SGF:How Fashola was schemed out by Vanguard Media Limited

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SGF: How Fashola was schemed out

•One North philosophy being rebuilt BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, Political Editor

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to go outside the permutations of political enthusiasts to appoint key officers of the administration was a fallout of the endless squabbling and the fait accompli that was forced on him by political opponents of his favourite for the post, former Governor Tunde Fashola. The disappointments by political stakeholders from the south nonetheless, the appointment of northern minorities and Christians into key positions by the Buhari administration is meanwhile receiving mixed welcome from the Northern minorities. Buhari had on Thursday sidestepped the favourite nominees including Fashola and former Governor Ogbonnonya Onu to appoint Engr. David Lawal, the national vice-chairman, Northeast, of the All Progressives Congress, APC as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF. Also appointed was the former newspaper editor and banker, Alhaji Abba Kyari as chief of staff while the taciturn disciplinarian and erstwhile chief of staff to Buhari, Col. Hammed Ali (retd.) was appointed as the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service. Fashola had been widely touted for the position largely on account of his organisational acumen and strides in Lagos as governor. However, local political opponents of the former governor, especially within the All Progressives Congress, APC were said to have been largely uncomfortable with his possible emergence as chief of staff, a position they believed would have given him the impetus to dominate the Southwest APC political leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Though Tinubu has recently denied his personal involvement in the campaign against Fashola that was mounted through publication of allegedly inflated contract awards by his administration, his close associates were, however, known to have deployed other political schemes to knock Fashola out of contention for either the

position of SGF or Chief of Staff. The ultimate weapon that was used in neutralising Fashola, Saturday Vanguard learnt, was the nomination of a former commissioner in the Fashola administration as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the president but delegated to the office of the vice-president. Mr. Ade Ipaye, SAN who worked as attorney general and commissioner for justice in the second term of the Fashola administration, it was gathered has been pencilled down as the deputy chief of staff to the president with responsibilities of working under the vice-president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. The deployment of Mr. Ipaye, it was gathered, became the political masterstroke that was used in knocking Fashola out of reckoning in the stiff race for Chief of Staff. Sources privy to the development disclosed that those against Fashola took advantage of the fact that Buhari is bent on operating a single presidency with only one chief of staff who would oversee the president’s affairs and a deputy chief of staff who would oversee the duties of the vicepresident. Given that Ipaye was projected to work with Osinbajo, it became untenable to have another Lagosian in the person of Fashola work as chief of staff. “You cannot have two of them from Lagos working as chief of staff and deputy chief of staff in the same government,” a source privy to the development disclosed. Ipaye’s choice as deputy chief of staff was also logical given that before his appointment into the Fashola cabinet he had worked as special assistant to Osinbajo when the latter was commissioner for justice and attorney general in Lagos State in the Tinubu administration. Meanwhile, despite mutterings in some sections of the country about perceived geopolitical lopsidedness in the appointments so far made by the president, the appointment of Mr. Lawal as SGF was at the weekend being welcomed as another elixir by Buhari to soothe the long cries of marginalisation by northern minorities.

Mr. Lawal from Adamawa State, a pastor and missionary, became the first Christian from the North to get the high profile position of SGF. His appointment sources said flowed from the comfort and confidence the president has in him arising from his long association with the president. Lawal was a leading supporter of Buhari ahead of the presidential primaries and helped to ensure that Buhari defeated Atiku Abubakar in the APC presidential primaries in Adamawa State and the Northeast. Besides his integrity and political capacity that recommended him for the office, Mr. Lawal’s emergence as SGF was at the weekend also receiving critical acclaim by northern minorities on account of the long history of marginalisation of Northern Christians into sensitive positions in the recent past. However, one northern leader was not impressed yesterday saying that it was a move to lure the disenchanted northern minorities back to the agenda of one north.

Executive Director FAMFA Oil, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija; Chairman IBETO Group, Chief Cletus Ibeto; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; President Mohammed Buhari; Chairman Eagle Hills Centenary City Project Nigeria, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar; Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari and Former SGF, Senator Pius Anyim during the audience between the Presidency and the Board of Directors of the Centenary City Project, Abuja at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida “This is just a move to woo the northern minorities back to the Hausa Fulani agenda before they will again humiliate us after they have achieved their purpose,” the northern leader a former member of the National Assembly and presidential aide told Saturday Vanguard yesterday.

Some have alleged that it was part of the scheme to reintegrate the northern minorities into the One North philosophy that the Northwest through Governor Aminu Tambuwal gave rabid support for the emergence of Yakubu Dogara as speaker of the House of Representatives. Apparently alluding to a deliberate effort to rebuild

the relationship between the northern minorities and the Hausa Fulani when he received a delegation of Dogara’s Sayawa Community of Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa Local Government Areas of Bauchi State who paid him a thank you visit in appreciation of his role in the installation of Dogara as speaker, Tambuwal had said:

Emergence of Boko Haram’s new leader stalls regotiation with FG …How Nigeria lost N2.5b to fake ceasefire brokered by Presidential aides in Chad revealed the announcement of a new BY SONI DANIEL, Northern Region Editor

HERE were indications last night that the claimed enthusiasm by the leadership of the Boko HaramsectwiththeNigerian Government was not holding as planned. Vanguard learnt from credible sources close to both the government and the terrorist group that no progress was being made in the expected dialogue because no identifiable representative of the group had shown up for the planned discussion with the federal government. While there were claims lately that the terrorist group was angling for peace talks with the President Buhari Government, information at the disposal of Saturday Vanguard indicate that the Federal Government was yet

to pinpoint any credible person from the group to begin negotiations with. Competent sources said that those who see themselves as the bonafide leaders of the group were uncomfortable with the claim by a foreign leader that had been appointed for the group when they were in charge. A source who has been close to previous failed negotiations with the group, said that the announcement by the Chadian leader. Idris Derby, last week, that the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, had been replaced by Mahamat Daoud, did not go down well with those who were keen on dialoguing with the Nigerian Government. It was learnt that the leadership of Boko Haram in Nigeria was angry that it was the same country that made Nigeria to lose over $23 million to an acclaimed

ceasefire with so-called Boko Haram leaders, when in actual fact, there was no such deal. The group feared that the announcement of a new leader for the group from the country must have happened just because of the announcement by the new Nigerian leader to open negotiations with the sect. “What has happened is that those who wanted to come forward for possible discussion with the Nigerian government have pulled backfollowingthedeclaration that a new leader has been appointed for the group,” one source familiar with the issue, said. “Their feeling seems to be that if the Chadian leader can stay in his country and dictate whattheBokoHaramleaders can and cannot do in Nigeria, let him do so. “Those who are close to the Shekau leadership fear that

leader from a neighbouring country is a ploy by pecuniary-conscious elements to tap into the favourable disposition of the new administration in Nigeria, which is seen to be very serious in making peace and ending the vicious cycle of violence that has claimed thousands of lives and property since 2009,” the source said. It was learnt that the anger within the aggrieved Boko Haram camp was responsible for renewed suicide bombings in Yobe and Borno states in recent weeks and days, a development had drastically reduced upon the offer of the olive branch by the federal government. On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the country, Derby had boasted that apart from decapitating the terrorists, Boko Haram was no longer being led by Shekau.

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Ambode vows to take Lagos youths off streets •Appoints Agbesanwa as DG Lagos Sports Commission By Monsuru Olowoopejo

OVERNOR Akin wunmi Ambode of Lagos State yesterday said his administration will introduce strategies to take the teeming unemployed youths off the streets of Lagos. Meantime, Ambode approved the appointment of Mr. Ayo Agbesanwa as the Director General, Lagos State Sports Commission. The governor who disclosed this while commissioning the newly reconstructed multi- purpose Onikan Youth Centre, Lagos Island Local Government, lamented that priority attention had not been given to the nation’s youth over the years. He stressed that the nation’s youths need the

support of both the public and private sectors to excel in different areas of their endeavour. Explaining some of the strategies, Ambode said “the government will be introducing new incentives for businesses in Lagos to enable them grow, support the society and take more of our youths off the streets. As a government, we will continue to explore ways to create an enabling environment to make your businesses thrive.” Speaking on the centre, the governor noted that the youth center will assist the state government in its quest to make the youths productive. His words “The choice of a Recreation Centre as your contribution to the society is very welcome

because this is the key thrusts of our administration. This centre will positively engage our young boys and girls and help them to channel their abundant energies towards productive ventures. “Ultimately, centres such as this will serve as a rallying point for the conception of great ideas and unleashing of potentials in all areas of human endeavours,” Ambode added. ON APPOINTMENT Ambode in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, reiterated his commitment to revive sports development in the state, adding that Agbesanwa’s years of experience in the field will be key to driving the objectives.

President Muhammadu Buhari (3rd left), Chairman Dangote Group Aliko Dangote (1st left), Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (2nd left), Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (right), and Senior Managing Director Blackstone Group Sean Klimczak, during the Visit of the Black stone Board members to the President At State

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Treatment of Cerebral Palsy patient requires N350,000 per month — Expert cial Needs Teachers and By Our Reporter An expert in the management of the dreaded cerebral palsy in Nigeria, Air Vice Marshal Femi Gbadeso (rtd), has called on governments at all levels to provide adequate facilities and support for the management of the ailment and other childhood disabilities in the country. He said that about N350,000 was required per month for the treatment and management of a person with such ailment/disorder. Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that af-

fect an individual’s ability to move and keep balance/ posture as a result of injury to parts of the brain or a developmental problem that often occur before birth or soon after. The condition leads to different disabilities in each child like being clumsy or awkward as well as being unable to walk. Gbadeso, who is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Benola Cerebral Palsy Initiative, made this known while delivering a paper entitled “Cerebral Palsy in Nigeria: Time for a paradigm shift” at a three-day workshop orga-

nized by Pediatrics Physiotherapy Group of Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy in collaboration with the Physiotherapy Department of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. According to him, since many families are unable to finance the medication of their children suffering from cerebral palsy, there was need for the government to come to the aid of such families to enable them take care of such health challenges. Besides, he urged relevant authorities to create a disable friendly environment, train and deploy Spe-

Careers in schools as well as identify and document affected families in rural communities. AVM Gbadeso, who disclosed that no cure had been found for Cerebral Palsy, which, he said, was neither infectious nor contagious, stressed the need for increased public awareness through regular seminars and conferences, adding that capacity building for Healthcare providers in the area of early intervention and modern trends in the management of childhood disabilities had become imperative.

First female PRO for Police

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI

HE Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, has appointed Acting ACP Olabisi Alofe Kolawole as the new Force Public Relations Officer. ACP Kolawole becomes the first female police officer to be appointed as National Police spokesperson.“This appointment is geared towards harnessing the enormous potentials among Nigerian female Police officers” a statement from Force headquarters said.

Garba Mohammed emerges NGE president BY EMEM IDIO

HE Acting President of the Nigerian Guild of Edi tors, NGE, Mr. Garba Deen Mohammed yesterday emerged as the substantive president of the Guild. Mohammed succeeds Mr. Femi Adesina following the latter’s appointment as the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Mohammadu Buhari. He emerged through a voice vote at the ongoing Annual Nigerian Editors Conference (ANEC) holding in Yenagoa.

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$75m World Bank loan: Oshiomhole must render account — Law maker *Defends Buhari’s new appointments

HE National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PEDC, to immediately reinstate the 43 Distribution System Operators it recently laid off or face total strike. The Union’s Senior Assistant General Secretary, Comrade Akoh Cyprain Ndubuisi, stated this yesterday during a press conference in Owerri.

AYELSA State governor, Seriake Dickson yesterday, said his administration had long been implementing institutional changes in line with democratic principles before the All Progressive Congress APC came up with its change slogan. Dickson, who stated this at the 11th All Nigerian Editors Conference holding in Yenagoa, urged Nigerians to collaborate with the Federal Government in the fight against terrorism, hunger, ethnicity and injustice to bring about the needed change in the country. Speaking on the theme: The Change We Need: Role of The Editors, he outlined a number of areas, where the

The fiery Union leader also said that were some other issues he described as “anti-labour dispositions” of the establishment that ought to be addressed urgently. “They include the casualization/contract employment that is already institutionalized against extant labour laws and International Labour Law convention, as well as the deliberate de-unionization of the company and refusal to deduct union dues”, Ndubuisi said.

Imo govt urged to extend nursing mothers’ maternity leave By Chidi Nkwopara From Left: Hon. Godwin Ebosa, Chairman of the Board; Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro, Deputy Governor and Chief William Makinde, Chairman of the Board: Photo Nath Onojake

lawmaker claimed that the governor had become a distraction to President Muhammadu Buhari and needed to be called to order by the President. She said, “I think Governor Oshiomole should try and help Edo State people by keeping quiet. He has tried so much to tarnish the image of one of my constituents,

a well respected woman of international repute, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. “But thank God that the more he tries to do that, the more the international community discredits his statements. I think Governor Oshiomole is talking too much. “He should give President Buhari the

space to work. If Oshiomole brings anybody, I mean anybody to run for an election in Edo State, he should equally be stoned together with that candidate. He should first put his house in order”,she said referring to Oshiomhole’s comment that former President Jonathan could be stoned.

My administration started change mantra — Dickson By Samuel Oyadongha & Emem Idio

By Chidi Nkwopara & Chinonso Alozie

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Abuja member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Onyemaechi Mrakpor has told Governor Adams Oshiomhole to get prepared to give account on how he will spend the $75 million that was recently approved for Edo State by the National Assembly and other revenues belonging to the state after his tenure. Hon. Mrakpor who is representing Aniocha/ Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State in the House of Representatives also told Governor Oshiomhole to concentrate on how to better the lives of the Edo people instead of tarnishing the image of former President Goodluck Jonathan and the former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. In an exclusive interview with Saturday Vanguard while reacting to the statement credited to the Edo State governor on corruption allegations against Jonathan’s administration, the

NUEE gives electricity company 14-day ultimatum

state government had introduced some measures geared towards promoting good governance, citing an instance, when it created a peaceful atmosphere for the presidential campaign of Muhammadu Buhari in Yenagoa. Opposition parties, according to the governor, have held several rallies in the state without recording any case of violence or harassment, as it was the norm in previous elections in the state. He described the theme of the conference as appropriate, especially as it was coming at a time Nigerians were getting attuned to the change mantra and urged the APC led government to deliver as promised. The governor, who

solicited the support of Nigerians for the Muhammadu Buhari led government for the enthronement of peace and development, recalled that when the Peoples Democratic Party was in power, it did not enjoy adequate support from the then opposition party. He also cautioned Nigerians against antagonising President Buhari. His words: “For me even as a PDP governor, my position has been that after the elections all men and women of our country must unite to move the nation forward. This is because the important issues that we were elected to address are not partisan, because terrorism has no party colouration. “Weneedtocollaboratewith the federal government now led by President Muhammadu Buhari on two essential fronts: to bring about the change that we need in this country and on issues of national security and law and order and we must work together as brothers.. “I feel that the last PDP government did not have sufficient understanding and cooperation from the then opposition party,

even in the area of confronting terror. We politicised the war against terror and now we are almost making same mistake again. With this new government on board, we must all unite to defeat terrorism, until every ward, local government, state are secure, we cannot have a secure Nigeria.” Dickson also drew attention to the abandoned first Oloibiri oil well, describing it as a reminder of the fact that, oil and gas were depleting assets and emphasized the need to diversify the economy. He said: “In this state, the headquarters of oil and gas production in the country. The story of oil and gas brought challenges. I urge you to find time to visit Oloibiri and remind ourselves again about the most important changes that all those in authority must deliver which is the diversification of our nation’s economy. “Today our abandoned first oil well is a testimony to the fact that oil resources are indeed a wasting asset. That is a critical change all of us must work together to effect.”

HE 2015 World Breastfeeding Week has ended in Imo State, with a call on the state government to extend the maternity leave of nursing mothers from three to six months. Addressing the participants during the closing ceremony yesterday in Owerri, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mrs. Lizzy Asuzu, explained that the appeal had become necessary, especially as it corresponds with the prescription of the United Nations

Children’s Fund, UNICEF. Mrs. Asuzu, who was represented by the State Coordinator of Baby Friendly Initiative, Miss Chinwe Chukwukere said , “ Imo state has high infant and underfive mortality rates of 119 per 1,000 and 199 per 1,000 respectively”. Continuing, the Permanent Secretary expressed regret that only 8.9 percent of nursing mothers in the state practise exclusive breastfeeding for six months, while only 28.1 percent have embraced a p p r o p r i a t e complementary feeding.

Muslim group warns WAEC over GCE time table By Daud Olatunji

HE Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, yesterday,vowed to mobilize its members nationwide against the West African Examinations Council for allegedly issuing a timetable in which some of the subjects to be written in this year’s November/

December West African School Certification Examination clashed with Muslim Jumaat prayers for five Fridays unless it is adjusted within 48 hours. The body which comprises 17 southern states in the country condemned the time table and asked the examination body to adjust the time table within 48 hours.

FG partners Israel to boost food production, improve water quality By Funmi Olasupo

HE Federal Govern ment, yesterday, entered into a partnership with the State of Israel to boost food production in Nigeria. Speaking at a dinner organised by the Israel Embassy in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and its Environment counterpart, Mr. Musa

Istifanus, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water Resources, stated that this became necessary due to the difficult and adverse climate and geographical conditions. He further stated that Nigeria has entered into collaboration with the State of Israel through its Embassy in Nigeria on ways to preserve fresh water ecosystem and improve water quality and sanitation in the country.

8 — SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

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Anyaoku mourns late Ambassador to US •Says deceased brought panache to foreign affairs By Charles Kumolu

ORMER Common wealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku yesterday expressed shock over the death of Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States of America, Prof Ade Adefuye, describing the deceased as an outstanding patriot and servant of Nigeria. He also said the late Adefuye brought great intellect and panache to Nigeria’s diplomatic representation abroad. Anyaoku in a statement said the deceased was instrumental to the success of President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to the United States of America. His words: “I am dumbfounded by the news of the sudden death of Ambassador Ade Adefuye in Washington. Professor Adefuye was an accomplished scholar and diplomat. He brought great intellect and panache to Nigeria’s diplomatic representation abroad and reached the apogee of his outstanding service as the country’s Ambassador in Washington. “Among his latest accomplishments was his

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki (2nd right), Emir of Kano, HRH, Muhammadu Sanusi II (1st right), Chairman and CoFounder Blackstone Group, Mr. Stephen Schwarzman and President of Dangote Group, Alh. Aliko Dangote after a courtesy visit to the Senate President by Blackstone Group at the National Assembly, Abuja.

brilliant orchestration with the officials of the United States government of the widely acknowledged successful visit of President Buhari to Washington in July 2015. Before his appointment as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States of America, Professor Adefuye had served as the Nigerian High Commissioner in Jamaica with concurrent ac-

creditation to some other Caribbean countries as well as Deputy High Commissioner in the U n i t e d Kingdom.“Adefuye had also served meritoriously for over eight years in the Commonwealth Secretariat in London where among his other duties he was, on many occasions, an effective emissary to Commonwealth African countries during

my tenure as SecretaryGeneral and that of my successor. He also subsequently served as an officer in the ECOWAS Secretariat. Ambassador Ade Adefuye was an outstanding patriot and servant of Nigeria. He will undoubtedly be fondly remembered by many former colleagues and associates in Nigeria and abroad.”

Ooni tasked me on Yoruba unity, marginalisation before his death — Obasanjo •Advises Ife kingmakers on choice of Ooni

By Gbenga Olarinoye, Osogbo

ORMER president Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday appealed to the kingmakers of Ile- Ife to follow strictly the laid down rules and procedures for the selection of the new Ooni following the demise of Oba Okunade Sijuwade. He also asked the kingmakers to allow God’s wisdom to prevail on them to choose a rightful and God fearing person who would replace the late Ooni. Chief Obasanjo made the appeal when he visited the kingmakers at the Ooni’s palace to commiserate with the people of Ife over the death of Oba Sijuwade. Specifically, Chief Obasanjo asked the kingmakers to be careful of the choice of successor, saying that late Sijuwade dignified the stool beyond Africa. According to him, the position of Ife in Nigeria

can not be wished away, adding that the town is of great significance to the Yoruba race. The former president recalled that late Oba Sijuwade 10 days before his death in his palace told him about the marginalisation of the Yoruba race. “I was here ten days before the demise of Kabiyesi and he told me

ATIONAL Leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, and former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Alfa Belgore, would be among those to be honoured at the maiden convocation ceremony of Adeleke University, Ede. Briefing newsmen in Ede, the Vice Chancel-

By Francis Igata

OVERNOR Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has enjoined the participants at the State Review of past budgets to target aggressive generation of internal revenue to reduce the State’s over dependence on federal allocation. The Governor noted that upon assumption of office, that his administration found it necessary to revise the budget to reflect the prevailing economic circumstances and contemporary realities and in tune with the policy thrust of government. Governor Ugwuanyi in an address read by his Deputy, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo on the occasion of the State’s review of 2014 budget and mid-year review of 2015 budget in Enugu added that the exercise formed an integral part of good governance and offered the chance to account for what has been done so far by government with the revised budget in terms of incomes and expenditures with a view to overcoming obstacles. In his words, “I urge you all to declare freely your achievements and challenges in this regard, compare notes and reflect best strategies for the successful implementation of the remaining aspect of the 2015 budget. According to the Governor, the 2015 budget was tagged, ‘Budget of Transition’ and was brought into effect by the preceding administration but would be completed by his administration. He added that its main target was the completion of ongoing projects initiated by the last administration as well as generation of internal revenue”.

Uduaghan ‘ll be vindicated, says Akpeki By Emma Amaize

MMEDIATE past Chief of Staff to the Delta State Governor, Chief Paulinus Akpeki, said weekend, that the former governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, shall be vindicated in the long run regarding how he managed affairs of the state. He said there were several misconceptions about the administration of Dr. Uduaghan and the public must be told the truth. His words, “ I will speak after September 6th on a lot of varying issues as they affect the immediate past Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan administration in which I was a player.’’ He appealed to journalists to spare him till then, but added, “ We shall be vindicated in the long run. It is a matter of time.”

Husband demands refund of N1.4m marriage expenses By Olamide Ojo

how the Yoruba race is being margnalised in the country. He also told me to ensure that the Yoruba race got its share of things in the country,” he said. The Obalufe of Ife, Gabriel Omisakin, who received Obasanjo on behalf of other chiefs assured the former President that the choice of a

new king would not generate controversy. He promised that the kingmakers would ensure that due process is followed so as to have an acceptable person as king. He appealed to Obasanjo not to be far from the community considering his position in Yoruba land.

Tinubu, Belgore, others to be honoured by Adeleke University By Gbenga Olarinoye, Osogbo

Ugwuanyi charges budget reviewers on IGR

lor of the institution, Prof. Oluwole Amusan, said the first executive governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adeleke would be among the awardees. Amusan added that the four-year old institution would be graduating 11 students with First Class degree, while 80 others bagged Second Class Upper Division. In addition, he said that 33 students would graduate with Second

Class Lower degree, while one student would be presented with a Third Class degree. He added that Adeleke University would continue to seek partnership with other institutions of repute, stressing that it has designed its Public Health Programme to provide opportunities for students to spend a month in California, USA.

MIDDLE- aged man, Collins Nduka on Thursday pleaded with an Ojo Customary Court in Lagos to cause his wife to refund N1.4 million he spent in marrying her. Collins, told the court that since his wife, Sefinat Nduka decided to abandon the marriage for over one year, he would want a refund of the marriage expenses and dowry. “My wife is not faithful to the marriage because she has other relationships apart from me, I no more love her. Afterall, she has not given me a child”, he said. “The most painful thing is that she has carried all the properties in my house to an unknown place. As if that was not enough, she has also emptied my shop stocked with over N750,000 worth of goods” he said.

DESOPADEC: HOSTCOM alleges exclusion By Festus Ahon & Ochuko Akuopha DELTA State chapter of Host Communities of Nigeria, Oil and Gas, HOSTCOM, has raised alarm over what it described as the exclusion of its members from the list of those sworn in as members of the new board of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC. Briefing newsmen yesterday in Asaba, state chairman of HOSTCOM, Dr. Peter Egedegbe urged the state governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa to accommodate them. He further claimed that the list they sent to the state government in that regard was not honoured. His words: “We worked with the government. We were on the same page, we supported the bill and expected that when such list is sent to the governor, he will appoint our persons.

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At last, Jonathan’s body guards posted out of villa A

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (l) commiserates with Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai on Thursday who lost his foster father, Mallam Yahaya Hamza. personnel. That phase of transition is over” the source said. About 250 personnel of the DSS are expected to take over the job of protecting the president from the military personnel. Weekend Vanguard gathered that the process of bringing in the DSS personnel after those who

served president jonathan was withdrawn was necessitated by the bitter experience during the sallah prayers when president Buhari was almost mobbed by enthusiastic Nigerians who overwhelmed the military men that were protecting home. President Buhari himself

TSEKIRI appointee as Executive Director Projects, in newly constituted Board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development (DESOPADEC), Victor Oritsetimeyin Wood has thanked the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II for finding him worthy to be presented for the appointment. Expressing his appreciation yesterday at the palace of the Olu in Warri shortly after the new Board’s inauguration at Asaba, Delta State, Wood said he was honoured that the Itsekiri nation through the Olu found him most trusted among several qualified others to C M Y K

confessed that but for God’s protection, he would have been mobbed by the crowd that thronged the Eid prayer ground. It would be recalled that since their departure from the villa, most of the body guards have been idling away as they had not beat to cover and did not belong to any state command.

Northern group chides Oshiomhole over Jonathan BY AGAJU MADUGBA

northern youth group, the Arewa Youth Parliament, has urged GovernorAdamsOshiomhole of Edo state to halt what the groupdescribedasunguarded utterances and media attack

on the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Insistingthattheattacksare unacceptable,thegroupnoted that the current mood of the nation dictates that all Nigerians move away from unprogressive lamentations and hauling of unfounded

DESOPADEC NEW BOARD: Itsekiri appointee thanks Olu of Warri BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA

HE crowd of shoppers that thronged the Shoprite branch of FESTAC Town, which opened at Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos on Thursday got more than they bargained for as robbers and pickpockets ensured the shoppers had sad tales from their shopping. It was gathered that the unsuspecting shoppers thronged the mall located in the Golden Tulip hotel, before they were successfully robbed by the gang, who made away with their valuables like bags cash and money. The victims were robbed despite the heavy presence of policemen, who were seen within and outside the mall. Some of the shoppers had their phones, money, ATM cards, purses and even the goodies they bought stolen by these sets of people, an eyewitness said. “Some pickpockets mingled with the crowd, they pretended to be shoppers and stole people’s phones and their money”.

BEN AGANDE FTER months in the limbo, Department of State Services personnel who served as Body Guards to President Goodluck Jonathan have been posted out of the Villa to various state commands. Competent sources at the Presidential Villa told Weekend Vanguard that the signal for the posting of the over 150 body guards who had remained redundant following the directive by the ADC to President Buhari that they should leave the presidential villa came yesterday. It would be recalled that following the swearing in of President Buhari, personnel of the Department of State Services who had traditionally served as Body Guards to the president were ordered to leave the Villa on the instructions of the ADC to the president. According to the source while a few of the DSS personnel were posted to the headquarters of the DSS, most of them were posted to various state commands of the service. “Almost all of our personnel who were body guards in the villa have been transferred out of the state House. A new crop of body guards who were trained for the purpose have taken over. They will take over from the soldiers who were initially drafted to man the various beats hitherto occupied by the DSS

Robbers steal valuables as Shoprite opens branch in Festac town

represent her in such sensitive office. Wood, who was until this appointment a manager in Shell, promised to bring his industrial experience to bear in discharging his duties in the new office in a manner that will change the fortunes of DESOPADEC for Delta’s oil producing areas and give pride to the Iteskiri nation, especially the Olu who nominated him to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. Reacting to the homage by Wood, a palace chief, Mene Brown said it was the first time an Itsekiri appointee in public office would show such humility in leaving his swearing in to return to thanks the Palace and the Itsekiri nation for the confidence

placed in him. The traditional council which expressed optimism that Wood’s coming into DESOPADEC would bring positive change to the Itsekiri nation, offered special prayers for him to succeed in the new office. President, Itsekiri National Youth Council, Esimaje Awani who accompanied the new DESOPADEC Executive Director Projects to the palace said, “We are by this development happy as a people. For the first time Itsekiri nation through our revered monarch have spoken with one voice and chosen a generally accepted hand to represent us. It is a sign of good things to come.”

allegations. According to the group in a statement in Kaduna yesterday signed by its Chairman, Ibrahim Garba Rigachikun and Secretary General, Faith Joshua, “we believe that the season of propagandaendedafterMay 29, 2015 and what matters most now is the development of infrastructure across the country for the overall good of all Nigerians. “Weareaware thatGovernor Oshiomhole is not the official spokesman of the APC Federal Government and should allow those who it is their duty to do their job. “We also advise him to switch from the campaign propaganda mode and emergency radicalism to do the needful for the people of Edo state. The Governor has apparently abandoned the task of overseeing affairs of Edo state to become an emergency critic of Dr. Jonathan who is supposed to be peacefully resting after serving the nation to the best of his ability. “The Governor’s media propaganda against the former President is uncalled for and unsuitable in this cooling off period when Nigerians expect a string of developmental projects as promised them by his party during the 2015 electioneering campaigns.”

IGP redeploys A|Gs: Mbu moves to Jos BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI

OLLOWING the vacancies created from the recent retirement and promotions of senior police officers, the Inspector-General of Police. IGP Solomon Ehigiator Arase has approved the postings and redeployment of the following senior police officers. AIG Mbu Joseph Mbu is redeployed from Lagos as AIG, Zone 2, to Jos as Commandant Police Staff College; AIG Johnson Ogunsakin is redeployed from Calabar as AIG Zone 6, to Bauchi as AIG Zone 12; AIG Baba Adisa Bolanta, formerly Commandant Police Academy, Kano is redeployed to Calabar as AIG Zone 6; AIG Bala Hassan, formerly AIG Zone 10, Sokoto is the new AIG in charge Zone 2, Lagos. Others are AIG Patrick Dokumor, formerly the AIG in charge Zone 7, now AIG in charge Force Secretary’s Office; AIG Ballah Nasarawa, formerly the Commandant Police Staff College, Jos is the new AIG in charge Zone 7, Abuja; AIG Tambari Mohammed is the AIG in charge Zone 1, Kano; AIG Mohammed J. Abubakar is the AIG in charge Zone 3, Yola; AIG Yahaya Ardo is the AIG in charge Zone 4, Makurdi.

Adeyemi/Dino’s re-trial: Tribunal to rule on party primary, ballot recounting on Monday BY BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO

HE National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State has fixed Monday August 31, 2015 for ruling on two applications filed by Dino Melaye challenging the court from accepting the result of the recounted ballot papers in disputed polling unit. Melaiye through his counsel is also challenging the petitioner’s stands to challenge the primary election of the APC saying party primary is a pre election mater and not within the prerogative of election Tribunal. Dino’s counsel in his application raised technical issues on the recounted votes in the disputed 21 polling units of Lokoja council area of the state.

DESOPADEC law: Okareme indicts Okowa... wants Itsekiri chair replaced BY EMMA AMAIZE

ATIONAL Coordinator of Host Communities of Nigeria, HOSTCOM, Prince Maikpobi Okareme, said, Friday, that Delta state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, breached the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, law with the appointment of an Itsekiri indigene as chair of the governing board. He, therefore, requested the governor to replace the newly sworn-in chairman with an Isoko person without much ado. Speaking to Saturday Vanguard, he said, “Besides the fact the governor had earlier agreed with HOSTCOM on the chairmanship, his appointment is against Section 7 (1) (c) of DESOPADEC law.” “The law clearly states that in the appointment of the chairman of the Commission , any oil producing community that has produced a chairman shall not succeed itself until the rotational circle among the oil producing ethnic nationalities is completed.

10 — SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

B-R-I-E-F-S

More outrage over Buhari’s appointments

By Festus Ahon

*Buhari’s govt is inactive — PDP *Nigerians deserve what they got — Fani-kayode *It’s a Buhari country — Abaribe

EEVED by the suspension of Uvwie Local Government Chairman, Mr Henry Baro from office by the State House of Assembly, the Delta Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, called on Deltans to rise against what it described as illegality being perpetuated in the area. The party in a statement by its chairman Mr. Jones Erhue said the suspension of the council chairman from office was not only illegal but vindictive.

