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Myths, realities of ‘Ember’ months

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I won’t sign any death warrant –Uduaghan www.nationalmirroronline.net

Vol. 4 No. 47

Sunday, November 2, 2014

N150

Mubi attacks latest

30,000 Adamawa residents trapped in Cameroun

P. 7,

... as Govt raises rehabilitation committee Boko Haram strikes again, kills 18 in Borno TAMBUWAL NBA defends embattled Speaker

ALL FOR SENZO MEYIWA, SLAIN SOUTH AFRICAN GOALKEEPER

Exit not a threat to PDP –Abba Moro P.8

PASSION

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Sunday November 2, 2014

A Lifestyle Magazine

APPLAUSE

‘A male fan once requested to suck my breasts’ >>27

I discuss romantic roles with my husband

–Judith Fought >>26

Senzo Meyiwa’s coffin was given a guard of honour as it was escorted into Moses Mahibida stadium in Durban, his home-town in South Africa, yesterday.

SEE STORY ON PG 60

PDP ward congress

INEC shocks Mimiko, recognises Ondo Exco Party leadership not dissolved, says Jimoh Ibrahim

News

Congress fails to hold in Enugu

700 reject polio vaccines in Sokoto

P. 50

P.9

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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What’s new Politics

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Seven Days TALKING POINTS OF THE PAST WEEK NOVEMBER 2,, 2014

IGP withdraws Tambuwal’s I won’t disappoint, Jonathan security aides pledges as he picks form

Sagay, Agbaje, others flay withdrawal of Tambuwal’s security

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Synagogue: Collapsed building has no approval plan, says witness Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Development and Urban Planning, Mr. Toyin Adedamola, yesterday told the coroner conducting an inquest into the collapsed building belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, that there was no record of plan approval of the building at Ikotun, in Lagos State.

Testifying before the coroner, a magistrate, Mr. Oyetade Komolafe, the commissioner said the approval given to the church was for the main building and not the one that collapsed.

He added that the collapsed building, by the records of the state government, did not have any approval.

Cuba approves first new church in 55 years

Govts tasked on maternal mortality Medical practitioner and human rights activist, Dr Abiola AfolabiAkiyode, has stated that the maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria stands at 576 per 100,000 live births despite global efforts aimed at accelerating progress.

The Federal Government yesterday, reiterated it’s decision to leave the nation’s borders open, despite fresh Ebola scare that hit the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Wednesday.

Supervising Minister of Health, Dr Khaliru Alhassan, stated this in Akwa Ibom, at the ongoing National Council on Health meeting.

According to a statement signed by Assistant Chief Information Officer, Federal Ministry

Cuba has permitted the construction of the country’s first new Catholic church in 55 years.

“The construction of a church is a clear demonstration of a new phase, of an improvement, in relations between the church and the state,” said Enrique Lopez Oliva, a professor the history of religions at the University of Havana.

The church, funded by donations from Catholics in Tampa, Florida, will be built in Sandino, a citrus and coffee-

growing town in the far-western province of Pinar del Rio. Experts said it’s a sign of improving relations between the Vatican and Cuba’s communist government.

The church publication “Christian Life” said it will have space for 200 people.

The Catholic Church had tense relations with what was long an officially atheist government for many years after the 1959 revolution, but they began to improve ahead of Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1998.

of Health, Markus Mangai, a copy of which was made available to National Mirror yesterday.

Reacting to the scare of the virus at the Nigerian premier airport, Alhassan said that recent developments in the country and in the sub-region regarding the spread of Ebola Virus Disease had vindicated government stand that leaving the borders open and strengthening surveillance remained the key to promoting detection of any potential threats.

Henrietta Obiokonkwo MISS FACE OF BEAUTY, 2014

MON

Wellness

Ebola scare: FG rules out border closure

Like every day, when I wake up in the morning, l say my prayers, check my mails, emails and voice mail messages. I do my walkout.

Afterwards, I head to my make up house as well as respond to calls.

When I’m back in the evening, I go to the gym.

TUE

Edo State-born Judith Audu Fought is an actress, budding producer and voice over artiste. She holds a master’s degree in Public and International Affairs and a Bachelors of Arts degree in French from the University of Lagos. She speaks about her childhood, acting career and lifestyle.

from the ruling PDP to APC does not affect his position as the number four citizen of Nigeria.

“It is improper. I really don’t know when we are going to establish some standard protocol into the practice of politics in this country. The fact that he has left the PDP does not affect his position as Speaker. And since he remains the Speaker, whether the PDP government is happy or not, they should be mature enough to leave his security details in place.

him from all parts of the country.

He said Nigeria is a great nation that deserves to be continually promoted towards its vision of being a critical global player.

Jonathan said that the country had demonstrated its greatness to the admiration of the world with the way it successfully handled the Ebola pandemic that hit the country recently, making her a global reference point on managing the disease that had killed hundreds of people.

Most Tuesdays are almost like my Mondays. I usually check the trending deals online and make plans for shopping; attend to clients and partners.

WED

I discuss romantic roles with my husband –Judith Fought

Prominent lawyers have condemned the redeployment of police personnel attached to the Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, describing it as a dangerous sign of what to expect in the 2015 election.

Constitutional lawyer, Itse Sagay, SAN, condemned the action, adding that it was an improper action for the federal government to take.

Sagay, who described Nigeria’s brand of politics as third-world, added that Tambuwal’s defection

I resume at Etta’s Faces but not as early as I do on Mondays and Tuesdays. I spend some hours at the makeup house and head for the cinema for a movie or two.

FRI THU

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President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday picked his nomination and expression of interest forms at the Peoples Democratic Party national secretariat in Abuja to recontest for the Presidency PDP also confirmed that it had also given the right of first refusal to some of its governors running for a second term that had performed creditably well.

The President pledged that he would not let the country down for the unequalled confidence and support reposed on

I go through my upcoming schedules, like my photo session, video shoot, modelling events and do some follow-up on jobs. I end the day’s activities at the polo club.

Fridays are lighter during the day, but most times, busy at night with friends at the lounge.

SAT

Passion

the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the APC and consequently adjourned the House till December 3.

Although his new party constitutes the minority in the house, Tambuwal has continued to carry on as Speaker.

He was billed to travel to Makurdi, Benue State, yesterday to attend the burial of the father of a PDP gubernatorial aspirant in the state, Mr. Harris Ogbole, before the withdrawal of the security aides.

I wake up at 10 a.m. most Saturdays and do some personal chores, necessary shoppings and go to the gym in the evening.

SUN

Tambuwal: Implications of Mr. Speaker’s defection

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, yesterday ordered the withdrawal of policemen attached to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal.

The security details were allegedly withdrawn on the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan following Tambuwal’s defection to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC. Tambuwal had on Tuesday formally defected from

I go to church after which I come home to prepare my Sunday special dish. I then go to the salon to have my hair done as well as pedicures and manicure. I spend enough time at the salon because I love being there. I could visit a friend or two in the evening or attend some glamorous events. *By Adaeze Amos (08023012293)

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

THE

Big Read SUNDAY SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Myths, realities of ‘Ember’ months

Scene of an accident (Inset) Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal, FRSC

There are several myths about the last four months of the year popularly called ‘Ember’ months. Many believe that September to December are the most dangerous months of the year. Some Christians are of the opinion that it is the period when Satan embarks on in-gathering of souls by causing mysterious deaths, accidents and other calamities. They, therefore, call for much prayer and fasting to frustrate the ‘plans’ of Satan and other enemies who do not want them to see the New Year. But beyond these, what are the realities of the ‘Ember’ months? Tayo Adelaja, Head Special Investigations, examines the myths and realities of these months.

T

he last four months of the year usually are time when a lot of festivities take place. Marriages, burial ceremonies, chieftaincy celebrations, carnivals, launch of new houses (housewarming) and many other festivals are often fixed for these months because it is assumed that the rains would have subsided. Many corporate organisations also grant annual leave to their

staff, while some close down for the year by mid-December to enable their workers observe the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Thus, it is a period of holidaying and relaxation.

A lot of travelling takes place due to the increase in the activities of festivities during the ‘ember’ months, thus the roads are busier at this period than any other time of the

‘MOST NIGERIANS HAVE LITTLE RESPECT FOR LIFE’

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year. Aside from travelling, a lot of people are also under intense financial pressure, having to pay school fees and attend to several invitations or contributing to different ceremonies. Many travelling to their homestead or birthplace also want to show off their progress for the year.

For the fact that the roads are busier during the season, coupled with our transporters’ obsession to make super profit, road accidents occur more during the these months, particularly close to the end of the year.

In a chat with Sunday Mirror on the ‘Ember’ months, Managing Director of Rite Insurance Brokers Limited, Ikeja, Lagos, Toyin Sanyaolu, said, “Osu ba ba ba (that is the Ember months) are here and that has brought a dreadful panic, morbid fear and travel phobia. As a matter of fact, churches have dust up old, reliable ember homiletics for their congregation. Special vigils are being called by pastors to avert the murderous revenge of ba ba ba months. Long drawn out fasting are imposed on reluctant fellow worshippers to placate the many demons of ember months who apprenticed under Dracula as blood suckers.

“Imams are not left out. Special ‘hadiths’ are being chanted and repeated over a thousand times to ward off ‘satany’ whose ghoulish and gory moment is in the same month of ba, ba, ba. Nigeria is truly a land of myth. MythCONTINUED ON PAGE 4

HURRIED, PANICKY TRIPS BLAMED ON FESTIVITIES

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The Big Read

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Most Nigerians have little respect for life’

Different scenes of accidents across the country

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 ological nuances are imported into all areas of our life from child birth to the time we return to the grave. We pay high priests to placate family-assigned demons. Even modern pastors and alfas must have sound grounding in myth busting and high divination to be seen as highly-gifted.

“We are manacled by the power of self-imposed myth which has no root in science but deeply embedded in daily experiences and happenstances. Let me cite an example: I joined a commercial bus from Ojota to Ilorin late September. A dark woman who I guess will be in her late forties sat in my front. She looked pensive, apprehensive, sober and in deep meditation. When she collected the manifest log book which contains names and next of kin of passengers, she prayed before filling it.

“Before we moved from Ojota, Lagos a young man had come to the door of our bus to pray and collect offering using the ember months as prayer points. As the bus moved again, the dark woman in a loud voice shouted, ‘Praise the Lord!’ She started singing and shortly after an interactive prayer session; it was a Yoruba prayer session, typical CAC-driven fervent prayer. She must have called ba, ba, ba, hundred thousand times during the prayer while cursing the ember months to perdition. Of course, out of her fear and ours, we joined and became sombre while the prayer lasted. Mercifully, the Ember demon was eventually arrested during our journey,” he added comically.

Babatunde Fatoyinbo, a transporter in Lagos who owns private buses he hired for commercial purpose, noted that the issue of ember months is nothing but myth.

He said, “The ember months become more monstrous with the belief that drivers tend to drive maniacally during this dreadful, accident-prone months to make more money before end of the year. Actually, this is just myth!

Has it been proved that the rate of accident between January and August is lower than that of ember months? Has it been proved that Nigerian drivers drive sanely between January and August? From my experience, our drivers are on ‘speed rush’ everyday of the year. Not even the ‘drive safely’ plea of FRSC could placate the restive madness of the majority of our drivers who are not just bad but reckless. They are just next to mad men and it is sad!

“Another issue I want to look at is that myth that commuters are forced to drive insanely in order to meet loan repayment, especially in the ember months that are laden with festivities. To me, it is illogical! Ramadan month is not a social festive period, neither is Christmas. Both are spiritual and sober period that are meant to offer believ-

THE EMBER MONTHS BECOME MORE MONSTROUS WITH THE BELIEF THAT DRIVERS TEND TO DRIVE MANIACALLY DURING THIS DREADFUL, ACCIDENT-PRONE

MONTHS TO MAKE MORE MONEY BEFORE END OF THE YEAR.

ACTUALLY, THIS IS JUST MYTH! ers, drivers and non-drivers a self appraisal time and self discovery. The ember months should be a God-sent period for repentance and purging of bad behaviour, impatience, greed and carelessness. It should actually be a period of debriefing and dejunking of bad habits and morals. Let me draw an instance here.

“In the UK, the adoration and respect the whiteman has for life and living are absent in Nigeria. To keep us alive and safe, motorists must have valid MOT, insurance and driving licence. There is a fine of one thousand pounds and or jail term and ban for any lawless violation of the transport laws in UK. When their laws are violated, there is absolutely no sacred cow in that place. From the Prime Minister to the common road sweepers, British law is supreme and above class, race, social and political interests.

In Nigeria, commuter buses and many private cars are nothing but contraptions of death on wheels on our roads.

Tyre threads have become bald, wiper is non-existent, MOTs are not rigorously made compulsory and driving licences are fakes! It is sad that police officers are contented with N50 bribes and FRSC contented with the N200 they collect from commercial buses. With such easy pay off, is there any surprise that we daily harvest orphans, widows and widowers through the greed, corruption and blatant truncation of our transport and hackney laws?

M1 and M25 are notorious as motorways to hell on earth during bank and Xmas holiday in UK. Roads are jammed and gridlocked but thank God for good roads, lightings, motorway telephones, recovery vehicles, transport police officers, careful drivers, and above all, the respect for human life which, when taken together, eliminate the need

to embrace a delusional myth of ember months which is typically the exclusive preserve of Africans.”

According to reports, the vision of road safety corps started in Oyo State, when the first governor of the state, Chief Bola Ige, established Oyo State Road Safety Corps in the early 80s. Then, they were called ‘Maja-maja’.

In February 1988, the Federal Government took a cue from the pacesetter state when it created the Federal Road Safety Commission through Decree No. 45 of the 1988 as amended by Decree 35 of 1992 referred to in the statute books as the FRSC Act cap 141 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN). Passed by the National Assembly as Federal Road Safety Commission (establishment) Act 2007. The functions of the Commission generally relates to: • Making the highway safe for motorists and other road users.

• Recommending works and devices designed to eliminate or minimise accidents on the highways and advising the Federal and State Governments including the Federal Capital Territory Administration and relevant governmental agencies on the localities where such works and devices are required, and • Educating motorists and members of the public on the importance of discipline on the highway.

In particular the Commission is charged with the responsibilities for: • Preventing or minimising accidents on the highway; • Clearing obstructions on any part of the highways; • Educating drivers, motorists and other members of the public generally on the proper use of the highways; • Designing and producing the driver’s licence to be used by various categories of vehicle operators; • Determining, from time to time, the requirements to be satisfied by an applicant for a driver’s licence; • Designing and producing vehicle number plates • The standardisation of highway traffic codes; • Giving prompt attention and care to victims of accidents • Conducting researches into causes of motor accidents, methods of preventing them and putting into use the result of such researches; • Determining and enforcing speed limits for all categories of roads and vehicles and controlling the use of speed limiting devices; • Cooperating with bodies or agencies or groups in road safety activities or in prevention of accidents on the highways; • Making regulations in pursuance of any of the functions assigned to the Corps by or under this Act. • Regulating the use of sirens, flashers and beacon lights on vehicles other than ambulances and vehicles belonging to the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police, Fire Service and other Para-military agencies; • Providing roadside and mobile clinics for the treatment of accident victims free of charge; • Regulating the use of mobile phones by motorists; • Regulating the use of seat belts and other safety devices; • Regulating the use of motorcycles on the highway; • Maintaining the validity period for drivers’ licences which shall be three years subject to renewal at the expiration of the validity period; and In exercising the functions, members of the Commission were given power to arrest and prosecute persons reasonably suspected of having committed any traffic offence.

In February 2013, FRSC celebrated its silver jubilee (25 years) and was able to beat its chest at having assisted to reduce road accidents.

Reports have it that in 2008, the total number of fatal cases of accident recorded across the 36 states and FCT was 3,024. Serious cases stood at 5,671, while minor cases were 2,646. Total cases recorded were 11,341 with 6,661 persons killed, 27, 980 injured and 34,641 as total casualties.

In 2009, total fatal accidents across the country were CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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The Big Read

Sunday, November 2, 2014

5

Hurried, panicky trips blamed on festivities

Charred remains at accident scenes

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 2,460; serious cases were 6024, minor cases 2,370. Total cases stood at 10,854 with 5,693 killed, 27,270 injured out of a total of 32,963 casualties.

Statistics of road traffic crashes on quarterly basis show that in the first quarter of 2009, there were 2,855 cases of road accidents with 7,372 injured, 1414 killed out of a total casualty of 8,786, while the second quarter shows 2660 cases with 6,720 persons injured, 1,699 killed out of 8,419 total casualty.

The third quarter shows 2,707 cases with 6,426 persons injured, 1,272 persons killed and 7,698 as total casualty; while in the fourth quarter, 2,632 cases were recorded, 6,752 injured 1,308 killed out of a total 8,060 casualties. In the fourth quarter, 2,632 cases of road accidents were recorded 6,752 injured, 1,308 killed out of 8,060 casualties.

A media consultant and public affairs analyst, Segun Fadipe, said, “I dare say however that it is not yet uhuru for Nigeria in terms of road safety. Most accidents to my mind are unreported. Aside from that, our motoring and road safety consciousness needs to improve. I still see a lot of people driving against traffic; driving without seat belt on; making phone calls while driving; not respecting zebra crossing; double parking; etc. Even pedestrians oftentimes refuse to use pedestrian bridges where one is provided while many walk backing traffic instead of facing traffic.

This is not to diminish the laudable achievements of the FRSC but to call on all and sundry to partner the FRSC by playing our part.”

The Commission’s operatives have been doing their best and are usually called to a great deal of task in the last quarter of every year which have been tagged the “EMBER” months, a period that has come to be associated with more accidents and loss of lives on our highways.

Indeed available statistics on the “EMBER” months represent a grim reality that evokes fear in many Nigerians who have now come to label them the “notorious months”.

Former Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Tumes Sylvanus Dalop in an interview once said: “Even without statistics, common sense will tell one that accidents and deaths are higher during these “EMBER” months because of the various festivities lined up during this period and which warrant much more travelling; it’s a period when commercial drivers cash in to make more money through overloading, excessive speeding, among others.”

According to him, the statistics of fatal accidents and deaths that would have been recorded on most roads across the country, especially along Gwagwalada – Abuja, Benin – Ore, Ibadan – Lagos express roads and about 19 others, would have been higher if not for special patrols always mounted by both the Regular and Special Marshals during these “EMBER” months.

“If these roads are not specially manned during these four months, September to December, every year, the number of accidents and deaths would have been higher because everyone is rushing home or back from one festivity or the other and you know, most drivers are usually impatient as they rush to make more money from passengers and so they over-speed, overload and end up in fatal accidents and loss of lives.

He said despite the sensitisation of drivers on the need to be more cautious during the “EMBER” months, they (drivers) tend to ignore the lessons and opt for reckless

driving in their desperate bid to make more money. “We are trying our best but our best is not yet the best because these drivers are very volatile. Some of them carry weapons; they are heartless and any attempt to stand on their way could prove fatal and if you want to meet force with force, they won’t hesitate to run over you.”

Mr. Dalop pointed out that rather than meet force with force; they have now resorted to taking the numbers of the erring drivers and handing them over to the Police for arrest or report to the owners of the affected transport companies.

The Zonal Coordinator of Special Marshal and Partnership Department, Professor S. Oyeleke, in his paper delivered at a workshop in which the theme of the workshop was, ‘Advocacy as a Tool for Improved Road Safety Activities’, the workshop among various others was aimed at reducing the rate of accidents on our roads, especially during the “EMBER” months. During the workshop, National Coordinator, Special Marshals, Mr. Sini Titsi Kwabe, in his paper called on both Special and the Regular Marshals to brace up, especially in the last two months to see to the total reduction of road accidents and deaths on our highways which he said are avoidable.

