LOOT RECOVERED BY BUHARI N78 billion $185 million

C M Y K

PAGE 2 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5 , 2016

C M Y K

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016 — PAGE 3

LOOT RECOVERED BY BUHARI

N78billion; $185million, £3million

•Interim forfeiture: N126 billion; $9 billion; £2 billion •Why FG did not name looters —Presidency

By Emmanuel Aziken & Levinus Nwabughiogu he Federal T Government said, yesterday, it had made cash

recoveries totaling N78,325,354,631.82; $185,119,584.61; £3,508,355.46 and •11, 250, from looters of public treasury, from May 29, 2015 to May 25, 2016.

The disclosure was in fulfillment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to make public the details of the cash recoveries on his first anniversary in office. The President had said, in his broadcast to the nation on the first anniversary, that the details would be provided by the Federal Ministry of Information. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement, also disclosed that Recoveries Under Interim Forfeiture (cash and assets) during the period t o t a l e d N126,563,481,095.43; $9,090,243,920.15; £2,484,447.55.

According to the statement, said to have been based on the interim report on the financial and assets recoveries made by the various government agencies from May 29, 2015 to May 25, 2016, the Funds Awaiting Return From Foreign Jurisdictions totaled 321,316,726.1 Dollars; 6,900,000 Pounds Sterling and 11,826.11 Euros (Eleven thousand, eight hundred and twenty six Euros, 11 cents).

It showed that Non-Cash Recoveries (Farmlands, Plots of Land, Uncompleted Buildings, Completed Buildings, Vehicles and Maritime Vessels) during the period total 239.

Meanwhile, Sunday Vanguard has been made to understand that the reason why names of looters were not disclosed was because of the need to avoid the potential of truncating the cooperation that was already being enjoyed in the drive to recover looted funds - in the first instance from some of those from whom funds are being recovered, just as the

government did not want to jeopardize the willingness of others to return funds in their possession.

The following, the statement said, is the breakdown of the recovered cash and assets:

INTERIM REPORT ON FINANCIAL AND ASSET RECOVERIES MADE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA FROM 29 MAY 2015 TO 25 MAY 2016 Cash Recoveries

L-R: Mr Basil Omiyi, an Independent Director, Mr. Roger Brown, Chief Finance Officer, Dr A.B.C Orjiako, Chairman of the company and Mr. Austin Avuru, Chief Executive Officer, at the 2016 Annual General Meeting of Seplat Petroleum Development Company plc, held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, last week

Why FG did not publish names of looters’ In a related development, the Presidency, last night, defended its decision not to release the names of those who returned the

funds. It cited the fact that while some of those who returned money were not in any way guilty of any offence, publishing the names could deter those contemplating returning ill-gotten funds in their custody.

A top Presidency source, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard , anonymously, said the administration was happy to have recovered as much as $9 billion without going to court as he said that a number of people still willing to return could be dissuaded by the publication of the names.

“This thing is ongoing and one of the reasons why we did not release the names was that without going to court we were able to retrieve all that amount of money. If you release names, other people who want to do voluntary returns will not do so. What we need is the money and not the names”, he stated.

“Secondly, many of those who returned the money are not necessarily guilty. For instance, if my party gave me money to go and campaign in an election, how am I to know that that money was from an illicit source?

“For instance if money is given to a newspaper for publication, you cannot criminalise the newspaper because it did

Gunmen kill ‘two navy of s, offf icer icers, police inspect or s’ in River inspector or,, 25 other others’ Riverss

By Jimitota Onoyume & Davies Iheamnachor 28 persons were feared killed in Rivers State yesterday.

A community source told Sunday Vanguard that 16 were shot dead in Aluu, nine in Omagua and three in Isiokpo, all in Ikwerre local government area.

The source said two naval officers, a police inspector and a nursing mother were among those killed.

Chairman, Ogbakor Aluu, Mr Benson Gershon, confirmed the incident in his Aluu community to Sunday Vanguard. The Chairman, who said he was in a meeting at press time, said the gunmen stormed the community

shooting sporadically.

The incident sparked tension in Aluu, Omagua and Isiokpo communities with residents fleeing.

Caretaker Committee Chairman of Ikwerre local government area, where the communities are, Mr Sam Wonosike, could not be reached when Sunday Vanguard tried to call him on phone.

Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmad Muhammad, had told Sunday Vanguard before news of the incident filtered into Port Harcourt, the state capital, that he was out of the state on a 21-day assignment.

His deputy, ASP Grace Koko, simply declined to comment on the development.

not know where the money came from. If the newspaper returns the money would it be fair to publicise the name of the newspaper.

“If you listen to the mob you will just end up in the ditch. The practical thing is that we want more money to come in. And we don’t even know what are the terms of the agreement by which anybody returned money.

“So, for those who are saying that we ought to release the names, they got

it completely wrong; it would be counterproductive. In fact, some people could go to court suing us for defamation and libel and then the whole essence would be lost and all people would be talking would be about the court cases. That is not what Nigeria needs now. What Nigeria needs now is to be focused and “ we believe we have taken the right step in letting Nigerians know how much has been recovered, $9 billion without going to court”.

14 Christian groups allege plan to islamize Nigeria

By Caleb Ayansina coalition of 14 Christian groups has A raised the alarm over alleged

plan by the Presidency to turn the country to an Islamic State, “through the backdoor”, warning that such action contravenes Nigeria’s secular status.

According to them, the Bill in the House of Representatives proposing amendment to Section 262(1) of the 1999 Constitution with a view to expanding the existing jurisdiction of the Sharia Court of Appeal and the state by including criminal matters was insensitive and inconsistent with democratic and republican ideals of the constitution and the Nigerian State. Members of the coalition include National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF); Nigerian Christian Graduate Fellowship (NCGF); Think Tank for the body of Christ(TTBC); Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria (CLASFON; Association of Christian Schools in Nigeria(ACSIN); Students Christian Movement(SCM); Christian Professionals Forum (CPF); Intercessors for Nigeria (IFN)and and International Prophetic Ministerial Association (Inc. Worldwide College of Bishops and Ministers: Africa, UK and USA.) The coalition also has Intercessors Without Walls IWW); Wailing Women International (WWI); Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship (FGBF); Nigerian Fellowship of Christian

Students (NFCS) and University Joint Campus Christian Fellowship (UJCCFF) as members.

Several calls to the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity), Mallam Garba Shehu, were not taken.

The spokesperson for the coalition and National President of NCEF, Mr. Solomon Asemota (SAN); Prelate of Methodist Church/ Head of Christian Council of Nigeria bloc in Christian Association of Nigeria, Emmanuel Udofia and Leader of CPF, Prof. (Bishop) Funmi Adesanya-Davies, tabled these demands at a press conference held on weekend in Abuja.

Asemota said, “The proposed amendment is a desecration of the sanctity of the FCT as a symbol of national unity, which should be preserved. Nigeria’s membership of religious organisations and associations, particularly the Organization of Islamic Cooperating Countries and the Coalition of Islamic Nations against ISIS, is insensitive, against our best national security interest and democratic and democratic norms. “To maintain the unity, faith, peace and corporate progress of Nigeria, we demand that Shariah should be expunged from the constitution and Shariahbased public institutions, agencies and practices in the states should be abolished. In this respect we demand the return to status quo as per the Republican Constitution of 1963”.

PAGE 4 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

ALLEGED BLASPHEMY

Outrage as mob kills Igbo woman in Kano •Victim lynched in husband’s presence •Buhari, Ganduje, Okorocha condemn murder *Police arrest two

By Levinus Nwabughiogu, Abdulsalam Muhammad, Peter Okutu & Chidi Nkwopara

O

utrage, yesterday, greeted alleged lynching of the wife of a pastor in Kano by a mob made up of Muslims over alleged blasphemy.

The woman, Bridget Agbahime, described as Igbo from Imo State, was said to have disallowed some Muslims from performing ablution in front of her shop in Kofar Wambai area of Kano metropolis, following which she was accused of blasphemy and the mob gathered to lynch her. The killing was said to have happened in the presence of the woman’s husband, Pastor Mike Agbahime, on Thursday.

President Muhammadu Buhari; Governor Abdullahi Umar of Kano State; his Imo State counterpart, Rochas Okorocha and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) led the condemnation of the murder yesterday.

The condemnation came on a day the Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, called for calm on the incident and assured that justice will be done on the case.

Force Headquarters also said two suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident.

A statement by Force Public Relations officer, ACP Olabisi Kolawole said, “Those arrested include Dauda Ahmed and Subeiru Abubakar.

“In order to ensure a diligent and professional investigation, the Inspector General of Police has directed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in- charge of the

Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID) to deploy the Homicide Section of the Department to immediately take over the investigation of the case and ensure a meticulous investigation and speedy prosecution of the arrested suspects.

“The IGP has also directed the Commissioner of Police of Kano State to sustain the community engagement actions which he is currently initiating with all strategic security stakeholders and community leaders in the State with a view to dousing the tension being generated by the condemnable incident”.

In a statement by presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, Buhari “condoles with the husband of the deceased, Pastor Mike Agbahime, the family and relations, praying that God would give them the fortitude to bear the loss.”

The president also “commended the law enforcement agents for apprehending the prime suspect behind the killing, as well as the Kano State government, which summoned a meeting of Christian and Islamic leaders, widower of the deceased, and security agencies, as soon as the sad event occurred.”

The President assured that justice would be done in the matter, and urged the people not to take the law into their hands.

He equally charged those who may want to use the development to fan the embers of religious or ethnic hatred to remember that two wrongs never make a right, and that when law and order breaks down, those who become victims were never distinguished on the basis of

religion or ethnicity.

Ganduje was swift in condemning the killing.

Rising from a meeting chaired by the governor and attended by prominent personalities including the state Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Rev. Ransome Bello; the husband of the deceased, Pastor Mike Agbahime; Islamic scholars and security agencies, the stakeholders described the incident as “unfortunate and regrettable.”

In a resolution read by Ganduje after the meeting, the stakeholders condoled Agbahime, stressing that “the killing of his wife is unjustifiable and without her fault”.

The governor asserted that justice must be done in the matter, in accordance with the law.

In his remarks, the state CAN Chairman, Bello, said his association was satisfied with the resolutions adding that “there is nothing better any person would expect more than what you (the governor) have done tonight”.

Okorocha, in a statement, yesterday, described the murder as “a rude shock and the height of recklessness”.

The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, CPS, Mr. Sam Nwuemeodo, also described it as “most unfortunate”.

“The governor received the news with rude shock and indeed with utmost dismay, the unfortunate report that a woman from the state, Mrs. Bridget Agbaheme, was murdered in cold blood in Kano State, over related religious issues and described the killing as the height of recklessness on the part of the perpetrators”, the CPS said.

According to

Members of Nigerian National Summit Group, Constitutional Rights and Peoples Development Advocacy Initiative, and other Human Rights activists protesting at the United States of America embassy in Victoria Island, Lagos on Thursday asking President Muhammad Buhari to respect the rule of law and implement the 2014 National Conference Report.

Onwuemeodo, when the governor was informed about the disturbing incident, he took the necessary steps and even went beyond the media reports on the sad development to confirm the report and discovered that the woman in question was truly from Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.

“At this stage, the governor has no option than to call on all relevant security agencies in Kano State to leave no stone unturned in carrying out thorough investigation into the killing of the woman, and also stop at nothing to bring those who carried out the murder to book and pay dearly for their wicked act”, the CPS said.

MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu, described the killing of the woman as gruesome and barbaric, insisting that his group would no longer tolerate the killing of Igbo anywhere in Nigeria.

The statement read in part: “The unprovoked and insensitive killing of Igbo woman yesterday in Kano state is unacceptable to MASSOB. It can never be washed away or treated insensitively as usual.

“The open barbaric gruesome murder of an Igbo mother in Arewaland is a conscious provocation of conscience of Ndigbo.

Ambode denies kidnap attempt on mother

L

agos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode, yesterday, denied a report claiming that a kidnap attempt was made on his mother, Mrs. Christianah Ambode, at her residence in Gbagada area of the state on Friday evening.

The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, denied the media report, saying that it was not a true reflection of what transpired at the residence of his mother.

An online newspaper had claimed that heavily armed gunmen invaded the governor’s mother’s residence and disarmed the octogenarian’s police detail in an apparent attempt to abduct her.

The newspaper further reported that the incident took place at about 7:30pm, while a back-up team arrived at the scene at about8:10pm.

Responding, Aruna said: “Whilst it is true that a commotion occurred at the residence of the governor’s mother on the fateful day, it was however far from the truth that it was a kidnap attempt.

“What really transpired was that a man parked his vehicle

in front of the residence of the governor’s mother and the security detail attached to the building asked him not to park there so as not to block the entrance.

“The man who claimed to be a military personnel was not in uniform as of the time of the unfortunate incident but he insisted on parking in front of the building on the grounds

that he was a military personnel.

“He then went on to invite military personnel attached to Operation MESA to beat Mrs. Ambode’s police details after

Soldiers escape Boko Haram ambush, kill 19 insurgents

By Kingsley Omonobi, Abuja

T

he military, in a joint operation involving the Army, the Airforce and Civilian JTF, yesterday, escaped an ambush launched

by Boko Haram terrorists against troops at their camp in Chukungudu, Sambisa Forest vicinity, killing 19 terrorists, including one of their wanted Commanders.

During the confrontation,

two soldiers sustained gunshot injuries while several sophisticated arms and ammunition were recovered from the camp. A statement detailing the operation, signed by Col Sani Usman, Acting Director, Army Public Relations, said, “Following credible information on the presence of Boko Haram terrorists, their camp and other facilities at Chukungudu, a carefully planned and deliberate attack

was carried out to clear the camp.

“The operation comprising troops of 22 Brigade Garrison, and 153 Task Force Battalion of 7 Division and 8 Task Force Division as well as Nigeria Air Force Intelligence S u r v e i l l a n c e Reconnaissance (ISR) and some Civilian JTF, was carried out on Boko Haram terrorists stronghold and camp at Chukungudu on Friday 3rd May 2016”.

Police get new AIG, 10 Deputy Commissioners •Over 160 other senior officers promoted

By Kingsley Omonobi, Abuja

T

he Police Service Commission has approved the promotion of 1,670 senior police officers.

The Commission also approved the appointment of

147 others. A statement by Ikechukwu Ani, Head of Public Relations said, “The Commission’s approval was conveyed to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, on Friday, June 3rd, 2016".

“A Commissioner of Police

was elevated to the rank of AIG, 10 Assistant Commissioner’s to Deputy Commissioners, 5 CSPs to ACP and 6 SP to CSPS. “Others are 4 DSP to SP, and 1,540 Inspectors to ASPs. “The acting appointments are 3 DCP, 5 ACP, 4 CSPs, 3 SPs, 5 DSPs and 127 ASP’’.

“Why must the blood of Biafrans continue to be split on the cursed soil of Arewaland in the name of Islamic Religious fundamentalist and extremists?

“MASSOB also warns that Deeper Life Church must compensate the pastor husband of the slain Igbo woman because they posted the family to Kano state”.

USAF Hosts World’s Foremost Innovators in Lagos

A

United States group, USAF Global Business Development, has planned a one-day seminar in Lagos to make it possible for Nigerian business enthusiasts to meet and share ideas with the world’s most enterprising innovators. Scheduled to hold at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel on June 18, 2016, and later in the United States on October 6-8, 2016, the seminar tagged, “An Evening with the World’s Most Forward Thinking Innovators,” will feature speakers on global business opportunities, education, networking, mentorship and inspiration drawn mostly from the United States and other parts of the world.

To allow more participation by Nigerians, USAF said it has crashed the cost of the ground breaking seminar to N10, 000.00, promising early registrants a discount of 10 percent for the US seminar scheduled for the later part of the year. Registration, according to the group, is Online only at www.usafglobe.com, enjoining registrants to do so early as seats for the evening business talk are limited.

N’Delta militants: Onuesoke urges FG to emulate Okowa’s peace initiative

D

elta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has appealed to the Federal Government to emulate Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa peace initiative in resolving renewed militancy in Niger Delta instead of resorting to military force.

Onuesoke, who spoke to journalists in Warri, yesterday, said Okowa led the path to peace by setting up Delta Advocacy Committee headed by his deputy, Kingsley Otuaro, instructing the committee to go into the riverine area to advocate, engage a cross section of the people, especially the youths, to make them realize that the destruction of critical oil facilities under any guise or reason is not the way out to addressing problem if there is any.

He advised that in order for the crisis in the Niger Delta not to escalate the Federal Government should also set up a committee that would work with members of Delta Advocacy Committee.

Mimiko’s wife is key speaker at AAU lecture

W

ife of Ondo State Governor and Founder, Maternal Pulse Foundation, Mrs Kemi Mimiko, has been named the Guest Speaker at this year’s edition of the annual Public lecture of the Centre for Research and Development, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko.

According to a statement by the State Commissioner for Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade, the lecture, billed to hold tomorrow at the Olusegun Obasanjo Multipurpose Hall in the university premises, is under the theme: Women and Development.

Ita-Giwa lauds Yobo

A

former Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Dr. Florence Ita-Giwa, yesterday, showered encomiums on ex-skipper of the Super Eagles and Everton of England legend, Mr. Joseph Yobo, who bowed out of the round soccer game with a testimonial in his honour last week. In a statement in Lagos, Ita-Giwa also congratulated him on his appointment by the Rivers State Government as Senior Special Assistant on Youth and Sports Development.

According to her, Yobo served the nation meritoriously and was unquestionably dedicated especially when called upon for national duties.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 5

*President Buhari

S/SOUTH LEADERS TO BUHARI:

By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South, Egufe Yafugborhi & Perez Brisibe

P

ROMINENT elders, leaders and groups in the Niger Delta have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to create a platform to listen to the grievances of the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, the militant group blowing up oil facilities in the region, and impartially deal with their demands to avoid winning the war and losing the battle.

They disagreed with Buhari’s directive to the armed forces to crush the suspected militants and “no negotiation” posture of the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, General Gabriel Olonisakin, saying the Commander-in-Chief should facilitate a responsive environment to win their confidence and pull them to the dialogue table.

Meanwhile, this view on dialogue with the militants, who have been described in some quarters as criminals, is yet to gain traction with many leaders in the country.

Olonisakin had declared in Lagos, last week: “There are better ways to air their grievances than the way they go about it. The right way is to get necessary permit and protest. If they are violent, we will not take it lightly with them.”

The Niger Delta elders, however, did not see any justification for the self-proclaimed outlaws, whose chief objective is to cripple oil production in the country to zero and, thereafter, declare a Republic of Niger Delta with its sovereign government, currency and flag in October - some four months away.

From First Republic Information

How to stop Niger Delta Avengers Minister and S/South elder, Chief Edwin Clark, to the immediate past Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Brodrick Bozimo, former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Pastor Power Ziakede Aginighan, Secretary-General of the United Niger Delta Economic Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS), Mr. Tony Uranta, Col. Dedis Abel (retd.), Chief of Staff to the Special Adviser to President Buhari on the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Gen Paul Boroh (retd), Dr. Chris Ekiyor and Ann Kio Briggs, these leaders expressed views that could assist in providing a solution to the problems of militancy in the region.

Employ Yar’Adua /Jonathan approach - E. K. Clark Clark counselled President Buhari to emulate his predecessors, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, and former President Goodluck Jonathan, by dialoguing with the Niger Delta

militants whose activities were threatening the peace, stability and possible existence of Nigeria.

According to him, both Yar’Adua and Jonathan brought ex-militants to the negotiation table, which led to positive effect on the nation’s economy.

Clark, who is the chairman, Board of Trustees, Ijaw National Council, told Sunday Vanguard at the weekend: “In my many years of leadership at various levels in this country, I know that any resort to violence and insecurity only leaves a trail of tension, neglect, pain and wanton violence in the areas concerned.

“Even when security forces move in with the intention of restoring law and order, it is innocent villagers, in particular, women, children, and the old who suffer most.

“The Niger Delta is yet to recover from the season of violence which we experienced between 2005 and 2009.

“I, again, make the same call and appeal, today, this time in a more

shrill voice! Though the perceptions have not changed on the evolving kaleidoscope of national political administration, I remain firmly convinced that the destruction of our national economic golden goose is not a viable option.”

Dialogue, engagement - Uduaghan Uduaghan, a key participant in the official pardon of ex-militants, who productively managed the wanted Tompolo at that time, advised the Federal Government to consider engagement and dialogue as an option in arresting the upsurge of militancy in the region.

Uduaghan, speaking to Sunday Vanguard, emphasised: “I want to advise the Federal Government to take the issue of dialogue very seriously because I believe that is the solution to the current crisis.

“The leaders of the Niger Delta should come together and engage each other to find solution to the problem.”

He also advised his successor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, to step up dialogue, engagement and improve on intelligence gathering to assist the Federal Government in dealing with the situation.

The former governor, however, cautioned those behind the attacks to rethink their action because of the economic challenges posed to the nation and ecological destruction to the region.

Govt should pay attention - Bozimo Bozimo, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard on the sidelines of a summit by the Ijaw Youths Council, said: “Nobody likes bombing and even the youths too do not like it. However, what they are saying is that something is responsible for this kind of uprising in

Continues on page 6

PAGE 6—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

•Clark

•Uranta

•Uduaghan

•Briggs

•Bozimo

•Aginighan

'How to stop Niger Delta Avengers' Continued from page 5 bombings and that the federal government should address the problems of the region.

“Once this is done, the bombings would diffuse automatically as there would be no oxygen to propel this kind of thing that is happening. Personally, I do not believe in bombings. We have better brains than what is happening.

We must think strategically as Ijaw people and that is the advice we have given to our boys”.

He went on: “They (Buhari government) should listen and borrow a leaf from the Yaradua/Jonathan programmes and not behave like a bull in a China shop, as you would just break everything and yourself in the process.

That is what they are saying.

“Every single Ijaw person believes that the government should not terminate the Nigeria Maritime University in Okerenkoko. That is about the only solid institution the Ijaws have. The university has to stay; otherwise, you cannot touch the heart of the Ijaw people.

“I am not an APC member, but one thing that the Buhari government has tried to do, is the Lagos-Calabar railway line, that project is dear to Ijaw people and they have to carry on with that.

“The Amnesty programme must be maintained. You know you cannot change nor tamper with a winning arrangement. The Amnesty Programme is a winning arrangement and everybody knows that as it has calmed nerves in the Niger Delta. I think what they should do is to perfect it.

“As much as you want to do change, your change must not truncate the good things that the previous administration has done, you improve on it and people would clap for you. It is wrong to think that governance is not a continuous process but I think the present administration knows that and there’s

The Amnesty programme must be maintained. You know you cannot change nor tamper with a winning arrangement. The Amnesty Programme is a winning arrangement and everybody knows that as it has calmed nerves in the Niger Delta

the need to try to improve on what you met and not to dismantle it”.

Emergency stakeholders’ summit Aginighan Aginighan, advised President Muhammadu Buhari to act as a political leader and convoke an emergency stakeholders’ summit on the road map to peace in the Niger Delta region.

He urged Buhari to “reject the counsel of sycophants and jesters around him, who are proposing genocide on defenseless Niger-Delta citizens.”

The All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain expressed disappointment that the Nigerian state and its various agencies of government have not utilized the window of peace provided by the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, to address the infrastructure deficit in the Niger Delta.

The Niger Delta community

advocate, who called on the Niger Delta Avengers to cease any further attacks on oil and gas facilities, said:”Military action cannot bring peace to Niger Delta; what will bring peace is development action.

And as long as those that bear the debilitating burden of shouldering the national budget are excluded from the benefits of modern civilization, there cannot be an end to the breeding of more Isaac Boros, more Tompolos, more Boyloafs and more Ateke Toms in the Niger Delta.

“I wish to reiterate that neither the blood of Nigerian soldiers nor that of Niger Delta youths is required to develop the Nigeria”.

Jaw-jaw – Ayemi- Botu A former National Chairman of Association of Traditional Rulers of Oil and Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria, ATROMPCON, and Pere of Seimbiri Kingdom in Delta State, HRM Charles Ayemi-Botu, called on Buhari to exchange ideas with the militants and see the region as part of his primary constituency.

No to violence – Uranta Uranta insisted that Isaac Boro and Ken Saro Wiwa died fighting for the emancipation of the Niger Delta, later we had Asari-Dokubo, Tompolo and others. However, because Tompolo was taken out, new faces have come up.

“As for the Niger Delta Avengers, I do not know who they are and I have never supported criminality or going against the law; but there is a known saying that those who refuse to give peace a chance, automatically create opportunity for conflict”, he stated.

“This is just a symptomatic response to the problems and challenges of the region. I think if these issues are not properly

addressed, there is a possibility of a repetition of this kind of groups or vigilante, whatever you might call them, carrying out extralegal activities.

“Whether they are right or wrong, the fact remains that the atmosphere and environment for their existence has been created, it is now up to the nation both as citizenry and the government to work together to look for a way of resolving this issue outside of violence.

“I would quote Mr. P. Hammond, the UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he came for the Regional Security Conference at Abuja, last week, that if the Nigerian government persists in employing only violence in attempting to resolve this issue, it can only end in disaster”.

Fiscal federalism is way out – Briggs Niger Delta woman activist, Ann Kio Briggs, said: “I am not part of the people who are blowing up pipelines, but I’m part of those who are talking that something must change in the Niger Delta. We have been having this thing for a very long time and unless the issues are resolved, they will carry on; we need a resolution of the Niger Delta issue.

And what are these issues, they are equity and justice.

“The way forward, simply put, is fiscal federalism. You have a constitution that takes everything from a particular region and gives it to everybody, that is empty Niger Delta. You have a constitution that recognises that there are natural resources, but that same constitution claims that the natural resources belongs to me, but if it is oil and gas and any other natural resources, it does not belong to me anymore, the federal government becomes the owner.

“So you have a situation where the Kaduna State governor is able to say he would bring in people to explore for gold, but yet, the governor of Rivers State cannot do same for the oil and gas deposits in his state. That is injustice.”

Confidence, dialogue - Ekiyor Ekiyor, a former National President of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, and Secretary, Delta State Advocacy Committee on Oil Facility Vandalism, who was one of those who coordinated the interface between the Federal Government and militants that led to the acceptance of amnesty, warned that the invasion of the creeks by soldiers was not the solution to the current bombings.

He said: “No Avenger will blow up a pipeline and sit in the community and wait for you. Therefore, government needs to reorganise its military to reflect a people-friendly military. Gather intelligence and prosecute the right people.

Experience has also shown that the network of pipelines in the Niger Delta cannot be policed by these gunboat approach; it has to be policed by a diplomatic method and it requires committed understanding by a people, who are ready to do it as a family.”

On the impression in some quarters that former militant leader Tompolo is behind the crisis, Ekiyor said, “People thought Tompolo is behind this, but if he was behind it he will put a face to it. He will not be cowardly enough to hide under pseudo names and his media show will be different from this.

“I knew when he was in-charge of MEND, they will actually tell you the time and date they will hit a facility and they will tell the JTF to go and wait for them, yet they will hit the facility.

“They were that organized. That was seven years back. For those of us

Continues on page 7

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 7

'How to stop Niger Delta Avengers'

Oil production: Nigeria loses top spot to Angola Continued from page 6 who understand the terrain, Tompolo may necessary not be involved in what is happening, but aggrieved persons could be responsible. Those persons are unknown to us and that is why we went to the creeks.

“We were basically struggling to win confidence of these elements and asking government to create a platform for discussion. Nobody knew MEND until we confronted them in the creeks and when they found out that we were genuine, they came out in their numbers and surrendered their weapons.

“But I believe that if government allows and create an enabling environment for trust, which is the core issue that does not exist, whoever are these Avengers will come out. Then, government should engage them and whatever is their demand, accept or not. On this issue, trust is the key, government should retrace its steps”.

Military action not the only optionAbel Abel believed military action was just an option open to the Federal Government even though there are other options.

“But negotiation is the catch word and that is ongoing between stakeholders, the Amnesty office and the Presidency. A meeting took place last (penultimate) Wednesday, but unfortunately, I am not privy to the communiqué signed at the end of that meeting,” he said.

Abel allayed fears on the Amnesty Programme, saying: “There is no need for fears anywhere on the Presidential Amnesty Programme. The programme is not out to be stopped abruptly for reasons that cannot be accounted for.

“Actually, the programme is going to take care of all the 30, 000 placements we have. Those who have received training are now being empowered while those who are being empowered are now documented properly and that would continue until all those on board the programme are taken care of. So, there is no fear that some would be left home and dry without proper training and empowerment.”

Militarization‘ll worsen mattersAzaiye, NDPM, SNDG Prominent Gbaramatu youth leader,

Piniki Azaiye, said Buhari could stop Niger Delta Avengers by developing the region and not listening to those using a faceless ethnic group to instigate a fresh crisis between the Ijaw and Itsekiri by pushing government to militarise Gbaramatu.

President, Niger Delta Peace Movement, NDPM, Mr. Tonfa Cyprian, urged Buhari to tread carefully and not entangle himself with the policy of militarisation of the Niger Delta. He warned: “The engagement of Nigerian forces in combat against the Niger Delta Avengers would not only escalate the destruction of oil facilities, but cause a total collapse of the Nigerian economy by their pattern of operations.”

The Save Niger Delta Group , SNDG, led by Jacob Abai, also kicked against military option, saying, “The deployment of highly sophisticated military weaponry and arsenal to engage hapless villages and towns in aerial and amphibious bombardment in a scale never ever witnessed even during the civil war is callous, inhuman, dastardly, barbaric and insensitive. We condemn this unprovoked attack and invasion in the strongest term possible. It is not the way to stop the Avengers.”

Economy under crushing weight The consequences of the bombing of oil installations by the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, in the Niger Delta, are palpable not just on the economy of the country, but also the streets of Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Warri, Port-Harcourt and pockets of Nigerians.

Incidentally, while government and the people hemorrhage, the outlaws, who have caused the disaster, say that nothing gives them joy than seeing the nation lose.

The price of everything has skyrocketed in the market; the entire country is practically in darkness because militants have bombed the gas pipelines, while the country’s crude oil production has drastically plunged.

Oil companies are jittery and both the military and militants have recorded casualties, while the prospect of the attacks ending soon is not in the horizon.

However, the Minister of State for

Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, made light of the situation when he said, recently, that Nigeria’s crude oil production has climbed to 1.6 million barrels per day (mbpd) from the 1.4 million mbpd plunge in May. He said the exploit followed repairs on some of the oil and gas installations damaged by militant groups.

But the situation is far from normal.

The attacks by the militant group have also pushed Nigeria’s crude oil production to the lowest in 20 years, as Chevron is said to have shut-in about 90,000 barrels a day of output because of the impact on a jointventure offshore platform that serves as a gathering point for production from several fields.

Niger Delta Avengers in the last five days blew up Nigeria Agip Oil Company, NAOC, and Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, facilities in Delta and Bayelsa States for ignoring its demand against carrying out repairs on their damaged pipelines until Buhari deemed it necessary to address their demands. Chevron Nigeria Limited got the first “reprisal” for a similar defiance.

Nigeria drops to third spot in Africa Nigeria’s current oil output has knocked her from being Africa’s th number one oil producer and 13 in the world, to third in Africa behind Angola and Algeria while th maintaining a likely 19 position in the world.

Fears for 2016 Budget Giving details of the financial lose, official sources indicate that at $50 per barrel and N197 per dollar for crude oil price and official exchange rate, the average of 800, 000 barrels lost would amount to at least N165.5bn in earnings in 21 days to June 5.

This has become a clog in the wheel of the country’s 2016 Budget, signed into law with a projection of 2.2 million bpd of oil production at $38 per barrel.

What this implies is that with the continued drop in oil output, despite the increase in international oil price, implementation of the 2016

Budget is gradually becoming uncertain.

Stakeholders smell sabotage Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector of the economy have described the recent attacks as a huge sabotage of the nation’s economy and reputation in the international community.

Lamenting the loss to the economy, a pipeline-welding contractor, Mr. Fadims Ojogu said: “Repair works have already started on some of the damaged oil facilities and this is a set back for the Nigerian economy. With a minimum of N200 billion revenue and even with the completion of repairs, it will take time before some of these facilities would resume functionality.”

N14bn spent on pipeline repairs February Notwithstanding the austere economic situation in the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, according to data from the latest financials, spent about N14.023 billion on pipeline repairs and management in February 2016.

The report stated that the NNPC recorded some 293 pipeline breaks in February alone, which meant that the Corporation spent an average of N47.86 million to repair each of the line breaks.

On the damage on the Forcados Oil Terminal, FOT, Export line, (a 48-inch circumference export line that was vandalised in February 2016), the corporation in the report explained that the situation led to the declaration of force majeure by Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, occasioned by production shut-in of about 300,000 barrels of oil per day. NNPC reportedly lost about N20 billion revenue in February according to the report.

Power supply drops to 2, 500MW On the other hand, the attacks on oil installations with the twinattacks on Chevron’s oil and gas facilities in the Escravos area of Delta State have unarguably led to a sweeping drop in power generation.

According to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, while briefing reporters recently on the economic effects of the attacks, power generation had dropped to 2,500MW due to the attacks on the Chevron facilities.

“Which country has instances of vandalism on its oil installations like Nigeria? This is economic sabotage, but we will have to evolve a new strategy to deal with this problem. We shall attack it head on,” he said.

Findings showed that the nation’s five largest export streams have also been affected by the activities of the militants with Chevron being worst-hit following damage it recorded on its Okan platform, affecting about 35,000 bpd of its net crude production, or about 15 per cent of its output in the country.

On its part, ExxonMobil had to declare force majeure on shipments of Qua Iboe after a drilling platform ran aground and damaged the pipeline it jointly owns with the NNPC while Italian oil major, Eni, had to declare force majeure on exports of its Brass River grade after a pipeline fire, though it lifted the suspension days later.

In the case of the country’s largest crude oil stream, Qua Iboe exports usually amount to more than 300,000 bpd, but it too is still licking its wounds as a result of the activities of the militants after it declared force majeure, following an attack on a key pipeline at the Brass Rivers terminal.

