Wednesday 23rd November 2016

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2016 T H I S D AY

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2016 T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

NEWS

Is Nigeria’s Brazilian Heritage Under Threat Though he grew up in one of Africa’s largest English-speaking cities, Alexander De Souza remembers a childhood when Portuguese was spoken in the streets, Brazilian dishes were served in the kitchen and friends and family lived in houses styled in the architecture of Sao Paulo.

De Souza spent the early years of his childhood in the “Brazilian quarter” of Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, a part of town so named because former slaves from Brazil settled there to restart their lives in the 19th century.

Decades of British colonisation that ended in 1960 made Nigeria a firmly Anglophone country, with English as the lingua franca and thousands of Nigerians living in countries such as Britain and the United States.

But in the Brazilian quarter of Lagos, the festivals, meals and architecture all have a distinctive South American touch, thanks to the legacy of the “agudas”, a distortion of the Portuguese word for the cotton that became a moniker for the returned slaves.

Yet, many in the quarter worry that these traditions and cultural relics may not last much longer.

The descendants of the freed slaves are moving out of the neighbourhood. Brazilian-style houses have been sold off and renovated. And, in September, a developer levelled the Ilojo Bar, a 161-year-old house built by a returned slave that had been designated a national monument.

“The demolition is a very big, massive loss for this culture, for this community,” said Gasper da Silva, a resident of the quarter and president of the Brazilian Descendants’ Union, which organises traditional Brazilian events there.

A Question of Heritage Da Silva traces his heritage back to Hemengildo Gaspar da Silva, a prince of the Oyo Empire, which held sway over the Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria and parts of neighbouring Benin before

colonisation.

Sold into slavery by his guards in the late 18th century, da Silva's great-great-grandfather was taken to Brazil and forced to work as a servant.

After gaining his freedom in the 1800s, he sold fabric, married two wives, had five children and then returned to the shores of Nigeria at the age of 66.

“He wanted to come back to trace his history,” da Silva told Al Jazeera.

He bought a swath of land in what was to become the quarter, and built a family house in the design of those he’d seen in Brazil.

Families such as the Martins, Da Rochas and Campos - whose very names illustrate the Brazilian influence - did the same: establishing themselves as a unique community of Portuguese speakers in a land that was gradually falling under the influence of British colonists.

When slavery was abolished in the 19th century in the Americas, the number of agudas in Lagos grew as former slaves in Brazil travelled to West Africa.

A census taken in 1888 by the British colonial government recorded 3,221 “Brazilians” in Lagos, according to a 2010 history of slave repatriation in West Africa published by the Brazilian government.

During the 20th century, the city’s population swelled and the post-independence government filled in land around the Brazilian quarter to build modern freeways and high rises for banks and oil companies.

Still, the families in the quarter kept their traditions alive in the face of growing modernity, passing down property and customs from generation to generation.

The neighbourhood continues to hold carnivals every Easter, New Year and Christmas, when Brazilian dishes, such as frejon and feijoada, are served to revellers.

An Exchange of Traditions The African slaves also influenced the way of life in

The Brazilian quarter in Lagos Brazil. They brought their language, Yoruba, which is widely spoken in southwestern Nigeria today and also in parts of Brazil’s Bahia State.

Masquerades traditional to the Yoruba people known as Egungun can also be found in Brazil, just as they can on the streets of Lagos.

On a weekend in late October, a crowd of intoxicated young men followed a masquerade, called an Agodongbo, through the Brazilian quarter, hitting each other with tree branches in a show of strength as they trailed the masked performer.

As Graciano Oladipupo Martins followed the muddy Lagos roads that snake between the narrow, multi-storey houses of the quarter to join the crowd, he noted the changes in his neighbourhood.

“You see, most of the houses are undergoing renovation,” said Martins, a Portuguese language instructor and great-grandson of an African trader who’d sent slaves to Brazil. “The Brazilian touches are fading, gradually.”

Though the name “Brazilian quarter” remains widely used in Lagos today, the neighbourhood’s unique style is becoming less and less apparent,

residents say.

Knowing the Buildings Da Silva’s family home, an example of Brazilian architecture that included a distinctive penthouse room on the roof, partially burned down years ago.

Martins sold his family’s house because it was empty.

Most of his relatives had moved to parts of Lagos where they could afford land and build their own homes. Developers bought the house and renovated it. Now it looks like any other structure in Lagos, Martins said.

“Some of the Brazilian houses were not well-kept,” said Oluyomi MacGregor, a leader of the Brazilian community. “Some people did not know the history of their buildings.”

Other structures have fallen into unscrupulous hands. The house of Ramon Campos, a structure built in 1812 and overlooking a square that today serves as a space for football games and street parties, was demolished earlier this year without the consent of the family that owned it.

But perhaps no loss has been felt by the community

as acutely as that of the Ilojo Bar. The building, which had hosted a drinking spot and a musical instrument shop at various points in its long history, was one of the few in Lagos protected under the authority of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

But members of the family that owned the building claimed it was unsafe and dilapidated, and decided they wanted to tear it down. Taiwo Awoniyi, chief heritage officer at the National Museum in Lagos, said the family tried four times to raze the building, only for museum officials to intervene.

Demolitions On a Sunday morning, during the September Eid al-Adha holiday, the bulldozers finally succeeded, levelling the structure.

“It’s a death. We are culturally bereaved,” MacGregor said. “It seems as if there’s a deliberate policy not to have historical heritage in Lagos.”

The demolition contravened the law, Awoniyi said. “The demolition as far as we are concerned at the museum is an act of criminality,” he explained.

Legacy, a historical group

based in Lagos, took measured drawings of the building years ago. It could conceivably be rebuilt.

But before its demolition, long-discussed plans by museum officials to restore the building and turn it into a tourist attraction never got off the ground because there wasn’t money to pay for it, Awoniyi said.

Shocked by the building’s destruction, da Silva has discussed with other families the idea of rebuilding Ilojo Bar, perhaps by raising money from wealthy families in the community.

The only people he hasn’t discussed the demolition with are his relatives back in Brazil, the descendants of the two sons of his great-great-grandfather, who remained in the South American country. He has kept in regular touch with them over Facebook, discussing each other’s families and lives on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

“They are going to feel so bad,” da Silva said of his relatives. “I feel it is going to be a kind of disgrace on our part here.”

•Culled from Al Jazeera News

FG MAY EXEMPT VARSITIES FROM TSA AS ASUU ENDS ONE-WEEK STRIKE Account (TSA) policy.

The policy requires all federal government institutions to domicile their funds with the TSA in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The clarification by ASUU came amid mixed messages from the union that it was set to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike.

Speaking to THISDAY in a phone interview, ASUU President, Prof.

Biodun Ogunyemi, debunked reports that the union had declared an indefinite strike.

He, however, told THISDAY that the union was making progress, especially with the intervention of the Senate.

“In the next one or two meetings, if we are able to get a clear path to the matter, we will avoid elongation of the strike.

“I have been receiving these reports that ASUU says the strike continues, no. The strike ends today (yesterday). All lecturers are to go back to work tomorrow morning (today),” Ogunyemi stated.

On the vexed issue of the TSA, one of the critical policies ASUU is vehemently opposed to, Ogunyemi said: “On TSA, we are getting positive responses, though we don’t know how far they are willing to go.”

Also, the Permanent Secretary

in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr. Clement Iloh, told THISDAY that part of the strategy was to look at ASUU’s demands, particularly as it concerns Endowment Fund but not TSA as a whole.

Iloh said: “It is not just the TSA, ASUU also talked about the Endowment Fund. What ASUU presented was the Endowment Fund. The TSA is a government policy, so it has so many components.”

But even as the president of the union asked university lecturers to resume lectures today, the Chairman of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) chapter of ASUU, Dr. Ifeanyi Abada, said yesterday in Nsukka that the union would embark on an indefinite strike, reported the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

“ASUU was left with no option than to proceed on the one-week warning strike and with the failure to meet our demands, we will go on an indefinite strike,” Abada told newsmen. He said that the chapter complied fully with the warning strike directive.

“The National Executive Committee (NEC) made efforts to resolve this issue with the government but government remained unyielding.

“The strike compliance in

UNN was total, no lectures, no examinations, no departmental and faculty meetings, as members did not participate.

“The UNN chapter will not renege on the directive of the national body until government addresses all the issues raised.

“Our monitoring team is moving round; any lecturer found teaching will be sanctioned accordingly,” he said.

According to Abada, among the demands of ASUU was that universities be exempted from the TSA policy.

He added that ASUU was also demanding that the federal government implements the agreement it entered into with ASUU in 2009.

Academic activities remained paralysed in UNN yesterday as a result of the warning strike.

Meanwhile, the meeting between the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND and ASUU, which was deadlocked on Monday may resume tomorrow, the committee Chairman, Senator Jibrin Barau, disclosed yesterday.

Barau, who is the Head of the Senate Intervention Sub-committee mediating between ASUU and the federal government, said the Senate had made tremendous progress in its commitment to avert an indefinite strike by the union.

Speaking at the National Assembly complex on the outcome of the sub-committee’s meeting with ASUU on Monday, Barau said: “We had about six issues and all of them were very well discussed. We deliberated and agreed on all of them except one, and that one has to do with the earned allowances.

“Now, they (ASUU) are asking for about N62 billion. Initially, N30 billion was given to the universities in 2013 and the agreement, as signed between the federal government and ASUU clearly specifies that upon receipt of any payment, before any new payment is made, the last payment has to be accounted for.

“The Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC) clearly wrote in one of its letters to the Ministry of Education that it is not satisfied with the level of accountability on the N30 billion.

“So, a letter was sent to the Ministry of Finance since March that the forensic audit on that money has not been done. They said no further disbursement could be made except the money that was given was accounted for as clearly spelt out in the agreement.

“We then said, wait, the fact that the forensic audit was not carried out was not the fault of

ASUU. So we then agreed that for the exercise to be conducted, it was estimated by experts that it would take six months to conclude the exercise.

“Then we said ‘look, it will be unfair to ask ASUU to wait without being paid while the exercise is being carried out’. We said ASUU should be paid N1 billion every month while the forensic audit exercise is being carried out.

“ASUU said they would not accept N1 billion. We now asked ASUU to accept N1.5 billion while the exercise is being

concluded. ASUU said they will go back and consult with their members and that they are going to get back to us.

“Therefore, we are waiting for ASUU to get back to us, but definitely the meeting may take place on Thursday so that we can thrash out the only remaining issue, since we don't have the luxury of time on our side.

“The Senate wants all contending issues to be resolved within the shortest time possible so as to keep the academic calendar running smoothly in all our universities,” he said.

ONDO PDP CANDIDACY: S’COURT ORDERS APPEAL COURT TO DETERMINE ALL APPEALS “The fact that somebody went for medical check up does not mean he is ill. In the likely event that Senator Tinubu, like all mortals, was ill at all, I doubt if Mr. Lalong would be the first to know by reason of relationship, proximity and trust.

“Prominent politicians like Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun have been speaking with Jagaban Tinubu.

Governor Amosun particularly communicated with him a day before the Ondo rally and he can never claim not to have spoken with him.

“I have also remained in

constant touch with Senator Tinubu since my arrival in Nigeria. We speak daily as a matter of fact.

“I have been inundated with calls by friends, associates and other well-meaning Nigerians trying to ascertain the veracity of this ludicrous claim. I hereby ask all friends and lovers of Senator Tinubu to discountenance the claim and know that he is hale and hearty.”

Lalong had in his capacity as the Chairman of the Ondo State governorship campaign explained that Tinubu was absent at the rally due to ill health.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS

News Editor Davidson Iriekpen Email davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

Osinbajo: FG Ready with Counterpart Funding for Railway Projects with China Says Niger Delta stands to lose from blowing up pipelines

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has said the federal government is ready with the counterpart funding for the designated railway constructions: Lagos-Kano and Calabar-Lagos lines.

A statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said Osinbajo declared this during a courtesy call on him by the new Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Zhou Pingjian.

Osinbajo said the relationship between Nigeria and China was getting stronger and strategic.

The Chinese envoy in his

remarks, said trade between both countries had increased and described Nigeria as ‘giant of Africa.’

Also yesterday, the vice president said damaging of pipelines and oil installations in the Niger Delta was a destruction of facilities meant to help the people of the region.

Speaking while receiving a delegation of Urhobo leaders at the Presidential Villa, Osinbajo noted that so much damage was being done, adding that governments would come and go, but the damages would ultimately destroy people’s livelihood, aspirations and their future.

According to him, nobody else anywhere in the world would destroy the facilities meant to help them; there is no benefit whatsoever from the destruction,” the vice president continued.

While maintaining that Buhari administration would continue its outreach to leaders and groups in the Niger Delta in seeking peaceful solution to the crisis, Osinbajo called for understanding, especially on the part of the leaders of the region, stressing that destruction

and damage “does not lead to anything good.”

Regarding the opened channels of communication and negotiation with the Niger Delta leaders and representatives, the vice president said President Muhammadu Buhari had shown exemplary leadership and is someone that could be trusted once he gives his word.

“He is quiet, but fiercely determined, once he makes up his mind and gives his word,” he said Osinbajo encouraged Niger

Delta people to work with the president.

Welcoming the delegation from the Urhobo Leaders of Thought led by its president, Chief Tuesday Onoge, and the APC’s Gubernatorial Candidate in the 2015 elections, Olorogun Ortega Emerhor, Osinbajo commended the leadership and understanding of the Urhobo Leaders of Thought.

Earlier in his comments, Onoge had lamented that if the money sent to the Niger Delta in the last 16 years was judiciously spent,

the people of the region would have benefited. He then asked rhetorically “What happened to the monies?

Pledging support to the federal government, the leader of the delegation said the group condemned the vandalisation of oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta in its entirety and offered to assist in ushering peace in the area.

He also stated that the group supported the anticorruption efforts of the Buhari administration.

Saraki: I Made 95% of My Wealth Before Politics Senate President Bukola Saraki has told the BBC Hausa service that he acquired 95 per cent of his wealth before he entered politics.

He is currently under investigation by the federal authorities over allegations of falsely declaring assets when he was Governor of Kwara State.

Saraki acknowledged that there was corruption in the country, but said his wealth was a result of coming from a blessed family and hard work.

He said he was confident that he would be cleared of the charges against him and he would continue to serve in public office.

The senator also said he had not evaded tax - an accusation highlighted in the Panama Papers.

He said: “Based on legal advice the company was set up because they were acquiring an asset and it was advised at that time and that’s how it was set up to the best of our knowledge. It was not a company that was set up by ourselves; it was set up by a legal firm and under a legal firm as far as to the best of our knowledge no law was being broken.”

His wife also appeared in those documents accused of registering a company offshore to buy a London property.

THANKS FOR COMING

Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar N. Onyema (left), and Chief Investment Officer, Kuramo Capital Management and Representative Member of Verod Capital Growth, Fund II Limited Partners Advisory Committee, Wale Adeosun, at the closing gong ceremony at the NSE in Lagos...yesterday

Kachikwu: Nigeria to Pay IOCs $5.1bn Discounted Cash Call Debt in Five Years

Arrangement will not affect 2.2mbpd budget production benchmark Minister inaugurates board of PPPRA, PEF and PTI

Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday disclosed that the discounted $5.1 billion cash-call debt owed International Oil Companies (IOCs) by Nigeria over a long period would be paid off within five years.

Although Kachikwu did not state when the repayment would begin, he however stated that the repayment timeline was part of the concessions Nigeria got from the IOCs for discounting a whopping $1.7 billion from the cash-call arrears.

He recently disclosed at the 72nd National Economic Council (NEC) meeting that through negotiations with the IOCs, the $6.8 billion past due cash-calls burden on the federation was reduced to $5.1 billion, to be paid on an improved oil output.

Speaking after declaring open the inaugural meeting of the National Council on Hydrocarbon in Abuja, Kachikwu also said within the agreement, the payment from incremental oil production will not affect Nigeria’s budget

production benchmark of 2.2 million barrels per day (mbd).

He added that the discount translates to almost N8 billion in savings to the country.

“The first concession obviously is the fact that the country got a discount of $1.7 billion, and that is going to be paid over a period of five years and it will be paid from incremental volume of production and so we are not lynching into our 2.2mbpd to be able to pay for that.

“I think literally when you look at it, it almost translates into fiscals of N8 billions in savings for the government which is very good,” Kachikwu stated.

When asked what the country’s oil production was at the moment following reports of recent production disruptions in the Niger Delta, the minister said: “Still not where we should be. These days I am almost cautious of giving figures so that I don’t attract attention unnecessarily but obviously the Forcados incident did impact us, but my guess is that we are moving closer to 1.9mbpd at this point.”

He said President

Muhammadu Buhari approved the formation of the National Council on Hydrocarbon and that its responsibilities will be advisory.

“It is a fact and ideas gathering team, and so everybody presents their opinions, both the military, traditional rulers and stakeholders who would contribute ideas to the hydrocarbon council.

“So, we are basically telling Nigerians, this is your product; this is your economy and issues, what ideas do you have in terms of engagement of communities to help them become part of the policy making process,” Kachikwu noted.

He said it was important that all Nigerians become a part of the policy-making processes in the oil and gas industry, stating that the government was in a hurry to get the oil industry work for Nigeria’s development.

“There is so much, happening in this sector, I am sure if you are following the trajectory of our movement, you will see we are racing that against time.

“So much to do; in terms of refineries which we want by 2019 to move out of importation,

funding of the upstream, restructuring of the NNPC, and passage of the long sought-after Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) or the Niger Delta issues, there is an overload of activities. I urge all of you to pay more interest in this, we need to have creative thinking to the solutions,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kachikwu has formally inaugurated the management board of three parastatals in the ministry Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management) Board (PEF), and the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI).

The government had in May 2016 constituted board members for the agencies. PPPRA for instance has a former Managing Director of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Alhaji Mohammed Buba, as its board chair.

But speaking at the inauguration ceremony yesterday in Abuja, Kachikwu said the new boards were coming at a time when the global petroleum industry is witnessing a downturn in fortuneswhich has

also translated to reduction in revenue levels from petroleum by most producer nations.

He stated that the composition of the boards was thorough and persons who have both the experience and knowledge to guide the three parastatals into harnessing their potential and fulfilling the nation’s expectations at this challenging times were selected.

“Last week, Mr. President inaugurated the boards of NNPC, NCDMB and NNRA under the ministry of petroleum and he charged them to achieve a key objective of this administration which is to institutionalise transparency and accountability in the agencies in this critical ministry.

“Mr. President expects you to take full leadership and drive the complete reforms of these parastatals and work closely with their heads,” Kachikwu said.

He further stated: “For PPPRA, the expectation is of the board to provide the necessary steers and guidance to the management on ensuring the maintenance of national petroleum products sufficiency

and ensure the growth of the petroleum products strategic reserves.

“For PEF, the expectation from the members of the board is for them to ensure that the automated product tracking system from depots to stations is completed nationwide and every molecule of petroleum product is tracked to the retail station.

“For PTI, the expectation from the members of the board is for them to superintend the transformation of PTI to world class oil and gas training institute that run commercially viable courses and grow the number of high value clients within the industry and make it a cynosure institution in the continent.”

The minister noted that all parastatals must be placed on the path of better performance and efficiency.

He also stated that they must work towards financial sufficiency and move away from getting subventions from the government, in addition to imbibing sufficient transparency in their activities.

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NEWS

Senate Summons Kachikwu over $115bn deal with China, India Asks police to fish out perpetrators of Lagos mob action

Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The Senate yesterday summoned the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to appear before its Committees on Petroleum (Upstream), Gas and Foreign Affairs to explain the rationale behind the $100 billion memorandum of understanding (MoU) he signed with Chinese companies and another proposed $15 billion investment deal with India.

Moving a motion at yesterday’s plenary, Senator Clifford Odia (Edo Central) said the minister must appear

before the committee to explain the impact the MoUs will have on the Nigerian economy.

According to Odia, whereas Kachikwu had earlier signed $80 billion MoU with some Chinese companies to be spent on investments in oil and gas, infrastructure, pipelines, refineries, power, facility, refurbishments and upstream ventures for five years, two other Chinese oil companies, Sinopec and CNOOC, had signed investment MoUs with Kachikwu for further investments in Nigeria’s upstream oil sub-sector to the tune of $20 billion.

... Initiates Bill to Move Inauguration of President to N’Assembly Complex Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja A bill seeking to move the inauguration of Nigerian president and vice president from Eagles Square, Abuja, to the premises of the National Assembly complex passed its first reading in the Senate yesterday.

The bill, also known as Presidential Inauguration Bill 2016, sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, was said to have been initiated in line with international best practices as it is the case in the United States and many other democracies.

However, the 11-section bill does not seek to preclude the Chief Justice of Nigeria from administering the oath of office on the two foremost political leaders.

It provides for the inauguration ceremony of the president-elect and the vice president-elect to take place at the Arcade of the National Assembly, where it claims the people are represented.

It also provides for the setting up of a Presidential Inauguration Committee, which shall consist of a serving member of the National Assembly as chairman, six members drawn from the legislature, two from the executive, two from the judiciary, and two from the civil society.

Section 7 of the bill also provides for a procession with the president, while former presidents, former heads of state, former heads of federal government, former vice presidents, former Senate presidents, former speakers of the House of Representatives, and former chief justices of the federation will follow.

The bill further provides that the president-elect and vice president-elect would be the last to come, accompanied by their immediate families and supported by their spouses, serving president of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives at the point of swearingin.

He said: “The Senate is aware that the Minister of State for Petroleum negotiated a $15 billion investment with India where the Indian government would make an upfront payment to Nigeria for crude oil purchases.

“The Senate is further aware that the two countries have agreed to sign a MoU to facilitate investments by India in the Nigerian oil and gas sector and specifically in areas such as refining, oil and gas marketing upstream ventures, the development of gas infrastructure and in the training of oil and gas personnel in Nigeria.