He attributed the frequent fatal accidents on the roads to the increase in the poverty level of the people, poor driving culture, danger of night trips, over-loading, dangerous driving, poor vehicle maintenance, among others, saying that there was the possibility of higher figures in subsequent years if nothing is done to arrest the situation.

Mr. Kwabe, however, made it clear that road safety is the business of all Nigerians and therefore advised motorists to complement the role of the FRSC in the realisation of “safer roads and fuller lives”, especially during these “EMBER” months in order to reduce the rate of accidents during the Xmas and New Year celebrations.

Tayo Ogunbiyi who works with the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja Lagos in his own submission asked what actually myth is. He said, “Myth is derived from the Greek word mythos, which means story or word. Various writers have defined myth in diverse ways. William Bascom in his article ‘The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives’ defines myth as tales believed as true, usually sacred, set in the distant past or other worlds or parts of the world, and with extra-human, inhuman, or heroic characters”. To Mary Magoulick, “myths are symbolic tales of the distant past (often primordial times) that concern cosmogony and cosmology (the origin and nature of the universe), may be connected to belief systems or

WHEN YOU HAVE A SITUATION WHERE PEOPLE ARE IN SO MUCH HASTE TO MAKE ALL THE MONEY THEY HAVE NOT MADE SINCE

THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, THERE IS BOUND TO BE BIZARRE CONSEQUENCES.

rituals, and may serve to direct social action and values.

For many people, myths remain value-laden discourse that explains much about human nature. In most cases, however, myth is always a far cry from reality. For instance, both myths and science put forward explanations to justify the existence of the universe. A major differentiation, nonetheless, is that explanations concerning the universe as offered in myths are not empirical, whereas that of science could be analysed and subjected to continual empirical assessment.

It is from the foregoing that one would like to examine the age-long belief in the country that the so-called ‘ember’ months (referring to the last four months of the year) are naturally tragic periods. This conviction has become so entrenched that various religious groups and other institutions often organise special prayer sessions with a view to warding off the ‘dangers’ associated with the ‘ember’ months. So, it’s not unusual to see faithful of the various religions engage in fervent spiritual warfare in a bid to dislodge blood sucking devils that are always on the prowl during these months.

The reality, however, is that the so called ‘ember’ months are not in any way different from other months of the year.

Tragedy occurs in the ‘ember’ months just as it happens in other months of the year. Ascribing needless spiritual and mythical undertones to tragic happenings during the ‘ember’ months is nothing but the usual Nigerian way of trivialising serious issues instead of using methodical means to appraise matters of crucial public concern. Rather than clothing the ‘ember’ months in a garb of gratuitous mystery, the pragmatic way of explaining dreadful events during these months is more human than mythological.

The truth is that there is usually an increase in the tempo of public, private and corporate activities during this period. This is when most public and corporate institutions organise end-of-year events that involve massive human movements. Many religious organisations also arrange various events to fit into this period of the year mostly as way of rounding off during the year.

Consequently, in a bid to be part of the various end-ofyear activities slated for the ‘ember’ months, most people throw caution to the wind by disregarding critical safety issues. Vehicles are driven in particularly reckless fashion, alcoholic drinks are consumed in amazing manner, social outings are organised with reckless abandon while the atmosphere is often filled with unusual allure and jollity.

It is in the midst of this frenzied state that avoidable human blunders often result in diverse kinds of misfortunes leaving in their trail sorrow, tears and blood.

In the past few weeks, cases of preventable tragedies in form of road mishaps and the like have been reported in the media. Sadly, rather than tackle the real issues involved, our people, as usual, have started making the customary allusion to the peril of the ‘ember’ months and the need to take necessary ‘spiritual actions’.

When you have a situation where people are in so much haste to make all the money they have not made since the beginning of the year, there is bound to be bizarre consequences. When commercial drivers, who usually embark on five trips per day, but because of the aura of festivity and in a bid to make more money, now decide to go on 10 CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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The Big Read

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Ember’ months are always the busiest on our roads’

Accident scenes, all

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 trips, something must surely give way.

Also, when you have an exodus of people from various parts of the country to other parts, there is bound to be a measure of uncertainty and disorder. The ‘ember’ months are always the busiest on our roads for obvious reasons and the tumultuous air of festivity does not really help matters.

To reverse the trend, it is important that the people must first and foremost change their perception of the ‘ember’ months. In doing this, it is vital that we make conscious efforts to disrobe the months of every garb of unjustified mysticism.

It is only when we are convinced that the dangers associated with the ‘ember’ months are human rather than spiritual or mythical that we could really make appreciable progress in our efforts to systematically tackle the issues that are involved.

In this respect, enforcement of existing laws and attitude change must be central to making any progress. The truth of the matter is that law enforcement agents, who ought to ensure that sanity prevails on our roads and other places during this period, are themselves involved in the mad ‘ember’ month’s rat race. Therefore, in a bid to make some ‘extra’ cash to furnish the special festive ‘necessities’ of the period, they often engage in treacherous compromise that encourage law breakers to go unpunished. The result, of course, is the continuation of an avoidable circle of pandemonium and sorrow.

As we march towards the end of the year, it is imperative that we all modify our perception of these months by making sure that we do not get involved in any pointless extraordinary end of the year ‘rush’ that could endanger our lives and, indeed, those of others. Those who have to organise social events around this period should do so bearing all safety precautions in mind. Commercial drivers and other road users must respect the sanctity of the human life by observing road safety measures.

Perhaps, more importantly, relevant government agencies must step up enlightenment campaigns as well as enforcement strategies to guarantee that ‘ember’ month’s crashes and other related tragedies are reduced to the barest minimum.

“The FRSC and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, should be commended for their ‘ember’ month’s safety strategies, in Lagos and adjoining states. However, there is a need for them to intensify efforts in this direction while more relevant government agencies should also come on board the ‘ember’ months reorientation and re-awareness project. Currently, the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy is embarking on ‘ember’ months responsiveness campaign across the state. The objective is to change the attitude of the people

IT IS ONLY WHEN WE ARE CONVINCED THAT THE DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ‘EMBER’ MONTHS ARE HUMAN RATHER THAN SPIRITUAL OR MYTHICAL THAT WE COULD REALLY MAKE APPRECIABLE PROGRESS IN OUR EFFORTS TO SYSTEMATICALLY TACKLE THE ISSUES THAT ARE INVOLVED.

towards these months and offer key safety tips. It is essential to reaffirm that ‘ember’ months are just like all other months. If only we could be modest in our approach to the months, we would certainly avoid the dangers and hiccups usually connected to them. One thing is sure, nothing is wrong with the ‘ember’ months; if only we could rid ourselves of what is wrong with us”, Ogunbiyi added.

Recently, The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Ota, said it has intensified efforts on patrol and public enlightenment to reduce road accidents in the “Ember Months.”

The Ota Unit Commander of FRSC, Mr Sunday Omafu, disclosed that the command had embarked on pre-trip inspection twice a week in all parks in Ota and its environs.

He said, “The unit inspects vehicles going outside the state with defects like bad tyres, side mirrors and wind screen. We stop motorists with defects on their vehicles

from embarking on a journey until those faults are rectified.”

Omafu disclosed that the command, in collaboration with the transport union in the state, embarked on the inspection and screening of vehicles. According to him, the commission intends to do radio and television jingles during the ember months to warn drivers against overloading and speeding.

“We have written to companies operating in Ota and its environs to come to our aid in sponsoring the jingles,’’ he added.

The ‘ember’ months, he advised, should not be seen as different from other months.

The months, which formed the last quarter of the year, were observed to be busier than other months of the year as motorists, businessmen and women rushed to make ends meet in speedy manner. The FRSC official said that to achieve that, commercial motorists try to make more trips during those months to make more money.

In a bid to ensure improved safety on the nation’s highways, Nigerian Breweries Plc also signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the FRSC. The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, disclosed this during the inaugural ceremony of the seventh edition of the ‘Don’t Drink and Drive, DDD’ campaign with the corps in Lagos.

Vervelde noted that with the signing of the MoU, collaboration on road safety between the two organisations would further be enhanced, adding that the company through this means would contribute to the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety, which is to reduce road-crash deaths and accidents by 50 per cent by 2020.

He explained that the FRSC had over the years been a great partner in executing the DDD campaign, hoping that the partnership would continue to produce the desired result.

On the 2014 campaign, Vervelde informed that it would include public enlightenment sessions at motor parks in four cities across Nigeria; Port Harcourt, Lagos, Onitsha and Makurdi, adding that there would also be a capacitybuilding workshop for officers of the FRSC and leadership of the NURTW. He added: “We anticipate that messages communicated through these avenues will further enhance awareness of road safety and encourage positive changes in drivers’ behaviour in relation to alcohol consumption.

“Since its launch in 2008, we have held 27 rallies in major cities across the country. It involves public enlightenment campaigns, communication and capacity building workshops. The rallies attracted large turnout of stakeholders that include commercial and private vehicle drivers, motorcycle and tricycle riders,” Vervelde said.

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NEWS

Sunday November 2, 2014

7

Mubi attacks: 30,000 Adamawa residents trapped in Cameroun VICTOR UDOH

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o fewer than 30,000 residents of Mubi and adjourning communities in Adamawa State are said to be trapped in Doumo and other border towns in the Cameroun Republic following last week’s attacks on Mubi by the Boko Haram insurgents.

Sources in the area told our correspondent yesterday that about 5,000 persons had managed to cross over to Nigeria while over 30,000 others are still trapped in Cameroun.

The insurgents had surprisingly struck in the wake of a ceasefire between it and the Federal Government while negotiations lasted over moves to secure the release of over 200 Chibok secondary schools girls from Borno State, captured by Boko Haram on April 14, this year.

The source, preferring anonymity, said many of the displaced residents had also died out of exhaustion and hunger.

Meanwhile, the Adamawa state governor, Bala Ngilari, said yesterday that a high-powered committee had been inaugurated

to address the problems confronting internally displaced persons, IDPs, due to the recent attack on Mubi town by members of the Boko Haram sect.

He disclosed that he had sent 77 vehicles in the past two days to evacuate the affected persons to designated camps.

Ngilari made the announcement in a statewide broadcast in Yola.

The governor explained that the purpose was to keep the displaced persons out of harm and to be resettled in camps in suitable locations.

He said government would continue to do all it could in providing basic necessities to the displaced persons until they were reunited with their families.

“I have also been in touch with the President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to address the issue of our citizens who are now refugees in Cameroun,” he said.

“Some displaced citizens are in Cameroun suffering untold hardship. I wish to reassure the good people of the state that I am doing all I can to address this situation.”

He advised the IDPs who

•Govt raises rehabilitation committee were staying with their relatives to ensure that they were registered at the designated camps.

He called on people of the state and the country at large to pray to God to take away the scourge of insur-

gency and restore peace and tranquility to Nigeria.

The governor called on

by the Commission against the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos, in a case of Emmanuel Ofoegbu vs FRSC on March 26, 2014.

The Federal High Court had in the initial judgment ruled that the FRSC had no statutory powers to fix deadline for motorists to switch over to the new vehicle number plate and driver’s

license.

However, in a verdict by the Court of Appeal in Lagos, delivered by Justice Joseph Ike with Justices Ndukwe Anyanwu and Jamillah Tukur as members, the Court of Appeal upheld the validity of the National Road Traffic Regulations 2012; held that the validity of old number plate

national and international agencies to come to the aid of the state “as the meagre resources we have cannot meet the myriads of needs posed by this problem.”

Appeal Court upholds FRSC powers to set deadline on new number plate

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he Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has delivered judgment in favour of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), upholding the Commission’s legal powers to set deadlines for motorists to change over to the new vehicle number plate and drivers’ license.

This verdict is coming on the heels of an appeal filed

bought by the respondent, Emeka Ofoegbu expired on October 13, 2014, the deadline issued by the FRSC; and dissolved the order of injunction by the Federal High court, restraining FRSC from setting deadline for change over to the new number plates and observed that the 13th October, 2014 deadline, had passed.

Senate President, David Mark, acknowledging cheers from his supporters at Otukpo Ward 1 during the Peoples Democratic Party ward congress in Otukpo, Benue State, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

IBB returns after 2-month medical Terrorism: Military steps up air, land deployment trip to Germany •Thanks Nigerians PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

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ormer Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd) has returned to the country after two months medical treatment in Germany.

He also thanked Nigerians for their concern and care during the period of his medical challenge.

The former military leader who arrived in a chartered flight landed at Minna International Airport at about 2:50pm yesterday in a navy blue Kaftan with golden stripes and a cap to match.

Mohammed and Halimat (his son and daughter), a grandchild and some of his close friends and associates mostly retired military officers were at the airport to receive the former leader.

The retired officers are Minister of Defence, General Aliyu Gusau, Air

Vice Marshall Hamzat Abdullahi, former FCT Minister, General Halilu Akilu, former director of Military Intelligence, Col. Habibu Shuaibu, former Niger State Military Administrator, Alhaji Umar Ndanusa and Alhaji Sani Ndanusa, former Minister of Sports.

Others are Alhaji Hassan Jalo, National Chairman of National Democratic Party, Alhaji Abubakar Muye, former Minister of Finance and a Justice of Supreme Court, Justice Musa Datijo.

The former Military president was driven home in a BMW black car with registration number ABJ O1 RY and arrived his Hilltop residence at about 3:15pm and was received by four of his grand children.

However, efforts by journalists to interview him were prevented, but on a further press, he only said, “Alihamadulillahi. I am coming up well. I am grateful to all Nigerians”.

•Studying ‘new Shekau’ video on ceasefire

D

efence Headquarters yesterday said necessary deployment of troops and equipment is ongoing to reverse all recent violation and breach of security by terrorists and criminals operating in parts of the country.

This was disclosed by Director Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, adding that the highly coordinated air bombardment is already yielding required results in the mission to repel the unwarranted attacks

on citizens especially in Adamawa and Borno states.

He further disclosed that as land forces are also conducting mopping up operations to apprehend retreating terrorists and facilitate restoration of normalcy in some of the affected communities, adding that more details will be released as the operations progresses.

He said the military will continue to accord due recognition to any ongoing mediatory efforts towards bringing

our girls home and terminating the insecurity in parts of the country.

Olukolade assured citizens that the military and security agencies remain committed and optimistic for positive outcome of ongoing operations.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian military yesterday said it is studying the video released on Friday by the Boko Haram sect, where the sect leader ‘Abubakar Shekau’ dismissed claims of a cease-

Boko Haram kills 18 in Borno

INUSA NDAHI MAIDUGURI

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t least 18 people were on Friday night killed while many others sustained gunshot wounds by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect in Uba town of Asira Uba Local Government area of Borno State.

The gunmen also succeeded in razing many

houses and shops in the town as they had a field day without confrontation.

Uba which is not far from Mubi town that was captured by insurgents last week is in southern part of Borno State located along the MaiduguriMichika- Yola road and about 200 kilometres drive from Maiduguri, the state

capital.

A witness, Mallam Garga Aliyu, who is a resident of the area said the insurgents stormed Uba in convoy of many vehicles.

“As they approached, news filtered and the people fled in droves.

On arrival, the terrorists threw explosives into many houses. Personally, I counted at least 18 people

fire deal with the Federal Government.

In a statement yesterday, spokesperson of the Defence Headquarters, Chris Olukolade, a Major General, said the military would make its position on the video known after a thorough review.

“The content of the video purportedly released by terrorists on Friday is being studied. Further information on subsequent position on the issues involved will be released as appropriate in due course,” Olukolade said.

dead while many others were injured,” Aliyu said.

Another resident who does not want his name in print said “many people” have been killed.

Our correspondent reports that there are two towns named Uba, one in Adamawa State and the other in Borno State with only the highway that divided both of them.

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NEWS

Sunday November 2, 2014

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NBA: Tambuwal remains Representatives’ Speaker SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

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he Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has spoken in defence of Hon. Aminu Tambuwal by insisting that he remains the Speaker of the House of Representatives even as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government fine-tunes plans to remove him following his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) last week.

The umbrella union of all lawyers in the country also faulted the withdrawal of the embattled Speaker’s security aides by the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abbah, declaring the action as illegal and further clarifying that the IGP has no such constitutional powers to determine the constitutionality or otherwise of Tambuwal’s

defection and related issues.

It would be recalled that Tambuwal has come under immense attack from the ruling PDP since he openly announced his defection to the APC on the floor of the House of Representatives last week with his picture as Speaker allegedly removed from the website of the National Assembly last week on the orders of the Federal Government.

The position of the NBA was restated in a media interview by the President, Mr. Austin Alegeh (SAN), yesterday at the meeting of the Midwest Bar Forum held at Motel Benin Plaza at G.R.A. in Benin City, Edo State, which brought hundreds of lawyers together.

Alegeh, who used the timeous prosecution of South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius for the murder of his girlfriend, Ms Reeva

Jonathan, Dickson preach peace at PDP Ward Congresses in Bayelsa OSAHON JULIUS YENAGOA

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resident Goodluck Jonathan and the Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, yesterday took part in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ward congresses in their respective wards in Ogbia and Sagbama Local Government areas of the state, preaching peace ahead of political activities that will soon engulf the country.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who had arrived the state on Friday evening and held marathon meetings with stakeholders at the state government house and his house along the Nikton road area of the state capital, was reported to have called on aspirants and party leaders to maintain peaceful conduct during the ward congress in the 105 wards of the 18 local government areas in the state.

President Jonathan, according to his aides, later moved to his ward headquarters in Otuabadi in Ogbia Local Government area of the state.

OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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he Peoples Democratic Movement has inaugurated a new substantive National Executive Committee headed by Dr. Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, who has acted as protem National Chairman

The Bayelsa Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, after participating in the Option A4 voting during the ward delegate election at Ward 2 in Angalabiri community of Sagbama Local Government area of the state, commended the party faithful for their peaceful disposition to the delegate election.

Said Dickson: “I thank the party for the turnout during the ward congresses and appreciate party leaders in the various wards. At my ward, I congratulate you for electing a female councillor to the Legislative Assembly of the council and a female delegate at the ward delegate election; it shows we are gender sensitive.”

Also speaking, the PDP Chairman in the state, Col. Samuel Inokoba, while receiving the ward delegate election materials from the National Electoral Committee of the party led by Prince Adesina Buramoh, called on delegates and aspirants to be peaceful as leadership of the party has provided a level playing field for the ward delegate elections in the state.

of the party.

•Faults IGP’s withdrawal of his security Steenkamp, as an example of judicial responsiveness, shared the blame for the crisis that resulted from the defection of Tambuwal to the Bench, which he faulted for contributing largely by its inability to adjudicate and effectively interpret on time the case pitching the NewPDP against the PDP. Alegeh said: “There is a constitutional provision for the removal of the Speaker. Before a Speaker can be removed, Section 68 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic has to be followed. Instead, we are yet to see that. The Speaker was duly elected by the majority of the House of Representatives. Since he was duly elected according to the Constitution, it also prescribes how he can be removed. Our position in the NBA is that as at now, Hon.

Aminu Tambuwal, remains the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”

On the issue of withdrawal of his security aides by the acting Inspector-General of Police, who announced that he derived his powers from the same Constitution, Alegeh, who clarified that he was not speaking just because Tambuwal is a member of the union, said that “The Inspector-General of Police cannot determine the constitutionality of the Speaker’s defection. He is entitled to his security aides as long as he remains the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”

Alegeh also threatened that the NBA might have to review the defence of kidnapping suspects in courts in the country especially as it has noted how the immediate past President, Mr.

Okey Wali, was kidnapped and released after some days in detention and the kidnap and detention of some other members of the association all over the country.

