THEWILL NEWSPAPER December 18, 2022

When news broke about Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss’ death, I couldn’t help but wonder what could have been happening in the life of someone who seemed happy. He had a wife and kids and was always dancing— making people happy. Whatever demons he was fighting such that he drove out of the house without a fight with his wife, checked into a hotel and shot himself must have really taken a toll on him.

Many people have demons they are fighting every day, and while I hear people say, “get help,” the truth is when that dark cloud of death or suicide surrounds you, you are no longer in control of yourself. You are like a zombie carrying out the directive of your new host spirit—death. Two things happen at this point; something stops you— a voice, a call, a knock at the door, a song mysteriously plays. If you are not so lucky, nothing stops you, and you go ahead with the act—this is the case for many people. And so, as much as we say get help, there are cases where human beings cannot be of support no matter how much they try. Who we need to resort to for help when this happens is our Maker—God. In him alone can we find the strength to overcome whatever demons we fight, as He does the fighting in our stead through us.

Many friends have said, “Onah, you didn’t know him personally; let it go,” but sometimes certain deaths hit harder than others, regardless of whether they were personal friends. tWitch was one of those. May his soul rest now in peace.

This week we have many exciting features, including the perfect outfit this Christmas party season for every age, the ideal skincare gift guide for him, and loads more. Downtown Confidential is back with another embarrassing story; I’ll bet some of you have experienced this at one time or the other. Scoot over to page 7 to find out more.

As is our tradition at Christmas, we have partnered with our friends to bring gifts to you, our dear readers.

Merry Christmas in advance. Until next week, enjoy your read.

Onah Nwachukwu Editor, THEWILL DOWNTOWN @onahluciaa +2349088352246

Photo: Kola Oshalusi @insignamedia Makeup: Zaron

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2023: Labour Party Makes Fresh Gains in Core North

BY AMOS ESELE

After its presidential primary in July, pundits tipped the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to dominate the core North in next year's elections, with 14 out its 21 governors on the party's platform coming from that zone.

Earlier, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who is from Adamawa State, North East, had clinched the Presidential ticket of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while former Kano governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, from the North West, later entered the race as a presidential candidate on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, threatening the status quo with a strong presence in Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna.

Lately, the Labour Party is taking its turn and making its way into the heart of the electorate with a “certain freshness and

newness that seem to separate it from the major parties with candidates that are familiar faces,” to quote from an ongoing study by a Kaduna-based journalist, who spoke with THEWILL, anonymously, about his findings. He said he hopes to conclude it before the presidential poll on February 25, 2023.

According to him, the sudden change of fortune for the LP in a geo-political zone that initially heard nothing, said nothing about it because of its affinity for the governing and opposition parties, prompted him to pay closer attention to ongoing political debates, first in his home state, Kaduna and then to neighbouring states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano and Jigawa. For him, what has turned the tide for LP is the current hardship and attendant anxiety, fear and uncertainty about tomorrow among the electorate. The immediate impact is not just the penetration and growing

acceptance of the LP in the zone but also the corresponding threat to the political strength of NNPP, and the APC, particularly in Kaduna, Zamfara and Sokoto.

MAJOR ISSUES AT PLAY

“Hunger is a major issue with people in these parts,” said the journalist. “We are talking about one meal a day, not whether it is a square meal. People are in severe hunger here and they do not want to hear the same old promises from the same people. Instead of getting better, the situation is becoming worse with the security and fuel scarcity that has led to an increase of cost of living. For that reason, LP vice Presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Ahmed has also become popular across the state.”

Apart from this immediate material problem is a political one, particularly in

...Labour Party Makes Fresh Gains in Core North

Southern Kaduna which has been under siege by kidnappers, bandits and gunmen. This dire situation, he said, has made the people there more receptive to messages of hope being preached by ‘Obidient’ groups from ward to ward.

He could not say for sure if the growing influence of LP in Kaduna state could be responsible for the killing of Mrs. Victoria Chintex, an LP leader and activist in Kaura Area Council of Kaduna state, by gunmen even though he could not rule out political motivation for the attack.

Capitalising on the warm reception accorded the party by the people, the 'Obidient' movement has upped their game through the mobilisation of women, whom they think will help spread their message of “freedom,” faster and wider.

The Movement for Change World Wide, an ‘Obidient’ group, is said to be one of the most active in Kaduna State.

According to the journalist, the open support for the Obi/Datti ticket by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and also by his former Minister of Defense, Theophilus Danjuma, a retired general in the Nigeria Army, has also boosted support for LP in the Northwest, the traditional stronghold of the NNPP and the ruling APC.

“Both men who have featured in many political schemes in the course of the nation building are known to have a wide network of supporters that can and will help spread the gospel about the Obi/Datti candidacy and thereby help the party consolidate on its new found strength.

“Initially, it was difficult campaigning for LP but with the support of Obasanjo and Danjuma, people are now beginning to see that “big men” are also rooting for the Obi/ Datti ticket. Since then, the LP party has grown in influence,” said the journalist.

This same scenario is also playing out in Sokoto state. Here, according to a Senatorial candidate of one of the parties in the upcoming election, who expressed his worry to one of our reliable sources, “We cant joke with this ‘Obident’ thing anymore.”

The politician, according to our source, said, the state has a strong voting population of business people and traders of southeast origin who are active participants in the politics of the state, adding that that factor

may have influenced the LP in appointing Mr. Ifeanyi Ezeagu, an Igboman, as the party’s campaign coordinator in Sokoto State.

Recall that the party stuck with its decision in spite of the uproar that greeted the appointment of Ezeagu in October, 2022. Director General of the LP Presidential Campaign Committee, Doyin Okupe, had explained that Ezeagu who was born and bred in the Northwestern state was chosen for his competence rather than his origin.

While this direct LP onslaught is going on, the recent split in decision of the Northern Christian Leaders to support Obi/Datti candidacy on the one hand as led by ex-Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal and on the other as led by former Speaker, House of Representative, Yakubu Dogara and exDeputy Governor of Sokoto State, Mukthar Shagari for opposition PDP, has also compounded the woes of NNPP and APC.

With Kaduna looking like a battleground and Sokoto and Zamfara uncertain, the NNPP may have to contend with its Kano stronghold which is already split between the trio of PDP, the governing APC and NNPP. This support has helped to draw the battle lines among the three parties, especially the majors, APC and PDP, which are still polarised along ethnic and religious lines.

KWANKWASO SPEAKS

The standard bearer of NNPP spoke about the party at the weekend. According to him, the party was waxing stronger every day and as a show of that new found strength would win the presidential election if it were polled now. He said the party was strong in its base in the north and was different from others because of its people oriented outlook, which would make it capable of benefiting from the perceived crisis within the major political parties.

He said: “Why I’m different from all presidential candidates is that I go round the country on roads, not only the state capital, not only the local government areas, this made me have first-hand information on the way and manner our people live.

“The NNPP is based on the talakawa (masses), voters and good people of this country, who believe in us. Nigerians know the APC and the PDP very well and they’ve failed. The two political parties themselves know that they’ve failed. The only chance they have is to buy votes.

“If the election takes place today, the NNPP has a brighter chance, no political party can defeat the NNPP. The PDP has been wounded in the Southeast by the emergence of some political parties, of course in the North, we have caged PDP, even in the South-south, they are no longer popular because of the presidential primary contest, and the APC has failed the citizens, no right thinking Nigerian will want the status quo to remain, meaning this terrible situation to continue.”

Vice-Presidential candidate of the party, Bishop Isaac Idahosa, expectedly, supports the views of his principal. In his reaction to the point at issue, he said last Friday that NNPP was growing from strength to strength with the passing of the day, adding that “people who are undermining the NNPP are doing so at their peril. We are a grassroots party and not a rent-a–crowd party as you see with others. Wait until January when there will be a clear picture of developments to know who the voters will support.”

Despite the perceived gains of the opposition parties, can they stop the ruling All Progressives Congress from winning the 2023 presidential election? This is the question on the minds of many Nigerians and pundits.

Despite the perceived gains of the opposition parties, can they stop the ruling All Progressives Congress from winning the 2023 presidential election? This is the question on the minds of many Nigerians and pundits.

“

Germany Returns Over 92 Benin Bronzes in Cologne to Nigeria

Ninety-two Benin Bronzes from Cologne's Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum have now been officially returned to Nigeria .

The mayor of the western German city, Henriette Reker, signed an agreement on the transfer of the ownership with the director general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abba Isa Tijani, Thursday, in Cologne .

"This is a milestone in a decadeslong, difficult debate about the restitution of looted art, with national and international significance," Reker said at the brief ceremony.

The British army looted the bronze

sculptures in 1897 from the ruling palace of the kingdom of Benin, located in what is now Nigeria.

The works of art were auctioned all over Europe. Some 1,100 of them are in about 20 German museums.

This summer, Germany and Nigeria agreed on a process to transfer ownership of the looted objects, including repatriating some of them.

Three of the artworks from Cologne are to be brought back to Nigeria this month, and 52 of the bronzes are to be gradually repatriated from 2023.

Some 37 items will remain on loan to Cologne for an initial period of 10 years, the two sides agreed.

Remains of Golden Pen Publisher Laid to Rest in Bayelsa

YENAGOA

The remains of the late publisher of Golden Pen, a local tabloid, Chief Otonye Godman Evans Tubonah, have been laid to rest at Nembe Ogbolomabiri, Bayelsa State.

The late Chief Tubonah, who was popularly known as Golden Pen, was born on October 28, 1952 at Igbobeleu Polo Nembe to the family of late Evans Ladder Iyoyo of Ogulacha Omuaru ( War Canoe House) of Ogoloma in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State. He was the fifth of his father's children and third of his mother, Suota, nee Awori.His parents died when he was not yet an adult.

He attended County Council

school, Nembe, for his primary education and a commercial school in Portharcourt, through which he wrote the various stages of the Royal Society of Arts ( RSA) and General Certificate of Education ( GCE) He also took courses in Journalism.

The late chief Otonye Godman Evans Tubonah got married and had nine children ( seven sons and two daughters)

Survived by seven children, having lost his first daughter and third son earlier, he was, until his death on Sunday, November 29, 2020, the chairman of Bayelsa State Independent Publishers Association ( BIPA ).

2023: Cross River APC Working

for PDP through Bad Governance –

Prof. Onor

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Cross River State, Professor Sandy Onor, says the state chapter of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) is working for his party through bad governance.

He said the choice before the people is very clear and the electorate are determined to go a different direction come 2023.

Professor Onor, who disclosed this in Ikom during an interview, said the people of the state are in the dark as far as good governance is concerned.

"On the readiness of the PDP, everyone can see that the APC is doing our work for us, because of their bad governance our citizens are resolved to go a different direction.

"If you see what has been happening with the PDP before now, the kind of governance we have been offering, the dividends we have to show and place it in juxtaposition with the stagnancy we have experienced, you will see that the choice is very clear and the people of the state are very willing to demonstrate that with their votes.

"The civil servants are not happy, local government staff are despondent, the ordinary citizens are in a very dark and bad place.

"Our state is enveloped in darkness as far as good governance is concerned and in history we say darkness is not a subject of history.

"So, we are very determined, on our own; we are taking nothing for granted, we are working very hard and very convinced that we will win the elections,"Professor Onor said.

He criticised the ruling party in the state for not working hard to win the elections but rather depending on rigging, saying such plans will fail.

He also faulted the rumoured plan to abort the use of BIVAS for the elections, describing proponents as electoral criminals.

"From what we see, instead of the APC working hard, they are thinking of rigging, it will not come to that because we will not allow them rig. Our victory is inevitable by the grace of God and the will of our people.

"Those canvassing for BIVAS to be dropped are criminals, electoral criminals who should hide their faces in shame.

Uzodimma Empowers 25,000 Imo Youths With N30,000 Monthly Allowance

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has empowered about 25,000 youths in the state with the payment of N30,000 monthly allowance.

Addressing the recipients at the Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu Square, Owerri, venue of the disbursement, the governor recalled that due to the economic hardship caused by Covid19 , flooding, unknown gunmen, banditry, among other things, many people have lost their businesses and means of livelihood. This, he said, has made the Federal Government, in collaboration with the World Bank, to create a programme called NigeriaCares, NG- Cares , which Imo keyed into to empower its people.

Uzodimma expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari and the World Bank for supporting the state government in the partnership to empower over 25,000 Imo citizens.

"Today we have selected five persons from every polling unit in Imo state, totalling over 25,000, and this is the first batch to be empowered today, and before you leave this place today, you must see your alert on your phone, and this alert of N30,000 will be every month.," he said.

Uzodimma disclosed that another batch of 27,000 people will be receiving their own credit alert next week as he pointed out that there are about 120,000 people who will be empowered by the government every month going forward.

The Governor urged them to deploy the money into meaningful ventures, and to take care of their families, not drug addiction or alcoholism.

He assured them that the money was a grant and not a loan, therefore they have no need to refund the money.

He appealed to them to assist the government in developing their communities and maintaining peace and order.

Some of the beneficiaries who received their credit alert expressed joy and thanked Governor Uzodimma while those yet to receive theirs expressed optimism that they would also receive theirs.

Mr Anthony Ibeawuchi from Nwangele Local Government Area and Mrs Ugochi Ibe from Acho Mbieri confirmed the receipt of N30,000 credit alert , while Mr Ifeanyi Joseph from Aboh Mbaise, and Mr. Chibuzo from Obowo who had not received theirs were full of expectations and prayed God to continue to protect Governor Uzodimma and use him to better the lot of Imo citizens.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, (middle); Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Abubakar Saad III, (right) and Olu of Warri, HRM Ogiame Atuwashe III, during the inauguration of the Board of Trustees of the NIPSS Endowment Fund at the State House, Abuja on December 15, 2022.

BASSEY ANIEKAN

FROM DAVID OWEI,

FROM SAMPSON UHUEGBU, OWERRI

POLITICS

Labour Party Crisis Lingers

Obi Abure

BY AYO ESAN

Labour Party which is currently ranked the third force after the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC is still enmeshed in crisis and analysts believe this may mar the chances of its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, in the February 25, 2023 election, if the crisis is not nipped in the bud.

The crisis in the party is both at the state level where Lagos, Ogun and about 18 other state chapters are entangled in crisis with all the belligerent parties maintaining their hard stance and with no sign that peace would resume soon.

The party sensing the danger ahead has set up an 11man committee to placate and reconcile disgruntled members of the party to form a united front ahead of the 2023 elections.

The committee will be headed by Chief Friday Toyin Ibadin as LPSPC Chairman and Dr Kenneth Diyoke as Secretary. Other members include General Enang Essien (Retd.), AIG Charles Ugomuon (Retd.), AIG Ezekiel Zang (Retd.), ACG Akubiron Chika, ACG Ali Wakili, Obol Okomiso, Samuel Emma, SP Ego Eseimo and Mrs Comfort Okorokwo.

At the height of the crisis, the National Working Committee of the Party last Friday terminated the appointment of its acting National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, and dissolved the Ogun State chapter of the party over the role they played in the alleged expulsion of the Director General of Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Doyin Okupe.

This is even as the NWC passed a vote of confidence in the leadership of its embattled National Chairman, Julius Abure, saying it has reviewed all the corruption allegations levelled against him and found him not culpable.

Okupe and 10 members of the party were removed by

the leadership of the Ogun State chapter of LP over what they called “non-financial membership status, political rascality and misappropriation of funds. Though the decision was annulled by the leadership of the party in Abuja.

Abure claimed that the state executives had no locus standi to remove him.

According to him, the party can no longer condone such anti-party activities among its rank and file.

He said, “The acting National Publicity Secretary has been relieved of his appointment by the National Working Committee. A disciplinary committee has also been constituted to investigate his anti-party activities as a member of the Labour Party.

“The Ogun State chapter of the party has also been dissolved and the chairman and its exco suspended. A caretaker will be appointed to take care of the party’s activities in the state. They will also be investigated by the disciplinary committee for anti-party activities.

“The NWC has also unanimously passed a vote of confidence on the leadership of the National Chairman, Julius Abure. Consequently, we call on the party members to adhere strictly to the provision of the Constitution and Code of Conduct of the party. We also call on the general public to have more confidence in the party as the leadership of the party is working very hard to ensure that we are not distracted. The bad elements and the Judas among us will be fished out gradually and punished in accordance with the Constitution of the party.

“We also called on Nigerians to disregard any negative information spread by some miscreants as the party’s loyalists; whereas we have found out they are acting out the script of our opposition.”

It could be recalled also that penultimate Thursday, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Dr Abayomi Arabambi through his lawyer, Kaiser Oghenetejiri petitioned the Deputy National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Lamidi Apapa, that the National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure engaged in fraudulent activity and obtained money under false pretence.

In the petition, a copy of which was made available to THEWILL, Arabambi through his lawyer said “We write this petition against the National Chairman over the allegation of obtaining money under pretense and defrauding of candidates and aspirants who obtained nomination forms to contest under our great Party. The office of our client has been inundated with complaints and reports from candidates of the Party who claimed that they have been defrauded by the National Chairman.

The acting National Publicity Secretary has been relieved of his appointment by the National Working Committee. A disciplinary committee has also been constituted to investigate his antiparty activities as a member of the Labour Party

“

www.thewillnigeria.com

POLITICS

...Labour Party Crisis Lingers

The complainants informed our client that they are ready to come forward and give evidence with documentary proof”.

Also, the National Secretary, Uman Farouk has also through a statement accused Arabambi of having frustrated the efforts of the party in submitting the names and particulars of candidates from Ogun and Lagos states to the INEC.

In a statement he titled: “Who is Abayomi Arabambi Working for? Farouk said:

“First, at the conclusion of the party primaries, in line with the directives of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, forms of the party's candidates are supposed to be uploaded to INEC's Portal. As a ranking member of our party from the South-West, Mr. Arabambi was tasked with handling the candidates from both Lagos State and his home State, Ogun for the House of Assembly and governorship. The party didn't know that he had ulterior motives and never had the intention of submitting the forms. He frustrated the arrangement and made sure that no name was uploaded.

“When the party found out and queried him, he apologised and promised to take the matters to the court with a view to getting INEC to accept the forms. At this point, the *distraught* party began to suspect a foul play and on closer monitoring, it was realised that the matter was not diligently pursued in the courts leading to the matter being dismissed at the Federal High Court.

“The party was going to wield the big stick for dereliction of duty but again he pleaded that he would appeal the judgment and had also given a firm assurance that the forms will be uploaded.

“It was on the basis of that, that he was given the permission to pursue those cases on behalf of the party to the Appeal Court. He once again lied to the party that there was valid appeal on the two states, Lagos and Ogun but unknown to the party, he never filed any appeal proper, though he filed notice of appeal for Lagos but he didn't *consummate* it, there were no documents, no evidence before the court.

“When the party noticed that he was playing pranks, and that he was merely deceiving the party, it quickly contracted another lawyer who *pursued* the case and got judgment in Lagos within three weeks. And *thereafter* when we saw what happened in Lagos we instructed other lawyers to take over the cases in Ogun for diligent prosecution. That is how the Labour Party got the list of its candidates uploaded in the INEC portal”.

