THEWILL DEC 12 - 18 EDITION

2022 National Census Will Be Credible – Ogwa

Nigerian Breweries: Slump in Q3 Profit Dims Dividend Prospects

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Price: N350

DECEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 18, 2021 • VOL . 1 NO. 44

Olufemi Olaseinde Olusola THE PERFUME COLLECTOR

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ELECTORAL REFORM AMENDMENT BILL:

Intrigues Overshadow Direct Primary Clause

FEATURE

Jailbreak Horror!

DECEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 18, 2021 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

Since 1894

Do not be a

conduit, do not be

a victim!

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NEWS Ogun Partners FG on Creation of SME Facility

BY SEGUN AYINDE, ABEOKUTA

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L-R: Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; President Muhammadu Buhari; the celebrant and former interim National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande and APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, during the public presentation of Chief Akande’s autobiography My Participations at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, on 9/12/2021.

Illegal Checkpoints: Benue Internal Foundation Honours Yekini, Revenue Service Opts For Dialogue Adadevoh, Sound Sultan FROM KAJO MARTINS, MAKURDI

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he Benue State Government has expressed concern over the dwindling federal allocation to the state, promising to strengthen its existing revenue laws so as to block leakages limiting its efforts to improve on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

The Chairman of the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS), Mrs Mimi Azape-Orubibi, who made the disclosure in Makurdi, explained that the existing law will be sent to the State House of Assembly for repeal.

“When the law is strengthened, all ministries and agencies, especially those providing essential service, will be required to remit all internal generated revenue to the consolidated revenue accounts before 75 percent will be returned to them,” she said.

Azape-Orubibi explained that the BIRS had adopted dialogue to address cases of illegal check points across the state as one of the ways of blocking revenue leakages.

She appealed to business partners to cultivate the habit of paying their taxes

FROM UKANDI ODEY, JOS

to enable government serve them better.

In his comment, the Director of Tax Assessment, Mr. Victor Beke, disclosed that BIRS had only recognised 16 approved checkpoints across the state, urging government agencies to file in all returns before the end of 2021.

Commenting, the Director of Tax Collection, Mr Emmanuel Agema, described Benue’s low revenue profile as a big challenge affecting the operations of the service.

Some respondents, including Terkimbi Gbatar and Titus Tyodugh, hailed the bold initiatives of BIRS to step up the IGR of the state and call for the orientation and motivation of its staff to live up to expectation.

Worried by the dwindling federal allocation to the state, Governor Samuel Ortom last week held a stakeholders meeting with traditional rulers, council chairmen, financial experts and members of the state executive council at the Benue Peoples House in Makurdi to discuss the way forward.

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he second edition of the Michael Ugochukwu Stephen, a.k.a Ruggedman Foundation Concert held to celebrate entertainers, who laid the foundation for Nigerian contemporary music from his era, and also to honour great Nigerians outside the entertainment industry, finally took place on Sunday, December 5, 2021 at Ballrd Lounge Vape Dance Restaurant and Bar, BLVD, Lagos.

The fun filled event, which was packaged

by Smile Global Entertainment, featured performances from the likes of Terry G, Sunny Neji, Faze, Durella, Tony Tetuila.

Danny Young, Chuddy K, Zaaki Azzay and Komoblastic. Some young music artistes, such as Specikinging, Leena Martinz, Lopo, Uch’barz, Bobbi Phillie, Ani D’Blessed and YNK, had the privilege of performing alongside Nigerian musical greats.

Just like the first edition, Ruggedman picked out two great Nigerians outside the entertainment industry for recognition and honour. They were late Dr Stella Ameyo Adadevoh, who gave her life in 2014 to stop the spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria and the late Super Eagles star, Rashidi Yekini and Sound Sultan.

Don Advocates Training For Police Officers FROM KAJO MARTINS, MAKURDI

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professor of law and Dean of the Post-graduate School at Benue State University, Makurdi, Verlumun Tarhule, has advocated the training and retraining of officers of the Nigeria Police on the best methods to obtain information from suspects in their custody.

Prof Tarhule said it had become necessary to train police officers, particularly those interrogating suspects by torturing them to make confessional statements.

Commenting on the spate of human rights abuses in the country, Tarhule suggested a stronger institutional framework, lack THEWILLNIGERIA

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of which he noted had always portrayed Nigeria in bad light to the international community.

However, a former Minority leader in the Benue State House of Assembly, Mr. Christopher Abari, said that in most cases, torture was a necessary method to obtain information from hardened criminals.

Recalling his experience in Lagos in 1993, the former lawmaker said he secured a loan facility of N200,000 from the then Lobi Bank and travelled to Lagos to buy materials for supply in Makurdi when he met a fellow tribesman with whom he had a conversation THEWILLNIGERIA

in vernacular. Unknown to him, the man was a Lagos-based hardened criminal, who robbed and escaped before a team of police operatives arrived at the scene of the crime.

Abari said that to his surprise he was arrested by the police after some witnesses identified him as the person who spoke in vernacular with the fleeing suspect. He was taken to Adekunle and later, Panti Police Stations.

The former Benue lawmaker explained that during their interrogation at the police station it was discovered that the suspect had never met him before.

he Ogun State Government has said it will partnering with the Federal Government on the creation of Shared Service Facility for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to improve their poductivity and efficiency through better access to technology.

The SSF project is a flagship project of the Department of Trade and Industry aimed at improving MSME competitiveness by providing machinery, equipment, tools, systems, accessories and other auxiliary items, skills and knowledge.

While declaring open the second edition of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Business Clinic held at Ake Hall in Abeokuta, Governor Dapo Abiodun said the provision of the SSF project would ease their business burden and strengthen their productivity Abiodun, who was represented by the Commissioner For Finance and the Chief Economic Adviser, Dapo Okubadejo, said that apart from the SSF project, the state government was also helping them to have access to finance, market linkages, provision of MSMEs Park and the creation of electronic market place.

The governor noted that with the opening of the clinic his administration would be assuming 10,000 entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses and also collaborate with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) to export their products, in accordance with established standards Abiodun, who mentioned other areas, including Ijebu, Sagamu/Ogijo, Isheri/Akute and the Ado-Odo/Ota, where the business clinic is scheduled to hold, stressed that that state was also working with the Bank of Industry to do counterpart matching fund scheme to the MSMEs. He said, “The State government is relating with the Federal Government for the provision of MSMEs Shared Services Centre, to enable entrepreneurs share facilities. We are not going to allow any large company to come and the reason for this is to provide shared facilities like power.”

“For the first time in the history of this state and the country as a whole, we are creating a MSMEs park that is strictly dedicated to MSMEs alone, the biggest challenge of MSMEs in Nigeria in addition to financing, access to market is lack of infrastructure.

“The average cost of production is higher than it should be. By providing the park and putting this infrastructure in place there, we are going to help them reduce them reduce their cost of production and make them more competitive.

“We are also working with BOI as well as to do counterpart matching fund scheme so that we can extend credit to this people at low cost and with less condition” he added Earlier, the Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Kikelomo Longe had stated that the clinic would help entrepreneurs to start and scale-up their businesses, adding that the participants involved would specialise in areas, such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Agro-Processing, NonMetallic and Basic Minerals, Fashion/Textile and Beauty Care would benefit from the Clinic.

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COVER Electoral Reform Amendment Bill: Intrigues Overshadow Direct Primary Clause

BY AMOS ESELE

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he first indication that those bent on defeating the clause on direct primary in the revised Electoral Reform Bill, which is currently awaiting presidential assent, were still working hard emerged last Thursday when the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation.

The Committee had summoned the INEC boss to clarify the N500 billion being touted as the sum required for political parties to conduct the direct primary, which its proponents think will give power to members to choose their leaders as opposed to the indirect primary, which relies heavily on delegates, who are more open to control by power blocs and interests, especially state governors who control delegates in their states and determine the texture of local politics by exercising full control over state electoral commissions.

Held behind closed doors, the meeting, which was based on a resolution passed on a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by the Chairman of the House Committee on Customs and Excise, Leke Abejide, laid speculations over the N500 billion to rest.

Although Yakubu said after the meeting that INEC did not “come up with any cost for the conduct of direct primaries per political party,” the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Mukhtar Batera, explained that the INEC chairman told them that only political parties had the responsibility to fund the primaries. Batera said, “In our discussions with the INEC chairman, we wanted to know his requirements for the 2023 elections, as well as the cost of

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direct or indirect primaries.

“On the primaries, when we discussed with him, he specifically told us that INEC’s role in direct or indirect primaries is just minimal. He said party primaries are the responsibility of political parties and not INEC. “The INEC chairman told us that only the political parties have the responsibility to fund of direct primaries.”

Alarmingly, political parties are unaware of how the sum of N500 billion, which could be spent on the conduct of the direct primary was derived, since INEC obviously had no hand in it.

“No political party was consulted, the figure was just brought up,” erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Kola Ologbodinyan, told THEWILL on Friday, shortly before he handed over to his successor.

The Secretary-General of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Chief Willy Ezugwu, is also miffed at the amount. “N500 billion to conduct direct primary?” he asked this reporter rhetorically.

“To answer your question, nobody, either from INEC or the legislature, consulted the political parties to arrive at that figure. But what I can tell you is that it is part of the plan to kill the bill. Many of the lawmakers, who initially supported the bill, are looking for a way to kill it. They have developed cold feet after meeting with their state governors, who had been opposed to the bill right from the beginning. The intention is to present that bogus amount and

if government says it cannot afford it, then bye to the bill.”

Also speaking on the matter, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, said he had nothing to add to what his boss, Prof Yakubu, said on direct primary during his meeting with the House Committee on Appropriation but wondered aloud, “I believe the unprecedented interest in the matter is orchestrated and misplaced.”

When asked why, Oyekanmi replied, “The answer to the question of who is responsible for the conduct of party primaries has always been there in the Electoral Act 2010. In fact, the Act has clear provisions for both direct and indirect primaries. Therefore, it is not new.”

He, however, refused to be drawn into the conversation of how the N500 billion expenditure was arrived at.

Repeated phone calls to the phone of Senator Bisiru Ajibola, media spokesperson of the Senate, went unanswered and text messages to him were not replied.

RECENT POWER PLAY Although controversy has trailed the inclusion of the direct primary clause as a provision in the Electoral Amendment Act 2021 passed by the National Assembly on November 9, recent developments appear to have hardened the position of its adversaries.

THEWILL has learnt that given the possibility of the bill becoming a law, following the support it received from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) tri-partite committee during a meeting in State House on November 8, 2021, THEWILLNIGERIA

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COVER prominent politicians like the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, have increased their consultations across the country.

Tinubu has seen the new development as a golden opportunity to checkmate party leaders, particularly the President’s men, who have never hidden their plan to scuttle his presidential ambition. Direct primary would mean allowing elbow room to reach party members as against delegates, mostly in the hands of his enemies. This would work the magic for him, sources close to his sprouting campaign outfits confided in this newspaper. For this same reason, his opponents are digging in against the signing of the bill

by President Muhammadu Buhari.

That envisaged a ray of hope for the APC leader had been kept alive with the high-level support the bill had received before its passage.

At that meeting of the presidential committee headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and attended by the leadership of the National Assembly, state governors elected on the platform of the APC and other party big wigs, the party stakeholders decided to support the direct primary bill.

According to the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Office of the Vice-President, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, “Acting on the President’s mandate, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo called the meeting to allow all parties to ventilate their voices in a no holds-barred manner. It was a family affair. In the end, a common ground was reached.

Direct primary was upheld and aspirants under the party can now go back to the people and seek endorsement rather than giving a few delegates the power to decide for all.”

While power contenders like Tinubu took the message seriously and increased their consultations with party chieftains and politicians across the country, others like the leaders of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), a platform of state governors of the ruling party actively supported by Malam Abubakar Malami, bided their time.

That time came when the President, who had been away to Glasgow, Scotland to attend the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from October 30 to November 6, 2021, arrived the country and was immediately confronted by the two factions in support for and against the direct primary bill: the Governor Bagudu Atiku of Kebbi State ledPGF, alongside Governor Badaru of Jigawa State and the now shaky VP Osinbajo led tri-partite committee, which had lost its unity since Buhari arrived the country from Glasgow, Scotland. Both factions went to war in the court of public opinion immediately with one getting the upper hand.

Appearing on a national TV programme, Malami said President Buhari would be guided in giving assent to the bill by security and monetary considerations.

“What will be the point in people queuing up to vote under the cloud of COVID-19 pandemic and alarming insecurity in the country?’’ he wondered.

In his submission, Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, reportedly said Buhari would continue to consult with relevant stakeholders on the matter before the bill is signed.

“The President will consult with those who he believes are important to his decision and who can advise him on the Electoral Act. And he will meet them. But I cannot draw boundaries or name specifics and say this is who the President might meet. He ultimately decides,” Shehu said.

Part of that consultation was the letter the President was said to have written the INEC Chairman, Yakubu, to seek his advice on the cost implications of direct primary. It is uncertain whether INEC has replied the letter within the one- week deadline since the President sent it on November 30, 2021, almost a fortnight ago.

Oyekanmi drew a blank when he was asked about it. He said, “I have no comment of the exchange of letters beTHEWILLNIGERIA

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tween the President and INEC.” Then he added rhetorically: “If indeed there was a confidential correspondence between the two entities, it will not be fair to discuss the details on the pages of newspapers.”

As the intrigues grow deeper, Senate President Ahmed Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, came out to take different positions on the issue after their recent meetings with the President, a week ago. While Lawan came out of the meeting with the president tongue-tied, Gbajabiamila was outspoken. The Speaker said direct primary would consolidate the country’s democracy by giving members direct voice in the choice of their leaders and give more room for inclusion of youths in party politics. Many of the legislators in support of the bill see the Speaker as their arrow-head.

ENTER TINUBU According to an acolyte of Tinubu, the House of Reps Speaker’s outspoken support for the bill, coupled with the Osinbajo-led Tri-partite Committee agreement, though comparatively silent even as it still represents an intraparty voice, with its decisive support on the bill, have bolstered the confidence of the former Lagos governor in the pursuit of his presidential ambition.

Tinubu is believed to have seen the direct primary as a potential tool that would boost his presidential ambition.

A close aide of the former governor told THEWILL, “Asiwaju’s recent move to increase consultations among stakeholders across the country has been as a result of the favourable conditions surrounding the direct primary bill.

We used it successfully in Lagos to remove former governor Akinwumni Ambode and so we know how powerful it can be.”

Regrettably, Tinubu’s political adversaries are for this same reason fighting to make sure the bill fails to see the light of the day.

DEADLINE APPROACHES The National Assembly transmitted the bill to the President on November 19. Buhari has until December 19 to sign it or send his comments about the bill to the lawmakers.

Should the constitutionally allowed period of 30 days pass and Buhari refuses to sign the bill, the NASS can recall it and pass it into law if they are able to muster the required two-third majority in both chambers of the assembly.

Within this time lag, many governors from the two major political parties, the APC and the PDP, have reportedly been mounting pressure on President Buhari not to sign the Electoral Amendment Bill into law until contentious areas, such as the direct primary, are resolved.

Many of the state governors, who are currently in dispute with senators and members of the House of Representatives from their various states, are insisting that the National Assembly must remove direct primary and at best,

“

The President will consult with those who he believes are important to his decision and who can advise him on the Electoral Act. And he will meet them. But I cannot draw boundaries or name specifics and say this is who the President might meet

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include the option of indirect primary in the Electoral Act. Although the majority of lawmakers had threatened to veto the President should he fail to give assent to the bill, before it was transmitted to him for assent, a lot of water seemed to have passed under the bridge to warrant that threat.

“The current NASS lacks the political will to override the President on the bill and I will challenge any of them to do so. The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, said long ago that anything Buhari asked them to do they would do. What has changed since he made that statement?”

Chief Ezugwu laughed off the question, saying “President Buhari is the luckiest President we have ever had. The NASS cannot do anything different from what he wants them to do. The lawmakers will not override anything.”

UNITED FRONT Except for the APC, whose officials are divided over the direct primary bill, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is united against it. State governors from both parties, 35 in all, are unanimous in their thinking that the bill will interfere with party independence and supremacy.

Those like Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, who sees nothing conceptually wrong with the bill, however, thinks the country’s democratic culture is still too young and immature to have only one mode for the conduct of party primaries.

While most civil societies in the country think the adoption of the principle would deepen democracy, the Inter-party Advisory Council, composed of all political parties has shunned it, arguing that smaller parties may be unable to cope with the financial outlay involved with it.

In his response last week, Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum, said direct primary would truncate Nigeria’s young democracy, arguing that it would result in confusion, litigations and more expenditure.

“This is a country where you are defeated in any primary and you will refuse to accept defeat. Now imagine the number of local government areas in the country, about 774, and the number of wards. You now go to conduct primaries in all these wards, maybe for the President, and after that the Senate and the rest of the population. Even if you do that in one day, expect petitions from the number of political parties multiplied by the number of wards. It will truncate our democracy. There is no doubt about that. It is a ploy to derail democracy. I think we have not got to that level of maturity, the level of having the spirit of sportsmanship and accepting defeat.”

Fall Out As supporters of the bill, some of the leaders of the National Assembly, who until now refused to listen to concerns raised by state governors, may lose out in the ongoing power play.

As there is an indication that the President may reject some provisions in the Electoral Act Amendment, such as the direct primary bill unless the option of indirect primary is included, many governors, who felt embarrassed by the position taken by lawmakers from their states, are already baying for blood, THEWILL can confirm.

Many lawmakers, particularly from the governing APC, were already aggrieved that governors have hijacked the structures of the party, ahead of the 2023 general election.

These lawmakers believe that direct primary would raise their chances of returning to the Assembly in 2023, if allowed to scale the hurdles. If President Buhari decides otherwise, they can consider their 2023 ambition gone for good. But as current web of intrigues lingers, there is no telling who may smile last as the President may want to yet give the lawmakers, who have been quite supportive of his administration, a fair hearing.

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DECEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 18, 2021 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

NEWS NGX: Stocks Rebound on Gains by Financial Services

BY SAM DIALA

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tocks bounced back on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Friday as the benchmark index ticked up by 0.47 percent. This was on the back of huge investors’ demand for financial services stocks. But the gain was too little to erase the loss the market recorded at the previous session. Driving the gain were Seplat, FBN Holdings, NGX Group, ETI, Zenith and GTCO. Despite the climb, the volume of shares traded dropped by 6 percent while the total value of transactions fell by as much as 34 per cent.

Reports came Friday morning of the acquisition of further stake in FBN Holdings by billionaire mogul Femi Otedola, bringing its total interest in the group to 7.57 percent and consolidating his position as its biggest shareholder.

This newspaper learnt that a formal announcement will be made to that effect in the days ahead as FBN Corporate Communications Department did not confirm the deal. Shares in FBN Holdings jumped 2.59 per cent to N11.90 after the news broke.

The market breadth which measures investors’ sentiment towards trade, was positive as 24 gainers emerged compared to 12 laggards.

The all-share index rose 197.75 basis points to 41,882.97, while market capitalisation closed higher at N21.86 trillion.

NEM Insurance Announces Consolidation of Shares … Two-week Suspension of Trading

BY SAM DIALA

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igeria’s major insurance company, NEM Insurance Plc says it will reconstruct its outstanding shares following receipt of shareholders’ assent as well as approvals from regulators.

The company announced this in a statement signed by company secretary, Olajumoke Akede.