Alegeh said: “The legislative arms in prescribing life sentence and death penalty are trying to create some measures of discouragement for kidnapping. Lawyers have a duty to defend anybody who we accept to defend, whether the person is kidnapper, a drug pusher or a terrorist. Whatever the person may be, once a lawyer accepts the brief, he is bound to defend the person.”

“However, certain branches of the NBA have taken a position not to defend kidnappers because of the scourge of kidnapping and the effects they have had on those branches. No

Vice-President Namadi Sambo acknowledging cheers from his supporters at Kabala ward 05 during the Peoples Democratic Party ward congress in Kaduna, yesterday.

PHOTO NAN

Tambuwal’s defection, no threat to PDP, says Abba Moro HENRY IYORKASE MAKURDI

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inister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, yesterday, said the defection of Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to All Progressives Congress (APC) does not pose any threat to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This is even as he also solicited support of Nigerians for President Goodluck Jonathan, insisting that voting him into power in next year’s election will afford him another chance to consolidation on the good work he is doing for the country.

Moro, who stated that while fielding questions

from journalists in Makurdi, the Benue State capital observed that the political realignment in recent times where stalwarts from other parties find it expedient to cross over the other is normal, adding that the PDP was not perturbed by Tambuwal’s exit.

“If you can see the political trend, sometime ago,

PDM returns Bashir Ibrahim as Chairman

Bashir was elected during the national convention of the party which followed immediately the Zonal congresses were concluded.

The Chairman of the Peoples Development Movement who was sworn-in at about 2:46am yesterday at the party’s national secre-

matter what is happening, you have a duty to defend people. For us, the scourge of kidnapping is on the rise. Thank God for Okey Wali who was thankfully released after 15 days; there is Barrister Desmond Dudu of Sapele Branch, who is doing his 16th day in captivity. If this trend continues, the Bar would need to reconsider its position whether we would defend kidnappers or not.”

He advised, however, that for Nigeria to effectively tackle kidnapping, the Federal Government would need to properly police the whole country. He concluded that apart from policing, the government should further ensure that kidnappers are caught and made to face the penalty for the crime whether it is death penalty, life imprisonment or ordinary prison term.

•Pledges to liberate Nigeria tariat on No. 4 Paraguay Close, Abuja, said the success of the convention demonstrated the resolve of the people to liberate the country from its political darkness and brighten

it up with the philosophy of internal democracy.

Bashir said he has had 35 years active political exposure from his days in the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) till date and noted

that bane of democratic culture in the country is failure of political parties to entrench a culture of internal democracy.

He said: “What I detest in most political parties is the imposition of candidate. I will not impose a candidate on my party

Attahiru Bafarawa, former Governor of Sokoto State as well as former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau both of whom were from ANPP; when they could not contend with political manoeuvrings in their old parties, they eventually joined the ruling People’s Democratic Party.

than what the people have elected.”

He said that Nigerian politicians have basterdized politics, given it a bad name and destroying the values of the noble profession, calling on the members of the party to stand for fairness and justice.

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NEWS

Sunday November 2, 2014

9

PDP congress fails to hold in Enugu Dennis Agbo ENUGU

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he scheduled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ward congress failed to take place in Enugu State yesterday as the umpires expected from Abuja headquarters of the party also failed to arrive Enugu with the congress materials.

The two factions of the party in the state loyal to Governor Sullivan Chime and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, respectively, all waited in vain for the party officials that never showed up in Enugu.

While the Governor’s group maintained vigil at the state PDP office in Ogui junction, the Ekweremadu group that included some

National Assembly members remained in the Senator’s house at Independence Layout.

Different wards visited in Enugu metropolis, IsiUzo and Nkanu West Local Government areas showed that PDP members gathered in their numbers at various wards but materials were not delivered to them as they dispersed in frustration.

Earlier in the day, the deputy state chairman, David Ajah, who now claims acting chairman told newsmen that they were waiting for the congress committee from Abuja, same as Senator Ayogu Eze. Ajah later in the evening claimed the congress held successfully and even gave names of the 3 man delegates from the wards.

Delegate elections inconclusive in C`River Richard Ndoma CALABAR

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) election of delegates scheduled to hold yesterday ended up inconclusive in most parts of Cross River State.

In Cross River State Central Senatorial District, materials for the elections could not reach voters in their respective wards on time.

Elections materials were said to have left the PDP state secretariat at about 3:30pm to the different wards across the 3 Senatorial Districts of the state.

At about 4:17pm, voters were seen loitering about in one of the polling units of Akpet Central area of Biase Local Government area of the state with high expecta-

tion for the elections materials to arrive to enable them cast their votes in favour of who their delegate should be.

It was however gathered that materials did not leave the party secretariat because the aspirants vying for gubernatorial positions, House of Representatives and Senate had a stakeholders meeting with the leadership of the party with regards to claims and counter claims that the party leadership wanted to scheme out those whose they do not want.

Only on Friday, news made the rounds within the metropolis of Calabar, the state capital, that certain faction of the party had flooded the streets with fake PDP materials even when there was no any evidence to back up the claim.

PDP holds ward congresses in Osun Boladale Bamigbola OSOGBO

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n preparation for the primaries to elect its candidates in next year’s general election, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Osun State chapter, yesterday held Ward congresses in all the 332 wards of the state.

Speaking to newsmen shortly after receiving reports of the exercise at the state secretariat of the party in Osogbo, Osun PDP chairman, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa, said delegates that would vote during the primaries to elect flag bearer of the party for the state and National Assembly’s polls were elected.

He commended members of the party for demonstrating high-level discipline during the exercise, which he described as “largely successful”.

He said reports from all wards across the state showed that the elections were held without rancour, while members demonstrated a high level of sportsmanship.

According to him, the maturity displayed by members of the party across the state shows the PDP is made up of men and women of integrity and urged members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to learn how to practice internal democracy from the opposition party in the state.

Former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi (middle), flanked by Governor Liyel Imoka of Cross River State (left), and Senator Adede Musa, shortly after the inauguration of the Presidential Declaration Committee at the Banquet Hall of the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, recently

Ondo: INEC observes Alabi’s Congress, disowns Mimiko’s group zz State Exco not dissolved –Jimoh Ibrahim

Hakeem Gbadamosi and Ojo Oyewamide AKURE

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday monitored the ward congress conducted by the Ebenezer Alabi-led executive of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ondo State.

The Electoral body shunned parallel congresses held in hideouts by a PDP caretaker committee formed by Governor Segun Mimiko, despite an existing party leadership in place.

Speaking with our correspondent, an official of the INEC said there was no official letter or petition whatsoever to indicate that the

party’s leadership in the state had been dissolved.

The party’s executives, he said, are fully in place.

The state’s PDP thus, yesterday conducted the ward congresses in all the 203 wards across the state where delegates were elected to elect candidates for the party in the forthcoming general election.

Members of the party across the state trooped out in their numbers to take part in the congress across the state where delegates emerged at the end of the day.

A visit to most of the wards across the state indicated that the exercise was peaceful except for the parallel congresses by the new entrants of the

party.

The chairman of the party, Alabi, described the exercise as peaceful, saying security agents and members of the INEC partook in the exercise to monitor the exercise and said the parallel congresses by the members of the new PDP was illegal.

Alabi said the parallel exercise negates the constitution of the party explaining that the register of the party, had been closed before the defection of the members into the party.

He, however, said they could not take part in the congresss saying they were not eligible to participate in the congress.

But the Chairman of the

unrecognised caretaker committee, Dare Adeleke, who also described the exercise as peaceful, said members of the PDP in the state were in their best, commending the conduct of members in all the wards visited by his team.

Meanwhile, a leader of the party in the state, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, CFR, has sneered at the claim that the state’s Exco had been dissolved through the efforts of the Mimiko-led new entrants.

According to him, there was no official letter anywhere or a court judgement dissolving the party’s leadership and as such, dedicated members would not be distracted by hearsays.

2015: 16 PDP guber aspirants boycott ward, LG congresses in Rivers zz Exercise free, peaceful, says Wike Dennis Naku

PORT HARCOURT

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t least sixteen gover norship aspirants of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State, boycotted yesterday’s (Saturday) ward and local government congresses of the party in the state.

This is even as the immediate past Minister of State for Education and governorship aspirant of the platform of the PDP in Rivers State, Chief Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike, yesterday, declared the ward and local government congress of the party as free and fair.

Those that boycotted the exercise include Barrister Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Major

Lancellot Anyanya (rtd), Engr. Beks Dagogo-Jack, Engr. Sampson Ngerebara, Barrister Nimi WalsonJack, Senator Lee Maeba, Hon. Gabriel Pidomson, Dr. Silva Opusunju.

Others are: Hon. Bernard Mikko, Chief (Hon.) Pawariso Samuel Horsfall, Hon. Oseleye Dennis Ojuka, Prince Tonye Princewill, Captain Nwankwo Sunday, Prof. Donalale Baridam, Hon. Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja and Abie Bob Abbey-Hart (Esq).

In a communiqué issued yesterday and signed by their spokesperson, Sotonye Ijuye-Dagogo, the aspirants regretted that they were deceived into believing that there would be a level playing ground for all of them.

They accused the state leadership of the party of

breaching the procedures leading to the delegates’ wards congress.

The communiqué reads: “The campaign organisations of the undersigned aspirants, having noted the processes leading to the ward delegates’ elections scheduled for Saturday, November 1, 2014, observed that our governorship aspirants have been deceived into believing that there would be a level playing field for all the party.

“But, we note that the process leading up to the ward delegate elections, which is the foundation of all subsequent primaries, is clearly convoluted and flawed and cannot, therefore, produce an acceptable outcome.

The aspirants, who expressed worry over the legality of the State Working

Committee (SWC), also condemned the assault on their supporters by thugs allegedly sponsored by another governorship aspirant, who they alleged was been favoured by the party leadership.

They also decried the alleged endorsement of a gubernatorial aspirant by the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, claiming that she had even approached some of them to step down.

Meanwhile, the immediate past Minister of State for Education and governorship aspirant of the platform of the PDP in Rivers State, Chief Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike, yesterday, declared the ward and local government congress of the party as free and fair.

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10

Interview ENCOUNTER WITH A NEWS MAKER November 2, 2014

We’ll give Lagos a credible governor –George Chief Olabode George is former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In this interview with journalists, he speaks extensively about the party’s governorship option in Lagos, among other issues. Ayo Esan was there. Excerpts:

We learnt that there was a piece of advice from President Goodluck Jonathan to the governorship aspirants in the state that they should choose one among themselves that will be acceptable to the electorate, even the opposition, someone they know if they push forward everyone would support. As a leader of the party in the state, do you have a preferred candidate for the position of governor?

The issue at stake is of importance to the future because it is about those who will manage resources of this state to the benefit of the people. It is very apt and I am happy that you are here to ask such question. I would answer it exactly the way the president answered his own when he came to visit us in Lagos. I think it was Senator Bucknor-Akerele who asked the same pertinent question. She said to the president, ‘Mr President, I am told that you have a preferred candidate’.

President Jonathan said, ‘no, I don’t have any preferred candidate. But everywhere I went, I heard one name, to my left, right, centre and even back.’ He also said that some of his friends outside are mentioning the same name. Now, you see in this game, all members of the party, as a leader, are your children. But I come from a profession when you look at your boss you don’t start creating your own wakes. Politics and military operation are similar although they are not completely the same. You watch the wakes of your oga and you fall in line. Those things are not his wish alone. He said he didn’t have any preferred candidate but if there is one name that is reverberating all over the place including the other side, that kind of person will also be his own preferred candidate.

Meantime, because it is a lot of money to get the forms for the aspirants, he said they should tarry awhile and be careful that they should go into serious retrospection and do a deep-seated thinking and don’t waste their money. They also heard like everybody that it is what the public is saying. As a naval officer, I would say don’t swim against the tide.

That is putting it in a milder form. He said they should also hear like he heard and they should try and work together and we should ensure we turn it round.

For me, that was purely advisory. The

voice of your Papa, when he is advising you, you don’t throw that into the dustbin. Listen to the voice of your leader and the voice of your elders. All along, as I told many of them, this game is not just us alone doing election; it has a link all the way. Election even as we started on Saturday (yesterday) the commencement of the congresses, it would have an effect on the national election. So the first step is very important and you watch your leader like we say in politics. The leaders are also having meeting with them, those that you can convince.

Let’s reduce the number because N12 million is a big money and is non refundable. He said he would still come back and see how best we are able to manage.

Let the aspirants discuss among themselves and let the elders do their best and that he will soon come back because Lagos is so strategic for the government of this country. This is because Lagos State is the economic centre of Nigeria and also the economic nerve centre of West Africa. So who governs Lagos should not just be the business of the Lagosians alone, it has to be the business of the whole nation. All eyes are on Lagos. If we get the right candidate with the right attitude, pedigree, educational qualification and whatever it is because not only the downtrodden people are affected, the middle level people also and the business community is also affected. compete.

Can you give an idea of how many people the leadership is talking to?

Since the president left after he advised the aspirants, by my reckoning we have about seven or eight who came up but now we have about three or a maximum of four who are still in the race. We know at the end of this day, the elders are still meeting and we want people to look at it dispassionately and you don’t force it down on them.

Let us give you the picture as it is in the public .We learnt that you are queuing behind Mr. Jimi Agbaje and we also learnt that Obanikoro said he is supported by the President. With this, it seems we are having two horse races. There is also this belief that there is a third force coming up in the South-West if not in

George

ON WHO GOVERNS LAGOS

LAGOS STATE IS THE ECONOMIC CENTRE OF NIGERIA AND ALSO THE ECONOMIC NERVE CENTRE OF WEST AFRICA. SO WHO GOVERNS LAGOS SHOULD NOT JUST BE THE BUSINESS OF THE LAGOSIANS ALONE, IT HAS TO BE THE BUSINESS OF THE WHOLE NATION. Lagos where your like that are elders are giving way to the young generation.

There is no amount of clothing that a young person has, he will never have as many rags as an old man. You don’t buy that, you live through it. When a child goes to the bush to cut the tree, it is the old man that will know where it will fall.

As I said, this is the season of rumours.

They can flex the muscles. That he resigned because the president endorsed him, that is the greatest lie. I think the president who came and made the statement I told you is still very much alive.

Are you saying it is the president that

said (Nyesome) Wike should resign and he endorsed him, who signed the papers?

Was it the president that signed the paper? I have defined the type of candidature we should have. A man with sound pedigree, who you can trace his lineage, with sound education, a man who has shown semblance of top management, who is respectable, responsible, acceptable and manageable, marketable to all the three tiers of existence.

He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. Any skeleton in your closet, just ease yourself out quietly. NoCONTINUED ON PAGE 55

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Politics PROVIDING FRESH PERSPECTIVES TO ISSUES NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Why Ogun deputy gov, Adesegun, may defect to SDP 12

I REALLY DON’T KNOW WHEN WE ARE GOING TO

ESTABLISH SOME

STANDARD PROTOCOL INTO THE PRACTICE OF POLITICS IN THIS COUNTRY.

THE FACT THAT HE HAS LEFT THE PDP DOES NOT AFFECT HIS POSITION AS SPEAKER. AND SINCE HE REMAINS THE SPEAKER, WHETHER THE PDP GOVERNMENT IS HAPPY OR NOT, THEY SHOULD BE MATURE ENOUGH TO LEAVE HIS SECURITY DETAILS IN PLACE”.

–PROFESSOR ITSAY SAGAY, SPEAKING ON THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE SPEAKER OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AMINU TAMBUWAL’S, SECURITY DETAILS.

Tambuwal:

Implications of Mr. Speaker’s defection •Why he may retain seat

Lagos 2015:

APC leaders move for consensus candidate P 54

Briefly 2015: Ex-Niger commissioner declares guber ambition PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

F

ormer Commissioner for Commerce and Investment in Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has declared his interest to contest for the governorship seat of the state on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC).

Declaring his intention in Kontagora town before party chieftains and supporters, Bello promised to tackle infrastructural and institutional decay in the state.

Bello said if voted, he would create job opportunities for the unemployed youth, uphold the dignity of women and girlchild and other vulnerable persons, lamenting that the state had over the years lagged behind in the area of youth employment.

He stated that he would focus on provision of infrastructure, adequate health services and affordable housing through the charting of new sources of economic growth, adding that he would also promote peaceful and harmonious co-existence among the diverse population in the state.

Aspirant counsels youths on 2015 polls BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA OSOGBI.

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Tambuwal

TORDUE SALEM

T

ambuwal’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), last week, has attracted the rage of the Presidency.

Twenty four hours after an emergency meeting on Wednesday, the Presidency ordered the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Suleiman Abba, to withdraw the security detail of the Speaker.

Before his move, Tambuwal had ad-

Ihedioha

journed the House to December 3 for a short recess, to attend to political party primaries slated for next month.

The Speaker’s move to APC was long foretold by this newspaper and may perhaps be long overdue, going by the circumstances of his emergence and his subsequent bashing of the establishment.

Tambuwal, like his immediate predecessor, Dimeji Bankole, emerged with the support of his colleagues, not his party. But unlike his predecessor, he was not even from the area his party

zoned the Speakership. The latter issue is what makes Tambuwal a political phenomenon.

The issues around his ascendancy may have encouraged his searing attacks on his party’s (PDP) approach to governance. Not even Bankole in his earlier idealistic posturing was as unyielding in his strictures.

Criticism of the leadership of one’s party is not strange in India, the United Kingdom, the United States or even in CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

Senatorial aspirant from Osun Central Senatorial District on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Ayotunde Solomon, yesterday, advised youths to rise to the challenge of getting more people of younger generation elected into positions of authority in next year’s general elections.

This, according to him, is necessary in view of the new trend in many countries across the globe presently where young people are entrusted with power and charged youths to make use of the opportunities next year’s poll presents to ensure change of guard in all tiers of government in the country.

He said: “Younger people can tackle contemporary challenges using modern methods of dealing with them and achieve results”, insisting that the era of allowing only elderly people to rule has passed and called on youths to use their energy and population towards installing some of them in key leadership positions in the coming poll.

Speaking during a meeting held in Osogbo with his supporters, Ayotunde posited that many advanced countries of the world are turning to younger generation for leadership and cited the emergence and achievements of Barack Obama since becoming president of United States of America, as good example of the resourcefulness and power in the reasoning of younger generation.

12

Politics

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Why Ogun deputy gov, Ades ...as Amosun shops for new running mate FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

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here are strong indications in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, that the embattled Deputy Governor, Prince ’Segun Adesegun, may have concluded plans to defect to another political party following the sour relationship between him and Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

Our correspondent reliably gathered that Adesegun may dump the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the newly resuscitated Social Democratic Party (SDP) to enable him actualise his future political ambition should the alleged injustice against his person and office continue unaddressed.

This is sequel to the effect of the letter purportedly written by Adesegun to Amosun which he alleged gross injustice against his person and office as the deputy governor.

In the said letter, dated October 24, 2014, Adesegun detailed injustices against his person as well as his office. The development has, however, confirmed speculations within the Isale Igbehin Government House that Amosun may have truly parted way with his deputy and that may have accounted for reasons top government functionaries started shopping for a likely successor to Adesegun in the event he is impeached or he resigns.

In the 10-paragraph letter, Adesegun accused Amosun, among other things, of

starving his office of funds and allocation of old vehicles to his office.

The deputy governor said his September and October feeding and out-of-pocket and sundry allowances had yet to be paid.

“My governor, as I am writing to you, the feeding and out-of-pocket allowance of the deputy governor for the months of September and October 2014, as well as the monthly sundry expenses for the months of September and October 2014 are yet to be paid,” the deputy governor wrote.

Besides the allowances, Amosun’s deputy also claimed that electricity supply to his official residence had been cut since the past seven months following the failure of the Amosun-led administration to pay lleged N5 million it owed the then Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Adesegun also alleged that while the July 2014 monthly running costs of ministries, departments and agencies in Ogun were duly paid, that of his office was withheld.

