No deal with Jonathan - G7 Govs Baraje by Vanguard Media Limited

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...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 61972

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

The Tragedy of Victory

BOKO HARAM:

23 killed, 100 houses, shops burnt in Borno • P.8

SIGNING—From left, Tony Elumelu, Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Rudi Jagersbacher, President, Hilton Middle East & Africa; and Valentine Ozigbo, MD/ CEO, Transcorp Hilton Hotels, at the signing of a deal on Transcorp Hilton Ikoyi in Lagos, yesterday.

FTER Alabi-Isama and Alani Akinrinade supported Col Benjamin Adekunle to prosecute the civil war why would he want them killed? How did the duo escape the death trap? How did they get Col Olusegun Obasanjo to replace Adekunle as 3MCDO commander? See Pages 40, 41 & 42 for Brigadier General Godwin Alabi-Isama’s answers to these questions. The book is available in book stores and online at amazon.com

No deal with Jonathan —G7 Govs, Baraje •Says Tukur not ready for peace •Accuses Akpabio of deceiving Nigerians •G7 govs set fresh hurdles for Jonathan •Plans to block president's ministerial nominees if...

BY SONI DANIEL, REGIONAL EDITOR, NORTH & HENRY UMORU

BUJA — STRONG indications emerged, yesterday, that an end to the lingering political quagmire rocking the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is not in sight as the Abubakar Kawu BarajeContinues on page 5

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COLUMNISTS: Is'haq Modibbo Kawu •P.17 OCHEREOME NNANNA•P.19

Josef Omorotionmwan •P.19

Mr & Mrs

NLC RALLY—Cross section of workers at a rally on the retention of the payment of wages on the Exclusive List, organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, outside the SGF Building, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja, yesterday. Inset: Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole addressing workers during the rally. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

Presidency jittery over impeachment fears

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POCKET CARTOON Tukur camp to deceive them. “On whether President Jonathan should contest the 2015 presidential election or not, we wish to say that we have a mechanism and system of electing our flag-bearers for any election and until the time to choose the party’s presidential flag-bearer comes, any speculation on this is just a mere academic exercise.”

Tukur not ready for peace HOUSE APC BRIEFING —From left: Deputy Minority Whip, Garba Datti; Minority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila; Minority Whip, Samson Osagie and Chairperson, House Committee on Public Procurement, Jumoke OkoyaThomas and others addressing pressmen on "APC, Towards a Greater Nigeria", at the National Assembly, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

No deal with Jonathan —G7 Govs, Baraje Continues from page 1 led faction accused the party National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur of not being serious with peace moves. This came just asthe nPDP said that it has not entered into any deal with President Goodluck Jonathan. The group, therefore, urged Nigerians to ignore what it described

as “the tissue of lies and propaganda from the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur faction of the party on the outcome of our meeting with President Jonathan at the Presidential Villa last Sunday, September 15, 2013”. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the Baraje-led leadership

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.

TAKE HEART BY ELLA RANDLE

Our problem is that inside us there’s a mind going, “Impossible, impossible, impossible. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.” We have to banish that mind from this solar system. Anything is possible; everything is possible. Sometimes you feel that your dreams are impossible, but they’re not. Human beings have great potentials; they can do anything. The power of the mind is incredible, limitless – Yeshe

IFE has a perfect schedule for our spiritual unfoldment, and knowing all things, somehow weaves all of life’s seemingly fortuitous circumstances, attitudes, and actions into personal tapestries of rich yet uniquely individual symmetries. The timing of events eludes our fragile control; opportunities dart like trout from behind river boulders and never reappear, no matter how patiently we cast our line. We should never expect to get everything we want right now, knowing that life simply doesn’t work that way and that the fruit of impatience is frustration and bitterness. Daily living proves how often it is necessary to bear with disagreeable situations, even for extended periods. Faith teaches us likewise, but in addition, helps us understand the appropriateness of forbearance. Persistence is especially important in our prayers and contemplations. Most of the problems about which we pray admit of no easy solution, but we must keep heart. We will receive answers, delayed, perhaps, because a better answer than any we had contemplated is in prospect. Take Heart and have faith in life. -Ella Randle

stressed that if there was any serious commitment on the part of Tukur, there will be no caretaker committee for Kano State chapter which was designed to humiliate Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a few hours after the Sunday peace meeting with President Jonathan. The Baraje-led nPDP in its statement said: “We have read various misleading accounts of what transpired at that meeting between our progressive governors – Gov Kwankwaso of Kano, Gov Wamakko of Sokoto, Gov Amaechi of Rivers, Gov Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Gov Nyako of Adamawa, Gov Ahmed of Kwara and Gov Lamido of Jigawa with President Jonathan on how to resolve the self-inflicted crisis in our party. “We wish to specifically urge Nigerians and our supporters to ignore the concocted tales of Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom and chairman of PDP Governors' Forum. Akpabio lied by claiming that we have accepted that President Jonathan should contest the 2015 presidential election and that most of our demands are being met. The fact of the case is that no agreement has been reached on any of the issues we tabled before the President and until we see results, Nigerians should ignore the present efforts by the

Accusing Tukur of not being serious with peace moves, the nPDP said: “Meanwhile, we have been vindicated in our claim that Alhaji Tukur and his faction are not serious about their purported search for the return of peace in our party. Just few hours after Sunday ’s meeting between the progressive Governors and the President, Tukur ’s faction once more showed its disdain for peace by unilaterally setting up a Caretaker Committee to run the affairs of our Kano chapter. This was done without recourse to either the leader of the party in Kano State, Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso, or other stakeholders of the party from Kano. This illegality is a clear violation of our party’s constitution and was hurriedly done just to spite Gov. Kwankwaso, the Party Leader in the state. “We hereby urge our people in Kano State to ignore this illegality as we have set in motion the machinery to organise a proper election as stipulated by our party’s constitution. “We are still at a loss why Tukur and his cohorts do not want peace to reign in PDP but no matter the odds, we are very determined to ensure that peace is restored to our party with the prayers of Nigerians. “Along this line, we once more appreciate the efforts of our Party Elders to resolve the current crisis bedevilling our party and wish them success irrespective of the evil designs of Tukur ’s faction to elongate the crisis for selfish reasons.”

G-7 govs set fresh hurdles for Jonathan Meanwhile, a reliable source present at the meeting held last Sunday between the Presi-

dency and the aggrieved PDP governors, dubbed the ‘G7’, told Vanguard that the governors wanted to use the ‘simple hurdle’ to test the sincerity of President Jonathan and the leadership of the party towards resolving the crisis rocking the party. According to the source, the governors are waiting to see if the President would seek their inputs in the selection of ministers from their respective states to replace the ones sacked by him last week. A governor, who was at the Sunday meeting told Vanguard, yesterday, that they doubted the sincerity of the President to involve them in the search and selection of new ministers from their respective states, given the way the former officials were sacked by him. The governor pointed out that their scepticism over Jonathan’s adherence to the ceasefire announced last week, stemmed from the fact that the President was fond of using and dumping those who work for him, citing the experience of five former PDP governors, whom he relied on to win the 2011 Presidential election, to buttress his point. The governor said: “We don’t really believe that the President is serious about peace because he can easily change his mind after an agreement. “Look at what he did to the former governors of Gombe, Oyo, Ogun, Nasarawa and Bayelsa, whom he relied on to win the last election and you will understand what we mean. “Before the election, the President had pleaded with the affected former governors to mobilise support for him to win the poll in return for the offer of some juicy appointments. “But unfortunately, once he (Jonathan) won the election, his promise of appointing some of the former governors as ministers and ambassa-

dors was jettisoned and many of them are angry with him today for failing them,” the governor pointed out. Another governor, who attended the peace parley with Jonathan last Sunday noted: “We cannot just trust them and go to sleep while the Presidency and the Tukur-led PDP are fast restructuring the party in our states under the guise of peace. “We have given them some tests to determine how sincere they are in putting an end to the crisis rocking the party,” the governor said. It was learnt that the governors had already mobilised majority of their senators, who are still loyal to them, to watch out for the list of ministerial nominees from the affected states and block their nominations should the President unilaterally appoint them without involving them as critical stakeholders. Reacting to a question on Jonathan’s second term bid, one of the governors made it clear that they were not opposed to his second term bid as long as he complied with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the party in going about it. “What we are saying is that the President can contest if only he meets the provisions of the law. That is what we are saying and nothing more. “If he is qualified to stand election in 2015, so be it. But if doing so contravenes the law, he should take the necessary step,” the source advised. Vanguard learnt the G7 group was convinced that except the crisis in the party was amicably resolved and they and their supporters carried along, it would be very difficult for Jonathan to be re-elected in 2015. It was also learnt that some aggrieved political leaders would soon approach the Supreme Court to clear the air on the suitability or otherwise of Jonathan’s bid to contest the 2015 election.

6—Vanguard , THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

33-yr-old man allegedly beats BB girlfriend to stupor, attempts rape BY DAUD OLATUNJI

N Abeokuta Chief Magistrate’s Court, Ogun State, yesterday, remanded a 33-year-old man, Olasunkanmi Ikuomola, in prison custody for beating his girlfriend to a state of stupor. The accused, Ikuomola, of 28 OriIyarin Agbeloba in Abeokuta, was arraigned on a two-count charge of attempted rape and assault, but no plea was taken. The Police Prosecutor, Inspector Banji Sangotokun, told the court that the offence was committed on August 5 at 6:18p.m. at the accused residence. He said that the accused attempted to rape the woman and in the process beat the said girlfriend (names withheld) to stupor. Sangotokun said: “The accused and the lady had been chatting on Black Berry for a while and had been intimate. “Ikuomola invited her to his house and when she got there, he locked the door and started beating her mercilessly, forcefully removing her pants and bra. “It was the neighbours that heard her screams and came to her rescue. They broke the door of the accused apartment.” According to the prosecutor, neighbours met the lady badly beaten, lying nude and unconscious on the floor.

Police launch manhunt for 27-yr-old over lover's death BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

ENAGOA—POLICE in Bayelsa State have launched a manhunt for a man reportedly working with a construction company, over the alleged killing of a 27year-old woman believed to be his lover in Kaiama, Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area of the state. The construction worker, according to indigenes of Kaiama community, allegedly strangled the woman to death at midnight, last Tuesday, and dumped her corpse close to the bank of a river. It was learnt that the body was discovered by some indigenes, who had gone for early morning bath. A community source said the corpse of the deceased woman was discovered at 6.30am. The source said: “The corpse of the woman, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, was discovered by people going to take their bath.

How suspect escaped

“We discovered that after the girl was killed, her body was thrown into the water believing that she would be carried away by the current. But God

wanted us to discover her.” It was learnt that the construction worker, on hearing that the corpse of the deceased had been discovered, panicked, rushed to the company site across the Kaiama River, told his supervisor that his mother was sick and that he needed some money to travel. He was said to have convinced his unsuspecting supervisor, who gave him N30,000 not knowing what his intention was. Spokesman of Bayelsa Police Command, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, confirmed the incident. He said men of the state Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, have launched a manhunt for the suspected killer.

KEEPING FIT: Security personnel working out at Seme

Presidency jittery over BY SONI DANIEL, Regional Editor, North, & LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU

ARELY 48 hours after a free-for-all ensued at the National Assembly, following

the visit of the splinter Peoples Democratic Party, indications emerged last night that the Presidency was jostled over the implications of the lawmakers’ action. Sources close to the Presi-

dency hinted that its strategists were worried that the lawmakers could easily effect a change in the leadership of the national legislature and get at President Goodluck Jonathan. One source, who spoke in

SFU declares Anambra Commissioner wanted over N10.6m business deal N10,582,540.00 in governor of the state or state installments, alleging that he Commissioner of Police. BY EVELYN USMAN

PECIAL Fraud Unit, SFU, of Force Criminal Investigation Department, has declared Anambra State Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Vincent Ezewajiaku, wanted for allegedly obtaining N10.6 million by false pretense. The serving Commissioner, according to the Unit’s spokesperson, Ngozi Insitume-Agu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, was invited to the Unit to answer questions bothering on the allegation, twice, but failed to show up.

Detectives from the Unit, whom she said visited Anambra State to effect Ezewajiaku’s arrest, later released him on bail to one Obi Okwudili, who stood as a surety. Following the commissioner’s alleged refusal to show up at the Unit as promised, his surety according to Insitume-Agu, was arrested.

Accusation

Trouble started after the Unit received a petition from an undisclosed businessman, who alleged that sometime between 1996 and 2002, the commissioner who was then Managing Director of BIO Plastic Limited, invited him to invest in his company as a co-director, with an agreement that he (complainant) would acquire 34 percent of the equity. The complainant, according to Nsitume-Agu, stated in the petition that he paid

was “induced by the commissioner to part with his hardearned money by writing several letters promising and indicating huge potentials of the company’s expected turnover and profitability. He later discovered that he had invested in a non-existent company as the company was not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. In the course of investigation, Insitume-Agu said some detectives from the Unit travelled to Anambra State with an invitation letter, which was duly served on the suspect.

“He was taken to State CID, where he made cautionary statement and was subsequently released on bail to one Engr. Obi Okwudili, who promised in writing to produce the suspect on August 15, but failed to do so. “The suspect has refused to honour Police invitation and resisted arrest. The surety has been arrested and will soon be charged to court. “Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police, SFU, has declared Vincent Ezewajiaku wanted.”

Police invitation

She said: “The suspect was expected to report to the office on April 16, but he failed to honour Police invitation. “Again, on August 4, detectives went to Awka with a warrant of arrest and he resisted arrest, saying he must see the

Mr. Vincent Ezewajiaku.

Wife sues husband for allegedly impregnating pas

housewife, Mrs Tosin Adekunle, 28, yesterday, dragged her husband, Tope Adekunle, before a customary court in AdoEkiti, Ekiti State, for divorce over allegations of adultery, battering, lack of affection and neglect of their two children.

She told the court that her husband had also failed to perform his conjugal responsibilities. Tosin said that Tope had beaten her to point of death and had thrown her belongings out of

their matrimonial home. She alleged that her husband impregnated their pastor ’s daughter. According to her, she can no longer bear the negative attitude

Vanguard , THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013—7

Communal crisis looms over robbery, killing BY EMMA UNA

A L A B A R — COMMUNAL conflict is brewing between the neighbouring communities of Ugep and Ekori in Yakkur Local Government Area of Cross River State, following the killing of a Yakkur man. Sources said an Ugep man, George Bassey, was abducted on September 16, taken to Ekori, robbed of his motorcycle and killed. The source said: “His body was found abandoned in an uncompleted building, while his motorcycle was missing.” The discovery of the body in Ekori allegedly led to tension, with Ugep people mobilising to en-

road, Badagry, Lagos State, yesterday.

impeachment fears confidence, said that Jonathan and his advisers were not taking the development in the National Assembly lightly and had, therefore, mobilised for the support of most members. The source said that the President had been shown intelligence report indicating that most of the members could support impeachment move against him once the leadership of the Assembly was changed. It was learnt that the Presidency and it minders were more worried about the leadership of the House of Representatives, which appears to harbour more ‘opposition’ members than the Senate. According to informed sources, the Presidency was more perturbed about the emergence of the Abubakar Baraje-led PDP from the mainstream PDP, whose members

seem to enjoy a good rapport with the opposition members of APC in House of Assembly. The source said: “What happened yesterday (Tuesday) on the floor of the House of Representatives, when the leadership, led by the Speaker, allowed the splinter PDP a free reign to address the House, is an indication that the rebel group is aligning with the opposition to work against the President and the leadership of PDP. “If this is not checked immediately, they can wake up one morning and move against the President.”

Senator Emordi meets Jonathan

Apparently to ward off the looming face-off between the lawmakers and Presidency, Special Adviser to the Presi-

dent on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emordi, met with Jonathan for about an hour, yesterday, during which the matter was tabled and some decisions reached on how to tackle it. The Senator did not brief journalists after meeting. It was gathered that the Presidency had been split on what to do to put its house in order and win more support for the impending political fight. One group within the Presidency is rooting for the removal of the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe and his replacement with media mogul, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, who has already been recruited by the Presidency to woo some dissenting northern political leaders for President Jonathan’s re-election.

Two Chinese nationals in court for attemted rape

WO Chinese nationals, Chen Gang and Zhao Weidong, who allegedly attempted to rape their 20-yearold cook, were, yesterday, charged before an Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court in Lagos. Gang, 47, is facing a fourcount charge bordering on attempted rape, sexual harassment and indecent assault, while Weidong, 31, is being tried for willful damage and at-

tor’s daughter of her estranged husband. Tope did not show up to defend himself on the allegations. President of the court, Mr. Joseph Ogunsemi, adjourned the case to November 4.

tempt to pervert justice. The duo, however, entered a plea of not guilty. The prosecutor, Inspector Moses Uaedmevbo, told the court that the Chinese nationals committed the offences on September 15 at 8a.m. at China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC, Nigeria Railway Compound, Ebute Meta. He said Gang harassed the cook sexually and also attempted to have carnal knowledge of her. Uaedmevbo said: “Gang assaulted the woman by removing her bum shorts forcefully and touching her without her consent.” Uaedmevbo alleged that Weidong also destroyed a

Nokia mobile phone belonging to the woman by throwing it into the toilet. He said: “The woman shouted for help and the policemen on duty in the compound came to rescue her.” Counsel to the accused, Mr. Fidelis Osordi, urged the court to grant them bail. Prosecutor opposed the bail application, saying that the Chinese nationals may run away. He said the offences contravened Sections 91, 134, 170, 260, 262 and 348 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The Magistrate, Mrs M. Tanimola, granted the accused bail in the sum of N300,000 each, with two sureties, each in like sum.

gage the Ekori people the next day, Tuesday, which caused several Ekori people to flee their homes. Mr. Rekpene Bassey, Security Adviser to Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State, said it was “an isolated case of stealing and in such cases when the victim dies, tension would be generated among the family of the person.” He said one person had been arrested in connection with the case, while the police are on the trail of others. Bassey said: “Meanwhile, the police and other security elements have been deployed in the area to ensure there is no breakdown of law and order and the tension generated by the incident has died down significantly.”

14-yr-old docked for defiling 5-yr old girl BY EBERE NWAFOR

HE police, yesterday, arraigned a 14-year-old student before an Abule Egba magistrate's court, Lagos, for allegedly defiling a five-year-old girl. The teenager is facing a charge of defilement of a child. The prosecutor, Inspector Rachael Williams, told the court that the offence was committed on September 9, at Iyalode Street, Agege, Lagos. The prosecutor said: “The accused inserted his finger into the private part of a five-year-old girl with the intent to have carnal knowledge of her.” Williams said the offence contravened the provisions of Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. Section 137 provides that any person who has sexual intercourse with a child is guilty of a felony and is liable to life imprisonment, but the accused pleaded not guilty. The Magistrate, Mr. Tajudeen Elias, granted the accused bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum. He adjourned the case till October 8 for hearing.

Man, 46, arraigned in rape of three under-aged girls BY ONOZURE DANIA

AGOS — A 46-yearold man, Michael Unumahengie, was yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja magistrate's court, Lagos, for allegedly raping and defiling three minors. Unumahengie, who was docked before Magistrate Mrs E. Daudu, is facing a three-count charge bordering on rape, preferred against him by the police. The prosecutor said that the defendant committed the alleged crime on September 6 at 9pm, in Alausa, Ikeja area of Lagos State. The three victims are aged 10, nine and six, respectively. The prosecutor said the

offence is punishable under Section 137 of the criminal law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges read to him. But the magistrate refused him bail. The magistrate remanded the defendant in Kirikiri prison and adjourned the case till October 17 for hearing.

Mr. Unumahengie, suspect.

8—Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

BY NDAHI MARAMA

AIDUGURI—BARELY a day after the military authorities claimed that its troops had killed more than 150 Boko Haram terrorists and lost 16 of its personnel in an encounter in Maiduguri, no fewer than 23 persons were, yesterday, slaughtered in separate attacks in Kaga town, headquarters of Beneshiek Local Government Area of Borno State, as well as along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road by suspected Boko Haram terrorists who disguised in military camouflage uniforms. Also, during the deadly attacks, several passengers including, women were abducted by the gunmen, while the Beneshiekh council secretariat, schools, more than 100 shops, residential and public buildings, as well as eight trucks and 12 vehicles were set ablaze. Similarly, during a separate attack in Limanti village in Konduga Council area along Maiduguri-Biu road, three vehicles were snatched from their owners, while 11 passengers and motorists were abducted by a group of terrorists.

Several people abducted as suspected terrorists dressed in military camouflage The incident took place at about 6:30 pm on Tuesday, which led to pandemonium as residents of Beneshiekh and the neighbouring villages fled the area in hundreds. Beneshiekh is about 72 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the state capital, which had witnessed series of attacks and killings. It was gathered that in the latest attack on Beneshiekh, the terrorists in military uniform numbering more than 100 in a convoy of about 30 vehicles stormed the town, burnt down the Federal Road Safety Corps office, and set some security checkpoints ablaze. This was after they barricaded the highway, where they stopped motorists mostly

23 killed, 100 houses, shops burnt in Borno coming out of Maiduguri and forced them to follow them, while those who refused to do so, were killed instantly. It was gathered that many of the motorists and passengers, including women heeded the terrorists' instructions by following them into their camps for initiation.

of people killed, or abducted, nor the number of shops and houses burnt down in the attack, because we are still

compiling our facts.” He, therefore, assured the general public that the security agencies have since been

deployed in the affected communities to restore peace and also make sure that those who perpetrated such act are arrested and brought to book.

Survivor narrates ordeal A lucky survivor who was abducted but escaped into the bush from the camps of the terrorists said, “I have to give my thanks giving to Almighty God in my Church on Sunday for sparing my life. I was abducted but as my living God would have it, I escaped from where the terrorists took us at about 2am. It was this morning that when I was walking in the bush, I saw a good Samaritan who led me to the same highway from where I was brought back to Maiduguri in one of the security vehicles patrolling the area. He said: “In fact, many people were abducted and they are still with them in a bush which I cannot locate again.” In an interview with the Special Adviser to Governor Kashim Shettima on Labour Matters, who is also from Beneshiekh, Comrade Garba Ngamdu said, “we are here to see the governor with some of my people over the incident. It is unfortunate that in Benesheikh town, the terrorists slaughtered five residents and burnt down several residential and public buildings, this is apart from the motorists and passengers that were killed and abducted on the busy MaiduguriDamaturu highway which I don’t have the actual figure.” Meanwhile, another group of terrorists, yesterday, disrupted the Maiduguri-Biu road by barricading the road in Limanti village in Konduga Local Government Area where they abducted some motorists and passengers, while three vehicles were also snatched from their owners. The incident, Vanguard gathered happened at about 9:30am. No life was lost in the attack, but the whereabout of those abducted is yet to be known, as they were taken away by the terrorists to one of their camps along the Samisa Game Reserve/Forests. The Police Commissioner in Borno State, Mr. Lawal Tanko confirmed the incidents to newsmen in Maiduguri. He, however said, his command was still gathering facts on the number of casualties before briefing the press on the unfortunate incident. Tanko said: “Yes there was a deadly attack in Benesheikh and other villages in Borno, we are working tirelessly with some of my teams to go to Beneshiekh and see the extent of damage, but right now, I cannot tell you the official number

INAUGURATION—Cross section of members of Presidential Committee of Experts on Inter-professional Relationships in the Public Health sector after the inauguration of the committee by President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: State House.

I won't resign, by Okonjo-Iweala zReiterates confidence in Nigerian economy BY EMMA UJAH, ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

B U J A — T H E Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, said yesterday, that she was not contemplating resignation and will concentrate on her job of managing the nation’s economy for the common good of Nigerians. The G-7 governors who are opposed to the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led People’s Democratic Party, PDP, had on Tuesday called for the resignation of the minister, considered as one of the most valuable members of President Goodluck Jonathan’s cabinet. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala made her stand on the issue known at a briefing where she gave a score card on the performance of the economy. The minister who was asked by newsmen whether or not she would resign as demanded by the governors had this to say: “That doesn’t arise. I am not here for those kind of issues. I am Minister of Finance for the country. I am working with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and I will just do my job. “This (briefing) is not to

address that kind of issue. All of you are Finance correspondents and I call you from time to time to have this kind of press conference and I share with you what is happening in the economy. That is what I am doing. So I am not answering that and as you see me here do I look any close to resignation? I dey kampe.” “We should stop talking about political issues here. The economy should be managed for the good of Nigerians. That is why we are here. Let’s face facts of the economy. I have given you facts about the economy. I have given you roads built; agric jobs created, increase in production, you can go and check for yourself so that we can focus on facts.” The minister urged the governors to be objective and consistent in their evaluation of the economy, as according to her, the fact that many of them had gone and still going to the capital market to raise funds through bond issue was a demonstration of their confidence in the nation’s economy. “The confidence in the economy has been aptly demonstrated and I want to thank the governors many of them who have demonstrated

their confidence in the management of this economy and the performance of this economy. Their confidence has been demonstrated by their applications and actions to float bonds. “Nine states have recently floated bonds, with more applications pending. It is a total mark of confidence that states are able to float bonds. If you don’t have confidence in an economy, you can’t float bonds. You can only float bonds in an economy that works. If you float a bond in an economy that is not doing well, nobody will touch it. There will be no takers. If the economy is not doing well, who will invest in those bonds? That cannot happen anywhere in the world. The governors have demonstrated confidence in the economy. It is just that they should be consistent in what they say. “It is to the credit of this administration that the Federal Government has created a yield curve, meaning we have created the ability within the economy and the confidence within the economy for both our corporate and the states to borrow from the capital market”, she said. Dr Okonjo-Iweala appealed to the governors to ensure that the funds raised from the capital market were managed in such a prudent manner as to ensure value for money in the provision of infrastructure in such states.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013—9

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR

OVERNOR Emmanuel Uduaghan has said that under no circumstances should opposition to President Goodluck Jonathan’s perceived second term ambition come from the Niger Delta region. Speaking during an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos yesterday, the Delta State governor challenged the north to reciprocate the high votes gotten by Northern presidential candidates from the Niger Delta region in 2015 when Jonathan expectedly stands for re-election. Governor Uduaghan also used the opportunity to rebuff the call by the Governor Rotimi Amaechiled Nigerian Governors Forum, that the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala should resign on account of the financial challenges the group said is facing the country. Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala is from Delta State. Governor Uduaghan, a medical doctor, is in Lagos to receive the Fellowship of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, the highest award given by the institution. On the agitations against President Jonathan, Governor Uduaghan expressed concern that the opposition against his political aspiration was essentially because the president is from the Niger Delta. Uduaghan said: “Many people in the Niger Delta believe that this opposition against Jonathan is because he is from Niger Delta. They started with performance but now people are beginning to see performance. “I don’t see any President who has served and seen the kind of challenges he had on Boko Haram from day one. “And that is why some of us are saying that the opposition for Jonathan should not come from his region and I still say it that the opposition should not come from his region. People of his region should put their hands and

2015: Opposition to Jonathan shouldn't come from N-Delta, says Gov Uduaghan heads together and see how we can build bridges across the other parts of the country and make him succeed as a President.” Asked on his present relationship with Governor Amaechi, he said: “Amaechi is my friend, he is fine, I say he is my friend, he is fine,” even as he pleaded for calm in the polity, saying that the issues flowing from the Nigerian Governors Forum election would soon be resolved. Recalling his earlier call for a national conference, he said such a conference would remove the suspicions and distrusts that regularly face the country.

BUJA—THE InspectorGeneral of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, yesterday, acknowledged that the Public Security Communications System, NPSS, project has enhanced the capacity of the Police in tackling crime. The IG spoke during an official visit by the Chairman of the National People’s Congress, NPC, of the Peoples Republic of China, Mr Zhang Dejiang, to the Command Switch Centre of the NPSS. His words: “There is no doubt about the importance of this project to the protection of lives and property. “We are delighted about the progress of this project, we are

president, they came to us, and we gave them the highest votes, now that our son is there, we expect that they should also give us the high-

est vote. You know these are questions. They may be real, they may be abstract, but they are questions people from that region are asking.”

National conference “There are regional challenges, there are security challenges, there are even religious challenges, that we need to sit down and discuss and agree on the way forward. “Until we sit down and put the things on the table, then we start the process of give and take. Okay, from this part of the country, these are the challenges and from the other part of Nigeria, these are the challenges, okay I will give in to this, you will give in to that, we start the process of give and take and eventually, arrive at something that is acceptable to everyone and we move on from there. It might not even be the best by the time we even agree, but with time, we build on what we have started as a people. “There is much suspicion, there is so much distrust. I mean, let me take the issue of President Jonathan for instance, many people in Niger-Delta believe that the opposition against him is because he is from Niger-Delta. “So the Niger-Delta people are looking at it, is it because it is our son and that is why all these problems are happening? Is it because he is our son that is why

Public security communication project 'll boost police capacity — IG

some of these moves are being made against him which they didn’t do against their people. “When they wanted to be

committed to the project and this is the first step as we will continue to improve on our infrastructure.” The IG however, pointed out that with the growing influence of China on the African continent and “the enormity of this project, in the domestication of this project, it is suggested that the best way to do so is by establishing a telecommunication industry whose products will serve not just the region but also the continent in general.” The $470 million NPSS project, which was executed by Chinese communications firm, ZTE, is a multi-faceted high tech infrastructure for e-policing and public safety.

VISIT —From left, Brielle Gao, Deputy MD, ZTE NIgeria; Igwe Paulinus Nwagu, Senate Chairman Police Affairs; M D Abubakar , Inspector General; Hao Fuqiang, MD ZTE Nigeria; Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, NPC, of the People's Republic of China; Hou Weigui-Chairman, ZTE Corporation and wife to Zhang Dejiang, Xin Shusen during a visit to the National Command Switch Centre of the project in Abuja.

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WILAT launches global logo

Burial

BY AZEEZ SANUSI

OMEN IN Logistics and Transport, WILAT, under the auspices of Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, CILT, yesterday, in Lagos, unveiled a new global logo of the union. According to the Founder/Chairperson, WILAT Nigeria, Hajia Aisha Ali-Ibrahim, who is also the international convener of the union, the logo is a representation of leadership, gregariousness, teamwork and freedom displayed by the feminine gender in our society. Aisha Ali-Ibrahim, who has received numerous awards for her contribution to the development of women in the society, further emphasised the extent to which WIL AT has spread. She said WILAT, which started in Nigeria on June 12, 2010, has been inaugurated in countries like South Africa, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Middle East, Uganda and Pakistan.

