Uncertainties becloud election date by Vanguard Media Limited

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2—SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

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4—SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

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SA TURD AY V anguard ARY 7 SATURD TURDA Vanguard anguard,, FEBRU FEBRUARY 7, 2015 — 5

Uncertainties over election date •INEC briefs Nigerians today

•70,383,427 registered for polls •25,284, 551 registered voters yet to collect PVCs •8 million Igbo to be disenfranchised, Oganiru Ndigbo •INEC officials/police distribute PVCs along Lagos streeets BY OUR REPORTERS

BUJA — Barely 24 hours after the Independent National E l e c t o r a l Commission,INEC, told the nation that it was ready for the February 14, 2015 presidential election, the commission has again said that it would brief the nation today on whether or not the the polls would hold as originally scheduled. This was as indications emerged last night that the INEC might have come under immense pressure to postpone the 2015 elections, whose timetable was released to the public over a year ago. The briefing on whether the elections would go on or not as scheduled would hold after a meeting between INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega with Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. This will be followed by another meeting between INEC and chairmen and secretaries of registered political parties. Thereafter INEC will unfold their plans to Nigerians. Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Prof. Jega, made this known yesterday in Abuja. In a statement in Abuja, Idowu said, ‘’As a followup to that meeting (NCS), the commission has scheduled a consultative meeting with chairmen and secretaries of all registered political parties, as well as a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, on Saturday, February 7, 2015 (today). ‘’Thereafter, the Commission will address a press conference to brief the nation on its decision with regard to whether or not the general elections will hold as currently scheduled.” INEC had said Thursday that it was ready for the election over which 70, 383, 427 people were registered as eligible voters. It said that out of the figure, 45, 098, 876 Nigerians had collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, while 25, 284, 551 others or 34 percent were yet to collect

Visit of the Chadian Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Brahim Seid Mahamat (middle) to his Nigeria’s counterpart, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh at the Defence headquarters in furtherance of the bilateral talks between the two countries on the ongoing fight against terror. the PVCs for the exercise. Meanwhile, sources told Saturday Vanguard that

although the commission chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, had stood his

grounds that the election should proceed as planned, agents of the

Federal Government opposed to the polls, had mounted pressure on him to shift grounds. It was learnt that some of the security agencies that had earlier assured Jega of their preparedness to provide cover for the commission to conduct the election, had claimed that they could no longer guarantee same. The security operatives are said to have distanced themselves from Jega and his commission after reading the mood of the National Council of States, which shied away from directly asking INEC to go ahead with the conduct of the election but simply authorised it to ‘’exercise its constitutional role.’’ The security chiefs, it was gathered, took advantage of the ambiguity created by the decision of the NCS and the feelings within the Presidency and the ruling People’s Democratic Party, which favour a shift of the polls, to distance themselves from INEC. A source close to the administration in Abuja told Saturday Vanguard that the commission would not want to play into the hands of its enemies by going ahead

with the election if there would not be adequate security cover for its personnel given the current situation in the country. According to the source, INEC was now willing to shift the polls for a few weeks in a bid to douse the tension being generated over the non distribution of PVCs to many Nigerians and also assuage the feelings within the ruling party, whose members have already called for Jega’s sack. Apparently in a bid to find justification for the planned shift, Jega said yesterday that a firm decision on the election would only be taken after another meeting with the political parties and RECs in Abuja today. In another development, Oganiru Ndigbo, an association of Igbo residents in the North, had yesterday lamented that most Igbo living in the northern states were leaving for the east due to the tension generated over the forthcoming polls. A statement signed by Mr Chidi Anyanwu in Kaduna State yesterday regretted that Igbo were not allowed to exercise their franchise in the various states as they were being vilified by their host states and asked the Federal Government to assure the safety of all Nigerians, before during and after the polls.

Why holding elections this month may not be feasible, Presidency •Says nothing special, fantastic about February •Previous elections have always been in April

By Henry Umoru AGAINST the argument on whether the Presidential and general elections should hold this month or not as fixed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Presidency said yesterday that there was nothing special or fantastic about this month for an election. According to the Presidency, 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections were held in April,. They said that they were wondering why INEC must be in a hurry to “throw the country into confusion and turmoil by conducting election this month amidst mirage of complaints of non availability of Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs.”. Addressing Journalists in Abuja yesterday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe who noted that President Goodluck Jonathan would not engage in any form of subterfuge to mount pressure on the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega to change the dates of the elections, said that it

became imperative to clarify the outcome of Thursday’s Council of State meeting. According to him, there was no time during the meeting held inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, when Jega, insisted on the February dates as quoted by some media reports. He spoke about the level of preparedness of the electoral body and security situation in some parts of the country as some of the reasons why it was necessary for the electoral umpire to revisit the February dates. Okupe said, “I called this press conference to correct anomalies and to correct this misinformation based on an event that happened yesterday (Thursday). I have no business talking about INEC except for these wrong information. I just want to correct it. Let INEC decide. Why I brought these up is that there is nothing fantastic or unique or special about February. The law stipulates that it should not be earlier than 150days and it should not be later than 30day. So anything in between is lawful and legal. “And if we have challenges that will make

the entire process faulty or faulted, so that is what INEC has been asked to go and do and consider. And if they consider all situations and say yes, February 14 we can still do it, let’s go ahead then we go ahead.. But if they consider all these things and tell Nigerians what they want we will go by it. “INEC has the right to conduct the elections 150days to 30days. So you announce a date that is within the law, we don’t have a business with that. But there are two challenges with that: one, all over the nation, governors are crying, people are crying, as I speak before you, I Doyin Okupe do not have PVC. I left Abuja, I flew to Lagos, I went to Iperu my home town and I went to the local government and I was told to move to another place. Eventually we got to a place, my wife that we both registered together, she got a PVC but I didn’t get. They said I should come back. So it is something that most of us are experiencing, so this is something we did not expect but it has happened. “Also the insurgency was not an issue in 2011 but today it is an issue. The EU

told you that they are coming to monitor elections in Nigeria but none of their staff will go to the north east. On preparation, Okupe who noted that in all INEC’s submissions at the meeting, the only process that was 100% concluded was the preparation and availability of the voters register, stressing that all other processes including provision, distribution and collection of PVCs, printing of ballot papers, distribution of verification machines and other non – sensitive materials, recruitment and training of ad hoc staff were all “work in progress.” According to Okupe, Jega at the meeting admitted that given a little more time, INEC would be in a better position to perfect the processes and its readiness for the elections, adding, “Also in his presentations to the Council, the INEC Chairman, stated clearly that for the electoral process to be free, fair, and credible, there are other matters which were not under the control of INEC, principal among is the provision and guarantee of security of lives and properties.

“The Security Chiefs were unanimous in their advice to the Council that it will be impossible for them to guarantee security of electoral materials, INEC Staff, and the voting population in the areas currently engulfed by the war against insurgency.” “President Goodluck Jonathan is not interested, neither is he engaged in in any form of subterfuge to pressurize INEC to change the dates of the 2015 Elections. The President, like many Governors and Citizens of Nigeria is concerned about the state of preparedness of INEC for the 2015 Elections ;especially as it concerns the guarantee of the rights of every Nigerian Citizen who has fulfilled the conditions for INEC’s Voter registration , and may still be disenfranchised from the Process of Voting at the General elections “The Security situation and the danger that the current war against insurgency in some parts of the country may impose on the conduct of elections in the Affected areas, the impact of the situation above on the overall credibility of the 2015

continues on page 7

6 — SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Lekki-Epe road: Fashola flays Agbaje, others over plans to scrap toll BY MONSURU OLOWOOPEJO

OVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State yesterday berated the Governorship candidates of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP and National Conscience Party, NCP, Mr. Jimi Agbaje and Mr. Ayodele Akele and others over plans to cancel the Lekki-Epe toll, saying “I marvel when people show ignorance as idea.” Both candidates (Agbaje and Akele) had at different forums few weeks ago, argued that if elected they would scrap the lekki-Epe toll and terminate the contract of Alpha Beta, an agency which checks state revenue agencies. Fashola spoke at a roundtable forum organised by the NigerianBritish Chambers of Commerce, NBCC in Lagos, which also had in attendance the NBCC president, Prince Adeyemi Adefulu and others. The governor said “When I hear some people saying that if they assume office in Lagos State they will cancel toll, it worries me. It raises serious question about the understanding of the undertaking. When the idea started, perhaps people don’t connect the dots, the global community is a very small community. “It is not Lagos that will

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be hurt but the entire country. And the day a government begin to cancel contracts, it affects the economy. Our credit will be reappraised and borrowing cost will increase because there is an instrument called the Federal Support Agreement and this was equivalent to the Sovereign Warranty.” He explained that the concessions are partnerships with the global investment community, and bothering on integrity of the Nigerian state, adding “For instance when we were negotiating this concession, they took us back to the metro-line and they

demanded that a law was passed to assure them that no one will cancel the project. And we did. “They said that they know the present government but they do not know who will take over from you. We want the government of your country to give us guarantee.” ON ALPHA BETA Fashola lamented that before Alpha Beta was engaged by the state, the state couldn’t generate what was due to it. His words “The revenue accruing to Lagos State in 1999 monthly was N600 million. That was not all the revenue that was due to

state. This was what the state could get. And the entire budget for the state was less than N20 billion. “The same state is now generating N20 billion monthly. The revenue didn’t fall from heaven. It was collected by an accounting process that makes everyone want to pay. “The truth was that this agency does not touch cash. We have LIRS that deals with the taxes. What Alpha Beta does was to put a system check in place to ensure that the government could see its balances and others. And they issue residents tax cards,” the governor added.

Navy acquires warship to tackle Noting that effective maritime crime maritime security was a BY EVELYN USMAN

HE Nigerian Navy fleet yesterday, received a boost in its fight against piracy and other maritime crime, with the acquisition of a warship, named the Nigerian Navy Ship NNS Centenary, an Offshore Patrol Vessel OPV. The vessel which was constructed by China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Limited Shipyard, berthed at the NN dockyard, Victoria Island,

Lagos and was received by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin. Receiving the vessel, Vice Admiral Jibrin, boasted that the addition of the OPV to the NN fleet would enhance the NN capacity to execute her constitutional roles which included the war against maritime crimes such as arms proliferation, crude oil theft, smuggling and piracy, among others, as well as open a new vista in Nigeria-China relations.

requirement for the economic well being of Nigeria in view of her dependence on the sea, the CNS therefore lauded president Goodluck Jonathan’s support to the fleet recapitalization pillar of the NN transformation plan for the period of 2010-2020, adding that the arrival of NNS Centenary was an attestation to his resolve to emplace a strong and virile navy capable of protecting the nation’s maritime interest against all forms of threats.

Nigeria’s Farida Bedwei is celebrity guest on African Voices

LO-SPONSORED CNN African Voices will this weekend feature Farida Bedwei, a software engineer who, despite her Cerebral Palsy disease, rose to become one of the most successful technologists in Africa. Born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1979, Farida Nana Efua Bedwei spent most of her childhood in Dominica, Grenada and the United Kingdom before her family moved to Ghana when she was nine. Bedwei was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when she was 10 days old. The disease is a medical condition usually caused by brain damage before or at birth that causes the loss of sensation or control of movement in the arms and legs. She studied on her own at home until she was 12 years before she was formally enrolled at school. Determined not to let her physical condition constrain her dreams, Bedwei proceeded to acquire two diplomas and a bachelor of science degree in Computer Science. Bedwei’s computer application, gKudi, is credited with revolutionizing the microfinance industry in Ghana by simplifying the processing and granting of credits to artisans in the country.

PhD certificate crisis: ASUU-LASU accuses aggrieved factional chair of pursuing personal interest BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

OLLOWING the alleged withdrawal of 19 doctorate (PhD), certificates by the authorities of Lagos State University, LASU, nine out of the 10 staff of the university affected by the university’s decision yesterday, said the school authority has re-issued their certificates after making the necessary corrections. Interim chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, LASU chapter, Mr. Ayodele Asokere who made the remarks while speaking to the media at the LASU main Campus, Ojo, declared that there was no crisis in the institution contrary to claims by some elements. Asokere along with seven of the nine affected PhD holders stated that after the university authority ordered that the affected certificates be returned for obvious corrections, nine out of them who are staff of the university complied with the instruction, while only one of them, the factional chairman of ASUU-LASU failed to comply.

SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015 — 7

Polls: Peace C’ttee expresses concern over PVCs, exodus of Nigerians O

N the 14th of January, 2015, exactly one month ahead of the elections, the two leading political contenders for the Presidency, President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR and General Mohammed Buhari, GCFR at a public forum organised by the Office of the Special Assistant for Interparty Affairs, Senator Ben Obi and chaired by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and along with the leaders of nine other Political Parties took an unprecedented step when they appended their signatures to a Peace Accord titled, The Abuja Accord on the prevention of Violence and acceptance of election results by the Presidential Candidates and Chairpersons of the Political Parties contesting the 2015 General elections. The highlights of the Accord include the following; •To run issue based campaigns at national, state and local government levels. In this we pledge to refrain from campaigns that will involve religious, ethnic or tribal profiling, both by ourselves and by all agents acting in our names; •To refrain from making or causing to make in our names and that of our party, any public statements, pronouncements, declarations or speeches that have the capacity to incite any form of violence, before, during and after the elections. •To commit ourselves and political parties to the monitoring of the adherence to this Accord by a National Peace Committee made up of respected statesmen and women, traditional and religious leaders. •All institutions of government including INEC and the security agencies must act and be seen to act with impartiality. •To forcefully and publicly speak out against provocative utterances and oppose all acts of electoral violence whether perpetuated by our supporters and/or opponents. Immediately after the signing of the Accord, action was initiated to bring this about. The Terms of Reference of the Committee as spelt out by the Accord include the following; •To observe and monitor compliance with the Abuja Accord signed by the political parties on January th 14 , 2015. •To provide advice to the government and INEC on resolution of political

disputes and conflicts arising from issues of compliance with the Abuja Accord. •To make the Committee available for national mediation and conciliation in the case of post electoral dispute or crises. The Committee has had interactions with and received briefings from Security Agencies, Service

Chiefs and Office of the National Security Adviser. We believe that a peaceful election is possible. However, there are genuine concerns among Nigerians over some issues that require attention. These include: •The distribution of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs). We have received assurances from INEC that they can meet the deadlines with the

distribution. However, the real challenge is the collection of the PVCs by members of the Public. We are worried that ordinary Nigerians may unwittingly disenfranchise themselves. We therefore call on faith communities, civil society organisations, traditional and community leaders, the media and everyone to support INEC by encouraging their members to patiently

Director for Civic and Political Affairs, Diocese of Lagos West, Ven. Folarin Sobo; Chairman, Election Observer and Sensitization, Ven. Gbenga Oniye; Mrs. Pheola Cauilcrick and Ven. Ilegbusi Dickson during one-day training on Election Observation for members of Anglican Communion observation team held at Archbishop Vining Cathedral Church, in Lagos yesterday.

Why holding elections this month may not be feasible, Presidency continued from page 5 elections are all considerations that must not be ignored. “Secondly , I wish to state categorically here that at no time during the entire 7 hour meeting did the INEC Chairman , Prof Attahiru Jega insist that the elections must hold on the Feb 14th and 28th 2015 as published by some Electronic / Print Media. Rather Professor Jega gave the Council a report on the Progress so far made by the INEC on its preparedness for the 2015 elections. “In all its submissions the only process that was 100% concluded was the preparation and availability of the Voters Register. All other processes including Provision, distribution and collection of PVC’s, printing of ballot papers, distribution of Verification machines and other non –sensitive materials , recruitment and training of ad hoc Staff were as at 5th Feb 2015 all “Works in progress”; with some assurance that all will be ready on or before 14th of Feb 2015. “The Chairman also mentioned clearly that given a little more time INEC would be in a better position to perfect these

processes and its readiness for the 2015 Elections. “Also in his Presentations to the Council the INEC Chairman, stated clearly that for the electoral process to be free, fair , and credible there are other matters which were not under the control of INEC principal among which is the issue of provision and guarantee of Security of Lives and Properties. The Security Chiefs were unanimous in their advice to the Council that it will be impossible for now for them to guarantee security of electoral materials, INEC Staff, and the voting population in the areas currently engulfed by the War against Insurgency. “Some opinions were therefore proffered that elections may be allowed to hold on the 14th Feb in the 32 states not affected by the current War against terrorism; while local elections may thereafter hold in those areas after the security situation would have improved. “The President made it clear that he cannot in good conscience endorse an electoral arrangement where people from a section of the Country would be excluded from the Electoral process, due to no fault of theirs, or by virtue

of just being unfortunate residents of an area under siege of terrorism. “According to Mr President, this situation will tend to confirm the deliberate falsehood already being propagated in some parts of the Country that he was encouraging the war in the North East to ensure that voters in the APC states of the North East were not allowed to vote in the 2015 elections. The final conclusion was that INEC should in view of the several submissions made in the Council, by the Former Presidents, State Governors and the Security Agencies, go and consult further after which they should communicate their decisions to the Nigerian People on the suitability or otherwise of the February 14th and 28th dates. “For the avoidance of doubt, Nigerians are hereby re-assured that there has never been, and never shall be any plan to cancel the 2015 elections, for any reasons whatsoever. It will not happen, and the May 29th date for the swearing-in is sacrosanct. All talks about interim government arrangement is pure fiction.

ensure that they collect their cards. We call on INEC to be more creative, to device a strategic plan to reduce the hurdles that might frustrate the efforts of ordinary citizens in getting their PVCs. We believe that resolving this issue is a major part of ensuring that tensions and anxieties are well managed. •We are worried with the vitriolic language employed by some Nigerians in the name of support for their candidates. We fear that if the politicians concerned do not call these elements to order, their hate speech would have a negative effect on the quality of the elections. We also call on the security agencies to remain alert to those who are stoking the embers of hatred. We appreciate every citizen’s right to free speech, but this freedom must be within the boundaries of decency, decorum and the rights of other citizens to dignity. •Finally, we are worried by the huge exodus of our people who are in the grip

of fear. We appreciate the fact that these fears are genuinely borne out of the tragic history of our country. However, if we all resolve to imbibe the spirit of the Peace Accord, then, we should not be afraid. We appeal to the security agencies to be more forthcoming by spelling out their plans to secure the lives and properties of ordinary citizens as well as their plans for ending impunity. We therefore again call on families and communities to warn their members of the dangers of taking the laws into their hands in the name of any politician. Indeed, this Peace Accord must be seen as one of the greatest developments in the history of Democracy anywhere in Africa. We commend the candidates and once more call on them to be prepared to put our country first and trust in the will of God and the supremacy of His will. God bless Nigeria.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo threatens violence over election crisis •Accuses Gov Okorocha of funding Ohanaeze instability By Francis Igata

HE apex Igbo socio- cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has declared that Igbo will resist any attempt to annihilate the people should the forthcoming election turn bloody. This declaration followed the accusation by the group against the Governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha of sponsoring a faction of Ohanaeze bent on distabilizing the body. President General of Ohanaeze, Chief Enwo Gary Igariwey who made this disclosure yesterday while addressing newsmen at the secretariat, said, “the allegation that we took bribe from the presidency was baseless as the adoption of the incumbent President was borne out of wide consultations with various interest groups in Igbo land. “The interest of Ndigbo would be more protected if President Jonathan is re- elected. It is only Jonathan that would implement the report of the National Constitutional Conference. The creation of nine states in each of the six geo- political zones in the country is contained in the Confab report.” The Igbo leader assured that Jonathan would address the issue of imbalance in the political structure in the country which had tied down Ndigbo for years now. He therefore urged Ndigbo wherever they reside to be vigilant before, during and after the forthcoming general elections, pointing out that the county at the moment is sitting on a keg of gun powder.

8 — SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Jonathan’s kinsmen to North: Stop attacking our son or face our wrath By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

NGERED by reports of attacks on President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign train in the Northern part of the country, a prominent traditional ruler in Bayelsa State has warned the perpetrators to refrain from such act. Chief Asara Asara, who holds the title of Obanema of Akipelai, Bayelsa State, warned in a statement in Abuja on Thursday that the Niger Delta people would no longer tolerate any attack on their son. The traditional ruler said they felt betrayed by the action of the attackers from the north who they regarded as their traditional political allies and supporters. Chief Asara recalled with regret that after the support graciously given by the Niger Delta people to their Northern allies in the first through second republics, they expected them to at least reciprocate the support to their son, Jonathan. In the statement entitled, “Enough is enough”, Asara drew the attention of those hurling attacks on Jonathan to note that the Niger Delta region had the capacity to retaliate the series of attacks on Jonathan, as no part of the country had a monopoly of violence. Asari said, “The Niger Delta people are angry because they feel betrayed and stabbed in the back. We, as well as other Nigerians that are conscious of the political history of our country are perplexed at the sad and unfortunate paradox that the campaign of

RHOBO youths, under the aegis of Coalition of Urhobo Youth Organization, yesterday, urged the gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa to define the stake of the Urhobo nation in his administration if given the mandate to govern the state. Addressing newsmen at the end of an enlarged meeting of the group at Ughelli, Ughelli North Local Government Area, CUYO Chair man, Mr. Mudiaga Abiri expressed discontentment with Okowa’s disposition towards the Urhobo ethnic nationality in the various political offices he

By Gab Ejuwa

S parts of its activities to ensure total victory for the Peoples Democratic Party, come February14th and 28th general elections, a group, under the aegis of Urhobo Ovo/Ijaw Kene Patriots for Okowa will on Sunday February 8, 2015, hold a one million man-march rally for the governorship candidate of the party, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. In a statement signed by Chairman of the group, Comrade Moses Unuavworho, the group said, “ we the executives and members of Urhobo Ovo/ Ijaw Kene across the state will march through the streets of Warri, Ughelli, Sapele, Asaba, Agbor, and Oleh to ensure that we gather more voters for our candidate”. He said, “as a group we are working under the instructions of our major sponsor and patron,High Chief Government Ekpmukpolo, alias Tompolo to ensure that there is political stability among the three senatorial districts in the state.”

Delta APGA guber candidate accuses INEC of bias •President Goodluck Jonathan with Traditional Rulers of Bayelsa State after a meeting of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation with the Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers in Yenagoa on Friday. Photo: State House.

hate, sabotage and aspersion has been coming only, and only from Arewa. “What a pity. What a sad irony that, the arrow head of the vicious and venomous attacks on a son of the Niger Delta should be the sons of Arewa. “After all the friendship, solidarity and sacrifices made by our forebears in

support of their region in the First, through the Second Republics, the civil war and at other decisive and epochal moments in the Nigerian political history, common sense, good conscience and morality demand that, if Arewa does not feel obliged to show us good will and solidarity, it should at least, eschew the unfolding unabashed

and crass demonstration of its seeming pathological contempt and disdain for our people. “That is even, as we take solace in the fact that these unconscionable elements are motley insignificant political dwarfs, spent forces and charlatans who have lost relevance, respect or following in their own homes.”

Why I want Udom to succeed me — Akpabio By Tom Moses

OVERNOR God swill Akpabio of Akwa-Ibom State has encouraged the people of Ikono and Itu Local Government Areas to rally round the Peoples Democratic Party-PDP governorship candidate, Udom Emmanuel for investments to be attracted to the state. Governor Akpabio made the call yesterday

in Ibiaku Ntuk Okpo, the headquarters of Ikono Local Government Area where he visited to canvass support for the PDP standard bearer in the state, President Goodkuck Jonathan as well as his Senatorial ambition and that of other PDP candidates. He said his decision to have Udom Emmanuel succeed him as governor was because of his outstanding track-record in financial management

and impeccable administrative and business acumen which he hoped would be translated to attract investments to the state. “Let me assure you that I will work with Udom to ensure that the lives of our children are touched positively ” Akpabio stressed hoping that Udom would allow his financial technocracy to permeate the various sectors of the state’s economy.

Define Urhobo stake in your govt, Group tells Okowa By Festus Ahon, Asaba

BRIEFS Group to hold 1 million Man-March for Okowa Feb. 8

has held. He argued that Okowa, “as Chairman Senate Committee on Health, was last year, given 80 slots for employment into the various parastatals in the health sector. Out of this, he gave 45 slots to Delta North, 20 to Delta

South and 15 to Delta Central. “When he was the State Commissioner for Agriculture, out of the 150 staff that were employed at the defunct College of Agriculture, Ozoro, 92 slots went to Delta North, 35 to Delta Central and

23 to Delta South. Even at that, most of the employment slots went specifically to his Ika people. Again, when he was Secretary to the Delta State Government, he posted all Urhobo staff out of the office.”

Northern youths support Jonathan’s re-election bid By Gabriel Ewepu

ORTHERN Ethnic Youth Group Assembly, NEYGA, has declared support for the reelection of President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term in office on February 14. Convener of the meeting, Comrade Usman Okai Austin, said, “We commend the Federal

Government under the impeccable leadership of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for the efforts made thus far to curb insurgency in the north east and we also hail our brave soldiers for fighting gallantly to restore peace and order to the affected states. “Today, we call on all youths in the North and beyond to reject politics of

bitterness and being used by politicians to cause mayhem in their communities and support unity across ethnic nationalities. “We the youths from the north have decided to close ranks and offer undivided support to President Jonathan, being a man of impeccable character and unrivalled records of achievements in Nigeria.”

By Egufe Yafugborhi

ELTA State gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Mr Samuel Omorere, has accused Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of taking sides with erstwhile APGA chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, over conflict with his successor, Mazi Okwu. He said, “Umeh was expected to relinquish office as APGA chairman three months to the election before assuming his senatorial candidacy, adding, “this was not followed, yet INEC ratified Umeh’s senatorial ticket. His words: “Umeh is now a senatorial candidate in Enugu duly published by INEC, yet other APGA candidates across the federation submitted by Okwu, incumbent national chairman have not be accepted and published by INEC. This impunity is inciting.”

AMORC urges Nigerians to shun electoral violence By Jimitota Onoyume

OSICRUCIAN order Amorc, Nigeria has appealed to Nigerians to shun acts of violence during the general polls. President of the body Dr Kenneth Idiodi, who spoke in Port Harcourt yesterday ahead of the body’s eastern regional rotation conclave holding in the state said the elections should further unite the country. “Nigerians are a group of human beings that have been brought together by internal and external forces to share a common destiny.” “We hereby appeal to the public to shun violence and ensure a free and peaceful elections so that our democracy can thrive”. Dr Idiodi who said the theme for the conclave was “Principles for national security and a better world” pleaded with Nigerians to see peace as a shared responsibility According to him, everyone should be actively involved in the drive for enduring peace.

Delta Guber: Igbide Elite Forum endorses Okowa •Urges Isokos to vote all PDP candidates

HE people of Igbide in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State have endorsed Senator, Dr. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa as the next governor of Delta State after an extensive review of all the candidates contesting for the position in the forthcoming general elections. Rising from an enlarged executive meeting at Owodokpokpo-Igbide, the Igbide Political Elite Forum (IPEF), a proactive grass-root oriented political pressure group also called on Igbide people and Isokos in general to vote en-masse for President Goodluck Jonathan and Senator James Manager for Senate as well as other PDP candidates standing for elections at various levels.

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10 — SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 7 7, 2015

Delta Guber: I am Urhobo endorsed candidate —Emerhor •says Ogboru/Omene’s UPU faction working for PDP By Egufe Yafugborhi

LL Progressives Cong-ress (APC) governorship standard bearer in Delta State, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor has said he would win this month’s gubernatorial election in state having been endorsed by the authentic Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) led by the President-General, Chief Tuesday Onoge. Emerhor (OON) in a statement in Warri yesterday asserted that the alleged endorsement of Chief Great Ogboru by Chief Joe Omene factional UPU was calculated to mislead the people of Delta Central in particular and Urhobo Nation in general. The APC candidate opined that Great Ogboru of the Labour Party (LP) and Chief Omene were working together for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a result of the deal Omene’s camp struck with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja. “Ogboru ‘s alliance with Omene is a well crafted political strategy to divide the Urhobo votes to enable Dr Ifeanyi Okowa of the PDP win the governorship election”, he said. He urged Delta Central, the Urhobo nation in general to

Olorogun O’tega Emerhor support the APC so as to actualise the Urhobo dream of electing him (Emerhor) next governor of Delta State come February 28. He warned, “Should Urhobos fail to dislodge the Ogboru-Omene political scheming, Urhobo will be marginalized politically for another eight years”, wondering why “the PDP government which deliberately neglected Urhobo in development, government appointments at both state and

federal levels is the same party Chief Omene and Ogboru have aligned with to deprive Urhobos the opportunity of producing the next governor.” Emerhor said the APC is the only alternative party that has the winning structure and capacity to defeat the PDP in the coming general elections, adding that the Labour with no presidential candidate on a weak structure cannot survive the contest in this year’s general elections.

