglect and ineptitude. Most foreign shipping lines in Nigeria are over 100 years old. Elder Dempster is one of the oldest. The shipping line was instrumental to the setting up of the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL), which is now defunct. Many foreign shipping lines have, however, weathered the storm of the numerous challenges in Nigerian maritime. While they are still operating in the country and making profit, many believe the sector should have been ahead of

where it is now. Analysts have pointed out some of the problems hampering shipping business in Nigeria, among them unnecessary officialdom at the ports. It was worse in the past when every government agency wanted to be in the ports. Another challenge is that there is too much paperwork in the clearing processes. Stakeholders noted that the world has upgraded to e-commerce and e-trading but some government agencies still believe in manual paper documentation, which poses serious challenges to the growth of the seaport system. They advised reduction in man-to-man contact in the port clearance. Another problem is infrastructure decay because a lack of investment. Apapa and Tin Can are the major active ports. Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN) Chairman, Val Usifoh, explained that “[Apapa and Tin

Can] are more attractive than the other ports because they are more secure and their working system is more efficient. “That is why some of the oil and gas cargoes have started coming to the Lagos ports. The infrastructure problems are affecting our customers and that has contributed to the low volume of cargo throughputs at the ports. “It’s part of the problem that led to the recent strike of truck drivers because they don’t consider it safe for them to move at night. “How can you carry people’s goods worth billions of naira around in the night where there is no security? Even during the day, you have to be conscious of not being duped, not to talk of the night period. “Another challenge affecting the port system, which shipping is an integral part, is the inconsistency in government policy. When businessmen want to make investment decisions,

which are usually on a longterm basis, they need to be sure of what they are doing. “However, due to inconsistency in government policies many businesses have folded up. These are the major challenges confronting shipping companies in the Nigerian maritime domain. “International trade is at a low ebb, business is down in the maritime sector; and if business is down for the importer, it is down for the ship owner. “It is a global trend, but we are feeling it more because we are an import-dependent nation.” Stakeholders said shipping is about conveying goods from point A to point B predicated on the economic policies of the government. When people cannot predict where to move their cargo then it is very difficult to programme the type of ships that shipping lines can bring to this part of the world. Giant vessels ply

A ship on nigeriaN waters ports with modern equipment. So if the government fails to invest in the development of new ports, it means very big ships will not be able to visit Nigerian ports. And if they come, it means the cargoes have to be trans-

shipped to smaller vessels due to the state of the ports. Analysts sought focused and consistent investment in shipping so the country can reap from the multitude of resources God has deposited in the sector.

Navy affirms protection of Nigerian waterways NAGAFF wants CRFFN

he Nigerian Navy has reiterated commitment to protecting the waterways from criminal activities. Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete-Ibas, made the pledge while inaugurating a project tagged, “Falcon Eye” (Over the Horizon Maritime Surveillance from Detection to Interception), at Naval Headquarters Abuja. He enthused that it would reduce the cost of patrols and allow accurate maritime surveillance. “When you have troops patrolling without focus, we can sit back at Naval Headquarters in Abuja and identify some vessels of interests and investigate them. “This way, our operations become easier, efficient and very effective,” EteIbas said. When completed, the equipment will also enable Naval personnel to see beyond the horizon and make it easier and more effective for them to carry out tasks. National Security Adviser (NSA),

Nigeria has no data on industries, Ali laments

igeria Customs Service (NCS) Comptroller General, Hameed Ali, says there is no reliable data of factories and industries and the Customs will have to conduct a survey to get an authentic record. He made the disclosure at a stakeholders’ forum in Kano, organised by the NCS Kano/Jigawa Area Command. Ali said it is important to know the kind of industries in Nigeria to facilitate planning and decision-making. “Since the de-excising of industries, Nigeria has lost statistics of the industries and factories operating in the country, their locations and the status of their capacity in terms of production,” he added.

Babagana Monguno, praised the Navy for coming out with such a brilliant idea, and urged it to continue with the good work. He expressed confidence that the project would help reduce criminal activities in Nigeria’s waterways. Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director General, Dakuku Peterside, described the project as a positive development that would enable the Navy keep its eye on its job. “It will make the Navy to be more aware of the activities in the maritime domain. The equipment will help in the area of detection of criminal activities, interception of criminals and record keeping,” he said. Peterside added that the equipment would also enable the Navy tackle piracy and other criminal activities. “It is indeed a wonderful development; I am quite impressed with what I saw today, I am also in touch with my Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), counterparts, and we agree that the equipment is strategic to our plans.”

back on its feet

Ete-Ibas

Maersk wins Best Global Shipping Line award

aersk Line stood out among more than eight nominees to take home the “Best Global Shipping Line” award at the annual Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards held in Shanghai. The awards were designed to honour winning organisations for demonstrating leadership as well as consistency in service quality, innovation, customer relations management, and reliability. Allen Tu, Key Client and Global Freight Forwarder Sales Manager of East China, Greater China accepted the award on behalf of Maersk Line. Silvia Ding of Greater China Cluster Top, said: “We are honoured to have received

this award as an affirmation of our continued commitment to providing best-in-class product and service to our customers in Asia and around the world. “It is a further recognition from the industry and our customers. We will continue to improve customer experience as well as contribute to drive their business to greater success.” The awards are held annually by Cargo News Asia, a cargo freight and logistics trade newspaper based in Hong Kong. More than 15,000 readers of Cargo News Asia and e-news subscribers first determined the leading companies in the market, and then determined the winners, making the results the opinion of service users rather than that of a panel of judges.