The notice said the approval for the share reconstruction/redenomination was given at the Annual General Meeting of the company held on June 24, 2021.

The company said it will consolidate every two shares held by each shareholder into one share. As a result, the value will rise from 50 Kobo to N1 per share.

“The Company also received the necessary regulatory approvals from the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on Wednesday, 27 October 2021 and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, 1 December 2021 respectively,” NEM said.

Owing to the development, the shares of the company will be suspended from trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited for two weeks beginning on December 10 to December 23, both days inclusive.

Also the register of shareholders will be closed for the said period to enable the Central Securities Clearing Systems Plc. (CSCS) and Apel Capital Registrars Limited – the Registrars to NEM Insurance, conclude the reconstruction of the shares and produce a new register for the company.

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L-R: Former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi; Ekiti State Governor/Guest Lecturer, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and Director-General, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, during the institute’s 60th Distinguished Lecture titled: “Fixing Nigeria for a Better World”, in Lagos on 9/12/2021.

Gov Lalong Avoids Jonathan, Jang in Jos FROM UKANDI ODEY, JOS

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overnor Simon Lalong of Plateau State on Friday tactically avoided meeting with his predecessor, Jonah Jang and former President Goodluck Jonathan at an inter-faith religious event where the former governor was billed to function as chief host.

After hosting members of the business community in Plateau to a late night dinner last Thursday, Gov Lalong, whose presence at the dedication of the Ten Commandments Altar was earlier confirmed, suddenly flew out of the state on Friday morning via a chartered flight from the Yakubu Gowon Airport, Heipang, near Jos. Although some of the governor’s protocol details were present at the dedication event, the Commissioner for Agriculture eventually represented him at the event.

Jonathan was in Jos as Chairman of the occasion as Jang, founder/ president, Yeshua Kingdom Foundation International, dedicated a worship and prayer house christened The Ten Commandments Altar.

The event was also a big rallying point

BY SAM DIALA

for the PDP family in Plateau, including those aspiring for various elective offices in 2023.

Speaking at the occasion, Jonathan extended greetings to Governor Lalong through his commissioner and commended Jang for conceiving and executing the monumental prayer project which he described as Jang’s “greatest achievement that will remain indelible in the memories of the people.”

By putting up the prayer and worship house, Jonathan said Jang had created a national destination for Christian religious activities and crusades.

He noted that the 5,800-capacity worship centre had a potential for expansion.

Giving the spiritual background of the project, Jang, said, “What we are doing here is quite symbolic because the Bible is replete with instances where altars were built. The significance of what is happening today is divine because it has been seen in several Bible passages that each time there was an encounter with the Lord an altar was built as a memorial of God’s visitation”.

Adapt Democracy to Nigerian Culture, Ogun Lawmaker Urges FG FROM SEGUN AYINDE, ABEOKUTA

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member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Oludaisi Elemide, has urged the Federal Government to practise democracy in accordance with the culture of Nigeria in order to save the country from her current challenges.

Elemide said that unless the Federal Government abandons the foreign model of democracy and practise it in line with Nigeria’s culture, the country may continue to struggle to get out of its woes.

I’ll Partner With Youths to Develop C’River – Senator Bassey

According to the lawmaker, who is representing Odeda Federal Constituency, the Federal Government should domesticate and practise democracy in accordance with Nigeria’s culture so as to make the country better.

Noting that European countries were progressive because they practise democracy in their own way, He advised the Federal Government not to copy their democracy model, but practise it in accordance with the Nigerian culture.

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he lawmaker representing Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State, Senator Gershom Bassey, has said he will partner with the youths to develop the state.

Senator Bassey made this known while engaging with youths under the auspices of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.

Explaining that his aspiration to govern Cross River is driven by a desire to develop the state, he promised to complete all projects started by past governments, especially the abandoned Tinapa Project.

“All previous administrations in this state had one common goal and they were from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The projects were aimed at the economic development of Cross River State.

“Tinapa was not meant to be a shopping centre. It was intended to boost the economy of the state, create jobs and to create a bigger and better economy.

“The rural development drive of former Governor Liyel Imoke and the industrialisation drive of Governor Ben Ayade are all aimed at achieving one economic goal: To create jobs and wealth.

“The mindset is not about creating a competition among the three administrations in the state. If you do that, it gives you a wrong narrative of the present state of the state.

“Today I am saying I will make an impact on the economy of the state, if elected as governor. I will make the private sector more attractive than the public sector.

That is why I am ready to partner with the youths,” he said.

The Chairman of the NYCN, Comrade Dan Obo, described Senator Bassey as tested and trusted.

Obo said that the youths of Cross River had been undermined for too long and they would not take the recognition of the senator for granted.

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POLITICS Ekiti 2022:

APC, PDP Aspirants Jostle to Succeed Fayemi

She said she decided to join the governorship race in order to turnaround the fortunes of the state by revolutionising all the sectors of governance with focus on the masses.

If given the ticket of her political party and elected as governor, she pledged, she would reposition Ekiti for economic prosperity by creating an enabling environment in Ekiti for industry to thrive, as well as introduce a better approach to taxation that would reduce dependence on federation allocations.

She promised to restructure the health sector in such a way that quality healthcare service delivery would be decentralised with a view to reaching both urban and rural dwellers.

She added that education would be a major objective of her aspiration, saying the sector would be reformed to include not only the building of schools but also the provision of incentives to teachers.

“Our mission is to rebuild, to reposition and to regain the state’s glory. We are very committed with passion to make sure that Ekiti occupies its rightful position in the comity of states.

“We will remain focused on our mission to turnaround the fortunes of the state by revolutionising all the critical sectors of governance with direct focus on the downtrodden masses,” she said.

Those that have shown interest in the Ekiti top job on the platform of APC include the former Secretary to the State Government, Biodun Oyebanji . Oyebanji resigned his appointment to contest the 2022 governorship election a few days ago. Others are Olawale Fapohunda, Femi Bamisile, Makinde Araoye and Ademola Popoola.

Also in the race is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele.

The senator representing Ekiti Central has informed all the members of the Senate elected on the platform of his party, of his intention to run for the governorship position.

Fayemi

Olujimi

Over the last few years, the governorship election in Ekiti State has been a two-horse race between the PDP and the APC.

BY AYO ESAN

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he race to succeed Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State is already gathering momentum as aspirants on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) openly announce their interest in the race by obtaining forms to contest their parties’ primaries in January next year.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier in 2021 scheduled the Ekiti State Governorship Election for June 18, 2022.

INEC also said that Governor Fayemi’s tenure would expire on October 15, 2022.

Fayemi is currently on his second and last term in office. He is not constitutionally qualified to contest the next election.

One of those who have openly announced their interest in the June 2022 governorship election on the platform of the PDP is the former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Biodun Olujimi. Eight other female aspirants are also interested in the governorship race.

They are Mrs Olumide Ojo; Olukemi Olubunmi from Ido/Osi Council Area of the state; Chief Mrs Arogundade Olutoyin from Ekiti East Local Government Area; Princess Adekemi Adewunmi from Efon Local Government Area; Mrs Adesoye (Ado LGA); Mrs Titilayo Owolabi Akerele (Ikole LGA); Mrs Modupe Asaolu (Ekiti South-West LGA); and Mrs Deborah Alo ( Ido/Osi LGA).

Other aspirants are former Governor Segun Oni; former Deputy Governor, Prof Olusola Eleka; Kayode Adaramodu and Otunba Bisi Kolawole, who is believed to have backing of former Governor Ayo Fayose.

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Since the advent of democratic governance in the state, Ekiti Central had ruled for 12 years – four years by the first civilian governor of the state, Niyi Adebayo and eight years by Ayodele Fayose

The election is not and has never been based on zoning. Despite this, Ekiti Central and Ekiti North zones have always dominated the governorship seat at the expense of Ekiti South, which is now clamouring for it, in the interest of fairness, equity and Justice.

This was the argument during the first and second terms of both Former Governor Ayodele Fayose and the incumbent, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who are from Ekiti Central and Ekiti North Senatorial zones of the state, respectively.

Since the advent of democratic governance in the state, Ekiti Central had ruled for 12 years – four years by the first civilian governor of the state, Niyi Adebayo and eight years by Ayodele Fayose. Ekiti North has ruled for almost four years through Engr Segun Oni and the eight years that will be completed in 2022 by Kayode Fayemi.

The general assumption is that Ekiti South Senatorial District has been marginalised, hence the demand that the governorship position should be ceded to Ekiti South in 2023. Yet, all those who have indicated their interest in the position in both the PDP and APC are from the three zones.

A former deputy governor of the state, Chief Abiodun Aluko, said the next governorship seat should be zoned to Ekiti South because it has very competent sons and daughters that can rule the state successfully.

Also Ekiti State Coordinator of APC Youth for Continuity, Mr Alade Emmanuel, has said that Governor Kayode Fayemi will support every legitimate process that will guarantee a free, fair and hitch-free primary in the APC.

Explaining her decision to join the race, Olujimi said it was borne out of the desire to salvage the state from the woods through selfless service to the people, irrespective of their social status.

He debunked the rumour that Fayemi and his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, are determined to impose a candidate, by “muzzling and arm twisting other interested aspirants”

The lawmaker, representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, said she decided to throw her hat in the ring, following calls from the downtrodden, traditional rulers and eminent sons and daughters of the state.

He pointed out that Fayemi, whom he described as a strong advocate and believer in justice, fair play and the rule of law, would not take any step that would muzzle anyone or circumvent or short circuit the laid down standards of the APC.

Claiming that she had the quality and experience required to harness the vast state’s resources for productive and developmental purposes, Olujimi said her experience in the public sector and politics had prepared her for the plum position.

THEWILL has gathered that many aspirants in the APC are lobbying for the support of the incumbent governor, while those in the opposing camp, the members of South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA), are banking on the direct primary option.

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POLITICS/INTERVIEW

2022 National Census Will be Credible – Ogwa Member representing Cross River State on the board of the National Population Commission, Navy Captain Charles Ogwa (retd.), spoke with BASSEY ANIEKAN on the preparation of the Commission for the next national population census scheduled to hold in 2022.

Excerpts:

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ell us about your experience on the board of the National Police Commission We were sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 28, 2018. So it means I am running three years. It has been quite an interesting experience.

In line with the President’s directive, how prepared are you for the exercise scheduled to come up next year?

The preparation to conduct a census in 2016 has started.

The basic thing to do, if you want to conduct a census, is to demarcate and delineate the areas. So they had already started with the first and second phases up to the 6th phase of the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) in the whole country. When we resumed, the state had done only four of those 6 phases. Four local governments areas had been demarcated. With that zeal, we made serious efforts and the President gave us the approval to take on the Enumeration Area Demarcation fully and we did.

Today, I want to say here that work in 97 per cent of the 774 local government areas in the country has been completed.

We have finished enumeration in Cross River State, except the small mop up exercise that is about to be rounded off.

With the completion of the core foundation, we decided to jump onto the next phase, which is to test the methodology and instruments to be used for the census. We are going to test the data we have now. We did the first pre test in Cross River State in Etung and Calabar Municipality. We had some challenges and worked on it.

Now the second pre-test is on. We have just finished a 10day training for the functionaries and they have gone to the field proper, which is to last between December 3 and 10.

At the end of the day, we will also analyse this one and see whether the instruments we have put in place to run the

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Ogwa

Interesting in a sense that when I was sworn in alongside my other colleagues from other states, the President charged us to conduct a credible population and housing census. With that zeal, when we got to the commission we started working towards it.

census, the applications, the maps, everything, will lead us to do a trial census. Afterward we conduct the main census in the second quarter of 2022.

So, I think it has been a good outing for me so far.

We have been very busy and running around to make sure that we conduct this census. It has been a worthwhile experience since I resumed.

You recently said the next census will be digitised and paper work will be eliminated. Can you explain this?

During the 2006 census, it was paper and pen. There was no Personal Data Assistant (PDA), which are the pads that look like phones. Every application is downloaded and you just use it and begin to punch.

In 2006, they gave you a paper questionnaire, which you filled. So how can a six months-old baby fill the questionnaire? The father will fill the questionnaire for him.

But now, you just give us the information and it is captured.

The questionnaire is already captured in the digital assistant held by each enumerator. There is no need for paper anymore. Nobody is filling anything. That is why

it is digital. This will eliminate a lot of human errors and influences and also reduce interference almost zero.

After the 2006 census, some states and stakeholders started disputing the figures. As you prepare for the next census, how are you working with all these stakeholders, including the UNFPA, to minimise or possibly eliminate these disputes?

The acceptability of a census conducted in any country is the main uphill task. The commission may feel you have done a very good job, but what about the acceptability? I want to tell you here that the UNFPA is heavily in support of Nigeria. In fact, the overall boss of UNFPA visited the country last week and was graciously received by the commission and gave us their word.

They have also facilitated the appointment of a census technical Adviser for the coming census and he is not Nigerian. He is a professional who has huge experience in census taking and has resumed.

Other stakeholders are all ready. The United Nations itself is very ready because people feel that the country should have accurate demographic data.

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POLITICS/INTERVIEW We do not enumerate anybody who is not in a household.

If we come to enumerate your place and you say you have five sons and one is in the hospital, we don’t need to tell you to go and bring him. If the hospital is within the Enumerated Area (EA), he will be counted under you. We are not going to disrupt the system.

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We have finished enumeration in Cross River State, except the small mop up exercise that is about to be rounded off.

With the completion of the core foundation, we decided to jump onto the next phase, which is to test the methodology and instruments to be used for the census

How about state governments?

For every exercise we are conducting, the state governors, the local government areas, as well as the communities are all written to. In every local government area, there are offices of the National Population Commission headed by a controller. The controller’s job for every exercise is sensitisation and advocacy.

They are in the field now. The controllers were trained specially on advocacy and sensitisation, which they are already doing in the field. So everyone is involved, even traditional rulers. The only thing is the attitude of our people here. Governments mostly think that when you say you are doing something it is about money. A local government chairman went as far as telling the commissioner that “your people should not come. I don’t have money.” But nobody had written a letter to him to request money.

We wrote a letter to him and said, “We are running an exercise in your local government area. He is the chief security officer, shouldn’t we tell him? And also, he should be interested because the census is for the people and it is by the people, even governance is by the people. So I am pleading that everybody should be involved. That is why I say this census will rebuild the country.

There are other government agencies like INEC and NIMC that need the data you will generate. What is your level of partnership with them?

We have written to them and we have been receiving good responses. The African Development Bank has received our letter and it has acknowledged it.

At least, for acknowledging they have received our letter means there is hope that they will partner with us. INEC has been partnering with the population commission, even during the EAD exercise, because the data we generate helps INEC to create polling units and wards. So we are with them. The NIMC used to be part of the population commission and a member of the commission sits in the NIMC board. That is enough partnership, isn’t it?

Talking about the preparations, Cross River State is peculiar because of its closeness to Cameroon, the maritime situation and also the issue of Ambazonia.

How challenging is this?

During the Enumeration Area Demarcation exercise, we had some of these challenges but with the support of many people, especially the local government functionaries, the traditional rulers and the machinery put in place, we were able to overcome some of these challenges and we had a smooth exercise.

For this pre-test, we have carefully chosen Oju. It is a village that shares a border with Cameroon in Akamkpa Local Government Area.

Some people may be worried that people fleeing Cameroon may enter Nigeria and eventually get counted as Nigerians. What do yiu intend to do about that kind of situation?

During the listing of houses, every house has a household and the people are living in houses and not in the forest. If we have enumerated those houses, it means they will be enumerated.

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You have been in the saddle representing Cross River for a few years. What are your major achievements and challenges?

First and foremost, before I resumed a lot of people did not know about the population commission, but with the directive we had from our headquarters, we had to do a lot of sensitization. I want to tell you that during the EAD exercise, I was always in the field. If you go to a place now and mention the National Population Commission, in fact no traditional ruler will tell you: “I don’t know them, or I have not heard about them.” That gives me joy. It means that when we are taking census, the volume of sensitisation s we will be reinforcing what is already on ground. That is a major breakthrough.

How about the challenges?

Normally, you will have challenges in anything you do.

The major one is that our people are adamant and very complacent. It baffles me that in some communities we visit, the main stakeholders don’t even come and the people you see are the chiefs and traditional rulers. We use them because other stakeholders think we are asking them for money, whereas the commission is not asking anybody to bring money. In every exercise we conduct, we write to the stakeholders, telling them we need their support in the areas of advocacy and sensitization. That is the emphasis and nothing else. Basically, those are the challenges.

Still talking about security challenges, there are some inter and intra communal crises in the state. How do you manoeuvre around them as you prepare?

During the EAD, we did not send our functionaries to any place that is a flashpoint but when the turbulence has calmed down. That is what we are doing now. We call it ‘mop up’. We have finished with Ebijakara, Erei in Biase,

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the communities in Obubra and Ezzi in Ebonyi.

The turbulence there has calmed down and our people have gone there to mop up and demarcate the place. The situation is also calm up there in Yal. My Benue counterpart is also there and we are mopping up. Once we tidy up the challenges, it means Cross River is good to go.

Also in the state, we have quite a few communities that are hard to reach like Belegete in Obanliku, Ukwa in Odukpani. How far have you gone with these areas?

It will shock you to know that my functionaries have reached there. I personally went to Belegete and monitored what they were doing. There is no community in Cross River that has a structure, even if it is a hut, that we did not reach for demarcation. The moment that hut has been captured in the national frame, during census taking, the enumerators will go there because it means there is a household there.

How about Bakassi?

There are 33 communities in Bakassi that we visited.

I negotiated with the militants and they gave us cover because I spoke to them about the need for us to demarcate the area. I went with my demarcators, did the job for five days and came back peacefully. So we have covered basically every part of Cross River State.

What message do you have for people who have not fully welcomed the exercise in some communities?

Let everybody take this census activity seriously, as it affects the state. Because whether you like it or not, the demographic data generated from the census is the one to be used for economic, health, educational planning, respectively, even for revenue sharing. People see it as a form of political activity, because when it involves sharing revenue, the indices they use in Nigeria for sharing revenue is population. So I charge everybody to get up, mobilise and support the national population commission for any pre-census activity that is taking place. Get interested in any area so that at the end of the day, we will come out fine and the state will not be left out.

As a retired military officer, how did your experience in the military prepare you for this job?

First and foremost, military officers have the highest exposure both in geopolitics and military politics. I am bold to say it anywhere. The training you get in the military equips you not only for military operations, but also aids you to attain civil power and you know what that means.

It is not that you just get up and bring money and give it out. We want these things to happen anywhere we are. We want things to happen.

So this training gave me an edge on this job and I am doing it. I call it second missionary journey because I have served the country as a military officer and now I am serving the country in the commission. I am glad to do that. I will be glad that during my time, a census is taken and we will come out tops.

How would you like to be judged or assessed at the end of your tenure?

I don’t live up to people’s expectations. What I do is to get satisfied and do the right thing. If I am able to do the right thing for this state, most especially the major thing we are doing now, with the census taking place next year, second quarter and the census figures of this state comes out well without questions or doubts, then let the people judge and say they give glory to God.

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POLITICS

APC Will Come Out Stronger in Osun – Oyintiloye ernor had brought a paradigm shift in the state’s governance where premium is given to the masses’ opinion in the policy formulation process.

With his leadership style, which has the bridged governmentpeople gap, the governor has endeared himself to the people, which will definitely translate to popular support for his reelection. This is why his re-election is being widely canvassed by independent bodies and groups like artisans, trade unions, workers’ unions, among other informal groups.