Polls: APBN creates forum for candidates to reel-out plans HE Association of Pro- ordinate, support and ated a forum that gives the T fessional Bodies of Ni- serve as mouthpiece for all front runners in the ongogeria (APBN), has created ing presidential cama forum that gives the front-line presidential candidates an opportunity to address the board and council on their plans for professionals in the next four years. The APBN President, Mr. Foluso Fasoto, who disclosed this ahead of its board meeting, holding on February 10, said the opportunity given to the candidates is in line with board’s policy to give direction and make policy decisions, as well as review and ratify professionals’ position on issues of national importance. Fasoto said: “I am honoured to announce this special board meeting, the first since the unveiling of a new brand identity for the APBN and this is an exciting time to oversee the association’s strategic activities.” “ Our mandate is to co-

professional bodies in Nigeria and to proffer well thought out positions to government on issues of national importance. Thus, this meeting is special in the sense that we have cre-

paigns in the country, an opportunity to address the board and council of APBN on their plans for professionals in the next four years

NITDA, Korea to train IDPs on ICT By Emmanuel Elebeke

HE National

Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA and the Korean government are perfecting plans to assist internally displaced persons, IDPs on ICT essentials. The Director General of NITDA, Mr. Peter Jack disclosed this when he led the team of his management staff to a meeting at the Korean Embassy Tuesday. The NITDA Director General, promised to explore the opportunity to

train the IDPs, adding that the Agency would resuscitate its Mobile Internet Unit buses and deploy it for the training. He said the Agency would provide computer, Vsat and other equipment for the training.

He expressed gratitude for the efforts of the Korea Government in her aged long assistance to the country especially on the area of e-government adding that Korean ICT intervention programmes has deepen the bilateral relationship between the two country.

SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 7 7, 2015 — 11

Why southern leaders want Jaga to quit

Appeal Court voids Chris Ubah,Okonkwo’s Senatorial tickets

•Accuse him of hobnobbing with Northern elders to handover to Buhari, a Northerner

*Sacks Oguebego-led Anambra PDP exco *Ekwunife,Andy Uba,Stella Oduah may be beneficiaries of verdict

By Henry Umoru

OUTHERN leaders have reiterated why the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, must as a matter of urgency be sacked, and be arrested, accusing him of conniving with Northern elders and leaders to rig Jonathan out of the February 14, Presidential election in favour of a northern candidate. According to the Southern leaders from the South South, South West and South East geo-political zones of the country, Prof. Jega has betrayed public trust, respect and acceptance, sublime attributes that were required for an impartial electoral umpire as he was accused of hobnobbing with members of

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the Northern Elders Forum, perfecting moves to ensure that the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC was declared the winner of the election. Led by former Vice President Alex Ekwueme; one time Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark; Arcbishop Ayo Ladigbolu as South East, South South and South West leaders, southern leaders on the banner of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly, SNPA in a strong worded statement issued at a press briefing in Abuja noted that Jega was promoting an ethnic agenda by favouring the North against the South, with what they termed an unholy conspiracy between INEC and the

Northern Elders to install a Northern president through rigging. The statement was signed by Former Vice President Alex Ekwueme as the Coordinating Chairman and South East leader; Chief Edwin Clark who is the South South leader and Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu who is the South West leader. Also present at the briefing were Senator Femi Okurounmu signed the statement for Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu; former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife who signed for former Vice President Alex Ekwueme; Senator Femi Okurounmu signed for Archbishop Ladigbolu; former Minister of Information, Walter Ofonagoro; a former Commis-

sioner in Bayelsa State, Chief Whisky Ayakeme; Dr. Cairo Ojugboh, among others. Reading an 8-page text for the SNPA, Senator Femi Okurounmu who stood in for Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu, called for the postponement of this month’s Presidential and general elections to allow for the Federal Government to reconstitute, reposition and reprocess INEC to enable the electoral body discharge effectively it’s responsibility of conducting an impartial election. According to the leaders, there were plans to rig the 2015 election hatched by the Northern Elders Forum, NEF in collaboration with Professor Jega led INEC, adding “As a responsible government agency, it is only germane that Nigerians, whose tax monies are used to fund its operations, are properly informed on these critical aspects of INEC’s activities. We make bold to say that Prof. Jega has betrayed public trust, respect and acceptance, sublime attributes that are necessary for an impartial electoral umpire.” According to them, it became imperative for the immediate arrest of Jega over allegation that he has criminally mastermind the procurement of Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs for under-aged pupils in contravention of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Amended and the Electoral Act, 2010. According to them, failure to sack Jega by the President as well as postpone the already fixed elections, the Sourthern leaders threatened that they would ensure that they employ and mobilize with all ounce of energy at their disposal to ensure that the people of the South West, South South and South East do not participate in the February 14 and 28 general elections, adding that if INEC goes ahead with the polls with Jega Presiding, “the consequences may be too grave for Nigeria to bear.”

HE ambitions of Chief Chris Ubah,Chief Annie Okonkwo and Prince John Emeka to represent Anambra South,Anambra Central and Anambra North, respectively on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in the eighth Senate, may have hit the rocks. The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja yesterday sacked the Ejike Oguebego-led Executive Committee of the State PDP that organised the primaries which led to the emergence of the trio and others as the party’s candidates in this month’s elections. The Court also set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja which proclaimed the Ejike Oguebego-led executive committee as the true leadership of PDP in Anambra State as well as the Federal High Court’s decision which voided the Colonel Augustine Akunbundo-led caretak-

er/ad-hoc committee set up PDP to run the affairs of its Anambra chapter. Besides, the Court of Appeal restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from accepting the list of candidates that emanated from the primaries conducted by the caretaker committee, saying only the national leadership of the party may submit names of its candidates to INEC. With the development, the national headquarters of the party will have no option than to present incumbent Senator Andy Ubah, former minister Stella Oduah and House of Representatives member Uche Ekwunife as senatorial candidates for the state since they emerged through the primaries conducted by the Augustine Akunbundo caretaker / adhoc committee.

Advocates of election shift unrelenting — APC

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that in spite of the commendable and patriotic decision by the National Council of State that the 2015 general elections must go on as scheduled, proponents of election shift have not given up on their desperation to scuttle the elections. In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said, however, that the desperadoes will always fail in their evil machinations, because no power is strong enough to defeat a determined people. It said the provocative call by the bogus Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly for the postponement of the elections and the arrest of INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega is one of the new antics of the election postponement campaigners. ‘’It is shameful that those who should be working hard to promote peaceful elections as scheduled are the same ones doing everything possible to trigger violence. Those who should ordinarily be seen

as elder statesmen have degenerated to dangerous partisans and shameless promoters of a narrow, parochial interest, at the expense of the national interest. ‘’Who does not know that wherever President Goodluck Jonathan’s interest lies, therein you will find Chief Edwin Clark, whether or not it is in the national interest? Who does not know that the anarchic call by Chief Clark and his cohorts are being made at the behest of a frenzied presidency?’’ the party queried. It also pointed to the irresponsible and divisive statement by PDP Spokesman Olisa Metuh as another indication that those working hard to sink the elections have not given up, wondering why Metuh will make such an incendiary statement that the APC and INEC are working hand in hand to disenfranchise the supporters of the PDP by making sure they do not get PVCs, without a shred of evidence beyond sheer emotions.

12—SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

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SA TURD AY Vanguard SATURD TURDA anguard,, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—13

LL things being equal, Nigerians would in seven days go to the polls to choose the next president of the country with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen Mohammadu Buhari, rtd, of the All Progressives Congress,APC as the major candidates With Election Day only one week away, indications are that some key factors would sway many voters on how they vote next Saturday. Not even the current unusual overwhelming interest in the political process, is likely to dwarf the possible roles of these determinant factors. Specifically, decisions on how the electorate would participate, whom they would vote for, what political party to vote for, are expected to be shaped by these variables. In past elections since 1999, the voting pattern had been remarkably characterised by voter apathy, occasioned by a dysfunctional political culture that has progressively nurtured apathy. The challenges nonetheless, the forthcoming polls are, however, stirring emotion among many who have taken strong positions mainly on account of the personalities of the two major candidates, Jonathan and Buhari. Among the major issues that would affect voting pattern are incumbency factor, corruption, unemployment, insecurity, sympathy votes, President Jonathan’s performance record, fallout of party primaries, protest votes among others. Incumbency factor: The history of elections in Nigeria is replete with remarkable roles that incumbency factor, had played for incumbents running for re-election. Since Nigeria gained independence all incumbent administrations that have organised election have almost always prevailed. There has been no record of a smooth transfer of civilian transfer of power from a ruling party to another at the federal level. However, those who say that there is always a first time say that there has been no incumbent government that has been as troubled or touched by emotions of the citizenry as this one as such diminishing the influence of the incumbency factor. The incumbent president is nevertheless carrying the advantages of control of several apparatuses of state into the election. Performance record Like the global pattern where performance on key areas, constitute the prerequisite for electoral victory, most Nigerians are already evaluating the performance of the present administration. This is being done in line with the President’s campaign promises four years ago. The key imprint of the transformation agenda heralded at the outset of the 2011 presidential

PRESIDENTIAL POLLS:

The issues that will sway voters

•Nigerians...seven days to choose the next president

election campaign was that Nigeria would be transformed into a new nation in various aspects of human endeavour. Jonathan, it would be recalled, had during his whistle-stop campaign across the 36 states of the federation , pledged to fix the following sectors; power, economy, energy & gas, education security, agriculture, water resources among others. He also promised a better deal on the Niger Delta issue, women empowerment, and reforms where necessary. Infrastructural development An analysis of the specific pledges of transformation shows the administration succeeding in some sectors and also struggling to attain key indicators of success in some strategic sectors. The administration and its supporters have pointed at achievements in the area of rail transportation, road construction, revolution in agriculture, power, health and education. Though some of the claims of performance have been poohpoohed by critics, who maintain that the citizenry are worse off on account of the ruling PDP’s alleged misrule. Remarkably, the administration is also challenged by the claim that it had underperformed given the

amount of resources available to it. Those who view Jonathan as having underperformed would be tempted to consider Buhari who also has a record in office with which he can be assessed with, albeit even if 30 years ago. Insecurity: Certainly, concerns over the widespread insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria, would largely define how many would vote. The administration would be put to task to defend its capacity in maintaining the territorial integrity of the nation. With many believing that the government has failed in its primary responsibility of providing the security and welfare of the people, it is believed that performance in this key area, would decide the voting pattern for many voters across the country. However, those who would be lured by Buhari’s past performance as a military ruler would be challenged by the fact that he ruled as a military dictator. Unemployment: The import of the need to address the alarming unemployment rate in Nigeria, was not lost on the PDP and APC candidates during their various campaign stumps.

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

Among the major issues that would affect voting pattern are incumbency factor, corruption, unemployment,

Notably, the pledge to tackle the unemployment crisis was prioritized in the campaign speeches of the presidential hopefuls. Unlike in the past when issues like this never mattered, there are indications that voters would participate in the polls bearing in mind the country ’s 53 percent unemployment rate. Corruption: Even though the present administration had at different fora, scored itself high on anticorruption, reports accusing the government of condoning graft, abound. For instance, the United States based New York Times last year, accused the President of leading a corrupt government. This sentiment has also been severally re-echoed in the country, specifically by the opposition. In one of its numerous tirades against the PDP, the national leadership of the APC, accused the party of condoning and permeating corruption in the land. In the campaigns President Jonathan has promised not to address corruption by plugging loopholes that allow corruption to thrive and has insinuated that Buhari would be too draconian in fighting corruption. He has railed that he would not build prisons insinuating that Buhari would build prisons to incarcerate corrupt persons.

14—SATURDAY

Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

BUHARI

The of my personal experience By Ignatius C. Olisemeka ithout ever knowing or W meeting me, Buhari gave me a chance. As I now write, I have never met him one-onone. We have never spoken to each other. It is an extraordinary experience of an unusual man. I was sitting on my desk in the Ministry of External Affairs, 40 Marina Lagos in 1984, when I received a letter appointing me Ambassador to the United States of America. My place of origin did not matter. Incidentally, I am from Ibusa, a famous town now in Delta State; then, in Bendel State. My religion did not matter either. I had no worthwhile contacts with Dodan Barracks. All I knew, and had always known, was to work hard and to express my views as candidly and as courageously as I could, regardless of the consequences; provided I was convinced they were right. It was never easy or smoothsailing. Of course, that had its bitter consequences; but at the end, now at 83, looking back, it worked out just right. Of all the Nigerian leaders, with the possible exception of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, Buhari has been the one that has most approximated my dream of what a Nigerian leader should be. Without any attempt at selfadvertisement, but simply as a matter of fact, I knew and had worked and interacted with most, if not all of our leaders. I worked with Sir James Robertson, the last colonial GovernorGeneral of Nigeria, after graduating from the University College, Ibadan in 1957. I served as Clerk to the Privy Council and as Assistant Secretary (Administrative Officer) in charge of Security. I worked up to my immediate boss, Mr. C. O. Lawson, the then respected Secretary to the Cabinet in the Governor-General’s office. As part of my schedule of duties as officer in charge of security, I had the privilege and honour of being a member of a 3man-panel, two of them British, which interviewed and recruited the first batch of Nigerian military officers into the Nigerian army in 1958. This batch included Olusegun Obasanjo. In 1958, I transferred to the Ministry

of External Affairs, making a career in the Diplomatic Service which lasted fortytwo (42) years, from where I eventually rose as Foreign Minister, having served as Ambassador in Nine (9) countries, a few with concurrent accreditation, including Kenya under Jomo Kenyatta, Botswana under Sir Seretse Khama, Lesotho under King Moshoeshoe I, Spain, The Holy See under three Popes, (John Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II), the United States of America, Canada and, lastly, in Israel for six (6) years, a

•Buhari

mission I established and rose to be Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps. In between, I was Chief of Protocol of the Federation to Zik and Balewa, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as Directing Staff in the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, for two years (1988/1989). I am now a retired pensioner, carefully minding my own business and tending my personal affairs. I do not belong to any political party and have never belonged to any. In the best tradition of the colonial public service of my days, I have remained strictly anonymous and aloof; occasionally, making my views and opinion privately known to the appropriate authorities of the day on any issue I feel strongly about. I seek no office and no financial or material favours. All I am doing is to put on public

record my private opinion, views and experience, which may not be available and known to many Nigerians. Major General Muhammadu Buhari not only gave me the opportunity to serve Nigeria as Ambassador in the United States, he did even more than that. He entrusted to me the care and welfare of his family; still without our knowing or meeting each other. He sent his wife and two children to me in Washington D.C. for medical treatment. He took his chance and dealt with me strictly on a professional basis. His family were with me in Washington D.C. when the General was overthrown in a coup d’etat. We did the best we could and sent them back home safely under the trying and traumatic circumstances they found themselves- still, never a word from this unusual person. In 1988 after I returned as Ambassador from Washington D.C., I

was assigned as a punitive measure as Directing Staff to the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, for two years. The subject of our research in that year led the Syndicate I headed to visit Buhari’s State of origin. With the approval of government, members of the Syndicate visited Buhari who was then under house arrest in his home town, Daura. This most extra-ordinary man received us with warmth and courtesy. We found him living in a modest, sparsely furnished three or four bed-room bungalow which was his house. He still did not know who I was; nor did I disclose my identity to him. It was unbelievable, even in those days, that a former General in the Nigerian Army and a former Head of State could live in such a modest, spartan abode. What further struck me was a complete lack of bitterness; unless the Fulani in him, concealed and dissembled it! What do all these tell me about this man, Buhari? Others may have a different opinion of him. I absolutely concede to them the right to hold their views. As far as I am personally concerned, four short phrases summarise my overall impression and opinion of Buhari. An incorruptible man. A patriotic Nigerian devoid of any trace of ethnicism and parochialism. A deeply religious man. Above all, a stern disciplinarian. We so often talk glibly of the giant strides Asian Tigers have taken to leap from the state of underdevelopment to developed nations. We refer tirelessly to the achievements of men like Lee Kuan Yew. I have, personally, met Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore. I did so in the company of General Yakubu Gowon when he returned from exile from the United Kingdom. Little do we know or appreciate the agonizing hardship, pains and sufferings all Singaporeans, Chinese, Malays, Indians and other ethnic nationalities, had to endure for Singapore to attain its present height as a respected nation. Gold must be smelted in hot burning furnaces before unleashing its shine and purity. Lee Kuan Yew was a benevolent democratic autocrat. He subjected his people to a good dose of rigorous healthy discipline. No country makes that type of progress Singapore made without an unwavering sense of disciplined direction. Moreover, Lee Kuan Yew was an inspirational leader of his people. He governed by example. It is not just the question of the number of kilometres of roads you build that elevates a nation. It is not a matter of the megawatts of power you generate nor the number of buildings you erect for the populace. Not even the refineries you build or the volume of agricultural products produced Continues on pg 15

SATURDAY

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe

Alhaji Tafawa Balewa

Continues from pg 14 and exported. These are important. Any leader surrounded by brilliant experts, excellent technocrats and loyal advisers can achieve those basic and essential needs. Leadership calls for much greater attributes than the performance of those feats. A leader must have a strong, solid, moral and disciplined background, the inspirational ability to galvanize his people to higher, lofty and common purpose. These are not ordinary attributes available to every man. They are uncommon gifts and talents dispensed and bestowed only to a few. This makes the difference between one man and the other; one woman and the other. It is not often we have a Ghandi or a Mandela; an Ataturk, or a Winston Churchill, a Charles de Gaulle, or a Konrad Adenauer, who became one of the most respected Chancellors of Federal Republic of Germany at the ripe age of 81, a Margaret Thatcher, or even our own often quoted Obama. Nearer home, with all their imperfections, considering that a prophet is without honour in his own country, we must reckon with Azikiwe, the Sardauna, Awolowo, Aminu Kano and J.S. Tarka, the real and genuine ‘founding fathers’ of our nation. Buhari, in my view, belongs to the last and passing generation of this group of Nigerian leaders. It was a pity that fate thrust him into leadership limelight at a period in time when military revolution and coups d’ etats were in vogue and held sway. In a democratic setting, as we now have, I believe that the real worth and essence of this man, encapsulated in an exemplary and enigmatic personal life, will blaze through and shine forth. It will soon be clear that those of his followers of questionable and dubious pedigree who think they can latch on to the reputation of this rare Nigerian would be the first to be highly disappointed. I also believe that what is badly needed at this stage of our national life is a leadership that will turn the country around; and rescue us from the depth of chronic indiscipline, disorder and decadence we have, over the years, gradually descended and slided into. What I believe we need is a strong hand at the helm, with the support of our people, who will instil in us a much needed sense of order and discipline; inspire us into patriotic zeal and sacrifice; bring out the best in each one of us; and encourage in us the love of nation. The nation’s sense of indiscipline and disorder is evident and all pervasive even in very simple things and matters of the day and moment. C M Y K

Yakubu Gowon

Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—15

fearlessly put an end to these vulgarities and inanities. This is one side of the coin. There is another side of the coin to our national life for which we can proudly hold our heads very high. This is the side no other single country in the world I know can ever match. The list is inexhaustive and much longer than our shortcomings. We do not, however, necessarily need to dwell on them or spell them out here, as we search for positive measures and values that will enhance and edify our nation. Buhari represents, in my opinion, the last opportunity we have to get things reasonably right before the baton passes permanently on to the next and coming generation. After him, the generation of the ‘founding fathers’ would have faded away; with their legacies, left behind, hopefully for good. He should be given the chance to restore and consolidate the disappearing values of that ‘golden age’ so sadly disrupted by the military, to which paradoxically and tragically, he and those in that generation, and that before him, were willy-nilly pressed into being a part of. He carries on his frail, ageing but reliable shoulders a historic responsibility and burden of getting it right. He has a bounden duty to realign the nation towards achieving its manifest destiny. He has no excuses for failure. Otherwise, why should he be seeking power at his age? It makes absolutely no sense. Why not take a comfortable and relaxed back seat like most of us. History will judge him very harshly should he fail.

Sir James Robertson

The BUHARI of my personal experience A road-side mechanic claims to be an Engineer (Engr) and insists on being so styled. A traditional herbalist insists he must be called and respected as a professional medical Doctor (Dr) and, indeed, hugs the appellation. An ordinary traditional village community leader who flamboyantly styles himself a Chief and clownishly attired in a self-designed robe, is addressed not only as “Your Highness”, but takes offence if he is not properly addressed as “Your Royal Highness”. A number of respected Kabiyesis no longer have regard for their beautiful traditional titles, unless we, their ‘subjects’, address them as “Your Majesty” or worse still, “Your Royal Majesty” The same applies to the ‘Ran kadades’, most of our Emirs and prominent men in authority revel in when interacting with the poor subservient so-called talakawas. May I also observe that the awkward title of ‘His Eminence’ is a misnomer which should be revisited and reconsidered. Members of our legislative houses feel incomplete and uncomfortable until they are addressed as ‘Honourables’ or ‘Distinguished Senators’. They are no longer plain ‘Mister’ or ‘Madam’. I believe it is time we became a little more creative and find suitable traditional and local substitutes for these foreign appellations which portray us as caricatures and ridicule us as people and nation in the outside world. What a pride and beauty to have one of the foremost traditional rulers of the land being regaled with the title Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Oba Erediauwa! Why can we not start emulating and adopting this practice in most of our national institutions? It will give us a sense of pride and self-worth. Ambitious pseudo-intellectual selfpublicists cleverly thrust their mediocrity and opinions on us and flaunt their borrowed, half-baked, ill-digested ideas, concepts, jargons and clichés. Pages of our national newspapers are replete with lavishly self-serving advertisements of obituaries, weddings and birthday celebrations. Why not severely tax those who place these wasteful

advertisements to rake in and release funds to charities or other good causes such as sporting and educational development of the country. Hitherto decent, pretty, confident young ladies on our television sets in order to make themselves more attractive and acceptable, bleach their skin to pale sickening white, with their veins thinly exposed; their bare knuckles and elbows still looking jet black. They should be reassigned to the back room offices, decorated with mirrors, left to rue their new look which has become an eyesore to many viewers. Our television channels have suddenly become a babel and cacophony of crude and embarrassing noise makers, reflecting the values of a sick society, drunk with democratic excesses. Honorary degrees are sold, bought and conferred on undeserving personalities by many of our Universities and these personalities shamelessly parade them at will. A few prominent church leaders have relocated their pulpits from their churches to the seats of secular power while a number of Imams have not been able to teach their adherents the purity of their religion which preaches respect for human lives. Our youths need impeccable high level connections before gaining employment at any level, both decent or menial. Impunity freely reigns in the land more than ever before. The temples of justice are daily being desecrated. The Lady now has her eyes wide open; seductively beckoning and soliciting for favours. More painful still, is the nearabsolute control of our entire being and lives as a people by others. We appear helpless to cast off that yoke and burden even though we claim to be independent; helpless to govern ourselves with any modicum of selfrespect and dignity and take our destiny into our hands. The list is endless. Am I a part of this messy order? Certainly, yes. None of us can pretend not to be part of it, in one way or the other, in differing roles. Only that some exacerbate it more than others. This situation calls for a man who, by personal example, can firmly and

Buhari, in my view, belongs to the last and passing generation of this group of Nigerian leaders. It was a pity that fate thrust him into leadership limelight at a period in time when military revolution and coups d’ etats were in vogue and held sway.

The immediate challenge before him, I feel convinced, is how to curb the excesses of the teaming mass of followers who, undoubtedly, adore him. The next, is to rein in the display of empty, hollow pompousness and offensive arrogance by a few of his elitist, lazy patronageseeking associates; who, if victorious, will flock to him without discrimination. I had always instinctively recognised and resented this feeling at first hand, even from a distance. I believe it is time for us to begin anew. Let us begin to lead our lives as normal human beings; and not in self-delusion and self-deceit. This is the real transformation needed. This is the revolution we yearn for at this point in time in our national life. I can now start understanding what drove past Chinese leaders into staging the “Cultural Revolution”. Nigeria is ripe; indeed, over ripe for a non-violent revolution which will shake us all up like a volcanic eruption from our present national stupor. Who will sweep out the quacks and charlatans in our midst? Who will guarantee us enduring values? Who will cleanse the cobwebs from our national home? All said, let no one forget there is no better country than Nigeria in the whole world. I feel happiest when I am in Nigeria; despite the agonizing frustrations; despite the infuriating hardship; and even when I am being driven daily to the brink of desperation.

Ambassador Ignatius C. Olisemeka, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs

16—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Debates are important. Since the main complaint about the campaigns, besides matters bordering on violence, is that they have not been issues- based. A debate could settle all that by redirecting the candidates to issues

The Debates : PDP earnestly yearns for a ‘Game Changer’ BY DR UGOJI EGBUJO

gbos say when frogs run around in the afternoon they aren’t doing so for fun. If they are not after something then something is after them. When president Jonathan chickened out of the scheduled presidential debates in 2011 and opted for a literal monologue rather than engage Buhari and Ribadu , he played into the hands of the opposition . Often derided as inarticulate and diffident, he didn’t help himself by opting out of that debate. Against opponents who were not really gifted with garb or elocution, who couldn’t boast about being remarkably conversant with policy and great innovative ideas, the task before him then was not particularly daunting. So why did he avoid a debate with his main opponents in 2011 ? Perhaps it was a deliberate political strategy . He was a front runner, had victory within reach baring any major slip ups. And since he lacked a bit in charm and poise , he just played safe . The other parties then were too weak to mount any robust contest on the field. They lacked the requisite national spread. Debates could hardly dent his chances. So why didn’t he take up the challenge of debating people whose intellect he should ordinarily match since he reminds everyone of his possession of a doctorate degree at every opportunity? In football parlance, he simply “parked the bus”. Style is nothing without results, perhaps. Whatever his reasons, the people were denied an opportunity to further assess the candidates. Perhaps the only real opportunity to feel the texture of candidates who are usually handpicked by party god fathers without even scant regards for the inputs of ordinary party members. Primaries are charades staged by god fathers It is not important that only a few would have been swayed by the debates, much would have been gained by entrenching a national political culture of debates prior to elections. And you would think that the candidates would relish any opportunity to lay out their plans and programmes since the routine, noisy political rallies aren’t conducive for such rational engagements. The rallies being mere carnivals to which no one really comes to learn about manifestoes. Many ordinary folks turn up for a fee and others come for a piece of fun. The exploitation of the poor continues at every turn. It’s 2015 and Jonathan now wants a debate. And he is making a fuss of it. How times have changed and tides have turned. Opinion polls suggest the race is dead even but many observers claim Buhari is in a clear lead. Jonathan , who refers to his party chairman as “ game changer “ , may be in need of a real game changer. The campaigns yielded little . A barrage of assaults on the image of the opposition C M Y K

PDP rally in Imo leader, his qualification and readiness to lead haven’t managed to hinder the momentum of the opposition. PDP officials have all but conceded that they are worried about the outcome of the elections and are manifestly desperate. A party and a president who preferred the elections in Febuary rather than April now want a postponement. The National security adviser is not a flippant man and when he speaks he reveals the inner concerns of the presidency. The PDP had a plot that has unraveled. Fani Kayode has recently hinted of the possibility of a ‘no confidence vote’ on INEC and even a mere contemplation of that reveals much of the trepidation ransacking the soul of the ruling party. Toying with a vote of ‘ no confidence’ on INEC is like flirting with the idea of a boycott of the elections. Strange things are happening. It may not have reached those depths but it shows how rattled they are. PDP’s air of invincibility has disappeared. The presidential primaries of APC were expected to be too fractious and too acrimonious to enable the party mount an effective challenge in the presidential elections. The plot by the PDP to bring the elections forward to February could have been a political masterstroke . It was meant to suffocate an ill prepared and perhaps conflict stricken APC when they would not have found any real bearings. But it has boomeranged. Or so it seems. APC, ironically, is now the party insisting the

elections must not be shifted. APC supporters revel in their optimism. It is good for the country. One party rule is an anathema in a democracy The opposition that lampooned Jonathan for avoiding the debates 4 years ago has now found many excuses for opting out the debates. They claim media bias. But we know better. Some media houses, though ,have been at the very least unethical. But you would think that the party of change, that has labeled the president as clumsy , clueless and weak would crave to feast on him in a debate. They are hesitant. And deliberately so. The PDP and Jonathan avoided a debate with the same Buhari in 2011. And he was the main challenger then too. If their inferences that he is mentally deficient and anachronistic are right, then they missed an opportunity in 2011 to expose his deficiencies. PDP cannot pick and choose when to engage in presidential debates. They have urged us to make necessary inferences from Buhari’s hesitancy or refusal to debate. And that is a reasonable demand but in light of a precedent they set in 2011 we are entitled to infer that their new found altruism is cynical and borne out of desperation. If Jonathan avoided the debates for strategic political reasons then Buhari is morally entitled to employ same reasons and stay away. Elections are, in the main, contests and partakers do all permitted by the rules and conventions to win. Buhari owes no one any legal or moral duty to participate in any debates. Many argue that APC should set the pace by encouraging the establishment of a culture of pre election debates. And that the debates are a service to the electorate

and the nation. And these are sound arguments. While it must be conceded that the debates may not influence the decision of most of the voters , in a closely fought election all votes become extremely significant. A few undecided voters can be swayed by a debate performance . Some good leaders do poorly in debates , just as some good students don’t do particularly well in exams . So debates ,as welcome as they are, may not serve some good candidates well . A calamitous “my oga at the top” moment can be very damaging for either of the major candidates. For a candidate like Buhari who touts his exceptional personal character one must wonder how much damage is done his sense of self esteem by his avoidance of the debates . It is worse if that course was taken by his party to help his inadequacies. Why wouldn’t Buhari use the debates to advertise his mental alertness and good grasp of relevant issues? Who would have imagined a Buhari afraid of a small challenge. Ordinarily the opposition, any opposition, would long for a debate against an incumbent whose performance has been adjudged, even by his most ardent fans, as uninspiring. In a sense , the election is a referendum on the incumbent’s performance . So why wouldn’t the opposition take on him frontally and skewer him? And more, Buhari could, with one good debate performance, convince any remaining skeptics that all the talk about certificate and age are irrelevant gibberish of a confused and petty ruling party. Buhari, like Jonathan in 2011, may suffer a personal psychological harm if he avoids the debate. Debates are important. Since the main complaint about the campaigns, besides matters bordering on violence, is that they have not been issues- based. A debate could settle all that by redirecting the candidates to issues. Debates offer the nation and its people an opportunity to appraise the issues that confront them and allow a general assessment of government measures . To that extent it represents an effective public accountability process . Wouldn’t Nigerians want to know how many of our soldiers have lost their lives defending the nation against boko haram? Let someone tell the APC that town hall meetings cannot substitute debates. That is not to say that debates cannot also be hollow rituals where practiced candidates come to churn out themes handed them by their handlers the day before. It has become unlikely any presidential debates will take place . The desperation for a game changer has reared it’s head on other fronts. A motley of inconsequential minor parties suddenly congregated and released a communiqué calling for a postponement of the elections. A suit has been filed in an Abuja court seeking to halt the elections by a fairly unknown person. Proxies are at it again, smells like ’ June 12’ . Claims and counter claims of plans for an interim government are now rife. Niger Delta militants have threatened us with dire consequences if Jonathan loses. Now they have added that they won’t spare anyone who doesn’t vote GEJ in the Niger Delta. How free can these elections be? The worry is not about the frenetic dance steps of these minnows, the real worry is about the drummer in the shadows supplying them rhythm. APC has “parked the bus”. And time is running out!