He lamented that he had been spending an average of N30, 000 daily to buy diesel to enable him provide electricity for his residence as the place was not initially connected to the state mini-power plant. He also raised the issue of not being assigned a role to enable him function well in the state.

“Of course, your Excellency knows that till date, I remain the deputy governor in Nigeria without a portfolio, in spite of entreaties made to you from various quarters. Worse,

several attempts made by me for the office of the deputy governor was rebuffed by your good self. And I keep wondering why this is so,” Adesegun further stated.

Reasons for Adesegun’s persecution The media are already awash with the details of how Governor Amosun has severed the once cordial relationship between him and his godfather, Chief Olusegun Osoba.

The frosty relationship between Amosun and Osoba, which dated back to the period when Amosun was forming government, has also affected the Ma T’agba Mole group which formed the fulcrum upon which their electoral victory was achieved.

Observers of political events in the Gateway state and analysts have continued to wonder why Amosun would treat his deputy with perceived marginalisation, noting that those allowances which Adesegun complained about were part of the budget provisions which had been passed by the state lawmakers for the current fiscal year.

Analysts, however, maintained that the feud between Amosun and Osoba was claiming its first principal casualty in the person of Adesegun who was a product of the Osoba’s Ma T’agba Mole group.

Sunday Mirror was reliably informed that Amosun had for long allegedwly told some of his close associates that he was done with his deputy. The governor was also said to have informed his associates within the corridor of power to brace up for the challenges

Amosun

of combining his deputy’s job with theirs.

This may have however accounted for why the duo of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Adeoluwa Taiwo, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Suraju Ishola, function as the governor’s representatives on occasions and events he would not appear.

The development, it was gathered, was meant to frustrate the deputy to resign from office in order to pave the way for his successor in office. But sources within the Ogun corridors of power told Sunday Mirror that Adesegun was not unaware of this.

Consequently, he has resolved not to resign un-

Consequences of Tambuwal’s d CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

South Africa, but in Nigeria it is greeted with cruel rejection and punitive consequences.

In fact Joseph Liebermann, a Republican in the United States, has been one of the most consistent critics of the policies of the party, without being punished for ‘anti-party activities’.

But Tambuwal, as a consequence, has had to walk a tightrope. He has had to relinquish some perquisites of office. For example, he has never, unlike his predecessors, flown a jet on the presidential fleet.

He has avoided the snares of the Presidency, his party and almost relinquished his rights as a member of National Executive Committee of the PDP. The ruling party at the centre has felt sorely cheated by his non-cooperation.

It has fumed and schemed and therefore dug everywhere with the sinister intent for muck to bring him down.

Frustrated, the PDP is now plotting his fall through the instrumentality of the House Rules and the Constitution. But the challenge here again is that Tambuwal’s colleagues do not appear enthusiastic about ousting a Speaker they find effective and innocent of the grudges held against him.

It even worsens matters that neither the 1999 Constitution nor the Eight and

recent edition of the Standing Orders of the House, allows for the ouster of a presiding officer from a Minority or Majority party.

The rules and the organic law do not even allow for the election of the Speaker on the basis of his party.

Section 50(1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, states that: “a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves”.

Order 2 Rule 4 of the Standing Orders of the House (Eight and Present Edition) states that; the election of Speaker shall be conducted in the following manner: (a) a Member-elect, addressing the clerk, shall propose another member-elect with legislative experience as member of the National Assembly to the House to be Speaker and shall move that such member-elect, “Do take the Chair of the house as Speaker of the House of Representatives”.

Not even the subsequent sections talk of the party the said Speaker must belong . On the issue of a possible declaration of the seat of a member vacant, the Legislative Houses and Privileges Act only confer such powers on a Speaker and not members. Therein lies the conundrum for the ruling party.

A statement last week by the Deputy

Spokesman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs Matters, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene (APGA-Anambra), told the PDP off. He insisted that Tambuwal had done no wrong and would stay as Speaker.

“Many of these commentators, rather than correctly stating what the true position of the law and the House rules are, take delight in advertising ignorance, with some even advocating a recourse to anarchy as a way of achieving what they imagine ought to be the solution to the issue.

“Following several enquiries by journalists and some members of the public, it is easy to narrow the concerns to two key issues. One, whether Speaker Tambuwal ought to vacate his seat as representative of Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency, Sokoto State, by virtue of section 68(1) (g), of the 1999 Constitution, as amended and two, if he shouldn’t step down as Speaker, having defected from the majority party in the House to a minority platform”, he said.

According to him, “Order 1 Rule 1(2) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives states that, “In all cases not provided for hereinafter, or by Sectional or other orders, precedents or practices of the House, the House shall by resolution, regulate its procedures.

“It is in light of the foregoing that the

John Odigie-Oyegun, APC Chairman.

House wishes to appeal to those who seek to “regulate its procedure”, from outside its hallowed chambers to have a rethink, as the nation’s Constitution, the Standing Orders of the House and precedent as in the Speakership of the late Hon. Edwin Ume-Ezeoke in the Second Republic on a minority platform - have all provided answers to what would have otherwise been a knotty political issue”.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

13

Sunday November 2, 2014

Man in the News Hon. Aminu Tambuwal A Speaker’s Mother of all Defections AYO ESAN

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fter months of speculations about the political future and after several confirmation that he will remain a bona fide member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, last Tuesday at the tail end of plenary announced his defection to the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. The announcement did not come to many as a surprise as Tambuwal’s defection to the opposition party had on several occasions been predicted.

Consequent upon to his defection is the withdrawal of his police security by the Inspector General of Police, an action which has received scathing condemnation from Nigerians across the strata.

Tambuwal said his decision to defect to the APC from the PDP was because of the division in the latter in his home state, Sokoto. He stressed that the move was in line with the 1999 Constitution as amended and the standing orders of the House.

“In pursuit of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and in view of the political developments in my state, I wish to formally inform you of my membership of the APC. “This is in continuation of the great sacrifice and also the need to ensure development of constitutional democracy,” he had told the House members last Tuesday.

His defection, however, expectedly generated mixed reactions as the leadership of the PDP demanded for his immediate resignation as the Speaker.

PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said it met with the the party leaders in the House on the defection.

“After a thorough consideration of the matter, the National Working Committee, NWC, came to a conclusion that the Hon. Speaker, as a responsible elected officer, knows full well what is needful and honourable of him since his new party is in the minority. We are not unmindful of the fact that Hon. Tambuwal became Speaker on the platform of the PDP as the political party with the majority of seats in the House of Representatives, and that this incontrovertible fact has not changed,” he said.

To the opposition members in the House, Tambuwal’s announcement was greeted with fanfare and jubilation. They described the development as a historic one.

Members of the caucus, led by Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, had moved to a briefing room shortly after plenary, where they hailed Tambuwal for his decision to dump the PDP. Gbajabiamila described the move as

unprecedented and in line with the Constitution and the Rule Book of the House.

“All we can say is that his decision to join the APC is a historic event and we welcome and applaud the Speaker’s defection. We have all along known that this day will come.

“The Constitution requires that the Speaker and his deputy will be elected by members among themselves, and he is a Speaker who was elected by all parties,” he said, adding that the “APC members would continue to support the current leadership.”

He ruled out the possibility of removing Tambuwal from office, but admitted, however, that the PDP was still in the majority in the House.

The IGP in justifying the removal of the police security attached to the Speaker said since Tambuwal had defected from the PDP to the APC, he could no longer enjoy the privilege of police protection.

“In view of the recent defection by Hon. Aminu Tanbuwal, CFR, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, and having regard to the clear provision of Section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Ni-

geria as amended, the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, has redeployed its personnel attached to his office,” the IGP said in a statement by Emmanuel Ojukwu, the police spokesman.

Section 68(1) (g) of the Constitution provides that “A member of the Senate or House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House if being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected: Provided that his membership of the latter party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored.”

Though Tambuwal has not been impeached or resigned as Speaker, the police said he had violated the said provision and must, therefore, be stripped of certain privileges which he hitherto enjoyed.

In his reaction, however, Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Public Affairs, Mallam Imam Imam, said that only the police details were withdrawn as the operatives of the State Security Service, SSS, were still with Tambuwal.

He said that Tambuwal was shocked at the justification of the withdrawal of his security personnel by the police.

According to him, “The Inspector-General should desist from assuming or usurping the constitutional functions of the judiciary.

“The implication of the Inspector-General of Police’s statement is that as sanction for this alleged constitutional breach, he has removed Tambuwal from the Office of Speaker, House of Representatives.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the question of whether or not there is a division or faction in the PDP has been resolved by Justice Faji of the Ilorin Division of Federal High Court in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/605/2013 in which the court held that indeed there were factions in the PDP. “Again in suit no. FHC/ ABJ/CS/ 605/2013, the Sokoto Division of the Federal High Court per Justice Aikawa, the judgment of the court was that there was not only division but factions in the PDP which later merged with the APC. “As the number four citizen in the hierarchy of protocol in the country, the Speaker is entitled to security protection by the security agencies”.

Imam described the action of the Acting Inspector- General of Police as not only contemptuous of the courts but a ploy to bring harm to the person of Hon. Tambuwal.

Aminu Waziri Tambuwal was born on January 10, 1966 in Tambuwal Village Sokoto State to Waziri Tambuwal.

He attended Usman Dan Fodio University Sokoto, where he studied Law, graduating with an LLB (Hons) degree in 1991. He completed his one year compulsory legal studies at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, obtained his BL and was called to the Bar in 1992.

Tambuwal started learning the legislative ropes from 1999 to 2000, while working as Personal Assistant on Legislative Affairs to Senator Abdullahi Wali, the then Senate Leader.

In 2003, he decided to run for a legislative seat as representative of the Kebbi/ Tambuwal Federal Constituency. He was elected to the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).

A few months to the 2007 general elections, he defected to the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), alongside the former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa.

But when the DPP denied return tickets to former ANPP legislators, Tambuwal swung back to the ANPP, where he eventually succeeded in picking a ticket for the election.

But, when the ANPP governorship candidate for Sokoto State in the 2007 election, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, dumped the party for the PDP, Tambuwal also followed suit.

In 2005, he became the Minority Leader of the House until he defected to the PDP. Upon his re-election to the House in 2007, he was also elected the Deputy Chief Whip.

Opinion

14

Sunday November 2, 2014

Uncensored U nc

Sheriff S Folarin

E-mail: sheffie2004@yahoo.co.uk 08094217972 (SMS only)

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Greek Gift is an offer made or a favour done with a treacherous purpose. Put differently, it is a gift from one party to another with an ulterior motive or sinister purpose to trick and cause harm to the recipient. In the ancient times, the Greeks, a war-mongering people with the quest to dominate their neighbours, for ten years, even with the sheer bravery, stellar qualities and cunning of their mercenary, Odysseus, found Troy, whose military forces were led by Prince Hector, impregnable.With Achilles and Hector dead, the Greeks and Trojans (people of Troy) thusattempted to even scores or possibly outdo each other.

Odysseus however devised a measure that would finally break Troy and bring about the ultimate victory for Greece.

The Trojans woke up one morning to find acarved giant horse, which would be known as the Trojan Horse, in front of their gates, with no sign of anyone around there. The Trojans had concluded that the Horse was a parting gift and a form of olive branch from the war-weary Greeks that they would love to sheathe their swords, make peace,and give up on Troy. The war commanders and princes

Boko Haram ceasefire: Greek Gift and gullibility of Troy decided to open the huge gates, which enemies had not been able to break for decades, through which they took the “Greek Gift” and settled the giant wooden horse right in the heart of the city of Troy. The king, princes, generals, soldiers, men, women, boys and girls all came to behold the object of Greek “surrender”, singing the praise of, and eulogizing the monarchy for a rare “victory”, drinking and dancing wildly in celebration into the night.

The Trojans got drunk in wild ecstasy and all went to a careless sleep. In the dead of the night, when all was grave silent and even sentries had gone into deep slumber, the doors of the Trojan Horse quietly opened and from the belly of the beast came hundreds of fully armed Greek soldiers, who finally shattered the myth of Troy’s impregnability and found their way into the kingdom. They killed nearly everyone (king, queen, princes, princesses, soldiers, citizens) with relative ease, thus bringing the worst calamity ever on the kingdom of Troy. The Greek Gift (Trojan Horse) thus became the Achilles’ Hills and nemesis for Troy, which was destroyed and eventually occupied by Greece.

If War Generals and Great Leaders with the benefit of hindsight take anything out of past mistakes and read their history books passionately, they will not repeat the error of Troy and accept just any kind of offer, and when least expected. There is no doubt that the Boko Haram offer of ceasefire is similar to the

foregoing story of the Greek Gift. With the rattling of the sect seven weeks ago, persistent pounding and decimation of the members, leading to the killing of the man in the infamous sect hate YouTube videos, the so-called Abubakar Shekau, it was apparent that the soul, spirit and body of Boko Haram had been annihilated. They were surrendering in their numbers and had even started fighting among themselves, with reported cases of killings in their camps.

Boko Haram had lost grounds and had started fleeing into different directions and just could no longer withstand the military assaults. For weeks, there was no clear video or image showing that another Shekau had emerged. The only YouTube upload was showing a certain Shekau impostor who had not mastered the trade like his dead predecessor. It was clear that Boko Haram was in a desperate, pathetic and very laughable situation. Nigeria had become not only impregnable but also offensive to the final point of crushing the group out of existence.

But it was at this time of great victories and sweeping arrests of the terror members two weeks ago, that news of ceasefire and proposed release of the Chibok girls abducted 202 days ago came through. SomeFederal Government representatives were meeting one unknown sect leader, Danladi and his team in Saudi Arabia, where the latter begged for a ceasefire and offered peace deals that would immediately lead to the re-

Nigeria’s oil sector under Alison-Madueke HAMIDU ABUBAKAR

K ‘

nowing where you are going is the first step to getting there’ – Ken Blanchard

To many Nigerians, Diezani AlisonMadueke’s name may not have been found in the list of Nigeria’s high-ranking political gladiators before assuming her present position as the nation’s Minister of Petroleum Resources about three years ago.

But then, before delving into the usually turbulent political landscape of the country, Alison-Madueke has been globally acknowledged as one of Nigeria’s brightest brains whose career has been one of the most exciting, having had cause to sit with global corporate leaders in championing the cause of corporate governance at managerial and board levels, spanning over two decades.

The appointment of the reticent and amiable young intellectual Amazon by President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, therefore could be seen as a well-deserved recognition by the government to infuse the firepower of some technocrats into the national political reengineering drive to reposition the country on the path of sustainable development. This explains why Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s appointment is seen by many observers as deserving by all assessment.

As has been observed in transformational rebirth of many nations, there comes a time when a reformer emerges and embarks on a trail blazing endeavours that changed the course of their

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

national history and restore hoped to the people.

This happened in English history with the coming of Oliver Cromwell, in French history with the emergence of Napoleon Bonaparte, in American history with the leadership of the inimitable President George Washington, and only recently with the African experience in the Madiba, Nelson Mandela who, until he passed on recently, represented a leader and torch bearer in his people’s search for political identity in a land of their infant birth and nurture.

Even when the minister may not have qualified to be ranked among these leaders of global political clout, she has over the past three years of her leadership at the most sensitive ministry in the country demonstrated one attribute that separate great leaders from the crowd – patriotism.

Quite remarkably, despite the odds and politicisation of every facet of public governance, the Minister has proved to be a woman of rare mental endowments characterised by uncommon virtues and wondrous capabilities that the Nigerian youths should be proud of, particularly if her achievements are used as parameter of assessing her contributions to current Transformation Agenda of the government.

Despite the daily obfuscating and sensationalised lamentations by the minister’s political opponents in order to distract her from pursuing the transformational agenda in the industry, one thing that cannot be denied is that Mrs. Alison-Madueke symbolises an epitome of courage and who, like athletes who are

never bothered about sidelines distractions to win their races, never lost sight of the forthrightness of her initiatives.

Having carefully observed her untiring and remarkable efforts at eliminating corruption and turning around the hydrocarbon industry in Nigeria, we have therefore come to the conclusion that her story must be told to all Nigerians through our new platform-the Diezani Promoters’ Group (DPG).

A cursory appraisal of her anti-corruption stance showed that the minister did not only agree with millions of Nigerians that the age-long sleaze in the fuel subsidy scheme but also championed the audit of the industry. This led to the arrest and prosecution of fuel importers who were defrauding Nigerians under the subsidy regime and today, billions of naira are being saved into government coffers from the initiative on a monthly basis.

Secondly, one other achievement that cannot be removed from the minister’s scorecard of remarkable strides is the ending of the maddening short-changing of the country by fuel scarcity racketeers, who for selfish reasons never engaged in unconscionable diversion of fuels and never allowed the downstream sub-sector of the industry to experience industrial peace. Interestingly, she exposed the fuel scarcity racket and since her assumption of duty Nigeria has not experienced fuel scarcity as was witnessed in the past.

In line with the present administration’s efforts to give meaning to the perennial clamour by industry experts and investors for encouragement of indigenous players’ participation in the upstream

lease of the Chibok school girls. Before Danladi could say “Jack”, the military authorities had sent orders down to the military forts in the war-weary areas to drop their guns and embrace the new ceasefire agreement. Anyway, the girls were not released that day, or the next day, or the day after and certainly not up till now. Talks resumed in Chad with promises and hopes of release of the girls. They have not been released.

For two weeks, the military formations have sheathed their swords and have probably gone to sleep in the belief that the war has been won and lost. But two days after the Saudi peace agreement, some sect members pounced on hapless communities and abducted about sixty girls and women. Days later, another thirty persons were adducted.

The next day, there was an attack on some villages with some persons shot dead. A week later, Borno and Adamawa came under vicious Boko Haram attack with scores of persons killed. Few days ago, rampaging Boko Haram members sacked Mubi in Adamawa State, forcing thousands, including armed soldiers who had probably relaxed following the “ceasefire deal and order”, to flee in different directions. Three days ago, Gombe, an erstwhile peaceful and predominantly Christian state came under Boko Haram under attack, in which an uncertain number of harmless civilians were killed.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 57

sector of the hydro carbon resources sector, Alison-Madueke, has remained relentless in ensuring the implementation of the Nigerian Content Development Act 2010 over the past three years.

For instance, through her efforts, the Federal Government recently awarded oil lifting contracts to 73 oil operating companies just as hundreds of others are engaged in instrumentation and other tools manufacturing and supplies to the International Oil Companies, IOCs, in furtherance of the local content development policy.

The Niger Delta Production Company, NDPC, which is a subsidiary of the NNPC, has through improved investments in core technological and human capital assets increased production to 200,000 barrels a day under her leadership and local operators have ramped up production to about 800,000 barrels per day.

By far the most instructive proof of the minister’s patriotic commitment to enthroning discipline in the industry is the current moves aimed at the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which industry analysts believe holds the key to holistically transforming the industry and enable Nigeria get improved dividends from exploration and production operations in the sector.

Even when the National Assembly is yet to finalize its deliberations on the Bill, our Group believes that the Minister has not only demonstrated her desire to see to the timely passage of the Bill but has also begun necessary moves to ensure increasing global investments in the sector, a step which is expected to provide an operational platform for the implementation of the PIB when passed into law.

•Abubakar is of Diezani Promoters’ Group (DPG)

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South News

Sunday November 2, 2014

I won’t sign any death warrant –Uduaghan Theophilus Onojeghene WARRI

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elta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, at the weekend, said his firm belief for the sanctity of human life was the reason why his administration has continually refused to sign death warrant on condemned prisoners in the state.

