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Oshiomhole: Call for Military Takeover Irresponsible, Senseless Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja A former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomole, has described the call for military takeover of a democratically elected government as irresponsible

and senseless.

Oshiomhole's reaction followed a recent call by legal luminary, Chief Roberts Clarke, in an interview on television, for military intervention in governance in order to fix the country's festering security challenges and to carry out

restructuring of the country.

The former national Chairman of APC spoke yesterday in Abuja when the leadership of the Law Students Association of Nigeria (LAWSON), paid him a courtesy visit, during which they invited him to

their forthcoming National Conference on Rule of Law. He stated: "I watched on a national television one of your very senior colleagues, Chief Robert Clarke, I was shocked when I saw him calling on the President to handover to the military.

"I thought that was the height of irresponsibility, given his knowledge, given his age and a very senior member of the bar and, what is it that he wanted? He wants a military that will restructure Nigeria.

"It is again for me senseless, because the structure as

it is today, who put it in place? Who overthrew the parliamentary system?"

The former Edo State Governor was of the opinion that the first thing that suffers under the military is the rule Continued on page 6

Buhari: Unscrupulous People Undermining Policies of My Government… Page 37 Saturday 8 May, 2021 Vol 26. No 9526

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Supreme Court Upholds INEC’s Power to Deregister Political Parties Says sack of 74 parties complied with extant provisions of Constitution, Electoral Act Chuks Okocha and Alex Enumah in Abuja The Supreme Court of Nigeria yesterday put a final lid on the prospect of reinstating the 74

political parties deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for failure to win any elective position in the 2019 general election, when it ruled that

the deregistration of one of the affected parties, National Unity Party (NUP), is constitutional.

The apex court, in a unanimous judgment delivered virtually by Justice Chima

Nweze upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal which had earlier affirmed the deregistration of the NUP. By this action, the apex court has sealed the fate of

the remaining 73 deregistered parties, many of which have their appeals still pending in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.

The NUP had challenged

its deregistration by INEC in line with the laws and in compliance with the extant provisions of the Constitution Continued on page 6

For Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and Hadiza Bala-Usman, It’s Personal "At the end of the day, pundits are wondering if President Buhari will discard his adopted daughter for an unreliable former governor of Rivers State who ditched his predecessor Peter Odili and not on speaking terms with his successor, Nyesom Wike" Festus Akanbi The suspension of Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority last Thursday by the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, against civil service rules for the removal of heads of MDAs,

BEHIND THE NEWS was the culmination of the personal desire of the minister to remove Hadiza and truncate her second term as Managing Director of agency.

Hadiza was not told what Continued on page 6

Former Minister, Aisha Al-Hassan, Dies at 61... Page 8

COURTESY CALL...

L-R: The Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uche Ogah with Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel during the minister's two-day working visit to the state….yesterday

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Malabu Oil: Why JPMorgan’s Compliance Team Opposed $875m Payment to Etete Raised red flags snubbed by US bank’s management Festus Akanbi and Emmanuel Addeh, áÓÞÒ ËÑÏØÍã ÜÏÚÙÜÞ Fresh documents on the longstanding legal dispute between the federal government and Malabu Oil have shown that JP Morgan, the American bank in the middle of the alleged scandal, was alerted by its internal control team that the $875 million transfers to former petroleum minister Dan Etete, for the sale of OPL 245, were questionable.

Etete, who was minister under the Sani Abacha regime, has been in the eye of the storm

concerning the sale of the oil block which triggered a number of court cases in Nigeria and in Europe.

A report yesterday by Bloomberg indicated that JPMorgan Chase & Co. was warned by its compliance team over the “great risk” of corruption just days before it made the last of three transfers that totalled $875 million to Etete.

The federal government, in a London lawsuit, is pushing that the internal memo sent by the compliance unit to the bank’s managers should be scrutinised.

The U.S. bank is accused of ignoring the red flags when it transferred funds between 2011 and 2013 to Dan Etete, whose private jet was seized by the Buhari government.

The memo disclosed at a London court hearing last Wednesday showed what JPMorgan managers knew about the oil contract and when, lawyers for the Nigerian government said in court documents. A spokesperson for the investment bank declined to comment.

According to court documents, by 2013, JPMorgan’s

internal concerns over payments to Malabu Oil and Gas were escalated to more senior members of the bank.

“In light of Malabu’s reported connection to the alleged Nigerian corruption scheme, there would be great risk presented if JPMC continues to process wires involving Malabu,” a compliance officer based in the United States wrote in a memo dated Aug. 23, 2013 and quoted by Bloomberg.

Just six days later, JPMorgan made a payment of $75.2 million to the Malabu account, according to the report.

Lawyers for the federal government said in court last Wednesday that they wanted to know how the memo was compiled and asked a judge for more emails and documents from the compliance team.

The lawyers are seeking details of how the US bank’s compliance team monitored and placed controls over questionable payments including a so-called “interdiction list”, a tool to prevent transfers from being automatically cleared.

Malabu was placed on the list in November 2013.

The federal government

had alleged that most of the $1.3 billion purchase price for the licence for the offshore oilfield known as OPL 245 was siphoned off to politicians and middlemen under previous administrations.

In 1998, the government awarded OPL 245 for $20 million to Malabu Oil and Gas, which was later found to be owned by Dan Etete, who was oil minister at the time, in collaboration with people close to former military ruler, Sani Abacha.

director had been leaking some sensitive information especially of the finances of NPA to the Minister.

Koko is known to be close to Amaechi in his days as governor of Rivers State. Koko was then a staff of Zenith Bank in Port Harcourt.

There was also the battle over the sack of Intels, a major contractor of NPA by Bala-Usman.

The firm was a major sponsor of APC in the 2015 election and the transport minister was looking towards the firm for support in 2023. Amaechi wanted Intels badly but Hadiza denied him.

However, Bala-Usman, who got

wind of the plot against her, had on Wednesday fired a memo addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, stating her position and calling for involvement of the office of the Accountant General of the Federation to establish the true position of the authorities’ remittances.

In the memo she personally signed, Bala-Usman explained that the Authority’s computation of its remittances to the CFR are concluded arising from numbers from the audited financial statements using the template forwarded to the authority from the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and not budgetary provision.

She insisted that the NPA has remitted the full amount due it to CFR for the periods 2017 and 2018 arising from the operating surplus derived from the audited financial statement for the period totalling N76.384 billion as evidenced in treasury receipts.

According to her, NPA had remitted a total of N82.687billion for the period 2019 and 2020 pending the audit of the financial statement at which point the amount so much computed arising from the value of the operating surplus to the audited financial statement will be remitted to the CFR. “We wish to request that the Chief of Staff requests the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation who are the statutorily custodian of status of payment to the CRF to provide clartrue position of the Authorities remittances to the CFR,” she submitted.

At the end of the day, pundits are wondering if President Buhari will discard his adopted daughter for an unreliable former governor of Rivers State who ditched his predecessor Peter Odili and not on speaking terms with his successor, Nyesom Wike.

Division, ordered the commission to re-list 22 of the political parties deregistered for failing to win any elective office in the 2019 general election.

The court made the order shortly after setting aside a judgment of the Federal High Court, which upheld the power of INEC to deregister political parties.

Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, in a judgment delivered on June 11, 2020 had

dismissed the suit of the 22 appellants challenging the power of INEC to deregister them.

Reacting to yesterday’s ruling, the President of the Inter Party Advisory Council, Dr. Leonard Nzenwa hailed the judgment, saying it had ended all speculations and that “this will aid INEC to now focus on critical issues in preparation for delivering credible, free and fair 2023 general election.”

secession as "poor students of history".

He said, "I am also not agreeing with those who think of dis-membering Nigeria.

They say let everybody go his way. Nigeria is not a reality.

Those ones are poor students of history.

"Why is Europe spending so much time forming the European Union to create a

larger market? Recently, we signed the African Trade Agreement so that Nigeria can access a bigger market. We already have a local market of 200 million. If we can keep it flourishing and increase the purchasing power of the citizens, we already have a huge market. That should be an asset. That diversity should be an assest."

Continued on page 37

FOR ROTIMI CHIBUIKE AMAECHI AND HADIZA BALA-USMAN, IT’S PERSONAL her offences were or formally communicated, before her suspension was announced by the presidency.

Not querying her or making her aware of her offence(s) before suspending her is a clear breach of the processes stipulated in the government’s own regulation for disciplining heads of government agencies.

A government circular dated May 19, 2020, and endorsed by the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, stipulated that when there is an issue of impropriety against the head of an agency, the federal government requires a minister, through the permanent secretary of the supervising ministry, to refer the matter to the governing board of the affected agency in line with its enabling law and chapters three and 16 of the Public Service Rules on discipline in government parastatals.

The board will then issue the affected official a query and subsequently advise the minister of its findings and recommendations. But if the board itself is the source of the allegation of misconduct against the chief executive or the chief executive is the chairman of the board, the minister, on the advice of the permanent secretary, still has to ensure a query is issued, requesting an explanation from the accused official.

In this case, neither the governing board nor the SGF was carried along before action was taking against Hadiza.

In the beginning, it was all well between Amaechi and Hadiza, who closely worked together when the minister was DG of the Buhari campaign and Hadiza was a close confidant of candidate Buhari, resulting

in Amaechi recommending her as MD of NPA. When Amaechi became transport minister, things began to degenerate when he found Hadiza too independent to rein her in or control and the suspended MD would not serve in his court full of political courtiers.

Things came to a head when Amaechi wanted to renew all dredging contractors of NPA. Many of the contractors had served for decades and Amaechi got Hadiza to cancel her public advertisement for bid but was later overruled by the BPE, acting on the orders of the president that a public bid be held.

The crisis deepened from one contract to the other as Hadiza insisted on due process and more often had presidential backing to the anger of Amaechi, who then promised that Hadiza would be a one term MD. To the minister’s shock and consternation, Hadiza got a second term without his input and since then vowed to oust her.

The first attempt was when Amaechi accused Hadiza and the NPA of not auditing their books and recommended KPMG Nigeria; Deloitte Nigeria; Price Water House Coopers, Ernst and Young and Mckinsey and Company Nigeria. The Auditor-General of the Federation informed Amaechi that the NPA had engaged Messrs Muhtari Dangana and Co (Chartered Accountants) and SIAO Chartered Accountants in that respect.

The Auditor General of the Federation also told the minister that the NPA was in compliance with yearly audit unlike other government agencies.

From that, the crisis culminated into the issue over remittance of operations’ surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Funds between 2016 and 2020 to Consolidated Revenue Funds (CRF) and the CBN.

Before Hadiza could respond to the query to show that NPA had indeed been remitting to the CRF and the CBN, Amaechi got the President to approve her ouster without due process on the pretext that a panel had been set up to probe her management of then agency.

Ironically, the person to act for her while on suspension is the Executive Director, Finance of NPA, Mohammed Koko, who was not suspended, despite the planned probe of NPA’s finances.

The Minister alleged that the NPA under Hadiza could not account for N165.320 billion between 2018 and 2020 in the record of its remittance of operations surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Funds.

Amaechi in a letter addressed to the office of the President on March this year, alleged that NPA’s yearly remittance of operating surpluses from year 2016-2020 fell short of the actual amount due for actual remittance.

Amaechi wrote: “In view of the above, I wish to suggest that the financial account of the activities of Nigerian Ports Authority be investigated for the period 2016-2020 to ascertain the true financial position and the outstanding unremitted balance of One hundred and sixty-five billion, three hundred and twenty million, nine hundred and sixty-two thousand, six hundred and ninety-seven naira only (N165,320,962,697).”

The minister therefore sought that “the account and remittance of NPA in the period of 2018-2020 be audited to account for the gross shortfall of remitted public funds.”

The Presidency, in a letter dated March 30, and which was signed by the Chief of Staff to the President granted the prayers of the Transport Minister on the need to audit the books of NPA

However, there was a drama as the office of the Auditor General of the Federation clarified that the NPA Act did not give anyone the responsibility of authorising the Auditor General of the Federation to audit its accounts.

It however explained that it is within the purview of the office of the Auditor General of the Federation to provide NPA with a list of auditors qualified to be appointed by them as external auditors, among others.

In the memo signed by the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Transport Minister was informed that the NPA had engaged Messrs Muhtari Dangana and Co (Chartered Accountants) and SIAO Chartered Accountants in that respect.

The memo also said that both firms had audited and published the audited accounts of NPA as approved by the board for 2016, 2017 and 2018, adding that the audit of 2019 was ongoing, awaiting NPA’s approval to be published.

Apparently not satisfied with the position of the AGF, Amaechi, through a memo issued by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani and addressed to the Auditor-General of the Federation, called for a holistic audit of all financial activities of the NPA and went further to list some selected audit firms for the job.

Those familiar with the crisis said it has been a cat and mouse relationship between the Minister and the embattled chief executive of NPA, for over five years climaxing in the rejection of the record of NPA’s remittance of operations’ surplus to the CRF. The cat and mouse relationship between Amaechi and Hadiza was also fuelled by the suspicion that the executive director was too close to the supervising minister, a development that was said to have raised the fear that the

Political Tweets Bala-Usman finally played into the hands of those plotting her ouster with her recent political tweet on the state of the nation.

Reacting to the rising insecurity in the country, Hadiza on February 27, tweeted, “The state of insecurity in the country that has led to the kidnap of Kagara boys and Zamfara girls need to be addressed urgently…We can’t go on like this! Rescue our children and secure our country that’s all we ask…#SecureNorth #SecureNigeria.”

The tweets caught the attention of her opponents who intensified moves to remove her for daring to take on a government which she served.

President Buhari and her other sympathisers in the Presidency could no longer help her case when attention were called to the tweet which presented her as a sharp critic of the administration, who could no longer be trusted because of the suspicion that she might be working for the opposition.

Bala-Usman’s lastMinute Efforts

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS INEC’S POWER TO DEREGISTER POLITICAL PARTIES and Electoral Act. It noted that INEC “has the legal power” to deregister the affected political party.

The Supreme Court, by affirming the concurrent findings of the lower courts on the NUP case, has upheld not only the powers of INEC to deregister political parties, but also that the process and procedure adopted for the deregistration of the 74 political parties was in compliance with extant laws.

Prior to the Supreme Court’s judgement yesterday, INEC was faced with multiple cases by the deregistered political parties, with the courts giving conflicting judgements.

In one of such cases by some of the 74 deregistered parties, the Court of Appeal, Abuja, had in a judgment delivered on July 29, 2020, affirmed the powers of INEC to deregister political parties.

The appellate court in a unanimous decision presented

by Justice Mohammed Idris, held that INEC acted within the constitutional provisions, as well as the Electoral Act in sacking the political parties, which failed to win a single office in the last general election.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal nullified and set aside the judgment of Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which had earlier nullified INEC's deregistration of the political

parties on the grounds that the deregistration breached Section 225(a) of the Constitution. The affected parties headed to the Supreme Court.

The said constitutional provision -Section 225(a) - spells out the minimum election victory a party must record or percentage of votes it must poll to sustain its status as a registered political party.

In another case by some other deregistered parties, the Court of Appeal, Abuja

OSHIOMHOLE: CALL FOR MILITARY TAKEOVER IRRESPONSIBLE, SENSELESS of law, adding that for anyone who is familiar with the military system, like Clarke, should tender apology to Nigerians.

He added: "The parliamentary system was overthrown by the Nigerian military. That is on record. Who created 12 states from the four regions by decree?

It was the military. The current 36 states and FCT; who created them by military decree? It was

the military. How can anybody who has lived through and who is familiar with our journey as a nation think that the solution to our problems as a nation is to handover to the military? I think, talking about the rule of law, that is treason.

"You know we have freedom of speech but it does not include the freedom to canvass unlawful means to effect a change. When

you canvas unlawful means, then you should be arraigned before a court of law and dealt with according to the law. Ignorance is not even an excuse in law, not to talk of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria."

Oshiomhole called on Nigerians to have faith in the country in spite of the challenges, while urging everyone not to give up.

He said, "I think that even in our moment of distress and regardless of what anybody thinks, the world has resolved and Nigeria is part of it, that never again shall we be governed by an unelected government, never, we don't want unelected Angels."

On the agitation for separation, the APC chieftain described those agitating for

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NEWS

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

Malami: We’ll Soon Start Prosecuting Nigerians Financing Terrorism Deji Elumoye ÓØ ÌßÔË

The federal government yesterday hinted of its readiness to prosecute high profile individuals suspected to be major sponsors of terrorism activities in some parts of the country.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who disclosed this to reporters at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said all arrangements had been concluded for the prosecution of some Nigerians, including highly placed individuals, for terrorism financing.

According to him, government had carried out extensive investigation on allegations of terrorism financing against certain individuals, adding that substantial grounds had already been established against those accused.

Nigeria, he explained, commenced investigating and processing those suspected to be financiers of terror in the country, after the conviction of some persons in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying Nigeria had done a more elaborate investigation and had established the connection of many Nigerians to terror financing in the country.

His words: “Sometimes back, there were certain convictions of Nigerians allegedly involved in terrorism financing in the United

Arab Emirates (UAE). That gave rise to a wider and far-reaching investigations in Nigeria and I’m happy to report that arriving from the wider coverage investigation that has been conducted in Nigeria, a number of people, both institutional and otherwise, were found to be culpable.

“I mean reasonable grounds for suspicion of terrorism financing have been established, or perhaps has been proven to be in existence in respect of the transactions of certain high-profile individuals and businessmen across the country.

“I’m happy to report that investigation has been ongoing for long and it has reached an advanced stage. Arriving from the investigation, there exists, certainly, reasonable grounds for suspicion that a lot of Nigerians, high-profile, institutional and otherwise, are involved in terrorism financing and they are being profiled for prosecution.

“In essence, it is indeed true that the government is prosecuting and it’s indeed initiating processes of prosecuting those high-profile individuals that are found to be financing terrorism. It is indeed true.”

Malami was however not forthcoming on the number of terrorism financing suspects but said the number was on the high side with investigation still ongoing.

I’ve no Disagreement with Lawan over 2023 Presidency, Says Buni Adedayo Akinwale ÓØ ÌßÔË The Chairman of the National Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee and the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, has said that there was no disagreement with the President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan and himself over the 2023 presidency as reported in the media.

Buni stated this in a statement issued yesterday by his Director General of Press and Media Affairs, Mr. Mamman Mohammed.

Buni, while reacting to a lead story published by a national daily captioned, ‘Fresh Crisis in APC as Lawan, Buni Bicker over 2023 Presidency’, said it was regrettable and unimaginable that a national daily could publish a false and a misleading figment of somebody’s imagination.

Buni stated: “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no disagreement as a grain of wheat between the President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan and the Executive Governor of Yobe State who doubles as Chairman APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Hon. Mai Mala Buni.

“However, we are conscious of the satanic plans being orchestrated by some mischievous elements to cause disaffection to distract

the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee party from the onerous task of rebuilding the party and, to discredit the President Muhammadu Buhari led government.”

Buni insisted that himself and Lawan had remained good brothers with a common goal of contributing to the development of their state, party and country.

He added that he was heavily preoccupied with the task of governance of his state and rebuilding the party.

Buni added: “It amounts to insubordination for any loyal party member to start canvassing for any political office two years into the tenure of a sitting President from the party.

“It should be noted that President Muhammadu Buhari has two more years to complete his tenure, it is compulsory on the party and every loyal member to support him and the APC administration. We cannot contemplate anything outside the set plans of the party.”

Buni said it was most unfortunate that a national daily could be a tool of spreading falsehood or to play into the hands of ambitious politicians with sinister plans against the APC He, therefore, urged the media to resist any form of manipulation and stand for truth and justice at all times.

He said “As to the number, investigation is ongoing and it has to be conclusive before one can arrive at a certain number, but one thing I can tell you is it is a large number and they are

being profiled for prosecution. It is indeed a large number and I’m not in a position to give you the precise number as at now because the profiling and investigation are ongoing.”

Malami emphasised the resolve of government to invoke the full wrath of the law on anyone that may be sponsoring terrorism in the country.

“The message is clear: nobody

is going to be spared, no stone will be left unturned. We shall certainly and aggressively pursue those people that are involved in terrorist financing as far as the Nigerian state is concerned,”

LAST RESPECTS.…

L-R: Chairman, Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), Chief Ikeje Asogwa; Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo; Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State; former Governor Sullivan Chime and Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi, during the funeral ceremony of Asogwa’s late mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Nwakego Asogwa (Nee Duhu), at Iheaka, Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of the state, yesterday.

Osinbajo Counsels against Secession Agitations Okowa hands over FRSC Training School to FG Omon-Julius Onabu ÓØ ÝËÌË Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has appealed to Nigerians agitating for the fractioning of the country to jettison such divisive tendencies but join hands with the Federal Government to build a more united and stronger country.

Prof Osinbajo made the appeal while he inaugurated the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Marshall Inspectorate Training School in Owa-Alero, Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta State on Thursday.

The vice-president inaugurated the FRSC complex, which was built and fully equipped with stateof-the-art facilities and furniture by the Delta State Government, at a ceremony that was attended by eminent personalities including top-ranking state and federal government functionaries as well as traditional, religious leaders.

The FRSC inspectorate training school was formally handed over to the Federal Government at the inauguration by the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, with Vice-President Osinbajo representing the Federal Government.

The FRSC complex has an administrative block and an

auditorium as well as lecture rooms, male and female hostels, residential apartments, a cafeteria, a medical clinic, a driving range and a football field.

Declaring the training school open, Osinbanjo harped on the importance of “robust partnership between the states and the Federal Government”, saying that it would engender the desired sustainable socio-economic development of the country.

Osinbajo stressed the need for harmonious relationship among the different sections of the country, urging those fanning the embers of discord and disunity in the country to rethink such divisive actions in the interest of peace and unity.

He noted that Nigeria remained a great nation because of its diversity irrespective of its present security and other challenges, adding that Nigerians should harness the inherent benefits in the nation’s diversity to promote to stand the nation our among the comity of nations.

Osinbajo said, “We must caution those who are agitating for the breakup of the country against such agitation. It is important for our people to understand that the unity of this country must not be

compromised.

“What is important is that we must continue to promote justice, equity and fairness among the diverse groups (ethnic nationalities) in the country.

“The greater the cooperation between states and the federal government, the greater the development that Nigerians would witness.

“This far-sighted contribution of the Delta State Government is worthy of all commendation and it’s an excellent example of the collaboration between state and the Federal government.

“The ultimate beneficiaries of the project are the people of Delta and of course, the country at large. I must encourage all other states to emulate what Delta has done and exemplify this spirit of cooperation for development.

“The Federal Government will continue to support organisations that demonstrate commitment to their statutory duties. Let me again appreciate the Delta State government for the huge financial resource invested in this project.”

In his remarks, Governor Okowa expressed delight at the good working relationship between Delta State and the Federal Government, saying the FRSC training school was

a product of the cordial relationship, stating that importance of a well-trained road safety corps marshal on road safety standards and safe-driving practices in the country could not be overestimated.

The state government did not count the cost of building the FRSC training school complex when the state’s sector command of the FRSC approached him in December 2019 for assistance to acquire a piece of land for the purpose as the government considered the overall benefits to the people of the state and Nigeria in general could not be quantified.

In the state government’s determination to open up the state towards boosting social and economic activities, the administration has provided at least 483 roads across the state most of which have been inaugurated in the recent past, the governor stated.

He took the opportunity to list the various intervention programmes of his administration, saying that youths were the target of the various entrepreneurial and empowerment schemes including different agricultural and technical skills acquisition schemes under the state’s Job and Wealth Creation Office.

Former Minister, Aisha Al-Hassan ‘Mama Taraba’ is Dead Festus Akanbi in Lagos and Oluwole Ayodele in Jalingo Former minister and member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Taraba State, Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, popularly known as Mama Taraba, is dead.

She died yesterday at age 61 in Cairo, Egypt.

The news of her death was confirmed by officials of the PDP in Taraba State to newsmen last night.

Al-Hassan was a former Minister of Women Affairs and a former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from Taraba

North Senatorial District.

She will also be remembered as former influential member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party she used as a platform to vie for the 2015 general election as a governorship candidate for Taraba State.

In the 2019 election, she tried her luck with the United Democratic Party for the same seat after she resigned as a minister from the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari on July 27, 2018.

She was born on the September 16, 1959 in Jalingo, Taraba State, to Alhaji Abubakar

Ibrahim, Sarkin Ayukan Muri.

The deceased attended Muhammed Nya Primary School, Jalingo and LEA Primary School, Tudun Wada, Kaduna before enrolling at Saint Faith College (now GGSS) Kawo Kaduna where she studied between January 1973 and June 1977.

She attended the School of Basic Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria from July 1977 to July 1979 for her preliminary studies.

Al-Hassan started work as a Magistrate Grade II in April 1988 in the Kaduna State Judiciary.

She was admitted to the Fijian

Bar and enrolled as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of Fiji in 1991. While she was in Fiji, her services were transferred from Kaduna State Judiciary to FCT Judiciary in 1991 as Magistrate Grade I. Al-Hassan was appointed the first female Attorney General of her State, Taraba in 1997.

She was appointed the first female Chief Registrar of the High Court of the FCT in December 2003. She voluntarily retired from the FCT Judiciary as Chief Registrar on the 31st of December, 2009.

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NEWS FCT: Police Officer Killed in Clash with Shii’te Muslim Group Kingsley Nwezeh ÓØ ÌßÔË

GOING SPIRITUAL . . .

L-R: Osun State Governor, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola; Nationational Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and wife, of Oyetola, Hajiya Kafayat on Friday in Mecca, Saudi Arabia where they are performing the lesser hajj.

FG to Procure 29m Doses of Johnson & JohnsonVaccine Ndubuisi Francis ÓØ ÌßÔË The federal government is committed to procuring 29.588 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine through the AVAT initiative, coordinated by Afreximbank, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has said.

Speaking at a Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI) General Assembly webinar, she said the supplementary budget for COVID-19 vaccines would cover the cost of additional vaccines over and above those provided by

COVAX, as well as the full cost of operations and logistics for delivering the vaccines around the country.

She stated: “Already, the sum of N29.1 billion has been released from the Routine Immunisation budgetary provision (Service Wide Vote) to the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) as an advance for the operational cost of deployment of the COVID-19 vaccines.

“The N29.1bn represents about 52 per cent of the amount required over 2021-22,” she added.

In a statement issued by

her spokesman, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, the minister stated that the World Bank has indicated willingness to provide the needed facilities in support of COVID-19 vaccination plan.

Considering key elements of Nigeria’s vaccine financing strategy, she said that the government was working on a supplementary budget to provide for the cost of vaccine procurement and delivery: “The Federal Ministry of Health plans to vaccinate 70 per cent of eligible (18 years and above) Nigerians over the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years,” Ahmed said.

The nation, she stated, has

received commitments from COVAX for COVID-19 vaccines that could cover 43.1 million of the eligible population, as donations from some development partners.

On the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and the oil price crash on the Nigerian economy, she noted that prior to the pandemic, implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017-2020, prudent resource management and fiscal policy implementation had resulted in 11 consecutive quarters of GDP growth, with GDP growth rising from 1.91 per cent in 2018 to 2.27 per cent in 2019.

NNPC Promises to Deliver on PH Refinery Rehabilitation as Project Kicks off Peter Uzoho The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has kicked off construction work on the Port Harcourt Refinery rehabilitation project with a firm commitment not to fail Nigerians.

A statement issued yesterday by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, quoted the NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Refineries and Petrochemicals, Mr. Mustapha Yakubu, as saying that everything was being done to ensure that the project was delivered hitch-free and on schedule.

Speaking at the Technical Kickoff Meeting for the project which held at the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex, Alesa Eleme, Rivers

State, Yakubu said everything about the project had been carefully worked out to ensure that the target of at least 90 per cent refining capacity was achieved when operational.

“It must be hitch-free and that is why we are engaging the host communities appropriately. 200 million Nigerians are looking up to us and we can’t afford to fail.

We’ve been on this journey since 2019,” he said.

The COO disclosed that the project would require 3,000 workers at the peak of activities, stressing that out of that number, there would be only 70 expatriates while the balance would be sourced locally in line with the local content policy.

He expressed gratitude to the federal government for approving

$1.5 million for the project.

Speaking earlier via a message delivered on his behalf by the Chief Financial Officer of the corporation, Mr. Umar Ajiya, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, assured Nigerians that the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) would roar back to life on or before April 5, 2023, when repairs would have been completed on the old refinery also known as Area 5.

He said the target was to fix the old refinery first, so that local refining could resume as soon as possible, adding that NNPC management would do everything to support the contractor, Maire Technimont SPA, to ensure prompt delivery of the project.

“We are happy we have the contractor onboard. With strong collaboration of all parties involved, we will achieve the desired results. We have both government and private sector financing.

“We have the finance ministry, NEITI, labour unions and other stakeholders on board this project. They want to see transparency so they can report same to Nigerians and this is one of the most transparent processes ever,” Kyari stated In his presentation, the Managing Director of PHRC, Mr. Ahmed Dikko, said that all the process plants had been made hydrocarbon-free to enable the contractor carry out the rehabilitation work safely.

Tension in Delta Community over Alleged Plan

By State Government to Impose King Sylvester Idowu inWarri Palpable tension has enveloped Ibrede community in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State over alleged plan by the State Government to impose and install Chief Augustine Oghenejabor as the Odio-Ologbo of the kingdom.

