GIVING MAMA A BEFITTING BURIAL…
Chiemelie Ezeobi, Nume Ekeghe, Nosa Alekhoige and Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Delta State stood still yesterday as eminent Nigerians from all walks of life thronged the usually quiet town of Owa-Oyibu, the administrative headquarters of Ika North-East Local Government Area of the state to pay their last respects to the late Princess of Owa Kingdom, Mrs Margaret Obaigbena, whose remains were interred at the Obaigbena royal family compound. Princess Obaigbena, who passed away on Friday, June 17, 2022, at the age of 87 after a brief illness, left her footprints as the Chief Nursing Officer in old Bendel State and later, Delta State, where she served meritoriously.Thematriarch also served three successive governments in Delta State as Special Adviser, deploying her robust wealth of experience in health sector management to serve her people, community and the state.
Ayu Rejects
funds
L-R: Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Chairman/CEO, Quits Aviation, Dr. Sam Iwuajoku; presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Tinubu; Chairman/Editor-in-Chief, THISDAY/ARISE Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena; Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje; and former Governor of Delta State, Mr. James Ibori, at the funeral service in honour of Dame Princess Margaret Onyemakonor Obaigbena at St. Andrews Anglican Church, Owa-Oyibu, Delta State...yesterday ABIODUN AJALA
TRUTH & REASON SSANU, NASU Suspend Strike for Two Months… Page 6
Continued on page 5 Chuks
Delta Stands Still as Princess Margaret Obaigbena Goes Home in Grand Style
Presidency: We’ll Soon Reveal Those Behind Crude Oil Theft in Nigeria… Page 5 Chinedu Eze With the advertised fares on foreign airlines’ websites, Nigerians now pay three times more than other travellers for the same destinations amid a threat by the international operators to suspend flights, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.Stakeholders in the aviation industry have therefore urged the federal government to enforce the full implementation of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA), which stipulates that foreign airlines should pay royalties to the government, especially when the Nigerian carriers cannot reciprocate the same service to the host countries of their foreign counterparts.Thisiscoming as more pressure has been mounted on the federal government to settle the $464million trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines flying the Nigerian routes. Aviation industry stakeholders have however described the exorbitant fares as a rip-off. THISDAY’s investigation further showed that travellers from other countries where airlines are also yet to repatriate their revenues do not pay such outrageous fares. Other countries in Africa that hold on to the huge amount of airlines’ revenues as of June 2022 include Zimbabwe – $100 million; Algeria – $96 million; Eritrea – $79 Continued on page 6 million, Ethiopia, $75 million and Ghana, which was not listed by IATA in June but had not allowed airlines to repatriate their earnings due to paucity of foreign exchange. THISDAY gathered that the Secondus kicks as Rivers gov boasts of removing him as PDP chairman
Stakeholders urge FG to enforce BASA Aviation professionals seek settlement of $464m airlines’
The efforts to reconcile aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have suffered a setback as the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, has rejected the proposal by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) for him to hold a private audience with the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike. Wike’s loyalists are insisting that one of the conditions to reconcile the Rivers State governor with the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, is for Ayu to vacate his seat for the southerner. A meeting held on Friday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, between the reconciliation teams of Atiku and Wike ended in a deadlock. Wike's team, it was learnt, was said to have insisted that Ayu must resign as a condition precedent for further discussion. The leader of the team led by a former governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, told Atiku’s team led by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State that they should inform the former vice PDP NWC’s Proposal to Hold Private Audience with Wike
Tinubu, Obi, Okowa, Fayemi, Ganduje, Obaseki, Bagudu, Sanwo-Olu, Abiodun, Soludo, Irabor, Emefiele, Dangote, Elumelu, Ovia, Oshiomhole, Osoba, Amosun, Imoke, Duke, Ihedioha, others honour Princess of Owa Kingdom Okocha in Abuja
Continued on page 8 www.thisdaylive.com Sunday 21 August, 2022 Vol 27. No N4009994
Concerns as Foreign Airlines Rip off Nigerians with Outrageous Fares
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national security adviser will be presenting to the nation – the big men – who are promoters of this kind of business as they are being caught and illegal refineries are being bombed out. “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is also installing a monitoring capacity to detect or advise immediately when sabotage of oil pipelines happens,” Shehu added.President Muhammadu Buhari had on Friday directed security agencies to immediately put a stop to theft of the country’s crude oil by criminals and vandals in the Niger Delta region. “We will not allow a few criminals to have unfettered access to the nation’s crude oil supply, hence I have directed our security agencies to speedily bring to a halt the activities of these vandals in the Niger Delta,” Buhari had said in a “Therestatement.should be no hiding place for such criminals, and our cooperation with neighbouring countries in halting these crimes is being strengthened and tightened.” Recently, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, said the country suffered a monthly loss of N1.9billion to crude oil theft. Currently, 13 Nigerian Navy personnel are being court-martialed in Lagos for allegedly conniving with crude oil thieves and pipeline vandals, among other maritime infractions.Amongthose facing the Naval Court Martial are some officers who allegedly connived with people from some oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta, including traditional leaders, to operate suspected illegal refineries with siphoned crude oil. Meanwhile, ex-Niger Delta warlord and Commander of the defunct MEND, Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, has said that the federal government knows those behind oil theft. In a video, which emerged yesterday from Thursday meeting with community chairmen and Niger Delta youths, Tompolo, who was addressing the gathering against the backdrop of a new pipelines surveillance deal reportedly worth about N4 billion monthly and N48 billion yearly, however, noted that there will be no hiding place for oil thieves. When President Muhammadu Buhari took over in 2015, he insisted that it was a shame that regional warlords were the ones protecting the assets when Nigeria has a capable military. He had gone after Tompolo who was then handling a surveillance contract under Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.Theformer warlord went underground for years, until his recentHowever,re-emergence.thefederal government appears to have realised the futility of deploying only government security forces to carry out surveillance activities on the pipelines, with the recent N4 billion monthly deal with the formerDuringwarlord.themeeting, Tompolo, who spoke to the gathering on the negative implications of destroying the environment, explained that while he would consult with camp leaders, he won’t beg anyone to stop the sabotage. “All of us had carried arms before; so, nobody can threaten anyone with guns. But what I want to assure you is that there will be no escape route for anybody,” the ex-militant who spoke in pidgin, warned.Tompolo told his guests during the meeting which took place in Okerenkoko, Delta State, that he invited the community leaders because oil theft and bunkering STANDS STILL AS PRINCESS MARGARET OBAIGBENA GOES HOME IN GRAND STYL
The late princess was born in Enugu on August 16, 1934, to Pa Paul Owakwe and Mrs Grace Osinole Usifoh of Owa Kingdom, Ika North East LGA, Delta State.
EMINENT FRIENDS… L-R: Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun; presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Tinubu; former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba; Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje; and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, at the funeral service in honour of Princess Margaret Onyemakonor Obaigbena at St. Andrews Anglican Church, Owa-Oyibu, Delta State...yesterday ABIODUN AJALA Deji Elumoye, Emmanuel Addeh and Udora Orizu in Abuja The Presidency has said the federal government would soon reveal the identities of high-profile individuals behind crude oil theft in the country. This is coming as the ex-Niger Delta warlord and Commander of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Mr Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, has promised that there would be no hiding place for oil thieves, stressing that the federal government knows those behind oil theft in the Niger Delta. Minority Caucus in the House has also called for the probe of the $40 million daily oil theft in the country, alleging that crude theft has become an organised racket under the All Progressives Congress (APC) nextstoppingNavy,agenciesAsmeetgivenfor(OPEC).ofgivennotitareactorsShehuassistingcommitmentisbigameasurestheenforcementtherebunkeringraidedsabotage,ridonatMalamPresidentialadministration.spokesperson,GarbaShehu,saidthistheweekendwhilespeakingalivetelevisionprogramme.Hesaidaspartofeffortstothecountry’seconomyofsecurityoperativeshadlocationswhereillegaloilthrives.Shehufurtherhintedthatmightbecasesofsomelawagentsengaginginillegalact,addingthatnewwerebeingtakentoputstoptoit.“Oiltheftisbeingtackled.Theproblemwehaveinthiscountrythatweoughttoseemorefromcommunitiesinlawenforcementagents,”said.“Insomecaseswheresomeinthelawenforcementcomplicit,itbecomesbad.”Thepresidentialspokesmansaidwas“embarrassing”forNigeriatomeetupwiththequotatoitbytheOrganisationPetroleumExportingCountries“WeusedtofighttheOPECmorequotas;now,theyhaveusandwearenotabletoup.Thisisembarrassing.wespeaktoday,allsecurityliketheNigerianArmy,aremassivelyinvolvedinthisact,”hesaid.“Iamhopefulthatinthefewdays,theofficeofthe
Owa-Oyibu community, the venue of her funeral, was agog with creme de la creme of society who came to pay their last respects. At the funeral were top political leaders, businessmen and women, captains of industry, and other eminent Nigerians from all walks of life, who converged on the hitherto quiet town to give a grand royal funeral service to the late matriarch of the Obaigbena family. For many, it was a celebration of life of the Owa Princess, who gave her all and served her people even after retirement as a chief nursing officer as she went on to become a special adviser to three governors in Delta State. Princess Obaigbena was mother to the Chairman and Editor-inChief of THISDAY Newspapers/ ARISE Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena and a retired director at the former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Prince Benjamin Obaigbena, as well as Princess Isioma Ukwa, Prince Alan Glory Obaigbena, the late Prince Rotimi Obaigbena, and Princess Ogochukwu Aneke. She was also survived by her grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.Herfuneral service was held at St Andrews Anglican Church Owa-Oyibu.Inhissermon, Bishop of Ika Diocese, Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev Godfrey Ekpenisi, said Dame Margaret Obaigbena lived a life of humility and commitment to the service of God. Bishop Ekpenisi disclosed that the deceased octogenarian lived an impactful life, adding that Nigerians should love one another by being charitable towards the promotion of Accordinghumanity. to him, Nigerians should wholeheartedly embrace God in their daily lives by shunning anything capable of severing their relationship with God. It was a day for torrents of tributes as eminent Nigerians, family and friends hailed the contributions of the deceased to the welfare of mankind. In his tribute at the church service, the Delta State Governor and vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa eulogised the deceased for her invaluable service and significant contributions toward advancing the cause of humanity. Okowa hailed the late Princess Obaigbena for her love and compassion for humanity, saying she had left an indelible imprint onHesociety.described the matriarch of the Obaigbena family as a woman who spent her life serving God and"Mamahumanity.wasa mother to all and I am truly part of the family because I do remember our early days in life. She was always there for us. "I know that we feel pains, particularly members of the family but let us be comforted as she made her mark in life and she was a woman that made a great difference."Shewas someone who spent her life serving God and humanity and was one of those mothers who inspired me in life. "As a nurse, I do know that she made a lot of impact in the government of Chief James Ibori and Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan where she served as Special Adviser on Health Matters. "She was worthy of it and won a lot of accolades when she was in service and she impacted everybody who went through her tutelage and everyone who came across her. She made her mark and I wish it was so in our society today because this nation would have been so closely knit together. "If all of us can have a heart like our departed mother, I am sure Nigeria will be a better place because no one will have any reason to be on the streets and take to hooliganism. "She was a mother to the poor, eyes to the blind and leg to the lame and she did so much to impact humanity," Okowa explained.Heurged the family members not to weep but to rejoice because their mother led a life of great impact and left indelible legacies. At the reception, guests were entertained in several marquees, including the home of THISDAY Chairman, who threw his doors open to host the mammoth crowd. Speaking to THISDAY, the Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote described the late Princess of Owa Kingdom as a great community leader. “She really helped her own people; she helped the state and also Nigeria in general. She served and she did her own best and we pray for her soul and may her soul rest in perfect peace," Dangote said. Also speaking, the Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Dr Kayode Fayemi, praised the deceased for her hard work and extraordinary commitment to the family.Lauding her resourcefulness and passion for excellence, Fayemi said: "Reading Mama’s story, she just reminds all of us of how we were brought up with those values of diligence, of compassion for the community and integrity - the way she brought up her kids and the way she went for a second profession even when she already started having kids and made a success of it rising to the level of a chief nursing officer and then remaining committed to the larger family, the Delta family, the family of humanity and serving God relentlessly till the end of the day. "So, those are the values and those are assets that we must always pay attention to and associate with and you can also see it in her children. "They've gone on to be very successful in life and also made friends from all over. I am here because of one of them - Prince Nduka"ManyObaigbena.ofthose who have known him, always know him to be generous, free-spirited, but always focused on his work and making the success of it just like Mama did," Fayemi explained. Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, described her as a woman with humanity, adding that she cared about people. To the bereaved family, he charged them to "take it in good faith because that is the work of God and they should continue to pray for her. "They should build on the legacy that she left behind because her legacy is very important and that is caring for the people." In his tribute, Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki said, “Mama was a health care
PAGE FIVE 5AUGUST 21, 2022 • THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Continued on page 6 DELTA
House Minority Caucus seeks probe of $40m daily loss
Presidency: We’ll Soon Reveal ThoseBehind Crude Oil Theft in Nigeria
No hiding place for oil thieves, Tompolo pomises, says FG knows culprits
Continued on page 10
CELEBRATING ONE YEAR ON THE THRONE…
SSANU, NASU Suspend Strike for Two Months
He explained that when “other unions go on strike and come back, all those periods for which you are on strike, you don’t need to do the backlog of work. “But for ASUU, when we go back today, we are going to start from the 2020/2021 session. For these two sets of students that have been admitted by JAMB, we have to teach them over these periods to ensure that we meet up with the system. “So, we are going to do the backlog of the work we have left behind. We are not going to start today and say ‘This session is 2022/2023; therefore, all these two sets of people that have been admitted by JAMB are cancelled. We have to take another admission for the 2023/2024 session’.”
The ARN in a statement by its Assistant Secretary, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, charged the CBN to do the needful by allocating dollars to the airlines to repatriate money made from the sale of tickets in line with the dictate of BASAs. It said, “In all Bilateral Air Services Agreement an Article in the agreement — transfer of earnings, clearly states that “each designated airline shall have the right to convert and remit to its country on demand, local revenues over sums locally disbursed. Conversion and remittance shall be permitted without delay by the prevailing foreign exchange regulations”.According to ART, international trade is bonded by agreements, which are sacrosanct and respected. It said Nigeria cannot do otherwise if we crave the attention of investors in our industry. The statement added: “It’s important to state that foreign airlines sold these tickets at the official IATA rate and cannot be expected to go the parallel market to source, convert and remit as opined in some quarters, the central bank should do the needful as enshrined in the BASA agreements. “These funds should have been remitted at the official rate on the date of Sale immediately the Airlines get clearance after paying all the local obligations including taxes. “The damage that our action has done to the Nigerian image as an investment-friendly nation is far-reaching, while the citizenry is faced with high fares, reduced capacity and limited travelling options, which will worsen if we continue on this trajectory. “We found ourselves in this unenviable situation because we cannot compete, which would have reduced the remittance volume,” the statement added.
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
decided to suspend the strike for the initial period of two months. "When we presented the offers that the government made to our members, they think that since the majority of the issues that are in contention have been substantially addressed by the government, the strike is hereby be suspended effective this Wednesday, August 24,On2022".his part, Adamu disclosed that the federal government has committed N50 billion to pay earned allowances for members of SSANU, NASU and ASUU. However, activities in public universities are expected to remain limited as ASUU remains on strike. Adamu, who had hinted at SSANU and NASU’s suspension of the strike last Thursday, said ASUU rejected the government’s proposal over the “no work, no pay”Likerule.ASUU, SSANU and NASU had also embarked on strike. The university lecturers have been on strike since February 14. The unions had called for the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, payment of earned allowances, usurpation of nonacademic career positions by vice-chancellors, the inclusion of university staff schools into the university community, non-payment of minimum wage arrears, and funding of state universities. A committee set up by the federal government and headed by Emeritus Professor, Nimi Briggs had engaged in negotiations with the two Whenunions.heappeared on national television on Friday, ASUU’s President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, said salary backlogs must be cleared before lecturers would return to the classroom. “If we agree on that, therefore, the lectures we should have given (to students) for 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 (sessions), should be allowed to go so we start a new session, 2022/2023, in September,” Professor Osodeke said. “Therefore, by July next year, I would go on my leave as we used to have in those days so that the backlog is gone. All the lectures that remain; all the two sets of admissions that JAMB has given that are waiting should become irrelevant.”
The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Education Institutions (NASU) yesterday suspended their strike actions after a brief meeting with the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, in ConfirmingAbuja.thesuspension, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of NASU and SSANU said that the suspension would take effect from Wednesday, August 24, 2022, for an initial two months. A statement signed by the General Secretary NASU and Spokesman of JAC, Mr Peters Adeyemi, said the decision followed the conclusion of negotiation between JAC and the federal government team led by the Minister of Education, Adamu. It explained that the two months are to allow the government to implement the agreements reached.Hesaid that part of the agreement "is the decision of the government to set aside the sum of N50 billion for the payment of earned academic and earned allowances, the cogent decision on the University Peculiar Personnel Payroll System (UPPS), release of the white paper on university visitation panel and funding of theOnuniversities".thepoorfunding of federal institutions, JAC’s spokesman said the minister has directed the National Universities Commission (NUC) to ensure that all the schools are up-to-date on what they are supposed to do, otherwise sanctions would be visited on any institution that defaults. According to him, the minister also gave an assurance that no member of the unions that participated in the strike would beHevictimised.quoted the minister as having said that President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to devoting 15 per cent of the national budget to education.Onthesalary payment system, Adeyemi said that the government had assessed the alternative payment systems provided by ASUU, JAC of NASU and SSANU and found them to be satisfactory. He added that the federal government was awaiting the report of the technical committee it set up before taking action on theAdeyemimatter. said after very prolonged negotiations and dialogue between the two unions and the federal government led by the minister, the two unions Nigerian travellers pay over N1.2 million for a one-way economy ticket for about six to eight hours flight and over N4 million for a business class ticket, while roundtrip tickets are going for N3 million for the economy and N7 million for business class tickets, respectively. Investigations further revealed that foreign airlines have not charged similar outrageous fares in other countries where airlines are yet to repatriate their earnings. Regional Vice-President, Africa and the Middle East, International Air Transport Association (IATA), Kamil Alawadhi stated at a recent IATA conference in Doha, Qatar, that the airfares charged by international carriers are three times higher than what they charge in other countries that do not retain airlines’ revenues. He expressed fear that the fares might continue to rise until Nigerians would not be able to afford international travel, stressing that such development could eventually weaken the nation’s economy.Alawadhi explained that airlines were charging higher fares to Nigeria so that they could make a profit from one leg of the trip, as most trips are charged on return-ticket.Industry expert and the Secretary-General of Aviation Round Table (ART), Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd) said that before anyone should blame the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the aviation industry should first account for over $1 billion it earned from passenger service charge (PSC). He lamented that Nigeria is not keeping to the tenets of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA), which stipulates that foreign airlines should pay royalties for their operations in Nigeria, especially when Nigerian carriers do not reciprocate the same service to the host countries of those airlines. “First, why do we find ourselves among the countries that are not keeping to the articles of the BASAs? Second, what happens to our forex earnings on commercial aviation, particularly those that are earned by the aviation services providers like the PSC of $100/ pax and those earned on landing and parking? What about the forex earnings by others like the ground handling services companies such as NAHCO (Nigeria Aviation Handling Company Plc), SAHCOL (Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc) and the fuel marketers?” he queried. “My last calculations on all these is over $1 billion, but where are they before we start blaming the CBN that cannot account for the earnings and deposits from others’ earnings forex like NNPC (the Nigerian National Petroleum Company), NPA (the Nigerian Ports Authority), NIMASA (Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency) etc? (Chief Olusegun) Obasanjo said at the first public hearing on aviation ever held by any president in Aso Rock in around 2006 that forex earnings by aviation operators, including the NCAA (Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority) be domiciled in the CBN, Naira equivalent given to the operators but can be returned to the CBN when the needs arise; what happened to that presidential directive?“Whathas been happening over the years in Nigerian commercial aviation policies, regulations and administration are nothing but what I call unilateral exploitation of the systems? We are going to be the loser if the foreign airlines withdraw their services because about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of our earnings in commercial aviation are from foreign airlines. What will happen further is that Nigerians will go to Accra, Cotonou, Lome, etc to connect the flights of these foreign airlines making them hubs over Nigeria. I saw these happening to us when a minister unilaterally cut off the commercial agreements between us and them and when we indirectly open the domestic routes and markets for some of them for multiple destinations. The consequences are staring at us all; now who will save us from ourselves?” Ojikutu further queried. However, industry analyst and Director, Research, Zenith Travels, Mr Olumide Ohunayo explained that Nigerians are being charged higher rates because the country’s debt is the “Secondly,highest.wecannot reciprocate of those routes; so, the dominant carriers determine the fares. Nigeria has a very strong travel population; so, we have a lot of supply, which outweighs the demands currently as airlines cut frequencies. Also, the Naira’s continuous spiral fall is affecting the overall costs of the tickets,” he Meanwhile,added.pressure has been mounted on the federal government over the $464million trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines flying Nigerian routes. This comes on the heels of Emirates’ stoppage of flights with effect from September 1 even as more airlines are said to be exploring all options to mitigate the effect of blocked funds. A group of aviation professionals and stakeholders under the aegis of Aviation Roundtable (ART) expressed dismay “by the appalling handling of the accumulated foreign airline funds trapped in our banks, due to the non-allocation of forex to these airlines.”
NEWS 6 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 21, 2022 PRESIDENCY: WE’LL SOON REVEAL THOSE BEHIND CRUDE OIL THEFT IN NIGERIA CONCERNS AS FOREIGN AIRLINES RIP OFF NIGERIANS WITH OUTRAGEOUS FARES
L-R: Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero; Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, his wife, Olori Atuwatse III; and Dein of Agbor, Benjamin Ikenchuku, Keagborekuzi 1 during Olu of Warri’s one year anniversary at Ode Itsekiri in Warri…yesterday had become a matter of concern to “Theeverybody.reason I invited you here is on how to halt illegal bunkering. I am from Okerenkoko, the same way each of these community leaders is from a community. What we want to tell our mothers, fathers and all community leaders is that from today, after today’s meeting, we will work out the form that the operation will take. No more illegal“Afterbunkering.now,we will give you the addresses of where you will be deployed so that you will be employed. The employment will be for men and women in the ratio of 60-40. “I won’t pretend; this is what we all survive on - even God knows. If the right thing was done, we wouldn’t have reached this level. As I speak, I cannot in all honesty tell you that I don’t know the people behind“Godthis.knows who’s behind it (oil theft), the government knows who’s behind it, but we just want to appeal, because the buyers and the sellers are deeply involved,” heHestated.maintained that monies will be paid directly to employees and not through contractors, insisting that in the new dispensation, nobody will be short-changed. “Anybody employed by this community, the money will go straight to them. We won’t give any job to contractors where you will ask that someone should be paid N20,000 and they will be given just N10,000,” he added. Tompolo explained that it was not a case of Ijaw or Itsekiri or even Urhobo, stressing that everyone must come together to stop the menace.Inarelated development, the Minority Caucus in the House has called for the probe of the $40 million daily oil theft in the country, saying crude theft has become an organised racket under the APC administration.TheCaucusin a statement by its leader Hon. Ndudi Elumelu lamented that 400,000 barrels of crude oil worth $40 million are allegedly being stolen daily. While calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps to address the challenges facing the country, the caucus called for an immediate, independent and open investigation into the issue of oil theft in the country.
SUNDAY AUGUST 21, 2022 • THISDAY 7
L-R: Mr. Horenzo Aligbe; Chief Executive Officer of Linas International Limited, Prince Ned Nwoko; and his lawyer, Mr. Onyeka Nwokolo, during a press briefing on the Paris Club Refund in Abuja…yesterday
president of this position before further deliberation between the twoTHISDAYcamps. gathered that the PDP NWC had advised Ayu to visit the Rivers State governor for them to resolve the dispute on a one-on-one basis but the former Senate President rejected theInvestigationproposal. revealed that the NWC in their meeting last Thursday told Ayu that they would accompany him to Port Harcourt if he was not willing to go Accordingalone. to one of the NWC members who spoke on condition of anonymity, the NWC members who feared that the crisis is becoming personal asked the national chairman to take the path of a leader to see Wike and resolve the crisis which is becoming intractable. The source further stated that the NWC members volunteered to go with Ayu to meet with the Rivers State governor as a team. He further stated that Ayu rejected the offer of going with them to see the Rivers State governor or engage him in a private audience. According to him, Ayu ruled out any private meeting with Wike on the matter, insisting that he has four years to complete his tenure as the party’s national chairman.Itwaslearnt that the two camps that held the deadlocked meeting in Port Harcourt would use the weekend to brief their principals on the outcome of the meeting.
The statement said such contention was targeted at deflating the high morale of troops by downplaying recent critical interventions by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya, on troops' welfare, which include car loans, housing loans, extensive construction of new accommodation, a massive renovation of old and dilapidated accommodation, the building of befitting residences and issuing of vehicles to Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSM), scholarship awards to children and wards of fallen heroes and other unique interventions in the theatres of operation to sustain the heightening morale of troops. "These interventions account for troops' game-changing onslaught in the North-east. It must also be mentioned that the quantum of equipment that has been injected into the theatres and prompt payment of operational allowances have all turned the tide against the insurgents."Alsoworthy of note is the welfare flight for troops, which has significantly reduced the burden of troops travelling in and out of the theatres, in addition to huge commitment on the medical needs of wounded-in-action soldiers and the barracks communities", he said. The Army noted the fact that troops were now being regularly and consciously rotated from the frontline, hence, issues of overstay and battle fatigue were gradually being overcome. He said some of the recently discharged soldiers were beneficiaries of "these giant strides"."The COAS once again congratulates the discharging personnel for their gallantry, patriotism, loyalty and courage while in service and wishes them the very best as they successfully exit active service from the Nigerian Army. The statement said the army chief also reiterated his avowed determination to continue to have a direct impact on the welfare and wellbeing of both serving and retired personnel. "He is also assuring the retirees that soon, their various commanders would organise a farewell luncheon in their honour, as it is the practice in the NA since Gen Yahaya took over command", he said.
Obasanjo Warns Tinubu’sSupporters over Endorsement Claim Army Explains Voluntary Retirement of 243 Personnel
NEWS
A source privy to the negotiations told THISDAY that, "we are waiting for a green light from the reconciliatory camps to enable the party to summon the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to approve membership of the presidential campaign council of the party."
The source said that the PDP would not want to announce any member of the party that would not honour and participate in the campaigns.Meanwhile, Wike and the former National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus yesterday engaged in a war of words over an alleged threat by the Rivers State governor to crush anyone who supports the enemies of the state. A visibly angry Wike, who spoke at the flagging off ceremony of the construction of internal roads at Omagwa in Ikwerre
THISDAY gathered that the main issue on the side of Wike's camp is to ensure that all the supporters of the Rivers State governor are carried along in the electioneering campaigns expected to kick off on September 29.
Local Government Area of the state, vowed to “finish” anyone who pitches his tent with the “enemies of the state.” According to the governor, “If anybody fights our system, we will fight the person back. “Let me tell you what you don’t understand in politics. The moment you claim to be working with us and tomorrow you shift to our enemy, we will take every might we have; we will even leave our enemy and finish you first. “So, all of you who are going back to Abuja to hold meetings with our enemies in the state, I am going to finish you to the last. “We removed a national party chairman who was not doing well. All of them were here; we all agreed; now they are going to Abuja to hold meetings with the man we removed, thinking that you will use that to fight us; we will crush them.”
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday cautioned the supporters of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, over the claim that he had endorsed him. Obasanjo expressed dissatisfaction with what he described as an unauthorised report of the discussion at the closed-door meeting he held with the former Lagos State governor. Tinubu had on Wednesday visited Obasanjo at his Penthouse, located within the premises of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta. Tinubu was accompanied by Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun; two former governors of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba and Otunba Gbenga Daniel; billionaire businessman, Mr Femi Otedola; former interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, among others. Both Obasanjo and Tinubu refused to address the media after their closed-door meeting. But the former president in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, said the statements coming from those claiming to be supporters of Tinubu are unhelpful. He expressed dissatisfaction with what he described as an unauthorised report of the discussion at the closed-door meeting he held with Tinubu. In one of the reports credited to unknown sources who claimed to be privy to the meeting, Obasanjo was said to have told Tinubu that it would be the turn of the South to produce the president in 2023, stressing that he was surprised that someone from the North is alsoSpeakercontesting.of House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila had also disclosed that what transpired during the meeting between Obasanjo and Tinubu was a sign of victory for Tinubu come Gbajabiamila2023.reportedly made the statement on Thursday, while speaking at the Surulere Local Government Area APC meeting in Surulere, Lagos. The Speaker, who said he was present at the closed-door meeting in Abeokuta, said from what he heard there, Tinubu’s presidency was almost a reality. But Obasanjo said the statements coming from those claiming to be supporters of Tinubu were unhelpful.Theformer president said the discussion during the visit was “more brotherly than political," adding that at the request of Tinubu, the former president agreed that no statement should be issued from either side. “Those claiming to be insiders at the meeting issuing statements on the discussion and those crediting to me statement I had not made are enemies of the visitor and are not doing the visit any good”, Obasanjo said. Recall that Obasanjo had on Friday shared one of the jokes he made with Tinubu when he visited him in his Abeokuta residence The former president, while speaking at the inauguration of a 300-man planning committee on the installation of the new Olowu of Owu, Oba Saka Matemilola, said he told Tinubu that he had added two phrases to Yoruba vocabularies.Hesaid:“We now have two vocabularies in the Yoruba dictionary, ‘Emilokan’ and ‘Olule’. These two vocabularies are now popularly used”. “I asked Bola and he laughed. I said whether the vocabularies are good or bad, we have started using them.”
But in a swift response, Secondus told Wike that he is not God who could crush anyone. In a statement by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, the former National Chairman of the main opposition party stated that his attention “has been drawn to the haughty and disdainful threat from Governor Nyesom Wike that he will crush anybody who works with him (Secondus) in support of the PDP presidential candidate Atiku“TheAbubakar.simpleresponses of Prince Secondus to the empty threat are: ‘Wike you cannot crush anybody, I cannot fight, only God can crush” Secondus also drew the attention of Wike to the advice given by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who told public officers that ‘no condition is permanent,’ reminding the Rivers State governor that nobody can become the governor of a state or President of this country forever.