Late Chineme Maduka

AGM: From left, Chief Oladele Fajemirokun, Chairman, AIICO Insurance Plc; Mr. Samuel Oduroye, Company Secretary, and Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, Executive Director, AIICO Insurance Plc, during the 43rd Annual General Meeting of AIICO, at Orchid Hotel, Lekki, Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

SGF orders retirement of judicial commission officials years as stipulated in the new policy. Apart from the two officers, Vanguard learnt that the new policy diWO SENIOR judicial officers rective might also sweep away the have been ordered by the Fed- jobs of many other directors, who are eral Government to vacate their of- holding sway at the two judiciary esfices with immediate effect in strict tablishments. Before the latest attention on the adherence to its tenure policy, which came into effect about four years ago. judiciary, that arm of the governThe duo of Danladi Halilu, Execu- ment had consistently maintained tive Secretary of the National Judi- that it was not bound by that direccial Council and his counterpart in tive and that its officers could stay the Federal Judicial Service Commis- on for as long as they did not hit resion, FJSC, Hajiya Bashir, were or- tirement age. But they were proved wrong, as the dered by the office of the Head of Service of the Federation, HOCSF, HoSF last month wrote to the affected which oversees service matters, to go officers, drawing their attention to home with immediate effect, having the fact that only judges were exstayed on their posts for over eight empted from the tenure policy. The letter from the HoSF, which was endorsed by Kehinde Ibori has some sort of hid- Ibori to Notore at the office Adeyemi, on behalf of the den interest in a fertiliser of London lawyer HoSF, requested the afcompany, Notore,” Clark Bhadresh Gohil, who is fected executive secretarsaid. serving a ten-year jail term ies and directors who had A spokesman for Notore, for his role in laundering served the maximum of who was present in court Ibori’s millions. eight years on the posts on Wednesday denied that Gohil had incorporated a to proceed on retirement Ibori had hidden assets in company in Mauritius un- immediately. the firm. der the name Notore The action of the HoSF “He does not own shares Chemical Industries Mau- followed a letter by the in the company and no ritius Ltd, which Clark said Office of the Auditor Genother shareholder or share- appeared to be a company eral of the Federation holders hold shares for him that would own part of seeking clarification on in trust so far as the com- Notore, Clark said. whether the policy appany is aware,” the Gohil had written in spokesman told Reuters, 2005 to Jite Okoloko, now plied to judiciary staff. The Auditor General in asking not to be named. chief executive of Notore, Clark told the court that asking him to “confirm his letter wrote: “I write police had seized five files your instructions” regard- to request for the interprelabeled National Fertiliser ing NAFCON and giving tation of the Head of the Company of Nigeria, bank coordinates for Civil Service of the Federation’s circulars Nos. NAFCON, that linked transfers. HCSF/061/S.1/111/68 of 29th August, 2009 and HCS/06/S.1/111/188 of 21st October, 2009 on Tenure of Office for Permanent Secretaries and Directors as they relate to the Judicial arm of the government. namely, the Executive Secretaries and the Directors who have spent eight years and above with the judiciary. “There has been an arBY SONI DANIEL, Regional Editor, North

Ibori confiscation case continues in UK court

ONDON — A British police detective, yesterday, told a London court that former Delta State governor, Mr. James Ibori, who is serving a jail term in UK, allegedly used frontmen and companies to acquire a hidden stake in some privatised Nigerian companies. Detective Constable Peter Clark also said Ibori had bought two apartments in Washington in 2001 worth a total of $4.43 million, previously unknown assets to add to a list of six other Ibori property in four countries worth $11 million. The court was shown footage of one of the property, a palatial residence in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, complete with marble columns, crystal chandeliers and a private gym. Ibori, who was governor from 1999 to 2007, was jailed for 13 years in Britain last year after pleading guilty to 10 counts of money laundering and fraud. A three-week confiscation hearing began at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Monday during which prosecutors will present evidence of Ibori’s assets and seek court orders to have them seized. “It is my belief that James

gument from the courts we audit that the judiciary is exempted hence the need for the clarification.

SEMINARIAN with the society of St. Paul, Ibadan, Oyo State, Chineme Douglas Maduka is dead. The seminarian who reportedly died after a prayer retreat, was aged 27. Interment, according the Rev. Father, Joseph Chena, will take place at St. Theresa’s Minor Seminary Campus, Oke Are, Ibadan, after a funeral mass at the Church of Assumption, Bodija, Ibadan.

Vanguard THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013—11

NASARAWA KILLINGS: FG orders deployment of

troops to checkmate Ombatse, others ....As Army destroys more Boko Haram terrorists’ camps in North East BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI

BUJA — Following continuous killings and destructive activities by the Ombatse cult and other militia cult groups in Nasarawa State which has resulted in the death of hundreds of Nigerians, the Federal Government, yesterday, ordered deployment of 800 troops to the state. Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Ibrahim Attahiru, while making the disclosure, sai: “Due to the heightened security situation in Nasarawa State, the Federal Government has ordered the deployment of Nigerian Army troops in aid of civil authority in order to prevent further escalation of the violence and its spread to other parts of the state.” “It is gratifying to note that the deployment of the troops to the violence prone area has helped in curbing the spread of violence by the Ombatse and other ethnic militia

groups in Nasarawa State. “The Federal and Nasarawa State governments are exploiting other ways of ensuring the quick return to normalcy,” he added. On the Boko Haram onslaught, Attahiru said: “In the process of routing the terrorists, insurgents camps located at Kitumari, Alkaderi, Kurunmaarti, Abali, Gajiram and Iza within the Sambisa forest have been destroyed. “Other areas where insurgent’s camps were attacked include Ballabulin and Ngaram within Maiduguri metropolis as well as Gulimba area of Gwoza. “The division continues to dominate the area through aggressive mobile patrols of highways and major urban centres as part of confidence building measure to facilitate the quick return to normalcy. All these are aimed at denying the terrorists the freedom of action,” he said. Continuing, he said: “By and large, military operations within the seven division area

of responsibility has been largely successful. “Furthermore, in the course of the counter terrorism effort, troops of the division killed a top Boko Haram Commander, who is a High Value Target, Abba Goroma.”

Disclosing that nine soldiers are currently facing a military court martial over issues of indiscipline, Attahiru said: “In its bid to instil discipline and professionalism among its troops, based on Army headquarters directives, the Gen-

eral Officer Commanding 3 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Ebiobowei Awala has set up a General Court Martial to try erring officers and soldiers in its area of responsibility.”

Anambra guber: PDP disowns Nicholas Nkachukwu zPDP to learn from Chinese Communist Party — Tukur BY HENRY UMORU

BUJA — NATIONAL leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, dared the court and forwarded the name of Dr. Amachukwu Ezike to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as the running mate of Mr. Tony Nwoye, as the party’s candidates for the Anambra State gubernatorial election fixed for November 16. Noting that there was no reason, whatsoever, for any party member to entertain fear as to

whether or not the Commission would accept the nominees, the leadership of PDP, disowned Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu as its governorship candidate for the election. Answering questions from journalists after the weekly meeting of the National Working Committee, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh insisted that Nwoye remained the party’s authentic candidate for the election and his name had been duly submitted to INEC in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended. Meanwhile, the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga

Tukur has said that the PDP would cooperate with the Communist Party of China to acquire more experience as well as strengthen the nation’s democracy as the ruling party and the largest political party in Africa. Tukur called on the People’s Republic of China to expand its areas of cooperations with Nigeria for the benefits of both countries and the rest of the world. The PDP National Chairman spoke, yesterday, when he received a delegation of the Peoples National Congress of China led by its Chairman, Mr. Zhang Djejiang, in Abuja.

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Stay away from NASS, Reps warn Tukur BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE & LEVINUS NWAGUHIOGU

BUJA—MEMBERs of the House of Representatives, yesterday, declared the National Assembly a no go area for chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. Also, a member, Kingsley Chinda, was shown the other side of the coin when the authentic PDP members ensured he stepped down his motion, tagged: “Need to check incessant clashes among security agencies in the country.” The lawmakers, who spoke to Vanguard anonymously, said since Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, chairman of the authentic Peoples Democratic Party’s, PDP, meeting was disrupted, Tukur should not bother to come. The source said any attempt by Tukur to come to

the House of Representatives would be resisted by them. ”If he dares us, his nakedness would be shown to the world, that I can assure you,“ he said. Another source also told Vanguard that “initially, we planned a total boycott of his visit but from what happened on Tuesday, a mere boycott would not be enough. “ On Chinda’s motion, it was so glaring that some members apparently belonging to the Baraje faction wanted to give him a bitter pill over his role in the disruption of Tuesday’s meeting. Immediately the presiding officer, Emeka Ihedioha, introduced the motion mentioning Chinda’s name, the mood of the legislators changed. Nkem Abonta representing Abia State, had risen to read the motion on behalf of

Chinda when he suddenly stepped into the chamber. Ihedioha summoned him to go ahead and make his presentation, but he wanted to make an amendment in the second paragraph. This was put to voice vote and it was glaring that the nays had it but the presiding officer thought otherwise. Ihedioha, however, pleaded with his colleagues to support members with their motions and bills without prejudice. Apparently sensing danger that the motion would be killed, Chinda stepped down his motion, saying”I will present this later, definitely not today.” It would be recalled that it was the same Chinda who passionately pleaded with members on the floor of the House that peace and orderliness be maintained.

Mind your words, Gov Aliyu cautions Wike BY WOLE MOSADOMI

INNA—NIGER State Governor, Dr Babangida Aliyu, has asked the Acting Minister of Education, Mr. Nyeson Wike, to be mindful of his utterances and stop dabbling into the affairs of other states pointing out that ‘’education administration is not for riff raffs.’’ Wike had made some comments about the state of affairs in the education sector in Niger State which the governor said he should not have made. Speaking while signing into law the state University of Education bill at Government House Minna, yesterday, Aliyu warned Wike not to comment on matters he was not familiar with so as not to cause further problems in the education sector. ’‘I do not know when he got into education. Education is not for riff raffs and he should, therefore steer clear of Niger State. ’’If he (Wike) can fight the governor of his state (Rivers) he cannot fight other governors and so, he should take his time,’’ Governor Aliyu warned. Aliyu had explained that the University of Education, to be located at the present site of the state College of Education, Minna, would provide av-

enue for training of teachers in secondary schools in the state and the entire northern Nigeria where there was currently none of such institution. He defended the estab-

lishment of the university, pointing out that the north could not boast of 50 per cent qualified teachers to man its primary schools. He assured that the new university would attempt to bridge the gap when fully operational.

Nigeria, France trade volume hits N1trn BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU BUJA—BILATERAL trade between Nigeria and France has hit N1trillion, according to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga. Aganga at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on trade and Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, development be-

tween the two countries in Abuja yesterday, put the volume of trade between Nigeria and France as at the end of December 2012 at N1 trillion The MoU, signed by the two nations, was appended by Aganga on behalf of Nigeria and his counterpart, the French Minister of Foreign Trade, Mrs. Nicole Bricq, for her country.

Shema reshuffles cabinet

ATSINA—GOVER NOR of Katsina State, Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu Shema, has approved a minor cabinet reshuffle. The names of the affected commissioners and their ministries are as follows: Alhaji Gide Sani Batagarawa from Information to Water Resources; Hussaini Garba Yarmama moved from

Health to Information, while Aminu Ibrahim Safana moved from Ministry of Environment to Youth and Sports. Also, Alhaji Jamilu Mamman Danmusa moved from the Ministry of Water Resources to Envirnment just as Alhaji Ibrahim Mannir Talba moves from Youth and Sports to Health.

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HEN the two sides of the raging PDP battle for supremacy addressed the press together on Sunday night, vowing to muster efforts to end the rift within the ruling party, they moved closer to a closure. There might be extra positional jostles on both sides, as we saw at the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, but the outlines of agreement are becoming clearer. They have surreptitiously moved from more bellicose statements of intentions to the more practical realisation of dangers that a fightto-the-finish portends for them all. There are cloaks and daggers alright, but smoke and mirrors have also made an appearance. The PDP, in the words of Chief Tony Anenih, is close to what it knows how to do best: managing to snatch itself from the possibility of loss of power. From the onset of the crisis and the emergence of New PDP, nPDP, what was at stake wasn’t the interest of the Nigerian people, but those of individuals about to lose out and their hangers-on,

Limitations of ‘new PDP’ discontent presidency, having allegedly been assured by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua that he (Bukola) was his preferred candidate, if Umaru was unable to go for a second term, before his death scattered everything! It is Bukola’s delusion of presidential grandeur that has largely fueled

I think nPDP’s opportunistic demands came at least four years late! When all is said and done, Jonathan’s position isn’t as weak as it first appears

likely to suffer the domino effect. If we interrogate the outlined demands of the nPDP, it’s clear the fight has little to do with elevated principles. The demands include the sack of Alhaji BamangaTukur as party chairman, return of party structures to governors in Adamawa, Kano and Rivers; agreement by President Jonathan not to seek re-election in 2015; lifting of RotimiAmaechi’s suspension from PDP as well as resolution of the Governors Forum crisis and the most preposterous demand wants discontinuation of EFCC’s investigation of corrupt practices.

Sundry crimes Tukur is their fall guy having systematically squeezed them out of the PDP, that most haloed refuge for perpetration of sundry crimes against the Nigerian people, especially in states. Governors want control of the party for reasons that we all know; butTukur was the ONLY candidate that President Jonathan personally preferred for party position, therefore the demand that he be sacrificed, hits the President directly. The balance of forces will determine where the pendulum swings. If Tukur’s continued leadership fatally injures Jonathan’s 2015 bid, the President will make a humiliating climb down, and end up sacrificing the old man. But the lurking danger is clear; nothing will stop nPDP from demanding more concessions, especially Jonathan’s renunciation of his 2015 ambition. There are speculations about presidential ambitions of Sule Lamido and Rabiu Kwankwaso. But we know that Bukola Saraki is very desperate about C M Y K

Northern Cameroun. Well, the North arrived at the fate of Northern Cameroun a long time ago, under their watch and with their complicity. They must be deluded that President Jonathan will keep a so-called agreement to run for only a single term. The same Jonathan signed an agreement in September 2002, which affirmed power rotation, but turned around to deny there was such an agreement, even with his signature boldly imprinted on paper! I think nPDP’s opportunistic demands came at least four years late! When all is said and done, Jonathan’s position isn’t as weak as it first appears.

his soured relationship with Jonathan and is also a major element in the emergence of nPDP. Even the demand that the EFCC’s harassement stops is largely linked to Bukola’s plight today! It is also looking like President Jonathan will be most willing to make those concessions that will bring nPDPback to the fold. And in the long run, once the disparate interests of the huffing

•Bamanga Tukur and puffing nPDP characters have been adequately taken care of, they will rally and return home to continue the process of elaborate looting of Nigeria. Jonathan will get a second term from the same individuals posturing against him; they will reclaim the party machinery in their states and most likely, EFCC will go back to hibernation, to wait

for another day. The majority of governors under the nPDP umbrella are Northern governors. In truth, they lost the battle to checkmate President Jonathan as long ago as 2011. When they backed Jonathan’s candidacy in 2011, we warned them that they were taking Northern Nigeria to the fate that befell N o r t h e r n Cameroun under the Paul Biya presidency. I recall that in response to that warning, Niger State governor, BabangidaAliyu, who doubles as chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, replied me directly at the Eagles Square, where they endorsed the Jonathan candidacy that they were not taking Northern Nigeria to

Horse trading Horse trading, cajoling, fear of loss of power, the scare about exposure of the grand larceny many have committed against the Nigerian people, fear of the people’s retribution, the once impossible reality of an opposition able now to win elections, will all come together to bring the nPDP back home. Against this backdrop, individuals refusing to return home will be isolated and might even besacrificed. That is the old tradition within the conclave of bandits and who can deny the fact that the inner recesses of the PDP (and its nPDP clone!) doesn’t resemble the worst expressions of a conclave of bandits? I’m writing late on Tuesday night after the fracas in the House of Representatives, between the two factions, but I believe the fear of loss of power will still sober them up; both sides! Please stay tuned to these unfolding events.

September 15: Of pain, hope and existence

SPENT the last weekend in Lagos. I hadn’t been back in that eternally vibrant city in a long while and as is my wont, after the more serious business pursuit, I went out to catch a whiff of its nightlife on Saturday. That is a story for another day. I was to return to Abuja on Sunday, but didn’t! September 15has a very special emotional ring about it for me. Last Sunday, September 15, marked the fourth anniversary of my mother’s death. But it was also Zainab’s eleventh birthday. Zainab is my second child and was actually named for my mother; and it was one of those incredible coincidences of the life process, that my mother died on her seventh birthday, four years ago. I’ve lived with the double, of joggling the pain of death with the joy of a life just finding its own way through the experience of existence. Four years ago, my mother had been terminally sick in hospital and I had taken a day’s break to return home to Abuja, with the plan to return to her bedside in a couple of days, after the short respite of a break, from my exhaustion. Zainab told me on the eve of her birthday, that she didn’t feel like a celebration the following morning; it was, with hindsight, almost like a premonition of what would happen the following day. I reminded her that her cake could be kept away for the day she felt like a celebration. The following day the kids went early to school and at 8am, a call came through, that my mum had just passed! It was a most painful and poignant moment; that realisation that we had arrived at a

closure, which leaves a chasm forever in our lives. For me, each time I think about my mum, I recall her incredible generosity; the lived life of service to community and her remarkable mastery of PULAAKU, even when she wasn’t Fullo! These attributes sat with a keen sense of history and the lucid ability to teach its lessons. My mum was lucky, being amongst the earliest generations of women to attend Western school in Northern Nigeria.

Women's programme There was a sense in which choices she made in life went on to influence my own life. She was the first woman to present a women’s programme on Radio Nigeria Ilorin, and I recall that in the early seventies, her scripts were always on the table in her room. I would sometimes read them, but in those innocent acts, I was probably beginning to build the blocks of feeling that took me into broadcasting. I know that it was from her that my linguistic ability drew directly from, because she spoke so many languages, excelling particularly in Hausa, Yoruba,Nupe and English. The English she would refuse to speak because it was considered a form of immodesty to show proficiency in the language in those early days of Boko learning in the North. I was farmed out early in life, to live with her uncle, and because they were not Fullo

or royal, I learnt lessons ordinarily out of the frames that might have imprinted upon my growing consciousness, as a preteenage kid, in a different setting. The greatest attribute I took out of that phase of my life was the independence that has marked my choices and decisions ever since! I was not really close to my mum; and in Fulbe culture, a mother DARES NOT call her first son’s name, nor even look at him in the eye. She spoke to me in the third person and would direct requests to my cousins or siblings, if ever she needed a thing from me, as a good Fullo must do! Those culturally nuanced attitudes were points I miss about her. But the dialectic of death and life envelops us all through our existence on earth. The young Zainab reminds me of my mum in her compassion and very motherly attitude. And as I watch her grow and make the efforts to feel her way through life, there just is so much about my mum that she somehow reproduces. As the years have rolled by, she has come to be a representation, even if unspoken, of those elements of a mother’s presence in our lives, that we keep longing for. And it is in that remarkable coincidence of being named for a grandmother, who then dies on her birthday, that we find an affirmation of the continuum of death and life; of coming into being, growing and passing. May Allah forgiveHajiyaZainab M. Kawu her sins and grant her Al-janna; and may Allah give the young Zainab a long and useful life of service to humanity!

18 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 Women In PoliticsWomen In PoliticsNIGERIANS have continued to express outrage at the converging upon Eagle square, Abuja, of a “mass rally” last month, hosted by First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan. The carnival, co-hosted by the National Council of Women Societies, NCWS, tagged Nigerian Women Rally for Peace and Empowerment, reportedly had 15,000 women from different parts of the country in attendance. In an event with the First Lady’s signature, phenomenal traffic gridlocks, massive security deployments and road closures grounded activities to a halt in Abuja. It was a bad advertisement for women in politics. Though the “stock of the gains recorded so far in the empowerment of Nigerian women and the quest for peace in the country”, the carnival, debased women. The deployment of women as mere ‘side shows’ and for their entertainment value in political rallies is abhorrent norm. Nigerian women possess the requisite qualifications for politics, as well as other sectors of Nigerian society. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s fulfilment of his promise to ensure at least

Women In P olitics Politics 30 per cent women’s participation in his government through affirmative action has been commended globally, but more has to be done, particularly in women running winning elective positions in the various political parties. With the gender barriers broken through appointment of women to key positions in government, only eight women were voted into the Senate of 109 senators and 24 out of 360 members of the House of Representatives. No female governor has ever been elected in our history. These should bother women. Dame Virginia Ngozi Etiaba was the Governor of Anambra State , from November 2006 to February 2007, making her the first ever female governor in Nigeria’s history, through the impeachment of Peter Obi.

Lessons can be learnt and parallels drawn from female political leadership elsewhere. The number of female world leaders serving simultaneously has dropped in recent years to 19 from 20 during much of late 2010 to mid-2012. Of these, only two: Liberia’s Helen Johnson-Sirleaf and Malawi’s Joyce Banda, are Africans; but other developing countries - Bangladesh, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago - currently have women as commanders-in-chief. Apart from Malawi’s Banda, who succeeded her predecessor and a few other appointed ones, all other female world leaders were democratically elected. Like pioneers, Goldie Mier, elected first Israeli woman Prime Minister in 1969 and the third woman to hold such position in the world, Britain’s Margaret Thatcher and Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto, stepped up to their men. Two of the world’s most emerging economies Brazil and Argentina are currently led by women. Democracy presupposes equal opportunities across gender, ethnic divisions. Nigeria cannot be different. We can praise the First Lady’s efforts, but she should up the relevance of women in Nigeria.

OPINION BY OSAKWE IKEJI

N September 10, 2013, I was going through The Guardian newspaper and saw an advertorial on pages 72 and 73 placed by Abia State government which detailed the 244 recipients of free vehicles courtesy of Abia State Youth Empowerment Programme. Also contained in the advertorial, apart from the names of the beneficiaries, were their personal phone numbers and the vehicles’ chassis, engine and plate numbers. It was further stated that apart from the published recipients, another set of beneficiaries would be handed over vehicles by the end of this month. Before the publication I had read in the newspapers, stories of how the Abia State government, through the youth empowerment scheme, had given out several tricycles, sewing machines, computers, cars and others to many unemployed youths in the state. Initially, I thought the publication was a farce and part of the media propaganda or razzmatazz prevalent among governments at all levels ahead of the 2015 general elections. I also recalled once reading articles in newspapers written by Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko and Mr Odimegwu Onwumere in which they strongly criticized and condemned the youth programme and alleged that the government was giving out rickety vehicles to graduates in the name of youth empowerment in the state. But surprisingly, some of the published C M Y K

Abia youth empowerment scheme as a role model beneficiaries of the programme were from Anambra and Imo states who were born, brought up and are still residing in Abia State. To confirm the authenticity of the programme before commenting on it, I put a call through to one of the listed beneficiaries by name, Chinwike Ukpaka from Anambra State. Asked about the kind of vehicle given to him, he said it was a fairly used (Tokunbo) Toyota Camry 2003 model. He said that he was surprised over his selection as one of the beneficiaries, having graduated from university some years ago without any means of livelihood. I asked him if he is a member of PDP in the state, he said no, but he was born and brought up in the state. He further informed that the car is presently being for commercial transportation in the state capital Umuahia. So the question is, in which way has the state government erred through the implementation of the Abia Youth Empowerment Scheme to warrant some cynics and hatchet jobbers to be criticizing it on the pages of newspapers? From every indication, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the programme, especially as it is being used to address the massive unemployment among the youths, which has become prevalent in the country and is today one of the greatest challenges facing the nation. If unemployed graduates can

easily engage in kidnapping as confirmed by Mr. Mike Ozehkome (SAN) who was recently released by his abductors in Edo State after being held captive for days, what is wrong in empowering such graduates by giving them free vehicles so that they can use same to earn a legitimate living? If well managed, beneficiaries of such gesture from government do not need any white collar job because they can be employers of labour like great transporters of our time such as Young Shall Grow Motors, Peace Mass Transit, Chisco Transports, The Lord Is Good Motors and others. he collapse of major industries across the country did not begin today; rather it is as a result of long years of neglect by successive governments before now. And it is clear that the industries cannot be fixed overnight because of the huge capital and technical knowhow required, having been neglected for decades. So investing a huge chunk of public funds in their revitalization will surely affect other critical sectors of the economy that also require urgent attention. In this regard, while the Abia State government is working on revitalizing the ailing industries it inherited, her idea of doing something in the immediate to tackle youth unemployment through her youth empowerment scheme should be highly commended. Waiting until the ailing industries are

brought back to life before the unemployed youths could be empowered will only create a time bomb. That is why states across the country should adopt the Abia Youth Empowerment Programme Scheme model to pre-empt possible youths restiveness. It is a more practical approach to youth empowerment. Also the long_ term approach, which has to do with the revitalization and construction of industries should be worked on. The Abia scheme is the surest way of taking the unemployed youths out of the streets to reduce crime rate. No wonder the crime rate in Abia State has reduced drastically since the commencement of the programme. The success of the programme is predicated on the fact that it is being carried out in a most transparent manner which has made it difficult for politicians to hijack it for selfish political purposes. There are no middlemen between the beneficiaries and the state government to avoid exploitation and fraud. Despite the baseless criticisms by few hired individuals who have failed to provide clear alternatives, the state government should continue with the programme and also impress it on the in_coming government in 2015 to sustain it, at least pending the final completion of the ailing industries that are undergoing rehabilitation in the state.

*Mr. Ikeji, a civil servant, wrote from Onitsha, Anambra State.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013— 19

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HE Middle East is obviously the world’s number one trouble spot. It has been so forever. The Islamic Republic of Iran was a particular spot of bother, especially for the United States and its Western allies during the reign of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad as the president of the country. Ahmedinejad’s extremism bordered on lunacy. He frequently said the State of Israel “did not exist”, and vowed that at the earliest opportunity available to him, he would destroy the Jewish state. He was fond of saying that the Holocaust, in which about six million Jews were massacred in Adolph Hitler ’s Third Reich Germany, was a historical fabrication. In other words, Ahmedinejad took delight in provoking militarily powerful Israel, a country that was always poised on knife-edge and ready to lash out if not for the restraint exerted on it by its strategic ally, the USA. Ahmedinejad also poked a finger in America’s eye with the manner it went about the development of its nuclear capability. Though Iran

insisted that the programme was for peaceful purposes, America and the West believed he was desperately steaming towards developing a bomb or two. To make matters worse, Iran under Ahmedinejad, closed its gates to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, a bough of the United Nations sent to verify its claim. In fact, Iran’s truculence was also aimed at Nigeria. Not only did the country open its doors to all sorts of Muslim groups of questionable intent towards Nigeria’s nationhood for radicalisation, an Iranian shipload of war-caliber weaponry was once impounded in Lagos ports, sparking off speculations that the Islamic country was interested in arming terrorists to destabilise our country. Ahmedinejad was simply a nutcase. To my personal relief, his terms of office ran out and Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spruced up a known moderate cleric, Hassan Rouhani, to succeed him. Apart from holding out an olive branch to Israel and pledging to reopen the nuclear plant to

weapons that snuffed the lives out of civilians in Syria came from President Bashar al Assad’s forces, President Barack Obama came under pressure to order air strikes against the regime. But unlike in the cases of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya when US presidents intervened almost unilaterally, Obama decided to seek the consent of the American parliament in the midst of stiff public opposition to the adventure. Like an angel of mercy, Syria’s ally, Russia, waded in and offered to convince Syria to place its chemical weapons at the disposal of the United Nations to avoid an American intervention that could easily end the Assad dynasty and most likely throw the entire Middle East region and beyond into a chain of violent events of unpredictable dimensions.

international scrutiny, the new president actually, to the shock of the watchers of the region’s affairs, congratulated Israel on its New Year by wishing it merry Rosh Hashanah. Some Western and Jewish skeptics called it a mere hoodwink to weaken the vigilance over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but for me, it is a milestone for an Iranian leader under the Islamic revolution to openly wish Israel well. And in Syria (an ally of Iran) the prospects of America-led air strikes dimmed with a diplomatic masterstroke delivered by Vladimir Putin’s Russia. America always feels compelled to intervene when Third World countries deploy weapons of mass destruction (especially chemical weapons) against civilians. When it became clear that the chemical

EVERYBODY has been saying the proposal, which America has cautiously accepted, is a “win-win” formula for Syria, America and Russia. I want to add Nigeria to that list. It is my studied, candid opinion that more care must be taken to approach internal conflicts in the Middle East. I believe that we should not be carried away by every attempt to depose these entrenched Muslim/ Arab regimes, perhaps in the name of exporting democracy to the people of these countries. These countries in the Middle East have thousands of years of experience in handling and controlling their societies. They have even evolved homegrown democratic models that exist side-by-side with the autocratic superstructures. These models have been able to rein in and manage extremist and radical Islamist forces to ensure stable

Who is now the President? L

AST month, this column dealt ex haustively on the case of the screen ing of primary school teachers in Edo State. At the peak of an encounter between one of the teachers and the State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the latter asked: “Who is now the teacher?” The former responded: “You are the one, sir”. We want to borrow a leaf from that and posit a situation in which the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan is sitting side by side with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. They are reviewing the nation’s budgetary process for the period August 2009 – August 2013. At a point, President Jonathan poses the question: “Who is now the President?” to which the CBN Governor responds: “You still are the one, sir”. Like in the case of the teacher and Comrade Oshiomhole, the CBN Governor is just being polite and he also knows that he has a duty to respect the Constitution of the land. Besides, Sanusi cannot claim not to know that there is a difference between a defacto and a dejure President. True, the nation’s President is regarded as the Number One Citizen but on issues of revenue and expenditure, he is everywhere in chains. The President cannot spend one kobo without legislative approval and authorisation. On the revenue side, every money that the nation earns must be kept in one common purse as spelt out in Section 80(1) of the 1999 Constitution: “All revenues or other moneys raised or received by the Federation shall be paid and form one Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation”. On the expenditure side, the Constitution provides in Section 80(2): “No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated ReveC M Y K

nue Fund of the Federation except to meet expenditure that is charged upon the fund by this Constitution or where the issue of those moneys has been authorised by an Appropriation Act or Supplementary Appropriation Act.” Section 81 goes further to specify that the President must make an advance request of the proposed expenditure for any financial year: “The President shall cause to be prepared and laid before each House of the National Assembly at any time in each financial year estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Federation for the next following financial year”. Even after all these, the President must still sit down with members of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, to determine the mode of disbursement. These are all legal entanglements around the President. BUT there are no such encumbranc es around the Governor of the CBN. He has no spending limits, as it were. He does not need anybody’s approval to spend any amount. A few concrete examples here will suffice: In August 2009, the CBN pumped N400 billion of public money into bailing out Afribank, Intercontinental Bank, Union Bank, Oceanic Bank and Finbank. The CBN single-handedly decided which of the commercial banks manifested distress signs and how much to give to them – without recourse to any legislative approval. For Jonathan to spend, he must first wait for those who went to market to sell our oil to ascertain that the money is available in the till. But the CBN Governor does not need that. Where the money he needs is not immediately available, he heads for the Nigerian Printing and Minting Company to reel it out as probably happened during the bail out of the selected banks.