The people, during a wellattended meeting of stakeholders, President Generals of the eight communities that made up the

kingdom, held at Ibrede, vowed to resist any attempt to displace the present Odio-Ologbo by installing a new one in his place.

The community, in a resolution signed by those in attendance and made available to THISDAY yesterday insisted “That the most elderly man as stated by the gazette in Odiologbo of Ibrede Clan remains and Odio Ipoli Couple as elected stands.

“That the clan President Generals and Edios, Chiefs,

Youths and other organs of clans community leadership vehemently reject the imposition of Chief Augustine Oghenejabor as the Odio-Ologbo of the clan, as no single man can change the collective decision of the people.

“We, therefore, appeal to the government and other relevant agencies to look into this resolution and act appropriately,” they urged.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Olisa Ifeajika,

said the government does not choose a king for communities, adding that government only recognised the person chosen by the community.

“Government does not choose a king for a people because the person is not going to be the traditional ruler of Delta State; he is going to be the traditional ruler of that community. So, government does not really have anything to gain or lose as such.

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command said yesterday that one police officer was killed while 49 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria were arrested during a protest by the group in Abuja.

The command has also launched an investigation into a viral video depicting some hoodlums looting a demolished site in Kubwa, Abuja.

A statement issued by the Spokesperson of the command, ASP Mariam Yusuf, said members of the sect went on rampage, destroying public property and attacking innocent citizens including police officers using dangerous weapons such as cutlasses, sharp knives, among other dangerous weapons.

“Sadly, one of the police officers, ASP Adama Ezekiel, deployed to restore calm during the violent protest paid the supreme price as a result of the brutal attack where he was stabbed by one of the irate protesters,” it said.

The command said 49 members of the sect were arrested and

would be arraigned in court upon conclusion of investigation.

“In view of the above, the Commissioner of Police, CP Bala Ciroma, wishes to commiserate with the family of the deceased officer, who paid the supreme price in service to the nation,” it said.

The command warned that it would not condone further attacks on its personnel, equipment or other public property by members of the proscribed group.

The statement implored residents to remain calm, law-abiding while reaffirming its unwavering commitment to the protection of lives and property within the FCT. Meanwhile, the command had launched an investigation into a viral video depicting some hoodlums looting the site of a demolished building.

“The attention of the FCT Police Command has been drawn to the viral video of looting in the social media, suggesting that the ‘’Hausas were looting Southerners at Arab Road, Kubwa-Abuja’’.

Tears, Jubilation as 27 Freed Students of Kaduna Forestry School Reunite with Parents John Shiklam ÓØ ËÎßØË The remaining 27 released students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna, were formally handed over to their parents yesterday by the Kaduna State Police Command at the school premises.

It was a mixed feeling as some of the students and parents danced in jubilation while others broke down in tears as they embraced each in the school hall, venue of the event.

The students were released on Wednesday after being held captive by kidnappers for 56 days.

Upon their release, they were taken to the Police College Clinic, Kaduna, for medical attention.

They were looking strong and cheerful as they were reunited with their parents and colleagues.

On March 11, the kidnappers invaded their school and abducted 39 of them. Two of them students escaped while 10 others were set free in batches of five after the parents reportedly paid a ransom of N17 million.

The students were brought to the school premises in two buses, accompanied by a convoy of security personnel led by the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Muri.

Speaking in an interview one of the abducted students Sarah Sunday said she has forgiven the kidnappers despite the trauma they subjected her and her colleagues to.

“We forgive them and God will give them chance to change. We suffered a lot, honestly speaking.

We trekked a lot because everywhere we were moving is trekking,” she said.

She said while in captivity, she was worried that her mother was going to die because of shock, saying she was happy to be reunited with her family.

“I thought my mum will pass away because of the shock, but I thank a God. Thank you very

much to everyone that help us in prayers and everything”, she said.

Also speaking, Sarah’s mother, Mrs. Sunday expressed gratitude to God for bringing back her daughter safely.

She however said she would not allow her daughter to continue in the school unless, security is provided.

“I am very happy God has brought her back. I will allow her to continue her studies in the school if there is security. If there is no security, I will change school for her”, she said.

Many of the students had little time to talk about their experience in the kidnappers den as they were in a hurry to go home, but expressed gratitude to God and all those involved in rescuing them.

One of the parents, Mrs. Tani Tanko, said parents are happy that God had answered their prayers.

“We are very happy. We have been praying for the safe returns four children ever since they were abducted and God has answered our prayers”, she said.

Also, another parent, Mr. Paul Mshelia said he was excited that his son and other children were back alive.

“I feel very excited seeing my son and other children back alive. My happiness knows no bounds. We have suffered a lot of emotional and psychological trauma. Today we feel greatly relieved. We want the school to beef up security”, he said.

Address the parents, the Kaduna state police commissioner, Mr. Umar Muri said “since the abduction of the students, the federal and state government, Inspector General of Police as well as the Kaduna State police command became greatly concerned and deeply engaged every means deemed necessary within the ambit of the law to rescues the victim.”

SATURDAY MAY 8, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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MAY 8, 2021 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

THE WIDE, WILD WORLD OF THE INTERNET Lagos lays backbone for fast internet and better future, writes Kazeem Adeniji

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t’s 15 years ago that I last used a computer not connected to the internet. Before then, I thought I could do so much – learn, work and have fun – with the computer already. When I installed Encyclopaedia Britannica, I was over the moon. I could easily source out information on hundreds of thousands of topics. But from the moment I started using the internet, the computer never remained the same for me. I was hooked to the wide, wild, world of the internet.

I guess that experience of ‘getting hooked’ is the same for everyone that would ever use the internet. Call it a game-changer and you would be right. In today’s world, the internet has become indispensable. It’s sine qua non to modern life. So, when the Lagos State government recently announced that it had laid 3, 000km of fibre optics cable across the state, I was thrilled. But that is just phase one.

The Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Hakeem Popoola Fahm, disclosed this last Tuesday in Ikeja during a briefing to highlight achievements of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration of Lagos in two years. “We plan to connect the fibre optic cables to all our public schools and institutions of learning, health centres, and all government offices and parastatals,” he said.

Fahm also noted that the government will adopt e-governance so as to serve Lagosians better. “We’re making sure that we close the digital divide in Lagos State. We’re going to reach schools, we’re going to reach medical institutions, government agencies, private sector as well as the markets because we want to make sure that we leverage the power of technology, the power of the internet to communicate and do business. We would be working with different software ecosystems to solve major challenges across Lagos - challenges in transport, in health, their varying activities going on in the software space that would be able to give Lagos State a qualified workforce to build the smart city that we want to see.”

Also, with the way the Covid-19 pandemic forced remote working on people globally, access to faster internet would surely be a game changer to everyone. With a faster internet, traffic management can be better enhanced, healthcare delivery can be better enforced and public transportation around the state be better designed. In addition, the education sector will get a terrific boost while real-time security monitoring will become our reality.

This is away from the regular interface and interactions between the citizens and government. According to Fahm who revealed that about five million residents have been registered by the Lagos State Resident Registration Agency (LASRRA), since its commencement in 2011, “this comes in various forms such as tax submission and registration of businesses, reducing the administrative burden on the public and private sectors, and improving transparency. E-governance effectively deployed can have a significant impact on poverty reduction and increase the efficiency of public institutions.”

In today’s world, after electricity, the next integral societal need is perhaps the internet. It’s the frontier where nearly everything happens. Do you want to research, learn a new skill, get entertained or just reach out to people? The internet is the backbone that has made and is making all that possible. It is the revolution.

As it started, the internet progressively disrupted how we lived.

Shopping now can be done with few clicks on computers and mobile devices. The place of newspaper vendors is diminishing

UPON COMPLETION OF THE LAYING OF ALL THE CABLES AND THE ARRIVAL OF FAST INTERNET, LAGOS WILL ATTRACT MORE PEOPLE AND ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES TO MAKE THE STATE HOME. INADVERTENTLY, THIS WOULD CREATE MORE JOBS AND INCREASE PRODUCTION IN LAGOS

with online news portals. Commerce, even across oceans are routinely conducted via keystrokes and keywords. Websites now compete with brick and mortar spaces.

With the laying of 3, 000km fibre optics cable, internet in Lagos can be likened to going from propeller to rocket propulsion. You see, the internet is going to be way faster and the implication is that many more people and businesses are going to thrive. Faster!

Unlike antenna technology, fibre-optics cables would ensure more data can be sent and received than before. With fibre optics, uploads and downloads of data take place at breakneck speed.

We’re talking of speeds in the realm of gigabytes as opposed to megabytes which antennas usually deliver. The fibre optics cables are also reliable and do not distort with rain or other weather fluctuations like wind. No doubt, fibre optics cable is way more efficient than using antennae for data transmission. As we embrace the internet and the internet of things, we would definitely need faster internet so as not to get frustrated. Kudos to Lagos for this development.

What this means is that there are going to be fewer dropped calls during audio or video call sessions, Zoom meetings are going to be smoother, and YouTube viewers would experience little or no buffering and streaming would be flowing. With our growing dependence on the internet, the laying of the fibre optics cable by Lagos is an investment not only for the present but also for the future. Aside from the laying of the cables, the state government is also encouraging IT entrepreneurs. And in his address, Fahm said the state government announced a N250m seed fund to boost technology innovation in the state.

And its use can be found in everyday activities. For instance, Fahm also highlighted the government’s effort towards achieving a better secured Lagos to include the provision of 2, 000 CCTV cameras.

“Safeguarding Lagos has gone beyond the ordinary,” he said.

“We have built new data rooms, install more cameras, and effectively deploy technology in our operations, especially as regards security and traffic management.”

Though Fahm said that only 100 CCTV cameras were currently installed around Ikeja, the rest would be installed in other areas to ensure all that upon completion, people and businesses can operate in a safe and secure environment. While this would have been possible before, the laying of the fibre optics cable just makes it more efficient.

But to ensure the Lagos Smartcity Project comes on track faster, the state would need all the support it can get, especially from the federal government. Information technology thrives on electricity and given that the whole of the country is starved of electricity, that is an area that must be looked at.

This year, the government also plans to install another 3,000km of fibre optics cables across the state. As they say in the streets, Lagos ‘is not smiling’, a street lingo referring to a determined person. And it shouldn’t. But surely, upon completion of the laying of all the cables and the arrival of fast internet, Lagos will attract more people and encourage businesses to make the state home. Inadvertently, this would create more jobs and increase production in Lagos.

I tell everyone around me that Lagos is the best Nigerian state.

Home to about 26 million people, the state continually thinks on how best to improve its status as the number one destination in the country. The task of governing Lagos is serious business. And I’m happy the current administration is taking it seriously.

PANTAMI: IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

Sunny Jackson Eyibio argues that Pantami is a changed man, and should be judged by what he is now doing

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f some public affairs commentators and their partisan associates have their way, the next head to be placed in the hangman’s noose is that of Dr Isa Ali Pantami, who is better known as Sheikh Pantami. In his previous public office as Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Pantami remained in obscurity. All that will however change soon.

Nominated and confirmed as Minister in August 2019, Pantami’s posting to the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is no doubt fit and proper. Not only had he acquitted himself in one of the agencies of his new responsibility, his background as a computer science and technology management graduate, plus doctorate in Computer Science, with specialisation in Computer Information System adequately prepared him for his ministerial portfolio. This is not the tale of a square peg in a round hole.

In less than two years in office, Pantami has justified the confidence President Muhammadu Buhari had in the 48-year-old Sheikh. The new Ministry, under his watch, has rolled out two strategic documents for the sector – the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, and the National Broadband Plan. While yet to celebrate his first year on the Ministerial seat, Pantami frontally tackled the issue of excessive Right of Way charges and vandalism of telecommunication infrastructure,

which had nagged the sector for decades.

With Pantami in charge at the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, broadband penetration increased by about 10 per cent in a year, instead of the average annual increase of about 1.7 per cent. According to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Report for the second quarter of last year, as compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics, Information Communication Technology (ICT) contributed an unprecedented 17.83 per cent to the GDP. ICT was also the fastest growing sector of the Nigerian economy in the fourth quarter of last year contributing 14.7 per cent.

Pantami also initiated the first virtual Federal Executive Council meeting on the 13th of May 2020 and has been coordinating the technical aspects of the meetings since then.

To critics of Sheikh Pantami, all these do not matter. Not even the passion with which he drives the generation of a database for the country through the National Identity Card scheme will assuage his traducers. In a country that lacks the accurate figures to aid developmental activities, this should have attracted applause for the minister.

Why did they rail against Pantami? His religious views stand tall among other factors. In his youthful years, he held extremist religious views, which aligned with those of terrorist groups like al-Qaeda. The allegation went further that Sheikh Pantami had become a subject of special interest by

the United States authorities which placed him on a “terror watch list”. That satanic charge was quickly debunked and the media outlets that fed on the lie quickly pulled down their fallacious stories.

Yes, Pantami called al-Qaeda members “fellow Muslims” in his preaching over two decades ago.

Anyone without a malicious intent will know that there is no big deal with that. Many prominent Muslims and others sympathised with that ideological segment whose primary mission is to remove all foreign influences in Muslim countries.

The terror group attracted support from many Muslims in Nigeria, particularly during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq following the 11th September 2001 attacks on the United States. Proal-Qaeda rallies were held in many Nigerian cities, including Kano where the US flag was set ablaze and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden celebrated.

Of course, the anti-Pantami gang chose to forget that al-Qaeda came around to pronounce him persona non grata afterwards. That is the same man who is now vilified for his views held at the time it was popular among a lot of Muslims to do so.

Clearly, Pantami got wiser as he grew older.

While he could be accused of being anti-establishment in his youthful years, which made him preached against working in a secular government, he must have seen value in secular education that he embraced it firmly as if his life depended on it.

Pantami went through every Western education scale and excelled and today holds a PhD from Robert Gordon University, Scotland. In addition to that, he holds certificates in Digital Transformation from Harvard University, Digital Strategy from both Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Institute of Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland. He did a Strategic Leadership programme at Oxford University, plus a Certification in Management from the University of Cambridge.

The Scriptures document how Saul persecuted Christians in the early days. But on the road to Damascus to continue his hate agenda, Saul experienced a blinding light and heard God’s voice.

The result was a sudden and complete change in his beliefs. Saul became Apostle Paul, one of the zealot preachers recorded by the Holy Bible.

The substantive issues are being ignored in the anti-Pantami narration. He has long repented from his radical ways, but his traducers will not see beyond that and view the revolution he has brought into his job at the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. The aggressive build-up of our national database through the National Identity Number is a revolution that will benefit national development and growth, if allowed to run its course.

Pantami has commenced a radical transformation in the ICT sector. He should be allowed to see it through.

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MAY 8, 2021 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

At last...

Iniubong Umoren’s Murder: We Are All Guilty

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an environment where there is a large army of jobless youths. he late Iniubong Umoren lost her life in the hands of a selfThe other day, female government officials led by the governor’s wife confessed serial killer and rapist. The prime suspect who is now hit the streets in protest, calling for justice for the murdered Iniubong singing confessional songs like a canary bird in police custody, Umoren. I thank them for lending their voices to the agitation. I must, took advantage of the situation of the Akwa Ibom State and Nigerian society, lured the victim to his den, and the rest is now history. however, suggest that they also take the agitation to their respective offices. Government must return to the drawing board. Job creation must I strongly believe that the victim could have been saved from the jaws be prioritized. It is appalling to note that the children of political office of the beast, if a combination of factors functioned as they should. holders are cocooned in looted affluence while the children of “commonAlarm was raised early enough that Iniubong was potentially in danger after she was heard screaming on the frantic phone call she made ers” risk their lives, combing the streets in search of non-existing jobs. to her friend.

Truth is, the state government did not care for Iniubong when she A distraught sibling of Iniubong wasted no time in rushing to the was alive. She once posted on Twitter that the infamous ‘International police station to incident the matter, but was reportedly told by Police Worship Centre’ was a waste of public funds. She suggested that the that action will be taken if she (victim) does not return after 24 hours billions of Naira used for its construction be used in tackling unemploy(one long day). When the sister went back to the police station the next ment. The government never listened to her! Upon her death, the fake day, she was reportedly asked to give “fuel money and mobilization fee” love showed by those who snubbed her voice of reason, is mistaken for before the police can swing into action. She was not with money. She a genuine agitation. Of course, their banners read #JusticeforIniobong. notified her late sister’s friend in Lagos who resorted to raising funds The girl who was killed is Iniubong, not Iniobong. Can’t this governvia Twitter. Alas, the “fuel money and mobilization fee” was raised by ment just do something right albeit simple? I am not afraid of being compassionate Twitter users. misunderstood, but I have passed my message.

All this while, the victim who was incommunicado, was reduced to a We are all “guilty” of Iniubong’s demise, not directly, but through bizarre experiment specimen by the prime suspect in his den. She was long-term and short-term actions which eventually led to it. beaten to pulp, allegedly raped, before being killed. She was in extreme Ours is a society where morals are substituted for ill-gotten affluence. danger while the police were negotiating for “fuel money and mobilizaThe prime suspect must have been influential among his peers. A ‘big boy.’ The one adored by ladies of easy virtues. A party starter! A “suction fee.” cessful” boy who some parents wish their kids to be like or be associated We all know that things have worsened to a stage where the police with. Sadly, that is the stinking inverted society we live in today! can no longer defend themselves in today’s Nigeria. But, it is embarrassRest on, strong girl! ing for the Nigeria Police to be associated with “fuel money” allegations in the 21st century. It smacks of barefaced inhumanity and gross Ofonime Honesty, Uyo violation of their constitutionally enshrined responsibility of protecting the lives and property of the masses.

It is only an alien who just arrived Nigeria from one of the distant planets, that would T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R dispute the fact these things are happening in EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE police stations set up with tax payer’s money.

DEPUTY EDITOR FESTUS AKANBI Also, the Akwa Ibom State government has MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO been living in denial when confronted with DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI startling unemployment indices. Over time, EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN we have seen this administration issuing press MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE statements debunking credible statistics churned out by agencies like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and others.

Truth is, there is famine in the land. The T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D youths are jobless. Our aged parents (if you are EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA lucky to have one) are equally suffering. Instead GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, of fixing the astronomical unemployment ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI problem, this administration revels in reeling DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE out a list of fictitious industries. Sweet factory, DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI ethanol refinery, toothpick industry, paint SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS PATRICK EIMIUHI, SAHEED ADEYEMO industry, starch factory, plastic plant, and other CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI “audio” industries. Maybe there are established DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO on Planet Mars, Jupiter or Saturn, not on Earth!

HEAD, COMPUTER DEPARTMENT PATRICIA UBAKA-ADEKOYA While the Iniubong Umoren incident is not TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com peculiar to Akwa Ibom, one cannot dispute the fact that many criminals will find more preys in

Obiano and Anambra Airport

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owever the story of Anambra State is written or told, Gov Willie Obiano will have a huge chunk of place in it.

History, which he works hard to be on its right side, will be kind enough to deal him the good cards. He has cast his bread upon the waters and they will return to him buttered.

It is no use recounting what doubts, negative comments that were hurled at the governor over the Anambra International Cargo and Passenger Airport, Umueri, which was commissioned on April 30, 2021.

Needless to say that he stuck to his guns, closed off distraction and worked to deliver on target. And he did. Today, almost everybody sings a new song of joy as the first flight touched down the expansive runway. Anambra Airport has come alive.

A new vista - a pleasing view - has opened into the economy of the state and it promises an upward curve.

Ejike Anyaduba, Abatete

House Price Ratios

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he newspapers frequently report on the increase in median house prices, but a better measurement might be ratios.

When I bought my first house in 1983 it cost three times my annual salary. When we moved 20 years later it cost seven times my salary and just this weekend a modest house across the road sold for 17 times my salary. Admittedly teachers aren’t that well paid, and their salaries haven’t improved much over the years but how will anyone be able to buy a house soon?

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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˜ ˾ MAY 8, 2021

MILESTONE

The Ambivalence of Turning 50 Laurence Ani

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iving in a country where life expectancy is 54 years, it may seem in bad taste to nurse even a whiff of ambivalence in one’s contemplation of their fiftieth birthday. But little else can truly be as ambivalent as the process of aging; from adoringly nurturing the early strands of grey in one’s 20s to observing, with a note of alarm, as nearly all the hair around a balding pate turn a sea of grey.

Growing from being almost always the youngest in a room to mostly the oldest can really be a tough feeling to deal with. Yet, nothing can feel as blissful as the dignity that such transition confers. So, why does the onset of middle age seem like a dreadful thing sometimes? “[50] is a demanding age,” noted Simon Kuper in his essay, “How to Cope with Turning 50”, published in the Financial Times on October 10, 2019. “Often 50 is a career peak: the point when you are experienced but not yet visibly falling apart... Workers over 50 are written off as tired and uninventive,” he added.

As I turn 50 on May 8 this year, I have been wondering how so unbelievably fast the years have gone by. Indeed, the 1980s - the comingof-age decade for me and my post-war contemporaries - seem only like yesterday when we couldn’t wait to get out of secondary school, dancing to repeated play of Gerald Levert’s Casanova and Timex Social Club’s Rumours at an adjoining hall to the utter exasperation of Mrs P. B. Taiga (really baffling we never knew what the initials in her name stood for), our very prim and curt principal who calmly walked away from the assembly hall without giving her customary valedictory counsel to departing Class 5 students.

But “youth is a mask, and it don’t (sic) last,” as Rod Stewart sang. The hubris of our teenage years has long been tempered by time and the hand of fate, which either smoothened the pathway for some or dealt cruel blows to others, sometimes leaving even the most ebullient and presumed “likeliest-to-succeed” amongst us a shell of their former selves.

With age comes a lot of circumspection and stoic acceptance of reality. As Kuper observed further, “not just energy but desire too wanes by 50”, owing to what he termed “draining of the life-force”. This is particularly so where a career peaks early, as mine had as a newspaper editor.

I have as well marveled at how unyielding and immutable the social ills that plague our country have remained. They have indeed grown worse. I still recall the many grim newspaper headlines I read as a child to my father (a rite of passage of sorts for his children) that starkly outlined the social and economic ruin of the time, like the shameful racket that arose from the scarcity of “essential commodities”.

However, even amid that despair, a few things like quality, tuition-free education could still be taken for granted, thanks to the legendary Alhaji Lateef Jakande who scrupulously implemented the Unity Party of Nigeria’s free education policy as governor of Lagos State.

Each time I hear people say that free education cannot possibly be qualitative, I simply refer them to that era which, happily, is not such a long time ago. In just four years, this great man who passed on in February recorded achievements that will long remain touchstones of selfless service. Today, I’m aghast at how the vast sum I pay for my children’s school fees has, ironically, failed to yield a knowledge comparable to the kind of learning to which I had been exposed - devoid of any fee!

The post-civil war decade was a particularly harrowing period for the Igbo, no less so for my father, a brilliant cop whose outstanding resume - an assistant superintendent of police before the war and one of only few indigenous instructors at the Southern Police College, as the Police College, Ikeja, was then called counted for nothing. He would, like most Igbo police officers who fought on the Biafran side, be dismissed at the end of the war. Restitution only came many years later when the Olusegun Obasanjo administration converted the dismissal to retirement. The payment of the gratuity, sadly, materialized after his death.

Lagos in the ‘80s teemed with factories that offered a steady stream of vacation jobs through which students could earn an extra income, although at the risk of their parents’ ire. Besides the extra income, those jobs helped

satiate the sense of independence that students craved then. The story of those factories’ latter years is one that merits a treatise. Let’s just say their massive space transformed from serving the cause of Mammon to more spiritual pursuits like saving souls.

Levert was right at the heart of the creative ferment that offered us an endless dose of escapism and made the 1980s such an effervescent decade. Some other artistes whose music was an essential part of the soundtrack of my teen years included Lionel Richie, Billy Ocean, DeBarge, Glenn Jones, Chaka Khan, Kool and the Gang, Joyce Sims, SOS Band, Gloria Estefan, Madonna, Luther Vandross, Midnight Star, Deniece Williams, Whitney Houston, Shannon, Fleetwood Mac, Sonny Okosun, Onyeka Onwenu, Majek Fashek and, of course, the inimitable king of pop whose looks, dress sense and dance steps we tried in vain to appropriate - Michael Jackson. There were songs as well which literally turned us into sentimental freaks like Teddy Pendergrass’ and Whitney Houston’s Hold Me, George Benson’s Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You, Donna Summer’s Unconditional Love, Richie’s and Diana Ross’s Endless Love, Atlantic Starr’s Secret Lovers, and a personal favourite, Simply Red’s Holding Back the Years.

In the pre-Google era when the lyrics of our favourite songs were still largely inscrutable, it was okay to simply revel in the melody and be content singing the few lines that were fairly discernible. With lyrics now readily available on demand, the rush of emotions stirred by Simply Red’s lead vocalist Mick Hucknall in their period-defining song remains just as compelling as it was when I first heard it as a secondary school student: “Holding back the years/ Thinking of the fear I’ve had so long/... Holding back the tears/ Chance for me to escape from all I know/ Holding back the tears/ ‘Cause nothing here has grown/ I’ve wasted all my tears/ Wasted all those years/ Nothing had the chance

to be good/ Nothing ever could...”

Surely, there was no decade like the 80s; musically, that is. But what really was all that frenzy about? What is it that makes the music of our youth seem so evergreen? Can this generation’s youth speak in similar nostalgic tone, decades later, about the music of their early years? It’s not a worry I can eagerly share with Marlians though. Aside from the fear of being mercilessly harangued, I’m convinced that tapping into the zeitgeist of the millennial generation is essential to keeping the zest of youth alive. This has entailed banishing any incipient insularity, and stretching the elasticity of my eclectic taste even further; binging on Burna Boy’s socially conscious Monsters You Made and the spectacular, but seemingly underappreciated, talent of Fireboy DML. Several items on a bucket list may have been ticked, but somewhere a sense of unfulfillment could still lurk. Leaving journalism for the rather humdrum life of a political aide has given me room to devote time to creative endeavours like completing unfinished manuscripts, and even writing the screenplay for a film loosely based on the Iva Valley massacre, a sad incident that occurred on November 18, 1949, when British colonial forces shot dead 21 miners in Enugu demanding improved pay. Despite the Covid-19 slowdown that scuppered the dream of having the movie premiere on my birthday, the project has proved a needed spark for an inexorable midlife ennui.

In the 1980s, it was somewhat de rigueur for students to use the ageist moniker, “my old guy”, in reference to their fathers. I never quite got used to calling my father that. To us then, they were aging figures whose largely conservative values had no place in our “modern” world. But years later, most of us roughly the same age as our parents when we were in secondary school, I always pondered the irony as we flatter ourselves during alumni association meetings, complimenting one another’s “youthful looks” even where some have aged so much they hardly looked like that fresh-faced school mate you once knew. It would be interesting to know if our children also now see us as dinosaurs.

Such anxiety is understandable in a world where subtle discrimination on account of age has gradually gone mainstream, a point which Kuper apparently hints at in the essay referenced earlier. “Looking old is bad, but feeling old is worse,” he wrote. The narcissism of youth may have gone, but lately I find myself doing some double takes in front of mirrors, trying to find some reassurance that years of sedentary job in the newsroom haven’t taken an undue toll. Sadly, whatever comfort such appraisal might have offered is offset by George Orwell’s cynical reminder that “at 50, everyone has the face he deserves”.

I have in my despair looked up the Nigerian National Youth Policy to ascertain the demographic into which I fall. I’m happy to announce that the policy drawn up in 2009 defines youth as any age between 18 - 35. That’s a very Orwellian way of saying that age is just a number.

How so reassuring knowing that a sworn affidavit of age declaration, taken with slight tongue in cheek, can help shave some few years off to get me back in that exciting club.

And as Garth Brooks (remember him? He was the guy who sang Amazing Grace at US president Joe Biden’s inauguration) crooned in 1989, I can confidently say that I’m “much too young to feel this damn old”. Nonetheless, I didn’t forget to remind my bemused photographer after my photoshoot (shhhh. No sniggering.

There’s now a photoshoot for every occasion imaginable) to not airbrush my wrinkles. “But why not?” he asked. I replied with an Anna Magnani-esque chutzpah: “It took me so long to earn them.” So, here’s to me on my fiftieth birthday; and to my mother - a proud member of the Nigerian police class of 1961 - whose eightieth birthday comes 13 days after mine.

–––Ani, former editor of ThisDay - The Saturday Newspaper, and Saturday Telegraph, is a senior communications aide to the governor of Enugu State. Follow on Twitter @AniLaurence.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ΀, 2021

08054699539

Ineptitude of Nigerian Security Agents Dizzying

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he leader of the terrorists that abducted 23 students of Greenfield University in Kaduna on April 18 is Sani Jalingo.

Everybody knows this. Our security agencies are aware. After killing five of the students, Jalingo repeatedly calls the parents of the remaining students still in captivity, threatening to kill the abductees if the demand for N100 million ransom is not met. This terrorist uses GSM phone to communicate with the distraught parents.

Jalingo is using one of the GSM lines our rash Communications Minister, Isa Pantami, told us if registered and linked to NIN, would be easily traced when used for criminal activities.

