SUNDAY 16TH AUGUST 2020

NNPC Upbeat Over Proposed $2.3bn Domestic Gas Market Peter Uzoho The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is optimistic about the future of a proposed $2.3billion domestic gas market as well as plans to rehabilitate the country's refineries. NNPC

Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Meyiwa Eyesan, stated this on Saturday at the First Akomeno Oteri Annual Lecture organised by the Nigeria Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE). The virtual lecture

was in commemoration of the association’s 45th anniversary, with the theme, “Long Term Funding for E&P Business in Nigeria: Strategies and Sustainability.”

Eyesan said the corporation was not desperate to sell off its equities in oil companies

in partnership with NNPC, adding that NNPC has decided not do it alone but go into partnership with the private investors.

“What we have done in the upstream sector is what we are going to replicate in the downstream by going into

partnership with private investors,” she noted, saying the approach would be seen in the rehabilitation of the old pipelines and refineries. “The pipelines and the refineries are open to partnership on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) bases,” she explained.

According to her, the corporation has gained traction and reduced its JVC cash call debt from $5 billion in 2015 to $3 billion in five years. She attributed the development to the efficient business plan put Continued on page 5

Air Peace, Aero Airlines, Four Others to Resume Flights at Asaba Airport…Page 8 Sunday 16 August, 2020 Vol 25. No 9260

www.thisdaylive.com TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N400

N

Secondus: Buhari’s Statement on Using Military for Election, Unfortunate Says comment vindicates allegation, president used military to win 2019 poll DSS summons Ghali Na'Abba over hate speech Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Sylvester Idowu in Warri National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic

Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, on Saturday described as unfortunate a statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari that he

could have used the military to undermine the integrity of the electoral process during the 2019 general election. Secondus said it was unbecoming for

a president who claimed to have gotten majority of the votes in 2015 to insinuate compromising the integrity of his re-election in 2019. He

stated that the statement by Buhari tended to give credence to allegations that his reelection in 2019 was via the military and the undermining

of the democratic process.

In a related development, the Department of State Continued on page 8

Insecurity: Resort to Self-help Imminent, Dangerous, CAN Warns Worries lives no longer matter in Nigeria Advises Buhari to convene conference of past security chiefs “Turning a deaf ear to this voice of reason is why there have been unending killings in the land by criminals parading themselves as terrorists, herdsmen killers, bandits, kidnappers and others.

The menace is unprecedented, unfortunate and unacceptable” Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and John Shiklam in Kaduna Except something urgent and drastic is done to control the current wave of insecurity in Nigeria, resort to selfhelp by the citizens may be inevitable, and that would be too dangerous for the country to deal with, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has warned. CAN, which is the apex umbrella body for Nigerian Christians, alleged that President Muhammadu

Buhari had been unwilling to accept counsel on how to tackle the raging of insecurity.

It advised Buhari to, as a matter of urgent national importance, convoke a conference on security, which would bring together critical stakeholders, including former service chiefs, to deliberate on the way forward.

Special Assistant to the CAN president on Media and Strategic Communication, Continued on page 5

INAUGURATING ONDO CAMPAIGN COUNCIL...

L-R: Osun State Governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola; Chairman, APC National Campaign Council for Ondo election and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Plateau State Governor, Barr. Solomon Lalong, during the inauguration in Abuja of the Party's Campaign Council for the Ondo State Governorship election holding October 10... yesterday

2

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2020 •T H I S D AY

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2020 • T H I S D AY

3

4

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2020 •T H I S D AY

5

͹;˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

PAGE FIVE

Tight Security as APC, PDP Hold Rallies in Benin PDP, Obaseki behind Apana community shootings, says Ize-Iyamu Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Security was tight on Saturday in Benin metropolis, as the two dominant political parties ahead of the September 19 governorship election in Edo State, All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), held rallies. The rallies that took place at different locations within the capital paralysed social and economic activities because of a heavy traffic gridlock on the major roads.

While PDP held its rally at an open ground at Urokpota Hall, close to the Kings Square, Ring Road, APC held its own at the Ekheuan Campus of the University of Benin.

In a related development the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Ize-Iyamu has distanced himself and his party from the Apana community shooting in Etsako West LGA, accusing Governor Obaseki and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being the masterminds.

At a press conference yesterday he accused the governor of instigating violence against his supporters.

There was a heavy presence of security personnel at the two venues, which were about four kilometres apart.

Security personnel, with an Armoured Personnel Carrier, were deployed to the venues as early as 8am The PDP rally was preceded by a carnival-like march, organised by Edo Voters Volunteers Assembly (EVVA), a grassroots voter mobilisation body made up of youths and women from the 12 wards in Oredo Local Government Area of the state.

Addressing the rally, Governor Godwin Obaseki, who is also the PDP candidate in the poll, vowed to deal ruthlessly with political thugs who engaged in risky behaviour or undermined law and order in any part of the state. Obaseki urged residents of the state to call some dedicated phone lines whenever they were in distress ahead of the governorship election.

“Do not be afraid, we are more than them,” he stated, apparently, referring to the opposition APC in the state.

“They cannot overpower us.

We will tell them that Edo is not a lawless state," the governor added.

Obaseki said the ward-toward campaign embarked upon by his party was designed to assess the needs of Edo people at the community level, in order to bring to them projects with greater impact on their lives.

However, APC, which had before yesterday been holding rallies in Oredo Local Government Area in continuation of its unit-to-unit campaign across the 18 local government areas, described the four-year administration of Obaseki as an “abysmal failure”. The party urged the electorate to vote it in, and vote out PPDP. A former chairman of Oredo local government, Osaro Obazee, who received the APC campaign train, said, “Having failed to perform, we in Oredo have decided to give Obaseki the read card.”

The APC governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, accused Obaseki of reducing Edo South from majority to minority by inaugurating only three of the 10 lawmakers that should represent the seven local governments in the zone in the House of Assembly.

Ize-Iyamu said, “The man who says he is from Oredo refused to inaugurate the two members elected in his local government area. What he did was a conspiracy against Edo South. Can we give somebody who reduced Edo South from majority to minority a second term? What he did was a conspiracy against Edo South. He has sinned against Edo youths.”

While explaining his

SIMPLE agenda, the APC candidate accused the PDP administration of failing to empower Edo people. He said the governor brought in people from outside the state to do all kinds of jobs.

He also accused Obaseki of failing to judiciously spend the huge security votes he collected monthly.

Speaking at the rally also, the former national chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, said, “When you have a good product, you don’t need too much advertisement to sell it. IzeIyamu is a good product. Four years ago, I did all the talking because it was a hard product to sell. They say I want to be a godfather, if I want to be a godfather, I should be a godfather to a good child.”

PDP, Obaseki behind Apana community shootings, says Ize-Iyamu Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has said that PDP and its candidate, Governor Godwin Obaseki, were responsible for the shooting at Apana community in Etsako West LGA, Edo State purportedly targeting the governor.

Ize-Iyamu also denied the allegation that the APC was fomenting trouble and

causing violence, describing the allegations as unfounded, insisting that APC had no hand in the violent destruction of billboards.

The APC governorship candidate disclosed this at a press conference in Benin, where he condemned the dastardly act.

Ize-Iyamu stated: ,"They have been addressing the press alleging that the APC is formenting trouble and causing violence. We want to dissociate the APC from these unfounded claims as we have no hand in the violent destruction of billboards, though have the video and picture footages capturing the atrocities of the PDP thugs".

"They destroyed our party's billboards and opened fire on residents with AK 47, right at the presence of the Nigeria Police and started shooting not only into the air but also targeting houses which led to so many injuries and subsequent hospitalization of victims".

"One of the thugs tried to stop the video recording by a police officer which was unsuccessful, the policeman's recording captured how thugs pursued APC members and shot at them".

"There was no where in the video were APC attacked the PDP, rather it was thugs in their own midst who

went on rampage against identified APC members in the neighborhood and began to harass them. We have decided to address the press, so that the truth will be made known to the public, we don't believe in violence or have any intention of encouraging our members to be violent".

Ize-Iyamu said he wants the campaign and election to be peaceful, adding that it was clear that the overwhelming majority of Edo people are solidly with him.

"It is sad that the police stood helplessly while PDP thugs unleashed terror on the people because they are sympathetic to the APC, we are alerting the world about this very ugly incident and also reiterate our commitment to a very peaceful campaign, therefore our party should be counted out from any violent act, " Ize-Iyamu added.

The APC candidate therefore appealed to the Police to immediately swing into action by arresting the PDP thugs responsible for the shooting that happened at Apana Community, adding.

"It was obvious that the PDP are not ready for the election, yet they are the ones crying wolf when they are no wolves. If they apprehend these miscreants these violence will definitely stop".

see the level of corruption in Nigeria. The corruption we claimed to be fighting is more of settling scores. If I disagree with you, you are corrupt; if I am with you, I am not corrupt.

All these things weaken our institutions.

“Tell me why the president of Nigeria has refused to sack his service chiefs after every available indices shows that they have failed? If you asked me, I will say he is not the one leading, they are the ones leading. If he is the one leading and he knows they have failed, he will not even wait for a second to sack them. So, you can see how the whole system has been.

“The solution is that we must discuss whether we must remain as Nigeria.

Some people have been talking about restructuring, we must discuss.”

Hayab recalled that during the Jonathan administration, “There was a discussion among Nigerians and a document was produced.

Let’s look at that document or convene another discussion and chart the way forward for our country. We really need to discuss Nigeria, going forward, if not, what we are seeing now will be more terrible in the next 10 years.”

The National Assembly had recently expressed concern about the state of insecurity in the country, with the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, demanding that those saddled with the task of protecting lives and property should either live up to expectation or give way.

Speaking in response to a Point of Order by Senator Abubakar Kyari (APC, Borno North), who drew the attention of the Senate to fresh attacks

by Boko Haram in his state, Lawan said, "Our stand should be that people should occupy offices based on their performance. There is no point for somebody to continue to be there if they are not registering successes, having been given the necessary tools to fight.”

INSECURITY: RESORT TO SELF-HELP IMMINENT, DANGEROUS, CAN WARNS Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, who spoke to THISDAY yesterday on behalf of the association, said the situation was so bad that everywhere appeared to be unsafe. Oladeji said criminals now operated as though the country's security operatives were on holiday.

He said CAN had been consistent and persistent in calling on Buhari, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to overhaul the security agencies for effective and efficient service delivery.

Oladeji said the president had consistently turned a deaf ear to “the godly and patriotic counsel”.

Oladeji stated that CAN was worried that the situation had begun to assume a more dangerous dimension, with some people already advocating self-defence mechanisms.

He said, “What is going on?

Let President Muhammadu Buhari organise a national conference of well meaning Nigerians, including serving and retired military and police officers, before the situation snowballs into civil war. Some people are already advocating self-defence, state police and regional security agencies.

Yet, the government appears uninterested.”

On the performance of the security agencies in the fight against insurgency, the CAN spokesman said the association had advised time and time again that the security agencies should be overhauled to inject fresh blood and make their operations more efficient and result-oriented. He lamented that various promises of new weapons, ammunitions, and fighting jets being made by the federal government were not bringing hope.

According to Christian body, “We have been hearing cases of sabotage and poor remunerations. It is unbelievable that countries like Chad and Cameroon are overcoming their security challenges.

“CAN has been consistently and persistently calling on President Buhari, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to overhaul the security agencies in the country for effective and efficient service delivery.

But the presidency has done nothing to this godly and patriotic counsel.

“Turning a deaf ear to this voice of reason is why there have been unending killings in the land by criminals parading themselves as terrorists, herdsmen killers, bandits, kidnappers and others. The menace is unprecedented, unfortunate and unacceptable.

“We call on the government to overhaul the entire security agencies with a view to injecting new officers with new visions and new ideas. We can't be doing the same thing and expect to see different results.”

Oladeji said the CAN president, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, who are co-Chairmen of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), had jointly made similar calls to the president, but to no avail.

CAN said, “Not only that, the National Assembly, the media and some prominent leaders have been making same call but the President remains adamant for the reasons that are not made

known to the public.

“There is an urgent need to do the needful if we want to end the killings in the country.

There's nowhere that is safe and secure. Criminals are operating as if our security operatives are on holiday.

Let the federal government wake up from its slumber to its primary responsibilities.”

CAN also expressed reservations about the way the government was handling the issue of suspects’ rehabilitation after alleged renunciation of old ways.

It stated, “If the captured terrorists have truly repented, how come they have not disclosed the whereabouts of Leah Sharibu, the Chibok girls, and other abducted people?

“How come they have not disclosed the hidden cells?

Many individuals, groups, and stakeholders, including the National Assembly, have expressed concern over the rising insecurity in the country and the fact that the handling of security is becoming less effective.”

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State chairman of CAN, Rev. Joseph Hayab, reacted to the recent ranking of Nigeria as the third most dangerous place on earth and the current insecurity in the northern parts of the country and unending killings in Southern Kaduna, saying Nigeria is not only the most dangerous country to live in, but also a country where human lives no longer matter.

“There is no democracy that develops if the people are not secure, free to think, to make choices, to express their views and free to carry out their legitimate activities,” Hayab said.

He blamed the situation on the faulty foundation of “our

togetherness”, adding that those who discussed Nigeria’s nationhood “didn't really talk about our individual systems and individual rights.”

Hayab said, “We would have worked to correct some of those things, but the military interrupted our democracy and they brought a different view to governance – a governance system that is more like a tyranny. The civilians, who got elected under democracy, seem to admire that system and prefer to be coercive even under democracy.

“Our leaders forced their ways to office, because of the way our elections are conducted, so the people don’t matter to them.”

He accused the country’s leaders of dividing Nigerians along religious, ethnic and regional lines to perpetuate their selfish political interests.

According to him, “They divide us by religion, tribe and region. A man is cheating others, then, he is telling brothers that people are speaking against him because he is from this tribe or religion or region. So, while we are busy fighting among ourselves, they are having a field day and they continue to perpetrate the evil that is going on.

“That is why the country is not progressing and terrible things are going on. We have no system that makes the country bigger than the individuals. Everyone knows that today, we are in the worst situation, because nepotism has entered deeply into governance; incompetence is also there.

“People who are not competent are leading us and you can't challenge it. You can

NNPC UPBEAT OVER PROPOSED $2.3BN DOMESTIC GAS MARKET in place by the corporation.

Responding to suggestions that NNPC should shed its financial burdens in JVC commitments, Eyesan said, “This is the wrong time to sell our equity to any trusted partners.”

In his remarks, Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, urged NAPE to be forward-looking and proactive, bearing in mind the place of oil and gas in the next 40 to 50 years. Kyari said NAPE should ensure that it remained relevant in the coming years.

He said there was need to

monetise the resources from the oil and gas sector as well as boost the domestic market for petroleum products.

Other panellists at the online lecture advocated the establishment of an energy bank as a way to properly fund the oil and gas sector. They said given the paucity of funds in the post COVID-19 era due largely to fall in oil prices, the one per cent of their turnover being contributed to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) should be the take off fund for the energy bank.

6

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2020 •T H I S D AY

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2020 • T H I S D AY

7

͹;˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

8

NEWS

Air Peace, Aero Airlines, Four Others to Resume Flights at Asaba Airport Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Six airlines, including two frontline carriers, are set for resumption of flights into the Asaba International Airport, the Delta State capital, expectedly from tomorrow, Monday, August 17, 2020.

Air Peace and Aero Contractors are two major airlines billed to resume regular flight operations into Asaba at the beginning of the new week as the airport comes alive again four months after it was shut down in March following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Executive Assistant to the Governor of Delta State on Communications, Dr. Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, who confirmed this via a statement made to THISDAY in Asaba on Saturday, said the four other airlines lined up to

resume normal commercial flights into and out of Asaba International Airport include Arik, whose fly-in is scheduled for Monday, August 24, 2020, while Azman, Air Ibom and United Air would resume later.

The management of Air Peace and Aero airlines have confirmed their readiness to resume flight operations into the Asaba Airport within 48 hours, Oghenesivbe said, adding that, "This development is sequel to approval given earlier (three days ago) by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

"Air Peace and Aero Airlines are to touch down on Monday August 24, 2020 at the Asaba international Airport, after almost four months of air travel lockdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

"A total of six major Airlines

will be flying the Asaba-Lagos and Asaba-Abuja routes namely Air Peace, Arik Air, Aero Airlines, Azma Air, United Airlines and Ibom Air. "As one of the major domestic hubs in the country, Asaba International Airport is now ready to retain her prime place in civil aviation with effect from next Monday," the statement said, nothing that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of the state was thrilled at the development.

Secretary to the Delta State Government, Mr Chiedu Ebie, had last Thursday disclosed that the NCAA had formally cleared Asaba for resumption of regular flight operations, noting that the approval followed a recent inspection of the Asaba Airport by a team of officials of the aviation agency.

Ebie, who underscored the fact that the NCAA conveyed

its approval in a letter to the state government, also reiterated the commitment of the Okowa administration "to air safety standards”, noting that the government committed "huge resources into the upgrade of facilities at the Asaba International Airport in line with global practices for both domestic and international flights."

Moreover, all recommended COVID-19 aviation protocols such as case management facilities needed to handle passengers checking-in, boarding and disembarking at the airport have been put in place and given due approval by the NCAA, the SSG said.

Earlier on Thursday, August 6, 2020, Ebie had said, shortly after an inspection visit, that the Asaba airport was ready for regular flight operations, allaying fears

over the continuing spread of the Coronavirus across the country and overseas as government had put in place necessary protocols in line with prescription by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for aviation activities.

Ebie, who noted that the protocols would be binding on the passengers, workers and other users of the airport, added that personnel of the airport were also undergoing special training to enable them function optimally in line with the "new normal”.

The Special Project Director of the airport, Mr. Austin Ayemidejor, while conducting the SSG team around said, "Steps have been taken to ensure that there is physicaldistancing, compulsory wearing of facemasks, washing of hands at the point of entry and temperature check."

The SSG was in company with the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, his counterpart in the Ministry of Finance, Sir Fidelis Tilije and the Chief of Staff, Government House, Chief David Edevbie.

Areas inspected at the airport were the ticketing hall, departure and arrival halls as well as other sections of the airport, where a lot of facilities had been fixed in compliance with the fight against COVID-19.

Governor Okowa had, in a radio and television broadcast on Thursday, March 26, 2020, announced the shutting down of Asaba International Airport and the state boundaries with other states in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatened social and economic activities across the globe.

Wale Babalakin: Sacked UNILAG VC is a Serial Offender Probably the only VC in Nigeria to allocate security votes to himself

Tobi Soniyi and Bayo Akinloye As the crisis at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) rages on, the institution's Pro Chancellor, Dr. Wale Babalakin, has opened a can of cankerworms in which he accused Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the ousted Vice Chancellor of the university of financial recklessness and forgery.

In an engrossing interview on ARISE TV, Babalakin lambasted the embattled don, claiming his tenure as the vice chancellor of UNILAG was fraught with flagrant disregard for the rule of law.

According to Babalakin, Ogundipe was once found guilty of forgery but the university community and the institution's alumni association pleaded with him to let him off the hook.

Pointedly, the UNILAG pro chancellor accused Ogundipe of using N49m to renovate his official residence and allegedly gave another N41m to the institution's bursar to fix his premises.

Babalakin explained further, "I'm a lawyer. I'm not given to making loose statements.

Whatever I say I must be able to back it up. Prof. Ogundipe was accused of financial recklessness

and I can boldly say that you cannot find any action of Ogundipe that followed the proper process.

"Prof. Ogundipe spent N49 million renovating his residence which a former vice chancellor who had just left was in excellent shape without mentioning it to anybody.

Without even mentioning it, not to talk of approval."

The pro chancellor added, "It was a committee of the university that discovered it. Prof. Ogundipe in a very complicit manner gave N41 million to the bursar to renovate his premises. The bursar's house can be built from scratch with N41 million. We struggled to have Prof. Ogundipe's management to give us a proper account."

Babalakin further disclosed that like state governors, Ogundipe had security votes which were not accounted for.

He stated, "Every single account that has been submitted

by Prof. Ogundipe is fraught with fundamental errors. All the accounts were cooked and not a fair representation of a fair presentation of the university books.

"Prof. Ogundipe, I'm sure, is the only vice chancellor in Nigeria who allocates security

votes. Every month he pays security votes to the dean of student affairs without an account. In a university, you're paying money every month without an account of the money. There has never been an account of how that money was spent."

He recalled one of the disgraced VC's alleged penchant for underhanded dealings during a process to appoint a director of works for the university, claiming that Ogundipe engaged in forgery in order to get his own man to be appointed.

Babalakin said, "Ogundipe is a serial offender. Soon after the council was inaugurated, we were trying to elect a director of works. Ogundipe as chairman of the committee to appoint the director of works chaired the occasion. It's a subcommittee of the council. He chaired the occasion. When the interview was concluded, all the parties collated their marks and some guy from Lagos State Polytechnic came first...

Ogundipe now went to collate results. When he came back, that candidate came second because Ogundipe had altered the marks."

The issue, the UNILAG pro chancellor explained, generated

heated debate in the council and the exercise was cancelled.

"Ogundipe altered the marks to favour a member of staff who had been indicted twice for fraud and total incompetence.

It's in Ogundipe's interest to surround himself with people who cannot stand up for the truth. Ogundipe would have been removed then because forgery in a university is totally unacceptable," he revealed.

Speaking further, he stated, "But the alumni and all the bodies in the university appealed for Ogundipe and I told him that where's I'm coming from there's zero tolerance for this. You can't do this but the elders also came and I told them that we were drawing a fundamental line: we'd not tolerate this kind of attitude anymore. From then until he was removed, there was nothing Ogundipe did properly."

In addition, Babalakin claimed that the sacked VC was more interested in selfish gains and not the development of the university.

"Then, you have a culture represented by Ogundipe: 'let us fritter away the money'; 'let us mismanage this place'; 'let us create a charade.'

He also accused the

institution's alumni association, the management and the ASUU chapter of the school of not being on the side of the truth.

Speaking of the alumni, he stated: "Let me shock you: a budget that was presented to me as pro chancellor of the university, the amount of internally-generated revenue and the amount of recurrent expenditure were equal.

So, every money that was generated was spent without improving the university. How do you reconcile these kinds of people? The alumni spoke to me on a few occasions. What are you telling me? I should compromise forgery? I should compromise stealing? I should camouflage breach of process?

What if there's a visitation tomorrow?"

Again, as he did in his media briefing, he said due process was followed in removing Ogundipe and that he was given a fair hearing.

According to Babalakin, the ousted vice chancellor made a written defence and even gave a one-hour speech to prove his innocence. He added that it was within the power of the governing council to remove a vice chancellor and not the President (Visitor).

"If you read the Universities

Miscellaneous Act 2009, the visitor has no role in the removal of vice chancellors. It's a decision of the council and if the vice chancellor believes that he hasn't been removed properly, the appropriate thing to do is, as stated in the law, for him to write an appeal to the visitor."

He urged that if Ogundipe was dissatisfied with the verdict of the council, he should write an appeal letter to the President Muhammadu Buhari through the Ministry of Education and not try to disrupt the peace of the university, bringing it into disrepute.

On the question that the council he presided over did not give Ogundipe a fair hearing, he replied, "That's a false narrative. A full committee of council discovered that Ogundipe was conducting the affairs of the university in a reckless manner unbecoming of any public officer. The full committee of the council then mandated a sub-committee to look into it. The sub-committee came back with a plethora of wrongdoing by Ogundipe.

This committee's report was forwarded to Ogundipe for his comment. Ogundipe wrote his defence in writing and he sent it to the council.

in the 2019 presidential election, the citizens were aware that such tactics were deployed. The former aspirant advised Nigerians to free themselves from the APC bondage and vote the party out in subsequent elections, beginning with the elections in Edo and Ondo states.

Meanwhile, no official reason was given for Na'Abba’s invitation to the DSS national headquarters at the time of filing this report.

But it was widely believed that it might not be unrelated to his comments last week on the killings in Southern Kaduna.

A brief statement by the NCFront Head of Public Affairs Bureau, Dr. Tank

Yususa, said, "Please, be notified that the DSS on Friday sent an invitation to NCFront co-chair and former Speaker of Nigeria, Rt Hon Ghali Umar Na'aba, after his very profound interview on Channels Television on Thursday with regard to the NCFront agenda to bring about a new Nigeria that works for all.

“However, our leader, Ghali Umar Na'aba, has decided to honour the DSS invitation and, therefore, shall be visiting the DSS headquarters in Abuja on Monday at 12noon. All NCFront organs, structures and allies nationwide are, by this notice, put on the alert as eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”

SECONDUS: BUHARI’S STATEMENT ON USING MILITARY FOR ELECTION, UNFORTUNATE Services (DSS) summoned former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na'Abba, over allegations of hate speech.

In an exclusive chat with THISDAY, Secondus stated, "What the president said was speaking the obvious truth; his utterances were confirming the basic truth known to all Nigerians. He used the military to retain power.

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

The basic truth known to all Nigerians was that he used the military to retain power. He did not win the presidential election.”

The PDP national chairman said it was a sad commentary that Buhari could contemplate

using security agencies to undermine the electoral process.

Secondus stated, "The presence of the military was more than the voters at the polling stations. Never before had military presence been felt at polling stations as was the case in the 2019 presidential election."

He said Nigerians were aware that in the 2019 presidential election, such despotic and oppressive tactics were deployed to circumvent the electoral process and the wish of the citizens.

“As a party, the PDP hopes this is not a foreplay of what the APC and Buhari presidency are planning to exert in the Edo and Ondo

governorship elections scheduled for September and October 2020, respectively?" he stated.

Secondus alleged that Nigerians witnessed the overrunning of Ekiti, Osun, Kogi, Bayelsa, and Kano states by APC during elections in those states, using compromised security officials and thugs.

In Kogi State, for instance, he alleged, a police helicopter was used to disperse the electorate, who were on the queue to perform their civic duties on Election Day. He also recalled that Mrs. Salome Abuh, a frontline PDP woman leader, was burnt to death by members of APC in the Kogi State election and till date,

no member of the president’s party had been interrogated or arraigned for her murder.

Secondus said Nigerians had never witnessed the level of electoral impunity seen under the Buhari administration.

But the PDP chairman said the president must advise his party to allow INEC to carry out its responsibilities without interference in Edo and Ondo states.

A governorship aspirant on the platform of PDP in Delta State, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, also condemned Buhari’s statement on the 2019 elections as uncivil. Onuesoke stated that despite Buhari’s attempt to make Nigerians believe he did not use the military

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2020 • T H I S D AY

9

10

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2020 •T H I S D AY

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2020 • T H I S D AY

11

12

AUGUST 16, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

EDITORIAL

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

A CURIOUS BROADCASTING CODE…2 The amendment to the broadcasting code should not stand. It is a direct threat to the media

N

o society thrives without a robust, virile and vibrant media to gauge the pulse of the public, offer institutional check on abuse of power and make those in authority accountable to the people. As the fourth estate of the realm, the watchdog role of the media is clearly captured under Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution. According to the provision, “the press, radio, television and other agencies of mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.”

It is against this background that we situate the application of a contentious law by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to fine a radio station, Nigeria Info 99.3 FM, the sum of N5 million for “providing its platform to be used to promote unverifiable and inciting views....”

The decision followed a claim made on the radio by a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deputy governor, Obadiah Mailafia, linking an unnamed northern state governor to Boko Haram.

While we condemn incendiary and unfounded statements that tend to incite, the legitimacy of the fine imposed on Nigeria Info 99.3 FM is questionable in light of revelations by several stakeholders, including the NBC Board chairman, Ikra Bilbis, that the Nigerian Broadcasting Code was unilaterally amended by the Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed. “That the Honourable Minister cannot usurp the powers of the board is clearly stated in the Act. Any such action by the

Honourable Minister is illegal”, said Bilbis who echoed a recent statement by the former Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Director-General, Dr Tonnie Iredia: “Everybody expects a broadcasting commission to be an autonomous body.”