AYU REJECTS PDP NWC’S PROPOSAL TO HOLD PRIVATE AUDIENCE WITH WIKE NEED OUR MONEY...
8 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 21, 2022 WE
James Sowole in Abeokuta
The Nigerian Army yesterday justified the recent voluntary retirement of 243 army personnel from service. It said the disengagement of the affected personnel was routine and in tandem with the policy of discharge and retirement of personnel even as the massive injection of equipment and prompt payment of allowances turned the tide against insurgents in the North-east. It said in a statement that contrary to reports that the development was occasioned by alleged corruption, low morale and battle fatigue, the policy provided its personnel with the opportunity to apply for voluntary discharge when they deemed fit and meet the terms and conditions as stipulated in the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service soldiers/ ratings/airmen (Revised) 2017. "The allegation that soldiers of the Nigerian Army (NA) are proceeding on voluntary retirement due to alleged corruption, poor service conditions and low morale as recently is nothing but a concoction of the imagination of the unrepentant enemies of the nation and mischief makers and should be outrightly discountenanced by the public. "The subjective and unethical report is a distraction and another failed attempt at dampening the morale and fighting will of the loyal, dedicated and patriotic fighting force of the Nigerian Army.The statement, signed by Army’s Spokesman, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu stated that the Nigerian Army was not "conscript and that recruitment into the NA is voluntary with an extant policy on discharge and retirement of soldiers and officers, respectively, like other organisations. This provides its Says new equipment, prompt payment of allowances turned the tide against insurgents
KINGSLEY ADEBOYE personnel with the opportunity to apply for voluntary discharge when they deem fit and meet the terms and conditions as stipulated in the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service soldiers/ ratings/airmen (Revised) 2017. "It is thus the inalienable right of every personnel to voluntarily or on medical grounds apply for discharge if they meet the terms. It is therefore not an aberration that the COAS granted approval for 91 NA/32/4792 WO Ndagana Ishiaku and 242 others to voluntarily discharge from the NA, as being unprofessionally manipulated by some people".
Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
SUNDAY AUGUST 21, 2022 • THISDAY 9
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has extended the revocation of the operating licences of 52 broadcast stations owing debt amounting to N2.6 billion in licensing fees until August 23,This2022.is coming as the Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU) has condemned the revocation of the 52 licences of broadcast stations.
Enugu State Governor and senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Enugu North Senatorial District, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, acknowledging cheers from market women from Obollo Afor, Udenu Local Government Area, when they visited the governor at the Government House, Enugu and declared their support for him and other PDP candidates in the state…yesterday worker, a nurse who took care of people, brought people to life and cared for them through life as a nurse and the way she led her life was as an exemplary life-giver. "Not having just given birth to a child or children she saw them through maturity because, in her community, she was present for her"Don'tpeople.forget we all started in Bendel State and then she came to Delta State and even after she retired as a chief nursing officer, she continued to serve and provide advice to the governments of Delta at that point in time. "So, for us, what she means is somebody who lived a life of service, somebody who lived the life of a mother to a community and a mother to everybody," the Edo State governor said. On his part, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu described the late matriarch as a great, humble and virtuous woman who should be celebrated. "She was a virtuous woman who was greatly blessed and she would be dearly missed," he said. On his part, a former governor of Cross Rivers State, Senator Liyel Imoke, said society must emulate her doggedness, humility, activism and indeed her integrity. Earlier, a former Executive Director of Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Segun Awolowo, praised the late matriarch for what she particularly did in the health sector, particularly in Delta "ApartState.from that, she was a wonderful mother who brought up her children well. She lived a very simple life, and that's why she's"Socelebrated.thisis a gateway to celebrating women and their ability to raise families. So I'm so happy for my friend- he survived his mother as she saw him grow and what he has become. There's nothing more fulfilling than for you to succeed in front of your parents, which he did," Awolowo said. The President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Christopher Isiguzo, who is also a staff of THISDAY, said: "Judging from what people are saying and what we know about our departed mother and matriarch of the Obaigbena family, she was a kind, caring and very godly woman. "She left her mark and steps on the sands of time and the bishop who conducted the service attested to the fact that she was a great woman."Shegave birth to very great people and by extension, all of us are of the family and I pray that those she has left behind would also continue to sustain the virtues of kindness and care that she left behind and that is the only way to immortalise her,” the NUJ president explained. Others present at the event were the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi; Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu; Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele and wife; Group Chairman of United Bank of Africa (UBA), Mr. Tony Elumelu; Founder/Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia; former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and former Governor of Cross Rivers State, Mr. Donald Duke; former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Segun Oni; former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba; another former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; and a former Governor of Imo State, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha. Others who honoured the late Princess of Owa Kingdom include: Former Chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde; Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor; Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe; Managing Director of First Bank, Mr. Sola Adeduntan; Managing Director of Polaris Bank, Mr. Innocent Ike; senior lawyers - Eyimofe Atake (SAN), Wale Babalakin (SAN), Funke Aboyade (SAN), and Fidelis Oditah (SAN, QC).
Meanwhile, the Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU) has condemned the revocation of 52 licences of broadcast stations by NBC. It described the revocation as an untimely action with likely severe consequences. A statement by the General Secretary of the union, Aniete Akpausoh, said that most broadcast stations are going through a lot of challenges, adding that the broadcast environment is not healthy and RATTAWUfriendly.said it has no other option but to caution NBC that "while it has the unreserved constitutional right to revoke the licences of radio and television stations that have not done the needful; however, the prevailing climate makes such an action untimely and with grave consequences. This is because most of these stations are yet to recover from the COVID-19 shock". It noted that during the lockdown, these stations did brave services of sustaining broadcasting. RATTAWU also made a case that the broadcast stations be given special COVID-19 palliative, considering the laudable role they played.“Just after the upliftment of COVID-19 lock-down, the Nigerian state got stuck in the unexplained muddy waters of hike in the prices of diesel, which most stations rely on to run their programmes in the near absence of power supply from the Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos). "This is an issue that is, at best, embarrassing to the Nation. “From the foregoing, it is needless to say that the broadcast environment is not healthy and friendly."Therefore, decisions that affect the broadcast environment should be taken with sapiential guidance and"Theconsideration.actionof the NBC is unilateral. It is not a product of stakeholders of the broadcast industry. Therefore, it stands to be half clever. This is because of the following reasons," it said. RATTAWU further expressed worry over the likely multiplier effects that the action of NBC would have on workers. It said already, that the economic reality of the nation is not healthy. "Please note that shutting down media stations invariably leads to disengagements of workers which is another influx into the unemployed market and its attendant urgingforegoingwillcitizensorganisation"Therefore,consequences.anygovernmentthatmeanswelltowillnotdoanythingthatcompoundthesituation.“ItisonthestrengthofthethatRATTAWU,whilethedebtedstationstodo the needful, also condemns the action of NBC, describing it as untimely and uncircumspect," RATTAWU added. It said the Nigerian state is preparing for the general election by 2023, adding that revoking the licenses of 52 stations and directing their total shutdown implies limiting the possibility of voter education and other electioneering activities. "This portends great danger and disservice to the nation. Third, the ravaging insecurity of lives and properties required that the Nigerian state should make the free flow of information as much as "Thispossible.will help the citizens to report to the authorities and the authorities in return will tell the citizens what needs to be done,” the statement said.
Others include: Sarki Dawaki Kano, Aminu Baba, and a delegation from the Emir of Bichi, Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero. Women were also well represented by Mrs. Tessy Ikimi, Mrs. Juliana Edewor, Helen Prest, Nkiru Anumudu and many others. Also among the dignitaries were Senator Ede Dafinone; Oscar and Wander Ibru; Abubakar Ismaila Isa; Umar Ajiya, who represented the CEO of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam and Mr. Dere Otubu. Others include: Minority Leader of House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu; former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo; senator representing Delta South Senatorial District, James Manager; Senator Sanusi Daggash; Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Ahmed Kuru; and Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, Mr. Victor Nwokolo.Alsopresent were the National Commissioner for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in charge of Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers states, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu; and former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Dakuku Peterside.TheTHISDAY team was led by the Managing Director, Eniola Bello; Editor, Shaka Momodu; Managing Editor, Adebiyi Bolaji and a host of other senior members of staff.
DELTA STANDS STILL AS PRINCESS MARGARET OBAIGBENA GOES HOME IN GRAND STYLE
JAMB Registrar Condoles with Obaigbena In a related development, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, yesterday condoled with the Chairman of the THISDAY/ ARISE Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena over the passage of her mother, Princess Obaigbena.Inaletter he wrote on behalf of the management and staff of the board, Oloyede acknowledged the remarkable achievements of the matriarch of the Obaigbena royal family before she passed away.
In a statement signed yesterday by its Director-General, Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, NBC said the extension was due to appeal by the affected broadcast stations, relevant stakeholders, and public-spirited organisations.Ilelahsaid the commission would enforce the revocation order on the affected stations by August 24 if they fail defray their debts after the expiration of the grace. The statement was titled: ‘NBC Extends Enforcement of Revocation Order on Debtor Broadcast Stations from 24 Hours to Wednesday, August 23, 2022.’
"This is to inform all the affected broadcast stations whose licences were revoked and given 24 hours to pay all outstanding license fees that the National Broadcasting Commission has extended the period, which all outstanding debts are to be paid from 24 hours to Wednesday, August 23, 2022.
NEWS
NBC Extends Deadline for AIT/ RayPower, 51 Others to Pay Debts RATTAWU cautions FG against job losses
GRASSROOTS MOBILISATION…
"All affected broadcast stations who fail to defray their debts on or before August 23, 2022 are directed to shut down by 12 am on August 24,"This2022. extension is due to appeal by the affected broadcast stations, relevant stakeholders, public-spirited organisations and organisations," Ilelah said. However, the Nigerian chapter of International Press Institute (IPI) said the concession by the NBC followed its intervention and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) on how to explore amicable resolution of theIPIdispute.Nigeria said following the revocation of the licences of the stations on Friday, it had engaged the Ministry of Information and Culture, the NBC and BON.
10 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 21, 2022
IPI Nigeria President, Musikilu Mojeed, said yesterday that Ilelah had graciously agreed to grant an extension on compassionate ground.Hesaid although the concession was a temporary relief, IPI was hopeful that all parties would engage in few days with a view to arriving at a lasting resolution of the matter. "We thank the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Mallam Illela for listening to us and allowing a window for dialogue,” the statement explained.
Olawale Ajimotokan and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
SUNDAY AUGUST 21, 2022 • THISDAY 11
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) had States, Councils Owing Consultant $68m, Not $418m, Nwoko Clarifies
Udora Orizu and Oghen-evwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja
NEWS News Editor: Gboyega Akinsanmi E-mail: gboyega.akinsanmi@thisdaylive.com,08152359253
REUNION OF ILLUSTRIOUS SONS …
We’ve Increased Military Capacity to Tackle Terrorists, Says FG
Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Gbajabiamila Promises Enactment of Pro-people Legislations
The federal government has said the Armed Forces have increased their strength, reviewed training and order of battle to curtail security threats across theThecountry.Minister of Defence, Maj.Gen. Bashir Magashi revealed this at the 15th International Security Conference and Award (ISCA) organised by the International Institute of Professional Security (IIPS) yesterday in Abuja. “In the armed forces, we have increased our strength as much as possible, reviewed our training tactics and procedures and reviewed our order of battle,’’ he said. The minister was represented by the Chief of Defence Training and Operations, Maj.-Gen. Adeyemi Yekini at the event with the theme: “Intelligence of Things: Working against Kidnapping and Terrorism.’’Magashi said the renewed onslaught had started yielding results with the recent arrest of the terrorists behind the June 5 attack at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo in Ondo State. He said there was also an enhanced synergy between the services and other security agencies, which had led to the smoking out of criminals from their hideouts. He said more than 70,000 terrorists and their families had surrendered to troops in the North-east while hundreds of thousands of displaced persons had returned to their ancestral homes. He added that troops had been deployed on the AbujaKaduna Highway on 24-hour patrols while Operation Forest Sanity had been launched in the North Central and Northwest to comb the forests. He said many camps belonging to criminals had been destroyed and many criminals and terrorists either arrested or neutralised, saying many kidnap victims were also rescued. Magashi also reiterated the determination of the military and other security agencies to rid the Southeast, South-South and Southwest of all forms of criminality. featured at the weekly briefings coordinated by the Presidential Media Team, on Aug. 11, where he spoke extensively on issues surrounding the refund, He had argued that there was no basis for agitation by the NGF concerning deductions from the Paris Club refund paid to the consultants they hired, describing the governors’ action as akin to crying over spilled milk. After their deliberations at the Presidential Villa Abuja on Wednesday, the governors accused
promptly mobilised and led the detectives to the scene, where they met CSP Dauda Ismail, the CSO to His Excellency (Adegboyega Oyetola), the executive governor of Osun State. “He stated that one Omolola Opeyemi ‘M’ of Ijebu Ode, a driver of one truck without reg number blocked the movement of the First Lady, as a result of the traffic blockage. “The driver was wounded on his forehead while some hoodlums took advantage of that and started stoning vehicles in the convoy that got one DSS personnel wounded.
Kano, Agbor Monarchs Attend Olu of Warri’s First Anniversary Kaigama Asks FG to Tackle Brain Drain, Poverty, Unemployment Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, has assured the diplomatic community that Nigeria is safe for foreign direct investments (FDIs). Runsewe gave the assurance yesterday during the 15th International Arts and Crafts (INAC) Expo organised by NCAC held at Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Abuja. At the exhibition, NCAC’s director-general described the negative stories about Nigeria as “fake Runsewe,news.”also the President, World Crafts Council (Africa Region), commended the diplomatic community in Nigeria for their participation at this 15th INAC Expo which over 20 countries, eight states and Federal Capital Territory had exhibition stands. “This platform is to celebrate the democracy of Nigeria. We want to make a big statement to the diplomatic community that Nigeria is safe for investments. All the negative stories about Nigeria are fake news. “I thank the over 40 ambassadors and diplomatic community for honouring us with their presence. INAC is a platform that unites the whole world. We promise to make bigger and better next Theyear.”Ambassador of Cuba to Nigeria, Clara M. Pulido-Escandell, described NCAC boss, Runsewe, as a good ambassador of Nigeria promoting her arts and crafts globally.
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi (left) and Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, during an impromptu visit to the Government House, Awka… yesterday. the minister of orchestrating the deductions from their funds to settle the consultancy fees. Speaking at the conference yesterday, Nwoko absolved Malami of any wrongdoing as he said the minister was only trying to ensure that the law wasHeobeyed.revealed that the money being owed to the consultants was 68 million dollars and not 418 million dollars that had been in public Accordingspace.tohim, his firm has nothing to do with 418 million dollars, saying this must be a miscalculation.Heabsolvedthe Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami of any wrongdoing as he said the minister was only trying to ensure that the law was obeyed. ”I am compelled to embark on this public engagement to debunk the litany of lies, spin and false narratives that had been dished out. ”This was to abuse the minds of the undiscerning public by the Chairman of NGF, Fayemi, against the payment of consultancy fees. ”The fees are legitimately earned and owed my firm for services rendered and which the states and local governments have fully been refunded. ”The outstanding fees owed my firm with regards to last work done for the states is approximately 68million dollars and not 418million dollars as maliciously sought to be conveyed by Fayemi and co.
Police Arrest Five for Attacking Convoy of Oyetola’s Wife Nigeria Safe for FDIs, Runsewe Tells Diplomatic Community
The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Revd Ignatius Kaigama yesterday urged the federal government to liberate Nigerians, especially the youth, from the nation’s current harsh economic realities. Kaigama observed that many young people were desperately seeking greener pastures in other countries around the world. He made the remarks at the priestly ordination of 12 Catholic Deacons in Abuja, lamenting that millions of youths were idle on the streets because of the government’s failure to respond to the demands of striking University lecturers positively.Hesaid: “It should worry us terribly that because of bad politics and bad governance, our young ones, discouraged and crippled by socioeconomic conditions at home, are desperately seeking greener pastures in countries that our resources as the so-called “giant of Africa” could be ten times more than“Wetheirs.have millions of idle youths, some of them on the streets and some at home due to government failure to let them back to school by positively responding to ASUU demands, and some, because their schools have become unsafe. “More than sixty years after independence and blessed with so much oil wealth, many rural and even urban dwellers are still experiencing the lack of potable water, good and safe roads, modern agricultural tools and today, everyone is feeling the harsh impact of the high cost of fuel, etc.
THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 202212
Sylvester Idowu in Warri It was celebration galore yesterday as hundreds of Itsekiris thronged Ode Itsekiri in Warri South Local Government Area to celebrate the first coronation anniversary of Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse 111. Among the prominent people that graced the occasion were His Royal Majesties Ado Bayero and Dein of Agbor, Benjamin Ikechukwu, Keagborekuzi I. The event was laced with traditional dances from the various royal houses and merriments by hundreds of Itsekiris and well-wishers. Ogiame Atuwatse 111, who was elated by the turn out of indigenes and non-indigenes, thanked all for adding colour to the“Todayceremony.isaday of making speech. That will come tomorrow (today) during the Thanksgiving service. However, I want to thank His Royal Majesties Ado Bayero and Dein of Agbor, Benjamin Ikechukwu, Keagborekuzi 1. Your Royal Majesty Ado Bayero, I want to specially thank you from making it to this occasion. You have flown to grace this occasion. On behalf of my people, I want to thank you,” the monarch said. Ogiame also thanked his wife, Olori Atuwatse 111 for her health initiatives to protect the interest of children in the kingdom as well as his subjects for making the event colourful.
Also, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Benjamin Kalu reiterated the commitment of the parliament to providing legislative interventions for the progress, unity and prosperity of the Bello,country.whobagged Democracy Man of the Year Award, said if the administration of the local government is being operated as it should, there will be less pressure on the state capital, hence government would be closer to the people.
Charles Ajunwa
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has promised that the 9th National Assembly’s will work towards enactment of people-oriented laws for national development.Gbajabiamila gave the in Abuja while receiving the 2022 Democracy Heroes Awards Africa conferred on him alongside Niger State Governor, Alhaji Sani Bello and Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, among others. The speaker, who was represented by Hon. Aliyu Ibrahim, dedicated the award to the 9th House of Representatives, which has passed groundbreaking legislations such as the Petroleum Industry Act and the Electoral Act,Gbajabiamila2022. said: “On behalf of my leader, we say thank you very much, the organisers of this great event for honouring not only him, the right honourable speaker but indeed the House of Representatives.“Weholdthis award in high esteem and it will further embolden us to do more. Under our able leadership, there are a lot of legislative landmarks, as you know, ranging from the Electoral Act to the passage of the great Petroleum Industry Act.”
Lead Consultant, Linas International, Mr Ned Nwoko yesterday clarified that the state governments and local government councils in the country “are owing his company $68 million contrary to $418 million that has been widely reported.”Nwoko also frowned at the recent outbursts of the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi regarding the Paris Club refund. He made the clarification during a news conference he addressed in Abuja yesterday on the recovery of over deductions from Paris and London Clubs debt buy back funds
The Osun State Police Command yesterday said five people had been arrested in connection with the attack on the convoy of wife of Osun State Governor, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola at Owode, Ede. The spokesperson of the command, Yemisi Opalola revealed this in a statement yesterday, saying operatives were contacted at about 8:30pm on Friday that the convoy of Mrs Oyetola had come under attack. She said: “Information was received that at Owode, Ede Market Express way, some hoodlums were attacking convoy of the First Lady. DPO ‘A’ Division Ede
SUNDAY AUGUST 21, 2022 • THISDAY 13
SUNDAY AUGUST 21, 2022 • THISDAY14
15THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21 , 2022 BUSINESS Editor: Festus Akanbi 08038588469 Email:festus.akanbi@thisdaylive.com One week after the release of Some food items
Unlocking New Opportunities in Agricultural Value Chain
AGRICULTURE
According to Heifer’s Youth and Innovation Lead for Africa, Dayo Aduroja, “In 2022, the AYuTe Africa Challenge which targets growthstage businesses will announce champions for the 2022 edition will also be accompanied by national level competitions targeting start-up National Challenge the organisation will award up to $20,000 in It added that its support doesn’t end with ing a team of expert advisers—accomplished business veterans—to support AYuTe Nigeria Champions as they translate this funding into Heifer disclosed that through the AYuTe Nigeria Challenge, it wants to identify young, creative entrepreneurs who have launched promising new tech solutions to transform According to a statement from Heifer, across Nigeria, young professionals are today developing and deploying tech innovations that are reimagining farming and food production “From drones that can detect the threat of crop diseases to solar-powered refrigeration hubs that prevent food waste to soil testing kits, these innovations have the potential to make agriculture a promising future for Nigeria’s Creating Opportunities for Young Nigerian Innovators
The winners of the 2021 inaugural Heifer International AyuTe Africa Challenge included the Hello Tractor, award-winning agricultural technology and social enterprise company that increases smallholder farmers’ access to tractors through farm equipment sharing application that bridges the gap between traditional farming
16 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21 , 2022
The organisers explained that the challenge
L-R: A representative of Enactus Nigeria, Michael Ajayi; Commissioner for Agriculture, Lagos State, Ms Abisola Olusanya; Partnerships Project Manager, Pula; Oluwafunmibi Asunmonu; and Country Director, Heifer Nigeria, Rufus Idris, at the launching of AYuTe Africa/Nigeria Challenge in Lagos
The drive to increase productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector in Nigeria was last week given a boost as Heifer International unveiled a programme of identifying young, creative entrepreneurs who have launched promising new tech solutions to transform agriculture for smallholder farmers, writes Festus Akanbi I I there is one issue giving the federal and state governments cause for concern, it is that of the rising food For a country, which is facing an acute shortage in food production as a result of a combination of growing insecurity, continued rise in the cost of moving farm produce to markets, instability in the nation’s foreign exchange market, and youth restlessness, any policy or programme capable of stimulating interest in agriculture will always In Nigeria, emerging statistics on the current population is currently estimated at more than There is no doubt therefore that feeding 200 million people and a projected 400 million by This is why analysts believed that leveraging technology and modern practices will create a pathway for Nigeria to increase productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector The reasoning is that given the sheer population of the Nigerian youths, it will be a great advantage to support any programme that will ment partners like Heifer International come and technically contributing to agricultural transformation programs globally, Heifer International is repositioning its work in Africa to include investment in infrastructure, young social entrepreneurs, and technology to support As one of the innovations being put in place to stimulate youths’ interest in agriculture and as a mark of its continuous drive to support smallholder farmers across Africa, Heifer International last week launched the annual Nigerian National edition of its Africa, Youth and Technology (AYuTe) Challenge with an award grant of $20,000 to the emerging most promising young agri-tech innovators in the
The list also includes ColdHubs, agricultural technology, and a social enterprise company that deploys solar-powered cold storage systems
ticipants are expected to register through the Launched in 2021, the AYuTe Africa Challenge encourages young growth-stage agritech innovators to scale their ambition and their ability to deliver meaningful impact for farmers – ultimately supporting Heifer International’s Africa strategy to secure a sustainable and dynamic future for the continent’s food systems
Director, Rufus Idris said the National competition in Nigeria (AYuTe Nigeria Challenge) has been initiated as an “enterprise development programme to further identify, nurture and support innovative, relevant and technologydriven agric-centric start-up enterprises to grow, the AYuTe Nigeria Challenge with a starting cash grant of $20,000 to the most promising in line with Heifer’s strategic goal of unleashing the hidden agricultural treasures among “Through this challenge, we hope to further inspire the Nigerian youth population to continue to embrace agriculture as a career option of choice while promoting creative professionals that are using technology to re-imagine farmThe winner of this challenge will also be the This year’s challenge is being implemented Ajayi said that the focus of the AYuTe Nigeria Challenge is to identify and support young agritech innovators across Nigeria who have launched promising new tech solutions to transform Nigerian agriculture for smallholder of prize money and mentorship to help translate the energy and ideas of young innovators into meaningful impact for smallholder farmers
the living incomes of smallholder farmers across
Heifer International said it believes that the future of Nigeria’s agriculture hinges on creating opportunities for young Nigerian innovators to transform the agricultural landscape, catalysing ground-up innovation from young Africans, and making agriculture a desired career for The belief is the combination of increased funding, visibility, and mentorship will provide a new incentive for young, tech-oriented Nigerians to launch their bold new agritech businesses and set their sights on joining the league of Role of Youth, Technology in Agriculture As a part of this commitment, Heifer International said it recently completed a survey on “The Future of Africa’s Agriculture; An Assessment of that, while there is a wide range of Agritech innovations that could propel Nigerian farmers agriculture are using any form of agricultural technology, which, points to the need for new investments to stimulate access to innovations that could encourage African youth now turning away from agriculture to reconsider opportunities in the sector - especially given the need to generate jobs and repair food systems battered investing in the creativity of young Nigerians and new technologies to unlock opportunities within the agricultural sector for improved Unleashing Agricultural Treasures in Youths In 2021, Heifer launched the AYuTe Africa Challenge, which awards cash grants to the most promising young agritech innovators the AYuTe Africa Challenge is arguably one of the most ambitious competitions for agricultural technology innovators on the continent combining the power of African youth with the many possibilities of emerging technologies to support smallholder farmers across Africa to Through the regional competition, it awards most promising young agritech innovators
The launch event also brought together stakeholders within the ecosystem including government representatives, tech hubs, and agripreneurs, who are relevant to supporting the development and scale-up of innovative, commercially viable, and sustainable agricultural technologies, capable of transforming Nigeria’s Olusanya commended Heifer International for the great initiative of assisting to drive the growth and development of agriculture across Africa and particularly in Nigeria, by encouraging innovation and supporting programmes geared toward accelerating agritech startups, youth-owned agribusinesses, and other business will serve as a catalyst for economic development in Nigeria and secure a greater future
“The challenge will identify investible youth-led agricultural technology innovations with the most potential to change the face of agriculture, unlock the opportunities inherent in the agricultural value chain, improve agri-
AVIATION
17THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21 , 2022
Last week’s announcement by the Middle East mega carrier, Emirates Airlines, to suspend a lot of reactions both within and outside the country and brought to the fore the critical role air transport plays in the economy of any nation.What prompted Emirates’ decision to issue the threat was the over $95 million it could not repatriate from the country due to scarcity of todollars.allow airlines to repatriate their revenues which have increased from $450 million in June this year to over $600 million by August. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has been calling on governments of the countries involved in the blocked fund to release them to airlines, had warned that subsequently suspend operations. As a catalyst to the economy of every nation, airlines bring in investors who spend foreign currency and ensure liquidity. Analysts, therefore, fear that now that the airlines have concluded plans for a gradual withdrawal of of the country. New Fares Last week, foreign airlines introduced new fares in their higher inventory, which increases airlines include major international carriers like Air France, KLM, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Emirates Airlines, and others. Round trip in later August, as indicated by the airline’s sites, indicated that business class lines is still selling tickets in naira, contrary to reports that it has directed otherwise. All foreign airlines have adopted a system where they sell high inventory tickets in naira, while promotional tickets are sold in dollars. Some of the airlines, including British Airways, South Africa Airways, Turkish Airlines, and others have indicated to their travel agents that tickets bought from poriaye explained that the airline sells only the highest inventory of tickets in available in naira. She stated that almost all foreign airlines inventories to reduce the number of their the highest inventories. She said airlines’ tickets are sold in naira and further explained that passengers who decide to buy low ticket inventories on the airlines’ website, will have to pay with their dollar cards. of lower inventories of tickets, passengers have been forced to buy higher inventories for tickets in dollars because it is against of their trapped funds, airlines blocked all low-class inventories. If passengers insist on buying low ticket inventories from the airline’s foreign website, then they have to use their dollar cards to buy the explained. Foreign Investment that what Emirates did was expected and warned that other international airlines economy of those nations because the natural withdrawal of service. Reacting to the decision of Emirates to Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Alawadhi, said: “IATA is disappointed that the amount of airline money blocked from to $464 million in July. This is airline money and its repatriation is protected by international IATA’s many warnings that failure to restore duced air connectivity are proving true with the withdrawal of Emirates from the market. realize the revenue from ticket sales. Loss of air connectivity harms the local economy, hurts people’s livelihoods. It’s time for the governfunds before more damage is done.” Subtle Blackmail coriated Emirates Airlines over its decision pressure on the government to release unavailableThedollars.industry observers said that the reason been unable to pay the blocked fund was that government does not have money, and the They also observed that while the airline unable to allow airlines to have this fund, adding that there is a global economic meltdown, which is exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war. “Please do not succumb to the blackmail of Emirates and their sponsors from within. The country cannot and will not manufacture dollars for them to repatriate their so-called competing devilishly to outdo an indigenous, didn’t they know of the dollar situation here before embarking on having multiple frequenof Lagos daily and one out of Abuja daily, of the stakeholders, who also remarked that at the time the airline increased its frequency, The blocked fund has been an issue with their revenue, which forced United Airlines faced the problem of repatriating their earnings. government to prioritise airline funds and ensure that when the monies accrue they are repatriated, but signals from the government economy continues to constrict due to dwindling foreign earnings.
like British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, KLM, Turkish Airlines, and others would withdraw their services unless the federal government holds discussions with them. She said that airlines are doing business and they ought to repatriate their earnings, but when the revenues are held back and there is no indication they would get their money, the natural reaction as a business is and if there is no hope of getting their money they would pull out their service. She also warned that if foreign airlines cause it means that foreign currency would stop coming in, foreign investment would stop coming in, and at this critical time in deleterious to the nation. “We need foreigners to keep coming because they bring in the needed dollars. If the airlines will be closed. This will hurt our economy. The foreign airlines that bring people into our country provide us with liquidity, the foreign currency we need. So the airlines provide serious economic value to our country and “We need every foreign investment we can get. This is not the time to close this window; so government should do everything possible country. What the federal government should do it to put the airlines on the priority list for the distribution of dollars. Let them have their money and also assure them that their revenues would not be allowed to accumulate to a certain amount before they have it. If they get this assurance, they will calm down,” the IATA’s Position IATA had earlier warned about the implication of holding back airlines’ funds by some countries and stated that this would hurt the may trigger similar actions from other foreign carriers until their blocked funds are paid.