ational Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) President, Oluwole Adeyemi, is eager to see the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) function again, after years of being mired in controversy. “The best that can happen to freight forwarders is to ask CRFFN to work again,” he said in Lagos. “As the president representing my own association, if I am the minister today, I will ask CRFFN to start work tomorrow and will ensure that they start work unfailingly. “I am aware that the Transport Ministry has allocated some funds to ensure that work commences in the council. So, anything that will ensure CRFFN comes on board very quickly is what I stand for. “If it also means to write to convince the government in the scheme of things, we are going to write it and I will be part of those who will support such a thing. “Why will I do an MBA in national business if I cannot see myself as a professional? That is what CRFFN stands for. We can use them as a platform to go outside the country to be seen as professionals. “We ought to be recognised just as lawyers and bankers are recognised.” NAGAFF alleged that corruption at the ports has increased since the appointment of the new Nigeria Customs Service Comptroller General, Hamid Ali. Adeyemi insisted that “when

you bring in an outsider to an arrangement that is ‘cult-like’, they will not let you see what is happening inside. “There are so many things going on behind him [Ali] that he doesn’t know. “When it comes to corruption, it is most times difficult for you to present facts because some of the operators in the industry in giving or taking bribe don’t reveal their identity, but it is clearly evident in the ports that corruption has increased since [Ali] came in. “All his threats to jail and punish his officers when caught have been empty threats. Nobody has been taken to serve as a scapegoat in that regard. “What is going on is like the management cadre seems to be keeping him away from the operations. “For example, we sent a letter to Abuja in reply to Customs’ response that we don’t have the right to carry out a public hearing on an officer. “We replied asking the CG if he is aware of the letter and up till now we have not heard anything. “So there is enough evidence that corruption is on the increase at the ports and there has not been any improvement. It is still going on.”

NAGAFF founder, Boniface Aniebonam

M toring www.thenicheng.com

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

Toyota Corolla’s fuel economy and all By Foster Obi

Motoring/Maritime Editor

ne of the cars that make

waves on Nigeria roads is the Toyota Corolla. For 2016 the car experienced quality upgrade making it more competitive. Its beauty and performance are better experienced when you drive it. Corolla, marketed by Toyota Nigeria, is one of most patronised cars in the country for a long time. Opinion of car users was sought on what they think about this year’s model. The first person noted that “the interior styling and quality have vastly improved over previous generations. The handling is very good for an economy 4Dr Saloon and the back seat legroom is fantastic. “I'm 6'1" tall and can sit comfortably in the back seat without my knees hitting the front seats. Headroom is not an issue. Visibility is great, the blind spots are very minor in this car. “The S Plus package I purchased comes with standard Bluetooth, voice controls, USB,

Back Up camera, paddle shifters, stiffer struts, alloy wheels, front fog lights, electronic mirrors + defrost, and a 50/50 cloth/vinyl interior. “For the price, I think you get an excellent vehicle. This Corolla is about the same size as the Camry, it's not even close to the traditional Corollas of the past. Ride comfort is superb; the seats are very comfortable for long trips. “Road noise is fairly low and acceptable, but it's not of course as good as a Lexus or Cadillac. “The touch screen radio is intuitive and easy to use/navigate. The climate controls are also basic and easy to use; this is a plus in my opinion. “Sure you don't get lots of the latest bells and whistles with this car, such as active parking assist or lane change notifications, but that's not something I care about or want. “For the price of this vehicle I'm very impressed, it's a great value. What you get with this car, in my opinion, are the essentials. “You get your hands free, you get your keyless entry, you get your HD radio, you get excellent headlights (night visibility), fuel economy, safety, handling, cargo

space (big trunk for a small car), and passenger space. “On top of it all, you get Toyota reliability. Parts/maintenance are very low/affordable. Choosing this vehicle was a simple choice for me. “The only other vehicle I would consider at this price is the Mazda 3. They are very close to each other in terms of price and options. But I felt that overall the Toyota offered a better value both in the short and long terms. The next respondent looked at the LE 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl CVT) version. He disclosed that he had been driving this car for two weeks while his Acura was at the mechanic workshop. “For me it’s a great first car. For a non-leather interior, the cloth seats are nice. Power windows and mirrors but not power seats. “I am 5'4" and have the seat pulled all the way up. I am not sure how shorter drivers would do. It has that CVT transmission that you will either love or hate. It's a little hard to get used to. “I would have preferred more acceleration. The car is great on fuel economy but has an awful stereo”, he said.