“Every party member ought and should be happy that the party now have candidates in Lagos, having gotten that judgement, but this is not so with the *party's so called spokesperson* I therefore ask, 'Arabambi is not APC, he is not PDP member, why is he angry that his party got a judgment that enabled INEC to recognise candidates of his party? Which sane person will be fighting his own party? His reactions and actions on the judicial success of the party which he initiated, defeats any logic. So who is he working for? Is he now working for or against the *Labour Party?*

“And now for him threatening to go to court to challenge the judgment in favour of his own party, a party where he ought to be an image maker tells you clearly that he is completely compromised. He has been detailed to frustrate the party from getting candidates to field for elections in these areas. That he has instituted action against the Party' victory in the Supreme Court is in his determination to ensure that the Labour Party does not have candidates in Lagos and Ogun states. The inference that you can draw from his actions is that he is compromised because there is no other means to justify his current position”.

Farouk warned against anti- party activities by the members.

He said “Let me reiterate that any member of the party who is proven to be a hireling planted to sow discord in the party will soon have a date for judgement. We can't afford to behave like other political parties we are working hard to upstage. Meanwhile, we will not be distracted by any mechanistic actions of a few. Our eyes are on the ball, 2023 will be the end point”.

The decision of Obi, a former Presidential aspirant under the PDP, to pick the Labour Party’s presidential ticket

threw the party into national limelight. And before you know it, the party started drawing membership from the two major parties, PDP and the APC. Obi himself was a former Vice Presidential Candidate of the PDP in the 2019 election.

The new position of the Party also brought its problems. Competition emerged for its candidacy and working committee both at the states and at the national level and this led to crisis in many of the state chapters.

For instance, the Taraba State LP is embroiled in crisis following the suspension of the state chairperson, Mrs. Esther Gulum.

Party leaders who suspended her from office over the alleged misappropriation of a whopping N20 million in campaign funds, also unanimously passed a vote of no confidence on her.

The collective action which came last Tuesday indicted her of running the party as her family business, alongside her relatives.

Briefing media practitioners in Jalingo, the Labour Party’s Organising Secretary, Peter Philip, said the party have lost confidence in her leadership, hence the suspension as well as the passing of the vote of no confidence.

The suspension from office, according to Philip, is to enable the party executives carry out a thorough investigation into how the said amounts of money were “misused by her.”

The aggrieved executive members also accused her of engaging in anti-party affairs including being an employee of the state government and using her personal accounts to run the affairs of the party in the state.

They alleged a “lack of accountability and transparency in running the affairs of the party in the state” claiming she constantly disobeys the party constitution since taking the leadership position.

Though her suspension, according to Philip, is for six months, they vowed to work round the clock to unravel the mystery behind how the amount which was designed for the presidential campaign was expended.

In her reaction, the party’s chairperson did not only deny the allegations but described them as false, saying the executives were out to witch hunt her for being a woman.

She said” the executives are only out to witch-hunt me because I am a woman. I am not a corrupt leader”,

Gulum urged those pointing accusing fingers at her to thread extra legitimate miles to prove the allegations being levelled against her.

“It is childish and false to say I was given N20 million by Peter Obi’s campaign council and I embezzled it, I was not given N20 million, I was given only N9 million and I used it judiciously with a clear record.

“It is also false to say I am running the party office with my immediate family and I am doing anti-party.

She asked the National Secretariat of the party and all supporters to disregard the information as it is purely false, targeted at tarnishing her good image and that of her family.

“I am a loyal party woman and I am Obedient”, she said.

In Lagos State, the former state chairman and governorship candidate, Professor Ifagbemi Awamaridi whose name was first submitted to the INEC was later styled a placeholder with the party while the national leadership of the party searched for a more popular candidate.

The party organized a primary in which Rhodes-Vivour, a former PDP Chieftain emerged as the candidate Awamaridi headed to court to challenge his removal as both party chairman and governorship candidate in Lagos.

Efforts to settle the matter out of court have not yielded the desired results.

Awamaridi denied there had been a settlement, insisting that his group within the party had also held a congress where he was re-elected state chairman for another four years.

He also said he remains the party’s governorship candidate in Lagos State ahead of the 2023 polls.

“My name was in the INEC list, the question is how did they change the name? They went to produce a fraudulent document that I had withdrawn my candidacy for somebody else.”

He accused the party chairman in the state, Kayode Salako, of working for the APC in the state.

Salako, who is a former APC member, has been accused of working for the APC in the state.

Salako’s wife, known actress, Foluke Daramola, is popularly known as a supporter of the national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu.

So with less than four months to the general elections, the situation in the Labour Party is like a theatre of war with many belligerents maintaining their hard stand and not ready for any reconciliation so soon.

will this affect the party’s chances in the next year’s election only time will tell.

How

My name was in the INEC list, the question is how did they change the name? They went to produce a fraudulent document that I had withdrawn my candidacy for somebody else

“

Baba-Ahmed

POLITICS INTERVIEW

Insecurity: Nigeria Needs More Troops – Bali

After

a career in the military, why are you into politics?

Yes. I had a very successful career as an instructor pilot. Basically, what is driving me into politics is the desire to still serve. I feel I still have some value to add to the system, especially in the area of security where there is still a lot to be done. Besides, the issue of zoning in our party also created the opportunity which I had to pick up, and vie for the Senate seat to contribute in making laws for the good governance of this country.

One, I feel, especially in the area of security, that I still have a lot of values to add to society. We need to change our laws with regards to managing our security in this country. With the experience I had in counter insurgency operations, whether it is banditry or whatsoever, we need to change our approach; especially in deploying enough troops on ground to flush these bandits occupying our forests. Because what these insurgents or bandits do is that once an air operation is launched, they inform themselves and go into hiding, knowing the nonpermanency of air power. They exploit this very well through human intelligence. So, I think what needs to be done is to have more troops on the ground to dominate the forests and flush these people out. My opinion is that, if elected Senator, I will be able to contribute to the legal framework to facilitate these changes.

What are the peculiar challenges of your constituency that you will want to address in the Senate?

As I told you, as a Senator representing the good people of Plateau South, I think I know the people well enough. I share their aspirations; I have walked the land and interacted with all the component demographics of the zone, and I know and understand their needs. The zone needs roads for viral economic and social activities; they have health, educational and other environmental needs that are begging for government’s intervention. All these make good contents for motions I will bring to the floor and attention of the senate. Of course, during the oversight function too, I’ll remember to have an eye on how budgetary provisions and processes are impacting on and alleviating the conditions of my people in Plateau South.

I think it is also of advantage that having worked in the presidency for over twenty years, I know people, and certainly I will explore this during oversight functions. So, I should be able to know where to go and who to lobby so that certain infrastructures can be made available to my people. These are the things that are lacking in the Southern Plateau especially under this APC government. Go to Wase and see the roads; go to Qua’an Pan – even Shendam and the entire hinterland. All these are lacking! And the people need roads! You see when you provide good roads, the people will spend less on repairs of their bicycles, motorcycles, and vehicles, and that means they would save more money to invest and develop themselves. But because of the terribly bad roads in the zone, the people spend too much to fix their transportation wares in a year, and this is grating on their savings and investment potential.

So, if my people elect me, I will ensure that I represent them well by making sure that in every budgetary provision, their health, educational, agricultural, and other social services needs are taken care of. Go to the Southern Plateau and see the plight of the people. Even the so-called legacy projects of Lalong are not completed! You will even ask or interrogate the wisdom of the ‘legacy project’, instead of completing, upgrading, and equipping existing ones. So, these lacking basic human needs and development are what I will pursue with all integrity and seriousness if elected Senator.

Besides, remember also that good roads and functional roads network can check insecurity. All these bandits causing havoc and spreading criminality around Bashar are exploring the bad roads situation to carry out their operations because they know the security cannot get there easily to counter and

apprehend them. So, bringing good roads there will help to curtail insecurity. Even at the national level, we would have to look at the state of the roads especially in respect of the implementation of defense mechanisms. We have to give emphasis to securing the country first, and address the issue of the quantum and sophistication of weapons in the hands and control of the bandits. Can you imagine that bandits use Rocket Propelled Grenades, RPGs, and other high capacity modern warfare devices on human beings and other targets? We need to address all these holistically. Once the country is reasonably secured then we can begin to think of how to maintain law and order.

The leadership structure of the Nigeria security presently is vested in one geopolitical region and many feel this is partly responsible for worsening insecurity in the country. Are you satisfied with the present leadership

structure of Nigeria security?

“

Let me tell you quickly that whichever direction you locate the leadership, it will not stop insecurity in the country. I am not however advocating that security chiefs should all come from one region. After all, the authors of our constitution know why they prescribed that there should be federal character in recruitment, placement, and deployment. But I’ll not really go into that. However, anybody telling you that carrying security appointments to one region is what is fueling insecurity is not true. Not true in the sense that whether it is in one region or the other, that cannot stop the motive of the perpetrators. Why is it that insecurity in the North East, for stance, has not ended in spite of the years of headship of some security outfits by personnel from that area? I can tell you authoritatively that up till today, some local government areas in Borno State are still dominated by Boko Haram and ISWAP elements that are still very active.

Sometimes people raise observations. Yes. But what is there is that we should always encourage the executive to respect the constitution to ensure that appointments go round. You are however not far from the truth by saying that it brings some element of instability. But it brings that instability because of people criticizing. But I want to tell you that, if you like, bring all the service chiefs from every region, if we do not do the right thing by getting more troops to flush these people out of the forests, we are wasting our time. The security challenge of Nigeria now is not external attacks from outside Nigeria.

It is not even Boko Haram and ISWAP. The greatest challenge is this banditry – they are so brutal. When you talk about poverty, allow people to go and farm. These guys go into the forest, into the village, main them and force them to pay illegal taxes to them. So, these are basically what we need to do; that is, to get more troops on ground, irrespective of where the security chiefs or heads of security come from. Let’s put more troops on the ground to dominate these forests. Yes, initially it may appear too expensive, but at the end of it all, when you secure this country reasonably the cost goes down to nothing. In my own opinion, we still need about 300,000 to 400,000 soldiers to secure this country. At the end of it all, if you add on the numerical strength of the military, you will say that it is too expensive. What will happen is that, if these 300,000 or 400,000 troops secure the country, you buy the skill off them. It has happened somewhere. You can remember that in Egypt when the Muslim Brotherhood was there and took up arms against the state, they were going to drag Egypt into a war, but the military took over. What the Muslim Brotherhood did was to move into Mount Sinai and even started killing

Egyptian soldiers and Israelites. At the end what happened? They had to beef up the strength of the Army with additional troops. Recently in Ethiopia, when the reactionaries were advancing into Addis Ababa, they simply increased troops! During the Nigerian Civil War, the strength of the Army was only ten thousand before the troops were increased! Now that the security challenges are getting overwhelming, I wonder why the present Government has not increased the numerical strength of the ground troops. There is a need to establish temporary training grounds in the six geopolitical zones. The chief of defence staff has to sit down with the service chiefs, under the directives of Mr. President, every year, and agree on the number needed for the ground troops. At the end of it all, if it is soldiers or special Police you want to call them, as I said, I know our military: the training is robust; and we have established training institutions to do it.

Why did you choose to join the PDP?

Because I think there is a gap, yes, I was still in service with the APC government for about four and a half years when I retired in 2019. As I said, there is a gap! In my opinion, the APC has not been able to secure the country the way it should be. And I can only talk about and against that gap if I’m in the opposition. That is why I joined the PDP. There is a gap; and I am going to work on it – and you will hear. It is not just about anybody wanting to join the APC. If you can remember, the APC government came into being with a slogan to ‘secure’ Nigeria.

But today, you know what is going on. Look at the Naira in a free fall every day. And let me tell you, there is nothing like technical defeat of non-state actors. You either defeat them outright, or succeed in reducing their operational capability because these are people who in the day mix up freely in the society. What happens is that it is mostly in the night that they carry out their operations. So, I must continue to emphasize on the need for more troops to chase them out of the forests so that they won’t have any base to group, rehearse, and launch attacks on their targets. I can tell you that that attack on the Abuja–Kaduna train was done after proper rehearsal and simulation. That is why they could easily head to the first class coach of the train when they attacked it. It was not by any coincidence.

Very quickly, another reform I will pursue as a Senator is to get our security to operate more at night because most of these non-state actors hardly operate in the day. In fact, if I am to go to the extreme, I’ll propose that all operational units of the military should be more active and dutiful in the night.

In my own opinion, we still need about 300,000 to 400,000 soldiers to secure this country

Bali

Napoleon Bali, a retired Air Vice Marshal, is the Plateau South Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senatorial Candidate for the 2023 election. He spoke with UKANDI ODEY on his political career and issue of national security. Excerpts:

POLITICS

Atiku on The Plateau

BY UKANDI ODEY

It was the Rwang Pam Township Stadium, Jos, once again.

With a crowd surging from all around the environs into the bowl of the new look stadium, a traffic gridlock that treated motorists to comfort in hell, colourful gallery seemingly overflowing with enthusiastic supporters, a well decorated State Stand bearing abundance of dignitaries and political juggernauts, and security and protocol personnel in full swing duty, the business of the day was unmistakable: a powerful presidential campaign rally was afoot, and the town was at stand still.

Amidst burning of brooms in symbolic taunt and denunciation of the All Progressives Congress by members of the jubilant crowd, Atiku Abubakarno doubt the reason for the event and toast of the day, wasted no time in making huge political capital of the crowd that gathered more by its own sheer conviction and effrontery than by any pecuniary promptings. Reminiscing the events of the defunct Social Democratic Party Presidential Convention at the Polo Ground in Jos thirty years ago in 1992, Atiku Abubakar relished his audience with a declaration that the day’s event was a celebration of the ‘natives’ about a return to base and coming home of their very own.

Unfolding his address further, Atiku reached for the emotions and conscience of the Plateau citizen by lamenting the underdeveloped and vulnerable economy of Plateau State which, in his opinion, should not be at its current low ebb because of the location of the State intrinsically as the gateway to the rest of Nigeria for most of the States in the North, especially the North East, and a major melting pot and regional clearing house for high volume commerce and commercial exchanges, Atiku said it is sad that all the roads interfacing Plateau and neighbouring States have been abandoned and left in a state of disrepair, with unfavourable consequences on the flow of commerce, mobility of labour, and social intercourse in the region.

The high point of the PDP presidential candidate’s address was a pledge to not simply assist to grow the State economy; he said all the roads traversing Plateau to other States will be a priority issue if he is voted in as the President of Nigeria comes May 29, 2023.

In that direction, the national chairman of the Party, Iyorchia Ayu, urged Plateau people to keep a date with history, and should ensure that the Presidential candidate pulls no fewer than 2,000,000 votes from the State in next February’s presidential election.

Ayu reminded his host that the wrong decision to abandon the PDP in 2015 has cost the State dearly, especially in terms of infrastructural development, and challenged Plateau citizens to use the window of the next elections to restore the State to the path of its destiny, and launch the citizens to the course and era of prosperity and self actualization.

Akwa Ibom State Governor and Chairman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Udom Emmanuel, expressed sadness that Plateau State has not realised its place in the diary of global

economic havens and destinations. Pointing at the huge Irish Potato production profile of the State, which he noted as sufficient for the demand of the West African market.

Udom Emmanuel said Plateau State should have been industrialized at least along the line of Irish Potato processing for which it has absolute (not comparative) advantage on a national scale, advising the State to mobilize and enthrone an Atiku presidency towards economic transformation of the State.

Director General of the PDP presidential Campaign Council and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Bello Tambuwal, told the crowd in the Stadium that much is expected from Plateau in the forthcoming presidential election because Plateau is historically a PDP State, and the records show the PDP has always fared well in the State since its inception in 1999. Noting that there is no other time than now, he urged the people to come out en masse in February and vote for the PDP and an Atiku Abubakar Presidency.

Barrister Caleb Mutfwang, PDP’s gubernatorial candidate for Plateau State, reiterated his campaign philosophy and slogan that “the time is now!”

He noted and commended the people of Plateau for the massive turnout and worm reception, as he said the people of Plateau have a duty, and are anxious to use the next elections to restore the glory of the State by ending the affliction and disaster that the APC unleashed on the State.

Mutfwang said former Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, could not attend the rally because he was out of the country on medical grounds.

The Plateau State Chairman of the PDP, Chris Hassan, who recalled the purveying and pacesetting role of late illustrious son of Plateau State, Chief Solomon Daushep Lar and others, said the people of Plateau are ready for the PDP, and they will demonstrate this by voting the party from the Presidency down to the State House of Assembly elections.

Veritably and verifiably, from the quality of the crowd to the zero record of violence to the cream and array of politicians on call at the occasion, the Atiku rally in Plateau synched with the raving emotions and momentum of the people in search for a lost heritage and restoration of hope.

Atiku reached for the emotions and conscience of the Plateau citizens by lamenting the underdeveloped and vulnerable economy of Plateau State which, in his opinion, should not be at its current low ebb

“

L-R : Bar. Caleb Mutfwang, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, Ifeanyi Okowa, Emmanuel Udom and Aminu Tambuwal at the rally.

POLITICS NEWS

Ekiti Gov, Oyebanji, Mourns Seriki

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has sent his condolences on the death of Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, Demola Seriki, who passed away on Thursday, describing his death as unfortunate and painful.

The Governor, in a statement in AdoEkiti, described the news of Seriki’s death as shocking, worrisome and unfortunate; noting that the deceased did not show any sign of illness during their last meeting.

Oyebanji, who described Seriki as a big brother and mentor, said the death of the Lagos politician was a personal loss to him.

Nigeria Must Pray For Success of 2023 Election – Cleric

General Overseer of the Bibleway Crusaders Church International, Revd Paul Tunde Tioluwani, popularly known as Lesekese has called on Nigerians to pray for the successful conduct of next year’s general election.

Tioluwani, who made this known while speaking at this year's edition of the annual carnival for the People with Disabilities, Orphans, Motherless and the less privileged, at the Care People Foundation Orphanage in Ibadan, said there is the need for prayers for the election to even hold because according to him, there are some powerful individuals who may want to truncate the smooth running of the election.

He said the reason as revealed to him by God is that those powerful individuals have seen that the candidate they are rooting for may not win the election, hence their plan to truncate the election.

“As a cleric, God told me to encourage Nigerians to pray so that there won’t be instability and for the election to hold as schedule

He also called on those who are aspiring to go into political offices at all levels in the coming election to always remember the poor and the vulnerable all the time.

Tioluwani who is also the Chairman of the Care Peoples Foundation said there is the need to care for the less privileged in society at this time of economic hardship.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult to be kind in Nigeria because a man cannot give what he does not have and considering the economy that seems to be going down the drain, people seem not to have enough. So anyone giving out things at this time must be doing it sacrificially.

“So I want to encourage the rich people in the country and the governments at the local, States and

federal level to come to help the needy especially those with physical disabilities, Orphans, Motherless and other less privileged people in the society".

He said his foundation has been trying its best by bringing smiles to the face of the less privileged people through provisions of wheelchairs, food items, Grinding machines, Sewing machines and provisions of scholarships to indigent students, saying however that “we can only do little and Government must intervene".