Pantami’s codswallop NIN has failed to yield any result. Jalingo even called and granted an interview to the Voice of America (VOA), Hausa service, to press for his demand for ransom and 10 new Honda motorcycles.

On the VOA conversation, Jalingo boldly declared that five of the abducted students were killed to prove that the state and the federal governments had failed. It is disheartening to note that Jalingo and his boys, in the last two weeks, came out - not once, not twice - to collect N55 million ransom from parents of the abducted students at an agreed location, yet, our lethargic security agents could not track them. Just on Monday, a family also took N20 million to Jalingo and his gang to secure the release of Aaron Attahiru, one of the abductees. 21 days after, 17 hapless Greenfield University students (15 girls and two boys) are still with the cruel Jalingo and his boys in the forest. How can this persist in a country with a legitimate government?

These unending security sloppiness often leave me shedding tears; tears for a beleaguered country with the most inept intelligence agencies in the world. Are men of the Directorate of Military Intelligence and the Department of State Security sleeping on duty? The intelligence departments in the various police commands are practically dead. It is obvious that intelligence gathering has also collapsed in all security agencies. I am still struggling to face the fact that gunmen successfully attacked

Irabor

the Imo State Police Command Headquarters.

Gunmen entered a place that should have the highest level of security alertness with ease and burnt the place unhindered. Weeks after it happened, it is still sounding like one of those James Bond tales.

In Kaduna State, the terrorists move freely, from house to house, abducting people. This state has the highest concentration of military formations in Nigeria. It is also home to a large number of police formations. Yet, terrorists move around with so much courage.

The so-called Special Forces in Kaduna State have gone AWOL. It is shocking that the Afaka students were kept in Kaduna forest for almost two months undetected. Governor Nasir El-rufai has not helped matters with his loquaciousness. All words, no action. This man enjoys showboating with human lives.

His state is now a big killing field.

As for Boko Haram terrorists, they are moving with ease, deeper into other parts of the North-east and beyond, because of these same collapse of intelligence gathering and inept processes. The terrorists entered Geidam, Yobe State, three weeks ago and are still there, thumping the indigenes. Boko Haram overran the military base in Geidam with so much frightening ease. What happened to the military post in the town? In Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State, the terrorists are still inflicting pain, killing soldiers and civilians. The military post in this town has also been dislodged.

Boko Haram terrorists have advanced further into Niger State, hundreds of miles away from the North-east. What happened to the barriers against such advancement? Are there no barriers in the real sense? Intelligence and technology are critical for success in modern warfare. In this war against terrorists, this country is doing badly on these flanks.

The unending killings by Fulani militias in Benue State are likewise dizzying. Notwithstanding the special military task force in the state, the militias enter towns and villages in Benue State and kill people. This week, 17 villagers were killed by the militias in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State.

The terrorists are controlling several wards in Gwer West. Five other Benue State local government areas – Gwer, Guma, Markurdi, Logo, Ukum and Katsina Ala - are brashly attacked by the militias. You wonder where men of the Benue Operation Whirl Stroke are operating from.

All we hear of are security meetings, meetings and endless meetings. President Buhari presided over two of such security meetings in the last four days. It has been all conferences without result. In practical terms, these gatherings have been unproductive. The killings across our country have continued unabated. So sad. Mr. President, Nigerians are no longer interested in these series of security meetings. They want result. They want to see kidnapping gangs busted and abductees freed.

They want to see Boko Haram’s expansion

Lagos Anti-Corruption Law is Invalid I have repeatedly reviewed Section 4 (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), in order to properly dissect the anti-corruption law assented to recently by Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The antigraft commission created will investigate and prosecute government officials and registered contractors indicted for economic crimes and financial misappropriation in the state. The law empowers the commission to take over the investigation of all anti-corruption and financial crime cases involving the finances and assets of Lagos State Government being investigated by any other agency. The commission, according to the signed law, also has the power, to the exclusion of any other agencies or bodies, to investigate and coordinate the investigation of corruption cases involving the finances and assets of the state.

I really can’t understand why this law, with several garbage sections, was initiated and signed because there is a clear constitutional encumbrance here. That Section 4 (5) of the 1999 Constitution clearly bars Houses of Assembly from duplicating legislations where there is already a federal legislation on the same issue. This Lagos anti-graft law is largely a duplication of the federal legislations establishing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

There is unmistakably, a federal legislation on this issue.

Again, according to the Nigerian Constitution, “If any law enacted by the House of Assembly of a State is inconsistent with any law validly made by the National Assembly, the law made by the National Assembly

Sanwo-Olu

shall prevail, and that other Law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.” This Lagos anti-graft law is manifestly inconsistent with the law validly made by the National Assembly, establishing EFCC and the ICPC. So, according to the 1999 Constitution, this new Lagos law is void.

I also find the section of the Lagos anti-corruption law that excludes other anti-corruption agencies from investigating and prosecuting cases involving the finances and assets of the state government repulsive. The law also illegally empowers the Commission to take over all corruption cases against former and serving Lagos officials being investigated by any other agencies. It states: “The commission shall

upon the commencement of this law take over the investigation of all anti-corruption and financial crime cases involving the finances and assets of Lagos State Government being investigated by any other agency. The commission shall have the power to the exclusion of any other agency or body to investigate and coordinate the investigation of corruption and financial crimes cases involving the finances and assets of the state government.”

The Lagos government is plainly aiming to turn anti-corruption into paddy paddy arrangement.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State also signed an unconstitutional anti-graft law for the state last year. However, it is not attracting attention like that of Lagos State, because it did not exclude other anti-graft agencies from investigating cases involving the state’s finance. There is also no clause empowering it to take over ongoing cases involving Oyo State’s finances and assets.

I am an apostle of unabridged federalism.

I would love to see states having their own anti-corruption agencies constitutionally.

However, to do this, it means the Constitution must be amended. This is yet to be done.

By our Constitution, enactments by National Assembly will always triumph over and above laws made by State Houses of Assembly.

So, Lagos State Government should put pressure on their lawmakers at the National Assembly to push for the amendment of Section 4 (5) of the 1999 Constitution.

But not to be used for selfish reasons as the Lagos Government is trying to do with this jaundiced anti-corruption law. The current government in Lagos State is just aiming to protect some corrupt ex-officials of the state.

march halted and the criminals routed. They want to see bandits and Fulani militias tamed.

They want to see foreign military contractors coming in, to help our soldiers.

Taming terrorists is not rocket science. It is evident that our gallant soldiers lack the capacity to end this war against Boko Haram and other terrorists. Nigeria must seek assistance for technology-driven intelligence and modern fighting equipment. I doubt if the military has armoured attack helicopter in its arsenal. I can’t remember seeing any in action. By now, we should be fighting the terrorists with drones.

But nothing is happening in this direction.

Fighting with drones is just one of the edges foreign military contractors will give our soldiers.

The Nigerian government knows what to do to swiftly end the madness of terrorists on our soil within weeks; we have the money to execute it and we know where to get it.

So, why is the Buhari government not doing the needful? Why is this government hesitant about getting the best brains from across the world to help us tame terrorism?

Those opposed to the use of foreign military contractors against mutating forms of crime and terror across our 36 states are people benefiting from the war. They don’t want this battle against terrorists to end because the longer it continues, the more money they will be making. These cruel people care less that daily, human lives are lost in hundreds across our country to terrorism. They care less about our gallant soldiers and officers being slaughtered daily.

Just look at the funds allocated to security in the last six years, and you would understand what I am saying. A massive N10.02 trillion was allotted to the security sector between 2015 and 2021 by the Buhari government. In the 2021 budget alone, the entire allocation to security sector was N1.97 trillion, representing a 14 per cent increase from the N1.78 trillion allocated in 2020.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, last Tuesday revealed further that her ministry released a total of N1.008.47 trillion to the Nigerian Army between January 2019 and April 2021 alone. Ahmed, who spoke when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Army said the Army got more than the budgetary provision in the period under review. She read out the Capital Funding of the Nigerian Army from 2019 till April 2021. Unfortunately, the so-called military equipment said to have been acquired in the last six years are nowhere to be seen. Our gallant soldiers remain poorly-equipped and poorly-motivated. Few weeks back, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Babagana Monguno raised the alarm about non-delivery of vital military equipment said to have been purchased, but recanted under pressure.

N10.02 trillion to security sector in six years! Huge resources, which ordinarily should go towards the development of our critical health, education and roads, are being allocated to the security sector. More money to security sector means less money to other critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.

As for our President’s failings, particularly on insecurity, I will like to leave with the words of the Senator representing Osun East, Francis Fadahunsi: “Every day, we (Senate) will continue to rise up for one minute. It is sad. I think if we continue to count what has happened, we will not leave this place today. Something drastic must be done when government cannot maintain security again.

Economy problem is mounting; then something drastic must be done.

“The Senate must do its work. We have the power; we can install, we can remove.

If it means we have to look at that clause, we have to sit down and talk in executive meeting and harmonise and do it the way we should do it. Something drastic must be done to make government sit down or government should quit so that at least, we will have a new lease of life. If the government has failed to protect us, then the Senate should be able to do the needful. What are we waiting for? Is it until when all of us die, then we will go and do it in heaven? I don’t want us to regret.”

A word is enough for all our senators.

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SATURDAY MAY 8, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER MAY 8,2021

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Ferdinand Ekechukwu 08035011394 Email: ferdi_adthisday@yahoo.com

A scene from Chief Daddy

‘Chief Daddy 2’ is in the Kitchen EbonyLife, in partnership with Netflix, has officially commenced production of Chief Daddy 2, the sequel to EbonyLife’s 2018 boxoffice hit, writes Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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ans of the hugely successful 2018 comedy Chief Daddy are in for a second dose of laughter, humor, and entertainment as principal photography for

the sequel to EbonyLife’s blockbuster began last Tuesday with Niyi Akinmolayan and John Demps as director and director of photography, respectively.

“Hello beautiful people. It’s always great to be back on set. Our cameras

started rolling this morning on the set of Chief Daddy 2 with our amazing cast & crew. We are really excited about bringing you another amazing film,µ EbonyLife CEO and producer of the movie, Mo Abudu stated on Instagram.

The forthcoming “Chief Daddy 2µ has been sealed in a deal by EbonyLife Film since July 2020 for a Netflix release in 2021. Recall that Mo Abudu had made the exciting announcement via Instagram that the feature film will be exclusive to Netflix globally. “Good morning beautiful people. I did promise you loads of exciting announcements in July, and in keeping with that promise, I have one more announcement to make before we end July…I am pleased to announce that Ebonylife Films, the Creators and Producers of Chief Daddy in Partnership with NETFLIX will be bringing you Chief Daddy 2 µ she wrote.

Chief Daddy is about the life of a billionaire industrialist, Chief Beecroft, who is known to be a pillar of the society. He is extravagant, exuberant and larger-than-life but extremely benevolent, as he serves as a benefactor to everyone around him including a large extended family of relatives, household staff, and mistresses. All seems well in the Beecroft household until Chief Daddy passes away and suddenly the ‘wheels begin to turn’ and things go awry. . . What follows reveals enormous surprises, twist and turns that prove larger than the life Chief Daddy lived.

Chief Daddy hit the Cinemas in December 2018, and was the third movie from the EbonyLife Films Studio to be acquired by Netflix, in March 2019. The star-studded film features top Nollywood actors like Funke Akindele-Bello, Nkem Owoh, Patience Ozokwo, Zainab Balogun, Shaffy Bello, Ini Edo, Dakore Akande, who will reprise their roles in the sequel. Shot in Lagos, the movie’s exceptionally mixed cast of musicians and comedians possesses the pull factor that makes for the cinema audience appeal. And as typical of other box office hits by EbonyLife Production, the plot is said was developed along the party mode.

The Wedding Party, The Wedding Party 2, and The Royal Hibiscus Hotel are some other hit movies from the stable of EbonyLife Films.

Uchemba’s Mamba’s Diamond is Ready Currently set to hit cinemas nationwide next Friday, William Uchemba’s Mamba’s Diamond is about a heist gone wrong. Or rather, a heist accidentally gone right.

Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports

W

hen popular Nollywood actor and comedian, Williams Uchemba announced his Àrst Àlm earlier in the year as a producer, he got not a few in the industry anticipating the action comedy titled ‘Mambas Diamond’, as he took to his Instagram page to show oͿ the making which was quite an interesting watch. He further went behind the scenes, showing footages from the Àlm’s location in an actual diamond mine in Johannesburg, South Africa. Fast forward to April, the instagram sensation is already out with the o΀cial trailer for the movie which will start showing cinemas next Friday.

The snippet of the forthcoming project hints on the movie being set in Sierra Leone, New York and Lagos, Nigeria. According to Uchemba, the much-awaited movie will hit the cinemas across the country from 13th May. “The 2΀cial Trailer of Mambas Dia-

mond. After 22 years in the Àlm industry, it is with great pleasure that I present to you my Àrst feature Àlm,µ the award-winning actor wrote. “Ladies and gentlemen the o΀cial trailer of Mambas Diamond. Save a little token for this movie as it hits all the cinemas nationwide from the 13th of May, and at the end, all the Glory will go to my God and king, he adds.µ The Àlm stars Gabriel Afolayan (as Elenu), Osas Ighodaro (as Eloho), and Williams Uchemba (as Obi) playing the lead roles. Also parts of the cast include Nse IkpeEtim (as Mamba), Jimmy Odukoya (as Jay), Sam Dede, Ejike Asiegbu, Dibor Adaobi Lilian, Ayo Makun, Nancy Isime, Venita Akpofure, amongst others. In the new trailer, Uchemba appears to take on his familiar comic character alongside Gabriel Afolayan. The star-studded ‘Mamba’s Diamond’ directed by Seyi Babatope is about a heist gone wrong. Or rather, a heist accidentally gone right . . . Two amateur thieves hatch a reckless doomed-to-fail plan to jack a car, but they end up in an inadvertently successful diamond heist.

The less than two-minute trailer

reÁects on a heated Àght as they try to elope with diamonds worth millions of dollars belonging to the “queen of the underworld darkest cult group,µ known as Black Mambas.

As such, this movie involves a diamond mine setting, as Uchemba showed on social media while Àlming. The star-studded feature is co-executive produced by Melvin Ejiogu and produced by Darlington Abuda. Williams Uchemba has had his fair share of movie appearances in Nollywood. Not least as the hilarious law enforcement agent in Sugar Rush, or the other tech guy in Merry Men: Another Mission, both in December 2019.

But Mamba’s Diamond is very much his own project, on the stables of his self-titled production company, Williams Uchemba Productions.

Uchemba has established himself as a household in the Nigerian entertainment scene since he made his movie debut.

He rose to fame after featuring in ‘The Journey of the Dead’, a Nollywood blockbuster released in 2001, and has since snagged Williams Uchemba numerous awards.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER MAY 8,2021

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Chidinma Switches to Gospel Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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ongstress, Chidinma Ekile has not only made a return to her first call, but leads a group of singers clad in angelic-white robe in the video to her new gospel entry, “Jehovah Overdo”. In the song, which was accompanied by visuals, the ‘Oh Baby’ crooner can be seen worshipping God with a host of choristers aiding her sonorously.

“There is nothing you cannot do protocol breaker| There is nothing you cannot do Jehovah Overdo| I have tasted of your love | I have seen your mighty works| Mountain mover, my love onye oma ne me nma,” she sings in a mixture of English and Igbo in the 4 minutes 52 seconds video directed by Avalon Okpe.

Produced by EeZee Tee, “Jehovah Overdo” is a mellow groovy song of praise that testifies to God’s great works. The song is written and inspired by the Holy Spirit and personal life experiences; it is hence sung with befitting passion. The highly talented singer had taken a break from music and the public eye, leaving a hint on her Instagram page that she will no longer be dancing around the same themes of her previous hits like “Kedike”, “Emi Ni Baller” and more.

This was a year after she released the single titled ‘Holy’, a gospel song which chaperoned her return.

Unknown to many, she has been undergoing a period of actively waiting on God and preparation for what is ahead. The crossover for Chidinma is not far-fetched as she has always had a pivotal role in the Church music ministry. She has been in the Church Choir from a young age and has been serving as a music director for many years now.

The Nigerian singer announced herself as a “Crusader of Jesus

Chidinma

Christ” with the release of the new gospel track. The songwriter officially broke the news on the occasion of her recent birthday.

Chidinma, on her 30th birthday on Sunday May 2, took to her Instagram handle to announce her new identity as a gospel singer, clearly

suggesting a new spiritual orientation with a couple of new sobriquet - ‘Minister Chidinma’ and ‘Mummy G.O’.

During her ministration at Enthronement Assembly, she said she was not here for the fame, she had all of that and she’s turning a

new leaf, “right now is the time to work for my father. He is the one who has called me I did not bring myself here”. Chidinma recently signed with Eezee Concept, a gospel-inclined record label, which is home to Mercy Chinwo, another popular gospel musician.

In New EP, Dimi Keye Projects His Style, Range A young eccentric African with tales of his journey focusing on relationships, love and good vibes, that’s how most describe Dimeji David Ogaosun, stage name Dimi Keye who recently dropped his debut EP titled Afrocentric. Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports

W

ith a mix of mellow and upbeat vibes, Dimi Keye delivers a narrative appreciating his existence as an African by touching up select sounds and crystal resonance in his 5-track debut EP titled ‘Afrocentric’. Dimi teams up with Hip-hop rave Blaqbonez and Mystro to deliver silky-smooth vocals on this EP and packs instrumentations from Kapentar, Ramoon, Mystro & Retro with the intention to get you in your feel and get you on your feet.

“Afrocentric is my debut project consisting of 5 records,” he stated shortly before the release. “I have two features from Mystro and Blaqbonez. On this project I just wanted to show my range and talk about my experience as a young African dishing out stories of love and good vibes.

It includes mellow, mid-tempo and upbeat sounds. As an Eccentric African, this EP

projects my style and range. Afrocentric is set to blow your mind, give you nothing but positive vibes because that is me; I am all positive vibes and energy.”

The singer/songwriter further describes his brand of music. “My genre is Afro-fusion. I am not just centered in Afrobeats or Afro-pop. Because of my R & B roots, there is a fusion between Afrobeats and R & B. I grow with sound and I enjoy experimenting with sounds and diͿerent genres with Afrobeats being the pedal. In the end when you hear my sound, I want you to know this is Dimi.” Born and raised in Lagos state, the 23-year-old Afro-fusion artiste a fortnight to the album on April 15th which was his birthday released a new single titled “Palay” featuring Mystro.

The Amapiano inspired track, which is also produced by the featured artiste, is set to be a street anthem. According to Dimi keye, “Palay” was inspired by good vibes, beautiful people, and the groovy sound of Amapiano. “We really

just wanted to create something to make the people happy while making reference to the palliative scandal that happened in the country last year.”

On the inspiration behind ‘Afrocentric’, the fast rising singer says, “I wanted people to hear diͿerent sounds from me. I didn’t just want to release a particular song so the best thing was to start with an EP. Let them know I am Afro (black) and I am eccentric in a good way.”

Born into a family that loves music, Dimi says her sister started composing songs way before he started and she is just beautifully talented. Dimi Keye says of his background: “I started out composing R &B songs, I also used to rap in secondary school but at some point I just fell in love with Afrobeats.

Over the years I have been sharpening my craft and observing how the music and industry works. I am very much excited and I can’t wait to gain more experience and grow.”

Dimi Keye

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER MAY 8,2021

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19

Tosin Clegg

07062816737 e-mail: tosinclegg@hotmail.com

Obinna Onyeri

I’m Here to Create, Collaborate on Complex Stories

Obinna is a professional filmmaker with several years’ experience. He has to his credit a production portfolio of 11 films and still counting. He is passionate about earnest and unapologetic storytelling, photography and volunteering schemes that make an impact in peoples’ lives and the way they view and interact with others of different backgrounds. The filmmaker sees films as a very powerful tool for social change and as a voice of empowerment and valour. He talks to Tosin Clegg about discovering his passion, his works, elements of a good film, Nollywood and much more apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. My talent is unmatched; it’s not a joke, just a fact. The enrolling process was rigorous. 18 directors were selected for the programme out of an applicant pool of 400 plus. The UCLATFT admissions board must have seen something truly special in me. It was also amazing, to be surrounded by, learn from and collaborate with other talented cinephiles like myself. I’ve truly grown so much as a Àlmmaker.

It’s metamorphosis in every sense of the word.

'isFoYeUing P\ SDssion IoU ÀlPPDNing he signiÀcant moment for me happened in college. I was in class, called structural and engineering mechanics, and I was envisioning a live action movie of an original Àction manuscript I was writing at the time. What the scenes will look like: the actors, the blocking, set and decor and most importantly, the cinematography. I left class that day knowing my destiny was setting sail for a new course. Also, from a very young age, I have had a passion for movies, books, and other mediums of storytelling.

T

WKDW insSiUes P\ FKoiFe oI ÀlP sWoUies As a director with a strong knack for drama and comedy, I’m here to create and collaborate on complex and inclusive stories that are told through compelling, strong, yet Áawed characters, the kind of stories that resonate today more than ever. Also at large, I’m a multitasker and that’s a skillIhavehonedfromaveryyoungage.Presently, I wear the hat of director, writer, producer and entrepreneur. And I always give my 100 per cent in everything I do.

At the beginning it was challenging My mind was at crossroads, but I bounced back quickly by getting my priorities right. The reason

Obinna Onyeri

I was in college was for my engineering degree hence that came Àrst, but the free time I had in between, I gave to Àlm.Also, it was just three years of my life I gave to gaining my engineering degree.

How I was able to juggle around the engineering SroIession and ÀlPPaNing SroIession e;ectiYely I would say my mother, who is also my role model. She was able to build an illustrious career in the oil and gas sector, while raising a family and Ànding time for her charitable passion projects.

That’s the kind of person that raised me. The

A good ÀlP begins with a good scriSt Having a fantastic story idea isn’t enough, you have to be able to transform that into an excellent script. For me, that is always the Àrst place to start.

The crew is also crucial, their passion, skill and commitment to the project can make or break any work.

I’m privileged to continue to work on projects with teams that are committed to making it work.

Then we have the cast that will deliver on what the vision for the project is. The vision for every Àlm can be unique and diͿerent but you are truly lucky if you meet with professionals who can deliver what the mind has conceived.

Streaming is the future without doubt As it serves a clear market; one, for people who would like the convenience of watching what they like at their own convenience. It has also broken so

manybarrierstoentryandmanymoreÀlmmakers are able to show their work and grow an audience with these platforms.

I started in Nollywood and remain proud of all the achievements of Nollywood Every year, you can see a deÀnite improvement in the quality of work being presented. There is also an exciting plethora of diͿerent genres at play. Practitioners are paying attention to their art and the improvements are obvious. The world is paying attention. It was important for me to get a global perspective and skill set that’s why I set out to learn more outside Nigeria. I have a unique point of view that blends both the sophistication of Hollywood and the fresh perspective that comes out of Nollywood. In this industry you have to wear multiple hats. Being a director, writer and producer is what makes a Àlmmaker. My goal is to use my production company to generate Àlms that will promote the right conversation on issues that relate with minorities. The journey to the top doesn’t get easier, but you become more equippedandpreparedforwhatawaitsyou.andthe disenfranchised, stories that evaluate and express divergent aspects of the human condition – afÁiction, love, persistence, hope, empowerment etc. Each Àlm will leave a signiÀcant impact on the emotions of its audience, for emotions are the language by which all individuals across cultures can communicate.

1202 Studios Berths in Lagos

Adedamola Edun

Twelve02 Media, a brand development, marketing and agency based in Lagos, publishers of popular entertainment and lifestyle magazine, “SIMPLE”, has expanded its horizon with the launch of her sister Áagship, 1202 Studios. The studios, which will still be a part of the outÀt, will serve as the creative visual hub for projects ranging from photography, broadcast interviews for TV and online platforms, music video shoots for both corporate clients and SMEs. According to Adedamola Edun, team lead at Twelve02

Media, “The studio project was always one in the o΀ng and couldn’t have come at a more perfect time, especially with the digital issue of our magazine gaining more ground, as well as our online TV brand, SIMPLE TV, going into full operations and also with the relocation of our o΀ce to a larger and more creative-oriented environment.”

The new Áagship, will work in sync with other brands under the Twelve02 MediaAegis, such as SIMPLE Magazine, SIMPLE TV, and PassHuB;

their event ticketing online and o΁ine platform.

Equipped and ready to serve, the 1202 Studios doors will be open to creative persons who want to create magical stories for their clients, as well as corporate organisations with similar projects.

Explaining their youth-based workforce, Edun said, “We believe that the future has to be driven by the young because theirs, ours, is the future, and therefore we must set the course rolling today. This is why the crust of our entire team is young or young at heart.”

Denrynz HBK: How 2Face, Fela Inspired Me to do Music Having grown in a family where music is their Àrst love, fast rising inspirational singer, songwriter and extraordinaire dancer, Adeyemi Denrynz Oguntuase, better known by the stage name Denrynz HBK, has revealed that having listened to songs and watched the performances of the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, 2Face Idibia and P-Square, his love and desire to do music grew stronger. On doing music, he noted that his father was a popular native musician in their hometown and, as such, he tried as much as possible to

divert that native style of music into Afro Pop. Denrynz HBK started music o΀cially in 2006 when he dropped his Àrst solo track titled ‘Unpublished’ and ever since he kept improving himself through his release of good and captivating body of work.

Not relenting, he released an Extended Play (EP) in 2010 and became the most famous singer in Ekiti State where he hails from.

Signed into his self-owned record label DTD Spartaz, Denrynz HBK released his Àrst single

track “At allAt all” on December 31, 2019, with the video coming out few months after. He released a breakthrough (EP) on December 3, 2020 and since he has been dishing out music back to back.

When asked if there are plans for collaborations in the nearest future, the Afropop cum R&B superstar disclosed that he has plans of working with African and international artists of repute that include BurnaBoy, Tiwa Savage, Davido, Wizkid, Rihanna, Drake, Chris Brown, among others.

Denrynz HBK

StarTimes Supports DSO Drive with Infrastructure, Pocket-Friendly Offerings With Lagos fully transiting from analogue to digital TV, StarTimes Nigeria is leading the drive with technical support as well as improved content oͿerings on its lowest bouquet.

The pay-TV brand says the digital switchover drive of the federal government is in line with its vision to enable every family aͿord, access and enjoy the beauty of digital TV. Speaking after the launch of DSO in Lagos, Mr Alex Jian, CEO, StarTimes Nigeria said that the

pay-TV brand will continue to provide technical support to the actualisation of digital migration nationwide, adding that the brand has gone a step further to not only increase digital TV penetration, but also increase tastier content to delight every home irrespective of income level.

“We are proud to partner with Integrated Television Services Ltd (ITS), one of the signal carriers of DSO. ITS Ltd is currently riding on the existing digital transmission infrastructure

of NTA-Star TV (StarTimes Nigeria). With StarTimes Nigeria’s DVB-T2 technology widely spread across the federation, ITS Ltd has a strong footing to fully digitalise the nation.

StarTimes Nigeria will continue to be a major driver of digital switchover across the country,” Mr Alex said.

“To bridge the digital-TV gap, StarTimes oͿers its DTT antenna and decoder at the most aͿordable rate in the market. Our lowest subscription

of N900 monthly, NOVA bouquet, is loaded with 40 channels oͿering exciting content like a blockbuster 24-hour Nollywood channel, Wakaati TV; two foreign channels showing Turkish, Korean and Chinese movies/series; two cartoon channels – Jimjam & Pineapple TV; a sports channel showing select matches of Europa League, Emirates FA Cup, Copa del Rey, Bundesliga, Euro 2020, etc; and over 20 local channels, among others,” Alex said.

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˜ ˾ MAY 8, 2021

PERSPECTIVE

Addax: How Buhari Reinforced Sino-Nigerian Partnership Olu Tayo

I

n today’s borderless world, there are considerable international interactions at various levels. The difference in the value systems and diversity makes ethics in international relations imperative.

Ethics works by granting and withdrawing legitimacy.

History shows that the mitigation and cessation of unjust practices ultimately comes from the assertion of core values. The end of slavery began with various revolutions and rebellions - yet the source of its ultimate demise was its loss of moral legitimacy. Ditto for communism: the Soviet Union collapsed when the values that held it together were no longer credible and sustainable. Its legitimacy evaporated.

The ethical approach in international affairs reflects conscience, principle, responsibility, and restraint in decision-making. It helps prevent undue conflicts and provides an ecosystem of mutual trust and goodwill among nations. Perhaps not surprisingly, some of the most common ethical issues in international affairs include trust and integrity.

Despite the often incendiary flak against the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency, it must be acknowledged and lauded when he takes an important stand and makes a positive milestone decision.

The President’s enlightened intervention to reverse the misapplication of authority and miscarriage of justice in the matter of needless revocation by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) of four oil leases operated by Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Ltd. is a good example of a bold ethical stand.

Clearly, an awareness of this ethical necessity must have informed President Buhari executive action. This is because to build virile, sustainable national institutions, uphold due process in diverse arenas, respect international obligations and grow the nation’s economy, the sanctity of contracts must be respected.

Addax Petroleum was established in 1994 and since August 2009 has been a subsidiary of the Sinopec Group, one of the largest oil and gas producers in China, the biggest oil refiner in Asia and the third largest worldwide.