“It notes that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources also carried out a road show in China where MoUs worth over $80 billion to be spent on investments in oil and gas infrastructure, pipelines, refineries, power, facility, refurbishments and upstream financing spanning five years were signed with Chinese companies.

“The Senate notes that some of the Chinese companies involved in the MoUs include

China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO Group), China Cinda Asset Management Company Limited (CINDA), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation/Addax Petroleum (SINOPEC/ADDAX), and International Chamber of Commerce/ China’s National Development and Reform “The Senate observes that outside these MoUs for $80 billion investments, the two largest oil companies in China, Sinopec and CNOOC, signed investment MoUs with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources committing the companies to further investments in Nigeria’s upstream oil sub-sector to the tune of $20 billion.”

Also yesterday, the Senate asked the Nigerian Police to immediately confirm or deny the news of the purported mob action against a lad in Lagos State last week and similar cases in other states of the federation.

The parliament also said if the Lagos mob action was true, the Police must “immediately fish out all perpetrators of this

barbarism and make sure they are brought to book” just as it urged the Police and other security agencies to live up to their responsibilities to protect younger persons.

The Senate therefore asked its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to urgently accelerate the passage of Anti-Jungle Justice Bill that is before it and simultaneously tasked the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Malam Abubakar Malami; the state’s attorneys-general and the police “to show greater sense of duty in the diligent apprehension and prosecution of this kind of offenders.”

These resolutions were the offshoot of a motion by Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East) in which he expressed dismay over “the rising cases of jungle justice by mobs that have arrogated to themselves the power to condemn others to death and execute judgment without recourse to the law courts in different parts of Nigeria.”

Ashafa said the case of a young man recently lynched in Orile area of Lagos State for alleged stealing was horrifying,

regretting that such barbaric acts which he said were mainly perpetrated while the crowd watched were disheartening, frightening and dehumanising to the black race.

The Senator also recalled the massive destruction of four boys in Aluu community in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in 2012 and similar cases in Ondo, Benin, Uyo as well as the recent gruesome murder of 74-year old Mrs. Bridget Agbahime by an angry mob in Kano for having “a different opinion from those of her attackers.”

He said the indifference shown towards the killing of Agbahime by Kano State attorney-general and commissioner for justice was disheartening adding that mob actions violated Section 33 of the Nigerian Constitution which he said guaranteed the right to life.

The motion was supported

by Senators Ali Ndume, Mao Ohuabunwa and Shehu Sani.

The Senate also called on the federal government to urgently repair three bridges which have collapsed along Oyo-OgbomosoIlorin and Igbeti-Ilorin federal highways.

Yuguda to Arrive Bauchi Tomorrow, Supporters Express Fear Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi Eighteen months after he left the country after losing the chance to become a senator and the defeat of his anointed governorship candidate, former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, has fixed November 24 for his homecoming.

Addressing journalists yesterday in Bauchi, a former Commissioner for Information and a close associate of the former governor, Alhaji Salisu Barau, who disclosed this, said all plans had been concluded to organise a grand reception to honour their political mentor.

He explained that the exgovernor would spend about three days in the state in order to meet his family members, relatives, friends, associates, supporters and well-wishers whom he was unable to interact with for a long time while he

was abroad.

Barau who stated that Yuguda’s homecoming has no political motive, also said it was not intended to cause chaos or disrupt the relative peace in the state, adding that they had written to all security agencies informing them of his coming and his purpose.

The former commissioner however alleged that there was a plot by the Special Assistant to the incumbent state Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, on Youths to hire thugs to stage a protest against the coming of their mentor and clash with his supporters with a view to perpetrating mayhem in the state. ‘’I want people to know that Yuguda is not coming to disrupt the relative peace in the state, and his coming has no political motive.

He is an indigene of the state and is coming to see his relatives, friends and well-wishers.”

CANCER AWARENESS CAMPAIGN L-R: Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu; Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneur, Lekan Akinseye;

and Director, UBA Plc and organiser, Mrs. Onari Duke, during ‘Run for Cure’; a cancer awareness initiative promoted by Mrs. Duke, in Lagos.....weekend.

Zamfara Killings: Dan-Ali Orders Surge in Troops Deployment in Affected Area Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Minister of Defence, Brig-Gen. Muhammad Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd), has ordered increased military presence to help in Zamfara State following the sustained killings of many people by bandits and suspected cattle rustlers.

Dan-Ali, in a statement signed yesterday by his Public Relations Officer, Col. Tukur Gusau, expressed shock and

sadness over the wanton killings and destruction of lives and property in the state.

The minister said he “received the news of the recent series of attacks and killing of innocent and peace-loving people in some parts of the state with sadness and deepest sympathy.”

According to him, “The recent attacks were callous, wicked and barbaric act which must be condemned in its entirety.”

Report had it that bandits

killed over 25 people lastSunday with Governor Abdullazeez Yari, claiming that over 155 people have been massacred in recent times.

Dan-Ali used the opportunity to offer condolences to the government and the people of the state and the bereaved families.

“May Almighty Allah grant the deceased rest in peace,” he stated.

He stated that the federal

government was already on top of the situation.

Dan-Ali noted that discussions with the relevant stakeholders in the state were already in progress to consolidate the efforts of the state government.

The minister said he has “directed a quick increase of troops’ strength to boost the capacity of the security agencies in the state.”

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

COMMENT

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

GOOD RIDDANCE TO OBAMA AND CLINTON (2)

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DonaldTrump is thrown up to truncate the desecration of American cultural heritage, argues Sonnie Ekwowusi

hile President Barack Obama waxed stronger in contagious play-acting and political sophistry and Hillary Clinton busied herself acting out “political correctness” with her artificial smile and gestures, Trump was successfully communicating to the ordinary American voters at the grassroots and telling them what they would like to hear and what would move their hearts and heads to vote for him. Small wonder white voters, non-white voters, Latino voters, college educated whites, young adult white voters in the age bracket of 18-29, black voters and even American women voters all voted for Trump. The lesson here is that the age of political play-acting and sophistry is gone in American politics. Today the average American voter is more interested in voting for candidates who will promote his or her selfish interests irrespective of the candidates’ sophistry. Writing in New York Times of November 9, 2016, Alexander Burns says that Trump shocked all by winning the votes of the common Americans who are “displaced by changes in the economy and deeply resistant to the country’s shifting cultural and racial tones”.

Some commentators argue that Trump won the election unethically.

How can Trump, a die-hard racist, who went about threatening people, insulting people, taking pride in sexually abusing women and constantly putting out false promises and rhetoric, win a US Presidential election?, they ask. On October 31, 1954, Louis H. Bean asked a similar rhetorical question in the New York Times magazine. He queried: “Why do people vote the way they do?” In answer, he writes that people vote the way they do for reasons related to many facets of human behaviour. Our critics should understand that democracy is an ass. It has never pretended to be the best system of government. Democracy, they say, is the rule of the incompetent. What matters at election is the number of votes cast for a particular candidates. The rationality or irrationality of voters is immaterial. Even a goat can win an election. That was why ancient philosopher Plato was hostile to democracy. In order to protect politics from corruption, Plato wanted only men of high ethical principles or those he called the guardians or experts to be in charge.

But as Robert M. Maclear rightly observed in his essay titled: “Democracy V Government by Elite,” Plato neither reckoned with human nature nor the greed and corruption of power nor the tyranny of ordinary men. Even as far back as 1890s Tom Paine in his work “Common Sense” was also hostile to government due to the evils that could come out of government. Agreed, Donald Trump is certainly not the best American to govern America at this moment. He doesn’t even pretend to be one.

Like most mortals, Trump has his human miseries and foibles. You may call him all sorts of unprintable names. But the amazing thing is that he is the person thrown up by fate at this time to truncate the seemingly unending desecration of American cultural heritage facilitated by Obama and Clinton. Trump’s victory teaches that God can use people despised as useless to carry out his Will on earth. Till date the bemused world is still struggling to resolve the “mystery” surrounding the bulldozing of Obama and Clinton out of political power. Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama and the CNN were so sure of a Clinton victory that they sent their emissaries to ask Trump prior to the election whether he would give peace a chance

TRUMP’S VICTORY TEACHES THAT GOD CAN USE PEOPLE DESPISED AS USELESS TO CARRY OUT HIS WILL ON EARTH

and accept Hillary Clinton as the next American President. They were so sure that Trump would be defeated and that he would organise a mass protest against Clinton. But the reserve is the case today: a mass protest is being organised against a triumphant Trump. Trump the underdog is now the trumpeting triumphant. A rejected stone has become the head of the corner. A friend of mine is inclined to believe that it was the angels in heaven who came down on 8/11 and voted for Trump.

The truth of the matter is that the ordinary Americans simply wanted a change from the status quo. Clinton lost not because Americans are not yet ready for a female president: she lost because America has been losing what brilliant French historian Alexis de Tocqueville conceived as the American goodness and greatness. Consequently, the ordinary American voters felt obliged to get rid of Obama and Clinton in order to return America back to its golden age.

Under Obama and Clinton, the “right-to-choose” culture was imposed in America and across the world. This imposition has destroyed the concept of the universal values recognised in all cultures and enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

It opened a Pandora box for proliferation in all directions of all sorts of “rights” as there are possible choices. That is why today all sorts of “rights” such as the “right” to sexual orientation (“rights” of lesbians and homosexuals); the “right” of human beings to “marry” animals, the “right” of human beings to have sex with animals (that is, bestiality legalised in America by Obama); the “right” of male students to shower together with female students and vice-versa, are not only promoted and enforced in America but are being exported to other countries especially African countries. Obama and Clinton made homosexuality the centre-piece of American foreign policy. For the first time in the history of America, an American gay envoy was appointed and gay office opened in America for the purpose of homosexualisation of the world.

The rainbow flag is hoisted in the White House. Obama shamelessly converted the month of June as the Gay Pride month. America is now a major exporter of gay “rights”. Obama tried hard to get Uganda, Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria and other African countries to legalise gay marriage but failed. When Obama visited Kenya his homeland, he tried to get President Uhuru Kenyatta to legalise gay marriage in Kenya.

If Clinton had been elected president she would have paved way for legalisation of gay marriage in at least two-thirds of African countries including Nigeria by the year 2020. Clinton’s Supreme Court nominees would have been pro-gay Justices who would have rubber stamped Obama’s gay “rights” policies. At the moment, bakeries are being closed down in the US for refusing to bake cakes for homosexual “marriages”.

Funds are being withdrawn from US schools that have refused to allow boys and girls to shower together. Obama sanctioned the then President Jonathan of Nigeria for signing the anti-gay bill into law. During the presidential debate, Hillary Clinton shamelessly vowed to promote partial-birth abortion. Do you know what partial-birth abortion is all about? A gruesome murder it is. Half way into the birth of a child, an abortionist takes a knife and slices off the head of the child. If Clinton had been elected president she would have continued with all Obama’s pro-gay and anti-life policies. Thank God Clinton lost.

THE ABSURDITY OF CHILD MARRIAGE

Nana Aisha Salaudeen argues child marriages strip young girls of their childhood, dreams, health and basic human rights Child marriage prevents teenagers from fornicating.

Child marriage is permissible as long as the child is mature and consents.

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rebel against the above statements that have become everyday debate points for the advocates of (forced) child marriage. The inbuilt prejudice and nonsensicality of such assertions seem invisible to many of the participants – who overlook the damaging consequences that ascend from an under-aged child being strained into marriage.

Advocates of such discussions typically throw in culture and religion to rationalise their arguments. The impression is that giving out girls from as early as the age of nine, for marriage generates a sense of security against sexual promiscuity and protection from sexually transferred infections. The child is to be precluded from being sexually active before marriage because marriage is a sacred union in which a female has to enter ‘pure’ i.e. a virgin – if she participates in sexual interactions before marriage she is wayward and brings humiliation to not only her family but her community as well. The above perception, in practicality, is not only ridiculous but also similarly laughable as the girls tangled in the child marriage web tend to be married to much older partners who have had abundant sexual voyages; placing them at the peril of contracting sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia than their married counterparts.

Child brides are likely to feel, and in many cases, defenseless to refuse sex and disallowed the capability to make cognisant resolutions about sexual relations by their partners, this instinctively bolsters their inferiority status. At its vilest, it

could be synonymous to enslavement or welded labour – exposing the child to domestic violence and creating a pathway to rape and other forms of sexual exploitation.

I’m in no way encouraging children to have multiple sexual associates before marriage but merely pointing out that a we-do-not-want-ourdaughters-to-sleep-with-older-men-before-theyget-married-so-we-will-marry-them-off-early-toolder-men-who-will-then-sleep-with-them-instead approach is correspondingly inconsiderate and thoughtless.

Another argument repeatedly assumed by champions of child marriage is that of consent and maturity. The notion here is that the marriage is legitimate if the child concurs to being married off or if she has hit puberty. But, what does a 12 or 13-year-old know about consent? More than half of the time, the girls have little or no understanding and exposure to additional life alternatives and “voluntarily” accept marriage as their prearranged destiny. The family of the child, to advocate for her consent sometimes uses a form of emotional/social force or intimidation.

Marriage is a lifelong verdict that goes beyond merely attaining puberty and maturity, such a decision should be made by an advanced mind and not a youngster that has barely made alterations between dolls and colouring books. Consequently, the conception that maturity and puberty are only biological and fairy- tale prescriptions where a child goes to bed and suddenly wakes up able to handle adult roles together with the responsibility of marriage is insane and reckless.

When a girl is married as a child, she cannot make the choice of when to give birth. Society impels her to start birthing at such a tender age notwithstanding that she is mentally and

physically unprepared for reproduction. A pregnancy too premature before a female body is completely developed is a danger for both the mother and baby. Therefore, complexities may result from pregnancy and childbirth, which happen to be the major cause of death among females below the age of 19 in Nigeria. Among the health risks associated with child marriage is Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF), a gynecological problem that occurs when the blood supply to the tissues of the vagina and bladder is restricted during prolonged/obstructed labour. It is sparked in young girls with bodily immaturity where the pelvis and birth canal are not effusively developed. According to the Women’s right watch, Nigeria has the highest prevalence of VVF in the world with 800,000 women with an average of 500,000 reported cases originating from early marriage.

The constitution of Nigeria does not plainly postulate a minimum age for marriage, however, the child’s right act, sets the age of marriage at 18 years old. Notwithstanding the law being sanctioned since 2003, barely 23 of Nigeria’s 36 states have appropriated distinct steps to implement the minimum marriage age. I’m of the opinion that enactment of laws alone will not end the practice as many families and communities see child marriage as an intensely entrenched custom, which has been part of their culture for generations. For alteration of the practice to materialise, the values and customs that support the practice of child marriage need to change.

Communal level adjustment reinforces efforts in minimising child marriage and moderating the damaging effects for married girls. Without a change at this level, the day-to-day reality for girls in Nigeria will stay unchanged. It is

therefore fundamental to work with families and the larger community to foster consciousness on the wounding consequences of child marriage so as to drive approval among those who make the decision to marry girls as children to the minimal.

It is additionally imperative to involve religious and traditional leaders that play key roles in decision making or influencing prevailing norms in communities to speak on the hazards of child marriage.

Aside community members and local leaders, there is need for federal and state governments to snowball access to reachable, high quality and secure schooling to ensure married girls have the chance to complete their education and child marriage is minimised. Education shapes knowledge, unlocks new prospects and can change customs around the values of females in the community. The very act of girls joining school can demonstrate to the community that girls of school-going age are still children. While keeping girls in school is an effective way of preventing early marriage it is not enough. Girls need the backing to make the shift into secondary school. For married girls, it is important that schools encourage and support them to continue their education in either an informal or formal setting such as being part of a safe space programme undertaking part-time, remote or vocational learning.

Nigerians, for the sake of posterity, need to speak against the absurdity that is child marriage and its proponents – as they have undeniably stripped many young girls of their childhood, dreams, health and basic human rights.

Salaudeen, an economist and accountant, is an advocate of good governance, gender equity and youth inclusion in politics

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016

EDITORIAL THE PRESIDENTIAL ALARM ON FAMINE The strange alert on famine is uncalled for

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he recent presidential alarm about possible famine in the country by January next year is another manifestation of confusion and inconsistency in the implementation of several policies of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, had in a radio interview in Kano, warned that given the rate at which Nigeria’s cereals and grains were being massively exported across its northern boarders, there was a real danger of famine if government failed to intervene.

“Huge demand for our grains in the global market is creating an excellent environment for the mindless export of Nigerian grains across our borders and unless this is curtailed, Nigerian markets will be bereft of food by January next year,” he said. For a government that has diversification of the income streams, particularly at a time of economic recession, as the corner piece of its reform policy, this alarm - over increased agriculture exports THE BUHARI from the highest ADMINISTRATION level of government INHERITED AN speaks volume about AGRICULTURAL SECTOR the clarity of thought of its senior officials. If THAT HAD BECOME all the hefty spending EXCITING. WHAT IT on agriculture and NEEDS TO DO IS TO aggressive invitation EITHER RETAIN WHAT IT INHERITED OR POSITIVELY to private investors to REFORM IT RATHER THAN intervene in the sector in the last five years CREATE PANIC IN THE is yielding the desired NATION results why should government complain?

In an apparent effort to douse the anxiety the statement generated, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, issued a clarification. “There are no statistics that there is going to be famine in January. What I heard in the news was that people are coming from other

Letters to the Editor

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countries to buy our grains in bulk. As a government, we are also buying”, said Lokpobiri who added that such patronage ensures guaranteed price so that Nigerian farmers are not discouraged by low patronage. “Government has to buy because for now all our silos are virtually empty. We are part of a global community; it’s a free trade, we need dollars. We can’t, as a country, stop people from coming to Nigeria to buy grains,” he said during a visit to some farms in Niger State during the week.

B T H I S DAY

EDITOR IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU DEPUTY EDITORS BOlAJI ADEBIYI, JOSEph UShIGIAlE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOlA BEllO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOlAfE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OlUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

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etween Shehu and Lokpobiri, it is evident that either the current administration does not know what to do or has left undone critical things. There is no doubt that with the appropriate policy environment, Nigeria could realise its enormous potential for restoring agriculture as the main pivot of its economy. The evidence is there for all to see. Even with the utilisation of only 40 per cent of the over 11 million hectares of arable land, the country is Africa’s largest producer and exporter of cereals and grains.

This was not a happenstance. It came about as a result of years of efforts to move in the direction of food sufficiency, particularly between 2011 and 2015.

The introduction of Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) in 2011 brought about reforms in the input delivery or Growth Enhancement Support (GES) Scheme, agricultural financing and value chain development. The Staple Crop Processing Zones and farm mechanisation yielded abundant harvests for farmers and great gains for the country. Subsequently, between 2011 and 2014, national food production grew by 21 million metric tonnes. Nigeria’s food import bill also fell significantly from an all-time high of N3.19 trillion in 2011 to N635 billion in 2013.

So, the Buhari administration inherited an agricultural sector that had become exciting. What it needs to do therefore, is to either retain what it inherited or positively reform it rather than create panic in the nation. Massive agriculture products exports ought to be turned into a blessing for the nation instead of being regarded as a curse by the federal government.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (9501000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

AGRIC SECTOR AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH

s things currently stand, the need for our country to diversify her economy cannot be over emphasised. Confronted with a bleak economic prospect occasioned by a painful recession, the federal government and, indeed, governments at all levels, are fast seeking alternative and additional means of revenue generation. The shortfall in international oil prices coupled with instability at the Niger Delta region has greatly affected the nation’s oil revenue. It is common knowledge that the country’s economy is 90% dependent on oil. With inflation rate currently at 18.3%, it is quite clear that there are tougher days ahead. It is, therefore, expedient for our nation to seriously and diligently seek alternative source of income that is sustainable.

This is where the promotion of agriculture comes handy.

Though agriculture is not new as it had been a major source of revenue generation for the nation before the advent of oil, it still stands out as a veritable and sustainable tool for growth and development, a potentially viable means of generating internal and external revenue for the country. With millions of arable land mass, youth population, mostly unemployed, Nigeria cannot afford to under utilise her potential in the agricultural sector.

Experts have cited agriculture as the game changer with the ability to create jobs for the teeming populace while at the same time, ensuring food security and alleviating poverty. According to statistics, Nigeria has 84 million hectares of arable land but only 40% of it is cultivated. This is an indicator that so much

still needs to be done, with 60% of its rich arable land yet to be cultivated. Millions of jobs can be generated while the over 53 million starving people in the country can be catered for.

Another statistics show that Nigeria is the highest importer of food in Africa. A Central Bank of Nigeria data indicates that within five months in 2014, Nigeria spent about $1billion on food importation. Some of the imported food items include rice, wheat, fish, sugar and many others. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the country has lost over N10 trillion since 2005, in foreign exchange, as it continues to sustain the economies of other countries through food importation. In 2009 alone, the country imported $700 million worth of fish and fish products to address a shortfall of 200,000 tonnes in local production.

To reverse this trend and more importantly put our economy in sure stead, there is need for government, corporate organisations and individuals to invest massively in agriculture and agro-allied ventures. To this end, the agriculture sector should be mechanised to encourage youths to branch into the field.

This way, agriculture would no longer be seen as a job for the locals. This perception of agriculture can only change if government begins to reintegrate, educate and empower the younger generation on mechanised and industrialised farming.

Government must also step up on food preservation in order to reduce wastage while food importation, especially of major staple foods of which we have relative production advantage must be stopped.

It will be recalled that the federal government recently banned the importation of processed frozen foods and rice. This

move will not only go a long way in building local agricultural industry but create more jobs as it has opened up windows of opportunities to local farmers, business men and investors, who are interested in poultry farming, fish farming and rice production. This will also guarantee the quality of food consumed in the country especially imported poultry products which is said to be unsafe for consumption because of the harmful chemical used in preserving them.

