Saturday 11th March 2017

Edo State Declares 7-Day Mourning in Honour of Ogbemudia Obaseki: He laid the foundation for the infrastructural, social and economic development of Edo/Delta

Adibe Emenyon in Benin City

mid-night in Lagos after a prolonged illness. He would have been 85 in September.

Ogbemudia who was born September 17, 1932, was first, Military Governor (1968-1975) of

The former governor of defunct Midwest and Bendel State (now Edo and Delta states), Dr. Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia is dead.

Ogbemudia died Thursday

the Mid-West State, and civilian governor of Bendel State from October 1983 to December 31, 1983 when the military led by Major-Gen Muhammadu Buhari swept them out of power.

The last public engagement of the octogenarian soldier turned politician was in November last year when he was honoured by the first set of graduates of University of Benin, an institu-

tion, he established.

Confirming the sad incident yesterday, eldest son of the deceased, Samuel Ogbemudia Junior., described his late father as a great man, who would be

greatly missed.

Ogbemudia junior who spoke with journalists at his father's country home on Iheya Street, Benin City, confirmed that his Continued on page 8

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Ambode Commits N30bn Sinking Fund to Transform Lagos Public Transport Obinna Chima In line with its plan to phase out the yellow buses, popularly known as ‘Danfo’ from Lagos

roads, the state government said it is working towards setting aside a N30 billion sinking fund to transform public transportation.

Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, who said this during an interactive meeting with elect Editors in Lagos, disclosed that the aforementioned

amount would help to instill credibility and confidence in a N100 billion public transportation bond that the state would float later in the year.

He said already, the state decided not to touch its share of the Paris Club refund of N14.5 billion, which has since been kept in the sinking fund. He

also anticipated that the second batch of the Paris Club refund would be paid next month and Continued on page 8

Buhari Resumes Work Monday, Spends Quality Time with Family Couldn't recall being so sick in the last 70 years, plans follow-up treatment in few weeks

Omololu Ogunmade and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari who returned to the country yesterday is expected to resume presidential duties on Monday, after transmitting a letter to the Senate, notifying it of his intention to take back power.

This is coming Fifty-one days after Buhari left the shores of the country supposedly on vacation. He arrived Nigeria through Kaduna Airport.

The President was flown to Abuja in a helicopter where he was received by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, governors, service chiefs and full members of his cabinet after which he read a thank you speech to the audience before retiring to spend quality time with his family after being away for over seven weeks.

On arrival in Abuja, Buhari personally confirmed that he had been ill all the while contrary to weeks of denial about his ill health.

He declared: "I have rested as much as humanly possible. I have received, I think the best of treatment l could receive. I couldn't recall being so sick since I was a young man, Continued on page 8

BUHARI SPENDING TIME WITH FAMILY...

President Muhammadu Buhari surrounded by wife Aisha, daughter, Zahra and other family members ...yesterday

GODWIN OMOIGUI

Central Bank Stops Etisalat's Creditors from Taking over its Operations... Page 14

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Aiteo Attains Production Capacity of 90,000bpd in OML 29 Ejiofor Alike Integrated energy group, Aiteo has announced a peak production of 90,000 barrels of crude oil per day, just one year after its acquisition of sub-Sharan Africa’s reputedly largest onshore oil block Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29.

Aiteo acquired OML 29 in September, 2015 when Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) fully exited the facility.

According to a statement by the company, at the time of the divestment, average production was 23,000 barrels per day.

But the company said it had tripled this figure leveraging the diversity and skills of its work force and bona fides as a dynamic international energy conglomerate.

Aiteo’s Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman, Mr. Benedict Peters said the company grew production from 23,000 barrels per day upon takeover of opera-

tions to a peak of 90,000 barrels per day in one year.

He also highlighted several existing and developing projects that could potentially grow Aiteo’s asset production to over 150,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 200 million standard cubic feet per day of gas (mmscf/d).

“Our outlook is bright with 3 producing oil fields and viable crude exports via Bonny terminal. We also have contingent resources to appraise and pro-

spective ones to explore in the medium-to-long term, including full 3D coverage and 2P NNS reserves at 1.6bn bbl. Put simply, we have a clear vision for the future with the experience and assets crucial to providing oil and gas consistently on a regional and global scale,” Peters said.

Aiteo’s ambitious five-year objectives include tackling the power challenges in Nigeria head-on through its legacy investments in the gas-to-power value chain.

“This is a testament to our commitment to the transformation of the entire oil & gas value chain into a world-class landscape,” Peters added.

The company’s main subsidiary Aiteo Eastern E&P is also a major infrastructure provider for Nigeria’s oil industry as the operator of the 97km Nembe Creek Trunk Line, an industrywide evacuation pipeline for produced fluids covering much of the country’s Eastern Delta region.

Aiteo’s Group Managing Director Mr. Chike Onyejekwe said the company’s “growth drivers remain strong leadership, high commitment and motivation, technical and commercial excellence and superior asset base”.

“In the next five years, our operations will continue to be guided by these qualities as we leverage our capabilities comparable to oil majors elsewhere in the world. Indeed, the future is Aiteo,” Onyejekwe added.

very grateful that Nigerians are appreciative of what all of us are doing as a group. I am very pleased with them.

Responding, Osinbajo who welcomed the president back on behalf of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) said the moment he held forte for the president was quite interesting as he thanked him for the confidence he placed in him during the period.

He also hailed the president for demonstrating his belief in the laws of the land through adherence to constitutional provisions by handing over power, saying both himself and the entire nation were grateful to him.

He also told the president that he had a challenging experience touring different parts of the country.

"Mr. President, again on behalf of FEC, we welcome you back home. We are very grateful to God that you are back home hale and hearty. Mr. president, I must say that personally, this has been a very interesting few days for me. First, I must say that I want to thank you very much for the confidence reposed in me by handing over the realm of government to me in the capacity of acting president.

"I think more importantly is that you demonstrated the belief in our system which is even more important than anything else.

The constitution which we all swore to is important because it outlines the code of conduct. I want to say not only am I, but I am sure the entire nation is grateful to you, he said".

Also speaking, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonishakin, who spoke on behalf of service chiefs and the

nation's armed forces, thanked Nigerians and God for bringing the president back to the country.

He assured that the armed forces would ensure that the president's desires on the nation's security were achieved as he expressed the military's appreciation to the president for his support.

The president had left the country on January 19, 2017, four days earlier than the scheduled take-off of the commencement of a scheduled 10-day vacation with the promise that he would return on February 6 to resume his duty.

According to a letter dated January 18, 2017, addressed to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, respectively, Buhari said he would proceed on a ten-day vacation on January 23, during which he promised to see his medical consultants in the United Kingdom.

Assuring that he would return to the country on February 6, Buhari said while he was away, Osinbajo, would act as the president and accordingly discharge the functions of his office.

But on February 5, the Presidency announced the extension of his vacation indefinitely, saying the president wanted to receive the results of various medical tests conducted on him and be

certified okay by his doctors before leaving London.

Since then, the rumors mill had been cranking up over the president's state of health.

Reduce Political Tension, PDP Tells Buhari The PDP National Caretaker Committee led by Ahmed Makarfi, has urged President Buhari to take urgent steps to reduce political tension and bring all Nigerians together.

APC, Atiku Urge Unity As Buhari Returns Meanwhile, a chieftain of the ruling party and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed joy and relief at the return of Buhari.

The APC also said that it believed that Buhari is now well rested and has returned with new vigour and optimism to fix the challenges “facing our people and fulfil the promises our party made to Nigerians during the 2015 elections.”

In a statement issued yesterday by the APC's National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party commended the president for saving the country needless controversies by following due process in attending to his health challenges.

The party assured that the government was fully committed to the party' manifesto of Change, “couched on true transformation in every area of national life.”

BUHARI RESUMES ON MONDAY, SPENDS QUALITY TIME WITH FAMILY including in the military with its ups and downs. I found out that technology is going so fast that if you have a lot of confidence, you better keep it because you need it. Blood transfusions, going to the laboratories and so on and so forth but I am very pleased that we, when I say we, I mean the government and the people all over are trying to keep in touch with technology.

“I couldn't recall when last I had blood transfusion. I couldn't recall, honestly, I can say in my 70 years. I couldn't remember this drug that Nigerians take so much; very common I think one of our terrible things is self-drug administration. We have to trust our doctors more. In the place I visited, they only take drugs when it is absolutely necessary. They don't just swallow everything."

Buhari praised Yemi Osinbajo for holding forte for him and charged him to sustain the job he has been doing while he is resting.

However, his media aide, Femi Adesina, swiftly clarified his principal's comment on his tweeter handle @FemAdesina that the president's comment did not imply that he was not yet ready to resume, disclosing that the president will transmit a letter of resumption to the National Assembly on Monday to formally end the period of his vacation.

To underscore the president's decision to rest more, he did not come out for Jumat prayers in Villa Mosque yesterday.

Buhari who flew into Kaduna from London as a result of the closure of Abuja Airport at 7.47 am yesterday was conveyed to the Presidential Villa by a chopper at about 8.40 am and

was received by government functionaries and service chiefs.

He thanked Nigerians who prayed for his sound health irrespective of religious affiliation, describing it as a demonstration of their continued support for the government despite the prevalent economic hardship in the land.

According to him, the only way to show appreciation for such goodwill shown towards him by Nigerians was to rededicate himself to serving and protecting their interest.

Buhari said he was pleased that Osinbajo enjoyed the period of his (Buhari) vacation through the delivery of services to the nation, submitting that his return notwithstanding, the acting president still has much more to do.

The president who said age and intellect were still at the disposal of the acting president, encouraged him to sustain the work he was doing when he was away, his return notwithstanding, explaining that he had deliberately returned in a weekend so that he could continue to rest.

"Having said that, I am pleased that I am back. I am pleased that the Vice President enjoyed this break and he has to do much more this time around. Youth and intellect is squarely behind him, age and purely military experience is behind me.

"Continue to do the work.

Nigeria will continue whether we are here or not and my single most important advice is: take education of everybody under your responsibility very seriously, your children, our relatives, our constituencies, education, education, education.

We must do more on education.

I deliberately came back towards the weekend so that the Vice President will continue and I will continue to rest," the president said.

Buhari said he was conscious of funds and advised government officials to ensure they do everything at their disposal to cut costs adding that he had rested as much as any man could do, received the best treatment so far and felt much better even though he would have to do some follow-up on his treatment in the next few weeks.

He appealed to Nigerians to avoid sending delegations to Abuja to welcome him but instead pray for the peace, progress and unity of the country.

He also said he had two issues to disclose - the first for the nation's consumption through the press while the second would be a private discussion between him and the vice president.

"I am deeply grateful to all Nigerian Muslims and Christians alike who have prayed and continued to pray for my good health. This is a testimony that in spite of the hardship being experienced, Nigerians support the government in its efforts to tackle our country's challenges.

"The best way for me to pay you all is to rededicate myself to serving you by protecting your interest and keeping your trust. I thank you very much.

I feel much better now. I will need to do further follow-ups within some weeks. Rather than sending delegations to Abuja to welcome me, may I appeal to our people to continue to pray for the country's unity, progress and prosperity. I thank you very much and may God bless our country.

Whatever the case, I am

EDO STATE DECLARES 7-DAY MOURNING IN HONOUR OF OGBEMUDIA daddy passed on in a hospital in Lagos, shortly before midnight on Thursday, adding that the family was still meeting on the next line of action.

"He was a wonderful man, unique and I think we learnt so much from him. I am going to miss him. Many people, his children, both biological and surrogate, are going to miss him.”

Edo State Government has declared a seven-day mourning commencing from yesterday as a mark of honour for Ogbemudia.

Governor Godwin Obaseki who made the declaration, described late Ogbemudia as a fine military officer who liberated the Mid-West region during the Civil War. According to Obaseki, "Under Dr. Ogbemudia, Bendel became a leading state in education, sports and industry. As two-time governor of Bendel, comprising present-day Edo and Delta states,

he will be fondly remembered for the strong foundation he laid for the infrastructural, social and economic development of both states.”

He also listed his several other milestones to include the Mid-west Institute of Technology, which is now the University of Benin.

"As we mourn our great leader and father, we take solace in the legacies he bequeathed Edo State and indeed Nigeria. As a mark of honour, I hereby declare 7 days of mourning commencing from today. May the soul of General (Dr.) Samuel Ogbemudia rest in peace," Obaseki stated.

"Ogbemudia was the governor's Governor", said Dr. Chris Ogiemwonyi, former Minister of State for Works/former Group Executive Director, NNPC. He added that the late Ogbemudia lived a wonderful life worthy of emulation by all.

"Ogbemudia was a detribal-

ised governor of Midwest; he touched all the nook and cranny of old Bendel. Today, look round Edo and Delta States; his legacies are visible. His ingenuity and creativity stand him out as an outstanding true leader and a father figure that wanted the best for Edo State.”

According to him, Ogbemudia's humble life style stood him out unlike other public office holders who looted the treasury for personal aggrandizement.

Imansuagbon said: "His death was a great loss; he has left a big vacuum. He was the beckon of good governance. He lived moderately and worked for the people without media hype. He was sincere. May his soul rest in peace."

The immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan said the news of the death of Ogbemudia came to him with a deep sense of loss and gratitude to God for

a life well-lived in the service of his fatherland, his state, and humanity.

Uduaghan said: "He was a towering figure, and truly an elder statesman – full of wisdom, selfless, and passionately committed to the development of not just the defunct Midwest and Bendel States, but indeed Nigeria given the role he played during the civil war and the positions he held thereafter as governor, minister of labour and productivity, chairman of the national sports commission, and until his death, chairman of the governing council of the University of Abuja”.

The former Delta State governor noted that as two-time governor, military and civilian, Ogbemudia left a giant and indelible foot print in the sands of time for which posterity will always remember him, adding that future generation of leaders have a lot to emulate from his

AMBODE COMMITS N30BN SINKING FUND TO TRANSFORM LAGOS PUBLIC TRANSPORT eventually to take the sum to N29 billion, adding that his government would thereafter add another N1 billion to it to make it a total of N30 billion to kick start the initiative.

He explained: “We are working on the financial template and this is the breakdown - government has a sinking fund that we want to put into this bond.

You are aware that the federal government paid the refund of the Paris Club Loan last December and this money belong to the state governments from the refund. Instead of spending it, Lagos State decided not to touch its share of the Paris Club refund and saved it to kick start the new transport initiative.”

“By the time we have N30 billion as a sinking fund to drive the bus initiative against the bond of N100 billion that we want to put into the market, there will be that credibility and credence that the bond will drive itself and that is the whole idea “The second level of the initiative is that we intend to give out franchise to people and this franchise is going to come in multiple of 50 buses each, 100 buses, 200 buses and so on. So, if you have that franchise, you are going to give us a down

payment of 25 per cent of the buses. So, these are bankable projects as we have a sinking fund and so our exposure as a government is just technically 75 per cent.”

He noted that public transportation is not a profitable business and that one is not likely to see major investors in it; that was why the state decided to use its vehicle – the LAGBUS, which is a private company to drive the proposed public transportation infrastructure bond.

“That bond is coming to the capital market in which every individual, every Lagosian should be interested in buying into the bond and then we believe that N100 billion bond that span for seven to ten years can take care of the structure that we have put in place.”

According to Ambode, from the kind of machinery his government wants to use to run the buses, there would be no cash takings, saying that everything would be automated and obviously who ever has a franchise, would have the recourse to take part of the money while part of the intake also goes to the repayment of the facility.

Read full interview on pages 49-52

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MARCH 11, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

RingTrue

Yemi

Adebowale We Should Celebrate Obasanjo in Moderation 07013940521 yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com

I

was a depressed man for most of last week. The source of my despair was the wild celebration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s 80th birthday and commissioning of his prickly Presidential Library.

Dignitaries from across the nation graced the ceremony in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Obviously, there is a dearth of tangible things to celebrate in our depressed country. Otherwise, why should we be lavishly celebrating this man whose eight years as the president left very little to show as achievements? Obasanjo had a very good opportunity to turn around this country, but he squandered it. I listened to most of those who spoke glowingly about him during the birthday celebrations.

Virtually all of them were sycophantic, drawing attention to mainly mundane achievements. For me, Obasanjo remains one of the leaders that contributed immensely to the perilous state of our dear nation. We need to consistently tell this former president the bitter truth.His failings outweigh the so-called achievements. I will back it with facts and figures.

Let’s talk about corruption, the curse of our underdevelopment. For the former president, every other political office holder in Nigeria is corrupt, except himself.

Unfortunately, the anti-corruption stance of the Obasanjo administration was a sham.

When he assumed office in 1999, most Nigerians were convinced that he would wage a head-on fight against corruption.

This was not to be. Honest Nigerians will concur with the submission of the late Tunji Braithwaite early last year that Obasanjo’s policies and actions elevated corruption in governance in Nigeria and he (Obasanjo) became very rich through this process.

Let’s look at some of the brazen corruption cases under Baba Iyabo. Just about seven months into his first term, the then Minister of Defence, T.Y Danjuma confirmed a N421 million scam involving the then permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr. Julius Makanjuola and four other directors, describing it as “an embarrassment to the ministry.” Makanjuola, who is Obasanjo’s cousin, and the directors were arrested. It took pressure from the media and civil society groups before they were eventually arraigned. The case dragged on unnecessarily, until July 2002 when the Justice Ministry filed a controversial Nolli prosequi application (no further prosecution).

The then Director of Public Prosecu-

Obasanjo

tion, Mrs. Stella Omiyi explained that the Attorney General of the Federation was empowered by Section 17 (1) of the 1999 constitution to file such an application at any point in a case. Many were surprised at the sudden withdrawal of the case, even when the then Minister of State for Justice, Musa Elaho argued that there were enough facts and evidence to jail the accused if the prosecution was pursued. Following public outcry, Obasanjo ordered the rearrest of Makanjuola and the four others for retrial.

But that was the last Nigerians heard of the case. Makanjuola relocated to somewhere in Europe, to enjoy his loot.

Again, between 1999 and 2007, Obasanjo was allegedly involved in offering bribes to legislators. This has not been debunked till date. Curiously, there was never an inquiry, thereby giving credence to the allegations.

The most dramatic was the alleged bribe offered legislators to back his third term project. Then, Hon. Uche Onyeagucha, who was a member of the House of Representatives, in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation alleged that he was offered a plot of land in Abuja to back the third term bill. “Somebody highly placed in government asked me to sign an endorsement of the third term project and that I would be adequately compensated,” Onyeagucha told the BBC. Many thought that in the spirit of Obasanjo’s anti-corrup-

Hammed Ali’s Failed Mission to Customs When Hammed Ali assumed duty as the head of the Nigerian Customs in September 2015, expectations were high that the supposedly no-nonsense Ali would kill corruption in the Customs.

Back then, he declared with enthusiasm: “The mandate he (Buhari) has given me are three basic things: go to Customs, reform Customs, restructure Customs and increase the revenue generation, simple. I don’t think that is ambiguous, I don’t think that is cumbersome.” 18 months down the line, the service is evidently still deep into corruption. Try clearing a car and you will understand what I am saying. Also visit the land borders and experience Customssanctioned smuggling. Ali’s men will then turn around to hunt the traders in their shops across our cities and towns. It was not a big deal when the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, Prof. Itse Sagay said the Customs was still drenched in corruption even under the Buhari administration.

He said: “There is no difference in Customs since May 29, 2015. If you go to Tin Can Island, it is business as usual.” He was only saying what Nigerians already knew.

Sagay ought to be telling us what his Advisory team had been doing to stem the tide. Back to the Customs boss; Ali should be bold enough to admit that he has

tion war, an inquiry would be instituted.

Perhaps, this should be followed with the arrest of Onyeagucha, so as to unmask the “highly placed government official” distributing the bribe. It never happened.

When Ghali Na’abba was the Speaker of the House, some members were also said to have been allegedly bribed by the presidency to impeach him. A member displayed his share of the money on the floor of the House. A huge amount of money, said to have been provided by the presidency, was also believed to have changed hands during the election of the late Evans Enwerem as the Senate President in 1999. How come these cases were never investigated?

Many of us still can’t forget the COJA 2004 (All-African Games) debacle under Obasanjo where some of his relations and cronies helped themselves to juicy contracts. Most of the contracts were said to have been inflated. In the spirit of his anti-corruption war, many expected an inquiry. But Baba Iyabo kept quiet. He turned a blind eye to the COJA fraud.

We all know that during Obasanjo years as the President, we were perpetually in darkness. This was after spending billions of USD on improving the sector, without any result. Our refineries were also epileptic after guzzling billions of USD for contentious turnaround maintenance. Federal roads across the nation also remained death traps after spending billions of Naira on them. Even the road to his chicken farm in Ota was in a mess.

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’abba was apt when he recently remarked: “No Nigerian is more corrupt than Obasanjo.

He should explain to Nigerians how he became one of the richest Nigerians after leaving office, when he had virtually nothing before he assumed office. I don’t think there is anybody that is more corrupt in this country than the former President. As Speaker, I took Obasanjo on, on various expenditure offences which he committed, which he could not defend and didn’t show any remorse.

In fact, that is why sometime in 2002, the National Assembly tried to impeach him. So, he has not got the integrity to call anybody corrupt. This is a man who became the president with nothing, today he is one of the richest Nigerians.

Let him explain to Nigerians how he acquired all these wealth.

“I am aware that, during the tenure elongation attempt of Obasanjo, money was shared to the members of the National Assembly. It was alleged that, the Senators collected N50 million, House members collected N40 million. But I

also know that, it was not all the members that collected this money. Some of them collected, some of them did not. But, I am aware that money was shared.”

The inglorious role of Obasanjo in the Anambra State fiasco when Chris Ngige was governor is also indelible. Security agents were encouraged to look the other way while a sitting governor was being harassed and subsequently kidnapped by political rent collectors. Obasanjo obviously told Ngige to settle his tormentors instead of dealing with the touts creating problems.

Some unresolved assassinations under Obasanjo remain a big blight on his tenure.

How can we forget so soon the mysterious deaths of Bola Ige and Marshal Sokari Harry?

Harry was murdered in his bedroom in Abuja; Ige was killed in his house inexplicably.

For a president who on assumption of office pledged to uphold justice and equity, one would have expected the case of the civil servants occupying 1004 Flats and Eric Moore Towers, both in Lagos, to get a fair and just treatment. With Obasanjo’s monetisation policy, the civil servants were faced with ejection. They thought that as occupants, they should get the first option to buy their official quarters. They mobilised and placed their case before the president but were disappointed and humiliated. The flats were sold and they were evicted in December 2005. About 400 soldiers and 300 anti-riot policemen were recruited to carry out the eviction of unarmed civilians. Many of them were left to sleep in the open with their families for days, while the man who pledged to uphold equity and justice turned a blind eye.

On the flip side, the way funds for the much-celebrated Presidential Library was raised was not transparent. This is not the global standard for projects of this nature.

It is an open secret that state governors and businessmen were arm-twisted to contribute to the project. I was not surprised when Governor Ayodele Fayose demanded the refund of the N10 million he allegedly donated to the library project. Fayose said he was forced to make the donation to the project, alongside 30 other governors elected on the platform of the PDP in 2005. I am still waiting for Obasanjo to repudiate this allegation.

This former president, through his actions and inactions, is also the architect of our lingering political misfortunes, by inflicting people with questionable health status on this nation, as leaders. This country has not recovered from the charade which started with the late Umaru Yar’Adua. We should be celebrating real statesmen with finesse. Real patriots possessing inspiring attributes – fear of God, honesty, humility, diligence, trust, loyalty, integrity, decorum and selflessness.

Perhaps, we should look in the direction of Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Shehu Shagari. Clearly, Obasanjo does not belong to this category.

Good Morning Charles Soludo

Ali

failed in this mission. It has been all motion and no movement. There are no signs that things will improve in the future. Fighting corruption in the Customs requires more than grandstanding. We need a brilliant and tactical head of Customs. Again, this government should start thinking about privatising the collection of Customs and Excise duties. This is another way of reducing the sleaze in this agency.

Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Charles Soludo belongs to the club of eminent Nigerians who refused to speak up against Nigeria’s sliding economy when the situation could still be salvaged.

There were clear signs in the first few months of the Buhari administration that the economy was not being well-managed.

The command-and-control tactics of the government were stifling. Only few people kicked. Others chose to be economical with the truth. For me, Soludo’s recent outburst about the bad state of the economy is simply medicine after death. Accusing the Buhari administration of worsening the state of our economy and not showing sufficient seriousness in addressing the terrible economic situation is belated criticism. An irredeemable damage has already been done. Soludo ought to be in the club of patriots like Pat Utomi who was shouting from day one. So, what took him so long? Your guess is as good as mine.

Soludo

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

SUPER SATURDAY

The Other Side of Domitilla ANNE NJEMANZE Dateline was Saturday after sunset at the Jaekel House Mini Museum, located within the precinct of the Railway Compound in Ebute Metta, Lagos. Inside the place, few cars were parked on the outward space of its building. While on the other side, a few persons were already seated on the lawn. Among them were regular television faces – Gbenga Adeyinka, and a judge on the Maltina dance show, Muyiwa Oshinaike. They were chatting over drinks in a truly relaxed mood as other guests trickled in. There was the fascination of refurbished relics that lie within the Railway premises. At the entrance, no legible sign informs you of the place except for the loose banners beside a pretty, busty lady, Toyosi, wearing a T-shirt with the inscription ‘Wakaflicks Entertainment that caters to you’. But the search was for an unforgettable actress that catered for Nigerians’ viewing pleasure. In this piece, Ferdinand Ekechukwu gives a picturesque narrative of his encounter with one of Nollywood’s finest and unforgettable actress, Anne Njemanze, better known as Domitilla

T

he film distribution and promotion company, Wakaflicks, run by Akin Kongi, had set up a mobile theatre showing Nigerian movies. Ojuju, one of the three movies shown, won the award for the Best Nigerian Movie at the Africa International Film Festival. The other movie, Green White Green, scheduled for that day was screened at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

At the idyllic place, a pioneer Nollywood actress, famous for her character, and movie, Domitilla, (the exceptional character of a prostitute in the eponymous movie of the 1990’s would soon join in. She was one of the guests invited for the three-day movie picnic-themed event.

Njemanze

Enter Anne Njemanze aka Domitilla Dressed in a sleeveless translucent blouse on a bump short and slippers, her appearance had excited her friend, Toyosi. She had looked forward to seeing the actress grace the event until the last day of the showcase when she eventually turned up. A lively conversation soon ensued.

The ambience, illuminated by the big screen, had taken form. At first, it seemed the awkward sound from a projector used for the movie viewing would drown the conversation.

As the chat went on, it was unmistakable that the air around her was simple, befitting of an everyday person. It is no surprise coming from one who has had a fair share of both worlds – the good and bad times.

She struck the image of a personality wary of the press. An impression she had left in the course of a week-long attempt to catch up with her; that which was more like a mirror image of her character ‘Inspector Sankay’ in the Mnet movie series, Tinsel – which has sort of assumed her yardstick for script roles to consider, thus casting on her a backseat shadow in mainstream Nollywood.

“What is it that we even want to talk about sef?” she said with a tone of resignation.

Such expression could possibly imply more than there is, as it would later appear the Visual Arts graduate of the University of Lagos believes everything about her is out in the know. But there is apparently more about this actress.

The story of Anne Njemanze is such that reads like a novel. Starting with her being recognised as a superstar at a relatively early age almost immediately after the movie ‘Domitilla’ shot her to stardom at the dawn of Nollywood. Then, she was beset with two failed marriages and a car accident that almost crashed her career and the attendant publicity that chaptered her life’s vicissitude. But all of these have passed on.

Her fault lines, as a human, she admits

there are and not without as perceived as a single mother of two. Her daughter, Renny, she speaks of with a positive feeling of liking.

Almost done with university, the young Njemanze, she said, is just about 20 and very passionate about the arts: movie, photography and modelling. Aside that, she’s more interested in a whole lot of other things “that when I want to catch up with happenings outside Nigeria, I don’t have to watch TV; I just ask her.”

With her career spanning over two decades in Nollywood with quite a good number of movie appearances, acting is just a part of her features which has overshadowed her other skills like writing plays, singing and dancing. Notably a voice talent, her voice on product commercials and jingles on radio are peculiar.

But then, any actor can do voice-over for any product? To be sure, she would argue that anybody can do a voice-over but not everybody is a voice talent. That it takes special skills and oratorical prowess to lay a voice-over. She further explained in a professional manner with points that helped put the subject to rest.

Having started from the stage doing plays and drama, Anne isn’t someone who flipped into the industry. Armed with a diploma certificate in Theatre Arts from the University of Port Harcourt, her response tells much about her knowledge of acting. For the good artiste she is, the tools of her trade she knows and readily says, “Like I would tell someone, besides my body as a container”, with emphasis, “the two most important things to me are my facial muscle and my voice, because with them, I can express everything that I want to be.” She was privileged to hone her skills when she joined the Association of Voiceover Artistes.

“When I became a member of AVOA it was like some honour was bestowed on me. It was there I got the training that I needed. I got the exposure that I needed as far as voicing is concerned,” she said.

It sure would not be out of place to describe Anne as a pack of art. Whatever it is she does has always revolved around the arts. Fortunately for the Owerri, Imo State-born actress, what she’s doing now for a living happens to be a hobby and part of the things that appeal to her.

Owing to this, her father had insisted she study Theatre Arts otherwise she would have studied Law. When she’s not doing a voice-over or acting, she keeps herself going by blogging.

At the National Troupe of Nigeria, a parastatal under the Ministry of Information and Culture, where she has worked for almost 10 years now, she holds forth in various but related capacities, helping to showcase and promote the Nigerian culture.

“Courtesy of the fact that I’m what I am here on the outside, an actor and all, you tend to fill in on so many capacities

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

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SATURDAY THE OTHER SIDE OF DOMITILLA, ANNE NJEMANZE…

Having started from the stage doing plays and drama, Anne isn’t someone who flipped into the industry.

Armed with a diploma certificate in Theatre Arts from the University of Port Harcourt, her response tells much about her knowledge of acting. For the good artiste she is, the tools of her trade she knows and readily says “Like I would tell someone, besides my body as a container”, with emphasis, “the two most important things to me are my facial muscle and my voice. Because with them, I can express everything that I want to be.” Her voice quality she was privileged to hone when she joined the Association of Voiceover Artistes

Njemanze there,” she admits, looking every inch a cultural ambassador.

Away from work and acting, karaoke is a good way she loosens up to relax within her quiet space. Coincidentally, she would be doing Karaoke that night.

At her spare time, community-related services and charitable works are things she occasionally gets involved in, but to be seen talked about them, to her it is weird and unnecessary.

She is involved in women and girl-child empowerment activities which might be quite understandable owing to her personal experience in life. Her perspective about it is that it is a very sensitive area of our life – an aspect of Nigeria’s culture women hold thin to exploit.

“So I don’t think twice when it has to do with women. I don’t think twice when it has to do with the girl child but that’s the most I can do. I cannot tell you

I have been in that programme or this programme,” the actress confessed.

As the conversation continued there was an intermittent noise from a moving train. There was a momentary break in the chat as the fleeing train noisily passed by. As its clanging sound drowned out into the distance, the gist with Anne filled the air again.

Her knowledge of the industry, she would admit that as much as there is still room for improvement, Nollywood by major assessments have really grown. To put her point in perspective, she paced back to some early days of the industry before she inclined towards the present stories being told, the new crop of artistes, the artisans, and the import of technology into the industry, amongst other things, as the way forward for Nollywood.

As she spoke, there was a silhouette of

an uncertain future that formed on her face: she fears that the impact of those things making the movie industry to advance could be the death knell for stage plays.

As much as she loves writing and with just two movie scripts in her folder, the thespian reveals her growing interest to want to call the shots at locations; maybe as an assistant director and try to impart in actors what she thinks it is in her mind playing through that role and watch them interpret it to the best effect when she gets round to producing a movie.

Twenty-one years after the movie that brought her fame, the theme about prostitution remains topical and that still sticks out like sore thumb.

By Nollywood standard, the movie, Domitilla 1 and 2, produced by Zeb Ejiro, was a masterpiece such that she still sees the movie as a model to addressing the

issue of prostitution in present-day Nigeria. The story talks about the problems of prostitution and gives one a resolve to tackle them. The relevance of the story she connects to the government and the parents.

Still being sought after in movies, Anne craves many more years in the industry.