Corola engine

Corolla interior

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Tourism/Aviation

Luxury jet market value slipping for first time since 2009 • Shipments in 2015-2025 forecast at $270 billion, a 3.6% drop • Emerging markets drag on plane demand, Honeywell survey shows

Honeywell, a maker of avionics and small jet engines, released the results at the annual trade show for the National Business Aviation Association in Las Vegas, the industry’s biggest annual forum. Jet shipments will drop 2.6

per cent to 9,200 planes, according to Honeywell, whose forecast had predicted fluctuations in deliveries but no drop in the planes’ list value in the post-recession years. Large planes that had spearheaded the recovery are now seeing slower growth. Those aircraft, including the Gulfstream G550 and Bombardier Inc.’s Global 6000, had found favour among company executives in emerging markets who have to fly long distances to financial centres such as New York and London. China’s economic slowdown has had a knock-on effect for jet demand across Asia, said Charles Park, director of marketing analysis and planning at Honeywell’s aerospace unit. A government austerity plan and corruption crackdown is also hurting sales there, he said.

Sluggish Europe Europe is treading water as the region grapples with sluggish economic growth and weakening currencies, while Latin America showed surprising strength, based on fleet managers’ plans to purchase jets, Park said. Mexico, the region’s largest business aircraft market, is driving demand, he added. U.S. buyers are emerging as more crucial for planemakers such as Embraer SA and Textron Inc.’s Cessna. The U.S. accounts for about 80 per cent of Cessna’s deliveries, said Kriya Shortt, Textron’s

chief of sales and marketing. At Embraer, about 70 per cent of deliveries went to the U.S. in 2015, up from less than 60 per cent in 2014. “The U.S. represents a higher portion of the opportunity,” Embraer Executive Jets Marketing Director, Luciano Froes, said in a telephone interview. “It’s a market that is very prone for the midsize and super-midsize cabin planes and we’re well positioned there.” One positive sign for planemakers: The supply of used jets, which can draw customers away from new models, has dropped to about 9 per cent of the fleet from about 16 per cent in 2009, Honeywell said. Last year’s total deliveries totalled between 675 and 725 planes, excluding converted airliners and entry-level aircraft, Honeywell said. That probably will drop this year, Park said, before new models, including Dassault Aviation SA’s Falcon 5X, Gulfstream’s G500 and Bombardier’s Global 7000, start arriving in 2017 and 2018, he said. The industry peaked at 1,136 shipments in 2008. “We’re just slogging along,” said Janine Iannarelli, president of Par Avion, a plane brokerage based in Houston, United States. “There is a shortage of buyers, there’s limited activity and prices keep correcting.” • Culled from www.bloomberg. com

Credit: USA Today

lobal long-term spending on private jets is starting to slow for the first time since 2009 as slumping commodity prices sap demand in emerging markets, according to an industry forecast. Deliveries for the 11 years ending in 2025 will be valued at $270 billion, Honeywell International Inc. in its annual survey of the luxury-aircraft market. That’s down 3.6 per cent from previous comparable projection, and snapped a streak of gains since the last United States recession ended. The decline reflects weakness in Brazil, Russia, India and China, the group known as the BRIC countries, and the impact of political conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, according to Brian Sill, chief of Honeywell’s business and general aviation unit. Delays in some new plane models are also pushing back demand, he said. “The flattish theme continues,” Sill added. “Some of the headwinds we see in the BRIC countries are being offset by North America, which continues to be strong.”

Emirates puts Mexico, Berlin at top of route wish-list • Mexico flights possible when Emirates takes delivery of 777X • Gulf No. 1 also mulling Atlanta service after Delta Air exit

mirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline, has identified Mexico City and Berlin as the most attractive new destinations that would become available with longer-range jets and expanded air-service treaties. Flights from Dubai to the Mexican capital would be possible with Boeing’s new 777X plane, for which Emirates is due to be the first customer in 2020, while a Berlin service would require Germany to ease its opposition to more flights from Persian Gulf carriers. Emirates already serves almost 150 destinations in about 80 countries using the industry’s biggest wide-body fleet, so that most of the world’s major population centres are already part of the network. It began operations to Panama in February with the longest flight at any carrier, and may add Dubai-Atlanta as Delta Air Lines has quit

the route. “Our route planners are now closely studying the opportunity for Emirates to fill in the gap when Delta exits,” an Emirates spokeswoman said in an e-mail. Delta said in October 2015 it was canceling the Dubai route amid overcapacity from Gulf rivals. It has combined with United Continental Holdings and American Airlines Group to urge the United States to freeze further access for Mid East operators until a dispute over state subsidies is resolved. German hurdle Emirates faces similar resistance in Europe, and is battling to expand beyond the four German cities it is currently able to serve. Under an existing bilateral treaty, adding Berlin would mean dropping operations to Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg or Dusseldorf. The carrier says on its own

website that “most travelers” to Germany want to go to Berlin. Emirates opened up a second Istanbul gateway in December 2015 with daily flights to Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the Asian side of the city, adding to its 11 weekly trips to the main Ataturk Airport. Among other plans, the carrier is seeking to boost access to Manila. Mexico City, while on the cusp of viability with existing aircraft, is likely to have to wait for the upgraded 777 because of its altitude of almost 7,400 feet (2,250 metres), which would impose heavy take-off weight penalties for return flights to Dubai. Boeing has 306 orders for the 777X, which was introduced in late 2013 at the Dubai Air Show, where Emirates purchased 150 worth $56 billion in the largest single jetliner deal in aviation history. The ultra-long-range