Apart from dishing out the bail out funds to the banks, Sanusi dismissed their Chief Executives. Let the President try this and see if the volume of strikes and impeachment threats will not overwhelm him, plus the fact that his chances of lifting a finger towards the 2015 contests shall have

Sweet relief from the M’East

Not every attempt to implant the American or British model of democracy into Third World countries will produce positive results; in revolution-wracked Islamic countries, it is liable to unleash anarchy and endless wars, with Islamic Jihadists flocking there like ants

The CBN Governor has no spending limits and the sections of the 1999 Constitution which deal with powers and control over public funds have no meaning to him; he heads a Republic within a Republic

been greatly diminished. In the face of the enormous powers in the hands of Sanusi, which powers are not available to Jonathan, the inevitable question is: Who is now the President? At the beginning of the Boko Haram madness, Sanusi visited home and found that victims of the Kano bomb blast needed assistance. He immediately dished out N100 million to the victims. That was when it started to dawn on people that the CBN Governor has no spending limits and that the provisions of Sections 80-82 of the 1999 Constitution, which deal with powers and control over public funds have no meaning to him. He heads the Republic of the CBN – a

political entities. This stability has also rubbed off positively on faroff, potentially volatile entities like our own Northern Nigeria. Since the forceful overthrow of Muammar Gadhaffi in Libya and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, those countries have not know peace, neither have we here in Nigeria. If Assad is removed from power and the bloodthirsty rebels in Syria take over, the country may simply become another Somalia, not even Lebanon. It is important for the West, with Nigeria strongly supportive, to work with any formula that will promote stability in the Middle East. We must not be too judgemental when, for instance, the Egyptian army decides to take control of their country from a new civilian government that has occasioned permanent protests and stoked the prospect of descent to civil war. We must respect the fact that democracy has different faces in different localities. Not every attempt to implant the American or British model of democracy into Third World countries will produce positive results. In revolutionwracked Islamic countries, it is liable to unleash anarchy and endless wars, with Islamic Jihadists flocking there like ants to do what they know how to do best – fight for the sake of fighting. The recent events in Iran and Syria are pointers to the fact that the power of diplomacy must not be underestimated. It is only through skillful diplomacy that worst enemies become best friends, while people poised on the brink of annihilative war can sheath their swords and settle on friendly terms.

Republic within a Republic. The biggest question that agitated people’s minds was why Sanusi was turning the CBN into an Emergency Relief Organisation when it was Kano’s turn whereas several other areas had suffered worse devastations in the hands of the Boko Haram and nobody cared. This is not the only ethnic bent to Sanusi’s actions. The ones we know could be tips of the iceberg. As we speak, watchers are pointing to the N10 billion which CBN has just dished out to Usman Danfodio University, “as part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility… and it is meant to build the manpower capacity of Nigerians to effectively run the economy of the country”. Not even the National Assembly has a hold on the CBN Governor. Is anyone hearing anything anymore about the National Assembly demand for him to produce the 2013 budget of CBN for legislative perusal? The Governor has since bluffed his way through. What we see here is a tale of two Republics. It would have been alright to invite Charles Dickens (1812-1870) to provide a befitting conclusion for this essay as he did in his Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…". Here, we have never had it so good; but we have never been this confused!

20— Vanguard ,THURSDAY ,THURSDAY,,

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

*One of the erosion-devastated sites. INSET: Protesting members of the community brandishing placards

Erosion havoc: Anambra community cries out •Villagers barricade Onitsha-Owerri road to draw govt attention BY VINCENT UJUMADU, Awka

ITH the rain pouring in torrents in many parts of the country, its effect is adversely affecting many erosion-prone communities in Anambra State. It has become a common sight to see many families abandoning their homes whenever it rains because their houses are flooded. The floods have created gully erosion in areas that hitherto did not have such problems. Worried by the devastating

pressway. The protest was to drive home their save -our soul , SOS appeal to the Federal Government to find immediate and lasting solution to the scourge. They waved placards some of which read: “FG rescue Oraifite from erosion menace”, “President Goodluck please save us”, “Erosion has pulled down high tension poles and caused blackout”, “Our lives and houses are in danger ” and “Oraifite is under siege.” For about 30 minutes, traffic along the road was brought to a halt as the villagers cried

The erosion is pulling down people’s houses and those residing close to the sites no longer sleep with their eyes closed

effects of gully erosion in their area, hundreds of placard – carrying protesters from Oraifite community in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of the State recently took to the streets and caused a heavy traffic snarl along the everbusy Onitsha–Owerri exC M Y K

to the Federal Government to save them from persistent erosion. Already, several houses in the area have been submerged in the deep gully, while a two –storey mansion is sitting close to a deep gully that was noticed only few months ago.

Owners of the affected houses have since relocated to nearby communities.Villages in Oraifite mostly affected include Amakom, Ibolo, Awo and Ahia Uzor which have been cut off from their farm lands

and plantations. President General of Oraifite Town Union, Dr. Jude Okolo said unless something is done urgently, many villagers in the area would soon become refugees in their state.

According to him, there are 51 documented erosion sites in the area. The problem, he said, started shortly after the construction of the Onitsha – Owerri road because the contractors failed to create appropriate channels for the flood that empties into the area from nearby Nnewi and Ichi communities. He said that the construction company diverted the flood from Ifite area of the community to Nkwo Market and Ibolo village and since then, many homes are usually flooded whenever it rained. Okolo said that following complaints by the community, no fewer than eight delegations from the Federal and State governments as well as the National Assembly had visited the sites, but nothing has been done. Immediate past president of the community, Mr. Ralph Nwike told Vanguard Metro that when the threat was first noticed in 2009, a letter was written to the construction company handling the road project to address the situation by constructing large water intakes in the area, but its officials said it was not their responsibility. “We also wrote the National Assembly and yet nothing has been done, except that some people visited the sites. Now, the erosion is pulling down people’s houses and those residing close to the sites no longer sleep with their eyes closed. Something that started as a small hole has reached a crisis situation and even the recently completed expressway is being threatened. Electricity poles have also been pulled down by the gully leading to the distruprion of power supply in the community,” he said.

Owevwe Kingdom gets Ovie after 10 years BY CHARLES KUMOLU

EARLY a decade after the demise of its last Ovie, His Royal Highness Asakpakeregha, Onoriji 11, the Owevwe Kingdom in Ughelli North Local Government has concluded plans for the installation a new traditional ruler. Following the 2004 death of Asakpakeregha and the period of interregnum, the Ekru- Ivie Edion, unanimously selected his heir apparent, Prince Osegbe Joseph Arhiakpore, as the Ovieelect. It was gathered that the Ovieelect would be the 14 Ovie since the institution of the Ovieship began in the Kingdom.

Speaking on preparations for the installation, Chairman of the Installation Committee, Olorogun Benedict Asaboro said all the years that the people had been without an Ovie had been traumatic, considering the fact that all other Kingdoms around lived under the guidance of their Ovies. ” We are very happy that at the end of a rather long interregnum, our Ovie will soon be installed. Everywhere you go, the atmosphere is electric, the people are happy, and grateful to God. Honestly, we cannot wait for too long. It has been our earnest wish because if you look at other kingdoms around, they are all living under the guidance and direction of their Ovies. We want

a similar thing here and God has been good to us,” he said. Also speaking on the royal title for the new king, Asaboro said: “When the staff of office is given, it would be unveiled at that moment. Some of these things must be done and handled carefully because of their sensitive nature. Ours is to fully mobilise our people, which we have done, from Otokutu to Opherin, from Owevwe to Gana, from Esaniko to Agbaide and the rest communities. We are ready, happy and grateful”. On the possible date of installation, he said it is still being kept under wraps, adding that all the seven communities have been visited and duly informed.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 — 21

From left: Chief Executive Officer, Old Mutual Nigeria, Offong Ambah; Chief Executive Officer, Richardson Oil & Gas, Akin Osuntoki; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Ernest Nwapa and Chairman, Richardson Oil & Gas, Bode Osunkoya, at the 5th PSRG-Richardson Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Forum in Lagos.

Transport minister bans illegal collection of dues at ports By GODWIN ORITSE

OLLOWING complaints received from operators during the tour of major ports in the country by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN, Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, has directed that the illegal collection of practicing fees by the Joint Task Force of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and the National

Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) be stopped. The dues are allegedly being collected at SAHCOL, NAHCO, Federal Ocean Terminal (FOT) and the West African Container Terminal (WAC T ) i n O n n e , Po r t Harcourt. The CRFFN has described the collection as illegal, even though the two leading associations have been collecting the levy for several years, albeit

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107.98 -2.09 105.38 CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL DOLLAR 154.76 POUNDS 246.316 EURO 206.7129 FRANC 167.0192 YEN 1.5602 CFA 0.2946 WAUA 234.4369 RENMINBI 25.2797 RIYA 41.2638 KRONA 27.7089 SDR 236.3495

155.26 247.1118 207.3808 167.5588 1.5653 0.3046 235.1943 25.3618 41.3971 27.7985 237.1131

-1.21 SELLING 155.76 247.9076 208.0486 168.0984 1.5703 0.3146 235.9517 25.4439 41.530 27.888 237.8767

CBN Exchange rate as at 18/09/2013

controversially. According to the Council, the illegal collection of the monies has further added to the high cost of doing business at Nigerian ports. In a letter signed by the Confidential Secretary of CRFFN; George Olufunmilayo, dated 6th of September, addressed to the management of all the terminals, a copy of which was sighted by Vanguard , CRFFN noted that the directive was issued by the

Minister of Transport. “In line with the concern expressed by the honourable minister, we solicit your cooperation to stop the illegal collection of monies that contributes to the high cost of doing business in our ports” the letter stated. Also speaking to our correspondent in Lagos , National President of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of

Nigeria (AREFFN) Dr. Frank Ukoh, confirmed the development. Ukoh said that ANLCA and NAGAFF have been collecting the practicing fees for years without any accountability whatsoever. He said that the two associations had deliberately sidelined other associations from the sharing formula of the dues, even though it is being paid by all agents, including AREFFN members. According to him, all efforts by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to resolve the disparities among the five associations had been thwarted by both ANLCA and NAGAFF. He alleged that the management of the WACT terminal had incorporated the dues into the fees that must be paid and stamped by ANLCA before cargo can be released from the terminal. Ukoh advised the CRFFN to look into other ports in Lagos where the practicing fees is still being collected by both associations and put a stop to it. “It is not enough if you stopped it at the airport and Onne port, what about Tin Can? They are still collecting the money at Tin Can, PTML and all the other terminals” “I understand that ANLCA has so far collected N80million of this money at SAHCOL and NAHCO. if they bring out part of that money and give it to the CRFFN, the Council will be able to organize election” Ukoh said.

Tanzanian firm plans $50m fruits juice factory in Benue By FAVOUR NNABUGWU

Tanzanian-based firm, Export Trading Group (ETG) has disclosed its intention to build a 50 million dollar fruits juice factory in Benue state Nigeria. Mr. Sanjay Sethi, Chief Executive Officer of ETG, stated this when he led a delegation of the company to the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, in Abuja. Sethi said the management of the firm was in Nigeria to find a suitable location for the setting up of the company. He said that when operational, the company would make use of local products such as orange, mango and pineapple to turn them into citrus

products. “We will also explore other areas of the citrus .We can also make citrus fibre. Apart from this, we believe that we can process and create made-in-Nigeria brand of citrus. “We have a commitment to set up a 50 million dollar investment in Nigeria for processing of fruits. We intend to set up this factory in Benue,” he said. The CEO said the choice of Benue was because of the availability of fruits in the area. “We need a peaceful investment environment in Nigeria and we have found it, especially in Benue”. “In our mission, what we heard about Nigerians is different from what we are seeing.

“Nigerians are hard working people. They have the bond, the enthusiasm, the energy, the positive attitude, the natural talent to business; they are the best set of people”. The minister, in his response assured the delegation of government’s support, adding that the present administration in the country has created environment conducive for investment to thrive. Ortom said that Nigeria has comparative and competitive advantages because of its natural endowment, pointing out that the concern of government was to add value to what was produced from the farm.

22 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

MasterCard, EFL partner to drive small business in developing countries BY PETER EGWUATU

asterCard and the Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) have announced a global partnership to promote Small Business (SMB) growth in developing countries. The partnership, signed during a ceremony at the SIBOS Conference in Dubai, provides international issuers in developing markets with new tools to help improve credit underwriting for unbanked small businesses. The costeffective approach to screening and risk evaluation increases SMBs’ access to capital, unlocking entrepreneurial potential and driving economic growth around the globe. According to a statement, throughout emerging markets, SMBs are often shut out of the financial system due to a lack of traditional prerequisites for finance, including reliable credit bureau and bank performance information being available to financial institutions. “Around the world, SMBs lack access to low cost financing, and banks are handcuffed from lending by lack of data on them. In developing countries, only 20 percent of SMBs have a positive bank performance while only another 20 percent have credit bureau references,” said Ed Glassman, Group Executive, Global Commercial Products & Solutionsat MasterCard. “With EFL’s innovative credit scoring

tool, even the smallest business will be able to join a payments network, avoiding the inefficiencies and risks of checks and becoming able to compete for the same customers as the largest global retailers.” Glassman, said among the first banks to benefit from the partnership is Banco BHD of the Dominican Republic which will utilize the EFL model to credit score MasterCard small and medium size businesses credit cards in addition to its traditional SMB term loan business.

MasterCard and EFL are working globally across Latin America, South East Asia, MidEast and Africa to promote the use of psychometric scoring as an alternative to traditional credit scoring where SMB credit underwriting challenges exist. “Since our inception out of the Harvard University Research Lab in 2010, EFL has enabled close to $200 million in new loans to unbanked small businesses in emerging markets,” confirmed D.J. DiDonna, co-founder and

Chief Operating Officer of EFL. “Across 26 languages in over 20 countries, EFL’s psychometric risk scoring provides new, crucial information which enables banks to lower restrictive lending hurdles for SMBs. EFL partner banks have observed increased lending and profitability along with the new customer-baseofunder banked, many of whom enjoy theirfirstrisk-productrelationship withaformalfinancialinstitution.”

From left: Country President of Schneider Electric, Marcel Hochet; French Minister for Foreign Trade, Nicole Bricq; French Ambassador to Nigeria, Jacques Champagne De Labriolle and Chairman of Mikano International, Mofid Karameh, during the signing of agreement between Schneider Electric and Mikano on electrical ditribution, in Lagos.

Access Bank emerges winner of web-jurist By WILLIAM JIMOH & HANNAH ISIBOR

ccess Bank website has been adjudged overall winner of the 2013 edition of the Web-Jurist ‘Website Effectiveness Award’ conducted by Philips Consulting. Justifying the Bank’s emergence as the overall winner in the Banks category, a Web- Jurist report stated that the Bank has been consistent in the quality of service delivery via its website”. The Bank’s performance is an improvement over last year’s when it was rated 3rd behind GT and Zenith Banks respectively. Similarly, this feat is a validation of Access Bank’s industry leadership in epayment and compliance with best practice which requires provision of accurate, relevant and timely information on organisational websites at all

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times. Analysing the Web-Jurist research report, Access Bank website was adjudged best in the technical aspects which included Navigation, Functionality and Security. Also the website was declared winner in the Website Content that had metrics such as Accuracy and Presentation. The awards came on the heels of the

unveiling of the Bank’s revamped website which significantly enhanced its aesthetics and improved its functionality for improved customer experience. Industry observers have described the Bank’s emergence as the overall winner of the Web- Jurist Award as a reward for its investment in online security management,

citing its pioneering role as the first Nigerian Bank in West Africa to obtain the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Certification (PCIDSS) and its certification by the British Standard Institute with the ISO 27001 award - a global standard for information security management and Process efficiency.

MoneyGram kicks off 2013 school promo

oneyGram International has flagged off the 2013 edition of its in-country annual Gear Up for School project through which it will distribute learning materials to thousands of public school students drawn from the south-west and Southsouth regions of the country. Through the Gear Up for School project which commenced in 2011, MoneyGram in conjunction

with its agent banks in the country, annually distributes educational materials at the beginning of the academic session to thousands of indigent pupils in select grassroots public primary schools. This is to underscore the primary commitment of MoneyGram to the provision of sound education to the Nigerian child, especially indigent pupils at the

grassroots. This year, the GU4S project will be undertaking additional provision of total stock of library materials including modern textbooks in all subjects to a total of nine (9) highly deprived primary schools drawn from the southwest and South-south regions of the country.

Stanbic IBTC named Nigeria’s best investment management company

tanbic IBTC Asset Management, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, has been named the Best Investment Management Company in Nigeria for 2013 by the World Finance magazine. The award was given in recognition of the company’s rich pedigree in asset management, part of which includes management of Nigeria’s three biggest mutual funds. The company is also the preferred investment firm by discerning institutional and sophisticated high net-worth Individuals. The awards, based on voter participation, recognise and promote industry leaders and projects that represent the benchmark of achievement and best practice in various fields. Winners are selected on country basis adjudged by criteria such as performance, service, leadership, consistency, targets and objectives. The three companies with the highest number of votes qualify as the finalists. The winner for each country is then decided by the award’s panel. In clinching the award, which was presented at a ceremony in London recently, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management has once again demonstrated its leadership position in fund performance and customer service. It has also demonstrated a strong innovative culture in bringing relevant investment solutions to clients.

Innovative culture Chief executive officer of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Mrs. Sola DavidBorha, said the recognition is heart-warming as it demonstrates the growing capacity and appetite of Nigerian financial institutions to provide very robust services across all market segments. “We are particularly elated at Stanbic IBTC to receive this recognition for our efforts in the important field of asset management. It also reflects our unrelenting commitment to deliver very credible performances across all business segments,” Mrs. David-Borha stated. On his part, the chief executive officer of Stanbic IBTC Asset Management , Mr. Olumide Oyetan, said following the market crash some years ago, which impacted adversely on investors’ confidence, the company ’s objective subsequently shifted to devising ways of first restoring confidence in the capital market. This it did by ensuring that customers’ funds/portfolios achieved positive returns as much as it was possible. This approach proved quite successful as assets under management recorded growth in line with the company’s growth aspirations.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013—23

Without CTG fund, my company would have liquidated — Egbamuno

Fumman coming out with new product — MD

Mr. Felix Egbamuno is the Chairman of Femro 3, a textile manufacturing company based in Lagos. The company is one of the beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s N100 billion Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) Revival Fund being managed by the Bank of Industry (BoI). In this interview, Egbamuno praised government’s policy intervention for the sector, saying that his company, with staff strength of over 250, would have liquidated if not for the CTG Fund. STORIES BY FRANKLIN ALLI

E heard that you are a journalist turned manufacturer, how did it happen? I started my career in television in 1977 as a Tv cameraman and I worked for NTA News and in 1980, I came out of NTA with Mike Enahoro, Bimbo Oloyede , Yomi Folarin and we started a nationwide Tv programme. I started with Nationwide Tv as Chief cameraman and soon I rose to the rank of managing director. I won the NNPC account. I managed information dissemination via electronic medium for the NNPC for two and half years and for ten years I was producing the NNPC sponsored programme ‘Petroleum Perspective’ which I ran on 21 TV stations weekly, for ten years. So, journalism was my field; there is no local government area in this country I have not been to and I have been to 74 countries. Managing the NNPC account was very challenging, especially the security challenges; as I had

•Mr. Felix Egbamuno Because we won the Guinness account, we were not allowed to work for Nigerian breweries. Then in 1990 we won the account of Coca Cola. Coca Cola is a world wide multi-national. For having the account of Coca Cola we were not allowed to work for 7up plc. We also had the account of Cadbury and Unilever. In the communication sector we had accounts in Globacom, Airtel and MTN. What were the challenges you faced running the business? By 2009, the textile industry had almost virtually collapsed. A sector that once employed over 240,000 Nigerian could only boast of about 12,000. We were one of the few that were still alive and we were alive because we were working for multi-nationals. It was not possible for us to sell our T-shirt in

The Debt Management Office, DMO, should reduce its interest rate to zero and the tenure should be increased to 20 years

to get very elaborate security clearance to do my job. But it was all the grace of God. During the military regime, each time there was a coup, the old regime handed me over to the new regime because I had in- depth knowledge of the industry. While I was doing this, I knew that all things that had a beginning had an end and I knew that there was a need for me to prepare for my exit from the oil sector. So I started a Garment Company called Femro 3 Nigeria Limited. We started operation in 1985 .The company knits and processes its own fabric which meets international standard. The garment division produces high quality T-shirts, caps, vendors’ jackets as well as many other corporate gift items. Even though my wife is a lawyer, I asked her to run that business and started investing in textiles and we won the Guinness Account and we have maintained the account till- date.

the Nigerian market even though our quality met international standards. This was because the market was saturated with T-shirts from China, Bangladesh, and also India, and they were even inferior Tshirts. Some of them were like disposables, and Nigerians were buying them. So we started buying fabrics from Indian countries but the quality of the fabric was such that those firms we were working for were not satisfied with the fabrics and I knew that since I had an account with such companies as Guinness and Coca Cola, I must produce a better quality T-shirts better than the Indian company. So I got a Swiss company to do a system design for me and also act as vendor and the company came up with a cost that was very high because of the quality of the machines used, and it was manufactured to European standards. Be-

cause Coca Cola was American, we bought dyeing machine from Chicago and at the end, our quality was so good to the extent that sometimes the Customs often arrest our truck thinking it was carrying contraband. There was a time we produce sportswear for children and some women from Cotonou liked it and gave us a French label for their order. Amidst these challeges, did you seek help from banks? Yes. In 2009, I borrowed two million dollars from a Nigerian bank with an interest rate of 27.5 percnt for a period of 18 months. After the 18 months, they rolled it over and in the process charged processing and management fees again for a new loan but we could not pay it as our condition was not getting better. I was in trouble because the commercial bank was already threatening me. In this confusion, we approached the Bank of Industry. So with the help of BoI, I was able to pay up the commercial bank. After a while, BoI then gave us fund to increase our production capacity from 30 tons per month to 60tons per month. Apart from paying the commercial bank 27.5 percent interest officially, we still parted with some money in form of bribe but when I obtained funds from BoI, I didn’t bribe anybody. So far, how is the CTG money impacting on your operation? The policy is a very good policy, and it has worked very well in the textile industry. I am very thankful to the federal government of Nigeria for the Cotton, Textile and Garment fund and I am also thankful to the BoI for managing the funds efficiently. If the Cotton Textile and Garment fund was not created and BOI had not given me money to pay up the commercial bank I could have been dead now. However, I appeal to the federal government that what was done to the Rice fund should also be done to the Cotton, Textile and Garment Fund whereby manufacturers are given 5 years moratorium.

UMMAN Agricultural Product Industries Limited says its warming up to unveil its new product (Cashew fruit juice) to consumers in Nigeria and ECOWAS region. Mr. Layi Adeyemi, the company’s managing director, who disclosed this, said that in addition to their arrays of fruits juice, “Our Research and Development department is constantly researching into popular and little known fruits that can be available in large quantities for industrial processing. This led to researching into our processing 100 percent cashew juice which would soon be on the shelves.” He said that the company has been waxing stronger in the fruits sector locally and regionally since it acquired the old Lafia Canning Factory Ibadan nineteen years ago. “Lafia Canning Factory was established in 1954 by the old Government of Western Nigeria for industrial fruits (orange, mango, pineapple, grape and guava) farming and fruits juice processing. However, by the end of the 70’s the machines had aged and needed to be replaced. Nothing was done to put them in form; over time the tree crops became “firewood” and matters were not

helped by the poor funding available for Agriculture. “Products from the Lafia Canning Factory of those days were first class; the women in England would tell you, the best tinned pineapples come from Lafia in Nigeria. That was the pride of place Lafia had in those days, he said” “Fumman acquired the moribund canning factory in 1994; after the acquisition, we brought back those who had worked there earlier. We visited the farms and farmers. Our first shock was that the existing trees could only give us 10 percent yield and there was no plan anywhere in the Southwest where any of the tree crops would be planted soon. We started resuscitating fruit farms, brought back farmers’ groups and enlisted new farmers. “Fumman does not have any expatriate in its employment as our men and women are well grounded in the arts and science of fruits processing having ‘downloaded’ from practical masters coupled with the rare privilege of serving the first generation of modern fruit processing equipment with the benefit of tracing the development to the latest technology in fruit processing and packaging.”

NBC flags off Clean Street Initiative in Lagos BY BOSE ADELAJA

N its pursuit to en sure a cleaner environment in Lagos State, Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, NBC, makers of Coca Cola, has flagged-off its Clean Street Initiative, in collaboration with Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA. To this effect, eight people made up of three men and five women, have been employed in the organisation to join the existing workforce of highway managers in the State. The employees are to work directly with LAWMA while their upkeep and emolument will be the responsibility of NBC in ensuring a cleaner environment in the State. In his address, Managing Director, NBC’s Mr. Ben Langat, who was represented by National Commercial Director, NBC, Mr. Matthieu Seguin, said, the initiative, will further enhance the health and well

being of the businesses and households in the community. ‘’NBC began the Clean Street programme in 2012, in Oluwole Ogba community - a community with one of our major customers - in partnership with LAWMA, for the benefit of over 220 households and 4200 residents. Looking back, we are happy to tell a success story of the initiative in Ogba. When we started in Ogba, five (5) community sweepers were engaged and based on the instant success of the project; three (3) more sweepers were employed this year to expand the reach of the initiative in the community. This year, NBC also provided four (4) sixty-four Watts solar powered street lights to the same community,’’ he added. Mr. Oluwole Ogunleke, Chairman, Olowogbowo Community Development Association, said the initiative was an answered prayer,.

24 —Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Trade facilitation: 19 agencies connected to Customs NICIS system Stories by GODWIN ORITSE

N a bid to ensure trade facilitation in Nigeria, about 19 government agencies are currently inter-connected to the Nigeria Customs Information System (NICIS), which is now powered by Web Fontaine. The Nigeria Customs Information System is an upgrade of its Auto mated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) which allows businesses to be transacted electronically. Twenty other agencies are making effort to get connected to the syustem. Disclosing this to Vanguard, Managing Director of Web Fontaine, Mr. Muktar Ahmed, said that the modernisation process of the Nigeria Customs Service has made it possible for the agencies to be connected to the service. Ahmed explained that the inter-connectivity of other agencies to the information technology of the Customs service has also assisted importers to take quick delivery of their cargoes, adding that the essence of the modernisation project was actually to facilitate trade. Explaining further, Ahmed said that the NICIS will assist im-

porters in doing their businesses electronically, a function the ASYCUDA system could not do. “All the electronic payment, electronic reconciliation, electronic manifest and electronic

exit can now be done from the comfort of your office or room” he stated Some of the agencies inter-connected to the Customs system includes the Revenue Mobilisation ,Allocation and Fiscal Commission

(RMAFC), the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC), the Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA), The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the office of the National Security Adviser.

* Executive Director Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, NIMASA, Barr. Calistus Obi (R) presenting a gift to the Leader of US Coast Guard Team to Nigeria, Mr. Tivo Romero at the end of the team’s visit to the country.

IMO considers Nigeria’s MAN for varsity status •Commends Rector FOLLOWING the visit of the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, to Nigeria’s premier maritime institution, Mari-

time Academy of Nigerian, MAN, Oron, Akwa Ibom State, the United Nation’s agency may be considering granting the academy a university status.

Speaking during the inspection of the academy’s facilities, IMO scribe, Mr. Ashok Mahapatra, said that the academy is ripe to be granted a university status adding that the agency

Firm accuses Maerskline of de-marketing Nigerian banks •Urges CBN’s intervention

HE Management of Talod Oceanair Freight Ltd, has accused world shipping giant Mearskline Shipping Company of demarketing Nigerian banks by refusing to accept bank drafts from certain banks. Speaking with newsmen in Lagos recently, Executive Director of the firm, Mr. Odu Olawale lamented that the shipping firm is currently discriminating between banks adding that the act of underrating a bank against another will further truncate the growth of the Nigerian maritime industry.

Others are the Nigerian Shippers Council,(NSC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and at a point Presidency was also inter-connected to the Customs system.

He however called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to intervene and stop the unwholesome practice He said, “Shipping agents/consignee pays charges with bank cheque (draft) issued by their respective banks and paid directly into the transacting partner account. But recent Directive from some of the players have stopped this practice and they now force it on agents to compulsorily procure such draft from specific banks irrespective of whether such agent maintains an account with the banks or not. “The implication of this

is that the effort of CBN in promoting good, healthy and ethical banking in Nigeria aimed at sanitising banking sector is not only rubbished but also aimed at portraying other banks as weak and undependable in the financial market thereby gaining undue advantages for their own selected banks.” He advised that regulatory agencies intervention was necessary to guarantee safety of the shipping and financial sub sectors of the economy. “This we believe is wrong, illegal and un-

ethical. It must be stopped before it destroys all the gains already made in the banking sector over the years by CBN. We therefore implore that regulatory agencies wade into this before agents take their destinies into their hands which is dangerous for the industries,” he said. Reacting to allegation, the firm’s Media Advisor Mr. Bolaji Akinoal said that the company has various payment options for its customers adding that the refusal of bankers’ drafts should not be a problem.

will work to ensure that the request is granted. Mahapatra also said that he was pleased with the level of facilities he met on ground, adding that the MAN is on its way to becoming a university. Mahaphatra, who also declared open a critic workshop of the academy, noted that the workshop was necessary, especially in view of plans to make the academy attain a degree awarding status. The IMO’s representative who commended the Rector for his foresight, also noted that Nigeria is well placed to provide leadership, not only in manning vessels but also in the area of maritime training and development of seafarers. He noted that the IMO is ready to support MAN, Oron, to attain its goals. Joshua Okpo, Rector,MAN,Oron, noted that the plan of President Jonathan is to place the academy in the world map as a. top class maritime institution.

BRIEFS How trawler captains conspire with pirates —Seafarers

S attacks on fishing trawlers continue to rise, captains of such vessels have been alleged to be conniving with the pirates for ransom to be paid by the fishing companies in exchange for their freedom. Insider sources within the various seafarers associations disclosed to Vanguard in Lagos, that some of the attacks on trawlers are mastermind by the captains of such vessels and some crew. According to our sources, the sea robbers have the contacts of some of the captains and whenever they are about to sail, they allegedly communicate their movement to the pitates. It was gathered that the most common meeting points are the waters in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states.