The legendary Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett remains a source of inspiration to her. Very well opinionated, the narrative of the old and the new Nollywood, Anne describes as sham and myopic.

From her point of view of one who has been in the industry for long, classifying Nollywood as old and new is unfair to the early practitioners who paved way for others that followed.

Of how much reward has she earned acting? She first retorted, “What is reward to me? Reward for me right now is doing a job you are doing well and seeing that it is accepted by the public and appreciated.

Yes the monetary value is necessary. And being in front of this four corner thing (television) and people seeing your face, it opens doors.”

Does she think she’s living the life befitting of a star? It has always been for her a simple, normal life. She would hitherto prefer to live the path with the basic things of life rather than compromise the superfluous lifestyle expected of a star by the public.

Almost at the twilight of the conversation, a familiar topic was broached.

Apparently, she didn’t see it coming as it got her mirthful when she had to talk about her relationship with men at the moment. And quite frankly, she put it that being a woman naturally attracts men; and being a celebrity in the public eyes, attracts a lot of men.

But to choose a love life as an actress becomes difficult for certain reasons men are known for. But to just keep praying to get the right one is it for her, if she’s sure he loves her, only then she can confidently give marriage another chance.

My Life as a Playwright, Dancer and Singer

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MARCH 11, 2017• THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

IS NIGCOMSAT-1R IDLE?

Nigeria’s communication satellite could be put to better use, argues Alex Abutu

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he federal government in its wisdom decided to launch a communication satellite in 2007 to, among other things, enhance Nigerians’ access to quality telephone and internet services and most importantly provide a strong backbone for the ICT sector.

The debut of the satellite was greeted with series of controversy which climaxed with its de-orbiting on November 10, 2008 due to technical challenges. But, the federal government was unrelenting in the pursuit of its dream as it made all necessary arrangements and re-launched the satellite months after.

Government investment in the satellite, as found by the National Assembly in 2009 during an investigative hearing, was $251.6 million but this amount has been exaggerated over the years. But most importantly, the National Assembly was able to find that between August 2007 when the satellite was launched and November 2008 when it was de-orbited, it recorded a sale of N98 million, for just one year, and five years later will it be correct to say that investment in the satellite was a waste? At its re-launch, most Nigerians were sceptical about the operations or benefits of the satellite but suffice to say that the satellite, in the last five years, has been able to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s rating as a global ICT hub and, above all, assisted in increasing telephone and internet penetration in the country apart from other strategic and vital operations it was deployed to handle.

Satellite operations are mostly classified activities and hence most Nigerians are not privy to the services or contributions of NigComSat1R to national development and as a result it will be totally wrong to conclude that it is a wasteful project.

The satellite was designed and built with a 15 years life span. We have already spent five out of the 15 so the questions begging for answers are: what has the satellite offered Nigeria in the last five years and what do we expect in the next 10 years before it comes to the end of its life cycle?

In the last five years, NigComSat-1R, despite all the criticisms was able to connect and provide qualitative services for the Nigerian military and the Presidency, especially in the battle against insurgency.

Today, the satellite is providing vital services to 79 federal and state universities while 56 colleges of education are also hooked on NigComSat-1R. This is by no means a small feat, considering the huge amount of foreign exchange spent on bandwidth and internet connections by the schools hitherto.

Another important benefit which the satellite has brought to bear on Nigeria is the opportunity for interactive distant learning. The satellite has the capacity to transmit live video broadcasts of lessons to schools and can enable learners in rural and remote areas interact with instructors faraway.

It has not been all roses for the satellite. The biggest challenge facing it is the non-acceptability of its efficacy by government organisations.

Government spent tax payers’ money in designing, building, launching and servicing the satellite but its agencies and departments have refused to invest or patronise the services of the satellite.

The argument advanced most times by government organisations on why they cannot patronise the satellite ranged from lack of back-up to reliability. Is it the USA or China that will come and invest in the back-up of a Nigerian satellite? It has never happened anywhere in the world and I’m not sure that will happen for Nigeria.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CAPITAL FLIGHT. IT MAY INTEREST US TO KNOW THAT MOST GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS INCLUDING NTA, PRIDED AS AFRICA’S LARGEST NETWORK, IS USING OTHER SATELLITES IN THE DISCHARGE OF THEIR MANDATE WITHOUT REMEMBERING OUR MULTIMILLION NAIRA SATELLITE WHICH IS BUILT AND DESIGNED WITH FOOTPRINT IN WEST AFRICA AND OFFERS BETTER DIRECT-TO-HOME SERVICES

Today most government organisations are going abroad to acquire or negotiate for satellite broadband, bandwidth, images, data or services without recourse to what NigComSat-1R can offer. Is there any government office in Nigeria today better positioned than NigComSat1R to acquire or negotiate satellite business on behalf of Nigeria?

We are talking about capital flight. It may interest us to know that most government organisations including Nigeria Television Authority, prided as Africa’s largest network, is using other satellites in the discharge of their mandate without remembering our multimillion naira satellite which is built and designed with footprint in West Africa and offers better direct-to-home services.

NigComSat-1R has overcome its teething challenges and emerged as a reliable backbone in the global ICT sector and therefore it has become imperative for government to make some deliberate investments to back up the satellite.

Recently our own NigComSat-1R was selected from among other satellites across the globe to provide In-Orbit Test (IOT) and Carrier Spectrum Monitoring (CSM) Services for Belintersat-1 Satellite.

Belintersat-1 is a communication satellite owned by the government of Belarus.

This is a big feat for Nigeria and it clearly shows that NIGCOMSAT and indeed Nigeria has developed the capacity to provide high technical services in the satellite communication industry.

Prof. Turner Isoun, former Minister of Science and Technology, whose ministry supervised the design and launch of the satellite said that the satellite remained a huge national asset that must not be allowed to waste away.

Isoun is of the opinion that government must develop a management strategy similar to what obtains at the LLNG for NigComSat. This according to him will give government about 49 per cent of the shareholding and the private sector controlling the remaining 51 per cent.

“For this to happen government must invest in the satellite and allow active participation of the private sector otherwise, we may end up selling NigComSat as scrap as was done to NITEL.” Isoun’s recommendation was similar to that made by the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology after an investigative hearing on the activities and operations of NigComSat Ltd. in 2009. The committee in its report recommended that NigComSat should as a matter of urgency, be privatised and that government should commence the building of NigComSat-2 and 3 to serve as back-up if the country wants to remain relevant in the satellite business.

In the spirit of local content that the federal government is preaching, it is high time the government deployed the same policy framework that mandated all ministries, departments and agencies to patronise Galaxy Backbone to NigComSat-1R to ensure that no government organisation subscribes to other satellites what NigComSat-1R has the ability and potential to do.

Government must also stamp its foot and deal squarely with the unnecessary bureaucratic bottleneck fuelled by rivalry that has made it impossible for Nigerians to appreciate the contributions of NigComSat1R to national development.

Abutu wrote from Abuja

MAN WITH NINE LIVES

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Emmanuel Ado writes that Aliyu Wamakko, former Sokoto State Governor, is a man of the people

y 2006, Aliyu M. Wamakko,was politically dead, or so his political enemies thought.

The governor Attahiru Bafarawa wanted him impeached at all costs in what many say was to stop him from succeeding him.Wamakko eventually resigned, putting his faith in God. But Wamakko not only survived the machinations of Attahiru Bafawara, his former boss, but has emerged the undisputed political leader of Sokoto politics, and a national force.

Wamako and Senator George Akume are studies in the art of political survival. They are “come back kids” like Bill Clinton, former American President, who despite being written off several times, went on to win the presidency of the United States in a grand style. Akume had single-handedly made Gabriel Suswam governor of Benue State, a feat he was to repeat in 2015 elections when he “singlehandedly” made Sam Ortom governor. Like it has become the trend, Suswam ensured that Akume his political godfather was “pushed” out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Would Ortom attempt same? Ordinarily this shouldn’t be an issue considering that the Suswam misadventure is still fresh, but you never can tell with politicians. Akume like Wamakko, was written off for dead. But Akume, like Wamakko not only survived the Suswam onslaught, but taught Suswam some political lessons in spite of his power of incumbency and has obviously consigned him to the dustbin of history.

What made the difference between Wamakko and his former boss Bafawara? What are his survival secrets? The answers are critical for aspiring politicians and even “practicing” politicians who barely survive one term in office and they become history.

The comparison between Wamakko and Bafarawa starts and ends that they both spent two terms in office as governors. But Wamakko having been

deputy governor from 1999-2006, and served a consecutive two terms as governor and winning his election to the Senate, definitely has the upper hand. The records in the royal rumble are obviously in favour of Wamakko. In 2007, he defeated Muhammadu Dingyadi, Bafawara’s candidate, the reason why he was almost impeached in 2006. So in the true sense, the contest was Wamakko versus Bafarawa. Wamakko again worsted Bafawara in the rematch following an appeal, that annulled his election in April 2008, on the basis that he was still a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) when he won the PDP nomination. Dingyadi and his godfather were badly trounced and their political coffin nailed.

Wamakko’s political reach is amazing. And this has to do with his genuine love for the people. A welfarist - that practices an open door policy - amiable, accessible and not haughty while Bafarawa was considered aloof. The other advantage of Wamakko is that has consistently been with the people since his return from the United States from further studies. He started life as a classroom teacher. At various times he was at Zuru, Sokoto, Kaura Namoda Local Government Areas, and Director- General Career and Services, in the Governor’s Office - offices that gave him the platform to strike and build grassroots friendship that has continued to yield dividends.

The masses took note of his industry and trustworthiness. In the North, living with the people, being part of their daily life - attending marriages, births and funerals is treasured.

What further endeared him to the people is that as governor, Wamakko was to tackle issues dear to them - education, access to potable water, health, agriculture. He declared emergency in the education sector. And to show his seriousness he allocated a

whopping 22% of his budget to the sector. And it wasn’t just about massive construction, rehabilitation and expansion of primary and secondary schools, he ensured that more than 1,000 teachers were employed and he abolished fees and increased feeding allowances. The Shehu Shagari College of Education was also a major beneficiary of the war against illiteracy. The improvement in school enrolment was dramatic. Out- of- school women captured his attention and he established women education centres for them to continue their education. The jewel was the establishment of the state university. And while other northern states were emphasising dichotomy between indigenes and non -indigenes, he effected sweeping reforms including payment of WAEC and NECO fees for all. Events have proven the decision to establish the university as an indication of good foresight. It is good thing his successor has the good sense to build on and in fact expand the frontiers as education is key to development.

Wamakko can be described as a pragmatist. For him the function of government is creating the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

Mindful that the happiness of the greatest number is the yardstick of a responsive government, he embarked upon the completion of the Asare Water Supply Project. The N2.6 billion water project took daily water supply from the existing 32 million gallons of clean water to 52 million gallons. The rehabilitation of the old water treatment plant and the construction of a new plant ensured the provision of the much needed potable water to the people. By providing water he also addressed many common health problems associated with lack of clean water which consequently impacted on the quality of life of the people.

In furtherance of his stance that the business

of government is creating the enabling environment, he embarked upon the construction of an independent power system that will add an additional 30-38 megawatts to the grid. Sokoto presently gets below15 megawatts. The strategic investment will help light up homes and provide cheap and constant energy for artisans, small and medium scale industries which will in turn boost the economy of the state. In addition he boosted the housing stock by building more than 3,000 houses across the state.

What as a sitting governor Bafarawa couldn’t do - installing his successor,Wamakko did so effortlessly. He made the installation of Aminu Tambawal look as simple as ABC, all because they trusted him to show them right direction and because he has never taken them for granted or treated them with contempt. Tambawal might have been Speaker of the House of Representatives, but Wamakko’s decisive support in the primaries ensured that Tambawal defeated Umaru Dahiru, an old war horse (he was a commissioner in 1979 in the Shehu Kangiwa administration) and went on to become the governor.

The partnership with Tambuwal is working and would continue to work. Wamakko had long proven since 2013, when he decamped from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), that he has arrived. Many analysts thought it was a strategic blunder. But he proved a strategist as the movement ensured the defeat of Goodluck Jonathan and the election of Buhari who had previously lost in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 general elections. What next for him? For now the success of Tambuwal and of Buhari seem his main preoccupation and contributing to growth of the educational sector his first love, before politics.

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MARCH 11, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

To Allah be the Glory...

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Bolale Ambode’s Shoe Revolution

All that Vexing with BB Naija

wo events which have dominated national discourse in the past two weeks involve South Africa. The one is the Big Brother Naija (BBN) a reality TV show being filmed in South Africa, and the other is the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians by South Africans.

I will begin with the BB Naija show and try to establish its relationship with the concerns being expressed by Nigerians. Nigerians are upset that the programme is being aired in South Africa. Because of that, highly placed government officials said that they would take the matter up. The second thing that Nigerians are losing sleep over for the BB Naija show is that it is immoral and washes our dirty buba and shokoto before an international audience. They also say that it showcases what is negative about Nigeria. Take the example of one of the housemates who threw everything to the dogs and bared our Aso Rock, warts and all before a global audience just because he did not want to be evicted. Or the other lady who exposed her nipples to be sucked on prime-time television. In justifying his nakedness on prime-time TV, the young lad said to the world: ‘You cannot imagine what I’ve been through in Nigeria’.

But our annoyance over these matters is misplaced and uncalled for. The young men and women were not forced at gun point or otherwise, to go get naked for the world. They were enticed with fame and fortune, what their country never gives, and passed through a rigorous selection routine before becoming housemates. Those youngsters you see there on the South African reality TV are merely taking shelter under a little umbrella for a huge mass of young people in Nigeria with no hope of gainful employment, or the enabling environment for them to succeed as entrepreneurs. Most of our young graduates who presented themselves for screening for employment nationwide, clad in cherubic robes either lost their lives, or were scammed by the very nation which requested to screen them before employment.

But as we speak, employment is currently going on but in the dark and under the auspices of the who-know-man portfolio. Therefore, what we see in the BB Naija is a bigger picture of a nation which has stripped its young naked, and exposed them to all manner of self-abnegating conditions and makes them easy prey.

Also in that light, I want to suggest to Nigerians ascribing immorality to BB Naija to cut off their subscription. BB Naija is for a matured viewing audience and it is only subscribers that get to view the ‘immorality’. And after cutting off their subscription, they must stop watching any musical video in Nigeria as well. Why? A lot of our music

videos today are replete with the nudity they say is on BB Naija, to the extent that it is not even music any more but a showcasing of the derrieres of naked young girls. What makes these musical videos very dangerous is that they pollute the minds of our children. On a good day, you get these music videos on any of the big TV stations for a penny. Recall that any big company having anything to sell these days usually attach that commodity to half-clad women.

The reason they do that is a marketing strategy based on the axiom that the easiest commodity to sell these days is sex, sex and more sex. So, ascribing immorality to the BB Naija is cutting our nose to spite our face.

Now, concerning the xenophobic attacks: in Africa, not many like Nigerians. The explanations are legion: Nigerians are go-go, they are brash and can survive whatever condition you throw at them, credit to years of living without power supply, water, good roads and medical facilities. Once upon a time on a training programme in West Africa, the full-weight of that animosity stared me in the face from Mauritanians, Ghanaians, Liberians, Sierra Leoneans, Beninese and the Cameroonians.

Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku, Benin City

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ducation has long been recognised as a way out of poverty and ignorance for individuals, and as a way of promoting equal opportunity.

Late South African President, Dr. Nelson Mandela once reinforced the power of education when he described it as the greatest engine of personal development through which anyone could achieve his/ her dreams, no matter how massive.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo once stated that he gave himself fully to studying and researching because he understood the power of education. A brilliant leader, who was raised in poverty, Awolowo rose above his environmental challenges to become a reference point in governance in Nigeria, thanks to the power of education.

As Premier of the defunct Western Nigeria, Chief Awolowo used his free education programme to advance socio-economic advancement in the region.

His blazing desire to expand his accomplishment in the Western region to the whole nation was clearly spelled out in1983 when he affirmed that: “To finance free education, we are going to block wastages like the N350 million allocated to be spent on chocolate in the Third National Development Plan. For the four years of my administration, there

T H E S AT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R

EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR OLUFEMI ABOROWA DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS PETER IWEGBU, FIDELIS ELEMA, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS HENRY NWACHOKOR, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI GENERAL MANAGER PATRICK EIMIUHI GROUP HEAD FEMI TOLUFASHE DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

will be no dinner, no banquet, and no luncheon.

Nobody will drink anything but water in the office, including my office if I am elected president!”

It is, therefore, in view of the universal recognition of education as a pathway to attaining a just and progressive society that governments across the world accord it the prime of place in the scheme of things. In Nigeria, for instance, the nation’s founding fathers knew that not much could be achieved without education and they consequently gave it prominent attention to education. They had the foresight to realise that desired high quality workforce, without which national development is impossible, could only be guaranteed by investing in education.

In the defunct Northern Nigeria, one time Premier of the region and famous Northern leader, late Sir Ahmadu Bello, laid a strong foundation for the region through his numerous educational initiatives.

Indigent Northerners who were ready to learn were supported to go to get education through access to scholarships. Many of those who acquired western education became very successful in their various fields.

Sadly, however, in the last few decades, the standard of education has drastically diminished in the country. Thanks to the nation’s wobbling economy, critical unemployment situation and nose-diving value system, education has obviously diminished in status in our beloved nation.

Pronounced poverty, especially, has made it almost difficult for parents to invest in quality education for their wards. Across the country, many children have become hawkers and street beggars, just to make ends meet. A few of them that are interested in education could not actualise their dreams as a result of inability of their parents to make available seemingly simple school’s accessories such as shoes, bags and books.

Shoes, in particular, have historically been one major necessity that students and pupils have found very difficult, over the years, to acquire. In Nigeria, for instance, famous national figures such as late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan have variously revealed how they spent their early years without shoes. Ex-President Jonathan in particular once made the issue a huge campaign topic in the 2015 general election. He said: “I was not born rich. I was raised by my parents with just enough money to meet our daily needs. In my early days in school, I had no shoes and school bags”.

Tayo Ogunbiyi, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •MARCH 11, 2017

NEWS

News Editor Ahamefula Ogbu 08116759810 (sms only) Email ahamefula.ogbu@thisdaylive.com

CBN Stops Etisalat's Creditors from Taking over Its Operations Emma Okonji The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has halted the plan by a consortium of 13 local banks to take over the operations of Etisalat for failure to continue with the refinancing of the loan that the telecoms company took from the banks in 2013.

The halt on the planned takeover, was the outcome of the meeting held yesterday in Lagos between the CBN, the telecoms company and its creditors.

Etisalat in 2013, took a loan of $1.2 billion (N377 billion) from a consortium of 13 local banks for network expansion and upgrade, but defaulted in the refinancing of the loan, while blaming its inability to refinance the loan on devaluation of naira and scarcity of dollar.

Disturbed by its inability to continue refinancing of the loan, the 13 banks, on Tuesday, threatened to take over the operations of the telecoms company.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator, had on Thursday, met with CBN on the issue of indebtedness of Etisalat, and at the end of the meeting which was attended by the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta and the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, it was agreed that the CBN would invite Etisalat and its creditors to a meeting yesterday (Friday), to further discuss and to find a lasting solution to the indebtedness.

At the meeting yesterday, reprieve came for Mobile Network Operator as CBN ordered the 13 banks to stop

ECONOMIC COLLABORATION ...

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa Dutse; Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. W. Stuart Symington, during the visit of the Ambassador to the Minister...on Friday

all plans about taking over the operations of the telecoms company According to a statement issued by the Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, shortly after the parley, yesterday's meeting succeeded in halting the attempt by Etisalat’s creditors at bringing it under any form of take over. Receivership was completely taken off the table in a meeting that was very productive and constructive.

The meeting, which held at the CBN office in Lagos, had the consortium of banks being owed and Etisalat in attendance. The banks and

the mobile network operator agreed to concrete actions that will bring all parties closest to a resolution.

According to the statement, CBN and NCC were able to secure for Etisalat, the necessary oxygen to enable it continue to meet urgent operational expenses.

"CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele who chaired the meeting was firm in declaring what needed to be done by both parties towards a quick resolution. The NCC equally made it clear everything necessary must be done to protect the 23 million Etisalat subscribers and also protect

the telecom industry to prevent potential investors from developing cold feet," the statement added.

Meanwhile, in a renewed effort to ensure that Etisalat remains in business while the consortium of banks meet their obligations to their customers, another meeting has been planned for March 16 to agree on a payment restructuring path going forward.

NCC assured Nigerians that it would engage the CBN in a possible crucial meeting with Etisalat’s shareholders anytime soon.

Also worried about the

situation, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), has requested for priority allocation of foreign exchange to telecommunications industry by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, who issued a statement yesterday on behalf of its members, drew the attention of Danbatta to challenges its members faced in purchasing Foreign Exchange (FX) from interbank market to fulfill obligations to equipment suppliers and foreign vendors. "This situation is adversely impacting our

members’ network operations and we would appreciate the Commission’s urgent assistance. The prevailing scarcity of FX has occasioned a situation where the banks are unable to obtain FX for an upward period of six months despite the submission of prerequisite documentation for such transactions," Adebayo said.

ALTON respectfully seeks the indulgence of the EVC to provide background information resulting to the subsisting regime of exempting telecommunications industry from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention window.

We’re Designing Low Cost Modular Refineries, Says Petroleum Varsity VC

FG Placates, Vets Militant Groups in Niger Delta for Amnesty

Sylvester Idowu in Warri

Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

The Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Petroleum Resources, (FUPRE) Effurun, Delta State, Professor Akii Ibhadode has assured that the institution was prepared to design low cost modular refineries in line with the Federal Government policy towards finding a lasting solution to the Niger Delta crisis.

He however disclosed that lack of funds was stalling the production of outcome of several researches and developments as well as infrastructural facilities in the last 10 years since the school was established.

Professor Ibhadode, at a pre-convocation press briefing on Thursday evening, said FUPRE had a great role in the development of modular refineries by coming up with low cost design that Nigerian

investors could afford.

"What we find in the international market is well beyond what Nigerians can key into. So we want to come up with designs that are low cost in terms of construction and operation.

We have started looking in that direction to come up with designs that are accessible by Nigerian investors", he said.

The FUPRE Vice Chancellor disclosed that the school would be graduating 795 in its first convocation since the establishment of the university on March 14, 2007.

"We are indeed gladdened by the fact that the university is now set to release about 795 high-fliers that through dogged commitment have been adjudged in character and learning to represent the true vision of excellence and relevance being the hallmark of the mandate given to the university.

"We are therefore proud to celebrate to that milestone because of these 795 great minds from six sets (2011 to 2016) being released through this convocation to the world, 25 are graduating with first class honours degrees.

That is, 11 from the College of Science and 14 from the College of Technology” , he added.

Aside the graduating students, Professor Ibhadode also disclosed that Honorary degrees will be awarded to His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, the ArchBishop of Abuja Dioceses; His Royal Majesty, Abe 1, Emmanuel Sideso, Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom; Sir Daniel NwannkaChukwu; Olorogun Moses Taiga and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President in recognition of their contributions to their communities, state and nation at large.

In an attempt to reduce tension, violent protest, kidnapping and attack on oil facilities in the Niger Delta region, the Federal Government has proposed a new vision to signpost a new era to oil producing communities in the region.

The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo stated this Thursday at a town hall meeting held with elders and people of Akwa Ibom State in continuation of his tour of states in the Niger Delta region.

“I am here as the emissary of President Mohammadu Buhari who after the visit of Pan Niger Delta Forum in November 2016 decided that we must undertake visit to engage with the leadership and people of oil producing communities of the region to hear them and understand their problems and concern”, he said.

He said the tour was to offer communities in the Niger Delta and all oil producing communities

a new vision and a new compact in the great source of wealth of the nation.

In this direction, the Acting President The Federal Government has begun discreet verification of militant groups in the Niger Delta that recently accepted a temporary ceasefire after series of attacks on the country’s oil and gas infrastructure in the region.

A string of meetings spearheaded by the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Presidential Amnesty Office (PAO) have already taken place to put finishing touches to the exercise which THISDAY gathered might be concluded in another round of talks scheduled for later this month.

While most of the groups currently going through screening in batches operate mainly from Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers, the hotbed of violent agitations in the oil-rich region, a source close to the talks stated yesterday that a handful also came in from Ondo,

Cross River and Akwa Ibom, less affected by militancy.

The source noted that the groups were optimistic about the softening stance of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to the Niger Delta problem and were, therefore prepared to cooperate to ensure peace in the Delta.

One of the groups, the Iduwini Volunteer Force, (IVF) operating mainly around the Bayelsa, Delta axes, a source who spoke in confidence said it submitted a list of 320 fighters, just like other militant organisations, which are currently being screened in batches by two directors from the NSA's office and that of the Presidential Amnesty body.

The decision to submit themselves for vetting, it was learnt, arose from the renewed urgency the government seems to be giving the Niger Delta and some of the demands made by the leaders and elders of the area, the source said.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •MARCH 11, 2017

15

NEWS

In Brief

Police Kill Robbery Suspects

The police in Bayelsa have killed two suspected armed robbers in Yenagoa, who attempted to attack a popular supermarket in the state capital. Police PublicRelationsOfficerintheState,Mr.AsinimButswat,saidinastatement on Friday that though one of the suspects escaped, the police succeeded in demobilising two others who were confirmed dead at the Federal Medical CentreinYenagoa.Headdedthatdeadlyweapons,includingtworevolverpistols wererecoveredfromthesuspects,whosecorpseshadbeendepositedinthe morgue.“OnThursday9thMarch,2017atabout1530hrs,threeyoungmenarmed with locally made pistols, attacked Ankos Supermarket at Opolo, Yenagoa, andcartedawaythesumofonehundredandfivethousandnaira(#105,000.)

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) swiftly responded to the distress and the armed robbers engaged the Policemen in a gun duel. Consequently, oneofthesuspectsescaped,whiletheothertwosuspectssustainedgunshot injuries.TheywerearrestedandtakentotheFederalMedicalCentre(FMC), Yenagoa,for treatment wheretheywereconfirmed dead.

Adeosun Hosts American Ambassador

MASSIVE EMPOWERMENT...

Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Lagos State Deputy Speaker, House of Assembly, Hon Wasiu Sanni Eshinlokun and the one of the beneficiaries of the Employment and Skills Acquisition Scheme, Mrs. Adetunji Fatima, during the 21st edition of the Lagos Central Senatorial District Town Hall Meeting at Event Place,Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos

Energy Theft: Eko Disco Offers to Pay Whistle Blowers 20% Ejiofor Alike

Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc. (EKEDC) has offered to pay anyone who reports energy theft by some unscrupulous elements 20 per cent of the money recovered from such thief.

Addressing stakeholders yesterday at a forum with Festac Town residents in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Oladele Amoda, said the mouth-watering incentive became necessary against the backdrop of over N1 billion lost to the various forms of energy theft and vandalism in the zone.

The CEO, who was represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Sam Nwaire, said the company incurred expenditure of about N1 billion in the last three years for the replacement of vandalised

equipment and meters that were damaged by customers in a bid to bypass the meters.

According to him, a task force had been set up to inspect houses of consumers and impose a penalty of N1 million on anyone caught in energy theft.

Amoda said the company would henceforth commence effective prosecution of suspected energy theft and also publish their names in the national dailies.

“We appeal to our customers to avoid engaging in bye-passing the meters because it’s criminal and punishable under Electricity Regulation Code of Conduct Act. l will advise customers to exercise patience with EKEDCP as we promise to address all the issues as regards estimated billing and other challenges,’’ he said.

Reacting to concerns raised by

the customers on prepaid meters, Amoda said the company had started installation of over 4,000 prepaid meters to residents of Festac and its environs, adding that the first batch of 1,000 meters had been installed.

He said that the company would ensure that 4,000 prepaid meters were installed before the end of the year, and appealed to the residents to ensure prompt payment of their bills.

“We have deployed the first phase of 1,000 meters to residents of Festac, we promised to install over 4,000 meters before the year ends. We will ensure effective roll-out of pre-paid meters to residents of Festac, Satellite Town, Amuwo and its environs because we are committed to serving our customers very well. We appeal to residents to place order for the

meters and it will be installed.

Most residents prefer to pay little bills because they are cheating the company through bye-passing of meters,” Amoda added.

He revealed that the company was owed N4.2 billion by residents of Festac Town and urged consumers to settle their debts.

“We have designed a model that allows customers to pay their huge debts by installment to encourage them settle their debts at ease.

“We all know what Nigeria is going through today; the challenge is everywhere. I know how you people feel and I want to tell you also that we are not also happy with power situation. I want to assure you that we are doing all we can under the law to improve power supply to our customers,” Amoda said.

Herbalist Allegedly Cuts Off Baby’s Gombe Mulls Life Imprisonment Genital During Circumcision for Sexual Offences Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

Mr. Joseph Michael, father of an eight-month-old baby whose penis was “erroneously” severed by a herbalist in Ondewari, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa State, has accused the local circumcision expert of deliberately cutting off his son’s manhood.

The distressed father of the baby, who had earlier said he was not informed before the minor surgical operation was carried out on his baby, noted that his son was currently in severe pains.

While seeking financial help to carry out a comprehensive treatment on his son, Michael, a 39-year-old unemployed father of six children, said that the incident had thrown him into financial distress.

He added that he could not afford the cost of medical services at the Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa, where the little boy is currently receiving medical attention.

Michael, an ex-militant under the Presidential Amnesty scheme said Mr. Ziworitin Keke, 59 on

February 5, allegedly cut off half of the genitals of the eight-month-old during circumcision.

He appealed to public spirited individuals, Bayelsa government and members of the public to come to the aid of the baby, arguing that the action was deliberate.

"The idea that the circumcision was a mistake is untrue, the man did it deliberately because he circumcised other children, why will it be my son’s own that will go wrong?

“After cutting off my boy's penis, the man who is married to my son’s grandmother told my wife to leave the child with him for at least three weeks so that he could treat him very well.

“But my wife refused because the boy was bleeding and she rushed him to the health centre at Korokorosei, a neighbouring community to us.", he said.

He explained that they were referred to the Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa for specialised medical care by healthcare workers at the community centre.

Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

Sexual violators in Gombe State may attract life sentence if the state Government buys the recommendations of a Law Review Committee on human rights violations.

The Law Review committee report headed by Justice Wabili, has already been received and waiting consideration.

The matter came to light during the celebration of the 2017 World Women’s Day where the State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development Mrs. Rabi Daniel said it was heartwarming to note that the State Government had reviewed the laws on human rights.

The Commissioner who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Hajiya Laraba Ahmed, also called on the State Governor to endeavour to establish peace and dialogue agency to tackle issues of women and girls.

Also addressing the press, a Non-Governmental organisation (NGO), Peace and Gender Media

Practitioners appealed to the Gombe State government to hasten and support the passage of the gender and equity bill in the State.

The Gombe State Coordinator of the group, Alhassan Yahaya, said if that was done, most of the challenges faced by women and girls in the State would be greatly reduced.

Also speaking, the UN-Women Gender Technical Advisor in Gombe State, Mrs. Rhoda Zira Dia said despite the opportunities provided by globalization, technology and digital revolution, the World must address the issues of the growing informality of labour, unstable livelihoods and concerns, new fiscal and trade policies as well as environmental impact in the context of women’s economic empowerment.

The State Ministry of Women affairs and Social Welfare in collaboration with the UN-Women brought together various women groups for the celebration which focused on promoting Women’s engagement in peace and security in Northern Nigeria.

TheMinisterofFinance,Mrs.KemiAdeosunonFridayreaffirmedthecommitment of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to return the economy on a path of sustainable growth having weathered the storm of a difficult macroeconomicenvironmentovertheyears.Shesaidthisduringacourtesy visitinherofficebytheUSAmbassadortoNigeria,Mr.W.StuartSymington.

According to Adeosun, in spite of the oil price shock and drop in production volumes,theFederalGovernmenthassucceededinutilisingthesituationto repositiontheNigerianeconomywhichwouldultimatelybetotheadvantage ofthenation.Sheemphasisedtheinvestmentininfrastructure,citingthatover N1trn had so far been released. She noted that lack of adequate investment ininfrastructurehadbeenthebaneoftheNigerianeconomy,notingthatthe present administration had begun to correct this anomaly. According to her, overN1Trillionhadbeenreleasedforvariousinfrastructureprojectsacrossthe country.Sheemphasisedthecriticalroleofpoweronjobandwealthcreation.