Dr Ugoji Egbujo MBBS, LLB, LLm (Medical Doctor and Criminology

SATURDAY

Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—17

Oshiomhole speaks on how PDP shares power •Insists power will never get to the people with PDP in power Governor, Adams Oshiomhole

•Says he has ended the godfather reign in Edo BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

e is so passionate about tomorrow. And so, looking back, he discovered that not a healthy and solid foundation had been laid for a strong future. To him, the return of democracy in 1999 was supposed to be a catalyst for this greatness. But Nigeria failed to plan and work towards greatness. This is the view of Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who was also former President of Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, in an interview he granted journalists in Edo. Excerpts: Some Nigerians believe that the south south which is where you belong is a region in the hands of PDP. Do you share that submission? It depends on who you are speaking about. I am a Nigerian and I am well known Nigerian. I am not in the PDP and I will never be in PDP. Edo is the heartbeat of the nation and we are in the South-south. How can you suggest to me that this is a PDP zone? It is not. PDP has never won any clean election in the South-south. Often times, they had taken advantage of the terrain and if you do your analysis very well in the voting pattern, you will find that PDP has always lost elections in the cities and they turn in ghost votes from the creeks but in Edo we neutralized their rigging machine as far back as 2007 and since then, we have won every election in this state and in the last election that was held here on the 14th of July 2012, I

won in every local government. It has never happened before and even the godfather, I defeated him in his village. So, how can you suggest to me that South-south is PDP zone? It is not. PDP has been an invasion in the south but we are repelling them now and they will be completely repelled on February 14. How may you react to the calls for the postponement of the elections? Besides, this administration will clock 4 years by May. How would you assess its performance on the economy and some other critical sectors? The constitution and the electoral act are clear on issues of election are to be determined by the electoral body, INEC, within the provisions of the law. The National Security Adviser, NSA, is not an official of INEC. So, how can we even entertain that comment from him that elections should be postponed? And if my observation is correct it will appear that this comment was made outside the shores of Nigeria? How appropriate is that? Should we hear from foreign lands the thinking of Nigerian public officers on serious issues of national interest? Should we hear it first through foreign media in a foreign land? I haven’t seen people interrogate this because this thing about taking Nigerians for a ride must stop. Who is speaking for postponement? Only those who are facing imminent electoral defeat. They are the ones

whether by themselves, their agents. There is no genuine Nigeria who is interested in peace and stability who wants postponement. The second leg of your question is about assessment of this Federal Government in four years. You are wrong. This president has been in office for six years. I will try to be objective. It is not about APC or PDP now. As they say facts are sacred, opinion is free. I want to deal with facts so I free myself from the burden of subjectivity. What was the promise of the president about power 6 years ago? We were told that by 2013 there will be full power supply, that they are carrying out major reforms then later they said by 2014. We are now in 2015; check the records both reported and official records of PHCN and you will find that about six years ago, we were using almost 4000mw; between 3500mw and 3800mw. Today, as we speak, the 28th day of January 2015 after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, power generation has dropped to 2.5 or thereabout after the government has spent billions of dollars. So, I just deal with the facts and I will put the question to you. Has this

Let’s look at some efforts that have been made in the form of reforms of the power sector. In the name of reforms, PDP has further deformed the power sector

government delivered on the promise with regards to power? I will leave the answer now to you? But we can take this question further in the context of the two political parties by revisiting the issue still on power. We take it back to using 1999 as base year. Between 1999 and 2015, is 16 years and playing back the promise of PDP in 1999, you will find in your tapes and archives, that someone promised that in about six months power will be fixed. It will be regular. The facts are stubborn. I was in NLC then. I used to interrogate power so I know what I am talking about. When I say “interrogate power”, I don’t mean the electricity power, I mean political authority. It is 16 years now and PDP has no clue on how to fix power and they will never be able to fix power and because of all that I have seen, I have arrived at the conclusion that as long as PDP is in power, Nigerians will be out of power. Nigerians will never have power whether to run their homes or to run their businesses, whether poor or old. Then let’s look at some efforts that have been made in the form of reforms of the power sector. In the name of reforms, PDP has further deformed the power sector. There is a huge difference between reform and deformation. They have deformed the sector. Simple evidence. Just look at who bought what in the name of privatization of NEPA. Look at those who bought them in various parts of the country. I can

Continues on pg 18

18—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Ghana and sell to Nigerian market. So, without industries where are the young ones going to work?

Continues from pg 17 limit myself to Edo, Delta and Ondo. We are under one so called DISCO; one distribution company. It was sold to a retired banker and a pharmacist. None of them has a history of having anything to do with power. The pharmacist is the chairman and the accountant is the MD. The chairman is the husband and the MD is the wife. So, Delta, Ondo and Edo Discos are owned by a family. That is not what you do with a critical sector which if you don’t fix, you won’t be able to create jobs. You are not going to able to look inwards and move away from import based to production based economy. It is not about miracles. Then you look at kerosene, distribution of petroleum products. You know I have been very much involved in this. As we speak, everywhere across the country; I have travelled through several rural communities. But before I moved to this aspect because it is still within energy sector, let me divert. Having handed over these assets to people who have neither the know-how nor the financial wherewithal to participate in power, and I know as a former member of the national council of privatization (I was a member as president of NLC), I know for a fact that the law provides clearly that to participate as a core investor under the privatization exercise of the BPE, you must have demonstrable experience in the sector in which you have expressed interest. You must have know-how and you must also have the financial muscle so to do. Now what is happening in Benin? Everyday people are protesting that these private companies, with the backing of the federal government, are collecting what they call fixed charge from consumers such that even when you have no light for the whole 30 days of black out, you are compelled to pay a fixed charge of 850 Naira and some other people 1500 Naira if it is a business concern. Even when they deliver no light at all. It is only in Nigeria that public authority can allow the citizens to be so ruthlessly exploited. I don’t know of any other country, not even Banana Republic, where you can tolerate that level of abuse. You know we are very vocal but we can bear so much pain. Even worse is that the assets that the distribution companies are using are procured with tax payers money. Over the past 6 years of my assumption of office, we bought hundreds of transformers which ought to have been procured by this Discos and even this year. In the heart of Benin, we are distributing transformers to communities using tax payers money. For private companies to collect fixed charges even when they haven’t delivered, only in Nigeria that a public authority

Governor, Adams Oshiomole

'Power will never get to the people with PDP in power' will allow its citizens to be ruthlessly exploited. So I close my case on power and I leave the judgment to you. Then we move on to another sector, kerosene. These are things that affect the ordinary Nigerian. We are not discussing the state of our airports. That is about those who are traveling by air. Then you look at the job sector, you can’t have jobs. It is not about tokenism, I mean talking serious economics. It is tokenism symbolic projects: SURE-P, you name it, pet projects. No. You really want to have labour intensive industries that people can add value. You are exporting your crude oil. I saw the Presidency saying they don’t want to be exporting products without adding value but the core product of Nigeria is crude and we are exporting it in full. So, what that means is that we are exporting our jobs and importing unemployment. We are exporting prosperity and importing poverty and so your

Kaduna refinery, your Port Harcourt refinery, your Warri refinery, you name it, 16 years down the road we don’t have any refinery and yet, we visit the statement by successive budget speeches, they tell you so, so people have gotten so, so numbers of licenses but there is no refinery. I don’t know which sector you want me to look at but my sector that I come from, the textile industry is dead. If you live in Lagos, you know Ikeja is gone. Isolo is gone. Apapa is gone, all those warehouses where I used to organize workers are now been occupied by Pentecostal churches otherwise they would have been empty. Now in Kaduna we used to have about 30,000 workers within the area in Kaduna we call Kakure, in Port Harcourt we had Machalin and we had Dunlop in Ikeja. Where are they? Gone. Some have relocated to Ghana taking advantage of West African protocol to produce in

There are too many political vultures who are flying in the evening market wanting to mess everybody up and I think we must find courage to speak out and secure our democracy

Let’s go back to the issue of PVCs. To most people, it is still a big issue. Again Many Nigerians have this fear that an APC presidency will spend more time pursuing supposed or alleged corrupt public officer instead of developing the country, do you think this fear is justified? It depends on who is talking but the first one don’t brush aside the issue of PVC distribution. In any event, the number of votes that brought this president to office, how many people voted? As far as I can recollect, it is about 24 million, quote and unquote votes, but those included ghost voters and I am speaking with every sense of responsibility where we are told that in some places 99.9 percent of registered voters came out to vote and we know of reported cases at least through the proceedings in tribunals where people who died somehow woke up to vote and then returned back to the grave. But even with those ghost voters, the total votes that brought this president and even the previous one was not more than 24 million votes. Add that of Buhari, not more than 36 million votes. How many PVCs have been collected? In Edo state I scored about 75 percent of the votes in the last election where I won in all the 18 local government areas. The total vote I got was less than 500,000. Now all those who voted in Edo were less than 600,000. Over 800,000 people have now collected their PVC. So, if the rest refuse to collect, you can’t compel them but you can’t stop those who have collected from voting, that is the law. The law doesn’t say that if the turn out in an election is less than than 50 percent of the registered, for example, that the election is not valid. As far as I am concerned Nigeria is greater than any individual and we have to be careful. There are too many political vultures who are flying in the evening market wanting to mess everybody up and I think we must find courage to speak out and secure our democracy. It doesn’t really matter to me who wins an election. It matters to me how people win it. If Nigerians want to put the gear on reverse, democracy will allow them to do so. But honestly if they want to move on to gear five nobody should stop it and I guess people want to move to gear five. We have been too long at gear four. People want to move to gear five.

SA TURD AY Vanguard —19 SATURD TURDA anguard,, FEBRUARY 7, 2015 2015—19

Enugu thumbs up for Ugwuanyi .As a new vista opens for women empowerment BY FRANCIS IGATA, Enugu

he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,Enugu State chapter which had been buffeted from all cylinders prior to the December 8, primaries of the party,coagulated quickly following the emergence of a popular candidate. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s emergence on December 8, and the subsequent governorship campaign flag-off his governorship campaign on January 19, has galvanised party faithful under the PDP umbrella even as the party is believed to have sufficiently shown its capability to outdo other opposition parties in the forthcoming general elections. In a bid to show their gratitude to Governor Sullivan Chime over Ugwuanyi’s choice and for his stance to enthrone a successor of Enugu-North senatorial zone extraction, the council chairman of Nsukka Local Government Area,Mr. Charles Ugwu, named the Nsukka Township Stadium after Chime. This happened when the Ugwuanyi campaign train visited the area. The reception was, again, another sign of the Ugwuanyi’s popularity in Enugu state. Mr. Ugwu said that the stadium would now be called “Sullivan

•Ugwuanyi and Ezeilo acknowledge cheers from supporters during their campaign in Enugu

Chime Square.” He said the development, which was greeted with loud cheers from the crowd, was a show of gratitude to Chime by the people of Nsukka zone. He said apart from

ensuring that the governorship position was zoned to Nsukka, Chime equally endeared himself to the people of the area through his developmental strides and support for the creation of Adada State. Reacting to the honour, Governor Chime described it as “a pleasant surprise”. While thanking the people of Nsukka for their support to his administration and for the PDP, he urged them

to replicate same for the incoming administration. In a speech at the rally, the PDP guber candidate in the State, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi said the renaming of the Stadium after Governor Chime was just one of the many things lined up by the people of the area in order to thank Chime for his kind gestures. He said it took a courageous, kind and honest leader like Chime to make sure that the governorship position was zoned to Enugu North, adding that “it is not because we have money”. “I want to state here that in and out of office, Sullivan Chime remains my leader. I used to hear that people are ‘Ekwueme’, (one who lives by his words), but I actually saw it in Governor Chime. “Sullivan was not Governor for Udi; he was Governor for the entire Enugu state; look at the state of 9th Mile Express road; compare it with the new Opi-Ugwuogo-Enugu road he did for Nsukka people; so, we shall do for Udi people what he could not do for them. “We are asking God to give us opportunity so that we can tell him thank you. You know that this stadium means so much to Nsukka people; we shall give it a befitting look; we shall honour this great man”, he added. However, the massive turn-out of women at the rally was visibly traced to the hope which the incoming administration portends. Ugwuanyi’s running mate, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, widow of late Igwe of Ezeagu, Chief Malachy Ezeilo, who represents Ezeagu consistency at the Enugu State House of Assembly had signpost the emancipation of women from the shackles of ‘kitchen life’ to that of economic empowerment.

ver Agbaje Lagos Guber: The edge Ambode has oover BY OLUWASEYI STEVENS t is not in doubt that like the Presidential race between Dr. I Goodluck Jonathan and General

Muhammadu Buhari, which promises to be an epic battle, one of the governorship races that will equally be keenly contested is the race for the Alausa RoundHouse by Akinwunmi Ambode of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Jimi Agbaje of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The reasons for this keen competition in Lagos are not far-fetched. Like at the federal level where only the two dominant parties are in the race, the competition in Lagos is also between APC and PDP. People can hardly recall the names of any of the other nine contenders. They are not campaigning. What’s the point of wasting the funds they can hardly spare? Their parties probably won’t field any presidential candidate in the real sense of it. Those candidates appear either planted or are there to gain the traction of being addressed as ex-governorship candidates. That leaves the ring for the two main contenders, who incidentally have unique strengths that place them on an almost equal footing to make a dash at the prize – winning the governorship election. Agbaje comes with a noticeable brand recall. He was once the Treasurer of the once influential PanYoruba group, Afenifere. He is seen as a Pharmacist of note and generally acknowledged to have done well during the 2007 polls even though he came third, behind Babatunde Fashola, (SAN) who won the race for ACN and

•Ambode Musiliu Obanikoro, who was PDP’s candidate. Ambode, on the other hand, comes with a rich experience spanning public and private sectors. He has had a rich 27year experience in the Lagos civil service, rising to the position of Auditor General for the Local Governments and then as the permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, before his voluntary retirement as the Accountant General at 49. Although he doesn’t flaunt any previous direct political experience, the manner in which he ran his consultations

•Agbaje and campaigns for almost one year before winning the primary election last December shows his depth and ability to gain useful grounds in good time. With both candidates now household names in Lagos and their campaigns reaching fever-pitch, one might be tempted to conclude that the winner would emerge based on the popularity of each candidate (brand identity) and the strength of the political parties. While this assertion may have merit, a keen and unbiased analyst would see

and infer that the key indicators to determine the likely winner between the two gentlemen lie more on how their campaigns have progressed in the last two months, how their brand identities have been perceived, how their parties are being marketed and how all these are playing up in the media. A thorough appraisal of the situation may see an election that is heading for keen contest, but without doubt it will also not miss the clear edge that Ambode has over Agbaje in almost every area of assessment. Arrival at this summation is not just because Ambode has managed to lift himself up unto a pedestal in which he is seen as a capable and well-prepared for the task ahead, but also because Agbaje, rather curiously, has not managed to live up to the expectation that his second shot at the gubernatorial goal would pack as much punch as the last time in 2007 if not better. Ambode’s first edge is his early bird approach to tasks. He used this strategy rather ingeniously in the run-up to his party’s primaries. Since May 2014 when he launched his biography and had the Oba of Lagos endorse his candidacy, there had been nothing stopping him. His consultations and tour of Local Governments were as determined as they were decisive, thereby revealing him as one who wouldn’t take the opportunity of being a preferred candidate lightly. It was almost as saying that even if his candidacy would be threatened; it wouldn’t be on the basis that he did not work hard for it or that he was not acceptable to party members across the Local Government areas. It was the same strategy he used immediately after winning the primaries – granting the right kind of interviews and combining mega rallies with consistent meetings with different segments of the society. Agbaje, on the other hand, came too late into the game. There was hardly any pre-primary assurance of readiness. His entry seemed unsure or forced. But even after defeating Obanikoro at the primary election, it took several weeks of tortuous expectations to begin to see his posters and feel his presence. The initial impression communicated was that Agbaje was reluctant to wear the PDP toga.

*Stevens, a Media and Public Affairs Analyst, resides in Lagos.

20—SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

ight years ago, Jimi Agbaje ran a very impressive campaign when he first came into public consciousness and was contesting for the gubernatorial job in Lagos State. His jingles were catchy and his message resonated. He even had one jingle where he came dancing acrobatically to a melodious tune. It was full of verve. It was full of energy. Fashola in comparison led a dull, dour almost uninspiring campaign. At least, that was what it seemed like to me and I told my late friend who was handling his campaign ads that his man did not come across as a confident candidate. I wonder if the outcome would not have been different if Fashola was not the chosen of Tinubu whose hold on Lagos politics then was almost total. stood on the roads a while longer. What a difference eight Now, we enjoy wider road years make however; networks, cleaner environment today very few people and yes, cleaner air. The would regret the lightening of the streets and selection of Fashola. He freeing of bottle necks on the has acquitted himself roads meant a significant creditably and has also reduction in crime. Lagos had too grown in stature. His many dark spots where crime and blossomed. eloquence, his festered competence, his grasp of Obalende was one; Oshodi was issues make you feel another. A lot has also been done proud you have him in to improve the infrastructure. your corner. He has also Many will say Lagos is a better showed a genuine interest in improving the lot of the people and leaving Lagos a better place. People who scoff and say all he had done was to plant a few flowers seem to have forgotten what Lagos was like 16 years ago. It was one place today than it was eight giant ghetto! The roads years ago. Another argument against were narrow and laced Fashola is that he could have with craters; mountains of dirt stood everywhere done better given the amount of and competed for space money that accrues to the on the side roads government monthly. Of course especially during the he could have done better and I rainy season when corn am sure he would be the first to came out. The rainy admit to that. But the nature of season also meant that Nigerian politics which means drains which had been many greedy mouths including blocked by dirt and those of his fiercest critics had to illegal structures, be fed regularly could be partly ensured that floods responsible. He might not have been the most prudent or the most

however, I sent a text to a colleague who had just interviewed the two of them and asked him who was the better candidate? I’ll quote his answer verbatim. ‘Rhetorics…Agbaje. Better prepared…..Ambode. That says a lot. On the issue of sponsorship, one is being sponsored by two former State Governors who left Lagos better than they met it and would want to continue a template. The other is sponsored by two former Federal appointees whose resume leave much to be desired. Who, as a voter will you choose as a godfather between Ogunlewe and Fashola; George and Tinubu? Finally, one is a candidate of PDP while the other is a candidate of APC. Again which of these two parties given the politics of Lagos will be a help to its candidate? I am reminded of the gubernatorial election of 1979 when Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya of NPP contested against Alhaji Jakande of UPN. Ogunsanya was the more suave, more charismatic and more politically accomplished candidate and could have won easily if they were both independent candidates. But they were not. Ogunsanya was Zik’s associate while Jakande was Awo’s associate and there lay the difference. At a point, Ogunsanya had to cry out that he was not vying against Jakande alone but also against Awolowo, the leader of the Yoruba. Jakande as we all know won and performed creditably. At the end of the day, your associates and the party you contest under always matter. I rest my case.

Ambode/Agbaje: Battle royale in Lagos focused of the governors but he rates high. He certainly was not the most profligate. We should also give him and Tinubu credit for engineering the internally generated revenue that has made Lagos to be financially independent of the Federal purse. It would have been easy as was previously done, and as many of his colleagues still do, to sit back and await Federal allocation. One can only hope that one day soon, the Federal Government would take a cue

One can only hope that one day soon, the Federal Government would take a cue from Lagos and stop relying on oil revenue alone

from Lagos and stop relying on oil revenue alone. My grouse with him though is that he could be elitist in his approach to problems of State. This sometimes made him brusque and distant to the challenges of the downtrodden. An example was his handling of the LASU issue. His goal was lofty and good universities cost money to run but he must not forget the poverty level in his State which though significantly higher than the national level, is still pretty dismal. The

allegation that he over concentrated on urban roads could have some merit as well. Ize Iyamu in Oregun, the road where my office is, has not been touched by any government since I moved there some 25 years ago. Today, mechanics and illegal diesel sellers have crowded the once wide, industrial road. This road is less than a five minute drive to Alausa, the State’s seat of government. All told, Fashola has raised the bar in governance and if Mr Jonathan had done the same at the Federal level he would not be resorting to ethnic and religious politics to stay in power today. His performance would have spoken for him. Fashola’s performance means Lagosians will not accept tokenism as governance any more. It will not be enough to build a few roads and a few schools and call them achievements as some state governors still do. This makes the task before Ambode/Agbaje more daunting. Both have run nice campaigns. I particularly like the one from Agbaje that says: ‘JK we know. JK we trust’. I mean, who really knows Ambode outside the precincts of Alausa? Agbaje also seems more assured, more confident. To get a better, deeper feel

he place of praise is the place for supernatural encounters for God is fearful in praises. Exo. 15:11, says “who is like unto thee, o Lord, amongst the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” There is no god like Jehovah. He inhabits the praises of His people. When you begin to praise God, He becomes fearful to your enemies through His manifestation. Whatever God inhabits He glorifies. You cannot praise God and not see wonders in your life. Give Him consistent quality praise and see Him manifesting uncommon victories in your life. Know that praise is God’s meal and this is the only thing He takes from us. Give Him His food and He will bless you beyond your imagination. He has never failed and will never fail. In Ps 34:1-5, the bible says, “I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord……O! Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together……… They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed”. This text says that God’s praise should continually be in our mouth because those who commit to praising God continually or all the time shall not be ashamed. The bible says in Isa. 61:7, for every shame in your life, God will give you double honour. As you commit to praising God, every

Praise, yyour our access tto o triumph

kind of shame in and around your life and all your concerns shall come to an end. Trust God’s word. He is who He says He is and would do what He says He would do. He is more than able for His words are forever settled. While we were praising God in one of our monthly

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praise and power vigil which holds every last Friday of each month 10pm till dawn, the word of God came forth that a chapter has just been closed in our lives and that a new, better and glorious chapter has just been opened. Not quite two weeks after, a brother who has been working as an elephant but eating as an ant encountered a supernatural open door. Today his story has changed. God has given him victory. There are many more testimonies that have been coming in from people just as a result of their constant praises to God. It works wonders. This brother’s shame has been wiped out for life. The reason I say this is because the blessings of the Lord maketh rich and added no sorrow to it. Listen to me. No matter the strength of your enemies you can defeat them and encounter victory through praise. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal,

but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Know that the battle is not yours but the Lord’s. God has never lost any battle or war. He is the greatest strategist. He knows the location of all your enemies. He knows their strength and plans. No wonder He sits in heaven and laughs at our enemies for He knows their end. It is time for you to turn your fears to praise. The result will amaze you and you will become a wonder to people. King Jehoshaphat caught the revelation and applied this weapon that gave his people an uncommon victory. It says in 2 Chronicles 20 that three nations came against Jehoshaphat to battle. The

For more details, contact us at Christ Reality Church, beside Gossard Hotel, opposite First Bank Sports Ground, Community Road, Satellite Town or P.O.Box, 3196, Yaba Lagos. Tel: 08023062635 08168955932; 08033378769. E-mail: Johnson_crm@yahoo.com. Website: www.christrealityministries.org. Our account details are Pastor Johnson Omomadia, Guaranty Trust Bank, A/C Nos. 0005171407; Christ Reality Ministries, Zenith Bank A/C 1011711622.

Worship with us on Sundays, 1st Service: 745am-9:15am; 2nd Service 9:1511:30am. Wednesdays Word Revelation 6pm. Counseling days Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. 11am-5pm daily or by appointment. Showers of blessing every 2nd - 4th Sat. of each month, 6 a.m - 7.15 am.

strength of the enemies was so strong that fear came upon the people and they ran to God. Thereafter, King Jehoshaphat raised up singers to go ahead of the army and the people singing “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endureth for ever”. As soon as they began to sing, God arose on their behalf and stepped in and set ambushments against their enemies who killed one another leaving behind the spoils of war, which the children of Israel spent three days gathering for it was so much. They did not lift a single finger neither did the armies fight the enemies. All the children of Israel did was to sing praises unto the Lord and their victory manifested. Whatever the enemy is contending with that is your inheritance, know that as you praise God, He will step in and force your enemies into defeat. He has done it before and He will do it E

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again. Don’t try to reason out how He will do it. Just do it regularly with quality. Your story shall surely change. Stop fighting, quarrelling and backbiting people that are against you. Turn it over to God through quality consistent praise and see how fearful God can be in praises. Remember that God will not share His glory with anyone. Start praising Him now. God bless you and bless our great country Nigeria. Have you given your life to Jesus? If not, please pray this prayer. Father, I come to you as I am. I invite Jesus into my life to be my personal Lord and Saviour. Wash me cleanse with the blood of Jesus and empower me with the power of your Holy Spirit. Thank you Father, for saving my soul and making me your child. Your prayer request and praise reports will be welcomed.

