Yar'Adua, Jonathansquandered N10.6trn - Ezekwesili

...towards a better life for the people

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VOL. 25: NO. 61804

We believe we can beat Zambia •Pg.52

— Yobo

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

N150

•Pg.6 PDP 'll soon explode, Clark warns

•Berates OBJ, PDP govs

Yar'Adua, Jonathan squandered N10.6trn "Where did all that money go? Where is the accountability for the use of both resources and the additional several hundred dollars realized from oil sale by the two administrations that have governed our nation in the last five years? How were these resources applied or more appropriately misapplied? Tragic choices"

— Ezekwesili

BY TONY EDIKE & CHINENYE OZOH

E

NUGU—FORMER Vice President (Africa) at the World Bank and Minister under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s

administration, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, yesterday said that both the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and his successor, Goodluck Jonathan’s regimes ‘’squandered’’ $67 billion (about N11 trillion) oil money left in Continues on page 5

13% oil derivation fund war... •P.7

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DONU KOGBARA: •P. 17

Mr & Mrs

COMMISSIONING—From right, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, ACN National Chairman; Mrs. Funso Amosun, Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State and Aremo Segun Osoba during the commissioning of Ibara/Oke-Sokori, fly-over (inset) in Abeokuta, yesterday. Photo: Wumi Akinola. More pix on Page 15.

Our colleague killed 3 •P.4 NNPC staff — Pipeline vandal C M Y K

Discordant tunes trail Catholic Church, CAN disagreement —P.9

2 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 3

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4—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

most of the structures as cover; to siphon petroleum products from the NNPC pipelines, adding that some house owners in the community have contravened the law by erecting structures close to the pipeline; not minding warnings from government that the place is a danger zone.

He noted: “Structures are not supposed to be erected around here; but as you can see, they even build their houses very close to the pipeline zones. Some of the houses are not yet occupied but there are indications that the vandals come during the night to carry out their nefarious activities, using the buildings as cover. As you can see, the NNPC erected a sign board long time ago warning people of the dangers associated with erecting structures close to NNPC pipelines. But, the sign board had been pulled down and relocated; while residents have encroached the pipeline areas.”

Knowledge of the residents Arepo pipeline vandals...now in police net

AREPO FIRE:

Our colleague killed 3 NNPC staff—Pipeline vandal N

O fewer than four sus pected vandals have been arrested by the Inspector General of Police Special Task Force on Anti Pipeline Vandalism, following Wednesday's explosion on the System 2 B pipeline in Arepo, Ogun State.

One of the vandals on the run, Vanguard gathered, was said to be part of those who allegedly killed staff of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, last year at Arepo. The suspects identified as Wale Onan, Owekeware Olusor Ekperemor, Ebimiru Yeyha and Truce Iroju, were reportedly arrested, yesterday, around Konu and Majidun areas of Ogun State. Vanguard gathered that the vandals intentionally set fire on the ruptured pipeline.

Assistant Commissioner of Police in-charge of the Task Force, Friday Ibadin, who confirmed the arrest, explained that policemen led by the Lagos State Sector Commander, Onaghise Osayande, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, cordoned off the area immediately they received a distress call at about 4.30am. He said they extended C M Y K

their search to Majidun where they spotted some of the vandals in a hideout.

While four of them were arrested, others, managed to escape through the creeks. During interrogation, the suspects reportedly claimed to have set the pipelines ablaze to prevent the ongoing construction of the NNPC-induced platform which would enable the police to have thorough surveillance of the area.

In his confessional statement, one of the suspects, Wale Onan, said: “We learnt that NNPC was mounting a platform close to the creeks and that will be bad business for us. So it was agreed that we should try and stop them, pending when we must have got enough supply that we can manage before another spot is discovered.

Discovery of another spot "On Wednesday, we sneaked in through the river at about 12 midnight and siphoned the product into few gallons. While we were leaving, Yukun lit a cigarette and threw it at the ruptured part and the fire started again. Igbekorowa, asked us to move ahead of him

while himself and Yukun followed behind. But we did not know that Police IG, Mohammed policemen were hiding in the bush.”

Wale added in his confessional the fire is on, those engineers statement that Igbekorowa who cannot erect any structure bemanaged to escape, was among cause of the heat. I never knew the vandals that killed three staff that this was their plan that was of NNPC last year, adding also why we were allowed to fall into that another member of his gang police trap while they escaped.” who was seriously burnt during Meanwhile the Director GenJanuary 13, 2013, explosion On Wednesday, we sneaked in through while siphoning petroleum product at Arepo, was receiving treatthe river at about 12 midnight and siment in Ondo State.

Another suspect Owekeware phoned the product into few gallons. claimed that he never knew that While we were leaving, Yukun lit a they were going to the spot to cause another fire incident. He cigarette and threw it at the ruptured said: “Shortly after that fire outpart and the fire started again break, it was agreed that we should stay away from that spot and look for another area. I was eral of Nigeria Security and Civil operatives and the community to surprised when Igbekorowa Defence Corps, NSCDC, Dr. Ade always give vital information called and asked me to meet him Abolurin, yesterday, accused res- about the activities of the vandals. at the waterside.

He said: “Most of the vandals idents of Arepo community of aidHe convinced me to join them, ing and abating pipeline vandal- have been sent packing from the when we were about leaving; ism in the area. The comman- Niger Delta area; unfortunately Yukun threw a cigarette back to dant who took a walk round the they want to relocate to Ogun and the spot after we were safe from community discovered some Lagos States. May I use this methe fire. I was shocked and they buildings with pipes laid to the dium to inform them that Nigeria explained that NNPC wants to stream where the NNPC pipe- is not a place anybody can shake mount a permanent security post lines are laid. anyhow? So, it is either they coin that area. They said that once Abolurin said that vandals use operate or flee from the country."

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BY EVELYN USMAN, BOSE ADELAJA & IFEANYI OKOLIE

He enjoined residents to cooperate with NSCDC by exposing the vandals; saying there is no way the vandals could operate without the knowledge of the residents, even as he said the corps would acquire updated technology which would assist in the area of surveillance.

“This place is a riverine area, and the vandals have improved on their mode of operation. They have their local equipment and expertise. They make use of kegs, drums and polyethene bags to give the impression that they are fishermen; however, we have made substantial arrests and some of them will soon be prosecuted.

The corps would have to restrategise in the area of surveillance and acquire new devices to ensure the job is done."

Abolurin who said about 15 vandals had been arrested in the past one week in respect of Arepo explosion, called for collaboration with governors, relevant security

,

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—5

POCKET CARTOON

ABANDONED—Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, officials inspecting the unserviceable/abandoned aircraft at the ground yard of General Aviation Terminal, GAT, of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

Yar'Adua, Jonathan squandered N10.6trn Continues from page 1 two separate accounts

by Obasanjo.

Ezekwesili said that the two administrations squandered $45 billion (N7.065 trillion) left in the Foreign Reserve and another $22 billion (about N3.454 trillion) left in the Excess Crude Account, bringing the total amount of money squandered to about $67 billion or N10.619 trillion.

Ezekwesili spoke while delivering the

Convocation Lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN. She noted that Nigerians had lost dignity because of ravaging poverty arising from poor choices of the elite, corruption and lack of investment in education.

Recalling that Nigeria had enjoyed five cycles of oil boom since independence, Ezekwesili decried the failure by the leadership to convert oil income to renewable assets through the development of human capital and other sectors

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

Your success this year is dependent on your cooperation between you and your God. You will do what you need to do for God to do what He has to do.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

T

HIS life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise.

We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing towards it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road.

All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified — Martin Luther Dean Koontz also wrote about becoming in this beautiful phrase: “The more you expect from life, the more your expectations will be fulfilled. By laughing, you do not use up your laughter, but increase your store of it. The more you love, the more you will be loved. The more you give, the more you will receive. Life proves that truth every hour, every day.

And life continues to surprise.” I recall a saying that simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.” Goodness is about what you do to bring upliftment to your life and others.”

through investment in foreign assets as other resource-rich countries did with their oil income.

Her words: “The present cycle of boom of the 2010s is, however, much more vexing than the other four that happened in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. This is because we are still caught up in it and it is more egregious than the other periods in revealing that we learned absolutely nothing from the previous massive failures.

Nigeria learnt nothing from past failures “This is because we are still caught up in it and it is more egregious than the other periods in revealing that we learned absolutely nothing from the previous massive failures.”

The former minister lamented “the squandering of the significant sum of $45billion in foreign reserve account and another $22billion in Excess Crude Account being direct savings from increased earnings from oil that the Obasanjo administration handed over to the successor government in 2007.

“Six years after the administration I served handed over such humongous national wealth to another one most Nigerians but especially the poor continue

to suffer the effects of failing public health and education systems as well as decrepit infrastructure and battered institutions.

“One cannot but ask what exactly does this level of brazen misappropriation of public resources symbolize?

Where did all that money go? Where is the accountability for the use of these resources and the additional several hundred dollars realized from oil sale by the two administrations that have governed our nation in the last five years? How were these resources applied or more appropriately misapplied? Tragic choices.”

Ezekwesili, who was a founding director of Transparency International and also, former Minister of Solid Minerals and later Education however, asked graduating students of UNN and other educated young people to become the Turning Point generation of young and educated Nigerians willing to make the right choices by serving or having a say in political affairs of the country.

She stressed that sorting out the “Nigerian political mess” is critical as there is a strong correlation between politics and economic development.

According to her, university graduates accounted for 4.3% of Nigeria’s youthful population in 2013, a slight in-

crease from the 3% when she graduated in 1985.

She pointed out that this figure compared unfavourably with opportunity for university education in other countries put at 37.5% in Chile, 33.7% for Singapore, 28.2% for Malaysia and 16.5% in Brazil.

Education and development Ezekwesili linked Nigeria’s poor capital formation to the low development of its people through education. “Our lag in tertiary education enrolment is quite revealing and could be interpreted as the basis of the competitiveness gap between the same set of countries and Nigeria.

The countries with the most highly educated citizens are also some of the wealthiest in the world in a study by the OECD published by the Wall Street Journal last year.”

The former Minister added: “The appropriate response to the revenue extracted from our oil over the period 1959 to date would have been to use it in accumulating productive investment in the form of globally competitive human capital and physical asset of all types of infrastructure and institutions. Such translation from one form of non-renewable asset to renewable capital would have been the right replacement strategy for a wasting asset like oil. Unfortunately, unbridled profligacy has made us spend and continue to spend the free money from oil like a tragic Rentier state that we are called in development circles.

“Resource wealth has tragically reduced your nation –my nation – to a mere parable of prodigality,” stressing that “Nothing undignifies nations and their citizens like self-inflicted failure. Our abundance of oil, people and geography should have worked favourably and

placed us on the top echelons of the global economic ladder by now.”

She said that it was up to the younger generation to restore the dignity of Nigeria by making the right choices to lift the nation out of poverty.

Furthermore, describing Nigeria as “a paradox of the kind of wealth that breeds penury,” the former World Bank Executive said “the trend of Nigeria’s population in poverty since 1980 to 2010 suggests that the more we earned from oil the larger the population of poor citizens.”

How poverty rages higher According to her, the figures of the poor in Nigeria grew from 17.1million in 1980, 34.5million in 1985, 39.2million in 1992, 67.1million in 1996, to 68.7million in 2004 and 112.47million in 2010.

Ezekwesili advocated a new vision for Nigeria, expressed simply as “we believe in dignity,” pointing out that the resurgence of entrepreneurial spirit based on hard work and sound education were critical factors to changing Nigeria.

“For Nigeria’s dignity to be restored your generation must build a coalition of young entrepreneurial minds that are ready to ask and respond to the question.

What does it take for nations to become rich?

Throughout economic history, the factors that determine which nations became rich and improved the standard of living of their citizens read like a Dignity Treatise in that they all revolve around the choices that ordinary citizens made in defining the value constructs of their nation”.

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

BY HENRY UMORU

A

BUJA —ELDER statesman and prominent Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, yesterday, raised an alarm that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will soon explode as the governors elected on the platform of the party who are operating under the Nigeria Governors Forum have hijacked it and driving the country to madness with their selfish interests.

Addressing newsmen in his Asokoro residence, Abuja, yesterday, Chief Clark who also tongue-lashed former President Olusegun Obasanjo for allegedly destroying the party, warned that if Nigeria and the PDP must achieve the desired democratic principles, the overbearing nature of the governors at the state who impose candidates must be checked.

He, therefore, called on patriotic Nigerians, the founding fathers of the PDP and the youths to, as a matter of urgency, stand up against what he termed the ugly trend by the governors for the survival of the nation’s democracy.

PDP govs driving Nigeria mad — Cark According to him, the governors were now using the forum to act as an opposition party to President Goodluck Jonathanled Federal Government. He alleged that they deliberately breach with impunity, the Constitution of Nigeria and the constitution of the PDP, adding that the governors elected on the platform of the PDP were driving the country to madness.

The former Federal Commissioner for Information in his fourteen-page address, also accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of being responsible for the problems bedevilling the PDP at the moment, even as he said that with his military antecedents, indoctrination and conceptualization, he destroyed the PDP especially against the backdrop that the former Board of Trustees, BoT, chairman “obliterated the known practice of the distinction of the Party Chairmanship with the leadership, and office of the President.”

He explained that the PDP’s constitution was strictly adhered to in 1998 prior to Obasanjo’s joining the PDP when he now changed things. Clark chronicled some of the activities that the former President allegedly carried out while in office along side former PDP National Chairman, Dr. Amadu Ali. He alleged that Obasanjo resigned as BoT chairman because he discovered that he could not control the government of Jonathan as he earlier envisaged.

How Obasanjo bastardised PDP The Octogenarian said: “The 1999 election was consequently

before any political office was elected, controlled, determined and approved by him and his executive. During this period, the supremacy of the party was intact when Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chief Solomon Lar, former Governor of Plateau State were on the driving seat of the party.

"However, somewhere along the line, the then incoming President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo used his military antecedents, indoctrination and perceptual conceptualization to obliterate the known practice of the distinction of the party chairmanship with the leadership, and office of the President.

“He prevented the late Chief Sunday Awoniyi from becoming the chairman of the great party on the reason that Chief Awoniyi was a Yoruba man like himself.

He preferred Engr. Barnabas Gemade, who actually became the National Chairman of the party. Much sooner and for no justifiable reason, he decided to replace Gemade with young Audu Ogbeh, who used to be a Minister in the Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s government.

“The kidnap of Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State and the politics of Mr. Chris Uba, the younger brother of Sen. Andy Uba, who was then the Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Matters, provoked some sort of disagreement between the chairman of the party and the President of the country, who single-handedly sacked the National Chairman of the party and at his own instance, imposed Sen. Ahmadu Ali as the new National Chairman of the party with little or no resistance from the party leadership/hierarchy.

“We witnessed the bastardisation of the party by the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the former National Chairman of the party, Sen. Ahmadu Ali, who for their own interests frustrated all the founding fathers of the party and party faithful by deregistering most of the founding members of the party.

"Chief Obasanjo installed himself as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the party as a former President of the country. With all of these actions, the party ’s supremacy was punctured and destroyed.

“Members and all concerned reluctantly accommodated this unilateral attitude of the President in office at that time, while he got himself consolidated for the period he served. Concurrently, the governors in the various states also assumed the same posture and in all circumstances seized the soul, the heart and disciplinary features of the party.”

PDP sitting on keg of gun powder The elder statesman, who warned that the PDP was at the moment sitting on a keg of gun

CONDOLENCE: Vice President Namadi Sambo (left) and former Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki during a condolence visit to Dasuki at his residence in Kaduna over the death of his wife, Goggo, yesterday.

PDP 'll soon explode — Clark zSays PDP govs driving Nigeria mad zThey are more dictatorial than ex-military govs zHow Obasanjo bastardised PDP zGovs Forum acting as opposition party powder that will explode at any time, however, called on the Governors Forum to have a rethink on thier activities, reminding them that power is transient, adding that enough is enough.

Clark who explained that the Chairman of PDP is the leader of the party and not the President of the country in line with Article 13:1 of the party’s constitution, however, stressed that this applies to the governors who are not the leaders of the party in their respective states, but the state party chairmen, adding that the governors have taken over all issues relating to governance and the party structure.

According to him, "the governors fail to conduct local government elections and run the councils with their appointees; they also interfere in decisions of the leadership of the party like in the case of Adamawa State; the governors also have overbearing influence on the state legislators where they even appoint Principal Officers of the House; the governors also frustrated moves by the PDP to generate income through computerized party membership system. Like what Chief Obasanjo did as President then, the governors have seized the soul, the heart and disciplinary features of the party.

“My Dear Governors today I am over 85 years old. I have a slogan which is that when one is 70 years and above, he is at the Departure Lounge, waiting for the Boarding Pass and, therefore, such person must have the courage and wisdom to speak out one’s mind on any issue affecting the destiny of the country. And failure to do so, is a dis-service to the nation.

"I have a stake in this country.

And I have children, some of whom are educated in some of the best universities in the world and some of them are as old as some of you. These children, like all other Nigerian children, also have stake in this our dear country, Nigeria.

“I now wish to dwell on some of the offending activities of the Governors Forum which are driving the country to madness but which as members you do not care about, provided you achieve your purpose and the Forum’s over-bearing influence on the PDP, the supremacy of which you have hijacked.

Govs Forum as opposition party “The Governors Forum is now acting as an opposition party to the Federal Government. It deliberately breach with impunity, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Constitution of the PDP, without any challenges. The Forum has now become a threat to the peace and stability of Nigeria. Most of the Governors today, are more dictatorial than the then Military Governors.

“A situation whereby the various political offices in Nigeria, both at the party and governmental levels will be manipulated and controlled by the Governors Forum is worse than even the military regime, and is unacceptable.

“Today, the PDP is sitting on a keg of gun powder which can explode at any time. The question is: who will bell the cat? I wish to urge the Governors Forum to have a re-think on its activities, remembering that power is transient.

“For us to achieve these democratic principles, there must be internal democracy, accountability, fairness and justice in the affairs of the party. The PDP governors who now regard themselves as the leaders of the party, are using their own structures to entrench corruption, lack of internal democracy, imposition of candidates within the structures of the party over the recognized structures as entrenched in the Party ’s Constitution.

Imposition of candidates “The continuous imposition of candidates in total disregard to the provisions of the party’s constitution is weakening the Party’s cohesion and harmony, unknowingly destroying its peace, unity, solidarity and its democratic values. Worst still, the quality of governance in most of the PDP-controlled governments is very poor, thereby jettisoning the Aims and objectives of the 1998/1999 founding fathers which is the propagation of democratic ideals in the Nigerian polity.

“The over-bearing influence of the Governors Forum in the polity has become a matter of serious concern. The activities of the PDP Governors Forum, in particular, have become very disturbing and calls for urgent correction as it is fast eroding the authority and the supremacy of the party and posing a serious threat to our democracy. The Forum has become a powerful tool in the hands of the governors who now use it to pursue and promote their individual and collective interests with little or no regard to the letter and spirit of the party ’s constitution and supremacy.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—7

BRIEFING: From right: Chief Edem Duke, Minister of Culture and Tourism; Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, and Mr Sam Nwaobasi, Special Assistant (Media) to the SGF during a briefing of media executives on the Centenary Project, in Lagos. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

as things will not work out well the way matters are going at the moment.

“Uduaghan is among the first governors in the region to set up an oil commission, which is DESOPADEC to manage the 13 per cent derivation fund. But the truth is that what is remitted to the commission is only 50 per cent of the 13 per cent derivation fund, not the entire 13 per cent that comes from the Federal Government and we are saying that it is unconstitutional.

“Even as we cry in Delta State that sometimes, the whole 50 per cent does not come to DESOPADEC, in some states of the region, there is no commission at all to manage the 13 per cent derivation fund. Except in Edo, Ondo, Imo and Abia states, where the governors also set up commissions, all the governors just use the money the way they like without challenge from the lawmakers.”

13% OIL DERIVATION WAR:

Host communities regain lost voice in Rivers

zGovs move to stop oil communities zPresidency orders probe of oil revenues zState govts’ve no business with 13% derivation — Clark

Investigation by Vanguard showed that in Rivers State, the host communities could barely meet, not to talk of confronting the governor, Hon Rotimi Amaechi, on the use of 13 per cent derivation fund.

However, with support from the leadership of the Oil and Gas Producing Communities of Niger Delta, oil communities in the state had found their lost voice. They have joined the campaign for direct payment of 13 per cent derivation to host communities.

In a petition addressed to the RMFAC chair, signed by Chief Henry Okpaks (Rivers), Mr. Wole Abel (Ondo), Mr. Monday Aghaghe (Edo), Mr. Ufot Nkang (Akwa Ibom), Mr. Macpherson Kurobo (Bayelsa) and Chief Willam Igere (Delta), the leaders said: “The 13 per cent derivation fund belongs exclusively to the oil and gas producing communities, which are the sources of derivation."

BY EMMA AMAIZE, REGIONAL EDITOR, SOUTH-SOUTH

W

ARRI—GOVERNORS of the Niger Delta region, during the week, started mobilizing forces to quell the rising agitation by oil-producing communities for the Federal Government to stop paying 13 per cent derivation fund through state governments.

Leaders of the oil communities in Niger Delta, under the aegis of Oil and Gas Producing Communities of Nigeria, have, in the past few months, led powerful delegations to the Presidency, National Assembly, Revenue Mobilization, Fiscal and Allocation Commission, RMFAC, and other government agencies, campaigning for direct payment of 13 per cent derivation fund to host communities.

Vanguard gathered that the governors were not at ease with the campaign that payment of 13 per cent derivation to state governments was unconstitutional, as well as the allegation that they (governors) misappropriated N7.282 trillion in the last 13 years.

Some of the protesting communities warned that they would shut down oil flow stations in their areas if the Federal Government did not redress the anomaly.

The communities argued that the 13 per cent derivation fund did not belong to the state, as it was not part of the money that should have been credited to the state’s consolidated revenue fund account.

An informed source hinted, yesterday, that the recent outburst

by South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark, during a visit to him by leaders of the group that payment of 13 per cent derivation to state governments was illegal, was a source of concern to the governors, knowing the weight of the opinion of the elder statesman on matters affecting the region.

Jonathan orders audit of oil revenues Already, the Presidency in response to the agitation, had directed a probe into the increasing complaints and agitation by the communities over alleged misuse of the fund by governors.

Our source said: “President Goodluck Jonathan had directed an audit of all oil revenues, including the 13 per cent derivation fund disbursed through the Federation Account to ascertain the utilisation of the fund.”

In one of the several letters to the RMFAC, the communities said: “Thirteen per cent derivation fund is not part of any consolidated revenue of state governments; it is not part of any state allocation. The fund is a benchmark for revenue allocation for host communities in Nigeria.

It is, therefore, illegal to allocate 13 per cent derivation fund through a third party to the host communities.”

NEITI to conduct probe On the probe by the Federal

Government, it was gathered that the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, had been named to conduct the audit.

The purpose of the audit, which is expected to be completed in nine months, is to determine how oil revenues are applied to entities such as Niger Delta Development Commission, Petroleum Trust Fund, and the 13 per cent derivation revenue allocated to some oil producing states.

In addition, the planned audit will determine how other monetary and fiscal transactions in the sectors have been utilised during the period under review.

The development was confirmed by a member of the NEITI Stakeholders Working Group, Mrs. Faith Nwadishi, who disclosed that the planned audit was to ensure that the ninemonth timeline set by the Federal Government for the completion of the audit was met and assured of NEITI’s full support for the proposed exercise.

Loud agitation in Delta The agitation is more vociferous in Delta State, where Senator Francis Okpozo and former chair of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Chief Wellington Okirika are leading the offensive.

A dependable source told this reporter: “Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan is meeting with some of these leaders on Saturday (tomorrow) in Warri to see how they can iron out their differences,

Derivation Board They proposed that a Derivation Board, comprising an executive chairman, secretary and members, including a member from RMAFC, be set up to administer the 13 per cent derivation fund. They added that the chair should rotate among oil and gas producing states every four years.

They stated that the 13 per cent Derivation Fund currently being managed by the state governors in the oil and gas producing states was an aberration, adding that the fund had been managed without regard to the oil and gas producing communities, who are owners.

Understated moves in Edo, Ondo In Edo State, the commissioner representing the state in the NDDC, believed to be voicing the

position of the state government, was quoted recently to have stated that 13 per cent derivation fund could not be managed by host communities because of lack of administrative structure.

He opined that state governments should continue to manage the fund, while in Ondo State, there was a subtle move to dissuade the oil communities from pressing ahead with the campaign.

Bayelsa keeps oil communities guessing However, in Bayelsa State, where the oil-producing communities had a rough time with the previous administration, they were yet to read clearly the body language of Governor Seriake Dickson, who has not inaugurated any commission to manage the fund.

Oil communities welcome probe On the planned audit by NEITI, the leaders called on the organisation to visit the host communities and ascertain the facts on ground.

In a statement signed by William Igere (Delta); Pastor Macpherson Kurobo (Bayelsa); Harry Opaks (Rivers); Saviour James Okon (Akwa Ibom); Princess Nomwen Uhunmwunagho (Edo) and Samuel Ebiwanno (Ondo), they said: “We wish to affirm in very strong terms that any report or audit investigation without physical visit to the communities hosting oil facilities is unacceptable to the communities.

“The state governments, which received this money illegally, used the fund to develop their state capitals and non-oil and gas producing communities, leaving the actual oil and gas producing communities in hunger and penury.”

They stated that the illegal and unconstitutional payment of 13 per cent derivation fund through the state governments had left the actual oil and gas producing communities in abject poverty.

State govts ‘ve no business with 13% derivation — Clark Chief Clark, whose support for the oil communities caused a stir among the governors, said during the visit to him in Abuja: “The provision in the 1999 constitution is clear, 13 per cent derivation fund stands on its own.

It is not part of any consolidated revenue of any tier of government, nor part of any state joint local government account, 13 per cent derivation fund should then be treated on its own.”

According to him, “Section 162 (2) of the 1999 constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria is specific about the owners of 13 per cent derivation fund. The fund is for oil and gas producing communities who are the source of derivation, as the basis of derivation principle in the 1999

8—Vanguard , FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

....As PDP chieftain asks FG to probe IGs since 1999

Police recruits lament conditions at Oji River Police college

BY TONY EDIKE

BY BEN AGANDE

A

BUJA—A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Muhammad Murtala, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to summon police chiefs from 1999 till date to explain the rot in police formations across the country with a view to ensuring that those responsible for the sorry state of the Police Force are brought to book.

In an interview with newsmen, Alhaji Murtala said in addition to this the Inspector General of Police should be allowed to take full charge of the police while the ministry of Police Affairs should be scrapped as it has not added value to the police.