He added that the minister “should leave the broadcasters in the NBC to do their professional duty.”

L

The press, radio, television and other agencies of mass media shall at all times be free to … uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people

Letters to the Editor

A

s the 2023 politics heats up, desperate intrigues, unbelievable high-wire arrangements, discreet horse-trading, alignments and realignments; great uncertainty pervade the political space.

Some that were considered "untouchables" are now regretting the day they had dipped their hands in the cookies jar; the more they try to swim the political ocean, the deeper they sink. Others dismissed with a wave of hand as mere featherweights have sprouted like some seeds in a fertile land. The more they try to bury them, the more they change the narratives.

The September 19 Osadebe House contest has triggered political accident leaving many injured. Whilst the good people of Edo State are waiting to choose

S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS OLAWALE OLALEYE, TOBI SONIYI MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI , PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS ERIC OJEH, PATRICK EIMIUHI ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO HEAD, COMPUTER DEPARTMENT PATRICIA UBAKA-ADEKOYA TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

ike other stakeholders, the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the umbrella organ for all public and private broadcasters in the country, has also faulted several aspects of the new code. It said while sanction is a consequence of regulation breach, for the enforcement to be seen to be transparent and well within the constitution, there must be a process. Yet the NBC has acquired the status of the prosecutor, the advocate and the judge as evident in the manner the radio station was fined without being subjected to any process.

We agree that it is important for media practitioners to be mindful of the operating environment and the need for balance and sensitivity to the culture and diversity of our people. We also understand that in the world we now live in, there is a thin line between hate speech and free speech. However, we are worried that the Nigerian environment is increasingly becoming hostile to holding the people in power accountable.

The ability of the citizenry to make sound judgment about policy is the fulcrum upon which an informed society leans and such would be almost impossible without the news, information and analysis that the media, using different platforms, provides. But they cannot perform that role in an atmosphere in which views critical of government are criminalised.

While the onus is on media organisations to set editorial template that will mitigate the effect of hate speech and breaches of professional standards, circumscribing their working environment is unacceptable. We therefore call on the federal government and its overzealous agents to uphold the right to freedom of expression reflected in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948 and in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by the General Assembly in 1966.

The so-called amendment to the broadcasting code by Mr Lai Mohammed is illegal, capricious and self-serving. It should not stand!

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (950- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

2023 AND OPTION A4 their leader, the two masquerades behind the power play are flexing political muscles to outdo each other for 2023 calculations.

Governor Godwin Obaseki and Pastor Ize-Iyamu are the two major contenders but the game goes beyond Edo State. Different camps are backing candidates to lure them to their side for 2023 onslaught.

The battle has been bought over by 2023 over-ambitious politicians who want to make a statement on their perceived foes.

Like a Polar Bear in hibernation, the battle line has been drawn and four blocs have emerged. This arrangement is known as "OPTION A4". The first three blocs are known as the APC camp while the last is PDP camp. The 2023 Presidential permutations were carefully constituted based on ethnicity, religion and party affiliations.

Taking the lead with the speed of light is the new PDP of the legacy parties that formed APC. They are formidable with men and women of calibre. They are led by a serving Northwest Governor and a current minister who is a South-south former Governor. This group has the towering backing of the First Lady, traditional rulers, party leaders across geo-political zones.

They are behind the unceremonious removal of the immediate past National Chairman of the APC, travails of the former EFCC head honcho and other misfortunes of the ACN bloc.

These plots they achieved with the connivance of the cabal. The only challenge of this group is the clamour for Southern Presidency in 2023 which the cabal is not cut out for. This is why the arrowhead (Northwest Governor) is singing

Southern Presidency like song on the pages of national dailies. The plan of the group is to help the South-south Minister run as President and the Northwest Governor or a former Emir in the Northwest or the present Secretary to the Government of the Federation run as Vice President. Religious balancing is considered in this arrangement.

The second is the ACN bloc. This group is led by a national leader of the APC who is from Southwest. The group held sway earlier but has been weakened by recent political brinkmanship that took the control of the party from them. The leader of the group has his eyes fixed on the Presidency over the years but was punctured in 2015 because of Muslim/ Muslim ticket. Plans are afoot for him to run with the immediate past Speaker (Christian) Federal House of Representatives who is from Bauchi State in 2023.

This is the reason the former speaker dumped PDP for APC. The challenge

of this group is that their leader who wants to run for President is a Muslim and some of his ACN foot-soldiers have dumped him for other blocs. It is the turn of Southern Christians to produce President in 2023 though not constitutionalised. The bloc may likely go into alliance with other blocs or camps when the chips are down.

The CPC bloc is the group to beat presently because they occupy the levers of government. This group paradoxically can be referred to as the "cabal" in government. They reserve the right to hire and fire any federal appointee. They successfully demystified the matriarchal rulership often associated with past Nigerian leadership.

–– Ikechukwu Agada, bishopagada@yahoo.com (See concluding part on www. thisdaylive.com)

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2020 • T H I S D AY

13

14

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 16, 2020

OPINION

T HE NEW NORMAL FOR EDUCATION There is need to ensure inclusive and quality education for all, writes Folawe Omikunle

I

t has never been more critical to review the state of education in Nigeria, the strength of the system and the quality of our teachers. Over the years, access to quality education in Nigeria has been hugely dependent on one’s family’s socioeconomic circumstances, among other factors. However, with the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), access to technology has become the ticket to continuing learning, further exacerbating the divide between the more advantaged and the less advantaged.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has had far-reaching consequences across the globe: nations are aggressively trying to contain the virus through home isolation and movement restrictions. For Nigeria, the implications have been multi-faceted, most industries including education, have been brought to a standstill as a result of government-led efforts to curb the spread of the virus.

The question of the future of education given the closure of schools has become more pertinent, as millions of children across the country stay at home.

The burden of education for all is enormous. Children under 15 years of age account for 45% of the 171 million population. Although primary school enrolment has increased in recent years, net attendance is only about 70%.

For the last few years, Nigeria has remained the country with the highest number of out-of-school children in the world with the latest figures estimated at 13.2 million.

This was before COVID-19. So this number is likely to increase as things return to some semblance of normalcy.

Learning and teaching as we know it has changed.

On Saturday 30th May, I spoke at the T4Education conference on what the new normal will be for education during and post-COVID-19 in Africa. This new normal is seeing teachers redesign and readapt the curriculum with an emphasis placed on relevant individualized learning. Covid-19 has presented a silver lining and we should not miss the opportunity to redefine our new

normal as we race to reach the Sustainable Development Goal four of ensuring inclusive and quality education for all in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

As people feel powerless against COVID-19, it is important to remember that improving the state of our education system and ensuring continuous learning in these times does not lie on the government alone. It requires innovation, flexibility, adaptability, investments and a coalition of efforts where everyone (government, the private sector, educators, parents, community members, teachers, local health authorities/practitioners) works together and takes joint responsibility in guaranteeing quality education and a safe environment for our children from pre-primary school to tertiary level.

Since the closure of schools, we have already seen laudable initiatives for continuous learning. The government in the most affected states have instituted initiatives including online lessons, television and radio programs. Many individuals, schools, organizations and most especially our teachers have also risen to the occasion. Bright Kemasuode, a teacher in Nigeria, recently collaborated with Imams and pastors, using the public address systems of their religious

The promises of our nations will be met through equipping our continent’s future generation with the skills, competencies, knowledge, tools, values and opportunities to fulfil their potential and shape our ever-evolving communities

houses to broadcast lessons to students, in order to ensure that learning continues. In Kaduna State, Rejoyce Samuel is delivering learning packs, colouring books and stationery to her students. She’s not leaving parents out either, she is translating instructions to the Hausa language and sending voice notes to parents so they can be part of the learning process of their children. Precious Adedamola, in Ogun State, has digitized content on science, social studies and numeracy with adaptation to the Yoruba language for all her learners on a sim enabled device available to all her students.

The level of innovation and creativity I’ve witnessed by our teachers over the past few months has been so awe-inspiring and this is how we are going to transform our education system and lift our continent to greater heights. Imagine a scenario where all teachers in Africa are learning from one another, leading and adapting innovations relevant to their communities, while helping our children to learn regardless of where they might be on the map. Our teachers are the answer to accelerating our development. They have the connection with communities, they have the trust of parents and families, they have the ears of local leaders and they have the hearts of children!

Our youths will also play a major role in this discourse, we need a critical mass of young leaders that will continue to rise as local leaders and role models equipped with the energy, ideas, and solutions that can shape humanity, inspire transformational change and catalyze reform. Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 60% of its population under the age of 25. The promises of our nations will be met through equipping our continent’s future generation with the skills, competencies, knowledge, tools, values and opportunities to fulfil their potential and shape our ever-evolving communities.

––Omikunle is CEO, Teach for Nigeria.

Mr. President, Please Assent to Audit Bill Abdulsalam Mahmud argues that as an act, it will assist in blocking revenue leakages and curtail corruption

T

here are several benefits to be derived by the time President Muhammadu Buhari finally appends his signature to the “Federal Audit Bill”, passed by the National Assembly (NASS).

The Eight Senate, in May 2018, passed a bill for the establishment of the Federal Audit Service Commission, in line with the administration’s anti-corruption fight.

The bill was read the third time and passed at a plenary session presided over by then President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki. The Senate mandated its leadership to engage the executive with a view to getting Buhari to sign the bill before the end of the Eight NASS. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts (then), Matthew Urhoghide, while presenting his report, said: “This Bill is very important to the nation as passing it into law will form the bedrock for fighting corruption, which is one of the cardinal objectives of Mr. President’s administration. It will empower the Office of the AuditorGeneral of the Federation, who has the constitutional mandate of auditing all accounts of the federation to nip corruption in the bud, ensure transparency in government transactions.” Urhoghide added: “The Bill will address acute manpower shortage, existing in the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation and bring it in tandem with supreme audit institutions and international best practices, as obtained in other climes such as South Africa, Ghana and the United Kingdom.”

The Audit Bill, for the record, was first passed by the House of Representatives in April 2016, and transmitted to the Senate for concurrence. The Senate passed the bill on Thursday, March 1, 2018. But due to disparities in the version passed by the two chambers, a conference committee was set up to reconcile areas of differences. The bill was eventually harmonized and passed by both chambers.

The harmonized copy was forwarded to Mr. President for assent on January 8, 2019.

Sadly, the Audit Bill has since become orphaned, two years after its passage by NASS. The bill was prematurely ‘murdered’ by the refusal of Mr. President to give it his assent. The bill, among other things, will greatly assist in blocking revenue leakages and curtail corruption, when it finally becomes a law.

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) such as Con-

nected Development (CODE), have always been in the vanguard of anti-corruption. It has since kick-started an online campaign, soliciting Nigerians to sign a petition, with a view to pressuring the government into assenting to the Audit Bill.

CODE, noted that the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF) plays a vital role in public financial management and anti-corruption measures, especially by ensuring compliance with financial rules and regulations and due process in public expenditure.

While calling on President Buhari to assent to the Audit Bill, the NGO, said the passage of the bill will be a major feat in the fight against corruption, and would ensure that MDAs submit their yearly audited financial accounts to the AuGF. Similarly, both the Senate and House of Representatives Public Account Committees, have insisted that the Audit Bill that was passed in the Eighth Assembly, which Buhari did not assent, remains very sacrosanct and would be resuscitated by the Ninth Assembly.

Chairman, Public Account Committee of the Senate, Sen. Urhoghide and his House of Representatives counterpart, Hon. Busayo Oluwole-Oke, who co-chaired a session of stakeholders on the Audit Bill, said the Ninth NASS will breathe a new life into the bill and ensure its passage again.

Both Sen. Urhoghide and Hon. Oluwole-Oke lamented that the nation’s current audit practice does not meet the global best practices, and that necessary reforms that would empower and enable the office of the Auditor General of the Federation to function optimally and efficiently are imperative.

They spoke at a three-day stakeholders consultative/ technical session on the Audit Bill organized for members and staff of the Senate, House of Representatives Public Account Committees, and the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF) in Abuja, last October.

At the session, Urhoghide, noted: “We have to ensure proper auditing of the spending of public money. If we strengthen the office of the Auditor-General, it will block leakages and we will save a lot of money and this will also check corruption drastically.

“Unfortunately, the President withheld his assent even

without giving reasons. Now the bill is dead constitutionally. But we shall resuscitate it since our House rules give us provision to start from where we stopped in the Eighth Assembly,” he pointed out.

National team leader, Engaged Citizens Pillar of DFID’s Partnership, Dr. Adiya Ode, during the auspicious session, noted that having the audit law in place would strengthen the auditor general to perform his functions well, and also send signal to corrupt people that they would be exposed and prosecuted.

Experts and scholars in their various presentations during the technical session, equally maintained that without the audit law in place, it might be very difficult to achieve thorough auditing and that the nation’s revenue would continue to leak, particularly in the government agencies that generate revenue for the nation.

It is incontrovertible that the absence of an audit law has given rise to impunity in the use of public resources in several MDAs. This is evidenced in the limitless numbers of probes conducted on key agencies of government, which completely indicted them of malpractices of different sorts.

The absence of proper auditing in the MDAs is also responsible for the fusion of unwarranted projects in the budget of most MDAs. Projects are not subjected to either procurement, financial or performance audits.

It is therefore incumbent on the President Buhari-led government to activate every necessary mechanism that will bolster its anti-graft fight.

The country direly needs a robust, and well- articulated audit law that will not only guide accounting officers and other responsible parties involved in the MDAs on the standard procedures in the application of public funds, but will also encourage performance in programmes and budgeting in the MDAs. That is why Mr. President must once again, diligently re-scan the audit bill, carefully identify grey areas in the current bill, and then facilitate the process for quick harmonization of the perceived grey areas with NASS, before proceeding to sign the bill into law. Having a ‘progressive-defined’ audit law in place will serve as an elixir for his government's war against corruption.

–––Mahmud wrote from Abuja.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 16, 2020

15

LETTERS

I

LESSONS FROM THE LEBANON BOMB BLAST

was with my parents in the family house watching CNN on August 4, 2020, with Christiane Amanpour, the British-Iranian television host asking a correspondent questions on a coronavirus-related topic in the US. And just as the person was about to answer, suddenly there was "Breaking News!"

I thought to myself, so some news could displace the coronavirus. The next thing was a footage of a huge fire burning. A bomb had exploded in Beirut the capital city of Lebanon!

Ben Wedeman, CNN correspondent in Beirut, who was reporting from his studio said the explosion blew out windows and shattered the office. He said it felt like an "earthquake."

He was visibly shaken.

The shockwave from the blast blew out windows at Beirut International Airport's passenger terminal, which is about nine kilometers away from the port.

The explosion also affected houses, restaurants, and flattened buildings, as well as some foreign diplomatic missions, which include the German and Norwegian embassies.

Those in Cyprus, about 200 kilometers away felt the effect. Seismologists say it's an equivalent of a 3.3-magnitude earthquake.

The blast left in its wake 157 people dead, 5000 injured, and 300,000 people homeless.

It was immediately thought of us a terrorist attack. But as more information came in that thought was jettisoned. According to information gathered by the Washington Post from legal documents, court correspondence and what public officials, a Moldova cargo ship that had on it 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate which was coming from Georgia and heading to Mozambique back in 2013 made an unplanned stopover in Beirut.

With the dangerous nature of its cargo, port officials transferred the contents of

Saad Hariri, resigned Lebanese Prime Minister the ship into port warehouses, to wait for “auctioning and/or proper disposal.”

But despite warnings about it, nothing was done, until tragedy struck.

When asked by the BBC the possible cause of the explosion the Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade Raoul Nehme said: "I think it is incompetence and really bad management and there are a lot of responsibilities from management and probably previous governments."

In Lebanon ports are treasure troves for criminals, militia and politicians. There are many interests to be protected by different security forces at the ports, who are controlled themselves by different political elements. It's the same people who decide who gets a government job and who does not. And the whole system is notorious for nepotism and corruption.

The effect of that explosion will have a great impact on a country that has a lot of troubles bedevilling it. Some 85 percent of the country's cereal went with the explosion as it also housed its main grain silo. And worse, goods can no longer enter the port. Lebanon is an import-dependent nation like

Nigeria with 80 percent of consumption as import, and 90 percent of its wheat also as import. Bread is a staple food.

The country has been going through months of economic problems. Its money is down.

Buying food, medicine and fuel are a great challenge. UN agencies are already warning of a humanitarian crisis.

And there is the corona-

virus which has put more pressure on its health system.

Indeed for Lebanon it never rains but it pours. There are already fears that dangerous gases may be in the air from the explosion.

Some of Beirut port officials have been placed under "house arrest" as investigations are underway. For a country with deep-seated corruption and cronyism it remains to be seen if those who are responsible will get punished.

Meanwhile, the country desperately needs help going forward. And help is already underway from France, Russia, Israel, Iran, Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait.

It may hurt national pride that Lebanon may be "on the dole", but it has to grab hands stretched out to it. It can use a lifting up.

Some young Nigerians who were watching the bomb fire may see it as a remote thing. But it bears a resemblance to what happened in Lagos on January 27, 2002. On that fateful day, there was fire that started in a street market around the Ikeja military cantonment, which also was where families of soldiers lived.

P

folks further out).

Times are truly changing.

A double-release pronouncement by the Sharia court jurisdiction in Kano sentencing a young man to death for “blasphemy” (I choose to put the word blasphemy in quote because I understand and I hold that desecrating a divine entity is blasphemy and any entity that does not lay claim to a divine nature but is principally identified as “human” or “mortal” cannot be blasphemed against otherwise the implication of holding on to this “blasphemy” point-of-view has the net result of re-writing the storyline of an established creed) and an older man to death by stoning for rape is making us wonder if Al Qaeda is already established

homeless. Roughly 20,000 people ran away from their abode, and returned several weeks after.

A similar thing happened again, but thankfully on a smaller scale, when on Boxing Day of 2012 an explosion rocked a market in Lagos Island. It was a building storing fireworks otherwise known as knockout. Only one person died, but more than 30 people were injured, with goods and properties worth millions of naira destroyed.

We won't say we will learn from what happened in Lebanon, we have experienced it before. And still experience it regularly in gas pipeline explosions that also kill many people.

The lessons are clear as daylight. If there are places anywhere in Nigeria that are presently housing stockpiles of explosives of whatever form, be it government, private organisations or even individuals, this is a wake-up call to double-check on any precautionary measures, to avert any disasters.

A stitch in time not only saves nine, it can save lives.

––Dr Cosmas Odoemena, Lagos.

NIGERIAN YOUTHS AT A CROSSROADS

T

he youths in Nigeria are at a crossroads over the precarious situation the country.

While the current world economy has continued to be shaped by youths across the world, their Nigerian counterparts are trapped in dilemma of choice between good and bad, virtues and vices.

Indeed this dilemma may not be unconnected with surge in crimes and criminality and the way issues around unemployment, corruption, insecurity, nepotism and tribalism have all been treated and attended to by governments across the three tiers. Most Nigerian youths are not just bewildered they are confused as to whether the virtues of patience, persever-

ance and endurance actually pay.

The late President Umar Musa Yar'adua granted amnesty to the Niger Delta militants in 2009 to put an end to pipeline vandalism that put the economy on the brink.

That move was lauded as a right step in the right direction by stakeholders in the region and other Nigerians who are genuinely interested in lasting peace in the oil-rich region.

As with other initiatives and policy of government, President Yar'Adua's lofty idea was not spared of vitriolic criticism, premised on the fact that absorbing criminals who are hell bent at destroying the nation's economy might not just be counterproductive but may give rise to panoply of youths who will take solace

LEGALISE PROSTITUTION TO CHECK RAPE

resently, Kano State is the centre of high drama with respect to haute religiosity, specifically the implementations of the codices of the Sharia legal system.

Expectantly, in these modern time and days, there have been widespread backlash and rage against the judgements and punishments meted out by this Sharia jurisprudence, even, rather surprisingly, from those with typical “Muslim names” (what we can conclude at the present time is that not all those with traditional Muslim names are actually adherents of Islam and the fallouts from these Sharia pronouncements will serve the purpose of alienating

But, soon the fire spread to where a large store of explosives was kept, causing a large explosion that shook Lagos. The bomb blasts were occurring serially. With each blast house windows kilometers away from the blast shook. It caused massive destruction and created fear, which led some panicked Lagosians to run into a Lagos canal to meet their untimely death. Some thought it was Armageddon and ran into churches.

At a hospital I was working then, a man who was bleeding torrentially from a gash on the skull was already losing strength. He had been riding a commercial tricycle (Keke Marwa), when he heard the explosion and tried to escape and hit a vehicle, and the shard of glass of his windshield cut into his scalp. I resuscitated him and stitched him up. But he needed blood.

I referred him to a general hospital. I hoped it turned out well for him. At least 1100 people lost their lives from what happened that day, and like the Lebanon blast about 5,000 people got varying levels of injury, and more than 12,000 were left

in Kano State.

Why this sudden proSharia jingoism that has left social activists wondering out aloud what is the fate of that “big man” who was captured on camera stuffing bribedollars into the pockets of his oversized gown? On the rape issue, I want to posit that to stem the incidences of rape in our communities our federal, state, and local government structures should consider legalising prostitution and concomitantly impose a severe deterrence for rape (zillion-years imprisonment or even life without parole for brutal cases of rape but surely not death by stoning, come on).

Just check this fact out: communities where prostitution is legalised and where

this business thrives without a social-taboo attachment, like my native Idoma culture, hardly experience cases of rape.

I have read newspapers in and out and I have yet to come across a story reporting a rape incidence in Otukpo, the principal town of the Idoma-speaking people of Benue State. That is a plus for my folks. Actually, the unwritten “big boy” rule in Idomaland is a preference for paid sex sessions with prostitutes instead of getting entangled in rape and adultery. That is something Nigerians should think about.

––Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State.

in crimes and criminality, and expecting government to grant them state pardon.

Such policy framework must have informed the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari which recently granted repentant Boko Haram members amnesty and placed them on about N20,000 stipend per month while the victims are scrounging in internally displaced persons camps across the North-east and beyond. Critics have tagged such policy as foolhardy and demoralizing to the emotional state of victims and men of Nigerian military who are inadequately equipped to fight the insurgents.

The decision of government to pardon the bloodthirsty terrorists despite evidence pointing to their inhuman

and dastard acts seem to give more youths the liver to engage in crimes in form of internet fraud, kidnapping or banditry. Such decision is one major reason youths now see crime as survival tactics and a protest to the system that has both treated them unfairly and unjustly.

But as the saying goes, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Nigerian youths must know that the reward of good is always good and that the virtues of patience and perseverance always pay as exemplified by the emotional outpouring that greeted the demise of the country first female combat pilot. Vices bring temporary pleasure in material gains.

––Muftau Gbadegesin, Muftaugbadegesin@gmail. com.

Open The Windows!

W

hen we were in Rome, we visited the Coliseum, still standing after almost 2,000 years, a traditional highlight of Rome. We also indulged in another longstanding Italian tradition, that of wine with most meals and appreciated the wisdom of the Italians.

The COVID-19 virus has meant that in my city, Melbourne, alcohol venues are closed, and coffee is often served through a window but in Rome the windows are supplying wine, an option that may appeal to more people. These wine windows, "buchette del vino" are a historical feature from

the days of the Black Plague when social distancing was also recommended.

Although the current pandemic seems horrific and the number of deaths is tragic, there are approaches that can help to protect us and slow or eventually hopefully stop the spread of the virus. The solution starts at home, stay home and meet your friends with happiness, but by Zoom and if you do need to go out, be the superhero and wear your mask.

Let us look forward to a better time when as the Italians say we can "Mangia bene, ridi spesso, ama molto" or "Eat well, laugh often, love much."

––Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia.

16

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹;˜ 2020

PERSPECTIVE

0HOH .\DUL·V 7UDQVIRUPDWLYH (;RUWV DW 113& Peter Uzoho writes on efforts by the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mr. Mele Kyari, to transform the corporation

S

inceMeleKoloKyariassumedoffice as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National PetroleumCorporation(NNPC) a little over a year ago, he has not hidden his desire to bequeath to Nigerians a corporation that not only serve the purpose it was founded, but one that aligns with international best practice.

That was why few days after his inauguration, the oil and gas technocrat unfolded his Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) agenda, a five-step strategic roadmap for NNPC’s attainment of efficiency and global excellence.

Kyari, during the inauguration, said pursuing TAPE was the only way to turn around the corporation and make it competitive. And true to his words, the NNPC GMD has remained focused on his target, despite efforts by some of his detractors to derail his transformative agenda as was seen in the recent allegation that 48 million barrels of the country’s crude oil was diverted and stolen.

Despite the disruptive impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the NNPC under the leadership of Kyari, rather than resorting to moaning and lamentation, has taken a number of measures to strengthen its revenue base and be in a better position to provide sufficient buffers to the government for the good of the Nigerian people.

As if he foresaw the pandemic when he was inaugurated as the 19th GMD, the TAPE focused majorly on diversifying the operations of the corporation and its subsidiaries.

Fuel Subsidy Removal One of the thorny issues the NNPC under Kyari has effectively collaborated with the federal government in achieving is the removal of fuel subsidy. By this act, the federal government has been able to save over $400 million in 2020.

The NNPC boss, who said this in a recent interview with THISDAY, said he does not expect that the policy which had over the years drained the country’s scarce resources would be returned even when crude oil price rebounds.

According to Kyari, the federal government would deploy the amount saved to the development of critical infrastructure in the country.

Kyari explained thus: “As you aware, the Minister of State for Petroleum resources has made policy statement based on presidential directives on the issue of fuel subsidy. Also, the Petroleum Products Pricing RegulatoryAgency (PPPRA) has issued guidelines on the process for monitoring the pricing of petroleum products in the domestic market going forward.

“My personal view is that subsidy should be removed, and the funds deployed to areas of the economy particularly road infrastructure and education that need funds. Fuel subsidy is a misallocation of resources and it benefits mainly people who don’t need it; the rich.

“What we need is investment that upgrades the general good of the society and provides access and opportunity for social mobility for the poor. I do not foresee the return of subsidy when oil price rebounds. Just by removing subsidy in the 2020 budget, the nation is able to save over $400 million. The savings would be better deployed to education or upgrade of the critical infrastructure in the country.”

According to Kyari, ensuring energy security is one of the cardinal agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Furthermore, he said closely related to energy security was the rehabilitation and expansion of the local refining capacity.

He said the NNPC has continued to support initiatives towards the actualisation of zero import of refined products by 2024, adding that the corporation has adopted a three-pronged strategy. This includes – revamp, restructure and encourage.

Resolving OML Dispute Also, the NNPC recently reached an agreement with its partners, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) and South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETROL), to settle all outstanding issues surrounding the development of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 130. The corporation stated that the move was part of efforts to meet the

target of three million barrels of crude oil output per day and unlock gas revenues to the tune of about $225 million in the short term, and $510 million in the long run.

Kyari said the deal was in line with the corporation’s PSC Dispute Resolution and Renewal Strategy of 2017. Kyari said with the arrangement, an out-of-court settlement of all disputes around the 1993 Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) and agreement on terms for their renewal had now been sealed.

He explained further, “With the resolution and signing of the Head of Terms (HoT) document, which sets out the terms agreed in principle between parties in the course of negotiations, apart from unlocking over $225 million of gas revenues, it will also enable settlement of renewal fees and create an environment conducive to further development of OML130 with associated benefits to the federation.

“We are doing this with every other partner in the PSC dispute, we believe that we can close this engagement and conversation with all of you. The HoT will clearly enable us to proceed and have a full settlement, and this will benefit all of us.”

He commended CNOOC and SAPETROLfor their understanding, while expressing delight that the HoT would facilitate the conclusion of all renewal issues.