Chinedu Eze writes that this will erode foreign investment in the country
Emirates Planned Withdrawal of Services and Fear of Capital Flight
ayo.arowolo@thisdaylive.com
5. WEALTH BUILDERS AUGMENT FAILURES IN THEIR INVESTMENTS WITH CUTS IN EXPENDITURES. We all fail many times with some of our decisions. No human is perfect. However, wealth-builders must regularly augment their investment failures with sacrifices of cuts in their expenditures. Investment failures would occur, but wealth builders must adjust to regularly augment such accrued losses with spending that would augment such losses and use such discoveries to cover the investment losses. It is also important for wealth builders to always prepare against the worst with their investments. Wealth builders must identify possible problems/ failures that may arise and plan ahead against such failures. In doing this, wealth-builders must take up insurance policies to cover possible losses/failures. This is very vital. They must anticipate the worst when building wealth. Towards this end, wealth-builders must obtain insurance covers for their health, property accidents, fire, etc. Appropriate insurance covers must be taken regularly to protect wealth builders against the worst that could happen and which usually happen. They must organise their finances regularly to provide insurance that will protect them against foreseeable failures. All possible mishaps must be identified and anticipated, with preparations made against them, by taking up insurance policies, putting in place many required protections and making necessary decisions to protect their accumulating and build wealth. While in paid employment, I started with fire insurance cover, over even the contents of my rented accommodation but have since graduated my insurance cover over many necessary others”.
3. WEALTH BUILDERS WEIGH EVERY INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY COMES THEIR WAY BEFORE PLUNGING IN It is necessary always to weigh the opportunity cost of every investment decision. For wealth builders, this ensures that costs are properly considered in terms of expected possible returns and associated costs vis a vis other available investments. Opportunity costs must be weighed with every wealth-building decision for minimising investment losses arising from poor investment decisions in the continuous utilisation of every savings made from active incomes into building wealth”.
8. SUCCESSFUL WEALTH BUILDING REQUIRES PRECEDENT ACQUISITION OF BASIC FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE. WHY SHOULD A PERSON ACQUIRE FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE? In wealth building, we must be guided by basic knowledge of finance and seek to commence our wealthbuilding process with some good financial literacy to develop the ability to understand and effectively use financial skills for wealth building. Knowledge of financial skills considerably helps to build and sustain wealth. This includes understanding the basic elements of budgeting, credit management, financial management, insurance, credit/interest management, the intricate issues of risk and return trade-offs with investments, understanding the time value of money, and analysing return and opportunity costs. It involves a good understanding of how to handle cash better and manoeuvre between the currencies of different nations while engaged in the process of possible international transactions during wealth building. It also includes preparing and better positioning for wealth builders’ banking interactions and, as of prime importance, avoiding making poor financial judgements and decisions while building and sustaining wealth by wealth builders.
Artist Impression of my Billionaire Friend
7. TO BUILD ENDURING WEALTH, YOU MUST IMBIBE THE HABITS OF WEALTHY PEOPLE (2) There is precious treasure and oil in the house of the wise [who prepare for the future], but a shortsighted and foolish man swallows it up and wastes it - Proverbs 21:20 WEALTH BUILDERS DO NOT SPEND FLAMBOYANTLY TO IMPRESS Wealth creators must train themselves to resist the urge to spend extravagantly. Wealth builders must constantly keep their investments and savings goals as their main priorities. The typical characteristic and practice of affluent individuals and those committed to accumulating wealth is frugality. The only exception to this rule is spending on necessities of life. Given the size of Nigeria’s population, the percentage of savings and investments in the country’s gross national income is noticeably very low. This is due to the typical tendency of people to party and spend money on consumptive expenses.
CONVERSATION WITH MY BILLIONAIRE FRIEND
4. WEALTH BUILDERS PLACE GREAT VALUE ON THEIR TIME. “It is commonly stated that “time waits for no one”. For wealth building, time is of the essence since wealth-builders are mere mortals, who would eventually die, no matter how long it may take. Hence, wealth-builders must optimise their time management to avoid unnecessary time-wasting activities. Timewasting activities should be curbed for the habit of gathering knowledge, reading, learning and relating with mentors to assist them in building wealth. Wealth builders need to form the habit of placing premium value on their time management because the same finite time is available to everybody but gives the best results to those who optimally utilise the value of time. As of habit, it is those who use their time wisely that from its use”.
Another way wealth builders gain the financial knowledge already exposed here is to learn from experts, asking them critical questions, which develops them. Wealth builders should not be shy from identifying mentors who can assist them in acquiring basic financial knowledge to help them build and sustain wealth.
One is tempted at this stage to ask how wealth builders acquire the basic financial knowledge discussed here since not all wealth builders must necessarily have studied finance, investment, and economics in school. A medical doctor, fashion, designer, etc., who are without solid education in financial management, but who can still acquire the basic financial knowledge discussed here, as follows”:
WEALTH BUILDERS WHO ARE SELF-EMPLOYED ALSO SET EXIT TIMES FOR THEMSELVES Self-employed people should aim to disengage early from being self-employed by the age of fifty-five because being self-employed could be very stressful and exhaustive. The self-employed solely shouldered all the risks, benefits, burdens, decisions, operations, policies, etc., associated with self-employment. Therefore, such self-employed must create a plan to move away from their self-employment early to build their firms into business systems. Business systems are defined, in the book, as those businesses owned by business owners who, on leaving and completely detaching themselves from their businesses for over one year, can return to find their businesses doing better than they left them. They are those who are regarded as having built successful business systems. And those who build business systems have their eyes on the ball of investments. Investment is the ultimate in money-earning, and wealth-building instruments should be the ultimate goal of every human. YOU SHOULD LEARN BY OBSERVING THE WEALTH-BUILDING HABITS OF WEALTHY PEOPLE AND APPLY THE SAME In general, by observing wealthy people and those who build wealth, one tends to understand how to build wealth. This is the first step to building wealth; from nothing. One has to understand how to build wealth, orient oneself with an understanding of the rules of finance and investment and build wealth over time by regularly tracking one’s wealth. Wasteful expenditure must be avoided at all times. This is a very important habit with wealthy people. They discipline their spending. You will find, for instance, that Aliko Dangote does not share his wealth, Mark Zuckerberg came to Lagos wearing a T-shirt, and Bill Gates wearing ordinary clothes. Whereas ignorant ego-infested people go around town showcasing their gold and diamond possessions. Such wealth-displaying behaviour and ostentatious lifestyles are not part of the discipline and habit of wealthy people and wealth builders. Wise and wealthy people are conscious of the importance and value of money and do not spend frivolously
HOW DO WEALTH BUILDERS ACQUIRE FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE?
5. THE ESSENCE OF WEALTH BUILDING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WEALTH ITSELF (2) “It takes generosity to discover our essence through others. If you realise you are only a violin, you should open yourself up to the world by playing your role in the concert ” - Jacques Yves Cousteau Martin Seligman has found a meaningful life central to making human living more purposeful and beneficial to oneself, others, society and the nation. Seligman’s thesis was that; the essence of acquiring wealth is not being limited to building wealth for wealth’s sake alone, but about using the wealth built and the process of building the wealth for the pursuit of happiness for one’s self, family, non-family members, one’s society, and one’s nation. Life is not just about surviving. Life is not just about living but making impactful contributions to the lives of others in need, one’s society and nation, in line with the philosophy of positive psychology. It is about deriving authentic happiness from giving inspiration to our immediate environment, giving them happiness, and letting subordinates love the experience of living. This is the very essence of positive and meaningful living. The truth is, the essence of building wealth is more with deriving happiness in habitually giving unto the needy others, from the wealth possessed and not in holding wealth, solely for oneself and family. From experience, the philosophy behind habitual benevolence, as in the school of positive psychology, has been found to bring soothing happiness, and deep satisfaction, and inspires me to continue to do more. Always remember that the pursuit of building wealth is a lifetime process. You do not build wealth and stop; you continue to build wealth all your life. However, as you build wealth, you use wealth to make others happy and not only one’s self. Positive wealth-builders build wealth and pursue such wealth as a lifestyle, but still make it a duty all their lives to give and give to society and others, to spread happiness, love and joy to others. So, holding onto wealth is not evil. You hold onto wealth to use it as working capital to build wealth. However, part of the wealth built should be used for others, to spread happiness, joy, give inspiration and build others into wealth builders”.
Putting It All Together…On the Path to the Next Phase (2) My meeting with my Billionaire Friend was a short one; it was essentially a review session and we went through the entire project and looked at the feedback from the readers. My friend confirmed we needed to move to the next phase but that would require a recap of what we have done so far to put people in the picture again. So here is the second set of recaps. Enjoy.
6. TO BUILD ENDURING WEALTH, YOU MUST IMBIBE THE HABITS OF WEALTHY
1.PEOPLEINFORMED WEALTH BUILDERS BUILD WEALTH BY SAVINGS FROM ACTIVE INCOMES INTO PASSIVE INVESTMENTS. This habit is generally recommended to employees to build wealth through committed regular and consistent savings from active incomes in their life employment journeys. It calls for setting aside and regularly adhering to some predetermined percentages of active employment incomes for regular savings into building wealth. I consistently decided to use 20% of my active employment income to grow my wealth. This differs from the generally recommended percentage of 10% of active revenues, as in the “ Richest Man in Babylon of George Clarkson, who planted this habit in me from 19 years of age”.
1. ENROLL ON SHORT COURSES Many of us have read the CV of Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra state and current Nigerian presidential aspirant. His CV contains a long list of short-term courses that he has taken at Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, etc., for systematically and continuously acquiring knowledge in short-term courses to build his wealth and solid reputation. The same goes for many successful wealth-builders like Aig Imoukhuede, as discussed earlier in this series, for building his Access Bank group with his partner, Herbert Wigwe. In building their manageable wealth, the same goes for Olusegun Osunkeye, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, Tony Elumelu, Seun Adetu, etc. They are all known to have enrolled in short-term courses at many institutions of repute to acquire knowledge and build wealth”.
2. GET A MENTOR OR EXPERT TO ADVISE YOU
WEALTH BUILDERS EDUCATE THEMSELVES BY READING VALUABLE BOOKS AND APPLYING THE INSIGHTS IN THOSE BOOKS In the last series, we gave examples of the books read by Aig Imoukhuede, Yemisi Shyllon, Warren Buffet and others, which ignited their wealth-building drive. Another book that comes to mind here is a book by Robert Kiyosaki titled: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “ Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant”. In these great books, Kiyosaki discusses this issue very extensively. He came up with a four-quadrant illustration of the different classes of engagements for earning income by humans. The first quadrant discusses the employee stage of life, the second discusses self-employment, the third discusses business systems, and the fourth discusses investment planning. Those who have their eyes on investment at every stage of their life, whether self-employed or employees, should be operating in the fourth quadrant of investment in preparing well for their later lives. And in doing this, they must always, as of habit, avoid eating with all their fingers.
3. READ FINANCIAL JOURNALS, SEMINARS, NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES
08086447494 (SMS only) AYO AROWOLO PERSONAL FINANCE SAVINGS BUDGETING COMMODITIES GOLD INVESTING 18 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER • AUGUST 21, 2022
2. INFORMED WEALTH BUILDERS MUST, AS OF HABIT, ORGANISE THEIR FINANCES. Generally, wealth building requires proper financial budgeting, planning and organisation. Systematically creating wealth requires regular financial planning and monitoring possible deviations from set personal budgets, placements and investment returns. This is absolutely necessary. Hence, financial maps must regularly be drawn to ensure that expenditures and savings are kept in line to build wealth. Financial maps must be regularly drawn to guide spending habits from deviations away from set financial and budgetary plans for building wealth. As of habit, my set wealth-building goals are mapped ahead of every year towards guiding me and keeping my eyes on the ball during the year. This is important for wealth builders to keep them in check from budgetary and financial deviations. It has greatly worked for me.
AS EMPLOYEES, YOU MUST PLAN FOR YOUR RETIREMENT THE VERY FIRST DAY YOU ARE EMPLOYED Employees must plan for their retirement from the very first day of their employment to better prepare them for their future and begin to build wealth for their own good and the good of their families and society. I once observed a discussion between a 60-year-old and a 32-year-old man. The 32-year-old man asked the 60-year-old what he would do when he retired. And his answer was surprising that he had not thought about it. Of course, the 32-year-old man expressed shock as to how a 60-year-old man had not planned for his retirement. The 32-year-old man then went ahead to spill the various things he was already doing towards his retirement by age 55 (some 20+ years ahead). The 60-year-old man then asked the younger one why he planned to retire that early. The younger man then told him that retiring early is what those who plan their lives very well generally do. Employees should not wait to retire at 60. They should plan to retire early, from age 50 or at the very worst, by age 55. Of course, the only way this can be achieved is by planning their future from the first day they commence paid employment.
Another method for obtaining basic financial knowledge is generally via newspapers, journals, seminars and magazines. Many seminars are available for acquiring basic knowledge of financial and investment management. This can be sought out on Instagram, the internet etc., etc. Wealth builders must also get familiar with financial tools and apps available via information technology platforms. This is an all-time tool that wealth builders can acquire towards enhancing and sustaining their wealth. Can’t wait to catch you next week.
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ANDACCOUNTABILITYEDITORIALTHEMDAS 23
Dr. Okonta was until recently Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Politics, University of Oxford. He now livesAbujain
Utomi’s awesome challenge is to ensure the displacement of the two major political parties and position the Labour Party to form the next government, writes IKE OKONTA Tinubu to mobilise the Yoruba to join the Hausa and this was duly achieved, propelling Buhari to Aso Rock Villa as President. It is to be noted that the social, economic and constitutional problems afflicting Nigeria and how they might be tackled were not at issue for Bola Tinubu, Muhammadu Buhari and the APC. The goal was the presidency come what may, and the duo embarked on the journey without a map. This explains why it took President Buhari nearly six months before he appointed his ministers during his first term in 2015, and the incoherency in policy articulation and implementation on the part of his government ever since. Ethnic politics, not public policy, has been the primary platform on which the APC and the Buhari government has resided for the past seven years. The prospect of state failure that is now staring Nigeria in the face is the tragic result.Intheir bid to take power from the APC Peter Obi and the Labour Party are relying on an altogether different strategy. Eschewing ethnic politics, they are making a bid for the youth vote and the 100 million Nigerians presently living below the poverty line. This, in Political Science, is known as the politics of the historically disempowered. And Professor Utomi is the chief anchor of this exciting new strategy. If Peter Obi succeeds in displacing the incumbent APC just as the APC, in turn, displaced the PDP in 2015, it will be a landmark in the annals of Nigerian politics because for the first time since Independence in October 1960, the young and the poor and powerless will come into their own as active players in the governance of Nigeria. However, it is not enough to just state that your primary constituency is the young and poor and powerless. Your campaign manifesto must also spell out in concrete terms what it will do to address the issues confronting them. With regard to the poor, Peter Obi must come out boldly and state that free education up to secondary school, and generous subsidies in higher education, will be a cardinal programme of his government. Further, universal health coverage modeled on Great Britain’s National Health Service must be in place. Third, subsidized social housing and a joined-up strategy to address the scourge of slums in urban areas must be pursued. The example that readily comes to mind is Lula Da Silva, former President of Brazil who, using the platform of the Workers Party, pulled the bulk of the country’s poor out of poverty within a decade using the programmes I have just enumerated. So far, Professor Pat Utomi has not come out publicly on Peter Obi’s position on these social programmes. This is a lacuna that should be speedily addressed. It is good that he and Peter Obi have emphasized the urgent need to turn Nigeria from a consumptionobsessed country to one in which production will be the primary driver of the economy. However, it needs to be pointed out that it will take several years before policies designed to reflate the national economy will begin to bear fruit. Meanwhile, the poor and the young will have to LIVE. Addressing their urgent needs in education, healthcare and housing even as policies are put in place to get factories working again in the country is the way to go. Professor Pat Utomi is faced with one of the most important challenges of his long public career with 2023. But he is intelligent, resourceful and above all passionate about getting Nigeria to work again. I am confident he will meet this challenge frontally and with good cheer.
See Page 24 See Page 49 VOTING IN 2023: SAFETY ACCOUNTABILITYAND
AISHA SHUAIBU urges the electorate to vote
Professor Utomi is faced with one of the most important challenges of his long public career with 2023. But he is intelligent, resourceful and above all passionate about getting Nigeria to work again
1THISDAY MONDAY MARCH 14, 2022 OPI NION‘ OKOH AND CANLEADERSHIPTHEOF
right See Page 24
Professor Patrick Utomi graciously received Chiedu Ezeanah, the poet and journalist, and I in his hotel suite in Rockview Hotel, Abuja on a rainy Friday evening in early July. Professor Utomi had just come in from the Channel Television studio where he had fielded questions from Seun Okinbaloye, anchor of the television network’s politics programme. The subject was the Labour Party and Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate. As usual Professor Utomi was passionate, lucid and brilliant, making the case that Peter Obi represented an epochal shift in Nigerian politics, a rare opportunity for the younger generation to set the badly-drifting ship of state on the right path once and for all.
PAT UTOMI AND THE CHALLENGE OF 2023
The Christian Association of Nigeria has made a wise decision by electing Daniel Okoh as its President, writes PAUL ODILI
Profesor Utomi has come a long way in his career as an academic, public intellectual and politician making the case that intelligent thinking and a careful application of wisdom would see Nigeria banish forever the perennial problems of economic underdevelopment and social anomie. From his first foray in public life as a special adviser to the late Dr Alex Ekwueme, former Vice President of the country, to his stint as one of the prime movers of Concerned Professionals during the turbulent years following the annulment of the result of the June 1993 presidential election to Patito’s Gang, the no-holds barred television programme he anchored, speaking truth to power, it has been a life of selfless service to the nation. His latest initiative is the Big Tent of the Third Force, a coalition of like-minded progressive politicians and public intellectuals, young and old, working to displace the two major political parties, the All Progressives Party (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and position Peter Obi and the Labour Party as the next government in the country come 2023. It is an awesome undertaking, and Professor Utomi is leaving nothing to chance as he commits all his intellectual resources to galvanizing Nigerians to come and find shelter in the Big Tent. Displacing an incumbent political party in Nigeria is no mean feat. APC achieved this in 2015, the first time in Nigeria’s political history, by cynically deploying ethnic politics. This was primarily the handiwork of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, now the presidential candidate of the APC. Realising that the then President Goodluck Jonathan was an Ijaw, a minority ethnic group in the Niger Delta, Tinubu stitched together a coalition of two major ethnic groups - the Hausa-Fulani and the Yoruba, bringing together the Action Congress of Nigeria, his political party, Congress For Progressive Change led by Muhammadu Buhari, and the All Nigeria Peoples Party, to form the APC. Buhari had shown in previous presidential elections that he could command the majority of the HausaFulani vote. All that was needed was for Bola
Sunday 21 August, 2022 Vol 27. No www.thisdaylive.com9994 opinion@thisdaylive.com
OKOH AND THE LEADERSHIP OF CAN
VOTING IN 2023: SAFETY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
There is a compelling project by Nigerian Not Corrupt” that I feel every Nigerian, especially our leaders in government must see. The introspective 90 minutes short a politician and a market woman, pointing person’s problems, while also making valid points that implicate both sides. The message I took away from I Am Not Corrupt is that in doing absolutely nothing but playing the blame game, we fail to hold ourselves accountable, thereby indirectly aiding and abetting the bigger problem. With the 2023 elections in view, I examine accountably as a needed practice that must be adopted by the electorate, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and all national stakeholders in order to ensure an orderly, safe and fair general elections. Although historically, elections in Nigeria have been known to be chaotic, and in many cases violent, it is the civic duty of all Nigerians to participate in them, INEC to register and sensitize eligible voters on the electoral process, and the security agencies to ensure that our fundamental human rights are protected. The 1964, 1983, 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections are known to have reported serious injuries, damage to election materials and even the loss of lives. We are at risk of a low voter turnout in 2023 due to the fear Nigerians have for their safety at polling units and possible disruptions by rowdy people with illintent.Disturbing videos of a polling unit being attacked in April showed ad-hoc INEC staff in Imo State being shot at and some were even killed while voting registration was taking place. More reports out of Igboeze, a local government area of Enugu State where repeated attacks on led to the destruction of ballot boxes, is quite surprising that although sections 114 - 129 of the newly amended Electoral Act gives clear and detailed implications of electoral offences, yet not a single arrest has been made amidst all of these worrying reports. We must demand from party members, security agencies, foreign observers and other stakeholders as well as from each other that cherry-picking electoral laws to comply with will not only be wrong but punishable. Perhaps by adopting a see something, say something approach throughout the election process, we are likely to effectively monitor the nation, making it easier to diffuse possible disruptions and hold people accountable. Despite all of the INEC and accredited observers’ efforts to manage the weight of responsibilities during the elections, it is unrealistic to expect a hitchfree process unless the Nigerian people commit to the orderliness and stability at polling units by being responsible. As INEC is aware of the right of every registered Nigerian’s vote to count, excessive force or a rushed process should not be enabled by voters as this could easily escalate into a dangerous situation. It is important to note that under the leadership of the INEC Commissioner, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, there has been an improvement in the promotion of democratic governance through the introduction of innovative technologies Accreditation System (BVAS) in 2021
THISDAY SUNDAY AUGUS 21, 2022
The Christian Association of Nigeria has made a wise decision by electing Daniel Okoh as its President, writes PAUL ODILI Shuaibu is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board
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AISHA SHUAIBU urges the electorate to vote right
Odili writes from Abuja
2 A cheerful event occurred recently with the emergence of Dr. Daniel C. Okoh as the new President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). CAN, the umbrella body of Christian denominations in Nigeria organised an unprecedented transition of power from the former leadership led by its seventh President His Eminence Olasupo Ayokunle to Dr Okoh. This election was remarkable in many respects and is a lesson in democratic leadership and in democratic transition. On the 27th of July 2022 at its General Assembly the formal inauguration of the new leadership of CAN took place at the Ecumenical Centre thus ushering in Rev. Okoh and ending the tenure of His Eminence, Ayokunle. The inauguration was colourful and attracted a large number of people including a cornucopia of prominent church leaders, the laity, Christian political leadership and admirers of CAN. On this day the Ecumenical Centre Abuja was a carnival of festivities and celebration. For the CAN leaders it was a collective sigh of relief with the smooth handover and the impressive turnout of personalities. Some of those who came to witness the event were political leaders like Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, former Governor Peter Obi, Senator Elisha Abbo, Secretary to Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, amongst so many other dignitaries and personages. In all respect it was an event that elevated the body of Christ.CAN was founded in August 1976 by Christian leaders who thought that it was important to organize the Christian denominations into an ecumenical force for Christians who will be united in one voice on issues that affects Christians in Nigeria. This initiative was received enthusiastically, thus encouraging other Christian domination that was not part of the formation to enlist. Today, CAN has become even more formidable and a body to be reckoned with in the multi-religious blocks that constitute the leadership and membership of CAN and these are the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria; Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN); Christian Pentecostal Fellowship (PFN) Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC); TEKAN and ECWA fellowship. These groupings as separate entities have large fellowship in Nigeria. What is remarkable is that since its founding the CAN presidency has been dominated by the big blocks to the exclusion of the others and as any keen observer knows the internal rumblings within CAN had often happened because of this skewed arrangement. What does this say? It says that CAN like any human organization has its shibboleth that is undermining its cohesiveness which therefore requires a leadership with courage and sincerity of will to review for the stability of the group. And this is where the erstwhile leadership of CAN under Ayokunle should be commended for looking closely at this lack of inclusiveness and having the boldness to resolve it equitably. By amending the Constitution of CAN and adopting a rotational arrangement, the Ayokunle leadership erased the frustration and despair the excluded in CAN had long kicked against. It is also to be remarked that the overwhelming endorsement of this proposal by all the blocks show how important this one issue is and the desire to have it settled once and for all. In political terms, where there is a sincerity of purpose and a willingness to do justice, the solution is often there, even if it is by a consensus arrangement. However, the Nigeria political class driven on the broader impact on society would use every stratagem in their tool box to sabotage any equitable arrangement. This is where CAN showed the way. By adopting the rotational arrangement it was African Instituted Churches (OAIC) to present Dr Okoh as a candidate for the blocks OAIC belongs to the block of the excluded. This is clearly the hand of God. The new CAN president Dr. Okoh is a child of promise—destined for great things, a true leader of men, ordained by God to be his servant. He is a theologian and a man of very high intellect. He is a courageous leader and a consensus builder. CAN with him as President will have a leader who loves God, loves truth, hate injustice and is not motivated by hunger to accumulate power and material things. He is a man given to speaking truth to power. God has used him to lead his church, Christ Holy Church, to do great things and to be a blessing—spiritually and materially—to society. With Dr Okoh as CAN President, the Christian community is assured that they have a leader who is articulate and with an unshakable belief in standing for justice and truth, and who genuinely believes that strengthening CAN as an ecumenical force is good for Nigeria and Africa. Okoh has the experience to lead CAN having held various positions such asinternational chairman of OAIC, member, Nigeria inter-Religious Council (NIREC), former National Vice President of CAN (20072013), member of the board of African Council of Religious leaders, etc. In truth this is the beginning of a new dawn in the Christian faith. A wise decision has been made by the CAN leadership and they all deserve commendation for rallying round to support Dr. Okoh. For lovers of truth, justice and fairness a Solomon has come to judgment.
to replace smart card readers. This technology proved successful during the primary elections and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) that they have made easily accessible through the commission’s website, which will help to achieve a transparent voting process. This upgrade of electoral equipment will surely improve the capacity of INEC to prevent inconsistencies, strengthen election management, build the trust of the people and enable a credible data collection process. The amended Electoral Act has also made for the legal allowance of the use of card readers in parts of the country that experience communication setbacks, to prevent voting hindrances for those areas. It is safe to say that INEC continues to make progressive strides in avoiding technical elections.AsINEC prepares to disperse millions of voter cards across the country, we cannot ignore possible socio-economic conditions that may prevent certain demographics from participating or experiencing a seamless voting process. Female voters for instance are faced with domestic responsibilities, childcare, maternal health, and sexual harassment among other things that may affect their turnout at polling units. The tediousness of voting experiences may be another discouraging factor that could intimidate women causing them to either turn away from their polling unit or grow tired of the process and give up. One of the ways of curbing these issues is to increase the presence of female staff from INEC or among accredited electoral observers, who can provide support and ease the experience of female voters. Weather conditions have been known to be an inevitable factor also contributing to the voting process where harsher weather conditions such as extreme heat, dust or rain could set back the process, causing discomfort, impatience and frustration among voters. Nigerians must consider all possible scenarios that may discourage their participation but as registered voters, we should do our best to choose the best candidates for the job and exercise our right to choose by having a hand in who power goes to.
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 Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com Letters to the Editor LETTERS EDITORIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE MDAS There is urgent need to strengthen the fiscal responsibility act N Almost on annual basis, Nigerians are regaled with cases of lack of accountability in the MDAs, yet the executive and legislative arms of government do little or nothing to punish the masterminds or plug the obvious leakages in the system NIGERIA SOCIAL INSURANCE TRUST FUND AND NEST OF TERMITES 49THISDAY SUNDAY AUGUS 21, 2022 keneobiezu@gmail.com
SUNDAY AUGUST 21, 2022 • THISDAY50
21.8.2022A WEEKLY PULL-OUT ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/victoria.olaode@thisdaylive.com.
Paul Onu A Tech TaleEntrepreneur’sofSuccess
Not having parents with deep pockets can cause a bleak future sometimes, but for Paul Onu, the brain behind Postly, a social media marketing venture, education liberated him from the shackles of poverty. The tech-savvy young man had worked in the corporate world before becoming his own boss. With Postly acquiring 8,000 business users across over 100 countries, Onu tells Funke Olaode how the power of vision turned his dreams into reality
Onu found career fulfilment in Postly. The initial take-off failed. Like a phoenix, Postly rose from its ashes when it was launched the second time. And barely six months after launch, Postly has acquired over 8,000 business users across over 100 countries, surpassing its objectives in the first year of business and is steadily becoming a firm favourite with its client base. Slow and steady, Postly extends its tentacles. “We do aggressive marketing campaigns on social media. We have also partnered with global Startup product marketplaces to sell our limited time Lifetime deal offers, which has helped us to raise the initial capital required in running the business.” While navigating through life, Onu still finds a supportive system in his wife, Edith and children. They have been married for 12 years and blessed with three lovely and brilliant children namely Michael, Kevin and Richard. Onu the young visionary man who is currently taking the ICT by storm sees his Postly growing to millions of users and employing hundreds of staff. “My aim is to help people by contributing to the economy and empowering people with jobs and careers.”
Onu
The centre had over 90 per cent engineering students residents and naturally, I picked an
although late, who was a house-wife and seamstress and had to cater for a large family of nine children comprising of four males and five females, the parents barely made enough money to sustain the family, hence, they were always short of food and every basic necessity. Despite his humble beginning, his parents understood the importance of education and so sent their children to school. Onu’s parents instilled hard work in them. “It became a determinant factor in me from such a young age. I became independent at such an early age and that experience pushed me to find ways to support myself and my family. But then, I have a gift, and that saved me.” Having realised the circumstances around his background, Onu saw an escape route in embracing education and things began to look up when he entered primary school and by the time he got to class four things began to change for the “Suddenlybetter.Ibegan to grasp the teachings and started doing well in tests and examinations. I took the first position from then till I finished primary six. This made me so popular in the whole village. Everyone knew Paul Onu (they pronounced my name as pR, with a heavy emphasis on the R).” He performed excellently at the Common Entrance Examination, scoring 25/30 which was then the highest score at the centre. “It was such a good score that my parents were so pleased and never considered me for any of the village secondary schools,” he continued. “They felt I should have a shot at the Nsukka secondary schools - specifically the St. Teresa’s Secondary school where my elder brother had attended school.”
