BORNO: Gen. Mohammed Shuwa, guest murdered by Vanguard Media Limited

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Gunmen kill General Shuwa, his visitor •Blame attack on Boko Haram--DHQ •Buhari won’t mediate for terrorists — CPC BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI & NDAHI MARAMA, Maiduguri

ESS than 12 hours after the leadership of the Boko Haram sect expressed its willingness to suspend further violent attacks as a prelude for dialogue with the Federal Government, unknown gunmen yesterday killed Major General Muhammed Shuwa, rtd, shortly before he left for the Mosque for Jumat prayers in Borno State. TheDefenceHeadquarters promptly blamed Boko Haram for the killing saying Gen Shuwa was shot dead at his house in Gwange 1 area of Maiduguri while the General was receiving guests preparatory to going for Juma’at prayers adding that “one of the guests died on the spot while the General died on the way to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital,” contrary to insinuations that ‘’Shuwa was shot along with five JTF soldiers.” Boko Haram which also demanded that the proposed talks with the government must be brokered by six persons including the former military Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari but Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, in a statement yesterday, blamed the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, for allegedly orchestrating Buhari’s purported nomination by Boko Haram to divert attention from the ‘’on-going massive looting of their common patrimony.’’ Shuwa who was over 70 years, was reportedly killed in his Gwange Ward residence in Maiduguri metropolis as he was preparing for the Friday congregational prayers. Gwange Ward is one the identified blackspots in Maiduguri by the Joint Task Force, JTF, even as there had been series of killings and bombing in the area in recent times. A Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant attached to the JTF were killed in Gwange sometime ago. Late General Shuwa, a staunch supporter of the ruling ANPP in the state and a strong associate of the former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, it was learnt was

once the commander of Second Division Nigerian Army who led troops that captured important towns during the Nigeria- Biafra Civil War in the sixties. On retirement, he settled with his family in Gwange Ward in his home state. Shuwa’s assassination brings to two, the number of prominent associates of former Governor Sheriff who were murdered within the last three days, the first being Alhaji Mustapha Fulawama who was killed last W e d n e s d a y . An eye witness told Saturday Vanguard that Shuwa’s assailants trailed the late general to his house where they forcefully entered at about 12 noon and opened fire on him instantly. A hospital source at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital where the remains of the deceased were conveyed amid tight security said, the late General died on the way to the hospital. Those who conveyed his corpse to the teaching hospital included the Commissioner of Police Mr.Yuguda Abdullahi and other JTF officials. Confirming the incident through a statement, the JTF Spokesman, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said: ‘’four people suspected to be General Muhammed Shuwa’s guests/visitors entered his house in Gwange at 12:00 hours noon and killed him and one of his guests. Sagir said immediately after the incident, the JTF cordoned off the area and began operation search with a view to arresting the terrorists. Meanwhile, mixed reactions have continued to pour in from concerned individuals in Borno State who insisted that if a retired Generalcouldbekilledinside his house inspite of the heavy security around him, there was no hope for the ordinary man on the streets of the troubled Maiduguri. The Borno Elders Forum have at their meetings in Maiduguri, severally called on the Federal Government to withdraw JTF troops from the state, alleging that the presence of soldiers had done more harm than good to the people. Meanwhile, the CPC in its statement entitled, ‘’What is the portent of using Buhari’s name in Boko Haram ver-

sus Federal Government Parley?’’ stated, ‘’Our attention, in the CPC has been drawn to a widely publicized news that our National Leader, Gen Muhammadu Buhari has been appointed to take part in a Boko Haram/ Federal Government parley. As a party, we are convinced that this is the latest gambit in the desire of this organically corrupt PDPled Federal Government in diverting the attention of the unsuspecting Nigerian public from the on-going massive looting of their common patrimony. ’’Without any scintilla of equivocation, General Muhammadu Buhari has never been directly or remotely connected with any insurrection or insurgency against the Nigerian nation and her people. He remains the quintessential patriot that continues to magnetize the very best across the ethno-religious boundaries within

Vice-President, Namadi Sambo flanked by Cross River State Governor Senator Imoke and Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba at Buanchor, Boki LGA when the VP led a high FG delegation to sympathize with flood victims in the area yesterday.

the Nigerian nation-space. As we have stated in an earlier communication, the PDP, as a corporate entity, is the harbinger of the insecurity travails of the Nigerian people for the sole reason of ensuring perpetuity in governance. ’’From recollection of events of the last two years, there are three variants of the Boko-Haram: the original Boko-Haram that is at daggers drawn with the

Nigerian authority for the extra-judicial killing of their leader; the criminal BokoHaram that is involved in all criminality for economic reasons and of course, the most lethal of all, the political Boko-Haram,which this PDP-led Federal Government represents. ’’The President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan had once alerted the nation of the ubiquitous presence of BokoHaram in his government- a

fact aptly amplified by his erstwhile National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi. Undoubtedly, the latest revelations by the State SecurityServices,SSS,onthe complicity of the top echelon of the PDP leadership in Boko Haram activities aptly bear testimony of the noxious subterfuge to extirpate the essence of our nationhood.”

Nigeria risks losing 19 states to Boko Haram — Gen Olanrewaju *As Abba Ibrahim accepts to mediate BY BASHIR ADEFAKA

ORMER General O f f i c e r Commanding, GOC, Third Division of the Nigerian Army and ex Minister of Communications, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju, has called for an immediate declaration of a state of emergency in Borno State in view of the revelations involving the immediate past governor of the state and two serving senators over Boko Haram activities that have dragged the progress of Nigeria especially the Northern part of the country in the mud for over two years.He said Nigeria risks losing 19 States to Boko Haram. Olanrewaju spoke following the killing of former GOC, 2nd Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Muhammadu Shuwa in the early hours of yesterday by gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect at his home in Maiduguri, the state capital. General Shuwa, a contemporary of General Benjamin Adekunle, was renowned for his strategic role during the Nigeria-Biafra

civil war, which he fought on the Nigeria side. Olanrewaju said with the alleged involvement of the former governor, Alli Modu Sheriff and the two serving senators with the sect, Borno State was under siege and no longer under control, adding therefore that the only option for peace in the North Eastern state was for Mr. President to declare a state of emergency in the area. He warned of the consequence of the government’s failure to do so even as he reminded the government of the fate that befell the

neighbouring State of Mali, where the same Islamic insurgency had led to declaration of the Islamic State in Northern Mali. “Two senators have been indicted or interrogated and a former governor is said to be involved. General Shuwa has just been killed at his home in Maiduguri. This is a strong pointer to a very unpredictable situation about to happen and Mr. President cannot be at peace with himself now. It is like when you kill a police man, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, will not be in peace. The best

way to it is for President Jonathan to, as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency in that state of Borno and there will be peace. Theres no other way to it,” he added. Meanwhile, former governor of Yobe State, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, yesterday indicated his readiness to mediate in any talk between the Boko Haram sect and the Federal Government aimed at bringing about peace in the country. The former governor, who is now a Senator, was one of the northern leaders named by the sect as possible mediators they would accept in any negotiation for ceasefire with the government.

NCC orders telcoms to provide instant call bills BY EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

N an apparent response to incessant complaints by subscribers over billing irregularities, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has directed all telecommunication operators in the country to provide instant SMS service to all phone users at the end of every call, and to provide full details of the cost of each call, and available balances to the subscriber. The directive was con-

tained in statement issued yesterday and signed by the Head, Media and Public Relations, NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka in Abuja. This service according to NCC is free to all subscribers with the commencement date for all the operators fixed for November 1, 2012. According to the statement, any operator which fails to commence the service to its subscribers will be liable to fine in the sum of N5million as sanction and a further sum of

N500,000 per day as long as the contravention persists. The Commission has in a directive issued since August 2012, mandated that from 1st of November, 2012, all mobile operators shall send, free of charge, a message or an alert to both postpaid and prepaid subscribers after every call, SMS, or system generated charge or tariff, with a proviso that a subscriber can opt out if he or she so wishes.

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Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3 , 2012

Dangote, 62nd richest man in the world — Bloomberg •Richer than Zuckerberg, Murdoch, Armani BY WILLIAM JIMOH & KAYODE AMOLEGBE

The 6th Indomie Super Millionaire promo and presentation of cheque to winner of last week draw was held yesterday, at Dufil Prima Foods Ltd, Surulere, Lagos. Pix: From left: Mr. Tope Asiwaju, PR and Event Manager of Dufil Prima Foods Ltd, Mr. Okechi Nkemdirim, winner of the promo, Mr. Mideno Bayagbon, Vanguard Newspaper Editor, special guest and Mr. Manfreet Siwah, Head of Marketing of Dufil Prima Foods Ltd, During the Promo. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor

HE President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group of Companies, Mr. Aliko Dangote has been rated the 62nd richest man in the world with a net worth of $13.5 billion. According to a report by Bloomberg tagged, ‘The World’s 200 Richest People,’ Dangote is said to be richer than Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, Rupert Murdoch, CEO and founder of News Corporation, Giorgio Armani, founder of

C’ttee recommends unbundling of NNPC, deregulation BY BEN AGANDE, Abuja

HE Special Task Force on governance and control of the petroleum sector yesterday recommended that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should be broken into several companies in order to ensure greater efficiency and transparency. In its stead, the committee which presented its report to President Goodluck Jonathan recommended the National Petroleum Inspectorate (NPI) to serve as the sole industry regulator, Petroleum Asset Management Company (PAMCO) to manage the country’s interests in hydrocarbon exploration and the National Oil Company (NOC) which will function like the NNPC but with 49 percent private stakes . The committee also rec-

ommended that the Nigeria Content and Capacity Development Agency and the National Frontier Exploration Unit be formed to promote the country’s active participation in its petroleum sector. Chairman of the task force, Dotun Suleiman who submitted the report emphasised that in order to ensure effective management of the oil sector, government must establish the firms which he said should be run as private sector concerns. The committee also recommended that the minister of petroleum should not be on the board of any of the companies other than the NOC which takes charge of the technical aspect of the industry. In another report presented by Special Task Force on refineries, the committee recommended the immediate construction of three additional refineries to be sited in Lagos, Bayel-

sa and Kogi states in order to boost fuel supply. Alternate chairman of the panel, Yusuf Ali who presented the report on behalf of the Chairman, Kalu Idika Kalu said “we have developed a plan for self sufficiency in petroleum products in Nigeria within the shortest possible time. Existing refineries should be privatised within eighteen months. We need full deregulation of prices but before then, there should be palliatives.” He said government must also encourage energy conservation by patronising CMG vehicles. The committee also recommended the deregulation of

the Petroleum sector while recommending that palliative measures be put in place to cushion the effect on the people. In his remarks, President Goodluck Jonathan regreted that the country has continued the importation of petroleum products several years after it started oil production. ” We discovered crude oil in 1956 and we have been exporting since 1958 but we are still importing finished products. We must give ourselves time frame to end importation, we wanted to do it but we were waiting for this report”.

Armani designs who were stated as having net worths of $10.7 billion, $10.4 billion and $7.8 billion respectively. In the report, Mexico’s Carlos Slim, Chairman, America Movil SAB Emeritus, emerged the richest, with a net worth of $77.5 billion, followed by the founder of Microsoft Company Bill Gates who has a net worth of $64.4 billion, while the chairman of Inditex SA, Amancio Ortega, with a net worth of $53.6 billion made the third position. Others on the top ten list include: Warren Buffett with a net worth of $48.4 billion; Ingvar Kamprad $41.8 billion; Charles Koch, $38.6 billion; David Koch, $38.6 billion; Larry Ellison, $37.2 billion; Christy Walton, $30.5 billion, and Jim Walton with a net worth of $29.3 billion. However the founder of Facebook Zuckerberg, is ranked 88th on the list, while the owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, is ranked 51 with a Net worth of $14.7 billion and Sunil Mittal the owner of Bharti Airtel with a net worth of $6.2 billion is

NAF promotes 129 officers, day in Abuja announced 14 AVMs BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI, Abuja

HE Nigerian Air Force, NAF, yester-

ACN, ACF decry nationwide scarcity of petrol BY EMEKA MAMAH

HE Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, have decried the nation-wide scaricity of petrol and asked the Federal Government to remove the obstacles standing on the path of making petroleum products available to Ni-

gerians. The opposition ACN lashed out at the People’s Democratic Party, PDP led Federal Government for allegedly raising the price of petrol through the back door, saying that by creating artificial scarcity of the product, Nigerians were being forced to pay more than the official price. National Publicity Sec-

ranked 182nd on the list. On the bottom list are: Walter Faria with a Net worth of $6.1 billion; Leonid Fedun, with a net worth of $6.0 billion; Terry Gou with a net worth of $6.0 billion; Richard LeFrak with a net worth of$6.0 billion; Miuccia Prada Bianchi with a net worth of $6.0 billion; Ivan Glasenberg with a net worth of $6.0 billion; Silvio Berlusconi with a net worth of $6.0 billion; Jeffery Hildebrand with a net worth of $6.0 billion; Shiv Nadar with a net worth of $5.9 billion; Steve Schwarzman with a net worth of $5.8 billion and John Sall with a net worth of $5.8 billion. Alhaji Dangote, MFR, GCON, born 10th April 1957 in Kano, Nigeria, is a self-made business magnate of the Dangote Group, with an estimated net worth of $13.5 billion. Born into a wealthy Hausa-Muslim family, his mother Mariya Sanusi Dantata was the granddaughter of legendary Hausa businessman Alhassan Dantata, and his father Mohammed Dangote was Dantata’s business associate.

retary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed made the accustion in a statement in Lagos yesterday. Also, the ACF decried ‘’the severe shortage of petroleum products across the northern states with the dire consequencies on economic activities’’ and urged the government to resolve the problem in favour of Nigerians, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Anthony Sani, shortly after the a meeting of the forum’s Rapid Response Committee in Kaduna yesterday. However, according to the ACN, the PDP resorted to raising the price of the commodity through the back door following the rejection of its ‘’anti-people policy of raising the price of petrol earlier this year.’’

the promotion of 129 senior officers, including 14 Air Vice Marshals, 32 Air Commodores, 37 Group Captains and 46 Wing Commanders. NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas, said in a statement in Abuja that those promoted to Air Vice Marshals are Mike Iloenyosi, Frank Nyoyoko, Tee Danbaki, Salihu Bal-Ribah, Andy Tsakr, Tony Omenyi, Bashiru Saidu, Peter Abel and Muktar Magaji. Others include Olutayo Oguntoyinbo, Abiodun Idowu, Haruna Mohammed, Adebowale Odunlade and Unaji Oche. The newly promoted Air Commodores are T.E Opuiyo, B. Garba, E.O Ohanele, P.N Dimfwina, O.R Philps, E.O Alade, O.J Osahor, M.A Idris, N.O Oyibo, R.E Adedeji, H.U Mohammed, C.A Ogbeche, C.I Oghomwen, S.S Okwuokei, S.G Jeff-Zanni and CT Dii.

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 — 7

Barracks contract fraud: IGP orders investigation of senior officers •Part of N7b to pay contractors diverted BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI, Abuja

monumental fraud involving billions of naira meant for the rehabilitation of several Police dilapidated barracks across the country has been uncovered with a furious Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, setting up a Special Task Force at Force headquarters to unearth those behind the fraud. The fraud was uncovered even as it has emerged that over N5billion of the N7billion released by the federal government in 2010 for payment to contractors who had completed jobs for the Police in the last five years was diverted into a bank by a former administration of the force while the contractors have wallowed in suffering. Saturday Vanguard gathered that while most of the barracks which are in embarrassing state were recorded as having been awarded for renovation and money released for such repairs, there was nothing on ground to collaborate such records. It was later discovered that hundreds of millions

of naira was fraudulently taken away or shared allegedly by senior police officers in connivance with some contractors particularly those said to be working in the works department. In this regards Saturday Vanguard learnt that an Assistant Inspector General of Police, some Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners and others like CSP’s, SP’s etc, are being investigated

by the task force. The task force is also tasked with unraveling why contracts for renovation of barracks and procurement of equipment were awarded with the money available for payment but the funds suddenly disappeared when the contracts were duly completed. The source disclosed that the IGP is upset, how fund meant to renovate police barracks were mismanaged and nothing to show for it.

Three-year old pupil found dead in toilet, school teacher, nannies arrested

three-year old girl identified as Imiefan Omokaro was on Thursday afternoon found dead in the toilet of her school, known as Kingdom Heritage Model School along Sapele road in Benin City. She was said to have fallen into a bucket half filled with water. A source said a teacher who found the little girl at the toilet raised alarm and the girl was taken to the Winners Chapel Church, owners of the

school, where pastors engaged in marathon prayers to revive the girl. It was learnt that when the mother of the child came to the school to pick her daughter, the teacher said they were looking for the child. The source said it was after two hours that the child was taken to a hospital where a nurse on duty confirmed her dead. Father of the girl who gave his name as Omokaro Jolly said he dropped his daughter at school hale and healthy

Edo not against Mission schools — Oshiomhole BY SIMON EBEGBULEM, Benin

OVERNOR A d a m s Oshiomhole of Edo State says the state government is not hostile to the return of mission schools to their original owners but that some knotty issues must be resolved before that is done. The Governor disclosed this on Thursday during the presentation of the laurels won by Lumen Kristi International High School Uromi who represented the state in the National High School Quiz championship for emerging winner of the 2012 competition and also for being the school with the best WAEC result in the country. According to him, “I am not necessarily hostile to the

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo state signing a register during an official visit to the headquarters of Nigerian Communications Satellite, Abujayesterday. Photo by Emmanuel Elebeke

return of schools to Missions, there is room for that, but there are a couple of issues that need to be addressed, one of which is the entry barrier which must not debar children of the poor on account of their background. If this and other

issues are cleared, then we can look at it.” The Governor congratulated the principal, parents, staff and students of the Lumen Kristi International High School for the achievement which he noted is a move to return Edo State to excellence and a reminder that other students can do better.

FUNAAB appoints Professor of Marketing management

HE Governing Council of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, at the 73rd Statutory Meeting of Friday, 12th of October, 2012 appointed a Professor of Marketing Management in the Department of Business Administration in the person of Professor Oladele, Patrick Olajide to strengthen her College of Management Sciences.

Until his appointment, he was a Reader and Acting Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences of Ekiti State University (EKSU). He also doubles as the Director of EKSU ventures. Also promoted by the University are Professor Adeofun, C.O. (Environmental Remote Sensing) and Sokoya, G.O (Gender and Family Studies).

and was surprised that the school authorities could not tell him what happened to his daughter. He said his wife called him at about 3:45 to inform him that their

daughter was missing and when he got to the school, he was asked to go to the hospital where he saw his child stone dead. .According to him, “When I dropped my daughter in school, she said I should come and

pick her up so that I can buy her chocolate but I can’t see my daughter now.” The matter was reported at the Etete Police Station and it was learnt that the class teacher and two nannies have been arrested.

Lagos govt set to facilitate out-of-court settlement Etuk, the cases that will be ensuring quicker and cheap BY ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH & ONOZURE DANIA

O ensure speedy dispensation of justice in Lagos State, the state judiciary will, Monday begin the fourth edition of its Lagos Settlement week to facilitate an out-of Court settlement of some cases pending before various courts within the State judiciary. Carrying out its activity through the Lagos State Multi-Door CourtHouse, an Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR, initiative, the efforts apart from enhancing judicial system, according to the judiciary will ensure quicker and cheap dispensation of justice. Director of the Multi-Door Courthouse, Mrs Caroline Etuk, who made the disclosure at a press conference said the Settlement week was set apart by the Chief Judge to settle various classes of cases in a manner that will ensure effective and effectual administration of justice. According to Mrs

attended to in this year’s Lagos Settlement Week, LSW, are cases referred to it by judges of the Lagos high courts and cases that parties have agreed to bring before it. ”Apart from ensuring effective and effectual justice administration in the state, it also lessens the burden by

dispensation of justice”. Speaking on the veracity of the programme, Etuk said the settlement week has recorded over 50 per cent success rate in its efforts to ensure that litigants explore less expensive Alternative Dispute Resolution processes in resolving their disputes.

Jonathan charges chambers of commerce on improving business climate BY FRANKLIN ALLI & NAOMI UZOR

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday, called on the chambers of commerce in the country to work closely with the National Competitiveness Council to improve Nigeria’s business environment. The National Competitiveness Council is a private-sector led council charged with the mandate of enhancing Nigeria’s competitiveness by proposing policy recommendations that will create an economy that attracts domestic and

foreign investments without focusing on, or benefitting any specific interest group or sector. President Jonathan made the call when he declared opened the 26th edition of the Lagos International Trade Fair taking place at the main bowl of the Tafawa Balewa Square, in the State. Represented by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, he said: “I look forward to seeing the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and all other Chambers working with the National Competitiveness Council to improve our business environment,” he said.

8 — SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

Embarrassing! Ribadu, Deputy, disagree over Subsidy Report •Jonathan shocked BY BEN AGANDE, Abuja

N open disagree ment between Nuhu Ribadu and his Deputy Chairman in the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, Steve Orosanye in the process leading to the compilation of the report of the committee almost marred the presentation of the report to the presidency yesterday. But President Jonathan who obviously appeared embarrassed by the altercation however urged Nigerians not to be distracted over the issue but to focus on the subject matter of the committee which is the sanitisation of the Petroleum Sector for the benefit of Nigerians. He urged any member of the Ribadu Committee who had a contrary opinion from those expressed in the report to submit his opinion to him (president) through his Chief of staff or the Minister of Petroleum Resources. Trouble started when Mallam Ribadu submitted his report where he recommended a stricter regulation of the sector especially as regards to collection of revenue from oil companies. He said: “Mr President, the recommendation of our task force will strengthen institutions responsible for the management of petroleum institution, increase revenue accruing to the Federal Government. ”Mr. President our assignment is essentially to enhance government revenue improving transparency and accountability and help you to fight corruption in this industry. Therefore in the course of the assignment, our work was extensive, our findings detailed and our recommendations far reaching in the various issues covered in our terms of reference. ”The government will need to put in place a coherent financing solution that allows government to fund it’s obligations under the Joint Venture, JV, contract. Funding Government obligation will unlock additional capital from our JV partners which will overtime increase government revenue from the proportionate additional balance of crude oil revenues, royalties on the entire production and taxes on taxable incomes. ”Funding Government obligation will unlock additional capital from our JV partners which will overtime increase government revenue from the

proportionate additional balance of crude oil revenues, royalties on the entire production and taxes on taxable incomes. ”Most of he recommendations are about management, about people and about how we run our own affairs. It probably may not have to do with the law. PIB or no PIB, some of these things right now can be implemented and even if PIB comes, it will still be very important in getting the result. ”The Federal Government should take action on issues of outstanding royalties, petroleum revenue task, and nefarious activities for example, gas flaring penalties. Mr. president, the companies that are operating in Nigeria today are making huge money from our country. A lot of them are going out and investing in other parts of the world. The least that they can do is to give us our own entitlements. We have found out that so many of them, even simple things as royalties they don’t pay. We need the money. We need them here. We need them to continue to do business but also let them also look at us and give us what is certainly our own entitlement. ”Mr. President, another point I will properly highlight is the use of traders to sell our own crude oil. Look at it critically, Nigeria is the only country in the world today doing that other than Congo. I don’t think we should be comfortable in the neighbourhood of Congo. We have our own crude, we can sell directly like what other countries are doing. ”Mr.President, increasing crude oil theft is a national tragedy that have grave consequence and there is need for urgent government action. One of the main reasons why we are losing people who are interested in coming to do business in Nigeria... So many countries today are discovering crude oil even within our region. Ghana, Serria Leone, Liberia. Companies do have options. We have to work hard to make our place attractive for people to come and do business with us. ”The insecurity in the Niger Delta, the theft of crude oil: Nigeria is the only country in the world where people steal crude oil. It is embarrassing. You have done well already, you are doing it, but you probably have to continue with it because you have to put a stop to it” he said. No sooner had he finished his submission than

Mr Orosanye who was a Permanent Secretary and former Head of Civil Service of Federation raised objections on what he said was the‘’flawed process” adopted by the committee in arriving at its report. His position was colloborated by another member of the committee, Mr Bernard Otti who dissociated himself from the report because according to him, members did not see the report before it was submitted to the president. However, two other members of the committee, Sumaila Zubair who is the acting secretary and Ignatius Adegunle rejected the submission of Orosanye and Otti saying they never took part in the meetings of the committee. Mallam Ribadu who was asked by the president to respond to the remarks by the duo of Orosanye and Otti accused them of having compromised their positions in the committee and ought to have resigned their membership since they had accepted to be members of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. ”Then secondly Mr. President, it is your government, it is your work and whatever it is it’s you and nobody else. This recommendation is for you to use. You thought it wise to call people from outside to come into the industry and look at it critically and give you an hon-

Airtel Nigeria Launched a new product Smart bytes, Pix; from left: Mr. Tanmoiy Saha, Vice President, Usage and Retention, Airtel, Ms. Eyitayo Taire, Head of brand communications, Mr. Deepak Srivastara, Chief Operating officer and Executive Director and Mr. Olu Akanmu, Chief Marketing Officer, during the launch. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor. est opinion. ”During the work of the committee, Oransaye got himself appointed on the board of NNPC. The other gentleman who spoke, Otti became the director of finance of NNPC and they decided to more or less bully everybody to take over. And they wanted us to write for them but committee members refused. ”By the time they were appointed the honorable thing they would have done was to resign from the committee. They refused to resign. Steve has not been in the country he flew in this morning for

him to come and do this and I think our president deserve more respect than what you have done now” he said. President Jonathan while down playing the disagreement between the members noted “any member that has any observations should write it and send to me through the chief of staff or the minister. ”If there are errors of calculation from the institutions it will be filtered out. You don’t need to quarrel about it. Government has no interest in hiding any thing. It is not to investigate anybody in government. Becoming board

members of NNPC does not disqualify them to be members, sometimes you need those in establishment to explain certain things and not to influence anybody. I don’t believe anybody can influence Ribadu negatively” he said. And an obviously flustered Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dezani Allison Maduekwe who submitted the reports to President Jonathan called on Nigerians to down play the disagreement between members of the committee and focus on the salient recommendations contained there in.

Anambra set to revive Onitsha mineral water industries

HE Anambra State Government has initiated measures to resuscitate the collapsed Nigeria Mineral Water Industries, Onitsha. Governor Obi accompanied by some top Government officials, led a team of foreign investors from South Africa on inspection tour of the facility. Governor Obi said the efforts were in line with present drive by his administration to attract investors from all parts of the world to widen employment opportunities and build the economy. He lamented that such high profile industries have been wasting away over the years while the country was facing serious challenge of unemployment and expressed sadness over the degree of dilapidation and vandalisation of the facilities. According to the Governor, when revitalized, the company has the capacity to employ between two to three hundred workers. Governor Obi disclosed that for the team from

South-Africa, one of those he met in his last trip to the country, a week ago to be in the country within a week shows their seriousness. Speaking at the event, the Senior Special assis-

tant to Gov. Obi on investment attributed the renewed interest of many South-African firms in Anambra to a successful take-off of SABmiller brewery at Onitsha. “The part played by the Govern-

ment of Anambra State led by Mr. Peter Obi towards the realisation of SABmiller dream was a testimony to most of them that Anambra State Government indeed under-

stood what investment is,” he said.

Delta group lauds Gov Uduaghan BY FESTUS AHON, Ughelli

ELTA Focus Group, a socio-political group, on Thursday commended Delta State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan for re-nominating Mr. Oritsua Kpogho as board Chairman of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC. The group in a statement by its Chairman, Comrade Joshua Egun Okoh, Comrade Sunday Ohwoyigho, Secretary and PRO Comrade Saturday Mofoye held that Kpogho’s re-nomination was a welcome development.

Describing Dr Uduaghan as a visionary leader who always paved way for the wish of his people to prevail, the statement said his decision to reappoint Kpogho whom he said was a seasoned technocrat, further testified to the governor’s commitment to the accelerated development of the state. “Before the board was dissolved, the commission under the chairmanship of Kpogho had already earmarked so many people-oriented projects for all the oil bearing communities across the state. With his re-nomination, the communities would in no distant time witness massive execution of

these projects in line with the mandate area of the commission. Similarly, the youth wing of Ijaw Host Oil and Gas Producing Communities, Delta State Chapter,on Thursday hailed Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for re-nominating Mr Kingsley Otuaru as commissioner representing the Ijaw ethnic nationality on the board of DESOPADEC. In a statement issued by Comrade Clifford Atijere and Comrade Present Ipopo, Chairman and Secretary respectively, the group said the reinstatement of the board was a wise decision by the state governor.

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 — 9

Bishop Nelly, six other kidnap suspects gunned down •Police recover part of ransom paid to gang BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME, Port Harcourt

OLICE yesterday gunned down an alleged notorious kidnap kingpin, Bishop Nelly and six other members of his gang in Ogoni area of Rivers state. The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ben Ugwuegbulam who disclosed this to newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday said the Police encountered the suspected kidnappers in a fierce gun battle at their hide out in the early hours of yesterday. He said the Police trailed them to the hide out after they kidnapped a Turkish national and staff of Rivigo construction company, Mr Biram Karakus. He said the hoodlums were behind several kidnap incidents in the state and killing of Policemen. Continuing, the Police spokesman gave the name of the leader of the notorious kidnap group as Bishop Nelly, saying he was among the seven that died after the fierce gun battle. He said two ladies who were members of the gang also sustained gunshot injuries during the gun battle. DSP Ugwuegbulam said the Police recovered N98,900 being part of N20million allegedly paid to the gang as ransom to secure the release of the Turkish hostage. He said six AK 47 riffles, 444 rounds of live ammunition, 17 magazines and charms were among items recovered from the hoodlums.

“Today at about 02:50 hours, following investigation into the kidnapping of one Biram Karakus, a Turkish national and staff of Rivigo construction company, Port Harcourt, a combined team of operatives of the Rivers state Police command and Brigade AKU, stormed the militant camp of a notorious gang, also responsible for kidnapping, armed robbery, killing of policemen, civilians in recent past in Kaani, Ogoni. “On arrival at the camp, hoodlums opened fire on the team to enable them escape but police operatives returned fire and in the ensuing gun battle, six of the hoodlums were fatally

wounded. The gang leader later identified as Bishop Nelly and ten others which include two ladies sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to hospital. Seven of the wounded hoodlums including the gang leader died on the way to hospital. “, he said. Six of their operating AK 47 riffles, 444 rounds of live ammunition, 17 magazines and assorted charms were recovered. Two bags used to deliver the ransom money and sum of N98, 900 also part of the ransom of N20 million paid to them were recovered. “

Gov. Peter Obi (right), with South-African investors, Jacques Mulder (Middle) and Alan Barnes, (left) inspecting the moribund Mineral Water Industries.

Council chairman, one other person die in accident BY DAYO JOHNSON, Akure

WO persons including the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Akoko Southwest Local Government Area of Ondo State, Lady Opeyemi Adefarati have died in an auto crash along the OwoIkare Expressway. The crash according to eyewitness account occurred late Thursday. Confirming the incident, the image maker of the state Police Command, Mr. Aremu Adeniran said the incident occurred around 8:25pm at Iwaro-Oka junction along the highway. Adeniran said the accident happened when a trailer with Registration number ABJ 413 XA, lost control while descending the Oke Maria hill and

rammed into the Toyota Camry car with Registration number GG268 EKY in which the deceased chairman was travelling. Late Adefarati and the other unidentified person were said to have died on the spot. Aremu pointed out that only two persons out of the seven people that were involved in the accident died. According to the Police Image Maker, three other persons in the vehicle who sustained serious injuries included the late chairman’s police orderly. They were later rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Owo for urgent medical attention by sympatisers. Aremu said the trailer had knocked down and killed one person shortly before it ran into the vehicle conveying late Adefarati. The corpses of the late Adefarati and that of the

identified person had been deposited at the General Hospital in Ikare. It was learnt that immediately the accident occurred, officials of both the Federal Roads Safety

HE South South Youth Agenda, (SOYA) has enjoined youths in the region to brace up for change in order to tap from the immense benefits of transformational agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. Arising from its last quarter, National Executive meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the group in a communiqué by its national president, Comrade Tom Fredfish,

and the regional VicePresident, Hon. (Mrs.) Stella Inyang, described youths from the region as being steadfastness and law abiding despite several unwarranted killings and provocative utterances from the north”. They reiterated the youth’s preparedness to shun violence as a way of addressing grievances and has resolved to implement the youth agenda for the region wholeheartedly. Against this backdrop, they employed the youths in the region to endeavour to speak

with one voice particularly in mobilizing support for those who are seeking electoral offices by 2015. “We need forthright persons of proven character to vie for elective offices in the region and not corrupt, selfish and unrepentant cultists. We have identified some leading lights in the region and will honour them in line with our agenda for the region” they said. The group however listed, Senator Daisy Danjuma, Governor Godswill Akpabio, Chief Etim Inyang,

man held sway before she met her untimely death wore a mourning mood as workers gathered in group to discuss the incident.