The Minister further explained that investment in public infrastructure will begin to attract private sector funding which will enable diversification and growthinpriorityareaslikeAgricultureand Housing.

Fire Razes Students Belongings

Nofewerthan237studentsofGombeScienceSecondarySchoolweresaid to have lost all their personal belongings in a fire incident that took place in the late hours of Wednesday.The State Commissioner of Education Hajiya Aisha Ahmed attributed the cause of the fire which razed down 18 rooms to fluctuating electricity by the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED).

According to her, the incident took place while the students were in class for theireveningclassesandcouldnotputoutthefireorreporttheincidenttothe Statefirefighters.Ahmedfurtherdisclosedthatthestudentscomprisedof theScienceCollegestudentsandStudentwhoareonExchangeProgramme fromvariousstatesofthefederation.ThestateGovernor,AlhajiIbrahimHassan Dankwambo,whovisitedtheschool,assuredthattheStateGovernmentwould putinplaceamachinerytoresettlethestudentswhileworkfortherenovation of theaffected structurewould commenceimmediately.

NEMA Deploys Helicopter, Ambulances

As part of emergency preparations, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said it had joined other stakeholders by deploying a rescue helicopter, three Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) Ambulances and three RapidInterventionVehiclestosupportemergencysituationsinKadunaState followingtheclosureofNnamdiAzikiweInternationalAirport,Abuja.NEMA disclosedthatthehelicopterwastobeusedformedicalpatrolwhilethethree MICU ambulances with the Rapid InterventionVehicles are stationed along JereandKatariTowns,Kaduna-AbujaroadandKadunaInternationalAirport.

Thiswascontained inastatement byitsHead of Mediaand Publicrelations, Sani Datti and made available to the press on Friday in Abuja. According to therelease,"theMICUambulancesareusedtoadministerfirstaidtreatment and stabilisation for trauma victims on their way to the hospital as it serves asamobilehospitalwiththecapacitytocarryonecriticalandonelesscritical victim.TheRapidInterventionVehiclesareusedforSearchandRescue,fight firerapidlyandextricationofvictimstrappedinaccidentvehiclesorcollapsed structures."

Meadow Hall Edutainment Centre

Inabidtonurtureandinspirecreativityinchildren,MeadowHallGrouphasunveiled itsSpringMeadowEdutainmentCentreinLagos.Speakingattheevent,the GroupManagingDirector,Mrs.KehindeNwanisaidthecentrewascommitted toexcellenceespeciallyintheareasofnurturingtheirtalents."SpringMeadow HallEdutainmentCentreisessentiallytailoredtomeettheneedsofworking parentsbyofferingacentrefordevelopingchildren'stalentsinvariousareas suchasScience,Technology,EngineeringandMathematics(STEM),Bookarama (readingclub),afternoonadventure,learninghub,musicacademyandbabies’ room(crèche),"shesaid.Accordingtoher,"thisisgearedtowardsdeveloping children’s multiple intelligences, expand children’s learning experiences and widentheirhorizon".Inherkeynoteaddress,theDeputyGovernorofLagosState, Dr.IdiatOlurantiAdebule,whowasrepresentedbyMrs.YetundeAdefolahan Odejayi,thePermanentSecretary,DeputyGovernor’sOffice,thankedNwani forthevisionoftheMeadowHallGroupnotonlyinsettingupacentre forthe developmentofchildren’stalentsbutforalsoputtingGodfirstinthepursuit of theMeadow Hall Group’svision.

The Fountain of Life Church

TheFirstconferenceofTheFountainofLifeChurchfor2017holdsonSaturday, March18thatTheFountainofLifeChurch,Ilupeju,by2pm.Astatementfrom the church said the event was free and opens to all interested persons. The FountainofLifeChurch,pastoredbyleadershipandrelationshipexpert,Taiwo Odukoya,amongotherinitiatives,hastakenparticularinterestinwidows,widowers, divorcees, single parents and older singles. Odukoya’s vision is to build a community where people in this category can draw comfort and inspiration fromoneanother,aswellasfindasanswerstothechallengesoftheday.The fellowship,cameaboutasaresultofthepeculiardifficultiesexperiencedby Odukoyaingrapplingwiththedeathofhisfirstwife.TheRuthandBoazFellowshipcontinuestoprovideawiderangeofsupportforitsmembers,including hostingabi-annual conferenceof teaching,interactionand empowerment.

16

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

THE ALTERNATIVE with Reno Omokri Nigeria’s Babel: One Government, Multiple Conflicting Voices

I

f you are a keen follower of the world of business, you would probably have heard that Etisalat Nigeria, the Nigerian affiliate of the UAE-based Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, also known as Etisalat, is having difficult times and may be taken over by banks to whom it is heavily indebted to the tune of about $1.7 billion. Apparently, CHANGE has come to Etisalat Nigeria!

Is it not ironic that it is this same Etisalat, where anAll Progressives Congress big fish with an appetite for lying and making inciting statements is suspected to have interests, is blaming the economy for its failure? Who has been in charge of the economy since 2015?

The funniest thing is that under the previous Jonathan administration, Etisalat was thriving. Now under President Muhammadu Buhari, it is failing and failing BIG TIME. These guys who used lies to bring down the administration of Goodluck Jonathan in order to get to power should pray that the destruction they planned for Jonathan does not consume them and their businesses one after the other.

And just like the British Government vindicated Jonathan over their lies about that government rejecting an offer to rescue the Chibok girls, God, I believe, will also vindicate Jonathan over all their outstanding remaining lies.After all, ‘if you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself.’-Proverbs 26:27.

And talking about that false allegation, can Lai Mohammed and Nasir El-Rufai now bury their heads in shame as the British Government has debunked the lie they promoted against Jonathan over the Chibok girls?

Even when Jonathan released a statement denying the allegation without mentioning the current government, Lai Mohammed, pricked by a guilty conscience, released misleading statement against Dr. Goodluck Jonathan accusing him of ‘finger pointing’, while Nasir El-rufai, a man who cannot rescue his own citizens of Southern Kaduna and whom former President Olusegun Obasanjo described as a “pathological” character assassin with a “penchant” for untruth (in his book My Watch) was circulating the misinformation on Social Media. Who can know El-rufai more than his own boss of eight years?

This is an exact quote of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s assessment of Nasir El-rufai from his book, My Watch Volume 2: “Aleader must know the character and ability of his subordinates.

Character-wise, Nasir has not much going for him. But he is a talented young man who can always deliver under close supervision. So, when Osita Chijoka approached, among others, propping Nasir as my possible successor, believing that whoever I supported would make it, which was a false belief; I did not hesitate to point to Nasir’s naivety and immaturity, let alone of his inability to give honour to whom honour is due.

My vivid recollection of him is penchant for lying, for unfair embellishment of stories and his inability to sustain loyalty for long. Two years after I had left office, Osita came to me to confirm how right I was on my assessment and judgement of Nasir. I knew what I could make him to achieve and he achieved it for my administration and for the country. I believe that he can still be used in public service but under guidance and sufficient oversight, making allowance for the psychology of “his petit size and his elephantine brain.” He was described as a malicious liar. He was more than that; he is a pathological purveyor of untruths and half-truths with little or no regard for integrity. In all of this, he unwittingly does more harm than good to himself.”

The Nigerian TelevisionAuthority network news at 9 a.m. on Monday the 6th of March, 2017, was devoted to promoting this lie rather than on informing Nigerians of the good works theActing President Osinbajo has been doing in the absence of President Buhari.

But now that the truth is out, there is total silence from both guys and the NTA. I know these people very well. Please do not doubt me when I say misinformation is their major occupation!

The Nigerian TelevisionAuthority should be a medium for information, not propaganda. Nigerians should be informed via that channel on what their government, temporarily headed byActing President Osinbajo, is doing to fulfill the change agenda.

Why is that not the preoccupation of NTA? Is it because the erstwhile acting president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has so outshined the returnee vacation-president, Muhammadu Buhari that we honestly do not know if Nigerians will want to go back to Buhari’s style of governance by blame when he comes back?

History does not repeat itself. Men repeat history and blame it for repeating itself. In 1984, Tunde Idiagbon was the real power behind Muhammadu Buhari. In 2017, Professor Yemi Osinbajo is the intellectual power behind the same Muhammadu Buhari!

It was when Tunde Idiagbon travelled out of the country that the first Buhari administration FELLinAugust of 1985 and it was when President Muhammadu Buhari travelled out of the country that the second Buhari administration started to RISE beginning from January of 2017. This proves that Buhari’s governments can thrive without Buhari himself, but it is doubtful if they can survive without his deputies.

And so we continue to see the kitchen cabinet shoot down any attempts to compare theActing President with his lackluster boss.

No wonder the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has been so restless of late. Babachir Lawal and others in the kitchen cabinet know that the days of a President writing letters to defend their dubious contracts are over until President Buhari comes back. May God bless Pastor Osinbajo!

And still on Babachir Lawal, what does the Secretary to the Government of the Federation mean by saying Christians are fuelling rumours of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ill health? Can he name names? What type of grass-cutter talk is this?

The ChristianAssociation of Nigeria has never speculated on the health of President Buhari preferring instead to pray for him as do many Christian ministers. What sort of provocative statement is this?

Mohammed

What is the business of the Body of Christ with speculations when we are spectacularly pleased with the actions of the acting president Professor Yemi Osinbajo? Mr. Babachir Lawal, do not let your grasscutting contract intoxicate you into insulting the Body of Christ!

I predict that we will continue to see such contradictions from theAPC-led federal government for the next two years until 2019, because that is what you get when you have strange bedfellows in a contraption called a party but is in reality, a vehicle hurriedly put together to grab power for the sake of power and not for the sake of what to do with power.

Political parties should not just exist as a vehicle for people with a desire to secure political power. They ought to be a place of common ground for people who share the same broad ideas for the advancement of human civilisation within the sphere of influence of the city-state or nation whose citizenship or residency they hold.

And a political party can only bring about positive change when it offers people common ground. Where a political party does not offer a common ground, it will inevitably become a battle ground.And sometimes, there is the danger that the battle ground continues to widen and may eventually result in collateral damage to the people that are meant to be served.

Members of theAPC are not friends or partners or constituents.

They are comrades.Acomrade is not for what you are for, neither does he share the same interests as you.Acomrade is simply one who is against what you are against.

Members of theAPC share no ideological connection. In actual fact, they may even hate each other, only that they hate the previous administration, the Peoples Democratic Party and the immediatepast president more than they hate each other and are willing to temporarily suppress their hatred for each other in other to gang up against their common enemies.

And when their gang up becomes stale, guess what will happen?

You guessed right! They start to turn on each other.

And the chickens are coming home to roost.

Just imagine that the Senior SpecialAssistant to the President on ForeignAffairs and Diaspora,Abike Dabiri, told Nigerians with non-essential travel requirements not to bother traveling to the United States. She gave as reason the opinion that the Trump administration’s travel ban was not quite clear on Nigeria (it is) and the fact that Nigerians with valid visas have been denied entry into the US. Apparently,Abike is not aware that this is not the first time that Nigerians, and indeed other citizens including citizens of the U.K., have been denied entry into the US even while possessing valid visas.

Avisa to any country is a privilege and not a right to enter that country. The final decision on whether or not to grant you entry is made by the immigration officer at the port of entry. This is true for America under Trump andAmerica under Obama or any other President. It is also true for the U.K. and for the EU. Many Nigerians with valid visas were stopped from entering the US under President Barack Obama but because the mainstream media did not think it sexy to report that,Abike is unaware of it. Ditto for U.K. and the EU. Abike gave an interview on her travel advisory to Reuters and it was reported on the pages of Western newspapers.And it seemed to establish Nigeria’s foreign policy towards a nation whose President had called our own President on phone, invited him to the White House and offered to sell him badly-needed weapons to fight terrorists.

Well, President Buhari’s minister for foreign affairs would not have that. Geoffrey Onyeama, perhaps to assert himself, perhaps just doing his job or perhaps, as has been reported by some media houses, he was directed by ‘the cabal to do so’, we will never know, but on the next day (Wednesday March 8, 2017) held a press conference and

totally repudiatedAbike’s travel advisory.

Again, Reuters and the international media were there and again the Western press carried the story in their headlines.

Can you imagine how silly Nigeria must look to the outside world with a government that cannot get its acts together and speak with one voice? Do not forget that this is the same government that reduced MTN’s $5.2 billion fine to $3.4 billion and when the world media reported it, it came out to say that the reduction was a typographical error!

Let us be mindful that this is the same government that lost its own budget.Abudget that had been padded beyond belief before it was even lost and found!

And while we are being told by government officials to pray for a President that another set of government officials say is ‘hale and hearty’, we are confused as to what to say in our supplications. It is after all madness to pray for the healing of a man who is ‘hale and hearty’!

Then just as we are recovering from this ‘riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’, along comes the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, with a strong public rebuke against his own successor,AkinwunmiAmbode, who accused him of ‘frustrating’ his developmental efforts in Lagos State.

In just one week, Nigeria has expressed a rofo rofo, featuringAbike Dabiri versus the foreignAffairs minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, and now another featuring Babatunde Fashola versusAkinwunmi Ambode (his own successor).

We have previously been regaled with the open disagreement and unhealthy rivalry between the Directorate of State Security and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with the former releasing a damning memo on the Chairman of the latter.

We also saw the public exchange of uncomplimentary letters between the former National Leader of theAPC,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (former because President Buhari said there was no such title) and the party’s Chairman, Mr. John Odigie Oyegun.

The only conclusion is that theAPC-led federal government obviously does not know how to manage a government, let alone of how to lead a people.

As a pastor, I counsel married couples and I believe that some of my counsel to husbands and wives would be useful to the Buhari administration.

First counsel: Never tell your family that your wife is bad after a disagreement because they will not believe she is good after you have both reconciled.

In this case, the family is Nigeria and the husbands and wives are the feuding members of the Buhari administration.

Second counsel: You can have an ex-pastor, ex-spouse or ex-lover, but cannot have ex-parents. So, look after your parents to get permanent blessings from God. The ex-pastor, spouse and lover are ex-officials. No condition is permanent and to lob insults and allegations against Jonathan and members of the previous PDP administration will not serve present officials as they themselves will one day become ex-officials. If they want to remain relevant today and tomorrow and get permanent blessings, they must look after their parents i.e. Nigeria and Nigerians.

Third and final counsel: Do not use your mouth to destroy your children’s destiny. Do not call them stupid even if they act stupidly.

Call them what you want them to be instead.

This is in response to the President’s penchant for speaking negatively about Nigeria and Nigerians abroad. Nigerians are not ‘criminals’ even though some Nigerians, like nationals of other countries, will engage in crime. Does the President know that the population of US prison inmates at 2.3 million people is more than the entire population of the oil-rich nation of Qatar? Yet, noAmerican President has calledAmericans ‘criminals’.As a matter of fact, every American President in the last 100 years has repeated the words ‘God BlessAmerica’ and is ready to go to war abroad over the death or maltreatment of oneAmerican.

So when theAPC and its government behave the way it is behaving, the question on the minds of Nigerians and friends of Nigeria is this: Does theAPC even need an opposition?

Is it because we have recently had a government with two presidents that officials are taking two different positions? How can two walk together except they agree? If a government is divided against itself, how can it stand?Are we finally seeing the reason why this government ran our economy aground? What does the Bible say in James 1:8? “Adouble-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

In fact, nothing best describes this administration like the biblical case of the Tower of Babel.

Like Nimrod’s Tower of Babel, theAPC came with a tower of empty, sugar-coated promises and like Nimrod’s empire, confusion has been visited upon them.

So much for the promise of ‘change’. But should we be surprised at this turn of events? Were we not warned by the Holy Scriptures themselves in Proverbs 24:21 which prophetically say ‘meddle not with them that are given to change?’

Perhaps there is a solution that can benefit Nigeria with President Buhari’s return which will preserve the good workActing President Osinbaja has been doing and also give the President room to ‘rest’. Why can’t we consider a return to our pre 1966 governance mode where, like NnamdiAzikiwe, President Buhari will be the ceremonial President and like SirAbubakar Tafawa Balewa,Acting President Osinbajo would preside over day to day management and leadership of the economy and country, leaving only the armed forces and foreign relations to the real President (Buhari)? Without being mischievous, I think this will guarantee the sustenance of the economic progress we have witnessed under Osinbajo and give President Buhari room to ‘rest’.

At this stage, it is fitting to end this piece with the Latin phrase, Quod Erat Demonstrandum (QED)!

Plus Pastor Gbenga Oso

LOUD WHISPERS AUTO GLOBAL SOCCER FAIRGROUND FASHION FILE INTERVIEW

How I’ve Been Helping Hundreds of Women to be Mothers

pg. 22 pg. 26 pg. 29 pg. 36 pg. 41 pg. 49

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 11, 2017

PEOPLE

The Number of Twins Born in My Church is Very High The excited woman lined up on the rostrum, rocking gently babies craddled in their warm arms as they dance slowly to the church’s songs of praise. Amidst them is a man. Is he he responsible for all the babies? Pastor Gbenga Oso, the General Overseer of Laughter Foundation International Ministry a.k.a. God’s Baby Factory, has become an enigma among ministers of God in Nigeria. His ministry is rare and likewise the man who has braved all odds to put smiles on the faces of childless couples in Nigeria through prayers. Oso pioneered the miracle baby center in Nigeria through his Laughter Foundation Church located in Oregun area of Lagos. Oso began his ministry in March 1997; after he resigned as an accountant.

To him, it was a divine call. Over the last two decades, Oso has not derailed from his calling.

Testimonies abound in his church. Today, the church which began with only eight members now parades over 3,500 worshippers every Sunday. As the church marks its 20th anniversary tomorrow, Oso speaks with Funke Olaode about his successes and initial challenge

H

ow would you describe the journey so far?

The journey has been wonderful. We started Laughter Foundation International Ministry, a.k.a God’s Baby Factory in March 1997 in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital before we moved to Lagos. The ministry, which started with eight congregants 20 years ago, now boasts of thousands of believers. Today, we have between 3,000 and 3,500 during Sunday service. We set out with a mandate to pray for couple looking for the fruit of the womb, who have done everything humanly possible.

God spoke to me that I should start a ministry to focus on that. That time we didn’t have a church that was doing that. What churches would do is to earmark one or two minutes to pray for couples looking for children. But God specifically told me that I was going to start a ministry focusing on child-bearing matters. After a few promos on radio and television for a week, we have continued to grow.

Did the name ‘Laughter Foundation’ come along with the revelation?

God gave me the name. When God spoke to me I was toying with different names but I had to go back to God to give me a particular name and God directed me to Genesis Chapter 21 Verse 6 where Sarah said,” “God has made me to laugh so that everybody that hears me can laugh.’ The laughter came from there. And when Sarah eventually had the baby, she named him Isaac which means laughter.

What were you doing before you went into full time ministry?

I was an accountant and had worked in different places including government and private sectors.

What was your wife’s reaction when you decided to quit your career as an accountant?

Well, everybody around me knew

I loved God and whatever God asks me to do I never fail to do it.

Though some people warned me that I should be careful but I know the one who called me. Family members also believed me that once it is God, He would back me up.

What gave you that conviction that you were going to succeed?

Because I heard God and He was the one that directed me to do it.

And if He was surely the one that called me, He would help me both financially and otherwise. Today, I don’t have regrets.

It has being 20 years of miracles. Any time to celebrate?

Well, every day is a celebration but this year we are only picking one day for the anniversary which falls on March 12 and the second Sunday of every Monthly Miracle Service. It is usually a long service where people come and give testimonies of God’s awesomeness.

This event will be marked with special Sunday service tagged ‘By this time next year’ at the Church’s Cathedral located at Olusosun in Oregun, Ikeja. It is basically going to be an anointing service. We realise that some challenges being faced are spiritually inclined. How do you explain a lady who got married at age 56? God visited her during one of the anointing services; destroyed the yoke of delay in marriage and difficulty in having children.

Your church is known for helping couples who are looking for the fruit of the womb. Is that the only the thing your church does?

Here, apart from focusing on couples looking for the fruit of the womb, we also pray for salvation of the soul. We encourage our followers to serve God wholeheartedly so that after this world, they can make it to the Kingdom of God. The entire ministry is a total package: salvation of souls, child bearing, marriage for singles and prosperity.

We organise singles’ conference every three months for those who are of marriageable age but marriage

Oso

Photos: SUNDAY ADIGUN

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MARCH 11, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

PEOPLE Why I Have Billionaires Service in My Church has eluded them. This will take a supernatural help. For instance, there was a lady whose nine siblings of marriageable age (both male and female) are still single. A friend invited her to this church. It didn’t take long before somebody came into her life for the first time and within six months she got married, got pregnant immediately and had a set of twin boys. She was the only one that got deliverance among her siblings. So testimonies abound.

We also have a programme called billionaires’ service where we pray for people to excel in their careers.

I always say that Laughter Foundation children must live in their own homes. I pray for people to pursue the impossibility and God has blessed them mightily through hard work.

What are the measures put in place for pregnant women to have safe delivery as some clergy men sometimes frown at medical help?

We encourage our pregnant women to seek the best medical help during pregnancy. God has been so good to us at Laughter Foundation that in 20 years, we have not lost a mother or child during delivery.

We have been able to achieve this because we monitor our pregnant women until they deliver here. We have a prayer meeting for pregnant women; which holds every month.

To ensure that the woman did not lose the baby during delivery and to ensure that mother and baby are okay. There was a particular woman who had been having bad dreams during pregnancy that somebody usually pushed her from the top of mountain and she would fall on her belly and she would lose the baby during delivery. She came for prayers and when she had the same dream this time she landed with her two legs and was singing praises.

She eventually had a safe delivery for the fourth time. There was a woman who was told somebody would die during delivery. She was afraid when her day of delivery was approaching. I said in my 20 years in this ministry we have never lost a woman and she would not be the number one. This woman delivered safely and today she is alive. These are some of the things God is doing here. I encourage the mothers-to-be to listen to doctors.

What would you consider milestones in miracles that God has done through you?

As said earlier, testimonies abound but of significant note are two testimonies that one can say it could only have been God. A woman, who is a health official who had been married for 35 years without a child, visited this sanctuary after all her efforts proved abortive. She became pregnant and by the time she delivered the baby girl she was 59 going to 60. This was beyond human comprehension and it was a miracle. There was also a woman who had her first child at age 54; a boy, and had a second child at 56 which was a girl. The recent one was a couple who got married in our church branch in Ibadan and relocated to the United Kingdom.

When it was time for making babies nothing was happening. It was a childless marriage because she always had bad dreams during pregnancy. They resorted to IVF and after seven attempts and nothing happened, she told the husband to relocate to Nigeria that Laughter Foundation would take care of

Oso

it. The husband agreed with her and started applying for jobs in Nigeria. He was working with an oil company in London and luckily he got another job in an oil company in Nigeria and the wife resigned from her job. They relocated to Nigeria and started attending this church.

Within a year that they have been attending this church she got pregnant and was even afraid of losing it. By the grace of God, God saw her through. She went back to London to deliver and she gave birth to a set of triplets of two boys and a girl after nine years of marriage. This can only be God. During delivery through C-section, the doctor diagnosed giant ovarian cyst that was as big as a baby section. I prayed for her and when she went back for scan it had disappeared completely.

These are some of the things God does here. People that have gone to several places without solution but it happens here because it is our main focus and it is easier for us to get solution.

The recent testimony was a first delivery of a set of twins of a boy and a girl in LUTH after 20 years of marriage. People come from all over the world to attend what God is doing through us here. And sometimes I minister out of the country to attend to cases like this.

There are occasions where couples came from the US to Nigeria for a day just to attend our programme.

They came after listening to four testimonies from their friends in US and Canada that with modesty God is here answering people’s prayers

when it comes to having children.

And as we are about to celebrate our 20thanniversary, we want to celebrate God’s goodness.

How many children have you delivered so far in this church?

We have lost count because I don’t know the exact figure. Again, couples come from other churches and even non-Christian and we don’t keep the number. Once they receive the miracle they go back to their churches. The only thing I know here is that the number of set of twins is very high in this church.

What were the initial challenges when you ventured out?

People were very few because I couldn’t remember any church doing what I started out to do. The challenge was done away with when we used the media to propagate what God is doing through us.

And for the followers, they believed in what we were doing by referring them to the Bible because it is our constitution and in everything we depend on as Christians.

Was there any time the authorities or people said you are running a baby factory considering the church’s alias ‘God’s Baby Factory’?

Not really. As a matter of fact, we have never experienced such things. But people will say all kinds of things through testimonies.

There was a woman who came and gave testimony that when she saw Laughter Foundation with a lot of women carrying babies on television

The recent testimony was a first delivery of a set of twins of a boy and a girl in LUTH after 20 years of marriage.

People come from all over the world to attend what God is doing through us here. And sometimes I minister out of the country to attend to cases like this.

There are occasions where couples came from the US to Nigeria for a day just to attend our programme. They came after listening to four testimonies from their friends in US and Canada that with modesty God is here answering people’s prayers when it comes to having children. And as we are about to celebrate our 20thanniversary, we want to celebrate God’s goodness she said it is a lie; that we usually stage managed women to come. She too was looking to have a child and she came and joined the church, got pregnant and had a baby boy. That was when she confessed that she thought it was a lie. So people say a lot of things but we don’t allow that to bother us.

What are the succession plans as sometimes the GO dies with the vision?

I have many people working with me here doing most of the work.

We have group leaders, regional leaders and provincial leaders. The problems they cannot solve come to me. I have not been to Ibadan for many years. If they make mistakes they correct that so that without me the work of God continues. That is our own way of mentoring people because if I go to be with the Lord today the church of God will continue because there are people who have been groomed to take over.

What would you like to be remembered for?

That I love God with my heart and God helped me to pray for people looking for children and they succeeded.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017 with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

LOUD WHISPERS

Obasanjo

OBJ at 80, 90, 100 Does it matter? My Baba had his birthday recently and we all have been worried as to his real age. Daddy himself has said that he really does not know when he was born so he chose very carefully a date in March to be celebrated by all chicken -loving Nigerians as the birthday of our war hero, elder statesman and founding father of modern-day Nigeria. Where I sat, I still felt that OBJ is the greatest living Nigerian and I really mean this not in a sarcastic way but as a statement of fact. I really admire him and have followed his trajectory right from when he took over the reins of government after the unfortunate assassination of Murtala Mohammed. Obj has been a recurring decimal in our national psyche and his government ushered in some of the most glorious times this generation of Nigerians ever witnessed. He gave us the GSM which revolutionised our economy; he reformed the banking system, building institutions that started competing with the rest of the world. His institutions like EFCC and ICPC continue to play very critical roles in our nation and since leaving government he has continued to play a stabilising role, via interactions and offering advice when required. I know Wole Soyinka will not agree with me, but that is his business.

This is Baba’s birthday and so he must be celebrated. Well to solve the riddle of his true birth date, I went into rigorous research that saw me traversing the forests of Owu, the muddy dirt roads near his Ota Farm and the deep forests of Egba land, working with xenophobic South African archeologists, looking for evidence of Baba’s true age. Well, from his tribal marks, pot belly, age of the jokes he cracks, his skin colour and the style of his clothes plus the fact that his teeth are brownish hue, we have come to the conclusion that Baba cannot be less than 102 years. Yes, that is our initial deduction and we have sent a report to the United Nations Commission for Refugees for further analysis. Till we get the report back, let me on behalf of all your children sir, wish you a happy 102 years even as we pray for a longer life and your continued positive contributions to our quest for principled leadership and good governance in our country. God bless you sir.

Buhari : He Finally Called Me !

Last week, I had complained bitterly of how the President snubbed me, thereby embarrassing me in the presence of my full cabinet in Shomolu and setting me up for impeachment. Somebody must have showed him my write-up cos, finally he called. I was home in the toilet enjoying a quiet and peaceful bowel movement when my phone started ringing. The law in my house is that nobody touches my phone; punishment for touching my phone is death by hanging cos me too I will die if my Abeokuta goddess goes through my phone.

So the phone kept ringing as nobody dared to touch it. Thinking it was my landlord or my lord Gabriel Ogbechie who I had gone to beg to help support my Play, I took my time enjoying the only thing I can do in today’s Nigeria without paying tax. All of a sudden, my last daughter Zara who is my favourite and the only person who can dare me shouted, ‘joe, one Buhari is calling you’.

I shouted aghhhhhhhhhhhh Zara bring the phone o as I jumped out of the toilet seat and grabbed the phone. It was His Excellency and Commander-in-Chief calling me o. I was sweating, what was he calling me for? I had yabbed him too much recently o, is this my final death? My mummy had warned me o, I stood there naked, shaking

Amaechi

Fashola

Amaechi, Fashola, Tambuwal and Co.: You Guys Put Me in a Fix!!!!!!!

I really do not know these gentlemen and I must confess I have not met them, except Fashola who I had seen once as he walked past me while I was trying to buy boli and groundnut along Ikorodu road, near Onipanu bus stop on one of his numerous inspection visits as the then governor of Lagos state. So you can imagine my discomfort when I was summoned by a lovely middle-aged gentleman who is my avid reader and who had never had any reason to call me. He had called and summoned me to come meet him for some urgent discussion that Saturday. So I left my house and drove down to meet this oga who claimed to be a fan. He was handsome with an aristocratic greying beard on his pleasant-looking face. He was well to do and you could tell that from his carriage and comportment. He had with him a female pilot who was so beautiful that I immediately started thinking of hitting my host with a stick on his head before running into the Lagos sunset with this beautiful damsel whose beauty was doing things to my skin. He had wanted to meet with me, to ask me face-to-face why I was not saying anything about this ‘rudderless government’.’Edgar, why are you not saying anything about the continuous mess we are witnessing in this country?’ He was well to do and will never suffer but felt he owed the country to be ‘worried’, even though he would not do anything about it and would not even want his name to be mentioned. As he spoke, he took a swig from his well-blended whiskey.

He had offered me a tipple but I declined and asked for my favourite bottle of coke. As he spoke, I tried to see the suffering in his well-heeled beard but all I could see was a man used to the good life who was suddenly jolted by the reality that he could no longer feel safe with massive and encroaching poverty around him. His questions were simple: What were the architects of this government doing about this rot.?

What Fashola and the New PDP led

by Tambuwal and Amaechi who drew the strategy for the emergence of this ‘contraption’ doing about things?

Why they are still in government and what explanations can they give for all this ‘rubbish’? As he spoke, my eyes were on the beautiful damsel, wondering how I could get my phone

numbers to her, I winked and tried to touch her with my fingers under the table, but she sat too far from me.

Well, I pretended to listen as my oga continued with his wailing, but the truth is that I now had a more pressing national assignment which was how to snatch this bewitching angel from the good-looking aristocrat. I pretended to listen, agreeing with him that Amaechi should carry his bald head and leave the government, that Fashola with his k- leg was highly ineffective in three ministries especially with the revelation that ‘his permanent secretary was giving out housing jobs to people who were brief-case contractors and who were now hawking the papers on the street’. He had been offered the jobs and he felt it was his patriotic duty to refuse. To him, the government was not what he and millions of Nigerians voted for. He was agitated, frustrated and felt very strongly that all the blame be heaped on the architects - Amaechi, Fashola, Fayemi and Tambuwal. When he finished, I looked at him with a blank stare as he asked what I thought. I quickly said I totally agreed and that these people he had mentioned should be banished to Syria while we tried to rebuild our nation. He smiled contentedly, thanked me for my time and admonished me to continue to stand by the truth and that he loved my writings. I just come dey look the man, won’t he stand up and go and pee and let me try my luck with the lady who by this time was fiddling with her phone. As the man no gree leave na, my Shomolu sense kick in, I ask the girl if she has Bluetooth on her phone, she say yes. The Baba ask what is blue tooth, I say it is something that has to do with the dentist, he smiled and continued to savour his whiskey and so with Bluetooth, I send my phone number to the girl and she acknowledged receipt. But as I was about to congratulate myself, she just ask me in front of the man, ‘Edgar, why did you send your number to me.’ Kai, this girl na witch o. The Baba eyes change, by this time Fashola , Amaechi and co. were no longer his problem. The real problem with Nigeria and its beleaguered economy, dying currency, dearth of infrastructure, crime-ridden society was now JOSEPH EDGAR. Na beg, I beg run commot for there o.

as I took the call. ‘Is that Joseph Edgar, the Duke of Shomolu’ , the gravy voice on the other side inquired. I said yes not recognising my own voice and the other voice said hold on for His Excellency, and I said yes sir. The President came on line, it was him o. He said ‘joseffffff’ that is how he calls me.

