I will Expose Obasanjo by Vanguard Media Limited

C M Y K

2 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

C M Y K

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 3

C M Y K

4 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

C M Y K

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 5

Alamieyeseigha’s post-prison bombshell:

I will expose Obasanjo •Says Obasanjo almost fainted day I shook hands with him By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

EN years after, the anger arising from the impeachment and subsequent imprisonment of former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration is still reverberating even though Alamieyeseigha claims he has forgiven Obasanjo. Alamieyeseigha, who spoke to Saturday Vanguard in his country home in Yenagoa, said that he had forgiven all those who plotted and sent him to jail purely for political reasons even though the experience remains very painful to him. The former governor was impeached and removed from office in December 2005 and was subsequently sent to jail for alleged mismanagement of Bayelsa State funds. Some of his property alleged to have been secured with stolen funds in and outside Nigeria were confiscated and given to Bayelsa State by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) working in conjunction with foreign security agencies. But Alamieyeseigha, who was granted state pardon by his former deputy governor and immediate past President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, last year, said that Obasanjo has not known peace because of the role he played in events leading to his impeachment, arrest and subsequent imprisonment. He recalled that Obasanjo nearly fainted the first time he met him after his release from prison. He said the former president, who met him accidentally at the Katsina Airport became jittery on seeing him and managed to shake hands with him. Alamieyeseigha said: “I have forgiven all those who plotted against me, including former President Obasanjo. I know all those who plotted against me and sent me to jail. I cannot be living in the past as it does not help me in any way. “What I passed through is painful all right but it would not have happened if it was not permitted by God. It is even more important

L-R; Group Chairman, Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd, Mr. Yan Zhiyong; President Muhammadu Buhari; Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari; Managing Director Power and Energy Development Company Limited Abubakar Joda; and Chairman Sinohydro Corporation Limited, Mr. Song Dongsheng, after meeting with President at the Presidential Villa Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida. to me that I am still alive today because I passed through many shadows of the valleys of death and still came out of them. ‘’I have met Obasanjo at very close quarters twice since I came out of prison. I did not know that he was at the VIP Lounge at the Katsina Airport to attend the marriage of the late President Umaru Musa Yar ’Adua’s daughter. Obasanjo came face to face with me at the airport when I went to use one of the rest rooms. It happened that as I opened the door to ease myself, I saw Obasanjo sitting face to face with me and he almost passed out. “But I held his hands. He was scared and he felt uneasy all through. Then he began to ask ‘DSP, DSP, DSP! What have I done to deserve shaking your hands?’ There were many people there, one of them was Kenny Martins, the then chairman of the Police Equipment Fund. “I told Obasanjo ‘I was only shaking you for two reasons: one-because of the fear of the Almighty God, who created us and two, for the fact that I am the Ganuma Katsina and you are a visitor to my emirate and tradition demands that I should welcome visitors’. “That prompted Kenny to get up also and greet me, saying ‘great leader, great leader ’ and he came and hugged me.’’ The former governor said his second postprison encounter with Obasanjo took place aboard a Dubai-bound flight where the former president met him seated in the business class and addressed him as

‘Fayose’ out of fear . His words: “The second encounter with Obasanjo was when we met on a flight going to Dubai. When Obasanjo came, I was already seated in the Business Class and he had no choice but to greet me. But because of possible fear of seeing me, Obasanjo called out ‘Fayose, Fayose, Fayose.’ I protested to him that I am not Fayose and I said: ‘Former President Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo, you are a devil incarnate.’ “I warned him not to talk again or he would face my anger. And I tell you, throughout the flight he could not say anything to me. The only thing Obasanjo managed to say was to ask me whether I was the only one who had ever been sent to the prison. ‘DSP, is it only you that entered prison? Don’t you remember that I was also imprisoned? You

entered prison and I also did.’’ In spite of his criticism of the former president, Alamieyeseigha, still has some kind words for Obasanjo. Describing Obasanjo as a leader, who keeps his word and works hard, the former governor said he has a dossier on Obasanjo and would reveal it in his forthcoming memoirs to enable Nigerians know what the man had been doing since 1966. “But one thing I know about Obasanjo is that he is a leader. If Obasanjo gives you his word, it remains his bond. You can call him any time of the night, and he will pick his phone directly. He is ready to sit with you on how to solve a problem but he would not allow you to talk. That is the type of character he is. I have a dossier on Obasanjo and I will expose him and Nigerians will read it in my memoir,” Alamieyeseigha said.

My tallest is gone, laments father of electrocuted UNILAG student By Ebere Aham

HIEF Basil Anek we, father of the 300 level Accountancy student of the University of Lagos, Oluchi Anekwe who was electrocuted Tuesday while on her way to her oncampus residence, has described the incident as a shock he might never come out from. Explaining how news of his late daughter ’s electrocution reached him that fateful day, to members of Parents Association, UNILAG, Anekwe began with lamentation: “ My tallest is gone”. he paused and cautioned the sympathisers not to cry that the whole scenario was like a dream he hoped to come out from. Continuing , he recalled how his driver took him to his office that fateful day and informed him he would be leaving for Togo . “But some hours later, my driver came back to the office and I thought that I had seen a ghost because I though he should have reached Togo already. I touched him to be sure he was the one .he then told me that Oluchi was sick and that they needed me at the hospital. I asked him what kind of sickness was it that needed my presence? I even asked if I should send money for treatment instead but he insisted on driving me to the hospital in Lagos. He never spoke a word as he drove me to Lagos. He took me to my house and I asked him if that

was where Oluchi was, on seeing members of family including my brother-in-law in the house. I asked them where Oluchi was and they broke the bombshell that she had been electrocuted. I asked why everyone was in the house and not caring for her in the hospital. Immediately I called my Barrister and he agreed to accompany me to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) to see my daughter but instead of going to the emergency unit, he and the doctor led me to the morgue . When I asked why, nobody said a word to me. Rather, they showed me my daughter ’s dead body . “At that moment i wanted God’s miracle to happen. Her left hand was stiff on her chest. I commanded her to wake up but she refused to wake up. I even opened her eyes but they closed back again. She never breathed again. My tallest is gone without giving me a signal that she was going to die”. At this point, everyone broke down in tears. As at 2pm, it was gathered that Oluchi’s corpse which was being taken to her home town in Enugu had reached Asaba. Chairman of the parents association, Mr. Majekodunmi, who led the delegation presented the family a condolence card on behalf of the association, assuring that the association would look into the matter .

TSA: No going back on Sept 15 deadline –AGF By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

HE September 15 ultimatum for all federal government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, to comply with the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, TSA, remains sacrosanct, the Accountant- General of the Federation, AGF, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, has said. Idris, in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, said there is no truth in reports that the deadline would be extended.

According to him, “the September 15, 2015 deadline for the closure of all accounts of Federal Government MDAs with commercials banks is realistic, achievable and will not be shifted forward. “This is to correct speculations making rounds in some quarters of the media that the deadline may not be feasible.” The AGF emphasized that the Implementation Guidelines have been developed and would soon be made available to all interested parties and the public.

He said that his office would continue to provide all necessary information and technical support to all MDAs, banks and the public to ensure a smooth and transparent implementation of the TSA and ecollection policy, in line with its statutory mandate and directives by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mr Danladi Kifasi, had in a circular dated September 4, 2015, set the ultimatum. The circular titled “Re:

Introduction of Treasury Single Account (TSA) (eCollection of Government Receipts)” made it clear that any chief accounting officer who failed to comply would face sanctions. The circular No. HCSF/ 428/S.1/125, read: “Further to the Circular Ref. No. HCSF/428/S.1/120 of 7th August 2015 on the above subject matter, it has been observed that a number of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government are yet to comply with the directive therein.’’

6 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

3.4m Nigerians living with HIV-AIDS •60k children infected in 2014 •Advise Nigeria to produce anti-retroviral drugs locally BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE, Abuja

OUNTRY Director of UNAIDS, Mr Bilali Camara, Friday said 3.4million Nigerians are living with HIV/AIDS virus in Nigeria and in 2014 alone 60,000 children were infected. Camara made this disclosure during a courtesy visit to the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila. He also advised the Nigerian government to encourage pharmaceutical

companies to produce retroviral drugs locally rather than relying on imported ones. On the number of those infected he explained that of the total number, 60 thousand are children who suffer from the scourge through mother-to-child transmission or contaminated blood, 124thousand were affected in total. He said the trend has put Nigeria on the scale of nations that need to do more to curb the scourge of HIV/ Aids, adding that it’s the duty of interventionist agencies like the UN to alert

nations on the need for more effective actions aimed at curbing the menace. “We as Africans have a responsibility to take up the global initiative on Aids for the benefit of our people. Domestic resources have proved inadequate to match the global drive for eradication of the disease. “We must make sure that investment coming from outside is matched with what we are making inside as Africans”, he said. Mr. Camara also re-echoed the resolve expressed

by President Buhari before world leaders that all Nigeria and Africa need is global assistance against corruption to enable it stand and fight alone to curb other social malaise plaguing it. The House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila in his response expressed dismay at the magnitude of the scourge with regards to the figures reeled out, saying that HIV/Aids has clearly become a human right issue that requires more commitment from all stakeholders.

BRIEFS Osun bailout saga: Aregbesola lacks managerial skills to move state forward — Disu BY YINKA AJAYI

OLLOWING the ongoing delay of unpaid civil e r vant salaries in Osun State amid the N35 billion bailout dished by the federal government to the state, Mr. Jimi Disu, a social analyst had accused Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of lacking proper managerial skills in moving the state of Osun forward. He stated this recently in a programme analysing the ordeal of civil servants in the state. His words:”It is unimaginable that after being granted bailout basically for unpaid salaries he requested for, he still had to delay payment, heaven knows till when! He simply lacks the proper managerial skill to move Osun state forward”, Disu affirmed. s

Residents decry state of Warri and Effurun roads BY AKPOKONA OMAFUAIRE

OMMUTERS, commercial drivers and residents Flood: Kogi to evacuate people along flood C have decried the poor state of roads in Warri and Effurun metropolis in Delta State, calling on the state areas — Awoniyi government to declare a state of emergency on the road. el of the water to avert dam- came a critical situation.” Various commuters and residents who spoke to VanBy BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO

OGI State government said it will begin evacuation of people living along flood prone areas as soon as the water level reaches 11 meter calibration on the scale of measurement. The State Deputy Governor who doubled as the Chairman, State Emergency Committee, said despite the NIMET flood prediction, the State government will ensure that the flood does not damage lives and properties. Awoniyi who stated this in a flood alert message to people of the State said, “The State Government will begin the process of evacuation of people living along flood prone areas as

soon as the water level increases to 11.0m calibrated on the scale of measurement. “As at now, the water level has gone up to 8.1 meter calibrated on the scale of measurement. The State Government would continue to monitor the rising lev-

age to lives and properties. “While the movement of the rising water level of the river Niger and Benue calls for concern; for now it does not call for panic until the water level rises to 12.1 metre calibrated on the scale of measurement as observed in 2012 when it be-

Awoniyi who said this year’s flood is occasioned by the release of water from Cameroun Lagdo Dam, as presently experienced by Adamawa, Benue and Nassarawa States, warned that Kogi State would soon experience its own share of the flood.

PDP loses appeal against Ashafa’s victory

HE Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, Friday, dismissed an appeal on the matter brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Mrs. Salis Ayodele against the law maker representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator ‘Gbenga Ashafa and his party, the All Progressives Congress. The victory followed the July 27 dismissal of the

election petition filed by the PDP and its candidate after the National Assembly elections earlier this year. Salis Ayodele and the PDP had argued that the judgement of the lower tribunal was erroneous on the grounds that the tribunal erred on many issues in arriving at the decision to dismiss the petition. The PDP also questioned the qualification of the chair-

man of the tribunal stating that he was not qualified to sit on the case. In the final judgement read yesterday by Muhammad Danjuma (JCA), the judgment dismissed the appeal and stated that there was no evidence presented to show cause that the tribunal chairman was not qualified to hold the office.

guard yesterday however hinged the cause of the failed roads on poor construction and the Bus Rapid Transit introduced in the twilight of former Givernor Emmanuel Uduaghan regime. According to Joseph Dolor, a commercial bus driver, “The state of Effurun/Sapele road in Effurun is terrible. It is killing our business, we dont know what the government is doing. The road is totally destroyed.

Cater for the needy, Rotary Boss charges members BY AKPOKONA OMAFUAIRE

OTARIANS across Nigeria have been charged to remain committed to catering for the needy in the society. Rotn. Mfon Otite-Douglas gave this charge during the swearing-in of the Board of Directors and her investiture as the 6th President of the Rotary Club of Osubi for the year 2015/2016, at the weekend. Mfon, the first female president of the Rotary Club of Osubi since its inception in 2010, noted that there are huge tasks ahead but expressed optimism that the Rotary year will be fruitful.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 7

B-R-I-E-F-S Court orders FUPRE, Diamond bank to maintain status quo on hostel project

Let’s change the North, Shetima tells Northern governors A

DELTA State High Court sitting at Otor-Udu has ordered the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, FUPRE, Ugbomro-Effurun, Delta State, to maintain status quo on the building of a contoversial students’ hostel in the institution by Shoreline Development International Limited pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice by the claimant/applicant, Shoreline. Justice F.N Azinge gave the order while ruling on a motion ex-parte by counsel to the applicant, Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi, praying the court to restrain FUPRE and Diamond Bank Plc (first and second defendants) from further stopping or frustrating construction work on the 1,000 bed- space students’ hostel project without complying with the arbitration clause in the agreement. “The claimant/applicant is ordered to put the defendants on notice by service of the motion on notice on them before the return date fixed for September 22,” the court said.

By Luka Binniyat

HE Northern Gover nors’ Forum, NGF, is holding its maiden meeting in Kaduna since the governors were sworn in last May. The meeting is taking place at the Hassan Katsina Hall, along Kawo road, with 12 out of the 19 Northern Governors in attendance, while the rest were represented by their deputies. The Governor of Borno State, Hon. Kashim Shetima, who is the Chairman of the Forum, read his opening address in which he lamented that poverty in Nigeria wears a Northern face. He however affirmed that the days of lamentation were over, promising to lead the forum to a new prosperous north. He said: “Today, our region has become a thriving nest for war, terrorism, deep seated social divisions, senseless violence, mindboggling intolerance, injustice, destitution, joblessness and all manner of social vices, the height of

L-r Governor Nasiru el-Rufai of Kaduna State, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State and the Chairman Northern Governors Forum with Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State and Governor Abdulazeez Yari of Zamfara State at the maiden Northern Governors Forum in Kaduna yesterday. Photo:OLU AJAYI. which is the madness called Boko Haram. “Things have become so bad, so much that we can say without contradiction that poverty now glaringly wears a bold Northern Face. “We have turned our region into a laughing stock, derided by friends and foes alike, and, without justification, as having dragged the rest of the country down

with us. “No amount of lamentation will, of course, solve our problems. We need to act, and fast too. This generation of northern leaders, led by us the governors, have both moral and constitutional responsibility as well as a historic opportunity to reverse the negative fortunes of our people. “We must do everything in our power to restore

and entrench the lofty values of unity, understanding, tolerance, mutual respect, empathy, justice and mutual coexistence in the minds of our people and region. “We must firmly and decisively commit ourselves to fighting poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, terrorism and other forms of violent crimes in the north”, he said.

SUIT AGAINST BUHARI: Oil communities berate sacked NDDC board members By Emma Amaize

HE Communities De velopment Committee, CDC, of Oil and Gas Producing Communities in Niger –Delta, has reprimanded members of the dissolved board of the Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for dragging President Muhammadu Buhari to court over the dissolution of the board. Chairman, Board of Trustees, BOT, of the CDCs, Prince Maikpobi Okareme, in a statement, said, “We (oil producing communities) are totally in support of President Muhammadu Buhari and frown seriously at the dissolved board members’ court action.” He, however, advised:

By Emma Amaize

“Mr. President should consult with all relevant stakeholders while constituting the new board to reflect wishes of the oil producing communities who are custodians of the oil environment because he who wears the shoes knows where it pinches the most.”

Okareme recalled that in a communique, July 2, the CDC drew the attention of President Buhari to the unfair appointment of board members without compliance with the law, especially the appointment of the former NDDC board chair, who is not from an oil producing community.

He said it was such anomaly and other inconsistencies that made the CDC to call for the dissolution of the commission’s board and suggested that the new board should reflect the needs of the oil producing communities, as enshrined in the NDDC law.

Rivers govt, APC bicker over loan By Jimitota Onoyume

OVERNOR Nyesom Wike has dismissed as untrue allegations by the All Progressive congress, APC in the state that it intends to borrow 10 billion naira to fund its ongoing case at the election tribunal sitting in Abuja. The governor said he

was forced to go for bank loans when he assumed office because he met an empty treasury, adding that part of the thirty billion naira loan was used to pay arrears of salaries, pensions owed by the former government. The governor who spoke through his Senior Special Adviser on media and publicity, Mr Opunabo Nko-Tariah said part of the loan was also used to rehabilitate deplorable roads in the state. The governor said he had not expressed interest to secure a fresh loan but will not hesitate to go for it if the need arose. He assured that he would continue to use every kobo of government

judiciously. “There is nothing wrong with the governor going for loans. The issue is not whether loans are taken but the judicious application of such loans is what should be in issue. Gov Wike inherited an empty treasury fester ed by huge pecuniary liabilities such as backlog of salaries, pensions, fees for students on scholarships, and a plethora of other burning issues -including abandoned projects. Given the resources of the state, there wouldn’t have been need for these loans if Amaechi had been prudent. His financial recklessness occasioned the resort to loans.

DESOPADEC Board to review approved 2015 budget By Perez Brisibe

HE Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Com mission, DESOPADEC, has said it would review the approved 2015 budget of the commission in order to carry out its immediate statutory role of developing the oil bearing communities. This was disclosed over the weekend at Okpare, Ughelli South Local Government Area of the State by the DESOPADEC commissioner representing, Ughelli South/Udu/ Uvwie and Urhobo ethnic nationality in Warri South council area, Chief Amos Itiwhe when he was hosted by the Ughelli South HOSTCOM and President Generals. Speaking on the 2015 budget, Itiwhe explained that the need for the budget review became imperative to suit the current economic challenges in the state and country at large.

NIS parades 64 illegal immigrants in Ogun By Daud Olatunji

HE Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Ogun Com mand, on Friday paraded 64 illegal immigrants who were arrested during a raid in the Obafemi Owode and Sagamu Local Government Area of the state. Mrs Victoria Isang, Comptroller of the Command told newsmen while parading the illegal immigrants at the command’s headquarters in Abeokuta that the arrest was part of the command’s renewed efforts to rid the state of illegal immigrants and enhance security. Isang said that the number of the illegal aliens was made up of 40 Beninois and 24 Togolese. She stated that they were apprehended after successful raids on Sept. 8 and 10, adding that they would be repatriated to their countries after necessary security screening and profiling.

Vigilante apprehend 4 suspected cultists in Sapele By Perez Brisibe

HE Gana zone of the Sapele local vigilante, Delta State, headed by Mr. Esusu Oghenewaire has arrested and handed over four suspected cult members to the 19 Military Battalion, Koko, Warri North Local Government Area of the State. Giving the names of the suspects as, Samuel, Ese, Ilaba and Avwerosuo, a senior member of the vigilante who spoke on anonymity alleged that the suspects have been the brain behind cult related activities within and around Gana metropolis in recent times. According to the source, “the suspects were arrested following an intelligence report and have confessed to be members of a group popularly referred to as Bagas.” He said: “The Gana vigilante has taken it upon itself to compliment the efforts of the police and other security agencies towards curbing the activities of cultists within and around Gana and its environs.”

8 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

B-R-I-E-F-S

Anyim refutes reports about new political party

Gov Ugwuanyi identifies with labour F on war against corruption

ORMER Senate President and immediate past Sec retary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, has denied reports that he is part of a group of PDP politicians who have teamed up with the party’s former Chairman, Ahmed Muazu, to form a new political party. Describing the report as totally false, mischievous and irresponsible, Anyim said that he has not had any meetings or discussions with Alhaji Ahmed Muazu “pursuant to the formation of a new political party”. In a press statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, Anyim said that he has not seen, met with, or spoken to, the former PDP Chairman in the last two months. He also denied being aware that any person or group of persons is in the process of forming any new party, or parties and that no one has so far consulted him on the matter. He further said in the terse statement that he is “neither interested in, nor available for,any such consultations”.

OVERNOR Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has asserted that Nigerian’s economy cannot survive without Nigerians coming together to stamp out corruption. Governor Ugwuanyi commended members of various organized labour groups in the state who were at the Government House, Enugu on a solidarity rally in support of the federal government in its war against corruption, adding that the exercise is a worthy course. In his words, “I am convinced that this exercise is a worthy course, hence, I decided to identify with it by coming to address you personally”. The governor reiterated his recent directive to local government chairmen to pay arrears of salaries owed to their workers and pledged his administration’s readiness to cooperate with them by giving labour what is due

‘Nigeria has no clear regulation guiding private security’ BY NAOMI UZOR

Illegal parking of containers and tankers along Oshodi Apapa Express road in Lagos after the long vacation of the tankers. Photo by Akeem Salau. to it always. Governor Ugwuanyi praised workers in the country for their willingness to assist government achieve zerotolerance to corruption in every facet of the Nigerian economy.

He added that his administration would continue to partner organized labour in the state for better understanding and mutual cooperation, adding that he had set-up a committee to

Our fears for Power Sector probe — Labour O

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

RGANISED Labour in the nation’s Power Sector yesterday in Lagos, expressed doubt over the

sincerity and fruitfulness of the ongoing probe of the Power sector by the Senate Committee on Power, expressing fears that the

Delta community issues 7-day ultimatum to youths on cultism BY OCHUKO AKUOPHA

HE people of Irri, Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State, have issued a one week ultimatum to cultists in the community to renounce membership of their cult groups or incur the wrath of the law. Over 30 of the community’s youths were in the early hours of Tuesday, arrested by the police in a raid on cultists who have been terrorizing the area. Addressing newsmen shortly after a meeting of the community, Chairman of the Irri Community Development Committee, Mr. Goddey Igorigo blamed the rise in cult activities in the town on the resurgence of youth activities which he said was banned in the aftermath of the crisis which rocked community in 2002. Reiterating the resolve of the people to stamp out cultism from the community, he said: “We have taken a position

that those who indulge cultism activities should renounce from their cult groups because we are totally against cultism in this community; We are going to beg the government to ensure that anyone found to be a cultist is charged to court and face the law. “We have agreed that we are going to make announcement in the community that anybody who is a cult member should go to the vigilante team who will in turn, take him to the police station. Police will now take him to court where he will renounce his membership. Failure to do that, we as a community will fish them out from wherever they are hiding.” Also speaking, former President of the community, Mr. Joseph Orogun said the community would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the law takes its full course on those who fail to renounce membership of the cult groups.

probe might be another exercise in futility. On the platform of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, Labour recalled that the House of Representatives Committee on Power headed by Hon. Ndudi Elumelu probed the same Power Sector and submitted its Reports but till date, nothing came out of it. In a statement by its General Secretary, Mr. Joe Ajaero, NUEE claimed some of the members of the Senate Committee and others now in the Senate were part and parcel of the process being probed now, saying “we wonder if this probe will be fruitful as expected. From the revelations so far, we also believe that the respondents have been economical with the facts. It is noteworthy that almost the 50,000 disengaged defunct Power Company of Nigeria, PHCN, staff have not been paid their benefits arising from one and half years of uncalculated emoluments to other sundry issues. The 10% equity share holding in a privatized PHCN due to workers as contained in Electric Sector Power

look into the workers welfare in the state. Earlier in his speech the Chairman of the State Joint Negotiation Council (JNC), Comrade Chukwuma Igbokwe described Governor Ugwuanyi as being workers friendly, adding that the governor marked his 100 days in office by giving out 100 houses to the state civil servants. In his words, “Now it has dawned on workers of Enugu State that they have a father” Comrade Igbokwe noted that the rally is to sensitize the Nigerian populace to partner with government on anti-corruption war in Nigeria. Also speaking the Chairman, Nigerian Labour Congress, Enugu State Chapter, Comrade Virginus Nwobodo informed the governor that the organized labour is in the Government House on sensitization campaign against corruption in keeping with the national leadership directive to support President Mohammadu Buhari’s war against corruption. He expressed his union’s resolve to partner state government in fighting corruption, saying that corruption is the major problem facing the country. The union chairman commended Governor Ugwuanyi for being workers friendly. He noted that before now that labour in the state has lost interest in the affairs of state government. He said, “We have a governor who will come and stay with us for such a long time and interact with workers of Enugu State.”

ESPITE high level of insecurity in Nigeria, the country still has unclear regulations for the private security industry, experts have said. Olufemi A. Ajayi, CEO, Risk Control Services Nigeria Limited, said this while receiving ISO 9001:2008 certificate from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria. According to Ajayi, most of the regulations in the private security industry in the country are still targeted at security guards, adding that the industry is so huge that it incorporates manufacturers, consultants and trainers. He urged the federal government to unveil a holistic policy that will encompass all players in the industry. “The truth is that insecurity thrives in an atmosphere of disorder,” said the CEO, whose company was said to be first security consulting company in West Africa that has submitted and obtained ISO certification for its background screening service. “Private security in Nigeria is not well-regulated. This is why we submitted to international standards,” he said.

Nurse slumps while attending to patient BY PEREZ BRISIBE

Chief Nursing Officer attached to the Accident and Emergency, A&E Unit of the Ughelli Central Hospital, yesterday slumped while while attending to a patient at her unit. The nurse identified as Mrs. Stella Riabelle was the head of the unit and was said to have slumped. When Saturday Vanguard visited the A&E as at 1:40pm on Friday, medical personnel including the Delta State chapter chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses & Midwives, Mr. Egbedi Ejiro were seen battling to resuscitate the victim back to life at the A&E unit.

Anambra lawmaker offers scholarship to his constituents BY VINCENT UJUMADU

HE member representing Onitsha South 11 constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Mr. Patrick Aniuno has instituted a scholarship scheme for secondary school students in his constituency in appreciation of the confidence reposed in him by the people of the area. Aniuno told reporters in Awka that process for the selection of the beneficiaries has already begun through a holiday lesson being organized for students in JSS 111 and SSS111 to select three best students in English and Mathematics in the first phase of the scholarship scheme. According to him, about 400 students attended the lectures at Urban Girls’ Secondary School, Fegge and for the qualifying examination on September 4, 2015. He said: “Three years ago, my daughter took part in a similar programme and succeeded and I am sponsoring her and so I decided to replicate it in the constituency for all students whose parents reside in Onitsha South 11 constituency.”

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 9

C M Y K

10 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

B-R-I-E-F-S

Bomb blast kills 9 in IDP camp, Buhari, Atiku react BY UMAR YUSUF & LIVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

BOMB explosion Fri day morning rocked the Malkohi camp of the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs killing no fewer than nine persons, while nine others were injured, most of them in critical situation. Among the injured were four members of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA and other humanitarian bodies overseeing the camp. Malkohi is about 30 kilometers from Yola, the state capital and close to the 23rd Brigade of the Nigerian Army Yola. The loud bang from the blast which occurred at exactly 10:15am shook the Adamawa state capital and its environs. The dead and the injured where hurriedly evacuated to the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, even as the military immediately cordoned off the blast venue. When vanguard visited the scene of the blast, pieces of human flesh and blood stained clothes still littered the area. Hundreds of the IDPs in the camp clustered around while many others were ordered out of the camp for rescreening before going back into the camp. The blast shattered three tents and the NEMA stores housing relief materials for the IDPs. Speaking to newsmen at the blast venue, NEMA camp coordinator in Adamawa state, Sa’ad Bello suspected that the blast

C M Y K

BY EMEM IDIO

socio-political group in Bayelsa state, Grace Movement Initiative, GMI, has challenged the Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson to declare his assets, if he wants his accountability and transparency mantra to be taken seriously by the people. In a statement in Yenagoa yesterday, the secretary of GMI, Evangelist Elliot Zamide, said In line with the Buhari-led administration’s zero-tolerance to corruption as expressed in the renewed vigour by the anti-graft agencies to bring to book corrupt persons both in the public and private sectors, the governor of Bayelsa state, Mr. Seriake Dickson should lay bare to the public all his personal assets.

Bureau for lands bill passes 2nd reading in Delta Assembly BY FESTUS AHON

Flooded Ile-Ise Bus Stop along Agbado Crossing road after the heavy down pour in lagos yesterday due to the Bad portion of the road. PHOTO: AKEEM SALAU

might have originated from the over 300 IDPs brought into the camp earlier Thursday morning from Madagali and 70 others from Sambisa forest. The coordinator confirmed that the number of dead might be higher because of the seriousness of those injured. In another development, President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the Friday bombing of the Internally Displaced Persons, IDP camp in Yola, Adamawa State, ordering tighter security around the camps. He has also directed security agencies and other relevant authorities security measures to be proactive to forestall such occurrence. Similarly, President Buhari condemned and described as heinous and cowardly the bomb blast in the Malkohi camp that resulted in loss of lives. The President while noting that the terrorists were bent on causing fear and

panic among the populace by detonating bombs within soft spots where hapless citizens reside also urged the public not be deterred but rise in unison to completely stamp out what was left of the insurgents. “We must not let the desperate and evil-minded criminals have any respite. There’s now an urgent need for all to be, by paying utmost attention to security issues at all levels – home, work, market, places of worship, schools, etc. “To defeat terrorism, all hands round the clock vigilence is called for. Country’s security agents with vital information to preempt and prevent crimes and to forestall further insurgent activities”, he said. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has also expressed deep sadness at the bombing of the Yola Internally Displaced Persons, IDP Camp that claimed several lives and injured many persons.

In a press statement released by his Media Office in Abuja on Friday, the former Vice President said that the bombing could only have been planned and executed by persons with hearts of evil, saying that the perpetrators will know no peace. Atiku said it was pathetic for these agents of evil to target the thousands of already traumatised and vulnerable people mainly from Borno and Yobe who were seeking refuge in the Camp. “Many people I know were working as volunteers in the camp, including staff and students of AUN, who are being nurtured and mentored in the best tradition of service to humanity by giving of their time, energy and at times resources to their fellow human beings. “Today’s attack is an attempt to break the spirits of the people who came to seek refuge.

Army invades Delta community, seizes pregnant woman, cripple •Over alleged arms UKUGBENE – Sol diers from the 19th Battalion, Koko, Delta State, raided Yukugbene community in War ri North Local Government Area of the state and apprehended a pregnant woman and a cripple for allegedly being in possession of firearms and ammunition. A security source told Saturday Vanguard that soldiers who stormed the community in search of suspected pirates/kidnappers that escaped into the bush, recovered arms and ammunition from the woman and the cripple. However, the Ijaw People Development Initiative, IPDI, faulted the claim that the pregnant

Group urges Gov Dickson to declare assets

woman, Madam Loveth Odibo and physically – challenged Friday Gbangbara were criminals and that soldiers found arms and ammunition with them. Similarly, the Conference for the Actualization of Human Rights, which has petitioned the Chief of Army Staff, disputed the allegation. National coordinator of the body, Omes Ogedegbe, who called for the release of the woman and cripple, said Mrs. Odibo does not live in Yukugbene and only visited the community for medical assistance. On his part, Public Relations Officer, 4th Brigade, Benin City, Cap-

tian Jonah Unuakhalu, told Saturday Vanguard, “At about 1130 am on 28 August 2015, following reports of repeated attacks by suspected kidnappers/ sea pirates along Benin River in Warri North local government area of Delta State, troops of 19 Battalion raided a criminal hideout at Yokugbene community along the river.” “On sighting the troops, suspects numbering about 15 (some sighted with arms), fled into the swamp. A follow up with shots and movement by troops led to the discovery of 1 AK 47 Rifle, 3 AK47 magazines, 86, 7.62mm ammunition, 1 Russian made double barrel gun and qty 6 x 70mm

carts. “Other items recovered include, 18 GSM phones, one motorola hand held walkie talkie, an amnesty certificate with registration number C02/B13/A2/ 17167 belonging to one William Molly, 2 voters card belonging to Molly William and Gbagbanra Ogunwa, 1First bank ATM card, 11 pieces of camo trouser and one camo short nikker. “Meanwhile, 2 suspects; Mrs Loveth Odigbo and Mr Ebire Oko were arrested. The female suspect however, sustained a gunshot wound on the right hand and was treated at General Hospital, Koko,” he said.

bill for a law to establish and provide for the Bureau of Land Instrument Preparation Charges in Delta State has passed second reading on the floor of the State House of Assembly. The lead sponsor of the bill, Hon Dennis Omovie representing Warri South II constituency led debate on the merits of the bill at Wednesday plenary of the state legislature, presided over by the Speaker, Rt Hon Monday Igbuya. The 27 sections bill is being co-sponsored by Hon Daniel Mayuku, Warri South West and Samuel Mariere, Ughelli North 1.