“My undergraduate experience was not so great. I was stressed by lack of funds - which got a lot better after I passed a test and got the Chevron scholarship. This helped me to open my first bank account and purchase my very first computer system which then led me into computer programming (Coding) - a life-saving skill for Onume.”would not admit that he was a gifted child but would rather quote Erica Jong who said “Everyone has talent. What’s rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads.”
Looking dapper in a blue blazer, Paul Onu moved around his cozy office with a sense of purpose on a recent encounter. This image of him is a far cry from his younger self who grew up in a humble background. His mind would later flashback to his past when the interview began. Not shying away from his childhood days, he readily tells anyone that he tasted poverty once. But the power of vision and his brilliance has brought him thus far. The world of the Managing Director of Postly, today is a testament to the power of vision. He did not only fulfill his dream, but also an employer of labour whose platform has continued to have an impact on several companies. Onu was born in Nsukka, a small, serene university town in Enugu State. “The beginning was rocky,” he began. “At the age of four or thereabout, my family was struggling so much that it was even difficult for all of us to stay in the two-room community apartment (popularly known as Face-me-IFace-You) in the Nsukka village. I was then sent to the village alongside my eldest sibling to stay with our paternal grandmother. “Our village is called Alor Agu, a very remote village, about one and half hours from Nsukka through untarred dirt roads (they were just paths, really). Life in the village with my grandmother was fun and laissez-faire, from what I could recall, I always played and then ate — usually whatever my grandmother could scrap around from the farm and purchase from the village market,” Onu recalled. With a father who was an auto-electrician at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a mother, interest in engineering. It was then I changed my mind to pursue engineering instead of medicine.” Computers were very rare in those days but Onu fell in love with them and that influenced his choice of study in electronic engineering.
“I think I was gifted with a brilliant mindthe ability to understand quickly, see things end to end and clearly and retain information - or, I believe I have this gift. Either way, having it or believing I have it has made me achieve a lot without much support and no soft-landing of any sort.”Armed with a degree in electronic engineering with a major in computers, Onu stormed the corporate world to achieve his dreams. He traversed the telecommunication industry as a software engineer for close to 15 years. He would later float Postly – Social Media Marketing Made Easy in According2015. to him, Postly social media management tool aims to provide cutting-edge software that allows users to manage multiple social media accounts from a single location, while also providing amazing features such as bulk content uploader, trend analytics, artificial intelligence writer for your content, the ability to connect multiple social media accounts at the same time, team collaboration, and of course post scheduling.Throwing more light on its activities, Onu said “Our goal is to assist all companies, particularly entrepreneurs, small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs), and local businesses, in managing their social media accounts to attract more traffic, raise brand recognition, and increase conversions. However, to do this, we believed that providing the opportunity to manage all social media accounts from a single location was not only about making content sharing more convenient, it is concerned with assisting companies in the creation of content, streamlining the editing process, and enhancing ways for managing social media calendars.Speaking further on the bottlenecks Postly solves, he explained: “The ability to manage all social media accounts from a single location is essential for our customers. This includes the ability to plan posts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, Reddit and Telegram groups, with more platforms coming soon.”
Onu switched from coding to product management at an early stage in his career even before he could establish himself as a software engineer.“Wewere at a very precarious stage where we needed to move fast up the career ladder, hence landing a good job in one biggest multinational company (as a mid-management staff) was surely a very good opportunity to build a career path.”
Onu’s academic excellence continued to get even better. Despite his parents’ financial challenges, dropping out of school was not an option. During his junior secondary school examination, he got the best grades and was rewarded with a gift bag from his school containing books, a mathematical set and more. His excited father decorated the walls of their small room with the wrapping paper foils for a week. “I also recall him buying me a bottle of Coca-Cola drink, such a big gift from him then that I recall it vividly decades later.” Onu continued to excel in his academic exploits by repeating the same feat in senior secondary school. “I got a very fantastic senior school certificate result (the best of the set from my checks, though such is never officially announced in the school), I had 8As out of 9, with 3-A1s, 4-A2s and a C6. No excuses, the C6 was a subject we never had a standing teacher on. I just wanted to do it because I felt I needed it for my university education.” With outstanding results, Onu saw the world at his feet and was ready to explore. He considered Medicine and Surgery which was the reigning course. “Everyone wanted to be a doctor! Funny how trends change over time. Well, I was not different from the pack, I also wanted to be a doctor.”That decision later changed after an encounter at a university student centre (Uhere Study Centre) where he attended extra-curricular, academic, spiritual and sporting activities. “This changed my view.
With My Poor Background, My Academic Excellence Put the World at My Feet
Onu found that Product Management is closely related to software engineering, it also has exciting technical aspects in addition to the added skill of conceptualizing and building new products as well as “Themanagement.decisionturned out to be my saving grace. The combination of the technical skills, product knowledge, product marketing strategy, and people skills I gained have been very potent both in driving his career and personal work.”
COVER THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 202252
SUNDAY AUGUST 21, 2022 • THISDAY 53
There is an African proverb that even the ferocious tigress has a cub that she is gentle with. Despite the universal narrative of the fierceness of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, it is clear now that all that ‘gra gra’ is not for everybody. Instead, as he has shown with one of Rone Adenuga his gubernatorial predecessors, Peter Odili, Wike can be the best supporter anyone can ask for. Last week was a festive period for the good people of Rivers State, thanks to the birthday celebration of the state’s third governor, Odili. The happy man who clocked 74 on August 15, 2022, had all of Rivers wishing him sound health and mind in the days to come. And to cement the celebrations, the incumbent Governor Wike gifted Odili a multi-million-naira house. It has been a while since a sitting governor did something like Wike has done. The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate justified his actions by explaining that Odili is a school from which he had learned several things concerning credible leadership andRegardinggovernance.more recent events, Wike also
consider the position he will be occupying. If there is anything that Adeleke will be bringing to that office, it would be a gentleness characteristic of his person. After all, he is most notable for his smiling and dancing, which earned him the Dancing Senator moniker. But these are not going to cut it if he wants his people to utter his name with respect and delight.The ball of governance is over to Adeleke and it is time for him to consider how to play it for the next four or eight years. That means developing a cabinet of progressive individuals, constructing a long-term plan for citizenry welfare and economic development, managing state resources and politics, and so on. Considering his background in politics and administration, these should not be overly daunting tasks. So, for Adeleke, it is time to shelve the dancing shoes and put on the thinking cap. Adeleke
Wike
Storm is over as Gorgeous Funke Fowler Celebrates 40th Birthday in Style
In many ways, human life is a tough nut that requires patience — not hardness — to crack and enjoy. After much struggle and scrimmage, fatigue and loss of vitality usually come knocking. And yet, we cannot help but strive for better things. So it is with Funke Fowler, the daughter of the renowned taxman, Babatunde Fowler. After many years of struggle in the matters of love, her heart settled within her and she found what she had been looking for all these years. There is no doubt that the gorgeous Fowler is one of the luckier ones. Compared to her peers who suffer at the hands of love only to lose hope and remain alone for years to come, Fowler stepped into the stream of marital life once, experienced the scalding effects and promptly pulled out, and dared to try again. And the second time was the charm for her because she has been looking more and more stunning and satisfied, leading onlookers to wonder if she has a stash of unceasing happiness somewhere. And she does, and that stash is Aigbovbioise Aig-Imoukhuede, her husband.During her first marriage to Abiodun ‘Abby’ Kuku, son of the late business tycoon and Ogbeni-Oja of Ijebu, Bayo Kuku, Fowler did not radiate this intense feeling of happiness and contentment. Within two years of their high-profile wedding, both parties agreed to part, never to reconcile in holy matrimony again. Even though the reason for the split was not explicitly given to the public, it was evident that Fowler remained sad for a long time. That is until Aig-Imoukhuede came along and swept her off her Fowlerfeet.isindeed very brave as she did not hold on to past hurts as someone else would have. The Fowler-Aig-Imoukhuede wedding was also a blast but the brightness of the ceremony pales in comparison with the present realities of their union. Both of them are undoubtedly happy and radiant, with every
Parting Gift as Wike’s River State Govt Builds New House for Former Gov Odili
For Ademola Adeleke, Dancing Time is Over
It is the start of something new at Osun State with the era of Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) nearing its end. Come November 2022, the governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, will ascend the seat of authority and power to serve the good people of Osun. Despite the apparent ease with which Adeleke trumped his rivals, the time has come for him to get serious. There is no doubt that Adeleke is the heartthrob of the people. During the just-concluded governorship elections, Adeleke rode on the coattails of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and polled 403,371 votes, while the incumbent governor, Oyetola, came in second place with 375,027 votes. With a whopping difference of 28,344 votes, Adeleke proved his mettle as the preferred candidate of the people. But as November is a few months away, there is some pressure on Adeleke to deeply of traits as vivid and raw a portrait as we have seen and for this, the world ravenously embraces him. Adenuga’s unique lack of thirst for vanity inspires a lot of his contemporaries and underlings to consider that they may also be able to conduct themselves humbly and unpretentiously. This is not only impressive; it is important.Thesemarvellous traits accompany him in his work. Thus Adenuga, like the proverbial bee, silently does his work in the hive, knowing that without humility all will be lost. But nothing is lost in the hive of the telecoms magnate. Year after year, the world plays host to his accomplishments, as it does to the cold draft that accompanies the drizzle in the harvest season.His reticent demeanour notwithstanding, the global media has continued to accord him resounding mentions on a repeated basis, trying to give estimates of his worth in terms of his wealth. According to the report doing the rounds, Adenuga has reemerged as Nigeria’s second-richest man after three weeks in the third partyposition.theyattend as a piece of evidence that they were made for each other. So, for Fowler, the storm is over. Happier times are here.
Many money men covet and lobby far and wide for a mention on the Forbes Rich List. Don’t blame them, it satiates their conceit. They deploy huge resources to push their rating in the American journal, and when listed, these billionaires take out congratulatory adverts in newspapers to celebrate their surreptitiously influencedConversely,rating.Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr, the Globacom Chairman, is markedly different. He pays no heed to such ephemeral listing. Many analysts have even consistently argued that he is bestowed with wealth far beyond the worth ascribed to him in Forbes Rich Lists and might even be the richest on the continent. He is, however, unperturbed by such guesses. Notwithstanding his depth as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and citizen of humanity, Adenuga covets no vanities; he demands no free verses, heroic couplets or ornamental rhymes to glorify his personage as a man. Adenuga is hardly given to such infectious vanities. He is unflinchingly, unnervingly honest. He exposes, beneath all that bare skin, a multitude Fowler
stated that Odili was one of his foremost advisers during the PDP primaries that saw him land the second position behind Atiku Abubakar. Wike said that Odili told him to prepare himself for possible betrayal, which is what Wike has credited as the reason he did not come Wike’sfirst.gift demonstrated his loyalty to Odili who also did not hold back his praises, noting that Wike was the best Council Chairman while he was Rivers governor. Odili also noted that Wike’s gubernatorial achievements in the area of human capacity development and infrastructure are second to none. With this response to Wike’s gift, it is clear that Odili is Wike’s person, and their relationship is one of mutual respect and admiration.
HighLife
...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous Diligence is one of the most emphasised determinants of longlasting success, so it is not surprising that the majority of Nigerian finest businesspeople are persistent at what they do. However, even among this group, Julius Rone, the Group MD of celebrated energy conglomerate, UTM Offshore, is one of a kind. Like the sun refusing to step down from its high point in the sky, Rone’s brilliance continues to dazzle onlookers. And every time he is mentioned in the news, it is certain that the Gas King is on the move and great things are imminent. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) has released the schedule for the 2022 African Energy Week (AEW). Set to be held in Cape Town from October 18 to 21, 2022, the event is anticipated to knock down barriers to knowledge and understanding regarding the dynamics and mechanics of working energy infrastructure in Africa. Unsurprisingly, Rone has been invited to the event as a keynote speaker. AEC may have made the best choice by asking Rone to inform and educate the event guests on the vital pillars of the energy sector in Africa. It is only individuals like Rone whose operational experience has given them an edge and unquestionable insight into how the oil and gas sector works in different African countries, and how this sector can be used to stimulate Africa’s true potential, letting it stand alongside the other continents in the matter of sustainable growth and development.Rone’sdedication to the energy sector is admirable and his achievements in the past decade alone are worthy of continued celebration. One of the most recent such achievements was his signing of a memorandum of understanding with Afreximbank to raise $2 billion to develop Nigeria’s first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project. This project has great expectations, including the annual production of 1.2 million metric tons of liquefied natural gasRone(LNG).is single-handedly changing the energy narrative in Nigeria, and will soon lead Africa in the same direction. Thus, it is only certain that he will rejuvenate this year’s AEW and empower guests with the needed knowledge to drag the future of Africa’s sustainable energy to the present.
Why Forbes Richest Rating Does Not Interest Adenuga
54 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 2022 with KAYODE ALFRED 08116759807, E-mail: kayflex2@yahoo.com
Julius Rone: The Gas King on the Move
conference is ‘Issues in Africa’s DemocraticAccordingJourney’.to recently-released reports, the 2022 IBB Legacy affair will be held on August 25, 2022. It would be a virtual conference with many public lectures from prestigious industry leaders and past presidential characters, as well as panel discussions from some of the most inspiring Africans that ever left a social, political, or economic mark in theirWithregions.thisyear’s broader and more community-centred theme, the effects of the conference are anticipated to burn holes in the censorious perspectives about Africa’s pursuit of universal sustainability in citizenry welfare, economic growth and development, and appreciable advancements in the political Permanentsector.Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Technology, stands in a class of her own. After spending a bit of time away from lights, cameras, and action, Animashaun is back with a vengeance. Without question, she will be the object of clicks and clacks in the days to come. Animashaun has come out of her long hiatus, no thanks to the interment of her mother, Mrs. Olubunmi Craig, who departed this life on July 13, 2022. Being a good daughter, Animashaun made sure to give her mother a befitting burial. This was not altogether difficult considering that the late matriarch of the Craig household was a supremely impactful character, one that served her generation as an educationist, philanthropist, and community pillar.Unlike her late mother whose influence came from being the proprietress of Labo Memorial Primary School and Somerset Tonye Cole’s Elections made his plan no secret of shutting down Cole’s shot at the governorship. The most cited reason for Wike’s persistence is that Cole is backed by his rival, the former Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant, Rotimi Amaechi. Were it not for the fact that Amaechi is himself a political weightlifter in Rivers, Wike might have chased him out of the house.Sofar, Wike has accused both Amaechi and Cole of being involved in illegal financial dealings and the sale of state assets. Wike keeps bringing up the $50 million that allegedly disappeared from River State’s account when Amaechi was Governor, noting that he (Amaechi) and Cole split the money amongst themselves in the name of business dealings. Considering Wike’s political influence in Rivers, not to mention in the Southsouth, Cole is undoubtedly feeling the heat. If he must win the coming election, Cole either needs to cuddle up to Wike (which is very unlikely to yield significant results unless Cole betrays Amaechi) or give it all he has. Anyway, considering what either choice would require, Cole won’t be the happiest Rivers State Governor for the first 12 to 18 months of his tenure, that much is certain. Babangida
“Politics and prostitution have to be the only jobs where inexperience is considered a virtue. In what other profession would you brag about not knowing stuff?” Tina Fey’s observation is very much on point in the face of the comedic war of words between the spokesman for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign organisation and Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Dino Melaye. As they hurl insults across the bench at each other, one cannot help but be reminded of retired prostitutes fighting over the specifics of the gloryKeyamodays. and Melaye are seemingly at each other’s throats once again. This came about because Keyamo has started to excellently do what he was appointed to do, which is discredit PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Naturally, Melaye is also hard at work while mostly defending Atiku and unceasingly categorising APC and whoever subsists under their umbrella as irredeemable morons. As if acting out a comedic script, Keyamo starts by calling Atiku an inexperienced onlooker in the political arena, one who is neither qualified for the presidency nor competent as a leader in state affairs. Then Keyamo takes a step back from the stage. Melaye immediately comes on stage, clears his throat, and looks into the camera to say that Keyamo’s comment is “myopic, porous, parochial, and intellectually stagnant.” And because he is Melaye and has enough words to beat down an angry adult elephant, he goes on to say that Keyamo is a failure of a minister and is as relevant to his ministry as he is Secondary School, Lagos State, among other things, Animashaun’s influence derives from her political and social affiliations. Thus, there were several high-profile persons at the burial, including Aliko Dangote, Tayo Ayeni, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi, Mo Abudu, Kwara State First Lady, Olufolake Abdulrazaq, former Kwara State First Lady, Toyin Saraki, Oba Abdulwasiu Gbolahan Lawal, Nkiru Anumudu, Senator Tokunbo Ogunbanjo, Wale Tinubu, and severalWithothers.just this burial ceremony, Animashaun regained her groove. Even though many people will only point fingers at the controversies that surrounded her time in the Lagos State Government, especially during the era of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, those are the old days. New times are here again for the lovely lady who rose from the position of Junior Magistrate in the Lagos State judiciary to become the Company Secretary of the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NNPC).
Animashaun
HIGHLIFE THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 2022 55
At the end of the day, our legacies are the best containers and pieces of evidence for the kind of lives we lived. This is something that any smart individual realizes, and so it is no surprise that sensible people are exhausting their resources in building credible legacies. Thus, in celebration of the 81st birthday of Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), the Legacy Dialogue that shares the same name as the past government head will be held with radical turning points expected to result from the Preparationsevent.for the second installation of the annual IBB Legacy Dialogue are underway. This year’s meeting will be convened by none other than IBB’s daughter, Aisha Babangida. And the theme of the After Long Hiatus from Social Space, Nike Animashaun Back on Social Whirl
Ogun 2023 Elections: How Far Can Ladi Adebutu Go? All Set for the Annual IBB Legacy Dialogue
There are different kinds of people in the upper circles of Nigeria’s social space. Nike Animashaun, the former Lagos State Nothing is ever guaranteed in politics, especially in Nigeria’s brand of the game. Ones can become zeros at the snap of a finger, and zeros can become ones. Which one of these transformations will be the reality of Ladi Adebutu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ogun State gubernatorial candidate, comeNobody2023?who can win party primaries to become a frontline flag bearer is silly, this much is true. It has to be said that Adebutu put in a lot of work in preparation for the 2023 gubernatorial election in Ogun. Despite the many difficulties, some of which came about because of his person and censorious relationship with kingmakers in the State, Adebutu was able to pull through. However, whether or not he will be able to bring the bag home is the question at the Adebutumoment.was once on cloud nine when he secured his current position as PDP gubernatorial candidate in Ogun after beating Segun Showunmi, the former spokesperson of Atiku Abubakar. However, although this victory appeared to come cheap, it wasn’t. Adebutu had to fight tooth and nail before convincing the delegates that he was the best person for the job. Needless to say, because of his status as a former commissioner and member of the House of Representatives, Adebutu is not the favourite person of many individuals in Ogun and outside. It does not help that he does not seem to have considered his future aspirations when he was Honourable Adebutu, choosing instead to antagonise those he did not like. Now, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) ready to tear his gubernatorial ambition to bits, Adebutu has to rely on more than the wealth of his father, Chief Kessington Adebutu, to enter into the good graces of the OgunHispeople.chances are not very good, to be honest, since he did not do anything of great importance in his former political positions. At least, this is the foremost criticism of his aspiration, as well as the biggest thorn in his flesh at the How Dino Melaye and Festus Keyamo Brought Comedy Out of Politics with Their Outbursts
Camp Ahead of the 2023
As is the case in some of the states governed by governors whose term is just about to expire, Melaye Cole Rivers State is experiencing something of a harsh baptism. Amid the reportedly dipping economy and collapsing infrastructural foundation, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State, Tonye Cole, is allegedly under fire by none other than the incumbent Governor, Nyesom Wike. This is because Wike is going out of his way to see Cole divest of everything that could help him win, Cole is not in the best frame of mind at the moment.Theway politics works in Nigeria, winning the first victory, whatever victory that is, is only the first step. If Cole had known this, he would have been more solemn after he won the APC governorship primaries. He polled 986 out of 1308 votes and effectively relegated the camp of rivals, including Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, Sokonte Davies, Michael West, Bernard Mikko, and Magnus Abe. Unfortunately, that victory means very little in the face of constant opposition.Theincumbent Rivers Governor, Wike, has to the political machinery that will eventually grant Nigerians a solid and reliable president come 2023. To which Keyamo scowls and consults his notes on how to respond to Melaye’s slurs.
Tension Grips
Olusegun Obasanjo: Iwo lo kan
I saw the clip of Senator Bola Tinubu’s visit to our greatest statesman of all time – Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta. What came to my mind immediately was the session we had with him in Abeokuta some time ago. I had taken about 60 of my friends to spend a weekend with him and at the end, we had a closed-door session with Baba. We asked him all sorts of questions and he answered all of them as best as he could. He had a good day that day as we all came out very satisfied. But in my closing remarks, I had asked him a cheeky question: “If Bola Tinubu comes for a visit, will you receive him?”
THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 2022
56 LOUD WHISPERS with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)
AregbesolaTinubu, Atiku and Obi
The hall went into rapturous laughter because we all know the story between these two. He responded with his famed native intelligence, “anybody is free to come here but what I don’t know is if he will get his desired response.” So when I saw the clip of the visit, that response came to mind. I like Tinubu. He is like me. He is a go-getter and will sleep with termites if he needs to, to achieve a goal. Going to OBJ in my mind’s eye for BAT will be like going to ask a favour from a man who just slept with your wife. But my Lord BAT will even send roses to the man, if it will give him his wish. For that I say wellNowdone.as at the time of writing, I have not been able to confirm if BAT got his desired response or not. I have seen reports that have shown OBJ being evasive but accepting that the Presidency must now come back to the South, and I have also seen reports saying that OBJ said to him that he will not support him and that power should indeed go to the ISouth-east.cannotconfirm this as at the time of writing so let me just sit on the fence and build my castle on Tinubu’s boldness with this move. It must be commended. When we now get the authoritative report, we will comment.
GENERAL DAMBAZAU: YOU SHOULD HAVE TRIED IT One Brigadier General Kukasheka Usman who is said to be a one time Public Relations Officer in the office of General Dambazau has said that the former Chief of Army Staff should be remembered as a hero of democracy because he resisted the urge and push to topple President Goodluck Jonathan. You see this kind of statement used to make me laugh. A man in retirement, instead of him to go and be feeding his grandchildren with kunu, will be coming on national media to be talking a whole lot of hogwash. Why he even threw up this statement really beats my imagination. I really don’t understand it. That the international community got wind and called them and they gave their words that they would not and that all that it would have taken was just a phone call and armoured tanks would have been rolled in and the government Oya,overthrown.makethe phone call and capture all the bandits and Boko Haram na. These people just make these statements’ as if all 200 milion of us are just slaves who will be preparing the rooms for them to come and sleep with our wives and daughters and after that we say thank you for a job well done. Na Please,wa. General Dambazau, if this story is true, then I must really congratulate you for not trying it because the Nigeria of today is not the Nigeria of the 80s when your people will just wake up and overthrow the government because their wives fought inside mammy Wemarket.need to understand that Nigeria is a very important and sophisticated country. Forget that we are where we are, the fact still remains that this is a country of 200 million people. That time has passed when a few people, because they are in uniform, will just wake up one morning and go to a radio station
Last week, I railed on these pages about the fiasco that is the Ikoyi Immigration Office. Since then, I have received so much feedback from Nigerians who are going through a harrowing experience just to secure new passports or in trying to renew them. My people, that place is just something else. Then I got a call from top officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mr. Aregbesola’s office who happens to be the supervisory minister. This top official was brimming in righteous anger. He took me through all the reforms that have been instituted in the place in a bid to make life a little bit more bearable for Nigerians. He mentioned that we can now go online to do our business thereby cutting off the leeches and scorpions who parade the immigration offices in brown Heuniforms.wasreally angry o as he explained the reforms and even sent a fact sheet on the matter to me. They have set TINUBU, ATIKU AND OBI: THE STORY OF THREE MIDGETS My people, this is my situation and I may abstain from these elections. I have always had the very strong conviction that if these three were the ones that we are throwing up as our very best, then there is no need. I had a closed-door session with a revered traditional ruler and ex-banker with a lot of global influence and he confirmed my conviction. He said: “Edgar, what we need today is a unifying leader after the eight years we have just gone through.” He continued: “It will be a shame for anybody who worked so hard to foster on Nigeria these lame leadership in the past eight years to benefit from this. “I know Bola Tinubu knew by 2019 that this was a failed experiment but for personal permutations, still supported a second term. These two people are fantastically corrupt and the third one really doesn’t have the expansive national presence to even lift a finger, so you see that the experiment of 2023 will just be another fiasco.” So, you see why I am not ‘lit’ by any of these candidacies. If the system cannot throw up fresh minds, strong legs and expansive leadership, let’s kuku just siddon and be looking. When I listen to Tinubu and Atiku’s followers, I marvel at the utter ‘stupidity’ that drives their positions especially on this Tinubu’s certificate matter and his so-called glorious reign in Lagos. Atiku is weak, baggage-driven and really has passed his ‘sell by date’ but because both he and Tinubu understand the terrain, they still wiggle their way into nominations even with their testicles dangling for lack of usage. Obi on the other hand, parades an army of fleet footed soldiers who in recent times have started abusing and threatening any dissenting voice. The candidate had to visit Femi Kuti whose Shrine had been marked down because he took a position. How Obi wants to win this election parading fake and distorted economic data and facts with social media driven supporters and a lack of national spread beats my imagination. Fear is my bedmate. Fear that we may have lost the opportunity of a lifetime by throwing up these ‘midgets’ at a time when we need a different kind of leadership in this country. Fear and misery is my lot. Thank you.
and say in bad English: “fellow Nigerians…” If you try it now, na stone we go stone una comot for Pleasethere. stop distracting us with these tales by moonlight, we have more serious issues to deal with o.
RAUF AREGBESOLA: A QUIET REVOLUTION
ObasanjoDambazau:
LOUD WHISPERS 57THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 2022 up an automated system, eliminated cash payment, introduced standardized timelines, physical verification of addresses, link to NIN and the introduction of a digital automated appointment system. He even informed me that about 1.9 million passports have been issued between January 2021 and June 2022. In fact, so many reforms were listed on the fact sheet including automated visa issuance and all that. He didn’t stop at that, he also sent a fact sheet on the correctional services too. They are reassessing the vulnerability status of all correctional facilities nationwide. They are also doing DNA testing on all inmates to ensure ‘recapture’ and also linking up with the National Open University (NOUN) for educational opportunities. In fact, the information bros sent to me was plenty o. Federal Fire service and guguru defence even have their reforms. You see my people; all these beautiful initiatives cannot work if we do not hit the human capital in these places. The major problem in Nigeria is Civil Servants. They are the unseen enemies. The devils and the leeches who corrupt the system, weaken the institutions and have allowed themselves to be Itpoliticized.isinthat immigration service you will see the very worst of civil servants. They smile while stealing from you, smile while corrupting the system for their personal gains, smile while making the fruits of such wonderful reforms as listed on that fact sheet meaningless or how do you explain why to get a passport will take over two years and a call from the Ministers office brings it out in less than 12 Howhours.many Nigerians have the influence and juju of the Duke of Shomolu? Will everybody have to call the minister to get a passport? Which kind of country is Ithis?thank the officials who not only stepped in to redress this situation but also took their time to explain to me how to operate the next time. My advice is for them to go on a massive public enlightenment campaign on these reforms so that as we enter the immigration offices and are accosted by touts in uniform, we are armed with Secondly,information.any reforms without clearing that place of those methuselahs is a waste of bloody time. We need to take out everybody there and bring in younger elements who have not been corrupted by the place and who will understand the use of technology in better serving Nigerians. Anything short of that Mr Aregbesola, is a waste of time. Thank you. FUNKE OSIBODU, IT’S A DISTURBING AFFAIR Mrs. Funke Osibodu is a brilliant Nigerian. An astute banker and businesswoman who has made her mark in this country. However, news that we are hearing from far away Benin is not looking palatable. We have heard that she has been arrested and that she has even cried out that her life may be in danger. The wahala of that Benin Disco is not today. From shareholder squabble, to the government not being able to pay for services and harassment and all that. It has now come to a head with the federal government’s decision to take it over as a result of their inability to pay back loans taken from a consortium of banks as at the point of taking over. Today, madam has been accused of trespassing and was dragged to police headquarters to cool her heels. She in turn has mentioned that within one month of the occupation, the company has lost over N750 million in collections. All I can say is that, ‘it will be well’. I used to hate it when someone tells me that in the face of wahala but what else can one say in this kind of wahala. When a beautiful woman and her family, hears the clarion call and decides to put all they have laboured for to contribute to society, create jobs and create value and is rewarded like this, what else can one minister in the 70s and is still petroleum minister today? My people, it’s not about the money but about giving termites a bad name. How did they know it was termites, that is the question we should be asking them now. Are they biologists, how did they know it was termites? See, there are some ants that look like termites o. Red and with a big head like Dino Malaye. How are we not sure they are not the ones? Why zero down on termites just like that because you think they can’t defend themselves? Let’s be getting our facts right that is my own and be bold. Have you seen or heard NNPC calling any animal name in all their own? Simply because they do not know the ant family so they keep quiet and chest it. This NSITF oga just came out boldly and be calling termite like he even knows how many species of termite we have in Nigeria. Termite ko, tambolo ni. Please let’s face more serious issues abeg. Who stole the money?
BAYO FATUSIN – ‘BON LA VIV’ Well, I know that not everybody did French in school. For those of us who did French, the title of this write up simply means, mbok, do you people serve Afang in your hotel? My person, Bayo, has just dropped a very elegant institution on Joel Ogunnaike in Ikeja, giving the famous Marriot owned by my egbon Taiwo Afolabi a good run for their money. Bayo’s Bon Hotel Safron is really a deliberate testament to glamour. The marble tiled floor, the classical music wafting through the sound systems, forcing you to a relaxed sleep, the cuisine, the beautiful pool all giving you a sense of departure from the hustle and bustle of Lagos. I spent four nights there recently and marveled at the tranquility and sheer hypnotic hold the place had on me. I had gone to spend just one night o after the hustle and bustle of Emir Sanusi and ended up spending four nights because I could not just tear myself away from the luxurious settings and cultured service to go back to my dreary life in Shomolu. Na one fine girl, that sent me my bill and I realized that I had to run. Let me just use this opportunity to congratulate my brother Bayo for such a lovely piece of art. Yes o, the hotel is art, not just a place you go to sleep. When people show confidence in Nigeria by making such investments, the least we can do is to go there and sleep on credit abi. All na support.