Airtel Nigeria appoints Segun Ogunsanya as CEO

HARTI Airtel, a leading global telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, yesterday announced the appointment of Segun Ogunsanya as the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Networks Ltd, Nigeria (“Airtel Nigeria”). Mr. Ogunsanya, who will be responsible for defining and delivering the business strategy and providing

Group tasks youths ahead 2015 elections BY GAB EJUWA

Corps and the Nigerian Police Force rushed to the scene to rescue the victims. Meanwhile, the Akoko South West council area where the deceased chair-

(former police I.G), Chief Ayiri Emami, Chief Government Tompolo Mofe Mira, Sen. (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, and Erelu Olusola Obada, Minister of State for Defence (as Friend of South South) among others as potential recipients for awards slated for December. The group informed that these distinguished persons were selected for their philanthropic gestures and selfless service to the region.

overall leadership for Airtel Nigeria, will report to Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) and Joint MD, Bharti Airtel. The appointment is effective from November 26, 2012. He takes over from Rajan Swaroop, who has

successfully led operations at Airtel Nigeria for the past two years. Rajan will be appointed as NonExecutive Director on the Board of Airtel Nigeria following the completion of the transition process and will continue to work closely with the Airtel Nigeria leadership team.

Bowen Varsity convocation holds today, marks 10th anniversary

ICE Chancellor, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Prof Timothy Olagbemiro has announced the institution’s 7th convocation slated for today and tomorrow saying that the 7th convocation and 10th anniversary will be dedicated to stock taking and self assessment. Speaking on the convocation ceremony, he said that it will feature award of First Degree and Prizes for Faculty of Social and Management Sciences as well as conferment of Honorary Degree, award of Postgraduate, First Degree and Prizes in the College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, and Faculty of Science and Science Education. According to him, the

university, within the short period of existence, has produced first rate graduates in science, technology and the humanities, who combine godliness and academic excellence with a strong sense of ethical responsibility towards the development of the society at large. Olagbemiro, in a statement announcing a week-long anniversary which started October 29, said the institution has lived up to its mission of providing high quality, morally sound and socially relevant education, in the most cost effective manner, to all its students, irrespective of gender, race, colour, ethnicity or religion.

10— SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

RAGING WAR AGAINST COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLE OPERATORS

Okada Riders....clinging to hope

By Emmanuel Edukugho

he drastic fall in stan dard of living and hor rible decline in quality public transportation in the country were attributable to the emergence of motorcyles and tricycles (keke Marwa) as means of commercial transport for commuters in urban centres, cities and towns. Mr. Thompson Gomez, a 67year-old retired federal civil servant recalled with nostalgia his early days growing up and working in Lagos from 1950s to ‘ 80s when the city flourished with luxury commercial buses conveying people within the metropolis in some comfort. “Motorcycles were hardly found on the roads except a few used by security men (soldiers and police officials) and few dispatch riders. To own a personal motor cycle was rare. Motorcycles were dreadful, Taxis and buses dominated the roads and it was fashionable to ride in them. “Even some public buses were designated only for the use of school children only. To ride in Lagos Municipal Transport Service (LMTS) buses, Zarpas, Benson, Osinowo urban buses with disciplined, courteous, responsible drivers, and conductors were common for commuters in Lagos”, he told Saturday Vanguard in an interview. Gomez continued: “But things went upside down suddenly as these buses disappeared gradually with the surge of population, replaced with mini-buses – Danfo, Coaster, Molue (911 mer-

Not yet sunset for Okada operators

cedes trucks built as buses, now becoming even extinct). They were not even enough to meet with increasing number of commuters. So came the influx of motorcycles with untrained and unlicensed riders to fill the vacuum. And so this phenomenon spread across most cities and towns. Today, the situaton has gone out of control.” Due to the recklessness of Okada riders without regard for safety nor respect for traffic rules and regulations, several states have banned okada. Okada or motorcycle accidents are usually fatal with victims either dead instantly or their legs amputated. Most of the patients in Igbobi are victims of Okada accidents. Another dimension is their link with organised crimes – robbery, kidnapping, murder and ritual killing. Since the introduction of the new Lagos State traffic law, okada riders are being hunted especially by police men. Tim Okechukwu, a company dispatch rider had this bitter experience last Friday. “I was coming from the office at about 8p.m. Just few metres to the gate of

my compound, I noticed a bus trailing me behind, but I kept going not suspecting any harm. All of a sudden, the bus came behind me, two men believed to be police officers, pounced on my motorcycle, wrestled it with me and eventually carried the bike into their

bus. I tried to plead with them that I am not a commercial motorcycle rider, showed them my identity card and that I was returing from work and about to enter my compound. But they won’t listen or believe me. “They asked me to come to the police station tomorrow and

A clog in the wheels of okada riders BY CHARLES ADINGUPU

he general challenge experi enced by virtually all states in the federation remains the undaunted task of how best to tackle security. In the deep caves of the South East, kidnappers and ritualists hold sway, in the arid savannah of the north, the dreaded terrorist group, otherwise known as Boko Haram operates with reckless brutality, but in the valley of the Niger Delta, kidnappers and political gangsterism threatened the existence of once a happy people. Yet in the sprawling cities of the south West, armed robbers seemed to be in control. In the middle of all these, the commercial motorcycle operators popularly known as okada riders have been fingered as a major contributor to these

drove away with my bike. When I got to the police station next day, I was asked to pay N30,000 before I can collect the motorccle. I was shocked. How can I get N30,000?” There had been violent protest against the Lagos State traffic law prohibiting commercial motorcycle riders from operating in some areas. On August 2, 2012, the governor had signed into law, restriction of commercial motorcycles on 475 roads out of the 9,100 roads in

Continues on page 45

calamities. Against this backdrop, governors of different states restricted the operations of commercial motorcycle operators by mere pronouncement apparently to checkmate the surging crime wave. Despite the essential services that okada riders provide, they remain the most Gov Fashola abused. The cab drivers swear at them, the politicians see them as cannon fodder to be used during political campaigns, and eventually dumped afterwards. Yet, provision of motorcycles to the teeming unemployed youths has become the only sure way of tackling poverty among Nigerians. In the same way, car owners see okada operators as nuisance. Despite these bone deep resentments, the okada riders still operate under the merciless

Continues on page 45

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—11

RAGING WAR AGAINST COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLE OPERATORS

Tears of Okada riders BY CHARLES ADINGUPU

or sometime now, commercial motorcycle operators are being hacked down by a special task force raised by the government to enforce the “no Okada on Lagos Highways’ Law. However, some of the riders narrated their ordeals to Saturday Vanguard In the struggles of this life, man is not discouraged because he clings to the hope the Lord has in store for him at the end of the conflict. A trust without boundary. But this may not apply to Udeme Efiong who is left under the merciless whip of fate. His anguish lies on the far side of the world as his only means of livelihood, motorcycle, otherwise known as okada was recently impounded by policemen and Lagos State security agents. For a long while, Udeme who hails from Akwa Ibom, stared at the empty sky. Perhaps, searching for words to convey his anguish. His tattered clothes, unkempt hair both combined to describe his predicament. But at last, he broke the unusual rhythm of his silence to Saturday Vanguard. “After my ordinary national diploma (OND) way back in 1996, my parents were too poor to enable continue with my education. I searched endlessly for a job without success. But in 2007, I got employment as a security officer in a pharmaceutical firm. Eight years after- laid our colleagues and dewards, the firm went under- mand N5,000 ransom from us ground and since then, I’ve otherwise, your motorcycle will been riding okada to maintain be taken to Alausa. I’ve fallen my family as well as cater for prey on three separate occathe immediate needs of my sions, and I’ve decided to aged parents. Today, the La- search for something else to gos State government seized do,” he said. Just a year after he lost his my motorcycle for not obeying job with the Nigerian Labour their laws,” he lamented. Yet, another okada operator, Congress (NLC), Yusuf HaruJude Ebube whose motorcycle na Olademeji resorted to join was impounded at the ever the foray of commercial motorbusy Ikorodu road was left in cycle operators. For the literan embittered and pessimistic ary study graduate and secreworld. This father of four who tary general of ANACOWA, was left in horrid pit lamented Lagos State branch, the recent to Saturday Vanguard. “How law on okada riders, has left can I pay school the fees of my him with a heart of bitterness. “The restriction of our operchildren, house rent, as well as provide feeding allow- ations has widen my predicaance?,” he queries rhetorical- ment. Already, I’ve five children, two of them are in the ly. Jude who admitted raking in a whooping sum of eight thousand naira on daily basis from his okada business, threatened to go into armed robbery since all his struggle for survival has come to nut. For Toafik who plies his trade at Ketu-Alapere, the okada business has become very boring. On each passing day, Toafik and his colleagues were harassed by men of the Nigeria police. “The government banned us from plying the express way. Yet, policemen from Ketu police station would not One man riot squard let us be. By 7 pm, they way-

Oh Lord ! let this trial pass away

Eight years afterwards, the firm went underground and since then, I’ve been riding okada to maintain my family as well as cater for the immediate needs of my aged parents

university while others are still in primary secondary school. Now how do I pay their school fees talk less of the house rent and feeding,” he said. ThankGod, Umanah last Tuesday, flew off his motorcycle to escape arrest and subsequent seizure of his commercial motor bike at the Ikorodu expressway, Ojota. Yet, he was not lucky enough, as that bold adventure left him with a fractured knee and broken arm. Again, the ruthless task force officials made away with his bike to an undisclosed destination. For 29-year old Ahmed who operates at Owode Onirin, Ajegunle, his commercial motorcycle bike was impounded by some unknown policemen at

the Ikorodu police station. “I went to buy fuel and on my way, a police officer accosted me and bundled my bike to the station. He demanded for N30,000 as condition for the release of my bike. Otherwise, it will be moved to Alausa for onward destruction,” he said, I’ve to borrow the requested amount of money to reclaim my motorcycle.” At Mile 12, Yusuf lost his finger to the rampaging okada task force officials in addition to his motor bike. According to an eye witness account, Yusuf was only cruising on his brand new okada when a member of the task force used an iron rod to hit his hand. He fell off his motorcycle, whimpering in the pool of his blood on the concrete floor but the task force officials ignored him, and bundled his motorcycle into waiting Toyota Hilux truck and sped away. Also at the Island, no fewer than two thousand motorcycles have been impounded by the dreaded task force officials. Again, at Ebute Metta, about eight okada riders are currently receiving treatment at different hospitals in the metropolis. A commercial motorcycle operator domiciled at Iddo, Oyingbo, disclosed that police and task force officials harassed them on daily basis even when they keep to the rules. “Once it is 7pm, the police rushed to our park to impound our motorcycle bikes. Those whose bikes were seized were asked to pay N5,000 before they would be released to them,” he said. At Irawo, Saheed’s motorcy-

cle was battered with the butt of the police gun when he attempted to escape arrest for operating at 7.15p.m. “The head lamp of my motorcycle was smashed and the right side of the traffic light shattered. I was lucky not to have sustained any injury even though I successfully escaped,” he said. Commercial motorcycle operators at Okota still have their tale of woes as not less than 2,000 motorcycles had been impounded by both the police and task force officials of the Lagos State government. An investigation by Saturday Vanguard revealed that five okada operators are currently recuperating at different private hospitals in the area. At Ejigbo and Ikotun, two okada operators who now move about with fractured arms, courtesy of task force officials and policemen, vowed to quit the okada business upon recovery. But in Ketu, the arbitrary clamp down on okada riders by men and officers of the Nigerian police from the Ketu police station has made them to be more alert. “Once it is 7pm, the police will lay ambush and started picking our members for no reason. We pay N5,000 to the police before the okada is released to the owner. So far, about 25 members had fallen prey to their traps. We don’t ply the expressway, yet, they (police) won’t let us to work in order to feed our family,” one of them ventured to say. The modus operandi of task force officials

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12—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

RAGING WAR AGAINST COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLE OPERATORS BY EBUN SESSOU

r. Rotimi Olowo, member of the La gos State House of Assembly representing Shomolu Constituency, said the activities of ‘Okada’ operators pose security challenge to the state as they were notorious for committing atrocities. Hon Olowo who explained that their operations were only restricted told Saturday Vanguard in this interview that the State government is working hard to compete with other developed cities in the world. Excerpt Presently, Okada have been banned from operating in some major roads in the city, what does this portends for the movement of people in the State? The fact that the country cannot but focus on the relevance of security makes it important to tackle issue surrounding Okada business in the State. For me, there is more danger this particular profession poses than its benefits. While, the country cannot close its eye against the safety of its citizens, it is important to note that the issue of security is very important; ‘okada’ (motorcycle) riders are posing security threats. The fact that their operations were not restricted in the past, they therefore engaged in some misconduct including killing, stealing among other atrocities. Therefore, its restriction from major roads, would help reduce armed robbery and other social vices in the State. As a responsible government, we are not saying they should not operate; we have only restricted their movements. Their operations have been considered as the only alternative to overcome the issue of traffic jam in the State? People should cultivate the habit of walking instead of riding on motorcycle. This will enable them to be time conscious. For instance, anyone who knows that he or she would resume at his or her workplace as early as 7a.m, he or she would have woke up around 5 am to prepare for the challenges ahead. Besides, some of the problems encountered on a daily basis including traffic can also be traced to the activities of the ‘okada’ operators. Secondly, lands in Lagos are 3,577 square kilometers that is the length and breadth of the state and 455 kilometers as water body. Then, we have over 18 million people in the state with about 1 million vehicles plying the roads in the state and this situation affects the life span

We have only restricted their movements

you can’t just go to California and say you want to live there, it is expensive because that is where all the stars in America live, so, if you cannot live in New York, you can go to Chicago or Maryland, and Florida is expensive too. If what you are doof our roads. Everything has ing is not relevant to its own life span that is why the socio-economic acwe are talking of mass transit, tivities of Lagos, we we talk of water transportation, have the hinterlands road transportation and rail there. If you are a weldtransportation that is what we er, an artisan and your are doing. services are required If you look at Ikorodu; for exfor building, why can’t ample in Badore, we have a jetyou go to Ikorodu, ty there, if you go to Ipakodo, Badagry or Epe, those we have a jetty there, there is are the suburbs, where another one coming up in Osbuildings are coming borne, we will have in Mile 2, Olowo up and you cannot and Badagry, so, they are parts compare the cost of livof our inter connectivity. sanitised, with rules and reg- ing there to Ikoyi, Lekki or LaThen, BRT would be expand- ulations that would checkmate gos Island. ed, if you look at the structure the people, things would go You see doctors, company diof Ikorodu, it can accommodate worse. Lagos of today is dif- rectors in the United States of 200 buses, so what the state ferent to what was obtainable America going on buses; they government is doing is that, if some 30 years ago. When we park their cars and go on pubyou want to go by sea, you will talk about sustainability, we are lic transport. In London, their take BRT public transdown to the port is about jetty, then the best in the Besides, some of the problems encounyou go on world, people water, the tered on a daily basis including traffic can go through same goes to buses and in also be traced to the activities of the Osborne or some cases, ‘okada’ operators Badore. train. That is As I am what we are speaking looking at, we with you, Lagos State is high- talking about our activities to are fashioning ours close to ly polluted due to human ac- bring about development. London because we have the tivities and life expectancy in So, we are concerned with same socio-economic reality Nigeria is not more than 47 the security and health of the with them. London is the combecause of our activities. We do people. A lot of people came mercial nerve centre of the not engage ourselves in so to Lagos with the belief that ev- United Kingdom, and it is much rest, exercise and at the erything is a bed of roses, right small in size, same goes for same time, we inhale carbon- now, they cannot sustain them- Lagos State. monoxide everyday. Everybody selves, so, they don’t have On bad roads, if the number is eager to come to Lagos of anything to do in Lagos. of vehicles on our roads is reabout 20 million people. This People live in New York, but it duced, and we now use mass means that, if the State is not is very expensive to live there, transit, obviously it would re-

— Lawmaker

duce the frequency on the road and it would help us to work. We have limited resources and contending needs, we talk about health, education, housing, transportation, roads and water and these can be realised if we have unlimited resources like we have $2 billion or $5 billion. We are doing the rail projects in Badagry and others with our limited resources. It is not that the project is funded by the World Bank; government cannot put food on our table every time, we have to sacrifice, and we need to look beyond our nose. You once said that if unemployment is not checked, the youth are in trouble. But, now, thousands of families, youths, women and children have been affected by this action? I am afraid things are turning the other way round. Some of the Okada operators migrated to Lagos because their activities were halted. Okada activities have been banned in some States and because of this, everybody sees Lagos as a rescue place. Everybody wants to come here and they are not helping our commerce, they disguise as ‘okada’ riders, in the night and turn to other things, they are unregulated. You won’t know who-is-who, some of them don’t even live in Lagos in the day, they come here, but they live outside the state. We have given them consideration. When they ply inner roads, the ‘okada’ riders would know themselves, a situation, where everybody is operating on the express and you don’t know one another will be eliminated. If they see any stranger, they would drive him away.

Idea, not well thought-out —Ogudoro C

ommunication, Innovation, Education & Development Consultant and Career Strategist as well as NIPR ACT Programme Administrator & Authorized Manager (Nigeria) of Oxford College of Marketing(UK), Peter Ogudoro in this interview opined that ban on Okada operators in the State is not well thought-out. What is your opinion on the ban of Okada in Lagos State? Obviously, the government is interested in moving Lagos to the acclaimed mega city status and their aspiration is to make it as clean and habitable as possible for people who live in Lagos. But, I think that, it was not well thought out. It is as if it wasn’t the ideal step to take but we are looking at timing. It was too sudden especially when it is taken from the angle of the impact on the quality of lives of the Okada operators and even the commuters. Because alternative arrangement has not been made for the people who have been used

to that system as livelihood and for commuters have seen them as a major source of transportation within the State. So, you find a lot of people trekking long distances because they don’t have alternative means to get home. Putting that together, you will discover that the gains you are trying to achieve by banning okada will be wiped off almost completely by hours you use on the road and social consequences on the means of livelihood. When is the right time? It will be that time when the government would have given the people involve enough time to retrain and find the financial resources to move into other means of livelihood. But, obviously, that has not been done, people especially when we look at the quality of education we give in Nigeria, the people cannot suddenly move into another environment to find means of sustenance. So, most Nigerians lack skills. For instance, car-

pentry is an easy approach to find a means of livelihood. And the right time will be when the people have been given opportunity via an enabling platform. There are lots of other areas that the people can be assisted to make more money than riding Okada.

Ogudoro

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—13

How 13-yr-old girl miraculously escaped from ritualists 10 others used for rituals BY ISHOLA BALOGUN HEN Emmanuela, 13, a W JSS student of Shadoff Secondary school, Igbogbo, set

out on that fateful day for her usual Thursdays fellowship and faith clinic service at the church, little did she know that it was going to be the most horrifying experience of her life as a teenager. But by divine intervention, Emmanuela returned to tell the grueling story of her kidnapp and how she was slated for rituals before God set her free. But other ten passengers could not live to tell their stories. According to her, “I entered the bus from Igbogbo around 7pm. I was going to my church for our Thursday vigil. When I entered the bus, I noticed that all the passengers in the bus were sleeping. They were about ten. I felt something was wrong and I quickly told the driver to stop for me that I had forgotten my transport fare at home. The conductor then said that I should not worry that he would not collect

money from me. I insisted I would get down, shouting that I was going to church and I would not be able to come back home even if he did not collect money from me. But he refused. As we were arguing on that, the conductor immediately brought out a handkerchief and waved it on my face and that was the last thing I remembered. “I then saw myself at a shrine with other victims. The following day at the shrine, they began to kill others with knife and machete one after the other. Although we were blindfolded, yet, I was able to see a bit of what was going on. They decided Sunday would be my turn when they would conclude their rituals.” “We were there without food or water, and when it got to my turn on Sunday, I was taken to the shrine again along with the remaining two. But I heard one of them saying ‘no, they should return me back to where they picked me. We were three left out of about eleven people.” But instead of returning me

back to where they picked me , they kept me somewhere. The following day which was Monday, they took the three of us back to the shrine. The other two were killed that day, leaving only me. One of them again told the men that they should look for another person to replace me and that they should return me immediately. But they refused saying that they cannot return me and that they should manage and use me like that. After the argument, I was laid at the shrine, at that point, with the little consciousness I had, I was praying, I was weak and could not even move my body. I realised that the killer could not bring his knife on me. The next thing I heard was that ‘take this girl away’. Again, that was what I saw until I found myself at the Ita Elewa, Ikorodu late at night.” Emmanuela said: “It was dark, I didn’t know how I got there; I just suddenly discovered I was out of their hands, but I was very weak. There, I saw a man in a suit walking on the street. I approached him and asked him where I was? He told me Ita-Elewa; I begged him to take me to my church because it was very close to the area they dropped me. He obliged me. When I entered the church, I fell and lay by the gate. "As a member of the drama group, we usually hold drama rehearsals every Tuesdays. So, it was co-incidental that the members of the group were there at that time. "Somebody who was sent by our leader to check the gate saw me and took me inside, prayed for me and gave me food to eat. "Throughout my stay there, I was never hungry, until I came out." Asked to describe the area where the ritual took place, Emmanuela said what she saw were materials and accessories used by ritualists, such as charms, knives, machetes among others. She explained that it was an isolated area, adding “there is no living house in the area. I really don’t know the place, but what I saw there were things used by ritualists. I can’t really say whether it was in Ikododu or its outskirts and I can’t determine the time we spent on the road because I didn’t even know how I got there.” Grandma rejoices "It was on a Thursday and we use to have our Faith

C M Y K

Emmanuela

Clinic in the Church. The Drama group which she belongs, had a vigil and she was going to attend that vigil when she left home. Usually, she comes home after the vigil the following morning around 6:30am. But that Friday, I was expecting her to come but she did not come. I initially thought she slept off in the church. Three hours later, I called the leader, and to my amazement, he said she didn’t come to church. I rushed down to the church to tell them when and how she left home the previous day. The following day, I reported the matter at Ikorodu police station. I also reported to our Pastor and other Churches in the area for prayers. Throughout this period, I was devastated. I knew something was wrong because I knew she couldn’t stay outside for days without seeing me. I have always trusted her. She has grown to know me very well, she has been with me since she was born. I know what she is capable of doing. She finds it difficult to stay outside our home even when I traveled out of town. So, I knew something terrible was about to happen to her. I told people she must have been kidnapped or held somewhere. So, I engaged pastors to help me in prayers. But the revelation from all angles was that she was alive and will return. My son went to Ajegunle

to see a man-of-God and we were assured she would come back. He was even told to mention the day we want her to return. My brother said tomorrow being Tuesday, and the man-of-God said she will come back either Monday or Tuesday. I vacated my house at Igbogbo to my sister’s house at Sabo to keep in touch with people who assist me in prayers. At about 11pm, my phone rang and I was told she was brought to the church late Tuesday around 11pm. I could not go immediately because it was late as there was no vehicle on the road, but then, I couldn’t sleep. You know in this kind of situation, people will say a lot of funny and unpalatable things, some said she went after a boyfriend and other things. She was so weak and atrophied when she returned. I couldn't imagine a girl will stay with a boy for days and look so dirty, weak and emaciated. So, I decided to take her to a hospital for a test. She was tested, and I can tell you that she was not touched, she remains intact.” said Emmauela’s grandma. The other unknown ten passengers could not live to tell their story, their identities are not known just as their families most probably would still be searching every nook and cranny for their whereabouts.

14—SATURDAY Vanguard , NOVEMBER 3, 2012

he greater Beiram Festival of the Muslims has ended in another glorious flourish leaving in its wake the echoes of pleas and prayers for peace all over the world. It has been thus for years past. Humanity has lost its grip on peace for so long that the situation of confrontation, conflagration and contumely in any form of relationship now seems more associated with normal life than otherwise. The break-up of marriages is no longer news. Weddings appear to be only the prelude to incidents of divorce. Contributing to this sad state is that there is an environment which provides a soft landing in the accommodating atmosphere that readily absorbs the offensive and the unpleasant. The agony of separation in a family is diffused by the similarity in several other cases that abound. Some notion of a modern trend is wantonly attached to it in some parts of remains the price of war. the world, suggesting that a Winston Churchill is reputed to wholesome solidarity in any have declared that, “It is better family is “old-fashioned”. But to jaw-jaw than to war-war.” as long as the human And no one would probably weaknesses of lasciviousness know that better than the old and uncontrolled passion war-monger himself. But persist, men and women will diplomacy hardly has any place continue to be defeated by in the world today. Rather, the their own individual super-powers share a policy of waywardness. contained conflict among the less powerful nations of the rom poisoned personal world, having pushed relationship, it is only a themselves to a point at which short step to distrust in they frighten one another with business relationship. It is the devastating prospect of now almost the mark of big nuclear warfare. business to engage in The tussle for political power, protracted, expensive and however, still continues upsetting wrangling between unabated but is restricted gigantic business houses, within national borders among especially in the the people. Governments are telecommunications industry. being toppled violently, like in It leads many a time to huge the so-called Arab Spring losses in profits that which swept away nearsometimes cause dynastic institutions around retrenchment of workers in a the Mediterranean. Good world crying out for governments ensure peace for employment even in the areas the people, but the unrest of skilled workers. But it is all caused by the violent attempts in conformity with the spirit of to establish them still pervades the times which seems to the entire region. The case of abhor the ideal of accord in Syria is pathetic. A government business relationships. It is reduced there to turning its stems from the motive for the guns on its own people, who pursuit of success in business, respond in good measure. Call in the first place, and ties up it revolution, or call it rebellion. neatly with the tragic It remains a sad, revolting circumstances of personal reflection of a world in distress. relationships. Businesses are Regrettably, we have had a not founded for the promotion bit of all that, in one measure of human upliftment generally or the other, here in Nigeria any more, but for the elevation too. There is a kind of of the ego. insurgency, if you please, that This is all enlarged in international relations.. There are wars, or rumours of war, all over the Middle East and in some parts of East and West Africa. Some of them are linked to religious expansionism which is the springboard of the Jihadist movement, as we are has not ceased from baffling us experiencing with the Boko Boko Haram in the Haram in Nigeria. The genre phenomenon. We have not of religious wars springs from really experienced such an a passionate religious fervour, event before now. It is so the depths of which is vicious and more pervasive impossible to sound. The than we know. It defies advocates propound lofty conventional detective theories for what is to others no measures since it defeats the less than plain madness. There effectiveness of intelligence and is no meeting ground, no venue leaves a paucity of useful clues. for conducting a discourse, The people are almost in a except at the battlefront. frenzy to bring it to an end, but But there is also the war that you cannot hurry a traveler in is caused by the desire for the dark. You can only grope territorial acquisition, usually until there is, at least, a glimmer because of mineral resources of light, and that means in the areas over which there patience. Many people think is dispute. And the mineral the patience of Nigerians has resource usually in question, been blown up in suicide of course, is oil. It is at the basis attacks months ago, but the of the problems in Sudan and insurgents are still talking Southern Sudan, for instance. peace, and we are yet The loss of human lives listening.

*the way of peace *t *the way of the wind

*President Jonathan

e also need a lot of patience with one another as a people who define their form of government as democracy. The routinely contumacious attitude of the National Assembly to the consideration of the national budget, which is a pillar of governance and a duty it has to perform responsibly, continues to delay the passing of the proposals, year in year out, and cannot be calculated to promote peace in the country. Of course, one is not advocating a subservience of the legislature to the executive as it is well known that they are “separate but equal”. But the spirit of cooperation and respect which

The President has demonstrated that he knows how to be a Nigerian

would create the synergy that would promote the smoothrunning of governance and make for peace could be more prominently displayed. More evident today is an embarrassing vista of acrimony which featured a view of proposed impeachment of the President. Peace flies out of the window when that chant begins to swell. In the case of the Nigerian Civil War - which some people like to refer to as the Biafran war, and why not?— there is also a school of thought which prefers to associate it with oil. I think not, although the oil of the Delta might have crept in as a factor at some stage. But it seems to have begun as a kind of insurgency which got bloated out of hand, with the

We have been warned to expect our own share, especially in Lagos

introduction of words like “pogrom” and “genocide” into the proceedings. And although we have been through with the Civil War it would appear that the war is not yet through with us. It is a horror when people from different sectors have issues with one another, but it is hell when disagreements arise among elements of the same ethnic group who exist cheek by jaw with each other. It would be almost impossible to distinguish a native of Akwa Ibom State from a citizen of Bayelsa State, if one was not from that part of the country. And yet, they are staging demonstrations, one against the other, over an issue that could be very well contained by a peaceful discussion in a mature way. It serves no useful purpose whatsoever, to drag the President of the nation into the matter as we are witnessing. It is not just embarrassing, it is also disgraceful. The President has demonstrated that he knows how to be a Nigerian, even though Bayelsan .Yet he cannot totally divest himself of what he is. All the same, he seems to have kept himself clean away from the wrangling in the two states in the area of his birth. It is uncharitable in every way to connect him with a demonstration at which his name or office was not mentioned. It is doing his natal linkage with his home state a disservice by his own people. That is not the way of peace. What President Goodluck Jonathan has done in the developing feud about oil fields among Kogi, Enugu and Anambra States in similar circumstances, is what we should encourage him to do more of and not through street patades either. He invited stakeholders in the dispute to a meeting, where he indicated guidelines about how the issues should be resolved. At the end of the confab, one of the participants, Anambra State Governor Peter Obi commented: “The outcome of the meeting is very amicable. The issues regarding where the oil wells are located will be settled amicably. We will work together as states of this federation. “ That is the way of peace. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou heareth the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, or where it goeth ... “ I must resist the temptation

to dilate on the context of those words of Jesus Christ from St. John’s Gospel. However, one can mention that it was in relation to the freedom granted to those who are born of the spirit. These are special people like the wind itself which, according to the Psalmist, God “brings out of His treasuries.” With all the modern advancement in meteorology, no one can still fully determine the origin of a wind pattern, though we can now trace its course after it has been set after God has brought it “out of his treasuries”. As a former “weather man”, I used to be extremely fascinated whenever I noticed what appeared to be a storm formation through instruments for observing and recording the speed and direction of a local upper wind phenomenon, though the instruments available fifty years ago are now totally obsolete. But even now, tsunamis still sneak in through all those modem instruments to devastate large areas of the earth. And then storms have been known, more often than not, to change directions and chose different routes to commit havoc. They even sometimes perform a volte-face to wreak untold devastation on lives and property over areas they had traversed earlier.

f the type of that “super storm” which ravaged parts of the Eastern coast of the US had visited us, which God forbid, we would have hardly been as prepared as the New Yorkers were. But though they knew it was coming, they never knew such a “blower” before. Perhaps only Haiti has ever had a taste so bitter, and yet it hit them again this time. As fellow human beings, we should commiserate with them and the others in Asia, Europe and around the world. They say it is all an aspect of “Climate Change”. Maybe, but I have definite ideas about that which we may share here later. We have been warned to expect our own share, especially in Lagos. It is said that preparations are afoot, especially in the coastal areas. But one has not noticed any flurry of activities in that regard, and the wind is not limited to coastal areas in its effect when it is released by the Almighty from His treasuries. That is the way of the wind. Time out.