In his response, Managing Director of CNOOC, Mr. Xie Vincent Wensheng said the agreement had opened a new chapter in his company’s relationship with NNPC. He said the deal was a win-win situation for all parties.

On his part, Managing Director of SAPETROL, Mr. Toyin Adenuga, said the resolution of the dispute was an important step towards further development of OML 130 and other new fields, as the terms were now clearly spelt out.

The NNPC statement said the execution of the HoT signalled the resolution of a tax dispute that arose from the $2.3 billion acquisition of 45 per cent stake in OML 130 by CNNOC from SAPETRO in 2006.

The OML 130 consists of the Akpo and Egina Fields, which have been producing since 2009 and 2018, respectively. It is operated by Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, which holds 24 per cent stake, while Petrobras Oil and Gas BV and SAPETRO hold 16 per cent and 15 per cent stakes, respectively.

The AKK Gas Pipeline Similarly, last month, the flag-off of the construction of the $2.8billion 614 kilometers Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, a major infrastructure project critical to Nigeria’s economic development, was done virtually by President Muhammadu Buhari.

In carrying out the ceremony, President Buhari had directed the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC to authorise the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) consortiums to commence construction operations at the project camp sites without further delay.

According to the president, when completed, the AKK Gas Pipeline Project would provide gas for generation of power and for gas-based industries which would facilitate the development of new industries and also the revival of moribund industries along transit towns in Kogi State, Abuja (FCT), Niger, Kaduna and Kano states.

“This will ultimately create numerous direct and indirect employment opportunities while fostering the development and utilisation of local skills and manpower, technology transfer and promotion of local manufacturing.

“The project is therefore part of the delivery of our Next-Level Agenda for sustainable development and enhancement of the economic prosperity of our country,” Buhari added.

The AKK Gas Pipeline which was conceived as part of the Nigerian Gas Master Plan (NGMP) by previous administrations has remained in the policy shelf for nearly a decade. Its implementation by the present administration is a progression from the delivery of the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas grid development.

The AKK project was designed to enlarge the domestic gas market by using the energy demand from the northern parts of the country to enhance

Kyari

the commerciality of domestic market play and confer viability on investments in government’s gas commercialisation agenda. According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the gas commercialisation programme was meant to leverage on the nation’s huge natural gas reserve base to stimulate growth and enable Nigeria’s migration from the current mono-economy into a diversified economy.

The AKK project would enable the injection of 2.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day (bscf/d) into the domestic market upon completion, and facilitate additional power generation capacity of 3,600 megawatts (MW), the corporation said.

The 614 kilometers pipeline is expected to trigger economic activities that would ultimately deliver on national economic aspirations in the petroleum industry through which the government intends to position the country’s abundant natural gas reserves as the key enabler for economic diversification.

According to the project profile from the NNPC, the $2.592 billion AKK pipeline project would provide channel for the upstream and midstream petroleum industry operators to deliver their natural gas output into the grid and spur industrial revolution along the new pipeline corridors in northern Nigeria.

Revamping Subsidiaries Also, one of the ways the NNPC is pursuing its goal of achieving profitability is through the steps being taken to revive some of its strategic business units so that they can be able to generate more money to support the corporation. Some of its subsidiaries which were previously not financially independent and incapable of even meeting their financial obligations have received major turnarounds and are making returns to the corporation.

For instance, NNPC’s seismic company, the Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL), located in Benin, and its engineering company, National Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO) situated in Lagos have all been revamped and are now recording significant progress in terms of profitability and sustainability.

However, in its effort to expand its revenue streams in order to be able to cushion the effect of volatility associated with the oil market, NNPC has also made entry into other business areas. From renewables to health, to real estate to logistics, among other business sectors, the corporation is signing off partnership deals with private operators in these areas of business to

activate the initiatives.

Production Cost Reduction Realising that it would be unrealistic for the corporation to attain its profitability goal when it continues suffering losses as a result of high cost of crude oil production, the NNPC GMD had expressed his resolve to end the regime of high oil production cost. Kyari said the situation at the moment demands change of strategy, explaining that it would be profitable to produce at oil assets with cheaper cost of production.

The NNPC henchman had also set the second quarter of 2021 as the deadline for the attainment of $10 per barrel production cost benchmark.

He said the corporation would rally its partners to follow suit as it is no longer bearable to see companies producing at very high cost of production.

“Nigeria will cut production costs to $10 per barrel by the end of 2021.Costs have been too high for too long, the official said, pledging that costs would fall or production stop.

“There are no subsidies for the upstream, if it is not economic, it must shut down,” Kyari said.

He emphasised the need for industry operators to focus on projects that generate more cash, produce more resources – and at cheaper costs, citing the adoption of new technologies as one way of doing things cheaper.

Kyari added that the impact of coronavirus was a “blessing in disguise” for Nigeria, noting that while prices had suffered, they will come back but the pandemic has offered a chance for a reset He said talks with contractors had been fruitful and that they had been given the option of agreeing to cuts of 20-30 per cent on prices and that most had accepted the reset.

Conclusion Above all his achievements, the coronavirus pandemic was also another opportunity for Kyari to display his leadership potential as he has been able to effectively drive the oil and gas operators to support the federal government’s Covid-19 response as well as in delivering palliatives to states in the country.

With all these, Kyari no doubt needs the support of all Nigerians in order to ensure that his transformative vision for the corporation is realised.

For the first time in many years, NNPC seems to finally gotten a leader with vision and dream, someone who speaks honestly and bluntly about the challenges in his sector and takes bull by the horn to solving those challenges.

17

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹;˜ 2020

BUSINESS

Editor: Kunle Aderinokun 08033204315, 08111813084 Email:kunle.aderinoku@thisdaylive.com

As CBN Adjusts Exchange Rate...

The naira at the official foreign exchange market has lost about 5 percent of its value when placed side by side with the dollar. The act which Central Bank of Nigeria termed ‘price adjustment’, according to economists, was a step in a right direction as the biggest exporter of oil in Africa contends with dearth of foreign exchange inflow due to current global market realities. Meanwhile, the decision of the bank may have its fallout on every sector of the economy. Bamidele Famoofo reports

V

ery recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took the decision to readjust the pricing of the naira compared to the dollar. That decision reduced the value of the naira at the official market by about 5 percent in comparison with the dollar as the value dropped from N361 to N380 to the dollar.

Goldman Sachs, in a report published

by Bloomberg, said the move by Central Bank was expected, given the dearth of inflow of foreign exchange into the nation’s coffers. This on the other hand has had a negative impact on the nation’s external reserves.

“A significant devaluation of the Nigerian naira is likely in 12 to 18 months to stabilise the external accounts of Africa’s biggest oil producer. An exchange rate of N500-N550 per dollar should bring external balance”, economists Dylan Smith and Andrew Matheny say in research note produced by Goldman Sachs.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in New York City.

Goldman Sachs hinted that the process is expected to continue as it said the “minor adjustments to official rate

by Central Bank of Nigeria last week is a step towards rebalancing the foreign exchange market.”

“Recent inflows stemming from loans from international financial institutions and import restrictions not sustainable and will prolong buildup of imbalances before adjustment,”Goldman Sachs added.

Another economist, Dr. Boniface Chizea, agreed with the position of Goldman Sachs, as he said the CBN appears to be in a fix, given a slowdown in exchange rate flow from oil which is the biggest foreign exchange earner for the country.

His words: “So what has just happened is the CBN accepting the reality of foreign exchange crunch while attempting to make it more costly in Naira terms.”

Not Devaluation Chizea noted that since the Central Bank adjusted the rate of exchange from N361 to N380 to the dollar, discussions have since raged on whether what happened is really prize adjustment or simply out right devaluation. So, for me, I am reminded of the old adage; “what really is in a name”?

“The CBN that owns the process has tagged it price adjustment and therefore so the matter should rest. But once you officially increase the exchange rate; that usually in common parlance is devaluation as opposed to depreciation which is the variant of loss in value which is market driven in a floating market value determination environment. What has just happened is also to a large extent market driven. The reality on ground is that the CBN has been doing its best to stop rapid loss in value of the exchange rate mindful of its implications for price

Emefiele

stability. Also it is a fact that the current administration at the CBN is not particularly attracted to devaluation as a policy option going by its well informed belief that the only justification for devaluation is for a country intent on embarking on export led growth. But hitherto the major source of foreign exchange inflow to the country is oil with its price denominated in dollars. And therefore there is no prospect of boosting foreign exchange inflow from this source adopting devaluation strategy. But the situation is now dynamic as the oil market has confronted head winds which meant that both the quantity sold and the market price had been undermined by the Coronavirus environment. The challenge now confronting the country in this regard is that there is hardly any accretion to the reserves.

The recent reported increases are due to dollar denominated transfers and loans which the Country obtained to confront the pandemic induced economic paralysis.

The CBN has also dubbed what has just

happened price adjustment because of the thinking and mindset which is fostered by devaluation,” he explained.

“Devaluation is a slippery slope which once a country gets to is difficult to know when it will stop as one devaluation begets the expectations of follow up devaluation. But compatriots are free to adopt whatever nomenclature they think better describes the situation for them”, he said.

He also explained that what has happened is not tantamount to an attempt to bridge the exchange rate gaps which might lead to the unification of the exchange rate.

“What would really result in exchange rate unification is adequate supply of foreign exchange so that at least legitimate foreign exchange demands are met at the official exchange rate window. The reality is that the only significant parameter that separates all the exchange rate windows in the country is the rate differential”, he added.

Implications The implications of this development for the economy at large, the Small and Medium Scale enterprises, according to Dr. Chizea, is that inflationary pressures will be on the increase as the rate of exchange is a veritable factor cost. “Inflationary spiral depresses purchasing power, undermine capacity utilisation, result to reduction on the levels of employment, constrain economic growth and development and generally increase the misery index in the land. So there are no sections of the economy that will not be negatively impacted by this development,” he said.

Chizea, however, exonerated the CBN from bearing the blame of the negative impact of the decision on Nigerians as he said the reality of the matter is that the Central Bank had been fighting a rear guard battle to stem the rapid fall in the rate of exchange which is increasingly becoming daunting task.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹;˜ 2020

18

BUSINESS PERSONALITY MODUPE OGUNLESI

0DNLQJ $GDP (YH &R;HH Matter of Life and Luxury The hot steam spirals out of the cup as her fingers caress its edge. As she sits across the white table, the atmosphere is replete with a flowery scent of coffee. Momentarily, she takes a sip, with the fingers gently wrapped round the cup as her lips move with delightful satisfaction as the drink slithers down her throat. Yes, she can spoil herself with some of the finest beans, freshly brewed and served. In this moment of bliss, the Chief Executive Officer of Adam & Eve, Mrs. Modupe Ogunlesi, in a chat with Bayo Akinloye, brings to the fore the comfort, luxury, and goodness of coffee

Ogunlesi

“Y

ouhavetolook at what’s best for you,” Mrs. Modupe Ogunlesi, the Chief Executive Officer ofAdam & Eve, advises in an empathetic tone, “and what you can afford.”

Dressed in a simple black top and a floral

skirt, Ogunlesi embodies the youthfulness of a sexagenarian filled with all the bloomy flush of life, as she walks with a cup in her hand into a spick-and-span coffee-themed spot of Ikeja-GRA Adam & Eve homeware store.

The hot steam spirals out of the cup as her fingers caress its edge. Her fluorescent countenance enlivens the spot. As she sits across the white table, the atmosphere is replete with the aromatic scent of coffee.

Momentarily, she takes a sip, with the drink

slithering down her throat. For a woman who understands the premium placed on life, she doesn’t hesitate to get the best out of life. Yes, she can spoil herself with some of the finest beans, freshly brewed and served.

Enthused, she points out, “So, to flow with a good lifestyle, I looked at coffee. I’ve always loved coffee. I like the full-bodied feel of the coffee. But for some time people have been telling me that ‘you’re getting older; it’s time to stop (drinking) coffee, move on to tea.’ And

I tried (to follow their suggestion) but the taste wasn’t just the same.”

It’s true. Nothing compares to the range of flavours that a well-brewed coffee gives with its titillating, multi-sensory experience.

Adam and Eve is a luxury homeware company. Why is Ogunlesi talking about coffee?

“What’s luxury?” she asks rhetorically as her eyes beam with affection.

“Luxury is superb comfort. And what’s comfort? Comfort is about yourself; the good

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͞˜ 2020

19

One Woman Revisiting the Nigerian Coffee Narrative for you.�

There’s goodness in coffee, she reveals. “Generally, people focus on the caffeine they get from coffee rather than the oxidation properties that are also part of coffee. So, I looked at it: Dr. Sanjiv Chopra (a liver disease expert and professor of medicine) recommends two cups of coffee and from your two cups of coffee per day, you get better protection for your liver,� she explains. “Your body’s chronic inflammation is reduced, which means that you’re protected from cancer and you get a few other goodies when you look at the health benefits of coffee.�

Over the years, Ogunlesi, through Adam & Eve, has always sought the best. That’s not just for herself but also for millions of Nigerians desirous of superb comfort. A new stairway up to that luxury with health perks is Adam & Eve Coffee. “Now if you allow two cups of coffee per day, it’s your duty to go for the best. If you have a lifestyle that can afford it, you go for the best,� she simply says.

With an average elevation of about 1,600 metres above sea level, the Mambilla Plateau (in Taraba State) is the highest plateau in Nigeria; a continuation of the Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon. In its lush greens, you see coffee farmers and roasters blending with nature to bring coffee to Nigeria’s homes and offices.

Ogunlesi has been there. “We’re picking coffee from Mambilla Plateau, which means you’re as near nature as you can get. It’s not coming all the way from anywhere.

It’s not even coming from Ethiopia. It’s coming from your doorstep,� she assures.

What really makes Adam & Eve Coffee different? “The farmers use manure instead of fertilizers. And, instead of insecticides, they use a mix of garlic, pepper, ginger mixed with water to spray the plants. So, you can imagine the level of ecological farming that goes into it,� says Ogunlesi.

The coffee aficionado adds, “Harvesting is done by hand. When it’s done by hand, hands are accompanied by eyes. So, they’ll only pick the cherries that are ripe. When the machine does the picking, you can get some unripe cherries going with the ripe ones which make the coffee a bit acidic.�

Adam & Eve Coffee beans are always handpicked. The store is doing more than that. It’s also introducing a coffee club to help millions of Nigerians get the best out of coffee. The club will also open the eyes of non-coffee drinkers to what they’ll likely not want to miss. “We run tasting sessions. People can come into Adam & Eve stores. But, first, they have to book an appointment. They’ll have the opportunity to taste and see the different ways of brewing their coffee. “They can do a stove top, which means you’re actually putting your coffee machine on the fire and get a nice brew. You can do the easy way which is put the ground beans in and you pour in water, then, push the machine down.

That’s it. You get your nice cup of coffee,� she explains.

Then, she talks about the slow brew. “Very easy to make. You pour your coffee, water and it goes through a very tiny sieve.

These are things we’ve put together. But the bottom line is for you that can afford a lifestyle of comfort, you need to get the best you can for yourself,� Ogunlesi states.

Adam & Eve is no more expensive than any other coffee. It’s N8,400 for half a kilo. Yet, she advises that you don’t go out there and buy a coffee that’s travelled the world when you can buy the local one, fresh and of better quality. “It’s organic.And, you see, I think that always, one must be particular about what goes into one’s mouth,� says Adam & Eve CEO. “That’s why I’m giving everybody a chance to be able to lay their hands on this coffee because, in the long run, you can’t be upwardly mobile if you’re hurting your body every day.�

Here’s why you won’t hold back in following her lead. Coffee is considered one of the most protectors of health as its drinkers have low levels of liver enzymes in the blood. Test for two liver enzymes, ALT and AST, and people who drank coffee had lower levels (of ALT and AST). When somebody has elevated levels of (ALT/AST), it’s almost always indicative of liver disease.

In fact, a study in the New England of Medicine ago, said ‘Men and women who drink coffee have lower total and cause-specific mortality.’ Another study showed that people who drink coffee have longer telomeres.

Ogunlesi

The leading medical practitioner, Dr. Chopra, says, “Coffee drinkers also have a lower risk of four other common cancers: metastatic prostate cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer, including malignant melanoma -very deadly skin cancer, and endometrial cancer. “Low risk of Parkinson’s disease, low risk of cognitive decline and early dementia, lower risk of Type 2 diabetes. And for Type 2 diabetes, one has to drink six cups of coffee, regular or decaf, and then there’s a 40 to 54 percent reduction in risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. “If somebody already has type 2 diabetes and they drink two cups of coffee a day, regular or decaf, there is a 30 percent reduction in cardiovascular mortality.�

He encourages two cups a day.

Driving the point home, Ogunlesi encourages: “Please, make it as good a coffee as you can.�

Drinking coffee can be a delight experienced in varieties. “Now, on matters of taste: there are different ways of brewing your coffee,� the Adam & Eve matriarch discloses. “The ultimate machine at the moment is the beans to cup. You put your beans in and

Ogunlesi

the cup, you get your coffee. So, you do not pre-grind the beans because when you grind, gradually with the days, the quality drops a bit. “You keep it vacuum-packed. You keep it in an air-tight container but even then the quality drops, just a bit.�

Speaking further about Adam & Eve Coffee, she explains, “If you ground your coffee, you have to drink it within a month. Really for the freshness. Of course, it could be two months, three months, but at its best, one month. What we put out now is near-nature. “It’s brought from next door. And, you have a choice: it’s either light roast, medium roast or dark roast. It all depends on the taste. It’s your taste bud; what you like.�

Reiterating the health benefits, Ogunlesi states if you have prostate cancer, drinking coffee helps to keep it within the prostate. “Once the cancer is within the prostate, it can be managed.�

She adds, “So, you have something that works for the men - older men. It’s also good for endometrial cancer. This is a cancer of the womb. But with just two cups a day, it’s OK. There’s a lot of talks about eating this and that

for oxidation. But this is just a simple way. The fact that it decreases inflammation means that you don’t have loose cannons running around inside you.�

The Nigerian coffee, she says, is lighter and may not require adding sugar. “I drink my coffee plain. But if you still want sugar, it’s OK. Put sugar in your coffee but try it without the milk.�

Drink regular coffee if you can, experts advise. It has more benefits than decaf. They also say “don’t add cream or sugar substitutes.�

If you want to sweeten it, add sugar. Don’t use artificial substitutes because artificial sugars “are turning out to produce worse glucose intolerance.

She explains further, “The taste of coffee is far better without milk. When I wake up, I drink a dark roast. At 11:30 am, I drink either light roast or medium roast. It’s a matter of taste.

That’s why we’re inviting people because most people are used to drinking one type of coffee.�

The best thing is to buy all three, she says.

Today, you have the dark roast. Tomorrow you have the medium roast. The day after tomorrow, you have the light roast. Don’t settle for less. “What we do now is to have a coffee club that’s primarily for our customers. We love to get feedback and talk to the farmers to be sure of what people really want. Tasting sessions so far have been good and encouraging,�

Ogunlesi discloses.

Whether she accepts it or not, the homeware matriarch is gradually starting the coffee revolution in Nigeria. She has the right blend of conviction and ingenuity. “I learnt that the Nigerian Senate has a bill in front of them about helping coffee farmers.

So, if we’re all drinking Nigerian coffee, then, that’s a starting point. “And therefore, knowing the goodness that’s in coffee, and that it’s available here I think more people should try our coffee,� she urges.

What about the machines to brew the coffee? With Adam & Eve, you can get the best money can buy. “But I’ll say buy a machine according to your taste and according to your pocket,� she notes. “If you can afford a bean-to-cup, that’s best.

If you want the stove-top, and oh! Even if you have other machines, I think on Sundays, it’s just nice when you have that time to do a stove-top. “But I like it when it bubbles. Of course, there are so many alternatives that are not expensive.�

Who says coffee drinkers are up to no good? Please, wake up and smell the coffee.

20

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹;˜ 2020

BUSINESS /MONEY

Wigwe: The Rise of an Extraordinary CEO In his relentless quest to fulfil the vision of catapulting Access Bank to the number one position in Africa, Herbert Wigwe continues to raise the stakes and in the process, garner accolades. His birthday, August 15, was another opportunity to celebrate how far he has come, writes Demola Ojo

W

hen the names of giants in Nigeria’s banking sector are mentioned, Herbert Wigwe, the MD/CEO of Access Bank, has a prominent place. Through innovation, visionary leadership and an appetite for bold ventures, Wigwe has continued to make his mark in a sector he took by storm in 2002, along with his partner, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.

Access Bank’s current leadership position in Africa - where it is the continent’s largest bank by customer base, with over 40 million users - is awe-inspiring, considering its humble beginnings. Its stratospheric rise to the top in a short period of time is a feat largely due to Wigwe’s ingenuity, expertise and seeing opportunity that many others are blind to.

Just after the turn of the century, Wigwe and Aig-Imoukhuede dared to break away from Guaranty Trust Bank and build what has become a behemoth of an institution that is still growing, breaking barriers and conquering new fronts. They saw a unique opportunity and grasped it, by acquiring Access Bank which at the time, was a small commercial bank ranked 65th out of the 89 banks in Nigeria.

It’s a partnership which has blossomed ever since, an example of a partnership that works through thick and thin, following in the example of the financial institution which they left to forge their own path.

Prior to the acquisition of Access Bank, Wigwe had spent over a decade at GTBank and had risen to the position of Executive Director. To make the jump into the uncertain waters of building a much smaller bank from ground up seemed like career suicide.

But the two men, then in their 30s, were propelled by their vision and conviction that they could take Access Bank to the very top.

They set out a plan to ensure that the bank became one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions within a five-year period.

But their impact was much more immediate, reflected in the bank’s performance in the first year, when its balance sheet grew by 100 per cent, with an impressive N1 billion profit before tax. This figure was more than the cumulative profit made by the bank in the previous 12 years of operations.

Eighteen years after that acquisition in 2002, both Wigwe and Access Bank have grown in leaps and bounds.

Wigwe, who was initially Deputy Managing Director when the pair took over, succeeded his partner as MD/CEO in 2014.

The bank has subsequently become stronger, rising from fifth to first position (by customer base and brach network) in the country and developing into one of the most respected on the continent, after enjoying what is arguably Africa’s most successful banking growth trajectory in the last twelve years.

But Wigwe remains humble despite these sterling achievements.

Born August 15, 1966, in Ibadan, Oyo State, Wigwe always had an aptitude for numbers, a fact he attributed to playing “mental mathematics” with friends while growing up. This game involved solving random mathematical questions without the aid of a calculator.

It was no surprise to those who knew him that he enrolled to study Accountancy at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) in 1983, graduating with a Second Class Upper honours degree in 1987.

In 1989, he passed his Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) professional examination and moved on to work as a credit analyst at Capital Merchant Bank.

His commitment to education earned him a scholarship from the British Council to study at North Wales University (now Bangor University) in 1990. He followed up with a Masters in Banking and Finance in 1991

Herbert Wigwe

before returning to Lagos to join GTBank, which was then a fast growing new generation bank. Wigwe rose through the ranks and at 32, he was an Executive Director.

Not done with his education, and in preparation for future tasks, Wigwe would go on to earn an MSc in Financial Economics from the University of London. He would also become an alumnus of Harvard Business School Executive Management Program.

Now a globally celebrated banker, Wigwe is renowned for supporting the establishment and growth of African businesses. Through Access Bank, he has aided the development of some of the continent’s biggest companies in the construction, telecommunications, energy and oil and gas sectors.

Currently Chairman of the Bankers’ Committee, he is the go-to man when it comes to financial sector interventions of national importance, from playing a major role in the formation of the Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID), to taking over the National Theatre for renovation as one of many creative hubs planned around the country.

Above all, Wigwe has brought all his knowledge and experience to bear in propelling Access Bank to the top. Access Bank is now one of the top five banks in Nigeria and ranked among the top 500 global banks. But the aim is to be Africa’s undisputed number one bank.

Over the last six years under his stewardship, Access Bank has continued on its

upward trajectory, at a dizzying pace. In the last month alone, it acquired banks in Kenya and Zambia.

Last year, in a show of strength and courage, Access Bank acquired another top tier Nigerian bank, Diamond Bank, in a deal worth $200 million. The acquisition of Diamond Bank positioned Access as the leading retail bank in Africa. At the end of 2019, the bigger, better Access Bank posted an impressive performance with gross earnings rising 26 per cent to N667 billion, up from N528 billion the previous year.

A leading full-service commercial bank, Access Bank operates through a network of more than 600 branches and service outlets, spanning three continents, 12 countries and about 40 million customers. The Bank employs 28,000 people in its operations in Nigeria and has subsidiaries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom, a branch in Dubai, UAE, and representative offices in China, Lebanon and India. Access Bank UK branch, is today seen as about the most successful African bank branch from the continent in the United Kingdom.

Access Bank has been accorded recognition by reputable domestic and global organisations over the years. Some of these recognitions in the past two years alone include the 2019 World Finance Award “Best Digital Bank in Nigeria”; 2019 World Finance Award “Best Mobile App in Nigeria”; 2018 CBN ‘Sustainable Bank of the Year’; and ‘2018

Global Banking and Finance Review, “Best Investor Relations Bank in Nigeria”.

Access Bank bagged the award as “Bank of the Decade” and Wigwe was honoured as “Banker of the Decade” by THISDAY Newspapers at its 25th anniversary celebration held earlier this year in Lagos.

While it is without doubt Wigwe shares these accolades of with his partner and friend, Aig-Imoukhuede, it is fair to say he has improved the bank’s standing and public perception index, which explains why he is highly-respected by his peers. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN – FCA), a Fellow of The Institute of Credit Administration, and an Honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

He is sought after globally to share his thoughts, with recent speaking engagements at Silicon Valley and the Financial Times Summit in Mozambique.

Probably most important for the bank’s 40 million customers and 900,000 shareholders though, is that the future looks bright under Wigwe’s stewardship. Among many reasons is his penchant for technology in steering the affairs of the bank.

He has championed the need for increased digital banking and has forged partnerships aimed at nurturing the next generation of cutting-edge financial-technology firms, while also developing products to support digital payments across Africa.

SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2020 • T H I S D AY

45

46

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹;˜ 2020

BUSINESS/INDUSTRY

Revolutionary Highlights of CAMA 2020 The Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari has been unanimously described as Nigeria’s most revolutionary piece of business legislation in decades and a badly needed respite for the private sector and small scale businesses. Davidson Iriekpen brings to the fore some of the key changes and innovations which make the legislation unique

T

he Nigerian business climate has for the past 30 years operated under the authority of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990.

TheAct effectively administered the Nigerian business regime,providingguidelines and the structures that have kept the business framework running for decades.

However, due to the dynamic realities of doing business and the passing of time, the CAMA1990 became outdated, leading to the agitations for the Act to be repealed or re-enacted.

PresidentMuhammaduBuharilastyear,finally heeded to the agitations with a letter to the Senate seeking an amendment to the CAMA 1990.

By the time the Senate passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the CAMA early this year, it was not a disappointment, and since it was signed it into law penultimate week by the president, he has been receiving commendations, with many saying it provides significant benefits to companies by reducing red tape and making it easier to comply with regulatory obligations.

The new law, described by many lawyers and business analysts as Nigeria’s most revolutionary piece of business legislation in decades, comes across as some badly needed respite for the private sector and small-scale businesses. The amendments were also aimed at encouraging investments that will allow small businesses and startups thrive, lower costs and ease regulatory burdens. The changes included in the bill will mean that many of the over 75,000 private companies limited by shares which are established in Nigeria every year will be able to incorporate more easily. In addition, small companies will no longer be required to have a company secretary or hold Annual General Meetings and the requirement for statutory declaration of compliance has also been removed.

Minimum share capital required for companies to be registered has also been reduced to encourage more investments in small companies; and individuals will no longer need a lawyer to register a company.