With a population of almost 170 million, no doubt, there are great prospects in agriculture in Nigeria. It is this prospect that is making states governments in the country to now undertake large scale agriculture ventures. One of such is the ‘Lagos State – Kebbi State’ rice production collaboration which is estimated to push thousands of tonnes of high quality rice into the market and generate thousands of jobs annually. It will also guarantee the quality of rice consumed in the country. Similarly the Lagos State Government is also tapping into in its vast aquatic natural resource as it embarked on the development of industrial fisheries and aquatic facilities across the state.

We must go a step further to bridge the gap between local food production, supply and demand such that the country can boast of revenue generation. Therefore, we should not only aim at meeting local consumption, but should strive to break into the international market and join the league of top agriculture produce exporters like U.S.A, Indonesia, Thailand and China.

Temilade Aruya, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2016 T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Group Politics Editor Olawale Olaleye Email wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com 08116759819 SMS ONLY

THE NEWSMAKER

In Bayelsa, Dickson Enters Reset Mode

With the litigations over, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State vows to reset the state’s political trajectory, writes Emmanuel Addeh

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t was meant to be a quiet entry, but caught unawares, Governor Seriake Dickson’s return to Bayelsa after his Supreme Court victory turned a carnival of sorts last Wednesday. The state described by many as ‘sleepy’ suddenly awoke to give the governor a rousing welcome, literally putting it on complete lockdown with the young and the old trooping out in their thousands to catch a glimpse of the man they prefer to call the “Great White Shark”.

From Mbiama, a border town in Rivers State, through the streets of Yenagoa, drummers and dancers, politicians and professionals, the high and the lowly forgot the economic recession temporarily to hail the “Ofurumapepe” of Ijaw land.

The governor, as he was to reveal later, was simply ‘hijacked’ by his lieutenants led by his Deputy, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), his Information Commissioner, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite and a few other aides, who without his knowledge had organised the grand reception.

The women danced away like they had just won a jackpot. The men – resplendent in their local costumes – wriggled to the music blaring from the sound system strategically located on the expansive Peace Park, opposite the Government House, where the carnivalesque event took place. And with the park filled to the brim, it was only a matter of time before the governor, long awaited, arrived with the thousands of supporters, who had gone to join his entourage through the streets.

A quick run through why the state was undoubtedly in a celebratory mood should be sufficient. Indeed, Dickson had just survived a grueling, multi-level legal battle in relation to last December’s governorship election in the state in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner.

But not satisfied with the verdict of the electoral umpire, Chief Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against whom Dickson contested decided to seek redress through the courts.

The details of the legal fireworks in the courts are not the focus of this treatise, but suffice it to say that from the three-man Bayelsa election tribunal which was later moved to Abuja, the seat of power, to the five-man panel of the Court of Appeal, through to the Seven-man Supreme Court, the governor emerged victorious.

In a spirited welcome ceremony by his supporters after the judgment that validated his election, an elated governor, who danced to the tunes played by the Ijaw musicians on parade, said with the ‘distractions’ over, it was time to face governance and relegate politics to the background until the next election circle.

“We will rededicate ourselves to peace, security and development. The roads that were not built before will be built, the bridges will be completed, public building projects that are currently going on will be completed.

“The empowerment projects will be revved up and we will create champions of the people of this state. We are building a Bayelsa that will be a pride to our future generations. Your future in our hands is secure”, he assured his audience, which responded with equal excitement.

While deferring to the unquestionability of God over His decisions concerning the affairs of men, a visibly happy Dickson, who let his hair down as long as the event lasted, said only the creator gives and takes power whenever and wherever He wills.

“Power does not come from the east or the west. It comes from God. And He takes it whenever He will, without explanation. Nobody advises Him. He’s is the final court. If not Him, who would make it possible to defeat all these people, who have done all kinds of things?

Dickson...a new phase begins

They mobilised all their forces everywhere.

Even in your units, you know what you saw and in the local councils what you faced.

“In an unprecedented election, the whole state, the whole country and the whole world was watching. They thought they had more money.

God delivered them to us. You resisted them from doing magomago (from cheating). You defeated them in their polling units. You used your bare bodies to block Armoured Personnel Carriers”, he said, lauding his supporters.

Taking a swipe at the opposition, the governor counseled the leadership of the APC to return to the state since it was becoming obvious that their hope of getting appointments in Abuja was dimming.

We will rededicate ourselves to peace, security and development. The roads that were not built before will be built, the bridges will be completed, public building projects that are currently going on will be completed. The empowerment projects will be revved up and we will create champions of the people of this state. We are building a Bayelsa that will be a pride to our future generations

“We won, they cancelled; we rescheduled and with all their powers, they removed the tribunal from here and took it to Abuja. They forgot that power does not come from Abuja.

Their own three-man panel unanimously said you (the people) gave me the mandate freely and fairly.

“I thought some people will have sense and come back to their senses. They continued to create tension, distract us and vowed to destabilise this state. They went again to the court of appeal in these hard times when people who have sense are coming together to survive; when we no longer even have a centre.

“They went to the court of appeal and the five man panel unanimously said we won fair and square. We were waiting to see whether they will be reasonable enough to come back to their roots. They decided banking on their so-called powers and went to the Supreme Court with all their bad plans and the full member Supreme Court said our mandate was valid and stands till 2020”, he boasted.

Waxing oratorical, the Bayelsa leader, who was decked in his customary Ijaw attire, vowed that the Ijaw people would never be intimidated or defeated by any forces, no matter how strong.

“The Ijaw nation will not be put to shame.

Our mandate has been protected. They did everything. After driving us from the centre, they were not satisfied. They did everything to take this place and humiliate us further, but today we thank God that that has not happened.

“This Jerusalem of the Ijaw nation will never be conquered or intimidated. This state will continue to grow, there will be no politics for now, and we will consolidate on the task of development”, Dickson vowed.

He also thanked the judiciary for upholding the law, stressing that they remain the bastion of any free nation.

“I want to thank the judiciary for refusing to be swayed or intimidated to do anything other

than facts and what the law presented before them. Let’s continue to call and support the judiciary and not to tear them down because the judiciary remains the foundation of our nation’s stability.

“There are a few bad eggs here and there, but we should isolate this while attending to the problem, let’s not destroy the institution, because that will be saying goodbye to our national stability”, he advised.

Sounding conciliatory, he called on all those who were opposed to him during the election to join hands with him to build the state.

“But all the same, they are all Bayelsans. And I am the governor of everybody. Both those who worked and voted for me, and those who did not, I want to restate my commitment to running an open door policy and invite all of them to join us. It’s no time for politics,” he said.

However, just before he urged his political opponents to sheathe their swords and team up with him to make the state the envy of other states, he took the opportunity to throw the last jab.

“Let me call on those who have been on the other side for no reason other than they want appointments that they are not getting. They were thinking they’ll all get big appointments.

We are praying for them to get big appointments, but we haven’t seen them.

“Now that they have seen that those appointments are not coming, let them come and join us. Some were thinking they were going to get free money and become billionaires overnight.

We have not seen that. They are even far worse than us. Even that side, there’s plenty hunger”, he remarked.

The event also afforded several political appointees and the governor’s admirers the opportunity to speak on the court victory. The deputy governor said with the validation of Governor Dickson’s mandate, the efforts of the founding fathers would not be in vain.

“We have won four times. Like a good wrestler, Dickson has his eyes on the ground. The light is here. Darkness has vanished”, he proclaimed.

Others who delivered goodwill messages included Secretary to the State Government, Chief Serena Dokubo Spiff, Senator Nimi Barigha Amange, Chief Thompson Okorotie and Chief of Staff, Government House, Mr. Talford Ongolo.

So also did the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Fyneman Wilson, State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Cleopas Moses, Leader of the State House of Assembly, Peter Akpe, Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Mr. Golden Agagaowei and Women leader, Eunice Akene.

Senator Amange said he had always been confident that the APC had no case.

“This victory is for Bayelsa. God has delivered us. There will be peace and development in Bayelsa. APC and their leaders should please come and join us to develop this state. The money they have wasted should have been used to empower their supporters. But now we are ready to even contribute money to appease their people. Let them join us”, he mocked.

Akpe, leader of the Bayelsa House of Assembly, said there was no need changing a winning team.

“We have seen the development in Bayelsa.

We don’t want to change this winning team. We appreciate the cohesion between the legislative arm and the executive”, he posited.

Agagaowei, the CNPP chief in the state, who spoke in the same vein, also expressed happiness over the triumph at the courts.

“It was a great battle, but the CNPP is solidly behind the governor because he has carried all political parties along and appointed even people not from his party into government”, he noted.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

PERSPECTIVE

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Fayose: Celebrating the Rock of Nigeria at 56 Jude Ndukwe pays tribute to the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose who recently turned 56 The day was Wednesday, October 19, 2016. The venue was the Democracy Park in Akure, Ondo State. The occasion was the much anticipated kick-off of the Eyitayo Jegede, SAN governorship campaign for Ondo State. I was there even as the arena was filled to capacity with dignitaries and admirers

His abilities to speak truth to power without flinching; defend the vulnerable of the society without stooping or stopping and surviving every form of underhand tactics meant to cow him without bowing are all part of what makes this man the Rock of Nigeria’s heartbeat. The future does not forget; it shall certainly place on his thick shoulders higher responsibilities in the future

Fayose...a voice for the opposition

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peaker after speaker eulogised the current governor, Olusegun Mimiko for the good job he has been doing in the state and for finding a worthy successor-inwaiting in Eyitayo Jegede SAN. The atmosphere was charged as songs of praise accompanied by thrilling drumbeats rent the air at measured intervals.

Finally, the campaign kick-off was over or so it seemed as everyone started leaving the arena after Governor Mimiko’s inspiring speech. Then the announcement came: Governor Ayodele Fayose was on his way to the arena from Ekiti State.

The announcement spread into town like wildfire. Those who already left the arena trooped back; those who were not there in the first place also joined. With irrepressible wild excitement, everyone patiently awaited the coming of Fayose.

His eventual arrival was heralded by shouts of oshokomole as the crowd went gaga in jubilation. It took about another thirty minutes for him to get to the podium which was just very few steps away and which also served as the sitting area for dignitaries, because of the surge of the crowd. Everyone wanted to either just touch him or hug him. Every of his speech was punctuated with an effusive show of love expressed in one form or another by the people. His presence electrified the arena all over again.

The essence of the above narrative is for

one to appreciate the fact that Governor Fayose’s popularity among Nigerians, the common people and even the elite, transcends geographical space and any other colouration. Although his views have pitched him against the tyrannical federal government, he has nevertheless remained fearless and unrepentant in speaking for the voiceless and defending the vulnerable wherever they can be found in our country.

In the wake of the unprecedented upsurge in the senseless and unabated attacks on communities by suspected terrorist Fulani herdsmen in different parts of the country, Fayose went beyond just speaking by acting against those who invaded communities in his state. The law he set up against nomadic grazing of cattle in Ekiti State despite high-powered opposition to it has restored peace there to the envy of other states with similar misfortunes.

A highly detribalised leader, Fayose has spoken up against the injustices meted out to Sambo Dasuki, Nnamdi Kanu etc. He has vehemently criticised the federal government and security agencies for their alleged deliberate murder of Shiite Muslims in Nigeria just as he has condemned them for mowing down peaceful IPOB/MASSOB supporters in cold blood.

Apart from some governors who have expressed solidarity, Fayose is the only

governor, like Bishop Hassan Kukah, who braved the odds and visited Fani-Kayode while in the illegal custody of EFCC and spent more than two hours with him encouraging and praying for him while describing the former minister’s ordeal as nothing but persecution.

Oshokomole is not only about defending the oppressed and victims of tyranny; he is also well loved by his people for providing dividends of democracy to them. Apart from bringing the state up from the woes of abysmal performances to the heights of colourful successes, Ekiti State was recently adjudged the best performing state in the federation in NECO exams. This was a result of the governor’s deliberate and painstaking total action plan for education in the state.

The projects currently being embarked upon by the governor in Ekiti among others include a new and more befitting government office, high court complex and a flyover that may be the longest in Nigeria after completion. These are only the latest among the legacy projects of his administration in the state.

For those who might be criticising the governor for embarking on a new office project at a time of economic recession, what such people do not know is that the source of the funding was tied to that particular project without which the money would not be released.

A survivor of high-wired persecution himself, Fayose is a symbol of strength and an example in perseverance, selfbelief and faith in God. Born on November 15, 1960, into a strong Christian family of Pastor Oluwafemi Oluwayose and Prophetess Victoria Olufunke Oluwayose, Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose became the first governor to contest against and defeat incumbent governors twice.

A man of destiny, he was governor of Ekiti State between 29th of May 2003 and 16th October, 2006, when he was impeached. However as God would have it, Fayose returned to be governor on the 16th of October, 2014, the day it made it exactly eight years he was first impeached. This, to the discerning, is not a mere coincidence. The full meaning of that cycle is still unfolding gradually.

His abilities to speak truth to power without flinching; defend the vulnerable of the society without stooping or stopping and surviving every form of underhand tactics meant to cow him without bowing are all part of what makes this man the Rock of Nigeria’s heartbeat. The future does not forget; it shall certainly place on his thick shoulders higher responsibilities in the future.

Congratulations to the titan of our time.

-Ndukwe is Special Adviser (media) to Chief Femi Fani-Kayode

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Acting Features Editor Charles Ajunwa Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leaders

HOW Foundation has set the pace for empowering young people to be the leaders of tomorrow. Young school children who attended the maiden edition of the ‘Be the Best Seminar’ of the Foundation in Lagos recently, were motivated to take on their future responsibilities, reports Peter Uzoho

O

ften times, young ones are tagged ‘leaders of tomorrow’.

This in itself, heaps enormous responsibility and expectation on them even when little or no practical effort is made towards empowering them and getting them ready for their upcoming challenges.

Ironically, in Nigeria where successive leaders had come to serve to satisfy their selfish interest without adding any value to the life of the acclaimed leaders of tomorrow, the same people will expect the young to grow and automatically become the agents that will turn things around. There had not been such avenue for the ‘tomorrow’s leaders’ to be empowered early enough to carry the burdens transferred on them. Such platform where tomorrow’s leaders would be given the needed leadership ethics, values, culture and right moral standing had been lacking and has resulted to incivility, unpatriotism, corruption, defiance to rules, selfishness and looting of the national wealth, by the leaders.

The trend has not only impoverished the nation, but has led to the breeding of huge population of incapacitated adults that are nowhere close to realising their potential.

Amidst the ugly trend, there are those who have been most concerned, who not only empathise, but ready to invest in tomorrow’s leaders, in order for them to have the needed capacity to face their future leadership tasks.

One of such is Dr. Herbert Wigwe, current Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, who through his HOW Foundation established in January, 2016, and anchored on three cardinal areas of malaria eradication, prostate cancer awareness and prevention, and empowering the youth for leadership, has seen the need to go beyond seeing young ones as tomorrow’s leaders to empowering them early through different programmes.

To hit the ground running, on October 8, 2016, HOW Foundation organised the maiden edition of its ‘Be the Best’ seminar series. The seminar saw a number of secondary school children converge at the Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos, where they were inspired to be the best in their life endeavours.

You could see excitement blended with earnestness right on their faces as they keenly listened to a UK-based Nigerian motivational speaker, Mr. Joshua Ajitena, who used varying presentation strategies and tactics to drive home his message. They have never been challenged that way all their life. They could not believe their eyes that they were the ones being inspired

You know one of the problems we have in our system is the fact that we have children who are coming up, who are not being well mentored, whose values are not intact and all of that. So we think that one of the ways we could give back to the society is to start this; to reach out to as many children as possible; mentor them, build up their value system and mentor them to be the very best they can be

A cross session of participants at the 'Be the Best Seminar' in Lagos

Ajitena presenting his lecture at the seminar.

and galvanised in such a grand style to take on their future responsibilities. Indeed, they have been mentored, they have been given the right mindset and the required drive to be truly tomorrow’s leaders. The right information and idea has been passed onto them which no doubt would be a strong springboard to unlock their inbuilt potential, skills and innovativeness that would lead to the transformation of their lives and impact the nation.

Addressing journalists at the event, the Chief Executive Officer, HOW Foundation, Ms. Antonia Ally stated that motivation was actually one of the things that young people needed to help them have a positive view on the future, noting that a follow up activity would be taken to know if the children that participated exchanged information with their friends.

“After today’s event we’ll try to go back to the schools; talk to the children to know if they shared information about the things they learnt in the course of the seminar with their friends; know what their experience is like-whether it’s positive or otherwise. Hopefully, this is something

we would like to do on a national scale. We hope to make it come up like a plan that we can have it a couple of times a year, depending on the age group of the children and how large the schools are as well”.

Stressing on the importance of motivation on the life of young people, she said: “Similar experience I had during my first motivational seminar that I went for when I was in the university. I just saw life completely different. I started seeing my education as a tool to move forward in life and to be able to move my community forward as well. So I’m hoping that today the kids can realise that whatever they’re studying in the university they’re not just studying it for themselves alone, they're studying it to move this society forward. And they shouldn’t really depend on the older people to move the country forward; it’s also their responsibility to move the country forward. I think a lot of our leaders today probably didn’t think that they could make any impact on the environment they’re in when they were growing up. So the important thing is to make motivation a culture.

Ally stated that the Foundation hoped to achieve and promote excellence, adding “Wherever we’re able to spot excellence and whatever tool and resources that we have we have to promote it because that’s what we believe in and we’re focusing on that.”

Giving more insight into the seminar, the Founder, Wigwe noted: “Today’s event was just the starting point to try and help and mentor young children and support them to be the very best they can be in whatever they choose to do. You know one of the problems we have in our system is the fact that we have children who are coming up, who are not being well mentored, whose values are not intact and all of that. So we think that one of the ways we could give back to the society is to start this; to reach out to as many children as possible; mentor them, build up their value system and mentor them to be the very best they can be.

“There will be several seminars. There will be seminar that will help them in terms of building their career. It’s about the development of children; it’s about teaching them about values

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FEATURES

of hard work, values of ethics and helping them determine how to shape their future, letting them know that they can be the best that they want to be.”

Wigwe who pointed out that contrary to the believe that government alone is responsible for the empowering and helping of children, noted that it is the responsibility of all adults and not just the government to mentor young children, adding that “things have changed in our country, and except we go down to the basics of building capacity and all of these.

One of the things you will find out that HOW Foundation is doing in a later stage is even supporting them in universities. Perhaps also owning its own university; building children; creating education background because they truly hold the future of our country.”

On his assessment of the day’s seminar, he said: “I think it’s a good start. What I can let you know is that in three or four years time you will see it all over the place-everybody will know about it in Nigeria. Several children will benefit. We would be marking ourselves against impacts-how many children have we been able to influence? Where are those children?

What schools are they going to? When are they graduating? We would have people who will basically sit on the case of these children, follow them through- for those who are showing very strong promise.”

Also speaking on the sideline of the event, the resource person, Ajitena noted: “The concept behind today is to inspire the next generation.

I’ve been teaching them the importance of believing in themselves in what they do, and how they can be the best in their education, in the community around them, to their parents and to their life in general. I’ve taught them to be better individuals in what they do and simply just enjoy being themselves. I believe that when we teach our young people; give them the right tool and they right mindset to be the best in what they do, their future will be bright.”

Commenting on what inspired him to be in the business of speaking to and motivating young people, he explained: “I love young people and being that when I was young I was one of those kids that were off the rail. But I didn’t have the same leadership so after growing up and going through quite a few things you start to realise that if only I had what I’m giving them now, I would have gone farther. The fact that I wanted to be a role model- something positive is enough for me. A lot of our young people are looking at celebrities especially the Americans as their role models. I want them to have people that they have access to; people that look like them; people that sound like them; that talk like them, that they can listen to them and say to themselves that if this person can do it so can I. I have a passion for young people and I believe they’re the leaders of tomorrow. I believe in inspiring and adding to them so that’s one of the things that pushes me to empower the next generation.”

Speaking on his assessment of the Nigerian youths, Ajitena noted that they were very passionate but lacked the resources needed to grow. “They have the idea and the creativity.

In fact, I think Nigeria is about entering into a phase of extreme creativity. People are coming

This seminar has opened my eyes and has made me wake up to the reality of life. Going forward I intend to be a leader in all fields I venture into, and I would like to inspire others based on what I’ve learnt today.

I intend to share the knowledge to others because it’s important that I do so. I want to be a model to the younger ones and to the upcoming children

Wigwe addressing participants at the seminar.jpeg

L-R: Motivational Speaker,Mr. Joshua Ajitena; Access Bank CEO and Founder,HOW Foundation,Mr Herbert Wigwe; and CEO,HOW Foundation,Ms Antonia Ally, at the 'Be the Best Seminar

Ajitena (2nd left); and Ms Antonia Ally (1st right),flanked by some of the participating students

out; people are discovering more, and people are aspiring to discover their own creative edge which is a beautiful thing. However, what they lack is the platform on which they can express it. A platform where they can show up their creativity, and I believe that’s exactly what the HOW Foundation stands for- giving these young people a chance, a voice, a platform where they can be as creative as they want. I believe Nigerian youths in the next few years are going to be a stronger power, a stronger force, in Africa and the world.”

On his expectation from the children after the seminar, he added “I expect young people to be on fire. I expect a change and a difference in their attitude towards their education, towards their parents, towards life, and to be more optimistic, more challenged and more inspired. I expect every youth to just be yourself; be comfortable in your own skin; don’t try to be like anyone else; don’t run someone else’s race. Know what is good for you; know your own strength. Accept your weakness but don’t settle for weaknesses.”