Governor Oyetola’s group recently attacked members of The Osun Progressives (TOP), believed to be loyal to the Minister of the Interior, Engr Rauf Aregbesola, at their meeting. What is your reaction to this?

To state the obvious, Governor Oyetola does not have any group. Like most of his predecessors, he only has a movement that served as a platform for his election campaign as an aspirant before being the party’s candidate. As a leader who believes in party unity and supremacy, the governor has integrated the movement with the party structure in order to build a formidable force.

Oyintiloye

Having stated that, it is a blatant lie to put such an allegation on the personality of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola. It is a ruse known in politics, for the governor is widely adjudged to be a man of peace whose calm posture has been instrumental to the sustainable stability the state enjoys, even in the tense political atmosphere.

Special Adviser to the Governor of Osun State on Civic Engagement, Olatubosun Oyintiloye, speaks on issues affecting the state in this interview with AYO ESAN. Excerpts:

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overnor Oyetola is in the third year of his first term. Looking back, how has it been since he assumed duty?

Good governance is determined by service delivery. That is the assessment indicator to posit that Oyetola has performed creditably well, despite meagre resources. He has used his financial engineering skills and administrative experience to effectively manage the state’s resources for great deliveries in governance.

Specifically, many road networks have been constructed or are ongoing in his two years in office. The roads include Alekuwodo-Akinlade in Osogbo, Ede-Ara_Ejigbo, Kelebe-Iragbiji, Ada-Igbajo, Moro-Akinlalu, Famia (Modakeke township), Ilesha township, Ede township, Ejigbo township and Aagba township. His administration has embarked on the construction of a flyover bridge at the popular Olaiya junction in Osogbo, the state Capital. This is targeted towards bringing socioeconomic improvement and reduction of traffic hassles in the area. Not only that, twenty-two new roads, cutting across all the nine federal constituencies, are undergoing construction in the state.

The health sector has also experienced a massive refurbishment with a total upgrade of 332 primary health centres (PHCs) across all the wards in the state. This offers a proximate opportunity for people in the communities to have access to quality health services. Equally, all general hospitals and some comprehensive health centres in the state have been fully upgraded alongside the construction of 120 bedded structure and resident doctors’ quarters at Asubiaro in Osogbo.

The Oyetola-led administration is equally revamping the economy through industrialisation and commercialisation by establishing the Osun Ethanol Bio-Refinery factory and the

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International Trade Centre/Industrial Hub and Inland Port, which are projected to create massive job opportunities to at least 10,000 people.

Equally, the welfare of both active workers and pensioners is given maximum priority. The Oyetola administration has not only committed itself to full payment of workers’ salaries and pensions, but it has also implemented the minimum wage for the workers in the state. Others benefits accruing to workers are in full force. Also worthy of mention are social intervention programmes, such as loans, grants and the food support scheme for the vulnerable, which are targeted at ameliorating poverty and, by extension, ensuring economic stability in the state.

Even at this point of his administration, Oyetola has many scorecards to his credit. He believes in the maxim that continuity is the bedrock of sustainable governance and development and has not reneged on many programmes and policies of the past administration. This is an invaluable and enviable scorecard for all, irrespective of political affiliation.

Equally, building his governance around the people as a means of consolidating democratic principles is a big plus for him.

He created a civic engagement office, the first of its kind in the state and an institution through which governance is taken to the people through regular interfaces to get their feelers on government programmes and policies in the form of feedbacks, and provide them platforms to state their demands and yearning, which will guide the policy formulation process.

From what I have observed, he wants to be remembered as a governor who did his best, identified with his people, and solved many of their major challenges using governance instruments.

The APC has released guidelines for next year’s governorship election. How do you think Osun people will receive Oyetola’s bid for a second term?

There is no gainsaying that Oyetola has become a household name in every nook and cranny of the state. This is not unconnected to the top-notch and brilliant performance of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in all the sectors of the state’s economy.

This has brought about tremendous development in the security, education, infrastructure, human capital, health sectors, despite a paucity of funds, coupled with the fact that the gov-

You have been involved in Oyetola’s mobilisation and sensitisation of programmes across the state. What has been the response of the people?

The civic engagement programme is a well-embraced initiative of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola among the state populace. It is being described as the first of its kind in the state’s history where governance is taken directly to the people. As a matter of fact, the engagement drive of the current administration has been yielding positive results as the popular demands, yearnings and aspirations of the people have been the ultimate consideration in the policy formulation process. For instance, the ongoing construction of a flyover, the ongoing twentytwo new roads being constructed across the nine federal constituencies of the state, among others have been implemented based on the demands of the people in the affected areas.

The people’s demands, in the form of feedback from a series of engagement programmes, are elements of the input system in our state policy cycle. For instance, people’s voices were the opinion poll that informed the government’s decision to consider a review of the state education policy. Equally, the state infrastructures are allocated according to the needs of individual community in the state.

Many political observers in Osun believe PDP will benefit from the crisis in Osun APC in the next election. What is your take on this?

We are in a democratic society where we can’t shy away from the fact that plurality of interests remains the political driving force. The same democracy has instituted a mechanism of interest harmonisation, which is why internal democracy is the central principle of progressive party.

As a matter of fact, we have a strong and competent leadership to resolve all issues that may arise from the divergence of interests as it may occur in politics. All what you see as crises bedeviling our party are just an expression of interests that cannot be played down because it will turnout to be a great advantage for us as party in the next election, especially with the leadership capacity, which can bring about a synergy that will make us stronger. This is in addition to the brilliant performance of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in state governance, which makes him and our party a cynosure to all eyes. In short, our party has the internal structure to overcome any challenge, and as a result, I am confident that our party’s chances are as bright as ever and the opposition’s plan to stage a comeback in 2022 is just a mirage.

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POLITICS

2023: Okowa Bows to Zoning Formula, Supports Urhobos

BY AMOS ESELE

A’Ibom: PDP Will Determine Mode of Primary – Iniama UDEME UTIP, UYO

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chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. James Iniama has said that the decision of his party is paramount on the method of primaries to be adopted to produce the party’s candidates for general elections ahead of 2023.

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He warned members against negative comments on the matter pending when the leadership would give final verdict to be abided by its supporters.

Three weeks ago, according to dependable government sources, the governor reversed his earlier decision to pick his successor from the Ijaw ethnic group in Delta South zone, a move that pitched him against power blocs in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

On issue of micro zoning, Iniama who spoke to newsmen in Uyo at the weekend, said though the Governorship seat of the state in 2023 has been zoned to Uyo Senatorial District; the particular federal Constituency would be adopted the opinion of the majority when it comes to the front burner for discussion in the party.

s politicking for the 2023 general election enters preconvention stage, which streamlines alliances and forges allies for the jostling of party tickets, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has begun to set his house in order for the emergence of his successor, ahead of the election.

“The decision of the party leadership is paramount, followers cannot start commenting on issues of the party that are yet to be given final verdict by party leadership.” He stated.

Iniama expressed the hope that Akwa Ibom people being lovers of peace, equity, fairness and truth know that the truth before the state presently is that political leadership of the state is done through zoning which has been respected over time.

Sources close to the governor, who requested anonymity, disclosed to THEWILL that Okowa had “finally made up his mind to pick his successor from the Urhobo ethnic group in Delta Central zone after a long careful thought.”

Mr. James Iniama’s opinion is coming just one week after another chieftain, Senator Anietie Okon had insisted that the position should be zoned specifically to Itu Federal Constituency, which is made up of Itu and Ibiono Ibom Local Government Areas.

Events had taken a sudden turn on May 18, 2021 when the governor unexpectedly dissolved his cabinet in one fell swoop without hinting or consulting stakeholders in the state. He understandably wielded the big stick to separate the administrators from politicians, who had refused to heed his earlier call on those nursing governorship ambitions to consult with him rather than holding political meetings that distracted them from doing their jobs.

Sen. Okon who is the pioneer National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party reasoned that; since the two other federal consituencies, Uyo and Etinan have produced persons each for the position, it would only be fair and just for the party to zone the governorship to Itu federal conosituency.

He maintained that he strongly believe that all state actors would support their agitation for next governorship slot given the role the constituency played in the emergence of their sons.

A few days after replacing many of the officials that were removed from the cabinet, the governor disclosed his preference on zoning frontally.

“It means that whatever we are doing or talking about today is about what is fair, what is equitable and how to define what is fair and what is equitable.”

Then he addressed the inference that he had a chosen candidate as successor, adding, “On the allegation of an intention to hand over to an Ijaw man, it is only God Almighty that knows who will be governor after me.”

Seven months after those momentous days, things have changed, owing to real political permutations and strategy.

According to the sources mentioned earlier, Okowa, who was irked by a move by some people among the Urhobo to jettison the zoning agreement in the state during the governorship poll in 2015, turned around and decided to respect the unwritten power sharing agreement within the PDP in the state but with a caveat. “He will not support any aspirant in the race that played a key role in the botched 2015 primary,” one of the sources said.

THEWILL recalls that the power bloc, which had the ears of Okowa’s predecessor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, had tried unsuccessfully to circumvent the power-sharing agreement in 2015 by backing a former commissioner in the state, David Edevbie, from the Urhobo ethnic group, to clinch the party’s governorship primary. Again, earlier this year, Edevbie was linked to a somewhat shadow political group, DC-23, an acronym for Delta Central for 2023 governorship.

In retaliation, after his re-election in 2019, Okowa and his close allies covertly encouraged aspirants from the Ijaw ethnic group to enter the governorship race in 2023, to THEWILLNIGERIA

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His words, “All we are saying is that the 2023 governorship should be zoned to Itu federal constituency, because looking at it, otherwise I’ll have say ál federal constituencies in Uyo Senatorial district have had their turn. And we do not lack people of capacity from Itu federal constituency.

Okowa

At the quarterly media briefing held on May 20, 2021 in Asaba, the state capital, he said, “A gentleman’s agreement is one that is not written. I want to believe that that is what it is supposed to be. There was no formal meeting where a gentleman’s agreement was reached and that is the truth as of today.

the discomfort of former Governor james Ibori and other stakeholders in Delta Central.

“I believe in zoning of the position because the zoning principle has been what laid the foundation of political stability and sense of inclusion in Akwa Ibom state. I am saying that under Uyo Senatorial district, this is the only federal consituency that has not produced a governor.

The move gave politicians like Senator James Manager and the deputy governor, Kingsley Burutu Otaro, who are both Ijaws, the courage to start working towards the governorship ticket.

“ There was Late Akpan Isemin from Etinan Federal consituency, then came Victor Attah from Uyo federal consituency. Now after Victor Attah it will be only proper that Itu federal consituency should produce a governor, for equity, justice and fairness. The is the message the

Shortly before Okowa dissolved his cabinet in May, DC23, was already pushing the agenda of Delta Central for the governorship race, openly declaring its aims and appealing to aspirants to declare their intentions publicly, while appealing to leaders and party members from the two other zones of Delta South and Delta North to support Delta Central to produce the next governor of the state, in the “interest of equity and justice.”

Speaking to THEWILL at the time, Mr Sunny Appiah, spokesman of the group, denied any knowledge of Edebvie’s membership of the group, but he admitted, “Maybe some members are supporting his ambition.” He described DC-23 as a lobby group.

All three zones have each produced a governor under the zoning formula started at the beginning of this republic, with Chief James Ibori (Central), his successor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan (South) and the incumbent, Okowa, who hails from Delta North.

With his latest decision to support the zoning agreement, the governor, according to our sources, is ready for the battle to determine who succeeds him.

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“We know that the people of Uyo Senatorial district are decent and think clear.uly, and in any case Itu federal consituency has men with the capacity to lead the state to better times. We don’t want to be involved in whatever argument anybody is putting up” The Estate Surveyor and Valuer, who is also a Governorship aspirant in the 2023 election in the state, maintained that though Itu Federal Constituency has ably qualified persons that can complete favourably with others “We would ask and insist that the zoning will come to Itu Federal Constituency because we belong to Uyo Senatorial District and our other Federal Constituencies have had a chance at the exulted office but we haven’t.

“I believe that when the time for settlement comes our leaders will sit together and agree that Itu Federal Constituency be given a chance to produce a governor for the state.

Collaborating, a political leader in Oron Federal Constituency, Arch. Okon Nse Abasi, said that the Oro people of Eket Senatorial District are in solidarity with the Itu Federal Constituency saying such gesture would assure them of a chance in 2031 when another turn comes for Eket Senatorial District.

He however urge aspirants from Itu Federal you my h Constituency to come together for an internal convention and decide to front an individual to demonstrate their love, togetherness and unity of purpose.

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EDITORIAL

#EndSARS Report on Lekki Toll Gate Revisited

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he official reactions to the resolution of the retired Justice Doris Okuwobiled Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters appeared to have further confused rather than clear salient issues surrounding the killing of #End SARS protesters at Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.

These issues, in our estimation, deal with the sanctity of human life and the rule of law, not the sterile and reductionist debate on whether there was a ‘massacre’ or none at the toll gate. They are also about what should be done to avoid a recurrence. That is why, for instance, it is sad to note that the Federal Government, which ordered the states to set up judicial panels of investigation, following the ugly fall out of the youth’s protests against police brutality and call for police reforms, would preemptively and hastily react to a leaked report of the Lagos panel and then dismiss it as “tales by moonlight,’ and “fake news.” It even went further to say the panel was illegal.

White Paper issued by the Lagos State Government shortly after the vetting of the panel’s report by a committee of four showed there was good news in it after all. Although

the government in its 41-paged White Paper rejected the panel’s report that nine persons died when armed soldiers stormed the tollgate to disperse the protesters on that fateful day, it admitted, “that only one person died of gunshot wounds at 7:43pm at LTG on October 21, 2020,” according to the evidence of the pathologist, Prof Obafunwa.

It said, among, others, “The evidence of the pathologist, Prof Obafunwa, that only three of the bodies that they conducted post-mortem examination on were from Lekki and only one had gunshot injury and this was not debunked.

“We deem it credible as the contrary was not presented before the panel.”

Even so, the admission that one and not nine died of gunshot wounds at the toll gate on October 20, 2020 is sufficient evidence that lethal weapons were actually used by security forces against unarmed youths involved in lawful protests under democratic governance.

Recall that under the Police Act, which President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law in 2020, it is clearly stated in Section 23 that, “during a protest that police shall protect peaceful protesters.”

Recall also that the law courts have severally ruled against obtaining police permission to organise a rally.

In a celebrated case in 2006,

Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Kano High Court ruled that obtaining police license for rally was illegal, unconstitutional and that the name of the Inspector General of Police was unknown to the Police Order Act. If one person was therefore killed through gunshot wound, if we were to go by the Lagos Government White Paper, then it logically follows that the security personnel of whatever arm of the Nigeria Armed Forces who deployed the officers and men that fired the fatal shot must be held liable and prosecuted.

Given the hostile atmosphere in the aftermath of the threemonth peaceful protest, including the harassment of identified protesters through the freezing of their bank accounts, attack on them by hoodlums during and after the peaceful protests and the massive

We call on the Federal and state governments, especially Lagos State, to ensure that justice prevails at the end of the day

We call on the Federal and state governments, especially Lagos State, to ensure that justice prevails at the end of the day.

While we thank the Lagos State Government for the speedy manner in which the inquiry was concluded amid the hostile political climate generated by the local and international reactions to the killings at the Lekki tollgate, we urge it to go a step further than the hefty N420 million compensation it had paid to victims and harmonise all the shades of views that have surrounded the panel’s report.

In the same instance, we call for restraint in demonising members of the Lagos panel who gave their time and effort in putting up the report, regardless of its shortcomings.

These defects can be reconciled during the process of further investigation and eventual prosecution of culprits at the state and national levels after the state government has submitted accepted supranational recommendations to Federal Government.

The focus of the #EndSARS protesters was a call to an end to police brutality as typified by a particularly notorious squad of the Nigeria Police Force, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), police reform under a favourable climate of good governance based on the rule of law.

Sadly, these demands are still with us. Police extra-judicial killings and brutality are still rampant. Only recently the IGP had to intervene in a case involving some travelling youths in Kogi State whom a triggerhappy police slapped and robbed of N26,000. In another instance, a policeman was caught on camera going around with a Point of Sale (POS) machine to extort passengers on highways.

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Austyn Ogannah Editor – Olaolu Olusina Deputy Editor – Amos Esele Politics Editor – Ayo Esan Business Editor – Sam Diala Copy Editor – Chux Ohai Cartoon Editor – Victor Asowata Entertainment/Society Editor – Ivory Ukonu Photo Editor – Peace Udugba Head, Graphics – Tosin Yusuph Circulation Manager – Victor Nwokoh

Building an equitable and justice system that will dissuade such human right violations should be the lessons drawn from the #EndSARS protest.

That way, we can avoid a probable repeat of the sad Lekki tollgate incident that has cast a blot on the democratic credentials of the country.

Nigeria Bureau: 36AA Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja. Lagos, Nigeria. info@thewillnigeria.com / @ THEWILLNG, +234 810 345 2286, +234 913 333 3888.

EDITOR: Olaolu Olusina @OLUSINA [Letters/Opinions: opinion.letters@thewillnigeria.com]

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destruction of public facilities, particularly in Lagos, we think it is time to heal wounds and not to be politically correct to the point of inflaming passions with sterile debate about number of those killed.

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OPI N ION

Wanted: Solution to Religious Crises in Nigeria

BY ADEPARUA DAMILOLA

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igeria is a multi-ethnic and culturally diverse country, which consists of 36 autonomous states and the Federal Capital Territory. Although its diversity extends to religion, Christianity and Islam are the two major religions.

Unfortunately religion is one of the key factors that have kept the country divided for a long time since independence.

Irish writer, Jonathan Swift, once said, “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.” Those words capture the exact situation in Nigeria today. Instead of keeping the people united in love, religion has become the cord of enmity leading to irresolvable differences between the various ethnic groups in the country.

According to a report published in The World Fact Book by the American Central Intelligence Agency( CIA), Nigeria’s religion population is estimated to be 53.5 per cent Muslim, 45.9 per cent Christian (10.6 per cent Roman Catholic and 35.3 per cent other Christian) and 0.6 per cent for others.

As recorded by Wikipedia, Nigeria was amalgamated in 1914, only about a decade after the defeat of the Sokoto Caliphate and other Islamic states by the British, which were to constitute much of Northern Nigeria.

In Nigeria, violent religious crises, especially between Christians and Muslims, have claimed thousands of lives and properties worth hundreds of millions of naira have been destroyed. For example, between 1980 and 1992, 26 religious riots were recorded and the death toll put at 6,775.

In 1993 the Human Rights Committee, an independent body of 18 experts selected through a UN process, described religion or belief as “theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief.” In addition, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Unfortunately, the reverse is the case in Nigeria as the two most prominent religions in the country are involved in a struggle for supremacy. This in effect has turned what should be the basis of peace to war. One wonders what caused the enmity.

Research shows that The 1980s witnessed an upsurge in violence due to the death of Mohammed Marwa, a.k.a Maitatsine. In the same decade, the then military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, enrolled Nigeria in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. This move aggravated religious tensions in the country, particularly among the Christian community. In response, some members of the Muslim community pointed out that some other African states had smaller populations of Muslims, as well as Nigeria’s diplomatic relations with the Holy See. The fear of domination is a major problem fuelling religious crises in Nigeria. The country is also battling the fear of domination by a particular ethnic group over the rest. As rightly reasoned out by Voltaire, who said,“If you have two religions in your land, the two will cut each other’s throats; but if you have thirty religions, they dwell in peace,” Muslims and Christians in Nigeria are always in disagreement.