SATURDAY

ndia, Germany, France, UK, USA, Dubai and even South Africa. These are the favourite haunts of our elites whenever they have any ailment or any discomfort. Almost all our elected and selected leaders fly abroad every year for treatment. Some go every six months. Some, I hear, go every month! I have heard of a particular female minister in this cabinet who goes to the UK for dental appointment! Can you imagine the cost; just to fix a toothache? And when she can not find the time to go, flies the doctor in. What a waste. What an insensitive waste. Last week, the Governor of Taraba State, Governor Suntai was involved in a plane crash and has been reportedly ‘flown abroad for treatment’. Now,a private plane, whether borrowed, leased, or purchased, is an expensive way to move around. Especially if you are the governor of one of the poorer states in the country. But such is the disconnect between our leaders and the rest of us, that few eyebrows, if any, are raised concerning this man’s chosen mode of transportation. A couple of weeks ago, the first Lady returned to the country from a medical trip amidst mindless pomp and pageantry – considering the fact that we were not informed when she was ‘flown abroad for treatment’. If we didn’t know the ‘whither’ and the ‘whence’ surrounding her departure, why should we partake in her gleeful home coming?

in building and equipping the National Hospital in Abuja. It was to stop this bleeding that Obasanjo’s government pledged to upgrade some of our Teaching Hospitals. They obviously had little confidence in what they built because at critical moments, their wives were ‘flown abroad for treatment’. Sadly, neither of them made it back. Yet, Nigeria is so blessed. We have highly skilled professionals all over the world. People who are assets to any country. The good news is; most of them want to come back. ‘ the really sick people are in Africa’ one said to me. Another said ‘ if I can impart just twenty percent of what I know to my country, I will die a happy man’ But our leaders, from Gowon to Jonathan, have played lip service to Nigerians in the diaspora. The way those who have dared to come back have been treated has not encouraged the others to take the plunge. Yet, need them we do. One way of skinning this particular cat, is to encourage our skilled medical practitioners abroad, to pool together and come to setup three or four first class hospitals. They know themselves, and if they feel they can trust the government, will come up with the ways and means in achieving this. Ambassador Kolade did a wonderful job with Nigerian professionals in the UK when he was the Nigerian Commissioner. They know and trust him. He could therefore be useful. Another way of ensuring that the many

Canyou imagine the cost; just to fix a toothache? And when she can not find the time to go, flies the doctor in

he term ‘flown

abroad for treatment’ has become such a cliché that we don’t even think about it anymore. Yet we should; because, if anything, it is a thing of shame that our elites go abroad for any, and everything – from toothache to tummy ache; from cancer to cosmetic surgery. But more than the huge cost involved in this medical adventures, is the fact that our leaders are the ones exposing our underbelly to the outside world, and advertising our underdevelopment. Leaders who can not be treated in their countries are failures. Last month, a young girl was shot in the head at close range. A war torn, crisis stricken Pakistan was able to save her life and stabilise her enough to be sent to the UK and I am sure her being in the UK is as much for medical reasons as it is for security reasons. My respect for Pakistan has grown because I know what would have happened if the incidence had taken place in Nigeria. Yet, it was to stop this figurative bleeding that Babangida’s government poured millions of naira

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medical trips to India etc, are halted, is to pass a law to stop political leaders and their immediate family, from being ‘flown abroad for treatment’

y proposal is to ask the Civil Society to sponsor a bill that says ‘from year 2020, seven years from now, anybody who aspires to rule us as Governor, President, or Congressman, must undertake to treat himself, and his family, in Nigerian hospitals. If he can not do that, then he should leave us alone. A few serious ailments can be exempted if we so wish. Secondly, state funds must not be used to treat anybody abroad. It might be too late for us to benefit from this law. But I bet you, our children will because by 2019, we would have had some first class medical facilities. Then, for once, it can truly be said that ‘for their tomorrow, we gave our today’. P.S. no political leader should be allowed to have private jets until we have a National Carrier.

Welcoming a new author to town; Ifeanyi Ilechukwu

n this era of exciting tale that economic crunch, discovers the pervasive hunger, crossroads where decaying infrastructure, hearts meet crown. low level human capital According to the development and a young author when he demoralising sociospoke with this writer, political orientation, “the book is set in getting the brain to think precolonial era of and rationalize ideas Nigeria focused on the and thoughts could be main character Ada, very tasking and and her journey painstaking. through marriage, At times, settling down religion and the *Ilechukwu to articulate thoughts creeping shadows of and ideas that could make meaning for deception”. In this journey, the the society could be very disturbing writer carefully places the reader at and nerves wrecking. At times also, it the edge of this story where the could be very frustrating trying to get words become moving pictures that the right mood to put thoughts down visually bring an African tale to life. in lucid prose for the reading pleasure According to Ifeanyi, his desire to of the public. put down his thoughts in a flowing This is why I do not envy the literary prose laced with symbols and exploits of citizen Ifeanyi Ilechukwu, symptoms of well-written English, 24 year-old Nigerian who has decided was partly a way to pour out a tale to present his thoughts, emotions and that appeals to him most profoundly literary ideas in a well articulated 185so that the reader will share in his paged fiction entitled ADA, to fulfil his world of fiction. As a young author inner desires as a budding author. His also, he explains to me some of his ability to create time to document his challenges in getting the work out and fictive reasoning in very symbolic and now ready for launch on Saturday, illustrative prose calls for serious November 10, 2012 at the Bishop consideration and celebration. Kelly Pastoral Center Benin City. Ifeanyi Patrick Ilechukwu represents Nurtured by a God-fearing mother the fighting spirit of the younger Madam Grace Ilechukwu, Ifeanyi generation of Nigerians who are comes across as a young man with determined to make meaning out of maturing intellect and profound life than its mundane realities, a knowledge of literary writing. He says determination that has enabled him to with enthusiasm that “more of my break the bogey of unemployment literary works are in the pipeline and and underemployment to make use of in no time, I will begin to unfold my his precious time. literary ability. ADA, is a story that replicates the Thank God for my caring mother pre-colonial era of Nigeria where since I became fatherless at a tender religion, marriage and betrothed age of three”. emotions are usually given a serious In a society with waning reading thought in a typical African village culture, writing could be quite setting. Ifeanyi is a holder of masters degree in media and communications from Pan African University, having obtained his first degree in Information and Computer System from Benson Idahosa University. He presently works as Data Consultant in the Finance Department of Global Fund Organisation, G e n e v a , S w i t z e r l a n d . debilitating. A work of art is better appreciated by the number of people DA; a tale of hearts and crowns is who reads it. For those who have the self explanatory and gives an god-given talents to explore, writing account of the widely held belief of to them is a natural thing that flows how gods can script the life of anyone from the innermost. ADA...a story of hearts and crowns is presented in in pre-colonial Africa. Ada, the main very clear print and in a size that character of the story has no choice makes it handy like a reader’s digest. than to play her part in a world that From the first chapter to the last, was scripted by the gods. Set in a the author holds the reader in awe rustic village of Afudo, getting married and suspense, thus making the book is the beginning of the end, however, apparently unputdownable. You will she finds a faith so strong and peaceful have no option than to want to read that could open doors she always through the entire book in one fell dreamt of. swoop. Ikenna’s heart belongs to another but That, according to the author, is his he must also find a way to get rid of his own way to arrest the reader’s betrothed. A marriage of attention and interest. Citizen inconveniences one could say, and Ifeanyi deserves all the accolades, what later became the end product of support and encouragement from the such a marriage? The author leaves the reading public to continue to fire him reader in perfunctory suspense. to greater heights. Ifeanyi, Beyond heartbeats scheming plots and congratulations. May your pen a destiny planned by gods, is an never go dry.

Flown abroad for treatment

Vanguard Vanguard,, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—15

In a society with waning reading culture, writing could be quite debilitating

16—SATURDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

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Vanguard, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 — 17

18—SATURDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 Dear Julie, I have been going out with a wonderful girl for over a year now. She is smart, caring, and pleasant. But, someone else has come into the picture. She is also wonderful, smart, and pleasant, and I can’t stop thinking about her. My girlfriend doesn’t know this, but it’s changing me on the inside. I have this terrible feeling it’s only a matter of time before something big happens. I am at total war on the inside, sometimes my heart says “stay ” while my mind says “leave.” Other times, my mind says “stay ” while my heart says “leave.” I am so confused. Please help. Tommy, Ilesha

Dear Tommy, Think about what you would lose and what you would gain by “leaving” and by “staying.” What kind of relationship do you have together? What plans do you and your girlfriend have for the future?

He doesn’t kiss me anymore

Should I stay or should I go? What do you want right now and in the future? Your answers to these questions may help you understand what you’re feeling at the moment. Sometimes, we look for the path of least resistance out of a relationship. Could it be that this new girl is your ticket out of a relationship you no longer want to be in? Perhaps, you want your current relationship to become more open to the idea of see-

ing other people . Or, maybe you need “alone time” — not to be in any relationship so that you can decide what’s best for you at this time? Then again, there’s the possibility that you’re attracted to this other girl. Nothing more, nothing less. And, it may have nothing to do with your girlfriend. If you act on this attraction, something will

happen. But, a few weeks or months down the road, you might realize that what happened (say, a breakup with your current girlfriend) was not what you really wanted. Try to decide what you want, and then act on that. One last thought...the grass isn’t always greener on the other side . You have to decide if you want to take the risk to find out.

There’s no harmony in my relationship Aunty Julie, I’ve been dating a lady for the past six months but there is no harmony in our relationship. We love each other very much and cannot afford to stay apart but there are always problems. Is it possible to love someone and just not be able to get along with that person? I’m afraid of losing her and fear I may not be able to cope alone without her. If this relationship ends , how do I get over it especially when none of us wants to let go, yet it seems to be a necessity? Taiye, Ibadan Dear Taiye Yes, it is possible to love someone and just not be able to get along with that person. No relationship is conflict-free. The important thing is not whether you disagree, but how you disagree. Sometimes couples argue a lot because they have simply not developed simple, respectful ways of talking and listening. Sometimes they want to persuade the other person to change his/her opinion, behaviour,

it is possible to love someone and just not be able to get along with that person. No relationship is conflict-free. The important thing is not whether you disagree, but how you disagree. or mind. If this might be the problem, consider seeking counsel for the express purpose of learning how to disagree constructively. A couple can often make rapid progress toward a more harmonious relationship when poor communica-

• * A lady who had been married for several years was growing more and more frustrated at her husband’s lack of interest in sex. She wondered about ways to add some pizzazz to their relationship, and finally decided to purchase some crotchless underwear she had seen in a lingerie shop. One evening when she was feeling particularly desirous, and he was, as usual, watching television, she took a shower, freshened up, and donned the crotchless undies, and a slinky negligee. She then strolled between her husband and the television, and suggestively tossed one leg up on his chair arm. ‘Want some of this?’ she purred. ‘Are you kidding?’ he replied. ‘Look what it did to your C M Y K

tion is truly what’s at issue. On the other hand, in many cases, a relationship that has formed and endured despite constant disagreement and argument is a relationship that is perhaps not based on love between two independent adults, but rather between two co-dependent people, stuck ing a challenging dynamic. However, if you are a young, childless couple and your relationship is fraught with not being able to get along, and you try counseling and don’t see reasonably rapid results (that is, some discernable easing of tension within six months), then it might be wisest for you two to move on and see if you can each find partners with whom you are more compatible. Remember, it is important, when it comes to relationships, to use your head, as well as listen to your heart. A healthy relationship needs to make you feel good, not stressed or unhappy. If you decide to dissolve the relationship, how do you get over that loss? It will

probably be hard at first, and you may never get over it completely. What are your fears, how do you feel, what has changed, and how will you cope? Look to family and friends for support. Allow yourself time to grieve, and see a counselor if the grief and sadness linger for more than a year. With time, people heal and move on.

If, over time, you discover that your relationships all seem the same, where you care about one another but you disagree, then this is important information to have as you talk with a therapist, gain new perspective, and create new patterns. What is it that gets you to choose people with whom you can’t get along? What do you bring to relationships that contributes to disharmony? When you can get to talk about and learn from these kinds of questions, you will be more likely to choose a more appropriate partner to love and with whom you can build a healthy, happy relationship.

C O C K - T A L E S underwear’ • * Wife was mad at me Two deaf men were in a coffee shop discussing their wives. One signs to the other, ‘boy was my wife mad at me last night! She went on and on and wouldn’t stop!’ The other buddy says ‘when my wife goes off on me, I just don’t listen. How do you do that?’ Says the other. It’s easy! I turn off the light! • This guy called up his lawyer to tell him he was filing for divorce, and the lawyer inquired as to the grounds for the suit. ”I’ve got grounds, all right,” sputtered the irate husband. “Can you believe my wife told me I’m a lousy

My guy and I used to kiss a lot before, during and after sex. But my man no longer kisses me during sex? We still have sex on a regular basis, but he no longer looks at me while we have sex. He always covers his face when we are together. It has been months since he has kissed me. I am starving for affection. I happen to be in love with this man. Felly, Calabar Dear Felly, To find out why this man has stopped the smooching, you may need to start moving your lips for a different reason , to communicate by way of talking. A dose of healthy communication with your partner about your sexual and emotional needs and desires will most likely lead you to a better understanding of the current situation. Before you start the conversation, consider ruling out any physical reasons why your partner has stopped kissing you. It’s possible there’s a simple reason for his change in behaviour. Maybe he developed cold sores and is embarrassed or doesn’t know what to do about them, or he could be worried about his breath (or yours). Since it takes two people to kiss, have you tried initiating kissing him? If yes, how did he respond? This will give you a little more information about the situation. To start the conversation, try letting him know that you really like kissing, and that you like to look at him when you’re having sex. Let him know that you’ve been missing this affection and that it means a lot to you. Give him a chance to respond; find out if this is just a phase he’s going through, if it has been an unconscious behaviour on his part, or if it’s evidence of something else that may be going on in your relationship.

lover?” ”That’s why you’re suing?” pursued his lawyer. ”Of course not. I’m suing because she knows the difference.” • Husband & wife - Why divorce? In a divorce court, a woman told the judge: “Your honour, I want to divorce my husband.” “But why ?” asked the judge. She replied, “Because he is not faithful to me.” The judge asked, “How do you know ?” She replied, “My lord, not a single child resembles him.”

SATURDAY

HE scene was set for seduction. The din ing table almost creeked with artistically.I crafted food dishes all wafting appetizing aroma. The plates were patterned Wedgewood and the spoons pure stainless steel with gold tips. A bottle of wine sat in a bucket at a corner of the table, and Jola, the hostess, was a sight to behold. She had on a negligee without bothering with a house-coat, and her two breasts stood up defiantly. Even in her mid-30s, her boobs belied the fact that she’d had two children. “My late husband never encouraged me to breastfeed,” she explained,”he said my breasts were solely for him and since infants have alternatives, I should feed my kids on the best brand of baby milk. Money was no problem afterall ... “ In a corner of her tastefully furnished livingroom sat Frank. He too was in his 30s; a single father. Jola became widowed a few years ago.

Is your investment on that man money well spent?

alone with Frank. As I obliged, she slipped a bottle of chilled wine in the carrier bag and told me to enjoy it at home—I got the message. I was a bit baffled by all the seduction scene without her seeing things through in my presence! Some few months later, I was invited to a birthday party at Jola’s. That party was for Frank who has now moved in with her. I couldn’t believe the transformation that came over Frank.

e looked stunningly attractive in the gear Jola kitted him with down to his expensive shoes. He was the perfect host too-chatting and smiling at everybody and topping up glasses where necessary, then they both disappeared for about 15

minutes. “I bet they’re at it again,” sneered one of the female guests, “our friend is a dog. She makes love everywhere and anywhere the mood catches her!” As

part from the money her husband left for her, she is a woman of substance in her own right and of almost impeccable pedigree. Frank, on the other hand, is a personnel manager of a small textile firm. They both met at a mutual friend’s party and Jola made a play for Frank— otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared proposing her. It was Jola who invited him to dinner — and now here he was. I was obviously a spare tyres, but curious as hell! Frank’s eyes first darted to the exquisite bikini pants that were outlined, sexily by the negligee; then to Jola’s erect breasts and his eyes grew rounder and rounder. The food items that were served were delicious but you could see Jola was eager to get rid of me, I took a few things to the kitchen and she came after me. She urged me to take home as much food in packs as I wanted and leave her

Vanguard NOVEMBER 3, 2012—19

damn as she continued having a ball. She looked defiant! “If you invest money on a high, it should give you a kick,” Jola whispered later when we were alone. “You see how Frank is now— what every woman prays for —and he is a stud on top of it all! “When I first visited his flat, I couldn’t believe what I saw. He shared it with a friend who has a young sister living with him. Frank’s younger brother was there too. The place was filthy. I would die if I were to make love in that room! The sheets looked as if they hadn’t been washed for weeks! So, of course, we went to my place. We all know that when a man lives alone and asks you up to his apartment, it is usually for just one thing. Somehow, it is different if you invite him to your apartment for a meal or a drink. You are in control and whatever happens seems

She is a woman of substance in her own right and of almost impeccable pedigree

a result of this declaration, all eyes were on the couple when they came out of the bedroom. Jola’s eyes looked flushed, Frank, who was still new at the game looked a bit embarrassed as obscene remarks were made. Jola didn’t give a

natural and not planned. So even though I didn’t plan a seduction that night, I didn’t rule out the possibility as I ushered him in. “He was a pleasant discovery. That guy knows how to make your scalp tingle with desire. It was an effort to

eventually release him to go home but I knew he would have to move in with me. When the rent of his flat became due, I gave him his share of the two years’ rent. Then I took his car, which had broken down for months to the garage and even he didn’t believe his eyes when he saw the finished product! It would have been cheaper to buy a second hand car but you’ve got to give a man his pride. This way, his friends and relations would think he still has his old car —not a new one bought for him by his moneybag! That he only spent a small fortune to refurbish it. “I wouldn’t have had the courage to do what I did if I hadn’t noticed it was now the norm. A few of my friends have live-in-Iovers. If you can invest money on comforts why not on a pleasurable thing like man who knows what to do in the bedroom? Frank already has two children who live with his mum, so he is not under pressure to get married.

e visit the children regularly and they too have benefited enormously from this relationship. His mother worships the earth I walk on and I am really contented. I even set her up with a small kiosk in front of her house where she sells bits and pieces. “I don’t think a bout the future though, I’m extremely fond of Frank but I’m not under the illusion that we’ll get married. I definitely don’t want to get married again. I just pray that we stay together long enough for me to reap the fruits of my investments. My relationship with Frank has opened my eyes to the fact that life outside marriage is not a loveless wilderness. So, if Frank eventually wants to try marriage, as I know one day he might, he is free to go. With a bit of luck, another hunk might just replace him ... “

Do you get easily flustered?

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always been like a father to me and my family. Seeing me coming in at seven in the morning, made me feel like a thief caught dipping his hand in the till. To complete my embarrassment, his wife and some of the children were with him. It put a temporary hold on my wild nights!” Embarrassment is something we all have to put up with one time or the other. But do you know why you get embarrassed or how to cope with situations that get you flustered? Here are some facts about embarrassment as compounded by some experts. Is a woman more embarrassed than a man? No. Psychological studies show

man once recalled a party he attended at one of his in-laws’ house. It was a very lively party and he got so sloshed that when sleep eventually enveloped him, he welcomed it. You can, therefore imagine how embarrassed he was when he woke up the following morning on one of the party tables! All guests were long gone and the neighbourhood was noisily waking up to a new day. All eyes were curiously on him as he scurried off. Another family man told me his wife had already given up on trying to persuade him not to go to parties on Friday nights only to return on Saturday mornings. On one particular morning, however, he drove home confidently, only to be greeted by the landlord on the balcony. He told me: “You can imagine how embarrassed that made me feel. The landlord has

women have much more social poise than men and are better able to take an embarrassing moment in their stride. Is a person with high opinion of himself the most easily embarrassed?

Embarrassment is something we all have to put up with one time or the other

No. People with low self esteem are most easily embarrassed by real or imagined criticism of their clothes, attitudes or manners. They tend to feel others are judging them and finding them wanting. And their low esteem makers them

believe the negative evaluations are valid. What’s the easiest way to make a man get flustered? Tell him, something’s wrong with his clothes - especially in mixed company; that would not embarrass a woman. It would just make her annoyed. And women don’t get as easily flustered as men. Are you more easily embarrassed as we get old? No. The adolescent years are when we’re most prone to embarrassment. Is the best way to cope with an embarrassing moment simply to act as though nothing happened? No. That often increases the tension of everyone involved. A sociological study show that the best way to cope is to laugh it off. This invites others to view the moment as something they can laugh at too.

20—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3 3, 2012

the sexual connection may be between you and another person, a relationship should not be mainly a sexual one. There is more to a relationship and you

Are you being used ? I

t happenes all the time. You’d just realise that the person you thought you have something genuine with is only using you to satisfy his/her selfish ends. Often, we hear people are used and dumped. He/she becomes nice and so friendly because of what they hope to gain from you. And once they get that thing they want, you become history while he/she moves on. Nobody wants it but people do it.The last thing we want when we find someone that we really like is to discover that we were just being used. As cruel, selfish and immature as it may be and seem, the truth is, there are people out there who will use others to fulfill their own selfish needs, whether it is for sexual purposes, money, free dates, temporary companionship, etc. It is very common for some to choose the path of denial when they see the red flags that they are being used, because they do not want to believe that the person they like actually is using them, nor do they want to believe that they could fall victim to such

The truth is, there are people out there who will use others to fulfill their own selfish needs

a thing. Denying the truth is helping no one, especially you. If you suspect you are being used for anything, you should become more alert and observant of the relationship you really have with this person and collect the facts, so that if you are being used, you can put an end to it as soon as possible. Here are some signs that point to the possibility that you are most likely being used: *You mainly just have sex: No matter how amazing

should be connecting in more ways than just sexually. You two should be going out on dates, talking and getting to know each other on deeper levels. If you are mainly meeting up at each other’s homes for some talking and sex, then there is a high chance that you are being used for sex. *The relationship does not move beyond dates: Okay, we all know that every

Orgasm chokes me Ques: I’m a thirty-year-old woman. Recently I have started a terrible experience. When I am having sex, in the moment of my orgasm, my throat closes and I cannot breathe for a long time. Last time was scary because I spent more than 30 minutes with my throat completely closed and every 1 or 2 minutes, I could take a big breath and again it closed. I felt like I was going to die; my partner gave me mouth-to-mouth respiration and I survived. I am really scared about having an orgasm again. It happened sometimes, but not so strongly as last time. Do you know if this is some kind of disease or something? Asthma? What should I do? Thanks for your help,

Lulu, Abuja

relationship starts with dating, so in the beginning you will go out on dates such as out to dinners, movies and other places of interest. This all fine and good, but if after a while you find yourself still in the dating stage, only seeing this person when you go out to treat him or her to dinner, movies, etc,then it is possible that you are being used for free dinners, movies and other treats. When a real relationship is building, the two of you will want

Dear Lulu, Some people do have asthma attacks during or after strenuous activity. This can sometimes be treated by using an inhaler prior to engaging in the activity. It’s hard to tell whether your experience is due to asthma or something else. It certainly sounds as if whatever is happening to you is enough to warrant a trip to your doctor. Exposure to substances to which you are allergic can also cause difficulty in breathing. For example, was your partner wearing a latex condom? Allergies to latex are common. Allergic reactions become more severe with repeated exposure, so you might want to use a different type of condom, such as one made of polyurethane, or you can use the female condom, for a change. Be aware that these condoms may

to see more and more of each other, outside the dating scene. You will want to hang out at each other’s homes and have intimate experiences ,both physically and emotionally, meet each other’s friends and/or family and eventually agree that you are in an official relationship. If you cannot get this person to get officially involved with you, but he or she does not mind you to keep taking him or her out on dates here and there, beware! * You find yourself giving/ loaning more and more money:There is nothing wrong with helping someone out with money once in a while, especially

have a slightly higher failure rate than do latex condoms). See your doctor to be tested for a latex allergy, to get information on how

to avoid exposure to latex and to learn how to treat a reaction, if you are truly sensitive or allergic. Panic attacks, a chemical phenomenon in your body, can also cause difficulty breathing. They can occur for any number of reasons. It’s not a “mind-over-matter” situation that you can easily control. It’s a series of chemical events that cause symptoms. Sometimes, a history of sexual trauma can be a factor in panic attacks associated with sex. Caffeine, alcohol and/or other drugs and certain medications may also increase a person’s likelihood of having a panic attack. Your medical practitioner can tell you about the variety of treatments available for panic attacks,

if it is someone you really like and have a strong romantic interest in. We all could use some help sometimes, and helping each other out is wonderful. There is a limit however, on how much money you keep giving/ loaning someone— no matter how much you like them, especially if they are not really paying back the loans. If you are seeing someone and their asking for money becomes more frequent without giving you much in return relationship wise, then there is a good chance that you are being used for money and you should then stop giving him or her money to see and find out whether they will really stick around once the money lending stops. * You mainly hang out when he/she is bored or has nothing else to do: Naturally, you are going to want to spend as much time as possible with the person you are interested in, but are the feelings mutual? If the person you are seeing makes a lot of excuses for not seeing you (they are busy, already have plans, something came up, etc) and seems to only see you at the last when minute when he or she has some time, then it is possible that you are being used for company when he or she has nothing else to do that they consider more important. Really watch out for this, because if a person is really that into you, they will want to spend as much time with you as possible and will not keep making excuses .

including psychotherapy, behavioural techniques for lessening the effects of a panic attack, and medications that can prevent or limit them. When did this starts to happen? What is different? Perhaps you are holding your breath on the path to orgasm. Perhaps you don’t want to orgasm for a while. Perhaps you have feelings about your partner, your life, and/or the sex you are having; feelings can have impact on sexual response. If a doctor rules out a medical cause for your orgasm-related symptoms, a sex therapist may be your next step, with the goal of getting back to enjoying sexual activities. In the meantime, don’t strive for orgasm, just allow the pleasurable feelings to come in and be present. Pleasure, not or-

gasm, can be your sexual goal.

•Jimi, 31, based in Calabar, graduate, •Chris, 30,male, chocolate, from Edo, wants to meet a employed, desires a lovely lady based in Calabar working class lady, aged 25-32, from any part of the of age 18-30 for a serious relationship on country, who is God-fearing and caring on 08157040267 07035646780 •Mark, 40, civil Engineer, and Contractor in •Ken, 31,is searching for a caring and loving lady Delta State, wants a wealthy woman of 35-45 aged 21-35, who is finacially independent for a for a relationship on 08152981957 relationship on 08104478554 and Godfearing lady for a wonderful relationship on •Niceman,47, Cleric, educated, based in Edo •Charley, 35, from Edo, needs a mature lady for a lasting 0 8 0 5 9 6 4 9 9 3 4 State,needs an educated lady pastor who is relationship that could lead to marriage on working class and 08068535402 aged 37-44 on Do you have reactions to our stories or have you any experience you want •Ramk, 53, Muslim, businessman, 0 8 0 6 0 3 4 7 9 1 8 to share with our readers? Please e-mail,anyagafu2@gmail.com divorced, needs a working class, cheerful, •Destiny, male, romantic and sexy lady aged 30-50 on wants a lady of 18Do you want to be linked? 08079799697 23 for a relationship Neither Chioma Gabriel nor Saturday Vanguard has any relationship with anybody wanting to be •Seyi, 32, is searching for a lady for a linked. We have no agents anywhere and charge no fees. We have no personal information of people that could lead to relationship on 08152891073 who have been linked or want to be linked and therefore, are not answerable for disappointments or marriage on •Michael, 35, from Delta State but resident embarrassments some people may encounter in the process. 0 7 0 3 3 2 9 7 8 8 6 in Lagos, wants to be linked with a caring C M Y K

SA TURD AY SATURD TURDA

Vanguard, NO VEMBER 3, 2012—21 NOVEMBER

receiving treatment. She said initially. The head nurse of some other such official wasn’t too keen on having her play to the other patients not knowing how some of them might react to waking up to the sound of harps playing (the reality being too close to our imaginings of heaven)but she kept at it till it was obvious that the patients were all the better for it. Now she’s seen as an angel of sorts.

ersonally after a while it just becomes too much and I tune off. Too much of anything, good or bad, bitter or sweet, is bad. I think the news networks kind of realise this as well; for every marathon stretch of bad news they give you few inspirational stories designed to lift the spirit. Bless God for these ones… it helps to remind one of what’s still good and pure about us. One such story grabbed my heart and brought tears to my eyes… more than that it made me question my existence and the much, or little; that

More than half full I’m doing to impact the people I come into contact with everyday. The story was about woman who had been struck with cancer I think about eight years ago. While she was she was undergoing treatment she learnt to play the harp as a way of coping with the tedium and pain that comes with the treatment of that dreadful disease. It must have provided a soothing means of escape.

ll you have to these days is tune in to any news station to realise what a sorry state the human condition is. Especially these international news stations, the bad news is relentless. They just keep bringing it on…natural disasters, man’s inhumanity against man, the latest epidemic… it just doesn’t stop. Even locally the news isn’t better. If it’s the not the lynching of four innocent undergrads, it’s the collapse of another building, the adulation of another government thief, the abortion of another national dream. For greater impact abstain from watching TV for a while, then you’ll realise just how bad things really are.

For greater impact abstain from watching TV for a while, then you’ll realise just how bad things really are

ight years after her first brush it was discovered that the cancer had come back. And with such stoic grace she embarks on another round of chemotherapy. This time though she does not go to the hospital unarmed. Having found it a blissful and soothing means of escape, this woman who had been blighted by a terminal illness not once, but twice,and

whose life at this very moment is hanging in the balance, takes along her harp so that she can share some of that joy and peace with fellow cancer patients. Yup… on her appointment days she would take up a position in the waiting room

and play the harp ever so sweetly while she waited her turn. Then when a ‘chair’ is finally available, she get hooked up to the equipment and keep right on playing throughout her chemo session to the delight of all the other patients in the room

ow! Such generosity of spirit! In her own pain, facing her own mortality the comfort and peace of mind of others is still paramount in her mind. Such a simple gesture yet such profound joy for both the giver and the recipient. What do I have to gripe about? Bills? A nation that defies all attempts at proper governance? The maddening traffic? In the face of this woman’s situation and the cross she bears so gracefully I’ll say they're superficial. At least, I am alive and whole,and can still be a part of the solution.

his woman’s story humbled me and reminds me to always see my cup as more than half full. My personal prayer is that I can still be a blessing and impact people’s lives positively regardless of my personal situation.

UILDING strong legs imbued with great endurance should not be just the business of the professional athlete alone. Anybody interested in better health must develop legs with muscles of steel. Our legs with bigger blood vessels must receive adequate exercises, thereby improving the efficiency of the back-flow of blond to the heart. This improved circulation safe-guards especially the health of the heart.