Akwa Ibom, FG to partner on construction of Ibaka seaport

KWA Ibom State Government says it will soon begin the construction of Ibaka Deep Seaport in partnership with the Federal Government. Governor Godswill Akpabio said this at a gala night organised last week in honour of the visiting U.S. Consul-General in Nigeria, Mr. Jeffrey Hawkins. The U.S. consul-general was accompanied by the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Mr Samuel Ortom. Akpabio said that the seaport project was a major industrial concern for Akwa Ibom. The governor said that the need for continuous partnership between Nigeria and the U.S. in the promotion of trade and investments was imperative. “We must continue to promote trade and the only way to do so is for us to continue to forge partnership,” he said.

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Okojie sensitises Pro-Chancellors on roles in varsity administration

Tertiary sector strikes: Is it COEASU’s turn?

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All the facts about Nigerian universities –1

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Controversies trail FG’s N130bn allocation to varsities •as NANS urges striking lecturers to return to classroom BY AMAKA ABAYOMI, DAYO ADESULU, IKENNA ASOMBA & LAJU ARENYEKA T HESE may not be the best of times for the Nigerian education sector as the comprehensive and indefinite strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has continued. Twelve weeks on, and with no end in sight to the impasse between the union and the Federal Government, Vanguard Learning critically examines issues raised by the industrial action. Twelve weeks after the commencement C M Y K

of ASUU strike, a major cabinet shakeup by President Goodluck Jonathan hit the sector as the Education Minister, Professor Ruqqayatu Ahmed Ruf’ai, was sacked from office alongside eight others, leaving the Minister of State, Mr. Nyesom Wike, to take charge until the appointment of a substantive minister. Investigation reveals that her sack was not unconnected with political calculations in the countdown to the 2015 general elections and her alleged passivity to settling the agitations of tertiary institutions’ staff unions, which led to a two-month strike by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), and the

ongoing ASUU strike. This is even as Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) just ended a sevenday warning strike to call government’s attention to the welfare of its members. As Rufai’s sack continues to raise mixed feelings among stakeholders, another dust was raised with the call by the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, to disband ASUU over its adamant position to continue with the strike unless government meets 100 per cent of its demands. Amidst the ongoing knife-to-the-throat situation, the National Association of

Nigerian Students (NANS), last Wednesday, disapproved of the protracted strike by their aggrieved lecturers, and called on them to resume negotiations with government to ensure that public universities were reopened without further delay. The issues The issues raised in the 2009 agreement and then modified in the 2012 MoU include: “Funding and requirement for revitalizing the universities; Federal Government’s assistance to state univer-

Continues on page 28

28— Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Controversies trail FG’s N130bn allocation to varsities Continues from page 27

Controversial allocation After a week of heated de bates and consultations, the Suswam-led committee submitted its report to government, which culminated into a letter to disburse N100bn for the implementation of identified needs of the public universities and another N30bn to off-set the EAA of teaching and nonteaching staff. Despite this acclaimed commitment by government, ASUU still stood its ground, vowing to continue with the strike over issues bordering on government’s insincerity and the fact that the acclaimed disbursed funds are yet to translate into cash for earmarked varsities. A critical examination of the distribution document made available to Vanguard Learning reveals some controversies in the disbursement of funds to federal and state varsities. While ASUU is contending that the N100bn is nothing near the N500bn due for 2012 and 2013,

Empty residential Mariere Hall at the University of Lagos. Students wonder how soon they'll occupy their halls of residence

as contained in the 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement and the January 2012 MoU signed by both parties, some other discrepancies discovered include that government’s claim to distribute the released funds to varsities based on student population was not religiously followed. Partitioned under four categories with student population of 30,000 and above; 29,000 and 25,000; 24,000 and 15,000; 14,000 and below, it was found that some varsities with lower student populace got more funds than their counterparts with higher populace. For instance, Ebonyi State University, with student population of 23,437 got N3.050bn while Lagos State University with the highest student population of 90,885 got N1.300bn, University of Abuja, with 62,528 students got N3bn; National Open University of Nigeria N850m with 57,759 students and University of Calabar N1.250bn with 29, 357 students. Also, our findings revealed that of the 40 federal varsities, 13 were left out. They include: Federal University, Gashua; Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa; Federal University, Dutsin-ma, Katsina; Federal University, Kashere, Gombe; Federal University, Lafia, Nassarawa; Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi; Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi; Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa; Federal University, Wukari, Taraba; Federal University, Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi; Federal University, Gusau, Zamfara; Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Ekiti and Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State. While of the 39 state varsities, Bukar Abba Ibrahim University, Damaturu, Yobe; Northwest University, Kano; Sokoto State University, Sokoto; Tai Solarin University of Education; IjebuOde, Ogun and Technical Uni-

versity, Ibadan, Oyo State, were left out. With about 18 public universities left out of this distributed funds, what is the guarantee that their local ASUU chapters won’t shut-down their schools within the shortest period to fight for their share? Minister’s sack makes no difference Following the sack of Min ister for Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i last Wednesday, stakeholders in the education sector have said that the sack will not make a difference in the sector. ASUU President, Dr. Nasir

sities; progressive increase of annual budgetary allocation to education from 2013 to 2020; Earned Academic Allowances (EEA); amendment of the pension/retirement age of academics on the professorial cadre from 65 to 70 years; establishment of a pension fund administration for universities; reinstatement of university governing councils; transfer of Federal government’s landed property to the universities; setting up research and development units by companies operating in Nigeria and the Budget Monitoring Committee.” Of the 10 items agreed upon in the MoU, it’s arguable that the fulfilled are reinstatement of the Governing Councils and the retirement age of lecturers in the professorial cadre. Three weeks after the lecturers downed tools, government intervened by inaugurating a 22-member implementation committee on National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, (NEEDS) Assessment of Nigerian Universities headed by Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State and Professor Mahmood Yakubu, TETFUND Executive Secretary, as Vice Chairman. The Suswam-led committee was mandated to interface with all agencies providing support to public varsities with the aim of channeling assistance to priority areas, as well as stimulating private sector investment into public varsities; monitor the progress of project implementation; produce quarterly report for submission to government; and intervene in matters that would be crucial to the achievement of the assignment.

son will still have the same problems as Rufa’I because the challenges prevailing in the sector have been on long before she came into office. It is only when stakeholders come together to put heads together that these issues can be resolved.” The Coordinator, NANS, Zone D, Mr. Adeyemo Monsur said: “I have mixed feelings about this; if she is replaced with someone who can bring about positive results in the sector, that is a good thing. But if the next person who comes in still makes a mess of the sector, then nothing good has come out of it. Also, we must understand that the problem facing the education sector

Aside hijacking TETFUND, government is offering N30bn and is asking Governing Councils of varsities to source for the remaining funds

Fagge, in a phone interview, said: “I am not too sure whether the minister’s sack will have much of an effect on the sector but we’d just have to wait and see. She did her best at the beginning of her tenure, but as we realised in our talks with government on the ongoing ASUU strike, she wasn’t really on top of the situation. She kept on referring to the Secretary to the Government and other government officials on issues pertaining to the 2009 agreement.” The National Secretary, Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Mr. Ade Adepoju, he believes the minister’s sack will not resolve the crisis facing the sector. “She didn’t perform woefully as her hands were more or less tied. It is government that is responsible for the policies in the sector as well as budgetary allocation to education. Even if you bring in an angel as the new minister, that per-

is beyond the sacking and appointment of ministers; government must realise that before the sector can move forward, there has to be adequate funding of education.” Disbandment of ASUU Meanwhile, ASUU has described, as laughable, the call by Most Rev. Okoh, for the disbandment of the national union. Pointing out that the union is duly registered, ASUU Chairman, University of Lagos chapter, Karo Ogbinaka, and the Ibadan Zonal Chairman, Dr. Adesola Nassir separately said disbanding the union would not resolve the problems in the sector. “Rather than call for our disbandment, government should make known its short and longterm plans of funding education so that we don’t keep repeating the same issue over and over again. Anyone calling for the disbandment of the union must be on helium as the union is fighting for the good of the universi-

ty system,” they said. Accept the N130bn and go back to the classroom According to the NANS President, Comrade Yinka Gbadebo, rather than continuing the strike, ASUU should seek plan ‘B’, which is ‘to file a legal suit against government, return to the classroom and resume negotiations with government.’ “We wish to categorically state here that it has become imperative for the government and ASUU to understand the position of Nigerian students in the tripod that constitutes the varsity community, which is management, teachers and students. “Having taken a holistic review of the details inherent in the agreement as signed by FG and ASUU, it has become germane for us to call on ASUU to reconsider its present adamant stand on the continued closure of our universities. “We must, as Nigerians, accept that the problem with our universities have developed over decades and would, therefore, be unimaginable that ASUU, with its present stance, wants it totally resolved within the spate of four years that this agreement was signed.”

Collective agreement In the same vein, Ogbinaka said the members have worked for their earned allowances and therefore, should be paid what is due them. “Based on the collective agreement between ASUU and government, we have worked for three and a half years without being paid our allowances. This is not free money as some people would want to believe but our sweat, so we should be paid what we deserve.” Describing the claim to have released the N130bn intervention fund to universities as fraudulent, the ASUU Ibadan Zonal Chairman, Nassir said what government did was to hijack the resources of TETFUND which already belonged to varsities as intervention fund. He explained: “Aside hijacking TETFUND, government is offering N30bn and is asking Governing Councils of varsities to source for the remaining funds. If we agree to this, it invariably means that the buck would lie on the students and their parents. By hijacking the resources of TETFUND, government has automatically blocked the regular intervention of TETFUND to varsities, and this is fraudulent. Despite its claim, government is yet to release a dime of the amount other than the letters written to the Governing Councils of universities by the National Universities Commission (NUC).”

Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013—29

Okojie sensitises Pro-Chancellors on their roles in varsity administration BY DAYO ADESULU

HE Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie has sensitised the Committee of Pro-Chancellors (CPC) of Nigerian universities on various policies, guidelines and their roles in university administration. Addressing the Pro-Chancellors in Abuja, Professor Okojie said that the universities needed people who had vision to move it forward, especially those who would avail the system of their experience and knowledge, to actualise the transformation agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. Okejie who expressed displeasure over the growing trend in the universities said: “Some academic staff had multiple appointments on full-time bases in more than one university.” He described the practice as unethical adding, “It diminishes the quality of graduates as a result of lack of adequate supervision of the students. Although the Federal Government had granted autonomy to its

universities, this should be with responsibility,” he said. He maintained that for academic staff to be alive to their responsibilities in their positions as Heads of Department, Deans of Faculties as well as members of the Senate and Councils of the universities, the role of ProChancellors is paramount. According to him, the NUC Act provides for it to negotiate the conditions of service of all staff unions of federal universities with the Federal Government. He said that the system needed to be sanitised to restore a high sense of discipline and responsibility among the staff, arguing that the academics were also products of the same system which was not traumatised in their days. Okojie who expressed regret that mentoring and mentorship which were sacred traditions in the system, were gradually disappearing. “Some academics had become Professors without supervising any PhD which is injurious to the Nigerian university system,” he added. Professor Okojie, who recalled the golden era of the ivory tower,

which was known for academic stability, useful research output, competitive spirit, among other numerous developmental activities, expressed worry over the disappearance of these virtues. He decried the situation where some academics in Nigeria relocate to Ghana and other African countries in search of greener pastures, under poorer conditions of service. He urged academics to redeem the image of the Nigerian university system through relentless service and sacrifice. The Executive Secretary reminded the Pro-Chancellors of their responsibilities in university administration, saying that they were empowered by law, as an eye of the Government, to be watchful of all university dealings in terms of expenditure, capital grants, execution of projects, contracts, among others. While urging them to contribute their quota to make the universities centres of excellence, Okojie said it was their responsibility to carry out oversight functions and ensure accountability and transparency. He, therefore, advised them to interact with their Man-

agement teams to move the subsector forward. The Executive Secretary stated that the Federal Government was taking measures to promote research and development in the universities as well as other sectors of the economy through the introduction of the Presidential Special Scholarship for Innovation and Development (PRESSID) and NYSC Scholarship Awards, aimed at building the needed capacity for the actualisation of its transformation agenda.

Public university He recalled that Government recently received the Needs Assessment Committee’s report that determined the needs of every public university in the country, noting that all the items in the agreements between the Federal Government and staff unions had been adequately addressed In his contribution, the ProChancellor of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Professor Ango Abdullahi, said that the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and NUC had critical roles to play

in the tertiary education subsector, especially in the regulation of the university system, saying that the Nigerian university system needed total overhauling, particularly the rehabilitation of dilapidated infrastructure and bringing the facilities at par with their foreign counterparts. He emphasised that university administrators should be prudent in managing funds allocated for projects, as stipulated in the operational procedure. He appealed to the FME and NUC to ensure that all universities strictly comply with the guiding policies and urged his colleagues to always look at the universities’ laws and use same in running the universities. In a similar vein, the ProChancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Professor Roland Ndoma-Egba, said that the CPC needed to adopt a holistic approach in handling their duties, especially on matters of university autonomy. He added that the Pro-Chancellors needed to know the full and technical meaning of autonomy, to aid decisionmaking in the universities. He noted that politics had polarised activities in the university system, hence posing a great challenge to graduate output. Present at the meeting were the Chairman, CPC and ProChancellor, University of Uyo, Professor Kimse Okoko, several other Pro-Chancellors and NUC Deputy Director, Industrial Relations, Mr. Boniface Odum.

UAC boss reiterates commitment to stem falling education standard

HE Executive Director, Corporate Services, UAC Nigeria Plc, Mr. Joe Dada has vowed that the company will do her best to stem the falling education sector in Nigeria. Speaking at the round-off ceremony of the 2013 free holiday coaching organised by UAC under its Goodness League initiative for students of secondary schools in Lagos State, Dada noted that the quest by UAC to arrest the situation has been on since 2008. He stated that one of the ways outlined by its organisation was to organise free holiday lessons for students of secondary school in line with the company’s corporate social responsibilities via the Goodness League initiative by also providing educational infrastructure for schools in the country. Dada explained that the way it is handles it is by slating the coaching classes only on weekends for six weeks simultaneously at two locations - Gbagada Senior Grammar School, Lanre Awolokun Street and Newland Senior Secondary School, Ajegunle. According to him, thus far, they have recorded huge turnout of students from about 30 different schools. He lauded the Lagos State Government for supporting the scheme saying, “Participating students are to ensure that the free weekend classes initiative is not a destination, but rather a springboard for them to realise their educational aspirations and goals. “UAC in realising the goals of the Goodness League adopted both the hard and soft issues. While the hard issues focus on provision of equipment and infrastructure development, the soft issues involve active engagement in the teaching and instruction of students through a Volunteer Scheme. “So far, UAC’s Schools Support Programme has benefitted the following schools - St Finbarr’s College, Akoka and CMS Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos; Rumfa College, Kano; Government Secondary School, Gwale, Kano; Government College, Kaduna and Alhudahuda College, Zaria. C M Y K

30—Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

SCHOLARSHIP

SLS Doctoral Pro gramme Fellowships for int’l students in Germany, 2014 The Graduate School of Life Sciences (GSLS) at University of Würzburg is inviting applications for doctoral fellowships in the fields of Biomedicine, Clinical Sciences, Infection and Immunity, Integrative Biology and Neuroscience. Fellowship worth of 1468 EUR/month and 5000 EUR/ year for research and conference expenses will be awarded to successful candidates. Applications must

be submitted online before 30 September 2013. Fellowships are awarded in the fields of Biomedicine, Clinical Sciences, Infection and Immunity, Integrative Biology and Neuroscience. The fellowships are provided for pursuing a PhD degree at Graduate School of Life Sciences (GSLS), University of Würzburg Eligibility: -passion for and experience in research, -excellent university degree obtained within the last two years, usually an MSc or Diploma (if graduation is expected by January 2014 you

may apply; exceptional candidates holding an Honours BSc can join after a qualification period), -proven excellent oral and written English skills -eagerness to work in an interdisciplinary and international environment. International students can apply for the fellowships. To apply, go to w w w. s c h o l a r s h i p positions.com MMTC Visiting Doctoral Fellowships at Jönköping University in Sweden, 2014 The Media Management

and Transformation Centre (MMTC) at the Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University is offering visiting doctoral fellowships. The application deadline for Spring Semester 2014 is December 20, 2013 and for the fall semester 2014 is 30 April, 2014. Fellowships are awarded in the field of economics, management, accounting/ finance, law or communications related to media economics, media management, or economic policy issues of media.

Physically challenged children from the Compassion Centre at the Empower Africa Initiative - Princessz Halliday show

Fellowships are available for pursuing doctoral studies at Media Management and Transformation Centre (MMTC). Eligibility: The Media Management and Transformation Centre (MMTC) at the Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University, Sweden, is offering visiting doctoral fellowships in the field of media business and media economics for advanced doctoral students at other universities. How to Apply: Applicants should send to mmtc@jibs.hj.se: -Letter of intent explaining why you want to apply, what you expect to gain from the fellowship, and a one paragraph description of the research you will undertake. -Copy of your dissertation proposal, a letter of recommendation from your doctoral supervisor, which should include an indication of the relevance of MMTC interests to your dissertation research -curriculum vita and copies of attested documents (transcript, diploma) -copy of your Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis -personal description of yourself

Tertiary sector strikes: Is it COEASU’s turn? By LAJU ARENYEKA

OLLEGES of Educa tion Academic Staff Union (COEASU) just concluded a seven day warning strike, and will go on a fullfledged strike action if the Federal Government does not meet its demands. The Vice President of the Union, Mr. Smart Olugbeko, in an exclusive interview with Vanguard Learning said the warning strike “was meant to call attention to the total neglect of the teaching education sector. We gave government a 21 day ultimatum which elapsed; we also gave them a 14 day ultimatum as well as a 7 day ultimatum.” The strike must have got the attention of the government because government officials immediately set up a meeting with the union to hold today, September 19. The COEASU VP however, gave an insight into the union’s grievances. 2010 agreement It appears that the Federal Government’s 2009 agreement with ASUU is not the only agreement with an education union that it has reC M Y K

fused to honour. Olugbeko argued that government had refused to implement an agreement signed with the union in 2010 which was due for a renegotiation in 2012. Some of the features of the agreement include addressing the infrastructural deficits in Colleges of Education (CoE) as well as the peculiar academic allowances to the tune of N5bn which the government has refused to pay the lecturers. “Theatres and the laboratories are in a state of disarray, and government has not been able to make adequate provision to revitalize these institutions. There is a capital shortfall of about N10bn between 2009 and 2013,” Olugbeko said. COAESU’S fresh demands part from the agreement, the Union also has fresh concerns: “One of our grievances is that government has not released funds for the accreditation of courses in CoE since 2009 and the importance of accreditation in any tertiary institution can’t be overemphasized. Government also owes some

of our members’ monetization arrears to the tune of N1bn since 2010. Despite correspondence with the government offices involved, this issue is yet to be resolved. There is also the issue of under-funding as it relates to teaching practice. Teaching practice is to CoEs what a teaching hospital is to a college of medicine. As a result of under-funding, teaching practice is not producing the desired result and is bound to have an adverse effect on the education sector as a whole.” COEASU also wants government to carry out a National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, (NEEDS) assessment of CoE to accurately access the dilapidation and infrastructural deficit across the campuses. Though government sent a visitation panel to the CoE in 2012, but is yet to release a white paper to that effect. Olugbeko said: “I can authoritatively tell you that we were told by the recently sacked Minister for Education that the panel had submitted its recommendations and the document had been deliv-

ered to the Secretary to the Government. But up till this moment, the white paper containing those findings has not been released and we are very much concerned because there were very serious issues raised during those visits that we as a union hoped to bring to light for the betterment of the sector.” Another issue that CoE have hammered on for years is the harmonization of the conditions of service in tertiary institutions. The Union believes that this will, to a large extent, help stop the brain drain from the CoE. “CoEs are the lowest in the tripod of tertiary institutions. Lecturers from our colleges run to the varsities because of the poor conditions of service here. The management of these colleges find it difficult to sponsor lecturers to further their education because as soon as they get their PhDs, they want to go the varsities.

ut you can’t really blame them because, irrespective of the number of papers you have written, you can’t become a professor as long as you’re employed in a CoE.

That is why we are saying that CoE should become degree awarding institutions, so that we can raise our own PhDs and professors. “At Adeyemi College of Education, where I work, we have been running degree programmes for about 31 years which is done under the tutelage of Obafemi Awolowo University. All OAU does is put their name on the certificate while all the lectures are from the CoE. That is why we would like the government to create a dual mode system where we can have the autonomous status to award degrees as well as run the NCE programmes. The National Universities Commission can accredit the degree courses, while the National Commission for Colleges of Education can accredit the NCE courses.” Olugbeko also rejected FG’s proposed Information Payroll Personal System (IPPIS) where government plans to pay all its workers from a central point in Abuja. He argued that the system will be wrought with irregularities, cripple the recruit efforts of tertiary institution and put lecturers’ sabbatical at a disadvantage.

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34—Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

All the facts about Nigerian universities –1 By DELE SOBOWALE

FTER almost twenty years writing on just about every subject concerning our national life, it has recently occurred to me that the most important work had been neglected. That is the education of Nigerian youth at all levels. But, for now I am starting with university education and more specifically private universities. University education in Nigeria presents a paradox; close to 80 per cent of kids leaving secondary schools can't obtain admission to universities and tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Yet, there are surprisingly thousands of vacancies in public and private universities – especially private universities. A second paradox confronts us. Nigerians complain about the quality of education available in most Nigerian universities; so they send their kids to Ghana and spend $500 million, or N80 billion, a year on that venture. Yet, there are at least 12 private universities in Nigeria which offer superior education than any university in Ghana. For a start, N80bn spent in Nigeria, given the multiplier effect of expenditures in the private sector, can boost our economy by as much as N320bn – which is far in excess of the N87bn which ASUU demands and government cannot pay. There would have been nothing to worry about if indeed universities in Ghana are better and sending Nigerian kids there represents value for money. But, in strictly economic terms what is happening can , at best, be interpreted as waste or money laundering in favour of Ghana. At worst, it is financial insanity. Why travel to another country to obtain something inferior? Several parents have told me they sent their kids abroad, including Ghana, because of incessant strikes in Nigerian universities. Surprisingly, none of them is aware that ASUU strikes close down only federal and state universities. Private universities are not affected at all. As you are reading this article, the American University of Nigeria, AUN, an oasis of excellence in the midst of squalor and backwardness, which I visited last week for three rigorous days, is in session. Lecturers are teaching; students are learning. The facilities, for which ASUU had been demanding, without results, are available at most private varsities in abun-

dance. Take, for instance, the 'simple' provision of power supply and potable water 24/7. Virtually all the GOOD private varsities have achieved this. Please note the emphasis on 'good' because this is not going to be a blanket endorsement of all private varsities. There are at least 25 unaccredited scams operating as varsities and giving Nigerian private varsities a bad name. We will visit all genuine varsities and report to you our findings. Forget the school if the name fails to appear here. After spending over 30 years traveling throughout Nigeria, often stopping to visit varsities, public and private, it has dawned on me that lack of information is at the heart of most of our problems in this case. The varsities have tried their best; or so they think. They place advertisements in newspapers announcing vacancies and in attempts to recruit prospective students. Some even include the pictures of their infrastructure in the adverts for which they pay heavily.

Newspaper adverts While newspaper adverts generate patronage, generally, they fail to serve the purposes of all the stakeholders – prospective students, parents or guardians, government sponsors, prospective lecturers, employers of labour etc. Three main reasons account for this. Newspaper circulation is declining in Nigeria. In a survey carried out in 2008 and repeated in 2009 by Mr. Chris Doghuje of Zeus Bureau and me, we established how daily circulation of newspapers had gone down considerably. I had, since 2009, conducted a mini-survey, every year, on my own and the drop from 2009 till today is close to 15%. More ominously for print media houses, the decline will continue for the foreseeable future. The largest selling paper, name withheld, distributes less than 60,000 a day and the second, name also withheld, suffers the same faith. Even adverts in two or three papers will reach no more than 300,000 potential readers – not all of whom are among the stakeholders – as defined above. The vast majority of stakeholders are never reached that way. Increasingly, readers are moving to on-line reading where Vanguard leads all others.

To be concluded

*From left: Iyoha Omonzokpia, winner, Junior Category Cowbell NASSMAC; Mr. Festus Tettey, Sales and Marketing Director, Promasidor Ghana; Mr. Olivier Thiry, General Manager, Promasidor Ghana; and Akindele Nasir, winner, Senior Category Cowbell NASSMAC during a recent visit to the Promasidor Head Office in Ghana. C C M M Y Y K K

Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013—35

NUC scribe receives JAMB delegation BY DAYO ADESULU

DELEGATION from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, led by its Registrar, Professor ’Dibu Ojerinde, paid a courtesy call on the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie to discuss issues relating to admission irregularities in the Nigerian University System (NUS). In a welcome address, Professor Okojie commended the cordial relationship between JAMB and the Commission in the past four years, within which

both bodies had been able to check admission-related fraud in the NUS. He also lauded the rebranding that had taken place in the Board, under the leadership of Professor Ojerinde. The Executive Secretary noted that the number of universities in the country had more than doubled within the past decade and this had increased the responsibility of the NUC. He told the Registrar that the Commission had discovered that a lot of universities were admitting students by means other than JAMB. Some, he said, had also engaged in

illegal affiliations, while others had either mounted unapproved programmes or exceeded their carrying capacities, which had led to the overstretching of existing facilities in the universities. In one of the institutions, the Commission had found that a tri-semester system had recently been introduced, which allowed students graduate in three years whereas the institution’s academic brief had clearly stated that it would operate the regular two-semester structure. Okojie lamented the adverse effects of admission and

academic anomalies on the students who were the most affected. He informed the delegation that President Jonathan had directed that any vice-chancellor of an institution who was found to have mounted unapproved programmes should be disciplined. He said that the tripartite relationship of the Commission, JAMB and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) had gone a long way to stem fraud in the system. Professor Ojerinde informed the Executive Secretary that JAMB has a database, which

has a comprehensive list of Nigerian universities, programmes they were licensed to run and students admitted into the programme. He added that the database has a mechanism that is programmed to detect names of students from unapproved institutions and programmes, whenever universities forwarded names of graduates to be mobilised for NYSC. The Registrar stated that the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) remained the only prescribed mode of entry into Nigerian universities, saying that prospective students, who had completed foundation or predegree programmes, were also expected to sit for and pass the UTME, to qualify for admission into the university. He said that the Board was presently working with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to organise campaigns in universities, to sensitise people on the negative effects of and penalties for admissionrelated fraud in the NUS.

Nine professors join Oduduwa varsity

Prof. Okojie with the JAMB delegation during the meeting in his office

Kings College marks 104th anniversary By AMAKA ABAYOMI

S one of Nigeria’s pre mier college, Kings College, Lagos, celebrates its 104 th Founder ’s Day, the Kings College Old Boys Association, KCOBA, has set in motion activities to make the celebration a grand one. According to the Vice President of the association, Dr. Leke Oshunniyi, the events would commence on Thursday, 19th September, to commemorate the first solemn assembly of the school on 19th September, 1909. “Activities would start today 19th September, with the first King’s College Lions Den, KCLD, Pitch Day in the KCOBA secretariat. The KCLD is a unique KCOBA intervention designed to support the entrepreneurial aspirations of the younger KCOBs and the investment desires of the oldC M Y K

er KCOBs.” Later by 6pm, the school’s drama team will present a ‘dramaturtainment’, a unique fusion of dance, drama and music in the assembly hall. A jumat service is slated to hold at the Syrian Mosque, Ribadu Road, Ikoyi, by 2pm on Friday, 20th September, while Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross

River State will be the guest speaker at the Founders Day lecture by 4pm same day at the assembly hall. He will be speaking on ‘Public Private Partnership as the Strategy for Educational Transformation in Nigeria.’ The Founders Day dinner will hold on Saturday, September 21, at the assembly

hall and will have Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State as the Guest of Honour. The 104th Founders Day celebration would be wrapped up with an anniversary thanksgiving service at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos, by 11.15am on Sunday, September 22, while the annual general meeting will hold by 2pm same day at the assembly hall.

HE management of the Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu, Osun State, has hired nine professors into different faculties of the institution. According to a statement by the Registrar of OUI, Dr B.O Ifonedo, the need to put the varsity in the right stead and strengthen its capacity to entrench lasting and much desired academic excellence made it to shore up the number of professors in the institution. “The management’s decision to recruit more staff, especially professors, was borne out of her strong resolve and passion to reposition the varsity for a better, sound and improved academic standard befitting the status of a university named after the Yoruba ancestor and progenitor, and more importantly to engage highly qualified, seasoned, well experienced and academically viable members of the academia whose track records are outstanding, impeccable, globally recognized and with capability to help the varsity produce well groomed, thoroughly tutored graduates of international clout who can hold their own anywhere in the world.”

ABU seeks distance learning partnership with NTI

HE Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has opened talks with National Teachers Institute, NTI, with a view to establishing a distance learning centre in the university. A three-man delegation team led by the ABU Dean of Postgraduate School and the Acting Director of the university’s Distance Learning Centre, Prof Adebayo Joshua, met with the management of the NTI in Kaduna on Monday, to discuss the modalities for the centre. Prof. Joshua disclosed that the DL programme had become imperative in view of the large number of applicants seeking ad-

mission into the varsity’s regular programmes. He said that the students’ intake per session stood at between 2,500 and 5,000 and that the bulk of applicants could not be accommodated due to paucity of facilities. “We have quite a number of applicants that come to do their post-graduate programmes in ABU but we do not have the capacity to accommodate everybody”. The Dean said that the ABU decided to approach the NTI for assistance in recognition of its long-standing experience in distance learning and the need to provide more students the opportunity to undertake post-

graduate studies in the university. The Director-General Dr Aminu Ladan Sharehu, welcomed the collaboration between the ABU and the NTI as requested by the university, as according to him, he was confident that it would mutually beneficial to both organisations. The national institute is currently one of the most reputable distance learning institutes in the world, dedicated to teacher education, offering Post-Graduate Diploma, National Certificate in NCE and Advance Diploma programmes in various fields, as well as, the conduct of various capacity building programmes for in-service teachers.