It could be recalled that the federal government, through the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), erroneously revoked the four OMLs belonging to Addax Petroleum, alleging the company’s inability to comply with targets. About three weeks ago, a committee set up to investigate Addax submitted a report, wrongly accusing the petroleum company of “economic waste.”

The committee led by a former Senator, Magnus Abe, said $1 billion had been invested in the contract but that Addax Petroleum called it off over an issue that was totally unrelated to the project. It spuriously alleged that the action put over 3000 Nigerians out of work, the committee said.

Shortly, like an entity working towards a preset agenda, the DPR inaugurated a team to evaluate the “revoked assets” of Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Ltd. DPR’s spokesperson, Paul Osu then told Nigerians that, “DPR had recently revoked the four assets of Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Ltd., namely OMLs 123, 124, 126 and 137 due to the non-development of the assets by the company.”

He further stated that a team of experts will evaluate the current status (As-is) of the revoked assets, including liabilities post revocation, in order to facilitate takeover of the assets by the new operators - Kaztech/Slavic Consortium. New operators? But

Kyari, NNPC GMD the whole contrived game fell through with the President’s swift intervention.

President Buhari handed down an executive approval for restoration of the leases on OMLs 123, 124, 126 and 137 to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which is in Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with Addax Petroleum, on Friday, April 23 2021. Mallam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, confirmed the development in a statement in Abuja.

According to Shehu, the restoration of the OMLs to Addax Petrleum was in line with the current administration’s commitment to the rule of law, fairness and enabling a stable business climate for investment. He stressed that the development reaffirmed the commitment of the Buhari administration to the rule of law and sanctity of contracts and quoted the President as directing DPR to retract the letter of revocation of the leases.

More, leaning on the ethical path, the President also directed NNPC to utilize contractual provisions to resolve issues in line with the extant provisions of the Production Sharing Contract arrangement between NNPC and Addax.

Hear the Presidential: “The restoration of the blocks to NNPC will boost the organisation’s portfolio, thereby making the corporation to, in the long run, boost its crude oil production and in turn increase the revenue it generates to the Federation Account.”

Were the flawed revocation allowed to stand the federal government would have effectively shot itself in the foot by dishonoring its contractual obligation to Addax. But clearly the President was far better informed on the issues at play. This is especially so, as already Nigeria has a poor reputation with respect to adherence to the rule of law and sanctity of contracts

which the circumspect President Buhari administration has been making efforts to correct.

Worse, the special bilateral relationship, Nigeria enjoys with the Peoples Republic China, the owner of Addax Petroleum, would have suffered immeasurably. Federal agencies like the Federal Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Debt Management Office, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others can attest to the level of strategic engagement Nigeria shares with China.

Perhaps, many may not know that China, the world’s second largest economy, is playing an important role in Nigeria’s current development trajectory. Despite shrill, often uninformed criticism against borrowing from China, much of the grounds covered in infrastructural development are undergirded by Chines funds.

China’s GDP in 2020 was $15.66 trillion, second to only the US GDP of $20.81 trillion for the same period. Nigeria’s GDP for 2020 was $443 billion. Against this backdrop, cooperation rather than needless provocation is the way to go in the Sino-Nigerian bilateral relations.

According to the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, Chu Maoming, “China firmly supports Nigeria in pursuing development path that suits national conditions.” He described Nigeria and China as “major developing countries of great influence in the world,” noting that the two countries could collaborate in different spheres for the benefit of their citizens and the rest of the world.

Further according to him, “The breadth, depth, and growth of China-Nigeria economic and trade cooperation have surpassed that of any previous period. Now, it’s time to combine our efforts to raise the level and quality of our cooperation. China stands ready to facilitate more imports from Nigeria. We also welcome the Nigerian side to do more promotion of its products and increase its market share in China.

“We have huge potential for investment cooperation, which is highly complementary, especially in the field of energy, resources, and infrastructure. We need to develop and tap this cooperation potential.”

In September 2019, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Yang Jiechi, paid a visit to Nigeria and was warmly welcomed by His Excellency, President Buhari. The Sino-Nigerian relationship can only get better and certainly can do without the kind of puzzling, needless, controversial revocation of Addax Petroleum, a key Chinese petroleum upstream entity’s oil leases.

Clearly, the ethical approach in Nigeria’s engagement of its Chinese partner as well as in wider international affairs must reflect conscience, principle, responsibility, and restraint in decision-making. This strategy as President Buhari has adroitly demonstrated, helps prevent undue conflicts and provides an ecosystem of mutual trust and goodwill among nations.

It is no secret that petroleum export is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy and the major source of revenue for the country.

––Tayo writes from Abuja.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

Sterling One Foundation Wins CSR Award, Advocates Partnership Olaoluwakitan Babatunde

T

he Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sterling One Foundation, Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, has bemoaned the Human Poverty Index (HPI) which ranked Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world. She called on corporate organisations, as well as wellmeaning individuals to invest in social impact programmes that will change the country’s poverty index ranking into a positive one.

This was as she reiterated that more would be done and achieved in social impact space through partnerships that incorporate the public and private sectors as well as well meaning individuals. She said it will make life more meaningful and bearable for the less privileged in the society.

Mrs. Ibekwe made the call at the AS+ACommunication 2021 CSR Forum Exhibition and Awards, which took place at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, where the Foundation was bestowed with an award in recognition of its social impact contribution to the society via the creation of the first free crowdfunding platform in Africa known as giving.ng.

The theme of the forum was: “Fostering Sustainable CSR and Focusing on the Environment, Gender, Educational and Developmental Legacies.”

According to her, giving.ng is a digital fundraising platform

where people raise funds and donate to the causes they care about.

She further explained that giving.ng founded in 2019 under the auspices of the Sterling One Foundation, was created out of the pressing need to change lives and create positive impact leveraging both local and international partnerships.

While reiterating that local communities needed much more investments than they are currently getting, she hinted that giving. ng is also the only crowdfunding platform in the world that gives grants, and projects can get grants to the tune of N1 million for critical sectors such as health, education, renewable energy, and food security which are vital for the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Since the government cannot do it alone, the Chief Executive Officer pointed out that the foundation is interested in working with partners – individual partners, corporate partners, and non-governmental organisations through the platform, as well as alumni associations to raise funds so as to collectively create positive change in the society together.

As part of the activities and interventions of giving.ng, Mrs. Ibekwe recalled how the foundation in January 2020, donated food items and other materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Kutara Tataradna Camp in Nasarawa State through donations from Nigerians in partnership with the Nasarawa state government.

According to her, over 800 persons including women and children at the IDPs camp got food items to aid nutrition of the community, while giving.ng also raised funds for frontline health workers’ under the auspices of the Health Workers Fund in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. N100,000 was paid to over 150 health workers monthly to supplement the N5,000 the government was paying them as hazard allowance.

“We realised that so many health workers risked their lives daily during the heat of the pandemic and even now. We had to pay each of the health workers a minimum of N100,000 monthly for a minimum of 3 months. Over 150 of them benefitted from the health workers’ funds in different Isolation Centres across the federation,” she added.

Mrs. Ibekwe, who also recalled how the foundation, early this year raised funds through the platform for a five-year-old girl (Chijioke) that had cancer and tumor, however, expressed delight that the girl is now better and in a stable condition. This was in partnership with the St. Cyril Cancer Foundation.

On the need for Nigerians, corporate organisations, international and non-governmental organisations to come together to positively impact the people, she described such an initiative as the future, and about collective responsibility, saying the giving. ng platform enables everybody to take collective responsibility to empower women and youths with a view to reducing poverty and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

˜ ˾ MAY 8, 2021

21

PERSPECTIVE

As Seplat Braves Odds, Soars Amid Pandemic In dissecting Seplat Petroleum Development Company’s recent awards amid challenges presented by Covid-19 pandemic to the oil and gas industry globally, Olaoluwakitan Babatunde writes that strong corporate governance makes the future bright for the firm and its shareholders

N

igeria’s leading indigenous and independent oil and gas firm, Seplat Petroleum Development Company PLC, began year 2021 on a good note, winning the Most Profitable Company of the Year (Oil & Gas: Exploration and Production) at the Nigerian Investor Value Award (NIVA) organised by a national newspaper in conjunction with the Nigerian Exchange Limited. The firm’s Chairman, Dr. ABC Orjiako, also emerged the Board Chairman of the Year 2020.

According to the organisers, Seplat recorded the highest percentage growth in profits (year-on-year) in the upstream of the nation’s oil and gas industry, experienced faster growth compared to other players, and maintained a comparatively high operating performance.

The organisers said: “In 2020, like in previous years, Seplat has shown that its high profit margins are sustainable. Its strong profit position is not a flash in the pan, neither is it likely to be frittered away in coming years. This consistency has enabled the company to pay dividends regularly, service debts taken for recent strategic acquisitions, and underwrite new investments, while maintaining positive credit ratings”.

On why Seplat’s Chairman bagged the Chairman of the Year Award, which recognises a Non-executive Chairman or lead Director, who has demonstrated a passion for advancing the principles of good governance, the organisers added: “Dr. A.B.C. Orjiako is selected as the winner of this award for leading the Board of Directors to set a strong corporate governance culture, and support for the Executive Management team in the enhancement of economic value with drive for Nigeria’s energy transition to gas, fuelling 30 per cent of Nigeria’s electricity supply”.

Dr. Orjiako, by the organisers rating, had demonstrated the ability to objectively solve the most difficult boardroom challenges, with the proven experience to offer independent, sound guidance when the company faces hurdles and opportunities.

He supported the Board refreshment with the onboarding of Mr. Olivier de Langavant, CEO of Maurel & Prom as a Non-Executive Director, following the retirement of Mr. Michel Hochard, who also represented the interests of Maurel & Prom; appointment of highly seasoned, experienced, and sought-after hands, namely, Ms. Arunma Oteh and former London Stock Exchange (LSE) CEO, Mr. Xavier Rolet, as independent Non-executive Directors.

The Orjiako-led board-approved plan to eliminate Related-Party Transactions (RPTs), surpassing even United Kingdom regulations on RPTs. Equally considered by the NIVA organisers was the Board’s commitment to payment of dividends despite COVID-19 and sharp drop in global energy demand.

Making progress amidst odds That COVID-19 dealt businesses, especially the oil and gas industry, heavy blows in 2020 is no longer news. It triggered an undercut in global fuel demand, driving oil prices down to almost 20-year lows.

On April 27, 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that an estimated 84 million barrels of Nigerian crude oil were stranded at sea, while another vessel was turned back from the US Gulf Coast and returned to the Canary Islands where other Nigerian-hired ships were idled.

The 2020 Appropriation Act projected crude sale at $57 per barrel, but emerging realities soon forced the country to cut the benchmark to $30 as early as March 2020 and further again to $20 as the year dragged on.

The N8.6 trillion projected as overall inflow into the Federation Account dropped to N3.9 trillion. That was just how tough year 2020 was for the Nigerian oil industry and consequently, the nation.

But despite the daunting odds faced by the oil and gas industry in 2020, Seplat had in March put smiles on the faces of its shareholders when it declared a dividend of US$0.10 per share in the year ended December 31, 2020. This was contained in the audited Full Year 2020 Financial Report, which the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE)-listed energy firm released on March 1, 2020.

The report shows that Seplat recorded a $530.5 million revenue or N214.2 billion compared to US$697.8 Million or approximately N214.2 billion in 2019, while the company’s reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at $265.8 million and operating profit of $121 million

Also, through the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company [NGMC], Seplat has continued to supply gas to a number of factories for their independent power generation.

The firm has equally continued to show strength in cost-efficient and effective corporate governance, cutting its costs by $17 million in 2020, and targeting additional 30% in cost-saving in 2021.

A promising 2021 But in a sure-footed resurgence from the pandemicinduced challenges, Seplat Plc. has reported a profit before tax of N10.6bn ($28m) for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 compared to a loss before tax of N31.1 billion ($95.7m) in the same period in 2020, according to its unaudited financial statements released on April 29, 2021. Seplat’s revenue also rose by 16.8 per cent to hit $152.4 million.

Seplat equally announced the adoption of a quarterly dividend policy, declaring Q1 2021 dividend of $2.5 cents per share.

“We have made a progressive start to the year, delivering oil and gas production volumes of 48,239 bpd, within our guidance range. With the Gbetiokun field at OML40 now back in production, we are currently achieving average daily volumes of nearly 54 bpd so far in April and we will build on this as we add additional oil and gas wells this year.

“Our flagship ANOH gas project is proceeding as planned and was fully funded in February when our joint venture company, AGPC successfully raised $260 million of debt financing. In addition, the success of our $650 million Eurobond issuance in March demonstrates investor confidence in our prudent financial management and the exciting future ahead for the Company and its stakeholders”, Seplat’s Q1 2021 says.

ABC Orjiako

(before non-cash impairments and unrealised fair value losses).

But speaking in March, Seplat’s Chief Executive Officer, Roger Brown, while admitting that “2020 was a challenging year for the company”, however, averred that “Seplat has once again shown its resilience and ability to overcome challenges and deliver production in line with guidance”.

According to Brown, from the $330 million of cash generated from operations, the company was able to increase its capital investment. It invested in ANOH and voluntarily paid down $100 million of debt, further deleveraging the balance sheet.

“Despite seeing the lowest oil prices in our 10-year history, we have continued to honour our commitment to shareholders of a regular income stream on their investment, by maintaining a total dividend of $0.10 per share for the year”, he said.

The Group’s oil operations continued despite the COVID-19 crisis and produced an average 33, 714 bopd on a working-interest basis in 2020, up 40.9% in 2019.

Seplat signed a Crude Purchase Agreement (CPA) with Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited in December 2020 for the supply of between 2,000 and 4,000 bopd to Waltersmith’s new 5,000 bopd modular refinery at Ibigwe Field, in Imo State.

“This new agreement benefits Seplat by selling its crude oil directly to Waltersmith for refining, thereby eliminating crude losses and downtime experienced along the evacuation and export route. The transaction will also boost the capacity of Waltersmith in providing its products particularly to the immediate region of our operations thereby supporting Seplat’s commitment to national energy security” the FY report adds.

Although $112.5 million or 21.2 per cent contributed

by Gas to Seplat Petroleum’s 2020 revenues was short of the projected revenue due mainly to Covid-19, the energy firm continues to lead Nigeria’s transition away from spending scarce foreign currency on imported, expensive, high-emission diesel-generated electricity.

Seplat’s working-interest production for year 2020 was 101 MMscfd at an average selling price of $2.87/Mscf (2019: 131 MMscfd, $2.84/Mscf).

Seplat currently supplies 30% of gas needed to power Nigeria. It supplies gas to Geregu, Azura and Sapele power, which account for a combined generation capacity of over 1000 megawatts of electricity.

Power of corporate governance Speaking on the recent awards, Seplat’s Chairman, Dr. ABC Orjiako, attributed much of the company’s success to strong and sound corporate governance, thus confirming the consistent views of analysts.

He said: “I think everything revolves around strong corporate governance. In Seplat, one of the things that we emphasise always is that it is not just enough to comply to rules and regulations, we go over and above that and set, very high standards around what we do.

And we do this through the right policy framework.

Once you have the right governance in place, a lot of things will then definitely fall in place. So, what we’ve done is to make sure that when we speak about corporate governance, it is not just about ticking the boxes. It is in our DNA and everything we do in making sure that company is properly governed. This has manifested itself in the profitability of the company and how it has continued to grow upwards despite the challenges in the way.

“Our vision is to build a world-class company that focuses on stakeholders’ values. In doing that, we were very clear that we needed a very strong Board, a board that is studded with people with the right expertise, the right diversity, the right experience, both in the business we do and also in the financial world. So, our Board does not just have quite a lot of experienced people, but also members with diversity across geographies.

“We have also distinguished ourselves by the level of efficiency we brought to bear in our project delivery system, by making sure that our unit operating cost remains one of the lowest in the industry, if not the lowest. In every regard, we ensured that we grew revenue year-on-year, we grew profitability year-on-year and at the same time we ensured that total shareholder return was guaranteed.

“So overall, it’s been a combination of hard work, it’s been a combination of following focused vision and mission of the company, maintaining very high level of integrity and ethical practices is our core values.

Therefore, all these, put together, have given rise to the profitability that we have enjoyed over the years. And of course, has now culminated in the award that you are seeing today.

“We are always proactive, and properly in tune with what is happening globally. Today, we speak about an energy company that provides energy solutions and going forward, we will make sure that we are completely aligned with what the global environment is looking at with respect to climate change, ESG and the rest of them”.

22

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER MAY 8,2021

FAIRGROUND with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

Funmi Olotu Thrills at Birthday Party

T

he Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, top government o΀cials, mentors and friends recently celebrated Ms. Funmi Olotu, Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on State Lotteries, on her 38th birthday and 19th year in politics.

It was a classy and colorful birthday dinner at The Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

Beauty, Brain and Brawn are what can best be used to describe Olotu popularly known as Olufunmilagos. She was showered with encomiums and endearment as she hits 38 and shared her 19 years journey in politics which she started at age 19.

The visionary and intelligent Olotu hosted everyone to a buoyant evening, with Remi Olaleye, a luxury event planner, leading her team from Rexkraft events to satisfy the guests. The event buzzed from the beginning to the end, with good music from The Thorpeedoh Band.

The Toast session was chaired by Mrs. Helen Prest-Ajayi. Former Lagos State Commissioner of Finance and Chairman, Chapel Hill Denham, Mr. Wale Edun, Celebrity Actress and the celebrant’s best friend, Mrs. Funke Akindele-Bello, and other

personalities also spoke glowingly about her.

Celebrity Journalist, Latasha Ngwube (Latashalagos) read the celebrant’s citation before the celebrant spoke about her 19 years journey in politics, starting at the young age of 19. She described the journey as that of pure determination, focus, resilience, perseverance, hard work, smart work, never giving up, as well as the ultimate sacriÀce of delayed gratiÀcation. She charged all youth to be involved in government directly or indirectly to eͿect the change we all desire.

Other guests at the event were the Chief of StaͿ to the governor, Mr. Tayo Ayinde; Member of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), Alhaji Mutiu Are; Ovation International Publisher, Bashorun Dele Momodu; Chairman Lagos Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Ayo Subair; Mr. Hakeem Smith; Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Bonu Solomon; Mr. and Mrs. Toye Odunsi; Mrs. Arinola Kola-Daisi; Mr. Sijibomi Ogundele, Sujimoto; DG 4uality Assurance, Lagos State, Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni; C.E.O, Lagos State Lotteries Board, Mr. Bashir Are and Mr. Jimi Aina.

Others include: JJC Skillz, Alex Ekubo, IK Ogbonna, Chioma Akpotha, Eniola Badmus, Timini Egbuson, Bunmi Kush and Dorcas Fapson.

Olufunmi Olotu

L-R: Eniola Badmus, celebrant, Olufunmi Olotu, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Funke Akindele-Bello and her husband, JJSkills

L-R: Mr. Hakeem Smith, Chairman Lagos State SCRIPT, Alhaji Mutiu Are, Member, Lagos GAC, Olufunmi Olotu and Mr. Wale Edun, former Lagos Commissioner for Finance and Chairman, Chapelhill Denham Management

L-R: Ik Ogbonna and Alex Ekubo

L-R: Dele Momodu and Olufunmi Olotu

L-R: Bunmi Kush and Sujibomi Ogundele (Sujimoto)

L-R: JJSkills and wife, Funke Akindele-Bello, Mr. Jimi Aina, Director LIRS, Mr. Ayo Subair,Chairman LIRS and Helen Prest-Ajayi

L-R: Latasha Ngwube, Helen Prest-Ajayi, Olufunmi Olotu , Funke Akindele-Bello and Eniola Badmus

Mr. and Mrs. Toye Odunsi, MD Custodian & Allied Insurance

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 8, 2021

23

PEOPLE Sheriff Shagaya

Our Biggest Problem in Nigeria is Unemployment Sheriff Shagaya is a businessman and Chairman, Salman Shagaya Foundation. He speaks with Hammed Shittu in Ilorin on a wide range of issues, including security challenges, rising unemployment and what motivated him to float his foundation

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here (in Urban Centre) and this is an 82-year-old man that had not seen light prior to now. That gesture was worth more than a billion naira to him. These people (beneficiaries) are villagers who have no contact with the corrupt world that we live in, that is the urban areas. To me, that is precious. That is why I said that my foundation is even more important to me than my business.

I don’t joke with it. I can change the whole board of the foundation if I find out that it is being used to advance partisanship.

For the solar, we are currently on a thousand people. Since the impact of COVID-19 is reducing and everything is getting better insha Allah, we are moving to 1500 people. We want to start again and it is not a joke. This is something I take very dearly.

When you look at the amount, it is much. But the peace you get from it is more than Naira and kobo. So, it is a foundation that has come to stay.

n view of the rising insecurity in Nigeria, what is your advice to the government?

Nigeria’s problem is not from today, we all have to understand that. The feeling that there is somebody in power now and he is doing badly and we want to change him is not from today. The foundation has been bad. During General Yakubu Gowon’s regime, he commissioned a Peugeot Plant in Kaduna and another plant in Enugu. All these were investments that we hoped would provide jobs for people. When last have you heard that a factory was opened anywhere? You can drive around Ilorin and all the warehouses you will see, were once factories. When these factories were closed, so many jobs were lost. We have a lot of work to do in Nigeria and our population is growing at an alarming rate. We are just manufacturing children, no jobs.

It is scary and before we know it, Nigeria’s population will be about 300 million people. A lot of work needs to be done and if we don’t start now, I hope it would not be too difficult to handle.

Imagine active young men having nothing to do. So, I don’t think it is this admiistration’s problem. This is not a political thing where APC and PDP will start blame game. They all need to sit down together and think about the future for us young people. Most of our leaders got free education during their time.

It is almost impossible to get free education now. Look at public schools, no roof, no window, no chairs, not toilet and lizards on the walls of all the classrooms. How can someone function like this? How many people would you find in the UK going to private schools? There is no need for it. Because teachings in public and private schools are the same, and the public is free.

So, why would I go to a private school? The same doctor that will treat me in private hospital when I go, is the same that is in the public hospital. That is why they have peace.

You ran for House of Representatives in 2015 and lost, are you still interested in politics?

No one knows tomorrow. Today, this is what you are doing.

Tomorrow, you may decide to do another thing or you remain the way you are. So, only Allah knows. But for me, I don’t know.

I leave it in His hand, He will guide us right.

Like it is often said in the political circle, if your people should approach you tomorrow to come and contest to become governor, what would you say?

I will tell my people that I will pray about it for God to guide me. When I get guidance, I will prepare my people.

If you have the opportunity to be governor of Kwara State for 24 hours, what would be the singular priority of your administration?

The singular thing will be security.

How would you go about it?

It is difficult for me to say this and that. I think the biggest problem we have in Nigeria today is unemployment. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. If you have one on one interaction with criminals and bandits, some of them don’t want to venture into that. They will tell you it is part of frustration of not knowing what tomorrow will bring, not knowing how to put food on the table for wives and kids, that led them into the act. So, I think the problem of unemployment should be tackled. There are too many unemployed people in Nigeria. It is ridiculous. That is why there have been simultaneous issues happening all over Nigeria; from the North to the South. And they all have common denominator -unemployment. One needs to understand when a man cannot take care of his family. You are going to push him to the extreme and when a man is at the extreme, he can do anything. We need to build industries and people need to be employed. If I’m working in a steel company or soap making factory and I’m to resume work early in the morning, you can’t come and meet me and say let us go and do this operation in Ibadan. You won’t even meet me at home.

There is unemployment in European countries, but people that are not working are protected with unemployment benefits. So, no matter how bad it is, there is something for the unemployed to feed with till they got a job. So, when you go to Europe and you see everywhere looking calm, it is because the government has provided social security. If I’m protected, you can’t come and meet me to carry a gun. Why would I do it? Even people that are bandits are also scared. Nobody wants to die. It is so sad the situation we are in Nigeria. When you wake up in the morning, all you see is bad news. May Allah protect us all.

In 2019, people of Kwara State voted massively for the APC. How would you assess the Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led administration in the last two years?

I don’t really like to comment too much about politics because I don’t want to be misquoted. As you said, this is the second

Shagaya

year. May be when the governor finishes his four years in office, we can write our assessment about him. I can’t assess somebody in two years. But from what I hear, the governor is doing a lot.

What political party do you belong to at the moment?

I’m not a politician. I’m party-less. I’m an observer just like you journalists. I’m not a card-carrying member of any political party.

When politicians want to garner support of the people, they become philanthropists. Are you saying that there is no correlation between your kind gesture to the people and your political career?

I can 100 per cent guarantee you that my foundation has no political colouration. If I ever find out that gestures are being made to people because of their political standing, then it will not be that easy. This foundation is just to help the people. It has nothing to do with any party and it would never have anything to do with any party.

What is the real motivation behind setting up your foundation?

When I got into politics in 2015, I was actually involved. I went round everywhere. One of the things that shocked me the most was that one day we were driving to Asa Local Government Area. I can’t remember whether we waited to drink water or buy something. I had an interaction with an indigene of a community along that route and within few minutes of our conversation, it amazed me the level of poverty that confronted us. They needed little from the large portion available but they had nothing close to it. And that was one of the saddest days of my life. We all live in Abuja and Lagos. I was wondering if this is how people have been living for years. They have never seen light before yet they were happy, and yet there is so much going to the state and these people are not touched. But during the elections, politicians come to use them. During the 2015 elections, they claimed we lost. After that, I wondered what I could do to make an impact in the lives of the people. My foundation is one of the most important things to me. This is one of the happiest points in my life. People ask me what makes you happy. They are the videos about women we give solar light, food, money to run their businesses. We have 4,000 solar systems we are doing.

The system consists of radio, fan and the one that you can use to charge your phone. This system costs me between N200 and N250,000 and I’m doing 4,000 for free for people across the 16 local government areas. There was a man around 82 years old.

My team went to the mud house he lives in and he was talking to them in Yoruba that he had never seen light (bulb) before.

We complain about Electricity Company switching off electricity

There is a saying that business money cannot be diverted into charity, except you are holding a public office. How do you intend to sustain the foundation?

Those who said so are very right. But you can have happiness when you share the little that you have with people. For people that have money, God has given them the key to paradise. The only thing is for them to utilise it properly. There was a sevenyear-old boy that had a hole in the heart and his father through somebody got my details. He sent me the video of his son. In our interaction, he said they wanted to take the boy to India but there was no money. They needed N2 million. Looking at the condition of the boy, I was thinking the boy might not make it to 10 years. He thought of getting N500,000 from me while they will source the rest from family members. I thought within me that if I give you N500,000, there is still N1.5 million left and by the time the family members raise the rest, the boy may not make it to 9 years. I paid for the stuff in India and the boy is fine now. When I came to Ilorin, I went to see the family. I saw the boy very happy and it was amazing. That could be the next President of Nigeria. So, imagine I didn’t do that. You just kill somebody that could take this country somewhere. Charity is not something you start manipulating for political gains. These are all the things I think about before assisting others. I see a lot of benefits in my business from the prayers of those that I assist.

And that is also priceless.

As a young and agile person who is doing a lot, what advice do you have for millions of Nigerian youth?

Nigerian youth are frustrated. You can’t blame anybody. I have had an opportunity to talk to older people and they used to tell me what University of Ibadan and others like that used to be; that they had scholarships to study abroad. That by the time they left the universities, they got jobs straight with the Central Bank of Nigeria or amazing companies. There are no jobs now, even if you have First Class or Upper Class. My advice is that we should all keep praying that our leaders will get it right.

Every time Nigerians go abroad, they become superstars. There is a Doctor in Houston, I think Femi, who is the only one that can do brain surgery. He went to the University of Ibadan. There is another Doctor, I think he went to the University of Nigeria, who can do a special type of heart transplant. He is in New York. If he was in Nigeria, he would probably be driving a bus, because he may not get a job in any hospital. So, why is it that when Nigerians travel abroad, they become superstars, because I know that frustration can take everything away from your mind. What is left for us as youth is to keep praying, because we are not in charge.

As a major player in the oil industry, there have been concerns over the federal government’s plan to remove subsidy from premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol, particularly at a time that the masses are still grappling with the effects of COVID-19. Would you agree with the government on this?

This is a very difficult question. The current landing cost of PMS as at today is way higher than what we are paying. Saudi Arabia produces 10 million barrels of crude oil per day and the cost of petrol in Saudi Arabia almost doubles what we pay here.

Nigeria currently produces between 1.4 and 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day and our own price is almost half of what they sell it in Saudi Arabia. It means there is a problem. So, it doesn’t take rocket science to know this. Secondly, let us look at the other side, which are the people. Is there an alternative for us to go into petrol station and put fuel in our cars? Is there rail system? Train is like an alternative that government has provided to cushion the effects of fuel price on the people. In the United Kingdom (UK), the cost of petrol is about N600 per litre.

If I’m in the UK, I think about where I am going. If I’m going far, I will just take a train, because I know the cost of petrol. But I have an option; I can take the train, I can take the bus. In the UK, we have bicycles that we can rent.