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Carnival and former Vice Chancellor of Bell University, Professor Isaac Adeyemi called the government at both state and at the federal level to give special allocation to Orphanage and Homes for the People with Disabilities as a way of alleviating their sufferings.

He said he had listened to the debates and Town Hall meetings by major presidential candidates but has not heard any of them speaking on their programmes for the People with Disabilities, saying this must be corrected before the February 25 election.

“I have listened to debates and Town Hall meetings by the Presidential Candidates. They have been talking about education but none of them has broken it down to segments. I don't think any of them have talked about caring for the Orphans and motherless in schools as well as the People with Physical Challenges. They are only talking about tertiary education. This must be corrected before the election", Adeyemi said.

He commended the Care People Foundation for the annual carnival saying with the event they have brought succour and joy to the less privileged people in the society especially during the festive period.

Posthumous Birthday: Akande-Sadipe Remembers Ajimobi

Amember of the House of Representatives, representing Oluyole Federal Constituency of Oyo State, Hon. Tolulope AkandeSadipe, has joined family members of the immediate past governor of Oyo State, late Senator Abiola Ajimobi, as they remember the late governor on his posthumous birthday celebration on Friday.

Late Senator Ajimobi, a two-term former governor of Oyo State and senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, died in June 2020.

Remembering the former governor, Hon. Akande-Sadipe, a cousin to the late Ajimobi, paid tribute to the politician on her social media handles.

Hailing Ajimobi as an exceptional politician, whose style of leadership has been vindicated, Akande-Sadipe noted that she missed his guidance, especially as a member of the House of Representatives.

In a post uploaded on Friday, AkandeSadipe said, “My uncle, my political leader, my mentor, blessed posthumous birthday to you. How we wish we could turn back the hand of the clock. But who are we. The Lord knows why. We miss you, we miss your intelligence, your forthrightness and the love you had for Ibadanland and Oyo State as a whole. The vacuum created by your absence is glaring everyday. Now that you are no longer here in person, those who choose to deny your impact have been proved wrong. History has vindicated you. Rest on in peace at the bosom of the Lord.

He described the late Ambassador as a highly refined politician, seasoned administrator, patriotic leader who saw politics and public service as avenue to serve and contribute to nation building.

The Governor said it is painful that Seriki who had been extremely committed to the presidential aspiration of the APC National Leader and Presidential flagbearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, did not wait to witness the realization of the collective dream.

“Ambassador Seriki was known for his dedication to a worthy cause. He was a loyal party man and a patriotic Nigerianalways ready to serve. The news of his death is quite shocking, disheartening and painful. Losing such a committed and visionary public servant is a huge loss, not only to his family, friends and political associates, but to the country at large.

“My condolences and that of the government and people of Ekiti State to the Federal Government, the government and people of Lagos State as well as members of the immediate and extended families of the late politician. We pray to God to grant his soul eternal rest and give the family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss”, Oyebanji said.

Atiku Condoles With Nwankwo's Family

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has mourned the loss of a seasoned journalist, Joe Nwankwo. He was until his passing Executive Director at Authority Newspapers.

The Wazirin Adamawa expressed shock and sadness at the death of the young and active media personality who spent many years reporting the judiciary in Nigeria.

The PDP presidential candidate expressed his deepest condolences to his immediate family, his friends and colleagues at Authority Newspaper and the Nigerian Union of Journalists.

He prays that God will grant his soul eternal repose and imbue the family and friends he left behind the comfort and strength to bear the loss.

Chairman, Care People Foundation, Revd Paul Tioluwani a.k.a Lesekese, (left); Special Adviser on Tourism to Oyo State Governor, Mr Ademola Ige (3rd right); Vice Chairperson, Care People Foundation, Barrister Favour Tioluwani (right) with beneficiaries of Scholarship Awards for indigent students at the  Christmas Carnival organised by the Care People Foundation for the Motherless, Orphans and the Less Privileged at Ibadan on December 11,2022.

AYO ESAN

www.thewillnigeria.com

Tackling Clandestine Recruitment in Federal Service R

ecent reports revealed that some federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) continue to indulge in backdoor recruitment despite claimed embargo on employment and warnings. More disturbing is the perpetration of this act amid severe fiscal challenges and when Nigeria is sinking deeper in debt.

Beneficiaries of the clandestine process are issued appointment papers which are not accredited by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Civil Service Commission, yet they are put on payroll, thus compounding the illegal exercise. The MDAs reportedly involved in this scandalous act include the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC), the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) among the others.

Clandestine recruitment has thrived under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari since inauguration in May 2015, contradicting the anti-corruption stance which the government claims it holds sacrosanct. The anomaly which features virtually every year sparks outcry and condemnation by lawmakers, civil society organisations and other stakeholders. However, nothing concrete exists to demonstrate the government's sincere commitment to tackling it effectively. Instead it continues to grow.

In 2019, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was reported to have employed many individuals without following the due recruitment process. The exercise set the Corporation on a

collision course with the Niger Delta Youth Consort of Nigeria, which protested against the exclusion of the region and southerners in the secret recruitment.

A rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA), in September 2020 reported that the Department of State Services (DSS) secretly recruited 628 officials with 535 slots given to the North, while the South received 93 slots. Besides the clandestine nature, HURIWA condemned the lopsided appointment which it said was significantly micro-zoned to the benefit of a particular ethnic and religious group against the others.

Similarly, the FIRS was enmeshed in a recruitment scandal in 2021 after it emerged that it secretly engaged 2,000 workers. The Nigerian Civil Service Union, in a petition to the FIRS Chairman, Muhammad Namu, in June 2021, revealed that the agency was struggling to pay salaries at some point after the secret engagement of the workers within 18 months.

Similarly, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, in September 2022 disclosed that her office had detected a total of 1,618 workers whose letters of employment were either fake or illegal in the Federal Civil Service.

Aside from violating the federal character principle in most cases, these under-ground recruitments inevitably impose severe constraints on the nation’s budget and lead to starving the capital vote of funds to the detriment of infrastructure development. It also widens the cesspool of corruption which the civil service has become notorious for.

Personnel cost has escalated under the Buhari administration. A total of N20.76 has been spent on personnel costs between 2016 and 2021, according to data from the Ministry

of Finance, Budget and National Planning. Personnel cost rose from N1.69 trillion in 2016 to N2.90 trillion in 2017; before climbing to N2.97 in 2018 to drop to N2.29 trillion in 2019. The figure jumped 75 percent to N3.05 trillion in 2020 and N3.75 trillion in 2021. Personnel cost for 2022 is N4.11 trillion – a rise of 41.2 percent from 2016.

The sum of N4.99 trillion is provided for personnel cost in the 2023 budget with a N9.73 trillion projected revenue and N10.7 trillion deficit. However, the World Bank has said that Nigeria’s projected revenue of N9.73 million cannot pay/service its debt which will gulp well over 100 percent of the federal government’s earnings in 2023. The new World Bank Lead Economist for Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, who disclosed this in a recent presentation said Nigeria’s debt servicing would gulp 100.2 per cent of Federal Government revenue by

the end of 2022 as the nation battles acute revenue challenges. This corroborates the statement by the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, that even though revenue is increasing, the expenditure has been increasing at a much higher rate, creating a very difficult situation.

It is worrisome that despite the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), which ought to weed out ghost workers and detect the manipulation of the process when secret recruitment occurs, the personnel cost had continued to rise significantly. The number of MDAs captured on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System increased from 459 in 2017 to 711 by 2021, without corresponding increase in revenue or productivity.

The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) has continued to expose the rot in Nigeria’s high cost of governance, which secret recruitment aggravates. But little or no actions are taken to address the issues exposed by the Auditor-General. Investigations are rarely conducted nor are the culprits sanctioned. With the nation’s revenue depleting fast, it is obvious that the Nigerian government will borrow to pay salaries including those recruited through the clandestine process.

President Buhari should take bold steps to stop the secret recruitment racket in the Federal Civil Service. Recommendations by the OAuGF should be implemented to the letter in the interest of Nigerians. It is high time the long-awaited implementation of the Stephen Oronsaye Report took place towards harmonisation of the MDAs and stopping this hemorrhage on our public finance. Government should identify genuine vacancies in the Service and have them filled through due process.

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]

Clandestine recruitment has thrived under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari since its inauguration in May 2015, contradicting the anti-corruption stance which the government claims it holds sacrosanctly

THEWILL NEWSPAPER • www.thewillnigeria.com

Aba Saheed: Arodan And The Wild Goose Chase

BY TOLA ADENIYI

The British imperialists and my people have so many things in common: wickedness, unforgiving spirit, vengeance-seeking, brutality and selfishness. But the most outstanding commonality is Deception. Deception is our breakfast, our lunch, our dinner and our supper. We breathe deception. We dream of deception. It is our way of life; our mantra.

Right now I am about to prepare my hand-over notes. I don’t know whether to feign illness and be hidden in a hospital, or run away, or plan my own abduction and get declared missing, or what?

No, suicide is not an option. And I don’t intend to stop my steroids. What should I do? What should I not do? It is a dilemma since my culture forbids me to admit anyone into my confidence.

Should I hand it over to Danbazzar? He is too bookish.

Should I handover to Gum-Arabic since he has unfettered access, nay absolute control over the local and imported terrorists? Luckily there is nothing to distinguish my armed forces from the rag-tag militia men of the terrorists’ camps. They speak the same language and wear the same military fatigue.

Should I hand it over to Ruffi? The problem is his acceptability. People consider him too smallish, too tiny, and too terrible to be trusted with enormous power. Some say he never sleeps, not because of the occupants of his harems but because his brain is too restless and his heart is full of blood.

I have Brutu to consider but my worry is about his snaky way of life. He is so enamoured with snakes that he may find it difficult dealing with normal human beings. He is a loyal servant, but sometimes being too blindly loyal may be a big minus.

In any case why should I bother myself about who takes over once I am out of the picture? Although some fear that a situation may arise that blood will begin to flow. Rubbish! Is blood not flowing now? Blood flows ceaselessly in our veins or outside our veins. When throats are slit, blood flows. When bombs are detonated, blood flows. When AK-47 rifles are unleashed on hapless farmers and kidnapped victims, blood flows. Blood is not designed to be stagnant.

I remember my school days. There was a game called ‘Wild Goose Chase’. Our teacher used to send us on ‘wild goose chase’ as a sport. We loved it because of the promise that a huge prize was attached to it.

We would all be dispatched to the bush with a promise of a mouth-watering prize for whoever came back with the wild goose. Some of us would spend a whole week in the bush chasing after the mirage of a goose. Some got killed by wild animals during the search for a goose!

I understand there is a similar game among the Yoruba people of West Africa. It is called a request for ARODAN. Cantankerous children are sent out of the house so that peace and normalcy can be enjoyed by others, especially the parents in a home. A troublesome child is sent to, maybe, ten houses away to request for an Arodan for the parents and will be told never to return empty handed without the Arodan.

House after house will tell the child to go ask an elder in the third or fourth house away and be assured that he will be given the Arodan for his parents. Maybe after trekking over a mile from his parent’s home and looking weary and worn-out, an elder would then ask him how far gone he has been in his search for the elusive Arodan. At that point the elder, like the previous elders who know why the child is sent on an errand for Arodan, will tell

him to go back to his parents with the assurance that an Arodan will be forwarded the following day. Or better still, an object, any object will be wrapped up and given to the child to give to his parents as Arodan. Nobody has ever seen what Arodan is since it doesn’t exist, whatever object sent is the Arodan.

Now, I have sent some old men and women on a ‘wild goose chase’. Some of them have gone as far as Japan and Australia. Some have gone to China and Russia looking for Arodan to be brought back to me. Some have gone to England and Dubai, and I understand some are planning to go to the Moon in search of the wild goose.

It appears that a tiny minority of the people being deceived have wizened up to this trick of Deception and are already writing papers, running commentaries, and even doing videos as preachers, prophets and bloggers warning people that the whole exercise is a quest for an Arodan.

This is another dilemma for me as I may have to change tactics and begin to make Plan B and Plan C. The important thing is that I must be on top of the game at all times. That is what I inherited from my ancestors. And it has kept us in power over those who claim they are better endowed than my people.

POSER ONE:

‘There is no art to find a mind’s construction on the face’….William Shakespeare

POSER TWO:

My bread is in APC, but my heart is in PDP.

• Copyright: Aba Saheed @2022.

Between Tinubu And Buhari Chatham House Presentations

BY MAGNUS ONYIBE

The Chatham House,London hiatus by the presidential flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress,APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on December 5,has foreclosed his chance of becoming president of Nigeria and cemented the possibility of Waziri Atiku Abubakar presidency and Peoples Democratic Party,PDP return as the ruling party at the center from next year.

The assertion above is underscored by the fact that Asiwaja Tinubu’s performance at Chatham House has turned out to be nothing but political higgledy piggledy.

Although indirectly,all the suspicions of mental incapacities and physical debilities allegedly earlier exhibited by Asiwaju Tinubu as reflected by the numerous goofs and gaffes that he reportedly committed during his public outings considered to be hindrances to the ruling party’s candidates chance to succeed president Mohammadu Buhari as the next occupant of Aso Rock Villa in 2023,were affirmed and validated by his abdication from the responsibility to respond to questions posed to him after his presentation to an audience of eminent personalities at the forum organized by the UK based foreign policy think tank, Chatham House.

Instead of rising up to the occasion to put a lie to or cancel out the suspicions which had appeared to me initially as malicious,the presidential standard bearer of APC outsourced the duty to answer the questions to his allieskaduna state governor,Nasir El Rufai ,Speaker of the House of Representatives,Femi Gbajabiamila and Mr Dele Alake,former commissioner for Information when Tinubu ruled Lagos State 1999-2007, as well as Mrs Beta Edun who is APC women leader and Ben Ayade ,Cross River state governor.

In fact that spectacle is not only embarrassing,it is scandalous and an insult not only to Nigeria and Nigerians that he has persistently ignored by not honoring the invitation to attend town hall meetings by the media (Thisday/ AriseTv),Organized Private Sector, (OPS/Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry-LCCI) body of lawyers (NBA)and the academia (LBS),but also to his host,Chatham House that was allegedly ambushed and therefore has reportedly expressed indignation at Mr Tinubu’s resort to delegating the task of answering questions about the points that he canvassed in his presentation through surrogates.

A spokesman of the frontline United Kingdom,UK foreign policy think tank-Chatham House reportedly made the following statement of disavowal:

“Yesterday’s event was not the norm and our Chair was not notified in advance that Mr Tinubu would be delegating questions,”

Dele Alake,Director of Strategic Communications for the APC Presidential Campaign Council,PCC has pushed back in a Channel' television interview:

“This is one of the innovations of Asiwaju Tinubu. Don’t forget that one of his main solid strengths has been identifying talents,”

“Anybody who has his head properly screwed on his head would know that Asiwaju is the primus inter pares in team building; that is what he sought to display”

Despite,Mr Alake’s strenuous efforts at justifying the outlandish approach adopted by his principal as innovative,it is highly likely that most Nigerians would disagree with his logic.

But l guess he had to do what he had to do to keep his candidate in the reckoning for the presidential context that would be determined on February 25,2023 which comes up a little more than sixty(60) days ahead.

Nevertheless,the stark reality is that after his Chatham House fiasco,Tinubu’s chances at succeeding Mohammadu Buhari next year has dipped.And no one needs a sooth sayer to affirm that the ‘Renewed Hope 2023’ campaign which is how APC presidential candidate’s campaign has branded itself,is now at its nadir.

The proof or evidence that Tinubu’s Chatham House outing did not go down well amongst Nigerian people,particularly the youth demography is the avalanche of bizarre and ridiculous memes and skits parodying him after the fiasco in both traditional and social media platforms.

And being a maestro,Mr Dele Alake recognized the dark clouds and the ensuing storm.Then he decided to spin the political higgledy piggledy committed by his principal as a consequence of his outsourcing responsibility to answer questions arising from the ideas that he espoused in his presentation by ingeniously trying to cast it as an innovative leadership ingenuity being injected into the political ecosystem by his boss,and which would soon be emulated by other leaders.

But has the attempt to spin the Chatham House debacle been

successful? I think not.

At this juncture,for the sake of equity,it is appropriate that we put Asiwaju Tinubu’s performance at Chatham House in a crucible to determine whether it has further positively or negatively impacted his current race to Aso Rock Villa.

And l would like to do so by engaging in a comparison of then candidate Mohammadu Buhari’s presentation in the same Uk foreign affairs forum,Chatham House on February 25,2015 for the same purpose of winning the endorsement of the international community with candidate Tinubu’s December 5,2022 appearance seven (7) and half (1/2)years after.

As it may be recalled,when then candidate Buhari in February 2015 attended Chatham House forum after the initial date for the general elections in Nigeria was postponed for six (6)weeks,his candidacy received a bounce as it was an opportunity for him to disabuse the minds of the international community whose endorsement he needed,but who were skeptical at that time about his sordid past as a military dictator in the twenty (20) months that he had ruled Nigeria from December 1983 to August 1985.

After his apparently convincing presentation where he portrayed himself as a former dictator who has become a born again democrat,his audience was bowled over by his seeming sincerity in seeking forgiveness for his human rights abuses during his past dictatorial rule which he vowed would not happen again in his reincarnation.

It is on record that candidate Buhari’s image soared in popularity with the international endorsements from both the United Kingdom,Uk and United States of America,USA who even dispatched their respective foreign affairs minister and Secretary of State,as the case may be ,on missions to Nigeria,enabling then opposition party candidate Buhari to win the presidency a couple of weeks after.

To be specific, Buhari was at Chatham House on the 25th of February after the election scheduled to hold on February 14th had been postponed to March 28th/29th 2015.

•Magnus Onyibe, a former Commissioner in Delta State, sent this piece from Lagos.

•Continues online at www.thewillnigeria.com

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

BY SAM DIALA

There are strong indications that Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), a leading philanthropy and non-profit organisation, empowering African entrepreneurs, especially the youth, from all 54 African countries, will serve as a vehicle to actualise the dream of industrialising the continent and lifting its people from poverty, as recently enunciated in the recent US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington.

The three-day Summit (December 13-15) was hosted by President Joe Biden to demonstrate the US government enduring commitment to Africa. It was also aimed at building on what the US describes as shared values to better foster new economic engagement, advance peace, security, and good governance, promote education and youth development, among others values.

The US department of state wrote on a page dedicated to the Summit on its website, that “Africa will shape the future – not just the future of the African people, but of the world.” It further says Africa will make the difference in tackling the most urgent challenges and seizing the opportunities we all face, but how and when this will become a reality, is yet unanswered.

This is where the role of TEF becomes imperative and urgent having laid the foundation for this objective since 2010 when the Foundation was created and having demonstrated that achieving the goals is possible. A pioneer member of the Global Impact Investment Rating System (GIIRS), the Foundation has so far empowered over 10,000 African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries through its philosophy of Africapitalism.

Africapitalism is the economic philosophy developed by our Founder and Chairman, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, CON, and is predicated on the belief that Africa’s private sector can and must play a leading role in the continent’s development.

According to the Foundation, Africapitalism is a call-to-action for businesses to make decisions that will increase economic and social wealth, and promote development in the communities and nations in which they operate. Such a decision will ultimately help businesses become more profitable as the communities they serve become well-off consumers, healthy and bettereducated employees, and even entrepreneurs who go on to become suppliers and service providers.