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NUC organises workshop on learning outcome BY DAYO ADESULU

HE National Universi ties Commission (NUC), on Tuesday, 10 September, 2013, organised a workshop

on the Development of Learning Outcomes for Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) for undergraduate programmes in the NUS. In a welcome address, the

Executive Secretary, NUC, Professor Julius Okojie, said that the first Minimum Academic Standards (MAS) for 13 disciplines, were developed in 1989 and served as a refer-

ence document for the first accreditation exercise in the system, in 1990. He said that the MAS was reviewed, in 2004, through a process that led to the evolution of the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS). Professor Okojie said that the BMAS was different from the MAS, in that it contained learning outcomes, which were, primarily, achievements that were expressed in terms of what the learner was ex-

Executive Secretary and some members of NUC manangement, with the panelists during the workshop held at the Commission's office

Oduduwa students vote AUN ‘Most Outstanding University’ By EBELE ORAKPO

HE National Association of Oduduwa Students (NAOS), a socio-cultural group of Yoruba undergraduate students, recently recognised the American University Yola, AUN, as the ‘Most Outstanding University in Nigeria 2013’ while the President of the institution, Professor Margee Ensign, was given the ‘Pillar of Education Award’ for inspiring growth and development in Nigeria. Presenting the awards to Professor Ensign, NAOS President, Adekunle Adeniyi, who was accompanied by other national officers of the association, said the awards were in recognition of AUN’s global reputation as a center of excellence, quality of its graduates, a globally competitive curriculum, community development initiatives including scholarships to indigent but brilliant students, its award-winning digital library, and world-class infrastructure. The group was conducted round the African Center for ICT Innovation & Training, ACIT, and the School of Arts and Science building where they met with the sustainabil-

ity team, and biology and physics laboratories. The only female member in the group, Zakariyau Aliyat, noted that; “AUN has done well, and we really appreciate the school. AUN is leader in cutting-edge technology, from the laboratories to the library. Security is effective and it indicates that everything is perfect.” Adeniyi described AUN as “a home away from home. We are

very safe. The word ‘insecurity’, honestly speaking, is not the appropriate word to use here,” adding that his team felt very safe and at peace on campus. While appreciating the gesture of NAOS, Ensign reiterated AUN’s commitment to training young Africans to assume leadership roles in their societies through rigorous and responsible academic training, adding that every AUN student participates in local development and conflictresolution projects which expose them to the real problems facing Nigerians.”

pected to know, understand and be able to do on completion of a degree programme. He said that the learning outcomes in the BMAS provided specific and clear information for students on what was expected of them and also served as a guide for assisting them in choosing elective courses. This would ensure that assessment methods as well as teaching and learning methods were appropriate to outcomes. Other benefits included facilitating feedback to students, serving as a reference for curriculum designers, providing clarification for external examiners and assessors as well as serving as a guide for the process of credit transfer, among others. The Executive Secretary said that the Commission was reviewing the BMAS and had engaged the services of renowned experts, who would assist in developing learning outcomes that addressed the specificity of the respective disciplines, in line with current trends. He said that the team members were carefully selected for the assignment and urged them to give the assignment the commitment it deserved. At the programme were the Deputy Executive Secretary, Mr. Akinbode Agbaoye and some directors of the Commission.

Our preferred candidate must empower youths — Akwa Ibom Youths BY LAJU ARENYEKA & JOSEPHINE MBAEBIE

HE Akwa Ibom Youth Development Association has said that it will only support a candidate that has sustainable youth empowerment programmes in the 2015 governorship elections. The Chairman Board of Trustees, Ibom Youth Pathfinder, Mr. Nsikak Tom Udo, in a statement said: “We will carefully assess and scrutinize the youth employment agendas of the various aspirants for 2015 governorship election in Akwa Ibom State and decide who to adopt.” The Ibom Youth Pathfinder is the arm of the association organizing this year ’s Akwa Ibom Youth convention set to hold on Saturday, September 21, 2013 at the University of Lagos. Udo, speaking on the convention said: “We are on a mission to rebuild Akwa Ibom Youths. The convention, which will convene over 3,000 youths, is the beginning of phenomenon that will change the youths economic equation, promote the interest of the youths and make them regain their rightful place in Nigeria and globally.” Furthermore, the secretary general of the Organisation, Mr. Aniekan Ekiset also told newsmen that the programme is aimed at “informing, equipping, and empowering Akwa Ibom youths by using a team of highly motivated individuals that are dedicated to pro*National President of National Association of Oduduwa Students (NAOS), fessionalism, integrity, excellence and peoAdekunle Adeniyi presenting the "The Most Outstanding University" award to ple that are driven by the fear of God, pasthe President, American University of Nigeria, Prof. Margee Ensign, in recogni- sion for changing, moulding lives of Akwa Ibom youths.” tion of AUN as the ‘Most Outstanding University in Nigeria 2013’

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A beautiful soul is gone! An Epitaph for Justice R.O. Nwodo, Justice of the Court of Appeal — 38

Ethics and Code of Conduct for Security Operatives — 39

Kidnapping: Why govt must rise up — Adesina, SAN DEACON Dele Adesina, SAN, is a former General Secretary of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA. He is the current chairman of NBA Rule of Law Action Group and chairman, Constitution and Administrative Law Committee of the NBA Section on Legal Practice, SLP. In this interview, he speaks on the release of Chief Mike Ozekhome by his abductors, law and security in the country and others. Excerpt: By INNOCENT ANABA

EXT week, a new set of Senior Advocates of Nigeria will be inaugurated by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, what is your advice for the new Silks? Let me use this opportunity to congratulate each one of them for being counted worthy for the exalted title and promotion to this leadership status. The conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria signifies a transition into leadership position in the profession and leadership is responsibility. They have to now join the others to shoulder that responsibility in a demonstrable manner through all of their professional engagements. What are these responsibilities? They have to show good examples worthy of emulation by the junior members of the profession, who are determined to identify worthy mentors to follow both in and outside the courtroom, indeed in all their dealings within and outside the profession, they must now begin with greater consciousness to demonstrate high degree of nobility, honour and integrity. I hope that they will not join the league of those whose conduct were responsible

•Deacon Dele Adesina, SAN

what is your agenda for the coming year? As you will recall, the Rule of Law Action Group had an outstandingly

The challenge posed by kidnapping in particular and the general state of insecurity to lives and property in Nigeria today is worrisome. It is a situation that I believe, has called for concerted efforts

for the call by those who want to have the status abolished. I wish to let them know that the level of ethical standard expected of them will be higher than before. Of course, they must also begin to search for what they can do to add more value not only to the rank, but also to the profession. As the chairman of NBA Rule of Law Action Group, what are the achievements of that committee and

successful two day workshop in Lagos during the first term of President, Mr. Okey Wali, SAN, with the theme the rule of law as the bedrock for sustainable democracy and development in Nigeria. We intend to have a similar workshop in the coming year to further highlight the nexus between democracy and development and to make the point that strict adherence to all tenets of rule of law and due process are inevitable for a

successful and sustainable constitutional democracy. What are your plans for next year? More importantly, next year, the Rule of Law Action Group of the NBA, which I have the privilege to chair will focus more attention on effective maintenance of law and order in Nigeria. The body is going to campaign in a sustained manner for good training for the law enforcement agents and adequate provision of necessary logistics and equipment to facilitate effective maintenance of law and order. Emphasis will also be made to encourage the law enforcement officers to grow up in the area of detection of crime, the gathering of evidence and the essence of doing a thorough crime investigation. We will also focus on the need for the branches of NBA to constitute their own version of the Rule

of Law Action Committee in all branches. Once this is done, the Rule of Law Action Group in collaboration with the branch committees can organise periodical visits to the prisons, police stations among other to ensure minimum infraction of due process, rule of law and fundamental rights. Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, was just released by his abductors, what is your reaction to this? Let me start by thanking God for the release of Chief Ozekhome to reunite with members of his family and his profession. It will be recalled that he was kidnapped about Friday, August 23, 2013. He spent about three weeks in captivity. Well, the important thing is that he has regained his freedom in good health. How do we overcome the challenges posed by kidnapping and sundry vices in country? The challenge posed by kidnapping in particular and the general state of insecurity to lives and property in Nigeria today is worrisome. It is a situation that I believe, has called for concerted efforts and a holistic approach by the authorities at the local government, state and federal levels. It has gotten to a point where no one is sure of what will become of him or her in the next minute. I was made to understand that a good number of the people involved in these activities are well read and perhaps would have used their knowledge and skill for something more productive, not only to them but also to the society if the opportunity had been provided. So what do think is responsible for this? I want to believe that the deplorable state of unemployment in this country today has added to the state of

Continues on page 38

EDITORIAL TEAM Dayo Benson (Editor) Innocent Anaba Wahab Abdulah Ikechukwu Nnochiri

38—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

A beautiful soul is gone! An Epitaph for Justice R.O. Nwodo, Justice of the Court of Appeal BY JOY EZEILO

EATH, a necessary end, will come when it will come” - William Shakespeare Dying is a sad reality that has not changed although we humans still struggle to accept the fact that all of us will diethe good, the beautiful and the cerebral. My initial reaction to the news of her death was one of disbelief, I responded to the harbinger of the news impossible and I rejected out rightly that her sojourn on earth has ended. Oh death why should you take our finest? Our Pride, Our nicest, the beautiful and the peaceful? Oh death why? Where is thy sting? How do I begin to pay tribute to this quintessential juristJustice Regina Obiageli Nwodo, JCA, a colossal that walked our judicial landscape and bowed out still with her shoulder held high because she represented all we crave for Judges to be—competent, independent and even handed

. I’m indeed lost for words that will spotlight who she was and what she represented from a lawyer’s perspective. Her sense of justice, fairness, fair play and personality leads to inescapable conclusion that she was borne to be a Judge. She was incorruptible, morally above board and stood out as first amongst equals. She was a champion of human rights and advocate of the rights of downtrodden irrespective of gender. I recall with relish her decision in the case of Festus Odafe and 3 Ors. v. Attorney General of the Federation and 3 Ors. (Unreported, Federal High Court, Port Harcourt Suit No. /FHC/PH/CS/680/2003; Judgement in the case was delivered on 23 February 2004) where her lordship was called upon to interpret Article 16 (1) and (2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (which Nigeria is a State party to) in cases involving prison inmates that were HIV infected and unable to access treatment.

She found without hesitation the right to medical treatment for prisoners infected with HIV and AIDs and concluded that their continuous detention without medical treatment amounts to torture. This type of decision is nothing short of judicial activism not commonplace in our judicial experience. By that decision her lordship recognised the right of everyone to have access to health care services and State’s obligations thereunder to take reasonable legislative and other measures to ensure progressive realization of that right.

Briefest encounter Justice R.O. Nwodo wasn’t one of those timorous souls who attempted as judges to escape accountability for what they decide because they can always plead helplessness, hands were tied, that even if the law they declare is unjust, they have no choice but to give effect to it. Her lordship was so beautiful both physically and mentally that the briefest of encounter

•Justice Nwodo with her was unforgettable. Lawyers, both young and old that have appeared before her held her in very high esteem because of her professionalism, sense of justice and incorruptibleness. I was privileged to travel with her this April as she was returning from a trip to UK for medical check – up. We talked and I recall her beautiful spirit, candour and frankness even as we discuss thorny issues concerning the judiciary. She completely identified with the current CJN’s war against indiscipline

and corruption in the judiciary for many reasons we shared that day at Heathrow and on board the BA aircraft where we sat together. I had tremendous respect for her and she genuinely inspired and encouraged me with how she identified with my achievements and the work of Women’s Aid Collective, a not for profit human rights organization that she served as one of the founding directors. I pray that God will give her family, especially husband and children the fortitude to bear this huge irreparable loss. They should be consoled by this passage in the bible- “—and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” Revelation 21:4. May her gentle, fair and peaceful soul find eternal rest in the bossom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. •Dr. Joy Ezeilo, is United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children.

Kidnapping: Why govt must rise up — Adesina, SAN

•Left: Dr. Cklaimz Enamhe, Mr Augustine Tase and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar at the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, annual general conference in Calabar, Cross River State.

Continues from page 37 lawlessness that we are currently witnessing. The adage that devil will find work for an idle hand appears to be a major factor in the gradual reduction of this nation into a state where might is right and the life man is short, nasty and brutish. Government has to wake up and live up to the demands of their social and security responsibilities. This current state of helplessness of

the citizens must not continue unchecked. The NBA just concluded its annual general conference in Calabar, Cross River State. What we say were the gains of that conference? The conference as you know focused and quite rightly so in my estimation on leadership and challenges of Nationhood in the 21st Century Nigeria. I believe there is a consensus opinion that the issue of

leadership constitutes the greatest challenge in Nigeria today. Talking about leadership, I mean leadership at all levels of authority. Somebody said that the character of the leader determines the character of the organisation he leads. For me this says it all.

Keynote speaker The keynote speaker did justice to this theme most admirably. Like the President of NBA, Mr Okey Wali, SAN, said it is the belief of the Bar that once we get the leadership right in Nigeria's every other component of good governance will follow suit. I believe that the greatest lesson for all from the conference is the need to resolve to turn a new leaf and begin to do things right. Round pegs must be put in round holes in order to get proper symbiotic relationship. The Rule of Law Action Group did not organise a specific programme during the conference because I had to focus attention on the Constitutional Law and Administrative Law Committee of the Section of Legal Practice which I also chair.

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013—39

Ethics and Code of Conduct for Security Operatives 2 BY SUNDAY EHINDERO, IGP(Rtd.) Continued from last week

The three Rules under this Principles are that Police Officers shall; •carry out their duties with integrity, fairness and impartiality; •take no action knowing that it will violate the constitutional rights of any person; •obey lawful orders, but must refuse to obey orders that are manifestly unlawful. Principle Three provides that ‘Police Officers shall perform their duties and apply the law impartially and without prejudice or discrimination.’ The Rules are that Police Officers shall; •provide every person in our society with professional, effective and efficient law enforcement services; •not allow their law enforcement decisions to be influenced by race, religion, or any other sentiment whatsoever. Principle Four

breath; •not commit any act which constitutes sexual assault or indecent exposure. Sexual assault does not include a frisk or other search done in accordance with the proper Police procedures; •avoid regular personal associations with persons who are known to engage in criminal activity where such associations will undermine the public trust and confidence in the Officer or in the force. Principle Five provides that ‘Police Officers shall treat all members of the public courteously and with respect.’ Rules •Police Officers shall exercise reasonable courtesy in their dealings with the public, fellow Officers, superiors and subordinates; •No Officer shall ridicule, mock, deride, taunt, belittle, willfully embarrass, humiliate, or shame any person or do anything reasonably calculated to incite a

employee of the Force in connection with advertisements for any product, commodity or commercial enterprise; •maintain a neutral position with regard to the merits of any labour dispute, political protest or other public demonstration while acting in an official capacity; nor make endorsements of political candidates, while on duty, or in official uniform, nor in their private capacities, while remaining in the service of the Force. Principle Seven provides that ‘Police Officers shall not compromise their integrity, nor that of the Force, by taking or attempting to influence actions when a conflict of interest exists.’

•Ehindero

Principle Eight provides that Officers shall observe the confidentiality of information available to them due to their status as Police Officers

Force, by accepting, giving or soliciting any gratuity which could be reasonably interpreted as capable of influencing their official acts or judgments, or by using their status as Police Officers for personal, commercial, or political gain.’

person to violence; •Police Officers shall promptly advise any inquiring citizen of the Department’s complaint procedure, and shall follow the established Department policy for processing complaints. Principle Six provides that ‘ Police Officer shall not compromise their integrity nor that of the

Rules are that Police Officers shall; •not use their official positions, identity cards: (1) for personal or financial gain, for themselves or another person; (2) for obtaining privileges not otherwise available to them except in the performance of duty; and (3) for avoiding consequences of unlawful or prohibited

stipulates that ‘Police Officers shall not, whether on or off duty, exhibit any conduct which discredit themselves or the Force or otherwise impairs their ability or that of other Officers of the Force to provide law enforcement services to the community.’ The Rules are that Police Officers shall; •not consume alcoholic beverages or intoxicating substances while on duty, except as permitted in the performance of official duties, and under no circumstances while in uniform, except as otherwise exclusively permitted by an enabling authority; •not consume alcoholic beverages to the extent the Officer would be rendered unfit for the Officer’s next scheduled shift. A Police Officer shall not report with the odour of an alcoholic beverage on the Officer’s

actions; •not lend to another person their identification card or badges or permit these items to be photographed or reproduced without approval of the Inspector General of Police except as required by S u p e r v i s i n g Government Ministries or for recognized public services; •refuse favours or gratuities which could be reasonably interpreted as capable of influencing acts or judgments. •not authorise the use of their names, photographs or titles in a manner that identifies the Officer as an

Rules are that Police Officers shall; •unless required by law or policy, refrain from becoming involved in official matters, or influencing actions of other Police Officers in official matters, impacting the Officer’s immediate family, relatives or persons with whom the Officer has or has had a significant personal relationship; •unless required by law or policy, refrain from acting or influencing official actions of other Police Officers in official matters impacting person with whom the Officer has or has not had a private relationship; •not use the authority of their position as Police Officers, or information available to them due to their status as Police

Officers, for any purpose for personal gain including, but not limited to, initiating or furthering personal and/ or intimate interactions of any kind with person with whom the Officer has had contact while on duty; • not engage in any off duty employment if the position compromises or would reasonably tend to compromise the officer’s ability to impartially perform the Officer ’s official duties. Principle Eight provides that Officers shall observe the confidentiality of information available to them due to their status as Police Officers. Rules are that Police Officers shall not; •knowingly violate any legal restriction for the release or dissemination of information; •except in the course of official duties or as required by law, publicly disclose information likely to endanger or embarrass victims, witnesses or complainants; •divulge the identity of persons giving confidential information except as required by law or Force policy. The Way Forward I commend M.D. Abubakar for giving the Nigeria Police Force a Code of Conduct. Laudable as this effort is, the new Code is bedevilled with the problem of enforceability. Ehindero is former Inspector General of Police

Anthony Cukwurah, pioneering expert in International Boundaries Law (1934-2013) BY CHIDI ANSELM ODINKALU & SONI AJALA Continued from last week

In 1981, he pioneered the establishment of the College of Business Administration and Legal Studies at the Imo

State University as Professor and Dean. From 1990-1992 he was the Third Ime Umanah Professor of Law at the University of Uyo. At his death, Oye Cukwurah was also Professor and Dean of law at the University of Abuja. Oye Cukwurah arrived at Imo State University in 1981 from

an already storied career in international law. Following his Doctoral work at Manchester, Oye Cukwurah was head-hunted by the legendary Professor LCB Gower to join the pioneer staff of the Faculty of Law at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), where he was part of the founda-

tion staff until 1965, when he transferred his services to the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC). At UNEC, Oye Cukwurah was the staff adviser to the University of Nigeria Law Students team that represented Nigeria and won first prize in 1974 Phillip Jessup Moot Court competition in Washing-

ton DC, United States. He rose to the position of Reader and Associate Professor in Law. His students included former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

40— Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 40—Vanguard,

VANGUARD BOOK SERIALS YESTERDAY..... YESTERDAY we brought you excerpts detailing how two key operatives of 3MCD, Majors Fashola and Isaac Adaka Boro were killed during the march on Port Harcourt. You also read of how the Garden City was captured, emotional problems in Adekunle's command which led to unravelling of the division and the OAU attack which claimed the life of Lt Col Philemon Shande. READ ON.

DEKUNLE ar rived once again from Lagos to Port Harcourt. Owerri situation, as noted, was already a disaster; and Adekunle sent for Akinrinade and I, to report at Port Harcourt at 7am. That was most difficult indeed, as I had to leave Uyo not later than midnight to arrive Port Harcourt at 7am. We did not have even a full day’s notice; otherwise, we would have gone to stay the night at Port Harcourt or at Akinrinade’s place at Asa, which was about three to four hours drive to Port Harcourt. My situation was worse, as I had to drive at night without headlights for fear of vehicle movements being detected by Biafran troops or stragglers or an ambush party on the way. So, I left at midnight and passed through areas where I had troops and their commanders from Uyo through Etinan, Ekeffe, and Akwette to Obigbo and to Asa to pick up Akinriande.

got to Asa at about 4am. All the commanders’ enroute had sent their pass words to Akinrinade and me to be able to pass through their road blocks at night. Adekunle did not think at all about the implications of ordering us to arrive at 7a.m. in the morning. Otherwise, it was premeditated for us to have an accident. Akinrinade and I had two land rovers full of escorts each, all battle-ready. I had an old Mercedes Benz car which I bought at Uyo from one of Justice Ntia’s friends which I drove to pick Akinrinade up with. The man needed the money to pay his daughter’s school fees in Ibadan. We set off at about 4.15am and headed to Port Harcourt without the headlights. However as we drove, the Mercedes car ’s bonnet snapped open and almost shattered the windscreen. We

stopped and put it right. It did the same thing after about another mile drive. We stopped again, and put it right, and in order not to get to Port Harcourt late, we thought that we should abandon the car and get into any of the Landover vehicles. Akinrinade was in the front vehicle and I was in the fourth at the back. We got to Port Harcourt at exactly five minutes to 7am; Adekunle was by the operational RS 301 radio.

ith him was a La gos musician called Roy Chicago. When we showed up at his office, he was shocked and sat up. He asked how we got to Port Harcourt. I wondered what type of question that was, since he was the one that ordered us to arrive Port Harcourt at 7am which he knew was difficult as we had to drive through enemy areas at night without our headlights on. Also, because there were no airports at Aba or Uyo, we had to come by road. We both thought that he had changed his mind, and that we were going to discuss Operations Pincer 1, 2 and 3 and since it was a weekend, we had civil dresses in our box. Roy Chicago kept saying “Please, do not quarrel;” I was not sure what he was talking about. However, Adekunle became restless and was chain smoking. Within minutes, he had lit about three or four cigarettes. Then he gathered himself together and said, well fine, I will talk to you one by one, and then ordered that Akinrinade should stay outside while he talked to me first. So, Akinrinade went out and stood by the door. Barely a minute after, Adekunle was yet to say a word when Akinrinade kicked the door open and said we should get out of there fast. He showed me a note written by Capt. Richard, the Military Police com-

•Akinrinade, left, with Adekunle at Opobo River. I was at Abana with Isaac Boro.

•Capt Richard, the Military Police commander whose note warned of ambush

Failed ambush: Alabi-Isama, Akinrinade split with Adekunle mander who was at the head of an ambush party. He had been ordered to ambush our vehicles with a view to killing both of us. Apparently, it was just about 200 yards away from the corner where the ambush was laid that my car was abandoned. The ambush party was waiting to attack the Mercedes Benz car which they were sure we would be traveling in. The motorcyclist that Richard sent with the note to me at Uyo missed me because I left at midnight and he got there at 4am, at which time I had reached Akinrinade’s HQ at Asa. Then the ambush party missed us because they were expecting a Mercedes Benz to pass by. That was why, in retrospect, Adekunle asked how we got to Port Harcourt; he was waiting by the RS 301 radio for reports of our deaths.

he note from Capt. Richard just simply said that we should not pass by Asa railway line on our way to Port Harcourt because an ambush had been laid to kill both of us. Adekunle had guessed right that we would both be in the car to Port Harcourt. When Akinrinade showed me the note, I was just short of shooting Adekunle dead. Akinrinade then asked him why he wanted to kill us after all we had done. We both just walked out with our maps and the many books we had carried for discussions with him. With our escorts, we drove as if we were heading back to our stations. After about 30 minutes drive, we ordered the escorts to go back in three of the four vehicles, and we traveled

•Two jolly friends — Alabi-Isama and Akinrinade: They might have died together had the ambush succeeded

The note from Capt. Richard just simply said that we should not pass by Asa railway line on our way to Port Harcourt because an ambush had been laid to kill both of us in one of the vehicles to the airport at Port Harcourt. We were lucky that a flight, a DC-3, had just arrived with ammunition and supplies and was just about going back to Lagos. We jumped into the flight and headed for Lagos. We changed to civil dress and removed our uniforms. Then at Lagos airport some soldiers came and asked Akinrinade if Lt. Cols Alabi Isama and Akinrinade were on the flight, I just walked passed him and the soldiers. There Akinrinade told them that he was a

contractor that went to supply gari to troops at Port Harcourt, and that many more people in uniform were still in the plane. When he caught up with me, we doublemarched and took a taxi and went to my mother’s place in Palm Grove in Lagos and picked up a car to General Hassan Usman Katsina the Chief of Staff (Army) and from there to General Gowon in Dodan Barracks. It was on the eve of General Gowon’s marriage. General Gowon was very kind indeed; he gave

us time to discuss with him despite the goings-on with people coming and going in preparation for his wedding. He spoke well and ordered that for safety, we should be taken to the Tarqua Bay on the Atlantic Coast by boat until he will contact us. We left him and the other senior officers there-Admiral Wey, General Ekpo and Gen. Hassan who later came to join us at Dodan Barracks read the note from Capt. Richard, which was the note warning us about the ambush. What I still could not understand till date was my offence to this officer, who was not only my boss; he was my friend and brother. I called him “Egbon mi”, meaning my elder brother. The Alabi-Isama and Adekunle families were very close friends before the war. He also had assisted in clearing the Biafrans out of Kwale area which was my father’s area, and where I had obtained the chiefs letter of support for the Federal Government. Adekunle also sent food to my mother through Captains Ilori and Aliyu at Utagba-Uno when he heard that my mother was there. He detailed Lt. Rabo to keep a section of 10 soldiers to guard my family at Utagba Uno when the Biafrans attacked the town. Lt. Rabo knew my mother very well at Zaria NMS; Rabo was one of my 1962 military school recruits. When I finally got home and told my mother, she could not believe that Adekunle did that to us, my mother having just left him about a couple of days earlier. This story was finally confirmed by Adekunle

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VANGUARD BOOK SERIALS

•Col. Adekunle here with a foreign TV news crew

•Col. Obasanjo (right) gets briefed on 3MCDO situation by Alabi-Isama. Right is Col (Father) Pedro Martins

Adekunle out of 3MCDO, Obasanjo takes over ÍÍÍ

himself when Akinrinade became Chief of Army Staff. I had been thrown out of the Army by that time, and I was living abroad when Adekunle went to pay a courtesy call on Akinrinade at the Flag Staff House in Ikoyi. He did not deny that he wanted us killed at the war front. At least, he was honest enough to confess that to Akinrinade. “But why?” Akinrinade had asked him. The man was not sure why. Combat stress does strange things. The question was why did he want our parents to cry? Akinrinade asked him. It was later on that Akinrinade told me about Adekunle’s visit and the discussions between both of them.

Exit Adekunle, enter Obasanjo

General Gowon’s marriage ceremony had ended. Army Headquarters then focused on the problem created by our escape to Lagos from the 3MCDO war front. We had been armed with the failed ambush warning note from Capt. Richard, on the strength of which Akinrinade and I had requested to be posted out of 3MCDO. Both of us had been in the war front non-stop from October 1967 until the failed ambush incident in April 1969, almost stretched to the limit by war effort activities on a daily basis. Of all my experiences at the war front the most heart-rending was talking to a dying soldier. To hook into the emotions of the man as the life drained from him at the same time as he enquired about his mother, wife, children and other loved

ones, was to feel the pain of death and suffer along with the dying soldier. It sapped one’s energy, but that is hardly any reason for us to deserve death by ambush either, especially from what we would call friendly fire from the bullet of the tax payers of my country, and not from enemy fire. The country that I had served so creditably.

o when the decision was taken by AHQ to replace Adekunle as a result of the series of crises that culminated in the failed ambush, it affected all the other divisional commanders as well. Prior to these events, Adekunle had became so popular with the entire people of Nigeria, he had

sation of discrimination against Yoruba people, so he asked Akinrinade and I to think of somebody who could play that role. It was at this stage that Akinrinade suggested someone he thought was his friend, Col Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo. I did not know this officer very well, and I never served with him at any stage of my military career, but Akinrinade knew him. Obasanjo was said to be in the Nigerian Army Engineer Corps, but all that didn’t matter to me. When we met the following day, General Gowon wanted us to suggest which senior Yoruba officer we thought should replace Adekunle. Akinrinade once more mentioned Obasanjo’s name

book appointment with Obasanjo in Ibadan for 10.00hrs the next day. We arrived his doorstep at 0924 hrs, and were ushered in.

e told him our mis sion, and gave him a comprehensive briefing of the war front situation, and why the change of Adekunle was necessary. By that time, we had been speaking for over three hours without food or drink. The man simply listened as we did the talking. And when he spoke, he asked, “How do you know that Uli-Ihiala is the Centre of Gravity of Biafra?” That question put me off completely, and I had to ask Akinrinade if he would like to repeat the

Obasanjo then told us that he was an engineer, and that he was not going to the war front!!! I was livid....in spite of all we said, here was this officer saying he won’t come to the war front! assumed the status of hero of the Civil War; which made the decision to replace him a difficult one for Gen Gowon. Besides, Gen. Gowon had been reluctant to change Adekunle at that time because Ibadan, the capital of the then Western Region was boiling with rioting and protests over one problem or the other. The most serious one was the “Agbekoya” riots. The Head of State had thought that it would be politically insensitive and bad for the war effort to remove Adekunle and replace him with a nonYoruba officer. Gen. Gowon wanted to avoid accu-

instead of Sotomi, Olutoye or Oluleye, who were also staff college-trained senior Yoruba officers. Akinrinade would not have suggested Oluleye; Olutoye, in the Education Corps, was not a combatant. Gen. Gowon was skeptical that Obasanjo would accept the appointment as he was an army sapper. I drew the Head of State’s attention to the fact that the position Obasanjo occupied at that time at Ibadan as the garrison commander was an infantry post. Gowon then said that we should contact him. Akinrinade suggested that we sent our wives to

explanations. He was at it again until 2pm when Obasanjo then told us that he was an engineer, and that he was not going to the war front!!! I was livid. We had been with this man for four hours without food or water as he offered us none; and in spite of all we said, here was this officer saying he won’t come to the war front! I told Akinrinade that we had to get out of Obasanjo’s house fast; but not before I had given him a dressing down. I reminded him of a similar behaviour he had shown when the Biafrans entered the Midwest, and we asked the Army in

Ibadan to blow up the Ore Bridge to further delay the Biafran advance to Lagos. Obasanjo’s corps of engineers was nowhere to be found. But for the courage of one Mr. Akande, a civilian from the Public Works Department, who blew up the bridge with the assistance of his men from the Ministry of Works, even without the supervision of the military; the advancing Biafran troops would have probably marched on to Lagos, though they too were poorly led and lily livered. I was so annoyed that I went on pouring venom on this officer, asking what engineering University he attended anyway; we were out there in the war front carrying our dead and wounded comrades daily, and he just sat there in Ibadan talking of being an engineer – so what!! In anger, I reminded him also that we had engineers like Bayo Onadeko, Oladejobi, Duke who were university graduates, and Capt Olajire at the war

front who were building roads, bridges and pontoons to facilitate our advance; and at that point Akinrinade and I stormed out of his house. By the time we returned to Lagos, General Gowon had given the orders through the Army HQ that all divisional commanders at the war front who had been there for upwards of two years or more should be changed. Col Bisalla would replace Col. Shuwa, while Col. Jalo took over from Col. Haruna, and Col. Obasanjo was named as replacement for Adekunle. Many people received the news of Adekunle’s replacement with shock and sadness. They couldn’t understand why; and one of them was Col. Father Pedro Martins. Together with then Commodore Akinwale Wey, Pedro Martins visited me on our return to Lagos to find out what exactly went wrong for Adekunle to be removed at a time when the entire country thought that 3MCDO was doing well under his leadership.