The key changes which analysts feel make the CAMA2020 which President Buhari signed into existence recently unique and innovative are highlighted below:

Section 402 – Exemption from Audit Requirement TheAct introduces this section which exempts a small company as defined in Section 394 and any other company that has not carried on business since its incorporation, as prescribed by the commission, from carrying out an audit in a financial year.

Sections 746 – 787: Introduction to Limited Liability Partnerships A novel provision of the Act is the provision of Limited Liability Partnerships which would essentially run as a company. The company must be registered with 2 (two) partners and have a separate distinct personality from its partners. In effect, its operations are very similar to a private company.

Buhari

Companies Limited by Guarantee. This provision hasbeenmaintainedunderthe2020Act.However, the Act stipulates a time frame of 30 days within which the Attorney-General may authorise the registration of the company. This is a positive step for persons seeking to register a company limited by guarantee as this places a time frame and further expands on steps to be taken at the expiration of the 30 days where the registration is not authorised by the Attorney-General.

of Meeting) Sub-section (2) of the Act makes provision for Electronic Meetings for private companies provided that same is held in line with the provisions of the companies’ articles. This is a very progressive change as it wasn’t a feature in the previousAct. It also considerably cuts down cost and would be permanently relevant seeing as the world is constantly advancing technologically.

Distance and cost would no longer serve as a barrier for holding meetings.

Section 17 – Pre-action Notice and Restriction on Levy of Execution From a dispute resolution point of view, this section is very crucial as the Act now requires that before a suit can be commenced against the Corporate Affairs Commission (“the Commission’’), a pre-action notice must be issued and served on it. TheAct proceeds in subsection (2) to outline the details which the notice must contain.

This was non-existent in the previous Act.

Section 27 – Requirements with Respect to the Memorandum of a Company (Share Capital) The Act replaces the concept of Authorised Share Capital with Minimum Share Capital.

Whereas the old Act places an authorised share capital of a private company at NGN10,000, the 2020 Act prescribes the Minimum Share Capital of a private company as NGN100,000 and that of a public company which was formerly NGN500,000 is pegged at NGN2,000,000. This in our view is a welcome development as it takes into consideration the currency inflation that has occurred from 1990 to date.

Section 265 – Powers and Duties of the Chairman of the General Meeting Subsection (6) of the Act provides that a Chairman of a public company shall not act as the Chief Executive Officer of same company.

This is innovative and positive as it encourages minority protection and encourages good corporate governance practice. This is even more so considering the size of public companies and the potential to be very large in terms of assets and market size.

Section 18 – Right to Form a Company Perhaps one of the most significant changes introduced by the Act is the provision that one person may now incorporate a private company so long as the provisions of the Act are complied with. This is opposed to the previous Act that strictly provided for a minimum of two persons in the formation of a company.

Section 40 – Statement of Compliance The Act dispenses with the mandatory provision of the Declaration of Compliance signed by a Lawyer or attested before a Notary Public.

Under the current provision, an applicant or his agent may sign the statement of compliance and same would be sufficient for the purposes of registration.

Section 307 – Multiple Directorships The 2020 Act restricts multiple directorships in public companies. It stipulates that a director may not hold up to five multiple directorships in different companies at once. This is a welcome development as it reduces the incidences of conflict of interests and issues with loyalty and most important of all encourages good corporate governance practice.

Section 22 – Private Company Whilst the defunct legislation provided that private companies shall by their articles restrict transfer of its shares, the 2020 Act proceeds to define the extent of restriction; in that it provides for the right of first refusal in the event of sale of shares by any member of the company. It further requires the consent of all members of the company before assets amounting to more than 50 per cent of the company’s assets may be sold.

Section 98 – Common Seal The new Act disposes of the mandatory requirement of a company possessing a common seal. It essentially places the requirement as an option as opposed to the mandatory nature it held under the previous Act.

Section 26 – Company Limited by Guarantee Under the 1990Act, the consent of theAttorneyGeneral was required for the registration of a

Section 223 – Registration of Charges Subsection (12) stipulates the amount to be paid to the Corporate Affairs Commission for the filing of charges. It places the fee at 0.35 per cent of the value of the charge. This is expected to lead to a considerable reduction in the cost of filing charges compared to the cost under the previous Act. Section 240 – General Meetings (Place

Section 330 – Appointment of Company Secretary Under the new Act, private companies are no longer required or mandated to appoint a company secretary opposed to the previous Act which made it a mandatory requirement. This is all promoting an ease with running a private company Section 394 – Qualification of a Small Company This section of the Act increases the amount of turnoverforasmallcompanyfromNGN2,000,000 to not more than NGN120,000,000 and an asset value from an amount not exceeding N1,000,000 to a value not exceeding NGN60,000,000.

Sections 795 - 810: Introduction to Limited Partnerships This is also a new provision in theAct.Alimited partnership essentially entails the distinction between General Partners and Limited Partners. The Act prescribes their obligations and liabilities to the partnership. A general partner bears the obligations and liabilities that arises from the partnership whereas the limited partner contributes the capital for the partnership.

Among those who have hailed the signing of the CAMA2020 into law is Prof. Fabian Ajogwu (SAN). Ajogwu described the CAMA 2020 as a remarkable improvement on the defunct CAMA 1990.

He said considering the substantial changes which theAct has made to Nigeria’s corporate law regime, particularly the fact that particularly the alteration of the usual manner many companies and businesses operate on a day to day basis, it is pertinent to examine the key changes and innovations brought by the Act. The learned silk, who is the Principal Partner of Kenna Partners, a renowned law firm in Lagos, hoped that the Nigerian business environment would soar with the innovations brought by the new Act. “Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 is remarkable improvement on the defunct Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990. It is hoped that the Nigerian business environment truly soars with the innovations brought by the new Act,” he said According to him, “Considering the substantial changes which the Act has made to Nigeria’s corporate law regime, particularly the fact that it portends the alteration of the usual manner many companies/ business operate on a day-to-day basis, it is pertinent to examine the key changes and innovations brought by the Act.” Also, a civil society organisation, Civil Society LegislativeAdvocacy Centre (CISLAC) described the CAMA 2020 as a law that will aid the fight against corruption, adding that the law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies had often failed to identify the real owners profiting from strategic Nigerian-registered business entities active in the oil and gas sector, defence, construction and others but with the new law, things would change.

Its Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa, noted that the absence of the enactment of the CAMAmade it impossible to act on establishing a publicly available register of beneficial owners, adding that financing the Nigerian fight against corruption and poverty is sabotaged continuously by financial secrecy, which erodes national sovereignty.

He said: “We want to use this medium to commend the Presidency for signing the Companies and Allied Matters (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Act 2020. This is a step in fulfilling the desired anti-corruption reform in Nigeria. This legislation has the potential to be one of the most significant laws in decades.

Important anti-corruption and business commitments made by the President and the government at different occasions can finally be put in motion.”

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

16.08.2020

KINGSLEY OSADOLOR 60 Years of an Indefatigable Journalist with Many Firsts Accomplished. Astounding. Avid. Adventurous. That and many more adjectives describe a Nigerian journalist of many firsts in his exciting career. Indefatigable and industrious, Barrister Kingsley Osadolor excels with panache as is a journalist, communication expert, broadcaster and scholar. Pragmatic and passionate, his life in the last 60 years illustrates the need to be focused and inventive.

From journalism to law, Osadolor, who clocked 60 on Saturday, has not stopped learning and is following knowledge like a “sinking star,� write Funke Olaode on turning 60 ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

48

T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R ˾ ͯʹ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

COVER

OSADOLOR

My Exploits as a Journalist

Osadolor

B

arrister Kingsley Osadolor. That’s a name not a few want to be associated with. His assuming looks understate his giant strides. He wears a mien that signposts discernment, discipline and dedication. His confident countenance underscores his expertise and experience in life and media career.

He has been described as being a strategic and stubborn icon of RUTAM House where he began his career in 1985.

Stubborn and strategic suit him well like a piece of a tailor-made suit as the Benin born media icon distinguished himself early in his career and the reward was accelerated promotions that saw him scored many firsts in The Guardian. He reigned supreme there for 25 years.

He was born some 45 days before Nigeria’s independence; on August 15, 1960.

After his primary and secondary education in Benin City, he became a foundation scholar (studying Mass Communication) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka between 1981 and 1984.

By June 1984, he had emerged with a First Class, the overall best graduating student of the ivory tower and his class valedictorian.

To date, Osadolor remains the first and only graduate of Mass Communication to have emerged as the best overall graduating student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, since 1960.

Always in search of knowledge, seven years after he left Nsukka, he went to the University of Lagos, Akoka, to study law in 1991 and in 1996 he graduated with a second class upper division and repeated the same feat at the Nigerian Law School in 1997. He was called to the Bar in 1998. He had his LL.M at Unilag in 2010.

While studying law, Osadolor had already established himself as a journalism guru.

Employed by The Guardian Newspapers in 1985 as a reporter, his sterling performance saw him climb the success ladder in quick succession.

Recalling his first day at the newspaper, he says: “I wasn’t altogether a stranger when I joined The Guardian immediately after my youth service in August 1985. During my service, my articles were being published in the Op-Ed section of The Guardian. In fact, from late 1982, while I was still a student, and before the debut of The Guardian, my articles, mostly on sports, were published in The Nigerian Observer, Nigerian Tribune, The Herald, and Satellite based in Enugu. By 1983, I was also writing news analyses that were broadcast on Radio Bendel.

“Each news analysis earned me N8, which was a lot of money at the time. At 50 kobo a meal in the university, N8 was three square meals for at least five days. Or, it could buy two

‘packet’ shirts behind Mandilas in Lagos. It could take me, by Peugeot 504 saloon car, from Benin, through Onitsha, to Nsukka, and back.”

However, considering the newspaper’s trail-blazing prestige and reputation at that time, Osadolor believed that The Guardian was the place to be.

“Sometime in April 1985, before my NYSC ended, I came to Lagos to submit my application at The Guardian. I met the Features Editor, Tommy Odemwingie. It was the weekend after Marvin Hagler blasted Tommy Hearns with a third-round knockout in a middleweight title fight. The newsroom was abuzz with chats about the fight. Odemwingie hinted that The Guardian was planning on starting a weekly magazine, like Concord Weekly, Newswatch, Newsweek, and TIME. “I was thrilled by the prospects of a weekly magazine because that would, I thought, give me the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the inimitable Lance Morrow and TIME magazine which had made lasting impressions on me. So, I told Tommy (who, by the way, is an uncle to former Super Eagles striker, Osaze Odemwingie) to pass my papers for the forthcoming magazine.”

Continuing, he says: “Immediately after my youth service, I came back to Rutam House. The African Guardian magazine hired Fred Ohwahwa and me as its first editorial staff, other than a handful who were redeployed from the newspaper. We were, therefore, involved in the incubation and delivery of the weekly news magazine which hit the newsstands in January 1986. I was posted to Harare, as East and Southern Africa correspondent, under the auspices of The African Guardian, in September 1987. I was recalled three years later and appointed Deputy Editor of The Guardian daily newspaper. Subsequent appointments followed.”

Osadolor recorded many firsts at the media house. He was the first and the only journalist in The Guardian to rise from being a reporter to become a member of its board of directors; the first and only deputy managing director in the history of the newspaper since 1983.

In his private capacity, he has consulted for various organizations and agencies. He also served in the public sector; between 2011 and 2015, he served as the special assistant to the Minister of Information, and between 2005 and 2007, he was Edo State’s commissioner for information.

Always a grateful heart, he points out: “My siblings and I have a lot to be thankful for, because of the privilege of having been born and raised in the heart of Benin City.

Akpakpava Street used to be known as Ikpoba Road, named after the city’s main river down the slope.

“As children, we used to boast that

Akpakpava was the longest street in Benin and that it could take you, without a detour, to the South-East, South-South, and thence to elsewhere in Africa. Which is true! From Abakaliki or Cross River, you get into Cameroon, move to the Central African Republic, onward to East and Southern Africa.”

He recalls that Benin City, in the 1960s, was calm, safe, and secure.

However, he says, “I remember vividly how my mother ran bare-chested to snatch me from school with the outbreak of the Civil War in 1967. But once the federal troops retook the Mid-West, relative calm returned to Benin.

“Entrance doors had simple locks and latches; windows had no burglar bars. In most parts of the city, there were hardly properties that had fences, so you could walk some kilometres by just shortening your trip walking through premises. Up to the late 1970s, returning from a football match at Ogbe Stadium, you could walk through the premises of the P&T Exchange, as it had no perimeter fence.

“I grew up seeing and knowing that there were public utilities that worked: electricity, street lights, running water through the public mains from which houses tapped. I also grew up during the phenomenal years of Samuel Ogbemudia as Military Governor of the MidWest, and that means I witnessed the massive construction works in the city, and lined up the streets as pupils, waving flags to receive VIPs, including Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon.

After Ogbemudia introduced the Ogbe Hard Court International Tennis Championships in 1971, with Thompson Onibokun as the winner of the maiden tournament, I was an instant convert to the sport.”

His father was a fleet services clerk at Armel’s Transport Company and in the early 70s, he moved over to Guinness which had opened a plant in Benin. Thereafter, he started his own business. His mother traded in grocery and later went into catering services.

“My parents were disciplinarians with high ethical values. They believed in and invested in our education. There was no question about going to school without uniforms or books. When my elder brothers and I were in elementary school, it was mandatory for us to attend after-school extramural classes, called ‘Lessons,’ for which fees were paid in addition to school fees. My elder brothers attended Western Boys High School at Ikpoba Hill, Benin. My brothers were in the boarding house.

“When it was my turn, I was also shipped off to the boarding house. On the day I went, it was my father who took me there, and my initial pocket money was £1,” he narrates.

As a child, he wanted to study medicine but the sight of blood killed that ambition. Then what influenced him to study mass communication?

“It was a combination of my father and my mother’s PR prowess,” he reveals.

“I got my first media access through my father. He bought newspapers, and at an early age, I was struggling to read the papers with him. There was also a rediffusion box in the quadrangle.

That fascinated me and stoked my interest in radio broadcasts.

“Rediffusion, by the way, was a subscription cable radio service that was the precursor of transistors.

Rediffusion was fixed, while transistor radio is portable, easily movable, and requires only an antenna and no cable connection.”

He adds, reflecting on his mother: “My mother has a prodigious memory and effortless power of recall. I have no doubt that I inherited that from her.

Both of my parents were advocates of hard work, and my mother’s practical demonstration of that was all the more evident after our father passed away, and she, with the grace of the Almighty, raised and sustained the children without going begging.

“My mother, in her catering business, deployed PR and customer relations to good effect. Part of her principles has been never to be a debtor. And she has her peace with no creditor knocking at her door.”

For the past 35 years, Osadolor has been consistent in his calling, and he is arguably one of the most successful journalists of his time.

“Journalism is a sacred calling. We can locate journalists as prime actors in the broad media function of informing, educating, and entertaining,” he says as he talks about what it takes to be a successful journalist.

“As drafters or chroniclers of history, journalists owe a sacred duty to present and future generations. To appreciate what I am saying is to recognise the true worth of quality journalism of which scrupulous gatekeeping is an essential feature. To be a good journalist, therefore, I would say that a keen interest in public affairs, which translates to a desire for a better society, is the single most important aptitude.”

He points out that journalism is not a refuge for the jobless but a passion derived from the heart. He adds that journalism is knowledgedriven.

He suggests one other thing.

“The successful practitioner should have, on the one hand, general knowledge, and on the other, specialized knowledge. General knowledge enables you to navigate the gamut of issues; while specialized knowledge makes you an expert in given fields of journalistic coverage.”

In addition, he explains: “Another very important quality is integrity coupled with fairness. There is a limit to which a scoundrel can blackmail anyone. There is also a limit to which a partisan can ply his trade, because the audience is very discerning and judgemental, and if a segment of the audience rejects you, then you have lost your influence over that segment.

“Perhaps nothing does more damage to a journalist and his product than reputational harm arising from integrity deficit. If media manipulators believe that you have a price, you are worthless no matter the price tag. Nothing challenges or rattles a media manipulator than the realisation that you are not his errand boy.”

In 2014, Osadolor moved from print to broadcasting and currently co-anchor, Good Morning Nigeria, a current affairs programme, on Nigerian Television Authority. His transition from print journalism to broadcasting caught many by surprise.

“The truth is,” he discloses, explaining his transition from print to electronic. “I have never been a stranger to broadcasting. Two of the persons who influenced me tremendously in broadcasting were Willis Conover of the Voice of America Jazz Hour, and Ernest Okonkwo of FRCN. For my 300-level industrial attachment, I went to Radio Bendel, and as an intern I worked as a reporter, news analyst, and sports commentator. And while I was SA to the Minister of Information, my work also overlapped. So I have always been an electronic media man.”

As a barrister, Osadolor admits that the primary incentive for studying law was the quest for knowledge and the acquisition of additional tools to better navigate life in general and to enhance his journalistic engagements. He was influenced by an elder brother of his long-time friend, Osaro Isokpan, who studied law.

“I always knew that a first degree alone in mass communication would not suffice. After I returned from Harare in 1990. My encounter with Osaro Isokpan sealed the deal,” he acknowledges.

“The more conversations he and I had, the more persuaded I was to study law. There were obstacles as the evening programme at Unilag clashed with my production hours at The Guardian, the six-year duration of the law programme was like an eternity and ill-advised policy that forbade first-degree holders from pursuing, through direct entry. But I navigated like a determined heart and overcame.”

Osadolor as a media practitioner is also a family man, married to his wife, Jane for 29 years after a 10-year courtship. Theirs was love at first sight.

“We got married in 1991. We are blessed with a son and three daughters. Our son is a mechanical engineer. The first daughter is an economist with a passion for fashion, photography and new media. The second daughter is studying law and the ‘baby’ of the house is also in school.

They are all avid consumers of media products.

But none has shown any interest in becoming a journalist.”

Reflecting on clocking 60, he admits, “As human beings, one continues to aspire. I give thanks to Almighty to have enabled me to record my modest accomplishments. I look forward to acquiring more knowledge and also contributing to the body of knowledge. I have a number of book ideas, which I hope to actualize. I equally look forward to returning to teaching. The greater motivation for me is to be a catalyst for change through the instrumentality of my profession.”

49

ͯʹ˜˜ ͰͮͰͮ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

GLITZ PERSONALITY

Ben Langat on Challenges and Impact of Dairy Production in Nigeria The Managing Director of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria, Ben Langat, chats with Vanessa Obioha on the success of a dairy development programme developed a decade ago to promote local sourcing of dairy products as well as develop local economies.

B

en Langat pored over his notes as he waited for the virtual interview to commence. By the time the media chat kicked off, he was already in his element, speaking with admirable confidence as he fielded questions.

The way Langat, who joined FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria in 2017, spoke passionately about the company’s Dairy Development Programme (DDP) - an inclusive business model for local sourcing of milk in Nigeria - one would think that he was with the company when the programme was launched 10 years ago.

But in the three years that he has spent with the company as the Managing Director, the Harvard Business School Management Program alumnus has achieved towering feats. It was under his watch that the DDP launched the Bobi Grazing Reserve in Niger state - its first foray into the northern region - and built a new factory last year for the production of yoghurt sourced from local milk.

“We are not only collecting some raw milk, it’s a full business strategy. It is adequate to run a full production and manufacturing process,” he says.

The success of that programme is a testament to the company’s forwardthinking business approach. Long before the Central Bank of Nigeria initiated backward integration to support and promote local dairy content, FrieslandCampina WAMCO was already at the forefront, working with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the local sourcing of milk.

The company started DDP as part of its commitment to creating shared value by encouraging local milk production and improving local economies. Its first base of operation was in Shonga farms in Kwara state where they supported the farm to meet their quality standards. The company fetched its first fresh milk for production from the farm.

By 2011, the company moved to Oyo where they built milk collection centres to serve over 90 communities. Over the years, more milk collection centres were built in other south-western states such as Ogun, Osun, and Kwara.

Today, the company boasts 16 milk collection centres.

“Ten new ones are being constructed as we speak, with one bulking centre in Iseyin, Oyo state, where the raw milk goes into big cooling trucks and moved to Lagos,” Langat explains.

He added that the company presently collects 40,000 litres a day against its storage capacity of 85,000 litres. Its annual milk volume from 2011 to 2020 has increased significantly; from one million to seven million with new targets set for the years ahead.

“We have achieved and surpassed the target we set in 2016 on dairy development, which were 10 percent local raw materials sourcing level. We have even moved beyond just surpassing our target to set up a complete business line with the Peak Yoghurt. We are committed to helping to grow the economy as the clear leader in the dairy sector; we are training dairy farmers in line with international best practices, improving their livelihood and quality of life, and improving the quality of livestock and pasture for better milk yield.

Langat

“We are building and sustaining new ecosystems. The DDP model has proven to be sustainable. We have a factory that is producing yoghurt and is going to need a lot of fresh milk.

We still need more and that is why we are building more capacity. Perhaps over the next 12 months, the factory can run at full capacity.”

Perhaps, the most significant achievement the company has recorded since it began the DDP is the number of lives it has impacted in the communities where it operates.

Take, for instance, Moyosore Rafiu, a dairy farmer from Iseyin. Prior to the launch of DDP in the state, Rafiu limited his trade to rearing and breeding of cows. He, however, stumbled on the DDP in 2014 and has not looked back since then.

“Milk production was an angle we didn’t pay attention to but with DDP, we produce milk and we have the markets available that we can sell it to, thus increasing our livelihood with the turnover we get from milk production,” says Rafiu.

Langat elaborated on the various ways local farmers and SMEs have benefitted from the programme.

“To produce a litre of milk from any cow, a lot of processes are involved. In all our DDP locations, there are a lot of small and medium businesses that have developed different things around those areas. They sell feeds and animal nutrition boosters to the farmers, they offer veterinary

and consultancy services, even pasture cultivation, fertilizers, herbicides, drugs, etc. Others offer logistics – trucks, farm equipment, tools, etc.

“At every DDP location, we have a laboratory that requires suppliers of lab equipment, chemicals and disposables.

Even the motorcycle riders transporting milk from farmers to the milk collection centres are part of the value chain. We also have institutional partners - organizations, universities and government ministries. It is an ecosystem that is developing just like in other countries where we have DDP. “Farmers are giving up their nomadic lifestyle and they are settling around FrieslandCampina WAMCO DDP locations, where their wives have also set up cooperatives and established various businesses. The women have more time for themselves now because of having an income source; they don’t have to walk long distances to hawk items or fetch water anymore.”

Out of the 7,000 farmers the company has in its employment, 950 are women working across the over 90 DDP communities. Furthermore, Langat said that small traders in these communities earn substantially from the programme.

He explains, “We pay the farmers and

they spend their income on diverse things. So you can imagine an economy that never had any income or much income from raw milk before, but now they have a regular income that runs into substantial sums every month. Such income stimulates a lot in the economy. Even in the housing sector, the DDP has provided a better living for the farmers; they are now building better houses instead of living in temporary mud structures. Suppliers of housing materials also enjoy the multiplier effect of the DDP.” Despite the commendable accomplishments, Langat bemoaned the various challenges hindering their activities.

“We don’t have quality dairy breeds in the country and have to build stock from very low mother stock. A key part of the DDP effort is in the crossbreeding programme to ensure we build enough dairy stock for farmers. There is the challenge of poor infrastructure. There are also normal challenges of cow diseases, water supply to farms, nomadic lifestyle of pastoralists, etc.

“So there was a need to educate the farmers on how to improve their feeds, get veterinary support for the cows, all in a bid to improve the milk yield. The challenge around animal husbandry is really getting the right animal that can give the right yield. The cows that are in Nigeria are largely beef cattle. Over time, they have to be improved. Progress is slow and that is one big challenge.”

He added that the company experienced some hiccups during the lockdown such as transportation. “Our capacity to move was reduced by half; our trucks could only move during the day.”

A major concern of the visionary leader is the level of insecurity in the country. He opined that insecurity and infrastructure are the major challenges government needs to tackle to boost the dairy sector.

“To accelerate backward integration, the big challenges that must be tackled head-on are insecurity and infrastructure. To get products out of the ports is a nightmare, and the cost of clearing goods is rapidly increasing. It has been like this over the last year or two because of port congestion and poor infrastructure. In terms of power supply, we have been here for many decades, but still trying to get into the national grid.

“Supporting companies to bring down the cost of doing business is a very essential thing for the government to do.

When you ask farmers to go and produce milk, cereal, rice, wheat or whatever, they need to know that once the process of farming starts, all the required infrastructure will be put in place and will work all the way to the point of sale and you will get value for what you produce. That way, the cycle remains sustainable and profitable.”

Notwithstanding, he reiterated that the company is committed to supporting government policies that will improve dairy production in the country.

“I think the intention behind backward integration in any country is always good, and policies are best formulated in a manner that is consultative and allows input from stakeholders so that policies don’t create more pain or difficulty in the country. All things considered, backward integration policy-making will continue and we are committed to it. We want to be part of the consultation process because our company is a big knowledge base for dairy development,” he says.

50

ͯʹ˜ ͰͮͰͮ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

High Life Baba Eto: NTDC Boss, Folly Coker, Loses Father

I

f Folly Coker, the Director General of NTDC, had his way as he is wont to in governance, he would have negotiated with death to name its price and spare the life of his father, Elder Nathaniel Folarin Coker, who died on Wednesday.

Yes, nobody makes a lovely corpse.

Not even your aged and once handsome father. Ask Folly, he knows! Wednesday, Folly felt the cold pang of death as it invaded his world; albeit rudely, to claim his father, the Baba Eto of Lagos at 97.

Elder Coker, without doubt, lived a fulfilled life and was even luckier to depart for yonder gracefully without having to suffer the weakness and ailments of feeble old age.

Yes, when his time was up, Elder Coker departed the world, leaving priceless memories behind for his loved ones.

Born on July 22, 1923, he passed away on August 12, 2020.

A champion of social justice, Baba Eto was as much a political titan and quintessential rock of his family: a loving husband, father, brother and uncle. He was a man of great faith and character and financial wherewithal. He charted an exemplary path, never cutting corners or shaming honour, acquired money legitimately and never yielded to defeat.

Little wonder he was honoured by the late Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, Oba of Lagos, with the chieftaincy title of Baba Eto of Lagos. Chief Coker had privileged education at the prestigious CMS Grammar School, Lagos and studied Law at Exeter University, England. He came back to the country on the eve of Nigeria’s Independence in 1960, he was one of those who inherited and solidified Nigerian civil service from the departing colonialists.

In that capacity, Chief Coker served in many posts in different parts of the country, from Government Secretariat in Lagos, administrative staff in Kano and Provincial Administration in Sokoto.

In the midst of the political crisis in the defunct Western region, Chief Coker served as Provincial Adviser (Ibadan).

A Lagos indigene, it was a natural call to duty for him to jointly pioneer the civil service of the newly-created Lagos in 1968. He retired as a permanent secretary in 1978. Chief Coker also had to his credit different biographies of Rt. Reverend Seith Irunsewe Kale, a former principal of CMS Grammar School, Lagos and Lady Oyinkan Abayomi, Iya Eko. A trustee of Nigerian Biological Foundation, former Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, University of Port Harcourt (1993-1997) Chief Coker was also a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management and Commissioner, Boys Scout of Nigeria.

Coker

with KAYODE ALFRED 08116759807, E-mail: kayflex2@yahoo.com

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

End of an Era as Fidelity Bank MD Prepares for Retirement

Okonkwo

Any attempt to imagine Fidelity Bank without an accompanying image of Nnamdi Okonkwo is a daunting task for many people.

Since 2014, both Fidelity Bank and Okonkwo have enjoyed more acclaim than other banks and MDs dare to enjoy in three decades.

This is not the knuckles of luck at work, but competence and vision working hand in hand. Yet, the time is coming—and now is— when Okonkwo must take a step back from the apex position and

allow the bank to enter a new era.

The decision by the bank’s board of directors to retire Nnamdi Okonkwo is something that has caught flames in Nigeria’s business news and corporate bulletins. Since forever, Okonkwo has been the symbol of the bank’s unstoppable momentum and force.