According to him, the dilapidated facilities at the various police colleges do not represent Mr. President’s vision of enthroning a pragmatic and responsible Police Force for the country.

He added that; “There is the need for President Jonathan to summon top police officers, members of the Senate and House of Representatives committees on Police Affairs, officials of the Police Service Commission and the Ministry of Police Affairs, as well as those who served in police formations from 1999 to date to examine the defects in the police colleges and proffer lasting solutions”.

While expressing regret that some people are trying to play politics with the state of the police formations, Alhaji Murtala said, "the challenge at the moment was to come up with a workable solutions rather than the current blame game.

“Policemen in this country are actually living in abject penury for the past 20 years.

I know a policeman who stays in one room with his wife and nine children. It is absolutely ridiculous. Mr. President should call past officials of the Police Force to know what is happening,” he said.

Alhaji Murtala also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to probe spending of budgetary allocations to the police colleges.

E

NUGU—THE deplorable condition of the Nigeria Police Colleges appears to be a general phenomenon across the country as Vanguard observed what could be described as the worst case of infrastructural decay and total neglect at Oji River Police College in Enugu State.

Besides, the inhuman treatment being meted out to the recruits that undergo training in the college is better imagined than experienced as they are denied basic facilities needed for them to function properly while in the training camp. The police officers serving at the college also suffer the same fate as their barracks are in serious state of decay.

The case of the Police College in Oji River, according to the trainees, is that of many years of infrastructural decay, as no new structure had been built after the inception of the college which started in the early seventies, and there seems to be no plan for renovation of the dilapidated office and hostel accommodations.

During a visit to the college on Wednesday, Vanguard observed that all the internal roads are in deplorable condition while only the office buildings including the office of the Commandant, Police Commissioner Dorothy Gimba, who assumed duty in the college a few months ago, was habitable as they were repainted not too long ago.

Recruits sleep on blocks arranged as beds According to investigations, the dormitories for the trainees or recruits are usually overcrowded whenever they are in session while many of them who could not secure the primitive steel double-decker beds sleep on blocks, which they arrange as an alternative to beds. Besides, those who are lucky to get bed sleep on flattened and smelly six spring mattresses said to have been bought at the inception of the college.

The trainees also complained bitterly of poor feeding and lack of teaching and learning facilities, which they blamed on total neglect of the college by the police authorities over time as well as mismanagement of resources by past administrations.

The college, which was built in the 70s to provide manpower for the police force as well as to boost the capacity of members of the force, especially those from the Eastern parts of the country through refresher courses, and several training sessions had

Nigeria Police College, Oji River, Enugu State. Insert is the Inspector General of Police, MD Abubakar. been held over the years but there had been no effort to improve on the available facilities.

The Police Detective College in Enugu, which also renders inservice training for the personnel is also not better placed in terms of infrastructure, as many of the trainees lack facilities especially in the dormitories.

One of the recruits, who completed his 15 months mandatory training in the college on December 21, 2012 and now serving at one of the urban police divisions in Enugu (names withheld) told Vanguard that their experience in the college was really dehumanizing and discouraging to anyone coming into the force as a fresher. He called on the police authorities and the Federal Government to quickly intervene by addressing the urgent needs of the college.

Recalling their sad experiences during their one year and three months stay in Oji River, the police constable said: “For three to four months we slept in total darkness because of a prolonged power outage caused by faulty transformer. The giant Lister generating plant in the college had been faulty for several months and no longer in use, yet it could not be repaired and there was no replacement.

“Many of us were charging our phones outside the college and from some officers who could afford private generators at a cost of N50 per battery. Those who could not afford it stayed without phones. There is no water because the Sumo pump got burnt many months ago and pumping water from the borehole became impossible, forcing the students to source water from other unsafe places.

Rooms are water logged during rainy season due to leaking roofs “It was like living in hell during the rainy season because most of the dormitories had leaking roofs. The hostels were covered with asbestos roofing sheets many years ago and they have now expired, including those used for the offices and quarters for police officers. Whenever it rains at night, the rooms would be waterlogged and we will be forced to keep vigil till morning.

“We had 10 squads living in 10 hostels. The asbestos roof in hostels one, two, three, four and nine had been replaced with aluminum long-span roofing sheets and are in good condition, but the rest (hostels six, seven and 10) as well as the kitchen are in a very bad shape as they are all leaking. The kitchen where they cook for the trainees is very dirty. Rice and Beans, which is a regular meal served, are usually filled with stones. Rice is usually served with hot pepper with excess red oil poured on the food causing the trainees running nose (catarrh).

“We are served food without meat or fish. They serve rice with only crayfish and you have no right to ask any question about it.

The food at the college canteen is generally poor forcing the trainees to patronize the nearby Mammy market operated by some officers’ wives.

“In fact, our condition there was just like that of prison inmates.

The difference is that we had freedom to move around. We call ourselves prisoners jokingly because there was no much difference between us and prisoners.

“Apart from the hostels, many officers’ quarters are also leaking while soak-away pits have become obsolete causing leakage of human wastes. The mattresses used on the iron double-deck beds are too old and dirty. They are just like mats causing the trainees body pains.

150 trainees occupy hostel built for 100 “Electricity in the hostel was not functioning well as wires (cables) are drawn from all corners to get supply. In our session were 2, 015 recruits but 1, 920 passed out successfully on December 21, 2012.

Each squad had 150 members in one hostel whereas as we learnt, the capacity was for 100 men. The entire hostels were congested but we never complained. The last squad was recruited October 17, 2011 and we passed out on December 21, 2012.”

“While in the training camp we were paid just N3, 493 allowance per month for the period of 15 months. The allowance was paid late most times. But we were given uniforms, belt and canvas without paying for them. It was indeed an experience but let’s hope that the next set of trainees would have a better deal.”

The new Commandant of the college, CP Gimba, could not be reached for her comments as she was not on seat when Vanguard visited but sources said she had severally sent the situation report on the college to her superiors at the headquarters for necessary action while she had tried to improve on the condition of available facilities and ensured strict discipline among the officers and trainees.

Vanguard , FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—9

John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Catholic ArchBishop of Abuja

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, President, Christian Association of Nigeria

Discordant tunes trail Catholic Church, CAN disagreement D

ISCORDANT tunes have continued to trail the purported pull-out of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, CSN, from the umbrella body of Christians, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN. While majority of respondents to the story online, have hailed the move by the Catholic Church, others who were worried by the possible fallout of the action, condemned the move by the Catholic Church, saying that solution to the current violent campaigns by the Islamic fundamentalist group, Boko Haram would better be tackled when all Christians in the country speak with one voice.

The Director of Social Communications at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, CSN, Rev. Father Ralph Madu, told Vanguard yesterday that the reports originating from a Catholic Monsignor in Abeokuta to the effect that the Church has pulled out of the Association is not entirely true.

According to him, “there are certain issues the Catholic Church would want to be properly thrashed out before it would resume full membership of the CAN. We have issues which we want to be addressed by the umbrella body.

“We have not pulled out of CAN and we cannot pull out of the Association. In fact in another few weeks we will make a public statement on that,” he stated without itemizing the issues that have warranted the Catholic Church to take “this painful decision to suspend participation in CAN meetings at the national level until such a time the leadership of CAN reverse back to the original vision, mission and objective of the association.”

Though Madu refused to expatiate on the issues that

have warranted the ‘suspension’, Vanguard yesterday stumbled on a letter written by the president of Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, which gave seven grounds for the Catholic Church’s action.

Titled; “Our concern for Christian unity,” and addressed to the National President of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the letter frowned at recent attitudes, utterances and actions of the leadership of CAN, saying “we have been compelled to take this painful decision because of the following reason among others: “That the present state of CAN has departed from the original concept of her founding fathers of which our bloc is a prominent holder; That the motto of CAN, ‘that they may all be one’ is not taken as a priority. We note a total neglect of Ecumenism and unwillingness to learn the theological foundations of Christian unity; That the directorate of Ecumenism and inter-faith which is one of the missions of CAN is not given a priority attention to promote peace and unity in the nation which is the mandate of Christ to all Christians”.

Other issues include; “That CAN is being dragged into partisan politics thereby compromising its ability to play its role as conscience of the nation and the voice of the voiceless; That there is not enough respect for and involvement of all the blocs of CAN in major decisions and activities; that CAN is no longer acting on consensus on major issues; and finally that CAN is not a mega church but an association of different churches. Therefore any claim by the president of CAN to be the leader of all Christians in Nigeria must take this into account.

Kaigama, however, said the Catholic Church remains committed to the protection of Christian unity in the country, but did not state when the interregnum will be over or when the Catholic Church will call off their self-imposed suspension.

All efforts to get reaction from the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, which produced the current

CAN president did not succeed as several of their leaders refused to respond on the issues in order not to be accused of politicking.

A source close to the Fellowship who pleaded anonymity told Vanguard that they are not surprised at the turn of events because elections into CAN executive council are fast approaching and quite naturally people are advancing means to actualize their dreams of leading the Association.

“We are not surprised at all,” the

’

BY SAM EYOBOKA

visited the North East till date, Pastor Oritsejafor had personally taken relief materials to the victims and has single-handedly resettled wives of victims.”

Speaking in a telephone interview, the PRO of TEKAN Churches in the country, Elder Sunday Oibe said: “The Catholic Church has been sulking since its candidate, Archbishop John Onayekan was defeated at the polls in 2010 by incumbent president, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.”

CAN is being dragged into partisan politics thereby compromising its ability to play its role as conscience of the nation and the voice of the voiceless

source said, adding that it is preposterous for Christian leaders to be abusing other religious leaders just to actualize political ambition. According to the source, “Criticism is a proof that the man being criticized is working but the critics just cannot accept the reality. When Jesus Christ was here the Pharisees could not deny the good works he was doing but they just could not tolerate the audacity with which he went about them.

“How else can one explain their opposition to the healing of a man on a Sabbath day? The Catholic Church’s move is a subterranean way of admitting that the emergence of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor as CAN president is the best thing coming from the Church, but their grouse is that the man is not a Catholic,” the source told us.

Continuing the source said: “Here comes a man from the rank of people they have regarded as ‘Pente-rascals’ and they just can’t keep tab on his developmental strides in terms of his bold opposition to the menace of Islamic fundamentalism in parts of the country. Whereas no one of them has

’

Accusing the church as arrogant, he said there are certain elements in the leadership of Onaiyekan-led CAN that are not happy that their candidate was defeated with the support of Northern Christians who demonstrated their resolve for a change of leadership at the CAN national.

“There is no need for anybody to lose sleep over the threat of the Catholics to pull out of CAN. I was the one who approached Archbishop Onayeikan to contest against Peter Jasper Akinola and when he defeated the Anglican candidate the heavens did not fall. Why won’t they allow Oritsejafor to be? If they want to go let them go, CAN won’t die as a result.

“Why is it that whenever a Catholic is on the saddle, every other bloc supports them and they won’t allow other blocs to run the show? The constitution of CAN makes provision for membership to be terminated by any group,” Elder Oibe stated.

A public commentator, Mr. Eghes Eyienyien also berated the Catholic Church for allowing it-

self to be used by external forces to destabilize the Association, noting that their exit is good riddance to bad rubbish.

Mr. Eyienyien in his response titled: “The Catholic Church and the Christian Association of Nigeria” said: “It is clear that many commentators on the announcement by the Catholic Church that it is “suspending its membership of CAN at the national level” have allowed themselves to be carried away by their Catholicism, admiration for Bishop Hassan Kukah and Cardinal John Onaiyekan, hatred of Pentecostalism, hatred of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, hatred for “wealthy Pastors”, Islamism, or other prejudice to detract them from examining the facts which they may not have been privy to.

How can “closeness to government” be an issue raised by Catholic Bishops who have been intimate with Nigerian politicians for decades? Is there any Church more tolerant of corrupt politicians and businessmen than the Catholic Church? Which Church does Chief Anthony Anenih, Senator David Mark and Ifeanyi Uba, for example, belong to? When has Bishop Kukah or Cardinal Onaiyekan ever criticized these people? When did they stop fraternizing with PDP? What utter hypocrisy to talk about CAN being close to government!!

That the Catholic Church has never wanted a Pentecostal Pastor to lead CAN is no news. People should find out what role the Sultan of Sokoto has been playing in undermining and subverting CAN using Cardinal Onaiyekan since he lost his bid to lead CAN for a second term. Talk to other non-Pentecostal members of the CAN Executive Committee if you can. Ask the Anglican Prelate, Rev. Nicholas Okoh.

There are five main blocks that comprise CAN. The Catholic Church is just one. During the last National Executive Committee meeting of CAN in Awka, Anambra State, held sometime in November, 2012, this issue of the threat by the Catholic Church to leave CAN (which has been on for over six months or so) was tabled for discussion. In fact, all the other blocks of CAN were unanimous in condemning the Catholic Bishops and it was the wise leadership of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor that prevailed on those calling for the expulsion of the Catholic Church from CAN! The Catholic Bishops only respect CAN and push for “Ecumenism” and “Inter-faith Dialogue” when a Catholic is leading the group. The former CAN Presidents, the highly respected Mbang and Akinnola of the Methodist Church and Anglican Church, respectively, were consistently undermined and betrayed during their tenures by the Catholic Church led by Cardinal Okogie and Onaiyekan! There is nothing new here!!

Northern Christians have never been as happy about CAN as under Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s leadership.

10—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

Agbakoba advocates better welfare package for judges

BY INNOCENT ANABA

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AGOS — FORMER President of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, yesterday, called for a comprehensive welfare scheme for serving and retired judges.

Agbakoba in a letter to National Judicial Council, NJC, Chairperson, Justice Maryam Mukhtar, said it was disturbing that a Justice of the Supreme Court, who served for 46 years would receive “a paltry” monthly salary and would retire without a home or a good pension.

Noting that judges tell the same tales of woes upon retirement, he urged the NJC to begin “a transformational process to address these issues.

"I propose as a first step that housing, medicals, cars, enhanced salaries and allowances are provided in 2013.”

“I urge that a comprehensive welfare scheme must be put in place for judges, both serving and retired."

Apu Narebor for burial L ATE Madam Apu Narebor, mother to former General Secretary of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff A s s o c i a t i o n , PENGASSAN, Mr. Ken Narebor, will be buried this Saturday at her home-town in Esanma Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State.

Madam Apu Narebor died on Tuesday, July 31, 2012.

She is survived with two children, many grand-children and great grand-children.

Late Narebor

Council of Chiefs suspends oba over rape

BY DAYO JOHNSON

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KURE—THERE appears to be more troubles for the Olupare of Supare in Akoko South West Local Government area of the State, Oba Kasali Adejoro, as he has been

suspended by the state Council of Chiefs over the allegation of rape leveled against him.

It would be recalled that Oba Adejoro was charged before Supare Magistrate Court for allegedly rapping one of his subjects, Mrs.

Comfort Awogbamila last year.

The State Council of Traditional Rulers said it suspended Oba Adejoro pending the outcome of the case at the law courts According to a letter by the Chairman of the Council and the Deji of Akure, Oba Adebiyi

Adesida, it directed the embattled monarch to stay away from the activities of the c o u n c i l .

The letter reads “the attention of the Ondo State Council of Traditional Rulers has been drawn to the recent allegation against your good self and the on-going prosecution at both magistrate and high courts.

Following the on-going criminal proceeding, before the courts, you are advised to stay away from the activities and meetings of the council of Traditional Rulers until the criminal case are resolved in one way or the other.”

Dedication

S

From left: Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti State Governor; his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi and Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Primate, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion and Most Rev. Christopher Omotunde, Bishop, Dioces of Ekiti, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, during 'An Afternoon of Tributes,' in honour of the late Most Rev. Abiodun Adetiloye, in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday.

NDLEA nabs 3 NAHCO agents with hard drugs at airport According to him; “Following

BY DANIEL ETEGHE

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AGOS — OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, yesterday, arrested three clearing agents with the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, NAHCO, for attempting to smuggle two consignments of methamphetamine weighing 36.44 kilogrammes at the M u r t a l a M u h a m m e d International Airport, Lagos, on an Emirates flight to Malaysia.

The drug which was concealed in foodstuff and laptop bags declared as personal effects by the consignor was discovered by the anti-narcotic agents during a search.

Speaking on the arrests, NDLEA commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, said the seizure of the drugs was made

during a search at the export processing section.

He noted that three suspects, Mr. Bolarinwa Labaika, Mr. Abiodun Ofunaya and Mr. Ugochukwu Amagbu had been arrested in connection with the illegal exportation of the drug.

the discovery of the drug, we arrested three clearing agents currently being interrogated.

Their names are Bolarinwa Labaika, 31 years and Abiodun Ofunaya, 30, held in connection with 6.955kg as well as Ugochukwu Amagbu, 39, arrested in connection with 29.485kg.

T. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Ifako-Agege will tomorrow dedicate its new church building which will be performed by the Catholic Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, Dr Alfred Adewale Martins. According to a statement jointly signed by the Parish priest, Rev Fr Anthony Eboh, and Chairman, Dedication Committee, Chief Allan Williams, the Archbishop will be assisted in the celebration of the Pontifical High Mass by a host of other Reverend Fathers including the Vicar- General of the Archdiocese, Msgr. Aniagu and host priest, Rev Fr Anthony Eboh. The event, which will take place at the church premises at 44 Dada Ibari street, Ifako-Agege, starts by 11 a.m.

Vanguard, FRIDAY FRIDAY,, JANUARY 25, 2013—11

Crisis looms in Bayelsa community over emergence of two regents

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

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ENAGOA—A KINGSHIP tussle is now threatening to tear apart the coastal settlement of Agrisaba in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State as the community’s Council of Chiefs has distanced itself from the purported emergence of an Acting Regent in the community.

The coastal community, it was learnt, had been without an Obanema since the demise of its monarch, late King Ebi Oquara Agri VII in 2007 and Chief Douglas Awudulu, as chairman of the Council of Chiefs, had been the Regent pending when a new king would be elected.

But an election slated for December 27 and 28, 2012 to elect a new Obanema ended in stalemate, following alleged disagreement among members of the council over the mode of selection of the new king.

The election, it was learnt, was postponed with the Council of Chiefs calling for return to status quo, but contrary to the decision of the council, one of the chiefs, Sampson Eleli, the Vice Chairman of the council, allegedly declared himself the Acting Regent.

The Council of Chiefs, which addressed newsmen in Yenagoa, said contrary to the claim of alleged emergence of an Acting Regent, Chief Awudulu remains the community’s Regent, adding that at no time was an Acting Regent elected.

Secretary of the Agrisaba Chiefs Council, Chief Joel Onyi, flanked by 10 other council members, dismissed

Madam Abulu dies @ 80

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ADAM Elizabeth Abulu, a devout Christian, is dead, aged 80.

The late Abulu who died on January 13, was the widow of late Moses Abulu in Iruekpen, Ekpoma, in Esan West Local Government Area in Edo State. Burial rites will be announced by the family.

Late Madam Abulu

the purported election of a new Acting Regent and urged the latter to stop parading himself as one.

He said the election could not hold because of disagree-

ment among the chiefs council, adding, “this confusion was predicated on the fact that four chiefs out of the 15 chiefs who constitute the council insisted on conducting general voting

involving every member of the community, while 11 chiefs wanted the voting to be conducted within the council of chiefs because that had always been the procedure.”

UNVEILING: From left: Mr. Rilwan Belo-Osagie, M D, First Securities Discount House FSDH; Senator Udo Udoma, guest; Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President, Dangote Group and Ibrahim Dikko, Chairman, FSDH, at the unveiling of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, in Lagos.

Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

Stop crying wolf over LG caretaker c’ttees, Delta PDP tells ACN

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

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SABA—DELTA State chapter of ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called on the Chief Adolo Okotie-Eboh-led Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the state to join hands with Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration to move the state to greater heights rather than engage in unwarranted outcry over delay in conducting local government elections.

State Publicity Secretary of

PDP, Mr. Deinghan Macaulay, in a statement in Asaba, yesterday, said: “The state government is not in any way delaying the conduct of local government elections in the state.

Indeed, screened and confirmed members of Delta State Independent Electoral Commission, DSIEC, will be inaugurated by Governor Uduaghan after which the members of the Commission will conduct the local government elections.

“The outcry from ACN was a distraction because Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, had

dragged the state government before a state high court sitting in Otu-Jeremi, over appointment and inauguration of local government Caretaker Transition Committees in the state, in which the court ruled in favour of the state, saying t h a t there can not be any vacuum in the councils.”

We’re committed to review of 1999 mained quality and efConstitution —Rep fective representation of

A

MEMBER of the House of Representatives, Mr. Frank Enekorogha, has said that the House was committed to the review of the 1999 Constitution to achieve an all embracing and people oriented constitution.

Enekorogha, who represents Burutu Federal constituency, Delta State at the National Assembly, told newsmen, that the peoples’ public ses-

sion on the review of the 1999 Constitution which held across the 360 federal constituencies provided Nigerians of all strata the opportunity to make inputs.

He assured the people of Burutu that their participation at the public session will not be wished away but will be reflected when the House kick-starts the process, adding that his priority in the House re-

the people of Burutu federal constituency. He assured that the area will continue to witness federal presence.

Enekorogha noted that during the flood that ravaged Delta State last year, he provided relief materials and other items to victims to cushion the effect, adding that he will embark on empowerment programmes for the people to enhance their economic wellbeing.

Ex-militant leaders decry state of E-West Road

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

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ORT HAR C O U R T — FORMER militant Commanders in the Niger Delta region have called on the Federal Government to ensure the early completion of the EastWest Road project.

The repentant militant leaders, in a statement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, said it was sad that many years after contract for the construction of the road was awarded, nothing substantial had been achieved.

The statement, by Reuben Wilson, Ezekiel Akpasibowei and Darikoro Alfred, said if the road was not completed in the lifetime of this administration, the integrity of the Ijaw nation would be grossly diminished in the country.

They said: “It is disappointing that till date, President Goodluck Jonathan cannot fix the East-West Road. It is equally painful that he cannot tackle the issue of insecurity in the country.

We do not want to mention the neglect of the Koluama people of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, who had suffered so much deprivation as a result of last year’s Chevron Nigeria Limited gas explosion.”

12—Vanguard , FRIDAY FRIDAY,, JANUARY 25, 2013

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 13

14—Vanguard , FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

Igbo leaders meet today over Ohanaeze crisis

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BY TONY EDIKE

NUGU—IGBO lead ers and elders would hold a crucial meeting in Awka, Anambra State, today to deliberate on the controversy that trailed the January 12, 2013 election of the National Executive Committee of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and other issues of common interest to Ndigbo.

The meeting, which is scheduled to hold at Marble Arch Hotels, Awka, is being convened by Ndigbo Council of Elders and the former Chief Judge of Enugu State and past President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Igwe Justice Eze Ozobu, and Chief Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu would cochair the parley.

Acting Secretary of Ndigbo Council of Elders, Dr. Nkemka Jombo-Ofo, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Enugu, yesterday, said the meeting was expected to be attended by eminent Igbo leaders and elders from all the Igbospeaking states of the South East, Delta and Rivers as well as leaders of the Group 21, South East Forum, Southern Elders Forum, among others.

Anambra varsity matriculates 3000 students

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

A

WKA—ANAMBRA State University, Uli has matriculated 3000 students for the 2012/2013 academic session, with the Vice Chancellor, Professor Fidelis Okafor, warning them to shun cultism if they hoped to complete their studies in the institution.

According to him, there are a number of registered and recognised organisations, societies, clubs and fellowships which they could join. He warned that any organization not registered with the institution was unlawful.

He said: “You must particularly guard against cult groups and cultism. Cultism is proscribed by the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and membership of any cult group is therefore an offence punishable by law.”

C M Y K

20 killed in Plateau sectarian crisis

BY TAYE OBATERU

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OS—A total of 20 people were killed in Plateau State on Wednesday in separate sectarian crises in two local government areas.

18 people died at Wadatan Garga in Wase Local Government Area and two at Du in Jos South Local Government Area in similar circumstances while about 20 houses were razed at Dompar and Kurmin Dashe communities in the area. Several others were injured in the attacks.

Vanguard learnt that trouble broke out in Wase council area, following the discovery of the corpse of a man said to be Taroh by tribe who was believed to have been killed by the Fulani.

This provoked a reprisal attack on some Fulani men returning from a market at Wadatan Garga which left nine of them dead.

Similarly, the alleged attack on the residence of a Fulani man in Du District of Jos South Local Government Area which left one dead and another injured provoked a reprisal as some natives returning from a nearby village were ambushed

and one of them was killed and others injured.

Chairman of Transition Committee of Wase Local Government Area, Alhaji Zakari Mohammed confirmed the killings in his area but could not say the cause of the problem.

He said soldiers have been drafted to the area to restore

peace and prevent an escalation of the problem. He was optimistic that normalcy would return to the area soonest.

Executive Director of an NGO, Stefanos Foundation, Mr. Mark Lipdo, who confirmed the killings in Jos South council area identified one of the deceased

as Pam Rwang, adding that Pam Dalyop, who was injured was taken to Vom Christian Hospital.

However, when contacted, Media Officer of the Special Task Force maintaining security in the state, Captain Salisu Mustapha, said he was yet to be briefed on the incidents.

INSPECTION: From left: Rev. Sis. Maria Ameke, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, and others, after an inspection tour of the Specialist Hospital, Amaku, Anambra State, built by Gov. Peter Obi. Photo: Hill Ezeugwu.

Imo Police arrest 2 kidnap suspects, rescue woman

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

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WERRI—EAGLE-eyed operatives of Imo State Police Command last Wednesday arrested two suspected kidnappers and freed a woman they abducted from Igwuruta, Rivers State.

Confirming this to Vanguard, yesterday, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Vitalis Onugu, a deputy superintendent of police, said that “in the early hours of last Wednesday, four armed men

stormed the home of Mrs. Linus Okechi situated along Farm Road, Igwuruta, Rivers State, when she was about taking her children to school”.

According to the PPRO, the armed hoodlums quickly ordered her into her Honda CRV RAV4 vehicle and took her away.

“They drove from Igwuruta to Imo and on getting to Ihiagwa, Owerri West local government area, policemen on stop and search flagged them down but they refused

Support for Jonathan yields dividends in S-East —Gov Orji

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MUAHAI—GOVERNOR Theodore Orji of Abia State, yesterday, in Umuahia said that the backing of President Goodluck Jonathan by the people of South-East goe-political zone has yielded dividends, even as he called for unalloyed support for the transformation agenda of the President.

Orji made stated this in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Ben Onyechere.

According to the governor, effort by the President to reinvent the power sector should be appreciated and applauded.

The governor said: “Our support for the programs and aspirations of the president is not only mandatory but should be

unalloyed because without him succeeding, nothing will hold water.