Obasanjo's first battle experience — A fiasco BRIEFING over, Col. Obasanjo was ready to go as commander of 3MCDO, but his very first move was a disaster. In complete disregard of our advice, he planned an attack from the same problematic Sector 1 under Lt. Col. Godwin Ally. The target was again Ohoba, a town 25 miles south of Owerri where Adekunle’s conventional war tactics had resulted in heavy casualties earlier on. Obasanjo did exactly what Adekunle had done by reinforcing failure. The

pity of this failure, however, was that Obasanjo himself was not there at the war front to experience the tragedy. He ordered Lt. Col. Godwin Ally to counter attack; saw them advance, but turned back and traveled to his HQ in Port Harcourt, a distance of about 150 miles away. Obasanjo had no Operational HQ in the field. Obasanjo had no map of the operation, there was no intelligence report as to the strength

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42— Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 42—Vanguard,

VANGUARD BOOK SERIALS

Obasanjo blunders into battle; sustains heavy casualties ÍÍÍ

of the enemy, and their reinforcement capability, or how far behind were their reserves. He just thought that the troops will simply get up and capture the place. He thought that our success so far was because we just got up and moved without a plan of action. Our plans had always been slow-slow, quick-quick. That is, we slowly and painstakingly checked and considered all parameters, then made the plan before getting up to attack. In any case what was the aim of attacking Ohoba, and what will the capture of the town mean to the overall plan to end the war. It was like capturing all the individual pawns in a game of chess, just to checkmate the king. That would be curious.

ol. Ally had been hamstrung all along as to how that sector’s problems should be solved. Once again, that attack was beaten back by the Biafrans with heavy casualties to the commando forces. A most unthinkable aspect of this failure was that Obasanjo made some of the tired, spent and recuperating 16 Bde troops that were previously beleaguered inside Owerri for seven months to join in the attack. Initially, as far as Ayo Ariyo was concerned, Obasanjo’s blunder should not be our concern since that was what got us into trouble with Adekunle in the first place, although the situation got us pretty worried. Later, Akinrinade, Ayo Ariyo and myself met and decided to see Obasanjo in Port Harcourt, to let him appreciate the dangers associated with his Ohoba failure. We thought we should not sit back at our bases and watch what we had worked so hard to achieve crumble right in front of us. At that point, Biafran troops morale was riding high: they had recaptured Owerri, and beaten back the counter-attack ordered by Obasanjo, and were now threatening to advance further south to Port-Harcourt. Should that happen, our positions in Calabar, Uyo and Aba would have been untenable, and we would also have been in greater trouble should the Biafrans get to Bonny. In our attempt to prevent this threat, we decided that I should go and brief Oba-

Lt.Col Ayo Ariyo and Col Obasanjo

Lt.Col Utuk, 16 Bde Commander, 3MCDO

Obasanjo ordered Lt. Col. Godwin Ally to counter attack; saw them advance, but turned back and traveled to his HQ in Port Harcourt, about 150 miles away....as far as Ayo Ariyo was concerned, Obasanjo’s blunder should not be our concern since that was what got us into trouble with Adekunle in the first place sanjo again, and try to make him see reason, because his very first command action had become a disaster and was causing troops to desert their frontline positions all over again.

y meeting with Obasanjo was a difficult one. I recounted the series of blunders that led to the problem of Utuk in Owerri. I gave graphic description of how Makanjuola, Iluyomade and George Innih had been responsible for Utuk being besieged in Owerri. Makanjuola’s 15 Bde and Innih’s 14 Bde withdrew from the battle front and were unable to link up with Utuk. After the change in command, they went to Sector 1 HQ and were involved in dancing “Swange” to receive Obasanjo to Sector 1. These same officers who had failed in that particular sector were the same ones Obasanjo sent on his first mission to attack Ohoba without supervision, and our troops were killed like chicken. My remarks angered Ally and Innih who became openly hostile to-

some kind of geometry or engineering drawing where one would be looking for straight lines. The defence lines Obasanjo met stretched from Obubra to the east and Omoku to the west, spanning about 700 miles of the states bordering Ibo heartland. They were state boundaries before Adekunle committed the Division to Operation OAU, which is what brought us this far. To straighten them would have taken 3MCDO smack into Ibo heartland for which we were not prepared. I reiterated that in a war setting (which he himself was aware of), infantry troops would normally take defensible lines which were what we had done in the 700 milelong border between Ibo heartland and the two non-Ibo States which had been liberated. I went further to inform him (if he did not know already) that but for officers like Capt. Ola Oni holding doggedly on to Chokocho, Port-Harcourt itself would have been in trouble since George Innih’s withdrawal from Utuk’s right flank at Owerri. By this time, Obasanjo had become not only uncomfortable but also irritated with my loud complaints and advice, more so because his war “Plans” were not working (if he had any really). His ego would not allow him to take our advice, and the man he depended on to draw a plan for him, Lt. Col. Godwin Ally, only brought forward plans that led to mounting casualties which resulted in troops deserting the war front. It was only when this started to happen that Obasanjo thought it was time he did something different. He came back to look at the Pincer Operations Plan, what he should have done from day one in the first place!

wards me. However, Utuk, who had suffered from these two officers’ incompetence for seven months in Owerri underof 3MCDO in May 1969 when Obasanjo took over comstood what I was •Position mand talking about. Notwithstanding their make all troops get their the war front. In the case of straighthostility, I didn’t hide my full salaries at the war ening the defence line, I front. Then he went on feeling at all, and warned brought maps to show talking about welfare, as Obasanjo again that war him 3MCDO positions as was no longer fought that if he was in the barracks. of May 1969 when he arway. I started all over This time I did not conrived. It was not a quesfront him openly; I waitagain explaining the plan tion of using a ruler, or ed until the end of the (Pincer 2) that we knew making a straight line as would work and end the meeting and had a priwar quickly. He did not vate audience with him. in a ceremonial parade, or have to agree with me, he As humbly as I could ever only had to listen as the be, I told him why we final decision was his an- would not find it easy to yway, as the commander. operate that way in a war IN the next take of I retold the stories of the front. Many of the soldiers this serial, read of how who he wanted to give ”Battle of the Bulge” of the author, and his World War II, and Hanni- their full salaries to, were friend, Akinrinade forbal’s battle at Cannas in the bread winners of their mulated plans for the Pin216 BC, and what strate- families back home. So it cer operations eventually gy was best to bring the could not have been ad- used to end the war, plus war to an end. Obasanjo visable to pay them full Col Obasanjo's plans, which thereafter called a meet- salaries at the war front. his colleague, Col Bisalla ing of all officers where he Instead, allotments of who then was GOC 1 Duvispoke about what he their salaries (as we were sion rejected. Alabi-Isama planned to do next. If an- organized before Obas- postulated that had the Army High ything, I least expected anjo took over) were bet- Command okayed Obasanjo's plans, it would ter paid to their next of kin have led to unprecednted mass killings... what I heard. First, he wanted to for rents, school fees and straighten the line of de- other bills to be settled The Tragedy of Victory is available in bookstores fence, then he planned to back home, since troops nationwide, and online at amazon.com have nothing to buy in

TOMORROW.....

Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013— 43 2013—43

Help! My mother is denying me! (3)

HORTLY after our moth er’s outburst and curses on me, Aunty Obioma called

me one day and asked if what she heard about me calling her my mother was true. I could only stare at the ground as she too began raining abuses on me and calling me a crazy girl. She said she could never give birth to a child who will never do well in life. That it should be the first and the last time that she would hear her name linked to such a story and the last time she will also discuss the issue with me. Our mother is my mother. If I am not satisfied, I can go and look for another mother of my choice and ask her for a father too. This has been my life ever since. The maltreatment continued and in fact became almost unbearable such that, it was affecting everything i did. I was not doing well in school and had to repeat twice before I finally made it to SS3. It was no big surprise to everyone that I did not make any Credit level pass in my School Certificate Examination. But while brother suggested that I should be given a second chance to take the exams again, our mother insisted that there was no need and that I will never pass even if I sat for the exams a 100 times. The decision was then taken that I should go and learn Fashion Designing at a corner shop about two streets from our house. Anyway, that was where I met my husband, the guy I now live with and

have a child for. We had two children but one died shortly before it turned one year. I was further devastated and humiliated two years ago when our mother died. She left houses, Shares and money for everyone, even though, Aunty Obioma got more than every-

HI Today, we bring you the concluding part of the story by a young woman seeking to unravel the mystery behind her identity. It is the pathetic story of a young lady who is greatly disturbed emotionally and psychologically. According to her, at 29, she does not know who are parents are? Her world fell apart the day she discovered that she bears her mother’s maiden name. My take is that this is a classic case of over indulgence on the part of this lady’s grandparents as well as sheer wickedness and lack of fear of God and humanity on the part of her mother. That is if indeed she qualifies to be called a mother. I have advised Idara (not real name) to seek for solace with God who does not abandone nor forsake anyone. However, as is our style on this column, we would love to know what our readers have to say about this story. There are many Idaras in our society and your contributions may help heal this lady’s broken heart as well as provide inspiration and courage for those with a similar story to face the future. Our address remains: thehumanangle93@yahoo.co.uk We will love to read from you. Happy reading!

what she gave the others. She was not happy with Aunty Obioma and our mother and I think this was what made her disclose the truth to me. Aunty Grace insisted that Aunty Obioma is my mother and that my father was an elderly man who once worked for my mother as a Gateman and Gardener. Nobody knew how it really happened, they just discovered that Aunty Obioma was pregnant and that it was the man that confessed being responsible for it. She was in Secondary Shool at the time and probably did not really understand what had happened to her. Our mother was said to have sent him away after cursing him but there was nothing anyone could do about the pregnancy. Because of the scandal, Aunty Obioma was sent to the village to stay with relatives until she

Aunty Grace insisted that Aunty Obioma is my mother and that my father was an elderly man who once worked for my mother as a gateman and gardener, nobody can really say what happened, they just discovered that Aunty Obioma was pregnant and that it was the man that confessed being responsible for it

one. She did not leave anything for me and the reason for that was never stated. All her other grandchildren got some, money, clothes and jeweleries. Aunty Obioma did not say anything. It was obvious that she already knew the content of the will, even before it was read. Only our other siblings expressed surprise and insisted that she ought to have left something for me. Despite the fact that my husband knows everything about my story, he too was annoyed that nothing was left for me. But there was nothing anyone could do about it. After everything had been distributed, I went to see Aunty Grace, our fourth born who funny enough had lost favour with our mother before her death. Her own inheritance was the smallest compared to

gave birth to me and I was passed off as my grandmother’s daughter. No one ever spoke about the pregnancy or my father again. The hatred and anger against my father was subsequently passed to me. The more Aunty Obioma and my mother saw me, the more they hated me. So, what do I do? She said I could go and talk to our other siblings to help me plead with Aunty Obioma but she would not go with them because my case was part of the issues that made her fall out with our mother and Aunty Obioma. My other siblings confirmed what Aunty Grace told me at different times but none was ready to help me confront my mother. They all agreed that if my mother insists she is not my mother, it is not their business to force

her to accept me. The most painful part of it is that no one knows my father’s name or where he came from, so, I can’t even say I want to go and search for him. The new twist to my problem is that when our baby died and the problem became too much for us, some people took my husband out for spiritual consultations at an Alfa’s place. To our greatest surprise, we were told that my mother, or grandmother has used me for money ritual. That I am just a walking corpes, I will not die but will never be successful or do anything good with my life again. That I was the one producing all the wealth that my grandmother had. That it is a secret between my mother and Aunty Obioma and because she knows I am worthless, she will never want anything to do with me. We have since gone to other places but all we hear are similar stories. After these revelations, I began to recall some of the things I saw while growing up. Our mother indeed had been a member of many secret cults in and out of the country all the way to India and some African countries, even though she was also a staunch member of the Methodist church. I am convinced that there is some truth in what all these people are saying. Aunty Obioma and her husband are elders in their church too. In fact, they are one of the pillars of the church and are highly respected. Another information I gathered was that Aunty Obioma never told her husband that she had a child long before they got married. So, when they returned to Nigeria and he was told, he refused to accept and acknowledge me too. Everyone had been disappointed because they had hoped that he would help resolve my issue. Now, I believe his refusal must have been prompted by our mother. I am now confused and scared. I know it is a matter of time before my husband turns against me too and I will be alone in the world. I just feel like dying sometimes. Concluded

Applying the no contact rule with your ex BY ONOZURE DANIA

T’S tempting to stay in touch with an ex that you still love. Friendship can turn into love but can love ever turn into friendship? Someone once said it can. After all, it is from friendship that you develop love for each other and from there you can hit a relationship. A break up always leaves you in a confused state of mind. On one hand, we are hurting because we have lost a big piece of our heart to someone else. And on the other hand, we still want to stay in touch with the same person that broke our heart and walked all over it. No wonder it’s been said that love is sweet misery.

You want something so bad even though you know all it will do is hurt you more. The no contact rule is a great rule that’s been passed on through the ages, or so to believe. It is a rule where exes stay as exes and never become friends. Both exes who were once completely in love with each other now avoid each other purposefully and greet each other with awkward smiles like distant acquaintances when they invariably bump into each other.It sounds harsh, but well, that’s what the no contact rule is all about.There are two kinds of endings to every relationship, a happy ending and a sad one. If both of you decide to part ways because there’s no real

love in the romance anymore, it’s a happy ending. If you are still in love with your lover, and yet, your lover arm twists you into a break up because they don’t care about you anymore or are dating someone else, then that’s a sad ending for you and probably a happy ending for your soon to be ex. If your break up ends with a happy ending for you, then the no contact rule will be meaningless to you, because you are probably in another relationship or enjoying the single life anyway. But if you are the one left nursing a broken heart in your lonely room while your current ex flits and jumps from one person to the next, then the no contact rule definitely applies to

you. Know this, the person who cares enough to desperately try and stay as friends with their ex wants to stay friends only because they are still in love with their ex. If you are having a hard time moving on from a break up, you need to realize that the only reason you are still hurt and miserable is because you want your ex back in your arms. The best way to disconnect emotionally and heal the hole in your heart is by avoiding your ex completely. It will help you move on without having to constantly remember just how lonely you are each time you see your ex flirting with someone else. Resist the temptation to stay in touch or call your ex just to

say hello. Don’t spend your idle hours searching online frantically for any new pictures or any news of their new relationship status. And for crying out loud, avoid looking for ways to bump into them just so you can shake hands or exchange a warm but awkward hug. The no contact rule has to be your best friend for now. You can’t move on if you are stuck in the same spot in your love life. As long as you stay around your ex, you will constantly remember how much you miss your relationship. Only when you take an emotional step away will you be able to look around and find new things to fill that emptiness you feel in your heart.Your feelings will always be rekindled.

44—Vanguard , THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Nigeria can be world's greatest country —Udu monarch

VIE of Udu King dom, HRM Owhorhu I, has said that Nigeria can be the best country in the world, while charging the people of Udu to maintain the peace and be lawabiding in all their undertakings. The Udu monarch, in a chat with newsmen on his return from a nineweek tour of Europe, where he was hosted by Udu sons and daughters in several European countries, said that Nigeria was a blessed country, with human and material resources that were yet be put into proper use. He spoke in the company of his queen, HRM Oniemovikoro, and chiefs, led by the Otota of Udu Kingdom, Chief Sam Odibo and the Chairman of Udu Local Government Area, Mr. Raymond Edijala. He said: “Let me assure you that having been to several European countries these past weeks, I can say with every sense of pride that Nigeria is a blessed land. “We have all that is required to make our country the best in the world. We are richer than most European countries. “What is missing is the will to selflessly manage the available resources to benefit the masses and make our world a better place to be.” He charged the people to be united and committed to peaceful co-existence in the general interest of all, appealing to Udu sons and daughters, who travel round the world, to attract good things to Udu.

Members of Liberation Movement of the Urhobo People, LIMUP, led by Kelvin, in Kokori, Tuesday.

Alleged kidnap kingpin, Kelvin resurfaces zIssues 60-day ultimatum, threatens to destroy oil installations BY EMMA AMAIZE & FESTUS AHON

GHELLI—LEADER of Liberation Movement of the Urhobo People, LIMUP, Kelvin, has resurfaced and issued a 60-day ultimatum to Delta State and Federal Governments to address unemployment and poverty in the Urhobo nation and Kokori in particular. Led by the dreaded alleged kidnap kingpin in Delta State, Mr. Kelvin, the group said if the issues were not addressed, the governments risk the destruction of oil installations in Urhobo land. Kelvin also urged the governments to grant LIMUP members amnesty. Speaking in Kokori, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, Tuesday evening in the presence of over 3,000 youths and women of the community, Kelvin said he was not a kidnapper, adding “ what is happening as a result of our activities in the

state and the country is for the Federal Government to know that we are angry.

‘Why we are angry’

“The reason why we are here today (Tuesday night) is because of the continuous cheating of our people by the Federal Government. “Now we want them to hear us because for over 50 years they have been drilling oil from our community (Kokori), which has the second best oil in this country. Yet we have nothing to show for it. “The community has no roads. They constructed wooden bridges in areas that need formidable bridges that will last for a long time. There is hunger everywhere and graduates have no job. “So, we want the government to listen to us. We are giving the government a 60day ultimatum to listen to us or else we will shut down all the oil well heads in the area. “Let them bring the Army. When we want to strike, no

NDDC complements education in Edo

IGER Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has commissioned three units of six-classroom blocks in Aduwawa, Ikpo-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State. Acting Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Christy Atako, who commissioned the project, called on the people to guard it jealously and ensure that it was not vandalised.

Atako said: “Education is the bedrock of any nation. Therefore, our children should be provided with the conducive teaching and learning environment that will enhance the intellectual, mental, physical, emotional and psychological development of the child. “It is also the basis for the economic development of any country.” She added that NDDC was

alive and committed to its responsibilities and determined to make a difference in the Niger Delta region. She said: “This is a testimony of the Federal Government’s resolve to transform communities and provide facilities to enhance the living standard of people the Niger Delta region in line with President Goodluck transformation agenda.”

amount of security can stop us. There are highly placed people in this country and in foreign lands backing us.

I know I cannot fight the Federal Government alone but I will do things that will touch their marrow.”

Why Kelvin

Kokori women react

“The reason they have been hearing of the name ‘Kelvin’ is because of what I just told you. I am the Kelvin. I am like two million Kelvin. I am not a kidnapper. “Our activities in the state and the country are for the Federal Government to know that we are angry. We want to attract the attention of the governments. “The government must listen to us because while Boko Haram is destroying in the North, we will be destroying from the South.

Targets

“We will destroy all the oil well heads in the Urhobo nation, not only in Kokori, after the expiration of the 60 days ultimatum. Then the Federal Government will know that we don’t make empty threats. “But we will remain calm within the next 60 days. But if they think we cannot do anything, then they will hear from us after the expiration of the ultimatum. “If the Federal and state governments think the existing peace in the state is because of security agencies, they should know that it is not. We just want to see what they will do. “If they don’t relieve our mothers, brothers, sisters and fathers from the present sufferings within the next 60 days, we will not fail to strike.

Speaking on behalf of the women, two of the community ’s women, who spoke on condition of anonymity, decried the unemployment rate among the youths of the area and absence of infrastructure in the community. They urged government to grant the youths amnesty and embark on youth employment and women empowerment. One of them said: “We thank God that brought Kelvin to salvage the situation. He is really our messiah. What he is doing is good because it is the only way the government can listen to us. “It is the father of Kelvin that owns the land where oil is being drilled in the community on daily basis. “The soil is no longer fertile for farming because of the oil drilling. We have wealth in abundance yet we are suffering. Restiveness today in our community is necessitated by the abject poverty in the land.”

Declared wanted

Kelvin, a suspected kidnap kingpin, has been on the wanted list of the police and Joint Military Task Force, JTF, for about a year over his alleged involvement in kidnap activities in the state. Not long ago, he was reported to have spoken with Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aduba, on phone, requesting for amnesty.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013—45

Amnesty: Ex-militants accuse Kuku of favouritism

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

ENIN CITY—THE forum of ex-militants in the Niger Delta, yesterday, accused the Presidential Adviser to the President on Amnesty Programme, Mr Kingsley Kuku of allegedly adopting “divide and rule system” in the Federal Government amnesty programme. They accused him of empowering select ex-militant leaders while others exmilitants, who had undergone training in different vocations had been abandoned, adding that promises made to the exmilitants were not being adhere to “apart from few cabals he prefers to empower that are benefiting.” In a statement by the chairman of the forum, Mr Wisdom Owowo and Secretary, Destiny Perewari, they argued that while the Federal Government had disarmed, demobilised the exmilitants, “they are yet to reintegrate us through empowerment that will enable us pursue our careers in life like other Nigerians."

DESOPADEC vows to complete ongoing projects BY FESTUS AHON

GHELLI—THE member representing Ethiope East and Ughelli North Local Government Areas on the board of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Chief Ominimini Obiuwevbi, yesterday, restated the resolve of the commission to complete all ongoing projects embarked upon by the commission. Speaking during an inspection tour of projects at Afiesere Primary and Secondary Schools, Ughelli North Council, Obiuwevbi commended the contractors handling the projects for the quality and pace of work. According to him, the projects which include a Science and Laboratory block and renovation of 12 classrooms block with three offices at the community’s secondary and primary schools respectively, were aimed at improving the quality of education in the area. C M Y K

FG to inject more funds into NIFOR BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

VISIT—From left: Delta State Deputy Governor, Professor Amos Utuama, SAN, President, Aquatics Federation of Nigeria, Babatunde Fatai-Williams and Rear Admiral Babalola Egbedina, when the Federation paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Governor in Asaba on Tuesday.

Jurists express worry over divergent judicial pronouncements BY BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE ORMER Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Justice George Oguntade, has expressed concern over the prevalent divergent judicial pronouncements of some superior courts and called for the amendment of the constitution to define the jurisdiction of each of the courts. Leading eminent jurists and lawyers in Lagos, yesterday, to address the issue of divergent pronouncements of the courts, the Federal High Court and the Investment and Securities Tribunal, IST, he called for the jurisdictions of the courts to be clearly defined. Participants at the seminar, organised by Capital Market Solicitors Association, CMSA, in addition to the constitutional

amendment proposal, suggested that a division could be created at the Federal High Court, where judges woud be encouraged to specialise in capital market matters. The seminar, chaired by Justice Oguntade, had in attendance, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN, Chief Anthony Idigbe SAN, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade SAN, Professor Fidelis Odittah, SAN, QC, Mrs Muannaya Essien, Dr. Dimgba Igwe, among others. Chief Ojo, in the second session, spoke on the various non–litigation methods of resolving a broad range of capital market matters in Nigeria, including Arbitration

and Alternative Dispute Resolution, as well as the administrative options within the Securities and Exchange Commission as the apex Capital Market regulator, the Nigeria Stock Exchange, NSE, and other Self Regulatory Organisations, SRO’s. CMSA Chairman, Uche Val Obi, said it had become imperative for these divergent decisions to be resolved so as to retain investors’ confidence. He maintained that it would hamper investment if lawyers who are capital market players could not be sure of which court to approach between Federal High Court and the Investment and Securities Tribunal, when investment disputes arise.

Lagos govt counsels citizens on conservation of energy BY WILLIAM JIMOH

AGOS State Government, yesterday, announced October 2013 as energy conservation month, as part of efforts aimed at inculcating the attitude of judicious use of energy in the residents of the state. Engr. Taofiq Tijani, Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, who disclosed this during a briefing in Lagos, said ahead of the campaign, they had laid the foundation by retrofitting all light bulbs within Alausa into energy saving bulbs. He added that during the month, the State Government through its Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the implementing agency, Lagos State Electricity Board, LSEB, had developed an energy conservation campaign, tagged “Conserve Energy, Save Money,” CESM, which will use

behaviour change communication materials that carry step by step, do-it- yourself instructions on energy efficiency to save Lagosians money and make the city more energy efficient. Besides, he disclosed that sensitisation awareness for the Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG, initiative will also be carried out in Ikorodu area of the state as part of efforts to further encourage more residents to embrace the use of LPG as a safer, cost effective and health and environment-friendly cooking gas alternative to kerosene stove, firewood and charcoal. The commissioner explained that all of these initiatives underlined the commitment of the Babatunde Fashola's administration to the provision of a holistic solution to the

perennial power problem that has inhibited socio-economic development of not just the state but Nigeria as a whole. He said: “Our energy initiatives in Lagos State are a clear demonstration of innovative approach to good governance and much more in bringing radical solutions to the epileptic power problem in Nigeria. We are delighted to be the first state in Nigeria to show leadership in novel power generation and power management solutions.” In consideration of the purpose and message of the Energy Conservation month, the governor of the state, Mr. Fashola will host a Google Hangout with musician, Jude Abaga, aka M.I, to formally engage the youth audience in open conversations regarding energy conservation in the state.

ENIN CITY—THE Federal Government, yesterday, expressed its resolve to inject more funds into the Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research, NIFOR, with a view to making it one of the best research institutes in the world. Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, ARCN, Professor Yusuf Abubakar, made the pledge when he led other members of the Council to the institute, yesterday . He said: “NIFOR is one of the institutions we should hold in high esteem because we know what you can do. We keep talking about Malaysia that came here to take palm fruits to their country, but today look at Malaysia and it is not that we don’t have scientists, NIFOR has the best scientists, all we need to do now is to give them adequate support. “What we have been doing over the years is to see how we can turn this place around and we have been working round the clock to ensure that we turn our research centres around, so that they can be among the best globally.”

Oyovbaire tasks Nigerian youths BY FESTUS AHON

GHELLI—FORMER Minister of Information, Professor Sam Oyovbaire, has charged Nigerian youths to wake up from their slumbers and be active in their studies. Giving the charge during the maiden world youth conference, organised by the Okpe Youths Council in Orerokpe, Okpe Local Government Area, Delta State, Oyovbaire told the youths to keep the hope alive despite the challenges of poor wealth creation, political, economic and educational standard facing the country. Oyovbaire, who chaired the event, urged Okpe youths not to feel inferior no matter the circumstance, appealing to them to live up to expectations by striving to exploit resources of the kingdom to their advantage. Stressing the need for the kingdom to remain united, he charged the youths not to allow leniency of any kind to break the age long unity that has been in existence in the area.

46—Vanguard , THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

LG poll: Chime lauds peaceful conduct of PDP primaries

BY TONY EDIKE

NUGU —GOVER NOR Sullivan Chime of Enugu State and the secretariat of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have commended the level of understanding and cooperation exhibited by stakeholders during the recently concluded local government chairmanship primary election of the party in the state. Chime, who spoke on the outcome of the exercise in Enugu, noted that the election was the fourth that the party was conducting since he came into office and described it as a huge success, having been peaceful, orderly and devoid of thuggery. He advised the chairmanship candidates that would carry the party’s flag during the November 2 local government election to redouble efforts, listen to their people and carry the stakeholders along so the party would be victorious at the polls. The governor further urged those who would be coming for the second tenure to use the period to correct the mistake of the past to justify the confidence reposed in them by the party and the people.

Ewa makes case for Silicon Valley

BUJA—THE former Minister of Science and Technology, Professor Ita Okon Ewa, has officially handed over the baton of leadership of the ministry to the Permanent Secretary, Hajiya Rabi Jimeta. At the handover performed at the ministry, the former minister thanked Governor Goodswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, for recommending him to the President to be appointed a minister. The outgoing minister identified the Silicon Valley project as the flagship of his administration and stressed the need for the Federal Government and stakeholders to nurture the project to completion. His words: “The flagship projects will ever remain green in my memory. I want to also stress that unless this country drives the Silicon Valley project, and not leave it to be a valley of dry bones, we will not make sustainable progress in terms of economic development.” C M Y K

Imo govt drags S-East monarchs’ chairman to S-Court O

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

WERRI—IMO State gov ernor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, has dragged the embattled Chairman of South East Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, to the Supreme Court. Ilomuanya, who was earlier sacked by Okorocha on assumption of office, was, however, reinstated as chairman of Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers vide the judgment delivered July 5, 2013, by the Court of Appeal in Owerri. The governor, among other reliefs, is urging the apex court to set aside the judgment of the Appeal Court, which returned Ilomuanya to office. Apart from the appeal, the state government also filed a motion on notice for an order staying execution of the Appeal Court judgment. Government argued that the Court of Appeal erred in law when it held the counter-affidavit of the appellants, which they claimed was not strong enough to counter the content of the affidavit of the respondent. Armed with this thought, government sensed miscarriage of

justice, adding that the Appeal Court also erred when it held that the learned trial judge, suo moto, raised the issue of hear-say and made a case for the appellants. Okorocha appealed to the apex court to set aside the Appeal Court judgment of July 5, 2013, and affirm the judgment delivered by Imo State Chief Judge,

Justice Benjamin Njemanze, on February 24, 2012, which dismissed Ilomuanya’s suit as “unmeritorious.” Vanguard recalls that months after the Appeal Court judgment, the appointee of the governor, Eze Sam Ohiri, and the state government largely ignored the court’s pronouncement.

While some lawyers frowned on the manner court judgment was being flouted by government, they, however, believed that since the matter had now shifted to the Supreme Court, Eze Ilomuanya might have to wait until the matter was finally decided.

AVIATION DAY: From left: Mr. Apollos Ikpobe, Deputy Managing Director, Domestic, UBA Plc, Mr. Olu Owolabi, MD/CEO, Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited, SAHCOL, Mr. Anthony Tyler, DG/CEO, IATA and Mr. George Uriesi, MD/CEO, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, at the IATA Africa Aviation Day sponsored by UBA in Lagos.