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ore than 20 years ago I remember getting a call in California, out of the blues from a man in Benin City, saying my mail was delivered to his house. The mail addressed to my mother in Benin contained our wedding pictures. The sad conclusion of that episode with the Nigerian Postal Service, Nipost, was that cherished wedding photos never reached their destination, and the only reason I found out the mail was wrongly delivered was because the receiver of my mail was gracious enough to call my phone number listed in the mail. Fast forward to the summer of last year when I requested a document from my former employer in California to be mailed to me in Lagos, which they sent by normal mail instead of DHL or Fedex Express. I know that the mail departed California because every piece of mail through the US Postal Service system is scanned. But eight months later your guess is as good mine where the employee verification letter ended up. Mine is just one of many unpleasant customer service experiences with Nipost, which is the primary mail delivery organization in Nigeria. Although Nipost has gone through several restructuring exercises in the last three decades it is now important to start asking collectively: When is this quasicommercial entity going to be revamped enough to still be relevant in the 21st century? In a rapidly changing world you either adjust with the times or you become a business dinosaur; a fact that even the US Postal Service is also contending with in the face of internet-driven competition and a mush-rooming courier service business. The fact that Nigeria is now a haven for mail delivery services (more than 250 at the last count) makes it even more imperative for the federal government to place Nipost in the intensive care ward. I recently stumbled upon a not-so flattering study of Nipost published in the European Journal of Business Management, and written by Dr. B.O.G Nwanolue and Victor Iwuoha, both of University of Nigeria Nsukka and Anambra State University. The academicians, in their study titled: A Market Analysis of the Performance of The Nigerian Postal Service, 1985-2011; concluded that “the failure of the NIPOST management to comprehensively automate and strategize its operations in tune with the prevailing postal market

By Paul BASSEY

he word ‘Udom’ in the Ibibio and Efik dialect carries so much positives, the most dominant and significant being “right” Last month and for two days I had to do a tour of the state to supervise the Zonal finals of the 14th AKS/ NNPC/MPN Schools athletics Championships. Spread over eight sports zones of the state, I have always found myself as the consultant of the programme, battling to touch base with all the venues. For record purposes and to better appreciate how scattered the venues are, we had to move as follows: Abak Zone, Community Secondary School, Ikot Esop, Etim Ekpo LGA. Eket Zone, Eket Stadium. Etinan Zone, Etinan Stadium. Ibiono/Ikono Zone,Ediene Community Secondary School Ikot Ayan.Ikot Abasi Zone,Ukpom Okon Comprehensive Secondary School Okon Town, Ikot Abasi. Ikot Ekpene Zone, State College Ikot Ekpene. Oron Zone,Methodist Boys High School Oron, and Uyo Zone, Comprehensive Secondary School Four Towns. This year was particularly daunting as Abak took the venue to Ikot Esop, a town bordering Aba in Abia State. In the company of my colleagues Justice Udo-Usoro, Elder Andy Akpan and FIFA Referees advisor Linus Mba who decided to stay over after the ill fated Nigeria-South Africa match, we set out to touch the zones. What a pleasant experience. Unlike years of yore we covered all the venues effortlessly, thanks to a network of very good roads linking C M Y K

Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—21

You have got no mail!

indications is fundamental to the poor performance of the organization. As a result, NIPOST faces a diminishing and waning customer patronage. However, genuine efforts toward service upgrading and diversification of operations are relevant in setting the organization in the right pedestal.” Nwanolue and Iwuoha, further informed in their study, that “NIPOST is generally not insulated from the usual inefficiency and malfunction, which pervades and undermines the relevance of public enterprises in Nigeria. Consequent upon this, however, and with the rising market challenge, informed by the opening up of the postal industry to well over 256 private courier operators, NIPOST faces a fundamental threat of retaining its market value and

relevance.” I am sure many Nigerians who have had one reason or the other to engage the services of Nipost would agree with this report. The fact is that next to the Nigerian Police Force, Nipost is the most ubiquitous federal agency with more than 500 offices scattered across the country. This became obvious to me as I traveled recently by road through south eastern Nigeria. There is hardly any Nigerian town you traverse that you won’t find a post office or two. But most of these buildings are now shells of their past glory or simply look abandoned. The revamping of Nipost must start with making Nigeria’s post offices more attractive for business patrons. In an age where mail delivery service is also migrating to the Internet, some of these post offices can also be turned into dual uses, making them internet hubs and business centers, especially in the rural areas.

And this is where the Nigeria Postal Service Bill becomes important in helping to diversify the revenue-yielding potentials of Nipost, which now is solely based on various products and services like stamp duty, EMS, Bulkpost, Private Mail Bag renewals, Post Office Box renewals, sales of stamps, agency services, post cash and workshops. I agree with the recent position of Mr. Ben Murray Bruce, the Chairman of Sliverbird Group, at a Lagos seminar titled: Emergent Issues in Nigerian Courier Industry’, advocating a take off grant of N35 billion for Nipost to finance its repositioning strategy, saying that if the money was well utilized and monitored, the agency can double its revenue-yielding potential within one year. The fact is many of the more than 250 courier companies with licenses in the country cannot pass the litmus test for a viable courier service. Just like the US Post Office which has been repeatedly assisted by special laws passed by Congress to make it relevant and competitive in the 21st century, Nipost also needs a helping hand from the federal government because it’s an important institution which we simply cannot let die. Having said that we should not shy away from pointing out the limitations of this agency, just like I also have some reservations about the efficiency of the US Postal Service, based on an experience in 2013 (before a trip to Nigeria) regarding a mail-prescription order which required an investigation by one Mr. Ian Goold in the USPS Oakland Office. The complaint regarded prescription refills for anti-malaria medication from my medical provider Kaiser Permanente which never arrived at its destination in New York from Vacaville, California from where it was mailed. In his last email before I lost contact with him Mr. Goold said: “We’re unable to comment regarding ongoing investigations. If an arrest is made and your mail or medication is found during the course of that arrest, you will be notified and your property returned.” As I write this piece the fate of my mail from Kaiser is not determined, but the difference between the American and Nigerian mail system is that at least an investigation was initiated by the Office of the US Postmaster General in Washington, D.C. to trace what happened to my anti-malaria prescription from 2013.

Why Akwa Ibom chose to go right (Udom)

•Udom Emmanuel the various local governments of the state, hundreds and hundreds of kilometers that have so opened up the state that indigenes now prefer to live in their local governments of origin and just drive to Uyo and other big cities to work. “ It is unfortunate the Constitution limits governors to only a two term tenure. Governor Akpabio should have been allowed to continue” Mr Mba said, impressed with the infrastructural development that has turned the state into the Nation’s favoured destination. We went into a debate, of the danger of the constitution being extended to stagnate those who do not have anything to offer their people. We then

concluded that the best option in the circumstance is to ensure that one’s successor will be able to continue where he stopped. A traditional ruler in Uyo is reported to have told Governor Akpabio that history will be unkind to him if he does not facilitate the election of a Governor who will guarantee and build on the good works and foundation he has laid. In comes Mr Udom Gabriel Emmanuel. After His Excellency, Governor Akpabio, had spent the early part of his reign fighting numerous litigations, he finally settled down to institute what is now popularly known and referred to as “Uncommon transformation”. Yes, this is not the forum to mention the completion of an international airport that has four airlines struggling for operational schedule, an e.library, one of its kind in Sub Saharan Africa, an international stadium, one of the best in Africa, solid flyovers and a network of quality roads of top engineering quality executed by the legendary German Construction Company Julius Berger etc. Governor Akpabio’s time is up. He can do no more. He has to hand over and he believes Mr Gabriel Udom, banker extraordinaire can better further his cause. Those who believe Mr Udom cannot because

A failed state is one where there is no trust between the leader and the led, that is an irretrievable break down of trust

“…he is not a politician” maybe right . I doubt whether he is. I know him to be a thorough bred professional, one with over twenty five years in the top management cadre of blue chip companies and corporations. Just the man Akwa Ibom needs at this period of her delicate development. After Akpabio had opened up the state to investors, all Udom has to do is to focus on industralisation and the development of human capital and capacity. Who else than a man who is considered one of the best brains in the prudent management of resources, a banker of high repute who understands better the politics of development and emancipation? With a back ground that transcends the banking and financial industry, Gabriel Udom is said to be “….a man of figures who will govern with specific statistics” With a BA in accounting from the University of Lagos, MA in Corporate Governance from Leeds Metropiltan University, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Fellow Institute of Financial management, Director African Finance Corporation, Director Zenith Bank UK, Gambia and Sierra Leone, Director Zenith Pensions and Securities Trustees Registrars etc Udom Emmanuel is a gem in a country where political office holders hide under the phantom of school certificates acquisition. At the town hall meeting held by the Akwa Ibom Community in Lagos ( AKISCOM) early this month, it was heart warming hearing Udom talk passionately about his plans for the state. He vowed to create employment opportunities and a sustainable development programme that will enhance quality.

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With FLORENCE AMAGIYA 08061644307 email: daise4000@yahoo.com

OJA Smooth, who goes by the stage name, Barrister Smooth, may not be the most popular musician in Nigeria, but he is a force to reckon with in the Niger Delta region. According to reports, there is hardly any party, wedding or burial ceremony hosted that he is not paid good money to play. His expertise in the Izon music has taken him both far and near to the extent that he has shared same stage in events with renowned stars like Alibaba, I go dye, Gordon, and Bovi just to mention a few. He did not visit the four walls of a university, yet he is living his dream and has graduates working for him. In this edition, l present to you Barrister Smooth, one of the famous Izon Musicians of this generation. Read on…

OJA Smooth is a native of Burutu Local Gov ernment Area of Delta state, but he was born in Orule in Warri North Local Government Area of the same state to a military father and a petty trading mother in 1969. As a little baby he was taken to Ekpen in Lagos state by his parents due to his father ’s posting as a soldier. In 1978, young Smooth was brought back to the then Bendel state, now Delta state. When his father eventually retired as a soldier, he was only 8 years old. The young man spent his growing days in the area known as Warri Corner or Adu Island. He attended Mowoe Primary School when

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they finally moved into Warri main town, but Smooth couldn’t further his education because there was no money at the time. As a young man whose parents couldn’t afford to send to secondary school, Smooth never wore any secondary school uniform., He remembers doing so many odd jobs to make ends meet while helping his parents and young siblings attained a form of comfort. He hawked all kinds of food items to help sustain his younger siblings. As a young boy, he travelled severally to Lagos state to help his uncle to sell his wares in Oshodi market. And while at it, Smooth didn’t hesitate to pick up a book here and there just to teach himself how to read and write.

•Smooth and his wife

He sang to himself while growing up to the extent that people thought something must be wrong with him, but he didn’t mind because it was his favourite past- time

This paid off because today Barrister Smooth writes all his mails and reads his contracts before he appends his signature.

How music found him

Soja Smooth had always loved singing even as a child. He sang to himself while growing up to the extent that people thought something must be wrong with him, but he didn’t mind because it was his favourite past- time and his only way of consoling himself as he was not in school. Although he didn’t

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•Smooth and friends

•Smooth ,Gordon, Ali baba, Bovi and I go dye

ever believe he could eventually become a musician, but he went on doing what he enjoyed doing amidst other stuff and stress life served him. As a young boy, he listened to every kind of song both local and international, but he decided to sing in his dialect because he was severally called an ibo boy by friends and people who knew him in Lagos because to them, the Ijaw tribe was not known. And although he sings in the Ijaw dialect, he is of the opinion that he got his inspiration from late Oliver De Coque, a renowned indigenous musician from the eastern part of Nigeria.

Challenges and credibility Smooth started this journey in the 80's as it was indeed a very tough one, but he got his break in 1990. Today, although there are more than a thousand Ijaw Arts scattered all over the place, he has remained on top of his game. He was given the title ‘Barrister ’ by the popular Yoruba musician known simply as ‘Barrister ’. Smooth has arguably graced outstanding ceremonies in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country alongside the people that matter. Speaking to some Ijaws living outside these states, it was discovered that the Ijaw people travel from all works of life, even those in the diaspora just to attend the ceremony he is invited to perform. And C M Y K

Smooth and I go dye

one of his houses

Barrister Smooth as usual goes home smiling with the millions he is paid doing what he enjoys doing. He charges N1.5m for ceremonies in Warri and its environs, but he collects N2.5m and above outside Niger Delta. Barrister Smooth may not have attended any secondary school, yet he has over 40 graduates working for him. He has been able to set up two companies, a record label company and another entertainment company for video coverage and all that. Smooth is a strong believer in education. This he has shown in the lives of many youths who once in a while come to him for tuition fee. He believes he would have done better than he has done if someone had been there for him and sent him to school. He has shown his firm conviction by assisting young boys and girls in his community to achieve their dreams by paying their school fees.

And in line with giving back to the society, he is establishing a trust fund and scholarship scheme to help the children in his communities. With the blessings of God in his life, he is a husband, a father to four beautiful children and a proud owner of two choice properties in Warri main town

One of his cars

and three more in his home town. Although it wasn’t like this in the beginning, with his musical talent, the grace of God in his life and hard work on his part, the sky is only the starting point.

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By AYO ONIKOYI, 08052201215

Why I don’t believe in love -Ronnie

Aramide out with two new singles

ONNIE isn’t yet an household name in the music terrain, but she is already talking like a veteran. The fast growing Afro pop artiste, who just released her first song of the year titled Julie, reveals to Showtime why she doesn’t believe in love “I don’t believe in love, I believe in friendship. The word love is too ambiguous and is godly. Can any man die for a woman?” she says. When asked if she can go unclad in a music video she said: “I can’t go unclad, there must be clothes to cover up. So many people want to know if I was naked in My body video, but I was not. I covered up inside. Acting is a make-believe world” Commenting on what comes first whenever she is composing a song, the ex- banker said she believes in passing a message with her song and not just about the melody. “I always love to pass a message in my song. For me the message comes first. The lyrics are secondary and melody last. All these three are very important to me as an artiste” Since Tiwa Savage’s pregnancy announcement, music critics have continued to talk about what the pregnancy means for other female artistes. Ronnie has this to say: “Those who will breakthrough will definitely do with or without Tiwa’s absence. The river is huge for anyone to swim”.

•Faze

Faze becomes an activist

olomental master, Faze is back with a new song titled Common Sense. The song is a conscious Afro-beat inspired tune laced with contemporary instrumentation. Faze sounded like an activist in the song imploring Nigerians to use their common sense rather than waiting on the government. He explains further in a chat with Showtime:” I think what’s happening in the environment inspired the song .Basically, issues that has to do with the government and the people. We tend to place blames on the government, forgetting that we have ours to deal with. All I am actually driving at is that we as individuals ,should play our part and the government too should do the same. Speaking on his new year project he said: “The Faze brand still remains. I’m done with the album, it’ll be out sometime this year but before then I’ll be dropping two new singles. I Just dropped one called ‘Common Sense’. C M Y K

•Ronnie

ASELINE Music act, Aramide has released her first set of singles since joining the popular record label. The Afro Soul Diva, who signed to Baseline Music last September, and whose previous single “Feeling This Feeling” captivated the old as well as the young music lovers has started the year on a high note with the release of two singles- Iwo Nikan and Odun TunTun. Produced by Laitan Dada, ‘Iwo Nikan” is a love song filled with the expression of affection from the heart while “Odun Tuntun” produced by Baseline Music’s Mr. Chidoo is a supplication for peace, provision and favor in the New Year. Popular for her strong, soft, and lyrical message, the two new singles signifies Aramide’s readiness to step up her game this year. “There is a lot planned for 2015, and I am really excited about what Baseline and my team has planned for the coming months, I have been working and I cant wait for everyone to see what we have planned” Aramide is quoted as saying.

Keep your mind on being global, Cobhams Asuquo advises artistes

WARD-WINNING producer and CEO of Cobhams Asuquo Music Productions(C.A.M.P) ,has advised artistes to keep their focus on being global, rather than just focusing on their local audience and doing music for the present only. He made this statement on Television Continental’s breakfast show Your View. “I think it comes down to our orientation as a people. There are a lot of things we want not necessarily because they are things we need, but they are things that will give people the impression that we have made it. So we want things not so much for ourselves, but for the impressions we will create. Asa is international, Timi Dakolo has international appeal. The honest truth is that there is a certain kind of music you create that puts you out of this space . If your goal is the Grammys, if your goal is going out there to be recognized by not just musicians, but music academia, then you have to keep your mind on being global , keep your mind on going international” he advises. •Cobhams

•Aramide

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Zeb Ejiro turns politician

— Speaks on why he’s supporting Delta guber aspirant, Okowa

*Zeb Ejiro

oremost filmmaker and director, Zeb Ejiro, who has in recent times frowned at entertainers going into politics, has finally pitched his tent with t h e gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, in Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. Ejiro said he

decided to throw his weight behind Senator Okowa because he believes he has what it takes to take the state to the next level. Also Okowa’s electoral manifestos, which he described as ‘laudable and convincing enough’ are part of the things that attracted him into politics. The veteran filmmaker is currently functioning as chairman, Electronic Media Sub-committee of the campaign team of the aspiring governor. He breezed into Lagos last week, brandishing a copy of Okowa’s programme of action. Contained in the programme is his sustainable peace and active support for security agencies, attacking and combating crime at source. Ejiro, popularly referred to as the 'Shiek', is optimistic that Okowa would deliver his promise, maintaining that

with his effective handling of these sensitive and important areas, he would have successfully created an enable environment for all Deltans to be creatively engaged, thereby “ promoting SME’s as a medium of youth empowerment in addition to developing tradition, arts and crafts for tourism”. “Okowa, with an all encompassing programme, is a through person who would not ignore the health sector for agriculture sake. To show his seriousness and commitment, Okowa has pledged to pursue a legislation that will promote universal health insurance for all Deltans . This, he would compliment with provision of infrastructure, which caters for sound health of all Deltans” he said.

Ailing Prince James Uc he, no ed, Uche, nott neglect neglected, Ibinabo cries out

he leadership of Actors Guild of Nigeria,AGN, has refuted reports that went viral on the internet , accusing the Guild of abandoning one of its ailing actors, Prince James Uche, to his fate. The allegation is coming weeks after the Guild was also accused of abandoning another actor, Muna Obiekwe, who was buried during the week in his country home in Anambra State. But reacting to the report in a statement released during the week, the President of the Guild, Ibinabo Fiberesima said, in as much as the Guild would not want to join issues or publicize any assistance offered to its members that it did not abandon the ailing actor. According to her, “We sincerely wish to set the records straight that the Actors Guild of Nigeria did not neglect Prince James Uche. We

have done everything humanly possible to assist him.” Continuing, she said, “The Guild took over the responsibility of the ailing actor in September, 2013, when we got the information about his health issue. The National President visited him and he refused to be taken to hospital or go on the health plan of the Guild, insisting that he wanted cash. We gave him N100,000,00. “In May 2014, we visited him again, and this is what followed. We took him to R. Jolad Hospital Gbagada, Lagos State and comprehensive tests were conducted. He was diagnosed of complications arising from HBP/Hypertension which led to stroke of the eye. He was admitted at the Hospital for over a week before he was certified well and discharged by the Doctor. After that, we took him to Eye Foundation for further Optical treatment Series of

tests were conducted on him and was diagnosed of complications arising from the primary ailment of HBP/ hypertension. Since 2010, Prince James Uche has been battling diabetes and hypertension that left him almost bedridden for some years. At a time, it was reported that he was kicked out of their Gbagada, L a g o s residence by his wife, Ekene who claimed to be tired of running the affairs of their family all alone.

Ibinabo

*Prince James Uche

‘Becoming a mega star is m myy dream’

O *Omalicha

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nitsha, Anambra State-based singer cum actress, Omalicha Kasie, who was in the United States during the yuletide is back in the country with love. The singer returned to the country last week, and immediately hit a movie location, where she’s shooting a new film in Asaba. Omalicha said, she started singing at the age of 14. According to the

mother of five, music runs in her family. She revealed that she started singing gospel music at the age of 14. “I did just start singing but it’s inborn in me.” She has four albums to her credit. The fair-complexion beauty delved into acting late last year after she starred in a movie produced by popular Asaba based film maker, Uzo Godson Nwosu. While I started singing at 14, then, I used to sing in the church because of the passion I have for music.” Omalicha said part of the challenges she’s currently faced with is not only loss of her privacy, but also, not having

time for herself again. She admits that acting is her hubby, adding as a singer, she looks up to the likes of Onyeka Owuenu and gospel singer, Chinyere Udeoma. The singer turned actress has featured in about 10 movies in less than one year. Some of her popular songs include, “ Jesus onye obioma(you do welluwellu)” which she released in 2006, and “Moment of Praise” also released in 2008. Others were released between 2012 and 2014.

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Lancelo o mar k Lancelott se sett tto mark 20 yyear ear ilmmak er ‘Society earss as a ffilmmak ilmmaker with 3 TTV V dramas unfair tto o

his is celebration time. After top actress Omotola Jalaide-Ekeinde flagged off activities marking her 20 years sojourn in the entertainment industry last week in Abuja, it is now the turn of celebrated director and producer, Lancelot Imasuen, to roll out the drums and celebrate his two decades of making quality films and bringing happiness to many homes in Africa. Lancelot, whose historical film, “Invasion 1897” premiered last December, and currently enjoying global acclamation, started his filmmaking career in 1995. But it was after directing the film, “The Soul That Sinneth” in 1999, that he came into prominence. Revealing his plans to mark his 20 years sojourn in

Comeback Diminas Dagogo fights HIV/AIDS through film

iminas Dagogo, who was part of Nollywood at the wake of the success of the phenomenal, “Living in Bondage”, but had to disappear into thin air when the ovation was loud has staged a comeback to the industry. Dagogo, reputed to be the first makeup and special effect artiste to have spurred interest in that aspect of motion picture practice in Nigeria has been living with his family in Germany since 18 years ago. He’s currently in the country, where he’s putting plans together to premiere his comeback advocacy movie, “Stigma” in the country. HVP caught up with him during the week, where he expressed his genuine intention to return to Nollywood. According to Dagogo, whose first major outing as a make-up and special effect artiste on the movie scene was in Opa Williams’ “Onome”and later "Last Believer", his film, “Stigma” is his contribution to the fight against stigmatization with people living with HIV/ AIDS. The film tells the story of a mother and daughter, who C M Y K

contract HIV from the kind of job they do as traditional birth attendants in a village. Ibiso and Vanessa were then ostracized by family members and community to die. Ibiso could stand the stigma, loneliness, financial constrain and she dies. But Vanessa fought stigmatization, rejection and triumphs over death. Until he relocated to South Africa, and later Germany, Gogo, as he’s fondly called by his admirers, remained the most-sought after

Nollywood to HVP, the respected producer said the celebration will come up some time in July. As a matter of fact, he has started shooting a 13episode TV series called “Star Ryhmes” to commemorate the celebration. Lancelot said it’s exciting returning to his first love as a foremost comedy film maker, having produced classic comedy films, dating back to 2000, when he co-produced the film, “Uncle Wayward” with Adisa Ajourn. “Star Ryhme”, starring top comedian, Eboh Bomb, MC Shagi, Valho Osagie, Abies Isbinoba, Patince Useni and Stephanie Isuma, according to Lancelot, will not be the only TV series he’s cooking up as part of activities marking the milestone. Others are “About Tomorrow” and and “Surulere Barber Shop.”

make-up and special effect artiste in Nollywood. The University of Port Harcourt-trained technical revolutionalized t h e makeup a n d special effect aspect o f filmmaking.

those working behind the camera’

eanhwile, w h e n asked how the journey has been after 20 years sojourn in the industry, Lancelot who is currently in the United States, where his “Invasion 1897” film is being screened to mark the Black History Month in the US, frowned at the society’s deliberate attempt to disregard those who are working behind the camera. “ A lot of us who are working behind the camera have not been given our worth. Our sweat have not been rewarded enough but in all, I want to thank those that have supported me, especially my kinsmen who have consistently not allowed me to be frustrated doing what I know how to do best. This is because if I look at what I have achieved in the past 20 years, I can only say "thank God for your mercies." The industry has not been fair to us as well as the society in terms of what we have given in return. We desire more than what we have gotten in the industry. In all, Iam excited that I have gone this far in my career as a f i l m m a k e r, ” L a n c e l o t reminsced.

Hollyw ood mee ts Nollyw ood in Tem pting FFat at e Hollywood meets Nollywood empting ate

Ramsey Nouah

opular Nollywood actor, Ramsey Nouah, hits the cinemas across Nigeria in 2015 in the award winning movie ‘Tempting Fate’. This heart- touching movie which is directed by Kevin Nkem Nwankwor (KNN) in his directorial debut is an official selection film chosen to be premiered at the 2015 Pan African Film Festival at the very prestigious Rave Cinema in Hollywood, and also at the USA Indie Fest. Produced by KevStel

Group Production and billed for release in cinemas across Nigeria during the long Easter weekend, ‘Tempting Fate’ is a heart touching film that depicts deep brotherly love, betrayal and forgiveness, the movie explores a plot where two different paths in life can be taken with an unintended outcome. According to the director ‘Tempting Fate’ is a “must see” film for everyone. The movie explores the paths followed by two brothers. Edu played by Andrew Onochie who is making his first Hollywood debut, is the brother with the calm and peaceful nature, yet is dealing with a life

threatening illness. Edu relies on his spirituality to walk him through life, hand in hand with his girlfriend Tracy, played by Tiffany Denise Turner. The movie showcases Nollywood movie icon Ramsey Nouah, Hollywood star Dan Davies known for his leading role in the 2010 musical hit, “Ed Gein, The Musical”, John Vogel recognized for his role in Jerry Bruckheimer ’s ‘Soldier of Fortune’ and the award winning Jesus 2000, “Tempting Fate”also debuts upcoming Hollywood actor Andrew Onochie and Tiffany Denise Turner.

30—SATURDAY

Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Stop diabetes before it stops you J

OHN was diagnosed diabetic at 40, but instead of focusing on the disease, he ignored it. After all, he didn’t feel sick. But gradually, his health was failing. Today, John, now 60, is a shadow of his old self. Over the last 20 years, he has watched his body slowly disintegrate. A host of circulatory problems arising from his diabetic condition has cost him his vision, as well as nerve and bony damage to his left foot. Worse still, he is concerned about his heart. He has reason to because more than two thirds of people with diabetes die of stroke and other heart-related problems. Although John is finally getting treatment, his prospects could have been much better if medical intervention had come much earlier. Diabetes is a chronic disease that quietly consumes the human body, to the extent that you cannot walk, you cannot stand, you cannot function and ultimately you cannot live. There are millions of people like John in Nigeria. Six million Nigerians have diabetes. About half of this number of persons have their cases diagnosed and even less are under treatment. This makes Nigeria the country with the highest number of diabetic patients in Africa. In fact diabetes is the most common chronic illness that is being managed all over the country. Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas is no longer able to produce insulin, or when the body cannot make good use of the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas, that acts like a key to let glucose from the food we eat pass from the blood stream into the cells in the body to produce energy. The disease may remain undetected for many years and the diagnosis is often made when a often at the late stage complication appears or a routine blood or urine when effective treatment glucose test is done. It is often, but not always, is too late and only associated with overweight or obesity, which itself palliative measures can can cause insulin resistance and lead to high blood be administered. glucose levels. People with type 2 diabetes can often What is the community initially manage their condition doing about diabetes? through exercise and diet. controlled. As much as 76 What is it doing to However, over time most people percent of deaths due to subsidise some of the will require oral drugs and or diabetes occur in people drugs for its treatment? insulin. under the age of 60 in What about the In Nigeria, an estimated five Africa. The bad news availability, and education million people are suffering from continues. of the public and at diabetes. If this sounds bad, That the cost of diabetes community level? experts warn that the scenario is management is Just last week, some likely to get even worse as the prohibitive and gradually medical experts number of diabetics is expected to increasing is equally expressed concern over double within the next 20 years, worrisome. Already, most the burden of diabetic to the extent that 63 percent of patients seen at Federal disorders and the rising undiagnosed and many that are and state teaching and cost of its management in diagnosed are not being correctly specialist hospitals are the country. C M Y K

Lifeline

Consultant Physician/ Endocrinologist, Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile Ife, Osun State, Prof. Babatope Kolawole, said the magnitude of diabetes in the country is too alarming to be ignored. He noted that according to statistics, the prevalence of diabetes varies. It is a disease of urbanisation

and from previous studies, the highest burden is in Lagos which has a prevalence of over 7 percent per population. Kolawole blamed urbanisation and lifestyle factors as well as physical exercise as factors driving the epidemic and recommends that reliable preventive measures must target these. “Diabetes is a risk factor for so many other problems, and also contributes a lot to disorders such as kidney disease, blindness and amputation of the foot in Nigeria. It can precipitate

emergencies that can lead to death and these are the issues related to poorly treated or untreated diabetes and no effort should be spared in instituting preventive measures at all levels of healthcare delivery in the country.” On his own, the Chief Medical Director, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Prof. Adewale Oke, said most diabetes cases seen at the hospital are in the late stage. “The commonest complications I see involve the blood vessels and the heart. It is a common cause of myocardial infarction and can affect the heart muscles. There can be heart failure, and renal failure. When you are passing too much water without any explanation, you should investigate,” he urged. Oke, an experienced cardiologist noted that Lagos State is thinking of starting a health insurance scheme to cover diabetes. “It has been read at the state House of Reps. but is yet to be passed, and once that is happening there will be better for management of diabetes especially in the area of drugs for management.” One of the big worries about diabetes, according to Dr. Dorothy Esangbedo, an experienced paediatrician and renowned endocrinologist, is the increasing burden of diabetes in infants and children. Esangbedo, who is also President, Union of National African Paediatric Societies and Associations, UNAPSA, regretted that even infants and children are not spared the burden of diabetes. “There is increase in diabetes in children. Taking a situation report today, you will find that diabetes in children is lower in Africa than Europe and the Americas, but in terms of trends over time, the rate of increase is even more in subSahara Africa so much so that they are saying to us that in decades to come, diabetes would be one of the major problems we will be facing.” The signs and symptoms of diabetes in a child are actually the same as in the adult. The only difference is that the child cannot complain so the mother has to be the one to notice these symptoms, so just like the adult will have problem of excessive passing of water so will the child. “The mother can then notice that the child is passing urine too frequently, and she can also notice that the child is too thirsty and babies tend to present with infections as skin lesions and that is when you see frequent occurrence of skin infections in the child or certain effects of pigmentation of the skin.