24

˜ ˾ MAY 8, 2021

MEDIAGAFFES

EXPRESSION

BY

Workers’, Not Worker’s, Day

“A

PC insensitive, only interested in power grabbing (power-grabbing) plot—PDP” “NSITF sensitises (sensitizes, preferably) workers on (to) workplace safety” (NATIONAL NEWS, April 29) “2023: Dissecting Orji Kalu’s significant response on (to) presidential aspiration” (Politics & Power, April 29) “This Worker’s Day make your home feel like a home again” (Full-page advertorial by Fidelity Bank PLC, THISDAY, May 1) A rewrite: This Workers’ Day, (take note of the comma) make your home feel like a home again.”

“Dear Goal Getter (Goal-getter)…

Happy Worker’s (sic) Day” (FirstBank’s full-page advertorial, THISDAY, May 1) “Igbo’s (Igbo) in US berate South-east govs over region’s insecurity” “Happy Workers (Workers’) Day” (From the management and staff of the National Pension Commission) “Kelechi Iheanacho: From Foxes (Foxes’) flop to Rodgers’ ace” (GLOBAL SOCCER, May 1) “…said the Enugu-born striker has (had) a place in the senior national team despite the array of strikers it boasts of” (Source: as above) “…to save the state from ‘misrule and sluggish development’ which has (have) been its lot over the years.” “…encouraging things to continue go (going) wrong in God’s Own State” “…said that (otiose) his international experience has (had) exposed him to the location of resources which could be….”

“Tompolo’s monarch assures Ijaws (Ijaw) won’t be instigated into another war with neighbours” Who did the monarch assure? “…especially now that bank account

holders across the country have increased by 35 million between January and May 30, 2020, according to a recent data (a recent piece of data) by the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBBS).” “…passion for improving the living standards (standard) of Plateau citizens in line with the vision of….” “…as well as economic development has restored confidence back to Plateau State and serve as an attraction for investors to come into (to) the State (unnecessary capitalization).” Remove ‘back’ in the interest of the lexical rescue team.

“Customs intercepts 5 containers of expired bottle water, other contraband” (BUSINESS/MARITIME NEWS, May 5) Get it right: bottled water/drink Wrong: in memoriam of…

Right: in memory of…. “…to stimulate employment, build more roads and other social amenities or solve one social problem or the other.” Going by the contextual pluralism of the extract, the right expression should be: one social problem or another.

The same edition of THISDAY circulated two headline gaffes: “Group assures on rancour free PDP Congress” Still on this recurrent blunder: who did the group assure? And this: rancourfree….

“Adewusi condemns do or die politics” This way: do-or-die politics.

“The race to Government House in Kano has began in earnest as….”

Without any effort: The race has begun….

“The non Passage (sic) of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) did not help matters….” This way: The non-passage (take note of the hyphen and lower case ‘p’)…. .

“I seize this opportunity to express gratitude to my readers for their commitment and patronage.”.

Last week’s edition of this medium offered our teeming readers copious goofs: “Ex-president Umaru Yar’Adua was on his sick bed….” No eavesdropping: in his sick bed. One of the clerics who allegedly visited him sat on his sick bed. Got the point?

“Asiwaju…a gubernatorial aspirant in Ogun State under (on) the platform of….” “…those who would have uttered (what?) them reduced everyone to spectators while they reached for each other’s throats.” Get it right: each other’s throat or one another’s throats (depending on context).

“After all, as they say, ‘what is good for the goose is good for the gander’ ’’.

What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

“Knowing what to wear and how to compliment (complement) it goes a long way….”

Vanguard COMMENT and VIEWW POINT of May 6 sent out the following errors: “The state, therefore, does not deserve the treatment being currently meted to it”. Classical expression: being meted out to it.

“Chief of Naval Staff advocates for increased productivity via industrialization” When used as a verb, ‘advocate’ does not admit ‘for’. Let us avoid verbiage in headline casting: Naval Chief advocates increased productivity.

“For the university to recommend that students should pay for the damages while they have….” A common mistake: except in legalese, ‘damage’ cannot be pluralized. “…rather than investigating and finding out who were involved and check against future re-occurrence: Beyond recurrence, can an event yet to take place happen in the past? “…the university is pointing its accusing fingers in the direction of the lecturers.” True idiom: point a/the finger. No inclusion of ‘accusing’ or

EBERE WABARA

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

inflection of ‘finger’.

“It is our belief that we members of the alumni association of our alma Mata (Alma Mater) have unique roles to play in the restoration of sanity on our university campus.” It is…restoration of sanity to (not on) our campus.

“Isn’t it funny that it is the beak with which a bird builds it’s (sic) nest that it uses to scatter it.” Possessive: its “…the OAU summiteers concentrated almost exclusive (sic) on the political independence and liberation of countries in (on) the continent.”

Vanguard of May 4 contained two putrid lines: “Monday’s action, which started at dawn, was as a result of the breakdown of series of negotiations…”

An agendum: a series of negotiations.

“According to investigations, the deceased was said to be resting alone in his room at about 9.p.m….” Every reporter should be decisive based on timing which description to use: either at or about 9 p.m. The two cannot co-function.

“According to the source, the institution has a very high percentage of failure in the last academic year.”

Reported speech: the institution had (not has). “… that the authorities of the institution was (were) still waiting the result of the police analysis of the bomb”. “…in the next three years, its per capital income would have ...” This way: per capita income.

THE GUARDIAN On Sunday of May 2 circulated dozens of blunders: “Then it was catalogue of misses for the Super Eagles.” In the spirit of qualification: a catalogue of misses.

“The home of the chairman… was vandalized and most of his properties littered outside.” No chaos: most of his property.

Victim Support Fund Donates Solar Boreholes toTaraba Schools Wole Ayodele in Jalingo

T

he Victim Support Fund (VSF) Task Force on Covid-19, on Friday handed over three Solar boreholes to three selected schools spread across the three senatorial districts of Taraba State.

Also presented to the schools are four hand wash stations, 2000 pieces of reusable facemasks, five pieces of four litre hand sanitisers and 120 bottles of 500ml liquid hand wash as well as five cartons of bleach.

The three beneficiary schools in Taraba are Government Day Secondary School, Jauro Yino in Ardo-Kola Local Govern-

ment, Government Secondary School Wukari and Government Commercial Secondary School, Takum.

Presenting the items at Government Secondary School Takum, Chairperson of the fund, Mrs Toyosi AkereleOgunsiji said the donation was aimed at improving sanitation and hygiene services in schools and communities across the state to check the spread of COVID-19.

She explained that the VSF Taskforce has so far handed over Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities to 54 schools in 18 states across the six geo-political zones of the country.

She further revealed that the task force had also successfully distributed food, medical consumables and

personal protective equipment (PPE’s) to 19 states across the country.

“Today, we are donating 4,000 litres capacity of water facility and four foot pedal hand washing machines, 2000 reusable face masks, liquid soap, hand sanitisers among others in each of the three schools across the state.

“The aim is to support gradual reopening of schools in Taraba State and to support our children and teachers in good hygiene practices that will out-live the life span of the pandemic.

“I want to call on the Chairman and the school authority to reticulate the water around communities in the school so that people in the neighbourhood can benefit from the water project,” she said.

Expressing the state’s gratitude for

the gesture, Governor Darius Ishaku thanked the VSF for the donation and other support the state has received from them since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Ishaku, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Innocent Vakkai, enjoined the management of the benefiting schools, students and people living in communities around the schools to protect the facilities and ensure they are put to good use. Also speaking on the occasion, the Executive Director of VSF, Prof Nana Tanko told the benefiting schools that the Chairman of VSF, retired Gen Theophilus Danjuma was committed to ensuring their safety from the pandemic.

Triller, SoundCloud Partner to Support Emerging Artistes Bennett Oghifo

A

I-powered social media experience, Triller and next-generation music entertainment company, SoundCloud, have announced a new partnership that will uniquely showcase and support emerging independent artistes, with the launch of a dedicated SoundCloudcurated playlist featured on Triller.

A statement by Triller yesterday said for SoundCloud artistes, the access to the Triller platform will provide more marketing tools to help independent artistes grow their careers.

“The SoundCloud playlist,” the statement said, “is located on the Triller app’s Music Discovery page, establishing a unique home on Triller for identifying new, up-and-coming artistes bubbling up on SoundCloud today.” Updated monthly with fresh, standout tracks hand selected by music teams at Repost by SoundCloud, SoundCloud’s creator services division, all tracks are available for Triller creators for use in their own video content within the app.

According to the CEO of Triller, Mahi de Silva: “With the new integration, artiste’s will now be able to link their Triller profile with their SoundCloud profile, making it easy for new

fans to discover more of their music and for artistes to grow additional revenue through SoundCloud’s new fan-powered royalties system. Also, Triller users will have the ability to create their own ‘Power Edits’ in order to fit their video creation, greatly enhancing engagement and visibility of the source tracks.”

SoundCloud is the world’s largest open audio platform, powered by a connected community of creators, listeners, and curators on the pulse of what’s new, now and next in culture. Founded in 2007, SoundCloud empowers the world’s audio creators with the best tools, services, and resources to build and grow their careers. With over 250 million tracks from 30 million creators heard in 190

countries, what’s next in music is first on SoundCloud, the statement said.

Triller is the globally popular AIpowered social media experience that allows users to create professionallooking videos in a matter of seconds.

“Pick a song, select the portion of the song you want to use, snap a few takes and with the tap of a button you have a celebrity-quality music video starring you and your friends. Triller relies solely on organic growth and has more than 300 million downloads, with celebrities like Alicia Keys, Cardi B, Marshmello, Roddy Ricch and Eminem regularly using the app to create their own music videos. Triller is owned by TrillerNet, the statement said.

25

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 8, 2021

POLITY

What Next for Akwa Ibom State?

Essien Udofia

M

odern day theologians are quick to claim Simon Peter almost destroyed the gospel when he took over the leadership of the “Church after the ascension of Jesus Christ but were unanimous on Paul (Saul) as the one who salvaged the church and laid the solid foundation Christianity and the Church was built upon. This is not a religious debate, and neither my intention to start one. It is just to lay the foundation for my argument of and for the need to have a good successor who will build and improve on existing legacies and achievements and not destroy it.

Many are quick to ascribe the failure or success of both men to their level of intelligence, enlightenment and background. While Peter was a fisherman, Paul was a lawyer.

In governance all over the world, who succeeds a leader matters. It guarantees continuation of governmental policies and programmes thereby creating stability in both economic and political system of such society. The first instance I will like to cite is the Donald Trump’s era after Barack Obama’s presidency. It was four years of policy reversals and cancellations of many trade and bilateral agreements entered on behalf of United States of America by the Obama’s administration. It is believed the Biden’s presidency will revert to pro-Trump era. This is not to say all actions and decisions of Trump’s administration were wrong. It gives credence to the argument of getting a successor who believes in one’s ideology(ies) especially if it is a good one.

Many Lagosians are quick to celebrate Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for finding a worthy successor in Babatunde Raji Fashola who many claim brought sanity to Lagos. Fashola’s years as Governor of Lagos State saw to the clearance of many flashpoints across the State which included Oshodi, Ajelogo, Makoko and Badiya to mention a

few. Many projects and policies of previous administration were improved upon. This is another instance where the choice of successor is important in either deciding or keeping the fate of any society.

Lagos State is yet another instance where Akinwunmi Ambode who succeeded Babatunde Raji Fashola was believed to be all out to rubbish the legacies of Fashola and Babajide Sanwo-olu is also believed to be after Ambode. In all of these, Lagosians suffered and were subjected to untold hardship due to either reversal or cancellation of many policies and projects.

To bring it closer, when Governor Emmanuel Udom took the oath of office in 2015, he promised to leverage and build on the uncommon transformation of the Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio’s administration; to transform the economy of Akwa Ibom state through industrialisation and sustained public-private sector initiative, thereby opening up opportunities for growth and improved living standards; to respect and uphold the tenets of democratic governance which our great party (PDP) unflinchingly stands for, as well as respect the party’s structure, decisions and hierarchy and to ensure the security of lives and property of the people at all times, while adhering to the principal of the rule of law, thereby ensuring equity, justice and fair play.

When his predecessor left the PDP for the APC, Emmanuel Udom stuck to the policies and programmes of past administrations without playing petty politics or gunning for self-adulation and personal victories. This earned him commendations even from leading opposition figures with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo leading the fray.

The efforts of Emmanuel Udom saw to the increase of Gross Domestic product of the state by eight percent (8%) in a 5-year review. Akwa Ibom was one of the 6 states with the highest nominal GDP in 2017. The industrialisation revolution under the Udom-led administration is another reason why who succeeds him is imperative to the sustenance of the projects, vision and above all; selfless service to the good people of Akwa Ibom. When

Udom

I think of the largest Syringe manufacturing factory in Africa with a production capacity of 400 million syringes per annum, Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing (JSM), the best and first ever digital Electric Metering Solutions manufacturing company, the Lions Plywood and Timber factory and the Ibom Air, which is the best choice for air travelers, I cannot imagine the state falling into wrong hand(s).

It is noteworthy that Akwa Ibom State has been blessed and lucky with PDP, I will humbly submit and advice the system or structure in place allow Emmanuel Udom play a role in choosing who will succeed him as his sense of judgement is proven to be for the good and in the best interest of Ibomites.

What is next for Akwa Ibom State is to build on the success story, achievements and legacies of Governor Emmanuel Udom by choosing a worthy successor.

–––Essien Udofia writes from Uyo

Offa Indigenes Endorse AbdulRazaq’s Second Term Bid in Kwara Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

A

head of 2023 polls, the indigenes of Offa, the headquarters of Offa Local Government area of Kwara State have thrown their weight behind the second term bid of the state governor Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

The endorsement of the people of the town came a week after the monarch of the town, Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi publicly endorsed the Governor for the second term

come 2023.

The Offa people, which is the second largest town in the state, hinged their decision on what they called superlative performance of AbdulRazaq in the last two years.

Describing him as a goal getter, the people said the difference in the development in the state is very clear, comparing with what was obtainable in the past.

Speaking at a town hall meeting, which had critical stakehold-

ers in the affairs of Offa including representatives of Olofa, the Chief Imam of Offa, Christians Association of Nigeria( CAN) and Muslim leaders, youths as well as business community in attendance, the APC chairman in Offa Local Government, Abdullateef Afolayan, said that, “come 2023, there’s no vacancy in Kwara Government House as we’re determined as a people to return Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for a second term in office”.

PHOTO NEWS

L-R: Financial Secretary, Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), Mr. Umoren Akpan; Executive Secretary, DIBAN, Mr. John Ichue; representative of the Minister of Health/Director Food and Drug Service Dept. , Mrs. Bukola Ajayi; Director, Public Affairs, NAFDAC, Dr. Abubakar Jimoh; and Chairman, Technical Committee, DIBAN, Mr. Mobolaji Alalade, during the flag off ceremony for the 4th phase of advocacy campaign against under age and irresponsible drinking, held in Abuja ...recently

L-R: Local Organising Committee Chairperson, NBA Benin Law Week, Mrs. Benedicta Okoduwa; immediate past Local Organising Committee Law Week Chairman, Mr. Nosa Edo-Osagie; past NBA Benin Chairman, Mrs. Patricia Iyomon SAN; Member Judicial Service Commission, Mr. Dele Edokpayi; NBA Benin Secretary, Mr. Lawani Andrew; and NBA Benin Chairman, Mr. Pius Oiwoh, during the opening day of the NBA Benin Law Week ceremony, held in Benin, Edo State...recently

L-R: Speaker, Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, receiving the Distinguished Friend of the Media Award from President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Christopher Isiguzo, at the Press Freedom Awards 2021 held at Ladi Kwali Hall, Abuja Sheraton Hotels & Towers... recently

L-R: Brand Manager, Snacks, UAC Plc, Oluitan Mofiyin; General Manager, Marketing, UAC Plc, Adebola Williams; Lagos Distributor, Mrs. Roseline Nwana; General Manager, Sales, UAC Plc, Chris Towoju; and Lagos Distributor, Mrs. Agnes Okuakwa, at the launch of the new Gala Spicy and Gala Classic variants in Lagos ...recently

26

˜ ˾ MAY 8, 2021

JOE/FAJ

THEFRONTLINES

As Ayade y Sets APC, PDP On Edge, Who Wins the Prize?

JOSEPH USHIGIALE

I

n the build up to the 2019 governorship poll, rumours were rife in Cross River state of the probable defection of Governor Ben Ayade from his Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Those rumours were, in part, based on his perceived romance with the APC both at the national and in the state on the one hand and his neglect of his party both at the national and state levels.

In the end, the whole stories turned out to be a great hoax as the governor stayed put in his party and even went ahead to secure a landslide re-election for his second term.

Today, the same scenario is playing out as the two parties are now literally eating from Ayade’s hand as they fall heads over heels to wow him over. This year alone, we have seen countless meetings in Abuja including visits to Calabar by chieftains of both parties for the purpose of swaying Ayade to their sides.

Several reasons are being put forward for the ongoing political jostling between the parties for the governor’s hand.

The APC is currently on an expansionist drive to create a mega pan-Nigerian one party state. Its idea therefore, is to win as more states as it can to stave off the current challenge from the rival PDP which is hoping to topple it in 2023 based on what it perceives as the failure of the President Muhammadu Buhari government to deliver on its campaign promises to the people.

The entire South-south states are impregnably PDP since 1999. The thinking in this region is that the APC is a northern party and with the rhetorics of conquering the South coming from the northern axis, the people view the party with distrust and those promoting it in the region as sell outs.

But the ruling party remains adamant and has been single minded and relentless in the pursuit of a major political shift in the region. Smarting from its botched exploit in Edo state where it lost control of the state back to the PDP, the APC is hellbent including using underhand tactics like threatening the governor’s with the EFCC to win some South south states like Cross River.

In the same vein, the PDP is looking to bolster its 2023 chances of ousting the ruling party and return to power in 2023 by first retaining the states it won in 2019 before eyeing other prospective states. But the snag in Cross River is that the party is at the cusp of loosing the state because of the running battles between some stakeholders and the governor.

These deep seated differences between Ayade and some stakeholders date to 1999. Some of these people claim that they have served the party from inception only for Ayade to emerge

Ayade from nowhere to assume the position of governor. To them, Ayade is an outsider who just chanced on providence. Indeed, Ayade is a child of providence whose proverbial palm kernel has been cracked by benevolent gods.

In the political firmament, nobody knew Ayade until 2011 when he emerged and was given the Cross River North Senatorial ticket. After serving just a term in the senate, just when people were expecting him to be battling to return to the senate, he clinched the party governorship ticket and the rest as they say, is now history.

Now, for being so lucky, stakeholders had expected the governor to run an inclusive government based on wide consultations and participation. Regrettably, Ayade had his own style and would have none of that. The first sign of his governance style was his choice of appointees.

One had expected that a governor with very limited administrative assets would surround himself with tested technocrats who would guide him craft state policies. But what did he do? He flooded his cabinet with greenhorns,political jobbers and hangers-on who, on a good day had no business in government.

Ayade came under severe attack by stakeholders on another front. This was on the issue of non-patronage by the governn ment of stakeholders who doubled as contractors. Most of them

Nigeria and Her People: Ethical Summersaults

W

e are told that God Almighty finished the creation spectacle on the sixth day when He finished with the specimen we call man today. I’m afraid we don’t have the knack for such exactitude, nor the opportunity to recline, and watch the mess we have turned the Nigerian creation debacle to. Today, we’ll attempt to exhaust our frustrations on the sixth element we must deal with to emerge as, and maintain a great nation, with people of like visions and goals.

When we lament about our atrocious and conscienceless politics, we often forget that it’s senior comrade is amorphous, systemic and thus infinitely more dangerous to public health; therefore more difficult to pull down. Public Service. And by extension, Infrastructure (provision, maintenance and assault). I will explain.

The recruitment, deployment and promotions of civil servants have for long been shrouded in secrecy. Though we call them civil servants, unfortunately, many we meet in our interactions with government agencies have no streak of civility in them, nor a strain of stewardship. Our tottering bloated system swagger under the self-serving, age-old dictum which insists that the civil service shall remain in the shades plugging away at the wheels of progress and public administration. This was inculcated into us by the typically tight-lipped British colonial administration. We have now matured into leveraging that cloak of anonymity to pervert and purport all sorts of criminal activities, corrupt agendas, uncivil bastardisation and poorly thought-out policies. Consequently, we have turned the civil service into some sort of shambolic cartel, and diabolic cult of intrigues and immobility. The structures that were designed to keep the wheels of government in forward motion unobtrusively, while top officials in government may change according times and mandates, have grown massively lecherous, indolent, political, divisive, moored in schemes and counter-schemes that have no bearing on their operational directives.

When some young folks struggle to enter the public service after their one-year national youth service corps programme, in most cases, they are lured, not by passion to be a part of quality and prompt delivery of service; rather they are driven by the prodigious opportunity that public service provides for almost anyone to collect a steady monthly salary, and still scavenge for lucrative businesses which benefit him 100%, and the government may burn for all he cares. They call it ‘side-hustles’.

They see a future where, when well entrenched in the system,

they can spend months in the Caribbeans, and still collect salaries and perquisites as if they are “on their seats” doing the nation’s work. They see a future assured of cuts and handouts from desperate contractors and others threatened by one wooly-headed government policy or the other. They see a mountain of opportunii ties and largesse which, with deft application of banal social nuances - nepotism, tribalism, religiosity and such cancers that have held us down as a nation - can produce mansions, exquisite possessions and such expensive delicacies of living that no civil service salary can explain, and thus must be well hidden from ‘evil’ eyes.

While civil service is largely seen as a corrupt indolent spectacle bedeviling our prospect of a great nationhood, the actions of the civil populace to public Infrastructure are well nigh ungodly and reprehensible. No matter how expensive it is to acquire a particular amenity or structure; how much pain and frustrations the comm munity had endured before the provision of such amenity; and the obvious losses when such amenity fails to work, are you surprised when days after its installation, several parts and main frames of the facility have been yanked off, crushed, or simply stolen! Yet, these looters may be the first comers at the community’s news stands to lament the looting of the national or state treasury by one politician or the other.

We steal everything good and useful; the ones we cannot remove we destroy. There is a spirit tormenting some of our folks who are caught on CCTV removing public lights, traffic lights, alloy railings of bridges, and sidewalks...it’s not just poverty. How does a nation become great when the common man must steal or damage infrastructures erected to alleviate his conditions, and that of others - simply because he feels a need to imitate those in power who steal the funds that have delayed the provision of these infrastructures, or frustrated the provision of better and more widespread infrastrucc tures in good time?

The circle of self-hate and the dogma of snakes feasting on his own kind have led us to this moment where our infrastructures, which are grossly inadequate, are pilfered and vandalized by our compatriots, and we simply shake our heads, and ‘waka pass’. How can you grow, in any area of life, when you ceaselessly swallow your profit, and more, even as you labour day and night to get more sales? A vicious self-devastation.

The seventh element has a number of similarities to the one above. What do we hold as National Ethos? What Values do we deliberately infuse in our children? What informs our Succession dynamics? A nation that runs on auto-pilot, winging its ways through challenges and upheavals, makes an easy candidate for self-combustion.

jushigiale@yahoo.co.uk, joseph.ushigiale@thisdaylive.com 08023422660 (sms only)

alleged that the governor and his family members notably his younger brother, Frank nicknamed, Co-governor and their cronies virtually cornered and were executing all state projects.

In addition, he was accused of embarking on white elephant projects like the super highway and deep seaport which were not realizable given the lean resources of the state to make them happen. They believed that had he been open and transparent and consulted widely, stakeholders would have guided him on the best way to steer his administration forward without frittering scarce resources on fruitless vain glorious projects.

It was under this explosive background that Ayade headed into the 2015 elections and that was why, because he had nothing concrete to showcase for his first four years, some of his allies advised him to jump ship to APC so that federal might would muscle him to power.

Luckily for him, his pitch to politicians in the Southern senatorial zone where he assured them that he was handing over power to them in 2023 resonated well with them and he got their backing. With the south under his belt and the north being his traditional constituency, Ayade was unstoppable and of course he won landslide victory for a second term.

So why would he want to jump a winning ship to APC? Ayade in his mind, believes Cross River is too delicate to play opposition politics. He believes that, for the state to gain its full potential, it must join mainstream politics to attract patronage.

Beyond that, Ayade has his eyes set firmly on 2023 for two reasons: most two-term governors want to either be Vice President or retire to the senate to cool their heels. Ayade is nursing both ambitions. While the first is beyond his immediate control, the second ambition is what has pitched him against some of his party men in the National Assembly.

At the root of the angst is Ayade’s quest to control the structure of the party as the leader. Regrettably, in the last congress that was conducted by the party supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), he lost to members of the National Assembly and the Abuja group.

After the result of the congress was announced, Ayade and his group kicked against it calling for its cancellation. A plethora of activities ensued including a Supreme Court ruling affirming the authenticity of the congress outcome.

Yet, while the result was being contested, the same result was used for the Cross River North senate by-election between Dr. Stephen Odey and Hon Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe. The outcome was that two winners emerged claiming to be the authentic candidates.

Readers can read full article online www.thisdaylive.com

COUNTERPOINT

FEMI

AKINTUNDEE-JOHNSON fajalive1@gmail.com 08182223348 - (SMS Only)

We build ethos by leveraging on the great works and words of our founding fathers. We solicit the emotional connections with great and redoubtable ancestors, tantalizing the impressionable minds of our children with legends, myths and anecdotes of their great and incredible exploits. Do we even still teach history and civic studies in Nigerian schools? If we don’t, we need our heads examined. If the policy has been reversed, the enablers of that idiotic policy should be in jail.

It starts from the kindergarten experience...to the nursery and primary...the home environment...the teaching modules and expertise for each grade (whether public or private)...the actions and examples of government functionaries, and other cadres of leadership… Several elements must combine positively to build and flourish with our national ethos that will filter into and form a block of unshakable corpus of beliefs and convictions as our children grow up. Perhaps it’s too late for the much older generaa tions; the opportunity is there, even now, to rededicate our passions and re-evaluate the values we unconsciously subscribe to.

When we find excuses for a pedophile simply because an elaborate scheme was devised to catch him in action as an evidence of his perfidy; and we begin to castigate the victims, and make asinine suggestions imputing extraneous nonsense (it was a romance gone sour; why tempt a man you strongly suspect, the set-up was to destroy his career; and the classic spinelessness ‘nobody is above mistake’!)

Friends, sexually or sensually violating a seven-year old, even if it didn’t start three years ago, is not a ‘mistake’. It is foolish, uncontrollably, depraved exploitation and violent violation of innocence. It deserves uniformed and severe condemnations, the strictest application of extant laws, and drastic deterrence to others who are in such dastard business, or may contemplate it in future; that this nation abhors reprobate behaviours, and any deviant sympathies should be interrogated sternly.

That is one of countless steps towards building a great nation…

Are we really ready? We continue with the seventh element next time.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ APRIL 24, 2011

GLOBAL SOCCER A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

08.05.2021

NEWS

DRESS REHEARSAL FOR ISTANBULPAGE. 29

Victor Moses Another Loan Spell Looms

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͸΀, 2021

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GLOBAL SOCCER

Victor Moses Another Loan Spell Looms

Victor Moses tries to outwit an opponent in one of the Russian Premier League matches

WhenVictor Moses joined Spartak Moscow for his sixth loan spell since joining Chelsea in 2012, many felt the former Nigerian international might have found a home in Moscow considering that he settled down fast in the Russian capital. However, the former Chelsea winger may just be setting for another loan spell in the approaching summer, but not because of nonperformance but rather for financial reasons

F

rom being voted manof-the-match to severally inspiring his team to victory, Victor Moses has been impressive since joining Spartak Moscow at the beginning of the season, somuch-so that Spartak Moscow manager Domenico Tedesco revealed how Moses had been a great help to his side since his arrival from Chelsea.

The 30-year-old joined the Red and Whites on a season-long loan from the Blues last summer for his sixth spell away from the Stamford Bridge outfit.

The former Nigerian international has continued to prove his worth at the club, helping them to their current second spot on the league table scoring three goals and assisting four others, including his two assists against Arsenal Tula on Monday.

Moses’ temporary deal is set to expire this summer but the Red and Whites have an option to buy the versatile winger permanently.

Although Tedesco has revealed the business of triggering the forward’s buyout option rests with the club’s financial authority, he has, however,

praised the winger’s addition to his side.

“The buyout of Moses is the club’s business, I can’t give advice. I think his arrival was a very good decision, Victor helped us a lot,” Tedesco said.

“In some episodes, it is seen that this is a player of a different class. Today he played a great game, played well both attacking and defensively.”

Moses’ performance against Arsenal Tula earned him the man-of-the-match award and has revealed his desire to help Spartak Moscow.

“I try to do everything in my power to help the team. The main thing is that we took three points,” Moses told the Match Premier League channel.

“The game was not easy. The field was hard. We showed character, both team and individual and they deservedly took three points.”

Moses will hope to continue his impressive performances when Spartak Moscow take on Khimki in their next league game on May 10.

The winger has been with Chelsea since 2012 when he teamed up with the Premier League side from Wigan Athletic.

He started his career with the Crystal

Palace academy before his promotion to the first team, and his dazzling moves and top-notch displays have continued to mark him out for excellence.

Prior to the current season, Moses was on the books of Inter Milan on loan from Chelsea and he played 12 matches in the Italia Serie A and registered three assists.