I swear, ask those who attended Command Secondary School in Ipaja and they will confirm. ‘How are you’, he continued, fine sir, I said regaining my composure and still standing naked with only a wrapper I had

grabbed from my wife’s waist to cover my dignity and Zara staring at me, wondering why her father was shaking and sweating as he spoke on the phone. The President wanted to assure me that he was OK and he wanted the names of those who were thinking of impeaching me so he can send it to the DSS. He also wanted to assure me that he would soon be back and that I must continue to stand firm and believe in the message of change; that although the vision is looking one kind now but that as soon as

Tambuwal

he is back, he would show more resolve to deliver on his promises. He appreciated my support, saying he would not disappoint me. He had to rush since his credit was running out, he wished me well and reminded me not to forget to send him the list of those ‘idiots’ so they could be tried for treason.

Again, he wished me well and hung the phone. I think his credit finished for he was cut off mid-sentence. So my people, that was a leader, calling me in my bathroom; that was a leader showing concern about my predicament. I swore there and then to continue in my battle to ensure the continuous integrity of this government headed

by President Muhammadu Buhari and his able acting Vice-President, Professor Osibajo. Meanwhile, I have a list to compile, should I put my landlord and all those who have refused me sponsorship of my play?

Yes, all those corporate communications people who have refused to take my calls?

Charles Aigbe, I dey pity you o. No try me o. Take my damn calls or......... Lol Yellow Chill: A Chilled Experience Let me just plug this if you guys don’t mind. This 15-year-old establishment is still watering the taste buds of Lagosians with some of the fine delicacies you can imagine.

I just love eating in the place as I make sure I save for five days to get the complete fee for the meal. Last time I went there was with my long-suffering partner, Lami. You know as a Yoruba man, he is used to eating stew with everything. But as I ordered my favourite fisherman soup and he ordered his ewedu and stew, I just knew that he would change his mind. Immediately, he tasted my own soup, he changed his order and ate two plates. Problem now came when he now wanted me to pay for the three plates. I asked him to excuse me for a moment – that I wanted to use the gents. I took the back door and appeared in Shomolu. Me ke. Abeg Victor how I go dey get discounted fisherman soup you know say na minimum wage I dey? Well done bro, you are truly a Nigerian icon.

Yinka Davies, Saka Joins Isale Eko Yinka is irreplaceable and one of the most talented thespians in the country. She is now my lead actress and would bring magic to the stage. Isale Eko is rearing to go; one can feel a surge of excitement with the kind of stars queuing to join the train.

The comic genius, Saka, who fronted the MTN campaign that recently took the nation by storm is also on board. Have you got your tickets? I pity you!

CORRIGENDUM

We inadvertently used the picture of the former CEO of MTN Nigeria, Mike Ikpoki, to illustrate a material on this page last week. The error is regretted. Below is the correct picture of Ferdi Moolman, the current CEO of MTNN

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MARCH 11, 2017

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T H I S D AY SATURDAY MARCH 11, 2017

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

EXPRESSION

MEDIAGAFFES BY

EBERE WABARA

‘Blame’ Uncountable

L

ET us begin today with this front page caption solecism from DAILY Sun of March 6, among copious other improprieties that follow: “…at the thanksgiving service to mark Obasanjo’s 80th birthday anniversary in Abeokuta, yesterday.” Voice of The Nation: delete ‘anniversary’ as it is encapsulated in ‘birthday’. An aside: I had always believed that Baba was far more than this ‘official’ age!

Congratulations, sir, all the same. In all fairness and with due respect, OBJ should realistically be between 90 and 99 years—a nonagenarian. What do you think?

“ASUP alerts of (to) looming crisis in polytechnics” “Tinubu, Maryam Abacha to commission (inaugurate) houses, apartments, schools in Borno” “Ondo Assembly crisis deepens as Akeredolu’s peace meeting deadlocked” ‘Deadlock’ cannot function as a verb. The closest application is the adjectival usage: The peace meeting reached a deadlock. “…are undergoing various stages of documentation after series (a series) of oral, written and other forms of interviews were conducted.”

“FG can invest N5trn on (in) priority projects” “NCAA, stakeholders trade blames (blame) over dying local airlines” ‘Blame’ is uncountable.

The next two blunders are from a full-page advertorial by Senator (Dr.) Godswill Akpabio (CON), Senate Minority Leader, as published in DAILY SUN of March 6: “Today, you are a global citizen, loved by millions but envied by few (a few).”

“On behalf of myself, family, the good people of Akwa Ibom North Senatorial District and the entire PDP Caucus of the 8th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria….” ‘Myself’ (I) should come last, going by structural order.

“Abuja airport closure: Airlines, stakeholders in last minute (last-minute) rush to beat

deadline” “Can we begin to have confidence on (in) INEC?” “Some of these areas include producing enough food to feed our teaming (teeming) population.”

“Rather, the money, including the N200 million per state released for special purposes, was diverted to other uses.” We certainly do not need the last three words in the extract, having been taken care of by ‘diversion’.

“Unless the detonating mechanism of extremist religious chauvinism is diffused….” Get it right: defused (not diffused).

“They have decided to sheath their machetes and seek vengeance no more.” Noun: sheath; verb: sheathe.

THISDAY of March 8 requires reformation of four lines: “The sources of revenue in a city like Lagos is very important.” Still on errors of attraction (more below): The sources… are. “…business downturn resulting to (in) drive-wandering.” “…the rapaciousness of project contractors increase (increases) the country’s debt burden.”

“Senior civil servants’ union berate junior counterparts” Inside business: union berates.

THE GUARDIAN of March 8 questioned linguistic rules on two occasions: “It’s the poet feared most, knowing fully (full) well that one of the….”

“The agitated crowd, who had been whipped to hysteria, demanded for his head.…” To avoid mayhem, delete ‘for’ from the extract. ”…and which provides a noble and humanistic framework for relations between the state and citizens in (on) our continent.”

“But in the welter of these realignment of forces…” Re-thinking development: this realignment of forces.

VANGUARD of March 8 circulated three goofs: “The fear along the room and corridor (corridors) of power of a sovereign national conference.…”

“It is not in doubt that most of the commuters in the luxurious (luxury) buses that ply.…”

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

“…Aba traders constitute a large proportion of the passengers on commercial aircrafts (aircraft) that fly....”

“Major reorganization of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), which may lead to mass retirement and sack of its men and officers, now looms.” Get it right: a major reorganization or major reorganizations, as context demands.

“One of the most outrageous abuses occurred.…” Spelling in the lurch: occur, occurrence, occurred.

“I do not buy the argument that the advent of electronic mails and network computers have rendered postal services absolute.” Not yet time for structural proximity: the advent of electronic mails and network computers has (not have).

“In doing this, however, he must be faithful to the mandate of the ECOWAS Heads of Government under whose platform he operates.”

Agenda: on (not under) whose platform he operates “As Nigerian editors converge in (on) Katsina for their 10th Annual Meeting.…”

“A government white paper on the demonstration….” Sheer abuse of words! ‘White paper’ is a report issued by Government to give information. Let’s respect words. After all, reporting is all about telegraphic brevity.

“UNN students union honour vice chancellor” What is happening? Sub-editors of these days show traces of illiteracy! This way: UNN students’ union honours VC “The fact that some people eat food that does nothing for their physical well-being put them in the class of the poor.” The fact…puts.

“The richer nations who (sic) have more than enough should in this moment of great need and expectation by the poor masses (the masses are basically poor) be their brothers’ keepers.”

Standard sociolinguistics: ‘brother’s keeper’— whether one or more.

“Any further discourse on it, some might say, amounts to nothing but over-flogging a dad horse.” You flog, not over-flog, a dead horse, talking idiomatically.

“Like few (a few in this context) years ago, a

life cow was allegedly buried….” ‘Life cow’ in place of ‘live cow’ portrays sub-literacy.

“Opponents of private universities claim that they will aggravate the unemployment problem in the country.” ‘Unemployment’ is certainly a problem—so why compound it by adding another ‘problem’?

“Denmark has just played an historic role in….” ‘An historic role’ is the type of expression Ndaeyo Uko calls Elizabethan English! Current syntactic trend: ‘a historic…’

“One of the enduring concerns at the workshop concerned the role and orientation of the military with regards to our democratic aspirations.” Received English: ‘as regards’ or ‘with regard to’ “…the two ethnic rivals are now creating the impression that they are about to re-open (no hyphen) their old wounds and embark on another round of strive (strife).“ “They have in most cases remained willing collaborators in the de-politicization of the political system by acquiescing to virtually all the issues….” Get it right: acquiesce in (not to).

“And the neglect of such costs lead to political and economic imbalance that create disequilibria in the larger society.“ The two verbs in this sentence (‘lead’ and ‘create’) demand singular usage to agree with ‘neglect’ and ‘imbalance.’

“The criteria for the choice of candidates was based on partisan political loyalties and ethnic considerations.” The plural of ‘criterion’ is ‘criteria’.

“NSE parleys foreign stock exchange” ‘Parley’ takes ‘with’, if it must be used in this sense at all.

By the way, is it not amazing that some Nigerian sub-editors do not know what they ‘N’ in ‘NUJ’ represents? It is Nigeria (not Nigerian) Union of Journalists. One keeps coming across the unpardonable error in reputable newspapers and magazines.

“All Nigerian Editors Conference Katsina 2014” Editing editors: All-Nigeria Editors’ Conference Katsina 2014.

Xenophobia and that Reps’ Trip to South Africa

I

n this column last week, I invited Nigeria to look in the mirror and see reasons why SouthAfrica should not be blamed entirely for the recent wave of xenophobic attacks which affected Nigerians in that county. I had argued that to the extent that Nigeria continues to lose citizens’ confidence in government and the concomitant erosion of patriotism and national pride then the country cannot command clout enough to earn Nigerians respect and protection from the vagaries of a hostile global environment. If Nigeria can take her citizens for granted through consistent traces of lack of accountability why won’t the world treat Nigerians like lepers that should not be tolerated abroad? This week, the NationalAssembly played out a drama that reinforced my submission. Ironically, the plot was on same theme and exposed just about same malaise of official duplicity and failure of government and public institutions that have plagued Nigeria decades after political independence from Britain.

The Senate and House of Representatives openly disagreed on which chamber of the country’s bicameral legislature holds the patent to a questionable (and perhaps needless) parliamentary visit to SouthAfrica to supposedly hold talks with the Parliament of SouthAfrica on how to end xenophobic attacks against Nigerians.

The disagreement eventually embarrassed the Senate, which on Wednesday, announced a cancellation of the planned trip. This leaves the lower chamber with a pyrrhic victory in a needless ego contest that should not have arisen in the first place. So while Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila leads the delegation of representatives to Pretoria to ‘probe the immediate and remote causes’ of xenophobia against Nigerians and ‘proffer lasting solutions to the crisis’ it is important to point out some salient issues. But first of all, it is imperative to place some facts on what led to the shameful disagreement between both chambers of the NationalAssembly on the table.

On Thursday February 23, 2017, the House of Representatives resolved to raise a delegation to join up with officials of the Ministry of ForeignAffairs that would visit SouthAfrica to remind her of the “consequences of these ongoing xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and the likely repercussions.” The resolution stated specifically, inter alia: “The House should mandate the Justice Department of the ForeignAffairs Ministry to independently investigate the immediate and emote causes of the attacks so as to arrive at acceptable conclusions. The delegation should assure Nigerian citizens in SouthAfrica that the Nigerian Government is well positioned to aggressively defend the rights of Nigerians overseas, using the complete choice of obtainable means- from political and economic, to operations under international right of self-defence.” Please note that the motion which resulted in the resolution was sponsored by Mrs. Rita Orji, chairperson of the House Committee on Diaspora Affairs and was unanimously supported. Note also that the Senior SpecialAssistant to the President on Foreign Relations and Diaspora Affairs, Mrs.Abike Dabiri-Erewa, was the chairperson of the House Diaspora Committee in the immediate past 7th assembly. Further note that the House Committee on ForeignAffairs is chaired by a ranking member, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, who held that post in the preceding assembly. I will come back to these notes shortly after

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National Assembly

laying the sequence for the avoidable rift between Senate and the House.

Days after the lower chamber took the decision to send a delegation to SouthAfrica, the Senate debated a motion on the ‘resurgence of xenophobic attacks and extra-judicial killings of Nigerians in South’ and arrived at exactly the same conclusion. It is noteworthy that the Senate resolution was without reference to a similar decision made by the other chamber just the previous legislative day. The motion which was sponsored by Rose Oko, the Senate Committee chairperson on DiasporaAffairs, had originally prayed the chamber to adopt a radicalist stand of urging Nigeria to reconsider diplomatic relations with SouthAfrica given the recurrence of the attacks over the years. Two days later, the upper chamber announced a delegation for its proposed visit to be led by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and comprised of Senate Leader, SenatorAhmad Lawan; the Chief Whip, Senator SolaAdeyeye; Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on ForeignAffairs, Senator Shehu Sani; Senator Stella Oduah; Senator MagnusAbe; and Senator Shaba Lafiaji.

In an immediate reaction to that move by the Senate, the House fired back and named its own delegation in a manner that climaxed an embarrassing lack of synergy with respect to legislative response to the xenophobic attacks which had naturally elicited nationwide outrage. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Mr.

Gbajabiamila, who is the leader of the House, insisted that the lower chamber would still embark on the visit to SouthAfrica regardless of the position of the Senate. He then proceeded to give a lengthy explanation to justify the trip. Hear him: “We are looking at genuine engagement by these two parliaments of the leading countries in SouthAfrica. We will attempt to meet with the SouthAfrican parliament to discuss the possibility of both our countries enacting hate crime laws. This would cover crimes committed based on nationality. We intend to engage the SouthAfrican parliament and other authorities on areas of mutual benefits and how much both countries could lose from xenophobia and possible retaliatory actions or severing of diplomatic ties. This delegation will seek to strengthen the Nigerian /SouthAfrican Bilateral Commission, which only exists on paper for now. We hope to meet with Nigerians who reside in SouthAfrica and assure them of government’s intervention. We will advance and hopefully get a commitment on the need for the payment of compensation for the victims of this last attack.”

It was based on this that the Senate lost interest in the embarrassing plot and announced a cancellation of the proposed trip on Wednesday. In making the position of the upper chamber known on the matter, Ekweremadu, who presided at plenary said: “On our trip to SouthAfrica, we noted that the House of Representatives insists on going to SouthAfrica independently. We thought we could lead a single and harmonized delegation of the NationalAssembly to avoid the embarrassment of multiple delegations. The Senate, therefore, decided to pull out to allow the House delegation to proceed.” The Senate may have drawn a late applause from some observers on the needless tango between it and the Reps but what is not lost on the discerning general public is the exposition of the failure of inter-chamber cooperation on the matter. The way and manner both chambers went about the affair tended to suggest that Nigeria’s lawmakers were under some other form of motivation to visit SouthAfrica than the altruistic reasons openly advanced in this case.And this counts as yet another incentive for many Nigerians to continue to hold the view that members of the NationalAssembly tend to put their interests first before that of the nation. This altercation certainly counts as example to justify the argument in some quarters that Nigeria can do with a unicameral legislature that is less costly and more effective for governance. But whether Nigeria needs a bicameral or unicameral legislature is a debate for another day. What is however evident from this episode is that the National Assembly has not scored optimal points in performing oversight in the area of foreign relations and Diaspora affairs. What has the NationalAssembly done about the issue of xenophobia before now?

How well have the lawmakers kept tab with relevant departments in the Executive branch and held them to account to address past incidences and ensure proactive measures to prevent or deter recurrence? This question is imperative given that the incidence of xenophobia in SouthAfrica has been a recurring decimal as Nigerians resident in that country have fallen victims of sporadic attacks severally for about a decade.

––Epia, Publisher of OrderPaper.ng is onTwitter @ resourceme.

26

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •MARCH 11, 2017

Auto

Bugatti Begins Delivery of Chiron Stories by Bennett Oghifo

B

ugatti, one of the world’s most revered supercar manufacturers, delivered the first ever units of the Chiron, the replacement to the Veyron to customers at its plant in Molsheim, France. The company delivered three units of the Chiron to customers in Europe and the Middle East.

Each unit of the Chiron goes through a rigorous check from a team of 50 people who belong to the production, quality assurance and the logistics team.

The company plans to produce up to 70 units of the Chiron in 2017.Also, there will be a Chiron on display at the ongoing 2017 Geneva Motor Show as well.

Bugatti was founded in 1909 in Molsheim, France

by Ettore Bugatti. The brand has made a name for itself building some of the most exclusive and fast cars ever made. The sole vehicle it produces today is the Veyron 16.4, which vies for the honor of being the most expensive and fastest production car in the world.

Bugatti Chiron has been making waves in the motoring world since it was first announced. Powered by the 8.0-litre, quad-turbo W16 engine developing 1,480 bhp. The Bugatti Veyron replacement, which made an appearance last year at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, has already laid claim to the title of the world’s most powerful production street car.

A latest revelation in reference to its specification makesthehypercarevenmoreimpressive-Wolfgang Durheimer, CEO, Bugatti told Evo UK magazine that the Chiron can sprint from 0 kmph to 402 kmph (250 mph) and come to a stop again in less than 60 seconds.

The French carmaker’s latest hypercar develops 1,480 horsepower and 1,600 Nm and can accelerate from a standstill to 100 kmph in under 2.5 seconds, to 200 kmph in less than 6.5 seconds, and to 300 kmph in under 13.6 seconds.

Furthermore, the Bugatti Chiron can dispatch an electronically-limited top-speed of 420 kmph.

Interestingly, reports claim the car can achieve over 451 kmph without the limiter, perhaps even 463 kmph. However, the limiter is necessary considering the fact that the tyres apparently cannot endure the maximum speed.

The Bugatti Chiron’s nutty performance can be attributed to, among a handful of other factors, its turbocharging system. Much like the Veyron, the Chiron also gets four turbos albeit they’re 69 per

Bugatti Chiron

cent larger than that of the Veyron’s. To stave off the turbo lag, the Bugatti Chiron employs a two-stage system where the first two turbos are activated at 1,900 rpm and the exhaust is channeled into a flap that activates the remaining two turbos at 3,800 rpm, thus engaging the quad-turbo stage.

The Bugatti Chiron’s production run will be limited to 500 units.

The company has already commenced the model’s production at its facility in Molsheim, where currently 12 units of the Chiron are being assembled. These 12 units of the Bugatti Chiron will be delivered to customers in the first quarter of 2017.

Bugatti plans to manufacture another 70 models of the car this year.

The Bugatti Chiron gets a 8.0 Litre W16 engine

fitted with four turbochargers and produces a maximum of 1,479 bhp or thereabouts. The peak torque produced is 1,600 Nm and the Chiron can reach an electronically limited top speed of an insane 420 kmph.

The0-100kmphsprintisdoneinlessthan2.5seconds.

The 0-200 kmph and the 0-300 kmph come up in 6.5 seconds and 13.6 seconds respectively. The true extent of the Bugatti Chiron’s power is that it can do up to 463 kmph. The Chiron has a carbon fibre body structure, independent suspension and an AWD system as well. The Chiron makes close to 300 bhp more than the Veryon, its predecessor.

The Bugatti Chiron was first showcased at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show and Bugatti already has close to 200 orders for the Chiron..

A Michelin dealer (second right), Ambassador Nnaji collecting a prize from Michelin, during the event, while his wife (right) admires

Michelin Nigeria Rewards Dealers

I

n order to ensure its quality tyres get to motorists in every part of the country, Michelin Tyre Services Nigeria has continued to build on its mutually beneficial relationship with its dealers nation-wide.

It is in furtherance of this relationship that Michelin Nigeria recently hosted its leading dealers from different parts of the country to a business retreat at its Lagos office and a dinner night at Eko hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

During the retreat, dealers had the opportunity of listening to presentations by the Sales/Marketing

Director of Michelin Nigeria, Mr. Kayode Sangotayo, who talked on new trends in tyre marketing.

Top Michelin officials were also on hand to interact with the dealers who were delighted that Michelin always offer them the platform to get feedback and discuss market trends and new developments in the industry.

According to Sangotayo, the rerteat is “meant for Michelin Business Associates, who are Michelin partners in progress. We appreciate them every year to give them our heartfelt appreciation of their performances, we bring them together in order

for them to have a sense of belonging.

“Because we appreciate and hold our dealers in high esteem, we ensure that they are given their bonuses every year, and we also reward them by way of exposure to different countries. This we have been doing over the years”.

The retreat witnessed the re-emergence of Mr. I.K Ijezie as the new President of the Michelin Business Associates, just as Mr. Okafor Solomon, the Chairman of Sanok Enterprises Limited commended the management of Michelin for ensuring a smooth business relationship with its dealers.

Develop Course on Rail Infrastructure in Universities, Says Ashafa

T

he Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Gbenga Ashafa has called on Faculties of Engineering in Nigerian Universities to immediately commence the training of rail-infrastructure engineers.

He made the call recently at the groundbreaking ceremony, the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to mark the commencement of the construction of the Lagos-Kano standard gauge railway system with an extension to the Lagos port complex, Apapa.

While speaking to journalists after the event, Ashafa, who represents the Lagos East Senatorial District in the Senate, stated that “it is imperative that the engineering departments of our universities maximise the gestation period of this project, to develop a syllabus on railway engineering for our undergraduates.”

The Senator said, “This would adequately prepare our young engineers for the maintenance of the country’s railway infrastructure upon handing over by the expatriates who will handle the construction and also prepare them for jobs that would be available in the industry, in view of the potential of the project to create an estimated 250,000 jobs.”

While commending the Buhari Administration for the keeping its promise on infrastructural development, he said that “today marks yet another milestone in the actualisation of the commitment towards all round infrastructural development in Nigeria by the Buhari/Osinbajo Administration, particularly in the Rail sector.

“I also commend the Hon Minister of Transport, RT Hon. Rotimi Amaechi for making good his promise that the Lagos-Ibadan segment of the Lagos-kano standard gauge would be flagged off this year.”

He said the 8th Senate and the Senate Committee on Land Transport remained committed to supporting this administration in achieving as much as it possibly can through the instrumentality of our legislative support.

“As you are aware, we are currently working on the National Transport Commission Bill.

This bill is geared towards the maximization of efficiency of the Nigerian transport landscape through effective regulation.”

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •MARCH 11, 2017

27

Auto

Turkey to Host AutomechanikaTrade Fair

By Sunday Okobi, Ugo Aliogo and Gloria Onoja

A

L-R: Chairman of CIG Motors, Chief Diana Chan; actor and winner of the Industry Merit Award, Chika Okpala; and PR and Talent Lead at Africa Magic, Efosa Aiyevbomwan, at CIG awards... recently

Supporting the Nigerian Creative Industry: The GAC Motors’ Story

Stories by Bennett Oghifo

F

or a few years now, leading Chinese automakers, GAC Motors has been in the forefront, supporting Nigeria’s Creative Industry in generous measures.

In 2016, GAC Motors gave out two GS5 TrumpchicarstowinnersattheAMVCA. Star actress and filmmaker Stephanie Linus who

won the Best Overall Movie in Africa Award was one of the lucky winners. Her advocacy movie on the rights of the Girl Child and Obstetric Fistula, DRY, has won awards across the world and has been screened in several International Film Festivals including the Pan African Film Festival, USA and the Montreal International Black Film Festival, Canada. A young, highly talented and versatile actress Kemi LalaAkindoju was the second winner

in 2016. She won the Trailblazer Award which is an award presented to a talented star who made a good impact within a short time in his or her acting career.

In the same year, GAC Motor presented a cheque of One Million Naira to one ofAfrica’s most celebrated filmmakers, Kunle Afolayan during the launch of the GS4 in December. This was to encourage his amazing productions which have raised the bar for filmmaking in Africa.

bout 1,475 exhibitors from over 40 countries will grace the 2017 edition of the Automechanika Istanbul exhibition which will be held from April 6 to 9, 2017, at the Tuyap Fair, Convention and Congress Centre, Istanbul, Turkey.

According to the organisers, the event will provide the right platform for those who would like to expand their automotive business in Turkey and other parts of the world.

The event, accordingly, will bring together major players in the Turkish and European industries, while providing a meeting point for those who want to enter into the rapidly growing market in Turkey as well as the surrounding regions. The organisers in statement made available to THISDAY yesterday stated that the automotive industry in Turkey is one of the most important pillars of the economy with high demand and rising investment needs which makes theAutomechanika Istanbul very imperative.

The Automechanika in Istanbul is an international trade fair for the automotive industry and is the largest leading fair of its kind in Turkey, Middle East and North Africa.

Thestatementadded:“AutomechanikaIstanbul is Eurasia’s number one OEM andAftermarket event that brings together all relevant professionals from the Automotive Manufacturing, Distribution and Repair sectors in the region and it provides opportunities for small and medium sized companies that want to present themselves at the market and to international companies.

Kia Offers 5-year Warranty, Give Competitive Deal on Kia Rio

T

he automobile industry across the globe has always played a major role in strengthening the global economy by contributing immensely to the growth of the GDP and the creation of employments to teeming youths.

Nigeria, as a country, despite being a huge market in Africa with a beaming population of over 170 million people, the country is yet to fully actualize the potentials of the automobile industry owing to the overwhelming influx of imported used cars turning the country into a dumping ground and one of the leading collectors of junk aged cars.

The ban on used cars from the land borders was

greeted with mix feelings, however, the incontrovertible effect of this ban is the positive impact on the growth of the industry through the backward integration, provision of employments and setting up of other ancillary manufacturers in the industry. Prior to the decadence in the industry ushered in by the unabated influx of used cars, Nigeria used to be a hub for the automobile industry in West Africa with made in Nigeria cars. However, due to economic instability occasioned by unstable policy by the governments, the industry was brought to its knees and stayed too long in the murky waters of ‘Tokunbo’ cars thereby running the hitherto viable industry aground.

Made-in-Nigeria Kia in showroom, Victoria Island, Lagos

How Healthy Is Your Driver?

I

lovegoodandstandardcarseventhoughI cannot affordthe car ofmychoicebecause ofthetriplingcostofcarsnow.Iknowmost parentsdotooespeciallyforthecomfortof their children. The story is not different for mostprofessionalswhospendasmuchas five million Naira or more to buy a car and then employ a driver whose responsibilities include driving children to and fro school. Most of these driversarepaidpeanuts,treatedasslavesandrarely exposed to sound training while the boss attends choicetrainings.Eveninthecorporateenvironment, the story is the same except for few organizations as drivers training is rarely given priority. What is worse is that while the bosses give priority to their health status, these same drivers are rarely catered for yet we expect them to take charge and drive our loved ones safely. I don’t know when you last took interest in the health of your driver but I am sure this story will change your mind.

The story is about Muyeed Sulai(not real name), a 48years old truck driver and a father of four.

Light skinned and jovial, his dress sense speaks volumes for a driver who has chosen to cut a different image for himself in a profession where a good number believe dressing well and neatly is a waste of precious time. He started his driving careerwhenhewas27yearsofageshortlyafterthe deathofhiswife.Muyeedstartedoffasaconductor from where he gradually picked up some tricks

SAFE DRIVING with

JONAS AGWU

amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa (Corps Commander) Corps Public Education Officer Federal Road Safety Corps. + 2348033026491

of driving before he quit on the grounds that he needed more excitement away from just being an assistantdrivereventhoughhewasrarelyallowed to drive. He enrolled in a driver school somewhere in Lagos and after his training programme landed a chauffeur driven job which in his word was too dull for his liking.

After barely a year on this new job, the restless but energetic Muyeed quit his ‘oyibo job’ as he fondly referredtoitbutfatesmiledonhimwhenanopening for a heavy duty truck driver came his way. His performance in a short while astonished his new employersandevenhisformercolleagueswhowere amazed at the pace of his growth, amassing series of commendations and awards as one of the most dedicated committed, neatly and safety conscious driver .He was not just committed but was also a trusted and reliable driver who spearheaded the need for drivers to embrace professionalism

However on March 1 2017,Muyeed’s thriving driving career hit the brick walls. Or so he thought as a medical test revealed he had been driving with two complicated health challenges unknowingly.

He was among the over 1200 National Union of PetroleumandNaturalGas(NUPENG)-PTDdrivers hosted by FRSC Zone6 Port Harcourt during the secondeditionofthefreemedicaloutreachprogram tagged “Health-In-Motion Beyond The Road” in conjunction with the community health department of Shell Petroleum Development Company for tanker drivers, families and other road users.

The first edition of the annual Health programme was birthed last year as part of a strategy aimed at inculcating the tenet of healthy living as a plank for safe driving through free medical screening and awareness .The initiative is a proactive and preventive approach to reducing road traffic crashes by 15% and fatality by 25% in line with the corps belief that a healthy driver possess better reflexes,sound mind and the mental and physical capacity to operate safely on the road.

The health initiative is in keeping with FRSC 2017 strategic goals to Advance Road Safety Administration through Stakeholder Consultation and Cooperation, and to improve Enforcement and Post-CrashCarethroughreductionofRTCby15% andfatalityby25%,thesecondeditionofafreemedical outreach program tagged “Health-In-Motion Beyond The Road” The three day exercise which

started with a road show and was followed by a two day free medical checks and diagnosing by teamsofmedicalprofessionalsmadeupofdoctors, Optometrists, Pharmacists, laboratory scientists from the FRSC Zonal Clinic, Shell Community HealthDepartmentandFamilyHealthInternational.

The drivers of NUPENG) beneuffed at the event held at Eleme.

I told you that Muyeed was among the over 1200 drivers checked during the 2017 edition. The 2016 editiontargetedonlycommercialdriversbelonging totheNationalUnionofRoadTransportWorkers.A breakdown of the screening shows that 1232 were checked for blood pressure. Of these numbers, 125 had high blood pressure while 14 had low blood pressure.Forcholestorel,194werecheckedwith98 havinghighcholesterolwhile32hadlowcholesterol..

The test done for blood sugar revealed that out of the 590 checked, 53 had high while 6 recorded low.

Alcohol test also revealed that of the 785 that were checked, 13 tested positive.

What is strange about this is that all those checked were not driving as they were all grounded until after the screening .Also revealing was the fact that 16 out of 970 screened for HIV 1 and 11 tested positive. There were other tests done for ailments such as malaria. I won’t bore you with the findings for malariabutwillrevealthedetailsandimplicationof Muyeeds health status including the other drivers next week.

28

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • March 11, 2017

FAMILY HEALTH

Important of Headaches in Man

W

hen we have any kind of pain or discomfort in the head , we call it headache. This feeling could ne mild and transient, medium and heavy, and can extend to excruciating pain.

Then medically, depending on the accompanying symptoms, it can be classified and graded.

Headache is one of the commonest symptoms experienced by humans. In fact, it is quite unusual not to have at least an occasional headache. Why some people never experience headache is not known.

Headaches are usually harmless but can create concern about their origin. Very occasionally headaches are a pointer to a serious disease such as brain tumour or stroke. This is why many people seek advice from their doctors and, in some cases, are referred to specialist neurologists. Normally the severity of the headache bears no relation to the gravity of the diagnosis.

It’s not just stress and nasty colds that cause headaches.

Cleaning your home or sleeping in late can cause them too. Nearly everyone has had headache pain, and most of us have had it many times. A minor headache is little more than a nuisance that’s relieved by an over-thecounter pain reliever, some food or coffee, or a short rest. But if your headache is severe or unusual, you might worry about stroke, a tumor, or a blood clot.

Fortunately, such problems are rare. Still, you should know when a headache needs urgent care and how to control the vast majority of headaches that are not threatening to your health.

Doctors don’t fully understand what causes most headaches. They do know that the brain tissue and the skull are never responsible since they don’t have nerves that register pain. But the blood vessels in the head and neck can signal pain, as can the tissues that surround the brain and some major nerves that originate in the brain. The scalp, sinuses, teeth, and muscles and joints of the neck can also cause head pain.

10 headache triggers and the remedy for them 1. Relaxing after stress You put in 10-hour days from Monday to Friday and you feel fine, only to wake up after a lie-in on Saturday with a pounding headache. Why is that? It’s because as the tension of the week subsides, your levels of stress hormones drop, which causes a rapid release of neurotransmitters (the brain’s chemical messengers).