Spread Eagle

How far can your legs go? are the ones most people run away from exercising because stretching them In the beginning can be rather painful. But with enthusiasm and tenacity of purpose, they (the hamstrings) yield to extreme flexibility.

he muscles of the back and front of the legs can all be helped by simple exercises that don’t require so much his is particularly space or time just a few helpful for long minutes and regularity. runners. The hamstring muscles distance Strengthening the of the back of the thigh

C M Y K

quadriceps - the front thigh muscles - on the other hand best suits sprinters who need them for explosive speed work. Walking makes an excellent form of exercise for the legs, be it at slow or fast pace. When a person comes out of surgery, it is considered very important that he or she takes a few steps in the ward.

his ia thought to improve the blood vessels and circulation and lead to quicker convalescence. Walking at a brisk pace is beneficial to those desirous of shedding excess weight but who lack the inclination for other forms of physical exercise. Yoga Classes @ 32 Adetokumbo Ademola, Victoria Island Lagos. 9.00am — 10.00am on Saturdays

Triangle

22 —Vanguard, SARTURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

What was your growing up like? It wasn’t easy . First of all, we both have National Diploma and degrees from different institutions. Smash had a Diploma in Social Works and a degree in Psychology from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, while Vast had a Diploma and degree both in Mass Communication from IMT, Enugu. Are you in anyway related or you are just friends? We are not related in any way. But we grew up together in the university town of Nsukka. Smash’s dad used to work in UNN while Vast’s parents lived within the neigbourhood .Then, we used to attend the campus shows when we were in secondary school. How did it all start? Those days, we use to have tape recorder. And each time, our mums purchase all these christian cassettes, we usually use the cassettes to record the songs of some of the great musicians in those days such as 2pac, Michael Jackson and others. Our parents would be wondering if anything was wrong with us. Sometimes, after listening to the music, we usually write down the lyrics and memorise them. Later, we would mime such songs at school shows alongside other aspiring rappers. It was dur-

C M Y K

No matter what he is telling anybody, deep inside his heart, he knows the truth and we all know the truth and God knows the truth.

ing one of such shows that we came in contact. The rest is history.

ou were three in your group. What happened to the third person? It is a long story. Igwebuike Amobi a.k.a Bistop was with me (Vast) before Smash later joined us. We had some issues that made him to take his leave. It wasn’t our fault that he left the group. According to reports, he alleged that you people connived with your manager to kick him out? Nobody kicked him out. We read most of those allegations he leveled against us, even the claim that he was the one that composed almost all our songs including Yori Yori. Was he actually the one who composed Yori Yori? If he was the one who truly composed it for us, we could not have released another album, we will be waiting for him to come and compose it again for us. It is normal for people to say all sorts of things but for him not to be in the group is his fault and he knows it. No matter what he is telling anybody, deep inside his heart, he knows the truth and we all know the truth and God knows better. He made mention of taking you guys to Ape planet? He was not and doesn’t

know Ape Planet from Adam. I (Smash) was in the same class with Ape Planet.He didn’t know him. He just cooked up the story. What was the name of your record label then and now? It was and it is still Ape Planet Marital status? We are still single but we are not getting any younger. Please oh! You should advise us to go and get married, all we need is gingering. So, are you guys planning to get married soon? We do love to get married and we believe that most artistes’ think about it and they look forward to getting married as well as thinking of where they will be in the next twenty five years. Is it with my kids or am I going to be doing something different? You might be the biggest artiste today, tomorrow you might not be. Artistes come and go, so we believe we must think about it too. Why did you relocate? Hmm....We don’t know o! But we relocated because of the nature of our job. Most parents complained that we disturb the neigbourhood. But its not as if where we are staying now do not have their rules but it is far. We have our studio here in our house but we couldn’t do it there because of the complaints and we do everything without anybody complaining again. We never said we must stay in Lekki. It was a friend that secured it for us. Is there anybody like Mr Odor whom they said sponsored Happy Day? Mr Odor? No! This is the first time we are hearing such name. If it’s Mr Nazy, he is our manager, and talking about sponsorship we got was from Ape Planet and from a man who wanted to work with the person who gave us ten thousand Naira which we used to book a section that we never made use of. However, the only

Our pain, our our story — B spon sorship Happy Day got was from Ape Planet. Before then there was no name like Ape Planet and Bracket. It was then that the whole name was created. Is it true that it was you guys who bought a jeep for Mr Nazy? Well, Mr Nazy bought a car for himself on his birthday and we all celebrated along with him. How was your show in Germany? It was a very nice show because we get to meet people, people who have not been to Nigeria for a very long time. They are really enjoying it because they believe you are taking them back home. Some of them at the end of the day cried because your bring back lost sweet memories. You use that medium to reach to our fans that are over there. It was an awesome show, you know Germany is big. We went to just a place and few places in Europe. When you talk of all these outside concerts like Europe, America, it is not as

BUMNEME Ali a.k.a. Smash and Nwachukwu Ozioko a.k.a. Vast popularly known as Bracket are the rave of the moment in the Nigerian music scene. With hit tracks like Yori Yori, Ada Owerri, Muah Muah, among others, the group has become a household name across Africa. Showtime celebrity recently engaged them at their Lekki home in a lot of issues, including the secret behind their parting ways with their long time friend and colleague, Bistop.

By MUKOSOLU NZOM

They are not really joying it because yo are performing, the are enjoying becaus they believe you are taking them back home. Some of them ended up crying.

massive as those in African countries. Africans pay you well and they are the ones that show true love. Your relationship with PSquare? We are like brothers, we are very close. We visit them and the repeat teh visit as well. We even planned spending this year’s Christmas with them but we are to have a show at Equa-

Vanguard, SARTURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 — 23

were doing it without your instrumentals, you do more of accapela. They can listen to you and we do that a lot. Just stopping the song and just singing your song with no instrumentals, the fans will follow you up. If they pay for live band, we call our band members but when they check the cost, they will say no. When we went to South America, they paid for live band. P-square went to Zimbabwe and everything they needed was there for them and that made the show a very nice one.

•Obumneme Ali a.k.a. Smash and Nwachukwu Ozioko a.k.a. Vast

gains,

Bracket

y enou ey se e

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torial-Guinea on 24th and we are meant to come back the next day and their President’s son said that we still have to play another concert on 25th. Its so sad we are not going to spend our Christmas in Nigeria. But you guys were not sighted in their mother’s burial? Yea, we were not around, we were in Paris then. We visited them before the burial rites and they even advised most artistes not to come to their village because they don’t want crowd. Rather friends and sypathsiers were encouraged to visit them at their Lagos home. It was reported that you were unable to perform with live band in America They will tell you to come with a live band. But they won’t pay you for it. That doesn’t make any sense. First of all, the contract we had was that we were coming with a band of nine, they said, sorry , we can’t afford to pay flight ticket for nine persons,rather both of you should just come, so, what do we do? Even if you

Is live band better? Live band is good because people will love to see you sing but on the other hand, you still need room for performance. Most times, when you perform live, it gets bored in such a way that your audience would want to see you do a different thing on stage. Your kind of music? We call it Afro high-life because most Igbo music cuts across Africa. When you listen to most of our tracks, you will see that it is evolving from that place, just that we made it a little hip-hop but it is still highlife. That’s why when they listen to it, it reminds them of those people and sometimes most of our songs sound like their own. Nigerian music industry is the biggest in Africa now. Your track Yori-Yori w h a t s the message behind it? Yori Yori means sweetness. We weren’t just singing for a girl, our music appeals to everybody. Anything that is precious to you is your Yori Yori. Your television set can be your Yori Yori. The yori yori and its remix are not really saying the same thing? Yes. That why it is called a remix because you have to pass a different message. After recording the track, it wasn’t meant to be called yori yori. After doing it in the stu-

dio, the name of the track was meant to be “remember” but before we knew it, it has already been mixed in Alaba. It leaked and they gave it that name yori yori remix.

CELEBRITY FOOTNOTE

Why most of your tracks have love theme?

Nigerians don’t understand the meaning of love because if they do, they will surely show it in their day-to -today dealing with their fellow Nigerians. We mostly do love songs but that does not mean mean that we don’t do other songs. Just like P-square and 2face, we use our songs to preach love and understanding among Nigerians.we give people encouragement through our music. Let’s know some of the African countries you guys have staged shows apart from Ivory Coast? We have performed in Sierra-Leone, Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda and so many other countries that we can’t remember now. The dream of most emerging Nigerian musicians is to break into international market. Are you having such notion? Whatever we are doing we are doing it for our international audience. Let’s see how it goes by God’s grace. For now, we are targeting African audience. It is only Africa that will take one across borders. Can you give example of a local music? Yori yori is a good example, when it came out, people were like what is Yori Yori again? People said all sorts of rubbish about the song but at the end of the day it sold out. Which western artiste will you people like to collaborate with? Michael Jackson or 2pac if they were alive but since they are dead we are thinking of plan B.

•Omoni Oboli and hubby: Having good time in the holy land

moli Oboli and her loving hubby, Nnamdi are currently in Israel where they are having good time. The couple announced their 12th wedding anniversary last Monday on micro-blogging site, Twitter and consequently jetted out of the country to celebrate their love life.. She tweeted : Do you know what today(Monday, October 29) is? It’s our anniversary...my peeps, please help me celebrate a great man and thank him for giving me 12 blissful years! I’ll marry him again in a heartbeat! Love him to bits! Marriage for me has been wonderful! I am very lucky to be with the man of my dreams. My husband is always there for me. He’s my friend, mentor, confidant, lover and the wind beneath my wings. Without him, I would never be where I am today. He pushes me to heights I couldn’t attain alone. Marriage has made me a better person. We’ve ridden some storms in these twelve years but we always come out strong because we have got each other. I am blessed to be married to Nnamdi Oboli. I feel great celebrating 12 years of marriage. It’s amazing but it seems just like yesterday that we got married. It doesn’t feel like 12 years has come and gone. I am so thankful to God for 12 beautiful years. I have been happy, fulfilled and above all, there’s so much love in my home. My husband and I are best friends and we put Jesus in the mix. facebook

Ice Prince on his birthday

UYS , I love you! and I get so emotional when I see and feel all the love you guys have shown me! Well, Tuesday is my birthday and I want one thing for my birthday...please please go all out and help vote for me at the Channel O awards. There’s only one week left before voting closes! Heres the link!To vote Ice Prince as Most Gifted Reggae Dancehall video of the Year, text ‘6C’

24—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

Y:\24042012\homevidpix2(Yvonne Okoro).JPG

Skin bleaching rumours •Yvonne Nelson reacts P

OPULAR Ghollywood Actress, Yvonne Nelson has refuted the rumour making the rounds, that she has been bleaching her skin, hence her new complexion. Yvonne who claimed to understand the dangers of skin bleaching vowed never engage in it. According to her, “My attention has been drawn to recent media reports that I am bleaching my skin and the continuous nature of this wicked, unfounded and absolutely unnecessary misinformation have compelled me to once again respond.” “These stories are absolutely not true and do not in any way put food on anybody’s table, does not add value to any body’s life and can only be described as mischief.” “I fully understand the dangers of skin bleaching and would not engage in any such venture. I am a lady and I appreciate my God-given looks. I do not need to change my skin colour for any reason. Truth is that even if I was bleaching, I do not owe anyone any explanation, but I am not bleaching, I have not bleached and I won’t bleach. I love my skin just the way it is and I do my best to keep it healthy and nice. If God has remained good to me and continues to make my skin nicer, I do not see how it should be a problem to someone.”at a society that largely frowns on skin bleaching, it would be unfair and very unkind to falsely accuse me of bleaching when I am absolutely innocent of that charge.

INGERING issue of own ership, understanding the guaranteed rights for our films as well as the activities of regulatory bodies have been identified as part of the major factors militating against the setting up a viable collecting society for the Nigerian film sector. Identifying these constraints while speaking at an international copyright forum, held last Friday in Lagos, and organised by the Association of Nollywood Core Producers(ANCOP) in collaboration with the International Federation of Film Producers Association(FIAPF), Mr. Mayo Ayilaran, Chief Executive Officer, Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria(MCSN) insisted that the primary ownership of rights need to be wellsettled ahead of any decision or effort by any stakeholder to exploit the potentials of copyright in any particular film. According to him, having

FTER a decade of disappearance, vet eran actress, Rita Nzelu who ruled the screen in the early 90s, has emerged from the blues. The light-skinned actress relocated to England reportedly to join her husband. She ‘ostensibly’ dumped acting as she was no more a regular face in most movies released on DVD or the big screens. Her face was no longer a must seen on most movie jackets released into the market. Rita has finalised plans to mark her comeback with a new movie. This time, her will focus on big screens. The prolific actress starred in her first ever flick titled ‘International Games’. The film directed by Tchidi Chikere premiered at UTC Camberwell, London. Ghanaian star actress, Jackie Appiah; British actor, Gareth McChlery and others dazzled in the movie. The film is tagged ‘Green-card style Nigerian comedy’. ‘International Games’ tells the story of Mma, a Nigerian illegal immigrant who needs papers to stay in the UK, but decides to dupe a resident, Richard, to enable her get at them. Unfortunately, she has to keep up the pretence of being a Nigerian princess in order to keep him which leads to a grand charade. What became of her? Will this be a one-off comeback for Rita Nzelu or not?

Actor Pete Eneh loses leg to infection •Yvonne nelson As an actress I take different pictures under different shades of light and with different shades of makeup depending on what the picture would be used for,”she said.

asked many film producers and directors in respect of who owns what right in the films they release, and getting no definite answer, for the industry to actualise the plan of setting up a collecting society, it must as a matter of urgency address the issue of ownership

of the films. For him, a harmonious relationship or interplay between the author or owners of these rights, based on contracts, would in many ways would make for an effective and efficient copyright regime in the film sector in Nigeria.

*ANCOP president, Alex Eyengho, Majek Fashek and Patrick aa Doyle at the copyright forum

ccording to Linda Ikeji, veteran actor, Pete Eneh a s undergone surgery to amputate one of his legs. This move became necessary in order to save his life. The actor is said to have sustained an injury sometime last year but due to lack of proper care, it became infected and degenerated to a sore. His condition worsen when he couldn’t get proper medical attention to take care of the injured leg in addition to suffering from diabetes. The actor was admitted at Parklane hospital, Enugu for three months where his doctors eventually took the decision to amputate the affected leg to prevent the infection from spreading to other parts of his body. The amputation however was done last week. Pete Eneh adored many Nollywood film jackets some years ago. As at press time, we couldn’t get in touch with him. h

‘Ownership, regulation, bane of collecting society for Nollywood’ L

Rita Nzelu returns with International Games

AfricaMagic Extends Entry Deadline for AMVCA

fricaMagic, the leading broadcaster of premium Afri can entertainment, has extended the entry deadline of the recently announced AfricaMagic Viewers’ Choice Awards by nine days. The new cut-off date for submissions is now next Friday, November 9, as entry remains free. In addition, AfricaMagic has also announced that it will accept awards entries at the DISCOP film and TV market which closed yesterday at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Just over a month ago, AfricaMagic in association with Multichoice announced the first ever AfricaMagic Viewers'’ Choice Awards. Created to recognize and celebrate African film and television talent, the news of the awards has taken the continent by storm. Industry professionals have embraced the initiative and entries are now streaming steadily in to the AfricaMagic offices. And it’s becoming clear that the awards are on track to deliver a night of spectacular entertainment on March 9. That’s when the winners will be announced at a special gala event, to be screened live on DStv to 48 African countries.

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—25

Joseph Benjamin

alented Actor-cummodel, Joseph Benjamin currently enjoys the reputation of being one of the most sought-after hunks in Nollywood. He was former host of Nigeria’s premier talent hunt show MTN Project Fame for five seasons. Dressing required? Joseph Benjamin is your man... Why So Hot? Since starring in that boxoffice breaking movie, “Tango With Me” alongside Genevieve Nnaji, Joseph Benjamin has become a force to reckon with in Nollywood. Among his peers, the Kogi State born Actor is a screen idol. The brilliant role he played in that movie landed him a supporting role in Monalisa Chinda’s “Kiss and Tell” produced last year. On top of that, Joseph Benjamin starred in “Married But Single alongside Funke Akindele where he played a lead role that redefined his acting career. Most of his female admirers have described him as “every lady’s man”apparently because of his charming disposition and irresistible dress-sense. The talented thespian recently emerged winner of the Most Stylish Actor at the City People 7th Fashion and Style Awards. A big year ahead of Joseph Benjamin.

Yuh Edochie

ul Edochie like Joseph Benjamin is a fascinating Actor with an unbeatable talent who is currently ruling the screen. His acting skills and dashing looks have placed him among the wavemaking new hunks in Nollywood. Why So Hot? Apart from being an actor many people want to see on screen, Yul exudes an impeccable taste that marvels people who know him very well. He can sometimes appear to be extremely intimidating, but it is his modesty that weeds out every doubt about him. Having been recognized as one of the emerging brightest faces of Nollywood, Yul is the last son to veteran actor, Pete Edochie. It is poignant to say that he has not been living under the shadows of his father as he has completely created his own world and lives in it.

Okey Uzoeshi

•Joseph benjamin

•Yul Edochie

•Okey

Box Office(AMBO) reality TV show in 2006, after which he went on to star in his first movie, ‘White Waters’. But 30 year-old O.C has been acting long before that. He is well known for stage plays and was a member of the acting group Rhythm of the Blackman. For his role in White Waters, he won the award for the Best Upcoming Actor in the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), 2008. His role in his latest movies, ‘Two Brides And A Baby’ and “Hoodrush” also is getting great reviews. Last year, Ukeje starred in the film adaptation of the award winning play,Gone Too Far, written by Bola Agbaje, a British playwright of Nigerian descent. He also cohosted this year’s AMAA with Hollywood Actor, Jimmy Jean-Louis.

Benson Okonkwo

•OC Ukeje

•Benson

•Tony

Unveiling 6 hot new Nollywood hunks:

Why they are hot O

key Uzoeshi’s journey into Nollywood started in 2006, when he was selected as one of the housemates in the second season of AMBO. Since then, Uzoeshi has not looked back in his quest to conquer the industry. He has featured in several movies with top producers and directors including Emem Isong, Lancelot Imasuen, Desmond Elliot, Aquila Njamah, Teco Benson and Charles Novia. Why So Hot? Starring in movies such as Fatal Imagination, Rivals, Cash Money, Sweet Tomorrow, Kidnap, Two Brides and a Baby among others, Okey

Uzoeshi carves a niche for himself in Nollywood. Apart from being blessed with raw acting talents, Uzoeshi has a warm personality that endears him to many movie buffs. He takes pride in studying every character he has to portray, thus making him a director’s delight any day. A model, Uzoeshi has featured in several fashion shows for top Nigerian designers as well as high-end TV commercials. Industry watchers described Uzoeshi as one of the new kids on the block, who is steadily breaking grounds in Nollywood. The role he played in “ Two Brides and a Baby”, a movie which earned

him a nomination at this year’s AMAA Best Actor in a Supporting Role remains a prove of his emerging disposition as one of the newest sex symbols in Nollywood at the moment.

OC Ukeje

kechukwu Ukeje, or O.C, as he is fondly called by fans, is an extraordinary talent. With a unique combination of good looks, a charming voice and an acting prowess, Ukeje has set himself apart as a performing artiste to reckon with. Why So hot? His emergence in the industry is traceable to when he won the Amstel Malta

ormer face of Zain network (now Airtel), Benson Okonkwo is unarguably Nollywood’s most controversial rising star at the moment. Handsome and daring, Benson is still living with the ghost of the grave allegation levelled against him that he is gay. The rising hunk recently signed a two mouth-watering endorsement deals, one with Orange Drugs Ltd (ODL) as the face of Delta soap and Passion Energy, second with Haier Thermocool. Why so hot? In his fledgling career, Benson has featured in not less than 30 movies and still counting. Apart from acting in “Strippers in Love”, Okonkwo who once modelled for Zain, Wema Bank, Rainbow Net and Gold Circle Condom has also featured in such films as “ Evil Mission”, “War in Palace”, “A Better Tomorrow’ and “World of Prince”among others. Expect him to fill the heartthrob vacuum left by Pat Attah. Not a bad way to make your Nollywood bow, is it?

Tony Nkem

ony Nkem, an Enugu based up and coming hunk who is no less a sex symbol. The handsome hunk, staked his claim to bona fide big screen stardom in such movies as King and the Chief priest, Lost high Way, Dumebi The Dirty Girl, and played the lead role on Money Never Sleep, Mobile Phone.

26 — SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

Chris dumps Karrueche Tran

hris Brown’s recently dumped ex Karrueche Tran still believes she has a future with the singer RIRI ,but Karrueche is telling friends, she’s not going to stop trying to get back with Chris Brown just because Rihanna’s back in the picture. Sources close to Karrueche disclosed that , she was hurt when Brown gave her the axe a few weeks ago … but she never stopped loving him and now, she is on a mission to get him back. Report had it that Karrueche got used to a certain level of celebrity while dating the singer, and she’s not ready to “go back to being basic” even if that means messing around with Brown, while he’s messing with RiRi. Eventually, we’re told Karrueche hopes to edge Rihanna back out of the picture. Case in point Karrueche and Chris Brown were spotted hanging out together Monday in Burbank, two days after Rihanna and Chris Brown were spotted together in L.A. As we previously reported, Chris Brown broke up with Karrueche earlier this month citing RiRi as the reason saying, “I love Karrueche very much but I don’t want to see *Chris Brown her hurt over my friendship with and Karrueche Rihanna.”

Cee Lo Green sexual assault case

few details have emerged regarding allegations of sexual assault against Cee Lo Green . While the identity of the accuser and the way in which it all went down remain a mystery, sources confirm that Green allegedly attacked a woman inside a popular Los Angeles sushi restaurant. And moreover, the woman was on a date with the singer at the time. Green has already denied the charges, claiming he hasn’t set foot inside the establishment in at least three months. However, the supposed victim says the assault took place many months ago, although it remains unclear why she wanted to long to file a police report. The authorities, meanwhile, have already talked to various employees at the restaurant to determine if there are any witnesses and continue to investigate the serious charge

*Cee Lo Green

Winehouse wedding dress stolen from singer’s home

inehouse, the Grammy-winning “Back to Black” singer, who died from alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011, wedding dress were reported missing . Amy Winehouse’s charity says two of the late singer ’s dresses including her wedding dress are missing and believed stolen from her former London home. The Amy Winehouse Foundation said the dress Winehouse wore for her 2006 Miami wedding to Blake Fielder-Civil and a newsprint cocktail dress she wore during a British TV appearance are both missing. The presumed theft was discovered during an inventory. The wedding dress was to have been auctioned off for the charity, established to help young people overcome addiction. The singer’s father, Mitch Winehouse, told the Evening Standard it was “sickening that someone would steal something in the knowledge of its sentimental value.” Winehouse, the G r a m m y winning “Back to Black” singer, died from alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011, at the age of 27.

*Amy Winehouse

Highest paid TV star.. *Ashton Kutcher

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....Ashton Kutcher

SHTON Kutcher has topped a new list of the best paid TV stars with a whacking 15 million paycheck. The majority of the massive fortune earned between May 2011 and May 2012 comes from his role in hit sitcom Two And A Half Men. The 34-year-old star got a lucky break when Charlie Sheen was changed from the show in February 2011, following foul-mouthed rants about its producers and creator Chuck Lorre.

Ashton did not only took his job, but also his place as television’s highest-paid actor. Also british star Hugh Laurie comes in second with a whopping ?11 million and Ray Romano – of Everyone Loves Raymond fame was third with a similar amount. Alec Baldwin from 30 Rock and NCIS star Mark Harmon landed ?9 million a piece Tim Allen (Last Man Standing), The Big Bang Theory stars Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki and Kutcher’s co-star Jon Cryer also land in the top 10.

Saturday Vanguard, November 3, 2012—27

Don Jazzy and D’banj get on again?

Ras Kimono releases new videos

hose who think that Don Jazzy and D’banj are sworn enemies after their break up few months ago, will be shocked to hear that the two friends may have finally made up their differences. Last Sunday, at the popular hngout rumors, GRA, Ikeja, Don Jazzy and D’banj were spotted together at the place. Though the duo arrived differently, there are strong indications that that they had an understanding to meet at the hangout. However, those who saw them expressed shock and disbelieve as they kept gazing at them. D’banj only managed to grant interviews to few electronic journalist around but Don Jazzy completely avoided talking to the press. Reliable source revealed that D’banj was attracted to the hangout because of Genevieve Nnaji who incidentally was one of the

he veteran reggae musician, Raskimono has recently released the video of his last year ’s album, titled, “Matter of time”. The musician speaking recently at Ibinabo’s

Don Jazzy and D’banj Nollywood stars that graced the inauguration of the newly elected executives of Actors

Guild of Nigeria, which took place at the hangout.

Crown troupe thrills, as LABAF begins

ecretary General of the C Art and Cultural Foundation, Toyin Akinosho has announced that the 14th Lagos Book & Art Festival (LABAF) will take place from

November 16 to 18, 2012 at Freedom Park, Lagos. The theme of this year ’s festival is: The Narrative of Conflict and it focuses on how the written word and the

Laide Bakare Urges Nollywood to emulate Bollywwod

ollywood actress, Laide Bakare has urged Nollywood to emulate Bollywood in their movies. The Yoruba born movie director cum actress said that she so must enjoy Bollywood films because they represents so much their culture. She therefore urges the new administration of Nollywood to ensure that our culture and tradition are carried along through our films.

Laide Bakare C M Y K

inauguration said that he is working on the promotion of his music video which he shot some months back and would like to cool off for some time before he thinks of what next he is going to work on.

literacy it engenders interrogates the different conflicts that surround the current existence and recent past. This year ’s LABAF is dedicated to veteran artist Bruce Onabrakpeya who turned 80 and whose work and dedication to the arts continue to be a source of inspiration to generations of Nigerians. LABAF will feature over 10 book events, 3 music concerts, 2 theatre shows, 11 workshops for children and 2 visual art exhibitions. The festival events include sprawling book displays, exhibitions, live music, drama performances, and literary events. There would also be performances by The Crown Troupe of Africa and Renegade Theatre. “LABAF is self-styled as Africa’s biggest culture picnic because we do not just put together a book fair, a performance concert, a literary festival or an art expo, what we do is a healthy fusion of all four in a festival atmosphere, and for the past 14 years, the festival has become an important destination for families, literary and art enthusiasts, culture producers, children and even lovers,” Akinosho said.

Ras Kimono

Omotola now Beffta film Icon BY IYABO AINA

he multiple awardwinning actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde was recently recognized with a special honorary award by Beffta film Icon not only for her contribution to film industry in Africa and Europe, but for her global contribution. Beffta (Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts) awards is Europe’s biggest award ceremony celebrating achievements of black and ethnic personalities in showbiz globally. According to the founder of the organization, Pauline praised Omotola for her great talent and commended her for being a mentor to the young ones aspiring to get into the film industry. Apart from being one of the most successful Nollywood actress, she has appeared in over 300 hundred movies since she started her career as an actress at tender age. And she is popularly known

Omotola for playing lead roles with films that smash the box office. The multi award actress, Omotola, is one of Africa’s movie mega stars that is known globally. She has starred in many blockbusting films. She is ambassadors to Amnesty International and World Food Programme. Her Omotola Youth Empowerment Programme(OYEP) foundation has also helped widows in Nigeria for a better living.

28 —Vanguard, SARTURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

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Vanguard, SARTURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 — 29

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30 — Vanguard, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

Goalkeeper: Tim Krul, Newcastle

ewcastle had to play without Tim Krul for several matches due to an elbow injury, but the Dutchman is back on the pitch and showing why he is one of the finest shot-stoppers in the Premiership. Krul came through with a few impressive saves against an inform West Bromwich Albion side last week, and he will be needed again in the Magpies’ upcoming fixture against Liverpool.

Left-Back: Davide Santon, Newcastle

avide Santon is a supremely talented player and is in the midst of an impressive stretch of games. The Newcastle left-back has become a fixture in the team’s starting 11, and he is able to contribute on both ends of the pitch. The left side of the field has treated him well, and his overlapping runs have provided the Magpies’ attack with an added dimension.

Centre-Back: Chico, Swansea City

wansea put up an admirable fight against Manchester City last weekend, and if not for Carlos Tevez’s spectacular strike from distance, the team would have come away with a point. The back-line was impressive throughout the match, forcing the defending champions to get their lone goal on a remarkable effort from way outside the penalty area. While the defense has looked shaky at times this season for the Swans, Chico has consistently put on first-rate performances.

Centre-Back: Carlos Cuellar, Sunderland

underland’s defense has been surprisingly stout, and the Black Cats have conceded just eight goals, fewer than any other team except Arsenal. Carlos Cuellar has been a fixture at the heat of the team’s back-line and has performed admirably this season. Now, both he and manager Martin O’Neill will be supremely motivated to get three points against Aston Villa, both men’s former club.

Right-Back: Geoff Cameron, Stoke City

merican field players in the Premiership used to be a novelty, but Clint Dempsey and Geoff Cameron are changing that perception. Stoke City has one of the better defenses in the EPL, and their nine goals allowed is tied with Chelsea and Manchester City for the third-fewest total in C M Y K

Players sure to land in All-EPL Team for this week’s clashes

of making Zoltan Gera look like Zinedine Zidane.

The race atop the table has tightened after Manchester United’s controversial win over Chelsea last weekend, and more of the English Premier League’s biggest stars must continue to turn in impressive performances in order to keep pace. The Blues and both Manchester clubs are now separated by just a single point, while Tottenham jumped Everton to move into the top-four. In the relegation race, Reading and Queens Park Rangers have yet to record a victory, and Southampton’s dreadful defense has ensured that the Saints have stayed in the bottom three. The clubs at the top will be looking for a key player to step up and keep them in control, while the ones at the bottom will be looking for someone to provide inspiration. The other sides simply need a player to help them stand out, and here are the players who will deliver this week. the league.

Left Midfielder: Gareth Bale, Tottenham Hotspur

ottenham have now cracked the top four and will keep rolling against a weak Wigan side. The Latics have conceded the fifth-most goals in the Premiership and now are tasked with containing one the league’s top attacking talents. Gareth Bale has three goals in eight EPL appearances thus far, and he will add to that total this weekend. Bale’s pace and direct style of attacking will cause massive problems for Wigan’s back-line. He will own the left flank throughout the match.

Central Midfielder: Juan Mata, Chelsea

o player in the Premiership is playing as well as Juan Mata right now. In his last seven appearances, he has accounted for 11 goals by scoring six times and recording five assists. That is a remarkable level of production. As mentioned earlier, Swansea’s in-form defense will cause Chelsea problems this weekend, and a moment of magic will be needed to break the deadlock.

Central Midfielder: Zoltan Gera, West Bromwich Albion

oltan Gera will be the next player to benefit from a laughably inept

Southampton defense. The veteran midfielder has two goals and an assist on the season and has shown his impressive touch and intelligence when he has been on the pitch for West Bromwich Albion. While the Hungarian has certainly been in admirable form, the Saints defense is capable

Right Midfielder: David Silva, Manchester City

avid Silva has not been able to equal the form he was in for Manchester City last season, and this has been part of the reason the champions have not been as dominant as they were during their titlewinning campaign. City will now take on West Ham United team that has been able to climb all the way up to eight in the table. But the talent gap in the Premier League will be painfully evident, as Roberto Mancini’s men will toy with Sam Allardyce’s side.

Striker: Carlos Tevez, Manchester City

arlos Tevez will be bursting with confidence after his wonderful strike last

weekend against Swansea City, and a resurgent David Silva will dramatically benefit the Arengtine star. Manchester City will get rid of the frustration it has experienced at times while attacking, and the Citizens’ offensive arsenal will be witnessed in all its glory against a helpless West Ham back-line.

Striker: Robin van Persie, Manchester United

motions will be running high this weekend as Robin van Persie takes on his former teammates. No player had a more important role last season than van Persie had for Arsenal, but after a drawn-out transfer saga, he eventually was sold to Manchester United. While it seemed imminent early in the summer RVP would leave, Gooners likely would have preferred that he ended up at just about any other club.