“The success of the president will certainly transcend and replicate in the states because that is where we will derive the necessary synergy to propagate development of the states as well as nurture the growth of democracy in this country.

“There is no doubt that he has exemplified goodwill demonstrated by non discriminatory policies geared towards an even spread of infrastructure and development of all strata and segment of this nation. It is compulsive therefore, for all of us to reciprocate his nobel gestures by acknowledging and promoting his people oriented transformational agenda.”

to stop. Sensing that something was amiss, the policemen pursued them,” the PPRO recounted.

Onugu recalled that the hoodlums ran into a traffic gridlock and on realizing that the police was closing in on them, jumped out of the vehicle and ran into a nearby bush.

“The police still defied odds and ran after the fleeing gangsters. Their effort paid off as two of the four fleeing kidnappers were arrested,” Onugu said.

He gave the names of the

arrested suspects as Josiah Michael, a motor mechanic, and native of Etche, Rivers State, and Ifeanyi Ezeala from Umuowa, Orlu, Imo State.

“The woman was rescued alive and unhurt, while the two suspects have been transferred to Rivers State Police Command for further investigation and possible prosecution,” the PPRO said.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Baba Adisa Bolanta, has appealed to youths to resist every temptation that would lure them into crime.

Vanguard , FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—15

Newly commissioned Ibara/Oke-Sokori fly-over in Abeokuta

From right: Chief Bisi Akande, ACN National Chairman, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, former Governor of Ogun State; Mrs. Funso Amosun, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun State Governor and Omoba Segun Adesegun, Deputy Governor, at the commissioning.

From left: Alhaji T. Ola Bello, Senator Lawal Shuaib, Gen. Dipo Diya (rtd) representing Akarigbo, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo and Hon. Justice Tokunbo Olopade, Chief Judge of Ogun State and Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland.

A cross-section of Imams and the clergy- Photos: Wumi Akinola

Moslems mark Eid-el-Maulud

School children marching during Eid-el-Maulud celebration, in Gombe.

More Muslims out on the streets, in Lagos.

Youths celebrating on the streets of Lagos.

Women were not left out. Photos: Bunmi Azeez

16—Vanguard , FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

Emir of Kano: CPC blasts Okupe over alleged attack on Buhari

Post-flood: There 'll be no food crisis in Kogi this year, govt assures

BY BOLUWAJI OBAWOPO

L

OKOJA— KOGI State government has said that there would not be food crisis in the state this year, irrespective of the flood that devastated crops and farmlands last year because of the aggressive food production drive embarked upon by the state government.

State Deputy Governor, Mr Yomi Awoniyi, who made this known while presenting 1,500 metric tonnes of grains to farmers said government was determined to tackle food shortage in the state to ensure food security.

He noted that 10,000 hectares of farmland had already been cultivated for dry season farming, due to government’s determination to avert food shortage.

Benue 2015: Monarchs rally support for Anchver

BY PETER DURU

M

AKURDI—AS polit ical blocks in Benue State intensify subterranean activities to pick a successor to Governor Gabriel Suswam, paramount rulers in the state have thrown their weight behind the National President of the Agricultural and Allied Employees Union of Nigeria, AAEUN, Comrade Simon Anchver to emerge as the next Governor of the state.

The Ter Gwer, His Royal Highness, Dominic Akpe made this known yesterday in Aliade on behalf of other royal fathers in his domain when Comrade Anchver led labour leaders in the state to inform the paramount rulers of his intendion to run for the governorship of the state in 2015.

C M Y K

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

C Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu (left) and Dr Mercy Ahun, during a courtesy visit on the governor in Government House, Minna.

Gowon, Babangida, Sambo, others shun peace summit in Kano

BY ABDULSALAM MUHAMMAD

K

ANO—NORTHERN lead ers including Vice President, Namadi Sambo and three former Heads of State, Generals Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar were conspicuously absent at the peace summit organised by Northern Development Focus Initiative, NDFI, in Kano.

Also absent were the Senate President, Senator David Mark, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who were special guests of honour during the two-day peace summit.

No official reasons were given by the organisers of the event over the absence of the political bigwigs but General Muhammadu Buhari was drafted to be the chairman of the summit in the absence of General Gowon who was originally selected for the role.

The appointment of Gen. Buhari as impromptu chairman was not without some hiccups as the national leader of Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, initially declined and later grudgingly accepted the offer.

The summit with theme: "Development, peace and unity as tool for enhancing socio economic

and political reform in Northern Nigeria,” was aimed at discussing the multi-faceted security challenges confronting the region.

Insecurity reared its ugly head in the Northern region in 2009 following the death of an Islamist leader, Sheik Muhammad Yusuf in an uprising by his group culminating in the crippling of the socio-economic life of the region that was already bugged down by poverty and under-development.

Defending the absence of northern leaders, Senator John Kennedy Waku said, “it is too early to make a case over their absence. It is just day one of the two-day event and I want to believe they will make it".

However, the event original-

ly scheduled to hold at one of the popular hotels in the ancient city was held at a more secure Government House where invitees were frisked thoroughly by stern looking securitymen before being allowed inside.

The summit was largely attended by retired military officers of northern extraction, retired technocrats, some politicians and artisans.

Speakers at the summit concurred that the security challenges confronting the country has been localized as problem of people of the North East geo-political zone with little or no commitment by the government to resolve the crisis in the interest of peace and development.

Budget: Yobe govt lauds legislators

D

AMATURU—YOBE State Government has commended the State’s legislature for the early passage of its N86.6 billion budget for 2013.

Alhaji Maimala Buni, the Special Adviser on Political and Legislative Affairs to the Governor, made the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Damaturu

yesterday.

“By this development, the State House of Assembly has provided the legal framework for the timely execution of developmental projects across the state.

“I commend the assembly for carefully scrutinising the budget and speedily passing it to enable government to commence work on the proposed projects".

ONGRESS for Progressive Change, CPC, has lampooned the Special Assistant on Public Affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe over his recent comment on Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s position on the attack of the Emir of Kano, describing it as an affront on personal liberty.

It also faulted Okupe’s response to Buhari, saying it was capable of heating up an already tensed polity.

A statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin said the recent attack on the Emir of Kano, indicated that the insecurity besetting Nigeria goes beyond religion and ethnicity.

According to him: "As a respected Nigerian once said, “the greatest threat to liberty is the absence of criticism”; we believe that the bullish tactics of Dr Okupe in excoriating every critic of this PDP-led regime is not only deleterious to a harmonious polity but also an affront on personal liberty.

"The pertinent questions are: does it not speak eloquently on the mind-set of the President that he encourages his aides to lambast a former Nigerian leader and respected statesman for volunteering his concern on the general insecurity in the Nation state?

“Is it not a matter of grave concern that when a respected monarch, with all the retinue of security staff, could be so gruesomely attacked on the street, what hope is there for the ordinary Nigerian in this dispensation,” Fashakin queried.

Continuing, the CPC scribe said, "as a responsible political party, we cannot be cowed by the indignity and loquacity of a crude presidential aide in failing to discharge our responsibility of nudging those that bear executive responsibility on the gaping need for security.’’

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 17

Gov. Rotimi Amaechi

AST week, Elder Godsday Orubebe, the “Honourable” Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, decided to launch an attack on Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi – who heads the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) as well as Rivers State.

Orubebe accused Amaechi of performing dismally and disrespecting President Goodluck Jonathan. Amaechi gave as good as he got, lavishing contempt on Orubebe and robustly defending himself against the latter’s allegations.

Every single onlooker I’ve spoken to so far has echoed my view that Amaechi conclusively won this hot-hothot war of words. And I am, on reflection, extremely surprised that Orubebe took the risk of provoking Amaechi, who is much stronger than he is, in terms of track record, personality and image.

Talk about trying to punch above your weight! And

East-West road cut off by flood Elder Godsday Orubebe

,

L

Amaechi has never been a shrinking violet and is famed for his rottweiller bluntness. And there’s no point getting into a fight with him if you lack his talent for effective verbal aggro and have more Achilles heels than he does

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People in glass houses... failing woefully.

Amaechi has never been a shrinking violet and is famed for his rottweiller bluntness.

And there’s no point getting into a fight with him if you lack his talent for effective verbal aggro and have more Achilles heels than he does!

Amaechi isn’t perfect (which

human being is?), but he has quite a few fans; and nobody can deny that he has built several roads, schools and health centres.

Orubebe, on the other hand, has achieved little or nothing for the neglected oilproducing communities he is supposed to be representing;

A reappointed disappointment!

G ODSDAY Orubebe, the recently reappointed Niger Delta Minister, has, on the few occasions when I have bumped into him, struck me as a genuinely genial fellow who wishes nobody harm and certainly isn’t short of brain cells. But I’m not happy about the lacklustre manner in which he has handled his portfolio.

The creation of the Niger Delta Ministry was a political response to the longstanding bitterness of the neglected natives of oil-producing areas.

We were in Crisis mode. Our youths were running amok and had become laws unto themselves...dangerous militants who defied all forms of authority because they had no jobs or faith in their

Aftermath of a gasoline tanker crash on the East-west road

futures...and did not see why they should listen to elders who couldn’t save them or a System that had betrayed them.

Our communities had been subjected to environmental outrages like constant gasflaring. Our waterways had been totally messed up by toxic oil spills that destroyed the fish we had traditionally depended upon for survival.

We had been exploited and marginalised for decades.

And we wanted justice.

Goodluck Jonathan’s nearmiraculous elevation to the Presidency was thrilling, but not enough to satisfy all of our yearnings. One tree does not make a forest.

The Niger Delta Ministry is supposed to at least partly

solve the chronic socioeconomic problems of the zone from which both Jonathan and Orubebe hail.

But even though Orubebe has been sitting on this hot seat for quite a while, I’m not seeing the dynamic developments that I expected from him. And, much to my amazement and annoyance, Jonathan does not appear to be particularly concerned about Orubebe’s blatant failure to initiate significant changes.

Sure, most of the militants have now been sweet-talked into laying down their arms.

But at what price? The biggest “boys” who once terrorised the creeks are now fat cats who cosily cruise around various urban centres in top-of-the-

and he’s immensely unpopular, even within his own Ijaw heartland, that his continued presence in the Cabinet is undermining the President’s reputation.

In a nutshell, if Orubebe possesses any professional strengths, they aren’t showing up on my radar

range jeeps that were funded by the substantial government patronage they enjoy.

But for how long can we sustain a status quo that boils down to a possibly superficial and temporary peace that is based on crude bribery?

Should we not, instead, be establishing a progressive and productive policy-andimplementation agenda that will deliver widespread prosperity and REAL longterm stability?

What are Orubebe and Jonathan planning to do about the still-suffering brothers and sisters these militants left behind in their impoverished riverine villages? I eagerly await some acceptable answers to these burning questions.

screen at the moment; and he’d be well-advised to humbly remember the saying that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

I really don’t know what his problem is because he is not an illiterate and it isn’t THAT difficult to notch up a clutch of significant triumphs when you have billions of naira at your disposal. And it’s OUR money, not his. So can he please leave Amaechi alone and concentrate on doing a better job on his own turf?

And just in case you think I am disparaging Orubebe for sychophantic reasons – that is, purely because he was rude about my Governor – here is what I said about him on this very same page on l3th July 2011, long before he laid into Amaechi.

Responses to: donzol2002@yahoo.co.uk or to 0802 747 6458 (texts only). PLEASE KINDLY NOTE THAT UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY REQUEST ANONYMITY, YOUR COMMENTS MAY BE PUBLISHED IN VANGUARD, WITH YOUR NAMES AND NUMBERS OR EMAIL ADDRESSES ATTACHED.

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 THE reaction of the Kano State Government – ban on commercial motorcycle riders – after the attack on the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero punishes the innocent as well as the possible attackers. The wonder is why government would lump the innocent with the guilty.

Is the government under panic or wants to be seen as doing something? The attack is condemnable. The use of motorcycle riders in executing similar attacks is not new.

Governments in certain States have limited operations of motorcycle riders as investigations link them with crimes.

This measure is a simple reaction that fails to address a crucial matter and sets out to create new challenges for the sprawling city of Kano and its environs. How would the millions who depend on commercial motorcycles survive? Did the government think of the ban’s impact in a city of more than five million people, not counting other parts of the State where people normally depend on motorcycles for transportation? Has it in the three days after the attack found solutions to the state’s transport challenges to warrant the ban?

Reacting TTo o Ba Bayyero Attack Why do governments treat the poor with this type of disdain? Could it not have a better reason for banning motorcycles? Does it take an attack on the Emir of Kano for government to know that motorcycle riders collude with criminals? Does that make all motorcycle riders criminals?

Have suicide bombers not used cars in their attacks? Why did the government not ban cars? Suppose the attackers start using pedestrians as suicide bombers would government ban people from walking around?

To say the least, this decision shows the government of Kano State is waiting to react to security challenges in its environment.

It is equally sad that this reaction came because of the profile of the victim of the most recent attack.

Alhaji Ado Bayero, 83, a former police officer, former Nigerian Ambassador to Senegal, would be 50 years as Emir of Kano by 22 October. He is widely respected and those who know him expect him to oppose measures that oppress the poor further, all in the name of dealing with a challenge everyone knows uses motorcycle riders as just one of its various platforms.

On its part, the Federal Government should be tired of reminding Nigerians that they are safe. Saying the attacks were “one too many”, and that “attackers would be fished out and punished”, have become standard responses to the loss of thousands of lives since the attacks started.

Governments must be more profound in counting the cost of solutions to our numerous challenges before they forget that their primary responsibility is the security and welfare of the people.

OPINION

BY DELE AKINOLA

V

ILLA- BOMBERS: We really don’t understand you fellow shareholders, including those of you in hallowed chambers.

Contrary to your insinuations, we are no rivals, hatchet-men or attack dogs. We are actually Siamese twins doing the same different duties of media publicity on public affairs for our beloved CEO of this great multi-national oil company.

Assa-Senators: Whether you are rivals, attack dogs or defence bulls make no matter to us.

Just make sure you direct your machetes and venoms at those troublesome noise makers and not this hallowed chamber, or else you will find us too hot to handle. In any case, you two are no match for us.

V-B: Ah, there you goof! We are actually a set of quadruplets made up of two sets of Siamese twins. With the other pair who provides guard services on information and political matters to the CEO, we form a formidable quartet. Oh, here they come!

A-S: You quartet look so militant. Are you sure you guys have the blessing of the CEO? Remember, the CEO is not a bully, neither is he a lion nor a Pharaoh and …

V-B: Hold it! How dare you? Do you know the CEO better than us? So, because he refuses to be Pharaoh, you believe you can intimidate him with those mere resolutions stenching from that mere chamber of yours?

A-S: Chi-ne-ke-me-e! You have the effrontery to describe the resolutions the shareholders pay us so heavily to make as mere resolutions?

Have you forgotten we can make life miserable for you in that mere Villa with just one

If you Villa-bomb us, we assa-Senate you! resolution?

V-B: Ah, ah, distinguished men of timber and calibre, respectable men and women of Iroko and Mahogany, have you no sense of humour?

That was meant to be a mere joke!

A-S: What an expensive joke! Well, be informed that two can play at that game. You shall hear from us when the CEO visits with those mere estimates in what you call the 2013 menu list.

V-B: There you go again, so full of yourselves!

For every little issue, you go to town with your characteristic unnecessary grandstanding and playing to the gallery.

A-S: You guys are too sharp-mouthed! As you rightly observed, we are men and women of timber and calibre here. So we would rather grandstand than stand as mere rubber stamps.

Furthermore, the gallery in our chamber is not for decoration but for the shareholders to watch while we take you to the cleaners. So what’s wrong in playing to it?

V-B: You see what we mean? You don’t even understand simple idiom! Not surprising though, a good number of you are illiterates!

A-S: You called us illiterates?

V-B: No, you said you were, yourselves! A leader of yours so confessed, publicly!

A-S: Come again!

V-B: Okay, we challenge you individually to write your names.

A-S: You just wait! We shall not only write our names, but we shall also re-write those mere

estimates which we are aware you are only labouring to intimidate us to rubber-stamp.

V-B: There you go again with your usual pass time of grandstanding!

A-S: You ain’t seen nothing yet! We shall also go ahead to mark out and bench your benchmark with our Marksman!

V-B: Mark you, our benchmark of 75 American Cowries in the menu list is sacrosanct. Even the company accountant and the central auditor have endorsed it.

A-S: You are all members of Baba Suwe group of jesters! You think we are so cheap here? On 80 American Cowries we stand.

V-B: What arrogance! So you believe you know more economics than the combination of the company accountant and the central auditor?

Even fellow multi-national oil companies like Algeria Petroleum, Qatar Petro-Chemical, Saudi Oil Resources, Venezuela Oil Company, Angola Petroleum and Kuwait Energy Resources have benchmarks of less American Cowries.

A-S: Okay, 78 American Cowries; take it or leave it! By the way, you haven’t shown us the performance certificate on the 2012 mere estimates.

V-B: Performance certificate? You see who really are jesters now?

A-S: Don’t divert attention; let’s see your performance certificate.

V-B: Walahi, talahi, this is now pure drama!

A-S: Exactly! The drama of ignorance! It is apparent that you are only barking at areas which you are totally ignorant about.

V-B: What pot calling the kettle black!

Illiterates talking about ignorance!

A-S: You only give yourselves away as overzealous body guards doing a hatchet job in order to capture relevance in the scheme of things.

V-B: Just as you are no more than overambitious gun-jumpers using your selfish ambitions to undermine company issues. We see 2015 clearly in all this gra-gra.

A-S: Clearly? It is much clearer you guys are nothing but fifth columnists in the CEO’s team.

We are sorry for him.

V-B: We are also sorry for you as you revel in your Project 2015 Waterloo! We can only pity you day-dreamers!

A-S: You nko? All company shareholders are aware of your underground 2015 manouvres.

V-B: You lie! The CEO just denied any knowledge about 2015 manouvres. He would talk about 2015 in 2014.

A-S: Just as our Marksman shouted on the rooftop that 2015 is neither on his compass nor on his radar. The only thing on the radar now is your imminent off-loading.

V-B: There you goof again!

A-S: Surely, you guys still live in the old world when the CEO played barefoot with no pair of boots. With just one of the many pairs he now owns, he kicks you out. You are all goners!

V-B: You want to place a bet?

A-S: We shall see!

*Mr. Akinola, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Lagos.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 19

P

ROFESSOR Jerry Gana is a man of all seasons. He has impacted the thought of many Nigerians with all the national assignments he has been made to manage; from civil service to politics. His ability to mobilise people and opinion is not in doubt.

This may be why he has been appointed as one key official to quickly harmonise the disenchantments in the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Board of Trustees(BoT), where fraying nerves have made it difficult for a credible chairman to emerge during the last meeting of the exclusive group. Today, party loyalists and many other Nigerians who see the BoT of the ruling party as an important political organ because of its functions to the presidency, are eager to see what judgement Gana and his committee will come up with as a prelude to the anticipated progress in the effort to elect a credible BoT chairman.

The failure of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to elect a successor to Olusegun Obasanjo as new Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman may not be a national issue, but it has raised a lot of concerns among Nigerians who nurse a high degree of passion for the stability and growth of the Nigerian democracy. This is because, the fact that the presidency is not enjoying the advantage of getting a top-scale advice from its party top-notch may be part of the growing spate of policy instability that has dogged this administration since the last one year. It is a fact that

the Jonathan administration may have been missing the privilege of quality advice which can only come from its experienced and honest party men under the aegis of Trustees and whose decisions are always laden with ideas that can move the polity forward. Obasanjo and Yar'Ádua enjoyed these advantages using the likes of Alex Ekwueme and Anenih at different times. The plot to have this election not concluded at this period could be a part of a probability that it was designed to allow President Goodluck Jonathan to fail due to poor quality advise.

It is obvious that a good number of the interested parties in the BoT saga may have simply insisted on derailing the due-process already established by the BoT constitution based on their own personal political agenda. For instance, the fact that some members of the party are thinking of two-term tenure for the new BoT chairman against the established period of one term explains the fact that there are ploys creeping into the books of the group from outside its pre-determined administrative rules and regulations. It is alleged that the BoT convention has passed two-term tenure as against the contents of the newly printed constitution for the election which has one-term tenure.

Again, the history of the office of BoT shows that the office has never been zoned since inception as all the chairmen have been southerners based on the need of those periods and the state of integrity of those holding the office at that time. The party has only based its choice on loyalty, integrity and experience and not

It is imperative that the BoT mechanism must be alive to this check, otherwise it runs the risk of running into self-destruction

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zones. The current idea to make a change in BoT leadership should not be seen from the point of geographical need but that of preparedness and availability.

According to top BoT members, “zoning is not in our dictionary because the BoT is self-regulatory.

It takes out those who do not conform to our established standards by itself. No amount of politicking or horse-trading can diminish that. Even when the committee publishes its report, the main features of the BoT will not be found wanting because the committee members have an idea of what the BoT has since stood for”.

T

he idea of self-regulation looks more perfect in all the activities of the party as the BoT, as an organ of the PDP, determines positions based on roles of each person in line with their current values to the party. Some contestants to the post may have been relevant to the party in the past but the present scenarios in the polity may not offer them such opportunities they had in the last eight years and such people may

Re: Onitsha bridgehead demolition

BY MIKE UDAH

W

RITING on the recent series of demolition of illegal shanties at the bridgehead, Onitsha, Emmanuel Obe of the PUNCH Newspaper (Saturday Punch of January 19, 2013, page 14), among other things, stated thus: “Tales of woe and despondency hung in the air as bulldozers deployed by the Anambra State Government roared through all the markets on the River Niger bridgehead end of the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway some days ago”.

Yes, there were series of demolition at the bridgehead axis of Onitsha , the commercial nerve centre of Anambra State . That axis is the major entrance to Anambra State .

Whatever one sees at this strategic point, as one enters Anambra State , says a lot about the government and people of the State. A visitor or returnee coming from Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Edo and Delta States or from Abuja or even outside Nigeria, forms his or her opinion about the hygiene, sense of aesthetics, and decorum or lack of it and the people and government of Anambra State based on what he/she sees at the bridgehead.

Before now, that is before the demolition, the bridgehead area on both sides, was home to filth – animal dung, birds’ feathers, muddy and oily soil- where decayed tomatoes, onions and other condiments were recklessly displayed to the discomfiture of the residents of and visitors to Onitsha and those on transit to Enugu, Imo, Abia, Cross –River, Rivers, Kogi and the Northern States of the country.

It is only imperative that such dirty, such unhygienic and such unsightly scenario could not continue to be tolerated by any

responsive and responsible government.

What is going on in Onitsha and in some other cities and towns in Anambra State under Governor Peter Obi’s watch, are the right things: They are logically defensible; they emanate from a clear conscience and what is more, they serve the interest of the majority of the people.

It is on record that for more than five years, Governor Obi’s administration has been appealing to traders at the bridgehead, Onitsha to vacate the area so that it could be worked on – cleared of refuse and rubbish, asphalted and beautified so that traffic from the Asaba end (in neighbouring Delta State) can flow freely and people entering Anambra State can feel the effect of civilisation.

The Governor had visited the traders several times, appealed to them on several occasions to see reasons to relocate to an area in Ogbunike – Umunya axis on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway so that work could commence at the bridgehead. Sensing that some of the traders may read etnicity into his appeals, he took on different occasions heads of different Security agencies in the State - Army Commander at the 301 Artillery Regiment Onitsha, Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, Director of the State Security Service, etc to the new site for them to help assess its suitability as an alternative to the rather chaotic, congested and dirty scenario at Onitsha. All the Security heads agreed with the governor that with the proximity of the express road, the Police Post already built, etc, there was no reason traders and their clients would insist on staying at the bridgehead.

It is important to point out that some of

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BY NNAEMEKA EZEOBA

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BoT: All eyes on Jerry Gana

be considered by the BoT mechanism to be largely useless for the post. The party’s internal and external interests are not static and could not be seen to be favourably managed by one who was relevant in 1999 and has fallen out of favour in 2011 or today based on his roles today. It is imperative that the BoT mechanism must be alive to this check, otherwise it runs the risk of running into self-destruction. One justification to this issue of selfregulation is the fact that the BoT should know that contestants whose wards, states and some other vital electoral offices were won by other parties do not have any reason to seek such an office because their failure to win their homes for their parties are clear indications that they do not have the integrity to direct the machinery of governance or influence it. What this means is that contestants like Tony Anenih, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Oyedokun and Alex Ekwueme have no business asking for such an office. They can also remember that the time some of them were the chairmen of the BoT, they were at their highest period of political command in their states. Their current value to party machinery can now be determined by the level of influence they can win.

The Jerry Ghana Committee will be expected to find out if the decision to allow Senator Walid Jubril to continue is in good tone based on the fact that he should have served out his first term with his chairman or be made to hold an interim appointment pending the election of a BoT chairman. If Walid goes on to be nominated again, it would mean that he will be there for 10 years. Then, many would want to know if the BoT secretary’s position has become the birth-right of the North Central

The demolition exercises were in accordance with the decision of Anambra State Executive Council, a decision basically taken with a view to creating order, decency and civility in the State.

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the traders literally ridiculed the governor on some occasions when he spoke to them at the bridgehead. They would engage him in unending argument without due respect to his office. On one occasion, one of them boasted that the Hausa community at Onitsha had petitioned the Sultan of Sokoto and that they were actually waiting for his directive on whether they should vacate the premises or not.

And as if that was actually true, the Sultan, His Eminence, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar came to Anambra State . Amazingly, during his courtesy call on the governor at the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House, Awka ,the Sultan shocked all who assumed the governor was a tribalist.

Recalling his Military Service days at Nsukka town as an Army Captain (or was it Major) and knowing Mr. Peter Obi as a student at the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in the 1980s, the Sultan announced to the chagrin of some of the people present that he had known citizen Peter Obi for more than 29 years, adding that he (the Governor) could not “hurt a fly”.

As if that statement was not enough, the governor later took his guest, the Sultan to the Palace of the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe where he was treated to

geographical zone. Moreover, the rush to elect a secretary only to postpone the chairmanship election indicates that some members are plotting some selfish agenda which cannot thrive under any conventional process .

A deep look into the entire plot that made the election to be postponed through a politicised motion moved by the senate president, political pundits are of the opinion that Walid was merely a stooge planted by some clandestine interests from the North Central to create an impression that two people cannot emerge from that zone, but forgetting the fact that BoT does not use zoning formula and the fact that Walid should serve out his term which ended long ago.

According to political analysts, since the party has also indicated that the past BoT has no more integrity, why does it have to continue to roll-over the secretary as if he was not a part of them. They believe that the secretary does not have any moral right to continue to function after the BoT has lost faith in that tenure that brought it to power.