Okorocha suspends operations of ISTMA O

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

WERRI—GOVERNOR Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, has suspended the activities of Imo State Traffic Management Agency, ISTMA, for its alleged involvement in acts that brought corporate bad image to government. Okorocha, who slammed the suspension order on the operations of the establishment with effect from yesterday, also froze the account of the agency. The governor similarly warned staff of Owerri Capital Development Agency, OCDA, to desist from engaging in traffic management and control in the state. The riot act was part of the out-

come of the interactive session with stakeholders in the non-formal sector at the Ahiajoku Convention Centre, Owerri. While noting that the suspension slammed on ISTMA was for one month, the governor said this would give him the opportunity to critically look into the activities

of the body, which had led to palpable public outcry. “My administration will not sit and watch the electorate suffer untold hardship or intimidation from any government quarter,” Okorocha said. He also warned that the suspension of the operation of

LP rally: Community sanctions alleged impersonator of traditional ruler BY VINCENT UJUMADU

WKA—THE Traditional ruler of Agulu, Igwe Innocent Obodoakor, has said his community has sanctioned those who impersonated him

at Labour Party, LP, political rally to flag off the campaign of Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah in Onitsha last week. One titled man from Obe village, Agulu, along with two other persons, had in Onitsha

Lagos govt urges support for voluntary blood donation BY CHIOMA OBINNA, MODINAT AMSAT & KOSISO UDEMBA AGOS—LAGOS State Gov ernment has charged opinion leaders in rural communities to show the way for their people to donate blood voluntarily. Its call came against the backdrop that only less than 10 per cent of Nigerians donate blood voluntarily. A member of Lagos State Blood Transfusion Committee, LSBTC, Solomon Eka, made the call at a blood donor drive organised by LSBTC, in conjunction with the state’s Water Corporation. He maintained that as long

ISTMA would not in any way give Imo people the licence to disobey traffic rules and regulations while on the road. Chief Okorocha used the opportunity to decry the activities of artisans in the state, which, he said were badly affecting the development of the state.

as most opinion leaders in the country were still opposed to blood donation, the country would remain far from attaining the required blood units needed by Nigerians to survive. Eka said: “At present, there are

some opinion leaders that do not support blood donation. If these opinion leaders are meant to have a change of attitude, and also demonstrate by donating blood, their followers will also follow suit.”

Otubu to deliver C&S anniversary sermon

AGOS—CHURCH elder, Professor Joseph A. M. Otubu, has been chosen to deliver the sermon at the 2013 adoption service of Motailatu Church, Cherubim and Seraphim Wordwide, at the International Sub-headquaters of the church at Alakuko, Lagos State.

The event will be presided over by primate and founder, His Most Eminence, Archbishop Motailatu Akinadewo. According to the Supervising Head of the church, His Eminence, Elder Israel S. Akinadewo, the event will have in attendance eminent religious leaders in Nigeria and overseas.

mounted the podium where he claimed to be the traditional ruler of Agulu during which he accused Governor Obi of not doing anything in his community in his eight years as governor. But Igwe Obodoakor, who addressed reporters in Awka, said the man who posed as the traditional ruler of Agulu was an ordinary titled man, adding that the man and others who accompanied him to Onitsha had been suspended from attending functions organized in the town, pending the determination of the issue by the Agulu General Assembly. The royal father wondered why people should go to the extent of impersonating a traditional ruler in their quest for easy money. He pointed out that royal fathers, by virtue of their position, shouldn’t play politics or be involved in political rallies.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201D;47

AWARD: From left, Mr. Olanipekun Orewale, Partner Aelex & Partners; Sola Oyetayo, Managing Partner, Sola Oyetayo & Co., Tunde Ajayi, Managing Partner, Babington Ashaye & Co., and Kadiri Yussuff, Partner Jackson, Etti, Edo & Co., during the presentation of Insol fellowship award first fellow from Africa, in Hague Netherlands.

ANNIVERSARY:From left, Mr. John Ugbe, Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria; Mr. Tijani Umar, President, NBBF, and Mr. Shumani Gerrade, General Manager, Regulatory Affiars, MultiChoice Nigeria, during the All Stars Basketball to mark the 20th anniversary of MultiChoice Nigeria, at UNILAG Sports Hall, Lagos. Photo:Kehinde Gbadamosi

FASHION NITE: Oyet UK, Manager, M Lounge (left), and Mandy Stuart, Executive Manager, DAZ SAPPHIRE ENTERTAINMENT during the Port Harcourt Fashion Industry nite in Port Harcourt. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke

CONFERENCE: From left, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole, President and Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM, (Chartered); Dr. Sally Adukwu-Bolujoko, Past President, NIM, and Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, Kogi State Deputy Governor, receiving his fellowship certificate, at the 2013 Annual National Management Conference of the institute at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

VISIT: From left, Chairman, Supervisory Board, Royal FrieslandCampina, Mr. Piet Boer; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, and State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Olusola Oworu, during a courtesy visit by the Supervisory Board, Royal FrieslandCampina of The Netherlands, to the Lagos State Deputy Governor, in her Alausa, Ikeja office. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

WAKE-KEEP: Legal icon and industrialist, Chief Oluwakemi Oni (left), with brother, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote, chairman, Lagos State Medical Guild, at the wake-keep of their late grand-mother, Susan Odusote, at St. John's African Church, Okeagbo, Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State.

SIGNING: From left, Manager, Contact and Advertising, NTA-Star Television Network Limited, Mr. Zhu Zi Yu; Managing Director/CEO, CoreMedia Services Limited, Mr. Jide Adediran; General Manager, NTA-Star Television Network Limited, Mr. Liu Liang, and Executive Director, Finance and Administration, CoreMedia Services Limited, Mr. Akeem Yusuf, during the signing of channel distribution agreement between CoreMedia Services Limited and NTA-Star Television Network Limited, to signal the birth of Core Television Station on Startimes platform, at Startimes Office, Ladipo Lagos. C M Y K

CONFERENCE: From left, President/Chairman of Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, Mr. Victor Famuyibo; Dr. Imonite Imoisili, and Registrar/ CEO, CIPM, Mr. Sunday Adeyemi, at 45th Annual National Conference of CIPM, in Abuja.

MEETING: From left, Executive director, Chief Obafemi Awolowo Foundation, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu, Deputy Chairman, Yoruba Unity Forum; Bishop Bolanle Awe, and former Minister for Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, Tanimu Turaki, at the meeting between Yoruba Unity Forum and the Presidential Committee on Insurgency and Conflict Resolution in northern states, in Lagos.

48—Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Bauchi pledges N1.508bn for post-election violence victims

DSS foils plans to kidnap FCT ministers relatives in Bauchi

BY SUZAN EDEH

AUCHI—BAUCHI State government has announced plans to disburse N1.508bn to victims of post-election violence in the state. Deputy Governor, Alhaji Sagir Aminu Saleh, who is chairman of the committee, said their assignment was to distribute the amount released by the Federal Government to give succour to victims of the 2011 post-presidential election violence. According to him,“the distribution of the money within two weeks requires a lot of sacrifice from members of the committee in order to do a thorough work. He urged members of the committee to put to use their wealth of experience and be guided by the terms of reference to make the committee succeed in in its assignment. The terms of reference given to the committee include disbursement of N1.508bn to victims of the 2011 post-election violence; to liase with Sheikh Ahmed Lemu Presidential Commitee and State Emergency Management Agency to obtain authentic list of victims to pay those whose names appear on the list.

BRIEF

YOUTH empower ment project organised by Tega Onojaife, renowned sports personality and Sope Martins, popular on air personality tagged “Nigeria’s Future Today”, holds its inaugural quarterly event from October 18 to 20, 2013, at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. “Nigeria’s Future Today” seeks to give orientation to youths between the ages of 16-25 years on employment, entrepreneurship and social r esponsibility. The event will feature a visit to Regina Mundi Old people’s home, with workshop and seminar with Aderonke Adebanjo of Smooth 98.1FM; Adoara Ikwuemesi of Kendor HR consulting, and Deji Omotoyinbo of Sports Vision as guest speakers.

BY SUZAN EDEH

CONDOLENCE—Vanguard Advert Manager, Abuja, Mrs. Ethel Igboeche condoling with the Chairman Setraco Construction, Chief Abu Inu-Umoru while the Abuja Bureau Chief, Mr. Emma Ujah (2right) and Deputy Head of Bureau, Mr. Kingsley Omonobi (left) watched during a condolence visit to the Setraco Chairman over the loss of his mother at Setraco Headquarters, Jabi Dam, Abuja. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

HIV/AIDS kills 300,000 Nigerians, orphans 1.5m children annually BY PETER DURU

AKURDI —OVER 300,000 Nigerians die annually from complications arising from HIV/AIDS, while no fewer than 1.5 million children are orphaned yearly by the deadly virus in the country. Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHDA, Dr. Ado Mohammad, disclosed this yesterday at a week-long Integrated Service Delivery Training for community health workers, organized by the Programme for HIV/AIDS Integration and Decentralization, PHAID, in Makurdi. Dr. Mohammad said: “HIV/ AIDS continues to be a major burden in our country, with well over 1.5million children orphaned annually by the virus which also claims over 300,000 Nigerian lives yearly.” Represented by Dr. Bakunawa Bello, the NPHDA Executive Director warned that the “devastation and dangers posed by the virus in our country calls for concerted effort by all Nigerians, including health workers, to ensure that we drive down the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. ”This accounts for the various strategic trainings and programmes initiated by the NPHDA in states across the country and high HIV/AIDS endemic states in the country in particular.” In her speech, the Project Officer, PHAID, Hyeladzirah Shalangwa, said “the training programme, which is in five categories is intended to further

equip healthcare providers with the wherewithal to provide one stop shop services to victims of HIV/AIDS in parts of Benue state.” Executive Secretary of the Benue State Action Committee on AIDS, BENSACA,

Mrs. Ashi Wende, who was represented by Ado Ihuman, urged participants to put what they gathered from the training to good use in the fight against the the dreaded virus in the state.

AUCHI —THE De partment of State Service, DSS, in Bauchi State has foiled plans to kidnap three family members of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Senator Bala Mohammed, in Bauchi. Both families and security sources in Bauchi confirmed the incident. When contacted, Assistant Director, Operations of the DSS in Bauchi, said “investigation is on going” and declined to make further comment. A reliable security source in Bauchi said the kidnappers were at the early stage of their preparations when one suspect was arrested and is helping security agents in their investigations. According to a family source who pleaded anonymity, “the arrested suspect once lived and worked with the FCT minister before he was appointed as Minister and that is all I can say for now."

Four trapped in collapsed building at Emir’s palace BY ALIYU DANGIDA

AZAURE—THERE was pandemonium at the palace of Emir of Kazaure on Monday as a building collapsed and trapped four labourers undertaking repairs in some section of the palace. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, which disclosed this in a statement in Jigawa, listed the victims to include Gaadafi Auwalu, Haruna Danfulani, Tasiu Kabiru and Malam Sani, who were seriously injured. The statement, signed by the commandant, Dr. Muhmmad Gidado, Jigawa State command of the corps, said the victims were taken to Kazaure General Hospital for treatment by the men and officers of the command after they were rescued. He noted that the victims of the disaster were receiving treatment and respond-

ing positively. In a related development, the command said it had arrested one Abdulhadi Abdullahi and Alhaji Hassan on Gumel Sule Tankarkar Road for packing for sale, granite meant to protect the road from devastation by erosion.

He said the suspects confessed packing and selling the granite at different times. Gidado said the exhibits were 10 bags loaded with sand in an Opel car with number plate AA485STK, and called on communities to report such incident to the nearest office of the command for immediate action.

NHRC condemns violence in Nasarawa State

A S A R AWA — T H E National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, has expressed concern over renewed violence in parts of Obi and Lafia Local Government Areas of Nasarawa State and called on all those involved in the unfortunate act to show greater respect for human lives and peaceful co-existence. The Commission has received reports that renewed

violence involving the Eggon and Alago tribes resulted in unspecified number of casualties and mass displacement of civilian population in Obi and Assakio. Prof. Bem Angwe, the Commission’s Executive Secretary, called on security agencies to protect law abiding citizens and take decisive action to forestall further violence in the area. He also called on the security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators of the violence and bring them to open and transparent trial.

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013—51

Police lied about my rescue —Archbishop Kattey BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

ORT HARCOURT— ARCHBISHOP of Niger Delta Province of Nigerian Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Ignatius Kattey, yesterday, accused the Nigeria Police of lying over their claim that they secured his release from the kidnappers who abducted him penultimate Friday. Briefing newsmen in Eleme, Rivers State, to share his nine days experience in the den of the kidnappers four days after regaining freedom, Most Rev. Kattey thanked the Police for their efforts, but said that they were not the ones who rescued him. He said: “The Police did not rescue me, neither were they the ones who rescued my wife, Beatrice. I saw the Police for the first time two days ago, after the incident. I heard the statements made by the Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO. The police are telling lies. If you cannot trust the Police, then who can you trust? I told the Commissioner of Police and he has

apologised. “I know that they made efforts but they did not rescue us. A helicopter flew over the area more than 500 times, but the boys (kidnappers) were smarter. They held me in a thick forest and no one could see me there. “On the day of my release (September 14), the kidnappers moved me and we trekked a number of kilometres till we got to a road. Then they gave me N200 and ordered me to walk towards a direction where I would get a bike. We thank God for His mercies because I wouldn’t even wish my enemy to go through that experience.” Kattey, who is Dean of the Nigerian Anglican Communion, also said that he was not aware if any ransom was collected over his release, explaining that he was not tortured by his abductors, whom he said he had forgiven. “I was not tortured. They fed me on fast food once a day, sometimes on bole (roast plantain). They tied and chained my legs, but one of them said ‘ you can’t chain

this man’. I slept on the ground, beaten by rain and bitten by mosquitoes like them for up to seven days. As an old man of 65 years, I had no choice than to stay and swim in the forest with them.” The Archbishop, while expressing his gratitude to President Goodluck Jonath-

an, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the Police as well as Christians and Muslims for their concern and prayers, however, appealed to the federal and state governments to review the security situation in the country and be sensitive to the plight of the governed. He said: “From my experi-

ence, the abductors are hungry and in dire need of means of livelihood. Some are adequately educated but lack the enabling environment to positively express themselves. If government will give the people potable water, light and good roads, they will change.”

Security: IG urged to deploy more policemen in Edo BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

E N I N — S TA K E HOLDERS at a security summit organised by the Edo State Police Command, in Benin City, yesterday, called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Muhammed Abubakar, to deploy more policemen to the state with a view to combating kidnapping and other forms of criminality in the state. They also called on chairmen of the 18 local government areas in the state to provide vehicles and other logistics to recognised vigilante groups in their areas. They tasked the chairmen on the need to repair

dilapidated roads in their domains, so that the police can easily have access to streets in emergency situations. Retired police officers, retired soldiers, vigilante groups, civil society organisations, youth groups and traditional rulers were part of the summit, chaired by the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Funso Adebanjo. In his opening remarks, Adebanjo explained that it would be almost impossible for the police to successfully fight crime without the co-operation of the people, adding, “we are here to work, my officers are ready, we only need your corporation because the kidnappers and

armed robbers all live in our domain, so we need information to work.” However, while majority of the stakeholders commended the Police Commissioner for calling for the stakeholders meeting, they stressed the need for the IG and local government areas to assist the police in their job. According to Chief Asemota from Urhonigbe community, “we want the IG to deploy more men to Edo State. We are over two million people in Edo, but we have few policemen around. The job of securing our people is now left in the hands of vigilante groups. The police cannot combat crime here effectively because they are few.”

52 — Vanguard, THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

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Vanguard, THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 —53

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his first hat-trick of the season.

Wayne Rooney celebrate a winning return to the Champions League

UEFA Champions League

Big guns shine on opening night W

ITH the exception of Juventus, who were held to an unexpected 1-1 draw in Copenhagen, Europe’s powerhouses got their UEFA Champions League group stage campaigns off to a flying start on Tuesday. The award for performance of the night undoubtedly goes to Real Madrid, who dismantled Galatasaray 61 in Istanbul. The combined goal tally of trophy holders Bayern Munich, both Manchester clubs, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid was 20, which equates to an average of four goals scored per game. Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his contract extension with his first hattrick of the season, while Wayne Rooney, Karim Benzema, Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Alex Teixeira and PSG defender Thiago Motta all collected a brace. The big match Bayern Munich 3-0 CSKA Moscow Goals: David Alaba 4, Mario Mandzukic 41, Arjen Robben 68 The defending champions showed no sign of opening-night nerves at the Allianz Arena, imposing their game on a Moscow side that spent long spells chasing after the ball. In what was their 276th match in Europe’s premier club competition, the Bavarians scored twice in the first half from free C M Y K

kicks: a well-placed one from Austrian defender David Alaba and a floated effort from Arjen Robben that Mario Mandzukic steered into the net with his head. Philipp Lahm – who was playing in his 90th Champions League encounter – and his colleagues then proceeded to seal the points in the second period through a close-range Robben effort.

way. Shakhtar stalwart Darijo Srna was at the source of the opener, slipping the ball to Douglas Costa in the box, who sent a neat backheel in the direction of fellow Brazilian Alex Teixeira, who fired past the home goalkeeper. The former Vasco da Gama man subsequently added a second two minutes from time.

The other games Group A Manchester United 4-2 Bayer Leverkusen Real Sociedad 0-2 Shakhtar Donetsk David Moyes’ Manchester United put in an impressive attacking display that Alex Ferguson would have been proud of against a German outfit that struggled to hold on to the ball. Wayne Rooney opened the scoring after excellent play by Robin Van Persie and Patrice Evra down the left. After a rare Leverkusen foray lead to a second-half equaliser, United reacted strongly to retake the lead via an acrobatic Van Persie goal, before Rooney and Antonio Valencia put the result beyond doubt. In the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian, Real Sociedad’s Champions League inexperience came back to haunt them as they were undone by a counterattacking away side that pounced on the rare occasions that came their

Group B Galatasaray 1-6 Real Madrid Copenhagen 1-1 Juventus The first half in Istanbul turned out just as many had predicted, with both teams showing good commitment, but it was tainted somewhat by injuries to both Iker Casillas and Didier Drogba, who had to be transported to hospital. After Isco had broken the deadlock, Galatasaray pushed forward in search of a leveller, leaving acres of space for Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to exploit, which they did with aplomb. The final score may have been slightly harsh on the Turks, but Carlo Ancelotti will nevertheless be extremely pleased with his charges’ showing. Meanwhile, Juventus fought back from 1-0 down – a 14th-minute Nicolai Jorgensen strike – to rescue a point through Fabio Quagliarella early in the

second half. The Turin side then had numerous chances to win the match, but were denied by poor finishing and a remarkable goalkeeping display from Johan Willand. Group C Benfica 2-0 Anderlecht Olympiacos 1-4 Paris Saint-Germain Initially troubled by a Greek team determined to take the game to their opponents, PSG took a good hour to find their usual rhythm. Edinson Cavani had got the Parisians off to a good start, but Vladimir Weiss brought the Kokkini level in the 25th minute with an eye-catching individual goal. After the break, PSG’s Thiago Motta took matters into his own hands, powering home two similar headers from Ezequiel Lavezzi corners, prior to turning provider and floating a ball onto the head of Marquinhos, who made it 4-1. Elsewhere, Benfica went ahead after just four minutes in Lisbon, Serbian Filip Djuricic taking advantage of a handling error by Anderlecht custodian Silvio Proto to poke the ball into the net. The Portuguese giants put themselves in the driving seat on the half-hour mark with a goal from Luisao, and withstood significant Belgian pressure in the second period to claim the

three points. Group D Viktoria Plzen 0-3 Manchester City Manchester City had to wait 48 minutes before securing a lead in the Czech Republic, after missing several chances in the first half. Edin Dzeko’s left-footed effort was swiftly followed by an outstanding long-range strike from Yaya Toure. Sergio Aguero, arguably the best player on the pitch, made it three with a shot on the turn four minutes later. The player 23-year-old Olympiacos star Vladimir Weiss gave the PSG defence some disconcerting moments in Piraeus, constantly

Alex Teixeira

switching flanks and directly taking on his opposite number. In addition, the diminutive Slovakian winger nabbed a delightful goal after 25 minutes, first ridding himself of the attentions of Maxwell, then nutmegging Marquinhos, dribbling round Thiago Silva and calmly slipping the ball past Salvatore Sirigu in the Parisian net. The goal Galatasaray 0-1 Real Madrid (Isco 33) Effortlessly cushioning a long crossfield pass from Angel Di Maria on his left foot, Isco exhibited a cool head and fine technique to skip away from his marker and slot the ball firmly into the back of the net off the base of the right post. The stat 4 – The minute in which the first goal of this year’s group stage was scored, Bayern Munich’s David Alaba doing the honours via a looping long-range free kick. The record for the quickest goal notched on Matchday 1 still belongs to Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato, however, who netted for AC Milan against Barcelona on 13 September 2011 after just 24 seconds.anager is very keen to have Wayne as a key part of the club’s drive to retain the Premier League trophy. That aim was fulfilled. — FIFA

54—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

PDP insists on Nwoye as Ukachukwu kicks BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN & HENRY UMORU

HE People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has insisted that Mr. Tony Nwoye remains the candidate of the party despite the interim court order obtained by Mr. Nicholas Ukachukwu to replace him in the position in the gubernatorial election. It also emerged yesterday that Nwoye has filed a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar asking him to investigate and arrest Ukachukwu for allegedly forging documents and using same to obtain the court order against Nwoye. Ukachukwu had obtained a judgment disqualifying Nwonye as candidate on Tuesday, the deadline for the submission of nominations by parties. The court presided over by Justice S. A Aliyu held that Nwoye was not eligible to participate in the August 24 primary election conducted under the supervision of Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State. Declaring Ukachukwu the candidate of the PDP for the election on the ground that he was the only qualified aspirant in the said primary election,

•Nwoye

•Ukachukwu

Justice Aliyu noted that Ukachukwu scored the highest number of votes cast at the election, just as Nwoye was restrained from parading himself as the candidate of the PDP for the election. However, the PDP legal team led by J.K. Gadzama, SAN in a letter to INEC insisted that Nwoye remained the party’s candidate for the November 16 election. In his letter addressed to the Chairman of

INEC, he stated, that Section 33 of the Electoral Act provided that only death or voluntary withdrawal could allow a political party to substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted to the commission. “It is worthy of note that this judgment has come exactly on the deadline for the submission of candidates' names to your esteemed Commission by political parties. The Peoples Democratic Party had since met

up with this deadline, by submitting the name of its candidate, Hon. Tony Nwoye to your Commission, as well as his duly completed nomination forms acknowledged by the Commission. In addition, the party has filed a Notice of Appeal against the said judgment as well as a Motion for Stay of Execution at the Court of Appeal. By this very fact, all matters relating to this judgment are meant to be stayed. In other words, the status quo must be maintained pending the Appeal”. He also stated emphatically that, "based on the outcome of the primaries conducted by the party, it issued a certificate of return to Hon. Tony Nwoye and submitted his name to the Commission in respect of the Anambra State Governorship Election. The effect in law is that Nicholas Ukachukwu is bound by the list wherein the name of Hon. Tony Nwoye was submitted and the party cannot retract that list or substitute the name of Hon. Tony Nwoye with that of Nicholas Ukachukwu unless Hon. Tony Nwoye withdraws his candidature or dies. This is the purport of sections 31(1), 33 and 35 of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended). “As can be seen by

Obi’s community sanctions alleged impersonator BY VINCENT UJUMADU

HE Traditional ruler of Agulu, Igwe Innocent Obodoakor, has said that his community has sanctioned those who impersonated him at Labour Party, LP, political rally to flag-off the campaign of Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah in Onitsha last week. One Chief Julius Iloh, from Obe village in Agulu, along with two other persons, had in Onitsha, mounted the podium where he claimed to be the traditional ruler of Agulu during which he accused Governor Obi of not doing anything in his community in his eight years as governor. But Igwe Obodoakor, who addressed reporters in Awka, said the man who posed as the traditional ruler of Agulu was an ordinary titled man, adding that the man and others who accompanied him to Onitsha have been suspended from attending functions organized in the town, pending the determination of the issue by the Agulu General Assembly. The royal father wondered why people should go to the extent of impersonating a traditional ruler in their quest for easy money and pointed out

that royal fathers, by virtue of their position, do not play politics or be involved in political rallies. According to him, contrary to claims by those involved, Governor Obi more than any

other governor in Anambra State, had recorded unprecedented achievements that had remained a source of pride to the people of Agulu and Anambra State in general. He said that the governor has

upheld the policy of equity and fairness in the distribution of democracy dividends across the state, noting that his community has received its own fair share of democracy dividends.

Okorie’s UPP unveils guber candidate BY GABRIEL EWEPU

HE United Progressives Party, UPP, has also joined the race to capture Government House, Awka by unveiling its gubernatorial candidate. The Chief Chekwas Okorie led party presented Professor Benedict Ndubuisi Akanegbu as its governorship candidate, as Prince Ogochukwu Akanegbu voluntarily announced his withdrawal from being the party’s governorship candidate after a National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting at the party’s National Secretariat. Okorie said that the party decided to present Akanegbu, because the party was poised to salvage Anambra State and give her a rightful place in the country ’s socio-economic development. Okorie said: “Akanegbu will make Anambra State to take her

•Okorie rightful place in Nigeria. I have done it before with my hand and God used it to raise a governorship candidate that broke the barrier in Anambra State in 2003, because then all the state in the South-east were governed by PDP governors, but Anambra was the one that broke the barrier and it was not a money-bag, he did not even have

the profile we are presenting today. “As grassroots mobilisers the Anambra people voted for him, but he paid us back in a manner that only God will take care of him." Today, God has given us another opportunity, we have found a gem and we are confident that we will get a partner to build UPP and not a monster to eat all of us. “We thank God that He led us this far and when we are coming out, we are coming out with the best that Anambra can boast of. I know as a party that has as its candidate, somebody who has a tremendous baggage of credibility, now we are presenting the ‘political messiah’.

all and sundry, Hon. Tony Nwoye is still very much alive and has not withdrawn his candidacy for the said elections. PDP's submission of his name is therefore, final unless any of the two instances cited above occurs.” In other words, once a candidate has been nominated by his party and his name submitted to the Commission, that is the end of the issue of the nomination of the candidate unless he withdraws or dies. Not even the court can stop such nomination. Meanwhile Nwoye has through his counsel, Barr. Ernest Nwoye filed a petition to the Inspector General of Police praying him to invite Ukachukwu to explain how and why he got allegedly forged documents and allegedly used same to sue and obtain judgement from the court against Tony Nwoye.

APC alerts security agencies on destruction of billboards BY CHARLES KUMOLU

HE Anambra State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has called on security agencies to investigate the alleged destruction of campaign billboards of the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Chris Ngige by people suspected to be members of the mainstream All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA. In a statement by its publicity secretary, Mr. Okelo Madukaife, the party described the incident as an act of intimidation, adding that voters in the state would not be deterred in their choice of APC. The party also stated that Anambra people have resolved to return Ngige as governor. It said “let word go out from here to all security agencies, to all concerned Ndi Anambra, to Nigeria and the world about plans to influence the outcome of the November 16, 2013 election undemocratically, by installing a stooge and factional candidate of APGA." The APC also alleged that some bill boards of the APC candidate “Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige, have been brought down surreptitiously and posters extensively torn by hoodlums believed to be members of a faction of APGA in a desperate attempt to create fear in the mind of the voters in Anambra State who are decided on where their votes would go.’’

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56—Vanguard, THURSD AY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 THURSDA

Free eye care for Ogun residents

Female condom:

Nigerian women yet to embrace usage BY CHIOMA OBINNA

S the world observed the 2013 Global Female Condom Day, the Female Condom is yet to find its place in the hearts of many Nigerian women. Statistics show that less than two percent of Nigerian women are using condoms. Female condoms are made from thin, soft plastic called polyurethane and are worn inside the birth canal to prevent semen getting to the womb. When used correctly during vaginal sex, female condoms help to protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. In a statement to mark the Day, the United State Agency International Development, USAID, said the day was designed to increase awareness, access, and use of female condoms. According to the statement, “as the only woman-initiated product capable of offering dual protection from pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, the female condom is a vital tool to protect women's reproductive health and combat the HIV pandemic, ultimately helping to create an AIDS-free generation.”

• Used correctly and consistently, female condoms are 95 percent effective. They help to protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Programme Manager, New HIV Vaccines and Microbicides Advocacy Society, Dr. Florita Durueke, said lack of awareness and inaccessibility are some of the challenges to use of female condoms in the country. Durueke, who spoke at a recent forum in Lagos, said that the cost and technical application were some of the other issues discouraging the use of condoms among women. The female condom is designed to empower women and girls make informed repro-

ductive health choices. Resident Representative, UNFPA, Ms. Victoria Akyeampong, observed that it was essential to provide access to female condoms for women in Nigeria. “Unlike other methods of contraceptive, the female condom is unpopular and often overlooked by end users. Findings from Nigeria’s Demographic Health Surveys reveals that 35 percent of unmarried woimen use the male condom in contrast to 0.2 percent who use the female condom. Findings show that Nigerian

women are yet to understand the importance of female condom while many have never set their eyes on the only vital tool capable of protecting women's reproductive health. The United State Food and Drug Administration, FDA, had approved the second generation of the female condom (FC2). Made of nitrile (synthetic latex), the design and appearance of the The World Health Organisation, WHO, concluded in 2006 that the FC2 was comparable to the FC1 in both safety and effectiveness, and when used consistently and correctly, female condoms are just as effective as male condoms. Experts also believe that promoting the female condom is a cost-effective intervention, particularly given the high cost of HIV treatment and other prevention interventions, as well as when the use of male condoms is not a vi-able option. Meanwhile, the UNFPA, recently donated four million female condoms to the Society for Family Health as part of universal access to female condom. Used correctly and consistently, female condoms are 95 percent effective.

GUN State residents with eye defects have been enjoined to visit the nearest State Hospital to get their eyes screened to enable them benefit from the forthcoming free surgical expedition at the State Hospital Ijaiye, Abeokuta. A statement by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, indicated that the annual eye surgical expedition would hold from October 9-15, 2013. Screening is presently on at the State Hospitals in Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital,OOUTH, Sagamu, Ota and Ilaro. The Commissioner who observed that surgery will be performed for patients with cataract and pterygium said the free expedition is in collaboration with the Indo-eye Care Foundation and Rotary International. He noted that the two nongovernmental organisations have been partnering with government to improve the sight of its people. Soyinka urged the residents to seize the opportunity to benefit from the once-in-a-year programme by visiting the nearest State Hospital for eye screening.