The rule of law has been displaced and there is no respect for the right of individuals to practise their chosen religions.

Human lives are wasted nearly every day as a result of religious intolerance.

As mentioned by this same writer in a piece titled, ‘Factors stimulating poverty in Nigeria’ that poor access to education is a major problem aiding poverty in Nigeria, poverty arises from lack of education and education brings about enlightenment. Statistics show that beyond national average, the division by geopolitical zones puts the South-East geopolitical zone ahead of the rest with 95.4 per cent literacy rate and the North-West with the lowest at 38 per cent.

Following the Southeast are the South-South at 94.8 per cent, the South-West at 92.6 per cent, the North-Central at 62 per cent and the North-East at 41.9 per cent in 2018.

Consequential to the rate of illiteracy, the people are poor and

easily brainwashed into killing their fellow citizens under the umbrella of religion.

The involvement of government at all levels in religious matters is another cause of religious turbulence. Whoever will rule the multi-ethnic and religiously diversified Nigeria must not be a religious extremist or ethnic supremacist.

Such a leader will bring nothing other than disunity among the people. It is quite unfortunate that the government gets involved in issues related to tribal differences and the fight for religious supremacy. C.S Lewis says, “Of all bad men, religious bad men are the worst.

As the saying goes, idle hands are the devil’s tools. The high unemployment rate in the country, which has increased by 33 percent in recent time and is currently rated second highest in the world, also contributes to religious crises.

When people are gainfully employed, they will have little or no time for frivolities. Unemployed people can be easily bribed with money to wreak havoc in the society.

Crises in Nigeria, especially religious crisis, have affected the growth of the economy in general and the development of communities and people in. Many lives have been cut short, properties worth millions of naira destroyed and innocent Nigerians have been displaced and turned to refugees in their own country.

In curbing religious violence, the government should make education accessible to all in an affordable way and effort should be made in getting more people employed. In addition, the government should desist from getting involved in religious matters, as this can bring about discord, unrest and disunity in the society. Furthermore, there should be respect for human right and tolerance for an individual’s religion.

In conclusion, the people should bear in mind that God is not someone anybody can fight for or fight against and stop causing unrest under the pretext of defending God. •Adeparua Damilola can adeparuaadot55@yahoo.com

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Nigeria Today is Like Cyprian Ekwensi’s Yarn

BY UZOR MAXIM UZOATU

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ll the demented facets of Nigerian life today, from brazen kidnappings and robberies to rampant prostitution and political heists, are like the many wonderful tales of Cyprian Odiatu Duaka (COD) Ekwensi, who died on November 4, 2007.

Cyprian Ekwensi lived a charmed life as a pathfinder in the annals of African literature and it is a striking tribute that the current shenanigans of Nigeria read like the yarns of the popular writer.

Ekwensi was arguably the most prolific author in the comity of Nigeria’s first generation of acclaimed writers.

A novelist, short story writer, children’s literature master, journalist, pamphleteer, columnist etc, Ekwensi gave the world a formidable body of work that can never be wished away.

He was a nonpareil craftsman of popular literature who got to the heart of his readers without any unnecessary dabbling into obscurantism and self-serving ambiguities.

Cyprian Ekwensi is Mister Nigeria, born in Minna in the North on September 26, 1921 of Igbo parentage and lived most of his life in the Western part of the country.

Ekwensi was without question the most Nigerian of Nigeria’s tribe of writers.

He was versed in Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba cultures, as much as he equally dwelt on the life and mores of the minorities.

He deservedly earned his celebration across the length and breadth of the country as a pan-Nigerian phenomenon.

His work has been acknowledged all over the world such that while I was in Canada as a Distinguished Visitor, I was told

by Professor Peter Desbarats, Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of Western Ontario, that Ekwensi’s Jagua Nana was the only book from Nigeria he had ever read.

Some critics tagged Ekwensi as Africa’s Daniel Defoe, after the THEWILLNIGERIA

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irrepressible author of such classics as Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders.

Ekwensi was a progenitor of Onitsha Market Literature when, back in 1947, he published When Love Whispers to spur the market literature that flowered in the Nigerian city of Onitsha after the Second World War. His novel People of the City became one of the pioneer titles of Heinemann’s African Writers Series, such that alongside Chinua Achebe he gave the world a different view of the canon.

The versatility of Ekwensi can be seen in his novel Burning Grass that helped in no small measure to put the Fulani nomads in the global map of literature.

The disease of wandering known as ‘Sokugo’ was popularised

by Ekwensi but let’s not go there because of the wandering president!

It is in the documentation of city life that Ekwensi earned lasting plaudits from the literary critics. One of his novels, Jagua Nana, dwells on the travails of the eponymous ageing prostitute and her tango with the young and dashing Freddie.

The book attracted sustained film interest from overseas and it was debated in the Nigerian Parliament of the First Republic, which stopped its filming by an Italian film company.

Ekwensi eventually wrote a sequel of the novel, Jagua Nana’s Daughter, published by Joop Berkhout’s Spectrum Books, Ibadan.

A yarn-spinner with legendary page-turning intensity, Ekwensi authored The Passport of Mallam Illia, which remains an everlasting adventure story that grips the reader from the first page to the last.

Ekwensi’s titles such as An African Night’s Entertainment and The Drummer Boy are ever-present staples in the junior secondary school curriculum in Nigeria.

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An old title of his written early in his career but not published, For a Roll of Parchment, was released by Heinemann, Ibadan, and it bore all the hallmarks of the Ekwensi mystique in Nigeria’s promotion of paper qualification.

For a man who had his training as a pharmacist and worked in forestry, Ekwensi astounded the world with his high literary output.

Some critics like Bernth Lindfors had said harsh things about the quality of Ekwensi’s writings while other equally eminent literary scholars such as Ernest Emenyonu rose up solidly in defence of the man from Nkwelle-Ezunaka in Anambra State.

He maintained a home in the very heart of the city of Lagos, at Ojuelegba Road to the very end. His service in the public sphere had been stellar. From 1957 to 1961, he was the Head of Features at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.

He later earned the distinction as the first Nigerian Director of Information in the Federal Ministry of Information.

Ekwensi was the Director-General of Radio Biafra during the Civil War and became the Chairman of the East Central State Library Board after the war.

He would later become the Managing Director of the Star Printing and Publishing Company, Enugu, publishers of the Star group of newspapers.

He was appointed Information Commissioner, Anambra State, in 1983 and reputedly coined the acronym WAI - War Against Indiscipline - that the military regime of General Muhammadu Buhari put into effect.

All the kidnappers, robbers, debtors, looters, and ill-assorted brigands and prostitutes being paraded all over the nation today are quintessential Ekwensi characters! He created all of them in his many fictions before he died.

This way, Cyprian Ekwensi can never really die!

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DECEMB ER 12 - DE CE MBE R 18, 2021 w w w.t hewillnig eri a. c om VOL .1 N O.4 4

Nigerian Breweries: Slump in Q3 Profit Dims Dividend Prospects

BY SAM DIALA

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igerian Breweries Plc posted a huge decline of N852 million in its Group profit after tax (PAT) for the third quarter (Q3) of 2021. This represents a 63 percent drop from N1.35 billion recorded in the corresponding Q3 (Quarter-to-Date) of 2020 to N498 million in the Q3 (Qurterto-Date) review period – all at Group level. To some extent, the company’s nine-month performance as of September 2021 seems to strike a reversal chord from the sharp fall of 2020 to a quantum leap in the current financial year. But the Q3 PAT plunge has reconfigured the platform for positive prospects.

Notwithstanding the relatively impressive nine-month (cumulative) performance, which offers grounds for a good dividend outlook for the year, the plunge in Q3 profit is set to alter investors’ prospects in this regard. They may therefore have to wait for another full year, at least, before the growth trajectory truncated by the 2020 COVID-19 year, is restored.

A look at the five-year report of the firm shows that 2020 marked three years of sustained drop in profit for the 75-yearold multinational brewing giant. The firm’s PAT dropped from N33 billion in 2017 to N19.4 billion in 2018 representing 41.3 percent; it thereafter tumbled further to N16.1 billion in 2019

before pulverizing to N7.5 billion in 2020.

While the plunge to N7.52 billion in 2020 can be traced to the COVID-19 pandemic, the declining trend before then, after 2017 when PAT rose to N33 billion from N28.39 billion, was a source of worry to investors amid the difficult operating environment.

With post-COVID-19 recovery setting the pace in corporate activities, investors were anxious to see resumption of positive return-on-investment, hence the concern that the disruption in Q3 profit performance created. Moreover, analysts had predicted mixed fortunes based on the firm’s H1 report, indicating that the dividend prospect for the year would be positive amid a return to growth trajectory.

“Although NB’s top-line performance reflects the firm’s recovery to pre-pandemic levels, we are not entirely optimistic about its bottom-line growth given the tepid economic recovery of the operating environment — FX illiquidity, high inflationary pressures, higher inputs costs amid further currency devaluation are likely to persist throughout 2021.

Furthermore, consumers’ price sensitivity poses a downside Continues on next page

Purging MMIA of Corrupt MDAs’ Officials, Others

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Nigerian Capital Market Launches Central Counterparty (CCP) PAGE 35

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

ver the years, stakeholders in the nation’s aviation industry have lodged complaints about some corrupt officials of Ministries, Departments and

MORE INSIDE

Agencies (MDAs), particularly at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. Aware of the growing trend of corruption at the

Continues on next page

NCC Bags 2021 ITREALMS Telecom E-Waste Regulator Award

Develop Products to Deepen Capital Market Retail Participation – FMDQ

BY SAM DIALA s a way of increasing the inclusion rate in the Nigerian capital market, stakeholders have canvassed the introduction of “sachet” sized technology-driven products that would drive increased retail investors patronage in the capital market, particularly the younger generation.

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AVIATION/INDUSTRY Purging MMIA of Corrupt MDAs’ Officials, Others

Nigerian Breweries: Slump in Q3 Profit Dims Dividend Prospects

Continued from previous page

Continued from previous page

airport, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) recently frowned at the activities of these government workers.

Their observation is coming at a time the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has said it is currently investigate six agency personnel that were caught extorting passengers at the airport.

The Authority has also said it will escalate this to the National Security Adviser (NSA) and initiate a permanent ban on the culprits, which simply means that they will not be able to work in any airport in the country ever again.

This was made known at the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat Training session on Promoting Ease of doing business and Customer Service for MDAs operating at the Airports (Front-line officers) held in MMIA Conference Centre Lagos.

Special Adviser to the President on the Ease of Doing Business, Dr Jumoke Odulowe, who expressed the mood of the presidency over the series of viral videos that had been trending on social media, warned that if the leaders of the agencies were not held responsible for their subordinates’ actions, there might be a clean sweep as the inefficiency and corruption at the MMIA had become unbearable.

Speaking to uniformed personnel at the airport including FAAN AVSEC, Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Quarantine Dr Odulowe described the MMIA as ‘no man’s land,’ a place where officials do anything they like without consequences.

Managing director of FAAN, Captain Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu, who spoke on the current malaise explained that in the light of the current corruption and extortion issues, the authority would compile a list of violators monthly, as well as video clips or bank statements of people who have been extorted or harassed for each agency and copy the National Security Adviser (NSA), PEBEC and the Minister of Aviation.

Yadudu said, “In the light of these videos, I called an emergency meeting and I said, if this continues and nothing is done, it means, the MD of FAAN and other agency heads themselves are sharing the money, if there is money. They are sharing the benefits, if there are benefits. If things are happening and there is no reaction then there is a problem, somebody is getting it.

“The action we are taking now is if you are caught, THEWILLNIGERIA

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MMIA will write to the headquarters of FAAN and make a compilation every month. We will submit for each agency, their list of violators, as well as video clips or bank statements of the people that have been extorted or harassed or otherwise violated, to their headquarters and copy the National Security Adviser (NSA), PEBEC and the Minister of Aviation. That way, the agencies will be forcing themselves to say ‘don’t embarrass us’.

“We will enforce discipline and we will not cover up. Cover ups are the biggest cause of the issue. Agencies want to cover their own, FAAN wants to cover its own, stakeholders and airlines want to cover theirs as well. That is why people who are doing minimal violations graduate overtime and become emboldened. As a result, others who are not involved in it see that they are at a disadvantage because the others have more money and privileges and so they join.

“In our own FAAN, among the people we caught was an AVSEC. After we initiated his ban from airports permanently across Nigeria, he cannot work in any airport in Nigeria. The agency has to replace him. It is a black mark. If we identify any bad egg, we will ban such a person for life, take his ODC and nothing will happen. So is it worth it? Must it go to that length? No. “Right now I have six names reported and submitted to me last Friday. Some agencies will even take money, put it in the passport and then pass it to another. The officer will then look at it, remove the money and return the passport. I’m saying it now because we don’t want to catch and embarrass Nigerians.”

“

Some agencies will even take money, put it in the passport and then pass it to another.

The officer will then look at it, remove the money and return the passport

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risk to the brewer’s business.

“On the flip side, we are impressed with the growth in earnings delivered by Nigerian Breweries, and we believe the company is bestpositioned amongst its peers to brave the current macroeconomic headwinds and deliver improved earnings in Q3-21,” said analysts at InvestData.

As predicted, Nigerian Breweries for the nine-month period of 2021 (at September 30), grew its revenue by 32.1 percent to N309.22 billion from N234.02 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2020.

Further breakdown of the audited result showed that profit for the company during the nine-month period also grew from N7.1 billion to 8.47 billion, representing a 20.1 percent rise.

Cost of Sales rose significantly by 37.9 percent from N144.1 billion in 2020 to N198.74billion in the period under review in 2021, while Marketing, Distribution, and Administration Expenses also grew by 27.2 per cent from N67.86 billion in 2020 to N86.32 billion in 2021.

The board of directors of the company had approved an interim dividend of N3.23 billion payable to shareholders at 40 kobo each per ordinary share of 40k.

A statement signed by the Company Secretary/Legal Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Uaboi Agbebaku, revealed that the firm is committed to its strategy to deliver improved growth as it continues to monitor the business environment and remain dynamic in its response to challenges confronting the business as well as that of the economy, particularly in the face of COVID-19 pandemic.

Agbebaku explained that the company would continue to deploy cost-efficient measures to keep the balance sheet strong and healthy while ensuring that the health, safety and welfare of its employees, customers and partners are protected.

“The company did well to have declared an interim dividend; that will rekindle investors’ confidence in the old generation brewing firm.

However, the significant decline in profit recorded in the third quarter, which ends the nine-month period, makes it difficult for NB to sustain the dividend trajectory that had been anticipated in the course of the year based on the previous quarters’ reports. Investors should rather recondition their minds that the company is still not yet out of the woods,” said Abiodun Michael, an investment analyst.

Michael told THEWILL that high operating expenses mitigated against Nigerian Breweries in its post-COVID-19 recovery effort, such that an increase in the prices of its products could not halt the advserse effects to make a

“

... the significant decline in profit recorded in the third quarter, which ends the nine-month period, makes it difficult for NB to sustain the dividend trajectory that had been anticipated in the course of the year based on the previous quarters’ reports meaningful impact.

He pointed out that the excitement that greeted the relatively impressive performance of the firm in H1 2021 had been diluted with the huge slump in PAT in Q3 (July-September) 2021.

In the last five years (2016-2020) Nigerian Breweries recorded a mixed performance in key fundamentals, with the last three years (2018-2020) bearing the brunt of the firm’s challenging outlook.

Revenue rose from N313.74 billion in 2016 to N337 billion in 2020, which showed the company’s aggressive marketing strategy to survive the challenges of 2020 COVID-19 restrictions and the 15-month land border closure.

PAT tumbled to N7.52 billion in 2020 from the 2016 height of N28.39 billion, while dividend per share thinned to 176 kobo from the peak of 460 kobo as Earning Per Share (EPS), which recorded 385 kobo in 2016, dipped to 92 kobo in 2020. The company’s share price also slumped from N136 in 2016 to N56 in 2020.

What the nine-month 2021 report shows is that the company is likely to continue the growth trajectory to the end of the year but moderately on a ‘scuttled’ trend caused by the huge slump in Q3 PAT. The festive season is likely to see a spike in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector, especially the brewing sub-sector, as demand for alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages looms large.

Accordingly, the 2022 Q1 result will put Nigerian Breweries on a speed lane to fuller recovery.

The Corporate Communications Department of Nigerian Breweries insists that the firm’s nine-month report showed an impressive performance.

From their intereation with this newspaper, they would rather focus on that than bother about a plunge in Q3 PAT.

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ICT ANTHONY AWUNOR writes on the impact of 5G network on public health and safety

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t the Senate Public hearing of February 25, 2021, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy (FMoCDE), Prof Isa Pantami, made an effort to allay the fears of Nigerians on the deployment of the 5G mobile network in the country. He said there was no known scientific evidence that 5G technology posed any risk to public health and safety.

Allaying Fears On Health Impact of 5G Mobile Network

Corroborating the minister, the Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, also said that, with all available information, nothing had been able to show that masts were dangerous to public health.

Speaking at a media capacity-building workshop tagged, ‘5G Technology and The Next Level of Nigeria’s Development,’ Prof Danbatta, who was represented by the Head, Fixed Network and Converged Services Unit of NCC, Mr Anthony Ikemefuna, noted that if masts were dangerous to health, most Nigerians would have been adversely affected right from the days of 1G, 2G and 3G moble networks.

In his paper titled, ‘Setting The Stage for 5G Journey; Requirements, Deployment and Challenges,’ Danbatta averred that it was not true that the COVID-19 pandemic was triggered by the 5G mobile network as rumoured in some quarters.

Explaining the impact of the 5G network on human health, the EVC said, “There are no specifically proven evidence of any negative impact on human health associated with radiation from mobile networks, including 5G”.

“The following organisations: World Health Organisation (WHO), UK Advisory Group and Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR), The Institute for Engineering and Technology (IET), International Commission for Nonionising Radiation Protection (ICNIP) were very clear to the effect that radiation from mobile networks and devices, including 5G, has no known or scientifically proven negative health impact”.

Giving the assurance that electromagnetic radiation emission from the 5G mobile network is far safer than the preceding generations of mobile networks, Danbatta added, “Given the densification of cell

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sites that will arise as a result of 5G deployment, the Commission will need to effectively collaborate with other relevant government agencies, such as the National Assembly (NASS), the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) towards sensitising and educating the general public on the low health impact of 5G base stations.”

Also presenting his paper, which was focused on ‘20 Years of GSM Revolution In Nigeria,’ NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, maintained that telecommunication is an essential infrastructural component that promotes the development of other sectors, including agriculture, education, industry, health, banking, defence, transportation and tourism.

Adinde, who was represented by the Head, Online Media and Special Publication, NCC, Dr Omoniyi Ibietan, listed the commission’s challenges to include vandalism, multiple taxation, right of way issues, indiscriminate shut down of facilities, Insecurity, power, etc.

Adinde said, “It is not yet uhuru for us in the industry. There are challenges facing the telecom sector. Nigeria needs to maintain its leadership position in the digital drive. This is one of the reasons why the Commission

“

Danbatta

The workshop, organised by the NCC in partnership with The Cable Newspaper created an opportunity for experts to deliberate on the deployment of 5G technology in Nigeria and its impact on the nation’s socio-economic development. Health and safety issues around the deployment of the technology were also dissected.