BY HENRY UMORU& IKENNA ASOMBA THE outrage over the appointments made by President Muhammadu Buhari continued yesterday with more Nigerians accusing the President of being ethnically biased. Even though, many who spoke to Vanguard and others who did so on their social media page, were not surprised about the development, there was an apparent consensus that the appointments did not reflect Nigeria’s ethnic diversity. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in its reaction, said the appointments should not be greeted with enthusiasm, saying that it is more concerned about the delivering of good governance. In a text message to Vanguard, the party ’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olise Metuh, said: “The PDP has no official response to the president’s style and choice of appointees. We are more concerned with the inactivity in governance and economic matters. On account of lack of ideas, this government is orchestrating drama in delayed appointments and selective witch-hunt on anti-corruption.” Similarly, a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode on his Facebook page, said Nigerians are already witnessing the consequences of his preelection warning of not voting for the All P r o g r e s s i v e s Congress,APC. He said: ‘’ Nigerians wanted change and now we have got it. No one should complain because this is what our people wanted. Those of us who warned the country that this would happen were insulted and lampooned. Now we have to live with the consequences of our choice for the next four years. Welcome to the new Nigeria. Welcome to change.” Also reacting, former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope said: “ Democracy to Buhari is government of the Northerners by the Northerners and for the Northerners. God bless Nigeria. “ The immediate past Senate Majority Leader, Senator Victor NdomaEgba, who hailed the appointments, said this is not the first time

The Annual Conference of Nigerian Guild of Editors holding in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. From left, Mr. Ray Ekpu, FNGE and Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, FNGE, GM, Vanguard Media Limited. Photo: Akpokona Omafuaire someone outside the Customs was chosen to head the agency. Ndoma - Egba said: “They are competent with proven integrity. It will not be the first time someone will be appointed from outside to head Customs. Dr.Bello Haliru Mohammed, current acting Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, BoT was appointed to head Customs from outside. “ Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, stressed that no one should be surprised at the appointments because the President had allegedly pledged to give priority to those, who voted for him. He said: “No one should be surprised over what is happening or the shape of the political appointments made by President Muhammadu Buhari. To be fair to him, the President said during his recent state visit to the United States of America, that he will reward those who voted for him. “Again, it could be the style of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). That is to say, that the party has chosen as a style, to run a government that encourages alienation of a sizeable portion of its people, as well as one that promotes exclusivity. “Every political party has its style, like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that adopted its own style of running an inclusive national government, which reflected the true character and national outlook of the Nigerian people. PDP’s style was inclusive not minding the voting pattern of any section of the country or where its support base was derived. “For any party, there

should not be any political barrier or alienation of any constituent part, because after elections the President is the President and father of all Nigerians irrespective of political leaning. “My hunch is that the appointments so far, which has surreptitiously thrown up the prevailing circumstance, has failed to encourage our people’s hunger and quest to build a nation state out of a heterogeneous Nigeria. The appointments as it were does not also support the effort to weave a more cohesive country that would metamorphose into a nation where unity and love will prevail. “The founding fathers of our nation had this in mind when the notion of “Federal. Character ” was inscribed in the constitution and a commission created for that purpose. That a President of elder statesman status would willfully breach this fibre that holds this country together is highly regrettable. “My take is that, it is a ‘Buhari country’, it is the reality, so he can play around with his choice as his mind and conscience directs him. After all he did not win election in the South East and South-South and yet he became President, therefore, the South should be orphaned for not voting for him. Perhaps that is the stark reality that the people of the South in Nigeria should face. “There is an idiom in Igbo language that says: “20 years or more is not eternity ”. The Buhari government will also come to an end one day. “Nonetheless, it could have been good and

Delta APC frowns at suspension of Uvwie LG Chairman

politically expedient if President Buhari sees himself as President of Nigeria, which is the hallmark of a statesman and not that of President of a section of the country. “ The Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, said: “ The President has his reason, that’s all I can say.” (Find the geo-political spread of appointments below).

The statement partly reads: “We note with sadness and consternation the macabre dance by the People Democratic Party PDP in Delta state which culminated in loss of properties after a free for all fight by PDP forces. “This Crisis snowballed into the illegal suspension of the elected council Chairman, Mr Henry Baro. We call on all lovers of democracy to rise against this lawlessness and illegality because if not checked, it will lead to breakdown of law and order in Uvwie and other parts of the state”.

DESOPADEC: Okowa’s aide calls for calm among oil communities By Emma Amaize

ENIOR Special Assistant, SSA, to the Delta State Governor on Peace Building, Mr Austin Ogedegbe, yesterday, called for understanding and peace among those protesting the recent constitution of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development C o m m i s s i o n , DESOPADEC governing board by Governor

Ifeanyi Okowa. Ogedegbe told Saturday Vanguard, “I appeal that the issue of DESOPADEC should not bring problem and misunderstanding that will lead to insecurity in the state. Any person(s) or communitie(s) that has any complaint should channel it in a peaceful manner, observing due process.” “They should avoid provocative language that will cause breach of peace in the state.”

GEO-POLITICAL SPREAD OF BUHARI’S APPOINTMENTS Name Designation State Femi Adesina Special Adviser Publicity Osun Garba Shehu Snr. Special Asst. on Media and Publicity North Ibe Kachikwu GMD/NNPC Delta Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh rtd. Coordinator of Amnesty Programme Bayelsa Prof. Umaru Danbatta Exe. Vice Chairman and Chief Exe. Of NCC Kano Malam Lawal Abdullahi Kazaure State Chief of Protocol Jigawa Abdullahi Muhammadu Commandant-General of (NSCDC) Niger Lawal Daura Director-General of the State Service Katsina Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari Ag. Chairman INEC Jigawa Mr. Mordecai Baba Ladan Director, Dept. of Petroleum Resources North Alhaji Ahmed Idris Accountant-General of the Federation Kano Lt. Col. Muhammed Lawal AbubakarAide-de-Camp Kano Ahmed Lawan Kuru Managing Director of AMCON North Maj. General T.Y. Buratai Chief of Staff Borno Maj. General A.G. Olanishakin Chief of Defence Staff Ekiti Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas Chief of Naval Staff C/Rivers Air Vice-Marshal Sadique Abubkar Chief of Air Staff Bauchi Air Vice Marshal M.R. Morgan Chief of Defence Intelligence Babatunde Fowler Chairman of Fed. Inland Revenue Service Lagos Engr. Babachir David Lawal Sec. To the Govt. of the Federation Adamawa Alhaji Abba Kyari Chief of Staff to the President Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (retd) Compt. Gen. NCS Bauchi Kure Martin Abeshi Compt. Gen. Nig Immigration Service Nassarawa Senator Ita S.J. Enang SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) A/Ibom Suleiman Kawu SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters House of Representatives Kano

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—11

A lot has been said and written about the rot in our oil and gas industry. Today, we serve you the first part of a special report on the oil subsidy fraud that has pauperised Nigerians. It is written by Dr Ugoji Egbujo, a man who delved into the industry for more than 20 years, toiling and mastering the ropes as his business. He saw it all and his experience is worth sharing with our dear readers. It is another Saturday Vanguard exclusive that could make you feel for Nigeria.

REVEALED:

How banks, govt officials

aided marketers to loot

subsidy billions . . . And they are all walking away *EFCC double sstt andar ds exposed! andards

BY DR UGOJI EGBUJO

mpunity twerked naked at the market square. It is still not done twerking. Thousands of forged documents , outlandish fairy tales, pervasive conscience searing mendacity . The whole of an annual federal capital budget plundered by a few. Noises were made, scapegoats whipped out and paraded in courts, backdoor negotiations were held at night. Many made away with their loot ,smiling and twerking or rather gyrating. Some say it is their luck. Many had metamorphosed into ‘transformation ambassadors’. Others now mount rostrums, exponents of the grass to grace phenomenon. A few plotted to govern their states. And why wouldn’t they? Government officials whose gross incompetence and willful negligence can only be explained by sleaze induced criminal conspiracy did not get even a mere rebuke. Some were promoted. Before long, the grand criminal enterprise resumed, operators and regulators were allowed to continue what they hadn’t finished before they were apparently rudely interrupted milking the country. And how can you charge a man for forging a bill of lading, for forging form ‘M’, for manufacturing documents of fictitious vessel and stealing billions of naira in the process and yet you turn around the very following week and award the accused the largest crude lifting contract in the land? The prosecutors got the message. 2011 subsidy surpasses 8 years subsidy In 2011 the nation spent more on fuel subsidy than it did in the entire eight years of Obasanjo’s leadership. The finance minister was same Ngozi Okonjo Iweala . She knew what real subsidy figures should look like . She was not perturbed. Or was she? No one resigned in righteous anger. Sophistries were regurgitated to explain the phenomenon, the aberration, its normality. The economy was expanding rapidly they claimed, so the dramatic rise in fuel imports and subsidy payments could be explained. They lied. They brandished their their tales as cudgels so that any one who had a contrary opinion became an enemy of the government. Until the riots that pricked the house of representatives, who waded into the matter, and opened many cans of worms. Large scale fraud crafted at the highest levels was perpetuated by government agencies, banks and

Continues on page 12 C M Y K

12— SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

FG increases fuel importers from six to 140 Continues from page 11 hundreds of companies and persons . Goats were invited into the barn, they ate to their fill and strutted away with swagger , with yams loaded on their backs. People awoke to the revelation with their ‘tufiakwas’ . “ O lorun maje “ we had all screamed . Before long all the noises died down, we resumed our slumber. They say we have a collective social pathology – amnesia. Those of them who were unlucky to have been charged to court , the sacrificial lambs, have the benefit of a reluctant prosecution and fatiguing state witnesses and the near omnipotence of plenty money . State witnesses have started disowning the earlier statements and affidavits. Time and money have a way of wearing out the resolve of such witnesses. It’s four years and interests and moral resolves are dying or even dead. After 10 years as state witness no one could remember what versions of Sgt Rogers testimonies and recants was on the table in that long drawn out case involving Al Mustapha. Many who committed sacrileges, stole tons and billions of naira in collusion with federal agencies and principals of the state in broad day light have walked away. Case files thoroughly messed up. Strange and curious bargains reached with the EFCC on repatriation of stolen funds. The public has been left out. No one knows who is returning what and what has been returned. What was once a public scandal, aired soap opera is now neatly shrouded in government mystery. We were told more would be charged to court , that the cases were being C M Y K

filed in phases. We now know better. Deals have now been struck . How many have been charged ? And how did the prosecution select whom to charge and whom to bargain with since persons who committed similar offences have not been treated alike? Shouldn’t such bargains be plea bargains? If the Jonathan presidency constituted an albatross for investigators and prosecutors, are they still bound now? Are their hands still tied? Is the perfidy irreversible? Nigerians resist Jonathan's plan to check the monster he created 2012 began with an uprising against the attempt by the Jonathan’s government to withdraw subsidy on petrol. By the end of 2011 subsidy payments had literally destroyed the nation’s economy. Jonathan and company knew why and how the subsidy monster was created and unleashed on the people . Ordinary Nigerians were unaware of the damage that had been done and ignorantly resisted Jonathan who tried to rein in the monster he had unleashed. Jonathan assumed the presidency after Yaradua’s demise . He had been everything in politics but he was politically unschooled. He had been catapulted to the top fortuitously , never prosecuted his own election before 2011. Against a north for whom Yaradua’s death could not mean a return of power to the south, Jonathan’s dream of running in 2011 was headed

into strong political headwinds. Without clout, without personal political structures, without charm and charisma, Jonathan would have to buy and rent. Close presidential aides decided money could guarantee everything. The Petroleum subsidy fund was created in 2006 and was structured to pool funds from the three tiers of government to cushion the prices of petroleum products. The burden was to fall 50:25:25 on the federal, state and local governments. The states and local governments looked away and the federal government winked at the petroleum ministry and the NNPC and all hell broke loose. If the guideline of the scheme that stipulated the publication of monthly accounts had been followed then perhaps state governors would have been jolted out of their attitude in good time. Perhaps ignorance isn’t always bliss after all. FG increases fuel importers from six to 140 In 2006 the country had just 5 fuel importers plus NNPC under the scheme but by the end of 2011, when the filth had hit the fan , the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had a list of 140 companies who had been given import allocations and who had collected subsidy payments. Necessity they say is the mother of all inventions, good or bad. The presidency needed money to prosecute the 2011 elections and the guidelines that restricted participants in the scheme to

only depot owners had to be sacrificed. The door to the barn was deemed too small. They wanted to empower indigenous marketers , they claimed. They always had good reasons to cloak their evil motives.

It’s safe to think that they never imagined the forged papers they submitted would ever be dug up

The hard times for banks and oil marketers The subsidy scam met other exigencies. 2008/2009 was a horrendous time for banks and oil marketers. The world economic collapse and the sharp drop in oil prices had crippled many oil trading companies and left huge holes in the books of banks. So for many of these companies and banks, morality could as well wait. As more entrants came and the stakes got higher, strategies and stratagems changed and changed until caution became a hindrance and was discarded altogether. They went from the bold to the audacious to the down right ridiculous. It’s safe to think that they never imagined the forged papers they submitted would ever be dug up. Initially the vessels were off loaded into storage tanks and backloaded into other vessels a couple of days after and sold offshore Cotonou or Togo. But later, even that became unnecessary wahala. Import nothing, don’t even bother procuring foreign exchange, those motions became unnecessary. Just forge everything and give everybody his “due” and dance to your billions in the Continues on page 13

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—13

Continues from page 12 everything and give everybody his “due” and dance to your billions in the bank. A nation that does not plan is a nation destined for disaster. And without data not only can one not plan , his barns are vulnerable to leaders whom ambition have turned into scoundrels. We have a bureau of statistics that does not know how much petrol we consume daily. It is a key defence data but the military wouldn’t know either. Paucity of data makes the nation vulnerable in many ways. Any petroleum minister can instigate and supervise unrestrained importation of petroleum products in place of a full blown fund raising bazaar. At some point marketers were asked to just deposit money, preferably in billions, and they were given allocations and contracts to recoup later and swim in profit. Little wonder the expo carried on even after the conclusion of the 2011 elections. With six companies importing in 2006 the nation spent about 261 billion on petroleum subsidy. In 2007, 10 companies were engaged and total subsidy figures were about 278 billion naira. In 2008 we had 19 companies and we spent 346 billion on subsidy. The drama began in 2010 , after Yaradua. And by the end of 2011 we had 140 companies , it had become an all comers affairs. Politicians turn middlemen for import allocations As government fuel importers mushroomed, the demands made on them before they could be given allocations skyrocketed. The allocations were given by PPPRA but the ministry of petroleum resources practically wrote the list. At some point before the 2011 elections marketers wanting allocations for 15,000 metric tonnes of PMS parted with as much as one million dollars. And the money had to be paid in dollars. Little wonder the presidential committee set up in the wake of the subsidy brouhaha discovered that companies that had not been pre-qualified and registered by the PPPRA also received allocations. Registrations and applications were inconsequential formalities, dollar deposit was the main act. Prominent government officials and big politicians became middlemen and hawkers of allocations. Was the Presidency's focus on the nation's daily needs? The PPPRA allowed companies to import fuel so much in excess of the countries requirements. And since the profit in bringing in 15,000metric tones at the time could not have been more than 300,000 dollars and marketers were made to part with about a million dollars in advance, in C M Y K

And where was the CBN ?

CBN Building bribes, marketers got the message that the government was not interested in genuine transactions. Apart from bribes making the cost benefit calculations impossible, logistical limitations didn’t help constrain the feelings that “deals” had become inevitable. Vessels were on interminable queues and tanks were filled, there was a massive glut yet more and more allocations were churned out. NNPC on its part spent billions in demurrage costs. Involvement of the banks Many banks trampled on extant financial regulations with impunity in the course of those transactions. Many others worked hand in hand with the marketers in the criminal enterprise. Some even helped customers doctor their accounts statements when investigations started. But all have walked away. Their sullied reputations ostensibly intact. But why did many of the banks participate so actively in the fraud? Writhing from the pains of the economic recession of 2008 and the collapse of the stock and oil markets to which many of them where heavily exposed , the banks were riddled with bad debts. AMCON was in the process of cleaning them but the consequences of the sort of provisioning that CBN demanded was enormous . And we know Nigerian banks . When the push comes to shove,

everything becomes permissible. So you had a situation where many so called reputable banks received subsidy payments on behalf of customers who opened no form “M”s . In some outrageous instances some banks opened LCs for marketers in favour of international traders supposedly for the importation of petrol . But a few days/weeks later the same customers received inflows of nearly same amount from the same foreign traders or poorly identified foreign sources. Cargo had been resold to the seller by the supposed buyer. The banks feigned ignorance. But the money laundering laws place a duty on them to know the sources and reasons of such huge inflows. The Financial Intelligence Unit exists but you wonder what they really do. Then the rogue marketers sent in counterfeit documents and conjured approvals to support applications for fuel subsidy for cargoes they did not import. They will nominate their banks , as it is the practice, to receive the subsidy payment. The Banks received billions from the CBN for transactions they should have known and did know were fictitious. The duty the money laundering act places on banks cannot be satisfied by a plea of ignorance. Many of the banks colluded with their customers to defraud the nation and not a single bank chief executive was charged and not a single bank was blacklisted and not a single bank was punished. Now, that is impunity.

Vessels that were in the far east were signed up as having discharged off shore Cotonou or in tank farms in Apapa

The presidential committee on subsidy had two prominent and reputable bank chief executives as chairman and secretary . They did a wonderfully detailed and meticulous job . But how did banks and officials that connived with these people to bleed the treasury escape sanctions? And where was the CBN ? The CBN governor then , the Emir of Kano, shouted himself hoarse as the nations’ subsidy payments ballooned. By the end of 2010 Sanusi was going literally berserk. But did he do enough? I don’t think so. He should have resigned. NNPC learnt to deduct its own subsidy payments from crude costs. Yes, they wouldn’t even wait for the CBN. There was a budgetary allocation for subsidy but no one was really constrained by those formalities. But there was more. The CBN paid marketers who had not sourced any foreign exchange to import fuel. If it were more vigilant it could have declined the payments until such marketers proved their sources of funds. The CBN helped the investigations by the various committees with copious evidence , exposing many fraudulent marketers . Very good but not enough. Many will wonder why the CBN which was the only agency that was altruistically enthusiastic of bringing those involved to book and stemming the subsidy leakages did not investigate and punish erring banks and their managements. The CBN failed

Continues on page 14

14—SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

THE DPR – a sleeping or colluding policeman? Continues from page 13 woefully in that respect. But its not late to make amends. THE PPPRA – A regulatory or thieving agency? Under the PSF scheme the PPPRA is the agency to regulate the importation and pricing of petroleum products. It is supposed to collect data, prequalify and register marketers , decide on the volume to be imported and allocate import quotas to marketers. The PPPRA is mandated by law to monitor imports’ arrival , documentation, verification, certification, storage and distribution. It is supposed to work out under recovery or over recovery costs. The PPPRA under the weight of executive influence and manipulation from above and heavy monetary inducement and pull from below collapsed and abdicated its responsibilities. And surrendered wholeheartedly to temptation and filth . The PPPRA deliberately dismantled the hedges of the barn and joined in its despoliation. They relaxed the requirements for registration in 2010 and in many instances handed out allocations to companies that were not even registered. In the words of the House of Reps committee that C M Y K

investigated the subsidy scam, PPPRA engaged in a series of abuses of due diligence process. Their actions were fraught with a glaring lack of transparency and deliberate opacity. In sum , according to the committee , there existed a synergistic criminal enterprise between the operators and the regulators. The Aig Imokuede presidential committee also had many unkind words for the lepromatous PPPRA. PPPRA verified , certified and approved for payment cargoes whose mother vessels were fictitious , imaginations of poorly thinking thieves. Without approval of external inspectors and auditors, the PPPRA approved billions for the con men. And when called upon to provide their documentation for such scams they turned up with photo copies of forged documents and muddled presentations. The PPPRA’s conduct spoke eloquently of willful collaboration with people who raped our economy. But how many agents and officers of the PPPRA have been charged or convicted? It’s four whole years after. Please don’t ask me. PPPPRA never recovered any over recovery costs for the nation . In instances when the cost of importation fell below approved petrol prices the agency was supposed to work out the over recovery and extract same from the marketers. The nation got

nothing from over recovery even though such instances existed. Subsequent to the revelations and the investigations by the House of Reps , the presidential committee and the EFCC, indicted marketers and even those already facing criminal prosecutions continued to participate in the scheme. Marketers who had stolen billions of naira in the petroleum subsidy scheme continued to be awarded import allocations. Wonders they say will never cease! Well they are innocent until proven guilty, I guess. Pathetic. A top shot at PPPRA at the time went on to become part of Jonathan’s campaign. None in PPRA left in disgrace and none is in jail. THE DPR – a sleeping or colluding policeman? The Department of Petroleum Resources is mandated by law to regulate the petroleum industry in general. With regards to the petroleum subsidy scheme the DPR is supposed to issue a permit to prospective importers, certify the quality and quantity of imported products and monitor their discharge into tanks. They are also empowered to monitor the distribution alongside the PEF(M)B and make sure they are sold at approved prices at approved fuel stations. Like the other regulatory agencies , the DPR compromised under the weight of monetary

And the DPR signed the papers of the marketers who went on to collect billions in subsidy only to transship such products, once they were out of Nigerian waters, to other traders who would bring them in again as fresh products for fresh subsidy

inducements and allowed all manner of atrocities. Vessels that were in the far east were signed up as having discharged off shore Cotonou or in tank farms in Apapa. Some vessels came in with products , hoses were connected and after two or three days of idling , hoses were disconnected , no products discharged and vessels were cleared to leave as if they had discharged . And the DPR signed the papers of the marketers who went on to collect billions in subsidy only to transship such products, once they were out of Nigerian waters, to other traders who would bring them in again as fresh products for fresh subsidy. DPR officials like all other persons involved in the subsidy scheme at the time filled their bank accounts with dollars. Officials collected their hefty filthy dues in hard currency. How many of the DPR officials are being prosecuted? Has any been convicted? How many were dismissed? Impunity is still twerking. Many of them are still in their positions monitoring the subsidy scheme and many have since been promoted. The bosses of the DPR walked away , not in shame.

•Continues next week when we bring you the roles other government agencies played in raping the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Stay with us

SATURDAY

Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—15

Lola

Chief Obasogie

How my husband’s death sent me to Hell BY AGAJU MADUGBA

or several years, 49 years old Solomon Idahosa maintained an annual ritual. A Bini man from Edo state but resident in Kaduna, Idahosa would pick up the telephone every New Year Eve and at exactly midnight, he would call his mother in Benin-City to exchange pleasantries and wish her and other members of the family happy and prosperous New Year. As usual, on December 31, 2014, Idahosa called the mother after which he retired to sleep with his family at their Aunguwan Sunday residence of Kaduna metropolis. At about 4 am, he reportedly started having problems breathing and with the help of neighbours, Lola, his wife of 13 years rushed him to the hospital where doctors confirmed Idahosa dead. A week later, members of the Idahosa family accused the widow of killing her husband and to prove her innocence, Lola had no other options than to submit herself for C M Y

various forms of ritual performances, more so as it was predicted that she would die three months after her husband’s passage. Some eight months on and having discarded the mandatory black clothing she wore through out the mourning period, Lola, a journalist and graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, told Vanguard that, “I am still alive!” Lola Seriki Idahosa is Igarra from Akoko-Edo, also in Edo state. How my husband died It is now eight months and I have since come to live with the reality that I have to take care of my two children. The elder one, a boy is in JSS 3 and the girl is in primary 3. On New Year Eve, as he was used to, my husband called his mother and other relations and they exchanged pleasantries. There was no sign off illness or that that was going to be his last telephone call. At about 4 am, he started having difficulties breathing and he could not talk. I raised the alarm and called

We went home to Benin towards the end of January and all eyes were on me and some of them told me pointblank that I killed my husband

neighbours and we rushed him to the hospital and when the doctor checked, he was already gone. While we were on the way to the hospital, I called the immediate younger sister who lives abroad and told her that the brother was ill and that we were taking him to the hospital. When I called her again after the confirmation of death, she did not pick the call and the person who answered said that she was already crying. I returned to the house and called the elder brother in Benin and he advised me not to inform their mother yet but they eventually broke the news to her about two weeks later after which they fixed a date for burial. We went home to Benin towards the end of January and all eyes were on me and some of them told me pointblank that I killed my husband. This is more so as according to them, their son was in Benin between September and

Continues on page 16

16— SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

that he should not disturb me. They explained the burning of my clothes, saying that if I did not do it, somebody might collect them and that I may run mad if they were used for any purpose by anybody.

How my husband’s death sent me to Hell Continues from page 15 November and that he was healthy only to return to Kaduna to die suddenly. He was in Benin where he participated in the sharing of their late father’s property. The family had a meeting with my people during which I narrated what happened and how my husband died. They asked me if I ever had any affairs with another man during the period we were married and I said there was nothing like that and that such thing was not permitted in our culture. Journey through Hell They said whether I was saying the truth or not, that they were still going to carry out certain ceremonies in line with their culture and that their late son married me formally and that they paid the bride price. They also said that before we got married that there was a ritual that they performed to know if I would be a faithful wife. I knew about that because my husband actually told me. They said that after the ceremonies, if they found out that I slept with another man other than my husband, that I was going to die within a period of three months. I told them to go ahead and that my hands were clean. They first of all performed some rites on my son. They killed a goat and used the blood to make some sacrifices and also rubbed it on him. They told me that I was not going to partake in the burial and they kept me in a room. But at about 3 am when they took the corpse to the graveside, they called me out and asked me to C M Y K

pull off my clothes and that I should tie the wrapper around my chest and kneel before the grave. They opened the coffin and asked me to face the corpse. They put kolanut in his nostril and I repeated after them that if I had any affairs while we were married that this and that would happen to me. They then asked me to remove the kolanut from his nostril and eat it. They insisted that I must chew and swallow the entire kolanut. They then put part of the water they had used in bathing the corpse in a cup and asked me to drink it. This was followed by another round of rituals and incantations. They told the corpse that I was going to join him within three months if I had any hand in the death. They did not even allow me to do the dust to dust ceremony as we normally do in my place. They put some food in in the grave so that he will continue to eat and they did so many other sacrifices. They then covered him with sand without closing the casket. They said that they still follow their culture and that their forefathers even though dead are still alive and watching over them. My husband was not the church going type while he was alive and what shocked me more during the burial was that I did not know that he was a member of a cult group and they wore red dress and also performed their own rituals in their shrine. He was buried on the land he inherited from his father at Ikpoba Hill. After the burial they also forced me to go through

another round of torture. They put me in a room for seven days. There was fire in the room and I was made to clutch a broom on which a number of objects were attached on my right hand and which I held across the fire for the period. They said this ceremony was designed to separate me permanently from my late husband. They collected N20,000 from me to perform this particular ritual. The room was very hot because of the fire and my hand was virtually burnt because I placed it over the fire. Through out the seven days, I ate whatever food they gave me with the left hand and the plate remained unwashed. After a meal, they would put the next meal in the same plate. I went through hell. And I must not sleep off through out the night. The family members were also in the room at night, singing and beating drums throughout, to keep me awake. Walking naked at midnight Within the seven days, they directed me to walk to a Tjunction, at about 3 am after rubbing charcoal all over my body. They gave me water to take a bath there. They asked me to burn the clothes I was wearing and walk back to the house stark naked. I did that. Nobody was supposed to see me because according to them if anyone saw me, everything they had done would be in vain. On walking back naked to the house, they had earlier instructed me to call out my husband’s name and tell him that the marriage was over and

Within the seven days, they directed me to walk to a T-junction, at about 3 am after rubbing charcoal all over my body. They gave me water to take a bath there. They asked me to burn the clothes I was wearing and walk back to the house stark naked

Church deliverance I am Christian but I did all those things because of my children and they said that if I did not comply, that my children were going to have some problems. When I returned to Kaduna, I went to see my Pastor, for deliverance, along with my children. I believe the prayers must have taken care of all those things they did to me. The whole thing was so odd because we do not have such tradition in my place. It’s a strange, primitive culture, says Bini Chief Chief Eduwu Ekhator Obasogie, the Obasogie of Benin Kingdom is Chairman of Edo state Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee. He told Vanguard that, “I refuse to agree that this is a true life story, it is an allegation. In the history of burial ceremonies, I have never witnessed such a thing although I have actually heard that some people engage in certain burial rites but not as brutal as asking somebody to drink water used in washing a corpse. I do not believe that somebody created by God can ask a fellow human being too do such a thing. Who gave her the water to drink and did they force her or beat her to drink it? What I know is that some people would beat the forehead of a deceased person and ask the woman to swear that she did not have a hand in the death, that is in a situation where they suspect her. But those are primitive ideas and they belong to the Dark Age. Our committee used to sit at the Oba’s palace for many years and during that period we called on people who claim to have had such experiences to come to the palace so that we could document their testimonies but nobody has came forward. If this lady lives in Benin, she should come to us and we will invite the family concerned and ask them how they got such a culture and we will also call the traditional leader from that area to tell us the meaning of this culture. But if they come, they are not likely to admit that such ceremonies took place.

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—17

PAY CUT: Reps are ready to abide with Nigerians’ wishes – Zorro

•Zorro

•Says legislature remains most transparent arm of govt BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

ormer National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Hon Mohammed Sani Zorro is the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs. Zorro who represents Gumel/Gagarawa/Mai gatari Sule Tankarnar Federal Constituency of Jigawa State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke to some reporters in Lagos on Sunday on why the House is backing the on-going anti-graft war of President Muhammadu Buhari, set up a committee to take a holistic view on the funding of the House and readiness of lawmakers to yied to the desires of Nigerians on their remuneration. His reaction to complaints that the cost of running the National Assembly is bogus and unjustifiable high? First, let me say that this perception th or agitation did not start with the 8 National Assembly. It’s been there since the return of democracy in 1999. But the present House leadership is concerned. The House of Representatives, as a result of the outcry of Nigerians, who have been taking critical exemption to the funding of the National Assembly, has decided to review the funding of the activities of its members. This review will also result in rightsizing and the funding of various aspects of our activities. We have already put a mechanism in motion to achieve that. It will also result in drastic cuts of our finances, including salaries, allowances and running costs. What I can assure you is that we are submitting to the will of the people as a responsive and responsible legislative institution. We can no longer ignore the popular observations and wishes of the people who elected us in the first place. Even if the measures we consider will inconvenience us, we would rather do it and respect the views of Nigerians. By the grace of God, the House of Representatives will be credited with addressing these issues of persistent agitations against our finances. How do you intend to go about this? C M Y K

The House under the speakership of Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has adopted a legislative roadmap that will guide our conduct and activities. In the two weeks that we deliberated on it, most members agreed that we need to change. You know the House of Representatives is a hub of diversified competencies. With 360 members, all sorts of professional bodies and practitioners are represented there. We have a concentration of knowledge at our advantage. So, we considered the agitation and empanelled an independent technical committee made of members of the civil society (led by Dr Clement Nwankwo) to blueprint funding of activities of the House. From purchase of newspapers to the conduct of public hearings and oversights, we expect the committee to evaluate how we do things. They can, for example, ask whether or not members should read newspapers to be enlightened. If they say yes, they can then determine if the four papers we currently receive are enough or too much. They can scale the papers to two and say the treasury should expend not more than N600 per day on each member. If that is their suggestion, we will accept it. On comments that the lawmakers do part-time legislation and are frequently on recess That is a misunderstanding of how the legislative arm works. Many people think that all we do is to debate and return to our constituencies. That is not the case at all. What most people are aware we do is representation through motions in open plenary. That is what is televised every time and many people think that is all we do. But we also do committee work where all the motions generated at open plenary are referred to through the Standing Committee for implementation or further actions. That takes a lot of our time and this business is never in public purview. Then, there is the oversight function, which involves going round the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure they compile with the Appropriation Acts approved for them. We meet with the officials and authorities of the MDAs. We also consider the quality of work they are doing and general assessment of the appropriation of the acts. National Assembly members are entitled to certain monies when they do this function. So, we want members of

the technical committee to determine how much we should be paid for hotel accommodation, mileages and whatever in the course of this assignment. When we go abroad for engagements, how much should we be paid as Duty Travel Allowance (DTA) or hotel accommodation as obtained in all arms of government? When we conduct public hearings, you will have to buy beverages and snacks for participants. How much should we spend? All our mandates should be determined by the committee in terms of running costs. Nigerians hear of the National Assembly budget but the truth is the bulk of the money goes into running costs not salaries and allowances. Nigerians should focus on the running costs because that is where most of our expenses go to. So, the activists in the committee are human rights crusader and they will consider how we can bring down these costs. The committee is our mechanism to address the controversies of funding and finances of the House. There are only two members outside the civil society organisations. One is the President of the NUJ (Abdulwaheed Odusile) because the media is the watchdog of democracy and the society. There is also the chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal and Allocation Committee (RMFAC), which is the constitutional body empowered to fix the salaries and allowances of public servants across the three arms of government. The RMFAC chairman is in the committee to throw light on how they fixed our allowances and salaries. If they are convinced, they will retain them. If not, they can say the nation is not in the mood for that and review it downwards or otherwise. Whatever they decide, we will abide with it. There is also a staff from the Speaker’s office who will just facilitate things for the committee’s members. If they need stationeries or meeting rooms, he or she just facilitates. Otherwise, we will have nothing to do with the outcome of the committee’s work. If they give us a template, we will accept it. How long does the committee have to work? It is open-ended. We have given them some months to work but they have to be conscious of the sentiments of Nigerians to come up with something within the time tolerable. We are eager

to implement their recommendations. We are lucky in the sense that we don’t need to raise a White Paper or subject it to another committee like the executives. We will respect the report wholesale and voluntarily ask the bureaucracy of the House to implement it.