As a matter of fact, political analysts also believe that the popular candidate for the post before the botched election, Senator Amadu Ali, is believed to have been extraordinarily transparent based on his past records as a former chairman of the party and campaign kingpin, would make a lot of difference if he gets the nod to become the party’s eyes at the presidency. This explanation is believed to have generated a lot of discomfort among politicians who are not inclined to function with aristocrats like the military-medic turned politician.

*Mr. Ezeoba, a political analyst, wrote from Abuja.

the usual royal ceremonies before the governor accompanied the Sultan to a ceremony in a mosque near Onitsha Main Market. It is important to note that the relationship between Governor Obi and the Muslim/Hausa/Yoruba community in Anambra State has been very cordial. This is because the governor welcomes everyone in open arms regardless of his/her state of origin, religion, ethnic or tribal inclination.

During the last Sallah, for instance, the Governor personally worshipped and broke the fast at an Awka mosque to the admiration of everyone. It is therefore surprising to notice that tribal meanings are being read into an action that is basically dictated by the urge to create a decent and civilised environment which will be to the benefit of all.

For the avoidance of doubt, the bridgehead axis of Onitsha is peopled by a variety of persons – Anambra traders, people from Enugu , Ebonyi, Imo, Abia States and some from the South west and Northern parts of the country. So the argument that the relocation order was handed down to Hausas and Yorubas to the exclusion of Igbo people, does not hold water.

Elsewhere at Nkpor, Ogidi, Ekwulobia, Awka, Nnewi and even Otu-Ocha, the headquarters of Anambra East Council Area, to mention just some places, demolition of illegal structures was carried out for the same reason as that of the Bridgehead area of Onitsha . In fact, the demolition exercises were in accordance with the decision of Anambra State Executive Council, a decision basically taken with a view to creating order, decency and civility in the State.Needless to add that actions of this nature are also carried out in other States of the Federation for similar reasons.

Let no one therefore single out the case of Anambra and imput politics to it.

*Mr. Udah is CPS to Governor Obi to Anmabra State.

20—Vanguard , FRIDAY FRIDAY,, JANUARY 25, 2013

Bauchi: Gory sight of suspected suicide victim sends tongues wagging

BY SUZAN EDEH

F

OR residents of Wuntidada, a surburb of Bauchi metropolis, January 20, 2013 will not be forgetten in a hurry.

This was the day they woke up to discover the lifeless body of a middle- aged man who is suspected to have taken his

According to him, he woke up early in the morning to honour an important appointment in town when he saw a strange man hanging on a tree. He explained that although he was scared to go near the place, he later summoned courage to move nearer to get a better view of the gory sight.“

,

I am not convinced that this man committed suicide because if you observe very well, his legs are touching the ground and from what I know of suicide victims, their legs are always suspended in the air. So is it that this one is touching the ground

own life by hanging on a tree.

Vanguard Metro learnt from some residents of the area that the body of the young man was discovered during the early hours of the day when most of the residents had woken up and were settling down for the day’s business..

Although, the identity of the suicide victim could not be immediately ascertained, one question that was on the lips of everyone that beheld the strange sight was, “what must have prompted such a promising young man to take his life when he has so much to live for?”

Lifeless body Vanguard Metro gathered that an old bible and three separate pictures of the deceased being baptized in water by a clergyman on September 1, 2012, were found very close to the lifeless body.

A closer look at the picture taken during the immersion baptism, shows people at the background taking pictures of the ceremony while the deceased who wore a pair of jeans and polo T shirt, looked hale and hearty.

A resident of Wunti dada who pleaded anonymity, narrated how he came across the body of the suspected suicide victim.

,

It was around 7am when I decided to go to town to honour a very important appointment.

On my way , along Bauchi- Jos highway, I saw something that attracted my attention. I noticed a man tied with a rope on his neck on a tree. From the look of things, it was evident that he wasn’t alive. My fears were confirmed when I got closer to discover that the young man was already dead. Other people who were passing by, also stopped to take a look at the lifeless

body. Commuters plying the highway also stopped to take a look at the gory sight,” he said.

The source who was evidently distressed by the incident, noted that no matter the hardship and negative circumstances the young man found himself in, taking his life was unjustifiable.

Another resident of the area who gave his name as Yakubu Sani said that he was not convinced that the young man killed himself.

“I am not convinced that this man committed suicide because if you observe very well, his legs

are touching the ground and from what I know of suicide victims, their legs are always suspended in the air. So is it that this one is touching the ground.

Again, there is no sign on his neck to show that it was the rope that strangulated him; there is no foam in his mouth. He still looks hale and hearty. I don’t believe this is suicide, there is something fishy about this incident,” he said.

Yakubu called for a intensive investigation into the alleged suicide case and urged people to be security conscious.

Confirming the incident,the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP A b b a s Abdullahi said the Police has commenced investigations into the incident. He gave the name of the young man as James Ishaku, 25 from Alkaleri Local Government area of Bauchi S t a t e . “ When the F e d e r a l Highway Patrol Team first saw the corpse dangling on top of the tree along Wuntin Dada quarters along Bauchi – Jos Road, they reported the matter to GRA Police station which sent policemen to remove the corpse and deposit it at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi,” DSP Abbas said .

The Police PPRO said that the Police are yet to ascertain the reason why the deceased decided to hang himself, adding that investigations are still ongoing and whosoever is found guilty will be prosecuted.

VM learnt that the policeis now using the deceased’s handset to answer his calls so as to inform those who know him to come to the GRA police station.

Robbers lay siege on Mushin as resident cry for help

BY BOSE ADELAJA

R

ESIDENTS of Mushin, a thickly populated Lagos neighbourhood, have raised an alarm over incessant robbery attacks in the area. They have therefore called on the government to come to their aid.

The Mushin residents claimed that robbers who usually operate on motorcycles popularly called Okada have been terrorising the area for over six months. According to them, these agents of darkness are not deterred by the presence of law enforcement agents.

A cross section of residents who spoke to Vanguard Metro said most

of the attacks are carried out in the early hours of the day when workers are going to their respective places of work. The most affected areas include Fatai Atere Way, Ojekunle, Palm Avenue and Isolo Road. Others are Bamgboye street, Fadeyi, Idioro, Olosa and Ilasa.

Series of attacks Four residents of the area were allegedly subjected to series of attacks recently by the robbers who brandished various dangerous weapons at their victims. Some of the victims who spoke to VM explained that although Mushin has

been known for violence, the situation has worsened due to incessant robbery attacks in the area.

One of the victims who identified herself as Mrs. Lucia Ikeh said she paid a visit to her brother at Isolo Road but was attacked by the robbers at Ojukunle street. ‘’An Okada rider blocked me and his ‘passenger’ brought out a gun and pointed it at me. I was forced to surrender all my belongings to them,” she said. Another victim, Matthew Obino, a trader at Daleko Market said that he lost N300,000 to Okada robbers who stopped him at gun point and demanded the bag containing the money.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 21

Reps query revenue loss through ports inspection contracts The House of Representatives has directed its Committee on Customs and Excise to investigate the continued loss of revenue through ports inspection contracts.

The resolution followed a motion moved by Rep. Abimbola Daramola ( ACNEkiti) which was adopted unanimously.

According to him, the collection of government revenue was not being maximised as more than $1 billion have been lost. He said that adequate taxes were not being paid by the destination inspection service providers.

Daramola said that destination inspection contracts were awarded to four foreign firms in 2006 at more than N275 billion to provide scanning services, risk management techniques, and electronic platforms at various ports and borders in the country.

The lawmaker explained that within seven years, the destination inspection service providers were expected to build, equip and transfer the technology and expertise to the Nigerian Customs Service

From left : Ibrahim Dikko, Chairman, First Securities Discount House, FSDH; Rilwan BeloOsagie, MD and Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, Group Head, Ecobank Capital at the unveiling of FSDH Merchant Bank Ltd in Lagos. Photo:Lamidi Bamidele. at the end of December 2012.

He said that the Finance Minister, the Customs Service and the service providers extended the contract for six

months without due process and against the interest of the country. Daramola said that as a result of the extension, N21 billion would be paid to the

service providers irrespective of the quality of work.

The committee is expected to report back to the House within two weeks.

All products in Nigeria to have electronic code — SON

BY OMOH GABRIEL

D

IRECTOR General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu yesterday said that his organization will soon embark on electronic product registration in Nigeria. He said all products in the Nigeria market will be expected to have electronic registration code for easy identification of both the manufacturer as well as the importer. He said that any product that does not carry SON electronic code by May 2013 will be removed from the market and destroyed.

At a media interactive session yesterday Odumodu said “Every product in Nigeria market is expected to bee documented. We must know who the manufacturers are, who imported the products and the relationship between the importer and the manufacturer.

We have completed the first 50% of the tenure of this current Director General and to examine what has been

achieved, we set to access our performance and improving on the weakness so far.

“One point I would like to stress in talking about 2013, is that we need to change our strategy and we would do most of the things we did last year, but some additional things would be included and I will explain why we have to do them. We have to do them for sustainability, to also connect to the world.

“When I started this job, we all focused on the prevalence of substandard products in Nigeria and the challenge of standardization is that it is measured in terms of the prevalence of substandard product. It is an outcome of a failed system or a non-existed system that leads us to what is currently happening now.

“What I have done in the last two years is to try to beat down the symptoms which are the level of literacy on the consumers in Nigeria and the prevalence of substandard product and every time you force that, The challenge we have in Nigeria is that we

don’t have what we call a national quality Policy, and one of the thing we must do this year is to promote and push for a Nation Quality Policy and it is going to go the whole process to the top approval up to the President of the Republic of Nigeria.

And that will lead us to identify to what is known as National Quality Infrastructure.

“I would like to say a few words about this policy.

Technology is a powerful force that drives the whole world to commonality in product and because of the impact of technology all over the world, today we have what is known as Global Market and customers are the same all over the world with people demanding the same quality in terms of services and at the end of the day it is that concept of commonality in standardize product all over the world that drives over the policy of National Quality Policy.

“A quality policy has a number of rationales for it.

The first is that government has the responsibility to efficiently and effectively manage all kind of regulations. Those managed regulations are for the

Meters: NERC gives PHCN customers go-ahead to pay Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said PHCN customers who are willing to purchase their own prepaid meters could go ahead and do so.

Dr. Sam Amadi, Chairman of NERC, told newsmen in Abuja, that willing customers could make advance payment to the Distribution Companies (DISCOs) of their choice.

This is contrary to earlier pronouncement by NERC in December when it said that the pre-paid meters being distributed to users remained free of charge. In a recent official letter, NERC stated that consumers were not required to pay for collection of meters, as the cost had already been reflected in the new electricity tariff.

It added that there should not be any exchange of monies between customers and PHCN. Amadi however told newsmen that the commission would soon organise a public hearing on how long customers would have to wait before they got their meters. He said that the commission would sanction DISCOs who collected money from customers and did not provide the meters.

Amadi also said that the commission would put measures in place to monitor the operations of the vendors who would supply and install the meters directly to users. He said that the commission would also work out modalities for payment of the meters.

The chairman said that the public hearing would also look at how to protect the Small and Medium Enterprises from high fixed charges and tariffs.

achievement of protecting the citizens; of course 0.15 155.65 more recently we talked about 2,281.00 -19.00 protecting the citizens.

18.46 0.04 “The second rationale is that the players in the system are expected to be 111.40 +0.09 transparent and present themselves to 111.82 -0.07 the regulatory environment that CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING government has provided.

DOLLAR 154.72 155.23 155.73 “The third rationale POUNDS 245.7577 246.5518 247.346 205.992 206.657 207.3233 is that government EURO FRANC 166.0193 166.5558 167.0923 needs to give industry YEN 1.7286 1.7342 1.7398 or enterprise, CFA 0.2953 0.3053 0.3153 supportive standards, WAUA 236.9687 237.7345 238.5002 25.0309 m e t r o l o g y , RENMINBI 24.8693 24.9501 41.258 41.3914 41.5247 accreditation and RIYA KRONA 27.5944 27.6836 27.7727 conformity assessment SDR 237.7426 238.5109 239.2791 services that are CBN Exchange rate as at 23/01/2013 accepted globally.”

22 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

NSE to roll out more ETFs in 2013

RenCap targets major leader in Africa equities market

By PETER EGWUATU & NKIRUKA NNOROM

I

N its determination to enhance the stock market breadth and width, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), has disclosed that it will roll out more Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the year 2013.

The Exchange also stated that it will welcome ETFs developed by other operators in the capital market, saying this will help in enhancing varieties of instruments and boosting the market in general.

While addressing newsmen at a press conference to analyse the performance of the stock market in 2012, the NSE’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said, “Continued product innovation by the Exchange, including the commencement of secondary bond market trading and introduction of new indices and ETFs would provide additional incentives.

Speaking on some of the initiatives for 2013, Onyema said, “For ETF, we intend to roll out additional ETFs covering various undermined products and we also intend to introduce the Nigerian depository receipt programmes this year.This would provide access to the trading of companies that are listed in other markets, but have their products heavily used in Nigeria. Also, the effort by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to achieve single digit inflation and various confidence building measures implemented by the NSE in 2012 would spur the market to a growth path within the year.

Though he feared that problems around liquidity might spill into the New Year, he assured that concerted efforts are being made to address the ugly trend.

H

is words: “The CBN’s effort to achieve a single digit inflation rate and a lower Monetary Policy Rate ( MPR ) should have a positive impact on the equities market in 2013 and as investors’ confidence building measures implemented by the NSE mature, we expect that a growth trend similar to that experienced in fourth quarter of 2012 will spread into 2013.”

“On the fixed income side, we anticipate that the relative attraction of the FGN bonds will continue for local and global investors as a result of record high yields. With the forthcoming inclusion of the Nigerian FGN bonds in the Barclays Emerging Markets

Briefs

R

From left: Adeolu Bajomo, Executive Director, Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE; Jingdong Hua, Vice President, IFC; Jalo Waziri Haruna, Head Business Development, NSE and Leke Ogunlewe, CEO Standard Chartered Securities Nigeria Ltd, at a courtesy call and bell ringing ceremony at the NSE, during a roadshow for the IFC’s “Naija” Bond in Lagos. Photo’: Lamidi Bamidele.

Local Currency Bonds Index, it will put the nation’s bonds in the international spotlight,” he added.

He noted that expected entrance of foreign issuers such as the International Finance Corporation into the Nigerian bonds market this year would help to lift the market performance.

He listed other contributing factors to the optimism on the capital market to include early

passage of the national budget which, according to him, created the impression that fiscal policy is prioritised; the pronouncement by the Federal Government to begin investing proceeds of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) in the capital market in March 2013, as well as elimination of value added tax,VAT, and stamp duties from transaction charges in the market.

According to him, Continuing, he said, “We intend to conclude work on transaction cost analysis framework that will allow us to benchmark how effective or extensive we executive an order in this market as compared to other emerging or frontier markets, and that will give us a clear understanding of where action needs to take place. We also intend to continue the work on market optimisation.

Fidelity Bank’s cash & cars promo produces additional winners

BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

T

HE on-going Fidelity Bank’s Cars & Cash Splash promo has produced another set of winners at the second round of the draw which held at the bank’s head office in Lagos.

The promo which kicked off in November, 2012 in commemoration of the bank’s 25th anniversary is billed to run to April this year and is open to all new and existing customers of bank who have minimum deposit of N20,000 in any of the bank’s bouquet of savings accounts.

The saving account could be any of Fidelity savings Account, FSA, Fidelity Personal Savings, FPSS, SWEETA account for children and Easisave or Flex for youths.

The second draw saw 21 customers across the six geo-political zones of the country winning five million naira, while five brand new Hyundai Accent Cars were also won by five other customers in the star prize category.

From the South/South, Okorie Daniel Ifediora of Eleme branch emerged the star prize winner, Godson Chima Egwuonwu from South/ East won the car prize, while Mshella Esther Pinbar, Ikenna Fidelis and Ekenechukwu Eze Nnalua emerged the star prize winners in Abuja/North Central, South West and Lagos zones

in that order.

Speaking at the draw, the Group Managing Director, GMD, Mr. Reginald Ihejiahi, assured of the bank’s readiness to continuously create unmatched value for its stakeholders in the coming years.

He stated that it was the bank’s way of appreciating its faithful customers and encouraging people to save for the proverbial raining days.

On the bank’s future plan, Ihejiahi said, “We have had tremendous growth in the last couple of years; 2013 from what we are seeing will not be different at all. We should expect continuing growth.”

“There are new areas we are looking at. We have been strategising on these for quite some time; we will venture into those areas in 2013.

2013 should be an interesting year for Fidelity and also a good year for all those who have one business or the other to do with our bank,” he added.

Also speaking, the Assistant Director, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr. Obi Iregbu, commended the bank for always keeping its words, while urging it to continue to do so.

“We have being with Fidelity bank all the way up to this very period. From what you witnessed here today, you can see the transparency and the integrity of this draw. As you can see, there is no hidden thing in it,” he said.

ENAISSANCE Capital Africa, a unit of the Russian investment bank controlled by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, said it is winning market share in equities across the continent as it chases rivals such as Standard Bank (SBK) Group Ltd. “In 2011 our market share by volumes traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange was 12 percent and Standard Bank’s was 17 percent but in 2012 we caught up,” Clifford Sacks, chief executive officer of RenCap Africa, said in an interview in Johannesburg on Jan. 21. In Kenya, RenCap went from third largest in equities in 2011 to second last year, he said.

RenCap, which doesn’t disclose detailed financial results, began operations in sub Saharan Africa in 2006.

Sacks, who had been Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s joint chief executive officer in South Africa, joined RenCap as Africa CEO in January 2011.

FSDH flags off merchant banking operations

F

IRST Securities Dis count House Limited (FSDH) has announced the commencement of merchant banking operations, while it also unveiled its new brand identity.

Speaking at the unveiling of the company’s new brand in Lagos, Mr. Rilwan BeloOsagie, Managing Director, FSDH Merchant Bank, also stated that there are no immediate plans to list the company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, adding however, that it would continue to feature in the capital market.

He stated that the company commenced its merchant banking operations on January 15, 2013 following the award of the licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria, in order to serve its customers through a wide array of financial services offerings.

“Over the years, we have built a strong and veritable institution, founded on trust, integrity, innovation and professionalism. We intend to improve the good experience of our clients, as the licence enables us to offer them a broader range of services.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 23

BRIEF:

S-West NAMB cautions CBN on recapitalisation of MFBs

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

N

ATIONAL Association of Microfinance Banks, NAMB South West Zone has warned the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN on the imminent danger of the revised microfinance policy framework.

Chairman of the Zone, Mr. Olufemi Babajide raised the alarm in a statement entitled dialogue on capitalisation and categorisation of MFBs in Lagos.

Babajide said, “The deadline of December 31st, 2012 is not feasible. We want the deadline to be extended till December 31st, 2014. If implemented, it will erode the gains we are already recording in the subsector, especially the stability we are experiencing.

“MFBs are apprehensive because of the pronouncement of the Other Financial Supervision Institution Department (OFSID) . They are not sending their staff for the Certification programme which the CBN is spending money on.

They are not paying their annual dues, staff members are afraid of Job loss. State Governments are beginning to withdraw their patronage of MFBs. Depositors are afraid.

“Our regular capacity building cannot be organized because of the fear of another Tsunami that may hit the subsector. Under the Nigeria Incentive- Based Risk Sharing-System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) programme, which is an initiative of the CBN, farmers have already been paired with

the branches of MFBs. If such branches are closed, it will be a setback for the programme.

This will compound the low productivity in the Agricultural Sector. Nigerians will surely go hungry. The Rural Agricultural Programme has already started with the branches of MFBs. If they are closed down, colossal losses will be recorded by Rural Farmers Finance Institution of Nigeria (RUFFIN), Farmers, Cooperative societies, the host communities and MFBs. Other initiatives such as: The United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) Solar power, Oando Gas that the branches of MFBs have signed on will automatically collapse.”

Meanwhile, the Revised Microfinance Policy Regula-

tory and Supervisory Framework states that “all MFBs that have elected to remain Unit MFBs, as indicated in the compliance plans earlier submitted to the CBN are required to close any existing branches/ cash centres. All customer interaction centres’, ‘meeting points’ and customer service centres or similar outlets, once located outside the registered business premises of a Unit MFB shall be regarded as unauthorized/unapproved branches/cash centres. All previous approvals for such outlets for Unit MFBS have become null and void from the date of approval of the Revised Policy Framework by the Board of Directors of the CBN.”

From left: Brand Operations Integration Leader, P&G, Mokutima Ajileye; Celebrity Endorser, Sidney Esiri (aka Dr. SID); and Brand Operations Integration Manager, P&G, Titilola Adetunji at the on-going Oral-B mobile dental clinic p r o g r a m m e organised to support oral health by Procter and Gamble Nigeria, in Lagos.

Sterling Bank tackles rent problem with Rent-A-Month scheme

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

S

TERLING Bank and RSL Derivatives have introduced Rent-A-Month scheme, a lending facility designed to help individuals solve rent problem.

“This scheme creates an opportunity for prospective and existing tenants who belong to the working class and selfemployed professionals to access rent finance and pay on a monthly basis over a maximum period of two years”, said Abubkakar

Suleiman.

He spoke at the media launching of the scheme on Wednesday at the Bank’s head office in Lagos. He said, “As we are all aware, rent in Lagos is always paid in advance, either for a year or two. For some tenants, it is difficult to raise the rent amount when it is due. The Rent-a-Month scheme enables eligible individuals solve their rent problem by taking a facility for the tenor of the rent, which they can now repay on a monthly ba-

sis, thus making house rent convenient and affordable.”

Sterling Bank’s Group Head, Consumer Lending, Kike Kuponiyo said the product was introduced in conjunction with RSL Derivatives Global Services Limited, a risk financial consulting firm which facilitates the availability of these facilities to eligible customers, while indemnifying the bank against the risk of default.

RSL Derivatives, she said, is

also expected to pre-qualify interested customers using agreed standards, to ensure that all recommended customers meet the bank’s credit risk criteria. She said credit relating to the product is processed swiftly and allows quick approval on receipt of full documentation, convenient and flexible repayment pattern as well as concessionary pricing. Also, the loan is structured in a way that the bank does not exceed 33 per cent of the borrower’s income at all times.

MasterCard boss commends CBN cashless policy

BY WILLIAM JIMOH

T

HE President and CEO of MasterCard Worldwide, Ajay Banga has commended the rapid growth of the cashless policy initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Banga said this while addressing CBN officials and other business leaders during a visit to Nigeria as part of his week-long trip across the continent. He described the rapid evolution of the payments landscape in the country as a global success story.

He acknowledged the introduction of the CBN Cashless Policy as being the driving force behind this evolution.

He said, “MasterCard’s close collaboration with the CBN and other stakeholders in Nigeria has proved that collaboration between public and private sector organizations is the key to driving meaningful change in any economy.”

The CEO noted that Nigeria has witnessed a remarkable reform in its electronic payments sector over the past two years, with financial institutions, businesses, merchants and consumers showing a keen willingness to adopt electronic payments.

“The CBN’s Cashless Policy, and the solutions created to achieve its goals, is viewed with global interest as a benchmarking driving inclusion in emerging markets,” he maintained.

Banga noted that Nigeria has witnessed a remarkable reform in its electronic payments sector over the past two years, with financial institutions, businesses, merchants and consumers showing a keen willingness to adopt electronic payments.

“The modernization of the payments industry, driven by local government, will positively impact economic growth in Nigeria by helping to eliminate inefficiency, corruption and frauds, which are issues, faced by all cash-dependent economies,” said Banga .

Banga noted that his company ’s multifaceted approach to supporting the move to electronic payments includes continuous engagement with the Nigerian government and a number of collaborations with financial institutions and merchants to educate consumers on the benefits of electronic payments.

24—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

FG okays N180m for wheat seeds T

HE Federal Government has approved the release of N180 million for the purchase of foundation seeds from wheat farmers at the Bakalori irrigation site in Zamfara.

Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development announced while distributing fertiliser and improved rice seeds to the farmers.

Adesina, represented by the Minister of State, Alhaji Bukar Tijjani, said that the federal government had directed the registration of 8,000 farmers, who participated in the production of the foundation seeds but were not captured under the ministry’s programmes.

According to him, the wheat seeds will be distributed to the farmers for use during the 2013 irrigation season.

The minister also restated the commitment of the government to the revitalisation of wheat production in the country and providing alternative markets for the produce.

He equally assured that the government would create appropriate market for all the rice produced under the irrigation programme this year. “The federal government

has remained focused and committed to the success of the on-going transformation in the agricultural sector.

“The government will also not relent in providing appropriate incentives to boost the welfare and economy of the farmers.

“President Goodluck Jonathan has resolved to make agriculture the corner stone of the administration’s policy on poverty reduction, economic

growth and national security through the attainment of food security,” he said.

He urged youths in the country to take advantage of the agricultural transformation agenda and participate actively in farming.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Works, Alhaji Bashir Yuguda, said that the government had donated N250 million to victims of recent floods in the

state, and 750 tons of assorted grains as assistance.

Yuguda urged the state government to be transparent in the distribution of the donation to only those affected.

NAN reports that about 11, 000 hectares of rice farms are being cultivated at the the Bakalori irrigation site, which stretched through 14 local government areas of the state.

•Wheat farm

Osun fish scheme generates 462 jobs for youths T

HE Osun State Fisheries Out-growers Production Scheme had generated no fewer than 462 direct jobs for youths in agriculture.

Mr Dele Ogundipe, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Quick Impact Intervention Programme

(QUIIP), made this disclosure in an interview in Osogbo Ogundipe said the beneficiaries, who were directly engaged in the scheme, would make an estimated profit of N400, 000 per rearing cycle of four months.

“No fewer than 4, 620 indirect jobs for farm and factory hands, security men, administrative staff, transporters and casual workers are created through the scheme,” he said.

He also disclosed that fish farmers in all the state’s 30

IITA, Bowen to partner on research, capacity building

BY PETER EGWUATU

T

HE International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Nigeria has resolved to partner with Bowen University, Iwo in research, training and capacity building.

The decision was made at an interactive meeting held by the management of the two organizations, weekend, at the IITA’s conference room, Ibadan.

Speaking at the meeting, Dr Kenton Dashiell, IITA Deputy Director-General who received the Bowen University management team led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Timothy

Olagbemiro, asserted that the partnership agreement has become necessary to boost each other ’s efforts in the production of quality food through research and capacity development in Nigeria.

According to him, IITA is set to open its doors to Bowen University ’s lecturers and students for research and training within the institute’s research portfolio policies.

Responding, Olagbemiro expressed satisfaction at the fresh research partnership agreement being reached by the two bodies, saying that it would amount to a mutual benefit between the institute

and the university. He also thanked the IITA’s management for the over 3,000 text books it donated to the university recently.