Pantami

He stressed that the radiation from the “090” network used in the late 1980s, was even more than what we have today.

Even more disturbing is the attitude of some religious leaders, who without any empirical, scientific or technical evaluation, latched on to the theory and helped to massively, across various platforms, sell lies and total falsehood to unsuspecting adherents of their faith

is engaging with you as a strategic partner in the industry, as we express our commitment to advancing the digital transformation for the overall benefit of our beloved country.”

In his presentation, the Publisher of Political Economist, Mr Ken Ugbechie, who spoke on ‘The Role of The Media in The Deployment of 5G in Nigeria’ advised the media to dismantle all THEWILLNIGERIA

conspiracy theories boldly and loudly and reassure the Nigerian audiences that if 1G did not give them malaria, 2G did not birth diarrhoea, 3G did not produce pneumonia or 4G HIV there is no way 5G could be the causative agent of the coronavirus, cancer or autism.

“But I must admit that the Nigerian media has not done enough to disabuse the mind of skeptics that there is no relationship between 5G and COVID-19. This surely underscores how unimportant the media rates this misplaced theory. Yet, it bears restating that conspiracy theorists have been unrelenting in pushing across their baseless and unfounded falsehood.

“Even more disturbing is the attitude of some religious leaders, who without any empirical, scientific or technical evaluation, latched on to the theory and helped to massively, across various platforms, sell lies and total falsehood to unsuspecting adherents of their faith.

“A particular popular televangelist was vehement in his propagation of the falsehood that the underground fibre optic cabling project across Lagos State for much of last year was meant to plant the coronavirus in every neighbourhood.

“Today, December 9, 2021, several months after the cables were laid, the coronavirus has not overrun Lagos or killed Lagosians in their thousands.”

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BUSINESS NEWS NCC Bags 2021 ITREALMS Telecom E-Waste Regulator Award

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

T

L – R: Divisional Head, Listings Business, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Olumide Bolumole; Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigerian Communications Plc (MTNN), Karl Toriola; Chief Executive Officer, Chapel Hill Denham, Bolaji Balogun, and Chief Financial Officer/Executive Director, MTNN, Modupe Kadiri, at the Retail Roadshow event for the MTN Initial Public Offer held in Ikeja, Lagos on 6/12/ 2021.

Develop Products to Deepen Capital Nigerian Capital Market Market Retail Participation – FMDQ Launches Central Counterparty (CCP)

Continued from page 16

The Managing Director and Chief Executive of FMDQ, Mr Bola Onadele, said this at the 2021 annual workshop of the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) with the theme: “Technology as a Tool for Financial Inclusion in Nigeria.”

Onadele noted that one way to increase retail investors in the market is to develop products specifically for the target demographic.

Onadele, who was represented by Group Head, Research at FMDQ, Dr Vincent Nwani, said developing products in the capital market that would appeal to the unbanked and financially excluded would be the way to increase the level of financial inclusion in the country.

Noting that the country has only been able to achieve 15 per cent increase in inclusion rate over five years, he said Nigeria has the potential to do more than Kenya which reduced its financially excluded populace by 60 per cent in three years.

“Currently 36 per cent of adult Nigerians are not financially included. Statistics in Kenya show that it is less than seven percent the same as South Africa. Kenya is as rural as Nigeria so what have we done to learn from them?

“Everyone knows the story of M-pesa and we even have a company such as eTranzact that is as powerful as Mpesa but how do we unlock it. So going forward, we need to develop platforms and products that talk to the economic and social characteristics of the unbanked or excluded population.

“Where are they, who are they, how do they currently live their life and what do they like? Even for those of us in the investment world are we designing products to suit these people? Are we THEWILLNIGERIA

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reducing our products to the lowest denomination, the sachet sized model?

“Nigeria is driven by the informal sector, with 65 percent of her GDP in the informal sector. For us to catch these people, we need to go lower. Kenya, through the M-pesa, which is the nonbank mobile money framework, was able to bring financial services even in the hinterlands with market women in the farms having access to payment systems, savings and investments.

“Here we are talking about the capital market, a small aspect of financial inclusion. Insurance, pension are also aspects of financial inclusion that we should be exploring, if we are going to grow this market and improve through technology, meet them where they are.”

He further stressed the need to reach out to the financially excluded through technology, saying, “these are the people that need health, so we move into health tech, food tech or agric tech.

“We have stockbroking firms with minimum account opening of N5 million but then we also have those with minimum of zero balance and that is the sachet size model I am talking about.

“Even big men in Nigeria want to buy things that are very small and we have to replicate the sachet size model in the capital market. It has worked in everything it is applied to in this country so why don’t we in the capital market adopt it,” Onadele said.

He said market stakeholders needed to design investment products to align with financial inclusion strategies to get to the hinterland.

Onadele added that the exchange would in the first quarter of next year unveil new products tailored to meeting the investing needs of the masses.

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he Nigerian Capital Market witnessed a monumental milestone as NG Clearing limited, the first Central Counterparty in West Africa, formally launched her operations.

The launch of NG Clearing as a CCP means that exchange-traded derivatives are now a possibility in the Nigerian Capital market. As a Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI), NG Clearing facilitates the clearing and settlement of exchange-traded derivatives, management of counterparty risk, reduction of systemic risk, and promotion of the safety and integrity of Nigeria’s capital market. This opens new and clear opportunities for investors, stakeholders, and other players in Nigeria’s capital market.

The event was hybrid, and it had a mix of high-profile physical and virtual participants. The Secretary-General to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha was represented by Mr. Paul Kanu. The Governor of Lagos State was also represented by Mrs. Alake Sanusi. The legislative arm of the Nigerian Government was represented

by Honorable Babangida Ibrahim, The Chairman, House Committee on Capital Markets.

The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, The Hon. Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, The Hon. Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment Otunba Adebayo Adeniyi, The Director-General of the SEC, Dr. Lamido Yuguda, The Deputy Governor, Financial Systems Stability Directorate, Mrs. Aisha Ahmad and Mr. Tony Elumelu CON, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings all participated virtually with speeches and special remarks.

•Continues online at www.thewillnigeria.com

he Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has bagged the 2021 ITREALMS Telecom E-Waste Regulator Award.

The award was presented on behalf of the management of ITREALMS Media group by the president of the National Association of Telecom Subscribers (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, at the 2021 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue held Thursday at the Welcome Centre Hotels, Lagos, with the theme “e-Waste in Nigeria: Consumer as key to Circular Economy & 20 years of GSM.” Speaking on the award, the Executive Editor-in-Chief of ITREALMS Media, Mr. Remmy Nweke, said the award was in recognition of the Commission’s commitment in the regulation of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in the telecom sector.

The event keynoted by the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who was represented by the Head of New Media, Dr. Ominiyi Ibietan, dwelt on “20 years of GSM and e-Waste in Nigeria.”

He said that Chief Ogunbanjo was accompanied at the presentation by the president, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and publisher of RealNews, Maureen Chigbo; publisher of Newsmart, Rose Mose; Teach & Admin Officer at the E-Waste Producer Responsibility Organisation of Nigeria (E-PRON) Ms Mofesayo Oyedeji, Executive Director, DigitalSENSE Africa, Mrs Nkem Nweke.

He recalled that the NCC is the independent national regulatory authority for the telecommunications sector in Nigeria. The Commission is responsible for creating an enabling environment for competition among operators in the industry as well as ensuring the provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country.

Created under Decree No. 75 by the [Federal Military Government of Nigeria] on 24 November 1992, the Commission was charged with the responsibility of regulating the supply of telecommunications services and facilities, promoting competition, and setting performance standards for telephone services in Nigeria.

Over the years, the NCC has earned a reputation as a leading telecom regulatory agency on the continent of Africa. The Commission strives to catalyze the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT’s) for different aspects of national development. In this regard, NCC has initiated several programmes such as State Accelerated Broadband Initiative (SABI) and Wire Nigeria Project (WIN) to help stimulate demand and accelerate the uptake of ICT tools and services necessary for the enthronement of a knowledge society in the country.

In order to achieve its mandate, the Commission being currently led by the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has put in place some necessary licensing and regulatory framework for the supply of telecommunications services, especially using “ASPIRE 2024” – (A: Advancement through S: Strategy, P: Professionalism, I: Innovation and R: Regulatory, E: Excellence).

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NIGERIAN MARITIME ADMINISTRATION AND SAFETY AGENCY (NIMASA) (Established under the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act, 2007) Maritime House: 4 Burma Road, Apapa, P.M.B. 12861, Lagos.

E-mail: info@nimasa.gov.ng Website: www.nimasa.gov.ng

MN 12/21/SN01

MARINE NOTICE TO ALL: Ship Owners, Shipping Companies, International Oil Companies (IOCs), Ship Operators, Terminal Operators, Dock labour Employers, Stevedoring Companies, Ship Masters/ Captains/ Agents, Maritime Stakeholders, and the Public.

RENEWAL OF REVISED STEVEDORING SERVICES RATES

Further to the Agency’s regulatory powers to ensure 6. compliance with the provisions of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Stevedoring Regulations 2014 particularly Regulation 16(4) that empowers the Agency to review levies, fees and charges stipulated in the Regulations and issue directive(s) on the reviewed rates, NOTICE is hereby given as follows: 7.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

S/N

That further to the Marine Notice published on the 23rd of April 2021 and referenced MN04/21/SN01, the Agency has resolved to renew the Offshore Cargo Handling and Operations Stevedoring rates contained in the second Schedule of the NIMASA Stevedoring Regulations 2014.

That the downward review of the Offshore Cargo Handling and Operations Stevedoring rates contained in the second Schedule of the NIMASA Stevedoring Regulations 2014 has been renewed for a period of six (6) months commencing from the date of publication of this Marine Notice.

That this renewal is necessitated by the COVID 19 pandemic and its overall effect on business activities globally, particularly the cost of production in the petroleum industry in Nigeria.

That the revised rates applies to dry bulk cargo, liquid bulk cargo, onshore stevedoring and offshore Royalty.

That the renewed revised rates are detailed below as follows: TYPE OF OPERATION

EXTANT RATES AS PROVIDED IN THE REGULATIONS

REVISED RATES

NIMASA Charges

Onshore $19.8/MT Payment in Lieu of Services N760.00/MT (Offshore Royalty)

$18.80/MT 0.5% N500/MT

0.5%

3.

Bulk Liquid

$8.00/MT

$2.40/MT

0.5%

4.

Dry Bulk

$8.00/MT

$4.00/MT

0.5%

1.

2.

SIGNED: PAGE 36

That for the purpose of clarity on payment and recoverability of Dockworkers wages and other statutory earnings on accrued tonnages, the Offshore (Royalty) have been re-categorised as “payment in Lieu of Services”.

That the renewed revised rates is for a period of 6 months only commencing from the date of publication of this marine notice and may be further renewed for another period of six months vide the publication of another marine notice.

8.

That following the expiration of this marine notice, the Agency would revert to the Offshore Cargo Handling and Operations Stevedoring rates as contained in the second schedule of the NIMASA Stevedoring Regulations 2014 except the duration of the new rate is extended via the issuance of another marine notice.

9.

That all other provisions of the NIMASA Stevedoring Regulations 2014 remain valid and compliance with same is compulsory; and

10. That non-conformity with the foregoing requirements will be punishable under Regulation 17 of the NIMASA Stevedoring Regulations 2014.

• NOTE: THE RENEWED REVISED RATES IS ONLY A TEMPORARY MEASURE TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF COVID 19 AND AS SUCH, THE AGENCY WOULD REVERT TO THE OLD RATES AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE. Please be guided.

For further enquiries, please contact: The Director, Maritime Labour Services Email: aliyu.lawan@nimasa.gov.ng or aliyulawan@gmail.com Telephone: +2348033037131

MANAGEMENT THEWILLNIGERIA

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DECEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 2021 DECEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 18,18, 2021 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P ER T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com • www.thewillnigeria.com

OLUFEMI OLASEINDE OLUSOLA

THE PERFUME COLLECTOR PAGE 37-42

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Olufemi Olaseinde Olusola speaks on his passion for perfumes, his business, Seinde Signature and the paid studio experience he offers his clients at his ‘perfume museum,’ in this interview with IVORY UKONU. Excerpts:

Olusola

I’D RATHER SPEND N1M ON PERFUMES THAN ON CLOTHES – OLASEINDE OLUSOLA A

lthough your line of business is a popular one, it is peculiar in terms of the kind of perfumes you stock and the services you render alongside it. How did you come about this?

I saw the market for it and decided to explore it. I didn’t set out to sell perfumes. It started as a hobby. Somewhere along the line during the COVID-19 period when I had nothing to do, I began posting things on my social media platform, including my perfume collection. Perfume enthusiasts began to send me messages. Some wanted to know what some of the perfumes smelt like. Others wanted to know where they could get them to buy.

Some wanted to come to my residence to see my collection and quite a handful succeeded in trooping to my residence to see them. I had to stop people from coming to my house at some point, got an office and created a paid experience for people, who were interested. They came in, savoured the scent of the perfumes in the collection, learnt about their history and the ingredients used in making them, which are mostly natural, decided what they wanted to pick up and then we got it for them.

I call it the Seinde Studio Experience or the perfume museum where you are made to feel at home as you navigate through different collections. If you had asked me at the beginning if I sold perfume when I started out, I would have said no.

Isn’t that what you do?

I give you an experience. Besides, what I do is borne out of passion unlike a lot of people in this line of business. They are only in it for the money, which is why they all sell the same thing. They may be designer perfumes, but they are mass produced. For some of us that are deep into perfumes, our needs can’t be satisfied because they can’t provide what we need. In the process of opening the perfume museum or experience studio, some of the manufacturers of the perfumes became interested in working with us by bringing their products to the country. We then found ourselves in the middle of the

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Olusola

manufacturer and the end user, hence it became a business.

When you say you are deep into perfume, I guess that makes you and addict I won’t call it an addiction. What you are addicted to can take over and kill you if you are not careful. Being deep into perfumes can’t do that. It’s just a readjustment of priorities. I am a grandfather of two and will be clocking 60 next year, but I don’t like or do some of the things my contemporaries do with money. I don’t spray money at parties and I don’t smoke etc.

That is what they like to do and spend money satisfying that craving. I like perfumes and so I spend my money acquiring them. That is what makes me happy. The way you eat different kinds of food, instead of being stuck with one kind of food is the same way I stock up different kinds of perfumes. Those who stick to one, two or three kinds of perfumes, only do so in order to smell good. What I have for perfume is a lifestyle.

I feel naked when I don’t wear perfume. Some people do not know that the sense of smell is the most important of all our senses, it is very powerful. I used to travel out only to buy perfumes. That is how passionate I am about perfumes. Let me shock you even further: I will buy perfume before I eat. If there is a perfume of N1million, I will buy it. But if you bring me a shirt or a pair of shoes and tell me the shirt costs N 200,000, I won’t buy it because it is too expensive. My attention is on perfumes. That’s what is important to me. Life is about value, not cost. It is whatever you place value on that you put your money on. So, I place a lot of value on perfumes and that’s where I will rather spend my money.

How large is your personal collection?

About 1,300 perfume bottles. I have a whole room filled with perfumes.

How are you able to use all of them? Do you spray a cocktail of them at once?

No, one at a time. I may use one today and not use it again for

a year because of the number of bottles in my possession. I am not talking small millilitres. The quest for a new scent drives this passion.

What is the oldest perfume in your collection?

The one I would have called the oldest perfume in my collection was the one I wore on my wedding day, which was in June 1990. I liked it so much that when it finished, I bought another one. I had it for five years before it finished. You may think I am careful about spraying perfumes, which is why it lasted that long, but I create a bubble with my perfumes such that if you hug me, the scent will linger on you for the whole day.

Shouldn’t there be a particular way to spray perfumes, instead of creating bubbles?

Perfumes are actually meant for the skin, not fabrics. As for me, after taking my bath, I use a moisturizer, if I want, because it makes the perfume to last longer. If you apply body cream before spraying the perfume on your body, the perfume stays longer on you, even till the next day. The perfume stays on the cream and doesn’t penetrate into your body. After dressing up, I will spray it some more. So yes there are certain points where you spray perfume on your body: Your pulse points, behind your ears, your inner elbows, behind your knees. You can spray perfume anywhere, but those places make the perfume to settle down well.

What is the difference between what you sell and what others sell?

There are lots of high-quality perfumes, the majority of which do not get into the country. Most perfumes people know like Gucci, Christian Dior, etc, are called mainstream perfumes because they are mass produced by multinationals so that they can be distributed worldwide, easily, anywhere, at airports, shops, etc. What I sell are called niche perfumes. They are produced by smaller companies and they go round the world THEWILLNIGERIA

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to source for materials to produce them. These materials are mostly organic materials. These ones are high-quality perfumes and they don’t come cheap. With these kinds of perfumes, you see the transmission from first note to base note. The perfumes I sell are exclusive and can’t be found in any store in Nigeria.

Some of the stores you see stocking the perfumes we sell are those we collaborate with, who must have gone through the necessary training required to sell them.

to expand your world to know what is going on. Nigerians have limited knowledge and they are too lazy mentally. Everything is about what somebody else is doing or what they think they know without actually thinking. But when you expand your horizon and see what you can do, then you find out that you are

What does first, middle or base note mean?

When you spray perfume, the scent that comes out, which is the first note, is different from when it gets to the middle base and when it finally settles on your skin, which is the final smell or base level. By then it’s reacting with your skin chemistry and body temperature. That’s the level that lasts longer on your body. So when you buy perfume and just spray it without even allowing it to get to the medium or base level, you might just be buying the wrong thing because you didn’t allow it to settle in, which could take a few minutes and or an hour. Some perfumes are good at the top, but not good in the middle or the base, while some will not be good at the top but very good at the base. A lot of people don’t know this, which is why most people in Nigeria buy perfumes based on recommendation. This is where the experience studio comes in. It is where you can actually come and see how a perfume works and then make a decision to either buy at the end of the studio experience or return after being fully convinced.

And for those who buy perfumes and can’t tell the difference between eau de toilette or eau de parfum?

It is simply the level of the concentration of the perfume oil inside it. The higher the perfume oil, the longer the smell lasts. The lowest one is the body mist with probably two or five per cent perfume oil in them. This is followed by cologne, then eau de toilet (EDT). This has maybe 11 per cent perfume oil. This is followed by eau de parfum (EDP), which has a higher percentage. And there is the pure perfume, which has a higher quantity of perfume oil. But the highest you will ever get will probably be one with a 25 per cent concentration of perfume oil, which is quite high. In most cases, regulators do not allow up to that percentage in perfumes. Then we have the pure oil perfume. Those ones are quite expensive, not the type they sell in Nigeria that is everywhere.

What is the most expensive perfume in your studio?

Our most expensive perfume is N700, 000. Depending on the type of material that is used for the perfume, it can go as high as N1 million. They smell different and their performance is top notch. They are not the type that you have to spray a second time to smell nice. Once you use it, it stays on you for a long time without having to spray it at intervals. However not all the perfumes I sell are that expensive, but all my perfumes are exclusive to me.

What exactly does it cost to have the Seinde Studio Experience?

N50,000 for four hours. What I have in the studio is my personal collection. It comes with canapé and a glass of champagne. We just want you to feel the luxurious experience.