“Africapitalism means we cannot leave the business of development up to our governments, donor countries, and philanthropic organizations alone. The private sector must be involved in the business of development.” This has been demonstrated through many entrepreneurial initiatives that have impacted meaningfully on the economic renaissance of the continent.

In 2015, TEF consolidated its various programmes and Initiatives and made investing in Africa's next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders a priority. According to the Foundation, the future of TEF centres on the provision of structured, robust, and multifaceted support to entrepreneurs around Africa through the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme.

In 2021 alone, TEF selected 4,949 entrepreneurs from

cobank Group said it recorded transactions valued at $59.1 billion across its digital channels in the first 9 months of 2022. The company disclosed this in its audited financial report for the 9-month ended September 2022. According to the company, this represents a 44% increase compared with the $40.4 billion it recorded in the same period last year. A closer look at the various digital channels of the company shows that the Ecobank Omni

www.thewillnigeria.com

AVIATION/ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Paucity of Airline Counters at Airports Worries Operators

Tony Elumelu Foundation Holds Prospects For US-Africa Deal

Continued from page 32 across Africa for its 2021 Entrepreneurship Programme. It explained through a statement that the 2021 beneficiaries were selected from a pool of over 400,000 applications, based on their innovation, performance, and growth potential to create jobs and eradicate poverty on the continent. The beneficiaries consisted of both new start-ups and existing small businesses who had undergone world-class business training, mentorship and coaching and will have a lifetime access to the Tony Elumelu Foundation alumni network.

“

an airplane for a flight. Airlines typically use service counters found at airports for this process, and the check-in is normally handled by an airline itself or a handling agent working on behalf of an airline.

However, some stakeholders have warned that passengers may have to face flight delays and probably cancellations this season, if nothing is done about the apparent infrastructure deficit; case in point: lack of counters for domestic airlines to check in passengers especially at the Abuja Airport.

On their part, airlines have equally decried the evident lack of counters to check in thousands of passengers for multiple flights stating that at the Abuja domestic terminal, ten airlines are cramped into one small space to execute their flights to various parts of the country.

Most airlines have brought in new aircraft from two to ten to augment their operations during the yuletide but the challenge is beyond fleet size especially if facilitation is slowed as a result of lack of capacity of the airport to handle flights from Abuja to destinations like Port Harcourt, Lagos, Kano, Uyo, Asaba etc, all at once.

Speaking at a book launch: ‘Air Transportation In Nigeria: The Lingering Expectations,’ held at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Annex Chairman of Air Peace, Chief Allen Onyema called for some disparities to

With very few check-in counters at the Murtala Mohammed Airport for instance, stakeholders are of the view that there would be likelihood of flight disruptions, particularly this festive season

be addressed as they add to the causes of delays.

Onyema said that even in international operations, Nigerian airlines are left with three counters to operate from while an expanse of space is given to foreign airlines describing it as a disservice to Nigerians who are trying to get it right under harsh environment.

He noted that the issue of delays are not solely airlines’ responsibilities as those supposed to provide infrastructure and support the airlines are busy demarketing Nigerian airlines and saying they are weak.

On the sidelines, Onyema who is also Vice President of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) said the government needed to do something about the infrastructure especially on the Abuja Airport because it makes them (airlines) delay, ”Aviation there is no half and half, we are prepared. Yuletide season, no yuletide season we are prepared but we need to have infrastructure to make it happen. A situation where that is lacking then there is going to be problems.

“Airlines are prepared, they have the means, most airlines are using two planes and the NCAA is alive to its duties of regulating us properly, safety is assured that I can tell you. The issue of seamless operations is out of our hands. The airport authority must have some questions to answer too.

On what airlines have done to alert the authorities to this anomaly Onyema said ”We have written to FAAN, in fact the AON has written to the Ministry and have written to FAAN on the issue of the Abuja check in terminal it’s crazy out there, nine or ten airlines in one small space, it is not encouraging.

“However, a few days ago, the MD of FAAN spoke to me and said they were going to do something about it. What we are asking for is expansion. The old international terminal (Abuja) is lying fallow. Airlines, some of us should go there so we have enough counters for check in. Not when they give you two counters and you’re checking in thousands of people, delays will surely come and I tell the flying public to stop blaming the airlines for delays.”

He said,” ten airlines in one cubicle in Abuja is unacceptable, cramping the airlines without facilities. The airlines are not responsible for all the delays on routes flown.

Elumelu also joined partners to empower 100 million Sahel youths in 2021 in a project tagged “Generation Unlimited (Gen U) Sahel” which would focus on the provision of relevant skills, opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship, and social impact for people in the Sahel region. The programme is an initiative that is aimed at maximising opportunities in the Sahel, towards equipping 100 million young people with the skills needed to thrive by 2030.

The Sahel region includes Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.

Mr Elumelu said his foundation, which has empowered thousands across the 54 African countries, was proud to be co-implementers for the Gen-U programme. He noted that the foundation has funded 10,898 entrepreneurs across Africa, who have gone on to create further 400,000 direct and indirect jobs across the continent.

“In 2019, we partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to identify, train, mentor and fund 2100 young entrepreneurs in the Sahel region and this include Northern Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger , Chad, Cameroon and Mauritania.

“Again in 2020, we partnered with UNDP to fund and train 1860 young Malians, who face threats of conflicts, insecurity and poverty, as well as loss of livelihood from climate change through our intervention, we were able to create small businesses and generate economic growth in the youth, channeling their creativity and skills to transform the sahel region,” he said..

The U.S. Africa Leaders’ Summit concluded with a pledge of $55 billion-dollar investment in Africa, plus a hint of a presidential visit to the continent. The White House National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan said that the U.S. is committed to investing in the African continent compared favourably to other countries. The money will go to “a wide range of sectors to tackle the core challenges of our time,” and is being distributed in close partnership with Congress, Sullivan said.

Analysts believe that building on the milestone by TEF to accelerate economic development of the continent through

entrepreneurship is the best way to pursue the US strategy towards socio-economic development of Africa.

A Labour Economist, Mike Abbah, urged the US and African leaders to leverage on the milestone recorded by TEF to ensure a seamless implementation of their programme because the $55 billion promise is a mere intention. They own the skill, the expertise, the equipment and the knowledge.

“There is a structure on the ground already, and that is what the TEF has achieved all these years. If the US is determined to achieve the objective of the US-Africa Leadership Summit deal, they should co-opt Tony Elumelu and adopt the philosophy of his Africanomics. I am confident that TEF holds the key to the success of the US government’s $55 billion initiative in Africa,” said Abbah in a telephone chat.

He apparently echoed Elumelu’s message at the 2021 TEF Programme: “To our African leaders – these young, intelligent, energetic, hardworking, resilient Africans are ready to go. We need to keep creating the right enabling environment to enable our young ones to succeed. We must realise that their success is success for all of us on the continent.

“We must prioritise them because nations and continents that prioritise their people, succeed. To my fellow business leaders, let us realise that in the 21st century and beyond, it is about impact, legacy and about how we work together to power people out of poverty. It is such a great feeling to see 5,000 young Africans also commence their own entrepreneurial journeys today.”

In 2019, we partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to identify, train, mentor and fund 2100 young entrepreneurs in the Sahel region and this include Northern Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger , Chad, Cameroon and Mauritania

Ecobank Group Records $59.1bn Digital Transactions in 9 Months

Plus recorded the largest transaction value within the period at $37.8 billion. Through its mobile app and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Ecobank recorded $4.2 billion within the period.

Its Omni Lite channel recorded transactions valued at $4.1 billion, while Ecobank Online and Xpress Points (Agency Network) recorded $755 million and $3.7 billion transactions respectively. The company also posted transactions valued at $8.1 billion through other indirect digital channels.

The company’s result: Ecobank in the 9-month financial result reported a 7% increase in revenue from $1.26 billion in the same period of 2021 to $1.35 billion in the period under review.

The bank’s operating profit expanded by 12% to $593 million, up from $528 million filed in the corresponding period of 2021, Profit before tax rose to $401 million, a 14% increase from $352 million achieved in 2021. Profit paid to shareholders grew by 7% from $182 million to $196 million.

CEO’s comment: Ecobank Group’s

CEO, Ade Ayeyemi, while commenting on the result, said: “We continued to deliver on our strategic priorities and are on track to meet full-year targets despite the complex operating environment. Group-wide return on tangible equity reached a record 21%, and profit before tax increased by 14%, or 48% at constant currency (i.e., excluding currency movements).

These results reflect the resilience, strong brand and diversification of our pan-African franchise.

“We saw decent client activity in consumer and wholesale payments, trade finance and foreign currency markets. Additionally, despite inflationary pressures, we maintained a tight lid on costs, thereby improving our cost-to-income ratio to 56.3% from 58.3% in the previous year.

The dampened economic outlook necessitated maintaining a sound balance sheet with adequate levels of liquidity and capital. As a result, our total capital adequacy ratio at 14.4% is well above our internal and minimum regulatory limits,” he said.

Bank Customers’ Money Transfer Hit N2.1trn in November 2022

Data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) shows that bank customers in Nigeria transferred a total of N2.1 trillion over mobile in November 2022.

The November figure brought the total mobile inter-scheme transactions on the NIBSS platform to N16.9 trillion in the last 11 months. The value of transactions in November is also the highest monthly record on the platform.

Year on year, the NIBSS data showed that the value of mobile transactions has grown by 148% in the 11 months of this year compared to the N6.8 trillion recorded in the same period last year.

The 11-month data showed a surge in mobile transfers, as the value of deals over the NIBSS platform surpassed the N8 trillion recorded in the full year

2021. The figures are expected to jump further this December due to festive season spending activities.

According to NIBSS, the volume of mobile inter-scheme transactions also rose by 145% year on year from 249 million recorded between January and November last year to 609 million in the same period this year.

The surge is buoyed by the rising mobile connections across the country.

According to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), active subscriptions for mobile services across the networks of MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile grew by 19.2 between January and October this year.

The mobile subscriptions jumped from 195.1 million in January 2021 to 214.3 million in October this year.

Arik Air Resumes Flights to Ilorin, Asaba

Arik Air has announced the resumption of flights to Ilorin, Kwara state and Asaba, Delta state, effective Tuesday, December 20, 2022.

Flights to Ilorin will originate from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja and operate four times weekly while Asaba flights will originate from the General Aviation Terminal, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos and operate four times weekly.

The resumption of flights from Abuja to Ilorin and from Lagos to Asaba is to enable the airline’s customers to spend the Yuletide with their loved ones.

Commenting on the flights resumption, Arik Air’s Chief Executive Officer, Captain Roy Ilegbodu said: “We have listened to our customers in Ilorin and Asaba who have been craving for our services. They trust us to deliver exceptional services and we won’t fail them.”

Equity Market Closes on Positive Note Ahead of Holiday Season

Amid impending holiday season, a total turnover of 814.089 million shares worth N12.204 billion in 15,488 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.225 billion shares valued at N15.243 billion that exchanged hands last week in 15,317 deals.

The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 663.799 million shares valued at N5.517 billion traded in 7,240 deals; thus contributing 81.54% and 45.21% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The ICT Industry followed with 44.358 million shares worth N4.493 billion in 1,136 deals. The third place was the Consumer Goods Industry, with a turnover of 27.372 million shares worth N1.187 billion in 3,051 deals.

Trading in the top three equities namely Sterling Bank Plc, Access Holdings Plc and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 394.878 million shares worth N2.847 billion in 2,274 deals, contributing 48.51% and 23.33% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The NGX All-Share Index and Market Capitalization appreciated by 0.89% to close the week at 49,316.29 and N26.861 trillion respectively.

Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of NGX Consumer Goods, NGX.

NCC Moves to Eliminate Risks in Telecom Sector

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has embarked on a regulatory step to sensitize the industry about the need for proper and continuous risk identification with the view to managing such risks before they affect the health of the industry. To this effect, the Commission, on Monday, hosted a two-day maiden conference at its headquarters in Abuja, where its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said it has become imperative to minimize risks in the industry to ensure that services are not disrupted, and that consumers obtain the best services that are globally available.

The conference with the theme: “Nigerian Telecommunications Industry: Managing the Emerging Risks and Embracing Risk Opportunities,” called for collaboration between the regulator and other stakeholders in the industry, to achieve multi-stakeholder strategies aimed at identifying and addressing emerging risks in the telecommunications sector to ensure sustainable and impacting growth.

Director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, Yetunde Akinloye, who stood for the EVC, said the essence of the forum was to examine myriads of issues that challenge the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, and to enhance the development of a sustainable ICT sector in Nigeria.

“The focus of this conference is to bring to the fore the ever-rising uncertainties in the global economy and the attendant regulatory/operational risks in the areas of increased data security regulations, new partnerships and transforming business models, fast-changing mix of mounting CAPEX burdens, shifting market structures, newly emerging disruption scenarios, regulatory and policy challenges amongst others,” Danbatta said.

The EVC told the audience at the event, which also featured virtual participation, that the Commission has been at the forefront of ensuring that the telecoms industry is not adversely impacted by these uncertainties/risks. He stated that one of our Strategic Visions is to ensure a competitive market for the communications services that foster fair inclusion of all players, promote local content and innovative services in ways that facilitate new investment, job creation and consumer satisfaction.

Danbatta said the NDEPS is the guiding document for the Federal Government’s activities to maximise the immense opportunities that are inherent in digital technologies to nudge the diversification of Nigeria’s economy and attain the key national objectives of improving security, reducing corruption, and expanding the economy.

“While risk management has been critical in our regulatory service delivery, we acknowledge that all stakeholders must be concerned about the varied uncertainties that confront the Industry. There is no gainsaying the fact that the Information and Communication Technologies Sector is inherently filled with several business and technology risks," Danbatta said.

L-R: Big Brother Titans Co-Host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu; Head, Product Marketing, Flutterwave; Onyedikachim Nwankwo; Executive Head, Content and Channels, West Africa, Dr Busola Tejumola; CEO, Bamboo, Richmond Bassey; Executive Head of Marketing, MultiChoice Nigeria, Tope Oshunkeye, at the Big Brother Titan Press Conference in Lagos on December 15, 2022.

Photo: Peace Udugba.

Nestlé Nigeria Celebrates 6th Batch of Technical Training Programme Graduates

Oluwadarasinmi Adesakin has emerged a beneficiary of Nestlé Nigeria’s 18-month Technical Training program which aims to bridge the skills gap by equipping youth with the required expertise to support industrialization. He is the best graduating student of Batch 6.

A citizen of Oyo State, Darasinmi obtained his National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Petroleum Training Institute in Warri, Delta State. Although he was already working, he aspired to develop himself further and was elated to be accepted into the technical training program.

He therefore set his mind to make the best of the opportunity and to attain the best possible result.

Darasinmi’s determination paid off as he finished his studies in flying colours, achieving a total of 29 distinctions, out of 36 courses in the City and Guilds examinations, the best result since the program started in 2011.

“Today was a huge surprise for my father, Mr. Adesakin Adeoye, a Mechanical Engineer himself,” Darasinmi said. “He did not know I was the best graduating student or that I would be going to Switzerland for an internship programme. He was so elated and could not hold back his joy. This, for me, was very fulfilling.”

Oluwadarasinmi Adesakin was ecstatic as he joined his colleagues at the 6th graduation ceremony which took place at Nestlé Nigeria’s Technical Training Center in Agbara, Ogun State. All of the 20 trainees excelled at the Diploma 3, 4 and 5 examinations of London City and Guilds, obtaining distinctions in Thermodynamics, and the best overall results in West Africa.

Speaking at the ceremony, the MD/ CEO, Nestlé Nigeria, Mr Wassim

Elhusseini said, “At Nestlé, we believe that young people have a key role to play in building thriving, resilient communities. Young people are our future, they are the entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow. They do not only help their communities thrive, but also benefit Nestlé with their fresh ideas, diverse perspectives, and energy. This is why we are passionate about helping them to build the capabilities and skills they need to contribute towards accelerating the industrialization we need to grow our economy.”

In his comments, Thomas Schneider, Consul General, Consulate of Switzerland in Lagos, said, “We are delighted that for eleven years on, this joint training program between the Switzerland Government and Nestlé Nigeria is still making impact on young people within the country, creating job opportunities.”

Inaugurated in 2011, The 18-month intensive program trains participants in machining, mechanical fitting operations, electrical operations, instrumentation operations and automation. The program culminates in the prestigious London City and Guilds technical certification with the top five graduates of each batch undergoing a further three-month internship program at a Nestlé factory in Switzerland, sponsored by the Swiss Embassy in Nigeria.

Over 160 students have benefitted from the program since its inception, with over 90% of them directly employed by Nestlé Nigeria. All the participants of batch 6, 40% of them females, successfully completed the training and the top 5 performers will be undertaking an internship and mentoring program at Nestlé factories in Switzerland in the first few months of 2023. 95% of the graduates, including Darasinmi, have been employed by Nestlé Nigeria.

Unity Bank Projects N20.86bn Gross Earnings in Q1 2023

Unity Bank Plc said it is targeting to achieve N20.86 billion in gross earnings during the first quarter of 2023.

This projection is contained in its Q1 2023 earnings forecast released via the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

The lender also projected to rake in N17.04 billion in interest income. Targets for profits before and after tax were put at N367.61 million and N336.37 million, respectively.

Provision for taxation for the period was put at N31.25 million, even as interest expense was projected at N6.63 billion.

Unity Bank recorded an N2.2 billion profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, with a 17% growth in gross earnings to N42.2 billion as against N36.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2021.

The bank explained that the increase in earnings was due to new products that are focused on deep penetration and driving volume in the retail market space.

The unaudited nine-month results also showed that the profit before tax rose by 5% to close at N2.206 billion.

The Bank also recorded an equal marginal growth in its profit after tax which increased to N2.029 billion, representing a 5% rise from N1.9 billion recorded in the same period of 2021.

Unity Bank Plc maintained growth momentum as total loans and advances as of September 30, 2022, reported N284.2 billion, which represents a 6% increase from the N269.3 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.

Commenting on the result, the Managing Director/CEO of Unity Bank Plc, Mrs Tomi Somefun, noted that the growth trajectory recorded in the Bank’s revenue was a testament to the positive sentiment in the market, especially at a time the market is experiencing a downturn with high inflationary trend and volatility which impacts negatively on the operating environment.

DMO Raises N615.557bn Sukuk Funds in 4 Years

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has raised N615.557 billion through Sukuk for the rehabilitation and construction of new roads across the country in four years.

The Director-General of DMO, Ms Patience Oniha, made this known in her presentation titled: "Nigeria Public Debt –Some Considerations," at the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) 2022 conference in Lagos.

Oniha said that a total of N615.557 billion had been raised through Sukuk from September 2017 to December 2021.

She noted that N365.557 billion of which had been deployed for the construction of 1,881km of roads and six bridges.

"The last Sukuk issued in December 2021 targets 71 road projects," Oniha said.

She listed some of Sukuk funded projects as the reconstruction of Bida-Lambata road in Niger State, rehabilitation of Lagos-OtaAbeokuta road in Lagos and Ogun states and rehabilitation of Enugu-Port Harcourt road section III Enugu-Lokpanta, in Enugu State.