MARTHA UDOM – LOVE OF MY LIFE Now calm down guys. Not that kind of love o, before Obong Udom will carry my name go to his pastor o. Remember the pastor that helped him with the prophecy that our next governor will be his fellow Pastor Udo Eno? Anyways, beautiful Martha has come out to endorse Mr. Akan Udofia. Mbok, Akwa Ibom is in a joyous mood. In an event in faraway America, the elegant First Lady singled out Akan Udofia for unique praise during her speech to Akwa Ibom people in the diaspora. She not only did that but had ‘hi-fives’ with him and joined him on the dance floor. How Obong Udom will take all of this can be left to the imagination. Udofia seems to be the main speaking point in Akwa Ibom. Despite the shenanigans of one Mr. Iginni, the now outgone INEC Rep, Akwa Ibomites and seemingly their lovable First Lady seem to have rested their urgings on the laps of good looking and cerebral Udofia. This endorsement by the First Lady has publicly shown the whole world that no matter how much you try to bury the aspirations of the people, time is the greatest healer and truth the sweetest balm will always rise up to the occasion. Let me say a big thank you to our elegant and most successful First Lady, and to assure her that if there is any fallout from all of this from the House of Udom, that I have already had serious conversations with the Duchess of Shomolu on the possibility of… Thank you.
HOLLYWOODELUMELU:STYLE
NSITF: TERMITARIUM IN THE HOUSE
If you are not following Tony’s Instagram page, you are really missing. The man is chopping life. He is either dropping from Helicopter on UBA house like James Bond, or he is having dinner with the French President or he is sha doing things that Brad Pitt and Idris Elba will be envying. Me, I sha like his family times. His beautiful daughters and wonderful twin sons. A very sweet Nigerian family. Beautiful. Today I want to talk about his fashion style. Tony seems to have evolved in confidence. His casuals are on point and precise. His pieces throw up an elegant and confident look and if you now add his wonderful physique, you will see an image of glam. I love his IG post as I google his pieces and take them out one after the other. His tops, usually black, are form fitting and sartorially elegant. His pants kill me. The strings dangling from his waist and at times the open zipper driven bottoms showing off some exotic Turkish or Arabic high heeled sandals. Tony has come a long way from the dour brocade I saw him wear at the Iboris’ last major party. I look comot eye for that one. But since then, he seems to have hit a different level or changed Hisstylists.suits still come out tight. In trying to get the slim fitted look of an Aigboje when he was still wearing suits, Tony’s suits usually come out looking tight and one will be fearing that the trouser can tear o and show us chairmanship bum if he bends down anyhow. The red socks, I think, are tired. The red tie and socks I think are dated and making every top UBA staff member around him dress like that makes the whole thing look orchestrated and fake. Like a North Korean battalion. It’s no wonder we can no longer see the MD of UBA. That person is now just a tiny shadow behind the huge image of the Chairman. It’s all good. The formal shoes are still way off. They don’t carry the weight of the beauty of this handsome man. And when you now pair the shoes with the shiny red socks you are most likely looking at a Michael Jackson type Butfigure.the casuals are perfect. A symphony of colours, a blend of playful elegance and a signpost to freedom. This is what I see as I continue to follow him on Instagram. Hope I have not looked for too much trouble with this one I write so oooo. Kai. Elumelu TONY
say but,’ it is well’. Madam, you are my friend and remain so forever. I know there is no single drop of corruption in your body and that you have been a sound and upright Nigerian and will remain so no matter what. You have my support and prayers. Please where are you now, so I can send a beautiful plate of Afang to you. That is all I can do for now. My prayers are with you at this time.
How do you face a serious panel and look at them squarely in the face and say that termites have eaten up documents, vouchers evidencing payments totalling over N17 billion? This is what top officials of the NSITF – I couldn’t be bothered with their full names
– want Nigerians to believe. Another official said it was rain, and another said that the ‘pangolo’ they put the documents in are stored in some dark room in their premises. You know Nigerians don’t like to face reality and focus. Everybody is screaming termites? Trying to link it to the past story of snakes and maybe monkeys who also ate money in other government parastatals. You know me, I am like Fashola. I am a detective o. Shebi everybody went to the toll gate and it was Fashola who flew in from Abuja and was able to see very critical evidence that was used to kick DJ Switch into self-exile. My own is that I don’t care about the money. After all, didn’t we lose N2.8 billion when Buhari was first Petroleum
NTDC Boss, Folly Coker’s Grateful Moment
By all standards, Folorunsho Folarin-Coker is an accomplished man. His status makes Olujuwon Obasanjo, son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and beautiful Temitope Adebutu, daughter of billionaire businessman, Kessignton Adebutu, married in May 2017. The wedding ceremony, which was attended by the crème of society, was held in spite of the grave concerns expressed by Olujuwon’s mother, Mrs. Taiwo Obasanjo. It was such a grand ceremony that many guests at the party described it as one of the best they had attended. However, the marriage crashed a few months after its solemnisation.Thereport of the break-up went viral and newshounds literally made a feast of it. It was followed by accusations and counteraccusations not only from the estranged couple but also by the mothers of the couple. Olujuwon’s mother had accused Temitope Naval Top Brass, Osunmakinde, in Trouble over Debt
Zaynab Otiti-Obanor’s Indescribable Joy
THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 202258 SOCIETY WATCH Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651
DynamismWaheed-Adekojo’sFunmilayo
What could have led Nigerian Navy top brass, Rear-Adm. Osunmakinde, into a debt of over N1 billion that has now resulted in his account being garnished? This is the question on the lips of many, as a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on July 1, 2022, ordered the attachment of the sum of N1,087,222,282.38, belonging to the former Nigerian Navy Hydrographer, his wife, Janet, and their company, Golden Giant Industries Limited, as judgment debt. The court, in acceding to the request of the judgment creditor, also made the following orders: An order that the 25 garnishee banks joined in the suit disclose forthwith the sum outstanding belonging to the judgment debtors with the garnishee banks and that such disclosure should be made on oath and verified by an affidavit and filed before the court within 14 days from the date of service of the order; an order that the 25 garnishee banks shall appear before the court, on the next adjourned date or as may be directed by the court, to show cause (if any) why an order should not be made upon them for the amount of money due and owing or accruing from the 25 garnishee banks to the said judgment debtors or so much thereof as will satisfy the sum of N1,087,222,282.38 being the outstanding judgment debt pursuant to the judgement of this court. Upon reading the affidavit in support of the application filed before the court, and after hearing the counsel for the judgment creditor, Opeyemi Adekoya’s move in terms of the application, the presiding judge, Justice Yellin Bogoro, granted the orders as prayed. Ecobank Nigeria Limited alongside its two debt recovery agents, Eti Specialized Finance Company Plc, and Eti Specialised Resolution Company had dragged Osunmakinde, his wife, Janet, and their company, Golden Giant Industries Limited, before the court to recover the debt.Theplaintiffs are also demanding interest on the said sum at the rate of six per cent from September 30, 2021, until judgment is delivered and, thereafter, at the rate of 10 per cent till the liquidation of the judgment debt. However, the defendants, in a motion on notice dated January 20, 2022, filed before the court, accused Ecobank of deliberately masterminding the manipulations of the company’s account to throw him into toxic debt and create an advantage for its debt recovery agents to take over his account. The defendants stated further that contrary to the refinancing plan and the intervention purpose of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to revive ailing industries in Nigeria through the Central Bank of Nigeria/Bank of Industry Intervention Fund, Ecobank took the bulk of the fund released through them, deducted and held onto the sum of N292 million out of the N450 million which was released by the Bank of Industry. The plaintiffs, in a suit filed before the court, through their counsel, Adekoya, alleged that sometime in 1997, Golden Giant Industries Limited applied for foreign input facility (FIF), a Nexim facility of N50 million through the defunct Hallmark Bank Limited, which was granted via its offer letter dated January 1997. The bank stated that securities for the said facility of N50 million include Chattel Mortgage, over equipment and machinery of the company at EPZ Calabar, joint and personal guarantee of principal promoter/ director for N50 million supported by the notarized statement of personal worth and the Deed of Chattel Mortgage dated August 26, 1998.In an affidavit deposed to by Banke Ibitoye, a recovery manager in the service of the Eti specialised finance company, Ecobank stated that, in 2003, the company applied to Hallmark Bank Plc for an increase in overdraft and finance facilities, which Hallmark Bank Limited granted via its letter of offer and acceptance dated October 14, 2003, leaving a total balance of N212,931,020.03. It stated further that the Golden Giant Industries company again in 2004, applied to Hallmark Bank for an overdraft facility of N270 million, which Hallmark granted via its letter of offer and acceptance dated September 17, 2004.In2005, the company applied to Hallmark Bank Plc for N389,900,688.93 credit facility which Hallmark Bank Limited granted via its letter of offer and acceptance dated April 29, 2005, which was duly accepted and utilised.
Has Temitope Adebutu Shut out Her Heart to Love?
Funmilayo Waheed-Adekojo is regarded by her numerous friends and admirers as a gogetter. She is loved and admired for her efforts, particularly in the area of societal engineering. Popularly called FunmiAyinke, she has never lost steam as a humanist, musician and philanthropist.TheMechanical Engineering graduate of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso is the founder of FunmiAyinke Nigeria Limited, a multi-faceted engineering outfit and duly certified member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria. Just as the 39-year-old is devoted to re-engineering society through her profession, she has equally grown her humanitarian movement and metro music, all to improve the systemic structures of her society and the standards and lifestyles of the individuals therein through FunmiAyinke Humanity Foundation (FHF) and FunmiAyinke Records Label (FRL), respectively. To underscore music as a strong channel to pass good messages across to her target audience, FunmiAyinke, in October 2020, released her debut single titled “It’s Our Time” during the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria. As part of her rebranding process, the songbird is currently working on a new body of work which will be released soon as an Extended Play (EP). She has been recognized and honoured as the Ambassador to the NORD Automobile Company. For all her remarkable humanitarian and philanthropic impacts, Funmilayo was recently honoured and appointed as an Ambassador of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by the Peace Corps of Nigeria. With this new honour in her kitty, the Ondo State-born amazon has further gained attention in her quest for a better society.
Coker him the envy of many, as he towers far above some of his contemporaries. He is influential with high-wired connections. For the Director-General, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), last week will go down as most memorable, as he glided graciously into yet another year before the eyes of his loved ones. The highly connected Lagos big boy who has done so well for himself was celebrated to the high heavens on that day. The day was fun-filled for the amiable dude, whose popularity and influence have been on the rise in recent times with enviable pedigree. Though many had thought that the handsome Folarin-Coker would throw his gate open for a lavish birthday shindig in
“Smile, because you are beautiful; laugh, because you are living life to the fullest and stand strong because haters can’t bring you down.” Without a doubt, Zaynab Otiti-Obanor has taken to heart the above quote with all seriousness. Despite the challenges she has faced in the past, she has chosen to live her life inspired by the import of that witty saying. At the moment, the beautiful Edo State-born is currently experiencing the proverbial Seventh Heaven, typical of a woman who has just safely delivered a baby. Of course, she just did and this is giving her indescribable joy. In fact, her joy knows no bounds. Society Watch disclosed that the lightskinned lady weeks ago was delivered of a baby girl in Qatar, where she now resides. A source revealed that the cute little girl has since been christened Eseosa. The media was awash with the story of her crashed marriage to the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi. Unfortunately, the bad blood between them was fuelled by some untrue and baseless allegations levelled against the lady. She was called names and vilified. It was the most unpalatable moment of her life. She never bargained for it. But rather than cry and sulk, she took the horn by the bull and walked out of the marriage, narrating her ordeal and her next move on her social media handles.When the woman of substance, who was formerly addressed as Queen Wuraola, decided to walk out of the marriage, many could not fathom the reason for her action. Many had sneered at her, thinking that she might eventually go into obscurity. But recent developments may have proved her critics wrong, as she seems to have put the sad experience behind her and immediately moved on. A source revealed to us that the well-travelled and well-exposed woman has totally repressed her memory of the ugly past. But with the new development, she now has her consolation and reward. Otiti-Obanor celebration, he instead opted for a very private celebration. The amiable dude, in the past, had organised several shindigs that turned out to be the talk-of-town. With his experience about life, birthday for the Baba Eto of Yorubaland is a moment to reflect on beautiful memories and appreciate the Giver of life for preserving him at a time when many of his peers who could afford all the luxuries of life had been visited by the dreaded Grim Reaper, taking them on a sojourn of no return. On that day, he was said to have been literally bombarded with a torrent of birthday messages and an outpour of encomiums from friends, well-wishers, fans as well as admirers. of endangering the life of her son. Also, Temitope’s family had risen in her defence, accusing Olujuwon of being economical with the truth.Theforegoing, no doubt, is no longer news, as Temitope, who is also a Magistrate with the Ogun State Judiciary, has since put this ugly drama behind her and moved on. Curiously, the brilliant lady has not been romantically linked with anyone in the past four years since the marriage hit the rocks. According to a source, Temitope, who is blessed with a stunning figure, seems not to be giving marriage priority anymore; hence, she has refused to be hit by the Cupid arrow once again. Another source informed Society Watch that though the dark-skinned lady had not totally shut her heart against love, her major concern is to get to the peak of her career.
Waheed-Adekojo
As the Saturday, October 22 date of his long-anticipated solo exhibition looms, the artist’s hopes of reasserting himself in the Lagos art scene seem to get brighter. After all, having been around for nearly six years ought to have familiarised him with the local
S omething about the title, “… Another Song for Freedom”, conveys both the impressions of a soothing balm and a stirring call to action in response to the scenario depicted in the 2018 acrylic on canvas painting. Indeed, to be able to wring some meaning out of this title, not much discernment is needed by the viewer.Inaposture redolent of Michelangelo’s main work “Pieta”, a visibly heartbroken woman with dishevelled hair and in black mourning clothes is bearing the body of a slain child – obviously hers – in her arms. Behind her, another woman at the head of a mob though cocooned from this bedlam, a dreadlocks-sporting boy is sitting on a ledge before a locally-made xylophone and strumming his guitar. Speaking of freedom, it is a word that not only resonates with many but has also pitted activists and warriors against the various grotesque expressions of man's true enemy—his inclination for gross material transience—for years, if not millennia. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that this galvanising word is incarnated in various forms in his recent paintings, albeit subtly, as a theme song in Samuel Ajobiewe, who is intent on returning to his glory years on the local exhibition circuit. As implied in the explanations in his artist statement, the essence of his studio practice has always revolved around the distilling of his impressions of his environment into messages for the larger society. “The messages could be about the past as they relate to the present or about the present as they relate to the future aspects of the beauty, the ugly or the good and the bad sides of the society,” the artist, who marks his 53rd birthday on September 9, Perhapsexplains.the painting that most expresses his not-so-veiled allusion to the growing disenchantment among Nigerians is “State of the Nation”, which was produced in 2019. In it, the two white stallions in the Nigerian coat of arms seem to gallop away in opposite directions, leaving the central black shield with a wavy white pall clattering to the ground while the eagle, which had hitherto been perched on top of Another painting, a 2018 work titled “Irony of the Incorruptible Judge,” takes a swipe at the judicial system, which is believed by many disillusioned Nigerians to be compromised. In this painting, a modestly white-clad ebony-complexioned maiden, representing the mythical lady of justice, holds an upward-pointing sword in one hand and a balance scale in the other hand on her perpendicularly spread-out arms. Behind her, an older woman sporting a black bonnet can be seen removing her blindfold while a judge in his costume, separated from two other men by a coat of arms, looks on withMeanwhile,interest. a seemingly overwhelmed government – metaphorically depicted in the 2019 painting EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com
THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER JUNE 24 2012 ARTS & REVIEWARTS & REVIEW A PUBLICATION 21. 8.2022
helplessly as these excrescences of a corrupt system become increasingly evident.Thisis probably why the procession of the soldiers clustered around an armoured personnel carrier in the 2019 painting, titled “Marching against the the viewer. Ditto the gaggle of youths in “Locals Strategizing against Intruders.” But amid the gloomy prognoses ings, seething with issues bordering on a palpable sense of insecurity in the (2018), “Les Petites Fun and Laughter” (2018), “Never without Hope” (2018), “Chats Before Maiden Dance” and “Emir’s Entourage” or “Emir’s Outing” (2019).Essentially, Ajob iewe, who graduated from the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos in 2004, has always had a predilection for documenting history through his art. This explains why his photo-realistic figurative expressions always revolve around the happenings in his environment. Leaving the vibrant Lagos art scene in 2009 for the Benin Republic town of Abomey-Calavi, which is now essentially a suburb of the commercial capital city of Cotonou, may indeed have taken its toll on his local collector base and followership. But then, he had good reasons to relocate to this relatively calmer environment. Besides the main re ason, which bordered on his regaining failing health, he found the new base, where he spent eight years, conducive to the reappraisal of his art practice. It was there that he realised that his use of oil paints was hurting his health. Hence, he tried his hands on other mediums like pastels, drawing, and sculpture before eventually settling for acrylic. But even before he started to paint predominantly in oils, he had been exposed as a student to producing sculptures with clay and fibreglass and painting with diverse media, which included pastel, charcoal, tempera, and watercolour. Upon his return to Lagos in 2017, preparations for his first solo exhibition in many years, which has been long in coming, began in earnest. True, the obtrusion of the CO VID-19 pandemic may have delayed things a bit for him. He, nonetheless, leveraged the lockdown period for his creative evolution.Aquickrewind to his early antecedents in the art scene attests to his ubiquitous presence in local art auctions and exhibitions. Hence, worming his way back into the public’s consciousness, this time as a social critic and activist has become his current obsession. This is informed by his love for humanity and aversion to disturb-
With sights set on regaining lost ground, Samuel Ajobiewe warms up for a long-anticipated solo exhibition in October. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports
Irony of the Incorruptible Judge Another song for freedom The Ineffectual Scarecrow
An Artist and Promise of a New Phase
MajorrecentlyGeneral Oshanupin and his wife, Esther, on the occasion of his 70th birthday..recently
Elsewhere, I have alluded to a very striking photograph taken on the occasion of his decoration with the rank of Major General in 2005, which symbolised the true Nigerian-ness of the Obasanjo era. Obasanjo’s aide-de-camp (ADC), Christopher Jemitola, (then a Colonel), was at the left of that picture. Obasanjo was next, hanging the peeps of Oshanupin’s new rank from the left; he was followed by Oshanupin himself, and then Atiku Abubakar, Vice President to Obasanjo. In the ethno-religiously fractious polity which has been our lot since the coming of the incumbent dispensation, that photograph speaks volumes about Obasanjo’s painstaking efforts at multilevel balancing. Jemitola is from Edo State (South-south); Obasanjo, Ogun (South-est); Oshanupin, Kogi (North-central) and Atiku, Adamawa (North-east). This manner of accommodation and inclusiveness, has been serially trampled upon, even jettisoned by the present government. Following Oshanupin’s retirement after a distinguished and eventful near four-decade service to fatherland over ten years ago, he has become most committed to, and visible in community service and development. And how he has spontaneously transmuted from the stern-faced, no-nonsense military General, to an inimitable pacifist and consensus builder, should constitute the subject of another discourse. At the levels of his hometown, Ekinrin Adde, Ijumu Local Government Area, and the Okun country, straddling the six Okun LGAs: Kabba Bunu; Ijumu; Mopamuro; Yagba East, Yagba West and ‘Oworoland’ in Lokoja LGA, Oshanupin has been at the fore of charting a new course for his people. At various times, Oshanupin has chaired or co-chaired bodies like the: Okun Interest Group (OIG), with Dr Stephen Olorunfemi, and Okun Think Tank (OTT), the technocratic arm of the Okun Development Association (ODA), with Professor Eyitayo Lambo. Irrespective of the venue of a meeting concerning the Okun trajectory, and so long as Oshanupin is invited, you can be sure he will attend. Except of course if he is out of Nigeria, or is otherwise previously committed. From Isanlu, to Iyah-Gbedde, to Kabba, Ekinrin Adde, Lokoja, to Abuja, Oshanupin is either hosting, or attending meetings to build a new Okun mindset. His conviction is captured by his adaptation of a military expression, to wit that people should decidedly “chest out,” for causes they believe in. Be sure to be served frothing, farm-fresh palmwine, among other choice menus and beverages, should Oshanupin be the chief host, at any venue or location. Instructively, Oshanupin was one of the Okun leaders who led a delegation to meet with former President Goodluck Jonathan on the eve of his election in 2011, to press for increased infrastructural development in Okunland. The meeting also canvassed the accommodation of more Okun people in the Jonathan administration. At that meeting, Okun leaders appealed to Jonathan for the conversion of the age-old College of Agriculture, Kabba into a full-fledged university. How Lokoja the Kogi State capital became the host of what is today the Federal University, will be subject for further inquisition. Key advocates of the adoption of the College of Agriculture, Kabba as site and location of a federal university, included: Lambo, (former Health Minister); Bayo Ojo, SAN, (former Attorney General and Justice Minister) and Oshanupin. They must be deservedly applauded. Oshanupin, and some other well-meaning Okun-minded people, were also part of those who virtually rammed the imperative for the development and fruition of the College of Education Technical Kabba, (COETK), down the throat of former Kogi State Governor, Ibrahim Idris. This does not detract from the efforts of Clarence Olafemi, former Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, who acted as governor for a brief spell, during which the incumbent, Idris, had to undergo a courtordered reelection between him and the late former Kogi Governor, Abubakar Audu in 2008. Aware of the repeated consignment of the project under the carpet by successive governments, Oshanupin and company therefore, virtually held a “pistol” to the throat of Idris, in a case of: “We (Okun people), will support you, only to the extent that you build for us COETK which had been on the drawing board since eternity.” Idris had no option than to agree, much as the physical growth of the institution has remained below par. Worried about the wholesale hijack of politics in Okunland by sundry moneybags and jobbers, Oshanupin has serially advocated recourse to justice, fairness and equity, as minimum consideration, in the appropriation of offices and positions. He admonishes return to those ideals which bind our people together, away from the mercantilism and triumphalism which characterise contemporary politicking. His involvement in sociopolitical matters concerning the Kogi West zone, derives from this concern. The exploration of collaboration between Kogi West and Kogi Central which were both excised from the old Kwara State, and joined with Kogi East from the old Benue State, is also driven by considerations of respect for meritocracy, consensus building and fairness to all. A critical component of Oshanupin’s drill in the military was that of “taking the enemy by surprise.” More than one occasion, Oshanupin had “caught” me by surprise in my own home. He is first to check up on you if you were indisposed, or had otherwise been out of circulation for a while. And he jokes with you in a mix of our idiolects and pidgin English, charging you in military lingo, to “wake up,” shake off your indisposition, that is. He is that compassionate. And he is not given to protocol and officialese, easily jumping behind the wheels of his car to catch up with meetings and appointments, for a former two-star General in the military. It wouldn’t matter if it’s a truck or a more cosy automobile, he moves. He is that unassuming andJide,down-to-earth.Oshanupin’s son found me out in church a few weeks back. He came over to my section and whispered to me that he was working with his siblings to put up a surprise reception for their father. The event he said, was to commemorate his platinum jubilee birthday. The birthday proper was on June 26, 2022, but the celebration had been moved forward by a few days. Recognising my relationship with the older Oshanupin, Jide conspiratorially told me: “He’s not aware of this plan, Sir.” I understood him, even though I was sceptical if the young Oshanupins could pull it off without giving themselves away to a very sharp and perceptive father. Saturday July 9, 2022, all roads led to the Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel, Abuja. Between walking through the expansive lobby, to posing for photographs at the “red carpet” entrance to the venue, and being ushered to your seat, your eyes caught familiar faces. It was a very well attended event which definitely achieved the surprise effect it was intended to have, a properly scripted ambush of an army General by his civilian children! It was an evening of colour and conviviality and reminiscences and tributes, food and drinks, music and dancing too.
Day Accomplished Armourer was Ambushed in Abuja Tunde Olusunle Iwas struck by the peculiarity of his name tag on our premiere meeting. The first time I saw such a striking configuration was when I encountered the configuration ‘PUN OMERUO’ on the chest of a former military administrator of Kogi State, who I would later serve as Chief Press Secretary (CPS). As a student of literature, I was amazed that the figure of speech, “pun,” could also be someone’s name. It turned out it was an acronym for Omeruo’s first names, Paul Uzoanya Ndimele. And here again, I was engaging another curious combination, ‘JOS OSHANUPIN.’ My first reaction in my mind was: Why would this man announce that he was born in Jos, the once-upon-a-time home of tourism in north central Nigeria, on his name tag? The hitherto temperate, calm and sedate abode of curiously stacked rocks and ranges, has, very sadly, been blighted by years of internecine confrontations between Fulani voyagers and indigenous pastoralists. His turnout could not but strike you. His uniforms, typically starched khaki, well tucked into his trim, smart frame, was a delight to behold. Not for him the protruding abdomen of some of his colleagues who, to borrow from the peculiar lexicon of the grandmaster of grammatical bombast, Patrick Obahiagbon, had surrendered to wholesale “pepper-souping and Hisisiewu-lizing.”trouserswere neatly buried into his ever-gleaming black boots, his official regalia complemented by a beret adorned with a feathery tuft. This is not forgetting his famous swagger stick which he swung with supreme style and confidence. He acknowledged the compliments paid him by his officers and men, with a curt salute, as he routinely toured sections of what is described in the military as area of responsibility (AOR). Julius Olakunle Sunday Oshanupin, (now you know where the “JOS” is coming from), was Commander, Guards Brigade, with specific responsibility for the protection of the President. Olusegun Obasanjo, himself a former army General was the President, Commander-in-Chief, (C-in-C). The grip of Oshanupin’s handshake is firm as he receives your hand, smiles and exchanges greetings with you in our indigenous Okun tongues. He is naturally delighted that someone like you a thoroughbred professional in your own right, who is serving in the same administration, also hails from his own corner of Nigeria. He knows that people from our parts, have to work extra-hard to earn recognition in a system characterised by twisted merit and a skewed reward system. Oshanupin’s area of jurisdiction spanned the entire Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and abutting areas. A member of the elite armoured corps of the Nigerian Army, he was appointed to this to position when he was a BrigadierGeneral. The rank is usually abbreviated by the military as “Brig Gen.” A quiet operator, he was more regularly seen if there was an event which necessitated the movement of the President to events and locations outside the geographical area of the State House. From the International Conference Centre (ICC); to the Transcorp Hilton and the Sheraton Hotels, regular venues for state events therefore, Oshanupin was a regular fixture. He was also prominent on the escort entourage of the C-in-C en route his trips, locally or internationally. Working with an energetic, hyperactive President like Obasanjo, who devoted as much time to his primary assignment, and equal attention to international relations, by the way, was no cup of cake. A team player, he discharged his duties very distinctively and unobtrusively, earning deserved plaudits.
GLITZ TRIBUTE 60 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 2022
Major General Oshanupin, (left), with royalties at the 70th birthday reception hosted in his honour…
CICERO THE ARENA
“The soldiers can now be charged before court martial. Ordinarily, there are in-house processes and procedures that are to be consummated. So, those that are handy for the purpose of prosecution cannot be held in custody for unduly longer period of time on the account of the absence of the“Somilitary.thatishow the idea of severing the charge to allow those that are handy to stand their trial arose.“That does not mean that by any means that the military are shielded and cannot be prosecuted. But if they have to be prosecuted, they have to be prosecuted within the context of the law. What is the law here? They are military personnel, first they are to go through the in-house processes.“Thereare two options, either to charge them before the court-martial which is a special court established by law for the trial of soldiers or in the alternative for the military after consummation of the in-house processes should consider handing them over for trial.”
Musa. Jubril, a civilian was also killed in the onesided shootout. The soldiers then freed the cuffed Wadume, according to a statement by CP Frank Mba, the then police spokesperson who also provided public updates on the matter. But the then Army spokesperson, Col. Sagir Musa said that soldiers from 93 Battalion received a distress call that kidnappers had come to operate in their community, leading to the hot pursuit that culminated in the unfortunate killings.Musa,who accused the police operatives of refusing to stop at the military checkpoint, described them as “suspected kidnappers who turned out to be an Intelligence Response Team…on a covert assignment from Abuja.” In a relentless effort to bring Wadume to justice for the heinous crimes, the police rearrested him in Kano on August 20, 2019. They subsequently released the video of his confessional statement that corroborated their allegation that the soldiers who killed their men were working in concert with kidnappers. Charges were filed against Wadume and his accomplices at the Federal High Court in Abuja. As the common saying goes, the court cannot grant prayers that were not sought. So Justice Nyako merely delivered the judgment based on the charges and the evidence before her. This brings to the fore the recurring question of whether the prosecution deliberately bungled the case to achieve a predetermined end. Strong suspicion of official complicity in the efforts to free the suspects had emerged when the indicted soldiers who were charged along with Wadume were never brought by the military authorities to court to face trial. This suspicion was further fuelled when the military officers shockingly had their names removed from the charge sheet by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Malami in June 2020. This was after series of adjournment as a result Ariwoola
61THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 2022
The seven-year light sentence handed down by Justice Binta Nyako to kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala (Wadume), has destroyed closure for affected families, fuelled speculations that the prosecution deliberately bungled the case to achieve a predetermined outcome and also questioned the sincerity of the Nigerian state in the war against violent crimes, Ejiofor Alike and Louis Achi write
“Those saying it will be difficult for the APC to win the forthcoming election, they don’t know what they are saying at all,” he said. That was what they said in 2019 that it would be difficult for the APC to win, because of the country’s situation, but it has come to pass that theywerewrong.Thefundamentalthingisthattheissue affecting this country has global dimensions.The whole world is facing a crisis and inflation,” he reportedly said. It is very sad to hear such arrogance and insensitive comments from a state Chief Security Officer (CSO), who has watched helplessly as his people are dying and suffering daily from banditry. By refusing to show remorse and apologise for the deathsandhardshipshispartyhasinflictedonNigerians, Masari has revealed the primitive mentality of those governing the country. He knew that there was global crisis when his party accused the then ruling PDP of non-performance, lied to Nigerians and took over power only for the party to plunge the country into the worst economic, political and security crises. Katsina was very peaceful and a home-for-all before Masari took over.With bandits collecting taxes, kidnapping people for ransom, killing others, and establishing parallel governments in Masari’s North-west states, the governor and other CSOs in the region have failed. With terrorists virtually overrunning the country and the economy collapsing under APC’s watch, many believe that the ruling party has nothing to show for the mandate given to it by Nigerians.