Group demands employment for ex-militants in Niger Delta BY DAVIES IHEAMNACHOR

pressure group in Rivers State, Niger Delta Development Movement, NDDM, has taken a peaceful demonstration to the Rivers State Government House demanding Jobs for the ex-militants. The group, yesterday, said there is need for the government to provide jobs especially for those militants who have completed their Federal Government Amnesty Programme. The leader of the group, Comrade Sunny Sampson who spoke at the entrance to the Government House in Port Harcourt said the call was necessary in order to reduce the now rising crime rate in the state and all other Niger Delta States.

Ndokwa youths berate FG, Agip over power plant BY OCHUKO AKUOPHA YOUTH Wing of Ndokwa Neku Union, NNU, has berated the federal government and the management of Nigeria Agip Oil Company, NAOC, operators of the Independent Power Plant at Okpai, Ndokwa East Local Government Area, Delta State for what it described as ‘their continuous lackadaisical attitude’ towards the issue of stepping down the facility to boost electricity supply to Ndokwa. NNU youth wing, in a statement by its Spokesman, Comrade Pedro Obi, lamented the alleged unwillingness of the company to step down the facility for the use of Ndokwa people after 10 years of its commissioning.

Appointments: Groups urge Igbo to pray more BY VINCENT UJUMADU, Awka Christian group, the Apostolic Coalition of Pro phetic Elders, ACPE, has called on Igbo people to pray fervently so that God would deliver the race from what it described as the spirit of marginalization and political dehumanization in the country. Rising from eight –day international prayer conference in Awka, the group said what was happening in the country was an abnormal situation, emphasizing that there is therefore the need for abnormal prayers for God to intervene immediately.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 11

B-R-I-E-F-S

Serena crashes out of US Open

Benin Kingdom: Chiefs decry attempts to desecrate Oba’s stool By SIMON EBEGBULEM

*As Edo Govt warns Ogiamien family

HERE is tension in Benin Kingdom, as chiefs from the palace of the Oba of Benin vowed to repel what they described as an attempt to desecrate the stool by Ogiamien of Sakponba, who declared recently that he and his children cannot kneel for the Oba of Benin. Palace chiefs led by the Ayobahan of Benin Kingdom, Chief John Osamede, in a press conference, yesterday, described Ogiamien’s comment as a taboo since no one apart from God Almighty can challenge the authority of the Oba of Benin. Meanwhile, the Edo State Government has threatened to invoke relevant laws against anyone who illegally proclaims himself a chief or traditional ruler in the state. “Government will invoke the relevant sections of the Traditional Rulers and Chieftaincy Law, 1979 which prohibit any person or group to proclaim self as a Chief or Traditional Ruler, a breach of which is a criminal offence. Government will not tolerate any act calculated to disturb the peace of the state or any part thereof, “ the government said in a statement by the Secretary to State Government, Prof Julius Ihonvbere. The Ogiamien of Sakponba had in a local tabloid declared that children of the family cannot kneel down to greet the Oba of Benin. However, Chief Adun warned the Ogiamien family against attempts to drag the kingdom into a bloody war and called on all market women, youth and elders to challenge the action of the Ogiamien,who he tagg-

HE Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission has set up a five man panel to investigate allegations of corruption against the former governor of Ekiti state, Dr Kayode Fayemi. A source at the anti corruption body told Vanguard that the panel is headed by an Assistant Chief Investigation Officer and has already left for Ekiti state as part of its investigation. The latest move by the C M Y K

HE World No. 1 Ser ena Williams was upset by the unseeded Roberta Vinci of Italy 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, ending her quest to win the first calendar Grand Slam since 1988. Williams left the court immediately after the match. In her post match interview, Vinci was all smiles and credited her win to being able not to “think that [it was] Serena on the

other court.” Long after Serena walked out of the centre court, the victorious Italian sat still with her eyes closed as she relished the moment. “Today is my day,” she cried out repeatedly in the post match interview, as the crowd cheered. Vinci, 32, will play Flavia Pennetta in an all-Italian final at Flushing Meadows on Saturday.

EFCC arrests NABDA official for defrauding NAFDAC contractor

*Dumping of Refused at ogba lagos at Abiodun Jagun street off Retail Market Ogba Lagos State. PHOTO;AKEEM SALAU ed as a ‘slave’ because the Oba conquered their forefather decades ago. Chief Adun specifically lampooned Chief Arisco Osemwingie for “championing the cause to topple the Oba of Benin by carving out a separate palace for himself when the throne of the Oba of Benin is not for sale. The Ogiamien family was perished in 19 AD by our forefather. He is not a chief or a prince. People who can bear

prince in Benin are the children of Oba of Benin. I call on all Edo people, it is an abomination and it is a taboo to the Benin people for anybody to challenge the authority of the Oba.’... The Ogiamien’s family wants to cause war in the kingdom.’’ Reacting to the issue, the state government noted: “the attention of Government has been drawn to a newspaper, OGIAMIEN TRUMPET, which

came into circulation a few weeks ago. According to the publisher of the newspaper, it was established to be used as a medium for propagating the unity of the Ogiamien family members and to promote a renaissance of the family. “Government recognizes the right of every citizen, to seek the advancement of his family members through legitimate and inoffensive manner.”

Buhari retained IGP Arase on merit --Oshiomole pointment was done on of the University of Benin, Prof.Farady Orumnmerit. By Simeon Ebegbulem

ENIN CITY-THE an B cient city of Benin yesterday stood still for the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Solomon Arase, a son of Edo state, when the state Government, traditional rulers and elders hosted the super cop in a ground reception. Governor Adams Oshiomhole who led the dignitaries at the occasion said President Muhammadu Buhari retained Arase while other service chiefs were removed because his ap-

The who is who in Edo state led by the Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his wife Clara, Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Pius Odubu and Endurance his wife, Two time former governor of old Bendel State, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, former Inspector General of Police, Mike Mike Okiro, Secretary to the Edo state Government, Prof.Julius Ihonvbere, Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, former Deputy Governor of the state, Rev.Peter Obadan, Vice Chancellor

ICPC sets up committee to investigate ICPC is coming on the been very busy since the Fayemi heels by the directive by new government took By Ben Agande

the chairman of the commission that the panels that investigated allegations against the former governors of Rivers, Kano, Katsina and Enugu submit their reports in two weeks. According to sources at the commission, the latest panel was in reaction to petition against the former governor of Ekiti state. The source said since the swearing in of President Muhammadu Buhari, the pace of activities in the commission has increased. “Our investigators have

over. Unlike before where our investigators were idle, they are fully engaged now and the chairman has given a firm directive that all pending cases against high profile persons be disposed of. Very many suspects would soon be charged to court” the source said. It was gathered that details of the allegations against the former governor of Ekiti state is being kept secret and only those who “have the need to know are privy to the allegations.

wense, former Speakers of the state House of Assembly, Uyi Igbe and Mathew Egbadon. Others are Otaru of Auchi, House of Reps member Philip Shaibu, Senator Francis Alimekhena, former Secretary to the state Government, Dr Simon Imuekheme, DIG Pally Osayande, president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Rev.Felix Omobude, Senator Domingo Obende, Gen.Charles Airhiavbere, Chief Mike Ozekhome, High Court Judges, members of the state House of Assembly, traditional rulers and many others. Prof. Julius Ihonvbere in his welcome address on behalf of the state government, said the people of the state are celebrating the IGP because “ a lot of things are happening during his time as IGP. Today is a remarkable day. We are moving from darkness to light, from corruption to compliance to the rule of law, transparency and accountability. He is an academic in his own world, an articulate Police officer. “We have a man who have shown so much respect for the law, we are pleased that he has come into office at this time that we have Oshiomhole in Edo and Buhari as President.”

N a successful sting operation, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested an official of the National Biotechnology Development Agency, NABDA, who attempted to defraud a contractor with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), of millions of Naira. The fraudster had approached the contractor, Liuideco Global Services Limited, to give him millions of Naira to be able to use his connections with the EFCC to

kill a pending criminal investigation against the company. The arrested man had boasted to his target that he was well known to both the top echelon and middle staff of the EFCC and could therefore easily stop any criminal probe of the company. The company therefore played along with him and asked him to meet at a new generation bank to collect the sum of N500,000 while he also led ambush for him by contacting the EFCC to be on the watchout for him as he comes for the promised money.

Postgraduate Medical College backs Buhari on anti-corruption war

ATIONAL Post graduate Medical College of Nigeria, yesterday, declared its support for President Muhammadu Buhari on his ongoing anti-corruption crusade. Speaking at a press conference to herald the college’s 33rd convocation, President of the college, Prof. Rasheed Arogundade commended Buhari for the giant strides he has made in less than four months on assumption of office. Arogundade who disclosed that no fewer than 341 convokees will be awarded Fellowship certificates next week, pointed out that Buhari was already fulfilling his electioneering campaign

promises. According to him, corruption has negative effect in every aspect of the economy. He said through the ongoing effort, huge money would be saved, which is needed to revatilise every sector of the country ’s economy, particularly the health sector. “The President promised us change and we have started seeing the wind of that change. The anti-corruption stance of the Federal Government is indeed commendable and we have no doubt in our minds that with this development, a lot of money would be saved for the nation to meet the needs in education, health sectors and others.

Ensure even devt of all sectors, PENGASSAN President urges Buhari

E also called on the Federal Government to ensure full implementation of the Local Content Act, especially as Nigerians would not be short-changed in the oil sector activities. The PENGASSAN boss made the appeal, yesterday, while flagging off a two-day capacity building training programme, tagged “Managing New Skills in Labour Relations”, in Owerri. “We urge the Federal Government to ensure that transparency rules in the oil sector, for the purpose of even development and in line with his anti-corruption war ”, Johnson said. Explaining why the programme was conceptualized, Comrade Johnson said it was aimed at helping their members identify

investment opportunities and work as one indivisible body to overcome the present challenges facing workers in the oil sector. “The other aim of the programme is to ensure that our members are not only equipped in making use of their skills, but also educated on how to improve their knowledge and capacity to work effectively with the management”, Johnson said. In his own remark, the National Industrial Relations Officer of PENGASSAN, Comrade Nduka Ohaeri, said that the programme would help their members change their approach to things and discover their internal personal skills to move forward, in the face of the present challenges.

12— SATURDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

Effects of Buhari’s delay in appointing ministers: Tension as states await commissioners

•President Muhammadu Buhari: Yet to appoint ministers. BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

OST of the 29 states, which had governorship elections this year are yet to have State Executive Councils (SECs). The governors have been governing the states without commissioners since May 29. The development is causing disquiet, tension and anxiety in some of the states as stakeholders, who are getting frustrated intensify pressures to get themselves or their cronies nominated for appointments. The non-appointment of C M Y K

commissioners, some observers said, is hampering the delivery of democracy dividends and a host of the states had little or nothing to boast of as achievements after 100 days of the new administrations. A number of reasons, some very funny, have been given for the foot-dragging of the governors on making their cabinets. They include: Pending suits at the election tribunals challenging the victories of the governors. The argument is, if the governor ’s election will be nullified, why appoint commissioners, who will be thrown out immediately a new

person takers over? Another reason is the need to cut the cost of governance. Operating commissioners is said to be saving the cashstrapped states, which are owing civil servants several months of salary arrears, millions of naira that would have been used to pay commissioners’ allowances, salary and running cost. Some of the governors are said to be confused over the issue following back breaking pressure from their godfathers and power brokers. Some have also attributed the delay to what is happening at

Some have also attributed the delay to what is happening at the federal level, where some of the governors are said to be taking a cue from President Muhammadu Buhari

the federal level, where most of the governors are said to be taking a cue from President Muhammadu Buhari, who is yet to appoint his ministers. Indeed, in one of the states, the governor is said to be waiting for the ministerial appointments to know those he would give state appointments because he nominated some of his loyalists for federal appointments. But can the states continue to function without SEC? And for how long?

SATURDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—13

Ikpeazu keeps people guessing in Abia governance and save money. They argue that the moment he forms his cabinet he will provide them with the necessary facilities to work, which will cost a lot of money.

BY ANAYO OKOLI

MUAHIA—GOVERNOR Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State is yet to form his cabinet over 100 days after assuming office. And nobody, not even the few aides so far appointed are able to hazard a guess as to when the governor will form his cabinet. All of them seem to be in the dark and political watchers are murmuring. There are speculations that Ikpeazu is taking his time to know how the tribunal matter he is currently facing will end. But opinions are divided on this. Some argue that his case in the tribunal should not stop him from constituting his cabinet to allow government go on full swing. According to those in this school of thought, virtually all the governors elected in the last election have cases at the various tribunals, yet some of them like Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom have formed their cabinets. However, those in the

GOV Okezie Ikpeazu other school of thought argue that the man does not want to start and stop but wants to see the outcome of the matter in the court before taking serious actions. There is also another group that thinks that Ikpeazu is using the delay in constituting his cabinet to cut the cost of

Governor operates from Aba, shielded from old politicians So, nobody can say for now the direction the governor is going regarding the appointment of his cabinet. This is because it is not clear who the power brokers are. Unlike in the past when various political stakeholders throng the Government House to influence appointments, the Umuahia Government House is more or less deserted. The fact that the Governor still operates from Aba may be a factor. Even in Aba, information has it that the Governor is always shielded from people regarded as old politicians.

Nobody can say for now the direction the governor is going regarding the appointment of his cabinet

Power brokers For now, immediate former Governor, Senator Theodore

Orji, who Governor Ikpeazu defers to, is said to be one of those who could influence appointments in the state. Theodore Orji played very crucial roles to ensure that Ikpeazu emerged as governor. However, it is certain that Ikpeazu’s Ngwa clan will have a lot of influence on the issue. This is the first time an Ngwa stock is at the helm of affairs in the State. Also, another group of people considered to be very influential and may form the bulk of the cabinet or make strategic input in the selection is the Lagos-based Ngwa Professionals led by a business mogul, Chief Sunny Aku. Already, it is being speculated that this group has been in charge, advising the governor on various issues. All the same, while the waiting game lasts, Abia people are eager to have a full Government in place to accelerate the pace of development.

OYO: Ajimobi bids time over poor funds BY OLA AJAYI

lmost four months after swearing in of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, he is yet to form his cabinet. Shortly after he was sworn in, he reportedly told those who were lobbying for various political offices to relax as he was not in a hurry to form a new cabinet. It was also gathered that he promised to constitute the cabinet by August ending. Another source said the governor had said initially that his new cabinet would not be formed until September. Why appointments are delayed Some reasons have been adduced for this seeming delay. The delay, according to information gathered, is to relieve the Pacesetter State of the present financial crisis it has found itself. Governor Ajimobi was quoted to have said he would take his time so that he would settle the backlog of unpaid salaries of workers in the state. The governor, who had variously complained of paucity of fund as a result of the cut in monthly allocations was said to have taken a cue from his counterpart in Osun State who did not form his cabinet for a long period. An impeccable source told Saturday Vanguard that the

C M Y K

governor is trying to toe the steps of President Muhammadu Buhari, who postponed forming his cabinet to September ending. The source confirmed that the governor had been mandated to form his cabinet latest this month. Unlike in 2011, when recommendations from the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were not adhered to, the governor has been working together with the party on the formation of the cabinet. According to the source, the governor has told the state APC Chairman, Chief Akin Oke, to prepare the list of nominees for both commissioners and special advisers. The party chairman was asked to pick nominees from local governments and wards so that the appointments will be spread to all parts of the state. In 2011, the governor considered technocrats, who were not party men as members of his cabinet. Also, for all inclusive government, he picked members from other political parties in the state then. Some candidates of a former Governor Senator Rashidi Ladoja, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains were picked as commissioners, special advisers and caretaker

•Gov Abiola Ajimobi chairmen of local councils in 2011. This was frowned at by APC members who had worked for the party. They felt marginalised. Following the complaints of party members and not too impressive results that greeted his ‘large heartedness’, the governor is expected to look inwards now. This time around, the party, nominees of another former governor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala; the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; late Abdul Azeez Arisekola and late Alhaji Lamidi Adesina will be well considered. The influence of Oba Lamidi Adeyemi reflected in the results of the election as he stood firmly with the governor. As for Otunba Alao-Akala, his refusal to align with other

Governor Ajimobi was quoted to have said he would take his time so that he would settle the backlog of unpaid salaries of workers in the state

opponents during the governorship election of April 11 helped Ajimobi even though his victory is still being challenged by Senator Ladoja of the Accord at the tribunal. The duo now walk about like Siamese twins. So, Alao-Akala is likely to be well favoured during the selection process. The governor is said to be determined not to give room for division in the APC as he vowed not to follow the principle of SENACO (loyalists of Senator Abiola Ajimobi) and LAMCO (Supporters of Late Lam Adesina), which he used in his first tenure. It was further gathered that this does not mean the governor will sideline people in these groups but he wants to avoid a situation that will threaten the party’s unity. The source said the governor has changed completely compared to what he did in 2011. Many APC members have welcomed the new modality the governor said he would use and hope that external forces would not make the governor change his mind at the eleventh hour. All hands are on deck waiting for the formation of the new cabinet.

14—SATURDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

YOBE: Fear of election tribunal’s verdict looms Assembly may get nominees list before month end BY BALA AJIYA

PECULATIONS are rife that Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State will soon form his cabinet. The governor, who recently returned from an overseas trip is expected to submit the names of 15 nominees for appointment as commissioners in the newly merged ministries. Immediately after the governorship election that he won, the general body language of the governor was that he would drop most of the former commissioners. His reason may not be unconnected with the allegation of anti-party activities among his commissioners. Last month, Gaidam effected a lot of changes in the posting of permanent secretaries and directors. According sources, the new

•Gov Ibrahim Gaidam cabinet is being delayed because of the on-going suit challenging Gaidam’s election at the tribunal. Citing serious case of election manipulation, the PDP Candidate, Alhaji

Adamu Maina Waziri, wants Gaidam’s victory to be overturned. Many believe Gaidam might lose the case and subsequently be removed as governor, so forming a cabinet will be an exercise in futility. However, an APC stalwart told Saturday Vanguard: “As the party that has ruled Yobe State for 16 years and with the recent landslide victory recorded by the party it would be hard for anybody to think that the tribunal will sack Gaidam and that he will not form his cabinet until after the judgement. All these are figments of their imagination because after the Sallah celebration the governor will send the names of commissioners to be appointed to the state House of Assembly for screening and subsequent approval.” Meanwhile, some appointees

The new cabinet is being delayed because of the ongoing suit challenging Gaidam’s election at the tribunal

who were in Gaidam’s kitchen cabinet before the last election are expected to return as commissioners on account of their loyalty and the number of votes they garnered garnered for the party at the last election. Top on the list of such people are Alhaji Mohammed Kaigama (former commissioner of Finance), Alhaji Lawan Shettima and Bukar Dauda, who are all from the same zone as the governor. The trio are regarded as the power brokers in Yobe because of their affinity and loyalty to the governor. However, the role that the immediate past governor of the state, Alhaji Bukar Abba Ibrahim will play as regards the nomination of commissioners is not clear. In the former cabinet, Abba Ibrahim was given three slots. It remains to be seen whether Bukar Abba Ibrahim or any other bigwig will have a say in the coming cabinet.

Bello dashes hopes of post-seeking politicians in Niger •House gets list of nominees, may screen commissioners next month BY WOLE MOSADOMI

FTER the April 11 governorship election, it was as if the handing over from Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Governor elect, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC), should be with immediate effect. The expectations of dividends of democracy anticipated from the change were high. So far, the new administration is yet to come out with its policy and programmes and the governor is yet to appoint his commissioners and senior special advisers except for Mr. Solomon Nyaze and Mr. Jide Orintunsin of the Nation Newspapers, who were recently appointed as SSA Political Matters and Media and Public Affairs respectively. Similarly, the governor is still working with permanent secretaries and all the top government officers he inherited from his predecessor. Hopes of politicians warming up to take over from the caretaker chairmen appointed for the 25 local councils of the state by the immediate past administration were dashed as Governor Sani Bello elevated the Director of Personnel Management (DPM) to acting chairmen. And the move has caused a lot of disaffection among politicians C M Y K

in the state. Also, Bello’s appointments of the Secretary to the State Government and few other sensitive posts were greeted with protest as he was accused of appointing the people from his zone, which is against equity and fair play. To cut the cost of governance and to be result-oriented, the governor has reduced the number of ministries from 23 to 14. Already, the list of nominees has been sent to the state House of Assembly for consideration and approval. The House is currently on recess and will be resuming in October. Some observers anticipate a rowdy session when the lawmakers screen the nominees. Reason: nine of the 14 nominees are from APC and the rest are from the PDP. Those from the opposition PDP include the immediate past eight-year Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government, Yakubu Salau; Alhaji Dattijo Aliyu, who was also chairman of the same local government for four years before being appointed as commissioner of Health during Governor Kure and Alhaji Kabiru Mohammed Wushishi, son of General M,I. Wushishi and a Commissioner

•Gov.Abubakar Bello in the immediate past administration. The other two include the immediate past and two-time Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Isah Kawu and Hajiya Zainab Garba Tagwai, who is the daughter of former FCT Minister, General Gado Nasko, who is also the father of the PDP Governorship Candidate in the last election, Alhaji Umar Nasko. These five nominees are from the leading power brokers in the state. In addition to the pressures from the power brokers, the governor, an In-law to former Head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, may not find it easy with the legislators. No doubt, these power

The delay in forming the cabinet is to search for the best in the state to put round pegs in round holes for smooth administration of the state

brokers, who are retired Generals are expected to have their way taking into consideration similar circumstances in the past. Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Jide Orintunsin, in an interview said the delay in forming the cabinet is to search for the best in the state to put round pegs in round holes for smooth administration of the state. According to him,”the administration met a rotten system it is now cleaning up and by the time it gets the real template to work on, the administration will take off on a sound footing.” He said the insinuations by members of the public that the Governor is being tele-guided and controlled by some elder statesmen are untrue. “This state is one of the luckiest for having two former Military heads of state and highly respected leaders and they have been playing fatherly roles to the past administrations and will also do the same to the present administration. This is a government of the people and their mandate is being highly respected and we have to serve them diligently, devoid of any internal or external influence and the government will surely bring the desired change.”

SATURDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—15

Okorocha’s political abracadabra in Imo BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

MO State does not have a State Executive Council, SEC, as of press time. Following this scenario and because Governor Rochas Okorocha has kept mum over the issue, speculations are rife in the state over why the governor is foot-dragging A school of thought believes that since the Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last general election, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, approached the Election Tribunal for redress, Governor Okorocha decided to play for time because of the uncertainty associated with litigations. Careful political watchers in the state have, however, poohpoohed this line of thought, especially as both the Election Tribunal and the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, gave the Governor the green light to continue in office. A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, who pleaded anonymity, hinged the Governor’s inability or unwillingness to constitute the SEC on two platforms. These,

Governor Okorocha according to the obviously angry politician, include but no limited to the current cash crunch bedeviling the state and the apparent and self-imposed confusion, the Governor foisted on his administration. “It is no longer news that the state government ran into a financial mess and could not pay its workers. This pushed workers to down tools. The

same is also true of pensioners, who are owed several months of pensions. It is not even clear if government has fully cleared workers’ salaries as we talk now”, the man reasoned. He therefore submitted that “because the governor never believed that money would not continue to flow the way he found it, he never slowed down in spending”, adding that he only tried to apply the brakes when the federal allocations nosedived. The man recalled that soon after Okorocha came on board, he introduced the Community Government Council, CGC, which is unknown to the Nigerian Constitution. Since the establishment of CGC, Imolites can hardly point to the benefits of the political contraption and how it is funded. Currently, Governor Okorocha has set up 37 task forces and no fewer than 10 zonal head committees”, instead of constituting the State Executive Council. Having established these task forces, the state is, from all intents and purposes, now administered by members of the task forces. Much as the setting up of task forces has been a regular occurrence in Nigeria, it is an aberration to run the

Governor Rochas Okorocha has kept mum over the issue, speculations are rife in the state over why the governor is footdragging

affairs of the state via task forces. The governor named his sister, Mrs. Ogechi Ololo, as the head of the Task Force Committee on City Beautification and has turned lawmakers to task force operators. The Speaker, Mr. Acho Ihim, heads the three-man task force in charge of motor parks. Since Imo lawmakers appear to have become appendages of the executive arm of government, through membership of the many task forces, it is now open for speculation how they can effectively carry out their oversight functions in the state. Most respondents to Saturday Vanguard’s inquiries pointed to the fact that members of the Governor’s immediate family, inlaws and a handful of trusted friends, run the affairs of the state. They are the power brokers that would continue to shape and possibly populate the expected cabinet. The same persons, the respondents argued, have remained in government since 2011 and are being moved from one public office to the other. All efforts made to get some explanation from the Government House, including a text message to the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, did not yield results as of press time.

BAUCHI: Gov’s rift with legislators fingered BY SUZAN EDEH

NE of the first things Bauchi people expected from Governor Mohammed Abubakar is the formation of his cabinet, which is he yet to do more than 100 days after his swearing-in. The Governor has kept details of his proposed cabinet to his chest. Leading critics of his administration, who are mainly from the People Democratic Party (PDP) have attributed the delay to the governor ’s desire to recover the funds he expended on his election campaigns. Since the publication of N8.60 billion bailout for the state, the critics have not ceased to express concern over Abubakar’s governing of the state without a state executive council. Another controversy surrounding the delay of the governor in appointing commissioners is an alleged rift between him and the House of Assembly over a N4 billion loan he allegedly collected before he was sworn in. Since the appointment of his C M Y K

commissioners has to receive the approval of the House, the governor must settle this score with them before he forms his cabinet. A critical assessment of the governor’s core appointments such as the secretary to the state government, Chief of staff and others shows that he appoints experienced and competent people who possess records of proven integrity. Quest for credible people, perhaps, may be why the governor is taking time in his appointment. Governor Abubakar on many occasions had said that his government will block all financial leakages to save money and cut the cost of governance. In essence, the number of appointees may be reduced in line with the financial situation of the state. Currently, there is pressure on the governor by political godfathers to appoint their preferred candidates. As it stands, there is no sign that a cabinet will be in place in the next few days and

•Gov Mohammed Abubakar tongues are wagging on why the Governor has continued to keep the people in suspense over the matter. Although some of the governor ’s loyalists have opined that the governor is not obliged

The delay is to put square pegs in square holes, besides, many states and the Federal Government are yet to appoint commissioners or ministers

under any law to appoint commissioners within 100 days of assuming office, political analysts averred that for purposes of honesty, accountability, transparency and good governance, there are certain provisions in the law that require Executive Council’s resolutions, especially, on issues of bilateral agreement or issues that concern fiscal responsibilities. Reacting to criticisms over the governor’s delay in constituting his cabinet, the Director of Press, Alhaji Ibrahim Sani, said such criticisms have no substance and that the governor is only being meticulous. His words: “The absence of commissioners is not strange to Bauchi State. The delay is to put square pegs in square holes, besides, many states and the Federal Government are yet to appoint commissioners or ministers. But Bauchi’s case is based on wide consultations. It is also meant to form a cabinet that will stand the test of time.’’

16—SATURDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

TARABA: Ishaku’s search for the best continues BY JOHN MKOM

fter three month in office as governor of Taraba state Arch Darius Ishaku has not appointed commissioners that would constitute the state executive council. This may be connected to paucity of funds to pay the salaries and allowances of the prospective commissioners and special advisers. Another factor militating against the appointment of commissioners as gathered by Saturday Vanguard is the perceived newness of the governor to Taraba politics. Ishaku has not served under any political administration in the state apart from being a minister at the federal level. On his assumption of office, he picked his former governorship campaign director general, Abubakar Bawa, as special adviser on Political Matters and the appointment was heavily criticized.

Arch Darius Ishaku Critics claimed that Bawa was unfit for the position having failed to deliver his polling booth during the polls. Bawa was appointed on the same day with the Special Adviser on Legal and

Legislative Matters, Hon. Haruna Gbana, the longest serving speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly. Although the appointment of Gbana, who is also a lawyer, was well deserved, the governor was said to have disappointed some of his political allies from Donga local council where Gbana came from. The strongest politician from the area accused Governor Ishaku of making the appointment without his input. These criticisms were to have made Ishaku to be cautious. The special assistant on Media and Publicity to the governor, Mr. Sylvanus Giwa, said Governor Ishaku refused to be in haste to compile the list of commissioners to avoid expensive mistakes that could hurt his administration. Giwa added that his boss wanted to be critical in making his appointments so as to offer quality leadership. The SA also said that the fund was also part of the problems hindering the governor from making the list of the state executive. “The governor is being careful

This may be connected to paucity of funds to pay the salaries and allowances of the prospective commissioners and special advisers

because he wants to appoint credible people that will give him the best in the course of rescuing Taraba. He also wants to put the state in a normal state of finance because as it is now he can’t afford to take care of them after appointments; he has to give them cars, allowances, running cost, imprest and what have you but look at the current financial state of Taraba for now,” Giwa said. Saturday Vanguard gathered that power brokers that would shape the incoming cabinet include the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Hon. Victor Bala Kona, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (the deputy minority leader of the Senate, who represents Taraba South), Senator Sani Danladi (Taraba North) and Senator Bashir Marafa Abba (Taraba Central). Others are Sen. Danlami Ikenya, a strong politician from Wukari; Barr. Gibon Kataps from Sadauna; Speaker, Taraba State House of Assembly, Hon. Peter Diah and Hon. Mark Bako Useni, a former speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly.

Ministers: How Buhari’s delay affected Amosun in Ogun BY DAUD OLATUNJI

TER about four months of swearing in for his second term, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has not announced the names of his commissioners. Unlike during his first term when he announced some members of his kitchen cabinet a few days after he was sworn in, he has not made any appointment. Findings have shown that Amosun may have been waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari to announce his ministers before he picks his commissioners. It was gathered that the governor had sent some names to the Presidency for ministerial appointment while some have been penned down for state appointments. Further findings showed that the governor decided to wait for the choice of the President as ministers so as to know who to compensate with state posts. So far, the appointment made C M Y K

by the governor was the Secretary to the State Government. And he has been running his government with his Deputy, Yetunde Onanuga, his SSG, Taiwo Adeoluwa and senior civil servants such as the Head of Service, Modupe Adekunle and permanent secretaries. However, many leaders and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state have become agitated over the delay and have resolved to sending emissaries to the governor to consider them in the coming state appointments. As the appointments are being awaited, there are some names that people believe would be in the new cabinet. They are former commissioners for Works, Finance, Budget and Planning, Lekan Adegbite, Kemi Adeosun and Oluwande Muoyo respectively. They are Amosun’s personal friends and colleagues who had successfully wormed themselves into the heart of the governor during his first term. It is believed that former

Senator Ibikunle Amosun

President Olusegun Obasanjo might be asked to present some candidates as compensation following his support for the governor during his second term bid . Former Chairman of Abeokuta South, Prince Yanju Lipede might also be asked by the governor to present some names for

Findings have shown that Amosun may have been waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari to announce his ministers before he picks his commissioners.

appointments. Checks by Saturday Vanguard revealed that Lipede had played a critical role in the emergence of Amosun during the last election. The former chairman was reported to have collapsed his political structure for the APC during the governorship election despite being a chieftain of the PDP in the state. In fact, he was a PDP governorship aspirant during the last election, but decided to ditch his party for the emergence of Amosun after he was not picked by the PDP. Others who may shape Amosun’s cabinet include some state assembly aspirants and candidates, who were either asked to withdraw or defeated at the elections. The Senatorial candidate in Ogun East, Dapo Abiodun, who lost to the PDP Candidate, Buruji Kashamu and the Director of Amosun’s campaign, Chief Bode Mustapha as well as some members of Labour Party are also personalities that may be considered for in the coming cabinet .

SATURDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—17

APC members murmur, grumble in Kwara BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

LORIN-The delay in the appointment of commissioners in Kwara State has no doubt caused subdued apprehension among those who believe they actively worked for the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last general elections in the state. It is important to state that the real determinants of who gets what in this order are the Senate President Senator Bukola Saraki and of course the Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed. It’s indeed unusual in the chequered political history of the State of Harmony for political appointments to be delayed for over three months after a party has won elections. But the leaders of the party have succeeded in containing the agitation because of the nature of Kwara politics. The word of the political leader,Senator Bukola Saraki is the law and towards this end,those who are seeking and angling to come on board have been doing so underground. It was also gathered that the release of the list of seven special assistants, penultimate week, which had earlier been ratified by the State House of Assembly did not quell the apprehension as some of those on the list silently grumbled that they deserved more than being special assistants. Investigations also revealed that

Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed. the leadership has been unable to come up with acceptable list because of the need to satisfy all those who worked for the success of the party, hence the delay. In the last elections, while many of those in the cabinet were found not to have satisfactorily delivered their constituencies as demanded by the leadership because they didn’t take care of their members, those who clearly did so have therefore assumed leadership in those constituencies. This development has in no small measure caused delay in the appointment of members from various constituencies as key politicians who have influence on the leadership have soft spots for some politicians, who did not deliver their constituencies and

are therefore scheming for them to return on board. Their nominations from the 16 local councils of the state have elicited strong opposition as those who believed they deserve the appointments complained bitterly with facts and figures to Senator Bukola Saraki the political leader who in turn asked that the list be put on hold for thorough investigations of those claims. In view of this development, the lists that were sent from leaders across the local councils were rejected, causing suspense among the politicians in the ruling party. Political developments in the National Assembly, according to findings, have also not allowed the Senate president deal with such issues like he used to do in the past even as he is said to be planning to accommodate more of his supporters with federal appointments because of his new status. However, the political intrigues in the National Assembly coupled with that of the leadership of the ruling APC are all causing prolonged delay in the Issue of federal appointments, which he has planned would enable him to conveniently take care of his supporters. Another salient issue is that the new and young political hawks are plotting to take over from political leaders who have established themselves around the leadership over the years, determining who gets what whereas they are not taking care of their members. This set of politicians are exploring every opportunity to expose the old folks since their political leader had

It’s indeed unusual in the chequered political history of the State of Harmony for political appointments to be delayed for over three months after a party has won elections

told them repeatedly that a politician would henceforth be remunerated based on how well he or she is accepted among his people. Equally important is the issue of the PDP faction of Senator Gbemisola Saraki, the younger sister of the senate president, who openly donated her political structures to APC in assisting APC win the last general elections in the state. Recall that before that time,Senator. Gbemisola Saraki, who had been at logger heads with her brother over her botched governorship ambition in the state was among key political leaders of the opposition PDP in the state where through her political acumen she succeeded in installing the state chairman, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo,the secretary and the state women leader, Alhaja Nimota Oba Wankasi to the chagrin of others. She came second in the governorship primaries of PDP in the state and was considered to have been frustrated out of the party because of her strong political influence. The need to ensure that the supporters of Senator Gbemisola Saraki are also appointed to key positions in the cabinet is also said to be part of the delay. In all of these, marabouts, alfas and pastors are said to be feeding fat on politicians, who have been running from pillar to post seeking divine influence to get political appointments. Anxiety, apprehension and tension were boldly written on their long faces after their visit, last Tuesday to Senate President Saraki during his visit to Ilorin.

Wh Whyy Ambode is not in a hurr hurryy BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

ast Saturday, September 5, marked the 100th day of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration in Lagos. Ambode, in his inaugural speech, said his administration would practice an inclusive government. Following his inauguration, Ambode announced the appointments of Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief of Staff and Chief Press Secretary. Mr. Tunji Bello, the immediate past Commissioner for Environment, was appointed as the SSG. Mr. Samuel Olukunle, the Permanent Secretary in the Office of Chief of Staff became the new Chief of Staff. Mr. Habib Adamson Aruna was appointed the Chief Press Secretary. As usual, many expected the governor to, in a matter of few weeks, announce his kitchen cabinet. But alas, three months after, Lagosians and indeed Nigerians are still kept in the dark over who and who will form the next cabinet in Lagos. Though, the list of commissioners and aides, according to informed sources, is ready for submission to members of the State House of Assembly, many factors are said to be delaying the appointment of the commissioners. Ambode, it was gathered had approached Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his mentor, godfather and C M Y K

national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for his blessing on some pragmatic steps he wanted to take and the leader gave his nod. Apart for waiting on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint his ministers, Ambode, a retired civil servant himself, was shocked at the level of degradation of the civil service he inherited from his predecessor, hence the need to reposition the civil service, which he believed is the engine room for any government to succeed and make indelible impression on the generality of the public. The composition it was gathered initially divided the party following exclusion and inclusion of names of some individuals, which did not augur well with some APC members. The differences were said to have been resolved by Tinubu and other respected leaders of the party. The major step taken by Ambode was the restructuring of the civil service. He first dissolved boards of all paratstatals and agencies, which was followed by the sacking of about 19 permanent secretaries. He said the restructuring was geared towards improving the public service and enhancing service delivery. Ambode did not mince word about cutting the cost of governance as well as making use of technocrats as he embarked on streamlining the

Gov Akinwunmi Ambode ministries. Apart from politicians, Ambode is looking at appointing some technocrats from the civil service, a reason he called for the formation of retired Heads of Service and Perm Secs forum, recently. Speaking at the inauguration of the forum, Ambode said the forum was aimed at helping the state continue to tap from their wealth of experience, knowledge and institutional memory, noting that the forum could further add value to good governance and efficiency in public service delivery. Ambode, who was represented by his Deputy, Mrs. Oluranti Adebule, described the forum as a blessing in disguise. He said: “As you are aware, the past

Those, who are orchestrating for the appointment of commissioners are those believed to be looking for positions. How many states in the country have appointed commissioners

few months have witnessed some restructuring in the public service featuring the realignment of MDAs and creation of new ones. All these are aimed at repositioning the public service for better performance in terms of quality and timely service delivery.” He believed that the perm secs could provide a solid foundation for excellent public service upon which successive administrations in the state can erect super structures. Ambode, apparently, feels he is comfortable working with Permanent secretaries now to enable him properly streamline his 3 Ps, policies, programmes, and projects. ‘’Those, who are orchestrating for the appointment of commissioners are those believed to be looking for positions. How many states in the country have appointed commissioners? “Let them give him time, what he is doing is re-organisation, he wants to take charge of governance the way he feels he can do it better. Let us allow him, let us give him a space,” said one of the state lawmakers,’’ she said. Also, the delay is also due to the absence of members of the Lagos State House of Assembly who are currently on recess, attending a workshop abroad. It was gathered that as soon as the lawmakers resume next week, the governor may send the list for consideration and subsequent ratification.

18—SATURDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

How Sarduana dealt with the Alimajari problem – Sheik Lemu •90% of Almajari boys are from one tribe •Why we will still need to dialogue with Boko Haram after the war BY WOLE MOSADOMI

heik Ahmed Lemu, respected Islamic teacher was chairman of the Presidential Committee on Post-Election Violence in 2011 and also a member of some other sensitive government panels including the Vision 2010 Committee constituted by General Sani Abacha.Lemu, 86 in this interview reviews the state of the polity and expresses his opinion on how the many challenges against the country can be addressed.Excerpts: How do you see Nigeria of Yesterday today and how do you see the future of the country.Okay. If you say yesterday, I don’t know of yesterday you are referring but if you are talking of governance in Nigeria, certainly, the years before the coup were excellent years for Nigeria. Very positive. Those political leaders in particular, Sardauna of Sokoto, Dr. Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Tafawa Balewa, these four figures in particular were operating democracy by African standards only to be ousted by the 1966 coup. That coup derailed Nigeria from democracy to military administration and subsequent coups made things worse right up to even when we were brought back to the so called democracy which amounts to selfishness, mismanagement in various ways. And since then up till the end of the last regime, things have not been well for the nation. However, with the coming of the new regime of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, we only hope that there will be change for the better. It is too early to judge him just within three months. So, the future of Nigeria is bright under Gen. Buhari. As we think, the future is bright. You seem not to be very sure of the brightness. I repeat, I think the future is bright from the way he has started. Well, he has started investigating so many Ministries, Parastatals, agencies e.t.c. Where did we as a country actually get it wrong? I am saying it again that Nigeria got it wrong right from January 1966 which was the beginning of the first coup. That was when we derailed and since then, we have never been the same. After that came a civil war. After the Civil war, thank God Gen. Yakubu Gawon did his best for this nation by getting the support of some individuals and carried out throughout the civil war and succeeded. However, since then it was coup upon coup and making things worse for the country until the end of the last regime. If you want to be sincere, what would you point to say is the or are the achievements of any of the previous regimes. Is it billions of stolen naira that is now becoming known to the public or what precisely would you say they have C M Y K

•Sheik Ahmed Lemu done? Poverty has increased, unemployment has increased, insecurity has increased, insurgency has increased, no peace of mind. Can you give an account of some of the sensitive committees you have been involved in? I was one of the prominent religious leaders that were put together to look into the case of Nigeria’s membership of the Organization of Islamic Countries and to advise the government under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. After signing the consensus, Christians again went back to Babangida, led by a delegation saying they didn’t want the conclusion to be published and it was never published up till today. Next was the vision 2010. I was a member. Our hopes were raised. The regime that came after Gen. Abacha only scuttled the whole thing, so to say. Nothing was put into effect. The question therefore is that, why did we hold the vision 2010? The most painful of all was the one instituted on the post Election Crisis after the election of former President Goodluck Jonathan. He appointed me as chairman of the committee to investigate the causes of the post election violence. We wrote our report and this is between us and God especially when among us were some prominent lawyers and a prominent retired Supreme Court Justice, Uwais. We did our work faithfully and as a Nigerian and journalist, can you mention just only two items that you consider in that report that was implemented. I want to be frank with you. We all felt disappointed. There was another committee on political reform during Yar’adua of which I was a

member. We submitted our report and recommendations but no action on the report. In one of the reports where I was chairman, we listed previous committees which gave the government of the day then beautiful recommendations. We listed which areas of the reports of the previous committees they could visit to know what and what to implement but unfortunately, nothing was done. So, what else can I say? So was it a waste setting up the committees? No, no, no. I don’t want to use the word “wasteful” because wether government took action or not, some sensible people read the report or knew the outcome of the report particularly those close to the government of the day then and when it was their turn, they knew what to do and what not to do. However, the fact as at today is that we have insurgency in our hands, insecurity in our hand, social indiscipline, corruption to the extreme, selfishness and stealing in Billions, no more in millions of naira and dollars. Will you advise the present administration to dialogue with Boko Haram? Frankly speaking, dialogue with Boko Haram is essential. Even when you win a war or a battle, that is not the end. You have to dialogue for lasting peace so dialogue with Boko Haram is essential and dialogue with the stakeholders concerned is essential so I will sincerely advise the government to embrace dialogue with all concerned. Do you see these fighters as religious people fighting in the name

Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, we only hope that there will be change for the better. It is too early to judge him just within three months

of Islam. (Cuts in sharply). How can they be religious people? It is for quest for money, quest for power and quest for followership. Prophet Muhammed in the Holy Quran directed Muslims to search for knowledge and he didn’t limit this search for knowledge to Islamic Jurisprudence alone but that a Muslim should go and search for knowledge even if it will take you as far as China in an effort for people to be literate. So what is wrong in learning English language, Western Education e.t.c? The Boko Haramn leader is said to have received Western Education and now wants to mobilize others not to go for it so that he can continue as a leader and make his followers to be ignorant to him and follow whatever he says. Sir is there really a relationship between Islam and the Almajiri system and how can this system be modified? (Long Silence) Let me tell you. In the former North Western State, I was the officer in charge of Islamic religious education in the ministry of education. When this problem arose, we knew how we tried and successfully contained it. Sardauna recognized the need for the Quranic schools and wanted to improve on their standard with better education and therefore opened the department of Higher Muslim Studies in the schools for Arabic Studies in Kano and Katsina and elsewhere for teachers to acquire sound education and also to return back to the same Quranic schools to raise their standards. Those same teachers, if they wanted to reintegrate to western education, they could go to Bayero University College at that time to get a Diploma which will be a minimum entry qualification for a degree course. Some of the people who followed that route became Vice Chancellors, Ambassadors. I don’t want to give names. When we were in the North Western state, we followed the same practice which Sardauna established whereby even the Arabic Teachers College was not limited to men but opened also to females and one was opened in Dikko, Niger State. It is still there. We succeeded in integrating these two and produced a curriculum of integration of the Quranic school system with the western system and it was later recognized not as an Islamic school but Islamiyah school. This flows into Arabic Dilopma and from here one can even go for degree either in Arabic, Sharia or Islamic Studies. These were the measures we took and it worked. Secondly, if you go to the root of Almajiri, I challenge you to start interviewing the boys involved in it from Minna and ask them where they came from, their tribe and ask them the names of their teachers. I want to tell you that 90% of these people are predominantly from one tribe in Nigeria begging with bowls in their hands. Go and conduct the interview in Abuja, in Port-Harcourt, in Lagos, in Ilorin and all over. To your shock, you will find out that 90% of them are from one tribe so, it is not a religious issue as such. They are only taking the advantage of religious provision e.g. Allah says in the Quran not to drive beggars away with humiliation. However, if one has nothing to offer them, just dismiss them with soft word and not humiliating them. So, these people have taken the advantage of the provision in the Quran regarding charity for the poor in need and people now take advantage of this and make it a profession.

SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—19

he Buhari Government recently celebrated its hundred days in office, if celebration is the word. The ruling administration was certainly not in a celebratory mood. It claimed it was in for a marathon; not a hundred meter dash and did everything to discourage any rolling out of drums. This certainly was a change from other previous administrations that went to town celebrating real and imagined achievements. And we voted for change didn’t we? So we should not be too perturbed if someone decides not to follow the old order. This however did not matter to the many Nigerians who felt this was not part of change and insisted on marking Buhari’s hundred days in office with or without his permission. Typically, the score cards were as wide and as subjective as their respective ethnic and political leanings. There were some who believe, and argued forcefully to prove their point, that this government is the worst thing to happen to Nigeria since the dreaded Ebola. One ‘celebrated ’columnist, who had never seen anything good in Buhari was true to type in his analysis. There was nothing diplomatic about the language used and message of hate he meant to send out. Being pessimistic is one thing, being negative is another thing altogether. According to him, every step made, every decision so far taken, every appointment so far made were actions of a man who was determined to destroy Nigeria. There was no attempt at balance. None of understanding of the kind of economy and the Nation State that was inherited by this Government. And speaking of balance, there were many others who believe from their writings, that this administration is the best thing that ever happened to Nigeria since we discovered oil. They made us believe that we have a near genius in government who has done no wrong and can do no wrong. One writer tried very

We voted for change didn’t we? what the previous administration must have done to get them to that stage. That is disingenuous. Finally: Nigerians have been used to certain things which we do not expect to change—even when we voted for change. We are used, for example, to having the cabinet announced within the first couple of weeks of a new government. It is a sign that a government is now in place and ready to work. But very often, what really happens is that the President has no clue as to the ability of those he is bringing to his cabinet and the people who have forwarded the names are not particularly interested in competence or performance; only political patronage. The result is that should run an inclusive the Nation gets short changed as government. And I sloppiness and incompetence certainly don’t believe continue to reign. Surely this that only one section of should change if really we voted the country has the for change. Also, the abuse and Besides, monopoly of merit. recklessness of the Ministers Never mind that those which we all agree must be common sense who are shouting the curbed can only be done if if not equity, loudest now, were the accountability returns to the Civil worst offenders in the Servants. This cannot be done if means you last government. But keep rushing in Ministers should run an we then it is early days yet. without changing the mind-set of After all it is just the Civil Service. inclusive hundred days! Having said these, surely you government don’t need 150 days (including the time he was President Elect) Others have talked about improved to do due diligence? The people that he is electricity and the refineries that are now working without giving any recognition to going to use are not from Mars. And if they hard to defend the lopsided appointments so far made by saying they were all on merit and Nigeria should move away from ethnic considerations when it comes to appointments as long as the man performs. Now, I am all for merit and I believe Nigerians put too much emphasis on state of origin to the detriment of performance. I have also argued with friends that having your townsman in a position of authority does not guaranty that your life would be touched in any positive way by his appointment. But that is not to ignore the constitution which says our appointments must have a federal character. Besides, common sense if not equity, means you

any young people are very idealistic about marriage; at least, that is the impression I get when I interact with them. At a youth gathering sometime ago, a young man told me this story and asked for advice. His friend and the fiancée had agreed that there will be no premarital sex, mainly on the insistence of the lady. The young man grudgingly agreed and looked forward to deflowering his wife after wedding, but alas he encountered no roadblock on their first outing. He was angry and disappointed. He then asked me, what should his friend do? It was my turn to fire him questions. “Did the lady tell your friend during courtship that she was a virgin?” He answered no. So the friend only assumed. “What or who is your friend marrying, the virginity or the lady?” “The lady,” he answered. “So what is the problem? This friend who is obsessed with virginity, is he a virgin?” The the act, they are virgins because consent answer was “no.” A lot of the time we chase is a prerequisite for losing your virginity. shadows instead of substance. We know for a fact that sports women Then I remembered a story another friend and others involved in some physical told me some time ago and I started activities can inadvertently break their wondering, who is a virgin? My friend said hymen. The implication is that there is in a particular country (name withheld no evidence to prove their virginity, but because I could not independently verify his can those of them who have never had tale), it is a crime or taboo for a girl to lose her sex still be classified as virgins? “virginity” before marriage. So what the girls Who is a virgin? The simple dictionary do is to engage in anal penetration (AKA anal definition of a virgin is “a person who sex) and the men also grope their breasts, has never had sexual intercourse.” So bums and other parts of their bodies during what is sexual intercourse? Wikipedia pre-marriage relationships. But their hymen says sexual intercourse “is principally the (the membrane partially or totally covering insertion and thrusting of a male’s penis, the opening of the vagina) is still there for usually when erect, into a female’s their future husbands to “proudly” break after vagina…” This definition is old, marriage. My question is: are these girls still traditional and does not address virgins? Na who be fool? Who be mumu? emerging trends. Humankind has Also in some relationships where fiancés “moved” on. Same sex relationships and and fiancées agree to no sex before marriage, marriages have been legalised in many they engage in all forms of sexually intimate countries, a fact Wikipedia acts, except actual vaginal penetration with acknowledges. So, sexual intercourse the penis; are they still virgins? There are now includes “oral sex,” “anal sex” and lesbians who are actively involved in same “fingering” among many other new sex relationships, but have never been trends. penetrated, so their hymen might be intact, So who is a virgin? The definition of a are they virgins? Now it gets a little virgin has become a matter of individual complicated. A school of thought argues that interpretations to many, but I will associate rape victims, who were virgins before the virginity with one who is pure, chaste, rape, are still virgins, even though they have undefiled, unpolluted and unadulterated. been penetrated and the hymen, broken. They You make your deductions. argue that as long as they did not consent to

Who is a virgin?

C M Y K

Many young men want to marry virgins, but cannot find them. Water everywhere, yet none to drink. Who are the pollutants? Why are the virgins scarce? We all know. If married men and women leave bachelors and spinsters alone and bachelors and spinsters keep their hands off one another, there will be an avalanche of virgins. We are knocking our heads over a situation we contributed in creating? To young men looking for “virgins” to marry, this is my take. It is your life and you have a right to live it the way you like within legal limits, of course, but I have issues with people who come to equity with filthy hands. Also, what exactly do you want from marriage? You must have clarity of purpose, so that you do not focus on the ephemeral to the detriment of recurring issues in marriage. Virginity is a virtue and it is good for spiritual reasons and the feelgood factor ( na me disvirgin, actually deflower, my wife), but transgressors should be forgiven. God’s grace, if not, I will not be here running my mouth, sorry pen. I belong to groups who encourage young people to live chaste lives, but we do not condemn others who have made mistakes, because “there is no condemnation unto those who are in

were, we are now in the communication age. This administration inherited a very bad economy. There is no sugar coating it. There was a time this country earned 120, 130 dollars per barrel at two million barrels per day. Where did the money go? It galls that the Jonathan administration forgot to make hay when the sun was shining. There is no critical area that we can say was brought up to par despite the huge financial windfall. Now we are doing 40 dollars and people expect the economy not to be affected. In fact, it is a pointer to the resilience of our country that we have not been brought to our knees. But we will soon be if a well articulated economic programme is not announced soon. I think this government has been too tardy on that front. The speed with which it moved against Boko Haram is the same speed it should have used to tackle the economy. Fever hardly improves without drugs and the pills are usually bitter. Fever also gets worse if unattended to. The economy must be addressed: NOW. But the change that I see which heartens me is intangible. But it is there; and it did not take a hundred days to achieve. It is in the air and you feel it as surely as you feel the harmatan chill in December. There is a seriousness around governance which we have not seen in years. And it is not just in the area of corruption alone. People are beginning to feel accountable, or better put, that the system will make them feel accountable. The culture of impunity is threatened not just in the public sector, but also in the private domain. The seriousness and the growing discipline, even among the polity, are palpable. Leakages are also being plugged and ostentatious life style is reducing. And with it is a grudging respect for Nigeria in the international community. This is indeed a positive change and shows what can be achieved with a different attitude to governance. It seems we are no longer a country of anything goes.

Christ Jesus.”(Rom: 8:1). “If the son of man sets you free, you are free indeed.”(John 8:36). The simple message is “go and sin no more.”(John 8:11). Let me conclude with an analogy. Prior apologies for comparing God’s created with manmade objects, but I see a relationship between virgins/non virgins and brand new cars/fairly used cars. Everybody loves a brand new car. We love the freshness, the pride of being the person who tore off the “rubber,” but can everybody afford a brand new car? Again if you are offered a brand new Kia Picanto and a Lexus Jeep that has done only 5000 miles, which one will you choose? Also, between a brand new Honda Accord and a Rolls Royce with a 10,000 mileage, which offers superior performance? Which is better, marrying a virgin you will live turbulently with for the rest of your life or a spouse who is a soul mate, although she had a prior relationship? Virginity is good, godly and holy, but marriage is much more than virginity. Marriage already has trailerloads of issues. Sort out prior issues during courtship and leave them there; do not import them into marriage.

20—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

uhari’s first attempt failed in 1985 . Unbridled zeal and passion dominated sensitivity and discretion. An innate obsession for rectitude and order propelled by youth and absolute military powers would suffer no debilitation from political calculations and compromises. He failed to temper perhaps ill digested idealism with cold realism. And the fight to salvage moral decadence was allowed to accommodate wanton disregard for human rights and freedoms. He was so stern he lost his friends. Collective leadership, that carrying along of members of the top echelon was not an obvious priority, suffered. He was fervently patriotic and resolutely committed to uplifting the society. But he suffered a set back, failed. Spare and austere, without the flabby morality of others, Buhari is prone to severity and inflexibility rather than political lasciviousness. Without apparent lust for material acquisition and personal aggrandizement , Buhari would find it easy to be an elaborate living example of the discipline he wants for the country . Most African leaders suffer a disconnect with the people and leave their countries worse than they met them because they lack the moral stamina to maintain any respectable level of integrity. For when a man preaches one thing and promotes the contrary through his body language and actions, the masses see a bumbling , dissembling hypocrite and withdraw their trust. With Buhari however, the people’s worry is tyranny rather than corruption Leadership entails visionariness and salesmanship. While exemplary personal comportment enhances trustworthiness , Buhari’s manifest deficit in political dexterity always leaves a certain impression of a fundamentalist whose untempered idealism some , especially his fellow leaders, always see as arrogance and or naivety. A certain degree of individualism, devotion and single mindedness must be needed to bring about substantial change in a society steeped in permissiveness, held bondage by all encompassing corruption. But independent mindedness that suggests , in its absolutism , that others , including major benefactors , are fit for contempt, in need of cleansing , can be read as arrogance. Resentfulness , bitterness and schisms become inevitable and retard progress. In 1985 , perceived highhandedness left fellow senior officers estranged and dejected . President Buhari may argue that he deserved no blame for the inability of others to cope with the rigidity of the otherwise beneficial social order that he sought to enthrone. But it cost him his position and his vision for the country. He may even argue that he is indifferent to losses and setbacks if they are prices to be paid for fidelity with high moral principles and aversion for corruption. And I will accept that one may have to sacrifice private advantages and political positions to promote integrity. But good leaders appreciate that societal transformations require mass participation and inclusiveness. And that tact and compromise with a firm focus on the bigger picture is good leadership. The bending has to be calibrated carefully to bring change without fracturing the society. Three months in and many who fought the 2015 battle with him are already disenchanted. It’s easy to assume that those moaning are corrupt politicians whose delusion and bogus sense of entitlement to influence and political office have been badly disappointed . Loyalty is also a virtue , so while he must not yield to evil compromises, the broad legitimate expectations of persons and groups who worked with him must be treated with concern. Sensitivity to little things does not undermine the resolve to bring about change I don’t read coup speeches. They are often meaningless. Sales pitch of a bunch of ambitious and selfish men , often, desperately , masquerading as messiahs. But I read the 1985 coup speech a few days ago and I would advise President Buhari to read it C M Y K

Of President Buhari , inclusiveness and quota system

•President Buhari again. Read it Mr president . You will not agree with the speech but you may learn a thing or two. I am convinced that many APC leaders would share some of the sentiments expressed in that speech just 3 months into this dispensation. Not for lack of economic progress and freedom as the 1985 coupists had lamented but for a certain sense of betrayal in being left out . Alienation, exclusion. Buhari’s passion is not in doubt. His dedication and patriotism find eloquent expression in his entrenched aversion to corruption. While a good leader must abhor corruption in words and indeed, he must acquire and retain some political nimbleness needed to provide transformative democratic leadership . In 1984 he was young , brash, raw and tempestuous. Let’s say he didn’t fail, but it didn’t work. In 2015 , at 73, he must be more measured, more subtle , more pliable. Impulsivity must now yield to moderation. It has to work. The APC chairman had to publicly announce that the party would become more involved in Buhari’s appointments. The party perhaps needs to. But is the party needed to inculcate in Buhari political realism? Is the party needed to teach Buhari a few lessons in political sensitivity and morality? Is Buhari a hostage of his convictions, his zeal and passions? Is it just obstinacy or is it something more pernicious? Buhari was painted by the PDPs electoral megaphone as a religious extremist /fundamentalist, a sectional champion , a maximum ruler who is unacquainted with democratic norms of deliberation, persuasion and compromise. Buhari dismissed the charges as puerile nonsense. He claimed he was a born again democrat and has never suffered from bigotry. We were told that an inspection of his personal staff would reveal his person, a lover of ‘one Nigeria’. I believe Buhari’s handicap is lack of political tact . And it must have then been difficult for the party to defend Buhari when the public decried the sectional lopsidedness in the appointment of some of his personal

staff. We were once told we should vote him because his choice of driver and cook showed he could trust ‘other ’ people. Now we are being reminded that the appointment of personal staff is his prerogative. .And that may not brook significant otherness? We don’t know if he has lost the capacity to trust ‘others’. For in present day Nigeria and in the face all that transpired during the campaigns, even a temporary lopsidedness in appointments in favour of the north will agitate the south. If it can prompt professor Nwabueze to publicly declare that the president is pursuing a northern agenda, then it has done significant political damage. But how can anyone explain such an attempt at a prodigal wastage of goodwill. Igbos say it is the tiny faeces that often do the real damage. How can the president generate a whirl storm of needless controversy only to talk about balancing the appointments in the future. And many jumped to his defence, preaching that ‘one Nigeria’ means best hands can come from one village. All sorts of ‘Janjaweed’ type militias now exist ,particularly in cyberspace, on both sides to the political divide, to do damage to rational engagements. If the president seeks through his actions to make a statement on ‘one Nigeria’, meritocracy or presidential prerogative then he must be clear and firm about it. If he seeks to do some balancing in the future then pure meritocracy is not his conviction. Nigeria is perhaps ripe for meritocracy. But meritocracy cannot be enthroned by hypocrisy. For it is hypocritical to deny many citizens opportunities in the name of belongingness and inclusiveness in quota system only to turn around and talk about meritocracy when seeking to explain away manifest lopsidedness in the presidency’s political appointments. Quota system and federal character may be due for a review to allow a true ‘one Nigeria’. I hope we are ripe. Without quota system 80% of intakes into the NDA will be southerners. That would not help national unity and cohesion. Quota system has its own utility, a practical unifying national purpose. The purpose quota system serves is the purpose of giving everyone a sense of belonging. And that purpose is not served when after 34 new federal

Because the sensibility of persons and groups are grated by the noises of merit blown from the trumpets of quota system

appointments none has gone to the south east. The appointments will be balanced in due course , we have been told, but why would the fears of marginalization be stoked at all. Political sensitivity would mean that in the face of lack of political will to do justice , in the face of a collective cowardice against quota system, merit must be mentioned cautiously, with circumspection. Because the sensibility of persons and groups are grated by the noises of merit blown from the trumpets of quota system . If the society tolerated quota system at some point in its development to foster unity at the cost of justice, to allow some mediocrity to enhance oneness, the sacrifice must always be acknowledged and appreciated. Any conscientious Nigerian leader who then discovers the requisite political impudence to allow lopsidedness in political appointments even for a moment must find the moral effrontery to speak against the ills of quota system and federal character. If such a leader is as courageous , and as independent minded, as Buhari , then he should seek to abrogate it. For it is patently hypocritical to speak so loftily of merit , so contemptuously of ethnicity and geographical considerations yet fail to see the glaring injustice of quota system , the very foundation of inequity, the very negation of the superiority of merit. But if quota serves to prevent the sort of exclusion that ultimately led to the Rwandan massacre then the power equation in the country must be compliant with political geography. No one suffered any chronic injustice that needs some official po sitive bias to be

remedied. So quota system is not an affirmative action, the sort that women in Nigeria deserve. While one may show sympathy for the cultural impediments to the permeation of western education and lack of access to opportunity to the ordinary people in the far north, quota system has to end someday. The northern political elite has kept the masses of the north perpetually subjugated for private politi cal reasons.

Despite lack of opportunity and desperate living circumstances no real effort is made at population control. We need national unity but no section of the country can continue to service the indolence and willful ignorance of another in perpetuity. Let’s enthrone merit. Let’s discard geographical political balancing. But let’s put away quota system first. One Nigeria

is good. But can we?