Some of the students, who were inspired and challenged by the seminar, bared their minds. For

Kingsley Odenigbo, a 12-year-old JSS 2 student of St Gregory College, Ikoyi: “Today’s event was fantastic. I was inspired by the speaker, Mr. Joshua. During his presentation, he talked about how Bill Gates who was a school dropout from Harvard became the world’s richest man. He also talked about Walt Disney who was said to have lacked skills and ideas but now almost everyone watches Disney Channel.

Having attended this seminar today, I intend to put more focus in my studies to be the best in whatever I do in my academics, social and physical life, and I’m hoping that God will help me excel.”

On his part, Zubair Mohammad, 15, an SS3 student of Kings College, Lagos: “I’m quite amazed and impressed with what I’ve seen and learnt so far, and I’m very happy. I hope to gain more knowledge and inspiration from subsequent sessions. Indeed, I’ve been so challenged. I was most touched when the speaker said that success is not based by desire. This seminar has opened my eyes and has made me wake up to the reality of life. Going forward I intend to be a leader in all fields I venture

into, and I would like to inspire others based on what I’ve learnt today. I intend to share the knowledge to others because it’s important that I do so. I want to be a model to the younger ones and to the upcoming children.

“From the little research I did, I’ve found out that the reason why the current generation will always tell the subsequent generation that they are the future is because it’s evident that they haven’t done so well. So it’s up to us to do well so that subsequent generation will only have to do just little and not for us to keep passing all our burdens and expectations to the upcoming generation.

Appreciating the Foundation, Mohammad said: “I’d like to say a very big thank you to HOW Foundation for giving us such an empowering seminar. Up till now I’m still trying to recover from the surprise-the whole setting so far has been extremely fantastic. So I give kudos to the organisers, kudos to the sponsors and kudos to everybody who have suffered tirelessly day and night trying to put this thing together. I pray that God Almighty will reward them greatly and continue to increase them in abundance.”

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IMAGES

THISDAY • WEDNESDAY NovEmbEr 23, 2016

Photo Editor Abiodun Ajala Email abiodun.ajala@thisdaylive.com

National Chairman, Independent Democrats (ID), Hon. Madu Edozie, in a handshake with the National Woman Coordinator of ID, Mrs. Chinwe Okoro, during the official inauguration of the Women League of Independent Democrats at Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State...recently

L-R: Founder, New Chapter Bookstore, Lindi Bhembe; Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. and the winner of the All Africa Business Woman of the Year award, Mrs. Sola David-Borha; and Editor, Forbes Woman Africa, Methil Renuka, at the All Africa Finale of the All Africa Business Leaders Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa... recently

L-R: Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi; Head, Media Relations and Strategy, FRSC, Mr. Bisi Kazeem; and Zonal Commanding Officer, Lagos, FRSC, Mr. Zaki Shehu, during the corps marshal’s tour of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway... recently

L-R: Director, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mrs. Oludewa Edodo-Thorpe; Chairperson, Board of Directors, Ovie Brume Foundation, Ms. Evelyn Oputu; Country Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Michel Puchercos; wife of Ogun State governor, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun; and Chairman, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Mobolaji Balogun, at the grand finale of the National Literacy competition in Lagos...recently

L-R: Registrar, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM), Mr. Sunday Adeyemi; VicePresident, Mr. Udom Inoyo; guest speaker, Dr. Grant Akata; and National Treasurer, CIPM, Mrs. Ifeoma Adeniyi, during the 24th induction ceremony of new members in Lagos...recently

L-R: Group Public Relations & Events Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr Temitope Ashiwaju; winner, Miss Esther Iwang; Indomie Brand Ambassador, Sound Sultan; and Brand Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc. Mr. Ambar Yadav, at the Indomie You Like no Other winner presentation ceremony in Lagos...recently etop ukutt

L-R: Social Media & Digital Marketing, Union Bank, Kelechi Ekeghe; Team Lead, Communications and Media, Omotola Oyebanjo; Head, Group Corporate Strategy, Lola Cardoso; Innovation Lead, Group Corporate Strategy, Ehi Ojeh; Olabode Abikoye, Head, Agribusiness, Olabode Abikoye, at The Emergent Continent conference in Lagos...recently

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD IMF: GENDER INCLUSION WILL REDUCE INCOME INEQUALITY “Gender inclusion not only supports growth; it can reduce income inequality as well.

Again, our research has shown that moving from a situation of perfect gender inequality to perfect gender equality is equivalent to reducing income inequality from the levels prevailing in Venezuela to those in Sweden.

“So again, tapping into women’s potential will not only make the pie bigger, but more evenly shared as well. A second reason why women’s empowerment is a gamechanger: it can help mitigate the impact of demographics.

Many advanced countries, and some emerging economies as well, struggle to raise growth potential in the face of an aging population and shrinking labor force. Women can be part of the solution.

“In Japan, for example, raising female labor force participation to the levels of Northern Europe could boost GDP growth by up to 0.4 percentage points in the transition years.

With growth rates in Japan currently hovering around 0.5 percent in this year and next, the economic gains can be massive. The impact of employing more highly educated women on overall productivity growth could be even more significant – by up to 0.4 percentage points per year in Canada,” she said.

Furthermore, the IMF boss said bringing more women into the labor force would expand the pool of talent in the labor market – and boost productivity and growth.

“Many commodity exporters have been hit hard by the decline in oil prices – which is the case for several countries in APEC, and for Latin America more generally. They are now faced with the difficult task of diversifying their economies to generate new drivers of growth.

“Women’s inclusion can help in this case as well. In low-income and developing countries, moving from perfect gender inequality to perfect equality is equivalent to moving from the least diversified economy to one with average export diversification,” she said.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) Eromosele Abiodun (Cap Mkt) Ejiofor Alike (Energy) James Emejo (Nation’s Capital) Obinna Chima (Money Mkt) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Maritime)

NEWS

FG Opens NIPP Ikot Ekpene Transmission Line, Cuts Stranded Power Chineme Okafor in Abuja

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola on Monday commissioned the 330kV Switching Station built by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) under the National Independent Power Project (NIPP) in Essien Udim, Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.

The station was built to further reduce the amount of electricity stranded and unable to get to the national grid from power plants in the east.

Speaking at the occasion, Fashola said the station will help evacuate power from four power plants: Ibom Power, Clabar Power, Alaoji Power, and Afam Power through to Ugwuaji in Enugu and then Makurdi up to Jos. The minister said Nigerians want more electricity delivered to their homes and offices, and as such more power will come from the four plants with a combined generation capacity of 1,800 megawatts (MW) which hitherto wheeled out about 700MW due to the transmission constraint.

He added that instance of stranded power from the south east electricity loop will be minimised by the coming on of switch station.

“When they said stranded I said can’t it work? But what stranded power rally means is that over the years we built power plants either without

providing the gas so that there is one side of stranded power.

“There are plants ready to work, no fuel. The other side of stranded power is where there is gas like here in Akwa Ibom.

You have Ibom Power plant with gas ready to go, you have Alaoji with gas ready to go, you have Afam with gas ready to go and you have Calabar power all ready to go. Between them, they have a combined capacity of 1,800MW but they are delivering roughly about 600 to 700MW.

“So, the rest of that power has no legs. It is stranded. This is why this switching station is important because it would help us as you have heard from our contractor evacuate power from Ibom Power, Calabar Power , Alaoji Power and from Afam.

And it will help us boost power all the way to Uguaji and also support Makurdi which has been experiencing low voltage problem as we go on,” said Fashola.

He however stressed that he was only switching on a part of

the station, and that the extra power from Alaoji and Ibom would not happen overnight since there was still a lot of work to be done.

He stated that communities within the station will be supplied power with transformers already in place to step down electricity for their use.

Similarly, the Managing Director of NDPHC, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo stated that the sub-station was energised on November 14 and has since been evacuating power.

According to him, with the station, stranded power can now get out to stabilise the grid.

“This commissioning of the eastern parts of the transmission grid marks the beginning of the end of stranded power in southern and eastern axis of the grid.

“It also marks the beginning of a more robust transmission grid that will no longer collapse. We now have better grid stability because of this work being commissioned today,” Ugbo said.

BUSINESS COLLABORATION

L-R: Chairman, Committee of E-Banking Industry Heads, (CeBIH), Dele Adeyinka; Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Adebisi Shonubi; Principal Manager, Banking and Payment Systems Department of Central Bank of Nigeria, Joe Obogo, and Head, Mobile Money Financial Business of Globacom, Esaie Diei, at the launch of mCash payment solution in partnership with Globacom and other telecom companies in Lagos …recently

Addosser MFB Empowers Female Entrepreneurs Nosa Alekhuogie Addosser Microfinance Bank (MFB) has reinstated its commitment not only to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), but also to female business owners.

At the grand finale of the event, which was held at the bank’s head office in Ikoyi recently, the winner was awarded the “Female Entrepreneur Scale up Grant” with N500,000.

Omowumi Etiko, founder of the Nusafiri Experience, a travel and concierge company emerged the winner of the competition.

She expressed gratitude to Addosser Microfinance Bank not only for the award but for “the great opportunity to be part of the SME Boutique Exclusive

Women’s Club (SWEC) Business Plan Accelerator Programme and interacting with and learning from high quality business leaders and mentors.”

She urged all women to be part of SWEC, adding that what they would learn from the programme would be priceless.

The Managing Director, Addosser Microfinance Bank, Deji Sobulo noted that some of the things they looked out for in the presentations were businesses that had local content and import substitution.

He further stated: “We know what is going on with the scarcity of foreign exchange. We can create our foreign exchange as a country to better use and people can actually find the innovative in terms of looking inwards

and finding raw materials they can use in substituting what might have been imported which would reduce the cost of production for businesses and hopefully impact more on their profitability.”

In August, the SWEC powered

by Addosser Microfiance Bank had put out a call for innovative female entrepreneurs to apply for its Business Plan Accelerator Programme scale up. Over 150 applications were received out of which 10 women were selected to go through a four month business strategy and development course.

These included in-depth capacity building sessions from established business leaders, one- on -one mentorship opportunities with successful female business owners, as well

as networking opportunities.

Top business leaders such as Ndidi Nwuneli, Femi Longe, Tara Fela Durotoye, Omoyemi Akerele, Biola Alabi, Tale Alimi, amongst others were some of the top class business leaders and facilitators who provided a range of business development and capacity building courses. However, the final stage of the program saw 10 of these selected participants provide high caliber and engaging business pitches to a select panel of judges, which included Sobulo, Branch Manager for the SME Boutique, Bukola Adepitan, Publisher of Exquisite magazine, Tewa Onasanya, Business coach and strategist, Tale Alimi.

The launch of SWEC and inaugural edition of its accelerator programme and business plan

competition aims specifically to empower female led Nigerian businesses which have the potential to contribute to Nigeria’s economic future and sustainable development.

The selected female entrepreneurs also received one-on-one mentorship with established business owners such as Ada Osakwe of Agolay Ventures, Joycee Awosika of Oriki, Gbemi Adebayo of Hagai and Esther, Isoken Ogiemwonyi of Zazzai, Glory Edozien of Inspired by Glory amongst others. The aim of the business accelerator programme has been to power the next generation of female entrepreneurs with the required business skills to scale up their business and compete effectively in the economy.

DPR Moves to Enforce HSE Compliance in Oil and Gas Industry Ejiofor Alike The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) plans to develop collaborative strategies to ensure that operators in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry do not compromise Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) in their operations.

Speaking on Monday to journalists in Lagos ahead of the agency’s 17th International HSE Biennial Conference, DPR’s Deputy Director in charge of HSE, Mrs. Sibeudu Onyebuchi said the agency planned to ensemble stakeholders that

would proffer solutions on ways to drive HSE compliance in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

She said that the biennial conference, which creates HSE awareness amongst stakeholders in the industry, has remains the biggest forum that brings NSE experts from both within and outside the country to ashare new ideals and experiences on HSE issues.

Onyebuchi said that the HSE conference provides a platform for HSE professionals in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and other interested participants to meet and share experiences

relating to HSE issues arising from exploration and production. She said that stakeholders would also share values on downstream and other related activities in the oil and gas sector. According to her, the aim is to promote and entrench a safe and environmentally sustainable oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

“The conference had recorded series of success over the years which includes Development of the Environmental Guidelines and Standard for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN).`Others

are the establishment of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) decree, creation of job opportunities in the various establishments,” she said.

Onyebuchi said that the keynote address would be delivered by Dr. Emmanuel Kachikwu, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, adding that the three-days conference will present over 36 technical papers from various panel sessions.

She said the knowledge derived from the plenary and technical session would help provide further insight and

approaches for tackling safety concerns as well as increase awareness on practical global safety and environmental issues.

She said that will attract over 3,000 participants and exhibitors both within and outside the country.

Onyebuchi is the Chairman of the Conference Management Planning Committee of the conference slated for end of this month with the theme, “Integrated Security Approach, New Strategies and The Way to Go in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry.”

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Hachem: Nigeria’s e-Commerce Market Worth $12bn Aramex, one of the leading global providers of e-Commerce, logistics and transportation solutions, with a presence in 60 countries, recently expanded its operations to Nigeria. Its Global Chief Executive Officer, Hussein Hachem, in this interview with Obinna Chima, expresses confidence in the ability of the Nigerian economy to regain its place as Africa’s biggest and fastest growing economy despite the headwinds. Excerpts: At a time when a lot of foreign firms are exiting the country as a result of the shortage in foreign exchange, Aramex has decided to expand its operation to Nigeria. What is the attraction of your firm to Nigeria?

Firstly, for us, our strategy is a long term strategy. Look at Nigeria, it has a population of over 180 million people. Out of this, 62 per cent are youths and they are highly connected on the internet and there is massive usage of mobile phones. So, we believe that the time is ripe to really connect the Nigerian communities to the global revolution of e-Commerce. What we want to do is to ensure that a lot of Nigerians are able to access the global connection of eCommerce and be able to buy anything he or she wants from the global e-Commerce market and we would do the supply chain. That is one component. We believe Nigeria is the hub of the region and we would like to connect more Nigerians to their neighbors. So, that is the value we are looking for. Foreign exchange scarcity is a global issue. The challenge in Nigeria is also what they are facing in South Africa, the same thing in Europe as well. If you look at the Pounds, it has depreciated by 22 per cent.

So, it is a global phenomenon. However, our outlook is beyond the short-term. We have a long-term business strategy for Nigeria. Foreign exchange scarcity is just a short-term challenge.

So, Aramex has been public in the Dubai financial market. We have been in operation for the last 35 years. Our core geography is the Middle East, North Africa, Sub Saharan Africa, Asia specific, with footprints in Europe and the United States. We believe growth markets are quite interesting and we believe Aramex’s footprint in this market would help facilitate trade. However, trade is changing and it is changing because of technology and acceleration of technology is changing lives. We believe that through the quantum leap in technology, there are lots of opportunities to be captured globally as well as in Nigeria. So, we believe there are lots of interesting business opportunities within the Nigerian economy. Through start ups, Lagos is becoming in Silicon Valley of Africa. There are great ideas happening here and we would like to support that. Similarly, Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and there is a lot of trade happening between Nigeria and its neighbours, Nigeria and China, Nigeria and South Africa, and we want to be involved in that. So, Nigeria is the latest in our African expansion. We have been covering Africa for several years and we currently operate all across East Africa, with Kenya as the hub. We are in South Africa and Angola. So, out of 53 African countries, we have a direct and 100 per cent presence in 28 of the countries and we connect the rest through partnership agreements. We believe in this economy and we believe that the GDP of the Nigerian economy has the possibility of becoming $6 trillion by 2050 because the economy has all the right components for growth and we are willing to participate and accelerate that growth.

Clearly, you must have done your research before coming into the country. What are the opportunities you see for e-Commerce in Nigeria?

The e-Commerce market in Nigeria is in the range of $12 billion. But, that is only at the tip. The challenge is in ha aving a proper payment gateway that would allow people to pay online. We are working on that and I think a partnership between us, the payment gateway and the telecoms would do that. You will see more people participating in the e-Commerce solutions that we are bringing into the country.

What is your partnership with the Nigerian Postal Service all about?

We work very closely with the public sector,

Hachem

not only in Nigeria, but wherever we operate and NIPOST is one of such. So, we look forward to expand our relationship with the post. We believe the post is evolving globally. We believe the post office is the natural solution for e-Commerce because it has the reach. The postman is highly recognized by the community and he is a secured person by design. Everybody knows him and they have the network. So, it is quite natural for us to work with several post operators to ensure that an e-Commerce shipment is delivered to the right address anywhere across the country.

We believe in an ecosystem whereby Aramex would work very closely with the post so that we can extend our solutions and technology across

Look at Nigeria, it has a population of over 180 million people. Out of this, 62 per cent are youths and they are highly connected on the internet and there is massive usage of mobile phones. So, we believe that the time is ripe to really connect the Nigerian communities to the global revolution of e-Commerce

Nigeria. We have done something similar in Australia. We have an agreement with Australia Post, which is a joint venture, whereby we are filling the global capacity of e-Commerce through a hybrid system. So, we recognise the importance of post and we are exploring the opportunity of a partnership with NIPOST. We have other firms in the sector you wish to play in, what is the unique selling point of Aramex and what is that special offer you are bringing to the Nigerian market?

We understand that the demand on service is changing, we understand that supply chain is evolving and we do understand that our current model, which is the traditional model, where you have a company that controls technology and its deployment, does not fit into the digital economy. So, what is different is that we are working on a concept that would involve the communities. That means you would see us investing in startups and working with technology start ups to enhance the ecosystem. There is a problem we are having presently and it is not a Nigerian problem. It is a global shortage of capacity. And we believe that the growth of e-Commerce is surpassing the growth of infrastructure. What we have built is a technology that allows anybody to become and Aramex delivery man. We have an online billing system that is sophisticated and that would be extended and deployed in Nigeria. We are launching our addressing system, so you don’t have a challenge on your address anymore. It is an app that is fully integrated and as soon as you get into any street. So, I think the technology component is unique, the mindset that we have about the Nigerian market is unique, the idea of youth and community participation are unique. So, that is what we are bringing into

Nigeria. If you go to Amazon right now and you do any online transaction, there is 99 per cent probability that if would be an Aramex delivery. We have mail box solutions that allow anybody in Africa to shop from 18 cities and we would bring the package to you. We have really passed on the power to our agents and they can do third party billing. That is a great way of exporting our service and also part of efforts of encouraging Nigerian companies to do either imports or exports.

How would your service support the activities of exporters and how do you intend to drive awareness of your brand with the stiff competition in the industry?

There are thousands of courier companies in Nigeria as well as thousands of logistics companies. And we have been going from city to city meeting with the CEOs and management.

The main issue we see today is that a lot of companies are focused on domestic deliveries, whereas Nigeria is known to be an importdependent nation. We have already started listing multiple agents. What we have done is that we have installed our technology, we have given them access to be able to operate in training and today any company that is linked to our system is able to independently request a pick up to any of our globa, distribution lines.

We have really passed on the power into our agents and they can do third party billing, which means that if a customer or company has a shipment they want.

For awareness, one way that we can reach everybody is through mobile and digital. The economy has changed, so social platforms and digital tools are the best ways to drive awareness.

You can authorise from Twitter, Facebook and different platforms and from there reach everyone.

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

INtERVIEW

Ogbu: Uncertainties Causing Pause on Investments The London-based Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa Payments, Receivables, Treasury and Trade Solutions with Citibank, Mrs. Ireti Samuel-Ogbu, in this interview with Nume Ekeghe in London, recently said foreign investors are more cautious about returning to the country because of uncertainties around inconsistent policies, regulations and foreign exchange discrepancies. Excerpts: Your department focuses on trade solutions and there have been concerns about Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) policies, how is Citibank able to cope since a lot of your customers are multinationals?

Part of the benefit we have as being a global institution means that we bank global clients and when you think of all the sources of foreign exchange that come into a country, some of those sources are multinationals investing and through the capital importation to invest. And yes we know that with the exchange rate, they are not investing and they are not bringing as much money as they have done historically.

I think because we have a large client base, whatever funds that are inflows into Nigeria comes through Citi. We also manage institutional clients, our client base are financial institutions, corporates and public sector so we have portfolio investors in Nigeria as well and those funds would come via Citi Bank. It is a challenge for the entire industry; we are not the only ones who are having a challenge. But what helps to mitigate the challenge a little bit is our global client base and their ability to bring in foreign currency.

You mentioned that foreign direct investments (FDIs) are not coming as much as they used to, do you foresee a reversal of this unpleasant trend?

I don’t really have the statistic in terms of what the FDI levels are now but clearly, from the size of our foreign capital reserves in Nigeria and the fact that we are short on foreign exchange suggests and also exacerbated by the oil prices those three things. I would say they are less.

Definitely, FDI is reducing. On how we can bring FDIs back, without really having a lot of firsthand knowledge, not like I have spoken to corporates and gotten their views, I am just giving a perspective of that and seeing what happens in other countries, I think uncertainty around regulations always causes a pause. Look at the recent US elections; just uncertainty on who was going to be elected caused the market to be volatile. Anytime there is uncertainty, it always causes a response that clients are just a bit more cautious. I think uncertainty of regulations. The fact that there are many regulations coming out with rapid fire and some of them are not so clear and there are some regulations that are not articulated, which you need to comply with as well to be more cautious.

I think regulation is probably a factor. Also the fact that there is such a difference between the exchange rate banks offer and the parallel rate.

If I’m an investor from outside and I want to maximise the naira I get, and I know that if I bring it through the bank channel I get a discount that would probably be a disincentive for me to bring the money in. I think it is because there is a discrepancy between the two that is probably what is challenging the flow of funds.

In the Fintech and solution space, Kenya has become the poster child for Africa, what should Nigeria do to catch up this evolution?