It’s like somebody inviting you for dinner, but instead decided to take you to a Seinde Studio Experience and you are eating something and smelling nice things. That is another experience on its own. Perfume connects you to your history. You smell some perfumes and it brings back memories. So, when you come for the luxurious experience you never ever forget. We have a beautiful testing table devoted to discovery. At the end, you get a certificate that you have smelled niche fragrances with us.

Are Nigerians aware of these luxury perfumes?

Trust me, they are aware. Each time we host an event, we see the way people react to it. A research study recently revealed that Nigeria has 43,000 millionaires in dollars. The luxury market in Nigeria is massive and it is worth trillions. I can tell you that there are more Mercedes Benz G-Wagon SUVs on Nigerian roads than on the streets of London. That may not be a yardstick for measuring luxury or wealth as there are some wealthy people in Nigeria, who do not own luxury cars.

Trust me, Nigerians, who are aware of my luxury perfumes are more than willing to part with large sums of money to acquire them. Nigerians have money, but it’s just about where they put their attention on and what they know, because you can’t go beyond what you know. If you don’t know that these kinds of perfumes exist, you can’t have them. For example, if you don’t know that there is a car called Rolls Royce, you are not going to buy it. If the best car in your mind is a Peugeot 404, then that’s what you are going to buy because that’s what you are thinking of, even if you have the money for Rolls Royce.

It’s about what you know, not what you have. If you don’t place a value on anything, you won’t put your money on it. You have THEWILLNIGERIA

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“

I have another perfume called ‘Esu’, which is made in Thailand. The manufacturers called it a popular Yoruba god.

The character of the devil is very tricky, so they made the perfume with that feature. The reason why they call it ‘Esu’ is because anytime you wear it, the scent changes

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actually not limited by anything.

Something must have triggered your love for perfumes.

What was that?

My father. He liked to smell good. When I was growing up, the whole house had to smell of something really good, whether air freshener or incense. So, I grew up smelling different nice things. When I left school in 1979 and my classmate, who traveled to America for his university education, returned, he brought me a bottle of perfume. That was my first bottle. I bought another type of that perfume, which I have in my studio. Each time I wear it, I get great compliments from people. To every perfume, there is a history.

Speaking of history, since what you have is called a perfume museum, what are some of the historical perfumes you have in it?

There is the perfume that the late Princess Diana wore on her wedding day. There is also the first Calvin Klein bottle of perfume produced. We have a bottle of a very particular limited-edition perfume.

Only 200 bottles of that perfume were made worldwide and a bottle comes with a certificate of ownership. There is a perfume called ‘Osun,’ named after a Yoruba god from southwestern Nigeria.

This perfume was made in Romania. All the manufacturers tried to do was make art, not just create a distinct scent. Seeing that ‘Osun’ is the god of fertility and love, they tried to create something that depicts that.

I have another perfume called ‘Esu’, which is made in Thailand. The manufacturers called it a popular Yoruba god. The character of the devil is very tricky, so they made the perfume with that feature. The reason why they call it ‘Esu’ is because anytime you wear it, the scent changes. These are outsiders looking at our culture to create something different. I also stock a brand by a Nigerian perfumer, Catherine Omai. Nigerian retailers refused to partner with her but today, her perfume, Contagious, is much sought after in Europe and it doesn’t come cheap. The perfume is designed with aso oke giving off a rich African culture. I also have perfumes that are made from different materials like poo, sperm, whale puke, etc.

What challenges have you had so far and how did you overcome them?

Challenges are what makes the world go round. However, there were some initial challenges with shipping goods into the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which created unforeseeable time delays. But we are working around it.

What would you say has been your greatest achievement since you started this business?

The fact that manufacturers of the perfume I stock now recognise Nigeria as a place to be and not where people are often kidnapped or where things are so bad. I know these things are happening, but it’s not as bad as the way people abroad assume it to be. They were here during our first anniversary and their experiences, I must say, has given Nigeria’s image a big boost.. The kind of hype they gave Nigeria when they returned home was massive. That to me is a great achievement.

The business is only about a year and some months old.

What are your projections for Seinde Signature in two or five years?

Five years is too long. My projection is to be in only three states.

We are here in Lagos already, but we are looking at expanding to Abuja and Port Harcourt because our products are not for everybody. And then we plan to have a network of retailers all over the country.

What else do you do besides selling luxury perfumes?

This is all I do at present.

Where have you worked before now?

I have worked in advertising, telecommunications etc. I was a serial entrepreneur so to speak.

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STORIES BY IVORY UKONU

Trouble Allegedly Brewing in Seyi Tinubu’s Home

MUSA DANJUMA’S EX-MISTRESS, DANIELLA CANCELS WEDDING D

aniella Allen, ex-mistress of billionaire businessman, Musa Danjuma, who is a younger sibling of Gen Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), has cancelled her much talked about wedding to her AfricanAmerican lover.

The wedding was scheduled to take place on December 11 in the United States where she is now based.

THEWILL gathered that Daniella cancelled the wedding due to the recent ban on flights from African countries. While that is the official reason for cancelling the event, there may be more to it than meets the eye.

Over the last few months, Daniella’s social media posts were riddled with cryptic messages, suggesting that all may allegedly not be well.

In the posts, she always reminded her followers that she succeeded in getting herself a man, who literally worshipped her, despite the dirt thrown at her.

The constant need to shove this

I

Allen & Beau fact down the throats of her loyal followers further shows there could be more to the cancellation of the wedding than meets the eye.

Daniella, whose parents are from Zimbabwe and the UK, took many by surprise a few months ago when she exchanged wedding rings in a secret ceremony that had not more than five people in attendance, as reported exclusively by THEWILL. This was because many expected that at some point, Daniella, who spent the better part of her life in Nigeria where she started a thriving business in fashion design and was involved in a handful of relationships, including one with Abolo Beckham, Tiwa Savage’s current lover, would end up as Musa’s fifth wife.

After all, she was instrumental in wrecking his marriage to his fourth wife, Nollywood actress, Caroline Danjuma. While the relationship lasted, Daniella was the spice of Musa’s life, who couldn’t get enough

of her and openly flaunted her despite being married, a situation that didn’t go down well with Caroline who got physical with her at a point.

Seeing how wasted her efforts were at keeping her marriage, as her husband wasn’t ready to let go of Daniella, Caroline left Musa and filed for divorce. Unperturbed, this further gave room for Daniella and Musa to carry on unhindered.

They both attended social events together and Daniella was always hostess each time Musa threw a party.

Many already saw Daniella as Caroline’s likely replacement and waited for the couple to formalise their relationship. But that didn’t happen. Musa was shell shocked when Daniella suddenly dumped him for a much younger and virile man. Well, she may be wearing the ring today, but as the saying goes, Karma lurks around the corner.

Anna Iyede Reincarnates in Annish Salon And Spa L

Iyede

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ast year when it was alleged that popular Abuja-based luxury hair entrepreneur, Anna Iyede, died of poisoning, many had assumed that her business would automatically fold up.

They were wrong. Her family made sure to keep her legacy alive by sustaining the hair business and growing it to a point where they added a high end hair salon and spa to it, a dream Anna must have nurtured.

The salon, Annish Salon and Spa, which occupies a storey building was officially opened two months ago in loving memory of Anna. Situated in Wuse 2, the opening attracted quite a number of popular faces including late Anna’s parents who graced the opening.

The soft spoken entrepreneur, who was loved by all who came across her, gave up the ghost on June 9 after ingesting poisonous substances over a period of time allegedly given to her by a friend, who owns a restaurant, as confirmed by the hospital where she was taken to for treatment.

t is alleged that all may not be well in the home of Seyi Tinubu, the son of the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his wife, Layal with whom he has two children.

Layal has allegedly moved out of her matrimonial home, unfollowed Seyi on social media and deleted all pictures of him on her social media page.

The bone of contention is alleged to be Seyi’s baby mama and former mistress, Freda Francis who runs upscale Oasis Med Spa. There are reports that Seyi hooked up again with Freda Francis, who already bore him a son named Alexander, and knocked her up a second time. Unlike his wife, Seyi left a handful of his wife’s pictures on his social media page, but immediately refuted the story that Layal moved out of their home and he knocked up Freda a second time.

He insists that the story is false and should be discountenanced.

Freda on her part is yet to respond to the allegation as she has been busy with the burial arrangements for her late mum, who died on October 27. From flying in her remains from London where she passed on, to the service of songs, which took place late November and the funeral, which was held on Thursday, December 9 at a private cemetery in Ikoyi.

However, a cursory look at her

Tinubu & Francis

social media page shows that she last posted a full picture/video of herself on September 18, while on a visit to an art gallery. This won’t be the first time Freda has been accused of causing havoc in other women’s matrimonial homes.

A few years ago, Mabel Makun, wife of comedian Ayo Makun, otherwise known as AY, had to publicly call out Freda and warn her to stay away from her husband. Although Mabel was not unaware of her husband’s alleged flirtation with the opposite sex, the unusual closeness of Freda to AY and the former’s antecedents had triggered her outburst.

After allegedly frolicking with a former state governor who ended

up as a Senate president, Freda attempted to play the part of a good girl by dating a young single man. She settled for singer Iyanya.

The relationship which seemed one-sided ended on a sad note. She moved on with Seyi Tinubu and allegedly bore him a son, who is his spitting image. Their relationship had to be paused because of Seyi’s wife, Layal. Then Freda hooked up with Boniface Odenigbo, one of the co-owners of Buzz Bar. His arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for alleged fraud, to the tune of $35m, ended their relationship. Perhaps her new single status must have prompted this latest allegation.

each other on their respective social media pages and vowing to stay with each other through thick and thin till death separates them.

To the undiscerning, it is just a couple professing love to each other. To the discerning, their declarations of love are nothing but a triumph on the maintenance of their status quo obviously initiated by Elizabeth.

After all, were it not for the alleged exposure of her husband’s alleged

affair with Nollywood actress, Destiny Etiko, perhaps, there may have been no sixth wedding anniversary to celebrate. It took just one picture of Destiny Etiko’s brand new Lexus SUV, which she posted on her social media page earlier this year in celebration of her acquisition, for eagle-eyed observers to connect the dots linking Destiny to Teint, who allegedly bought her the SUV and allegedly funded her lavish lifestyle.

Naturally, both parties denied this.

While Destiny posted some videos on her page to further debunk the rumour, Teint, on his own part, denied knowing who Destiny is talking more of getting her the SUV. To further debunk the allegation, he allegedly got a few public relations experts to either spin the story or stop it from further spreading.

Well, it seems Teint and Elizabeth have both decided to put the unfortunate incident behind them and move on. A wealthy businessman who operates in the oil and gas sector, Teint is the founder of Belema Oil. Elizabeth on her part runs the Elizabeth Jack-Rich Aid foundation, a nongovernmental organisation.

Elizabeth And Teint Jack-Rich Celebrate 6th Wedding Anniversary

The Jack-Richs

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hey project the image of a quintessential couple, showing the right amount of public display of affection, using the right captions for posts about each other and just generally giving off Romeo and Juliet vibes.

They are Elizabeth and Teint Jack-Rich and they recently just celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary with both of them professing undying love for

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STORIES BY SHADE METIBOGUN

SCOAN Holds First Live Service in Almost Two Years

OKEY OGUNJIOFOR’S AMINA BREAKS NETFLIX RECORD

Ogunjiofor

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few weeks ago, seasoned Nollywood producer, Okey Ogunjiofor’s historic movie Amina premiered on Netflix. The movie tells the story of lthe egendary Queen Amina, who reigned in Zaria in the 16th century. The cast of the movie include notable Nollywood actors, such as Ali Nuhu, Asabe Madaki, Clarion Chukwura, Lucy Ameh and a host of others.

The movie was heavily criticised for not truly representing Queen Amina and her culture. The critics accused Ogunjiofor of only focusing on how Amina ascended to the throne of Zazzau, instead of her exploits as a fierce warrior queen. They pointed out that although she ruled over men

and led them to war, women were not subjugated at that time as portrayed in the producer’s opening statement.

The critics also argued that the movie is riddled with historical inaccuracies and mistakes. They described it as below standards in terms of cinematography, cultural relevance, poor screenplay, embarrassing costume design and blundering misrepresentation of ancient Zazzau history.

Stressing that the movie is just a typical Nollywood movie decorated with a Netflix cover, they said a northern movie producer would have done a better job. They also noted that the producers should have involved indigenes and experts like historians, who can serve as consultants at least for fact-checking.

Although they acknowledged that Ogunjiofor might have done that, they were convinced that he did not go the extra mile as he was obviously in a hurry to produce the movie the Nigerian way, which explains why it is riddled with errors.

Despite the criticism trailing the movie, it has broken Netflix’s record and emerged the first Nigerian film to make to be named on a global top ten list. The movie is currently one of the top ten movies being watched globally. Ben Amadasun, Netflix’s Director of Content for Africa, announced this lately, stating that the record-breaking feat was made possible by the sacrifices of both the cast and the production crew who can never be thanked enough.

Blogger Accuses National Daily of Copyright Infringement P

opular blogger, Stella Dimoko-Korkus, has accused Punch newspaper of intellectual property theft. The aggrieved writer made this known after the newspaper published the interview she had with Nollywood actress, Ini Edo without giving her credit.

Stella stated that a respected newspaper should not steal from a ‘small fry’ like her, adding that, anytime she copies stories, she ensures she gives due credits to the sources.

Ironically, about three years ago, the newspaper’s legal team wrote to the blogger, warning her to stay away from its stories. Stella was advised never to pick contents from the company’s website again, despite the fact that she claimed to give credit to the daily.

The blogger complied and she was later given permission to resume taking contents from the website, but with an instruction to give the newspaper credit for it.

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Dimoko-Korkus THEWILLNIGERIA

I

Akinboboye

WANLE AKINBOBOYE’S BEACH RESORT NAILED FOR POOR SERVICE N igerian culture and tourism icon, Wanle Akinboboye might have spent a fortune to establish luxury holiday resorts across Nigeria, but his initiative is being marred by the poor management he put in charge of the resorts. His African themed La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos has been called out for poor service delivery. Despite its reputation as one of the choice destination vacations in Lagos State, some clients, who lodged at the resort over the weekend, have complained of the non-professional conduct and poor managerial skills of its staff. It was gathered that Obiajulu Olabisi Ugboh, one of the co-hosts of Your View, a programme on Television Continental and her friends, who were on vacation at the resort a few months ago, were made to wait for more than six hours before getting conducive rooms to spend the night in, despite paying N1 million for five chalets. Some of the facilities at the resort were in a terrible state due to poor management. The water system in some of the rooms was not working and one of the air conditioning units had developed a mechanical fault and was not cooling. Lodgers were served cold and tasteless food, which cost N5, 500 per plate. Even then, not all the guests were served as the management complained that it had run out of chicken. Despite reactions on social media condemning this and tagging by the lodgers, the management of the resort turned a deaf ear to the complaints and did not deem it fit to apologise for the poor service. It failed to make refunds or compensate the aggrieved guests before their departure.

n June 2021, the world was thrown into mourning after the untimely death of the founder of Synagogue Church of all Nations, SCOAN, Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua. The prominent televangelist passed on a few hours after presiding over a programme in the church.

The church was forced to go on a compulsory break to mourn the untimely demise of its founder.

While on break, the founder’s wife, Evelyn was asked to take over the running of the church.

But one of the disciples, Joseph David, thought otherwise and put his foot down. He insisted that since the late founder had no succession plan before his demise, the board of trustees had no business appointing Evelyn to head the church. He said the founder had five ‘prophets’ who were always with him, he being one of the ‘prophets’.

David added that since the ‘prophets’ handled the administration and spiritual affairs of the congregation when the founder was alive, one of the ‘prophets’ should head the church.

He went on to say that Evelyn was never active administratively but only functioned ceremoniously, adding that her name was removed from the board of trustees of the church before the demise of her husband.

David, who worked for 27 years in the ministry, was immediately tagged an enemy of progress who did not want a smooth succession plan to take place.

He was restricted and his activities placed under scrutiny, while Evelyn took over the administration of the church.

The church later filed an injunction in a Lagos High Court

for the appointment of Evelyn as a trustee of the church. According to the petitioners, the widow would fill the vacuum created by her husband, who was the third trustee of the church. They argued that the two surviving members of the board of trustees lacked the legal capacity to make the necessary decision to move the church forward, hence her appointment Justice Tijani Ringim of the Ikoyi High court granted their request and appointed Evelyn as a trustee of the church.

Immediately after the announcement, the mother of three evicted some of the ‘disciples’ who had stayed with the late prophet for more than 20 years. However, while the ‘disciples’ were packing their things to leave, a number of them decided to dip their hands in the church’s purse which they surprisingly, they had access to.

They were promptly charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for fraud, theft and money laundering.

Eventually, SCOAN re-opened its doors to thousands of worshippers who were eager to resume their spiritual activities on Sunday, November 5, 2021.

On that day, the church held a memorial service in honour of its late founder. It was the first time that the church would hold a live service since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

While making her speech, Evelyn Joshua appreciated all those who stood by her during the turbulent time the church passed through.

She thanked her members for not allowing the past to hold them in bondage and added that the day will forever be remembered.

Joshua

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BIMBO OSHIN BACK TO SOCIAL SCENE N

ollywood actress Bimbo Oshin seems to have put her husband’s death behind her and moved on for good. The beautiful thespian is back to social circles after mourning the death of her husband, Oladiran Ishola Ibironke, popularly known as Dudu Heritage, for almost three months.

Oladiran reportedly slumped at the Ibadan Golf Club pavilion.

He was immediately rushed to J-Rapha Hospital in Ibadan but was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital died on September 12, 2021. The actress, who was emotionally shattered by the sad event, is gradually recovering

Criticism Trails Ini Edo’s Choice of Surrogacy

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Oshin

from the shock. She penned an emotional note to appreciate people who stood by her during her trying moments.

To Bimbo, losing Oladiran still feels like a dream, but she is ready to move on with her life. She appreciated her colleagues in the film industry, the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, members of Ibadan Golf Club members, World Lilies Hotel and Event Centre and a host of others. Her once quiet social media page is now busy and she is warming up to start accepting movie roles and scripts. She stated that one of the wishes of her late husband is to always see her happy

and her children well taken care of, hence her decision to quickly put the past behind her and go ahead with life.

The couple got married in 2005 and their union produced two children, Michael Olusegun and Iyanuoluwa.

Late Oladiran was a music promoter and the captain of the Ibadan Golf Club until his death. He promoted Abass Obesere’s popular album titled, Omorapala Overthrow and Shola Allyson’s hit song, Eji Owuro. He was the publisher of Society Facts magazine.

He lived in the United States for a while before returning to Nigeria. He was also married to Sola, the mother of his first four children, who is a businesswoman and a US certified behaviorist.

Another Palace Queen of Alaafin Accused Of Infidelity L

ast year, Olori Ajoke Badirat Adeyemi, otherwise known as Queen Ola, one of the young wives of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, became the first palace

Adeyemi

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queen to be sent packing on allegation of infidelity. The mother of two was accused of dating the Mayegun of Yorubaland, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal.