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—21

Aviation Safety and Economic Regulation – mesmerising views by some stakeholders BY ANGUS OZOKA

ecent publications in some national dailies have thrown up interesting positions nay, postulations on the state of the aviation industry in Nigeria with special mention on the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and it is not surprising that this is the case as the Authority is the regulator of the sector in Nigeria. The various shades of opinion cum positions canvassed, hopefully, are well intentioned and meant for the overall well-being and progress of the air transport industry in the country although, a few of the positions appear to be off track notably, the one calling for the NCAA to be overhauled for failing to carry out economic audit of airline while postulating that if NCAA were alive to its responsibilities, most domestic airlines would not be indebted to the extent of being unable to pay their workers – Really?. It is pertinent to remind ourselves that the airline industry has the following characteristics: ·It is a service industry with sensitive demand ·It is capital and labour intensive ·It suffers competition from within (other airlines) and from other modes such as road and rail ·It is sensitive to economic conditions and technological changes ·It is subject to government regulations (domestic and international) C M Y K

In addition, airline operations are classified as: · Schedule – with published routes, time and fares which are not arbitrarily changed · Non schedule – which are irregular operations such as charter. Under these conditions therefore, it is expected that anyone venturing into the airline business should have carried out a thorough assessment of his potentials and readiness for the enormous challenges in terms of finance, manpower, maintenance, operational and other needs, as well as put in place appropriate management structure and corporate governance process. I am not aware that Nigerians pleaded with or begged anyone to enter into airline business so when the environment is too hot and unfriendly , they have the freedom to exit the industry. This was the case in the United States of America as aptly captured by the Transportation Research Board, National Research Council in its Special Report 230 Captioned Domestic Air Transport Since Deregulation (1991). In the first year of deregulation, hundreds of operators entered the market but by the end of that year more than half the number suffered attrition and went with the wind. One of the opinions expressed in the recent newspaper publications is that “NCAA has a parlous economic regulation on domestic carriers as the Authority has no spine to do its job and is sleeping”. Yet,

The issue of managing FAAN through Public Private Partnership (PPP) should be explored with zonal management structures it canvassed that the NCAA should be made sole regulatory body for air transport in the country which is contradictory. This however shows that the NCAA is not really the problem as the operators, in large part, have not lived up to expectation. It is definitely true that the NCAA is the policeman of the industry but there is shared responsibility since Air Operators’ Certificates are issued on ‘trust’. But let us for a moment accept that the NCAA failed in properly regulating the airlines resulting in huge dept portfolios and inability to pay staff salaries etc. One should be honest enough to put the blame where it belongs which is at the door step of previous Administrations of the Authority and not on current leadership of the authority

which is less than one year in office. The huge debt burden which was reported by the Ministry of Aviation in 2014 to be over Eight Hundred Billion Naira (N800b) for four airlines was accumulated before the current DG mounted the saddle. Perhaps, the socalled stakeholders were the ones sleeping as they did not call for the overhaul of the NCAA then; why now? Another aspect of the publication deals with the autonomy and independence of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) but the proposal that it be merged with the Federal Road Safety Commission would appear to be a difficult and unholy marriage at this time but is worth implementing in the future. However, as soon as possible we should aim to evolve the United States National Transportation Safety Board Structure in which all the modes are brought together for proper integration and coordination. There is however, the need to relocate the AIB to a place that will assure minimum interference by the supervising ministry. Thus, the independence of the Bureau must be assured. The Operators should in turn accept the outcome and findings of the AIB while taking steps to correct the lapses identified through a thorough investigation and analysis of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) amongst others. Accident investigation is a pain-staking research work

and there is no place “for opinions” as to the cause of an accident. It is not a voodoo exercise. The Privitasation of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the establishment of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility were also canvassed in the publications and these are indeed very necessary. In view of all that is said, suggestions for way forward are made as follows: · The powers of the NCAA to properly regulate the sector should not be interfered with as the Ministry, whether Aviation or Transport, should concern itself with policy planning only. The NCAA should be strengthened, not overhauled and all regulatory functions should be vested in the Authority. · The Civil Aviation Act (2006) should therefore be amended accordingly. · The Accident Investigation Bureau which currently investigates aviation accidents only should have its mandate expanded to cover all modes of transportation for coordination and efficiency. This is what obtains in several developed countries. It should be placed in the Presidency to avoid interference by supervising Ministry of Aviation or Transport. · Only worthy airlines should operate in the country and those which cannot survive on their own after stringent conditions have been set by NCAA should either merge or go with the wind. It is not a good idea for government to forge a merger as two sinking airlines will sink even further. Any airline which hopes to survive on Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) largess is not a worthy airline. BASA concept is becoming extinct. ·The Hanger Facility being built at the Uyo Airport in Akwa Ibom has reached advanced stage and can form the bedrock of a national MRO facility to reduce cost of maintenance overseas. ·The issue of managing FAAN through Public Private Partnership (PPP) should be explored with zonal management structures. Also the proposed Second runway at Abuja should be implemented through a Presidential committee to avoid bickering between the Ministry in charge of Aviation and the Federal Capital Development Authority. It will be a national embarrassment if the single runway is closed for any length of time due to unforeseen circumstances. And this is a possibility. Engr. Angus I. Ozoka mni Aviation Consultant

22—SA TURD AY 22—SATURD TURDA

Vanguard , SEPTEMBER 12 12, 2015

Aviation: Stakeholders grumble over the past, uncertain about the future

By Ade Segun

he cream of the aviation industry gathered on Wednesday, 2nd September, 2015 to discuss the future of the industry at the GRA, Ikeja Golf View Suites. In a Breakfast Meeting chaired by the Arik Air Chairman, Arumemi Johnson, industry leaders x-rayed extensively the perennial challenges of Ownership, Funding and Sustainability of Nigeria Airlines. The meet, organized by the Aviation Round Table (ART) featured Professor Anthony Kila of Cambridge University, Bismark Rewane of Financial Derivatives and Stephane Timpano of Brain & Company In his Presentation, Professor Kila gave an in-depth analysis of transition of airlines from one-man private initiative before World War II to state ownership post-World War and finally to the new trends of state/private ownership and full private equity held on the Stock. In his conclusion, he was of the view that government’s involvement in airlines has to do with what objectives it wants the airline to achieve. Such objectives in most cases, Professor Kila said, include, but not limited to driving development in tourism, airport hubs, Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul (MROs) and manpower development. Bismark Rewane who was in his professional elements, gave a detailed analysis of the financial locale in which domestic airlines now operate. He argued that the same harsh conditions will also C M Y K

The well-attended Breakfast did not make room for comments from participants but outside the conference hall, participants engaged freely on the issues discussed affect any new carrier floated by the government and that therefore, there is need to address the challenges. Rewane, Kila and Timpano concluded that whatever government intends to do with the National Carrier and domestic airlines, it should ensure a level playing field and must depart from the past in which it controlled and ran its National Carrier as that would lead to failure. The other speakers, Capt Meggison Noggie, Chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and Capt Mohammed Joji blamed the Ministry of Aviation for the challenges facing the airlines.

They accused the Ministry of bastardizing BASA and entry points to foreign airlines to the disadvantage of domestic airlines. Joji was of the view that government should not invest money in a National Carrier; rather the airline should source funds from the Capital Market. However, the strongest salvo came from the Arik Chairman, Arumemi Johnson, who had no affectionate word for officials in government. A visibly disturbed Arumemi, complained bitterly of his experience in the hands of the Ministry during the tenure of Stella Oduah and the continuing nuisance of aviation Parastatals who he accused of misinforming the President and the public of Arik’s indebtedness. He went into extensive explanation of how he brought his son as Group Managing Director, saying it was at the behest of Exim bank that financed his aircraft acquisition. Arumemi lampooned those who criticize Arik as weak in the media, calling them ignorant. He further showed his detest for a national carrier that will be set up to compete with Arik and the rest domestic carriers. For him, a national carrier should be limited to the role of manpower and MRO development. He chastised the Presidency for poaching pilots he trained and wondered why NCAA would not stop pilots he trained from leaving Arik for greener pastures. In conclusion, Arumemi called for a forensic audit of the Ministry of Aviation and its Parastatals whose officials he accused of corruption.

He told the forum that he never went to AMCON to borrow funds and blamed Union Bank for his plight. He wondered why anybody should ever suggest the take-over of Arik on account of AMCON debt which was insignificant when compared to the value of the airline’s assets. He announced that he has engaged Goldman and Sach and Vetiva to prepare Arik to go public by mid2016 at which time he would have paid off AMCON. He further revealed that he had placed order for 26 next generation Boeing model aircraft and that by 2021, Arik would have a total of 46 aircraft. The well-attended Breakfast did not make room for comments from participants but outside the conference hall, participants engaged freely on the issues discussed. Reacting to Arik Chairman’s call for a forensic audit of the aviation sector, a FAAN official who did not want any mention of his name said that it is laughable to cry over facts like a stranded baby and asked that Arik should first submit itself to a forensic audit over how much it paid for Nigeria Airways Headquarters and Hangar worth over N5billlion and how it financed his start-up. Another participant said he has sympathy for Arik but that he was becoming too emotional in his public discourse. “I believe he is doing what every investor will do to protect his investment. But I doubt if it is in national interest”. In his reaction, Aviation Consultant, Chris Aligbe said “he was tired of engaging operators who are not ready to accept that they are not in any position to meet the challenges of capital flight worth over US$2.7billion on ticket sales alone as at 2014, creating employment for over 400 young pilots and engineers, development of Lagos, Abuja and Kano as primary, secondary and regional hubs respectively. I would want any domestic operator opposed to a national carrier to give Nigerians cogent reasons why not. Incidentally, I am aware that it is only Arik and AON Chairman, Capt Meggison that are opposed to the idea in the industry while Bankole of Med-View Airline, who has close to 40 years in airline operations is fully in support. I just think that those opposed to it are selfregarding and are merely advancing a “dog-in-the-manger” argument that bothers on primitive egoism”, Aligbe said. Aligbe dismissed the argument that the government would waste vitally needed resources on a venture that will fail as self-serving blackmail since the envisaged airline will come on zero funding from government and government sweatequity. An ART member said a national carrier has become long overdue but that government should help Arik and Med-View to become very strong flag carriers whether they go public or not.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—23

I don’t want to come off as sex symbol - Gogowe By KEHINDE AJOSE and JULIET EBIRIM

N recent times the Nigerian entertainment terrain has witnessed a number of upcoming artistes who have the potential to become great. One of such is Ogochukwu Uche Anya a.k.a Gogowe. Beautiful, shapely and with an aura that attracts, Gogowe seems armed with all ingredients to be the next biggest thing after Tiwa Savage. And she’s already knocking on the door of fame with her three singles; Waka, I no send, and Stand up with smashing videos of top quality to go with them. In this chat, she lets us into her musical world and succinctly reminds us she won’t go over the edge even when some of her videos are tottering close to the edge. Beginning Her romance with music started as early as the age of 4, learning how to play the piano and developing her interest in music “When I was four, my dad put me and my siblings in piano lessons and at first we said, we didn’t want to do this thing. We just wanted to play outside, we didn’t care. But after a while, I started loving piano and then from playing the piano, I started singing and dancing. Ever since then, I can’t just do anything else” she reveals The talented singer and songwriter came back from school one day and decided that her internship for that summer would be to record her songs. This move gave birth to her doing music professionally. “I came back from school and told my dad that my internship this summer is to record my songs and my dad said okay. My dad luckily liked the song. If he didn’t like the songs, he definitely wouldn’t have funded them. So he started supporting me. He funds my music till now and may continue until the money starts coming in.” Armed with fifteen recorded songs, the Theatre and Film graduate who is currently pursuing her Masters degree in film and media proC M Y K

duction at the New York Film Academy, is ready to take her place in the music industry. But her journey hasn’t been without challenges. Challenges “It’s hard being an upcoming artiste and being a young female makes it harder. Sometimes, some people think you don’t know what you are saying just because you are young .They think one doesn’t know anything and they tell you how things should be done. You actually know what you want, but it’s hard convincing them that this is what you want. Another thing is, somet i m e s when you

•Gogowe

try to be assertive; they think you are being rude” The message behind her music The Piano playing youngster is convinced that music should have a message. She takes time out to explain the inspiration behind her songs “I no send is a song that basically says you should live your life despite what people say about you. It says you don’t have to care about what people are saying if they are giving you negative criticism. If you focus on what everyone says, you won’t even have time to focus on your own self. So that is basically what the song is about.” My first single is Waka. The song is about empowering women to put their heads up high. That is the main message of the song. Stand up is basically about unity, uniting all cultures and all races, saying that we are all beautiful, we should all be proud of ourselves” How she composes her songs Dwelling on how she composes her song, Gogowe says she writes the lyrics of the song, before flowing with the beat. This is because she doesn’t know to freestyle. She puts it this way: “Personally I come with the lyrics first, that’s because I don’t know how to freestyle. You can’t put me on the spot I will literally just freeze. I find out that when I try to freestyle it ends up being not nice. I have to take my time and think out everything, every note and every lyric I put into it. That is how I actually compose my songs. Most times I wake up around 4am, that is when •Gogowe my brain is

fresh. That is when I get my inspiration.” Gogowe’s selling point Artistes are known for what makes them different. In an industry where everyone is trying to replicate the sound that is in vogue, she confidently says her unique sound and delivery is what sets her apart from other artistes. “My sound is different from any other thing out there. Most of the times, female artistes want to be like the American singers, being Beyonceish. I am just going to do the African thing. I feel it comes easy to me. That is what makes me different” In love with Fela Gogowe grew up listening to Fela’s music. This early exposure to Afrobeat has been instrumental in shaping her love for the genre. Without mincing words she describes how Fela inspires her. “My daddy played Fela a lot during my growing up years. So, when I decided to do Afrobeat, it was fun and it became easy for me. Fela simply inspired me, which was why I actually chose Afrobeat. Just his message inspires me about him. His music always has a message, even if it’s a funny message.. His musicality, the way he arranges his instruments comes together very well. I like his musicality.” Not a sex symbol Sex sells in the entertainment industry and entertainers leverage on sex appeal to get the attention of their fans. For Gogowe, she won’t be harnessing that strategy. Though her I no send video reflects a bit of sex appeal, she reveals that she doesn’t want to be seen as a sex symbol. Hear her: “We got Ezinne, a choreographer, who choreo graphed the video and I let her know from the beginning that I can’t do the sex appeal thing. First of all, my parents won’t have it and I am not comfortable with it. I don’t want to come off as a sex symbol. I don’t want people to look at me as a sex symbol. I want them to focus on my music. When you come out as a sex symbol, they focus only on your sexuality.” Studying film-making for a selfish reason Dwelling on why she is currently pursuing a Masters in film and media productions, she quips:” Why I am studying film-making is for a very selfish reason. It’s actually because I want to master my craft, everything that has to do with music. It’s not because I want to start directing for other people, but that is also a possibility, you never know.”

24 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

By KEHINDE AJOSE 08054680266

Kiss I gave Burna Boy was real - Cynthia Morgan T

he Nigerian social media space was agog some weeks back when Cynthia Morgan shared pictures of her kissing Burna Boy. Though Cynthia Morgan has deleted the images from her Instagram account, many are still wondering why the pictures were taken in the first place and why it was taken off so suddenly if there isn’t something fishy about it. But in a recent interview, the German juice crooner explains the reason behind the controversial picture she posted, saying she shares a wonderful relations with the artiste but quick to add there’s nothing unusual. “I and Burna are actually very good friends, basically we are actually very excited about the project we are working on together and that’s all I can say. It was real. A kiss is supposed to be real right? That’s all I can say. We are going to be working on collaborations together. I don’t know I can’t say a whole lot. I see something working out for both of us, I mean musically. I am not dating anybody in the industry right now but anything can happen; basically it’s all about me being happy.”

I am not doing Hip-Hop for those that understand English alone -Lil Kesh

Cynthia Morgan and Burna boy

Why most songs sound alike — Paul Play Dairo N

igerian music producer and musician, Paul Play Dairo has been off the music scene for a while now. He is back in the industry and currently promoting his new song Fool in love. In a recent interview, he took a swipe at the focus of most musicians in the industry, saying most are in the art only for the money instead of chasing creativity too. In his words: “I think there is a great improvement. I think the guys out there now are very lucky, because when we started we didn’t have all the support from corporate bodies. People say Nigerian music sounds the same because everybody is chasing the money, but leaving creativity out. Have you checked out any top ten countdowns in Nigeria? The songs are always the same. You can’t find highlife, juju and other genres of music in it. I think the solutions is to actually encourage upcoming acts to do other genres of music”

Paul Play Dairo C M Y K

BNL artiste, Lil Kesh has made it known that he is not doing hip-hop for those who understand English alone. The youngster whose songs Shoki, Gbese and Efejoku are still dominating the airwaves speaks about being true to his style of music and pointed out that it is our culture that defines his lyrics. “Put your culture into your rap then your fans will definitely listen to you. If you are an Igbo guy and you know you can put your Igbo dialect in to your rap, do it for your Igbo people. I am not doing hip-hop for those that understand English alone; there are some people in Osun state, Abeokuta and Ibadan that don’t really understand English to a certain point”

Lil Kesh

KIZA Restaurant and Lounge set for opening D

Kiza lounge

ubai’s first authentic African restaurant and lounge moves into its new sumptuous home in DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) this September, as it continues to build on its success, inviting Africans and lovers of African cuisine to experience the best of Africa. According to Lukman Akanbi, Founder, Kiza: “KIZA is more than a restaurant, it’s an experience promoting and celebrating the best of African cuisines. Dubai is one of the most prominent cities in the world, with a vibrant multicultural society with a fine dining culture.We will be honored to enhance Dubai’s hospitality by adding a KIZA experience”. Joe Osawaye, KIZA Managing Partner said: “We want our guests to experience Africa in a genuine, inclusive and vibrant manner through a carefully crafted selection and variety of the best that Africa offers”

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 25

By TOFARATI IGE 08068792241

How I got inspiration for Reggae Blues — Harr ysong Harrysong

Top 15

ive Star Music signee, Harrysong is still basking in the euphoria of the success of his latest single, ‘Reggae Blues’ which has currently assumed the status of a national anthem at clubs, and on the airwaves. In a chat with Showtime, the bald-headed singer who lost his father recently, revealed that he got the inspiration for the song when he was thinking of a way to do something different to entertain his fans. “I got the inspiration for Reggae Blues while I was trying to bring up another side of reggae, and to entertain my fans” he said. The acclaimed songwriter also dismissed the viral claims that he is responsible for writing all the songs churned out by his Five Star Music colleagues, saying, “I have always said it, that Five Star Music is a family, and I am happy with where I am. We are always in the studio together whenever we want to record, and we all drop our inputs; that’s how we work.’

Tolu featuring Don Jazzy - Ifemi Talented Tolu teams up with Don Jazzy in this brand new song titled Ifemi. The song is produced by Baby fresh

. Bibee – Boss Lady Upcoming act, Bibee returns home to finally pursue her music career. She releases a new single titled Boss Lady. Ace producer, Samklef produced this song.

Harrysong

Byno keeps mum on ‘beef’ with promote the song while he Kiss Daniels was not paid the money they

ast-rising singer, Kiss Daniels was recently enmeshed in a controversy with another upcoming singer, Byno over his failure to pay the latter $3,000 which he won in the ‘Woju’ contest. Byno claimed that the ‘Laye’ singer and his management used him to

E-Money’s elaborate private security detail rued

igerian artistes usually move around with bodyguards. Many of them even have men of the Nigeria Police Force on their entourage to protect them from overzealous fans and unruly touts. But one personality in the entertainment industry that has arguably the most elaborate security detail is Five Star Music chairman and Kcee’s younger brother, Emeka Okonkwo aka EMoney. E-money’s security will make even the president go green with envy. Apart from the heavily-armed policemen

Trending Music And Video

usually with him, he also has some plain clothes security operatives following him all around with walkies-talkies and high-tech earpieces. The record label boss was at an event recently, and his security details dominated the discussion of guests. ‘I’ve never see any Nigerian entertainer with this much security before,’ a guest said to his friend. Even as the friend concurred, ‘That’s true; even the president’s security men don’t have more gadgets than this.’

promised to give the winner, and he actually took to his social media page to rant about it some months back. Meanwhile, Kiss Daniels’ camp fired back, saying that Byno begged them that he didn’t want the money, but that they should sign him to their label instead; an offer which they declined. We ran into Byno at an event recently, and when we brought up the topic, he didn’t even wait for us to complete the question before he retorted, ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ When we asked him if the ‘beef’ had been resolved, he spat, ‘I don’t care, and I don’t want to talk about it.’ On whether he would like to work with Kiss Daniels in the future, he said, ‘We’re cool. I’m still his fan. He does beautiful music, and I still score his songs. One love.’

. Ms. Chief – Mercy Is Dead Ms. Chief decides to take a different route with this song titled Mercy is dead. She flaunts her rap skills in this Sami Bond produced song

. Kcee featuring Timaya – Alkayida Five Star General, Kcee unveils this groovy dance song titled Alkayida. He collaborates with Timaya on this song. The song is produced by Dr Amir

Chidinma featuring M.I – Lorry Miss Kedike teams up with Mister Incredible M.I, in this new song called Lorry. The video is directed by Clarence Peters.

ArtQuake – Abule Lawa (Remix) featuring. Reminisce, Jah Bless and Seriki Abule Lawa crooners, Art Quake are back with the remix of the song. This time they collaborate with Reminisce, Jah Bless and Seriki. The video was shot in a village setting depicting the Abule Lawa concept . The video was directed by Dudutoonz production.

. Eedris Abdulkareem featuring M.I – Telemundo No one saw this coming, Eedris collaborating with M.I .The song is for the Nigerian ladies who over-emphasize the importance of being romantic to their partners, based on what they watch on Telemundo. The song is produced by M.I and Soso Betatz

. Falz featuring M.I and Show Dem Camp – Karishika Falz the Bahd Guy is back with the sequel to his hit single Karishika .This tune features M.I as well as Show Dem Camp. The track is produced by Sess

Ill bliss featuring Tha Suspect and Jaywilz – Munachimso Ace rapper, Ill Bliss who has been behind the scene for a while releases a melodious tune off his album titled Munachimso. The song is produced by Kezyklef.

. Jaywon featuring Vector – Back to Sender Former Kennis Music artiste, Jaywon unveils the video of is highlife song Back to sender. He collaborates with Vector to produce an irresistible tune. The star-studded video also features cameo appearances from your new-school favorite musicians and the legends who left a mark on history with their music .The video is directed by Clarence Peters.

. Oritsefemi – Igbeyawo Oritsefemi releases the video of his hit song Igbeyawo. The video is directed by Unlimited L.A, while the song is produced by Fliptyce

. Pepenazi – Illegal featuring Olamide Afro- pop crooner Pepenazi finally releases the video of his Illegal song. He collaborates with Olamide on this song. The video shows how to have fun to the level of excitement that it is dubbed “Illegal” .It is directed by Unlimited L.A

. SpyDaMan featuring Cynthia Morgan – Telephone lies Spydaman is a dancehall act who was once hot in the music scene. This dancehall star collaborates with Cynthia Morgan on this unique dancehall song. The video was directed by Avalon Okpe, starring Nigeria king of comedy Alibaba and was shot somewhere in Lagos, Nigeria.

E-Money C M Y K

Byno

. Ayoo- Oga Cornelius Blessing Akinyemi popularly known as Ayoo who started music at a very tender age .The gifted singer whose strong point is Afro-beat releases her debut single Oga Cornelius. The song is produced by Bilo.

26 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

here are indications that the government of United States of America (USA) is set to partner the Nigerian film industry, popularly called Nollywood, particularly in the areas of coproduction treaties, protection of Intellectual Property rights and distribution, among others. The US Assistant Secretary of State on Economic and Business Affairs, Ambassador Charles Rivkin, dropped this hint when he and his team met with a high-powered 6man delegation of Nollywood on Wednesday, at The George Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, to discuss the challenges and economic prospects of Nollywood and how the US government can begin to officially partner the third largest filmmaking nation in the world. According to Rivkin who was a former US Ambassador to France, his visit is to find a common ground between Nigeria and the USA in various sectors, including Nollywood, pointing out that the US was very much concerned about the issue of piracy and Intellectual Property protection in the sector. “My visit today is one of a long line of engagements with U.S. in coming years and there will be other opportunities to collaborate on mutual interests. We will look at the issue of co-production treaties between our countries, getting your country to ratify and domesticate relevant World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties for the protection of Intellectual Properties especially online; getting big US production studios to invest

A new dawn:

...as American govt. partners Nollywood

Presentation of Plaque To Ambassador Rivkin. L-R: Andy Amenechi, Zik Zulu Okafor, Alex Eyengho, Ambassador Rivkin, Nobert Ajaegbu, Adeyinka Oduniyi and Igwe Gabosky.

20 years as a filmmaker: Lancelot fetes journalists

•Plans to pay homage to Alma mater

opular Nollywood director cum producer, Lancelot Imasuen, who just returned to the country last week after a month-long tour of the United States with his historical film, “Invasion 1897” hosted a selected movie journalists at his Surulere, Lagos, office, as a way of appreciating their support in the past two decades of his career. The informal meeting was part of activities marking his two decades of making quality films and bringing happiness to many homes in Nigeria and the world at large. Revealing his plans to mark his 20 years sojourn in Nollywood, the respected director said the celebration will kick-off officially on October 19 in Benin City and run till October 21. During the event, he will be paying homage to his Alma mater, Ewosa Grammar School, Benin where he plans to renovate the school hall as well as re-institute the school’s Dramatic Society as a way of giving back to the institution that prepared him for what he is doing today. He also disclosed plans to officially release the globally acclaimed film, “Invasion 1897” into the DVD market next week. Lancelot, whose historical film, “Invasion 1897” premiered last December, and is currently enjoying global acclamation, started his film making career in 1995. But it was directing the film, “The Soul That Sinneth” in 1999, that brought him into prominence. Lancelot said it’s a thing of excitement returning to the school that laid the foundation for what he is today. He has since shot a 13-episode TV series called “Star Ryhmes” to commemorate the celebration of his 20 years working behind the camera. In addition, a book on his career and work is due for public presentation. •Lancelot

C M Y K

in Nollywood particularly in the areas of cinemas and other forms of distribution in conjunction with bodies like Netflix among other symbiotic relationship,” Rivkin stated. The Nollywood delegation included Alex Eyengho (President, Association of Nollywood Producers, ANCOP, and Vice President of the International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations, FIAPF), Zik Zulu Okafor (President, Association of Movie Producers, AMP), Adeyinka Oduniyi (Vice President, Independent Television Producers Association, ITPAN), Gab Okoye, alias Igwe Gabosky (President, Motion Picture Distributors of Nigeria, MOPIDON), Andy Amenechi (President, Directors Guild of Nigeria, DGN) and Nobert Ajaegbu (Leader, Film and Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria, FVPMAN). Ejike Asiegbu who was to represent the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria (AGN) missed his flight from Abuja to Lagos. Ambassador Rivkin who was in Nigeria for a 3-day State visit had earlier met with the Presidency, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Trademark, Patents and Designs Registry (TPDR), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Rivkin is a friend to the film industry and has a background in the business (as an executive with Jim Henson’s production company – i.e the Muppets).

We are ready for 2016 AMVCAs, says M-net boss R

egional Director for M-Net (West), Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, during the week announced entry for the 2016 edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCAs) which is organized annually in association with MultiChoice Africa. Calling for entries, M-net boss said, “We are pleased to announce the call to entry for the 2016 edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. At Africa Magic and •Funke Akindele MultiChoice, we have continued to show our support to the film and television industry across Africa even as we continue to provide world class entertainment for Africa by Africans. For the 4th edition of the AMVCAs, we are inviting all entries for film and television works that are produced and broadcast or publicly exhibited from October 1st, 2014 to September 30th , 2015.” Speaking further, Mba-Uzoukwu said: “The African film and television industry continues to show tremendous growth in the kind of content we see and the quality of existing and up and coming talent. The previous editions of the AMVCAs have had a significant impact on filmmaking and I am very certain that the next edition will have an even bigger impact on film and television across Africa.” The AMVCAs were created to celebrate the contribution of African filmmakers, actors and technicians in the success of the continent’s film and television industry and with the success of the previous three editions, preparations for the 2016 edition are underway. The third edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards ceremony took place in Lagos in March 2015, and was broadcast live to DStv and GOtv audiences across the continent.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 27

I can’t go with pant and bra on set —

Precious Chukwu Eke

ven as a greenhorn, Precious Chukwu Eke’s stint as an actress still dazzles. The budding actress has cautioned producers who would approach her with scripts that may want her going nude or topless while on a movie set. Precious who is fondly called Orange Berry, made this known in a chat with HVP, after the conclusion of the production of the movie, “My Neighbor’s Wife”, in Owerri. She played the role of Suzan in the movie. Describing her role as “ challenging,” she said , “It’s so hectic because I saw myself doing a role that is not part of me. It’s not in any way known to be my kind of person, as it involves the character Suzan who happens to be a player. “I really love the character even with its challenge. I would want to play it over and over again, because it brought out the best in me. And guess what? It was a wrap for me, as my best was offered,” she said. The movie with the working title, “My Neighbor’s Wife”, and produced by Kingsley Okereke of the Divine Touch Productions received laudable praises from Precious who rated it as a big budget movie.” On her stance for a nude role, she stressed that her colour makes it impossible for her to wear revealing clothes on set. “Will I even say that I have a busty look that can’t fit such wears? But the truth remains that I can’t go with pant and bra on set.” Directed by Reginald Ebere, the movie starred the likes of Uche Ogbodo, Vitalis Ndubuisi, Andy Ike, Mimi Orjiekwe, Nina Bolanle, Shirley Igwe, Charles Billion, Osita Dike (Egbeigwe-Apama), Chinenye Uyanna, Adaeze Eluke among others. BY BENJAMIN NJOKU wo things are bound to stand T Stephanie Linus’s latest movie, ‘Dry,’ out among other

contemporary issued-based Nollywood flicks. One, its myth and educational values and secondly, the film could easily pass for a gender inspired ‘social movement’ to rid the society of the menace of child marriage than a mere piece of drama. Going to the cinema to see the film, one cannot help but share in the emotional trauma that the lead act, Zara (Stephanie Linus) went through, even though the star of the film was 13 year-old Hailma’s (Zubaida Fagge) who was forced by her parents to marry a man old enough to be her father as his fourth wife. Being a successful African doctor living in Wales, United Kingdom, Stephanie carried her role with high spirit. As Zara, she’s determined to stay away from her horrific childhood memories which now threaten her commitment to marry Alex, the love of her life. Her adoptive mother, a missionary to Africa found it impossible to make Zara to go with her on her yearly medical aid trips to Africa. When she, however, falls sick just before one of those trips and was therefore unable to make the journey, Zara discovers there is a strong possibility her long lost daughter might still be alive in Africa. She steered in a new direction to face and conquer her darkest fears from her unpleasant past. Back in Africa, 13 year-old Hailma’s (Zubaida Fagge) was forced by her parents to marry a man old

Nollywood ssttar arss ssttorm Silverbir d cinemas ffor or Silverbird One Fine Day By ANOZIE EGOLE

t was a dream come true for rising actress, Bimbo Peters, when her movie, One Fine Day, premiered penultimate Sunday, at Silverbird cinemas, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event was well attended by the glitterati in Nollywood who tried to outshine themselves walking the red carpet. Speaking at the event, Bimbo Peters said that she used the movie as a platform to announce herself in the industry. “I choose to do this movie because I saw that an as opportunity for me to bring out myself. I have only acted in one movie but have been involved in up to three productions. The production of this movie was stressful and challenging but fun. I learnt a lot, I worked with a lot of awesome people in the likes Olu Jacobs, Joke Silver and Emem Isong who helped me in supervising everybody on set. Working with Desmond Elliot was a big challenge to me because he is very professional and a wonderful director. He really pushed so much to bring out the best in me. To me, that is one of the biggest challenge I had while producing the movie, “ she said. “One Fine Day,” she said, is a gripping drama about two sisters, Tasha and Nina, who experience more than their average share of sibling rivalry which is worsened by Nina’s slightly disturbed state of mind. Currently showing in the cinemas across the nation, the movie features the likes of Funke Akindele, Olu Jacobs, Joke Silva, Frederick Leonard, Bimbo Peters, Benjamin Touitou and Memry Savanhu. It is directed by Desmond Elliot and has Emem Isong as supervising producer.

Beyond a movie: A review of Stephanie Linus’s Dry enough to be her father as his fourth wife. With no idea of sex or its intricacies, she goes through a dreadful ordeal as her new husband repeatedly sexually assaults her. She becomes pregnant and after the delivery of her child, young Hailma suffers a condition known as Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF), a health nightmare suffered by thousands of other women, she is consequently ostracized, abandoned by her husband, family and community. But what could have become a moment of happy reunion, between Zara and Hailma turned out to be a bleak one, as the latter dies from the condition minutes after realizing that the woman she had known as her mom was not her biological mother after all. Instead a doctor that treats patients with VVF who had come to her community in

search of her own daughter turns out be her mother. The strength of this film is the point of resolution where tragedy brought the both protagonist and antagonist together to make the film a complete work of fiction. The film did not only address the burning issues of rape, child marriage, and the stigmatization that is associated with the social problem, it indeed gives an impression of an unrelenting search to build an utopian society devoid of frivolities and abuse of the rights of all humans. The star of the film, Zubaida Fagge, interpreted her role excellently that anybody watching the film for the first time would hardly believe it was a make-believe. Stephanie, in treating societal-inspired theme, however, utilized the creative style of chronological plot, where one event leads to

Bimbo Peters and Emem Isong at the movie premiere another. There is no mix-up in the presentation of factual scenes, just as the rural setting makes the film believable. From all indication, “Dry” is rich in graphic details and this is enhanced by the storytelling prowess of the scriptwriter. Fortunately, Stephanie through this film has initiated a gender inspired-movement geared towards creating sustainable awareness against child marriage and other societal vices. The film,which premiered recently in Lagos, is an exposition of the lingering child marriage controversy in the country. Before now, child marriage, otherwise known as the “marriage of girls below the age of 18 years,” has remained

a major social problem that has not been addressed by successive administrations despite the public outcry against its practice in most part of the country. The age-long practice affects the girls’ healthy and reproductive lives. Stephanie takes a bold step, using the movie to renew the fight against child marriage. With the recent survey by the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS 4) which indicates that child marriage is on the increase in the country by 18 percent in 2011, compared to 13 percent as recorded in 2007, the relevance of this film, in the modern day Nigerian, cannot be underestimated.