SATURDAY

Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—31

7 steps to reduce your cancer risk

O you know that if everybody stopped using tobacco, grew thinner, exercised regularly, avoided diets rich in red meat, and ate diets rich in fruits and vegetables, we would prevent two-thirds all cancers? To help reduce your risk of developing cancer, follow these general steps. Live well. Make healthy choices. Be aware. Look after yourself. Good luck! Don’t use tobacco in any form preventable cause of death —with hundreds of thousands Nigerians dying every year from their own cigarette smoking, and an additional hundreds of thousands of non-smokers dying each year from exposure to second hand smoke. Smoking damages nearly every organ in the human body. It is linked to at least 15 different cancers and accounts for some 30 percent of all cancer deaths, and 90 percent of all cases of lung cancer— the leading cause of cancer

Avoid too much exposure to the sun Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers, and one of the most preventable. Although repeated exposure to X-rays or contact with certain chemicals can play a role, sun exposure is by far the most common cause of skin cancer. Most skin cancer occurs on exposed parts of your body, including your face, hands, forearms and ears. Nearly all skin cancer is treatable if you detect it early, but it’s better to prevent it in the first place. The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation peaks between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Stay in the shade. Cover exposed areas. Don’t use indoor tanning beds or sun lamps. These can damage your skin as much as the sun can. There’s no such thing as a healthy tan. Be proactive. get screened For people age 20 or older having periodic health exams, a cancerrelated checkup should include health counselling, and depending on a person’s age and gender, might of more than two drinks per day. Regular include exams for cancers of the thyroid, oral cavity, skin, lymph nodes, consumption of even a few drinks per testes, and ovaries, as well as for some week has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in women. non-malignant (non-cancerous) diseases. All women should begin How alcohol affects breast cancer is not clear. It may be because alcohol increases cervical cancer screening about three estrogen levels in the blood, reduces folic years after they begin having acid, or has a direct effect on breast tissue. intercourse, but no later than age 21 years old.

death in both men and women. Eat more fruits and vegetables, less red Maintain a healthy weight meat. Overweight and obesity contribute to 14-20 The more unprocessed your food is, the percent of all cancer deaths. Being overweight is better. It is recommended you eat five or clearly associated with increased of developing more servings of vegetables and fruits many cancers, including breast (in each day. This isn’t as hard as you think. postmenopausal women), colon, endometrium, One serving equals 1 medium apple, kidney, and oesophagus, and it is suspected to banana, orange, etc.; 1/2 cup of chopped, raise risk of other types of cancer, as well. The cooked, or canned fruit; one cup of raw, best way to reduce body fat is to restrict caloric intake and leafy vegetables; and 1/2 •The best way to reduce increase cup of other cooked or body fat is to restrict physical raw vegetables, caloric intake activity. Being chopped. The brighter overweight in the vegetable the more youth tends to antioxidants it contains. continue Limit intake of throughout alcoholic beverages life, so Alcohol consumption is keeping a an established cause of healthy watch cancers of the mouth, on your pharynx, larynx, weight is a esophagus, liver, and good thing. breast. For each of these cancers, risk increases substantially with intake Adopt a physically active lifestyle Adults: Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity, above usual activities, on five or more days of the week; 45 to 60 minutes of intentional physical activity are preferable. Children and adolescents: Engage in at east 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity at least 5 days per week.

SEXUAL ISSUES & SOLUTIONS Dealing with sex problems in Marriage (2) LACK of sex is the number one complaint we hear about married sex. Pornography, masturbation, infidelity, and sexual fantasies are other common sexual problems in marriages. Separating facts from myths when it comes to these issues is the first step in solving these sexual problems. The second step is talking with one another about these issues. Lack of communication about sexual problems and lack of caring can tear your marriage apart. If you have waited several months to talk about intimacy problems with your spouse, you’ve waited too long. But before you try spicing up your sex life with bedroom toys, sex advice books, or sexy lingerie, work on your communication skills and spend more time with each other. Irrespective of this, you can overcome sexual problems in marriage or relationship in 5 ways; 1)Feel good about yourself- self-confidence is truly an inside job. Plus, you need closeness and distance to make passion come alive. When you choose to bring the best of yourself to the best in your mate, you both grow in passion and pleasure 2)Feel good about sex -It may be powerful to write down all your beliefs about sex, love and your body, and see if those beliefs still serve you. You can choose to believe that sex is a precious gift to be savored and celebrated or see it as a relief to stress and an aid to sleep. These beliefs will actually help your brain release more productive hormones. 3)Feel good about your mate -Maybe your mate has let themselves get frumpier over the years and they bear little resemblance to the person you fell in love with. That may seem unfair, but you can still become more attracted to your spouse just as they are right now. This often helps them return to the person they were designed to be. 4)Getting in touch with your senses - sexual intimacy is about shedding the stress and getting in touch with the present moment. It’s a sensuous experience, which involves your senses. Learn to breathe deeply throughout the day and give your full presence to the moment at hand. Look for the sights, sounds, fragrances, flavors and sensations that are enjoyable. 5)Talk to your mate about sex and your desires - The important thing is to talk to your mate as if you are on the same team, refuse to believe that your future will be dictated by your past. Im a 55 year old diabetic and slightly hypertensive man with no erection at all. I have tried many enhancers to no avail, but a friend of mine introduced Vimax to me. Can I also try it, cos it worked for my friend who has the same health issue as I do -Olu C M Y K

Hello Olu, Vimax is a herbal supplement that gives string erection on demand and also corrects weak erection when used for sometime. Vimax has proven to be very effective with no side effect like headaches for diabetics and the hypertensives, though the rate at which result is gotten in individuals varies but Vimax is very effective and you should give it a try. Thank you so very much Viewden, I got Prosolution from you last month to correct premature ejaculation and I now last more than 30mins before I ejaculate. Should I continue to take it? I also heard about Xzen 1200 and powerzen Gold for strong erection, can I try them? LK Prosolution is very potent in correcting premature ejaculation but you have to take it for 2 to 3 months consecutively and must be used back to back i.e don’t give a break even for one day in the usage.Xzen 1200 and Powerzen Gold are very potent in giving strong erection on demand and you can give them a trial.others are Stiffnite, Libigrow, Plant vigra I bought penis pump from you last week and in the course of pumping the penis, I notice anytime I pump, my penis increases but after like 3 hours , my penis goes back to its original size, what can I use to achieve permanent enlargement? Yinka Penis pump doesn’t give a permanent enlargment for a fact; but the best that will give a permannent one is the Vigrx plus. When you combine the penis pump with the Vigrx plus, you get a permanent enlargement, cos as the pump is causing a blood flow to the penis tissues, its opening up the penis for a quicker enlargment. Vigrx plus which tends to work slowly, works longer on the tissues to give a more permanent result. What is the difference between Rhino 5 and Rhino 7 cos I want to try the two – Iyke For Rhino 5, one capsule last for 5 days, and one capsule of rhino 7 last for 7 days. Rhino 7 doesn’t give headache but rhino 5 occassionally gives headache but they are both herbal, safe for use and give very strong erection on demand, enlarges the penis for the period of sex and gives a good stamina. you are welcome anytime to place your order. These are all we can take for this week. Adults who needs these aphrodisiacs can call 08034666358, 07059294782 or place your order at www.viewden.com. For further enquiries,send an email to us at: vieweden@yahoo.com, viewden@ymail.com. Kemi Fawole (MD Viewden)

32 — SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

What a sex scene me — Mimi Orj By DAMILOLA SHOLOLA

eautiful actress, Mimi Orjiekwe, came n t o Nollywood in 2010 but took a break due to some problems she encountered and also to complete her National Youth Service. She returned to the industry in 2012 and has appeared in a lot of movies including UNIBEN Babes, School Hour, Mean Girls, Ghost in the Palace, and Wrong Selfie, to name a few. She was also recently selected as the Face of Hilda for her pretty face. In this exclusive interview, she talks about her career, life and more: i

You just r etur eturned today,, what ned to Lagos today were you up to? I was filming in Asaba, just rounded off so I had to take a flight back. What movie were you doing in Asaba? Heart of Solution with Yul Edochie, Chika Ike, and a lot of other Nollywood actors and actresses. It’s a family drama that has to do with different affairs with different families. It’s going to be very entertaining

•Mimi Orjiekwe

What was the first movie you did? Moonlight Girl and The Royal Madness because I shot them together. That was the first ever movie I did before I left to do what I had to do Have you released any movie this year? There’s Lekki Husband. I think it’s on iBAKATV, it’s everywhere and people are watching it. Wrong Selfie was out before Christmas. How did you get into Nollywood? I became Miss African Queen and I was made an Ambassador. In the process, one of the judges at the event happened to be a movie director, so I met him and he put me through. He featured me in those movies I mentioned earlier. Thereafter, we had some misunderstanding, and coupled with the fact that I needed to complete my education I had to stop. After completion of my NYSC and Masters I came back to Nollywood, only this t i m e through Charles Okafor. We met on a plane and he said to me:”Hey, I’m

C M Y K

As a good actor or actress, there are different ways of interpreting your script and interpreting your role very well. You don’t need to go banging someone on scene and say you’re doing a sex scene. having an audition, come over and be a part of it”. I didn’t go that day but after he called me many times over, I had to go and he gave me a script and since that day, I’ve been working one day after the other. What was the misunderstanding with the first man about? He convinced me into some agreement which I unknowingly signed and when I found out that I wasn’t doing the right thing, I told him I couldn’t go on. He wasn’t happy about it, so, we parted ways. Has acting really been rewarding? It’s been good. Being in the entertainment industry is not all about being in movies; it exposes you to so many other things and gives you recognition. It gets you to be at the right places at some times. Apart from that, it’s our job so if a job is not rewarding, why take it? What is your biggest movie so far? I got an award in Tanzania for Mission to the Grave. In the movie, I featured as a powerful princess who is very strong. Because my father had no son, I had to be the son and the daughter, and at the same time a strong warrior. In the movie, I had to ride horses, and had to do a lot of action scenes. I shot that movie for like a month plus. It’s a nice movie, it went places and that would be my best for now Did you shoot it in Lagos or Tanzania? We shot it in Owerri in the bush

SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015 — 33

means to jiekwe them; they said I’ve joined the league of people smoking. It was from a scene of a movie called ‘The Hit’. That movie is yet to come out; it’s coming out next month. It’s about a bandit girl who robs a town, disturbs the city and all that. I led the group, so I had to do it right; I had to be with cigarettes all the time. I was surprised when they said that I smoke. Were you once a model? I’ve always been a partial model but right now I’m working myself out so much because I want to lose like 10kg. I want to go back to my very slim figure and all that. Maybe by then I can go back to the modeling part. You are the Face of Hilda. What is it all about? Face of Hilda is a photo contest, it’s something I never really had interest to do but when I was invited to do it, I had to. According to them, they wanted me to show people that actresses could get up to do whatever they want besides acting. I registered for it and I sent some of my pictures that very day. I got the highest ‘liked picture’ on Facebook on their site and from that day, the picture ‘likes’ kept increasing amongst others. When it was their day to end it, they called me and told me that my picture was the most ‘liked picture’ and I was going to be Face of Hilda. Did you get any reward? There were some rewards. It’s an annual thing and I encourage girls to be a part of it because their reward this time around is going to be huge. As a beautiful actress in Nollywood, has anyone made advances to you probably in return for a script? No one has ever done that. All they can do is try to be friends with me, try to pretend they are in love with me. I don’t think anyone can me that he wants to sleep with me for a script, I’ll slap that person. They may do that to other girls, but I’ve never been faced with such request. You’ve been engaged for a while. Are you planning to get married this year? Maybe, maybe not, I don’t really know because it’s not people’s business, it’s my business. When I decide to walk down the aisle, I will do that but we talked about having a wedding this year. I just hope I bring C M Y K

out my time for it because I’m extremely busy this year. It’s something I want to do but it’s not something I want to rush because I don’t want to get in and get out like so many people do. Right now, I think we’re getting ready for it this year Have you ever done a kissing scene in a movie? Yeah, but I don’t really kiss in movies like that except when I’m playing a role that I have to. When you’re playing somebody’s wife in a movie and you people are in love, you have to act real because on a normal day, you kiss your husband. So, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I do my job right, that’s all I can say. Your skin used to be darker than this before? I’ve never really been dark; if you go through my pictures you will notice that. But I know that normally in life, when you adjust and you rest more and you stay more off the sun, your complexion may get a bit lighter. You can’t compare your complexion now to when you were still in school and you played a lot under the sun. I’ve never been a dark person. What has been your most embarrassing moment so far? Right now it’s hard to find because I’m ready to face anything that is happening. Most of parts of my life have been about awesome moments, not embarrassing ones. I really don’t accept things to be embarrassing; I accept them the way they come

I don’t think anyone can tell me that he wants to sleep with me for a script, I’ll slap that person. They may do that to other girls but I’ve never been faced with such request.

•Mimi Orjiekwe

because I’m willing to take them whether they are good or bad. Who is Mimi off camera? I’m a hardworking girl. I don’t want to say I’m beautiful because we are tired of hearing that. I want to become very rich, so I work hard. How was growing up like for you? I grew up like a very normal girl but I’m a bit different because I happen to be the only daughter, so I had more attention. I have three brothers and I happen to be the only daughter so it was cool because my mom and dad always looked out for me Have you ever had a crush on any actor? Yes, Antonio Banderas; each time I watch Desperado, it takes me back to my 15 years, 14 years, but my highest crush is my man.

Elections are coming up. Which party do you support? I’m a PDP person You support Jonathan? Yes, I support Jonathan because I don’t know, I just don’t like Buhari. He can’t be putting up with corrupt people in the country and telling us he’s coming to fight corruption when those standing behind him are very corrupt. What more should people expect from Mimi? They should expect a lot of things. You know I have an NGO, MIBI House of Hope and it’s on. It’s an organization that stands for charity and stands for the youths; we interact with the youths and we’re trying to see how we can enhance and make things get better in Nigeria.

34— SA TURD AY Vanguard, FEBRU ARY 7, 2015 SATURD TURDA FEBRUARY

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Vanguard, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2015â&#x20AC;&#x201D;35

Vintage tote bag

White dress and jacket

Christian Louboutin Pointed Pumps

ith more women working 9-5 and weekend inclusive, it is increasingly becoming difficult for women to wear their dream dresses. But the truth is that nine to five doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be boring where your fashion is concerned. Let your office hours be glam moment for you. Ditch the conventional outfits for more trendy pieces and turn your work place into your runway.

Eniteme

Tods beige handbag

Nude gladiator platform C M Y K

Floral dress

36—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Trapeze Pendant Metal and Leather Necklace Trapeze Pendant Metal and Leather Necklace is a modern architectural styled statement piece that is sure to complete your look anytime.

Accessories This season we are all about accessories that not only look gorgeous but will work hard for you all year long. See our collection of accessories we are loving right now.

Wristwatch

Sandal Golden Panther Leather Sandal by Cavalli is crafted in laminated printed leather that gives a touch of brilliant wild glamour to your look.

Sin 2H Siver Tone Dial Women’s Watch is an elegant timepiece that will add a delicious sparkle to your look.

Cocktail ring Eclatante Discretion Little Snake, Rose and Stars Ring is a delicate combination of flowers, charming animals and stones for

Sunglasses ... TwoTone Blue Brow Detail Cat Eye Sunglasses by Alexandar McQueen, more than just a sun shade.

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Elegant Flats ... Fantastical Onyx Suede Shoe is part of the collection that is sure to make a fan out of you.

Two Hands Silver Ring w/Pearls is elegantly crafted for that upscale look. .

Chandelier earrings Yellow Crystals Drop Earrings feature chandelier style earrings with top crystal cluster that drops lovingly.

C M Y K

Clutch bag ... PS Elliot Dark Blue Leather and Suede Clutch crafted in suede, smooth and embossed leather, hits the trifecta in elegance with its elegant structure.

•Ebube

SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—37

Mobil boss giv es daught er in w edloc k gives daughter wedloc edlock

L-R: Mr Bernie Grant and wife , Mrs Ete Grant, Chief & Mrs Temisan Grant, Chief (Mrs ) Betty Kachukwu,bride’s mother and the newly wedded couple, Mr & Mrs Evans Nkemdilim Oritsegbubemi Jakpa.

edding bell rang for Nkemdilim Kachukwu, daughter of Chief Ibe Kachukwu, Vice President, Exxon Mobil and her heart-throb, Evans Jakpa, son of Chief Jakpa, a late business mogul recently in Lagos. The couple couple, Nkem and Evans took the matrimonial vows at Catholic Church of Divine Mercy, Lekki, Lagos followed by a deluxe reception at Oriental Hotel in Ikoyi. The wedding was a parade of of top business executives from the oil sector and beyond. Photos by Akeem Salau

L-R;Chief (Mrs) Elizabeth Kachikwu, bride's mother;with the couple, Mr And Mrs Evans Jakpa and bride's father, Chief Ibe Kachikwu.

Burial rites for Late Rev Ogunt ok un Oguntok okun THE remains of late Rev. Emmanuel Oguntokun was laid to rest on Friday, January 30th in Lagos. Series of activities held to bid the Reverend a final farewell. Part of the activities was launching of books written by the Reverend; The Mind of Christ, 15 expositions of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and God Moves in Mysterious Ways. The activities began on Thursdayst January 29th and ended on Sunday February 1 .

L-R; Mrs Funmi Omokhodion;the Coulpe, Mr and Mrs Evans Jakpa and Chief Omokhodion, sponsor of the wedding

L-R; Dr Fabian Ajogwu (SAN);Chief Olusegun Osunkeye (CON);and Chief Kola Jamodu.

L-R;Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, Executive Governor of Delta State;Chief Sunny Odogwu and Mr Soni Irabor. Family of the deceased at the launch of the books:from left: Laide, Gbeminiyi, Fisola, Seyi Ojo (Presenter of the books), Femi, Mrs Comfort (widow of the deceased), Anjolaoluwa, Bunmi, Oyekanmi and Olaoluwa.

L-R;Mrs Dupe Akindele;Chief Sena Anthony;Ms Augusta Chubututu and Nkiru Anumudu.

Eko Club welcomes new members

embers of Eko Club, Lagos celebrated their end-of-year party last Sunday at the Club premises in Surulere, Lagos. Main highlight of the event was initiation of three new club members. Photos by Lamidi Bamidele

L-R: Prince Rabiu Oluwa, Past President, Eko Club ; Mrs Aderonke Grillo, wife of the President, Eko club; Mr Babatunde Faruk Grillo, President, and Miss Tope Adebutu, representing Chief Kessington Adebutu, Chairman of the occassion C M Y K

Mr Babatunde Faruk Grillo, President, Eko Club (right) initiating new Blessed members; Prince Hakeem Ige-Kosoko; Mr Akinwunmi Lewis and Major-General Abdulahi Adekunle Martins

Family of the Late Rev. Emmanuel Oguntokun at the wake keep on Thursday, January 29. From left: Engr. Olaoluwa Oguntokun and wife, Anjolaoluwa; Deacon Oyekanmi Adesina, and first daughter of the deceased, Olubunmi; Widow of the deceased, Mrs. Comfort Asake Oguntokun; Barrister Femi Oguntokun and wife, Olaide; and Gbeminiyi Adurogbamgba and wife, Olufisola.

Officiating ministers at the funeral on Friday

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SA TURD AY Vanguard, FEBRU ARY 7, 2015—39 SATURD TURDA FEBRUARY

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40—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

08 116759 759 081 6759759

Cheeky proposal!

hen Norman Pattison decided to propose to his girlfriend of seven years he was determined to steer clear of the traditional candle-lit

dinner and a stroll along the seaside. Instead, the 32-year-old from Charters Towers in northern Queensland, opted for a cheekier proposal that he was sure would appeal to

the humorous side of his bride-to-be. Enlisting the players on his cricket team, in a move that would make many women cringe, Mr Pattison instructed them to

drop their pants at just the right time to expose his question on their backsides. ‘I just wanted to do something a little out of the box, something she could remember and laugh about for years and years to come,’ Mr Pattison told Daily Mail

Australia. ‘It was just a bit of tongue in cheek for the Australia day weekend; I thought it was a very Australian way to do it! ‘It’s very much us, she knows my sense of humour – she loves me for it, but she also thought it was very funny.’ Mr Pattison said his fiancé, Briana Davis, had no idea what was going on when the line of men stood in front of her seat, feigning to watch the

Pride comes before a fall?

imbabwe’s Robert Z Mugabe has been pictured falling down a set of steps after addressing his adoring supporters at an airport. The 90-year-old President - who has held ope Francis P has said he is ‘truly sorry ’ for

International Airport, who had gathered to welcome Mugabe back from a trip to Ethiopia - where he had been elected chairman of the 54-state African Nation. He claimed ‘no African

country ’ had opposed Zimbabwe’s elevation to lead the organisation. However, when you are keeping quite as firm a grasp on power as Mugabe, it doesn’t do to show any sign of

Pope ‘sorr y’ ffor or ‘sorry’ rabbit remar remarkk

offending large Catholic families by saying that there was no need to breed ‘like rabbits’. The Pope caused dismay among larger families last month when he c a u t i o n e d ‘ responsible parenthood’ advising that three children was ‘about right’. Vatican Archbishop Giovanni Becciu has apologised on Francis’ behalf by saying ‘the Pope is truly sorry’ that his remarks about large families ‘caused such disorientation’. Archbishop Becciu told the Italian bishop’s newspaper Avvenire that the pope ‘absolutely did not want to disregard the beauty and the value of large families.’ Francis, himself the eldest of five children, had told a press conference on a flight back from the Philippines how a woman he knows was pregnant with her eighth child after having the first seven by C-section. He said he had C M Y K

the position since 1987 took a tumble as he walked down some steps from a podium where he had been addressing his adoring supporters He had been talking to the crowd at Harare

weakness. As a result, some press photographers who captured the fall are claiming they were forced to delete their pictures by security personnel. Mugabe’s spokesman was not immediately available for comment. It is understood the President - who has overseen his onceprosperous nation’s steep decline since starting to seize white-owned farms in 2000 - was helped up quickly by aides, before being whisked away in his waiting limousine. He had been welcomed to the airport by cheering supporters, who held

rebuked her, saying: ‘But do you want to leave seven orphans?’ The Pope said: ‘That is an irresponsibility. [That woman might say] ‘no but I trust in God.’ But God gives you methods to be responsible.’ He added: ‘Some think that in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits. No. Responsible parenthood.’ The remarks immediately provoked anger from pro-life groups who said that they were hurtful to Catholic mothers who had sacrificed careers, time and energy to care for their children. Former US Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a devout

cricket match from their position before ‘dropping their dacks’. ‘Then I got down on one knee and got our son, Gabrielle, to say “mum, do you think it’s time you married dad?”. I wanted to get my son and my mates involved,’ he said. ‘She was too busy looking around trying to figure out what was going on, but then she saw the ring.’ The future groom said he was shocked to see how much attention his proposal received and admitted that while most of the comments had been positive, there were a few people who labelled it vulgar. ‘She’s just like, “get a sense of humour”,’ Mr Pattison said of his indifferent fiancé. ‘And I mean really, this took a bit more effort than just your average dinner date.’ While there has been no date set for their wedding yet, Mr Pattison assured that he had another couple of ideas in the works for the big event to make it ‘a little unique and fitting with my style of humour’. placards aloft - one of which said ‘Your greatness resonates across Africa and beyond’. But this is a far from widespread sentiment. Mugabe, who celebrates his 91st birthday on February 21, has been accused of using widespread violence to win several disputed elections, according to human rights groups. The country suffered hyperinflation until it abandoned its currency for the US dollar in 2009, However, Mugabe - who, along with his wife Grace, is on the EU blacklist - still has time to take annual vacations every January to Asia, including Singapore where he has visited specialists for check-ups on his eyes, according to Zimbabwean officials.

found the demand for £4,742,354,255 waiting for him in a letter at the weekend. H e said: “I could

Pensioner Pensioner,, 78, Gets Tax Bill... For £4.7bn! Catholic, said: ‘It’s sometimes very difficult to listen to the Pope and some of the things he says off the cuff, and this is one of them.’ The following Wednesday, Pope Francis attempted to repair some of the damage, telling his general audience in St Peter’s Square: ‘It gives me consolation and hope to see so many large families that welcome children as a true gift from God.’

ormer builder Doug Yeomans, 78, is told he must pay £950m a month by direct debit to clear his debt. A pensioner who received an unpaid bill of more than £4.7bn says the tax man must have mistaken him for tycoon Richard Branson. Doug Yeomans, 78, from Shardlow, Derbyshire, said the letter from HM Revenue

and Customs ordered that a direct debit of almost £950m a month would be taken out of his account for the next five months to pay off the debt.The father-of-two told Sky News: “I was a bit shocked when I saw the amount, I’m used to hundreds not billions. “They probably got me mixed up with the Chancellor of the Exchequer or Richard Branson, I don’t know”. The former builder said he

manage the £255 if I sold my Peugeot 206 and I’ll have to cut down on my shopping at ASDA. “It’s such a ridiculous figure I wasn’t too worried, I don’t know where they got their figures from. When Mr Yeomans got through to the Revenue they admitted having made a mistake. “You can ge t an

interview with the Pope easier than getting through to them,” he said. A spokesperson for HMRC said they were very sorry for the error. “We don’t talk about individual cases but when we make mistakes we aim to put them right fast and apologise.”

SATURDAY

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Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015 — 41

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always spend quality time with my octogenarian mother each time I travel home. I enjoy her company. I also made up my mind sometime ago that it is better to shower your love, time and resources on loved ones while they are alive so that if they die before you, all you will feel is that deep sense of loss, not regret over what you could have done that you did not do. While I was with her last weekend, some of her relatives and friends of about 60 years were also there. Inevitably, these old women started to reminiscence about their younger days. They expressed shock and sadness over the drastic changes in some aspects of life. They started with fashion of married women. They expressed dismay over how many nakedness.” They said even girls who married women walk in the streets “half slept around before marriage lied that naked” in the name of fashion. Even they were deflowered by their more shocking to them is the fact that husband just to belong. They are sometimes they are with their husbands bemused “about the desecration and which means the men approve of such cheapening of sex.” Here, I laughed; obscenities. These old women have girls do not deflower themselves. Na grudgingly come to accept women men do am. My interest here is, putting on trousers, but they cannot however, married women. A recent understand why these trousers should study by condom manufacturers, be so tight and show panty lines. They Durex, rated Nigerian wives as the cannot also understand why the trousers most unfaithful in the whole wild cannot sufficiently cover the bums of world. Whether this is true or false is these women, sitting or standing. Even of no interest to me. My interest here more scandalizing to them is the fact that some of these women wear these “inappropriate” trousers to church and resist correction from church wardens. “Some even want to receive communion like that”, one of them exclaimed. The discussion shifted to LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders). One of them said while is you reading this article: even if all growing up, more females were given married women are unfaithful, please birth to than boys, so why will a man live your marital vow of fidelity. If change to a woman and deplete the your husband is not worth being already low male population. Some of faithful to, do it for God before whom them cannot really come to terms with you took your vows and out of respect for your children who passed through what LGBT is all about. Another set of these women are that birth canal. Do not desecrate it appalled at modern day “promiscuity.” with adultery. Do -me-I-do -you “In those days, it was a pride to mentality is very unhelpful in announce to the whole world that I was marriage, more so when dealing with deflowered by my husband”, “no man, adultery. Beyond this, I could not help but except my husband, has seen my empathise as I listened to these old

Changing times women. Even in my comparatively short life so much has changed. Change, they say, is the only constant thing in life, so I do not have issues with change. But even in change, there is a fundamental core that is immutable. You cannot change that core. It is the attempt to change this fundamental core that I have problems with. Let us go down to specifics. Many of us subscribe to Christianity and we are all firm and uniform on the Bible as our universal

A recent study by condom manufacturers, Durex, rated Nigerian wives as the most unfaithful in the whole wild world

guide. The Bible talks about modesty and moderation in dressing, especially for women. The implication is that whatever women are putting on, including trousers, should be guided by moderation and modesty. But what do we get from many Christian women and mothers: immodest dressing exposing their bums, breasts and tummies and clothes clinging tightly to their bodies, including some outrageously shapeless bodies. Their daughters are also

coming up in their footsteps. A girl of about 13 years came to pay harvest levy in church. The dress she was putting on exposed more than half of her breast and she came to church with her parents because she said, “my daddy sent me to pay harvest levy.” Can someone please explain to me what an under aged girl is doing with the so called sexy dress? Is she trying to get male attention? I am appalled at some parents. When your under aged daughters wear clothes exposing their bodies, they actually look older and more matured. You are therefore exposing them to male attention they cannot handle. With predators prowling around looking for females to devour, you are playing with fire. The final issue these old women talked about is LGBTs. I have written quite a bit on this group and I have been labeled hater, moron, primitive man and so on. These appellations mean nothing to me; I am just glad that these people took time from their busy schedules, and in spite of myriad of reading materials available to them, to read my column. I agree with American polician Mike Huckabee: “homosexuality is a lifestyle choice like drinking...” Every adult has a prerogative to live his/her life the way he/she wants to, especially if you stay within the law. When it comes to issues of common wealth or good, however, do not change the core to justify your deviation. The Bible is very clear on homosexuality and sodomy. As a Christian I am duty bound to love all mankind, but I am not under obligation to like every act of man, especially when it goes contrary to the Bible. If you want to marry your fellow man or woman, go to countries where it is allowed and do it in the court or registry. Do not tell the church of God to sanction same-sex unions. Change might be constant, but the Christian core is immutable.