Uduaghan spoke during a reception held in honour of Lagos-based civil rights activist, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin and Inaugural Lecture of Leadership Initiative for Transformation and Empowerment (Lite-Africa) Leadership Institute in Warri.

Uduaghan represented by the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Mis-

• LITE-Africa honours Okei-Odumakin

san Ukubeyinje, said the state government under his administration has not appended his signature on prisoners sentenced to death due to the value he placed on life.

The governor while extolling the sterling qualities of Okei-Odumakin, said without the agitations of activists in the country who stood against military dictatorship and other civil rights abuses, he and others wouldn’t have been governors.

While expressing confidence in the nation’s judiciary to deliver fair judgment, Uduaghan added that his administration has impacted positively on the lives of the people of the state through his three point

agenda of peace and security, human capital development and infrastructure development.

Earlier, Executive Director, LITE Africa, Joel Bisina, in his remark, said the inaugural lecture marks a milestone in the life of the organisation and pledged to sustain the annual lecture which attracted the crème of the society including academia, civil society groups, and government functionaries, among others.

According to Bisina, the organisation places high values on leaderships and persons who have served selflessly the needs of the society even at risk to their lives.

He paid glowing tribute to Okei-Odumakin, saying

that ‘’society cannot be what it should be if the youth are not encouraged to promote social change’’. ‘’We are honoured to have her in LITE Africa Board. Her life is what LITE Africa stands for. So this event is our token, our own little way to appreciate somebody who has struggled for the betterment of the society’’.

On his part, Chairman of the occasion, Femi Aborisade, described the initiative as a welcome development and lauded the organisation for celebrating Okei-Odumakin, as according to him, not because of wealth but for demonstrating rare courage in the emancipation of the downtrodden.

15

Senate Leader donates vehicles to NUT, PDP stalwart Richard Ndoma CALABAR

S

enate Leader, Victor Ndoma Egba, has donated a 22-seater Hiace bus to the Ikom branch of the Cross River State Chapter of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).

Ndoma Egba also donated a Toyota Avelon to a PDP stalwart, Mr. Asinya Ntan, within the Central Senatorial District of the state.

Speaking while handing over the particulars of the Hiace bus to Ikom branch chairman of NUT, Comrade Mathew Egomo and the PDP stalwart, the Senate Leader said his empowerment programme was a process that was continuous.

“A few months ago, NUT chairman paid me a visit and I made a promise that I was going to give them a bus just like I did to the Nigeria Bar Associ-

ation NBA. Today is your turn hoping that this is another way to encourage the teaching profession,” the Senate Leader said.

“What you people don`t know is that even though my late father died as a judge, he was once a teacher just as my mum. This bus is a token of my appreciation; to those whose turn is yet to come, please wait for your turn,” Ndoma Egba added.

Responding, the NUT chairman thanked the Senate Leader for the honour done to the union, stressing that the bus was going to be instrumental to the development and growth of education in the area.

He added that with that bus he is sure that a lot would be done by teachers in the area to ensure that the academic industry takes its pride of place in the society.

‘Ansar-Ud-Deen College meant for Christians also’

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L-R: Ayo Omidiji, Deputy Corps Marshal, Training; Brigadier-General Francis Olalekan; Bisi Kazeem, Head of FRSC Sports; Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Corps; Kenneth Nwaegbe, Commandant, FRSC Academy during a regimental dinner at the graduation ceremony of FRSC/ World Bank capacity building and training at the Corps’ Academy in Udi, Enugu State, at the weekend.

Umunze community petitions IGP over seized corpse of kinsman Francis Ekpone ONITSHA

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mucheke village in Umunze, Orumba South Local Government area of Anambra State has petitioned the acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, over their kinsman, Emmanuel Eze, who was last week gunned down by a trigger-happy police officer attached to Umunze Divisional Police.

Emmanuel was gunned down while on his way home after buying soap from a nearby shop during a protest in Umunze as testified by the deceased younger brother, Mr. Samuel Eze. Eze decried neglect by the police, admitting that since after the killing, no police officer has come to sympathise with the family, talk more of seeing the corpse of their brother.

He said his family mem-

bers and other members of Umucheke village in Umunze where the deceased hailed from are not only saddened that their brother was killed, but that police authorities have refused to release his corpse to them.

Recounting how Eze was killed, Samuel Eze said Emmanuel deals in palm kernel in the village market, and just got back from his business at about 4pm on the fateful day, and after a brief stay with his family decided to buy soap to take his bathe but was hacked down by a police officer who shot him straight in the head.

“On the said day” he said, “some protesters from another village, Ndikpa, whose land had been sold, and who were protesting incessant arrest of their youths by the buyer were on their way to the police station on a protest, and were just approaching the station when police officers made

to stop them and one drew a pistol and shot Emmanuel who just bought soap to bathe.”

Samuel said his brother, Emmanuel, was from Umucheke village, and could not have been a part of the protest by members

of Ndikpa village. He also denied any rift between Emmanuel and anyone, saying that his community had years back donated land to the police in Umunze, and had since then been having a cordial relationship with the police.

philanthropist and administrator, Chief Tunde Fanimokun at the weekend dismissed insinuations that the first Ansar-ud-deen College of Education in Lagos is meant for Muslim students only.

Speaking at the banquet hall of National Arts Theatre Iganmu Lagos to mark the 10th year anniversary of the school, Fanimokun stressed the need for all to set aside religious sentiment in the things of education, as the college had witnessed huge investments from which children from other religions can benefit.

“The college is not meant for Muslim students alone, but for everyone who wants the best for his or her child without any religious discrimination,” he stressed.

He added that the school had realised N266 million out of N750million needed for the build-

Fanimokun

Traditional rulers can solve Nigeria’s security challenges –Monarch Obasoluyi Telewa

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he Jagunmolu of Shomolu/ Bariga, Lagos, His Royal Majesty, Oba Gbolahan Akanbi Timson, has stated that traditional rulers can tackle security challenges plaguing the country, urging Federal Government to allow royal fathers to tackle security challenges the traditional way.

Oba Jagunmolu, who also enjoined government at all levels to focus more on the welfare of citizens

for sustainable development, made the call in Lagos during a chat with Sunday Mirror at a recent outing.

According to him, the security challenges in Bariga before he ascended the throne was hectic “but we were able to bring the situation under control with the help of the state government and the then Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, who as at that time was the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State“.

“Security issues should be handled the traditional

way. The same strategy was adopted in Bariga and its environs and it worked.

Before then, our people had been living in fear over the activities of cult members and armed robbers who visited untold hardship on them during night and day.

Today, our people in those areas can sleep with eyes closed. So, government should allow traditional rulers handle security issue the traditional way because we are the ones closer to them“, he told our correspondent.

Furthermore, Oba Jag-

unmolu said: “When I came on board, we had security problems in our environment. Criminals and area boys (street urchins) were at daggers drawn. Criminality and other social vices pervaded Bariga and its environs”.

According to the royal father, “the first step we took was to summon a meeting involving community leaders, community development associations (CDAs) and the police to identify the remote causes of the problems so as to proffer lasting solutions to them.

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Sunday November 2, 2014

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

2015: Gaidam declares to run for another term Inusa Ndahi MAIDUGURI

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overnor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State yesterday declared his intention to run for the gubernatorial election in the state with promise to consolidate on his achievements towards taking the state to greater height.

He also said his government when re-elected will work assiduously for the upliftment of the standard of living of people of the state, ensure adequate protection of lives and property, general welfare and committed to the development of social infrastructure to the people irrespective of party affiliations.

The declaration took

place at the Damaturu Stadium which attracted mammoth crowd mostly Senators, House of Representative members, House of Assembly members, Commissioners, party stalwarts, members and supporters of All Progressives Congress (APC) across the state who unanimously endorsed his candidature amidst tight security.

Gaidam had a similar scenario with President Goodluck Jonathan. Both succeeded as governor and President in 2007 after the demise of former governor late Mamman Ali and late President Musa Yar’Adua, though many thought these two have taken oath of office for two consecutive terms and ought not to re-contest next year again.

Plateau PDP cancels ward congress in Pankshin LG James Abraham JOS

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hairman of Peoples Democratic Party in Plateau State, Hon. Raymond Dabo, yesterday, said the party has cancelled the ward congress in Pankshin Local Government area of the state.

Dabo, who confirmed the development with journalists at the state PDP secretariat in Jos yesterday, however said that the congress in the remaining 16 other Local Government areas in the state was successful.

According to him, the disagreement by stakeholders over the delegates lists led to the cancellation of the congress in the LGA. He said: “We have to cancel the congress in Pankshin Local Government area because there was serious disagreement by stakeholders of the local government.

“Top political leaders of the local government stormed my office with complaints over distribution of delegates form. We sat in my office and agreed to cancel the congress, and so it has been cancelled.

“The committee supervising the congress in Pankshin Local Government area has also been dissolved based agreement reached by all the stakeholders of the local government.

“A new date will be agreed, and a new committee to supervise the rescheduled congress.

“Apart from Pankshin Local Government, the congress was successful in all the other local government areas in the state.

The national officials went round the state to supervise the process and I am sure they are satisfied with the peaceful conduct of the congress”.

Forum condemns recent abduction in Borno

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he West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) has condemned the recent abduction of 30 girls in Mafa, Borno State.

This is contained in a statement issued on Saturday by Mr. Auwal Rafsanjani, Acting General Secretary of WACSOF. According to the statement, ``WACSOF notes that the act is callous and defies all norms of humanity. ``We urge the Nigerian Government to double its effort in the investigation of these abducted girls and put a stop to insurgency in the country’’, it said.

The statement also quoted a Human Rights Watch report that the group had held over 500 women and

girls hostage since 2009. ``WACSOF is using this platform to call on civil society organisations and governments in the West African region to put heads together to ensure that these girls are brought back. ``We believe that the issue of human security in the region can only be addressed effectively, if state actors decide to work together to deal with this common plague. ``WACSOF trusts a common action has to be taken to establish human security and socio-political stability in the region’’, the statement added.

It further said that the forum’s concern was on consequences of abduction.

L-R: Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda (left) and the Amirul Hajj and Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Adamu, alighting with the last batch of pilgrims from Saudi Arabia in Bauchi, at the weekend PHOTO: NAN

12 Benue indigenes escape Boko Haram attack in Adamawa Henry Iyorkase MAKURDI

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welve university students of Benue State origin narrowly escaped death recently when Boko Haram insurgents attacked Mubi, Adamawa State. The attack resulted in the killing of scores of persons as well as destruction of property.

The students who are studying various disciplines in the Adamawa State University, Mubi, had escaped from the attack into the forest where they were assisted by a detachment of Military personnel on patrol and through the intervention of the state mass transit, Benue Links, they were

evacuated and relocated back to the state.

Spokesman of the students, Mr. Dominic Ekele, a 300 level student in the Department of Business Administration at the Adamawa State University, Mubi, stated said this in a chat with journalists yesterday shortly after alighting from the vehicle which conveyed them to the Benue State.

Ekele, who spoke on the ordeal, said that some of them are in the Adamawa State polytechnic while others were at the state university and they operate under the auspices of National Union of Benue State Students (NUBESS), adding that they were over 300 hun-

dred while registered members were about 300.

He further revealed that most of his colleagues fled to unknown destination while others were said to have taken to their heels into the neighbouring Cameroun republic for refuge and sought the state government transfer of the indigenes into the state with view to safeguard them from being killed.

Similarly, another student, Mr. Benjamin Aboho, while relaying the experience, described it as very traumatic and lamented that they had to stay in the forest for nearly one week before succour could come their way through the facilitation of security agencies.

He called on the Benue State government as matter of urgency to re-admit its indigenes inti the state-owned tertiary institutions to avoid constant skirmishes. He also revealed that some of the students left with their clothes on, adding that they did not carry anything along with them. He pleaded for the search and evacuation of the remaining students by the state government.

Meanwhile, the students have expressed gratitude to the state government for the prompt evacuation of its students from crisis prone areas, adding that “if not for this timely intervention, perhaps it could have been another ordeal altogether”.

Synergy among security agencies will end terrorism, others –NSCDC A za Msue KADUNA

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he Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Zone ‘B’ Headquarters Kaduna, has said that synergy among security agencies will result to victory in the war against terrorism, insurgency and other criminal activities facing the nation.

Speaking at the sendoff organised for the retired Zonal Commander, Ali Abubakar Wakili, Acting Assistant Commandant-General in-charge of NSCDC Zone ‘B’ Kaduna, Alhaji Zakari Ibrahim Ningi, said what the security agencies need to enable them deliver in the collective task of securing the nation’s territory is synergy and collaboration.

According to him, “Synergy amongst us will result to victory in war against terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping, vandalism, armed robbery and other forms of

criminality.

“We must adopt the approach of synergy in information sharing and shun rivalry,” he added.

The Acting Zonal Commander, who spoke on behalf of the CommandantGeneral of the Corps, Dr. Ade Abolurin, commended Wakili for his service to the country, urging him to respond to calls by the NSCDC anytime to render valuable

and professional advice whenever called upon.

Responding, the retired Zonal Commander, Ali Abubakar Wakili, advised security agencies not to allow communication gap within and among different agencies, noting that such would result in dysfunction.

Wakili reminded officers of the corps to remain diligent in their duties to justify government expenditure on

the agency as he pledged his continuous support.

The occasion was attended among others by representatives from the 1 Division Nigerian Army Kaduna, Nigerian Prisons Service, Federal Road Safety, Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Fire Service and National Emergency Management Agency.

Police warn parties against mutilating opponents’ posters in Taraba withThethe opposition. commissioner

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he Commissioner of Police in Taraba, Mr. Ademola Omole, yesterday, warned political parties in the state against destroying posters of aspirants of opposition parties.

Omole gave the warning in Jalingo during interactive session with heads of political parties in the state.

According to him, destroying such posters was one of the major causes of

political crises in the country.

He said the illegal act must be stopped for peace to reign as the 2015 general elections draw nearer.

Omole said political parties must always inform the police in writing within 48 hours before conducting any political gathering.

He said the information would assist the police in mobilising enough men to prevent possible clashes

of police urged the political parties to comply with the regulation.

He said the police would not hesitate to arrest any party member involved, in the event of any brake down of law and order.

Omole urged the politicians to state all their grievances against the police, promising that disciplinary measures would be taken against any erring police personnel.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Bungled $9.3m arms deal: Matters arising

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recent report by a national newspaper (not National Mirror), that the Presidency might have queried the National Security Adviser, Lt. Colonel Sambo Dasuki, over Nigeria’s scandalous $9.3 million arms procurement deal in South Africa has warranted yet another interrogation of the circumstances surrounding the deal. On September 5, two Nigerians and an Israeli national were held in South Africa while trying to smuggle $9.3 million cash they took to the country in a chartered private jet. About three weeks later, an additional $5.7 million was again seized by South African authorities when the company contracted to procure the arms on Nigeria’s behalf tried to pay back the money for failing to meet up with its own part of the bargain.

In response to the two curious incidents, Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Communication, Dr. Doyin Okupe, reportedly said: “It is an issue which we cannot just bring to public domain… These are very serious national security affairs and running a government is not the same thing as running a Shoprite, where everything is on the table and on display. There is nothing shady about the South African deal and the Office of the NSA has done very well, because at the appropriate time, they came in that, ‘yes, this money belongs to us and this was what it was meant for’…”

But by the Presidency’s singling out of the NSA for the whip, if true, the public impression is conveyed that Dasuki is the main character behind the national embarrassment.

The Presidency should, nonetheless, critically examine the penetrating questions being asked by those cynical about the cock-and-bull stories being told about the arms deal imbroglio; as well as those who feel the scandal was consciously and conspiratorially contrived by persons very close to power to embarrass Jonathan and the government he leads

at the federal level. Such questions include why the private jet owned by the President’s close pal and President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, was used to fly the $9.3 million to South Africa, given the fact that those into whose hands the deal was entrusted could use other private jets, commercial air planes or an aircraft from the presidential fleet.

Other hazy areas are the roles played by the Ministry of Defence and its Foreign Affairs counterpart in the whole affair. Did they inform their South African counterparts about the deal? Back home, was the

NO STONE SHOULD BE LEFT UNTURNED

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S BID TO IN

END INSURGENCY IN THE COUNTRY Presidency part of the picture? In addition, it has been widely alleged that the deal was leaked to the United States intelligence machinery, which in turn alerted their contacts in South Africa to trail and stop the transaction for whatever reasons. Is it possible for such a ‘very serious national security affair’, borrowing from Okupe’s words, to be leaked to America without the conspiracy of one or more of those that played critical roles in the bungled arms procurement deal? Indeed, who leaked the information to the U.S., given the fact that America has been reluctant to supply arms to Nigeria purportedly because of the latter’s poor human rights record?

A veteran Nigerian journalist, Godwin Nzeaka, writing in ‘Nigeria Today’ of November 2, 2014 (back page) in a piece entitled ‘Is NSA guilty as being charged’, raised issues that should compel the Jonathan administration to seriously

investigate the conspiratorial theory.

Nzeaka recommended that Jonathan should beam the searchlight in his bid to unravel the mysteries surrounding the failed arms deal not just on the NSA, but on the Ministry of Defence as well. His reason, (Quoting Colonel Mustapha Jokolo, former Emir of Gwandu): Not only is the Minister of Defence, General Aliyu Gusau (rtd) having intimate spy connections with foreign intelligence agencies, he also has sympathy for the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), whose activities the Jonathan government is aware of. Perhaps more importantly, the journalist recalled that when the appointment of Gusau as Minister of Defence became shaky, Muslim members of the NEF, in order not to raise suspicion bordering on religion, detailed a non-Muslim member of the body, Paul Unongo, a Christian from the Middle Belt, to defend Gusau and his new job. He said the former Emir made other startling revelations after which he advised Jonathan: “Watch your back…” (Sunday Sun, 23/3/2014).

Therefore, under the circumstance at hand, it may not be illogical, relating NEF’s recruitment of Unongo to defend Gusau’s ministerial appointment, on the one hand, and the hiring of Oritsejafor’s jet to run an arms deal which, had it been successful, would have been deployed in the fight against the Muslim fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, on the other. How come the security agencies and their bosses involved in the deal never thought over the strategic blunder of using a private jet belonging to a Christian leader, even if it is paid for, to negotiate for arms meant to be used against the Boko Haram Islamist sect? These and related reasons will help explain why the Jonathan government should dig deeper to know what really transpired in the arms deals and why it blew up.

No stone should be left unturned in Federal Government’s bid to end insurgency in the country.

Reminiscences NOVEMBER 2 IN HISTORY 1951: Egypt hit by anti-British disturbances

6,000 British troops have arrived at Fayid in the canal zone of Egypt and many more are on the way in an effort to quell anti-British disturbances in the region.

1920: France relishes U.S. presidential polls

The nature of American presidential elections was of great interest to France. Along with information about current elections, French news publications displayed portraits of past presidents from Washington to Wilson.

…1920: Harding wins U.S. election

Warren G. Harding (Republican) wins American presidential election beating James M. Cox (Democrat) with a landslide victory.

1930: Selassie crowned emperor

Haile Selassie is crowned Emperor/‘King of Kings of Ethiopia’ at Addis Ababa’s Cathedral of St. George in a lavish ceremony attended by royals and dignitaries from all over the world.

1931: Soviet Union faces wheat shortage

The Soviet Union announced that the country would not export wheat during this year, and most likely not the following year either as a result of shortage.

1932: UK - Police stop Hunger Marchers

The march to London by the Hunger Marchers Army has been broken up by police in Trafalgar Square and the marchers have been dispersed and escorted out of London.

1940: World War II bombings continue Reports of bombings, raids, attacks, and more were made. These particular violent actions occurred in places such as Berlin, Germany as well as in Greece. It was predicted during this time period that World War II was not likely to end soon (would be a “long war”).