These send out impulses to blood vessels to constrict and then dilate, which causes a headache.

Remedy: Avoid the temptation to sleep in at weekends.

More than eight hours’ sleep at a time can bring on a headache. Introduce some relaxation time, such as a yoga class, into your working week, rather than squeezing it all into the weekend.

2. Pent-up anger When you’re angry, muscles in the back of your neck and scalp tense up, causing a tight band-like sensation around your head. This is a sign of a tension headache.

Remedy : When you start feeling angry, breathe deeply and slowly. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, This should relax your head and neck muscles.

3. Poor posture Poor posture causes tension in your upper back, neck and shoulders, which can lead to a headache. Typically, the pain throbs in the base of the skull and sometimes flashes into the face, especially the forehead.

Remedy: Avoid sitting or standing in one position for a long period of time. Sit up straight and support your lower back. Consider using a special headset if you spend a lot of time on the phone, as holding a handset between your head and shoulder can strain muscles and cause headaches.

You could also see a physical therapist, such as an osteopath or Alexander technique practitioner. They may be able to help you identify and correct any posture problems.

4. Perfume If you think housework is giving you a headache, you could be right. Household cleaners, along with perfumes and fragranced air fresheners, contain chemicals that can bring on headaches.

Remedy: If you’re susceptible to headaches brought on by certain smells, avoid heavy perfumes and strongsmelling soaps, shampoos and conditioners. Use fragrance-free air fresheners and household cleaners, and keep your doors and windows open as much as possible at home. If a colleague’s perfume is bothering you, put a fan on your desk at work.

5. Bad weather If you’re prone to getting headaches, you could find that grey skies, high humidity, rising temperatures and storms can all bring on head pain. Pressure changes that cause weather changes are thought to trigger chemical and electrical changes in the brain. This irritates nerves, leading to a headache.

Remedy: There’s not much you can do to change the weather. However, by looking at the forecast, you can predict when you’re likely to have a headache and take a preventative painkiller a day or two in advance.

6. Grinding teeth Grinding your teeth at night (the medical name is bruxism) makes your jaw muscle contract, causing a

with

BOBO BODE -KAYODE

lifeissuesfromwithin@yahoo.com, .Cel, 08053372356

• Headaches after a blow to the head • Headaches that prevent normal daily activities • Headaches that come on abruptly, especially if they wake you up • Headaches in patients with cancer or impaired immune systems.

Migraines occur less often than tension-type headaches, but they are usually much more severe.

They are two to three times more common in women than men, but that’s small consolation if you are among the 6% to 8% of all men who have migraines.

And since a Harvard study of 20,084 men age 40 to 84 reported that having migraines boosts the risk of heart attacks by 42%, men with migraines should take their headaches to heart

dull headache.

Remedy: Your dentist can fit you with a mouth guard to protect your teeth while you sleep.

7. Bright lights Bright lights and glare, especially if flickering, can induce migraines. This is because bright and flickering lights boost the levels of certain chemicals in the brain, which then activate the migraine centre.

Remedy : Sunglasses are great at reducing light intensity, and you can wear them inside and outside. Polarised lenses can also help to reduce glare.

At work, adjust your computer monitor or attach a glare screen. You may be able to turn off certain lights or move them. If you can’t, change where you sit in the office. Fluorescent lighting tends to flicker, so if you’re able to, substitute it with some other form of lighting.

8. Food triggers Your turkey and cheese sandwich and small bar of dark chocolate might be a tasty lunch, but beware of the headache that could follow it. All these foods contain chemicals that can bring on a migraine. Other culprits include aged cheeses like stilton and brie, diet fizzy drinks, and processed meats and fish.

Remedy: Keep a migraine trigger diary and once you suspect a certain food may be the cause of your headaches, eliminate it from your diet for a couple of months to see if you get fewer headaches.

If you’re concerned about avoiding any food-related trigger factor, see your GP or practice nurse or ask to be referred to a dietician for specialist advice. Remember to eat regularly, because skipping meals can bring on a headache.

9. Sex headaches It’s a standing joke that headaches are used as an excuse to avoid sex, but for many men and women coital headaches that come on at the height of passion are a real and distressing problem. Doctors think sex headaches are due to pressure building up in the head and neck muscles. The headaches can happen during foreplay or just before orgasm, and can last for a few minutes or up to an hour.

Remedy: They’re inconvenient, but these headaches are usually harmless and don’t mean you have to avoid sex. Take a painkiller a few hours beforehand to block the headache.

10. Ice cream Do you get a sharp, stabbing pain in your forehead when you bite into an ice cream cone? Then you’re susceptible to ice cream headaches, caused by cold material moving across the roof of your mouth and the back of your throat. Ice lollies and slushy frozen drinks have the same effect.

Remedy: The good news is that ice cream headaches don’t need treatment. In fact, they’re over in a flash, rarely lasting more than a minute or two.

Types of headaches •Tension-type headaches : Occurring in about three of every four adults, tension headaches are the most common of all headaches. In most cases, they are mild to moderate in severity and occur infrequently. But a few people get severe tension headaches, and some are troubled by them for three or four times a week.

The typical tension headache produces a dull, squeezing pain on both sides of the head. People with strong tension headaches may feel like their head is in a vise.

The shoulders and neck can also ache. Some tension headaches are triggered by fatigue, emotional stress, or problems involving the muscles or joints of the neck or jaw. Most last for 20 minutes to two hours.

If you get occasional tension-type headaches, you can take care of them yourself. Over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, other brands) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories) such as aspirin, naproxen (Aleve, other brands), or ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, other brands) often do the trick, but follow the directions on the label, and never take more than you should. A heating pad or warm shower may help; some people feel better with a short nap or light snack.

•Migraine Migraines occur less often than tension-type headaches, but they are usually much more severe. They are two to three times more common in women than men, but that’s small consolation if you are among the 6% to 8% of all men who have migraines. And since a Harvard study of 20,084 men age 40 to 84 reported that having migraines boosts the risk of heart attacks by 42%, men with migraines should take their headaches to heart.

Neurologists believe that migraines are caused by changes in the brain’s blood flow and nerve cell activity.

Genetics play a role since 70% of migraine victims have at least one close relative with the problem • Changing weather: rising humidity, heat •Lack of sleep or oversleeping •Fatigue •Emotional stress •Sensory triggers: bright or flickering lights, loud noises, strong smells •Dietary triggers: •missing a meal •alcohol, especially red wine •chocolate •nitrates in cured meats and fish •aged cheese •an increase or decrease in caffeine •MSG (often present in Asian and prepared foods) .

Cluster headaches Cluster headaches are uncommon but very severe headaches, and they occur five times more often in men than women. Although anyone can get cluster headaches, the typical patient is a middle-aged man with a history of smoking.

The problem gets its name because the headaches tend to come in clusters, with one to eight headaches a day during a one- to three-month period every year or two, often at the same time of year. The pain always strikes one side of the head and is very severe. The eye on the painful side is red and watery, the eyelid may droop, and the nose runs or is blocked. The attack starts abruptly and lasts for 30 to 60 minutes. Most sufferers become restless and agitated during the attack; unable to sit still, they pace, jog in place, or beat their head against a wall. Nausea and sensitivity to light and sound may accompany the pain. Inhaling pure oxygen can help the attack.

When to be Concerned When to worry about a headache. You can take care of many types of headaches by yourself, and your doctor can give you medication to control most of the tougher ones. But some headaches call for prompt medical care.

Here are some warning signs for when you should worry about headaches:

Testing headaches Modern medicine depends on tests to diagnose many problems. For most headaches, though, a good old-fashioned history and physical will do the job. In fact, CT scans, MRIs, and EEGs (brain wave tests) look normal in tension-type headaches, migraines, and cluster headaches. Still, these tests can be vital in patients with warning signs or other worrisome headaches.

• Headaches that first develop after age 50 • A major change in the pattern of your headaches • An unusually severe “worst headache ever” • Pain that increases with coughing or movement • Headaches that get steadily worse • Changes in personality or mental function • Headaches that are accompanied by fever, stiff neck, confusion, decreased alertness or memory, or neurological symptoms such as visual disturbances, slurred speech, weakness, numbness, or seizures • Headaches that are accompanied by a painful red eye • Headaches that are accompanied by pain and tenderness near the temples

Living with headaches For most of us, an occasional headache is nothing more than a temporary speed bump in the course of a busy day. Even so, most men can ease the problem with simple lifestyle measures and nonprescription medications. Relaxation techniques, biofeedback, yoga, and acupuncture may also help. But for some of us, headaches are a big problem. Learn to recognize warning signs that call for prompt medical care. Work with your doctor to develop a program to prevent and treat migraines and other serious headaches. And don’t fall into the trap of overusing medications; for some gents, rebound headaches are the biggest pain of all.

GLOBAL SOCCER

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • JUNE 16, 2011

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

11.03.2017

ALL SET FOR FA CUP Q-FINALS PAGE. 29

Nigerian Stars in Chinese League and Challenges Ahead

30

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

GLOBAL SOCCER

Rohr planning strategy with his assistants

Nigerian Stars in Chinese League and Challenges Ahead More Nigerian players are seeking refuge in the Chinese Super League after failing to play regularly in top European clubs. However, with no players invited from the Chinese League ahead of the back-toback international friendly matches against Senegal and Burkina Faso later this month, Kunle Adewale writes about impacts the Chinese league may have on Nigerian players

S

uper Eagles Technical Advicer, Gernot Rohr recently warned Nigerian players moving to Chinese Super League, that those playing in Europe would be considered ahead of them. “The Chinese League is not as backward as many thought as it has moved forward from what it used to be. However, Europe is still where I feel is best for players as the level is very high. We have to consider the players in competitive leagues before looking at the players in less competitive league, maybe three players from China would be ideal for our squad,” Rohr was quoted as saying.

At the last count, about eight Super Eagles players including Mikel Obi, Odion Ighalo and most recently, Brown Ideye have all joined the Chinese train after falling out of the pecking order at their various European clubs.

Though the German-born coach had debunked the statement that only three players from China would be invited for Super Eagles subsequent matches, the fact that no Nigerian player in that league was invited for the two friendlies with Senegal and Burkina Faso is a warning signal to the players in China about their place in the national team.

Former Nigerian international, Waidi Akani, in a chat with THISDAY is of the opinion that where a player plies his trade should not determine his invitation to the national team.

“It’s not a must that everybody should play in Europe. Invitation to the Super Eagles should never be based on where the player is playing, but rather the current form of the player. That is why a coach should be up and doing. A coach does not have to travel abroad to monitor players. The world is now a global village and coaches can monitor the performance of their players even in the comfort of their homes.

“The Chinese Super League is now on television for everybody to see. The fact that a player is playing in China should not be a limitation to his national team career. After all, there are a number of players playing in the main stream

European leagues yet could not play themselves into the national team,” Akani who lost his shirt in the Super Eagles as a result of his refusal to heed to Clemence Westerhof’s advice to move from America to Europe, said.

Nigeria’s friendlies against Senegal and Burkina Faso on March 22 and 27 would be used for the team’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa in June, Rohr had said.

The Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana have been drawn in the same qualifying group for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and would meet in the first round of matches mid-June.

Returning to the AFCON is a particularly important target for Rohr and Nigeria, given that they missed out on participating in the recent 2017 edition in Gabon.

“We are not thinking too far ahead of the World Cup games against Cameroon later in the year. These two friendly matches in England will help us prepare for South Africa in June. We have to take it one step at a time, first we focus on South Africa then we start to look at Cameroon,” Rohr said.

In an interview with 1984 Africa Cup of Nations silver medalist, Paul Okoku, he said most national teams still rely mainly on their European-based players, but that does not mean players playing in China should be wished away.

“There is no doubt that European clubs still parade the best legs, but that is not to say that players playing in China, America and other leagues could not be called upon if they are good enough.

“The fact that Brazilian midfielder, Oscar left Chelsea for the Chinese Super League does not mean he has lost his place in the Brazilian national team. At the last Olympic Games, Renato Augusto who plays in China was part of the Brazil winning team,” Okoku noted.

“Even at the 1988 World Cup in France, one of Brazil’s most outstanding player–Cesar Sampaio was playing in the Japanese League. What that simply implies is that players should play for their national team based on current form and not whether they play for high profile clubs. In as much as I agree that the best players in the world are based in Europe, coaches should also look at the direction of some players in other leagues if they are good enough,” Okoku said.

While big names joining clubs outside Europe is nothing new, the key difference between the current crop heading to China are far from ageing stars. Jackson Martinez, Oscar and Alex Teixeira, all three of them had either been linked with or were playing for the best clubs in the Premier League before being tempted east by better pay, little wonder, Arsene Wenger said European football should be worried about China.

Wenger admitted he is concerned that the huge wages on offer to players from clubs in China could become a benchmark for the Premier League's top talent. "That's the danger, that the Chinese offers become the benchmark for Europe. You cannot compete with that," said Wenger.

But the Arsenal manager believes the opportunity to play within Europe's top five leagues will always be the pinnacle of a footballer's career.

In a recent interview, Arjen Robben said he could not understand players moving to the Chinese Super League in their late 20s.

"A transfer to China would be something else entirely. That is basically acknowledging your career is over. I want to keep playing at the highest level as long as possible. I do not understand players going to China at the age of 27 or 28. Those guys are at the peak of their career. That is a waste really. You only get one career. I sort of understand players who are already

in their 30s," said Robben.

Despite the obvious lure of unprecedented pay packages, Wenger is confident Europe - and the Premier League - will remain the aspiration for most footballers.

"My thought is that when you want to be a football player, your first aspiration is to play in the best league, against the best players. That has to be the first target. After that when you are a professional football player you want to combine the fact you can play in the best league, against the best players, for the maximum amount of money."

For Okuku, players’ decision to play in China or remain in main stream Europe is simply about priority. “It's all about whether you want to go for the big money in China and secure your future or enjoying the glamour of European football,” he opined.

China national team have qualified for just one World Cup finals in 2002 and - currently ranked one spot below St Kitts and Nevis in 81st position in the Fifa rankings - they are already struggling to make it to Russia in 2018.

Yet China is set on hosting a World Cup in the not too distant future. So the question is, how can reality match the vision?

The coach of former Brazilian champions, Corinthians, Tite, was frank about his club’s defence of their 2015 Brasileirão Serie A title, which saw them sell four of their leading players to Chinese Super League clubs.

“China screwed us,” said Tite. “Keeping big players raises the standard but, unfortunately the reality for us has been different.”

There are around 30 top Brazilians currently in the Chinese top-flight alone, as well as Luiz Felipe Scolari, formerly the coach of the national side. Mano Menezes, another former Brazil national team coach, took charge of Shandong Luneng last year, while a third former Brazil coach, Vanderlei Luxemburgo guided Tianjin Quanjian to the Chinese Super League in 2016.

With Chinese money running after players, it remains to be seen how many top Nigerian players will end up in the Chinese Super League before the year runs out.

31

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

GLOBAL SOCCER

Lincoln City Can Prove a Banana Pill to Wenger

With pressure from Arsenal fans mounting on Arsene Wenger to quit the club after a disappointing 3-1 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League and a disgraceful 10-2 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich. Minnows Lincoln could add insult to the injury of the French Manager, as the Gunners visit the fifth tier side

J

ust when Arsene Wenger thought life couldn't get any more stressful, the Arsenal manager finds himself on a hiding to nothing as minnows Lincoln eye more FA Cup history in today's quarterfinals.

Wenger has endured a week from hell that started when Arsenal were thumped 3-1 at Liverpool following his decision to drop star forward Alexis Sanchez, who reportedly demanded a transfer in an angry row after that loss.

There was worse to come on Tuesday when Arsenal were eliminated from the Champions League in humiliating fashion as Bayern Munich's 5-1 victory condemned Wenger to his heaviest home defeat since 1998.

Wenger, who has yet to reveal if he will remain in charge next season, has been subjected to vitriolic abuse from Arsenal fans calling for his resignation and the visit of non-league Lincoln hardly promises to be a port in the storm for the beleaguered Frenchman.

With another supporter protest planned for the Emirates Stadium tie, suffering what would be one of the FA Cup's alltime great upsets would surely be the last straw for Wenger.

"I have worked very hard for 20 years to make our fans happy and when you lose the games, I understand they are not happy," Wenger said.

"I do not want to judge the protests, I am not able to. I don't work for my image, I work for this club with full commitment."

The contrasts between Arsenal's global reach and tiny Lincoln's far more humble ambitions make this the ultimate banana skin for Wenger, who has won the FA Cup six times in his 21-year reign.

Danny Cowley's fifth tier leaders are the first non-league club to reach the last eight in 103 years following a stunning 1-0

victory at Premier League Burnley in the fifth round.

Asked if Lincoln can join Sutton, Hereford and Wrexham as the FA Cup's most famous giantkillers, former schoolteacher Cowley, whose brother Nicky serves as his assistant manager, said: "Yeah, we can. It might be one-in-1000 at the Emirates but we can. We understand that Arsenal could blow us away. We could play our very best and still get beaten 5-0. We're professional and prepared. We might surprise some people."

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola faces a selection headache in today's FA Cup quarterfinal at Middlesbrough as the Manchester City manager juggles the demands of competing for silverware on two fronts.

Guardiola must decide how many of City's best players to risk for at the Riverside Stadium as they have a crucial Champions League last 16 second leg clash with Monaco four days later.

The FA Cup offers the more realistic prospect of Guardiola's first trophy with City, but the Spaniard's success in Europe was a key factor in the decision to bring him to Manchester last year.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss will find his skills tested to the limit in what is a defining week for City's season.

His most recent attempt at squad rotation failed when Guardiola decided to start Wednesday's Premier League home game against Stoke without his two best creative players.

David Silva was named as a substitute and Raheem Sterling was rested altogether as City drew 0-0, leaving them 10 points behind leaders Chelsea.

Claudio Bravo, now the second-choice goalkeeper for league games, has come back in for the last two FA Cup ties and should play again at the Riverside Stadium, while full-back Pablo Zabaleta has also tended to be used in the competition. Perhaps the biggest question revolves around Sergio Aguero.

The Argentina striker was demoted to the bench following the January arrival of Gabriel Jesus from Brazilian club Palmeiras.

Yet since Jesus broke his foot against Bournemouth on February 13, Aguero has proved indispensable.

He scored twice in 5-3 first leg win against Monaco, and is City's best hope of the away goal they may well need in the principality to secure European progress.

Guardiola cannot afford an injury to the striker, and so may decide to field Kelechi Iheanacho against Middlesbrough instead.

City midfielder Yaya Toure hinted that there will be some changes today, saying: "We've got two games now where we need all the players. We have to try to do the business.

Middlesbrough is going to be a tough, tough game. They've had a rest for a week. We'll try to do our best. Of course, one trophy would be very welcome for us."

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka insists he has the full backing of Chairman Steve Gibson despite seeing his side drop into the relegation zone for the first time this season after a 10-game winless Premier League run.

Karanka has held talks this week with Gibson and the Spaniard conceded: "The last two weeks have been really bad."

Millwall manager Neil Harris has called for fans to keep the peace when the third tier giant killers travel to London rivals Tottenham.

With a history of violent clashes between hooligan gangs from Tottenham and Millwall, police have classified the tie as 'high risk'.

Harris, whose team upset Bournemouth, Watford and Leicester en route to the last eight, is keen to ensure there are no unsavoury incidents in the last FA Cup fixture at White Hart Lane before the stadium is demolished.

"You want to paint yourself in the right light as a club," he said.

"White Hart Lane is a football cathedral.

It's going to be an electric atmosphere, one we should all embrace."

On Monday, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho aims to erase the memory of one of his most painful defeats by ending

Chelsea's double challenge.

United were thrashed 4-0 at Chelsea in October and Mourinho was taunted by his old supporters on his first return since his sacking as Blues boss last season.

Asked if Mourinho's League Cup winners want revenge, United forward Marcus Rashford: "Yeah, definitely. They've got one over us. We're on a good run of form and so are they, so it'll be a good game."

United's hopes of breaching that backline suffered a blow when striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has scored 26 goals in his first season at the club, was banned for three games for elbowing Bournemouth's Tyrone Mings in their Premier League clash last weekend.

G LO B A L S O C C E R ASSISTANT EDITOR KUNLE ADEWALE WAHAB AKINTUNDE THISDAY ON SATURDAY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE THISDAY NEWSPAPERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE

32

MARCH 11, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

GLOBAL SOCCER

DStv Promises Exciting FA Cup for Football Fans With the English FA Cup taking centre stage this weekend, Kunle Adewale caught up with the General Manager, Marketing and Sales of Multichoice, Martin Mabutho, with the latter promising an exciting competition for football

T

he oldest football competition, the English FA Cup, gets to the quarter final stage and SuperSport is promising exciting time for Nigerian soccer fans.

SuperSport is assuring a memorable time ahead of the May 27 final of English FA Cup final. This year’s edition, which is the 136th edition of the competition, is expected to be unique if the words of Mabutho are anything to-go by.

The mouthwatering fixtures, however, is the fixture between defending champions, Manchester United against Premier League leaders Chelsea on March 11. While fans awaits the clash of the titans on Monday however, on Saturday, Lincoln City take on Arsenal, who will need to win convincingly to at least appease their fans after being blown out of the Champions League 10 -2 on aggregate by Bundesliga gaints, Bayern Munich.

The other features are Tottenham hosting Millwall at White Hart Lane, while Middlesbrough take on Manchester City in an all Premiership affair.

Despite the economic situation, the price of GOtv has remained the same and yet MultiChoice has included the FA Cup matches in its lower bouquets.

Mabutho gives an insight on MultiChoice have been able to manage this.

“About 12 months back, we rolled out our value strategy. We started with bringing back some of the key content down to the lower bouquets. Contents that were previously exclusive to our premium subscribers were brought down to bouquets that traditionally didn’t have it. In continuation with that strategy, the business decided that in as much as we brought down the premier league games to compact so that people could pay only N6,000 per month and receive those games, we will increase football content. This is why the campaign message is ‘football for all.’

“For GOtv subscribers as well as for the Access and Family subscribers, they will also be getting great value at no additional cost. The Business realises the need to be conscious of what is happening in the economy. I need to also state that should economic conditions continue to be as hard as they are, it is quite inevitable that that position might be revoked because ultimately, the business has to survive.

If we are fortunate enough to be able to subsidise subscriptions, it cannot be forever. But ultimately, we will be forced to review prices upwards. I am hoping people will appreciate it. It may mean that we will either take football back to premium package, increase subscription or we take out the subsidy on the hardware, which has been so in the last two years.”

Mabutho, who is a die-hard Manchester United fan, said he was looking forward to seeing the Reds play Tottenham in the final of this year’s FA Cup. The honest truth is that for a tournament like this, you never know who will win. Secondly, Chelsea is enjoying great form right now. They are like a run-away train. However, a league match is very different from a park encounter. Do I feel confident that we will reach the semi-final, I don’t know but I feel comfortable. I have to believe in my club but in all of this, Chelsea is looking really good right now.

Premier League Chelsea Tottenham Man City Liverpool Arsenal Man Utd Everton West Brom Stoke Southampton West Ham Burnley Watford Bournemouth Leicester Swansea Crystal Palace Middlesbrough Hull Sunderland

27 27 26 27 26 26 27 27 27 26 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27

37 33 24 24 24 17 14 2 -8 -2 -10 -10 -14 -15 -15 -24 -11 -11 -29 -26

66 56 55 52 50 49 44 40 35 33 33 31 31 27 27 27 25 22 21 19

TODAY Middlesbrough v Arsenal v SUNDAY Tottenham

Man City Lincoln City

v

Millwall

12:15 17:30

14:00

MONDAY v

Man Utd

Seria A

Martin Mabutho As a football fan, what two teams would you like to see in the finals and what plans do you have to make the match a must-watch by your subscribers?

I will be happy with a Tottenham and Man United match. If you look at their style of football against a formidable side like Man U in the finals, it is like having Jose Mourinho against Mauricio Pochettino. We have seen a lot of Arsenal-Man United set up many times. We need to see a high profile game, Tottenham particularly with their form against Man United will be a heck of a game. This is me speaking like a proper fan. However, should Man United not make it, I think a Chelsea-Tottenham match will be good.

Mabutho also said active DStv and GOtv subscribers are in for a good time as SuperSport would be starting a promo whereby football fans can win various prizes like television, decoder and jerseys among other prizes.

In terms of what we are going to do, over the years, SuperSport has put up a high standard, in terms of delivering the best quality in definition, superior audio quality and the buildup to the match. We have moved away from starting from a particular time prior to the match and after the match.

There is a whole buildup which we do not normally do, from the analysis up to the final. You will be seeing a road to the final, analysis etc, not only on the screen but on our website as well.

We try to do a 360 approach and we build up to the final.

The FA Cup forms part of our ‘March Madness’ yearly campaign which we do for our subscribers because the month of March is almost like a repeat of the Christmas season when we give away a lot of freebees. It is the first big promo we normally do in our calendar year. We are starting next week and there would be lots of Jerseys, flat screen TVs, the new Explora, airtime, home theater systems and a whole lot more of other prizes. We try as much as possible to heighten and lighten the mood in these harsh economic times.

Barcelona Madrid Sevilla Madrid Sociedad Villarreal Bilbao Eibar Espanyol Celta Vigo Alavés Las Palmas Valencia Betis Malaga Leganés Deportivo Granada Sporting Osasuna

26 25 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 25 26 26 26 25 26 26 25 26 26 26

55 41 20 26 6 19 2 5 0 -5 -6 -1 -11 -14 -11 -19 -12 -30 -28 -37

60 59 56 49 48 45 41 39 36 35 34 32 29 27 26 24 23 19 17 10

Spanish La Liga Fixtures

FA Cup

Chelsea

La Liga

Juventus Roma Napoli Lazio Atalanta Inter Milan Milan Fiorentina Torino Sampdoria Chievo Sassuolo Cagliari Udinese Genoa Bologna Empoli Palermo Crotone Pescara

27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27

Hot Shots

Harry Kane Romelu Lukaku Alexis Sánchez Diego Costa Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jermain Defoe Dele Alli Sergio Agüero Sadio Mane Eden Hazard Fernando Llorente Christian Benteke Roberto Firmino

38 33 32 18 16 18 10 7 8 1 -8 -7 -21 -7 -11 -17 -24 -30 -24 -32

Tottenham Everton Arsenal Chelsea Man Utd Sunderland Tottenham Man City Liverpool Chelsea Swansea Palace Liverpool

67 59 57 53 52 51 50 42 39 38 35 31 31 30 29 28 22 15 14 12

19 18 17 17 15 14 13 12 12 11 11 9 9

Premier League TODAY Bournemouth Crystal Palace Everton Hull City Middlesbrough Arsenal

v P-P v v P-P P-P

SUNDAY Southampton Liverpool

P - P Man Utd v Burnley

MONDAY Chelsea

P-P

West Ham Tottenham West Brom Swansea City Sunderland Leicester d

WatfordCagliari

TODAY Valencia Sevilla Malaga Granada

SUNDAY Sociedad Deportivo Celta Vigo Madrid MONDAY Osasuna

v v v v

Sporting Leganés Alavés Atlético

12:00 15:15 17:30 19:45

v v v v

Bilbao Barcelona Villarreal Real Betis

11:00 15:15 17:30 19:45

v

Eibar

19:45

Bundesliga Bayern Leipzig Dortmd Hoffenheim Hertha Eintracht Köln Freiburg Gladbach Leverkusen Mainz Augsburg Schalke Bremen Wolfsburg Hamburger Ingolstadt Darmstadt

23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23

44 19 27 20 5 2 6 -10 -2 -2 -6 -7 1 -13 -13 -23 -18 -30

56 49 43 41 37 35 33 33 32 30 29 28 27 25 23 23 18 12

Bundesliga Fixtures TODAY Bayern

v

Frankfurt

14:30

Hertha

v

Dortmund

14:30

Leipzig

v

Wolfsburg

14:30

Freiburg

v

Hoffenheim

14:30

Darmstadt

v

Mainz

14:30

Ingolstadt

v

Köln

17:30

Schalke

v

Augsburg

14:30

Hamburger

v

M’gladbach

16:30

SUNDAY

Serie A Fixtures 15:00 15:00 15:00

TODAY Genoa SUNDAY Sassuolo Chievo Fiorentina Inter Napoli Pescara Palermo SUNDAY Lazio

v

Sampdoria

19:45

v v v v v v v

Bologna Empoli Cagliari Atalanta Crotone Udinese Roma

11:30 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 19:45

v

Torino

19:45

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

33

GLOBAL SOCCERR\\OTHER SPORTS

Chairman Ikoyi Club 38 (l) presenting the winners trophy to the Captain of Team Mobil Erha, Bimbo Okubeno, during the recently concluded Mobil Team Tennis Championship at the Tennis Section of the Ikoyi Club

L-R: Yellow House Master, Mr. Ajana Oluwayomi Phillips; Sport Master, Agidingbi Junior Grammar School, Mr. Kayode Taiwo; the School Principal, Mrs. Fadeyibi Oluwayinka Adeola; presenting the Trophy to Overall winner of the competition Yakubu Blessing of yellow House while the Vice Principal Academics Mrs. Oluwatotin Omowumi Williams watch with keen intrest at the 14th annual sport festival of Agidingbi Junior Grammar School, in Lagos PHOTO SUNDAY ADIGUN

Woods Unsure of Return Date, Pulls SuperSport Still Holds Premier League Right- Mabutho Out of Arnold Palmer Invitational MultiChoice Nigeria recently expanded the sporting contents of some of its Tiger Woods has expressed his disappointment at being unable to play in next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational and revealed he has "no timetable" for his return to golf.

Woods issued a statement on his website confirming his withdrawal from the field at Bay Hill, which is the first staging of the tournament since Palmer passed away on the eve of the Ryder Cup last year.

The 14-time major champion had hoped to be part of the event to honour the legendary Palmer, but he is not yet ready to compete as he continues his rehabilitation from his ongoing

back problems.

Woods has played only seven competitive rounds of golf since making his comeback at the Hero World Challenge in December, his first tournament after a 15-month absence following the third back operation of his career.

The 41-year-old withdrew from the Omega Dubai Desert Classic six weeks ago after firing an opening 77, citing back spasms for his inability to continue.

Woods, an eight-time winner of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, now looks unlikely to feature at the Masters next

month, although he insisted his latest round of treatments were "going well". The statement read: "Unfortunately, due to on-going rest and rehabilitation on my back, I won't be able to play in this year's Arnold Palmer Invitational.

"I'm especially disappointed because I wanted to be at Bay Hill to help honour Arnold.

This is one event I didn't want to skip. Arnold has meant so much to me and my family; I thought of him as a close friend, and Sam and Charlie were both born in the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.

Wada Criticises Isinbayeva's Election to Key Russian Anti-doping Role Yelena Isinbayeva's election to a key role within Russia's anti-doping agency (Rusada) has been criticised by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).

Former Olympic champion pole-vaulter Isinbayeva, 34, had described Russia's athletics team's suspension from Rio 2016 as "a blatant political order".

The ban came after evidence of a state-sponsored doping programme in Russia.

Wada said Isinbayeva's appointment was "not consistent" with plans it had agreed over necessary reforms.

A statement read: "Whilst it is the decision of the Russian authorities to elect its board members, the agency shall be passing this information on to its independent Compliance Review Committee for their review."

Russia's sport leaders have

promised to improve their record on doping, but the pace of progress has also been criticised.

Speaking to BBC Sport on Tuesday, Wada director-general Olivier Niggli said reforms were "not happening at the speed I would have liked to see".

Isinbayeva, Olympic champion in 2004 and 2008, was elected chair of Rusada's supervisory board on Thursday.

"We will watch and control everybody and everything," she said on Russian state TV on Friday.

"We have just one attempt to clear our sport of this dirt."

Wada had previously said it was "encouraged" by President Vladimir Putin's recent admission that Russia's anti-doping system "didn't work".

While denying allegations of state-sponsored, systematic

cheating, Putin said his country should acknowledge its antidoping failures.

The McLaren report, commissioned by Wada, detailed evidence of an "institutionalised and disciplined medal-winning conspiracy" that operated in Russia between 2011 and 2015.

More than 1,000 Russian athletes - including Olympic medallists - were said to have benefited.

As a consequence, Wada recommended banning all Russian athletes from competing at the Olympics in Brazil last summer, but the International Olympic Committee ruled that individual sporting federations should decide.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was the only governing body to enforce a blanket ban on Russian athletes.