(Text Only)

The elixir of life: Deal with pot belly,massage abdominal organs T

he Boat

Technique: Sit down with the legs extended

in front of you. Raise both legs up and touch the toes with the finger tips. Stay in this position for 20 seconds. Rest and repeat.

Benefits: The Boat reduces the size of the belly and improves the muscles of the back. The Bridge Lie on your back and drawing

•The Boat C M Y K

•The Bridge

up the knees, raise the trunk up and support the lower back with the hands. Retain the pose for 15-to 20 seconds and repeat after a short rest. Benefits: The Bridge favourably affects the abdomen and the thigh muscles.

SATURDAY

C M Y K

Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015 — 43

44—SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

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SATURDAY

Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—45

YETUNDE AREBI

What’s age got to do with it?

i, recall the story of Edith Hill, 96 and Eddie Harrison, 95, from Alexandria, Virginia, USA? The couple made headlines a few months back when they took off to get married after a long 10 year courtship. Their decision did not only divide their family into two, it has also attracted the attention of the court which has ordered an investigation into the relationship. key to this issue is the estate of Miss Hill and who gets what at her death. With Eddie now a husband in the eye of the law, her children may no longer be direct beneficiaries of their mother’s wealth. Several examples abound in the Nigerian society of similar stories. Society frown at people who find love again at old age, believing that they ought to have “passed that stage in life”. The question asked was, should there be a sealing to the age people can find love or be in a loving relationship? Why do children often reject their parents’ lovers? Please find below, a few of the responses I received from readers. Happy reading! Dear Yetunde, I don’t know if this article is limited to people who developed new relationships after the demise of their original partners alone. I say this because of the stories you featured in the article, which are mainly about them. However, I just want to comment on a few points you raised and my own views on them . It is true that when the chips are down, I would rather my father marry an older woman who can no longer bear him children than a young lady who is still of child bearing age and will litter the house with little children who at the demise of the old man will then become a liability to me and my siblings. In any case, the economy hardly supports this. To compound the problem, many of these ladies have very little education and can ill support themselves, let alone, the children if left on their own. For me, if my father is rich and has enough money to take care of his responsibilities even after his death, then I see no reason why he C M Y K

cannot marry a young woman. Definitely, a younger soul may even help prolong his life because there will probably be no dull moment with her. As you rightly stated, it is the problem of estate and the sharing formula of who gets what that makes people agitate, most times, not thinking about the happiness and welfare of the old guys. Where the money is enough as in the case of late Alhaji Iyanda Folawiyo and the delectable Abba Folawiyo, I am sure nobody will be against them. I hope I was able to answer your question. Thank you for this lovely column. More ink to your pen. James Aderoju from Lagos

Dear Yetunde, I love the stories and I am amused because I have a similar one. My father is 79 and has been living with a 70 year old woman since 2001, although his former two wives (including my mum) are still alive. None of my siblings nor family members were in support of the relationship. Apparently, they must have been seeing each other for much longer period. While my mum was indifferent because she left him more than 35year ago, the second wife has her grudges, though she also left him about 20years ago. To me, this woman in my father’s life is a blessing. Despite all her shortcomings, she makes my father happy as a good companion. They did not legalize their union and I don’t think they will do so. So I turned deaf hears and blind eyes to her affairs, because my dad wanted her and I also warned my siblings to let them be. My dad is 10 to 15 years older than his former two wives, but looks much younger and healthier because he has a steady relationship now. We should encourage and allow our parents keep a healthy relationship at old age. We shall also grow old and might need the caring company of the opposite sex. At old age, it’s not about physical contact but

having someone close to talk to and share memories. Please do not publish my name. Dear Yetunde, As usual, this write up hit the nail on the head. And once again, the problem is a fall out of our culture, tradition and values as a people. We simply don’t have enough room in our hearts for old people in our society. Once a man or woman, women especially has passed a certain age, it is assumed that they no longer have need for physical pleasures. Menopause is seen as a seal to the reproductive life of women. Many women believe that once they go into menopause, it is dangerous to have sex as it will shorten their life span. Some other beliefs have it that it is not even good for a man to engage in sexual activities with a woman that has reached menopause because it will affect his libido and also reduce his life span too. Then, there is also a belief that sex is just for procreation and that it is meaningless if it is not going to lead to one. While, I have no problems with anyone who has such a belief and adheres to it in practice, my grouse is with those who know this positions are not true by any justification, and still refuse to accept that their aged parents have a right to enjoy a healthy sexual relationship. That to me, is one of the reasons you have children causing the separation of their aged parents by forcing their mothers to move in with them to help them train their children and look after the house. They prefer to use their parents as house helps, rather than encourage them to live a happy, independent life that they will enjoy. I know friends who find it difficult to talk about their parents still sleeping in the same room, let alone imagining them having sex. Many of us forget that if they did not have sex, we would not be in this world. There is nothing wrong with an older woman having a lover as long as they are not doing something illicit. The irony of this ostrich game is that, hardly does anyone criticize an old man who takes a younger girl as lover. That’s our Nigeria mentality as they say. Thank you for this opportunity, madam. Adesegun by mail

Dear Yetunde, I am looking forward to the day when our social stigmatisation will be jettisoned. It is not only old people that have this problem. If young people can be stigmatised for reasons of divorce and widowhood, why do you then complain about older people. Women who take second, third and fourth husbands hardly have the approval of the society. Men who do this are considered polygamists, even when he divorces one before taking another. Nigerians are what the Yoruba’s call, “da bin tida”. (we must all suffer the same fate). No one wants you to be happy, you must seize it for yourself. That’s my own contribution. Thank you. Josephus Hi! Yetunde, this is about rich men and women, not low income earners. If my mother who is 68 meets a wealthy man like Alhaji Folawiyo or Razak Okoya and they want to get married, who am I to say no? But I cannot approve of my mother, after going through all she did with my father, to now go and shack up with a good for nothing, abandoned old man for any reason. Tufiakwa!

Ojomo426 Dear readers, please feel free to share your views with us on this topic or any other issues raised on this column. We are always like to read from you and we promise to share same with our other readers. Our address remains: yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk Do have a wonderful weekend!

46—SATURDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

happen. I’s not really a big deal but I’m actually dying inside over the guilt I have now. I haven’t seen the guy again but I am struggling because on one hand, I want to tell my partner but on the other, I feel like it will hurt him so much. I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do. At the same time, I also wonder to myself why this happened and if I’m happy in my relationship, what made this so available and easy? Is there something more, is there a reason this happened? Laila, Kogi

juliecoker100@yahoo.com

I feel guilty about cheating on him Aunty Julie, My guy and I have been together for the past 10 years. We have been living together but we are not married and my family is kicking. I have always felt like we had a pretty good relationship

and although I am away for work quite often, I have never felt tempted to stray.But last year, I met another guy at a conference and we clicked well and ended up talking for hours. However, one thing led to another and things happened that I never intended to

Dear Laila, You are feeling guilty and confused. You seem to care but wonder how you could do this at the same time. The truth is, when our feelings, thoughts and behaviours don’t match, we enter the state of cognitive dissonance, which is usually difficult until we get aligned by either reassessing our values or changing our

behaviours, so that things line up again. You are struggling because you are evolving and growing from the situation inside you. But I’m curious if you are more troubled by telling your partner the truth or feeling the judgments. The biggest judge is the person in the mirror. Just like you can love someone but not everything they do, you can love yourself but not everything you’ve done. That might be a starting point. We often judge others for actions that don’t align with their personal value system or the value systems of communities, families and so on. Everyone has their own value system and maybe it’s a good time to evaluate your own. Behaviours are deeper rooted and until you examine what that is for you, it may be unclear as to not only why this happened but what you want to do next.

He wanted me and his ex wife Dear Julie, I just ended my relationship with a man who is 15 years my senior. I have struggled for over a year with his inability to commit to me and his still-going relationship with his ex-wife. Due to his having an affair throughout their 14 year marriage, he has developed a relationship with her that is based on dependence, guilt and obligation. He spends holidays, many family occasions, and some vacations with her and their college age children. It’s almost as if they are still married, yet he had this intimate relationship with me which the children and ex-wife were aware of. Was it unrealistic for me to expect that I was to be an important relationship in his life and to expect that he would respect my needs to be a priority? I was respectful of his relationship with his children, but the way it was set up was his ex-wife orchestrated the children’s lives and he just joined in as if they were still an intact family. I had many a sleepless night over this situation, until I could not stand to be the “other woman” any longer. Do you have any thoughts or experience with this type of relationship? Ebube, Warri Dear Ebube, Some people are simply unavailable. It almost doesn’t matter what makes them

unavailable, it could be their ex, from a marriage or a long-term relationship, it could be drugs or alcohol, it could be TV, it could be work, it could be food, it could be sports. I could go on and on. The bottom line is that people who are unavailable are that way because they don’t want to be fully present in a relationship. Usually this is from a deep fear of closeness and being hurt deeply early in their lives. This can not be fixed except by them and more closeness certainly can be

of work and time. I am glad you saw the light about your relationship – that you were with a man who was uncomfortable with intimacy and for that reason, maintaining two relationships. You intuitively understood that he could not be fully with either you or his ex-wife. So what to do in these situations? If the person you are with does not see that he or she is unavailable after repeated attempts by you to show him or her what’s really going on, there is only one thing to do – leave. A relationship with an unavailable person is painful, and you don’t need that kind of pain.

Did I cause him to break up with me? Dear Julie, I recently went through a painful breakup with a man I had been involved with for eight months. I thought we were doing fine until towards the end when he started to distance himself from me and finally told me after my questioning his behaviour that he did not love me but did not want to break up. He thought we might continue and see if his feelings changed. I didn’t think that would work for me, and I told him I thought he wanted me to initiate the break up. The next day, he told me it was over. Did I jump too soon? Should I have asked him some more questions? Dudu, Abuja Dear Dudu,

Who wears the pants A young couple, just married, were in their honeymoon suite on their wedding night. As they undressed for bed, the husband, who was a big burly man, tossed his pants to his bride and said, “here put these on.” She said “I can’t wear your pants.” “That’s right!!” said the husband, “and don’t you forget it. I’m the man who wears the pants in this family!” With that she flipped him her panties and said, “Try these on.” He tried them on and found he could only get them on as far as his kneecaps. He said, C M Y K

demanded or mandated by their partner. When you are with someone who is unavailable, unless they know and see that they are unavailable and want more closeness with you for themselves, there will be no change. An unavailable person can only become available through deep personal work, to uncover what keeps him or her unavailable. And then there’s the learning new relationship behaviour. All of this takes a lot

It sounds like the man you were dating could have been thinking about breaking up with you, or could have been wondering why he didn’t feel more connected to you. Either way, though, you have to know that one conversation with you would not have pushed him over the edge into wanting to break up. You did not cause the breakup by talking to him! Asking more questions is always a good idea in a relationship, especially in situations where there is conflict. Questions such as why he feels this way, and if there is anything you have done or not done to cause his feelings, are great for getting information. Next time you are dating someone and he starts to pull

C O C K - T A L E S “Hell, I can’t get into your panties!” She said, “That’s right, and that’s the way it’s going to be until you change your attitude.” I can’t eat, drink, or sleep Ricky was telling his father about his new girlfriend. He said, “Since I met her I can’t eat, drink, or sleep.” “Why’s that?” asked his father. “Because,” he said, “I’m broke.” The wife is not speaking to me

away, you will want to get to the bottom of why the distancing is happening. Usually there is either a failure to connect or an accumulation of baggage in the relationship that is the problem. A relationship can often be saved if the two people can successfully find a way to connect and deal with the baggage between them. The trick to a successful, life long relationship is to work on it, actively, before there is any sign of trouble. “Doing fine” when it comes to a relationship is a sure road to a breakup. Your relationship must be better than fine and if it’s not, you and your partner need to take the time to find out why and make it the relationship you both always enjoy.

One night, this guy come into a bar and asks the bartender for a drink. Then he asks for another. After a couple more drinks, the bartender gets worried. “What’s the matter?” the bartender asks. “My wife and I got into a fight,” explained the guy “and now she isn’t talking to me for a whole 31 days.” The bartender thought about this for a while. “But, isn’t it a good thing that she isn’t talking to you?” asked the bartender. “Yeah, except today is the last night.”

SA TURD AY SATURD TURDA

Vanguard, FEBRU ARY 7 FEBRUARY 7,, 2015—47

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

A 3-year marriage lost to a cougar! I

t’s only an incurable romantic that believes that these days marriages are meant to last a “He slept at home more experienced and lifetime. Yet, no newly-weds believe they are in a three-year-only contract. Gbemi’s regularly after that, and certainly older than my marriage was virtually over before it really had time to record a semblance of pleasant that was about all he did. husband. She regarded me memories. She tells her story: “If it is true that a drowning man always sees flashes of his past He scarcely spoke to me as if I were an intruder, except it was absolutely life just before his life is eventually claimed, I must have experienced same the day I finally which in a ridiculous sense, I necessary. When I admitted to myself that my marriage was a horrible mistake. I relived flashes of things I did was. For a while, we sized complained he asked me with my husband, how we started... each other up, saying point blank: ‘What else do young, very much in love and full of nothing. Why don’t you go you want? You wanted me dreams. The world was at our feet, and home?, my husband asked at home with you, well, as long as we were in love, we had me, ‘I’ll see you soon.’ What here I am or do you want nothing to worry about. a laugh! He expected me to me to tag along with you “Only three short years after walk quietly home like a like our child does?’ marriage, I sat on my favourite chair, “What answer would you beaten dog when I felt like give to such a question? the radio blaring music that was clawing at the eyes of the My husband, I realised, meaningless to me. Then, all of a woman that now stared at me now hated me and the sudden, this tune came on and all I a half-smile of contempt on hatred showed in his could hear of the music was the her face. I told him off, and I hostility to anything that singer’s constant refrain: “Where is the called her several unprinted had to do with the home. love that you promised me?” the singer names. I also warned my He didn’t pick up his son might as well be echoing my thoughts, husband never to show his to play with any more and face at home if he knew what and I sat there, too numb to when we made love, I had out with my husband. I was good for him. think. I shed all the tears a feeling he thought he couldn’t even remember. “We didn’t have to worry “Very well, he said calmly, was doing me a favour. there were to shed. The future Most weekends, he was out ‘if that is what you want. This about money, in short,l and “In the end, after nine looked bleak, and my husband of Lagos pursuing clients months of crying my eyes since both of us agreed we must be a nightmare, I kept was somewhere else living out, rolling sleeplessly on who, according to him were madly in love we telling myself. This couldn’t with a woman who wasn’t free the bed and hitting my would bring him big thought nothing should stop be my husband taking the to marry him. fists frustratingly against business. He didn’t usually us from getting married, so side of his lover against me. I “Where do you begin to tell a the wall, I faced up to the take his car, so I always we got married. Eighteen stumbled out blindly and sad story? A story that took a fact that I had no believed him. When I months later, we had a son. drove around for hours, I had very important chapter in your marriage. If I left my learnt he always spent the He was a novelty and no destination, my thoughts life? A story that marked the husband, I reasoned, it weekend at this woman’s everybody spoilt him. Diran were fuddled and I felt beginning of something would only hurt for place, I decided to find out numb, dead. Like the end of sometime, I would get for myself. the world had come. over it. But, heavens “The next weekend he “In the end, I had to go know for how long the said he was travelling mental torture I was going home, I was pretty sure my again, I waved him off through now would last if husband would be there and I were to stay. cheerfully. The day after he had mentally gone through “In a last desperate bid left, I gingerly called at the my line of attack. I didn’t played the role of the proud beautiful and, in the same to save my marriage, I woman’s place. She was a know which experience I father to the hilt. I was sure breath told a disastrous end? thought I would talk it cosmetics consultant and found more disappointing: over with my husband. we’d had it made. Several times I’d asked myself my husband had told me a finding my husband with When I did he was “After our son was born, my why it should happen. What couple of days ago that she another woman or his cooperative. After I’d husband gave me a small car did I do wrong? Why was it me had some heavy cosmetics preference to stay with her finished my talk about to move around with since that should feel so hollow, so that hadn’t been introduced knowing I knew about them saving our marriage and business demanded that he uninterested about life? Men to the Nigerian market yet, and was terribly upset. throwing in our son as a should be out on the job for meant nothing to me. I was and that she had consulted sort of emotional “I went to my parents-inhours. Suddenly, I discovered wary of starting anything that him to handle the publicity blackmail, he glared at me law and told them that now I had my own car, should drain me emotionally and told me simply that for those cosmetics. If my everything. They were very my husband was not always as my marriage had done. I’d he was sorry, but he husband wasn’t at her sympathetic and promised to rushing home to take me given more than three years of couldn’t do more than he place, I thought, I could talk to Diran when he wherever I wanted to go. I me to a man, I’d given him my was doing at the moment. always lie that I was eventually showed up. They didn’t often see him until late “Then I can’t take what whole life, all I’ve got, and interested in the cosmetics saw him the next day and you’re doing to me”, I told in the evening and when I he’d nonchalantly thrown myself. When I knocked on they might as well be talking him, holding my breath, complained, he always had those years back in my face. the door, who should open to a brick wall. When he got knowing whatever answer excuses as to why he had to “‘The ideal couple’, that was it but my husband? You home, Diran yelled at me he gave now would stay out so late. His business what friends called us for the could have knocked him that I had no right turning determine my future with was still picking up and he sort six months we courted. We down with a feather when his parents against him. I him. ‘If you can’t take it, had to see clients constantly were lucky to have found each he saw me standing there why don’t you leave it?’ was speechless. Most men and entertain them if he were other, they told us; and we staring at him my worst he asked. are usually sorry and full of to keep them. Very genuine were so turned to each other “I got up from where I fears confirmed. “We is that excuses when they are excuses they were and I that besides being in love, we sat. It was the end of a darling?”, a shrill voice caught being unfaithful to didn’t want to play the role of had companionship. We could marriage but the inquired from inside one of their wives. Not my husband. a nagging wife so I kept sit for hours talking. Him beginning of the nursing the rooms. “Yours lover ’s He glared at me as if I were of a ghastly wound in my quiet. keeping quiet meant about his job, me about mine. wife”, I snapped back. a menacing bug and heart that would take a being on my own most of the “I was 21 when I finished “She came out then. A stumped out of the home. long time to heal ...” time after office hours. I studying as a radiographer very pretty woman but cooked meals for myself and got a good job that paid alone. Also, several people more than I could imagine. He were helping with my son was two years older and he found attractive about you in the first and it wasn’t important that I already a college graduate. OME people find it easy. For others place. Don’t suddenly change your should fall over myself His parents are quite rich and it’s the most difficult thing in the character or personality. Otherwise, he’ll dancing to his whims. he read Business world. Some relationship are doomed from feel he doesn’t know you at all any more. “Then, out of my loneliness Administration. Instead of the start. Others, though, will flourish. The Be adventurous. Don’t let him or you get came this wild rumour that wasting his talents working for psychologist advises it’s important to: Keep into a rut. Be Independent. He may even the smuggest wife other companies, his parents talking to your man about his problems and pretend he doesn’t like it but, deep down, dread, my husband was decided to set up an his life, as well as yours. And remember, he’ll respect you for being your own seeing another woman! I advertising firm for hi. They talking doesn’t mean nagging. woman. refused to believe it at first. had good business contacts, Remember to listen. A lot of men (and NEVER start a conversation with the Later, when I could smell and in a short while, business women) mask their words with hidden words “ where the hell have you been?”— faintly on my husband the boomed so much that within a meanings. Ask yourself what’s he really and don’t let him say it to you! ALWAYS different brands of perfume year, Diran, my husband, was trying to say and encourage him to say it. try to look as nice as you can—he’ll that I never wore myself, I already riding a big car and Keep smiling: It’s the biggest turn on of appreciate it as you do in him, though it became more suspicious. I had a tastefully furnished all for men comforting and re-assuring. doesn’t mean you have to become thought of the last time I went apartment to the bargain. Your man needs that too. Remember what obsessed with your looks.

Where do you begin to tell a sad story?

You need tto o k eep yyour our lo e! keep lovve aliv alive!

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48— Saturday Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015 with Vera Samuel Anyagafu veedd41@yahoo.com

China-Nigeria bi-national relations, productively on high speed — Chinese Consul General T

he Chinese embassy’s Consul General to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Liu Kan has described China- Nigeria ebi-national relations as healthy and productively on high speed. With every certainty, the Consul General emphasised that Nigeria is China’s second major export destination in Africa, adding that China Customs record declared that trade volumes between both countries amount to 18.1 billion USD. In this session with VERA ANYAGAFU, VICTOR GOTEVBE, & PRISCA DURU, Liu also spoke on reports he is getting from Chinese construction companies operating in Nigeria, Nigerian agricultural sector, standard of goods from China, visas and other issues of interest. Excerpts; What is the volume of trade in non-petroleum goods between Nigeria and China? n recent years, the economic and business cooperation between Nigeria and China has developed rapidly. Now as Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria is China’s second major export destination in Africa, meanwhile, China is Nigeria’s largest source of imports and third major trade partner. According to China Customs, the trade volumes between our two countries amounted to 18.1 billion USD, increased by 33.2% over 2013, highest in history, and the volume of non-petroleum goods are about 88% of total. With the rapid development of China and Nigeria’s economy, I am firmly convinced that our two countries can benefit greatly from our economic and trade cooperation, realizing common development. China has now become “The world’s manufacturer” and a lot of made in China goods are much sort after in Nigeria. There are often complaints about inferior goods being shipped from china to Nigeria and very often these inferior goods are not detected by either Nigeria’s SON or NAFDAC.

How can the quality control authorities in China ensure that these inferior goods being shipped to Nigeria do not tarnish the reputation of Chinese manufacturers who are known for quality goods? I have worked in Nigeria for one year and answered the questions on quality issues from local media for several times. In my opinion, these questions should be taken in an objective and correct attitude; after all, most Chinese goods in Nigeria are in low price but high quality. I can assure Nigeria people that Chinese good are trustworthy. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the quality of “made-in-China” products and has taken a series of measures to regulate and supervise the production, sales and export of Chinese goods. China has established a comprehensive law system to enhance the quality control, and substandard products in China are strictly prohibited by the Production Quality Law of PRC. In China, all products shall comply with the requirements of State mandatory criteria and safety technical norms. Especially in recent years, we put in a great lot of efforts on improvement of supervision mechanisms,

• Mr. Liu Kan, Chinese Consulate-General with Victor Gotevbe, Vanguard Admin. Manager C M Y K

•Mr. Liu Kan

which is widely recognized by the international community and domestic and foreign companies. That is why we can see and purchase fine quality Chinese goods with low price at any corner of the world today. In the meantime, Chinese companies and markets have also made significant efforts to improve commodity quality by, for example, strengthening internal management,

I am convinced that with a closer cooperation, Nigeria and China will establish a healthier and better market. awareness and mechanisms, positive progress has been made in these areas. China today not only export light industries goods but also hightech products and equipments to the world, which are welcomed and praised by the customers for the good quality and low price. There are very few poor quality Chinese products in Nigeria market. In my opinion, some factors that violating laws of economy may stand behind it. We know the fact that products are made in accordance with laws of economy, and good quality means more inputs of research,

materials, management etc., which will be reflected in a higher price. However, not every Nigerian people could afford the price and costs of high quality goods, and there is a large demand for cheap goods in Nigeria. In recent years, as required by Nigeria businessmen, some low price Chinese products are imported into Nigeria, which to some extent meets the daily need of ordinary Nigerians, nevertheless low price in some degree would sacrifice the quality of products. But we believe such situation would be temporary, and we oppose the exaggeration and hype of those quality issues that violating the laws of economy, and it is not the right attitude to solve the problem. In recent years, both Nigeria and China has adopted measures to solve quality issues of products. The Chinese government and the relating Nigerian departments, such as SON and NAFDAC, closely cooperate. For example, we successfully conducted high level official visits to both sides, China also hold some training programs for Nigeiran quarantine and inspecting officers to promote cooperation on quality control. I am convinced that with a closer cooperation, Nigeria and China will establish a healthier and better market. Would China consider partnering with Nigeria government, setting up and funding vocational skills, acquisition centers in Nigeria, since such centers would produce skilled workers that would encourage Chinese

manufacturers to set up factories in Nigeria? In recent years, the ChinaNigeria relations present a momentum of comprehensive and stable development. Remarkable achievements have been accomplished in various fields of our bilateral relationship. Under the new situation, China is ready to work with Nigeria to further enrich the China-Nigeria strategic partnership, consolidate the traditional friendship, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, strengthen support each other, and better benefit of the two peoples. China will continue to make efforts to strengthen intergovernment exchanges and cooperation, which includes supporting Chinese companies in Nigeria to train local talents by imparting the modern technology and the necessary skills to the Nigerian youth who wish to work in the multi-national enterprises. For example, Huawei, a multinational Chinese telecommunication company, always focuses on bridging the digital divide, technology transferring and professional training as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy. Huawei has established the only West Africa telecom technology training center in Abuja; so far the training center has trained more than 5000 local engineers. Huawei also set up one of its regional network operations centers (RNOCs) in Lagos, which is capable of maintaining all networks managed by Huawei

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SATURDAY

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Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015 — 49

50—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Suspec Lagos h his stun from a

•Reveals sexu of 4 but insists LATE MARTHA IFEOMA IFEWULU...

discovered at her house in a pool of her blood

BY EMMA NNADOZIE

esidents of Oke-Afa area in Lagos State were jolted in December 2014, after the body of a 35-year-old housewife, Martha Ifeoma Ifewulu was discovered at her house in a pool of her blood. The mother of four and wife of Chief Lawrence Ugochukwu Ifewulu, 52, was murdered by an unknown person few hours before her children arrived from school. Reports said the children came home only to find their mother in a pool of her own blood, which flowed freely down the staircase. On closer examination, it was discovered that the silky-soft skin of her throat was hideously slashed with a knife like that of a goat. The distraught husband later said he received a distress call about 3pm from one of his tenants , crying and telling him to leave whatever he was doing and rush home . According to him, “I could not even drive. Getting home, I could not imagine what I saw. I was told that when the children came back from school about 3.30pm and opened the door to the staircase, they saw blood flowing down from the staircase. One of my girls tried to go upstairs and that was when she discovered my wife’s corpse and then raised the alarm. When asked if his late wife had ever

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reported any case of harassment or disagreement between her and any one, the bereaved husband reportedly simply retorted: “Hmm! I will like to hold on for now till a later time......let me just hold on for now”. Surprisingly, the husband later was reported to have alleged that one Collins should be held responsible for the death of his wife. The grieving husband also alleged that the wife might have been killed to prevent her from divulging their plans to kill him, dispose off his assets and elope to Canada with his children. Since then, it was gathered that police detectives at the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos, have spread their dragnets in search of the fleeing suspected killer of the housewife. A shocker then came early January, 2015, when a call from an unknown telephone number was received by this reporter. The caller who was sounding as if he was in a hurry asked if he was speaking with Emma Nnaedozie of Vanguard and I corrected him by saying my name is Emma Nnadozie. He apologised and went ahead to introduce himself as Collins Nwafor, the one that police were suspecting to be

the killer of a housewife at Oke-Afa, Lagos. Trepidation overwhelmed this reporter after remembering the grisly manner the said housewife was killed and wondering why he called him. The caller continued: “I got your number from Saturday Vanguard , Crime Guard page and I decided to call you. Can I meet you anywhere of your choice.? I asked why and he continued: “I would like to give you all the details about the woman that was killed. The Police are frantically looking for me and I was reliably told that they have been paid to kill me if I show up. I am afraid of my life and I decided to cry out before they succeed in locating my hideout. I did not kill the woman but I will tell you the people I am suspecting killed her.” After this brief explanation, we fixed appointment outside Lagos because he refused to show up anywhere in Lagos. We ended up meeting outside Lagos where he narrated his stomach-churning story. Excerpts: MY STORY “I am Collins Nwafor ,39, from Umuawulu in Awka South L.G.A, Anambra State. I read Marketing at the IMT, Enugu. I left school in