We want to do what Nigerians want because they elected us

Will there be a similar exercise in the Senate? I do not know. As an arm of the legislature, we will do what we can because we are allowed to regulate our activities. If the Senate wants, it can follow suit. The Senate has set up a committee to reduce its salaries and allowances but we are not going that way yet. We want to tackle the issue of running costs. Isn’t this arrangement just playing to the gallery? I can assure you that this House of Representatives is change champion. The President is a change sponsor. All of us in the House are not averse to the change agenda. We’re committed to change for good. We are ready to diffuse that change agenda down. Nigerians should give us the benefit of the doubt. We want to do what Nigerians want because they elected us. On complaint that the National Assembly work part-time for just 180 days in a year and earns fulltime pay All over the world, the legislature works in a certain way. Nigerians don’t know, for example, that Judges are on recess for three months in a year. They shut down the courts and leave behind vacation judges. That is how the judiciary regulates its activities, as regards vacation. The executive arm works for eight hours from Mondays to Fridays. We work on TuesdaysThursdays between 11am-1pm every day. Do you know why? That is how it is everywhere in the world. The plenary work is just 20 percent of our work and 80 percent of our work is in committees and oversight functions. So, when we are not in plenary, we are either doing oversight work s or meeting in committees.

18—SA TURD AY Vanguard , A UGUST 29, 2015 18—SATURD TURDA AUGUST uhari is working. As the first 100 days in office approaches, many pundits are presumably getting their pens ready to deliver their judgment on the President’s performance during the period which now seems to have been accepted as a critical point of assessment, at least, in the short term. The President has himself named three critical areas as his initial starting point—economy, security and employment, with no clearly stated priority. His performance will, of course, be examined beyond that. The examiners will not themselves escape scrutiny for judicious classification. We shall have the honey-coated presentations from the praise choir. To them, every action of the Federal Government has been delectable. His travels abroad; his removal of the war headquarters in the fight against the on-going insurgency to Maiduguri, in the epicentre of the conflict, from Abuja, the nation’s capital; the changes made at the helm of various governmental institutions including—or especially—the military; the unflagging effort to recover the money stolen at various levels and in different ways from our treasuries; even his abolition of the semi-official status of “The First Lady”: these and others will be told and retold in words of praise. However, there are also those who are the hard-core “opposition” who have seen nothing worthy of commendation in most of what the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari has done these three months back. They disagree with his involvement, or non-involvement, with the crisis still smouldering within the National Assembly hierarchy of his party, the All Progressive Congress; they denounce what they see as the delay in the formation of his cabinet; they find no comfort in his travels within the Continent and outside it; they have a hone to pick with some of the appointment made so far with regard to the evenness of the ethnical mix; they even believe that the war against corruption is being fought at backdrop of the unceasing the expense of the worthier lethal harassment of the efforts of development. Boko Haram.. These hordes of rampaging murderers either of the two still inflict a hideous groups mentioned number of killings on above would submit to a Nigerians in the Northern charge of being subjective or part of the country. unfair in their views, though The transfer of the they are patently divergent campaign headquarters to in their observations. In fact, Maiduguri does not seem they would rather hold firm to have produced any to the claim that they are spectacular result either. being truthful or factual, and What one finds particularly objective. But those who irksome is the seeming would be objective regularity with which the unfortunately gather no attacks are unleashed. following in the community, These criminals even have because very few readers are the nerve to suggest a prepared to be unbiased. It parley between them and is not an easy disposition to Nigeria. Naturally we have acquire for it dispels the to say, no deal. The attitude of envy with which government has not said most human beings are anything contrary to that imbued in their estimation of either and we hope not, others. But it comes with though that is little comfort. time, with age, and the Yet, we must admit that the world is growing younger. absence of any convincing But let us ourselves news about those hapless examine some of the points girls abducted from Chibok made above, pro and con. still represents a The visits that the resounding slap on our President has paid to other face as a nation, apart from African countries are limited the wound it leaves in our to strictly official ones. He hearts as a people. represented his country at a So, the re-grouping of the summit and visited the leadership at the helm of neighbouring countries our top-brass raised a affected by the Boko Haram feeble hope that we might scourge for obvious reasons. at least, be close to the A point may be raised here developments of the about the fruits of the visits Chibok situation. It is all of to these nations against the five hundred days now and

*Buhari is working

•Buhari is right to be wary...

C M Y

We have been regaled with reports of the horrendous corruption which spewed a network of crime into the system of governance in this country within the past decade

That is why the admission of the former military chief, in his valedictory address, that the weapons to prosecute the aggression of the Boko Haram invaders were in short supply really dealt a severe blow to our confidence in the authorities of our armed forces. The replacement of these authorities is an action worthy of some praise. So, really, is the shaking-up of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation , subsidy or no subsidy. The lady at the top of the heap is hardly mentioned in all these mind-boggling revelations of mismanagement and plain stealing, and we are assured that her outing will be the real apocalypse.

many people are still counting. How can they be tired of adding yet another day to those gone by until there are no more days left to count—that is, when our dear ones are returned to us, or when, heavens forbid, we are faced with the reality of stark hopelessness?

ut the NNPC and its affiliates are not the only dens of thieves. We have been regaled with reports of the horrendous corruption which spewed a network of crime into the system of governance in this country within the past decade. It would take more than a battalion of investigating experts to probe them all. As one of the priorities that the

President earmarked from the beginning, it is only natural that he should concentrate on it, especially as it affects the welfare of the commonwealth. And that is what he has been doing. But this is where the “objective” view steps in. The expression is not that the President should not continue with the probes, but not at the expense of other aspects of government. I have immense regard for the Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, who expressed such sentiments recently and has almost been tied to the stake for it by irate Nigerians. I hope that will not in any way stop him from airing his honest opinions, many of which have been helpful to the populace n the past. From the outpouring of the cesspit which the Nigerian public service has turned out to be, hardly any effort, no matter how massive, could be termed as too much. In fact, the progress of government is widely affected by the ramifications of the corrupt practices that are being disclosed by the current probes. Indeed, they really could, but have shown no signs of standing in the way of good government up till now. The unravelling of the misdeeds the past administrations, both at the federal and state levels in the country, brought no real surprise in several situations, but it has introduced amazing disclosures which may make us re-number our saints, in a downward trend, among the high officials both retired and still serving. This is why great caution is demanded in the appointment of cabinet members at the federal as well as the state levels. What has come up with regard to the issue of probity in some government business leaves us stunned. There may still be more probes than we envisaged, but some of the accusations slapped on some administrations recently leave us aghast. Of course, everyone is innocent until proved guilty, but there are areas where one expects that certain officials in certain quarters, should, like Caesar’s wife, be above suspicion. Buhari is right to be wary of appointing people into his cabinet at face value. He took no less than three months also in doing so at his first coming, Buhari is working. Time out

SATURDAY Vanguard Vanguard,, AUGUST 29, 2015—19

abatunde, Raji Fashola, the dynamic ex-governor of Lagos State had an outing last week. It was to launch three books which were to give some account of his eight year stewardship as the Governor of Nigeria’s richest and most diverse state. In political terms, it should have been a big, showy event, coming as it were, after APC’s narrow victory in Lagos and, for the first time in 16 years, a major victory at the centre. Fashola is also—or should be—the poster child for APC. He set a bench mark for what governance should be and his achievements were recognised by friends and foes alike. Yet by all accounts, judging by the way political outings are rated, it was a dismal outing. None, as in none, of the political heavyweights was in attendance. The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu who normally loves these things could not find the time to honour one of his own. If the de facto Chairman of APC was absent for reasons best known to him, what about the de jour Chairman? The esteemed Vice President who comes from the same legal background as Fashola and who had worked harmoniously with him in the past, chose to distance himself on this occasion. So did his fellow Governors, especially those who were in office at the same time with him; which makes me curious as to why even those who are not seeking elective offices did not have the liver to stand by him? His successor, the same man he took by the hand and campaigned vigorously for (at least so it seemed) found State duties too tasking to find the time. But the unkindest cut was from those who worked directly with him and yet left him in the lurch at a time he needed friends and associates around him. Could they have been that busy, that preoccupied that they could not have found the time to honour an

Mutually assured destruction (MAD) associate, a friend and a fellow governor for a couple of hours? We know they were not. We saw the turn out that Rotimi Amaechi, another exgovernor, commanded when he launched his book just a few months before. Even Lai Mohammed who was never a Governor, who is not a Lagosian drew more political heavyweights when he launched his own book in Lagos. So this was a political statement. One so eloquently made and so ruthlessly executed. The scales were so heavily tilted in this balance of power and it showed. Fashola lost out in this first round but that is by no means the end of the tournament. A group of people are probably gloating now that they have dealt with an errant son and put Fashola in his place. I hope it will not be a pyrrhic victory with dire consequences. After all, those who have power must always be afraid of the usage of power because of the attendant fall out. This was beautifully illustrated by an eminent Nigerian with whom I am working on a project at the moment. When he was running a State, some sections of the state claimed he was not favouring their sections with political appointments and amenities. An allegation many of

their leaders knew was false. Then their Oba over stepped his bounds and openly rebuffed him at a function. The hawks in his cabinet wanted the Oba dealt with ruthlessly. He did not doubt his power as a Governor to deal with the Oba. But he also knew many of his loyal supporters within the section would not want their Oba humiliated. In the end he exercised discretion and chose not to cut his nose to spite his face. Those who are gloating over the purported downsizing of Fashola must realise that he has his supporters. Many there were who voted for APC in Lagos because of Fashola. He was erudite; he was knowledgeable; he was engaging. He was, simply put, an asset to APC and to Ambode. The only people who stand to benefit from the humiliation of Fashola is the opposition. And those who think Lagos is a one man show have one more point to buttress their argument with. Fashola has been accused of being arrogant; of being stingy; of being ungrateful; of being corrupt; and of not being a politician. He may be all of the above. In any case, no consummate politician would have launched the books at the time he did knowing the stakes were stacked against him. To use the footballing language he

Fashola lost out in this first round but that is by no means the end of the tournament

od cannot change. But we can change and our circumstances can change. When God speaks a word, it must come to pass. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it,” ( Isaiah 55:11). Isaiah 40:8 says that the grass may wither and the flower fades, but the word of God shall stand for ever. Nothing can shake the word of God.It is failure-proof. His word has delivered worthwhile promises from Egyptians so that they lent unto them sojourning of the children of Israel, generation to generation. It is still such things as they required and they who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred the same word today. Your situation spoiled the Egyptians... Now the and thirty years and it came to pass at will soon succumb to it. Just find out the end of the four hundred and thirty what God’s word says about that years, even the selfsame day, it came situation and hold on to it and it shall to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord come to pass, because God’s word is went out from the land of Egypt,” more powerful than your problems. (Exodus 12:35-36, 40-41). Consider these scriptures: From the above scriptures, Abraham “And he said. Lord God, whereby wanted to know if he would really shall I know that I shall inherit it? inherit the land that God has promised ...and he said unto Abram know of a him, being childless. God had thus surety that thy seed shall be a entered into covenant with him that his stranger in a land that is not theirs, seed would surely inherit that land and shall serve them, and they shall live. Joseph was so confident that afflict them four hundred years, and God’s word would come to afterward shall they come out with pass as he promised great substance…” (Genesis 15:8, Abraham that He 13-14). commanded His brethren “And Joseph said unto his brethren, not to leave his bones I die: and God will surely visit you, behind in Egypt when and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swear to For more details, contact us at Christ Reality Church, beside Gossard Abraham, to Isaac, and to Hotel, opposite First Bank Sports Ground, Community Road, Satellite Town Jacob…” (Genesis 50:24). or P.O.Box, 3196, Yaba Lagos. Tel: 08023062635 08168955932; 08033378769. E-mail: “And the children of Israel Johnson_crm@yahoo.com. Website: www.christrealityministries.org. did according to the word Our account details are Pastor Johnson Omomadia, Guaranty Trust of Moses, and they Bank, A/C Nos. 0005171407; Christ Reality Ministries, Zenith Bank A/C borrowed of the Egyptians 1011711622. Jewels of silver, and Jewels Worship with us on Sundays, 1st Service: 745am-9:15am; 2nd Service 9:15of Gold, and raiment; and 11:30am. Wednesdays Word Revelation 6pm. Counseling days Tuesdays, the Lord gave the people Thursdays and Fridays. 11am-5pm daily or by appointment. Showers of blessing favour in the sight of the every 2nd - 4th Sat. of each month, 6 a.m - 7.15 am.

It came to pass (3)

Just as God kept His promise to Abraham, He will do the same with you

C M Y K

understands so well, no good goalkeeper leaves the 18 yard box to go after a ball unless he is sure to get it. He should not have gone out to launch the books if he was not sure of a good attendance given the feud on the ground. And those who assured him of attendance but deceived him will eventually meet their comeuppance. But nobody can doubt his competence. Nobody can doubt that he changed the face of Lagos. Lagos cannot be an easy State to run given its population and diversity but he did it admirably. There is no doubt in many people’s mind that he would be an asset at the Federal level. Those who are trying to shoot him down are doing a disservice to the State, the Nation and to APC. Finally, Lagos state has been run by the same set of politicians for 16 years without proven cases of fraud and corruption despite several rumours and the huge sums at their disposal. It is not because it was run by saints or angels. On the contrary. It is because they have looked out for each other and protected each other. That has changed. For the first time, an APC official has been publicly accused of corruption by its own government. Many fingers have pointed beyond Ambode to Tinubu. I don’t think it would be too difficult to smear Fashola with the brush of malfeasance if APC was so minded. But were Fashola to fight back, and many want him to, Tinubu would be an easier meat. Fashola was Tinubu’s Chief of Staff before he became his successor as the State’s Chief Executive. Surely he has a good idea of the source of the stupendous wealth of his former boss. He should also know where a few skeletons are hidden. Many want him to sing. Common sense would dictate that the two gladiators should pull back before they mutually destroy each other. But that would not be in the interest of PDP or Lagosians who are baying for a roforofo fight. Maybe with it, true change will come to lagos. Finally. God delivered them. Just as God had said, He led them into the land of Egypt where they were greatly afflicted by the Egyptians. May be, right now you are going through difficulties in the hands of your enemies, your boss in the office or in the hands of your so-called friends. I want you to know that the Almighty God will surely see you through. You are coming out with great substance now. God will plunder your enemy to pay you all you have lost. From this day, you find favour with your enemies. Just as God kept His promise to Abraham, He will do the same with you. A sister came to me crying that she has been having troubles eating for more than seven years. She has been to hospitals and taken all manner of drugs but it got no better. I laid hands on her and declared God’s promise upon her life. Now according to the sister, she eats more than four times a day. Do you want to experience fruitfulness of God in your life? Then you must receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

20—SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

uicide is bad but one would understand why Hitler preferred it. The boko haram variety is propelled by the lust for heavenly virgins. The delusional is sick , so his plight is perhaps understandable. But when my undergraduate second cousin drowned herself in shaving powder some years ago because her school boyfriend jilted her, anger more than sorrow took hold of me. Lagos APC is currently possessed by such a terminal folly. Vindictiveness is pathetic. There must be something about pigs and filth. Like pots and kettles and blackness. In Onitsha of the 70s, dirty pupils were pigs (ezi) but the epithet ‘Ezi Bida’ ( The pigs of Bida) was reserved for those who were perceived chronically and irredeemably dirty. Pigs of Bida had enormous filth in a vast swathe of putrid swamp that had become a communal open piggery to twirl and grunt with abandon. Bida was Onitsha’s Amukoko in Lagos. If the revelations streaming out of the offices of the Lagos government like sewage from a burst pipe of an over crowded block of flats are to be believed, then Lagos with its vast budget must be a piggery with many fat ,dirty, vagrant pigs like Bida. When a government turns an ‘iya ebute meta’ , it hurls obscenities and embraces sensationalism. A veteran Iya will go not to the police, nor to the courts. The damage must be done in the court of public opinion. She will drown her enemy in verbal warfare with a barrage of scandalous filth that , for effectiveness , must not come in one volley. Single shots , fired pornographically, over many weeks into the ears of neigbours and friends will vandalize whatever reputation the rival may have built. So Lagos state goverment despite the din has said nothing about investigation and prosecution . But wait a minute, did that ‘live and let live’ cheerfulness belong to a mask? Who would have thought that vindictiveness could be found in those bland poses and plastic smiles of simplicity Lagos was adorned with during the campaigns. Is Ambode truly the director of this drama? I grew up to learn that despite Bida , pork is good meat , pigs aren’t necessarily dirty animals and piggeries can be very clean, shiny, like electric kettles . But Fashola has brought the old association back, and I have remembered Bida again. Fashola has a fabulous reputation. But many say that reputation and character don’t always fit. Fashola is arguably the best governor ‘Nigeria has had since the return of democracy. Prof Soyinka sang his praises, once referred to him as a dedicated technician /artisan preoccupied with fixing the society with resolute craftsmanship. The consensus amongst the residents of Lagos was , and perhaps is , that Fashola was a responsible governor who ran a responsive government. Fashola, unassuming and self effacing, was the poster boy for good governance in Nigeria . And his astuteness , zeal and simplicity was recognized and commended by politicians of all shades. Was it all abracadabra as Bode George once suggested? The APC promised change. And their evidence of things to come then was Fashola’s good performance in Lagos. If APC went on to rout the PDP in most of the south west states it was down, in part, to Fashola’s performance. Tinubu’s political relevance after 2007 rested and thrived on Fashola’s industry. If Fashola hadn’t done well and if APC hadn’t campaigned on ‘continuity’ of Fashola’s good works , the APC may not have won the hotly contested Lagos governorship seat. Fashola ,in many ways, made APC authentic. And the lion of bourdillon relished and feasted on Fashola’s distinction. He claimed Fashola proved his genius , the one who saw what others didn’t. Ambode owes Fashola so much in gratitude for his legacies. Or did we get it all twisted? Was Lagos not that inviting contrast against which the shoddiness of the PDP federal government was perhaps visible to the blind? Wasn’t that why many gave the APC a chance? Why would an APC government hurry to destroy that legacy? Crime is crime they will say, it’s not a family affair. And I agree. Barely 3 months in , Ambode wants to C M Y K

Fashola, Lagos’ Pigs of Bida and a Truth Commission

•Fashola tell us Fashola was a mistake and continuity was a ruse. And he wouldn’t even hold a press conference. Governor! Permanent secretaries have been sacked , land acquisitions revoked, vendetta is spreading. Governor Amaechi will perhaps feel slightly better because Wike has been digging up filth and littering the newspapers, but he expected it.. Dogara has said that after killing corruption we must kill political godfatherism and its crippling whimsicality. Fashola was the face of the Lagos governorship campaign. He took the heat for Ambode who could not match the charisma and versatility of the PDP candidate. He was Ambode’s manifesto, while Ambode struggled to find his feet, some rhythm, any rhythm, with the gaucheness of a rigid German attempting to dance ‘Atilogwu’. Ambode hid behind Fashola’s record. Now, he is busy, needlessly burning that bridge. It is perhaps true that Fashola had his preferred candidate and was outsmarted by the lion of bourdillon but Fashola couldn’t have done more publicly for his own candidate than he did for Ambode. He may have refused to deploy Lagos state government funds into the governorship campaign as many have speculated but he did much more positively. His sin, for some of his party men, is his perceived selfishness. They say he is a “chop alone”. Many will argue that corruption wherever found must be exposed regardless of who is involved. And that it serves the society better when politicians fight and expose themselves. I agree. But I would expect a governor who ran on the legacies of another , on continuity , to address the state if he opts for discontinuity. To apologize and say “I fooled you”. He must then institute a commission of enquiry or simply ask the police to investigate and prosecute. But Ambode has not personally talked to Lagos . Governor! Fashola talked about pigs but didn’t tell us whom his pigs were . In his initial published defence he dwelt more on the issue of the allegation of child outside wedlock as if that

mattered to Nigerians. Fashola is a muslim and can rightly have many wives. Besides, concubinage and politics in Nigeria flock together. His defence against the allegation of contract inflation was all emotions and no substance . He treated the allegation and its makers with disdain and in so doing arrogantly poured contempt on the public that has been waiting for his response. Fashola is simple and calculated, so what could have provoked the rage and lack of comportment so evident in that written statement? Fashola must defend himself with clarity . His feeling of indignation may be justified but won’t answer begging questions and helps no one Fashola’s defence is built on the legality of the transactions. The supposition that the observance of the rituals of due process absolves him of all guilt is cynical. It’s always easy to meet the low bars of legality set by wheeling and dealing , unscrupulous politicians. The “ rub me, I rub you back” enterprise, immoral dalliance between governors and houses of assemblies augmented by the actions of choreographers who pose as members of tenders boards . Any recourse to such legality will not save Fashola’s reputation in the court of public opinion. Fashola must defend himself against many IT experts who have sworn that the 78 million naira website cannot cost more than 6 million naira. The excuse that it went through an approval process is disingenuous. The public has built a lot of confidence in Fashola and Fashola must not rely on the logic of pigs. If he feels he is a caged Samson whose eyes have been disgorged then he can as well muster some strength and bring down the roof. If a god father is scared of the rising profile of his godson then we cannot pity him enough. I hope Ambode freely understands the full implications of the course he is treading. And like Kukah pointed to Buhari , he is scripting his own fate. If Fashola stole so much , as the Lagos govt is alleging, then it is expected that Ambode who wouldn’t steal will outperform Fashola. Lagos must be in for real good times. We are watching. Fashola is a special political specimen in spite of the allegations. It is true that in the country of the blind one eyed men rule. But the public also knows, as they say, that if you search well and deep enough every anus has some faeces. Is it

If APC went on to rout the PDP in most of the south west states it was down, in part, to Fashola’s performance

then proper to say that every one by virtue of having an anus is filthy ? A pig will say yes. Because pigs want all labeled dirty. Fashola said pigs feel happy when they get you dirty . The public has a fair idea of those who are insatiably venal and greedy. If governors like Fashola , Amaechi and a few others with good reputations have many serious allegations of grave financial impropriety flying around them , we will inevitably overwhelm the criminal justice structures with a raft of investigations and prosecutions. Corruption in government is presumably so widespread , so total. So what do we do? The Sagay committee may have let the cat out of the bag prematurely by asking for confessions. The peace council and Bishop Kukah want the anti corruption war carried out diligently but they also want Jonathan’s easy concession of power rewarded. They have been ambivalent, and deliberately so. They would welcome a truth and reconciliation commission. A commission that will insist on the confession of all atrocities along with restitution of all stolen funds in exchange for indictment but no imprisonment. A sort of financial truth and reconciliation commission. That will make sense now. Criminal justice structures are not built for epidemics of crimes and often cannot survive its gross endemicity. They function optimally when crimes are the exception and not the rule. But since the political culture here has allowed corruption and stealing to be the rule, we can have a clean break from the past by an arrangement that will allow a collective rebirth. It is hoped that we are on the threshold of a rebirth. The nation can recover what has been stolen, while recognizing that systemic and cultural laxities contributed to the proliferation of criminal embezzlement of government funds. The new measures must be sufficiently deterrent to prevent impunity. Those who are responsible for the most grave acts of looting of the treasury , whose degree of culpability abhors any such forbearance can receive short prison sentences and be barred from holding future political offices. The electoral process must be reformed and made refractory to the influence of money , thuggery and filth. Political relevance must be decided by political legacies and realistic visions. We must consider some form of social security for the poor and jobless. For if the majority live below poverty line and manage their survival precariously, hour after hour, the nation will remain vulnerable to looters of national treasury and drug dealers and many sorts of pigs. Close quarter battles are dangerous. Eko o ni baje oo

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—21

BY IYABO AINA

hen such pastors tell people that if they sow a financial seed of fifty thousand naira (N50,000), God will give them five million naira (N5,000,000) in five months, people rush to go and borrow money and sow such useless seeds. Bishop Charles Ighele is the President of proposed Sharon University of Agriculture and Rural Development. He is also the General Superintendent, Holy Spirit Mission, also known as the Happy Family. A wellrespected man of God among his colleagues, he recently hosted pressmen where he spoke on many issues that border on religion, Nigeria’s problems and other sundry issues. Here is a condensed account of the encounter. Sir, you recently celebrated your 60th birthday. How did you feel attaining such age? I felt very happy to have attained such age. Everybody has his or her own number of years to spend on planet earth and the numbers of our years on planet earth are different. My aim is to spend the number of my years as planned by God. I will never allow any sickness or devil to have a say in it. I want to fulfill God’s word that says “the number of your days shall be fulfilled”. Therefore, attaining sixty to me is a journey towards fulfilling God’s plan for my life as far as the number of my years on planet earth is concerned. Could you look back like 20 years, and see maybe one or two things you now wish you would have done but which you did not do? First of all, I have noticed a consistency right from when I was a boy. As far as the area of honesty is concerned, people who know me as a bishop know that integrity means more to me than the success of my ministry. Therefore, looking back at my life, I have noticed that I have not been very good at building relationships. I am a very friendly person but when it comes to building relationships that will help in my work here on planet earth, I have always been timid at building such relationships. I did not do well in this area at all. Could you, please tell us more about yourself and your ministry? I am Bishop Charles Ighele. I am the General Superintendent, Holy Spirit Mission, also known as “the Happy Family Chapel”. The church started in 1974, and was founded by Bishop Michael Marioghare who is now late. In 1996 he called sixteen of us who were his senior pastors to a meeting and told us that God told him that his time was up and He would soon call him home, and that the bishop should look for somebody else to take over from him. He was 70 years old at that time. And to my surprise and the surprise of every other pastor, he said I was the one to take over and right there he poured oil on my head in the presence of the other pastors. This was December 1996. Before then I C M Y K

Bishop Ighele classifies pastors •Speaks on proposed Sharon University of Agriculture

university is Sharon University of Agriculture and Rural Development. We intend to have student from grassroots, student who are not able to be sent to school by their parents, but who are good in agriculture as in practical and the church will pay their school fees. How do you mean by the church would pay their school fees? The church will choose some people who are willing to pay for some students. Though we are not going to reject money from parents or people who have the capacity to pay the school fees, definitely that will not prevent us from helping those we know cannot pay school fees of their children but who are very good as far as farming is concerned. Are students going to apply through JAMB? Yes, the admission will be through JAMB. How do you see the issue of churches being asked to pay tax? No reasonable government can ask a church or mosque to pay tax. Fine, they could pay tax on business they established in the name of the church or mosque but I don t think is ideal for a church or mosque to pay tax.

•Bishop Charles Ighele

was one of the branch pastors in Benin City, Edo State. On January 19, 1997 a public handing-over service was conducted and it was well publicised. So, since then I have been the head of the ministry. After Bishop Marioghare handed over to me, he never stepped into the office. He never interfered in any work again until he died five years later. So, how has it been since you took over as the head of the ministry? Twenty years after, the ministry has become more visible. It is no longer provincial. The man laid a very solid foundation in Benin City, where the ministry started from. On the day of the hand-over, I said Bishop Marioghare started the ministry and within my time the ministry would get to our Promised Land. And that has been what we have been doing. I told them that people should not compare us with other churches, and that I would just be playing my part. How did you come about the calling? Well, I must tell you that I had been having this feeling while I was a student at University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. I always had this feeling for the lessprivileged people. While I was at Ife, I was the chief editor of a campus magazine, a very popular magazine. When I was the editor, my style was investigative journalism. The style of my predecessor was romance and gossip, but mine was based on thorough investigative journalism. That made me to also lead the

popular protest of “Ali Must Go” in 1979. We fought for our rights then. I can remember telling my colleagues then that we were not fighting for food subsidy but for our rights. Ife was too big to be fighting for food. So, what I am saying in essence is that, my calling actually started from when I was in higher institution. We learnt you are building a university. Tell us more about it? Yes, it is true. We are almost at the concluding stage. But all what I can tell you is that when the school project is done, it will be well pronounced in Nigeria. We are going to produce new sets of agriculture elites in Nigeria with our school. How do you intend to do that? Our school is basically on agriculture. The name of the

When such pastors tell people that if they sow a financial seed of fifty thousand naira (N50,000), God will give them five million naira (N5,000,000) in five months, people rush to go and borrow money and sow such useless seeds

Lately, there are many churches springing up in Nigeria. People now see church as a way of making money? There are three types of churches in Nigeria. Number one, churches set up by man. This category has two subgroups. The first is made up of people who have spiritual gifts either to heal or to cast our demons or solve one problem of life or the other. These people are supposed to use their gifts in a church under wellestablished leadership. Some of these people are not supposed to form their own churches but they do so because they do not know how to be under authority or because they want to make some quick money with their spiritual gifts. This is contrary to what Jesus said: “Freely have you received, freely give.” Jesus taught us to use our spiritual gifts without charging money or manipulating people. Pastors that belong to this subgroup are giving the church a bad name. The second subgroup is made up of people who have not succeeded in anything. Some of them dropped out from school or lost their jobs or businesses and they feel setting up church will offer them means of livelihood. This also gives the church a bad name because all they are after is their stomach. They have no calling and they have no spiritual gift. The second type of church is what I will call the church of Satan. They have bible in one hand and juju and other mystical powers in the other hand. They use these mystical powers to prophesy, heal and solve business problems, marriage problems, childbirth problems among others. This group is increasing at an alarming rate because they capture and captivate people with their prophecies. Really,

they are not prophets; they operate with the spirit of divination. There is this story in the bible where Apostle Paul was preaching and a young girl kept following him and saying Apostle Paul was of God, but Apostle Paul commanded the evil spirit in her to come out. Mind you, the girl was saying the truth. That a prophecy is true does not mean that it came from God as shown by Apostle Paul. The third type of church is the church set up through instruction from the Spirit of God. We have a good number of such in Nigeria. I believe you know Pastor E. O. Adeboye very well. I believe you know he is a true man of God. He is the true face of the church set up by God. Any other pastor whose behaviour is contrary to what Pastor Adeboye stands for is likely to be a representative of the first two types of churches. But don’t you have a way of alerting the public so as to know the difference between the fake pastors and the true pastors? I have encountered fake journalists many times in my life and the way they behave made me know they were fake. There are also fake doctors, fake lawyers, fake pharmacist etc. Most good things have counterfeits. A television interviewer asked me this same question some time ago and I will give you the same answer. Jesus taught us how to know these fake pastors: “By their fruits you shall know them.” By their fruits simply means their behaviour, the character they put up, and their attitude towards money, women, honesty etc. When you see a pastor who is a chronic liar, “moneygrabber”, and woman chaser, you have to run away from such whether they perform miracles or not. Materialism has so much crept into the average Nigerian and the pastors that belong to those sub-groups I mentioned, have taken advantage of the materialistic tendencies of the average Nigerian. When such pastors tell people that if they sow a financial seed of fifty thousand naira (N50,000), God will give them five million naira (N5,000,000) in five months, people rush to go and borrow money and sow such useless seeds. I advise pastors who do this to change their ways and begin to think of where they will spend eternity. What will it profit them to make all the millions on planet earth and spend eternity in hell fire? I love such pastors and I really want them to repent. They are giving the church a bad name. Sir, do we now say that the situation could be blamed on poverty? It should not be blamed on poverty or the economy. Our next door neighbour, Benin Republic is not as rich as Nigeria but they are more contented with what they have. Everything boils down to culture. The culture of the people is what determines how the people behave. And culture is molded by factors such as entertainment, religion, politics and government, mass media, education, trade and commerce etc.