TENNIS

FEDERER: Why pulling out of Paris Masters is smart move for Tennis star A

FTER losing to Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), at the final at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland this weekend, tennis star Roger Federer announced he was pulling out of the Paris Masters to rest for the ATP World Tour Finals in London. Federer was the defending champion of the Paris Masters which started Monday but decided to give his body a rest before the World Finals. While some experts may question the short notice of the withdrawal, the speculation that pulling out is •Roger Federer a sign Federer may be experiencing some pain or is less than 100 percent is not valid. This tour veteran knows exactly what he is doing. Federer told journalists about his decision of the t always been a fan and when he made the NDY Murray has no wants he choice to pull out of the in tennis, but now drug testing process o are wh e os get rid of th Paris Masters: testing in the sport to er gold e rsh th ha d an en Federer knows how o won the US Op od blo s cheating. Murray, wh wa , cs pi ym Ol many dates the tour has men’s singles at the P in l BN da e th me ahead of on the schedule and he he arrived in Paris en wh ted tes ts. knows which events he mmen ters, prompting his co can’t miss. •Andy Murray Paribas Mas

er Andy Murray wants harsh drug testing in Tennis

Vanguard, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 — 31

GOLF

How Tiger Woods can once again strike fear into his competition

IGER Woods is not that far away from being the dominant golfer he was for the first 12 years of his career. But he’s not there yet. During the 2012 PGA golf season, Tiger Woods did many of the things on the golf course that his fans, as well as his competitors, expect him to do on a regular basis. A quick look at the end-of-season PGA statistics shows that Woods was at or near the top in a number of the key categories. Start off with money won. Woods finished second to rival and top-ranked Rory McIlroy in money earned and scoring average last year. Woods was also second to McIlroy in overall world ranking. Woods won three tournaments last year, second to McIlroy’s four victories. Woods was No. 1 in the regular-season FedEx Cup standings, and he was tied for second in top-10 finishes with nine for the year. There’s little doubt that Woods reached

many of the requirements needed to show he is one of the elite golfers in the world. But, while all of those numbers and achievements are good, they are not enough. When your goal is to be the No. 1 golfer in the world and you want to run down Jack Nicklaus for most major championships, regular-season accomplishments that would make most golfers jump for joy mean little. Woods, of course, has to start winning major tournaments once again before he can strike fear into his opponents. He would appear to have quite a few more steps to take. He has not won a major since claiming victory in the 2008 U.S. Open. That was the 14th major victory of his career. He has not been close to winning a major in a long time. While he regularly got off to good starts in the major tournaments this year and put himself in contention through the first two rounds, he was unable to move up the ladder on moving day.

Off The Pitch T

he big names are back for this Saturday's edition of Off the Pitch. Neymar, the young Brazilian sensation, is back in the news over his long-anticipated move to Europe, but it might not be what you’re thinking. Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho are being linked with one of Europe’s nouveau-riche clubs, but there might not be anything to the rumours. Elsewhere, we also have updates on the Mark Clattenburg controversy, Theo Walcott’s contract saga and Rio Ferdinand’s career options.

Neymar: It’s not the right moment for European move

eymar says the current moment is not right for a transfer to Europe, according to an interview . Neymar, a 20-year-old Brazilian forward, has been linked with several top European clubs including Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea. He represented Brazil at the 2012 Olympics and has scored 16 goals in 25 senior international appearances. “I’m happy here in Brazil, I’m happy at Santos,” said Neymar. “I have a dream of playing in Europe, but it’s still not the right moment.”

• Neymar

ig-spending French club Paris Saint-Germain will reportedly target Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo and manager Jose Mourinho. PSG president Nasser Al-Khelifi quickly denied the reports. Ronaldo, 27, joined Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2009 for a world-record fee of £80 million. Mourinho has won league titles in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain and has won the UEFA Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan. Ronaldo would reportedly be lured with a 100 million transfer fee and would reportedly be paid 18 million per year. Real Madrid would then reportedly reinvest the money from Ronaldo’s sale in Colombian forward Radamel Falcao. C M Y K

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand could return to West Ham United this summer, according to Hammers boss Sam Allardyce . Ferdinand, who turns 34 on Nov. 7, left West Ham for Leeds United in 2000 before moving to United in 2002. His contract expires at the end of the season. “If (Ferdinand) wants to live back in London eventually, which is where he comes from, which is what quite a few players like to do before the end of their careers then that might be an advantage for us,” said Allardyce. Ferdinand is reportedly wanted by the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer.

•Rio Ferdinand

PSG to target Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho?

Arsene Wenger wants Theo Walcott contract situation resolved by Christmas

West Ham return for Rio Ferdinand?

Arsenal comeback delights Wenger

rsenal manager, Arsene Wenger wants the Theo Walcott contract situation resolved by Christmas. Walcott, 23, joined Arsenal from Southampton as a teenager in 2006. His contract expires at the end of the season and he has yet to sign a new deal. Juventus and Liverpool are thought to be interested in signing Walcott if he is available. “I want (the contract situation) resolved by Christmas,” Wenger said. “There is urgency.” Meanwhile, the Gunners are being linked with Bundesliga stars Andre Schurrle and Lewis Holtby .Schurrle, 21, is a Bayer Leverkusen forward with 18 senior caps for Germany. Holtby, 22, is a Schalke midfielder with two caps for Germany.

rsene Wenger says Arsenal’s recovery in their incredible 7-5 victory over Reading in the Capital One Cup took them from “disaster to pride” . Arsenal were 4-0 down but took the game to extra-time, with a Theo Walcott hat-trick and two Marouane Chamakh goals helping them into the last eight

•Wenger

32—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

TODAY’S MENU

PASTA SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT BALLS Recipes

Extra-virgin olive oil One onion, chopped Two garlic cloves, smashed Two tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves One cup milk Four thick slices firm white bread, crust removed One and half pounds ground beef One and half pounds ground pork One large egg Half cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving Salt and freshly ground black pepper Four cups heated Pomodoro Sauce (see recipe for Pomodoro sauce below) Half pound mozzarella cheese, cut into chunks Leaves from three sprigs fresh basil One pound Power Pasta Spaghetti

Preparations

ring a big pot of salted water to a boil for the Power Pasta Spaghetti. Heat three tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and parsley and cook until the vegetables are soft but still translucent, about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool. Pour enough milk over the bread in a bowl to moisten and let it soak while the onion are cooling. Combine the meats in a large bowl. Add the egg and Parmesan and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to squeeze the excess milk out of the bread and add that to the bowl along with the cooled onion mixture. (Hang onto the pan - you’ll need it to cook the meatballs.) Gently combine all the ingredients with your hands or with a spoon until just mixed together. Don’t overwork or the meatballs will be tough. Divide into 10 equal pieces and shape them into 10 nice looking meatballs.

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Eating right is the only way to longlife —Okoya Lagos based billionaire and property mogul, Alhaji Rasaq Akanni Okoya is our guest in this edition of Celebrity Tummy Talk as he speaks on his healthy lifestyle.The 72 years old healthy looking man says, eating right is the best way to longlife. Enjoy!

ow do you unwind?

I relax with my children. I have a beautiful swimming pool in my compound. There is a gym centre too where I do my exercises. What is your eating habit like? I drink ogi baba (millet) in the morning. Hardly will I be caught without ogi out of the 365 days of the calender in the morning,

unless I am out of the country. Then, I am permitted to eat the country’s kind of food. What has changed in your eating habit from your childhood to the adulthood? I am addicted to this diet except, I am outside the country, then I eat whatever is obtainable in that country. And your drinks... I am always happy whenever I drink water.

Fruit of the day Lime Juice

act: Lime plays an important role in fighting several common and some much more severe illnesses. When added into a glasses of water, it increases vitamin c. A hot lime, honey and ginger drink can be used to calm a sore throat and boost your immune system at the same time. Lime and other citrus juices have been found to remove harmful bacteria and reduce g a s t r i c inflammation because of their high vitamin C content. Add lime juice to your meals to aid your digestion and protect against gastric illnesses. One study found that lime juice stopped the b a c t e r i a Staphylococcus aureus (commonly known as Golden Staph), from multiplying. It protects the cornea in eye against ultraviolet B. radiation, produced by the sun. The best way to increase vitamin C is to have a healthy diet with vegetables and fruits with high levels of this vitamin, such as limes.

YOUR FOOD& YOUR HEALTH

Diabetes Mellitus

iabetes mellitus is an abnormally high level of blood glucose and the excretion of excess gluscose in the urine. It results from lack of insulin from the pancreas which leads to abnormalities in carbohydrate, metablism as well as that of protein and fat. It causes hunger and thirst all the time, lose of weight, tiredness, constipation , intense itching around the genitals organ and low sexual urge. But, you can control it by using the tender leave of mango tree. Soak 15 grams of fresh leave s 250ml of water overnight and squeeze them well in the water in the morning. This filtrate should be taken every morning until symptoms stop. Get some quantity of bitter leaves and scent leaves and one bulb of garlic. Pound and filter with half a glass of water, add a pinch of potash and one lime juice. Take one glass daily until symptoms stop.

Y o u r fruits... Nigeria is blessed with good fruits •Alhaji Razak Okoya including b a n a n a , p a w p a w, oranges among others and People should learn to eat these fruits have their good food in the right nutritional benefits. proportion. They must aviod alcholic drinks. They should What is your definition of rather indulge themselves in healthy living? exercises .

TIT BITS Underlining need for hand washing in school

he need to encourage school children maintain cleanliness and healthy living in school was the highpoint of this year’s Global Handwashing Day. In a sensitisation campaign embarked upon by Reckitt Benckiser, makers of Dettol, an anti-bacterial soap, “21 Days of Healthy Hand Habit”, washing of hands at all times has been considered the best way to stop germs from spreading. As it is believed that children are not always conscious of whatever they touch from the telephone to the toilet or even blow their noses in a tissue and then went outside to dig around the dirt. Everyday, they come into contact especially in school playing with friends. It is easy for germs on their hands to end up in their mouths as a result of the food they eat. Therefore, every care giver in school is expected to take this campaign seriously as the children may be prone to danger if their hands are dirty before eating. They should imbibe the handwashing culture into their pupils so as to know that it is important to wash their hands after using the bathroom, blowing your nose or coughing, touching pets or other animals and before and after visiting a sick relative or friends. It is important to know that washing their hands is not the only thing to do but washing it with good soap including those that come in cool shapes and colours and smell nice. It is also important to note that anti-bacterial soaps are safe to use.

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—33

Renewable energy has not grown in Africa— Teni For most corporate professionals, finding time to excel in a vocation like designing could be impossible, but that’s not for Teni Majekodunmi, the CEO of EcoXchange Limited, a green energy consultancy firm which provides expertise on project areas ranging from renewable energy to trading of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) within Nigeria and across Africa. Teni who is an expert on the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism was for two years a consultant to the Federal Ministry of Environment. She also sits on the interministerial Committees on Climate Change of the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Committee on Bio fuel to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). An environmental Lawyer with a degree from the University of Warwick, UK, Teni’s fashion outfit, Eclectic Chique, also enjoys an enviable patronage from celebrities and her designs which include handmade African neckpieces, sandals, bamboo clutch bags, collars, brooches, bangles, bow ties, throw pillows, etc. are officially used by MNET Africa for its shows. In this interview, Teni who was recently one of the 65 young African leaders hosted in the US by President Barak Obama under the US President’s Young African Leaders Programme, talks about her work and life as a young mother. Enjoy!

BY FEYI BANKOLE

ould you tell us more about yourself? I attended the International School, Lagos, and after graduating from the University of Warwick, UK, with a degree in Law in 2005, I did a number of internship programmes before coming to Nigeria for my Law School. After that, I worked briefly at Rotimi Williams Chambers and then went back to the University of Warwick to specialise on Environmental Law. My thesis was actually on the opportunities for Africa from climate change and also the financial aspects of climate change, like carbon credit. Subsequently after my Masters, I was approached by the Federal Government to help set up a climate change unit in Nigeria, and I worked on that platform for about 18 months, from 2008 to January 2010. After setting up the climate change unit and working with an organisation called the Centre for Excellence on Climate Change, I moved to Lagos because I was getting married and had to be in Lagos with my husband. The last place I worked in Abuja was the Environmental Services Limited where I was the Head of Business Development and Legal Regulatory Services. I eventually set up EcoXchange, a green energy consultancy. What exactly does EcoXchange do? The three aims of EcoXchange is to deal with capacity building, exchange carbon for credit via carbon credit mechanism and also to exchange dirty energy for cleaner energy via renewable energy. If there’s power shortage in an area and there’s a lot of water, we can work with our partners in the UK and US to come in to bring a hydro machine and generate some power from that water. In exchange for that, we get longlasting electricity! Our main focus now is to build capacity on renewable energy because the trend has obviously not grown all-over Africa. At the

moment, we work with a lot of United Nations agencies, especially the United Nations Environmental Programme. We’ve been one of their consultants in capacitybuilding since 2010 and we’ve been working with them in a lot of African countries, disseminating information on the adverse effects of climate change and also the need for renewable energy. Considering the perpetual failure suffered by our power sector, do you think renewable energy could be our rescue in Nigeria? Yes! Waste energy for instance is one of those areas that have generated a lot of applause. There’s been so much waste around Lagos, and now, there are machines and devices set up to cut down all these wastes and convert them to power. So, literarily, it’s just a completely symbiotic waste because human waste is even part of it via anaerobic digestion; a kind of digestion that literarily just digests human waste and converts it to a power that can generate electricity. The Lagos State Waste Management- LAWMA has a few of such projects set up, and we’re working with them as consultants. Wastes are currently being converted into electricity in about three areas in the state via this scheme. The project is however still in process because it usually takes quite a while. Some houses at Oworonshoki presently use wind turbines which help generate power from the wind. In 2010, the United Nations Industrial Development OrganisationUNIDO took twenty entrepreneurs abroad for a month programme, and I was fortunate to be the one going

from Nigeria. They wanted to showcase what was going on in terms of renewable energy in Wales and other countries, and it was fascinating to be able to see that 45 percent of their energy comes from renewable sources! As we moved from different locations, we also saw that they were using different sources for electricity. In all these kinds of projects, a lot of legal work comes into play at the backdoor, and that is what I specialise in. I have partners in Cameroon and UK who do the technical aspects of the projects while I come in to do the legal part. Our main focus for this year is on capacitybuilding, and to this effect, we are working with the Heinrich Boor Foundation to mobilise local governments on climate action. But how come you’re running two entirely different companiesEcoXchange and Eclectic Chique at a time? I’ve always loved pretty accessories and fashion items because I don’t really like heavily-embellished clothes. I just prefer to wear a nice simple dress and then put a little accent on it. So, my love for this influenced my decision to establish Eclectic Chique in 2007; way before EcoXchange, but then it was on a quieter basis. I’ve always been good in arts and crafts, so, I started doing a few things and people began appreciating and placing orders. Now, we make fashion accessories by incorporating things known about Nigeria and Africa into them. Right now, we’re stocking within and outside Nigeria, and the brand’s name is growing. We produce handmade fashion accessories like neckpieces, bangles, belts, etc. that are unique.

34—SA TURD AY 34—SATURD TURDA

Vanguard, NO VEMBER 3, 2012 NOVEMBER

YOUNG NIGERIANS MAKING THE DIFFERENCE

There is dignity in work —Kunle Egbedun

Kunle is one young Nigerian who started volunteer work quite early and he has since turned his passion into creating opportunities for other young people who want to become entrepreneurs. He quitted his banking job to follow his passion —Entertainment Media. Recently, he had a chat with Youthful Vibes Vanguard. Excerpts: r e p u t e relating their success story to him is a g r e a t motivating factor for me and has greatly helped in shaping my psyche in living for that thing I believe can take me to the top; entertainment media.

pbringing I was born 29 years ago in Osogbo to the family of Prince & Chief (Mrs) Adebayo Egbedun, though a native of Asi town in Odo-Otin L.G.A of Osun State, but had my childhood experiences and formative years in Osogbo. I attended Christ African Primary School Isale-Ijebu and Laro Grammar School both in Osogbo, Osun State capital. I later proceeded to Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke where I studied Electrical/ Electronics Engineering for my ND and HND programmes. I also attended Daystar Leadership Academy and The Edge Business School for my leadership and business capacity development. I am privileged to come from a home where integrity and decency are most valued in what we do, especially in material acquisition. My parents believe strongly in integrity as the only key to godliness ; my father is a teacher who dedicated all his life to serving our community by teaching students who are now champions in various human endeavours. My secondary school days wasn’t really fun for me because I was taught by teachers who were formerly my father’s students and I imbided the kind of my father's training. Today, my father is very popular in my town,and he never contested an election or combine any other job with teaching all through his life,and now I can boldly say he’s my number one hero and mentor. Seeing captains of industries, politicians and academicians of

volunteerism through exemplary leadership I started volunteering so early in life after my meeting with Pastor Lekan Ayodele of RCCG; he opened my understanding to opportunities that abound in the society, this was the man who guided me to discover through his personal life experiences that there is

•Kunle Egbedun

earning

After school, I realized there is more to giving to the society than making noise, either as an activist or a politician and that I don’t really need an elective position in the society before I can contribute my quota to the development and liberation of humankind. From then I fuelled my passion through youth development initiatives while I provide youths the opportunity to be exposed to the positive influences in the society by giving more attention to young minds doing excellently well in their chosen professions by organizing platforms to share their success stories capable of motivating people coming behind them to motivate and strive for success. This defines the idea behind my monthly Light conference where we gather young minds to listen to people getting outstanding results in their assignments. I am also coconvener of African Youths Network; a network of emerging young entrepreneurs, who are not only driven by monetary gains in their businesses, but are also busy consistently creating innovations and values capable of shooting our continent to the top in the comity of continents. It is a project conceptualized with a fellow young entrepreneur from Ghana, Cecil Nukator, CEO of Equinox Technologies. These days I teach in conferences, seminars, meetings and workshops— telling youths they are capable of creating the changes needed to make their society a beautiful place to live in. I am also one of the pioneer members of Accra

I can contribute my quota to the development and liberation of humankind

dignity in labour and the best form of living is a life living for others watching this man accommodating youth corpers serving in Osun State from different parts of the country in his house without any connectivity with them. I became a member of the Joint Action committee of Nigeria (JACON) when I was in JSS1 and I started following late Chief Gani Fawehinmi ( National Conscience Party) Osun State chapter from JSS3 under Comrade Amitolu Shittu, Comrade Waheed and Comrade Oyebade Olowogboyega then State President of NULGE,even before NCP was accorded a political party status in Nigeria. All these put together really shaped my dexterity and proactiveness as a Student’s union leader in Esa-Oke and also contributed to my performance through various leadership capacities in NANS.

toastmasters, a global community of public speakers and resource persons, sharing knowledge based ideas through fellowship and intellectual discussions.

areer transition: Banking to Media Yes, I left my job with the defunct Guaranty Trust Assurance plc, a sister company of Guaranty

ABU JA

Youth Organization gives scholarship to 5 years old primar y school pupil

n Abuja registered Youth Org Initiative for Sustainable Develoanization (Youth pment) under the leadership of Joseph Emmanue awarded scholarship to Miss l Yaba, on October 5th 5, a Primary 2 Pupil at ECWABlessing Danladi, aged Mararaba, Nassarawa State Academy, Aku Village, and whose Mother is a Widow. Joseph Emmanuel Yab pre sen tat ion on beh alf of a while making the Sustainable Development, said You th Ini tia tiv e for of the organization’s contributiothe Scholarship is part of the MDGs on Universal Prim n to achieving Goal 2 rei ter ate d the nee d for col ary Education. He also individuals and corporate bod lab ora tive effo rts by ies to support the group so they can continue to create required in the society and for the desired change Millennium Development Go the achievement of the als. Trust Bank in 2010 to pursue my interests in events coverage, entertainment coverage and event management through creative innovations as a photographer by creating quality media links and back up for event organizers, show-biz agencies and creative arts sector, through our viable media tools, technical expertise and cutting edge technology that are capable of making events activities in the continent to be more visible and above all get a quality media coverage needed to travel beyond the shores of African markets and get Africa entertainment exposed more to other parts of the world. At the same time utilizing the viability of African entertainment to promote businesses and brands in Africa through results targeted advertising medium on our world class web based channel (gistafrika.com) and the biggest continental magazine (GistAfrika Int’l) and our Telemarketing tools all new media initiatives of Gist Africa International Communication Ltd. We set for a continental unveiling in Lagos come 2nd

February 2013.

hange project I am presently working with fellow young African innovators on the first ever continental Youth conference tagged “Change Drivers” and Awards tagged “African Stars Awards” aimed at celebrating exemplary leadership indicated by African youths and promoting our collective dream of a United African States through dynamic youths. It is fun supporting BEK Africa in their New Business Initiative project, a programme developed to support emerging young entrepreneurs in the Nigerian fashion industry. Partnering with Orchard Events company to stage “Abba Jamz 2012” a cosmopolitan evening of glitz and glamour, designed to bring young Nigerian professionals and business executives together to wine, dine and most importantly network to plan ahead of the coming business year. And last but not the least, supporting Paradigm Shift Institute, a human capacity development organization here in Lagos in their quest to develop 10,000 Nigerian youths between now and 2013.

*Kunle having a nice time with

the future generation

ounsel and advocacy I want Nigerian youths to stay positive, live their dreams, never bow to defeats, shun violence and other social vices, persevere and stay focus, above all know there is space for them at the top, only if they are ready to convert the challenges before them to pack of opportunities capable of uplifting humankind and also change their societal status.

SATURDAY

on is a basketball “nut.” He’s the kind of sports buff who can talk nonstop about his favourite basketball teams with anybody who’ll listen. One evening, Don’s wife took a seat next to him on the couch. She placed her arms around his neck and asked him point-blank: “Do you love me more than basketball?” Puzzled, Don considered her question for a long minute before answering. He finally said, “College or NBA?” While most men would never make a blunder of that magnitude, they often miss the opportunity to affirm their wives. Marriage is not a spectator sport. Nor is it a place for verbal jabs or cynical put-downs. Those male digs might work in the locker room with the boys, but they’re out of bounds with wives. What do Don’s wife and your wife, need? Affirmation. Lots of it. Soft, tender, thoughtful, unexpected, meaningful, heartfelt affirmation delivered with no sexual demands attached. That’s difficult for a man, I know. A man usually sets goals and generally acts only when he is after something. When it comes to romance, he’s tempted to give affirmation only because he hopes to “get sex” in return. You will score big when you make your goal unconditional affirmation— no strings attached. The aim is to make your wife feel loved, valued, cherished, and affirmed as the love of your life. King Solomon in the bible referred to his wife as “my beloved” forty times in the Song of Solomon. That choice phrase is packed with affirmation. It’s a romantic expression, a call to rich friendship. Each time Solomon said, “My beloved,” his words clothed her with dignity and value. What woman wouldn’t flourish under such a constant stream of loving affirmation? There are several nonsexual ways to cherish your bride through words and acts of affirmation. And by the way, these are nonsexual so that you speak her romantic love language. It’s important to remember that you are not doing these things to get something in return. Perhaps she will reciprocate in your language back to you, but that’s not your goal. *Hug and kiss her every morning before leaving the house. Research indicates that marriages that practice this simple discipline are much healthier than those that don’t. If she’s sleeping, leave her a note, or gently kiss her forehead and whisper, “Have a wonderful day, sweetheart.” *Reach across the front seat of the car when you drive and hold her hand, even for a few moments. Allow your fingers to become entwined. *Write, “I’m crazy about you, Honey.

Ways to love your lover

You’re the best!” or another personal going. *Try your hand at making breakfast message on a yellow sticky note. Aton Saturday morning. Tell her she detach it to her bathroom mirror. *Call her from work and say, “I’ve serves a break and should feel free to been thinking of how good I have it sleep in. *Take her car to the gas station, fill with you in my life. Thanks for all that the tank, vacuum the floor mats, and you are as a woman and all that you clean the windows. When you park it do for me and our family.” *The next time you get a pair of tick- at the house, leave a note on the dash ets to a concert that she’d like to go to, with just a heart and the words, make a sacrifice. Instead of going with “Thinking of you.” a buddy, *Write her tuck them in a short love her purse letter in with a note which you Hug and kiss her every saying, list several morning before leaving the “You deways that serve a she has house. Research indicates night off. b l e s s ed that marriages that practice Have fun you this this simple discipline are with a girlyear. friend.” *Resurmuch healthier than those *Go an rect comthat don’t entire day mon courtewithout critsies. Start icizing anyopening thing about her. Instead, try to notice the car door for her as you did when her doing something that you really ap- you dated, pull out her chair for her at preciate, and tell her how much you the dinner table, offer your arm while value her. walking down stairs, and help her put *Go to bed at the same time with her her coat on. for a week; just talk or read a book and *If she’s doing the laundry, pull yourshare the quietness together. Or play self away from whatever you’re doing a card game that you used to play when and offer to bring the hamper. you dated or were just married. *Put the toilet seat down when you’re *Brush her hair and compliment her finished, and wash your hands. I’d eshair and eyes. timate that 40 percent of men don’t. *While she studies her face in the Their wives do know. Stroking her face mirror, come up behind her and gently after you’ve been to the bathroom sudkiss the back of her neck. Say, “God denly loses its romantic appeal! broke the mold after He made you. You *Put down the newspaper or turn off are so beautiful.” the computer, and say, “Why don’t we *Call her or send her an e-mail mid go for a walk and talk? I’d love to hear afternoon and ask her how her day is about your day.”

Ask the Sexpert Ques: I pass gas when I orgasm. Is it normal? When you climax, the muscles around your genitals , including the sphincter muscle relax, so it’s not unusual for a little gas to escape. But even before orgasm, the in-and-out motion may trigger gas because the penis rubs against the anus through the vaginal wall. If it happens frequently and is embarrassing, take an over-the-counter anti-gas medication that contains simethicone before having sex. My breasts not matching. Why is this so? Unless you’ve had a boob job, most breasts aren’t perfectly matched. That’s because they ’re made of mammary

Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—35

gland tissue and fat and have naturally different amounts in each. For some women, the difference is more pronounced, and it’s usually a cosmetic issue. If it’s embarrassing or affecting your sex life, surgery is an option. But if one breast suddenly becomes much larger than the other, it could indicate an infection or tumour, so have your gynaecologist evaluate it immediately.

Ques: Can certain exercises really lead to better sex? Absolutely. For starters, a good cardiovascular routine helps build energy and stamina. Strength training and stretching can help you build muscles and improve your flexibility so you can get into and maintain various positions during sex.

The best exercise to improve sex is the Kegel squeeze , basically strength training for your pubococcygeus (or PC) muscles, which hold up your vagina, anus, uterus, bladder and urethra. The stronger these muscles are, the more intense your orgasms will be . To locate your PC muscles, try to stop your urine flow when you pee. Hold the squeeze for five seconds, then release. Doing 50-150 Kegel squeezes a day will help keep those muscles in good shape. Don’t do Kegels regularly while urinating, because it can lead to urinary tract and bladder infections. Ques: I’ve never had an orgasm during intercourse. What’s wrong with me? If you can’t have orgasms with inter-

*If you overhear her engaged in a difficult situation on the phone or with a child, compliment the way she handled the conversation. *Initiate daily prayer with her. This one spiritual discipline has transformed millions of marriages. Make a commitment, and then begin to pray together every day. Begin by giving thanks for her and your family, then pray with her about her worries and challenges. Ask her to pray for you about a challenge you are facing. *Say, “Thank you,” after every meal she serves. Then, help her clear the table or offer to do the dishes with her. *If she has wrestled with a specific spiritual issue (such as gossip, envy, a lack of compassion), tell her how much you appreciate her desire to handle it in a godly manner. *Express appreciation for her doing the laundry and folding your clothing. *Each day try to say, “I love the way you... ,” and fill in the blank with something you’ve observed. *When your wife irons your shirts or picks up the dry cleaning, say, “Thanks, Honey, for taking such good care of me.” *When the alarm goes off in the morning, wrap your arm around her,

press your body next to hers, and cuddle for several minutes. When you leave, say, “I wish I didn’t have to go.” *The next time you go to dinner, say, “You’ve had a tough day, Sweetie. Why don’t you pick the spot tonight?” *When you are together in a crowd, find a way to brag on her. Say, “My wife is such an amazing cook,” or “I’ve got the best wife, her cooking never ceases to amaze me.” *The morning after making love, touch her tenderly, and tell her how wonderful it was to be with her. *With your wife in the room, tell your kids, “You’ve got the best mummy in the world. Isn’t she great? I just love her so much.”

*Bonus for those with young families: Help her put the kids to bed each

night.

For some men, the thought of affirming their wives sounds like a lot of work. Others are anxious about being

so vulnerable with displays of affirmation. Whatever the reason, they hesitate to step out and pursue the call to love . If you’ve hesitated affirming your bride, or if you’ve been slow to praise her qualities, trust me on this: just do it. Affirming your wife through even just three or four of these ideas will do wonders for your romance. Is that too difficult to believe? course, you’re normal. Sometimes women get upset because of what their partners say.Now, assuming you don’t dump him for being an insensitive cad, you’re well within your rights to point out that about 70% of women don’t orgasm during intercourse without direct clitoral stimulation. You can also clue him in to the fact that it’s perfectly OK for one of you to lend a hand. Touching your clitoris during sex really ups the chances that you’ll have an orgasm. Don’t get discouraged if there are no immediate fireworks. “The first time, it might take an hour of stimulation to produce an orgasm; it might also take many tries to get comfortable with the feelings of strong arousal.

36—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

Open secret to white teeth Y

*Red wine can stain teeth, and white wine can wear away... However, it is a double sword as the same ingredients are responsible for tooth stains. Red wine can stain teeth, and white wine can wear away enamel, causing long-term damage. The acid in wine wears away tooth enamel which will expose the yellow colouring underneath. It is not recommended to brush your teeth after drinking red wine due to the open pores. The best option is to swish with water. Brush, floss, and rinse Follow the basics of good dental hygiene for a dazzling smile. Brush your teeth twice a day — better yet, after every meal. Replace your toothbrush every three or four months, or earlier if the bristles start to fray. Floss at least once a day. Rinse with an antibacterial mouthwash to fight plaque and to keep your breath fresh. See your dentist for a professional

cleaning regularly. At-home whitening If you want to brighten your teeth at home, you have plenty of choices. Whitening toothpastes have mild abrasives that remove surface stains with gentle brushing. Drugstore whitening gels, pens, rinses, strips, swabs, and trays work by bleaching teeth with mild peroxide. You can prepare a whitener with this do-ityourself recipe. Mix one teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide with a teaspoon of baking soda. Add just enough water to make a paste. Use this instead of your toothpaste once or twice a week. It won’t get rid of dark stains or work like a dental whitening experience, but it may add a little gleam to teeth that are losing their luster.Whitening at the

OUR 32 set of teeth help you talk and chew, but they can also make or break your appearance. There’s more to keeping your pearly white teeth precisely than that a bit of brushing and the odd visit to a dentist. Of course, there is more to keeping your teeth white and strong than brushing and the odd visit to a dentist. Take a look at these dental dos and don’ts. Whiter-teeth diet Want a better smile? Start in the kitchen. Crunchy fruits and vegetables such as celery, carrots, and apples are natural teeth whiteners. They trigger your mouth to make saliva, which washes away food particles so they can’t stain teeth. Strawberries have an enzyme that acts like natural bleach. Broccoli has minerals that form a film on teeth so pigments from other foods won’t stain them. Some foods leave greater stains than others. Dark coloured drinks are the guiltiest. However, there is no need for you to eliminate them from your diet. Just try to limit them and take care to rinse your mouth with water, brush your teeth, or chew gum right after consuming them! Watch your drinks Anything that stains a white shirt — like coffee, tea, or cola — can also stain your teeth. If you drink these daily, try to cut back. And, rinse your mouth with water when you’re finished drinking. Cola not only stains but contains phosphoric citric acids and sugars which lead to tooth decay. The cold temperature of soda does not help as the teeth become more porous in colder temperatures. Therefore, make sure to use a straw. Do you like wine? Red wine is a beneficial drink. The polyphenols in it assist in preventing periodontal disease.

stained, bonding can be an easy fix. It can also be used to fill small gaps between teeth. In this cosmetic procedure, a toothcolored resin is applied and molded like putty to your tooth. Then, a high-intensity light or laser is used to harden the material. The final step: polishing the new bonded tooth. Bonding can be done in a single visit. Veneers for a smile makeover When teeth are badly stained, crooked, or misshapen, fixes like bleaching or bonding might not be enough. Porcelain veneers are pricier than these treatments and take two visits to the dentist instead of one. But they can transform uneven yellow teeth into a straight row of pearly whites. Correct a gummy smile If you have a gummy smile, the fix could be a surgery called “crown lengthening.” Under local anesthesia, a periodontist cuts away extra tissue to expose the full length of your front teeth. The surgery may only take an hour or less and

Helping you keep a bright and healthy smile is an important part of what every dentist does

dentist’s See a dentist for the quickest ways to remove stains and whiten teeth. In the office, a dentist paints your teeth with a peroxide gel, then activates the solution with a light or laser. Or your dentist can give you a custom-fitted mouthguard to use at home. Be sure to follow the dentist’s instructions for using a safe and effective gel and for the appropriate length of time. Bonding: A small fix for teeth If your teeth are chipped, broken, cracked, or badly

recovery depends on how much work was done. The cost: several hundred dollars a tooth. Braces for Beauty

races aren’t just for children. They can straighten crooked teeth and close gaps for adults who have lived with a less-than-perfect smile their whole lives. They can also correct an overbite or underbite. That may save you from losing teeth later in life or needing surgery. Choose the right dentist Helping you keep a bright and healthy smile is an important part of what every dentist does. For some things, however, it’s a good idea to see a specialist.