STOP PIRACY NOW! STOP BUYING PIRATED MOVIE AND MUSIC CDs, DVDs. IT IS KILLING THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. STOP! C M Y K

28 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

Sometimes I wear

Hijab to cover my curves

— Victoria Kimani Kenya-born Victoria Kimani stormed the Nigerian music scene to make a difference. Couple of years down the line, it seems the curvaceous beauty has found a nest for herself and she is set to blossom and compete with the very best in the industry. Signed to Chocolate City label, the gorgeous diva talked to us about her life: By ANOZIE EGOLE Evolution into music ust like every other talented singer, music started for Victoria Kimani at a very tender age. In fact to show how talented she is, she recorded her first single, titled How I feel, at the age of 16. “I remember singing around the house because my parents played gospel music a lot. But I preferred listening to real American gospel music. Singing along most times, I started practising and miming on my own. So, one day, I was just singing all alone in the house and my dad walked in and caught me singing. He told me that I had a beautiful voice, but I never believed him because I didn’t really know I could sing. I just liked singing at that point. Because of that, I didn’t like singing in his presence any longer because I was shy. Later, my dad got me a tape recorder and I was recording myself after which I would play it back to listen to myself. After sometime, I started learning how to make words rhyme. When I turned 16, I recorded my first song which was titled, How I feel. It was the most interesting song you would ever hear and I kept recording myself till I turned 17. At 17, I did a back up for Mercy Macah, a top Kenyan legendary singer and she was really at the peak of her career at that time. So I used to visit her and sing for her and she liked my voice. Then she told me she was going for a musical tour two week from then and asked me to come along if I was ready to work hard enough on my singing. We worked together and we did about 16 songs. I learned a lot with her touring countries like, Burkinafaso and Tanzania. We went all over Kenya, performing. That was the beginning of my music career.”

About her person Aside music, Victoria simply C M Y K

describes herself as a slightly rebellious person. “I would describe myself as slightly rebellious and an eccentric person. I think I am an eccentric person because I like to express myself and I get really bored if I have the same hairstyle for a long time. I don’t like waiting for people to do things for me. Even now that I am signed to Chocolate City, I do a lot of things myself. I used to be a make-up artiste at some point, so I just learned how to do things for myself. I am an independent person.” On why she did not venture into gospel music, given her strict Christian

I used to be a make-up artiste at some point, so I just learned how to do things for myself. I am an independent person

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 29

background, she said, “my mother asks me that every day when we talk on phone. She will tell me that it will be better if I go into gospel but I don’t know why I don’t want to go into gospel. I think when I started writing, it was more about how I started, so it was more about expressing how I feel and not necessarily about worship. I love worship music and I listen to it when I want to sleep. I just never saw myself as someone who will make gospel music but I saw myself as someone who will make music that will talk about Christ.” Her involvement with One campaign With her involvement in the One campaign which is in its second stage now, the Kenyan-born Nigeria-based talented singer has said that she bought the idea because she feels that would be a wonderful way of letting the continent know the importance of agriculture since the first edition of the campaign talked about the benefits of investing in agriculture in order to reduce poverty. “This is actually my second year of being involved in One Campaign. The first year was basically to promote and speak about agriculture to different people in Africa. It is all about trying to encourage the youths to be more involved in farming, and reminding them that the richest black man in the world, Dangote, is very much involved in agriculture. So we are just trying to encourage the youths that we have wealth at home through agriculture, that, there is no need going outside to look for wealth when we have so much wealth at home too. When they called me the first time for the One Campaign, I did not even know what the campaign was all about but I later realised that it is all about poverty eradication. Poverty affects women more than it affects men. Anything that affects women touches my heart considerably. On how much of the campaign she has taken home to her people in Kenya, she said, “you know what, this is my lifestyle, this is what I am all about. Recently, there is something going on in the streets of Kenya where women were stripped naked for dressing in a way they termed indecent. The idea is that women are not allowed to wear anything that exposes their body and I was very vocal with the campaign. I dress the way I want and you find out that it all boils down to sexism and poverty and illiteracy. Because I was looking at some women who were victims of that, they were not even indecent; they were wearing leggings. This is something I speak about all the time. So I am very involved with it in my country. I would really want the campaign to come to Kenya as well. Having the likes of Omotola and Waje, among others, coming to Kenya for the campaign will be awesome. Comparing Nigerian music industry with Kenyan It is no doubt a true statement that barely few years since she got into the Nigerian music industry all the way from Kenya, Victoria Kimani has impressed. Talking about her instant success in the Nigerian music industry

she said she wanted to do a panAfrican music that would be accepted all over the continent. “Before I was signed to Los Angelos Laker Ron Artist, I knew I had always wanted to come back home and do music that would be accepted in Africa as a whole. I knew that if I had gone to Kenya it could be cool but everyone knows that when you talk of music and entertainment in general, Nigeria is like Hollywood, compared with other countries in Africa. So I said to myself, I needed to come here because there

I am so grateful to God, almost three years into the business I would say that I am getting closer to my goal but there is still a lot of work to be done

are so many talents. So many people including the media are so interested in music compared to Kenya where less than 65% of Kenyan youths are interested in music but here in Nigeria it is like 70%. So when I was in the US I told myself that I needed to go back home and be a pan-African artiste; that artiste who will be able to move around the continent. So that was the reason for my coming in her,. I am so grateful to God, almost three years into the business I would say that I am getting closer to my goal but there is still a lot of work to be done. Victoria Kimani as a sex symbol Victoria Kimani has been described as one of the most beautiful and sexiest women to ever grace the African music scene. Looking at her and seeing those captivating curves you may agree with those who describe her that way. But in her own perception she sees being a sex symbol as a totally different thing and she explains: “I don’t think that is a bad thing. I am quite aware of that. Besides, why should I apologise for owning up to what is mine. At times, I can choose to wear Hijab to cover it up. Sometimes, I decide to flaunt it. I don’t even look at what people say because this is me and I try to be myself oftentimes. It is people who look at me as sex symbol. I think seeing me as a sex symbol depends on what the people seeing me that way think. It is their own assessment because I do not dress or act it. Dressing is a thing of choice, what others like might be what others dislike. Problems with the parents Many would be wondering how her parents were able to cope with her eccentric lifestyle as a child, being the only daughter of the house. But she wasted no time in disappointing them with this answer, “I think they liked it because I was doing what was right and I was very resourceful. I would sing when I was on my own. Because my daddy was a singer too before he became a pastor, he never saw anything wrong in my singing. Besides, I think I inherited my father’s strong and stubborn streak. I remember some people have told me my father was very stubborn in his young days before he became a pastor. But like I said, it was never an issue; I never saw that as an issue. I remember

when I said I wanted to pierce my nose, I was too young back then in the States and was not yet 18 but I went ahead. When I showed it to my dad he just said “it is nice and cool.” I expected him to be mad at me but he showed no such sign. “ Knowing I had no qualms with my father concerning issues like that, couple of years later I had my tongue pierced and when he saw it he shouted that I should spit what was in my mouth out. I hid it from him for sometime but told him the truth later and he never complained. All I can say is that my parents understand the difference between a good kid who is just weird and a bad kid who is going out of his/her ways to do something bad.” Her fashion style “I work with a lot of make-up artistes but sometimes I dictate my style myself. If I see something that I feel it is not going to look good on me, I will not wear it so that it will not look like somebody is forcing me to wear something. I like to try different things and that is one good thing about fashion.” To make the record clear, she said that her fashion style is quite different from her lifestyle as she said she lives a disciplined and focused life. “My fashion is different from my lifestyle. My fashion might be weird and crazy but that is not my lifestyle. I think I live a very disciplined and focused life. I wake up in the morning, work out, cook my own food and go to the studio and do whatever I want to do. I live a very normal and simple life. I don’t really have a party lifestyle, I don’t club much. I think I need to keep working harder because at the end of the day I want to be found backing my parents up in whatever they are doing. And to do that, I need to have capital. I need to have money coming in for myself. Doing a Kenyan music For so many who are expecting this singer to do a full Kenyan music, their expectations may take a very long time to come to fulfillment as the singer can’t see herself doing it better than those in it already. “That is a very good question, I think I can’t call it a Kenyan music because Kenyan music does not necessarily have a sound the way we have a sound here. But Kenyan music has always been very diverse and we have some Kenyan artistes that do that well. They have a very acoustic kind of dance. The thing about the music is that you don’t have a sound for it but you can differentiate it from other people’s music or tracks with the language. I am kind of scared because I do not know how to go about the song on this side of the continent. I have taken time to listen to all the sounds that I hear but I have not heard one I can really say sounds Kenyan.”

C M Y K

30 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SA TURD AY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 SATURD TURDA

(Text Only)

Toughen the thighs, improve the heart The Deep Knee Bend Technique: Get on your knees with the feet quite wide behind you. First, lower your body down till your buttocks rest on the floor. Then bending slightly to the left, place down your left elbow then right elbow and gently ease your back flat down on the floor. Spread out your hands by your sides. Breathe deeply and slowly as you retain the posture for 5 to 15 seconds. Benefits: The Deep Knee Bend tones the quadriceps (the front thigh muscles) and burns fat in the thighs. It lubricates the ankle and knee joints.

}

The Deep Knee Bend (1)

Leg and Trunk Raise

}The Deep Knee Bend (2)

Technique: Lying on your back, interlace the fingers of both hands and place them behind the back. Breathing in, lift both legs and trunk off the floor. Now breathe normally. Stay in the position for 5 seconds or more. Benefits: This posture firms up the muscles of the abdomen and upper back

Yoga Classes STARTED @ 32 Adetokumbo Ademola, Victoria Island Lagos. 9.00am â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 10.00am on Saturdays

}

Leg and Trunk Raise

C M Y K

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—31

C M Y K

32—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

08 11 6759 759 081 6759759

Kylie Jenner's galore cover shoot is obviously revealing

ylie Jenner — recent high school graduate, home owner, Snapchat queen, and now one of the thousands of young women in Hollywood who has posed in revealing clothing against a white backdrop for photographer Terry Richardson.

The 18-year-old reality star is Galore’s cover girl for its Bombshell Generation issue, and while the cover line claims “The only thing that is predicable about her is she is completely unpredictable,” the photo shoot is everything we’ve

come to expect from Jenner (and from Richardson’s photographs). Perhaps we’re reading into things too much, but in one photo Jenner is holding a stuffed tiger, leading us to believe it’s commentary on her relationship with her

boyfriend, Tyga. And while most people think Jenner has been in quite the hurry to grow up — with her own sister Khloe Kardashian claiming she’s not a “normal” 17-year-old in an interview with Complex in July — Jenner disagrees. “The reality is

that I don’t even want to be 18. I wish I could be 17 for the rest of my life. I don’t want to get any older. I just want to be young and enjoy it, but this lifestyle absolutely made me grow up faster,” she told the magazine. “For me, age is just a number.”

If you’re looking for a girlfriend or THREE, this is the place to go...

H INA’s one child

policy may have created a massive gender imbalance with millions more men than women in the country, but one city is bucking the trend with so many women living there that most men have two or

three girlfriends. The bizarre twist in the Chinese shortage of women story centres around the populous city of Dongguan, in south China’s Guangdong Province, known for producing popular electronics such as iPhones and iPads. But local manufacturers

running assembly plants prefer not to use men as they find them unreliable and instead offer work mainly to women. It’s meant the city has far more women than men, and the men who are there tend to have only odd jobs and casual work, leaving them

with plenty of time on their hands. And that means time for more than one girlfriend, with some admitting they have two or three permanent girlfriends at the same time. One man told local TV: “It is a lot easier here to find a girlfriend than a job.”

The disproportionate number of women has recently led to Dongguan being branded the capital of sex with many women still willingly and knowingly involving themselves in relationships with men who already have other partners. Li Bin, a migrant factory worker from south-western Sichuan Province, said: “I have three girlfriends, and all of them know about each other. Many of my friends also have many girlfriends.” He added: “There are so many young and naive female workers in the city. Why not have more than one

if we can? Look, everyone is here to have fun; if you don’t do it, others will.”

The 71-year-old great-grandmother who has been on 200 dates with younger men because older gents are 'stiff and boring'

or most women, retirement is a time for relaxing and taking it easy. But for Margaret Collins, the golden years are the prime time for partying, pole dancing and serial dating. The 71-year-old is a virtuoso at online dating and says she has hordes of younger men clamouring to take her out. What's more, the platinum blonde pensioner - who has been on over 200 dates - says that dating younger men keeps her youthful.Mrs Collins, a great grandmother, lives in an older person’s housing complex inNewcastle,butspendsherretirementliving it up the city’s notorious Bigg Market. As well as hitting the town, Mrs Collins is a regular on the dating scene and has been whisked away on exotic foreign holidays by admirers she has met online. 'Men my own age are stiff and boring,' she explains. 'I like to enjoy myself and have a C M Y K

dance. I love clubbing with my daughter Mandy and and we both get a lot of attention from young men when we’re out. 'I’m a firm believer that life begins at 70. I’ve never felt more carefree and desirable and I’m determined to spend my retirement having fun.' Twice-married Mrs Collins, originally from East London, had her first daughter Karen, 49, when she was 21, followed by Mandy, now 47, and Joanna, now 41. She married her first husband when she was 20 and spent the next 20 years raising her children whilst working parttime. Margaret, who also raised her granddaughterMorggen,now30,started up her own marketing business and worked as an MD for 21 years until she was 68. Four years later she set up an online dating profile and was immediately inundated with messages from younger men all eager to take her out. 'I have profiles on Plenty of Fish and

Match.com,' says Mrs Collins. 'Some weeks I can get over 100 messages and I could have a date every night if I wanted to. 'Men just seem to fall at my feet, I’ve had marriage proposals and all sorts but I’m enjoying playing the field at the moment.' Whensheisn’tpartyingorbeingwined and dined, active Mrs Collins enjoys tai chi, kayaking, shopping and staying fit. 'People always ask me if I’ve had surgery but I’m 100 per cent natural,' she says. 'I’m lucky to have good genes and staying active and dating keeps me looking young.' But despite enjoying her freedom and the excitement of the dating scene, Mrs Collins admits that she is an old romantic at heart. 'I would like to meet someone eventuallyandsettledown,'shesays,'but he would have to be a special man for me to give up my lifestyle.'

SATURDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 33

Sunshine out to halt slide against Nasarawa Stories by JOHN EGBOKHAN

or many fans of Sunshine Stars, it is unbelievable that their team have fallen from the top spot to the third position on the Premier League table. Come to think of it, the Akure Gunners, as the team from Ondo State are called by their teeming supporters, were for more than 23 weeks, leading the 20-team Nigerian top flight before Enyimba started exchanging the leadership position with them in the last four weeks, only for Warri Wolves to join the fray before consigning the coach Kennedy Boboye-tinkered side to the third spot. And that position is even under serious examination from Wikki Tourist, who are joint third with Sunshine Stars with 47 points, summing up what has been a very tupsy-turvy ride for the lads from Ondo

State. With Enyimba leading the pack with a commanding 52 points, four more than Warri Wolves and a further five better than what the duo of Sunshine Stars and Wikki Tourist have, Sunshine have their work cut

out for them in the final 10 games of the season if they are to get a continental ticket, which they rightly deserve based on their consistency. And with Giwa, with 46 points, trailing them in fifth spot, the battle-line has been

drawn as teams go for points which they hope will help their cause of picking the title or at least, a ticket to play either in the CAF Champions League or Confederation Cup. For Sunshine, whose slump in form was caused to some extend by the invitation of their leading players to the Super Eagles and U-23 camps, the way to halt the slide begins tomorrow when they host Nasarawa United at the Akure Township Stadium. The mission is to win big while hoping that their rivals falter in their own games. For Enyimba, it largely inconceivable that they would allow Dolphins escape unhurt tomorrow at the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba while Warri Wolves will fancy their chances of getting one over visiting Kwara United at the Warri Stadium. Wikki face a tricky trip to Makurdi to battle Lobi Stars, who have shown this season that they have the antidote to stop the top sides while Giwa should really fancy their chances of compounding the relegation woes of Taraba FC when both sides clash in Jalingo.

Heartland, Shooting, Ifeanyi Uba tie on points

ITH about 10 matches left to play in the season, Heartland, Shooting Stars and Ifeanyi Uba are begging to be separated. From available statistics, the trio share the same number of points, 41 and similar number of victories, 12. Though the Owerri-based Heartland have the advantage in terms of goals difference, which stands at +6, as against Uba’s +2 and Shooting Stars +1, the pendulum may swing depending on the outcomes of tomorrow’s games involving all three sides. Ifeanyi Uba take the short trip from Nnewi to Port Harcourt to face Sharks, Heartland also hit the road to Uyo to battle Akwa United while Shooting Stars will also be away in Enugu to face long-time rivals Rangers, in what promises to be a classic game of the traditional teams of the Nigerian league.

Relegation bell tolls for Bayelsa, Taraba, Sharks

HE alarm bells that the cookies have crumbled have continued to toll for the trio of Taraba, Sharks and Akwa United, who are all in danger of being relegated if they do not stem the slide of poor results that have been their lot in recent weeks. From available statistics, Bayelsa United seem the most endangered side heading for relegation given that they have only garnered 23 points from 28 matches, leaving them at the base of the table. And their misery

RESULTS

Sharks Dolphins Kwara Nasawara Shooting Stars Heartland Wikki El Kanemi Giwa Ifeanyi Uba

C M Y K

•Ogunbote

•Amokachi 1 2 1 1 2 0 3 2 1 2

Kano Pillars Bayelsa Abia Warriors Warri Wolves Sunshine Stars Rangers Akwa Lobi Enyimba Taraba

0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0

TOMORROW’S FIXTURES Sharks Taraba Enyimba Bayelsa Lobi Akwa Rangers Sunshine Stars Warri Wolves Kano Pillars

may be increased tomorrow if they loose to El Kanemi in Oghara. Taraba on their part, have to pick all three points in their home clash with continental-ticket chasing Giwa while Sharks must defeat visiting Ifeanyi Uba in Port Harcourt to swim out of infested waters and worm their way into the hearts of their shirt sponsors, Eunisel, who will surely not be happy with the position of the club they have put their money in this season.

v v v v v v v v v v

Ifeanyi Uba Giwa Dolphins El Kanemi Wikki Heartland Shooting Stars Nasarawa Kwara Abia Warriors

4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm

TABLE Team Enyimba Warri Wolves Sunshine Stars Wikki Tourist Giwa Abia Warriors Heartland Ifeanyi Uba Shooting Stars Kano Pillars Nasarawa Rangers El Kanemi Lobi Stars Kwara Dolphins Akwa Utd Sharks Taraba Bayelsa Utd

`P 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28

W 14 14 14 13 12 13 12 12 12 12 11 10 10 8 9 7 8 6 6 4

D 10 6 5 8 10 4 5 5 5 4 7 8 6 10 5 10 7 12 8 11

L 4 8 9 7 6 11 11 11 11 12 10 10 12 10 14 11 13 10 14 13

GF 38 41 43 33 33 30 34 30 30 34 32 31 27 27 23 27 23 21 23 16

GA 22 23 24 26 31 30 28 28 29 30 30 30 42 32 33 29 33 30 34 32

GD +16 +18 +19 +7 +2 0 +6 +2 +1 +4 +2 +1 -15 -5 -10 -2 -10 -9 -11 -16

PTS 52 48 47 47 46 43 41 41 41 40 40 38 36 34 32 31 31 30 26 23

34 — SATURDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

Kojo

sets 1994 benchmark for Eagles Former boss of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Anthony Kojo-Williams has set the USA 1994 World Cup team as the benchmark which the present Eagles squad of Coach Sunday Oliseh must attain, reports JOHN EGBOKHAN

hat do you make of the performance of the Super Eagles in the game against

Tanzania? It was a poor display by the team. So boring to watch. They lacked virtually everything, from cohesion to ball sense and positional play. For a footballing nation like Nigeria, it was a very low standard. What do you attribute the very low standard to? One truth we have to realise is that it goes beyond the national team. And it is too early to start heaping the blame on Sunday Oliseh. It is the football culture in the country, where you have very poor coaching, poor clubs and poor administration. If the proper technical structures are not put in place, what you saw against Tanzania is what you will regularly get. The player who had the better technical exposure, Carl Ikeme showed it and you could see the difference in a player who was brought up in Europe. The others could not, they did not even meet up with him because they do not have it and I tell you, it will take time for this team to be strong. The football federation will have to honestly, try and go back to what the national side was like in the early1990s to 1996. They need to go back to where they had more training tours and camping. Our league system is very poor and scouting network is very weak. These make the task all the more cumbersome. It is going to be difficult to meet such standard. And it does not have anything to do with just one coach at the one level but the general system in the country. But if we must get it right, they must meet that standard of C M Y K

•Sunday Oliseh celebrating a goal with Super Eagles

the 1994 team. Oliseh was part of that team. He should know what I’m talking about. The national team was very competitive. The foreign-based players battled for places with players at home. And in camp Westerhof treated everybody as equals. There were terrific training sessions at home and on training tours. There was unity in the team. They worked for each other. They were a family and you saw that in the team, not like the team that went to Brazil last year where Mikel Obi and Osaze were quarreling and divided the team whose coach was also part of the problem. Not all players merited to be in the World Cup and the players knew some of the things that happened and lost respect for their coaches. The USA ’94 squad had discipline. They had character and that squad should be Oliseh’s benchmark as I may put it now. Oliseh should strive to match or even surpass that standard. I know it will be difficult but he

Imagine a goalkeeper winning the man of the match award. It says a lot of the team we paraded. You can’t compare him with the others. That is why I keep saying that we need to inculcate the right football culture in our league, in our players and in our administration.

•Anthony Kojo-Williams

SATURDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 35

should try and you can never tell. But it takes huge planning and my fear is that we lack that planning now. “One thing that the NFF must realise is that if they cannot better what was done with the 1994 side in terms of preparations, then, I am sorry, we are not going anywhere and that is why we struggled with a team like Tanzania, who were more determined and purposeful , more aggressive but lacked the finishing because of their limited exposure. They could have scored two to three goals but Ikeme saved us and he was the guy who kept us in the game. He was the star of the game? Of course. Imagine a goalkeeper winning the man of the match award. It says a lot of the team we paraded. You can’t compare him with the others. That is why I keep saying that we need to inculcate the right football culture in our league, in our players and in our administration. We need to have better coaches, with better abilities and facilities, not the unqualified coaches we pick around,

•Ahmed Musa

•Ikeme

to impact the right technical skills in the players. How can Nigeria be playing such lazy type of football. They could not even run, no power, no pace. They were very lazy, so lackadaisical. They could not even play into space and string passes together but those boys from Tanzania were harassing them. Is it fair to say that Keshi’s team was better than this team? I don’t want to say that. I don’t want to draw any comparisons. Keshi’s team was rubbish. If I do that, I will be doing a disservice to the nation. Keshi’s team also did not meet the standard that Nigeria deserved. I am not going to draw any comparisons between Keshi and Oliseh. Egypt, our rivals for the automatic ticket from the group to play in Gabon 2017, defeated Chad 5-1, all the more, adding pressure on our team. Of course and they are coming to meet us and we will see the difference. Egypt are technically better. You see all those goals Tanzania could not score against us, the Egyptians will slot them in. It goes beyond all these things we are saying. We need very deep coaching for the players but where are the players? That’s why I said it goes beyond Oliseh. From the football federation down to the clubs and the coaches it should be different from what we have now. If we had a sound youth football culture from the clubs to the national team things will be better and players will graduate from different cadres. You said it goes beyond calling Oliseh but the Federation President Amaju Pinnick calls him the Pep Guardiola of Africa. Do we know the laurels Guardiola won before joining Bayern Munich? A man with sterling records. Where are Oliseh’s records? What are they talking about? It is one thing to sit down and give analysis of a match and another thing to manage a team and be successful. That I can make a lot of noise on the technicalities of football does not mean that I will be a good coach. But since it is early it may be wrong to pass judgment on Oliseh now. Let’s see how he takes on the team but it is wrong to call him Guardiola. The only positive from this team is that we have a technically sound and confident goalkeeper. And he has the presence on the pitch. I haven’t seen a player with such commanding presence in a long time. That goalkeeper reminded me of what Nigerian footballers were like in 1994, the tall, huge players. The others were washouts, playing without direction and flair. It saddens my heart and I am not going to blame Oliseh. Oliseh is a very good football analyst. Coaching it is different. His first game didn’t tell a good story. The players were not moving well. They were not compact and stayed too far away from each other. That contributed to their poor cohesion that day. C M Y K

36—SA TURD AY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 36—SATURD TURDA

Ughelli Go vt college ‘Old Bo ys’ Mariner Govt Boys’ Marinerss da dayy

he ancient Mariners Day of the Old Boys Association of Government College, Ughelli, Lagos branch, held last weekend at the Government College Ughelli Old Boys Association Lagos Branch secretariat in Sabo, Yaba, Lagos. The event which included a lecture also saw 1960 set of the school being honoured and subsequently inducted into the Old Mariners cadre of the association. The ancient Mariners Day is an annual event of the association to honour senior old boys of the school which was founded 1945. Photos by Akeem Salau

Cross Section of Ancient Mariners Day class of 1960 of Government college Ughelli Old Boys Association Lagos Branch

Cross Section of Governement College Ughelli Old Boys Association Lagos Branch in a Group photograph.

Linda weds Onome in grand style in Dubai

L-R;Engr Eddy Agbahor and Prof Egerton Uvieghara.

th aturday, August 8 2015 would remain a day to Cherish for Chief and Mrs. Emmanuel Owereh, retired Custom Officer from Ovu-inland Ehiope East LGA, of Delta State as his US based pharmacist son, Onome Owereh swept Linda Chamah, a chartered Accountant and beautiful daughter of Late Brigadier General Chamah, former Military Governor of Kastina State and Deaconess SB Chamah of Adamawa State off her feet in a matrimonial bliss. The superlative wedding held at Armani Ballroom in the landmark Burj Khalifa Tower, Dubai (UAE), the tallest building in the world. The reception treat was grand, refreshing and exhilarating. It was a three day event that started with a safari desert tour to the traditional area of the beautiful Dubai City by all the invited guests. Followed by a pre-wedding dinner at the State-of-the-art Tong Thai restaurant of the two iconic towers, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel.

L-R;Mr Sagay Itse;Chief Joseph Akpieyi and Mrs Avbovbo Vivian. L-R: the groom's parents; Chief Emmanuel Owereh, Mrs. Kehinde Justina Owereh, Mrs. Tyoden, wife of Dep. Gov of Plateau State, bride’s mother and Deaconess SB Chamah.

L-R: the groom's parents; Chief Emmanuel Owereh, Mrs. Kehinde Justina Owereh, Mrs. Tyoden, wife of Dep. Gov of Plateau State, bride’s mother and Deaconess S.B . Chamah. The couple; Onome and Linda Owereh R-L;Prof. Olu Akinyanju, Amb Edward Martins and Prof Benedict .Itsueli.

L-R: the groom's father, Chief Emmanuel Owereh (Retd) Customs Officer and the groom's uncle, Chief Gabby Okorare, MD, MAC-G, Hotel & Suites, Lagos. C M Y K

R-L:groom's uncle, Chief Gabby Okorare and wife, Mrs. Rose Okorare, Dep. Dir, Ministry of Education, Lagos State and other guests

R-L;Dr Felix Akintayo Sawyerr;Mr Peter Arigbe and Engr Emmanuel Ofoche

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—37

Lesbianism thrives in prison

•A bandoned bbyy ffamily amily hur ells her prison ssttor •Abandoned amily,, friends and cchur hurcch, ex-inmat ex-inmatee ttells oryy

•Miss Jennifer Mberekpe

BY BENJAMIN NJOKU

LTHOUGH she has since regained her freedom, after spending one year behind bars, it will, perhaps, take Miss Jennifer Ngozi Mberekpe a long time to overcome the traumatic experience she had while in prison. In fact, the more she tries to erase the unthinkable picture from her mind, the more she’s haunted by its memory. She can never look towards the unforgetable prison images without a ‘shudder and a sigh.’ From the terrifying practice of ‘ warm bath’ by the prison mother, and the unholy practices that become the order of the day in the cell, the prison gate for Miss Mberekpe presents a scary picture of the proverbial “Gate of hell, or better still, a thin line between death and life.” “The first day I entered the prison, the authorities there were contemplating on which of the cells they would put me. At last, they took me to a particular cell where they handed me over to a cellmate called my mother who gave me a “ warm bath” as a way of welcoming me to the cell, and later she took me through the prison routine,” she began. Miss. Mberekpe was recently freed from the Kirikiri Prison, Apapa. She had been behind

bars since last year, following a case of fraud preferred against her. But for divine intervention, she was freed some 12 days after the Founder and General Overseer of Word and Spirit Assembly Church, Satellite Town, Pastor. Chris Ekeh visited the Kirirkiri Prison on the 17th of July, 2015, to celebrate his 40th birthday with the inmates. Her case was struck out by the trial judge. In a recent encounter with Saturday Vanguard, Miss Mberekpe, who hails from Imo State, told us what it was like to spend a year of her life in the prison, living at the mercy of the inedible food, solitary lifestyle and the scratchy prison uniforms. Describing her release as a “divine intervention’ Mberekpe said, the prison is not a place anyone can wish for his or her enemies. While the days, Mberekpe spent behind bars were terrible, she believes that the worst of these moments was when she was first transported from the court to the Kirikiri prison. According to her, “When they took me to the prison, I thought it was the end of the road for me. I left everything in the hands of God. I prepared my mind to accept the worst while in prison. I was not scared, but it

is not an experience one would wish his or her enemies. It is only those inmates who have no focus that would want to go back there.” While I was in prison, she continued, “ I never had any good news. It was one sad story or the other. But what kept me going was the fact that I believed I would overcome my travails someday. I was never discouraged.” However, one thing that gave Miss Mberekpe sleepless nights throughout her one year behind bars was a situation where her family, friends and church members abandoned her to her fate. She said, “ Even when I called my relations, friends and church members nobody came to my rescue. But despite my predicaments, I still had peace within me and I strongly believed that someday, I would regain my freedom.” Miss Mberekpe opened a can of warms, revealing that lesbianism, among other ugly acts, thrives in prison. “ I discovered some unholy practices such as lesbianism thriving in prison. But I did not do it because from the moment I was ushered into the place, my cell mates knew I was a Christian and did not indulge in such unholy practice,” she revealed. She however, acknowledged the efforts made by the prison authorities to curb the bestial act. “ All thanks to the former Deputy Controller of Prisons,DCP, who dealt with the evil. She stood up against it and ensured that lesbianism was drastically reduced in the prison,” she said.

•Pastor Chris Ekeh(right) presenting a cheque to Miss Mberekpe

Miss Mberekpe’s journey to the Kirikiri prison, began in 2014, when she was linked with N12.5 million deal, which was invested in her former company by their clients. Then she was working with a Lagosbased assets management company which was into stock, shares and private placements. The company, according to her, collects the funds from individuals, companies or associations and invest them into unknown products. According to her story, in 2014, a large sum of N12.5 million was invested in a business, but following the crisis in the stock exchange market then, the fund was diverted on the instruction of their client. It so happened that one of the investors, whose share was N1 million was not satisfied with the development, as he decided to take a legal action against her because she was the person that brought him into the business. “It was a business transaction that took me to the prison. It wasn’t as if I embezzled the funds or it was lost due to bad business. But the client involved used his discretion to divert the funds which was supposed to be used to execute the business,” she recounted. Miss Mberekpe, said, the turning point in her life as an inmate was the day she encountered Pastor Chris Ekeh, when he visited the Kirikiri prison to celebrate his 40th birthday with the inmates. According to her, she was moved by the man’s message. “While he was preaching to us, the man of God said, ‘though they may have forsaken you, your family members, friends an even church members, there is one thing that will follow you. It is the goodness and mercy of The Lord.’ She said that his message might have looked ordinary to many but to her it meant a lot and she quickly grabbed the message and tried to live it. “ The man of God visited the prison on the 17th of July, and I regained my freedom on the 29th of July. All along, no lawyer has represented me in court, but the last time I appeared in court, after Pastor Chris’s visit to the prison, a lawyer surfaced in court on my behalf, courtesy of my father’s friend who paid him to seek my release in court.” Interestingly, Pastor Ekeh had promised to render financial assistance to any inmate that would be released after his visit to the prison. Recently, he fulfilled his promise when he handed over a cheque of N200,000 to Miss Mberekpe to enable her start a new life.