Notwithstanding, Okonkwo’s time at Fidelity will be considered a period of explosion of assets and shareholders’ equity, customer growth, digital

What is peace but strife and conflict defanged and married away to distant neighbours? This is a truth that the people of Iruland in Lagos State are going to get up and personal with. The gist behind it all is that the recently installed Oniru, Oba Gbolahan Lawal and the runner-up in the Iru kingdom’s monarchy, Aremo (Prince) Segun Oniru have buried the shell of conflict and set all things to rest. A resounding hallelujah! would be a fitting response to this news, but for the fact that the whole thing borders on traditional issues.

According to insiders, the resolution of the alleged rift between Oba Gbolahan Lawal and Aremo Segun Oniru was due to the intervention of the baron of Nigerian politics, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The gist is that as a father and mentor to both the Oniru and the Prince, only Tinubu could bridge their gap. And he did.

The particulars of how Tinubu brokered peace between Oba Lawal and Aremo Oniru remain trending topics of conjecture. What is apparent to even a cursory query is that the alleged rift began when Oba Gbolahan Lawal was installed as the Oniru, contrary to what was expected—which was the ascension of Aremo Oniru himself to the throne.

The fact that Oba Lawal was not a

New Oba Oniru, Aremo Segun Oniru Sheathes Sword

Medayese

Oniru

innovation, and all-round development.

Okonkwo took over Fidelity from Reginald Ihejiahi in 2014.

Two years before, he was employed by the bank as the executive director in charge of the Fidelity’s businesses in southern Nigeria, excluding Lagos. It is by virtue of his peerless handling of that position that he climbed into the MD/CEO chair barely 20 months later.

With Okonkwo captaining the banking house, several awards of recognition and excellence were won by the bank. One of the most renowned of these awards is the bank’s 2017 fourth place on the list of Nigerian banks that provided the best services for customer satisfaction. Regardless of the metrics, Fidelity is always among the top 10 Nigerian banks. Okonkwo deserves some accolades in this regard as well.

All in all, Okonkwo’s leadership at Fidelity is tiptoeing to its end.

Soon, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe—who currently oversees the bank’s operations in the Lagos and southwestern directorates—will take over Okonkwo’s position as MD/ CEO. A formidable figure with over 30 years’ banking experience and a blazing trail of achievements, some eyes are on Onyeali-Ikpe. Whichever eye isn’t staring at the incoming MD/CEO remains trained on Nnamdi Okonkwo as he prepares for retirement and brings his era at Fidelity Bank to a sigh-silent close. contending force for the Oniru throne made the alleged tiff all the spicier.

According to those that followed the process, Oba Lawal was not within the range of those appealing to the chiefs and people of Iruland for support. He reportedly didn’t break a single sweat in this pursuit, but ended up getting it.

Furthermore, using bloodline as the defining factor, Aremo Segun Oniru and Hakeem Ajasa were a thousand times more qualified— the former is the son of the late Oba Idowu Oniru, and main contestant from the Akiogun Ruling House, while the latter was the main contestant from the Abisogun Ruling House Abisogun. Oba Lawal, on his own lane, is an Oniru on his maternal side, but not on the traditional paternal angle.

Needless to mention, when Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu installed Oba Gbolahan Lawal as the Oniru, jaws dropped in shock and throats buzzed with screams. The indignation even reportedly resulted in a closed-door appeal to nullify the new Oniru’s ascension. Evidently, that alleged move did not yield anything.

All that can now be set aside, with Aremo Segun Oniru now behind Oba Gbolahan Lawal’s kingly status. The land is green again.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͯʹ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

51

Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

Oladega Kehinde Eyes Late Tunde Buraimoh’s Seat Call youthful Prince Oladega Kehinde Ibrahim an uncommon breed and you won’t be far from the truth.

Although he grew up like every other child, those who should know would readily attest to the fact that Oladega became conscious of his environment early in life: he had exhibited leadership traits to the admiration of all.

Upon graduating from the Lagos State Polytechnic, he never took up paid employment.

But he has been able to establish himself through his extraordinary talent, which he exhibited while he was involved in student unionism in the polytechnic. He is good at weaving words together, which makes him a good voice-over artiste, compeer, and presenter.

Also, his zeal towards ensuring his riverside homestead, Agboyi, doesn’t remain undeveloped led him into partisan politics. In no time, his talent and commitment to party activities brought him out.

He first caught the attention of former Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola and later became a loyal right-hand man to the late Senator Bayo Osinowo aka Pepper.

Among numerous party assignments, Dega, as he is fondly called, has been member, Media Committee of Babajide SanwoOlu Campaign Organisation and member, Media Committee, President Buhari NEXT LEVEL CAMPAIGN. A source revealed to Society Watch that Oladega had stepped forward to take up a new challenge, following the vacuum created by the passing of Buraimoh who represented Kosofe Constituency II, at the Lagos State House of Assembly.

This, the source added, was following the encouragement given by the elders and youths of Agboyi.

Dega, whose slogan is ‘Youthful and Useful.’ is a leading aspirant among others who are interested in representing the APC in Kosofe by-election.

Buruji Kashamu: A Peep into Life of Maverick Politician

Kashamu

On Sunday, August 9, Senator Buruji Kashamu, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, successful businessman and philanthropist went the way of all mortals when he was buried at his Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State home, amidst tears and wailings by family members and sympathizers.

Kashamu gave in to death after battling, helplessly, the ravaging global scourge,

At last, Adama Indimi, the beautiful daughter of Borno State-born billionaire, Mohammed Indimi, has bidden bye to spinsterhood!

Adama got married to her sweetheart, a billionaire businessman, Malik Ado-Ibrahim, founder of Bicernery and owner of F1 Team Arrows, last Saturday, with the full blessings of their families.

The traditional marriage rites started on Friday, August 7, while the Nikkah ceremony took place on Saturday, August 8.

Before her marriage to AdoIbrahim, who is also the heir to the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, the ravishingly beautiful lady was one of the hottest spinsters in Nigeria.

She had been romantically linked with many men in the past,

him into the national consciousness.

Besides, the renowned socialite was embroiled in various crises with the Federal Government and some of its agencies since 2014 in the bid to frustrate any efforts to extradite him to the United States over alleged drug offences.

He challenged the extradition moves by securing two orders from a Federal High Court between 2014 and 2017 restraining the Federal Government, through its agencies, from extraditing him to the US. However, the Court of Appeal, on May 4, 2018, cleared the coast for the Federal Government to extradite Kashamu. In two separate judgments, the appellate court voided and set aside all orders made by the Federal High Court restraining the government from proceeding with the extradition.

Sadly, he bore this tag of a fugitive until he breathed his last.

Earlier in the year, Kashamu, who owned Western Lotto, had been fingered as the one who instigated an investigation by the EFCC into the activities of some of his competitors in the industry for alleged tax evasion.

It is curious that while some had forgiven him of his alleged wrongdoings and made up with him before he passed on, some others seem to be nursing animosity or enmity against him, even as he is six feet under now. What a man he was!

Adama Indimi Quits Spinsterhood including hip-hop sensation, Dapo Oyebanjo, otherwise known as D’ Banj.

Many would recollect how she was broken-hearted when she was dumped by the music star who married another woman. Until the relationship broke up, they were an item. Many thought they would definitely walk down the aisle, in spite of the religious and tribal differences, especially as the Ogun Stateborn star was a regular guest at her family’s house in Abuja.

Following the break-up with D’banj, the graduate of the Lynn University, Florida, United States, had stayed off men for a long time, while tongues wagged over her spinsterhood.

Adama Indimi with the husband

Screen Diva, Sola Sobowale’s Exciting Moment with Mouka Foam

Sobowale

Kehinde

COVID-19, at a Lagos hospital.

In life, Kashamu was as interesting as he was in death. For the good part of his 62 years on mother earth, he lived the life of a man who was guided in all actions and inaction by his conviction.

Prodded by that, Kashamu, the thoroughbred grassroots man, tried did his best to set many free from the vice-like grip of poverty through his foundation, Omo Ilu Foundation, headquartered in Ijebu Igbo.

For a man lifted by providence, after reportedly being a ticketing officer at a motor park in Lagos and later at a local government council, it was no surprise that he identified openly with the downtrodden; and he, indeed, scored highly in the area of philanthropic gestures.

Nothing can be truer than this considering the mammoth crowd, most of whom were members of the lower class, who struggled to pay their last respect to him, in spite of the COVID-19 restriction on social gathering occasioned by the pandemic.

It was evidence of their sense of appreciation of the lifeline he offered them.

But at a deeper level, his involvement in politics had rather exposed him as a controversial man. Though he could be described as a lone fighter, many of his opponents and traducers found him to be unstoppable.

It is a fact that Kashamu, who represented Ogun East Senatorial District, had caused so many ripples in Ogun State’s politics, as he took on various rivals at different times bringing

No doubt, Sola Sobowale is one of the glittering stars in the nation’s movie firmament, otherwise known as Nollywood.

Since she ventured into acting many years ago, she has featured in several critically acclaimed works in movies, on stage and on TV. Interestingly, for her versatility, this great role interpreter has been rewarded with awards

at home and abroad.

The light-complexioned actress is also fast becoming an influencer and an ambassador of many brands.

A few days ago, the screen goddess inked a deal with Mouka Foam as its ambassador to the admiration of her teeming fans.

Speaking of her strong belief in the brand, she was quoted as saying, “When I was called to be Mouka ambassador, I laughed because l have been using the company’s products over the years. Then, l told them to visit my house, that I have over 100 pieces of Mouka mattresses.

“But they didn’t believe until they came.

You know, as an actress and producer, when I am on a film location, l always rent an entire building, furnish it with Mouka mattresses for my shootings; and we have been able to attain the much-desired comfort for all members of my crew.

“Today, as it stands, my parents are not with me anymore, but they used Mouka mattresses until their last days. I am currently using Mouka mattresses, likewise my children and it will pass on to the next generation.’”

Also speaking during the ceremony, a top member of staff of the company was quoted as saying, “Mouka doesn’t just throw products

out there. It interacts with its consumers to know what they want and how they like it, and the feedback determines what would be manufactured and sold.

“We have various Mouka mattresses for different ages, body builds, lifestyles and budget. Yet, we still retain the same quality we are known for, at quite affordable prices.”

Recently, Mouka launched a new range of products called Wellbeing, endorsed by the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) and the Nigeria Association of Orthopaedic and Manual Therapists. It is recommended for those advanced in age especially for people aged 40 and above.

He explained further, “The first mattress is called Wellbeing Regal Orthopaedic mattress, which is very good for the elderly and those with back issues. It helps support their lower back, hips and other pressure points, thereby preventing aches and pains.

“The second mattress is called Wellbeing Regina Semi Orthopaedic mattress, which is ideal for those weighing up to 150kg. It is Semi Orthopaedic, which means it is still supportive but not as firm as a full orthopaedic mattress.”

52

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ ͯʹ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

OBJ’s Hunchback And Burdens of Nigeria Some of you like my brother Ajanaku will not understand literature now o. They will now shout that the Duke of Shomolu say OBJ get hunchback.

Even though the Baba dey walk like person wey get hunchback, he no get o. So hunchback for this write-up is just a figurative explanation of the baggage that is the country; that Baba has made himself believe that he must carry. Baba continues to have this messianic disposition towards Nigeria, hence his refusal to retire. So every matter he must write letter.

Even the recent unfortunate passing of popular senator

and enemy of America, Senator Buruji Kashamu, Baba write letter. The letter caused so much rancour and praises at the same time that for a brief moment, Nigerians removed their eyes from Buhari’s continuous slumber and be debating the content of the letter. They say he had no right to say what he said.

Others screamed that he had all the right. If you have not read the letter just yet, it is not my business to come and be telling you what he wrote. Go and buy paper and you will see it. The paper is yellow and he sign in green and was addressed to my brother, Governor Dapo

Abiodun who carefully dodge.

So some of you have been asking me my position on the matter. So was Baba right to have said the late politician used all his connections to dodge justice but could not dodge death? Are you waiting for my answer?

Be like say you no get what to do with your time this Sunday morning. If you have that kind of time in your hands, why not go and study NCDC’s COVID-19 results from inception to date and see how many Ibibio people have been cured. Please, leave Baba and his hunchback. When he is tired, he will put it down.

Nigeria problem no be letter go solve am. Thank you.

EBOSE AUSTIN OSEGHA – AN EDO MAN IN UYO Now people, this story I am going to say is the bane of our national underdevelopment. So the Board of Directors of Akwa Ibom State-owned Insurance Company – Anchor Insurance cast its net very wide to get quality to run their company and settled for this ‘Bini’ man.

In carrying out this search, they very uncharacteristically did not look at ethnicity but capacity. The ‘Bini’ man true to type has grown the indices of the company very phenomenally. Look at these verified figures – from a gross premium of N1.6b in 2018, the man grew it to N3.4b and then pushed it to N4.2b. The Profit After Tax was grown from 163.8m in 2018 to N220.2m in 2019.

Already in this wicked year of 2020, the man with his team has grown gross premium beyond the N5.1b mark. Mbok, when I saw these figures as a retired stockbroker, I knew what it meant. So I decided to celebrate the ‘Bini’ man on my WhatsApp which reaches over 10,000 people.

That is how one woman from Akwa Ibom reach me o. Say she

is an insurance person with over 30 years’ experience and a golfer that me as an Ibibio man, I should not be celebrating the man. Next minute she sends me a writeup authorized by some faceless people with all sorts of allegations bothering on ethnicity and why the Bini man should be kicked out of the company. Nothing pain me reach this thing. The level of idiocy was nauseating.

Didn’t they see this performance, didn’t they see the wealth the young man was creating for the company and by extension the state and people of Akwa Ibom?

So because he is not an afangeating goon, he must be kicked out? Kai, I slammed the phone on the lady and almost broke down in tears. Will we ever see the light in this country in my lifetime? Will we?

See this story that should be celebrated but instead, we are writing letters and pushing the ethnic card. We have not started.

This is just annoying. Very.

whose name has been dragged everywhere still had the guts to come out to be preaching. She was said to have been saying some things about Yahoo-Yahoo people. I first did not believe that she could even come out, talk less of climbing the pulpit to preach with the kinds of things hanging over her head. Just shows the kind of society in which we find ourselves.

Agreed that we have not seen any conviction and as such she still remains as plain as the rest of us but those who know, know. This should have made her just continue to be looking at London Bridge instead of coming to be throwing bile on our sensibilities. I read the report so many times still not believing what I was reading.

Mbok, aunty leave us alone o.

You have done your own and have gone. Just leave us to continue to rue our misfortune of being exposed to leaders like you. Not your fault, just don’t rub it in. Leave us abeg. Thank you and God bless. Imagine!

Osegha

DIEZIANI ALISON-MADUEKE – SILENCE IS STILL VERY GOLDEN I really don’t know what drives some people sha. This our aunty

Madueke

NBC - WHAT’S DEFINITION OF INSULT? The National Broadcasting

Mohammed

Obasanjo

Commission (NBC) is reported to have imposed a fine of N5m on a radio station that allowed one man to come and talk about Boko Haram. Well, that one is really not my problem.

My problem is the one they say that if you insult the president and elders, you will be sanctioned. That one is my main concern. Because these people, they will not tell us their own meaning of ‘insult’ now o. That is how they will invite me to radio like they always do and I will be asking when last Buhari bathe because my mouth can big like that and before you know it as I reach Ikeja bus stop on my way back to Shomolu, Sowore’s cousins in black will now stop me and carry me go with a headlock. Please, if anybody has a relation working in NBC, please help me ask them their definition of insult.

Till I get that information, forget any radio interview for me o.

I cannot come and enter any detention for this COVID-19 problem because of Nigeria’s matter. No be me. NBC you are doing well, well done.

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

16.08.2020

IN THESE COVID-19 TIMES, LIMCAF REMAINS RESILIENT With its plan to move its selection process and exhibitions online, the Life In My City Art Festival is set through wade through the pandemic storm. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports

A

cautionary obtrusion into the local art scene – at a time the latter gradually stirred back to life – earned the COVID-19 pandemic the diadem as the year’s ultimate party pooper. While some organisers of art events initially threw up their hands in despair, the more optimistic ones among them remained hopeful that things would normalise by June.

Take the case of the Life in My City Art Festival, for instance.

The annual fiesta’s call for entries for the 2020 competition – which would have climaxed with a grand finale in Enugu, by the last weekend in October – had gone out since January. And even while the main cities in the country reeled from the effects of the government-imposed lockdown aimed at stamping out the pestilence, the festival’s organisers stuck to its previously-announced May 30 deadline for the call for entries.

But, of course, the event which is more often known by its acronym LIMCAF would have to at some point bow to the dictates of the times. One way was to review the process of the build-up to the grand finale week in Enugu. Shortly after the “call-for-entries” announcement in January, the unfolding events cast a pall of uncertainty over the prospects of sponsorship. The unlikelihood of financial support of any kind was further exacerbated by the havoc wreaked on the economy by the pandemic.

“It is also quite clear from the restrictions on travel and other cautionary measures put in place by federal and state governments that gatherings either at the regional centres or here at the grand finale would be neither advisable nor even feasible,” the festival’s artistic director, Ayo Adewunmi, explains. “Still, we have to wrestle with the fact that we advertised for entries, and have received just over 300 entries from all over the country. This, we consider a good number given the fact that the entry fee was raised to N2000 per person and that, with the closure of schools and other institutions, many young persons would have been hard put to it finding ways and means to undertake production.”

It was not surprising, therefore, when sometime in June the festival’s local organising committee unanimously recommended that its 14th edition be neither cancelled nor be postponed to next year. That was mainly because the committee members thought adding this year’s entries to those of the coming year in the event of a postponement would be “unfair and unnecessarily difficult to manage”. As the statement signed by Dr Adewunmi suggests, “the entries that have been received for this year will be judged and winners selected.”

Much of the recommendations revolved around the proposal of a virtual process and grand finale. Given the fact that all the entries (which were sent through as email attachments) have been downloaded, the committee members are in favour of using virtual galleries for the sifting process during the first and second stages

Another view of the exhibition of the competition. Of course, artists whose works are not clear enough would be asked to resend better images of their works.

The first stage of the selection of the works, which since the 2018 edition had been done through an online process, would consist of a compilation and the grouping of the entries according to their regions of origin and eventually eliminating the substandard works by a constituted national jury.

As for the second elimination stage, which had hitherto been done through regional exhibitions in nine locations across the country, the entire process would also go online. Besides the concerns about the prevailing COVID-19 protocols, which decreed social distancing at all public gatherings, there were also the uncertainties about the funding for the regional exhibitions.

This time, there would, over a specified period, be region-byregion online exhibitions featuring images of artworks, which would have been deemed good enough for this stage. “Atimetable will be devised and agreed by jury members for the viewing and selection process,” Dr Adewunmi adds.

The final 100 works are expected to emerge after the conclusion of this stage. Previously, all the best 100 works used to be physically curated and displayed at the grand finale exhibition held in the festival’s concluding week in Enugu. And this exhibition’s more recent editions have been hosted at Institute of Management and Technology's International Conference Centre. This year, only the top 25, from which the winning entries should emerge, would be physically sent to Enugu. The final sifting process will be done by the jury, who would probably be assisted by top artists from the board and the organising committee.

Nonetheless, all the best 100 works will form part of a virtual gallery and exhibition, which can be viewed on the annual long-

running festival’s website for the grand finale exhibition.

Another innovation of this year’s edition is the introduction of the public viewers’ award, which the organisers say, would be instituted to encourage public participation and media publicity.

On a yet-to-be-decided date, invitations would be sent out to a selected stakeholders – drawn from Enugu and cities around Nigeria – to witness the virtual awards of the LIMCAF prizes.

On the awards, the organising committee says they will be conducted by its members and those of the board, adding that details of the ceremony would be sorted out through discussions with a capable information technology company.

Meanwhile, the organisers are presently discussing the details of this proposal festival with major sponsors and patrons, hoping that this would be “quite a FIRST and high profile experience for LIMCAF.” Talking about sponsors, the festival has not only elicited but also sustained the interest of FBN Holdings and the Enugu State Government and, more recently, that of the MTN Foundation, whose director Dennis Okoro has on more than one occasion graced its grand finale and awards night with his company’s top-echelon staff members in tow.

In addition, one of its main patrons, the leading international art icon, Professor El Anatsui has in recent years consistently remained a pillar of support. The Ghanaian-born former University of Nigeria, Nsukka art lecturer had first sent the festival’s top four winners on an all-expenses trip to the 2018 edition of the Dakar Art Biennale, tagged Dak’ Art. Subsequently, he had extended this largesse to the top six winners of LIMCAF’s 2018 and 2019 editions, promising to add to this year’s top six winners to the waiting list of 12 artists, whose trip to the Senegalese capital was aborted by the obtrusion of the pandemic. Had this trip not been postponed, the chosen artists would have participated in an off-exhibition under the banner of LIMCAF. Meanwhile – endorsed by Professor Anatsui, as “getting better and better” – LIMCAF’s awards night has been graced by such industry’s leading lights and a host of other dignitaries. They include the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe; Nigeria’s former high commissioner to the UK, Christopher Kolade; former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke; the founder of OYASAF, Prince Yemisi Shyllon and the chairman of Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko.

There were also luminaries like Bruce Onobrakpeya, the late Olabisi Silva, Jerry Buhari, Kunle Filani, Sani Mu’azu, Peju Layiwola, Joe Musa, Frank Ugiomoh, Sam Ovraiti, Chijioke Onuora and Tonie Okpe, among others.

Bankrolled during its first four years by Chief Robert Orji’s advertising and printing firm Rocana Nigeria Limited, it had the backing of the Alliance Française network and the French Embassy, whose support continues till date.

ART-LOGUE

FORTOLULOPE ALADEDUYE, ARTIS ABOUTANSWERING A CALLING Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

A pair of eyes peers into the dark from behind the illumination produced by a cigarette lighter’s flame. The image simultaneously resolves into partial coherence as a face and a thumb and a finger gripping the lighter looms into focus. The face, which the artist confirms as his, is bursting with curiosity and belongs to a young man on the cusp of great expectations.

This charcoal painting, titled “Stars”, is Tolulope Aladeduye’s attempt to pictorially depict the disillusionment hanging over the present-day Nigerian society. “I was simply uncomfortable with the way things have turned out in this country,” he laments,

decrying “the fact that good people soon become tyrants once they assume political power.”

But then, he believes that even those he would like to call the “good people” are rare to find. And it is on these “good people” that he counts to present a fighting front against the evil influences of corruption and other social vices, which he metaphorically represents as the darkness.

This explains his allusion to “Stars” as a title for the 11” x 13” hyperrealistic painting. “I believe stars shine brightest on the darkest nights,” he says. “I gave it that title because it explains the need for light to keep on shining even in utter darkness.”

The Obafemi Awolowo University final year fine and applied arts student might just as well have substituted the word “Stars” with “Shinning Examples”. In this time of despair, he finds solace in art.

Flashback to as far back as he could recall. All forms of creative expressions have always intrigued him.

Readers should continued online www.thisdaylive.com Aladeduye

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

54

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ AUGUST 16, 2020

SCIENCETECHNOLOGY/TRIBUTE

Innovation Fuels Change to Green Energy There’s an urgent need, writes Kofo Babalola, to think of better ways to implement scientific theories already known into new and better designs

I

magine living in a society where all the electricity is generated from solar, wind, water and geothermal energy. This is a complete shift to green energy which is dependable on the weather that is continuously fluctuating.

There is no way of determining the reliability of this source of energy.

What if there is not enough wind blowing in that particular moment to generate electricity?

What if it is a cloudy day and the stream of light from the sun is not enough to trigger the photoelectric effect in the photovoltaic cells that make up the solar panels? These are all issues that are impeding the switch over of power generation from the burning of fossil fuels to green energy.

There is this uncertainty on relying on our environment to generate enough power for our daily lives. However, Masdar city in the United Arab Emirates, in particular, has taken on this risk of using only renewable energy as a source of electricity. The city focuses mainly on generating electricity from solar energy. Instead of the generic implementation of rooftop solar panels, there is a cluster of photovoltaic cells that are built in the desert to power the whole city.

This is a form of adapting the concept of the use of rooftop solar panels in generating electricity through the capturing of sunlight’s energy to suit its surroundings, as a solar field in the middle of the desert was deemed a better format of trapping the energy from the sun. It

is interesting how a scientific principal can be adapted to become more effective through the exploration of different designs.

The concept is not lost but enhanced through the risk taken to try a different format from the generic use of solar panels on rooftops. We need to think of better ways to implement the scientific theories that are already known to us into new and better designs. We should not think to stick to the generic designs already put in place.

For example, in hydroelectric power, can we find a better way of constructing the hydroelectric dams in a way that it does not take up a great amount of space but still gets the job done of generating electricity from water. What will the best design of the dam look like that will suit our country? It can be so simple but yet it still utilises the main concept of using the water to turn the turbines to generate electricity but in a compact and effective format.

There have been great developments in the generation of power in Nigeria, as there has been a progression in hydropower. Although there is still great reliance on fossil fuels like many other countries, it can be still seen that alternatives have been explored.

The problem of climate change that is faced worldwide has been highlighted through various efforts driven by renowned organizations, especially in the documentary, ‘Inside Bill’s brain,’ one can see how odd some of the efforts are.

One thing that resonated with me in this

documentary was that there was a blatant statement made of how one doesn’t need to create complex structures in slum-like areas to reach a common goal. There could be a different way one can look at a certain situation that can be of better suiting to the state of a developing country.

We don’t necessarily need to follow the designs already put in place of generating electricity from renewable energy. In episode 1 of the documentary, there was the discussion of the use of the omni processor which is a way of generating not only water but electricity from waste products -faeces.

This concept is essentially a form of green energy that acts as an alternative to wind turbines, solar panels and hydro-electric power plants. The ideology of killing two birds with one stone as the structure plays two vital roles is more effective than the rest.

We are constantly egesting waste and with the population of our country, we will have an endless supply of this source of energy without delay. This makes me think that: is there anything else that we are missing when it comes to finding new renewable sources of energy?

Other than faeces, what else can be used as a source of energy? This shows the power of just thinking, as what we often see as of no use has been brought to use by the act of brainstorming. An idea of changing a problem into a useful tool to create change is written all over this creation of the omni-processor.

There was a sanitation problem as sewage waste from toilets accumulated around the slum-like area in Senegal. It took a brave person to come up with a weird idea of using this waste product- faeces - coming from sewage to act as a form of energy to power our daily lives.

Many would have dismissed this ideology as it had not yet been a full-fledged invention that could be seen before our eyes as often ideas in the early stages always seem impossible.

However, it takes a few who are ready to take a chance on this idea to develop it further into existence.

There is a lot of riches hidden in plain sight, but the only problem is that we are looking hard but not really seeing a great deal. This is because we often tend to focus on the glitches and imperfections in what we see, and we become lost in a daydream full of thoughts that impede progression. I, like many others, never thought of the concept of a power plant powering itself. It is mind-blowing how this omniprocessor doesn’t require the input of external electricity to work as the sewage transmitted to it is also used as its source of energy.

Waste is the one thing that is unappealing in nature, but yet it is not only used as the system’s source of energy but is also used to produce electricity and water. The two necessities of life.

This makes me ask: is there more to the world than what we are seeing?

––Babalola is an Engineering student of the University College London

PERSPECTIVE

Resolving Housing Deficit in Lagos Moruf Akinderu-Fatai

L

agos State, as a major economic hub and commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, attracts a lot of people from various parts of the nation.Apart from rural urban drift, immigration from different neighboring nations also accounts for the ever-swelling demography of the State.

Providing adequate accommodation for the everincreasing number of dwellers of the State is indeed a challenge that has become a basis for a responsive housing policy from the State Government.