777-8, is designed to haul more than 350 travellers 8,700 nautical miles (16,110 kilometres). While Mexico City is 300 miles beyond Panama when flying from Dubai,

Singapore Airlines plans to go even further as early as 2018, operating from Singapore to New York using the Airbus Group SE’s A350900ULR. Emirates canceled an order

for 70 A350s in 2014 and is currently reevaluating its requirement for the model. • Culled from www.bloomberg.com

FOOTBALL

TheNiche July 03, 2016

ATHLETICS

BASKETBALL

FLASHBACK

SPORTS

www.thenicheng.com

a.bada@thenicheng.com

FOOTBALL Football

FOOTBALL

PAGE 61

Ayo Bada Senior Correspondent 0805 410 3980, 0803 332 2615 ayobad@yahoo.com a.bada@thenicheng.com

TENNIS

PAGE 63

Ilechukwu says MFM FC will achieve target

Others may follow Messi to quit

No complacency, Amuneke warns Flying Eagles

Amuneke

hief Coach of the national Under-20 team, the Flying Eagles, Emmanuel Amuneke, has warned players not to be complacent in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) U-20 qualifier against Sudan in Khartoum on Friday, July 8. He gave the warning in the wake of their bril-

liant successes in friendly matches. “It is true that we recorded victories in our friendly matches ahead of the qualifier but that is not enough for the players to be complacent in the qualifier against Sudan. “There is no push over anymore in football and that is why we must not take chances in our approach before and during

the qualifier. “As far as I am concerned, there is still a lot of work to be done in the team and we will continue to work and work to ensure that we qualify for the U-20 African Nations Cup holding in Zambia,” he said. The Flying Eagles defeated the Rio Olympicsbound team under the watchful eyes of Coach Samson Siasia 4-2 at the

National Stadium, Abuja upper Saturday but Amuneke was modest in victory. Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) First Vice President, Seyi Akinwunmi, said the match has given him assurances that the future of Nigerian football is indeed very bright. NFF Second Vice President, Shehu Dikko, praised the Flying Eagles for its display and admon-

ished the coaches to keep up the good work to ensure Nigeria beats Sudan and qualifies for the U-20 Nations Cup. Spectators also showered praises on the youthful but enterprising Flying Eagles players who gave all present something to savour with close marking, fast counter attack, neat dribbles, and brilliant goals. Siasia admitted that the

better team won, saying he still has a lot of work to do for Nigeria to excel in Rio. The Flying Eagles had defeated Okagbue FC 2-1 and thrashed Lion Stars 4-0 before the 4-2 victory over the Olympics team, the second triumph over the team since it qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Basketball

Ugoka moves to Poland, targets Afrobasket trophy with D’Tigeress

oland-bound Nigeria basketball star, Uju Ugoka, has advised the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and stakeholders in the sport to put behind them the failure of D’Tigeress to qualify for the basketball event at the Rio Olympic Games. She wants them to focus on the team winning the next Afrobasket Championship. D’Tigeress lost out on points at Women Olympics Qualifiers Tournament in Nantes, France. Ugoka, who has just signed for AZS UMC, Lublin, Poland said all hands should be on deck to ensure the team plays well and wins the next Afrobasket Championship. She expressed her sadness to TheNiche in Lagos before travelling out of the country on Thursday, June 30. “Really I was not happy that we could not qualify. We tried our best, but unfortunately, our best was not enough to see us through. “We were, however, not disgraced as we crashed out with our heads high after beating Korea which shows that we are improving. We lost by points, which was not too bad.” Ugoka said the team played well despite being the lowest ranked country at the qualifiers, but got punished because of a lack of experience as none of the players had ever played at such competitive level before. She expressed optimism that if the main nucleus of the team

can be maintained by the NBBF coupled with good friendlies and the employment of tactically sound coaches, the team has what it takes to dominate Africa the Women Afrobasket Championship. “We will keep working for the future and the younger generation but with our focus on winning the next Afrobasket Championship. That should be our target for now.” Ugoka, who is leaving the Italian League for Poland, shed more light on the objectives of her foundation, Turning Hope Into Reality (THIR). She said THIR leverages the power of sport to educate, inspire hope, and mobilise the youth, especially girls, to live healthier, more productive lives, and be agents for change in their communities. “Young people have a vast potential to create meaningful change and play a significant role in overcoming their greatest health challenges. “Sport is an ideal way to reach, educate, and inspire young people in a language they understand and enjoy. “Accountability, work ethic, character, leadership, and also being a team player are great skills and qualities they will learn to be accountable in their societies. “I tend to give back to the country what I had gained as a national team player and give the young ones the opportunity that I had to go to the United States of America through scholarship with sport.