38—SATURDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

Lifeline:

ou just got home from a romantic dinner with your partner. You have candles burning in the bedroom and soft music playing in the background. When it’s time to get intimate, though, you realize you’re not quite ready. It’s stressful, but it’s also normal for your body and your libido to change as you get older. Not all changes are bad, or a sign that something’s wrong with you. Almost half the men out there have some sexual issues in their 40s and 50s. Men are just less likely to talk about it. Sexual health is important at any age. And the desire for intimacy is timeless. While sex may not be the same as it was in the 20s, it can still be very fulfilling. Discovering which aspects of sexual health are likely to change with age, often helps you and your partner adapt. You may not get aroused as fast as you used to. Or you may need more foreplay to get aroused. You might lose your erection sooner, too, sometimes before you climax. These issues are called erectile dysfunction that becomes more common with age. Often, that’s because there’s less blood flow to the nether region. Or your body might be making less of the hormone testosterone. Health conditions like diabetes, depression, heart disease, and high blood pressure also increase the odds of getting ED. Sometimes the medications you take to treat them also cause problems. Many men over 40 notice that their orgasms are weaker. They might have less fluid when they ejaculate, too. Changes in your body that come with age are probably to blame. Weak pelvic floor muscles, for example, can cause trouble with ejaculation. A lagging libido can be frustrating. After years of wanting sex all the time, some men say the lack of interest feels like losing an important part of who they are. Testosterone plays a critical role in a man’s sexual experience. Testosterone levels vary greatly among men. In general, however, older men tend to have lower testosterone levels than do younger men. Testosterone levels gradually decline throughout adulthood — about 1 percent each year after age 30 on average.

•Middle aged couple

Sexual health and aging: Keep the passion alive As a man ages, arousal may be a problem and erections may not be as firm. It may take longer to achieve full arousal and to have orgasmic and ejaculatory experiences. Erectile dysfunction also becomes more common. Why does this happen? Lower levels of testosterone “can dampen desire. But that’s not the only reason. As you get older, life stressors like money, kids, and career pressure can make it more difficult to get and stay interested in sex, so can medications, alcohol, depression, and major illnesses. As women approach menopause, estrogen levels decrease, which may lead to vaginal dryness and slower sexual arousal. Emotional changes are somewhat more common in women. While some women may enjoy sex more without worrying about pregnancy, naturally occurring changes in body shape and size may cause others to feel less sexually desirable Any condition that affects general health and well-being may also affect sexual health. Illnesses that involve the cardiovascular system, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, hormonal problems, depression or anxiety—and the medications used to treat these conditions—can pose challenges to

being sexually active. High blood pressure, for instance, can affect your ability to become aroused, as can certain medications used to treat high blood pressure. In addition, any surgical procedure that affects the pelvis and central nervous system may have significant impact on sexual response. The body, however, is resilient. Given time to heal and some loving attention, most people can often become sexually responsive again. Certain medications can inhibit sexual response, including desire for sex and your body’s ability to become aroused or have an orgasm. If you think you are experiencing sexual side effects from a medication, consult your doctor. Many couples want to know how to get back to the sexual arousal and activity levels they experienced in their 20s, 30s and early 40s. Instead, find ways to optimize your body’s response for sexual experiences now. Ask yourselves what’s satisfying and mutually acceptable. Find ways to relax The more stressed you are, the less likely you are to think about sex— and thinking about it can get you in the mood. Stress hormones close up your blood vessels. That can add to ED.

Get moving Active men have fewer sexual problems. Exercise boosts blood flow throughout your body. It also staves off depression, heart disease, stress, and other problems that can zap your sex life. Do Kegels You may think of Kegels as exercises for women, but men should do them, too. They strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, which are “crucial” for sex, Siegel says. To do one, tighten and hold the muscles that control your flow of urine for about five seconds. Then relax them. Do at least two to three sets of 10 a day. Make good health a goal You might have sleep problems and gain weight as you get older. Both can lead to lower testosterone levels. These can also affect your desire and ability to have sex. Eat healthy food and get enough shut-eye to help yourself in and out of the sack. Communicate To maintain a satisfying sex life, talk with your partner. Set aside time to be sensual and sexual together. When you’re spending intimate time with your partner, share your thoughts about lovemaking. Help your partner understand what you want from him or her. Be honest about what you’re experiencing physically and emotionally

SATURDAY

Vanguard,SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—39

Vanguard, SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015 —41

Diet Doctor

hat you put on your plate might affect what you see in the mirror. But a few tweaks to your dining habits can go a long way to keeping your skin youthful and your body healthy. The key approach is to eat better. Poor-quality foods, like trans-fats, cause inflammation—and aging is basically a chronic inflammatory state. You can look older because you’re eating the wrong food. Absolutely. For instance, eating too much sugar and processed carbohydrates (like pasta, bread, and baked goods) can lead to damage in your skin’s collagen, which keeps your skin springy and resists wrinkles. What’s more, these foods put your overall health on the line. They are tied to

Don’t let your diet age you

•Fruits like apple is good and healthy

diseases like heart disease and diabetes. But foods like fruits and vegetables are good for your skin. Limit potato chips and French fries and anything that’s deep-fried in oil. It can raise your LDL “bad” cholesterol and lower HDL “good” cholesterol, which increases your risk for heart disease. SEXUAL ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS SEXUAL ISSUES AND SOLUTION HOW TO DEAL WITH SEX PROLEM IN MARRIAGE (V) 5) Ask if there are any specific issues or concerns. Try to get to the root of your issues. Don’t be afraid to be specific about your concerns, as this can lead to solutions to address them. If your partner brings up a feeling of boredom in the bedroom, think of ways to spice up your usual sex routine. Maybe your partner is feeling exhausted by their workload at the office, or experiencing a negative image of their body when fats accumulates in unwanted places. Discuss possible solutions to these issues, like taking less hours at work, going on a vacation just the two of you, or taking up exercise together. I was diagnosed of azoospermia and your products Fertilaid for men with Motility boost was recommended. How sure ad effective are this product in treating azoospermia? How long will I use before getting result – Chinedu Azoospermia is a case of no active sperm cell in the semen. Yes, Fertilaid with motilityboost are very effective in treating this condition. In most men, result starts showing from the 2nd month of usage and in most cases sperm analysis is carried out every two months of usage throughout the treatment period of six months.

C M Y K

Check food labels on baked goods and crackers, and avoid “partially hydrogenated oils” and “vegetable shortening.” Doughnuts and sugary pastries are packed with sugar, which may be linked to the development of wrinkles. Hot dogs and bacon and other processed meats are usually

high in saturated fats and have nitrates in them. Both of those can lead to inflammation. Fatty meats are also high in saturated fats. The key with meat is to keep it lean. Tenderloin cuts tend to be leaner. Look for ground beef that is at least 95% lean. Ground

turkey breast and chicken breast are other lean options. Moderate drinking may be good for your heart, but heavy drinking can rev up the aging process. Go for vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean protein can help fight inflammation and keep you looking your best. Eat whole foods that are closest to their natural state as possible. For example, instead of apple sauce, try a fresh whole apple. Lentils and beans are good sources of protein and are loaded with fibre and nutrients. Your skin is essentially made of protein, so if you don’t get enough healthy protein in your diet, your skin will reflect that. Whole grains such as oatmeal, whole wheat breads and pastas, brown rice, and quinoa help curb inflammation. Go for a variety and make this way of eating a habit. If you’re not getting enough of the good stuff on a regular basis, you won’t be able to produce healthy new skin cells in the way that you should.

HOW TO DEAL WITH SEX PROBLEMS IN MARRIAGE (V) I am presently taking Vigrx plus with plump cream; I’m starting to get a very good result and I’m taking the 2nd dose presently. If I stop taking it, I hope my penis size will not go back to its original size before enlargement and I also do hope in doesn’t have any side effect the long run on my fertility – Jude Vigrx plus with plump cream are herbal products with no side effects because they have no steroid or androgen that can hamper the health. On the other hand, when you stop taking after the 4th month, the size doesn’t go back to its original size, though you have to get the product once in 9 months to maintain the increment you have. I have been using Rhino 5 for sometimes now and its working well for me in giving instant rock hard erection and also making me last long. What other aphrodisiacs can you suggest I try out that works the same way as Rhino 5 – Dara Other effective supplements that can also give rock hard erection include Plant vigra, X-again platinum, Libigrow, Vimax to mention but a few. These herbal supplements works for virtually all men either with health issues or not without giving side effects like headache or nausea, so you can go for any of these. Thank you Viewden, the Vimax with Gingko tea I got from you was very effective and even though I’m on diabetic drugs, I didn’t feel any headache or nausea like I use

to when ii tried some other drugs, I read about Prosolution last week in correcting early ejaculation. Can I also try it out? Hope it doesn’t have any side effects and is safe like Vimax? Chief Lanke. Like most men who have used Vimax with Gingko tea have testified, Vimax with Gingko tea is very effective in handling weak erection without giving any side effects. Most men use it for 3 months t totally correct erectile dysfunction. Prosolution pills is just like Vimax too, just that it’s a bit stronger and it corrects early ejaculation, gives quick recovery time for more than one round and it also corrects weak erection. Dear Viewden, can I have the list of the arousal gels and enhancers that can stimulate a woman- Joyce Some of the products or arousal gels that helps stimulate a woman when rubbed or massaged on the clitoris include- 69 lick me, Crazygirl, Spot on gspot, Horny honey arousal gels to mention but a few. These are all we can take for today. Adults who needs any of these aphrodisiacs can call us on 08034666358,07059294782 or place your orders at www.viewden.com . For further enquiries, send us an email at vieweden@yahoo.com, viewden@ymail.com Kemi Fawole (MD)

40—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

Double tragedy •Family affected

by inferno alleges persecution by Police, neighbours BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA

hen the family of Ifeanyi Ugwu woke up last Saturday morning, never in their wildest imagination did any of them envisage the tragedy that befell them later in the day. By the end of the day, their rented apartment which was part of a 10room bungalow situated at Iba New site, Ojo, Lagos, was razed down by a strange fire. The inferno which snuffed life out of an 86-year-old grandmother almost claimed the life of their 4-year-old daughter, Amarachi. While little Amarachi is lying critically ill in the hospital, the family has to contend with losing all they acquired to the inferno. Their ordeal , which seems to be unending, reportedly started three years ago when Ifeanyi Ugwu’s shop where he sells tiles, located at Coker in Orile- Iganmu, Lagos, was destroyed during the road expansion along Orile- Badagry express way. The loss of the family’s only source of income was better imagined than experienced as Ifeanyi became hypertensive and developed stroke. Unable to make ends meet or pay the rent of the three bedroom flat which they occupied, the family had no option but to move to the one- room apartment at Iba New Site, Ojo. Barely able to speak, distraught Ifeanyi Ugwu who is presently lying critically ill at the hospital, told Crime Guard: “After washing clothes outside the house that morning, I took the detergent and my phone inside. I served my daughter some of the remaining food, closed the C M Y K

•Amarachi... lying critically ill on the hospital bed

•Burnt house

door while I went outside to hang the clothes on the line. Immediately I finished hanging the clothes on the line at the back of the house, I saw smoke everywhere coming out of the building. Before I could raise the alarm, the whole building was up in flames. I was shouting and calling my daughter’s name, no response. I was only able to open the door as the heat from the flames had engulfed the whole building. Miraculous escape Together with other tenants and neighbours who had gathered, we attempted going inside the house to rescue her and the old landlady, who had been bedridden, but the heat from the flames was too much and we could not. I just kept asking God, is this how my daughter will be roasted alive? All of a suddenly, Amarachi walked out of the raging

flames which nobody could enter to rescue her. It was a miracle. Her clothes were in flames. Neighbours and co-tenants who were around advised that I rush her to the hospital. Left with no option, no money, no clothes on, just with wrapper on my waist, I rushed my daughter to the chemist instead of a hospital. When I got there, the owner of the place said that the burns were too much and beyond what they can handle. Weeping like a child, I took her to Divine shield hospital, where she was admitted and given first aid treatment by the nurses as the doctor was not around. But for other patients in the ward who raised alarm when I passed out, I would have been dead by now, as I have been very hypertensive since my shop where I sold tiles was among the shops destroyed during the road construction at Coker in

I just kept asking God, is this how my daughter will be roasted alive? All of a suddenly, Amarachi walked out of the raging flames which nobody could enter to rescue her. It was a miracle. Her clothes were in flames Orile.’’ Wife laments His wife, Mrs Roda Ifeanyi-Ugwu, stated the plight of the family in tears: “At about 9am that day, I left the house after we had breakfast. I took the vehicle which I used to transport bread for servicing at the mechanic. I went with my nine yearold son. I left the vehicle there while my son and I went to the market. We were in the market buying things

Continues on page 41

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—41

Masquerades on the rampage in Nsukka BY CHINENYEH OZOR

neasy calm has pervaded the university town of Nsukka, Enugu State, following allegations of involvement of masquerades in the increasing acts of robbery, torture and extortion of money from unsuspecting victims. To this end, the Police in the area have swung into action with a view to curtailing their excesses. Already, two masquerades are in police net over reports of torture and extortion. Attack on the police Crime Guard gathered that the two masquerades in police custody were arrested at Nru Community after engaging the police team in physical combat. Onlookers were also alleged to have assisted the masquerades by stoning the police and jeering. The Police managed to arrest two while others fled into nearby communities and bushes. It was learnt that a combined team of policemen from both the Area Command and Nsukka Division intervened following complaints from different quarters of brutality, extortion and blockage of roads along Ugwu-Nkwo, Orba Road and Nru Junction. Reports of harassment The complainants also reported that unsuspecting passers-by were being unduly harassed, maimed and even compelled to part with their hard-earned money or face the wrath of the masquerades. Based on this, a combined team of policemen from the Area Command and Nsukka Urban Police Division swung into action and managed to arrest the two. Reports also revealed that the two masquerades brutally attacked a staff of Radio Nigeria, Dream FM Station, Nsukka, and an academic doctor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who lodged complaints with the Police, prompting the movement of policemen in their numbers into the communities.

Continued from page 40 when my phone rang and a friend told me that my house was on fire. Immediately, we boarded a bike to the house where I met the entire house raised down by fire. As I was crying, neighbours around told me that my husband and daughter were at the Divine shield hospital. One of them directed me to the hospital. When I got there, I met my husband and daughter, my daughter’s face, hands and back were burnt while my husband was unconscious. Unfortunately, the doctor was not on seat, it was the nurses that attended to my daughter and husband. “After my husband regained consciousness, he told me what happened and how our daughter was rescued. We took our daughter to Iba police post at Adolf to report C M Y K

•Harass, rob, torture passers-by •Police embark on massive arrest

us. The accusation that we beat and broke someone’s head in the morning while wearing masquerade is not true. We did not engage the police in any physical challenge. I am surprised how my sister was arrested in connection with the masquerade assault. It is unheard of for a woman to wear masquerade in Igbo land.” Earlier attack A similar ugly scenario played out two weeks ago, after two masquerades at Obukpa Community along Obollo-Afor Road robbed one Chinoso Ezewaji, a trader of N57,000 and his handset. The two masquerades were identified as Kenechukwu Eze and Chima Mama.

•Masquerade in Enugu Masquerades open up The two masquerades spoke to Crime Guard separately. The first simply identified as Omeje Ugochukwu (22) said he hails from Amaozalla Community in Nsukka Local Government Area (LGA), Enugu State, said: “I was arrested in connection with some masquerades that operated in the morning hours. They reportedly broke someone’s head in an attempt to collect money, and escaped. The masquerades were celebrating the annual festival in Ihe/Owere autonomous community aimed at entertaining inhabitants, visitors to the community and the university town at large, but not to maim people. I use the masquerade to beg for money to support myself as an welding apprentice but not to apply force to compel people to give me money. The masquerades that operated in the early hours of that day were more volatile, extorting

and whipping people with all manners of wickedness. I did not know that the men after the masquerades were policemen as they wore plain clothes. I had no dangerous weapon on me but only a small whip and palm front when I was arrested with the other masquerades. What I collected before my arrest and detention was only N20.” Arrest of woman as masquerade The second masquerade who identified himself as Anayo Ezema (23) said he hails from Isi-Uja in Ihe/Owere Community. “I am a vulcanizer. . I just came to participate in the evening session when I met a man and appealed to him to give me money. We were asking the man to drop the money on the ground as masquerades do not collect money by hand from people when police enveloped and arrested the two of

Double tragedy the case that same night. When we got there, the police said that the case has already been reported by our co-tenants and that the IPO was not on duty. From there, I took my daughter to my sister in-laws’ house as we had no food and no cash. When my sister in law saw my daughter’s condition, she took us to their family hospital that night where my daughter was admitted alongside my husband who is hypertensive. Visit to Police station “The next morning, I went back to the police post at Iba and the officers on duty said the IPO was

not around. Fortunately, I met the IPO when I went back on Monday morning. I told him that I am the mother of the victim in the fire outbreak that happened on Saturday. Immediately, he shouted; “You burnt down the house and ran away, now you have come because we impounded your vehicle.” I said no that I came to the station on Saturday and on Sunday but was told he was not on duty. He said I should shut up, who asked me to speak while he was talking? I said I was sorry, all I wanted to do was to explain. He then asked the junior officer to walk me out of his office. I knelt down, pleaded with him to, at least, take my

Police reacts The Area Commander, Nigeria Police Command, Nsukka, ACP Musa Haladu while confirming the arrest of the two masquerades, advised communities in the command not to allow masquerades disturb people from going about their normal businesses, adding that every community in the country has one culture or the other which should not be used to disturb the existing peace in a community. He warned that Nsukka is an urban town that has the mixture of different people and culture. Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ebere Amarizu, had earlier issued a statement that communities should regulate and monitor those who wear masquerades as some of them hide under it to harass, intimidate and rob people. “The Police is not against any culture but community leaders must know the character of people they allow to wear masquerades in the name of culture. A masquerade has no right to mount road block on any road where motorists, cyclists and other road users ply on daily basis,” he warned.

statement. He said they will come and arrest my husband when he is discharged from the hospital. Persecution “Right now, the family of the landlady who was killed in the inferno are threatening to attack my husband because of insinuations that we caused the inferno. Policemen at Adolf police post have refused to take down my statement, alleging that we ran away after burning the house, which is not true. We are calling on the Inspector- General of police, IGP Solomon Arase, the Lagos state Commissioner of police, Fatai Ajani Owoseni, the Governor of Lagos state, Akinwunmi Ambode, and Nigerians to come to our rescue before we are made to suffer for what we do not know about after loosing so much,”she pleaded.

42—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA

33-year-old father of one, identified as Adeshina Adams, who had been allegedly parading himself as a staff of Channels Television has been arrested by the Police in Lagos. It was gathered that Adams has been impersonating as a staff of Channels TV, covering events on behalf of the television station and defrauding unsuspecting people of their hard-earned money. Crime Alert gathered that for some time now, the management of the popular television station received complaints from people who had been victims of the suspect’s nefarious activities. However, trouble started for the impostor when he called a popular Yoruba actress named Iyabo Ojo, soliciting for a personality interview for her that would feature on Channels Television, and made some financial demands that the actress was expected to pay. Unfortunately for him, he was unaware that the actress had contact with some officials at the TV station, who she immediately contacted to verify if anyone with the said name is a staff of the media house. The officials confirmed that they had no staff with that name. They collected his contact details from the actress. Entrapment Then sometime in August, the suspect allegedly entered into a deal with a prospective client and demanded for a personality

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA & EBERE AHAM

ell was let loose at Festac area of Lagos State, last week, after operators of commercial motorcycle (popularly called okada), in their numbers, engaged a team of policemen in a fierce battle around 7th Avenue. At the end of the shoot-out which lasted for over two hours, one of the motorcyclists was killed while others, including a policeman were severely wounded. How the trouble started Crime Guard gathered that trouble started brewing between the Police and okada riders after several reports were lodged at the Festac Police Division about the increasing reckless and criminal attitudes of commercial motorcyclists in and around the area. It was learnt that there had been series of serious complaints by residents of the area and visitors about the increasing number of the motorcyclists, coupled with their attendant dangers to other road users. Jungle justice Investigations revealed that they raised the alarm after it was noticed that, at the slightest provocation or brush with any motorist, the motorcyclists will invade the scene in large numbers and wreak havoc by either burning the vehicle or cannibalising it. “A few days ago, a Toyota Camry driven by a lady unavoidably brushed the motorcycle ridden by one dishevelled rider ”, one of the residents told Crime Guard. C M Y K

EXPOSED:

Fake Channels TV reporter in Lagos

interview. After necessary negotiations, he billed the prospective client N300,000 for the interview, which would be paid at the venue of the interview session. Unknown to him that the media house has been on his trail for a while, the suspect and his crew members arrived at the scheduled venue where operatives of State

Investigation Bureau (SIB) picked him and his crew members, made up of a cameraman and a reporter. Defence In his defence, Adams who claimed to be a trained cinematographer revealed that before he began to parade himself as a staff of the TV station, he had

Adams who claimed to be a trained cinematographer revealed that before he began to parade himself as a staff of the TV station, he had worked with the late Aromire of Yotomi TV

Shoot-out in Lagos •Police, okada riders in fierce

battle for supremacy

•Okada men “Before one could say Jack Robinson, no fewer than 200 okada riders gathered there in sympathy and before the lady could utter a word, her brand new car was set ablaze in broad daylight. After wreaking the havoc, the jubilant dirty fellows fled in different directions, leaving the lady helpless. Some even rough handled her.” Criminal activities The motorcyclists were alleged to be engaged in all sorts of criminal acts. Police sources said reports indicated that they normally trail people that go to banks to cash money and end up dispossessing them of their hardearned money. According to one of the sources, “Recently, they waylaid a

•One of the wounded Policemen police patrol team at 4th and 5th Avenue and succeeded in killing one Corporal Emmanuel Emefiele while four of his colleagues escaped death narrowly but with serious wounds.

It was an unprovoked attack. They just sighted the patrol team and laid ambush for them. As soon as the policemen approached the spot where they normally park their motorcycles, they went haywire, attacking them with all sorts of dangerous weapons. Police later succeeded in arresting the suspected killers identified as Tari Vadaya Gau and Jona Vadiya. They were transferred to the State Criminal Investigations and Intelligence

worked with the late Aromire of Yotomi TV. “I started parading myself as a staff of Channels Television last year. Usually, I go to any slated event or interview as a staff of Channels TV. But each time I am at an event and the real Channels staff come, I will leave. Most times, I would have collected the honorary before their staff arrive at the venue. “I attended a cinematography school (name withheld) located within Egbeda area of Lagos. It was at the school I learnt basic skills of the job. But all those events or interviews were never broadcast on any television station or Channels TV because I don’t work for them. I pay my crew members after each job. I promised to pay the reporter N10,000 after the interview before I was arrested that day.” The wife of suspect, Mrs Adeshina Adams, who was initially angry that the client who contracted her husband for an interview was responsible for his arrest, had this to say: “My husband told me that he works with Channels TV? I didn’t know he was not employed by the station. And I believed him because he has a Channels TV identity card. I never for once suspected that he was impersonating. Please forgive him. It is a mistake. It won’t happen again.” Crime Alert gathered that the male reporter who works with Sunshine TV as a freelance and the cameraman didn’t know that Adams was impersonating and defrauding people.

Department (SCIID), from where they were remanded in prison custody. Police joint operation Based on these ugly developments, Crime Guard gathered that a combined team of crack police squad from both the Area Command and Festac Division swung into action by embarking on a joint operation

aimed at dislodging the motorcyclists and putting a stop to their increasing menace. It was learnt that as soon as the motorcyclists saw the police team personally led by ACP Frank Mba and SP Ifeanyi Owoh advancing towards their base at 7th Avenue, they opened fire on them with sophisticated weapons. Before the shocked police team could realise what was happening, another large number of the motorcyclists emerged from a different direction and started pelting them with missiles. The team reportedly returned fire for fire, and during the exchange that lasted for hours, one of the motorcyclists was killed while several others were severely wounded. Though there were claims and counter-claims over which side killed the deceased motorcyclist, the police also recorded a yet-to-be-known number of casualties on their side.

Arrests, recoveries At the end, the police succeeded in arresting about 20 of the motorcyclists and recovered 120 motorcycles. They were later handed over to the State Government Task Force at Alausa for prosecution. Since then, calm has returned to the area while the police has intensified constant raids at criminal hide-outs and black spots in and around the area. A police source intimated that the menace of okada operators has been drastically curtailed since then while serious intelligence gathering is ongoing.

SA TURD AY SATURD TURDA

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12 12,, 2015—43

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

Men are cowards when ending a relationship O

ver a year ago, the sporting world was enthralled by the details of how Caroline Wozniacki, the Danish tennis sensation player was unceremoniously dumped by fiancee golfer Rory Mcllroy. Caroline revealed weeks later how her Northern Irish golfer, the love of her life, ended their three-year relationship just days after their wedding invites had gone out. According to her, the end of the romance by the love of her life “Came in a brief phone call, no longer than a couple of minutes, during which he said nothing except the wedding was off. No reasons, no remorse. He left those for the press release that he shared with the entire world a couple of hours later”. Caroline admitted that the split left her ‘shocked’. “I thought at least it would be face-to-face or something, but there was nothing. It was a phone call and I didn’t hear from him again.” Sadly, Caroline’s bewildering humiliation mirrors a lot of the heartache suffered by women dumped unceremoniously by their pompous and selfish exes. with Muri appearing to invited me around to show “After 20 or so dates in show more interest in some me the reason I was being eight weeks, each one more of his other guests than me. dumped. Humiliated, I tried heart-stoppingly exciting I went into the kitchen to to hold on to my dignity—but than the last, I was pretty talk to him as he arranged the fried rice stuck in my sure that Muri was the one,” for wine glasses. ‘So what throat and I gulped down the recalled Tamilore now in her do you think?’ he said. ‘Of wine like it was orange late 30s. “‘Good-looking with what?’ I replied. ‘Of her,’ he squash. Mind you, I’ve been the naughtiest twinkle in his said, nodding in the dumped by text during a eyes, he was also smart, direction of the dinning shouting match in front of a stylish and, most room and the stunning girl lot of people at a wedding, importantly, funny. My 35in a tight designer dress and and even by a man who got year-old head knew a wellgroomed extensions. his best friend to tell me. But perfection was not possible, “I looked down at my flat never like this. Forget ‘it’s but my heart said something sensible shoes through to not you, it’s me’, this was ‘it’s different. my pulled-back hair-do. not you, it’s her’. This Suddenly it became experience (it still makes my nd, from the devastatingly clear that this blood boil and fists clench passionate nature of was his way of ditching me. three years later) comes to our relationship, I assumed Not for him a tearful breakmind whenever any of my he was similarly besotted up during a stroll to the friends get unceremoniously with me. Naturally, I was supermarket, nor even a 2dumped”. desperate to share my good am phone call in which he So what is it about men fortune, so I broached the pledge to be my best friend that they can’t end idea that maybe we should for ever. Instead, unable to relationships with manners, make our relationship do the decent thing he dignity, and yes, some public. “Wait a bit,” he said. emotions? Why do they think Reluctantly, I agreed even that it will be easier for the though the last thing I felt woman if they don’t show like doing was muffling my their feelings, rather than excitement like some guilty shed a tear and at least come schoolgirl with a crush. “A few weeks later, the big night came when he invited me to dinner with a few of his friends. I climbed the f you’ve bought a stairs to his flat with my pair of leather shoes heart in my mouth. This that rub or pinch, don’t must be it, I thought. Inside, consign them to the there were two men and back of the wardrobe or three girls, all a lot younger shell out a small fortune than me and all unnervingly to have them beautiful. Perhaps the professionally warning signs were there expanded. when Muri introduced me All you need is a hairas ‘my friend, Tamilore’. dryer and a pair of Dinner then proceeded with thick, woolly bed socks. a slightly odd atmosphere,

up with a lame excuse? Tamilore believes that “there are ways for a man to dispatch a woman, and Muri clearly needs some practice. As does the spineless worm who dumped my sister after passionately courting her for almost six months and having mind-blowing sex to boot! All he said literally was ‘goodbye’ before walking out. No wonder she was left sobbing on my sofa for weeks. During her emotional outpourings, my sister was lamenting not only the end of a long relationship but the fact there wasn’t a reason for the ending. The loss was bad enough but the notknowing why was worse. “There must have been a why, it’s just that the man—and let’s be honest, most men—found it nigh-on impossible to express it. Women need closure, while men seem able to suppress their emotions and build impenetrable walls around unfinished aspects of their lives, as if those loose ends no longer exist. I’ve been subjected to many crass dumping since I first kissed a guy 25 years ago, and I’ve no doubt my experiences are pretty standard.

here was the long-term boyfriend who finished with me as we walked towards a taxi after a party, with the words, ‘This isn’t working, it’s over.’ Then he jumped in the cab and took off. I cried for two months and felt paralysed with regret about the possible reasons for his emotional brutality. I obsessed over the fact we argued about whether to eat out or stay in. Was it my personality, fashion sense, family, friends, look? The shortcomings of my character was endlessly assassinated by my worst enemy— me. “Months later, I bumped into him. It turned out he’d got together with a mutual friend who he ‘always had a thing about’, but thought it was best not to tell me. He assumed he was being kind—but that’s one of the things that differentiates

the sexes—one man’s ‘kindness’ is another woman’s ‘crass insensitivity’. I appreciate there’s never a good way to end a relationship and, after almost three decades of experience, I’ve nailed the golden rules for leaving a relationship. Anything less than six months deserves at least a phone call letting them know where they stand. Anything over that—especially if the physical bond has morphed into something more serious with thought about ‘the future’—then a face-to-face chat is a necessity. You know the scene—TV ominously switched off, wine glass filled, together on the sofa but with little eye contact. The lines are just as femiliar. ‘We can still be friends’, ‘This isn’t about you, it’s me’; ‘I just think we’ve grown apart’; ‘Il always love you’; blah, blah, blah... Explaining why men are so incapable of being respectful when dumping a woman, a relationship expert, Linda Papadopeuloss says: “It’s pretty simple. It’s all about how comfortable you are with your emotion. And if we must gender stereotype, lots of men are not comfortable with it. The technology age has made it even easier for them to take the path of least resistance, to disengage with minimal confrontation.” “Perhaps then,” conclude Tamilore, “it’s time we women radically changed our approach. To stop looking for reasons and to start being selfish. To be ruthless not wet, emotionless, not soppy, to embrace the clean break rather than look for a made-up excuse.”

How to expand those tight-fitting shoes

There’s never a good way to end a relationship

Put the socks on, then, with your hair-dryer on its hottest setting, begin warming the inside of one of your shoes. Hold the dryer a little distance away from the shoe, so as not to damage the leather. Once the inside is warm, put the shoe on and start warming the

outside. Wiggle your toes and flex your feet as you near it. When the shoe feels comfortable, turn the dryer off and continue to flex your feet until it has cooled. Repeat with the second shoe. When you try the shoes on without the socks they should be a much more comfortable fit.