Team Surulere Win Maiden Beach Summer Games

Team Surulere last Saturday at the Eko Atlantic City emerged as the champion of the maiden edition of the Beach summer games.

10 teams battle it out at the finale in 15 different sports, but it was Team Surulere that topped with 13 gold, three silver and two bronze medals, while Team Ikeja came second with four gold, five silver and two bronze medals and not too far behind was Team Lagos Island with two gold, four silver and seven bronze medals.

According to the organizers, the event was an idea that has

been nurtured to realization.

With unrelenting planning and research they were able to host a sports competition, working with professionals in the game and have a successful event.

The speed sports starts and finish at a snap but sack race and wheelbarrow race had a different effect. However, there was always a different side to each sport. The 100m race was a far cry from the conventional 10 sec sport, it was on a 50m lane forth and back where you collect a tape from assigned cheerleaders before you can finish the race.

Not forgetting the engaging

sack race, that showed the redundancy of long legs.

Shorter athletes won all rounds of this race flawlessly. The heat and the finals were not short of surprises.

The show of strength at the beach summer games was unconventional, the sumo wrestling cannot be forgotten so fast because the costume is so remarkably hilarious giving equal advantage to all athletes.

The Drag race saw athletes pull a 50kg barbell strapped on their shoulders across a 50 m lane to the finish line.

These was not a race of speed but rather of stamina.

lower bouquets in order to enable more DStv and GOtv customers have access to the on-going Emirate FA Cup live matches at no additional costs. Through such gesture, more football-loving fans are currently having exciting moments this football season. Speaking on this new value strategy, General Manager, Marketing and Sales, Martin Mabutho, explains that innovation and customer satisfaction form the core of its business survival. Excerpts

Why is SuperSport not offering other football leagues matches like Bundesliga and Copa America?

One of the key factors in this industry is consumer feedback in terms of the popularity or the level of interest in a particular piece of content that we offer. We had Bundesliga for some years and our subscribers just didn’t like it. We brought the league here, we took some people out to go and watch the games in order to use that as a strategy to popularize the league, the numbers were just not justified. The decision was then reached for us to concentrate on what customers like and which is what we have now. All the best football leagues in the world can be found on DStv. I am not saying we have all the leagues in the world, for instance we don’t have MLX, and we don’t have the Chinese league even though the league has been generating a lot of interests’ due to player movement. For now we have that which is currently considered or rated as the best in the world. We also have the Champions league, the Premier league, the Nigerian football league and the South Africa Premier Soccer league. We have rights to all our Super Eagles games and rights to other sporting games. We had NBA for a long time but had to let it go because no one was watching them.

The Chinese Super League has been getting a lot of attention in the last few months. Initially, it was thought to be the destination for ‘retired legs’ but now, young players are making their way there. Are there plans to add it to your content on SuperSport?

The team that buys rights continues to lookout for the best content. The hype around this league has mostly been around player movement. What is the quality of play? We will be monitoring the league as it begins and we wish them the best. What is particularly interesting is that with the huge salaries involved, the money has to come from somewhere. The more you pay the players, the more they charge the subscribers because the money has to come from somewhere. Money has to come from TV rights, advertising, etc. Let us see how it goes. For now, we have the best performing leagues.

The Emirates FA cup is in the quarter finals rounds now. What should the fans expect from DStv; what new things do you have planned for subscribers?

The most important thing is making it accessible to as many people as possible. To achieve it, we have taken it down to our Access and Family bouquets as well as to GOtv. It has never been done before and we are saying the league is hot; the cup running is hot so it cannot be a case where only a few people watch. Let’s put it inside people’s homes and bring it down to the lowest bouquet where you pay N1,800. In all honesty I think it is a fair game. If we divide N1,800 by 30 days, it means subscribers will be spending about N60 a day and getting access to matches that people in the UK pay much more for. For those that are not part of our family, that is the new subscribers, we have also said we will give three months free access so that by May when the tournament ends, they would have practically watched all the games for free plus other content. All they need do is to pay for the DStv, which comes at just N9,100 plus a dish. Lowering the barrier to entry is what we have done.

You have access to Super Eagles matches and they will be playing two friendlies later this month. Will these games be on SuperSport?

I don’t have a confirmation as of today but when this is done we will make it known.

Forex has been a challenge for some time now. How have you been coping as a business and what are your plans to ensure that regardless of the challenge, your customers will continue to get great value?

The truth is that even though we pay the rights owners every month by installments, the business does not operate in a vacuum. If the savings or the subsidy that our holding company has been able to put into Nigeria and things continue to go down, I am sure the decision will be made to either stop giving access to the smaller bouquets or to increase subscription, which we haven’t done for the past two years. Eventually, it may become inevitable to increase our subscriptions.

Everything has gone up so TV subscription will have to go up.

There is no doubt that new players are emerging every day in the industry. What is DStv doing to shield its customers and retain loyalty?

Our view has always been that we welcome competition because with competition two things will start to happen: One, the customers start to have the advantage of comparing and picking the one which they believe have the greatest value for money. The customer says I am happy with the following three indices that I use to make my purchase decisions: Customer service is good, after-sales service is good and content is perfect. If that is what you check, then they are able to compare and contrast. Which one is most suited for my pocket and family? It caters for me, the children, the wife for everyone. Once you are satisfied, you make your decision and you pay every month.

Secondly, internally for us, it is a common knowledge that MultiChoice is a business prides itself in great innovation. At the core of our DNA is innovation. We innovate on strategies, hardware and so on. It forces us to be deeper and ask how do we protect our turf, how do we stop people from disturbing our turf and taking our customer? I, as the custodian of the subscriber base, together with the management staff, have to protect the space and ensure that customers continue to receive these values.

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FAIRGROUND

Second Edition of Get Intimate with Praiz

with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

A

couple of weeks ago, Praiz and other amazing artistes, as well as friends and fans got intimate with their loved ones at the second edition of “Get Intimate with Praiz” to round off the Valentine

weekend.

The X3M Music accomplished artiste thrilled his audience with the best of music, rendering selected songs from his Rich and Famous album and other released singles.

Artistes on stage included, Chidinma, Aramide, Isaac Geralds, Jewe, Sammy, among others. The event was graced by distinguished corporate players, media moguls and power brokers in the entertainment industry.

The night was rounded off with the premiere of his new amazing video “Folashade” that is currently making waves.

Aramide performing

Banky W and a guest Praiz on stage performing at the event

Steve and Yetunde Babaeko

Chidinma

Mai Atafo

Gbenro Ajibade, IllRymz and Praiz

Ikechukwu and Praiz

Ariya Repete Reunites Sir Shina Peters and Kwam1

A

riya Repete, Goldberg’s Roundtable on Yoruba music in Lagos, last week, was a major reunification tonic for Afro Juju maestro, Sir Shina Peters and a prominent Fuji crooner, King WasiuAyinde Marshall, popular known as

KWAM 1.

The two leading Yoruba musicians from Ogun State used the occasion to cement what observers described as a crack in their relationship as the duo promised to do a collabo to consolidate the roundtable initiative.

Stakeholders in the music and entertainment industry also used the occasion to highlight the vital connection between music, entertainment and culture. The stakeholders, who convened at the Lagos Airport Hotel for the first-ever Roundtable on Yoruba music, Ariya Repete, also commended Goldberg lager beer for the initiative, which they said, signals a cultural rejuvenation among the Yorubas.

In his keynote address, which focused on Juju and Fuji genres, Professor Tunde Babawale explained that the rich cultural heritage of Yoruba provided a foundation on which the music genres of Juju and Fuji are built.

Babawale, a former Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Black and African Arts and Civilization, CBAAC, noted that the attachment of the Yoruba people of South West Nigeria to music and celebration has earned them the appellation of “Owambe”, a reference to their love for ceremonies and celebrations.

L-R: Kwam 1 and Sir Shina Peters

He traced the origin of Juju music to the old Saro (Olowogbowo) quarter of Lagos where the genre emerged from ‘asiko’ music associated with “area boys” in the quarter and added that the genre also incorporated Brazilian Samba elements and the guitar style of Kru sailors from Liberia.

According to the professor, the music of the

culture such as Juju and Fuji has positively impacted every area of life of the Yorubas, including the reduction of socio-economic tension and the prevalence of religious tolerance.

Aprominent Fuji musician, King WasiuAyinde Marshall (KWAM 1) thanked the organisers and speakers at the event for what he described as an educative initiative meant to preserve Fuji

and Juju, vital aspects of the music and culture of the Yorubas.

Sir Shina Peters, a frontline Juju musician, also commended Goldberg for providing such a platform to discuss indigenous music and called on other corporate organisations to emulate the effort.

Ambrose Somide, a radio broadcaster with Faaji FM and a panelist at the roundtable enjoined young musicians of Yoruba extraction to endeavour to sustain the genres for the promotion of the Yoruba culture.

While welcoming guests to the forum, Mr. Kufre Ekanem, Nigerian Breweries’ Corporate Affairs Adviser, who was represented by Patrick Olowokere, the company’s Corporate Communications and Brand Public Relations Manager, disclosed that the Ariya Repete initiative was borne out of the company’s respect for tradition and values of the people.

The special guest of honour, the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Babatunde Enitan Ogunwusi, (Ojaja II), who was represented by Oba Adebiyi Asoya, the Asoya of Ile Asoya Kingdom, reiterated the need to sustain the current cultural revival among Nigerians as championed by Goldberg lager beer in the area of indigenous Yoruba music.

The Ariya Repete Roundtable attracted stakeholders from traditional institutions, the academia, the entertainment industry and the media to provide informed thoughts on sustaining and promoting the rich heritage of Fuji and Juju music.

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FAIRGROUND

Bk Unique Hair Campaign With Rita Dominic

F

ollowing the official launch and unveiling of Rita Dominic as brand ambassador in November 2016, BK unique Hair Inc has introduced an initiative called “MyHairMyCrown” campaign in February 2017. BK unique hair Inc teamed up with Lakeshore Cancer Centre for this campaign which aims to support and encourages female survivors.

Brand Ambassador & A List Nollywood actress Rita Dominic was highly instrumental

in making this a reality. On Monday Feb 20th, 2017, Rita and the BK Unique hair team visited Lakeshore cancer center.

She was given a warm welcome with a tour of the facility, met with members of staff as well as some of the patients. She also got the opportunity to have a chat with some of the survivors who shared their experiences.

A raffle was conducted at Lakeshore cancer center, where 8 lucky ladies emerged winners of the maiden edition of My Hair My Crown Campaign.

They were awarded custom made, 100% human hair wigs

courtesy of BK unique hair.

On Saturday Feb 25th 2017, the winners were treated to full makeovers, as well as dinner with Rita Dominic at the prestigious Eko Hotel.

BK Unique hair inc and Rita Dominic are committed, passionate and dedicated to having a positive impact in the society. They will strive to achieve this by donating some if the proceeds from the sale of Rita’s signature hairline with BK to cancer research. BK unique hair store is located at 141 Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island Lagos.

Rita Dominic (middle) and some women at the event

World Speech Day

W

orld Speech Day is dedicated to celebrating speeches, speech making and raising ideas. There will be a host of live speaking events taking place across the world on the day. These events may be small and local, or large and global. They could be at a school in London, or a church in Mexico, at an agency in Nigeria, or at the UN General Assembly.

World Speech Day Lagos Ikeja event, is licensed to and organised by Florence Atunwa Olumodimu of Life Developers Network, a social enterprise dedicated to helping individuals maximise their potential. She has partnered with Banke Alawaye of Praekelt to bring together speakers from organisations in different sectors and with different outlooks to share their ‘Thoughts for a Better Lagos’.

Florence has invited speakers who will give a short, 5 minute speech each on the Theme: ‘Thoughts for A Better Lagos’;

these will be followed by an open mike session. President Kennedy once said that “the only reason to make a speech is to change the world.” World Speech Day is fashioned around a simple theme: Change The World. Everyone who takes part in World Speech Day is encouraged to put forward their ideas on how to make the world better.

World Speech Day, Lagos Ikeja #WSDLIkeja will act as a source for new thinking – releasing the “wisdom of crowds” – gathering ideas from the #unexpectedvoices, usually unheard voices of everyman. It is about tapping into the truly original and inspirational – and then making these voices available to the world.

The offline event is strictly by nvitation but everyone can join in by watching the live stream and following the realtime updates on social media on March 15 2017, from Time: 10am – 1pm. WSDLagos Ikeja event will be recorded on video and Livestreamed via RingsTv app avail-

Banke Alawaye, Country Manager Praekelt

Florence Olumodimu

able from the Apple istore and Google Playstore. It will also be Livestreamed via FacebookLive and will form a unique

resource, made available on wide range of platforms, such as a free website and YouTube channel.

Wazobia FM Radio Station Organises First Carnival

W

azobia FM Radio Station made another mark with the staging of its first edition of Wazobia Fm carnival at the Muri – Okunuola Park, Victoria Island, recently.

The carnival brought together the creme de la creme in the entertainment industry – OAPs, comedians, and other artistes. It also featured trade zone for display of home utensils and industrial goods; a food fair zone where participants came around with their loved ones to buy any stuff of their choice. The organisers had a carnival train made up of different tribes, reflecting the various ethnic cultures in Nigeria with their dance troops.

The carnival was packed with trills and frills, led by AY and Nedu who led other OAPs on the first day of the event. Also at the event were, Yaw, Lolo, MC Shaggy, MC Shakara and host of other comedians, who held the people glued to their seats, with rip cracking jokes.

On the successes attained at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of Cool Fm, Wazobia Fm and Nigeria Info Fm, Mr. Seige Noujaim, said, it was a privileged opportunity to give back to the society and also create the opportunity for their ardent followers to meet their stars and OAP’s to create proper and eternal bounding relationship between the station and their followers. Also speaking on a similar vein, ace comedian, OAP and one of the stage managers of the event, YAW said, “Wazobia FM wants to do something new and different for her audience and followers, something that goes beyond music and comedy.” On the other

The Wazobia carnival train led by kids from different schools

hand, musical artistes took the event to cloud nine, trying to give back supports to Wazobia FM, which has been known for over the period of years as the people’s choice radio station for its enlightenment, educational and entertainment programmes, with various range of stage

performances that saw the crowd chanting and repeating the lyrics of their sensational artistes.

The artistes took turns to salute Wazobia Fm, their management and staff for the unrelenting support given to them over the years.

Leading the pack was Korede Bello, who

specifically thannkedYaw, who played his first CD years back before he became famous.

Next was Prince Ice, who had the longest performance on stage.

He took time to show appreciation to various personnel under the AIM Group.

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MARCH 11, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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FASHION FILE

REVAMP S/S 2017 “Regal Royal” Collection

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FASHION FILE

REVAMP S/S 2017

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EVAMP S/S 2017 collection”Regal Royale” Is all about art, culture and fine living. Inspired by the regal poise of the refined and the costume and style of the 1944 musical, “TheTrolley song” by Judy Garland. This collection is an eclectic cocktail of Retro chic meet african queen flavour.

Our models this season are Six trailblazing, beautiful REVAMP Ladies, looking regal and Confident in their full element.

Credits Designer: Revamp by PeacefulO @revampofficial Makeup: @ginaperfecttouch Stylist: Tonye Hart @hartxstyling Photographer: Leon Obiora @leonphotographyng Location: Echelon Height Hotel PH @echelonheights

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

By Azuka Ogujiuba azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

WITH

MARKET PLACE

OMOLABAKE FASHOGBON 08033621009

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Ogun State,Dr Nafiu Babatunde being examined by Power Oil Medical Consultant,Dr Usman Kabir with the Area Sales Manager, Power Oil,Vikash Lalwani,Public Relations Manager, Omotayo Azeez and Director, Public Health, Ministry of Health Ogun State,Dr Qudus Yusuf ,Watching during the flagoff ceremony announcing the partnership Power Oil Health Camp and Ministry of Health Ogun State

L-R: President of the Nigerian Gas Association,Mr. Dada Thomas;Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti K. Baru; Chairman of Society Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Nigeria Council,Dr. Saka Matemilola; and Former Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Petroleum Matters, Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah, during the 2017 Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum organized by Society of Petroleum Engineers Nigeria Council on Domestic Gas Utilization in Nigeria held in Abuja recently

Power Oil Seals Deal with Ogun on Health Initiative seamlessly into the State’s visionary plan.

“Our goal is to cover all the 236 wards around the state, however, because it is a huge project, 20 Local Government areas have been earmarked for immediate implementation with the support of the Health Camp Team, which is a good way to begin,” he stated.

The firm’s Public Relations Manager, Ms. Omotayo Azeez reiterated the company’s commitment to support government efforts at all levels in delivering health service to the people.

“Power Oil Health outreach program has been consistently going on for more than three years and we are happy about the achievements made so far with the support from the state Ministry of Health, we are confident of a deeper outreach

Power Oil has stepped up its health project as it announced a partnership deal with the Ogun State government to deliver free health service to residents of the state.

With this arrangement, members of Ogun community in their respective wards can now have access to free medical diagnosis service such as blood pressure, pulse, body mass index check alongside other medical consultations, after which they will be referred for treatment in state hospital.

At the event where the deal was inked in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Ministry of Health, Dr. Nafiu Babatunde Aigoro, representing the Ogun State Commissioner of Health, Babatunde Ipaiye, expressed the state’s readiness to maximise the opportunity to address health challenges,

particularly heart related cases.

“We recognise the Health Camp Project as a laudable one, which is why we are confident to work with the company, so together, we shall make Ogun State healthy.

The Director, Public Health, Ogun State Ministry of Health, Dr. Qudus Yusuf, while educating the people on the need and how to live a healthy lifestyle, added that the initiative was timely in that it came at a time when the state was planning to reach out to the health needs of the people.

“We have actually been planning a similar medical outreach programme before now, however, because of the current economic situation, it had to be kept in the pipeline, so the collaboration came at the appropriate time and syncs

Mobile Phone Market Gets New Entrant

Nigerians Lament High Prices of Goods, Services Despite Naira Rebound

Fero Mobile has entered the Nigerian market with biometrics authentication feature to consolidate the rare technology in the country.

Some of the devices launched by the company included the Iris and the Royal A1 smartphones among many other devices.

The Irish mobile phone boasts of an inbuilt Iris scanner technology, an innovation that allows for unlocking a device by a mere scanning of the eyes without any touch on the device. This further guarantees top-of-theline security for users.

The Royale A1 on the other hand is a sleek smart phone that gets unlocked with a voice command. Some of the unique selling features of the device included Its 5,000 mAh mega battery as well as 8 Megapixel back camera and 5 Mega pixel front camera with a flash. Others include xensation glass with enhanced display protection, quad-core processor, 1gigabyte random access memory, RAM and 8 gigabyte internal memory.

Speaking at the product launch, Business Head, Nigeria and Emerging Markets at Fero Mobile, Mr. Kunal Bhardwaj, remarked that the released products fitted the lifestyle and taste of Nigerians as proven by research.

“Nigerians are a tech-savvy people who appreciate the opportunities technology offers.

At Fero, we are providing the devices that will help Nigerians explore their world. Our devices are packed with cool features that will help users express their personality and style which we are offering at a very affordable price”, he explained.

The Iris is a 4G LTE enabled device equipped with a high resolution 5.0 inch, 1280 x 720 HD IPS+ display, 2500 mAh Battery, Quad core processor as well 8MP back camera. The company also unveiled other cost friendly features and smart phones including 1.8 inch F1805 (S), 2.4 inch K2401 (S) & 2.8 inch K9

Nigerians are not happy that the relief generated by the appreciation of the Naira against major international currencies, especially the dollar, has not reflected on prices of goods and services which still remain on the high side.

They expected that by now, the positive trends in the foreign exchange market should have started having effect on prices of services and goods whether consumer or durable goods.

Market surveys in Lagos revealed that while prices of some commodities remained unchanged, some had increased.

A paint bucket of Garri still sold for N800 while 5kg of Semovita sold for 1600, a cartoon of Indomie sold for 2000, a pet bottle of CocaCola sold for 120, a bag of cement sold for N2700 while Telecommunications Company and Pay TV providers have not signaled any intention to reduce their bills.

Speaking to Market Place, a grocery shop owner at AbuleEgba, Mrs. David noted that the development in the market despite the trend in the foreign exchange could not be blamed on wholesalers and retailers because manufacturers still deliver goods at a higher price and could not sell below cost price.

Reacting to the development, the President of National Association of Nigerian Traders, NANT, Ken Ukaoha said that Nigerians should not expect price reduction so soon until there was stability in the system.

“Until the economy stabilises, the cost of goods and services will not come down. This is not the time to buy cheap things as we all have to make some sacrifices and still hold on because Nigeria is import dependent.

Conceding to Ukaoha’s submission, Director General of Lagos Chamber Of Commerce & Industry, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said “This trend has to be systemic, in that it has to permeate all sectors of the economy and also has to be sustained before we can talk of producing an effect that will be transmitted to prices of goods and services.

“Again, our people must be confident that the trends will be sustained, otherwise, there won’t be any price adjustment. The people’s confidence is needed at this period”, he reiterated.

Ukaoha added that the development may not make any impact yet until sellers exhaust their old wares which may have been purchased at higher exchange rates.

result in the state.

“We have equally partnered with other state ministries in Nigeria, to which formal announcements will be made in due course. This is to ensure extensive reach and wider coverage across the nation,” she said.

The ‘Power Oil Health Camp’ exercise is a daily and ongoing activity which has recently expanded its operation from nine to 13 locations Pan Nigeria.

The health team has already visited Moniya Community in Ibadan, Mariri Community, Kumbotso, Kano State, Tunge-Maje Community, Gwagwalada, Abuja, Iyana Ipaja NYSC orientation Camp Lagos, Autonomous Communities in Imo State and Obosi Community in Anambra State

Masterpass QR Reaches 7 Markets in Middle East, Africa Master Card’s fresh product, Masterpass QR, has gained more ground having extended its hold to seven additional markets in the Middle East and Africa.

The latest product which was recently launched by Ecobank, is a new electronic payment option that lets users pay for goods and services from their mobile phones and has proved useful to merchants, issuers, acquirers and end-users.

It supports mobile-driven personto-merchant payments and enables countless number of micro, small and medium enterprises to move from cash to digital payments.

Commenting on this, the Lead for Digital Payments and Innovation Labs in Middle East, Mr. Gaurang Shah, said “Mastercard remains fully committed to delivering solutions that build inclusive ecosystems and consequently drive a cashless society. The most effective way to ensure the continued evolution of products and services that develop robust and resilient digital payment systems is by forging strong partnerships.”

Its expansion to other markets was disclosed at the just-concluded Mobile World Congress that brought together best minds from the global business and technology community in Barcelona.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

PERSPECTIVE

The Imperatives of a Realistic MobileTermination Rate Nwobodo Chidiebere

W

hen Nigerian economy officially degenerated into recession, not even proven economic analysts envisioned it to be as far-reaching as it is now.

The palpable effect of an economy in recession is better imagined than seen.

The viable sectors that were thought should be instrumental in resuscitating the nation’s ailing economy, are also being strangulated by the whirlwind of economic recession. Not even telecommunications sector—one of the major sectors contributing a lot to the GDP, is spared.

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are at the receiving end of the harsh economic realities. The subscribers are also caught up in the web of economic hardship. Nigeria’s rising inflation rate, which was put at 18.7% in the last released data by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is making our economy investment unfriendly, for foreign and local investors. A layman on the streets does not need NBS to remind him that the economic recession is ravaging every critical sector like a wildfire.

Interconnection is a major cost component of Network Service Providers.

Simply put, Interconnection can be defined as linking of telecommunications networks, so that customers of one network can communicate with customers of another network. Based on International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Survey, Interconnection is rated by many countries as the single most important problem in the development of a competitive marketplace, for telecommunications.

Telecommunications regulatory agency like the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), takes charge of interconnection as a result of its strategic role in drafting policies. It is seen as a strong regulatory tool in stabilizing the ICT industry, by ensuring effective competition, profitability, and appreciable quality of telecom services. Under Interconnection policy, the NCC uses it to mandate Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to provide their network infrastructure for mutual usage. The NCC supervises interconnection because big Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) can come up with terms that are not favourable to the smaller/new entrants.

In the tripartite aspects of interconnection: Legal, technical and commercial, the commercial facet, is the critical denominator of the three, because it has to do with sharing of revenues generated via tariffs, when subscribers make use of telecommunications services that go beyond their own individual networks.

The NCC, in conjunction with Mobile MNOs, implore cost based study in order to determine mobile voice termination rate, also known as Interconnection Rate, for a particular period or Regime.

International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nation’s specialized agency for information and commu-

Dambata nications (ICT) regulation, recommended that, in determining Interconnection Rate, it should be cost-oriented; it should reflect the cost of providing services that is required to unbundle the networks.

Unbundling, in clear terms, means the charge or tariff made separately, rather than as part of a package. It is only the part of the network that is connected with interconnection operations of the system that is charged.

In 2003, for instance, the NCC had its first intervention in the interconnection rate in the nation’s telecoms industry.

Liberalization of the sector was still at its nascent phase at the time, hence, requisite data was not obtainable from the then evolving sector. The regulatory commission deployed International benchmarking to set the terminal rates for the country’s telecommunications industry then.

In 2006, the Commission carried its first detailed cost study by employing the Long Run Incremental Cost Model (LRIC). LRIC is a cost model used in telecommunications regulation to determine the price paid by competitor network operator, for services provided by operator with significant market power. It assists in the determination of the cost of termination services for an efficient operator. The NCC employed LRIC because it is futurist in its policy formulations.

Interconnection Rate was reviewed in 2009 after a thorough cost study, which brought new Interconnection Rate for that regime. Progressively, in 2013, the NCC adopted asymmetrical cost profile.

This particular policy initiation levelled the Interconnection Rate for both small/ new entrant operators. It made it pos-

sible for the Interconnection Rate for all the MNOs to be pegged at N3.90k/ min—which is the current Interconnection Rate. The NCC is always motivated to conduct this periodic review as a result of dynamic nature of the telecommunications sector, which changes with other economic and technological factors.

International aspect of interconnection rate is called International Terminal Rate (ITR). This rate is the mobile voice terminal rate charged by MNOs across the border. International Termination is required when a customer want to establish an international call, which requires the services of telecommunications infrastructure of MNOs, in other countries, which is outside the jurisdiction of the local network. The termination rate of $0.03/minute is the amount the network service providers in the country receive for terminating inbound international traffic.

According to data obtained from website of the ITU that compared Interconnection Rates in African countries after well-articulated survey and research, Nigeria has one of the lowest ITR on the continent. The Nigeria’s ITR is put at $0.03/min for in-bound and out-bound calls, thus among the lowest on the continent.

The ITR for some African countries, according to ITU data are as follows: Kenya-0.11 dollars per min; Ghana-0.21 dollars per min; Benin-0.17 dollars per min; Senegal-0.30 dollars per min; Togo-0.31 dollars; Ethiopia-0.20 dollars; Tanzania-0.31 dollars/min; Uganda-0.25 dollars/min; Zambia-0.14 dollars/min; Rwanda-$0.23/min; Niger-$0.27/min; Chad-$0.50/min; South Africa-$0.03; Burkina Faso-$0.27/min; Gambia-$0.70/ min; Guinea Bissau-$0.50/min; Somalia-$0.44/min; Nigeria-$0.03/min; Liberia-$0.38/min; Cameroon-$0.28/ min; Angola-$0.20; Egypt-$0.09/min, etc.

The implication of this tariff anomaly is that it discourages MNOs in other countries from terminating calls in Nigeria, because of their inability to make substantial revenue from ITR whenever calls are terminated in Nigeria. This has posed a huge funding challenge to MNOs in Nigeria as a result of the declining Inbound International Terminal Rate (ITR), and has invariably created enormous loss of hard currency to the MNOs in the country.

In 2013, when the current regime of Interconnection Rates was introduced, exchange rate of dollar to naira was less than N170 to dollar in bureau de change market. Today, United States dollar goes for almost N500 to one dollar in the parallel market. Inflation rate has risen from single digit in 2013, to above 18.7 per cent—according to NBS. Interest rate for bank loans has gone up to as high as 25 to 30 per cent. Our GDP growth rate nosedived from 6.7 per cent in 2013 to negative indices, which is one of reasons the economy slipped into recession.

Under 2013 Determination Regime, which birthed the existing interconnection rates, Nigeria’s telecommunications industry experienced visible growth

speed, which propelled the subscribers’ base to over one hundred million active lines. With biting economic recession, coupled with lower interconnect rates, it has become obvious that the operators are now living on borrowed lifeline. The present terminal rates can no longer sustain funding of the operations of MNOs, which is already snuffing life out of MNOs, at the same time, affecting quality of services and telecommunications expansion.

In order to stem the ugly tide, the NCC has intervened. The Commission recently held Stakeholders’ Forum on cost-based study for the determination of mobile voice termination rate for the sector.

The essence of the Stakeholders’ Forum is to carry along key shareholders and investors in the cost-based study, which will herald new determination regime for interconnection rates in the country. The NCC will harness the window provided by the study, to properly scrutinize the advent of grey market activities in the telecommunications industry. Grey market activities include, but is not limited to: call refilling, call masking, sim-box and internet-based calls like WhatsApp, Skype, Imo Video calls, and so on, which do not yield revenues to MNOs. The NCC employed the services of reputable and world-renowned auditing firm—Pricewaterhousecoopers (Pwc) to handle this study. The firm is to, among other assignments, carry out an impact assessment on the subsisting interconnect regime; identify shortfalls on the subsisting interconnection rate regime and provide workable solutions; determine if there is need to have different termination rates for National/Domestic and International traffic.

Pricewaterhousecoopers (Pwc) will also determine the Mobile Termination Rate for voice services using appropriate cost modelling techniques for New Entrant(s)/Small Operators and Existing/Big Operators; review ITR in other jurisdictions with similar socioeconomic environment with Nigeria and its implication for the determination of International Terminal Rate in Nigeria; develop measures to reduce or eliminate grey markets in the Telecommunications industry in Nigeria; to determine (if necessary) the In-bound International Termination Rate, taking into consideration relevant socio-economic and technical factors using appropriate cost modelling techniques. The result of the cost-based will help the NCC in arriving at the new tariff regime, which will shape the future of the telecommunications industry.

All these efforts, in the words of the Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Prof. Umaru Danbatta, is to ensure that “interconnection services are not only fairly priced and non-discriminative, but should reflect the cost of providing such services in the market”.

–Nwobodo Chidiebere wrote in from Abuja. chidieberenwobodo@yahoo.com

SenatorTinubu ListsWay Out of Nigeria’s Unemployment

S

enator Oluremi Tinubu representing Lagos Central Senatorial District has identified innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship as the way out of the country’s unemployment problems.

She said it was unrealistic to expect the government to provide jobs for every single job seeker, a realization that engendered the need for private and small businesses who can also go on to be employers of labour.

The Senator spoke on Friday at the 21st Townhall Meeting she organized in her constituency. It was held the Event Place,

Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos. Present at the meeting were party leaders and prominent politicians, which included Deputy Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Wasiu Esinlokun, former Minister of State for Defence, Mr. Ademola Seriki, Prince Tajudeen Olusi and Alhaji Mutiu Aare.

She lamented that the report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that unemployment rose from 13.3% in the second (2nd) quarter to 13.9% in the third (3rd) quarter of 2016.

This situation, she said, had been further aggravated by constant increase in the number of graduates being churned out by universities in the country each year.

As a way out of this, the Senator called on youths to prioritise self-development and learn skills that can take them from poverty and prepare them for the workforce.

The theme for the meeting is “Encouraging Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Creativity,” which she said resonated with “our Youth Empowerment and Skills Acquisition Scheme (YESAS), Petty Traders Empowerment Scheme (PETECS), and the Widows Empowerment Scheme (WEES) which have over the last six (6) years been vehicles for empowerment, delivering opportunities and encouraging our youth and constituents”.

Senator Tinubu briefed her constituents

on her activities in the Senate. She listed the bills she sponsored in the Senate to include Lagos State Special Economic Assistance Bill (SB 122), which failed to go beyond Second Reading, Prisons Act Amendment Bill (SB 191) and Labour Act Amendment Bill (SB 229), both of which are at present at before appropriate committees.