She was disgraced and sent packing

to serve as a deterrent to other wives of the monarch. Both KWAM1 and Queen Ola denied ever being in an amorous relationship, with the latter insisting she left the palace on her own accord without any prompting. Barely 20 months after the ugly incident, another wife of the traditional ruler has also been accused of infidelity. This time, Olori Omowumi Memunat Adeyemi, also known as Olori Omoh, is being accused of having an illicit affair with a married man. The beautiful queen was allegedly caught sleeping with her lover who is based in the United Kingdom. Omoh relocated abroad a few months ago with her co-wife, Olori Folashade. She was allegedly fooling around with a married man and the man’s wife got to know about it. Her lover’s wife sent a message to the monarch about the unruly behavior of one of his Olori’s. The traditional ruler therefore requested a Deoxyribonucleric acid (DNA) test on the three children she bore him, a set of twins named Ibidunni and Ibironke, as well as her son, Olayiwola Adeyemi, to ascertain their paternity.

Olori Omoh thought her co-wife Olori Folashade was behind her woes as she is aware of her waywardness in the United Kingdom. She reported Folashade to her lover and the two of them ensured she was deported back to Nigeria.

ast week, the social media was agog after Nollywood actress, Ini Edo admitted that she welcomed a baby girl through surrogacy. Ini said she opted for surrogacy because she wanted to fulfill her dream of becoming a mother, despite the fact that she is still single.

She added that taking that step would give her and her baby peace of mind.

Ini revealed that she donated her eggs and that she still has a good number of eggs frozen in case she decides to have another child via surrogacy in future.

Since the eggs belong to her, the baby is genetically her offspring.

The actress added that she got a donor to donate his sperm, which was inseminated in the surrogate.

Claiming that she had suffered miscarriages in the past, she still hopes to carry her own babies in her womb in the future.

As expected, mixed reactions greeted her confession. While many congratulated her for welcoming a child, others did not. One of those who openly slammed her for choosing this path was Ossai Ovie Success, a Special Assistant on Special Duties to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.

Ossai kicked against Ini’s preference for surrogacy, arguing that the father of her child is unknown, even as she stated that she did not choose a random person as a sperm donor.

Ossai stressed that no matter how rich the actress is, her daughter still needs a father and should not be denied knowledge of her father’s identity.

Ini-Edo He blamed the actress for making public how she got the baby, warning that this might cause the child irreparable damage in future.

Similarly, a popular Ghanaian writer, Waterz Yidana, noted that the actress had created a problem for herself by having a child through surrogacy. While claiming not to have a problem with surrogacy, he said the manner with which the actress went about it was wrong. According to him, using a random or anonymous sperm donor and surrogate mother is the problem.

Yidana added that Ini’s baby would

suffer psychological and mental torture searching for her father.

He said she would be the most miserable person on earth and might even commit suicide.

The writer also warned that it would be too bad for Ini Edo’s siblings to take the child into their custody if the actress fails to live long enough to take care of her.

According to him, the actress is selfish and childish for saying that she was trying to avoid a baby daddy drama. He said Ini Edo took that step to please the society and prove an unnecessary point to those who do not like her.

Sola Adewunmi Expands Business Frontiers

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erial entrepreneur, Sola Adewunmi has once again expanded her business to include a spa. Sola started out running a high end beauty salon in Victoria Island, Touch of Glamour, which she shut down after a few years, perhaps for lack of patronage.

She would later open a restaurant named Grubbies in the same area. A few years later, it metamorphosed into a catering outfit. Not resting on her oars, she floated School Mum Limited, a youth empowerment scheme that provides guidance to secondary school students through mentorship and leadership training.

Only a few weeks ago, she returned to the beauty world with the launch of her vintage themed luxurious spa and nail boutique, complete with Asian staff. At the opening of the spa, which was officiated by Pastor Idowu Iluyomade of Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David parish, her mum and dad, Chief Niyi Adewunmi, one of the right hand men of billionaire businessman, Otunba Mike Adenuga, were there to support her. But conspicuously missing was her husband, Tayo Laditi, whom she married in 2009 in a lavish wedding ceremony.

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Mama Roz’s Chronicles

Kidnap, A Widow’s Tale

W Chy’s Story

hen Chy and Emenike met in June 1987, it was love at first sight. In fact, he proposed to her on that first day and she, mesmerised with this tall, handsome and debonair fellow, quickly accepted. They got married a year later on the 29th of October 1988. Like most marriages, the early days were pure bliss but as the years passed, things began to go sour. Her husband kept late nights, drinking with his friends much to her annoyance and irritation. Chy responded by joining the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI) who taught her how to pray for her husband and marriage. It worked. He gave his life to Christ and joined the FGBMFI rising swiftly to the position of Chapter President. Chy was ecstatic.

Her marriage “became new” again, they spoke the same language and their children were happy. Their home had turned into an enviable Christian home and they prayed that they would eventually age and enjoy their grandchildren together. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be.

In the first week of August 2012, the couple sent their children on holiday to the US. Emenike, having risen to the position of Permanent Secretary of the Imo state government, had formed the habit of holidaying abroad with his wife and children.

They visited the United Kingdom and the United States as frequently as they could.

This year was no different and they had sent the children ahead with the plan that Emenike would join them two weeks later. A week to his travel date, his boss, the Deputy Governor of the state, asked him to postpone his trip as he wanted to travel and the two of them could not be out at the same time so he shifted his dates two more weeks ahead.

On Sunday 26th of August, they had been invited to two events. One was in Mbano for the thanksgiving service of a priest whose ordination they had been unable to attend and the second was a child dedication service in their home church, St Paul’s in Nkwerre.

They decided to attend both. Leaving home at 8am, they attended the Mbano service and left at 12 noon for Nkwerre. As they usually did, they stopped briefly at Amaraku market to buy goat meat for Emenike’s favourite pepper soup.

Chy waited in the car whilst Emenike went into the market to buy the meat. It wasn’t long before he returned, with the meat seller who was carrying the meat, to the car. He opened the front door, put the meat in and then went to the back to open the door, when an SUV stopped dramatically in front of their car, blocking their exit route. It all happened so fast. Three hefty young lads in black wearing bullet proof vests with the words “Police” on the front, alighted from the car.

Chy was puzzled. She could not imagine what they could have done wrong to justify this aggressive approach and she asked them THEWILLNIGERIA

Emenike figured immediately that these were not real policemen and he shouted “Chy run!”. She didn’t need to hear anything else.

As if transported by an unseen force, she ducked under the arm of the man by her door and started running.

She hadn’t taken two steps before they started shooting. She thought they were shooting at her but she didn’t stop.

She just kept running as her husband had told her to. Everyone in the market started running too. There were some women conducting their August meeting nearby, they ran too. It was complete pandemonium. As she ran, her headtie, outer wrapper, bag and slippers all fell but Chy kept running.

She saw an open door and went inside. There were people there. She was trembling and her heart was pounding.

She didn’t know where Emenike was and she was terrified. After about 15 minutes the shooting stopped and people went back outside again. She asked where the man she was with was, and they told her he had been taken in the boot of the robbers’ car. Hearing that, her heart sank, she fell to the ground and started weeping.

Her nightmare had just begun.

A little boy came and

“

Finally, it was all over.

Success at last. They all rejoiced when her brother-in-law called and said he had been given a location. They arranged a clinic for him to go for a check-up. Chy cooked his favourite fish pepper soup with agidi.

He was to be picked at 12 noon so by that time, everything was ready and they waited

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Emenike Ihekwaba

Kidnapping has become an all too familiar evil in our society today and was at some point a way of life in the Eastern part of Nigeria. Many victims made it home safely but sadly some didn’t. Chy’s story takes us through the tragic pain and trauma this experience causes to the family and friends of the victims.

“what did we do?’.

No one answered her.

One came towards her door whilst the other two went directly to her husband.

Emy & Chy

BY ROZ AMECHI

gave her back her bag. She looked into their car. Her husband’s phones and wallet were still there. These were clearly not armed robbers so she wondered what their mission really was. Why did they come for Emenike?

It also turned out that they didn’t actually shoot at anyone. They just shot at the tyres of all the cars on the street to make sure that no one came after them.

A couple of real policemen appeared from nowhere and started interrogating her until one of the bystanders stopped them. “Can’t you see the state she is in? please leave her” he said. They let her go and she returned to Owerri without her husband.

managed to collect N6m so they had to find the balance. The kidnappers also wanted 3 bottles of Hennessey.

They sent instructions about where the money should be dropped off. Chy stared at the GMG bag of money when they finally managed to collect it all.

She had never seen so much cash in her life. N10m in cash! She hadn’t even seen N1m. They had strict instructions not to involve the police and they obeyed. The money was taken to them at the drop off spot. Two men on a motor bike appeared and collected the money and her brother-in-law was told to go to Obinze barracks to pick up her husband.

Chy called her brother-in-law who was attending the event in Nkwerre.

He went to the scene of the incident.

The driver who had also run, had now reappeared and was taken to the police station but a call came from Government House asking the police to release him and the vehicle. So now, all they could do was sit and wait for the kidnappers to make contact. Chy went to the bank and withdrew all her savings. Then she called friends, relatives and colleagues asking them to donate what they could. She wanted to have enough money ready for the kidnappers. She was quite hopeful.

Finally, it was all over. Success at last.

They all rejoiced when her brother-inlaw called and said he had been given a location. They arranged a clinic for him to go for a check-up. Chy cooked his favourite fish pepper soup with agidi.

He was to be picked at 12 noon so by that time, everything was ready and they waited.

As she sat and waited, she remembered a similar experience she had with her eldest son four years before. It was in September 2009 and armed robbers had come to their house. They took her 14-year-old son and kept him in the bush for 8 days. During that time, she did not eat or sleep a wink. She just sat and prayed; but after they paid one million Naira, she got her son back. She was convinced that the same would happen with Emenike. They would ask for money; she would pay and then he would come home. She never expected things to turn out the way they did.

The kidnappers did not call till the fifth day and when they did, they asked for N50m. Negotiations started at that point. No one had that kind of money and even though he was a government official, the government offered no assistance. It took two weeks, back and forth, and then finally they were given 48 hours to produce N10m. Chy had

At 6pm her brother-in law called to say that he was still waiting and Emenike had not come. Chy was crushed and confused. She couldn’t process that information. Looking back, she remembers that day as the worst day of her life. She had waited for her husband to return from the kidnapper’s den but he never did. Eventually they asked her brother-in-law to come home. It was really all over but it had ended so horribly. They all started wailing. This was not the end they had expected.

This could not possibly be the end. But Emenike never came home and Chy never saw her beloved Emy again.

Years passed but her agony did not diminish. She kept wishing and longing to see Emenike; his smiling face and his comforting arms. Every day even now, she looks out for him thinking that by some miracle, he will walk through the door. If he had died, she would have buried him and moved on but this situation offers no closure. The pain, trauma and agony are unimaginable but

she has learnt to live with them.

Chy did all she could. She wrote petitions to the First Lady, Dame Patience and her Senator, Chris Anyanwu who contacted the Commissioner of Police but nothing came of it. She paid for policemen to come to Imo state with trackers from Port Harcourt but the required government support was not forthcoming and eventually they left, taking with them all the hope she had.

She suffered from high blood pressure, low blood pressure and heart palpitations but her mother ever by her side, was her rock. She stood by her all those years. She made her strong and taught her how to carry on in spite of all the odds. She herself had also lost her husband when she was only 44 and had buried her son who was to become a reverend father but she overcame those challenges and now encouraged her daughter to do the same.

At the time of the incident none of Chy’s children had graduated but she had to counsel them and tell them they must succeed so that when their father comes home, he would be proud of them. After 7 years she was advised to perform a burial ceremony in his honour. She did that in 2020 and erected a tomb.

Her four children have all graduated now. Her two daughters are married and she has five grandchildren whom Emenike has never seen. Her mother passed away in September 2021 and has since been buried.

In 2014, Emenike turned 60 and was due for retirement. Chy was asked to apply for his benefits and she did, but nothing was paid. She is still pleading with the Imo state government to consider her case and pay the benefits to give her and her children some much needed respite. She is hoping that someone will read this and be moved to reach out to the Imo state government on her behalf.

Roz Amechi © 2021. No part of the story/documentary may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the author, Roz Amechi.

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FEATURE

An Almost Last Year, Winner This Time

BY MICHAEL JIMOH

the Police.”

othing best describes an individual who, in the space of one year, steps up from an almost position to a winning one than hard work. Around this time last year, Victor Osarumwense Asowata, Cartoon Editor of THEWILL newspaper, stood on the podium of NECA Building on Agidingbi, Ikeja, along with two or so colleagues nominated for the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR).

With the march of time and technological advancement, the categories have been broadened to include cartoon, online and radio. But what is blindingly obvious is that the very first winning entry set a benchmark for subsequent winners: rigorous research, attention to detail and craft. Since inception, more than half of the overall winners have been in the print category.

After winning the first prize in the print category, for instance, it was no surprise that Olukunle Akinrinade of The Nation won the Nigerian Investigative Reporter of the year for his entry on how soldiers aided herdsmen in displacing a certain community in Ogun state. The displaced villagers found a new home in Benin Republic.

N

At that stage, any of the nominees could emerge winners of the most prestigious award for excellence in journalism in Nigeria, especially investigative journalism.

Asowata was hopeful like the rest of the contenders, to be the one to be presented with a plaque depicting the leonine features of the Nobel Prize laureate. The award went to someone else. If he was disappointed in any way, Asowata did not show it. Instead, he went back to the drawing board and, as they say, worked assiduously like a beaver and quietly like a computer.

Taiwo Adebayo of Premium Times was commended for his investigative online publication while Ibrahim Adeyemi of Foundation for Investigative Journalism was runner-up in the online category. Kunle Adebajo won in this category.

Sharon Ijasan of TVC and Tessy Igomu of Punch were commended while Labake Fasogbon of THISDAY was runner-up.

For the radio category, Zainab Sanni of Agidigbo FM, Ibadan, and Kelechi Ogu of Rhythm 93.7 were runner-up. Mary Abayomi Fatile won in this category while Olatunji Obasa of Punch got commendation. The runner-up was Bennet Uwalaka of Daily Trust with his entry photo shot of three policemen brutalising a man they arrested at Ojota.

Just last Thursday December 9, 2021 at NECA Building, before an assemblage of scholars and the diplomatic corps, media heavyweights, students and the public, Asowata had his day: his industry paid off as he emerged winner of WSAIR in the Editorial Cartoon category.

Unlike the other categories, Asowata had no contenders.

Translation? The judges were simply bowled over by his entry that they didn’t even consider nominating other entries along with his as runner-up. His entry, it must have seemed to them, was in a place all by itself, a real cut above the rest.

The winning entry was also shot at Ojota but by Abiodun Omotosho of Nigerian Pilot about a trader, Jumoke, who was killed by stray bullets from a policeman’s gun at Ojota.

WSAIR also presented CLEEN Foundation for its commitment to human rights and its Anti-Corruption Defender & lifetime Awards. Legendary cartoonist Josy Ajiboye received the Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence.

Along with the now famous plaque resting secure on shelves in the homes of dozens of journalists who have won in the past, Asowata received a cash prize of N200, 000 and a laptop, the most important gadget for any working journalist anywhere in the world.

“I dedicate this award to God,” Asowata said in his acceptance speech shortly after he won. “I also dedicate it to the entire team at THEWILL newspaper.”

Asowata

Titled “Seed Time and Harvest,” Asowata’s winning entry is a subtle dig at the consequences of a common practice in the northern part of Nigeria where young men and women are compelled to beg in the streets. Decades later, the Alamjiris morph into terrorists, a scourge that has become a real problem to the country.

Barely a year on the newsstands, THEWILL newspaper has done well for itself in its short period of existence, a point echoed by Asowata in his post-victory speech. “We are not big but we have done big things for ourselves and the country as a new media organisation.”

Asowata has worked in more than a dozen media establishments ever since he took up his first media work as a Graphic artist in Edo Broadcasting service in 1992. Those old enough remember his bylined illustrations for Sunday Concord, Comet and Anchor. They would also have seen his cartoons in Punch, Daily Independent and Leadership newspapers. He has also had his run with private organisations like Tanus Communications, Vericore Technologies and Zenith Bank plc.

How true! Sometime in September, Anthony Awonor, Aviation Correspondent of the newspaper, won the first prize in the Nigeria Media Nite-Out Award which also held in Lagos. Asowata’s is the second.

All through his odyssey as a cartoonist, illustrator and painter, Asowata has snapped up awards here and there like a traveller picking up booties along the way. WSAIR is the latest in a string of accolades.

However, this is not the first time the cartoonist will stand before distinguished audiences in Lagos and elsewhere to lift up trophies recognizing his dedication to work, the artistry he brings to bear on his craft. In 1999, for instance, he won the Musical Society of Nigeria National Painting.

Begun in 2005, WSAIR honours outstanding journalists from the print, radio, television, photo, cartoon and online categories who focus on themes from regulatory failures, corruption in the public and private spheres, and human rights abuses in the country.

Asowata started gathering his sheaf of awards from very early on. He won the Yusuf Grillo Award for Most Deserving Student while in Auchi Polytechnic as a diploma student. In the same year, he got Best Rector Award for best painting student as well as Nigeria Card award for best life drawing student. There have been Academy Press Award and Diamond Award for Visual Excellence in 1995 and 2005 respectively. He also won the BBC – WST (World Service Trust) Thirteen Cartoon Award of Excellence on FG Budget monitoring and fiscal policy between 2007 and 2008.

It was not for nothing that during the citation, the compere at the 2021 WSAIR, Ini John-Mekwa, pointedly called Asowata a serial award winner.

The cartoonist’s latest addition to his shelf-full of laurels reconfirms what his colleagues already know about him. With his oblong face and angular features, Asowata is as serious as they come, working in monkish seclusion either at home or in the office, not aloof but sometimes taciturn, sitting for long stretches with the unblinking concentration of an artist at work in a cat-quiet atelier.

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In the words of the Executive Director of WSAIR, Motunrayo Alaka, the centre uses the award as “the mechanism of investigative reporting as a tool for social justice.”

From inception till date, more than 100 Nigerian journalists have become finalists with 11 bagging the coveted prize as overall winners. The very first of the laureates in 2005 was Emmanuel Mayah, another serial winner of both indigenous and foreign journalism awards and called the Messi of Nigerian journalism, who was writing for The Sun newspaper at the time.

Putting life and limb at risk, Mayah worked as an undercover reporter in an Indian-owned company in Ogba, Lagos. His report “Inside Nigeria’s Industrial Concentration Camp” about the inhuman treatment of Nigerian workers by their Asian employers was just the kind of story the judges were looking for. By that time, there were only three categories – print, broadcast and photo.

Deji Badmus of Channels Television emerged winner with his story on “Makoko Demolition” while Bayoor Ewuoso of Punch won in the photo category with his entry “Suspects Arrested by

Speaking as the chairperson of the judges for WSAIR 2021, Ayo Obe said more than 200 entries were received this year.

She commended the writers but particularly the finalists. “This is an evening of appreciation, an evening that you will also be appreciated,” insisting that “many of the entries were of very high standard. We urge Nigerian reporters to continue in this trend.”

On his part, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Professor Ropo Sekoni, praised the entries as well. He personally presented some of the awards to some of the winners. Like a senior colleague passing the torch to a younger one, Josy Ajiboye, celebrated cartoonist for more than five decades, presented Asowata with his plaque, laptop and cardboard cheque.

Encomiums have followed Asowata’s win ever since.

Publisher of THEWILL, Austyn Ogannah, has this to say: “Victor is an incredibly gifted artist that we are blessed to have in our team. Congratulations to him for winning the Editorial Cartoon of the year in the respected Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting. It is a well-deserved recognition for his resilience and dedication to duty.”