Before then, Moses had been shipped to Liverpool, Stoke City, West Ham, and Fenerbahce at different times from Chelsea.

Since the exit of Antonio Conte from Chelsea, it was obvious that subsequent Blues managers have no place for him, culminating in a loan stint in Turkey and Italy. With the egg heads of Spartak Moscow ready to make his latest loan move permanent if he impresses, the question then was if Moses can make a home in Russia as his chances of playing at Stanford Bridge was almost zero.

One thing was obvious after Moses completed his loan spell at Inter Milan and returned to Chelsea, that another loan was in the offing as he was never in former Blues’ Manager, Frank Lampard’s plan.

Speaking via his media team, after his move to Russia, Moses said he was

excited about the new challenge and also described Spartak Moscow as one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

“It’s a pleasure for me to sign for Spartak Moscow, one of the greatest clubs in Europe, I can’t wait to get started and meet my teammates. It’s going to be an interesting season,” he said.

Moses attended Stanley Technical High School, now known as the Harris Academy, in South Norwood. Scouted playing football in the local Tandridge League for Cosmos 90 FC Crystal Palace approached him, with the club’s Selhurst Park stadium just s t re e t s a w a y f ro m h i s s c h o o l .

M o s e s f i r s t c a m e t o p ro m i nence at 14 after scoring 50 g o a l s f o r P a l a c e ’ s u n d e r- 1 4 s s i d e . P l a y i n g f o r t h re e y e a r s at both Whitgift and Palace, M o s e s s c o re d o v e r 1 0 0 g o a l s as well as helping Whitgift win many School Cups, including a National Cup where he scored all five goals in the final against Healing School of Grimsby at the Walkers Stadium, Leicester.

Moses was born in Nigeria, b e f o re m o v i n g t o a n e a r l y a g e and he represented the European country’s youth teams at U-16, U-17, U-19 and U-21 levels.

However, Moses opted to play for Nigeria as opposed to being fully capped for England. He made his debut for the Nigerian senior team in 2012 and earned 38 caps and scored 12 times before retiring from international matches in 2018.

He played in Nigeria’s winning campaign at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, as well as the campaign in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͸΀, 2021

GLOBAL SOCCER

City, Chelsea in Dress Rehearsal for Champions League Final Though Manchester City can afford to lose today’s Premier League game against Chelsea and still emerge as title winner, but for several reasons, the Citizens would be going all out against the Blues.

Firstly, it was Thomas Tuchel that ended Pep Guardiola’s quadruple ambition and revenge is the singsong at the Etihad. And most importantly, a victory by any of the two sides would put them in a good psychological stead ahead of the May 29 Champions League final

Premiership Table Man City Man Utd Leicester Chelsea West Ham Tottenham Liverpool Everton Arsenal Aston Villa Leeds Wolves Newcastle Crystal Palace Brighton Southampton Burnley Fulham West Brom Sheff Utd

34 33 35 34 34 34 33 33 34 33 34 34 35 33 34 33 34 34 34 34

47 29 20 22 11 22 16 3 9 10 -2 -13 -18 -22 -4 -18 -16 -20 -34 -42

80 67 63 61 58 56 54 52 49 48 47 42 39 38 37 37 36 27 26 17

PREMIER LEAGUE TODAY

Leeds Utd Sheffield Utd Man City Liverpool

v Tottenham 12:30 v Crystal Palace 15:00 v Chelsea 17:30 v Southampton 20:15

SUNDAY

Wolves Aston Villa West Ham Arsenal

v Brighton v Man Utd v Everton v West Brom

12:00 14:05 16:30 19:00

MONDAY

Fulham v Burnley 20:00

La Liga TODAY

Alavés Barcelona Cádiz Bilbao SUNDAY

Getafe Valencia Villarreal Madrid MONDAY

Real Betis

v Levante v Atlético v Huesca v Osasuna

13:00 15:15 17:30 20:00

v Eibar v Valladolid v Celta Vigo v Sevilla

13:00 15:15 17:30 20:00

v Granada

20:00

Hot Shot PLAYERS Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte tries to stop Chelsea’s Reece James from causing any damage

I

n a dress rehearsal for the upcoming all-English Champions League final, Manchester United host Chelsea in today’s Premier League showdown at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guadiola’s men booked their tickets to Istanbul with a 4-1 aggregate victory over last year’s runners-up Paris Saint-Germain, while Chelsea beat Real Madrid 3-1 over two legs to set up a European battle with their counterparts.

A win here for City would also confirm their status as Premier League champions, while Chelsea are still embroiled in a fight for a top-four finish.

With an injured Kylian Mbappe helplessly watching on from the bench and Neymar nullified by an impenetrable City rearguard, the stage was set for Guardiola’s attackers to steal the show in the second leg against PSG, and they did so with aplomb.

One week after his match-winning free kick somehow crept through the wall to hand City a 2-1 first-leg triumph, Riyad Mahrez was on hand to tuck home at the back stick with 11 minutes on the clock, and PSG’s attacks were futile against a City rearguard marshalled by the unwavering Ruben Dias and John Stones.

With 63 minutes on the clock, a fast City break ended with Phil Foden once again picking out Mahrez at the far post, and the Algerian attacker coolly slotted home to send the Manchester giants into the Champions League final that they have been dreaming of for the past decade.

Guardiola has never been able to hack it on the European stage since swapping the Allianz Arena for the Etihad Stadium, and the charismatic Catalan may now just be 90 minutes away from writing his name in another page of City’s ever-growing history books, but the domestic crown is the only one in their sights this weekend.

City gave themselves the best chance of being crowned champions last weekend with a straightforward 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace - during which Sergio Aguero netted

only his second Premier League goal of the season - but Manchester United’s game with Liverpool being postponed prevented Guardiola’s side from planning their trophy parade.

However, with 80 points collected from 34 matches and a 13-point chasm separating them from closest challengers Man United - who now have a game in hand - City’s fifth Premier League title will be wrapped up this weekend should they triumph against Chelsea, although the league has more or less been a foregone conclusion since January.

The Citizens welcome Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium on a five-game winning streak across all competitions and boasting back-to-back clean sheets against Palace and PSG, but it is at home where the banana skins have presented themselves for Guardiola’s side, who have lost to Man United and Leeds United at the Etihad since the start of March.

With 71 goals scored unsurprisingly a league high and 24 shipped at the other end by far the fewest in the league, City’s talent in all areas of the pitch could propel them to a domestic and European treble come the end of May, but hopes of an unprecedented quadruple were dashed by none other than Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals.

City need not panic if their status as champions is not confirmed this weekend, but they welcome Chelsea to their headquarters on a 14-game unbeaten run against sides from London, and today’s game is the perfect opportunity for both teams to scope out their opponents ahead of the Champions League final.

Twenty-four hours after witnessing City put PSG to the sword, Chelsea produced an equally dominant performance to send serial winners Real Madrid packing, as Thomas Tuchel masterminded a 2-0 secondleg victory over Champions League expert Zinedine Zidane in West London.

Aiming to build on a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, Chelsea drew

first blood through a chance that Timo Werner and his alarming catalogue of wasted chances could not possibly miss, with the German striker on hand to head home after Kai Havertz’s audacious chip struck the woodwork.

After a wave of fruitless attacks, the irrepressible Mason Mount sealed the Blues’ place in the final on the 85-minute mark, as the young Englishman crashed in a second following some bright attacking play from substitute Christian Pulisic to set up a mouth-watering encounter with City.

Frank Lampard’s sacking over the winter period was met with surprise and condemnation, but Tuchel has taken no time whatsoever to settle into life in the English capital, and the former PSG boss will endeavour to go one better in the Champions League this time around after losing last season’s final to Bayern.

The Blues are some way off their Istanbul opponents in the Premier League table, though, as Tuchel still has work to do if he is to confirm Chelsea’s top-four status and a route into next season’s Champions League should their efforts in Turkey prove unsuccessful.

Havertz’s well-taken brace saw Chelsea stroll to a 2-0 win over relegation-threatened rivals Fulham last time out in the Premier League, and their previous victory over West Ham United has seen them open up a three-point gap over the fifth-placed Hammers, and third-placed Leicester City are also within touching distance before they face Newcastle United.

Last week’s stalemate in Madrid extended Tuchel’s unbeaten away record to 11 matches in all competitions since replacing club legend Lampard at the helm, and Chelsea have conceded a mere four goals on their travels in that time - three of them in the Premier League.

Out of the 15 Premier League games that Tuchel has managed, his Chelsea side have kept clean sheets in 11 of them - including each of their last three - and the Blues could

Harry Kane Mohamed Salah Bruno Fernandes Son Heung-min Calvert-Lewin Patrick Bamford Leeds Alexandre Lacazette Jamie Vardy Ollie Watkins Ilkay Gundogan Chris Wood Emerick Aubameyang Callum Wilson Marcus Rashford Danny Ings Wilfried Zaha Kelechi Iheanacho

CLUB

GOALS

Tottenham 21 Liverpool 20 Man Utd 16 Tottenham 16 Everton 15 United 14 Arsena l 13 Leicester 13 Aston Villa 13 Man City 12 Burnley 11 Arsena l 10 Newcastle 10 Man Utd 10 Southampton 10 Crystal Palace 10 Leicester 10

Head to Head 21/ 03/01 Chelsea 1 - 3 Man City 20/25/06 Chelsea 2 - 1 Man City 19/23/11 Man City 2 - 1 Chelsea 19/10/02 Man City 6 - 0 Chelsea 18/08/12 Chelsea 2 - 0 Man City 18/04/03 Man City 1 - 0 Chelsea 17/30/09 Chelsea 0 - 1 Man City 17/05/04 Chelsea 2 - 1 Man City 16/03/12 Man City 1 - 3 Chelsea 16/16/04 Chelsea 0 - 3 Man City 15/16/08 Man City 3 - 0 Chelsea 15/31/01 Chelsea 1 - 1 Man City 14/21/09 Man City 1 - 1 Chelsea

now register three consecutive wins with clean sheets for the first time since November 2017.

Chelsea and City prepare to renew hostilities just three weeks after their closely-fought affair in the FA Cup semifinals, and with only three weeks to go until the European finalists do battle in Istanbul, today’s game may provide the answers to several questions before the continental crown takes precedence.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͸΀, 2021

GLOBAL SOCCER

Iheanacho

Super Falcons led by Assisat Osholoa during one of their training sessions

Iwobi Says It was Difficult Choosing to Play for Nigeria Everton midfielder, Alex Iwobi has stated that by virtue of his growing up in England, it was not easy for him committing his future for Nigeria.

The 25-year-old is a key player under Gernot Rohr in the Super Eagles squad, but he could also have played for the Three Lions Everton midfielder has said that it was initially difficult to choose Nigeria ahead of England, but he revealed his Nigerian environment made it an easy decision later.

Alex Iwobi made his debut for Nigeria in 2015 under former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh and has gone

on to win 37 more caps.

However, the Nigerian could have played for the Three Lions as he grew up in England and has been part of the Arsenal group since nine.

Iwobi made seven appearances at the youth level for England but revealed he had always been surrounded by the Nigerian culture, making it easy to switch international allegiance.

“It was difficult because I was raised in England,” he told Gaffer. “But as I’ve grown up surrounded by Nigerian culture that made it easy for me to pick Nigeria.

It just felt right.”

Iwobi has scored nine goals for Nigerian since making his debut, including a brace in a 4-2 win over Argentina in 2017.

However, none is as important as the one he scored against Zambia in October 2017, which sent Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup. Iwobi says there’s no better feeling than scoring goals for either club, even with the current situation shutting fans outside the stadiums.

“Whenever I score, it’s a mad feeling,” he added.

“Even when I played at school, even now when fans aren’t in the stadium, you still go celebrate when you score because of that rush.”

Iheanacho Nominated for April’s Premier League Player of the Month Kelechi Iheanacho has been nominated for April’s Premier League player of the month following his brilliant display for Leicester City.

It’s Iheanacho’s second consecutive player of the month nomination, having won March’s award. The Nigerian international has been Leicester’s top man in the last few months Iheanacho has scored 10 league goals for the Foxes this season, but four came in April, while he also registered two assists. The former Manchester City man also scored the goal that sent Leicester to their first FA Cup final since 1969.

Iheanacho will battle it out with Jesse Lingard, Trent Alexander Arnold, Stuart Dallas, Mason Greenwood, Matheus Pereira, Allan Saint-Maximin, and Chris Wood for the award.

Should he pick up the award,

he would become the second Nigerian to win it on two occasions after Peter Odemwingie won it with West Brom.

Meanwhile, former Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood is of the opinion that Iheanacho is now an important member of the Leicester City squad and Brendan Rodgers cannot afford to drop him from the starting lineup.

For a while in his Leicester City career, it looked like Iheanacho won’t fulfill his talent or just be no more than a super sub, but he’s the player that has made the biggest impact for Leicester City in the last two months.

Since the start of March, the Nigeria international has directly participated in a remarkable 15 goals in 10 matches across all competitions for the Foxes, all of which he started, which is a testament to the player and the

coaching that he has received.

“It has been forced upon him (Brendan Rodgers) a little bit, there was no Maddison, there wasnoAyozePerez,”Sherwood said yesterday.

“He played him (Iheanacho) when Vardy was injured but he stuck with the two because you cannot drop him at the moment.

“He is undroppable, fantastic goals that he scores. I feel sorry for him, he has come from Manchester City,heprobablythought hewasgoingtoplayeveryminute ofeverygame,didn’tmaterialise like that.

“Now he has kept himself right, he’s very professional, he’s had the opportunity and he’s showing everyone what he can do.”

Forthesecond month running, Iheanacho has been doublenominated for the Premier League Player of the Month and Goal of the Month awards.

Europa League Finals, Emirates FA Cup, Coppa Italia Live on StarTimes Exciting football moments are lined up this May on StarTimes’ sports channels as football tourneys in Europe enter their finals.

These include Emirates FA Cup final on May 15, Coppa Italia final on May 19, Europa League final on May 26, La Liga and Bundesliga’s peak of the season matches, climaxing with Euro 2020.

All matches will air on StarTimes Basic at N1,700 and Smart bouquet at N2200 monthly.

Equally airing on StarTimes is the final of the Emirates FA Cup on May 15 at 5:30 pm between Chelsea and Iheanacho’s

Leicester City. This will be immediately followed by Coppa Italia final between Atalanta and Juventus on May 19. On May 23, La Liga’s final matches of the season will be played.

Currently, there is a tight race between Barcelona, Real Madrid and Athletic Madrid. Bundesliga wraps up on May 22.

All these will climax into Euro 2020 starting June 11 as Africa’s leading digital TV operator, StarTimes will broadcast all 51 games across its five sports channels live and in HD. “Matches will also be available live and on replay on the streaming

application StarTimes ON, providing football fans with more watching opt i o n s . N o n - S t a r Ti m e s subscribers can subscribe N1000 monthly to watch all sports on the app, with an option to subscribe with t h e i r M T N a irtime.”

“We are making sure that every family, wherever they live, can enjoy this amazing football festival.

StarTimes’ match telecasts for the UEFA European Football Championship will include pre-game, halftime and post-game studio segments,” Lazarus Ibeabuchi, PR Manager, StarTimes Nigeria said.

Oshoala Hails US Summer Series as Great Opportunity for Nigeria

N

igeria women’s captain, Asisat Oshoala says the Super Falcons involvement in the 2021 Summer Series in Texas, USA, was a great opportunity for the team to continue developing.

The reigning African champions have been invited to join World Cup holders the US women’s team (USWNT), as they prepare for the Olympics, as well as Jamaica and Portugal in the four-team event set for between 10 and 16 June.

In the past, the nine-time African champions have not played many friendlies between competitive matches but this will be the Super Falcons second series of the year after winning the Turkish Cup in February.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to be involved in a competition involving other top teams,” the 26-year-old Barcelona forward told BBC Sport Africa.

“We are actually happy to have another incredible opportunity of coming together again after the February camping in Turkey.

“It’s another opportunity to hep the team build and get better ahead of the qualifying African Women Cup of Nations games coming up later on.”

Before the summer series Oshoala, a four-time African Player of the Year, will play in the European Champions League final for Barcelona Femeni against Chelsea Women on 16 May. First up for Oshoala and her team will be Jamaica at BBVA Stadium in Houston on 10 June, followed by a meeting with Portugal three days later at the same venue.

Before traveling to Austin’s Q2 stadium to face four-time World and Olympics champions USA at the home of new Major League Soccer club, Austin FC, on 16 June.

The match against Nigeria will mark the first time the USA has ever faced the Super Falcons outside of a global tournament and it will be just the third-ever friendly against an African country, with the previous two coming against South Africa.

The USA have won all five of their previous meetings against Nigeria - four of those victories came at World Cup finals and the other in the Olympics.

Over 150 Golfers Set for Captain’s Inaugural Golf Tourney Top amateur golfers numbering over 150 are to feature at this year Benin Club Golf Section (BCGS) 2021 Captain’s Inaugural Golf Tournament that will tee-off today in Benin City, Edo State.

The 2021 edition of the tournament being organised by the BCGS Captain, Mayer Ologbosere, will see golfers competing for laurels in ladies and men events, veteran and super veteran categories, as well as guests cadre.

Captain Ologbisere disclosed that the tournament was part of the yearly golf event hosted by the new captain to launch into the realm of leadership position as the number one golfer in the section. “The tournament is of great important to golfers in Nigeria, so it is going to be an exciting tournament.”

Moreover, the captain expressed confidence that the tournament would be hitch free and well organised in accordance with COVID-19 protocols to ensure the safety of players and guests.

“Many dignitaries such as Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu as well

as other cabinet members will partake in the tournament on Saturday.

“The arrival, registration and cocktail is on Friday, May 7th while the ceremonial tee-off to be done by the governor and tournament proper holds on Saturday by 8:00am while presentation of prizes to winners and dinner party will hold at the club house.

“This inaugural tournament will be successful and an improvement on the earlier editions. By my estimation, we are anticipating nothing less than one hundred and fifty golfers at the tournament.

“They are coming from clubs such as Ibori Golf and Country Club (IGCC), Asaba; UBTH Golf Club, Benin City; Ogunnu Golf Resort, Warri; Port-Harcourt Golf Club; IBB Golf and Country Club, Abuja; Ikoyi Golf Club; Ikeja Golf Club, Lagos; Ibadan Golf Club and host of others.

“We are welcoming all golfers across the country’s once again to our green lush and unique golf course, then go back home and beat their chest to have played competitive golfing action.

Atlas Cup Draws Sparks Excitement The Coker- Aguda Football Coaches Council (CAFCC) in collaboration with Alzico Limited have presented the draws for the 2021 Atlas Cup. The event was held at the ATLAS compound, Alafia, Orile Iganmu Lagos State. It had in attendance high profile dignitaries from the ATLAS Group of Company, Lagos State Football Coaches Council , Coker-Aguda

Football Coaches Council, representative of the 32 participating teams and media.

The man at the centre of the stage was the representative of the ATLAS Group, Mr. Abraham Santhosh, who gave his remark on how the tournament started and the expansion since the maiden edition in 2012, with the motive of discovering of talents through the street of Lagos.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͸΀, 2021

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GLOBAL SOCCER

Ademola Lookman puts the ball behind Leicester goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel when Fulham visited the King Power Stadium

Ademola Lookman

Not Ready to Sink with Fulham Except the unexpected happens, Fulham will be campaigning in the Championship next season, but one player who would not be going down with the Cottagers is Super Eagles hopeful, Ademola Lookman as two Premiership sides-Leicester City and Everton are said to be mulling the idea of signing the striker, while his parent club- RB Leipzig are not ruling out his return to the Bundesliga

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eports suggest Manchester City want to sign a rising Premier League star Ademola Lookman as they are on the lookout for new, exciting wingers proven in the English top.

Leicester’s interest for the potential signing of RB Leipzig’s wingman is because the player in question fits the bill of requirements at King Power Stadium.

Lookman is not the acquisition that would set social media alight for the east Midlands team. Nor would it cause a media frenzy as other proposed higher profile deals could do.

Yet it is a realistic move for all involved.

First of all, clubs such as LCFC aren’t in a position to constantly splash the cash on any old buy, like say a Manchester United; the Foxes cannot be frivolous in the transfer market, so prudence and lengthy judgement has to be and is applied by Leicester and their recruitment department.

Moreover, Leipzig are said to be happy to lose the former Everton man over the summer, for the right price. In 2019, the Germans paid approximately £16.2 million for the Englishman; his current value is around £11.7m. That fee would be a steal for a 23-year-old with eight goal involvements in the EPL for a side which will probably be relegated.

Indeed, Lookman’s experience with two English teams and abroad is a big bonus to LCFC as they hopefully embark on another European journey in 2020/21.

His versatility in attack offers Brenden Rodgers the luxury of a back-up man who can play all across the field behind a centre-

forward, including as support striker.

Meanwhile, Everton legend Leon Osman has urged English Premier League clubs to make a move for Super Eagles hopeful Lookman when his loan deal with Fulham expires at the end of the 2020-2021 season.

With the Cottagers candidates to make an immediate return to the Championship, they probably won’t be an attractive option for the winger in the coming weeks, especially as there’s no purchase clause in the deal bringing him from RB Leipzig.

Statistically, Lookman has been Fulham’s standout player in the Premier League, scoring four goals and assisting four others - a decent return considering that he struggled a bit when he made the huge jump from the Championship to the Premier League in January 2017.

Though Osman sang the praises of the RB Leipzig loanee, he added that the 2017 U-20 World Cup winner had to improve on his consistency.

“When he joined Everton he was young and raw, his ability is unquestionable. He has such skill,” Osman said on Premier League Productions’ Premier League Today on Wednesday morning.

“What he has lacked up till this point is consistency, I think you’ve started to see that more and more in his time this season at Fulham - he’s started to get more end product.

“That’s a chance that that club will take. Will they feel they can get more consistency out of him because if they can, then he’s certainly a player that you want in your squad.

“He’s somebody that can unlock the door

of the opposition and they are quite hard to find.”

Champions League hopefuls Leicester City have been strongly linked with a summer move for Lookman and a return to parent club RB Leipzig has been mooted.

Lookman’s breakthrough in football was recognised with his first England U-19 call-up last May. His outstanding attributes are his pace, dribbling and powerful finishing ability with both feet, but without any professional coaching before he joined Charlton, there were areas of his game which required extra attention.

“There were a lot of things he missed out on, and that was the learning and understanding of the game,” says Euell.

“Young lads always say they can play football, but then comes the tactical side of it, the game understanding and the decision-making process.

“We didn’t want to stop Ademola from doing what he does because that’s what makes him special, it was just about getting him to understand when and where to do certain things. At every level, every game is different. He had to learn what was needed from him in and out of possession.”

Charlton rejected an offer from Crystal Palace in the summer, but Lookman never lost focus and added seven goals in 25 appearances for Charlton in the first-half of this season. Euell chuckles as he recalls having to drag him off the training pitch at Charlton’s Sparrow’s Lane headquarters. That determination to improve should serve him well at

Everton.

“He’s a great character and everyone else at the training ground would say exactly the same thing,” says Euell. “He is just a humble boy who loves his football. He hates being injured and he always wants to do extra work.

He just wants the ball at his feet and wants to improve. He’s one of those guys who absolutely hates losing.”

Charlton manager Karl Robinson only coached Lookman for a few weeks having taken over at The Valley in November, but he described the teenager as an “incredible talent” and a “joy to work with” when the deal was confirmed.

Born as Ademola Olajade Lookman October 20, 1997, in Wandsworth, London, to Nigerian parents, he attended St. Thomas the Apostle College in Peckham where he achieved three As and five As at GCSE. Lookman signed for Everton on January 5,2017 for a fee of £7.5m rising to £11m on a four-and-a-half year contract and made his debut for the club 10 days later, scoring on his debut.

He received his first international call up on May 16, 2016 being named in the England U-19 squad for a double header against Mexico. He was subsequently named in the England squad for the European U-19 Championships the same summer.

G LO B A L S O C C E R ASSISTANT EDITOR

THISDAY ON SATURDAY EDITOR

THISDAY NEWSPAPERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN

MANAGING DIRECTOR

DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ΀˜˜ ͰͮͰͯ

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ΀, 2021

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER MAY 8,2021

AUTO WORLD

Bennett Oghifo 07052343083 Email:bennett.oghifo@thisdaylive.com

TIPS OF THE WEEK

High-Tech Cars: What’s New in Car Safety Features?

L-R: Marketing Manager, Geely Nigeria, Mrs. Karima Okunola and the Public Relations Officer, Mikano Motors, David Fakuade, after the road test of the new Geely CoolRay, a high-tech and sporty compact SUV

Geely Nigeria Marks CoolRay SUV Launch with Media Test-Drive

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eely Nigeria, the exclusive partnership between Mikano International and Geely Global has released its new high-tech and sporty compact SUV model, the Geely CoolRay, to the Nigerian motoring journalists for a test-drive.

The media event, which held on Thursday at the company’s assembly plant, Karameh City along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, was part of the activities marking the car’s official launch into the Nigerian automotive market.

At the briefing before the road-test, the company’s Marketing Manager, Mrs. Karima Okunola described the media test-drive as a confirmation of Geely’s adherence to International Best Practice (IBP) of transparency and total product quality management.

Okunola said, “Of course, with its launch, the CoolRay today becomes the coolest and most tech-filled, best in class crossover SUV on Nigerian roads.” This media test drive was aimed at offering a personal experience to newsmen about the CoolRay’s quality and advanced characteristics for onward reportage to the nation’s motoring public.

“The CoolRay sports an impressive array of exceptional tech features and an innovative design built on Geely’s global- leading architecture – The B-Segment Modular Architecture (BMA).

“Interestingly, the car also comes with best in class ground clearance, making it ideal for Nigerian roads.”

Available for the Nigerian market are two trims of CoolRay, namely: CoolRay Dynamic GS and CoolRay Sport + GF. Exceptional Power and Performance Mated to an ergonomic electronic shift gear, the new CoolRay is powered by a 1.5L turbo-charged direct injection gasoline engine, which produces 177ps at 5,500rpm and can take the CoolRay from 0 to 100km/h in 7.9 seconds.

Jointly developed with Volvo, the CoolRay’s engine shares 90% of Volvo’s power train suppliers, with the 7DCT developed mainly by Geely and adhering strictly to Volvo standards (Volvo Autos has been under Geely Holding Company’s ownership since 2010).

Exceptional Design A product of Geely’s world-class global design system that spans across 4 design studios in Shanghai, Gothenburg, Barcelona and California, Coolray was penciled by a vibrant multi- national team of designers led by Peter Horbury and Guy Burgoyne.

Based on Geely’s “Accelerating through time” theme, the CoolRay Crossover SUV’s design is targeted at lovers of hi- technology with exceptional taste.

It not only comes with a distinct and striking aesthetic, it flaunts an athletic bodyline, chiseled LED daytime running lights (DRL) and a unique “expanding cosmos” grille, simply put, it’s an outstanding beauty to behold.

Driving the CoolRay at night depicts an automotive

light showcase with a bright 7inch configurable LCD instrument panel and ambient lights reflecting each of the cars three driving modes; red for Sport, Blue for Eco and Yellow for balanced or “normal” mode (this feature comes with the Sport+ trim only). Asides the 18-inch alloy wheels and dual-colour turbine inspired sports rims; the car comes with LED fog lights plus cornering lights, LED rear combination lights, LED side repeaters, License plate lights and more. The Sports plus GF model also showcases a 2-tone body, chrome window frames, metal luggage roof racks, carbon fiber side skirts and 4 functional chrome exhaust pipes.

Exceptional Comfort and Space On the inside, this sporty crossover is surprisingly roomy, with ample head and leg room. Being inside the car, there is an air of confidence and style, especially with its ergonomically designed sporty bucket seats and numerous other intriguing details, including an Enveloping cockpit; inspired by the technology filled cockpit of a jet engine, brushed aluminum interior trim, 10.25 HD touchscreen infotainment system, leather finishing on dashboard and the D-shape sporty multi- function, leather wrapped steering wheel.

It is also equipped with 6-way adjustable driver’s seat, front and rear adjustable headrests, front and rear tinted glass plus windscreen shade, digital Automatic Air-conditioner, Telescoping steering wheel, four-power windows, Electric Adjustable and heated mirrors for those humid rainy days, and lots more.

UNILAG Engineering Dons Commend Coscharis Group on Assembly Plant

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ngineering dons of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have commended respected auto dealer, Coscharis Motors Plc., a subsidiary of Coscharis Group, for their commitment in developing local contents in reference to their local assembly plant located in the group’s head office in Lagos.

This commendation came up during the recent courtesy visit/facility tour of Coscharis auto assembly plant by all the heads of departments (HODs) from the faculty of Engineering, University of Lagos, led by the Dean of Faculty, Professor Obanishola Sadiq, recently.

Professor Sadiq applauded the Coscharis team, led by the visionary founder, President/CEO of Coscharis Group, Dr. Cosmas Maduka for the foresight and resilience in the huge investment in the assembly plant and other aftersales facilities of all the reputable brands Coscharis represent in Nigeria.