Dashiell described IITA as one of the world’s leading research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, saying its award-winning research for development (R4D) addresses the development needs of tropical countries, while working with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture.

Local Government Areas, including Ife Area office, had been given loans in kind to the tune of N253 million.

Ogundipe said no less than 1, 020, 000 juvenile catfish had been supplied to farmers and stocked by them.

He said a modern archery established in Ijebu-Jesa was to ensure the supply of the best variety of juvenile ‘clarias’ to all farmers under the scheme and other fish farmers in the state.

“Fish feed is critical input that accounts for the lion share of expenditure in fishery business and to make cheap feed available, a feed mill has been established in IjebuJesa,” he added.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Raheem Adeniji, the chairman of the Osun chapter of the All farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), has advised farmers to make early preparations for the planting season.

Adeniji gave the advice in Osogbo said there was possibility of early downpour this year, adding that farmers should make early preparations to avoid being caught unawares.

Germany, FAO urge international community to develop responsible investments in agric

T

HE German Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Ilse Aigner, and the Food and Agriculture Organization DirectorGeneral José Graziano da Silva have called for a significant increase in responsible investments in agriculture to eradicate hunger and feed a growing world population.

Investments in agriculture are still too low in those regions where rural poverty and hunger are most severe, Aigner and Graziano da Silva stressed today after meeting ahead of the Agriculture Ministers’ Berlin Summit 2013.

“We need to concentrate our efforts on the farmers.

Farmers are the key players in the rural environment and here lies the greatest potential for generating added value – both in terms of economic development and in guaranteeing food security in these countries,” said Aigner.

“The German government spends over 700 million euros each year on food security and rural development in developing countries.

One of the goals here is to achieve sustainable yield increases. This is done by promoting locally based training and education, for example, and we have initiated a number of important agricultural training schemes.”

“Agricultural investment has long shown itself to be one of the most effective and sustainable means for reducing hunger and poverty. We need to invest more. And, equally as important, we need to invest better,” said Graziano da Silva. “It is up to national governments, assisted by the international community, to create conditions where farmers can invest more and to increase their own investments in ways that generate economic and social benefits, as well as environmentally sustainable results.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 25

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HE Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has concluded plans to pursue a national quality policy to curb the menace of sub-standard products in Nigeria.

Already, the agency has received an approval for the establishment of a National Accreditation Service in the country in less than a month, to ensure that any accreditation given in Nigeria would be credible anywhere else in the world.

Director-General of the agency, Dr Joseph Odumodu, who gave the hint at an interaction with journalists in Lagos, said the policy would radically transform the

quality consciousness of manufacturers and consumers in the country.

Odumodu said the policy has become imperative given realties in global markets on the one hand as well as the fact that government has a responsibility to efficiently manage regulations to protect society.

According to him, such a policy would also help the government to provide supportive standards to aid industries and ensure that operators conform to globally accepted requirements in their industrial and trading processes.

He stressed that the SON would pursue the policy because it does not want discrepancies

SON plans quality policy for Nigeria in testing exercises aimed at ascertaining the quality level of products manufactured or sold in the country.

The SON boss said nobody would be able to stop the national quality process once it takes off as it would be backed up from the highest level of government.

He explained that the new resolve would leverage effectively from the planned meteorology facility, which his organisation is building in the Ogba area of Lagos, adding that it would ensure efficient and accurate calibration of equipment used in the coun-

try.

“We need to enhance the confidence of anyone who buys a product bearing the Nigerian mark of quality. In the past we have not effectively participated in international elaboration of standards, which is not good for us; that is part of what we would be doing henceforth in pursuit of our agenda of global relevance,” he said.

Odumodu added that the SON has rejigged the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme and the remodelled version would be taking off on February 1, while a May deadline has been set for companies, which have not completed their e-registration processes to do so.

The SON director-

general reiterated that the campaign to rid the country of sub-standard products is not a fight for the SON alone, but a concerted one to which all well-meaning Nigerians should enlist in.

He said the SON in line with emerging realities was changing its strategy to be able to connect with the world in the fight against substandardisation.

... as EDAN partners SON on substandard it would continue to products partner with the Stand-

The Electrical Dealers Association of Nigeria

(EDAN), Alaba Market in Lagos has said that

ards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) against substandard goods in a more rigorous manner this year.

Speaking with journalists in Lagos, Mr. Felix Apunonu, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the association, said that this year 2013 would mark a positive change in the market’s activities.

Apunonu said that both bodies would work vigorously to combat the sale of substandard goods in the market.

According to him, the establishment of the SON Desk in the market had further assisted the association in its fight against the importation of substandard products.It would be recalled that the desk was established in August 2012 as part of efforts to check the influx of substandard goods into the Alaba International Market.

Apunonu said that remarkable achievements had been recorded in the quest to combat the sale of fake goods since then.

“For importers who are repentant, the sale of such substandard products is a thing of the past. Sadly however, others have devised new strategies for bringing in such products, but with our vigilant team such persons will be fished out to face the consequence.

“So far in 2012, we made good progress in our mission, especially with the Memorandum of Understanding we have with the SON Desk in Alaba. 2013 will not be different and we will not relent in this task for the good of the nation,” Apunonu assured.

He told journalists that a number of substandard products were seized by members of the Alaba Market Task Force this new year, adding that they had been assembled for burning. He also said that the destruction of the goods was a warning signal and would serve as a deterrent to others.

26—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

Onikan museum: Place where history comes alive I

BY JIMOH BABATUNDE

t is often said that a race that forgets its past will sooner die, and that a glimpse of our past gives an insight into what we are today and even potential future. A visit to the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos recently brings to life all of the leaders that have one way or the other shaped the history of Nigeria.

The windshield and the body of the black Mercedes Benz were pierced with several bullets. The front windshield has two big holes from the gun shots just as the body carried the scare of almost ten holes on both sides.

From the bullets holes , one can confidently bet that the occupants could not have survived and truely they were not lucky. The death of one of the occupants has remained with the country since that faithful Friday, February 13, 1976.

Former Nigeria Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed, was on that day shot dead at Obalende on his way back from the Mosque ,where he had gone to perform his Jummat prayer ,by some soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Suka Dimka in an abortive military coup against the government.

Today, that black Mercedes Benz is at the National Museum, Onikan with the red leather upholstery, dashboard and steering wheel among others still looking elegant with the Nigerian flag and that of the Nigerian Army flying in front dotting the front of the sedan benz.

Seeing the Mercedes car my mind raced back to my childhood in Benin. I remembered as a child having to see my parents peep through our windows with light off looking at the army that took over the street of Benin City after the coup was crushed by forces loyal to the government.

Turning my eyes away from the car, I stood face to face with the picture of the coup leader, Lieutenant Colonel Dimka,

sandwiched between officers that arrested him .The look on his face did not show that of a remorseful officer.

In the same hall were the pictures of former Nigerian leaders from Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa to the the current President, Good luck Jonathan.

The National Museum really provides a unique interactive experience of getting up close to things we usually only see in books, newspapers or on the television.

Late Gen. Murtala Muhammed’s Benz Seeing the late Head of State’s car for example, is a totally different experience to seeing one of the several printed versions; the perception you get of something from a secondhand source is often completely different to the one you get when you see something with your own eyes.

As I made my way out of the exhibition hall in company of the museum guide, Omidire

Olabisi, I pondered over the men of yester years who are still in government today. Still in that mood, the guide drew my attention to the colourful ladies in the pictures that looked like bill boards in the main court yard of the museum.

“These were pictures taken at an exhibition of lace materials in Lagos organised by the Austrian embassy here. You know Nigerian women travel

there to buy lace materials.”

Along side the pictures of the ladies with different colours of the lace materials are the pictures of some monuments in Nigeria like the Benin moats, and The Gidan Makama in Kano.

For many Lagosians going to the museum can bring to life what they have heard about old Lagos, like the old secretariat, race course , Kuramo beach

where you have the Eko hotel today, the old Ikorodu road and what the Tinubu square looked like in the 40s among other monuments in Lagos.

For firsthand experience of the country’s history, occupation and beliefs, the National Museum, Onikan can be an extremely valuable source for such information. As we made our way into the main museum, I was impressed by the sheer beauty of the place.

The voice of Omidire Olabisi brought me back to life again , “here we are in the section that contains objects for fertility and birth.”

On display are hoe, wooden gong, Opa Ifa, black pot and osohin staff. He explained that in traditional belief, women must be fertile to give birth and if a woman is married and can not give birth then the Ifa must be consulted, “that is why you have opa ifa, osehin staff.”

After the woman might have been treated and gives birth then you have the birth objects like a stood to be sat on by the new mother and hoe as well as the gong.

“In the some part of Nigeria, the woman will sit on the object to facilitate the delivery, if the child does not cry at birth they beat the hoe with a stick to awaken the baby and the gong to announce the birth of the baby.

“They use this black pot to bury the umbilical cord, if the child is not doing well in the future; they consult the umbilical cord as the pot does not decay.”

Nigeria tourism set for boost as Camora berths in Lagos

A

n event that is billed to attract over 50,000 participants, especially Nigerians in the Diaspora and other foreign nationals from Africa, America and Europe, will hold in Lagos this year.

The event known as CAMORA will be a four -day multi-leveraging entertainment business platform and is expected to draw exhibitors from every sector and sub-sector of the Nigerian entertainment scene.

Mr. Dom Lawson, the CEO, D58 Production, who are the promoters and organizers of the event, said it will incorporate a trade exhibition, live artiste performances, both from established and budding acts, and business seminars.

He added that it will tremendously impact the local economy, with visitors hopefully taking time off to visit and patronise interesting tourist sites before jetting back to their destinations.

Speaking in Lagos during the week , Lawson said:

“Camora is the first of its kind in West Africa and is borne out of the need to organize and give order to the entertainment industry exposing more opportunities for investment, home and abroad, while showcasing our core African values.

Dom Lawson said “With over 50,000 participants expected, including several visitors from

outside the country, you can imagine the huge tourism potential and revenue-earning opportunities that will be generated.

Airlines, petty traders, transporters, hotels, eateries, clubs, local joints, artisans, artifact sellers and SMEs, among others will benefit greatly from this event.

From left: Mr. Yomi Adedeji, CEO, Sofcom/Magio; Mrs Temitope Jemerigbe, MD, DKK and Mr. Dom Lawson, CEO, D58 Productions Company, during the press conference for Camora Entertainment Business Platform, in Lagos.

Nigeria ready for Madrid’s FITUR

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reparation is in top gear for a befitting outing for Nigeria at this year ’s annual tourism, hospitality ant travel fair known as FITUR holding in Madrid Spain at the end of January to early February.

In a press release made available to Vanguard, the DirectorGeneral of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, said the Corporation was perfecting its plan for the outing which would create a magnetic attraction to the Nigerian pavilion.

The fair which is reported to be among the three leading tourism fairs in the world will attract thousands of participants, buyers and sellers from at least 156 countries of the world.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—27

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OR those who are looking forward to attending the muchtalked- about white wedding between superstar, 2face and his wife, Annie come February 14, this is not a favourable news, as the couple may have postponed the ceremony till further notice.

Contrary to reports, investigations during the week have revealed that the celebrity couple have no such plans to walk down the aisle come February 14, 2013.

Instead of the hugely expected February/Valentine wedding, multiple sources have hinted that 2face has a plan to stage a lovers’ concert on Valentine day, in partnership with Now Muzik and Edi Lawani’s Showbiz Network Services. The pop icon will also honour other performance engagements in and around Lagos.

‘Forget all the noise about February 14, Innocent and his wife have other grand plans up their sleeves and are not ready to give up the details yet,’ hinted an insider, as Annie continued her shopping spree in the US and Dubai.

There were reports that the couple had been planning an elaborate white wedding, to take place possibly on Valentine’s Day, exactly one year after the pop star

surprisingly proposed to Annie.

It has also been revealed that 2face will be hosting a February 14 Valentine show at the Eko Hotel and Suites.

‘Unless, he can divide himself into two, there won’t be any wedding that day,’ a close friend said.

Meanwhile, 2face’s managers could not be reached, but his publicist, Bayo Omisore said he is unable to confirm any date for now, until he is given a date by his client.

This new development comes amidst talk that the wedding, which was initially planned for Abuja, will now hold in Dubai.

Why NBC banned Alingo, Timaya’s Bum Bum, 5 other music videos

BY OPEOLUWANI OGUNJIMI

E

IGHT music videos including, P-Square’s Alingo, Timaya’s Shake your Bum Bum and D’ Prince’s Take Banana have been banned from further airing on the nation’s TV stations by the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.

Others are Tillaman’s Koma Roll ft,Wande Coal(Go Low ), D’ Prince(Take Banana), Flavour(Shake), Goldie’s Skii Bobo and Chuddy K’s Chop My Dollar.

In a statement by the regulatory body, the videos are banned on the ground that they contain erotic and suggestive dance steps, scenes of nudity, erotic and vulgar words, featuring a minor with suggestive and immoral dance steps.

The affected videos which have been enjoying a massive airplay include Tillaman’s Ma Roll featuring Vector. It was banned for C M Y K

containing Intimate and suggestive dance steps.

Wande Coal’s Go Low also received it’s share of condemnation for projecting scenes of nudity.

Also, Don Jazzy’s younger brother, D’Prince‘s recently released video was not spared either. His Take Banana video was sanctioned for airing Intimate, vulgar, words and suggestive dance steps.

Nabania Flavour’s Shake, was equally banned for containing vulgar and suggestive dance steps.

Our dear Prezzo’s beau, Goldie is probably having it tough too, as her new video, Ski bo bo was also banned for featuring a minor with suggestive and immoral dance steps.

Chuddy K’s Chop My Dol-

Continues on Page 28

I N S I D E:

iRoko TV boss, Jason Njoku spoils wife with N10m car g ift

Michael Jackson biography enrages!

28—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

Prince Twins Seven Seven

(May 3,1944 – June 16,2011)

Africa’s Picasso

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LTHOUGH, Prince Twins Seven Seven was more known in the visual art circle, than he was celebrated in the music industry. His presence would have made the difference in both professions if he had not transited into ancestry. A painter and sculptor of international repute, Prince Twins Seven Seven’s decision to go into music vividly redefined his person as an allround entertainer.

He was an artist, who in Africa, did exactly what (Pablo) Picasso did in his place in Spain and what (Vassily) Kandinsky did in his place in Russia. Characterized as a contemporary African artist, Prince Twins who was born Bamidele Olaniyi rank among the modern arts greats in Africa. No doubt, he would have remained so, if he had lived. An artist who created a unique body of imaginative mythical African works and in terms of Contemporary African Art, he was a pioneer and an artist of his time.

He was certainly one of the biggest hitters in the African Art World and his works spoke volumes for Africa and today. His works would have perhaps, continue to fascinate and delight both the art and music lovers in the country.

Remembering famous Nigerian musicians who have died (2)

Chief Dr. Oliver De Coque Nigeria’s King of Guitar

Many had admired their talents, others have envied them. It was all for daring to be what their peers were dreaming to be. Unfortunately, they were suddenly snatched away igeria’s guitarist King, by death, leaving behind deep pains, and anguish. Ironically, these famous musicians Chief Oliver de Coque, through their works, are even becoming more celebrated today than when they were alive. born Oliver Sunday Akanite was WG imagines what they would have done more, if they had lived... one of Africa’s most prolific recording artists before he

By BENJAMIN NJOKU bowed out of the stage few years ago. Like Osita Osadebe, Coque was a source of inspiration and influence to the young highlife musicians in the country. After (November 11,1960-June 30,2011) releasing his debut album, MesNigeria’s Lady of Song siah Messiah in 1977, Coque took the music scene by storm LTHOUGH she had her arms, and watched helplesswhen he recorded no fewer than retired from singing long ly, as the musicians’house be73 albums in quick succession. before she bowed out of the comes a shadow of its old self.

His dance-inspiring “Ogene” stage two years ago, Nigeria’s Also, she would have been makstyle of highlife, which blends Lady of Songs, Christy Essien ing her meaningful contribution modern high life and traditional Igbokwe remains evergreen. towards the growth of the inIgbo music, has produced such She still would have been rele- dustry. At least, like Onyeka hits as “Biri Ka Mbiri,” “Ana vant as far as the nation’s mu- Onwenu, she’d have released Enwe,” “Naukwa Mmwanwu,” sic industry is concerned. While new album such that will draw and “Identity,” which remained she lived, she put the coun- heavily on the culture and traon Radio Nigeria 2’s Top Ten try’s name on the world music dition of her Ibibio nation. throughout most of 1981. map with her evergreen “Seun Most of her evergreen albums Though he’s no more today, Rere.” such as ‘Patience’, ‘Time Waits Oliver de Coque is still alive in As the first female president for No One’(both 1978), ‘One the minds of fans and those who of the Performing Musicians Understanding’ (1979), ‘Give appreciated his kind of music.

Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Me A Chance’ (1980), and Being a committed singer, and Christy wouldn’t have folded ‘Ever Liked My Person’ (1981) a source of inspiration to so many remains her best LP till date. young and upcoming musicians, Oliver de Coque would have (21 October 1987 – 22 April 2010) continued to make waves, attending shows, concerts and The people’s rapper stars we have around today. He boys’ acquiring properties performing at birthday parties, connected with his fans on such within and outside Lagos wedding and funeral ceremonies.

NTIL his death in a real level. His demise, which environs.

While some of his fans 2010, Olaitan Ola marked the end of his career, onipekun, popularly left a vacuum that is yet to be believed that Da Grin was known as Da Grin’s music was filled by anyone. One is sure “a legend”, many others not as popular as he appeared that he would have won more saw him as “a mentor of to be today. Immediately after laurels for himself as well as all time” whom death his demise, his music caught released more hit albums that snatched from them.

“Like a fire that burnt fire, and today, everyone is talk- would take the nation’s music through the field of an inindustry by storm.

Perhaps, he ing about Da Grin’s music. An artiste with a huge talent, Da would have joined the ‘big dustry called music; particularly the rap genre, Da Grin was reputed for rapping Grin came, he saw, but he in his native Yoruba language never conquered death. and scantly in English LanFor the short time he had guage. reigned, where even legIf he had survived the autoends strive to; he created a crash, which eventually nd style that none could imiclaimed his life, on the 22 of tate; touched the lives of April, 2010, Da Grin would music lovers like no one have become one of the mega else; and gave hope to the teeming youths that it is possible to make it in this country if you got style. But, he went up in a blaze of glory when we least expected it at 23.”What else to say... doing concert tours like his contemporaries, Flavour, Mr. Raw, Bracket and others. The rapper for anything would Continues from Page 27 have become a justifiable.’ blessing to his aged lar was listed among the ‘corrupted’videos He also added that the ban would not make mother, wife and for featuring ladies and children with sug- any difference since the video has already his fatherless son. gestive and Intimate dance steps. gone worldwide and is definitely loved by the Perhaps, prior to Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa, Timaya’s Shake fans. his demise, the Ur Bum Bum couldn’t have survived the It would be recalled that NBC has always hardworking punch as it was also banned for projecting exercised its power to regulate the contents m u s i c i a n intimate, suggestive dance steps with on Nigerian television and radio stations c o m p l e t e d vulgar lyrics. especially in recent times.Videos like Femi recording of a duet Lastly, the video that is presently receiv- Kuti’s ‘Bang bang bang’, Konga’s ‘Baby konwith Faze in a song ing a massive air play, P Square’s Alingo ga’, and most recently, DJ Zeez’s ‘Body Lantitled “ I know what was nipped in the bud for encouraging In- guage’ have come under the axe of the NBC. the girls want. By timate dance scenes at the end of the muAttempt by WG to contact the NBC to connow, the album sical video. In response to the ban, firm the ban proved abortive as they refused would have been Psquare’s publicist, Bayo Adetu said,‘We to pick their calls. making waves in just saw the story online on Wednesday the market. and we do not think that the NBC’s ban is

N

Christy Essien Igbokwe

A

Da Grin

U

MC Loph

Osondi Owendi exponent...

R

APPER, Nwaozo Obiaju lu a.k.a MC Loph who came into the limelight with the release of a remix of the Osita Osadebe’s hit song, “Osondi Owendi” few years ago died in his prime.

He had a tragic car accident which claimed his life, alongside his only sister, Chinwe on 14th of September, 2011, while on his way to Enugu for his traditional wedding. If he were still around, MC Loph would be recording and

Why NBC banned Alingo, Timaya’s Bum Bum, 5 other music videos

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—29

iRoko TV boss, Jason Njoku, spoils actress wife with N10m car gift I

roko TV founder, Jason Njoku recently presented a brand Range Rover Evoque worth N10 million to his wife, Mary Remmy, as a special gift to mark their 2nd wedding anniversary.

The 31-year-old Technology media entrepreneur posted on his facebook page, a picture of the car with a message that read thus, ‘New Toy for the wife, Mary Remmy. Happy 2nd anniversary.”

WG gathered that the car is the white version of the one presented to actress, Genevieve Nnaji by Coscharis Motors last year.

Jason tied the knot with Mary

in August, last year, after a whirlwind romance that lasted two years.

The couple hosted friends and colleagues at a lavish reception held at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Festac, Lagos.

The event had a handful of stars like Mercy Johnson, Emem Aigbe, Kefee and Uche Jombo in attendance. It was anchored by actor, Charles Inojie while Kefee performed her song You are Beautiful for the couple.

Remmy is best known for her role in “Blackberry Babes”.

She was made an ambassador of iRoko TV in 2011, and married the founder in 2012

•Wale jr.

wapTV braces up for business

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Diamond Igwe stages a multi-million naira wedding for her twin brother

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ECENTLY, notable Nollywood screen diva, Diamond Adaeze Igwe staged a multi-million naira wedding for her twin brother, Peter Igwe in the bubbling city of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

The glitz and glamorous wedding which till this moment remains the talk of the town held at the Shiloh Hall of Widow Care. It also witnessed a huge turn-out of Nollywood stars and entertainers.

According to the Ebonyiborn actress, “It is not that my twin brother doesn’t have what it takes to make his wedding a glamorous one, but I personally requested to foot the bill. And to the glory of God, it, the wedding, has come and gone. It does not mean I have arrived or gotten

so much money to lavish. His wedding provided me the opportunity to show my twin brother some love. Besides, such event is for a lifetime. ”

•Diamond Adaeze

•Jason Njoku with wife

Julius Agwu’s handshake at 40 T

HE ace-comedian, actor and musician, Julius Agwu is currently working on his autobiography which he hopes to unveil on the 7th of April, to mark his 40th birthday anniversary. The book which is yet to be titled, is being edited by award winning poet and writer, Toni Kan. Julius will also launch his TV show, Jokes Apart, which he has been working on for the past five years, on that day.

Meanwhile, he’s staging a Valentine’ day event tagged, “Festival of Love with Julius Agwu” at Hilton Abuja on February 16, 2013.

The classy evening of music and comedy will feature Wizkid, Burnaboy, Bovi, Daniel de Humourous and many other stars.

Cleric wins SUV in DStv promo A

cleric, Most Reverend Charles Oderinde, ArchBishop of the Anglican Communion, has emerged winner of a Renault Duster Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), the biggest promo prize in the ongoing DStv Mega Promo.

THE TEAM BENJAMIN NJOKU njokujamin@yahoo.com AYO ONIKOYI OPEOLUWANI OGUNJIMI

The Most Reverend Oderinde emerged in the fourth draw of the on-going promo, which had earlier produced two lucky winners, Mr. Alloysius Onuoha and Mr Garba Ahmed, both from Abuja, who also won Renault Duster SUVs. Six other subscribers were presented with LCD TVs and Walka 7 mobile TV devices during the fourth round of the mega promo prize presentation held at the MultiChoice office in Lagos on Thursday, January 17, 2013 even as two more Duster SUVs will be given away to lucky subscribers as the promo enters its last stage.

Mr. Mayo Okunola, General Manager, DStv, congratulated

all the subscribers who have won prizes ranging from DStv Walka 7, 40-inch LCD TV sets, AFCON tickets to the mega prize, which is the Renault Duster SUV, in the DStv mega promo that commenced in November, 2012. He said MultiChoice is happy to reward its subscribers for their loyalty and that the company will do much more to excite them in 2013.

Thanking MultiChoice for the prize, Most Reverend Oderinde, Archbishop of the Anglican Diocese, Ado-Ekiti, said he did nothing other than pay his DStv subscription one year ahead and that he had been doing that for upward of five years.

•Julius Agwu

ESPITE the calm, quiet appearance of its edifice situated in Ajao Estate, Lagos, there is lots of joy and celebration in wapTV as the popular TV Channel has just acquired a new set of high-tech satellite broadcasting equipment to further improve its operations to the delight of viewers, advertisers and content providers.

According to the Managing Director of wapTV, Wale Adenuga Jnr., “With the new satellite broadcast equipment, viewers should expect live programmes, live coverage of various types of events, as well as an increased exposure on wapTV now that it has the necessary facilities required to enable simultaneous transmission on several Satellite Television Providers.”

Since its debut on October 1, 2012, wapTV has quickly grown to become one of the most popular Digital TV Channels in the country due to its strategically planned programming which includes past and fresh episodes of Superstory, Thislife, Papa Ajasco & Company, Nnena & Friends, Odd World and Binta My Daughter. wapTV is also a favourite amongst TV viewers nationwide because it airs the best selection of Nigerian movies, soaps, comedies and music videos which cut across different social and age groups.

30—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

World Stage

Michael Jackson biography Shamed enrages! cyclist Lance R Armstrong confesses doping to Oprah

EVIEWS on Amazon (AMZN) are becoming attack weapons, intended to sink new books as soon as they are published.

In the biggest, most overt and most successful of these campaigns, a group of Michael Jackson fans used facebook and Twitter to solicit negative reviews of a new biography of the singer. They bombarded Amazon with dozens of onestar takedowns, succeeded in getting several favourable notices erased and even took credit for Amazon’s briefly removing the book from sale.

“Books used to die by being ignored, but now they can be killed — and perhaps unjustly killed,” said Trevor Pinch, a Cornell sociologist who has studied Amazon reviews. “In theory, a very good book could be killed by a group of people for malicious reasons.”

In “Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson,” Randall Sullivan writes that Jackson’s overuse of plastic surgery reduced his nose to little more than a pair of nostrils and that he died a virgin despite being married twice. These points in particular seem to infuriate the fans.

Outside Amazon, the book had a mixed reception; in The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani called it “thoroughly dispensable.” So it is difficult to pinpoint how effective the campaign was. Still, the book has been a resounding failure in the marketplace.

The fans, who call themselves Michael Jackson’s Rapid Response Team to

•Michael Jackson Media Attacks, say they are exercising their free speech rights to protest a book they feel is exploitative and inaccurate.