Wh y it’s health y to breathe through yyour our nose Why healthy

veryone knows the nose is for breathing and the mouth for eating. But it would surprise you how many people would rather breathe through their mouth. Probably no one knows or understands the essence of breathing through the nose more than those who practice Yoga.Yoga is a complementary health care tool in reducing stress, anxiety and depression and in lowering blood pressure. It helps as an aid by boosting the breath. While there are many different styles of yoga today, there is one thing they all have in common. They all incorporate nasal breathing into the movement. Those familiar with this practice will never see someone mouth breathing as seen in traditional exercise *Breathing through the nose activates classes. Yoga breathing is called Pranayama which means the parasympathetic nervous system Sa

“to control the breath” or “mastering the life force.” By design, nasal breathing and mouth breathing facilitate totally different physiological responses in the body. Breathing through the nose activates the parasympathetic nervous system, and mouth breathing encourages the sympathetic nervous system. Your lungs deliver oxygen to your blood. If your lungs can`t get enough oxygen to your blood, you can feel short of breath, and mouth breathing begins which elevates the heart rate and encourages the release of more sympathetic hormones into oursystem. Some pioneers in the alternative health industry are revealing that our traditional exercise programs are now adding additional stress to the body.

Saturday Vanguard, November 3, 2012â&#x20AC;&#x201D;37

C M Y K

38—SA TURD AY V anguard, NO VEMBER 3, 2012 38—SATURD TURDA Vanguard, NOVEMBER

C M Y K

SATURDAY, Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—39

Edosomwan bags Benin title

hief Charles Edosomwan (SAN), onetime Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Edo state has every reason to be a happy man. For one, it seems his immense contribution to the upliftment of the lots of his people has not gone unnoticed, at least, by the monarch of his kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Oba Erediauwa I of Beni who deemed it fit to honour him with a chieftaincy title of ‘Obasuyi of Benin’ s Photos by Barnabas Uzosike

Emeka Mamah buries mum THE mother of Vanguard’s Deputy News Editor, Emeka Mamah, Madam Gloria Mamah was recently buried at her home town, Imufu, Enugu-Ezike, Igboeze North Local Government Area of Enugu State. Many notable dignitaries graced the occasion.

The Oba of Benin,Omo N'Oba,N'Edo Uku Akpolokplolo

A cross-section of Vanguard staff at the funeral. From left; Messrs Vincent Ujumadu, Gabriel Enogholase, Chidi Nkwokpara, Innocent Anaba, Emeka Mamah and his wife Stella,. Anayo Okoli, Solomon Nwoke and Tony Edike.

L-R: Chief Oyegun, former Edo state governor and Chief Edosomwan R-L: Mrs. Edosomwan, Amen Iyame and Ese Patra Egharevba

Wale Saranda buries dad in-law in style DAYS back,the popular town of Ijebu Ode,became the social terminus,as pretty Ashabi Temitope Adesina,the dutiful wife of Chief Adewale Adesina, popularly known as Wale Saranda,buried her late father,Chief Geoffrey Ayodele Falowo .OG9 as Pa Falowo is fondly reffered to,began his final journey,with Christian wake keep at his Ogbagba estate,Obalende IjebuOde,residence on Friday,12th Oct. The following day,preceding his interment,a well attended funeral service, was held at Emmanuel Anglican church, Italupe Ijebu Ode.Thereafter,a lavish after reception was held at the Dipo Dina Stadium Ijebu-Ode .

Commissioner for Education (right), Dr. Simon Ortuanya and Chief Emmanuel Alachi, the Adogo of Etteh.

L-R: Mr. Dauda Esu, Timothy A. Anjide, Chief Edosomwan; Chief Uhembe,C.A. ,Tiv Community Leader; and Hon. Vincent Isiatu, Igbo Community Leader, who represented Alh. Dr. Aliyu Akure Doma, former Governor Nasarawa State.

WOVIBS graduation WORD of Victory International Bible School (WOVIBS) held its 28th graduation and awards ceremony recently.

Wale Saranda and wife, Ashabi Temitope Adesina,

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L-R: Evang. Kate Omoyebagbe, Pastor Joy Nzube, Bishop John Nzube, Pastor Prince Omoyebagbe and Evang. Uka Uka

Left: former Deputy Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Chief Linus Ali and Prof. John Ezeh (Ezeudo)

R o tar fair taryy af affair

PR guru, Mr Tola Noibi with Rotn. Osaro Ekumwereren, President, Rotary Club of Victoria Island

40—SATURDAY VANGUARD , NOVEMBER 3, 2012

Coscharis Motors hosts BMW Golf tournament

OSCHARIS M o t o r s , distributors of BMW brand in Nigeria has concluded plans to host

•Tata Novus 6x4 unveiled into the Nigerian market recently. Tata Xenon (inset)

Tata launches new commercial vehicles, unveils unprecedented warranty T

ATA Africa Services (Nigeria) Limited has launched new range of distribution vehicles from Tata Motors and Tata Daewoo commercial vehicles with unprecedented standard warranty ever in the country. The new standard warranty was tagged “scaling new heights,” the highest ever offered by any auto company in Nigeria. The launch which took place at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos was attended by industry heavy-weights like Dr. Pascal Dozie, Chairman MTN and the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria Mahesh Sachdev. Speaking at the occasion the Executive Director Tata African Service Nigeria, Mr. Sudeep Ray, said:“with the launch of the new range, Tata Nigeria will now be offering a complete solution of distribution vehicles and after sales service in Nigeria, with vehicles starting from half ton to 60 ton payload”. He described the performance of Tata in Nigeria as encouraging, C M Y K

adding that the company has sold about 3,500 vehicles in last 4 years. According to him, Tata products have become synonymous with leading companies in Nigeria. He pledged the company’s commitment to fortify its maintenance outlets, emphasising that after sale was key success factor in Tata operation in the Nigerian automobile industry. The Executive Director further noted that the company plans to add more service centres across the country in adition to a 24 hour helps line, a towing trucks, a service vans. According to him, the products are very durable, fuel efficient, and easy to maintain, hence the unprecedented standard warranty on them which surpasses all warranties ever offered in the country. Making reference to the new warranty policy, Mr. Gerard Nayagam, Tata Africa General Manager, said it will be the bench mark for warranties norms in the country and first of its kind in the Nigerian auto industry, adding that Tata

products gives value for money. Under the new warranty scheme, Light commercial Vehicles are covered by a three years or 300,000kilometers warranty (whichever comes first), while Intermediate commercial vehicles, Medium commercial vehicles, Buses, are covered by two years or 200,000 warranty (whichever come first). Also Tractor heads are covered by two years or

180,000kilometers warranty (whichever comes first). On his part, Regional Manager in charge of North and West Africa, Tata Motors limited, Mr. Anil Sekhar, commended Tata Nigeria after sales service, saying that Tata Africa Services has lived up to expectation. Making a details, the Area Manager Nigeria, Tata Motors , Mr. Rahul Nazareth, said that Tata has the right products for the Nigerian market.

The trucks includes: Tata Xenon double cabin pickup, Tata LPT 407 truck, Tata LPT 1116 Truck and LPT 2523 truck among others. Sachdeva in his reaction commended Tata Nigeria for the success recorded so far in the country. Also speaking at the occasion, Dr. Paschal Dozie who spoke in a similar vein congratulated Tata Nigeria team for its commitment to the Nigerian market.

the BMW Golf Tournament at Le Meridien Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, Uyo from November 9 to 11, 2012. According to a statement by the Group Marketing Manager, Mr. Ifeanyi Nihe "this is in line with the BMW long-established and successful tradition and invitation to pure fascination while the choice of Le Meridien Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, Uyo stemmed from its exclusivity in line with the BMW standards." He said that Coscharis Motors saw the tournament as an ideal platform to address its prime target group, an extremely efficient medium to intensify contact with existing customers, initiate contact with potential BMW clients and to enhance the premium focus of the BMW brand. The tournament will also be used to offer Golfers the opportunity to sharpen customers' loyalty. The three overall winners (one per category) have the opportunity to participate in the World Final to be held in Fancourt Resort, George South Africa in March, 2013. He said Coscharis Motors identified with the Golf Tournament because of its exclusiveness, aesthetics and perfection which are the values and standards that BMW premium standards find their accomplishment in the prestige of golf tournaments. It has been realized that the BMW Golf Cup International has become the world's biggest tournament series for amateur golfers, with more than 100,000 golfers from over 46 countries who play to qualify for the yearly World Final.

Tyre marketers to relocate to Int'l Trade Fair Complex

HE Association of Nigerian Tyre Marketers (ANTM) has concluded arrangements to relocate its activities from the current base at Enu-Owa street Idumota, to their multi million African Mobility Centre and permanent site at the International Trade Fair Complex along Lagos Badagry expressway by next year. President of the association, Alhaji Issa Akanbi Mohammed who disclosed this at a media briefing in Lagos recently, expressed

delight and satisfaction over the progress of work at the N2.26 billion project which is now under construction. He also invites other tyre dealers and members of the general public who wish to join the association to come on board by registering their intention at the association’s secretariat. “The tyre edifice was named African Mobility Centre because all the facilities and infrastructures are of world standard,” adding that ANTM is the wheel

of Africa, therefore we cannot compromise our quality and objectives. Mobility Centre will provide adequate space, freedom, security, quality services and affordable prices for the shopping pleasure of all tyre dealers anywhere in Africa. “We hope to complete and move into the first phase of the centre by May next year, while construction works will continue on phase two of the project.” Throwing more light on the subject, Okechukwu

Eze Ifeoma the ANTM vice president cited insecurity, congestion, constant harassment by area boys and unguarded rent increment as some of the reasons that prompted their decision to move away from Lagos Island to a more business friendly environment. “We saw an urgent need to comply with the directive of Lagos State Government which demands an end to street trading, and that all markets should move away from residential areas."

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—41

RAGING WAR AGAINST COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLE OPERATORS

Government lied to Okada riders —ANACOWA BY CHARLES ADINGUPU

or okada riders in Lagos, the Governor Fashola has drawn the battle line as he eventually ordered en forcement of the law, banning commercial motorcycle operators from plying major highways. The Chairman of All Nigerians Auto Bike Commercial Owners and Workers’ Association, (ANACOWA) Aliyu Wembe narrated the travails of okada riders since the law came into full force. He explained to Saturday Vanguard whey his group sought the services of renowned human rights lawyer, Bamidele Aturu to drag the Lagos State government to court. Were you consulted before the bill was signed into law? We were not consulted when the bill to ban commercial motorcyclists was in the works. But we decided to attend the public hearing when we heard of it. At the public hearing however, a 23-page-document was given to us as the proposed bill. After perusing through it, we eventually analysed it clause by clause. We realised that some of the sections were conspicuously removed from the law, particularly Schedule 22 that is currently generating the crisis in Lagos which banned Okada from plying some roads in Lagos. I remember somebody asking at the floor of the public hearing where is the Schedule 22 mentioned? But he was asked to put down his observations in writing. Political intrigues So, when Governor Babatunde Fashola was to sign the bill into law, the Schedule 22 and others now emerged. What we later had as the law was a 78-page document as against the earlier 23-page document that was showed to us. The okada operators were not carried along. The government failed What the Lagos State government would have done was to distribute the complete document to all okada riders’ Association in Lagos for scrutiny before the eventual endorsement of it into law. I do know that most of us would have consulted our lawyers to fine tune areas of the bill that are inimical to our operations and eventually harmonise areas of

Aliyu Wembe

The government lied to them anticipated conflict. Let the okada riders make their own input. Perhaps all these controversies would have been averted. The gray area of the law The law banned okada riders from operating in four hundred and seventy five roads in Lagos. According to the Transport Commissioner, he said Lagos has eight thousand five hundred (8,500) roads. These 475 roads that okada riders do business. Then Schedule four Sub-section 16 of the law further says that if your motorcycle is below 200cc is banned from operating in the remaining roads. So automatically, these 475 roads and section that says if your motorcycle is below 200cc you are ban from plying the other roads further compound our problems. The logic is that if you put the two clauses together, you find that okada has been automatically wiped off Lagos roads. We felt it was a manipulative tactics to wipe commercial motorcycle operators out of existence. So that their family members and de-

pendents will continue to suffer and perhaps eventually die of hunger. Why we struck now It is already a law hence we could not struck after it was signed by the Governor. Therefore, anybody who contravenes any aspect of it will be charged accordingly. We were also consulting with other okada riders’ association to see how we can meet with the governor to persuade him to suspend those aspects of the law that threatened our opera-

who was not ready to listen, I resorted to use my time for something precious. But those who were not ready to agree with my position continued their fruitless visit to the Governor ’s office, until it eventually dawn on them that the governor has zeroed his mind on the issue. So, they came to me at last. I then advised that we proceed to court to seek the judicial interpretations of this law. That was the reason we consulted Barrister Bamidele Aturu. He saw reason with us and agreed to proceed with the matter. What of other groups? We have about nine associations of Okada riders in Lagos. Unfortunately, two of them have been bought over by the government. They are more or less like agents of government. The government is now using these two groups to frustrate others. But my Association understands government intentions. Hence, we distance ourselves from them whenever we are going for any dialogue. We solely took the government to court. Besides, for now they are not making any contribution either financially or morally but some of them are now beginning to appreciate our stance. Also, we have not received any financial contributions from any cooperate organisation from anywhere. How many of your members have been arrested since the law came into being? Over one thousand of my members have been arrested so far. Like I earlier told you that we have about nine Associations of okada riders in Lagos. Therefore, if you add members of other groups who have been arrested, they would be over ten thousand (Okada) motorcycles that have been confiscated by the police and task force. But those motorcycles impounded, were they eventually released upon payment of certain amount of money? This placed us in a dilem-

What we later had as the law was a 78-page document as against the earlier 23-page document that was showed to us tions. But the governor was adamant. Some of my colleagues met the Transport Commissioner to assist us in convincing the Governor but he refused to respond. I followed them in more than two separate occasions to the governor ’s office without recording any appreciable progress. When I realised that it was all an exercise in futility going to Alausa to speak to a Governor

ma. It was an outright dictatorial law. They made law and in enforcing it, they were not even adhering to it accordingly. The law states that when you are caught violating the so called prohibited routes, prohibited, you will be charged to court. The minimum fine is twenty thousand (N20,000) naira for first offender. If you commit the offence a second time, your motorcycle will be impounded. But this is not what they are doing at the moment. Whether you ply the prohibited routes or not, wherever they set their eyes on you, your motorcycle will be impounded. Even if you’re fixing your deflated tyre with a vulcanizer, the police or task force members will stop, and impound your motorcycle. For now, the police are haunting okada riders. It was in the newspapers that the Lagos State government grind about three thousand motorcycles. You see, we had report, that some task force members and police officers were even selling the impounded motorcycles and sharing the proceeds among themselves. At other times, some of them converted these motorcycles for personal use. As far as I’m concern, even though I’m not lawyer, it is only a competent court of jurisdiction that can make pronouncement over seized motorcycles and subsequently place them for auctioning if need be. That is the practice in civilised societies. But in our situation, they will seize these motorcycles, they will not charge the offenders to court. No opportunity to reclaim seized motorcycles? Nothing like that. Whenever a motorcycle is impounded, they (task force) took it to Alausa instead of court. Sometimes, they sell some of them and shared the money among themselves. Some of them even converted the impounded motorcycle for personal use. It is like the state ministry of transport has become a court. So far, those caught were taken to the ministry of transport instead of the court to prosecute the offender and verify whether he is guilty or not guilty. In processing of this harsh method of enforcing the law, has any of your member been injured? Some are even beaten to death. I had a report an okada man, though not my member, was beaten to death at Ajegunle. One okada rider was hit by the butt of the gun and one of his eyes was condemned. There was a report

Continues on page 43

42—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

RAGING WAR AGAINST COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLE OPERATORS

We only restrict Okada on 475 out of 9,100 roads — Opeifa By Ishola Balogun

trip to the National Orthopedic hos pital, Igbobi, Lagos will reveal a pa thetic situation of victims of Okada accidents. Destinies altered as many on clutches cried in pain as a result of severe orthopedic injuries, while others with spinal cord injuries groan helplessly on wheel chairs. Before the October 20 government restriction of Okada on highways in Lagos, about 65-70 percent of accident victims who have varying degrees of bone injuries were said to have been caused by Okada accidents. Many also believe that the fly-on attitude of the operators especially on the highways constitute grave danger to the lives of other road users just as they were seen to flout traffic rules at every point. But not many see the decision of government to restrict the operations of Okada especially on the highways as a welcome development. While some argue that it will further compound the problem of movement of people from one point to another bearing in mind the inadequate public Above: transportation system especialMr. Kayode ly when commuting from the executive sat and took the dehighways to the hinterlands; cision, it was in collaboration Opeifa, Commissioner for others opined that it will fur- with the CDAs, the Local GovTransport. ther worsen the problem of un- ernment authorities, and when Below: employment as many of them it got to the House of AssemGov Fashola will be thrown out of jobs. Oth- bly, they also took out some and ers on the other hand see the added some. So, what we have government approach from the is a collective agreement of the perspective of ensuring safety views of the people of Lagos. and sanity on the roads. We also indicated that in all Reacting to some of these these roads, should there views, the Commissioner of be a situation, where there Transport, Mr. Kayode Opeifa is lack of public transporsaid the decision was taken by tation, the Hon Commisthe people of Lagos. “Every- sioner should review,” he day, the traffic situation in La- stated. gos keep rising and we all the Opeifa opined that time stressed the security fa- Okada has since recilities in the state. The peo- mained unregulated ple of the state keep telling us simply because it had never that the traffic and safety situ- been part of the public transation are not getting any bet- portation system. “It arose as ter with the Okadas still on the a result of social economic isroad. On September 5, after the sues. It started with Babangisigning the traffic bill into law, da administration and since we had an agreement with the then it remained unregulated. unions of Okada where they Akwa Ibom state tried to regurequested for three things. late it, designing helmets, jackOne, that we should delay the ets, but they later stopped it.” implementation time, a review Contrary to the claim of outof some of the roads; and a re- right ban of Okada in Lagos, quest to meet the Governor.” the transport Commissioner He explained that the roads stated that it was not an outon which Okada have been right ban, it was a restriction. restricted are all major high- “We have not banned motorways, the dual carriage roads cycle out rightly; we have only and some single lane roads in restricted them on 475 out of the list of the 475 roads. Ac- 9,100 roads. It means it is just Reeling out some of the roads, cording to him, “these are the about 6 per cent of roads in he noted that Ikorodu road, roads we have adequate trans- Lagos are restricted. These are Mile 12, Ojota, Mobalaji Bank port system. Some were add- dual carriage roads, major Anthony, Awolowo road, ed by the Local government roads and other roads we have Ogunlana drive, Adeniran authorities. So, it is not that the public transportation system. Ogunsanya, 3rd Mainland

If somebody touches you while on motion, you may fall and that may be fatal. We don’t want any more deaths on our roads

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Bridge, Eko Bridge, are unsafe for Okada operations. “...aside the fact that there is public transportation on these roads, they are not safe for a vehicle that is not protected. Motorcycle is not protected. If somebody touches you while on motion, you may fall and that may be fatal. We don’t want any more deaths on our roads. If we can prevent it, why not do that,” he explained. Harping on safety, he said: “I doubt if there is any family who has not had injury as a result of Okada or any one whose friend or acquaintance has not had Okada accident.”

ne of the arguments by the Okada operators is that they were used for the election and dumped thereafter, distributing helmets to them before the April 2011 election. Reacting to this, the commissioner said: “Giving helmet is what we hold as a social responsibility and there are a lot of companies that we have encouraged to give them helmet. It is meant towards ensuring that they are safe when operating. And that is what section 3 of this law says. So, we have not done anything strange in January to April 2011. So, if you need to do the business, you must be encouraged to operate safely,” he stated. He wondered why the hullabaloo on the government step towards ensuring safety of people in the state when some other states have tried it and

outrightly banned it. “Some states like Kwara, Delta, Rivers state including FCT, have all done it. While these states were banning them, they came down to Lagos and we did not say,’ no, don’t operate. What we said is that there must have to be restriction. We have not banned okada but we have only restricted their operations. I know no one will like to have his child on motor bike on the highway. It is unsafe and unreliable,” he noted. On the problem of inadequate public transportation which could have assuaged the pains of movement from one place to another, the Commissioner analysed thus: “We have over 7000 yellow buses on Lagos roads, we also have 1500 Bus Rapid Transport, by

our calculation, they pick about 1.5million people moving at a time. This occurs at the rush hour between 7am and 9am, after then, many of them go to Ojuelegba, Oshodi, Ojota to park. So, we don’t have to keep increasing the number of buses. It depends on the demand and supply theory. And even in the rush hour, people move in one direction and vehicle most times will not want to come back empty. So, we have to apply what is called special redistribution of resources. You will not get to equilibrium. Let me give you this analysis, if you leave for Marina, through the busiest road in Lagos which is 3rd Mainland bridge, because it moves, it takes you about one hour from Ikeja to Victorial Island. When you are coming back around 4:45pm, it will take you about 45 minutes. You will go through traffic at four points and spend about 5 minutes at each point and to you it looks like three hours. I have tried it several times. Each time I tried it, I call the traffic radio. The issue is that we are too much in a hurry.” He agrees that lack of training is part of the reasons why Okada operators consistently flout traffic rules. He insisted that the manufacturers of the okada never intended it for passenger movement, adding: “ regardless of the training they had, the urge to make more money set in, so, they become aggressive. That is why you always see them always in a hurry.” and that is why on some of the busiest roads like Allen, we have restricted them. They requested for an extension of time for them to fully comply with the law. The second thing they asked for was a review of the road, asking to be allowed on single carriage roads, (inside the neighbourhood) pending the time they will finally find their way out; while their third request was that they wanted to see the governor. On the issue of extension, on September 5, we meet every Friday, until October 20 and on the roads, we asked them to go and study the roads and pick the ones they want and come back to us. So far only the Alimosho branch signaled interest asking for Abaranje and Iliyasu roads. They also requested to meet with the governor, and they all met him except one of them, ANACOWA. And the rest said they were more convinced why they should leave the road. The organised Okada group was not involved. There are two unions – Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, (RETREAN) and NURTW.

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—43

RAGING WAR AGAINST COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLE OPERATORS

Tears of Okada riders Continued from page 11 Just like the Mau Mau of pre-colonial Kenya, the Lagos task force officials and men of the Nigerian police force ambushed unsuspecting okada riders at street corners to impound their motorcycles. Ketu – At Alapere, police officers unleashed terror on okada riders. The high headiness they displayed during arrest of commercial motorcycle operators, spoke volume of the horror they, okada riders were exposed to. From Demurin to Alapere, plain clothes policemen positioned themselves at strategic corners in the street waiting patiently like a dog to hack down okada riders. “The union, Okada Riders’ Welfare Association watched haplessly as their members were hurled into prison and their bikes confiscated arbitrarily. Ojota – Plain clothed policemen stood at ease at the ever busy Ojota expressway to hack down okada riders on motion. The same scenario was replicated at Irawo, Owode. But this time, uniformed policemen stood at the end of Ondo Street by 7pm everyday extorting money from okada riders. This unpleasant experience has become the rule applied virtu-

ally in the entire Lagos city. Commuters groan When two elephants fights, it is the grass that suffers. The lingering fiasco between okada riders and Lagos State government has left over 90% Lagos commuters stranded at various bus-stops across the city. The perennial fuel crisis in Lagos has further compounded the transport situation. A stranded commuter at Owode said he paid N400 to an okada operator to get to Ojota as against N150. “Okada riders are necessary evil. Government cannot just do away with their services. I paid N500 as okada fare from Awolowo Way at Ikoyi to Adeola Hopewell,” said Mike Ofor.

The restriction of okada riders’ operation has proved once again that commercial buses in Lagos were grossly inadequate as on daily basis, stranded commuters wait for several hours for buses to get to their destinations. Okada unions in disarray Investigations by Saturday Vanguard during the week, showed that the nine okada riders’ union associations in Lagos are in disarray. It was alleged in some quarters, that the present state of affairs in the unions was an orchestrated plan by the Lagos State government to create confusion in their respective camps. The Lagos State Chairman of ANACOWA, Aliu Wembe told Saturday Vanguard that two of the

unions are currently partnering with the Lagos State government to hoard okada riders. According to him, this unholy arrangement precipitated the recent riot at Fadeyi as okada riders who went on rampage resorted to vandalised BRT buses and other Lagos State government’s properties. “Members of MOALS, Motorcycle Operators’ Association of Lagos State felt betrayed by their chairman when the government started impounding their bikes contrary to what their leaders told them earlier on,” he said. At the Ojota axis, okada operators accused union officials of under-hand dealings. “They (union officials) are only interested in collecting the daily N400 ticket fee but not in our welfare. No union officials can claim being of help to any okada rider whose bike was impounded,” a commercial motorcycle operator made bold to declare. Okada new style of operation “Since man has learnt to shoot without missing, the bird has also learn to fly without perching.” For okada riders in Lagos, they now ply their trade with different tricks. At Igodo, some of the commercial bike operators now dressed like corporate

dispatch riders. They are decked in complete suit and tactically canvassing for passengers. It is not possible to make ends meet by operating within the ambit of government mapped areas. Hence, our fare is very high,” an okada rider told the Vanguard. “These days, we operate our business with the fear of being arrested or losing your motorcycle to ruthless task force officials. It takes a lion’s heart to remain on the express,” said Adeleke, an okada operator. Used and dumped It is a common knowledge that politicians employ the services of commercial motorcycle operators during campaigns. But they served as canon folders only to be dumped at the end of their political campaigns. “Another election will still come and Governor Fashola cannot use us again as he did in his last campaign for votes,” Adeleke said. Ironically, most government poverty elevation programme centred primarily on the purchase and distribution of motorcycles to indigent Nigerians. Yet, this group of persons have become albatross in government developmental programmes.

Government lied to Okada riders —ANACOWA Continued from page 41 of how a police officer knocked down an okada operator while he was on motion at Ikeja and in the process, he fell off his bike and one of his arm was broken while the okada rider

Aliyu Wembe

was grasping from breath, the task force men impounded his motorcycle leaving him in the pool of his blood. So, the brutality suffered in the enforcement of this law is indeed something else. If you are enforcing a law, it should be done with some degree of meekness. I believe that every law has human face. But how many are you in ANACOWA? We have over twenty-five thousand members in Lagos. But many of them are graduates Many of them are graduates and many of us have enormous responsibilities. Some have two three children in the university. I’m aware of one of my members whose first child is currently at 400 level while the younger one is at 200 level at the university. This man uses proceeds generated from his okada business to pay their school fees, buy books and

provide feeding allowance for them. Now, under this current situation how will the man cope. Government just wake one morning and say to hell with their problems. How much does an okada rakes in on daily basis before now? Well, it depends on where you are operating from. But conservatively, an average okada rider rakes in between N3,000 to N3,500 on daily basis. But with the implementation of this restrictive law how much do they generate? They are not even working at the moment, it is even difficult for most of us to feed our families. Quacks in commercial motorcycle operations The government, particularly Lagos State government does not seem ready to regulate the operations of commercial motorcyclists. They are not

ready to consult with people or groups with the technical knowledge on how to regulate the operations of okada riders. They believed they know it all. They have failed woefully. Now, they have consulted and realised their mistakes, hence, they (Lagos government) are adopting this military approach. It is true we have some under-aged okada riders, some of them who are foreigners as well as those who are equally reckless. But all these are mainly due to the inability of the government to put formidable control measures on ground. For example, before you will be allowed to operate okada in Lagos, you need to obtain a riders’ card. It is like a Driver ’s licence. It permits you to ride okada in Lagos. Also, we have riders’ card centre. That is where your personal data are captured. But today, corruption has bungled

the whole exercise because protocol of issuance is abused by government officials. All that is needed is just provide your passport photograph, and a riders’ card would be issued whether you are under-aged, over aged, blind, foreigner or even disabled. Once you are able to provide the requested amount of money at the riders’ card centre, you will be issued one. But how much does it cost Government price is just N800 but now officials collect N2,000 to produce Riders’ Card. The mechanism put on ground to regulate who is suppose to be on the road has been abused by government officials. The ministry of transport encouraged under-aged, disabled and unwanted people who are operating this okada business. So whenever they failed, they look for people to blame for their failure.

44—SA TURD AY Vanguard , NO VEMBER 3, 2012 44—SATURD TURDA NOVEMBER ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

ODD NEWS

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Compiled Richard Okotie

The jaws of death

‘My kids love having the world’s shortest mom’

he ‘half-body ’ mother (with a 5ft 11ins boyfriend) who defied doctors’ warning to have two healthy children. Rosemary Siggins, from Pueblo, Colorado, who is just 2ft 6in, suffers from sacral agenesis which affects one in 25,000 babies, and had the lower half of her body removed when she was aged two. She learned to walk on her hands at first, but eventually began using a skateboard to help her get around.

i n a l

moments of terrified Zebra snatched by crocodile’s lunch. The zebra battles in vain to avoid becoming a h u n g r y crocodile’s lunch. The zebra is grabbed by its muzzle and struggle to escape but is unable to get away when more of the predators arrive to aid in the kill along the Mara River, Kenya

The snake charming toddler Ouch! Now I feel silly Baby elephant lands on his trunk after tripping over log at Vienna Zoo...

hen you’re a baby elephant there’s much to learn. For instance, some logs you can simply step over and some are so big it’s best to go round them. Unfortunately for this little one at Vienna Zoo, mum was too busy to offer any advice, so he had to learn the hard way, tripping up (left) and landing, rather uncomfortably, on his trunk (right)

wo year-old boy shows no fear as he eyeballs boa constrictor... Charlie Parker is already an expert snake wrangler and lays claims to being Australia’s youngster wildlife ranger....Ballarat Wildlife Park in Victoria, Australia.