Kenya is the poster child but Nigeria has a lot to be recommended on. Nigeria payments system was late to the party and I remember the first Nigeria interbank settlement electronic funds transfer came in 2003-2004. From then till now, which is like 12 years, I think Nigeria has done an incredible job. Citi was part of the pioneering banks that helped the Central Bank to write the payment vision, it was 2010 and then it was extended to 2020. We worked with Mrs. Sarah Alade then. So we worked with her and many of the banks to come up with the strategy. So for me, Nigeria is very dynamic and forward looking. The fact that

Ogbu

they came up with a very innovative strategy and was documented and implemented. The second thing is the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBBS) is one of the most progressive that I have seen in all the countries. I travel around in Europe Middle East and Africa, the NIBSS is very innovative. They have gone from starting electronic funds transfer 12 years ago and now they going for mobile payments. The

I think uncertainty around regulations always causes a pause.

Look at the recent US elections; just uncertainty on who was going to be elected caused the market to be volatile. Anytime there is uncertainty, it always causes a response that clients are just a bit more cautious. I think uncertainty of regulations

whole breathe of solutions you have available is unprecedented; you have the ability to do instant pay. You can pay online if you are in Nigeria. You can pay online and you have the ability to pay from any bank structure and it goes into your account. And then recently they have launched the mobile payments.

I think that if Kenya is the poster child for mobile payment Nigeria is the poster child for payment innovation and they have done that so quickly in such a short period of time.

Then what about cards? There was a time when if you had to pay for anything you had to pay with cash, but now, I don’t know of any supermarket or any place you can go too without card payment options. So I would give Nigeria top mark for the transformation in such a short period of time and the way they have digitised all their processes.

What do you foresee in the Fintech space?

I think the next big shift in Fintech is new payment rails and that is moving to the distributed ledger phase and digital currencies. I think that perhaps, is the next leap. That would mean that exchange of value would not be through physical cash but potentially by using a digital currency and rail. And these are the rails Bitcoin uses but it is potentially possible that as more investment goes in and as security and skill come in, that potentially could be the payment highway of the future. So in a way, I think the Internet revolutionised communication and in the future, I think the distributed ledger could revolutionise payments.

What’s your take on the Nigerian economy now and what steps would you advise the

Nigeria to take to come out of its present situation?

Tough one. What’s my take on the economy?

I do know that inflation is high, exchange rates given the devaluation of the exchange rate has feed into the cost of products, there is high unemployment, there is a high number of unbanked, there is low receipts from the government from oil prices and generally, the quality of life of people in terms of the hardships that the populist is facing is quite significant. The advice I would give? First of all I would say in terms of export, it is to diversify and increase non-oil exports. I would say that would be a great way to start because that is part of our challenge. We are a rich country with many commodities apart from oil, but oil is still 90 per cent of exports.

So if we can diversify the export base. Also, we need to encourage manufacturing through allowing manufacturers import what they need to grow the industry. Then I would say the policy around exchange rate, they should try to come up with more of a market-driven exchange rate because that would encourage more inflow and more investment into the country. And then social welfare in Nigeria because I think the safety net in Nigeria is bad. There is a large chunk of people who are disenfranchised and their level of living standards are very low. In South Africa for example, there is a minimum standard everyone has which is running water and electricity even in the shacks. And if you go to the townships, there is a minimum level. In Nigeria, that minimum level is too low. And of course power. If you believe Dangote’s estimate, it would put five per cent into the GDP. So if you deal with the power situation, it would enable more enterprise to flourish.

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2016 T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

EDUCATION Why Homework Will Remain Relevant in Nigerian Education System Educational policies differ from country to country, often reflected through curriculum and teaching methodology. This explains why students in some countries can do without homework and still excel academically. Some experts and educators told Peace Obi why homework will remain relevant in Nigerian education system, though with some moderation A student returning home after long school hours with a number of homework is not new to parents with children in nursery, primary and junior secondary schools in Nigeria. Parents have become used to this style of learning that it becomes unusual when a child comes home without an assigned academic work to be done at home by the class teacher.

Most parents take steps to verify and in some cases a call is put across to the teacher to ascertain the child’s explanation. For some impatient parents, the child is either accused of lying, being lazy or not showing sufficient interest to his/her studies.

With today’s parents facing myriad of challenges of near absence of basic infrastructure to low income and difficulty to afford basic needs of life, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to spend quality time with their children. To ensure the children’s safety while away, parents come up with such demands like extra lessons, private tutorials and homework.

Common among low income parents who spend more time outside the home in order to fend for their families, the demand on teachers for homework goes beyond their desire for their children’s academic excellence. Caught in the middle of meeting the employer’s target and satisfying parents’ demand for extra time for their children, the pupils are mercilessly left at the receiving end with loads of homework that oftentimes defeat their purpose.

Meanwhile, the debate on the usefulness of homework has been an unending one, it is believed in some quarters that homework helps students to learn time management, cultivate study habit and the art of taking responsibility, starting with their studies and ultimately their lives. According to Dr. Robert Walker of the University of Sydney, “homework tends to focus on three things: student learning and achievement; the development of student learning skills; and parental involvement.”

Conversely, a critic of homework, Alfie Kohn, has questioned why teachers and parents should continue to insist on overloading students with homework when it is believed to have no definite evidence proving the overall learning benefit of homework to children’s academic performance.

Arguing that homework can be detrimental to children’s development, Kohn said it robs families of quality evening time together, not allowing children enough time to rest and that constant busywork only turns them off school work and kills their interest for schooling.

“There was no consistent linear or curvilinear relation between the amount of time spent on homework and the child’s level of academic achievement.”

Interestingly, while educators around the world clamour for the delivery of education with international content and outlook that would offer relevant global experience, many have cautioned against the wholesome embrace of international content that is devoid of local content. According to experts, every educational policy must first be suitable for its immediate environment; reflect the culture of the people before any other consideration. This makes it pertinent for those involved in education delivery to adopt the most suitable method for their unique environment.

This explains why the little or no homework method adopted by countries like Finland, South Korea, Czech Republic among others should be treated with caution. A study on these countries’ education system revealed that their delivery method is designed to suit their environment, facilities, human and material resources.

Stressing that the adoption of homework or no-homework method in the teaching and

A parent assisting his child with his homework

learning process depends on the teaching method generally adopted by any country, Mr. Adedamola Olofa said while people might be tempted to believe various reports condemning the use of homework, stakeholders in education should get the right information.

Providing some insights, Olofa said: “The Finnish learning approach factored that stance of no-homework. Finnish schools adopt learningby-doing (kinesthetic) approach across board, while Nigeria and most African countries are still using auditory (explanation) approach.

Homework is not needed when learning contacts are kinesthetic.”

According to him, a lot of theories against take home assignments are unfounded, as some of the reports stem from personal assumptions, adding that take home assignments/home drills remain a form of learning reinforcement. He said irrespective of the age, the continent or country, homework remains relevant depending on the country’s adopted method of teaching.

“Be it 18th or 21st century, the basis of giving assignments still remains - it is a form of learning reinforcement. Learning reinforcement is expedient especially for early year learners and lower primary simply because majority of the learners in this section learn by repetition.”

Olofa added that man tends to remember 10 per cent of what he read and 20 per cent of what he listened to, “so in order to increase retention, homework comes in to increase the frequency of contact, hence, the percentage of retention.”

For Ms. Gloria Otevi, a primary five teacher in a Lagos private school, homework is an approach to learning, which she and many parents have found helpful in many ways. She said apart from providing the opportunity for her pupils to build on what they had learnt in the classroom, it enables her assess individual pupil’s understanding of the topic taught, and timely completion of the scheme of work.

“We spend maximum of 15 or 16 weeks in school every term and within this space of time are some days of holidays that eat into the limited time we have in covering the scheme of work for a term. I doubt if any teacher will meet up without assigning some of the works to be done to the students, especially topics that have been treated in the class.

“Teachers do not give homework arbitrarily; there are provision for it in the curriculum and

their textbooks. That is why most of the subjects have workbooks”.

Reacting to the issue of overloading pupils with homework, Otevi said neither her pupils nor their parents complain. “In fact, I usually get calls from some of them to know why their children were not given homework. These parents know their children. Some of them will not ordinarily take their books to read. So, while their parents are away in their business places, the only way they feel their children can read is by asking that we give them enough homework that will keep them busy.”

Stressing, that homework serves as a quick feedback mechanism for the teacher, she said it also helps in discovering individual student’s strength, builds up their confidence and spurs their reading habit. “Like the pupils in my class, when you ask them to read their literature and summarise in four or five line sentences, some of them will read it, come to me tell you the story first, some will come to you to ask one question or the other, yet some will wait to copy from others. In all of these, I learn to understand their personalities better and treat them individually.

“Homework is very important for the children’s academic development, mastery of subject topics and better performance. Practice they say makes perfect, that is exactly what teachers aim at when we give homework to school children.”

Arguing that many teachers do not have a proper understanding of the purpose of homework, Mrs. Cynthia Orakwe said the ignorance of some teachers is evident in the way and even the number of homework they give to their pupils.

She cited the instance of her four-year-old son, a nursery two pupil who brings home about four different subjects every day, saying that as a working mother, she finds it difficult to cope as well as the child. “I do not see any sense in giving a take home assignment that a child cannot easily do with little assistance. A case in hand was when my son, Chizitara was asked to write multiplication table two. Looking at it, I could not understand what exactly the teacher wanted to achieve and I did not want her to overestimate his ability, so I left him to do it by himself. The child copied it from one to 12 and multiplied each by one. And the answer he got is what multiplication table one will give you, if there is anything like that.”

Orakwe said she was forced to allow her

son “mess up” the homework because her efforts to draw the school’s attention to previous undeserving and burdensome amount of homework has often been rebuffed by the school administrator who claimed to be operating on a very high standard.

She said Nigerian teachers are not alone in the wrong application of homework, adding, “just like we have here in Nigeria, in some other parts of the world, homework has become a stereotype, so widely adopted by schools, teachers and even parents. Unfortunately, not many teachers and parents care to evaluate the effectiveness of this learning tool on their children.

“Over the years, several studies and reports have emerged condemning the use of homework as a process of imparting knowledge or even to prepare and strengthen students’ capacity for better academic performance. I am one of those who believe that the use of homework has been seriously abused especially from the primary school level.”

While stressing that the relevance of homework cannot be overruled, the mother of three called on government to reform the country’s education system. “I am challenging Nigerian government to rise to the long overdue need of reforming the nation’s education sector. A lot of things are wrong with the implementation process of our educational policy. I believe the reformation process will set the education system on a firm footing. It will expose some of the abuse prevalent in the system, including the misuse of homework by teachers.”

Mr. Cornelius Ogunsalu, who described teachers that give homework without devoting enough time for proper assessment as being dishonest, said, “teachers that give copious amounts of homework to students (all) the time are for the most part being dishonest. Considering the fact that they do not have enough time in any given day to properly go through each student’s work and grade them.

“Children should not be bogged down in the evenings working on homework for hours.

There has to be room for extracurricular activities and for the children to be able to help at home in the evenings. Parents need to engage their students at home, spend quality time with them and provide their children other forms of developmental activities beyond the classroom to help reinforce what they are learning in school.”

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

EDUCATION

Algorithm Makes Sense Out of Nonsense (IV) Text of the inaugural lecture delivered by Professor Sunday Eric Adewumi, Head, Department of Computer Science and Director, ICT, Federal University Lokoja Kogi State Thus, the search for a better compression algorithm continued. In continuation of this search, Adewumi and Garba (2008) developed another algorithm for compressing text documents. In this scheme described in Table 3.2, a text file is compressed into a table with 6 columns in which the positions of occurrence of a character is converted into binary digits (bits). These bits positions are concatenated and converted to a decimal number. The length of the last position of occurrence of a particular character is noted and preserved for use during decompression.

Table 3.2: Compression into 3 columns Position of occurrence The binary values for each position Concatenated binary string of each li decimal number equivalent of (the length of binary string) k - (the length representing the binary string of the last occurrence of a particular alphabet) In our third compression algorithm (Adewumi and Garba, 2012) represented in Table 3.3 with six columns, compression starts when the ASCII code of each character being compressed is obtained. The first column in the table contains the converted ASCII value to decimal; the next column represents the length of binary strings for each character, their decimal equivalent, length of binary strings for the repetition of each character, decimal values for the positions and length of binary strings for each position. We noted again that lots of strings are involved and these might not make for the compression we really desire; hence the new algorithm, which we hope will provide a better compression ratio.

Decompression in this scheme is the reverse of the compression scheme presented.

Table 3.3: Compression Model Using ASCII and Binary Decimal values for the character texts that make up the document Length of binary string for each character Decimal value for the number of times a character repeats Length of binary string for each repetition Decimal values for all the positions Length of binary string for each position Adewumi (2014) devised another text compression that uses character analysis to compress documents. The compression algorithm is represented in Table 3.4 while Table 3.5 is the decompression scheme for Table 3.4.

Table 3.4: Compression ci Quotient (q) of successive division by 2 until the result is less than 2 but greater than one q index (k) which is the sum of the number of times the value was used to divide decimal (di) k Length of the occurrence of each character li Table 3.5: Decompression

accomplish its tasks in finite time. We have allowed them to fester because we love ‘fire brigade approach’ which has never worked anywhere. It will never work here either.

They run in endless loops – a journey of no return. Our numerous challenges must be carefully planned to come to an end someday.

We need algorithms to solve our numerous national challenges.

A computer is essentially an algorithmic system and hence it could be employed to solve most of the challenges plaguing the nation. Crime persists in Nigeria for example, because third parties are involved in most transactions. If for example you need to collect a form or make payment that depends on a third party interaction, this might lead to corruption. Computerization could be adopted in all facets of our national life. Government should sustain current efforts at automating most government processes as this will bring stability into governance. We should also concentrate on perfecting one thing at a time rather than wanting to be jack of all trade and yet master of none. Nigeria should concentrate on how to program hardware in order to have effective control over it. The means to do this can only happen through a thorough knowledge of algorithm. There is hope for us in Nigeria that we can do it and even surpass other nations that have gone ahead. We are capable of leading the world in software development. Many countries are today living on this gold mine that is yet to be fully tapped in our country. We have dwelt more on nonsense while neglecting those things that do make sense.

I think universities should be sufficiently engaged to proffer solutions to our numerous challenges. We need to alleviate the suffering of the masses, provide employment, harass and permanently halt corruption.

The challenges confronting us as a nation are numerous, chief amongst them are Power (energy – generation and distribution), Economy and Security.

Fig. 3.2: Nigeria’s Triangular Challenges

ci Decimal value of the concatenated position of a character

We should consider algorithms that will make sense out of our numerous challenges.

di Quotient (index k) of successive division by 2 until the result is less than 2 but greater than one

3.1 Economy Naira notes can be programmed to talk to each other. This can be done by ensuring that every naira paper is made to carry a strip of chip containing some vital information that can be used to trace its whereabouts when the need arises. It is about time that the Central Bank of Nigeria implements a solution of this nature if we must, as a nation solve the incessant and rampant cases of kidnapping in the society. We should embed a chip in the naira note as part of its security features. This security feature can help stem the kidnapping trend as the whereabouts of any note can be known once the number on the note can

k Length of the occurrence of each character li 3 THE PLACE OF ALGORITHM IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Nigeria is contending with a triangular challenge of which algorithm can play key roles. We have allowed some of our challenges to run to endless loops as they have not been defined by algorithm which must

be established. Tracking the naira is a task that must be done. Monies carried in bullion vans can be tracked without the use of siren.

How? Every naira note has a number, once that number is known, a single note can be tracked the same way technology has been used to track cars and other objects.

3.2 Power Nigeria has been turned to a country of acronyms. The new additions are DISCO and GENCO. While itunes dot the landscape in other climes, DISCOs and GBENCOs dot our landscape without music. In the days of old, DISCO was synonymous to light. They made the nights lively by lightening them up. Men and women danced at tales by the moonlight.

Not so these days. Today, government legalizes discos without electricity to light our paths.

Instead, itunes supported by i-witness are found elsewhere except our landscape. Back then, there were no gens (generators) and therefore no need for GENCOs. As a proposal, it is recommended that government should consider creating an artificial moon on our airspace. The moon has been the only consistent means by which we get light. In the interim, I suggest we create an artificial moon to light our paths in the night while GENCOs and DISCOs remain as standby to Nigerians. The algorithm will be to develop single or multiple halogen lamps that will be stationed in orbit (Fig. 3.3) with the capacity to orbit the earth and berth in Nigeria at night or it remains as a geostationary system. The energy required can be taken from the sun to light the night as the sun has always lightened the day. Government should at least support this initiative. When the moon fades in the morning, the sun will glow during the day time at no cost to ordinary Nigerians.

We desire for economy increase but lack the energy that will bring about the increase we desire. Lack of energy inhibits us in many ways. Nigeria, the giant of Africa cannot operate at her installed capacity. There is abundant sunlight to the extent that we have a “Sunshine State”. This is a wakeup call that energy is available for us to tap from, if we put our acts together. We could even be a major source, able to provide for others. If, for example, we are able to fund the Nigerian Moon (NM – Fig. 3.3) effectively, that moon can also be made to light neighboring countries at a cost to them and at a gain to us. Government should call for research proposals for this initiative. We can partner with nations that have capacity to build orbital satellites to realize this project.

Fig. 3.3: A Model for the Nigerian Moon Security Information security is a priority area for any nation and cryptography remains one of the means by which the world is responding

to this threat. Transborder data flow (TBDF) involves the transfer and exchange of information across borders. This has been made possible by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which has narrowed the borders between nations to a thin line with nations encapsulated as one. Technology has made transborder communication imperative with many e–initiatives coming up. When information is transferred, it needs to be protected which is a major requirement in information transmission and dissemination.

The time to do this is now.

We propose a triangular model that is based on the fusion of three methods that we have developed in the course of our research. The model should use the triangular schemes of encryption, secret sharing and compression (esc) to secure messages being transferred.

When data is compressed to remove redundant characters, it then means that a first level of encryption has been accomplished. To secure a message under transmission, the message could be encrypted, compressed and then shared. An encryption algorithm based on equations (linear and non-linear) could be used in conjunction with data compression schemes and secret sharing algorithms to secure the messages being transmitted in an insecure environment.

4 Conclusion This lecture identifies the centrality of algorithm to all issues of life. It describes algorithm as the core area of Computer Science. The lecture also describes algorithm as the only mean by which computer makes sense out of many seemingly nonsensical statements. Different areas of the application of algorithm were enumerated and it was shown that algorithm was derived from the name of its inventor, Al-kwarizmi. In the course of the lecture, algorithm was described as the step-by-step method for solving problem in finite time.

The lecture described the means by which algorithm could be implemented, either as a pseudo code or as a flowchart. It also provided the various stages that algorithm have undergone in the last 1,200 years of its existence. The various developments that have taken place in programming languages were enumerated. Some areas of the application of algorithm such as data compression and data security including other general application areas relevant to our national development were suggested. The research areas of the lecturer were enumerated and areas where algorithm has made sense including some areas of its application by the lecturer during the course of his research were presented. In summary, algorithm has been presented as a method which was initially used to solve problems in arithmetic but which has, over the last 1,200 years grown to the point that super computers have been designed and built through this method to show that algorithm will always makes sense out of nonsense.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016, • T H I S D AY

CITYSTRINGS

Acting Features Editor: Charles Ajunwa Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

Cable Thieves Meet Their Waterloo

Six members of a syndicate, who specialise in vandalising and stealing underground electrical cables under the CMS flyover, Lagos, have been arrested and are currently cooling their heels behind the bars. Femi Ogbonnikan interrogated the suspects on their modus operandi

R-L: Tunde Alaba, Taofeek Oyedele, Deji Afolorunsho and Saheed Ismaila, arrested cable thieves

L-R: Sunday Obasanmi, Jelili Abodunrin and other arrested cable thieves in Lagos

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ix members of a syndicate who specialise in vandalising and stealing light-up cable wires, street lamps and light poles installed by the incumbent administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, in his ‘light-up Lagos project’, to illuminate the entire state, have been apprehended and they are currently singing like a canaries in the protective custody of the operatives of the Lagos State Security outfit, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja.

Nemesis, it was gathered, caught up with the six suspects namely: Tunde Alaba, Saheed Ismail, Deji Afolorunso, Sunday Obasanmi, Jelili Abodunrin and Taofeek Oyedele in the wee hour of 2:30am on Thursday, October 13, 2016, under the CMS flyover, Lagos Island.

THISDAY learnt that the RRS operatives

who were on routine patrol of the crime scene sighted the suspects, pulling down

Usually, we would cut the underground laid electrical cables and sell to our wouldbe buyers who are many at Obalende. Depending on how they assess the stolen cables we take to them, they offer us between N4, 500 and N5, 000

the street lamps, cables and poles, until they called for reinforcement for more personnel from the RRS Headquarters, Alausa, Ikeja, and effected their arrest.

Upon their interrogation, it was said that the suspects owned up to the crime, while they claimed they had been taking shelter under the CMS flyover for about four years.

Meanwhile, while flagging off the ‘Light-up Lagos project’, last year, Ambode had charged police officers and men and other security agents of the need to always protect and guide against criminal elements, vandalising and stealing armoured cable, powering the street lights across the state.

In a chat with THISDAY, Jelili Oyedele Abodunrin, who is the kingpin of the syndicate, noted that the economic hardship in the country forced him to take into the criminal act.

"I hail from Ipokia, Yewa, Ogun State. When I got to Lagos seven years ago, I began as a commercial bus driver, plying between CMS and Bar Beach (Victoria Island) route.

I was squatting in a ramshackle building, along Ibadan Street, Oko Baba, Oyingbo, Lagos Mainland. My mother's friend whom we usually call, 'Mamo', allowed me to be staying there. My mother is still alive and she stays at Ajegunle Boundary, Apapa. She deals in firewood to make ends meet, while my father is late.