PAGE 8—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

‘Jonathan is crucial to resolving renewed N-Delta militancy’

By Charles Kumolu

C

hairman of Niger Delta Nationalities Forum and member of Ijaw Elders’ Forum, Mr. Seigha Manija, in this piece, proffers solution to the activities of the new militant group in the Niger Delta, the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA. A new group in the Niger Delta has been blowing up oil pipelines and facilities for some weeks now. What do you think is responsible for this latest spate of bombings?

Firstly, I can only speculate what could be responsible for the present spate of bombings in the Niger Delta. In any case I want you to know that this spate of bombing stopped since 2009 when the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua declared the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) for the Niger Delta. I remember that the Niger Delta was boiling when Obasanjo took over in May 29, 1999. But just after his assumption of office, his first official trip outside Abuja was to the Niger Delta. By the first week of June 1999, he was already in Port Harcourt through Warri where he dialogued with the youths of Niger Delta. Within weeks of his assumption of office, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) bill was sent to the National Assembly. Even the government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida did not waste much time in converting the 1.5 percent derivation fund to three percent in his time. Yar’ Adua in his early hours even created the Niger Delta Ministry. All these happened in those regimes because they reasoned on time that the Niger Delta and its oil are strategic to the nation’s economy. This government is about a year old, and if there is anything I can recall in respect to the Niger Delta, it is the reduction of budgetary allocation to PAP from N60billion to N20billion in this 2016 budget. The near omission of the Lagos-Calabar rail project and the announcement by the minister of transport that the Maritime University in the riverine Niger Delta has been cancelled are not too good signals, you may say. It is in the light of the above I think the new group called Avengers is simply behaving or reacting like the two-yearold baby, whose parents have just given birth to a new baby called North East Development Commission.

Avengers’ questions Everybody including the World Bank, European Union, UNDP and AU among others is pledging one thing or the other towards nursing of the new baby, giving the impression that the older baby has been weaned. The older child - Niger Delta, is asking if it is still relevant to the household and in the process breaking glasses, cups and pots. A good parent must respond positively and adjust quickly too. The Niger Delta Avengers may be asking a rhetorical question on whether and because the government is diversifying into agriculture and solid minerals or because the price of oil has plummeted, the Niger Delta, its oil and the people, especially the youth are no longer relevant? The government sees NDA as criminals just as many commentators do. But, NDA also sees this government as wicked and undermining the Niger Delta region. I think the President has some quick fix jobs to do in this direction.

What should the President do?

One, President Buhari should convene a Niger Delta youth summit to use the platform to assuage their fears. He should take same opportunity to pay former President Goodluck Jonathan a courtesy visit just to say thank you for respecting the wishes of the majority of voters at the 2015 presidential election. These two steps will go a long way in the first place.

Again, President Buhari must and should decide whether to collapse all the interventionist agencies in the Niger Delta region into one institution and fund it appropriately or fund all of them properly and insist that they all function

rightly. For example, the NDDC and the Niger Delta Ministry have no business building hostels for existing universities in Port Harcourt, Benin, Calabar, or Asaba; neither should the East West road be the sole •Seigha responsibility Manija of the ministry.

In any case, some of these projects are already variously captured in their respective local, state and federal governments’ budgets. Rather, the East West road should go to the federal ministry of works. NDDC and Niger Delta ministry have no business providing dust bins and electric poles in urban centres such as PH, Calabari, Benin etc. These agencies must be made to purely concentrate on the development of rural and riverine oil producing communities. This way, the youths in these areas can now benefit directly. The rural and the riverine communities are not benefitting enough from these agencies like the city centres.

The President should take a guided helicopter trip through the riverine communities and see for himself.

On proliferation of interventionist agencies On the other hand, these agencies are poorly funded. Yet, people from other regions are baffled with the proliferation of interventionist agencies in the Niger Delta.

For example, I hear that in 2016 budget, the allocations to NDDC is N41billion, Niger Delta ministry has N19billion while the Amnesty programme got N20billion, totaling N80billion only. If this is true, it is very poor and it is undermining the importance of Niger Delta region. For example, a loss of 800,000 barrels of crude per day (bpd) as claimed by the Petroleum Minister, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, amounts to 800,000 bpd multiplied by $50 per day.

This gives us $40 million per day. Against N300 per dollar, it amounts to N12billion per day. When you take in this for a month, you will have N360billion. It is now left for one to imagine the paltry sum given to these agencies for the development of all the nine oil producing states in a year.

To appreciate what I am saying, the Lagos state government has just announced a

Timeline of att ac ks attac acks budgetary allocation of N844 billion for the building of the fourth Mainland Bridge, spanning 35 kilometres between Victoria Island and Epe, yet the Federal Government is giving less than N100 billion to the interventionist agencies to cater for nine oil producing states of the Niger Delta. It is worrisome to imagine that a paltry sum of N20billion only was allocated to PAP in 2016 budget where over 15,000 youths already captured in the programme are yet to be trained; unfortunately some Nigerians are calling for an immediate end to the programme.

Do you think Niger Delta is presently said to be heavily militarized as being claimed?

It is bad for one reason and good for another. It is bad in the sense that the more the military come, the more the resolve of the youth or some criminals, who feel challenged to do their worst as a test of their capacity and knowledge of the environment. It is also good in the sense that it affords Nigerians from other region the opportunity to begin to appreciate the plight and challenges of the Niger Delta region.

A case in point was when I gave a ride to a serving JTF officer from Kebbi State, from Warri to Lagos some years ago. As we discussed along through our journey, he swore that what is happening in the Niger Delta can never be tolerated by either the Hausa or the Yoruba for one day.

According to him, before he was posted to the Niger Delta, he was always angry with the Niger Delta youth because of the ‘criminal activities.’ He confessed that his first and second trips to the creeks in Rivers and Bayelsa states afforded him the opportunity to feel and see the pathetic situation in the region.

He concluded that the youth were not even showing enough anger. I was happy with him for being forthright. However, when he was alighting at Ojota in Lagos, he said to me, “Oga, as soldiers we have to do our job.” The essence of my story is to show that many, who may have been compelled to occupy the Niger Delta in the line of duty, will become willing ambassadors of the region someday just as the young military officer did in my story.

•February 10, 2016: At about 1:30 am, the group claims to have attacked the Bonny Soku Gas Export Line. The line conveys natural gas to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas plant and an independent power plant at Gbaran in the Niger Delta.

•February 14: It claims attack on SPDC giant underwater Forcados 48inch Export Pipeline at the Forcados Export Terminal. *February 19: At about 3:30 a.m, blows up the Clough Creek Tebidaba Agip Pipeline Manifold in Bayelsa State.

•May 4: Attacks the Chevron Valve Platform located at Abiteye. This platform is reportedly the most significant platform for Chevron as it serves as the main connecting point where all other platforms link up and it is a fulcrum to Chevron BOP and the Chevron Tank Farm.

•May 5: Launches a coordinated attack on the Chevorn Well D25 in Abiteye and blew up major pipelines. *May 13: Bombs a Chevron pipeline at two separate spots near a military location •May 20: It attacks the Escravos Gas Pipeline, a facility of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in Delta State.

•May 25: NDA strikes Chevron main electricity feed pipeline to the Escravos Tank Farm at Ciera creek in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.

•May 27: Destroys the Nembe 1, 2 and 3 Brass to Bonny trunk lines belonging to Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC and Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC in Bayelsa State at about 2.15am on Saturday •May 27: Blows up NNPC Gas and Crude trunk lines in Warri at 11.45 pm *May 31: Blows up Chevron Oil Well RMP 23 and RMP 24 believed to the company’s highest swamp producing oil wells at about 3:44 am •June 1: It carries out twin-attacks on wells RMP 23 and RMP 24 owned

by Chevron Nigeria Limited. Both wells are located at Dibi in Warri South West local government area of Delta State.

•June 2: About 2.00 am, it bombs the Ogboinbiri to Tebidaba and Clough Creek to Tebidaba Crude O]oil pipelines in Bayelsa State.

•June 3: At about 3:00 am, it blows up the SPDC Forcados 48" Export line in Delta State because the company went ahead with repair works against its warning •June 3: 11. At about 3:30am, strike team blows up Brass to Tebidaba Crude oil line in Bayelsa State.

Compiled by Emma Amaize and Perez Brisibe

Ijaw communities condemn Niger Delta Avengers

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eaders of Dibi Ijaw communities,Ogbinbiri Egbema clan in Warri North local government area in Delta State have condemned the incessant attack on oil facilities in their domain especially the recent June 1 blowing up of Chevron oil wells RMP 23 and RMP 24.

This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen by the Dibi Ijaw communities Ogbinbiri Egbema clan chairman Mr. Ebi Eyenmi, Mr Darlington Lelekumor and others. They stated that the act believed to be perpetuated by the Nigerian Delta Avengers is totally unacceptable to the people of the clan.

While condemning the nefarious activities of the Niger Delta Avengers embarking on destruction of oil facilities and wreaking havoc on the region's environment the leaders noted that the

RMP 23 and RMP 24 are Chevron's swamp highest producing wells.

Mr Ebi Eyenmi, Mr Darlington Lelekumor and others said the actions of the Avengers were not justifiable as it has resulted in total ecological devastation of the area.

The leaders disclosed that the people of Dibi Ijaw communities, Ogbinbiri Egbema clan now live in fear and also face untold hardship as their only means of livelihood,which is fishing and farming have been totally destroyed by oil spills emanating from the activities of the said Niger Delta Avengers.

They appealed to the state and federal government as well as relevant authorities to come to their aid and help in the clean up of the area as well as secure lives and property.

They further advised the Niger Delta Avengers to explore consultation, negotiation and dialogue during misunderstanding with authorities and companies rather than resort to violence.

Mr Eyenmi, Mr Lelekumor and others emphasised that the people of Dibi ijaw communities, Ogbinbiri Egbema clan are peace loving and law abiding citizens.

It would be recalled that the Niger Delta Avengers in the past few weeks have consistently blown up oil facilities in the Niger Delta region, while the federal government has also set up security operatives to the area to checkmate the illegal bombing of oil facilities in the region.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 9

•Governor Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State

GOV. BADARU ABUBAKAR TO N-DELTA MILITANTS:

There is nothing to avenge ‘We have not abandoned health, education for roads’

By Wale Akinola OVERNOR Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State is displeased that G some militants in the Niger Delta,

under the guise of Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), are sabotaging the efforts of the Buhari administration to move Nigeria forward.

Abubakar, in this interview, speaks on the renewed militancy in the oil region which has robbed Nigeria of revenues in an austere period and the challenges of his one-year-old administration.

The state of the nation appears stormy, especially with the worsening economic situation. What is your perspective?

The APC governments at the federal level and Jigawa took over at the worst possible period and witnessed a combination of negative and interlinked trends from falling oil prices to currency devaluation and galloping inflation.

The fact that some unpatriotic elements who have lost the chance to continue their brigandage are sabotaging our efforts is no longer in doubt, after all, the question needs to be asked, ‘What are they avenging?’

While they were cheering at the loss in revenue from falling oil prices, they have started attacking facilities to cripple production at a time we were just rejoicing at the fact that prices were climbing again.

The situation calls for patience and understanding and we are doing everything in conjunction with the Federal Government to put all hands on deck to alleviate the plight of the people. Let me also talk about our modest attempt at complementing the palliatives being rolled out by the Federal Government to cushion the prevalent difficult situation. We have purchased 3,527 tonnes of assorted grains which will be evenly and equitably distributed on the basis of 1 ton, or 10 100kg bags to every one of the 3,527

polling units we have in the state.

We also solicit for Nigerians prayers as divine intervention is required to reverse the trend and put this country on the path of progress once more.

We are not in doubt that the last one year of your regime has been tough, going by the many hurdles militating against governane. Are we correct?

I feel relatively fulfilled coming after the shock and bewilderment that we were in after the swearing in, you know we made some discoveries during the transition period, but it was only after we took over that we realized the extent of the financial mess that we inherited, and we had to quickly revert to survival mode. Even the previous administration was counting the days till we crash-landed from the enormity of the financial burden, because they knew what they left behind, but we thank Allah for his mercies, we weathered the storm, we’ve put the state on a reasonable solid and sustainable expenditure framework relative to our present earnings and we are hoping for better days ahead.

How then have you been able to cope with these harsh economic realities as far as what accrued to your state is concerned?

Like I said earlier we switched to survival mode. In May 2015 we had less than N17 million in the treasury and I’m talking about the total amount of cash that was available to the state. We had salaries to pay,scholarship arrears and exam fees owed to WAEC and NECO, the Hajj operation preparations had started in earnest and the former government, after trying unsuccessfully to “borrow” from the contributory pension fund, simply achieved this through the back door by refusing to pay the state’s own contribution for almost 11 months.

To compound issues, contractors started demanding for payment of their liabilities which amounted to

over N14 billion in vouchers awaiting cash backing in the treasury and close to N100 billion in ongoing projects. I had to call major stakeholders and lay bare the financial situation to them and told them I had the capacity to deal with this but it will not be easy or painless. I got the mandate I needed and immediately started a massive cost cutting exercise starting from the Government House.

You see if I say I’m cutting my salary and that of the deputy governor by half, it would translate to about N12 million annually and our deficit is in nine figures, so that won’t help our case. We had to look at holistically reducing the cost of doing government business and it was not difficult to find areas because the previous regime was living in a fool’s paradise, just increas-

The fact that some unpatriotic elements who have lost the chance to continue their brigandage are sabotaging our efforts is no longer in doubt, after all, the question needs to be asked, ‘What are they avenging

ing recurrent spending exponentially in direct proportion to the windfall coming in from the Federation Account.

So, how are you coping with the huge contractual liabilities? Is any work going on in the state at all?

As soon as we saw the results of our cost realignment strategy working, we decided that since we were able to meet our recurrent expenditure, we should prioritise the ongoing projects accordingly and this was very difficult politically because the penchant is for supporters to say, ‘let us abandon so and so work and do our own projects’, so I had to be very firm.

It hurts when I see people hiring buses at great expense to go and thank a governor they elected because he has built a road, or school or provided water. It is their money and their mandate and the least the governor can do; otherwise you have no business in Government House.

I had to explain to supporters that the previous government’s projects were started with Jigawa funds and it would be irresponsible to abandon them and waste public money in starting new ones, so a committee verified the projects and we prioritized them in order of public impact and stage reached. Some that were hurriedly and improperly awarded to friends and family we threw out. I then called the contractors personally and explained our situation to them. ‘The country is broke, there may not be jobs for any of you for some time, but I am wiling to assure you continuity and prompt payment if you will give Jigawa a discount’. It was very tough, and I had to assure them that they have my protection and I am not expecting a percentage from anyone and neither is any of my children, commissioner or government official, and if that happens they have my direct line. This was how we got an average of 17% discount amounting to almost N5 billion for projects awarded as far back as 2013 in some cases.

Considering the dire financial situation generally, are you not abandoning the other sectors when you focus on completing roads?

We are not abandoning any sector, our focus is human development in all ramifications with the ultimate aim of reducing the poverty level and that is why I told you that even the roads we are continuing were selected based on public impact, opening up communities, providing access to markets for their farm produce and linking major towns and communities. The other critical sectors in this chain are health and education. We must educate our people and as the saying goes health is wealth.

In the health sector we are focusing on primary health care delivery to devolve smaller facilities spread out at the grassroots level as opposed to mega hospitals that are costly and very inefficient since all cases irrespective of severity are handled at that level.

Typically, close to 80% of patients can be handled at the primary level for malaria, antenatal, etc with only serious cases referred to the hospitals. Most importantly, we can now achieve eligibility in accessing funds from the National Health Fund to augment our efforts at the state level. To strengthen this basic level, we have commenced the construction of 27 basic health clinics in each local government at the cost of N424,980,000.00 and 27 units of midwives’ quarters in hard- to-reach primary and basic healthcare centers at the cost of N203,257,692.00. We have also embarked on renovation and improvement of hospitals in Gwaram and Birniwa with the provision of an operating theatre at the total cost of N194,918,946 as well as several smaller facility interventions in Sarawa, Majeri, Kununu and Katsinawa and renovation of 25 health facilities worth N25 million in Birnin Kudu, Garki, Gwaram, Jahun and Maigatari local government areas.

Continues on page 10

PAGE 10—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

‘There is nothing to avenge’ Continued from page 9

qualified teachers that are simply not available due to the systemic collapse of teacher-education and training nationwide and the simultaneous demand by private schools that continue to grow at an exponential level to fill the educational void.

I believe technology holds the key to maximizing teaching resource availability through distance leaning, visual and electronic teaching aids as well as networking of schools to avail them concurrent use of electronic educational material to augment conventional methods. To support these and other tech dependent initiatives, we have reinvested in resurrecting Galaxy ITT, the state owned internet provision and IT services firm.

The company is currently testing a city wide wireless network covering the whole of Dutse, and with the renewal of their national ISP license will begin to provide quality internet service provision to all our major towns and indeed beyond the State’s boundaries on a commercial basis.

So as you can see we haven’t abandoned education for roads!

In your inaugural speech, you mentioned that agriculture was going to be used to build a sustainable local economy. Is that process on course?

Very much so, we have no option because it is the only sector where we have comparative advantage at the moment. I said I will focus on attracting large scale agricultural investment because we must leapfrog and catch up with global best practices.

If you have a look at our statistics, we are at the bottom of almost every yield table for our major crops despite years of government and development partner intervention. The only game

You mentioned health and education as priorities…

Education was a sector I believe was also neglected perhaps because of the adage ‘you can’t value what you don’t have’. Immediately after we were sworn-in, I was amazed to find that counterpart funding for SUBEB and UBE were unpaid for two years, which meant the last time primary school structures received any decent attention was in early 2013. This government had to retroactively pay up counterpart funding for the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2013, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters of 2014 resulting in the injection of N3.1 billion into the basic education sector within 11 months. This translated into the provision of 16,599 sets of classroom furniture and the construction and renovation of 1,793 classrooms. We had to also clear a backlog of scholarship payments from the 2014/ 2015 academic year totalling N500,478,356. We spent money on data acquisition relating to the quality and number of students , teachers and facilities in conjunction with the DFID ESSPIN program to enable us address problems in the sector in a targeted and specific approach instead of ploughing money in an uncoordinated and erratic manner with no results. To ensure students welfare, we paid out N882,425,839 within the last 11 months in scholarship funds, and introduced an e-platform to eliminate delays in future payments. We are also testing and deploying various elearning initiatives to address the issue of the very serious deficit in quality teaching at the basic level. Jigawa like most other states is in serious need of

changer I can see is private sector involvement. if we don’t begin to look at agriculture from a business perspective, we cannot be competitive and no amount of government control or protection can help a farmer producing 2.5 tons a hectare against his counterpart in Thailand or Brazil producing 10 tons per hectare twice a year.

In pursuit of this, we have adopted the international principles of large scale agricultural investment (RAI) and developed a State Land Acquisition and Resettlement Framework (LARF) to achieve a balance between the investors need for large scale land and the citizens right to minimal disruption of lifestyle and livelihood.

This has resulted in the adoption of out-grower scheme models involving small holder farmers in all our major large scale agricultural partnerships which include the Dangote Rice Project that will eventually cover about 30,000 hectares and The Lee Group sugar project covering about 12,000 hectares.

During the recent fuel shortage which saw many individual farmers abandoning their cultivation due to lack of fuel for irrigation, the members of the out-grower cooperatives had the protection of group logistic dynamics that guaranteed all inputs including fuel as part of the agreement.

We have adopted the same approach for other farmers outside the out-grower framework by clustering small holder farmers in all 287 wards into 50-hectare clusters per ward with a maximum of

three groups per cluster to accord them the same benefits and advantages of the out grower program under a state organized initiative. For effective and uninterrupted supply of inputs, we are recapitalizing JASCO to the tune of N200 million to strengthen its capacity to provide quality consumables at affordable prices to the cluster groups, and 450 motorcycles have been provided to extension workers that are currently undergoing training by NIRSAL to improve their mobility and capacity to provide extension services. Over N100 million is being spent to rehabilitate about 87 tractors spread over 27 local governments to provide mechanisation.

We are also expanding the SLTR program which will simplify acquisition of title to land and focus on small holder farmers to enable them unlock the capital potential of their landholding at an affordable price.

So this is part of the general GIS mapping that we hear is going to cover the whole state?

Definitely. We have already started GPS plotting of farmland under the dry season fertilizer distribution where 4,000 tons of fertiliser valued at N400 million was allocated in an equitable manner with each farmer getting fertilizer based on his measured and plotted land holding. This will be embedded in the full GIS project state wide.

But when we came in sometimes last year, we saw residents pushing carts in search of water, has anything effort been done to solve this perennial water shortage in the state?

Water and sanitation is another key area in our list of prioritized intervention sectors. What we found out is that no maintenance had been carried out on our water facilities in three years. The rapid water intervention scheme was therefore our first major infrastructure rehabilitation effort, and we expended N1.9 billion of which N636 million is recurrent because of the motorized nature of most of our water facilities.

The dialogue that may end Niger Delta Avengers’offensive – Ex-militant leader

BY PEREZ BRISIBE

K

ingsley Muturu, an ex-militant leader under the Phase II of the Amnesty Programme, in this interview, speaks on the comments linking former President Goodluck Jonathan to the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta as well as calls for the sack of the Chairman of Amnesty Programme, Paul Boroh.

How would you describe recent comments linking President Goodluck Jonathan to renewed militancy in the Niger Delta?

It is the height of democratic •Muturu recklessness for anyone who claims to be an ex-militant to link former President Goodluck Jonathan to Niger Delta Avengers.

Let me put it on record here that Jonathan is the best thing to have happened to Nigeria today.

This is because, following the result of the presidential election after he called to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari, he reached out to the ex-militants and appealed to them not to em-

bark on any form of militancy against Nigeria under the APCled government.

This was done without the world knowing, so why do you think the same person would go against his word to raise a group to embark on militancy by blowing up oil facilities in the Niger Delta region?

Goodluck categorically explained to us that he has lost the election and was going home, hence we should not destroy pipelines for any reason whatever.

Besides, one can say categorically that, aside the loss to the Nigeria government, we the people of the region suffer more owing to the spill as a result of the sabotage of the pipelines. If Goodluck has such intention, I believe Nigeria would have been a shadow of itself today.

For those behind the attacks on oil installations, they

should sheath their sword, talk with the government and present their grievances for amicable solution.

We thank God for President Buhari finding it worthy for an Ijaw man in the person of Paul Boroh to head the Presidential Amnesty Programme, What do you think is the reason behind the agitation for the sack of the Chairman of the Amnesty Programme?

It is such a pity that politics and ethnicity have eaten deep into the fabric of everything we do today in the country.

With the appointment of Paul Boroh as Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, he has brought sanity and decorum to the programme with every financial detail in place.

Those calling for his removal are the same persons who were calling for the removal of Kingsley Kuku but President Buhari, in his wisdom, appointed a very neutral and efficient person to man the programme. Angered by this, these same mischief makers have launched their tirade, this time, against the person of Boroh.

Air Force Deploys More Fighter Aircraft, Gunships To Combat Militants

By Kingsley Omonobi, Abuja

T

he Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said, yesterday, it has deployed additional aircraft to the Niger Delta in support of the military operations code named “OPERATION PULO SHIELD” against militancy, economic sabotage and all forms of criminalities in the South-South. The de-

ployment was necessitated by the spate of attacks on the nation’s oil and gas installations by the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA). A statement

by Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, Director of Airforce Public Relations, said “The additional platforms, comprising fighter aircraft, helicopter gunship and surveillance aircraft, are intended to enhance the capability of

NAF to undertake offensive air operations and intelligence gathering in support of the surfaces forces. “Since the recent deployment the NAF has increased air operations around critical infrastructure in Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States. “These include but not limited to Escravos, Forcados in Delta State; Bonga oil field, Agbami offshore and Brass in Bayelsa; Bony in Rivers; Qua Iboe Ter-

minal in Akwa Ibom State, and Opuekeba in Ondo State. “Meanwhile, NAF urges members of the public not to panic at the sight of low level flying aircraft but to go about their legitimate businesses. “The NAF also enjoins any member of the public to avail it or other security agencies with useful information about the whereabouts or activities of the militant group”.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016 PAGE 11

Nigeria is fighting low grade civil war – Olisa Agbakoba • ‘Buhari’s

structure to tackle corruption is weak’

Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) is a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). Agbakoba, in this interview, speaks on the state of the nation.

By Ikenna Asomba

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari has spent one year in office. Three months ago, you warned that Nigeria was sliding into recession. Do you maintain that stance?

Yes, about three months ago, I said Nigeria was sliding into recession, because a recession is two quarterly negative growths.

So, now that the politically incorrect word - recession - has finally been said by the Central Bank of Nigeria and National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, let me say that we are not in recession, but in depression.

Nigeria has recorded five consecutive quarterly growths up to 2016 first quarter (Q1), which showed a negative balance. That is a depression. Critically speaking, nobody is making profit.

We calculate the growth rate

by Gross Domestic Product divided by the population, thus goods and services produced are divided by the population. The current growth rate for 2016 Q1 according to the NBS is 0.34.

The last, which was 2015 Q4, was 2.11. So, we are now at a depression stage. And if you know what the critical index is, you find out that things are really bad. The Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, is zero, the stock market is down, petroleum prices are up. No good news.

However, in appraising the one year in office of President Buhari, we must acknowledge the crisis of the old order and the hope of change. The path of the old order remains that things were very difficult, there was high corruption, there was insecurity, we had the Boko Haram menace among others. The pertinent question you then ask is, how has President Buhari handled them?

In the beginning of this administration, I was cautiously positive but right now I am cautiously negative. But I am waiting to see what will happen. In all fairness to President Buhari, he has been challenged by the unenvisaged crisis of governance he found- a technically insolvent country, bailouts and many of those things which meant he was bugged down and couldn’t get into governance.

Over the last one year, what do you make of President Bu-

C M Y K

hari’s anti-corruption war?

Credit must go to him on his anti-corruption programme.

However, my problem with his anti-corruption programme is that it’s a rigmarole. The programme has centred on stories that government is doing this and that, which is good. But I must say that if the President keeps looking in the rear mirror, as he had been doing in the last one year, he won’t move.

The Buhari’s anti-corruption programme is an equivalent of a driver who is looking at the rear mirror to see what is happening behind. Such a drive won’t move forward.

We know that people had stolen money, but what we want to see is an aggressive action plan.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and other law enforcement agencies, don’t have the resources, capacity and the skills to fight corruption. However, I am proud to say that there has been some strong action plan on the path of the Buhari administration in tackling corruption.

You have said that given the statistics released by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the NBS, Nigeria is in depression. However, some people believe the economy got this bad because President Buhari has no economic policy. What is your take?

What gives me the greatest concern is the unclear economic direction of this government. I see two competing forces in the Buhari administration. I see state control from the President and I see private sector framework from the Vice President.

A good example is the handling of the shortages of petroleum products. Marketers were excluded Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was asked to solely import and distribute, and they failed. The government ran back to the marketers who now demanded a special rate, and they got N285, the current PPPRA template.

So, I see that tension within government. One is state enterprise and the other is private enterprise. This confusion has led to four foreign exchange regimes.

Nigeria’s forex policy is unclear and uncertain. We have the CBN rate, the rate for fuel importers, the rate at the autonomous mar-

• Olisa Agbakoba ing policy, there would be a problem.

The Buhari’s anticorruption programme is an equivalent of a driver who is looking at the rear mirror to see what is happening behind.

Such a drive won’t move forward

kets and the rate at the “black market.” People who can access forex at the official CBN rate would offload to the next rate.

This breeds corruption from differentials in the four markets.

So, I’m going to give President Buhari’s government below average in respect to how it has managed Nigeria’s macro, economic issues. By macro-economic issues, I don’t mean operational activities. You can find good policies from the Minister of Works, Housing and Power, Babatunde Fashola, on roads and power, that is fine.

But if you don’t have an over-arch-

What do you suggest the administration should do to take Nigerians out of the economic doldrum?

I must say that our leaders don’t read. Between 1929 and 1945, America went through hell. First, they had Herbert Hoover who left America broke, destitute and in great depression. Then came Franklin Roosevelt, who came in and proclaimed a new policy called The New Deal, which is similar to ‘Change’.

But in proclaiming The New Deal, Roosevelt was sure of what direction he would take. He allowed the private sector to do those things they do best and he embarked on public sector programming.

In four years, he turned around the American economy because there was a clear direction. But here, there isn’t a clear direction for now. However, I feel President Buhari is more concerned on how not to inflict pains on Nigerians. But the way to do that is to also spend the money in the budget.

I personally believe in deregulation and liberalization, because it’s the way forward. So, it is a policy that government has to accept. This confusion in government’s policy, on the one hand- state enterprises - and on the other hand, liberalization would continue to keep us in this mess, and we may not come out of this depression.

However, if government announces complete deregulation and liberalization of the econo-

my, by 2016 Q2, which would end by June/July, we would begin to witness growth. If this happens, I predict growth should return to about two per cent.

With the right stimulation, not mere N350 billion, we should witness further growth at the end of 2016. Nigeria needs about $50 trillion to stimulate the economy. Yes, Nigeria doesn’t have the kind of money, but Buhari and his team must seek creative ways to source the money.

Also, I have nothing against Foreign Direct Investment coming to fix things, which is the policy the Chinese has adopted.

However, for the Buhari administration to fix the economy, I urge members of his team, like Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Ministers Babatunde Fashola and Kayode Fayemi, to read the ABC of how Roosevelt fixed the American economy, in the book, “The Coming of The New Deal,” by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., and also they can read the ABC of how China was able to fix it’s economy, in the book, “China’s Disruptors, by Edward Tse. China is a communist nation and the king of central planning.

But they decided to open the economy. Here in Nigeria, why would government want to close the economy and fail to privatize the ports.

China involved the private sector. We have the likes of ALIBABA, Lenovo, which are now flooding the Nigerian market. The Chinese made progress, because their economic policy is clear. A man who wants to do business knows what he’s doing and he’s

Continues on page 12

PAGE 12—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

‘Buhari’s structure to tackle corruption is weak’ Continued from page 11 supported by government.

Again, the Chinese have settled issues like those aspects of the economy where they feel government should control such as the steel industry, port development among others. So, with the mix of both, there is rapid growth and development in China.

I feel the biggest problem we face in Nigeria is not recognizing that we are in depression and not recession. That is the first challenge. Even though,

some people would come out tomorrow and say it’s not true, the question is, what is government’s response to this? We need to see the response so that we can turn things around.

From Q4 2014 to Q1 2016 Nigeria has been in dire economic strait. The critical nuggets to turn things around must be put in place, because they are not in place. Confusion as to whether we are liberalizing or regulating different aspects of our economy is keeping investors away.

The only way Nigeria

can grow and sustain development to attract 5-10 percent GDP is to have an open deregulated economy. This will bring hardship but, with a robust social benefit agency to properly implement welfare package in the budget, a substantial cushion can be provided.

The priority must be to diversify the economy and make it less dependent on imports. Nigeria has long depended on crude oil as if it is the only hydrocarbon to the utter neglect of gas. The economy heavily relies on oil revenue and

•Agbakoba...We need new counter-insurgency apparatus is vulnerable to price shocks in oil and the associated risk to national stability. The most recent volatility in oil prices suggests that we must start to diversify our revenue income streams by developing nonoil tradable sectors.

A clear strategy, model and plan for economic diversification, both horizontally and vertically, is necessary. Horizontal diversification should explore new opportunities in the same oil and gas sector.

There are at least 36 value added products to be explored in the extraction of crude oil. Vertical diversification means a shift from the oil and gas sector to other sectors: Agriculture, services, maritime, aviation/space, manufacturing, health, sports among others.

Pursuing economic diversification will make the economy less vulnerable to the boom and burst cycles of oil and natural gas prices. A model we can follow is the United Arab Emirate which has successfully diversified out of oil into new revenue sources.

It is like the Boko Haram menace has fizzled out. But with the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta region, several separatists group agitating for Biafra in the South-South, and the Fulani herdsmen menace, how do you rate Buhari on security?

The administration has had flip-flops in the area of security of lives and property. We have the herdsmen menace, the Biafran question, and the renewed Niger Delta militancy. However, there have been successes in containing the Boko Haram crisis.

So, we need a new counter-insecurity apparatus that can deliver results. In appraising, I must say something has happened. But what is missing is what the Europeans realized over 600 years ago.

Without peace and stability, you can’t make progress.

At the moment, Nigeria is in low grade civil war, because there are few places you can go, today, without thinking, is this place safe? Nigeria is in a low grade civil war, which many Nigerians don’t realise, because they are participants. But if one travels out and returns; from the airport, with all the conflicts everywhere, one would describe Nigeria as a country in a low grade civil war.

In the Niger Delta, the militants have been bombing oil facilities and we are now back to 900,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

That is very serious. In this light, I would appraise the Buhari’s government approach as rather poor. I think it is important the government to realise that it has to put political stability on top of its agenda.

We need to re-balance the federation. We need to include all Nigerians. The more Nigerians are excluded from the actions of government, the more the people will feel there are special people in Abuja, who have the magic wand to solve all the problems.

So, I think the President’s handling of political stability issues has been rather weak. Going forward, President Buhari would need to address how to make Nigeria a place where all Nigerians would participate. This is to ensure that little things that should not cause problems, would not have these national consequences.

When you have peace and stability, then, you can talk about planning.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016 — PAGE 13

C M Y K

PAGE 14—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5 , 2016

By Benjamin Njoku

njokujamin@yahoo.com

I wooed my husband

his country. My mum was excited as she asked me, when we would be travelling back to Nigeria? She encouraged me to return to our roots with OJ. I have known everything about Nigeria, the country’s musicians before I met my husband. Pa Ambrose told me a lot about Nigerian musicians.

Tempted to return to America Yes, I have been tempted several times to return to America, because I have grand children and my family.

There was a time, I was away for nine months in America when my mum was sick. But she urged me to go back to my husband, insisting that I have stayed away from him for a long time.

That was the last time, I visited them.

—Latoya, wife of ace musician, Orlando Julius

A

merican-born singer cum dancer, Latoya Ekemode, isn’t the kind of woman that would pretend when it comes to the matters of the heart. She proved this much, after she met and fell in love with her man, Orlando Julius (OJ) back in America several years ago. She summoned the courage to express her feelings to her man.