22—SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

BY BENJAMIN NJOKU

hey were like e n t i c a l twins from different mothers. From the now rested Concord Press of Nigeria Limited, publishers of defunct National Concord, Saturday Concord and Sunday Concord newspapers, where they nurtured their friendship and got bonded in the early 1990s till last year, when death snatched one of them, Dimgba Igwe and Mike Awoyinfa have indeed proved to everyone that their friendship was beyond this world. They remained inseparable like Siamese twins. Theirs was a friendship made in heaven. It was perhaps on the basis of their deeply-rooted friendship that when Dimgba was killed on September 6, last year by a hit-and-run driver near his Ago, Okota, Lagos residence, many thought that Mike would not have the emotional strength to carry on with life without his closest friend and confidant. But lo and behold! Almost one year after the death of Igwe, Awoyinfa lives on. But not without being confronted on daily basis by the indelible memories of the things he shared in common with his departed colleague and friend whom he often referred to as his boss. Truly, Mike was devastated and down. But he is recovering. Dimgba died few hours after he was taken to the emergency surgery ward of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja after the accident, on teh 6th of September, 2014. At the Igwe family ’s Okota residences during the week, Awoyinfa went down memory lane, recalling how he got bonded with Igwe several years ago, and what life has been like after one year of his exit. Awoyinfa was speaking ahead of preparation for the public presentation of their latest book, 50 World Editors: Conversation with Journalism Masters on Trends and Best Practices, to mark one year of Igwe’s exit. The public presentation, to be attended by President Muhammadu Buhari and other dignitaries will hold on September 15 at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos. Awoyinfa’s story was touchy, painful and laden with emotions. While he recounted his memorable moments with the late media icon, Awoyinfa showed deep pain. Intermittently, his voice trembled and his eyes heavy, battling to hold back tears. In a low voice, he began, “It’s almost a year that i

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ONE YEAR AFTER:

Life without Dimgba Igwe by Mike Awoyinfa

•Late Dimgba Igwe (left) and Mike Awoyinfa Dimgba was killed. It hasn’t been an easy journey for me at all, but we thank God. God has been very faithful. Everybody knows that we were twins, and that we did everything in common. We had this partnership that was very strong and profitable for the two of us. It was a partnership made in heaven. Dimgba was a man I trusted so much. I trusted him with everything including my life. I am older than Dimgba, but most often, I saw him as a senior partner or a boss. He was the enforcer and the headmaster in this relationship. I used to fear him in a way, because I am a man about town, a reporter. I like to move around, but he was the editor of this relationship. He watched my back for me. These are some of the things I have missed about him. Freedom is a dangerous thing. In this world, everybody needs a master. You need somebody to fear and one who cautions you when you are going astray. I really miss Dimgba. I miss his managerial role, his pastoral role, because in a way he was my pastor too. Anything I wrote, he had to edit it, but right now, I am my own editor, my own pastor, and my own manager.” According to him, it took them ten years to write their latest book, 50 World Editors. For them, it is not only the best book they have ever written as journalists, but it is a book that shows how much they love the journalism profession. “We love the profession so much that we had to travel round the world, interviewing editors of the biggest newspapers that you can ever imagine”, Awoyinfa confided. “We asked them to recount the stories of their different journeys into

The pain of Dimgba’s death won’t leave me. It’s always there. It hasn’t been easy emotionally, but God is faithful. Most of the time, I just have the feeling that he’s somewhere there, watching

journalism, the highlights of their journalistic careers. We had to attend international conferences not only to listen to symposiums but also to look out for iconic journalists. Immediately they delivered their papers, we hijacked them. At the end of these travels, this is what we got, a book involving interviews with 50 world editors. This is one book I can boast of. This is the bible of journalism. After this, I don’t think I can write any other book on journalism again.” Recounting how Igwe’s death affected him emotionally and psychologically for the past one year, Awoyinfa said the experience was traumatic, adding that Igwe’s death is akin to him dying too. “When one dies, it is as if the other has died too”, he said in a low voice. He continued: “I remember when I travelled to London, where my son, Taiwo lives and works with British Telecoms. My family had gone there for a vacation as well as to celebrate with my son who bagged a Masters Degree (MBA) in one of the universities in London. I didn’t feel like travelling then, but Dimgba insisted that I must accompany my family to celebrate with my son.

“For me, Dimgba’s word was always law. Whatever he said I should do, that’s what I did. That was the first time I would ever travel without him. I never knew it was going to be the last time we would see each other. While in London, we were almost talking on daily basis on the phone. A night before he died, I was returning from where I went to shop, and I was telling him all the books I had bought for him. He also told me about a lecture he was going to deliver on the development in his home town on that Saturday morning. Excitedly, he expressed how he was going to wow his people, only for me to wake up the following day to get a call from Lagos that something terrible had happened. I asked what? “Later, the caller broke the news

of his death to me. It was the last thing I ever imagined. When the caller had said that it was a bad news, and that I should be on my way back to Nigeria, I had thought armed robbers had gone to burgle my house or it was on fire. It would have been better that my house was on fire and let everything I have laboured for perish, but let me have my friend. It was the worst day of my life; everybody was rolling on the floor, wailing. It’s a day I don’t want to remember again. The pain of Dimgba’s death won’t leave me. It’s always there. It hasn’t been easy emotionally, but God is faithful. Most of the time, I just have the feeling that he’s somewhere there, watching. I don’t want to disappoint him. Everything he dreamt of achieving, I want to make sure that his dreams don’t die. My happiness is that Dimgba saw our latest book before he met his untimely death. He held the book firmly, after which we shook hands and congratulated ourselves. Remembering those pictures in my heart gives me joy. “As long as I live, I don’t think that Dimgba Igwe’s name will be erased from people’s memories. Every September, there will be a book launch in his memory: Dimgba Igwe Book Launch. As long as I am living, in every September, I will endeavour to produce a book in his memory so that the legacy he left behind will be sustained. He’s still my coauthor, even in the grave. I want to forge ahead and wherever he is today, I want him to feel very proud of me. Things are moving on fine. Dimgba’s last son has just been admitted into Covenant University to read Economics.” Expressing disappointment with the nation’s health sector, where Igwe had to be in four hours of pain in a hospital without any medical attention before he finally gave up the ghost, Awoyinfa said those are the things that get him angry each time he remembers how his friend bled to death. According to him, it was as if Dimgba foresaw his own death. “A few days before his death”, Awoyinfa recounted, “the late Dimgba was telling our General Manager, Gloria that, assuming one had an accident around this Okota area, which nearby hospital would the person be rushed to? That was a question he could not answer. It’s so sad.” He said Igwe was determined to survive the accident, only if he had gotten help on time. On the hit-andrun driver that killed Igwe, Awoyinfa said the deceased himself would have forgiven whoever that killed him, adding that “what do I stand to gain by going to the police station to inquire if they have arrested the man that killed Dimgba. Will an arrest of the man who killed Dimgba bring him back to life? My own attitude is not to look back, so that I will not turn into a pillar of salt.” On plans to immortalize the late media icon, Awoyinfa said a foundation is being set up in his memory.

SATURDAY

Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—23

A beauty queen is never really nakkeed — Sharon Anya, Miss Tourism Nigeria

lmost all beauty queens seem to have something in common- they are all very slim, but not Sharon Ifeoma Anya, the newly crowned Miss Tourism Nigeria World 2015. A Mass Communications graduate of Igbinedion University, Okada in Edo state, she is no doubt very beautiful but a little fleshy for what you might consider a conventional beauty queen. She walked into our office penultimate Thursday in the company of her PR people, exuding confidence with regal air of a true queen. She has that lithe poise and walks with provocative delicateness that gets you thinking the floor she walks on is made of eggshell. Clad in a red gown that hugs her body to reveal a curve that looks more of a movie star than a beauty queen and adorned with her crown and the tag 'Miss Tourism world', she calmly took us through the journey that saw her emerge as the face of tourism in Nigeria. To her, she would never forget the moment she was crowned queen. “When they declared me as winner, the first thing I said was “Jesus.” And the good thing was that the microphone was not with me, if not, everybody would have heard me and probably laughed out loud. I was really surprised because I wasn’t expecting it because I was the biggest in the pageant; I mean size-wise because I’m a plus size model, and it wasn’t like I was the prettiest in the camp. It was simply an act of God. So, I was taken by surprise, but I was happy as well. At the same time, I was very confident in myself because this is my third crown. In the beginning, I never thought I had a chance. I decided to go for it just to showcase my talent and myself to the world. But I kept faith with God and my hopes in the hand of people. So, I wasn’t really expecting this crown at all, but here I am, lucky and happy to have it,” she explained. She might have a little shortcoming regarding her

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size, but Sharon is no stranger to pageants. Before winning the Miss Tourism World, she was in two other pageants before that and she had a crown and a third-runner-up medal to show for outings. “The first one I went for was Miss Ebony, then I was really younger. I did that just to promote myself and to know what I am good at and what am not good at, so I will be able to work on myself. I was the first runner up of the pageant . Then when I got into University in 2008, in my hundred level, I contested for Miss Ebinejo University and I won and this is my third crown and it’s a big thing for me.” Explaining the reason why her passion lies in pageants, and not in any other area of entertainment, she said, “Actually, there are different ways to showcase oneself and talents but to me, I feel pageantry is really something I can use to bring myself to the limelight. One other thing is that I don't like being idle and so I engage in many activities either to get busy or promote myself. So, one day I said to myself that I should try my hands at pageantry. When I went for Miss Igbinedion University, I didn’t come out just for people to see me, I actually came out in order to represent my school in different occasions in Nigeria.” So, how was it like in the camp? we asked her and wanted to know if there was any case of sexual harassment from any quarter, but in her usual calm disposition, the queen assured us there was nothing of such. “No, there was nothing like sexual harassment from any male or female. Believe me, it was fun all the way. The officials and the girls were simply beautiful. No one took advantage of anyone. In fact I got to meet different girls and we practiced a lot. I love to dance, so I got to learn how to dance there and do different things. There was nothing like sexual harassment,” she reassured. However, as fun as the camp was, she admitted it was no tea party as each contestant had to be on top of their game to win. “Of course, I met tougher

contestants, because in life people are bound to encounter challenges, but it’s by the grace of God that we overcome them. So, while in camp I noticed that everybody wanted to win but then I didn’t let that get to me in any way. I just kept my head higher and kept doing what I understood,” she offered. On what must have stood her out amongst other contestants, Sharon believes it must be something in her composure and her desire to always want to make whoever comes in contact with her

By IYABO AINA

The first one I went for was Miss Ebony, then I was really younger. I did that just to promote myself and to know what I am good at and what am not good at, so I will be able to work on myself

happy. “ I will say the way I composed myself helped a lot. I brought myself in a way that I didn’t allow people to see me scared. I didn’t allow fear to overtake my talent, so I just brought myself down and I put on a very good attitude for people to love me. So I would just say that basically, my composure got me the crown.” Her composure and confidence must have done a lot to help her but she also confessed that her mum's belief in her was also key to her 'can do' attitude. That added fire to her passion. “Actually, my parents are so happy for me because they saw it coming and reason being that they believe in me so much. When I was in secondary school I used to partake in several cultural dances after which they would use my pictures for their calendars. One day my mum called me and said 'you know you are going to be a star some day' and here I am today and they are really so happy for me.” Her face twinkled with smiles. Every beauty queen has a pet project they must undertake during their reign. For Sharon Anya, her pet project was designed to ignite her childhood passion, which is to become an actress. She knows beauty queens do not reign forever so she had her vision kid in glove with her mission for her reign. “One of my mini-projects would be to act in a movie showcasing Nigeria's tourist sites and I have actually done a couple of movies too. Presently, I am about setting up an NGO foundation and it’s going to be

to promote culture and tourism in Nigeria among the youths. I am doing this because I want to keep the youths busy by helping them to bring out their talents. And I am still seeking government sponsorship which I think is really important. But aside that, I’ve done a pet project with Tecno mobile brand. We went to different public schools to share educational materials to them and though I just won I still have a lot on my table but that’s my major pet project now” she revealed “Pageantry generally consists of different talents and pageantry itself is a world unto itself. And under it you can sing, dance, talk, it’s just about showcasing everything you can do with your body and brain. The problem with girls is that they think pageantry is all about looking pretty, but it’s about giving people what you have and what you can offer,” she explains what pageantry really means to her and maintains there is nothing ugly or obscene about it. “As a model you should be ready to show off your body. And you should put yourself in that situation that even though people look at you it doesn’t mean that you are showing them your nakedness. We are always covered and we don’t walk out naked. When people stare at us we are not thinking they are looking at our nakedness or exposed body but rather the beauty within and how it can be used to pursue the cause of human needs.”

24 — SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

By KEHINDE AJOSE 08054680266

I left my plum bank job for love of music

Things were rough for me before Sekem — MC Galaxy

— Tonye Garrick

AST-rising singer and comedian, Innocent Udeme Udofot, otherwise called MC Galaxy, revealed in an interview how things were rough for him before he did the song, Sekem. According to him: “Things were rough for me before Sekem. I want people to see me and be inspired by my story, saying, “If MC Galaxy can do it, I can do it. I remember when I used to perform at a comedy club; I was usually paid N2,000 and would sleep in the club till the next day because I had little for transport fare. By the grace of God, I have become very busy now.” When asked how he came about the dance, Sekem, he has this to say: “After Kukere, I usually dance Skelewu and I created the Sekem dance from the comedy club. The dance started trending from there. I decided to take it further by using it in my song. I had created dance steps for other people, so I decided to create mine. Sekem in my local dialect means shift there .It is actually called Sekemi. I omitted the “I” and renamed it Sekem”.

IFTED singer and songwriter, Tonye Garrick, took a leap of faith in 2009 when she left her plum job in UBS Financial and Deloitte to pursue her passion for music. In an interview with Showtime, the self proclaimed queen of hearts reveals that she was not being fulfilled doing the job. “I left my job because I’m in love with music. I wasn’t happy at all! I always knew I wanted to be a singer but I was terrified. I’ve always been very shy and nervous in front of people. When I moved to the States, I sang in church and in school. I also auditioned for every music reality show you can think of in the states. I had to keep telling myself I could succeed at being a musician. I finally decided in 2009 that I was going to make this happen.” The Ari bele ma crooner who is also known for her admirable fashion sense also reveals how she has been funding her music. “When you don’t have an idea of where your next paycheck is coming from, it can take a toll on you. I am an independent woman and when I moved back to do this since I had no label, I had to depend on my family. They have sacrificed so much for me to get to where I need to be. They know that in the long run, it will pay off.”

•Tonye Garrick

M.I, Ice Prince and others for Beat of Lagos Concert

HE much awaited Beat of Lagos 2015 concert has gotten a nod from the Lagos State Government

through its Ministry of Tourism and InterGovernmental Relations. The concert which was headlined

•MI Abaga and Ice Prince

by PSquare and several other A-list artistes at the maiden edition in 2011 has also had several top acts performing on its stage since inception. Last year, The Beat of Lagos Award introduced an award that saw Lagosians voting on the Beatoflagos.com website, for the song that kept them dancing the most all year round. The hit single from the Mavin’s Crew Dorobucci went home with the prestigious award. The winner of this year’s award goes home with a plot of land at the Lekki free trade zone courtesy of Adron homes. According to the CEO of Motbensonz, Omotoye Benson he said: “Beat of Lagos concert provides an atmosphere for networking

and also serves as a timeout to celebrate entertainment icons and songs that has kept us dancing the year round. Beat of Lagos 2015 will see a command performance from its official talent sponsors; Chocolate City Records, a label that boast of acts like ; MI Abaga, Ice Prince, Jesse Jagz, Ruby Gyang, Victoria Kimani ,DJ Caise and a host of others. The event is billed to hold on 30th August 2015 at Federal Palace Hotel.

Nigerian Idol star, Naomi Mac collaborates with Adekunle Gold on this love track titled: My Heart. The duo blends effortlessly in this love tune .The song is produced by Psykes and mixed by Simi, Jamb question crooner

1. Shiikane -Tuele Rising girl group, Shiikane are back with the video of their song Tuele. The video was shot in London and directed by Director Q and Moe Musa

2. Naomi Mac featuring Adekunle Gold – My Heart C M Y K

3.MI featuring Runtown and Phyno -Bullion Van Bullion van is a song off M.I Abaga’s album called The Chairman. He collaborates with Runtown and Phyno in this song. The video was shot at Koga Studios in Oregun, Ikeja Lagos. It is directed by ace cinematographer, Kemi Adetiba. 4 Black Magic featuring Adekunle Gold and Sir Dauda – Rock Your Body Black Magic teams up with the Orente crooner, Adekunle Gold in this groovy song titled Rock Your

•MC Galaxy

Body. The song is produced by Kid Konnect. 5. Gogowe - I no send Afro-pop artiste, Gogowe has released the visuals of her Afrobeats song titled I no send. The video was shot in Lagos and directed by Mex. 6 Tosing featuring Gaise -Appreciation Talented gospel artiste, Tosing releases this new song he calls Appreciation. He collaborates with Gaise in this thanksgiving song. 7. Reekado Banks -Corner The talented Mavin artiste is focused on giving his best to his fans. It’s obvious he is working hard to remain relevant in the music industry. The quality video is directed by Mex

SATURDAY Vanguard,

AUGUST 29, 2015 — 25

By AYO ONIKOYI

t was a tale of would-bestars going toe-to-toe with the top billed artistes at Trans Amusement Park, Samonda, Ibadan as names like Chidinma, Wizkid, Pasuma, Wande Coal, Sound Sultan and May D were more than matched by Pepenazi, Sunkanmi, Young Grey C, Base One and Presh as they all delivered groundthumping performances at the Star Music Tre k #IbadanRocks concert on Saturday August 22nd. DJ Nana, DJ Xclusive go head to head The evening had kicked off with a crowd-pleaser as DJ Nana and DJ Xclusive faced off in a tune clash that kept the crowd moving as the venue filled up before Gbenga Adeyinka introduced a number of upcoming acts from Ibadan whom Star gave the rare opportunity to perform on the Star Music Trek stage as part of its commitment to giving Nigerian youths a platform to shine. May D storms in on drift board May D caused a huge stir at the Star Music Trek #IbadanRocks concert when he made his stage entrance atop a drift board. A shocked cry of “Ooh!” went through more than 10,000 fans present at the concert sponsored by Star Lager as the hit-maker seemed to glide onto the stage without moving his feet before he stepped off the drift board and launched into his typically energetic performance. Wizkid showers music fans with cash Starboy Wizkid was at his best as he repeatedly showered the mammoth crowd with bundles of cash while performing his hit track “Show You The Money”. The show, sponsored by

Wacky moments from Star Music Trek in Ibadan

•Starboy Wizkid entertaining the crowd leading beer Star Lager also featured performances by Chidinma, Presh, Sound Sultan, May D, Wande Coal, Pasuma, Young Grey C, Sunkanmi, Pepenazi, Base One, DJ Xclusive, DJ Nana and many others.

•DJ Xclusive

8. DJ Jimmy Jatt featuring Olamide, Lil Kesh and Viktoh -Da yan mo The veteran DJ, Jimmy Jatt collaborates with YBNL stars, Olamide Lil Kesh and Viktoh. The video shows their various relationships with the opposite sex. It is directed by OMG. 9. Dolondolo featuring Orezi – Christian Lobatan Talented Dolondolo unveils his groovy song titled Christian Lobatan, his own creation of the name Christian Louboutin. He features the amazing Orezi in this track. The song is produced by AU Pro 10. Monica Ogah - Jaja Armed with a sonorous voice, Monica returns with another Afro- pop song titled Jaja. Nobody knows what Jaja means, but one thing you can’t miss in the song is the

And the thrill continues Sunkanmi did her ingle “For Body”. Base One who performed his popular single “Weyrey Re O”. Pepenazi was up next with his smash hit “Illegal”. He created a

•Chidinma

scene at the event as he threw his wristwatch, jewellery and face towel into the excited crowd while DJ Xclusive came onstage to record the entire scene and take selfies with his phone. Young Grey C then stepped

•May D

melody. The melody will get you on the dance floor. The song is produced by Dr Amir. 11. Eben- Alpha and Omega Unconventional gospel artiste, Eben releases a new worship song titled Alpha and Omega. The song will sure make you be glad about God being your Alpha and Omega. It is produced by C-beatz and mastered by Okey Sokey 12 .Emma Nyra and Uti Nwachukwun-Got swag Sexy singer Emma Nyra and Uti Nwachukwu team up to work on this tune Got Swag. The track which was produced by Selebobo is for young people with attitude, confidence and style. The duo are ambassadors of Got Swag Naija, a competition where money will be won.

out for a performance of her breakout hit “Chukwuma”. ThenSTAR Quest cowinner Presh who delivered a 15 minute set to the delight of the nostalgic crowd. With no warning, Chidinma was suddenly introduced to the stage and the noise level went up several notches a s Miss Kedike rocked the crowd with her hits including “Kedike,” “Run Their Mouth,” “Oh Baby,” and “I’m In Love” before she signed out with the ever-popular “Emi Ni Baller”. Unexpectedly, Wande Coal came up to do ‘Taboo,” “Been Long You Saw Me,” “Who Born The Maga,” and “Ashimapeyin.” 2Face, Yemi Alade, Burna Boy, others to dazzle Lagos in epic Star Music Trek 2015 finale The 2015 Star Music Trek is coming to an end with a grand finale holding this Saturday August 29, 2015 in Lagos. Artistes who will perform at the mega-concert include global superstar 2Face, MAMA 2015 Best Female winner Yemi Alade, Burna Boy, Sound Sultan and Runtown. Headliner 2Face, speaking about the upcoming concert remarked, “This year’s Trek has been my favourite for many reasons. I went home to Makurdi and you saw the type of reception they gave me there. Everywhere I performed this year was just amazing and of course we all know Lagos is the entertainment capital of West Africa. This concert is going to be the best leg of Star Music Trek ever. My people notin’ dey happen!” The concert, which will hold at at the Ifako Open Field, Ifako Gbagada will also feature performances by Seyi Shay, DJ Xclusive, Sean Tizzle, Joe El, DJ Big N, Lafup and MC Gbenga Adeyinka.

13 June Ubi Featuring HOD -Anything Rising singer, June Ubi unveils a new song titled Anything. She collaborates with HOD in this exciting song. Merging her African and British cultural influences, the song is an entertaining Afro-beat song. The song is also produced by HOD 14. DJ Stupor featuring Danagog - Surutu HKN DJ, Stupor collaborates with Danagog on this street inspired song. The song is produced by rising music producer EOD 15. Kaline -Tell you my love New York based Nigerian born singer, songwriter and pianist, Kaline has unveiled her new song Tell You of My Love The likable love tune is written and produced by her. She has also released Nigeria’s first lyric video on her YouTube page for this same song.

26 — SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

•Andy Amenech

•Isikaku

•Zik Zulu

Project Act Nollywood Palaver: •More filmmakers react! Concluding part of our special report on Project Act Nollywood. The first part was published last week.

Romanticizing the issue will take us nowhere

ronment for us. He has started with a near stable power supply in most parts of the country. We must have in place a verifiable, auditable, open and accountable distribution framework in place. Sledge hammer must be slammed on pirates and other intellectual property thieves. All the relevant copyright protection treaties Nigeria signed

hat the industry needs from President Buhari at the mo ment is not grants or loans. This is least in our long list of challenges. The President should create enabling envi-

93 Days: A story of courage and sacrifice Actors on set ’93 DAYS’ is a movie centred on the true-life story of men and women who risked their lives and made sacrifices to save us all from the consequences of the outbreak of the highly dreaded Ebola Virus Disease. It is a compelling human story of dedication, sacrifice, resilience and survival. The movie is directed by Steve Gukas, and produced by Bolanle Austen-Peters, Dotun Olakunri, Steve Gukas and Pemon Rami. The movie demonstrates the bravery of the late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh and her colleagues from their encounter with the late American-Liberian, Patrick Sawyer who was the index case of the Ebola Virus Disease to ensuring that the right medical procedures were in place to stop the spread of the disease in the country. During the period, they not only prevented a national catastrophe and international contagion, but also left a permanent mark on the society and solidified their legacy as courageous Nigerians amid continuous support from the Lagos State Government, Federal Government, World Health Organisation (WHO), MSF and other organisations. In celebrating these icons, we cel-

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in the early 90s at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) level must immediately be ratified and domesticated for effect. Free import duty on production equipment must be granted the industry. We must enjoy some tax holiday regime. We need at least one Federal or State Government-owned basic cinema hall in each of the over 700 Local Government Areas in the country. This will boost the few currently owned by the private sector. The government needs to sign coproduction treaties with other notable film making countries of the world with all its attendant benefits. We need a film village or villages. We need the Motion Picture Practitioners Council (MOPICON) document to be dusted and presented to the National Assembly as an Executive Bill and passed into law as soon as possible,' Alex Eyengho stated.

The project must be sustained!

*Cast of the movieie ebrate our own potential to stand for what is right, serve selflessly and make a difference in our world. The movie is definitely a must-watch with a perfect blend of both local and international casts to ensure excellent quality and international exposure is achieved. Renowned American Theatre practitioner and Filmmaker Pemon Rami also joins the team as producer. “Our aim is to create a feature film that will resonate with many people across the world particularly in Nigeria and its subregion.”At its core, 93 days is a tale of common humanity and just how much we can achieve when we stand united,” stated the producers of the movie. The project is a co-production between MichelAngelo Production, Bolanle Austen-Peters Production (BAP) and Native FilmWorks.

On his own, veteran filmmaker, Zeb Ejiro, urged the present government to continue with the project, describing it as 'a good idea for the industry.' “I am convinced that President Buhari will continue the project. I want the president to conclude one of the segments of the project that has not take off before Jonathan left office which was the distribution scheme. The administration is trying to settle down, and once it does so, Project Act will be back. For Ejike Asiegbu, who is one of the beneficiaries and Emma Isikaku, former chairman of movie marketers, there is need for the government to sustain the project. “Government should sustain the project. The industry has benefited immensely form it. A lot of us are on location shooting films, and employing a lot of our youths,” Asiegbu said. But respected film maker, Emem Isong lamented her inability to access the fund, blaming her ill-luck on lack of transparency that plunged the disbursement of the fund. “I applied like every other person, but they did not consider me fit to access the fund. May be, it was because I have no god-father to make a case on my behalf,” she la-

mented. Supporting the need to sustain the grant, Andy Amaenechi,President of the Directors Guild of Nigeria, urged the present administration to boost the distribution arm of the industry. He described as ‘frivolity’, the allegation that some beneficiaries used the fund to marry new wife and acquire new cars. “ It is a good thing for the industry and we want the continuation. We want the new administration to follow the trend which is good,” he said. On his own, Zik Zulu Okafor, President of the Association of Movie Producers,AMP, also frowned at the allegation that the beneficiaries have mismanaged the fund, insisting that it has helped to boost production in Nollywood. “ As I am talking to you now, I am just returned from California with over 20 new producers for a programme they did there.|” Last year, the Federal Ministry of Finance has said 32 movie firms, which successfully passed through rigorous assessment processes, have won grants from the Film Production Fund, one of the three components of the N3 billion Presidential Intervention Fund for the Nigerian movie industry - Project ACT Nollywood. Also, the number of practitioners that have received grants under the Capacity Building Fund, the second component of the project and whose implementation started earlier, has climbed to 67 to further underscore the progress which the presidential intervention is making. According to a statement from office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the 32 film projects from these companies were selected out of the 38 that applied for the Film Production Fund for the first batch of interviews concluded last week. The statement signed by Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, Special Adviser to the minister, about 253 applications were received from film production companies during the application

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015 — 27

Nnenna Davies

Bimbo Peters takes Nollywood by storm

‘The actors I admire most in Nollywood’

•‘It’s my dream to become a producer’

NENNA Davies may not be a regular face on screen,

ising actress, Bimbo Peters who debuted in Nollywood last year after she relocated back home from the UK, has already recorded a landmark in the industry. The light-complexioned actress made it clear while joining the industry that her dream is to become a top producer in no distant time. She has gone ahead to achieve that dream as she premieres her movie, “One Fine Day,” tomor•Bimbo row, at the Silverbird Cinemas, Victoria Island, Lagos. Bimbo said, the star-studded flick, starring the likes of Olu Jacobs and his wife, Joke Silver, Funke Akindele, Fredrick Leonard among other stars was directed by Hon. Desmond Elliot. Ït’s my dream to become a producer. I went for the best because I wanted to make a statement that I have arrived,”she said. Narrating how she came about the story, the rising actress who has featured in a couple of Nollywood movies including, “The Good Wife”, “Jenifa Diary” and “Code of Silence” said, she approached notable film maker, Emem Isong to write a screenplay about two rival sisters for her. “This is because I wanted to produce a film that will announce my presence in the nation’s movie industry.” One Fine Day, she said, is a gripping drama about two sister, Tasha and Nina who experience more than your average share of sibling rivalry which is worsened by Nina’s slightly disturbed state of mind. Bimbo attended New York Film Academy, where she studied Acting and Producing for one and half year before returning to the country last year.

Kay Q set for Wedding Day tour A

kinmolu Kayode Olasunkanmi, better known as Kay Q in the music industry, is currently in cloud nine, thanks to the progressive success currently recorded by his new single, Wedding Day. Within a few days of release, the song has got tremendous local and international attention. While still basking in the euphoria of the success recorded by Wedding Day, Kay Q is set to break new barriers with his much anticipated tour of Europe. The love song from the gifted singer is produced by Magik Adams, mixed and mastered by Suka Sound. During the tour, Kay Q is expected touch European cities like Paris, Malaga, Genoa, Modena, Madrid, Stuttgart, Rome, Amsterdam, Parma, Torino and Prague before coming back to Nigeria to complete work on other songs and videos that will make his album. Kay Q, who is currently signed to Sosofit Gang Music, said his label “his label managers have been working really hard to make this tour a reality. Hopefully, my fans should expect some international collaboration when I return.” Kay Q, a native of Ondo State, started his professional music career four years ago in a group that also included B.myne before going solo. His first solo effort was titled Komami. •Kay Wedding Day, which is currently enjoying airplay, is a powerful love song with a good blend of hip hop, juju and highlife flavour. It is a club and party delight.

•Nnenna Davies

but away from acting, she has made her mark in the music industry. The Abia State-born actress, started out as a singer, before she delved into acting few years ago to boost her profile. According to her, “I started singing while I was a child. While growing up, I had an active imagination especially during my secondary school days.” To actualize her dream of becoming a superstar, Davies formed a twoman musical group with her friend known as the “ Dynamics”. The group only had an album “The Genesis” in the market, before they broke up. Moving on, after her university education, Davies who is currently in the studio, recording her new songs found solace in acting. Her journey began in 2013, after she featured in a couple of Nollywood flicks. Since then, the dark-complexioned actress has not looked back in her quest to rule the big screen. She has featured in many movies including a soap titled, “The Rancour.”

But her most challenging movie in recent times, according to her, is “Nwa Chi na Emere. "Ït was a movie that gave me my break in the industry,”she said. A combination of beauty and brain, Davies says her dream is to become one of the top producers in the country. She also wants to establish a record label, where she can discover and groom young talents. She’s not only a singer and a songwriter but also, a script writer and an actress. Davies blasted actresses who exchange their bodies for movie roles, pointing out that “ if one is talented, one does not need to run after the producers or become desperate.” For her, those who have nothing to offer when it comes to role interpretation usually run after the producers who are always on the lookout for conquests. Sharing her first experience on set, Davies recalls, “Unfortunately, I forgot my lines, and since I was unable to remember my lines, I couldn’t interprete my role excellently. It was a terrible experience. " Meanwhile, those she looks looks up in the industry includes Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Genevive Nnaji and Joke Silva. She also named the likes of Mike Ezuruonye, Yul Edochie and Joseph Benjamin as the actors she admires most.

Code of Silence exposed me to the ordeals of rape victims — Makida Moka

odel-turned-actor Makida Moka has said that her role in the newly released flick, “Code of Silence” has exposed her to the devastating emotions that victims of rape suffer. Makida who plays the role of Adanma, the teenage university student who was raped by a respected political leader in her community said in chat with HVP that “Reading the script helped educate me on things I didn’t know about people who get raped and the things they go through... The role was a challenging and emotional one for me and I am grateful for the opportunity given to me to star in the movie.” The half Nigerian, half Caribbean Communications graduate of North American University noted that members of the society must desist from stigmatising victims of rape, adding that “it would help society a lot if victims

were supported to report cases of rape to the appropriate quarters.” Adanma, who is the lead female in the film is a simple but focused girl whose carefree disposition soon pales into total darkness as she gets raped by a local politician who is possibly older than the her late father. The aftermath of the violence that this young medical student suffers on the victim, her family, people with whom she has relationships and the whole community is the core of the advocacy of Code of Silence.