"Soon afterwards, precisely two years, I lost my job as a commercial bus driver and I later became a bus conductor, because there was no bus owner who was willing to give out his vehicle to me to drive. I left Oko Baba, Oyingbo, where I was squatting and joined the other colleagues under the CMS flyover to stay when I had no other place to

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CITYSTRINGS

Recovered stolen electrical cable wire and their working implements

live. Before my arrest, I was working as a labourer with the road construction company around Marina. But shortly after the road project ended, I chose to steal electrical cables, in order to earn a living.

"Usually, we would cut the underground laid electrical cables and sell to our would-be buyers who are many at Obalende. Depending on how they assess the stolen cables we take to them, they offer us between N4, 500 and N5, 000. But we deal with two Hausa men at Obalende. Once we were paid this money we use it to buy meals for the day," said the 32 years old suspect.

On how he was arrested, he claimed he had vandalised and stolen a roll of the underground laid electrical cables on Wednesday night, October 12, 2016, and had kept it somewhere within the vicinity, for onward sales the following day, but unknown to him, one of his colleagues simply identified as 'Muri' who equally stays under the CMS flyover, sighted him the very day he was cutting the cable wire.

"This 'Egbon Muri', very tall in height, had sighted me when I was cutting the underground cable wire and where I hid the stolen item, pending when I would go there the following day to pick it and dispose it off, to the buyer at Obalende. I have two buyers at Obalende. But I never knew he had picked the stolen cable wire and kept it elsewhere.

"So, the following morning, which was on Thursday, October 13, 2016, at exactly 5:00 am, I woke up and went to buy a chewing stick from a Mallam nearby, preparatory to setting

out for the day and pick the stolen cable wire for sale at Obalende. As I was returning, I saw 'Egbon Muri' emerging from nowhere and beckoning at my friend, Tunde Alaba, to come. He also asked me to come. When Tunde and I surged closer to him, I heard

I was sweeping the whole market every night and I was being offered N2, 500 on a daily basis. But lack of contentment led me to the crime. In order to disguise being a criminal, I feigned operating a barber's shop, while at night I go out with my friends to vandalise and steal electrical cable wires

Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr. Fatai Owoseni

him, asking me and Tunde to follow him to where a patrol vehicle of the RRS Operatives was stationed. It was when we got there, he (Egbon Muri) began to interrogate me in the presence of the RRS operatives, asking why I cut the underground laid electrical cable wire the previous day, that he saw me when I was cutting it. It was there too he made me realised that, he had picked the stolen cable wire where I kept it. And that was how we were nabbed. From there, we started to name other accomplices and four others were picked up. But others had escaped. We had taken the RRS operatives to our buyers in Obalende, but we didn't see them, because we don't know where they stay. We usually meet them under the Obalende flyover whenever we have the loot to dispose off. Also, we have been calling their mobile phone numbers and they can't be reached out to," Abodunrin said.

Also, Tunde Alaba, who hails from Ede, Osun State, admitted being a member of the syndicate which has been responsible for vandalising and stealing electrical cable wires in Lagos Island.

According to the 28-year-old suspect, "I came to Lagos early this year, for greener pasture. Upon my arrival, I took to bus conducting business and our vehicle was plying between CMS and Ajah. I was squatting with a friend somewhere in Lagos Island, but I soon left when I felt Lagos Island was unsafe for me. To avoid untimely death, due to incessant clashes between rival street urchin groups in the area, I moved out and I was staying under

the CMS flyover for shelter. I ran away for my dear life, for fear of death. Lagos Island is not safe for me any longer, because of the incessant and rampant clashes, resulting in killings. Although I have not been doing anything tangible, since I arrived the state, but I do have my daily meals through the proceeds from the sales of stolen electrical cable wires and iron steels," Alaba confessed.

Another suspect, Deji Afolorunsho, who hails from Odogbolu, Ogun State, claimed he was once a market sweeper, before he ventured into barber's trade.

"I was sweeping the whole market every night and I was being offered N2, 500 on a daily basis. But lack of contentment led me to the crime. In order to disguise being a criminal, I feigned operating a barber's shop, while at night I go out with my friends to vandalise and steal electrical cable wires," said the 26-year-old suspect.

Sunday Obasanmi, 27 years old and a native of Isara-Remo, Ogun State, disclosed it was after he was sacked as a security guard at AP Filling Station, located at Old Federal Secretariat, Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos, that he joined the syndicate in vandalising and stealing electrical cable wires under the CMS flyover.

However, SP Dolapo Badmus, Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, confirmed the arrests of the six suspects.

She added that the suspects would be charged, accordingly to the court of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Task Force, Alausa, Ikeja, as soon as investigations are concluded into the matter.

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INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

US Strike Destroys Bridge, Restricts Islamic State in Mosul The United States forces backing an Iraqi army campaign against Islamic State in Mosul carried out an air strike on a bridge spanning the Tigris river, restricting militant movements between western and eastern parts of the city, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

U.S.-trained Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service forces are pushing deeper into east Mosul, the last major city controlled by the Sunni hard-line group in Iraq, while army and police units, Shi’ite militias and Kurdish fighters surround it to the west, south and north.

Militants have steadily retreated into Mosul from outlying areas. The army’s early advances have slowed as militants dig in, using the more than 1 million civilians inside the city as a shield, moving through tunnels, and hitting troops with suicide bombers, snipers and mortar fire.

Five bridges span the Tigris that runs through Mosul. They have all been mined and boobytrapped by militants who took over the city two years ago as they swept through northern Iraq and declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria.

Despite planting the mines, Islamic State fighters have so far been able to continue using those bridges which have not yet been destroyed by air strikes. Air Force Colonel John Dorrian, a Baghdadbased spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said on Tuesday an air strike hit the number four bridge, the southernmost, in the past 48 hours.

“This effort impedes Daesh’s freedom of movement in Mosul. It inhibits their ability to resupply or reinforce their fighters throughout the city,” he said using an Arabic acronym for

Tsunami Hits Japan after Strong Quake near Fukushima Disaster Site A powerful earthquake rocked northern Japan early on Tuesday, briefly disrupting cooling functions at a nuclear plant and generating a small tsunami that hit the same Fukushima region devastated by a 2011 quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake, which was felt in Tokyo, sent thousands of residents fleeing for higher ground as dawn broke along the northeastern coast.

There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries hours after the quake hit at 5:59 a.m. (2059 GMT Monday). It was centered off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

A wave of up to 1.4 meters (4.5 ft) high was recorded at Sendai, about 70 km (45 miles) north of Fukushima, with smaller waves hitting ports elsewhere along the coast, public broadcaster NHK said.

Television footage showed ships moving out to sea from harbors as tsunami warnings wailed after alerts of waves of up to 3 meters (10 feet) were issued. “We saw high waves but nothing that went over

the tidal barriers,” a man in the city of Iwaki told NTV television network.

Aerial footage showed tsunami waves flowing up rivers in some areas, and some fishing boats were overturned in the port of Higashi-Matsushima before the JMA lifted its warnings.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Tuesday’s quake at magnitude 6.9, down from an initial 7.3.

All Japan’s nuclear power plants in the area have been shut down in the wake of the March 2011 disaster, which knocked out cooling systems at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, causing reactors to melt down and spew radiation into the air, soil and sea.

The cooling system for a storage pool for spent nuclear fuel at the reactor at its Fukushima Daini Plant was initially halted on Tuesday, said a spokeswoman for Tokyo Electric Power, known as Tepco, but was restarted soon after.

Only two reactors are operating in Japan, both in the southwest. Nuclear plants need cooling systems operating even when in shutdown to keep spent fuel cool.

Tohoku Electric Power Co

said there was no damage to its Onagawa nuclear plant, while the Kyodo news agency reported there were no irregularities at the Tokai Daini nuclear plant in Ibaraki prefecture.

Japanese Minister for Disaster Management Jun Matsumoto told reporters there had been no reports of significant injuries. One woman suffered cuts to her head from falling dishes, Kyodo reported, citing fire department officials.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

The March 11, 2011, quake was magnitude 9, the strongest quake ever recorded in Japan. The massive tsunami it generated knocked out the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.

Systems have been updated since the 2011 disaster to spread warnings more quickly, said Tsunetaka Omine, head of the Disaster Management Division in Iwaki, a city in Fukushima prefecture.

South African Opposition Says Police Promise to Look into Zuma South Africa’s main opposition party said yesterday that police had promised to look into its accusations of corruption against President Jacob Zuma. The Democratic Alliance (DA) filed a criminal complaint against Zuma last week after an anticorruption agency published a report listing allegations of influence-peddling in Zuma’s government.

The DA said an investigation would be conducted by the Hawks, a priority unit within the South African Police Service

that handles serious crimes, including corruption.

“I can confirm today that the Hawks will be investigating the DA’s corruption charges against Zuma relating to his role in State Capture,” DA leader Mmusi Maimane said in an emailed statement.

A spokesman for the Hawks, Hangwani Mulaudzi, said the case had been referred to the division for “further investigation”, but it was too early to say what the investigation would focus on.

The anti-graft agency’s report, released on Nov. 2 and entitled “State of Capture”, stopped short of reaching conclusive findings against the president, some of his ministers and heads of state-owned companies. But it has plunged Zuma into the latest crisis. Since coming to power in 2009, Zuma has survived a string of corruption scandals almost unscathed.

He and his supporters have regularly dismissed accusations of corruption.

the militant group.

A month ago, a U.S. air strike destroyed the No. 2 bridge in the center of the city and two weeks later another strike took out the No. 5 bridge to the north.

The United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration expressed concern that the destruction of the bridges could obstruct the evacuation of civilians.“That is a concern of IOM because this is going to leave hundreds of thousands without a quick way out of the combat,”spokesman Joel Millman told reporters in Geneva.

The battle for Mosul, launched five weeks ago, is turning into the largest military campaign in more than a decade of conflict in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi military estimates around 5,000 Islamic State fighters are in Mosul. A 100,000-strong coalition of Iraqi government forces, Kurdish fighters and Shi’ite

paramilitary units is surrounding the city.

Mosul’s capture would be a major step towards dismantling the caliphate, and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, believed to have withdrawn to a remote area near the Syrian border, has told his fighters to stay and fight to the end.

Counter terrorism units and an army armored division are the only forces to have breached the city limits from the eastern side. Other army and federal police units have yet to enter the northern and the southern sides.

A Kurdish security source said on Tuesday four Islamic State commanders were captured in a U.S. special operation near Baaj, a town close to the Syrian border. Baghdadi was not among them. The coalition did not confirm the operation.

Islamic State said it launched an attack on the north-western front of Mosul, seizing a duty free zone and

oil depots located a dozen kilometers from the city limits.

The army did not confirm the claim.

Iranian-backed militias have captured the Tal Afar air base, west of Mosul, part of their campaign to choke off the route between the Syrian and Iraqi parts of the caliphate Islamic State declared in 2014.

The number of people displaced by the fighting in and around Mosul has slightly decreased, an indication that some people have began returning home in places retaken by government forces, according to the IOM. “68,112 displaced is actually a downtick from couple of days ago,” said Millman. It’s “worth noting because it indicates that some people are already starting to return to safe areas in the region.”The number of registered displaced people was over 68,500 on Monday.

The figure does not include the thousands of people rounded up in villages around Mosul and forced to accompany Islamic State fighters to cover their retreat towards the city.

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Traditional Ruler Agrees with Buhari on Corruption in Judiciary, Indicts Shell A traditional ruler from the Niger Delta, King Emere Godwin Bebe Okpabi, yesterday in a London court said the Nigerian legal system was corrupt.

“Shell is Nigeria and Nigeria is Shell. You can never, never defeat Shell in a Nigerian court. The truth is that the Nigerian legal system is corrupt,” he said.

The royal father was in London to attend a hearing on the environmental damages caused by years of oil spills in Nigeria blamed on oil company, Royal Dutch Shell.

Britain’s High Court began to hear arguments on whether English courts can hear two legal claims on behalf of more than 40,000 Nigerians against Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).

During the hearing yesterday, King Okpabi held plastic bottles believed to contain contaminated water from his community in Ogale, claiming “my people are drinking this water.

“There are strange diseases in my community – skin diseases, people are dying sudden deaths, some people are impotent, low sperm count,” he was quoted by AFP as saying. “I can afford to buy water. But can I afford to buy for everybody? No.

We are dying.

He wants the High Court to compel Shell to implement a 2011 landmark report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which warned of dangerously high levels of hydrocarbons in the water, bitumen-coated mangroves and poor air quality.

It should order the company to “go and clean-up Ogale, go and provide water for them; go and do medical history for them, and where medical attention is needed provide for them,” he said.

The king said no money would be enough to address the damage, which UNEP warned could take 25 to 30 years to resolve, but wants compensation, adding: “We are dying.”

Shell will challenge the jurisdiction of the English courts in the case during three days of hearings this week, while it also disputes the claims made by lawyers Leigh Day, who represent Ogale and the smaller Bille community.

“Both Bille and Ogale are areas heavily impacted by crude oil theft, pipeline sabotage and illegal refining which remain the main sources of pollution across the Niger Delta,” a company spokeswoman said.

She noted SPDC has not produced any oil or gas

in Ogoniland, the region surrounding Ogale, since 1993.

But Okpabi and his lawyers say the company’s ageing, leaky pipelines still run through the region and it must take responsibility.

SPDC said it had delivered water and health care to the community and is supporting the implementation of the UNEP process by the government, which in June launched a $1 billion oil pollution clean-up programme in the Niger Delta.

Okpabi said he believed President Muhammadu Buhari is “sincere” in wanting to address the issue, but warned:

“If we wait for the system to roll on its own, I hate to say this, but it may be too late for the people of Ogale.”

Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum started oil operations in the area in 1958, after oil was first discovered in Nigeria in 1956. They were later joined by several other companies.

It has been estimated that at least 7,000 oil spills occurred in Ogoniland and the rest of the Niger Delta between 1970 and 2000.

The damages of oil spills on the environment and communities led to the creation of the Survival of

the Ogoni People (MOSOP) movement, led by Ken SaroWiwa. The leader was later arrested and executed amid widespread condemnation.

Militants in the region took hold in the early 2000s, following the deterioration of people’s living conditions blamed on the increase of oil-related activities by foreign exploration corporations.

Tensions flared in the local communities as some ethnic groups felt they were being exploited and did not benefit from the crude oil on their land.

Two major spills occurred

in the Bodo community in 2008, destroying thousands of acres of mangroves and fishing populations.

In 2015, Shell reached a $84m settlement with the Bodo fishing community affected by the spills.

In November 2015, a report by Amnesty International and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development accused Shell of failing to implement the 2011 UN recommendations.

In March 2016, the two communities sued Shell in London over multiple oil spills in the Niger Delta.

FG, GSK Freeze Price of Pneumonia Vaccines for Next 10 Years NEW HEAD OFFICE emphasise that we need Group Managing Director, Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe (second left); Chairman, Access Bank, Mrs. Mosun BeloPaul Obi in Abuja The federal government in conjunction with a leading pharmaceutical company, GSK, has pledged not to increase the price of pneumonia vaccines for the next 10 years but to rather freeze the price for improved vaccination.

The plan, according to the company, would ensure that children in the country do not die of the disease, which is now the number one killer disease amongst children under five.

This was made known at the launch of International Vaccines Access Centre’s (IVAC) preliminary findings which was on the occasion marking World Pneumonia Day in Abuja.

The findings estimated that about 750,000 Nigerian children died in 2015 and largely from diseases.

The report also indicated that “pneumonia is now the leading cause of child deaths in Nigeria, a position previously held by malaria over the years. In 2015, about 17 per cent (127,00 deaths) and 10 per cent (75,000) of all under-five deaths including neo-natal deaths were caused by pneumonia and diarrhea, respectively.”

Medical Director of GSK, Dr. Lana Odunuga, said GSK “has placed 10 years price freeze on pneumonia drugs as the country graduates from GAVI funds.”

He said: “I just want to

consistency in our programmes.

We have done very well in our policy making, we have done very well in our coordination.

So it is just consistency and once we are consistent, we will get there. We need to start from somewhere and we are on a journey, we will get there.

“We are supporting the immunisation programme, we are providing the vaccines that are used for the prevention of pneumonia in children.

“And one of the things I highlighted as part of our own support is actually to make sure that even at a time when Nigeria graduates from GAVI fund, which will eventually happen, Nigeria will still be able to access the vaccines at the same price at which they are getting it now.

“In addition to that we have also tried to make it possible to reduce the cost a child pays for vaccines in Nigeria by $1.”

Odunuga blamed the activities of Boko Haram for the high figures of the disease in the recent times, stressing that, the effect of disruption of infrastructure led to displacement of people.

The acting Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr. Emmanuel Odu noted that” federal government in it’s reaction to address the high rate of death attributed to pneumonia among children in the country, government introduced the pentavalent vaccine.”

Olusoga; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; Chairman, Board of Directors, Wapic Insurance Plc., Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; and Managing Director of Wapic, Mrs. Adeyinka Adekoya, at the inauguration of Wapic Insurance Head Office in Lagos...yesterday.

Mohammed: FG will No Longer Make Excuses for Recession Debunks rumoured $500m Clinton’s donation Following the bleak statistics recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicating that the economic recession is getting worse, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has assured Nigerians that the government is working hard to get the country out of recession.

The minister also used the forum to debunk rumours that President Muhammadu Buhari donated $500 million to the former US Secretary of State and presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign organisation in the just concluded poll in which she lost, adding that even the repeated denials from government failed to stop the rumour peddlers from orchestrating falsehood on the social media.

The minister who gave the assurance in Lagos in his keynote address at the

fourth Commonwealth Public Relations Congress stated that “We are not unaware of the harsh effects of the recession on the citizens. We share in their pains and we make no excuses as we continue to work round the clock to ensure that this tough time is quickly brought to an end.

The good news is that the prognosis for a quick end to the recession is encouraging.

“As the saying goes, the recession is a bend in the road, not the end of the road. The challenge for us as a government is to turn the bend, and we are doing just that,” he said.

Mohammed said while the Buhari administration rode to power on the crest of change, there can be no change without discomforts.

He however, promised that with persistence on the part of the government and perseverance on the part of the people, there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel.

The Minister said the

government is investing massively in infrastructural development: roads, railways, power etc, and creating jobs in the process, as part of efforts to pull the country out of recession.

On job creation, he disclosed that 200,000 of the 500,000 jobs promised under the N-Power Volunteers Programme have already been filled, and that those selected will start work on December1, 2016.

Mohammed also said the alternative funding of the Oil and Gas Industry Joint Ventures, which has been approved by the Federal Executive Council, will also impact positively on the economy. ‘’(This alternative funding) is set to increase the net federal government revenue per annum by about $2 billion, lead to an increase in national production from the current 2.2 million barrels per day to 2.5 mbpd by 2019, reduce Unit Technical

Costs from $27.96/Barrel Oil Equivalent (boe) to $18/boe and double the net payments to the Federation Account, from about $7Billion to over $14billion by 2020,’’ he said, adding that the funding mechanism will also allow the JV business to be self-funding, restore investor confidence; raise the prospects of higher investment in growth activities by the partners and arrest production decline.

Speaking on the theme of the congress ‘’Strategic Management of Reputation Risk in an Interdependent World,” Mohammed outlined some of the increasing challenges confronting Public Relations Managers, especially the impact of thes ocial media which has democratized the means of gathering and disseminating information, and urged participants to come up with innovative ways to surmount the challenges.

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Court Rejects Patience Jonathan’s Request to Restrain Judge from Making Orders on Her Account Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday refused an oral application moved by the counsel to the former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, seeking to restrain another judge of the court, Justice Babs Kuewumi, from taking further steps on the frozen $15.591million she claims belongs to her.

The former first lady’s lawyer, Ifedayo Adedipe had urged the court to stop Justice Kuewumi, from making any order forfeiting the $15.591 million, which was frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the federal government until the determination of an interlocutory application filed by her client.

Mrs. Jonathan is claiming the sum of $200 million against the EFCC, Skye Bank Plc, a former special assistant to ex president Jonathan, WaripamaOwei Dudafa and four others for what she described as the inconveniences and embarrassment she suffered as a result of the freezing of her accounts.

Also joined in the fundamental rights enforcement suit are: Pluto Property and Investment company Ltd, Seagate Property Development

and Investment Company Ltd, Transocean Property and Investment Company Ltd and Globus Integrated Service Ltd. The four companies, which the EFCC claimed were used

by Dudafa to launder the $15.591 million had pleaded guilty to the offence of money laundering before Justice Kuewumi.

The sum involved in the criminal case is the same money which former first lady claimed belongs to her as the sole signatory to the accounts of the companies.

She, however, denied ownership of the companies.

At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, the judge acknowledge a letter from the counsel representing Skye Bank, Lanre Ogunlesi, stating that he was indisposed and would not be able to come to court.

According to the judge, since Ogunlesi requested for a new date to enable him appear in court, the hearing of the application on notice cannot go on.

But before the court could adjourned case, Adedipe urged the court to direct the EFCC not to temper with the res (subject matter) of the case pending the hearing and determination of the interlocutory application.

However, counsel to EFCC,

Rotimi Oyedepo, urged the court to dismiss the application, submitting that the accounts that house the money had been long frozen, while the identified directors to these companies had pleaded guilty to an offence of conspiracy and money laundering in an ongoing criminal trial before Justice Kuewumi.

Oyedepo said: “We pray the court to dismiss the application with a wave of hand. There was an order of the court that have convicted the 4th-7th defendants for warehousing the proceed of crime.”

The lawyer further argued that the applicant does not have the locus-standi to move the motion and that if the court grants the order, it would be “extremely” prejudicial to the

earlier order made by Justice Kuewumi in the criminal case.