In this engaging encounter, Latoya recounts how she met and fell in love with the legendary musician, revealing what has kept the flame of love burning after 23 years of marriage. But for OJ, Latoya decided to marry him because of his music which he describes as a tonic wine that swept her off her feet.

Fall in love with him I didn’t fall in live with him the first time I met him. Actually, I worked with him for four years before anything happened between us. I used to be his dancer for four years. Then I used to see him with his girlfriends. He was my boss and one thing led to another. I didn’t fall in love with him because of his music. But working with him and seeing his kind nature, somebody with this incredible talent and humble,quiet, simple

kind of a guy made me to fall in love with him.

How I felt seeing him with his girl friends I didn’t feel bad because he wasn’t my boy friend then. He was my boss and I wasn’t jealous because I never imagined that we would some day become husband and wife, There was nothing happening between us at that time.

Between being his dancer and his wife I just graduated from AudioEngineering school. So, I was interested in music, radio, audio, recording, videos everything. I worked close to him, as I would follow him to the studio, to his shows, working closely to him.

Seduced him!

Yes, I seduced him. I was divorced from my former husband and I wasn’t thinking of getting into any relationship again. But I kept thinking of him, and at a point, I called my girl friend and told her about my feelings. As months went by, she advised me to disclose my feelings to OJ. It happened that I was to feature in one of his videos.

So, before I left my house to where we were going to shoot the video, I whispered into his ears that I needed to tell him something.

There and then, I dropped the

The price I have paid in the name of marriage There are a lot of things I have forgone in the name of marriage.

I missed my children and my family for a number of occasions. But I have learned more things about life and struggling to survive. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. However, whenever I travel to the United States, I always feel like a stranger.

•Orlando Julius with wife, Latoya bomb that I think I am in love with him. He was excited and laughed...

I thought I would loose my job because I told him how I felt.

Honestly, women love Orlando Julius very well, but he’s such a man that doesn’t keep too many women at a time.

That’s why he’s peaceful.

Interestingly, two of his former girlfriends are my girlfriends till date. Even his former girlfriends attest to the fact that OJ is a nice guy. One thing I like about him is that he doesn’t mess around with women even though he’s not perfect as a human being.

How my family felt about our relationship My mum liked my husband a lot.

As a child, I realized that my dad had OJ’s albums in our house. I was listening to his music ever before I met him. Back in America, my mum would follow us, when she’s on holidays to shows. She would put her car on the road and followed us to shows.

Relocating to Nigeria with him When OJ was ready to relocate to Nigeria, I called my mum and told her that OJ was ready to return to

The success story of our marriage He’s a very patient man,and moreover, we love ourselves.

Friendship is the key to the success story of our marriage. We were first and foremost friends before we became husband and wife. In my presence, some women confronted him, wanting to know why he had to go to America to find a wife instead of marrying a Nigerian.

`My spouse married me because of my music’ •Orlando Julius

C M

Before I met my wife Sometimes, when I’m performing on stage then, some ladies would come back stage to chat me up as my fans. I’m not saying that I wasn’t close to some of them then. I wouldn’t shun them when they come to the back stage to meet with me. But I met Latoya in the home of one of Nigeria’s finest musicians in America then, Pa Ambrose Oladipo Campbell. I met her shortly after the death of her father in Los Angeles, California.

She was 17 years then. I needed a dancer for my band and my friend, Pa Ambrose told me about Latoya whom I met few years back. When she came, we began to work together and even though there were other women in my band. They weren’t appealing to me. I liked the way Latoya sang and danced. There was

already a man who was the father of her kids and she also knew most of my girlfriends, so, we were doing our own thing.

Not knowing that we would end up as husband and wife.

When I proposed to her When I proposed to her, she was excited. You know there are some black ladies in America that want to marry an African. They are open-minded and when you see women with such qualities, it reminds me of my mum.

Why she married me I think she married me because of my music and more so, she knew very well that I love her.

Interestingly, the kids she had before I met her later became my fans. Most of my songs are sang in the Yoruba language and the fact that she can sing in Yoruba also endeared her more to me.

Women in my life I’d have a woman in my life back in Nigeria. But it wasn’t as if I was not marred before. The woman that gave birth to my first son, Tunde, was not into music.

And I couldn’t continue pressurizing her to do something she never liked. But Latoya is a great dancers and she loved music. So, she’s happy working with me, and when I sing in Yoruba, she would be asking me to interprete the song to her. All my family members love her.

Returning to America I am a gentle guy who respects human beings, especially women. There is no need for her to start thinking of returning to America because we love each other very much. She compliments my effort as a musician. She has released her own songs in Yoruba.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016,PAGE 15

people

‘True Detective’ influenced me into joining the police —Ex-IGP Musiliu Smith

Tell us about your beginning I was born tino the family of Offin/ Alakoro in Central Lagos on April 17, 1946. My father, the late Alhaji Liasu Akande Smith, was the first Surveyor General of Lagos State and National President of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, while my mother was the late Alhaja Abadat Eniola Smith, also a staunch member of the society in her lifetime. I have four siblings; two before and two after me. I have three children; two boys and a girl. I had all my education in Lagos. I come from a family that is richly religious and my family placed very high premium on education. I attended primary school in Alapo from 1952 to 1959, and one of my classmates was the Oba of Lagos.

We have been together from In fancy, some 64 years ago. I went to AnsarUd-Deen College, Isolo from 1960 to 1964. I went for my “A” Level; at that period, there were organized tuition courses even in the Ministry of Education. I was also working as an Accounts Clerk at Lagos City Council.

After my secondary education, I got admission into the University of Lagos, the Sociology Department. We were the pioneer students of the department, between 1967 and 1970.

I worked briefly after graduation at the Ministry of Works in Lagos State as an Assistant Secretary. At that time, NYSC had not been established.

NYSC started in 1973. My father was the first Nigerian Chief Surveryor of Lagos Executive Development Board, LEDB. After he retired from LEDB, he was invited by the government to help in setting up the Survey Department of Lagos State. Lagos State was created in 1967. So, my working years were between April 1,1971 when I joined the Nigeria Police Force and March 2002. I was among the second set of graduates to join the police. I was there for 31 years. I thank God for giving me the grace to climb the ladder and also reach the peak. I was C M Y K

a member of the Provisional Council that handed over to the civilian government in 1999. Since my retirement, I have set up my private business and I thank God that most of the companies are doing well.

Could you mention some of the businesses?

I own, Metropolitan Construction Company. The company has been involved in the construction of some of the roads in Lagos including the dualisation of Ejigbo Road. Another one is Orange Island Limited in Lekki.

Why did you join the police?

We were lucky because we grew up at a time the country was stable.

Then, we had a currency that was strong. During my secondary years, I took pleasure in reading newspapers and magazines and, at that time, there was a magazine called, “True Detective”. It was a foreign magazine that was reporting crime; how cases were investigated, progress of investigation made by the police, how suspects were arrested, how they were arraigned in court and how they were convicted. I also believe the course I read helped me when I decided to go into the police. And I have no regrets because I enjoyed my time there.

So, it was the magazine that made you go into NPF? Not in totality. Maybe it somehow influenced my personal decision.

If you have not been in the police, what would you have opted for?

Maybe I would have been a top official in the military. I enjoyed wearing uniform. Otherwise, I would have remained an Administrative Officer in Lagos. But I like operational work and really enjoyed it. I regard my period in

Was there a time you had any regrets in life?

There was none I can think of. I give thanks to God and I do not joke with prayers. I do some philantrophic works also.

How was god-fatherism able to help your career especially in climbing to the position of IGP? I don’t believe in such phenomenon. What I know is that a good police officer will always be spotted. And any officer who is ambitious will always get to the peak of his career. In those days, a police officer would not struggle to get some of the benefits embedded in the career.

In the light of what you just said, things seemed to

Alhaji Musiliu Adeola Smith joined the police as an Assistant Police Superintendent (ASP) in Enugu in 1972. He rose to the position of Inspector General of Police (IGP) in May 1999 and retired in 2002. Today, he is a business with interests in the construction industry, Smith, in this interview, speaks on how he got into the police, his aspirations as well as his success story.

By Ebun Sessou & Dolapo Majekodunmi

was unlike what is obtainable now. I believe the country still has a long way to go. We need the right leadership with the fear of God to take this country to the promised land.

be working out in those days unlike what is obtainable now.

I think the problem the country is facing is as a result of improper planning and our inability to invest in things that can salvage the glory of the country the NPF as a matter of luck while others regarded it as punishment.

I was able to move round the country while in service. I was in the East, North, West and SouthSouth, including Jos, Mubi. Two years after I was transferred got to Mubi, I married my wife in 1977.

People would wonder how you could think about marriage and also sustain the monogamous lifestyle as a police officer?

I grew up in a happy family, and it was expected of you, after you’ve secured a job, to pick a good wife for yourself. So, you would not train your children in old age.

What was growing up in Lagos like in your days?

Lagos was a small place at that time. My father was one of the few families who owned vehicles.

And at that time, I doubt if we had twelve families who owned vehicles. There were few taxis and no motorcycle. Every family placed priority on education and so, there was hardly a street without a school at that time. It

Would you say the country is developing and also encouraging the young generation?

I think the problem the country is facing is as a result of improper planning and our inability to invest in things that can salvage the glory of the country. Although our population is increasing, I believe with the calibre of people in government, things would turn out well. There was a time we were making so much money from oil and most of the infrastructures that we ought to have completed were left untouched. We abandoned industrialisation and now we are struggling with power. Any country that is struggling with power cannot industrialize, even the small scale industry cannot operate. But I believe with the right leadership and our determination to succeed, the glory of the country will return.

How do you relax?

I make sure I rest well. I do not come to the office until afternoon. I do lots of reading, watch television and listen to news and watch sports a lot as well as take care of my family. I do exercise in the morning. I do road walk and, even when I travel, I make sure that I walk for four hours in the shopping mall. I do not joke with prayers.

What is your favourite sport?

I enjoy soccer now, although Nigerian footballers are not making us happy with the way they play. In our days, secondary school competition was helping to groom those going into the national team.

Your advice for youths?

They should be careful with the company they keep. The youths of nowadays are too much in a hurry and that is why they crash early. One should be ambitious and determined to make it in life, but not through crooked ways.

PAGE 16—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

I rejected private jet gift —Apostle Johnson Suleman

By Lekan Bilesanmi

T

HE General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries Intervational, Apostle Johnson Suleman, who just ended the Johannesburg, South Africa, version of the Restoration Conference 2016 and will be moving to Kigali in Rwanda in June, shares his travel experience, and why he rejected a plane offer by a businessman.

You were in Johannesburg and moving to Rwanda next. What should the Rwandans expect of your mission there?

We have declared our next move through the Holy Ghost to have the next Apostolic Visit to Kigali, Rwanda.

The Johannesburg experience was awesome. I will tell you that Rwandans will experience unforgettable moments and results with God. They are going to experience great grace. It is going to be miracles all over; challenges shall end as God’s Oracle storm the African country. Storms shall disappear, and the mighty presence of God shall manifest. It is going to be the same experience in Philadelphia because the next leg of the mission goes there.

You are always on the move around the world preaching the gospel.

What have been the experiences so far?

God has sent His servant to America, to the world, to bring restoration and grace to all who would believe. Recently, the world experienced he presence of God in America, as people from all parts of America yearned for the great encounter. Over the years, American cities like New York, Texas, Chicago, Georgia, Maryland, Florida and several others have experienced the power of God. It was Minnesota, three weeks ago, and Philadelphia next. We were also in Sierra Leone after the Minnesota experience. Next was Johannesburg in South Africa, and next is Kigali, Rwanda. And God has promised us these are also going to be fulfilling journeys in the life of the hopeless and the downtrodden. As we move around the world through His special grace, millions of people are being freed from all evil foundations that temporarily hold on to their glories, finances, health, spiritual life and family success.

Your ministry’s Celebration TV just marked its third anniversary. How has the response been using a faith based television channel to reach audiences?

We give all glory to God. We saw this vision passionately spreading beyond

Africa and it has come to be. We are determined to keep on this blessed track and ensure souls and lives are redeemed as far as technology can reach. The aim for which the Celebration TV of our great ministry of God was established is fulfilling. One of the core objectives is to reach many homes across the world, wiping away tears and restoring people back to their destinies through the revelation of the Word and the manifestation of power and the reality of the Holy Spirit. Celebration TV was established to take the gospel into the homes, schools, offices and businesses of millions across the nations. We are going to continue to use this powerful tool for the gospel and expansion of the Kingdom.

It was in the news that you have joined the league of pastors who own private jets; is that true?

It is no crime for a man of God to have a private jet, if it is meant to reach the world faster in spreading God’s mission. But I don’t have one yet. The truth is that, I was given a private plane as a gift about one month ago. But God told me that the giver was not pure. So I rejected it. You may have seen the pictures of the jet on the internet. In fact, I collected it. But when I prayed over it and found out that the source of the giver’s wealth wasn’t sincere, I politely turned it down.

Helping people has become a constant feature with you, even as you heal people. Is that the secret why you have so many followers?

To start with, one lesson is the value of time-tested methods. Yes, using the new media for outreach contributes significantly to attracting people to God. But the fact remains that teaching the Word and having personal relationships by way of sharing, are the most effective forms of publicity to growing the church.

Like I have always shared with people, I have tasted poverty. I come from a very humble background. This is what fires my passion for sharing with the less privileged. We are not graceful with words of mouth; we are also generous with other things that make life worth living for a man. God understands the needs of man and He is ever ready to provide those needs if man obeys His Word. We regularly share cars worth several millions of Naira, cash gifts and more. The latest

people

•Apostle Johnson Suleman

It is no crime for a man of God to have a private jet, if it is meant to reach the world faster in spreading God’s mission. But I don’t have one yet. The truth is that, I was given a private plane as a gift about one month ago

is a brand new multimillion Naira Mercedes car we gave out to a member.

There is the story making the rounds about celebrity marriages crashing.

What are the divine elements needed to keep a marriage going?

The Lord says in Genesis 2:18. “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. That is a proof that God wants and is happy with man and woman relationship. For a

Christian to keep the home, spouses must avoid anger to the point of leading them to commit evil. In marriage, you need to understand the mystery of the third party. It must be fought. In marriage, spouses must always be one another’s friends. If a marriage must succeed, there in spouses, must be spiritual and emotional maturity. One of the keys to a lasting marriage is communication.

Lack of communication gives room for suspicion and the devil sets in.

Spouses must learn to call each other pet names to deepen the mutual affection, even in Christian homes. A woman must learn to take good and proper care of her body. In marriage, love covers multitude of offences.

Immorality sets into marriages when men are not sexually free with their wives.

Can you share the experiences of your recent conference in Johannesburg.

It was indeed awesome. God manifested Himself in many miraculous ways. It is a written pact that God’s works done in God’s way never lack positive supplies. God has always been wonderful. The Johannesburg experience tagged Restoration Conference 2016 was an explosive deliverance episode that was filled with signs of His glory and power. Many things new did happen in the life of many. Of course, when Jesus calls, the world gathers; listens and profits hugely.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 17

people

: M U E S U M S A G D N A IL O I IR IB OLO

Ethel Diete-Spiff’s undying obsession

By Soni Daniel

D

espite the passage of time and the change in government, her desire to see the emergence of an imposing architectural masterpiece with the inscription “Oloibiri Oil and Gas Museum” remains very strong. The idea of the project, which she conceived in the early 70’s when she was the Chairman of the old Rivers State Tourism Board, rages on her mind like a timeless mirage. As it is, Mrs. Ethel Diete-Spiff, who is now retired from active service, sleeps and wakes up with the mental picture of the multi-purpose centre, which she conceived in her hey days to serve as a reference point for oil and gas production in Nigeria. As a young lady married to a serving military governor, she was bubbling with trail-blazing ideas that could fetch Nigeria a fortune, if they had been harnessed into concrete ventures. One that really hit her on her mid rib like a hurricane was that of developing a World Class Oil and Gas Museum complete with research, recreational, cultural, social and economic empowerment facilities for the teeming population in the country. The idea was so clear on her mind that she wasted no time in reaching out to the then President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and his Vice, Alex Ekweme, one of the country’s best architects to share the vision with the two leaders.

The whole idea of the centre was rooted in historical and cultural perspectives: Nigeria’s first oil field was discovered in Oloibiri on Sunday, January 15, 1956 by a company called Shell Darcy, later known as Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SDPC. Oloibiri, then a small fishing hamlet, and the headquarters of the Oloibiri Local Government Area, lies somewhere around 72 kilometres East of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, with the oilfield of about 13.75 kilometres tucked away in a swamp within Oil Mining Lease 29. Its discovery changed Nigeria’s oil history as it launched Nigeria into the elite club of oil producers and brought instant wealth to the nation with a daily output of 5000 barrels per day.

“Oil Well One” as the place has come to be identified, is in the heart of Oloibiri-Otuabage in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, which was then a part and parcel of the then Rivers State.

The elite entre was conceived as a One-stop shop consisting of the Oloibiri Petroleum Institute, providing a base for research and for oil and gas, renewable energy of international standards, an exhibition arcade that would dwell on the history of Nigeria’s oil exploration, its impact on the

lives and the environment, as well as proffer solutions. The centre was also designed to have a 5-Star Hotel to cater for the diverse interest of global visitors from key oil companies and other tourists.

These were the details that were unveiled to President Shagari by the initiator of the project, who remains unassuming but highly expectant that it would come to reality, many decades after she birthed the idea.

“By the time I finished presenting my vision of the project to President Shagari, he was so impressed that he gave me and my team of committed Nigerians the go-ahead to proceed with the work. “That was how I began to write letters of invitation to embassies, oil company executives and other oil-related business officials to be part of the project.

“What surprised the then president was that on the day he laid the foundation stone for the OOGM with pomp and pageantry, he was shocked at the splendid organisation that I had put in place and the quality of officials who graced the occasion and he had no option than to give me a pat on the back.

“The highpoint of the showers of praises on me was when Shagari asked me to ride with him in the presidential helicopter that brought him to Port Harcourt.

“He had motioned to me to board the helicopter before him as a mark of honour and appreciation of a lady who had pulled the world to Oloibiri that day, but I politely declined, showing him respect and respecting his high office as the President of Nigeria, pleading with him to enter before. “No, you enter before me,” Ethel DieteSpiff quoted Shagari as saying on

Despite the economic potentials of the project, neither the federal government nor any state in the country has shown sufficient enthusiasm towards it beyond elucidating its importance and paying lip service to the place of tourism in national development

the day the foundation stone of the project was laid in 1983.

The event of •Mrs. Ethel Diete-Spiff that day stunned her and she began to pay greater attention to the project, knowing that the whole country history but lacks basic amenities. was with her in the move to get it Like other Nigerians, they also working. But she was wrong. visit “Oil Well One” as a Although Shagari was serious monument that merely reminds and determined to get the them of their involvement in oil museum completed and put to but with no tangible gains. use before long, his But with no progress being government was terminated by made in the project, the a military coup on December founder and initiator of the 31, 1983 and that project has been forced to automatically halted the resort to divine intervention by progress of the project. The referring the matter to God via monumental setback daily prayers. She does not notwithstanding, the project pray alone over the project but was not erased from the joins faith with other likemindset of the initiator while minded women to push the her resolve to push forward matter to heaven for early with it, rose again to the intervention. horizon.

She says: “The Oloibiri Despite the economic centre is extremely very potentials of the project, important to me even now than neither the federal government over three decades ago for nor any state in the country has several reasons, the first being shown sufficient enthusiasm that it is the epicentre of towards it beyond elucidating modern Nigeria. The proceeds its importance and paying lip from the multi-billion dollar service to the place of tourism industry it spawned funded our in national development. transition into a modern state with Disappointingly, only a few the social and economic federal government officials have infrastructure that goes with it. ever visited the site of the project, “Oloibiri has touched lives in one of them being former every region of the country and information and culture minister, remains the strongest symbol of Labaran Maku under the our national growth. It deserves to Jonathan administration. The oil be celebrated and companies, including Shell, which monumentalised. And I am first tapped oil from the oil field, committed to that. have also been actively paying lip Due to her obsession with the service to the OOGM. Like the project, Ethel Diete-Spiff now centre, which has remained a sings and recites the imperatives conceptual variable, Oloibiri, of Oloibiri as a sweet song: itself remains famous only in “Oloibiri launched us into the elite

club of oil-producing nations, giving us a pride of place and a voice in the international community. That single event was and still remains the monumental shift that brought us to where we are and where we are headed”.

She is full of hope that the present administration will push through with the project. Her optimism is prodded by the fact that the government has good intentions and the political will to do the needful.

According to her, “What is needed is the political will to bring the OOGM to fruition. “This government is very forwardlooking and I am hopeful that when we have an opportunity to present the case for Oloibiri to the relevant authority, we will get a positive response,” Ethel says.

To be able to mobilise enough feminine voices to drum spiritual support for the project, Mrs. Ethel Diete-Spiff has set up a nongovernmental group known as Mothers’ Initiative for Peace, MIP. Apart from praying to God to expedite the take off of the project, the MIP members drawn from the nine Niger Delta states of Akwa I b o m , Cross River, Edo, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa,Ondo, Abia, and Imo, also find time to educate women in the region on the need to work for the overall development of the area through peaceful co-existence.

Mrs. Ethel Diete-Spiff is so worried about the delay in completing the project that she has thrown open to any Nigerian or foreign entity that can take it on Public Private Partnership basis. She has even invited some of the oil-producing community under the aegis of HOSTCOM to partner with whoever is willing and ready to join hands in bringing the project to fruition while she is still alive.

“My greatest wish is that this project should be completed during my lifetime. I will be eternally grateful to any group or individuals who can bring this to reality before I pass on,” she said.

The pressure is really mounting given the fact that it would be exactly 60 years in August this year since oil was discovered in commercial quantity in Oloibiri and 33 years after the project was first conceived by Mrs. Ethel Diete-Spiff and there is nothing whatsoever to show for it. As the clock ticks, the founder of the project is under pressure to seek help from everywhere, anywhere and from anyone who cares to listen to her in pushing it through.

But what a shame to a nation that a famous historical and cultural project with so much financial potentials has been kept in the cooler for over three decades and no one’s conscience has been pricked for once. As the bell tolls for the 60th anniversary of OW1, shame and anxiety rage over OOGM and a woman’s best wish and obsession fade faster into oblivion. Too bad!

PAGE 18—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

healthy living

AIDS, TB, MALARIA

‘21 million people to die if ... ’

By Sola Ogundipe

A

s Africa’s biggest economy and the continent’s most populous nation, expectations are that Nigeria’s health infrastructure is capable of responding to acute emergencies. This became evident in 2014, when the first case of Ebola entered the country from Liberia.

Nigeria used an existing surveillance system for polio to trace all people who had come in contact with the people infected with Ebola, stopping the outbreak.

While the country’s HIV epidemic appears to have stabilised at around 3.4 percent prevalence, the HIV/AIDS burden is one of the largest in the world after South Africa. Together with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria accounts for 40 percent of estimated malaria deaths globally. The country also ranks fifth among the world’s 22 high TB-burden countries. Given these challenges, Nigeria needs more investment in health both from domestic and international sources.

Last week, a coalition of Nigerian Health Non-Governmental Organizations called on donor countries to help the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) meet the 2017/2019 replenishment target of $13billion to safeguard achievements of the Fund which has provided HIV care and treatment to 750,000 Nigerians, treated 310,000 TB cases and ensured 93.4 million mosquito nets were in the hands of Nigerian families.

The call was made in Ibadan and Sunday Vanguard gathered from the Senior Manager, PR and Communication, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Oluwakemi Gbadamosi, who enjoined Germany and China, two leading contributors to the Global Fund, to toe the path of Japan, another leading contributor, with the country’s recent announcement of $800 million to the Global Fund’s current replenishment effort which represented a 46 percent increase in that country’s contribution to the Global Fund.

Steve Aborisade, a member of the coalition and Coordinator of Projekthope, emphasized that countries need to meet their pledge to the Global Fund to consolidate on the gains recorded through the interventions of the GFATM over the years.

The Nigerian Country Programmes Manager, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Dr. Adetayo Towolawi, added that Nigeria remains the highest beneficiary of the Global Fund with up to $1.43 billion of varying levels of assistance to the country on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria within the last 13 years, while it will be difficult to continue to offer crucial services without the support of the Fund.

“Nigeria accounts for 24 percent of the global disease burden of malaria, the largest in the world, 9 percent of the global HIV disease burden, the second-largest; and 7 percent of the TB burden, also world second-largest.

If Nigeria misses it, the whole of Africa may have also missed the mark,” Aborishade stated.

“If countries fail to fund AIDS, TB and malaria with treatment and services not scaled up rapidly by 2020 (a period of four years’ time), it could result in 21 million deaths and an additional 28 million people becoming infected with HIV by 2030. If this were to happen, the world would have to pay an additional $24 billion every year for antiretroviral therapy by 2030.

“On the other hand, a timely scaleup of funding for AIDS, TB and malaria would yield a 15-fold return

on investment. The status of our country Nigeria, the second largest bearer of the global burden of AIDS, 7 percent bearer of global TB burden and second largest global burden of malaria should be clear indication of where we stand,” the coalition said, in reference to a UNAIDS document.

The coalition particularly charged Germany and China to keep up their support for the Global Fund, as well for the Nigerian government to be more committed to treating her people and draw inspiration from committed countries like Japan.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 19

life

•Samson Parker

By Dapo Akinrefon

D

r Samson Parker served as the Commissioner for Health and helped to reposition Rivers State into the modern focus of Primary Health Care. During his tenure, he led the initiative to contain the spread of the Ebola in Rivers after a diplomat breached quarantine in Lagos. In this interview, Parker explains the public health importance of the Ogoni cleanup launched by President Muhammadu Buhari, last Thursday..

Given your previous role as the chief policy maker and chiefexecutive in the public health-care sector of Rivers State, how important do you think the Ogoni environmental clean-up exercise is to the people of the state?

The Ogoni clean-up is important in many respects. A healthy environment is one of the key requirements of the health of a people, because the level and distribution of health of a population is intrinsically linked to the environment on continuous basis, in terms of the interactions with the biological and physical factors in the environment. For instance, air quality impacts on nutrition through possible contamination of water, food and other micro-nutrients, as well as possible direct impact on livelihood such as the economic activities namely, fishing, agriculture, among others.

For the people of Rivers, water and land are closely linked to their livelihood. Because of this, pollution in any form, impacts on their livelihood. It also impacts on their health and sustainable growth.

While this clean-up exercise is a vital requirement, we must be able to push the envelope from a reactive occasional intervention, as we are currently having, to making it a proactive sustainable partnership between all stakeholders, that is, the public, private and community leaders. Before we go to the need to establish a whole-of-society partnership, we must remember that

OGONI CLEAN-UP

At last, it’s goodbye to pollution •The economic, envir onment al environment onmental benef its ttoo come, bbyy PPar ar benefits arkker er,, ex-River ex-Riverss Health Commissioner as a country, apart from the need to protect every inch of our environment for the benefit of our people and future generations, we also have international obligations which compel us to act to see that efforts such as the Ogoni clean-up succeed.

For a start, apart from the numerous environmental conventions which Nigeria, as part of the international community, should uphold, there are important considerations linking Ogoni land, and other such places in Rivers with the global marine environment. So, if we degrade these areas, we are also indirectly creating negative externalities for other parts

of the world.

But, apart from the disaster risk and how this increases the vulnerability of our people to health hazards, we must see in these issues not only the threat but also the opportunities. Given that the natural resources in our environment must be exploited so that they can add value to the lives of the Ogoni, Rivers and other similar parts of Nigeria, we must step up our health, safety and environmental efforts. We need to engage the industries and agents of government whose task it is to ensure daily actions to prevent or mitigate such events, so that we do not come to this stage of expensive response and recovery. In

ensuring the daily prevention and mitigation efforts, we can also create associated industries and sectoral efforts that propel sustainable opportunities for our people, in the conservation of the environment, and other productive activities within these areas, such as ecotourism, new avant-garde green industries in the maritime and associated sectors, as well as in industries that produce compounds and equipment that facilitates human activities. If we are to take an inventory of the human activities needed to support the industrial sectors, maritime resources and marine transport industries in the prevention and mitigation efforts, we can see that we will not only help to create a healthy environment but we shall also help to promote sustainable economic activities for the Ogoni and other people of Rivers.

Do you see the4 effort spreading to other affected areas of Rivers?

It should but as you know a successful effort in one place makes it more likely in others. But as I stressed above, we must refrain from a reactive effort to try to create a more sustainable model of disaster risk reduction approach, as advised by the Sendai Framework 2015-2030. In this new global approach, we must have a continuous model that takes a proactive review of our entire environment, mapping the risks and vulnerabilities of all our people, through local and state governments collaborations with the private sector and affected communities. And, in doing so, we must put in place prevention and mitigating processes including early warning, community empowerments and vulnerability reduction mechanisms. As we say in healthcare, prevention is better than cure, but, in sustainable environmental disaster management, it is by far better and cheaper.

When the Ogoni issue started, the state and federal governments shared similar party political

Continues on page 20

PAGE 20—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016 08116759757

the gallery leaving home, she would drop the key of her room where she and the children lived with a neighbour.

That was how she had been giving the neighbour the key so that when the children returned before her arrival, they would not be stranded. I was in my shop at Shagamu without any premonition that something untoward would happen. But, around 4pm, someone called my number and told me to rush down home.

I asked the caller what the problem was, but she insisted I should come down. When I got home, I was told the wall of the third house to ours collapsed and fell on all my three children.

It was an Hausa man selling onion that God used for me. He was the one that pulled them from the debris.

ONDO COLLAPSED WALL

Three siblings in

fierce battle to live!

•Mother, a widow, cries for help W

hen the husband of Mrs. Omowumi Osibanjo died in auto crash on Lagos-Shagamu Road, in 2013, she accepted her fate.

The union between her and the husband produced three

children, two boys and a girl.

Meanwhile, she continued to battle with the upbringing of the children. Yet, the cruel fate was not done with her.

As a widow, she understood that the future of her three

children rested on her sacrifice and hard work. So, she travelled to Sagamu, Ogun State, to start selling fish to fend for herself and the children. The children, Seyi, 8, Sola, 5, and Oriyomi, 4, she explained later,

The Ogoni long walk to freedom, by Aginighan

F

ounding Secretary, Ijaw National Congress (INC) and a former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Pastor P.Z. Aginighan, has described the launch of the clean-up of the Ogoni land and other oil impacted communities in the Niger Delta at Bodo City in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State by President Muhammadu Buhari, last Thursday, as in keeping with the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report.

Aginighan explained that the exercise provides a ray of hope for the present and future generations of Ogoni and other oil and gas bearing communities in the Niger Delta. “I commend Mr President for keeping his campaign promise to the Ogoni in particular and the

and environmental justice in Nigeria which started with the proclamation of the Ogoni Bill of Rights in the early 1990s. This is indeed a proper tribute to Ken Saro Wiwa and many other Ogoni who paid the supreme price for justice and equity.

went to stay with their grandma at Oni, Ondo State.

As was usual in their home at Oni, the children woke up and prepared for school. But around 4pm, her phone rang and the caller told her to come to Oni, quickly. All her pleas that the caller should tell her what the matter was fell on deaf ears.

She hurriedly left her shop only to get to Oni and learn of another horrible news.

While narrating her ordeal to Sunday Vanguard in Ibadan, tears filled her eyes ready to drop in quick succession. She used a white cloth that hung loosely on her neck to wipe the tears, cleared her throat to tell her story.

She stated: “I left for my business on Monday, May 23, 2016. Anytime my grandma was

“I felicitate with the Honourable Minister of Environment Mrs Amina J Mohammed on this landmark achievement during few months of her assumption of office as Minister. There is no doubt that the transparency and selflessness demonstrated by the Honourable Minister engendered trust from the Ogoni and other stakeholders

How it happened “I was told the woman that grandma gave the key to was not around at the time my children came home from school. So, when they did not see her, they went to the third house and sat by the wall. Rain had just stopped falling and I think the house which was built with mud was moist and it suddenly collapsed on them. We had to rush them to a nearby maternity where they told me that their legs, arms were broken. Their skulls were also affected. Now, they are in between life and death. Unless, help comes from kind-hearted people, I don’t want to imagine what will happen”.

She said when people saw her helpless situation, they had to advise her to take her case to the media, that perhaps help could come her way.

According to her, she needs about N600,000 for the treatment of the three children. As she anxiously waits for kind response from merciful people, she gave her account details:

Bank- Stanbic Bank Plc Account name- Christian ah Adelakun O. Acct. Number-0003631365 For anyone willing to contact her, her phone number is 08132422642

in the programme.

“It is my prayer that Mr President, having taken this bold step, will muster the political will to ensure a sustainable and transparent implementation of the clean-up of Ogoni land and by extension other oil and gas bearing communities of Nigeria that have suffered unspeakable ecological devastation for over five decades”.

OGONI CLEAN-UP: At last, it’s goodbye to pollution Continued from page 19 •Aginighan Niger Delta generally. This action will go a long way in restoring the confidence of the people in their government”, he said in a statement.

“I congratulate the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and the Ogoni people in general on this great milestone in the very noble history of their non-violent struggle for socio-economic

ideologies, but now the political ambiance between the state and federal governments is different. Do you think this will impact on the political will to see the project through?

After elections we must develop a culture of collective and shared interest in community development, because that is the reason we all offer ourselves for public service. This clean-up is not for a political party but to ensure that our people in Ogoni and similarly affected areas do not see industrial development as an

irreversible disaster to their health and livelihood; irrespective of our political persuasions that must be a value that we all share collectively. In that respect, I am certain we all share equal commitment. It must be so.

Are you saying that such issues are capable of eroding the political differences among major stakeholders at the state and federal levels?

I am saying that when it comes to the development of our people, they must come first before our political persuasions. Our persuasions should compel all of us to act

more in the collective interest and sheath any differences we have after elections and concentrate on the improvement in the lives of our people. If we do that, our people will see elections simply as a model to re-assert their sovereign power to decide who should govern their collective development and not merely a blood-sport amongst the elite.

So I am positive we can and should have cooperation and collaboration in this endeavour, because that is what the people expect from all of us. The well-being of the people of Rivers is more important than any of us.