COMMON SEXUAL PROBLEMS AND THEIR NOVELTY BASED SOLUTIONS (ADVERTORIAL)

Y relationship sex life is poor. My fiancée hardly ejaculates and lasts too long during sex. Infact he has to masturbate before he can ejaculate. He is very worried. And for me, I don’t get wet for long. What can I use to get wet? Hoping to hear from you soonest – Ify Dear Ify, your fiancée is experiencing what is known as retarded ejaculation or inhibited ejaculation. It is a rare form of sexual dysfunction among men but some people experience it. The severity levels of retarded ejaculation also vary from mild to moderate, severe and very severe. Your fiancée’s case ranks as severe because he can ejaculate but only through masturbation. In very severe cases of inhibited ejaculation, no semen comes out at all. This is also known as retrograde ejaculation when semen is ejaculated internally instead of externally. There are physiological and psychological causes of this condition. Physiologically, retarded ejaculation can be caused by thyroid disorders, pituitary disorders, prostrate surgery gone wrong, pelvic surgery gone wrong and trauma to the pelvic nerves responsible for orgasms. Drug and alcohol use can also cause it. The psychological causes include insufficient sleep, distraction and performance anxiety. Another main cause of delayed ejaculation is the adaptation to a certain masturbating technique. Most men masturbate more often than they have actual intercourse and the body can get more used to ejaculation through masturbation than through vaginal intercourse therefore leading to retarded ejaculation. So as you can see, the possible causes are many. Only your doctor can determine his own exact cause. But the solution lies between sex therapy and hypnosis. And for your own problem, to get wet and enjoy sex just requires an orgasm gel and a vibrator. Ask for the Mood Arousal Gel and the 7 inch Vibrating Jelly Dong. That will fix your situation easily – Uche I am 58 years old and my sexual desire and performance is no longer what it used to be. Sometimes I get an erection and sometimes I don’t. After several recommendations from friends of mine who have

used some of your products, I decided to take one capsule they gave me which they called Zen Power or something like that and I like it. For the first time in years, I had a very strong erection and had sex three times in one night. Please I am interested in this Zen Power. I really need it. Thanks – Samuel Dear Samuel, the Power Zen Gold supplement you just experienced is one of the best sexual enhancement pills known to man. In addition to giving you very hard erections and ensuring your erection never gets weak, it also enlarges the penis, stops premature ejaculation and increases semen volume and thickness. With Power Zen Gold, you can have nonstop intercourse for hours and you will always get another erection a few minutes after ejaculating. You can call the numbers here to order it or you can order it from www.zeevirtualmedia.com – Uche I have a small penis. I am dying of embarrassment and cannot undress in front of my girlfriend. I hear that penis enlargement takes time but I need something that gives quick results - Oscar Dear Oscar, one trick that men with small penises can use to look bigger involves the use of a penis sleeve during intercourse. It is like a condom but it is thicker, longer and reusable. It makes the penis look big, two inches longer and fuller in the vagina. So get the Stud Extender sleeve. You can also use an instant penis enlargement cream to look bigger during intercourse. An example of this is the Liquid Sex Dick Plumper Cream. But for more permanent enlargement, use Max Size capsules – Uche Hello sir. That Power Zen Gold you suggested is very powerful. I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much Ezenwa You are welcome. That’s it for today. Adults in need of these treatments/novelties can call 08027901621 or 08051924159 or any other number here to order or they can order online at www.zeevirtualmedia.com. Zee Virtual Media delivers to you wherever you are in Nigeria. For enquiries send your emails to custserv@zeevirtualmedia.com - Uche Edochie, MD, Zee Virtual Media.

Vanguard, THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 —57

Niger welcomes armed US Drones N

IGER would welcome the deployment of armed U.S. drones to the West African country to help in its battle against an armed Islamist threat and drug trafficking in the Sahara, Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum said on Wednesday. Washington deployed about 100 military personnel and unarmed surveillance drones in Niger after a French-led military operation in January destroyed an al Qaeda enclave in neighboring northern Mali. Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou’s government, concerned not only by the presence of Islamists but also the trafficking of arms, cocaine and cannabis in the north, wants to further reinforce military ties with the country’s Western partners. “Our cooperation is giving good results but it is not enough. It needs to be reinforced and rethought at every level: both our capacity to collect intelligence and to conduct operations,” Bazoum told Reuters in an interview. France has sent Special Forces to Niger to protect uranium mines, operated by its state-controlled nuclear energy company Areva, which are crucial to French electricity supplies. But it does not have armed drones.

Used for protecting American troops in largely uncontested air space in Iraq and Afghanistan and killing terrorism suspects in Pakistan and Yemen, drones can be remotely piloted from bases in the United States. Drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen have increased dramatically under President Barack Obama and the pilotless aerial vehicles have become a key part of the fight against al Qaeda. Niger has reinforced its border patrols with an additional 3,000 troops but needs help on equipment to take on groups of armed traffickers operating near the border regions with Mali, Algeria and lawless southern Libya. An EU mission is training security forces to tackle the threat but their efficacy is constrained by a

Syria: Russia opposes wording of UN resolution

•Obama lack of aircraft, vehicles and weapons. “Drug trafficking is destabilizing because the huge amount of money in the hands of these groups means they exceed our army’s capacity in terms of weapons,” Bazoum said. Gangs also used their profits to corrupt local authorities and security forces, he said.

West African man will not be released on bail before he goes to trial on U.S. charges that he tried to broker a deal to ship uranium ore to Iran. A criminal complaint charges 33-year-old Patrick Campbell of Freetown, Sierra Leone, with attempting to violate the U.S. embargo against Iran. A magistrate judge ordered Campbell jailed Wednesday without bail.

He will enter a plea next week. Authorities say Campbell was working with a South Florida-based broker on a deal to ship tons of uranium ore to Iran.

•Kenyatta Kenyatta has so far cooperated with the court, but the ICC case has caused some diplomatic awkwardness — most notably when US President Barack Obama skipped

The ore can be used for nuclear fuel or weapons. It turned out the broker was actually an undercover U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Gunman’s mother apologizes to Navy Yard victims

HE mother of Aaron Alexis said Wednesday that she does not

Kenyatta dither on attending UN Assembly ENYAN President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is facing trial for alleged crimes against humanity, is scheduled to attend the United Nations General Assembly next week but has yet to confirm he will do so. “He is scheduled to attend. A decision will be taken at the weekend,” Kenyatta’s spokesman Manoah Esipisu told AFP, without giving further details. The Kenyan leader is due to appear in November at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for his alleged role in the violence that followed the disputed 2007 elections, in which more than 1,100 people were killed and several hundred thousand displaced. His deputy, Kenyan Vice President William Ruto, is currently on trial in The Hague on similar charges.

Despite the presence in Mali of some 3,000 French troops and the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA), to which Niger contributes troops, trafficking routes across West Africa remain wide open, from Mauritania on the Atlantic coast, through Algeria and Mali, into Niger and Libya, Bazoum said.

No bail for African in Iran-Uranium plot

Kenya during his African tour this year. The United States has condemned plans by Sudan President Omar al-Bashir to attend the UN meeting because he is wanted by the ICC for genocide in Darfur. Although the UN headquarters in New York is extra-territorial, Sudanese citizens would need a visa to enter the United States to get there. Kenyatta, however, is in a different situation in that he has promised he will turn up for the start of his trial on November 12.

know why her son opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard, killing 12 people, but she is glad he can no longer hurt anyone else. Cathleen Alexis read a brief statement Wednesday inside her New York home, her voice shaking. She did not want to appear on camera and did not take questions from a reporter. “I don’t know why he did what he did and I’ll never be able to ask him why. Aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to anyone, and for that I am glad,” Cathleen Alexis said. “To the families of the victims, I am so so very sorry that this has happened. My heart is broken.”

Russia accuses UN of bias in chemical attack report

USSIA has dis missed a UN report on the August 21 sarin gas attack in Damascus as “biased and one-sided” and said Syria had given it evidence that rebels were responsible. The Russian deputy for-

Briefs

eign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said on Wednesday that his country was disappointed with the UN report published this week, saying it was selective and had ignored other episodes. “We are unhappy about

this report, we think that the report was distorted, it was one-sided, the basis of information upon which it was built is insufficient,’’ he said after talks with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

HE five permanent UN Security Council members have begun talks on a Western-drafted UN Security Council resolution to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons. The discussion of the draft resolution to be put before the 15-nation Security Council was thwarted by disagreements over the wording of the proposal as American, British, French, Russian and Chinese diplomats met in New York on Tuesday. Nearly an hour of ini-

tial talks ended with an agreement to meet again on Wednesday, diplomats said. It remained unclear when a vote on the resolution could take place, UN diplomats said. The US-British-French draft is intended to support an American-Russian deal reached in Geneva last Saturday calling for Syria to account for its chemical weapons within a week and for the removal and destruction of the arsenal by mid-2014.

Uganda deports Somalia peacekeepers over scam

GANDA has re called the commander of its peacekeeping force in Somalia and almost two dozen other officers suspected of involvement in a scam to steal food and fuel and sell it on the black market. Lt Colonel Paddy Ankunda, military spokesman, said the officers had been placed under “open arrest”, which will restrict their movements pending the investigation. If the alleged racket is proven, it would underscore how embedded corruption, including among senior officers, is within a military infamous for taking the pay of “ghost soldiers” and money for he-

licopters which turned out to be junk. “(Brigadier Michael) Ondoga and 23 others have been brought back from Somalia,” said Ankunda, spokesman for the Uganda People’s Defence Force. “Their travel documents have been withdrawn as investigations into allegations of selling fuel and food in Somalia commence.” Ugandan troops form the backbone of the African Union’s 18,000-strong peacekeeper mission in Somalia which has spearheaded the offensive against al Qaeda-linked militants in the Horn of Africa country since 2007.

UN Inspectors back to Syria soon

HE chief U.N. chemical weapons inspector says his team will return to Syria “within weeks” to complete the investigation it had started before the Aug 21 gas attack of other alleged chemical weapons attacks in the country. Ake Sellstrom told The Associated Press Wednesday the team will evaluate “allegations of chemical weapons use from both sides, but per-

haps mainly from the Syrian government’s side.” He said he doesn’t currently think there is a need for more investigations of the Aug. 21 attacks, but said “if we receive any additional information it will be included next time we report.” He declined to specify where the inspectors would go or which specific events they would look more closely at.

Racism: Italian judiciary tasked on Kyenge

TALIAN Council President has been asked to commit judicial proceedings against those responsible for the racial remarks against Mrs Cécile Kyenge, an Italian black minister . The letter from peititionsite.com addressed to the council on June 23 inviting, report from the site yesterday

said. Kyenge, a Black Italian woman, is an active and long-time activist for human rights, fierce defender of the most vulnerable people. Since April 2013, she was appointed as Minister of the Italian Government in charge of integration. This is the first black woman appointed to this position in Italy.

58— Vanguard, THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

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Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013‘—59

NAFEST 2013 to promote peaceful co-existence

to 21st September 2013 . As usual, a whole lot of activities has been lined up to actualize the theme of the festival, which is regarded as one of the biggest cultural events in Africa they include; Traditional Dance Music, Traditional Furnished Apartment, Children’s Story Telling, Essay Writing and Painting Competitions. Other events are Arts and Crafts Exhibition and Traditional Wrestling, Book Fair, the Cultural Market and a Colloquium component. The minister noted that the seven days festival which features all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capi-

tal Territory (FCT) would no doubt “encourage healthy interaction that will lead to the building of bridges of understanding, harmony and peace, needed, more than before, in our quest to transform our economy.” According to him, “We believe that the Cultural Market will further enhance the exchange of ideas among our craftsmen and women in the production, marketing and promotion of cultural products and services, thus enhancing the economic viability of the cultural sector, increasing productivity, empowering our people and creating jobs.

Who will be the guests?

HO will be the guests in ‘five star hotel’ built in the National Theatre Complex ? .My guess is as good as yours. Businessmen, tourist, politicians. Let’s stop there,suppose all these people want to unwind before they turn in after the day’s work out?. What do they turn to before they turn in? Nothing, nothing whatsoever. Nothing, because the stage has been buried as a thing of the past.The 5000 seater Main Bowl of the National Theater has been unused for two decades! That would have been of interest to the private producers. The other 600 seater theatre auditoria are unrealistic and make no sense and holds no hope for the producer to invest N500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira), for six hundred seater auditorium to entertain the masses.What do you charge as gate fee to recover that amount per night?. So no private proucer would touch the National Theatre for business.e So with no business, the management made sure the coast is clear for hotel business and the clientele is mobile and ready. Are we promoting culture or destroying the Arts? Without the Arts, Tourism is a ‘desert walk’. There is so much that could be done to keep the arts alive and vibrant and swell the economy of this nation as it has done for America, Japan, India, Italy, where the arts provide so much and attracts a lot. I suggested in my open letter to president Goodluck Jonathan while thanking him for his interest, support and generosity to the Arts sector, that the money should go towards the building of a National Hall of Fame. This singular move

will provide work for thousands of Artists, e.g Sculptors, Painters, Architects,Interior Decorators,Fine and Graphic Artists, Movie Makers ,Actors, Dancers,Musicians on regular basis for at least five years. Opportunity for restructuring of the industry as it concerns the practitioners. The Stage which is the Cradle of Entertainment and performing Art will get a chance to embrace the sophistication of Theatre Traditions as the American’s Commercial stage has done with Broadway,and off Broadway, and off Broadway that gross billions of dollars from ticket sales and bookings daily. Regular shows from several theatres feed the screen with seasoned actors producing stunning, profound and therapeutic shows. The screen, Big and Small are kept busy with artists protected by the powerful ‘’Equity’’. The Actors Union of Eu-

By CALEB AYANSINA HE Federal Government has reiterated its determination to exploit virtues of cultural heritage and other tourism potentials in the country, to foster mutual understanding and peaceful co-existence among the populaces. The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke stated this in Abuja, while briefing Newsmen on the NAFEST 2013 tagged: “Culture, Peace and National Transformation”. The 27th edition of National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST 2013) kicked off in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital on the 14th and will run

It is a pity that Nigeria has not been interested enough in the Arts to organize and harness the resources

rope and America. It is a pity that Nigeria has not been interested enough in the Arts to organize and harness the recources.Nigeria loses trillions of Naira every year by not exporting our culture around the world. That could be done if the Culture Minister could liaise with our Ambassadors all over the countries they serve, performing Artists could also be invited round other parts.Sculptors and musician’s tours linked with other embassies in other part of the world.What better way to introduce the country to the world?.And perhaps a better and honourable way to make the extra from travels and allowances rather than planning contracts for hotels and adulterating culture. There are several other ways to improve the arts sophistication ready for the commercial demands of today’s world art market. The world needs the artist more so for therapeutic reasons as well as information about her people and style. The country Nigeria herself needs the artists to continue the nation building, information and entertainment which I describe as Edutainment.

To be continued

60—Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Bits

NSITF steps up implementation of employee’s compensation scheme

NLC owes Labour transport workers 7 months salaries

BY VICTOR AHIUMAYOUNG

Employees compensation Represented by one of the Board members, Mr. Aderemi Adegboyega, she expressed delight that the theme of this year’s discussion focused on the implementation of the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA 2010): “the successes recorded so far and the challenges being faced towards implementing the scheme.” According to her “It is equally important for us to hear the views of the employers and employees on our performance to enable us adjust our methods for better service delivery.” Olejeme was particularly impressed with members of the Committee on the NSITFNECA Intervention Project for working so hard at ensuring that this year’s annual ceremony had been expanded and improved upon, saying “I am glad to note that unlike last year when the OSH Audit covered only 25 employers in Lagos area alone, this year ’s Audit and Award has gone be-

Munir Abubakar, NSITF MD, Mr. Segun Osinowo, NECA Director General and Dr. Clement Illoh, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Labour and Productivity, at the event. yond that by covering employers/companies in four other geo-political zones, involving 100 companies/employers." "This is indeed commendable and it goes to show that the ECS Scheme is living up to its promise of serving all employers in every part of the country. As regards the OSH Team that carried out the exercise, I want to personally add my appreciation and commendation to them for a job well done. This is in addition to the earlier commendation they must have received from the Director-General of NECA.” The Chairman recalled that “last year, I assured that we at the Board of NSITF would continue to do whatever it takes to ensure that the ECS not only succeeds but that it meets the expectations of all employers. We are still on that promise and will do everything possible to concretize it. I would in this regard, like to re-emphasis that we are willing and ready at all times to work with NECA to enable us serve employers better.”

Investment committee “As part of our efforts at ensuring accountability and transparency in the operation of the ECS, we recently inaugurated the Independence Investment Committee as provided by Sections 62 and 63 of the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA 2010). The Committee is being headed by no other personality than the Director-General of NECA, Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo. Its functions include carrying out investment surveys in the economy and drawing up a list of safe investments; it will also initiate

or carry out independent assessment of the investment activities of the Board.” According to her, “It will in addition, advice the Board on the investment of any money standing to the credit of the Fund. I am glad to state that apart from NECA, other members of the Committee are drawn from MAN, CBN, NLC, TUC, PENCOM, Investment Promotion Council, NACCIMA, NASME, and so on. The Committee has had its inaugural meeting and has furthermore mapped out strategies for implementing its assignment for the next one year.” Also, speaking, the Man-

AST week, representa tives of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trustfund, NSITF and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA, met in Lagos for the second award ceremony of the NSITF/NECA Safe workplace intervention project as well as an interactive session with participating employers on the implementation of the Employee’ Compensation Scheme, ECS, in the past one year. The event afforded the management of the scheme an opportunity to update employers and other participants on the implementation of the Employees Compensation Scheme and future plans for the scheme . The leadership of NECA and affiliate employers organisations used the opportunity to seek clarification on the scheme. Addressing participants, Chairman, Board of Directors, NSITF, Dr. Ngozi Olejeme, said the event should not be seen as just the donation of ambulances, accident prevention equipment, certificate and plagues, but more as an occasion to meet and interact with employers in order to account for management stewardship under the ECS.

tation. He added that no fewer than 935 applications for settlement of claims by employers were received, while the fund had settled about 567, explaining that the remaining had one issue or the other that hindered the settlement of their claims On his part, Director-General of NECA, Mr. Osinowo assured that employers would continue to support the scheme and ensure its success. He told the gathering that had been moving away from the orthodox role of the voice of employers to providing social responsibility such as providing technical and vocation-

As part of our efforts at ensuring accountability and transparency in the operation of the ECS, we recently inaugurated the Independent Investment Committee

aging Director of the scheme, Alhaji Munir Abubakar, was pleased that more employers are embracing the scheme voluntarily as the management continues to explore the option of ‘morasuation’ for the time being rather than sanction. According to him, by August while no fewer than 7000 employers had keyed into the scheme, about 500,000 workers had been covered by the scheme, stressing that apart from other benefits and compensation paid, those earning benefit for life have started to receiving it. While answering participants questions and clarifying issues raised, he assured that the scheme was working out strategies to train more field workers to step up implemen-

al skills for the development of the youths, ensuring improved safety at work as typified by the NSITF/NECA Safe work intervention and providing shelter for members and employees through a partnership with Federal Mortgaged Bank. Declaring the programme open, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, promised that the ministry would continue to give critical support for the implementation of ECS. Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Clement Illoh, Chief Wogu said such support included awareness creation and sensitization about ECA and ECS, training and capacity development, safety and healthcare, legislative reform where necessary among others.

Workers of Labour Transport City Services have not been paid their salaries in the last seven months. Labour Vanguard gathered that the workers have been going through untold hardship and are finding it difficult to take care of their families. It was also gathered that all efforts by the workers to get the leadership of NLC to pay their salaries have so far yielded to no positive result. One of the workers who spoke with Labour Vanguard, said "please, help plead with the leaders of NLC to pay our salaries. For seven months now, they have not paid us any kobo. We have been going through hardship and pains. We can no longer meet our responsibilities to our families. We can't even pay our rents. It has been very tough." Efforts to speak with the either the chairman of the board of Labour City Transport Services, or other leaders of congress yielded no result. However an official of NLC who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the transport company had been inactive for a long time and had not been generating money. According to him, because of the new buses that the congress had acquired, the workers were not disengaged, explaining that when buses began operations, more hands would be needed. He said:“there are about 150 buses already in different depots in Lagos. The major problem why the buses are not on the roads is that there are no routes to ply. Congress is waiting for Governor Babatunde Fashola to allocate routes to the buses. Until routes are allocated, the buses cannot be on the roads. Do not forget that Lagos State is also into this transport business. I am confident that once the buses are on the roads, the workers will be paid. It only requires a little patience on the part of the workers. They will certainly be paid.”

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Vanguard, THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 — 63

FIFA demands play-off venues

Babayaro leads superstars to play for life

RIENDS Africa on Tuesday unveiled the 2nd Edition of its World AIDS Day ‘Superstars Play for Life’ anti-stigma and discrimination campaign. This campaign designed to create awareness about HIV/AIDS will hold on Saturday, 30th November 2013 at the Campus Mini Stadium, Onikan, Lagos. The novelty football campaign leverages the convening power of sports to create a platform that offers a vantage point for advocating against the stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/ AIDS. This flexible avenue provides an opportunity to

IFA has asked Nigeria and other African countries involved in the World Cup qualifying play-off to nominate a venue, match-day and kick-off time for their encounters by Friday. The first-leg of the play-offs are expected to hold between October 11 - 15, while the return legs are scheduled for November 15 - 19, after which the aggregate winners will book a place at next year ’s World Cup in Brazil. Nigeria have been paired against Ethiopia in what many see as an easy draw for the African champions. Nigeria have met Ethiopia on seven occasions, and have won four of those encounters including a 2-0 victory in the final group game of this year ’s African Cup of Nations.

CELEBRATION . . . Super Eagles players celebrate after one of their World Cup qualifying matches. They will now play Ethiopia in the last qualifying match for a place in the World Cup.

1st Smokin Hills golf tourney debuts BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

HE maiden edition of the Smokin Hills Invitational Golf tournament tees off this weekend at the Smokin Hills Golf Resort, IlaraMokin, Ondo State. The two-day golf event, tagged Ilara-Mokin

Micho Continues from BP champions were placed in Group B (in Cape Town) alongside Zimbabwe, Morocco and Burkina Faso during the draws made at the CAF headquarters in Cairo this afternoon. “This is a Group of death and it means we must take all details and prepare well for the event. It is a very competitive group and you cannot underrate any team,” said the Serb. Micho, who has handled local teams in Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Africa and Tanzania before and the Rwanda national side, however added that they must come out of the group and make it to the knock out stages. Speaking about Zimbabwe, the Cranes coach said they will have to take them seriously because they ejected another good side Zambia to qualify. “Morocco is also trying to build a team for the 2015 C M Y K

Afcon, while some of the players for the Burkina Faso played in the last Afcon and therefore this makes the group very competitive,” said Micho. It will be the second time Uganda features at the CHAN event after having a miserable outing at the 2011 event in Khartoum, Sudan where they lost all the three games. “We need to perform better that the previous time and prove that we are a serious football playing team,” added Micho The coach also said Group D that has the 2009 champions DR Congo, Mauritania, Gabon and Burundi is the easier group. Ethiopia who are the other nation who will represent the Cecafa region are placed in Group C alongside Ghana, Congo Brazzaville and Libya, while hosts South Africa are Group A with Mozambique, Nigeria and Mali.

2013, according to the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Dr. Ayo Ojo, is the first of its kind to hold at the Smokin Hills golf resort, which on its own offers a spectacular and unique golf course, whose features distinguish it from its peers. “It is a compelling ‘must visit haven’ to world renowned golfers and fun-loving adventurous people all over the globe”. While the tournament tees off at 7am on Saturday, organisers informed Sports Vanguard that players and guests are to arrive at 10am on Friday while a cocktail party holds in

the evening of same day. On the reward for the participants, the organisers said that N4.5m has been earmarked for deserving players. Of the said amount, professional golfers are to share N2m in cash while the remaining amount will go for trophies and crystal for amateur golfers who excel in the tournament, which is to hold annually. Ilara-Mokin is the home of Elizade University and touted as the fastest growing town in Ondo State and the newest spectacle in golf in this part of the world.

Home Eagles Continues from BP Wednesday, the Eagles were also drawn to play Mali’s other Eagles in the first match, with the games taking place at Green Point Stadium – one of the venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. South Africa play Mozambique in the tournament’s opening match, at the same venue. Group B will see Zimbabwe, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Morocco do battle at the

Athlone Stadium, also in Cape Town. Ghana play CongoBrazzaville in the opening match of Group C with Libya and Ethiopia also involved. All the matches will take place at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane will host Group D matches involving Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Burundi and Mauritania.

further educate and empower people with information to help prevent new infections as well as increase access to voluntary counselling, testing and care. The Superstars Play for Life campaign designed to reach over 1 million Nigerians will bring together over 3000 spectators and 300 persons living with HIV to witness the selfless display of renowned football players and Nigeria’s entertainment industry playing against each other to draw attention to the issue.

Nigel leads 50 players to Akpabio Scrabble Classics

URRENT World Scrabble Champion Nigel Richards of Switzerland has confirmed his participation for the 7th Godswill Akpabio International Scrabble Classics. The event which will kick off in Uyo on Tuesday September 25 will also see the participation of four former world champions. The Chairman of the Akwa Ibom Scrabblle Association Pastor Umoh Bassey while addressing the media in Uyo yesterday, said it it was unprecedented in the history of Scrabble

Championships worldwide to see five champions under one roof “….This is enough testimony to the level we have taken the Akpabio Classics to thanks to His Excellency Governor Godswill Akpabio commitment to the development of the game worldwide. “ In addition to the Nigerian players that will troop into Uyo for the Classics, fifty foreign based players have so far registered for the event that will see Competitions in Masters, Veterans, Intermediate and Opens categories.

Ethiopia Continues from BP Eagles against the Wylan Antelopes of Ethiopia. “I have a lot of respect for the Ethiopians and all the teams that made it to the last round of the qualifier and I am certain that it will be tough, unpredictable and exciting for both the so called big teams and the minnows”, he said. Speaking specifically on Ethiopia, Keshi who is on a brief visit to his family in the United States, said he foresees a very difficult opposition in the East Africans, assuring that the Eagles will not disappoint. “The last time we played the Ethiopians it was quite tough and I know when we meet next it’s going to be

the same thing. All we need to do is to be focused, concentrate and pray for good health for our best players and the rest will be history”. Keshi also said all the ten teams that made it to the final qualifier round are equally matched and warned those teams having an air of superiority to beware, because there might be upsets in some of the games if the opposition is underrated. He said his list for first leg encounter in Addis Ababa will be released on time but assured that all the players are aware of the enormous task of qualifying for the World Cup and the team show the stuff it’s made of when the games are held.

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 , 2013

Home Eagles draw S/Africa, Mali •To play in Green Point

World Cup play-offs... Keshi warns!

Ethiopia will be tough, unpredictable

IRST-TIME qualifiers Nigeria will play against host South Africa, Mali and Mozambique in Group A of the 2014 African Nations Championship. At the Draw held in CAF’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on Continues on page 63

EUROPA CUP MATCHES TODAY

•Predicts upsets in final round

UPER Eagles coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has spoken for the first time since the draws for the final round qualifier for the Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifier, (Africa zone), were held last Monday in Cairo, Egypt. The draw pitched the Super

Continues on page 63

•Keshi

v Chernomorets Od v Bordeaux v Pacos Ferreira v Apoel Nicosia v rubin v Ludogorets v Dni Pro v Elfsborg v Kuban v Esbjerg v Swansea v Wigan v Trabzonspor v Genk v Sevilla v Rapid Vienna v Lrg Warsaw v AZ Alkmaar v Shakhtyor Karaganda v Lyon v Slovan Libherec v A Mak’Kala v Tremso v Rijeka

Group A (Cape Town Stadium) – South Africa, Mali, Nigeria, Mozambique Group B (Athlone Stadium, Cape Town) – Zimbabwe, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Morocco Group C (Bloemfontein) – Ghana, Libya, Ethiopia, Congo

Group D (Polokwane) – 6pm DR Congo, Gabon, 6pm 6pm Burundi, Mauritania 6pm 6pm Micho – We’ll 6pm get through 6pm 6pm group of death 6pm 6pm GANDA Cranes 6pm coach Milutin 6pm ‘Micho’ Sredojevic 8:05pm has said although his 8:05pm team has been placed 8:05pm in a group of death for 8:05pm the 2014 Africa 8:05pm Nations Cham8:05pm pionship, they will 8:05pm 8:05pm progress to the later 8:05pm stages. 8:05pm The Cecafa regional 8:05pm Continues on pg 63 8:05pm

FIFA demands play-off venues — P.63 QUICK CROSSWORD

Sudoku TODAY'S

Din Zagreb Frankfurt Fiorentina Maccabi Tel Aviv Maribor PSV Panduril Targu Jiu Saizburg St Gallen Standard Liege Valencia Zulte-Waregem Apollon Limasso Dynamo Kiev Estroril FC Thun Lazio Maccabi Haifa PAOK S’nika Real Betis Freiburg Sh Tiraspol Tottenham Vitoria SC

The groups

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 4 Feeling (5) 7 Rubber (6) 9 Spar (3) 10 Resin (3) 12 Response (5) 13 Appear (4) 15 Cringe (5) 17 Calm (6) 19 Job (4) 20 Lariat (5) 22 Brown (3) 24 Lingered (7) 27 Male (3) 28 Stadium (5) 31 Prima-donna (4) 33 Said (6) 35 Guide (5) 37 Desire (4) 38 Swim (5) 39 Immense (3) 41 Finish (3) 42 Relegate (6) 43 Intended (5)

DOWN 1 Ship (6) 2 Fondle (6) 3 Solidify (3) 4 Tender (4) 5 Apply (5) 6 Vendor (8) 8 Rush (4) 11 Satisfied (9) 14 Network (4) 16 Sport (4) 18 Chamber (4) 21 Turn on (8) 23 Tidy (4) 25 Urn (4) 26 Sketched (4) 29 Reviser (6) 30 Combined (6) 32 Pale (5) 34 Parched (4) 36 Marquee (4) 40 Favourite (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

ACROSS: 1, Slur 4, Sag 6, Cast 9, Own 10, Schedule 11, Veil 14, Nil 16, Brief 19, Studious 21, Bunch 23, Scrounge 24, Tardy 27, Hag 31, Soar 33, Ambition 34, Sit 35, Rely 36, Tie 37, Bury.

DOWN: 2, Lack 3, Reel 4, Spurious 5, Glen 6, Cover 7, Awe 8, Snipe 12, Asset 13, Buyer 14, Nib 15, Lunch 17, Inane 18, Foyer 20, Scramble 22, Hog 25, Arose 26, Dirty 28, Gait 29, Stub 30, Sour 36, Ail.

How to Play Sudoku

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number). Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row. No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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