1947: U.S. - Largest boat in harbour

The world’s largest aircraft, Howard Hughes Flying Boat (The Spruce Goose) which took five years and cost $25 million to build was floated into the harbour for the first time.

1961: 100 die from hurricane

About 100 people had been counted dead following hurricane occurrence. Thousands more were found homeless. Areas hit are along the British Honduras coast such as Belize, Stancreek, Turneffe Cay, and Caulker Cay.

1973: Watergate - Ford approves Nixon’s probe

Vice-president, Gerald Ford, had approved the decision to investigate President Nixon. This investigation would determine whether or not the president should be impeached. Nixon was believed to have participated in the Watergate Scandal, along with at least a handful of other governmental leaders.

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Sunday, November 2, 2014

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Praise Worship E-mail:yemiolakitan@gmail.com

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EDIFYING GOD Sunday November er 2, 2014

A Prophet’s word for 2015

Only power supply can secure 2nd term for Jonathan

–Oloruntimilehin Approaching great things with shallow mind, by Pastor Muokaa 24

The battle is of the Lord 42

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QUOTE

To become excellent, you must study and emulate people... Life is too short to discover everything yourself. Life is too short not to learn from your fathers. g – Pastor Moses Omogbehin

Breaking barriers through the power in His Book!

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

20

Vineyard

Briefly NewBirth Ministries International set for ‘Hour to Receive’

Celebration

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ewBirth Ministries International will on Thursday, November 13, 2014 at 5pm begin a three-day life transforming programme tagged “Hour to Receive” billed for 1, Abiodun Jagun Road, Ogba, Bus-stop, Ikeja, Lagos.

The programme will continue on Friday, November 14, 2014, with all Night of Reaching the Globe vigil at 11pm and anointing service on Sunday, November 16, 2014.

The hosts, Bishop Francis Chibuike & Rev. (Mrs.) Josephine Anunobi, speaking on the programme said God will settle all who attend, urging all to cast their burdens to God for He’s able to do exceedingly all things.

All Believers Congregation holds Convention 2014

Sunday November 2, 2014

Steadily, Christian Women Association clocks 90

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ll believers Congregation has conclude plans to commence activities marking this year’s All Believers Convention 2014 celebration beginning on Wednesday, November 5 - Sunday, November 9, 2014.

The programme theme is “My Cup Runneth Over – Psalm 23:5. It is billed for All Believers Congregation headquarters, 1, Joy Avenue, off Osolo Way, Ajao Estate, off International Airport Road, Lagos.

Activities lined up include opening ceremony for evening session at 5pm – 7pm, Minister’s Conference on Thursday, November 6 – Friday, November 7, at 9am.

Saturday, November 8 is day for Holy Communion and grand celebration comes up on Sunday, November 9, 2014 for thanksgiving & Love Feast celebration at 9am.

The hosts, Bishop Samuel & Rev. (Mrs.) Seun Dada, speaking ahead of the celebration said attendants will receive total visitation and all round provision, adding their lives will never remain the same again.

C C C celebrates Harvest of New Dimension

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elestial Church of Christ, Ogudu, Oworo,Ojota Province Headquarters, 1-3, Celeway, Ogudu-Ori-Oke,Ogudu, Lagos, will on Sunday, November 9, 2014, celebrate its 37th Adult Harvest and Thanksgiving Service. The venue is the Church Auditorium, starting from 10am.

According to the Chairman, A/S/ S/E Olufowora, and Co-ordinator, H/ A Evang. Kunle Nana, the event, tagged,” Love and Surplus, and themed, “Harvest of New Dimension ”, kicked off yesterday, with the Dominion Youth Anniversary.

The the Youth Family Thanksgiving holds today.

Other activities heralding the celebration include Bible Class on Monday November 3, Special Victory Service, Sidemen/Women Vigil, Service for the Needy and Women’s Day, Others include One hour with Christ, a visit to the orphanage and New Moon Service on Thursday November 6.

While on November 7, at 12pm, there will be spiritual consultation and Revival Practice from 9pm till dawn.

Guests Artistes expected on the occasion include CCC Shogbamu Parish, Harmony Voices, Evang. Demilade Onadeko (aka , Sunmisiwaju), Evang. Ayoola Sotomi( Aristo 2) and the host choir, with the grand finale on Sunday, November, 9 Sup. Evang. Abiodun Onadeko (JP) is the Shepherd-in- Charge of the Parish, he said,this year’s haevest of Love and Surplus , will usher in a new dimension of blessing to the Parishioners and those in attendance.

Christian Women Association members cutting anniversary cake

ODINAKA URUAKPA

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t was a full house last weekend when the Christian Women Association of Wesley Cathedral, Olowogbowo, Lagos, held its 90th anniversary thanksgiving service and reception in grand style.

The event was attended by eminent personalities, religious faithful and others from all sectors of the economy, as well as a representative of the First Lady of Lagos State, Dame Abimbola Fashola, among others.

In his remarks, former Chief Executive Officer of Conoil Nigeria Plc and president, Christian Women Association, Engineer Sina Tychus, urged Nigerians, especially Christians and those in authority to be true ambassadors of Christ in their respective callings so as to turn around the fortunes of every home, society and the nation at large.

He further enjoined them to demonstrate genuine love to one another, adding that when this is done, it will promote the spread gospel and unity of the nation.

He said: “Christians are expected to show and spread love wherever they find themselves because by so doing they will help to cement the unity that exists not only in the church but the country at large. We should also use our time, treasures and talents to positively impact on the welfare of others, as the government alone cannot shoulder effectively the expectations of all.”

The Christian Women Association president reiterated the need for Christians to donate to God’s service as well as be disciplined and focused in their resolve to expand the divine horizon at all times.

He further appealed to Christians the world over to be true light bearers of Christ, especially in their immediate society and callings by contributing effectively to the ultimate progress and meaningful development of their society.

In his speech, Manager of the society, Tobais Kayode Cole, assured Nigerians of a bet-

L-R: The Presbyter, Wesley Cathedral, Olowogbowo, Lagos, Very Revd Sola Ala, Surveyor Abayomi Sewanu Sutton, Very Revd Ken Egbuochue and Rev. Olatunji at the event.

ter and improved economy and secured virile nation which surely will come about if Christians adhere to the dictates of God especially that of improving the lot of others.

“Nigeria as a nation should be one of the strongest economies in the world but we have not been able to achieve this due to one reason or the other. I assure that if we follow the teachings and dictates of the almighty who make something from nothing, I believe the economy will be restored and the country placed in its place in the comity of nation.

“I congratulate the entire membership of the society, especially the Chairman of the anniversary thanksgiving service and reception, High Chief Taofeek Akinola Disu, who tirelessly displayed unalloyed love and respect to the society, especially with his generous, handsome donations to its progress”, he stated.

In his remarks, High Chief Taofeek Akinola Disu, reiterated the need to stay constructively and positively focused in God as well as to demonstrate unalloyed

concern to the plight of others at all times.

Delivering a sermon at the event, guest preacher, Very Rev. Ken Egbochue, reiterated the need for a spontaneous, happy giving to God as well as maintaining humble adherence to God’s dictates to make the church and society one to be proud of.

In addition, he emphasized the need for Christians to appreciate God in their respective callings at all times, especially by abstaining from vices that could distance others from worshipping and accepting God genuinely and ultimately to the glory of his name.

“When the people of God act by His dictates, then they should be rest assured of God’s divine blessings in their lives at all times. He will ever be faithful to them for appreciating Him with absolute fear and adherence to his dictates at all times”, he submitted.

Highpoints of the event included the swearing-in of the society’s Executive Council members, patrons and matrons as well as the outing service of the former Executive Chairman of the Lagos State SUBEB, Mama Mabel Kehinde Abayomi, and the cutting of the anniversary cake.

R-L: PRO, Women Christian Association, Brother Aramide Tola Noibi; the President, Engr. Sina Tychus, and former General Manager, Lagos State Water Co-orporation, Engr. Sylvester Oyewole.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

From the Pulpit 21

Sunday November 2, 2014

The price you must pay to make a star out of you Prophet Lai Bamidele, General Overseer of Christ Glorious End-Time Evangelical Church, Abule-Egba, Lagos, in this exhortation, explains the price you must pay to become a star. Excerpts:

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hen you are down for nothing, you can rise up to become something in life. The greatest credential in life is the dedication of your life to Jesus Christ. The power to lay down your life for Jesus Christ is the only key you require to become something in life.

There is no one that has ever laid down his/her life for the sake of Christ that never ended up becoming a star. It is the state of your mind that determines your place on earth.

Shortly, I will show you examples of one or two people that rose from humble beginnings to become stars in life, but they paid a price.

Those who get to the top, prepare their way before becoming a star. That means for everyone that becomes a star, there must have been a lot of preparation. You can’t see a champion that rose up to become a champion without adequate preparation.

In the book of Galatians, Chapter 2 verse 20, the Bible says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”.

So, for you to be a star, you must get ready to face all manner of persecution. He that will be a star must be prepared to be the servant of all. If you want to be a star then you must be prepared to be the servant of everyone.

I ask you: Who is a star? A star is a person fully prepared to face the hazards of daily life for God’s sake. A star is the one prepared to face life’s hazards for God and the Kingdom. A star is a man that locked himself up and does not allow anyone to see him in the open.

Those are the attributes and reasons why God is helping me in the journey of my life and my ministry. I go to the secret to pray, and God answers me in the open. Shedrack, Meshack and Abednigo became stars before which they confronted and were confronted by hazards.

Endtime Message

with Archbishop

Williams King For prayers, counseling, contact: Arch-Bishop (Dr.) Williams King (Prophet unto the Nations) on Tel: 080362658888; Email: wmking2k5@yahoo.com

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nto you, to whom this may come, to you all, I say, greetings!

I sincerely appreciate you for finding time to read the write ups in this serial article.

The Lord Almighty will bless you more than ever before and will cause your star to shine, beyond your wildest imagination, in Jesus Name, Amen.

In the last two weeks, we have dealt with the Evils of the Bloodline Curse; we also dealt with Trans-generational Curse, Ancestral Curse, Parental Curse, Divine Pronouncements, as well as misfortunes which are attracted to some people because of the names they bear.

Just before we begin to look into Solutions and Cures for Curses, I would like to deal with two other types of Curses which are common among our lot.

1st Type: Spiritual Cobweb Have you sometime felt like spider web just moved across your face, while waking up from sleep or while walking casually from one place to another? If your answer is ‘’yes’’, then you have experienced the emergence of spiritual cobweb. This is a very dangerous aspect of Manipulations propelled by Enchantment, Necromancy, Divination and Ritualistic Local Vodooism, with the use of idols and human effigies. When one is afflicted with Spiritual

Pastor Bamidele

They told Nebuchadnezzar that they won’t bow for his God. Another example that I will cite is David.

David is another star who provoked and confronted Goliath. David did not bother about the stature and physique of Goliath. He was not deterred by his gigantic and intimidating appearance. But there was a price David had to pay, and he did pay before his rise to stardom.

That’s why I want to encourage all my readers that whatever you do to succeed in the journey of life, you need to pay a price before you rise up to become a star. Everyone that will become a star in life must be ready to pay a price.

There is no gentleman that has the hope of returning from the war front that would be entertain fear. That is why the man that wants to become a hero should not have the attributes of fear. I like to encourage all believers never to give up, don’t give in to fears. That is why the Bible days in Proverbs Chapter 16 that “The wicked shall be the ransom for the righteous”.

life is just for you to backbite, to spoil people’s character, you have no place on earth. Many Christians the time you are wasting talking and doing those stupid and nonsensical things is enough for you to do something tangible in life and you become a star.

Esther rose up to become a star after confronting the hazards of the enemy. She would not have risen up to become a princess until she had to confront the people. Esther said, “If I will die, let me die”.

There is someone reading my message today, as you begin to confront the hazards of your life, by paying a price, after today, you will rise up to end as star. There are so many believers who have missed the opportunity they have in life because they subjected their lives to the flesh. That is why I like to encourage you.

Every star is liable to be stretched; every one that is ready to become a star must be ready to pay a price. No one in life ever succeeded until there is a price to be paid. Even when Joseph was in prison, he was still an excited man. The man remained excited and that’s why he was made the Head of the prisoners. There are so many that could have ended up as stars in life but because they are afraid to confront the hazards of today, they fail tomorrow. I want to encourage you; every time a believer is postponing an opportunity to confront the hazards of today, he should be expectant of failure tomorrow. When I was confronted with a number of issues in the journey of life a few years ago, I refused to let go and I refused to give in to the devil. That’s why many believers go for the alternative.

Every alternative is a counterfeit and that is why people fail. Listen to me, every short cut in life will cut you short. If you see a believer that is looking for a short cut, that same thing will cut him short.

Every time you exercise fears in the journey of your life, you will end up a failure.

When Goliath appeared before Saul, if David had not been a man with a bold heart, a man that believed in his God, a man that trusted in the amour of God, not in amour of man, he would have been defeated. Saul had trust in the amour of men, but David had trust in the amour of God. And when David confronted Goliath, he overcame Goliath and rose up to become a star. So, David had to pay the price of confronting Goliath before becoming a star.

Because Saul was afraid to confront Goliath, he lost his throne.

I like to encourage any of you my readers that in any journey of life, if you want to rise up and become successful, then you must be prepared to face the hazards of life. That is why in anything man does in life, there is the need for man to build his confidence in God. Please note that the empires of the future are empires of your brain. If your brain or your mind is telling you that you will fail, you will end up as a failure. That is why it is our action that betrays our faith.

It takes your positive action and your boldness of heart to get your manifestation. Until you find it, you cannot have it. It is our strange obedience to strange instructions that will yield strange and unusual miracles. Joseph became a star when he was face to face with Portipher’s wife. Joseph decided to choose the way of God; he refused to cave in to his flesh.

If it was to be many believers today, what a great opportunity for them to sleep with their master’s wife! That’s why many have lost their glory, lost their future, lost their destiny via just one minute sexual intercourse.

Every believer that is not able to have control over his flesh cannot rise up to become a •For counselling, contact: Pst_lai@yahoo. star. That’s why if you are a believer and you com. Phone: 0807448415, 08027502864 eat too much, you have no place to go in life. and 08161285586 If you are a believer and all you do in all your

Strange indices: Curses, causes and cures (3) Cobweb, you feel the presence a sudden movement across your face, and most times you attempt to use your hand to clean your face, whereas, at the end of the exercise you observe that there is nothing physical on your face.

Those afflicted by spiritual cobweb usually suffer from delayed progress, stagnation, slow speed in the course of progress, rejection, false accusation, limitation and sometimes, a strange affliction ranging from facial rashes to boils and discolouration of the facial surface.

2nd type: Manipulation in the Dream land We live in the physical, but our lives are controlled by the spiritual realm.

Dreams are voyages into the supernatural realm of existence, by our spirit man, when our bodies are in a state of rest/ sleep/ slumber. Every dreamland encounter we make, during this period, would have an effect in our lives, sooner or later.

The dreams of Joseph, in the Bible, eventually manifested through his path of destiny, and he was privileged to see his dreams come true. The dreams were spiritual, but the effects were physical.

Pharaoh of Egypt dreamt (in the spiritual) Joseph interpreted his dreams, and the dream came to pass in the physical.

King Nebuchadnezzar dreamt in the book of Daniel and the dream was interpreted and every part of it came to pass.

Do not joke with your dreams. If you have pleasant dreams, you must provoke the heavens through effectual prayer of supplication, to cause the positive effects of the dream to come to pass speedily; and you will see your dreams come true.

In the same way, if you have negative dreams, or dreams which portend catastrophic futurity, you need to provoke the heavens, with Prophetic and Deliverance prayers upon a new re-consecration of your person, to cause the spiritual force of your prophetic/ deliverance prayer, to eliminate and completely eradicate the malignant and diabolic forces which manipulate your dreamland, to disappear.

There is need for effectual prophetic prayers to knock off dreamland manipulations, spiritual cobweb, Trans-generational bloodline yokes/ Curse; and there is need to seek counsel/ deliverance from these evils, from your prophet and to obey and comply with the wise counsel of your prophets.

Let us pray 1.

Oh God my Father, by your blood, I break and destroy every evil covenant of premature death, transacted on my behalf from my father’s house or my mother’s house in Jesus Name, Amen.

2.

By Fire by thunder, I nullify and destroy every evil alter, trailing me from my ancestral family tree, in Jesus Name, Amen.

3.

My Father, My Father, every covenant of evil, released and instituted against my destiny, I command you to crush, to scatter and to die, in Jesus Name, Amen.

4.

Right now, I cancel and flush out the effects of every bad dream in my life, by fire by thunder, in Jesus Name Amen.

5.

Right now, by the blood of Jesus, I break and destroy every oath, every pledge; every agreement entered into, on my behalf, with any spirit spouse, in Jesus Name, Amen.

6.

Jehovah God, grant me enabling Grace to finish every project in my life, and to enjoy the fruits of my labour, Amen.

7.

I decree into my destiny that for the rest of this year every abandoned project in my life must be revived and the Lord God grant me magnetic grace to attract financial favour into my life in Jesus Name, Amen.

As you delve and dwell in the above 7 prayer points, taking them one per day and dwelling therein, using one psalm per day, per prayer, preferably Ps 1, Ps 5, Ps 34, Ps 35, Ps 27, Ps 91, Ps 110; the Lord will cause your eyes to see the desires of your heart, and you must be celebrated in Jesus Name, Amen.

•End Time Message With Arch-Bishop (Dr.) Williams King Email: wmking2k5@yahoo. com Telephone: 08036265888

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Providing stable electricity’ll secure How did it all start, sir?

I was born in Ode-Irele in Irele Local Government area of Ondo State. I am an Ikale man. I was about eight months old in pregnancy when my father died.

It’s a month after he died that I was born. I was four years old when my mother died. A woman from Abeokuta took me down to Lagos. I was working in Lagos, struggling to make a living.

God blessed me and I later built a house and I bought a car. Then my people recognised me and they called me to come and take a chieftaincy. They said the Ifa oracle had selected me. I accepted the offer and took the chieftaincy title.

I did everything to develop my hometown. I was about 26 years old when I became a chief. I was a High Chief, the Ijama. I worked for the development of my people in all ways except offering sacrifices to idols. But one day, I had a dream that the beads that I used to wear cut. It was an ancestral bead. I saw it that way in the dream and in real life, it happened just as I saw it. Then I began to pray. I began to give myself to serious prayers. I was going to the beach to seek the face of the Lord. I was there for 14 weeks. Then, I went to my hometown to see my people; that I no longer wanted to be a chief. They refused. I went to the King himself, the Olofun of Irele kingdom and he himself insisted that I must retain the title and that whatever I did not want to partake in, I should let them know, that I would be exempted. I agreed. I thank the Lord because this church, the Omnipotence Mission is now everywhere, even in the United States of America, in Alabama.

What are the challenges you were faced with when you began this ministry?

I was never a Christian. When God called me, I told Him that if I meet any challenge on the way, that I would turn back. I said look, I have built a house. I have a car. I don’t want to face any serious challenge that may be damning. I saw many challenges; some of my followers betrayed me. The people that I trusted the most betrayed me, even fellow Christians. They say when did this pagan become a Christian and now he a founder of a church? Many were jealous. However, during this period, because of the hand of God in my life, I made another vow that I will never look back and that if I ever looked back, God should take my life. I will still serve the Lord because I have tasted Him and found that the Lord is sweet and faithful and He has continued to increase me ever since. During the early period, God gave me the power to make witches confess and they were bringing them to me from far and near. God really stood by me. He is a merciful God. All the challenges that I met, God helped me to overcome them and I thank the Lord for it.

What is your relationship with the Christian Association of Nigeria?