“Our goal is focused on training and improving the skills of young athletes, turning their hope into reality through sport. “We help players get scholarships by promoting them to colleges with our vast connections. We train and teach players on how to be successful on and off the courts. “We instil the qualities that are required to excel not only on the basketball courts, but in the game of life.” Ugoka urged corporate bodies and philanthropists to support her foundation to achieve the goals. “So far, so good. The foundation is growing but we are trying to get sponsors for us to achieve out set goals. We’ve been talking to some individuals and sports loving corporate bodies because we know the government cannot do all. “In 2009, I was among 50 girls camped in Abeokuta, Ogun State under the ‘Hope for Girls’ initiative. At the end of the camping, only two of us were selected to travel to the U.S. and play basketball. “Because of what I benefited from that scholarship to date, I resolved about five years ago that I would do such for the young ones to help them achieve their aims in life. “And we can only achieve this if we encourage our young boys and girls to participate in sports because sports is an integral part of culture around the world. It brings togetherness, happiness, and love.”

Ugoka

Golf

Day, Lowry pull out of Rio over Zika fears

Day is the fifth golfer to withdraw from the Games in Rio over Zika concerns

orld number one, Jason Day, and Irish golfer, Shane Lowry, have withdrawn from the Rio Olympics because of concerns over the Zika virus. Australian 28-year-old Day said while the risk is small, it is not one he is willing to take because of "potential risks to my wife's future pregnancies." Lowry said it is "with a heavy heart" that he decided not to represent Ireland at Rio in August. Rory McIlroy has also pulled out due to concerns over the mosquito-borne virus. The virus has been linked to brain defects in newborn babies. Day explained on his Twitter page that "competing at the Olympics has always been a major goal, but golf cannot take precedence over my family."

World number four, McIlroy's decision was already a blow to a sport which will be making a return to the Olympics after a 112-year absence. Day is the sixth high-profile player to pull out because of concerns over Zika, following fellow Australian Marc Leishman, Fiji's Vijay Singh, South Africa's Branden Grace, and Northern Ireland pair McIlory and Graeme McDowell. A number of other top players, including major winners, Adam Scott of Australia and South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen, have already pulled out for scheduling and family reasons. Earlier last month, American cyclist, Tejay van Garderen, also withdrew from Rio because his wife is pregnant. But Rio 2016 Chief Executive, Sidney Levy, has insisted that fears over the virus are "overblown". The Olympics get under way on August 5.

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

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Football Ilechukwu says MFM FC will achieve target

ead Coach of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) Football Club of Lagos, Fidelis Ilechukwu, has assured fans and supporters that the team will achieve its top 10 target at the end of the season. MFM FC began its journey in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) this season after gaining promotion in an emphatic fashion from the Nigeria National League (NNL). It stormed the top league with an attractive brand of football cum decent results that saw it claim the 10th spot with 27 points at the end of the first stanza of the NPFL. The second stanza has seen the team claim one win in four matches, dropping from 10th to 12th place in the table after it lost the last league match last Sunday away to Sunshine Stars Football Club at the Akure Township Stadium.

Ilechukwu told his players before their departure from Akure to brace up in these though times and put the loss against Sunshine Stars behind them and focus on the remaining matches. Said he: "We need to stay strong and encourage ourselves because tough times will always come but I believe we will get over it very soon. "Your reaction on the field of play on Sunday was not bad but it can get a lot better. We need to find our first stanza rhythm by scoring goals in our subsequent matches and I believe you guys can do it. "Winning one match out of four is quite disturbing, our fans and supporters are not happy and I understand that you all are not happy with the situation as well but we need to do the needful in subsequent matches to give our staunch followers reasons to continue to support us.”

Ilechukwu

Eguma on why Ovoke NPFL All Stars to participate was suspended in Carranza, La Liga World

ivers United Technical Manager, Stanley Eguma, has explained that winger Bernard Ovoke was suspended indefinitely because of anti-club activities and gross indiscipline. He said Ovoke had been issued with several stern warnings on his conduct which unfortunately had gone unheeded. “The club took this decision to suspend him because no one player

Tournament

A Ovoke is greater than the club,” Eguma stressed. Ovoke joined Riv-

ers United from Bayelsa United at the start of the current season.

Again, Bewarang cautions NFF on hiring foreign coach

Bewarang

igeria Football Coaches Association (NFCA) President, Bitrus Bewarang, has again cautioned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) not to hire a foreign coach for the Super Eagles.

He repeated the warning as Nigeria prepares for the World Cup qualifiers scheduled to kick off soon. Bewarang insisted that it is time for the NFF to give local coaches the rightful place rather than taking technical decisions without their input. He said the difficult group in which Nigeria find itself calls for a home grown approach to ensure the ticket for Russia 2018, stressing that those who understand the African football terrain, especially Nigerian coaches, should be given the opportunity to handle the Super Eagles.

He paid tribute to Stephen Keshi and Amodu Shaibu describing them as world class coaches who were not sufficiently so recognised until their death. He urged the NFF, as a mark of respect for the two deceased coaches, look inwards, identify, and appoint from the pool of competent local talents a coach for the Super Eagles. “Is there anything wrong if you support the current Super Eagles coach (Salisu Yusuf) to carry-on with the work he has started rather than bringing a foreign coach to mess up an ongoing work? Bewarang asked He reminded the NFF that the current economic realities call for a reduction in any form of capital flight, including hiring a foreign coach.

n All Stars cast of Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) players will embark on a friendly tour of Spain based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the League Management Company (LMC) and the Spanish Football League, La Liga. LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko, announced the plan after a meeting in Abuja upper Friday with La Liga Africa Representative, Antonio Barradas. The NPFL All Stars will play in the Carranza and La Liga World Tournament. They will play against Valencia CF on August 10 and Malaga FC on August 12. The Ramon de Carranza Trophy is a pre-season tournament organised by Cadiz CF in memory of its former President, Ramon de Carranza.