The first time we made love was in her car, a green Honda Baby Boy, after she dropped me in front of my house

1999 and served in Edo State in 2010. After that, I proceeded to PortHarcourt where I started life as a clearing agent with Chapman Resources. From there, I went to South Africa where I stayed for about four years dealing on telephone accessories. I came back to Nigeria in 2011 and later proceeded to Europe, Germany and Norway where I spent about two years. I came back in September 2012. HOW I MET HER On June 13, 2013, I met Mrs. Ifeoma Ifewulu at her shop in Ago Palaace Way, Lagos. I was passing through the Mall on that street, I saw people promoting their goods in the shop and both of us watched them after which we exchanged numbers. From there, we started exchanging calls and we became intimate friends. The first time we made love was in her car, a green Honda Baby Boy, after she dropped me in front of my house. We were there till 12 midnight and I asked if she was married but she did not reply. Later, she spent a weekend with me and when I insisted on knowing her marital status, she told me that her husband is a big man but she wanted

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SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—51

cted killer of a housewife tells nning story hideout

he wanted me to escort him to a relation’s home nearby. But I refused, claiming that I was tired. Few minutes after he stepped out, the gate man announced the presence of two women who wanted to see him. I thought that he was back and quickly climbed the stairs to his apartment. And after I called several times without response, I even stepped into a container filled with blood and two egg-like objects beside it. In shock, I quickly left the room and as I was descending the stairs, I saw him climbing up. When he saw me he asked whether I entered his bathroom but I quickly denied. He then furiously left me. The following morning when we were all supposed to fly back to Lagos together, he said I should rather go with his driver by road. ACCIDENT ON THE HIGHWAY Unfortunately, as we were getting into Edo State, we had an accident that got two of us trapped inside the vehicle. When sympathizers came to rescue us, they called him on my phone to inform him about our plight but they were all shocked when he asked them whether I was alive and after they told him yes, he switched off his phone. It was Mrs. Ifewulu who later called and she came and took us to the hospital. She even paid the bills but the wealthy forwarder did not care about us until after we were discharged and returned to Lagos. He offered me N30,000.00 which I refused.

ual escapades with the mother s 'My hands are clean' Continues from page 50 to feel good. She said she needed company and that she had two boys and two girls. From then, our love blossomed. After sometime, she told me that her husband’s birthday was in August, I advised her how to commemorate it with him, buy food and take the kids to his office as a surprise which she did and she later told me that her husband appreciated it. We continued our relationship till December when she even spent the Christmas with me after the husband bought a Toyota Corolla for her. STRANGE DISCOVERY We stayed behind from December 29th 2013 after the husband travelled till January 5th, 2014. We were in my house at Isolo, few meters away from her matrimonial home at the same Oke-Afa. We kept on meeting and enjoying ourselves till the middle of the year when I discovered that she was also a lesbian. I was able to know this through the attitude of her friends who visit her in her shop. Even when they go to parties, they kiss and romance themselves openly. I also discovered that she has many other boyfriends. My investigation showed that I was the fourth in the series of boyfriends she had. Nevertheless, we continued our relationship till April when her mother died. We organized the burial programme including how to buy expensive lace materials for wellto- do men that would attend the burial.” So you discovered that they used to keep girls in the shop? “They are lesbians and the way she went with men, she was sleeping with men. I was the fourth boy friend she had going by what she told me. So from

January 14th, February, March, we started dating and by April or so, the mother died and we planned to buy some clothes to give to twenty different men for them to attend the mother’s burial which we did. VISIT TO WEALTHY CLEARING AGENT So, when she got to the office of this wealthy Clearing and Forwarding Agent (name withheld), she whispered to me that the man has been toasting her for the past 13 years and had also tried to rape her in her house in two to three occasions but failed. When we met the agent, he told her that if she wanted him to come for the burial, she should come to the hotel and make love to him. After all said and done, the burial was fixed for June. MY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE AGENT At this juncture, I would like to tell you my relationship with the wealthy agent. When I came back from Europe in September 2012, I met him in July 2013, he told me that since I was in the country, he would be giving me containers for me to be clearing, that we should be doing something together. If he wanted to travel, he would call me and I would go with him and act like his personal assistant. So by December, he gave me fifty thousand naira to travel with him. I protested that the money was too meagre going by the fact that he just bought a car worth thirty something million naira. In anger, he travelled without me. I ended up spending the Xmas with Mrs. Ifewulu who stayed behind after

her husband travelled on December 29th, 2014. We stayed together from that 29th to 5th of January when the husband came back and brought her sick mother back to Lagos. Later, her mother died in March. While she was sick, I used to visit her in Awka with Mrs. Ifewulu. We always stayed in a hotel at Asaba, Delta state. They buried the woman on June 7th. We went for her burial. When we got there, the wealthy clearing agent noticed the intimacy between me and Mrs. Ifewulu and he was visibly angry with me. Later, he even accosted me and asked me why I should be “eating the food that belonged to the masters”. BLOOD IN THE PALACE A very ugly incident took place after we attended the burial. When we later retired to the wealthy agent’s home at Umuawulu, Awka, Anambra State,

HUSBAND...Lawrence Ifewulu

I even stepped into a container filled with blood and two egg-like objects beside it. In shock, I quickly left the room and as I was descending the stairs, I saw him climbing up. When he saw me he asked whether I entered his bathroom but I quickly denied

HOW THE AFFAIR WAS CALLED OFF That signalled the cold war between us and after sometime, I also started feeling guilty over my relationship with Mrs. Ifewulu because things were not moving fine with me. I summoned courage and called her on phone to break the news, that I was no longer interested in the relationship. On hearing this, she turned off the phone and told me she was coming. She later came and started pleading that I should remember that we have gone very far in the affair, that I am the only man she has fallen deeply in love with, that her relationships before we met did not exceed 2-3 months, that I was the fourth boy friend she was having. I told her no, that I didn’t have something doing, that I was a young man not married. I told her I wanted to be focussed; I wanted to know what I was doing. I never knew she was a bisexual and they have strong cult group at Jakande Estate and I have been there with her for one or two parties. REV. FATHER TO THE RESCUE After this, her friends were rebuking me for stopping the affair. The pressure was so much and I had to go to a Reverend Father at SS Peter and Paul Catholic church, OkeAfo. I confessed to him by telling him all about my relationship with the woman. The Reverend father was shocked and immediately demanded for her number which I released to him. He invited the coupld, the husband was wearing a basket ball short and singlet outside the church and was drinking bottled water, the wife was putting on a black skirt and a red top. The Rev. Father started asking her about me, the lady denied. The father then came out to call me into his office. I followed him and when Mrs. Ifewulu saw me, she stood up to leave, and then the reverend held her at the door and told her to sit and said, you

Continues on page 52 C M Y K

52—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

'The real killers want to kill me in order to cover up for the crime'

show my face because they have been asked to kill me immediately they arrest me. I learnt also that the policemen went to all the places I mentioned including meeting with the Reverend Father and they all confirmed that I opened up to them about the affair. One of the detectives even called to inform me that I should not show up else they would kill me. That was why I decided to go into hiding.

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ATTEMPTS TO IMPLICATE ME Since then, two people have been going round, telling people that I killed the woman. The wealthy agent and another person (name withheld) have gone to my people in Lagos and I was invited to the village. After I narrated my story to all the influential men in my village, they took me to a shrine where I was made to swear to an oath. That proved my innocence. After this, I called the investigators at Panti and told them that my relationship with the woman ended since September last year, that I was innocent of the allegations against me, that they should either hold(name withheld) or the wealthy agent responsible for her death.

told me you didn’t know this

man. She sat down, and then I knelt down and started crying and pleading that I didn’t know what happened, that I was not interested any more and that we should all be left alone, we would just be friends. HER FRIENDS ALSO... She then told the Reverend Father that she has heard and she opened the door and left. The Father told me not to worry and gave me his number assuring that he would look into this matter. When she continued pestering me to continue with the relationship, I went to some of her friends to plead for their intervention. I also went to other churches where she attended. I met two of her friends and invited them to an eatery at Isolo. When they came, I told them everything and they assured that they would intervene. I also talked to one of her bosom friends called Isioma, she took me to see their General Overseer where I also confessed. After that, the Overseer advised me to relocate from Lagos. I insisted that I would not run away from Lagos because of a married woman. THEN, HER HUSBAND It was at this stage that I decided to call the husband and intimate him with our affair. While the relationship was going on, she willingly gave me her husband’s number and those of her children. Her children and her house help all knew me. They called me Uncle Collins. But the husband and his sister who work in Lagos Island did not know me before then. I confessed to her husband but now I had known Christ; that I was no longer interested and that his wife was into women and drug trafficking. Later, the husband called me on phone and asked me to give him instances so that when he would confront her she would not deny it. I then told the husband so many things. The man said ok. The man called after some days and said his wife denied it. Then I told him to call one Aaron, that he should call their elder sister that was at Alaba and also call the girl’s brother, Ifeanyi and one other person. I also maintained I would come but he must guarantee me of my protection. He agreed. By Sunday, he called to say that his wife had agreed. After

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•IGP Abba

some days, the man called to say that his wife told him that bot of us wanted to kill him. I then told him that if I had such plan, I would have executed it long ago because I had unrestrained access to him and his house. And that I would not have confessed to him and even informed him including men of God to help intervene. In fact, I told him a lot of intimate things about his family which an outsider should not ordinarily know including how the wife slept with the man that is making his business boom. I also told him that the wife carried out abortion twice. At this stage, he told me to forgive him and that I should keep the whole story secret. After some days, he called me and said that his wife gave me a phone, then I told him yes your wife did but I misplaced the phone. He kept telling me to forgive and forget everything that I shouldn’t tell anyone. He also intimated me that he had strong suspicion that the wealthy Clearing and Forwarding agent was into a relationship with his wife but that she was denying it. After that encounter, I decided to go for deliverance. I was directed to Okpoko in Onitsha at Ezenwanyi’s place. They charged me N18,000.00 after which I was taken to a river for the cleansing. Afterwards, I came back to Lagos and went to the General Overseer who also invited her and advised her to leave me alone, that we should just be friends. But she refused.

HOW I HEARD NEWS OF HER DEATH Then, on December 1st, 2014, I went to Apapa with my friend to get something and on coming back, I got a call at around past 9pm from her born- again friend. she asked me if I heard anything from my side or Ify’s side, I told her no, she hung up. At about 11:30, she called and told me to pack out from my place, that Ify has been killed. I was shocked. She called me at 12 midnight again and asked me to leave my house, I left with one shirt to stay at my friend's place. The next morning I came back to my house, although my friend warned me not to go to my place, I was at my place with the people that came to look for me when four police men and the woman’s house help came asking my neighbour about me. My neighbour told them that he had not seen me for the past two days. POLICE STEP IN While I was meeting with my people in Lagos over the issue, I was reliably informed that the wealthy agent had gone to the police to allege that I was the killer and that I sold human parts. Later, detectives numbering over 20 invaded my house and harassed every body on sight. They later met the caretaker who called me on phone and I narrated my side of the story. It was later I got to know that both the caretaker and the policemen listened to my story and after that, one of the policemen confided in the caretaker that I should not

I narrated my story to all the influential men in my village, they took me to a shrine where I was made to swear to an oath. That proved my innocence

HER SUSPECTED KILLER (S) I believe one or both of them know what happened to the woman. This may be because of my confession and in anger, he may have killed her. Secondly, I disagreed with the wealthy agent because of the ritual blood I saw in his country home. This man has been associated with many strange and mysterious deaths. He may have done it because he was aware I was no longer with her and he believed if he killed her, people would put the blame on me. So, while in the hideout, I read crime page in Vanguard and saw your number. This is my story and I decided to open up because I know that if police eventually arrest me, they may not allow justice to prevail. I suspect that they have been paid to kill me in order to cover up the crime. The only option left for me now is either to keep on hiding or for somebody to arrange for me to go into protective custody where I will be assured that nothing will happen to me and I will quickly show up and tell the whole truth.” THE DRUG BIZ This drug business, to what extent were you involved and did you make effort to help her out of it? “She usually told me, but I kept telling her that I was not interested in that kind of business. So, she stopped talking to me about that but I knew she did it and also did pimping too. Sometimes I accompanied her and the girls she organised to see men for sexual purposes and she would get paid. She passed the girls to wealthy men. They met at various places and after wards she would be paid. FEELING ABOUT HER DEATH How do you feel now that your former lover has died in so gruesome a manner? “Hmmmm, I feel hurt. No matter what I say, she was a very good and generous woman. In fact, it was after her death that I realised that a dead person has no power. Once you are dead, it is all over. If not, I wonder why such a good woman cannot rise up and not only expose her killers but take revenge. I leave everything to God, the truth will be revealed.

SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—53

am as curious as very many Nigerians in this generation who are trapped by the unusual developments in the country today. But one important point must be made before I begin to penetrate the political, economic and cultural issues that seem to be holding the people bondage. This point is that for the first time, the entire people have a taste of freedom. They may not have received the proper dose, though, or not everyone realizes there is freedom already, but I have no doubt that majority of the people are enjoying freedom. Sometime, within the life time of the present administration, the Freedom of Information Bill was signed into law by the President. I remember being called upon by the media to comment on it and I could not hide my excitement. To me, it is awesome to be free. I have

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“Transf ormation” And “Change” ansformation” little doubt also that freedom could be intoxicating, especially, with an overdose of it. However, what I do not know is if there are some, who have also taken an overdose. So it seems, but I am not one of them Now, I must say that I have every plan to enjoy this freedom. My focus today is on what I refer to as the things which hold Nigerians bondage and I begin with the Political Issues which eventually will intersperse all other aspects of life. I recall the jingle that greeted all Nigerians in the 1993 campaigns of Chief Abiola and Alhaji Tofa: the Social Democratic Party of Chief Abiola captured the moment when in that jingle; the party claimed that

“Nigeria is on the march again … searching for Mr. President.” We knew then that the statement would occur and recur again and again. It is booming now like a canon. I equally recall the famous slogan in 1983 was CHANGE ’83. Virtually all political parties, apart from the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) took up that slogan. Here we are again, romancing with CHANGE. This is actually what has held the country captive. It is made worse, this period, because there is a parallel word, TRANSFORMATION. The later word was in existence before the former in the present socio-political

lexicon of the country. Today, it appears more like Nigerians are faced with two options: TRANSFORMATION and CHANGE. Let me attempt a crystallization of the two terms. First, Transformation in politics and governance connotes “marked” change, especially a positive change and if related strictly to politics, it is backed up by ideology. It is some form of metamorphoses. On the other hand, CHANGE appears to be almost the same with Transformation, only that it is more of a way of becoming different. It is more or less, replacement. It is quite prosaic because it does not seem to possess the ideological adornment of Transformation. However, it is populist and more attractive to those who are not very intellectually endowed, but who, nevertheless, understand their world. Since

we have these two options before us and we must make a decision as quickly as possible, we need to think fast, deep and straight. May God grant us SAFETY and SPEED! As someone, in love with this country, who has also meditated on these issues I want to make some statements. I prefer transformation to change, neither because of the personalities nor the political parties behind them, but because of my personal and ideological relationship with them. Transformation is positive, visible and relates to positions and directions. It alters in a systematic way. It is noticeable and functional. Change is obtuse and does not address any serious issue. It is pedestrian and as such can hardly yield to accountability, even though it holds a great appeal to the masses. Let me give practical examples of the two in this society that I have been privileged to be a part of for many years. Recently, the Federal government announced a reduction in the pump price of premium motor spirit (pms) popularly known as petrol. It came with joy, but mixed feelings. From our experiences of CHANGE in this country, that decision or action would come with difficulties because of its implementation. Retailers of the product would hoard it and thus making hoodlums make brisk deals out of what was meant to be a palliative measure for the people. But believe it or not, there were hardly any such cases. Price reduction and time of its implementation were announced and all people involved complied. This is transformation. On the other hand, in 1984, there was a change from what the Shagari administration stood for to a new way of doing things. Everything that characterized President Shehu Shagari’s government was crushed and a supposed improved system was going to be inaugurated. Common household goods and edibles, which were available before the CHANGE that took away the people’s freedom, disappeared from the market and these goods became essential commodities. People were made to line up to purchase rationed goods and were brainwashed into believing that it was in their own interest. A cosmetic slogan, “the queue culture” came into being. One would ask why queue in the first place, when there is a possibility of getting supply to meet demand. The seamless transformation in Jonathan’s reduction of fuel price and the excruciating experiences of the essential commodities of 1985 are evidence of the difference between the change propagators and the transformation exponents. Change always struggles, imposes itself on the claim of superiority. Whenever there is a cry for change, and it becomes premised on the “better option syndrome,” then the change is sincere. However, if the clamour rests on a wrong premise, then people must be careful to avoid a monumental deceit.

54—SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

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SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, FEBRUARY 7, 2015 — 55

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56 — SA TURD AY V anguard ARY 7 SATURD TURDA Vanguard anguard,, FEBRU FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Nyanya bombing: FG files fresh 7-count charge against Ogwuche, 6 others •As court fixes Feb 20 for arraignment By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

HE Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, fixed February 20 to take fresh plea of Aminu Ogwuche, the alleged mastermind of the April 14, bomb blast that killed over 75 persons at a crowded motor park in Nyanya, Abuja. Justice Ahmed Mohammed slated the date following a fresh sevencount terrorism charge that was entered against Ogwuche and six others by the Federal Government. The other accused persons who were all alleged to belong to a terrorist group known as Jama’atu Ahli Sunnah Lil Da’awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, are Ahmad Rufai Abubakar (a.k.a Abu Ibrahim/Maiturare), Mohammed Sani Ishaq, Ya’u Saidu (a.k.a Kofar Rama), Anas Isah, Ada-

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mu Yusuf and Nasiru Abubakar. The Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, Mr. Mohammad Diri, informed the court yesterday that security agencies have been unable to apprehend one Ahmed Rufai (a.k.a Dr Tsiga), who he said was also in-

volved in the terrorist act, but currently at large. Meanwhile, though all the accused persons were brought before the High Court yesterday, their trial could not commence owing to the inability of some of them to get lawyers to represent them.

By Naomi Uzor

HE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, has kicked against the calls in some quarters for the postponement of February 14 elections. Speaking during LCCI council’s meeting, the president of LCCI, Alhaji Remi Bello, said the council noted that such a move would have significant negative consequences on investors’ confidence, the economy, and the stability of

Enugu motorists cry out over contractors under ECTDA’s illegal activities By Francis Igata

OTORISTS in Enu gu State are gnashing their teeth over the illegal activities of contractors charged with the responsibility of providing traffic services by the Enugu Capital Territory D e v e l o p m e n t Authority,ECTDA. The contractors were contracted by ECTDA to check indiscriminate parking of vehicles along major streets of the metropolis to ensure the aes-

thetic nature of the road networks. Saturday Vanguard learnt that the contractors were engaged in extortion of motorists for alleged offences of, phoning while driving, vehicle emission of black smoke,seat belt offences, worn-out tyres amongst others. Although the contractors listed the offences in their docket which they parade,the offences attract fines ranging between N5N25 Thousand.

When Vanguard visited the site where offenders vehicles were impounded at Abakiliki road, a staff who preferred anonymity for fear of victimisation, said,”It is not our duty to apprehend offenders for such offences. It is purely the job of Federal Road Safety Corp, FRSC. We have warned them to desist from apprehending motorists on such offences. Our job is to apprehend motorists who parked indiscriminately”.

LCCI kicks against postponement of February elections •Urges govt to discontinue subsidy regime on PMS, kerosene the polity, adding that, the credibility of the electoral process could also be put at risk. “The LCCI council urged all Nigerians and in particular the political class to respect the outcome of the elections; and candidates with reservations should seek redress in accordance with the law. All forms of violence should be avoided. Without peace nothing else will happen in an economy. Political and social stability are critical factors that drive investors’ confidence,” he said. The LCCI Council reiterated its call on the key institutions in the transition process to be above board – INEC, Security Agencies and the Judiciary. “They should be non-partisan, and should be seen to be so. This is necessary to earn the confidence of the citizens and the stakeholders in

the electoral process” he stated. On subsidy scheme on petroleum products, the council reiterated its call for the Federal Government to discontinue its subsidy scheme on PMS and kerosene in the light of the drop in global oil price. “ Government should take the opportunity presented by the current realities to exit the subsidy scheme in view of the fiscal leakages and other transparency issues associated with the scheme. This would liberate the downstream oil sector from the shackles of inefficiency and corruption. The council maintained that this is the time to allow the private sector to take full charge of the downstream sector and unleash the huge potentials that exist in the sector ” he said.

Saturday Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015 —57

China-Nigeria bi-national relations, productively...

From left:Prisca Sam-Duru, Vanguard Correspondent,Victor Gotevbe, Vanguard Administration/HR Manager, Mr. Kan Liu, Consul General of the Chinese Embassy, Lagos, and Vera Anyagafu, Vanguard Correspondent during a courtesy visit to the Consulate General of China, Lagos • Continued from page 48 in Africa, providing 400 job opportunities for local senior engineers. Since 2013, Huawei and Nigeria Federal Ministry of Communication Technology has organized an ICT basic knowledge training program for 1,000 girls to encourage more Nigerian female to participate in ICT industry. China has a robust agricultural sector. How can China assist Nigeria in terms of agricultural machinery, improved seedlings and technology in Nigeria’s quest for food security? Agriculture is a vital industry in both China and Nigeria. Although accounting for only 9 percent of arable land worldwide, China produces food for 20 percent of the world’s population. Nigeria, the biggest African country in terms of population, and has vast arable land, also harbors great potential in Agriculture. China is willing to share the agric technology and the experience of agricultural development, and push a closer cooperation on Agriculture with Nigeria. The two countries have made much progress in cooperation in agriculture since about 500 Chinese experts initially took part in the Nigerian National Special Program for Food Security, funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2003.The experts, based in 36 Nigerian states, have helped the benefiting communities overcome shortage of water supply for drinking and irrigation while training local farmers for planting, fishing and beekeeping skills. Chinese enterprises are ready to invest in Nigerian agricultural sector. For example, the well known CGCOC Group set up a Green Agricultural Development company in Nigeria in 2006 and has operated in WARA Agricultural Park of Kebbi, Nigeria since then. Currently, WARA Agricultural Park has become an important link in the Nigerian agricultural production chain. The crop breeds, sophisticatedly cultivated by the farming techniques adapted to the local environment, have occupied a

significant share of Nigeria’s agricultural markets. Nigeria might also attract more Chinese investors and agro-technicians to its agricultural sector, especially in farming, fishing, aquaculture and agricultural processing areas. To this end, Nigerian government might put in place incentive policies in agriculture, including tariff rate on importation of agricultural chemicals, spare parts of processing machinery, and tax rate for agricultural production and processing in Nigeria. What kind of report have you been getting from Chinese construction companies operating in Nigeria? Nigeria has grown rapidly over the past decade. It has become the largest economy on the African continent and the 26th largest in the world. However, the need for infrastructure construction is still high since the large population and rapid development of both urban and rural area of Nigeria. Chinese companies can well meet the need for their advanced technology, experience, capacity, and most importantly, their willingness to make contribution to the development of the economy, society and people’s livelihood of Nigeria. In recent years, some outstanding Chinese enterprises come into Nigeria for assisting the construction and exploring development opportunities, many important and livelihood projects are in full swing, and will soon play significant role and effectiveness for Nigerian people. According to the feedback from our companies, most of them have good relationship with their collaborators, they have a cordial working relationship, and these projects are progressing well. But some also complain to us of that the security situation is not optimistic, and some other factors such as inefficient public services, poor performance of contracts, untimely implementation of relating preferential policies also affected the progress of the projects. As for the new year of 2015, the Chinese government will continue to encourage and support competent Chinese companies to invest and develop in Nigeria, the emerging and potential magic land, and conduct technology transfer and localization. We expect that Nigerian government will take more steps to assure foreign investors that their interests, personal and property safety will not be violated.

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SATURDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—58

Truc ruckk driver wins Air Airttel’s Range R Roover Vogue their loyalty, stressing that the Leading telecoms service operator, Airtel Nigeria, presented a brand new 2015 Range Rover Vogue to Mr. Abiodun Adio, a commercial truck driver, who won the grand prize in the just-

Youth empowerment scheme our target—Ugwu or sometime now, successive governments had failed to engage F the youths in any meaningful economic

engagements. The rebounding effects of this include but not limited to the exposition of youths to vices contrary to conventional norms and etiquette. Bogged down by this untoward attitudes of Nigerian youths, the National President, Igbo Youth Congress, Chief Comrade Jerry Onyemachi Ugwu has designed a skill acquisition programme for Nigerian youths in order to stem the wavering tide of unemployment as well as curb other vices which have become their lot in recent times. In this interview with Saturday Business Vanguard, the concerned youth leader assured that the well thought out scheme will among others equipped youths with modern skills to confront future challenges. Excerpts: Tell us the focus of the Igbo Youth Congress... One major focus of the Congress is to bring Igbo youths together and ensure that

•Ugwu

they feel as one nation, one spirit of Nigeria. Another one is that through this Congress the Nigerian youths are informed rightly, make them remain focused for their future, bearing in mind that they are the leaders of tomorrow. There is a saying in the Bible, “Train up a child in the way he should go, for when he grows up he will not depart from it.” In strengthening that, we have a lot of

Balogun market fire: Group solicits economic empo werment ffor or af ed empow afffect ected traders

onsidering millions of Naira worth of goods lost to Balogun market inferno, a concerned group, Greenfield Traders Association has urged Lagos State government and other agencies to come to the aid of those traders affected by the fire disaster that led to economic losses. Greenfield Traders Association in a statement by its legal adviser, Chukwuka Arinze, appeal to the Lagos State government to save these victims from suffering and being unemployed. According to him, each time such a tragedy occurs, officials of the

various government agencies, opinion leaders and politicians stand to make comments that portray their personal regret for the loss of goods and property which run into millions and billions of Naira. And as a result of the abandonment by governments at all levels and other agencies, the Greenfield Traders Association is making a clarion call on the government, stakeholders and institutions that benefit from the business activities in Balogun and other markets in Lagos to come to the immediate aid of the traders.

Coca-Cola Nigeria bags exemplary tax compliance award

oca-Cola Nigeria Limited has for the sixth year running won the Lagos State Tax Compliance Award in recognition of the company ’s exemplary compliance with its PAYE tax obligations. Speaking at the 2015 edition of the Lagos State Annual Taxation Stakeholders Conference held in Ikeja recently, where the award was presented to Coca-Cola as well as a few other companies including Access Bank, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State lauded the awardees for fulfilling their civic duty and thereby enabling the government to fund its development programmes in the state. “We have always harped on the importance of private and corporate residents in Lagos paying their taxes as part of their civic responsibility

and because our state serves as a base for many businesses, a major portion of our revenue comes from the taxes levied on them. We are glad that our drive to improve tax compliance is an ongoing success. This is why Lagos is working regardless of the economic drop the nation is experiencing over plummeting oil prices and we have you, our committed tax payers to thank for this”, the Governor said. Receiving the Tax Compliance Award on behalf of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, its Finance Director, Seye Dosunmu said the award validates the company’s commitment to best practices and exemplary leadership. “Coca-Cola is committed to promoting sustainable development in our communities, and paying taxes as and when due is in line with this commitment.

concluded Red Hot Promo. C h i e f Executive/ Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. S e g u n Ogunsanya presented the car to 48-yearold Adio at a colorful prize presentation ceremony held at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. Congratulating the winner, Ogunsanya expressed satisfaction with the success of the promo a n d commended the Telco’s customers for

packages for them such like skill acquisition that can help them become self-reliance in the midst of biting unemployment. We’ve been counselling them that education is power and they should pursue it with focus and be strengthened. Education will help them lay a good foundation in life. Is it true that Igbo youths still prefer trading? We have done a lot to that effect. If you get to the East today, you will discover that many youths are now enbracing education. You hardly get any family without one or two graduates. So the trend is changing by the day. We also have been encouraging parents to empower their children with quality education. Kudos to governments that had provided free education for youths to acquire knowledge instead of taking to trading with only First School Leaving Certificate. What we are saying is that if youths acquire good education added to their trading experience, it will impact positively on their business. Today, I’m happy there is reorientation among our youths. How do you see the environmental policies of Lagos state government? I have said it before in a media chat that the present government of Lagos state with its policies has not favoured us doing business in Lagos. It is important to realise that we contribute immensely to the growth of Nigerian economy especially Lagos. Environmental policies of Lagos state have not been favouring our business operation. What is your take on the political situation of the country now? On the coming election, I’m very happy that

company will continue to seek out avenues of reciprocation. He said that the company remains very passionate about creating enabling platforms for its customers to achieve their dreams which it has demonstrated by introducing the second season of the promo to continue the cycle of giving back to customers. “As a company passionate about rewarding loyalty and empowering our customers, we shall continue building credible platforms to enrich, empower and open more doors of fortune to new and existing customers,” he said. Mr. Ogunsanya also assured guests of the company’s readiness to remain at the vanguard of delivering quality telecommunication products and offerings to its teeming subscribers. To this end the leading Telco has launched an SMS promo tagged “SMS 4 Millions” which will also convert a large number of Nigerians into instant millionaires while others will step up the financial ladder with the weekly cash rewards for the next three months. An elated Adio expressed gratitude to Airtel Nigeria describing the gesture as a “total turnaround in the journey of his life”. He explained that after overcoming his initial disbelief, he has now come to realize the enormity of the good fortune that the prize has placed on him.

a strong opposition party has emerged to challenge the ruling party, PDP. At this point we advise them (politicians) to take it as a game instead of turning it to a do or die affair. We condemn attacks on parties during campaigns. In a game of soccer, there must be a winner and a loser. Parties should desist from accusations upon accusations, heating the polity and creating unnecessary tension in the country. That is not how to play politics. However, we are not a partisan group, but we are supporting any government that wants to move this country forward as we are against violence from any group that wants to destroy our God-given country. This country is blessed with numerous natural resources. Imagine some countries are battling and crying over earthquake. But here, we have never experienced such. So, our politicians should be careful. If I may say, for now, the manifesto of Mr President is going down well with us. He has proved things he did. For instance, in Enugu State, he built an international airport. This is something we have not seen in the east since 1960. He has constructed many good roads in most parts of the country. You can see the schools he built in the North to empower Almagiris with education. In education, he has done well. We believe he will do more. If I may say, the entire Igbo youths are adopting President Goodluck Jonathan for February 14 election.