The Senator also sponsored a motion on “The urgent need for the Federal Government to redeem Local Contractors’ Debts,” aimed at the redemption of debts owed to businesses and contractors in the country to ensure flow of money, maintain the integrity of institutions and move the economy out of recession.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • MARCH 11, 2017

POLITY

Sterling Bank: Leaving a Legacy for Women If you are a woman and you missed the Sterling Bank ‘One Woman’ launch this Wednesday, then you missed something unique. Commemorating the International Women’s Day theme, ‘Be Bold for Change’, Sterling Bank launched ‘One Woman’, a platform that provides a space for women to thrive, to be heard and live the best of their lives. Omolola Itayemi writes

I

t was a sunny afternoon at the prestigious Oriental hotel, VI, Lagos, but the main hall on the ground floor could be the daytime Oscars, well, without the ornate awards. From the gathering of well-heeled professional women, who have made distinct marks in their careers to the rich content of women-related issues being discussed, it was obvious this was no ordinary gathering.

A little behind schedule, the relaxing ambience of the hall, bath in shades of red and white (Sterling Bank colours) and good music from a live band cum saxophonist thrilling the audience to a mix of Naija pop and old school mix gave women an opportunity to unwind and network.

Though gender-based products tailored towards women are fast becoming the trend, especially with banks and other finance houses, but Sterling Bank’s ‘One Woman’ is different. Under the One-Woman proposition, the Bank has developed unique value propositions tailored specifically for women comprising an array of different value-added offerings to meet financial, business, health and personal needs of women in Nigeria and to foster support by providing platforms for women to support other women.

Shortly after the opening address by Mrs. Egbichi Akinsanya, a director at the bank, Titilope Sonuga, a poet gave a resounding poetic rendition about the art of being a woman.

If Sonuga’s beautiful poem had given the audience something to cheer about, the panel of professional women uniting for a common goal towards helping women realise their full potentials and leave a positive legacy behind was awesome. From health to agriculture to accounting to enterprising to Arts and Entertainment to governance, no area was left out. The panel compered by Moji Bakare had the likes of Abimbola Izuchukwu, Tewa Onasanya, Dr. Lilian Ekpo, Bukola Awosanya,

L-R: Head, Micro Small and Medium Enterprise, Sterling Bank Plc. Mrs. Omolara Akinfolarin; Director, Mrs. Egbichi Akinsayan; Managing Director/CEO, D O II Designs and wife of the Chairman of the bank, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ighodalo and General Manager, Mrs. Mojisola Bakare, at the launch of One Woman Proposition by Sterling Bank in Lagos

Babi Subair on the panel. All strong women in their own capacity, little wonder the audience were excited about what they learnt. This panel reinforced ‘The Power of One’, they shared their success stories, gave insider secrets that help businesses, helped clear grey areas affecting budding entrepreneurs and generally giving women the zeal to go out there and succeed.

Akinsanya reiterated the need for women to embrace this product, designed to make the women of the past proud; the women of the now, inspired, and provide the women of the future with hope. She said the theme of the programme, ‘Living a Legacy’ was also apt as it challenged everyone to celebrate the women in their lives as the foundation of communities and challenged women to make great impact in the lives of those around them.

Mrs. Akinsanya also noted that the launch of the One Woman on the International Women’s Day underscored the importance of women to the Bank and the need to celebrate the enduring legacy and accomplishments of women in education, business, science, art, medicine, public service, athletics, and every other field where they have made the world and the country a brighter and stronger place to live and work in harmony.

The Bank in a statement said, “The programme is designed to honour the legacies of women of the past, those who stood up for change and fought for the rights that we live and enjoy today; the women of the present who toil night and day to support the family and those women around the world who use their voice to help make the world a brighter place for women; and the women of the future who will continue to champion

women’s voices and causes to neutralise barriers and keep alive the achievements and plights of women in our society and the world at large.

Interestingly, some of these offerings, included the Sterling Maternal Medical Finance (SMMF), available to women for peculiar medical treatments like fibroid, customized debit cards with a bold feminine touch that would provide cardholders access to discounts for spas, makeover services, and furniture/household items at select outlets; discounts on lending rates of all existing retail loan products (e.g. personal loan, asset acquisition loan, MSME loans) for women and Womenpreneurship and capacity building programme for young women, help in making life less stressful for women.

The new age woman will embrace any programme that will help her reach her potentials. Little wonder members of the audience jumped at the opportunity to be part of the free annual health checks for women the entire week of the International Women’s day, in selected Sterling Bank branches, also offered as part of the timely proposition. Other fantastic offers include internship opportunities and job shadowing schemes for Young Women with access to the MSME academy for free or at a discount.

Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, CEO, DO.II Designs Limited launched the product.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs. Ighodalo said the significant number of women in Nigeria’s population made it imperative to deliberately focus on the needs of women to ensure sustainable economic development and growth. According to her, the business case for targeting women is simple, they are the more excluded gender and that 21.4 million females, which represents 42.7 percent of the total female population are financially excluded; 15 million of these women are not earning income frequently.

PHOTO NEWS

L-R: Widow of Segun Agbolade, Mrs. Remilekun, Agbolade; Nigeria Union of Journalists, Lagos Council Chairman, Deji Elumoye and the former Chairman/Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Kwara State, Wahab Alabi Oba, during Lagos NUJ Candle/Tribute Night for three late journalists, Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, Kayode Atofolaki and Segun Agbolade at NUJ Secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos...recently

L-R: Best Teacher, Secondary School Category, Mr. Ajanaku Babatunde; receiving a Car Key from Secretary to the Lagos State Government and Chairman of the Occasion, Mr. Tunji Bello; Deputy Governor, Dr. Oluranti Adebule and Chairman, Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Oyemade Taiwo, during the 2016 annual education merit award presentation to Mr. Ajanaku, at the Auditorium, Alausa Ikeja..recently PHOTO: KOLA OLASUPO

L-R: Executive Producers, lsale Eko Movie, Joseph Edgar and Olisa Adibua; Chairman, Nigeria lnstitute of Public Relations, Lagos Chapter, Olusegun MacMeda and Actor of the movie, Yemi Shodimu during an interactive session with the media organised by Lagos NIPR on the lsale Eko play as part of the activities to mark Lagos @ 50 in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ABIODUN AJALA

L-R: Chairman, Endorsement Committee, NIOB, Dr. Akinsola Olufemi; General Manager, West African Ceramics Ltd, Mr. Bhaskar Rao; MD, Embiz Building Co. Ltd, Mr. Emmanuel Onwubuariri; and MD, Marshal Iconic Designs, Mr. Udoka Okoli, during the inauguration of the Royal Exclusive Showroom at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos...recently

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MARCH 11, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COVER

My Vision for Lagos State Not about Politics but the People

Gov. Ambode

His face lights up with conviction and undiluted faith in the Lagos Project. As he talks, he conveys the sense of a man whose mission is breaking new grounds – and not a few grounds have been literally broken with his ubiquitous construction projects in the state. As he gesticulates, describing various works going on in the state at various areas, it is impossible not to see the new face of Lagos embodied in him. Driven by love and development of his place of birth, the people and the future, Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, is a metaphor for the Nigerian nation previous leaders have failed to reconstruct. His position is the most glamorous and demanding among the nation’s 36 states.

A man of many parts, he works silently behind the scene. There have been previous state actors before him, but his performances in less than two years in office, arguably surpass any achievements by any governor in the state or elsewhere in Nigeria. But he has just started and for him, no mountain is too high to climb. Ambode recently met with some editors and revealed the direction of his administration for 2017. The governor touched on many issues, ranging from the Bus Reform Initiative, whereby the ‘yellow buses’ popularly called danfos, will give way to a well-structured and efficient world-class public transportation system, the ban of commercial motorcycles (Okada) and tricycle (Keke Marwa), as well as the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, among other germane issues. Excerpts:

T

he Bus Reform Initiative of your administration looks quite ambitious and what is the cost implication?

Generally, for Lagos to thrive, you need an effective integrated public transportation management system. It is very clear that one of the things that this government has decided to take on is whenever we want to deal with any issue; we want to accept first what are the deficiencies. It is only when I accept what the deficiencies are that I start to process how I will give solutions. So, one of the things you see in Lagos is that connectivity is a major challenge to Lagosians. Yes, we have almost 23 million people; we have 11 million people moving almost every moment within the ambit of Lagos and you are wondering about six million of them move by walking on foot. They don’t really use buses or aircraft and other means of transportation.

So, the concept there is you want to find something that can move the ordinary

Lagosians from one point to the other so that productivity can increase.

Having said that, what we have decided to do is that we have buses that are not working efficiently and government on its part has not been able to provide efficient alternative. Now looking at it, if we are to intervene, should we continue with this private ownership of buses – we have had these yellow buses since the time of former Governor Lateef Jakande over 30 years ago? So, we decided that no matter the solution to traffic management, we must also now provide comfortable means of moving people that allow the middle class and majority of people to drop their cars at home.

That is the whole idea with this bus initiative.

We have 30,000 yellow buses in the city with a capacity to cram 12 people inside. And so, we decided that the best thing is to allow the buses go. The bus reform initiative itself is a three-year plan of 2017 to 2019 in which it intends to bring in new buses of 5,000 units in the three-year plan – bigger buses that will take 70 people and then the medium-range

buses that will take 30 people.

We believe that the middle-range buses will be supplied up to 70 per cent of the total volume which will amount to about 3,600 units and then the longer range in that direction.

Government paid the refund of the Paris Club Loan last December; Lagos State has decided not to touch its share of the Paris Club refund.

Right now, we have a sinking fund of N14.5 billion that is already put in place to drive this public transportation bond. We refused to touch our money and we believe that the secHow do you intend to finance the ond batch of the refund should be paid next initiative? month and eventually that will be N29 billion.

To start with, public transportation is not a I will add another N1 billion to it making it profitable business and you are not likely to N30 billion to start this initiative. By the time get major investors. So, we decided to use our we have N30 billion as a sinking fund to drive own vehicle – the LAGBUS, which is a private the bus initiative against the bond of N100 company to drive a public transportation billion that we want to put into the market, infrastructure bond. That bond is coming to there will be that credibility and credence that the capital market in which every individual, the bond will drive itself and that is the whole every Lagosian should be interested in buying idea. The second level of the initiative is that into the bond and then we believe that a we intend to give out franchise to people and N100 billion-bond that spans seven to 10 years this franchise is going to come in multiple of can take care of the structure that we have 50 buses each; 100 buses; 200 buses and so on. put in place. We are working on the financial So, if you have that franchise, you are going template and this is the breakdown – govern- to give us a down payment of 25 per cent of ment has a sinking fund that we want to put the buses. into this bond. You are aware that the Federal So, these are bankable projects as we have

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • March 11, 2017

COVER I Am a Dreamer and I Want the People to Dream Along with Me a sinking fund and so our exposure as a government is just technically 75 per cent.

So, from the kind of machinery we want to use to run the buses, there are no cash collections; everything is automated and obviously whoever has a franchise, whoever drives, they have the recourse to take part of the money while part of the intake also goes to the repayment of the facility and so it is a comprehensive template. The only part I just want to quickly mention here is the human angle. I cannot drive the buses. A mediumsized bus will replace two yellow buses (Danfo) and obviously it is from the community of the drivers that own the Danfos that we have to absorb into this new culture. They have to be the ‘new’ drivers. The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) are the ones invited to own the buses. Lagos State is just providing the infrastructure because they cannot buy these new buses hundred per cent cash and so government needs to stand up for them. The buses will be provided by dealers, put the SKD Company in Lagos, and also set up a maintenance facility and make available spare parts too – all that will create more employment for the people in Lagos. This is just a paradigm shift where Danfo drivers move from being addressed as Danfo drivers to professional drivers. So, we will buy back the Danfos from them and it becomes the seed money to become eventual owners of those buses in the years the facility is spread. It is something we have been working on in the last one year and we don’t come out to say we are going to do anything without working properly on it. It is a process and now we are at the advocacy process. We intend to go to bus parks to educate people. Integral parts of this initiative are bus terminals, lay-bys, and bus stops. They are coming in pieces but they will become a complete medium of delivering this particular product when we put them together.

Have you factored in the culture of indiscipline of drivers on the road as well as other users such as passengers, franchise owners, among others?

That is why it is a vision. We dream that our people will appreciate the change that we are bringing to them to the extent that they will now start to create that attitude that we want. So, the same set of Lagosians that we asked to queue at bus stops to enter buses but were not previously used to that are now doing so even without the prompting of KAI (Kick Against Indiscipline) any more. Now, we used to have area boys that harassed people and then suddenly they have been transformed to be positively engaged; they have imbibed that new culture of change. I don’t like to look at negatives. As a leader, your preoccupation should not be on negative things. So, what we have decided is that you can only transit from a Danfo driver to this particular ‘new’ bus driver if you go to a training school and you are certified. There is a certification process. Our people will say that we are going to dislodge them and they will not have work but we have created safety valve and government is not interested in taking away their jobs. We don’t want to create a new set of drivers but we can change our people. It is the positive part of our society that drives reforms and change. There is a training programme for the drivers. On the other issue about passengers, the question to ask is: why is it that when we get to Heathrow Airport in London, we behave well but when we come back home, we insist that we want our cars to drive to the tarmac to take us? This is because of the environmental provisions that we have made here and so if we want to be a mega city, we must display a mega attitude.

But is it not better to have the necessary road infrastructure in place for people to get to the bus terminus?

Good but look at it from my own prism. I am doing things that are quietly taking place but you are not seeing them yet. On your way to the local airport, immediately after the Post Office, just check on your right, what you see in that picture as Ikeja Terminal is under construction and it will be delivered

by May. What you see happening in Oshodi is iconic transport interchange and it will be delivered by December. When you go to Abule- Egba, just before the flyover, there is already a BRT construction going on coming from Abule-Egba to Oshodi to meet that terminal. We have already awarded contract

Ambode

for the Mile 2 depot. In Yaba, just beside the Presbyterian Church where we wanted to do the metro line, you have another depot there. The same kind of structure you will see in Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) today is coming up in Yaba. We have awarded the contract. In Anthony, which is supposed to be a terminal after Ojota, another depot is coming there. So, you cannot have hundred per cent infrastructure to allow your vision to be driven but they come in pieces. You also see that we have done some inner roads last year. We delivered 114 roads last year and this year, we will deliver 118 inner roads. On our own part, we are building 200 roads.

There are 5,000 roads inside Lagos but we have to create the infrastructure that allow our people to understand that there is a new culture without trying to do it like a switch.

That is why we are saying it is a three-year plan and so we put Lagos into clusters of seven zones. My first set of buses that will prohibit Danfo will be Ikeja axis and then the CMS-Ajah axis. We are already winning on Ikorodu Road axis and the number of middle class people leaving their vehicles at home have multiplied and so all I need to do is just to take the cluster of Ikeja, the cluster of CMS down to Ajah, and increase the number buses on Ikorodu Road. If that is okay for year one, we are fine. Remember, we say three years and during that period, we would accelerate the infrastructure. We know that the buses will be a waste if the infrastructure is not there and nobody will invest in infrastructure except the government. I am sure many are like me; anytime I see those yellow buses and the first thing that comes to mind is: are we really a mega city? Yes, maybe by population but in terms of the connectivity, we cannot rely on Danfos and still claim we are a mega city. I don’t like to be deceived and so I tell myself the truth first. So, that is the whole process of the bus reform initiative and when you say something is a reform, it is never easy and it is a process.

In realising this new culture, there are displacements and citizens are saying you are not paying compensation. Moving forward, how do you intend to address that?

You see, my politics is about the people and I understand it very well. If there is any administration that has been really humanitar-

ian, I can pride myself to be one. There is no where I have ever gone on demolition for overriding public interest that I don’t look back to try and compensate them even in areas without legal standing and people can go and check. In Oshodi, as much as I want to regenerate Oshodi to be a fantastic place, I have paid almost like N700 million to the traders and people there even though they actually don’t have legal occupancy. The land belongs to Lagos State and if I were to stay on legal standing, I should not pay anybody but again I have said I want to serve the people, I made up my mind that instead of me dislocating them, I can re-arrange their mode of business and so I paid some of them like one year rent. You can go and check. To be specific in Abule Egba, we have had to demolish houses and we are in the process of compensating them. But you see when they tell you and write to you, a lot of them don’t really have papers but I have made up my mind that I would still compensate them anyway.

Yes, we have brought development, we are going to improve on the economy in the area but again I should not punish them unnecessarily. So, as we speak, we are in the process of paying them. They should be patient with us. But in every other place I have gone, we always ensure that we give something back to them. The same thing is happening in Ojodu Berger. I have had to buy back a petrol station to allow the pedestrian bridge to drop there and I had to pay the person that owned it. I paid the market – just to allow that pedestrian bridge to drop there, the government has paid about N150 million. But you know what, they also don’t have papers and that is a reflection of the kind of government I am running.

Has Lagos State Government given up on enforcing traffic laws as drivers and Okada riders appear to break the law at will?

The very day government reneges on enforcing law and order then there is no government and so, we will never renege.

We will never back off. The truth is this, in the whole reform process, the idea of even driving tricycle or Okada should not be tolerated. But here we have an existing law that says there is a schedule one and two where these Okada riders should not be. We have decided to, sometimes, relax on our enforce-

ment efforts and sometimes, we enforce the law aggressively. For instance, in the last few weeks, we have been aggressive in enforcing the Okada ban in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki and this is because the recklessness of Okada riders is becoming totally intolerable for us to fold our arms but some activists will come out to say we are making earning a living even harder for people struggling to survive in the current economic situation. It appears that government is relaxed and when it becomes totally intolerable, we are out there. But then the most critical part of this is security challenge.

It is not about people getting employed.

I mean, who goes to school to learn how to ride Okada? Which certificate does one get as Okada rider? Everything you see about Okada is disguised unemployment. Nobody wants a graduate to ride motorcycle. What we should do as government is to go hundred per cent headlong on each and every one of them. But inside this bus reform, you will never have schedule one or schedule two. We are banning Okada forever – even tricycle.

The whole idea of having Okada or tricycle in some routes is not tolerable for a competitive city. I like people to accept that we are not isolated from the rest of the world. What makes me not to spend my money in Dubai to spend it in Lagos is the aesthetics of the city. Lagos is not only for those of us that are living here but also those who bring in investment. They should enjoy their stay. So, if we are going to be globally competitive, we must take decisions that drive competitiveness. The city does not want Okada and the question is: can the city provide alternative for them? That is what we are doing as a government – we have created the Employment Trust Fund; we have created drivers that can drive modern buses. You know the interplay of politics and enforcement are emotional and we try as much as possible to balance them but with more emphasis on enforcement.

But the indiscipline on Lagos roads appear to have gone from bad to worse these days while LASTMA officers seem to be doing nothing about that, as people stop at will on roads to buy things or drop a passenger. To add to that, the nuisance in Ladipo market is a good example where traders have even taken over a part of the road. What are you

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MARCH 11, 2017 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COVER The Bus Reform Initiative is to Provide a Comfortable Means of Moving People Around going to do about this?

Yes, I do agree that there is a lot of indiscipline on Lagos roads but what I know is that we have had major improvement on our highways. There used to be a time that people drove one way on Third Mainland Bridge but that era is gone forever. Now, we are concentrating on trying to recruit more law enforcement officers. You have mentioned about their attitude to work but again overall, there has been an improvement in the way they have been carrying out their duties compared to two years ago. I am not giving them hundred per cent mark. But I also observe them each time I am on the road, there is an improvement. The whole issue now depends on the platform of advocacy. Government needs to invest more time and resources on telling our people the right attitude to exhibit on the road. The syndrome that has eaten deep into commercial bus drivers is now showing in private car drivers. We will spend more time on advocacy to the inner street. On the Ladipo issue, maybe this is a coincidence, but we just held a meeting with the stakeholders in Ladipo Market recently.

Some construction work on Akinwunmi Street in Ladipo will begin soon. Fatai Atere too has been awarded also; but I cannot do the two roads simultaneously to avoid confusion. We did a study and it shows that we have like 1,000 vehicles on that road at peak period creating logjam. We are also going to have a multi-layer car park in Ladipo to take off all the vehicles from the road. We have agreed and I have told them to give me the space.

Lagos State Government wants a buy-in from all the traders there. We have also approved a pedestrian bridge to cross the expressway from Ladipo Market. Immediately they start the construction, people on the other side will have to leave, because in the evening the place becomes so chaotic that you really don’t understand whether it is part of Lagos or not. So, I have a solution for Ladipo and you will see it in the next six months – the face of Ladipo will change.

Any plan for development of Lagos waterways, mono rail, and the Fourth Mainland Bridge? What is really slowing down some of these gargantuan projects?

At the inception of this administration, we said that we must have an effective integrated transportation system to allow the city to move very well. Right now, we have commenced the channelisation of our waterways.

We have actually identified 31 routes for water transportation. Look, one-fifth of Lagos is water and there is nothing going on the water. That is a misnomer. We have already given out concession to about four private companies to develop our jetties and drive some of the routes. But again, they cannot bring their boat or ferries if we don’t create road paths on water which is the dredging and the channelisation we are just commencing this month. This is also part of the public transportation infrastructure bond that we are trying to bring out. A part of it is for water transportation. We have given concession out for Mile 2 and people will start seeing something there, Badore and similar axis. On our own part, we have ordered for ferries to be able to drive the initiatives because we must lead by example. It will be in place and before the year runs out, people will see a lot of activities on our waterways.

Then as for the rail system, I had come out earlier to say I would deliver by December 2016 but we are all living witnesses to the foreign exchange challenge that we are having in the system. The recession is not narrowed down to the private sector alone. It affects public expenditure and public contracts and that is a major limiting factor to deliver. But beyond that, I cannot say precisely right now when the Blue Rail Line from Mile 2 to CMS will start operating. But, we are in the process of issuing out concession for the Red Line that takes you from Ijoko to CMS. But again, each time you try to put that in place, you always remember that you cannot afford to wait and that is why it looks like, most times, we are emphasising more on what we have as infrastructure on the ground. So, we are dealing with issues of rail, water and road and by the way air. We believe strongly that Lagos deserves three airports. The airport in Ikeja cannot even take bigger facilities and so we have in our concession the Epe Airport and then Lekki Airport. Smart City Lagos is embedded inside the Epe Airport, while the other part also is the fact that the Apapa port cannot do the real business of what the Nigerian commercial industry is right now. It is not deep enough to take the kind of ship that will be bring the kind of goods we need and

Ambode

that was why we ventured into the Badagry Deep Sea Port project and also the Lekki Free Trade Zone project. Like I said, private sector is also driven by capital. While government is suffering from capital inflow, some of those projects are delayed but they are in place and there is a master plan to integrate modes of transportation to develop and fuse in as one.

We are also developing a lot of walkways on our road construction. More people walk around than the people driving cars and so we are also creating paths for them. You can also walk easily at night, courtesy of our Light Up Lagos Project. It is working and it is making more people to come out at night.

We have seen also that commercial activities at night have improved. I move around and I see a lot of people actually opening up their stores because of the security and lights that we have. It can always get better and that is the truth.

Just recently, in fulfillment of your major electoral campaign, you presented cheques to the beneficiaries of the N25billion Employment Trust Fund (ETF). How is it going in terms of its impact on entrepreneurs?

So far, so good, I can beat my chest that the ETF has actually lived up to its billing. As we speak, over a billion have been released to over 2,000 people and the whole idea is this: we want to create a vehicle that allows one person to employ five people. That is what I want and that has allowed us to bring more small scale entrepreneurs into the larger fold.

Don’t forget also that the framework to drive service never existed and if you are going to create avenue for people to get N200,000, 500,000, N5million, you need to create the framework or else the whole money will collapse and everybody will take it away.

So, that framework was what we have been working on in the last six to seven months and then disbursement started in January and then they have been doing it monthly.

More importantly is the medium scale entrepreneurs and the businessmen who don’t really do cheque presentation but the whole idea is this; if your business is employing ten people, I should be able to facilitate it in such a way that you employ another twenty

and then create a platform that allows the money to come back for other people and it has been working. The selection process has been devoid of any bias. No creed, you don’t have to know me to apply and the feedback has been good. Like it has been said, it is a N25billion investment that we are doing for four years, but so far, we have only done N7billion to them. I have to see that the money is moving out before I put more.

Going back to the bus reform initiative, the idea is to have more people embrace this new culture but then the buses will not pick you at your doorstep. Is there any provision for where you can pack your car and be assured that it is secured?

You see, one of the reforms we are trying to push also now is that because we are going to operate this with intelligence transport system, you can easily start to use app to know when a bus arrives at a particular bus stop but do you know the culture that we don’t have but we are trying to introduce, we don’t know how to walk and that is why every road is a bus stop. You see people standing in front of their houses and looking for vehicles to take them. That era has gone. We have to imbibe that attitude of walking.

What is the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) really all about?

I think by now, people should understand that I am a dreamer and I want the people to dream along with me. This is like a vision.

I sit down here as Governor, I have been given the opportunity to process something and improve on it. That is the singular opportunity that this office bestows on me and I don’t want to misuse it. I have lived in this city for over 50 years. What I see is wrong. I don’t like it and I want to change it.

I don’t like yellow buses, is it possible for me to change it? The answer is yes. I entered into Lagos from Ibadan and the first thing I see on the right side is dump site. Should I sit down and continue to watch, the answer is no. So, even for imagination sake that can this thing work, all I need is players and team members.

The city is very dirty. It is not healthy and so our total wellbeing and health is defined by our health status and our productivity but the

What you see happening in Oshodi is iconic transport interchange and it will be delivered by December.

When you go to AbuleEgba, just before the flyover, there is already a BRT construction going on coming from Abule-Egba to Oshodi to meet that terminal. We have already awarded contract for the Mile 2 depot. In Yaba, just beside the Presbyterian Church where we wanted to do the metro line, you have another depot there. The same kind of structure you will see in Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) today is coming up in Yaba. We have awarded the contract. In Anthony, which is supposed to be a terminal after Ojota, another depot is coming there. So, you cannot have hundred per cent infrastructure to allow your vision to be driven but they come in pieces health status has been diminished by the state of what we have. Now, the first identification of this dream is that government must provide the necessary infrastructure to make the city clean. Secondly, do I have the resources to keep a clean city and when we say a clean city, it is not Victoria Island and Ikoyi, a clean city from Ayobo to Badagry having the same kind of health status with the people living in Ibeju Lekki and Victoria Island. Do I have the resources, no I don’t but how do I get the resources? By way of taxes…should I tax my people to death, the answer is no. under the prevailing condition when the country is in a recession, can I go and meet them to say pay me more to collect refuse. The answer is no. what then do we have as a government.

We have about 150 rickety compactors and the private sector participants also have some compactors. We added everything together and mapped Lagos and findings show that what we have is not enough. So, what we have is not enough, people start to put refuse in the drains and at the end of the day, government spend more public expenditure to clear the drains, spend more money to give free drugs in the hospitals to children and all that. So, government now thought of going frontally to face the issue of refuse to reduce public expenditure in those other sectors and the first step was a review of the then existing laws to make them investor friendly so as to allow a Public Private Partnership in the whole business of collecting refuse not only in Ikoyi but in Ayobo in Alimosho. So, that is what we have done. So, we have consolidated all our environmental laws and I also told myself that it is not by making people to sit down at home three hours once a month that would make the city to be clean. That is not competitive. They don’t do that in New York and so, we accepted that punishing people to stay at home for three hours in the name of sanitation would not clean the city. What this new law is trying to achieve is that we can invite the private sector investment in the collection of refuse. What you have in Igando and Olusosun are not Landfill sites,

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COVER The Bus Reform Initiative is to Provide a Comfortable Means of Moving People Around they are dump sites. Landfill sites are clinically engineered and treated but what you have in Olusosun and Igando are bombs waiting to explode and we cannot continue to allow that to continue. So, the whole thing about the consortium is that can we divide refuse collection into different layers. The consortium will coming in collecting the domestic refuse across the State. The existing PSP operators that really don’t have enough capital to carry out domestic refuse collection, we will make their business bankable and then push them to commercial refuse. So, they can go to the companies around and collect their monies directly. With that, the PSP operators will be able to employ more people and be bankable because they can go to bank to say I have in my clientele so and so companies, this is the total revenue they give me in a new and so can you give me particular amount to buy new equipment. That becomes a bankable project. In this new arrangement, all the people need to do is just pay your public utility levy which is once a year, your refuse is collected every 24/7. The template we are using is that in every ward, we will employ 100 street sweepers which translates to 27,500 people that will be kitted the same way all over the State. we on our part, we will invest in equipment just like you see in London and say that we don’t want to ever see the streets dirty. And the design of the arrangement is this, the company is not paid except on the tonnage of the refuse collected and so it is in their best interest to collect more. So, it is a reform and when you have a reform, it comes with all forms of difficulties but the good thing is that we have started. The consortium will also have to provide us with new landfill sites and people will also start seeing a lot of changes on the transfer loading stations that we have around. For me, the ultimate goal is to increase the GDP of Lagos. When I have a healthy people, they are likely to be more productive and productivity is about services and goods. So, if there are more people working day and night, government will get more taxes from them and that is where we are going.

Can we get insight into your vision of feeding Lagos? Your government invested a lot on the Lake Rice initiative but what was the rationale behind government selling rice?

Let me tell you where I am coming from so that you understand me. The Federal Government decided that they are going to ban importation of rice and this has always been in the hands of the private sector to the extent that when they give you the license and you are just able to produce a particular percentage here, you are given license to import more and I just don’t understand that kind of license but the truth is the Lake Rice intervention was just about standing up for leadership in the interest of the people. If you are driving a policy and you cannot drive it by example, your policy will never work.

It was just a clarion call and a wake-up call.

People will see more of the Lake Rice. We are going to have our own Mill. As we speak, it is in the process. The idea is this, I don’t want to be a rice seller but I can be a catalyst to drive a policy to be effective and then immediately that we made our pronouncement, it crashed the price of rice. That is governance.

Government is not here to make profit but to intervene in the societal benefit of the people and I am happy that we achieved our goal.

Lagos is the 5th largest economy in Africa and Nigeria is in a recession.

Being the Governor of the State that is the major driver of the Nigerian economy, what is your vision especially in putting deliberate strategies in place to move the country out of recession?

I must tell you that the burden of being the 5th largest economy in Africa is not lost on us. Each time we try to drive a programme or policy, we are also very mindful of the multiplier effect such programme or policy would have for Nigeria. So, that is very clear and whatever it is that we are doing in Lagos, we are actually saying that this is possible in Nigeria. Today, if Lagos is prosperous, I tell you it is a positive mark on the recession that is going on in the country but whether it is possible to replicate the variables in Lagos in the other 35 states is a question that must have some kind of convergence in the national policy that we are dealing with but we are very clear in our own mind that most of the statistics that really push the GDP of the country are actually resident in Lagos

Ambode

and so Lagos on its own has continually created programmes and policies that keep reflating the economy without recourse to anybody. Establishing the fact that we have 75 per cent of our total revenue driven by the local resources here, the drive has continued to push that figure up to 90 per cent and I don’t even want to think oil. I wish that the variables I use to operate here are available in other states but again even when the variables are not the same, we are creating the exemplary leadership to show that even inside complexities and challenges, you can still have solutions which is the direction we want to go. Whether other people are seeing it or replicating it, that is a discussion for another day but obviously once Lagos gets it right, Nigeria is on the path to progress.

How far have you gone on the education sector? Your government promised free meal for pupils of primary schools but nothing is happening in that direction.

If there is anything I have not done properly in the last 22 months, maybe is the issue of A-Meal-A-Day. Yes, it was in our manifesto but again in practical terms, we are still on it. The number of students in Lagos and the budgetary provision also do not really match for us to start. I don’t like a situation whereby we come out for two to three months and then stop. I like to sustain it when we start and don’t forget also that the project is a combination of resources from the Federal in partnership with State Governments. So, obviously in terms of provisions and resources, we in Lagos think we should have a long drawn sustainable plan and that is why we have not started it. What I can assure the people is that we are working on it.

On water transportation, what are your plans to assure the people of safety because many still have serious reservation about their safety on the water?

Yes, I agree that we must do advocacy but you know what has happened here, it is very clear that not many people are taken into water transportation at least not with those canoes that you have and I am not even going to advise people to do it. But what we have in plan is the real sophisticated transport system that you have on waterways that is coming.

We cannot do it alone but like I said, we must also invest our money in it for the private sector to believe that it is profitable. Ours is on the way and those of others combining. But you see when we say we are dredging and trying to create channels, it is like also trying to create and express road. What you find now is that it is risky going on the waterways if there is no direction and government must

I have been given the opportunity to process something and improve on it. That is the singular opportunity that this office bestows on me and I don’t want to misuse it. I have lived in this city for over 50 years. What I see is wrong.