Others are the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway section II Umuahia-Aba in Abia State and rehabilitation of Kano-Katsina road Phase I, Kano State, among others.

A Sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate that complies with Islamic religious law commonly known as Sharia.

It involves the means by which corporations or governments raise capital and the forms of investments that are made in accordance with Shariah.

She also said that a total of N25.69 billion had been raised through sovereign Green bonds from December 2017 to June 2019.

The director-general said that the funds had been deployed to seven selected projects in various sectors including renewable energy, agriculture, water, transport and afforestation.

Speaking on purpose for borrowing, Oniha said that governments borrow to finance budget deficits, finance specific projects and refinance maturing debt obligations.

She acknowledged the support the Debt Management Office (DMO) has granted to the Exchange over the years.

“Exchange always visits the DMO for different proposals and they are always granted. We hope the joint collaboration and support will continue because it is very key to the debt capital market,” she added.

Mr Charles Egbunonwo who represented the Chairman, Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr Sam Onukwue, said the theme selected was a topical issue in Nigeria’s economy.

According to him, “We are all aware of what is happening in terms of revenue and growing debt level in the economy.”

Also speaking, the 1st Vice President, the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr Oluropo Dada, who represented the President, Mr Oluwole Adeosun, noted that there was nothing wrong with government borrowing.

In his words, “If the government does not borrow again, how do I sustain my profession? We have issuers that secure these securities and trading platforms.

"Without trading platforms, we can’t have stockbrokers. So, there is nothing wrong with government borrowing. The issue all around the world is whether these debts are sustainable.

L-R: Acting Company Secretary, Dangote Cement Plc, Edward Imoedemhe; Independent Non-Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Ernest Ebi; NonExecutive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Abdu Dantata; Non-Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Halima Aliko-Dangote; Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote; Group Managing Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Michel Puchercos; Non-Executive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Olakunle Alake; NonExecutive Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Dorothy Ufot, SAN, and Deputy Group Managing Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Philip Mathew, at the Extraordinary General Meeting of Dangote Cement Plc, held in Lagos on December 13, 2022.

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Fresh Worries About Ethics in Nigerian Banking System

BY MARCEL OKEKE

Aletter from the Director of Banking Supervision (DBS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to banks and other financial institutions has once again brought the crucial issue of ethics and professionalism in the financial services industry to the front burner of public discourse. The letter dated September 22, 2022 was titled: “Membership registration and payment of annual subscription for staff of banks with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria: Compliance by banks and other financial institutions”.

Specifically, the letter says: “the attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to the non-compliance of banks with the provisions of Section 2(3) of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Act 2007, which states that “all corporate members shall cause their staff to register with the Institute to promote ethical standards, professionalism and self-regulation in the banking and financial services industry”

“This situation”, the letter says “is capable of hindering the effective performance of the statutory responsibilities of the Institute as enshrined in the CIBN Act,” adding that “all banks are hereby required to register their employees with the Institute not later than January 31, 2023.” The letter said further that banks were enjoined to encourage registered members of the Institute in their employment to pay their annual subscriptions to enable the CIBN discharge its statutory responsibilities.

Really, this directive to the banks by the apex bank is most timeous, coming when cyber-crimes and criminality, variegated insider-abuses, fraud and forgeries and sloppy corporate governance are on the increase in the financial services sector. Hitherto unheard-of-abuses and fraud cases now take place in banks and other financial institutions almost on a daily basis. And hardly has there been any case of (successful) fraud in any of the banks without the obvious collusion or collaboration of employees (bona fide or ‘contract’ staff). The worrisome trend is borne out by the number of fraud cases and volume/value of amounts of money lost via cases of fraud and forgeries in banks as reported periodically by the banks and other relevant agencies.

For instance, as widely reported in the media in the last week of October 2022, three of Nigeria’s ‘new generation banks’ recorded a whopping 26,877 fraud cases in the first six months of this year. This gives an average of about nine thousand cases per bank; and one thousand five hundred cases per month. Specifically, data culled from the financial reports of Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Fidelity Bank summed up to these fearsome figures.

In line with Section 5.1.2 (L) of the CBN Code of Corporate Governance, the Guaranty Trust Holding Company and subsidiary companies reported 15,004 fraud incidences in the period under review (first half, 2022). The bank reported that N1.55 billion and US$50,700 were involved in these cases, with N158.37 million recorded as actual/expected loss.

Similarly, Access Bank Plc reported N1.2 billion as fraud losses for the period. The bank recorded 10,706 fraud attempts in the first half of 2022. About 7,104 attempts were successful while 3,602 were unsuccessful. The sum of N12.55billion was involved in these attempts, according to the report.

On its part, Fidelity Bank Plc recorded 1,167 fraud incidents in the six months under review. The amount involved was N471.01million and US$8,367 but actual loss was N4.90 million and US$2,400. Further analysis of these reports show that electronics/USSD fraud cases were the highest, followed by fraudulent transfers/withdrawals/reactivation of accounts; and then cash theft/suppression/ pilferage/dry posting, among others.

Last year (2021), four Nigerian deposit money banks (DMBs) reported in their financial statements, loss of a total of N1.77 billion to fraudulent activities involving their employees. The banks are Wema Bank, First City Monument Bank, Access Bank and Guaranty Trust

Bank. According to their financial statements, WEMA and GTB incurred the biggest losses as a result of fraud within the period under review, as they lost N670.73 million and N511.9 million respectively.

For Wema Bank, the cost of fraud rose by N27.46 million, year on year, as the loss incurred in 2020 was N643.277. In the case of GTB, the fraud losses were almost tripled in 2021. At N511.9 million, the losses the bank incurred due to fraudulent activities rose by N337.5million from N174.40 million recorded in 2020. GTB also disclosed that it recorded 15,204 cases of fraud and forgeries in 2021 involving N1.2 billion.

Access Bank revealed that while it lost N502 million to fraud in 2021, third parties lost about N1.98 billion. The bank also reported that it recorded a total of 17,697 cases of fraud in 2021, majorly comprising electronic fraud/ USSD (17,911), cash theft/suppression/pilferage/ dry posting (33), fraudulent transfers/withdrawals/ reactivation of account (16), and armed robbery (6).

During the review period, FCMB’s losses as a result of fraud climbed from N59.03 million to N89.8 million.

As these banks’ reports show worrisome fraud trends, so are daily reportage in the electronic, print and online media full of cases of actual or attempted fraud in banks. Some media monitoring and research outcomes hereby provide a few recent examples. Buttressing the collusion and connivance of bank staff in fraud and forgeries, Channels Television in its ‘Crime Watch’ report said the Enugu Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday, October 14, 2022, arrested twelve bankers for suspected insider fraud (suspects’ names given but withheld).

Preliminary investigations, according to the report, showed that the suspects allegedly stole funds from some dormant accounts in a branch of an old generation bank in Enugu. The stolen funds were transferred from the dormant accounts to various beneficiaries, with the principal beneficiary already identified by the EFCC.

On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, the Daily Trust newspaper ran a story captioned: “EFCC: How bank staff stole over N870m within 3 days” in which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleged that some bank staff defrauded their bank and its customers of N874 million within three days. The agency said the bank staff were being prosecuted for an alleged N874 million fraud, before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of Special Offences sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.

The arraigned staff allegedly played roles in the hacking of the bank’s database and cloning of more than 22 ATM cards used to steal and divert to personal use about N874 million belonging to five corporate customers, including: American International Insurance Company Limited (AIICO); Interswitch; OVH Energy Marketing Limited.

Also, ThisDay newspaper in November 2022 came up with a headline: “Police Arraign Ex-Banker for Alleged N205 million Fraud”. According to the paper, men of the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) have arraigned a former staff of Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria (names withheld) for allegedly defrauding the bank of the sum of N205 million. The former banker and his company (names withheld) were arraigned before Justice Abimbola Awogboro, on three count charge of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence and unlawful conversion.

These reported cases of fraud are by no means isolated incidents in the banks; but daily occurrences that are being aided and abated by the mastery of technologies that now form the fulcrum of banking. The rising spate of unethical and unprofessional practices is also a feature of the times—when there is a growing apathy among many banking staff towards truly professionalising as chartered bankers.

Not a few bank staff these days take their jobs as ‘interim work’ to enable them put resources together to emigrate in search of better life and greener pasture in other climes. Human resources departments of all the DMBs are daily battling with the high rate of staff turnover—especially among the young ‘internet natives’ who take the whole world as their ‘constituency’. They are leaving in droves.

The CBN’s directive to the banks to register their staff with the CIBN is therefore rather an eye opener to the pervading nonchalance of bank staff to identify with the professional body. Same trend is obtainable in the accounting and other professions in Nigeria—where aspiring chartered accountants would rather go for membership of international accounting bodies than belonging to the local institute. This reality leaves banks with so much dangerous vulnerabilities: uncommitted ‘gorilla bankers’ who want to make money and move on with their lives—with scant regard for banking tenets that are rooted in integrity and trust.

•Okeke is an economist, sustainability expert and business strategy consultant.

… as widely reported in the media in the last week of October 2022, three of Nigeria’s ‘new generation banks’ recorded a whopping 26,877 fraud cases in the first six months of this year

Opara

DECEMBER 18 - DECEMBER 24, 2023

DECEMBER 18 - DECEMBER 24, 2023

THEWILL NEWSPAPER • www.thewillnigeria.com

THEWILL NEWSPAPER • www.thewillnigeria.com

Serial entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer, Digital Space Capital, Olubukola Abitoye speaks with IVORY UKONU about her career trajectory and some of life lessons that have shaped her life

I WAS DESTINED TO BE IN THE FINANCE INDUSTRY – BUKOLA ABITOYE

How did you find yourself in the finance industry?

I have always been passionate about anything that involves money and calculation. I wanted to study Computer science and Economics in the university but JAMB seized my result so I went to the polytechnic to obtain an Ordinary National Diploma in Accountancy, the closest thing to what I wanted to study. So during my one-year Industrial Attachment, IT in a manufacturing firm, I worked in their treasury department and that meant I had to be going to the bank often. I immediately fell in love with banking. It was like food to my soul. I got excited each time I had to go to the bank and so I resolved I was going to get into the banking industry. Now at that time, I was very passionate about fashion. Perhaps, encouraged by my height, most people I met advised me to consider delving into modeling, but I wasn't interested. I was more concerned about being independent without having to depend on anyone or someone's influence. I wanted to be in a leadership position.

Are you your parent's first child?

I am the last of six but I have always held leadership positions from a young age and my disposition in life is to always be a leader and take ownership of my immediate environment or whatever I am involved in at that particular time.

After the banking seed got sown, what happened next?

After my IT, I got admission into Obafemi Awolowo University to study Management and Accounting. Not only was it my dream course, but it meant that I was going to study something that revolves around all aspects of life. I mean in any organisation, management is of utmost importance, even in the home. Everything in life falls under management. Then finance/ accountancy, which is the bedrock of any organisation. I doubt if any other university in Nigeria offers that course of study. Thereafter, I got a higher degree in Business Administration. During my service year, I was posted to a company for my Youth Service and I worked in their accounting department. I was bored because there wasn't much to do. By 11am, I would have been done with my work. Thankfully, one of my bosses who was concerned about my restlessness gave me his card to go to two banks, hoping I would be taken on his recommendation. While Guaranty Trust Bank came up with excuses, the now defunct Skye Bank gave me a chance. I started out in the customer service department of their regional office. and the saying that the gift of a man would always pave the way for him became my reality there. Besides my love for figures, I am very good with customer service, I can manage anybody, no matter how irate the customer is. I am particular about the goal which is to get results. Even if 100 customers are on the queue to be attended to, I would make sure I attend to everyone with a huge smile on my face. I enjoyed what I was doing. Even on Community Development days as a youth corper, when I ought not to be at work, I would

always find my way to the bank on those days. I worked with two elderly women who didn't quite do anything and before long, I took over their jobs. I began to gain ground and everyone that wanted anything done wanted me to handle it. In three months, my general manager noticed my input, gave me a recommendation letter and offered to move me to the marketing department because he felt I was wasting away in customer service. After thinking it through, I accepted because marketing in banking goes beyond what people believe it is. Marketing is the heart of the banking industry. Besides I wanted to grow fast in the industry, my goal was to be the managing director of a bank within 12 years of being in the industry and I knew I couldn't reach that goal sitting down in customer service. So with my husband's support, I took the plunge.

Were you married at that time? Yes. I got married while in school and my 20th wedding anniversary is in a few weeks' time. It will be a vow renewal. Most (Nigerian) men would have been skeptical about my movement to marketing because of the negative tales floating around about that department, not my husband. He encouraged me all the way. He believed in me more than I believed in myself. He trusts, respects and treats me like a queen. He had and still has my back 100 percent. These and more are the reasons I am walking down the aisle a second time in my wedding gown. I accepted to go to marketing because I knew I was going to be adding value while also building myself. Besides, the bank hardly retained youth corpers and I was prepared to break that jinx with what I was bringing to the table. So, my determination, my husband's encouragement and God's grace made it smooth sailing for me. I took every opportunity I was given and made something of it. Many didn't even know I was a youth corper because of the way I carried myself, not waiting to be told what to do before doing it. At the end of my service year, I was the only youth corper that was retained. So that was how I found myself in the banking industry and I would say it is one of the best things that ever happened to me. Banking opened my eyes to other aspects of finance. Within five years in the industry, I was made a manager in the United bank for Africa, UBA. I believe this is what I was destined to do.

How has the journey been so far?

It has been awesome. Even when I left the banking industry, I mean commercial banking for a while, five years ago, I knew I would still remain in the finance industry because like I said before, banking opened my eyes to other areas of the industry. When I was leaving, I was told that if I ever change my mind about returning to banking, I should consider UBA. They saw I

was adding value, I was being used to revive moribund branches and I was delivering and getting promoted despite the fact that the bank hardly promotes its staff. No one was influencing my promotion, my work spoke for itself. I won several awards and got recognition.

Why did you leave?

I had a target to leave paid employment at a certain time and set up my own thing. But then an opportunity came to work for Dr Taiwo Afolabi, the chairman of SIFAX Group and I had to put my own dream on hold.

Was somebody else’s offer more important to you than fulfillment of your own dream?

It wasn't an offer I wanted to go for initially, but it was a challenging opportunity and being one that loves challenges, I took the offer out of respect for him and to also build my entrepreneurial spirit in me. I was a friend of the family and together we had done some projects in the past, one of which was the Lagos Marriott Hotel. He was like a big uncle to me and we had both supported each other, so I felt obliged when he made me that offer. Infact, I was on my way to Harvard courtesy Keystone

Abitoye

Abitoye

bank as one of the best three business managers when he made me that offer. Besides, I don't thrive in comfort zones, I like to do things that challenge me. I was beginning to get too comfortable as a banker. And having trained myself to be a solution provider, I saw it as an opportunity to provide a solution where it was most needed. So I started Sky Capital, a finance house for Dr Afolabi. I established it from nothing to what it is today. I had an agreement with him to help him build the company for two years by which time I would have clocked 40 and that would be the end of my paid employment. We both agreed on the sharing formula as well even though it was not in black and white. It was a lot of work. I started the company inside a container in one of his buildings in Ikoyi, Lagos. I had no life. I ate, breathed and slept Sky Capital. I actually formed the name of the company, I did the registration and built the company like mine. I put in my blood and sweat. People say they give 100 percent to a task, I gave it my all. I did jobs that should have been outsourced, free of charge. When I started the company, I told Dr Afolabi not to give me any money. I was able to bring in money from trusted clients I had built over the years while in the bank. One of them gave me $400,000 to go trade with. That is not ordinary. He had immense trust in me. In one year, with what me and my team achieved, you could hardly believe that Sky Capital was just a year old. The growth of the branches in other African countries like Guinea Conakry, Gambia, Sierra Leone was magical. People marvelled. After a year, from the money we made, Sky Capital moved into its own building in Victoria Island. At some point, the Nigeria headquarters was making over N100 million monthly and when I was handing over, I declared about N1.5 billion profit.

Did you complete the two years you agreed with Dr Afolabi?

No. I left a few months before the stipulated time. I walked away with my head held high. I needed to keep my integrity which I don't joke with and my sanity intact. I didn't get my entitlements and what we agreed on which was unfortunately not put down in black and white. I had thought that whatever I got at the end of my time with him, including what I had kept aside for my own thing would help me to launch my own thing. but God's ways are not our ways. I had to let peace reign, I didn't want to make too much noise because our industry is a very sensitive and highly regulated one and one needs to be very careful in everything one does. Money isn't everything, with time, you will have it in abundance as long as you keep doing the right thing. Don't burn bridges, trust God and all will be well. I did get his blessings though.

What did you learn from your time building his business?

I discovered that some well to do individuals are just not willing to build people. I believe in shared success. If my staff are not looking well, it is a problem for me because I pay them well to look good to project the image of the company. If there is a problem with them, it is a chain reaction, it will affect the business. So I try as much as possible to prevent that from happening. That however does not mean I condone laxity; you can't work with me and epitomize laxity. Also, I am happy for the experiences I garnered building Sky Capital, whether good or bad. You can't buy that and that is what helped me to build Digital Space Capital.

So how did you launch out into your own?

It wasn't easy. I had to sell some of our properties with the consent of my husband who believed so much in my dream. He encouraged me to sell his shares and that of our children just as long as I assured him I will make a success of my own thing. I got a room where I paid a little below N300,000. That was where I started from with just my personal assistant and another staff member. A few months later, I added another room and the number of staff increased to five. In four months, we got two other offices. In six months, we took the entire wing of the building and in one year, the Lord gave us our own building. I have not come to play, the finance industry has not seen anything yet. I plan to become a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

What is Digital Space all about?

It is a finance services company that provides seamless solutions in asset management, corporate finance, and business advisory, on-lending, forex services, brokerage and dealings, crowdfunding and aggregation. We operate a microfinance bank called Olofin Microfinance bank with over 200,000 customer base. Before the end of the year, we would have completed the rebranding to be called Digital Space Microfinance bank.

What is your vision for it in the next five years?

We are a little over two years old but already looking like we have been operational for seven years. In the next three years God willing, we will become the first digital bank in Nigeria, Digital Space Bank. We will do everything that a commercial bank does but without brick and mortar. Our vision cuts across African countries. Sierra Leone has given us a license to operate a bank and that will be one of our first projects next year. We are moving to Senegal and Morocco too.

In all the years you spent in the banking industry, what is that one thing you found to be the most valuable asset?

Relationship. I still do business with my bosses of many years ago because of one thing, trust. While I was in the bank, I gave out close to N40 billion naira in loans and none of the people I gave those loans to defaulted. I had a clean record before I left. Because, in giving out depositors' money as loan, I am more particular about how the money will be returned. I didn't give out the loans and went to bed. I worked closely with the recipients to ensure the loans were repaid. Of course, I am not saying it was all smooth sailing, because you would encounter problems, but it is the ability to envisage those problems and work out multiple ways to tackle them that makes you successful.

You mentioned your love for fashion earlier on. Did you develop this any further than just wearing nice clothes?