Lagos state governor, Babatunde Fashiola empwering students for winning Lagos State Easy Competitions writing organised by Lagos state.

SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—59

harm to me and my family.

‘How I got involved in water goddess

rituals’

•Strange goat, weird boa live with him •Community holds 9-day ceremony to welcome snake BY ISHOLA BALOGUN

he spirit of water goddess can be compassionate, so they say. Whether a quid pro quo compassion or not, it is always designed to achieve a purpose, so they say too. A goat and a boa snake as gifts are turning the life of Francis Tubori, a.k.a Koronjo, a 52-year old farmer upside down and inside out. Both the strange goat and weird boa live with him and his family in his 2-room apartment. All attempts including traditional rituals to liberate him, his wife and three children from the grip of these animals have failed to yield the desired result. The despairingly confused Koronjo, who hails from Okpara Water side, in Ethiope East local government area of Delta State is now teetering between personal breakdown and spiritual breakthrough; between serving the Ogwa shrine and clutching to his Bible. But how did it begin? It was supposed to be his first church service on that fateful Sunday, a few months ago when he found himself at the bank of a River Weni, also called Olokun for the supposedly initiation and transformation. According to him: “On October 5, Sunday specifically, I decided to go and search for the church where I had been given a bible as a gift. A quarrel with my wife had dragged me to the place. I never went to church before then. I had quarreled with my wife who refused to prepare my meal and went to church. I was angry. So, I went to the church where she had gone to reprimand her and bring her back. We caused a scene and

the church members tried to convert me by offering a bible. Since that time, I kept the Bible. About two years on I felt like going to that church. I wanted to know what it was like. My wife is a christian and goes to church but that had nothing to do with me. So, on a particular day, I picked the Bible and tried to locate the church that my wife attends. On getting there, I found out that the church had relocated to another place and so, I decided to go to the nearest church. As I tried to locate another church, I mysteriously found myself at the river. That was all I could remember. I pulled my shirt, dropped the Bible and swam in the river. While swimming, I saw a white saucer plate afloat the river and I decided to pick it. The nearer I went, the further it went until I found myself deep down the river. I saw mysterious things that I can’t narrate. I was given the saucer and later found myself at the river bank. I picked up my shirt and the Bible and ran to the house in my underwear. “The next day, a goat came to my house. In the village, we don’t allow the rearing of goats because they destroy our farmland. You can hardly see a goat in this village. But after investigation, I was told the goat was seen earlier at the river that day, minutes before it got to my house, which meant it came from the same river. But its body was not wet. Since that day, strange things have been happening in my house. First, it was the saucer which manifested some weird powers. Between 7 to 8pm, the saucer will glow so much that its incandescence will illuminate the room more than how a candle-light does. So, I was scared and ran out of the house.

“Three days later, a big boa snake came into my house. I picked my gun and shot at it, it disappeared and re-appeared at my back. I turned again and aimed at it but it disappeared again. I thought it had gone; I went inside and dropped my gun. “On turning back from my room, I saw it again at the door blocking my way out of the room. It was at that point I spoke to it: “What do you want from me; Okay, I surrender.” In fact there was a mammoth crowd here. They also attempted to kill it but they couldn’t. It was so big and scary. They tried using guns too but nobody could kill it. My house was like a market place as people gathered to have a glimpse. “In the presence of everybody, the snake entered the house and went directly to where I kept the saucer; hit the plate with its head living an image on the plate with an inscription.” So, since then, it has been living in the house. I packed my belongings and moved out of the house although some people were encouraging me to stay. It is my father’s house. I come around in the morning, do my business and find somewhere else to sleep with my family. After some consultations and divination, people said I should not run away from home as the animals have not come to do any

Okoronjo

So, on a particular day, I picked the Bible and tried to locate the church that my wife attends. On getting there, I found out that the church had relocated to another place and so, I decided to go to the nearest church. As I tried to locate another church, I mysteriously found myself at the river.

A nine-day ceremony for a snake? According to Koronjo, the episode has gone beyond the family matter. He stated that a nine-day ceremony was held for the boa with people coming from far and near to be part of the ritual. “The community organized a nineday ritual ceremony (Igbe dance) for the animals. People came from Agbaro, Obiaroko, Ughelli, Igun, Ekpan, Warri, Benin and other areas. Over three hundred chairs were hired and all were occupied . I really did not invite anybody; I was surprised to see the level of arrangement. I am a poor farmer, I don’t have the means to invite and entertain over three hundred people. But interestingly, the event was sponsored by some people who apparently believed in it. Again, during the ceremony, the boa came out to show itself three times. On each occasion, people ran away. “I believe there is a link between these animals, myself and the water. My mother had told me to go serve the water goddess. (Igbe and Olokun water) But that wasn’t my interest. Koronjo, however, instead of becoming the ‘Olokun’ priest, maintained that he was interested in worshiping God and would not mind if there was any kind of exorcism and deliverance from the grip of this strange phenomenon. “Everybody was insisting that I should serve the god of Olokun to ameliorate these strange happenings, but my interest lies in the church. My father who died several years ago served Olokun and danced to the Igbe Ogwa shrine. “In the next few months, another ceremony will be held for the boa where it will make some appearances for the public to see. You will be invited to see it,” Koronjo told this reporter. About the goat Since it came into this house, it has continued to exhibit strange habit. It does not eat from the floor; rather, it likes to be fed from a plate or something nearer to a plate. It does not eat grass or cassava plants or tubers like other ordinary goats. It eats bread, rice, fish, and pounded yam garri with soup. It does not sleep on the floor. You will never see it on the floor. In fact, you saw it on a car. It welcomes any visitor it is familiar with some gesticulation and dances. I have never trained a goat before but it understands me and responds to my feelings. If I get angry with anyone, the goat will attack that person. An incident occurred recently when I had a quarrel with somebody; the goat went into the room of that person and hit its horn on the man’s knee. At a time I was pushed to sell it out for N12,000 but the buyer after a few days, returned the goat begging he did want to buy again. I had to return his money. Again, I gave it to my brother to take to Kokori, the goat caused an accident

Continues on page 60

60—SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Continues from page 59 on the road and it returned home unaided. It follows me all around. Sometimes people who know the goat spray money on it as gift. There was a time; I got over N500 sprayed on it by people. Besides, if I refused to go out with it, it would locate me wherever I went and come after me. The village and reaction of neighbours Most of those who spoke with Saturday Vanguard confirmed the weirdness of the goat and boa. They maintained that strange things might continue to happen to the family unless the tradition is respected. Christopher Awotor, a farmer who resides in the area said the issue had made the village more popular as many people keep asking questions about the strange animals. “I was one of those who did not believe it initially. But after seeing the snake myself, I drew a conclusion that it was another strange event of life. I saw it as it was about to enter the room. At another time, I saw it when Koronjo was drawing its tail with all the power he could muster but to no avail. It was then I knew it was not meant to harm him or anybody. For me, I consider it as a blessing to him and the family. It has made the village popular. People talk about it here and there. But again, he has to accept it as tradition,” he stated. Victor Lucky, also a farmer in the village claimed he was one of those who saw the boa the very first day it came to Koronjo’s house. “This is something I have never seen before in this neighbourhood. I was around that day, we were playing a droughtgame and we just heard a shout by another neighbour calling our attention to a boa. We immediately ran to the scene and behold, we saw the boa crawling straight to Koronjo’s house.” Lucky said that in the beginning people rushed out to assist with their guns attempting to kill it but they couldn’t. “People shot at it thinking it was an ordinary boa but to no avail. He (Koronjo) performed some rituals in Urhobo tradition but this boa snake did not go. Since then, it has been living in the house. It used to go out, look for food and return at will. People came from Ughelli, Warri to see. I witnessed it and I am still surprised,” Lucky said. For Smart Osagbeje, an artisan in the neighbourhood, “It is the family’s heritage. Their forefathers bequeathed it on them. This is because when the incident happened, Koronjo’s mother and the sister came and they performed certain rituals. In fact a big ceremony was held for nine days for the boa and the goat and people came from far and near to observe these rituals. As a friend, I advised him that it is clear that the development is his own line which he must tow but he insisted that he would be going to church. “In this community, we all know that his late father was a custodian of this deity, he danced to this Olokun river goddess. So, it follows that it is on the lineage. The son has to follow. It does not matter whether you are the first or last son, the deity selects the

Koronji with his strange goat

‘How I got involved in water goddess rituals’ person who will take care of the tradition and to my understanding of this whole thing, Koronjo has been selected. He has to follow that line. If he refuses, it might not be in the interest of the family.” Edema Emmanuel, a serving Police officer in Sapele said: “Koronjo called me when it happened and I saw the boa. The following day I came again because I was very surprised, I saw it again. So, I believe he has to do something in line with the tradition. I know the story has a link with the river from which he got the plate and the animals. River Weni is a powerful river, those who sail on it know that when they get to the Olokun part when coming from Sapele, they slow down speed and also switch off the boat engine lest the boat capsizes.” Edera Enawerho, a family relative said: “He is my brother, I first saw what happened in a dream and I

related it to him but he did not believe it. In fact I was overwhelmed by this development. To have a strange goat and snake living with you at home is a strange thing and it must be seen as so. What I saw on my journey to Okpara Waterside Okpara Water side is one of the villages in the Ethiope East local government area of Delta State; about 30 kilometers from the Amupke Okpe junction when going to Warri and less than 20 kilometers from Abraka along Iku road. The lonely road was notorious for armed robbery attacks with bad spots here and there. Cases of armed robbery attacks occur daily. From 6pm daily, commercial drivers shun all incentives to ply the road while motorists who had no

The lonely road was notorious for armed robbery attacks with bad spots here and there. Cases of armed robbery attacks occur daily

alternative pray with utter fear and anxiety amid top speed while driving through the area. In contrast to the steep rise of robbery attacks on the road are hardworking farmers, artisans, fishermen who not only shun luxury of life to live in huts, thatched roof building but also cherish their culture and tradition. Veering off the highway to the unpaved road on a motorbike, Koronjo’s house is located on 21, Ufoma street, in the village. The walls and roof were rough and old, standing alone with a couple of huts and mud houses both sides away. It was a two-room and a parlour apartment bequeathed to him by his late father, a popular native doctor. As we were led into the compound, a goat sitting atop of an abandoned vehicle rose on its two legs, yelling and making a strange noise. The woman who led the way said: “that is the strange goat. It welcomes and greets visitors in this manner.” She moved closer to it, responding to the ‘noise’ as I click away my camera. I gathered that a few weeks back, a camera froze while trying to photograph the animal until a sacrifice was made by Koronjo’s mother, a 130-year-old woman. The compound was like a garriprocessing factory with a couple of women and children doing different activities on the same job. Where is the boa? I asked with a little uneasiness. “It has just left to find food.” Koronjo said. “My mother who feeds it had gone back to her house in Orogun. She is related to (names, a popular politician and Delta gubernatorial candidate in the December 8 primary). And anytime she comes around, she feeds it with native eggs.” Asked how a 130-year-old woman would be subjected to such rigours. He said: “My mother is so strong that she does not use a walking-stick and even fries garri for me whenever she comes around.” Koronjo maintained that several attempts have been made to photograph the boa but to no avail, adding that unless his mother performs the same ritual on the boa, it was not possible to photograph it. I was led into a dark room where they said the boa lives. Just by the door of the room, there was a couch on which the strange goat sleeps. “The goat sleeps on the couch, it does not sleep outside neither does it sit on the bare floor. Both animals were said to have never obstructed the movement of each other living peacefully in the house,” Koronjo said. After several attempts to see the boa failed, I had to observe from a vantage position, early the following day, the sight of a snake crawling fast into the bushy path from the Koronjo’s house to the next uncompleted building was scary. Its size could not be ascertained. At that moment, Koronjo who does not sleep in the house any more was not available to give a guide. Besides, the saucer he claimed he got from the river was another strange object in the house. The glowing white plate is about 10-inch circumference, well decorated with about 101 perforations, trimmed with gold ribbon on its edge. In it was an image of a queen depicting elegance and royalty. Same way, Koronjo warned that the plate must not be photographed following the instruction of his aged mother. As it is, Koronjo’s dilemma hangs between becoming the ‘Olokun’ priest, a status believed to have been bequeathed on him by his late father or becoming a church priest and damn the consequence, even as his kith and kin have resolved to continue to celebrate these strange phenomena.

SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015—61

How I killed the crocodile that ‘ate my wife’ ,

our months ago, Demeteriya Nabire was killed by a crocodile when she went to the lake near her home to fetch water. The animal later came back to the area but found Nabire’s husband waiting, ready to take revenge. Demeteriya Nabire was at the water’s edge with a group of women from her village - they were gathering water from Uganda’s Lake Kyoga when the crocodile grabbed her. It dragged her away and she was never seen again. Her husband, Mubarak Batambuze, was devastated Nabire was pregnant when she died, and he had lost not only his wife but an unborn child as well. He felt powerless. But then last month he heard the crocodile had returned. “Somebody called me and said, ‘Mubarak, I have news for you - the crocodile that took your wife is here - we are looking at it now.’” The 50-year-old fisherman made his way to the lake with some friends. “He was a very big monster, and we tried fighting him with

C M Y K

stones and sticks. But there was nothing we could do,” he says. So Batambuze went to visit the local blacksmith. “I explained to him that I was fighting a beast that had snatched and killed my wife and unborn baby. I really wanted my revenge, and asked the blacksmith to make me a spear that could kill the crocodile dead. “The Blacksmith asked me for £3.20 ($5) and made the spear for me,” he says. It was a significant amount of money for Batambuze, but he was determined to kill the animal that had snatched his future. “The crocodile ate my wife entirely. Nothing was ever seen of her again - no clothes, no part of her body that I could identify. I just didn’t know what to do - a mother and her unborn child. It was the end of my world. I was completely lost.” Armed with his new spear specially designed with a barb on one side - the widower went on the attack. When he got to the water the crocodile was still there, but Batambuze’s friends took

I’m a very depressed man because I lost a wife and an unborn child

fright. “Please don’t attack this beast,” they pleaded, “it’s so huge it may eat you. The spear is not enough - it won’t finish the job.” But Batambuze insisted they stay. “I failed killing it the first time around,” he told them, “I’m not bothered if I die killing this beast. I’m going to take it on with this spear, and I will make sure that it dies.” A Ugandan Wildlife Authority ranger, Oswald Tumanya, says the crocodile was more than four metres long and weighed about 600kg. “I had so much fear in me but what helped me to succeed was the spear,” says

there was so much fear in the place. But I was so determined, and I wasn’t afraid of dying. I just wanted it dead, so I put the spear in its side and I pulled the rope. That got the crocodile into trouble.” It took an hour and a half for Batambuze and his friends, fighting and retreating, exchanging attacks with the enraged animal, before the crocodile was finally dead. Exhausted, they made their way back to their village. “There was so much shock. What really surprised everybody was how big the beast was. It wasn’t an ordinary crocodile. It was so big. And people called me and my friends heroes,” he says. The dead animal was taken to Makarere University in Kampala, where it was examined by a vet, Wilfred Emneku. He says a tibia bone was found inside the crocodile’s stomach, but while he believes it’s human he can’t be sure. A crocodile expert at Charles Darwin University in Australia, Adam Britton, says he would be very surprised if any remains inside the animal’s stomach were those of Demeteriya Nabire. “After 12 weeks... under normal conditions, it would be highly improbable for bones from the same meal to remain in the stomach,” he says. So while Batambuze’s celebrity status endures in his village, it is unlikely that he will ever have a grave to mourn at. “Within •Mubarak Batambuze myself I’m a with the spear he ordered very from the blacksmith depressed man because I lost a wife and an unborn child,” he explains. “But the locals keep on Batambuze. He tied a rope to the end of saying, ‘Thank you for killing the beast, that’s the weapon so that once the where we fetch water and tip was embedded in the crocodile, he could pull it out we’re sure it would have taken somebody else. Thank at an angle and the barb you so much, you did a great would cut into more of the job.’” animal’s flesh. “So I’m a local hero “I put the spear into the people keep on thanking crocodile’s side, and while me.” my friends were helping to throw stones at the beast’s Mubarak Batambuze back, it tried getting its mouth up to attack me again. spoke to Outlook on the “It turned violent, and then BBC World Service.

62 — SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

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SATURDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 7, 2015 — 63

Club Football: Path to recovering crashed expectations By David Oche

N times past, the typ ical Nigerian boy knew the names of all the leading clubs in the country and remarkably chose aliases that are the real names of their favorite club player. It was not uncommon to find lads at schools’ playgrounds in Ibadan bearing the name ‘Muda Lawal’ and others playing street soccer in Artisan Quarters, Enugu wearing jerseys with names, Nwobodo, Nwabueze Nwankwo while yet along Rayfield area in Jos, Inuwa Rigogo was a popular name. Those remain the nostalgic ages of Nigerian football which held dreams of a greater future for those kids who today are adults but with kids whose allegiance now lie with European clubs. In the hearts of some of these Nigerians lived great expectations of what will become of football in the country and while it appears that the talents are coming up from all corners •Udoh of the nation, there has earthed in a recent study been inadequate infra- which showed that 89% of structure, absence of the Nigerians now follow forneeded administrative sav- eign leagues as compared vy and commensurate fi- to 49% that follow the donancing to win global at- mestic league. Even at tention for the league. This this, 70% of those polled has led to what was un- in the study are known to

We will avenge ’92 loss —Ghana

N 1992, Ghana played Cote d’Ivoire in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal. The Black Stars, parading the mercurial Abedi Pele, who emerged the tournament’s best player, were the favourites to lift the trophy but it in a sudden twist of fate, luck smiled on the Ivorians, who triumphed.. That defeat in dakar, still rankles the Black Stars fold, who tomorrow will have the chance to atone for that loss. Stars forward Andre Ayew, while speaking to reporters yesterday, insists that Ghana are not scared of facing Cote d’Ivoire in tomorrow’s crunch finals of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. Ghana, having failed to win the African Cup for C M Y K

over three decades face a good Ivorian side in the finals for a chance to make history. Cote d’Ivoire have some of the finest players on the continent in their camp capable of spooking fear into any side up against them. But Ghana’s leading scorer at the tournament Ayew admits Sunday’s final will be tough but is adamant the Black Stars fear no one. “Nobody is scared of nobody. I think it is a big game where there will be big players and it is going to be tough for everyone. So I believe that the better side on that day will take it. For us, we have the opportunity to avenge our 1992 loss to the Ivorians. I know it would not be easy, but like I said, we are ready for the battle”.

have hinged their followership of the Nigerian League on patriotic grounds and not from any qualities emanating from the games. Thus our streets are dotted by kids wearing jerseys of foreign

IGERIA U17 team, the Golden Eaglets yesterday arrived Sokoto to finalise their preparation for the 11th African U17 Championship, which begins next week in neighbouring Niger. Coach Emmanuel Amuneke led a team of 25 play-

clubs with the names of foreign players. The fans who are the base support of every thriving football club are now feeding their passion with football from Europe. They turned away because their lofty expectations have been bogged down by the seemingly intractable challenges of the professional football industry in the country which range from unstable administrative framework, outdated stadium infrastructure, poorly structured clubs’ administration and its attendant poor revenue base and most recently, the bleak national economic outlook occasioned by rapidly dropping export oil receipts. The wrong approach of government to football funding has contributed to the vanishing fans phenomenon and the switching of allegiance from domestic clubs to European clubs. This in itself is a product of the comparatively poor spectacle of the Nigerian game both on television and at the venues. Some of those who compare the broadcast quality of domestic league games and those of Europe fail to take into account the quantum and quality of equipment deployed to broadcast those European games that have become hot buns for corporate sponsors. A typical Nigerian stadium lacks mere television stand leading to broadcast partners to improvise and in some cases bring in their own scaffolds whereas modern games’ arena come equipped with broadcast production suites with over 24 cameras and properly fitted editing suites. In the twilight weeks of the just ended 2013/14 league season, several embarrassing scenes were witnessed at training grounds, match venues and seats of government when players openly threatened to boycott ses-

sions and marched in the streets to demand payment of wage debts. These clubs save for one were government funded in the wake of imminent budget slashes, it is not expected that football will benefit from increased allocations. Not with comments attributed to a state governor who during a Town Hall meeting to mark his 100th day in office explained his aversion for funding sports which he described as an engagement for the rich and idle. At the end of 2014, global oil prices reached a seven-year low of $57 per barrel, $19 less than the previous lowest of $76 in 2009 and the projection for 2015 is not looking any brighter. In 2008, we had the highest price high of $145 and 2014 has had the second highest oil price high of $106 before the crash. While the debates for and against how states involvement in clubs’ ownership continues to capture our attention, developments in more prosperous football nations show that state officials, politicians and political parties are now championing the drive for community ownership of clubs. A recent report in the London Mail disclosed that the Labour Party is already thinking ahead on the transition of club ownership from the present billionaire owners’ model to fans’ empowerment. Labour Party Member of Parliament and Shadow Sports Minister, Clive Efford announced recently that the party will introduce a legislation to give voice in the boardroom to Supporters. His proposition has been adopted by Chi Onwurah, another MP for Newcastle and who is honorary director of the Newcastle FC Supporters Trust. Onwurah, British Nigerian said, “We’ve got to give power back to the fans if we’re going to reclaim the beautiful game.” Adding

•Oche, a football enthusiast, wrore from Abuja

Eaglets hit Sokoto for Niger 2015 ers and eight other officials to the historic seat of the Caliphate aboard Arik Air which departed Abuja International Airport at 10:40 am and landed at the Sultan Saddik Abubakar Airport at 11: 25

am. Amuneke said he was happy to be in Sokoto again since his last visit 24 years ago with the national U23 team for a friendly match ahead of the Cairo ’91 All Africa Games Soc-

AYC: Garba desperate for Ndidi

LYING Eagles coach, Manu Garba has admitted he is desperate for new KRC Genk of Belgium signing, Wilfried Ndidi to join up with his team, ahead of next month’s Africa Youth Championship. The 18-year old central defender recently completed the move to Belgium, and has already featured for the Jupiler League side, increasing the possibility of his absence, since the competition is not recognized by world football govern-

strength to this declaration is the head of Labour Policy Review, Jon Cruddas who said, “But football is more than a business. Football clubs are part of people’s identity and sense of belonging”. Finally, there is also the need to address the corporate community which has been exploiting the passionate love of Nigerians for football to increase their earnings and; rather than build domestic football to create more jobs and improve existing capacity, export the funds to foreign leagues and clubs. It is the most disservice to football in Nigeria for a company to tap into our passion and not invest in our economy through the growth of domestic football but invest in the economies of England and Spain. These companies deceitfully run commercial campaigns purporting to be talent development schemes but in the last six years of such promos, no single product of those campaigns has made it to a domestic league club or to any of the European clubs to which the promos have been affiliated. Companies that have not done anything to support local football either at club or national teams level are known to have paid in excess of $3m (over N450m) earned from the Nigerian consumer to foreign clubs and we are expected to compete favorably with those clubs and economies? It is recommended that the Federal Government creates a policy that will tax such investments in foreign clubs and leagues for the benefit of domestic football. The Federal Government must also see football as an industry and a national asset that deserves rescue funding as was done for the aviation, banking, insurance and entertainment sectors.

cer Tournament. “We are happy to come down to Sokoto for our final preparation for Niger 2015,” he told the press on arrival.

Why I joined Wolves, by Kwanbe

•Ndidi ing body, FIFA. “We are missing our best central defender in Wilfried Ndidi but we

hope he will join us soon now that he has completed his move abroad.”

UPER Eagles de fender Solomon Kwambe has explained why he dumped Sunshine Stars for CAF Confederations Cup campaigners Warri Wolves. The right-back has posited that the lure of continental football was the reason he joined Warri Wolves. “I had to join Wolves because they are on the continent. Being on the continent is an advantage for players like us who are in the national team.”

SATURDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Toure: Ghana Ghana Toure: must go H

AFCON FINAL:

e has been waiting for this moment for long and now that it is upon t h e continent, he just cannot wait to

Cote d’Ivoire v Ghana Tomorrow — 8pm BRONZE MATCH DR. Congo v E/Guinea Today — 5pm

Ayew: We will avenge ’92 loss P.63

CROSS WORD PUZZLE

TODAY’S FIXTURES EPL Tottenham Aston Villa Leicester Man City QPR Swansea Everton

v v v v v v v

LA LIGA Atletico Madrid Villarreal Levante Sociedad SERIE A Verona Juventus

v v v v v v

Arsenal Chelsea Crystal Palace Hull Southampton Sunderland Liverpool Real Madrid Granada Malaga Celta Vigo Torino AC Milan

1:45pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 6:30pm 4pm 6pm 8pm 10pm 6pm 8:45pm

Across 1 Flying Eagles (U-20) Striker, Samuel – (5) 4 L.G.A in Adamawa State – (7) 7 Igbo Word for “Money”? – (3) 8 Ethiopian National President, Mr. Mulatu – (7) 9 Former Edo State Commissioner for Higher Education, Hon. Sylvester – (7) 10 L.G.A in Abia State – (7) 13 Traditional Ruler of Ife – (4) 15 Solar Planet – (6) 18 Super Eagles Striker, Obinna – (6) 22 Waterway – (4 24 Greek Alphabet – (7) 25 Guinea “Syli Stars” Striker, Mohamed – (7) 26 Former Ogun State Governor, Mr. Oludayo – (7) 27 Japanese Sash – (3) 28 AC Milan Coach, Fillippo – (7) 29 L.G.A in Lagos State – (5)

Down 1 Comptroller-General, Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), Mr. Peter – (7) 2 Abia State Capital – (7) 3 Former Benin Republic President, Mr. Mathieu – (7) 4 Ointment – (6) 5 L.G.A in Benue State – (7) 6 Former Minister of transport, Mr. Okechukwu – (5 11 Fasten – (4) 12 Court – (3) 14 Norwegian Capital City – (4) 16 Fabric – (3) 17 L.G.A in Anambra State – (7) 19 Finland Currency Unit – (7) 20 Former Abia State Governor, Mr. Moses – (7) 21 Burkina Faso “Stallions” Midfielder, Florent – (7) 23 Former Nigerian International Athlete, Mary – (6) 24 Akwa United Striker, Ubong – (5)

be through with it. That is the story of four-time CAF African player of the year winner, Yaya Toure, who is on the cusp of history, as he leads out the Ivorians for the final match of the 2015 AFCON against Ghana tomorrow in Malabo, For all his heroics on the pitch, winning laurels upon laurels from Spain to England, the towering Manchester City midfielder is yet to win the biggest prize in African football, the AFCON title. But all that can become history tomorrow when the

the two west African giants face off in a match that observers have dubbed fantasy football. Toure scored an eyepopping goal in the 3-1 spanking of D.R. Congo in the semifinals, his only goal of the tournament and with about 24 hours to the kickoff of the final match, the former Barcelona star has told reporters that the Elephants will trample on their enterprising Ghanaian foes. “We just want to get this match done with. A lot is being said of this game but the way I see it is that we are going to face a great battle from Ghana but I am sure that we would win this battle. “Ghana are a great side but I don’t think that they can stop our drive for the title. They must go for us to come out tops”, added Toure.

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Solution on page 20

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