44—SATURDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 YETUNDE AREBI Yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk tweeterhandle@yetundearebi 08054700825

The haven under the hood M

y mind raced back to one of my many conversations with my dear friend Bella as I listened to this guy's argument on why his five year old daughter must be circumcised. His poor wife, Aduni, had asked me to help talk to him. Had she known that this would be his decision, she probably would have kept her discovery to herself. That she had caught their little girl playing with her clitoris. She had panicked, thinking that their innocent angel had been corrupted and might now grow into a common slut, if something was not done quickly. But while she had been lost for what to do, she had least expected that circumcision would be her husband's solution. Aduni said she had been raised in the village and circumcised, so she had experienced the pains and discomfort associated with female circumcision and is now living with its aftermaths. She was not sure if she wanted her beautiful princess to go through the same or live her life the way she was being forced to. My friend, Bella has a similar challenge. You'll often hear her describe herself as an incomplete woman or freak whenever the issue of sex comes up in our discussions. A very cosmopolitan extrovert and successful Lawyer, Bella exudes confidence and accomplishment and it is quick to notice that she is on top of her game. Only those very close to her get to know her other side of her life. And though she has never showed me physically, she'd given a very graphic picture of what she looks like down below, several times. This she said was her main reason for walking out of her marriage after birthing her only child. It was pointless enduring the sex when she felt no pleasure. For many women, the inability to experience full sexual pleasure or achieve orgasm during sexual intercourse has remained an elusive mirage, leaving most who are not even circumcised, confused with many unanswered questions. Studies have shown that men are likely to orgasm 90-98 percent of the time they have sex. In fact, this is often the way a woman knows that the game is over. Unfortunately, same cannot be said about the woman and not a few reasons are responsible for this. Several major research works on human sexuality record that only about 25 percent of women climax or experience intense sexual pleasures during sex with their partner, while 40–50% have either complained about sexual dissatisfaction or experienced difficulty becoming sexually aroused at some point in their lives. These figures are significantly higher in African societies and cultures where Female Genital Mutilations (FMG) as well as other cultural practices are predominant and act as inhibitors. Orgasm can be simply described as the release of built up sexual tension in both men and women during a sexual encounter. The inability to have orgasm after ample sexual stimulation is called anorgasmia or ejaculatory anhedonia. For many women, not being able to climax can be caused by everything from unrealistic expectations, to awful sex, to discomfort with their bodies, discomfort with their partners or discomfort with sex itself. This is to the exclusion of medical conditions, sexual abuse, rape and their aftermath traumas. In fact, biologists and researchers C M Y K

for many years have been trying with little success to figure out the whole concept of the elusiveness or even why females orgasm at all, since their reproduction does not depend on it unlike the male. However, what they have successfully been able to figure out is how women can achieve orgasm. And every woman can learn to, if they really want. To know if you have ever experienced the big "O", or will ever actually do, you need to understand what it is in the first instance. After all, if you are travelling to a new destination, you will not know if you have arrived there without an address or map guiding you to the location. The truth is that most women who have taken time to study their bodies, especially the sex organs and how they work, find it easier to enjoy their sexual relationship. In the same way, a man who is knowledgeable about the female body will understand and know how to set it in correct motion. Sigmund Freud was the first to suggest that there were two

According to her, she has only experienced orgasm three times in all of her 19 years relationship with her husband, which includes three years of courtship. One night during one of her few outbursts on her lack of sexual fulfilment in the early days, her husband had categorically told her that he found it weird that he had to bring her to climax with his fingers types of female orgasm, the Clitoral and the Vaginal orgasms. He went on to describe the clitoral orgasm as a juvenile act of pleasure, to be experienced while in one's youth. Freud said once a woman matures she will go on to experience the vaginal orgasm as a result of stimulation through penetrative sex or intercourse. It would appear that many men are fixated with this theory. A friend once told me something similar to this position. According to her, she has only experienced orgasm three times in all of her 19 years relationship with her husband, which includes three years of courtship. One night during one of her few outbursts on her lack of sexual fulfilment in the early days, her husband had categorically told her that he found it weird that he had to bring her to climax with his fingers. A full grown woman according to him, must learn to orgasm through sexual intercourse. She must figure out how to adjust. The subject died a natural death that night and has never been discussed again. She has been coping ever since. Hmm! However, sex researcher, Alfred Kinsey will later refute Freud's claim in his own study which according to him revealed that there is only one type of female orgasm. To him, an orgasm is an orgasm so long as it takes place inside or outside of the female genital, no matter which part of her body was being

stimulated. Most sexologists and researchers over the years have corroborated Kinsey's findings, insisting that the area located in the front wall of the vagina identified as the Grafenberg spot, or otherwise known as the G-spot is actually a bundle of nerves, gland or series of glands from the clitoris which extend into the wall of the vagina. Therefore, the vaginal orgasm can also be achieved when combined with stimulation of the clitoris, invariably still making the clitoris the central or focal point of the female orgasm. Are you still wondering why many circumcised women may find it difficult to enjoy sex or indeed, may never experience an orgasm? The importance of the clitoris to female orgasm or sexual satisfaction is very crucial. The clitoris may be described as the most important part of the female sexual pleasure. It is to the woman, what the penis is to the man. The clitoris or clit is a small bud-like formation located slightly above the opening to the vagina and at the top of the inner labia. Though its size and shape differs from woman to woman, it is generally believed to be between 1/8 to 3/8 of an inch in size. The clitoris is highly sensitive and full of nerve endings which become engorged when a woman is aroused. Though many of the clitoral nerve endings are subterranean, or below the surface, the visible part is just the tip of the iceberg as, even “in hiding,” the 6,000 to 8,000 sensory nerve endings are a mega source of incredible pleasure for many women. This is in contrast to the vaginal walls which contains relatively few nerve endings and only the lower third of it has enough nerve endings to feel stimulation from a penis, finger, sex toy, or other penetrative object. It is therefore logical that intense sexual stimulation, pleasure and orgasm from vaginal-only penetration are pretty much unlikely to happen. This is why a vast majority of women will need clitoral stimulation to enjoy sex or achieve orgasm since vagina penetration on its own is not always enough. So guys, sweating and tiring yourselves out by humping and thrusting endlessly at your partner does not mean you are giving her the most pleasurable experience of a lifetime. You need to get more creative, versatile and patient with us. And even more so, if you discover that your partner is missing that vital part of her sex organ, then don't be fooled by those moans, name callings and "ohmigods", they probably are just ways to hurry you up to get it over with. Believe me, most women are experts in this instance! One question women who are confused about how they feel while having sex often ask is, how they will know if they have achieved orgasm. According to sex researchers, William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson in their seminal work titled Human Sexuality, orgasms are a combination of two things, a build up of muscle tension and the release of same. When a woman gets incredibly turned on, she builds up muscle tension around her pelvis and her clitoris and vagina becomes engorged with blood just like the male penis does. At the same time, the vagina wall also starts to secrete beads of lubrication which eventually gets bigger and flow together. During an orgasm, all these tension technically known as Myotonia is released and a flood of hormones flows into the body causing intensely pleasurable feelings. Though centred around the genitals, pleasure can be felt all over the body depending on the individual. Her heart rate, blood pressure and breathing increases, muscles contract throughout her body, especially in the vagina, uterus, rectum, and pelvic floor. Upon orgasm, all the tension is released and a pleasurable, relaxed feeling takes over. This is probably why most men will fall asleep after sex. And the women? If you have felt anything close to this, then you are damn lucky! And if otherwise, don't be sad, as I said earlier, it is achievable, you only need to work harder at it. Yes, work harder! There is no doubt that the female clitoris will forever remain the centre of her sexual gravity and it is important that this as well as other features of her sexual organ, often disposed of during female circumcision must be preserved in order for her to live a pleasurable and fulfilled life. However, difficulty or inability to enjoy a fulfilling sexually pleasurable life is perhaps the least of the problems associated with female genital mutilation. Besides the immediate consequences which include pain, bleeding, infection, injury to genital tissues, shock and even death, it results in a silent ongoing torture throughout the life of the women. Depending on the extent of the cut, complications during childbirth, urinary infections, genital sores and cysts are also challenges she might be subjected to. Is there any reason why anyone should live a life of pain and sorrow based on the ill judgement of others? Is there any reason why anyone should live a life of pain and inadequacy because of the ill judgement of others, shrouded under the guise of culture and tradition? The excuse that circumcised women are more chaste than uncircumcised ones, if true at all, is not enough reason to mutilate any girl. Sexual discipline is as much psychological as it is physical. It is everybody's duty to help the girl child achieve her full potential as a woman and live a total life. So, dear daddy, please don't. Do have a wonderful weekend!

SATURDAY

By SIMON EBEGBULEM In an apparent move to reclaim its lost relevance in the politics of Edo state ahead of the the scheduled 2016 governorship polls, the intra-party wrangling within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) may have further widened with the recent emergence of three groups, all said to be united against Chief Tony Anenih. Anenih, a former Minister of Works and the party’s former Chairman, Board of Trustees, has for several years remained a strong political force not only in Edo but also in the whole country especially between 1999 and 2007. But with the seeming superior influence of outgoing Governor Adams Oshiomhole who is on the last lap of his second term tenure in the state under the All Progressives Congress (APC), the PDP may have woken up determined to ensure that Anenih no longer calls the shot when it comes to who should hold what positions at all levels of the party in Edo state. Further spurred by wimps been described as a disgraceful outing of the PDP during the 2015 general elections which has since relegated it to the position of an opposition political party, the Edo PDP says it is committed to a total overhaul of its entire structure to reposition the party for a victorious outing in the 2016 governorship polls. Redemption groups The battle code named, Redeeming Edo PDP from Collapse, has resulted in the formation of the PDP Adherents, led by a former member of the House of Representatives , Hon. Johnson Abulagba, the Edo New Dawn, led by a former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Rowland Owie, the PDP Round Table, led by a former Chairman of Oredo local government area, Mr Victor Edos Ebomoyi. According to the groups, they have a common goal which is to ensure that Anenih does not wield ‘undue’ influence during the forthcoming congresses and ensure what they also describe as the injection of fresh blood into the state Executive Council of the party. Last Wednesday, the Edo New Dawn and the PDP Round Table signed a pact to work together. There are indications that the three groups may eventually merge before the congresses expected to hold this September. Perhaps, the first battle over who controls the party is the contentious issue of the biometric registration of members which the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP decided will commence in Edo. The Chief Anenih group to which the state Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih belongs, had opposed the biometric registration exercise reportedly fearing it might truncate their chances of it winning the primaries. But the three groups insisted that the move is the best for the party and that it should be applied. It was learnt that the Chief Anenih’s group planned to conduct the congresses on September 12 with a view to returning Orbih and other members of the executive committee. But the plot was said to have suffered a setback when the Acting National Chairman of the party, Chief Uche Secondus, visited the leadership of the party penultimate Wednesday and declared that Edo will be used as a pilot state for the biometric registration exercise. Though the Orbih-led Executive was supposed to have ended in August 2015, the NWC decided to elongate their tenure by a month, to allow them conduct the biometric registration after which the state congresses are expected to hold. According to reports, during the meeting, Orbih and his team opposed the biometric registration exercise contrary to the position of the

C M Y K

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—45

EDO 2016:

Turmoil in PDP as

groups battle Anenih

•Chief Tony Anenih Acting National Chairman who insisted that the biometric registration was the decision of the NWC which would not be reversed. Consequently, the party appointed High Chief Raymond Dokpesi to oversee the biometric registration programme in the state. Also at that meeting, former two-time Governor of the defunct Bendel state, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, who has over the years absented himself from the activities of the PDP in the state, attended the meeting but Chief Anenih was conspicuously absent. Over the past eight years, Oshiomhole’s APC has exerted considerable influence in Edo state, a development which a number of PDP members attribute to Anenih’s dwindling influence on the party both locally and at the national level as well as alleged dictatorship and lack of internal democracy in the PDP. Recent developments in the Edo state PDP may not be unconnected with what party loyalists described as activities of a number of pressure groups as represented

in their various memos to the Senator Ike Ekweremadu Committee. Copies of some of the petitions made available to Saturday Vanguard emphasise what they call the need to return the party to the people, zero tolerance for impunity and practice of internal democracy, factors which some PDP chieftains said Oshiomhole exploited to break the party, forcing some of its leaders into early retirement or abandoning the PDP completely. They believe that if the PDP intends to make any meaningful impact against the APC in the 2016 governorship election, then some of the proposed reforms must be implemented to the letter. Furore over governorship flag bearer Saturday Vanguard learnt that aside various other considerations, the overriding factor behind the current turmoil in the Edo PDP may not be unconnected with the choice of who

According to the groups, they have a common goal which is to ensure that Anenih does not wield ‘undue’ influence during the forthcoming congresses

becomes the party’s governorship candidate, to provide a formidable opposition to the ruling APC. A number of PDP stalwarts hold the view that the Dokpesi committee may have a herculean task ahead as it has to break the jinx spanning several years that a certain cabal has allegedly held the party in the state. Sources close to the committee hinted that the party may actually be in a state of disarray especially given that two of its prominent members , Ogbemudia and Anenih, have not been known to be regular at meetings. Saturday Vanguard learnt that the development may not be unconnected with the insistence on the biometric capture of genuine members of the party in the area. “The only way to redeem the party in the state is to retrieve it from the cabal,” the source noted. The biometric registration has started in Edo North and it is expected to move to the Central and then Southern parts respectively. But some members of the party say that the one week given each senatorial district for the exercise may not be enough to register all members. They have also expressed concern over the N1,000 registration fee and the use of only a particular commercial bank for the payment of the prescribed fee. According to some of the party men who spoke on condition of anonymity, “the reason for this battle for the soul of the party is the issue of who who becomes the governorship and Deputy Governorship candidates. The fear of these pressure groups is that if they do not act fast, Chief Anenih may impose both the party executives and the candidates for the 2016 governorship polls.” The party has since zoned the governorship position to the South senatorial district but the Central district where Chief Anenih comes from and the North district are in a serious battle for the deputy governorship position. Edo North PDP leaders argue that they deserve the position since Governor Oshiomhole who is from that area may produce the deputy governorship candidate of the APC. And, if that happens, they argue, the PDP will have nothing with which to campaign in Edo North which boasts of about 26 per cent population of the state. The former Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Mike Oghiadohme, is also from this zone. Oghiadohme who was at a time, Deputy Governor of the state has been in a running battle with Anenih. The latter has reportedly ensured that Oghiadohme does not produce leadership of the party in Edo North over the years despite his position in the PDP. Oghiadohme was accused of working against the interest of Chief Anenih when he was Chief of Staff to the President. But Oghiadohme, Saturday Vanguard learnt, is being backed by most of the stalwarts of the PDP in Edo North, to lead the party and uproot all known Anenih’s stooges including the current state Chairman of the party.

46—SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

Things Buhari must do before December – Ikokwu BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

December, 2015. ‘’Most Nigerians believe that since insecurity is a national issue, it must include other zones. No zone on its own can tackle the issue of insecurity and terrorism, which he said are urgent matters. ‘’The canker-worm of corruption is not something that can be cured within 100 days but at the moment, the president has made the issue of accountability his watchword in the sense that all the areas of leakages in the public sector have to be plugged. This has to involve the civil service, trade unions and professional organisations across the country.

OLLOWING the mixed views that heralded President Muhammadu Buhari’s 100 days in office, Second Republic politician and elder statesman, Chief Guy Ikokwu, has advised the president to ensure that he leaves unarguable landmarks within the next three months. Nigerians were clearly divided on the achievements or failures of President Buhari after 100 days in office. Ikokwu said in six months, Buhari must be seen to have addressed a number of issues, he considered to be nonnegotiable Apart from charting an economic agenda and direction he suggested to be known as Nigerianomics, Ikokwu said insecurity and corruption must be fought headlong with discernible results. And the president must get his cabinet in place and avoiding discredited politicians and allies who dominated the political firmament in the last 30 years.

•Chief Guy Ikokwu Major issues He said: ‘’The president himself has highlighted two major issues: insecurity and corruption. It looks as if it is taking more time than anticipated. The Nigerian public are watching to see if the president as a General can combat the issue of insecurity and terrorism between now and

Credible ministers, cabinet The only clue one can gather at the moment even in the face of non-application of the federal character principle in the appointments made by the president, is he has distanced himself a little bit from the previous public officials and political juggernauts and godfathers, who have been in all political parties since 1990, whether they belong to the

peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC) or any other party or the military as the situation may be. President Buhari should not encumber himself and his administration with the excess baggage of public officers, godfathers, cronies and perverted politicians and retired devious military administrators of the past era of 30 years. Most of them are still alive, unrepentant and very much implicated in our nation’s loss of over $300 billion causing us such squalor, poverty, ineptitude, illiteracy and ill-health.’’ Diversification of the economy, fiscal federalism Ikokwu continued: ‘’Although, he has sounded a note that there is need to diversify the economy and we know these cannot be done in 100 days, most Nigerians believe that within this years, the principle of true federalism and decentralisation of the Federal Government will be in accordance with the desire and expositions of our founding fathers like Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Ahmadu Bello. During this period, the economy was diversified and it was not dependent on oil and Nigeria developmental stride was more than 9 per cent per

annum, which means, it is only through true decentralisation and true federalism that we can have better education, healthcare, infrastructure and electricity. ‘’The legislature (National Assembly and states assembly) must begin now and by December restructure the country to fiscal federalism. Since the reports of the 2014 National Conference and constitutional amendment of the National Assembly are now on the table of the National Assembly, it is not a question of starting afresh. The materials are already there. Economic blueprint: Nigerianomics ‘’There is no reason all the zones should not be united to ensure that Buhari succeeds. The president should set up a committee that should give the whole country Nigerianomics so that all Nigerians will know where the country is headed. There should be true federalism, accountability and probity instead of this military system. It was the military that led us astray because our traditions and cultures do not encourage dictatorial situations. We are waiting for Buhari to change Nigeria, 100 days may be too short but they can show the direction. Between now December something must begin to happen’’

Why Ikpeazu began his equity devt agenda in Aba –Adindu BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE F the outcome of the 2015 I governorship election in Abia State depended on the Aba

electorate, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not have won the polls. The victor would have been Dr Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). There are 17 local councils in Abia with Aba, the industrial city of the state, accounting for two (Aba North and Aba South). The two Aba councils gave Ikpeazu 12,450 votes or 5.01 per cent of his 248,459 ballots and handed Otti 56,216 votes or 33.99 per cent of the latter’s 165,406 votes. Thus, if provision of amenities and delivery of democracy dividends were to be rewards for electoral victory, Aba will have no stake in the Ikpeazu Administration. But the reverse is the case as Dr Ikpeazu has elected to begin his “Okezuo Abia’’ (equity) programme in Aba. This is to address the long years of neglect and abandonment of the industrial city by successive governments in the last 100 years especially since 1999, said Mr. Godwin Adindu, the chief press secretary to the governor. ‘’Aba voted massively against the PDP in the last election because of past neglect by PDP governments. So the governor is out to make amends. That was why a day after he was sworn-in,

•Targets N1.5bn monthly IGR •To organize Enyimba Carnival in Aba he visited Aba and launched the construction and rehabilitation of many road projects,” Adindu told some reporters in Lagos, weekend, while speaking on the 100 days in office of Ikpeazu. Apart from having a sizeable chunk of the 27 roads being constructed by Ikpeazu across the three senatorial zones, major de-silting of drainages and dredging of rivers are on-going in Aba, he said, noting that but for the long years of neglect, Aba would have remained a beautiful city because it is well planned by the British and became a municipal in 1903. So far, he disclosed that many buildings have been demolished to open up the drains. Instead of people asking for compensation, ‘’people come out to cheer the demolitions and nobody has complained, there has been no resistance.’’ Making Aba Nigeria’s SME capital He continued: ‘’The governor has established the office of Aba Urban Renewal headed by a Special Adviser to drive the new efforts towards the infrastructural renewal of the city; ensure that Aba is transformed to a city of basic modern amenities; restore order and sanity in building of shops, kiosks, offices and residential

•Okezie Ikpeazu

buildings; drive the park reform and general rehabilitation work with the goal of making Aba the SME capital of Nigeria. ‘’The governor is the chief brand ambassador of made in Aba goods. He has embarked on an aggressive promotion of Aba products. He is setting up Marketing and Standard Regulatory Board to ensure that the Aba entrepreneur is encouraged.’’ Common governor status Asked what the governor had achieved in 100 days of being in the saddle, Adindu said Ikpeazu has demystified the office of the

Governor by refusing to be addressed as ‘His Excellency’ or adding ‘Executive’ to his name. ‘’He has assumed the common governor status, reduced his entourage and cut his salary by half.’’ Recovers N170m from ghost workers As part of his war against the ghost workers syndrome, the CPS said Ikpeazu introduced the Integrated payroll Verification System (IPVS) and conducted staff audit to ascertain the actual strength of the workforce, a measure that has led to the recovery of N170 million. According to him, biometric data of workers have been captured and the next level is to get their blood group and genotype. Reinstating sacked nonindigenes Within the period, Adindu said the governor has deepened efforts to reinstate nonindigenes, who were sacked from the state civil service recently. So far, ‘’102 have been reinstated in Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB) and paid their June salary. Out of 295 in ASUPEB (Primary Board), 63 have been cleared and slated for July salary while the rest are awaiting their clearance by the office of the Auditor-general of the Local Government.’’ Adindu listed other milestones recorded by the Abia State

Government as: clearing of arrears of civil servants’ salaries; settling protracted industrial disputes of the JUSUN and ABUTH; engaging reputable consultants to harness the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state and raise it from N500million to N1.5 billion a month to be achieved through harmonization of levies and taxes and banking system; stoppage of collection of fees, taxes and levies in cash ; and eradicating touts and illegal agents. The rest include: establishment of Abia State Economic Advancement Team (ASEAT), which has produced a new economic blueprint for the state; rolled out a scheme known as Education for Employment; rehabilitation of four most dilapidated schools in each of the 17 local councils, launching of Youth for Agriculture Programme with 40 youths to be trained at the Songhai Farms in Porto-Novo, Republic of Benin; restoring security and checking kidnapping by bringing the soldiers back and re-engineering the Police; identified two tertiary health centres in each of the three senatorial districts in the state and brokering a public private partnership arrangement where a private hospital management firm will take over these hospitals and run them; and making arrangements to organize the maiden Enyimba Carnival in Aba to boost tourism and investment promotion.

SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—47

or some years now the discussion had been on whether petroleum products subsidy would remain or not in Nigeria. Knowledgeable persons in the industry have made useful contributions based on their understanding of the concept. Issues of subsidies could be viewed either from the producer or the consumer side. We may also examine subsidy in the context of what it is actually meant for and who benefits. As we discuss subsidy let us reminisce on the type of subsidy and how we got here for us to make economic progress and achieve sustainable development. It must be underscored that type of fossil fuel subsidy is import oriented. What Nigeria has been grappling with is from the import of petroleum products that ordinarily we could refine in our four refineries that were killed for about two decades now. Many past managers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have all preached downstream deregulation without clear-cut direction. Other National Oil Companies are massively investing in downstream process plants locally and overseas to add value to their natural resource, but ours had canvassed downstream deregulation of products importation. On July 20, 2015 President Muhammadu Buhari aligned himself with our campaign that petroleum products subsidy removal was not the issue but the management of our petroleum resources. According to the President, ‘’I have received many literature on the need to remove subsidies, but much of it has no depth.’’ He said that lack of security, sabotage, vandalism, corruption and mismanagement, not necessarily subsidies, are the most serious problems of Nigeria’s oil sector.The President said ‘’ When you touch the price of petroleum products, that has the effects of triggering price rises on transportation, food and rents. That is for those who earn salaries, but there are many who are jobless and would be affected by it’’. One month after on August 20, the new Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu in a paper to the National Association of Energy Correspondents conference in Lagos said that the country’s fuel subsidy was an unsustainable drain on the economy, calling for the deregulation of the oil and gas sector.According to him deregulation will also provide a fair deal for Nigerians from abundant petroleum resources, through fair product prices for consumers, full cost recovery, and reasonable margins for operators. To him implementation of the policy will entrench efficiency in product usage, product availability and effective competition among investors, hence ending product shortage. Much as one believes that the GMDwears the shoes and knows where it pinches,one may advise himto tarry a while and galvanize robust opinions to avoid a pitfall. In this column last week one showered Kachikwu with encomiums and encouraged him on the actions taken so far, but the subsidy issue C M Y K

Don’t foreclose Petroleum Products Subsidy discourse (1)

When you touch the price of petroleum products, that has the effects of triggering price rises on transportation, food and rents. That is for those who earn salaries, but there are many who are jobless and would be affected by it he raised now is one that must be examined holistically and critically too before a plunge excepting if it is a fait accompli. What actually is subsidy? Subsidy is economic benefit (such as tax allowance, or duty rebate), or financial aid (such as cash grant or soft loan), provided by government to support a desirable activity (such as exports) to keep prices of staples low, maintain the income of producers of critical or strategic products, maintain employment levels or induce investment or reduce unemployment. Oil Change International defines fossil fuel subsidies as ‘’any government action that lowers the cost of fossil fuel energy production, raises the price received by energy producers or lowers the price paid by energy consumers.’’ Basic

characteristics of subsidies are the socio-economic welfare and wellbeing of the people. After the First World War (WW1) there was a reduction in demand for American farm produce by European countries which had depended on America for food. To maintain the farmproduct- prices and make farming an important component of their economy, they introduced parity which we now know as subsidy. Up till now America is still discussing whether subsidy should go or remain. Subsidies in the United States range from tax credit to free parking, registration, special lane use or cash. The issue of fossil fuel subsidies has been a global phenomenon that it costs world’s governments $5 trillion annually, according to the IMF recent report published by ClimateWire. Billions of dollars are spent yearly on petroleum subsidies in America. The situation is not different whether in the occidental or oriental countries. From the International Monetary Fund’s report, the world’s largest energy subsidisers are also its largest energy consumers led by China and the United States, India, the European Union, Russia and Japan. Many governments in the industrialised nations do not operate nationally owned oil companies but grant their publicly owned petroleum companies subsidies. The reason is that oil is of very strategic importance to a nation’s security. These subsidies are also granted by governments not to drive companies overseas. The fear is that home countries will become even more dependent than they already are on

foreign nations for oil. For those governments their oil companies are protected via subsidies at home. Ultimate subsidies beneficiaries are the people. The United States government has been subsidizing the oil and gas industry through tax code for almost a century. It is reported that during this period, the oil and gas industry has grown into one of the largest industry in the world. The United States government for instance provides large subsidies to publicly owned oil and gas companies a tax rate, well below the standard corporate rate of 35 percent. ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron, the three largest U.S-based oil and gas companies are the super majors that enjoy this generous tax subsidy. The Weatherization Assistance Programme otherwise known as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) initiated by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 has reduced heating bills for more than 5.5 million low income American families by 31 percent. President Obama’s proposal to slash LIHEAP funds in 2012 was vehemently resisted even by his Democratic Party members. Current U.S Secretary of State, John Kerry, then as a serving Senator wrote a letter to Obama which read in part: ‘’we simply cannot afford to cut LIHEAP funding during one of the most brutal winters in history. Families across Massachusetts, and the country, depend on these monies to heat their homes and survive the season’’.

48 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

Katsina begins to reap from Buhari’s presidency By Emeka Anaeto, Economy Editor

HERE are indications that the political fortunes of Katsina State which rose with Muhammadu Buhari’s election and inauguration as president have yielded massive commercial returns for the city as passenger traffic at the airport rose by 668 or 319.6 per cent, the highest year-on-year growth rate among domestic airports in second quarter (April, May and June) 2015. Katsina Airport had a miserly 13 international

*Katsina airport traffic rises amid general decline in air passenger traffic passengers in Q2 2014. According to Aviation Sector Report released, yesterday, by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Katsina Airport is far ahead of other airports with Owerri (11.12 per cent) and Yola (3.09 per cent) trailing behind in second and third positions. The surge in traffic to Katsina may not be disconnected from improved political fortunes of the state, which apart from producing the president accounts for 33 per

cent of the appointments made so far by President Buhari. The report also shows that air passenger traffic has dropped contrary to the perception that the large crowd usually seen at international airports in Nigeria meant that more Nigerians are travelling out of the country and even much more are travelling by air locally creating the impression of improving living standard. The report for second quarter (Q2) of 2015 saw

declines in passenger travel in Nigeria, driven by lower numbers of internationally travelling passengers. The report by the NBS puts international passenger traffic at 1,048,598 showing a decline by 406,369 passengers or 27.93 per cent from first quarter (Q1). However, domestic travel showed a marginal rise quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q), with 16,752 or 0.71 per cent more passengers travelling in Q2. The resultant

2,374,479 domestically bound passengers represented 69.37 per cent of the total number of passengers, up by 7.53 per cent from the preceding quarter, yet down 1.35 per cent from Q2 of 2014. Year-on-year (Y-o-Y), both domestic and international passenger numbers were lower, with 73,492 or 6.55 per cent fewer international passengers and 335,908 or 12.39 per cent fewer domestic passengers relative to the corresponding

quarter of the preceding year. The breakdown of domestic traffic shows that Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos continued to dominate domestic passenger travel in the quarter with the 936,029 passengers representing 39.42 per cent of the Q2 2015 total. Despite still recording passenger numbers lower than in Q2 of 2014, quarterly numbers were up, with a rise of 39,505 passengers or 4.41 per cent from the preceding quarter. Abuja airport, with the second greatest portion of Q2 domestic passenger traffic at 33.15 per cent of the total, showed a similar trend. The 787,067 domestically bound passengers travelling through the airport in Q2 represented a decline of 58,176 passengers or 6.88 per cent (Yo-Y), though a rise of 22,698 passengers or 2.97 per cent from the preceding quarter.

International Passenger Traffic

At 728,064 passengers, 69.43 per cent of all internationally bound passengers travelled through Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Q2 of 2015. From the preceding quarter, this was a marginal rise of 29,335 passengers or 4.20 per cent, while in Y-o-Y it represented a decline of 106,003 passengers or 12.71 per cent However, Abuja airport was the main driver of the quarterly declines in traffic observed. Following its spike of 683,458 passengers recorded in the opening quarter of 2015, the 253,040 that travelled in Q2 represented a decline of 62.98 per cent, reducing its share of international flights from 46.97 per cent in Q1 to 24.13 per cent in Q2. Yet Y-o-Y, this was still a significant overall rise, up by 46,128 passengers or 22.29 per cent, representing the only positive annual growth in passenger numbers apart from Sokoto, which had eight additional passengers from the corresponding quarter of 2014. Kano continued to host the third greatest volume of international passengers, at 40,582 passengers or 3.87 per cent of the total. Nonetheless, this was a decline both quarterly, of 1,739 passengers or 4.11 per cent, and year on year, of 4,986 passengers or 10.94 per cent.

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 49

C M Y K

50 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

Develop Niger Delta or there won’t be peace, ex-militants tell Buhari •Group wants security agencies cautioned over Tompolo BY EMMA AMAIZE & AKPOKONA OMAFUAIRE

ORMER Militants in the Niger Delta under the Third Phase Group has called on the Federal Government to aggressively pursue development of the Niger Delta to forestall another crisis in the region. The former militants, who flayed the actions of former Presidential Adviser to the President on the Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku, said that the call is timely as such failure in the past led to increase in militancy and unrest, which caused drastic drop in national earning. They warned the current handlers to be mindful of what plagued the Kuku regime, claiming that the amnesty programme was a huge failure under its immediate past coordinator, Kuku. The Ex-militants call was contained in a joint statement by National Chairman, Diepreye Ogbetebe; Vice Chairman, John Government; Secretary, Etarighobe Thompson and Delta State Chairman, Prince Ogor. They spoke as another Niger Delta group, Egbema Voice in Warri North Local Government Area, Delta State, yesterday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call security agencies employing state apparatus to terrorize and harm the reputation of exmilitant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, to order. The ex-militants said: “The Programme under Kuku specifically failed as a result of mismanagement of funds allocated for the programme by the Federal Government. Five groups under the third phase were marginalized and there were malicious diversion and deprivation of genuine and real persons that surrendered their arms and ammunition for which the slots were legitimately approved for.” They also listed “incompetent, corrupt and unfair representation of Phase III by the so called self-imposed national leaders, deprivation/nondocumentation of some of the ex-militants during the documentation exercise handled by inter-agency task forces in the various JTF barracks” as factors that hallmarked the past regime. The group said that proper verification of arms and ammunition surrendered by various groups and war lords was not done before the

allocation and disbursement of the 3642 slots to commence the Phase III of the programme. “Despite the infinitesimal amount of the 3642 slots approved for Phase III, most of the camps that surrendered less than 20 guns were given up to 50 slots while some of the camps that surrendered above 50 guns were given three slots due to malicious diversion of slots,’’ they said. Urging the current coordinator of the amnesty programme to look into the issues of ex-militant leaders and their foot followers in the Niger Delta region who were not documented, they said that such neglect was what led to frequent vandalization of pipelines and crude oil facilities in the region by various action groups in Ijaw and the rising Urhobo Gbagbako group. They also called for immediate payment of all outstanding allowances to its leaders as well as train and engage them with gainful employments to reform and create a conducive environment for the nation.

Call security agencies to order Meantime, the Egbema Voice, in a statement by Chief Wilfred Elebiri and two others, said: “In as much as we are not opposed to the anti-corruption crusade of this government, we sincerely and will wholeheartedly condemn and fight any person or group of persons that will use the state paraphernalia to intimidate and humiliate our High Chief or any Niger Deltan.” It continued: “We are making the call because the man, High Chief Ekpemupolo has not done anything that warrants such barbaric action. He is a leader in the Niger Delta with strong followership and he is committed to the freedom, justice, fairness and equal rights. Therefore, we cannot sit and watch while these group of people, all in the name of political vengeance, bring the name of our brother and the people of Niger Delta to disrepute.” It said the actions of the agents/agencies of the administration, so far, were

L-R: Partner, Financial Accounting Advisory Services, Ernst and Young, Samuel Agbevem; General Manager, British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF), Miss Abimbola Okoya; Chairman, CSR-in-Action, Professor Wale Omole; and Executive Director, CSR-in-Action, Bekeme Masade, at the Press Conference on the Collective Social Investment Report: Nigeria 2014, in Lagos, on Tuesday, September 9, 2015. merely to discredit any person or persons perceived to be on the other side of the divide, adding, “these actions are deliberately targeted at the peace-loving people of Niger Delta whose resources these oligarchy has been feeding on all along.”