In his words, “some of us, even as academicians, never knew that Coscharis has invested such huge capital in an assembly plant that has capacity that is producing some of the automobiles we see on our roads in Nigeria today. This is highly commendable and part of the reasons why we as teachers of engineers deemed it fit to visit your facility for on – the - spot assessment of what you have and I can say for a fact that we are really excited with what we’ve seen as comparable to any world class plant you can envisage.”

Welcoming them on behalf of the President of Coscharis Group, the General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Abiona Babarinde, gave a brief historical background of the conglomerate and various sectors where the company plays. Aside the automotive sector, Coscharis equally contributes to the economic growth of the country in the IT, Logistic, Beverages, Agro – Allied sectors amongst

others.

According to Babarinde, “The assembly plant that was established in 2015 was initially located at our Ikeja office as a Semi Knocked Down (SKD) plant that produced Ford Ranger and JoyLong buses before it was moved to the group head office in Awoyaya, Lagos. As at today, our assembly plant as an SKD plant produces Ford Ranger and Renault products with a capacity to deliver 30 units per day but for various challenges encountered as a local producer like low patronage, cost of production amongst others, produces about 10 units per day”.

In the same vein, Babarinde posited that Coscharis

as a major player in the automotive sector in Nigeria representing some of the most respected iconic auto brands in the world like the Rolls-Royce, BMW, Jaguar LandRover, Ford, Renault and Morris Garages has consistently invested in its aftersales offerings.

“We’ve always believed that the ultimate peace of mind we can give our loyal customers relies on our capacity to deliver seamless aftersales solutions across all these great brands we represent. We invest in getting the original spare parts direct from our OEMs, same with the right tools to fix the parts and huge investment in our technicians that are certified by OEMs.

UNILAG Engineering dons at Coscharis’ auto assembly plant... recently

High-tech cars are here to stay. Car safety technology is evolving quickly, bringing scores of often unpronounceable abbreviations for new systems that promise to keep us safer. Can a car read a street sign? Can the family wagon’s safety systems react to a sudden tra΀c change faster than a seasoned driver? Automakers say yes.

We are all familiar with established safety systems like Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS) and Traction Control. ABS dates back to the late 1920’s when it was Àrst developed for aircraft, although it wasn’t until 50 years later that this now nearly ubiquitous technology reached the highway. Technology is advancing faster now than ever before, bringing inventive new safety systems to your dashboard and automobile chassis.

Let’s take a look under the hood of today’s high tech cars to see what some of the most intriguing new technologies oͿer and how they can make your commute safer and less stressful.

What Are Advanced Driver Assistance Systems?

Often referred to as ADAS, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems oͿer a broad range of safety-enhancing features for vehicles. These systems range from sensors that can detect drowsiness in drivers to pedestrian detection and avoidance systems — or even onboard cameras that can read road signs, warning you about speed limit changes or stop signs via dash alerts.

Automatic Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS).

Going a step beyond simpler and possibly distracting collision warning systems, AEBS puts the brakes on rear-end collisions. Sensors continually monitor the distance of vehicles in front of the car. If the system detects that a collision is imminent, it intervenes, assisting with braking if the driver is braking (but not hard enough) or automatically applying the vehicle’s brakes if the driver doesn’t respond.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that up to a third of police-reported crashes involve a rear-end collision.1 Lane Keeping Assist. Some of the leading reasons for lane-drift crashes are driver distraction, illness, and drivers who have drifted oͿ themselves — and are sleeping at the wheel. Lane Keeping Assist raises the bar above Lane Departure Warning systems, which provide audible warnings and are often manually disabled by drivers, by taking corrective action to keep the vehicle centered in the lane.

Drowsiness Detection System. Building on the technology that powers Lane Departure Warning, Drowsiness Detection Systems monitor how often you drift from your lane, watching for changes in driving patterns that can indicate fatigue or microsleep, the type of sleeping that happens when you doze oͿ momentarily. Microsleep in your recliner at home is safe. When driving, those seconds spent in slumber-land can be dangerous or even deadly. More advanced systems use sensors that watch the driver’s face and glance patterns for signs of drowsiness.

(Source: TRAVELERS)

CFAO Winpart Launches Spare Parts e-Commerce Website for All Car Brands Winpart, a division of CFAO Motors and Nigeria’s fast-growing distributor in original vehicle maintenance spare parts, has launched an e-commerce website as part of its commitment to solve the fake parts dilemma faced by vehicle owners, and to deepen access to quality spare parts, at affordable prices, in the country.

WinPart is the new Independent Aftermarket (IAM) automotive spare parts wholesaler, distributing top-quality certified spare parts, sourced directly from Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs) such as, Aisin, Bosch, Coopers Fiaam, Cworks, Denso, Dunlop, Kavo, Philips, Riken Tyres, Valeo.

With its last-mile partner, Kwik, consumer purchases can be delivered within 2-hours in designated routes.

Winpart offers maintenance parts for all vehicle brands and models and helps source scarce parts that are currently not in stock within an agreed time. Winpart has a well-established delivery system.

Commenting on the development, the General Manager, Winpart, Olivier Buisson said; “As part of the CFAO family, we are known for quality, reliability, and providing convenience to our customers. With our spare parts, you can be sure of a first-time fit.

This will help save cost, eliminate time wastage and unused labour, especially among companies who are keen on improving their business processes and delivery time.”

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER MAY 8,2021

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AUTO WORLD

BMW X5 Protection VR6 Designed to Safeguard against Weapon Attacks

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he BMW protection unit has increased its ‘Secrets of the Supercars’ series with the BMW X5 Protection VR6, a Sport Activity Vehicle that can withstand attack from automatic weapons like the

AK-47.

The BMW X5 Protection VR6 has multi-layer safety glass, armoured passenger compartment, post-blast-protection, leak-resistant fuel tank and run-Áat tyres.

For 40 years, BMW has set the standard in the design and development of armoured vehicles. Now, for the Àrst time in its history, the company has granted TV cameras access inside its secretive Protection Vehicle division.

Barely distinguishable from the seriesproduction model both in terms of its appearance and driving dynamics, the BMW X5 Protection VR6 shields occupants with approximately 30 mm thick multi-layer safety glass that features an internal polycarbonate splinter protection layer. Combined with the armoured passenger compartment, postblast-protection, leak-resistant fuel tank and run-Áat tyres, the BMW X5 Protection VR6 can safeguard against attacks from short-range and long-range weapons, the automaker said in a statement.

The Secrets of the Supercars series provides an inside look at some of the most exclusive car companies on earth, putting vehicles through their paces on the track, discovering gamechanging supercars of the past and revealing what happens when engineers push supercar design to the extremes.

According to the company, “People who bear the greatest responsibilities should be able to rely on certiÀed protection – without having to sacriÀce the unique driving experience that only a BMW Protection Vehicle can oͿer. BMW has been setting new standards in the design and development of armoured vehicles for over 40 years. Our current model continues this tradition in impressive style. Climb in and settle back, safe in the knowledge that you couldn’t be in a more secure or more relaxing environment.

Every Protection Vehicle is custom-built, and every stage of the process is carried out with a craftsman’s attention to detail. The result is a vehicle that meets high standards of ballistic protection, while also fulÀlling the most individual of requirements.

“The optimal amount of security depends on the individual circumstances of the driver and passengers, where they are located, the challenges they face in their daily routine and the public attention they attract.”

BMW X5 Protection VR6

Mercedes-Benz Builds Two EQA Versions, All-wheel Drive

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ore than 20,000 customers have already ordered an EQA since February. Now two new members are joining the model family of the all-electric compact SUV: the EQA 300 4MATIC with 168 kW (combined power consumption: 15.8 kWh/100 km, CO2 emissions: 0 g/km) and the EQA 350 4MATIC with 215 kW (combined power consumption: 15.8 kWh/100 km, CO2 emissions: 0 g/km) round off the line-up at the top; the ranges according to NEDC are 493 kilometres, according to WLTP>2@ 400-426 and 409-432 kilometres. The two all-wheel-drive models can be ordered now. Later in the year, a version with particularly long range will follow, according to a statement issued by the automaker.

The EQA represents the gateway into the all-electric vehicle world of Mercedes-EQ. Following the already successfully launched EQA 250 (combined power consumption: 15.7 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km)1 with 140 kW and front-wheel drive, two powerful and efficient all-wheel-drive models can now be ordered in the form of the EQA 300 4MATIC and EQA 350 4MATIC. Prices start at 53,538.10 and 56,215.60 euros. Mercedes-Benz Bank offers attractive financing and leasing terms for both private and business customers.

Mercedes-Benz and the federal government are supporting the switch to electric mobility in Germany:

due to a net list price of less than 65,000 euros for these two EQAs, an environmental bonus of 5000 euros from the German government supplemented by 2500 euros from Mercedes-Benz is possible. The effective prices, taking into account both the manufacturer’s and the federal government’s shares, are then 45,443.10 and 48,515.60 euros respectively.

The EQA comes with one year of Mercedes me Charge included. European Mercedes me Charge customers will enjoy Green Charging at all public charging points during this period at no extra charge. Customers of both all-wheel-drive variants can also use IONITY’s European fast-charging network for one year from activation at the special price of 0.29 cents per kWh. For the EQA 250, this can be added as part of the Business Package.

In addition, Mercedes-EQ offers customers in Germany the attractive eFlexibility+ Package. The package comprises: A voucher for 300 euros, redeemable at Mercedes-Benz Rent - for a holiday vehicle or a vehicle to use when moving home, for example A free SHARE NOW Pass50 for one month: this reduces the price per minute of the car sharing service by half.

The Mercedes Credit Card electric edition free of charge in the first year. The credit card includes benefits such as a twelve-month warranty extension for the wallbox, discounts in the Mercedes-Benz online shop or in the online shop of the Mercedes-Benz Used Parts Centre and preferential terms at major car rental partners.

Mercedes-Benz EQA 300 4MATIC

Still on The Menace of one for The Road When I chose drink-driving as my focus last week, I never knew I would stumble on someone who shares the Corps’ concern. As I continue on this subject today, this is how my friend Chioma summed up the drink-driving problem: “A man under the inÁuence of alcohol will naturally stagger. His vision will be blurred as he will see double and sometimes sees even beyond the ethereal. Sometimes, he sees the dead spirits of his fathers. He also speaks to himself, and most times, a madman is considered more reasonable than him. Everything negative comes to play in his mind while being controlled by his only friend, “alcohol”. At this moment, everything becomes his enemy, not even his newly wedded wife can control his highly inÁuenced personality. Of course, all the monsters in him are practically exposed. He has no single control or authority over himself.

He becomes a wife tormentor, defaulter of the law, and an oppressor. The introvert is suddenly turned an extrovert because he has probably taken some “green bottles”. At that point not even the president can control him. His car now drives him. No, he may not even have drunk to stupor. He is normal, yet, his hands shakes on the steering, and his brakes fail each time he applies it.

Imagine a man in this state navigating through the busy street or moving through the highway. It is better termed ‘Suicidal’. Experts

SAFE DRIVING with

Jonas Agwu amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa Assistant Corps Marshal Zonal Commanding Officer Federal Road Safety Corps.

call it “mission of no return,” and even if such man will return to his family and friends, the possibility appears extremely slim, if not almost impossible.Experts have revealed that despite the hyperactive nature of that man under the inÁuence of alcohol or drugs, his brain functions at a very slow pace. Alcohol slows down his entire body system. His ability to manipulate becomes very poor if not totally zero.

In this case, he struggles with the steering at each point he tries to navigate. Decision making in the tra΀c are often frustrated. A typical Nigerian who discards tra΀c laws even when he sees with his natural eyes will discard same twice when under the inÁuence of alcohol. He has got some fake hands and legs that respond to emergency situation very poorly. The steering is steered sluggishly and the brakes are applied with all carelessness, yet he risks his entire family

in such a mission, his entire life.

Experts have said that for a driver to be sure of himself, the concentration of alcohol in the blood must be less than 0.02 of a gram per 100 millilitres. When driving under the inÁuence of alcohol, the driver’s perception declines and weakens, making it di΀cult to judge correctly and truthfully how far an object is from the car.

The muscles of the eyes lose their precision and they close as if you are terribly sleepy. A driver who is inÁuenced by alcohol while on steering cannot focus his eyes on an object because his vision becomes automatically blurred. Most times the driver sees double. In Nigeria, most of us see double, yet see nothing. If the FRSC is advocating that no one drives under the inÁuence of alcohol, it’s no doubt because of our own safety. The law is meant to guide and protect us, but it’s a common trend in Nigeria to continue to curse the implementers of the laws when all they try to do is to make us humane, and free our community from the fever of lawlessness.

Drink, it’s your life. Enjoy your life with all the green bottles. Take your friends out to any kind of social function. But for your sake, the sake of your children, your wife, your mother and the rest of the society, do not drive after that. Let the next sane person drive. Let the car be parked there for the next hours, or even until the following day, because you can’t get a duplicate of yourself. Your life is one. Don’t toy

with it; that’s why FRSC protects you.”

Chioma is not a staͿ of the Federal Road Safety Corps but she captures vividly the tragedy called drink-driving. Like she rightly captured, driving under the inÁuence of alcohol is suicidal.

Alcohol can cause over conÀdence, poor judgement, lack of coordination and recklessness. In many countries, including Nigeria, it is a major cause of road tra΀c crashes. This is the reason why special tests are conducted to detect those who have been drinking, prior to driving. Besides alcohol beverages, drugs, according to the Revised Highway Code can equally interfere with the ability to drive.

It states that even some drugs that are prescribed by doctors have sedative (ie sleep inducing) eͿect on the driver. CoͿee and kolanut are also stimulants that tend to increase the alertness of drivers. Other drugs popularly taken by these drivers are: Indian hemp, which is a street drug, and sometimes cocaine. Such stimulant it must be stated, may work for some time and then tiredness and sleep come suddenly while driving, resulting to road tra΀c crashes.

This is why this series is focusing on the drink-driving problem as we prepare for this year’s sallah celebration and other festivities noted for increased motorization and incidences of driving under the inÁuence. The National Road Tra΀c Regulations, 2004 and the Revised Highway Code dearly prohibit driving under the inÁuence with speciÀc penalties as punishment.

This will form our focus next week.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER MAY 8,2021

NEWSXTRA Otti, Nwaka Condemn Student Abduction, Demand Effective Rescue Efforts Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

SMILE TRAIN 1 …

L-R: Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire receiving Smile Maker award from the Program Director for West and Central Africa, Smile Train, Mrs. Nkeiruka Obi and co-Chairperson, National Surgical, Obstetrics, Anesthesia and Nursing Plan (NSOANP), Prof. Emmanuel Ameh, during the inauguration of partnership for implementation of the plan and launch of e-registration for cleft at the ministry in Abuja... Yesterday

Coup Scare, Sign of Bad Times, Says Kaigama

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, His Grace Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, has said that the recent alarm raised by the federal government alleging plot to overthrow the present administration may be an indication that things were not well in the country after all.

He also lamented that Boko Haram terrorists had continued to ravage the land while herdsmen/ farmers menace had been allowed

to fester and spread, developing into banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and brutal killings.

Speaking at a media interactive forum yesterday in Abuja, Kaigama said that there was a strong perception that the country’s economy was heading for the doldrums unless the menace of corruption was arrested.

While reacting to recent statement issued by the presidency alleging that some past political leaders and religious leaders are plotting to overthrow the

President Muhammadu Buhariled administration, Kaigama said that something must have gone wrong for the government to be contemplating a possible military take-over.

“I do not know what the politicians are doing among themselves, all we want is a stable democracy, a democracy that is productive and sensitive to the needs of the common man. A democracy that addresses problems and basic necessities. We are into discussing such unnecessary things

like overthrow of government and military take-over.

“I thought we have forgotten that vocabulary. That people are even hinting about military take-over, is a sign that something is not right. But I thought it is a vocabulary that we will never, never again mention in the history of Nigeria.

But if it is being discussed whether real or imaginary, then it means we need to be attentive, especially those in leadership,” he said.

CBN Disburses N83bn Loans to Healthcare Sector Nume Ekeghe The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday, said the central bank had disbursed over N83.9 billion to pharmaceutical and healthcare practitioners in the country since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Also, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has stressed the need for a slash in the cost of governance in the country, saying a lot more resources could

be dedicated towards healthcare and critical infrastructure.

They both said this yesterday, at the premier of ‘Unmasked’, a documentary on Nigeria’s response to the pandemic held in Lagos.

Emefiele, who was represented by the CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwasinobi, explained: “Building a robust healthcare infrastructure was also vital from a security perspective, as some nations had imposed restrictions on the exports of vital medical drugs as well as the use of drug patents that could aid

in containing the spread of the pandemic.”

“As a result, we focused our interventions in the healthcare sector on three areas. Building the capacity of our healthcare institutions supporting the domestic manufacturing of drugs by businesses, and providing grants to researchers in the medical field, in order to encourage them to develop breakthrough innovations that would address health challenges faced by Nigerians.

“In this regard we disbursed over N83.9 billion in loans to

pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners, which is supporting 26 pharmaceutical and 56 medical projects across the country. We were also able to mobilise key stakeholders in the Nigerian economy through the CACOVID alliance, which led to the provision of over N25 billion in relief materials to affected households, and the set-up of 39 isolation centres across the country.

These measures helped to expand and strengthen the capacity of our healthcare institutions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Condemnations have trailed the abduction of a student of the Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) and other passengers with prominent Abians calling for quick, eͿective rescue eͿorts to ensure their immediate release.

In his reaction renowned economist and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Alex Otti, expressed shock and disbelief over the incident, saying that there was no justiÀable reason for the hoodlums to attack innocent members of the society.

Otti, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, described “such act of violence against the students as wicked, barbaric and reprehensible.”

He called on all relevant authorities and security agencies “to swiftly swing into action and ensure timely rescue of the students without harm” and promised to oͿer the necessary support and assistance that could hasten the release of the students.

The APC chieftain further called on governments at all levels to treat the present security challenges bedeviling the country

as a pressing emergency and consider coming up with far reaching measures and strategies aimed at Ànding a permanent solution to the present challenges.

Former chairman of the Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Emma Nwaka also expressed dismay and anguish over the abduction of the student and other passengers.

He commended the collaborative eͿorts of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and his colleagues in the neighbouring states “to track down these purveyors of extreme wickedness in order to rescue their hapless victims.”

Senator Nwaka called on security agencies to deploy aerial facilities as a matter of utmost urgency to augment the ground rescue eͿorts just as they did in Orlu, Imo State in search of members of the Eastern Security Network ( ESN).

He said that the call on the security agencies was against the backdrop of the information making the rounds that these bandits use walkie talkies nowadays as opposed to mobile phones, thereby rendering ineͿectual the existing tracking devices.

Take Me to Court, Bode George Dares Tinubu ChuksOkocha in Abuja A chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, has dared the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu to take him to court, if he was not corrupt.

He also challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to be bold enough to take Tinubu to court for corruption charges George, a retired Commodore of the Nigerian Navy, said Tinubu had corruption cases hanging on his neck, calling on the EFCC to carry out an investigation into how the former Lagos Governor, allegedly stole over N34 billion through his company, Alpha Beta Consulting.

He spoke yesterday as a guest on Arise News ‘The Morning Show’ anchored by the trio of Dr. Reuben Abati, Tundun Abiola and Rufai Oseni and monitored by Prompt

News.

The PDP chieftain, who once served as Military Governor of Ondo State, charged the EFCC Boss, Abdulrasheed Bawa, to be bold enough to reopen investigation into the Alpha Beta matter since the former managing director of the company, Oladapo Apara, had petitioned the anti-graft agency.

When reminded that he was making unsubstantiated allegations against the APC national leader and could be sued, the PDP chieftain retorted: “Let us go to court so we both will be talking under oath.

I am saying these allegations we have documents. EFCC has been investigating.

“The former managing director of Alpha Beta himself stated black and white how they have been siphoning the money of the Lagos state treasury…let him take me to court.

FrieslandCampina WAMCO Italy-bound Heroin Intercepted at Abuja Airport Records N199bn Turnover in 2020 Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Dairy company, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, makers of premium milk brands - Peak, Three Crowns, Coast, Nunu and Olympic has reported a turnover of N199.5 billion. This was announced at its 48th Annual General Meeting in Lagos.

Speaking at the AGM, the Chairman, Mr. Moyo Ajekigbe said, “the challenging operating environment in 2020 notwithstanding, the company’s commercial and Ànancial performance for the year showed considerable improvement compared to the previous year.

Turnover increased by 23 per cent in 2020 to N199.5billion from N161.8billion in 2019.

This was due to a combined eͿect of organic and inorganic

growth following the acquisition of Nutricima’s dairy business.

ProÀt Before Tax however decreased by 20.3 per cent from N18.8 billion in 2019 to N14.9 billion in 2020 as a result of high input costs and naira devaluation impact.”

The meeting was held in compliance with COVID-19 pandemic protocols, ensuring the health and safety of all stakeholders involved. The meeting was broadcast live for shareholders and other relevant stakeholders to participate in the proceedings in line with the “Guidelines on Holding of Annual General Meetings (AGM) of Public Companies Using Proxies” as established by the Corporate AͿairs Commission.

All the resolutions submitted for shareholder approval were adopted, including the approval of a total dividend payout of N6.74 per N0.50 share.

As underlined by the Managing Director, Mr. Ben Langat, during his presentation on the Ànancial results, “2020 was shaped by the company’s continued focus on sustainable business processes. We leveraged our brands and superior commercial expertise to deliver impressive volumes during the year. FrieslandCampina WAMCO continues to be committed to nourishing Nigerians with quality dairy nutrition.

Our Board and Management will continue to take necessary steps to ensure that the growth momentum is sustained.”

A 23-year-old drug tra΀cker, Okoguale Douglas stopped from boarding a Milan (Italy) bound Áight by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja has extracted 59 wraps of heroin weighing 781.2 grammes.

Okoguale, who hails from Uromi in Esan North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, was arrested by operatives of the NDLEA, during an outward clearance of Ethiopian airline Áight number 910 at the boarding gate of the airport enroute Abuja-Addis Ababa- Milan (Italy) after his scan proved positive for ingestion.

A statement by the NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, yesterday said under interrogation,

the suspect claimed he had been residing in Italy since 2011 after entering the country via Libya with one of his uncles.

He claims he works as a restaurant attendant in Italy where he earns €900 per month and also works as a painter on his free days and gets about €400 upon completion of any work.

He also confessed he was promised €2000 if he successfully delivers the drug in Milan, Italy.

He said he came to Nigeria on April 4, 2021 for the burial of his late father in Esan, Edo State and after spending so much during the burial, he ran out of money, a situation that made him to ask for Ànancial support from one of his Nigerian friends resident in Italy.

Okoguale further claimed that his friend then told him he would send him money on the ground that he will collect

a consignment for him from one other friend in Nigeria and promised to send him a number to call.

He said contrary to the initial arrangement, he was called by a man on Thursday April 29, 2021, who asked him to come down to Abuja where he was picked by two other unknown men from Utako area and lodged in a hotel which he claimed he doesn’t know the address.

The suspect also claimed that the two men brought the wrapped drug to him in a hotel on Friday night after which he swallowed the 59 pellets early on Saturday May 1st, 2021 and was promised €2000 on successful delivery in Milan, Italy.

Commander, NAIA Command of the Agency, Kabir Sani Tsakuwa, said eͿorts were still ongoing to unravel other suspects connected to the crime.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ΀, 2021

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NEWSXTRA

Buhari: Unscrupulous People Undermining Policies of My Govt Deji Elumoye ÓØ ÌßÔË President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday expressed concerns over the penchant of certain groups of people to sabotage eͿorts of the federal government to make life meaningful to Nigerians.

A statement issued by the Presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina said the President Áayed the situation in which “some unscrupulous people try to undermine every policy of government, irrespective of the good it was meant to achieve for the country.”

According to Adesina, the President, who spoke while receiving brieÀngs from the Professor Doyin Salami-led Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), during its 6th regular meeting, held in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, recalled that despite eͿorts to regulate importation and proliferation of some commodities in the country by shutting land borders for more than a year, some Nigerians still found ways to circumvent the barriers to perpetuate smuggling of illicit commodities.

He said: “Some people are

merciless against this country. We closed the borders to control the smuggling of petroleum products, and check the inÁux of smuggled goods, arms and ammunition.

That was when the Comptroller General of Customs called me, saying 40 tankers laden with petrol had been impounded. I told him to sell the fuel, sell the trucks, and put the money in the treasury.

“They still brought arms and ammunition into the country, brought in rice in vehicles and motorcycles. I said shoot anyone found illegally with AK-47, yet

they haven’t stopped. People must show consideration for their own country”.

The President who pleaded with Nigerians to be considerate towards the country especially with the current administration’s move to develop the nation, also assured that the federal government would focus on greater development of irrigation facilities in the country and encourage more people into agriculture.

Agriculture, he noted, is a good way for the country to overcome economic challenges confronting

it, adding, “We need to go back to the land. Technology is doing away with petroleum, but we are lucky we have other resources; Gas, vast arable land, which we are not using enough.”

President Buhari was responding to disclosure by Salami, in his presentation, that only 2% of land under cultivation is irrigated, recommending that apart from government eͿorts, incentives are needed for private people to enter the sector.

On security challenges, which PEAC said was having great

repercussions on the economy, the President charged leadership at every level to go back to the basics, noting that a bottom-up approach was necessary, from ward, to local council, states, and federal.

Earlier in its presentation PEAC stressed that the global economy had continued to improve as COVID infections drop and roll-out of vaccination intensiÀes, adding that the Nigerian economy, though out of recession, remains fragile with inÁation rising, unemployment high, and external account weak.

Itsekiris Protest Continuous Police Involvement in Olu Stool Adibe EmenyonuinBeninCity Hundreds of Itsekiri indigenes yesterday afternoon, stormed the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police Zone 5 in Benin City where they protested continued police involvement in the crisis rocking the Olu of Warri stool and requested that the police should allow all the chiefs go back to Warri and resolve the issues amicably.

The Itsekiri protesters bearing several placards and inscriptions, said the continued insistence that police should resolve the issue was a let-down on the custom and tradition of Itsekiri.

One of the leaders of the protesters, David Iwere said: “We are here as Itsekiri people. We are tired of our matter being in the media all the time, what is happening in Itsekiri has never happened before. We

are here to appeal to the AIG to send all the chiefs home and give them time to come back and report the settlement they have made.”

Also speaking, another leader, Mrs. Okhere Amaju said “We are here as group, we want peace, we are tired of crisis. We have come to appeal that they should take the matter back home and we can settle ourselves. Itsekiri issue is not for the police. We are a people with culture and tradition, we need to go and resolve our issues at home.

We need peace in Itsekiri.”

Corroborating the above positions, Samuel Khalil appealed to all the chiefs and the ruling house to give peace a chance while on his part, Scott Anwani said, “We have gone round to most of the chiefs in Warri kingdom and other stakeholders who are involved in all these issues.

IN HIS VINEYARD ...

The Bishop, Diocese of Oyo, Methodist Church Nigeria, Rt. Revd. Joseph Osifuwa (3rd left) the host Bishop Rt. Revd. Bamidele Ibikunle of the Diocese of Remo (8th ledt) the Guest Preacher, Rt. Revd. Simeoan Oluwole Onaleke, te Bishop of Kwara Diocese (4th right) and other officiating ministers at the diocese of Remo, 30th Annual Synod Sunday Thanks Giving Service at the Oko Circuit, Remo Diocese Methodist Church Nigeria ... recently

Malabu Oil: Why JPMorgan’s Compliance Team Supreme Court NulliÀes Makinde’s Opposed $875m Payment to Etete Cont’d from Pg. 6 Digital Switch Over: Set Top Box Three years later, in July 2001, the Plc of the oil license in Africa’s larg- Manufacturers Ready to Meet Demand Dissolution of Oyo LGs then government under President est crude producer, a decade ago.

Gospell Digital Technology GDT, said “with our own factory in Olusegun Obasanjo revoked OPL 245 licence, triggering legal disputes over its ownership that dragged on for years.

By 2006, Malabu reached a settlement with the federal government, agreeing to pay $218 million to Nigeria in return for the licence being fully reinstated, after it was given to Shell, which subsequently failed to pay.

The case became even more complex when Mohammed Abacha, son of the former ruler, launched a legal challenge arguing that Etete pushed him out of his partial ownership of Malabu.

In 2011, Malabu agreed to hand OPL 245 back to the government for $1.092 billion. In parallel, Shell and Eni agreed to pay the government $1.092 billion plus a signature bonus of $208 million, taking their payment for OPL 245 to $1.3 billion.

In the same year, $1.092 billion was placed in an escrow account opened by the Nigerian government with U.S. bank JP Morgan, from which $875 million was transferred to bank accounts in the name of Malabu.

In 2017, Nigeria filed a case at a London High Court against the bank alleging negligence for its role in transferring the $875 million to Etete’s Malabu, an allegation JP Morgan said it considered “unsubstantiated and without merit”.

In 2019, a Nigerian judge issued arrest warrants for Dan Etete, and an Eni manager over the sale of the oilfield.

European and Nigerian courts have been raking over the purchase

by Eni SpA and Royal Dutch Shell

While the energy giants were recently acquitted of corruption charges in Milan, in a decision prosecutors could appeal, Nigeria’s government is continuing to seek compensation from JPMorgan.