“Sullivan does everything he can to dehumanize, dismantle and destroy, against all objective fact,” a spokesman for the group said.

But the book’s publisher, Grove Press, said the Amazon review system was being abused in an organized campaign. “We’re very reluctant to interfere with the free flow of discourse, but there should be transparency about people’s motivations,” said Morgan Entrekin, president of Grove/Atlantic, Grove’s parent company.

Amazon said the fans’ reviews had not violated its guidelines but declined further comment.

How stars rubbed shoulders with politicos at Obama’s inauguration B

EYONCE drew a loud cheer from the audience last Monday even before her impressive rendition of the national anthem.

The applause started when she took her place with JayZ at the Capitol to watch President Barack Obama take the oath for his second term in office. The two stopped to chat with the Rev. Al Sharpton.

James Taylor kicked off the musical performances, strumming his guitar and singing “America the Beautiful.” Kelly Clarkson followed with a different arrangement of “My Country ’Tis of Thee.” Then Beyonce was introduced and the crowd again roared its approval.

Beyonce had a definite fan in Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who applauded eagerly after she finished singing the national anthem.

She offered R&B-esque vocal riffs as she sang on and the crowd seemed to love it, cheering loudly as she finished. Clarkson, too, hit high notes.

Beyonce may have been the star musical attraction, but she had plenty of company from Hollywood at the Capitol on Monday. Katy Perry and John Mayer sat side-by-side, with Perry in an orange-striped coat and wide hat, and Mayer in dark sunglass-

•Jay-Z and Beyonce es. Singer-songwriter Ke$ha was there, too.

People flocked to the colourful pop star, snapping photos. And Perry did the same, taking shots of “Girls” actress and daughter of news anchor Brian Williams, Allison Williams.

Actress Eva Longoria was seated on the platform outside the Capitol after making an appearance at a Kennedy Centre performance last Sunday night.

Perry sang at the children’s concert the night before.

Former Boston Celtics great Bill Russell was in the crowd, too, along with actor Marlon Wayans.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—31 With LAJU ARENYEKA

You could call them Nigerians (2) “Why did you not mention Abdul Mutallab?” someone commented, after reading last week’s article. The rest of the world does not need our help dragging our nation’s name in the mud; they’ve got that covered. But we as Nigerians need to be reminded that no matter how little the connection might be, there are stars out there whose roots are intertwined with ours.

Now, even though the ‘L’ in Samuel L. Jackson does not stand for Lekan, there are a lot more Naija on the international scene.

ASA

B

ukola Elemide aka A?was born in Paris, France to Nigerian parents. She was two years old when her family returned to live in Nigeria. A?grew up in Lagos, in the southwestern part of Nigeria. With trail blazing songs in English and Yoruba, and numerous awards home and abroad, this Jailersinger is taking no prisoners!

Chiwetel Ejiofor

N

othing is more attractive than a black man with an American accent. Well, apart from a black man with a British accent! Ejifor’s got both.

This 35 year old actor born to Igbo parents in London has received numerous acting awards and nominations, including the 2006 BAF TA Awards Rising Star, three Golden Globe Awards’ nominations, and the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in Othello.

Dayo Okeniyi

R

AISED in Lagos Nigeria, Dayo Okeniyi, 24, began act ing in the theatre at his elementary school. In 2003 Okeniyi moved from Nigeria with his family to the United States.

In 2012 Dayo Okeniyi landed the highly coveted role of “Thresh” in the successful motion picture franchise “The Hunger Games.” Since then Okeniyi has been cast in upcoming films “The Spectacular Now” and the “Runner Runner” alongside Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake.

The list goes on and on. Adewale Akinnuoye-Abaje, also of Nigerian descent, stars in Bourne Identity, The Mummy Returns, the series. about Caroline Chikezie, our sister from the east who stars in hit TV series such as Supernatural and Torchwood? Not to mention Echikunwoke, the daughter of a Nigerian-Igbo father and an American mother.

This 29 year old is well known for her role as Tara Price on CSI Miami.So what if they have foreign accents and were raised thousands of miles away? You could still call them Nigerians!

TOP MOVIES OF THE WEEK OFTHE DJANGO UNCHAINED JACK REACHER THE MEETING DR BELLO BOND 23: SKYFALL The movie Django Unchained is showing in the cinemas .

Django Unchained is a 2012 American western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino . The film stars Jamie Foxx , Christoph Waltz , Leonardo DiCaprio , Kerry Washington , and Samuel L. Jackson .[6][7] The film is about a freed slave who treks across America with a bounty hunter on a mission to rescue his wife from a cruel and charismatic plantation owner..

Movie schedule from JANUARY ...

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, VICTORIA ISLAND Django Unchained: 11;20am, 2;15pm, 5:20pm, 8:30pm Jack Reacher:4:40pm, 7:40pm, 10;20pm.

Rise of the Guardian: 11:00am, 12:50pm, 2:40pm.

The Meeting: 2:20pm.

Twilight Saga: Breaking dawn part2: 9:10pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, IKEJA Django Unchained: 3:30pm, 5:10pm, 8:35pm Streets of Calabar: 8:35pm Hotel Transylvania: 11:10am.

Here comes the Boom: 12:55pm, 6:30pm The Meeting: 11:45am, 2:00pm Twilight saga Breaking dawn part2: 3;45pm, 7:45pm, 10:00pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, ABUJA Django Unchained: 11:20am, 2:30pm, 5:40pm, 8:50pm The Lost Number: 11:50am,4:00pm, 6:15pm.

Jack Reacher: 11;00am, 1:30pm, 4:00pm, 6:30pm, 9:00pm.

Streets of Calabar: 1:20pm, 5:40pm Rise of the Guardian: 12:20pm, 2;20pm, 4:20pm, 6:20pm.

Dr Bello: 11:30am,3:50pm Arinzo: 2:00pm.

Inside Story: 8:00pm.

A Thousand Words : 5:00pm Pitch perfect: 1:50pm, 3:40pm, 7:20pm, 9:20pm Hotel Transylvania: 12:10pm, 4:10pm.

Twilight Saga: Breaking dawnpart2: 2:40pm, 9:30pm.

Bond23; Skyfall: 12:00pm, 6:50pm.

The Meeting: 8:30pm.

Premium Rush: 5:30pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS CEDDI PLAZA , ABUJA Django Unchained: 12:20pm, 2;45pm, 5:55pm, 9:00pm The Lost Number: 12:30pm, 4:30pm, 8;40pm Dr Bello: 2:40pm, 6: 40pm. .

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS PORT HARCOURT Django Unchained: 11:00am, 2:00pm, 5:05pm, 8:10pm, The Lost Number: 11:30am, 1:30pm, 3:40pm, 8:30pm.

Jack Reacher: 12;50pm, 3;10pm, 5:40pm, 8;10pm Dr Bello: 1:50pm, 3;40pm.

Jab tak hai jaan: 5:10pm Streets of Calabar: 11:30am, 6:00pm.

Rise of the Guardian: 11:40am, 1:40pm,6:20pm Hotel Transylvania : 11:15am, 1:00pm.

Pitch Perfect: 2:55pm, 8:30pm..

The Meeting: 5:30pm, 8:05pm.

Bond23 Skyfall: 5:05pm, 8:00pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS UYO The Lost Number: 12;25pm, 2:45pm, 4:55pm, 7:00pm Twilight Saga breaking dawn part2: 4:35pm, 6:50pm.

Premium Rush: 11:40am, 1:30pm, 3;20pm, 5:10pm, 7:00pm Sparkles : 12:00pm, 2:20pm English Vinglish: 6:30pm Safe: 1:15pm, 3:45pm.

OZONE CINEMAS LAGOS Django Unchained: 1;30pm, 4:45pm, 7:55pm Jack Reacher: 6:40pm, 9:10pm Dr Bello: 12:45pm, 7:05pm Rise of the Guardian: 11:00am Hotel Transylvania: 10:45am Bond23: Skyfall: 10:30am.

Pitch Perfect: 1:15pm GENESIS DELUXE CINEMAS LAGOS Django Unchained: 1:00pm, 4;20pm, 7:40pm, 11:00pm Bond23 Skyfall: 2:45pm Hotel Transylvania: 10:05am The Lost Number: 4;35pm, 11:45pm Dr Bello: 9:10pm GENESIS DELUXE CINEMAS PORT HARCOURT Django Unchained: 9:50am, 12:55pm, 4:00pm, 7:05pm, 10:10pm The Lost Number: 2;55pm, 8:10pm Hotel Transylvania: 1:05pm GENESIS DELUXE CINEMAS ENUGU The Lost Number: 10:00am, 4:40pm, 9:10pm Hotel Transylvania: 3;05pm Streets of Calabar: 6:50pm Dr Bello: 2;15pm FILM HOUSE LAGOS Django Unchained: 10:15am, 1:30pm, 4:45pm, 8:00pm Hotel Transylvania: 10;30am, 12;30pm, 2;30pm Dr Bello: 8:40pm FILM HOUSE CALABAR Sparkle: 3;55pm, 8:55pm Premium Rush; 2:05pm, 7:05pm Bond23: Skyfall: 11:15am.

The Meeting: 6:20pm

32—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 33

34—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25,

2013

Idumota fire explosion

Lagos records 125 incidents in 2013 alone •NEMA, professionals list safety measures

By JUDE NJOKU & OLASUKANMI AKONI

A

STAGGERING 125 fire incidents were recorded in various parts Lagos between January 1 and January 15, 2013.

This scary statistics was disclosed to Vanguard by the Lagos State Director of Fire Services, Mr. Rasag Fadipe. He said the Lagos Fire Service gets between 12 and 17 fire outbreak distress calls daily.

Giving a further breakdown, Fadipe said that 1,539 fire incidents were recorded in Lagos in 2012. Lagos and Oyo states have the lion share of fire disasters recorded in the SouthWestern part of the country in 2012 and this year. In Oyo State, 38 persons lost their lives in 607 fire incidents which occurred in 2012. The State Director of Fire Services, Mr. Kareem Oyekunle, who disclosed this, said property valued at over a billion naira were destroyed in the fire incidents.

Similarly, property worth

N828,595,410,509 were retrieved. This year, Oyekunle said that no fewer than 46 fire emergency calls in which three persons lost their lives, have been received by the Service.

High profile buildings and facilities torched in the last two months in the South-West include the Hilltop Mansion of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the palace of the Alafin of Oyo Kingdom, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the MRS petrol depot at Apapa, the NNPC Mega Station at Ibadan and the popular Jankara Market in the Idumota area of Lagos Island.

Rising occurrence Although only four persons reportedly died in these fire incidents, the disasters left in their trail, the loss of property estimated at several billions of Naira. Reasons for rising occurrence of fire disasters. The rising occurrence of fire

outbreaks in the last two months has been attributed to a myriad of factors like the commencement of the harmattan season and the mishandling of inflammable materials.

Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, the Information Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, in the South-West Zone, who spoke on behalf of the Zone’s Coordinator, Mr Iyiola Akande, told Vanguard that most of the fire hazards occurred as a result of the harmattan which results into fast wind movement which spreads unguarded fire. He also attributed the rising occurrence of such disasters to the fact that many households use kerosene stove and coal to warm up their rooms and forget to put them off before sleeping.

Apart from these reasons adduced by Farinloye, the reliability of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, and the various fire-fighting agencies have been called to

question. Most of these infernos were traced to sudden surge in power supply from the PHCN. Another angle to the unreliability of PHCN is the fact that most Nigerians now use generators and the tendency is to stock fuel in residential apartments. Those who cannot afford to use generators, make do with candles and local lanterns which are highly inflammable when in contact with paper or clothing materials.

Some respondents even pointed accusing fingers at some state and local government councils. According to them, when the government wants to acquire a place or market for redevelopment or other uses and the occupants appear unwilling to vacate, the government allegedly adopts the unorthodox method of using hoodlums to set the place ablaze.

Spread of fire outbreaks The worrisome aspect of these fire incidents is the ease with which they spread. In a jiffy, what may have started as a spark engulfs the entire neighbourhood leaving the firefighters often helpless. Farinloye gave reasons why this is so. He said: “Except Lagos State, no other state in South West is capable of combating most cases because of lack of fire appliances.

,

PLETHORA OF FIRE DISASTERS:

All over the South West Zone, there is no water hydrant where fire fighters can refill their appliances with water. The standard of fire disaster management is every 50 metres; there should be water hydrants but it takes up to five kilometres before fire appliances can get water to refill. Nigerians do not care to learn about the simplest safety measures especially on fire prevention and management.

Nigerians do not have fire extinguishers in their homes while most extinguishers in public places are not functional.

Illegal electrification and by non professional electricians causes electric sparks.”

Aside from the apparent incompetence of the fire-fighting and emergency response agencies, the non-adherence to planning laws, especially as they relate to setback between buildings, has also been fingered as a major reason why fire outbreaks spread like harmattan wind. A Lagos-based architect, Mr. Emeka Izuwah and a former Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Building, NIOB in Lagos State, Mr. Kunle Awobodu, told Vanguard that the recent fire disaster at the Jankara Market in Idumota would not have spread to near-by buildings

Nigerians do not care to learn about the simplest safety measures especially on fire prevention and management

,

if the Lagos Island Business District was not over-congested. According to them, the enforcement of the law on minimum setback would have created enough space for fire-fighters and other emergency response agencies to move in unhindered. “The use of adequate building setback or air-spaces between buildings should be enforced. A minimum of 3.0 meters is usually prescribed as distance to a property fencethis could have prevented the spread of fires during the Box-

Continues on page 35

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—35

Lagos records 125 incidents in 2013 alone Continues from page 34 ing Day fire outbreak at Idumota Lagos,” Izuwah said. .

Detection and prevention: Arc Izuwah identified a number of safety checks to stem the rampant occurrence of fire disasters.

These include: Petrol filling stations should be located away from residential areas.

•Tankers carrying fuel must be regulated to particular routes convenient for them and away from densely populated areas.

This will prevent the upturning of tankers and the attendant danger thereof.

•Petrol or other easily combustible materials must never be stored at home, shop or in offices- petrol for domestic use must be contained in the generating set tank except in cases where diesel is being used •Fire escape stairs and doorsmulti-storey buildings must be designed to incorporate fire escape stairs with minimum distances to offices. Such areas must have independently lighted signage or directional signs which can guide escape in the case of emergency.

•Fire-rated building materialsThese should be used in view of the risk attendant to the intended

purpose of a facility.

•Fire/smoke alarm and detection systems- This is a must for offices and other areas (kitchens) with a likelihood of fire. This is especially necessary for multi-storey building or offices that have overnight or weekend minimal occupancy. This system can also be connected to trigger off a preventive mechanism to contain the fire pending greater response.

Izuwah also called for the use of sprinklers and fire extinguishers, especially in public buildings, stressing that “water sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers are a must for multi-storey building and markets and can be installed to be activated via sensors or a fire or smoke detection mechanism.

These must however be regularly maintained so as not to fail in an emergency.” .

The architect who described the operational readiness of our fiire services as most appalling, declared: “There is an urgent need to increase the capacity of our fire service nationwide. More and better equipped fire stations are urgently needed; there is need to obtain fire trucks with capacity for fighting fires at

policies.

NEMA warns on changing climate Meanwhile, NEMA said it has continued to champion public enlightenment and capacity building of stakeholders on the changing climate and varying nature of disasters. “We appeal to State and Local Governments to establish and empower their respective emergency management structures to be able to manage disasters, “Farinloye said.

The major handicap of the a g e n c y , Arepo fire in Ogun State...fire servicemen unable to put it out promptly according to Farinloye is the disconnect /gap higher elevation and Helicopters Awobodu warned against the between Federal and the other to fight fire from the air. Uniform use of combustible materials in two tiers of government that have toll-free telephone numbers building constructions. The failed to establish their structures should be made available to fire Builder who enjoined landlords to complement the Federal fighting stations so that it will be to incorporate extinguishers and NEMA. Speaking on the need easy to contact them in the case fire detecting devices in their to be safety conscious, NEMA’s of an emergency.,” he canvassed. buildings, also advised occupants spokesman advised Nigerians to Corroborating Izuwah’s views, of buildings to take fire insurance be ready to change their attitude towards safety consciousness by learning the simplest emergency training”.

We have between 12 - 17 cases of fire outbreak in Lagos daily —Fadipe Director of Fire Services in Lagos State, Mr Rasaq Fadipe, in this interview identifies causes of fire outbreaks in Lagos and steps taken by the Service to reduce their occurrence. Excerpts

I

NCESSANT fire outbreaks in Lagos. The statistics of fire outbreak in the state has gone up. This wasn’t only last year, presently, we are still receiving calls on fire outbreaks. We have an average of seven fire incidents daily. And when I am talking about an average of seven daily, one should know that the fire outbreak in the state is between 12 and 17 daily.

Each day, men of the Lagos State Fire Service attend to over 10 distress calls. And this is the season - dry season and the heat caused by the climate change. So two of them are aids to fire disasters.

It isn’t the season that causes fire but it aids it. We are in the dry season now. At this time, everything gets dry easily. Most •Rasaq Fadipe of the fire disasters in Lagos were caused by the carefree attitude of resiContacts in case of emergencies. We dents of the state. This carefree attitude appreciate the effort of the governor in also affects emergency rescue process. setting up the emergency toll free But the major causes of fire disaster in numbers which are: 767 and 112. Before the state were electrical sparks Many the establishment of the toll free numbers, people in Lagos are aware that whenwe only attended to three fire outbreak ever one is leaving his/her home, he/ cases daily. It is these numbers that she should switch off all electrical appliincreased the fire service response to fire ances.

disasters and made everyone to know the number of fire incidents in the state. If the governor didn’t establish the emergency toll free lines, many lives would have been lost and property worth billions would have been damaged.

When the Governor assumed office in 2007, we had only eight fire stations. And immediately, he established five additional fire stations which increased the number to 13. All these are well equipped. By the end of the first quarter of this year, two new fire stations would be commissioned. One of the fire stations is located at Abesan Estate and the other would be at Lekki Phase II. With the facilities provided by the Governor, we have the capability to cope with any fire disaster in the state. The responsibility of the Fire Service is multifaceted; we respond to accident, fire, rescue, flood boat mishap and prevention. We are always the first responder to emergency challenges.

Personnel. Presently, we have 600 fire service officers which is larger than what any state can boast of. Before the governor assumed office, we were stoned by the public at the scene of an emergency. The reason for this was that we go to the scene of emergency with limited water to extinguish the raging fire. At that time, we weren’t happy with the situation because before we go back to source for more water after exhausting the one we had, properties would have been damaged.

Strategic places “They should provide fire extinguishers in strategic places in their homes and offices.

Emergency exit routes should be clearly marked; they should meet fire service or NEMA to participate in fire drills,” he advised.

The NEMA image maker urged state and local government authorities to establish and empower State Emergency Management Agencies, SEMAs as well as equip their fire service with appliances and good welfare package for the men “ Provision of water hydrants is very vital for industrial and national development to aid intervention during emergency easy.

Farmers should guard their use of fire when tilling their farm in preparation for this year’s farming season to avoid fire consuming their farms. Clearing the premises of grasses and other weeds and burning them should be avoided. It is better to bury the cabbage than burning as fast wind can take dry flammable objects from the point to undesirable areas thereby causing fire disaster,” he said.

36 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

Vanguard, FRIDAY FRIDAY,, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 37 YOUR LUCK TODAY

LEISURE

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

VIRGO; Emphasis will continue to be on career related issues. However you will not be wrong if you take matters-of-the-heart more seriously now. Be more loving.

LIBRA; Mid-morning till early afternoon period may bring more promises than it can actually deliver; your being clever will see you through. Be very practical.

SCORPIO; Continue to attach necessary importance to your family values. Here is a day when joint ventures can bring you under pressure between 9.46am and 12.43pm.

SAGITTARIUS; Other people will continue to feature in your activities; that is to say you will need to be as co-operative as reason permits. Watch it between 9.46am&12.43pm

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele

Listening to your spouse? — 1

I

HAVE no doubt this will ruffle some feathers especially among the men folks who believe that listening to ones spouse amounts to control. This is not always true for some very salient reasons.

Experience has shown

that discussing with your spouse and listening to him/her where appropriate engenders the spirit of togetherness and oneness.

TERROR MUDA

If I may ask you, how would you feel if you heard what your spouse did from a third party outside, will you be happy? Will you be supportive of him/her

in “Never say goodbye”

especially if things go awry. I have seen cases of husbands supporting their wives through thick and thin, I have also seen cases of numerous husbands denouncing and renouncing their wives.

By Lanre Kehinde

CAPRICORN; You may be in position to minimise the pressure of yesterday. And you will need to watch your mood from 9.46am to 12.43pm.

AQUARIUS; It is important you don’t take things for granted around mid-morning and early afternoon period so that you will not run into avoidable disappointments.

PISCES; If you are in position to control your actions you would fare better if you can wait till after 12,43pm before you make an important move. Be family minded.

ARIES; Your being receptive can enhance your prospects but that is not to say you have to be naïve, especially during mid-morning and early afternoon periods.

TAURUS; Success is boldly printed on your cards and like yesterday if priority attention is given to money the scope of your success will be wider.

GEMINI; Although things may be happening around you, you are the right person to make things happen and give others opportunities.. Be wise.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Princess Shii’

By Andy Akman

CANCER; Take note that others may break promises made before early afternoon period; that is to say you should not take anybody for granted before 12.43pm.

LEO; Although friends are willing to assist you circumstances may not allow complete help as expected.

9.46am to 12.43pm can be a bit sensitive.

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send yyour our dat th ttoo the As tr ological datee and place of bir birth Astr trological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007,

What should I know?

Dear Joshua Kindly tell me where the Moon was placed when I was born and other things I should know about my star.

Adeoye, Kano.

VIRGINIA

dadadekola@yahoo.com

Dear Adeoye, What space can take will be given here-under. Your natal Moon was in Aries.

ANALYSIS OF YOUR HOROSCOPE DATA Preponderance of cardinal quality in your chart is an indication of GREAT LEADERSHIP QUALITY together with innate ability to attain prominence on one hand, on the other hand, exaltation of intellectual related Mercury in Aquarius at positive angle to both lucky Jupiter and Uranus (the planet of genius) in Libra pointed to a person with higher pitch of intelligence.

Action loving Mars as the final dispositor of your horoscope ( that’s most influential planet at home when you were born) will most times induce you to strongly desire importance with likeness for quick results; actually long promise without concrete action will bore you easily. Equally 60 percentage of pushfull influence in your chart means that the best for you is to go after your needs and wants.

Combination of all the placement and aspects formed within the planets when you were born are pointers to you as a person with balanced personality with little bias for good spiritual life. And you believe in disciplinarian life style.

Placement of your natal Sun and Moon in compassionate Pisces and self conscious Aries respectively are indications of your being mainly a Piscean and partly an Arian, however as Aries is also your Stellium sign, both basic characteristics of Pisces and Aries are highly pronounced in your inner-self.

Commen3

by Lawrence Akapa

38—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

R

Tel: 08098097290

email: isholaism@yahoo.co.uk

The brotherhood of Ansar •Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) as a model Madina were refered to as the Muhajirun.

The Ansar are the Muslim helpers in Madinah. They gave the emigrating Muslims who were persecuted in Makkah the necessary

were established. The helpers Ansar regularly gave and the Muhajirun regularly received.

The small Muslim community grew from strength to strength and that goodness produced

,

ECENTLY, a group claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on Nigerian troops heading to Mali last Sunday, killing two officers and wounding eight others, in Kogi state. The group whose full names are Jama’atu Ansarul Musilimina Fi Biladis Sudan meaning “Group of Muslim Helpers from Sudan (Black Africa) opened fire on a convoy of troops leaving northern Nigeria en route Mali to join the West African forces in that country.

This development jolted many Muslims who are worried about this crisis that has given Islam another name in the country. But who are these Ansar? Are they Nigerians or Sudanese?

Before giving an insight into what is known as the Ansar, we need to know how the the Muhajirun came about. This is because the coming of the Muhajirun ultimately established the Ansar.

Muhajir refers to “a person who leaves his/ her place of residence or country to live elsewhere.”

During the 5th year of prophethood, as the pagans increased their oppression, persecution and torture on the Muslims, some Muslims moved to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) on the orders of the Prophet. (s.a.w) Uthman and his wife, Ruqiyyah, the daughter of the Prophet (s.a.w) migrated to Abyssinia while some later moved to Madinah where they were received by the Ansar. Those who migrated with the Prophet from Makkah to

So, where is the brotherhood, where does the concept or philosophy of the first Ansar come to match in all of these. It is nothing but a chronic irony and perversion of brotherhood that was exemplified by the first Ansar

support. In fact, they were instrumental to the success of the Hijrah because the Muslims who ran for their dear lives were readily received by the Ansar.

Not only that they gave them homes, food, land, clothing and all other support that established the first organised Muslims community.

The most remarkable ties of full brotherhood

,

the needed strength.

But today, the Islamic brotherhood has grown from its positive sense to negative fraternity. We have seen the likes of that in several part of the world. The Iraqi based Ansar al-Islam which is popularly known as an affiliate of the Al-Qaeda network was a Sunni Islamist group. It later began to promote radical concept.

Ansar al-Islam (AAI) was a Sunni Islamist group of Iraqis, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia. The group was formed in the northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, and previously had established bases occupying Biyara to the northeast of Halabja Ansar al-Islam is known as an affiliate of the Al-Qaeda network Islam definition of brotherhood is profound.

It is a relationship not based on personal interest or mutual activity but entirely based on the beliefs, philosophies and tenates of the deen.

These new Ansar should understand that the cause the Boko Haram is fighting is not on the deen. It is not on how the over 80million Nigerian Muslims can practice their religion.

It is not a case of the Muslims being prevented from going to mosques or observing any part of their religious duties.

The insurgence we are witnessing today is as a result of glaring political

disagreements between the government and its people, poverty and other socio-political mess in the region. Even as the insurgent go on unabated, many Muslims and Mosques have been destroyed. Recently, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero narroly escaped death from an attacked by gunmen believed to have been carried out by God know who. Two of the Emir’s sons, the Turakin Kano and the Ciroman Kano, Alh. Sunusi Ado Bayero were said to have sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment in United Kingdom. A mosque was bombed in Kano last year with many sustaining injuries. How many Muslims can we imagine would have died in some of these massacres carried out by these people. So, where is the brotherhood, where does the concept or philosophy of the first Ansar come to match in all of these. It is nothing but a chronic irony and perversion of b r o t h e r h o o d exemplified by the first Ansar.

The Quran says: “The believers are nothing else than brothers. So make reconciliation between

your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy.” (AlHujjurat, 49:10) Why not endeavour to make reconciliation, why not strive to bring peace and why not sustain the good and enduring examples of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) who never chose war when peace was honourable and who never got angry at the slightest provocation.