He also expressed doubts on the address that the applicant sent the service of the originating summon on 4th -7th defendants, as earlier investigation conducted by the anti-graft agency showed that the companies have fictitious addresses.

Justice Idris, in a short ruling, held that he cannot go into the merits or demerits of the interlocutory application until it is moved.

He, however, ordered accelerated hearing of the case, while stating that he cannot make any order that would be prejudicial to the outcome of the main suit.

The judge then adjourned the case till December 7, 2016, for

hearing of the main application.

The ex first lady in her suit is urging the court to issue an order discharging the freezing order, and restrain the EFCC and it’s agent from further placing a freezing order on the said accounts.

In an affidavit in support deposed to by one Sammie Somiari, a legal practitioner, he averred that on March 22, 2010, she (Jonathan) had opened five different accounts with Skye Bank, with the aid of one Damola Bolodeoku and Dipo Oshodi.

He averred that the account mandate forms were duly completed and signed by her.

According to him, Mrs. Jonathan subsequently discovered that apart from one of the accounts that bore her

name, the other four accounts were opened in the name of four companies which were companies belonging to Dudafa.

He averred that she also observed that the ATM cards of the said accounts were issued in the names of the companies, adding that she complained to Dudafa who promised to effect the necessary changes.

He said Dipo Oshodi also promised to effect the necessary changes.

Somiari averred further that Mrs. Jonathan is not a director, shareholder or participant in the companies and the funds in the said accounts were solely owned and operated by her.

He averred: “Dudafa does not own any part of the funds in the said accounts.”

Fire Outbreak in Erisco Food Warehouse Destroys Raw Materials Worth over N450m Nume Ekeghe A warehouse belonging to Erisco Foods Limited, said to contain raw materials, was gutted by fire on Monday with the company allegedly losing over N450 million, THISDAY has learnt.

Erisco Foods had recently said it would shut down its factory once its exhausted the raw materials.

According to the company, the fire broke out in the early hours of Monday.

The company said it declined to comment on the inferno earlier, until they had full details of the loss suffered but allowed access to journalists to see for themselves the extent of damage.

The Chairman, Erisco foods, Mr. Eric Umeofia, refused to comment on the incident.

Meanwhile, the General Manager of the company, Mr. Tokunbo Agbede, said: “Yesterday, the raw materials in one of our warehouses caught fire. The value of goods destroyed is put at over N450 million. This colossal loss could have been avoided if we had received the adequate support of the federal government.

The lack of support support from the government has been limiting our expansion and progress.

“And that is why we had these raw materials lying down there. It therefore means that

if we had received adequate support from these government, we would have used up these raw materials.

“How then do we move ahead in Nigeria if a company like our which is the largest in Africa and the fourth largest in the world is having this kind of challenge, it is terrible and worrisome.”

When asked to respond to what caused the fire, Agbede said the company is waiting for an official report by the Lagos State fire service. He, however, did not rule out sabotage.

He added: “As at this moment, we cannot say what caused the fire; we are awaiting the report of the investigation.

We are asking what they think caused the fire.

“As it is now, it doesn’t change our resolve, we are moving out. It shows that nothing is done to encourage local manufacturers like us. This further dampens our morale and zeal to manufacture here.”

Agbede further added: “We cannot rule out sabotage really.

That is why we have invited the police to investigate.”

Furthermore, he clarified the notion that the company was closing down, he said the company was only moving out its manufacturing arm and would start importing once it exhausts its raw materials.

FIRE DISASTER

Workers sorting out items from the remains of Erisco Foods warehouse fire incident in Lagos....yesterday

: ETOP UKUTT

FG Saves N20bn on Monthly Wage Bill, N15bn Drop in Overheads Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The federal government disclosed yesterday that the monthly wage bill of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) has declined by N20 billion from N165 billion to about N145 billion due to the activities of the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit.

There has also been a reduction in the MDAs’ overhead expenses by about N15 billion since the establishment of the Efficiency Unit (E-UNIT) by the Federal Ministry of Finance November last year.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa-Dutse and the Head of the E-UNIT, Ms. Patience Oniha, made the disclosures in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of a workshop on cost management for directors of federal MDAs. The Permanent Secretary who stood in for the minister

said the workshop was aimed at helping government manage resources more prudently, adding that since revenue had plummeted, it was imperative not only to look at other ways of generating more resources but how to efficiently manage same.

He pointed out that costs are relatively high even as he pointed out that “we need to manage them” by laying emphasis on priority areas.

Asked to comment on what the federal government’s cost cutting measures had yielded so far, the permanent secretary said the ongoing continuous audit under the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit had reduced personnel cost by about N20 billion from N165 billion monthly to about N145 billion currently.

Oniha also disclosed that about N15 billion is being saved through overheads with the efficient application of resources and cost cutting

measures since the introduction of the E-UNIT. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, in an address presented by the permanent secretary, said the workshop was the second of three such events planned by the E-UNIT for federal MDAs and states to sensitise public officials about costs and share them with some tools for managing costs.

Adeosun stated that there was no doubting the fact that it was necessary to review the way government spends to ascertain if such spending are deployed in a manner consistent with future growth and development as well as if the expenditures represent best value for money.

She said: “A sharp and sudden decline in revenues as Nigeria has experienced in recent times at a time when there is an urgent need to develop infrastructure and generate employment b, makes it imperative for us to consider

measures for generating more revenue and managing costs better.

“While we have often talked about revenues, budgets and the necessity of government spending, not much has been given to how government actually spends.”

Adeosun stated that it was for that purpose that the E-UNIT was created in her ministry to initiate measures, including controls, limits and processes that will translate to value for money, elimination of wastages and savings for government.

According to her, since the creation of the E-UNIT, it had identified several overhead expenditure items where government spending can be reduced, listing such items as travels, honoraria and sitting allowances, training, advertising and publicity, refreshments and meals, as well as welfare.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Stop Blackmailing the Federal Government, Fashola Warns DISCOS Says MDA debts won’t be paid without verification The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has warned electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in the country to stop blackmailing the federal government over outstanding debts allegedly owed them by its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA), saying government would not succumb to blackmail and would only pay verified debts.

Fashola also advised the DisCos to pursue the debt issue in their capacities as Distribution Companies and not under the aegis of any association pointing out that although the

constitution guaranteed freedom of association, the privatisation exercise that led to the transfer of the distribution assets of power was not held between the federal government and any association but 11 individual companies.

The minister, who spoke at the opening session of the 10th monthly meeting with power sector operators in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, expressed disappointment that the companies had placed advertorials under the aegis of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distribution Companies, which failed to tell Nigerians the whole truth about the debts pointing

APC Sets up Situation Room for Ondo Election Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The All Progressives Congress (APC) has established a Situation Room to monitor proceedings during the Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State.

The party appointed the Deputy National Chairman (South) Segun Oni, to lead a six-member team from the party’s national leadership to coordinate the party’s Situation Room.

A statement issued by the Publicity Unit of the APC yesterday evening, said the decision was reached after a meeting of the National

Working Committee (NWC) yesterday.

Other members of the team are the National Vice Chairman (South-west), Chief Pius Oluwole Akinyelure; National Vice Chairman (North-west), Inuwa AbdulKadir; Zonal Youth Leader (South-west), Adedotun Oluwasegun; Zonal Woman Leader (South-west); Kemi Nelson and a party chieftain, Hon Acho Obioma.

“The party’s Situation Room is expected to liaise with the Control Centre which would be situated at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja,” it said.

out that the DisCos had so far failed to provide details of such debts for verification.

Describing the advertorials titled, “MDA debts not yet paid” with other sidelines such as “MDA pay your debts so that we can serve Nigerians better,” as a blackmail against the federal government, Fashola declared, “Let me say without any equivocation that government will not succumb to this blackmail, at least not the federal government of Nigeria.”

The minister, who recalled his promise at the assumption of duties that government would pay all duly verified debts, expressed displeasure that the DisCos failed to tell Nigerians in their advert of various meetings seeking solution to the debt problem and that at the last monthly meeting with them in Sokoto an online platform was provided by government to enable them submit the details of the debts with ease to which none of the DisCos had complied by the agreed deadline.

He declared: “I think that advert should have told the Nigerian public that at our

meeting in Sokoto, we provided an online platform where we asked all the DisCos to submit details of their debts to that platform so that we can verify it. I think that advert should have told Nigerians how many DisCos have complied with that instruction. That advert should also have told Nigerians how much was owed and to which DisCo.” Noting that government would not succumb to blackmail, Fashola again declared, “It is important to remind Nigerians that the privatisation exercise did not vest the DisCos in an association instead it was vested in 11 individual companies.”

“So while I respect the rights of association; indeed our Constitution allows freedom of association. But the Nigeria government will not pay its debts estimated to be about N100 billion under the aegis of an association. That is not how to resolve debts. Every DisCo knows how much power it supplied. Debts are not calculated by estimates. It is either N100billion or less than N100Billion but not an estimate,”

the minister said.

Also faulting the DisCos on the grounds that the advertorials contained no information as to how many of them had supplied details of their audited account for the last three years, Fashola said the information would be more meaningful for Nigerians to know how many DisCos were complying with the regulations set by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

“That advert should also have told the Nigerian Public how many DisCos have gone to court to frustrate the attempt by NERC to hold them to their contracts so that they can pay the GenCos who have been sacrificing, the gas producers, who have not received any money but have continued to act patriotically,” he said.

Noting that the responsibility for probity and accountability did not lie only with those serving in the public sector of government, the minister added, “It lies with those who work in the private sector as well, it lies with every Nigerian. If the DisCos want payment, we will pay but you have to prove that the debt is

owed and you have to prove the quantum.”

Maintaining that he would respond on behalf of government to provide the other side of the information, any time the DisCos go to the public without giving them the full information, Fashola, who advised those of them who were unable to handle the job to seek strategic partners or take loans, added, “Let them do whatever they think is appropriate within the framework of their contract in order to get on with this job.”

On the objective of the monthly meetings, Fashola reiterated that aside bringing operators from production, transmission and distribution together once in a month to solve problems, to share experience and for some peer review, it also provided him the opportunity to see the various power assets that the ministry superintends and has responsibility to coordinate and to make decisions about how to progress on those assets and projects, citing the Ikot-Ekpene switching station that had just been inaugurated as one such project.

Clifford, Anchor, Six Other Private Varsities Get Provisional Licences Kuni Tyessi in Abuja Clifford University, Owerrinta, Anchor University, Ayobo and six other private universities recently approved by the federal government have been presented with their provisional licences.

Presenting the licences to the universities in Abuja yesterday, Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Gozie Anwukah, said more universities are needed in the country to increase access to tertiary education.

He said the 152 universities in the country today are grossly inadequate in relation to demand.

“With these eight (new universities), it means the ratio of the universities in relation to population is 1 to 23 million people, a challenge that must be addressed, considering the huge population of Nigeria conservatively put at 170 million today.”

On his part, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, said private universities hold the future of Nigeria as some of the best

teaching and learning in the country take place in them.

While saying that the new universities would be attached to older universities in the country, the NUC boss said the provisional licences have a life span of three years in the first instance before the issue of substantial licences would be determined.

He, however, warned proprietors of the newly licensed private universities against subjecting their academic staff to degrading treatment and all forms of practices inimical tofreedom.

Apart from the Seventh Day Adventist-owned Clifford University, which is located in a permanent site which covers 126.1648 hectares at Owerrinta, Abia State, other universities that got licences include, Anchor University, Ayobo Lagos State; Arthur Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Cross River State.

Others are Coal City University, Enugu, Enugu State; Crown-Hill University, Eiyenkorin, Kwara State; Dominican University, Ibadan, Oyo State; Kola Daisi University, Ibadan, Oyo State and Legacy University, Okija, Anambra State.

MEGA RALLY

Mammoth crowd at the final rally for the Ondo State Alliance for Democracy (AD) gubernatorial candidate, Chief Olusola Oke, in Akure....yesterday

ICAO Re-elects Aliu as Council President Chinedu Eze

The member states of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) have reelected a Nigerian, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, for another three-year term as President of the Council.

The first tenure of Aliu commenced on January 1, 2014, and would continue until December 31, 2016. Prior to his election, Aliu served as the Representative of Nigeria on the Council from January 1, 2005, to December 31 2013.

In his acceptance remark after his re-election, Aliu said: “Over the past three years, ICAO has been working tirelessly to promote the importance of civil aviation to socio-economic development as well as its prioritisation in national and regional investment and

development planning.

“We have also made great strides in securing the assistance and capacity building for our member states under the ICAO ‘No Country Left Behind’ initiative, and will now look forward to its next interaction which will be more focused on aviation infrastructure development.”

Aliu said the ICAO Council has played a key leadership role in this process, and its guidance would now be needed more than ever to assure the fast-tracked development of the new ICAO Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP) endorsed at the 39th Assembly to make ICAO’s audit processes more efficient and effective and ensure ICAO fully optimises its extensive audit and other data; to refine all of its programmes and priorities,

and importantly, to help ICAO’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) become fully operational by 2020.

“Going forward, the ongoing pursuit of the objectives and targets under ICAO’s Global Plans for Safety and Air Navigation, the GASP and the GANP, should be complemented with added guidance to States on the operational, regulatory, training and capacity building requirements in support of the ICAO Aviation system Block Upgrades (ASBUs), both nationally and regionally,” Aliu said.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, who witnessed the election thanked the Council for its support in the re-election of Aliu for another term.

“I am indeed humbled and

honoured to be with you in this hallow chamber and to witness the election of Dr. Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu. He is a Nigerian, an African and a world aviator, as president of ICAO Council for a second term in office. On behalf of my delegation, the government and good people of Nigeria as well as entire people of Africa. I wish to thank you very much for your support and the election of Aliu,” Sirika said.

Appreciating the significance of trust bestowed on Aliu, Sirika noted: “For the world after 9/11 to trust and put confidence in one of us to oversee the world of aviation is extremely very significant. And for us without a doubt we want to assure you that this action today will be recognised in the future actions of Aliu and you will certainly not be disappointed.”

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

PDP Chides Abe over Refusal to Attend In Brief Tinubu Appoints Oshodi as Public Hearing on Ogoni Killings Chief of Staff Describes letter to House Speaker as admittance of guilt

Ernest Chinwo inPortHarcourt The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has condemned the refusal of former Chairman of Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, to attend a public hearing on killings in his native Ogoniland allegedly carried out by the military ahead of the last rerun elections in the state.

The party said Abe’s refusal to attend was an admittance of guilt of complicity in the “invasion” of Ogoni communities by soldiers and the resultant killings.

Abe had accused the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, of furthering an agenda of the PDP through a committee hearing investigating the circumstances that led to the killing of 34 persons in February 2016, in the state.

He therefore disclosed his intention not to honour the invitation of the House Committee on Army, which continued last Monday.

He accused Dogara of working in the interest of the PDP instead of his All Progressives Congress (APC).

But reacting to Abe’s allegations, the Chairman of the PDP in Rivers State, Felix Obuah, said Abe was afraid to face the public because of fears that his involvement in the killings would be exposed.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, Obuah

commended that House for investigating the killings as part of its oversight functions through its committee on the armed forces.

He noted that the preliminary findings of the committee necessitated the public hearing.

His words: “The shocking findings have nonetheless compelled the House of Representatives to consider organising a public hearing on the issue.”

Invited to the public hearing are major characters in the incident, who are also the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the forthcoming Legislative re-run elections in Rivers State.

They are Messrs Magnus Abe and Barinaadaa Mpigi for Rivers South-East senatorial district and Oyigbo-Eleme-Tai Federal Constituency respectively.

While the controversy over who gave the unconstitutional order to the Nigerian Army for the slaughter of the hapless Ogoni people still subsists, the House of Representatives according to the law and in strict adherence to its oversight function may have for the sake of justice and posterity decided to ensure that all facts of the incident and those behind it are unmasked as a way of ensuring an end to such inhuman senseless killing of law abiding Nigerians.”

He expressed disappointment that Abe and Mpigi did not seize the opportunity to ensure that the killers of their people would be exposed.

“But rather than receive and embrace such invitation with honour and joy that at last the evil against his own kin and kith (the Ogoni people) he is opting to represent in the National Assembly at any cost, is now on the front burner of public discourse, Mr. Magnus Abe is angry, agitated and offended, and is threatening fire and brimstone,” he lamented.

He also said: “Rather than appreciate the House of Representatives for initiating the public hearing, Magnus Abe has unwittingly taken on the Honourable Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, alleging all manner of evil deeds against his person and office simply because the public hearing is expected to expose the facts and offer the majority of Nigerians the opportunity to hear and see how he, Magnus Abe manipulated soldiers of the Nigerian Army with the obvious backing of his collaborators to kill and maim his own people just to stop them from voting in an election he was sure to lose. “‘Let the people be lost rather than lose the election,” remains his philosophy. Very interesting and worthy of note, is the description of the killing of Ogoni people as a political narrative which the National Assembly is providing the visual images.”

Describing Abe’s stance as an “abominable desperation”, Obuah noted, “To him, to find out who and why the soldiers slaughtered his own people is to do the wrong

thing and more provocative to Mr. Abe, the Speaker who is championing this cause happens to be his fellow APC member. He prefers that the evil be swept under the carpet as usual.”

Mr. Abe’s words: “Painfully, hundreds of Nigerians are being murdered every day……………. with no comment by the House or Speaker. Yet committees of the House of Representatives at your instance are always in Rivers State to do the bidding of the PDP”.

He said the PDP has been vindicated “that someone somewhere is sacrificing the precious blood of the Ogoni men and women, youths and children on the altar of politics for political power at all cost.”

He emphasised: “The Rivers State chapter of PDP hereby in very strong terms condemns the refusal of Abe and Mpigi to attend the House of Representatives Public Hearing on the action of the soldiers apparently, accepting responsibility for the army invasion of Ogoni communities, which led to the death of innocent Ogoni sons and daughters, including pregnant women and some non-indigenes doing business in Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoni people.

“They may have been overwhelmed by the volume of incriminating evidences against them, as may be presented at the House of Representatives public hearing.

A former Governor of Lagos State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has appointed Ademola Oshodi as his new Chief of Staff. Oshodi, who is an academician with a bent for international matters, was an assistant lecturer at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies where he provided academic and research leadership on African politics and development. He also monitored and evaluated Lagos State World Bank educational grants for secondary schools in the state. As disclosed in a statement yesterday, the new Chief of Staff is said to have a comprehensive understanding of international economics, especially as regards emerging markets and global economic trends. He has also studied and worked in North America and Europe, spending a considerable amount of time on field research in West Africa. This has given him a cosmopolitan perspective to the business and political culture of the day. The academician has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Lagos State University, a Masters degree in International Relations from the University of Kent and he also concluded a Strategic Marketing course at the prestigious Lagos Business School.

QMB Builders Mart Unveils New Outlet on Lagos Mainland

One of Nigeria`s leading building materials’ vendors, QMB Builders’ Mart, has unveiled its new outlet on the Lagos Mainland at Gbagada to showcase its quality products to its numerous customers in the zone. According to the firm, the facility was designed as a premium outlet for the urban, medium and high-end customers on the mainland. The company, which recently concluded its annual continuous professional development seminar with its technical partners and manufacturers from across Europe and Asia to highlight trending cost- effective innovations in the building industry, also stated that the Gbagada outlet would reduce the stress of importation of materials for residential and industrial building projects. At the launch ceremony recently, the President of QMB Builders Mart, Ayo Biobaku who disclosed that the company was founded about nine years ago at their flagship office in Lekki, said the seminar was grace by exceptional Nigerian professionals from past and current heads of all the major associations namely NIA, ACEN, ACAN, NAQS, NIB, business moguls, bankers, friends and family among numerous customers. According him, “QMB have survived several stormy waters to celebrate the opening of this new showroom. My expectations are that you shall take ownership of all business platforms including online viewing recommendations and purchases of our products to compliments your designs,” adding that the company is known for quality products, competitive pricing (affordability) and reliable consumer service.

Centre for Law and Business Gets Accreditation

IT IS OUR PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU

L-R: Cordinator, Women Affairs, UFUK Dialogue, Mrs Ayse Yigit; Associate Professor and Guest Speaker, Mrs. Asma Shadid Kazi; and President, UFUK Dialogue,Mr Kamil Kemanchi, presenting a plague to Kazi at the international conference on child rights and family in Abuja.....recently

SON Clamps down on Substandard LPG Cylinder Distributors Crusoe Osagie

consignment at SON Ogba Ware house, he said the gas cylinders The Standards Organisation of 12.5kgs and 6kgs and gas of Nigeria (SON) has cookers and accessories were impounded six container imported by Amaze Company loads of substandard from China Liquefied Petroleum Gas Obayi said although (LPG) cylinders preliminary observation has Director, Inspectorate and shown that the company has Compliance Directorate, unlawfully used SON logo on SON, Mr. Bede Obayi, the brands without the agency said the interception of the approval. consignment was achieved “The importer falsified with the collaboration with document and cheated to bring the Nigeria Customs Service. in the products without due While conducting newsmen process,’’ he said round the impounded He said SON would take

a stringent action against the company to serve as deterrent to unscrupulous importers.

According to Obayi, SON is undertaking many efforts in sensitising Nigerians on substandard products generally and LPGs particularly on account of the critical nature, and the implication of substandard products on the economy.

“Safety is critical in cylinder manufacture and handling.

These are products, that starting from the cylinders to valves, burners, clips, regulators and

hoses are critical in the chain.

If any of these components is not the properly processed, you will have a problem. Cracks on the pipes could mean leakages; if the regulator is not the right one, and it doesn’t regulate the gas, it will continue to flow and it could become a big problem”, he said, adding that it calls for more caution on the side of all manufacturers and importers,’’ he said.