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 21

‘Pastor’ gave me bread after sexually attacking me

metro

– Seven-year-old girl •Victim’s mother alleges cover-up moves •Suspect also accused of attempted sodomy with boy, 12

By Esther Onyegbula

A

middle aged trader at Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos, simply identified as Joseph, a.k.a Pastor, is in police net for allegedly defiling his neighbour’s sevenyear-old granddaughter (names withheld).

It was learned that the victim’s mother, Mrs Nene Oguchint, alongside her three children, had visited her sick father who lives in the same compound with the suspect at Number 19, Adeyanju (Civilian Barracks) three weeks ago. The victim was allegedly defiled twice during this period

by Joseph.

The bubble was said to have burst after a teenager in the compound confided in the victim’s mother, alleging that Pastor had earlier tried to sodomise his 12-yearold brother, Collins.

Shocked at the disclosure, the victim’s mother made further enquiries only to discover that her visiting daughter had fallen victim to the suspect.

Victim’s account The girl according to a source, told her bewildered mother that the first time Joseph allegedly did it was the day she, together with her younger ones, went inside his room.

“When we entered, he told my little sister, Amaka, to take my brother, Victor, outside.

When they went outside, uncle asked me to sit on his laps, removed my pants and his trousers and started putting his private part inside my bum-bum. Later, white substance began to come out from it. After he finished, he gave me N10, 00. The second time was in the afternoon; I was in the passage alone, so Uncle Joseph started calling me, in a low voice, to come in. I thought he wanted me to run some errand for him. So, I went inside his room and he did the same thing to me. After he finished, he gave me two sliced bread”.

Asked why she didn’t tell her mother, the girl alleged that Joseph threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

Mrs Oguchint, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard, gave her own account of the incident.

“I live in the South-East with my husband and children. I came to visit my sick father who lives in that compound April 29 with my three young children. At about 6pm when I got home on Monday, I was washing clothes when one of my neighbour’s children, called Junior (14 years old), came to me and said that there was something that happened that he wanted to tell me. I asked him what? He said one of our neighbours, Joseph (a.k.a.

Pastor), pleaded with his mother to allow his younger brother, Collins (12-yearsold), sleep in his room since his sister didn’t come back home that night,” the mother narrated.

“Ignorantly, he to me his mother agreed and, that night, the younger brother slept in his room. In the morning when Collins woke up, he complained that Pastor didn’t allow him to sleep in the night, as he kept touching his private part, kissing and troubling him. Junior claimed Joseph pulled his trousers, and when his brother tried to shout, he covered his mouth.

Junior further explained that thrice Pastor attempted to sodomise him and he resisted.”

She continued: “I asked Junior why he didn’t report to his mother. He said he

didn’t because his mother may not believe him. Still, I encouraged him to tell his mother which he did. Unfortunately when he did, the mother slapped him, asking how he would make such an allegation against Joseph. While this was going on, two siblings living in that same compound, Joel and Emma, alleged that the suspect had done similar thing to them, too. I asked them why they didn’t tell their mother when it happened. They claimed he threatened to kill them if they told anyone.

“I was shocked. So, I called my daughter and asked her if she heard what Junior, Joel and Emma had said. She said yes. I asked her if Joseph had done something like that to her. She started shivering and said: ‘Yes, mummy, please don’t beat me’. I asked her how many times. She said twice. After she explained to me, I raised the alarm. Pastor was inside the apartment of the mother of one of the alleged victims, mother, Mama Collins. I confronted him. He didn’t say anything; it was Mummy Collins that was pleading with me to calm down and stop shouting. I told her that it was not possible, that there was no way I would sweep a case of defilement against my daughter under the carpet. I called my husband who was in the South-East. It was my husband who told me to report the case to the police, which I did on Tuesday morning because it was already late when the incident happened on Monday. When I got to Iyana-Isashi Police Station, the police officers were confused because the suspect had come to report the case to them the previous night”.

Alleged police complicity Mrs Oguchint explained that the police took her daughter to a private hospital in

Ali-Baba, Isashi, where a test was conducted and it was discovered that she had been sexually abused, recently. “After attempts to persuade me to settle the case failed, the police officer in-charge of the case said that if I wanted the case to be charged to court, I should be ready to pay money for transportation to Badagry Magistrate Court,”the distraught mother said.

“On Wednesday afternoon, the police officer in-charge of the case hurriedly took us to Badagry Magistrate Court after he heard that human right groups were interested in the case. Unfortunately, we got there late and the case could not be heard because the court didn’t sit. They referred us to Ojo Magistrate Court. I don’t understand how the police are handling the case anymore as the IPO said I won’t be going to the court with my daughter.

Since the incident took place, many of the suspect’s relatives, including a priest, have been calling asking us to name our price, that they would pay anything for the case not to go to court. The suspect, who was initially denying the allegation, later started begging me to forgive him and withdraw the case.”

Lamenting, the victim’s father, Chinedu Oguchint, a trader, who came to Lagos from the South-East because of the case on Wednesday, said: “I want the case to be properly investigated and we want justice to be done. We are calling on the Commissioner of Police, Owoseni Fatai, Lagos State Government and human right groups to intervene in this issue as the suspect’s relatives are attempting to cover the case up. “ Drama While this was going on, a drama took place as the parents of the victim alleged

that the IPO had forcibly taken their daughter to an Ikeja Magistrate Court where the case was to be heard. The mother said she was at the police station with the suspect when the police officer took her child and insisted that she should not follow them to court.

According to her, “They left the police station without me. I traced them to the court in Ikeja, later.”

I posed as police of ficer tto oe officer evvade transpor are – Alleged fake cop transportt ffare

By Esther Onyegbula

L

agos State Police Command has taken into custody a 33year- old man for allegedly presenting himself falsely as a police officer.

The suspect, identified as Nathaniel Benjamin, was said to have been fully kitted with antirobbery squad T-shirt, a camouflage face cap, a black bag , black trousers with black boots to match when he was arrested at the Alakija area of Ojo, Lagos by a team of policemen on patrol following a tip-off from members of the public .

After his arrest, Benjamin claimed to be from Kogi State but works as a driver to a private individual in Lagos.

He also confessed to being a fake policeman trying to escape paying fares to commercial bus drivers.

“I love police work but all my efforts to become a policeman has met a brick wall”, he told detectives.

“I am a driver to a private individual in FESTAC Town area of

•The suspect

Lagos. I get N30, 000 as monthly salary but this is not enough to cater for my needs. I decided to dress as a police officer so that when I board commercial vehicles, the drivers will not collect fare from me. I decided to impersonate because my

salary is meagre and all efforts to earn more or get a well-paying job have been futile. I was desperate to save money from free transportation”.

Asked where he got the police uniform, the suspect said it was from his late brother who was a policeman. “ I was not using the police uniform to defraud anybody. I did not also use it to escort heavy duty vehicles. I got the uniform after my elder brother, who was a policeman, died in a road crash.

My brother had not spent one year in the police when he was killed in a road accident last year. After his burial, I decided to use his uniform. I have been wearing it to get free ride for three months. I love police work. I have been applying to the police for recruitment for a long time but I was unsuccessful. I also applied for the recent recruitment and I have been praying to God to help me get into the police. I don’t know that dressing in police uniform is an offence. It was my love for the force that made me impersonate police and also the free ride that comes with being a police officer “.

PAGE 22—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

metro

Ambode, Lagos in the eyes of Buhari, Oba Akiolu, others

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

P

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari was probably not out of point when he, penultimate Monday, gave a positive testimonial of the one-year old administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State.

Buhari, who spoke through his vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, during an official visit to the state, said the administration in Lagos has continued to maintain its leading role in delivering good governance to the people.

Buhari, however, is not the only one giving positive reviews to Ambode’s stewardship. Indigenes, settlers, and passersby are also giving positive appraisal of the first year of the governor. Indeed, just a year ago, only a few had expected Ambode to receive the accolades he is now getting. After eight years of the Babatunde Raji Fashola seemingly wonderful era, many had expected Ambode to walk in the shadows of his predecessor.

However, to the surprise of many, Ambode is not just walking outside the shadows of his predecessor, he is almost putting the wonderful years of Fashola into history.

All Progressives Congress, APC, Lagos Chapter Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, in his assessment, noted that the governor had deployed his 27 years cognate experience in the service of Lagos from the local governments to state government to shock his critics.

“Through the power of critical thinking, and massive investment in security architecture Governor Ambode has secured the legacy of Lagos through dint of hard work and commitment and consequently keep the great city as safest and the fastest growing economic hub in Africa.”

Also, Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu 1, said the rapid transformation and development of the state was largely due to the visionary, selfless and commitment of Ambode alluding to the fact that the feat was possible through the enduring legacies put together by leaders of the state since creation.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle), with his wife, Bolanle (2nd right); Deputy Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluranti Adebule(right); Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu I (2nd left) and Senator Hassan Fasinro (left) during the Democracy Day celebration with the Physically Challenged persons to commemorate the First Year in Office of Ambode at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

Akiolu, while highlighting the history of Lagos, said right from the time of the first civilian governor of the state, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, down to the incumbent, the state had been blessed with great leaders who genuinely have the interest of the state at heart and are totally committed to the development and progress of the state.

The monarch recalled how former President Olusegun Obasanjo denied the state its federal allocation, and how former Governor Bola Tinubu and his team responded to the challenge by creating a unique solution to the financial crisis, which is working till date.

However, the accolades could be traced to the fact that Ambode has been able to consolidate the gains of the past 16 years recorded by his predecessors, Tinubu and Fashola, who left big shoes to be filled.

Ambode’s beginning was, however, not rosy. The governor was confronted with bad roads that dotted the state especially inner roads in the local governments. On daily basis, Lagosians groaned as they were condemned to several hours of lockdown.

As if that was not enough, traffic robbers took advantage of the situation to operate.

To make matters worse, less than a month into the new administration, precisely in the morning of June 24, a group of heavily armed robbers

Ambode (middle) with Dr. Waheed Oki; Sugar Band, Mr. Akin Akinloye; Producer /Presenter Lagos Television, Folasade Salimonu and C.E.O, Loizelle Evening Baps, Ms. Leila Atake during the Democracy Day celebration

Ambode has also shown a human face to governance.

Ambode put a smile on the face of Miss Oluwajomiloju Goodness among others. The 2015 Baby of the Year in Lagos had been diagnosed with a heart defect and required surgery. He immediately approved that the baby be flown to India at the expense of the state government.

The surgery was successful.

Next was Mrs. Ruth Uche, whose husband had fled his Agege home when his wife gave birth to three sets of twins.

Ambode’s intervention saved the marriage by reuniting the couple with great financial reward.

Retirees from the state Civil Service were not left out. In August 2015, the governor approved N11billion to offset arrears owed since 2010, not only for Lagos State government mainstream retirees but also retirees in local governments and parastatals.

Realising the importance of a secure

Ambode (left), presenting an award to Miss Awele Mordi (right) and assisted by her mother, Mrs. Rose Mordi, during the Democracy Day celebration with the Physically Challenged persons.

Buhari, who spoke through his vice, Prof.

Yemi Osinbajo, during an official visit to the state, said the administration in Lagos has continued to maintain its leading role in delivering good governance to the people stormed two new generation banks at Ipakodo Ebute, near Ogolonto, Ikorodu. oil tanker explosions also rocked the state, leading to deaths.

The bulk of the blame for the sudden spell of bad omen was quickly transferred to Ambode, a former Accountant General of the state.

The governor, however, took it in his stride and, not too long after, commenced the re-engineering of the machinery of government and was able to stem the tide of robberies in the state.

state for businesses to thrive, Ambode set out immediately to address the issue of insecurity that was fast rearing its ugly head, especially by way of petty crimes, cultism, and armed robbery.

But Ambode did not stop at equipping the police to increase security surveillance in the state. He rolled out on initiative tagged; “Light Up Lagos”.

Subsequently, in December 2015, Ambode set up an Advisory Council chaired by the Deputy Governor, Idiat Adebule, all in a bid to fulfil the promise of lighting up every nook and cranny of the state.

Meanwhile, there are other critical areas still begging for intervention.

Such areas include inadequacy of potable water, epileptic power supply, though much onus on the provision of electricity lies on the Federal Government, housing deficit, provision of functional intra modal transportation system, improved agriculture in all areas, accelerated upgrade of inner road infrastructure, among others, as the list is inexhaustible.

But, largely, the self-evident truth in Lagos remains that the governor has the vision of where he wants to take the state to and he is leaving no stone unturned to write his history on the sands of time.

SUND AY Vanguard , JUNE 5 , 2016,P AGE 23 SUNDA

Love is as blind as you want it to be!

R

EPRODUCED below is a reader ’s reaction to infidelity. This column doesn’t really encourage it, but it airs readers’ views from tine to time. Here is Boma’s story. She shares her best friend’s experience hoping readers will learn from it.

“How many affairs should you overlook before you realize your partner is trying to send you a message by pushing you close to the edge? About a decade ago. Adaobi, a very dear friend, was in love with Amed. Her man was separated from a wife who still lived abroad and against her friends’ and parents’ warnings, she moved in with her superman within a few months of their getting together. According to Adaobi, ‘He just turned 50 when we met and I’d already had a failed relationship that lasted all of eight years. The only good thing that came off that disastrous liaison was my daughter.’

“Ahmed was 12 years older when we met and treated me like royalty. I ran a very successful hair and nail salon and he encouraged me to expand my business. Money was never a problem. To show my appreciation, I never skimped on the meals I prepared for him. Most afternoons, I sent mouthwatering lunches to his office so he wouldn’t eat contaminated food as his bowels get easily irritated. The lunches were my way of making him feel special and appreciated and every afternoon, I would picture my man tucking into his lunch and I’d feel close to him.

“We’d been together three years when my world first fell apart. A close friend told me that a distant relation of .hers, who worked as an office clerk in Ahmed’s legal firm has some interesting stories to tell about what

he was up to in the office. He didn’t know the girl was a friend’s relation - neither did I until she mentioned it.

Anyway, this girl said they were always amused by the different women that trooped in in the afternoon to have lunch with Ahmed.

“According to the girl. Ahmed’s mumu wife (that’s me) always sent massive meals to the office every afternoon and these girls were always around to demolish the feast.

“I was shocked and extremely hurt, yet I didn’t want to jump into any conclusion until I saw things myself.

The next day, I sent lunch as usual, then waited about an hour before I went to his office. His secretary’s jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw me.

She made to alert her boss that I was around but I beat her to his office door. I pushed it open and there was this girl, sitting on top of his desk spoon-feeding him! Another one was busy eating the lunch painstakingly prepared by me. Ahmed quickly got up and the morsel his ‘nanny’ was trying to feed him with fell with a pulp on one of the files, “What is going on here. darling?’ I asked him. looking at the mess on the table. The girls had left in a hurry, giving me embarrassed and curious looks.

“Darling, I’m sorry you ran into some lawyers sharing my lunch. They are just kids having fun and let’s face it, if I ate all the meals you made me every afternoon, I’d be the size of a house!”, he said Iooking embarrassed. I simply walked out of his office but he spent the next few days convincing me he still loved me that nothing had changed. So, I forgave- him, but the trust was gone, When he had to travel after the incident, he phoned me to join him at the 5-star hotel he was checked into so we could have time together. .An olive branch I quickly snatched.

“I was very happy for the break.

Who knows things might just be changing for the better? He’d arranged a hectic schedule for my visit with his associates. On the morning I was to leave, he was in the shower when the phone rang. I picked it up thinking it was room service. A woman’s voice cooed: ‘Hello darling’, I froze. ‘Who are you?’ I barked down the phone.

Silence, then she dropped the phone.

When Ahmed came out of the shower.

I told him about the call. ‘Must be one of the hotels hands’, he dismissed my enquiry, ‘don’t worry your pretty head about it’. I knew he was lying.

It was a very frustrated me that returned to Lagos. I’d been trying for a child and had already had a miscarrtage, Maybe all the stress I was going through was responsible for my not being able to conceive.

Weeks later we were in the bedroom when the phone rang. I picked it up and a female voice answered my

‘Hello?’ with a snapping: ‘this is Zainab?’ Zainab? Ahmed’s wife in London? They might be separated but they were not legally divorced, so technically. she was still his wife.

‘You want a word with Ahmed?’ I asked her. ‘Did Ahmed tell you we’re still married?’, she asked. I kept silent. She continued; ‘I bet he hadn’t told you about his other women too.

He’s got gullible women like you all over the place and the one in London had two children for him’, she then reeled off a handful of female names and I gave the phone to Ahmed who’d had his ear glued to the handset. He shouted at her for a while then slammed the phone. ‘Don’t pay any attention to her’, he pleaded.

‘She’s just a scorned woman and is upset because I’ve found happiness with you.” ‘But what about all those she named?’, I asked him. ‘It’s true I had relationship that resulted in two children when I separated from Zainab, but that is in the past’.

“I didn’t have to be very clever to deduce that any time he travelled abroad, he must have been staying with his other women. I felt such a fool. How could I have thought I was special to him when he hadn’t divorced his wife? Did his other women think they were the only ones too? How many meals did he eat a day in these women’s homes? No wonder his waistline kept expanding and why he seldom ate at home. It also explained why he’d arrive at home washed and changed after work, spinning me a yarn that he always had a change of clothing in the office. He had obviously spent the day at any of his women’s house.

“When I learnt he was also making plans to get hitched to a girl. 30 years his junior, I knew it was time to leave.

Because I adored Ahmed, I didn’t want to throw my hands up and surrender when he started cheating on me. I’d given him another chance.

Then another and yet another. As a result, I’d stayed years longer than I should have. I thought I loved him but it suddenly dawned on me that I was just afraid of being on my own.

And I had no reason to be. I had a thriving business, an impressive circle of friends and there was no need for me to suffer so much humiliation. With my collusion, Ahmed had enjoyed every man’s fantasy - he’s got a younger woman to pamper his aging ego, and me his faithful partner, waiting patiently for him on the sideline. About time I stopped playing by his rules, So. I secretly made plans to move out as soon as I could. Once we were apart, he would have all the space he needed.

What’s more, I might just find out that life as a single woman, wasn’t as frightening as it seemed to be ... “

08052201867(Text Only)

Relieving stress with exercise

E

VEN the journey home has contributed its share in the overall tiredness of the work day. What with all the anxiety over the slow-moving traffic.

Once home you probably go straight to the kitchen for a snack or collapse into a chair for some television viewing. You are just too tired.

Now, just as there is the need to start off the day with energyreleasing exercises so there is the need to wind down after work.

A fruit to assuage hunger while dinner gets ready is okay. What will not do is a poor combination of food groups which will only put

even more stress on your back and exhaust you even more. Another thing, digestion is not helped when eating is done while one is nervous or excited. We must always try to induce a feeling of calmness in ourselves before settling down for a meal.

For some people a little vigorous exercise does the good job of dispelling work-time worries and providing a new burst of energy.

For those not in the mood for energetic work-outs, some stretches like the plough pose, the head-to-knee pose which rely mainly on the forces of gravity such that all you do is assume the posture, take it easy and breathe.

No one is asking you to be a Jumping Jack Flash for fifteen minutes. A little mercy on your fatigued body.

But I tell you what. You will be sweetly surprised to find out that simple mild stretching exercises like those mentioned are improving the way you look and feel. And the practice of the dead man’s pose, for say fifteen minutes after these exercises will spell astonishing repose of body and mind.

The practice of proper winding down will even set up the body for a good night’s sleep. Or you will find you are not too tired to tango as the case may be!

What stretching does for you

* Stress relief: In a difficult situation your body resorts to the ‘fight of flight’ response, contracting muscles in readiness. The situation gets over but you forget to relax the muscles.

Gradually, this tenseness to stress becomes the norm so that you do not even notice that you are tense. With tension there is a restriction in movement and a loss of youthful agility. * More energy: In contraction muscles cost you a lot of energy.

Once you learn to replace contraction with relaxation of your muscles you save energy for better things. * Improve your digestion: Your internal organs are held in place by muscles. When your muscles are well-toned, they provide better support thereby assisting the functioning of all vital organs. * Better your body tone: Muscles work in antagonistic pains, when one is contracted the other is relaxed. When a muscle is always tensed the antagonist becomes flaccid and bulgy resulting in undesirable physical distortions such as a bulging belly

and thighs and sagging bottom.

Relax tensed muscles and the flaccid ones will have a chance to tone-up and your overall body tone will improve. * Return of youth grace: With a toning up of weak muscles and getting rid of extraneous muscle tension there is an improvement in the alignment of your skeletal system. This improved posture means you move with a lot more grace and ease. Here is a ‘hump’ and ‘dip’ exercise for the small of the back.

Kneel down with the hand on the floor without moving the body forward or backward, breathe in dipping the waist till the small of the back is hollow and at the same time raise your head.

Breathing out raise the waist drawing in the stomach and dropping the head. Repeat consecutively 4 to 5 times. While you sit on the heels lean forward and support the head on the fists, placed one on the other.

Never you neglect the condition of your spine. Keep it supple and flexible - always.

Yoga Classes STARTED Physical Therapy Centre @ 32 Adetokumbo Ademola, Victoria Island Lagos.

10.00am — 11.00am on Saturdays

*Head-to-Knee Pose

PAGE 24 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 25

PAGE 26—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 08056180152, SMS only

The cad who got away with two bigamous marriages!

A

BOUT two years ago, Joy learned that Saheed, the electrical engineer she got married to nine years ago when they were abroad was not, in the eyes of the law, her husband at all!

“In fact he was a bigamist,” she said, “and our marriage was a sham.

He had not divorced his American wife, Rita, a teacher, the mother of his three children - when we made our wedding vows in Britain. Rita had refused to get a divorce and the two simply went on their way.

“Saheed’s audacity went further because he committed the same crime again. After his marriage to me was finally exposed as fraudulent and finally annulled - but before he was officially divorced from Rita - he got married bigamously the second time when he re-located to the country to Joko, his third and current wife. I was absolutely stunned when I realised the scale of Saheed’s deceit. I never thought he was capable of breaking the law knowing how strict the Western law is on bigamy. And I felt so stupid that I’d been taken in by him. As a lecturer in the university, I’m supposed to be very intelligent. This sort of thing doesn’t happen to people like me. It was really embarrassing.

“Saheed was the first man I’d really loved and I thought he’d loved me too, but when he was exposed as a liar and a fraud, I began to question everything he’d done. For a year after he was exposed, I felt total despair. A lot of my friends tried to console me by assuring me he did love me, but I honestly wonder.

I think it was very convenient for him that he travelled a lot for work on ‘business meetings’ , his opportunity to see other women. He told so many

lies. On one particular Christmas Eve, he dashed off, supposedly to see his first wife Rita who’d been rushed to hospital with pneumonia. I’ve since learnt that she wasn’t ill at all and he hadn’t been to see her. So where was he?

“And although he earned a lot, he never had any money. We lived in the house I owned so he could pay child support and reduced some of his credit card debts. Now I wonder if there were multiple wives and houses, perhaps even other children, he was paying for. I wouldn’t be surprised if more women came out to say he deceived them too.

Meanwhile, the scheming philanderer now lives in Lagos in Joko’s house. His estante agent third wife who’s a couple of years older than he is. I bet she’s unaware he’d been convicted abroad twice for the same offence. He was first convicted of bigamy, fraud and falsification of a legal document following his

Y

OUR column to express your loving thoughts in words to your sweetheart. Don’t be shy. Let it flow and let him or her know how dearly you feel.

Write now in not more than 75 words to: The Editor, Sunday Vanguard, P.M.B. 1007, Apapa, Lagos. E.mail: sunlovenotes@yahoo.com Please mark your envelope: “LOVE NOTES"

My Angel

Back in the year 2005 I started writing to Sunday

‘marriage’ to me, and ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work. The court was told that he married his first wife, Rita, almost 30 years ago but they had never formally divorced.

His lawyer alleged the first case of bigamy against Saheed had taken a long time to get to the court and by the time it had, the new offence had been committed.

“To this day, I have no idea how Saheed got hold of the forged decree absolute.

He just disappeared for a few days and produced it. It had a court seal and appeared to be authentic.

I was certainly convinced it was real - and evidently so was the registrar. I was already 35 by now and keen to start a family.

Unfortunately, due to the poor quality of Saheed’s sperm, I failed to become pregnant - even after I’d undergone a couple of IVF. And each time that failed, it became harder emotionally. When I was nearing the big 4-0, I knew it was time to give up. I thought I had to look

after what I’ve got - a loving husband and a good life. But after we celebrated my 40th birthday, the intimations that all was not well began to build up.

“Saheed’s schedule became very erratic and he became jealous of my wide circle of friends. He became moody and distant but while he tried to restrict my socialising, I had to endure his frequent and sudden absences. Four years ago, he made plans to attend a business trip to Nigeria and my suspicious were aroused.

When he returned, I looked through his wallet and discovered two plane tickets from Lagos to Abuj a. I also found a scrap of paper with the name Joko and a phone number on it. When I confronted him, he said I was ‘deceitful’ for looking through his wallet. Later, he admitted Joko stayed in the hotel he stayed in briefly in Lagos.

“I was distraught.

Saheed said we both needed ‘time alone’, and shortly after, having

Vanguard Lovenote zone when writers of lovenotes used to win Star Letter, expressing my emotion to you the best way I can. Today, our love have grown and I do remember that only you have gained entrance into my heart,loving me beyond words,cherishing me beyond my imagination and being there always for me. I love you dear and I will always be there for you. You are my universe my angel.

Cheers James Okonkwo (Freesoul) ngesinaj@gmail.com +2348066043380

guessed his email passcode, I unearthed details of a property he’s arranging to purchase and shook almost violently when I found out it was Joko that arranged the agreement.

I felt sick. When I confronted him again, he accused me of being deceitful and stormed out. I didn’t hear from him for days. I thought my life had ended. It was worse than knowing that I wasn’t going to have children. I could hardly pick myself off the floor.

“Then came the day I got home to find all his stuff ‘had gone from the wardrobe. I half expected it. Still, I was in tears - the next day was Valentine’s Day and I’d expected a sort of magic. In the end I had to see my lawyer. It was the day I got the most momentous shock of my life. 1 was talking to him about a possible divorce when my mobile kept on ringing. Finally, I answered and it was Moni, Saheed’s sister-inlaw. She just told me: ‘Joy,he’s still married to Rita!’ I said: ‘He can’t be.

I saw a decree absolute.’

But Moni, who’d always been supportive of me said she’d called Rita, wondering if she knew where Saheed was.

During their conversation, she had said Saheed and I had married - and Rita had replied: ‘I’m still married to him.’

“I was outraged by Saheed’s duplicity and reported him to the police. By the time he was sentenced for bigamy - he was already in Nigeria and had committed a second bigamy offence by marrying Joko. The whole show was online and I was in shock. I learnt that Joko is standing by her man. She is in Nigeria and in spite of my ‘bitterness’ Saheed was a good man and she regarded herself married.

Well, goodluck to her. 1

Deeply in love

wasted my child-bearing years with Saheed, and in some ways, 1 feel he robbed me of the chance of having children. He was a very deceitful and manipulative man, and I wished I hadn’t let myself be bullied by him. He’s obviously a fantasist.

Outwardly, he’s the image of respectability, but there’s a very twisted side to him”.

Get A Grip On Your Life!

How many of you spend more than an hour listening to the chatter inside your head?

Everyone realized that every day they wasted precious energy listening to the tape that plays inside their minds, saying things like “That wasn’t very smart. You shouldn’t have said that. Look what you did this time.

You really blew it; you’re just like your father.” But what is most disturbing is that no matter how many times you’ve heard it before, you still listen and take that voice seriously.

Sometimes you listen so intently that you can’t hear what the people around you are saying.

Maybe you have even avoided going to a party so you could stay home and listen to that box.

Some of you have stopped yourself from pursing a better position or going back to graduate school, basing your action solely on the feedback you’ve received from your charming little shadow box.

Some psychologists have suggested inventing an automated version of your box that will programme your internal dialogue; that way you don’t even have to say it to yourself.

You could use it as a talking alarm clock and wake up to “Good morning, you look awful today.

Nothing worthwhile is going to happen. You don’t have what it takes. You might as well stay in bed because no one notices you anyway.”

You are my bosom friend, my darling and inestimable jewel,my sweet mummy, my soulmate and adorable and loving heartbeat all rolled into one.

You came and changed my world, making it spin around in circles in many colours and in many ways.

You are now deeply rooted right inside my heart and uprooting you is practically impossible. My dear EVELYN CHINELO AGU, I am not merely in love with you but I am deeply and passionately in love with you.

Akachukwu Ferdinand. C. kachukwuferdinandc@yahoo.com, 08063819314

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 27

I have gone this far because of my complexion — Adekemi Taofeek

E

bony beauty Yoruba actress, Adekemi Taofeek has expressed reasons she would not be jumping on the bandwagon train of actresses who bleach their skin all in the name of being more camerafriendly in their line of duty.

To the Lagos State University graduate of Business Administration, what stands her out is her personality, background and complexion. “ My love for this my skin is something that is beyond words and it is the reason I would always stand out among others” she quipped when asked why she has not bleached her skin like many of her colleagues in the industry.

“Those who bleach their skin simply don’t have the mind of their own. I cannot do something just because others are doing it. To me, I know and believe being dark among many light-skinned ladies won’t limit my success. All I hear is fair people are more camera-friendly but trust me, I have gone this far because of my complexion. Besides, acting is not about the colour of your skin, it is about what you can offer. Being darkskinned is more friendly and I also get complement from people everyday” she said.

Kemi has featured in notable Yoruba films like Adefarati, Agilinti, Gbajue, Ibaje, to mention just a few.

She has also produced her own movie ‘Tibi Tire’.

Nollywood actress, Christabel Egbenya, Kcee get cosy in US

Joke Jigan unmasks mystery lover on birthday S

exy Yoruba actress, Joke Jigan, who became the darling of the entertainment world after the success of her hit movie ‘Bisola Beyonce’ might have broken a few hearts on her birthday, on Wednesday. The light-skinned beauty celebrated her birthday with the release of some enchanting pictures, not of only herself, but also with her fiance.

No doubt, this will be a big blow to many who are crushing on her but the screen goddess has drawn the line with the release of the pictures and dauntingly romantic message on Instagram on Wesnesday.

“Since it’s my birthday in couple of hours, excuse me while I show off #Bae#bestfriend#boo#okomi OLAWALE OSATO JEGUNMAH I love you!!!!!!!!”

For months, there has been a hint the actress is in a romantic relationship but the identity of the lucky guy has remained unknown but not anymore.

K

ingdom of Pleasure and Room 202 star, Christabel Egbenya is currently having a swell time touring United States of America.

The actress, who confessed to Potpourri recently she might be hitting the altar soon is actually having her annual vacation and has gained a few pounds, spoiling herself with goodies of life.

She has been releasing pictures of her exploits in Uncle Sam country but trust Potpourri to always look for a snag in the picture. Boom, it was Kcee, the singer, that popped up. Both posed for a snappy one, looking so happy. Not that we are suggesting anything but Kcee’s love for poaching actresses, can’t help but come to mind.

If I married a sex addict, I would be his antidote – Ijeoma Imoh

By JULIET EBIRIM

B

eing stuck with a sex addict is something most women dread, so much so, they cringe at the mere thought of it. For simple clarification, a sex addict is someone whose sex drive is at overdrive, obsessive and out of control.

The sexual addiction could involve sex with a partner, but it may also mean activities such as viewing pornography, masturbation, exhibition/voyeurism, visiting prostitutes, using sex chat lines and indulging in other excessive sexual pursuits. While for most people such habits don’t cause problems, sex addicts are unable to control these urges and actions which have debilitating effects on them.

In what was a routine opinion sampling, Potpourri asked some actresses what they would do if they suddenly discovered they have married a sex addict. Spontaneously, many said they would seek for divorce and very few said they would look for solution.

But for sultry Nollywood actress, Ijeoma Imoh, her solution is meeting fire for fire. She said she would accommodate his excesses. “I’ll be ready to be his antidote” she said smugly. “ Since I wouldn’t want him out there, right? Learn more sexual skills. Be his whore, bitch, prostitute etc. It doesn’t mean he would not look elsewhere but you can only try your best” she added

PAGE 28— SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016 Onikoyi68@gmail.com

Omoni Oboli’s cinema returns, valued N228m S

tar actress and director, Omoni Oboli has expressed her heartfelt gratitude to her fans and everyone who have made her latest film ‘Wives On Strike’ the most successful Nollywood movie at the box office in recent times.

According to her PR company, BBB Media, before the success of Wives On Strike, “Omoni was ahead of other great actors in the box-office returns with movies like Figurine, Anchor Baby, Being Mrs Elliot, The First Lady and Fifty. She led the pack with cumulative returns of over N168 000 000 at the cinema box office. With the r e c e n t cinema runs o f

her latest work, Wives on Strike, after about a month, Omoni has further increased her lead over the nearest actor by a wider margin. Her cumulative returns now stand at over N228,000,000 from the cinemas, making her the overall number one box office queen” “The success of Wives on Strike is made possible by over 70,000 people so far! Wow! These are people I have never met before going around telling others about the movie. To all of these I am grateful. To those who keep giving me support in the industry, I thank you. I can never thank the media, blogs and critics enough. They all contribute to making this brand what it is today.

Thank you” she enthused.

Omoni Oboli

Chidinma goes ‘missing in action’

By Kehinde Ajose

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Chidinma

elf-proclaimed Miss Kedike, Chidinma Ekile hasn’t been visible in the music industry ever since she reportedly parted ways with her record label, Capital Hill Records. Immediately she

parted ways with the label, she went on a tour of Europe. Though no one knows if she desires to float her own record label, Chidinma hasn’t taken any major decision concerning her career.

stopped making public appearances and performing at events. The talented vocalist is yet to release any new song this year. No one knows what is responsible for her going out of circulation, but one thing is certain.

Though her visibility hasn’t her fans can’t wait to be nourished declined on social media, she has by her musical ingenuity.

Why record labels hardly sign female artistes—Ice Prince

Gospel artiste releases Anointing Fall

By Kehinde Ajose

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omfort A Okparaocha is a budding gospel artiste who is called by God to be a blessing to the world through the instrumentality of her voice. Okparaocha takes pride in her ability to be able to compose songs that ministers and cuts across individuals from all walks of her life.