Cross River: Selling a slice of African warmth to the world

he hall was silent as he reeled out statistics as though he was a newscaster. Mike Gendel’s voice(CEO of Gendel Strategic Marketing Group, Cape Town, South Africa) see-sawed into the late evening chill; interrupted only by the intermittent burst of bright light occasioned by the sudden change of slide on the screen from the projector. Suddenly, the adage: “Courage is the father of success” flashes on the screen. Allowing the proverb a brief moment

3x2

to sink in the audience, he listed three attributes of success in tourism—vision, wisdom and courage. Although he did not expressly say it, the audience knew that he was

By EZIOKWUBUNDU NW'EZE

rebirth of Cross River’s tourism drive with a new logo, strategic marketing plan, new thematic commercial campaign that would run on terrestrial and satellite TV stations as well as radio and other media; and a clear

If the local tourism is not projected globally, foreign tourists will not relish its attractions

talking about the minders of Cross River State. Mr Gendel, is also a consultant to Cross River State Government on tourism. Gendel, an experienced salesman and advertising practitioner had come all the way from Picturesque, Cape Town to sell a slice of Cross River to corporate Nigeria. After years of hypnotizing Nigerians with the magic and maze of its endless beauties, the government of Cross River State had finally decided that it was time to raise the bar of its tourism offerings. What came off finally was a

plan on how to divvy up the revenue drive from tourism. The entire idea was full of wisdom as the state’s initial gambit that informed its investment in tourism. The logo presents Cross River as the destination for Africa’s Warmest Welcome. According to Gendel, part of what would be done to drive home the message is that Cross River would be sold through massive exposure on Super Sports’ coverage of the Spanish La Liga games as well as the forthcoming African Nations Cup that is billed for South Africa in 2013. These efforts are expected to dripfeed the idea of Cross River into the large audiences that follow football across the continent. However, Gendel was hired by the state government to woo Nigeria’s big businesses to grab the increasingly

attractive tourism opportunities in Cross River State. At an eclectic gathering of Nigeria’s cream of entrepreneurs in Ikoyi recently, Gendel revealed that tourism contributed a whopping six trillion dollars to world economy in 2011 and 77 billion dollars to the African economy during the same period. He also warned that all forward-looking economies in Africa who are no less endowed than Nigeria are already taking tourism seriously, and reaping the dividends of their wise decision. Egypt, Kenya and South Africa, he said, had adopted extensive tourism marketing strategies that would strengthen their stranglehold on the industry on the continent. Perhaps, what may have struck a note in the audience must be Gendel’s research finding that revealed that out of 1000 Nigerians polled in a recent survey that was conducted to ascertain the level of growth in the holiday culture in the country, 82% said they would rather spend their holidays at home while a pantry 4% indicated that traveling was their preferred mode of relaxation. To many wise investors, anyone who could devise a means of attracting this 82% away from their homes in search of pleasure would have struck gold. NW'EZE writes from Calabar

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—45

RAGING WAR AGAINST COMMERCIAL MOTORCYCLE OPERATORS

A clog in the wheels of okada riders

Continued from page 10 Lagos State. Some of the restricted routes for motorcycles and tricycles are all the bridges, highways, and dual carriage ways. According to Investigation, others are Lagos – Ibadan Expressway, Apapa- Oshodi Expressway, Oworonshoki – Oshodi Expressway, Ikorodu Road, Funsho Willams Avenue, Lagos – Abeokuta Expressway, Third Mainland Bridge, Eti-Osa Lekki Expressway, Lagos – Badagry Expressway, Agege Motor road, Alfred Rewane Road, Ahmadu Bello Way and Agege Motor Road. The Lagos State government vowed to prosecute all motorcycle operators and their passengers who violate the new traffic law. However, the government expressed concern that despite the law and the enlightenment campaign, the commercial motorcycle operators are still plying the restricted routes, including bridges and highways with impunity. According to Lagos traffic law, it is an offence of which a rider can be convicted for riding on restricted routes, or failure to wear standard protective crash helmets. A rider found carrying more than one passenger, a pregnant woman, a child below age of 12 years or an adult with a baby, a heavy load placed on the head or acts obstructing normal sitting on the motorcycle will be deemed to have contravened the law. The passenger would also be liable and receive the same penalty. The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, noted that traffic congestion and delays had continued to be compounded by the menace of motorcycle riders. He said that Okada riders were using unapproved motorcycles, those below 200 cc which violates the new traffic law. Opeifa lamented that many innocent lives that could contribute meaningfully to the development of the state and the country had been wasted as a result of motorcycle accidents. “Many children had become orphans, many wives had become widows while many husbands had become widowers as a result of such avoidable accidents.” He pleaded with motorcycle operators and passengers of motorcycles to “voluntarily comply with the law as both riders and passengers could be culpable.” It was disclosed that there

Continued from page 10 whip of fate, a long lamentation of the persecuted placed on the edge of the abyss. Lagos, newly admitted into the club of bourgeoisie cities made a law to restrict okada riders from plying highways.

Who owns this motocycles?

he dust generated by the emergence of this law is yet to settle in the public domain. For most Lagosians, it was a calculated attempt by the Lagos State government to wipe away the average man from existence. Yet for others, it will create sanity on the ever busy Lagos roads, particularly putting to check the ubiquitous traffic congestion. Since the enforcement of the controversial law barely a week ago, not less than ten thousand motorcycles had been impounded with over three thousand or more of them destroyed by the Lagos State government for flouting the rules. Additionally, a proportionate number of okada riders while trying to escape arrest were injured and later hospitalised at different hospitals in the city. assistance from a wealthy man Every passing day, large numin our town to buy okada and ber of commuters were seen operate in Lagos. About five of stranded at different bus-stops us got such help and live in a in Lagos. The lingering fuel criroom at Igboelerin village. All sis appears to further compound of us have paid back the mon- the transport crisis in Lagos. ey loaned to purchase our moAll these state one fact, that torcycles. The business is the transport system in the good, but now things are get- emerging mega city has colting rough for us in Lagos lapsed. Hence, the okada ridState. But if I get something ers still operate with temerity better I’ll quit okada business.” under the watchful eye of task For now, the ban is not work- force officials who combed the ing in Lagos. Many of them streets of Lagos for okada ridstill ply the expressways and ers like a praetorian guard. riding with recklessness For most Lagos residents the against one way traffic. bag of ironies behind this law, Okada riders in Lagos are need much to be desired. For estimated to be over 200,000 them, the government apacross the sprawling metropo- peared to be speaking with both lis. sides of its month. The commuters themselves Government cannot be are having difficulties adjust- bogged down by the problem of ing to life without the services provision of employment for its of the fast moving motorcycle teeming idled youths, at the operators. same time, gradually banning the operations of commercial motorcycle. The multiplying effects of the enforcement of this law cannot be over-emphasised. There are many Nigerians benefiting from the operations of okada riders apart from the commuters. No doubt, motorcycle mechanics will suffer poor patronage, the over 300,000 youths employed by the nine commercial motorcycle associations in Lagos to sell tickets will surely be thrown out of job as well as the vulcanizers. Others also posited that if Lagos must attain its mega city status, then provisions must be made for commercial motorcycle operators on the highways same as the BRT lane. In developed countries, this had been the rule rather than the exception where even pedestrian walk ways and bicycle lane were provided.

Not yet sunset for Okada operators are only two recognised associations for motorcycle operators in Lagos State. These are the Motorcycle Operators Association of Lagos State under the control of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association under the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN). All unrecognised motorcycle associations in the state have been advised to affiliate with either NURTW or RTEAN. There had been brutal clampdown by police on okada operators as their motorcycles are seized and the riders harassed and assaulted. Some of the riders expressed willingness to comply with the law and obey it, but accused the police for not enforcivng the law rightly to the letters.

“Policemen now go into the hinterland leaving the highways to arrest motorcycle riders, impound their bikes by force and extort money,” said Tiola Adeyi who operates on the Iyana Era/Ilogbo route. Bad governance helped to bolster Okada riding profession. Many educationally qualified persons have resorted to okada for lack of suitable employment. An operator told Saturday Vanguard: “Since I left the polytechnic, I have not been able to get job with my HND. I decided to come to Lagos from Benue when a cousin gave me N100,000 and I used N70,000 to buy a motorcycle to do okada work. I’ve no regret because I can now sustain my family.” Another one, Isah from Okene said: “I got financial

Commutter are having difficult times adjusting

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NO VEMBER 3, 2012 NOVEMBER

Race, sex and politics in US BY GBENGA OKE in Houston Texas, HUGO ODIOGOR & LAJU ARENYEKA (with Agency reports)

ovember 4, 2008—Nearly every African on the planet remembers when they first heard the news that Barack Obama was President of the United States of America. It did not matter whether they had ever been to the U.S. Even those who had no access to CNN mutilated. Obama tee-shirts, Obama jokes, Obama desktop backgrounds were the order of the day. Obama allegories permeated every airwave. January 20, 2009—the day Martin Luther King’s dream became a reality, Maya Angelou’s prophecies came to pass, and the tears in Oprah’s eyes told the story. 44thPresident of the United States, and first black man in the white house, Obama made history with 95% of African American voters favouring him. November 2012-A failing economy, controversial stance on gay and lesbian marriage, coupled with one bad debate. Could these issues cause the U.S President to remain in history? Recent polls after the second debate show that about 92% of blacks still favour Obama, Analysts worry that the current issues might lead to a low turnout. Many blacks might not want to vote in a republican, but may not be enthusiastic enough to vote at all. As one analyst put it, “Even if he gets 95%, it would be 95% of what?” But even if as little as 5% of black voters who supported the president in 2008 stay home on Election Day, he could lose states that helped him win four years ago, such as Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, where he won by just 14,000 votes despite a whopping 76% turnout rate among black voters. “The enthusiasm gap this time has been a problem, and I think [the Obama campaign] has been struggling to overcome it,” said Marshall Ganz, a Kennedy School of Government professor at Harvard, credited with masterminding the Obama campaign’s field-organization model, adopted in 2007. “There’s a lot to recover there.” Although blacks make up only 12 percent of the population, their unusually high 65 percent turnout in 2008 helped push Obama over the top. A dip this time could help drag him down, just as it did during the 2010 midterm congressional elections when Republicans trounced Democrats. According to the National Post “This election — so tight a tie of 269 Electoral College votes is possible — is shaping up to be the year of the minorities: blacks, Hispanics and Jews could well decide the next president. As many as 60,000 Hispanics become eligible to vote every month and are today the largest and

Martin Luther King

Maya Angelou

•President Barack Obama fastest-growing minority population. Nobody thinks Jews will vote Republican at a rate much higher than 30%, but increasingly pro-Republican Orthodox Jews, for example, could help unseat the president if they happen to live in a state like Florida, where the 2000 election was decided by just 537 votes. A large white turn out is something that the Democrats may have to adapt as according to the 2010 U.S census, whites still make up to 65.87% of the population, while Blacks, Hispanics and Asians

A failing economy, controversial stance on gay and lesbian marriage, coupled with one bad debate. Could these issues cause the U.S President to remain in history? make up the rest. A Pew poll released recently found that 57 percent of whites planned to vote for Romney, compared to only 37 percent for Obama. That number would translate into the lowest share for a Democrat in a two-person race since Walter F. Mondale got 35 percent of the vote in 1984. By comparison, in Obama’s 2008 victory, 43 percent of white voters supported him. Michael Dimock, Pew’s associate director for research, said that white voters without college degrees, who tend to have lower incomes and may be more likely to be suffering from sluggish economic growth, accounted for most of Obama’s falloff in the poll. For Mr Mina Sekibo, he believes the racism factor will not hinder the victory of President Obama at the forthcoming polls adding that the younger generation of Americans seems not be a racist. His words, “Racism is not of much of a problem because other factors are already coming to play. There are more mexicans in America now and they are increasing in number by the day while others like Latinos, Hispanics are as well growing in number by the day”. “The Republicans have so far played a racist card and that is why the election became so tight but it is evident that the American younger generation are already looking beyond that because most schools in America are seriously a mix of black and whites” he maintained. Alan Wirzick of the Boston Globe said: “As recently as 2004, when George W. Bush won 44 percent of the Hispanic vote, Latinos were considered a swing constituency. Karl Rove, Bush’s political strategist, who said in a speech this month in Arkansas that the GOP would be doomed without winning over more Latinos, pushed the party to back immigration reform that year.”

Rape: the unending controversy BY HUGO ODIOGOR Foreign Affairs Editor

ex is a recurring decimal in US politics and no election campaign is complete without an excursion into the affairs of the heart very few high-profile political figures have survived its impact, when ever the issue of sex crops up in American politics where puritanical standards are set for mere mortals who fall like pack of cards in front of bimbos. The sleaze may not be so sizzling for the media in the 2012 presidential politics because the two parties have present candidates with relative personal discipline and high ethics on family value. But then there is still sex to talk about. GOP contestant Herman Cain was swept away even before the race got on its steam. Newt Gingrich, who was the speaker of congress during the Monica Lewinsky affairs had sleaze of past which he

Bloomberg, who at different times has been both a Democrat and a Republican but is now an independent, said he was supporting the President because he believes in gay marriage, abortion rights and fighting climate change was able to blow beat his Republican colleagues to drop for good and time the crucial issues of how to rescue America’s economy from the days of the Kennedy brothers Robert, John and Edward to the days of Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, there is always some douse of sex to mix with politics. GAY MARRIAGE The issue of people of the same sex getting involved in civic union

called marriage is an act that most conservatives, Evangelical Christian and African – Americans found highly repulsive and the idea of President Barack Obama signing the bill into a law late last year has continued to cost him some headache. But as Gen Collin Power explained, there should be a separation between Christian marriages and secular unions such as the one

called same sex marriage Gen Power, a conservative republican party member defended Obama’s action on grounds that America’s constitution is highly permissive and has gone to the extreme in enthroning civic liberties, which some groups in US, were bent on using to project the president as a bigot there are more people that have left Obama for his action because the same constitution was there when he opposed the idea in 2008. The president repealed “the Don’t Ask, Do Tell” policy in the military which preclude military personnel from declaring their sexual orientation. RAPE The issue of rape became hot in August when Republican Party contestant for Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin caused an uproar by saying women have natural defenses against pregnancy from “legitimate rape.”.

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NO VEMBER 3, 2012—47 NOVEMBER

Akwa Ibom topsy-turvy power show By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

must tell you the truth, our governor does not have any seri ous attachment to money, but never you contest power with him,” a close associate of Governor Godswill Akpabio said on Wednesday night as the news of the resignation of Mr. Nsima Ekere as deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State filtered out. Ekere had shaken the political establishment in Akwa Ibom with his resignation from office earlier that evening. News of the resignation immediately sent tongues wagging with nearly all that heard it expressing great surprise. It was even more surprising given that Ekere was in pole position in the scramble to succeed the governor in 2015. As the news distilled in Uyo and around the country, the development was understandably welcomed with mixed reactions. Political rivals and those who have never liked Ekere welcomed the news as a comeuppance. Many were yet to forgive Ekere for replacing Patrick Ekpotu as deputy governor at the beginning of Akpabio’s second term. Others saw the development as the desperation of the incumbent governor not to share power with his deputy. Others still saw it as part of the inner intrigues in the plot to deny Ekere’s Eket senatorial district their quest to for the first time produce a governor for the state. Ekere spent exactly 19 months and 1 day in office as Deputy Governor to Governor Akpabio. Ekere’s downfall followed orchestrated plans by the majority of the members of the State House of Assembly to initiate an impeachment motion against him. 20 of the 26 members of the House of Assembly, it was learnt, had signed the article of impeachment of the former deputy governor. The immediate cause of the move against him has remained a mystery to many, but few doubt that Ekere’s problems are connected to his aspiration to succeed Akpabio. As at press time aides of the governor and his erstwhile deputy were keeping mute on the issue fueling conspiracy theories on the issues that led to the resignation of the deputy governor. Whatever it is, the governor and his erstwhile deputy reportedly fell out over some yet to be disclosed issues. Ekere was originally nominated by Akpabio in 2007 be his running mate

Nsima Ekere ...as deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State Ekpotu and as the 2011 election approached, he dropped Ekpotu from the ticket and replaced him with Ekere. Some, however, felt that Ekere never reconciled himself with the fact that Ekpotu was occupying the office he was supposed to have occupied and it is no surprise that some associates of Akpabio rejoiced last Wednesday when the news of the deputy governor ’s resignation leaked out. Ekere was, however, not without his supporters especially from his

Governor Akpabio for the election that year. Akpabio’s action was apparently because Ekere had stepped down for him at the heat of the raucous primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. However, he was compelled to drop him upon the insistence of the then governor, Obong Victor Attah that he,

Eket Senatorial zone. Former Senator Etang Umoyo, Chairman of the Eket Senatorial Forum, blamed Ekere’s resignation on the intrigues surrounding the 2015 governorship contest and specifically faulted the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State government, Mr. Umana O. Umana and other governorship aspirants from Uyo Senatorial district for Ekere’s problems. The accusation is indeed not surprising given the close relationship b e t w e e n Umoyo, who was a member of the third republic senate and Ekere. Ekere had been looked upon by Umoyo and the Eket political elite to become the first governor from the district to govern the state. The people of Eket who comprise 12 out of the 31 local government areas in the state and have been complaining that theirs is the only zone that is yet to produce a governor for the state. How Ekere’s ambition got him into

Political rivals and those who have never liked Ekere welcomed the news as a comeuppance. Many were yet to forgive Ekere for replacing Patrick Ekpotu as deputy governor at the beginning of Akpabio’s second term. Attah should have a representation in the cabinet. Based on that, Attah was given the opportunity to nominate Patrick Ekpotu as Akpabio’s running mate. Ekpotu like Akpabio had served in the Attah cabinet and was the Commissioner for Information. Despite pretensions to the contrary, Akpabio still had reservations about

trouble is directly not known but sources indicate that Akpabio had quietly positioned his loyalists to work with some of the leading gubernatorial aspirants around him. One of the moles it was alleged, had reported back to the governor of an alleged utterance in one of the meetings of Ekere’s supporters that could endanger the governor ’s survival in office till 2015. It was allegedly based on that report that the governor’s group initiated a mobilization against the deputy governor. However, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Elder Sam Ikon, who is a close associate of the former deputy governor, was said to have opposed the move.

“The Speaker was the first target. The plot was to remove the speaker and then move on to remove the deputy governor,” a source privy to the developments told Vanguard. As at Thursday the Speaker ’s position was still precarious given that 20 of the 26 members of the House were said to have aligned against Ekere before he left office. The development in Akwa Ibom may have seriously hurt Ekere’s quest and with that, the drive by the Eket senatorial zone to produce the next governor of the state. Stakeholders from the zone it was learnt would be meeting today to deliberate on the development.

Patrick Ekpotu

Umana O. Umana

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BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

HEY manage and mentor men and women, who are knowledgeable in all fields of human endeavour. They are usually the force behind the earth-shaking stories that help to re-shape society. But editors are rarely seen. And their contributions to policy formulation are hardly sought, a neglect that has contributed immensely to getting the nation stuck in the cesspool of socio-economic and political underdevelopment. Perhaps, the story would have been different if the three arms of government – the executive, legislature and judiciary seek the input of the media, often dubbed as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, in policy formulation, decision making and implementation. Determined to change the tide, beginning with the ongoing constitution amendment exercise of the National Assembly, the Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) Project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, last Tuesday held a parley with editors in Lagos. The leading media lights in Nigeria and other stakeholders did not disappoint. Speaking at the five-hour programme themed: “Media Dialogue with Editors on the Constitution Amendment Process,” held at Sheraton Hotel, they offered thought-provoking suggestions on how to improve the 1999 Constitution and make it a vehicle for the delivery of democracy dividends to the citizenry and enthronement of an egalitarian society. The editors said the country might continue to wallow in poverty and want, political instability and tension if meaningful adjustments were not made in the provisions of the constitution.The areas they sought amendment include constitutional guarantee for right to access to information, making media’s governance monitoring function legally enforceable, affirmative action and gender issues, youth empowerment and fiscal federalism among others.Media icons at the parley included Editor-inchief/General Manager of Vanguard Newspapers and President Nigeria Guild of Editors, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye; former Director General of the Nigeria Television Authority, Dr Tonnie Iredia; Attorney General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (who was represented by his Special

NO VEMBER 3, 2012 NOVEMBER

CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT

How to make our constitution a people’s constitution — Editors, others

•Adefaye, Iredia, Abati, others speak

•Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria

•Tambuwal, Speaker, House of Reps. Assistant, Mrs. Stella Aborime); and UNDP Country Director, Mrs. Ade Letkoetje.Also present were Vanguard Daily Editor, Mr. Mideno Bayagbon; The Guardian Acting Editor, Mr. Martins Oloja; Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, Dr Mohammed Shittu; IPAC Secretary, Mr. Emmanuel Mok; Mr. Lanre Arogundade, Mr. Festus Okoye, Daily and Weekend editors of major newspapers in the country as well as representatives of civil society organizations.Speaking at the event, Adefaye urged editors to buy into the constitution

•David Mark, Senate President

•Gbenga Adefaye, President, NGE

amendment process because a good constitution would yield a good press, which in turn would lead to a better society.

hanking the National Assembly and the President for the Freedom of Information Law, he said the next task now was making the FOI law work. And the surest way of doing this is to put press freedom expressly in the constitution, he said.Adefaye deplored the worsening state of affairs in the country and sought urgent action. He lamented that 52 years after independence, many Nigerians are still squatters in

their country. In like manner, Mrs. Letkoetje assured that the UNDP was committed to assisting in making the constitution amendment process a success by partnering with all stakeholders. She urged the media to keep the issue on the front burner, help the citizenry to make robust participation so that in the end the people would take ownership of their constitution. Also speaking, Mrs. Aborime, who said the Justice Minister was working on a template that would make the FOI law effective, decried the

frequent need to amend the constitution and hoped that the outcome of the current exercise would enrich Nigeria’s governance project. She urged the media to help the government to be accountable to the people in line with provisions of Chapter two of the Constitution. Aborime said the Federal Government was ready to help the media achieve its constitutional responsibilities by making the FOI law effective and ensuring that there was no abuse of power. On his part, Abati urged the media and the citizenry to take active part in the constitution amendment efforts. “Government is out to ensure that Nigerian citizens determine the amendment. Let’s draw attention to what the constitution amendment is all about.” Recalling the controversies that greeted President Goodluck Jonathan’s recent suggestion of a single tenure for president and governors and allegations that the ongoing amendment was part of the president’s plan to get re-nomination, Abati said the President harboured no such plans. He urged the media to boost the constitution amendment process and partner with the government to provide leadership and show direction for the citizenry. Noting that the media was in the forefront of independence struggle and making the Nigerian nation, he said the crucial tasks before the media now include setting positive development agenda that would promote the cause of enlightenment and growth instead of instability. Relatedly, Iredia, who said he did not really believe in constitution amendment because the country had been amending constitutions since 1922 with little or no results, stressed the need for effective implementation of the Constitution. Not necessarily dismissing the need to amend the constitution, he said Nigerians need not only constitution amendment but also following the spirit of the amendment by amending their orientation. Media can’t function effectively with shackled hands Although, the country now has the FOI law, the editors said some specific and crucial amendments in the grand norm were needed to enable the media carry out its

continues on page 49

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NO VEMBER 3, 2012—49 NOVEMBER

How to make our constitution a people’s constitution watchdog role robustly to the betterment of the country. Some of the amendments include: constitutional recognition for media/ press freedom, relocation of the media’s governance monitoring function to make it e n f o r c e a b l e , constitutional guarantee of the right of access to information, exclusion of p r e s i d e n t i a l participation in the broadcast media licencing, constitutional recognition for broadcast regulatory body and repositioning the responsibility for licence fee collection and management among others.

n right of access to information, the media urged “that a constitutional backing for the right of access to information should be included in the proposed new Constitution as a sub-section of the current Section 39. The section should be a comprehensive section containing guarantees for a range of free expression, media freedom and access to information rights.” The media lords lamented that the rights conferred on the media by section 22 of the Constitution were not enforceable. Section 22 of chapter II ( F u n d a m e n t a l Objectives and Directive

Principles of State Policy) obligates the media as follows: “The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the

Continued from page 48

It is worrisome that the obligation by the media to freely monitor governance and make government accountable to the people as provided for in section 22 cannot be legally enforced

people.” However, the editors said this right could not be enforced because the whole chapter II of the 1999 Constitution where section 22 is located is non-justiciable. In a memo prepared by Media Network on the review of the 1999 constitution, which has been sent to the National Assembly, they lamented that given the culture of secrecy and impunity

that prevails in the country, journalists have been attacked and press freedom violated in the course of making government accountable to the people. “Recently, six journalists attempting to cover a police visit by a former state governor were barred from their legitimate duty by being locked up in an office in the station. From Dele Giwa in 1986 to many others in recent times, many journalists have been killed with no clue yet on the assassins. Yet investigative journalism remains a major tool through which journalists could monitor governance and make government accountable to the people as envisaged by the constitution. Indeed, it allows them to work in accordance with the definition of their profession as a public trust with citizens to expose wrongs and promote human rights. “State media on the other hand are often incapacitated from professionally performing their oversight functions through the mode of appointment of the managers and editors, which leaves little to desire about editorial independence, critical journalism, tenure security and compliance with code of ethics. To the extent that their deserved security is not in place, an attitude of self censorship prevails.

“Against this background, it is worrisome that the obligation by the media to freely monitor governance and make government accountable to the people as provided for in section 22 cannot be legally enforced; a journalist whose right has been violated in the course of ensuring governance accountability cannot seek the protection of the court. “Also, Section 22 does

foregoing makes a constitutional mechanism to strengthen the watchdog role of the media a key imperative, they canvassed that section 22 be removed from chapter II and be made a section or subsection of Section 39 under chapter IV (Fundamental human rights) to make it possible for the right conferred on the media therein to be legally enforceable.

Senate timetable for constitution amendment · Identification of issues for the presentation round of amendment – Apr 2012 · Request for submission of memoranda – May/June 2012 · Retreat to consider memoranda – July 2012 · Public hearing on issues highlighted in memoranda – Oct 2012 · Retreat to aggregate pubic views and inputs – Jan 2013 · Drafting of Amendment bill – February 2013 · Introduction of the bill to the Senate – Mar 2013 Passage of the bill – June 2013 · Passage of the Bill in the state Houses of Assembly – July 2013 Issues to be reviewed · Devolution of powers · Creation of more states ·Recognition of the six geo-political zones in the constitution · Role of traditional rulers · Local Government · Removing Land Use Act, NYSC Act and code of conduct from the constitution · Fiscal federalism · Immunity clause · Nigerian Police · Judiciary · Executive · Rotation of executive offices · Gender and special groups · Mayoral status for the FCT · Residency and indigene provisions · Electoral reform

Will Mitt Romney win the elections? —Queen Akasoba

ometimes in 2011 I heard a voice stating that Mitt Romney would win the next American Presidential elections. I was flabbergasted because in all honesty it is really reallydelightful having my brother Barrack Hussein Obama as the President and Commander in Chief in the United States of America. As you may be aware, President Obama’s origins are from Obama (Bakana) Kingdom in Rivers State in the present day Rivers State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I highlighted this fact in the media. Prior to the revelation, I had never met governor Mitt Romney; had never heard of him and had not even seen his photographs. I, therefore, had absolutely no idea who he was or what he looked like. As I sat by my balcony watching the seagulls and flamingoes, I began to reminiscence on the phenomenon called Barrack Obama. Did not God say that out of nowhere, I the Lord

not impose an obligation on the state or public institutions not to initiate policies and actions that can jeopardize the ability of the media to carry out the responsibility of monitoring governance; it does not declare illegal any state action that prevents the media from acting in accordance with the provision of Section 22 and it does not provide strong protection for state media.” Noting that the

HRM Queen Akasoba with Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner will raise the poor and the wretched to sit amongst Kings and Queens? How a gentleman from Kalbariland, would stand for, and win democratic elections in far away United States of America and proceed to live in the White House for four years? I recall how I travelled to the USA and intensely campaigned for Brother Barrack Obama. To my surprise there were far many more Caucasians than Blacks campaigning for him.

In addition,the thirty three City States of Ancient Kalabari Kingdom, when they learnt of the involvement of Queen Akasoba engaged in intensive prayers to the Almighty God to intervene and help a descendant of Kalabari, our brother Barrack Obama.Our prayers were answered and the rest is history. I had also hoped that President Barrack will occupy in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for eight years constitutionally. This was hope, different from practical reality. I had also hoped that Barrack would visit Obama Kingdom to say “Thank you” to his kith and kin who prayed for him and even took pains to literally drum up support for him. I had hoped that the newly elected President Barrack Obama during his visit to Obama Kingdom would see how marginalized, deprived, segregated, and victimized his people are; and that further he would take a trip to “Obama secondary school ” which has been in existence for decades in Obama Kingdom of Kalabariland. Whilst at the school he would have seen how dilapidated the school had become over the years and how bravely these poor students have battled against all odds just to be educated.

HRM QUEEN AKASOBA DUKE-ABIOLAmni, Queen Akasoba of Kalabari

50—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM, Benin City

t was sad news last Monday for indigenes of Edo State, when the former Director General of the Center for Democratic Studies (CDS), Prof Omo Omoruyi, declared that his cancer has resurfaced. He was flown to the United States of America for another round of treatment but before he left, he pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan and his former boss, President Ibrahim Babangida to come to his aid. According to him, “My cancer is back and I don’t know how it will end, the governor of the state Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has graciously come to my aid again. He is the one making it possible for me to commence my second journey. You know in my book I said “My journey back to life”, that is journey number one. It will appear I am starting a second journey but how this second journey will end, I don’t know. So this weekend, on Saturday, I am going to the hospital in the United States, to commence a new treatment plan and that treatment plan, how it will end, I do not know. You will recall that in the book, I said in the life of a cancer survivor, there are two fears: fear number one is the fear of recurrence that the cancer could come back, fear number two is that one could die. The fear number one is no more fear, it is real. My cancer is back which means I have to start a new treatment plan, I have to start a new journey because the other one was also a journey. Weeping I cried because since September, when I went the United States in the hospital for three weeks, all the series of tests showed that my cancer is back ,that the recurrence is more a fear but it is now real. It is back and therefore there has to be a new plan to treat Prof Omo Omoruyi..My cancer is back and I don’t know me. So, there are two alternatives for me. One, there is a new how it will end drug that has been approved by FDA, Food and Drug Administration in the United States which costs about $9000 a month, but you cannot take it unless in the presence of the doctor an oncologist. It is a drug that was just introduced in September. Luckily, with what comrade provided me, I was able to buy for the first month. I have not started using it. I am going to start using it in the hospital this weekend in Boston in the United States. If that doesn’t work, I have to go again through a ams Oshiomhole, I am going back to start a no more fear of resurnew kind of chemotherapy. I new treatment. The end, I don’t know, that gence, fear of recur- ple. They are the ones know what I went through be- means I am starting a second journey, the first rence, it has recurred, it running ACN. What fore, so if the second fear then journey, Back to Life, that book is there, hope- is real...fear of death, must he do, I will leave happens, if I then die, who fully, it will also be back to life because if you that one is for God, I am that to time but he knows, I don’t know...so I am look at the book, it clearly said that I was guar- a Christian and I have should try and rebuild starting this two alternative anteed five years . So, when I started noticing always believed that that the party ACN but not treatment plans for an end I some problems, I knew that well, it is not un- is how it ends. There is with all these people don’t know. So this weekend, usual so maybe who knows, God in His infi- nothing you can do about hanging around him now. I don’t want to with the help of Comrade Adnite mercies would grant that. For a cancer survi- name names. These are vor, death is the ultimate no good people, all me another five years. For those who want to but I don’t want to suf- these people left over come to my aid, this is a fer. With what I went from Lucky Igbinedion, knew journey, so if you through before, it is an they are not good peodon’t see me again, if agonising moment for ple. There are good peothe second fear takes me that I am going to go ple who are not in poliplace, if I die, then you through all that again in tics now, who really have know where I am. But a different way. You can track record of accomkeep praying for me that see my agony, so I don’t plishment and service in this second journey, I want to suffer but I have to our community. Bebeen suffering in differ- cause of the future of this will also come back. ent ways in the past one state, we may have a month. I can’t help but monumental problem. IBB I sent him a text mes- still say think you Comsage yesterday that I am rade Adams Oshiom- What do you expect going back to the hospi- hole. Whatever happens, from your state (Edo) in tal. I have also contact- I pray for him that under the near future? We are supposed to be ed some of my good peo- him, and with him, this ple; General and Sena- State should find a di- in South-South dominattor Daisy Danjuma, Mrs rection. I wish I could ed by PDP. Is he a PDP Ama Pepple and many help him more than that; man? He is ACN, but is other kind people who those who he will put in he ACN of Tinubu or came to my aid at vari- government to help him ACN of Ribadu, is he ous times during my first will be those that will ACN Yoruba or ACN journey; the likes of Pro- help this State find a di- Edo? To me, he should fessor Tunde Adeniran, rection in this country do everything possible to work with Jonathan Professor Tunde Rahma, called Nigeria. I can see a lot of prob- and you know clearly Professor Tunde Makanjuola, Professor A. B. Ya- lem in future but he is a that is not the ACN dihaya, Professor Osayuki nice man. It is not be- rection. Outside, this Oshodin and my rela- cause he is helping state will suffer but we me...he loves his people, don’t know what tions. I have been crying here he loves the state but un- Jonathan’s party will be for two weeks now but I fortunately, all these because my good friend have let them know that people he gathered from E. K. Clark is trying to my cancer is back. It is PDP are not good peo- put together all these

Don’t let this cancer kill me , Prof.Omo Omoruyi begs President Jonathan

South people. They are not all PDP, they are not all ACN, these are people from the Southwest, southeast and soutsouth. The next meeting will be at Enugu and then Comrade is not there and then you find people like Anenih and the likes, these are not people who can help this state. There is nothing from all these left overs of PDP who are masquerading as ACN. I believe that there is a future for this state if we will find a new re-alignment which is not going to take into account all these left overs of PDP, the PDP of Jonathan at the appropriate time is not going to be the PDP you are seeing today. It is a future because I believe that Jonathan should run in 2015, that is not the thinking of ACN. Mimiko will support the position of Jonathan in 2015. Comrade should provide the leadership of that realignment, a re-alighnment which will take into account what I am talking now. What about Nigeria? As a country, there are obvious problems, there are problems of people not being frank, people are not being frank with Mr President. Mr President should follow E. K. Clark’s position of being forthright. He should lead this country, it is a simple thing, he should lead, he shouldn’t be led by Bamanga Tukur and co, he should lead this country, he can, I don’t see why not. I am going back to the hospital, the president should help me, Jonathan should help me for goodness sake, he has not. I cried to him through E.K. Clark, that he should help me and pay my bills. I am going back now for a recurrence of cancer, help me. I am setting up a Foundation, help. He is not because Ogiadomhe will not allow him. There is vindictiveness in the land. I have paid my dues in this country and the country is unfair to me. What did I not do? The man who brought me from the United States, Mike Adenuga; a kind man, he sent me money but he said Professor, whatever I am giving you now is not because of him, he should be the one to pay your bills, but he never did. He told me Professor, I don’t see why Oga should not pay, but he never paid.