Showing that Islam is all about peace is an obligation and a challenge at the same time for all of us. It is paramount for Muslims anywhere and at anytime to remain conscious of the fact that so many lives have been lost, and in a multi-religious society like ours, it is an obligation to follow the footpath of our leader, the seal of all Prophets, Muhammad (s.a.w) There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.

(Quran 33: 21) The Prophet of Allah was humble, kind, patient and tolerant. He was not harsh or aggressive. He did not use bad language or curse. He did not get angry or loose his temper even at the slightest provocation. If we are his true followers, then we have to be gentle, humble, kind, tolerant and peace-loving.

People learned from him and became better human beings by associating with him.

This is the mark and influence of a true and genuine person. Sallallahu alahi wa salaam.

Wh ver ty among Muslims?

Whyy po pover verty

By Harun Rasaq

Madinah Al-Munawar Mosque

"I seek refuge from unbelief and poverty” – Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) The above statement of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and many others attest to the fact that Islam did not only detest poverty but also provide instruments to eradicate poverty.

However, it is disheartening that apart from the controversial rating of some Muslim states in Nigeria as poor any one who is aware of what constitutes poverty in Islam will definitely agree that many Muslims in the country are wallowing in abject poverty, to the extent

that some non-Muslim and misinformed Muslims thought that Islam encouraged it.

But is it a blessing or a course? And what are the reasons for poverty among Muslims in Nigeria today?

In Islam poverty is a multidimensional concept. Term used in Islamic literature for a poor person is “faqeer” or poor when he or she did not have sufficient materials wealth to satisfy his/her basic needs which are necessary for a good social, individual and economic life. People who are not able to meet these necessities of life are poor. Islam is not against property and wealth, it considers

richness a blessing from their creator as long as it is acquired through legal means (halal) and the person fulfills all his responsibilities towards Allah and society.

Islam does not see poverty as a virtue rather ,as a social anomaly that should be eradicated. In the above hadith and many others, Prophet (s.a.w) sought refuge from poverty as a prayer. Therefore, the major reason that is responsible for poverty among the Muslim in Nigeria is that they did not practice Islam the right way and with all sincerity. That makes it difficult to implement the instruments for eradicating poverty provide by Islam.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—39

Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Chairman, Daar Communications Plc, (left) presenting document of partnership on Satellite Education Programme to the Governor of Kwara State, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, at Government House, Ilorin.

From left: Members of Ondo State Council of Obas led by Oba Adebiyi Adegboye Adesida, Deji of Akure; Oba Folagbade Olateru Olagbegi, Olowo of Owo and Oba Victor Kiladejo,Osemawe of Ondo, with Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, during a sympathy visit to the Alaafin over his burnt palace. Photo: Dare Fasugbe

From left: Dr. Sunday Makinde, Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria; Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya and Brother Aramide Tola Noibi, during a courtesy call on the Prelate by Gen. Diya, at the Westley House Conference Headquarters of the church, Marina, Lagos.

From left: Mr. Aramide Noibi, media and public relations consultant, Somo Omoniyi, past District 9110 governor and Rotn Ify Rita Ejezie, immediate past president, Rotary Club of Ikoyi Metro, during the investiture of Rotn Dammy Rita Ejezie, at Onikan, Lagos.

Mrs. Bola Ayeni (left), senior police officer with Mrs. Bukky Akingbade (nee Adebanjo), a business woman, during the final rites for the latter's father, late Engr. Teslim OIlatunji Adebanjo, CEO, Iyasuna Power Engineering Group Ltd, at Itako, Ijebu Ife, Ogun State.

From left: Inusa Bello, Chief Sales Officer, Airtel Nigeria; Daddy Showkey, music artiste and Adewale Adeogun, Education Secretary, Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Education Authority, unpacking some of the education materials donated by Airtel Nigeria to Oremeji Primary School 2, in Lagos.

From left: Jasper Nwachukwu Jr; Mr. Jasper Nwachukwu, Mrs. Lizzy Nwachukwu, Ogo Nwachukwu and Mrs. Nema Eleji, during the 60th birthday celebration of Mr. Jasper Nwachukwu, at the Nativity Anglican Church, Banana lsland, Lagos.

From left: Dr. Emma Ebong, Assistant General Secretary, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN); Dr. Adeyeye Arigbabuwo, Chairman; Dr. Richardson Ajayi, Medical and Clinical Director, The Bridge Clinic and Dr. Ogunkinle Babatunde, Senior Gynaecologist, at the clinic’s presentation of resuscitation sets to AGPMPN, in Lagos.

From left: Mrs. Moji Giwa-Osagie, Prof. Adenike Grange, Mr. Richard Giwa-Osagie, Chairman of the club and Lady Bernadethe Kany, during the 2013 Elders' Day Party of Ikoyi Club 1938, at the club's premises, in Lagos. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye

Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, Delta State Commissioner of Police (right) and Rev. Chukwudi Eke, the donor/member representing Ndokwa nation in Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), during the presentation of a Hilux van to Ndokwa East vigilante group, in Ashaka, yesterday.

40—Vanguard, FRIDAY FRIDAY,, JANUARY 25, 2013

Leadmart debuts in Festac

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MACO Resources Limited, a cosmetics products’ dealer has opened a new ultramodern Shopping Mart, Leadmart Pharmacy & Superstores at 6th Avenue Gate, Festac Town, Lagos.

Amaechi Anyanwor, the Managing Director, Amaco Resources limited, in a chat with journalists said: “The project is a long conceived idea that was initiated since 2012. It is meant to assist and cater for the common needs of Festac Town residents and beyond who have not enjoyed an organised, well equipped one-stop supermarket within the environ.”

According to him, Leadmart Pharmacy and Superstores, a subsidiary of Amaco Resources limited is the headquarters and an upshoot of series of other branches to come.

Mr. Chuks, the General Manager of Leadmart Superstores also reiterated that the outfit so far is the biggest in Festac Town with pocket friendly products and services.

Prof Agbanobi for burial Feb 15

From left: Secretary, Anti-Corruption and Transparency Monitoring Unit, Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Peter Olumuji, Minister of State, FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide; Chairman, Anti-Corruption and Transparency Monitoring Unit, FCT, Mr. Ozigis Yakubu, Minister, FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed and Mrs. Fatima Amanabo, at the sensitisation programme for FCTA Directors in Abuja.

Insecurity: FG takes profile of monarchs

BY EMEKA MAMAH BUJA—THE Federal Government has directed state governments in the country to forward the profiles of all traditional rulers in their states to Abuja for proper identification and documentation.

Enugu State Commissioner for Chieftaincy Matters, Pastor Emeka Abugu, made this known, yesterday, while addressing traditional rulers during a meeting at the state House of Assembly complex in Enugu.

Abugu also announced the appointment of the Traditional Ruler of Essodo in Igboeze North Local Government of the state, His Royal Majesty, Igwe

A

P

Late Prof Agbanobi

Simeon Itodo as the acting chairman of the traditional rulers council in the state pending the return of the state governor, Sullivan Chime who would ratify his substantive status.

Igwe Itodo’s appointment was necessitated by the death of the former acting Chairman Igwe Joseph Chibuko.

He, however, said that he would soon embark on familiarization tour of all local governments in the state to enable his ministry conduct a personnel audit of the monarchs and urged them to live above board as true ambassadors of various communities and the custodians of their people’s culture as government

would not take it kindly with any traditional ruler found wanting in the discharge of his duties.

Abugu said: ‘’The death of Igwe Chibuko made it incumbent on the state to dissolve the council and appoint someone on acting capacity. By the fact that Igwe Itodo was the first vice chairman it was proper for him to be appointed on acting capacity.’’

In his acceptance speech, Igwe Itodo, who was a former member of House of Representatives, promised to promote unity, even as he expressed sadness over the death of his predecessor.

Itodo then called for co-operation of his colleagues who he charged to ensure peace in their

Lawmaker alleges marginalisation

BY TAYE OBATERU

ROF. Ramond O m a v u o b e Agbanobi, 86, of Ovrede-Ofagbe, in Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, is dead.

There will be a service of songs and wake keep on Thursday, February 14. He will be buried the following day after a funeral service at St Ambrose Catholic Church, Ovrede.

He is survived by children and many relations, including Engr.

Fidelis Agbanobi, Manager, Daewoo Nig Ltd, and Engr. Emmanuel Agbanobi.

From left: Mr. Izzat Debs, MD, Skysat Technologies; Dr. Ademola Ajayi, National President, NACCIMA, and Abdu Sattar Debs, Chairman, at the official commissioning of Konica Minolta Digital Print Solutions Exhibition in Lagos, Wednesday. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele

J

OS—A member of the Pla teau State House of Assembly, Mr. Ladan Garkuwa, on Wednesday burst into tears during plenary in protest against what he called the neglect of his constituency by the present administration in the state since it assumed office almost six years ago.

The legislator said his Mangu South Constituency has not enjoyed any developmental project from the

Jonah Jang’s administration and accused the governor of concentrating development projects in his (Jang’s) senatorial zone and particularly around his Du village.

Lamenting that his people were being treated like second class citizens, he said execution of developmental projects by the Jang Administration had been lopsided in favour of the governor’s people.

Speaking with journalists after the plenary, he said he was moved to tears by the

level of neglect of his people and the injustice being done to other senatorial districts in the state by concentrating development in just one district.

He said: “If you go to my community there are no developmental projects undertaken by the state government, but go to Governor Jang’s village, it’s like a small London.

I will say it without fear or favour that this government is not the government of the people by the people, because there is a lot of injustice in this administration.”

Registrar charges Pharmacists on fight against fake drugs, professionalism

B

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

ENIN CITY—PHARMA CISTS have been advised to join the campaign against fake drugs and also to uphold the ethical practice of the profession for the interest of the nation’s health sector.

Acting Registrar of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, PCN, Gloria Abumere, who stated this, yesterday, during the induction of 74

graduands of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Igbinedion University, Okada, admonished Pharmacists against actions capable of compromising the ethics of the profession.

She attributed the issue of fake drugs to some of the lapses in the profession and stressed the need for members of the profession to check the activities of fake drugs dealers in other to save the lives of Nigerians.

Abumere said consistent efforts have been made by the council to regulate the practice of the profession.

Abumere said: “The Continuing Professional Development, CPD, programme is the veritable instrument by which the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria officially ensures continuous competence of Pharmacists through out their careers. There is need to keep up to date with current international best practices as high skilled professionals.”

various communities to ensure security of lives and property, just as he prayed for the quick recovery of Governor Chime and his return to the state.

Admiral Okoi gets commendation THE new Director of Plans, Defence Headquarters, Rear Admiral Gabriel Okoi, has been described by the people of Oghara in Ethiope West Local Government as a rare and dedicated officer of the Nigerian Navy.

Admiral Okoi, before his transfer to Defence Headquarters, Abuja, was the Flag Officer Commanding, Oghara Naval Logistics Command, Delta State.

Chairman of Ethiope West council, Mr. Precious Ajaino, said: “Admiral Okoi is a rare officer and a peace loving man, who dedicated his time and resources to community development projects.

“Through him, the Nigerian Navy sank bore holes and established a naval primary school in the community. We urge him to continue with his good work.”

High Chief Adedipe for burial

T

HE remains of High Chief Bolanle Adedipe, the Elemo of Akureland and father of Managing Director, Favour Insurance Brokers Limited, Mrs. Bunmi Ademosun, will be buried this weekend.

In the burial arrangement released by the deceased family, a praise hour was held yesterday, at the Elemo Palace, Akure. The will be a church service today, at St. David’s Cathedral, Ijomu Oke-Ijebu, Akure, after which there will be reception for guests at St. David’s Primary School, Ijomu, Oke-Ijebu, Akure.

The deceased was the first lawyer in Ondo State and also the first graduate to become the Elemo of Akure and indeed High Chief in Akure Kingdom.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—41

Amosun commissions N1.5bn flyover in Abeokuta

By DAUD OLATUNJI

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B E O K U TA — GOVERNOR Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, yesterday commis-sioned the N1.5billion first ever flyover bridge in the state and N260 million pedes-trian bridge constru-cted on the sixlane of Ibara-TotoroLalubu Road in Abeokuta.

The official opening of the Ibara Bridge was witnessed by exgovernors of Ogun and Ekiti States, former and serving federal and state legislators, Chief Judge of Ogun State, top government functionaries, traditional rulers, captains of industry, media executives, town unions, community develo-pment associations, labour unions, market women, nongovernm-ental organizations, students, among others.

Speaking at the ceremony, Governor Amo-

sun said the massive investment in infrastructure was in fulfillment of his electoral promises to the people of Ogun S t a t e .

He noted that the new bridge would aid movement of goods and services, ease flow of traffic, reduce manpowertime wasted on the road and improve the productive time of every individual plying the road.

According to him: “Our goal is to put our state in the league of advanced economies and make it investors’ destination of choice not only in Nigeria but sub-Saharan Africa. To achieve this, we will continue to rehabilitate existing infrastructure and construct not just modern but high-tech infrastructure that will enhance the magnificence of our environment and act as a catalyst for our socioeconomic development.”

While expressing gratitude to residents, “especially those whose property gave way to these beautiful edifices

that we are constructing across the state”, he urged them to exercise more patience and continue to support the administration in its Mission to Rebuild Ogun State.

He called on the Organised Private Sector to take advantage of the enabling environment being provided and partner with the state government to create wealth and achieve good returns on investment.

National Chairman of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Chief Bisi Akande, National Leader of ACN, Chief Bola Tinubu and Leader of Ogun ACN, Chief Segun Osoba, lauded the achievements of the Senator Amosun-led administration in the area of urban renewal.

Tinubu described Amosun as “an actualizer of our dream and vision”, Chief Osoba said “This is the first time I have seen such number of past governors of Ogun attending a government event.”

42 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 43

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013—45

PDP’S TOPSY-TURVY:

Blowing hot and cold Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance — Oscar Wilde

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR & HENRY UMORU

D

ECEIT was undoubtedly the setting for a reconciliatory meeting between the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the members of the party National Working Committee, NWC last Wednesday.

Those present were Tukur; the Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja; Acting National Secretary, Solomon Onwe; National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon; National Woman Leader, Ambassador Kema Chikwe; National Youth leader, Garba Umar Chiza; National Auditor, Chief Bode Mustapha; National Organising Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha; National Treasurer, Bala Kaoje; National Financial Secretary, Elder Bolaji Akpan Anani and National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh.

Removed from memory was

the bitterness and ill-feelings that followed the coup that took place in the same national secretariat just two weeks ago when ten members of the NWC secretly met to upturn the earlier decision dissolving the Adamawa State executive of the party.

Under pressure from the majority of the governors who sponsored their election to the national executive of the party, the PDP NWC had at the last minute unceremoniously reversed the decision taken in October to dissolve the Adamawa State executive of the party led by Alhaji Mijinyanwan Kugama who is a loyalist of the Adamawa State governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako.

The decision to dissolve the Kugama led executive was universally believed to have been taken at the prompting of Tukur, who is from Adamawa State and who is alleged to be aiming to take full control of the state structure of the party. But

when push came to shove two weeks ago, ten of the twelve members of the NWC met without Tukur and reversed the dissolution.

Their excuse as they claimed was that the NWC had agreed to reverse the dissolution last December but could not announce it before the death of the former governor of Kaduna State, Sir Patrick Yakowa and following that, the yuletide holidays.

Wednesday ’s meeting between the NWC members and Tukur followed a courtesy call on the national chairman

by Governor Martins Elechi of Ebonyi State.

Though he did not say it, Elechi was on hand to express gratitude to Tukur over the promotion of his man, Barrister Solomon Onwe from the position of deputy national secretary to that of Acting National Secretary.

The substantive holder of that position and Tukur’s nemesis on the NWC, Col. Olagunsoye Oyinola had penultimate Friday lost his position upon a court decision that voided the congress that brought him to

,

*Tukur: Swinging fortunes

office.

Given the air of treachery that pervaded the secretariat prior to last Wednesday’s meeting between Tukur and the NWC members, it was not surprising that the meeting kicked off with Christian and Muslim prayers.

The National Legal Adviser, Barrister Victor Kwon offered the Christian prayer while the National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha said the Islamic prayer.

Sources at the meeting disclosed that some of the NWC members apologized for their action in announcing the reversal of the dissolution of the Adamawa exco without informing the national chairman.

A source at the meeting told Vanguard that the NWC members told Tukur that the decision to restate Alhaji Umaru Mijinyawa Kugama that was loyal to the state governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako was not done to undermine the powers of the

was fanned by the press and this is especially so since we had reversed the decision to dissolve the Adamawa executive as far back as December 12.

What hindered us was the death of Sir Patrick Yakowa and the holidays that followed,” a member at the meeting told Vanguard yesterday on the condition of anonymity since he was not delegated to speak to the press.

Tukur at that meeting was said to have told them that to err is human and that as a father he was forgiving everyone that would have embarrassed him.

The reconciliation nonetheless, many issues still remain unresolved despite the later claim by the NWC that all issues have now been resolved.

One unresolved issue is the fate of the ad-hoc committee initially constituted by the NWC last October to replace the Alhaji Mijinyanwan Kugama executive that was dissolved.

The reconciliation nonetheless, many issues still remain unresolved despite the later claim by the NWC that all issues have now been resolved

PDP National Chairman, but done because they were under pressure from outside especially fear of NWC being sacked and a caretaker Another source at the meeting added: “We were never at war with the national chairman we are on the same page on all issues.

What happened was a communication problem that

,

That caretaker committee led

by Umar Damagum is now in limbo as the NWC which constituted it has now retraced its steps to the Kugama executive.

Also in limbo is the national vice-chairman, Northeast, Alhaji Girigiri Lawal. Lawal was suspended for indiscipline Continues on page 47

46— Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

How govs defraud LGs — Sen Adeyemi environment, we speak from the c o l l e c t i v e contributions coming across the country and that is the difference between the man who is in Abuja and the man who is not in Abuja.

We will look at issues from the national point of view they will look at issues perhaps from their own states.

I can appreciate what the chairman of the Governors Forum is saying but his colleagues are not doing that and that explains why we have a large army of people living below the poverty line.

Senator Smart Adeyemi, former national president of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ is representing Kogi West in the Senate for the second term on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. A passionate advocate of the masses, Senator Adeyemi has acquired a reputation for fearlessly articulating the interests of the citizenry. In this interview with senate correspondents, he pushes forward his arguments on the deprivation of local governments by many state governors. Excerpts:

BY JOSEPH ERUNKE

O

N Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s rebuttal of his assertions against governors?

I want to begin by telling you that I don’t speak on what I am not convinced about. And whatsoever I am convinced about, I become very passionate about it.

I will say that in this dispensation, Governor Amaechi is one of the best governors that we have. I am not saying this to praise him, I am saying this against the background of what I have seen in Rivers State, what some of my colleagues have said about Rivers State, and indeed in the response of Governor Rotimi Amaechi which I read on-line, I got an insight into some of the activities of the Rivers State Government relating to local government areas.

And I salute Governor Rotimi Amaechi for all he has been doing in Rivers State. He talked about the fact that every month, about N2 billion is given out to local government

to the local government areas, then we have no business discussing the autonomy of local governments in the first place.

But as the chairman of Governors Forum, I hope he is taking time to find out what is happening in other states of the federation.

When I speak, I don’t speak as a senator representing Kogi west or Kogi people, I speak as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In essence, my constituency is Nigeria first and foremost. And when we talk on contemporary issues, we talk about them because we want good governance.

We want protection of human rights, we want good standard of living. Now, one of the hallmarks of democracy is that you talk, I talk.

Democracy is not about arrogance, it’s about you discussing issues, come up with superior arguments, and then I will concede to you.

When Governor Rotimi granted the interview, I saw a lot of things that he was doing and I asked myself the question

,

..a local government chairman who told me that he was supposed to collect about N155 million for that particular month but he signed for N40 million

areas and I said whao!

This man deserves to be commended. But having said that, let me say that Rotimi Amaechi is equally a very intelligent man, very articulate, very courageous but good as all these qualities are, we are not equally short of those qualities in the National Assembly.

I will equally say that from the interview Governor Rotimi Amaechi granted, I could now understand and appreciate where he is coming from but the unfortunate thing is that Rivers State is not Nigeria.

What Governor Amaechi is doing in Rivers State, I wish other governors are doing that.

If other governors are even adding more to the allocation

,

and I said I hope this can be done in other states of the federation.

Challenge to Governor Amaechi Now, what I am saying to the chairman of the Governors Forum: I want you to ask your colleagues if they are doing what you are doing. If they are not doing that, then you know that there is a reason for us to be concerned.

Now, let me say that in the course of his interview, I read where he said the Governors Forum would not allow the three tiers of government to be so entrenched in the constitution. But let me say this to their excellencies that it pays you people to allow the three

*Adeyemi: Amaechi is an exception tiers of government to survive or else, you will not sleep with your two eyes closed, or else your old age will be disturbed.

This is the truth. Let me tell you that in the course of the interview, Amaechi did say that there is nowhere in the world where you have the federal system of government that you have local governments being given autonomy and I will say to that the federal system of government of our nation is clearly different from what we have in the other nations of the world because of our diversity as a people. Yes, we are one Nigeria but nobody wants to have his tribe being suppressed or being relegated as a second class citizen in their own state.

Constitutionality of governors’ interference in local government affairs Now, I think it is unconstitutional for the governors not to allow local government areas to be on their own in terms of the management of their finances.

One, it is the breach of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

When the governors were sworn in, with that sacred document, they said in their oaths of office, that they will obey and respect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is the same constitution today that the

governors are saying that they are not going to obey.

It’s a breach of the constitution already. You cannot remove the goal post when you are about to score, you cannot say because you are a governor today, you are not going to respect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Position on joint account being operated by states and local governments The joint account, as it is being operated in the country today is fraudulent. The Joint Account is not supposed to be run in such a manner that will take all the rights of the local government, by extension, you swallow the allocation.

Let me tell you this, that I have met a local government chairman that confessed to me that they had been made to sign for allocation far less than one quarter of what they take from the Federation Account.

There was a case of a local government chairman who told me that he was supposed to collect about N155 million for that particular month but he signed for N40 million.

He got N40 million but signed for N155 million and I want the chairman of the Governors Forum to hear this.

Now, if we speak from this end, we do not speak on the ground of any local

Deplorable state of local governments Let me tell you this, that in my state where I come from and in my senatorial district, I will make the attempt to mention towns. There is a town called Igbaroko in Iyagba West Local Government, Sadauna of Sokoto built a health centre before I was born, it was just last year I went back there to demolish the health centre and to construct another one.

Demolishing health centre Where is the local government since 1966? Now, if you don’t give them and you are saying that you don’t need three tiers of government even when we have three tiers of government, there are still people suffering.

In kogi State, there are areas where people use tankers to fetch water and I asked the chairman of the local government, ‘why is it that you cannot provide water and he said there was no money!

What about your allocation? I asked and he said that they collect it from Lokoja, in the state. Chairman of Governors Forum, I hope you can hear me.

There are areas in my state that they use tanker to fetch water for people. Local governments are unable to provide even bore-holes!

When the allocations come, they are stuck in the state. It is not from this administration, this administration of Governor Wada is just about one year in office and it has set up machinery for elections.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 47

T

HE pleasant news in the last few weeks is that the country would see a ‘Mega‘ Political Party through the merging of some important opposition parties.

Thus, the merging of ACN, CPC and ANPP could give the country the semblance of a strong and virile opposition party, if everything goes well. For the first time, it might be possible to have an alternative party to the ruling PDP at the Centre.

Of recent, the President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has been under severe attacks from different quarters and promises have been made to see that his chances of re-election in 2015 are very slim.

Some Nigerians are worried that the personal attacks on the President are not necessary but should be replaced by the provision of alternative solutions to the problems of the country.

Perhaps, this is the more reason why the opposition parties would now prefer to merge together into a single and powerful political party to provide a formidable challenge to the ruling party.

However, it might be argued whether it is necessary to have an opposition party when there are no essential differences in policies between the government and those who are opposed to it. They argued, not without justification, that what is wrong with Nigerian politics is bad constitution and that with the introduction of proportional representation with coalition governments, all would be well.

The weakness of this argument is that no institutional arrangement can be devised which will instantly make big groups to collaborate rather than fight.

The position today is that of a big and strong party, the PDP,

07059197616

Opposition or Confrontation:

Which way forward? ruling at the Centre and also, in many of the 36 States of the country. Its hold on the Centre has been firm because of the absence of an efficient opposition. Is there need for any opposition? Or on the other hand, is such opposition desirable, even if the practice of democracy enjoins it? The main political problem of the country could be traced to pluralism, where many nations are lumped together to form a single state, and no serious attempt is being made to evolve a lasting political structure.

Some analysts have argued, (looking at past incidents and antecedents of personalities involved in the merger talks), to conclude that any talks about a strong opposition to the present government would fail woefully.

Some have argued that the best opportunity to evolve a coalition of parties and interests was lost after the 1959 elections that ushered in Nigeria‘s

Independence in 1960.

Between 1958 and 1960, there was a semblance of coalition of the parties at the Federal level with the late Alhaji Tafawa Balewa as the Prime Minister.

But the 1959 elections and the subsequent political reactions destroyed the basis of meaningful coalition and sowed the seeds of political disunity of the 1960s.

At the 1959 elections, the political party of the North (NPC) won 134 seats with (1,922,779 votes), NCNC won 89 seats with (2,594,577) while the AG won 73 seats with (1,992,364) votes.

While the NCNC and AG won their seats with representatives from all parts of the country, the seats of the NPC were won only in the North.

To many people in the South, the NCNC with the largest number of votes won the election and could nominate the Prime Minister if the South could act as one (162 seats against NPC 134 seats). At worst, it could have been a glorious coalition of

all parties, even if the late Alhaji Tafawa Balewa retained his position as Prime Minister with the two southern parties having a strong representation in the Federal Government.

However, the political scenario changed with the virile husband, becoming a “beautiful bride”, resulting in a marriage of convenience between NPC and the NCNC, with NCNC as the junior partner. Many Nigerians saw a betrayal of trust by leaders of the south.

Thus, the 1960 alliance between the NPC and NCNC in 1960 informing the Federal Government could not withstand the political volcanoes that led to the Nigerian civil war. Earlier disturbances that affected the alliance were a 1963 Census` dispute and changing political scene in the Western Region that affected the political fortunes of the NPC and the NCNC. Perhaps, it might be of interest to attempt to explain the failure of Southern leaders (Chief Awolowo and Chief Azikiwe) to agree on the formation of a progressive partnership in 1960.

Some in NCNC quarters accused the AG of duplicity i.e. negotiating with NCNC during the day and the NPC during the night. The NCNC quarters also referred to the 1951 elections which the NCNC claimed it won, but was robbed.