Delta Guber: Ogboru disagrees with own counsel in Court sumed their positions as BY FESTUS AHON

HE 3-man Delta State Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Asaba the State capital, Thursday got another shocker when one of the petitioner’s witnesses, Mr Turner Ogboru, younger brother of Chief Great Ogboru disagreed with their counsel on a point of law. Chief Great Ogboru of the Labour Party, LP in the Tribunal challenging the victory of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa at the April 11 polls. The tribunal chaired by Justice Nasiru Gunmi at his resummed hearing of the petition invited the petitioners 13th prosecution witness, Mr. Turner Ogboru. Soon after the petitioner’s counsel, Mr. Dele Adesino, SAN concluded with the preliminary examination of the witness and the subsequent adoption of the witness written statement deposition of oath, he (Adesino) moved to tender bundle of documents contained in about three ‘Ghana must go’ sacks but met a brick wall following the objection raised by counsel to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr. Ken Mozia. Mozia argued that the document sought to be tendered by the petitioner was

not listed in the petition, neither was it frontloaded. Adesino who stood his grounds that the document which he sought to tender contained voters register insisted that it was listed in the petition as material that they would rely on to argue their case. PDP and INEC counsels, Mr. John Okoriko who stood in for Mr. Timothy Kehinde, SAN and Mr. Anumoye , who represented Dr. Dodo, SAN respectively randomly opposed Adesino’s move to tender the documents. The legal fireworks which ensued between the counsels prompted the presiding judge, Justice Gunmi to adjourn briefly to enable him give a ruling on the matter. While Justice Gunmi who resumed sitting after about 30 minutes of adjournment, was trying to inform the tribunal that, the panel would have to further take another adjournment till next week following the falling health condition of one of the tribunal members, Dr. Alex Iziyon, SAN and his INEC counterpart breezed into the tribunal room and altered the course of the tribunal proceedings. Iziyon and Dodo who upon entering into the tribunal, immediately as-

lead counsels, informed the tribunal and the petitioners counsel on the need to withdraw the application challenging their motion to tender electoral documents. Iziyon told the court that he was prepared to allow the documents to go in and that if there was any need to think otherwise, that it could be challenged in their written address to the tribunal. The petitioner’s counsel Adesino initially aligned with the position of the respondent to withdraw the application, but suddenly, made a u-turn and asked the court to give a ruling on the matter as both parties have extensively engaged themselves in legal argument on the issue. Sensing the danger of Adesino’s submission , the witness, Turner Ogboru, became restless, shuffled and trembling in the witness box as all attempt to communicate to Adesino through gesturing failed. Ogboru who could no longer hold back said, “we have no objection to the application of the respondents to withdraw the application challenging the admissibility of the documents in view of the previaling circumstances to ensure speedy trail.”

Obiano commiserates with Ngige over his father’s demise BY VINCENT UJUMADU

OVERNOR Willie Obiano has commiserated with the former governor of Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige on the death of his father, Ozo Akunnia Pius Okonkwo Ngige, saying it was a loss for the state as a whole. In a condolence message to the Ngige family, Obiano said the death of their patriarch at the ripe age of 105 did not dilute the fact of theirbereavement,describing the deceased as a man of noble mind and uncommon teacher in the school of life. The governor’s message read in part: ’’There is always the sobering effect of the loss of human life. The death of someone close to us brings with it a certain feeling of

hollowness and inevitably, searching questions about the purpose of earthly life.’’ The age of your deceased father does not diminish the fact of your bereavement. “We share with the Ngige family the loss of your patriarch. When we encounter a learned man, we want to know the kind of books he read. “In the same vein, we want to know the mentor[s] of a great man. This is why we pay homage to the late Pius Ngige under whose formation you acquired the traits that saw you to greatness. The good memories of your exemplary public service to the State and the nation at large are therefore tributes to the parenthood that nurtured you.

B-R-I-E-F Okere-Urhobo kingship crisis: Traditional council affirms Eboh as Otota, regent BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

HE Traditional Council of Chiefs in Okere Urhobo kingdom, Warri, Delta state has affirmed Chief Wilson Eboh as Otota (Traditional Prime Minister) and Regent of the kingdom against dissenting voices as the crisis over who occupies the vacant Orosuen (King) deepens in the Urhobo community. The traditional council were reacting yesterday to a statement in which a section of the community led by Chief Gideon Okumagba accused Chief Eboh of usurping the office of Otota and regent in the kingdom where lingering dispute has stalled the enthronement of an Orosuen since 2012 exit it of Chief Benjamin Okumagba who last occupied the stool. In a statement signed by Chief Paul Okumagba, Egbe of the Kingdom, Chief Peter Okoh (Etche) and Chief D.B. Opoggen, Secretary, the traditional council accused Gideon of disrespecting the community’s traditional authority and the court where they have instituted a case against Chief Eboh.

SATURDAY

Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015—51

Buhari using appointments to correct marginalisation of North —Dauda Birmah put a very heavy structure on a faulty infrastructure, the building will collapse. So, I commend Buhari for what he is doing and I believe he is doing well and he is going to succeed.

BY AGAJU MADUGBA

former Minister of Education, Alhaji Dauda Birmah, was at a time a presidential aspirant under the defunct ANPP. Birmah who later joined the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) regrets that the party should be held responsible for its misfortunes having shot itself on the foot. In this interview, Birmah also justifies President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent appointments alleging that the north had suffered marginalisation in federal appointments under previous administrations. What is your assessment of the Buhari administration after the first 100 days in office? Well, my assessment is that Buhari has come in and he has seen the rot that preceded his coming and he is trying to see how to handle this rot, rot that has happened over a period of 15 years is not something you cure in 100 days

•Alhaji Dauda Birmah, or even in a thousand days. Buhari has come on a change agenda and he is not expected to behave in a manner in which you will see things as business as usual. He has to change things and he has to fulfill his promise of change to people and he is trying to understand the place and put fundamental changes in place because if you

But many Nigerians especially those from the South-west, south-South and South-East are complaining that the President’s appointments are lopsided. What is your take so far on the President’s appointments? Well, during the 15 years preceding him, the north had been wailing and crying because the area was totally marginalized. Buhari is trying to rectify that marginalization of the north but I am not surprised that some people are complaining. But 100 days are not enough time to judge and I believe when we go forward and the total picture is zeroed down, I think corrections are going to be effected and people will be satisfied that everybody has been taken into consideration. Do you think that the

government is doing enough in the fight against insurgency? Since Buhari came there have been attempts to tackle insurgency because direct confrontation between the armed forces and the Boko Haram have failed. I believe that the previous government did not adequately tackle insurgency. Now the atmosphere is settling down and I believe we shall see the end of insurgency very soon. The PDP appears to be facing leadership crisis. What do you think should be done to make it a winning party again? I don’t want to delve into that because I have no stake in in the PDP. The last time I joined that party and when it came to election time I was not even drafted in to be a member of the campaign committee of my village, my ward, local government, state or at the national level. I was totally ignored and not involved and therefore I do not believe I have any stake in PDP towards

its revival. The PDP has shot itself in the foot and it has to bear the consequences and whatever happens to the party I am totally indifferent. Recentely, Prof. Ben Nwabueze said that it is illegal for any president or governor to run a government without a cabinet. What do you think? Well, Buhari has promised that by September his cabinet will be in place and we are in September. I believe he wanted to see the situation as it is before appointing ministers because he does not want to compound the problem by appointing the wrong people and to work with people who he does not understand. So, I believe he is in the right direction and I believe that September is going to be fine. Do you think it is necessary to probe the previous government? It is absolutely necessary to probe the previous government although I do not believe that probing and things like should be the essence of government. But right now, government is moving and there is greater sanity in governance. Do you believe now that we can have the type of electricity we have now if the government has not been doing anything?

20-year-old graduate farmer plans to feed Nigeria A

By Soni Daniel

t a time when people in his age group are roaming the streets in search of white collar jobs, 20-year-old Haruna Hassan Tukur is thinking of how he can produce enough food from his farm in Kebbi State to feed all Nigerians. Although the farm is taking shape, Tukur, who just graduated from a University in Dubai, has set a target for himself: to be able to produce enough food from the farm to feed Nigerians and export the excess. In this interview, Tukur speaks on why Nigerian youth must wake up from slumber and do something to create jobs instead of waiting for government jobs. Excerpts: What is your name? My name is Haruna Hassan Tukur, the Chief Executive Officer of Havas Farms, Kebbi State. How did you come about the idea of running a farm instead of being in the university or doing something else? I am a graduate of Accounting and Finance from Heriot-Watt University Dubai. I have a passion for farming to produce enough food for the nation and to help the people of my community. By so doing, I will be helping to boost the local economy by creating jobs instead of waiting for job from the government as most Nigerian youths are doing. Who influenced your thinking? I can describe Usman Dantata,

That explained why I had to relocate from the comfort of my family in Abuja to Kebbi to work on my farm project in a bid to prove my critics wrong. So far I can say that all is going as planned.

Haruna Hassan Tukur who owns Anadaria farms as my mentor in this case. He is a relation of the popular Dantata in Kaduna and he motivated me to go into agriculture. I was motivated to venture into farming after seeing what he had done in that sector of the Nigerian economy. That was why I told my family members that I wanted to go into farming as soon as I returned from my university education in Dubai. At the initial stage most people in my family were just wondering why a fresh graduate of accounting would be talking about farming instead of banking or something in that direction. I made it clear to all that I wanted to do something that would benefit others from the outset. I have an undying passion for farming and no one can persuade me to leave it for anything else.

Now the question to ask is where are you getting the money to do farming? Well my mother started supporting me to an extent but I want to grow what I am doing because I have seen that it is something that can help Nigeria. It is something that can help my people. That is why I am going into full mechanised farming because the large expanse of land that we are cultivating cannot be covered manually. We need all the mechanised tools to produce food on a commercial basis so that we can have enough for local consumption and export. We are doing our best to break away from the traditional farming methods that cannot take us to anywhere in this country. What is the worth of your farm in terms on Naira and Kobo and what are you expecting from the farm for instance over time? Well the hectare of land that I have planted with soya beans, I am expecting N8 million at the end of three months. Isn’t that too ambitious? Well you can say that but from what I have invested and from the way things are going and I have

had other professionals come into my farm and they have actually made an estimate of what I am about to get so that is where I got my figure. So what is the farm worth really? We don’t want to put any value on the 23 hectare farmland we are cultivating but we can only ask Nigerians to watch out for us in the next few months and years. So, I have sunk in over N1.5 million into the farm and we are still putting in more to move it to the level we want it to attain in the shortest possible time. We are currently concentrating on Soya beans and fish farming. We hope to add more crops and services. How old is your farm? My farm started early this year as I told I am a fresh graduate and I decided to venture into agriculture. So tell me about yourself? I am going to start from my grandparents. My grandfather from my mother’s side is the late Senator Balatafida Iyawore and my grandfather from my father’s side is the late Royal Highness Mohammed Tukur of Iyawore and my father was the late Hassan Tukur and my mother is the Honourable Halima Tukur. My first sister, Zaniab, is a lawyer and I have a brother called Abdulahi. How old are you? I am 20 years old.

So how do you see yourself in the farming business in the next decade? God willing in the next 10 years I see myself as one of the most successful Nigerian farmers because I intend to feed the nation as well as export in order for us to grow our GDP because the major challenge we are facing is the lack of export. From your experience, what can tell the Nigerian youths? I want to tell them to start with what they have and where they are. I believe that when you put yourself a hundred percent to something and you commit to it the universe is going to serve you. The agriculture industry holds a lot for all in this country. As Nigeria is blessed with millions of hectares of land, everyone should go back to their community and do something. But for that to work, the government at all levels must assist the youths to go into mechanised commercial farming to boost their economic base and reduce dependence on the government. By so doing, unemployment will become a thing of the past and social security problems would disappear from our land. The reason why I am not going into the white collar job is because I want to be the master of my own trade. I want to be an employer of labour and control my resources and destiny rather than depend on anyone for my progress. In other words, I want to be my own boss.

52—SATURDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

Glo mobile money Xchange promotes financial transaction *Creat es 1 0,000 jobs *Creates 10,000

n line with the CBN regulatory policy on money transfer, the innovative indigenous telecommunications network, Globacom has introduced Glo Xchange Super Agent, an easy way of mobile money transfer using available modern technology which guarantees security of the transaction. According to Globacom management official, Glo Xchange was introduced to speed up financial inclusion in the country as well as take cashless transactions and epayments to the grassroots in order to enable mobile phone users to make payments, do transfers, buy airtime, pay utility bills such as, Dstv, GoTV, and PHCN among others; pay expressway tolls and conduct any such financial transactions without cash exchange, but through the mobile phone. Again, for a better understanding and easy transaction of Glo Xchange

Super Agent network, intensive awareness is going on across the country in Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Pigin English to properly educate the 30 million targeted customers in Nigeria. The Glo Xchange Super Agents which saves operators the stress of going to queue in banks for transactions can be done with your mobile phone. It tends to create about 10,000 jobs in the economy. However, to sustain this well articulated initiative and innovation, Globacom is partnering First Bank, Ecobank, Stanbic IBTC and Zenith Banks to make this a success in the life of Nigerians. According to Globacom’s Head of Mobile Money Financial Business, Mr. Esaie Diei at the commercial roll out of Glo Xchange Agents in Lagos, said, the possibility of a customer falling into the hands of fraudsters has been taken care of by the dedicated toll-free Agent-Care short

number 33003. He said that customer can send an SMS with the phone number of an agent to the short code, 33003 to confirm if the particular agent is genuine or not, saying the same short code will also provide the customer with the location of the nearest Glo Xchange agent and also answer other enquiries, free of charge. He also announced the introduction of a dedicated USSD short code, *800# that will allow Glo Xchange agents to access the mobile money services of any partner Mobile Money Operator (MMO). The event signifies the release of about 1,000 market-ready agents into the market for Globacom’s mobile money service, Glo Xchange, which is Nigeria’s first mobile money super-agent network. This is sequel to the successful Glo Xchange training programme for thousands of potential agents last year, in over 30 states in the country.

NAHCO deploys new 1.5Billion Naira equipment across Nigerian airports Nahco aviance, a ground handling company, has deployed new equipment in major airports across the country. The equipment that arrived the country last month, were currently being deployed to all airports where nahco operates. According to the Head, Corporate Services, Nahco aviance, Ahmed Bashir Gulma, the company invested the sum of N1.5Billion in the new equipment. Gulma said “We are deploying these new equipment in the airports to satisfy our domestic and international clients. The equipment are the types you will find in the best of modern airports in the world.” He further disclosed that the first batch of the 131 units of Ground Support Equipment, (GSE) arrived the country last month and had been deployed even as the Federal Government was still putting finishing touches to the airports it was remodelling across the country. “Among the GSE are aircraft passenger steps, self-propelled pallet transporter, belt loaders, wide aircraft cargo loaders, aircraft tow loaders and towable toilet service units. Others include towable fuel bowsers, pallet dollies, container dollies, baggage trailers, belt loaders and ACUs.” Only last March, the Company invested more than N700 million in equipment purchase. This

was disclosed by the MD/CEO, Mr. Norbert Bielderman in a speech at the first Nigeria Air Cargo Summit on March 2, 2015.This purchase, as disclosed, by Bielderman was preceded by another huge investment in equipment in the two years preceding 2014. The Chairman, NAHCO, Mallam Suleiman Yahyah, stated on the sideline of the inauguration of the NAHCo’s Learning and Development Centre in Lagos in March 2013 that, “In the last 24 months, we have invested over N11.3bn

($70m) in equipment and are putting things in place to ensure that the flow of cargo is efficient.” He said at the time that the company was set to ensure that it maintained its position as a top African cargo company, adding that arrangements had been put in place to grow the business further. “The investment in equipment is matched in equal measure with investment in the Company’s human resource.” Meanwhile, the Company’s IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) certification has been renewed till 2016.

UBA wins award as largest lender tto o agriculture an-African Financial Services banking industry average of 4 %. group, United Bank for Africa P UBA was also one of the two banks (UBA) Plc was honoured recently selected in 2010 to administer the with an award as Nigeria’s biggest lender to agriculture. The award was conferred on the bank by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) at the chamber’s annual commerce and industry awards night. The LCCI awards night recognises, promotes and celebrates private and public sector institutions operating in Nigeria for best business practices, growth through innovations, business sustainability and positive impact on people and the society. UBA was honoured on the night for consistently supporting the growth of agriculture in Nigeria. UBA, as far back as 2009, floated the largest private sector funding scheme of N50 billion to support agriculture and agro-processing industries in Nigeria. Since then, UBA has sustained its commitment to the agricultural sector by committing an average of 7% of its loan book to agricultural financing, well above the

N200 billion agriculture fund set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) because of the bank’s commitment to agricultural financing as well as its spread across the country. Commenting on awards, Group Managing Director of UBA, Phillips Oduoza, thanked LCCI for the recognition given to the bank, assuring that UBA will continue to support the agricultural sector. “Agriculture is key to diversifying the Nigerian economy from dependence on oil. As has demonstrated by us over the years, we will continue to support and lend to the sector not only in Nigeria but across Africa” he said. The LCCI is the foremost private sector group in Nigeria with over 1,500 corporate members accounting for an estimated 70% of industrial output, 70% of general commerce and 75% of financial services in the country.

Nigeria distillery industry fastest growing—IDL Boss

ntercontinental Distilleries Limited, IDL, Head of Sales has described the spirit and wine industry as the fastest growing in Nigeria. The Sales Head of the company, Hope Gbagi, who did not give a specific statistics of the growth index stated that, overtime the industry has witnessed a significant growth with various spirit and wine brands entering the market. The Sales head who spoke at the 2014 distributors forum in Port Harcourt where the company rewarded distributors with various gift items ranging from cash to trucks for their contribution to the growth of the company, gave out N11.4 million and a 4.5 tonne truck to Comrade Joseph Ogoamaka Ugwoegbu whose company Merdian Marketing emerged overall

winner in the eastern and central region. The region also produced 1 gold winner, 10 silver winners and many bronze winners. He buttressed the point by saying that the entry of the bitters and café liqueur has harnessed some of the untapped potentials of the industry, while mentioning that IDL products like Action Bitters and DeRok, playing in that field, has further opened up IDL’s business; this could be seen in the notable increase in volume of sales the company is currently recording. In addition, he stated that the company’s innovative way of distilling and presenting their products have paid off. The Managing Director, Chief Patrick Anegbe, said that it was evident that customers who invested time and hardwork in their businesses were reaping the fruits.

How Truemessenger empowers Nigerian mobile phone users ruemessenger, the revolutionary new app recently launched T by leading global search technology company, Truecaller, will empower Nigerian mobile phone users to enjoy a smarter and

more social SMS experience on their mobile devices. Powered by a 150 million vibrant mobile community, Truemessenger allows you to magically put a name to a number while blocking and filtering out SMS spam from your inbox. The app is integrated with Truecaller and its network of more than 1.7 billion numbers from across the globe. It pulls information from social networks and automatically assigns photos, nicknames, and other contact information to incoming texts. Truemessenger even enables mobile phone owners to assign their own spam rules. SMS spam is then either filtered out of your inbox or blocked altogether, so your inbox is kept clean, and you are never left guessing who might be trying to reach you. CEO & Co-founder of Truecaller, Alan Mamedi, said, “with Truemessenger’s global roll out, we’re bringing you the combined power of our global community with information from your own personal networks so you’ll never again have to worry about anonymous numbers.” “Nigeria has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world today, with over 140 million active mobile lines,and a large number (L-R) Mohammed Tanko, Etisalat Experience Centre Manager, Sokoto, Yusuf of Nigerians rely on their mobiles to communicate with one another. The Truemessenger app will D. Yusuf, Specialist, Dealer Sales, Etisalat Nigeria, Prof. Adamu Aliyu Alueru, provide the very large number of Nigerians who Dean of Students, UDU, Sokoto, Opara Chijoke Osinachi, Cliqfest Car Winner rely on their mobile phones to communicate with and Idiareno Atimomo, Manager Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria at the one another, with the option of avoiding messages presentation of the Hyundai i10 car to the winner at Usman Danfodio from unwanted numbers and contacts. University (UDU), Sokoto State recently.

SA TURD AY SATURD TURDA

Vanguard , SEPTEMBER 12 12, 2015—53

Ambode gives tips to check incessant f ire outbreaks

Day Lagos street sweepers protested over non-payment of salaries STORIES BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

agos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, last Monday reportedly ordered the immediate settlement of arrears of salaries of street sweepers who had protested non-payment of their wages for several months. The protesters had converged on the premises of the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and later proceeded to the state House of Assembly to also lodge their complaints. It was gathered that there are seven zones coordinating street sweepers in the state with each zone owing various sums of money insalaries arrears. Street sweepers are said to be on monthly salary of N12,000 each while their supervisors earn N20,000 monthly. Ambode was said to have been irked by the report of non-payment of the salaries and immediately summoned the Permanent Secretary at the MOE as well as the the Managing Director, Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), to a meeting where he ordered the authorities to effect immediate payment of the arrears of salaries. Spokesperson for the protesters, Mrs. Yemisi Oresanwo, lamented that since they had been transferred from Ministry of the Environment to LAWMA, life has been difficult for her and family. Oresanwo who is a supervisor from Ikeja zone said it had been difficult for them to survive, saying they had complained to their boss but nothing positive came out of it. “For me as a supervisor, I am being owed five months salaries while some others are being owed up to three or four months. So, we want government to come to our aid. “Since the time we have been transferred from MOE to LAWMA, the latter has been responsible for

payment of our salaries until recently when they refused to pay us,” she said. The protesters said that they had lodged complaints at the office of the Permanent Secretary Ministry of the Environment who promised to look into their demands. Also speaking, another protester, Abidemi Najeem, said they had endured for a long period over the non-payment regretting that the situation has worsened since their children are expected to resume school later this month. Najeem who represents JibowuFadeyi zone said they were transferred since 2013 to LAWMA, adding that, “ we want the government to state categorically whether we are under LAWMA or MOE. “Our children will soon resume school and we are expecting Ileya festival (Muslim festival), how do they expect us to take care of ourselves and families.” A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Bisi Yusuff, who had earlier addressed the two protesting

groups on behalf of the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, appealed to them to remain calm and not take laws into their hands. According to him, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is not in the habit of owing salaries, assuring that the matter would be adequately addressed. Yusuff promised that the House which is currently on recess is expected to resume next week Monday, saying that “ we shall look into your grievances when we come back from recess.” Also speaking, Hon. Ogunyemi representing Ojo Consistency II, commended the sweepers and assured them that the matter would be resolved. According to him, “ we assure you that the House of Assembly will look into the matter and we appreciate you for the peaceful match without taking laws into your hands. I urge you to be patient with the Permanent Secretary because the government usually pays civil servants on the 24th of every month. So, there must be something wrong, please be calm,” he stated.

Lagos w arns on illegal sand mining oper ations warns operations BY MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

he Lagos state government has expressed concern over the increasing rate of illegal mining operation in the state warning that it will deal with anyone caught in the act. The Director, Human Resources and Administration, Mr. Fashola Adeyemi Taofik, of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said that government was committed to ensuring an internationally accepted standard in the sand mining industry in the state. Speaking during an on the spot assessment of some sand mining sites at the Ajah/Lekki axis of Lagos state, Fashola said the ministry was poised

to ensure that miners in the state operate according to laid down regulations that will ensure sustainable development in the state. According to him, “in furtherance of the Ministry’s mandate to ensuring sustainable mining operation, constant monitoring and clinical review of mining methods and its impacts, taking stock of degraded area as well as putting in place a restoration plan is being done by the Ministry. “The objectives of the mining site monitoring and evaluation are also to locate and delineate the extent of land degradation at mining sites, initiate and develop land use program for the identified area such as fish farming, agricultural cultivation, coconut

plantation, landscaping. “It is also meant to identify the derivable impact of the exercise on affected communities as well as develop mining methods and proper documentation that will ensure sustainable development.” He warned that henceforth, government would not take it lightly with those involved in illegal sand mining as they constitute majority of those who degrade the environment. “Any person or group of persons caught perpetrating the illegal act will henceforth be dealt with decisively,” Fashola warned. Sand mining sites visited were located at Oke Ogun, Araromi, Parcel B of the Lekki Free Trade Zones all in Lekki/Ajah axis.

t was a sad day for the residents of Lawanson, Surulere, Lagos, where members of a family of five were burnt to death in the early hours of Wednesday following a fire outbreak in their house at Michael Ogun Street, Obele, Lawanson. Reports said that victims of the inferno where a grandmother, mother, father and two children, a baby and a girl. “It is an unfortunate incident, it is a very sad day in this area, a whole family roasted in a midnight fire, this is sad”, an eye witness lamented. Fire incidents like the Surulere case have virtually become a daily occurrence in Lagos, along with similar accidents. Reports indicate that over 25 fire incidents have occurred across the Lagos metropolis in the last two weeks out of which 12 happened within 24 hours. According to the Lagos State Fire Service quarterly review, a total of about 18 lives and property worth N4 billion were lost in 859 fire incidents within three months in the state in 2014. According to the report, 36 persons were rescued, while property worth about N60 billion were saved in the incidents. The Director of Lagos Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, who confirmed all these records, attributed most of the tragedies to what he described as human errors, especially as they occurred during the rainy season when such disasters are known to be less frequent. Fadipe urged the public to know that, “there is no small fire incident because every outbreak is followed by destruction of property and ar e sometimes life-threatening. According to Fadipe, “ within two weeks, there were fire incidents at a six-floor building on Lagos Island, an outbreak of fire involving a three-floor building at number 33 Balogun street Lagos Island, among other incidents. “The highpoint of the whole thing is the unprecedented record in number of emergencies received within 24 hours that occurred between last Sunday and Monday. We received 12 emergency calls, this is alarming and unacceptable. Be safety conscious, Ambode urges residents. Apparently worried by the reports of incessant fire outbreaks, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has stressed the need for residents to be more safety conscious in handling sensitive materials such as fuel and electrical systems, among others in homes and offices. Ambode made the appeal in statement yesterday, signed by the

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Fola Adeyemi. He said had become pertinent to encourage the people to imbibe the culture of safety following recent increase in cases of fire incidents across the state resulting in loss of lives and property.

•Governor Ambode

54 — SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

C M Y K

SATURDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 — 55

Old Trafford quakes as Man U battle Liverpool

BERTO: I’ve

speed to match Mayweather A

NDRE Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) has the opportunity of a lifetime in front of him tonight in his title challenge against WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (48-0, 26 KOs) in their clash in Las Vegas, Nevada. Berto, 31, is a big underdog in this fight in dealing with the No.1 fighter in boxing, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Berto

feels like he’s been upsetting the odds his entire 11-year career and he plans on doing the same thing tonight when he’s in the ring with the 38year-old Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Berto thinks his hand speed will be the match of Mayweather’s own fast hand speed. Berto notes that Mayweather had problems in

•Mayweather Jr. with Berto facing a younger Zab Judan nine years ago in their fight in 2006. Mayweather won the fight by a 12 round unanimous decision by a fairly wide set of scores of 119-109, 116-112 and 117-111. However, the fight was competitive in the first six rounds before Mayweather solved the Judah riddle and started dominating him. “I have the speed to keep up

with him. I have more power. The thing with Floyd is, most guys he fights aren’t as athletic as he is. I am. I’m as athletic as he is,” Berto said. “If you have a guy that’s in front of him that’s athletic like a Zab Judah that gave him problems it’s going to be a different type of fight. He can’t say I’m straight up and down.”

Chelsea in grudge game at Everton

•Hazard

verton manager Roberto Martinez is anticipating a strong response from Chelsea when the defending Premier League champions face Everton today at Goodison Park. Martinez is wary of a Chelsea side he expects to quickly return to form. “I very much expect a strong Chelsea team with right approach, hitting the heights they hit last season when they won the league comfortably. We need to make sure they don’t develop momentum against us.” The game has added spice coming on the back of Chelsea’s failed pursuit of John Stones, who had a transfer request rejected by Everton. Martinez says the defender is going from “strength to strength” and will have no qualms about deploying him on the backline. However, Everton are without left-back Leighton Baines and midfielder Tom Cleverley due to ankle injuries, while Steven Pienaar has a hamstring problem. Bryan Oviedo is a doubt with a knee injury but Darron Gibson has returned to training following a foot complaint. Mourinho has indicated his side will have a different look on Merseyside. “I have to work, I have to react, I have to analyse, and if I feel the players are not in conditions to react and give more, I have to make changes. It is not about being loyal or not loyal, it is for me to analyse if they are ready to give an answer and try to fight against that bad individual form or not.”

•Lukaku

he Premier League season may still be in its infancy, but today ’s clash between Manchester United and Liverpool is already being billed as a potentially crucial encounter for the fierce rivals. There is no love lost between two sides that always manage to produce great drama when they face each other and the teams go in search of morale-boosting bragging rights after disappointments before the international break. David de Gea, United’s Player of the Year in each of the past two seasons, could make his first appearance of 2015-16 following the well-publicised collapse of the goalkeeper ’s transfer to Real Madrid on deadline day. Captain Wayne Rooney has not scored in his past 10 Premier League games, but the striker will be buoyed by becoming England’s record goalscorer during the international break surpassing United legend Bobby Charlton’s tally of 49. Rooney, the former Everton man who always relishes this fixture due to his Merseyside roots, could have a new strike partner with Anthony Martial in line to make his debut after the teenager joined from Monaco. For Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers will demand a response after his side were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by West Ham at Anfield last time out.

Atletico eye win against Barca

•Griezman

C M Y K

ntoine Griezmann has warned Barcelona that Atletico Madrid will “give everything” when the two sides lock horns at the Vicente Calderon today. “It’s a big game for us and the fans, and we’ll give everything and try to win,” he told Atleti’s official website. “Barcelona always have possession, but we’ll push up, be strong at the back and try to score. We find more rhythm and everything seems easier with every game. I always serve the collective in my work. We’ve started the season well and hopefully we can make it three wins on Saturday.”

•Rooney

SATURDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

EPL Everton Arsenal Crystal Palace Norwich Watford West Brom Man Utd

v v v v v v v

Chelsea Stoke Manr City Bournemouth Swansea Southampton Liverpool

12:45pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 5:30pm

>>34/35

Relegation bell tolls for Bayelsa, Taraba, Sharks >>33

Chelsea in I’ve speed grudge to matc h match game at Ma yw eather Mayw yweather >>55 Everton >>55

BERT O: BERTO:

FIXTURES LA LIGA Espanyol Sporting Gijon Atletico Madrid Real Betis

v v v v

Old Trafford quakes as Man U battle Liverpool >>55

CROSS WORD PUZZLE

Real Madrid 3pm Valencia 5:15pm Barcelona 7:30pm Real Sociedad 9pm

BUNDESLIGA Leverkusen v SV Darmstadt 98 2:30pm Bayern Munich v FC Augsburg 2:30pm FC Ingolstadt 04 v Wolfsburg 2:30pm Hannover 96 v Dortmund 2:30pm Hertha Berlin v Stuttgart 2:30pm Frankfurt v Cologne 5:30pm SERIE A Fiorentina Frosinone Juventus

v Genoa v Roma v Chievo

5pm 5pm 7:45pm

FRENCH LIGUE 1 Lyon v Lorient v Montpellier v Nice v Toulouse v Troyes v

Lille Angers St Etienne Guingamp Reims Caen

4pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 7pm

ACROSS 2 Country in Asia – (10) 7 Togolese Capital City – (4) 8 President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Tijani – (5) 9 Former Warri Wolves Striker, Musa – (6) 11 Crustacean – (4) 13 Frenzied – (3 14 African Desert – (6 16 Akwa United Striker, Son – (6) 19 Ghana “Black Stars”Assistant Coach, Maxwell – (6) 22 Ethnic Group in Nigeria – (6) 23 Yoruba Word for “Take”? – (3) 24 L.G.A in Abia State – (4) 26 African Waterbuck – (6) 28 Former Super Eagles Defender, Henry – (5) 29 Necessity – (4) 30 Ethiopian Capital City – (5,5) DOWN

1 Chief of Defence Staff, Major-General Gabriel – (10) 2 Greek Alphabet – (4) 3 Equatorial Guinea President, Mr. Obiang – (6) 4 Hebrew Alphabet – (6) 5 Ivory Coast Prime Minister, Mr. Daniel Kablan – (6) 6 Former Minister of Mines & Steel Development, Mr. Musa – (4) 10 L.G.A in Jigawa State – (5) 12 L.G.A in Jigawa State (6,4) 15 Colour – (3) 17 Yoruba God – (3) 18 South Africa “Bafana Bafana” Midfielder, Morgan – (5) 20 Former Super Eagles Goalkeeper, Murphy – (6) 21 Former Managing Director, Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Chibuzor – (6) 22 State in Nigeria – (6) 25 Precious Metal – (4) 27 Croatian Currency – (4)

Solutionon on page Solution page2119

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 01-4544821. Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) EDITOR: ONOCHIE ANIBEZE. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

C M Y K