Well I am passionate about the arts. I draw. Whenever I am tired, I draw. It sort of revives me and calms me. I am into interior

decoration. They are things I do effortlessly. I also have a marketing communication company. I consider it an extension of my father's business which was printing. That is what sent me and my siblings to school. I remember we used to go to his printing press to do holiday jobs and earn some money.

You are also an author of a book, Guiding Grace. What is the book all about and what prompted it?

I consider myself a child of grace. I wrote the book when I was at the worst period of my life. I saw my career hanging and I had to face it with all my life. I was almost shattered, my dream was almost killed but I refused to be shattered. In all of these, I emerged victorious. I am really a child of grace.

What would you consider to be your greatest achievement in life?

Building people. Good leaders are responsible for bringing the best out of people. My goal in life is not just to make money. Each time I pray to God, I always ask him to give me the opportunity to be a blessing to everyone around me. There is a point in life you get to and you no longer prioritise what you eat or drink but about the total number of lives you have affected positively, developing people. If Nigerian billionaires could pay more attention to this aspect of life, Nigeria will be a better place to be. Shared success I call it. I am all about building thoroughly baked professionals that can stand on their own. You won't believe this, but people have been given jobs in this industry just based on the fact that they put in their curriculum vitaes, that they have once worked with or for me

Is this the reason you floated your foundation?

The Florence Modupe Foundation was floated in honour of my mother who single-handedly raised me from the tender age of five, after the demise of my father. The foundation was unveiled on my 40th birthday. The foundation takes care of widows, children.

You sound like you may consider running for political office in the near future. Is this your plan?

Yes I am looking at running for a political office in the future because I am passionate about people's welfare but at the moment, I am building a structure that will live after me and stand the test of time. After that phase, I am sure destiny will lead me rightly to my next assignment.

Abitoye

Abitoye

GOV ADELEKE'S WIVES JOSTLE FOR

They say behind every successful man is a woman but, in the case of the new Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, there are two beautiful women. Unlike most men who are married to multiple women without giving them equal attention, governor Adeleke seems to stand out from the pack as he uses every available opportunity to celebrate his wives all the time. Their birthdays are usually a time for him to express how much he loves them and how much they mean to him. They are Erelu Ngozi and Yeyeluwa Titilayo Adeleke. These two hitherto quiet women have now been thrust into limelight by reason of their husband's new position. At his swearingin ceremony a month ago, these two women were very conspicuous as they both flanked him in their white lace fabric matched with a grayish black grandmaster HOH headgear which they accessorised with exquisite gold jewelry. Apart from being prominent in their respective businesses, their status as 'First Ladies' has further solidified their relevance in the social sector, most especially at women functions across the state and beyond. There is Erelu Ngozi Adeleke, the governor's first wife who has been living in the United States for many years. The 58-year-old fair skinned woman from eastern Nigeria has been married to the governor for close to three decades. Some people are of the opinion that besides his

undiluted love for her, he married her to satisfy the eastern Nigerian blood in him. For many who do not know, the governor's mother was an Igbo Christian woman from Enugu State named Nnenna Esther Adeleke. She married the governor's father a Muslim, Raji Ayoola Adeleke who was also a former Senator. Ngozi bore the governor four children; Folashade Adeleke, embattled Shina Adeleke aka Sina Rambo, Adebayo Adeleke aka B-Red and Adenike.

The younger wife Chief (Mrs) Titilola Adeleke who is also in her 50s is the Yeye Soludero of Oke Ila-Orangun in Osun State. The calm and reserved woman who doesn’t like a flamboyant life bore three children for the governor and one of them recently graduated from the family owned Adeleke University in Ede, Osun State.

While this is not the first time that a man married to two or more wives will emerge as governor, the wives are usually always coordinated in a way that only one is seen in public and addressed as First Lady while others simply maintain a low profile throughout their husband's tenure. Although both women have pledged their support and loyalty to their husband in ensuring his administration delivers on its promises, one wonders how the new governor will govern both the state and also his home to be rancour free, as both women are struggling to outdo each other in order to be the officially recognized First Lady. On the day of his

swearing-in ceremony, his two wives released official statements as First Ladies.

While Erelu Ngozi commended the women of the state for coming out en-mass to grace the inauguration of her husband via a statement signed by her media aide and pledging her commitment to ensure the administration delivers on its promises on education, youth and women empowerment, improvement of Osun State Health Sector, amongst others, Yeye Titilola ensured she wasn't left out.

She also released her own statement appreciating the different roles played by different groups to ensure her husband's successful emergence as governor.

“Being the First Lady involves listening to women, youths, Persons with disabilities, children and translating their concerns into workable proposals. It also involves building consensus to make them workable. I can’t possibly do this job without the involvement and openness of the people. We have promised and will deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of Osun and in my capacity as the First Lady, I will serve as a mother for all and represent the interest of the women, youth and children of Osun state," her statement partly read.

Hopefully, the governor will find a way to extricate himself from this quagmire before it snowballs and clears the air on who the rightful first lady should be.

PASTOR PATRICK ANWUZIA NOW BED RIDDEN

Pastor Patrick Ngozi Anwuzia, a popular prosperity televangelist who reigned supreme in the 90s and whose style of preaching on television in those days, supposedly, 'arrested' so many souls, is bed ridden. The clergy who has been away from public glare was hit by kidney disease a few years ago. It began like a manageable illness but before long, the flamboyance that characterized his person began to fade away and the church began to experience a decline in membership. Some branches began to fold up until the reign of Zoe Ministries Worldwide ebbed away as the clergy could no longer manage his ministry due to his illness. It became increasingly difficult to raise funds to fly him abroad for treatment and today, he is like a vegetable. In his hey days, Anwuzia added spiritual flavour and colour to his style of evangelism with his dove symbolled Zoe Ministries, which had its headquarters at the Orile-Iganmu and a branch at Ikeja areas of Lagos. He also had branches in the United Kingdom and some other parts of the world. His slogan then was 'Practical Christianity'. He was accustomed to wearing sparkling flowing wide-sleeved Agbada attire with rich colours and held crusades in most big cities in Nigeria. He was once accused of commercializing the word of God in his crusades because of how he raised funds and how often offerings were collected in his church services. Like a tsunami, Zoe Ministries shook the Christian community in Nigeria; the cleric was everywhere, in newspapers, gracing the covers of magazines, broadcasting houses, etc. But the story changed following alleged sexual scandals and an assassination attempt that prompted him to fly to the United States for treatment. On his return, he kept a low profile, perhaps due to financial crunch until he got hit with kidney disease.

Michael Numa Emerges Youngest SAN in Nigeria at 37

Afew months ago, the Legal Practitioners’ Privilege Committee announced the names of 53 successful applicants for consideration as Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN. The very rigorous process involved intense screening, scrutiny, interviews and an online and offline vetting process to ensure that candidates' applicants met the stipulated high standards. Among the 53 candidates that were successfully conferred with the SAN title, nine others academics were successful as well. Then about three weeks ago, the actual conferment took place and one of those who made the list is 37-year-old Michael Jonathan Numa, thus making him the youngest SAN today in Nigeria. The SAN is the highest rank in the legal profession. In addition to other requirements candidates must meet is that he/she must have prosecuted to judgement level 20 cases at the High Court, 5 at the Court of Appeal and 4 at the Supreme Court in the last ten years. The candidate must have a modern office with a well-stocked library and a minimum of five junior lawyers and competent non-legal staff. All of these requirements Numa met. From Bayelsa State, Numa schooled at the Delta State University where he obtained the Bachelor of Law In 2008, he was called to the Bar as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2010. In 2013, he obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M) in International Business Law from the prestigious Queen Mary University of London. He also completed the International Comparative Arbitration course at Queen Mary University. In 2018, Michael concluded a certificate program on U.S. Business Law from the University of Pennsylvania School

of Law. Numa is the Managing Partner of M.J Numa & Partners LLP. Numa has advised several corporate and high net individual clients in complex commercial transactions such as corporate restructuring, corporate finance, acquisitions, insurance claims, power purchase agreements, gas trading agreements, regulatory compliance, secured finance and other corporate transactions. He is tested for trying some recondite and novel disputes in all superior courts up to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He has equally appeared as counsel before several local and international arbitral tribunal. In 2021 he was ranked Top 50 Global Influencers in International Dispute Resolution by Prime Dispute, ranking Number: 22 on the list by virtue of the outlook on his work on international dispute resolution. In 2022 he equally ranked in the top 60 Global Influencers in Global Dispute Resolutions. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), International Bar Association (IBA) and Fellow of the Prime Dispute, United Kingdom (FDP) and Member of the School of International Arbitration London, United Kingdom.

Ikechi Uko Appointed Head, Aviation, Cargo Road Map Development Committee

identified to be hindering the country’s capacity in processing enough cargo freighting at the nation’s airports. Inaugurating the committee, the Managing director of FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, said the plan was to organize that aspect of the industry and move the country, currently at fifth to second by 2027. Considered one of the best to ever do it on this side of the divide when it comes to travel and tourism conferencing and events, Ikechi's appointment has been applauded by many as putting a round peg in a round hole. A travel enthusiast, publisher of Africa Travel Quarterly Magazine and several others, Ikechi is a recipient of many awards and recognitions and has been appointed by successive governments both within and outside Nigeria, to head various arms of the travel, aviation and tourism industry to boost it for development, promotion and revenue generation.

Anwuzia

The Adelekes

Numa

Ikechi Uko, the organizer of Akwaaba African Travel Market, the first international travel fair in West Africa has been appointed to head the Aviation Cargo Road Map Development Committee, an aviation cargo roadmap inaugurated by the federal government. The committee which was set up about a week ago has been tasked with a six-point agenda to address the challenges

STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

Traditional rulers and elders in Ikorodu, one of the largest cities in Lagos State and the hometown of Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele, the deputy governor candidate of the People's Democratic Party, PDP are not in support of her political ambition. The actress is contesting on a joint ticket with Jide Adeniran, also known as Jandor to take over the helm of affairs of Lagos State on the platform of the PDP. Traditional rulers and leaders in the hometown of the award-winning actress have instead pitched their support for the second-term bid of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu

of the All Progressives Congress, APC. They made their decision known during an investiture ceremony of Governor Sanwo-Olu as the Grand Patron of Oriwu Club in Ikorodu last weekend. The group was led by Ayangburen of Ikorodu, His Royal Highness, Oba Kabiru Sotobi, Senator Tokunbo Abiru, Honorable Ola Animashaun and Otunba Kunle Oduborisha who are all from Ikorodu community.

According to the group, they are satisfied with the performance of

Governor Sanwo-Olu in the last three and half years of his first term in office and therefore they will work tirelessly to ensure that he is re-elected in 2023. The group is planning to deliver 205,000 votes out of the targeted four million votes for their preferred candidate.

at 65th Birthday

Queen of Juju music and President of the Association of Juju Musicians in Nigeria, Ayotunde Kofoworola Ogunlade, fondly called Queen Ayo Balogun rolled out the drums in celebration of her 65th birthday last week. The event which was attended by top entertainers, friends and family of the veteran musical was a success by miles. The celebrant who enjoys feasting and staging high octane shindig for her birthdays started a countdown to her big day a few days before the celebration. She started with a lovely photo shoot amidst showering encomium on herself for the achievements she has recorded in her 65 years of existence. She also appreciated God for keeping her fit to still be able to thrill guests with her talent at 65.

A hashtag, #Qab@65 was coined ahead of the event.

The birthday gig took place at Coliseum Events Place on Admiralty way, Lekki, Lagos State. The dress code for the

event was black tie or bow tie for the gents while ladies had on floor sweeping flamboyant ensembles. Vibrant gospel artiste, Laolu Gbenjo, was on the band stage to titillate guests with soul lifting music that kept them on their feet for a couple of minutes without fatigue. Queen Ayo Balogun bagged a Diploma in music from London Royal School of music, she started out as a gospel musician before joining the Juju genre in the mid-nineties. She was tutored by Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye, also known as King Sunny Ade. Her music career has spanned over three decades and she is the first female president of the Association of Juju musicians in Nigeria. The Juju queen has been happily married for almost two decades and blessed with children doing well in their field of endeavors. Aside from her singing career, she is also an entrepreneur. She is the Chief Executive Officer of Rooms Affairs, an outfit into bedding business.

NCC Rewards Loretta Chinwe Ezichi

Nigeria CopyRight Commission, NCC has celebrated one of its former Acting Director Generals, Mrs Loretta Chinwe Ezichi after 30 years of meritorious service as a public servant. Madam Ezichi is the mother of former beauty queen cum consultant, Ifeoma Williams. She was given a special award of service at the Commission in Ebute Metta last week. Williams took to Instagram to celebrate her mother for an award well deserved.

According to her, during her mother’s tenure as ADG in NCC, she was a very strict woman who displayed a high level of Integrity. It was often said in her office then that the fear of Lorretta is the beginning of wisdom when it comes to copyright infringement.

Williams praised her mother and stated how blessed she is to have her as a mother. Madam Ezichi started work at the NCC in 1998. She took over the running of the NCC as the acting director general until a substantive Director

General was appointed. During her tenure, she recorded tremendous successes in the anti-piracy operation. She busted and sealed up sophisticated piracy syndicates run by foreigners of Asian extraction and coordinated anti-piracy raids in the book industry. She also served as government delegation abroad and was on various committees such as those leading to the establishment of NICO, the Draft Cultural Policy Management of the National Theatre Board and a host of others.

She also worked at the National Institute of Cultural Orientation, NICO as the Deputy Director of Projects and Programmes where she made the first draft Calendar of Programmes

Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, retired Nigeria Army lieutenant general and husband to Senator Daisy Danjuma, has clocked 85. The respected former military officer clocked 85 last week and accolades have been pouring in for the man who played a key role in post-independence military and political events in Nigeria. Unlike his wife, Daisy who likes to throw lavish parties with the crème la de crème in attendance, the former military lieutenant is not one to stage a high octane soiree. He prefers his quiet celebration with his better half, children and his grandchildren. Providence surely smiled on Danjuma when he was young that he was able to amass enormous wealth through hard work with his shipping and petroleum business. His brainchild,

for Courses in Cultural Orientation at Polytechnics and Universities leading to award of certificates. The dedicated woman retired from active public service in 2007.

COMET Shipping Agency which was established in 1984 acted as an agent for the Nigerian American Line, NAL. He also established South Atlantic Petroleum, SAPETRO, the company that was among the few who got an Oil Processing License many years ago. Despite being a retired military lieutenant, he has enjoyed numerous political appointments with different governments in the country. He was appointed the chairperson on the investigative committee on the Warri conflict, Minister of Defence to President Olusegun Obasanjo's cabinet and some other important committees in the country. Many do not know that Danjuma is a philanthropist, his foundation, TY Danjuma has provided succour for a lot of indigent people across the country.

Award winning broadcaster, Mike Okwoche and his wife, Emem Ime have been honoured with a traditional title by the Tiv community in Lagos state. Okwoche was conferred with the title of Zege Kwaghfan U. Shagbaor while his wife was conferred with Kuhe Kwaghfan U. Shagbaor. The traditional chieftaincy ceremony took place in Ikeja, Lagos State amidst pomp and pageantry. The duo were decorated because of their immense contribution in the promotion of culture and socio-economic development of Benin people in Lagos State and the country in general. Okwoche is an indigene of Benue State, the Food Basket of the nation while his wife, Emem is from Uyo in Akwa Ibom State. The duo of Okwoche and Emem are broadcasters with the Continental Broadcasting Services, owners of TV Continental and Radio Continental. Okwoche is an Executive Producer of Maiti-Point Media and a senior news anchor at TVC while his wife is the producer of the popular TV talk show, Your View.

Akindele

Ezichi

Danjuma

Balogun

Senator Olamilekan Adeola Solomon, otherwise known as Yayi, the senator representing Lagos West senatorial district at the National Assembly but now seeking to represent Ogun West senatorial district under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC in the

forthcoming general election has won the battle contesting his candidacy in the Gateway State. Yayi had defeated the incumbent senator of Ogun West district, Senator Tolu Odebiyi by a total vote of 294 against 0 in the party primary election which took place in May. His emergence as the party candidate was opposed soon after his victory. The accountant turned politician who has spent almost 20 years in Lagos politics where he had served as a member of the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, and the Senate was accused of not being an Ogun State indigene, divergent views were also expressed on the morality and legality of his ambition to contest in Ogun State, having held sway in Lagos politics for about 20 years. A group known as the Ogun West Liberation Forum had protested

his state of origin. The group stressed that the senator is not an indigene of Yewaland and his lineage is unknown. A court case was also instituted against him at a Federal High Court in Abeokuta, Ogun State by some Ogun State indigenes who asked the court for an order of interim injunction restraining APC from submitting the name of Yayi’s to INEC as its standard-bearer in the 2023 general election while he is still a serving Senator representing their Senatorial District at the National Assembly. According to the indigenes, contesting the election in Ogun West Senatorial District, while still a serving Senator representing Lagos West Senatorial District, means abandoning his elected position therefore leaving the people of Lagos West without representation at the National Assembly. A Federal High Court presided over by Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik sitting in Abeokuta struck out the suit challenging his candidacy. The case was dismissed on the basis that the plaintiffs lack locus standing to institute a case. The Judge added that the case was a pre – election matter and as such, was statute barred as it was filed outside the constitutionally prescribed 14 days.

Adekunle Akinlade, the deputy governorship candidate of the People's Democratic Party, PDP in the forthcoming general election has been made the Director General of Atiku/Okowa presidential Campaign Council in Ogun -State. He has also taken over as the head of Ladi Adebutu Campaign Support Fund for the 2023 general election. This development is coming after the politician faced some political setbacks in his career ahead of the 2023 general election. The political ambition of the former House of Representative member for Egbado South/Ipokia Federal Constituency under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC was under siege for a couple of months before he found his groove back. After serving as a lawmaker, he defected to the Allied People's Movement where he contested for the governorship seat after failing to secure an APC nomination which he lost to Dapo Abiodun, in 2019. He later defected to the PDP and emerged the deputy governorship candidate of the party. After his defection, his godfather, the former governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun who supported him and sponsored his political ambition during the 2019 election turned his back at him. Amosun had single handedly raised all the support Akinlade needed to contest against Abiodun but unfortunately, he

lost the election. However, he decided to take his hands off Akinlade in 2022 by supporting Biyi Otegbeye, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC to the dismay of many who thought the former governor would throw his weight behind Akinlade. Akinlade moved on from the disappointment but unfortunately faced another challenge after his candidacy and that of Adebutu, the governorship candidate of the PDP was challenged by 370 out of 728 on the Independent Electoral Commission, (INEC) certified list of ad-hoc delegates elected in the ward congresses held on the 30th of April, 2022. The aggrieved parties which secured the judgment at a Federal High Court in Abeokuta established allegations that they were prevented from voting during the PDP gubernatorial primary held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Library (OPL) Abeokuta because they would have voted for another aspirant of their choice. The court later nullified the PDP primary election. Faced with another

hurdle, the APC also took Akinlade and Adebutu to court and asked the court to disqualify them. APC accused Akinlade of not resigning his membership of the APC before he became the running mate to Adebutu of the PDP. The APC also complained that Akinlade, having contested the governorship ticket of the APC, was not qualified to be the deputy governorship candidate of the PDP in the 2023 election.