The Christians do not need salvation. They are healed and do not need

Prophet Oloruntimilehin

For the umpteenth time, Prophet Joshua Daramola Oloruntimilehin, General Overseer of Omnipotence Mission of God, Ipaja, Lagos, has alerted President Goodluck Jonathan to the onerous task before the latter: providing Nigerians with stable electricity. According to him, the Lord has revealed that this is the only condition that can make Jonathan secure another term in office. Besides, the man of God, in this no holds barred interview with Acting Editor, Kayode Fasua, reflects on his experience as a cleric, and on various controversies raging in the Church of God. Excerpts: a physician because they have accepted Christ. That means that Christians have salvation. They do not need salvation anymore. If you see the churches that I established, they are all in the villages. I go to the villages so that I can preach to the pagans that are living there. When I gave my life to Christ and became a Christian, I saw the characters of some Christians; it was not encouraging.

There is the Christian Association of Nigeria in my area here. However, not all of them are true Christians. I joined CAN because it was said that it is the association of Christians all over the nation. I have been part of CAN since 1988.

I am the patron of the Alimosho chapter of CAN. I have been doing this for many years. We are all the same, since we accepted Christ. I have good relationship with the Christian Association of Nigeria.

What is your take on the recent $9.3 million arm purchase deal involving the aircraft of CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor? Again, what is your position on criticism that men of God are not supposed to have private jets?

You all know many pastors that are rich. You do not know several thousands that are in poverty. It is only God that gives wealth. He gives it to anyone that pleases Him. God told a certain rich man in the Bible who looked at his wealth and told his soul to relax and en-

IF SOMEONE IS A PASTOR OR AN ORDINARY CHRISTIAN AND HE IS WEALTHY, IT IS GOD’S CHOICE. THERE ARE RICH PASTORS AND POOR PASTORS. IF YOU LOOK AT THE SCHOOLS THAT PASTORS ARE SETTING UP, YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THE COSTS OF TEACHERS’ SALARIES joy; that today, I’ll request for your life.

He forgot to be thankful to God and the Lord took him away that same day. It is God that gives wealth. If someone is a pastor or an ordinary Christian and he is wealthy, it is God’s choice. There are rich pastors and poor pastors. If you look at the schools that pastors are setting up, you should consider the costs of teachers’ salaries, facilities in the school and many other factors. There are many students in the school that are offered scholarships. We cannot just look at it from the outside and criticise.

You have to look inside and ask questions. You are looking at high fees, what about the children of the poor that been sponsored in the school.

Talking about private jets, there are thousands of poor pastors that are not using private jets. If you watch television and see some of these pastors, they give to the poor and do so many other

projects that benefit the society. Even in my one small enclave, I give scholarship to many. In the church, there are many poor people and there are also many rich people as well. People do not see me when I am doing all these things but when someone comes along to bless me (offer me gifts), they will begin to talk.

On the issue of Pastor Oritsejafor and his private jet, he is a human being and he is not a ghost. They should call him and find out what actually happened. I don’t believe all these stories until I have investigated. Therefore, the government should do proper investigation as there is nobody that is above the law. We cannot condemn someone until we have heard the absolute truth of the matter.

What about the rate of divorce in the society, because even now, men of God are even divorcing their wives?

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2nd term for Jonathan –Oloruntimilehin This is what I used to emphasise in my church. If we want progress in Nigeria, there must be oneness and unity in the family unit. When there is a broken home, the children will suffer and they are the future of the nation. We must ensure that marriages must stand strong. A situation where men of God are divorcing their wives, it’s a very dangerous situation for the nation. We must continue to preach about it. Only prayer and the word of God can help us. The foundation of a marriage is very important. People should not rush into marriages. Couples meet on Facebook and then they get together to marry. There was a certain lady who came to Nigeria to meet a man whom she met on the internet.

They have been chatting and she came down to Nigeria for marriage only to discover that the husband-to-be was a cripple and then they quarreled and she had to return to the United States. If it was not a disability that was visible, they would have married and then the marriage will begin to have crisis and end in divorce. The foundation is very important and people need to pray, court and investigate their partner before they enter into marriage. In the olden days, you have to make special findings before you get married. Today, all we depend on is love. Love is good but is not enough in marriage.

So, what message do you have for the government on the coming elections?

I am not a politician. I am a citizen of Nigeria. I can vote for any one I choose.

I have been saying it in times past that God sent Jonathan for a specific purpose and that purpose is electricity. This electricity is the yardstick by which his government will be judged. He should focus more on electricity. If he does the issue of electricity, there would be security; there would be prosperity in the land. This is what I hear from the Lord about him. He should provide adequate energy for the nation and his government will be established.

The nation of Nigeria has divisions in 2015 but the Lord has prevented them all because of Jonathan, only if he fix energy supply in Nigeria. Last year, I predicted that there would be another disease that would be worse than AIDS. Today, it is happening, there is Ebola in West Africa. God also revealed to me that this same Ebola will be arrested in Nigeria. It came out in the papers. It came out in the Mirror. As corrupt as this nation is, there are also many beloved men and women

Front view of Omnipotence Mission of God, Lagos.

of God. Nigeria will be great. She is going to be one of the greatest nations in the world in terms of economy and prosperity. Boko Haram will come to an end. God loves Nigeria. There are many people that are praying for Nigeria. There many men of God, praying for Nigeria. Nigeria is going to be great. It is going to be a very prosperous country. I have been saying these things for the past five years, that Jonathan should focus on energy and succeed and his government will be established and blessed.

Jonathan has dreamt that he was in darkness. God used the dream to talk to him. He was sent to come and provide electricity for Nigerians. If he has 100 million, he should spend 50 percent of the money on energy; he should not give it thieves, he should be his own contractor and supervise the job himself. I was speaking about this matter, using the media to reach out to the President for the past five years before he was sworn into the office. Jonathan was sent to restore energy into the nation. If he resolves Nigeria’s energy crisis, he would be blessed indeed and the nation will never forget him. This is the assignment that the Lord has given to him. If he restores energy, his end will be glorious.

Let us talk about the coming anniversary of the church. What do you have in stock and what is its significance?

The Harvest is done every year.

JONATHAN HAS DREAMT THAT HE WAS IN DARKNESS. GOD USED THE DREAM TO TALK TO HIM. HE WAS SENT TO COME AND PROVIDE ELECTRICITY FOR NIGERIANS. IF HE HAS 100 MILLION, HE SHOULD SPEND 50 PERCENT OF THE MONEY ON ENERGY

God always touch many people in the church when they worship in spirit and in truth.

Look at the General Secretary of the church. His wife was barren for many years, for about 19 to 20 years, she was barren. It was during the Harvest that the prophecy came. There was prophecy that the wife should celebrate the harvest by taking care of the children. He used to slaughter cow for the children every year.

When I said it, it looked unbelievable

because of the age of the woman. She was about 50 years. She obeyed and today she conceived and had twins.

Many people have been blessed in one way or the other through the Harvest celebrations. Many people have been raised financially; God has blessed them through the Harvest celebrations. Anyone that celebrates the harvest will always receive blessings from God. We see this example from the Cain and Abel case in the Bible.

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From the

Pulpit Sunday November 2, 2014

Approaching great things with shallow mind, by Pastor Muoka General Overseer of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministry, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, in this piece, teaches on the place of focus and determination in achieving great feats. Excerpts:

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he above subject-matter has become the order of the day among men and women of the present generation particularly in Christendom. Many people who would have been great have been eluded by greatness because they trivialised issues that could have advanced their greatness. Many have destroyed their future because of the way they belittled their opportunities for greatness.

These people that approach great things with shallow mind have often lost out from the favour of God because they never approach the things of God with great mind, although they may be in the church but God considered them unqualified to benefit from what is meant for serious minded disciples.

We can notice these classes of people that indulge in this negative attitude everywhere in various field of life, even among church leaders, pastors, workers, members of the church and in the secular world. So as they don’t have what it takes to finish the work assigned to them

by God Almighty, they therefore labour while others reap the fruit of their labour.

No wonder Jesus counsels us to count the cost before engaging in any project.

Luke 14 : 26-30 says, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29.

Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish”.

Common sense teaches men not to begin any costly work without first seeing that they have wherewithal to finish it.

And he who does otherwise exposes himself to general ridicule. No sensible person could venture into a war with any hostile power without first calculating that, despite formidable odds, he will be able to stand his ground and if he has no assurance of this, wisdom

demands he should abort his plan.

So if that been the case in the material world, so it is in the things of the Lord. And that is why the Lord counsels us to examine our readiness to become His disciples before we embark upon the work of God. This will enable us know if we can continue to hold on our position despite any disadvantage. Anybody who intends to follow Him must seriously weigh these things first before becoming His disciple. The person should sit down and consider beforehand, what it is likely to cost him to go through with the profession.

The question posed by the passage above represents the absurdity of those who undertake to be disciples of Christ without considering what difficulties they are to expect, and what conviction they have that will make them remain steadfast even when big g challenges come. This is because he that will be a true disciple of Jesus Christ should know that both hell and earth will unite to fight him and if he is not thoroughly rooted in the grace of God, he will loss out.

So many peopl le le people have lost out in the he e things of the Lord d because they approached the things of the Lord without absolute commitments which it requires. The Apostles had this knowledge of the implication of partial commitment, thus they put in all.

They did the costing, weighed the advantages a n d

disadvantages involved in following Christ and then decided to forsake all because they understood that they had infinite advantage in following Him. Mk 10: 28 -30 says, “Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life”.

H e r e y u can see what it cost yo you the Apostles of th o ol d to set old out

Pastor Muoka

to do the work of God. They left all things to follow Jesus. It cost them all they had. And that was the reason why Jesus clearly told them that if any will consider father, mother, business, children, etc, while following Him, he or she cannot make a good disciple, nor would anybody who could not bear cross to follow Him be qualified. And that was why the Apostles left everything and followed Him. You must leave father, mother, and children, etc, to be qualified to be His good follower. To neglect everything in comparison with Christ is a sure way unto eternal life, so that we do not fall away along the path.

Though it may be very little that we suffer for Christ, and have to forsake upon His account, yet we will have hundredfold.

Those that leave all to follow Him shall never be losers by Him. We may be losers for Christ, but we shall never be losers

by Him, for whatever we part with in this world for the sake of Christ, either houses or lands, we shall have them doubled here on earth and the world to come eternal life.

If you want to be a disciple, these things cannot distract you or become a hurdle in your relationship with Christ or the ministry God has given to you. If you are among those people that want to carry all their loads on their neck, that is their trouble, worry, ego, etc, upon them, then, it will be impossible for you to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

We should know that our task to revive h he aven consciousness in the hearts of heaven people requires everything about us inpeople c cl uding death if it becomes necessary. cluding Q ueen Esther laid a good example of Queen h ow not to reserve anything in the how work of God. When Queen Esther work heard that her peoples’ lives were at heard stake, as they were vulnerable to be stake, killed or destroyed at any moment killed by the evil machination of Haman, by she staked her life even though she was a queen with many maidens at her service taking care of her yet she never cared to consider the pleasure of the palace in expense to the life of her people. When she decided to go to the king, she was decided aware that the implication of goaware ing to the king at that particular hour ing would attract sentence of death, for it was enshrined in the law that if anybody would go to the king without prior perm ss mi s ion, that person would be put mission, t death. And yet Esther to th queen knowthe ing what

PASSION Sunday November 2, 2014

A Lifestyle Magazine

APPLAUSE

‘A male fan once requested to suck my breasts’ >>27

I discuss romantic roles with my husband

–Judith Fought >>26

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Sunday y Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

I discuss romantic roles with my husband –Judith Fought Edo State-born Judith Audu Fought is an actress, budding producer and voice over artiste.

She holds a master’s degree in Public and International Affairs and a Bachelors of Arts degree in French from the University of Lagos. In this interview with Adaeze Amos, she speaks about her childhood, acting career and lifestyle.

How many movies and soap operas have you starred in?

I have starred in several TV productions and movies.

They include Emerald Season 1, Tinsel, Olorogun & Company, Seekers, Burning Spears, Yes I Don’t, Switch, and A Day with Death. Others are Alpha Mum, Not Right, 4 Walls, Stopping Kloe, Out of Fire, Saviour, Ray of Hope, Obodo Denmark, The Antique, Married But Living Single, among others.

Which one was the most challenging?

I believe every role, no matter how simple it may seem to people, is challenging because you try to make the character you’re bringing to life believable. I take every role I get seriously. Even if it is a cameo, I try to make it a memorable one for the viewers.

What do you like about acting, and how did you have passion for it?

I love the fact that I can be anybody. I love the roles I play as they give me joy to change costume, makeup and become a totally different person from who I really am. The freedom to interpret a character and do what I have never thought I could, while trying to make the character I’m playing believable fascinate me. A lot of people inspired

me actually. Broadcasters were the first to make me want to be on the screen. I felt I was too shy to be an actress but I found boldness along the line and I am thankful everyday that I am doing what I do because the joy I derive from it is priceless. I love everything about what I do.

As a married woman, do you think your hubby would frown at you taking up romance roles?

We discuss my scripts together, sometimes we rehearse them. When offered a script with romantic roles, I look at the storyline and people involved in the production. If it is a story that has a strong message, one that I believe viewers would love, I would accept. But I haven’t been given any romantic role that is intense that anyone will frown at. I discuss with my husband before taking on roles. He believes it is my job as an actress to play every role.

How daring are you in romance roles?

I guess you will have to find that one out (laughs).

The acting world is full of cute guys, who would you love to be paired to bring out your best in romance roles?

I am not really interested in the physical attributes of any male actor I have to work with. I’m more interested in how good they will interpret the role because that will make or break the scene. He may be handsome and a terrible actor, which will not be of advantage to both of us and the movie as a whole. So, I will choose to act with an outstanding actor anytime.

You speak both English language and French fluently; is it beneficial for one in the showbiz industry as you are to speak French?

I haven’t really taken advantage of my French so I wouldn’t say it has really had any impact in my career. But I know it will someday soon.

What is the craziest thing a male fan has ever done or said to you?

A male fan once stalked me on social media. He got my number somehow, calling at odd hours and sending crazy messages and pictures.

Have you ever regretted being an actress?

Never! It is one of the choices I’m thankful every day that I made.

Aside from acting, do you do any other thing?

I have two blogs where I profile actors and write a bit about the entertainment world and another one where I share recipes I play with. I also recently delved into production.

I produced a short film on domestic violence against women, entitled, Not Right, which got three nominations for best short film from Best of Nollywood Awards, Abuja International Film Festival and Nollywood Movies Awards. I’m presently working on my next production.

What lesson has life taught you?

Life has taught me to believe in myself no matter what anyone thinks. It has taught me to be humble, to smile no matter how tough things are, be positive every time, to work hard, be grateful, thankful and appreciative to everyone that contributes to my life journey no matter how small. It has equally taught me to be disciplined, determined and dedicated, to treat everyone with respect, never underrate anybody, seize every opportunity availed to me, never to relent, give-up or dwell in negativity just because something didn’t go as I thought it should. Also, never to compare myself with anyone as we are all running an individual race; be contented with whatever I have, live one day at a time and never move what I can do today to tomorrow. To surround myself with people that are hardworking with positive energy, and be always

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Sunday, November 2, 2014

thankful to God for the gift of life.

What is your philosophy of life?

With determination, dedication and discipline, I can achieve a lot. Doing to others what I wish them to do to me.

What was growing up like?

Growing up was fun for me. I am always content with what I have. I really didn’t want much as I have always been a simple person. I wouldn’t ask for anyone else to be my dad, mum and brothers. What I probably miss most is not having my father around; we lost him to the cold hands of death in 2002. That really affected me psychologically.

It took me a while to come back to track and re-kindle my focus. As I achieved, the more I wished he were around to be proud of me. He was always smiling; I miss his flaunting me round and saying I was his girlfriend. I He was always teasing me. I miss his motivational talks and how he would always listen to my not meaningful talks.

What price did you pay to get to where you are today?

Hard work, perseverance and having a diehard spirit.

When you had heartbreak, maybe before marriage, what did you do to wriggle out of the pains?

I easily shake off disappointments, same as heartbreak. I don’t allow myself to get swallowed in self-pity. I move on very fast.

When you are down, what do you do to be inspired?

I listen to music when I’m down; it’s my best medicine.

Can you speak a bit on your style?

My style is effortless, I don’t do things because they are in vogue or the ‘in thing’. I don’t belong to the school of thought that believes fashion is pain. I believe I can look good regardless without going over the top but just being simple; effortlessly put together and yet be stunning.

What is that style you won’t be seen in?

I can’t wear uncomfortable but complicated attire.

Where do you think our womenfolk are not getting it right in their styles?

I think our women over here are extremely fashionable, even to a fault. I admire a lot of them because when you go to events, you’d see so many fantastic designs, and the women know how to rock whatever they are wearing well. Added to the fact is that we have so many outstanding fashion designers now.

What is that part of your body you wouldn’t mind flaunting?

Every part of my body is worth flaunting without revealing anything.

I can still stand out in my carriage and charisma. I love my physique and I tend to carry it well no matter what I’m putting on.

What is that accessory you wouldn’t mind spending much money on?

Shoes and jewellery.

Which attire makes a larger part of your wardrobe?

Simple, easy-to-wear tops as I don’t like to iron. I love to wear tan tops and jeans with sneakers or canvass.

You’re married to a white, does it mean our own guys aren’t attractive enough?

I married a man I love. His skin colour wasn’t part of what made me marry him but the connection and friendship we share. It doesn’t mean we don’t have wonderful men here, it is just who God has set aside for me. Destiny brought us together and I bless the day I met him.

Applause

27

‘A male fan once requested to suck my breasts’ ADAEZE AMOS

V

ivian John is an actress with an infectious smile.

This is made possible because she is blessed with a beautiful set of teeth. The ever-smiling model is quick to remind you that it is good for one to wear a cheerful look.

“You should look cheerful no matter what you are going through because by so doing, you look younger. But when you frown regularly and you are known for that, it can block your doors of favour and give you early wrinkles,” the Imo State-born actress counselled.

Vivian who studied Library and Information at the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Imo State Is the the fourth daughter in a family of five siblings.

“I joined the acting industry three years ago but I started off as a model. I was doing my runway job which I have passion for before I ventured into acting. So far, I have featured in movies such as ‘Lady of Honour’, ‘Helpless Mother’, ‘War Field’, ‘Ikebe Squad’, ‘Village Juju’, ‘ Girls Scot Season 2’, ‘Blackberry Babes’, ‘Senators’ Girls’ and ‘Family Burial’, among many others,” she said.

Out of all these movies, it was ‘Lady of Honour’, where I drove a tricycle (keke Marwa) that brought me into the limelight. It was really challenging,” she said.

Vivian enjoys the instant fame her career as an actress has brought to her.

“It’s good for people to recognise you at a glance because of some roles you have interpreted. Most of them who are my fans give me so much respect when they see me,” she said, shrugging.

But she feels indifferent about not having privacy owing to stardom.

“It doesn’t disturb me that I have lost my privacy due to fame. Privacy is what I have signed off before I ventured into the movie world. That doesn’t hinder me from moving around freely. I relate with people very well, I can go to anywhere I want without being scared but I’m always watchful of what I do because I know I’m a role model to some people. Also, I hate scandal. I haven’t had any since I hit stardom and would want it to remain so.

Inasmuch as I’m free, I relate well but I’m careful,” she gestured.

Vivian recalls the craziest thing a male fan has done to her.

“There was a day I went to a shop to buy some things. A male fan walked up to me and whispered into my ears that he would like to suck my breasts if I don’t mind. I was really surprised. When I looked at him, he really meant it. That sounded crazy to me. I ignored him and continued with my shopping,” she recalled.