Her new song Anointing Fall is not the conventional song that you listen to and you quickly forget. It’s an amazing reggae song that talks about the power of the anointing. The songstress prays for God’s anointing and shows off her vocal dexterity in the song. The video is one that Christians will connect to help them improve their walk with God. Comfort Okparaocha

Ice Prince

By ANOZIE EGOLE Sensational singer and rapper, Ice Prince Zamani, aka, Ice Prince, has let the cat out of the bag on reasons record labels hardly sign female artistes to their labels. According to him, record labels find it difficult to handle many demands of female artistes unlike their male counterparts who have fewer needs.

“I don’t really know if I will have many women in Super Cool Cats record label”, he said during the launch of his new label Super Cool Cats, carved out of Chocolate City.

“The much I know is that they are very expensive to maintain.

You have to take care of their hairs, makeups, creams and so on. And you know what they use is different and more expensive than their male counterparts.

This record label that we are unveiling today has been my long time dream for the past three years but I have been looking for an opportunity to do this so that people will not think I am having issues with Chocolate City. That was why we decided to do it today. My new record label will also be going into fashion and arts as I am already working with some artistes in that regards. Fashion is another thing I have passion for, that is why I decided to bring in fashion and it will be for both male and female,” he said.

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016 PAGE — 29

Standing on the graves of Agatu before crisis turns to tragedy— 4 “It is unthinkable that wisdom should ever be popular”. Wolfgang Goethe, 1749-1832. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 275). his is second longest series since this column first appeared in 1994. The record holder is till the series on Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, detailing how Obasanjo allegedly misappropriated over N100 billion in PTDF money during his eight years in office. (See Chapter 6 of my book, PDP: CORRUPTION INCORPORATED.) Fairminded observers would understand how Obasanjo established the template for corruption and why any selective probe of the Jonathan administration, without touching OBJ is itself promotion of corruption. An estimated N8 trillion was missing by 2007 – when Obasanjo left office.

But, unlike the PTDF series which was monotopical, the series on Agatu is multi-faceted. It is no longer sufficient to ensure that the sort of atrocities

visited on Agatu don’t occur anywhere else in Nigeria, there is a need to address all the related issues thrown up by Agatu, Nimbo, herdsmen and host communities and the direction management of animal husbandry would take in Nigeria. As mentioned last week, one of the most popular suggestions offered by sages, scholars, commentators, legislators, governors, as well as comedians and knownothings is RANCHING. Invariably, quite valid references are made to the fact that Nigeria remains one of the few large nations

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Uncompleted project initiated since 2008 by Senator David Mark

The Primary Health Centre.....The two structures are on opposite sides of the same road which land speculators want to grab to make way for a Federal road who care to listen that the little tub of whitener was a pigmentation removal and she was not convincing that the entire potion does in a way, was to temporarily remove the darker part of her skin! She went as far as

Re: 'I am not African because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me' "The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness"-Marcus Garvey

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wo years ago, I wrote about the bleaching epidemic in Nigeria and especially the alarming new trend of whitening, titled:Brown is the new white. It is shocking that the World Health Organisation report, revealed that Nigerians top the table with 77% users of bleaching products in the world. Togo came second in the league at 59%, Senegal, 27%, South Africa 35% and Mali 25%.

Africans aren't alone in wanting to lighten their complexion, some Asians, our African-American and Caribbean cousins also have this altered perception of beauty. They say, if you know better, you do better; it seems that more than 7 out of 10 Nigerians do not know better or they simply refuse to understand and appreciate our incredible melanated skin, so diverse that it comes in some many

shades and hues. James Brown sang; SAY IT LOUD, I'M BLACK AND PROUD! I wish people understand the significance of the words and perhaps it is a shame that many of us choose to believe the contrary.

If you can recollect, I mentioned that a little known singer, called Denica who was peddling her little tub of miracle potion that turns black skin into white skin and she was making a killing ( all pun intended). You cannot blame her, she had a market full of gullible people who equates acceptability and success to how fair their skin is. She was a walking advert for the whitner, and what was shocking was her before and after pictures; so shocking was her transformation into this almost translucent apparition. To be honest, I did not know of her or her singing talent, until she was interviewed about her whitener. So there she was trying to convince those

to say, she was quite fair before and she did lap up the attention. She sold her products to the gullible and she was laughing all the way to the bank.

Dencia, before, was a pretty black girl, who for the reason known only to herself decided to go white from head to toe. She admitted that her products have not been scientifically examined or approved.

When asked if the user of her product got cancer, she glibly said, "People can also catch cancer just by breathing!"

There is a saying that "Black don't crack" and it is true in the case of many beautiful black women like Naomi Campbell, our very own Patti Boulaye and I must say my mother. These women continue to glow, no matter what age they are.

Believe me, we are beautifully made and you do not have to take my word for it, unfortunately, we have been brainwashed to believe that white or lighter is better. Alternating our skin colour has long term

still to embrace ranching. I completely agree that we need to address the issue now and develop a national policy that will eventually solve all the problems associated with the idea.

However, the best and most practical ideas are those which create the least discrepancy between the suggestions and how the people live currently. Ideas cannot exist in a vacuum but must be wedded to planned action which will produce the desired results. Many of the people regarding ranching as a simple and problem-free solution to the existing problems are self-deluded.

Once the cattle go behind the walls of ranches, an entire new pattern of living will be created nationwide – many of which we have not even foreseen or made plans for. I hope to touch on some of them soon. But, first, let us take a quick look at our recent history.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, under Professor Soludo, attempted to criminalize spraying of money at social functions in a bid to stop what was generally considered a bad social habit. We all know it failed. Most of us just never asked why it failed. Good and desirous as it was, there was a great deal of discrepancy between the intention and the way Nigerians choose to live their lives. The first people to violate the rule were top government officials.

B a b a n g i d a administration’s “Housing for All by 2000”, programme was as laudable as Awolowo’s “Free Primary Education” in the old western Region. Today, there is neither housing for all nor free primary education in the region. While IBB’s idea was aborted early, Awo’s idea had taken a lot longer to kick the bucket. Of the two projects,

IBB’s offers us more lessons from which we can learn before rushing like, well, a herd of cattle to push for immediate implementation of a ranching policy. Even the Professors who have made valuable contributions, in this regard, had fallen far short of acceptable scholarship when advancing an idea which will re-shape our society in many ways. At least, none had told us how much it would cost. We are

consequences; skin discoloration, serious skin conditions and exposure to carcinogens and pollutants.

These people are psychologically damaged that they do not understand that they cannot buy acceptance by changing their skin. It would be more prudent to work on their selfesteem rather than, who people think they should be.

banned. they have promised that the enforcement of the ban will be strict and according to its FDA spokesperson, James Lartey:" future regulations could target other ingredients and at the moment, we are currently concentrating on hydroquinone because that's where we have established a danger at the moment and from 2016, the acceptance of skin- lightening products is going to be zero".

Bravo to Ghana! It is high time Nigeria follow suit and break this chain of self-loathing and inferiority complex. We have to be comfortable in our own skin. We can no longer ignore the health, social and psychological impact of wanting and dying to be more fairer or whiter than we are.The media and the government have got to play an active role in promoting, reducing the propagation and popularisation of lighter skin versus darker skin, including taking more responsibility in reducing adverts that promote whitening products or pits lighter skin as a sign of success or attract ability.

It is time to stop colourism and the discrimination of darker skin people. Right now there is a movement of black people in the diaspora, where many are embracing their natural hair, less weave and more afro that the sale of

It would be more prudent to work on their self-esteem rather than, who people think they should be We have a herd mentality and they often follow a trend without questioning the rationale; we always want what the other have. You name it; we want it, be it the latest car, jet, appliances, the largest party, the biggest hair, clothes and now this, extreme change of skin colour.

So, it is good news that Ghana has joined a host of a handful of countries to ban bleaching products from August (including Ivory Coast, Australia and Japan) and it will carry through its plan to ban all skin whitening products and by August according to its Food and Drug Authority, all products containing up to 2% of Hydroquinone will be

Once the cattle go behind the walls of ranches, an entire new pattern of living will be created nationwide – many of which we have not even foreseen or made plans for being rushed into making decisions on a matter that would cost trillions of naira to implement and nobody had told us how much. We have another disaster on our hands at the moment – the privatization of power distribution.

Like lemmings, those rodents known to commit mass suicide repeatedly, we created DISCOS which now cannot operate like other global DISCOS because nobody calculated the costs before

jumping into it. Each time I meet another advocate of ranching, the question is always: do you have an idea how much it will cost? The answer is always a blank expression. That signposts the danger we face unless we take our time studying this proposal in all its aspects. We might end up cutting our noses to spite somebody else face; meaning we might create other problems. As James Baldwin, 1924-1987, black American writer wrote in TELL ME HOW LONG THE TRAIN’S BEEN GONE, (VBQ P 201), “If they go about solving the problem this way, how many more problems will they have created by the time they are through?”

AGATU PEOPLE NEED YOUR HELP; NOT WORDS “Well, my friend, get me out of danger. You can make your speech afterwards.” De La Fontaine, 1621-1695 (VBQ p 68).

The two pictures tell some of the story of the Agatu people after the invasion. The Stone Age Primary Health Centre is gone. Senator David Mark’s proposed modern replacement, started in 2008, remains uncompleted. So, there is no primary health centre. If you love Agatu people, please donate to get them one. They also need clothes, food, OTC drugs, shoes, blankets, beddings, your kids old boots, football, writing materials, books.

They have their own traditional ruler whose name was mentioned in the first part of this series. I have his GSM numbers if you want to help without falling for fraudsters. God bless you for acting instead of just talking or writing about Agatu. relaxer and straighteners sales has drastically reduced and darker skin sisters like Lupita and Alek Wek have become role model.

Africa Day

"I am not African because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me."— Kwame Nkrumah In the UK and other parts of the world, the 25th of May was the commemoration of the 53rd Africa day and this year's theme is "Building a Better Africa and a better World. "As Africans, it is time to look within our incredible continent rather than look out to other places for innovative ideas or nation-building. Some African countries fully embrace the day with a national public holiday and may be, in the near future, there could be a yearly event like Festac 77, now that will be magnificent. Africa has so much more and in years to come.

Ogbeni and Jimmy

Ogbeni was 59 on the 25th of May. Many happy returns to a man who will do anything in his power to do good for his people; please do not stop doing good.

My dad and all of us are looking for our good friend, Jimmy Johnson (aka Okoro). Last time we heard of him, he was in Abuja.

Jimmy was an incomparable friend of my dad, Kola Animasaun.

Note: Denrele is on a week break from next week

PAGE 30—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

Except Buhari, every Nigerian worker can be a ghost

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he fall in oil prices alone is enough for the blind to see that Nigeria is financially down.

President Buhari must therefore tighten government’s belt and block all leakages. In so doing, he has to have in his sub-consciousness that the Nigeria ghost is special.

Thus, the term “ghosts” as used in this article is more than a non-existent entity that functions as though it is alive when in reality it is not. The Nigerian ghost is in various forms and shapes just as it presents itself in several dimensions. Its history easily reveals a rather large figure that is disturbingly high enough to make anyone wonder if there are not more ghosts than the ordinary workers in our public sector. As far back as April 2001, the then Accountant General of the Federation Chief Joseph Naiyeju revealed that there were 40,000 ‘ghost workers’ in the Nigerian government service. Two years later, 24,000 ghosts were identified in the pension’s unit of the Ministry of

Defence alone. The Information Ministry allegedly had 40% underqualified staff and 20 percent ghost workers. The Federal Civil Service Commission authenticated the revelation with a report that over 30 percent of the workers on its payroll were phantom staff.

Before the Jonathan Administration left office, its Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that the Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMS) introduced by government discovered some 62, 893 ghost workers. She also explained that the case had been transferred to the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) for prosecution of those involved. The ICPC actually confirmed that it was investigating the scam. Its Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta, told newsmen in Abuja that the investigation was being done through banks because the banks were supposed to have the data of those that withdrew the salaries. If this was PhD,Depar tment of Philosophy, University of Lagos 08116759758

Sense, nonsense, and commonsense (3)

F

or instance, there is no way Nigeria’s economy could have been successfully diversified just after three hundred and sixty-five days in office. This is because, assuming that the federal government puts in place appropriate policies that, if implemented, would lead to increased output from the manufacturing sector or guarantee more efficient and profitable exploitation of solid minerals and other viable sources of foreign exchange, several years of consistent and determined efforts are required before positive results would begin to manifest in these sectors.

And, concerning the campaign promises to achieve parity with the dollar and increase Nigeria’s share in the international oil market, it is clear to anyone with a simulacrum of knowledge about the determinants of global currency regime and uncertainties in the demand and supply equation of oil that none of these promises can be realised in this dispensation.

Having said all this, I am sure that President Buhari and the sycophants around him are aware, as already pointed out, that one year is indeed enough for well-informed Nigerians to reach a reasonable judgement on the overall direction his government is headed

regarding the key sectors of our national life.

One of main planks of APC’s campaign against former President Jonathan is the issue of fighting corruption, which was the strongest appeal of a possible Buhari presidency in the minds of a broad section of Nigerians.

Going by media reports, the EFCC seems to have woken up from slumber suddenly, although its activities are targeted largely at prominent members of the PDP who worked for Jonathan. Of course, it is impossible to deal with all cases of corruption simultaneously, and if the news about some key players in the previous administration who brazenly mismanaged public funds and assets were true, focusing on them for now is justified to some extent. I commend the President for allowing the EFCC deal with avaricious PDP stalwarts who mismanaged public funds so shamelessly. However, focusing the anti-corruption searchlight mainly on PDP members whereas several APC chieftains with stinking reputation for corruption are moving around freely suggests that Buhari is not living up to his pledge that he “belongs to everybody and belongs to nobody.” Based on his pronouncements about treating different parts of

done, how come more ghosts are appearing by the day or was it not done?

This is a pertinent question to answer following the recent revelation by the DirectorGeneral, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Dr Joe Abah that the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information system (IPPIS) has thrown up no less than

Ghost workers are ingenious and greater ingenuity is required to beat them. At some point, our Information Ministry reportedly had a syndicate which was posting people to ministries with exactly the same letter as the one in use in the Civil Service Commission.

Does anyone know where the syndicate is currently domiciled?

65,000 ghost workers.

There have indeed been new more with the introduction of the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) policy. Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun told the Senate in February that one civil servant alone was collecting 20 salaries every month- a system which Nigeria to reflect how they voted during the presidential election, the on-going northernisation of key federal appointments, and unwillingness to look into allegations of corruption against top APC members who made his presidential ambition a reality, President Buhari obviously is key member of highly influential power blocks that determine who gets what and when in the present government. In otherwords, it is probably fair to say that Buhari belongs to the inchoate amalgam created by hegemonic conservative elements in the Northern establishment and the Tinubu-led faction of the Yoruba political elite that helped him defeat Jonathan.

The suggestion by Lai Mohammed and Prof. Itse Sagay that anyone with proof of corruption against APC chieftains should contact the EFCC is unacceptable, extremely dishonest and disingenuous. Must the commission wait for petitions from individuals before carrying out its assignment?

Who sent those petitions (if indeed there were any) that triggered the on-going investigation and prosecution of Olisa Metuh, Femi FaniKayode, Godsday Orubebe, Sambo Dasuki and other members of Jonathan’s administration? Did the EFCC investigate thoroughly corruption allegations against Rotimi Amaechi and Babatunde Fashola before the President appointed them ministers? In my view, inasmuch as President Buhari deserves our support for allowing the EFCC to do its job, the one-sidedness of the current situation gives the impression of a witch-hunt reminiscent of the time when Chief Obasanjo used the commission to harass and intimidate his political opponents.

Similarly,

probably thrives better in the states. In Kogi, one civil servant was alleged to have single handedly added 300 bogus names to the pay roll.

How is government handling the disturbing issue? At the federal level, Minister Adeosun says the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will soon prosecute 43,000 persons so far discovered as ghost workers; meaning that our ghosts are real. She spoke at the venue of the IPPIS verification of staff on the payroll of the Nigeria Police Force at the Area Command in Sagamu.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed, told some selected On-AirPersonalities at a meeting in Lagos that government had handed over to the Police some top civil servants involved in employment racketeering.

If the discoveries of Okonjo-Iweala were handed over to the ICPC, while those found by Adeosun are to face EFCC and Lai Mohammed is talking about police prosecution, it shows that with too many cooks in the ghost kitchen, the subject can be adversely affected by the usual lack of institutional synergy. The President must wade in here because Nigerian fraudsters can turn anybody to a ghost.

It happened in Plateau State during the administration of Governor Jang when it was

discovered that somebody according to the government “appointed himself as commissioner and was receiving salaries and other perks of office as one.”

Delegation of duties is good but not for the ghost issue which has turned into a hydra-headed phenomenon. As the new governor of Kogi State must have found, ghosts in the state are not just individuals. Kogi has always known that it has some 800 ghost schools.

This and many other bizarre things can also happen at the federal level if care is not taken. For example, the many ghosts in Zamfara state at a point included a one month-old infant earning N24, 000 a month. In Bauchi, a committee set up by the State Government to fish out ghost workers discovered names of eight-year old children as “teachers” on the payroll of the government. In Imo, Governor Okorocha on assumption of office angrily ordered the transfer of all accountants in the state civil service having found the siphoning of over a billion naira to pay ghost workers.

Now in his second tenure, Okorocha is convinced that the “state government pays wrong people salaries when on a visit, he painfully found only one nurse in a hospital that has 14 doctors” It is only fair that we also alert the President of false alarmists as some exercises are deliberately programmed to produce wrong figures. For example,

no one knows the technology which declared the Kogi State chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Onuh as a ghost worker. No one similarly knew how the office of the auditor-general of the federation found that many government bodies including the Central Bank had no audit reports for 2010-2014. The Senate was forced to declare the auditor general incompetent when the alleged offending bodies showed copies of audit reports sent to him. So, such false alarmists exist just as fraudsters can beat any device including technology. When for instance the National Identity Management Commission that can identify us all carried out its own biometric data capture exercise, as many as 4000 of its 10,000 workers were ghosts.

It is now well over 15years after the Government White Paper on the report by Ahmed Joda’s Panel approved that some bodies be scrapped, commercialized or selffunding. But they are still receiving full Government funding. So ghost workers are ingenious and greater ingenuity is required to beat them. At some point, our Information Ministry reportedly had a syndicate which was posting people to ministries with exactly the same letter as the one in use in the Civil Service Commission. Does anyone know where the syndicate is currently domiciled?

disobedience of court orders in the pretext of fighting corruption brings to mind the odium associated with the military dictatorship of Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon. It is emotionally satisfying to see looters dealt with summarily,

What about the economy has the federal government moved quickly to lay the groundwork for economic reconstruction as promised by Buhari? Putting aside dwindling oil revenue arising from both unfavourable local and international circumstances, President Buhari has performed below average in the economic domain, the strengthening of which is essential to genuine change and social transformation. Some experts claim that the President is still wedded to the inappropriate antiquated central command economic paradigm he applied as a military head of state thirty-two years ago, instead of implementing an expansionist economic blueprint characterised by decentralisation of key economic parameters to boost spending and employment. A typical example is the rigid application of the Treasury Single Account currently stifling activities in our public universities. Besides, data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicate that unemployment has risen to 12.1% in the first quarter of 2016, a figure several economists consider too conservative. The rate of inflation is 13.7% generally, although prices of essential commodities such as foodstuffs have increased far beyond the official figure, ranging from 60% to 80% in the last one year. For the first time since 1999, Nigeria recorded its lowest economic growth rate (0.36%) in 2016.

Recently, a two-day meeting Monetary Committee Meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria ended without a bold and imaginative monetary strategy for tackling the myriad of problems in the foreign exchange market: it merely announced a flexible foreign exchange policy designed to achieve parity in the interbank and parallel

market for the value of the naira. Buhari’s promise of acting quickly to create more jobs has fallen flat. An alarming number of companies are closing down mainly because of sharp decline in electricity supply coupled with corresponding increase in energy costs, and steep drop in the value of the naira in relation to other foreign currencies; others are retrenching their workers to stay in business. Given the low purchasing power of the naira and over two million job losses in the last one year, there is no doubt that our economy is in crisis right now.

Another indicator that this administration might be incapable of dealing with our economic challenges is the 2016 budget just signed by President Buhari. Even if we ignore the confusion generated by reports of “missing budget” and “budget padding,” it is obvious that the ruling party does not intend to fulfil its promise to give a monthly stipend of five thousand naira to twenty-five million unemployed Nigerians or provide one meal a day to primary school pupils nationwide. Actually, after Buhari became President, Garba Shehu acted in bad faith by repudiating the populist campaign promises of his party, which made millions of Nigerians vote for APC candidates during the elections. Of course, N500 billion has been earmarked for social intervention programmes in the current budget. However, overall the document is consumptionoriented, just like previous budgets, with a disproportionately large percentage of the funds set aside for maintaining the obscene and ostentatious lifestyles of members of the executive and the legislature.

To be continued

Government officials and Buharimaniacs should stop sermonising as if corruption began and ended with the PDP, as if APC bigwigs are immune from the same terrible disease, because the aetiology of corruption transcends party affiliation but in a democracy such touch-and-go approach is anathema. Government officials and Buharimaniacs should stop sermonising as if corruption began and ended with the PDP, as if APC bigwigs are immune from the same terrible disease, because the aetiology of corruption transcends party affiliation. I am certain that if an independent forensic inquiry were carried out with respect to the billions of naira APC spent to fund its electioneering campaigns, some of the politicians parading themselves now as ministers and “defenders of democracy” would be convicted and jailed for corruption.

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 31

rexmarinus@hotmail.com

An adversarial President, a discontented people

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ruth be told, President Muhammadu Buhari does not have the easiest job in the world. But then again, no one who runs for the president of Nigeria ever imagines it to be easy.

Even on its best days, Nigeria is a very complex and volatile mix ethnic and religious differences compounded by a heritage of political ideas and leadership that has more generally emphasized and intensified these differences rather than create a harmonious idea of shared nationhood. As I have always insisted, a nation like Nigeria, with its many “ancient kingdoms” and “caliphates” contending with the idea of a single organic nation, is a candidate for profound ruptures.

Nigerians have increasingly grown apart, and have been, as a result of the Machiavellian politics of power and control, pulled apart so much that the nation does not mean much anymore to most Nigerians. As a matter of fact, except for maybe about 5% of Nigerians, mostly beneficiaries of an oligarchic control of national resource, nobody else loves Nigeria.

Over 90% of young Nigerians from the age 15-35, given the choice or opportunity will leave Nigeria, and escape permanently. They have no reason to love Nigeria, or believe in it. Nigeria does not offer them much. In their

estimation, the patch of grass outside its shores holds a greater promise of life than the intense discontent, the darkness of the mood that now pervades the Nigerian psyche and its landscapes. You can feel it also in the actions and dispositions of the new arrivals from Nigeria to the United States: they wish to have nothing to do with Nigeria, or the community of Nigerians. They basically have given up the idea of a “Nigerian home.” They do not join Nigerian associations. They just do not want to have anything to do with Nigeria anymore.

Those who send their sons and daughters out from the burning land must understand that they have given them up for good, and they shall not return. This new phenomenon of disconnection and alienation is the product of discontent.

This is dangerous – this loss of faith that now animates the Nigerian consciousness.

Nigeria is the only nation I know of, which is officially not at war, but whose most educated and most skilled are fleeing from home. This past week, I had an interesting conversation with an old dear friend of mine, a Professor of Philosophy in one of Nigeria’s major Universities, and his lament was as thick as the melancholy conveyed through the static of transAtlantic conversation: “the

Mastering Napkin Etiquette

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ow many times have I been to a function or hosted guests myself where at the dinner table, half way through the meal I notice

that my guests have not touched their napkins.

Now could this be because they forgot to pick up the napkin or that they simply do not know the function of the napkin. This for me appears to be one of the tools of the table that has been easily overlooked, ignored and taken for granted. Some people see the napkin as an extra table accessory that does not have too much significance. It appears as décor and beauty to the table itself. It is true the napkin does add that extra color and flavor to the finesse of the table setting but the napkin surely has more important functions too.

The napkin is represented as either a

piece of fabric that comes in a small size for breakfast, medium sized for lunch and large sized for dinner. Napkins get finer and more delicate depending on the occasion. Where it is a special VIP guest dinner, there is a tendency to want to show more class through the quality, delicacy and detailed design of the napkin alongside high quality cutlery. Do not be surprised though if disposable napkins are also used depending on how casual the meal is for instance a picnic.

The Purpose of the Napkin Revealed #STEP 1 : To start a meal #STEP 2 : During the meal #STEP 3 :Outside the meal #STEP 4 :To end the meal What you SHOULD NOT DO with your

Nigeria you knew has gone from bad to worse, and I’m telling you this.”

Here is a rationalist, whose field is the Philosophy of Science, and who should, were Nigeria and its political leadership be more clearminded, be on the advisory council of a National Science Foundation, and on the frequent call-list of Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology, saying his dearest hope is to send his children away from Nigeria because he loves them. “The depth of melancholy I felt on returning with them from the US and arriving at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos; the sheer contrast drives me to tears. As I speak with you, I have no light.” And he lives in one of those faculty housing on campus. This crisis is existential, and we have told this story ad nauseam – the fact that as Nigerians would say, “nothing is working in Nigeria.”

The question is, and has always been, why is nothing working in Nigeria? President Muhammadu Buhari and his school of thought tend to think it is because of “kwaruption.”

Just in case you are not yet cued in, “kwaruption” is the corruption of the word “corruption.” Just imagine, if somebody were to accuse the resident of corruption based on his corruption of the basic morphology of the sounds of the English language. In any case, I tend to have a different view: corruption is not Nigeria’s greatest problem. It is the fundamental loss or even absence of the imagination. A nation without visionary capacity is bound to falter. Take for instance, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology. First class in Chemical Engineering and Distinction in his doctoral work at the University of California, though not the one in Berkley, but in California, and we can live with that. He has all the right credentials,

napkins •Don’t start a meal until you open up your napkin •Don’t place the napkin on your neck like a bib •Don’t use the napkin to wipe your face down or your head •Don’t use your napkin to spit into •Don’t use your napkin to sneeze into •Don’t use your napkin as a towel •Don’t use your napkin to mop up spills •Don’t use your napkin to take left overs away •Don’t use a napkin like a rag What you SHOULD DO with your napkin 1.

Your napkin is an important accessory to show that you have Panache. Always open up your napkin on your lap immediately you take your seat. You do not need to wait for others before you use your napkin. Regardless of the size, practice this often.

Even where everyone else has not used or touched their napkin try to lead by example.

2.Regularly dab the corners of your mouth while eating to remove crumbs or bits that may settle without you noticing. Try not to wipe

yet, the minister ’s first announcement on resumption is that Nigeria will start producing pencils. Dear readers, I thought we were all living in the 21st century, where Materials Science has taken us so far beyond lead pencils. Just last week, the minister also said laid out one of his priorities: he would soon establish science museums in the six regional zones of Nigeria. Why not first activate the Research and Production (RAP) strategies or

Corruption is not Nigeria’s greatest problem. It is the fundamental loss or even absence of the imagination. A nation without visionary capacity is bound to falter

models of the now defunct Biafra Directorate of Research which led to significant war productions, in the six regional zones of Nigeria? Why not create Research Parks? Why not activate interdisciplinary collaboration between the production arm of the Ministry of S & T with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, etc. I think Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu has lost it.

But we watch. The problem is that Nigerian public leadership does not listen. Those who occupy public office feel themselves immune from the

but just dab during your meals. Your napkin is an immediate medium to protect your clothes against spillages or minor accidents when you least expect.

3.If you do experience foreign body or bones in

your mouth, you may discreetly remove from your mouth with your napkin.

4.Let the waiter know you coming back whenever you desire to get up to receive a call or leave your seat momentarily by placing your napkin on the back or seat of

consequences of not listening to the Nigerian public.

The feelings and dreams of Nigerians are at odds with the agenda and interest of its public leadership. The president knows it all, and he is not ready caution troops and the police shooting unarmed protesters whose greatest crime is that they are seeking self-determination by peaceful means. He is what the Igbo call, “Eze Onye agwa nam.” That is why the president of Nigeria is now in the process of leading Nigeria to a double-headed insurgency in the South of Nigeria. Last week’s murder of unarmed members of MASSOB and the IPOB continues a strategy intimidation that will not work, either in the creeks of the Niger Delta or in the streets of Aba. Voices of reason have appealed to President Buhari to revise his policy of militarization, and stem the possibility of an armed struggle, which no one will win.

As a matter of fact, the IPOB/MASSOB have issued a warning that they might be forced to arm and defend themselves against the Federal government’s use of deadly force. It will be a dangerous situation, and it is in the offing; and the great nightmare which the president’s security analysts and advisers have yet to make clear to him is the possibility of spreading to Lagos, and shutting down the South completely as the Niger Delta militia and the Biafrans establish increasing collaboration with greater strategic objective. This is the time for the president to stop playing the adversarial president and become the statesman.

At the moment the president acts like a school yard bully.

He must begin strategic engagement with these agitators, even if to reassure them.

Last week’s meeting between the president and a group of his party folk, who claimed to represent the Igbo is a joke. The president met with folk who cannot win elections in their own compounds, and have no mandate from that region.

The leaders of the Igbo are, at this very moment, their elected delegation to the National Assembly. Only they can speak, and be used to reach the Igbo, including members of the IPOB/MASSOB, on national issues.

The president’s choice of hosting a mutual admiration party does indicate a profound disconnection with the reality.

That the president has never made a real move to reach out and explore means of stepping down the Biafran agitation through negotiations speaks of his capacities, or lack thereof, in understanding the complexity of the situation. That he has never met members of the National Assembly representing the South East on this matter, choosing rather to meet members of his party who do not speak, or act, or have any mandate to represent the South-East, indicates the president’s profound confusion about the East. I should also say here, and now that the president cannot be accused of not liking the Igbo. That would be a total lie: as he himself has said, he is great friends with Azikiwe’s children; he was an ally of General Ojukwu, and his first two running mates – Chuba Okadigbo and Edwin UmeEzoke were respected Igbo.

Mike Ahamba stuck with him as his lawyer through thick and thin and disagreed with him only on matters of principle. The problem is that, in making his first political moves, President Buhari failed to leverage his political capital in the East, and continues to rely, not on diplomacy, but the adversarial use of force to quell legitimate discontent. The president sowed the discontent.

your chair. If you don’t do this it will appear that you have finished eating meaning the waiter can pack your table setting away.

They come in various colours, sizes, shapes and designs. Colour and theme your table where necessary to set a conducive ambience. Disposable napkins can be set in a napkin holder placed in the center of the table.

Your napkin during meals is key especially in formal scenarios. It should not be overlooked or taken for granted. Show you have polish and panache at your next business or social meal.

Dare to be different and stand out from the crowd.

Bon Appetite!

5.The best way to show you have completed your meal is to place your napkin on the left side of your plate. Just fold it carefully not muffled, do not dump in the middle of your plate.

6.For added glamour at your table setting you may use napkin rings or floral wires on your napkins.

PAGE 32—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

This is special Rolls-Royce Wraith A

N extravagant widebody design that character izes the spectacular appearance and a matching 12-cylinder twin-turbo engine performance-tuned to produce 527 kW / 717 HP of peak power and 986 Nm of peak torque: The SPOFEC OVERDOSE presented

by German refinement specialist SPOFEC is arguably the most spectacular interpretation of a Rolls-Royce ever seen.

The OVERDOSE comes in a limited special edition of just eight vehicles based on the Rolls-Royce Wraith, which already in standard specification is one of the world’s most exclusive and rare luxury coupes.

Apart from the sporty-elegant bodywork conversion featuring components made from carbon, the SPOFEC coupe impresses with its 22-inch alloys, a modified control unit for the pneumatic suspension and a carbonceramic high-performance braking system.

The engine tuning is complemented with the SPOFEC stainless-steel sport exhaust system with electronic sound management. SPOFEC exclusively refines the current automobiles from Rolls-Royce. The name of the brand is an acronym formed from “SPirit OF Ecstasy,” the name of the legendary hood ornament that adorns the vehicles from Goodwood.

Since 2014, SPOFEC has been customizing all cur-

C M Y K

rent Rolls-Royce models. With the OVERDOSE widebody version, which will be built in a limited edition of just eight vehicles worldwide, the company based in Stetten in southern Germany now expands its product line-up with a new top-of-therange version.

The new bodywork conversion was designed in cooperation with designer Vittorio Strosek, one of the leading specialists in this field. The material of choice is carbon. This hi-tech synthetic material from Formula 1 racing offers a perfect combination of low weight and high strength. The high-quality finish of these composite parts guarantees a perfect fit, a flawless surface quality, and makes them easy to paint.

The significantly wider front and rear fenders are immediately apparent even at first glance. They extend the width of the 2+2-seater to 208 centimeters on the rear axle - 13 centimeters wider than the production car! To this end, the designers sculpted arched flares for the rear sidewalls and fitted them seamlessly to the production bodywork. They create space for SPOFEC SP1 alloys of size 10.5Jx22, mounted with high-performance tyres of size 295/30 ZR 22. These wheels feature ten offset pairs of double spokes and can be ordered in any desired color.

Powerfully sculpted SPOFEC OVERDOSE fenders on the front axle add seven centimeters to the car’s overall width at the front. They replace the production components in their entirety. The corresponding wheels of size 9Jx22 are fitted with size 265/35 ZR 22 tyres.

Newly developed rocker panels create a perfect transition between the front and rear

OVERDOSE fenders. Thanks to their sophisticated design, they also emphasize the wasp waist of the two-door car. In addition, they also give the British luxury coupe an even lower and longer visual stance. An air scoop on either side provides the rear brakes with cooling air.

The SPOFEC OVERDOSE front bumper is designed to replace its production counterpart and perfectly matches the shape of the wider front fenders. It also lends the Wraith a more athletic expression while reducing lift on the front axle at high speeds.

The new SPOFEC OVERDOSE rear bumper also harmonizes perfectly with the flares and thus gives the Wraith an extremely sporty appearance from the rear as well. In addition, the new bumper provides the perfect backdrop for integrating the two tailpipes of the SPO-

Morris Garage SUV enters Nigeria C

OSCHARIS Motors has taken delivery of the very first set of the all - new MG GS (SUV) and MG GT (Sedan). The new MG models joined the other Morris Garages models in Nigeria and is being admired by Coscharis customers across the country.