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012—51

BY UMAR YUSUF, YOLA

amily members and the

kinsmen of a Yola based car dealer, late Mr. Christian Eze have issued a 24 hour ultimatum to the Inspector General of Police (IGP)to unravel the circumstances leading to his mysterious death in police custody. Late Christian Eze, died September 13, 2012 while undergoing interrogation at the Adamawa State Command of Nigeria Police Force. His family members in a petition signed by one Mr. Evarestus Eze accused the police of being responsible in the death of Christian. Mr Eze said the late brother was detained while attempting to secure a bail for a suspect. ”We are calling on the IGP to use his office to cause investigation into the circumstances that led to the unlawful arrest, detention and subsequent death of the late Christian Eze in the custody of men of the Adamawa state police command”, Mr Eze stated. He threatened to sue the police if no action is taken on the matter within 24 hours upon the receipt of the petition. The statement reads in part: “it would be recalled that sometime on the 13 th September 2012, precisely at about 10:00am, one police man by the name Agbaleke (other name not known),claiming to be a retired police man(but whom was later discovered to be a serving police man in Kwara State, went to the late Christian Eze’s office along Target junction Jimeta-Yola, Adawamawa state where he (the late Christian Eze) deals in cars (automobiles) and requested for his telephone number from his manager[one Alhaji Adamu) claiming that he (Agbaleke) wants to buy a four(4) wheel runner Jeep from the deceased. Evarestus explained that it was late Eze’s Manager that gave out the deceased’s number to the Superintendent

Protests trail mysterious death of prominent Yola based car dealer in police custody

Late Mr. Christian Eze and Wife of Police and the SP later called Eze and told him that he wants to buy a four wheel runner jeep and both arranged and met, adding that Agbaleke instead asked the late Christian Eze to please accompany him to the police station at the state Headquarters to assist him to sign the bail for his (Agbaleke’s) brother who was arrested by the police. According to Evarestus, Agbaleke told late Christian Eze that he has made necessary arrangements with the police as regards what he (Agbaleke) will pay the police and the late Eze should not worry. Based on the assurances from Agbaleke and being someone whom the late Christian Eze had known before, decided to

Late Christian’s wife and children

assist him. ‘’ It was during the process of signing the bail bound at the police state headquarters, Yola, that both Agbaleke and the late Christian Eze were arrested. While the police were about taking them into the cell after their arrest, Agbaleke retorted and told the police that he cannot enter the cell because he is a ‘’ serving police man. Subsequently, Agbaleke was asked to stay behind the counter while the late Christian Eze was thrown into the cell”, Evaretus narrated. He explained that when late Eze’s wife got the wind of the arrest of her husband, she went to the police station to bail her husband and was told to go and bring someone to bail him because their preliminary investigation indicated that the

man was innocent. Evaretus said that after the wife was assured that the husband will be released, she quickly went to the manager of late Eze and both of them went to the police station to bail the decease but their efforts hit brick wall. The next day, news had it that her husband, Christian Eze had died while in the custody of the police and that the corpse had been deposited at the State Specialist Hospital Mortuary. ‘’On hearing this news, the

family members of the late Christian Eze, including his friends and well-wishers trooped to the State Specialist Hospital, where we found his body lying lifeless in the mortuary.”, Evarestus stated in tears that “since the death of the late Christian Eze, on the 15th day of September 2012, the police in whose custody the late Christian Eze died have not deemed it necessary officially inform the family of his death’’. Mrs. Franscisca Eze , a 200 level student of Business Management at Moddbo Adamo University of Technology [MAUTEC], wife of the deceased said Eze’s death has cut her off from this planet and regretted staying in the northern part of the country. The 50 year-old Anambra born woman who narrated her ordeal to Saturday Vanguard, said that she has been temporarily killed by the authority of the Nigeria police who she alleged murdered her husband in a cold blood. She said that the police authority was alerted on the danger ahead when her husband was detained but declined to take her advice and deliberately wasted the life of the bread winner of her family. According to her, she visited her husband in the police station but saw the bad condition and terrible agony he was passing through and raised alarm but the police ignored her before he was later killed and his corpse was dumped in the mortuary without the knowledge of his family members.

Police ver sion version

ate Christian Eze, a prom inent car dealer in Adamawa State, father of five children died in police custody on Friday 13 September 2012, while undergoing interrogation over alleged impounded communication armoured cable worth over N100million, stated DSP Ibrahim Muhhamed, the spokesman of the state command. DSP Ibrahim told journalists that the late Eze and one superintendent of police (name withheld) made an attempt to bribe a police officer with the sum of N400,000 to facilitate the release of a man in connection with an impounded truck load of armoured cables. ”Actually one suspect was arrested in connection with the impounded cable, but the deceased and the alleged police Superintendent who is lying critically ill in hospital were detained while attempting to bribe the police with Four Hundred Thousand Naira

(N400.000) to facilitate the release of the suspect. The money was marked and will be tendered as an exhibit”, the PPRO stated. He further explained that the late Eze whom he claimed led morning devotion while in the police cell on Friday morning slumped and died on his way to ease himself. ” After the morning devotion, Eze shouted and called the police that he wanted to ease himself. When he was being led out, he collapsed and was rushed to hospital where the Doctor confirmed him dead”. On what might have caused the death of the man while in police custody, the PPR0, said nobody tortured him but he suspected that the man might have died under the deceased condition”. The spokesman said that the police have conducted a postmortem to unravel the cause of Mr Eze’s death, adding that the result is being awaited.

52—SA TURD AY 52—SATURD TURDA

Vanguard anguard,,

NO VEMBER 3, 2012 NOVEMBER

hief Sir Peter E Eze megwara, chairman and Group Managing Director, Peter E. Venture Nigeria Limited, manufacturers of Hurricane Lanterns, Globes, Pharmaceutical containers, plastic films and prints; Nicho Glass and Chemical Co. Ltd, makers of PVC pipes and Accessories. VCD jackets, feeding bottles, industrial moulds, and other companies. In this interview with Saturday Vanguard Business, he reveals reason why industries are dying gradually in Nigeria, thereby creating unemployment. His unrelenting interest in manufacturing led to the incorporation of Peter E. Venture Nigeria Limited in 1984. Excerpts: How did you start your manufacturing process? I started trading in Onitsha main market in 1960. In 1966 when we had the civil war everything stopped. But after the civil war in 1970, I started again with the business before I generated money. And you know what we were using then was Biafran currency which was not recognised by Federal Government. And it was difficult to get British pounds and Naira. So I continued with petty trading until I raised some money. In 1974 I started business trips to London to import Hurricane Lanterns, globes and others. As the business started growing, in 1984 I started travelling to Hong Kong and China for business ventures. As a matter of fact, I built a factory in Hong Kong and China that time before I built my own here in 1987. Manufacturers are not

When will Nigerian industries be revived? — Ezemegwara

finding it easy in this country, due to so many economic and environmental challenges, how is your company coping with the situation? To be honest, the situation is affecting us seriously. We’re just existing, trying to see what we can do, but financially, the company is not making profit. We’re owing banks and we are finding it difficult to pay. It’s even difficult to pay salaries. But the fact is that if we close down where do we go from here. Many of our employees will be thrown into the labour market thereby increasing the rate of unemployment in the country already. One other major challenge we are facing is fake Chinese products being flooded all over Nigerian market especially Onitsha market. For that, our product here is being neglected by Nigerians because when they hear imported they are more interested in anything called imported whether fake or original than our locally made

products whereas our locally made product is of higher quality. So greater interest in imported goods is affecting us, the local manufacturers. Again, we are paying outrageously on NEPA tariff even though many factories have been closed down because of epileptic power supply in the country. And this has brought production line to zero. We learnt government is taking steps to promote locally made goods, what do you actually want government to do so manufacturers would bounce back to production? If Nigerian government wants to make manufacturing in this country a reality, they should first and foremost settle the high cost of NEPA tariff. Again, there is need for steady power supply in the country. Without steady power supply industries can’t survive and as industries are dying, unemployment is increasing. I believe the recent move by the Federal Government

Lagos tax reform thrills pupils with scholarships

he Lagos tax reform which has benefitted Lagosians and as well boosted the moral of pupils in Lagos with award of scholarships and cash prizes through its essay competitions, has again kicked off its 5th edition of the essay competition, as secondary school pupils submit entries organised by the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS). Speaking recently at a briefing in Lagos, Executive Chairman of the LIRS, Mr Tunde Fowler, said aside rewarding the best essayists, the agency tends to educate them about the importance of taxes to societal development with the expectations that they will not only become tax complaint when they become adults but convey the message to their parents

now. He hopes that the research the pupils would carry out in the course of sourcing materials for the essay competition will help improved them academically while they would become change agents on tax education to the society. According to Fowler, taxation makes it possible for any government to meet its obligation to the people when there is compliance. “Tax compliance will promote academic excellence. Anytime a child is asked to write, he undergoes research and anytime he does that, he improves academically. The whole idea is to catch them young; let them understand the intricacies of tax compliance. “In addition, he said, Lagos generates an av-

erage of N17.5 billion from tax monthly. It is close to three times what we get from the Federal Government. If more people pay, the state will get up to N20 billion,” he said. Junior secondary pupils participating in the competition are expected to write on: “Payment of tax is your duty, your civic responsibility and the Law” or “Well equipped schools, recreational centres, good hospitals, good roads, efficient transportation etc. Tax payment makes them possible.” Senior secondary pupils are to write on: “Lagos State will continue to be a centre of excellence if all taxable adults pay their taxes promptly and correctly” or “Tax payments fund infrastructural development in Lagos.

to sell NEPA will yield results and favour production process in the country. Many people want to go into production but couldn’t because of the cost of production in Nigeria. When you calculate the cost of diesel and other bills you are running at a loss. You employed more than 600 workers, what is your advice to youths yet to gain employment? I found out that many of our youths are lazy. Nigeria is a lazy country. Everybody wants oil money, they don’t want to suffer before they could make it. If you go to Europe or London, you would discover that we are richer than them and as a matter of fact some of these countries are owing. Some of our youths don’t want to work, they want to live a luxury life and refuse to earn it through hard work and persevere before making it. If care is not taken in the next five years, you would not find any youth who is ready to work in a factory. Setting more industries in Nigeria to create more jobs, how do we go about it?

Ezemegwara: We need more industries in the country Nigeria is not one of the industrialised nations today not because we don’t have the resources but we refused to pay attention towards that direction probably because of the money the country is earning from Oil and Gas, our leaders do not see reason to channel resources into industry that can create jobs for millions so that crime and other social vices can reduce. Today, nobody wants to go into manufacturing because the environment is not conducive and that is why few manufacturers in the country almost all of them had developed high blood pressure, others stroke because of hard work and much thinking to make sure their manufacturing outfits will not liquidate. Most of us who took loan from banks, are finding it difficult to repay because of high interest rate in banks these days. Then the environment in which you are operating is another story, high cost of production. Government should help us manufacturers

from all kinds of imposed local government revenue taxes and levies. They will ask you to submit your audited account, bring this and that in an environment where you almost provide everything for your production. That is why these days nobody wants to venture into manufacturing, they are going into buying and selling, importing goods in container. However, to make Nigeria an industrialised nation, government should emulate developed countries. Provide those amenities, conducive atmosphere that would enable industries thrive. It’s very important. We need it in this country. More to that, government should provide security that would protect local manufacturers and guarantee foreign investment. When we create atmosphere for foreign investment, it would boost economic growth and development. Crime will reduce and the country will benefit a lot.

Groups partner to support Maathai’s scholarship vision I

n order to support the nurturing and realisation of Prof. Wangari Maathai’s scholarship vision that is geared towards encouraging young people to actualise their dreams and empower communities in Kenya, three groups, The Green Belt Movement, The Rockefeller Foundation and Kenya Community Development Foundation had announced the launch of The Wangari Maathai Scholarship Fund. It was recorded that the fund seeks to encourage developmental sustainability amongst young people and promote activism and dedication to environmental issues. It is said that Prof. Wangari Maathai strongly believes in nurturing new ideas and initiatives to make a difference for Africa as she dedicated her life in promoting environmental, social and democratic values to ensure equitable development in Kenya. It was also agreed that women form an integral support network for the work that the Green Belt Movement is doing to empower communities by conserving their environment and improving the lives of people. “In its operation, the scholarship fund will be awarded annually, with

the first cycle being granted during the 2013 academic year. In its first year, the scholarship fund will support a young woman between age 18 to 25, who have promoted positive values, demonstrated outstanding leadership and dedication in environmental conservation. Speaking during the launch held in Nairobi, Wanjira Mathai, Director, International Affairs at the Green Belt Movement said, there is no greater gift than that of a good education, giving young women the opportunity to realize their full potentials, enable them to transform their lives, families and ultimately the living standards of their communities. In addition, Chief Executive Officer at the Kenya Community Development Foundation, Janet Mawiyoo said, Maathai’s scholarship fund is a great example of immortalizing the passion of a great leader like Professor Maathai through environmental protection matters. And with this initiative, qualifying young people will be inspired to follow her foot steps as we hope there will be many more Kenyan organizations and individuals willing to add to this fund annually.

Vanguard, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 — 53

54 — SATURDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 3, 2012

We expect keener interest in 2013 NNPC/ Shell Cup – Attah By PATRICK OMORODION

ponsors of the annual All Nigeria Secondary Schools Football Championships, NNPP/Shell are expecting that the 2013 edition of the competition which enters its 15th year will attract keener attention from football stakeholders as the competition kicks off December 1 with the State Finals. Vice President of Shell Petroleum Development Company’s (SPDC) Safety, Environment, Sustainable Development and Communications, Mr Tony Attah said their expectation is based on the “view of government’s focus on grass-roots sports development”. Speaking in Lagos during the week to usher in the 2013 NNPC/Shell Cup, Mr Attah who spoke through Peter Ademoyete said that the competition provides the platform for all students to demonstrate their skills, with a chance to

be snapped up by national team coaches into the age-grade teams. He disclosed that after the State Finals on December 1 and 2, the zonal preliminaries will hold in nine centres namely Yenagoa, Osogbo, Benin, Lokoja, Jalingo, Ilorin, Katsina, Enugu and Akure from December 11 to 15, 2012. Port Harcourt, Shagamu, Minna and Kaduna, he said, will host the quarterfinals on January 24 and 25, 2013 while the semi finals,

final and third place matches will hold in Lagos on February 25 and 27 respectively. “There will be prize money totaling N8 million for the winning schools as follows, N3.5 million to the overall champion, over N2 million to the runner-up and N1 million to the third place winner,” he disclosed, adding that individual players from the schools will also get some cash prizes for themselves. Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Morrison A. Fiddi added that the NNPC/Shell Cup is “aimed at ensuring that talented youths are able to combine education with developing their football skills and career.”

Osaze sober after Fulham red card, says coach

est Brom coach, Steve Clarke said that his striker, Peter Osaze Odemwingie has been sobered by the red card he received at Fulham during a premier league match. Osaze who lifted West Brom from relegation jaws last season with his 15

*Odemwingie

goals haul has been struggling with his form this season and this came to a head when he was sent off for violent conduct and he served a three match ban. “It was a blow for him to be sent off at Fulham. I said at the time it was out of character. “I think he learned from it and he apologised for it. I he showed that in the game against Queens Park Ranger when I put him straight back into the side and he did very well,” said Clarke. He added that Osaze is doing well in his new position as a winger. “He wanted to see how the club would develop, he’s happy here, he’s comfortable, he’s a good worker and I have no complaints about him. “I remember watching him last season - he scored some goals from the right. He keeps telling me he got a hat-trick against Wolves playing on the right.

Van Persie, 8-2 thumping haunt Gunners

s Arsenal ready to square up against Manchester United today at Old Trafford, there are two things of the mind of the Gunners; Robin van Persie and the crushing 8-2 defeat they suffered at the ‘Theater of Dreams’ last season. Arseanl coach, Arsene Wenger has been impressing it on his wards not to dwell on that defeat the worst in this century and also van Persie. “On the day I think the result was down to special circumstances,” Wenger said about the team’s worst loss since 1896. “That’s why the emotional meaning is

C M Y K

big but the footballing meaning is not very big, and we have had that behind us for a long, long time now.” Robin van Persie’s seven Premier League goals since August have lifted United to second, six points above Arsenal in sixth. “The game is not about Van Persie. Not for us and I don’t think for him, as well,” Wenger said. “For us, what is important is the result at the end of the game, and the quality of our performance. We do not even talk about him. ... To start to think, how much do we miss him will not help us to do well.”

AFN laments FG’s neglect of Port Novo 2012 champions

thletics Federation of Nigeria officials have urged President Goodluck Jonathan, to shower ‘naira rain’ on its entourage that won the African Athletics Championships last July in Porto Novo, Benin Republic. Nigerian athletes had won the championships against rising odds and according to the AFN president, Solomon Ogba, it was disheartening that the government did not deem it fit to honor these athletes, whereas other sports men and women who equally achieved success were generously rewarded by the President in Abuja. “Our athletes who did the nation proud at the Africa Championships have not been rewarded. We can easily pass the championships for the Africa Nations Cup and interestingly we were winning it for the first time since 1998. If others could be appreciated, why not our athletes? For this will go along way to motivate them to do more,” said Ogba. He reiterated that Nigerian athletes did their best at the London 2012 Olympics where they failed to pick a medal, a sad turn which also occurred at the Seoul 1988 Olympics. “Our target was to have athletes in the finals of their events and this we achieved. You did not

expect our men running 10.1 to go and beat Usain Bolt. There was a whole lot of problems that we had to face and people outside of the system will never know all these things. For instance, the allowances of the athletes during the Surrey Camp in London were not paid. And the athletes threatened to boycott the relays. We did our best to keep the athletes going and if we don’t have support of the government, there is little we can achieve,” added Ogba.

•Tosin Oke, Africa’s Triple Jump champion

Doping: Chukwuemeka likely to get reprieve The Athletics Federation of Nigeria is likely to be lenient with shot putter, Vivian Chukwuemeka whose B sample returned a positive result and is faced with a life ban. Chairman of the AFN medical committee, Ken Anugueje disclosed that a hearing will be conducted for the athlete and depending on the circumstances, the federation might just let Chukwuemeka, who set a new record at the 2012 African championships take a ‘ walk’. “We are yet to make any pronouncement. The AFN will give her a hearing and depending on our findings, she may get a life ban or get a reprieve,” said Dr. Anugueje. The athlete had questioned the authenticity of the dope test that cast a shadow on her comeback bid after a two year lay off. She argued that she couldn’t have tested positive in Calabar during the All Nigeria/Cross River championships and then come clean at the African championships in Porto Novo. Dismissing the athlete’s claims, Dr. Anugueje said, “Nobody at the AFN is interested in the downfall of any athlete.” He argued that there were dope tests conducted in Porto Novo, adding that probably because of scarce financial

resources, the hosts did not send all the samples to the lab. “I never said anywhere that there wasn’t tests conducted in Porto Novo as claimed by the athlete. There were tests and I am aware that two South African athletes tested positive. It could be that it was not all the samples that were sent to the lab in South Africa.”

SATURDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 — 55

We came to inspire Nigerian women — Williams sisters By JOHN EGBOKHAN

amous sports superstars, Venus and Serena Williams, have said that they came to Nigeria to promote women’s tennis and the empowerment of women in the most populated country in sub-sahara Africa Speaking with reporters in Lagos’ commercial hub, Victoria Island, the pair who between them, have won 22 Grand Slam titles, said they hope their presence in Nigeria, which saw them conduct a tennis club at the Ikoyi Club 1938, hold a conference with secondary school pupils and play an exhibition match at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club yesterday, was going to spark a change in the way Nigerian women do things. Alongside their mother, Oracene, the Williams sisters, were treated with royalty by their loving hosts and they felt at home. Taking their own successes in women’s tennis, a sport which before them was dominated by white players, the sisters want to inspire Nigerian women to take up the sport. They also want them to pursue their dreams, irrespective of the stumbling blocks that are the lots of many a Nigerian women.

“We were able to break the mould and win a lot of Grand Slams and change the face of tennis, at a time, when tennis was very dominated by white people,” said Serena, who is 31. She added that “It doesn’t matter what your background is and where you come from, if you have dreams and goals, that’s all that matters,” Venus, who is a year older than her sister, said that Nigerian women must believe in their ability to get to the peak of their careers. “Self-belief is very important in life. Nigerian women must believe that they can succeed. We did it and that is the message we bring to Nigerian women. It is possible to become the very best if you believe and work on the things that would make you achieve those dreams. “I also believe that Nigerian tennis players can also become great if they train well, believe and stay focused”, added Venus.

•US tennis superstars Venus (Center R) and Serena Williams (Center L) dance with children during a program entitled “Kick Like a Girl”, after an interactive session with students of the Federal Government College in Lagos, on Thursday. The Williams sisters, accompanied by their mother Oracene Price are in Lagos as part of a two-nation tour to usher in a change to Nigerian tennis and empower women and the girl child. Photo: AFP

St Francis holds Inter-House meet

2013 Nations Cup:

Strikers glut overwhelms Keshi

HE 20th annual Inter-House Sports competition of St. Francis Catholic Secondary School holds today at the school’s premises in the Idimu area of Alimosho local government area of Lagos State with Dr. Obicee Okonkwo as the Chairman of the ceremony. The event which begins at 10.30 a.m. Will see students from the four Houses namely, Cusimano, Loyola, Assisi and Olorunfunmi as well as invited schools contesting for laurels. Loyola are defending champions having emerged overall

By BEN EFE

s the Super Eagles begin preparations for 2013 Nations Cup with an international friendly against Venezuela November 14, coach Stephen Keshi has admitted that he faces a striker selection headache. With top Nigerian strikers Obafemi Martins, John Utaka, Osaze Peter Odemwingie and Victor Anichebe enjoying a fresh breath of form and couple with fact that youngsters like Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa, Emmanuel Emenike and Ikechukwu Uche have been making their presence felt in the Eagles campaigns under Keshi, the coach fondly called the ‘Big Boss’ stated that he and his assistants will have a tough time deciding the strikers who will make the team to the Nations Cup. “ We have so many forwards and we have to sit down and do a hard thinking. I have every Nigerian player in mind, but like the

•Keshi

Venus downs Serena •Continued from Back Page

saying goes many are called few are chosen,” said Keshi. He added that every Nigerian player will given an opportunity to fight for a place in the team. “For now I cannot guarantee any player a shirt. Everyone will be invited to camp to prove that they deserve a place in the squad.” Keshi returns to the Nations Cup where he failed to go beyond the first round with the Hawks of Togo and the Eagles of Mali. However, he declared that his ambition is to go far in the tournament as his team is determined to bounce back to reckoning in African. Nigeria open its Nations Cup account with Burkina Faso on January 21.

Venus served two aces from nowhere to break ranks before breaking Serena, who is the world’s number three player to take the set 7-5 and cap a remarkable end to the tour which next takes them to South Africa. Speaking on her victory, Venus said that she was thrilled with her victory over Serena, who won two Grand Slam titles in 2012, adding that she was looking forward to coming back next year for another sisters tour to promote tennis and engender women empowerment. “This is a good way to finish this tour of Nigeria and I look forward to coming back”, said Venus. On her part, Serena said that it was a good match for the fans and promised to return when the opportunity presents itself.

Adeboye floats national U-20 table tennis championships BY JACOB AJOM

oncerned about the abysmal performance of Nigeria’s table tennis team to the 2012 London Olympics, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye has initiated a national U-20 Table Tennis Championship in the country. The championship begins 17th January 2013. Speaking at an elaborate press briefing C M Y K

in Lagos, Wednesday, the Overseer ’s representative and the Provincial Pastor, Lagos Province 3, Pastor Austin Ukaiwe said, the church was burdened by the general decline in Nigerian sports as was evident by the performance of Team Nigeria at the Olympics. Said he, “The church is stepping in to contribute its quota to the development of sports in the

country and through this effort, we are sure we soon produce Olympic champions.” He pointed out that winners of the male and female categories will take home N1 million each and a trip overseas. The runners up will get N500,000 each. Zonal champions will get N250,000 each with other attractive items to be won.

winners last year. Some of the events to be contested for are 100m and 200m for both senior, intermediate and junior boys and girls as well as 4x100m and 4x400m relay for boys and girls. Parents and staff of the school will equally contest for medals.

9th Wuraola Ojo golf tourney tees off Nov 5

ll is set for the 2012 Elizabeth Wuraola Ojo Memorial Golf Tournament, billed to run from November 5-10 at the Ikeja golf club course. The annual tournament is in remembrance of Chief (Mrs.) Elizabeth Wuraola Ojo, the late wife of Sir Michael Ade. Ojo who is chairman of Toyota Nigeria. During her life time, Mrs. Wuraola Ojo was an ardent golfer as well as an outstanding member of the Ikeja golf club and together with her husband she co-mentored the growth of the game in the country. The event is scheduled to open on Monday November 5, with Caddies’ competition. On November 6, Professionals’ competition will take the Centre stage while on November 7, it will be the turn of the amazons to showcase their mastery of the game on the greens when the ladies competition holds. The tournament will come to an end with the Men’s competition taking place on the 9th and 10th of November, 2012.

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 3, 2012 Today’s matches Man Utd Fulham Norwich Sunderland Swansea Tottenham West Ham

v v v v v v v

Arsenal 12.45pm Everton 3pm Stoke 3pm Aston Villa 3pm Chelsea 3pm Wigan 3pm Man City 5.30pm

NATIONS CUP:

Eagles, Zambia favoured from Group C

RUGGED... Efe Ambrose, one of the Super Eagles defence pillars outwits an opponent during one of their matches. Chief Gabriel Chukwuma has urged Stephen Keshi to assemble quality players to achieve a good result in South Africa.

—Chukwuma Venus downs Serena in Lagos By EDDIE AKALONU

hairman of Gabros Football Club, Chief Gabriel Chukwuma, has said that Super Eagles’ performance in the African Cup of Nations in South Africa next year will be dependent on the quality of players the chief coach, Stephen Keshi is able to assemble. The Former Nigeria Football Association First Vice chairman, who spoke on the final Nations Cup draw conducted by CAF last week, is of the view that Nigeria and champions Zambia have brighter chances of emerging from Group C over Burkina Faso and Ethiopia. “I can see the point made by those who are predicting that Nigeria and Zambia will qualify from Group C. We should not hesitate to grab a chance and so, we should strive to build a good team that is ready. I know that we have about 17 quality players in top clubs in Europe, so it’s a tough job for the coaches to harness their skills to blend with those picked from the Nigerian league. If they can blend well and have the commitment and understanding of players and officials that a trophy hungry team requires, they will go far. Beside the coaches, much work is also expected of the FA , especially it’s technical men in support of the team at all times. We don’t have to leave all the work to Keshi alone because he has been given a target to meet. I believe the technical department has equal contribution if the country’s target is really to go out there and get to the semi final at least’,” he stressed. Chief Chukwuma, who has spent over three decades as a club proprietor, said if proper work is done with the team’s preparations, they can go beyond the group stage up to the semi final or even the final but this will depend on how Keshi is able to marry the different skills and ability of each of the player. The Eagles beat Zambia at the quarter final stage in the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola but were absent in the 2012 edition in Equatorial Guinea/Gabon.

•As sisters thrill tennis fans BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

EVEN-TIME Grand Slam singles champion, Ve nus Williams, yesterday defeated her younger sister, Serena in straight sets of 6-4, 7-5 in an exhibition match played on the Lord Rumens Centre Court of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan. The match which was the highlight of the Breaking the Mould tour of the famous tennis super-stars, was watched by a cheery and fun-loving fans, who enjoyed every moment of the once in a lifetime moment to see the great tennis stars trade volleys for the very first time in Nigeria, nay Africa. Even before the match started, the fans had almost filled the stands, defying the high cost of tickets, which traded N5000 for the popular side and N10, 000 for the VIP and state-box seats. They showed that money was not the real issue as long as the right people were being marketed.

And in recognition of the fans, the two sisters, played and danced to the musical beats of highly rated singer, D’Banj, whose famous single, Oliver Twist, was intermittently rotated by the in-house disc jockey. Venus, was especially in tune with the music as she did some dance moves that thrilled the fans. It came as surprise to the fans, who did not expect the sisters to know the local songs ruling the airwaves here. For Serena, who is still fresh from her Women Tour Association Championship victory in Istanbul, the song of D’Banj also struck a chord with her as she danced at intervals. But her dancing moves were not enough to save her from losing to Venus, who took the first set after 30 minutes in the scotching heat, which the sisters, seemed untroubled by. In the second set, Serena seemed to have awoken from her first set defeat to race to a 2-0 lead but a determined Venus, broke serve, held and broke again to lead 3-2. Not wanting to be outdone easily, Serena broke back, as both sisters held serves until the 11th game when •Continues on Page 55

CROSS WORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1.Super Eagles Assistant Coach, Sylvanus (6) 4.MD/CEO BUA Group of Companies, Isiaku (5) 7.L.G.A in Cross River State (4) 8. The Oba of Lagos, HRH Rilwanu (6) 9. Oman Currency (5) 10. Colour (4) 11. Minister of Trade & Investment, Mr. Olusegun (6) 14.Kenya’s First President, Jomo (8) 18. Australian Capital City (8) 21. Super Eagles Striker Victor (6) 24.Cameroun Indomitable Lions’ Midfielder, Alexander (4) 25.Delta State Capital (5) 26.State in Nigeria Known as “Salt of the Nation”? (6) 27.Borussia Dortmund Striker, Sebastien (4) 28.Town in Ogun State (5) 29.Anambra State Deputy Governor, Dame Virgy (5)

DOWN 1.United States President Barack (5) 2.Indian Currency Unit (5) 3.Inspector General of Police, Mr. Muhammed (8) 4.France ‘Les Bleus’ Winger and Bayern Munich Forward, Franck (6) 5.Lebanese Capital City (6) 6. Country in Africa (6) 12.Hausa Word for “Ten”? (4) 13.Senseless (4) 15. L.G.A. in Imo State (8) 16.L.G.A. in Jigawa State (4) 17.Country in Africa (4) 18.Uruguay Striker and Napoli. Centre Forward, Edinson (6) 19.L.G.A in Gombe State (6) 20.L.G.A. in Edo State (6) 22. Brand of Soft-drink (5) 23.Spain and Liverpool FC Goalkeeper, Jose (5)

SOLUTION ON PAGE 54

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