With the inception of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration, there was a renewed vigor to add to the existing stock of homes in the State. As part of its deliberate policy and in pursuit of the THEMES agenda, the Lagos State Government made a resolve to consistently and constantly upscale the activities targeted at reducing the housing deficit in the State.

This is being done by deliberately increasing the available housing stock in Lagos state through two basic strategies. The first game plan was to complete all ongoing housing projects inherited from past administrations in order to consolidate on the gains of the past and have a quick win which will translate to more dividends for the people within the first years of the administration.

It is important to note that many of the projects had been set aside for over four years. Some had exceeded the project life span thereby requiring extensive modifications and variations. Suffice to say that, this plan was also to curtail the unwarranted wastage, which would have resulted from continued abandonment of such housing projects.

In this category, there were 15 housing schemes comprising over 4000 home units at various locations in the State at different levels of completion. Some of the scheme sites are Igando, Igbogbo, Sangotedo, Ajara, Egan-Igando, LASU main Campus, Iba, Sangotedo, Epe to mention a few.

The second ploy was to activate the public private partnership schemes which were already in existence. There were over 30 private investors who were in joint partnership with the State in developing some housing schemes. The involvement of private sector in increasing the housing stock is quite crucial. It helps in reducing direct governmental expenditure thereby releasing more funds for bridging other infrastructural gaps.

While government provides unencumbered land for these investors, the onus then lies on the partner to build according to given and agreed-upon specifications within a time limit. These developers entered into partnership, by a legal relationship with the State Government to build on government acquired land and upon completion give to the State government an agreed number of the housing units, which commensurate with the cost of land and a percentage of the profit. Such projects are located at Idale in Badagry, Lekki, Ibeshe, Imota, Ilubinrin, Iponri and Ijora and so

Akinderu-Fatai on.

It is should be noted that the public private participation arrangement was fraught with a lot of challenges in the past. It was observed that prior to this current administration, the pace of project completion by many joint investors was usually very slow. However, when the present Administration assumed office, it became very clear and imperative to determine the status of the various Joint Ventures projects and institute more stringent monitoring apparatus to measure the level of compliance from time to time.

In a manner of intervention, the present government actively engaged the Joint Venture Partners more through joint technical meetings, enforcement of the much needed timelines for each stage of the work plans, supported them as much as possible to overcome challenges through vibrant inter ministerial relationships and regular review of contractual agreements (if necessary) in the interest of the people whom we are serving.

The gains of the plans so far include the fact that already a total of 1576 homes have been completed as follows: 120 units at Courtland Luxury Villa Igbokushu and 132 units in Lekki Apartments (through the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation), 492 units in Alhaji Lateef Jakande Estate in Igando, 360 units at LagosHoms Igbogbo llB, 252units at Lagos State Affordable Public Housing Scheme in Idale, Badadgry, 132 uints at Iponri Housing Scheme and 92 units at Lekki Phase 2 scheme in Eti- Osa Local Government. In accordance with the expectation and the structure already established, the following

yield is expected before the first quarter of 2021: 774 units from the 1188 homes under construction at LagosHOMS Sangotedo clusters in Eti - Osa LGA, 660 homes at Lagoshoms Odo Onosa /Ayandelu in Agbowa Local Council Development Area, Egan Igando Scheme with 630 homes out of which 270 will be delivered before the end of the year and LagosHOMS LASU in Lagos State University main Campus with 36units.

With the huge housing deficit in the State, the State government is still resolute on creating more innovative methods for supplying decent and affordable homes to the people of the State. Given the limited land mass of the State and the increased pressure on available lands for housing and other developmental ventures, the time is ripe for thinking outside the box. In the course of time, government is keen on evolving an inclusive strategy through which owners of old homesteads partner with government in terms of releasing old properties to government for vertical developments of blocks of homes. The land on which the homes are will be viewed as equity for the family concerned while government will partner in building high rise accommodation to serve as homes for more people. This is a strategy that will also result in urban renewal and regeneration of old homesteads.

We are greatly concerned about affordable housing for a large section of the people especially those in the low income bracket.

Economic realities reveal that the purchasing power of many residents is weak hence pushing home ownership far beyond their dreams. This is being addressed through the reorganization of our informal sector, which is where many of our people operate.

We are actively driving cluster arrangements via Cooperatives to satisfy the yearnings of as many people as possible in this bracket.

This group is accommodated through the Rent to Own Scheme which is our own unique way of increasing affordability. This scheme enables an allottee to pay only 5% as initial payment with the rest spread over a period of 10 years with a minimal interest of 6%.

Effective mortgage funding at reasonable interest rate to reduce the high cost of funding for housing is also part of our policy considerations. In addition, we are actively encouraging research into the use of local building materials to reduce cost of building.

In this way, we solve the issue of affordability while also energizing the economy through reduced import cost.

Ahuge percentage roughly put at 85% of our people live in rented apartments. There is need for intervention since many spend over 40% of their income on rents which has to be paid annually in most cases. In this regard, we have the proposed HOME4MORE scheme targeted at young professionals with the aim of giving them a good start in life. We are in the process of working it out with various stakeholders in the Private sector including Contributory Pension Fund Administrators and other agencies of government.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

55

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ UGUST 16, 2020

INTERNATIONAL Nigeria’s Deepening Insecurity and US Alert on ISISAl-Qaeda Infiltration: Technical Defeat or Self-deceit?

I

nsecurity is of many types: psychological, military, political, human, humanitarian, environmental, economic, etc. Psychological insecurity is largely derived from fear of the unknown. It is about emotional perception of danger.

Military insecurity is what most people talk about, simply because it is often manifested in different terrible ways: coup d’état, lack of necessary wherewithal, and therefore

refusal, to fight and defend the nation. It also includes any threat to the military, etc.

Political insecurity is essentially about instability, crises of legitimacy, and political lulls. Human insecurity can be considered Telephone : 0807-688-2846 as falling under economic insecurity, because it is about lack of e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com food, poor health facilities, poor standard of living, drought.

In fact, it is about insolvency and obstacles to decency of life.

Humanitarian insecurity falls within the context of abuse of international humanitarian law, which prohibits non-attack on unarmed people, non-combatants, hospitals, soldiers that surrender, etc. The moment any of these people who are internationally protected are threatened or attacked, their security is necessarily taken away. Environmental insecurity has a lato sensu coverage and implication. It is about how the environment and nature affect security of lives and property.

Without doubt, all the types of insecurity identified above can still be classified under environmental insecurity since they all occur within the environment, nationally or internationally. But, for ease of exegesis and in terms of causal factors, all of them can be typologised into only two: internal and external, but the two are not mutually exclusive.

Internal insecurity in Nigeria is made up of conflict of ethnic interests, quests for self-determination, Fulani herdsmen versus farmers’ dispute, fears of Fulanisation and Islamisation, as visibly represented by the Boko Haram insurgency, of Nigeria, etc. At the level of external threats, there is the major problem of international terrorism, which could be said to have an internal origin. The Boko Haram group began as a protest group, but has been given an international dimension in two ways. The Boko Haram sought Buhari affiliation with the Al-Qaeda and was accepted as one of them. In this regard, it is given necessary financial and logistic support. mean for Nigeria’s political leaders? What informed Gaddafi’s There is the second factor of post-Syrian and Iraqi war in which statement? Why division of Nigeria on the basis of religion? Why virtually all the terrorists and professional mercenaries there have has Government kept quiet on this type of statement? Why are the been displaced and they have to find alternative countries for Nigerian people not educated on this matter and carried along in resettlement. Africa, and particularly Nigeria, has been found the struggle against disunity? to be quite convenient and they have been infiltrating Nigeria Third is the case of Boko Haramists in government. Dr. gradually.

Goodluck Jonathan, while in office, told all Nigerians publicly that Additionally, it should be remembered that the political crisis in there were Boko Haram elements in his government. His stateMali also has its terrorist aspects. Apart from the Tuareg rebellion ment was made against the background of the frequent killing of against the Malian government for possible independence Nigerian soldiers by ambushing. Put differently, the insurgents for Northern Mali (National Movement for the Liberation of have informants in Government in such a way that every next Azawad), there are the Ansar Dine, the Movement for Oneness line of action of the Nigerian military is known with precision, and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), the AQIM, all of which are the routes to be taken are always known and they are always pushing for Islamisation through terrorist methods in the Sahel mercilessly killed. And true, the lives of Nigerian soldiers are unand in the whole of West Africa. This is why the issue of insecurity, necessarily wasted in an unfair battle. Are the Boko Haramists not which is deepening in Nigeria, should no longer be taken with a still in government? Where is the place of honesty and objectivity kid’s glove. of purpose in this case?

And true enough again, the dishonesty is now to the extent that the instruments of promotion of honesty are being sanctioned.

Deepening Insecurity in Nigeria For instance, ChannelsTV has it that the National Broadcasting Insecurity is deepening in Nigeria for reasons that are not farCommission (NBC) has fined a Lagos-based radio station, Nigeria fetched. First, when Nigeria acceded into national sovereignty on Info 99.3 FM the sum of N5 million. Dr Mailafia Obadiah, former October 1, 1960, the foundation was that of honesty and objectivDeputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and a former ity of purpose, in spite of differences in political beliefs of the Presidential candidate, was invited to the radio station on Monfounding fathers. The regional leaders were not visibly corrupt. day 10th August, 2020 for its ‘Morning Cross Fire’ programme on They had focus. Today, Nigeria has become the terra cognita for the ‘Southern Kaduna Crisis’, aired between 8.30 am and 9.00 am. conscious dishonesty and chicanery. To be patriotic has become During the discussion, Dr. Mailafia said some governors were aidvery problematic. To seek to be honest can be turned into a crime. ing and abetting the Boko Haram, a statement that prompted the Political leaders have become professional liars to the extent that Department of State Security (DSS) to invite him for discussion. their people are now embarking on self-survivalist measures.

As reported, the NBC sanctioned the radio station for promoting Dishonesty has not allowed security agents to ensure security. ‘unverifiable and inciting views’ and to deter ‘all other broadcast Second, even when the truth is told, and it is hypothetically stations (that) are quick to provide platforms for ‘’subversive presented, dishonesty does not allow for verification. In fact, who really is interested in verification of hypothetical facts? Muammar rhetoric and the expositions of spurious and unverifiable claims’’ to desist from such.’ In spite of this, Dr. Mailafia stood his ground Gaddafi, before he died, told the whole world, and particularly on his point as a man of integrity.

Nigerians, that Nigeria would not have peace, and would never There are two elements of dishonesty in the sanction against be secure unless Nigeria is divided into Muslim North and Christian South. What does this conditionality for peace in Nigeria the radio station: when a guest is invited by a media house, does

VIE INTERNATIONALE

Bola A. Akinterinwa

it know well in advance what is to be said? How can the radio station retrieve what had been said by the guest if the observation is found to be subversive? Again, if the subversive statement had not been made known, how would the DSS have known and have had the opportunity to carry out further inquiry?

What is it that Dr. Mailafia had said that is a big deal? Didn’t Dr. Goodluck Jonathan say that there were Boko Haram agents in his government? Didn’t the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, say that the attack on his convoy was by the Nigerian military and not by the Boko Haram insurgents? Are these statements not subversive? Why are they not arrested? When President Muhammadu Buhari, as presidential candidate, said he would make Nigeria ungovernable, why was he not arrested and prosecuted for the threat?

If a statement reflects the exact truth but considered subversive, how do we reconcile telling the truth and sanctioning truthtelling? Some soldiers decided to withdraw their services from the military because of lack of weapons to fight. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, said that Nigeria was receiving support from some countries while support has not been forthcoming from some other countries, even from countries that order for supply of arms had been placed. Countries that have been supporting were mentioned by the Minister. He kept silent on those not supporting. This cannot be simply taken as diplomacy but another expression of dishonesty. There is the need to know who the friends of Nigerians are, especially in the containment of boko haramism on a permanent basis.

Fourth, and perhaps more disturbingly, President Muhammadu Buhari made it clear to Nigerians that Nigerians do know that the Federal Government has done, and is doing, its best to end insecurity. The best of government has not in any been good in terms of restoration of security. Most unfortunately, however, the best of government has only been encouraging more attacks on innocent Nigerians and the poorly motivated Nigerian soldiers. In fact, there were multiple bomb attacks on the eve of Salah. Videos of plights of the victims of the Boko Haram attacks, sleeping on the floors in their camps, and seriously suffering, are circulated worldwide, while the Federal Government is only seen taking steps to pardon their killers. Again, while Governor Zulum is directly accusing the Nigerian military of sabotage and holding the military responsible for the brutal attacks on his convoy, the Defence Headquarters simply warned soldiers against mutiny and unconstitutional acts. In fact, the Miyetti Allah has said it is going to establish its own Miyetti Allah Vigilante group nationwide.

This situation cannot but be a reflection of deepening insecurity.

Fifth, there is the factor of external complicity of aiding and abetting. For instance, the Minister of Information and Culture noted on Thursday, 13th August, 2020 during his intervention at the News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja the non-cooperative attitude of some countries towards Nigeria in the war against insurgency in Nigeria. He even accused some of them. As he put it, ‘to fight terrorists, we need platforms and weapons. When the international community is weighed by unsubstantiated arguments to deny the country of vital platforms and weapons to fight insecurity, you cannot turn round to accuse of not fighting terrorism.’

And perhaps most disturbingly, the Minister said, ‘for more than two to three years now, we have paid for certain vital weapons that they have not released to us and they even refused to give us spare parts... They should not forget that we are fighting a non-conventional war and at the same time, ‘these people have contacts everywhere. In other words, it is not only the Boko Haram combatants that Government is fighting but also the invisible financiers and others aiding and abetting them (ThisDay, Friday, 14 August, 2020, pp.1 and 9).

The point being made here is essentially that Nigeria is now a country of double standard, of bad leadership driven by dishonesty. This is why there is not only insecurity, but also why it is deepening and seriously threatening national cohesion. We cannot, in this regard, agree more with Babagana Zulum, Borno State Governor, who not only asked ‘why is the insurgency not ending?,’ but also attempted an answer, that ‘there’s sabotage in the system and there is a need for the President to examine the current situation with a view to resolving it.’ It is against this background that the United States alert on impending infiltration of the ISIS and Al-Qaeda into Nigeria should be explained and understood.

‘’Just to congratulate you on your write-up in your column,THISDAY, Sunday 9th August, 2020, on ‘’Chinese Loan Agreement and Nigeria’s Sovereignty.’’ China indeed, for lack of any better assessment, has become a new dilemma in the foreign policy of African States. The United States Alert In a virtual media briefing, entitled, ‘United States Operations And their choices are incrementally becoming a classic case of fatal indecision. Finally, African leaders are seriously challenged to either forced self-reliance or a better alternative during COVID, Assessments of Violent Extremism Across the to their China reckless and now dangerous political adventurism. Great analysis. Well Continent, and a US Military View of Opportunities and Threats,’ with journalists on Tuesday, 11th August, 2020, Major General done!’’ -– Ambassador (Prof.) George A. OBIOZOR. Dagvin R.M. Anderson, the Commander, Special Operations *** ‘’On your column on ‘Chinese Loan Agreement with Nigeria’, if truth be told, China has Command Africa (United States Africa Command, AFRICOM), left no doubt in mind that its national interest takes priority over the national interests stated that extremist groups are trying to settle down in various of its international partners, considering the ingenuity of its loan agreement negotiation parts of Africa after their destabilisation in Syria and Iraq. As he process in Africa. This is how it has survived and attained the enviable position of a global explained it, ‘we are seeing them continue to further south in player. China can only be wrongly blamed for employing all means possible to protect its Burkina Faso towards those littoral nations in the Gulf of Guinea, national interest. Where the inherent evil lies is the inability of Nigeria to meet ingenuity and also further west towards Senegal and West Africa. So that’s with ingenuity in loan agreement negotiations. The subservient and beggarly character concerning to us as we watch them continue to move throughout of lack of initiative, which has kept African nations down for centuries must be frontally the region. dealt with.” - Dr. Tunde EMMANUEL, Senior Lecturer, Lead City University, Ibadan and (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com) Secretary, Nigeria -–China Friendship Association (NICAF).

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ ͯʹ˜ 2020

56

NEWS

Acting News Editor ÌÙãÏÑË ÕÓØÝËØ×Ó E-mail: ÑÌÙãÏÑ˲ËÕÓØÝËØ×Ó̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙט͸΀͹ͽͺͻͽ΁ͺͽͻ ̙Ý×Ý ÙØÖã̚

Despite Public Disapproval, FG Asks N’Assembly to Approve $5.3bn Chinese Loan Request Directs CCECC to complete Lagos-Ibadan rail project Olawale Ajimotokan in Ibadan Amid national apprehension about Nigeria’s rising external debt, the federal government has pleaded with the National Assembly to approve a $5.3 billion Chinese loan request to enable it execute

the Ibadan-Kano standard gauge rail line.

While disclosing its plan to commence skeletal operation on the Lagos-Ibadan railway mid September, the government has also directed the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) to complete

the Lagos-Ibadan rail project on or before January 2021.

The Minister of Information, Mr. Lai Mohammed made the appeals during the inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan rail project alongside his transportation counterpart, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and Managing Director of Nigeria Railway

Corporation, Mr. Fidet Okhiria, among others.

The federal government sealed $5.575 billion loan agreements with the Export–Import Bank of China between December 10, 2010 and May 29, 2018, according to Debt Management Office (DMO) documents.

RAIL PROJECT ON THEIR MINDS . . .

R-L: Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi and his information & culture counterpart, Lai Mohammed while inspecting the Ibadan axis of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line... yesterday

Of the total $5.575 loan agreements wrapped up with this timeframe, the document showed that China EXIM had already disbursed $3.313 billion while the federal government was left with an outstanding loan of $3.121 billion.

With this debt exposure and its implication for the country, Mohammed appealed to the National Assembly to approve a $5.3 billion Chinese loan request to enable the government execute the Ibadan-Kano standard gauge rail line.

He justified the decision of the federal government to borrow to fund infrastructure projects, saying there is nothing bad in borrowing, provided the funds are invested in infrastructure rather than services or consumption.

Mohammed claimed that the government “does not borrow money for overhead but for capital projects. There have been concerns about Nigeria’s borrowing from China and other countries.

“There is no better way to answer Nigerians as to what we have done with the money we have borrowed than this trip,” the minister said in a statement. On this trip, you have seen first hand the stations being constructed, the rail lines and the people who are working on the projects.

“Rather than arguing with

critics, we opted to allow you (journalists) – the ears and eyes of Nigerians – to come and see for yourselves what we are doing with the money we are borrowing.

“We didn’t borrow money for services or overhead expenditure.

We borrowed money for capital projects: rail; roads; bridges; power – infrastructure generally.”

Also during the inspection, Amaechi said $1.6 billion is being expended on the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line and the stations.

Amaechi, however, said there “will be no financial cost arising from the delay of the contract. The Chinese cannot be held responsible for the delay occasioned by the pandemic, adding that there is a clause for force majeure in the contract.

He warned that the probe of the loan by the National Assembly could cause further delay in the handing over of the project and hamper the borrowing plan for the Ibadan to Kano leg of the railway project, expected to cost about $5.3 billion.

He urged members of the National Assembly “to stop their investigation of the issue of loan and allow us to secure the loan for the project. They are not investigating corruption in construction, but rather the issue of loan.

CISLAC, TJNA Recommend 75% Tax Increase on Tobacco Companies, Products Gboyega Akinsanmi Two civil society organisations, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) have asked the federal government to increase excise tax on all tobacco products by 75% in line with the recommendation of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

They justified their proposal on the ground that tobacco consumption is the leading cause of preventable diseases and death in the country, annually responsible for 17,500 deaths while weekly killing at least 207 male consumers

and 130 female consumers.

They sought increased tax burden on tobacco companies and products at a workshop Transparency International (TI) and CISLAC organised on tobacco taxation in Lagos recently for TJNA’s members in Southwest.

At the workshop, the Executive Director of CISLAC, Mr. Auwal Rafsanjani lamented devastative effect of tobacco consumption on public health, disclosing that Nigeria “is the third biggest tobacco market in Africa.”

In Nigeria, for instance, Rafsanjani said smoking prevalence among adults “is estimated at 5.6%

(or about 2.4 million), smoking an average of eight cigarette sticks per day. About 18% of the youth population between 13 and 15 years also smoke” with devastating effects on their health.

Citing a report of the 2012 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), Rafsanjani said tobacco use “has been ascribed as the highest contributor to death related to non-communicable diseases, most of which are preventable death.”

Apart from accounting for the major cause of preventable deaths, according to him, cigarette smoking is the leading cause

Carrington Was Citizen of One Nation, Son of Two, Says Tinubu The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has described the former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, who died last Wednesday as a citizen of one nation, son of two.

In a tribute to the late ambassador yesterday, Tinubu said Carrington came to Nigeria “on a diplomatic assignment, but his true mission was even more sublime. Walter was both an African and an American. This identity he knew full well for it shaped who he was and guided what he did.”

Tinubu, who collaborated with Carrington in the struggle for democracy in Nigeria observed that the late ambassador lent himself to the fight against repressive government in Nigeria.

According to the APC leader, Carrington openly and unconditionally championed the advent of democratic freedom and constitutional governance in the country.

He said: “I am deeply saddened by the passing of former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington. We thank God for giving Ambassador Carrington a long life of 90 years full of exemplary deeds and the best of human achievement.

“We thank God for giving Nigeria Walter Carrington when He did. Carrington came to Nigeria on a diplomatic assignment, but his true mission was even more sublime. Walter was both an African and an American.

“This identity he knew fully well for it shaped who he was and guided what he did. The best

of both worlds was evident in him. This man may have been the citizen of one country but he was surely the brave and passionate son of two nations.

“Last month, I penned a tribute to Carrington as Nigeria joined him in celebrating his 90th birthday. Little did any of us know that we would so soon have to say farewell to this outstanding example of courage amidst humility, of intellect teamed with compassion.

“Carrington was a renowned scholar, author, and astute, innovative diplomat. These things are excellent but they don’t tell the full picture. He was much more than that. He was a proud and noble black man who stood up for his convictions when it would have been easier to simply turn and look the other way.

of lung cancer in Nigeria. And about 87% of lung cancer death is accredited to cigarette smoking Consistent with the WHO estimates, he pointed out that tobacco globally causes about six million deaths each year. About 10% of the deaths (or 600,000) occur in non-smokers due to second-hand smoke.

On this account, the executive director noted that the harmful effect of tobacco consumption “has motivated countries including Nigeria, to implement control measures to tackle tobacco consumption and affordability.”

He said tobacco taxation “is one

of the policy measures that has gained top recognition in Nigeria given that it is widely credited as the most effective tool to reduce tobacco consumption. Previously, only 20% ad valorem excise tax was levied on an average pack of cigarettes sold for N183 in 2017.”

In June 2018, Rafsanjani explained that a specific tax “was introduced and the price of a pack of cigarettes increased by an additional N20. Give the low unit cost analysis in Nigeria, however, the new tobacco tax amounts to a total excise tax burden of less than 20% of retail

prices.”

He observed that the tax regime “is very small compared to 75% excise tax burden the WHO recommended. Thus, in order to impact tobacco affordability and significantly reduce consumption and prevalence, a sustainable tobacco taxation policy is only important, but necessary.”

The executive director said: “While the tobacco companies make profits, they do so at the detriment of public health as tobacco smoking is a wellestablished behavioural risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Fighter Jets, Helicopter Gunships Hit Ansaru-Linked Bandits in Kaduna Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Military jets and helicopter gunships operating under Operation Thunder Strike yesterday bombed camps of armed bandits in Kuduru Forest area of Kaduna State.

Following killings in Southern Kaduna, Defence Headquarters (DHQ) had deployed special forces to the state to contain spiralling killings by herdsmen and bandits.

A military update issued by the Directorate of Defence Media Operations (DDMO) said the air strikes killed scores of bandits linked to the Ansaru terror group.

The update signed by the Coordinator of DDMO, Major

General John Enenche, said the air interdiction followed intelligence reports indicating the convergence of members of an Ansaru terrorist sectlinked bandits group led by one Mallam Abba at the location.

It said aerial surveillance missions conducted over the area also observed several bandits wielding weapons in the forest.

“The air component of Operation Thunder Strike has neutralised several armed bandits at their camp in the Kuduru Forest area of Kaduna State.

“This was achieved through air strikes carried out on 13 August 2020 on the heels of

intelligence reports indicating the convergence of members of an Ansaru Terrorist Sectlinked bandits group, led by one Mallam Abba, at the location”, it said.

The update further stated that “aerial surveillance missions conducted over the area also observed several bandits, some wielding weapons in the forest.

“Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jets and helicopter gunships were tasked to attack the location.

“Several of the bandits were killed as the attack aircraft strafed the area while others attempting to escape were mopped up in follow-on attacks”.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ ͯʹ˜ 2020

57

NEWSXTRA Sanwo-Olu: Ondo Was a Parlous State Before Akeredolu Came in

Warns against underestimating opposition party · ȱȱ ¢ ȱ ȱ Ȃ ȱ ě ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Alex Enumah in Abuja Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday observed that Ondo State was a parlous state before its incumbent governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu took over the mantle of leadership.

Sanwo-Olu, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress National Campaign Council for Ondo governorship poll, also said the people of the state “cannot afford to return to retrogressive life after experiencing progressive governance offered by the APC.” He expressed these views in Abuja yesterday after the APC Caretaker Committee inaugurated him as the chairman of the 104-member campaign council

for Akeredolu’s re-election, which had been scheduled to hold on October 10.

Since returning to civil rule over two decades ago, three governors had governed Ondo State between 1999 and 2016 with different records of achievement before the Akeredolu administration kicked off February 2016.

Late Chief Adebayo Aderafari governed the state between 1999 and 2003 on the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD); late Dr. Olusegun Agagu between 2003 and 2009 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Dr. Olusegun Mimiko first on the platform of Labour Party (LP) before defecting to the PDP. Of all the administrations that governed the state till date, Akeredolu’s has perhaps been the

Ganduje Urges States to Domesticate Anti-graft War Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje yesterday said that the federal government alone cannot fight the anti-graft war if the state and local governments nationwide failed to domesticate the fight against corruption.

He called for domestication of anti-graft war at the state and local government levels while inspecting the head office of the Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission currently being renovated.

Ganduje, also, revealed that the state government had spent N5 billion to establish skill acquisition centres for youths in the state, saying over 400,000 youths have been trained in various skills in the last five years.

The governor inspected the renovation work alongside the chairman of the anti-graft body, Mr. Muhyi Magaji whom he urged not to spare

any members of his cabinet found wanting.

Ganduje, who was caught on camera receiving large amounts of US Dollars in 2018, said the state and local governments should domestic fight against corruption if President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft war would be effective.

At the inspection, Ganduje acknowledged that anti-corruption “is an agenda of Buhari’s administration.

With the way corruption is fighting back, the federal government “cannot fight corruption alone. There is a need to domesticate anti-graft war in the state and the local levels for it to succeed.”

He, equally, charged the state’s anti-graft commission not to protect any government functionary found wanting of corrupt practice irrespective of his position or status in the state, even in the State Executive Council.

Bayelsa Guber: Tribunal Dismisses AD, UCP, LM Petitions against Diri Alex Enumah in Abuja The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal yesterday dismissed three separate petitions challenging the emergence of Senator Duoye Diri as Governor of Bayelsa State.

The three-man panel led by Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, dismissed the petitions for lacking in merit as well as a waste of the tribunal’s time.

The three petitions dismissed are that of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), United Congress Party (UCP) and Liberation Movement (LM).

The three petitioners had asked the tribunal to remove Diri from office on account of having an unlawful running mate in the November 16, 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa State.

The petitioners claimed that

the deputy governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo lied on oath in his form CF 001 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in aid of his qualification for the governorship election.

According to the petitioners, the deputy governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, does not possess the necessary academic qualification for the position of governor.