Justice System and Wadume’s Pat in the Back
POLITICAL NOTES
drtcceaboAm of their refusal to appear in court. Malami’s action was widely condemned by many Nigerians, including human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN). But Malami defended his decision to withdraw the charges against the soldiers indicted for the killing of police officers, insisting that it was not true that his office was shielding the indicted soldiers.Briefing State House correspondents after his presentation to the virtual meeting of Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on July 1, 2020, Malami had stated that he withdrew the charges against the soldiers to allow the army to courtmartial them and conclude its internal process. “It is important for you to note that within the context of the Nigerian law, there are certain provisions that are exclusive to the military within the context of law on court martial and then, the internal discipline associated with the military.
Editor: Ejiofor Alike SMS: 08066066268 email:ejiofor.alike@thisdaylive.com IN
But many were not convinced by the minister’s explanation given the fact that the military authorities never demonstrated any willingness to sanction the soldiers or release them to the police for prosecution. Masari
After a three-year trial characterised by several twists and turns, Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court in Abuja, on July 22, 2022 convicted and sentenced Taraba-based kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala (Wadume) to seven years imprisonment. The court specifically convicted the kidnapper for unlawfully escaping from lawful custody and unlawfully dealing in prohibited firearms.Itwascurious that the judgment was handed down on July 22, 2022 but details of the court papers only emerged on Sunday, August 14. Justice Nyako convicted Wadume on counts two and 10 of the 13-count charge brought against him and six others by the office of the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN). The judge had on the same date delivered judgment on other defendants in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/30/2020. Other defendants are: Aliyu Dadje (a police inspector); Auwalu Bala (aka omo razor); Uba Bala (aka Uba Delu); Bashir Waziri (aka baba runs); Zubairu Abdullahi (aka Basho) and Rayyanu Abdul. Ten military officers earlier charged with the convicts, whose names were curiously deleted from the charge sheet for “departmental reasons” are: Captain Tijjani Balarabe; Staff Sgt. David Isaiah; Sgt. Ibrahim Mohammed; Corporal Bartholomew Obanye; Private Mohammed Nura; Lance Corporal Okorozie Gideon; Corporal Marcus Michael; Lance Corporal Nvenaweimoeimi Akpagra; Staff Sgt, Abdulahi Adamu and Private EbeleWadume’sEmmanuel.journey to the prison started on August 6, 2019 when a special police operations team dispatched from Abuja, successfully captured him in Taraba State. He was handcuffed and was being transported to Jalingo, the Taraba State capital when the police team from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) came under intense fire from soldiers who gave them a hot chase. Four persons were subsequently killed on the spot with several others sustaining serious injury. The dead included Inspector Mark Ediale, Sergeant Usman Danzumi and Sergeant Dahiru
For Masari, It’s All About Power
For Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, nothing matters to him more than to see his party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), grab power in 2023. While speaking last week during the inauguration of an ultra-modern hostel/campus named after him by the management of a private university, Al-Hikma University,inIgbaja,KwaraState,heexhudedconfidence and boasted that the APC would win the 2023 general election, despite the current unpleasant socio-political challenges and the worsening security situation in the country.Thegovernor said the APC would not find it difficult to win the 2023 election, arguing that Nigeria’s current challenges were not in isolation, but had global dimensions.
Wike had recently met behind closed doors with some PDP governors and other stakeholders, who coordinated his campaign. The meeting which held at the Rivers State Governors’ Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, was said to have resolved to insist on the resignation of Ayu as the only condition for the camp to work for Atiku’s victory at the 2023 presidential poll. Those at the meeting includedGovernors Wike, Seyi Makinde (Oyo), OkezieIkpeazu (Abia), Samuel Ortom (Benue) andIfeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu). Others were former governors DonaldDuke (Cross River), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), Seriake Dickson(Bayelsa), and Ibrahim Idris (Kogi) and JonahJangPhilip(Plateau).Aduda, Senate minority leader, was also at the meeting with some members of the PDP National Assembly caucus. At the peak of the crisis early last month, Wike’s two associates - Benue State Governor, Ortom, and a former Ekiti State governor, Fayose, had publicly expressed their reluctance to work for Atiku’s victory. It was reported that when Atiku paid a visit to Wike shortly after he won the primary, the Rivers State governor reminded him of the need to ask Ayu to step down. Wike’s loyalists claimed that they later heard that Atiku told Ayu that the Rivers State governor was demanding that he should be removed. On his part, the National Chairman of the main opposition party was said to have argued that rather than being forced to resign, the party should swap all positions between the North and South. However, none of the two camps have publicly confirmed or denied these claims. But the call for Ayu’s resignation has continued to be on the front burner. Is the former Senate President going to take the honourable path and resign to allow the party go into the general election without a divided house or allow his personal ambition to continue to derail the main opposition party? The events of the next few weeks will provide an answer to this question.
Will Ayu Bow to Pressure?
BRIEFING NOTES
southern members a cause for concern, given the role they played to stabilise the party during the Ali Modu Sheriff-led leadership, which wanted to destroy the party. The southern stakeholders are particularly angry with the role played by Atiku and some other northern members who abandoned the PDP before the 2015 general election only to come back and hijack the top positions. These southern members of the party, largely dominated by Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike’s camp are insisting that Ayu should relinquish his position to maintain a North-South balance. Ayu’s conduct at the party’s presidential primary where he could not hide his loyalty to Atiku when the Governor of Sokoto State, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal stepped down from the race for the former vice president, also
The Nigerian military recently shocked many when it disclosed that its prestigious Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), had just modified its curriculum to reflect training of cadets on how to tackle bandits, Boko Haram and other violent gangs terrorising the country.TheDirector of Military Training of the academy, Brigadier General Emmanuel Emekah, said this in Jos at the “Exercise Camp Highland’’ conducted by the 69th Regular Cadets Course. Emekah said the modification had brought about a paradigm shift focusing on asymmetric warfare as opposed to conventional warfare. He explained that cadets of Course 69 were the first to benefit from the modification of the curriculum, adding that the academy was using them to test-run the new“Contemporarydevelopment.security challenges has necessitated that the curriculum for the cadet training be modified. What they are doing now are things some of us did as commissioned officers, but these cadets have the opportunity to do it now,’’ he reportedly said.
A major step taken by the founders of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) to enthrone equity, justice and all-inclusiveness was the introduction of the concept of zoning and rotation of offices both within the party in the government. This arrangement ensures that when a northerner emerges as the presidential candidate of the party, the party’s national chairmanship position will be zoned to the South. The emergence of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as the National Chairman of the party in its October 30, 2021 National Convention had given the initial impression that the main opposition party was going to zone the presidency to the South. But rather than zone the position to any part of the country, the party threw the position open to all the six geopolitical zones. This led to the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the party to the dissatisfaction of many southern leaders of the party, including Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, as well as former Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, among other party leaders from South. Even Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State had also voiced out his preference for a southern presidential candidate. Unlike the PDP, the ruling AllProgressives Congress (APC) has no zoning in its constitution. The issue of zoning is believed to be a gentleman’s agreement among the stakeholders that formed the party. But despite not entrenching it in its constitution, the party was determined to implement it instead of embarking on a similar hide-and-seek game played by the PDP on the issue. Shortly before its March 2022 National Convention, the ruling party had agreed on a zoning formula that swapped offices held between North and South. By the arrangement, all offices that were occupied by northerners in the last eight years were zoned to the South and vice versa. It was not surprising that when Senator Abdullahi Adamu emerged as the National Chairman of the party, the northern governors elected on the platform of the party insisted that the presidential candidate should be zoned to the South, hence the emergence of Senator Bola Tinubu. But in the case of the PDP, the leaders of the party played a hide-and-seek game after the election of Ayu until the position of presidential candidate was thrown open, resulting in the emergence of Atiku. When the former vice president won the primary, many party leaders had called on Ayu to resign but his supporters insisted that he would only resign if Atiku wins the 2023 presidency. Ayu was also quoted as saying on ARISE NEWS Channel that he would resign in the event of an emergence of northern presidential candidate if the party says he should. His volte-face did not gone down well with most southern leaders of the party who felt shortchanged by their northern colleagues.WithAtiku’s victory at the presidential primary, the northern members of the party now control all the top four positions – presidential candidate, Atiku; National Chairman, Ayu; Chairman of the party’sBoard of Trustees (BoT), Mr. Walid Jubrin and Deputy National Chairman (North), Umar Damagun. The concentration of the top positions of the PDP in the hands of northerners is said to be giving the helped to fuel the grievances against him. Ayu could not hide his excitement when he publicly described Tambuwal as the hero of the party’s primary, a comment which made the southern aspirants, particularly Wike and his supporters to allege that the former Senate President was partial in the conduct of the primary.Thesouthern members, who have renewed their call for him to resign as condition for peace to reign in the party, have argued that his position that he would resign after Atiku’s victory amounted to taking the southerners for a ride. Following the dispute between Wike and the former Vice President, the members of the party sympathetic to the cause of the Rivers State governor have renewed the call for Ayu to resign.
62 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21 , 2022
Ayu NOTES FOR FILE
Nigerian Military’s Archaic Curriculum
Since the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, pressure has continued to mount on the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, to step down for a southerner to maintain the North-South balance. Ejiofor Alike reports that the pressure on the former Senate President to resign as a condition for genuine reconciliation has intensified
Is anybody still surprised why the Nigerian military is not winning the war against insurgency that has been ravagaing the country?They have been operating archaic syllabus in their military institutions, and as such have little or no knowledge on how to tackle it. This is a big embarrassment to the country whose military is rated as one of the best in Africa. Many Nigerians have been hearing about terrorism since the 1980s. While the military in advanced countries have since developed their syllabus and strategies to cope with modern realities, many wonder whytheNigerianarmedforceshavenotthoughtitwise to train its officers and men on war against terrorism.
It is a huge embarrassment that since Boko Haram started in 2009, that is over 12 years ago, the military did not see it as a new threat to the country’s peace and effect necessary update on its curriculum. By now emphasis ought to have been made on convoy protection, anti-ambush drills, landmines, IED recognition and all tenets of counter terrorism and counter insurgency as well as special forces training to boost the capabilities of the military to mitigate the growing wave of insecurity across the nation.General Irabor
CICERO/ ISSUES 63THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21 , 2022
The Ebonyi South Senatorial Zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC) played the script of Governor Dave Umahi when it expelled Mrs. Ann Agom-Eze from the party over alleged rebellious and unruly behaviour.
The Chairman of the party in the state, Stanley Okoro-Emegha made this known in a statement issued in Abakaliki. Mrs. Agom-Eze was Umahi’s main challenger for the Ebonyi South senatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 polls. On July 22, a Federal High Court in Abakaliki ordered a rerun of the senatorial primary election after one of the contenders, the governor’s younger brother, Austin Umahi, withdrew from the race. After the court judgment, APC conducted a fresh primary election on July 31 where the Ebonyi State governor emerged as the winner. Okoro-Emegha stated that Agom-Eze rebelliously jeopardised her membership by violating APC’s Constitution which prohibits any act of dishonesty capable of disparaging the party or its member(s). He added that Agom-Eze was initially expelled by the ward executives of APC in her Umudomi Ward in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi. He stated also that the APC would convincingly deliver all its candidates including Governor Umahi at the 2023 general election. “The chairman of APC, Ebonyi South Zone, Mr. Ernest Nwazi through a motion, expelled Agom-Eze from the party citing rebellious and unruly behaviour. The chairman stated also that she fundamentally violated some sections of the party’s Constitution,’’ he stated. However, her ward has since described the suspension as false. Deputy Chairman of Umudomi Ward was said to be the person that purportedly signed her suspension letter without recourse to the Chairman of the Ward, Ogboji John Ogbonnaya. In a statement signed by the Chairman of APC, Umudomi Ward, in Onicha Local Government Area, Ebonyi State, Ogboji John Ogbonnaya, the leadership of the Ward explained that “Since the matter is in the Appeal Court and we have received an Appeal Court injunction to that effect. Hence, restraining us from suspending anybody until the CourtOgbojidetermined.”said:“Theattention of the APC, Umudomi Ward, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has been drawn to a purported suspension/ expulsion of Princess Ann Nwanyibuife Agom-Eze from the party at the Ward level. I want to use this medium to categorically state that the rumours of her suspension/expulsion are all false as such has never happened in Umudomi Ward. I hereby urge the general public to disregard such rumour as Umudomi Ward of the APC are peace loving people.”Trouble started for Mrs. Agom-Eze when the APC recently announced that Governor Umahi had won the rerun of the primary for Ebonyi South senatorial district, after defeating his younger brother, Austin and three other contestants. The leader of APC’s national committee for the primary, Emmanuel Adebayo, declared the governor winner at the end of the exercise held at the Afikpo North Local Government Council headquarters. He announced that the governor won the contest with 250 votes while his younger brother, Austin polled 10 votes. At the May 28, 2022 primary conducted in the state and monitored by the electoral commission, the governor’s younger brother, Austin Umahi, was declared the winner. When the first primary was held, the governor was still seeking to be the APC’s presidential candidate. After losing the APC presidential ticket, the state chapter of the APC cancelled the earlier primary and rescheduled another one held at the Afikpo North Local Government Council, where the governor reportedly won unopposed. This prompted Agom-Eze to fault Austin’s withdrawal from the race, arguing that if he decided to withdraw from the race, the APC ticket for Ebonyi South Senatorial District should have been given to her who came second in the primary. But the APC then quickly conducted another primary without including the name of the runner-up in the first primary after Austin withdrew from the race and gave the ticket to Governor Umahi. Amid the controversy Governor Umahi filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abakaliki against the electoral body, seeking to be declared the candidate of the party for the senatorial zone. Agom-Eze filed a joint application to join the suit. Governor Umahi’s counsel, Roy Umahi, asked the court to compel the commission to recognise the governor as the authentic candidate for Ebonyi South Senatorial District. He argued that the governor should be recognised as the senatorial candidate by INEC after the initial winner had withdrawn and another primary conducted. In his reaction, the counsel to Agom-Eze, Nwonu Nnaemeka, said upon the withdrawal of Austin from the primary election, her client should have claimed all her rights as regards the exercise, being the second runner-up. In his judgment, Justice Fatun Riman struck out the suit. He held that the APC erred in conducting another primary without, including the name of the runner-up in the first primary after the winner of the first primary withdrew from the race. Even though Justice Riman ruled that INEC was right in rejecting the governor’s name as candidate of the party, he, however, held that APC cannot conduct a valid second primary without including the name of primary as the matter is subjudice and the rule is that all the parties must stay actions on the matter. We also wrote letters to INEC and our great party urging them to observe the rules pending the determination of the appeal. “I’m looking forward to the judgment of the Court of Appeal as a law-abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I am confident that the court will do justice,” she said. While Umahi did not see anything wrong with his victory since it was a competent court that ordered the APC to conduct another primary election within 14 days, the judgment delivered by Justice Riman has however come under scrutiny with some analysts questioning why the judge failed to recognise and declare Agom-Eze as the candidate of APC since her second-highest number of valid votes cast in the first primary was still subsisting following the withdrawal of Austin Umahi from the race. They further faulted the judge for wrongly applying Section 33 of the Electoral Act 2022 by ordering a fresh primary election for Ebonyi South Senatorial District within 14 days knowing full well that when the winner in a primary election dies, withdraws or resigns, it is the person with the second highest votes that takes over. Many analysts did not disagree with the judge for ordering that fresh contestants/aspirants be allowed to participate or take part in the fresh primary. They also argued that the lower court was wrong to order the APC to admit Governor Umahi and other fresh contestants/aspirants who did not participate in the first primaries held on May 28, 2022, especially when the time allowed for the nomination of candidates under the Electoral Act, 2022 had elapsed. Many observers in the state are surprised at APC’s action, describing it as the height of highhandedness. They wonder why the leadership of the party would descend so low to please Governor Umahi. They also accused the party’s leadership of being insensitive to Mrs. Agom-Eze and for not being sympathetic to her over her condition.
The expulsion of Mrs. Ann Agom-Eze from the All Progressives Congress by the Ebonyi State leadership toofthepartyshowsthelevelofintoleranceofopposingviewsbyGovernorDavidUmahiandhisdesperationemergeasEbonyiSouthsenatorialcandidateinthe2023election, Vanessa Obioha writes An Expulsion Taken Too Far in Ebonyi APC
Agom-Eze who came second in the first primary. He further urged the party to conduct another primary election within 14 days. Dissatisfied with the judgment, Agom-Eze proceeded to the Court of Appeal where her appeal was pending. She also filed an application praying the court to stay the execution of part of the judgment of the lower court relating to the conduct of a fresh senatorial primary election pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.According to court processes filed by her lawyers, Agom-Eze raised four grounds of appeal against the lower court’s ruling even as she asked the court for 12 reliefs. The senatorial aspirant in her submission disagreed with the lower court wherein it ordered that fresh contestants/aspirants are allowed to participate or take part in the fresh primary election ordered by the court to take place within 14 days. When a fresh primary was held recently, Agom-Eze, in a statement, said she stayed away because there was an appeal and stay of execution on the matter. This was as she said she could not be part of a premeditated exercise, which she noted, would be marred with irregularities. “Waking up this morning, I was going through my messages and I stumbled on where someone was talking about primaries at Afikpo. I am not going to be part of it because the authentic Ebonyi South Senatorial primaries happened on May 28, 2022, and it is still subsisting. “This is because the judgment delivered at the Federal High Court Abakaliki on July 22, 2022, was not totally in our favour and we had to appeal the part of the judgment that allowed for fresh primaries to accommodate strangers to the process since July 26, 2022. We also filed a motion for stay of execution and injunction pending appeal. “All the relevant bodies were served: INEC, our party, APC and the first plaintiff since July 27 and 28, 2022. Until the determination of the appeal, I believe there should be no other
Agom-EzeUmahi
Keeping Guard over Nasarawa
According to CP Soyemi, following the increase in cases of kidnapping in recent times across the state, the security council has decided that securitymen should endeavour to increase their patrols and raids so that all those bad people would be brought to book. The state police commissioner noted that the council also urged all good people of Nasarawa State to work together so that suspected bandits would not be allowed to take up residence in the state to cause problem. CP Soyemi added: “The council resolved that any information gathered should be immediately transmitted to necessary security agencies. The council equally acknowledged the work of traditional rulers and thanked them for the good thing they have been doing.”
It has become imperative for us to take a holistic approach to curb or checkmate the security threat in our area, even though we are enjoying relative peace in Karu LGA. But we must work tirelessly and take all security measures to ensure we live in peace, considering our proximity to Abuja and criminals are using that as an option to take advantage
Sule addressing security meeting
64 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21 , 2022 CICERO/ REPORT
The recent attack on Kuje Maximum Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), where over 800 inmates escaped, and the attack on the Nigerian Army Guards Brigade patrol team on routine surveillance within the FCT by suspected Boko Haram sect, have definitely put Nasarawa State on high security alert. The arrest of some of the Kuje jailbreak escapees in the state also compounded the situation. Disturbed by the deteriorating security situation in the state in the recent times, the government of Nasarawa State had ordered the immediate closure of both public and private schools indefinitely, as a proactive step to safeguard the lives of students across the state. The decision to order the closure of schools was part of the resolution arrived at during an expanded state executive council meeting which took place in the Government House,BriefingLafia.journalists shortly after the council meeting, the state Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Fatu Jimaita Sabo, said having considered and reviewed the current situation in the country, especially regarding the security threats in the FCT, the state government decided to close both public and private schools in the state with immediate effect. Hajiya Sabo said the schools closure has become necessary considering the proximity of the state to the FCT, as well as the resolve of the government to ensure that schools in Nasarawa State operate within a safe environment.She,however, explained that the directives excluded the exit classes that were already writing their final examinations, especially in secondary schools. Sabo, therefore, appealed to parents not to panic as the decision was taken as a proactive step to safeguard the lives of both pupils and students across the state. Governor Sule had, barely two days after ordering the closure of schools in the state, convened an emergency security council meeting with a view to reviewing the security situation in the state and taking appropriate actions to safeguard citizens of the state. It was against this scenario that in his opening remarks at the emergency state security meeting, the governor said that the essence of the meeting was to take proactive measures considering the security situation in the country. Sule further raised the alarm during the emergency meeting that there were movements of suspected bandits who were fleeing from Niger, Zamfara, Kebbi and Kaduna states in the state. The governor specifically pointed to large movements of these fleeing bandits as been identified in Rugan Juli and Rugan Madaki, both in Karu Local Government Area, as well as in Wamba and Toto Local Government Areas. He confirmed that security reports indicated that following the influx of these suspected bandits, there has been noticeable increase in cases of kidnapping within the last two months in thePerhapsstate. based on this development, and coupled with the ongoing efforts of his administration to contain the invasion of those terrorists into Nasarawa State that it became necessary for the governor to convene an emergency security meeting of the state, with a view to renewing strategies to confront the challenges.Sule,therefore, used the opportunity of the emergency security meeting to shed more light on why the state government decided to order for the closure of schools. He added that the decision followed the outcome of an earlier meeting with some security chiefs, following
Shortly after the meeting, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adesina Soyemi and the Etsu Karu, HRH Luka Panya Baba, took time to brief journalists on the outcome of the emergency security meeting.
the movements of suspected bandits across theHestate.said: “The decision to shut down schools, except those writing their final NECO examination, was to forestall any eventualities. However, arrangements have been put in place to beef up security where students are still writing examinations.”
On the heels of the insecurity across Nigeria, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State is keeping guard in order to contain any threat that may befall the state, reports Igbawase Ukumba
On his part, the Etsu Karu, HRH Luka Panya Baba, said the security council has reviewed the crucial role played by traditional leaders in the state towards ensuring that security was adequately sustained. “We have discussed and traditional leaders have pledged to use all the available arsenals in our various localities; using our local vigilante groups and traditional hunters to see how we can gather useful information for onward transmission to the various security agencies so that appropriate action will be taken,” the Etsu Karu maintained. In order to boost the efforts of the state security council at tackling the invasion of the state by terrorists in recent times, the authorities of Lafia Municipal Area Council have restricted activities of commercial motorcycles in the locality to between 8pm - 6am.Chairman of the municipal council, Amínu Muazu Maifata, disclosed at an emergency security meeting of the municipal council in Lafia.“The meeting also agreed that all activities of tricycles in the metropolis are to begin at 6am and terminate at 10pm, until the security challenges in the state improve. The restrictions are also aimed at checkmating any unforseen security menace in the metropolis,” heInexplained.thesame vein, the authorities of Karu Local Government Area of the state have equally imposed a curfew in the council area to checkmate the security threat on Nasarawa State. Council chairman, Mr. James Thomas, gave orders for imposition of the curfew as contained in a statement signed by Mr. Danbaba Magaji, Senior Special Assistant(SSA) to the chairman on Media and Publicity and made available to journalists in Karu. According to Magaji, the curfew is expected to take effect on Thursday, August 11, 2022 from 10pm to 6am till further notice. “It has become imperative for us to take a holistic approach to curb or checkmate the security threat in our area, even though we are enjoying relative peace in Karu LGA. But we must work tirelessly and take all security measures to ensure we live in peace, considering our proximity to Abuja and criminals are using that as an option to take advantage.” Magaji revealed that the curfew would restrict all movement of vehicles, closure of all cinemas, bars and joints, and all other activities in Karu LGA.
On September 10, the six-week ultimatum, which the PDP senators gave to President Muhammadu Buhari to address the country’s worsening security situation, will come to an end. After the deadline, Nigerians are wacting to see if senators will go ahead with its plan to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president if he fails to restore publicAboutorder.three weeks to the deadline, the senators’ plan has tensely stoked debate about the capacity of the president and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to fulfill their obligations, which Section 14(2) of the 1999 Constitution unambiguously spells out. As the clause stipulates, the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.Determining whether this constitutional provision has been fulfilled under Buhari was the sole mission of the opposition senators when the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Philip Aduda sought to move a motion on the expanding influence of bandits, terrorists and other criminals on July 27. But the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmed Lawan denied them the platform to discharge their constitutional responsibilities.WithLawan’s decision to step down their motion without justifiable grounds, the opposition senators staged a walkout from the Red Chamber. They cited Buhari’s breach of the constitutional clause that spelt out the primary purpose of the government. They also resolved to return in six weeks to present their reassessment report about the existential threat to human lives and peaceful co-existence nationwide. But is the proposal for Buhari’s removal political, especially now that the 2023 elections are just about seven months away? Or is Buhari really in breach of Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandated his government as a matter of priority to ensure the security and welfare of the people? If there is nothing political about the impeachment threat as the minority senators have argued, why should they wait till the twilight of the Buhari administration before proposing such a motion? These are the core questions that still dominate public discourse since the revolt of the opposition senators on July 27. First, for the APC senators, this proposal is nothing but a political hoax to gain public attention ahead of the 2023 elections. Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, put this claim in legal perspective while responding to media inquiries last week. The Senate, as he succinctly put it, is not aware of any impeachment motion initiated by the opposition senators. For him, impeaching a president or a governor is a function of implicit compliance with procedures already laid down in the constitution. In the first case, section 143 of the 1999 Constitution clearly spells out the requirements, which according to Bashiru, demands that a motion should be moved before the process can take full course. Like most APC senators, Bashiru claimed that the opposition senators had not fulfilled this extant requirement of theHoweverlaw., Bashiru’s argument is utterly at variance with the claims of the pro-impeachment senators. Their quest to call Buhari’s capacity to questions in the light of Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution did not start at the July 27 plenary. Rather, it actually started at the close-door session, which preceded the plenary. At the plenary, as they alleged, nearly all senators across all the political divides agreed that the president “is in breach of the constitutional provision. But Lawan deliberately shut down the motion to protect the president from undue exposure to a more incendiary public scrutiny at a time of national instability.”Second, in the ranks of civil society actors, human rights activists and opposition leaders, the proposal is not only justifiable, but equally justiciable if subjected to constitutional interpretation. It perhaps explains the resolve of Senator Elisha Abbo (APC Adamawa North) and Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa (APC Bauchi North) to openly identify with the pro-impeachment counterparts to pursue Buhari’s impeachment, even when they all belong to the same political party. Likewise, a retinue of senior lawyers shared the sentiment of the proimpeachment senators. Among them are Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN). Separately, these lawyers have argued that the senators ought to have initiated impeachment proceedings against the president long before July 27. For these senior lawyers, there is nothing political about the proposal if subjected to the intractable insecurity that has now engulfed virtually all states of the federation. However, they deplored the opposition senators for coming up too late with the plan to impeach the president from Consequently,office.these senior lawyers throw down the gauntlet to the people “to rise up and intensify the campaign to get rid of an incompetent leader because this has failed to fulfill his constitutional obligations to the people of the federation under section 14(2) of the 1999 Constitution.”Theseclaims attest to the enormity of escalating security crises in Nigeria, which the Council on Foreign Relations cent in 2019 and 33.3 per cent at the end of 2021. By implication, as the Chief Executive, Economic Associates, Dr. Ayo Teriba observed, this trend has destroyed the purchasing powers of many citizens and earned Nigeria the world’s poverty capital. Just the way he could not effectively guarantee public safety and security for seven years, Buhari has equally not been able to ensure people’s prosperity and welfare within the timeframe. Citing diverse indicators under Buhari, as social crusaders argued, economic headwinds have killed more citizens physically and psychologically than armed violence. Amid all these indisputable facts, can the opposition senators actualise their plan to impeach the president?Already, discordant voices have begun to undermine the mission of the opposition senators plotting Buhari’s impeachment. While the PDP senators are hell-bent on Buhari’s removal, the House of Representatives did not see it as its priority. As the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Benjamin Kalu put it, the minority in the lower chamber resolved that the time was not sufficient to complete the process of impeaching the president. Even though they are aware of the concurrent approval of the lower chamber to successfully remove Buhari from office, the pro-impeachment senators are insistent on going ahead with the plan if the state of security nationwide does not improve on or before September 10. Can they garner a two-third majority in the upper chamber to make good their threat? To remove the president, a two-thirds majority, which translates to at least 73 senators, is required in the Senate alone. As its membership records currently show, APC controls 61 senators, though two of them have openly embraced Buhari’s impeachment plan. Currently, in its rank, PDP only controls 38 senators; obviously a half of the number the constitution requires to impeach a sitting president. This is a far cry from the number of senators required to impeach the president.