Makida on set

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

28 — SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

RUKKY SANDA TALKS ABOUT H

“I will get married soon” By TOFARATI IGE

•Rukky Sanda... Before I got into Nollywood, I was already doing business. C M Y K

ITH 17 films produced by her in 10 years, it is obvious that Nollywood’s Rukky Sanda is not a rookie as far as movie production is concerned. Though there’s no data to prove this, she also says she’s the first Nollywood actress to produce her own movies, which she started in 2005. The fair-skinned beauty has however decided to go dark in her latest movie, ‘Dark’ which was premiered on Friday, August 28, 2015 at the Silverbird Cinemas, Victoria Island, Lagos. With her fingers in a lot of pies, Rukky says she has multiple personalities that take care of all her businesses. Hear her, ‘I’m an interior designer, scriptwriter, actress, director and producer, and I’ve been doing this for about 10 years now. I think I’m just different at different times. It’s a blessing actually. I love writing and listening to stories. I also love being involved in every aspect of my movies; I can edit and do a couple of other things. I don’t like being ignorant about any part of movie production.’ She veered into movie production after appearing in only three movies, and we wanted to know why. She answers, ‘For me, it was more of a business decision, because at that time, it wasn’t like actresses were being paid well. I’ve always been a business person, and I wanted to invest in the business aspect of Nollywood. I acted in my first movie in 2004, and I produced my first film in 2005.’ But did she actually make money from that movie? She smiles wryly in response, ‘As a matter of fact, I still have people owing me till date. Some of the people I worked with even went behind my back to mass dub and sell the movies.’ On the lessons she has learnt, she talks like someone who has walked through the valley of the shadow of death and survived. With a bold face she says, ‘In the beginning, it was more of a business decision to just make money, but now, I’ve grown into it, and I actually have a passion for the art of movie production; I just want to make a difference with my movies. Then, I had very little knowledge about production, but now, I’m more of a professional.’ Many would believe that she had a rich family member somewhere who ‘dashed’ her the money she used in producing her first movie, considering her inexperience at the time. She doesn’t agree with that assertion, and she wastes no time in countering it. In her words, ‘Before I got into Nollywood, I was already doing business. I used to sell stuff, so I had my money to put into it, and my mum supported me with a loan. She collected her money back though, so there was no sentiment attached. I won’t say it was easy starting out because I spent about N3m in making my first movie, and that was quite a lot in 2005. I don’t actually get Executive

Producers for my movies; I do that myself. Not like I don’t believe in going all out to source for funds, but it’s just not my thing. I had someone once who wanted to sponsor my movie, and we did that. But before the movie came out, they were already on my neck asking for their money. I had to return it to them after we finished filming; we had not even finished editing then. I told them I’ll give them their money back, but that they wouldn’t get any credit on the movie. Ever since, I only produce movies if it’s convenient for me.’ So we wouldn’t think she’s just guessworking her way to the top, she informs us that she has taken a directing course in Houston, USA, as well as a Visual Effects course, but she’s also quick to add that she’s still learning every day. The tattoo-loving actress is known to be blunt and she speaks about that side of herself: ‘I believe in expressing myself; always stating my point, and sticking to what I believe in. People may read different meanings to it, but at the end of the day, I can only be myself; I can’t try to be someone else, or back-up what I don’t believe in. I wasn’t brought up like that. It has brought me here so far, and I love me.’ But has being blunt ever got her into trouble? She enthuses, ‘I don’t get into trouble. If I say anything anywhere, I will

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015 — 29

ER NEW FILM ‘DARK’: SAYS stand by it. I’m not the kind of girl who believes in gossip, or idle chatter. If I have anything to say, I say it and move on. If you have any problem with it, come and tell me.’ On reports that she once claimed to be half-Ghanaian, Rukky sets the records straight. ‘I think that was when I went to Ghana for the first time, and I was with some colleagues. We were just messing around and I think Yvonne Nelson told me something in Ghana that could be translated to what I tweeted at the time. It wasn’t anything serious; I don’t know why people take little things serious.’ On her new movie, Dark, she talks about it like a mother whose child is going to school for the first

I can never leave home without my sunglasses though, and the most I’ve ever spent on them is about a thousand Dollars. But when it comes to what I can spend the most on in general, that’s bags and they’re ridiculously expensive.

time; the excitement is palpable. ‘It’s extremely different from the regular movies we see out there. It’s about a woman who lost her baby during childbirth, and she actually believed it was the fault of the doctor, so she planned to kill the doctor’s child in return. Usually, I always call everybody I want to feature in my movies before I start writing, so I try to think about how they fit into the roles. When I had the idea for this movie, I thought about Van Vicker, and I told him that I wanted to write a movie for him, and I also asked if he would be free to shoot at a certain time. He was like it’s different, and that he was ready to do it. I love to write romantic movies. That is empowering to women, and generally makes women happy, but Dark is a very serious movie; a lot was involved. It’s about family, pain, and a mother’s bond to her child. It sounds the same, but it’s different because it has a twist to it.’ She speaks more on the cast and their shared experience while on set, ‘Monalisa Chinda played the Doctor, while Van Vicker was her husband. I acted as the obsessed woman which is something I’ve never done before. I also had two buff cops in the persons of Bolanle Ninolowo and IK Ogbonna. There was also this amazing new child actor called Demarion Young who played Van’s son. It really took us a

long time to get the perfect child for the movie, because we don’t have a lot of child actors in Nigeria. We held several auditions before we could get the perfect person. The boy is so good, and he delivered his lines perfectly. He also looks so much like Van that I had to ask Van if he doesn’t have any child in Nigeria. My set is always fun and lively, and we needed it to be that way on this particular movie because the film is so serious. I had the best cast obviously.’ Dwelling on her sense of fashion, Rukky says she can never be caught wearing anything that doesn’t look good on her. She further defines fashion thus, ‘It means expressing yourself, and being comfortable in your own skin. I can never leave home without my sunglasses though, and the most I’ve ever spent on them is about a thousand Dollars. But when it comes to what I can spend the most on in general, that’s bags and they’re ridiculously expensive.’ On how long it takes her to get dressed for events, she says, ‘It takes me just about 30 minutes to an hour if I’m not in a hurry, and if I’m pressed for time, I just wear whatever and go.’ All work and no love makes Rukky a robot, so we want to know what qualities her dream man should possess, and she sums it up with the following words: ‘He must be an amazing person with a good heart, and he should also have a sense of humour, as well as do everything I say. I like people that make me happy.’ On how she balances stardom with other aspects of her life, she quips, ‘I’m a very private person, and the only place you can ever get to see me is on Instagram and Snapchat because I don’t really go out. People don’t really know much about me, and most of what is written about me out there are false. I advise celebs to live a private life, and not to put too much information about themselves out there.’ For the legion of men out there who dream to make her their woman, she refused to state whether she’s in a relationship or not, but as regards marriage, she says, ‘By God’s grace, I’ll get married soon.’

C M Y K

30—SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015 By BENJAMIN NJOKU njokujamin@yahoo.com

OBY ONYIOHA: Undying Queen of Atrado rhythms! By BENJAMIN NJOKU

NTIL early 2000s, not many Nigerian women were privileged to make huge impact on the country’s music scene. But the few of them who tried to find their voices in the male-dominated industry were not only celebrated and worshipped like goddesses. They were indeed considered as “ rare species” in the industry. One of those women of substance that made the difference then was Oby Onyioha. The baby-voiced singer first burst onto the music scene with her hit song, “Ï want to feel your Love” which ruled the airwaves in the 1980s, and early 90s. She later disappeared into thin air when the ovation was still loud. But the good thing is that Oby has resurfaced, and her comeback sophomore album, “Heritage”a 12-tracker, is a blend of old and and classic African centred melodies. Her pattern has not changed significantly despite her long absence from the music scene. Like her yesteryears’ songs, Oby ’s latest album is an embodiment of creativity, amplified by her proficiency in the use of instrumentals. Nigerians still remember songs such as “Break It,” produced by King Sunny Ade and which followed her début album, “I want to Feel Your Love,” “Nigeria’s gonna make it” and “Party Party.” These were songs released at a time when disco and break-dance music was considered the exclusive domain of western artistes. Particularly, “Break It,” as its novelty and unprecedented release, reportedly catapulted the queen of Atrado rhythms into being the singular pioneer of the disco and break-dance music in Nigeria. Her tracks were described as being “sprinkled with some memorable African songs.” Oby ’s music rings all the

‘Atrado rhythms’ bell. From the persistent high-pitched and clanging beats to the sonorous back-up voices, she reunites her yesteryears fans with her much talked about genre of music in her new songs. Back in time, Oby ’s music was noted to be an introduction into the mostly old and classic African centred melodies, lyrics, expressions and interpretations with some influences reflecting a musical universality with other cultures over the centuries. The result is a dynamic synthesis that showcases African music in a fluidity of sound, weaving

•Oby Onyioha seamlessly from African into western and other influences, creating a genre she calls “Ätrado Rhythms.” To her credit, Oby became the first Nigerian female scholastic achiever to venture into the music business, a vocation that had hitherto been denigrated as a profession for the academically challenged female. She also played a big role in helping to break that perception of the Nigerian female musician. But today, as she moves away

from the western themed music, the perm and red-lipstick wearing singer has rediscovered her heritage in African music, a genre she now promotes with great passion and dedication. This new direction dovetails neatly into her academic qualification as an Anthropologist, a discipline that provides a solid foundation in her exploration of her African culture and heritage, through music. A daughter of His Holiness Ogbaja(Prophet), Kama Onu

Kama Onyioha, Head of the Godian Religion, Oby represents a generation of yesteryears Nigerian female musicians who have continued to be relevant in the contemporary society. Interestingly, more than three decades after the release of her debut album and long hiatus, her return to the music scene indeed has signalled a new beginning for the nation’s music industry. It’s only hoped that her contemporaries such as Martha Ulaeto, Julie Pip, Funmi Adams, Ima Valentine,Dora Ifudu and of course, Onyeka Onwenu will follow suit.

Project Fame: All contestants on probation D

ECKED out in monochrome outfits, the remaining 14 contestants at the MTN Project Fame West Africa contestants opened the show with a medley of New Edition’s ‘Can you stand the rain’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Human nature’ last Saturday. This group performance was a tribute to the victims of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and a special dedication to late Dr. Stella Adadevoh, and all Nigerians who lost their lives in trying to curtail the spread of the virus, praying for the repose of their souls. The battle to remain in the Academy then began as the contestants (Chike, Oluchi, Deinde, Tejiri, Richie, and Ruby) who had been placed on probation the previous week stepped on the stage one after the other to perform again. Tension began to mount after the performances when the hosts welcomed a representative of Alexander Forbes consulting who presented the envelope containing the name of the contestant with the highest viewers’ votes. Chike was revealed to have been saved by West Africa. The Faculty on the

*The contestants on stage other hand saved Oluchi. It was then time for the contestants that were not on probation to save another contestant via their votes. Interestingly, their votes ended in a tie, which was later broken by Chike when he was asked to save a contestant. He decided to choose Deinde. At this point, Tejiri, Richie, and Ruby had to say their goodbyes. Their parting words were full of appreciation to the Faculty, Judges, and the

platform as a whole. They each performed for the last time with Tejiri performing ‘Kissing’ by Yemi Alade, Richie- ‘Daniella whine’ by Patoranking, and lastly Ruby ‘Woju’ by Kiss Daniel. Following the evictions, the remaining eleven contestants were all set to dish out ‘Naija hits’ for everyone’s listening pleasure. Having delivered interesting and energetic performances in a bid to escape

probation, it was time for the Judges to release their verdict for the night. And in doing this, they started by commending the efforts the contestants put into their performances, acknowledging the good works the Faculty has been doing. But because it is a competition to induct extraordinary artistes, they decided to put all of the eleven contestants on probation to bring out the best out of them.

30—SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015 By BENJAMIN NJOKU njokujamin@yahoo.com

OBY ONYIOHA: Undying Queen of Atrado rhythms! By BENJAMIN NJOKU

‘Atrado rhythms’ bell. From the persistent high-pitched and clanging beats to the sonorous back-up voices, she reunites her yesteryears fans with her much talked about genre of music in her new songs. Back in time, Oby’s music was noted to be an introduction into the mostly old and classic African centred melodies, lyrics, expressions and interpretations with some influences reflecting a musical universality with other cultures over the centuries. The result is a dynamic synthesis that showcases African music in a fluidity of sound, weaving

Pr oject FFame: ame: All contes obation Project contesttants on pr probation D

SA TURD AY SATURD TURDA

Vanguard, A UGUST 29, 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201D;31 AUGUST

(Text Only)

Walk out for the busy person (2) Press-Up

Press-Up Technique: ie on your tummy with the legs extended fully. Now place both hands next to the shoulders and with the toes on the ground.Breath in deeply and raise the entire body off the ground. Head, buttocks and heels must be at the same level. Retain the breath with the raised trunk for a slow count to five. Lower the body as you exhale. Inhaling and retaining the breath again raise the body up for another count. Lower the body down again and rest with your head on your folded arms.

Triangle (2) Technique: tanding with feet wide apart, turns to the left as you bend the left knee. Keep the right knee locked with the whole leg in a diagonal position to the trunk. Keep the hands over head with the palms together. The neck and head must be straight. Maintain the posture for some 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits: he posture tones up the leg muscles shedding excess fat there. This exercise also helps you hold the body in a straighter posture.

Benefits: The Press-Up With Breath aerates the lungs and strengthens the entire body.

Triangl e

(1)

Triangle (2)

Triangle (1) Technique: ssume a wide stance and turning the trunk to the left, turn the right foot to right and the left foot at 90 degrees. Place the palms together and bend the left leg to waist level Breathing normally, retains the posture for some 10 seconds and repeat on the other side. Benefits: his pose helps in strengthening the quadriceps and the inner thighs. It also helps to maintain a youthful posture.

A T

C M Y K

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

32—SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29 2015

08 1 1 6759 759 081 6759759

Glamour model is baptised in the sea af aftter turning to Christianity in a bid to ‘find the real me’

glamour model has decided to embark on a new future and ‘find the real me’ after being baptised in the sea. Manchester-born Emma McKay, 29, who now lives in Cornwall, caused a stir on a beauty spot beach made famous in a film as she took to the ocean for the religious ceremony. The baptism was performed by Reverend

Mike Marshall and congregation member Kevin Bray She was baptised last Wednesday in Porthpean, Cornwall, where the Richard Curtis movie About Time was filmed. The glamour model who has appeared in Nuts and Zoo magazines said that she has coped with bullying as a child, ended up being drawn into a party lifestyle. Yet despite

posing for risque pictures, she confesses to always feeling a spiritual presence in her life. She said: ‘I was bullied through primary school and high school then rebelled and lived a very wild life from my teens up as well as having hectic, late night demanding fast paced jobs.’ ‘My jobs mainly involved working with drunken people and I was in some

messy situations but it always felt like someone was looking out for me, it wasn’t my mum, step dad, dad or step mum as I was very independent from my late teens due to family and life situations.’ Emma, who was baptised by Reverend Mike Marshall, from the Holy Trinity Church, St Austell, and congregation member Kevin Bray added that Christianity had helped her overcome her demons. ‘By finding Christ and following Jesus, I have now been able to start letting go of the past and

I’m finally finding the real me.’ She took to Twitter to announce her new direction last Wednesday, posting: ‘Want to now share this with you all.. I was baptised Wednesday & what an amazing, beautiful day it was too #blessed’ The ceremony was witnessed by a congregation at Porthpean who watched from the shore Her followers were quick to congratulate her, all adding the hashtag #wetwednesday to refer to the ritual.

On her website, Emma describes herself as a ‘published versatile model of many styles including Commercial, Fashion and Glamour through to tasteful Artistic Nude’. Her role models include Caprice, Kate Moss and Katie Price but she is now managing her own photography studio as well as modelling. Adult baptisms are often called a ‘believer ’s baptism’ and unlike a baby’s christening, where holy water is sprinkled on the infant’s head, the person involved is fully immersed in water. Emma’s baptism attracted quite a crowd on the Porthpean beach, which recently featured in the director’s moving new film. The model shows no signs of wanting to change her main career, however, and still posts revealing snaps on her Twitter feed.

Chinese villager who hac amily member her’s cleaver ... hackked wif wifee and eight ffamily memberss ttoo death with a butc butcher’s cleaver...

hinesevillagerwhohackedwifeand eight family members to death with a butcher’s cleaver because of her alleged affair is arrested following large-scale manhunt A man has murdered nine people and injured four in a brutal killing spree in a

village in Hunan, central China. The victims apparentlyincludedtheman’swife,HeWuyun, and several members of her family, including a four-month-old baby. Wang Wensheng, 47, the alleged killer, was said to have committed the crimeshortlyafterthefuneralofMsHe’smother beforeescaping,reportedPeople’sDailyOnline.

He has now been apprehended. Local villagers revealed that the couple had been separated for a long time. Ms He was said to behavinganextramaritalaffairwhileworking in another city. She hasn’t been back to the family home since some time in 2014 and has onlyreturnedthistimeforhermother’sfuneral.

A dozen men are ambushed, stripped naked and forced to undergo circumcisions in Kenya

dozen men are A ambushed, stripped naked and forced to

undergo circumcisions in Kenya after their wives complained that they were not as good in bed as circumcised men A dozen men were seized and stripped naked before they were forced to undergo circumcisions in

western Kenya as part of a ‘ceremony’, it has been reported. The 12 men, from the Luo, Turkana, Iteso and Luhyia communities, were reportedly subjected to the procedure after their wives revealed they had not had it done previously. A number of women in the town of Moi’s Bridge,

in western Kenya, where the incident took place, said they were pleased the men went through the procedure because it made them cleaner and perform better in bed. According to Kenyan radio station West FM, the men who underwent the procedure had either previously avoided having it done or had come from a Luhyia sub-tribe which did not carry it out. A crowd reportedly sung circumcision songs as they gathered the men up before taking them to a nearby medical centre where the operations were carried out. One of the wives, Anne Njeri, who witnessed the

incident on Friday, told the radio station: ‘We are happy with the move to have such men cut because uncircumcised men are dirty and do not perform well in bed and thus we are sure their wives will now enjoy their marriages.’ Each of the men have been provided with money by others in the town for treatment, according to the report. The men who carried out the procedure have said all the men who have not been circumcised will undergo the procedure in what has been dubbed ‘circumcision season’, according to theKenyan Daily Post The season is said to last for the first three weeks of August, the International Business Times has reported.

Mr Wang is said to be a violent husbandandhaspreviouslybeen involved in domestic violence allegations.Accordingtoreports, Ms He had just attended the funeral of her mother on August 22. Themournershadreturnedto the family home to rest after the funeralandwereasleepwhenthe attack took place. MrWangusedtheopportunity to attack the family with a meat cleaverusedforbutcheringpigs, leaving a blood bath in his wake. His victims were mostly women and even included a four month oldbaby.Ninepeoplehavebeen confirmed dead as a result of his attack.Fourpeoplewereleftwith critical injuries but managed to escape. They are now said to be in a stable condition. After committing the heinous crimes, Mr Wang fled the scene

in a red motorised tricycle. Hewasspottedfleeingintothe mountains around his rural home,whereheoftenhuntedwild boar. Reports say approximately 1,000membersofthepoliceforce were dispatched to capture the man. The operation included 28 stop-and-search road blocks as well as a 24-hour sweep of the local area. Due to the size of the area and the mountainous terrain, Mr Wang wasn’t apprehended until lateAugust24.Hehadapparently received an injury to his left arm duringhiskillingspreeandwent toanearbyvillagehospitaltoseek out treatment, food and water. Villagers reported him to the police and he was later apprehended thanks to the clues from his sighting. The case is pendingfurtherinvestigation.

Man sacked for failing to turn up to work… he was dead

government employee was sacked because he didn’t show up at work for 18 months. Sounds fair enough, you might think, and he compounded the offence by missing a hearing to approve his sacking. But somehow officials in New York managed to miss the fact that Geoffrey Toliver, who had been off work for some time, was in fact dead, and had been since December 2014. The Human Resources Administration claimed it had tried to reach the 65year-old for more than a year before deciding to fire him. But even though his bosses

thought he had gone AWOL, his death had been reported in an online obituary. Mr Toliver had worked as a Medicaid-eligibility specialist. Close friend Ted Willbright told the New York Post: ‘How do you fire a man who is already dead? He deserves better. The agency itself should have known. ‘Some people he worked with were very supportive, so how did HRA the organization not know? ‘He’s dead, and they’re saying he abandoned his job. He didn’t abandon his job, his job abandoned him. ‘He was a good man. Truly, truly a good man.’

SATURDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 29, 2015 — 33

Sunshine confront away ghosts at Wikki By John Egbokhan

UNSHINE Stars will need to dig deep to overcome their poor away form when they travel to play Wikki Tourist in tomorrow’s week 25 game at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi. Despite their status as the mid-term champions and being

on top of the table for most part of the season, Sunshine Stars’ major undoing has been their poor away form, which has seen them concede their leadership position to Enyimba, who have 48 points, as against 46 for the Akure Gunners, who however have a better goals advantage of +21 as against Enyimba’s +13. Sunshine are by far the best

attacking side in the 25-week old 2015 Glo league season, netting 41 goals, five more than their closest rivals in terms of goals scored, Warri Wolves, and a further seven goals more than their fiercest rivals for the league shield, Enyimba. Coach Kennedy Boboye’s Sunshine Stars have simply gone goals crazy, lately, scoring nine amazing goals in

three matches, to signal their resolution to give the title chase all their striking might, should they be tied with Enyimba on the final day of the season, leaving goals difference to decide the winners and losers. Just last weekend, they took their imperious to an all-time high, demolishing El Kanemi Warriors 5-0. This came a week after they roasted Giwa FC 4-0 at their Akure Township stadium. Despite these eye-popping results, Sunshine Stars have been very far from convincing when playing away from their comfort zone, losing to relatively weaker oppositions, which their tough rivals Enyimba have gotten results from. The evidence of things in the last one month is that Sunshine lost 1-0 at Taraba on August 8, were held to a barren draw by Ifeanyi Uba on August 10 and followed that with a 1-0 away loss to Dolphins on August 19. And as they travel to Bauchi to face one of the form teams this season, Wikki Tourist, fans of the Akure Gunners are fearing that their poor away form that has accounted for their seven losses this season may well be their undoing. Wikki Tourist have 41 points to stay in the fourth spot on the table, seven points adrift of “Our away form has been to say the least very poor. We have been solid at home but sorry away, which makes one to think

that we may not be able to win the league is the trend continues”, said Shamsideen Taiwo, who touts himself as one of Sunshine Stars’ patriotic fan. Indeed, Wikki have been one of the stand-out teams this term, winning 11 games, drawing eight and losing six times to stay in touch with the top three, Enyimba, Sunshine Stars and Warri Wolves. With a shoe-string budget to work with, Coach Abdul Maikaba has been working wonders at Wikki, who have been within the top-five bracket for more than three months now, thereby increasing their chances of getting one over Sunshine Stars at the 25,000 capacity Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi.

Udi’s many troubles at Rangers T

HESE are not the best of times for Rangers manager, Duke Udi, who has been confronted with increasing poor results of late and is

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

P 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25

W 13 14 13 11 12 10 11 11 10 10 10 9 7 9 8 8 5 5 4 4

D 9 4 5 8 4 9 4 3 6 5 5 6 10 4 6 5 11 10 10 8

L 3 7 7 6 9 6 10 11 9 10 10 10 8 12 11 12 9 10 11 13

GF 34 41 36 28 29 29 33 33 28 27 26 27 25 22 21 22 20 23 15 20

GA 21 20 21 22 27 30 28 28 28 24 24 28 28 38 27 29 28 28 28 32

GD +13 +21 +15 +6 +2 -1 +5 +5 0 +3 +2 -1 -3 -16 -6 -7 -8 -5 -13 -12

PT 48 46 44 41 40 39 37 36 36 35 35 33 31 31 30 29 26 25 22 20

now having to deal with injuries and fitness issues that have rocked the team, who are in the 12th position. As Rangers hit the road to face El Kanemi Warriors tomorrow, Udi has been dealt a big blow that striker Bobby Clement will be missing in action for at least 30 days due to a groin injury. Clement’s last game for the Flying Antelopes was the 3-2 loss to Ifeanyi Ubah at the Nnamdi Azikwe stadium, Enugu.

•Duke Udi

Rangers are also sweating on the fitness of on-form Orionode Odah, who is nursing an inflamed knee. Meanwhile, former Rangers forward Brendan Ogbu has been training with the coal city side with a view to sealing a deal. Ogbuhas featured for sides like Heartland and Warri Wolves.

FIXTURES Sharks Ifeanyi Uba Giwa Dolphins El Kanemi Warriors Wikki Tourist Heartland Shooting Stars Nasarawa United Taraba

v v v v v v v v v v

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

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

34 — SATURDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 29, 2015

SPORTS DEVELOPMENT:

Buhari sends signals *He will be our Mandela, Pinnick says By ONOCHIE ANIBEZE

AMAJU Pinnick admits that Nigeria is passing through difficult times but he is very hopeful that the country will be a better place for all with time. His meeting with President Mohammadu Buhari has triggered some tremendous hope in the project Nigeria. “Nothing good comes easy. Repairing Nigeria will not be easy for Buhari but I see him ending up like a Mandela,” Pinnick said after he accompanied Alhassan Yakmut to Aso Villa, last Monday. The National Sports Commission was at the Villa to brief the President on next month’s All Africa Games in Congo and other sports matters and Pinnick, who is the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was in the team led by Yakmut, the Director-General. Pinnick left the Villa with a huge impression of the President, who has made more news fighting corruption than any other aspect of governance. “Based on what I have seen of the President,” Amaju continues, “he is passionate about righting the wrongs in Nigeria and I don’t see him relenting. It therefore falls on Nigerians to strongly back his vision and work with his government to take Nigeria to the level we will all be proud of.” Pinnick was at the Villa for sports but he spoke more on the personality, vision of Buhari and his burning desire to repair Nigeria including sports. Was he talking politics then? Let’s see. When President Buhari spoke about sports, Pinnick’s respect for him grew more. Yakmut had made a presentation that Pinnick described as brilliant. The President was said to have C M Y K

asked some questions thereafter and when football was mentioned, he retorted, “football will fetch only one medal but a sport like swimming will fetch many.” The sports delegation was impressed. The President had sent a message to them. With that remark he had sent signals that he would like other sports developed too. Buhari recognises that football is Nigeria’s number one sport but he probably recognises too that sports is a great employer of labour and given that creating jobs is one of his major objectives (the other two being tackling corruption and security problems) he would like to explore the opportunities sports could avail the economy especially in terms of employment of labour. Just some few words and the sports delegation had a picture of President Buhari’s mind. Alhassan appreciates the direction better and has vowed to pursue the President’s dream of developing other sports. But he needs government’s funding and Corporate Nigeria to achieve

Buhari’s dream. It means that the ball will still roll back to the President. The state of Nigerian sports requires a lot of government funding to develop facilities and athletes. This is simply so because we lack the stars that usually attract the corporate world. It is usually difficult for the corporate world to invest where they may not enjoy immediate gains. Stars attract visibility. And when there are no stars the companies rarely invest in sports. Only a few will do. That is what Nigerian sports is going through now. However, it is a global phenomenon. But with the right government policies and dynamic sports administrators, great mileage can accrue to sports even in the aforesaid circumstance. But government should always lead the way and the corporate world will follow. And since our sports is below par the President is needed to show the light in many ways especially in funding. And he may establish the structure to monitor government’s investment in sports otherwise the hawks that have diminished our

Buhari and Pinnick in Aso Rock during the week

*Super Eagles Players coolling off-during a trainingsession

We were at the Stock Exchange to worm our way into corporate Nigeria, knowing that they are the alternate funding we need to grow the game of football

sports all these years will continue to prowl and our story will remain the same. Yakut has been around in sports and understands the terrain. He knows the difference great leadership will make. Pinnick says Buhari has such great leadership qualities that he sees light at the end of the tunnel for Nigeria. “I studied political science and I know what leadership can do for a nation,” Pinnick says, adding “Hanx Mongethau in his book Politics Among Nations said that the most important factor that makes a nation great is leadership because leadership is the only animic factor that coordinates all other factors for social development. That leadership is what Buhari is providing now. He is firm and passionate about rebuilding Nigeria.” Pinnick went on to

Before the election...Pinnick and B

Buhari

Rangers

SATURDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 29, 2015 — 35

storm Atlanta By Dan Ikpechukwu, Atlanta

describe the person of the President this way: “He is simple, decorous, calm and his knowledge of many issues including sports is amazing. I first met him when he was campaigning and he was delightful when I was introduced as NFF President.” The NFF boss was not done on the President. He has easily become one of Buhari’s fans and even wore a native attire common in the North and which the President is known for. “The President also cracks jokes and really made us feel good,” he said. He was recently appointed into the Fifa Under 20 World Cup Organising Committee for which he celebrated this way: “It’s not about me but recognition for Nigeria. I was humbled by that appointment. It means that Fifa believes in us. And coming now that Fifa is carrying out reforms shows great recognition. It’s good for Nigeria.”

Pinnick achieved a lot marketing football in Delta State although the performance of Warri Wolves, the state football team could not match his efforts outside the pitch. He appears to be pulling the strings again as President of Nigeria’s Football Federation and hoping that results in the field will justify his marketing drives. And no matter his efforts outside the pitch if results on the pitch are not encouraging Nigerians will not fail to throw stones. He hopes that Sunday Oliseh and his crew will bring smiles to the people. “We were at the Stock Exchange to worm our way into corporate Nigeria, knowing that they are the alternate funding we need to grow the game of football,” Pinnick says and quickly adds “we cannot get it wrong if we court them well and they support us.” It is important he knows everything will be wrong if the performance of the Eagles and other national teams sends wrong signals. He started the interview with Buhari and ended it with the President. “Personally, I feel touched by the in-depth knowledge of Mr President in sports. He cracks jokes and he is intelligent. He is in-tune with the realities of sports and beyond. Nothing good comes easy but he has shown great character to succeed and I know that he will end up as the Mandela of our country”. Late Dr Nelson Mandela was a global icon. He fought apartheid, went to prison, became first black President of South Africa during which they won Africa’s Nations Cup, World Rugby Cup and he left legacy that saw South Africa host the Fifa World Cup in 2010, the only African country to have done so. Some tall order for Buhari, one may say. In his first coming as military Head of State, President Buhari savoured the honour of leading Nigeria when the country made huge reckoning for the first time in global football, winning the maiden Fifa Under 16 World Cup that is now Under 17 World Cup. Can he taste as many victories as Mandela did? Such dreams are uncalled for. Pinnick surely meant that Buhari could command the integrity that followed Mandela here and to the great beyond. Buhari will only be marking 100 days in office next week, precisely September 6 and still has a long way to go. But he, surely, has started well and time will tell.

HE city of Atlanta, USA is today witnessing a convergence of former and current soccer stars and lovers of the game of soccer as former players of Enugu Rangers International Football Club resident in the United States of America under the name, ExEnugu Rangers USA Incorporated are organizing an event to honor the legends of the club and Nigerian football as well. Speaking to Vanguard Newspaper in Atlanta, the founding and present chairman of the organization Donald Igwebuike who played for Rangers International and Green Eagles in the 70s, disclosed that the event is aimed at not only honoring the former Rangers players who used their skill to entertain and win laurels for the great city of Enugu in Nigeria but to also immortalize one of the greatest soccer clubs in Africa, Enugu Rangers. Igwebuike popularly known as “stone” during his playing days both in Nigeria and the USA, enthused, “ we are exceedingly excited as exRangers players living in the US to have the opportunity of uniting for a common purpose to cherish the club which brought out the best in us and to also continue to help and encourage each other as we use to do in the field.” He went further to enumerate that the mission of the organization is to use their financial resources to help former players of the club who are either going through some health or life challenges, continue to enjoy the unity of the members of the organization and sow the seed with the current players of the team. In attendance in the Atlanta event today are notable legends of the club like the longest captain of Rangers and Eagles, “chairman” Christian Chukwu and keeper Emma Okala. Others are Ikechukwu Ofoje, Sam Onyeka, Ifeanyi Onyedika, Totty Okoro Totty, Nwankwo Kanu and Jay Jay Okocha. Others are Mike Nwanolue, Nnamdi Anyafor, Emma Merenini, Kenneth Boardman, Dominic Ezeani, Mike Emenalo, Azuka Harbor, Charles Adimora, Kenneth Ilodigwe, Anthony Orji, Charles Okonkwo and Chibuzor Ehilegbu. Nigerian match commissioner and seasoned soccer administrator as well as Nollywood star, Diewait Ikpechukwu is expected to be the keynote speaker at the event while Dr. Chuka Onwumechili, a professor of communication at Howard University in Washington DC will be on hand to provide some background history of the club as a former sports writer in Nigeria.

TOURE: Messi my dream player

rs in his four Barcelona playe aya Toure has picked The only surprise was that ideal five-a-side team.Coast stopper Jean-Jacques r Ivory in goal he chose forme “a n ex pe rie nc ed an d gr ea t as ed rib sc the 2006 Ti zi e, de al for Ivory Coast at go pt ke He . r” pe ee ll goalk tba outside never played club foo World Cup finals, but yol was in because he is “a great Africa.Barca legend Pu der, always committed, always lea defender and great game.” ery ev in players he 100 per cent me the top five from na na stars, But Yaya, asked to elo rc Ba r fou e, chose has played alongsid ger play there.Eto’o is the only although three no lon to be named African Footballer e, player, other than Tour and he is described as “a great, , es tim r re when you of the Year fou one who is always the great goalscorer, some vitable, and Yaya says: “Anyone ine enjoy it”. want him.”Messi was him at Barcelona will th wi y pla who gets to

C M Y K

36 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SA TURD AY Vanguard, A UGUST 29, 2015 SATURD TURDA AUGUST

Koma So ta celebrat es 80 in London Sota celebrates

rs Koma Sota, a retired Nursing Matron in Lagos and London turned 80 in June. Family, friends and members of the Itsekiri community meetings in London turned out to dance and celebrate with her.

Mrs Koma Sota, with some of the Itsekiri Community Meetings members

Mrs Koma Sota at 80 in London.

Mrs Koma Sota, dancing, as members of the Itsekiri Meetings cheer her on.