The alleged “ robbery” at Ibadan by the AG which Chinua Achebe mentioned in his book titled “THE PROBLEMS OF NIGERIA”, would perhaps, be one of the major problems agitating against the Yoruba/Ibo political unity and understanding up till today.

It may be recalled that contrary to the view held by some leaders of the NCNC then, the Action

Group (AG) won the elections in the Western Region. According to Mallam Amadu Kurfi in his book titled, The Nigerian General Elections 1959 and 1979 and the aftermath, “The Action Group obtained a majority in the Legislature in 1951 partly by gaining adherents after the election and partly by astute management of the second stage of the elections”. Except in Lagos where direct elections were held, elections in other parts of the country were indirectprimary and electoral colleges (without party labels).

It was known to enlightened Zickistes that Dr Azikiwe‘s visit to Ibadan in 1951 was not to claim victory but to be elected as one of the two representatives for Lagos to the Federal House, being one of the five elected representatives from Lagos to the Western House of Assembly (which is an electoral college for that purpose).

His failure to be elected with Dr. Ibiyinka Olorunmbe for the two seats of Lagos was the cause of Dr Azikiwe‘s disillusionment that led him back to the Eastern Region. In the 1970s and 1980s, the parties of Chief Awolowo and Dr Azikiwe i.e. (UPN and NPP) following their separate ways, could not match the new NPN (National Party of Nigeria) which won the Presidential Elections in 1979 and 1983, under President Shehu Shagari (of the North).

The PDP of today (which is the amalgamation of old, new and military politicians), and which has been performing quite below expectation is being challenged by a possible merger of ACN (old and new Awoists), ANPP (old NPN remnants) , and CPC (ex ANPP and new followers of General Buhari, a former Head of State). Can the merger work?.

“This is in exercise of Article 31, section 2(e) and 29, 2(b) of the 2012 amended constitution of our party and consequent on repeated breaches of the constitution by the Adamawa State chapter. A caretaker committee has been set up in its place.”

“Article 31(2) (e) specifically empowers the NWC thus: “ where necessary, dissolve a State Executive Committee and appoint a caretaker committee to run the party until another Executive Committee is elected , provided that the period from the dissolution to the election of the new Executive shall not exceed 3 months.”

Metuh noted further that the dissolved exco conducted illegal local government elections and still went ahead to submit a list of candidates to the State Independent National Electoral Commission without

the approval of the NWC. He said, “this is contrary to the provisions of Section 50(1) of the constitution of the party which among others, states emphatically that the National Executive Committee which the NWC acts on behalf of in this respect, is the final authority for the formulation of guidelines and regulations for the nomination of candidates for election into public offices at all levels and conveying same to INEC or any other authority to whom it may concern. ‘’The NWC also referred to complaints and petitions from principal stakeholders of the party in Adamawa State on various unconstitutional acts of the dissolved state exco, especially the principle of zoning as enshrined in Article 7(3)(e) of the party constitution as well as several letters from INEC complaining of non compliance with relevant laws in the conduct of the Adamawa State congresses."

Blowing hot and cold by the NWC for apparently not moving fast to protect the desires of the national chairman.

One of the participants at the Wednesday meeting disclosed that the It will be recalled that for fear of being thrown out by the ‘Almighty Governors’, Sam Jaja penultimate week and nine others in the NWC bowed to pressure from the governors elected on the party’s platform and made a great U-Turn on its earlier decision by recalling the sacked Adamawa State Executive Committee.

It did not go down well with Tukur because a decision concerning his state was taken in his absence with explanations that he was preparing for the meeting of the Board of Trustees, BoT where a new Chairman ought to have

emerged and later described the action as a betrayal of trust.

It will also be recalled that the PDP had last year October sacked the Adamawa state PDP Executive led by Alhaji Umaru Mijinyawa Kugama that was loyal to the state governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako, rtd and Ambassador Umar Damagun led nine-member caretaker Committee was immediately put in place to oversee the affairs of the state PDP. Emmanuel Tsamdu was appointed to serve as the Secretary with Mr. Eli Gamaliel; Barr. Dahiru Shehu; Alhaji Sabo Mohammed; Mrs Grace Mamba; Mrs. Altine Inuwa; Adamu Wazirin Paka; and Mr. Samuel Zadok as members.

The decision to sack the Adamawa State Executive was announced through a

,

Continues from page 45

It did not go down well with Tukur because a decision concerning his state was taken in his absence

,

statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Metuh last October who claimed that the dissolved exco had “flagrantly disregarded and shown serial disobedience to the decisions of the NWC.” "On behalf of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of our great party, the National Working Committee hereby dissolves the Adamawa State Executive Committee of the PDP.

48—Vanguard , FRIDAY FRIDAY,, JANUARY 25, 2013

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 —49

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Mali Islamists split as French, African troops close in on them •Libya wants UN peacekeepers deployed

A

split emerged yesterday in the alliance of Islamist militant groups occupying northern Mali as French and African troops prepared a major ground offensive aimed at driving al Qaeda and its allies from their safe haven in the Sahara.

A senior negotiator from the Ansar Dine rebels who helped seize the north from Mali’s government last year said he was now part of a faction that wanted talks and rejected the group’s alliance with al Qaeda’s North African franchise AQIM. It was unclear how many fighters had joined the new Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA) faction. But the announcement will encourage international negotiators who have long sought to prise apart the Islamist alliance, seen as a major threat by Washington and other Western and regional powers.

“There has to be a ceasefire so there can be talks,” Alghabass Ag Intallah, a member of the Tuareg tribe, told Reuters from the Ansar Dine stronghold of Kidal in northeast Mali. The new MIA would focus its efforts on seeking autonomy for the northern homeland of the desert Tuaregs, he said.

For nearly two weeks, French aircraft have been bombarding Islamist rebel positions, vehicles and stores in the center and north of Mali as a ground force of African troops assembles to launch a U.N.-backed military intervention against the rebels.

The strikes halted a rebel advance further south.

French and Malian ground troops have also retaken several towns and have been mopping up after the insurgents avoided a head-on fight, abandoning vehicles and slipping away into the bush.

Reuters correspondent yesterday saw around 160 troops from Burkina Faso deployed in the dusty Malian town of Markala - the first West African troops to link up with French and Malian forces.

News of the French and African advances have been overshadowed by allegations from residents and rights groups that

A woman waves to French soldiers, which is part of a convoy of French military vehicles including armored personnel carriers, jeeps and supply trucks, heading toward the recently liberated town of Diabaly Malian government soldiers have executed Tuaregs and Arabs accused of collaborating with the rebels.

Meanwhile, Libyan minister has said that the United Nations peacekeepers should be deployed in Mali once a French-led offensive against al-Qaeda backed militants is over to prevent uprooted Islamist fighters destabilizing neighboring countries, a Libyan minister said yesterday.

Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdulaziz said Libya’s internal security was at stake,

warning of the dangers of a spillover of Mali’s crisis.

“Our vision is that when the operation ends, the Security Council should consider deploying a limited peacekeeping force in the area,” Abdulaziz told reporters on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Ethiopia.

The peacekeepers should be part of a broader military exit strategy - what the minister called preventative diplomacy that regional powers and Western governments needed to start thinking about now.

Putin says regional revolts led to Algeria hostage

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USSIAN President Vladimir Putin yesterday said that revolts in Syria and Libya had unleashed instability in the Middle East and Africa that had exacted a “tragic toll” in last week’s militant attack on a gas plant in Algeria.

Putin and other Russian officials have said the United States and its NATO allies have sacrificed stability to their political

ambitions in the Middle East and North Africa, often playing into the hands of radical Islamists.

Algerian militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar said his forces seized the In Amenas gas plant in the name in retaliation for France’s offensive against his allies in neighboring Mali. At least 38 workers were killed as Algerian troops stormed the remote gas complex.

North Korea threatens U.S with nuclear, rocket tests

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ORTH Korea said yesterday that it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its “sworn enemy”.

The announcement by the country’s top military body came a day after the U.N. Security Council agreed to a U.S.-backed resolution to censure and sanction North Korea for a rocket launch in December

that breached U.N. rules.

North Korea is not believed to have the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting the continental United States, although its December launch showed it had the capacity to deliver a rocket that could travel 10,000 km (6,200 miles), potentially putting San Francisco in range, according to an intelligence assessment by South Korea.

50 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

F–L–I–C–K-S Spot a pot-hole, get rewarded!

I

wondered aloud the other day and asked Irvin - the cab man who insisted that he was helping me even when he got paid for driving me around – on why there were no pot-holes on the roads as compared to the roads in some other African countries.? He looked at the rear mirror and our eyes met and he asked back; “do you prefer potholes on the roads?”. Not getting an answer from me, he fired again, are there potholes on Nigerian roads? “Not really, but...em except in some few rural roads”, I lied, defending my country. Besides all the wide and marked roads, hardly can one see a road driving for a fourhour journey from Johannesburg to the province of Mpumalanga where the Eagles are grouped in the Nations Cup. The journey was swift and safe as the driver had a speed limit unlike the formular 1 drivers in Nigeria. Irvin explained that traffic offence could lead one to jail as well as starving and depriving you from feeding your family. Cameras are mounted in all roads.

Functional ones. And drivers driving long distances are mandated to stop and refresh two to three times before they get to their destination. I thought about my country and remembered the torture we went through during the burial of our late ace photographer, Sylva Eleanya in Owerri. A journey that would have taken eight hours lasted for 12 hours with our legs swollen as if we were suffering from elephantiasis. I thought

about the suffering of my people on the East-West road in our country, with billions spent and contracts awarded and reawarded. Irvin coughed to bring me back to life.

“Here in South Africa, Government rewards any body who reports a pothole to the authorities. We are always on the lookout.

I have not been lucky but I know many who have been rewarded”, he said.

I thought again that the opposite is the case back home. Though there are no rewards but if there were to be, it would be rewards for anybody who sees a tarred road. We are used to potholes and would marvel to drive for 10 minutes without somersaulting. Yet again, Irvin’s cough brought me back from wandering far away. This time, he asked me if Nigeria is like America or London.

I became angry and asked if he had been to London or America. “I’ve been to Johannesburg a couple of times. I have never gone outside South Africa but I hear that Nigeria is so big and so rich and….cough cut him shot. I told him to wind down the glasses for fresh air and offered Baba Blue I brought from Lagos.

Before he continued his probing questions of whether Lagos is like New York and Abuja like Paris, I alighted at the Stay Easy Hotel of NFF. “Boss, your bill is three hundred Rands”.

I shouted, “what? He laughed and said “you can bring two hundred.

Other Nigerians don’t argue over money.”

CONTROL . . . Super Eagles’ forward Emmanuel Emenike (L) controls the ball ahead of Burkina Faso’s Mohamed Koffi during their AFCON 2013 Group C match at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit last Monday. Photo: AFP

Marry me, get your papers

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T sounds like tales by moonlight that women do the chasing in South Africa. Their men are kings. Most of them don’t work and they rely on their wives to pay rent and feed the family. At the end of the month, the dutiful wife

shares her salary into two with the husband. Lucky

Aki and Pawpaw want Eagles to soar

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NE of the pintsized millionaire Nollywood actors, Pawpaw is here for the Nations Cup. And South Africans love him. The actors love soccer and have always identified with the Eagles watching their matches. But

with Nigerians wearing long faces over the dismal draw in the first match against Burkina Faso, Pawpaw optimistic that better results would come their way.

At the Stay Easy hotel, Pawpaw caused a traffic jam as both men and

women swarmed around him to get a handshake with others flashing phones to take pictures with him. A very handsome and pleasant young man. The Eagles need to fly to let Pawpaw continue supporting them.

•Aki and Pawpaw

men! The women, both young and old love visitors. At the accreditation centre the other day, there were more women than men. All of them smartly dressed stuffing their white volunteer shirts into trousers that carry overload bums. A pretty girl of about 20 years approached and asked why I have not gotten my accreditation. We got talking and once she knew I’m Nigerian her concern for

my plight over accreditation died. “Are you married?”, she asked. Do you want to marry me, I retorted. She smiled revealing her immaculate white teeth and two dimples that would have made her a hot cake in Nollywood.

“Yes, I want to marry you if you are in love with me.

I love Nigerian men but some of them are tricksters. If you are serious, I’ll get your papers because my sister works in Immigration”. “Sorry, I am married with children and you can’t talk about marriage because you hardly know me”, I said as my irritation shows. “Not to worry. Love grows with time. You can have me as second wife. I will tell my Mummy and bring her to your hotel…..The loudspeaker roared my surname pronounced in a funny Zulu accent and I dashed out leaving her to continue her day dreaming of marriage. She was still standing there when I zig-zagged through the crowd to avoid Eze calling on phone to shout for more stories.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 51

T

HERE are three major qualities midfielders should possess. Coaches look out for these in them.

Marking abilities, creativity and passing. An addition is shooting. In some cases shooting may not be a must otherwise Mikel Obi will not be playing for Chelsea.

It however depends on the approach or philosophy (apology Phillippe Trousier) of the coach.

There are midfielders who may not be good in creativity but they are ball winners. They mark very well and are usually a thorn in the flesh of attackers.

They do the dirty job for the team and may not be noticed by those who look out for flamboyance. There are also those who can destroy opponents with their creativity. They have the skill to dribble their way through and lay assists that lead to goals. Sometimes they score too. Barcelona’s Xavi is an excellent example. There are also those who are great passers of the ball like our own Mikel Obi. I have not seen any of these qualities in Fegor Ogude. I’m scandalised that such a player found himself in the starting line of the Eagles of Nigeria.

Mistakes have been made and if Stephen Keshi is still the Keshi that I have known all these years, Ogude will romance the bench today when we play Zambia.

There must be changes in tactics and in selection for the match against Zambia whose strong point is in their ability to mark and just keep on attacking although the possession football of Ethiopia reduced the potency of their style last Monday.

Many have been harsh on the Stephen Keshi team since the 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso on Monday.

The late equaliser, actually disappointed millions of Nigerians.

But I must admit that in that team I saw the fastest counter attack any Nigerian team has exhibited since

not good in Atlanta 1996 when we equalised in stoppage time and went on to win? Would you say that Bayern Munich were not good when Manchester United equalised in the last minute and went on to win the European Championship in 1999? ’m more concerned about their total performance than the result. When I discussed the match with our Deputy Editor, Eze Anaba, he said Keshi needed to make one or two changes and the team would soar high. I agreed with Eze, an ardent follower of the game. Changing Fegor Ogude and directing his players to mount pressure on opponents by going forward will change a lot in the team. Directing his players to be quicker on the ball and stop shielding it just to show off the way Echiejile, Emenike , Mikel and some others were doing would help the team.

Directing his players to crowd around the ball and break away when necessary will give them greater possession which helps in opening up defences.

Asking Ike Uche to play for the team rather than for self will help. Correcting Yobo and Godfrey Obaobona, the two central defenders never to run flat by charging on attackers the same time will help. It happened about three to four times against Burkina Faso.

One of them must always withdraw for slips when one charges ahead. These were the flaws I noticed in the match against Burkina Faso and I strongly believe that if they are corrected Eagles may soar on in this competition for they have a blistering counter attack that must be commended. Nigerians are yet to realise the damage done to our football before Keshi and co came on board. It will take a long time to repair. That’s what I have to say while commending Ethiopia for their good play. They went partying after a good outing against Zambia. If they keep their heads, they may be the team of the tournament even if they don’t win.

I

The changes Keshi must make!

Changing Fegor Ogude and directing his players to mount pressure on opponents by going forward will change a lot in the team the days of Clemens Westerhof. They were quick in the counters. What surprised me was their inability to launch many counter-attacks. But they couldn’t have going by the way they passed the ball back even when there was no pressure on them to do so. Eagles led 10 in the first half but failed to seal off the game even when the chances came. They failed to put pressure on the Burkinabes and preferred to pass the ball back for reasons you can’t defend in modern football. Their style made Burkina Faso to survive. A lot of people have condemned them for conceding a goal in the last minute of the match. I will not. It happens in football. Would you say that the Brazilian team was

Eagles strikers must take their chances against Zambia— Akpoborie

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X-NIGERIA star J o n a t h a n Akpoborie has said that Super Eagles strikers cannot afford to be selfish and wasteful against Zambia.

Nigeria face champions Zambia in a must-win AFCON Group C clash this afternoon in Nelspruit after both teams were held to draws in their opening matches.

Akpoborie said that the Eagles front men were wasteful and went for personal glory and that cost Nigeria victory against Burkina Faso in their opening game. ”I am sure Keshi would have talked to the boys on why we didn’t beat Burkina Faso. In my

opinion, the strikers were too selfish and they should not do that against Z a m b i a o n Friday because this is the game from which the team could advance,” said the former Wolfsburg striker.

CAF fines Zambia

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IN SAFE HANDS . . . Zambia’s Jacob Mulenga (R) vies with Ethiopia’s goalkeeper Zerihun during their AFCON 2013 Group C match at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. Match ended 1-1. Photo: AFP

HE Zambia Football Association has been fined 3,000 dollars for the four yellow cards received by its team during the match against Ethiopia on Monday.

The Disciplinary Board of the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) announced the disciplinary measure in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Zambia and Ethiopia played a 1-1 draw at the

opening match of Group C in the ongoing 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Erick Mwanza, spokesman of Zambia FA, confirmed the disciplinary measure.

The players, who received the yellow cards, were Joseph Musonda, Stopilla Sunzu, Collins Mbesuma and Chisamba Lungu.

“As a striker you can be selfish only when you are clear on goal and when you have no better options upfront.

“They have to take their chances against Zambia because that will be the toughest game they will play in this group.

•Uche

52 —

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

Yobo: We can’t afford to lose to Zambia S

UPER Eagles captain Joseph Yobo, said that today’s encounter against the defending champions will be a difficult game, but he submitted that Eagles will not lay down and be rolled over.

“Now we have the defending champions in front of us, it’s going to be very tough. We’ve got to concentrate right till the end, and we’ve got to learn from our mistakes.

“We believe we can beat Zambia, it’s all about getting points now, we can’t afford to lose.”

Yobo who equalled Nwankwo Kanu’s record of playing in six Afcons on Monday, was only a youngster when Keshi’s team lifted the title.

“It was a long time ago, but I remember dancing in the streets.

With Zambia, it’s always

Battle •Continued from BP former skipper of the team that won the 1994 Nations Cup in Tunisia confessed that he was under severe selfimposed pressure to win.

“I’m not under pressure from any quarters be it the NFF or anywhere.

But I’m under immense pressure I put myself.

Everybody is under pressure in his own field.

You are under pressure yourself ”, he said pointing at a reporter. But this pressure will ease after the match tomorrow(today)”, he said. He was asked what it was to be coach of country where over 160 million Nigerians have passion for the round leather game and claim to be experts in it? “It is interesting. Yes, we have millions of coaches in Nigeria but they must understand that every national team that has achieved took time to build and they must give this Super Eagles side time to grow. In my entire life, I have never seen where a house was built overnight. It takes time to get good things on ground. I plead for

STRATEGISING: Super Eagles Captain Yobo Joseph, his assistant Vincent Enyeama and Mike Obi plotting against Zambia going to be a special game,” said the Fenerbahçe defender,

appearing alongside Keshi at the eve-ofmatch press conference.

Ghana edge Mali 1-0 F

OUR-TIME champions Ghana defeated Mali 1-0 Thursday to shoot to the top of Group B at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Black Stars have four points while Mali slipped to second place on three points.

Democratic Republic of Congo, who have collected one point, face pointless Niger later in the second game of a Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium double-header.

Ghana dominated this encounter with Mali lacking the firepower to trouble their opponents even after the introduction of fit-again West Ham striker Modibo Maiga.

Mubarak Wakaso put Ghana in front from the penalty spot in the 38th minute after the lively Emmanuel Agyeman Badu was brought down inside the box by experienced left-back Adama Tamboura.

Wakaso will miss his team’s final group game on Monday against Niger after he was booked for his celebration — his

patience and allow this team to mature. They were impressive in the first match except when they lost focus”.

He however admitted that the battle against Zambia’s Chipolopolo would be titanic but promised to overcome them at the end.

Keshi •Continued from BP microphone for other questions. He said that his team were in a good frame of mind to excel today and refused to compare his 1994 squad that beat Zambia with the present Eagles. “That was 19 years ago. It’s a different ball game now.

Then we asked how many goals we score against our opponents.

Now, things have changed. Football has grown that there is no big team and small team. In the past it was easy to pick the teams that would progress to the next level.

I have respect for all the teams in the Nations Cup”, he emphasized.

Burkina Faso.

That surprise stalemate has added emphasis on an already tough assignment for coach Stephen Keshi’s side.

“Victor trained well yesterday and, hopefully, will be okay to play. He will bring his desire to the side,” said Keshi.

Keshi stressed the importance for his players to concentrate right to the bitter end against Zambia.

He described the mood in the Super Eagles camp as “tremendous” before adding: “We know the job we have to do”.

second caution of the competition.

This was the third time

the west African countries clashed in the tournament within a year.

Tunisia striker Jemaa out of AFCON

T

UNISIA striker Issam Jemaa will play no further part in the African Nations Cup after spraining his knee in his country’s opening match this week, the Tunisian Football Federation said on Thursday.

The former Frenchbased striker had to come off after 16 minutes of Tunisia’s 1-0 win over neighbours Algeria in Rustenburg on Tuesday.

“He has to rest for the

next six weeks,” said a federation statement.

Jemaa, 28, was competing at his fifth successive Nations Cup tournament.

Tunisia will not be able to replace him as they did injured defender Fateh Gharbi on Monday, before their opening game, when they flew in Houcem Haj Mabrouk from CA Bizertin as a replacement.

Super Eagles will bounce back — Olowude

Moses •Continued from BP

Ghana's midfielder Mubarak Wakaso (C) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a penalty against Mali yesterday. AFP PHOTO

Zambia •Continued from BP boasting of beating us.

They are entitled to their dreams but they should respect us as the defending champions.

We’ll settle scores today.

I respect Nigeria because they have very talented individual players.

Zambia does not lack players, either. The Zambian team are ready to prove that their last victory was not a fluke and we are ready to go all the way to the finals”, he said.

E

XECUTIVE Vice C h a i r m a n , Industrial And General Insurance Plc (IGI), Mr. Remi Olowude, has urged Nigerians not to write off the Super Eagles on account of their opening match on Monday against the Stallions of Burkina Faso which they drew 1-1.

Olowude, in a statement in Lagos, stressed that IGI’s support for the national team remained unswerving, despite what he described as the “temporary setback” suffered on Monday.

Urging Nigerians to keep their faith alive and never lose hope in the Super Eagles.

He said IGI, as the official insurer of all national teams, was prepared to review upward the $1,000 per goal offer which it already made to the team.

“What happened on Monday was a temporary setback which shouldn’t be used as a yardstick to judge the outcome of the tournament. Our fighting spirit as Nigerians is legendary. The boys will certainly bounce back to reckoning,” he said.

He enjoined the players to put the past behind them and focus on how to win their next match and qualify for the next stage.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 53

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54 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 — 55

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VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013

Keshi battles Afcon jinx S

UPER Eagles coach Stephen Keshi is ready to battle history today when his wards confront Zambia in the second round match of the Nations Cup. Both teams need a win to be

better placed for the second round after drawing 1-1 respectively in their first games.

Keshi’s ill-luck of not crossing the hurdle of the first round matches in the Nations Cup at his two

Battle against Zambia titanic — Keshi S

UPER Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi knows the task at hand today when his team battle Zambia in a must win match for the Eagles to avoid the shameful exit door in the first round of

previous countries – Togo and Mali came to the fore yesterday at the Press conference.

A journalist had asked if he was hunted by the record of not taking his previous countries to the second round of the Nations Cup. The hall became a grave yard as many expected a harsh response.

He replied ‘no’, and the CAF man moved the Continues on Page 52

Eagles should respect us — Zambia Z

the African Nations Cup. In a pre-match media conference at their remote hide-out at the team’s Ingwenyama Sports Resort in Nelspruit, the

AMBIA coach Herve Renard has warned the Eagles to respect Chipolopolo as the defending champions of the Nations Cup before embarking on a wild goose chase of beating them.

Continues on Page 52

Zambia and Nigeria stand on one point each after drawing 1-1 in their first matches against Ethiopia and Burkina Faso respectively.

“I’ve heard Nigerians

Continues on Page 52

•Renard

•Keshi

Keshi banks on Moses to save Eagles

C

•Victor Moses TODAY'S

PUZZLE

HELSEA winger Victor Moses, who missed Nigeria’s opening game, is expected to enter the Africa Cup of Nations fray against Zambia today.

The winger ’s return from injury is welcome news for the Super YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

Eagles, who take on the defending champions four days after being held to a 1-1 Group C draw by

Continues on Page 52 RESULTS

Ghana Niger

Across 1 Benefit (5) 5 Figure (6) 8 Grasp (5) 10 Uproar (6) 11 Stray (4) 14 Helm (6) 15 Given (7) 18 Shelter (3) 19 Colour (3) 21 Deceased (4) 23 Flower (3) 24 Look (4) 27 Fish (3) 29 Every (3) 31 Matured (7) 32 Shriek (6) 34 Title (4) 35 Consuming (6) 38 Short (5) 39 Ebb (6) 40 Recognised (5)

1 0

Mali 0 Congo 0

TODAY'S MATCHES

Nigeria vs Zambia — 4pm Ethiopia vs B/Faso — 7pm

Down 2 Strive (3) 3 Isle (6) 4 Meadow (3) 5 Eft (4) 6 Posted (6) 7 Bred (6) 9 Dip (7) 12 Sicken (3) 13 Abscond (4) 16 Fury (4) 17 Dissuade (5) 20 Liberate (7) 22 Competent (4) 24 Plague (6) 25 Deserve (4) 26 Delight (6) 28 Vanquished (6) 30 Thrash (3) 33 Measure (4) 36 Enquire (3) 37 Novel (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS Across: 1, Detect 5, Scan 8, Angel 9, Gem 10, Loss 11, Vast 12, Sited 13, Shroud 16, Rift 18, Ever 20, Cup 22, See 23, Day 24, Vase 25, Tend 28, Tedium 30, Balmy 32, Heal 33, Pact 34, Ire 35, Steep 36, Prey 37, Groyne

How to Play Sudoku

THE VIGILANTE

Down: 1, Digest 2, Timorous 3, Colour 4, Insistent 5, Severed 6, Clad 7, Note 8, Ass 14, Distemper 15, Key 17, Fee 19, Validity 20, Can 21, Penalty 26, Debtor 27, Impede 29, Ship 30, Base 31, Yap

e-mail: rowolove@yahoo.co.uk

Place 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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