He reassured Nigerians on the readiness of the agency to continue to safeguard lives and property.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) has granted accredited Study Centre Status on Centre for Law and Business (CLB) located in Victoria Island, Lagos. According to the Managing Director of CLB, Mr. Dapo Oyewumi, this would afford CIPM students the opportunity to receive quality and invaluable CIPM tutorial classes at CLB and obtain their CIPM qualifications with excellent results. The CIPM tutorial classes at CLB are designed in furtherance of the objective of the Institute to deliver excellent human resources practitioners. In addition, earlier in the year the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) had also accredited CLB to deliver tutorial classes for bankers towards the attainment of the Associateship of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB). CLB was established to provide access to world class education as an educational hub providing learning and tutorial support for world class academic and professional programmes anchoured on the University of London and other UK universities for the academic programmes and for the professional programmes on bodies such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), for the discerning and ambitious accounting and finance professional, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) as well as private tutoring for students in various foreign universities and institutions. CLB is able to obtain these accreditations and achieve her objective as a result of her excellent educational facilities and faculty and is currently receiving applications and students for all her intellectual products including participants for training and learning and development.

UNILORIN Christian Union Celebrates 40th Anniversary

The University of Ilorin Christian Union (UCU) has lined up a three-day event to mark its 40th anniversary beginning from November 25, 2016. According to a statement by the Anniversary Planning Committee Chairman, George Gbenga Osoba, a special highlight of the celebration, which will hold at the Chapel of the Light on the main campus of University of Ilorin, Kwara State, is the presentation of the book, ‘The Chronicle’, a historical perspective of UCU 40 years’ journey. Speakers expected at the anniversary celebration include Rev. Yinka Laoye, Senior Pastor of Dominion Christian Centre; Pastor Olanrenwaju Adedoyin.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016 • T H I S D AY

CRIME&PUNISHMENT

53

Gunmen in Military Uniform Kill Four NSCDC Operatives in Rivers Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The peace in Rivers State was again jolted as yet-to-beidentified gunmen on Monday killed four operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.

THISDAY gathered that

the NSCDC operatives were manning oil installations belonging to Nigeria Agip Oil Company in Omoku when the gunmen clad in military camouflage stormed the place and opened fired on them.

The state NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Mr. Michael Oguntuase, said in a statement yesterday that the operatives had engaged the gunmen in a

fierce gun battle on realising that the intruders were not military men.

Several others, who were injured during the incident, were taken to hospital for treatment.

The state command of the NSCDC has vowed not to

relent in its effort in the fight against pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering.

Meanwhile, the state Commandant of the corps, Mrs. Helen Amakiri, has said the incident would only encourage them to improve and work harder.

Amakiri explained that the incident, which occurred at about 6.40pm, was not unexpected, adding that the command had earlier, through intelligence gathering, got information that the Agip facility in Omoku was to come under attack.

She pointed out that signals were sent to the Joint Military Task Force for reinforcement and maintained that the NSCDC operatives had thought the presence of some men in camouflage within the place was a response to the call for reinforcement.

Two Brothers, Baale’s Son to Die by Hanging Akinwaale Akintunde Justice Kudirat Jose of an Ikeja High Court yesterday sentenced to death by hanging, two brothers, Shola Oni and Kayode Oni, alongside the son of a traditional ruler in Mafoluku, Oshodi in Lagos State, Ibrahim Omilade.

The trio were convicted after being found guilty of conspiracy and murder of one Suleiman Afolabi during a fight on Christmas day in 2012 at Eyin Ogun Street, Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos State when Suleiman was cut with a machete.

According to the convicts, trouble began for the trio on December 25, 2012 during a fight at the deceased house when they were invited by a neighbour to celebrate the Christmas with him.

They said it was not too long on the said date that a young boy came in and informed them that the deceased brother, Akeem Afolabi, had threatened to deal with them.

They claimed that they went to inquire the reason for the threat but while discussing, Akeem ordered them to get away. He was alleged to have gone inside

the house to get a machete with which he tried to attack one of them, and in the process, they claimed one of them got a cut while blocking the machete with his hand.

The convicts further narrated to the court during the trial that it was while they were trying to dodge and plead with a berserk Akeem that his younger brother and the deceased, Suleiman, was hit on the waist leading to his death.

They said they got to know some days later that a doctor had pronounced Suleiman dead.

But the trial judge, Justice Jose said their testimony sounded rehearsed and polished, hence she relied on the evidence before the court as presented by both the prosecution counsel, Mr. Babatunde Oguntemowo and Mr. Olarewaju Ajanaku, as well as points of law to pass judgement of death for the murder and 12 years for conspiracy counting from the day there were arrested.

Justice Jose said: “I pronounce the defendants guilty in respect of the charge of murder and conspiracy…, shall be sentenced to death, hanged by the neck until their death.”

Three Die over Theft of Mobile Phone Laleye Dipo in Minna Three people have been confirmed dead and two others injured in a crisis that broke out in the Kantoma area of Suleja in Niger State last Monday night.

The crisis was over the theft of a mobile phone and one of the deceased, according to THISDAY findings was the owner of the stolen handset.

It was learnt that an unidentified man reportedly stole the phone from the shop of the deceased and when it was discovered, the man took to his heels.

The deceased and others raced after the suspected thief, unknown to them members of the gang were around to give protection to the thief.

One member of the gang according to the report, stabbed the owner of the handset, a development that attracted sympathy from neighbours who dealt heavy blows on members of the gang.

In the process, both the suspected thief and a member of the gang who were beaten to state of coma were rushed to the hospital where they eventually died.

The handset owner who was taken to the same hospital also died there The police however brought the situation under control before it went out of hand.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elikana, could not confirm the story, saying no report had been received from the Suleja area.

JEGEDE IS OUR CANDIDATE

Ondo State women protesting the removal of Eyitayo Jegede’s name by the Inpdedent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from the list as the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, in Akure...yesterday.

Interior Minister Orders Investigation into Reported Killings in Kwara Prisons The Minister of Interior, Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (rtd), has ordered investigation into reported inmate’s riots at Oke Kura Prison, Ilorin, Kwara State on November 17, 2016 which reportedly claimed six inmates in the condemned Prisoners cell, while many others sustained injuries.

Worried at the ugly development, the minister has directed an IntraMinisterial Committee to work closely with Nigeria Prisons’ management team with a view to unraveling the remote circumstance surrounding the most unfortunate incident, with a view to avoiding a repeat of such in any of the nation’s penitentiary and to sanction any official found culpable.

The minister has consistently maintained his stance on the need to adhere to the United Nations minimum standards for the treatments and rehabilitation of prison inmates including

condemned prisoners in line with the Mandela Rules.

Findings overtime have shown that such riot involving condemned criminals has been as a result of frustration of being on death row for a period of 10yrs or more.

Moreover, a prison that was built in 1914, with 121 inmates capacity now accommodating 417, is bound to create difficulties in management.

Government has therefore embarked on reconstructing old prisons, while also building new prison facilities in some locations.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that he reassures of his resolved to retooling the country’s prison service, to effectively play its pivotal role of reforming, rehabilitating and reintegrating transformed inmates back to the society in this connection, while ensuring that the rights of prisoners are well protected.

Police Parade Nine Officers, 45 Others for Alleged Kidnapping, Armed Robbery Dele Ogbodo in Abuja The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) yesterday paraded nine Police officers and 45 other suspected criminals for alleged kidnapping, stealing and conspiracy.

Parading the 54 suspects at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, the Force Public Relations Officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Donald Awunah, said the suspected police officers included: ASP Yuguda Abbah, Sgt Habila Sarki, Diphen Nimmyel, Sgt Yasan Danda, Sgt Abbas Mailalle, Sgt Bwanason Tanko, Sgt Donan James, Corporal Idris Salisu and CPL Zakari Kofi.

According to him, the nine suspects have been tried in house and sacked from the Force, adding that they were found guilty of unprofessional conduct, involvement in cattle rustling, robbery and kidnapping in the North-east.

Awunah, said interrogation and confessions of the dismissed policemen also led to the arrest of principal suspects and recovery of many arms and ammunition from them.

The principal suspects, he said include: Mayo Chadi Aliyu, Atiku Ibrahim, Ali Mohammed, Abdulrahman Umar, Umar Daudu, Ibrahim

Umar, Ibrahim Mallam, Adamu Lolo, Suleiman Buba, Ahmed Adamu, Gidado Garba, Sani Dan Alhaji, Inusa Mohammed, Mohammed Wari, Mohammed Rabiu, Hammadu Abdullahi, Umar Adamu, Idi Juye and Yusuf Abdullahi.

Items recovered from the suspects included :14 AK 47 rifles with numbers intact; three other AK 47 rifles with numbers etched out; one Pump Action rifle; one locally made pistol; 42 empty magazines, 363 rounds of AK 47 live ammunition; 71 K2 live ammunition and 25 live cartridges.

The police also disclosed that in October, 2016, one Alhaji Hodi Adamu, a notorious armed robbery suspect was arrested by the police in Adamawa State.

The suspect’s confession,the Force PRO, said led to the arrest of two other suspects namely: Rabo Bello and Oliver Honiol whose voluntary confessions led to the arrest of the nine police personnel mentioned above for various roles they played through their actions and inactions which are considered as disciplinary infractions.

He said the principal suspects and the dismissed police officers will soon be charged to court.

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WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

G LO - C A F AWA R D S

Aubameyang, Mahrez, Three others Make Top Five List No Nigerian player nominated in top two categories

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Duro Ikhazuagbe For the second year running no Nigerian player has been found good enough to make the top five shortlist of the 2016 African Player of the Year category of the Glo-CAF Awards announced yesterday by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo.

The players were shortlisted from 30 players who earlier

A W C O N

Riyad Mahrez (left) and Islam Slimani were nominated for the African Player of the Year category.

Similarly, no Nigerian was listed among the five nominees for the African Player of the Year (Based in Africa) category.

Top on the list is the reigning African Footballer of the Year and Borussia Dortmund winger, Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

He is joined by Senegal and Liverpool midfielder, Sadio

2 0 1 6

Oparanozie in Fitness Race for Ghana Clash Desire Oparanozie faces a race against time to be fit for Nigeria’s African Women’s Cup of Nations clash with Ghana today due to a muscle strain.

The Guingamp forward who won the top scorer award at the 2014 edition with five goals, missed the Super Falcons’ drubbing of Mali after failing a late fitness test.

The 22-year-old was forced off just 15 minutes into last Monday’s final warm up match against Abess Academy in Abuja after complaining of a muscle strain.

Responding to questions about Oparanozie’s absence, head coach Florence

Omagbemi insists the France-based forward is fine and will be featured when the time is right.

“Oparanozie is fine. It not my decision alone, I am working with my technical crew and we make collective contribution to pick the best players that fit into our plans,” said Omagbemi.

“We decided on what is good for the team and pick the best to play. We have twenty-one players in the squad, and every players would get opportunity to play.

“Oparanozie’s time will come and she will get to play,” she concluded.

Mane, and Mohamed Salah of As Roma of Italy and Egypt. The two other players shortlisted are Algeria’s duo of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani who both play for Leicester City of England.

In the African Player of the Year (Based in Africa) category, the five shortlisted players include the quartet of Dennis Onyango, Hlompho Kekana, Keegan Dolly and Khama Billiat from the 2016

African Champions League winning side, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, while T.P Mazembe player, Rainford Kabala from Zambia completed the list.

Top Nigerian players, Kelechi Iheanacho of Manchester City, Chelsea’s John Mikel Obi and Ahmed Musa of Leicester City made the top 30 but narrowly missed out of the Top 5 list.

Other categories of Awards

to be released by CAF in the coming weeks include Most Promising Talent Award, National Team of the Year, Football Manager of the Year, Africa’s Finest Eleven, Goal of the Year and Save of the Year. Others are Referee of the Year, CAF Fair Play Award and African Legend Award.

The winners will be decided by votes from the Head Coaches and Technical Directors of the national

associations affiliated to CAF. They will be unveiled at the Glo- CAF Awards Gala nite which will take place on Thursday, January 5, 2017 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria.

Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was crowned African Player of the Year whilst Mbwana Aly Samatta of Tanzania was named African Player of the Year (Based in Africa) last year.

LMC Proposes Dec 18 Kick-off Date for New NPFL Season The League Management Company (LMC) has now proposed a new kick-off date of December 18 for the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

“Our target now is to start December 18 and end July 9, while our Super 4 will be between December 5 and 11,” disclosed LMC Chairman Shehu Dikko.

“We also plan to start the 2018 season by the end of August 2017.

“All the clubs already have the schedule and planning.

“We want to align our calendar to Europe by the end of the 2017 season, which would be hugely beneficial for us both in terms of organisation, planning and even finances.

“This will get our clubs going in CAF competitions as they will play at least 13 to 15 games before the start of CAF competitions

in February 2017.”

This past season ended on October 2.

Meanwhile, the Executive Committee of Nigeria Football Federation and the Congress of Nigerian Football have applauded Dikko on his award as The SUN Sports Personality of The Year 2016.

Dikko who also doubles as NFF’s 2nd vice president was on Monday named as The SUN’s Sports Personality of The Year 2016, an award won last year by NFF President, Mr Amaju Melvin Pinnick.

An elated NFF President Amaju Pinnick said yesterday: “I am very excited about this. SD (Shehu Dikko) thoroughly deserves it because as we have always noted, even at Board meetings, he has done very, very well with the League and the entire

NFF Board and the Nigerian Football fraternity are happy with him.

“We believe this is the beginning of greater things to come, including more awards, even at continental and global levels. Shehu Dikko has worked very hard to take the Nigeria Professional Football League to a new level and we will not stop commending him for his efforts, innovation at every turn, energy, passion, diligence and painstaking virtue.”

Chairman of Chairmen of Nigerian Football, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, said on Tuesday that Dikko has set a very high standard for whoever will come after him to head the LMC. “The Award by The SUN Newspaper for Mallam Shehu Dikko is very welldeserved. He is a shining light of Nigerian Football

and we are all proud of what he has brought to the Nigeria Professional Football League and Nigerian Football in general.

“This award confirms that Nigerian Football administrators are indeed working. The NFF President won it last year; this year it is the NFF 2nd Vice President who is also Chairman of the League.

We are encouraged and will continue to work even harder.”

Dikko, 47, earned a first degree in quantity surveying before a master’s degree in cost engineering, a post-graduate degree in management and a Master of Business Administration.

He became Chairman of the League Management Company 23 months ago.

The awards ceremony will take place in Lagos on 18th February 2017.

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U E FA C H A M P I O N S L E A G U E

Arsenal Targets Win to Banish Runner-up Tradition Arsenal have a gilt-edged opportunity to kick a selfdestructive Champions League habit when they host Paris St Germain this evening knowing victory will seal top spot in group A. The north Londoners have fallen in the last-16 in each of the past six seasons and during that period only once did they finish first in their initial group.

Their punishment for finishing runners-up on the other five occasions was harsh, twice being drawn against Bayern Munich and twice against Barcelona, losing all four ties, while even when fortune did favour them they succumbed to Monaco.

Even if they do beat PSG, who are level on 10 points with the Gunners, on Wednesday the spectre of a horror draw against Bayern or Barcelona would still exist.

Neither of those two clubs are guaranteed top spot in their respective sections and could lurk as runners-up but unless Arsene Wenger owns a crystal ball he can only assume that finishing top will be rewarded.

Ultimately, luck of the draw will play its part but an Arsenal victory would maintain the positive vibe of their campaign to date and fire out a message to their rivals.

Olivier Giroud’s late equaliser against Manchester United on Saturday means Arsenal are unbeaten in 17 matches in all competition since losing to Liverpool on the opening day of the season while PSG are on a nine-game undefeated run.

Arsenal have drawn three of their last four Premier League games and should tonight’s match end all square, the battle for top spot will go down to the final round of games when Arsenal travel to Basel and PSG host Ludogorets.

While Arsenal’s level has dipped in recent weeks, Wenger believes his side’s resilience will be key against PSG. “Hopefully we can move on with some wins, we have a big game on Wednesday against Paris Saint-Germain and that will be the same intensity,” he said after the United draw.

“I am convinced that we will be better on

Wigwe Salutes Access Bank Games’ Participants Access Bank GMD/ CEO, Herbert Wigwe has commended the team spirit displayed by all the participants at the maiden edition of the Access Games at the Teslim Balogun, Surulere, Lagos on Sunday.

Wigwe said that the Games aside from keeping staffers fit, is also aimed at fostering good relationship among bankers.

“It’s a game that has several activities and it is for the whole country with different houses that are competing among themselves. It is one way to

build our team spirit in the bank but it is not just about our staff, we also engage our friends and customers.

He added that the Games will be an annual event with more games to be introduced in the next edition.

“We just devote ourselves to living healthy. We are determined as a starting point to put Nigeria in the international map of tourism as we did with Access Lagos Marathon last year. Many people now see Lagos as a tourist centre.”

Access Bank Lagos City Marathon to Boost 50th Anniversary of the State Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Sunday said the 2017 edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon would be used to boost the 50 years celebration of the state.

The governor said that everything would be put in place to have a successful marathon as a way of celebrating the state founded on May 27, 1967.

The marathon scheduled for February 11, will be the second edition of the 42.1km race. The first edition took place on February 6 this year.

“I want to tell you that the Lagos State Government is deeply committed with the 2017 edition of the marathon and that’s why I am handling it personally with the other sponsors,” the governor said.

“We want to use it as a platform to start the celebration of Lagos at 50 and to encourage the culture of sports across the city.

“I want to urge all our celebrities, entertainers and artists to join hand with us in making sure that whatever we are planning this time around, will not just be a one day event, but it is going to be a weekend of events that will now culminate into the race on Saturday.

“We also believe we can use the marathon for charity work and to help the less privileged in our society.

It is also another way of giving back to the society.”

The governor added that they are using the race to also put the state on the world map of marathon state across the world.

Serge Aurier celebrating with a team mate in a recent club match Wednesday.”

PSG warmed up with a 2-0 defeat of Nantes at the

weekend although suffered an injury scare when Angel Di Maria was withdrawn

in the first half because of a hamstring niggle.

Coach Unai Emery later

said he was confident the Argentine winger will be fit to face Arsenal.

Man City Seek knockout Spot Manchester City, buoyed by the return of Yaya Toure, will look to seal a spot in the Champions League knockout stage when they travel to Borussia Moenchengladbach evening to play a team struggling for form.

Toure, banned by coach Pep Guardiola following comments by his agent about the manager, returned from a three-month exile to score both goals in City’s 2-1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Guardiola’s decision to restore the Ivorian has further boosted spirits, already high with the team just a point behind leaders Chelsea in the Premier League.

“His personality and his quality are there to see,” Guardiola said. “He can play many positions. We now have one more man that can help us achieve our targets this season.”

“With this intensity, we’re going to play in the Champions League,” said the Spaniard, whose team will advance with a win or a draw.

City, who crushed Gladbach 4-0 at home in September, are in second place in the group on seven points, three ahead of the Germans, and can wrap up qualification with victory in Germany.

A draw will be enough if Celtic lose at home to

Barcelona in the other Group C fixture.

The Germans, who also lost at home to City last season, will secure third spot and Europa League action if they draw and Celtic lose.

They still have an outside chance for a top two finish but their last group match is at Barcelona.

Gladbach, however, are stuck in a rut, having failed to win any of their last six league matches in which they have scored just one goal.

Their last victory in any competition dates back to October in the German Cup. Coach Andre Schubert, who still has the backing of club bosses but faced was

jeered following Saturday’s 2-1 home loss to Cologne, will be without suspended Christoph Kramer and Julian Korb as well as injured Patrick Herrmann.

“We are just not scoring goals,” captain Lars Stindl said.

“We are missing the final touch up front and some luck. But we must forget everything, put everything behind us and keep together so that we can improve.”

“Wednesday’s match is completely different under different conditions,” he said.

“We want to play a good home game, secure third place early.

That is our big goal and we believe in our chances. We know what we are capable of.”

Etisalat U-15 School Cup National Finals Begin in Lagos The eight teams that qualified for the National Finals of the third season of the Etisalat U-15 School Cup have begun their quest for the tournament’s grand prize at the Digital Bridge Institute, Oshodi, Lagos State.

The quarter-finalists include Socrates Secondary School, Ilorin; Sultan Bello Secondary School, Sokoto; Niger College, Benin; FOSLA Academy, Abuja; Asegun Comprehensive Secondary School, Ibadan; New Layout Secondary School, Enugu; General Hassan Usman Kastina Unity College, Bauchi; and West Itam Secondary School, Itu, Akwa Ibom.

In the opening fixtures

played yesterday, Kwara represented by Socrates Secondary School, Ilorin locked horns with Niger College, Edo State while Sultan Bello Secondary School, Sokoto squared up against FOSLA Academy, FCT. In the remaining fixtures of the day, General Hassan Usman Kastina Unity College, Bauchi came up against West Itam Secondary School, Akwa Ibom while New Layout Secondary School, Enugu faced Oyo-based Asegun Comprehensive Secondary School, Ibadan.

According to the Director, Brand and Experience, Etisalat Nigeria, Elvis

Ogiemwanye, said, “The key objective of the competition in 2016 is to connect and unite football lovers from different parts of the country using the universal language of football. For us at Etisalat, football goes beyond winning goals; it is all about the friendship and connection it brings.

It is also a good platform to teach these students life values such as team work, discipline, tolerance and sportsmanship.”

The national champion of the 2016 edition will receive the Champions Trophy and a cash prize of N2 million educational award while its players will go home with N50,000 each. The

second-placed team will go home with N1 million with the players pocketing extra N30,000 each while the third-place winner will have the sum of N750,000.00 for its efforts with its players receiving N20,000.00 each.

TONIGHT FIXTURES Rostov Vs Bayern Besiktas Vs Benfica Celtic Vs Barcelona Atlético Vs PSV Napoli Vs D’Kyiv Arsenal Vs PSG M’gladbach Vs Man City Ludogorets Vs Basel