In the petition filed by the LM and its governorship candidate, Mr. Vijah Opuama, it was alleged that there were discrepancies in the name of the deputy governor on his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) exemption certificate.

They also alleged fraud in his Rivers State University of Technology degree certificate attached to his form CF 001.

most controversial administration with some APC leaders at the national and state levels joining forces to deny him the return ticket.

Despite the gang-up against his reelection, Akeredolu defeated ten other governorship aspirants of the APC, polling 2,458 votes out of the total 2,793 votes.

But after his inauguration as the chairman of the APC campaign council yesterday, Sanwo-Olu noted that since Akeredolu took over the reign of power in 2017, Ondo “has moved from her hitherto parlous state and has returned to a trajectory of growth and development.

“This is a major feature of our party. We pride ourselves as harbinger of peace, progress and purposeful leadership wherever we have our foothold. Mr.

Chairman, let me assure you that the tasks you have given us will be approached with the highest sense of responsibility.

“We know that the people of Ondo State cannot afford to return to retrogressive life after experiencing progressive governance offered by the All Progressives Congress. Therefore all the 104 members will roll up our sleeves and work hard for the victory that we truly and genuinely deserve,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu, however, acknowledged the popularity of the main opposition candidate, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, saying the APC would not take the PDP for granted in the forthcoming election.

Although he said the APC would not take the PDP for granted, Sanwo-Olu observed that the main opposition party should not bother campaigning as the election was for APC to lose.

He said the PDP really “should not waste their time. But election is something that is not over until it is all over. We are not taking anybody for granted. We are going for an election. It is going to be issues-based.

“We will ensure that we campaign for the people of Ondo State to see the need to continue with the progressive government that they have. Akeredolu is doing very well. We have seen it. He still has the capacity,” Sanwo-Olu said.

Asked whether the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had endorsed Akeredolu’s candidature with his appointment as the chairman of the campaign council, Sanwo-Olu noted that it was not just about endorsement by the national leader, but about the collective endorsement.

He said: “In this endorsement, you saw Senator Ajayi Borrofice.

You have seen our brother, Mr.

Olusola Oke (SAN). You saw meetings where Mr. Isaacs Kekemeke, the state’s former party chairman, was in attendance.

“You see meetings where Dr. Olusegun Abraham was in attendance.

“After the party primaries, they all came together even before our choice of the national council. In Ondo State, they have resolved their problem themselves and all of them said we are supporting Akeredolu as the APC governorship candidate. So, it is a unified decision.”

He, however, observed that the most critical thing “is the people of Ondo State. It is about good governance. It is about what he is doing. It is not an easy job. But we believe in him. We believe that what he has started as a true progressive he will take Ondo to a higher level.”

SUCCOUR FOR THE INDIGENT. . .

L-R: Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat and Commissioner for Information, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso at the 2020 Mega Empowerment for Vulnerable Women & Indigents in the state held at the Skills Acquisition Centre, Berger Isheri, Lagos... recently

APC Can’t Reclaim Oyo with Internal Rift, Says Sports Minister

Police Arraign Six for Theft, Breach of Peace Allegations

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

The police have arraigned one Muftau Sefiu Olamiji and five other persons before a Lagos State Magistrate Court for alleged stealing, attempted murder and breach of peace at Okegun Odofin community in Ibeju Lekki, area of the state.

The defendants were docked before Magistrate Abimbola Komolafe on a ten-count charge bordering on harassment and unlawful possession of firearms.

According to the prosecutor, Mr Ben Ekundayo, a Superintendent of Police, the defendants, Muftau Sefiu Olamiji 49, alongside Ramon Babatunde Aladeseso, 37, Kabiru Kaka 59, Kolawole Salami 38, Kunle Onadipe 43, Evans Kowei 33 and others at large were alleged to have on July 2 , 2020 at Okegun Odofin Community in Ibeju Lekki shot one Kazeem Issah on his right cheek, causing him grievous life

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, yesterday warned that the All Progressives Congress (APC), Oyo State, might not be able to regain the political power in the state as a result of the deepening internal crisis that plagued the party in the state.

Dare, who contested for the office of the state governor in 2019, urged all aggrieved members of the party to shelve any perceived differences and work together for the APC to regain its political relevance in the state.

He made this call in a statement he issued yesterday, urging the party leaders in the state to go beyond setbacks and disappointments they had experienced in the past and

work together for the future of the APC in the state.

He said stakeholders should act with greater cohesion and strength of purpose and that the APC government has a track record of achievement that the state has never experienced irrespective of what was said to the contrary.

He said: “Despite the extraordinary events that have beset us in the intervening months and perhaps because of these subsequent new challenges, the call to unity and for reconciliation remains our great imperative.

“The APC in Oyo state can only progress if we pull together. Disunity is just another way of defeat. We fight against each other at our own collective peril. Ambition is part of the body of politics,” the minister observed.

threatening injuries which could terminate his life.

The prosecutor further said that the defendants and others at large also unlawfully entered into the palace of Baale of Okegun Odofin , Chief Ismaila Ogunkoya with the intent to commit felony.

“They unlawfully stole Air Conditioners, two chandelier light, one Airtel phone, office chairs, and ash worth of seven million, five hundred thousand (N7,500,00) with all stolen items totaling ten million seven hundred and forty-eight thousand naira (N10,748,000,00).”

Ekundayo also informed the court that the defendants damaged vehicles and properties worth of 10, 000, 000, 00 belonging to residents while they were also alleged to have unlawfully used armed military men to harass residents of the community.

58

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ ͯʹ˜ 2020

NEWSXTRA Moghalu Accuses DMO of Rationalising Political Decisions Warns Nigeria is heading into sovereign debt crisis Nume Ekeghe and Buchi Ubani A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has warned that with the rise in the country’s debt service to revenue ratio, Nigeria is heading towards a sovereign debt crisis.

Moghalu, the 2019 presidential candidate of Young Progressives Party (YPP), also said the recent controversy surrounding the Chinese loans and Nigeria handing over its sovereignty was sensational.

He gave this warning during

a virtual conference organised

by Elombah Television at the weekend, noting that the terms and conditions attached to the loans were not favourable to Nigeria.

He also said that the leadership of the Debts Management Office was misleading the Nigerian public as well as the federal government on issues related to external borrowing.

At the conference, the former presidential candidate canvassed public private partnership (PPP) as the best and sustainable way to fund strategic infrastructure projects.

He said: “The number one

problem is not just Nigeria’s loan to China, but it is the broader external indebtedness.

Nigeria is essentially walking into a sovereign debt crisis. When you consider that we now spend virtually all that we earn servicing foreign debt.

“In the first quarter 2020, the

federal government’s total revenue was about N950 billion, but we spent N943 billion servicing external debt, which was about 99 percent. Is a country on this path fiscally viable?

“We are taking more and more of these loans and we are told by the Debt

Management Office (DMO) that our debt to GDP ratio is under control and is below 30 per cent, and that it does not matter.

“What matters to a country like Nigeria is the debt service to revenue ratio especially

because our tax to GDP ratio is very low, “Moghalu explained.

He pointed out that 90 percent of Nigeria’s revenue “is from crude oil. So, when those revenues are plunging, then that is a huge risk because your debt obligations are fixed.

NEPZA, Lagos to Partner on HSE Unit James Emejo The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has agreed to work with the Lagos State Government in the training

of its staff to be deployed in the proposed Health, Safety and Environment Units across the 42 free trade zones.

The agreement was reached when the Lagos State Attorney

Prince Adeyinka Dies at 78 Prince Adebayo Adeyinka, fondly called Oga Bayo, is dead, He died at the age of 78.

A statement by his family said the funeral for late Adeyinka, Baba Egbe, Methodist Church Nigeria, Ido Ekiti would begin on August 27 with a service of songs at his residence at Adebayo Avenue, Ijemu Quarters, Ido-Ekiti.

On August 28, the statement said there would be church service for the deceased at Methodist Church Nigeria, Ido-Ekiti. After the service, interment follows immediately.

The deceased is survived by many children as follows: Folashade Adeyinka, Adedoyin Adeyinka, Olaleye Adeyinka,

Adeyinka

Adekunle Adeyinka, Aderonke Akanbi, Adebolajoko Adeyinka, Adetola Adeyinka-Mustapha and Adedotun Adeyinka.

General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Moyosore Onibanjo (SAN) led a team of the Lekki Free Trade Zone Worldwide to a courtesy visit on the Managing Director of the Authority, Prof.

Adesoji Adesugba, on Thursday in Abuja.

This development, when fully concretized would see Lagos State Safety Commission deploying its expertise and equipment to train and provide the necessary support for staff of the proposed NEPZA Safety Unit.

“We shall be welcoming Lagos State partnership with NEPZA to train some of our staff on Health, Safety, Security and Environmental protocols to curb fatality incidents in the free trade zones.

“The authority will also undertake assessment of safety issues in all free trade zones with a view to forestalling safety breaches. If there was a communication gap between us and the state, the authority will henceforth bridge it.

“Our relationship must remain

cordial as both parties have the same goals and objectives of ensuring the success of Lekki as a world class free trade zone,’’ the NEPZA boss said.

Adesugba also said that NEPZA was more than ready to assuage the concerns of the state on the present status of the Lekki zone, adding that the cooperation of all parties were required to solve whatever problems that existed.

“I find resolving issues without litigation very interesting. We are glad the state has already activated the Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism by this visit. We would look at your concerns dispassionately with a view to resolving them amicably.

“By law, NEPZA is also empowered to have its own Dispute Resolution Center. We are in the process of developing a centre that is independent, transparent and can be approached by aggrieved parties operating in the zones without necessarily going to court,’’ Adesugba said.

59

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 16, 2020

CICERO

Editor:Olawale Olaleye Email:wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com, SMS: 08116759819

IN THE ARENA

Insecurity: A National Catastrophe Buds Today, Nigeria is uncertain of its values, leadership and safety, writes Louis Achi

P

eering into earlier history, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman, lawyer and philosopher, who played an important role in the politics of the late Roman Republic once observed that, “The safety of the people shall be the highest law.”

Given the heft of ancient Rome in the evolution of human society and modern states, the sage’s deep foresight could not have excluded Nigeria’s current existential quandary.

Today, Nigeria is clearly uncertain about its values, its leadership and its safety. Various acts of violent and bloody insecurity occur on daily basis throughout the country under a General’s watch.

This is hardly contestable. This ranges from kidnapping, so-called banditry, apparently targeted killings, outright massacres and of course, terrorist infamy with sophisticated weaponry being employed.

National security willy-nilly has become an ideal in appalling retreat.

Besides threatening the very fabric of national integration in the country, claiming the lives of thousands of innocent lives and those of gallant soldiers and creating the ecology of uncertainty and fear, the continued state of insecurity has also undermined industrial development.

Worse, this scenario is pushing many constituent ethnic nationali- Buhari ties to crave Thomas Jefferson’s peculiar prescription: “For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organised and armed militia is their best security.” Shocking statistics on casualty are tending to persuade many to consider this option, despite its constitutional quirkiness.

Back home, a couple of years ago, retired General Theophilus Danjuma, at the occasion of the convocation ceremony of the Taraba State University had echoed the Jeffersonian ‘solution’ having apparently read the handwriting on the wall.

“You must rise to protect yourselves from these people, if you depend on the Armed Forces to protect you, you will all die. This ethnic cleansing must stop in Taraba, and it must stop in Nigeria.

“These killers have been protected by the military, they cover them and you must be watchful to guide and protect yourselves, because you have no any other place to go. The ethnic cleansing must stop now otherwise Somalia will be a child’s play.

I ask all of you to be on your alert and defend your country, defend your state.”

Although the Nigerian Army, in response to Danjuma’s serious allegation, set up an investigative panel to establish the veracity of the retired General’s claims, it could not affirm his accusations. The rest is history. Or is it?

Early last week, former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria and erstwhile presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Obadiah Mailafia, in an interview with a radio station, Nigeria Info, alleged that the government was sponsoring the killings in Southern Kaduna and a northern governor is a commander of the terrorist Boko Haram group. This provoked quick-fire responses from both the DSS and NBC. Besides the North East bloody theatre, Southern Kaduna is another centre of puzzling slaughter seen by many as ethnic cleansing. There have been series of attacks and wanton killings of citizens by so-called gunmen, who continually invade that territory. Many half-hearted efforts to stem the genocidal killings have yielded poor results.

Significantly, recently the High Command of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), on Thursday, said special operations forces have been deployed to curb the incessant attacks and killings in Southern part of Kaduna State.

According to Major General John Enenche, Coordinator of Defence Media Operations, (CDMO), “In a bid to curb the recent attacks and isolated killings in Southern Kaduna, troops of Operation SAFE HAVEN have continued to intensify efforts

aimed at securing the lives and property in the general area. Particularly, Special Operations Forces have been deployed to the Joint Operations Area covering the various flash points.”

Clearly, to quell the incipient conflagration threatening the Nigerian state, beyond appropriate military actions, a multi-stakeholder approach is imperative. The puzzling thirst for blood and the preference for violence in expressing pent-up frustration and disenchantment with the state, its citizens and national totems may be a pointer to the need to revive moral values and virtues within the socio-economic, political and religious spheres.

Notes Sanford Bishop, “Do not compromise on national security for purely budgetary reasons.

The world is dangerous, and we must always be prepared for anything that might threaten our national interests and security.”

Underfunding has been a reason adduced for certain shortcomings in the battlefield travails of the armed services and this must be addressed.

But then this critical reason must not obscure US Senator Edward William Proxmire’s take that, “Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of national security, is doubly dangerous.”

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

Waiting on Salami’s Panel Report

R

Salami

eports had it in the that the Justice Ayo Salami panel report on the investigation of the suspended chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, had been submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari, the interpretation of which is that the fate of Magu would be announced soon.

Thus, with the series of speculations that had trailed the panel’s sittings and accounts from different actors said to have either cor-

roborated some of the accounts or dismissed it, the moment of truth is nigh as the world, indeed, awaits the president’s action on the report.

It is important to state that Magu remains innocent until a competent court of law says otherwise. Therefore, whilst his rights to defend himself is sacrosanct at the end of the day, it is also worthy of note that all that happened under his watch at EFCC for five years cannot be glossed over or swept under the carpet. The EFCC story under Magu is an interesting one and must come to a logical and legal close.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ AUGUST 16, 2020

60

BRIEFINGNOTES Walter Carrington: The Ambassador Who Refused to Stay Silent in the Face of Tyranny In this tribute, Demola Ojo honours a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, the late Walter Carrington, who passed away last week at 90 years

O

ne of the most prestigious streets in the upscale Victoria Island axis of Lagos is named after a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, the late Walter Carrington, who passed away last week at 90 years, which invariably means it is one of the most important streets in Lagos, and by extension, Nigeria. And for good reasons too.

Walter Carrington adopted Nigeria as his own country, and the country reciprocated, adopting Carrington as its son. Carrington was so enmeshed in the Nigerian culture that he took a Nigerian wife, Arese. As an African-American, it was pretty natural for Carrington to assimilate. But this is not as easy as one would expect.

While the descendants of Africans forcibly transported across the Atlantic centuries ago yearn to have a connection with the Motherland, the unpalatable reality is that it hasn’t always been practical to do so.

Economic realities are among the inhibiting factors, in tandem with a paucity of information on Africa in the United States.

Carrington was among the rare breeds that probably saw themselves as African first, despite being American. It was probably by design rather than chance that his official assignments as ambassador were to Africa. Senegal, then later, Nigeria. These turned out ideal opportunities for him to embrace his roots. He served as the US ambassador to Senegal from 1980 to 1981 and was later appointed by a former US President, Bill Clinton, in 1993 as the ambassador to Nigeria, where he remained until 1997.

However, his deep ties with Nigeria went further back in time as he had lived in three Nigerian cities since the late 1960s.

Carrington had an illustrious career across both the academia and the diplomatic services, as well as a lifetime lived in service of humanity, and especially the Black race.

Born July 24, 1930, in New York City to an immigrant father from Barbados, Carrington was raised in a predominately Italian-Irish community and was vice president of his class throughout his four years at the predominantly white Parlin Junior High and Everett High School.

Graduating in 1948, Carrington became one of four black students at Harvard University. There, he founded the first Harvard chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People.

He was the first student elected to the National Board of Directors of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People).

A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Carrington practiced law in Massachusetts and served on the three-member Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, becoming at the age of 27, the youngest person to be appointed a commissioner in the state’s history.

While there, he was in charge of the case, which led to the Boston Red Sox, the last remaining all white

Walter-Carrington Major League Baseball Team, hiring their first black player.

In 1952, Carrington was elected the NAACP Youth Council delegate to Senegal. Carrington organised for John F. Kennedy in 1960. In 1961, he came to Africa as one of the first overseas Directors of the Peace Corps, eventually becoming the Peace Corps director of Africa.

In 1967, he had the responsibility of evacuating young Americans as Biafran troops were advancing towards Benin. He then served as executive vice president of the African American Institute from 1971 to 1979 and was also a member of Africare.

In 1980, Carrington served President Jimmy Carter as Ambassador to Senegal. In 1981, he was named director of the Department of International Affairs at Howard University. He also taught at Marquette University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Washington College and from 1990 to 1991 acted as a consultant at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

President Bill Clinton appointed him US Ambassador to Nigeria in 1993 and he arrived in Lagos a few months after the annulment of the June 12 election, subsequently opposing the abuses of Nigerian Head

of State, General Sani Abacha.

He criticised Abacha’s regime, and campaigned vigorously for a return to democracy in Nigeria.

Carrington rallied the diplomatic corps against the regime’s abuse of human rights and brutalisation of Nigerians, especially critics and prodemocracy activists. He went beyond diplomatic limits in the engagement of the Abacha regime and the struggle for military disengagement and enthronement of democratic government.

Although his tenure ended in 1997, Carrington showed interest in the affairs of Nigeria till his last days on earth.

From 1997 to 1998, and again in 1999, Carrington worked as a fellow of Harvard University’s W.E.B. DuBois Institute.

He was also a MacArthur Fellow in 1998. In 2004, he was named the first African American Warburg Professor of International Relations at Simmons College in Boston.

In 2014, alongside his Nigeria-born wife, Arese, he was winner of the City of Lifetime Human Rights Award, a sort of crown on the lifelong struggle for human rights.

In 1991, Carrington published Africa in the Minds and Deeds of Black American Leaders (with Edwin Dorn). In 2010, he published A Duty to Speak: Refusing to Remain Silent in a Time of Tyranny, a compilation of his speeches supporting democracy and human rights in Nigeria during the Sani Abacha military dictatorship.

According to a statement signed by his wife, Arese Carrington last Wednesday, “It is with a heavy and broken heart but with gratitude to God for his life of selfless humanity that I announce the passing of my beloved husband, Walter Carrington, former US Ambassador to Nigeria and Senegal.

“He passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones at the age of 90 years old on Tuesday, August 11, 2020. Further announcements will be made shortly.

Walter was a loving husband, father, grandfather, cousin, uncle, friend and in-law.

“Ralph Waldo Emerson said. It is not the length of life but the depth of life. Walter was fortunate, his life had both length and depth.”

NOTES FOR FILE

A Nation of God and Mammon

Aminu

Ever wondered why Nigeria, or say, a section of the country remains as helplessly backward as it seems? Look no further. The signs are evident and the choice to so be is deliberate.

Put differently Nigeria’s misguided leadership and followership, a majority of the reasons for her lack of development in many areas is not only innate, it also underscores the hypocrisy of her double standards.

A Kano State court, adopting the sharia law, recently sentenced a singer, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu to death by hanging for allegedly blaspheming Prophet Mohammed.

The news was so bewildering that even the world’s renowned terrorist, Abubakar Shekau was shocked. He protested and

condemned the judgment.

Now, this is happening in a nation, which appears to delight in rehabilitating terrorists, who had murdered hundreds of innocent souls and even plans to send them abroad to further their education. So, are you still confounded as to why Nigeria is like this?

The Prophet so allegedly blasphemed was known to be a man of peace, who would rather an unbeliever, was converted and made to see the beauty in Islam and by extension, increase the number of Islamic faithful. But Nigeria’s Muslims, who ‘know better than the original owners of the religion’, are adept at misinterpreting all the sound doctrines of Islam. What a nation of God and Mammon!

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ AUGUST 16, 2020

61

CICERO/REPORT

Ize-Iyamu at his campaign kick-off

In Edo, Ize-Iyamu is Pulling His Weight The campaign movement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has continued to tower over and above many expectations, writes Adibe Emenyonu

T

he seed of political activism of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, in the September 19 governorship election did not just begin yesterday. It was planted a long time ago during his university days as a vibrant member of the Students’ Union Congress and being highly instrumental to the election of several presidents and Executive members of the union.

The experience garnered then proved vital later in life as he became one of those that saw to the election of two governors in Edo State: Chief Lucky Nosakhare Igbinedion and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

He began with the junior Igbinedion, when he was first Chairman of Oredo Local Government Council, Benin City, in 1987, under the zero party system as Personal Assistant.

After the collapse of the system, he sojourned into private legal practice and business, and later was appointed Chief of Staff, and Secretary to State Government (SSG) again, under the administration of Igbinedion as Governor of Edo State between 1999 and 2007.

These appointments, no doubt, were evidence of the virtues of loyalty and trust as he elevated the two offices to the enviable status of a melting pot of consultation, strategy and confidence building devoid of arrogance, nepotism and discrimination.

With these two positions of responsibility, he became the man to trust and do business with, the rallying point of energies and ideas. Not only that, he became a critical nexus and strategic catalyst in the government of the state, where he proved to be not only reliable, but dependable, trust worthy and a positive generational ambassador committed to the wellbeing of the Edo people.

After the expiration of the administration of Igbinedion as governor, Ize-Iyamu’s interest in politics did not die with it.

He became more relevant with the formation of Grace Group, a political pressure group with the slogan ‘No Man Is God”.

It was from this group that the then Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) sprang up and later, APC with political structure in all the 192 wards, and in the 18 local government areas of Edo State. That same structure midwifed the coming of Adams Oshiomhole as Governor with the coalition of Action Congress and Labour Party.

Like the administration of Igbinedion, Ize-Iyamu played a key role in the Government of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

Although he did not occupy any key position, he contributed to her political development and stability throughout the period until he left to pursue his political carrier in PDP. Save for the power incumbency, political generosity and sagacity of Oshiomhole, the withdrawal of his structure would have capsised the ship of APC in the 2016 governorship election.

Prior to his departure from APC in 2014, Ize-Iyamu had earned his place as a politician that does not discriminate, highly de-trabalised, open to positive ideas, motivator of progressive agenda for government, a respecter of elders and social values, a nexus of hope for Christians in Government and a crusader of fairness and social justice.

Before his departure, however, he was National ViceChairman, South-south of the APC. He was also part of the legal team that drafted the constitution and registration the APC. He is also a former Director General of Oshiomhole’s second term Campaign Organisation.

This remained why his bold foot works in partisan politics and public office in Edo State have been phenomenal in scope, depth and intensity, with the resultant effect of re-

designing the political landscape. He has remained the calm and deep-thinking political architect, whose courageous designs have re-engineered the hope of the Edo people for good governance and freedom from democratic tyranny.

No wonder that, today, Osagie Ize-Iyamu is widely respected, acknowledged, and referred to as the “Leader” by both the elderly and the young for his uncommon courage, wisdom, integrity and commitment.

To prove this points, when he decided to contest the governorship election of the state, he came up his SIMPLE agenda – a document he explained, encapsulated the area of focus of his administration if he wins the September 19 election.

According to him, the acronym ‘SIMPLE’ stands for Security, Infrastructure Development, Manpower Development, Public/Private Partnership, Leadership by example and Employment creation.

The governorship candidate also said the agenda, which had been put into a book form, was also a ‘SMART’ document, saying, “By this, I mean it is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and of course, Time-bound.”

Ize-Iyamu further explained that he decided to make the document his agenda for the people of the state so that he could be held accountable should he derail from his promises after winning the election.

According to him, a government must be accountable and transparent, and as such, those who want to govern must put what they want to do for the people in black and white.

He added that so much could be done by any government that was focused, committed and dedicated to ensuring a better life for the people of the state.

The APC candidate noted that it was not enough to start a project but to see to its end. “So we are looking at what we can achieve in four years because a governor’s contract in the office is for a period of four years,” he said.

Ize-Iyamu maintained that his motivation for running for the office of the governor of Edo was to make a difference and therefore called for partnership with the media for a change in the narratives.

According to him, the media should be in serious partnership with the government so as to act as checks and balances on the government on behalf of the people.

This SIMPLE agenda already has multiple fans. Peter Esele, former Labour leader, an APC Chieftain and former governorship aspirant, while commending it, stressed the need for the people of the state to believe in Ize-Iyamu’s ‘SIMPLE’ agenda, saying it was about the simplicity that life was all about.

“To solve societal problems, you must come around to look at things the way they ought to be. This is because the fabric of the society is built on simple things of life,” Eseke said.

The former Labour leader urged the media to constantly hold leaders and politicians accountable for promises made during electioneering and their parties’ manifestoes.

Launched in his second attempt against the same man, who defeated him in the 2016 gubernatorial contest, the manifesto has become a singsong in the state, because of its wide acceptance as a working document for anyone serious and desirous of good governance.

Little wonder, when Ize-Iyamu indicated interest to go back to the house he helped to build, his coming back created an upset.

To show the stuff he is made of, and as one, who knows his onions, he has painstakingly driven his agenda anywhere

his campaign train berths. Whether in the street corners, village or market square, town forum, local government area, youth organised programmes, visit to traditional rulers and institutions in the state, the SIMPLE agenda manifesto has gained immense acceptance, because of its inclusivity towards development in all the nooks and crannies of the state.

Incidentally, in 2016, alongside former APC national Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, Obaseki defeated Ize-Iyamu to win the 2016 governorship election for the APC. Presently, Ize-Iyamu with Oshiomhole, is going against Obaseki.

Added to this is that almost all the noted politicians in the state appear to be behind the Ize-Iyamu movement.

From Urhonigbe to Agenebode, and from Igarra to Iguobazuwa, the message has been the same, respect for the traditional institution and giving them their right of place in governance.

To the youths, messages of hope powered by government empowerment, rural and infrastructure development, security of lives and property not only through adequate engagement of security agencies but also drafting in vigilance group to complement the efforts of the conventional police and others in charge security of lives and property.

Women empowerment through rural development and urban renewal is also top on the list.

Pastor Ize-Iyamu told the traditional rulers that his first priority as governor after election would be implementation of the Simple Agenda relative to the issue of insecurity, which has driven many residents from their farmlands in Esan.

He spoke of plans to regard the traditional rulers and give them respect due them besides incorporating them into governance so that their roles as community leaders can be enhanced to secure the lives of the people.

To the youths, he promised them participation and involvement in his plans to create opportunities through the provision of working infrastructure and an enabling environment if elected governor and development of agriculture and agro-business All this, significantly, has propelled the unusual crowd and personalities seen during each of his Campaigns. For instance, when he took his campaign to Edo Central, apart from his running mate, Mallam Gani Audu and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the Federal Commissioner representing Edo in the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Mr. Henry Idahagbon, the Edo Central Campaign Director-general and two-time member, Federal House of Representatives, Mr Patrick Ikhariale, two-time former Commissioner, Chief Frank Okafi Erewele, the strong man of Edo Central politics, Chief Francis Inegbeneki, former Civil Commissioner, Ken Ihensekhien, Mr Abu Momodu among others were present to lend their support.

In Edo North, the list is inexhaustible with personalities like former Deputy Governor, Rev. Peter Obadan; Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, Senator Francis Alimikhena, the member representing Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and Deputy Majority Leader, Comrade Peter Akpatason, and other leaders of the APC; former Deputy Majority Whip and former two-time member, representing Owan Federal Constituency, Mr. Pally Iriase; Member, representing Etsako Federal Constituency, Johnson Oghuma and several others.