Lawan Aduda
Senators elected on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are hell-bent on invoking Section 143 of the 1999 Constitution against President Muhammadu Buhari should he fail to decisively address the worsening insecurity within six weeks, Gboyega Akinsanmi writes claimed, has cost about 63,860 under Buhari’s administration alone. In the Nigeria Security Tracker the Council initiated at the height of Boko Haram insurgencies in 2011, armed attacks cost at least 12,795 in 2015; 5,763 in 2016; 4,618 in 2017; 6,565 in 2018; 8,340 in 2019; 9,694 in 2020; 10,391 in 2021 and 5,694 up to July 2022. These figures further reinforce the position of the opposition senators that Buhari lacks the capacity to hold forth as the President ofAsNigeria.weighty as evidence is, however, insecurity is not the only ground to gauge whether the president can still remain in office or not. In the last seven years, Buhari has failed the test to guarantee public safety and security as the constitution requires. Also, he failed the test to ensure the economic prosperity and welfare of all Nigerians irrespective of their socio-political strata as section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution specifies. Under the Buhari government, Nigeria has been struggling economically, a situation that plunged millions of citizens into the cycle of extreme poverty and unemployment. In 2014, the year before Buhari assumed office, the national economy valued about $546.68 billion. By the end of 2021, the economy had crashed to $440.78 billion, amounting to a cumulative decline of about 19.37 per cent. Also, between 2014 and 2017, as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed, the economy massively shrank by 31.27 per cent to $375.75 billion. Equally critical is the astronomic rise in the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the rate of inflation and the purchasing of the people. In 2015, as the records of the NBS showed, CPI was just about 9.01 per cent, though it rose to 19.64 per cent at the end of July 2022 after seven years of undulating movements.Similarly,the unemployment rate has maintained an upward trajectory from 9.7 per cent in 2014 to 23.1 per cent in 2017; 27.1 per
65 GAVEL THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21 , 2022 Editor: Ejiofor Alike SMS: 08066066268 email:ejiofor.alike@thisdaylive.com
Senators’ Insistence on Buhari’s Removal
The Imperative of Power Shift and Tinubu’s Presidency
Femi Fani-Kayode is a party for northerners only. This is where yours truly stands together with many others that share my Christian faith. Unlike some, our reaction to a MuslimMuslim ticket is not emotional or hysterical but rather practical, calm, calculating and level-headed.Itisclearto me and I can confirm this after a series of meetings with both the candidate and his vice that it is a position that he has taken as a consequence of political expediency and not out of any misguided or shameless attempt to spite, injure, insult or denigrate the 110 million Christians in our country. Tinubu’s intention is not to undermine Christians, shame the Church or destroy our faith and neither would he even dare to contemplate or attempt to venture such a reckless undertaking, knowing that it would fail woefully with calamitous consequences both for him and for Nigeria. Such a move would be counterproductive; and a dangerous and grave exercise in futility. And if that had been his intention, I would not stand with him but rather oppose him with every fibre of my being. Those that know me well and can attest to the value I place on my faith will confirm this. Nothing is more important to me than my religious beliefs and I would not in any way compromise those beliefs or my faith for anything. To the skeptics and doubters that believe that a Muslim-Muslim ticket is part of a wider plot and plan to Islamise our nation, I say under Tinubu’s watch, this can never happen and neither can it ever be conceived or attempted. I urge them to consider the following: Since the governorship election in Osun State a few weeks ago, every single one of the 17 governors in southern Nigeria is a Christian while there are three Christian governors in the North. This means that out of the 36 governors in Nigeria, 20 are Christians and 16 are Muslims. Can anyone still be talking about Islamisation under such circumstances? I say, fear not! Again consider the following: A ChristianChristian ticket won the governorship election in Osun a few weeks back and defeated a Muslim-Christian ticket, yet no one alleged that there was a plot to Christianise the state and neither did the heavens fall or the Muslims of Osun cry foul even though they constitute 50 per cent of the population of the state. Again I ask, can anyone still be talking about Islamisation under such circumstances? Again I say, fear not! Not only can Nigeria not be islamised but under a Tinubu APC Presidency, I have no doubt that major concessions will be made in terms of key positions for Christians, not just in the executive but also across the three arms of government in order to make up the balance and assuage the feelings of the many Christians that are concerned, aggrieved and even offended by the prospect and fielding of a Muslim-Muslim ticket. There are other key positions that can and will be given to Christians in the three arms of government which are even more powerful and relevant than that of a Vice President which, with all due respect to those that occupy that position today, is essentially nothing but a spare tyre. Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, will ensure that the necessary concessions are made to Christians and that everyone, regardless of their faith, has a fair and full portion in their administration. Of this, I have no doubt. Permit me to end this contribution with a few words about the opposition PDP. How can anyone take seriously a party that refuses to honour its own constitution by rotating power to the South and insists on putting us on the edge of a dangerous precipice by attempting to enthrone another northerner for yet another eight years? Can anyone trust a party that has in its ranks two or three governors from the South-south zone who are prepared to betray their own, sabotage the resolve and aspiration of virtually every southern Nigerian and throw fairness out of the window by joining hands with a bunch of irresponsible and self-serving northern governors and leaders in their party to deny the South the Presidency next year? Even the majority of their own party members and leaders from the South and Middle Belt, led by Nyesom Wike, have kicked against this shameful outrage and rightly so. If the PDP can break their own party rules by breaching the rules on zoning, cheat their own party members, scam their own party leaders and deny Wike and the South their presidential ticket, what won’t they do to Nigeria if they were to ever win power? Worst still, their presidential candidate, the Chairman of their Board of Trustees and their National Chairman, who despite frantic calls to do so, has refused to resign and has said he will stay in office for the next four years, are all from the North! And so are all the spokesmen for their Presidential Campaign Council. Is this not madness? Is it not wickedness? Is it not a formula for disaster and a statement of intent for the perpetual enslavement of the South? Is this not an insult on the sensibilities and slap in the faces of every southerner and northerner that believes in fairness and decency? Does this not present a very potent danger and threat to our hopes and aspirations for national unity and stability given all we have witnessed over the last seven years? Is this the way to bring us together as one nation and build bridges of peace, unity, love and confidence? I think not. All this and the PDP still insist on calling themselves a national party and a party that seeks to protect the national interest? This is a specious and pernicious lie. The truth is that they are a party with a hidden agenda that presents a grave danger to our nation. They are a party of strife and division and as Chief Bode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party and a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, eloquently pronounced on Channels Television the other day, they are a party that “have been taken over by the devil.” It appears to me that, if given power, they would be more interested in protecting a sectional interest for the next eight years rather than the national one. May God deliver us from their devils, their notorious shenanigans and their divisive agenda. The good news is that for the first time in our history, the majority of northerners and southerners across party lines have come together and insisted on a power shift. Whether they support Tinubu or the rising star Peter Obi, there is a clear national consensus on this issue and it is very promising. It brings us joy and gives us hope for a better, more peaceful and more united future. This is a golden opportunity for a genuine and sincere national rebirth and we must not overlook it or take it for granted. It is indeed a massive breakthrough. Unity and peace can only be rooted and established where there is fairness and equity. In my view, fairness and equity can be best served by the election of the APC’s Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election. Yet whoever you opt to vote for from the South is a matter of choice. The point is that, whoever your candidate may be, we must ensure that power comes to the South in order to stop this dangerous cycle of regional and ethnic tension, enhance and entrench national unity and give Nigeria a chance to survive and experience the peace that we seek. Sadly, the PDP and the NNPP, with their insistence on Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso as their presidential candidates respectively and their desire to prolong and perpetuate northern rule, offer a very dangerous narrative and volatile cocktail that may ultimately end up leading us down the road to Kigali.
PERSPECTIVE
66 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21 , 2022 Tinubu
T he greatest threat to Nigeria’s national unity will be a refusal to shift power to the South next year. Nothing could be more dangerous to our national cohesion than another eight years by the North after President Muhammadu Buhari. The Northern Governors of the APC themselves made this point and saw this danger and consequently insisted on a power shift to the South. To my utter surprise and consternation, they did not just say no to another Fulani but they went further by saying no to any northerner including those that were not Fulani. It was a matter of honour to them because this was the commitment that they had made in 2015 when President Buhari came to power. They agreed not to renege on their commitment irrespective of the circumstances. That gesture alone is the single greatest act of self-denial and sacrifice that any ethnic or regional group has made in our entire history and deserves our commendation. A northerner could have easily emerged as the APC presidential candidate at our convention if the Northern Governors had not thrown their collective weight behind a southerner by the name of Tinubu and opted for him. If they had chosen to support a northerner, the consequence would have resulted in choosing between two northern candidates from the two major political parties of APC and PDP in next year’s presidential election. That way, power would have ended up in the North again. The northerners of the APC could have had it in the bag and gone home smiling yet they put the interests of the party, the nation and the South first! They insisted that power must shift regardless, a trait of admirable maturity even though at the time some of us did not fully appreciate their point. Yet today, only a few would dispute the fact that they have been vindicated. Simply put, their decision was selfless, historic, honourable and heroic. Anyone that does not acknowledge or fully appreciate the implications of what they did does not know or understand politics and cannot comprehend the very real dangers that another eight years of a northern rule would have presented for the unity of our nation. A few months before the APC Northern Governors took their stand, the Southern Governors had met in Asaba across party lines and they all agreed that power must shift to the South in 2023. This was a bold and audacious move which formed part of the basis and an additional reason and incentive for the Northern APC Governors to make their concession and take their noble stand a few months later. Apart from the earlier stated reasons, they also did so out of deference and respect to the wishes of their southern counterparts in the party who, led by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, continued to insist that the agreement to shift power to the South must not be breached under any circumstances. Unlike two or three of the Southern Governors in the PDP who sadly broke ranks and dishonoured their word by supporting a northern candidate at their party convention, the APC Northern and Southern Governors never wavered. They stood to the last man, firm and delivered. That was how Bola Tinubu emerged as the flagbearer of our party and the entire nation should reciprocate and reward their gesture by ensuring that Tinubu goes on to win the presidential election next year. We must stand with him, pray for him, fight for him, mobilise for him and ensure that he wins convincingly and, once victorious, we must be prepared to defend his mandate with all we have got. There will be no repeat of June 12 under any circumstance and contrary to the disinformation being peddled around by our detractors, there is no such plan or conspiracy in the offing by those in power today. We must also be ready to make difficult and uncomfortable sacrifices and live with the hard choices that the candidate has made, knowing that he made them in good faith, in order to win. The real patriots and party loyalists are those who may have strong reservations about a Muslim-Muslim ticket but who are prepared to overlook that in the interest of a power shift to the South knowing that this will finally put to rest the notion that southerners are slaves and second-class citizens and the idea that the APC
ATIKU AND WIKE Rather than prepare to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is dissipating much of its energy on the “civil war” between Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate, and Chief Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers state, whom Atiku defeated in the primaries. Given the delicate state of things, I don’t think Atiku should have suggested that he did not pick Wike as his running mate because they would not work “amicably”. For all you care, Wike has nothing to lose. PDP is already battling with losing a chunk of its traditional votes to Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, both of whom defected from the party. Perilous.
WHO WILL LOVE THIS COUNTRY? BACKPAGE CONTINUATION 67AUGUST 21, 2022 • THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER
SHOCKING STUNT Unionism can be a force for good. It can also be a weapon of emotional blackmail. It can even lead to outright stupidity. The action of federal electricity workers, who switched off the grid on Wednesday and plunged the nation into darkness, is sickening. They said they were protesting the directive that they should write a promotion test. When electricity workers went on strike and switched off the national grid under military rule in the 1980s, their leaders were sentenced to death for economic sabotage. It was later commuted to life imprisonment. That was definitely harsh, but where do we draw the line between legitimate agitation and absolute rascality as we just witnessed? Childish.
FRYING EMIRATES Emirates Airlines, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has again suspended its flights to Nigeria effective September 1, 2022. This time, it said it is because of its inability to repatriate its income from Nigeria as a result of forex scarcity. The airline has about $85 million stuck here. Although this is a very bad signal for us, it also seems there is something going on between the Nigerian and UAE authorities it has been a game of cat and mouse in the last two years. I have lost count of flight and visa suspensions. Other airlines are also unable to repatriate their earnings but are still flying, so there is something we are not being told by Nigerian and UAE officials. Fishy.
ON NIGERIA’S DIRE REVENUE CHALLENGE (1) his second term. When Sunrise wrote to the ministry in August 2003 asking for payment for “pre-EPC” development, Senator Liyel Imoke, the new minister, wrote back to say there was no approval to engage Sunrise. He said a bidding process would soon open and advised Sunrise to tender. Someone could argue that the lack of FEC approval was a housekeeping matter and not Sunrise’s headache. After all, Agunloye was a minister and he wrote on behalf of Nigeria. However, in his letter, Agunloye said the contract “is subject” to five pre-conditions: one, negotiations on the duration, which he put at “30 or 40 years”; two, tariff should be agreed with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); three, the equity participation of the government should be between 0% and 10%; four, the initial capital outlay should be accurately determined by all parties; five, a special purpose vehicle should be incorporated if government participation was agreed at 0%. This is where it gets more interesting: there is no record that the discussions between federal government and Sunrise as stipulated in Aguloye’s letter ever took place. Therefore, at best, Agunloye’s “award” was inchoate — like a TV without power — since the pre-conditions to activate the contract were unmet. More so, there was not a single reference to Sunrise in all official discussions around Mambilla after Agunloye’s letter. In fact, on January 10, 2007, Alhaji Ahmed Abdulhamid, then minister of state for energy, sent a comprehensive memo to FEC on Mambilla. There was no mention of Sunrise, understandably since there was no FEC approval in the first Insistingplace.that it already had a contract in place, Sunrise headed to court in June 2007 following the award of the civil works and hydraulic steel structure contract to the CGGC-CGC Joint Venture by the federal government. It claimed $960 million for alleged breach of contract. Chief Michael Aondoakaa came in as attorney-general in June 2007. He tried to get Sunrise back on board, claiming that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was “angry” that the Agunloye contract was not “respected”. The CGGC-CGC contract was eventually revoked by Yar’Adua in 2009. The project stalled until President Goodluck Jonathan, who assumed power in 2010, tried to get the project back on track in 2012. Attempts to settle out of court with Sunrise failed. The court refused to enter the terms of settlement and threw out Sunrise’s application. Things kept going to and fro until President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to office in 2015, decided to revive the project. In November 2017, Sunrise headed for arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in France after the turnkey contract was awarded to the CGGC/CGCOC/Sinohydro JV following a memo from Mr Babatunde Fashola, then minister of power. Sunrise’s claims posed a serious legal challenge to the JV (which was to be financed 85 percent by the China Ex-Im Bank), effectively stalling the project again. In arbitration, Sunrise is asking for a compensation of $2.3 billion, claiming it had spent “millions of dollars” between 2003 and 2009 on financial and legal consultants. In a second arbitration, Sunrise is asking for a $400 million settlement being the terms of the agreement it entered with the federal government in 2020 to end the legal challenge. There are other little details. The declared total assets of Sunrise in its CAC filing is N1 million (about $2,000), with zero turnover. It has never executed a power project before, apart from maybe buying a standby generator for its office in Victoria Island, Lagos. Yet it got a $6 billion “contract” from the government of Nigeria! The moment Mr Abubakar Malami, Buhari’s AGF, entered the fray, things were never going to be the same again. In fairness to him, he seemed to have felt genuinely misled in his first legal opinion dated July 24, 2017 which he sent to Prof Yemi Osinbajo, then acting president. Malami had said Sunrise should be engaged as a “local content partner” as a means of “accommodating its prior contractual interests on the project”. But in another letter dated August 17, 2017, Malami backtracked, saying this opinion was based on the limited materials he had. He said he had now realised there was no FEC approval for the so-called contract that was awarded by Agunloye in 2003. Sunrise is arguing that there was no requirement for FEC approval, which could well be legally correct, but why on earth did Agunloye convey a withdrawal as an approval? How did a company with $2,000 assets get a $6 billion contract? How did a company that has never done a power project get a contract to build a 3,960mw plant? These are the questions Agunloye has to answer as we struggle to get out of this mess. Sunrise can continue to wave Agunloye’s piece of paper in our face but the people of Nigeria deserve to know what went down in 2003 that has brought us into this sorry pass. It is so tragic that there is hardly anything government officials do that can pass the smell test. As I was saying, Malami, being Malami, kept changing his mind and was soon predictably involved in a curious “settlement agreement” to “pay off” Sunrise in March 2020. Working hand-in-glove with Mallam Saleh Mamman, then minister of power, they committed the federal government to paying $200 million to Sunrise “within 14 days”, failing which Nigeria would pay another $200 million fine, making it $400 million in total. We also inserted a clause that if we failed to pay the $400 million, Sunrise should take Nigeria back to the ICC. More curiously, we even agreed that the arbitration should be fast-tracked, although the upper threshold for expedition is for a $3 million claim. In effect, Malami and Mamman (M&M, for short) loaded a gun — or were handed a loaded gun — to point to their own heads. Actually, it is not their own heads. It is the heads of Nigerians. M&M would not suffer personal consequences. It is Nigerians, you and I, that will pay the price, not M&M. Buhari, who wanted the Mambilla to be his legacy, abruptly replied Malami’s request for $200 million in April 2020 with a simple “FG does not have USD 200 million to pay SPTCL”. With no $200 million or $400 million forthcoming, Sunrise quietly withdrew the second arbitration “without prejudice”. I understand the company is now preparing a P&ID-like assault on Nigeria. God save us. But why is Nigeria like this? The Paris Club noose comes to mind. In 2006, Nigeria paid $12 billion to the Paris Club of Creditors to get $18 billion debt written off. Because the money was taken from the central purse, states and councils that did not owe Paris Club, or did not owe that much, demanded a refund. If not that Nigeria is full of scammers, the calculation for refund could easily have been done by FAAC. Microsoft Excel would help. But is it not Nigeria? Consultants were curiously engaged to do the calculation in exchange for a cool $418 million as commission. The great Malami has done another “settlement agreement” and is hell-bent on paying them despite a pending legal challenge.Myheart bleeds for Nigeria. While I refuse to give up on this beautiful, beautiful country, I cannot blame those who have thrown in the towel. It is glaring that many people in authority do not have the interest of this country at heart. Who is really interested in our progress? There are so many cases similar to Mambilla and Paris Club hanging on our neck across the world, some dating back to decades. It is a major industry and it is booming perversely. Meanwhile, I am still trying to understand how the accountant-general allegedly carried out a N109 billion heist while we were busy borrowing to service our debts. Pray, who will love this country? Depressing.
Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed from loans. This, of course, also means that every other funded budget line will be borrowed. And the more you borrow, the bigger the quantum needed for debt service and the bigger the debt, and on and on. We can’t borrow our way out of this hole. A few attempts and recommendations have been made, including lately and interestingly by state governors, on how to boost government’s revenue profile and address other economic ills. I intend to flesh out a few ideas on the revenue challenge in the next instalment of this article. My intervention will revolve around cutting wastes and leakages that constrict government’s revenue in the first place, increasing oil and non-oil revenue, selling part or whole of some valuable government assets or concessioning some dormant and inefficiently managed ones, and expanding the tax base, restructuring our economy for tax, export and revenue purposes, and improving efficiency of tax collection. It is important to state upfront that there will no quick fixes. Yes, there will be a few low-hanging, one-off fruits like sale of assets. But you can’t sell the same asset twice and you can’t build a sustainable public finance on asset sales. Some savings and blocked leakages can also increase the fiscal headspace. But most of the tasks will require some heavy-lifting and consistency. Some of the needed interventions will require some serious sacrifice from citizens, most of whom are already between the rock and a hard place. The government has to do much more itself. It has to be ready take tough decisions and send the right signals, especially in terms telegraphing a sense of urgency and embracing greater transparency, accountability, creativity and boldness. And most importantly: it has to invest in building trust with the populace.
And Four Other Things… NO AGREEMENT I was jumping up and down for joy on Monday when the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) announced that it was about to call off its perennial strike. It said all that was left was an agreement to be signed with the government, chief of which was the adoption of UTAS instead of IPPIS as the payment platform for its members. Unfortunately, I rejoiced too early. The talks collapsed and the strike continues. In truth, I do not expect university teachers to ever do away with strike — it is the language they love to speak for over 40 years. I am just hoping for some relief, no matter how temporary. This strike is ruining a whole of generation of students. Catastrophic.
Powers’
While these strategic objectives are not essentially different from what obtained in the past, the implementation approach is what is different.
ment, Africa Growth Initiative, Yun Sun, ‘given the general low priority of Africa in China’s foreign policy agenda, African issues rarely reach the highest level of foreign policy decision-making in the Chinese bureaucratic apparatus. In practice, policy making specific to Africa happens mostly at the working level and is divided among several government agencies, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) taking the lead on political and economic affairs respectively.’ Franco-British foreign policy strategy towards Africa can be explained bilaterally and multilaterally. Bilaterally, various countries have copied the Franco-African Summitry model in relating with Africa.This is the model of one country dialoguing with the whole of Africa. Russia, Britain, China, Japan, etc. have adopted the style. This, in itself, is most unfortunate. French foreign policy calculations are covered under the European Union and NATO’s common policy attitude towards Africa. The same is true of British foreign policy strategy coordination under the EU before discontinuation of membership of it. In essence, France, Britain and the US share many foreign policy values espoused by the NATO or the EU. Their only major problem is the quest of the EU to be another centre of global power that has the potential to conflict with the new ‘America First’ doctrine introduced under the Donald Trump administration. European Union as a rival power centre is not condoned in the United States. As for Russia, it is more militarily, than commercially, relevant in the African setting. While for example, Russian trade with Africa is about $20bn per year, Russia is the leading exporter of arms to Africa. Russia accounts for 49% of the overall arms market in Africa. In this regard, Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan, Senegal, and Zambia are the leading clients of Russian arms in Africa. Africa’s patronage of Russian arms is because of the perception that they are affordable, easy to maintain and reliable. In order to further enhance this perception and Russian space of influence, President Putin promised during the October 2019 Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi, Russia, to cancel Africa’s debts and to double Russian trade with Africa within the next five years.This cannot but be quite endearing in the eyes of many African leaders. The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (africacenter.org) has it that Russia pursues its strategic goals in Africa by expanding geo-political influence through low cost ventures that hold economic windfalls for Moscow. ‘In this way,’ the Centre noted, ‘Russia’s strategy in Africa is both opportunistic and calculating. It is opportunistic in that it is willing to take risks and quickly deploy mercenaries to crisis contexts when the opening presents itself, similar to what Moscow did in Syria. It is calculating in that it aims to expand Russia’s power projection including over strategic chokeholds in the eastern Mediterranean and Suez Canal that could affect NATO force deployments in times of crisis.’
As tenable as these perceptions may be, we contend here that the main rationale for the new US foreign policy strategy on Africa is more tactical than strategic. It is the newly growing influence of China and Russia in Africa, the declining influence of France which has been the leading protector of NATO interests in Africa, and the unexpected neutralist or non-aligned attitudinal disposition of most African countries towards Russian special military intervention in Ukraine that appear to have prompted the re-strategy. The expectation of the United States is for Africa to toe its line on the matter but this was not the case. Apparently rankled by this African attitude, the United States Congress recently came up with a bill, which has gone beyond the first reading and which seeks to sanction any country that acts contrarily to any US foreign policy interest henceforth. It is from this perspective that the US new foreign policy strategy on Africa should be seen by African leaders, especially that the policy is only targeted at Sub-Saharan Africa. It does not include the Maghrebin countries that generally voted in favour of the UNGA draft resolution condemning the Russian invasion. Algeria abstained. Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia supported the UNGA draft resolution. President Joe Biden’s strategy of having a specific foreign policy for sub-Saharan Africa cannot but be to divide and rule. If it is not, is the US not paving the way for Egypt to be nominated for a UNSC permanent seat in the near future?
Additionally, as noted by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, in April 2019, the A3 supported Russian efforts to block the coup in Sudan, invoking the principle of non-intervention. And more interestingly in the same month, the A3 also voted with Russia to block a UK-sponsored resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya and condemning the actions of Libyan warlord, Khalifa Hafter.
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In fact, Russia sees Africa as a means of balancing western influence. A second rationale for active Russian presence in Africa is traceable to the annexation of Crimea which prompted Moscow’s isolation by the West and which also helped to pushVladimir Putin’s idea of a post-liberal international world order in which democratic norms and the principles of a rules-based international system are challenged. In other words, Russia is contesting that democracy does not offer a more effective, equitable, transparent or inclusive form of governance. It should be noted that US-Russian policy attitude to Africa conflict frontally. While the United States is preaching the sermon of freedom, press freedom, protection of human rights, rule of law, role-playing for the civil society organisation in ensuring governmental accountability and enabling a corruption-free society, etc., Russia is acting contrarily. Russia engages in the use of mercenaries, Wagner Group, and disinformation in some African countries: Libya, Central Africa Republic (CAR), Sudan Madagascar, Mali and Mozambique. A third rationale is the specific use of the Wagner Group to protect Russia’s strategic interests in Africa.TheWagner, for example, negotiated a revenue-sharing deal with the rebels in the CAR, while gaining control of the gold and diamond mines in northern part of the country. Explained differently, the mere fact of the Wagner mercenaries winning the war is used as a bargaining means to secure strategic specific favours for Russia.This is how Russian influence is made to expand without much investments in Africa. A fourth, and perhaps very critical rationale for the advancement of Russian influence in Africa, is the use of the A3 at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The UNSC is made up of fifteen members, and therefore of fifteen seats, of which five are permanent and others are non-permanent. Of the non-permanent seats, which are rotatory, Africa has three and is technically referred to as the‘A3.’Russia has always made a strategic use of the A3 during voting at the United Nations. For example, in January 2019, when the UNSC considered a request from the opposition leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to conduct an investigation into the widely viewed fraudulent presidential election, the A3, comprising the Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, and South Africa by then, sided with Russia in blocking the initiative.
New US Foreign Policy and Africa
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The P-5, acting severally, has different foreign policy strategic objectives in Africa. What is common to all their objectives is the quest to increase their space of influence in Africa, and where it is impossible, to maintain their zone of influence, particularly using Africa as an instrument of their foreign policy. They need Africa’s mineral resources and none of them wants the other to use Africa to its own detriment. In fact, this consideration was one major source of misunderstanding in Nigeria-France relationships since 1970. Under the GeneralYakubu Gowon regime, Dr Okoi Arikpo, the Commissioner for External Affairs, came up with the policy of non-acceptance of the exploitation or use of African resources solely for the development of Europe and America. France, in sustaining France’s great power status in international politics, adopted the policy of assimilation in its Fifth Republic Constitution. All the former colonies that accepted to join the French Community had their citizens considered as French and do enjoy all privileges reserved for the French.This policy enabled the recruitment of labour from Africa. Today, Franco-African mutual regard has waned, especially in light of the cancelation of the Ministry of Cooperation that dealt specifically with the Francophone countries and the increasing number of coup d’états in Francophone Africa that are designed to undermine French influence in Africa. The UK is generally believed not to be actively engaged in Africa like France in the post-independence era. Some observers said that the NATO belives that French actions in Africa are also protective ofWestern interests.The UK of today believes in policies of self-preservation more than ever before. She brexited from the European Union and now needs Africa more than ever more. In fact, in addressing the problems of landed immigrants and refugees, Britain recently did an agreement with Rwanda to accept UK’s unwanted asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants in exchange for financial and development assistance. The case of China and Russia is noteworthy. They are great powers by accomplishment and are seriously challenging the United States’ hegemony in the conduct and management of global questions.They rightly or wrongly believe that American power is about to be replaced or thrown into the dustbin of history, and are therefore, strategizing to step into the shoes of the United States as superpower(s). But the United States reacted to the Russo-Chinese calculations by re-strategizing and announcing a new foreign policy towards sub-Saharan Africa only, thus dividing to rule Africa to the advantage of its Russo-Chinese competitors.
The foreign policy calculations are quite interesting at the politicoeconomic and militaro-social levels because of the quest to use Africa for conflicting, and at times, common interests. For instance, at the economic level, all of them want Africa’s mineral resources and therefore, are all prepared to assist Africa in exploiting the resources, not for the development of Africa, but to their advantage. They are particularly interested in the exploitation of uranium which is critical to the development of nuclear weapons. France’s interest in Niger Republic is a case in point.The French and the Americans provide special protection in this regard to the exclusion of the Chinese and Russians. In the same vein, all of them want to take advantage of Africa’s market opportunities for their processed industrial products. In fact, the Chinese see Africa basically as a source of raw materials and market opportunities. It is important to note that China’s investments in Africa only account for 3% of its global investments while its trade with Africa is only 5% of its total global trade. Consequently, Chinese foreign policy calculation is largely driven by the need for expansion of its economic interests in Africa.Atthe political level, China’s foreign policy economic calculation is also largely defined by theTaiwanese question. China only relates well with African countries that accept the rule of‘One China,Two Systems.’ Consequently, the Chinese strategy is to court African support for the territorial integrity of China by preventing Africa from giving any diplomatic recognition to Taiwan. What is noteworthy again, in the words of a non-resident Fellow of the Global Economy and DevelopVeto
Current Foreign Policy Calculations
Telephone : 0807-688-2846 e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com Bola A. Akinterinwa VIE INTERNATIONALE with
T he veto-wielding powers are the Five Permanent Members (P-5) of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC): China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States.They are also referred to as the Nuclear Weapons States and are so recognised by the UN Charter. They have constituted themselves into an exclusive nuclear club in the sense of their common non-preparedness to accept new nuclear member into the club, but without necessarily always acting together in this matter when international peace and security is under threats.
The new US foreign policy towards Africa is a change in tactical pursuit of the existing strategic foreign policy objectives. In other words, foreign policy objectives remain the same but the means of achieving the objectives are redefined in terms of tactics and techniques. Some reasons for the redefinition of the tactical policy attitude were officially given but many are the untold motivational rationales some of which attract our attention here. The current US policy on Africa essentially underscores the promotion of transparent good governance with emphasis on role-playing for civil society organisations; protection of human rights; promotion of democratic governance; and ensuring maintenance of continental peace and security. All these concerns are still intrinsic in the new foreign policy strategy. Five strategic objectives are identifiable in the policy: security concerns, Africa’s adaptation to climate change, democracy, post-COVID 19 pandemic economic recovery, and transparent good governance.