As for the Editor of THEWILL, Olaolu Olusina, he says he is not surprised at Asowata’s win. “I’m not in any way surprised at this. Asowata is a diligent and dedicated member of the team at THEWILL. A talented artist and painter, he is passionate about his work as he speaks to the powers that be through the editorial cartoon he churns our every week. The result of his dedication to duty and passion for his work is what has manifested in his recognition as winner of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting.”

Described as “a prolific visual and communication artist of note, with over two decades of excellent practice in the creative arts,” Asowata insists that “art is the strongest instrument of change in all societies, through diverse creative platforms. Cartooning, particularly in editorials, provides the space for visionary probity, accountability and scrutiny in governance.”

Of the award itself, Asowata told THEWILL that he is “elated about this award, which I think is a reward for passion for advocacy and consistency in excellence. Years back, in my school days I craved for world class cartoon illustrations in our local tabloids because I was not so pleased with many that I saw. I desired to bring into the print media excellent cartoon drawings that will compare and compete with what is obtainable in foreign publications. This was my drive. I stayed on this resolve for about two decades now, and the result is what is culminating in awards today.”

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DECEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 18, 2021 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

FEATURE

Jailbreak Horror!

For an attack that started as early as 5.20pm and lasted several hours that stretched into the thick of dusk, eyewitness accounts conflict with or bypass official claims in some instances. The report by the public relations unit of the custodial centre that the attackers were trapped within the walls of the prison when the counter-force from the DSS was closing in on them turned out to be far from the truth. Rather, according to eyewitnesses, the attackers had accomplished their task, including recovering their prized ‘members’, before the counter force arrived on the scene.

Similarly, independent sources do not agree that one of the assailants was gunned down in the cross-fire. They are of the view that all the six victims whose corpses were found the next day were killed by pro-establishment bullets.

It is argued by many that if, indeed, the attackers were trapped within the confines of the prison yard, most of them would have been killed, with ammunitions recovered from them displayed as testimony to the gallantry of the state forces.

Nevertheless, the same Independent sources single out officials of the DSS for commendation, noting that they provided the real counteroffensive that humbled the attackers to the option of retreat.

Again, the sources dispute officialdom and its contention, which put the number of inmates who escaped at 262. While the number of inmates targeted for rescue is said to be 15, the attackers are believed to have shown magnanimity to other ‘oppressed’ by throwing the gates open for more people to escape, thereby depopulating the Jos Prison to less than a thousand inmates.

mixed demographics interfacing the Police Barracks from its North-West end.

While confirming the number of escapees and re-arrested inmates fortnight ago, Deputy Comptroller Tukur was silent on the inmates capacity of the Jos Custodial Centre, and its depleted position after the jailbreak crime.

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Eyewitness accounts claim that the attackers, who were dressed rather casually in long flowing Kaftans and Jallabia, were nine in number, quick and businesslike once they succeeded in getting to their target. First, they took on and summarily eliminated the prisons officer who was on duty at the post close to the main gate of the prison yard. They shot and wounded the next official they met. The gunmen started shooting sporadically as four of them positioned themselves strategically outside the facility to provide cover, while the rest went inside the prison to perform the operation that gave cause to their assault.

Thus, not many are impressed by the reports of re-arrest of a paltry 17 escapees two days after the incident, while none of the criminals, who carried out the horrendous act, has been apprehended. How hundreds of escapees found their way through the neighborhood where there are no bushes or caves or tunnels put paid to the insensitivity of not suspecting insider collaboration and sabotage the following questions are asked: Why did the incident have to occur on a Sunday? How did the attackers got to know about the armoury and its contents? Why did they set the records office ablaze?

A broadcaster in Jos, in the aftermath of the attack, described the location of the Jos Medium Custodial Centre, as a ‘fortress’.

It does appear that elements of surprise and confusion gave the attack an advantage and opportunity, which they maximised and accomplished much before a counter force came from an illprepared state security team.

With six bodies, apart from the warder who was shot dead at his duty post, the darkness of the night provided a cover for fleeing inmates while the operation lasted. The attackers may have been more concerned with giving ‘ justice’ and freeing the ‘oppressed’ than to kill and wreak havoc. To that extent, it was an insurrection against the state.

UKANDI ODEY reviews the recent attack on the Jos Correctional Service Centre and the matters arising from the resulting jail break

ith the time at 5.20pm, many did not expect that assailants would execute a dare-devil plot to break into the Jos Medium Custodial Centre at that hour. Considering the location of the facility, many thought 5pm was a very unlikely hour to orchestrate such a bloody and high profile crime.

But, like the immediate past era of bombing of public places, the attackers took all by surprise and literally beat security personnel on duty at the facility to a near photo-finish operation.

Located intricately in the heart of the Jos metropolis, the Jos Custodial Centre, besides its stone wall, high rising fortification, is in the midst of the outlay of state security. To the west of the centre lies the Area Command of the Nigeria Police, complete with a well entrenched barracks. Northwards, it is also bound by the Department of State Security (DSS) and the A Division of the Nigeria Police. Again, right opposite and overlooking the State Correctional Service Headquarters is the State headquarters of the Plateau State Police Command, with the operational headquarters of the Joint Task Force on Jos Crisis, alias Operation Safe Haven, steadied some poles further the hills.

In all, given its location and array of professional security and counter-terrorism neighbours, if the thought of a terrorist attack on the prison is inevitable and quite possible, the possibility of a successful operation, as was the experience last week, which has also left the target counting its losses, was thought to be impossible or unlikely.

The entire episode revealed good planning and careful execution on the part of the attackers, especially that security intelligence neither encountered and picked up the plan nor detected their presence and mobilisation to actualise their plot. According to eyewitness accounts, the attackers arrived at their target from the West of Mines area, a bubbly red light district of curiously THEWILLNIGERIA

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Although an early report released by the Public Relations Unit of the custodial centre created the impression of an immediate response from the security personnel, during an on-the-spot assessment visit to the facility, the Deputy Comptroller of Corrections in charge of operations, Ahmad Tukur, admitted that the attackers overwhelmed the guards at the custodial centre, who were on duty and thus gained access into the building, its offices and armoury, carting away ordinances and setting the records office ablaze.

Tukur also admitted that a jail break occurred in the process.

Some of the inmates escaped and disappeared from prison custody. According to him, 262 inmates escaped from the centre, although 17 had been rearrested as of last Tuesday.

The deputy comptroller noted that the echelons of the Service had no reason or indication to think or believe that internal sabotage or collaboration could have aided the attackers and their success, at least to the extent that they facilitated the escape of some of the inmates.

However, he maintained that investigations were already on to determine a lot of factors or influences belying the attack.

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Sources in the adjoining Police Barracks have insisted that there was insider sabotage that facilitated the attack, and that, indeed, it is not yet over as the attackers may come again. Technically competent sources in the Barracks question why the attackers chose to come by 5 pm when it is duty handover time, and the inmates are normally outside. the sources also point out that burning of records which took place during the attack was likely carried out by the inmates, noting that the Jos Prison has a lot of inmates awaiting trial, and some have spent as much as twenty to thirty years inside the prison. because of fear of another attack, security around the Prison area has been beefed up, with reports there was tension around the area December 4, that another attack was imminent.

Whatever be the missing gaps and logic disconnect, the incident has further underscored emerging and emergent trends in urban violence and organised terrorism. As usual, the state government and other well meaning individuals have condemned the incident. That, however, does not eliminate the real and present danger: Who is safe in today’s Nigeria? Can the state actually guarantee the security and safety of its citizens? Or is Nigeria in a state of war? With no arrests yet at press time, these questions can only continue to resonate in national discourse.

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DECEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 18, 2021 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

SHOTS OF THE WEEK PHOTO EDITOR: PEACE UDUGBA [08033050729]

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri; Chairman, NG Clearing Limited, Mr. Oscar N. Onyema; Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo; Managing Director/CEO, NG Clearing, Mr. Tapas Das; Chairman, House Committee on Capital Market, Hon. Babangida Ibrahim; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Limited, Mr. Temi Popoola CFA, and Chief Executive Officer, NGX Regulation Limited, Ms. Tinuade Awe, at the launch of NG Clearing Limited, the first Central Counterparty (CCP) in West Africa in Lagos on 9/12/202.

L-R: United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador and award winning musician, Innocent Idibia (2Baba); UNHCR Regional Bureau Director, West and Central Africa, Ms. Millicent Mutuli; and CEO, Sterling One Foundation, Olapeju Ibekwe, at the Africa Private Sector Forum, on Forced Displacement, held at Kigali, Rwanda on 8/12/2021.

L-R: Musician, Bobo Omotayo; Digital Artist, Bidemi Tata; Senior Brand Manager, Orijin Nigeria, Funmilola Adigolo L-R: Ogun State First Lady, Bamidele Abiodun; her husband, Governor Dapo Abiodun; elder statesman and former and Marketing Manager, Mainstream Spirits, Guinness Nigeria, Uche Onwudiwe, at the VIP Preview of Orijinal Fuji governor of Ogun state, Olusegun Osoba; his wife and celebrant, Aderinsola Osoba and Kwara State governor, Art Exhibition in Lagos on 5,12/2021.

Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq during the 70th Birthday ceremony of Mrs Aderinsola Osoba at the family residence, Ikoyi, Lagos on 9/12/2021.

L-R: Executive Vice Chairman, Ikorodu Local Government Area, Lagos State, Hon. Princess Folashade Olabanji-Oba; representative of the PPRO Lagos Command, Deputy PPRO Lagos Command, DSP Kuti Stephen; Group Head, Public Affairs, TVC Communications, Lagos, Mr. Babajide Otitloju; Founder/President CMC Africa Award for Excellence, Mr. Cornell Udofia and Publisher/Organiser, Blissful Affair 2021 Award Night, Adaobi Enekwa at the Blissful Affair 2021 Award night, held in Presken Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on 5/12/2021.

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L-R: Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Obinna Chukwu; Chairperson, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Lagos Chapter, Comfort Nwankwo; Corporate Affairs Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Sade Morgan and Head of Integrated Communications, NB Plc, Uchenna Ibemere as NB Plc received the Best Company in the Environmental Stewardship and Best Company in Climate Action of SERAS Awards, in Lagos on 6/122021.

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DECEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 18, 2021 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

SportsLive

COVID-19, Omicron And AFCON 2021

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

T

he incidences of infection by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 across the football world has alarmed the authorities, football clubs and fans alike, especially as plans are afoot for next year’s African football showpiece.

BY OKIOMA AMOS

R

enew Empire Nigeria Limited has said that it is ready to host the maiden edition of the Niger Delta Traditional Wrestling Tournament in Bayelsa State, in collaboration with its branch based in Turkey.

Omicron, classified as the B.1.1.529 variant of COVID-19, was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) from South Africa on November 24 this year. The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on November 9, 2021.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Mr Gospel Obolo, the event is aimed at promoting the rich cultural heritage of Bayelsa State and the entire Niger Delta, as well as to put the state on the international scene.

Omicron swiftly gained notoriety for having a large number of mutations. Preliminary evidence demonstrated that the variant had an increased risk of reinfection as compared to other Variants of Concern (VOCs). Although it was not immediately obvious if positive COVID-19 cases in Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City were of the Omicron variant, they have decimated the first-team squads and management staff in the pair of English Premier League sides that Spurs had to be excused from their UEFA Europa Conference League tie against Rennes last Thursday.

These are the sorts of disruptions to football schedules combined with the risks to the health and safety of footballers that evoked the European Club Association, the recognised body representing the interests of professional association football clubs in UEFA, to voice their concerns about sending players to the upcoming African Cup of Nations after the infectious and rapidly mutating variant was discovered in South Africa late last month. This concern came just as countries around the world began to reintroduce restrictions and travel bans, and may most likely lead to a fresh dispute over player release for international duty next month at the African football showpiece in Cameroon.

Everything is in place for the continental tournament, which has already been moved twice. The TotalEnergies AFCON 2021, Africa’s biannual international men’s football championship, will be the 33rd edition of the tournament, which is organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Cameroon will host the rest of Africa from January 8 to February 6 in a showcase of African football. However, the tournament’s scheduling has been a fraught with changes. The tournament was initially set to take place in June and July 2021, but CAF announced on January 15, 2020 that due to unfavourable weather conditions during that time, it would now be held from January 9 to February 6, 2020. However, given the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic across the continent, CAF again shifted the tournament for the second time to January 2022 on June 30, 2020, but kept the name 2021 AFCON for sponsorship purposes.

The fact that most of the best African players ply their trade outside the shores of the continent implies that there will be mass inflow of these footballers from all across Europe as they are expected to join up and represent their respective countries in Cameroon. The dilemma in that reality is that, as aforementioned, many countries have already begun implementing even harsher lockdown regulations in response to concerns about the Omicron variant’s infection rate. The United Kingdom has doubled down on its infamous “Red List” all in a bid to mitigate the spread of the variant after it was detected on the continent.

International travel bans were imposed on South Africa at the end of November, following the identification of the new type by South African experts. The controversial travel bans took effect on November 25, with flights to the UK from South Africa, Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zimbabwe no longer permitted. However, these bans were considered controversial because tracing points to the fact that the Omicron variant was widespread in Europe long before it was discovered by South African researchers. Nigeria, which borders Cameroon, was also added to the UK’s “Red List” sparkling a nigh diplomatic row as the Senate in Nigeria and the Federal Government did not take the inclusion lying low.

The Senate denounced the move, which, according to the lawmakers, was an act carried out without justification. They urged the Federal Government to engage with their British counterparts in an effort to reverse the inclusion. That conclusion followed a debate on “The need for the UK Government to remove Nigeria from the Red List”. The motion was sponsored by Senator Ike Ekweremadu. He had raised a point of order to convey his displeasure with the UK government’s recent action, despite the fact that Nigeria has one of the lowest COVID-19 cases in the world. Last Tuesday, the Nigerian government formally rejected the travel ban, which it described as “Knee-jerk, apartheid, discriminatory, punitive, unfair, indefensible and unscientific, while calling on the British government to immediately review the decision. African leaders and the WHO have expressed displeasure THEWILLNIGERIA

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“We hope that this festival will bring improvement in all ramifications in Ogbia Kingdom and Bayelsa state in general.

Culture is the pride of a people. This wrestling tournament will bring back our culture and preserve the tradition we have neglected,” Obolo said, while presenting gifts to the winners of a similar contest held in Otuoke, Bayelsa.

More than 100 athletes participated in the competition under various wrestling clubs. Three clubs made it to the finals of the tournament clinching first, second and third positions, respectively.

Dare

The postponement came at the last minute, after the French team had arrived England believing that the fixture was still due to hold as initially scheduled. The English club was able to convince UEFA to reschedule while Rennes returned home without playing. Leicester did not have as many positive cases as Spurs and their UEFA Europa League tie against Napoli was not similarly postponed.

Firm To Host Traditional Wrestling Contest in Bayelsa

with the travel bans, claiming that the variation had been found in many regions of the world.

The Red-listing and travel bans aside, the ECA’s determination to meet with FIFA in the coming weeks to address next year’s AFCON was effected for the benefit of the clubs the Association represented and in relation with the safety of footballers of African descent.

In a statement addressing this concern, the association said, “The Board also expressed its deep concerns around player safety and welfare ahead of the African Cup Nations and upcoming international windows in early 2022, particularly in light of the worsening public health situation and the severe challenges faced during recent international windows.

The Board agreed to engage urgently with FIFA to ensure all necessary precautions are in place to protect players and club interests as the health situation continues to deteriorate in an alarming manner.”

In addition to the obvious health risk, the ECA is concerned about the impact post-AFCON quarantining may have on domestic schedules, with several leagues eager to avoid the pandemonium that occurred in September. THEWILL recalls how some clubs, in order to prevent the need for an isolation time upon their return, prohibited their South American players from travelling for the international break. This resulted in a protracted legal struggle with FIFA over whether those players should be punished for failing to report for international duty.

Although that did not play out eventually, the anxiety still lingers and the ECA is determined to prevent anything similar from recurring.

The way out for some clubs in the international matches of October, was to agree to pay for private aircraft to fly their players back as quickly as possible, with the players themselves agreeing to remain in a bubble throughout the international break.

All of this sparked off a rumour that next year’s AFCON had been postponed yet again. This prompted an immediate reaction from CAF, refuting the rumours, which claimed that the 24-team tournament’s dates or even site could be changed in recent days, with Qatar being mentioned as a possible alternative host. Alex Siewe, the Director of Communications for CAF, insisted that neither his organisation nor top Cameroonian officials were considering any such alternatives or postponements. He was not amused to have to answer to these rumours when asked.

“We can’t keep spending time dealing with rumours. We did not receive any other message or information from our leaders - nothing such as changing of dates or countries. We did not discuss such during all our last meetings. We are on site. We are working.”

The fact that CAF was working hard to ensure the success of the tournament was proven by the arrival of the Federation’s personnel in Cameroon to supervise the organisation of the AFCON finals. Siewe confirmed this when he said: “An official delegation from CAF has been released and general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba is joining us in two days. This gives the implication that the continental football governing body was unfazed by the decision of the ECA to hold talks with FIFA over the safety of organising a football competition in the middle of the outbreak of Omicron.

“As it has done in continental competitions so far, CAF plans to abide

by COVID-19 protocols and to organise the tournament as scheduled between January and February 2022.”

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Renew Empire Wrestling Club clinched first position with 131 points and was rewarded with a cash gift of N500,000, a gold medal and trophy. The first runner- up, Azibet Wrestling Club got 112 points, a silver medal and received the sum of N250,000, while the second runner-up, the Otuoke Communitiy Wrestling Club finished with103 points and was rewarded with N100,000 and a bronze medal.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the event, the chief executive officer of the firm, thanked the Bayelsa State Government for its support in the course of hosting the tournament, adding that throughout the competition the security agencies helped to maintain peace and order within and around the venues.

He said, “I’m not hosting this event for any political reason. I’m not a politician, Renew empire Nigeria Ltd and Renew group Republic of Turkey did this to empower our youths so that we can take them off the streets.

“We must remember that our traditional wrestling has produced so many champions in the past and can still produce more. With this competition, over time we can start producing international traditional wrestling champions to represent not only Bayelsa State and Nigeria, but even other countries of the world.

“Our next plan is to host the Niger Delta states traditional wrestling tournament from next year. And we intend to reward the winner of that tournament with the sum of N 1 million.”

Presenting the awards, the paramount ruler of Otuoke Communitiy, HRH, Ariwareni Paul, commended the organisers for empowering the youth of Bayelsa through the various competitions featured during the 17-day event.

The monarch congratulated the winners and gave them the assurance that the community would continue to partner the organisers.

Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Bayelsa State on Tourism, Priye Kiyaramo, has commended the Renew Group for the feat achieved through the sporting events and other tourism programmes.

The Ogbia Traditional Wrestling Festival started on November 18 and ended on December 5, 2021.

Bayelsa State has excelled in wrestling competitions at local and international stages. The current President of the Nigerian Wrestling Federation and Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Nigerian Olympic Committee, Daniel Igali, is an indigene of the state.

Igali captained the Nigerian Wrestling team to the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada and later defected to Canada and won for the North American country its first gold medal in wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. He also won a gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Historically, before Igali’s exploits, Jackson Bidei from Amasoma in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state had made his mark in free-style wrestling at the Commonwealth Games.

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DECEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 18, 2021 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

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