The arrival of the two MG variants according to Coscharis is a proof of the company’s commitment to always set new standard in the history of automobile market in Nigeria, and with the hope to replicate this success by making the

Morris Garages one of the preferred brands in the Nigeria market.

The new MG GS and MG GT models are expected to be the toast of car freaks in Nigeria as they are both crafted ti lead their segments. Equipped with a powerful turbo-charged engines, and automatic transmission, the new Morris Garage models look good to take any contender.

The attractive an daerodynamc design of the new models, coupled with the safety features of the cars will no doubt make

them the preferred choice of most young customers.

According to Abiona Babarinde, General Manager Marketing, Coscharis Motors, ‘’the two new MG variants are set to turn the tide in the midsize sedan and compact SUV segments in the market.

Customers and prospects who enjoy pure driving dynamics will take advantage of the many engineering prowess and examplary features the models offer. It is equally significant to note that the MG GS is the first SUV of the MG brand that is

FEC sport exhaust system into the thrilling overall appearance.

The SPOFEC naked carbon spoiler lip on the trunk puts the finishing touch on the aerodynamic efficiency of the conversion kit. The stainless-steel exhaust weighs five kilograms less than the production system.

definitely going to excite our customers in the Nigerian market as it’s going to compete favourably in the compact SUV segment’’.

What is unique about the MG GT and MG GS is the preciseness in the handling power, agility of the Steering power and control, driving comfort, and intelligent digital applications, Abiona says..

MG GS targets the up and mobile young professionals who are charismatic, IT savvy and enjoy fashionable lifestyle and wish to show their distinctive personality.

While MG GT is aimed at slightly more mature and sophisticated audience that targets A class Sports Sedan segment.

Mathew Aje, Brand Manager, MG, said “the MG GT and MG GS should be delights of both retail and fleet customers alike, adding that interested customers can take advantage of the Coscharis Vehicle Finance Scheme, which offers customers the opportunity to own any MG car of their choice with a certain percentage down payment to either Access Bank or Stanbic IBTC Bank, and spread the rest for over 48 months”.

He Further explained that customers can also enjoy adequate after sales back-up, genuine spare parts, test drive, Free delivery to any parts of Nigeria, 2.5% insurance offer and 3 years Warranty or 100,000 Kilometres, whichever comes first.

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 33

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PAGE 34—SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016

BY YUSUPH OLANIYONU

N

ext Thursday, June 9 will be the first anniversary of the 8th Senate. This is therefore a a good period to critically examine the performance of the Upper Chamber of the federal legislature. There have been attempts by some people to define the narrative of the performance based on the initial controversy arising from the politics of the emergence of its leadership. However, It is clear that this Senate has more going for it beyond politics.

Early enough, members had settled down to business of defining how the law making chamber can be relevant and serve the interests of the constituents. Led by an experienced and brilliant public officer, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, it was clear to the lawmakers since their inauguration that the major challenges facing the country centred mainly on economic crisis which has resulted in youth unemployment, security problems, particularly insurgency in the North-east zone and pervading corruption which has eroded the confidence of the international community in Nigeria.

The Senators were quick to realise that their relevance will be determined by the ability of the institution to contribute to the resolution of the identified problems. Also, Senators understood that they can only make themselves relevant by tackling issues that have to do with people’s general welfare. Knowing that the economy is the sub-structure of the polity and in fact a key to solving some of the other challenges facing the country, they decided that legislations, oversights and advocacy that have to do with economic revival, revitalising businesses and creating employment should be given priority.

To achieve this, they engaged a team of experts from the World Bank Group, Department for International Development (DFID), the private sector, professional bodies like the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), the academia and others. The task assigned to the experts was to identify existing laws that need to be reviewed and amended to bring them up to Global standards, old laws that should be repealed and new legislatons that require enactment, all in a bid to help the economy grow.

The main concern, here, is the poor rating Nigeria continues to get annually in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Assessment Report. At least, it is a fact that investors will not go to a place where they cannot easily establish and operate their businesses at a profit. Also, the prevailing condition will kill big and small scale local entrepreneurs. And without these investments, employment cannot be created, the economy cannot grow and government will not get money from other sources beyond oil whose price have continued to be on a downward slope.

The experts in their reports have identified 54 laws which need immediate attention to achieve the aim of making it easy for investors to establish and operate businesses in Nigeria. Their recommendations were later subjected to further debate and analysis through a business roundtable dialogue with stakeholders in public and private sectors.

The Senate has started acting on the 168-page report. First, the recommendations formed the core of the Legislative Agenda which, though yet to be publicly launched, is already being implemented.

Second, the legislations recommended for review are now in various stages of law making process.

As at today, the Senate has passed the Electronic Transaction Law 2015 and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law 2015. The new Railways Act

•The National Assembly Complex

Beyond the din, 8th Senate defines its focus As part of its contributions to the economic revival agenda of government, the Senate has also expressed its commitment to frugal management of the meagre resources now available to the government after the drastic fall of the price of oil which will enable the private sector invest and participate in running a vibrant railways sector is in the last stage before being passed. It is gladdening that the 8th Senate is the one reviewing the almost a century old Railway Act. In fact, if not for the decision to constitute a committee of experts to review the work of the Senate committee on Land Transportation and help straighten the technical aspects, the Railway Act would have been passed.

The Senate has equally commenced the review of the Public Procurement Act to make it compulsory for government to patronise local manufacturers, except in cases where the needed goods and services are not locally available. The objective here is to ensure that a substantial percentage of the N6 trillion that is in the 2016 national budget is retained in the local economy and put in the pockets of our peo-

ple. This, according to the lawmakers, is the best way to achieve wealth creation, increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), encourage local industries to grow and stimulate increased productivity among Nigerians. It is also an ingenuous way of creating mass employment. With this move, the eighth Senate must be drawing inspiration from other developed economies that had done a similar thing. US enacted a similar legislation around 1922 with the Buy America policy promoted by the Herbert Hoover administration.

China, South Africa and other countries also have related laws.

The deliberate efforts to promote Made in Nigeria goods have been backed with practical demonstrations by the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and other Senators like Ben Murray Bruce, Enyinaya Abaribe, Theodore Orji and others who are now ambassadors of Made in Nigeria goods.

With all these carefully planned and inter-linked measures, one can see that there is a system, process and method to the way the present Senate is doing its work.

Still on the economic revival plan, the Senate has revived the longpending Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the plan is to break the old bill into several workable, practical and functional laws so that the various issues involved can be tackled at different times. It is calculated that the logjam around this bill can be resolved if the Senate, for example, takes the first step of enacting into law the aspects that are not contentious and where national consensus has been achieved. These non-contentious codified aspects can immediately be deployed to effect the much needed reforms in the sector. The lawmakers can later proceed to work on the contentious areas through different bills. This is considered a more realistic approach, instead of having a humongous, all-purpose bill, which will continue to be bogged down by divergent interests. The first bill from the original PIB is now at the second reading stage.

The PIB is one of the 167 bills that have passed first reading stage. 39 others are in the Second Reading stage and 6 others are in the final stage of passage, which is the third reading. The reasoning of the Sara-

ki-led Senate is that the earlier the Senate focus on bills that will transform the national economy, curb youth unemployment, eliminate insecurity and other social malaise and institutionalise social justice, the better for us all. This will prevent a situation where the Senators will desperately resort to rushing bills with little legislative value at the twilight period of their tenure as it happened in the past.

As part of its contributions to the economic revival agenda of government, the Senate has also expressed its commitment to frugal management of the meagre resources now available to the government after the drastic fall of the price of oil. It is reasoned that if the government can block the loopholes in its finances, diversify the sources of revenue, be frugal and innovative in its spendings, Nigeria could convert the present economic downturn to advantage. That is why motions and resolutions in the Upper Legislative Chamber are focussing on areas where government is losing revenue.

Two instances readily come to mind here. Through a motion raised on the floor, the Senate investigated and found out that in the operation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), government has lost more than N20 billion and will lose more if the contract with the company charged with the collection was not terminated. In a well- argued, revealing submission, it called on the executive to discontinue the transaction.

In another investigation arising from a motion, Senate discovered that the government has been duped of over N400bn through wrong application of the Duty Waivers policy.

It has since directed that the culprits be made to cough out what they wrongfully got.

Another contribution of this Senate is on the area of restoration of peace in the North-east zone which had been devastated by the activities of Boko Haram.

Last year, the principal officers made the first ever fact-finding visit by the federal legislature to the areas since the insurgency started over a decade ago. During the visit, the Senate also made financial donations to the upkeep of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The visit led to the consideration

of a bill to establish the North-east Development Commission which may be passed into law next Thursday. The lawmakers had earlier passed a resolution on the establishment of a Presidential Committee on the rehabilitation of the people who are presently in the various Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Again, the leadership has continually rallied international support for the rehabilitation and war efforts in the area. Not only has the Senate President, Saraki, made the issue of international assistance for restoration of peace and rehabilitation of people in the North east a recurrent issue in all his international speaking engagements, he repeatedly canvassed these issues when he meets with diplomats and development partners who are frequently on courtesy visit to his office.

The current Senate has intervened on the electricity tariff issue and their efforts led to the abolition of the fixed charges. Last week, the Senate held a well-attended public hearing on the recent increase in the same tariff and it will soon announce the result of the investigation.

The Senators are also considering laws that will protect women against sexual assault. The proposed law against sexual molestation or harassment of female students by randy lecturers and others in higher Institutions of learning has gone to committee stage. The Senate has also intensified the campaign to ensure that all state Houses of Assembly adopt and enact the Child Rights Law in their respective states. It has investigated and is still investigating several cases of child abuse.

One other way through which the Upper chamber has continued to serve our people is through investigations of petitions and public complaints submitted by ordinary people through their respective senators. Through these petitions, many aggrieved persons have got reprieve, without having to spend a kobo on legal fees. As at today, 162 petitions have been submitted, 32 already dealt with conclusively and 82 under consideration. The rest were found to lack merit, probably because they are subject of litigation or that the committee found out the claims were frivolous.

Also, to demonstrate support for the anti-corruption war by the Federal Government, the 8th Senate has equally engaged with anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, CCB and the rest on how to improve their efficiency through a review of their enabling laws as well as provision of more funds for them to procure necessary facilities and train their officers.

The Senate has also commenced the process of setting up an independent Transparency and Delivery commission which will help draw up a robust scheme and strengthen the internal structure and capacity of the National Assembly to fulfil its role as an anti-corruption institution. The commission will help the Senate to use its oversight tools to act as catalyst for greater transparency and efficiency in fighting corruption.

More importantly, the Senate has decided that no single bill or motion will be debated in the present Senate except it adds value to the objectives of reforming the economy, eliminating insecurity, enthroning social justice, fighting corruption and making lives better for the generality of the people.

By giving priority to laws and issues that affect the economy, the present Senate has defined its own focus. They would also have helped to reposition the country for achieving greatness and serving the interests of Nigerians.

Olaniyonu is Special Adviser to The Senate President

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 35

AYO ONIKOYI 08052201215

Nkechi Ali-Balogun celebrates 60 amid pomp Ogudu R otar ks Ro taryy mar marks kechi Ali10th anniv er sar anniver ersar saryy Balogun,wife of

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veteran filmmaker and Managing Director, Brickwall Communications Limited, Mahmud AliBalogun was literally the duchess of social circuit penultimate Saturday, when she and her family hosted friends to th celebrate her 60 birthday.

Guests made up of highflying, distinguished individuals were treated to a deluxe ball at the upscale Civic Centre in Victoria Island. Photos

by SOLA OYELESE

embers of Rotary Club of Ogudu GRA th rolled out drums to celebrate their 10 anniversary recently. The event which held on a Monday at Protea Hotel, Maryland, Lagos, saw many high-profile Rotarians from other chapters coming to celebrate with their Ogudu counterparts. Photos by AKEEM SALAU

L-R: Chief Biodun Shobanjo, Miss Ikeoluwa Ali-Balogun (daugther); Mrs Nkechi Ali-Balogun (celebrant); Mr Mahmud Ali-Balogun and Rev (Mrs) Constance Oyolu.

L-R: Otunba Bola Onabadejo (District Gov); Rotn Fidel Ogwuazor (World Class President), Rotary Club of Ogudu; Rotn Bala Yesufu (Past President) and Rotn Richard Giwa Osagie (Past District Gov).

L-R: Mrs Nkoru Olumide Ojo, Mrs Oyinjan Badejo Okusanya and Mrs Beatrice Abebe

L-R: Dr Fatai Oluyadi, Dr Deinde Shoga; Yomi Adewunmi,PDG; Otunba Bola Onabadejo, Rotn Fidel Ogwuazor,World Class President Rotary Club of Ogudu GRA; Rotn Patrick Ikheloa, Incoming District Governor; PAG, Onikepo Oshodi; PDG; Richard Giwa Osagie and Rotn Bala Yesufu, Past President

L-R: Mrs Taiwo Adejumo , Mrs Tola Ogunbambi and Mrs Nkechi Ali-Balogun celebrant .

L-R: Dr Femi Paul, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya and Mr. Jusitn Greso .

Edo S tat e APC go ship Stat tate govvernor ernorship aspirants pick forms

APC Governorship aspirant, Edo State, Engr. Chris Ogiemwonyi displaying his nomination and expression of interest form C M Y K

APC Governorship aspirant, Mr Godwin Obaseki receiving his expression of Interest form

L-R: Rotn Vivian Anum; Rotn Mary Edgal and Rotn Ojimi Okeke

From Left: Rotn. Onikepo Oshodi, Chapter President, Rotary Club of Ogudu GRA; Otunba Bola Onabadejo, District Gov; Rotn. Fidel Ogwuazor, and Rotn Bala Yesufu

PAGE 36—SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016

Sapele Boma Bo es 80 Boyy, Uvieghara, celebrat celebrates

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Prof. Egerton Egherun Uvieghara (4th from left) celebrant; cutting his birthday cake with members of Sapele Boma Boys Club.

t was an enchanting moment to remember and cherish as members of Sapele Boma Boys Club turned out in great numbers to celebrate one of their own, Prof Egherun Uvieghara who turned 80, recently.

Even though the club members took the front row, other highnetworth guests were also present to enjoy the atmosphere of camaraderie and fanfare that was the order of the day.

Photos by Akeem Salau

Prof Egerton Egherun Uvieghara (celebrant), cutting his birthday cake with his children.

L-R: Mrs Stella Jemide, Harika Uvieghara and Mrs. Rebecca Etuwew.

L-R: Prof Egerton Egherun Uvieghara, Amb. B. Akporode Clark and Engr. Guy Otobo

Chief Oru Andrew (l) and Mr Peter Arigbe.

L-R: Dr Titus Okereke;Engr Ben Atseyinku and Prof. Folayan Ojo.

L-R: Engr Eddy Agbahor; Chief Obrik Miller Uholo and Prince Eddy Yekovie.

Oluwabukunmi Oluwafemi

and Favour and Wisdom

Oluwabukunmi said “Yes, I Do” to Oluwafemi on April 23, 2016. Engagement ceremony held at Faithjoe Civic Centre, beside Community High School, Ojurin, Ibadan, while exchange of marital vows held at the Apostolic Church, Yemetu, Idi- Ape, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The couple, Oluwabukunmi and Oluwafemi C M Y K

Mrs Rita Amuka (l) and Yeye Rewane.

Mr Aji Rone-Orugboh (l) and Chief Olatokunbo Thomas.

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Chizoba and Chijioke

L-R: Engr. Emma Piriye Isaiah, Mrs. Felicia Iyengunmwena, the couple, Mrs. Dora E. Isaiah and Deacon Abel Iyengunmwena.

L-R: Mr Romanus Ike, Mrs Maria Iro, the coupleChijioke Iro and Chizoba Ike Engr Joseph Iro and Mrs Oby Ike.

he families of Engr. Emmanuel Piriye Isaiah and Deacon Abel Iyengunmwena became one, recently, when their children, Pastor Wisdom Isaiah and Favour Amen Iyengunmwena got married in Benin City.

Chijioke Iro has taken his sweetheart, Chizoba, nee Ike to the altar. The wedding took place at St. Leo’s Catholic Church

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016 PAGE 37

Reign of terror in Delta villages ‘under herdsmen’s control’

•Fulani herdsmen

By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, SouthSouth, Festus Ahon, Perez Brisibe and Ochuko Akuopha

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OW did herdsmen become so powerful to the point of tyrannizing some communities in Delta State?

This is one question many leaders of affected communities could not answer when Sunday Vanguard probed in the course of our investigation, last week, into the menace of herdsmen in the state.

The herdsmen are believed to be so influential that many police officers in the state see them as untouchable. The authorities were said to have transferred a Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in Delta, who led an operation to eject them from a community in Ethiope East local government area of the state.

A police officer, who preferred anonymity, told Sunday Vanguard: “There are powerful individuals providing cover for them, which explain why even if a policeman arrests a herdsman for any offence in the state, there is a way they do the case, it will not see the light of the day, which is the much I can tell you.”

In many communities in Delta, the dread of the herdsmen is the beginning of wisdom. However, it was

found out that in some cases, community and youth leaders were the ones who compromised the security of their people by leasing their lands to the herdsmen without knowing the implication of their action.

The herdsmen you see leading cattle are the lords unto themselves; they have sponsors who armed them to rape, steal and murder villagers, using the land leased from the people or forcefully acquired as launching pads.

Elder statesman and SouthSouth leader, Prof B. I. C, Ijomah who served for more than three years as a member of the Nomadic Commission, Kaduna, set up by the Federal Government to assist herdsmen on how to go about their business, said they have an expansionist agenda.

‘Sambisa forest’ Efforts to check the herdsmen's excesses in the past had been met with still with some villagers losing their lives, while others, including the lawmaker representing Ethiope Constituency in Delta State, Hon Evance Ivwurie, who mobilized security agents to chase them from their hideout in the area, came under threat.

Ivwurie took the police to the ‘Sambisa forest’ of Abraka, an area in Delta which herdsmen have

Presently, there is not a single indigene residing at Port Avwo, Akabanisi and Oguname as these herdsmen have taken over the communities after chasing away the residents

taken over, built hamlets and tunnels to escape arrest. It was learnt that when the police team got to the place, the herdsmen disappeared into the tunnel and the law enforcement agents could not risk following inside.

Sacked communities In Uwheru, a community in Ughelli North local government area, where herdsmen seem to have taken over state and terrorize residents, they had sent about 31 persons early to their graves in the past 12 years, while 10 villagers are missing.

President- General of Uwheru community, Chief Ogarivi Utso, who spoke on the alleged killings, last Thursday, at the burial of one of the victims, lamented that herdsmen attack both men and women, rape and kill villagers. Some herdsmen reportedly killed an indigene of Oguname community a week after her marriage.

On alleged imposition of tax, Utso cited the case of the chair of Oguname village, Chief Edward Eyamu, who, he claimed, was forced to pay N10, 000 weekly to a Fulani overlord he simply identified as Garba.

He said another indigene of the community, Chief Paul Ovieba, was compelled to pay N70, 000 to herdsmen before they allowed him to commence fishing activity at the Owarien River.

Describing the herdsmen as lords unto themselves, Utso said: “The outrageous tax ranges from N10, 000 to N100, 000 per individual depending on the terms and condition.

“Presently, there is not a

single indigene residing at Port Avwo, Akabanisi and Oguname as these herdsmen have taken over the communities after chasing away the residents,”he added.

Speaking on how the herdsmen acquired the lands and became so commanding, the Public Relations Officer of Uwheru Community Development Associaiton, UCDA , Prosper Adade, said: “You wake up and go to your farm as a farmer only for you to see these herdsmen there.

“There is no agreement between the community and these herdsmen and nobody gave the land to them.

“The problem actually arises when land owners upon discovering that their land has been acquired and is being occupied by these herdsmen, ask them to leave, this confrontation is what leads to attacks.

“If we come to a round table today, I can vow that they (herdsmen) cannot point to a person with whom they had an agreement over the seizure of our land. If other communities entered into such pact, there is none with us here in Uwheru.”

Some chiefs collected bribe- Ossai, community leader

Continues on page 38

PAGE 38—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016

Reign of terror in Delta villages ‘under herdsmen’s control’ Continued from page 37 Speaking on the cat and mouse relationship between his community and herdsmen, Mr. Joe Ossai, a leader in Onicha-Ukwuani, in Ndokwa West local government area, said, “What happened in our case is that we were told that some chiefs collected money from the herdsmen without telling the community.

“When the people saw that they were destroying their crops, some boys mobilized and asked them to leave the community and that is how they (herdsmen) opened fire on our people. That was what led to the closure of the road to the community for a very long time.

“Later, it was found out that some chiefs collected money from them. The herdsmen are still in the bush and, as we speak, they still come to our community to threaten our people.”

Okpanam residents sleep with one eye closedMonarch The traditional ruler of Okpanam in Oshimili North local government area, HRM Mbanefo Michael Ogbolu, raised the alarm about the activities of herdsmen in his domain about a week after he wrote a petition, dated April 28, 2016, to Delta State Commissioner of Police, Alkali Baba Usman, alerting of a plan by herdsmen to seize the community’s land.

He said the herdsmen were stationed at nearby Umuokake village and Obodogwugwu farmland from where they planned to invade.

In the petition entitled, “Menace of Fulani Herdsmen In Okpanam Kingdom,” the traditional ruler said because of the fear of possible attack and the herdsmen on the rampage in the area, Okpanam residents now sleep with only one eye closed.

He said that very “worrisome and nauseating is the fact that the said cattle rearers have illegally acquired our land around Ala-Obi, between Iyi Uku stream and Aja-Obi on Umuomake village, Obodogwugwu Quarters, Okpanam and they have set up a permanent settlement in the area without authorization.”

Describing the herdsmen's activities as colonization of part of Okpanam land, the Ugoani said they destroy traps and steal animals caught by the traps, destroy crops, molest and rape female farmers in the area.“ Parallel government “As a matter of fact, they have installed a Seriki (king) in our forest, and all efforts to

•Fulani herdsmen reach them with a view to ascertaining how they gained access into our land have proved abortive because of the sophisticated weapons they wield,” he said.“He explained that the occupation of Okpanam land by the cattle rearers was similar to the activities of Boko Haram in the North which, according to him, government and security agencies must stop.

The monarch said that investigation revealed that Unuomake village in Okpanam sold the land the herdsmen occupy to the Delta State Post Primary Education Cooperative Society, saying the herdsmen's cows destroy their farmlands while the cattle rearers wield sophisticated weapons to harass residents.

He recalled that in October 2014, he wrote a letter to former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, drawing attention to the wanton destruction of Okpanam farmland and attacks against farmers.

Herdsmen fight back A source, however, said the herdsmen acquired the land from the community, years ago, for grazing, but when the people refused to allow them access to the land, they decided to fight.

The herdsmen, according to the source, wrote a letter to the Okpanam monarch, notifying him of their preparedness to assume ownership of the land at all costs, a situation that drove fear into the residents.

Later, it was found out that some chiefs collected money from them. The herdsmen are still in the bush and, as we speak, they still come to our community to threaten our people They encroach on our land from Edo — Uwabuofu

Youth President of Obiaruku community in Ukwuani local government area, Comrade Chika Uwabuofu, denied there was an agreement with

herdsmen to graze their cattle in the community, saying, “but they encroach on our land, destroy our crops and harass our people on their farmlands.”

His words: “They have a settlement at Urhonigbe community in Orhiomwon local government area of Edo State which shares a common boundary with us, and from there, they move into our community. Their coming is on a seasonal basis. During the rainy season, they stay in their settlement but in the dry season they come to our community. We do not have any relationship with them, they do not know us and we do not know them.”

Mr. Ken Osademe, the councillor representing Ushie Ward 10 in Ndokwa East local government legislative arm, however, told Sunday Vanguard: “The relationship between us and the herdsmen has been peaceful.

We have not been having problems with them. That does not mean, occasionally, people will not come to report that herdsmen have encroached on their farmland.”

Communities losing patience with herdsmenOkowa On May 30, in Asaba, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa convened a stakeholders meeting to address the pain in the neck. The stakeholders frowned at the fact that herdsmen carry weapons to attack with security agencies doing little to stop them.

At the forum, held under the theme: “Fostering Peaceful Coexistence Between Farmers, Host Communities and Herdsmen in Delta State”, were representatives of traditional rulers’ council, communities, farmers, local government council chairmen, Cattle Dealers Association and Cattle Breeders Association.

Also in attendance were representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Muslim leaders, civil society organizations, Army, Police, Department of State Security (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Nigeria Imigration Service.

Declaring the meeting open, Okowa urged participants to speak freely about the way out of the quagmire to ensure a peaceful state.

How we are managing crisis- CP The state Commissioner of Police, Usman, in his speech at the parley, called for tolerance, cooperation, mutual respect and peaceful co-existence among groups in the case and the communities.

At the meeting, it was resolved that security agents should be proactive and arrest anybody caught with AK 47 rifle while they should be more vigilant at the Ohoro-Bomadi Road to ensure that farmers and villagers are not attacked by herdsmen.

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016, Page

VIEWPOINT

By Veronica Ugono

Farewell to a great husband

TRIBUTE IN BRIEF The life VIEWPOINT and times of a strong – 1978. He also worked as the Business Manager with the Eku willed man Baptist Hospital from 1979-1985.

Chief Ugono also served as the Y husband, Chief Joseph Senior Accountant, Bendel Feed Oghoetomo Ugono, was and Flour Mill Ltd. from 1986an exceptionally caring and 1990.

Chief Ugono was elected intelligent man. He was a man every woman would have Councilor for Ughelli Local appreciated as a husband. A rare Government Area in 1991 and gem, a quintessential politician, later elected one of the pioneer bold and fearless with member of the Delta State House of Assembly in 1992 but their exceptionally winning spirit.

Chief Ugono was born in tenure was truncated by the Gen. January 15, 1946. He attended Sanni Abacha military take-over Walbrook College for his ordinary of December 31st 1993. During his and advance level between 1969- Eighteen (18) months in the House 1971. He then proceeded to the of Assembly, he was Chairman Committee on South West London College under House Appropriation and Finance.

He the sponsorship of the British government and qualified as a was also the Chairman House certified Financial Accountant. Committee on Chieftaincy Affairs.

Chief Ugono did a post graduate His distinguished, vibrant, sterling studies at the University of East and robust leadership in the House London again sponsored by the of Assembly are still reference British Government and was points 23years after. He was awarded a Post Graduate perhaps one of the most visible Diploma in Management Studies Member of the Delta State House of Assembly of his era. in 1977.

My husband did not see obstacles He began his working career when he was recruited from to achievements in life. He often London as the Pioneer Deputy said he did not have a childhood.

Financial Controller, Soceite He learnt to live an adult life at a General Bank Ltd. between 1077- very tender age. You did not have to stay too long to know the kind

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By Williams O. Mbamalu

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HE Greek writers of the second century thought otherwise; for them, the best literary style had been fixed by the great writers of the classical age, four or five hundred years before their time, and the only way to achieve distinction was to copy their idiom as closely as they possibly could.

Aubrey De Sélincourt in his preface on The Campaigns of Alexander, testifies that “the only two books whose language approaches the Koinê or Hellenistic or contemporary spoken Greek of Syria and Asia Minor, are the New Testament and the records taken by Arrian of the lectures of Epictetus.

For centuries, scholarship and pedantry, too often the same thing, supposed that the Greek of the New Testament was barbarous and debased – Nietzche’s notorious jibe about God having learnt Greek, and having learnt it badly, is a case in point. But today most of us are wiser, and the beauty of the New Testament Greek and its power of expressing what its users wanted it to express make us wish that the professional literary men, too, of that epoch had taken their language warm from contemporary lips instead of seeking it in the written pages of the past.”

There is no way to grow in faith through reading the New Testament if one does not comprehend it to the fullest degree possible. How can Douglas or any other fellow in his camp believe in something they do not understand?

How can any scholar in a field other than his own discipline be satisfied with a faith based on books whose meaning they only partially perceive? Christianity has often been called a religion of books; but if we do not understand the book, we find ourselves in the predicament of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:2640). A pantomimic Douglas Anele thinks his education in philosophy qualifies him to understand the Christian Bible when as yet, he has not embarked on a spiritual journey that enables him to make bold faith assertions. So far, in dealing with New Testament books, Anele has not understood the difference or relationship between text and context, assumptions that affect an author ’s choice of theme,

•Chief Joseph Ugono of person he was. He was a strict disciplinarian who hated oppression. He was somebody who will help you fight your battle. He will stop at nothing in making sure that seemingly impossible tasks are carried out, by supervising every bit of details.

Ugono was endowed with many virtues, and he was always many steps ahead in his visions, thoughts, decisions and as well as his relationship with people. He was a man of the people as he relishes

seeing people around him even when his health was beginning to fail him. We were in the United Kingdom together for 6months for proper medical attention hoping that he will return to his normal self again. Chief was my teacher and he regularly kept me abreast of going on in the Nigeria economy and politics. He tells me everything because he wanted me to know all he was doing.

He was a pragmatic community leader of high repute, a socialite per excellence and a grassroots political mobiliser. A man of principle and an eloquent speaker, he profusely defended what he believed was right and of much benefit to the common good. He was an advocate of equity, fair play, forthrightness, courage and single-mindedness that shaped his sojourn on earth. He feared nothing and no one just as he believed that no task is insurmountable. He was the most time conscious person I have ever met. If you invite him for an occasion fixed for 2:00pm be sure that Ugono will be there before 2:00pm. He was never afraid to take a stand especially where justice were concerned and would defend his conviction with his very

Douglas Anele is wrong on Easter (3) vocabulary, images and every other aspects of one’s writing. Douglas Anele has not studied elements of New Testament Greek to lecture any Nigerian on the subject of translation. Translation as an art, is not just a matter of looking up a word in a dictionary and finding its equivalent in another language.

Words and idioms have subtle shades of meaning which a nonnative speaker has trouble picking up. Joseph Butler advised his readers that the New Testament writings “have all a particular reference to the condition and usages of the Christian world at the time they were written. . . . They cannot be thoroughly understood, unless that condition and those usages are known and attended to.”

Take for example Herbert W. Armstrong who was the first to argue that Jesus Christ would not have been crucified on Friday and resurrected on Sunday because three days would not fit between Friday and Sunday. His arithmetic makes sense, but if you count like the Jews and Romans did. Without a zero, the Jews and Romans counted the day on which something occurred as the first day.

Without a zero, a portion of a day was counted as a whole day. The zero was not used as a numerical until the early seventh century A.D; when an Indian mathematician named Brahmagupta introduced the idea. Thus, by the counting system in use in the New Testament times, Friday was the first day, Saturday was the second, and Sunday – which began at sundown on Saturday— was the third, no matter how small a part of each day Jesus was in the tomb.

Another argument that confuses Douglas Anele concerns “the virgin birth and Mary ’s marriage to Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera.”

Again, Anele slavishly follows the writings of Gnostics like of George Brandes, Joachim Kahl, Alfred Reynoldsa and J.D. Tabor who falsely wrote that “Joseph, to whom the already pregnant Mary (Miriam or Maria) was betrothed, could not have been the biological father of Jesus. Tabor mentions the historical possibility that Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera, a Roman

soldier, perhaps a Jew from the North of Galilee, was Jesus’ biological father. No one knows precisely what became of Pantera.”

The virgin birth is important because it is the mode by which God designed to enter earthly history as a member of the human race. We must know that Gnosticism was a religious philosophy of metaphysical and radical dualism which taught that God was spirit and good, and that matter and the world were hopelessly evil.

Therefore, God could not have created the physical world because good cannot create evil. Part of its intellectual trapping was also borrowed from Mithraism a dualistic cult from the East that emphasised the contrast between light (symbol of goodness) and darkness (symbol of evil). The Gnostics believe that the world was beyond redemption, the soul is a divine spark imprisoned and asleep in the body. Only knowledge was seen as the key to freeing one’s true divine self from this evil fleshly prison. For strange reasons, the Gnostics found Jesus an attractive figure; and in the last half of the first century A.D. gnosticism flourished within the context of Christianity. They used Mark 4:11 as a justification for initiation of those who must get the secrets of the kingdom. Gnosticism turned Jesus into a myth. It is from this point that the traditions about Jesus’ conception became a problem.

Anele confused the names and incorrectly supplied that “Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera, a Roman soldier, perhaps a Jew from the North of Galilee, was Jesus’ biological father.” The true story is that a tombstone for a Roman soldier from Sidon named Pantera was known to exist in Germany since 1859. The anti-Christian Celsus (177-180) made a hostile pun of the Greek word parthenos, which means “virgin or young woman” and charged that Jesus was the offspring of a liaison between Mary and this Roman soldier named Pantera who according to Rousseau John and Rami Arav would have been a relatively new recruit in Roman Palestine during the era of emperor

Tiberius, when Jesus was conceived. Let me quickly remind the reader that no refutation will convince the gainsayers regarding the virgin birth or the resurrection of the son of God. I personally find that philosophers and theologians or the religious operate on different presuppositions and run on different epistemological tracks.

Secondly, Gnostic ideas are even surfacing today in New Age teachings, such as those maintaining that human beings are essentially divine. The virgin birth as an event in history fixes for us the time of the incarnation (25 December may not be the day, but there was a day). The virgin birth erects a barrier against Pelagianism, which rejects the solidarity of the race in the guilt and power of sin. In Pelagianism no human is a sinner by nature, sinlessness is entirely possible to anyone who has enough help. No emperor ever forced the church to settle its doctrinal problems by fiat as claimed by Anele. For a couple of centuries, the church directed its best theological thought to clarifying and defending the doctrine of the Second Person of the Godhead. Jesus never travelled out of Israel as falsely reported by Douglas Anele. Jesus was first manifested to Jews, preached the gospel in Israel for some years declaring that he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

They were the first ones to be convinced that the accounts of the virgin birth, oral or written, were authentic. We are certain that public records were kept of such matters at the time of Jesus’ birth. This is not contested by modern Jewish authorities. Joseph and Mary returned to Bethlehem to satisfy legal requirements of enrolment.