In the same vein, five factors of newness have also been delineated by Zainab Usman, a Senior Fellow and Director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC. As identified by her on 11th August 2022, the first factor of newness is the description of the policy attitude as a partnership: ‘US-African Partnership.’True, in the continuum of bilateral ties, partnership is meant to show special relationship in any given cooperation agenda. In terms of placement, it comes after general bilateral cooperation which focuses on limited shared values, and strategic partnership, which underscores operational modalities, on the one hand, and before establishment of bi-national commissions which is at the crescendo of the continuum of bilateral ties and in which Heads of State or Vice Presidents normally participate in person. Bi-national Commissions oversee virtually all bilateral questions in terms of policy making and implementation. In other words, strategic partnership simply requires articulating mutual interests and jointly identifying common strategies in protecting them. Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com
Foreign Policy Calculations in Africa: The New US Strategy of Divide and Rule
INTERNATIONAL 68 AUGUST 21 , 2022
In the international context of his time, a close parallel can be drawn between Babangida and the other world leaders with whom he emerged almost at the same time in history. Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev held sway about the same time as Babangida of Nigeria. Like these other great leaders, Babangida instituted far-reaching reforms in the economy of the country sometimes ahead of even the main current of world history along the path of reform. He switched Nigeria from a mixed economy to a free market one. He privatised wasteful government enterprises and transferred them into the hands of the private sector. He streamlined the political system and instituted a two-party ideas-based political system. He recognised the rural majority and women in the scheme of national affairs. He was convinced that government has no business in business. To a great extent, Babangida ruled ahead of his time. But the general negative blanket of military rule clouded an appreciation of his vision, hence the nation failed to take full advantage of his foresight. Three decades after he left office and after a considerable initial period of public disaffection, Babangida has bounced back and persisted as a constant refrain in national politics without openly brandishing the membership card of any party. Beyond the hubris of the June 12 disaster, the Nigerian public has over these years come to a delayed realisation of the authenticity of Babangida’s vision and the redeeming value of hisLikeintervention.Reagan,Thatcher and Gorbachev, he faced virulent political opposition during his tenure. Like these other world leaders, he acted in response to what he perceived as the urgent and fundamental challenges of the moment: economic deregulation, aggressive privatisation, reduction of government presence in the economy as well as a fairly transparent political BabaBabangidangida
There is a cruel irony about Babangida’s persisting credential as a compelling political oracle among the Nigerian political elite. Even more baffling is the overwhelming belief in his political indispensability. Politicians and indeed the general populace just believe he has the magic to make things happen and that no major political development can take place without his knowledge. But here is a man, who carries the burden of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, which would have enthroned M.K.O Abiola as Nigeria’s president. That tectonic political development is seen by many as the single most far-reaching disruption of Nigeria’s democratic journey to date. And yet the author of that incident has now been consecrated by the political elite into a deity, whose endorsement is required to proceed with any credible political agenda. The answer is simple. Babangida embodies the myth of eternal possibility. For a brief moment, Nigeria was led to believe in big dreams and its inherent greatness. To date, nostalgia for the grand vision that he inspired remains intact. I daresay that the essence of the Babangida magic was all about his way with power. It has everything to do with his personal magnetism, a personal charisma that disarms all who come into close contact with him. In his political actions, it is that distinctive political footwork that made the public come to see him as the political equivalent of Argentina’s late soccer legend, Diego Maradona.Yetthere was always that Machiavellian streak in Babangida’s power plays. That dexterity enabled him to navigate the brackish divides of Nigeria’s nasty calculations of old-time politicians and ambitious military officers. He was able to survive in that perilous landscape and survive as the last man standing. This is an attribute that many envy, but cannot achieve. In spite of the tragedy of June 12, the Babangida’s myth has managed to remain intact for over three decades after he left office. process through a bottom to top democratic transformation. Decades afterwards, Ronald Reagan has become the gold standard in US conservatism economic renewal. Margaret Thatcher has become another name for the Tory legacy of privatisation and economic prosperity in the United Kingdom. Similarly, the legacy of Gorbachev in dismantling an unproductive Soviet behemoth and replacing it with a freer more prosperous Russia has become an inspirational era for the younger generation of Russians. What links Babangida to all these great world leaders at the turn of the millennium is the visionary quality of his intervention and the courage to pursue the reforms implicit in that vision. Specifically, Britain’s Margaret Thatcher recognised Babangida’s courage and historical value hence she is on record as having encouraged him to transform into an elected civilian leader if only to consolidate his reforms. Arguably, if Reagan and Thatcher were still alive today, they would, like Babangida, have become oracles and literal political deities to the younger generations of American Republicans and BritishBabangida’sConservatives.visionwas clear and unambiguous. He strove to enthrone a free market economy and two-party liberal democracy with clear ideological options. Above all, he sought to bring about a fair society in which our diversity will be fully deployed towards the development of the Thisnation.wasthe Babangida mission and vision. He brought to this multiple mission a personal charisma and style that were distinct. The magnetism of that aura and style endeared him to a populace that was not always united in their embrace of him and his policies. Yet, his appeal and pull have endured even in the decades since he left power and office. As he has repeatedly insisted, he was one leader, whose eyes were consistently fixated on the verdict of history. Therefore, the symbolism of this brief event has immense significance. It bore all the markings of the essential Babangida leadership: a consistent preoccupation with lasting legacies, a sense of historical permanence, a touch of imperial grandeur, an enduring vision of national greatness and, ultimately, a quest for a grand strategy for achieving national greatness. For Babangida, these attributes were not a mere patchwork of fleeting military showmanship. He set out to fill a conspicuous void in the nation’s leadership culture, namely, the embarrassing absence of a compelling big vision and a grand strategy for nation building. For good and hardly for ill, Babangida’s legacy, in this regard, is in the articulation and rigorous pursuit of big dreams for Nigeria and the adoption of a grand governmental strategy to pursue that vision. The combination of grand vision and grand strategy is the rare tool that distinguishes great nations from the common run of nation states. For every nation, a grand vision implies the adoption of a national big dream passed down from generation to generation. Nations propelled by such big dreams are capable of achieving feats that far outstrip their geographical size or their human and material resources. It is perhaps a combination of grand vision and great greed that could have equipped the small nation of Britain to pursue the idea of ‘Rule Britannia’ which emboldened it to conquer and colonise expansive stretches of the world as far afield as India, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Palestine, East Africa and the Falklands. The United States of America, a large country, founded on a creed of greatness is the bastion of freedom and democracy, which was destined by God to lead the world in pursuit of happiness and global power. The street mobs, who beheaded Louis XVI and Maria Antoinette stormed the Bastille in 1789 France and armed the successor republic of the French Revolution with a grand aspiration and vision. This is captured by the mantra of ‘freedom, equality and egalitarianism.’ That vision and its pursuit fired the subsequent ambiguous exploits of the French republic at home and abroad. I doubt that our founding fathers ever rose above petty peer group bickering over regional and ethnic supremacy to articulate a coherent grand vision for the future Nigerian republic.
(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)
Consequently, the Nigerian populace has come to concede that he was a man for all ages. In a sense, he saw and acted ahead of his time. The essence of Babangida’s enduring aura, myth and legacy is perhaps the visionary quality of his intervention in national politics.
69 THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21 , 2022 ENGAGEMENTS with Chidi Amuta e-mail: chidi.amuta@gmail.com Oracle of Minna, Visionary of Nigeria tradition(InlinewithwhathasbecomemyannualeveryAugust,Idevotethiscolumnasatributetomyfriendandcompatriot,GeneralIbrahimBabangida,ashemarkshis81stbirthdaythisweek)GeneralIbrahimBabangida,theformermilitarypresident,hasnevertoldanyonethatheisapoliticiannorhasheseenoreverdescribedhimselfasapolitician.Evenin2007whenhewaspressedintoapoliticalpurposebyfriendsandloyalists,heallowedonlyhisdisciplesandvastfollowershiptoconferthetitleof‘politician’onhim.Inthemidstofthatvagueattempt,IconfrontedhimwiththefullestimplicationsofhispossibleentryintopartisanpoliticsandcontestinganelectionintypicalNigerianpoliticaltradition:‘Canyou,inallhonesty,joinmarketwomentodanceatapublicsquarerally?’Notwaitingforananswer,Iaskedfurther:‘Canyouclown,tellopenliesorpromisepeoplewhatyoucannotdeliver?’Helookedmestraightinthefaceandretortedwithanunprintable,butfamiliarfriendlydisapproval:“f..koff!”.Nonetheless,hedeeplyappreciatedmyacutereadingofhispersonality.MypointwastodrawhisattentiontotheincompatibilityofhisessentialpersonaldecencywiththeroughandtumbleofNigeria’scrassanduntidypoliticalculture.ThepassageoftimehasnotdulledBaban-gida’stopicalityinonesphere:politics.Andyethispersistentrelevanceinnationalpoliticsissomethingofananachronism,justasthemanhimselfhasremainedanenigma.Instead,hehasremainedaproudself-confessedlifetimesoldier.Heismostlyagrandcenturionapproxi-matingtheRomantraditionofthatnoblecalling.Yet,sincehedepartedofficein1993,everypoliticalseasonhasbeenprefacedwiththequestion:WhowillIBBsupportorendorse?Buthesupportsallandendorsesnone.Inspiteofthisnon-committalstance,eachelectoralseasonhastakenoffwithaspateofrelentlesspilgrimagestoBabangida’sretirementhomeinMinna.Everypoliticalhopeful,aspirantorcandidateconsid-ershisambitionlegitimateexceptithasbeenvalidatedbytheOracleofMinna.Consequently,hisabodehasassumedthestatureofapoliticalMeccaorevenJerusalemorboth.IntypicalDelphicfashion,themythsaroundBabangidahaveintensifiedanddeepenedashehasgottenolder.Themanknownforwalkingonbothsidesofthepavementatonceisonhomegroundwhenitcomestopoliticaldoublespeak:‘Wedonotknowthosewhowillsucceedus,butweknowthosewhowillnot’.‘Ourideologicalchoiceisclear:alittletotherightandalittletotheleft’!Likeallsensibleoracles,BabangidainoldagehasperfectedthisnaturalpenchantforDelphicdoublespeak.Oracles,inordertoretainacertainauraofmystiqueandkeeptheirpilgrimsentranced,needtoadoptatonguethatisrepletewithriddles,whichcompeldevoteestogohome,decodeandreflect.Tohisnumerouspoliticalpilgrimsandvisitors,Babangidaneitherpledgessupportnorwithholdsitovertly.Toallcomers,however,hehasagenerousunderstanding.Instead,heimbuesallcomerswithhopeeternal.Intheprocess,hetranscendseverypilgrim’swishforanimmediateprescriptionforacure-allanswer.Hemakeseverypilgrim’svisithisownbyusingeachoccasionanditsaccompanyingmediacov-eragetorenewhisownunflinchingcommitmentandallegiancetoNigeria.Hewishesallpilgrimswell,butusestheirpilgrimageasavehicletopronouncehissincerewishesforthenation.Hisseasonalpoliticalwishesmirrorwhateverirksthenationateachgivenmoment.Inthecurrentseason,hismessagehasrangedfromtheinevitabilityofyouthtakeoverofpowertotheurgentneedforpowerdevolutionandrotationwithinthecontextofadecentdemocraticpolity.NopilgrimleavesBabangidadisappointedorunacknowledged.NooneleavesBabangida’spresencewithanyassuranceofvic-tory.Butyougetarenewedhopeinourcountryandconfidenceinwhatyoucancontributetoitsleadership.TheblessingofeachencounterwithBabangidaisincomingfacetofacewiththeenthrallingmagnetismofamanofdestiny,alegendofourtimeandplace.
US Understudies Nigeria’s Capacity Development for Global Health Security Sylvester Idowu in Warri A High Court sitting in Effurun in Uvwie Local Government Area, Delta State has awarded N840.8 million against Sterling Bank Plc and Mr Godwin Nwekoyo (defendants) for unlawfully sealing the premises of Joma Frozen Food Products Limited. Justice Roli-Daibo Harriman gave the order while delivering a judgement in Suit No: EHC/216/2015 filed by the claimant, Agro Allied Development Enterprises (claimant). Delivering judgement, Justice Harriman held that the 1st defendant, Joma Frozen Food Products limited, had no direct or indirect responsibility for the actions of the defendants. She held that the sealing of the cold room facility situated at Number 13, Refinery Road, Effurun, Warri, Delta State by the defendants “is an act of trespass.“The actions of the defendants constituted a breach of the claimant’s right of peaceful, peaceable possession and quiet enjoyment of it’s leasehold interest in the said cold room facility.”“Itisthe law that a claimant who makes a claim for specific damage must provide credible evidence to convince the court that he is entitled to the special damage.“Theclaimant has not only pleaded his specific damage but has provided documents and records showing same. These are not challenged by the defendants in any way. “I find that special damages have been proved. The claimant has proved it’s case against the 2nd and 3rd defendants and is entitled to Judgement against the said defendants jointly and severally,” the judge stated. Harriman ruled that N839.6 million of the cost represents total loss incurred by the claimant over its damaged fish while N1 million was for general damage and additional cost of N300,000.
Stop Marriage of Kidnapped Victim to Terrorists’ Kingpin, HURIWA Tells FG
Alex Enumah in Abuja Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) has issued the federal government a 24-hour ultimatum to secure the release of Azurfa Lois John, a 21-year-old Christian lady and one of the kidnapped victims of the March 28 terrorist attack on a Kaduna-Abuja train. HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko made the in a statement yesterday, saying failure to secure the release of the lady who has been in captivity for about five months now will attract a severe legal tussle. The group disclosed that it would hesitate to sue the federal government and report the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.Thegroup warned that the case of Lois must not become another Leah Sharibu who has been in captivity since February 19, 2018 when Islamic State West Africa Province fighters attacked the Government Girls Science and Technical School in Dapchi, YobeHURIWAState. in the statement recalled that about 110 young and impressionable schoolgirls were abducted and whilst others were later released after payment of heavy ransom, Leah Sharibu was not released but was reportedly married off to a fighter because she doggedly defended her Christian faith and refused to denounce same.
He added that the integration and data-sharing of country-wide disease detection and the country’s response to the current Monkeypox outbreak were also studied. “This visit will further develop the roster of congressional staffers who work on global health policy. ”It will help them to understand how bilateral Global Health Security investments in the country have strengthened global health security and pandemic preparedness,” he said.
CONGRATULATIONS…
L- R: A family friend, Mr. Adefola Olumoroti; former Spokesman, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Sola Oni; his son and a law graduate, Mr. Adedamola Oni; a grandson of the family; Master Nathan Olumoroti; mother of the celebrant, Mrs. Olufunke Oni, and a family member, Dr Olufemi Oni during Adedamola’s convocation at the University of Essex, United Kingdom … recently
Teriba’s Firm Holds Nigeria’s Prospect Conference Sept. 22
Dogara Writes IG, Seeks Probe of Murder Plot
The United States of America Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) has sent a delegation to Nigeria to learn capacity building for global health security.TheAmerican team will also understudy Nigeria’s disease detection, preparedness and response.TheDirector of Global Health Advocacy, United Nations Foundation, Mr Brian Massa, led the delegation to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), National Reference Laboratory (NRL), on Friday in AccordingAbuja, to Massa, the delegation was on a learning visit to Nigeria. “We are here at the NRL to learn about the great work that the Nigerian government is doing with capacity building for global health security, disease detection, preparedness and response. “Nigeria is in line with the IHR core capacities required to detect, assess, notify and respond to public health risks and emergencies. ”This is as stipulated in Articles five and 13, and Annex one, of the Regulations,” he said. Massa said that the delegation observed the laboratory diagnostic facilities, and discussed the importance of resilient health systems.
Segun James Nigeria’s foremost human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Cross River activist and journalist, Agba Jalingo, from police detention.
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Austin Okpara located in the Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State. They had also sealed Mega Tool Filling Station belonging to Hon. Chinyere Igwe, Priscy’s Lounge owned by a former member in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr. Jones Ogbonda and Preray Hotel, the property of former PDP Chairman of Port Harcourt LGA, Mr Ikechi Chinda. At the unveiling of Omagwa’s internal roads yesterday, Wike ordered that the said filling station be sealed two day ago insisted in keeping with the fight against illegal oil bunkering. He also ordered the security agencies “to identify the owner and arrest him for prosecution. If I hear of any filling station involved in oil bunkering, I will close that filling station. “I have directed the security agencies to identify the owner of the filling station in Diobu and arrest that person. We are going to prosecute the person. It doe not matter how highly placed that person is. Some of you should be used to teach a lesson. We cannot allow oil bunkering. “We will reduce it to the barest minimum. So, I have ordered the security agencies to identify who owns that filling station that was sealed up two days ago and arrest the owner. Let him tell us why he is involved in oil bunkering.”
Oil Theft: Wike Orders Arrest of Rivers Federal Lawmaker
A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Usman, over an attempt to kill him by one of hisHeconstituents.alsoalleged that three other people including the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State are also being targeted. Dogara, who represents Dass/ Tafawa Balewa/Bogoro Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, disclosed this in a petition addressed to the IGP, which was obtained by our correspondent in Bauchi on Saturday night. The letter was also copied to the National Security Adviser; the Director General, Department of State Services; the Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State and the Director, Department of State Services, Bauchi State. The petition which was dated August 18th, 2022 was titled: “Appeal for a thorough investigation into gun running activities involving Inspector Dakat Samuel, Inspector Auwalu Mohammed and Barau Joel Amos (Sarkin Yaki); as it relates to the confession of Barau Joel Amos that he sought to buy the rifles in order to kill me and three others. The Economic Associates (EA), a leading economic think-tank, has revealed its plan to organise a one-day conference on Nigeria’s economic prospects in Lagos on September 22. In a statement by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ayo Teriba, the firm said the hybrid conference makes provision for in-person attendance with an online option especially, for Nigerians and other stakeholders in the diaspora. Teriba, currently ViceChairman, Technical Committee, National Council on Privatization (TC-NCP), said the economic conference “will provide opportunities for economic decision-makers and policymakers to track evolving shifts and medium-term prospects in critical global income and wealth aggregates. “It will also allow participants to explore the vulnerabilities of the country, states, sectors, and companies to the unfolding global realities just as participants will have the opportunity to identify the strategic realignment options at national, subnational, sectoral, and corporate levels.
Court Slams N840m Judgment against Bank, Other
In a statement yesterday titled ‘Release Agba Jalingo now!’, Falana claimed that the activist was being detained for an offence which is not under any provision of the criminalAccordingcode.to him, the police officers informed me that his detention was ordered by the authorities in Abuja The statement read: “Yesterday, a team of the police personnel despatched from Abuja stormed the home of Agba Jalingo at Alapere, Ketu in Lagos State to arrest him. After subjecting his wife and children to unwarranted harassment for hours, the police arrested Agba, yanked him out and took him to the Area F Police Command, Ikeja, Lagos State where he was detained until this morning. “I met him at the police station where he informed me that he committed no offence but that his newspaper, CrossRiverWatch had only asked why a lecturer who wrote examinations for a student in the Nigerian Law School, Abuja has been arraigned in court while the student is being treated like a sacred cow.
“The conference is coming at a time a lot of things have changed in Nigeria, from the 250 basis points hike in the Monetary Policy Rate(MPR) which now stands at 14 percent, to the soaring inflation which hit 19.64 percent in July, amidst FX illiquidity, high debt servicing, monthly loss of 400,000 barrels of crude oil, to the ballooning public debt, among others. “The forthcoming economic conference will provide greater clarity on unfolding economic, fiscal and financial trends; clearer perspectives from one-to-five year forecasts and scenarios, as well as provide compelling insights on adaptive responses to different scenarios,” EA’s chief executive said. He noted that the conference “promises to offer much more than what the previous conferences offered with respect to tracking the evolving econo mic and financial trends concerning the global prospects, national prospects, sub national prospects, and the corporate prospects.”
NEWSXTRA THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 202270 Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike has ordered the arrest of a lawmaker representing Port Harcourt II Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinyere Igwe for complicity in illegal oil bunkering. Wike added the state government would ensure the prosecution of Igwe, the owner of Mega Tool Filling Station on Ojoto Street Diobu axis to demonstrate the resolve to reduce illegal oil bunkering in the state to the barest minimum. He gave the order yesterday while unveiling the construction of inner roads in Omagwa performed by former Plateau State Governor, Senator Jonah Jang. Security operatives had sealed the business outlets of supporters of presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and former
Falana Demands Release of Agba Jalingo
Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
email:Duro.Ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com Duro Ikhazuagbe U20 WORLD
Real Madrid’s Casemiro set for Manchester United’s medical after both clubs agree terms
Arsenal First Three out of Three to Top Premier League
Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
Highly-inspired Nigeria’s Falconets are determined to proceed further at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals in Costa Rica and see The Netherlands as simply another mountain to climb to get closer to the diadem. The Dutch, who emerged from a tough Group D that included United States of America and Japan, eliminating the Americans in the pro cess, would not be a walk in the park for Chris Danjuma’s girls, but the two-time runners-up say they are aware of this fact. “The Dutch are a super-strong squad to have survived that group where the Americans were sent packing. In any event, any team in the quarter-finals must be a super-strong squad. We will not under-rate them, just as we did not under-rate any of France, Korea Republic and Canada. “As I said at the beginning of the tournament, we are taking it one match at a time. Our overall Casemiro has moved a step closer to completing his switch from Real Madridto Manchester United.TheBrazilian international sent shockwaves through the club last week after indicating his intention to leave them this month.LosBlancos boss Carlo Ancelotti confirmed the club have accepted the Brazilian’s request to leave the Spanish capital and pursue a new challenge. Both United and Real Madrid have confirmed a transfer has been agreed in principle with talks moving at a rapid pace at Old Trafford. United are confident of wrapping up a bold €70m deal for the 30-year-old in the coming days with his exit from Real Madrid ratified. As per reports from Sky Sports, Casemiro has landed in Manchester, and he will undergo a medical at the club’s training ground today. He is expected to sign a three year contract with Erik ten Hag’s side with his Premier League debut delayed until next weekend.
71 SUNDAY SPORTS THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER AUGUST 21, 2022 Edited
Falconets Battle Netherlands for S’final Ticket in Costa Rica
plan for each of the games in the group phase worked well. And I believe that our overall plan for the match against The Netherlands will work as well,” the Falconets warned yesterday. An explosive encounter is anticipated at the Estadio Alajuela Morera Soto (same venue where the Falconets brought down the chal lenges of Korea Republic and Canada) as from 11.30pmNigeria time this Sunday. In the 20 –year history of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, Nigeria have played in the Champion ship Match twice, losing on both occasions to Germany, in Germany 12 years ago and in Canada eight years ago. In-between, they reached the semi finals in Japan 10 years ago. Midfield powerhouse Esther Onyenezide, with three goals in the tournament, is expected to again be the driving force of the Nigeria game going forward, with pacy Flourish Sabastine and Blessing Okpe likely to start as the Falconets seek early goals, while workhorse Mercy Idoko and the duo of Deborah Abiodun and Bashirat Amoo would hold things tight in the middle. by: Duro Ikhazuagbe CUP
Arsenal swept aside Bournemouth 3-0 to continue their perfect start and rise to the top of the Premier League table. Captain Martin Odegaard put the Gunners in control inside the opening 10 minutes with a well-taken double. After the break, William Saliba curled home a beautiful third before Gabriel Jesus saw his clever finish ruled out by VAR for offside. U krainian Oleksandr Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua in a split decision last night to retain his world heavyweight titles in a rematch with the Briton. The first judge had it 115-113 to Joshua, the second 115-113 to Usyk and the third 116-112 to Usyk. The Ukrainian thus retained the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world heavyweight belts he snatched from Joshua from the firstUsykfirst.did have to endure tremendous pressure from an implacable Joshua, who delivered a vastly improved performance from their first fight in September.Joshua assaulted Usyk’s body with power-punches, nearly breaking through in the ninth round. But Usyk responded in remarkable style, rallying to hurt Joshua in the next round. He drove Joshua back with left hands and finished strongly, clipping Joshua with heavy counter-punches to close out the final seconds of the bout. The decision was closer than expected but Usyk was a deserving winner. The defeat was the third for Anthony Joshua while the Ukrainian remains undefeated so far despite most boxing aficionados not satisfied with his quality in the heavyweight category. Shortly after his defeat, Joshua had picked up two of the belts, then dropped them on the ground before marching towards the dressing room. He got close to leaving the arena, before then heading back to the ring. Joshua appears to have calmed down
AJ Fails in Bid to Reclaim Heavyweight Title from Usyk in Split Decision
It is the first time Arsenal have won their opening three fixtures since the 2004-05 season.Bournemouth had won their first home game back in the Premier League against Aston Villa and there was a rousing feel to this Saturday teatime kick-off at the division’s smallest ground. It took a mere five minutes for that feeling
Anthony Joshua (left) failed in his bid to reclaim the heavyweight title from Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk last night, losing in a split decision evening to be punctured as Odegaard tapped in after Bournemouth keeper Mark Travers had saved Gabriel Martinelli’s low strike. The Norway midfielder struck again shortly after when he nabbed the ball off Jesus’toes to sweep a clinical left-footed finish past the helpless Cherries keeper.Arsenal bided their time before sealing the win but did it in style when the impressive Saliba elegantly found the top corner from the edge of the penalty area. Jesus was then denied a deserved goal by a tightVAR review that ruled him just offside from Odegaard’s clever through ball. It is very early days - and there are far harder tests to come - but the Gunners have laid down a marker with their superb start to the season.
Tottenham 1-0 Wolves C’Palace 3-1 Aston Villa Everton 1-1 N’Forest Fulham 3-2 Brentford Leicester 1-2 Southampton B’mouth 0-3 Arsenal RESULTS and grabs the microphone and asks the crowd to applaud Usyk. He praised Usyk for winning the titles despite everything he and Ukraine have gone through since the invasion of their country by Russia. It was not certain as at last night what was going to be the next move of Anthony Joshua despite believe in certain quarters he may call it quit having earned enough for his retirement from the sweet science.
Casemiro Close to Completing Man Utd Switch
Obasanjo Continued on page 67 he spent considerable time explaining that proper work was needed in the power sector to avoid what befell the steel sector where government started so many projects that it could neither fund nor complete. If NEPA was a private business, he reportedly told FEC, it would have long been declared bankrupt. He pointed in the direction of a proper power reform framework. Obasanjo, in his concluding remarks, reportedly said the project should be private sector-driven, asking the ministers to apply caution in negotiating government participation in all projects with investors because of the financial and legal implications for the country. After his intervention, Vice-President Atiku Abubakar added his voice, suggesting that other options should be explored by the ministry for the Mambilla project, including possible zero participation by the government so that it could be entirely private sector-driven. At the end of deliberations, FEC failed to approve Agunloye’s memo, asked him to withdraw it, and said that the development should be revisited in the future.Loand behold, the following day, May 22, Agunloye picked his pen and wrote to Sunrise, saying he was “pleased” to convey the “approval” of the Nigerian government for the award of the contract at a “provisional sum of $6 billion”. This was one week to his exit from office. Pronto, Sunrise replied on May 26 to accept the “offer”. Nevertheless, Obasanjo did not recognise the “contract” during N igeria has a major revenue challenge. There are many, including economists, who strongly believe that Nigeria’s major economic ailment today is wasteful expenditure or galloping debts or unremitting leakages and graft. Many things can be right at the same time. Acknowledging the significance of these factors does not diminish the enormity of Nigeria’s revenue challenge. The stubborn fact is that Africa’s biggest economy and most populous country is not generating enough public revenue for its size and needs.Different datasets from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), and the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook put Nigeria’s revenue to GDP for 2021 at between 6.2% and 7.2%. Nigeria’s tax to GDP is even much lower. The average revenue-to-GDP ratio in Africa is 18%, with the top spot occupied by South Sudan and Lesotho at 42.07% and 46.27% respectively. Nigeria not only has the lowest revenue-to-GDP ratio in Africa and one of the lowest globally, Africa’s behemoth also underperforms its immediate and poorer neighbours. According to the IMF dataset, revenue as a percentage of GDP is 13.81% in Cameroon, 14.33% in Benin Republic, 16.27% in Chad, and 18.30% in Niger Republic. From FAAC figures, the net federally collected and independent revenues for 2021 was N12. 25 trillion. This figure includes personal income tax and other states’ IGRs, which means it is more comprehensive than Federation Account revenue. For a country of about 206 million people, the total government revenue amounts to about N59, 500 per capita or about $145 at official rate. Clearly, Nigeria is not leveraging its GDP for tax purposes and is not generating enough revenue for public purposes. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, recently put the grimness of the revenue challenge beyond question. She disclosed that in the first four months of 2021, Federal Government’s aggregate revenue amounted to N1.63 trillion, or 51% below the pro-rated amount for the period. If the revenue pattern continues, the total aggregate revenue for the year may be under N5 trillion, against a budget of N17.3 trillion, with the possibility of deficit ballooning beyond N12 trillion or about 70% of the budget. Most startlingly, debt service gulped N1.94 trillion. This not only means that FG’s aggregate revenue was not enough to cover debt service but also that debt service was 119% of revenue. This dispiriting landmark should give everyone a reason for a long pause. But it should also rouse us to the need to begin what will be a tough and arduous task of fixing our public finance. Some will argue for a more realistic budget to start with. But even our record N17.3 trillion budget is just about $41 billion, compared to $111 billion for Egypt with a population of Nigeria’s Dire Revenue Challenge
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102 million and $128 billion for South Africa with a population of 59 million. Per capita, Nigeria’s 2021 budget is a meagre $199, which is just about a fifth of Egypt’s and less than a tenth of South Africa’s. While we need to address inefficiencies and leakages, we actually need a much bigger budget, not less, if we want to make a real dent on development outcomes in the country.Andtaking on more debt is not the way to go. We also need to fully account for the magnitude of our public debt and free CBN’s balance sheet. While some in government find comfort in Nigeria’s relatively moderate debtto-GDP ratio, it is not a very useful metric. Public debts are not paid by GDP but from public revenue. Already, Nigeria is in a sad spot where FG’s aggregate revenue is not enough to cover debt service. This means that FG has to cover the difference between its aggregate revenue and debt service
O n Wednesday, May 21, 2003, Dr Olu Agunloye, then minister of power and steel, presented a memo to the federal executive council (FEC). He sought its approval to award a build, operate and transfer (BOT) contract for the Mambilla Hydropower Project to Sunrise Power and Transmission Ltd, a company promoted by Chief Leno Adesanya. The project, conceived in 1972, has suffered several setbacks and limp attention in a country badly in need of electricity to power its economy. Mambilla was projected to generate 3,960 megawatts of electricity. For context, Nigeria’s current biggest hydro power plant has the capacity to generate only 800mw — and it was built in According1968.to a former minister who attended that FEC meeting, President Olusegun Obasanjo expressed surprise that despite discussing the Mambilla project extensively with Agunloye the previous day, the minister still brought the memo to council when he should have withdrawn it. Obasanjo reportedly said 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
SIMON KOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE! simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961 Who Will Love This Country? “All of us have carried arms before; so, nobody can threaten anyone with guns. But what I want to assure you is that there will be no escape route for anybody” – Ex-commander of the defunct MEND, Mr. Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, warning oil thieves to steer clear of Niger Delta. Tompolo to Oil Thieves 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
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