The Buhari administration claims Etete distributed a portion of the funds received via the bank from the oil majors to corrupt former and serving senior public officials.

The bank has denied any wrongdoing and says it is being held responsible for not protecting the Nigerian people from their own government.

As Nigeria’s oil minister in the last weeks of the corrupt Abacha military regime in 1998, Etete was said to have effectively awarded the prospecting rights of the huge OPL 245 block to the company he secretly controlled.

After Abacha’s sudden death, Etete retained the rights as a private citizen until he offloaded them to oil giants Shell and Eni in 2011, and they paid a combined $1.3 billion to the federal government.

The entire OPL245 deal was a subject of a corruption trial in Italy, where Etete was an accused, together with alleged middlemen, Eni and Shell, and several of their executives. The court recently acquitted the international oil executives.

The Nigerian authorities had also charged Etete and several others linked to Malabu with money laundering in connection with the onward Áow of funds from the OPL245 deal.

He has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the allegations as “political propaganda.”

one of the 13 licensed Set Top Box Manufacturers that would see the materialisation of Nigerian televisions switch over to digital broadcasting, has said that the producers were ready to meet consumers’ demands.

Following the launching of the digital switchover (DSO) in Lagos penultimate week, Gospell Digital Technology Group Managing Director, Godfrey Ohuabunwa said the Set Top Box manufacturers had enough boxes to meet the consumers demand and more.

Speaking in Lagos, Ohuabunwa

Calabar and a second factory being opened in Port Harcourt in addition of 12 other manufacturers there will be enough Set Top Boxes for consumers to experience real digital television revolution in the country”.

He said that, “As of Thursday, April 29 when we launched in Lagos, over 300,000 boxes were made available to Lagos alone and they are everywhere in Lagos via our different outlet in Ajah, Oshodi, Surulere, Mushin, Agege, Alaba, Isolo, Igando, Badagry, Ikorodu and others.

Alex Enumah ÓØ ÌßÔË

The Supreme Court, yesterday held that Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, lacked the constitutional powers to dissolve the tenure of elected Chairmen and Councilors of the Oyo State Local Government Councils.

Similarly, the Supreme Court at a virtual sitting, yesterday, held as illegal and unconstitutional the dissolution of the Katsina State Local Government Councils.

Delivering judgment in the

appeal brought by the Association of Local Government Councils of Nigeria (ALGON) against Oyo State Government and Makinde, the Àve-man panel of Justices of the apex court, held that Makinde lacked legal powers to dissolve the councils.

Makinde had on May 29, 2019, ordered the dissolution and sack of chairmen and councilors of all 33 Local Government Areas (LGAs), as well as 35 Local Council Development Areas, (LCDAs), in the state.

Trinitas Foundation Provides N20m for StartUps Lagos Inaugurates School Projects One of Nigeria’s charity foundations, Trinitas Foundation is set to give out an investment fund of N20 million to 10 startups ventures across Technology, Agriculture, Small Scale Manufacturing, Entertainment and Media, Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle and Food Industries. As a result of placing gender balance on the finalists, the foundation has decided to give room to six female entrepreneurs and four male entrepreneurs to be part of the selected 10 to get the funding, and this is also in relation to their goal of women empowerment which is one of the primary intentions of the foundation.

The new initiative is the Trinitas Investment Programme, an annual startup pitch competition. The project is a strategic approach to highlight one of the key missions of the foundation, which is to empower and foster opportunities and possibilities for emerging African ventures across the target six industries.

Speaking on why the investment

programme was deployed this year, Ade George, founder and CEO of the foundation had this to say, “Overtime we have been doing a lot on empowering people, taking them off the streets and getting them accommodation and businesses that would support that accommodation but we found out that poverty is a mindset and illiteracy has played a part in it. So this year we decided to change our tactic and support people that are a little bit educated and actually want to do something for themselves which is what gave birth to Trinitas Investment Programme.”

The foundation will continue to deliver on its key missions which are feeding and providing vital essentials for the less privileged, providing resources for child education, empowering women through sustainable trade and enterprise support and funding prospective African startups and business ideas; a feat it has maintained since inception in 2016.

Funmi Ogundare The Lagos State Government, yesterday, inaugurated school projects across the state, in commemoration of his second year in office.

Speaking at Akintan Junior Grammar School, Surulere after inaugurating blocks of classrooms and other facilities in four public schools, the state Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu reiterated his commitment towards revitalising the education sector, providing conducive environment for teaching and learning across all schools within the state.

He affirmed that education empowered a child with necessary knowledge and set skills to actualise potentials and maximise opportunities in life, adding that the education sector was critical to the growth and development of any society.

He said the face of Lagos State was changing rapidly with

globalisation and technological advancement and there was urgent need to prepare the future leaders for the challenges ahead.

According to him, “actualising 1,097 projects, covering 970 schools is to further fulfill our mandate of the THEMES Agenda for a Greater Lagos. Our government ensured prompt construction and rehabilitation of 322 dilapidated public schools, while 87,000 dual composite units of furniture were supplied to primary and secondary schools; we are flagging-off these school infrastructural projects to deliver 300 classrooms including seven new hostel blocks across the schools in the state.”

Sanwo-Olu added that his administration was convinced that teaching and learning could only take place effectively in a conducive environment, which explains our commitment to the provision of new structures and the rehabilitation of existing ones.

38

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ΀˜ ͺ͸ͺͯ

NEWSXTRA

SEC Rolls Out Measures to Cool off Demand for Foreign Stocks Festus Akanbi, áÓÞÒ ËÑÏØÍã ÜÏÚÙÜÞÝ As Nigerian investors’ patronage for foreign stocks surges, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced a tighter regulatory oversight of local brokers aimed at cooling off demand for foreign stocks.

The apex regulatory body in the nation’s capital market now plans to register brokers selling stocks of foreign companies as more Nigerians pile into the assets to hedge against inflation and currency weakness. An earlier

effort last month met local resistance, backfiring after warnings alerting people of risks and threats to sanction local traders.

“The commission plans to actively monitor the local market in foreign stocks in furtherance of our mandate of ensuring investor protection and market transparency,” Dayo Obisan, executive commissioner for operations of the SEC, said in an interview.

The regulator wants to draw a curtain on a period that saw legions of young Nigerians turn to online platforms to invest in stocks and digital currencies. The need to protect

savings took on more urgency after the central bank devalued the local currency three times within a year while inflation accelerated at the fastest pace in four years.

Before now, the online platforms could connect high net-worth individuals without an independent license. The SEC now wants to regulate them directly over concerns they’re targeting retail investors that require protection.

The All-Share Index, Nigeria’s benchmark equity gauge has retreated 2% this year, compared with a gain of about 11% in the S&P 500 Index.

At least 400,000 Nigerians poured funds into foreign stocks through online brokers in the past 18 months, Obisan said.

Nigerians actively trading or holding foreign equities now exceeds those investing in local collective investment schemes or mutual funds, according to the regulator.

About 70% are between the ages of 18 and 40, a demographic that’s shunned the local stock market, whose total active investor base is less than a million. “There is an increasing interest among the younger population and this is of concern to the commission primarily

Osinbajo to Declare Open 2021 Abia Business Summit Charles Ajunwa The Abia 2021 Business and Leadership Summit scheduled for Aba, the economic hub of the South-east, will be declared open by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Osinbajo, who is the Special Guest of Honour of this summit titled: ‘Transferring Tested and Proven Business Models to the Next Generation’, during his visit will inaugurate some projects in Aba executed by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

The Director General of the Abia

State Marketing and Quality ManagementAgency (ASMQMA), Mr. Sam Hart, said the summit put together by the Abia State Government in conjunction with Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA), was aimed at looking into the reason why many businesses of yore completely died, and come up with solutions that would ensure the longevity of current successful businesses in the city and Abia State by extension.

“History is replete with a long list of successful businesses from

time immemorial. These businesses, sadly, are only now being talked about with nostalgia and in past tense because they are no longer in existence and the ashes of their glory have long since evaporated.

Aba, as a cosmopolitan business melting pot has had its own fair share of these great businesses of yore which are no more.

“The Abia State Government, in conjunction with the Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA), have decided to host a Summit to look

into the issues relating to this malaise and begin to synthesize solutions that will ensure the longevity of current successful businesses in the city and Abia State by extension.

“Honestly, an economically vibrant Aba is very important to the GDP of Abia State. Aba remains the economic livewire of Abia State and the Government and the business community must continue to work together to ensure the continuous vibrancy of the business ecosystem in the city for the overall good of the State,” he said.

because it creates an avenue for exploitation,” Obisan said.

Nigerians have been accumulating foreign currencies to protect their wealth from naira volatility and surging inflation, according to a research paper in a journal published by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Higher real-exchange rate volatility is associated with an increased level of currency substitution,” central bank economists including Isaiah Ajibola, Sylvanus Udoette, Rabia Muhammad and John Anigwe said in the paper available on the central bank’s website.

11 IPOB Members Killed by Joint Army, Police Operation in Imo Kingsley Nwezeh ÓØ ÌßÔË The Nigerian Army Headquarters said yesterday that a combined army and police operation killed 11 members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), who stormed Orlu town in Imo State with the intention to attack a police division.

A statement issued by Army Spokesman, Brigadier-General Mohammed Yerima, said the attackers were resisted by vigilant police personnel at the area command and were dislodged when a reinforcement team of the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Air Force arrived the scene.

"The assailants who had been on the radar of the Joint Technical Intelligence Team were said to have come from a forest camp in Ideato North LGA of Imo State from where they mobilised and

planned the failed attack.

"Following the encounter, 11 IPOB/ESN terrorists were neutralised while four AK47, one G3 and one pump action rifle as well as a berretta pistol, charms and assorted ammunitions were recovered", it said.

The statement said all the seven operational vehicles used for the attack were demobilised and as such the remaining terrorists escaped on foot with fatal injuries.

It said there were no casualties on the side of the security forces.

CHANGE OF NAME

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ΀, 2021

SPORTS XTRA

Premier League Promotion, a Huge Career Achievement, Says Troost-Ekong Nigerian defender William Troost-Ekong has revealed that earning promotion to the English Premier League with Watford stands out as one of the best achievements in his career.

The Hornets secured automatic promotion from the EFL Championship last weekend when they defeated Millwall 1-0, joining Norwich

in returning to the English top flight less than a year after suffering relegation from it.

Troost-Ekong joined Watford from Udinese in September 2020, swapping his gig in Serie A for the chance to try and help his new club earn their way back into the EPL. And after achieving exactly that, the 27-year-old Nigerian international ranks it as one

of his best career moments.

“Playing for the Super Eagles was one of the biggest achievements in my young career,” he told ESPN. “I have had other moments in time that meant a lot to me, like the promotion with FC Dordrecht (in the Netherlands) when I was 20 or 21 and also playing consistently

in Turkey.

“Playing in the Serie A, playing at the World Cup, Olympics, there are so many different moments.

“But I feel like this one means a lot more now, because it’s been a real long-term goal (to play in the Premier League)… to achieve that, by achieving

all these smaller goals along the way, that’s why this one means even more.”

Next season will present Troost-Ekong with the chance to finally play in the English top flight, having featured for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur in his youth career.

“I was a young kid grow-

ing up in the Netherlands and just had a dream of playing professional football at the highest level, which was the Premier League at the time,” he added.

“So I feel very privileged to have had this journey, and to make a full circle. But it’s something that I’ve worked for a long time.”

Ihheannachho Sccorress 11tth Prremier Leaaguue Goal inn Leiicester Shoock Defeaat too Newwcasstle Newcastle United derailed Leicester City’s bid to qualify for next season’s Champions League with a 4-2 win yesterday that all but secured their place in the Premier League.

Defeat left Leicester third, two points in front of Chelsea and five ahead of West Ham, with both London clubs having a game in hand over the Foxes.

This reverse came five years to the day since Leicester received the Premier League trophy, having started the 2015/16

season as 5,000/1 rank outsiders to be crowned English champions.

Newcastle’s win saw them move 12 points clear of the relegation zone, just one shy from safety with three games remaining.

Joe Willock, on loan from Arsenal, fired Newcastle in front in the 22nd minute at the King Power Stadium as he scored in his fourth successive top-flight game for the Magpies.

And the visitors doubled their lead before half-time with a rare goal from Paul Dummett.

Troost Ekong

Adepoju Faults Oliseh’s Gang-up Allegation against Yekini at USA ‘94 Against the allegation of gang-up on Rashidi Yekini by former Super Eagles captain, Sunday Oliseh at the USA 94 World Cup, former Super Eagles midfielder MutiuAdepoju has said that he was particularly happy for his late colleague after scoring Nigeria’s first senior FIFA World Cup goal against Bulgaria.

Adepoju, in an exclusive chat with Soccernet.ng, spoke on the backdrop of a revelation by ex-Eagles midfielder Oliseh, who in his newly released autobiography titled, ‘Audacity to Refuse’, alleged that there was a gangup by senior members of the Eagles against Yekini before the World Cup. The Vitoria de Setubal icon netted five times in Tunisia to top the scoring

charts and was deservedly named the competition’s best player.

But a year before, Yekini had won the African player of the year, and according to Oliseh, senior members of the Super Eagles squad were unhappy he failed to share the money he received from winning the award.

However, Adepoju fondly called ‘Headmaster’ in his playing days, said he could not recall any form of gang up against Yekini, adding that he was close to the goal poacher when they both played fo r t h e n a t i o n a l team at th e 1994 Africa Cup of N a t i o n s a s w e l l a s t h e Wo r l d Cup. “I cannot remember,” Adepoju said.

I don’t know if there was any gang-up against RashidiYekini. Besides,Yekini was very close to me back then, and I don’t know if situations of that nature arise.

“Listen, you are going to the World Cup for the first time, and your team scored the first goal, what do you go to the World Cup to do, of course, to go and win, no matter who scored.

So why will the players not be happy?

Well, I don’t know about the mind of anybody, I only know about my mind.

And I cannot talk to anybody. I cannot confirm Oliseh’s revelation because I can’t remember. It is something of about 27 years,” Adepoju said.

Yekini and Adepoju both represented Nigeria at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.

PSV Coach Plans to Convince Madueke to Stay PSV Eindhoven manager Roger Schmidt is confident that Nonso Madueke will remain at the club next season amid speculation linking the winger with possible moves to Leicester City and Manchester City in the summer.

Madueke has made only 10 starts from a possible 44 in all competitions, and Schmidt wants to create space for the winger in the starting lineup next season.

Schmidt has a plan in order to convince the England U-21 international

of Nigerian descent to stay, by citing the development of Mason Mount and Phil Foden at Chelsea and Manchester City respectively.

Mount and Foden are products of Chelsea and Manchester City academies and rose through the ranks before establishing themselves as first team regulars.

Speaking to reporters at yesterday’s press conference, Schmidt said: “Noni is just such a player who can go through this development. He has the potential,

but now he also needs the experience.

“He has a lot of potential playing football and mentally, but here we offer him the space to continue his development.

“We talk to him a lot. Not necessarily about the rumors. It is clear to me that he will stay.”

The 19-year-old Madueke, a product of Tottenham Hotspur academy, has been involved in 17 goals in 30 matches in the current season despite his limited game time.

City vs Chelsea, Leeds vs Tottenham on DStv, GOtv

SuperSport viewers on DStv and GOtv can look forward to Round 35 action from the 2020-21 Premier League season, with matches scheduled for May 7-10.

The pick of matches from this weekend’s Premier League action see Manchester City host Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium today, at 5:30p.m. on SuperSport Premier League (DStv channel 203), with Pep Guardiola’s side looking to avenge a defeat at the hands of the Blues from the FA Cup semifinals last month.

Guardiola, meanwhile, says he is happy

to stay with City and continue to bring the club success: “Something I found since I arrived and why I extended my contract two times is because they allow me to think about football,” said the Spaniard. “There are incredible people working behind us to make us perform as best possible on the pitch. I am part of this club. Everything the club thinks about, I support.”

With the end of the season rapidly approaching, the focus will also fall on the battle for European places.

Tottenham Hotspur travel to Leeds

United at 12:30p.m. today, Liverpool hosting Southampton and West Ham United tackling Everton in a match which sees David Moyes come up against one of his former teams this Sunday, at 4:30p.m.

“We like talking about the Champions League, we love the sound of that when everybody says it, but we’re realistic,” said Hammers boss Moyes. “We’ve said before the quality teams who are around us and below us have been over this course many more times than us, but the way the players are playing here is fantastic.”

Ighalo’s Title Dream Suffers Blow Former Super Eagles Striker, Odion Ighalo’s hopes of claiming his first league crown in Saudi Arabia has received a massive blow after a crushing home defeat to their main rivals Ighalo’s best efforts were not enough to save Al Shabab from falling to a 1-5 home defeat to arch-rivals Al Hilal in a Saudi Arabia Pro League match yesterday.

Ighalo, who has three goals in just six league starts, was expected to be his side’s biggest weapon deployed against the visitors to the Al Shabab Club Stadium.

But the retired Super Eagles man failed to rise to the occasion, with the 31-year-old firing blanks as a Bafetimbi Gomis double powered Al-Hilal to an excellent away victory.

Ever Banega’s red card in first-half stoppage time did not help matters for the home side, with the scoreboard already reading 2-1 in favour of the away side.

But Carlos Hernandez’s men will have only themselves to blame for losing heavily to Al Hilal with so much at stake.

Both teams were locked on equal points at the top of the league before kickoff, but Jose Morais’ side now boasts a three-point advantage with four matches left of the season to play.

Yesterday’s defeat is the heaviest Ighalo has suffered since moving to SaudiArabia permanently from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua following a year-long loan spell at Manchester United.

The disappointing loss then becomes even hard to take for the former Watford man, as it could deny him the chance to claim the first-ever league title of his distinguished career.

Ighalo, who has featured for nine clubs across Europe and Asia, has only the 2019 Chinese FA Cup triumph to show for his troubles.

UEFA Fines Clubs for Role in Super League Project Nine of the 12 clubs who attempted to join a breakaway European Super League have agreed to sacrifice five per cent of their European competition revenue and make a £13m aggregate donation to UEFA as part of a reconciliation agreement with the governing body.

Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid have all signed the Club Commitment Declaration which includes significant measures to deter another attempt at a breakaway competition, including fines of up to £87m per team.

Manchester United have confirmed that co-chairman Joel Glazer will personally provide both the funds for the club’s portion of the goodwill gesture and cover the loss of competition revenue amid widespread protests against the American ownership.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are the only three outstanding clubs who failed to agree to the declaration and will now be referred to UEFA’s disciplinary panel.

TR

Saturday, May 8, 2021

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MISSILE

Olabode George to Sanwo-Olu “This is a self-serving, dubious and incongruous law that seeks to shield the looters of Lagos State treasury from the prosecutorial mandate of the EFCC” – A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olabode George, kicking against Lagos State’s anti-corruption law signed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

PENDULUM DELE MOMODU

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

The Logic and Illogicality of the Nigerian Nation

F

ellow Nigerians, let me say very proudly that I attended an institution I believe to be one of the best Universities in the world from 1978-82. It is certainly the best University in Nigeria, whatever anybody else may say. The University was then known as the University of Ife, or by its moniker Great Ife. It has since metamorphosed into the Obafemi Awolowo University, in honour of the late sage and political colossus, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who got apotheosised on 9 May 1987, which is 34 years ago tomorrow. One of the things that made Ife great for us as pioneer JAMBITES was the fact that Philosophy was made compulsory of which the study of Logic was an integral part. Awolowo, or Papa Awo, as he was called with great reverence, is certainly one of the great philosophers of the ages. He was also a highly esteemed legal luminary. It is fitting and a well-deserved tribute that I am penning this column today dealing with logic, philosophy and the law all of which Papa Awo was most renowned and reputed for particularly as it also concerns our beloved country, Nigeria, a country that he served most passionately and devoutly as the great patriot that he was.

Why am I writing about logic and illogicality today? I see the absence of logic in the manner our leaders are governing our dear beloved country.

Please, feel free to educate me about the logic in threatening critics of government who bear no arms or weapons, not to mention weapons of mass destruction. This more so when the location of terrorists, bandits, insurgents are well known, with a few sacred cows sauntering in and out of the forests of a thousand daemons in full glare of journalists, camera crew and klieg lights, and nothing is done about them. Indeed, Government does not even as much as criticise them and the government’s usual attack dogs on social media have been unusually quiet and docile. Terrorism has become a veritable showbiz content being spewed forth by all media organisations like a James Bond film with all the special effects.

Please, tell me, where’s the logic in an omnipotent and omniscient Federal Government announcing that some unscrupulous elements are planning a coup and government will deal ruthlessly with them. This is the same government that has failed to deal in any way, shape or form with the terrorists, insurgents and bandits that are now running riot in our polity and holding the entire nation to ransom. Moreover, no one should know more about coup plotting and coup busting than Major General Muhammadu Buhari who is a veteran of the dangerous game. His aides should know that by the time it leaks out that a coup is in the offing, some of the plotters would have soaked themselves in some pots of pepper soup. That is why the latest tales by moonlight emanating from government was greeted with incredulity by most Nigerians who cleverly discerned and dismissed it as a cock and bull story circulated to engender total distraction, but which failed abysmally in achieving its objective.

I beg, I’m not done. Kindly avail me the logic in knowing the major source and cause of a calamity and yet studiously and obstinately refusing to put an end to it. Who does not know that the biggest threat of insecurity Nigeria faces comes primarily from the Fulani wanderers from abroad who have been given unfettered access to the porous borders in most parts of Northern Nigeria and have been made to feel they have a godfather or an avuncular benefactor and protector inside the Aso Rock Presidential villa? That is the simple and incontrovertible fact. The itinerant herdsmen who have traversed our countryside in search of grazing for their cattle are different from these terrorists that assail, rape, pillage, maim and murder our citizens. Those herdsmen have always travelled in no more than multitudes of

Ozekhome 4 or 5. They are not organised like the insurgents and bandits that we now talk about in hushed tones. They certainly have not carried or had access to the sophisticated weapons that we are now terrorised with by these terrorists. If and when President Buhari is willing and ready to end the campaign and reign of terror that these irascible characters have subjected us to, he knows what to do. DISOWN and DISCARD them like the pesky irritants they have become. We all know the problems afflicting Nigeria and we all know the solutions, but our leaders have been too spectacularly selfish to act. It is all the more annoying and unacceptable because we have a retired army General not just in government but supposedly firmly in power.

Nigeria’s problems are huge but not insurmountable. All it takes is for the President to cure himself of nepotism, parochialism and tribalism which are the cast holding together the foundation of all our challenges. The summary of Nigeria’s problems are as follows, not in any particular order: 1. Archaic mindset: A country that parades some of the most educated, brilliant, intelligent, smart, energetic, resilient people on earth should have no space for the mediocre, and worse, who are the opposite of these attributes at the very top. In exceptional cases such that threw up a Buhari, the President would have done extremely well by allowing Professor Yemi Osinbajo to help cover his monumental deficiencies. All the glory would still have come to him as the man at the helm of affairs.

2. Religious bigotry: Religion should ordinarily and naturally be a matter of personal relationship between man and God but not in Nigeria. Any government that can sanely and safely return Nigeria to the secular state that the Constitution, which governs the country, says it shall be would have done us a world of good.

3. Ethnic jingoism: President Buhari’s biggest weakness is readily noticeable in his absolute lack of respect for Federal Character which is enshrined in the Constitution and which a fledgling, nascent democracy like ours requires for the time being. I must confess that I believe in merit over Federal Character, but if merit is sacrificed at all, then the concept of Federal Character demands that those who lack the necessary attributes should not be imposed wholesale on those who are truly deserving. In essence Federal Character must be a two-way street and not a one way close that leads nowhere but a cul-de-sac. If by some miracle, President Buhari wakes up and ejects himself from the gilded cage and cocoon of

ethnic bigotry, the world will definitely give him a standing ovation and the current temperature of 100+ degrees will subside and tension and hypertension in the land will calm down.

4.

Rigid, uninformed, visionless, selfish, incompetent and dictatorial leadership: My illiterate but naturally intelligent mother used to tell me repeatedly that “a man who asks for the directions to his destination will never go missing!” I concur. If Buhari had acted on merit by promoting excellence, he would have avoided the present roadblocks and he would have joined the pantheons of world statesmen but rather, he’s been too aloof, incredibly taciturn, abominably rigid and unbelievably reticent. These are character flaws that he must find ways to exorcise if he seriously expects history to be kind to him.

5. Docile, acquiescent and slavish citizenry: While we can conveniently apportion the largest chunk of the blame to our leaders, the citizens must also be held responsible for ever being so docile, and culpable in all the vices attributed to the leadership. No government can continue to misbehave without the active participation and collaboration of the citizenry. This is sadly the case in a democracy where the citizens have the power to jettison the political class holding them at bay.

6. Lack of true Federalism: I firmly believe this is at the heart, liver and kidney of our intractable backwardness. An ill-conceived and poorly executed Constitution that is so patently steeped in deceit and favouritism can never bring peace and unity to any country. To those who may not understand and appreciate the clarion call for Restructuring, this is actually the crux of the matter. I do also believe that it is the lack of veritable structures and strong institutions that has led us to where we are. When the entire country stops relying on government, but on enterprise in all forms, then we will make the progress that we clamour for, and our unity will be assured. I shall endeavour to spend some time and space on this very important part of my epistle today. I have made effort to consult one of Nigeria’s greatest Constitutional lawyers, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) on this matter by sending him a questionnaire that was also forwarded to me just yesterday by a London-based BritishNigerian IT Guru, Ms Oriyomi Balogun, and I’m grateful for both of their contributions and the prompt response and action of the learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria and highly respected constitutional lawyer. Ms Balogun forwarded the following posers: “ The 1999 Constitution: 1. Promulgated by military decree 24 of 1999.

2. Not signed into law by NASS or President.

3. Not subjected to referendum.

4. Was written by a select few Nigerians.

5. Does not provide for State constitutions to create true federation.

6. Kept a secret till after all inaugurations, State and National in 1999.

7. Not printed by government printer in 1999.

8. Takes care of one religion in sections 275 - 279 & neglects all others.

9. Over centralised governance.

10. Centralised the whole judiciary.

11. Gave NASS power over concurrent items.

12. Created a unitary government, not federal government.

13. Falsely claims Nigerians willingly handed over their land & resources to the FG, thus pauperising States & Nigerians.

14. Sections 275 - 279 negate section 10 regarding non-state religion.

15. Calls State governor’s chief security officers but does not give them security outfits or power over Nigeria Police.

16. A civilian government can never meet section 8 requirements for the creation of new States &

local government.

17. Says married girls less than 18 years old are adults who can sue, be sued, vote & be voted for, for no clear reason.

18. The military Land Use Decree (later, Act) and NYSC decree (later, Act) were embedded in the Constitution, so not easy to amend, for no stated reason.

19. Provided for only one police force unlike other federations.

20. Section 6 frees government from liability regarding citizen rights provided in Chapter 2, thus, these rights are not justiciable.”

The response I got from Ozekhome are as follows: 1. Nos 1-7 correct.

2. No 8 is correct only to some extent. Although section 10 of the 1999 Constitution provides for secularity, sections 275-279 provide for Sharia Court of Appeal of a State. But this is counter-balanced by the equal provision for the Customary Court of Appeal of a State in sections 280-284. There’s however no provision stricto sensu for English or Christian or Canon Law which governs Christians. To that extent, it can be argued that this discriminates against Christians. (However, in further exposition and clarification of Ozekhome’s views, I believe that Canon Law has never been a direct source of law in Nigeria, but Sharia/Islamic law has been. Furthermore, these provisions relate essentially to personal law and are not binding on non-Moslems).

3. Nos 9-13 correct.

4. No 14 follows no 8 mutatis mutandis.

5. No 15 is correct. Section 214(4) of the Constitution.

6. Nos 16-20 correct.

Further, on no 20, section 6(6)(c) of the Constitution specifically ousts the jurisdiction of Courts from inquiring into whether chapter 2, sections 13-24 of the Constitution, which deals with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy embedded in the said chapter 2, have been complied with by government. This ousts the jurisdiction of Courts from interrogating those critical provisions dealing with obligations of the government to the governed, and the political, economic, social, educational, foreign policy, environmental, cultural responsibilities of the government to the governed. So, they are mere platitudes meant to be obeyed. However, they are more honoured in the breach than in the observance by governments throughout the country.

No 17 is not quite correct. Indeed, section 42(1) prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, ethnic group, place of origin or political opinion.

No 18 is correct. Indeed, it is not only the Land Use Act that is affected by this restriction, the NYSC, National Security Agencies, and the Public Complaints Commission are also affected.

No 19 is correct - section 214(1) of the Constitution...”

7. Bloated political system: President Buhari was expected to cut down the size of political jobbers and drastically reduce and discourage the profligacy associated with political office in Nigeria but alas, the APC apparatchiks have refused to share in Buhari’s frugality, if any such thing ever existed.

8. Corruption: Security and Corruption were supposed to supply Buhari’s highest marks but unfortunately this has not happened... We are now a totally unsafe and indescribably corrupt country.

When a towering giant is brought to its knees by a pebble, as we are now experiencing with the twin evils of insecurity and graft, the giant falls mightily accompanied by the loud thud of an elephant felled by a high velocity rifle. That is almost the point that we have now reached. It is only God that can save us now. Will God???

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