It has been played since 1955 and is rated one of the prestigious summer tournaments in Spain alongside the Teresa Herrera Trophy. Sevilla CF won the inaugural edition in 1955 while Atletico Madrid is the defending champion. Top European and South American teams that have participated in the tournament include 2012 winners, Club Desportivo Nacional, Benfica of Portugal, Sampdoria of Italy, Flamengo and Vasco Da Gama of Brazil. The NPFL/La Liga partnership, which was sealed at Abuja Hilton on April 26, provides collaboration between the two leagues in player development, management capacity building, and knowledge sharing. “We are delighted to confirm that there will be an NPFL All Stars team to participate in the World Tournament which is part of the

pre-season activities of the two Spanish Clubs, Valencia CF and Malaga CF, on August 10, 12 and 13,” Dikko said. “The NPFL All Stars team will be made up of the best players in the league this season and it will offer them the opportunity of showcasing their abilities and possibly secure offers from any European club as the match will be broadcast live on some European television channels.” He explained that the friendly match exchange is in line with the agreement to have clubs from both leagues visit one another; and in the near future, Spanish clubs will undertake a friendly tour of Nigeria as well. The visit will provide opportunity for some club administrators to study club management, match day organisation, and other activities through interaction with La Liga club officials.

Dikko (second left) and Barradas (second right) after the meeting.

TheNiche July 03, 2016

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Tennis

Messi’s final kick for Argentina

he news shook the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to its foundations and went global within seconds: Lionel Messi has played his last game for Argentina. “It’s hard for me to assess things right now. The first thing that came to my head – and it’s something I thought about in the dressing room – was that it’s over, that the national team is finished for me,” said La Pulga in the mixed zone following Argentina’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Chile last Sunday’s Copa America Centenario final. “I’ve lost four finals... That’s how I feel. It’s all very sad.” Visibly downcast, Messi looked as if he had given the decision some thought: “To make matters worse I went and missed my penalty. It was vital that I scored to put us ahead, but I missed it. “I think this is the best thing for everyone. That’s it. I’ve done all I can. I’m going without having won a title with the [senior] national team.” Time will tell if the shoot-out defeat to La Roja really is Messi’s last game with La Albiceleste. What is clear, however, is that USA 2016 has been a watershed in his international career. A fateful miss The now-former Argentinian captain’s announcement overshadowed the match that had preceded it, 120 minutes of football in which Argentina tried everything it could to break Chile down. Yet, as was the case in the 2015 Copa America final, it was unable to do so, despite creating the odd opportunity. The big difference on this occasion was that Messi, unlike last year, failed with his spot-kick, a miss made all the more telling by the fact it came moments after Sergio Romero had denied Chile’s first penalty-taker, Arturo Vidal. It was an unexpected blow his team-mates seemed unable to recover from. No one was more surprised to hear of Messi’s retirement from international football than

Messi Chilean keeper, Claudio Bravo, the captain of the two-time Copa America champions and the Argentine’s club-mate at FC Barcelona. Recovering from the initial shock, which was clear to see for all those in the mixed zone, Bravo gave his reaction: “To my mind he’s the best in the world. We all know his qualities as a player and, above all, as a person. “I hope he carries on playing for Argentina for many more years to come. You don’t win or lose games like this because of just one player.”

A career in blue and white Three of the four finals Messi has lost have come in the Copa America, in 2007, 2015, and 2016, and the other at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, where he had the consolation of winning the adidas Golden Ball. La Pulga also represented his country at Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010. He has, however, won Olympic gold with Argentina – at Beijing 2008 – as well as a youth world title, inspiring the team to victory at the FIFA U-20

World Cup Netherlands 2005, where he also collected the Adidas Golden Boot and the Adidas Golden Ball. Messi made his senior international appearance in a friendly against Hungary on August 17, 2005. Aged 18 at the time, he was on the pitch for just 47 seconds before being sent off. He has since played 112 times for his country and lies fourth on the list of most-capped Albiceleste players. La Pulga scored his 55th goal in Argentine colours with an exquisite free-kick against the United States

on June 21, moving past Gabriel Batistuta as the country’s leading all-time scorer. Speaking later that day, he said winning the title was all that mattered to him: “I hope we don’t let it slip. We’re all hoping and dreaming that we finally win it. We deserve it for all the work we’ve put in over the last few years.” At some stage, Messi will explain how much the failure to achieve that objective impacted on his decision, and how much other factors have played a part, such as the criticism he has been subjected to in Argentina and the

endless comparisons with Diego Maradona. He may even reveal if there is any chance of him going back on his decision, though it remains to be seen if anyone can make him reconsider. The fact is that one of the greatest players in the history of the game, a fivetime FIFA Ballon d’Or winner, has decided to step aside from international football. Only time will tell what his place in the history of La Albiceleste will be and the legacy he bequeaths to it. • Culled from www.fifa. com