Ikechukwu Honours wif e, bab thda wife, babyy at Bir Birthda thdayy with car gif giftt

Vanguardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FFestus estus Ahon buries mum THE burial ceremony of Mrs Mary Eyikimi Ahon, mother of comrade Festus Ahon of the Vanguard newspapers held last weekend at Oria-Abraka, Delta State. The event is captured in pictures by Nath Onojake.

. R-: Mr Moses Ahon, Engr Martins Ahon and Comrade Festus Ahon, all children of the deceased

Comrade Festus Ahon, his wife, Vivian (M), Mr Fred Odueme(3rd R), Mr Solomon Nwoke (2nd R), Mr Jackson Otueso (3rd R), Comrade Innocent Anaba (1st L), Mr Sunny Awevia (2nd L) and Mr Emeka Nkwocha 3rd L), while Mr Aliu Adekunle posed behind.

t was celebration galore on Sunday August 23, 2015 in the home of the Ikechukwus as the head and breadwinner Mr. Ikechukwu Great Umeh gathered friends and well wishers to celebrate the birthday of his beautiful wife, Mrs. Egoyibo Augusta Ikechukwu and Baby girl, Precious Chimamanda Ikechukwu same day with pomp and glamour. The celebrants got a surprise gift of car to the admiration of those present.

R-L, Hon Taleb Tebite, Hon Solomon Igrakpata, Comrade Festus Ahon, Hon Denis Omovie and Comrade Elijah Ologe

Graduation

GRADUATION ceremony of Pharm (Mrs) Preciou Badejo at West African Postgraduate College held at Welcome Centre Hotel hall, Lagos recently

Mr. Ikechukwu Great Umeh with wife and kid

Mr. Ikechukwu Great Umeh and friends praying and admiring the new car

Mrs. Egoyibo Augusta Ikechukwu and Baby girl, Precious Chimamanda Ikechukwu.

Pharm (Mrs) Precious Badejo

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—37

38—VANGUARD, SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2015

Emodi comes with joy to education By Emmanuel Aziken

T is a sort of homecoming for Senator Joy Emodi. After successive strides in politics and law, Mrs. Emodi has returned to education where she started, albeit professionally. A trained educationist before venturing into law and then politics, Senator Emodi famed nationally as the Joy of the Senate has commenced a new venture to in the words of some admirers bring joy to education with the opening of one of the best private schools in Abuja. "Education has always been my first love in terms of passion, training and career. I went into teaching and education administration before going back to school to study Law and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988,” Senator Emodi told Vanguard in an interview. Her jaunt to law and subsequently politics, she said came after she had obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography Education from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Mrs. Emodi is returning to education at least with a bang with the official commissioning today of her school, The Brickhall School in Abuja. “This school project is my C M Y K

•Brickhall School under construction. Inset is Senator Joy Emodi own way of making practical interventions and giving back to the society. It is an amalgamation of the ideas I gathered from within Nigeria and internationally that fired my zeal to set up the Brickhall School. I sieved from all the education experience and came out with what I feel should be the model for an effective and efficient educational system in Nigeria.” Located in the Cadastral

Zone of Kaura District and sited between the Games Village and Sun City, Brickhall, Mrs. Emodi asked of the unique offering she is bringing to the school spoke of her determination to bring the best of British education to blend with the best offering of Nigerian culture and educational philosophy. “The good thing about us is that Brickhall School operates Nigerian/British curriculum in

its truest form. It is a good blend of both international and local contents and flavours for the effective teaching and learning methods for the overall development of the child. “We also teach Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba in addition to French language to ensure that every child is well grounded in the local culture and also have exposure to a major international language. “Education is not all about

reading and writing and passing exams. We teach etiquette, civics and moral education to ensure that they are moulded into complete citizens and up-to-date of the acceptable social behaviours as well as civic responsibilities that help them fit perfectly into the wider society as good citizens as they grow.” The school which is opening as a day school and would in the near future take in boarding describes itself thus: “Brickhall School is a purpose-built early year to Primary school set in its own grounds. It currently plans to educate children aged from 1 to 9 years old. Brickhall will open its doors in August of 2015 for children from PlayGroup to Year. 4. “In line with our Brickhall standards classrooms are large, light and airy. The school is very well resourced in order to meet the needs of the curriculum. Our curriculum is broadly based on the English Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and the British National Curriculum. However, we ensure that our curriculum does reflect the needs, culture and history of our school’s multinational community and, of course, our host country Nigeria."

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—39

C M Y K

40—SATURDAY

Vanguard,AUGUST 29, 2015

Just Female:

Bridget’s mission to motherhood

N encounter with Bridget Osho is a delightful experience. Wife, mother, entrepreneur, writer, and researcher all rolled into one, Bridget defines herself as “a woman on a mission to support women on their journeys to motherhood from pre-conception through the post natal period”. A holistic fertility therapist with a difference, Bridget is on a mission to stop women losing their pregnancies. Currently studying for a PhD degree at Birkbeck, University of London, her research is focused on determining the factors for stillbirth occurrences and being able to detect vulnerable women at risk of losing their pregnancies. Her ultimate goal is to contribute some knowledge, however little, to better understand and prevent stillbirths. And without doubt, Bridget, now a proud mother of two healthy children conceived naturally, is effectively helping women improve their chances of conception and pregnancy and to have healthy babies using natural and holistic methods through the practical and effective solutions through her brain child — Cherie Mamma. Through online courses, workshops, one-to-one consultations, private coaching and other resources to •Bridget women who are planning to get pregnant or who already are slight but consistent changes to their lifestyles in benefiting, she is making a difference. order to conceive healthy babies. It all began in 2009, after she suffered a “I therefore promote natural fertility solutions to stillbirth at nearly seven months into pregnancy the prevention and treatment of most fertility and doctors couldn’t really tell her why. problems. This takes the form of a holistic After going through a difficult period during approach which is rooted in a healthy lifestyle which she tried to come to terms with the loss, and the use of natural remedies from around the Bridget was motivated to begin to think of ways world, the healing power of food and the use of to help her and other women during pregnancy. alternative and conventional practices.” And so Cherie Mamma was born. A health geographer, from her first degree when Cherie Mamma is a platform that offers holistic she studied malaria prevalence in a Nigerian city, fertility therapy to help couples resolve fertility Bridget is fascinated about the dynamics of health challenges. This platform offers a form of and disease. healing that considers the whole person - body, “I am always asking why some people are more mind, spirit and emotions— in order to achieve a vulnerable to disease than others,” she confessed. successful pregnancy. So it was no surprise that she focused on “Through Cherie Mamma, I started to create respiratory diseases for her Masters degree in products and resources to help women through Environmental Management, worked as a pregnancy. I collaborated with midwives, Geographical Information Systems, (GIS) analyst nutritionists and fitness instructors to provide for about six years. useful tools. After a while, I decided to study to From her perspective, the principle become a holistic fertility therapist so that I can underpinning this is that the body needs to be help women directly. balanced in all these aspects to achieve optimal “The more I researched, the more I became health. “Once there is an imbalance in one or convinced that the holistic approach is a viable more areas, normal bodily functions such as way to prevent and treat most preconception/ conception become very difficult.” pregnancy complications. In fact, this is probably To this end, Bridget utilises cutting-edge natural true of most diseases. and holistic strategies to recognise and correct This discovery was also strengthened by imbalances. “These strategies gently stimulate the research carried out by Oxford and Harvard body’s own healing process. Some are Nutritional Universities which confirmed that 8 out of 10 Therapy; Manipulative Body Therapies such as couples struggling to conceive only need to make

massage and acupuncture; Body-Mind Intervention Techniques like visualisation techniques and the use of herbs and supplements. Since these methods are based on natural techniques, they generally do not have side effects and are very gentle on the body.” Bridget argues that data from Havard and Oxford show that for 80 percent of couples, these natural strategies are all they need to resolve infertility, while for the remaining 20 percent who need medical treatments, these strategies can also facilitate their treatment and help to reduce side effects. In one of her discussions on natural fertility treatment, Bridget observed that many women already have a good idea of medical fertility treatment. She said women already know that doctors can sometimes help with fertility problems by giving medicines, doing surgeries and advanced solutions like IVF and IUI. But apart from the occasional notice or advert that promises some miraculous recovery from fertility problems or the herbal mixture suggested by well meaning friends, most people have little contact with natural fertility treatment. “Natural fertility treatment seeks to understand and correct irregularities in the system to make conception occur. In most cases, it is holistic in that it examines and seeks to treat every aspect the person instead if just focussing on one aspect. “So for instance, if a woman is not ovulating, the natural fertility therapist will be interested in your menstrual period, your sleeping habits, headaches if any, your worklife balance and many other things. This is built on the premise that every part of the body works together and disharmony in one part will often cause problems in other parts. “The natural fertility therapist will then create a personal treatment plan for the person who might include things like suggested lifestyle changes, diet changes, herbal supplements, relaxation techniques and even other alternative treatments like acupressure! So don’t expect a quick fix or a quick answer to the question, what supplement should I take? Bridget says natural fertility therapist won’t force a treatment place on the client and so will always try to adjust treatment plans to suit the client’s beliefs and preference where possible because it is important for the client to be happy with the treatment and not be another source of discomfort. “Natural fertility treatment certainly works! It has been practised for centuries in many parts of the world with resounding success. What’s more, there are cases where it resolves problems which medical doctors haven’t been able to resolve. Contrary to what many people might think, there is a science to natural therapy”. If you have suffered a stillbirth and you are willing to participate or volunteer in research into the occurrence of stillbirths, Bridget is just the person to contact. To begin your own gentle and natural fertility treatment, simply get started with an assessment during a personal preconception strategy session. This is a consultation during which any imbalance(s) is identified and a treatment plan is put together for you. A natural fertility treatment plan is usually a combination of the strategies highlighted earlier. This is very useful because it is personal and it takes the guesswork out of your journey. You will know exactly what you need to do to improve your chances of conceiving naturally. Bridget holds a Q&A session every Friday at 5pm - 6pm on www.facebook.com/cheriemamma or contact her at babies@cheriemamma.com. So if you are trying to have a baby and are tired of taking drugs, some of which have terrible side effects or haven’t worked for you, why don’t you try natural fertility therapy? You might be pleasantly surprised at the outcome!

SATURDAY

Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—41

Vanguard, SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015 —41

Lifestyle

Weight plan that conquers obesity

HERE are many ways to lose a lot of weight fast, however, they make people hungry and unsatisfied. If you don’t have the willpower, hunger will cause you to give up on these plans quickly. The fastest way to lose weight is as follows. First reduce your appetite significantly. Second, this will make you lose weight fast, without being hungry. Third, it will improve your metabolic health at the same time. But this is much easier said than done. Recently, a couple of readers who wanted to lose weight fast contacted me for a reference to a reliable weight loss provider. Both were quite overweight, obese and unhappy with their physical and physiological health. They had tried numerous programmes for a while without much success. The first had been on a strict vegan diet and exercise regime for weeks. The other was obsessed with the Mediterranean-style diet and its long-lasting health benefits. However, they really had not had much luck. When I asked if they had heard about the Cambridge Weight Plan, they answered in the negative. Many Nigerians struggle with obesity without knowing what it really is. In many cases it is a lifelong battle to drop any excess weight, because there is no “quick •Ayoola Apampa, a beneficiary of Cambridge fix” for losing weight fast. Weight Plan before and after Everyone needs to know health problems. Being that obesity is a medical lack of sleep, smoking, age obese increases your risk condition in which excess to lack of exercise. of diabetes, heart disease, body fat accumulates to the Dieting and exercise are stroke, arthritis, and some extent that it may have a main treatments for cancers. negative effect on health, obesity. Weight loss The causes range from leading to reduced life programmes take time and hereditary, pregnancy, expectancy and/ or increased commitment, but they work SEXUAL ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS

nother means of getting a solution to this fatal problem in marriage is by;3)Turning off any distractions. Agree to charge your cell phones on the kitchen counter and leave your laptops in the living room or study. Reclaim your bedroom for the two of you to be intimate together, rather than sending text messages, email and chatting. Eliminate distractions that may be coming between you and your partner, especially in the bedroom Hello Viewden, Thank you for your regular advice to issues bothering people. You have been of help to me cos I use to suffer from serious body pains and when I took the Gingko tea with the Cleanshield liquid, I got relieved of my pains. Thank you very much-Ola Thank you very much sir, we are always happy to hear this kind of good news when someone gets relief by taking the recommended products. I got Plant vigra as recommended in the last article and to my surprise, I got a very hard erection after a very long time. I feel so young and strong again. I hope it won't have any side effect as I'm about 60 years of age? Can I also take it with the Gingko tea? Cos I learnt it helps rejuvenate and detoxifies the body- Lanre Plant vigra is a potent herbal aphrodisiac that helps give strong erection on demand some thirty minutes before sex. It is very safe without side effect and can also be

best when people are able to complete the programmes fully and are offered advice about maintaining the weight loss achieved. Many Nigerian dishes contain a lot of fats, oils, carbohydrates and overcooked vegetables. This largely unhealthy diet and unbalanced diet, coupled with relative inactivity of many individuals contribute to obesity. However, the Cambridge Weight Plan is a very low calorie diet is mostly recommended for people looking to lose and manage their weight. It shows rapid visual results, which is what provides motivation for individuals to stay on the path of a healthy lifestyle. A low-calorie diet, even in people who are not obese, can lead to changes in metabolism

and body chemistry that have been linked to better health and longer life, researchers are reporting. With the VLCD individuals in many cases are given the mental encouragement to meet their ideal weight because the result is almost immediate. From this point they can maintain their weight. This Plan is made up of shakes, bars, soups and porridge. The products can be used on their own, for fast weight loss or they can be used in tandem with normal meals for a more gradual weight loss. The aim was to create a formula food with excellent weight loss properties but no undesirable side effects. It needs to contain the right level of protein to protect lean tissue; the right level of carbohydrate to promote a mild ketosis and eliminate hunger, and the right level of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and essential fatty acids to maintain good health. For more information, contact info@cambridgeweightplannigeria.com

HOW TO DEAL WITH SEX PROBLEMS IN MARRIAGE III used by people with health issue. Yes Plant Vigra can be taken along with Gingko tea or any other erection aids cos it helps detoxifies the system, reduce blood sugar, lower blood pressure and does so much more for the body in general.Gingko teais a good choice alongside Plant vigra for the best of result. I got a vibrator from you sometimes last year called the Purple Jelly Caribbean. Is it still in stock and what other new vibrators for women do you have? Jane Hello jane, the Jelly Caribbean is in stock and we also have new toys like the Moonlight rabbit, Ultimate Rabbit, Squirmy Touch me, Royal rabbit kit to mention but a few. But you can visit our website to see more of what we have. Iam a 59 year old man suffering from diabetes and haven't gotten an erection in the last one year. Please help me out- James Hello James, I'm sure the drugs you are using to treat the diabetes is what's affecting your erectile system. The best I'll recommend to you to start the treatment with is the Cleanshield liquid and Vimax. This duo will really help in lowering the blood sugar as well as correcting the erectile dysfunction and giving you a good erection. Note- the result you get might start very slowly with weak erection, but that means it's coming up. I'm sure by the 2ndmonth of taking Cleanshield with Vimax, you will get a good result. Please I'd like to know if the

Vigrx plus and plump cream is now in stock? Cos I haven't completed my therapy for penis enlargement and I'd called sometimes ago and I was told they weren't availableChuks Chuks, Vigrx plus with plump cream is now available and you can place your order now. I hope you didn't give a break in the usage of the products. For the best of result in enlargement, we advise you take these products back to back without missing a day and following the instruction on the usage of the cream. I have just gotten married, both myself and my wife are virgins and don't know how to go about sex. Someone recommended you to us for sex educational movies and book. Are they available and can we get some? Jack Hello Jack, yes we have sex educational movies from couples like Introduction to couples' sexploration,books like 365 sex positions, 269 amazing sex play to mention but a few which will take you through the basics of sex without stress. We can deliver to you wherever you are. Just place your orders over phone or online. These are all we can take for today. Adults who needs any of these aphrodisiacs can call us on 08034666358, 07059294782 or place your orders at www.viewden.com. For further enquiries, send us an email at vieweden@yahoo.com, viewden@ymail.com Kemi Fawole (MD)

42—SA TURD AY 42—SATURD TURDA

Vanguard, A UGUST 29, 2015 AUGUST

ast Saturday, I was a member of a panel of discussants at a youth forum. One of the questions that came via SMS was from a young man who claimed his fiancée is HIV positive, what should he do? In my response, I said the first issue is, does he love the lady sufficiently enough to want to spend the rest of his life with her? If the response is yes, then he should deal with the HIV issue along with the other issues people involved in courtship should deal with. First, courtship is a time for them to get to know each other well enough to decide whether or not to get married. Do they share similar interests and core values? Are they friends? Are they be. However, there is still no cure for ready to put up with each other ’s short AIDS, but effective treatment with comings for the rest of their lives…? antiretroviral therapy (ART) can Marrying an HIV positive person does suppress the virus and help people come with sacrifice and strict discipline, with HIV live healthy, normal and but the couple can live normally like productive lives. other married couples and give birth to What challenges do HIV negative HIV-free children. Other panelists spoke people with HIV positive spouses face in similar vein, with the reverend and how do they overcome them? To gentleman in the panel stressing the start with, unprotected sex is out of importance of the sacrificial nature of it. Such couples should engage only marital love. in safe sex, that is, using condoms, to protect the HIV negative spouse. ut one young man in the audience Living with HIV and deciding to get would have none of it. As far as he married presupposes that you have was concerned, we were talking theory. chosen the option to live and therefore He said in practice nobody would take you are on ART, which reduces the that “dangerous” plunge. He said he amount of virus in your blood and body cannot even mention it to his parents, fluids. The treatment also greatly neither can anybody. I would have let reduces the chances of transmitting the matter be, but he got a lot of applause HIV to the HIV-free spouse because and “go on” from the audience, which of the reduction in viral load. means, that is probably also the thinking One bitter truth, however, is that as of many people. long as there is sexual intercourse, the Now, let us leave prejudice and look at HIV-negative spouse is exposed to the facts. The human immunodeficiency infection. Some experts therefore virus (HIV) is the virus that causes HIV advise that the HIV-negative spouse infection and acquired immunodeficiency should take an HIV-prevention pill a syndrome (AIDS). The virus can be day. Where there is reasonable reason spread through blood transfusion, to believe that the HIV-free spouse is seminal fluid, vaginal fluid and breast exposed if, for instance, the condom milk. AIDS did claim many lives in those breaks during sex, they should contact days (about 35 million people worldwide their physician immediately who will with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for place the concerned spouse on the the bulk as at 2012), but over time, it is necessary drugs also referred to as no longer the death sentence it used to

“My fiancée is HIV +…”

post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). So an HIV positive and HIV negative couple can have an active sex life. The other major concern is that can they have healthy, HIV-free children? The answer is capital YES. But before we get to that let us acknowledge that the HIV virus can be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, labour, delivery and breastfeeding. This is known as perinatal or vertical transmission and accounts for about 90 per cent of cases of HIV in children.

aving babies by such couples does not follow the normal process of intercourse since they should not have unprotected sex. The husband’s semen, therefore, has to be extracted and introduced into the wife. Once the woman gets pregnant, she should be on ART, especially after the first trimester. A prior effective ART regimen should have reduced her viral load thereby reducing chances of HIV transmission to the unborn baby. She will continue with her ART through pregnancy (based on doctor ’s advice) and during childbirth to help reduce the chances of HIV transmission to the child. It is not compulsory but advisable that she

delivers via caesarian instead of normal birth to reduce the risk of infecting the baby. Anybody who has witnessed childbirth knows it is a bloody affair, and blood is one of the main vehicles of transmission of HIV. After childbirth, the baby also needs to be on ART for the first six weeks, especially, and undergo periodic test for HIV. Hopefully with all the precautions the baby will be HIV free. The mother is advised not to breastfeed. Mothers’ breast milk is very important for babies, but the baby ’s HIV-free status is more important. The other issue is that research is not yet conclusive on the long term effect of ART on the children.

o our friend who asked the question, there you have it. You have your decision cut out. Then to the young man in the audience who said we are speaking theory, there are some Nigerian couples in this situation and they are living normal lives with healthy, HIV-free babies. Many people ignorantly assume that all HIV carriers are homosexuals or promiscuous people; that is partly responsible for the lingering stigmatization. But this is not always the case. Many innocently got infected through blood transfusion, sharing of body-piercing objects, clippers, promiscuous spouses/ partners and unsterilized medical and dental equipment, etc. Many of those stigmatizing HIV carriers have been exposed to similar situations or were even more promiscuous, but escaped unscathed. Let us stop this stigmatization. Marriage (man and woman) is a personal choice and we should get used to people’s legitimate choices. Love conquers all.

Who is afraid of diligent screening by Senate BY SOLA ONIGBANJO

he chicken is coming

home to roost. President Muhammadu Buhari is beginning to name appointees to sensitive positions. The implication of this is that we will begin to decipher the character of the administration from the background of the individuals that will be appointed by the administration. While many Nigerians are confident that the President who has taken so much time to make the appointments would have done due diligence and proper checks on the individuals, we still believe that other constitutional checks put in place by the system should be activated and made more potent, focused and effective to let us know more about the antecedents and suitability of the appointees. After all, the drafters of our constitution, in their wisdom, have their reasons to believe that the principle of checks and balances as espoused by A. ,V. Dicey and others will serve us better. Thus, they called on the legislature to do a double check on those to serve in key executive positions, through what is now known as screening process. It is against the above background that one believe that the Senate will get ready to perform their constitutional role, though with all sense of responsibility, whenever, Mr.

•Senate Babatunde Fowler who was recently appointed as Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, appears before the upper legislative body. As the proposed head of the nation’s revenue generation body, the Senate ought to really let us know the background of Mr. Fowler, what he represents, what he has done before in his past job and his qualifications. More importantly, Mr. Fowler’s most recent and important job is as Chairman of Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS), the biggest state revenue agency in the country. There is particularly the issue of the way he gave out

consultancy contract for the collection of the state’s revenue to a firm. Yes, between 2005 and 2013 that he was in charge, Lagos State revenue jumped from N3.5 billion a month to N21bn. However, 15 percent of this N21bn which amount to N3.6bn is being paid to the company every month. That payment continues till today. And what services does this company provide? Just collation of receipts. What a lucrative job! . Fowler therefore needs to explain that we can trust him with the national revenue by convincing us that in the case mentioned he acted in the best

interest of Lagosians. He needs to let all of us know that there was no iota of favouritism, nepotism and corruption in the deal in which a firm collects such huge amount on a monthly basis. Perhaps, it is the fear that Fowler may be made to account for how he managed the resources of Lagos State and how differently he can handle Nigeria’s money that has made some politicians believed to be his sponsors to start waging a campaign aimed at intimidating, over-awing, compromising and suppressing the Senate so that members will not dare to ask the new revenue collector about Lagos.

Let it be known that Nigerians are behind the Senate in their bid to do a critical, clinical and correct grilling of political appointees. The era of bow and go, business as usual and let my people go has gone. One of the best ways to manifest change which the All Progressives Congress (APC) promised us is for the Senate to make public officers transparent, responsible and accountable to the people. The leadership of the Eight Senate has always claimed that it will do things differently and will be transparent. The Senate should not succumb to blackmail. It should refuse to bow to the wishes of one man. All efforts to intimidate it should be resisted and ignored. Those who are set to always label any attempt by the Senate to do its work efficiently as a move against Buhari should be ignored. The Senate will serve Nigerians better by unveiling those who want to be ministers, ambassadors and other heads of MDAs should be ready to submit to scrutiny. This open screening, well focused and revealing screening should however not be reserved for Fowler alone. It should be extended to all appointees that will go for screening. The Senate should start creating a template or model for the future. After all, that is part of the lessons we should learn from the masters of presidential democracy, the United States. Onigbanjo wrote from Ita Faji, Lagos

SA TURD AY SATURD TURDA

Vanguard, A UGUST 29 AUGUST 29,, 2015—43

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

Sitting down can be as dangerous to your health as smoking!

EVERAL recent studies have discovered that sitting too long can be as dangerous to your health as smoking. It more than doubles your risk of diabetes and is linked with an increase in heart disease. In fact, inactivity is the fourth biggest killer of adults, according to the World Health Organisation. And the scariest thing of all? The results are the same however much exercise people do when they’re not sitting down. “Most people think that if they work out every day that’s all they need to do,” says researcher, Dr. Emma Wilmot whose team at the University of Leicester analysed 18 studies incorporating a total of 800,000. “But those with jobs that require sitting all day may still be at risk. “When we sit for long periods of time, enzyme changes occur in our muscles that can lead to increased blood sugar levels. The effects happen very quickly and regular exercise won’t fully protect you.” Recounting her experience of how your back protests abruptly from prolong abuse, Gina, a copy writer said: “Leaning over my 11-yearold son to check on his homework, I felt an agonising pain ripped through my right shoulder and reverberated across my back. I’d never felt anything like it before— it was awful—like hot pins burning into my skin. I slumped on to a chair, trying to stop myself from screaming in pain. ‘Thinking I’d just pulled a feeling like an old woman. I muscle, I spent the next few thought I was quite fit and days on round-the-clock active, yet, suddenly doing painkillers. But the something as simple as throbbing in my back and lifting up one of my shoulders was so intense, it children, or driving, has made simple tasks such as become catastrophically driving almost impossible. painful. I think of myself as Three days later, I made an a young woman with a appointment with a young family but I’ve been physiotherapist and was hobbling around like I’m in stunned to hear that the my dotage. All because I’ve pain was not caused by any spent years in a desk job.” injury but by over 20 years of sitting at a desk.” Gina in “The body needs mobility,” her early 40s, is one of a says Wilmot. “Our spines are growing number of women comprised 26 mobile blocks suffering from the barely of bone (vertebrae) which recognised phenomenon rotate, bend, extend, and are ‘sitting-down disease.’ The designed for movement. average adult spends Knees, hips, ankles and feet between 50 and 70 per cent are all mobile joints too. Sit of their day sitting down, in a chair for hours a day, whether it’s behind the five days a week and the wheel of a car or in front of spine does not move, the a desk, computer or TV. Dr. knees and hips are held in a Nvfamot’s team found that fixed position, your body will people who sit the longest get stiff, the muscles get are twice as likely to have weak and your body gets diabetes or heart disease as sore. Hunching over a those who sit the least. The computer increases team also reported that compression through the sitting for long periods appears to raise the risk of kidney disease, especially in women. And that muscle, joint and back pain like that experienced by Gina is becoming increasingly common among middleclass high-achievers, who spend most of their lives sitting down. Gina, a mother-of-four said she used to spend ten hours a day sitting down to work as a copywriter in a publishing company. She now wishes she’d been warned of the damage her desk job could do to her health. “It’s been awful hitting forty something and

Inactivity is the fourth biggest killer of adults

discs in the spine and causes stiffness and pain. It can even lead to a disc prolapsed—known as slipped disc. I use what I call the paperclip analog. You could bend a paperclip once a day for a month and it will still function as a paperclip. Then one day, it will just break. “I treat patients, all the time who think they have a

new injury but it is in fact, the result of years of desk work. Their injury is caused by what’s know as postural fixity—being stuck in one place.” Women who wear stilettos and pencil skirts to work are particularly vulnerable, she adds. High heels tip the pelvis forward when we walk or stand, weakening the back muscles, while slim-fitting skirts restrict

our joints’ range of movement when we sit down. So can you protect yourself from sitting-down disease without quitting your job? One simple way is not to sit for longer than 30 minutes without getting up. “Get a glass of water or 90 to speak to a colleague rather than email them,” advises Wilmot. “Not slouching is vital too. Sit up with your back straight, your shoulders down and back, and elbows relaxed at your sides. Your buttocks should touch the back of the chair. And avoid crossing your legs. “Your keyboard should be directly in front of you, with the mouse by its side, and your phone close to you to avoid repetitive reaching. You should be able to keep your wrist straight, shoulders relaxed and elbows by your side while using it. If you already have back, shoulder or knee pain, it’s important to be as active as possible as this will help your joints recover mobility.”

Oily fish can “fight deafness in the elderly.”

UST two servings of fish a week can slash the risk of hearing loss by a fifth, according to a new study. Oily fish such as sardines, salmon and mackerel are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have already been shown to stave off heart disease, dementia, cancer, depression and arthritis. Now a study of women has shown that consumption can lower the risk of deafness. US researchers looked at a study of 65,215 nurses who were followed between 1991 and 2009,during which time 11,606 cases of hearing loss were reported. In comparison with women who rarely consumed fish, those who ate it at least twice a week were 20 per cent less likely to develop deafness.

he study was published online by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. One of the authors—Dr. Sharon Curhan of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston—said acquired hearing loss was often a disabling chronic health condition. She added: ‘Although a decline in hearing is often considered an inevitable aspect of ageing the identification of several potentially modifiable risk factors has provided new insight into possibilities for prevention or delay of acquired hearing loss. Consumption of any type of fish— tuna, dark fish, light fish or

shellfish—tended to be associated with lower risk. These findings suggest diet may be important in the prevention of acquired hearing loss.’ Doctors say that eating fish, which is packed with vitamins and minerals, on a regular basis can help stave off a range of serious diseases and help protect health in later life. A previous study in 2008 found that eating oily fish two or more times a week could reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration— a common cause of blindness in older people. Research from 2004 also suggests that consumption of oily fish helped protect against heart disease, while other studies have found that it can lower blood pressure and reduce fat build-up in arteries. Alison Hornby, a spokesman for the British Dietetic Association, states on the NHS website: ‘The benefits of eating at least two portions of fish a week, including one of oily fish, include keeping your blood pressure at a healthy level and improving blood lipids, both of which reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, the biggest killer in the UK. You can get your omega-3 from a range of oily fish. Tinned sardines and mackerel are an easy way to stock up the store cupboard.’