The genealogies report different details, with different emphasis and on different principles with different goals with no contradictions. The two narratives and genealogies come together on so many details indispensable to a consistent Christology. Each genealogy has strong links with Old Testament Hebraic thought and culture; Matthew’s genealogy gives prominence to Joseph’s lineal descent from David royal family (2

39

life. For those who know him from childhood, he was very singleminded in the pursuit of causes and issues he believed in, it was not surprising that these attributes defined his way of life.

All through the years that we were married, he was involved in all the major events of my adult life. And he stood as a rock for me through happy and sad moment.

He brought his people and friends alike to Ekakpamre during my mother’s funeral and subsequently did the traditional in-law greetings with fun fair. He made his Usiraire family of UgonoOrogun to believe that my family are his, for this I am grateful and I do solemnly promise to keep and guide the relationship jealously.

The wound of his death on me is deep and my life has taken a sudden turn. I never believed he would go like this but who am I to question God’s authority? He is the final Arbiter in the affairs of men. I therefore surrender to His will. I thank God for giving me such a pathfinder as a husband. I also thank God for all the good moment we shared. I cannot say good bye but I can say good night.

Chief Joseph Oghoetome Ugono was an extra ordinary strong-willed man, a boss, a mentor and father. May his gentle soul rest in peace.

Samuel 7:12-13). But Joseph’s lineage had a problem so that Jesus’ ascent to the throne must be through Mary. The principal problem of Luke’s genealogy is that an entirely different lineage is presented from David to Joseph, the descent coming from Nathan, the son of David, rather than through Solomon as in Matthew’s account. There is in Jeremiah (see 22:30; 36:30) a curse to the effect that the line of Coniah (also called Jehoiachin) will never have a man to sit upon the throne of David.

Though the legal right to the throne passed to Jesus Christ through Joseph as his legal father, the actual physical lineage could not come through Joseph because of this curse upon his line. The account of Luke therefore seeks to trace the physical lineage of Christ through Mary back to Adam the first man, connecting Christ to the predicted seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15.

Thus, the account of the virgin birth is a fitting explanation of how in the supernatural power of God the incarnation was made a reality.

Throughout the rest of the New Testament there is constant assumption that Christ is indeed the very Son of God and that he was born of a woman without the active participation of a man. This is the teaching of Paul in Galatians 4:4 as well as the prophetic record in Revelation 12:1-17. The sign promised through Isaiah 7:14 of a virgin bearing a Son to be called Immanuel described as Mighty God in Isaiah 9:6. The wisest of scholars as well as the most simple of humble believers have bowed alike, and acknowledged Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour in whom is resident all the attributes of the infinite God.

•Concluded •Mbamalu, a professor of ethics and theology and Extraordinary Lecturer at the Faculty of Theology North West University, Potchefstroom, RSA, presently lectures at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, AletoEleme, PortHarcourt, Rivers S t a t e . E m a i l : mbamalu_christethics@hotmail.com Phone number: 08162081563

Page 40— SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016

High consumer taxes on mobile will retard economic, digital devt VIEWPOINT

By Mortimer Hope VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF The need for equitable taxation structure on mobile

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obile connectivity has fundamentally changed the fabric of society in Nigeria. Since the first mobile services were introduced in Nigeria in 2001, consumer demand has rocketed.

Today the country has more than 83 million unique subscribers, accounting for 45 per cent of the population. As well as providing access to financial services, education and healthcare to millions of citizens, many for the first time, mobile has also played a critical role in reducing transportation, communication and transaction costs.

In addition, the mobile ecosystem contributed US$8.3 billion in value to the Nigerian economy in 2014 alone and mobile operators supported the creation of 164,000 jobs .

Such is its significance, that driving

VIEWPOINT

By Dorothy Ifeakachukwu Enuma VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF Sponsoring education as a way of giving back to society

REATNESS ,they say, is not measured by how much you G have or how many things you can

afford, it’s about being able to impact the lives of those around you positively. This was confirmed by Rt. Hon. Friday Osanebi, the founder of the Friday Osanebi Foundation and the deputy speaker of the delta state house of assembly, when he awarded full time scholarships to me and fifty-nine other Anioma undergraduates in February early this year. I can say that this scheme has improved my life and academics ever since.

The FOF scholarship scheme has helped my studies in numerous ways. It is a stepping stone that has elevated me beyond my limits academically, acting as a “ watchdog” to prevent lackadaisical performance, also as a motivational factor to be focused, above all its renewal of

VIEWPOINT

By Balarabe Oshiafi VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF VIEWPOINT The search for a successor

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ITHOUT equivocation, the performance of the Edo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been exemplary, all inclusive and truly progressive.

It allows everyone to come into the change train and show what they’ve got. This is attributable to selfless leadership of Governor Adams Oshiomhole and leader of the party. “We have liberalised politics. Edo people are now in charge of their affairs”, Oshiomhole said while setting the tone for the refreshing change in the state. Now we have round table meeting of minds instead of civil dictatorship of the past; sophisticated lobbying instead of reckless godfatherism of the past, access to complaints centres and differences mediation committees as against `the oracle has spoken’ of the past.”

mobile growth is a fundamental part of the government’s Vision 2020 plan to consolidate Nigeria’s position as one of the 20 largest economies in the world, and a central element of President Buhari’s election manifesto.

Nigeria has made remarkable progress in delivering mobile connectivity, but more than half the population of Africa’s biggest economy remains unconnected.

Given that only 0.2 per cent of Nigerians have access to fixed telephone lines, mobile represents the first opportunity for the majority of citizens to get access to communications services.

If mobile is going to reach its potential for development in Nigeria, supportive policies that increase digital inclusion and drive even greater growth are needed.

For these reasons the GSMA, along with other industry organisations including ALTON, ATCON and NATCOMS, have rejected the Nigerian government’s proposed ‘Communication Service Tax’ that would establish a nine per cent tax on users of services such as SMS, voice calls, MMS and data.

By pushing up the cost to consumers, this tax will adversely impact the adoption of mobile.

Affordability is a key challenge in connecting the unconnected.

In Nigeria, use of a mobile phone represents on average around five per cent or more of personal income, making basic mobile services unaffordable for vast swathes of society. However, taxing electronic communication services will hit lower income consumers the hardest, making access to mobile even less of a possibility.

It is these consumers and communities that stand to gain the most from the social and economic inclusion that access to mobile provides. The proposed legislation may also result in a double taxation for consumers who already pay VAT on telecommunications services, resulting in a taxation level of 15 per cent or more.

It’s vital the government looks at the bigger picture. The development of a competitive digital economy is driven by increased mobile penetration and investment in networks. This will ultimately strengthen the economy and lead to

faster economic growth, plus higher fiscal income for the government from a broader tax base.

Conversely, by negatively impacting take-up of consumer services and therefore industry revenues, the proposed tax will reduce the incentive for mobile operators to invest in the infrastructure improvements that are essential to improve and expand mobile connectivity across Nigeria.

Mobile industry investment in Nigeria is already constrained by multiple levels of taxes and fees in specific to mobile the country.

There are 26 different taxes and fees levied on mobile operators and consumers, including national and local taxes on revenues, businesses and business sites as well as regulatory fees such as spectrum and permits fees. Mobile operators paid US$850 million in taxes and regulatory fees in Nigeria in 2014 .

When set against a backdrop of tumbling revenue per user, all these factors start to erode the incentives for investment in the mobile industry in Nigeria. For investors, the business case may not stack up.

According to the World Bank, in

The impact of the Osanebi Foundation award is a helping hand to see me through school, paying for tuitions and other academic requirements due to the fact that my parents are not financially buoyant.

I think the Friday Osanebi Foundation has brought light to where has been proven darkened for ages, giving glimpse of hope to the hopeless and building

Aside the financial benefits, the scheme has also helped me academically because now I have more reason to succeed in my chosen career. The fact that my grades are constantly being checked by the foundation, gives me more reason to remain on track

foundation in the hearts of the future leaders that will yield enormous rewards. It has ignited the passion of giving in the hearts of all beneficiaries, this inspirational factor is a process that will duplicate and lead to a peaceful and egalitarian society.

The main aim of the foundation is to sponsor those who are academically sound but lack the funds to finance their education.

The founder, through this scheme, wishes to reduce the number of unemployed and unemployable youths by giving them the opportunity to get a bachelors degree and make a place for themselves in the employment sector. The foundation has long term goals which they seek to achieve. From my point of view, the foundation’s sincere desire to raise young men and women who will be able to empower others like them once they are able to stand on their feet , is a noble gesture. If one man empowers sixty young people and they empower sixty each, in a short time, we would have empowered a great number of people.

This scholarship scheme has indeed played a great role in my education. I have been able to buy my medical books and other school supplies. This scheme has also placed me in what I would like to call educational security.

This is because all my school expenses for my remaining six years in medical school are covered comfortably and now my parents can concentrate on raising my siblings. With this my life and that of my family has become a lot more comfortable.

Aside the financial benefits, the scheme has also helped me academically because now I have more reason to succeed in my chosen career. The fact that my grades are constantly being checked by the foundation, gives me more reason to remain on track. I have been greatly inspired by the founder to help others and fly the flag of my prestigious state, delta state and country, Nigeria. It has also taught me that hard work always has its rewards and that no matter how long it takes, it will surely come.

I see this foundation as one born out of love for one’s people and

APC, Godwin Obaseki and Edo State Indeed, Edo APC has become a political school that is driving the basic tenets of participatory democracy and a source of uncommon knowledge about the game for the wobbling opposition.

So if a leader, who has worked consciously to maintain and sustain the growth of a party, takes a standpoint on choice of political office seekers in an election year, it only makes for a refreshing departure from the imposition of the past and a fluent furtherance of APC’s ideology which has to necessarily endure for development to come. So the party leadership has to show responsible behaviour by prodding the stakeholders as to the need to remain on track.

I went to town and majority of the people spoken to preferred Mr Godwin Obaseki, Edo State Head of Economic Team and one of the APC governorship aspirants to succeed Oshiomhole. Mrs Dorothy Itohan is a trader in Igueben, Edo

Central. She had this to say,”Governor Adams Oshiomhole has done very well for Edo State.

We want somebody who will finish the good works he is doing. That is why we market women want Godwin Obaseki to be the next governor of Edo State”.

Also expressing preference for

Edo APC will find it too distracting to hunt for looted funds. It had rather not allow a situation that will encourage thievery

Obaseki, a banker resident in Igarra, Akoko Edo told me in confidence, “ In the South-South, Edo is about the least in terms of internally generated revenue (IGR). States like Rivers, Delta make more money. So the current efforts of this government to diversify Edo economy, bring industries like Dangote, BUA Cementn boost solid mineral production in Iyuku, Ikpeshi and agriculture in the southern part, are very good. Obaseki must have made major imputs to all these as the Head of the Economic Team.

He must be better than the rest”.

That APC is the ruling party in Nigeria today is due to its ideology of freedom, respect for human rights and justice. Coupled with proven records of performance in the South-West, it was able to push Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to a position of frantic capitulation!

All over Nigeria today, the wind of positive change is blowing.

Many analysts are discerning

developing economies such as Nigeria, every 10 per cent increase in broadband subscriber penetration accelerates economic growth by 1.38 per cent in the long term . Increasing taxation levels could jeopardise the contribution of the industry towards economic growth and prevent the spread of mobile broadband that would enable Nigeria to become a modern knowledge-based economy.

It’s imperative that the government carefully considers all factors in order to create a balanced and equitable taxation structure on mobile. Only by fostering a regulatory environment that encourages mobile penetration and infrastructure investment can the mobile industry fully deliver its economic and social benefits. We can’t afford a short-term gain for long-term pain approach. With more than half of Nigeria’s citizens still to experience the power of mobile, we can’t afford to hold development back.

•Mortimer Hope is the Director for Africa, GSMA

the desire to give a helping hand to others. I believe that I do not stand alone when I say that we all are grateful to the honourable deputy speaker for this opportunity to effect change in our world. My advice to young men and women of Anioma, Delta State and Nigeria in general is that they should work hard and pray to God and nothing will be able to stand in their way on the road to success. Not many leaders can do what the Rt. Hon. Friday Osanebi has done, as he saw the need to give back to the society. I highly recommend this scholarship as there is no partiality involved, everyone is given an equal chance as long as you pass the qualifying test. Once again I want to say thank you sir, it is a good work you’re doing. I believe this would be a stepping stone for you to touch numerous lives of students in our great country Nigeria. As it is said in the bible, “blessed is the hand that gives than the one that receives”. May the good Lord which will all serve continue to lift you up to greater heights.

• Enuma is of the College of Medicine, University of Benin enough to know that the apparent slow pace of the economy to get back on track is due to the severity of the plundering of our treasury by the immediate past government.

Edo APC will find it too distracting to hunt for looted funds.

It had rather not allow a situation that will encourage thievery. An APC leader who spoke to me in confidence said the process of discovering Obaseki was paintaking. “I have no doubt that he will clinch the ticket on June 18 and win the election in September”, he stated.

He added”, Of course the opposition has nothing to show and can’t impress the electorate”.

Obaseki is an ingenuous public officer who has endeared himself to the people of Edo. He has amazing stamina for hard work and is boundlessly efficient.

From hindsight, he deserves the support of delegates come June 18 and the votes of the electorate come September 10.

•Oshiafi, a public affairs analyst, lives in Iyuku-Uzairue

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016 — PAGE 41

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RUSTRATED by the magnitude of the mir acles attending Jesus’ ministry, the chief priests and religious elders of the Jews challenged him in the temple. They demanded to know by what authority he was doing the things he was doing and who it was who gave him the authority.

In his reply, Jesus presents a dichotomy between what is of God and what is of men.

He asks them: "The baptism of John- where was it from?

From heaven or from men?"

(Matthew 21:25).

The question is loaded. By implication, Jesus maintains what is of God cannot be of men and what is of men cannot be of God. In a similar vein, he told Nicodemus: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

(John 3:6). This dichotomy between God and men finds its most eloquent expression in Jesus’ categorical assertion that: “What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15).

It is therefore pertinent here to ask the question: is the ordination of pastors today of God or is it of men?

Authority of men The answer is self-evident: the ordination of pastors is of men and not of God. The ordination of pastors comes not from the teachings of Jesus, the Son of God, but from the writings of Paul, the servant of God. Paul used an Old Testament scripture as the basis for creating a whole array of minis-

THE FALSE AUTHORITY OF THE PASTOR terial positions in the New Testament church. In his letter to the Ephesians, he cites Psalm 68 as the authority for doing so. With reference to that psalm, he writes: “This is why it says: ‘When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.’” (Ephesians 4:8).

What are the bogus gifts Paul then claims God gave to men? “He himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

However, on investigation it becomes apparent that Paul’s writing is a deliberate misquote and distortion of the original psalm. Observe the difference in the original: “When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious- that you, O LORD God, might dwell there.” (Psalm 68:18).

Can you see the distortion?

The psalmist says men gave gifts to the Lord. Paul, in quoting the psalmist, changes this to say the Lord gave gifts to men.

Authority of Paul

Paul wanted to create posts

The ordination of pastors is of men and not of God in the churches he established so as to bring them more effectively under his control. So he twisted an Old Testament scripture to make it seem as if it was the Lord who authorised it. As a result today, there are people who insist that the Lord has called them to be evangelists, pastors or teachers; not knowing that Jesus did not establish any of these positions under the New Testament.

In creating these posts, which have since spawned many others such as Popes, Arch-Bishops, and Right-Reverends, Paul enshrined the spirit of the Pharisee in the heart of Christianity, contrary to the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus mocked the pomposity of the Pharisees. He warns that we should not follow their example: “Do not be called 'Rabbi'; for one is your teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. And do not be called

teachers; for one is your teacher, the Christ.” (Matthew 23:8-10).

Observe here that Jesus permits no differentiation among men. He says: “you are all brethren.” I like Eugene Peterson’s translation of the same verse in the Message Bible. He says “you are all classmates.” That means we are all equal. The pope is no different from the lay Catholic. The arch-bishop is the classmate of the members of the laity. None is higher or lower than the other. So how can some classmates are now calling themselves teachers?

Nevertheless, Paul goes ahead anyway to establish not only teachers upon teachers, but a whole set of apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors as well. And to add insult to injury, he tells Timothy that Jesus himself called him to be teacher, the very post Jesus expressly warns us not to arrogate to ourselves: “I was appointed a preacher and an apostle- I am speak-

ing the truth in Christ and not lying- a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (1 Timothy 2:7).

But Paul was lying. Jesus does not appoint teachers.

Jesus is not a hypocrite; he does not contradict himself.

To repeat for emphasis, this is what the Lord says: “Do not be called teachers; for one is your teacher, the Christ.”

(Matthew 23:10).

If Jesus maintains we should not be called “teachers” and insists he alone is our teacher, he could then not have called Paul to be “a teacher to the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

Authority of Jesus

Jesus discourages honorific titles and warns that he who exalts himself shall be humbled. He tells his disciples that none of them is greater in status than the other. This means that a pastor does not have any authority over the members of his congregation. He is not their head. He cannot lord it over them. Jesus warns: “Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. (Matthew 23:9).

The Father is the source of all authority and from the Father it flows to Jesus, the Son. Where does it go from the Son? Does it go to the pastor, the bishop, the pope, the husband or the government?

No! All authority remains with Jesus. Jesus says: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.”

(Matthew 28:18).

Jesus did not transfer his authority to his disciples or to the church administration.

The flow of authority is direct without mediation from Jesus to the believer. Jesus remains today the only pastor we have. David says: “The Lord is my pastor, I have all I need.” (Psalm 23:1).

What are we to conclude from this? All those who call themselves pastors are followers of Paul and not followers of Jesus. Their authority is not from heaven but from men. That is one more reason why all pastors are bad shepherds. Wittingly or unwittingly, they disobey expressly the voice of Jesus.

This is dangerous because eternal life is in the words of Jesus. (John 6:68-69). The church belongs to Jesus.

Therefore, his words are the only acceptable basis of church doctrine.

The Holy Spirit does not speak on his own authority; he only says what he hears.

(John 16:13-15). Not so with pastors. ?Jeremiah observes with amazement that they are answerable to no one but themselves: “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.”

(Jeremiah 5:30-31).

Lord's Chosen holds '...And the enemies submitted' crusade enemy from feeding His people with bread of hopelessness.

"God will on that day, in a dimension never witnessed before, demonstrate His power to deliver people in all aspect of life. The crusade is designed to be a spiritual measure meant to deal with the enemies of the political and economic growth of Nigeria.

"It's going to be a r e f r e s h i n g *Cross section of the crowd with Pastor Lazarus Muoka during the last edi- spiritual answer to national and tion of "And the enemies submitted." international crises that have bedeviled THE Lord's Chosen ply their wicked enterprithis country and by Charismatic Revival ses. extension our gen-eration.

Ministries has con-cluded "Seeing the situation of At the end of the crusade, it plans to host its biennial 2man, God has decided is certain there will be a day power pack-ed interthrough this programme to total transform-ation for the denominational programme deliver mankind from the better in every aspect of entitled, "..And the Enemies jaws of their enemies. It human endea-vours and submitted" scheduled for does not matter the circumconsequently attendant Saturday, June 11 and stances surrounding your tension shall be no more.

Sunday, June 12, 2016 at the captivity or how strong your The programme which will Chosen Re-vival Ground, enemy may be, our assuranbe presided over by the icon along Oshodi-Apapa ce is that God has set aside of revival evangelism, Expressway, by Ijesha Bus the two days to intervene in Pastor Lazarus Muoka, will Stop, Lagos. Time: 8.00 a.m. the affairs of His people, to witness salvation, sanctifidaily. set them free from all forms cation, Holy Ghost baptism, A statement by the church's of bondages which they deliverances from spiritual Public Relations Officer, have been subjected to by limitation, demonic possPastor Louis Chidi said "it's their enemies. ession, barrenness of the no longer in doubt that the "He has heard the cry of womb, intellectual and world is going through its mankind in every area of financial barrenness, to worst perilous time and this their life not excluding deliverance from physical has given room for the eneconomics, politics, health, challenges such as paralysemies of mankind to multifamily, etc and has decided es of all kinds, diseases, to come down to stop the

sick-nesses, economic and political, etc.

As the Pastor ministers deliverance to the people, the super-natural anointing that accompanies his messages will break every yoke of the enemies that gave rise to their captivities. Indeed by this programme the end of the enem-ies has come. It is expected to att-ract an unpre-cedented crowd going by what was witnessed in the last event.

Free transport arrangement has been made by the ministry to convey participants to the venue from any location within the Lagos metropolitan city. And most importantly provision has been made for a digitalized security measure that will address any breach of order.

The General Overseer, Pastor Lazarus Muoka is inviting all to come and witness the demonstration of

God’s power that will bring their enemies to submission.

He is calling on everybody irrespective of his/her religious preference or leaning to avail him/herself of this opportunity to meet with the God of the Chosen that specializes in deliverances. God has chosen that day to deliver people from the hands of their enemies and spiritually empower them to be champions in their various fields of endeavor.

By this program God has stretched His hand of mercy to you and informing you that all good things are ready for you on that day. You cannot afford to miss it.

Come and be liberated from the entanglement of the enemy. Come and experience the power of God in another dimension. Come and you shall be blessed.

Amosu, Akinde solicit prayer support to rebuild economy

By Olayinka Latona

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HE Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosu and the Diocesan Bishop, Diocese of Lagos Mainland, Most Rev. Adebayo Akinde urged Nigerians to embrace peace, pray for the country and support ongoing efforts of the Federal Government to rebuild the economy. The duo made the appeal during the official opening of 1st Session of the 4th synod of Diocese of Lagos Main-land, Anglican Communion at the All Saints'

Anglican Church, Yaba, Lagos with the theme: "Thy Hand O God, Has Guided".

Appealing to Nigerians to rise to the current challenges confronting the nation with prayers, Amosu said Nigerians should walk in love, eschew violence. In his words: "We should pray for God's mercy in our country, eschew violence, walk in love and pray for the peace of our country.

This is what our heavenly father request from us. We must continue to seek the unity of our country. We can work but it is only prayer that does the magic".

PAGE 42—SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016

ONDO 2016: The odds favour APC – Akinsuyi, governorship contender

By Dayo Johnson, Akure HON. Niran Sule-Akinsuyi, a former Special Duties Commissioner in Ondo State, has indicated his intention to vie for the November governorship election in the state under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

His political catch-word is “Iyanu a sele” (miracle will happen). In this interview, Sule-Akinsuyi speaks on his plans for Ondo if he emerges the candidate of his party for the election. hat are the APC’s chanc es in the November 26 election in Ondo State?

APC is at the centre of the game of politics in Ondo State, in terms of strength and content. We have personalities, people who are concerned, people who believe we can do more than we are doing presently. To a large extent, we represent the collection of the feelings and aspirations of the people of the state today. Election is all about numbers and politics is about people and we have a group collection in that regard.

A cursory look at the number of aspirants jostling for the party’s ticket appears on wieldy. What do you say?

It depends on your interpretation of it. Yoruba will say you don’t compete for something that is bad. If something is good and is of benefit to the society, you find it difficult to limit the number of ideas that you will get or numbers of people showing interest but I think the party will use its internal mechanism to look into that. We are not disadvantaged as a result of the large number of people showing interest in the governorship.

What about the present challenges facing the country in terms of security, high cost of food items.

Will these not affect the chances of your party at the election?

The lesson of history is very important in our quest to serve our people. The issue of subsidy removal and the fraud associated with it has been

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•Hon. Niran Sule-Akinsuyi on the table for a long time. The decay in the economy and in our financial system; the level of corruption, will also be on the table.

What is coming out now is that past governments had treated these issues with kid gloves. So, this is the first time that we are having a leader with the courage to do the right thing, the courage to take a decision and stand by it. We have had the rot in the oil and gas sector, the rot in the management of the resources of the country. These are stories that have been coming in the past 20 years. Happily, majority of Nigerians are beginning to show understanding. Initially, the opposition tried to distract the Buhari administration. At a time, they were talking about frequent foreign trips.

But everybody has come to realize that the President should not just live in Nigeria, he also needs to go out there because half of our resources are stashed in foreign lands. He needs to take the battle to those countries because today we are faced with many challenges including the nonpayment of workers’ salaries and the challenges of foreign exchange to revive the economy. We have also been informed that six Nigerians who stashed our money abroad can bail out the country from its economic crisis. I believe that any system that can cut the tape of corruption should be supported by the people.

What are your chances of clinch-

ing the party’s ticket in the primary considering the large number of aspirants?

We are relying on what we are bringing to the system. We are going to establish an enduring political structure under which our people can maximize their potentials.

We are going to empower talents and solve the problem militating against the economic growth of Ondo which is capital flight. 90 percent of our earnings doesn’t stay with us. As soon as it is received, it develops wings and disappears. So we are coming with policies that will stop capital flight and ensure that

We are going to empower talents and solve the problem militating against the economic growth of Ondo which is capital flight

there is fair and equitable distribution of resources in the state. In days to come, we are going to unfold our programmes, our policies and the reasons we are coming into government. We have identified leadership as part of the reason the economy of our state has not been opened to the outside world.

What do you think is the problem of leadership in Ondo?

The major problem is greed and avarice and that is responsible for

the failure of the structure that has now put us at a disadvantaged position, politically and economically.

Let me give you the example of leadership in Lagos State and the benefits of enduring political structure since 1999 as compared to Ondo where none exists. We have been having an epileptic political structure in Ondo. We took off from 1999, with Afenifere structure which the Alliance for Democracy (AD) used to ascend to various offices. Unfortunately, that structure was relinquished by the leadership when they engaged in the Obasanjo’s second term project which gave the PDP the opportunity to start all over again.

So the structure that was put in place by the PDP under that arrangement when they took over in 2003 was also troubled and dismantled through a popular movement by the people and Labour Party (LP) which came into power. We are all living witnesses to what happened to LP’s structure as it was abandoned for a return into the PDP. So the problem is that people who are supposed to be standing on these structures, leaders who are supposed to acquire training through the system and move up on the ladder like their counterparts in other states, especially Lagos, have been relegated because the system is not enduring.

I am talking about Lagos because you can feel and touch the benefit of enduring political system in Lagos State. On the economy side, you see the continuation of policies and programmes. You can point today to more than five successful Public Private Partnership (PPP) models in Lagos State.

What are the things you are going to do differently from what Governor Olusegun Mimiko has done if you win the election?

Not from what this government is doing alone, but from what has been happening in the state. In the area of our oil and gas reserves, I will introduce a successful Public Private Partnership that will bring the exploration of the reserve into frui-

tion. Lagos State has joined the league of oil producing states and they have already gotten a company and exploration of about 40,000 barrel per day that is almost taking off. For me it is about vision and capacity to deliver and I have the knowledge on how to actualize that vision and build capacity that will bring into live most of the advantages we have gotten especially in the area of mineral and natural resources. We have the privilege of the location of the $9billion Dangote refinery in Ondo State, but the opportunity filtered away. I know that there are reasons why the refinery found its way to Lagos State.

The difference between Lagos and Ondo State is leadership. The Lekki free trade zone is a challenge to our own Olokola I know that I must begin to work if possible 25 hours to bring life into that place because I will be dealing with a state that already has enormous advantages over us. They are thinking of developing a port, they are thinking of putting a new airport in Lekki. With the location of Lagos, with the resources in Lagos State, for us to compete we must have connection with Lagos or we work harder. We have our own oil well here. We have mining license and we got them before oil was discovered in Lagos but Lagos is already ahead of us as far this business is concerned. So, we need more energy in our system to be able to take advantage of what we have. It is a situation where you need to open your eyes in order to see clearly.

Don’t you think that imposition of a candidate may shatter these dreams?

That is not APC; APC believes in internal democracy, it believes in transparency in the conduct of business because we have a President who had been adjudged by the international community as someone who is transparent and not corrupt,

Continues on page 43

EDO 2016: Why I am running for the second time – Gen. Airhiavbere

By Simon Ebegbulem, BeninCity Gen. Charles Ehigie Airhiavbere was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2012 governorship election in Edo State when he ran against the incumbent governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Today, Airhiavbere is an aspirant of the APC in the state, hoping to succeed Oshiomhole . In this interview, Arhiavbere discloses why he is running again and his relationship with Oshiomhole. Excerpts:

H

ow have been meeting delegates ahead of the party primary? How has

it been?

The terrain has been smooth even though people have been looking at it as a rugged terrain. Some of us came into the party after the 2015 presidential election. There seems to be a silent communication that those of us that were not part of the merger are finding it difficult to navigate delegates because of the way the congresses were done. We are meeting the delegates, we are creating new strategies making sure we win the minds of the delegates.

We have made tremendous progress.

What is the difference between meeting delegates in the PDP and meeting delegates in the APC?

The difference is very clear. Remember the primary that brought President Buhari to power in Lagos was democratic and transparent.

That was the first attraction to the APC. That encouraged me that this was a new platform to work with. It was possible because three political parties came together: The ACN, the CPC and the ANPP. In the case of the PDP, there are only three delegates per ward. In the APC, you have all the 12 ward executive members, 24 executives at the local government and that gives you a level playing field from the structure. You can sell yourself to a minimum of a hundred people because the number of delegates in the local government is 126. If you cannot break through 100, you are not supposed to be in the field. That is the first calculation statically. The PDP only have two men and a woman as delegates and so it is very difficult to break through. When some people crossed over from the APC, the first thing they offered them was to have one delegate out of the three, automatically that person is the winner. That is what happened when Ize-Iyamu crossed over, such structures are not democratic.

There was a time some aspirants raised alarm that the list of APC delegates was being manipulated. Did you also have such fear?

Those who raised the alarm are not students of history. They didn’t

•Gen. Airhiavbere believe in their capacity to lead.

Whoever you accused of trying to falsify the delegate list, you are accusing that person of fraud. From my understanding, the APC we have come to join is not a fraudulent party. One of their cardinal principles in their manifesto is zero, tolerance for corruption and falsifying delegates list is fraudulent, it is corruption of the highest level and I do not believe that anybody in the APC will accept that. Crying wolf should be eliminated from the political process. We saw the primaries of the APC in other states, Edo State will not be an exception.

Why I am running for second time There is a proverb that says there is no way you can go to the market for the second time and you would not find what went to search for. The

One of their cardinal principles in their manifesto is zero, tolerance for corruption and falsifying delegates list is fraudulent, it is corruption of the highest level and I do not believe that anybody in the APC will accept that meaning of Airhiavbere, my family name, is that you will not make a second mistake. All the mistakes I made in my first outing, I have taken into cognizance in my second outing. Spiritually, APC has a principle of equal comers. In the PDP, I came in seven months after I retired and I claimed the ticket. There were many obstacles. I had to go and get waiver. A major-general that served meritoriously should take political class at any level because of the high level of politics, manoeuvring, discipline, the high level of loyalty put in to serve the country and I think that particular part of the constitution in any political party should be removed. The APC has given us that platform and I have played my part.

I was the team leader that monitored election in Bayelsa. I went there two times. I was in the team

from the APC headquarters that went for the burial of the late Audu in Kogi and I campaigned in the Vice President’s team in Kogi ahead of the election. I have brought my experience from the PDP to the APC. The pillars that have been strengthened in the APC today, I can say I was a party to it because I challenged the governor in 2012 and, as a result, most of the things I brought out in my campaigns were used to strengthen the government in the second term. It is clear to the people of the state and it endeared me to them. That is why I described myself as the candidate to beat because I have been tested. I have nothing against anybody. I can say Oshiomhole has done well. He has opened the political space. He has given the people the democratic dividends both in infrastructural development.

This is the time to consolidate. I am sure the human capital development that Edo has is needed to be done by a man who has seen it all, by a man who has contested, a man who joined politics five days after he retired from the Army. I was yearning to serve my people and that is exactly what made to come out for a second attempt. I am sure I will win.

You were regarded as a man with deep pocket. Do you still have deep pocket?

For every operation, you have a

Continues on page 43

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016, PAGE 43

EDO 2016: Why I am running for the second time – Gen. Airhiavbere Continued from page 42 name. The former Chief of Army Staff has a name for Boko Haram operation. The new Chief of Army Staff called it Operation Dole. It means it is a task that must be done. The psychological warfare that we thought was how deep will my pocket be that I can challenge a sitting governor. That was the facade to create a larger than life image for the man to challenge Oshiomhole and it sold. The new strategy has to conform with the new platform. The new platform has eight cardinal principles.

There are new qualities needed for anybody who wants to contest on the platform of the APC. We must be transparent. Some people on the other side are now facing EFCC problems. They have to account for the money they were given. During my time in the PDP, I never touched a kobo. The deep pocket they were talking

about was the PDP strategy and that was exactly the situation. The APC has its principles and we have to abide by them. That is why I have taken it upon myself that Edo must remain on the platform of the APC to ensure a winning strategy for the state.

You contested against the governor and you are now with him. What is the feeling like?

The only person that can tell you that your mouth is smelling is your friend. The fact that I challenge the governor does not mean we are not friends. My mother told me that when she returned to the country and saw what Oshiomhole was doing, she decided to vote for Oshiomhole again unknown to her that her son would be the candidate against Oshiomhole.

It is only a friend that can challenge a friend. In most of the courses I have attended, people who critic my thesis most are my friends. I criticized the governor because I felt he

The lessons I have learnt are being exhibited in this second outing.

During my first outing in the PDP, I carried money to the leaders every month.

was not doing enough at that time. Today he has done well by my assessment. I joined the APC because we have always been in opposition and we have not gotten anything. I felt we could sway our people to the Federal Government policies and see what we stand to gain. Edo is the only state in the South-South that is under the APC. It should key

into the Federal Government.

At the time I joined the APC, there was tension and the PDP had some muscles. I had to deflect them and the results in the House of Assembly was clear. Any politician that has the interest of Edo people at heart must join Oshiomhole.

I decided to move despite all promises of appointment.

What lessons have you learnt in your political sojourn?

The lessons I have learnt are being exhibited in this second outing. During my first outing in the PDP, I carried money to the leaders every month. I paid them money they didn’t deserve. Today, we are closer to the grassroots.

Those of us in the field now realize the delegates are the ones that own us. They watch us in the stage and do the leg work. We have to report back to them. That is the way I want to play politics and not leaders sitting in their houses and waiting for money. Most of the leaders have not been

able to present their children for elections. They don’t have clout. I intend to revolutionize the political system. I will achieve that and it is not money.