TheNiche

July 03, 2016

www.thenicheng.com

Football

Others may follow Messi to quit

ionel Messi may not be the only Argentine star to decide on international retirement after their Copa America heartbreak, says Sergio Aguero. The Albiceleste drew 0-0 with Chile in the final last Sunday before a missed penalty from Messi contributed to a 4-2 defeat in the shoot-out, after which the FC Barcelona star told reporters that "the national team is over for me.” Aguero, who shared with Messi the pain of consecu-

tive Copa defeats by Chile and the loss of the 2014 World Cup final to Germany, confirmed that the devastation of another near miss had many contemplating a similar move. "There are several players who are evaluating not continuing with the national team," the striker told reporters. "This is the worst dressing-room I've ever been in, worse than the final in the World Cup in Brazil and the other Copa America." Reports in South America have linked Javier Mascherano, Lucas Biglia, Ever Banega, Ezequiel

Lavezzi, and Angel Di Maria with international retirement ahead of Argentina's resumption of World Cup qualification in September. Goalkeeper Sergio Romero, however, believes that Messi may come down from his decision after the initial heartbreak of Sunday's defeat wears off. "I think he spoke in the heat of the moment because a beautiful opportunity escaped us," said Romero. "I can't imagine a national team without Messi. I think he'll reflect on it."

Messi

It will be a failure if France loses in quarterfinal, says Griezmann • France Vs Iceland

ntoine Griezmann has clicked into gear since the commencement of the EURO 2016 tournament. A double against the Republic of Ireland last Sunday booked Les Bleus a place in the last eight and took the Atletico forward into joint-top spot in the tournament's goals table. And the 25-year-old is feeling optimistic about France going all the way even as the host faces Iceland in the last quarterfinal match today at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis. “It would be a failure to

go out in the quarterfinals. It is a dream to play in a quarterfinal at home, in front of your fans. It doesn't matter who the opponents are, you've got to give your all and try to win,” Griezmann said. But he stressed that France has to improve on the slow starts to games. “In the first half against Ireland we were poor and in the second it was a different France – a team that can go all the way. “At half-time we said we had to improve and give everything for our country, for ourselves, for our families and that we had the quality to turn it around.” While France has won

two major tournaments on home soil, in 1984 and 1998, Iceland will be on a high after sensationally defeating England 2-1 in the Round of 16. The winner of the tie will progress to face either Italy or Germany in the semifinal. On his prospects of winning the Adidas Golden Boot, Griezmann said: “I know I'm joint-top scorer, but winning it is not my aim. My aim is to improve game on game, and I am doing that, so I will keep that up and we will see where I am at the end of the finals. “At the beginning of the tournament I was not at my best. I'm feeling better and

better the further we go, and the two goals (against Ireland) increased my confidence.” To get to this stage, France defeated Romania 2-1 in the first group match and beat Albania 2-0 in the second match but played a goalless draw with Switzerland to qualify for the Round of 16 where Griezmann’s two goals Griezmann helped to knock group matches 1-1 with out the Republic of Ireland Portugal and Hungary, beat 2-1. Austria 2-1 in the last group Iceland drew its first two

match, then sensationally sent packing favourite England 2-1 in the Round of 16.

players and leaders of the Icelandic team, but the warriors from the volcanic rock in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean have proved otherwise. They hinted of what Europe could expect when they were one of the first teams to qualify for France. But still, undefeated after four games and in the quarterfinals after this epic victory against England is beyond anyone’s hopes and expectations. And the whole nation has gone absolutely football bonkers. Until now, it's the handball team who have thrilled the population, winning silver at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but it's safe to say that the football lads are the new national heroes. Roughly 10 per cent of Icelanders have travelled to France to support the team,

Luckily for the newly elected President, Guoni Th. Johannesson, who witnessed the match from the stands in Nice together with the incumbent Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, they didn't. Together, Hallgrimsson and Lagerback have forged a team as tough and deadly as a Viking's sword. A team that defends admirably and plays to its strengths in attack. A team where the players sacrifice everything for each other and the collective becomes greater than the sum of the parts. Of course beating hosts France in front of a packed Stade de France in Paris sounds like an impossible mission. But don't bet against the Vikings as they won't let the midnight sun go down on their dreams. • Culled from AIPS Newsletter.

The Icelandic miracle continues

Icelandic players celebrate their fantastic 2-1 win over favourites England with their supporters.

celanders could hardly believe their eyes at the end of their second round match against England at EURO 2016 in balmy Nice.

Iceland had beaten the heavyweight deservedly, 2-1, and kept the party going on the Saga island. Just as the sun just won't go down in Reykjavik late in June, the

Icelandic team just won't lose and leave France. Many thought that being the smallest country ever to qualify for the tournament would be enough for the

but as they were only allotted around three thousand tickets for the match against England, tens of thousands gathered in downtown Reykjavik to watch the match on a giant screen. There they watched their heroes dismantle a team consisting of household names in Iceland, where almost everyone has their own favorite Premier League team. And the roar when Kolbeinn Sigthorsson scored the winner could be heard all over Reykjavik. The coaches, Swedish veteran Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson, the dentist from the Westmann Islands, have become national heroes along with the players and could without doubt have won the presidential elections upper Saturday if they had wanted to.