I don’t like it and I want to change it. I don’t like yellow buses, is it possible for me to change it? The answer is yes. I entered into Lagos from Ibadan and the first thing I see on the right side is dump site. Should I sit down and continue to watch, the answer is no. So, even for imagination sake that can this thing work, all I need is players and team members.

The city is very dirty. It is not healthy and so our total wellbeing and health is defined by our health status and our productivity but the health status has been diminished by the state of what we have do that. So, in terms of delivery, I can tell the people that in the next six to nine months, people will see what is happening in that sector.

Lagos is surrounded by water but the interesting part is that pipe borne water is a problem in Lagos. What is your government doing about it?

If there is any part in all the sectors that we have actually not been too impactful, I would say is the water sector. What Lagos requires right now is 700million gallons per day of water. The capacity that Lagos has is 210million per day. So, there is a deficit of about 500million gallons per day. That is the story of Lagos but again investment in the water sector in the last 50 years is the result of the deficit we have now. But obviously, what we have tried to do in the last 20 months is to see that even the ones that we say are our mini water works and major water works should be actually working hundred per cent efficiently. In addition to that, we are doing a new major water works in Adiyan and that is the Adiyan Major Water Works Project II but the ultimate solution is the same thing that I have applied in other sectors which is to invite private sector participation in water solution. Don’t forget that the money that we call government money is only your tax payers’ money plus whatever comes from the federation account and that is a limiting factor and then whatever facilities we get as loan or multilateral agencies efforts wanting to intervene in the water sector. But what I have focused on is to even make sure that the Adiyan project come into fruition between now and next year plus the ability to distribute and also allow the 48 mini water works that we have to run efficiently because they are not running efficiently now. We are in the process of making sure that they work to serve people in areas like Surulere, Badagry and Epe. We already have a firm working with African Development Bank and they are going to provide private sector water network from Odomola that will now feed Victoria Island, Lekki, Ikoyi axis. That is our pilot project but the only thing I need to appeal to people about is that they must also change their attitude that water is not a free utility.

Just the same way you pay for electricity bill, our attitude must change because the intention is that everywhere that we meterise, people should be able to see that it is the amount of water that they use that they will pay for and once we change that attitude, I think we will be able to intervene effectively in the water sector.

Is it true that there is a plan to start to tax people for sinking of bore holes?

It is not true. If I have my way I don’t even want people to dig bore holes anymore because eventually the accumulation of those bore holes altogether put Lagos in danger.

If we provide water, people don’t need to dig bore holes and that is why we want to accelerate private sector participation in provision of water to be able to solve that problem.

Still on schools, many of the infrastructures in the public schools in the State are in dilapidated conditions. What are you doing to reverse this trend?

Well, I did a study last year and it has to do with rehabilitation of schools and also provision of schools in the riverine areas. The result showed that we need about N60billion to put our schools together. But we have started the massive rehabilitation of our schools last year and you can go round to confirm. We expended about N10billion trying to put the worst set of schools back in place. This year, a major intervention is also going to take place from our budget to see that at least let the existing schools even compete favourably with the private sector schools. That is the whole idea. I went to a public school and I must give back. Then, some of our riverine areas don’t really have schools. If you go to Ilashe and other places, there are no schools there and you see people taking canoes to go to school.

So, that intervention is what we are also doing this year to see that there is continuous capital expenditure in public schools.

What are your plans for security surveillance on the waterways?

That is one area that we are focused on right now. We have improved on land and we have been able to secure the city properly but the issue of waterways, we are applying technology and I can tell you that we are investing heavily on our waterways. I mean, we should be able to sit down here and see what is happening on our waterways. That is the kind of idea we are trying to implement.

T H I S D AY SATURDAY MARCH 11, 2017

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NEWS

IFC, SEC, Others Seek More Women on Boards Obinna Chima

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, the Institute of Directors’ Centre for Corporate Governance and Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WimBiz) have said they are collaborating with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to strengthen the case for greater participation of women in the socio-economic development of Nigeria.

According to a statement on International Women’s Day, the stakeholders came together at a roundtable session to discuss the theme “Promoting Gender Inclusive Boards, Organisations and Societies.”

The discussions focused on progress, challenges and solutions to improve gender diversity on boards of companies in Nigeria.

Participants included government officials, regulators, businesses, industry leaders and other experts.

Deputy-Director and Head of Legal Department, SEC, Anastasia Braimoh, while speaking at the event, said: “SEC is focused on developing transparent and efficient companies that will attract and retain investments, strengthen the capital market and contribute to economic development. With the support of IFC and other stakeholders, we are leading the promotion of a more balanced board with greater gender diversity to boost efficiency and overall productivity.”

Although the Central Bank of Nigeria had issued a directive that 30 per cent of all board compositions in Nigerian banks must be women, a WimBiz 2014 study found out only 19 per cent participation of women on boards in banks.

Also, IFC’s Country Manager for Nigeria, Eme Essien Lore said: “Research indicates that firms with a diverse directorate are better contributors to economies. Therefore, IFC, in partnership with the SEC, is promoting gender diversity on boards. This is helping strengthen Nigerian companies’ ethical reputation, increasing transparency and investor confidence and improving their financial performance.”

Globally, IFC has nearly reached a 30 per cent target of female

representation on IFC-nominated directors in companies it has invested in and it continues to aim for full parity in the near future, according to the statement.

Corporate governance refers to the structures and processes by which companies are directed and controlled. Good corporate governance makes companies more accountable and transparent to investors, which encourages new investments, boosts economic growth and provides employment opportunities.

IFC’s Africa Corporate Governance program is funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland, and IFC is the implementing partner for the programme.

Council Workers Demand Communities' Involvement in Budgeting Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu Workers in the 17 councils of Enugu state have demanded for the federal and state governments' intervention to ensure that communities take part in the budget making processes at the third tier government.

Speaking at a Dialogue/Capacity Building meeting organised by the Voice to the People project (V2P), recently at Uzowani LGA in the state, the workers insisted that allowing communities to make contributions in the budget making would not only effectively ensure easy implementation of such budget but also assuage whatever misgivings the people might have against government.

The V2P is a Good Governance Project of the Christian Aid: Engaged Citizens Pillar (ECP), in collaboration with the Women Aid Collective (WACOL) an NGO with headquarters in Enugu. The project is being implemented in the five South

East states and Kaduna state.

The V2P project is being carried out under four major outputs including; output1; Building Active Citizens: Communities are supported to engage with local Authorities, Output 2; Enhance Voice: Voice and representation of women and other socially excluded groups are enhanced, Output3, Fostering Institutionalised State-Citizen action LGA Foster Good relationship between government and Citizens and Output4: Adaptive learning for partners.

The benefitting communities are Obeja and Etiti-Akanu in Ugwunagbo LGA, and Ihite Lokpa and Umuaku in Umunneochi, all in Abia State.

Other communities are Eziama and Amala in Ngor Okpala LGA, and Alike and Avutu in Obowo LGA all in Imo State. V2P project is also implemented in two communities of Akpugo-Ezedike, and Nkplogu, Uzouwani Local Government Area in Enugu State.

A’Ibom Assembly Approves Over N371 Budget for 2017 Okon Bassey in Uyo

LICENSED TO AUCTION...

L-R: Special Adviser to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Commerce and Industry, Mr Adeyemi Olabinjo; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, 3A Auction House, Mr. Abimbola Akingboye; Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce,Industry and Cooperatives, Mr. Rotimi Ogunleye, and Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperative, Mr. Fariudeen Akodu during the presentation of operating licences to auctioneers in the state...earlier in the week

Stakeholders React to INEC Digital Switch Over: No Politicking with Nigeria’s Migration 2019 Election Timetable Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

As political stakeholders in the country continues to react to Thursday's release of time table for the 2019 general election, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressive Grand Alliance and Labour Party have described it as a good move that will make adequate preparation.

National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Oye said the early announcement of the 2019 election dates would enable all stakeholders to meet up with huge task involved in preparing for the exercise.

Oye who spoke to THISDAY from his Awka home, said that the politicians need to reach out to allies and have ample time to build bridges across the political divide in order to put them in good stead for the election.

"INEC is doing its own duty as prescribed by the law and for us as politicians, the presidential election is a gargantuan exercise that requires a lot of preparations and strategic alliance, knowing the time table well in advance will be advantage," he said.

In welcoming the time table, the Labour Party said it was a step in

the right direction, adding that it assists both the electoral body and politicians to put their house in order in good time.

The national chairman of the party, Abdulkadir Abudulsammi who spoke to THISDAY on telephone yesterday said that the measure would assist political parties and Nigerians who has interest in contesting the election preparing adequately for the exercise.

"It will enable both the politicians and INEC to make adequate preparations for the election, so that nobody will be taken unawares.

This is the first time INEC will be given a long period of notice for the election. Neither INEC nor the political parties will have excuse for not getting ready for the election, " he said.

But the former acting National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus alleged that the Commission may be doing the biding of the All Progressives Congress by rushing to issue the time table for the 2019 election He said INEC as presently constituted could not conduct unbiased election and should therefore be dissolved and reconstituted to save our democracy.

Impressed with the production facilities of Gospell Digital technology the leading Set Top Box Manufacturing Plant in Nigeria, Chairman of the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on Digital Switch Over, Honourable Marshal Katung has said that there would be no politicking with Nigeria’s migration from analogue to digital.

Katung who was in Calabar to inspect the facilities of the indigenous company at the Calabar Export Processing Zone explained that with the facilities at Gospell , the company has met the required standards of the boxes required for the switch over.

“We have seen the factory, it is organised and we can now talk from an informed perspective.

There would be no politicking.

It is something you can see and feel. The DSO is a reality. It is not only in Nigeria. Any country that does not do it is going to be cut off, and you are going to be stuck with analogue and you will lose signals and can’t watch anything.

Nigeria has no alternative but to pursue this process to its logical conclusion” he said The Chairman of Set Top Box

Manufacturers and Group Managing Director of Gospell Digital Technology Sir Godfrey Ohuabunwa, after the tour by the NBC and lawmakers said the company had the capacity to meet the required numbers.

Ohuabunwa explained that they faced three major challenges of procuring foreign exchange, power and Customs Duties while disclosing that by June, the factory will not only be producing Set Top Boxes but Tablets , cell phones and other electrical devises.

“One of our major challenges is foreign exchange. As you know, most of the parts we use are imported especially the chips. The second problem is power. You can see we run on Generator all round.

Thirdly, we require waivers in terms of Customs Duties. It is taking a lot of money from the business. By rule we are supposed to be a pioneer status and not pay taxes for a period of time because this is the first time this is happening in Nigeria. What we are asking the Government to do is to give us a special window because the DSO has a timeline.

Government should treat all the STB manufacturers request for special status and expedite action. We just need special concession”

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has passed into law the sum of N371.292b as the 2017 financial estimate of the state against the budget of N365.251 billion earlier presented to the Assembly by the State Governor, Udom Emmanuel.

The budget, as passed by the state lawmakers is made up of N88.424 billion for recurrent expenditure, N80.870billion for Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges, and N201.997billion for capital expenditure.

The proposed capital expenditure of N193.956 billion was increased

by N8.042billion representing 1.7% while N2b was saved from the consolidated revenue fund charges bringing the total budget outlay to N371b from the N365.251b.

Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke said the House saw the need to increase the overall budget layout to the tune of N8 billion in capital expenditure and a reduction in the recurrent expenditure.

He explained that the decision was taken after a careful study of the 2017 appropriation bill as submitted by the state Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, as well as listening to the concerns of stakeholders during the public hearing on the budget “We had to augment the social sector, especially in the areas of healthcare delivery, the sum for the construction and renovation of hospitals and health institutions which original provision was too minimal.

“We provide for massive renovation of schools, provision of water boreholes especially in rural communities, desks in schools under the inter-ministerial direct labour coordinating committee to improve the free and compulsory education efforts of government.

“These increases account for the little over N8 billion in Capital expenditure increase that we have had. It is important to state that the increases were inspired by the needs assessment which we carried out.

Wike Cautions Army against Involvement in Politics Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has advised security agencies against participating in electoral malpractices, saying that such illegal actions lead to electoral violence.

The governor also declared that when a government was performing and popular with the people, it was difficult to use security forces to subvert the will of the people.

Wike spoke yesterday at the Government House, Port Harcourt when he granted audience to Major General Enobong Udoh, the General Officer Commanding the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army.

He noted that there was no loss of life during the Etche/ Omuma Federal Constituency supplementary elections because the Nigerian Army and Police did not participate in the snatching of electoral materials.

He noted that the violence that greeted previous elections were fallouts of the illegal actions of security agencies, which the people

resisted.

He said: "The last supplementary elections were peaceful because the Nigerian Army showed maturity. I urge the Nigerian Police and DSS to emulate the Nigerian Army in their conduct.

"When a government is popular, there is nothing you can do about it. We are running a very popular government, so there is nothing that can be done to us".

He advised the security agencies to learn to operate within the confines of extant laws and also accept criticisms in good faith.

The governor assured the military of the sustained support in their determination to fight crime and criminality. He noted that the administration will continue to provide the military with the required logistics support to carry out their lawful duties.

He said: "As a government, we will do everything possible to support the Nigerian Army to fight kidnapping and cultism.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER •MARCH 11, 2017

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Oshiomhole, Soludo Clash at Economic Summit over Forex Allocation Obinna Chima

There was drama at the Vanguard Economic Summit held in Lagos yesterday, when the former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole accused the keynote speaker and a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo of allocating millions of dollars to two new generation banks during his tenure “few days before the nation’s currency was devalued.”

Oshiomhole alleged that Soludo used the tactics to enrich the promoters of the two banks whose names he didn’t disclose.

But in a swift response, Soludo declared that Oshiomhole “lied,” and explained that as at the time of the 2008 financial crisis, the CBN had built the reserves to unprecedented

level and so had the liberty to defend the Naira.

He said further: “We decided in the interest of the economy that we must allow the economy to adjust in other to save our reserves and for the economy not to go into a recession. Now, the adjustment of the exchange rate, there were three times weekly bidding by banks and only the successful banks at each bids were allocated forex, even if it was one bank, two or three banks.

“We had market makers and Charles Soludo was never part of the bid. There was offer and counter offer during these bids and the market then determines the cut off for the successful bids.

So, when two banks succeeded or one bank, the governor did not know and we did not make

and direct allocation. Every bid produced different exchange rates and there were different winners at every bid.”

Oshiomhole has earlier advised the CBN not to bow to suggestions by some economists and financial market commentators that it should allow the Naira to freely float in the foreign exchange (forex) market.

The former labour leader, while speaking as one of the panelists at the economic summit titled, “The Hard Facts to Rescue the Nigerian Economy,” said “there is no such thing as a free market,” just as he opined that every nation has a central bank that manages their currencies.

“I have seen how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lamented how China refused to allow its currency to float. Whether we like it or not,

in spite of their outright rejection of IMF’s prescriptions by rigidly managing their exchange rates, the Chinese economy has enjoyed sustained growth. Now, if we resort to complete market tools, will that enhance supply in the forex market?

“The fact is that we also have to deal with the demand side.

The truth is that you are dealing with speculative demand, not real demand. So, in my view, if you say the market should take charge, it won’t work.

“But by common sense, the word parallel means biologically, things that can’t meet. So, for me it is insulting for people to say that the real exchange rate should be based on the parallel market rate.

For me, it doesn’t do much to our credibility,” he said.

L-R: Children of the deceased, Mr. Romanus Okafor; Mrs. Caroline Ofodile; Mrs. Ngozi Nwosu; Mrs. Oby Zik Obi; Emeka Okafor and Mr. Tony Okafor at the burial of Madam Veronica Uzoaku Okafor, the mother of a Lagos based lawyer, Mr. Emeka Okafor, who passed on at the age of 96, in Anambra State

Nestoil’s Restates Commitment to Nigerian Content The Group Managing Director of Obijackson Group, Mr. Ernest Obiejesi-Azudialu has restated the commitment of all members of the group, particularly Nestoil, to the development of indigenous manpower and facilities in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Speaking on the 2017 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) conference, which ended recently in Abuja, Obiejesi-Azudialu stated that his company had consistently demonstrated commitment to the growth of Nigerian content.

He enumerated the services offered

by his company to include: pressure vessel fabrication, civil and road construction, pipeline construction, dredging and marine logistic services, aviation services, oil and gas exploration and production as well as power generation.

Nestoil Limited, the flagship company of the Obijackson Group - one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest growing conglomerates, had showcased expertise and innovative technology in this year’s NOG Conference.

Obiejesi-Azudialu had described the NOG as Nigeria’s version of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) held annually in Texas and enjoined operators to explore the opportunities

afforded by the gathering to show Nigeria’s potential to foreign investors and highlight the benefits of doing business in Nigeria.

“Let us take the Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference as our version of the Offshore Technology Conference and leverage the opportunities it presents to highlight our economic potential to the world. Nigeria is currently undergoing a process of rebirth that will bring prosperity to everyone. As Nigerians, we have a duty to help the world understand this, and showcase the opportunities that come with the transformation that is occurring in every facet of our lives as a people. Nestoil is

part of the Obijackson Group, which has been operating in Nigeria for over three decades.

The nature of our operations has established us as a dependable partner in Nigeria’s quest for national development and economic empowerment.

In providing our services, which include pressure vessel fabrication, civil and road construction, pipeline construction, dredging and marine logistic services, aviation services, oil and gas exploration and production as well as power generation; we have consistently demonstrated commitment to the growth of the Nigerian nation,” Obiejesi-Azudialu explained.

NTDC Union Makes Case for Tourism Development Impressed with the strides of Acting Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Mariel Rae- Omoh, the workers union has commended the Federal Government for appointing a professional to the post.

The Chairman of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services NTDC branch, Comrade Martins Ohiemi, who stated this after their maiden meeting with Rae-Omoh, said his colleague will join hands with the

new administration to move the corporation forward.

“The success of the administration is the success of the corporation and the country in general. It is on this note that we are calling on all well-meaning Nigerians to support the development of Tourism in Nigeria by keying into the cardinal objectives of the Rae-Omoh led administration”, he said.

Oheimi in a letter jointly signed with his Secretary Babatunde Idris said “there is no better time than now to call upon the Government

munications operator and sponsor of CNN African Voices, says this week’s edition of the programme was dedicated to outstanding African talents who were using photography and painting to create beauty.

Last week’s edition had featured performing arts with South African ballerina, Shannon Glover, Mozambican singer, Deltino Guerreiro, and Ugandan comedian, Joseph Opio.

CNN International notes that fine artists had demonstrated that a blank canvas was just the start of a grand masterpiece, “Whether it is capturing the personality of a person through photographs or adorning alleyways with thought provoking imagery, they are using their skills to create beauty”.

The three guests that will be on the programme include a popular Senegalese photographer said to draw inspiration from her beachside town to create snapshots that have been exhibited in several cities around the world.

From Senegal, the searchlight moves to Cape Town, South Africa, to reveal a world-renowned artist “who uses everything from gallery walls to street murals as a means of self-expression”. He talks to viewers about his passion for painting and how it all started.

The third guest is Rwandan photographer who CNN says was using his work to show the rapid change happening in the heart of the country’s capital city, Kigali.

Court Strikes out Suit Seeking to Unseat Tambuwal

CELEBRATING MOM...

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Glo African VoicesDedicates Edition to Fine Arts Globacom, national telecom-

to do the needful by ensuring that those to head the affairs of this corporation should be professionals who have ideas of what it takes to turn the fortunes of the corporation around” The NTDC union also stated “that Nigerian potentials has the capacity to turn around the fortunes of the country in areas of foreign exchange generation , job creation , image laundering which forms an integral part of the present governments goals towards diversifying the Nigerian economy.

Ohiemi said “over the years the Corporation has also been bedeviled with having nonprofessionals as Heads of the organisation. The tourism industry being a core professional field or enterprise can only strive if professionals grounded in the field run the affairs of NTDC”.

We wish to commend the efforts of the Federal Government in appointing Rae – Omoh, an insider in the Corporation and also a professional in the field to the post of Acting Director General.

Alex Enumah in Abuja The Abuja division of the Federal High Court, Friday, struck out an amendment application seeking to remove Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, from office, on grounds that the primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that produced him for the 2015 Governorship election was not validly conducted.

Trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole struck out the suit in a ruling he delivered after taken submissions from parties on the merit and demerit of the application.

In striking out the suit, Jusitce Kolawole held that granting the application for amendment of the reliefs would change the "nature and character" of the case file which the Supreme Court had remitted to the court for retrial.

The application dated 30 January 2017 and marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/09/2017, emanated from an earlier suit with number FHC/ABJ/ CS/11/2015, filed on January 27, 2015 by Senator Umaru Dahiru and Barrister Aliyu Abubakar Sanyinna, seeking to unseat Tambuwal as governor on grounds that he was wrongly nominated by APC as the governorship candidate of the party in the April 11, 2015 Governorship election.

Recall that the apex court had last year remitted the case file marked FHC/ABJ/CS/11/2015, back to the Federal High Court for a fresh trial on the ground that "there is life" in the case in spite of the conduct of the governorship election that produced Tambuwal.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known and addressed as ARUWA SEUN, now wish to be known and addressed as ARUWA OLUWASEUN EMMANUEL. All former documents remain valid. UNILAG and general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS EBIRIM GOODNESS CHIKAODI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS IGWE GOODNESS CHIKAODI. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS JOSE OMOLOLA ASIMOHU, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AWEDA OMOLOLA ASIMOHU. All former documents remain valid. The general public shoul I formerly known and addressed as OLANIYAN WASILAT SOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as OLANIYAN WASILAT ESTHER. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

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The general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS OBINWA KASIE MARTHA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AZU KASIE MARTHA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

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I formerly known and addressed as MRS. GOGO GOODNEWS CHIJINDU, now wish to be known and addressed as MISS.

MICHAEL CHRISTIANA.

GOODNEWS

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I, formerly known and addressed as MRS. CONFIDENCE UZOMA JOHNSON MBE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS CONFIDENCE UZOMA JOHNSON. All former documents remain valid. The general public should Please take note.

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CONFRIMATION OF NAME

I, known as MRS. STANLEY KUDIRAT VERA is the one and the same person as MRS AMUOBI STANLEY KUDIRAT VERA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

TR

Saturday, March 11, 2017

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MISSILE PDP to Presidency

“We pray for the President’s complete recovery and advise the Presidency to be more transparent in managing the Health of President Muhammadu Buhari. Nigerians deserves to know the health status of their President and how it’s being managed.”

– The Ahmed Makarfi-led PDP National Caretaker Committee reacting to the return of President Muhammadu Buhari to the country.

PENDULUM Dele Momodu

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Rest in Peace, My Dear Friend Onukaba

F

ellow Nigerians, as for me and my house, no news could be bigger and sadder than the gory death of my dear friend and brother, Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo. This has been a week of major events but none touched me as mightily as that of Onukaba, one of Nigeria’s finest journalists. Where and how do I begin to tell you about Onukaba?

I first encountered him on the pages of one of Nigeria’s greatest newspapers of all time, The Guardian. His name then was Shuaibu Ojo but he later changed to Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo. At the time, I read everything he wrote except those that escaped my attention. I was his devotee, to put it mildly. He was a pen god and many like me worshipped his writing prowess. He wrote with so much authority and maturity that made me assume he was an old man until I met him. There were many distinguished writers and reporters at The Guardian - Stanley Macebuh, Patrick Dele-Cole, Chinweizu, Olatunji Dare, Odia Ofeimun, Yemi Ogunbiyi, Sonala Olumhense, Greg Obong-Oshotse, Edwin Madunagu, Tunji Lardner Jnr, Seyi Olu Awofeso, Andy Akporugo, Amma Ogan, Tunde Thompson, Nduka Irabor, Eluem Emeka Izeze, Ben Tomoloju, Mitchell Obi, and others - but Onukaba stood out in his own right as a reporter and writer. The Guardian was home for literary giants and Onukaba was clearly one of them even though he was relatively younger than most. Any self-respecting writer therefore wanted to appear on The Guardian’s effervescent pages. I was one of such dreamers but didn’t know how to go about it.

Onukaba was God-sent. Our paths crossed by pure chance. I was managing Motel Royal Limited, a holiday resort in Ile-Ife owned by The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II. Onukaba loved culture and came on several occasions to do stories on the Ife palace and its festivals. Olojo was the biggest cultural event in the traditional calendar of a town reputed to be the cradle of civilisation and famous for its 401 deities. Onukaba was lodged as a guest of His Majesty at the hotel during one of such festivals at the time when I was managing the hotel. I recognised his famous name as soon as his registration was forwarded to my office. I sent word out that I would love to meet him as soon as he arrived.

Ours was a case of love at first sight. I found Onukaba to be my age mate. This was the first surprise. I was shocked to see that he was smaller if not shorter than his gangling pen. He must have wondered why I stared endlessly at him.

He wouldn’t know or even imagine how much I respected his brains. As a budding writer, I craved his talents. We got talking and we realised we shared common interests, especially our love for the African Writers’ series. It was fashionable in those days to impress people with authors and books you’d read, not like these days when your bank statement is the easiest way to show off. Onukaba was stunned about my robust knowledge of African culture. I regaled him with tales of Ife idols. He was fascinated by my Bachelor’s degree in Yoruba from the then University of Ife as well as my plan to be the first graduate of Yoruba Studies ever to attempt a Master’s degree in Literature-in-English.

Onukaba encouraged me to write a piece on the popular Olojo Festival for the African Guardian magazine which was edited by Nduka Irabor.

I co-authored the essay with Kwesi Sampson and Onukaba was our courier to Lagos. A few weeks later, the article was published by the magazine. It was the biggest thing to happen to me personally and I was on top of the world.

I bought copies and showed to anyone who

Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, Governor Bola Tinubu, Dele Momodu and Senate President Adolphus Wabara at the launch of Ovation International in Ghana, 2003 cared to listen to me. Being published in any of The Guardian titles was a big deal to everyone at the time, and I was no exception.

Onukaba encouraged me to write more.

Through him and the inspiration of Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi, I started contributing as regularly as possible to the op-ed page. Dr Ogunbiyi was a lecturer from the Dramatic Arts Department at the University of Ife but later served his sabbatical at The Guardian and rose to become a Director at Rutam House, Lagos. Like Dr Ogunbiyi, Onukaba would later serve as Managing Director of the Nation’s foremost newspaper of those days, the Daily Times. I was paid N25 per article and always waited to publish four essays before travelling from Ife where I was now a post-graduate student to Lagos to receive the princely sum of N100. Trust me, it was a lot of money to an indigent student like me and it came in handy on several occasions. The Naira had great value in those days.

I remember my first article in The Guardian titled, ‘The Politics of Language’. It was a defence of Ngugi wa Thiong’o when he decided to stop writing in English language and chose his Kikuyu language and Odia Ofeimun was miffed about the decision. Of course, Ofeimun fired back thunderously at me to attack what he called my jejune thesis. This was how I got initiated into that exalted company of writers in Lagos. I kept writing for The Guardian and was also appearing in the Sunday Tribune at the introduction of my best friend Adedamola Aderemi, the Prince of Ile-Ife because of his conjugal ties to the Awolowo family. The Sunday Tribune had a fantastic Editor in Mr Folu Olamiti who did everything to encourage me. Onukaba followed my trajectory with keen interest. He rhapsodised about how beautifully I wrote.

Despite being able to establish myself as a writer, my real love was teaching. My ambition was to be a teacher, marry a teacher and live happily ever thereafter. But man proposes and God disposes. I searched and scratched everywhere for a teaching job but there was none anywhere. In frustration, I became exasperated. All my friends had jobs except me. And I was dying in silence, almost going off my rockers. I met Onukaba in Lagos and he said he could introduce me

to a few Editors but could not really promise anything. He asked if I was ready to migrate to Lagos and my response was an instant yes.

Onukaba invited me to his office at Rutam House one afternoon and he took me round the powerful offices. He suggested that it might be easier to get a job from the African Guardian and he physically walked me to the office of Nduka Irabor, the Editor. My heart palpitated as we walked in. Onukaba was a confident speaker and his voice boomed as he introduced me to the big man. I was in awe of Nduka who had become larger than life since his sojourn in Buhari’s prison alongside his co-conspirator, Mr Tunde Thompson. Both men had been detained and jailed under a draconian decree in those dark days of dictatorship in Nigeria.

Onukaba left me to discuss with Nduka, my would-be boss, but the deal fell through and my destiny led me elsewhere. My test was to write a report on night life in Lagos, a topic I felt was too difficult for a JJC (Johnny Just Come) village boy just coming from Ile-Ife, and I simply absconded. I returned to Onukaba and told him I could not oblige with Nduka’s test and offered to go back to Ife. But Onukaba, in his usual indomitable spirit, said I couldn’t go yet, that we must try one more Editor. He personally led me to The African Concord magazine, owned by Chief Moshood Abiola.

He told me he was friends with the Editor, Lewis Obi, and he was sure Lewis must have encountered my writings somehow because I had gained some recognition and popularity.

In all honesty, The Concord Press was not my idea of an ideal media organisation. My heart and soul had been substantially poisoned against its proprietor and Chairman, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. The barrage of attacks against Abiola by his opponents was enough to stultify anybody’s enthusiasm in the man and his business. Onukaba taught me to keep an open mind and this would become very useful throughout my entire career. He believed a good journalist should give everyone his right to fair hearing. Onukaba’s level of maturity was uncommon. At any rate, I needed a job so badly.

And according to an old adage “a one-legged man cannot say the man carrying him stinks…”

I followed Onukaba to The African Concord office near the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Unknown to me that’s where my Destiny waited patiently. We did not meet Lewis Obi but met his deputy, Bayo Onanuga and his right-hand man, Babafemi Ojudu. They told us Lewis was out but I could wait for him. To my greatest surprise, when Lewis came in, he invited me into his office. I told him Onukaba brought me to see him. He was obviously fond of that great name and he gave me a listening ear. I did not mince words. A man cannot hide his body from the undertaker who would bury him, my dear mum had told me repeatedly. I told Lewis I needed a job, pronto.

Lewis looked up and scanned my face as if searching for a specific expression. I tried to keep a straight poker face. When he finally responded, I couldn’t believe my luck. “How much salary would you like to earn…”, he asked, almost rhetorically. I didn’t know what to say.

How can you ask a poor needy boy such a question? Besides, I didn’t know what salaries journalists commanded and for me simply to join the ranks of the employed was the most important thing! I remained tongue-tied and speechless! Lagos, with its unusual ways, was as strange as London to me. To cut a long story short, Lewis employed me on the spot and I remained eternally grateful to Onukaba.

Onukaba would later travel to the US for studies and jobs. He earned himself a handsome PhD and we started calling him Doctor. We were proud of our friend. He later worked at the United Nations and I visited him and Sonala Olumhense once in New York. When Ovation International was berthing in the city of London in 1996, I invited both of them as Contributing Editors and they graciously accepted to support the ambitious project without hesitation. They generously made impeccable and intellectual contributions to the journal. It is impossible to repay their kindness fully but their names are indelibly etched in our common history.

Onukaba returned home to Nigeria and we met every now and then, particularly when I myself returned from self-exile. He was a great disciple of General Olusegun Obasanjo and was an authority on the life history of one of Africa’s living legends. Onukaba left everything to launch a global campaign for the release of Obasanjo when he was incarcerated by General Sani Abacha. Onukaba was forever loyal and dependable. He joined Obasanjo’s government naturally and was posted to the office of the Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, where he formed another permanent bond as usual. He authored authoritative biographies of both these Nigerian leaders, amongst other books that he wrote or co-authored. I could go on and on and on about Onukaba and his many parts but space would not permit me. In summary, he was a journalist, playwright, dramatist, author, envoy, administrator, politician and lecturer. Above all he was an admirable friend and great family man. Everything he undertook, he did with great passion, consummate ease, excellently, gracefully and effectively.

Onukaba died under very bizarre circumstances last Saturday as he returned from the celebration of Obasanjo’s 80th birthday. It would have been unfathomable for Onukaba not to have attended any of the ceremonies lined up for a living legend he admired so much. His deep loyalty to people and causes would not have allowed such escape. Onukaba played the role that was expected of him but died on his way home.

This bitch of a life!

May his soul Rest in Peace…

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