44â&#x20AC;&#x201D;SATURDAY

Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015 YETUNDE AREBI Yetty5050@yahoo.co.uk tweeterhandle@yetundearebi 08054700825

Of love, life and double standards...

t came as a great shock to everyone when it was announced that Mr. Braimoh, also known as Daddy Bayo had taken a new wife. Well, not that he had walked another woman up the aisle or performed the traditional wedding rites with her, but he had gotten another woman pregnant. In African society, and indeed Nigeria's, once a child is conceived in a relationship, it instantly takes another life of its own, regardless of the marital status of the intending parents. A life time bond is instituted between the man and the mother of the child, regardless of their affection towards each other, even if the intimacy and desires between them burn out in future. The child, once paternity is accepted, becomes a part of the family, whether the woman holding the keys to the matrimonial legacy accepts it or not. It is this bond and the likely implications that constitute'madams' fear. And so it was for Mummy Bayo, who after 20 years of marriage and a very closely knit bond (they are also business partners) between her and her husband had assumed that all the hurdles had been crossed and the union was now on autopilot. Considering their humble beginnings it was only natural for her and perhaps all those who know them to follow this pattern of thought. The two had met while at Secondary school, daddy Bayo was two years her senior and the first born of a local rich chief in their home town. He'd gone straight into the family business alongside his father, learning the ropes of the business as well as carving out a percentage of it for himself. Two years later while Mummy Bayo was in her final year, the relationship was consummated and Bayo was conceived. Her family did not take kindly to the development but considering the local setting, especially financially and the willingness and readiness of the other family to take on the responsibility of both mother and child, the union was a done deal. So, she moved into Daddy Bayo's family house and together, they began their life's journey. Daddy Bayo soon clung to his wife, left the family business and they branched out on their own, building their business to become even bigger than their father's and the envy of many in the community. Like many wives' Mummy Bayo was the last to know about her husband's intimacy with another woman and by the time she did, the worst had already taken place. It was only natural that she ran to her own safe haven, her family. This was where we came into the picture as extended family members. Most considered it a great betrayal and did not fail to give Daddy Bayo a piece of caustic tongue lashing. After five lovely children who were doing well in their educational pursuit and a thriving joint business venture, why look for trouble? But many did not stop at the verbal intervention, they took their crusade to a much higher level. Mummy Bayo's mother and siblings led the battle. They claimed responsibility for what had happened, it was obvious that they had become too C M Y K

relaxed about certain things. Daddy Bayo's gentle mien, almost to the point of stupidity had fooled them so much that they thought him incapable of taking such a bold and daring step against his wife and children. They concluded that he must have been charmed by this other woman, otherwise, he would have thought twice about the implications of his amorous desires towards this strange woman. The situation was worsened especially after discovering that the new 'wife' was a divorcee with two children from a previous marriage. The 'witch', no matter how powerful her backers might be must not be allowed to sink her paws any deeper into Daddy Bayo's heart and pocket. It was a battle to be fought by any means possible by all willing stakeholders, mummy Bayo's mother cried out to her kinsmen. And together, they fought. From one spiritualist to another, both far and near were consulted. Prophets, Wollis, and Olushos of various coloured garments,

The situation was worsened especially after discovering that the new 'wife' was a divorcee with two children from a previous marriage. The 'witch', no matter how powerful her backers might be must not be allowed to sink her paws any deeper into Daddy Bayo's heart and pocket white, blue and possibly red were consulted, Alfas and herbalists did not escape the list, nothing must be left to chance. Baths were taken, concoctions were eaten and drank, incantations were recited, substances were sprayed and sprinkled anywhere and everywhere recommended. Daddy Bayo's project must fail. His affair with the strange woman must be stopped. His love affection for her must turn to repel and hatred. They must become like day and night, incompatible, never to meet again. The lady and her backers had obviously jumped the fence without scrutinising and ensuring a safe landing for themselves. Many of us were surprised that she was even able to deliver the child safely. They must have done some consultation of their own too, we concluded. But in this game of deception, the one with the more tentacles and superior arsenals wins. She lost and so did Daddy Bayo, if indeed he was truly in love with the woman. As if under a spell, Daddy Bayo returned home one night with the little girl, barely a year old, slung across his shoulders and handed her over

to Mummy Bayo, to be raised along with their five other children. We were informed that he even prostrated and swore never to cross his bounds ever again. Eight years after, Daddy Bayo has retired even further into his old shell, a thoroughly subdued spirit. Fast track to six years after, same family, but now, the main gladiator is a male sibling of Mummy Bayo. Mr. Badmus, also fondly called Daddy Sewa has travelled down the same ignoble road that Daddy Bayo once treaded. He has betrayed his wife and marriage of over 12 years, and this time, in a more dastardly manner. The shocking news left many perplexed and confused about how such a cold and inhumane act can be perpetuated by someone who professed love and promised to care for his wife. The gist was that Daddy Sewa had impregnated a married family friend of theirs. Naturally, it was obvious that the two morally corrupt lovers had sunk deep into the cesspit of their repulsive and scandalous affair and finding no way out of their ignominy, decided to take the walk of shame hand in hand, pretending to the world that they were truly in love. Narrating her plight to the family, Mummy Sewa said she had no idea such a thing was going on behind her because it was not something that she ever thought was possible. As far as she was concerned, she and her husband had an almost perfect relationship until her husband started finding faults with whatever she did, including their lovemaking. He told her point blank that he no longer found her sexually stimulating, plus all the usual excuses men give when they decide to 'move on'. By the time she realised what had happened, it was too late. But she had always had a very beautiful relationship with her mother-in-law, or so she thought. So she decided to seek refuge and comfort in her arms, believing that after hearing the whole sordid story, her mother-in-law and others will take sides with her and get rid of the other woman for her. But Mummy Sewa would later confide in many who cared to listen that she never knew she was living in fool's paradise. Daddy Sewa's new bride had already been sold as the epitome of womanhood to the family. The only point she could score at the end of the day was her revelation that the new Miss Goody Two-Shoes, was actually a mother and wife of a family friend. While her in-laws did find this a dishonourable development, they concluded that it made it all the more compelling for Mummy Sewa to control her temper and keep the matter as much a secret as possible, if indeed she was a good wife and had the best interest of her husband and home at heart. The deed had already been done and there was not much they could do for her, she was informed. Her mother in-law told her she would be fighting a futile battle as a child was already involved. "Nkan eni kii di meji ka ma binu", (do you get angry when your token becomes double? My translations, please)she warned her. Has your husband driven you from your matrimonial home, she asked. Has he not been paying the school fees of the children and taking care of your needs? What else do you want from a man other than these? Only a bad woman goes about complaining about her husband's affairs, if you remain calm, everything will sort itself out" Mama told her. This was obviously not the reaction that Mummy Sewa had expected as she could recall all that happened when Daddy Bayo had done the same thing in the family. But Mama's response to that question said it all. "That is my daughter and you are my son's wife. Your people are free to take you anywhere to seek help for your problems, just don't kill my son oh!" While we all condemned what had happened, there was absolutely nothing we could do but offer advice to both parties (husband and wife). Dejected with nowhere to turn to, Mummy Sewa has gradually become a shadow of old herself as she sits back and watches her once loving husband gallivanting shamelessly around town with another man's wife. Sometimes, when we meet at family gatherings and this pathetic situation comes up in discussions, there is always a divide opinion. While some are of the view that there must be more to the story, some of us are convinced it is just our way of life as a people. We lack standards for everything we do. Most of the time, Nigerians love to put their mouths where their money is. We support people and issues not entirely because they are on the right or because it is the truth, but what we stand to benefit from the events. Most of the time, what is good for the goose may not necessarily be same for the gander. Many Nigerians speak from both sides of their mouths depending on whose ox is being gored at that period. Truth and trust worthy people have become very expensive and rare to find in our midst and it has affected every aspect of our lives. Just take a look around you! Do have a wonderful weekend!

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—45

Powerful Prints A

•Anika Noni Rose

ccording to UNICEF Women do 60% of the worlds work but earn only 10% of the world’s income, while reinvesting 90% of their income into families and community. Therefore empowering African women and reorganising their contributions and role in the continents future economic transformation and social and social development has become imperative, says Mrs Maureen Ochem founder of the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF). Mrs Ochem believes there is need to empower the African woman because she represents the potential for Africa’s socio-economic development. AWIEF is set to hold a two day Pan-African conference for women across the globe women who share a common interest to improve their lives and be recognised and celebrated. The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) a premier, pan-African conference and exhibition event will bring together an exclusive group of thought leaders, women entrepreneurs and women in business, investors, amongst others.Mrs Ochem speaks more on the conference which holds from September 7-9 2015 at the Oriental Hotel Victoria Island Lagos, as well as her fashion and style.

What inspired the AWIEF conference, how did it come to bein? It all started from my upbringing. I was raised by a widowed mother. She struggled to train us and see us through our education. Again, Then, I have lived in different countries and continents, and in all the places where I’ve lived and travelled to, I have also observed the lack of recognition of women’s contribution to the economic development of the society. Then there are the obstacles most of these women have to go through. Maybe the situation is not very bad in the west, but in Africa it is. Also, across the world, it has become a global agenda that women must be empowered economically. It makes good economic sense because women have a natural instinct to do

powerful print can embolden anyone daring enough to stand out in a crowd. Take a short or full-length printed dress for a spin and watch the heads turn.

certain things. If you empower a woman, she tends to invest her earnings into the household, into the education of her children, and they go out to contribute to their communities, the nation and the African continent. So, why not give women the same opportunities men have? Women in Africa encounter a lot of challenges trying to start a business. Access to finance is one major problem, but having access to economic opportunities is where it starts. Then there are cultural obstacles. For example, in some communities, a woman cannot source for a loan without acquiring the signature of either her husband or a male figure, even though the person is not bringing anything into that business. In some societies, women don’t have rights to land, even in the Igbo community I come from. Then, across Africa, there is a lot of economic growth. Everybody is talking about Africa rising, Africa growing and Africa moving on. Having seen all of

borders, and also for potential business partnerships and mentorship. There will be a small fee to pay. But we have two very high-level training workshops for delegates. One will be on leadership and ethics, and will be presented by Leap Africa, and the facilitators are top-notch. Then the second one will be presented by the Business School Netherlands, and this is a school people go to get their MBA. This is one of the reasons why we are looking for sponsorships, because if we are able to raise enough sponsorship, then we will be able to make the participation free for all young and emerging entrepreneurs. So, we are working very hard to ensure that happens.

Most of the businesses owned by women are SMEs. How do you intend to empower them? A lot of the businesses we are talking about are MSMEs. Many of the female

•Copy the look

entrepreneurs face is access to credit. How can this be solved? We have a section dedicated to access to finance. We have experts who will make presentations on the topic. One of them is our speaker from Tanzania, Mrs. Sabeta Mawenja, who is the Director-General of the first purpose-built bank to empower women entrepreneurs. She is coming to present a casestudy on how we can innovate in the banking sector, just like they have done in Tanzania. Maybe after the event, a bank can come up and decide to open a bank dedicated for women. They ’ve done the same in Ethiopia. Then we will have a panel discussion with experts from the banking and business sectors. They will help us explore the problem and find solutions. Oby Ezekwesili will be making a presentation titled Securing the Future: The Imperative of Girl-Child Education. So, we have to educate the girl-child, keep her safe; that’s where it all

Women must be empowered economically —MaureenOchem

this, I saw there was need to create awareness; there is need to make our government see the importance of economic empowerment. There is need to empower the African woman because she represents the potential for Africa’s socioeconomic development.

Who are your targets? We are bringing together established, successful businesswomen, and, also, young, emerging and aspiring female businesswomen. We are bringing together policymakers, the government, nongovernmental organisations, and also the academia. Being a pan-Africa event, we are trying to create a platform for networking and learning across

businesswomen entrepreneurs are operating in that arena. We also want to bring focus on the challenges faced by women in the rural area. We are not leaving them behind. We are bringing the grassroots to this conference, and to help us do this, we are partnering with the Quintessential Businesswomen Association. They have members in every local government in the country and they are empowering women in the agricultural sector, teaching them how to do things and manufacture local products like honey. So, we are bringing some of these women to participate.

One of the problems female

starts. That’s why you have low ratio of women participating in entrepreneurship schemes. We have been able to engage, at very high level, relevant stakeholders like social entrepreneurs like Leap Africa, nongovernmental organisations, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs. So, our expectation is that, at the end of this conference, we would have created a more enhanced awareness and more informed approach to the challenges that women encounter in their

businesses. Then we hope to be able to proffer solutions.

What motivated you to start a business around conferences and events? I’ve a lot of experience with conferencing. My second university degree was as a translator. So, when I finished, instead of going to work as an interpreter, I went into conferencing. Why? The nearest opportunity was to work for the European Union, but I wasn’t an EU citizen at the time. So, I started organising conferences across Europe. From there, I joined UNIDO, where I worked for ten years. So, I’ve had to organise very high profile conferences. Then I worked in Cape Town, South Africa, as a research manager, before going to Ethiopia. My love for professional and international conferencing startedthin 1996 when I organised the 16 General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation (EGF 1996), September 15 – 19, in Grado, Italy. Not only was I employed to organise the conference, but it turned out that I was the only black head in the crowd during the event. Instead of being intimidated, I felt rather motivated to go on, and today I am glad I did. You still look smart and fit. What is the secret? I eat healthy, do exercises, and practise yoga, essentially. That is what I do to unwind. Then I read a lot when I have the time. What motivates you in life? My family motivates me. I am passionate about Africa. After working for decades in Europe, I realised that with all of our resources, Africa can be better. I’m one of those people who believe in Africa.

What are some of your memorable moments in life? It’s connected to my family life, my marriage and the birth of my children. My husband is a retired scientist, Dr Alex Ochem. We met in Nigeria while he was on holiday. If you had to advise female entrepreneurs, what would you tell them? They should stick in there. It’s not easy, but it’s worth trying. They shouldn’t give up. C M Y K

46—SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

BY GARBA SHEHU

HE ENORMOUSLY popular talk show, Berekete on Wazobia FM radio, Abuja station told the incredible, yet true story of the hardworking and respected school teacher somewhere in Plateau state who hanged himself. He hadn’t been paid salary for seven straight months. He came home to find that no one had eaten and two of the children had medical prescriptions for which there was no money. He sneaked out without talking to anyone. After a long while, news came home that he had strangely been caught with a stolen goat. On his day in court, the teacher confessed to the offense. The reason he stole,he told the local judge, was that he hadn’t been paid for seven months and when he got home to see what he saw, he just couldn’t stand it. The judge allowed him to go home on bail on self-recognition given, as he said, the good impression the entire village had of the otherwise respected teacher. All were shocked to find his body dangling from tree the morning after. He couldn’t live with the shame. In the recommendations and notes the Ahmed Joda transition committee presented to him as President -EIect, Muhammadu Buhari was informed that a section of the Fedaral government as well as 27 states hadn’t paid salaries, in some case for up to a year. The Joda committee advised that this was a national emergency and should be treated as such. It is on account of this that one of the activities- please note the choice of this word:activities, not achievements- of President Muahammadu Buhari in these past three months is the settlement of unpaid salaries. This is going on right now. Like the proverbial blinking of the eye, Saturday September 5th will mark the 100th day of the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC government which took office on May 29th after the new party became the first in opposition to unseat an incumbent government in an election adjudged by everyone as free and fair. There are many out there who say that the performance of a president and his government in terms success or failure cannot be judged in 100 days and I agree with them. But history will be written anyway. In the coming week or two, a rash of commentaries and analyses to commemorate the event will be made. I myself don’t deny that 100 days are long enough to know and understand the man who is the head of a government. Buhari arrived power with strong support from young men and women and this country’s poor. The new government was not favored at election by the monied powerbrokers although that did not stop the President from taking measures such as improving security that are good for

Understanding Buhari in 100 Days

•President Buhari

business and investment. This government is businessfriendly but not one that is for crony capitalism. The new government inherited enormous problems created by the tainted PDP administration, largely caused by the lack of governance,corruption and lawlessness. This was mostly evident in the last two years of the Jonathan Goodluck administration. As the President continues to point out,the drift is most evident in the oil sector. I believe that there is enough on the ground in those 100 days to understand President Buhari, his government and what it stands for. I will cite a few of these. Before I do that, I will make a little confession. In the course of electioneering, the presidential campaign had so many centers of public communication which, for whatever reason were on the loose. There is a certain document tagged “One Hundred Things Buhari Will Do in 100 Days” and the other, “My Covenant With Nigerians.” Both pamphlets bore the authorized party logo but as the Director of Media and Communications in that campaign, I did not fund or authorize any of those. I can equally bet my last Kobo that Candidate Buhari did not see or authorize those publications. As a consequence of these publications, expectations have been raised unreasonably, that as President, Muhammadu Buhari will wave his hand and all the problems that the country faces- insecurity, corruption, unemployment,

President Buhari is being praised at home and abroad for his ongoing fight against corruption. He said from the beginning that his government will not tolerate this vice poor infrastructure would go away. But that notwithstanding, President Buhari has given the job his best shot and the whole country is saying that we never had it so good. He has reinstituted the values of hard work and administrative efficiency. The President says times without number that this country needs to fix governance and that he won’t tolerate laziness. Some of the other activities I wish to enumerate also include the fact of his taking relations with the country’s immediate neighbors to new heights. By their open admissions, this country’s neighbors did not have someone they could talk to on the deteriorating security situation in the Lake Chad Basin area in Aso Rock.

Buhari embarked on his foreign policy on Day Four of his administration. When he met Barak Obama, the U.S president told the Nigerian leader that he was getting it right and that it is only when Nigeria gets it right that Africa will get it right. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who came calling this week said that our president is “courageous, focused and firm.” Relations with the “G 7” group of industrialized countries have since been “reset” and the dividends of this have begun to flow inwards. In the area of economic management, Nigerians are already seeing things happen that they thought were not possible in so short a time. He didn’t put a Kobo to finance the power sector. Yet, reading his body language alone and knowing that there are things you cannot do and get away with under Buhari, electricity supply all over the country has risen to unprecedented heights. Actually, some cities are on the verge of calling 24-hour, round the clock power supply. The country generates more power than can internally be taken by the deplorable distribution system we have on the ground, which points to the next challenge that the country faces. Framework for the management of the country’s finances has been put in place. The wobbly Naira is being stabilized and inflation is headed towards a single digit.President Buhari is keeping a close eye on the government treasury. Agriculture is getting its own

shot in the arm. Rice importation has been curtailed and seven governors whose states are priming a massive local production of the commodity have had a strategy meeting with the President on the next steps that are coming. Americans say their intervention in our agriculture will come next year. Boko Haram, which had more or less been allowed to fester for about five years is about being ended but what is even more interesting is that intelligence coming from the fired-up armed forces who now work in synergy with each other is raising hope that the Chibok girls may, repeat may be found in good numbers in a geographic location of interest somewhere in the North-East. President Buhari is being praised at home and abroad for his ongoing fight against corruption. He said from the beginning that his government will not tolerate this vice. Borrowing the words of India Narendra Modi’s, he said himself that “I won’t steal and I’ll not allow others to do it.” President Buhari has walked his talk since he come to office. Himself and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have not only given up half of their salary, they have cut a good number of funding lines to their official homes and offices. President Buhari also takes the environment seriously. He blames the lack of security in the Lake Chad region on the recession, almost drying up of the lake. He has undertaken to clean up the Ogoniland. In this country, appointments and removal from office are done usually in accordance with a spoils system. A new government sacks officials on the basis only that it did not appoint them, but the predecessor-adminstration. President Buhari has shown that his government is different. He wants to look at each case on its own merit and it is clear by now that he is not ready to surrender the country to burnt out politicians. Technocrats will have a big place in his administration. He has appointed no ministers yet, but the government is running smoothly. In this period of three months, government certainly deserves a pat on the back for improved power, reform in the energy sector, foreign relations fight against corruption and insurgency and the fact of Nigerians being at peace, not only among themselves but with their neighbors and the rest of the world. In summary, I would like to end this piece by saying that President Muhammadu Buhari will turn out to be a leader in the tradition of Lee Kuan-Yu and India’s current reform-minded Prime Minister Modi with strong and clear emphasis on detail and execution. He may however differ with them by not micromanaging things.

•GARBA SHEHU SSA MEDIA AND PUBLICITY TO THE PRESIDENT.

SA TURD AY SATURD TURDA

Vanguard , A UGUST 29 AUGUST 29, 2015—47 ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION:

55 religious houses, industries, shut in 3 months BY MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

Lagos youths besiege Gov’s Office for job BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

erhaps responding to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s promise during his inaugural speech that as part of his reforms, “a new Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment shall be established”, and that this would specifically address the promise he made during his campaign on employment, labour exchange and entrepreneurship, some youths, numbering about a thousand, recently stormed the Alausa office of the Governor to appeal to him for jobs in order to cater for their families. Some of the youths claimed to be BSc/BA/HND holders. Others were HND/NCE holders. The unemployed youths, under the umbrella of “Job Show Africa”, also displayed placards with various inscriptions such as More jobs for Lagosians; Yes, we can make it work; Gov. Ambode, please gives us jobs; We are ready to work; Governor Ambode, we are appealing for jobs in the new Ministry of Job Creation; We know you can do it; among others. In drizzly weather, the youths trekked from Ogba area to Alausa, Ikeja in what they tagged “A walk for job”, and gathered at the entrance of the State House, chanting solidarity songs. Mr. Bimbola Adewole, the coordinator of “Job Show Africa”, explained that the concept started in August 2013. “What we do is that we

connect job seekers and employers on media platforms such as radio and television. “We are here on a courtesy visit to the Governor, to commend him on his performance so far and also to remind him of his statement that N20 billion funds would be made available for job creation and entrepreneurship. We came here to say we are ready to be part of that drive, to be part of that struggle and also to benefit from that offer. “What you see here is just a fraction of what is coming because we can pull out a million job seekers to demand for jobs. We have sent a formal letter to the Governor on this, and it was well received. We are hoping for the best.” Mr. Adewole lamented that to give credence to the fact that there was high rate of unemployment in the state, his office receives a total number of 300 curriculum vitae

•Governor Ambode (CVs) per week, and an average of 20 job seekers in a day. “A good administration should be sensitive and responsive to the yearnings of the masses, and must be innovative”, he stated.

658 Lagos pensioners get N2.2b retirement bond BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

s part of efforts to ensure prompt payment of terminal entitlement, Lagos State Government, yesterday presented bond certificates worth N2.2 billion as payment of retirement benefit to 658 retirees. Speaking at the 18th Retirement Benefit Bond Certificate Presentation ceremony at the NECA House, Alausa, Ikeja,the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, however, warned all the state government parastatals that have not fully complied with the provisions of the Lagos State Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, under the state Pension Reform Law by regular remittance to immediately commence their contributions into the employees Retirement Saving Account without further delay. The Governor, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Mrs. Idiat Oluranti Adebule, described the

•As Ambode warns agencies to remit CPS payment of the benefits as indication of the present administration’s passion to enhance workers’ welfare even as he reiterated his commitment to look into the outstanding payments in the state public service. Addressing 230 retirees from 12 state government parastatals, whose pension rights have already been accredited into their retirement saving accounts, Ambode said a total liability of N761.828 million is now being absorbed by the state government on behalf of the retirees. He said: "We are very resolute in forging ahead with the contributory pension scheme. With the mechanism for guaranteeing the safety of funds contributed in place by the regulatory agencies. The contributory pension scheme remains one of the best thing democracy has bequeathed on Nigeria workers. The scheme is sustainable as it meets the challenges of the past

pension scheme administration which, being a non-contributory, relied totally on budgetary allocations of government." In her address, the Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, assured that retirees who have not been paid their entitlement would soon have financial empowerment as Ambode had vowed to look into their case and ensure they all received their retirement benefits. Onanuga also noted that the Governor had earlier in the month graciously approved the release of the sum of N11 billion to meet the outstanding pension liabilities of retirees, adding that the fund would be disbursed on monthly basis, starting from this month, to immediately bring succour to the retirees on the waiting list.

Over 55 religious houses, industries among other property have been shut by officials of the Lagos State Government in the last three months for violating the 2010 environmental law of the state. In the latest exercise, the state government through the State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA shut 22 religious outfits and three industries during an enforcement tour to such areas of the state as: Surulere, Abule-Egba axis and others. Some of the churches were; The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), God Royal Sanctuary, Lagos Province 3, Zone 15, Area 48 and another on its opposite located on Ayilara Street, Surulere. Also, Tower of Praise Ministries International Praise Centre and Jesus Our Lord Divine Catholic Prayer Ministry located at 11 Anuoluwapo Street, Ilasamaja, it was gathered that prayer session was ongoing at about 11 am before it was shut. Except for the pastor, all the worshipers are pregnant women, nursing mothers and their children. The residents complained over noise pollution and lack of clarity on activities carried out at the centre. While the industries shut include: “Dura Products Industries Nigeria Limited on Sanni Olabode Street, in Abule Egba, owned by a retired Group Captain, was also shut. In Ogba, Thomas Salako Street, a Strip Club/ Hotel, popularly known as Shakara Bar was closed in violation of noise pollution and illegal location. Also shut was Mopson Pharmaceuticals Industry, located on Osolo Way. It was learned that the industry has often been discharging untreated waste water (effluent) into the environment. “One of the companies we sealed off today is a pharmaceutical company. I did a research on three pharmaceutical companies in this state last year, and I found that their waste water contain heavy metals, which is very dangerous to the environment. By the time it is bio-accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals, it will bio-magnify into human beings and that is a source of cancer,” he said.

Lagos waste generation hits 13,000 metric tonnes daily– LAWMA boss BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

olid waste management and other related refuse in Lagos will be better taken care of if the necessary equipment is available to complement the manpower and facilities on ground presently, Lagos State ?Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, new Managing Director, Engr. AbdulWahab Ogunbiyi has said. According to the state’s development plan, this is important as it has been observed that the over 23 million inhabitants of Lagos produce large amount of solid waste in the form of paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, food and other materials. Before recent times, this has been collected and dumped in landfill sites. However, the fact that much of the dumped waste products can be recycled makes many scavengers earn a difficult and potentially hazardous livelihood by searching the landfill sites for the materials. Lagos is presently transforming its waste management systems so that re-cycling can be achieved more effectively and more safely. This can be an important source of jobs and an important area for private sector involvement.

48—SATURDAY VANGUARD, AUGUST 29—2015

Appending his signature is Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries, Mr Nicolaas Vervelde being watched by government officials of Enugu State government and some members of staff, Nigerian Breweries at the official unveiling of world biggest Gulder promo poster in Enugu on Monday.

Nigerian Breweries unveils world biggest Gulder pr omo post er amid promo poster fanfare

he Sam Okpara Square, Enugu last Monday bubbles to life as it witnessed the first biggest Gulder brand promotion poster, measuring 5,367square metres which berth at the right end side of the mini sports centre from the main entrance. The colourful poster which was a cynosure of all eyes has already made its way into the Guinness world book of record as it beats the current record of 4.7m² achieved in Kochi, India on June 27, 2015. About 10.30am, two passengers Chisco Luxury buses boarded by media men from Lagos and other

parts of the country alighted at the square. They were bursting with excitement not only for the friendly environment but they were armed with the information that every participant in the media game, prepared specially for them will smile with a prize but the star winner will cart away with Hyundia Elantra Car which eventually was won by Chuka Nnabuife who works with National Light newspaper in Anambra. Before the game began, participants were alerted that anybody with health challenge should withdrew as the company would not take

responsibility for any casualty. Some of them grudgingly left the line up. However to be sure that some of the participants were not playing any pranks, some medical personnel were detailed to check blood pressure level before the game. Now the Gulder brand launch started with a cultural display by a group before the distinguished guests. The Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc., Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde and Enugu government officials kick started the signing of the brand for memorial. Vervelde said, “I am delighted

“Nigerian econom economyy remains huge oppor tunity ffor or in or s” opportunity invvest estor ors” renowned academic in the Institute of Credit A Administration, Professor Chris

Onalo has disclosed that there are massive investment opportunities awaiting indigenous and foreign investors if the current administration would be proactive in matters relating to the nation’s economy. Onalo, who made this declaration in a chart with media men Lagos, said Nigerian economy represents a huge opportunity virtually for business investors and international community as a developing country, adding that the country has enough space for everyone being a country that is massive in population. Against this backdrop, Onalo urged investors to explore these inherent opportunities in the Nigerian economy just as the government would provide the enabling environment, right policy that would encourage individual and foreign investment. He, however, assured that the administration of President Buhari would ensure that the proper environment is created for business to thrive in Nigeria.

On how to manage risk associated to business dealings, Prof Onalo said there is attendant risks wherever humans are existing despite opportunities that may have presented itself. “We have human made risks as well as natural made risk and all of these must be identified and guided against so that investment would be influenced by stakeholders in any way they can be protected”. “So, I see Nigeria becoming a great country economically, and of course the economy is in the hands of private sector, those who go about their businesses, putting food on their table and looking to live in a good environment. Of course democracy will thrive and continue to be there. However, I see a great light at the end of the tunnel for Nigeria”. On investment opportunities in the telecom sector, Onalo said the sector has made commendable impact on job creation even as the operators are smiling to the banks despite the operational challenges they had to contend with. The sector is lucrative. I think they have contributed a great deal to the economic emancipation of the country which signals that

many more of such investments are required”, he said. The telecom sector represents a huge market and job creating sector for Nigeria. From what we have heard, much investment is still required in that sector in the area of satellite that are yet to be exploited. I think that there is need for massive diversification including our individual and corporate thinking as to what sector of the economy represents high degree of profit”, he said. Professor Onalo expressed optimism that government would be able to give up back up policies that would bring about more of such revelation as regards profitability that is inherent in a particular sector in the economy. He further enthused that what is needed at this moment at this level of our development is the right policy dimension that would propel people to move fast into these opportunities and good lending policies that would boost investment opportunities.

to be in Enugu on yet another epochal occasion on behalf of Nigerian Breweries Plc, makers of Gulder – The Ultimate Lager Beer. I am also excited that Enugu State, which is home to our biggest brewery is also playing host as Gulder unveils another record breaker. The Managing Director recalled with nostalgia that Enugu and the South East Region have consistently played host to big moments for Nigerian Breweries since the commissioning of it’s second brewery in Aba in 1957, the South East has been a solid base to its operations and a veritable home to its brands. “Our investments in the region has been such that 4 of our 11 breweries are sited in the region (Aba, Awo-Omamma, Onitsha and Ama). Our flagship Ama Brewery is here in Enugu State. Additionally, we also have the biggest sorghum malting plant in Africa located in the South East. It is in continuation of this robust relationship with the South East that brought us to Enugu courtesy of Gulder, the Ultimate lager beer”. Since its unique launch in 1970 as Nigeria’s first lager brand packaged in a brown bottle, Gulder has moved from strength to strenght and attained many

firsts along the path including blazing the innovative trail of being the first beer in Nigeria to be sold in cans. In 2014, Gulder was renewed in Nigeria’s most innovative beer bottle with a proud gold neck foil and bold shoulder-embossment, complemented by a new metallized body label with striking double sideembossment. Gulder, the Ultimate (popularly known in Enugu and its environs as “Ebubedike”) has a strong masculine look that stands shoulder to shoulder with the men who drink it. According to him, in 2004, Gulder masterminded the first wholly local reality show produced in Nigeria, the Gulder Ultimate Search (GUS), which has run for 11 consecutive seasons. In 2008, Enugu State played host to the GUS which has also created a platform to showcase Nigeria’s hidden tourist locations in addition to bringing out the best in Nigerian youths through an adventurous journey that tests their mental mettle, physical strength and social adaptability. He disclosed that the company has expanded the frontiers with the biggest consumer promotion in the history of Gulder with over 4 million prizes to be won”.

BBL par tner ome partner tnerss R Rome Business School for entrepreneurial devt n order to lure foreign investors into the country, I and create business

opportunities, managerial empowerment and economic development in Nigeria, Business Builders Limited, a leading international business development, SME, training, consulting, research and information based firm, has partnered with Rome Business School to give graduates, professionals and entrepreneurs the chance to develop competencies in managerial disciplines based on the best international standards that could help them perform optimally in a global competitiveness. According to the Chief Executive Officer, Business Builders Limited, Emmanuel Excel Ogbeide, we serve small, medium and large scale organizations across all sectors, and every sector in the Nigerian economic environment needs professionalism, entrepreneurial skills that would enhance growth and development which the Nigerian system is yearning for. Also, counting on our vast industrial experiences, we synergize with other businesses and training organizations in

conducting programmes in Africa and other part of the world”. Ogbeide adds that the essence of the partnership among other things is to establish and develop business synergies and relationship between Italian and African business communities in line with President Buhari’s vision to attract foreign investment into Nigeria”, he said. Founding President, Rome Business School, Dr. Antonio Ragusa, in charting with delegates at the just concluded ItaliaAfrican Business Forum in Rome, said, the business school is a world class business university of repute, performing creditably in Italy and outside the country, providing graduates, profes-sionals and entrepreneurs scientific method of managerial competencies for global competitiveness. However, Ragusa discussing with Nigerian delegate, Excel Ogbeide at the business forum indicated his willingness and readiness to partner with management of Business Builders Limited in developing careers, entrepreneurs, potential African young leaders, investors, captain of industries and as well equip consultants, leaders in religious, political, economic and social circles especially in Nigeria.

Glo Xchange appoints qualified agents nationwide

fter successfully training thousands of mobile money super-agents in over thirty cities across the country, fully integrated telecoms A service provider, Globacom has announced plans for the first set of

market-ready agents to commence active operation. At least 10,000 well-trained and proficient Glo Xchange agents will now be commissioned as part of Globacom’s money agent super network in the next twelve months, to deliver the much-desired mobile money revolution in Nigeria. The Glo Xchange Agents will operate from designated mobile money outlets such as kiosks, shops, pharmacies, supermarkets and mega stores around the country. These are in addition to the over 160 Gloworld and Glozone shops, which are already offering Glo Xchange services to customers along with branches of all Globacom’s mobile money partners such as FirstBank, Ecobank, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Zenith Bank. Head of Mobile Money Financial Business in Globacom, Mr. Esaie Diei, said that the company has also built-in several unique features to enhance security, convenience and effectiveness of the operations. Firstly, the service comes with a dedicated toll-free Agent-Care short number 33003 for quick assistance to Glo Xchange Agents.