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03:07:2016

FREE SPEECH

Urgent restructuring of Nigerian polity By Guy Ikokwu

n a truly federal system, which has been severally advocated over the years, civilians are in favour of a return to the parliamentary system of governance which is resultoriented with regions and federating units, with the devolution of power from the centre back to the regions or states. As part of fiscal federalism, it has been graphically stated that there should be fiscal sustainability. This means that the cost of governance should be grossly reduced by a reduction of political appointees and aides. It has been recommended that elected members of the legislative arm should serve on part-time basis and also a strict compliance with the procurement act for the award of contracts. This means that the cost of governance will be borne mainly through taxation and other revenues from resources, investments, royalties which will be invested in infrastructure and sovereign wealth fund to provide for the rainy day. The culture of the people in the South West (Yoruba), South East (Igbo), South South (Ijaw, Efik, Ibibio, Edo), Middle Belt (Idoma, Tiv, Igala, Nupe), North East (Kanuri, Marghi, Bahur) and even in the North West (Hausa, Fulani, Gbagyi), there is no more exaltation for the concept of dictatorship, au-

thoritarian rule and personalised governance; we are more egalitarian in Nigeria. It is the lack of these attributes in our system of governance that has given rise to the current malaise of crass corruption, banditry criminality, kidnapping, escalation of militancy due to lack of resource control as was the case before Independence in 1960, enhanced illiteracy and poor education, poor infrastructure and health facilities and inevitable disregard for healthy competition. A lot of these factors led to the national hostility, clash of ethnic nationalities and ensuing genocide which certainly led to a civil war in which more than a million people perished, the effect of which are still very much reminiscent. It is also these various factors that led to the insurgency in the North East by Boko Haram terrorists which destroyed a lot of lives and reduced the economy of that zone. Under a decentralised system of governance, the north eastern zone of the country, with the advent of the diversified economy of agricultural products and solid minerals and even probably crude oil, will be more sustainable and economically productive than most Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries today. Nigeria’s economy would have been growing at 10 per cent per annum and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would have increased dramatically. The banking sector would be more vibrant and the exchange rate of the

naira would certainly have been more favourable than it is. It is therefore not just a political campaign idea of unimaginative assertion of $1 for N1 under a unitary-federal system of government which lacks the capacity to single-handedly handle the multifarious aspects of our development without the advent of the collateral of a healthy internal and zonal competition. Truly, there are several aspects of our national equation which must be centralised. The economic policy of the federation should be that of a mixed economy driven by market forces. There should be a consensus on the short and medium term economic plans which a national economic commission involving all the stakeholders will consensually disseminate for the implementation of all the tiers of government. It is quite clear today that the central government alone cannot drive the development aspect of the economy. The country’s faulty federal structure and the going inequality in the national economy are driving the country further down the drain. Today, we have the economy moving towards a recession with inflation at about 16 per cent, unemployment at about 31 per cent, the misery index at about 46 per cent. The slow pace of the central government in the last one year of rule has been largely responsible for the above index. It took more than six months for the Central Bank

of Nigeria (CBN) to resolve the issue of the exchange rate by introducing a flexible forex policy which is geared towards re-engineering the economy. To restructure Nigeria, therefore, calls for a political will and boldness, and it may be said that President Muhammadu Buhari has nothing to lose by being bold which is a legacy he can bequeath to Nigerians. Many other distinguished Nigerians from across the various ethnic nationalities have been agitating and advocating the immediate need for restructuring by implementing true federalism and fiscal federalism. They include former Vice Presidents, Alex Ekwueme and Atiku Abubakar, elder statesmen, Tanko Yakassai of Kano, Balarabe Musa of Kaduna, Reuben Fasorati, Ayo Adebanjo and many others. Seasoned journalists and writers like Dele Cole, Reuben Abati, Ray Ekpu, Yinka Odumakin and Tony Momoh have enunciated restructuring in order to develop our nation. Momoh believes that the exercise can be done urgently this year and that the 1954 Constitution remains the strongest document ever to grow this country. He asserts that instead of a healthy competition for the development and growth among regions, which we experienced when we practised regionalism, this present democracy breeds hatred, distrust and violent competition of struggle for power at the centre. With regard to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),

which is today the opposition party, former President Goodluck Jonathan endorsed the recommendations of 2014 National Conference which was affirmative on the issue of restructuring. He even took the Confab Report to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in Abuja where it was endorsed without reservations. He thereafter packaged the document to the seventh National Assembly for legislative action and handed it over to then Senate President David Mark for necessary action. It is clear therefore that the issue of restructuring of this nation lies with the eighth National Assembly. The Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has informed us that the National Assembly has formed a committee for constitutional amendment. What is not clear as of now is whether the committee is mandated to go the whole hog for a restructuring exercise of the country’s constitution which may eventually lead to a referendum to make it a people’s constitution. It has to be made clear that mere constitutional amendments of some aspects of the constitution of 1999 would not usher in the desirable restructuring as most of its recommendations would be flawed and will still postpone the evil day that will certainly usher in more chaos and disenchantment, if not the break-up of the country called Nigeria, where a few are born to rule while others are alive to serve. *Ikokwu wrote in from Lagos.

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