Providence later smiled on him as the Supreme Court nullified all pending cases against him and the APC also dropped their charges against him.

Queen Silekunola Naomi, the estranged wife of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwus, has returned to her ministerial work after abandoning it for some months when she quit her marriage of three years to the king. The mother of one ran an interdenominational ministry based in Akure, Ondo State before marrying the monarch. She was also the founder of two Non-Governmental Organization, EN- Heralds ministry and Women In Need of Guidance and Support, WINGS, before marrying the traditional ruler. She was involved in running the ministry on a skeletal basis while functioning as the queen in Ile-Ife. However, things changed after she announced her exit from the palace in December 2021. Following the collapse of her marriage, she took time off to regain her composure, enrolled in a school and continued her philanthropy work. Now she has reverted to her original calling as a Prophetess, though she prefers to be addressed as queen instead of being called a prophetess. She was recently invited for a church ministration two weeks ago at the Christ Chapel International Church in Akure, Ondo State. She took to Instagram to post a video of herself preaching at the church. She gushed over the fact that is back fully to what she loves doing as she posted her video on Instagram. According to her, she had a great time in the presence of God. She also had an online outreach programme for her ministry on Wednesday, December 14 which she posted on her social media pages as well. Many of her fans took to the comment section to thank God on her behalf that she didn’t allow the disappointment of her past keep her from pursuing her ministerial calling.

The paramount ruler of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, is set to improve and upgrade the Yoruba dictionary. The royal father who took over the helm of affairs in Iwo land, Osun State in 2015 will embark on the task with Chief Dipo Fagunwa, son of prolific author and playwright, Daniel Olorunfemi Fagunwa, the founder of Yoruba literature and author of Ogboju Ode ninu Igbo Irunmole, which was later translated by Wole Soyinka to Forest of a Thousand Demons.

The step was also taken to commemorate the 59th anniversary of the demise of Daniel Fagunwa who had a legendary contribution to the development of Yoruba language before his demise. His death created a vacuum in the advancement of the indigenous language.

Emperor Telu 1 as he is fondly called developed personal interest in improving and upgrading the Yoruba dictionary because of his concern for

the many loop holes in Yoruba words and language and the failure of the Yoruba professors to work at improving them.

Oba Akanbi has always been a custodian of Yoruba culture as he upholds its values in the administration of his duties as the paramount ruler of Iwoland. New words would be conceptualized and new names would be given to some objects.

TPT International, the brainchild of Public Relation guru Tokunbo Modupe has clinched an award as the Digital and Social Media Agency of the Year. TPT International was established in February 1998 as a foremost Public Relation firm which prides itself on excellent practice in conceptualizing and implementing innovative and bespoke public relations projects. It maintains practice in brand public relation visioning & strategy, Issue &

crisis management, marketing PR, public sector engagement, government relations, political communications, damage control & crisis communication, lobbying, information communications, and digital public relation. The award was given by Lagos PR Industry Gala and Award, LaPRiga 2022. The award was given in recognition of its unrivalled performance in setting standards of excellence in public relations expectations and implementation outcomes, as well as providing bespoke yet creativitydriven solutions and sustainable communication services to discerning clients across the West African sub-region. The award came under the industry category of the Anap Foundation, Go-Nigeria – Go Nigeria, the first political franchise advocacy campaign in Nigeria. LaPRiga is an initiative of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, Lagos State chapter. It was set up as an ultimate Public Relations industry award which encourages, celebrates and rewards excellence in the practice of Public Relations in Nigeria.

Silekunola

Solomon

Akanbi

Akinade Modupe

SHOTS OF THE WEEK

THEWILLNIGERIA THEWILLNG THEWILLNIGERIA

L-R: Non-Executive Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Asue Ighodalo; Finance Director, NB Plc, Ben Wessels Boer; Non-Executive Director, NB Plc, Adeyinka Aroyewun; Managing Director/CEO, NB Plc, Hans Essaadi: Chairman, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Dr. Kola Jamodu (CFR) and Company Secretary/Legal Director, NB Plc, Uaboi Agbebaku, during the Nigerian Breweries Plc’s Extraordinary General Meeting held in Lagos on December 8, 2022.

L-R: Chief Strategy Officer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, Femi Onifade; Executive Director, Sales & Business Development, CSCS Plc, Adeyinka Shonekan; Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Temi Popoola; Managing Director/ CEO, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, Haruna Jalo-Waziri; Divisional Head, Capital Markets, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Mr. Jude Chiemeka; Divisional Head, Business Services & Client Experience, CSCS Plc, Onome Komolafe and Divisional Head, Business Technology and Digital Innovation, CSCS Plc, Tobe Nnnadozie, during a Closing Gong Ceremony in commemoration of CSCS’ 25th Anniversary celebration in Lagos on December 13, 2022.

L-R: Senior Business Manager, Ogun State, Airtel Nigeria, Adeolu Balogun; CEO, Hardox Integrated Concept Limited, Segun Babarinde; Regional Operations Director, West Region, Airtel Nigeria, Tolulope Adeniyi; CEO, Promotower Communication Limited, Kazeem Olagoke; CEO, El-Bethel Infotech Limited, Ayodeji Akinwale, during the Airtel `5` Days of Love yuletide programme held in Ogun State on December 10, 2022.

L-R: Registrar, Academy for Entrepreneurial Studies (AES), Nigeria, Mr. Paul Umukoro; Chairman, AES Excellence Club, Dr. Nike Akande; Publisher, The Guardian, and Chairman of the Occasion, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru; Chairman, Access Bank Plc, Dr. Dere Awosika and Keynote Speaker, Mr. Alexander Neyin, at the 12th Academy for Entrepreneurial Studies Excellence Club CEO'S Dinner/Awards Nite, in Lagos on December 13, 2022.

L-R: Premium Spirit & HoReCa Director, Coca-Cola Hellenic, Ioannis Simos; Customer Marketing Manager, West & North Africa, Edrington, Abayomi Ajao; The Macallan Brand Ambassador, Lebanon, North & West Africa, Sandra Gedeon and Brand Manager, Edrington Portfolio, Coca-Cola Hellenic, Hammed Adebiyi, during the unveiling of Macallan Harmony Collection held at the Ox  Restaurant and Bar, Victoria Island, Lagos on December 8, 2022.

Photo Editor: Peace Udugba [08033050729]

FEATURES

Daring Nigerian Authorities, Seun Kuti’s Way

Daring the authorities is something you can’t take away from the Kutis. The matriarch herself, Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, was a female suffragist, rights activist and nemesis to a first class traditional ruler in Abeokuta and British colonialists in London. Her son, Fela, sparred with both civilian and military governments for which he served time severally in the slammer. Now her grandson, Seun, has continued what seems to be a family tradition by daring the DSS to arrest him after calling Mrs. Aisha Buhari a “fat goat.” THEWILL wonders if the chap has gone too far this time. Michael Jimoh reports…

From his relative obscurity in a lesser known institution of higher learning, a student suddenly found himself famous for the wrong reasons. Aminu Mohammed, a student of Environmental Management at Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa state, was thrust into the public space after calling out the first lady, posting on his Twitter handle that she had become fat as a result of feeding at the expense of poor Nigerians.

Only a few days to his exams, the 23-year-old student found himself answering questions not from his examiners but a combined team of DSS operatives and the police in the Federal Capital Territory where he was whisked to from Dutse. He was detained, tortured for his ungracious remarks about the wife of the president. Mohammed’s arrest and detention by the law enforcement agents raised hackles everywhere, including Amnesty International. Joining thousands of Nigerians in defence of the poor chap, Seun weighed in heavily, pointedly telling Mrs. Buhari that she was indeed not only “fat” but a “fat goat.”

Not keeping silent in the face of obvious oppression and tyranny, and like his father who abhorred any form of oppression, especially by military governments, Seun went further to challenge the DSS to “come and arrest me.”

''You are fat and it is our money you use to get fat,” Seun wrote, sort of rehashing Mohammed’s previous post. He went on, “send your DSS come this side. If you no send that your DSS come this side you no get sense, you be goat. Aisha Buhari you are fat!''

With that pronouncement, you could say Seun is a true chip of the old block, considering his father’s numerous run-ins with military governments in Nigeria. One famous incident was in 1984. Major General Muhammadu Buhari was head of state at the time and, along with his second in command Major General Tunde Idiagbon, the Supreme Military Council had reviewed the Basic Travelling Allowance of travellers from N800 down to N500 per person.

In September of that year, Fela and his band were to travel from Lagos to New York for a concert tour with his Afrika 70 Band. On arrival at the airport, he declared £1,600 with the Customs official. It was certainly more than what the government prescribed as BTA for an individual travelling outside the country. A reliable source has written that “when Fela prepared to leave Nigeria for the States, he again filled in the correct form, and declared the £1,600 he was taking out of the country. When he handed in the currency form, he was asked for a tip by the official. Fela said he didn’t have any money on him and would catch him later. When another official discovered the money in a

“

coat being carried by one of his party, the official who had asked for a tip then denied that he had seen the form.”

Fela was charged for currency smuggling and thus did his journey to a five year jail term begin, first, to Kirikiri Maximum Security Lagos and, then, Maiduguri Prison in the North east. Of course, most Nigerians criticized the decree at the time. And it most certainly looked like a bad rap for a most vocal critic of military governments. In retrospect, Fela may not have helped his case at all, thus lending credence to the Yoruba adage that if you have a mind of burning someone and he rubs petrol on his body, he may just have made the job easier.

For an individual in the sightline of a military government he’d serially denounced, travelling with more than what the SMC prescribed as BTA was simply tempting fate. Of course, Fela’s luck ran out. Asked about the incident back then, a senior journalist who followed the trial has put it in a better perspective.

According to the journalist, it was Fela’s way of saying “I no gree, I no gree,” his opposition to military government’s policy concerning the BTA.

It is true that most Nigerians, especially economists, panned the decree back then. But not one of them flouted the law by travelling with more than the recommended BTA. Only Fela did!

Born on January 11, 1983, Seun was only a year and nine months old when his father went to jail, robbing him of some of the most precious moments a child would have spent with a beloved parent. Many years later, the animus still remains as witnessed in an interview Seun granted many years later about his father’s jailor PMB.

“For you to jail that man you must be inherently evil.”

Against that background, some analysts now see his recent outburst against the wife of the president as a continuation of that aversion to the Buharis.

Mohammed’s post about Aisha getting fat provided Seun, some say, with an arsenal to lob at someone from the Buhari clan by calling her a “fat goat.”

But was it necessary to describe her in such uncharitable words, such ungracious words that anyone would take exception to if it is used to describe one’s own mother?

Besides, why would Seun ask Aisha to bring along her DSS operatives to arrest him? Does it smack of daring the authorities like some of the Kutis have done for years?

In short, has Seun gone too far in dissing the wife of the president and daring the DSS to come and fetch him?

Though he was in detention for a year and half for the currency smuggling offence in 1984, Fela reportedly told a reporter that he was never afraid for his life that anything might happen to him. It is just possible that his son might be feeling the same way, that no matter how provocative and galling his utterances may sound, he is simply quite untouchable being a Kuti himself.

In mid-December 2020, for instance, Seun had a confrontation with revelers in his neighbourhood which confirmed that he can hold his own as a Kuti. Before you could spell the family name, news was everywhere that the last born of Fela threatened partygoers in his neighbourhood with a gun. What was the problem?

There was a party in his Off Allen neighbourhood which extended right to his gate. By the time he got back from an outing, Seun couldn’t access his gate because a guest had blocked his gate with his car. Seun was not amused and he made his mind known to the organisers.

According to Temitayo Ayetoro, an eye witness who shared his experience through his Twitter handle back then, the partygoers, Seun charged, were fond of littering his street with their cars and parking indiscriminately, making it almost impossible for him and his neighbours to move about freely.

Continuing, Ayetoro said the singer discovered someone had used his car to block his gate when he wanted to go out and things escalated after one of the bouncers at the party accosted him and threatened his life. Seun soon proved his street cred.

“Their bouncer came to meet me and threatened my life. He threatened my f**king life. He said ‘no be you be Seun Kuti? Me I dey come Shrine well well. I go come Shrine come find you. I go treat your f**kup. I should let him go so he would come and kill me? So I said you will kill me? You will treat my f**kup?

“That is when the fight started. And we didn’t need to pull guns on anybody because we beat them with our bare hands, burst all their nose, tore all their uniform. Yes, there were gunshots because men dey. Men dey! This is f**king Allen fam! You want to try rubbish. I didn’t come to your hood. You want to try rubbish and gunshot wouldn’t sound?”

So, in the event of a fight, Seun is not known to back down – like his father did with authoritarian military regimes or disrespectful partygoers trespassing the neighbourhood.

So, in the event of a fight, Seun is not known to back down – like his father did with authoritarian military regimes or disrespectful party-goers trespassing the neighbourhood

Great Excitement as 2022 Akwa Ibom Christmas Carol Festival Holds in Uyo

FROM UDEME UTIP, UYO

This year's edition of the annual Akwa Ibom State Christmas Carol Festival which held on Friday, December 16, 2022 at Ibom Hall Grounds, IBB Avenue, Uyo, the state capital, was full of excitement.

The event brought together a host of worshippers and featured the Guinness World Record Choir (holding the record as the “Largest Group of Carol Singers in the world”). The festival, which had ''GO FORWARD'' as theme, also showcased other chorale groups and some of the best local and international gospel artistes of our time .

Pastor David Ibiyeomie, often described as an extraordinarily anointed Man of God, was the guest minister at the event. He is the founder and presiding Pastor of Salvation Ministries Worldwide with headquarters currently in Port Harcourt , Rivers State.

Artistes who also featured at this year's event included one of Akwa Ibom's treasures to the world - Pastor Nathaniel Bassey, the king of Gospel Reggae; BUCHI, the Davasol Brothers; the biological twins that have been proven to have a unique and sweet grace of easily connecting people to worship and praise with their inspiring music.

Others were the sensational female singer, Sinach, Larry John, popularly known as Larry Sax, Pastor Aity Dennis Inyang, Emmanuel Iwok, Uto Essien, among others.

The Guinness World Record Choir, the 25,000-man choir that made the world record for the "Largest Group of Carol Singers" and holds the record as certified by the Guinness World Records till date, also made it to the event . The choir is made up of Akwa Ibom indigenes from every village of all the 31 Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State

At previous editions of the festival, the 5,000 choristers from the 25,000-man choir had always performed as the main sensation of the festival.

YAMA CHORALE, a Nigerian choral group with Catholic roots that originated from Akwa Ibom State with the mission to document the traditional tunes and sing all genres of music with African traditional music instruments, also made it.

The Akwa Ibom Christmas Carol Festival has since grown in magnitude to become a highly anticipated festival of Christian songs, dance and worship. Akwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival is recognised by worshipers around the world and has featured top local and international gospel sensations like Don Moen, Ron Kenoly, Bob Fitts, Donnie McClurkin, Sinach, Nathaniel Bassey, Eben, Aity Dennis, Bongos Ikwue, the Harmonious Chorale and great Ministers of God’s word from around the world, including Bishop T. D. Jakes, Papa E. Adeboye, Pastor Adefarasin, among others.

The lead organiser of this year's event, Mr. Aniekpeno Mkpanam, had promised an African Christmas Festival like never before, with an official hashtag:. #AKCAROLSFEST2022.

Mkpanam disclosed that the venue had been repositioned to give orderliness in sitting arrangements, security, media coverage, easy entrance and 15 exit routes to make way for easy exit to avoid stampede at the end of the event which is always in the wee hours of the night.

Also, hospitality operators such as hotels, restaurants, even roadside sellers who spoke on the positive multiplayer effects of the festival said it's one day that is always looked forward to with great expectation.

Ninety per cent of the guest houses in the capital city were fully booked for at least two nights during the period.

"It is something great, as we are today, all the rooms are fully

“The Akwa Ibom Christmas Carol Festival made its debut in 2008. It was known then as the "Akwa Ibom State Christmas Carol Night". The event made global history when it featured an unprecedented 9,999-member choir. That gave the event the epithet, “9999 Carol Night

booked for Friday and Saturday. We don't have a single room for those two days and I know very well that we will sell drinks, meat, food etc. Our bar is always empty at the end of the event and Friday will not be an exception. So we are fully prepared," a hotel attendant along the IBB Avenue in Uyo, was quoted as saying on Thursday.

It is important to note that the event has remained the largest single gathering of carol singers in the world since the recordbreaking edition of December, 13, 2014 during the tenure of the former governor, Godswill Akpabio.

The concert which featured 25,272 carol singers at the Akwa Ibom State Township Stadium, Udo Umana, Uyo, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, had Guinness World Records representatives in attendance and was officially certified as the largest of such gathering in the world by Guinness World Records on December 13, 2014, thus beating a former record of 15,674 carol singers which was achieved the previous year (December 15, 2013) by a group called CENTI in

Bogotá in Colombia.

The Akwa Ibom Christmas Carol Festival made its debut in 2008. It was known then as the "Akwa Ibom State Christmas Carol Night". The event made global history when it featured an unprecedented 9,999-member choir. That gave the event the epithet, “9999 Carol Night”.

The carol festival kept improving by the year, and in 2012 featured prominent international artistes like Alvin Slaughter and Donnie McClurkin from the US and the Chorale Devine de Merveilles of the Republic of Congo, among others.

The 2013 was attended by Bishop Oyedepo of Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners' Chapel) and human rights activist, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and featured the National Choir of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, international singers like Lionel Peterson and Israel Houghton, and Nigerian singers like Bongos Ikwue, Frank Edwards, Nathaniel Bassey, Aity Dennis Inyang, el Mafrex, Freke Umoh, and Fadabasi.

The 2014 event broke a Guinness World Record to become the "Largest Assembly of Carol Singers on the Face of the Earth". In attendance were Don Moen, international gospel music composer, and Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja Catholic Diocese.

The event featured special performances by Quartets from the five international choirs that performed in past editions. Also performing were gospel saxophonist, Angela Christie, Lionel Peterson, Sinach, Harmonious Chorale and many others.

With the new government and Deacon Udom Emmanuel in the saddle, the all-Christian event became thicker and more purpose driven. In 2016, the concert was organised on December 17. Though with guest artists from around the world such as Award Winning gospel singer, Don Moen, PRM band, The Kayamba Africa Choral Ensemble and Kenya Boys Choir, some locals artists from Nigeria such as the late Sammie Okposo, Buchi, Steve Crown, Elijah Oyelade, Akwa Ibom clerics and singers also featured prominently. Rev. Fr. Patrick Edet, Esther Edoho, Julius Nglass and Perfecta Ekpo were also among those who performed in the year's event.

The festival only had a break in 2020 because of the outbreak of COVID-19, which practically crippled everything, including the world economy . However, there was a return in 2021.

Pastor David Ibiyeomie, Founder and Presiding Pastor, Salvation Ministries Worldwide, ministering as the Guest Minister at the event on Friday, December 16, 2022.