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—49

uesday, August 18, three books written by Hakeem Bello and Dapo Adeniyi on the administration of Babatunde Raji Fashola, the immediate past governor of Lagos State were launched. Senior journalist Professor Olatunji Dare was one of those who reviewed the books. His work was read on his behalf by seasoned broadcaster, Angela Ajetunmobi at the public presentation of the three books, The Great Leap, In Bold Print and The Lagos Blowdown. Below is what Dare presented. Note that the presentation was initially scheduled for May 15 before the May 29 handing over of political offices. This is my first post-retirement assignment. I cannot think of a more agreeable way of entering into this new phase of life which began yesterday than lending a helping hand to a dutiful aide’s public presentation of a chronicle on the time in office of his luminous principal. The luminous principal is Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, Governor of Lagos State. The dutiful aide is his media adviser of eight years, Hakeem Bello. The chronicle comprises a judicious selection from more than 1000 speeches Governor Fashola has delivered at home and abroad on four continents during his eight years in office. Titled The Great Leap, the compilation comes with a companion, In Bold Print, a pocket book of quotations distilled from the speeches. When Hakeem Bello invited me to deliver a “prefatory essay” at the presentation of the two publications, I accepted without hesitation, despite the tight deadline and the crush of prior commitments. For one thing, the request came from a younger colleague whose quiet competence and efficiency I have admired since his days as a rising star in the Daily Times. For another, the day’s honours would devolve most worthily on exceptional achiever. To be asked to play a part in the ceremony, surely, was an honour in itself. Soon enough, I began to wonder whether I had not been too rash in granting Hakeem’s request. What is a “prefatory essay?” Stripped of its elegance, is the term not at bottom a book review? Is it not a case of unnecessary dignification, of literary inflation? What exactly was I expected to do at the event? I turned to some friends for help, but none of them was the wiser. One of them said he suspected that Hakeem wanted a review but thought it would be presumptuous to ask me to do it; so he settled for a fancy term, hoping that I would not see through the subterfuge. Bereft of proper guidance in this matter, I have chosen to draw on the two publications to sketch Fashola’s approach to governance and the

What I know about Fashola By Prof. Olatunji Dare

lessons that flow from it, for the benefit of the political class of today and tomorrow. The Fashola years Fashola’s accomplishments as Governor of Lagos State have been universally acknowledged. Most recently, the global conflict prevention organization, International Crisis Group (ICG), named him one of seven outstanding personalities worldwide to be honoured with its annual Stephen J. Solarz Award “for his commitment to resolving social, economic and security challenges in one of the world’s most challenging urban environments.” Previous recipients of the award have included former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton; former Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. For further perspective, hear this, from the International Crisis Group: “The award goes to a pioneer of peace, to a relentless fighter for the improvement of people’s lives, to someone who has built bridges, believed in change and mobilized others in the name of justice.” This is the rarefied company to which Governor Fashola belongs. There is yet another perspective worth remarking. In the United States, the job of Mayor of the City of New York is considered the second most demanding and difficult, after that of the President. For all practical purposes, Fashola combines the office of the maga-city that is Lagos,

with that of state governor. Based on projections by the best authorities, the population of the Lagos megalopolis should reach 25 million this year. If Lagos were a sovereign state, it would have the fifth largest economy in Africa – and that is without any re-basing. It is therefore no exaggeration to assert that if governing State is not as demanding and challenging as governing Nigeria, it comes a close second. And, since the Second Republic, the task has been rendered much more difficult by the fact that Lagos refused to dissolve itself into the mainstream of Nigerian politics. For that very reason, every government at the Centre has sought to teach Lagos a hard lesson. I was reminded of this longrunning animosity by Governor Fashola himself the other day when I called to congratulate him on the APC’s hard-won battle to retain Lagos, and on his having ramped up a string of sparkling achievements, despite the active hostility of the Federal Government. Shehu Shagari’s NPN-controlled Federal Government in the Second Republic blockading Lateef Jakande’s UPN administration on every front. In the aborted Third Republic, Ernest Shonekan’s mercifully Interim Government and General Sani Abacha complicated matters for Governor Michael Otedola’s minority administration. President Olusegun Obasanjo impounded statutory allocations to Lagos State because Governor Bola Tinubu dared to create local

government development councils to minister unto the needs of the people. The Goodluck Administration would not repair broken federal infrastructure in Lagos State; neither would it refund expenses incurred by the State in fixing it. But in fixing it and executing other projects for the benefit of the people of Lagos often incurred the armed wrath of the federal authorities. Like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu before him, Fashola took in his stride every attempt by Abuja to cripple his administration, never losing his focus, his temper, and his tempo What is the secret of his spectacular success in an office he never sought – an office into which he was literally dragooned? Answers to this important question are strewn here and there in The Great Leap and In Bold Print. Groomed for the job First was his conviction that if you seek public office, you must prepare for it. And if even you are dragooned into it as he was, or stumble into it, you still have to prepare yourself to discharge that office creditably. You cannot take office hoping to muddle through. Settled polities where relative contentment reigns can afford the luxury of muddling through; polities in a hurry to meet the basic needs of the people, develop and modernize cannot afford it. This conviction was backed by a fundamental article of faith: If you attain public office, you must use it to serve only the public good. On taking office, he set out on a comprehensive tour of Lagos State to identify and define the problems he would have to tackle. First, what were the underlying cause of the difficulties and frustrations of living in Lagos? Why would motorists, at great risk to themselves and other road users, drive against the flow of traffic? Why would petty traders turn pedestrian sidewalks into markets? Why would people clog the drains with refuse? Were the residents inherently lawless? Fashola commissioned a poll to find out how far his definition of the situation coincided with public expectations. “You do not own the facts” is one of his guiding principles. Thereafter, he set out on another tour of the state in an effort to validate the poll findings, to know what is “on ground” as our people say. From all this it was clear that infrastructural deficiency was a major constraint on living in Lagos. Consequently, he devised a budget plan to set aside 60 percent of revenue for capital projects, and 40 percent for recurrent expenditure. Facing the task Thereafter, he drew a road map showing very clearly how to get from Continues on page 50

50—SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

Continues from page 49

Point A to Point B. He marked off the map into blocks for implementation and sought an answer to the critical question: Who are the best people for the job? Wide consultations followed on costing, strategies for implementation, and sustainability. Not for Fashola the glitzy showpiece guaranteed to be as evanescent as rainbow gold. So, planning, diligent and meticulous planning, is one of the hallmarks of the Fashola Style. Efficient time management and fidelity to the people are crucial elements in the Fashola approach to governance. Deadlines have to be met and promises made to the people have to be kept. Following through is another key element in Fashola’s way of doing business. In many states but most notably in Abuja, contracts are awarded with fanfare and the mere announcement of a project is celebrated as actual accomplishments. For the most part, one rarely hears anything again about the projects. The Fashola approach is to start a project unobtrusively, monitor it diligently to completion, and commission it just as unobtrusively. If the project is stalled for one reason or another, the public gets to know. It is not about Fashola or even his administration; it is about service to the people, about keeping faith with them From the moment he took office, Fashola has sought the best practices from all over the world. He traveled to Singapore, Dubai, and New York not as a tourist, and certainly not on a shopping expedition, but as a city manager out to study and learn. He not only devoured Lee Kuan Yew’s memoir From Third World to First, he gave copies to all of his colleagues and aides for their edification. He also burrowed into the book Leadership, by Rudy Giuliani who, as Mayor of New York, steered that city through the horrors of September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre The city manager ’s approach has redefined Lagos as a place where transformation is not a slogan but a lived reality. We see transformation in the expanded and still expanding network of roads, the manicured green lawns, the well-tended parks, open spaces, the clean streets, the city rail service that will commence operations soon, commence operations soon, expanded ferry service, clearance of slums to make room for housing that affirms human dignity, clean streets, improved health care delivery system that saved Nigeria from the scourge of Ebola, better drainage, school buildings that provide a healthy environment for learning, reduced crime rate, and in expansion of business and economic opportunity.

of 19 global mega-cities, a city that works for all its residents, now estimated to number 24.5 million. I do not envy his successor, Governor-elect Akinwumi Ambode.

What I know about FFashola ashola We see it in the vast promise of Lagos Atlantic City. Fashola’s tenure offers us an example of engaged leadership driven by purpose and design, a leader who does not wait for the future to happen but makes it happen. He has led by personal example, guided by Gandhi’s admonition for all ages: “Be the change you want to be.” Fashola reminds us of something that many of his contemporaries never learned or have long forgotten: Public service is no tea party, no picnic. It demands the highest degree of discipline, sacrifice, commitment, and determination. He is probably the only governor who does not use a siren to clear the path for his motorcade. Sirens, he says, aggravate rather than solve traffic problems, and their use is “uncivilized.” Were it left to him, only ambulances, fire engines and police on lives-saving missions would use them What drives Fashola? What fires him? The answer to this question is to be found in his 2008 Budget Presentation Speech delivered before the Lagos State House of Assembly on December 17, 2008: “. . . I remind myself always that one day, I will no more be in office. One day, I will no more be young. Surely, I want to live in a clean and secure environment in my old age. Whatever good I can do today, therefore, let me do it .If we do not do what we need to do today, ours will become a tragic tale of failed and unutilized opportunities, which will come to haunt us when it is too late. Let us seize our opportunities now.” On that same occasion, he

challenged the state legislators: “Shall you and I leave this earth with the black man still the humiliated universally symbol of poverty, underdevelopment and incompetence? Or will we do all we can now to showcase, within our lifetime, our state and our country as undeniable evidence of the black man’s genius? Surely the choice is ours and the tine to act is now. . .” The time is now. Not in the year 2020, not in some nebulous future. An optimistic agenda, to be sure, but what is leadership if it is not rooted in optimism, in faith and confidence in the capacity of the people to rise to the challenge of the moment? Five years ago, only the most optimistic in the ranks of the progressive believed, and fewer still could openly assert, that the ACN would in due course supplant the PDP as the governing party at the Centre. The PDP advertised itself as the largest political party in Africa, and it was no idle boast when its senior figures proclaimed at every opportunity that it would govern Nigeria for 60 unbroken years. Fashola was one of few to declare openly that the PDP’s days were numbered. With proper planning and rigorous implementation of its people-oriented policies, he said in a speech marking Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary, “it is only a matter of time before we take charge of the Centre and decisively pull Nigeria up to its rightful place in the comity of rapidly developing nations.” Today, five years later, the progressives are set to take charge. The Fashola Administration has set Lagos firmly and decisively on the path of achieving its destiny as one

His legacy It is necessary to acknowledge that much of the infrastructural development for which the Fashola administration is justly celebrated has come at a price, especially to the more vulnerable sections of the population. You hear it said on the streets, especially by those used to a way of life Fashola rejects as an affront to human dignity and wants to change, that he cares only for people like himself. His answer is that a leader must see the future and, with courage act proactively to save the people from future dangers. But he has done so with compassion, providing as resources allow, a more decent environment for communities whose shanty homes fell to the bulldozer, or communities displaced by natural disasters. We have not always seen such compassion in Nigeria. It remains to add that one reason Fashola succeeded so spectacularly is that he did not have to play politician. He was never mired in the horse-trading, the pandering to entrenched interests that often undermine the most clearlyformulated plans. He was splendidly insulated from that treacherous threshold by his predecessor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who did the political work, thus freeing Fashola to continue changing the face of Lagos without undue distractions. They had their disagreements, but on the whole, this arrangement, which Fashola rarely misses an opportunity to acknowledge in public, has served the people of Lagos State and could well serve as a model for other states. We all are in Hakeem Bello’s debt for making available in The Great Leap forty speeches that define a unique experience in the art and craft of governance in Nigeria, and the singular driver of that experience, Babatunde Raji Fashola. Public officials will read it with great profit, as will serving and incoming governors and I have resisted the temptation to end this presentation by welcoming Governor Fashola to the rank I joined just yesterday – the rank of retired persons. Something tells me he will be summoned again to work his magic on a national scale. Your Excellencies, your Highnesses, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your time and attention. And I thank Hakeem Bello for giving me the opportunity to present what I hope has not been too flagrant a departure from the “prefatory essay” he had in mind.

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—51

ALLEGATIONS AGAINST OKIRO:

Our regrets —Comfort Obi

...the Buhari I met

•Dame Comfort Obi

he did not hide her deep seethed anger and resentment over the lingering issue of alleged sleeze recently levelled against the Chairman of Police Service Commission, Sir Mike Mbama Okiro, former InspectorGeneral of Police. Her vituperations emanted from what she tagged ‘negative reactions’ to the ICPC report over the ‘vexacious’ issue of missing N350m provided by the Federal Government to the Commission for the just concluded elections in the country. Dame Comfort Obi, the Publisher of Source Magazine and a member of the Police Service Commission, PSC, opened up in a no-holdsbarred interview with our Crime Editor, Emma Nnadozie, over the issue and ended up throwing shocking highlights into the goingson at the commission and spectacularly; her recent meet with President Buhari and how it changed her views about the first citizen of Nigeria. It is explosive. Excerpts: Appraisal of the ICPC report on the Commission The ICPC report, I would say is good, very, very good, at least it exonerates the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Chief Mike Okiro who has been so scandalously maligned, and so terribly painted as if he embezzled any money, as if he stole Police service commission money, as if he mismanaged the sum of N350m given to the Police Service Commission to monitor the elections. So, we are very happy for the report that categorically, specifically exonerated him. Let me, at least, refer to the areas of the report that exonerated him completely and C M Y K

signed by the Chairman ICPC. It says; “The investigation has not revealed any act of criminal infraction against the person of Sir (Mr) Mike Mbama Okiro, Chairman of the Police Service Commission, as all issues outlined above are administrative in nature and within the ambits of career, public, civil service act.” I don’t understand how the social media and some media houses are deliberately turning the report upside down. Some wrote, ‘ ICPC asks Okiro to refund N100m’. There is nowhere in this report that the ICPC asked Okiro as a person or the Police Service Commission to refund money. If you were asked to refund, it means that you stole money or you mismanaged it. The genesis As has been the case for general elections, the Police Service Commission monitors the behaviour of policemen during the elections. In doing that, it finds out how they behave, those that have compromised and those that have not compromised. Before then, we advertised, in conjunction with Cleen foundation that the Commission will be coming to monitor the behaviour of the police. Nothing more. We also put phone numbers for you to call us and we will be there. Now, there are thirtysix states and Abuja in the federation, and then we have the number of polling booths and for every booth, policemen are attached. It is the job of the Commission to go round the federation and all polling units to monitor elections. And since this exercise started, policemen are no longer involved in rigging elections because, once you are caught, you are disciplined on

the spot. So, they are very cautious and conscious now. N350m released for 900 people The Commissions got the sum of N350m to monitor the recent elections and it includes; training of the commission staff and ad-hoc staffs because, the Commission has only about 377 members of staffs and these include drivers, secretariares and some policemen who have no business with the election. We cannot use policemen to monitor policemen. These are the things that they add together. What we do is that we recruit ad-hoc staff. If we add them to the ones we have, you will have about 900. This money was made for training of 900 people. Between ICPC and the Commission The training was billed to take place in Lagos, Abuja and Kano. Unfortunately, the money was received a few days to the elections. There was no way anybody would

There is nowhere in this report that the ICPC asked Okiro as a person or the Police Service Commission to refund money. If you were asked to refund, it means that you stole money or you mismanaged it

have done any training in Lagos and Kano. It was concentrated in Abuja only. In any case, we finished this thing and the ICPC report states that the staff of your commission who took part in the 2015 general election exercise and were paid twoway return tickets and airport taxi within FCT and states of close proximity to Abuja amounting to N11,750,000, should refund same to the treasury of the ICPC recovery account. I don’t know if ICPC took into consideration that staff going to Lokoja for example , or even within Abuja, were not going to trek to those polling booths and that they were supposed to hire vehicles to take them round. That aspect, I am not a civil servant but I think between the ICPC and the permanent secretary of the commission, they will sort it out. The question of 900 PSC staff Another thing that they are referring to in the report is the question of the 900 staff. They are now giving the impression that the Chairman of the Commission deliberately inflated the number of staff at the commission just to get money. The money given to the Commission was N350 million and they said out of that, according to the petition that sparked this whole issue, the chairman embezzled N275m. Then, how come the elections were still monitored countrywide? How come out of this sum, there is still a balance of N133 and something million naira in the commission account? It is called budget account because when such monies are given to the commission, it is not for the running of the commission, it was specifically for the monitoring of elections. So, it is domiciled there. The balance of N133m is still domiciled in the police service commission project account in FCMB and I will give you the account balance. Now, it is this N133m that is left there as balance that they are now adding to the one ICPC has asked staff that didn’t take any flight to return, that they are adding together and saying that Okiro fraudulently spent and, that Okiro has been ordered by the ICPC to refund money. My brother, in this report which copy I am going to give you, is there any place it stated that Okiro or any staff of the commission embezzled money? They think anybody associated with or connected to government or working

Continues on page 52

52—SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

Continued from page 51 for government must be very corrupt and I read all these things, and my heart breaks because there is no kobo at the Police Service Commission. The commission is so underfunded that we are almost not functioning. In the past three years, the commission has not been able to recruit any personnel considering the fact that the Police has lost over 21,000 personnel. We cannot recruit because the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan had no provision for the commission to recruit. We have lost over 21,000 personnel and there has been no recruitment and I will give you documents. Why petition was not nipped in the bud No, no, no, on the contrary, it was Okiro, when they began to blackmail him over this matter, someone was asking him for over N10m so as to kill the story and the petition. He told the person that I didn’t steal any money. How will I pay N10m. From ten million naira they went down to N5m and he said; I didn’t embezzle any money, from where am I going to get N5m. I am not going to be blackmailed and they were telling him, you know a new government is coming and he says I know the man as a straight forward man, that the president is not coming to fight innocent Nigerians. The fact that he is going to fight corruption, every Nigeria should support him to fight corruption but he is not going to be blackmailed and be asked to pay money. That was why it was not nipped in the bud. In any case, you try to stop a story when you know you are guilty of the allegations. The issue of retiring the money The other day, someone was saying, why didn’t he retire the money. You retire money at the end of the year. There was no way the commission would have retired that money. This is the first time I got involved in working for government. Fate of the petitioner Of course, he is on suspension, but it is not based on anything with the commission, absolutely nothing. He allegedly took the sum of N1m from one man to procure him American visa. The person took policemen, after he saw no visa, saw no money and he is asking for a refund. I don’t know the business they entered, but this was what was presented and it is in the public domain. The petitioenr is a very servicable person. In fact, the first time I heard that his name was connected with this petition, I said no, no, no, it is totally wrong. Because I took him as my son, because he is a young man with a good future. I don’t know who or what pushed him into this. He allegedly took N1m from the man, the police came to the commission and arrested him. The commission chairman went and asked why are you holding my staff and they said it is in connection with this. They took him and the man that reported him and charged them to court. And, the court remanded him in Kuje prisons, he perfected his bail and came out. He now wrote this petition. Maybe, he thought that it was Okiro that invited the policemen. But, I don’t know how C M Y K

•Dame Comfort Obi

'The Buhari I met' I can vouch for Okiro on this, as far as this N350m is concerned. I stand by him and I can vouch for him Okiro would have gone to fish out a man the petitioner allegedly did business with. Consensus in disbursement All the members of the commission took active part in all discussions that led to the disbursement of the money and, of course, everybody signed for his or her own. Vouching for Okiro I can vouch for Okiro on this, as far as this N350m is concerned. I stand by him and I can vouch for him. Damages to the image of the commission Oh my brother, I tell you something, the commission is a very powerful commission, very influential. It has oversight functions on the police and you are alleging that the commission is corrupt. You see the chairman of the commission, a retired Inspector- General of Police.

Shocking findings in the police I will tell you something else. The commission is going round states now to do an upgrade of police personnels, upgrading them to officers. In Enugu state for example, I interviewed two medical doctors. They are surgeons and they are sergeants in the police. So, maybe you see such people wearing their uniform as a sergeant and you begin to abuse them. We have many who are corporals but are lawyers. I went to court to prosecute cases, I saw a pharmacist that is a corporal. We went round states for the upgrading but the commission did not give anybody a kobo for upgrade. Raising funds for the commission Well, it depends on government funding? I will tell you something, there was a time at the commission, maybe during Osayande’s time, we survived while travelling here and there offically because people were funding the trip. Now, we are all so scared to even ask agencies to, at least, fund us. Okiro is afraid to do that. What he said is that if we try to reach out and people support us, they will say we have embezzled the money. There is no doubt that it will affect our morale. The way forward The way forward is for the good people, my colleagues in the media, to please help us tell people that no money is missing and that Okiro has not stolen any money. That this money is domiciled in the commission’s account and that

anybody can go and confirm at the bank. There is freedom of information and people can confirm if that money was stolen or misappropriated. The money is there and there are elections coming up in Kogi, Balyesa and Ondo states and the year had not ended for the commission to retire the money and the elections are still on. The commission is not about to go to the presidency to request for funds to go to these states to monitor the elections. The ripple effect is how would President Burhari trust us to go and do this. But the good thing is that you know you need to be close to somebody to realise how effective the person is. Last Thursday when we went to brief the President, I was very impressed with what I noticed about him. You know during the campaign, you read different kinds of things about people. I was not that exposed, so to speak during his military days and his war against indiscipline and decrees and jailing people. Meeting Buhari up-close, I was watching him when they were presenting their cases, he was taking notes. Where he wants you to clear yourself, he will stop you and ask the relevant questions and he will take you on that. And, he did take people on about three or four places and I watched how permanent secretaries tried to give details and they were nervous about him. From the way he answered it, I chuckled within me when he was asking us to recruit and he told us hilarious stories. I was taken aback by his obvious sense of humor like when the Legal officer of the commission introduced himself, he said you are the lawyer of the police service commission, he said ah ha ha, you must be overwhelmed with so many legal issues, and my mind went to the ICPC issue and I started laughing. The fact that the president has some sense of humor gives me some comfort that he is highly articulate contrary to insinuations during the electioneering campaigns. He reads, understands and makes deductions and he would laugh when he wants to laugh and he will tease you when he wants to. He is not somebody that you can say this person stole this thing and he will persecute you over it without duly investigating. I guess he has learnt that this is not the military era and that we are in a democracy. All these people that are deliberately maligning him and dragging his name around are undoing themselves. I am saying this because with all sense of responsibility and humility, the man I saw is not the man you can push around. Rating the commission. So far, so good, considering that it is not being funded, the commission has not stopped functioning. The only thing is that we have not recruited which by the grace of God, the president has said go ahead and recruit and has approved the recruitment of ten thousand people. But in the area of discipline, we are up to date. In the area of promotion, we are up to date. In the area of appointment and postings, we are up to date.

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015—53

BY EVELYN USMAN

he shrill shout for help rented the quiet atmosphere in Ogombo village, Lekki, Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, at the early hours of Tuesday, last week. Residents who were jolted from sleep felt reluctant at first to come out, apparently thinking it was a robbery attack. When a man later discovered to be the landlord of the building where the shout emanated from summoned courage to go see what the problem was, he was reportedly taken aback, on seeing a young man in the pool of his blood, with a kitchen knife by the side of his ribs. The dying man, Mr. Edet Ebong, a member of staff of the Akwa Ibom State Transport Company, was reportedly rushed to a hospital within the vicinity by policemen from Ogombo Division who were alerted by the landlord identified as Baba Dada. Unfortunately, he was reportedly rejected. Thereafter, he was rushed to the Marina General Hospital where doctors battled in vain to save his life. As you read this piece, Ebong is lying stone dead at the hospital morgue, no thanks to his lover of 18 months. At the moment, his alleged killer, Miss Blessing Edet, is cooling her heels at the State Criminal and Investigations Department (SCIID), Yaba. Crime Guard investigation revealed that the deceased moved into his girlfriend’s apartment six months ago after he was ejected from his. The relationship which had lasted for a year and six months was at its final stage of being consummated into marriage when the unexpected occurred. It was learned that the deceased returned home at about 11pm, without the slightest inkling that it would be his last night on earth. A version of the account at Crime Guard’s disposal reveals that the quarrel between the love birds was as a result of Blessing’s refusal to add canned sardines in the noodles her livein over asked her to prepare for him. Account of eyewitnesses A resident who claimed to have witnessed the quarrel said: “I was waiting outside for my boyfriend who was yet to come home when I saw Edet walk in. Thereafter, I overheard Blessing saying she could not go out that night to buy canned sardines to prepare the noodles. At about an hour and thirty minutes later, my boyfriend arrived and as we were going into our apartment, I heard them shouting at the top of their C M Y K

Love goes sour •Lady stabs lover to death over sex

•The suspect Blessing Edet

voices, with Blessing threatening to stab Edet with a knife if he laid his hands on her. She apparently made good her threat soon after that.” Another resident who was accosted by this reporter claimed she never knew the suspect as Blessing. Speaking sarcastically, the resident who simply gave her name as Funmi said: “When she moved in here four months ago, she said her name was Amaka, an Ibo lady. But we later discovered she was a commercial sex worker. Later, she started seeing the man (deceased ) regularly and before we knew it, he had moved in with her. Three months ago, they had a quarrel, in the course of which Blessing flung her boyfriends cloths out and ordered him to leave her apartment. But we later saw him coming back again. Had he remained where he went, this would not have happened. We discovered that she tried to manage the situation herself. Had she raised the alarm early, her boyfriend would not have died. He died as a result of so much loss of blood”, Funmi said.

Sex, cause of fight In an encounter with the Akwa-Ibom State-born suspect, she was full of remorse, finding it difficult to accept she actually killed her lover. In an emotion-laden tone, she said: “I never meant to kill him. Of all the men I have come across, he appealed most to me. He came home that night drunk and requested that I prepared noodles for him. After eating and we laid down to sleep, he started making advances for sex. I politely told him that I was tired. At a point, he wanted to have it by force but I stopped the move. He flared

The love birds was as a result of Blessing’s refusal to add canned sardines in the noodles her live-in over asked her to prepare for him

The front view of the house where the incident took place

up and started beating me. He said he was free to have me any time he wanted because we were going to get married. Unable to control his emotion, he broke the standing mirror and used one of the broken pieces to stab me in the eye. “At that point, I rushed into the kitchen and brought the knife I used to slice onion for the noodles. I only wanted to threaten him with it. But before I knew it, I mistakenly stabbed him in the stomach by the side of his left ribs. “Honestly, I did not know the knife pierced into his stomach because he kept chasing me around. He went under the bed and brought out a cutlass, threatening to cut off my neck. My younger brother who lives with me did all he could to stop him. When he discovered he couldn’t, he rushed out and started calling for help. It was at this point I noticed that my lover was getting weak and fell down. On closer look, I discovered he was bleeding profusely. When my landlord came, he called in policemen from Ogombo Division.” At this point, she stopped talking and held her head with her two hands and started pulling her hairs. Thereafter, she tilted back and forth and burst into tears. Asked why she was crying, she said amid tears, “I have neither a mother nor a father to cry to at the moment. He filled that vacuum. He promised me while the going was good that our children would not be orphaned. I prayed like never before for his survival while he was in the hospital. The worst has happened and I am crying because I don’t know where I am going from here. I swear I stabbed him mistakenly,” she stressed , with an expression of guilt.

54 — SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015

C M Y K

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 22, 2015—55

US Open: History beckons

Serena S

ERENA Williams enters the US Open making a case for herself not only as the greatest women’s tennis player in history, but possibly the greatest woman in sports history. The 33-year-old star has sustained a level of excellence few can rival, from winning her first Grand Slam singles title as a teen prodigy at the 1999 US Open to collecting her 21st last month at Wimbledon, completing her second career “Serena Slam” of holding all four major trophies at once. Winning a record-tying fourth consecutive US Open women’s title, a feat last achieved by Chris Evert in 1978, would give Williams something she has never achieved before — a calendar year Grand Slam — and link her with only a handful of the game’s greatest legends, men or women. But it’s not something world No.1 Williams wants to contemplate just yet. It’s like pondering a good book before the last chapter is written, especially as Williams is penning an epic tale that doesn’t appear set to end anytime soon. “I just want to play tennis,” Williams said. “I don’t necessarily want to hear about

this history and that history, because I just want to be able to do the best that I can. I want to be able to win and I don’t want any distractions. That’s how I’m going to handle it.” When the year ’s final Grand Slam event starts Monday in New York, Williams will be a huge favorite. She has won Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open six times each and collected three French Open crowns. “I compete a lot against my standards,” Williams said. “I have such high standards for myself and I expect the best from me and nothing less.” Williams is three Slam singles titles shy of matching Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record and would join a rare calendar-year Slam list that includes Graf, Court, Maureen Connolly, Don Budge and Rod Laver by winning at Flushing Meadows. “I feel OK about my game,” Williams said. “I’m always looking to improve. I’m never comfortable. That’s when I think you are susceptible to losing.”

Navas: Silva simply the best J

esus Navas has declared his love for Manchester City teammate David Silva … and 50,000 Blues fans will tell him to get to the back of the queue! “I just love David Silva! The quality he has, the way he reads the game. For us it is a pleasure to have him in our team. He has everything. He is a top player with so much quality, but he also works really hard for the team defensively. That is really important, but everyone has that same commitment to the team.”

C M Y K

Federer, Nadal at crossroads R

OGER Federer and Rafael Nadal, with 31 major titles between them, head for the US Open with their Grand Slam careers at the crossroads. Despite turning 34, Federer was an impressive winner of the Cincinnati Masters title last weekend, seeing off world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the final. It was the Swiss star’s 87th tour title and revenge for losing a second successive Wimbledon final to the Serb last month. But Federer has stumbled badly in New York in recent years. A five-time champion from 2004-2008, he was runner-up to Juan Martin del Potro in 2009 but hasn’t reached the final since.

Milner: Liverpool expect to win every game

ames Milner has spoken about Liverpool’s winning culture, insisting that they expect to win every game. “I am delighted to have joined Liverpool and am enjoying every minute. Liverpool is the club that is used to winning and every time they step onto the field they expect to win - that is a nice pressure to have. “You want to play with the biggest clubs and best players. You want to be among good, experienced players and a blend of English talent and foreign players. Everything is there. You look down the squad list and on the bench and it is a strong balance. You need a good squad to do anything and we will definitely have that.”

His record at the Grand Slams in 2015 has also been mixed. The seven-time Wimbledon champion may have at least reached the final at the All England Club, but that run was preceded by a shock third round exit to Italian journeyman Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open, his earliest in Melbourne for 14 years. He then endured a quarter-final loss at the French Open to compatriot Stan Wawrinka. Federer ’s last Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2012 and if he wins at Flushing Meadows, he’d become the oldest champion since 35-year-old Ken Rosewall back in 1970. In contrast to the Swiss player’s staying power is Nadal’s swift, brutal decline. The 29-year-old Spaniard, the 2010 and 2013 champion in New York, has endured a tough year, the knee joints and wrists looking stiffer and weaker. After being deposed as French Open champion - his quarter-final loss to Djokovic was only his second ever defeat in Paris - Nadal slumped to 10 in the world, his lowest ranking for a decade. He has recovered to eight, but is no longer the player that once struck terror into rivals. Nadal has lost 14 times already this year compared to 11 in the whole of 2014, seven in 2013 and just six in 2012.

•Federer (R) with Rafael Nadal

SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 29, 2015 TODAY’S FIXTURES EPL Newcastle Aston Villa Bournemouth Chelsea Liverpool Man City Stoke Tottenham

v v v v v v v v

Arsenal Sunderland Leicester Crystal Palace West Ham Watford West Brom Everton

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

>>34/35

TODAY’S FIXTURES LA LIGA Real Sociedad Barcelona Celta Vigo Real Madrid SERIE A Bologna AC Milan

v v v v v v

Sporting Gijon Malaga Vallecano Real Betis

5:30pm 7:30pm 9pm 9:30pm

Sassuolo Empoli

5pm 7:45pm

BUNDESLIGA Cologne v FC Augsburg v Mainz v SV Darmstadt 98 v Stuttgart v Bayern Munich v

Hamburg Ingolstadt 04 Hannover 96 Hoffenheim Frankfurt B/Leverkusen

LIGUE 1 Caen Angers Lille Reims Rennes Troyes

Lyon Nice Gazelec Ajaccio Lorient Toulouse Montpellier

v v v v v v

EREDIVISIE FC Utrecht v Groningen Excelsior v De Graafschap Heerenveen v PEC Zwolle Heracles Almelo v FC Twente

2:30pm 2:30pm 2:30pm 2:30pm 2:30pm 5:30pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 7pm 5:30pm 6:45pm 6:45pm 7:45pm

Sunshine confront away ghosts at Wikki >>PG33

History beckons Serena at US Open

Rangers storm Atlanta

>>PG55

>>P35

CROSS WORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1) Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluranti — (7) 5) L.G.A. in Borno State — (5) 8) Zodiac Sign — (3) 9) Senate Chief Whip, Mr. Olusola — (7) 10) Major Ethnic Group in Nigeria — (5) 11) Vehicle — (3) 12) Former Edo State Commissioner of Sports, Mr. Brown — (7) 16) Brazilian Music — (5) 17) State in Nigeria known as “The Sunshine State’’ — (4) 19) Fenerbahce SK Coach, Ismail — (6) 22) Former Nigerian Athlete, Mary — (6) 25) Earth’s Satellite — (4) 27) African Desert — (5) 28) L.G.A. in Borno State — (7) 32) Marine Fish — (3) 33) Yoruba God — (5) 34) Country in Africa — (7) 35) Addition Result — (3) 36) Former Taraba State Governor, |Reverend Jolly — (5) 37) State in Nigeria known as ‘’The Land of Beauty’’ — (7) DOWN

1)Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon — (5) 2)Super Falcons Defender, Ngozi — (5) 3)Former Super Eagles FullBack, Ifeanyi — (5) 4)Number — (6) 5)Former Minister of Science & Technology, Mrs. Omobola — (7) 6)Burkina Faso ‘’Stallions’’ Midfielder, Florent — (7) 7)Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider — (2,5) 13) Venomous Snake — (3) 14) Intelligence — (3) 15) Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bulus — (4) 18) Vietnamese Currency — (4) 19) Ghana ‘’Black Stars’’ Goalkeeper, Richard — (7) 20) Country in Europe — (7) 21) Super Eagles Right-Back, Efe — (7) 23) Japanese Currency — (3) 24) Meadow — (3) 26) Director-General, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar — (6) 29) L.G.A. in Oyo State — (5) 30) L.G.A. in Kaduna State — (5) 31) Ethnic Group in Nigeria — (5)

Solution on page 19

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