Although large crowds do not necessarily mean commensurate acceptance, but the sea of heads at every of Ize-Iyamu’s campaign outing seems a demonstration of strong followership and supporters, who on September 19 governorship poll, stamp their feet to say we have made a good choice after all.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 16, 2020

62

CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

Abiru

Ogunbanwo

Ikuforiji

Bush-Alebiosu

Olowo

In Lagos East, APC Spoils for Choice The struggle to replace the late Senator for Lagos East, Bayo Osinowo, is fast gathering momentum, writes Shola Oyeyipo

T

here is no gainsaying the fact that the battle to replace deceased Lagos East member of the National Assembly, Senator Bayo Osinowo is already in top gear. There have been a series of names mentioned as potential replacement. But with time and reasons of coordination, the names have been narrowed down to four

people.

Obviously, Lagos is not in want of competent people for the job. It’s a state that parades ebulliently qualified individuals from all walks of life but some very important criteria are to be considered in arriving at who the party should support and put forward to run for the seat.

Recently, when the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) asked that names of potential candidates be presented and four notable individuals from the senatorial districts were picked.

The first is a former Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji; a former federal lawmaker, who represented Kosofe Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives for eight years, Hon. Dayo Bush-Alebiosu; former Permanent Secretary, Lagos Television/Radio Services, Olalekan Adeleke Ogunbanwo for Ikorodu, and for Somolu, the name of serving Lagos State House of Assembly member, Hon. Rotimi Olowo came up.

The fifth leg of the district, Ibeju-Lekki, was left out by the leadership and deliberately so, because it just produced Senator Gbenga Ashafa, who had spent eight years as senator.

Though so many criteria would be considered for each of the persons listed to arrive at who gets the party ticket eventually, but without prejudice to all the others, the odds appear to favour the candidates in the order they are listed, starting with Ikuforiji for many reasons than one.

Lagos East is divided into five divisions: Epe, Kosofe, Ikorodu, Somolu, and Ibeju-Lekki, and at one time or the other all these divisions had produced senators except for Epe, where Ikuforiji comes from. Thus, apart from the credentials he parades, the people of his area are of the opinion that in the spirit of fairness and equity, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) should give Ikorodu the slot this time around.

During the second and third republic, before the military government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), Senator Anthony Adefuye from Somolu had a brief stint in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, which was the only time Somolu ever had a feel of the seat. Therefore, technically, Somolu has also not been sufficiently served.

However, since democracy returned in 1999, Senator Kingsley Adeseye Ogunlewe served four years on the Alliance for democracy platform, representing Ikorodu.

Also coming from the AD platform and from Kosofe, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora served two terms, before

Senator Ashafa, from Ibeju-Lekki represented the Lagos East senatorial district for two terms in the Senate and until his sudden death, Senator Osiniowo was also from Kosofe as Mamora on the APC platform.

These various allocations of the Senate seats with the exemption of Epe in the East senatorial district, however, justify the quest among political leaders from that part of the senatorial district to replace ‘Pepper’ as he was fondly called, and for the purpose of winning an election, Ikuforiji does not only have the needed political clout, he also presents enviable credentials that stand him out among the rest.

He is not just coming into the race as an accomplished academia, thoroughbred technocrat and consummate politician; Ikuforiji is savvy and has experience as an added advantage.

Ikuforiji, a former Tech Community College, Raleigh, NC, USA, Networking Technology lecturer, who recently bagged a PhD and was also recently called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and a solicitor for the Supreme Court of Nigeria, is the longest serving Speaker of any State House of Assembly in the annals of Nigerian political history. He served as Lagos Speaker for 10 years and was in the House for 12 years.

He is a tireless knowledge seeker, who is an alumnus of some of the greatest schools in the world including the Liverpool Business School (LJMU), United Kingdom; John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Cambridge University Judge Business School, and the University of Lagos.

His close associates consider him a political powerhouse and an intellectual with dedication to public service, and extraordinary administrative, diplomatic, leadership, and political skills. Some are of the opinion that by every standard, he should be given the right of first refusal if all factors were fairly considered.

Although Bush-Alebiosu would have been most ideal, given his age, personal intellectual development in the last decade and the fact that he had been to the lower chamber for eight years, however, the part of political correctness and balancing for fairness and equity is what the leadership is struggling to deal with as there would not be any basis to shirk Epe again, especially, that the opportunity availed itself without prodding.

Therefore, Bush-Alebiosu naturally comes to mind as one of the names with requisite experience. He has also committed significant time into self-improvement by acquiring educational knowledge and during his time in the House, distinguished himself as a thoroughbred politician and proficient professional in the construction industry.

Coming from a political dynasty of former Majority Leader, Lagos State House of Assembly in the Second Republic, when former Governor Lateef Jakande was at the helm of affairs and the fact that he got his political tutelage from a former Lagos Governor and the National Leader of the APC, Senator Bola Tinubu under whom he

served as Special Assistant on Housing, Bush-Alebiosu definitely boasts some advantages to clinch the seat save for the fact that he is from Kosofe.

Ogunbanwo’s name will remain celebrated for the successes he recorded, when he managed the state-owned Lagos Television Authority, so, he will not be a hardsell in the race to the Lagos East senatorial seat but that will be in the absence of those with rich legislative backgrounds.

Another argument against him is that he is from Ikorodu, which had produced two senators at three different times before.

Apart from being a member of the current Lagos State House of Assembly, Olowo does not really have much to his name but those postulating the possibility of who gets the ticket are not giving him so much chances and the reason is because he presently has a job as a state legislator.

Then there is another name that is currently the rave of the moment as the fifth force and that is the name of a former Lagos State Finance Commissioner and present Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Bank Limited, Nigeria, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru. He is from the Ikorodu division of Lagos East.

Although pundits are of the opinion that he should be left out of the race, not because he is not qualified, however, because to an average Yoruba person, who is on top of developments, Abiru is potentially in line as the next governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). So, if he has come this far in his career, why mess up his record on the altar of politics?

On his part, Abiru was interested but he was reported to have told some of his staff to stay calm and ignore the distractions and permutations as they concern him.

However facts from his camp do not support this assertion. He is fully in the race now and not surprisingly, one of the frontrunners, with some of the big names said to be rallying support for him. A quiet and unassuming, reform minded technocrate who has managed pulled Polaris Bank from the brink of disaster.

Nonetheless, some analysts are of the opinion that enlisting Abiru for Senate now, when he is at the peak of his career is suspicious. They consider it an active plot against his emergence as the governor of the apex bank in the foreseeable future – probably the force enlisting him for the Senate already has a candidate for the CBN job, when the time comes.

That notwithstanding, he might no longer a pushover as far as the race for Lagos East is concerned, even when he is not amongst the four names being allegedly paraded by GAC. Besides, he is also politically inclined with his father being one of the senators produced in the First Republic.

He might also get a lot of support from the private sector.

Therefore, even where Lagos parades a lot of qualified people, decision makers are expected to be objective and ensure that the right candidate emerges, politically. Also, for equity and intentional balancing, it might be only trite that the Epe people also have a sense of belonging this time around.

63

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ AUGUST 16, 2020

CICERO/INTERVIEW

VC Forged Marks, Guilty of Financial Recklessness, Gross Misconduct In an interview with ARISE TV, Dr. Wale Babalakin, the Pro Chancellor of the University of Lagos, lambasted as being unfit to head a university in Nigeria, the embattled Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, recently removed by the university’s Governing Council. Babalakin also repeatedly accused of Ogundipe of financial recklessness and underhanded conduct. Bayo Akinloye presents the excerpts:

W

ith the supposedly sacked embattled UNILAGVC, Prof. Oluwtoyin Ogundipe saying even if his purported sack was true the extant provisions of the law were not complied with by the council which you head.What’s your view?

I’m grateful to have the opportunity to explain what happened. Most people who have made comments about the sacking of Prof. Ogundipe haven’t read the laws.And, some of them have read outdated laws. In your opening statement, you mentioned that you’d require the visitor through the senate to remove the vice chancellor. That was an old law. If you read the Universities MiscellaneousAct 2009, the visitor has no role in the removal of vice chancellors. It’s a decision of the council and if the vice chancellor believes that he hasn’t been removed properly, the appropriate thing to do is, as stated in the law, for him to write an appeal to the visitor.

The vice chancellor claiming that he hasn’t been sacked is illegal because he’s not in a position to say that. The vice chancellor holding rallies and making comments is wrong. It’s a failure of process.

What the vice chancellor can do is to write a letter of appeal to the visitor and not to turn the university system into rabble-rousing.

I also got information recently that claimed that he’d briefed a lawyer to go to court. This means that, in addition to being removed, he has resigned because he can’t sit in the university, using its resources and now challenge his employer in the court. Once he does that, he has to step aside. So, apart from being removed by the university, he has also stepped aside.

What exactly did Prof. Ogundipe do wrong that warranted his removal?

I’m a lawyer. I’m not given to making loose statements. Whatever I say I must be able to back it up. Prof. Ogundipe was accused of financial recklessness and I can boldly say that you cannot find any action of Ogundipe that followed the proper process. Prof.

Ogundipe spent N49 million renovating his residence which a former vice chancellor who had just left was in excellent shape without mentioning it to anybody. Without even mentioning it, not to talk of approval.

It was a committee of the university that discovered it. Prof. Ogundipe in a very complicit manner gave N41 million to the bursar to renovate his premises. The bursar’s house can be built from scratch with N41 million. We struggle to have Prof. Ogundipe’s management to give us a proper account. Every single account that has been submitted by Prof. Ogundipe is fraught with fundamental errors.All the accounts were cooked and not a fair representation of a fair presentation of the university books.

Prof. Ogundipe, I’m sure, is the only vice chancellor in Nigeria who allocates security votes. Every month he pays security votes to the dean of student affairs without an account. In a university, you’re paying money every month without an account of the money. There has never been an account of how that money was spent.

What will you say to the fact that the law, Section 17(1) rests the power to remove the vice chancellor of the University of Lagos, I know you said it’s not so, is vested on the President who’s the visitor, the council recommends to the President. Let me add that the amended act of 2003 required the council to set up a joint committee of itself and the senate before any recommendation even to the President was this done? If not, why?

There are two questions you’ve posed. The first one that you need to go to the visitor; that’s the old law. If you read the University Miscellaneous ProvisionAct 2009 which is the current law governing the removal of vice chancellors, it says in (Section) 3:8: ‘The vice chancellor may be removed from office by the governing council on grounds of gross misconduct or inability to discharge his functions of his office as a result of infirmity of the body or mind.At the initiative of council, senate or congregation, after the process.’

That’s the new law.

In Ogundipe’s case, was the principle of fair hearing followed as it seems he wasn’t given the opportunity to defend himself?

Again, that’s a false narrative.Afull committee of council discovered that Ogundipe was conducting the affairs of the university in a reckless manner unbecoming of any public officer. The full committee of the council then mandated a sub-committee to look into it.

The sub-committee came back with a plethora of wrongdoing by Ogundipe. This committee’s report was forwarded to Ogundipe for his comment. Ogundipe wrote his defence in writing and he

Babalakin sent it to the council.

He then stood up in council for one hour to defend himself. So, anybody saying he wasn’t given a fair hearing doesn’t even know the facts. I’m hoping that this will bring out a lot of facts so that Nigerians don’t react to issues when they’ve not read documents.

How was it that his alleged financial recklessness took a while to discover?

Ogundipe is a serial offender. So soon after the council was inaugurated, we were trying to elect a director of works. Ogundipe as chairman of the committee to appoint the director of works chaired the occasion. It’s a sub-committee of the council. He chaired the occasion. When the interview was concluded, all the parties collated their marks and some guy from Lagos State Polytechnic, came first in the interview when we wanted to appoint a director of works, he was the chairman of the subcommittee and after the interview process, some person from the Lagos State Polytechnic came first, Ogundipe now went to collate results. When he came back, the candidate that came second, because Ogundipe had altered the marks.

This was an issue that was debated in the council and was reflected in the minutes of the council. We had to cancel the whole process. Ogundipe altered the marks to favour a member of staff who had been indicted twice for fraud and total incompetence. It’s in Ogundipe’s interest to surround himself with people who cannot stand up for the truth. Ogundipe would have been removed then because forgery in a university is totally unacceptable.

But the alumni and all the bodies in the university appealed for Ogundipe and I told them that where’s I’m coming from there’s zero tolerance for this. You can’t do this but the elders also came and I told them that we were drawing a fundamental line: we’d not tolerate this kind of attitude anymore. From then until he was removed, there was nothing Ogundipe did properly.

The university’s alumni were reported to have demanded that the council revert to status quo, arguing that the voting process was flawed.What’s your reaction to that?

The alumni association didn’t talk to us after our decision. The alumni association didn’t seek to know the fact of the case. I’m a member of the alumni. I’m a phone-call away from the alumni. The alumni sat down, without being briefed by a major participant and took a decision. That itself is the ultimate breach of fair hearing.

The same alumni that are complaining about due process have just committed a fundamental breach of due process against the pro chancellor and his team. If they had sought our interpretation of the reasons why we did this, they’d have known that the statement is inaccurate.

On the issue of the voting process, under the standing rules of the university, voting can either be done openly or by a secret ballot.

There were 12 council members in attendance. When it was time to vote, I said to them so that anybody is intimidated, it was going to be secret balloting.And in all the decisions I remember, in the council when we come to vote, even the appointment of Ogundipe was

done secretly.

So, to have permanent records, I decided that comments and votes should be sent to my WhatsApp. We came out and I read the comments and the votes to all the council members. Not one person mentioned that his comments and votes were not read out by the pro chancellor. I still have the comments and votes on my phone.

Seven people voted for Ogundipe to be relieved of his appointment. I used the word carefully, ‘to be relieved of his appointment’ because I think that should be mentioned carefully.

Four people said ‘no.’All the four people that said ‘no’ are the members of management. They’re the people who are involved with Ogundipe. In law, they’re called participle criminals. They’re people who are jointly indicted for the failure of Ogundipe’s management.All the five representatives of the government voted for Ogundipe’s removal. There was no dissent. The only people who voted for Ogundipe to stay are people in his management. So, the process was fair. What you have is propaganda.

I’m going to write a formal letter to the alumni that ‘you can’t even do what you’re doing without saying, ‘Pro chancellor, you’re an alumnus of this university. What’s the process that led to this removal?’And I’d have briefed them. But you sit down without talking to the parties and take a decision. What the alumni have done is comparable to a judge being aware of a dispute, then calls friends of the court saying, ‘There’s a dispute between Wale Babalakin and Nduka Obaigbena. But you friends of the court tell me what you think,’ without calling Nduka Obaigbena or Wale Babalakin to state their case. This is the greatest breach of fair hearing.

But the UNILAG Senate didn’t seem to agree with you that Ogundipe was given a fair hearing.What do you have to say about that?

What we’re trying to bring to UNILAG is due process; following the law. There was no senate meeting. Under the standing rules, it’s the vice chancellor that can summon a Senate meeting.At the time the vice chancellor purported to summon a meeting he was no longer the vice chancellor. His actions were illegal. So, there was no senate meeting. What you had was like there was a debating society that came up with some resolutions; but not the senate of the university.

The Senate of the university has not met for the last four months; not even for their statutory meeting which they usually hold once a month. Then, you wake up because one of you was removed; the person who had been removed called a senate meeting, and you said this is the resolution of the senate. This is abysmally poor. Even the registrar, who is the secretary of the senate, wasn’t there. I think we shouldn’t allow rabble-rousing to replace law and due process.

The Committee ofVice Chancellors has condemned the sacking of Prof. Ogundipe and the appointment of Soyombo as the actingVice Chancellor, saying he’s outside the university’s three deputy vice chancellors, also arguing that due process wasn’t followed.What’s your take?

The Committee of Vice Chancellors could easily have placed a call to the pro chancellor to say that ‘We’ve had about this what’s your own side of the story.’ Like the alumni, what they’ve just done is sit in judgment over issues they don’t have the facts. Interestingly, I used to chair, Committee of Pro Chancellors. So, I know the relationship between the two committees. We’re a phone-call away from each other. So, I’ll want to discount what the vice chancellors’ committee had said because what they had said was not based on empirical fact.

The second thing is that they thought we could have appointed one of the deputy vice chancellors.At the time this decision took place, there was no deputy vice chancellor. One’s term had expired and the senate had not re-elected him to come to the council. Two remaining had not been confirmed. Council’s position was that they were part of this management that engaged in financial recklessness, gross misconduct and the council had not confirmed them.

So, there was no standing deputy vice chancellor that could have been appointed. This could easily have been clarified to the committee of the vice chancellors but they didn’t ask.

How has UNILAG been affected by this situation of itsVice Chancellor being accused of financial recklessness?

You see, I wear two caps. I’m the lead negotiator for the Federal Government with the unions on how to improve the university.

And the unions are clamouring for more money, that education is under-funded.And I’m listening to this.

(See the concluding part interview on www.thisdaylive.com)

Sunday August 16, 2020

TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Price: N400

MISSILE

Babalakin to UNILAG Alumni “The same alumni association that is complaining of due process has just committed a fundamental breach of due process against the pro-chancellor and his team. If they have sought our interpretation or the reasons why we did this, they would have known that their statement was inaccurate.” – The Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN) reacting to the call by the University of Lagos Alumni Association for the Governing Council to reverse the removal.of the university’s Vice-chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe.

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Mailafia and the Conspiracy Theories

D

r Obadiah Mailafia, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), shook the airwaves recently when he told a radio station that a northern governor is the commander of Boko Haram.

He also said the terrorists were flying freely during the coronavirus lockdown. “We have met with some of their high commanders, they have sat down with us not once, not twice,” he said in the interview that was also on video. “They told us that one of the northern governors is the commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Boko Haram and the bandits are one and the same.

During this lockdown, their planes were moving up and down as if there was no lockdown.”

The video went super viral. After watching it, I was struck by a familiar feeling and I said to myself: “Haven’t I heard this before?”

Immediately, I remembered: Admiral Murtala Nyako, as governor of Adamawa state, said a similar thing at a meeting with Ms Susan Rice, then-US national security advisor, and other US officials at the White House on March 18, 2014.

In attendance were other northern governors.

Nyako’s claim was that President Goodluck Jonathan was behind Boko Haram. He said Jonathan’s government was supplying arms to Boko Haram to perpetuate the conflict in the north to reduce their voting power ahead of his re-election bid in 2015.

I heard it before. Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari was allegedly the brain behind Boko Haram. They said he was a religious fanatic who was trying to use the terrorists to chase Jonathan out of power in 2015. At a point, Buhari was nominated by “Boko Haram” to negotiate with the federal government to bring an end to the bloodshed. It was a Catch-22: if Buhari was the problem, how can the problem solve the problem? If he agreed to help negotiate, that would be a confirmation that he was their godfather. If he said he would not, that would be proof that he did not want the bloodshed to end because he was the one behind it. He was damned, either way. He still chose to decline.

I heard it before. Lt-Gen Azubuike Ihejirika, then chief of army staff, was allegedly the brain behind Boko Haram. They said he was the one supplying them with arms and ammunition because as an Igboman, he had an unfinished business: to destroy northern Nigeria in revenge for the civil war of 1967-70. He was the first Igbo to lead the army since the end of the civil war and it was a perfect conspiracy theory to hold him responsible for the activities of Abubakar Shekau, Mohammed Al Barnawi, Mamman Nur and the rest of them. Ihejirika had to head for the courts to defend his name as the allegations became a staple diet for the Nigerian media.

Nyako never backed down, despite facing impeachment proceedings apparently orchestrated from Abuja. He wrote a widely publicised letter to the Northern Governors Forum, waxing lyrical in what sounded like a call to arms. He wrote: “Clearly the victims of the Administration’s evilmindedness are substantially Northern Nigerians.

The Administration is bent on bringing wars in the North between Muslim and Christians and within them and between one ethnic group and another or others in various communities in the region. Cases of mass murders by its bloody minded killers and cut-throats are well known, but it attributes the killings to so-called Boko-Haram.”

Nyako said thousands of young girls and boys had been kidnapped by “clearly organised

Mailafia militia in the last few years and kidnapping is now a random affair all over the far North”, adding that these organised kidnappers “must have the backing of the Federal administration for them to move about freely with abducted children just as those who convey ammunition and explosives from the Ports to the safe-houses of so-called Boko Haram in the North”. He repeated the claims he made in the US that arms and ammunition were being supplied to Boko Haram by air. For all his efforts, though, Nyako was impeached. But his conspiracy theory outlasted him.

After watching the Mailafia video, I spent a few minutes browsing through our history inside my head. Who indeed is behind Boko Haram? Who should we believe among the conspiracy theorists? They said it was PDP, they said it was APC, they said it was Buhari, they said it was Jonathan, they said it was Ihejirika, they said it was Senator Modu Sheriff. And now it is one northern governor that is the commander. Is there any northern governor today who can drive comfortably into Boko Haram’s territory and come out alive? Should we carry out an experiment? Who among the 19 northern governors will volunteer to give it a go? Whom shall we send, and who will go for us?

After honouring an invitation by the Department of State Services (DSS) to explain his claims, Mailafia, who hails from southern Kaduna, initially compared himself to Dr Nelson Mandela. But a day later, he was sounding more like the late Dr Tai Solarin, the social critic who played a critical role in spreading the wild rumours that fuelled the 1989 nationwide riots. Mailafia said he actually got the rumour from Fulani traders (no longer Boko Haram commanders); that he did not know his claim was on video (I’m not sure they used a hidden camera, but well…); that he was a fan of Buhari (cough cough); and that he was sorry if his claim offended anyone (no life was lost, thank God).

In 1989, Nigeria caught fire after Solarin, in his weekly newspaper column, relayed rumours that Ebony, the African-American magazine, had reported that Gen Ibrahim Babangida, the military president, and his wife, Maryam, owned the biggest fashion house in Paris, the biggest watch maker in Switzerland, and the biggest everything everywhere. Coming at a time Nigerians were reeling under economic hardship blamed on the structural adjustment programme (SAP), the rumours sparked spontaneous violence

nationwide, leading to over 50 deaths. When the revered Solarin was brought on national TV and given a copy of Ebony to substantiate his claims, he looked sorry.

If Mailafia had made his claims some 30 years ago, I would have swallowed them head, thorax and abdomen — just as I gulped Solarin’s claims like apple juice in 1989. I never questioned anything. I disliked Babangida with passion and anything anybody said about him was true as far as I was concerned. There was no need to verify anything. The truth is that intrinsic bias makes us believe or disbelieve anything. We do not really care about the truth. Peter Wason, the late English cognitive psychologist, called this “confirmation bias”: our tendency to favour information that confirms or strengthens our beliefs or values — and, unfortunately, it is difficult to dislodge once affirmed.

If you disliked Babangida, you would most likely believe anything negative said about him.

The first thing biases and prejudices do to the brain is to damage the cells — and it doesn’t matter if we have doctorate degrees or we are stark illiterates. We lose our ability to think rationally. We embrace all kinds of theories that definitely will not add up if we subject them to scrutiny. Common sense takes flight.

In my career as a journalist, I have come across eminent Nigerians whom I had respected and adored all my life. By the time I am done with them, I feel sorry for Nigeria and wonder if we can ever make progress with the quality of their thinking — tainted with ethnic, religious or political bile.

Mailafia, in all fairness, is an accomplished professional. His resume is as impressive as they come: he graduated top of his class at ABU, Zaria, in 1978 with a BSc in politics, economics and sociology; had an MSc also from ABU; and was a commonwealth scholar at the Oxford University, earning a doctor of philosophy in economics.

He worked at the African Development Bank Group; was the chief of staff (chef de cabinet) to the 79-member nation African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states; and was CBN deputy governor from 2005 to 2007. He was probably disappointed that he was overlooked for the CBN governorship in 2009, presumably because he was a northern minority.

When someone of his calibre (by the way, he was a presidential candidate in 2019 and, at 63, deserves to be called an elder in the Nigerian society) makes a grievous claim that a governor is leading the most murderous jihadist group in Africa, people are most likely going to take him seriously. In fact, he played up his CV to make his claims believable. He asserted that he is not a frivolous person. Despite his penitence, there are people insisting that what he said is true, that the DSS cajoled him to backtrack, and that it is indeed a northern governor that is leading Boko Haram to wipe out the Christian population in the north. Confirmation bias, that is.

Nevertheless, the issue is not Mailafia.

The real issue is insecurity. Government has the responsibility to secure this country. The bloodshed and carnage are too much for us to bear. We are all victims, directly and indirectly: Christians, Muslims, northerners, southerners, men, women, soldiers, civilians, PDP, APC, and so on. We are all suffering the pains physically or emotionally or both. Economically, it is pulling Nigeria down. So whether or not the conspiracy theorists are right, Buhari owes us one BIG duty: secure Nigeria. Terrorists, kidnappers and bandits must be crushed by all means. And Nigerians must set aside politics to help fight what is clearly a threat to all.

And Four Other Things…

ABACHA ASSETS Each time I hear about the return of another Abacha loot (or “Abacha assets”, as Mallam Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation, loves to frame it), I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. The latest is €5.5 million from the Republic of Ireland, frozen at the request of President Goodluck Jonathan since 2014. Can this money be devoted to upgrading the National Hospital in Abuja or equipping the national libraries?

And may I plead with Malami not to engage any lawyers for the restitution? All it takes is a request for repatriation made via the official letterhead and signed by Malami. If he’s too busy, I can help him draft it for free — as service to fatherland. Nigeria!

TAX MASTERS At a time advanced societies are slowing down on taxation so as to help the economy recover and get people back to work, authorities in Nigeria are introducing all kinds of taxes and levies that can only kill investment and innovation and further impoverish the people. You would even be consoled if you’re assured that the bulk of the revenue will be spent on making life better for Nigerians, but you know where it usually goes — largely on frivolities and private pockets. Accused of awarding contracts to his girlfriends, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, speaker of the Lagos assembly, insultingly laughed and replied: “Nina l’owo!” (“Money is meant to be spent”). That’s the way we are. Sad. POWER SHOW Dr Wale Babalakin, the pro-chancellor of the University of Lagos, has finally carried out his agenda: removing the “stubborn” Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe as vice-chancellor. Issues had been building up for a while, culminating in the cancellation of Unilag’s convocation as Babalakin successfully flexed his muscle because of his links to the powers that be in Abuja.

That Babalakin is leading a fight against “corruption” is quite interesting, but we also have to accept that this is what Nigeria has turned into and we have to live with it, at least for now. However, the Unilag crisis is far from over. I predict long-drawn legal and political battles over Babalakin’s latest antics. Dicey.

CARRINGTON, RIP When the history of the struggle for democracy in Nigeria is properly written, Mr Walter Carrington, former United States ambassador to Nigeria, deserves special recognition. In his crazy days, Gen Sani Abacha held Nigeria by the jugular in order to perpetuate himself in power. Carrington, it was, who provided comfort and support to the bruised and battered democracy campaigners, helping to facilitate their escape from the grip of blood-thirsty Abacha and his goons, and helping to keep the struggle alive. Unfortunately, some of the beneficiaries have become political monsters, but Carrington, who died on Tuesday at 90, goes to his grave satisfied that he played his part. Legend.

Printed and Published in Lagos by THISDAY Newspapers Limited. Lagos: 35 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos. Abuja: Plot 1, Sector Centre B, Jabi Business District, Solomon Lar Way, Jabi North East, Abuja .

All Correspondence to POBox 54749, Ikoyi, Lagos. EMAIL: editor@thisdaylive.com, info@thisdaylive.com. TELEPHONE Lagos: 0802 2924721-2, 08022924485. Abuja: Tel: 08155555292, 08155555929 24/7 ADVERTISING HOT LINES: 0811 181 3085, 0811 181 3086, 0811 181 3087, 0811 181 3088, 0811 181 3089, 0811 181 3090. ENQUIRIES & BOOKING: adsbooking@thisdaylive.com