SportsLive

Technology, Diversity, Controversies Around Officiating Qatar 2022

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

Part of the football fervour and experiences that have seized the attention of sports fans across the globe, as beamed via transmission cables and internet servers from the several resplendent stadia in Qatar, are the debates over the correctness or the errors of refereeing decisions. As is often the case with matches where the stakes are high, players are prone to reacting strongly to referees and the stakes are never higher as they are at the World Cup. Qatar 2022 is no exception. Scarcely has any result gone without one side or the other dissatisfied with the officiating and unhesitating in outright criticism of the match officials for one call or the other.

THEWILL recalls that even after Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez displayed excellent reflexes in his penalty heroics in the match against the Dutch national team that effectively pushed Argentina to a semi-final, the keeper was in no celebratory mood. Instead, his vexatious consideration of the officiating of Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz was obvious in his post-match criticism of the decisions he felt went against his country versus the Netherlands, nearly costing it the result.

The annoyance of Martínez was reflected in the reaction of Argentine captain Lionel Messi, who was as scathing in his opinion of the referee as his compatriot, saying: "I don't want to talk about the referee because they sanction you. But people saw what happened. We were afraid before the match because we knew how he was and I think FIFA has to review this. You can't put a referee like him for these matches."

Indeed, their reactions have not been the exception as the Qatar World Cup officiating standard has been a central talking point from the beginning. This was a subject that FIFA wanted to avoid from the start. Ahead of the competition, there was much talk about the technological innovations that have been included in the stadium and in the ball to see that referees get as much assistance as possible to make the right calls that are backed by precise monitoring and tracking. Some controversies aside, the technology has enabled referees to make calls based on hard evidence rather than perception as some of the action is fast-paced and often a referee cannot decipher it all with the naked eye alone. The most outstanding example was Kaoru Mitoma’s winning goal for Japan against Spain, which was allowed to stand despite it appearing that the ball had drifted out of play. It was not the case because cameras at the roof of the stadium identified the fact that the ball had not entirely crossed the line which, according to the rules, is the only time the ball is out of play. Technology ultimately counted by the finest of margins.

Yet, anyone following will agree that debatable decisions throughout the World Cup have played a part in some of the results. This is even more so when such results are part of the vital knockout games, where the narrowest of margins can be all that keeps a team in the competition or ensures that they exit in tears and anguish on live TV. In the lead-up to the competition, it was revealed that FIFA and its referee committee chairman Pierluigi Collina set very clear guidelines regarding in-game calls, from clamping down or grappling in the penalty box to warding against soft fouls for the referees, all 36 of them. They were to be assisted by 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officials overseeing the video assistant referee (VAR) system. While the novel approach might have helped the game progress better, not all adapted to the changes towards the Qatari competition.

As a result, the seemingly confused and erratic calls that some of the match officials have been a part of often is a result of an internal attempt and struggle to break away from their previous style and adjust to the different standards in Qatar, which can only result in stretches of inconsistency. As the footballers have attested to and as many fans have complained about, some almost identical incidents have not been called in the same way by the

German team out early and made sure it happened with the match officials as part of the plot. There is actually no truth in this.

In addition to the adaptation of the referees to the Qatar event, a second point of contention has been the technology employed. An instance of this was when Cameroon's Vincent Aboubakar spectacularly lobbed the Serbian goalkeeper to score a goal that was initially disallowed for offside, as it seemed to most of those watching. But a video review overturned the initial call to correctly award the goal by the tightest of margins, but only after the initial joy had evaporated and the sense of the thrill of the celebration had died. This is an aspect of the game that is sacred, that the elation of a goal cannot be affected by technology without taking something away from football. It will be a sad day when goals are scored but all shouts of joys will have to wait pending a VAR review. The technology will have to be faster than that.

On the subject of dissatisfaction with refereeing decisions, a FIFA determination of the issues will have to be made. The complaints cannot be summarily dismissed

same referees in the same match over the last month, leaving many players, coaches, teams and fans angry and critical of the officiating. Some have gone as far as to construe that there is a FIFA agenda against certain teams, with one conspiracy going as far as insinuating that the world football body wanted the protesting

In addition to receiving a sizable salary for their crucial role as event officials, referees are also well-paid

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collina

Orsato

Lahoz

...Controversies Around Officiating Qatar 2022

especially when they are made official. For instance, Morocco's football federation (FMRF) protested to FIFA about the refereeing during their World Cup semi-final defeat by defending champions France in Qatar. The FMRF is unhappy that Mexican referee Cesar Ramos failed to award a penalty in the first half to the North Africans when Theo Hernandez made contact with Sofiane Boufal in the area. Instead of awarding a spotkick, which several neutrals felt was appropriate, Ramos instead booked winger Boufal for a foul. The Moroccans were also unhappy that the hauling down of substitute Selim Amallah as he awaited the delivery of a set-piece also failed to prompt another look from the VAR officials.

In addition to that, the very solemn and quiet Croatian midfielder Luka Modric was forced to speak up against the officiating as well and he did not hold back when expressing his ire at Italian referee Daniele Orsato. While Croatia lost to Argentina 3-0 in the World Cup semi-final, Modric pointed to a specific incident that changed the tenor of the match. The main cause of his ire was the penalty the referee awarded to the Albiceleste, which allowed Lionel Messi to score the game's first goal. In the first half, Dominik Livakovic was found to have fouled Julian Alvarez in the box, but the Croatians disagreed. Modric said: "I never talk about referees, but today it's impossible not to talk. He is one of the worst I know. Not only for today's game. He has refereed me many times and I never have a good memory of him. He's a disaster. It's a key moment in the game, he doesn't give us a corner and gives them a penalty, which I don't think it was, because he shoots and collides with our goalkeeper. I can't believe he gave that penalty. That changes the game."

In the other semi-final between England and France, the English had bones to pick with the officials as well. Referee Wilton Sampaio failed to award a free-kick for a foul on Bukayo Saka in the build-up to Aurelien Tchouameni's opener, whilst the Arsenal star was kicked and disrupted for the rest of the game without much punishment. England defender Harry Maguire was furious. Speaking after the game, the Manchester United defender said: "Big decisions went against us, a lot of decisions went against us, should I say. I think the referee’s decision-making throughout the game was really poor. We always stand here and as players we get criticised. So it would be nice to see if he comes out and says whether he’s had a good game or not. Because there were so many decisions in that first half where they made five, six early fouls. I think H [Harry Kane] was outside the box but it was a clear foul. He didn’t in the second half, Bukayo’s is a clear foul leading up to their first goal. Big moments, big decisions,

you expect to get some right but unfortunately tonight we didn’t get any."

Pepe was another player who voiced his criticism of the refereeing. He came out forcefully to state his belief that Portugal were hard done by due to an Argentinian referee taking charge of Portugal's 1-0 loss to Morocco in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, especially given the rivalry between these two footballing South American teams and the possibility of them meeting if both advanced. The 39-year-old Brazil captain said in his post-match comments: "After what I saw today, they can now give the title to Argentina. It is inadmissible that an Argentine referee whistled at us today after

Qatar 2022: As Atlas Lions Raise The Bar, Can Super Eagles Measure Up?

coaches for the first time in World Cup history — is seen as integral. Wydad, knowing the essence of family to Moroccan lifestyle, also ensured that the families of players came to Qatar alongside on the government's bill, a small fact that has had a major impact on their collective ethos, discipline and performance. The lessons to learn from all of these are numerous. Nigeria has fallen from the peak of its football glory in the 90s. It goes without saying that there has not been any Nigerian squad that can measure up to the squad assembled for Nigeria's participation in the 1994 USA World Cup. Made up of Wilfred Agbonavbare, Alloy Agu, Peter Rufai, Augustine Eguavoen, Michael Emenalo, Ben Iroha, Stephen Keshi, Chidi Nwanu, Uche Okafor, Uche Okechukwu, Efan Ekoku, Emeka Ezeugo, Mutiu Adepoju, Jay Jay Okocha, Thompson Oliha, Sunday Oliseh, Daniel Amokachi, Emmanuel Amunike, Finidi George, Victor Ikpeba, Samson Siasia, Rashidi Yekini with Dutchman Clemens Westerhof as coach, they were one of three African teams, the others being Cameroon and Morocco. Apart from a couple of changes, everyone in that Mundial was part of the Super Eagles victorious 1994 African Nations Cup squad in Tunisia.

Drawn in Group D alongside Argentina, Bulgaria, and Greece, the Super Eagles squad in 1994 was a blend of raw talent assembled by the Westerhof-led coaching staff and they shocked the world with an amazing display to move into the next round of the competition where Italy awaited. In that round of 16 fixture, a goal

from Emmanuel Amunike, 25 minutes into the game, brought the Eagles just within an inch of moving into the next round. Unfortunately, two minutes before Nigeria could qualify for the quarter-final of the World Cup, Roberto Baggio scored for Italy, taking the game into extra time. Baggio also scored the winner, ending the game 2-1 in favour of the Azzurri of Italy and bringing Nigeria's World Cup hopes to an untimely end. Yet, it was a period of very high quality football in the country that was recognised by FIFA. Nigeria was ranked 5th in the world in 1994 – the highest ever ranking by any African football team – and the Super Eagles were adjudged the most entertaining team of that World Cup.

Today, we look with nostalgia at those times. But, the experience of Morocco must be instructive. That semi-final place could very much have been Nigeria's to claim if we had the determination to get it right, the government backing to see to it and the investment, as the Royal Family is doing in Morocco, to bring it to life while eschewing the corrupt practices, favouritism and indiscipline that ended up leaving us out of the pleasure that has been Qatar 2022. We must have the courage to look at the elements of Westerhof's squad picks and the indigenous qualities of the Moroccan story and blend both to piece together a system that will birth the kind of team that will be reminiscent of that 1994 quality but with the style of 21st century football to bring back those glory years of Nigerian football that will make Nigerians proud again as they did way back in 1994. That is the lesson from Morocco!

what happened yesterday, with Messi complaining," he continued, referring to the referee antics from Argentina's quarter-final win against the Netherlands. While FIFA has an obligation to respond to these complaints, there have nevertheless been positives for the technology and the officiating. It has resulted in the longest extra time added to matches ever in football history. While this has left some confused, and fuelled more conspiracy theories, it was FIFA's answer to time wasting by some teams and time lost during medical interventions and goal celebrations. All these time-extending circumstances are added back to the football to make sure both sides play the entire 90 minutes and no time is lost. It has led to thrilling match endings as well because there have been some very late goals and fans have had more soccer to enjoy.

In truth, this World Cup has been a win in some refereeing areas, such as inclusivity, with it being the first with female match officials – referees Stéphanie Frappart (France), Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda) and Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan); assistant referees Neuza Back (Brazil), Karen Díaz Medina (Mexico) and Kathryn Nesbitt (US), all of whom hope in the aftermath of the World Cup that the focus remains on their job rather than their gender. There has also been positives for the technology even if it will do to outline a clear standard from here for the referees. Yet, the role of a match official at a World Cup can often feel like a thankless job. While players are heaped with praise when they do outstanding work, referees are rarely hailed for doing their job well. Instead, they are routinely lambasted – by players, managers and fans over the slightest of errors. Still, the reality is that their high-stakes role requires a comprehensive knowledge of the game’s rules, an elite fitness level – often requiring them to run more than outfield players – and years of hard work.

That is why FIFA rewards them for their work. FIFA makes an effort to select officials with the best reputation and expertise. The match referees nearly usually have a heavy workload during major competitions like the World Cups and continental championships. In addition to receiving a sizable salary for their crucial role as event officials, referees are also well-paid. Since the World Cup in Russia (2018), the World Cup management organisation has made arrangements for each match referee to receive a base salary of $70,000 for their participation in the FIFA World Cup. For the first time in the competition's history, FIFA also decided that each assistant referee would get an initial payment of $25,000 for their involvement at the World Cup. A match official makes at least three times more money off of a World Cup event than they do officiating matches in the UEFA Champions League.

Ramos

Sampaio

Qatar 2022: As Atlas Lions Raise The Bar, Can Super Eagles Measure Up?

In my column last month, I took a peek into the feelings of the average football fan in Nigeria ahead of the commencement of hostilities in the Qatar 2022 World Cup with the glaring absence of the country's senior men's national football team, the Super Eagles. I noted that these fans, whose appetites for joy, excitement and exhilaration have been stymied by bad governance, often saw the World Cup as providing an outlet to temporarily suspend sorrows, anguish and "sapa" and celebrate football. It was a thing of sorrow that even this outlet had now become a victim of the mismanagement that has been the country's bane. nity and to restructure the country into one that works As I have always pointed out on this page, everything rises or falls with the quality of the leadership. Years of not fielding our first-11 to run the affairs of state, and instead being led by a cast of mediocre imitations, have meant that our country's starting lineup in the Super Eagles could not deliver the ticket to Qatar. As a direct consequence of this, subdued fans are left with little choice than to make do with supporting other African countries and their favourite club’s football players. My article came to my mind again when I witnessed the unfiltered elation that Africa's most successful World Cup nation to date, Morocco, brought to football fans in their country by becoming the first ever African country to reach the semi-final stage of the global football fiesta. As a result of their nigh-impossible victory over Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the quarterfinal, the national airline Royal Air Maroc scheduled 30 additional flights from Casablanca to Qatar on Monday and Tuesday, to carry nearly 9,000 more supporters. Three blocks and into the street were taken up by the line at its central headquarters, which resulted in a klaxon of horns. Although these extra flights were cancelled because of ticketing issues, the overwhelming response from thrilled Moroccans exemplified the type of pleasure Nigerian fans were looking forward to.

Those who have gone to get a first-person feel of the emotions of Moroccans enthralled by the progress of their national team in Qatar have found a people completely overtaken by excitement, joy and love borne out of football fervour. They confess to a changed mood with people exchanging hugs. Actions that would have previously provoked anger are now overlooked without angst. Radio phone-ins programmes that used to be a funnel of people complaining now witness people calling in to celebrate as the entire nation is gliding on a cloud because their performances at the Qatar tournament have become a transformative agent, feeding their country with positive energy patriotic fervour.

Morocco is a country of about 35 million on the northwest of the African coast and it is witnessing its best ever time in sports. Ranked 22nd by FIFA entering the World Cup, they were not expected to go past their group stage as they were drawn against some of the best teams in Europe and North America. As if that was not negative enough, their coach, Walid Regragui, had been given the responsibility of the World Cup campaign barely 81 days before their first match. That match was going to be against Croatia, the defeated finalists from the previous tournament in 2018. They were undeterred and went into the competition high in confidence. It did not look like it when they earned a creditable 0-0 draw against the Croatians, but anyone paying attention could have noticed the strength of their backline and the agility of their very competent goalkeeper.

These two factors became evident as the tournament progressed. Nobody thought their performance was a flash in the pan anymore. They were for real, and soon proved it a stunning 2-0 defeat of European giants

Belgium, ranked number two in the current FIFA ratings, second only to Brazil. Canada, who qualified at the top of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) region, were subsequently similarly dispatched 2-1, as the Moroccans conceded the first and only goal that went past Yassine Bounou in the goal of the Atlas Lions. This victory, and other results in Group F meant that Morocco became the first African side to top a World Cup group since 1998, when Nigeria topped their group ahead of Paraguay, Spain and Bulgaria. Morocco got Spain, their European neighbours, and one of the favourites for the tournament, for the round of 16.

comprehensive, Morocco — their players, coaches and fans — gave everything. Unfortunately that was the result but the team was hampered by injuries, changes in personnel and formation. They were without captain Romain Saiss from 21 minutes onwards, exposing the defending champions on more than one occasion, particularly when attacking down France’s left. But for the absence of a clinical finisher, it could have been a different story for Morocco. Yet, history had been made. By reaching the semi-finals, Morocco has already far exceeded all expectations, going further than any African team in the history of the tournament. In the past, only Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in the first World Cup in African soil in South Africa 2010, had managed a quarter-finals ticket.

Within and outside the Al Bayt Stadium and in Doha itself, the passion and pride for Africa’s first World Cup semi-finalists at the first Arab World Cup could be heard and felt. The Atlas Lions are the second Muslimmajority nation to reach a semi-final, after Turkey in 2002. As well as being the first African side to reach the same point, they are the first Arab team to make the last four. They have some antecedents in making history and they have a great sense of pride in their accomplishments. Indeed, they consider themselves the first nation from Africa to qualify for the World Cup, playing in Mexico in 1970 (though Egypt qualified through UEFA in 1934). At the 1986 World Cup, they became the first African nation to go beyond the group stages, reaching the second round, where they only lost through a single 88th-minute goal against eventual runners-up West Germany. Unfortunately, Morocco is yet to lift an international trophy in 46 years. They last won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1976 and failed to qualify for the first four World Cup tournaments of the 21st century.

While Spain endeavoured to demonstrate a masterclass in ball possession and the intricate ability to string passes across every blade of grass, racking up more than 1,000 passes, Morocco’s defence did not break in the face of the more proficient Luis Enrique’s squad. The gulf in quality between both on paper did not pan out in real life when Achraf Hakimi scored the winning penalty in the shootout with a Panenka to take the Atlas Lions to the quarter-finals where Portugal waited. In one of the highest jumps in World Cup history, striker Youssef En-Nesyri leapt into the air and his first-half header sent Morocco into the semis. So disciplined were they defensively that even the second half introduction of Ronaldo was not enough to get past Bounou. That victory was historic and celebrations swept Morocco, grinding the cities of Marrakech, Casablanca, Fez, Tangier, and Rabat, the capital, to a halt. Not that it was limited to their borders as African and Arab countries both joined in because it was an accomplishment for both as well. Africa had finally contributed a World Cup semi-finalist for the first time.

Although they lost to France in their next match, conceding two goals for the first time in the competition, they had shown their mettle throughout. France did not walk over them and even if a 2-0 loss might sound

They are however determined to change that and if their progress in Qatar is anything to go by, they’re heading in the right direction. While those denying them kudos for what they have done claim that they have been fortunate or their progress is a fluke, it will be instructive to look at how they have come this far. It did not happen overnight nor by good fortune. It is part of a plan that is yielding results. The Moroccan Football Federation, backed by the government, and in particular King Mohammed VI, has invested heavily since 2014. At the core of this investment is the Mohammed VI Academy in Sale, on the outskirts of Rabat. This Academy has become a seed bed for their Football ambitions. So far, it has produced four players for the World Cup squad, despite its relative infancy. Starting centre-back, Nayef Aguerd, of West Ham United, is one of its proudest exports as is Azzedine Ounahi, and quarter-final hero En-Nesyri himself.

The benefits of the Academy extend to the domestic teams. In 2022 alone, Moroccan sides won both the men’s and women’s CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederations Cup, the continent's most elite club competitions. It has shown in their female football also. Morocco’s women’s side finished runners-up in AFCON on home soil, second only to rising African women's football leaders Banyana Banyana of South Africa. As is obvious, the men’s side are the latest part of this success story. Regragui, who led Wydad Casablanca to the Champions League title in May before taking the Morocco job, was the final missing piece. The fact that he is Moroccan — all five African teams had domestic

Morocco is a country of about 35 million on the north-west of the African coast and it is witnessing its best ever time in sports. Ranked 22nd by FIFA entering the World Cup, they were not expected to go past their group stage as they were drawn against some of the best teams in Europe and North America