During your first outing, there was suggestions from some Chiefs that you should wait till Oshiomhole completes his eight years tenure.

Do you have any regret for not listening to them?

I have no regret. The lion see herd of buffalo and looked out for the weakling and go for it. It was necessary for me to showcase myself.

Some persons will say they want to wait for five years but I have always believed that God has destined me to rule this state. That is the way God told me to serve the people. I was told to wait till Oshiomhole finished his tenure but if I had waited, the people of Edo would not take me from the table of an Army general to the table of a first class politician that I am today. I came

out, made an attempt and became the flag bearer of the PDP. Within seven months, I sold myself to the people of the state. I won the primary.

Everybody said I was a neophyte even though I was an Army. I had to learn the political landscape. Today I am the candidate to beat in the APC I joined 13 months ago.

There seems to be a preferred candidate by the governor. Are you not worried?

I do not believe there is any other aspirant in the APC. I do not see anyone. If I do not know how to access my competitors, there is a problem.

There is no preferred candidate. We are all preferred candidates. I contested against him, I should be the most preferred. It is going to be a free and fair primary. I won before. It is not going to be different because we are the same Edo people. That is why I am moving round. I will win landslide the primary.

The result will be clear.

ONDO 2016: The odds favour APC – Akinsuyi, governorship contender Continued from page 42 so anything under him has to be transparent.

What if the primary is tailored, which is another form of imposition?

What I understand about election is your ability to win and resist cheating. So it is your duty to resist cheating and make sure that you are not fighting outside the fence.

It is your duty; either primary or general election, you must know what you are doing. A bad workman complains about his tools. If you have to win, you must win and you want to lose, you lose. If you know a person wants to tailor the primary, you take the scissors or remove the sewing machine from him.

You used to be a close as-

sociate of the incumbent governor; at what point did you disagree?

He chose to go to the PDP and I pitched my tent with APC, it is a matter of choice.

It is difficult sometimes to monitor the belief and ideology of your own children. You might want them to take after you as a journalist; they may prefer to be medical doctors. It is normal political differences. I am convinced that APC holds a bright future for Nigeria and that influenced my decision to join APC when the LP platform crashed. Politically, the governor and I are not in the same political party today but the Bible and the Quran enjoined us to relate well with our neighbour and the adage that whoever

turns a good side to you is your neighbour, relate well with him. What should be our worry and concern is the rising volume of interest in Lagos State over the same things that we have been celebrating on paper over the years in terms of investors’ destination. We saw what happened to the $9billion Dangote refinery that was moved out of Ondo State to Lagos State. That industry alone is sufficient to bring about economic prosperity to the door step of everybody living in Ondo State because we are just a population of three million. A refinery and fertilizer company will have great multiplier effects on our economy and by implication the purchasing power of our

people and make life better.

How do you intend to check the debts to be left behind by the outgoing government, including the workers’ salaries and loans?

Even when we are paying N18,000 as minimum wage, most of us believed that it is unfair and we try to analyze the effect of such minimum wage on the life of an average worker.. It translates to 60 loaves of bread. For any serious government, it should be a duty because a worker is entitled to his salary so if you believe in God you must pay your workers at as when due.

For me, I will look at what happened to the money meant for workers’ salaries because money came from the Federation Account for

the purposes of this payment.

I will also like to look into our borrowing and deposit system to know if we have been short-changed in the process. Workers must receive their wages, pensioners must get their pensions. More importantly, we should look at what we can do with our natural resources to generate income so that they could be used to upset these backlog , develop infrastructure and improve the living standards of our people. That is why I lamented over the failure of our governors to run Oodua telecom properly.

When you look at the huge profit being declared by MTN and other telecommunications companies, you will easily come to terms with the

analyses of what we are losing. I am saying that the state should be productive. That is why I continue to mention the differences between Lagos State and other states, especially Ondo State. Something is responsible for the increase in the IGR of Lagos State from N16bllion to N20billon and now to over N30billion. So we must look at the structure of our economy and see what we can do to improve it. People talk about agriculture, we have been on this for more than 20 years without any success in encouraging our graduates to show interest in agriculture, I will demonstrate a good example that will lead our youths to follow me in practising agriculture.

Okumagba urges Urhobo to support Warri South PDP chairman

O

lorogun Victor Okumagba has called on the Urhobos to support Hon. Johnson Agbeyegbe, the new Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chairman of Warri South,

in order to move the party forward Olorogun Okumagba who accused two prominent Urhobo chiefs in the council area of trading off the Warri South local government chair-

manship position zoned to the Urhobo after allegedly collecting N10 million, said such greedy act is shameful but will not stop the Urhobo from fighting to be liberated from marginalisation

From left: Vice President, Mobile Commerce, Airtel Nigeria, Femi Oshinlaja; Executive Director, Personal Banking, Access Bank, Victor Etuokwu; winner of new Hyundai i10, HND 1 Computer Engineering student of Lagos State Polytechnic, Abdulrazak Ayinde with Director of Strategy, Airtel, Tenu Awoonor during the Smart Savers prize presentation held in Lagos.

In a press statement signed by Olorogun Okumagba on behalf of the Urhobos of Warri political class and made available to journalists in Warri, stated that they began the agitation for

the chairmanship position since 2012 after making their presentation to the leadership of the party based on their alleged marginalisation.

According to him, it was unanimously

agreed that the Urhobo should produce the next PDP chairman of Warri South and also signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the Itsekiris over the council and party chairmanship positions.

From right: Festus Oseji, African Reinsurance Corporation, M. Yusuf, Scib Insurance Brokers, Falade Modupe, Scib Insurance Brokers and Yinka Dawudo, African Reinsurance Corporation at the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) Conference held in Lagos recently.

PAGE 44—SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016

Don’t import grass that local farmers can grow, Obada warns Buhari .Says Nigeria can feed over 40 million cattle annually

BY UDEME CLEMENT

Dr. Felix Babatunde Obada, is an expert who helped to pioneer Nigeria’s entrance into space science and technology. He was also a party to Nigeria’s movement from analog to digital technology, by way of egovernance. He spoke to Sunday Vanguard, on ways of resolving the herdsmen crisis without creating grazing reserves or resorting to importation of grass from other countries, when Nigerian farmers can grow such grass locally. ecent report shows that the ministry has concluded plans to start importing grass to feed cattle in Nigeria, with a view to arresting the herdsmen crisis. What is your take on this?

Creating ranches to feed animals in Nigeria is an excellent idea. It is the best way of addressing the herdsmen crisis that has taken thousands of lives across the nation. But to start importing grass for that purpose is totally uncalled for.

The idea must be jettisoned. It will be a huge embarrassment to the Nigerian Agronomists, Breeders and Animal Production Research Scientists,

With over 8 million hectares of this crop under cultivation on annual basis, Nigeria has the capacity to harvest leaves to feed more than 40 million heads of cattle, annually. Cattle population in Nigeria is less than 25 million

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if we ignore our own local animal fattening grass in favour of imported varieties. It will be a shame indeed.

Why can’t Nigeria import grass if that will stop the killings? After all Saudi Arabia is reported to be doing the same.

Nigeria is not Saudi Arabia please. Nigeria is blessed with massive hectares of arable land.

Saudi Arabia is a desert country, where nothing grows. Nigerians already cultivate the most highly nutritious cattle fattening grass, the type that other countries should be importing. Why should we start importing what we already grow? Why can’t we look inwards? Why must we rush to Brazil or Argentina to start importing what our local farmers are used to growing and harvesting and even wasting in Nigeria?

Are you suggesting that the solution to the perennial pastoralist’s problem is readily available locally?

Yes! Please quote me any where, any time. The solution is available here in Nigeria.

Can you give us more insight into what you think is a sustainable solution to this problem?

The truth of the matter is that Nigeria is a global leader in sorghum production. There is no denying that fact. A particular variety of sorghum leaves has been found to contain the best nutrients for animal feed. I am not talking of grain sorghum please.

Our peasant farmers routinely cultivate and harvest the grains of this sorghum variety all year round, burning off the leaves or allowing it to rot away. With over 8 million hectares of this crop under cultivation on annual basis, Nigeria has the capacity to harvest leaves to feed more than 40 million heads of cattle, annually.

Cattle population in Nigeria is less than 25 million. What this means is that we can conveniently

•Dr. Felix Babatunde Obada construct feedlots, ranch our animals and fatten them with locally cultivated leaves. There is no need for importation at all. The solution to all those killings and unrest across the nation is readily available within our shores.

Nigeria has been richly blessed with the wonder crop for cattle fattening. The Almighty Father must have known the enormity of the problems we were going to face as a nation feeding our animals and made adequate provisions in advance. Just like the palm tree, sorghum is a wonder crop and it is native to Nigeria.

Please feel free to quote me again.

The imported grass from Brazil or Argentina may fail here in Nigeria but sorghum will never fail. In the entirety of its recorded history, the crop has never failed in Nigeria. Is it pest attack, drought or flooding, name it…the crop is resilient against them all.

Sorghum may fail in other countries, but it can never ever fail in Nigeria. It is hardy and requires very little water to grow. It is often described as the orphan crop. The leaves of a particular variety of the crop is ten times more nutritious than ordinary grass. I have no doubt in my mind that it will be more nutritious and gentle to the stomach of the ordinary Nigerian animal than any imported variety. Why will you ignore something as promising as this and embark on importation.

I challenge anyone from any part of the globe to dispute these facts.

Have these facts been made known to the authorities? If not, why haven’t you approach the government?

Laughs!!! I have been going from one office to another, from one minister to another, from one bank managing Director to another, over the past ten years without success. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is still very much alive. Long May he live. He actually showed great interest and enthusiasm in the crop and the spin-off projects associated with it, but he was at the twilight of his Administration, at the time we approached him. So he couldn’t really do much. But he never fails to ask me what has become of the project each time I run into him.

The late Musa Yar ’Adua administration also showed interest but that administration was short-lived. Goodluck

Jonathan’s administration showed much enthusiasm but the Agric Ministry’s strategic focus at that time was on rice and cassava only. It was difficult to convince them to look at sorghum. I have recently approached the Agric Ministry again and made copious presentations to top officials of this new dispensation. I am hoping to get a favorable feedback from them. It is really disheartening.

Can you imagine how many lives would have been saved had Nigeria heeded our repeated calls over the last ten years?

What are your expectations and how will they be realised?

Our proposal consists of developing a cluster of agro-allied industries in nearly all states of Nigeria where fuel ethanol will be

produced from the crushed stalk of sorghum. Electric power will also be generated from sorghum biomass while the leaves are plucked to feed cattle in feedlot ranches surrounding the sorghum farm estates. In addition, there is scope to cultivate fruit trees to demarcate daily crushing acreages. What I am saying in essence is that, from a single agroallied industrial complex built around a farm estate of the wonder crop, we are able to produce fuel ethanol for transportation, packaged cogeneration electric power and also feed one million heads of cattle daily with nutritious sorghum leaves. Cattle droppings go back to the farm land, thus completing the cycle of crop production sustainability. Fruit canning, leather works, hides and skin production will

automatically spin-off from the cluster. The animals are protected against cattle rustlers and animal care-givers are on hand to attend to their health needs. Each cluster will therefore be a stand-alone industrial activity producing high quality beef, diary, fuel ethanol, electric power, leather products and canned tropical fruits.

Establish one cluster per State across 24 States of the federation and you feed 24 million heads of cattle and permanently remove 50 million Nigerians from poverty.

Land owners will own substantial shares in the ventures and the core of the workforce will be drawn from the surrounding communities. Reluctance by State governments to release land for grazing purposes will not arise as farmers, landowners and pastoralists will be fully engaged in profitable symbiotic business relationship.

What do you think is responsible for the lukewarm attitude of government towards such an innovative initiative?

To tell you the truth? I don’t know.

But I believe that Obasanjo would have implemented the project if it had been brought to his knowledge one year before his departure from office. I had earlier worked with him on the space programme for Nigeria. I also worked with him to move Nigeria from analog to digital technology by the way of egovernance. Both programmes were highly successful. So you could say the trust had been firmly established. Where our local banks are concerned, I believe they are all Risk Averters. Even when we took the banks to China to have a feel and touch of the initiative using exactly the same feedstock and technology, they still developed cold feet. Project like this that creates employment pervasively, resolves perennial clashes between herdsmen and farmers, fills electric power infrastructure gap, addresses desert encroachment, reduces Nigeria’s carbon footprint and helps to diversify the economy ought to attract government support.

Ray warns maritime stakeholders on AMJON

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he President, Maritime Journalists’ Association of Nigeria (MAJAN), formerly known as Non-Aligned Journalists, Mr. Ray Ugochukwu, has called attention of the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Heads of parastatals, agencies of government and all stakeholders in the maritime industry to disregard the new AMJON group, revealing that the now purported Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) is made up of only one group.

He said this while addressing members in Lagos, stressing that the Minister with good intention directed all maritime journalists under various groups to dissolve into one organisation, and the directive fueled a merger process, which abruptly came to a halt, as the entire process was allegedly manipulated by one group. “Before the crisis ensued, the merging groups came up with the name AMJON, and a constitution was drawn up to that effect, as the merger intended to bring other maritime media practitioners like the League of Maritime Editors (LOME), Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) and MAJAN together failed, as MARCON allegedly took over the intended association -AMJON for personal gains. As a result, other groups pulled out of the merger process leaving only MARCON. Not only

that, MARCON went ahead to conduct screening of their members and subsequently installed them as national officers under AMJON, without due electioneering process.

A real AMJON election would not have taken place at the Eleganza Plaza, Apapa, Secretariat of MARCON, a real AMJON executive council would not have been sworn-in by the Secretary of the AMJON Electoral Committee,

also a MARCON member. This is laughable! Maritime Journalists are highly responsible and lawabiding professionals who stick to journalism ethics and standards set by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Nigerian Press Council (NPC). MARCON members are not NUJ members and therefore not accountable to any supervisory body”, he said.

From left: Pastor Sola David Borha, Head of God's Children Great Talent [GCGT], Overrall Winner, Mr Onome Enakerrakpor, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade, Regional Pastor Apapa Family of Redeemed Christian Church of God, [RCCG], Miss Ibukun Ajagbe, 3rd Winner, and Miss Gracia Vaakaa-Shepherd, 2nd Winner, during the Grand Finale of God's Children Great Talent [GCGT], presenation of gifts and plagues at Victoria Island Lagos. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016 — 45

FRENCH OPEN: Serena falls to Muguruza F

OR the third time in a row, world No. 1 Serena Williams has been stopped short of history. She was denied the French Open title by 22-year-old Garbiñe Muguruza.

The Spaniard ranked No. 4 in the world shocked Williams at Roland Garros to capture her first Grand Slam title with a 7-5, 6-4 victory, denying Williams a recordtying 22nd major trophy.

“I’m so, so excited,” Mugurza said on court. “To play a final of a Grand Slam against one of the best players, I’m so happy. Serena is a very powerful player and I had to be ready for every point.”

Muguruzaisthethirdconsecutivefirst-timeGrandSlam champion in women’s tennis, following the victories of Flavia Pennetta (U.S. Open) and Angelique Kerber (Australian Open) in the last year.

While the result is a surprising one on paper, Muguruza, who had lost to Williams in the Wimbledon final a year ago, had been in sizzling form in the lead up to the final, dropping only the first set she played and winning 12 consecutive sets thereafter.

She becomes the first Spanish champion here since Rafael Nadal in 2014, and the first Spanish woman to win Roland Garros since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario’s 1998 triumph here.

Williams was again just a match from Steffi Graf’s 22major title Open era record, having lost in the Australian Open final to Kerber in three sets. She maintains a 21-6 record in Grand Slam finals.

World number No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Andy Murray, both seeking their first-ever title on this sacred red dirt today. They are the two best players in their game.

This is their second straight final.

Ali’s heart kept beating 30 minutes after all his organs had failed •As family confirm public funeral for Friday

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HE daughter of fallen icon Muhammad Ali has taken to social media to share with the world how he was a fighter up until the very end.

The boxing legend died on Friday at age 74 in a Phoenix-area hospital due to respiratory complications after a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was surrounded by his loved ones, including daughter Hana Ali. During a press conference on Saturday afternoon, the family ’s spokesman, Bob Gunnell, said it was a ‘very solemn’ time when the boxer ’s family came together to say their final goodbyes.

Gunnell said the family is planning to hold private funeral on Thursday for the icon, and that a public funeral will be held on Friday in Louisville, Kentucky at the KFC Yum! Center starting at 2pm.

Former President Bill Clinton, Bryant Gumbel and Billy Crystal will be giving eulogies, as the champion had previously requested.

Enter the money man INCEthedaysof AbiolaBabesandIwuanyanwuNationaleFootball Clubs which were bank-rolled by heavyweights like Chief MKO S Abiola and Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the Nigerian football scene

•Serena Williams... Downcast

Siasia bemoans 6-2 thrashing by Denmark

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IGERIA’S Under-23 coach Samson Siasia acknowledged that his team was poor in all aspect as they lost 6-2 Denmark at the Suwon Invitational tournament yesterday in South Korea.

The team is already out of reckoning for the top prize having lost 1-0 to the hosts in their first match.

Siasia disclosed that his boys didn’t come to play and right from the start as they made silly mistakes for which they were punished by the Danes.

“The Danes did not play so well in their first game but they were tactically sound and we simply did not know how to defend against them.

“There were too many blunders on our side. We allowed them to control and pass the ball and that’s how we got killed.

“It’s so embarrassing I have never lost by six goals anywhere since I started my coaching career.

“All the same that’s why we are here to look at the guys that can play and the ones that we can take to the Olympics.

“It is very embarrassing not because we lost but the way we lost. Now we have to snap out of it. We still have one more game to play we will work hard to see that one turns out differently,” said Siasia told thenff.com.

Perm Sec commends Ojez on swimming pool renovation

By Ben Efe

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PORTS ministry permanent secretary, Christian Ohaa has given a pass mark to the renovation works carried out by Ojez at the National Stadium Surulere, Lagos.

The Olympic size swimming was in a state of disrepair for many years, but it has been brought back to life and ready for use. Mr. Ohaa, while inspecting the edifice at the weekend, praised the efforts of Mr. Joseph Odebeatu who without the

GTBANK PRINCIPALS CUP: Finalists emerge

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INALISTS for the 2016 GTBank-Principals Cup have emerged following the conclusion of semi final matches at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos on Wednesday.

Subsequently, the pairings for the final show that in the girls category, CMS Girls Secondary School, Bariga will clash with the defending champions Ikotun Senior High School, Ikotun, while in the boys category, Ejigbo Senior Secondary School, Ejigbo will fight

for honours in the final against Dairy Farm Senior Secondary School, Agege who defeated Jubilee Model Senior Grammar School, Surulere in the semi final.

In the semi final matches played at the Onikan Waterfront yesterday, Ikotun Senior High School Ikotun defeated Sanya Senior Grammar School 2-1 in a dramatic fashion. The Ikotun girls took the lead in the first half through Favour Chukwu.

Date for the final has not been fixed.

release of funds for the project by the government completed the task on schedule.

“I am very impressed with what I have seen here. And it is even more commendable that Ojez was able to cope with the project without getting money from the ministry,” said Ohaa.

Speaking on the project Mr. Odebeatu stated that it was out of national interest that he bent over backwards to complete the task.

“At first some people thought that we would be able to handle the project. But I am happy that we were equal to the task and have done it in record time.

“It is up to the sports ministry to determinewhentheswimmingpool will open to public use. I strongly recommend that the placing be kept busy as it will not only guarantee maintenance, it will also provide employment opportunity for Nigerians.

hasneverknownanotherbigindividualspenderinclubfootballuntilnow.

The late Chief Abiola, voted Africa’s Pillar of Sports by Africa Sports JournalistUnion(ASJU)forhissportsphilanthropy,competedwithcorporate giant, Leventis Group of companies, which ran one of the most successful football clubs in the country then, Leventis United Football Club with its base in Ibadan.

Leventis was equally run by another football lover, John Mastouroudes and together with MKO and Iwuanyanwu, they gave Nigerian football a new face where clubs started to spend huge money to attract big players who equally earned big pay.

That was when football players became the envy of their colleagues in other sports. I remember how Iwuanyanwu attracted one of the biggest namesinfootballthen,EtimJohnEsinakaMaradonafromFlashFlamingoes of Benin, owned by another big spender, Chief Patrick Osakwe with a brand new Peugeot 505 Evolution and ‘fat’ salary. Etim became the first Nigerian player to drive the latest car on the scene then.

However,thegooddaysforplayersneverlastedlongas,oneafteranother, the big spenders started pulling out of football sponsorship. Chief Abiola personally said then that the mangers of the game were not running the game professionally, that their style also gave advantage to majority of the clubs owned and run by state governments.

Today state governments still run football clubs with Abia running two clubs in the elite league, the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL. Riverstoo,untilrecentlyrantwoclubs,SharksFootballClubandDolphins Football Club, both based in Port Harcourt. With Sharks relegated at the closeoflastseason,thegovernmentof ChiefNyesomWikehadtocollapse the two clubs into one to form the new Rivers United Football Club of Port Harcourt.

Soitwasgoodnewswhenoilmogul,ChiefPatrickIfeanyiUbahveered into football ownership as he bought over the space of struggling Gabros FC of Nnewi. Before now he was a lover of the senior national team, the SuperEaglesaswellasasilentsupporteroftheNigeriaFootballFederation.

Before the season rolled off, Chief Ubah travelled far and wide to get players to beef up his team even though some football followers mocked the recruitment of both foreign handlers and players they referred to as ‘fake’ Brazilians. Their claim was that no Brazilian worth his salt would leavehiscountrytoplayintheNigerianleaguewhereplayersarenotonly poorly paid but owed salaries.

Everyone looked forward to the kick-off of the season to know what FC Ifeanyi Ubah with the sprinkle of foreign players added to its arsenal wouldbringtobearontheleague,especiallywiththenewfaceandcolour the League Management Company, LMC, has added.

Results recorded so far by the club have not portrayed them as one capable of upsetting the apple cart and the pressure must have caused Chief Ubah to flout some of the regulations of the league, causing the LMC to wield the big stick on him and the club with fines recently.

Like a true sportsman, he promptly apologised to Nigerians and the LMCandwithdrewintohiscocoontostrategiseforbetterperformance.As thefirsthalfoftheleaguewounduplastweek,FCIfeanyiUbaharetucked almost in the middle of the table on 11 position with 27 points.

Interestingly,thedifferencebetweenthemandthetopteam,RiversUnited is four points, a pointer that the league is still open.

Itwasnoasurprisetherefore,whenlastweekend,ChiefUbah,knowing that NFPL mid-term window has opened, made a bold move to ensure thathisdreamofwinningtheleagueisrealisedbypresentingachequefor N100 million to the management of the club to secure the best players of their choice to deliver the title.

“This is my own way of supporting the efforts of management as they prepare for the second half of the season. The target is the league title. If they fail, Anambra people will ask them,” Ubah told my colleague, Jacob AjominNnewi.Maybetoo,becauseheisnowtheChairmanofAnambra State Football Association. Yes a money man has entered the stage.

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Adieu Ali the great

Y heart goes out to the boxing fraternity around the world and the family of boxing legend, Muhammad Ali, on the sad loss of this great man who passed on late Friday in the United States. I’m not really a boxing fan and never really watched any of Ali’s fight live all through his career.

One man who got me close to this legend is no other than Nigeria’s boxing encyclopedia, Chuka Momah through his television series on the many fights of Ali. I also watched some documentaries on Ali and loved the way he spoke or answered questions before or after every of his great victories.

I love him for his principles and especially his refusal to be drafted to fight against the Vietnamese, as according to him, it was against his conscience to do so.

One of his many quotes which endeared me to him is this “My way of joking is to tell the truth. That’s the funniest joke in the world.” That too is my philosophy, saying the truth always, no matter whose ox is gored.

Adieu the greatest athlete of all time.

46—SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016

Send former boxers to his burial—Obisia tells Buhari

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HE passing away of boxing legend, Muhammed Ali Friday evening (early Saturday morning in Nigeria) has been received with shock by the global boxing confraternity. In Nigeria the boxing community has been in mourning since the announcement. Former boxers and boxing enthusiasts have been reacting to the sad news.

Former African and Commonwealth Super light weight champion, Obisia Nwakpa described the fallen hero as one of the greatest men that ever lived, in the noble art of self defence.

“We thank God for giving the world a man like Muhammed Ali. He influenced some of us and made us believe that if you take boxing as a career then you have a future. I tried to imitate his style but I could not be like Muhammed Ali,” Nwakpa said.

Nwakpa advocated that the federal government should send a delegation to Ali’s burial because the late legend loved this country so much. “The delegation should be former boxers who were influenced by him. It should not be made up of ministers and directorgenerals.”

•DADDY’S GIRL...Muhammad Ali (right) congratulates his daughter, Laila Continued from B/P

sometimes be uncooperative as Marilyn would try to dress him and would jokingly express despair at her choice of outfit for him.

His wife Lonnie has maintained that The Greatest never lost his love of life, but she did once allude to his bouts of depression.

She said: “He has a lot to be depressed about.

“The adjustment (to his lifestyle) has been terrific. But I think he has a sense of who he is and his place in history he still has that sense of self and dignity.”

Ali married four times in his life and his relationships were said to have wreaked havoc in his private life.

He was rumoured to be a serial adulterer, and although he has nine children, there are many people across the US who claims him as a father.

Mourners Continued from B/P

and impacted the world with his spirit. His legacy will be part of our history for all time. A true great has left us” – US boxing promoter, Bob Arum.

“A part of me slipped away, the greatest piece. Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest human beings I have ever met. No doubt he was one of the best people to have lived in this day and age.

To put him as a boxer is an injustice.” – George Foreman “God came for his champion.

So long great one. Muhammad Ali, The Greatest. RIP.” – Mike Tyson “He became a champion inside the ring and a hero outside.

Champion because he won the boxing matches, hero because he stood up against the war in Vietnam. – Rev Jesse Jackson “The black community all around the world, black people all around the world, needed him.

He was the voice for us. He’s the voice for me to be where I’m at today. I just want to thank Muhammad Ali and his family for being such strong people. You will always be missed. My prayers go out to Ali and his family.” – Floyd Mayweather Jr “I’m glad to have known Ali because when I was a kid, at eight years old, I was told I would be like Ali. It’s amazing him becoming three-time heavyweight champion of the

Ali’s wives One of his daughters, Laila 37, took up boxing and has become a minor celebrity.

Some of her sisters have traded on their father’s name to succeed in business.

He has just one son Muhammad Ali Jr - who two years ago was said to be living in poverty in one of Chicago’s notorious ghettos.

Born to Ali’s second wife Belinda Boyd, Junior was said to be woefully neglected by his father.

He once told reporters that he tried to build a relationship with his father in his adult years but his attempts were thwarted by Ali’s fourth wife Lonnie.

She allegedly saw Junior as a “sponger” and was furious when he tried to make money by selling a pair of his father’s gloves.

In contast Muhammad Ali was world. You have to be stronger to get up from a loss to go on and that’s what Ali proved to be.” – Evander Holyfield “He was an outstanding committed athlete, who gave the best in the ring, a man who became world champion as well as a role model and inspiration for many young people. He defended his ideals and he believed in a better society. The whole world mourns the death of the man who became a [hallmark] of defence and speed in boxing. Rest in peace.”

– World Boxing Association.

“We lost a giant today. Boxing benefited from Muhammad Ali’s talents but not nearly as much as mankind benefited from his humanity. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Ali family. May God bless them.” – Manny Pacquiao.

“The greatest has fought his final round. Muhammad Ali was the most magnificent athlete who transcended his sport.” – Former England footballer, Gary Lineker.

“Muhammad Ali the all-time greatest has left us. Thanks for everything. Go with God.” – Argentinian boxer Marcos Maidana.

“RIP @MuhammadAli, a legend who transcended sport and was a true champion for all. #thegreatest #MuhammadAli.” – Oscar De La Hoya “Inspiration, Mentor, my Friend, an Earthly God of humanity, Simply.” – Frank Bruno

inseperable from his younger brother Rahman, 71.

They were even together when an 11-year-old Ali, then Cassius Clay, discovered his passion for boxing.

Rahman was by his brother’s side as he rose to greatness.

However, when Lonnie took over the running of Ali’s affairs she set about trying to rid him of the “hangers on” who might profit from.

She once had Rahman arrested after hearing he had taken possession of Ali’s house and removed some of the furniture.

After the death of their mother Odessa, Rahman had moved into the ramshackle property in Louisville.

Ali’s expansive family life became a tangled mess.

Though few doubt her devotion, many point the finger at Lonnie and claim she created hostilities and difficulties within the family.

She was said to be acutely aware of Ali’s wealth - now said to be around £60million.

Continued from B/P

people up.’

‘Live every day like it’s your last because someday you’re going to be right.’

‘A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted thirty years of his life.’

‘I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale, handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I’m so mean I make medicine sick.’

-Ali said this before the historic Rumble in the Jungle match that took place in 1974 in Zaire against George Foreman.

‘I am so fast that last night I turned off the light switch and was in bed before the room was dark.’

‘Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beating each other up.’

‘Cassius Clay is a slave name.

I didn’t choose it, and I didn’t want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free name, and I insist people using it when speaking to me and of me.’

‘It will be a killer and a chiller and a thriller when I get the gorilla in Manila.’ - Ali said this before the historic and legendary ‘Thrilla in Manila’ match against

It’s a sad day – Momah

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UTHOR of Muhammed Ali: A story about a superman written by a super fan, Chuka Momah was crestfallen when we put across a call for his reaction.

“It is a very sad day,” he started.

“I’m mourning; a lot of people too.

Ali was the greatest athlete of all time. He stood for what he believed in. Remember his opposition to the Vietnam War when he refused conscription and

Denmark Continued from B/P

to South Korea on Thursday, blaming the performance of the side to fatigue.

However despite a decent start on Saturday, a 9th minute penalty saved by Emmanuel Daniel exposed the frailties of the Dream Team defence – same was evident at the 2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations -.

The goals poured in though with 19 minutes to the end of the first half and before the whistle

Ali’s best quotes Joe Frazier in 1975.

‘I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit.

Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’

‘Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.’

‘There are no pleasures in a fight, but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.’

‘I am the greatest, I’m the greatest that ever lived. I don’t have a mark on my face.’- Ali said this after he beat competitor Sonny Liston in 1964.

‘Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact.

It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare.

Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.’

‘Don’t count the days; make the days count.’

‘It’s not bragging if you can back it up.’

‘Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep

was ready to go to jail. He lost so much but stood up for his principles.

“Ali was a very special man, generous and largehearted.”

Momah said Ali’s best fights were what the legend himself termed as ‘the thriller in Manilla and Rumble in the Jungle which held in Zaire. “Those were his best fights, although he had numerous other fights” had gone, the Scandinavian side had breached Siasia’s defenders three times.

Unfortunately for the Nigerian Coach; suffering his heaviest defeat for any of the national teams he’d handled. Denmark did not relent and continued where they stopped scoring three more when the second half resumed.

The result means Nigeria are bottom on the table in the fournation tournament with no points but have the opportunity to redeem against Honduras.

inside them: a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have lastminute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.’ - Ali said this prior to a fight against George Foreman in 1974.

‘At home I am a nice guy: but I don’t want the world to know.

Humble people, I’ve found, don’t get very far.’

‘If you even dream of beating me, you better wake up and apologize.’

‘My way of joking is to tell the truth. That’s the funniest joke in the world.’

‘I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky, my name not yours. My religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.’- Ali said this in 1970 when he was convicted of draft evasion.

‘The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses—behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.’

‘He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.’

‘It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.’

SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 5, 2016 — PAGE 47

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SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 5, 2016

Denmark dump Dream Team 6-2

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T R I K E R Abdulrahman Taiwo, saved face but only just for the Dream Team in a humbling 6-2 defeat to Denmark in Nigeria’s second game and consecutive loss at

the Suwon U-23 Invitational Tournament on Saturday at the Goyang Stadium.

Head Coach, Samson Siasia had defended his players in the 1-0 defeat Continues on page 46

•Siasia

ALI: Foreman, Tyson, Mayweather, Holyfield, Pacquiao, Bruno, Obisia, Momah mourn B

OXING greats, world leaders mourn Muham-mad Ali who died at the age of 74.

“I was honoured to award him the Presidential Citizens Medal at the White House, to watch him light the Olympic flame, and to forge a friendship with a man who, through triumph and trials, became even greater than his legend.

Our hearts go out to Lonnie, his children, and his entire family.” – Former US president Bill Clinton.

“Muhammad Ali was not just a champion in the ring - he was a champion of civil rights, and a role model for so many people.” – David Cameron, British Prime Minister “Muhammad Ali transformed this country Continues on page 46

Muguruza upsets p.45 Serena•

•Ali, struck by Parkinson decease.

•Muhammad Ali

•Downcast Serena

Ali’s wives, children rumble over legacy T

HE final 30 years of Muhammad Ali’s life were gripped by a gruelling struggle with Parkinson’s disease - which in his final years rendered him totally dependent on his fourth wife Lonnie and her sister Marilyn.

Both women would care for Ali at his winter retreat in Arizona and his summer home in Louisville, Kentucky.

They would disrupt the routine to fly him out to public appearances which dwindled as his detoriating condition intensified in his old

age.

Ali famously never displayed self pity as his grappled with Parkinson’s, but was said to have vented his frustrations in his private life.

People close to Ali have said he would Continues on page 46

•TWO GREATS–Mandela, Ali

‘Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee •Best quotes from Muhammad Ali

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See solution on page 3

LOAT like a butterfly, Sting like a bee, your hands can’t hit, what your eyes can’t see.’ - Prior to his fight against Foreman in 1974.

‘If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it.’

‘I’m not the greatest;

I’m the double greatest.

Not only do I knock ‘em out, I pick the round.’

‘It’s hard to be humble, when you’re as great as I am.’

‘To make America the greatest is my goal, so I beat the Russian and I beat the Pole. And for the USA won the medal of gold. The Greeks said

you’re better than the Cassius of old.’- He said this quote after he won the Olympic lightheavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Games in Rome.

‘It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat Continues on page 46

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