Did that encounter make her regret taking up acting as a career?

“Not at all; acting has always been my first love in life. I started from a church drama. I derive joy in acting,” she said.

She explained that as an actress, she can take up any role, including romance.

“I can kiss very well in a movie but I will never go nude. You know I’m an African lady who is hoping to settle down and become Vivian

somebody’s wife and have kids of my own one day. I wouldn’t want to do anything that would jeopardise my future. Any time the right person comes, a man with a good heart and then of course good looks, I would settle down,” she explained.

On her philosophy of life, she said, “My philosophy is that no one is immune from trial and temptation of this world, so don’t think you’ve got it all because you don’t know what tomorrow holds.”

This light-skinned fashionista said she is always careful about what she wears.

“I’m always cautious of what I wear. I love fashion and to package myself very well. I started doing this from my childhood. That is why I have not fallen victim to any blunder in the style world,” she enthused.

Vivian speaks about her style: “I love shoes, handbags and well-tailored dresses. My style signature is elegance, and I keep to it any day,” she emphasised.

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Sunday, November 2, 2014

POP

GROWING UP with

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Aunty Odi

Hello children, In this edition, we have interesting stories, cartoons and other articles for you. Remember to always read your books and observe necessary hygiene to give you sound health and make you stand out.

Once upon a time

Two brothers (5)

L

ast time, we read how the younger of the two huntsmen came into a village where the princess was to be sacrificed to a seven headed dragon and the huntsman’s battle with the dragon in a bid to save the princess.

Read on.

The fire lit the dry grass, and the huntsman was supposed to be suffocated in the heat and smoke, but the animals came running up and trampled the fire out. Then the dragon rushed upon the huntsman, but he swung his sword until it sang through the air, and struck off three of its heads. The dragon grew really furious, and rose up in the air, spitting flames of fire over the huntsman, and was about to plunge down on him, but the huntsman once more drew out his sword, and again cut off three more heads. The monster became faint and sank down.

Nevertheless it was just able to rush upon the huntsman, who with his last strength smote its tail off, and as he could fight no longer, called up his animals to tear the dragon in pieces. When the struggle came to an end, the huntsman unlocked the church, found the king’s daughter lying on the floor, as she had lost her senses with anguish and terror during the contest. He carried her out, when she became conscious, he showed her the dragon all cut to pieces, and told her that she was now set free. She rejoiced and said; now you will be my dearest husband, for my father has promised me to him who kills the dragon. Thereupon she took off her necklace of coral, and divided it amongst the animals in order to reward them, and the lion received the golden clasp. Her pocket-handkerchief, on which was her name, she gave to the huntsman, who went and cut the tongues out of the dragon’s heads, wrapped them in the handkerchief, and preserved them carefully.

That done, as he was faint and weary from the fire and battle, he said to the maiden, since we are both faint and weary, we will sleep awhile. Then she said, yes, and they lay down on the ground. The huntsman said to the lion, you shall keep watch, so that no one surprises us while we sleep, and went to sleep.

The Millipede

The lion lay down beside them to watch, but he was so weary with the fight, so he called to the bear and said, lie down near me, I must sleep a little; if anything comes, wake me. Then the bear lay down beside him, but he also was tired. He called the wolf and said, lie down by me, I must sleep a little, but if anything comes, wake me. Then the wolf lay down by him, but he was tired likewise, and called the fox and said, lie down by me, I must sleep a little, if anything comes wake me. Then the fox lay down beside him, but he too was weary, and called the hare and said, lie down near me, I must sleep a little, and if anything should come, wake me. Then the hare sat down by him, but the poor hare was tired too, and had no one whom he could call upon to keep watch, and he fell asleep. Now the king’s daughter, the huntsman, the lion, the bear, the wolf, the fox, and the hare, were all were all asleep. The marshal, however, who was to look on from a distance, took courage when he did not see the dragon flying away with the maiden, and finding that all the hill had become quiet, ascended it.

There lay the dragon hacked and hewn to pieces on the ground, and not far from it were the king’s daughter, a huntsman with his animals, and all of them were sunk in sound sleep. As he was wicked and godless he took his sword, cut off the huntsman’s head, seized the maiden in his arms, and carried her down the hill. When she woke and was terrified, the marshal said, you are in my hands, you shall say that it was I who killed the dragon.

To be concluded.

Children, you can send your contributions and pictures through this email address cossyodi@yahoo.com or call telephone number: 08023157876

M

illipedes are slender, cylindrical shaped, hard-shelled, worm-like arthropods with elongated rounded body segments. The one most commonly seen on the mountain trails and woods is the black and red Narceus annularis, one of about 1,000 species.

The name “millipede” is a compound word formed from the Latin roots mille (“thousand”) and pes (“foot”). Despite their name, no known millipede has 1,000 legs.

The arthropod has between 60 and 400 legs (depending on the species), with two pairs of legs on each body. When millipedes hatch from eggs, they have only 3 pairs of legs, adding the additional legs as they molt seven to ten times over the course of their lives. As adults, the 1st and 4th segments have no legs and the 2nd and 3rd only have one pair. The number of legs is then 4 times the number of segments minus 10.

The longest extant species is the giant African millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas).

Millipedes are important indicators of trends in land-water relationships, such as acid rain, as they affect the biosphere.

This is because they have a limited ability to migrate, depend on stable conditions of moisture and shelter (they feed on decaying vegetation and leaf litter), and since they have evolved very little since they first appeared about 380 million years ago in the Devonian Period.

Millipedes, like many hard-shelled arthropods, give off a repugnatorial (distasteful to predators) fluids. The secretions are produced in glands that are in each segment along the sides of the body with the exception of the head and the sections immediately behind. The secretion of the Narceus annularis is a benzoquinone that is a foul-

smelling compound that repels potential predators such as birds, toads and rodents.

The longest extant species is the giant African millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas).

Millipedes are considered pests, especially in greenhouses where they can cause severe damage to emergent seedlings.

Millipedes can be easily distinguished from the somewhat similar and related centipedes (Class Chilopoda) which move rapidly, are carnivorous, and have a single pair of legs for each body segment. The scientific study of millipedes is known as diplopodology, and a scientist who studies them is called a diplopodologist.

Millipedes are thought to be among the first animals to have colonised land during the Siluriangeologic period. Early forms probably ate mosses and primitive vascular plants. There are two major groups of entirely extinct millipedes: the Archipolypoda (“ancient, many-legged ones”) which contain the oldest known terrestrial animals, and Arthropleuridea, which contain the largest known land invertebrates. The oldest known land creature, Pneumodesmus newmani, was a 1 cm (0.39 in) long archipolypodan that lived 428 million years ago in the upper Silurian.[3] During the Upper Carboniferous (340 to 280million years ago), Arthropleura became the largest known land invertebrate of all time, reaching lengths of up to 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in). Millipedes, centipedes, and other terrestrial arthropods attained very large sizes in comparison to modern species in the oxygen-rich environments of the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, and some could grow larger than one metre. As oxygen levels lowered through time, arthropods became smaller in size.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Dude Style ‘I can’t be caught in agbada’ Fatai Oluwatoyin Adeogun is the MD/CEO, Fafesto Galaxy Travels & Tours Nigeria Limited. He is also a consultant in tourism. A power dresser who can’t be caught wearing the agbada native attire, he unfurls his style and wardrobe, among others, in this interview with Tosin Uwaifo.

What determines your dress sense?

The occasion and event determine how I dress. I love to dress smart and cooperate, but by virtue and nature of my business and exposure, I sometimes showcase our rich cultural heritage to the rest of the world through my native attires. So far, traditional outfits look good, but simplicity has remained my style watchword.

Why do you like to dress trendily?

I believe so much in the saying that one would be addressed the way he is dressed.

I also believe that looking good is a good business because, to me, appearance shows a person’s conduct. People are always attracted to good things. So, it’s good to look good.

As a public figure who is aspiring to be a role model to the younger ones, I must get myself tidied up all the time. Simply put, I mustn’t be caught shabbily dressed.

Do you wear designer perfumes?

Oh sure, because they are the best and they endure. Perfumes are like the outfits you wear to glamorous events. If you are mindful of what you wear, your perfumes also should boost your style. I love to smell good, always.

What fashion item can’t you be caught in?

Agbada/Buba and its pant on short knickers.

In the fashion world, who is your mentor?

I will go for Pastor Chris Oyakhilome.

What are your achievements so far in life?

They are numerous; I ascribe all to God who without I am nobody. I am still working and yet to be where God is taking me to. I think I have achieved a lot by His grace.

What is your philosophy of life?

Love all as yourself. Let there be love in the world, but it should start from you.

Why are you into tourism?

I enjoy reading and visiting places that amuse me. I’m fascinated by the wonders of God’s creativity which are scattered around the world. By God’s grace, I have visited so many countries and places. I also see my tourism business as a calling and what God wants me to do.

29 victorudoh804@yahoo.com 07067124302

&

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Weddings Engagements CELEBRATING THE JOY IN MARITAL BLISS NOVEMBER 2, 2014

You have a story to tell us about your wedding/engagement, or your new born baby.

You can call this line 08023157876

Our union is divinely ordained –Groom

M

iracle Moses and Anthony Salami were full of joy recently when they were joined in matrimony at The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Mercy Seat Parish in Iworoko, Ekiti State.

The couple who revealed that they met seven years ago as undergraduates at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State described their love for each other as divinely ordained.

The duo whose love appeared intense held tightly to each other, to the admiration of all, during the ceremony.

The groom described his bride as a prayerful and supportive woman.

According to him, “Miracle is the best thing that can happen to any man. I have known her for seven years, and I keep falling for her again and again. Just like her name denotes, she is my Miracle in life.’’

The wedding which was well attended by

BABIES OF THE WEEK

B friends, members of the families and well wishers of the couple saw an array of dressing styles added to the Aso-ebi uniform of blue and pink whichh added panache to the occasion.

As a requisite for any relationship to stand the test of time, Miracle and Anthony advised young couple, who intend to get married, to go for their best friends.

Pomp and ceremony as Philip marries Idoroyin

F

riends and well-wishers recently gathered at the Bornfree City International Church in Akesan Igando, Lagos, to celebrate with the Osungs and Titus as their children, Philip and Idoroyin, married.

The wedding ceremony, officiated by Apostle Johnson Suleiman, presented an array of guests dressed in colourful attire of peach, orange and green.

The couple who were smartly dressed in welltailored clothes were all smiles as they moved gracefully to the tunes supplied by the church band.

The bride was elegantly dressed in flowing white dress with a transparent Arabian lace and a cute headgear to match. The groom was also good-looking in a chocolate brown tuxedo suit which he com-

bined with a cream-coloured tie and shirt.

The event took a groovy turn as guests who were thrilled to

sonorous melodies by the church band threw caution to the wind as they danced along with the happy couple.

aby Damilola Adejuwon was born at the New Testament Clinic at Okitipupa, Ondo State.

His mother, Mrs. Alice Adejuwon, a trader explained how she felt when she was pregnant with her baby.

She listed the body changes she experienced to include back ache, chest burn, swollen hands and feet.

According to the mother, she enjoyed eating the local soup of the Apo people which she said was made with blended vegeta-

ble. She revealed that she loved eating this soup because it was nutritional and also possessed medicinal value.

She disclosed that her baby was named ‘Bidemi’ because he was born at a time when his father was not around adding that her husband was away at the time on official duty.

She described her son as a calm and peaceful baby since he sleeps well and hardly disturbs her.

The mother nurtures the hope for her son to become banker when he grows up.

B

aby Precious Oluwadamilola Adekunle was born at the Redeemed Christian Church of God maternity home, Oyingbo Lagos, to the Mr. and Mrs. Adekunle. She weighed 3.2kg at birth.

Mrs. Adekunle while describing her experience during pregnancy as a wonderful one, noted that aside the normal pregnancy signs like swelling in the face and feet, she always had she urge to spit frequently.

She said: “In my previous pregnancies which were all boys, I never felt irritated at all as to have the urge to spit, rather, I frequented the loo to pass urine, unlike precious’ case where I experienced the urge to spit at every given time.

“I believe the difference is as a result of my carrying a girl child as opposed to the times I was pregnant with her brothers” The mother also revealed that she favoured Zobo drink, a local beverage when she was pregnant.

According to the parents, their baby girl is their precious jewel and joy.

“Since her birth, Oluwadamilola has been growing in power, wisdom, favour and miracle of God. Our beautiful jewel is a source of joy to the family. Everything about our princess is special from birth till now” chipped the parents.

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

What to wear ...to a touch of skin party NOVEMBER 2, 2014

ADAEZE AMOS

W

hen Fela Durotoye, CEO, House e of Tara, had a party some years ago, and she inscribed ribed a touch of skin prints on her invitation cards ass the dress code, people wondered how the ladies would look like. ke. But when the party started, glamorous ladies stepped out in n skin print dresses of all types and styles. They no doubt looked ked splendid.

Therefore, if you are getting ready to step out in a skin print dress for a particular party or event vent and you are wondering the style to wear, check out what Empress Njamah, an actress, dons on this page.

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Perfect Cut

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tiny stars Ankara prints still in vogue ADAEZE AMOS

T

here was a time some people would not be seen in Ankara. But now, because of the way they are being designed and presented, almost everyone go for them; and they look really good.

Now the tiny stars design of Ankara/African prints, also known as Kirikiri Star which became hot in the style world some years ago, is still in vogue. Now, new designs have flooded the market, and our designers are doing marvellously well with these fabrics. Little wonder many fashionistas long to have them in their wardrobes. Explore here some mind-blowing styles as today’s designers are using tiny stars African prints.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Perfect Cut

33

34

L

OVE

TALK

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

with Yemisi

Adeniran

Heart-throb

...Find your soul mate here

Send text only to 08023012293

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Models

How to increase your sex drive L

ibido is about a person’s sex drive. It is about the amount of interest one takes in sex and the pleasure that comes with it, with one’s partner.

Having a good level of libido is not automatic as it may be hindered by some factors. Once it is affected, it reduces. However, there are ways of increasing it. Below are some of the ways: Reduce your level of stress and have a positive mental attitude. It is natural that when your level of stress is reduced, you feel good and your level of confidence is enhanced. All these have positive effects on your sexuality and you are more attractive to your partner. You need to know that once stress is prolonged, the drive for sex diminishes. Also, the way men react to stress is different from the way women do. While to some men, sex comes across as a release of stressful energy, to some women, sex is an abomination when there is stress. As far as such women are concerned, having sex is adding more stress to their lives.

Take some special foods and supplements: There are some special foods that will naturally increase your libido. Taking them will help you. So are some supplements too which medical personnel would tell you also help. Some of these supplements that may increase libido include vitamin E, zinc, vitamin C, arginine, vitamin A, vitamin C, octacosanol, Beta-carotene, vitamin B6, and vitamin B complex. These nutrients are said to be capable of increasing sperm count, testosterone production and create a healthier nervous system among other things.

The following foods can help as well: Celery, raw oysters, bananas, avocado, nuts, mangoes, peaches, strawberries, eggs, liver, figs, garlic, pumpkin and chocolate.

The environmental factor is important: One’s sexual desire can often be affected by environmental stimuli. Try and make your environment conducive to enhance your sex dirive. For example, you

can avoid things like the pictures of your parents and children in the bedroom as they may appear staring at you. Heaps of books or work related materials may not make the mood good enough too. Rather, go for the kind of lighting that can be dimmed; allow some fresh air and use air-freshener to give you the beautiful smell that is good enough for that moment.

Get ready for intimacy. For a romantic evening, coffee and chocolate are both considered to be great as they are believed to be aphrodisiacs. This is because they help improve the mood.

Get the assistance of a sex therapist, if necessary. The help of a sex therapist may be necessary for one who has sexual problems preventing him or her from desiring, initiating or enjoying sex. At times, the problem may be psychological. The sex therapist can work on the affected partner or both to return the libido that has found its way out of the system.

Patience is necessary. For those whose partners are being treated for decrease in level of libido, patience may be the key word. Such a treatment may take some months or more for good result. So, the partner may have to endure for some time.

Need to understand the role of testosterone in regulating long-term sex drive. Doctors give testosterone supplements to treat abnormally low testosterone levels, increase libido, and improve sexual performance. This is because the natural testosterone production of men and women tends to naturally decline with age, but the decline can be accelerated by smoking, heavy drinking, and gaining excess amounts of body fat while being physically inactive.

Because men’s testosterone levels naturally peak in the early morning hours, you can take advantage of the situation and have sex in the morning.

So, consider some of these little efforts and get back your libido. The sex drive must not go down.

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Sunday, November 2, 2014

Pregnancy Talk

Naughtiest Thing

with

The naughtiest thing I’ve ever done

Adaeze Amos

Azeez Eletu

08023012293 (SMS ONLY)

Why you have much wind when pregnant M

any pregnant women ask this question among themselves: why do we have much wind or bloating? But the fact still remains that everyone, pregnant or not, has some wind. According to medics, an average person passes wind about 15 times a day, and that anything up to 40 times a day is normal.

That said, you may have even more wind than usual during pregnancy.

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself burping frequently. You may also have to unbutton your trousers/skirts to relieve bloating many weeks before your tummy begins to get bulky.

You have more wind because the doses of progesterone that your body produces early in pregnancy can cause digestive problems. Progesterone relaxes the smooth muscle tissue throughout your body. This includes the muscle tissue that helps digestion. The result is more wind, bloating, and discomfort in your stomach, especially after a big meal.

In later pregnancy, your growing baby crowds the space in your belly. This can further slow digestion, and your baby pushing on your stomach can make you feel even more bloated after eating. But not to worry, after all you would be a mum at the end of the nine months journey. And that can be thrilling.

Some pregnant mothers have asked themselves where the wind comes from.

Wind gets caught in your digestive tract when you swallow air. It’s also a normal by-product when undigested foods are broken down by bacteria in your large intestine (colon). So, have you seen you don’t need to blame neither yourself nor anybody for this?

You release most wind and bloating from your stomach through burping. A small amount can continue down to the large intestine to be released at the other end, as flatulence.

Most of the wind that causes flatulence is produced when food that wasn’t digested properly is broken down in the large intestine by bacteria. Certain carbohydrates are the main culprits. Some fats can also contribute to a sense of bloating because they slow stomach-emptying time.

Some people get a lot of wind from certain foods that don’t bother others at all. Or the balance of bacteria in your large intestine can affect how much wind you get.

You may experience more wind and bloating because you are lactose intolerant. As such, your body doesn’t make enough lactase. Lactase is the enzyme that breaks down lactose, the sugar in dairy products. This means you’ll get bloated if you have too much milk or ice cream.

Foods that are likely to cause bloating The foods most likely to cause wind are those

I dated two intimate friends

containing carbohydrates that are difficult to be absorbed. Your body may not digest these types of carbohydrates properly. These foods include egg, beans, cabbage and milk, among others. You may also have more wind after eating food and drink containing a type of sugar found in fruits (fructose).

C

How to be relieved If you have wind or bloating shortly after eating a particular food, you may want to reduce how much you eat of it. However, if certain vegetables give you wind or bloating, don’t cut them out altogether because they are important in your diet. Instead, try varying what you eat. Try different combinations until you find the one that suits you best.

You may also want to cut out very fatty or fried foods. Fatty foods don’t cause wind, but they can make you feel more bloated because they slow digestion. Another factor that would help you is to eat several small meals throughout the day, instead of two or three large meals. Take your time eating, don’t gulp your food (and air) down, and chew thoroughly. This will help your body to digest your food.

Sit up while you’re eating or drinking, so that your stomach isn’t squashed while you digest your food.

Wear loose, comfortable clothing so there isn’t any tightness around your waist and tummy. Take some exercise. Even a brisk walk can help your sluggish digestive tract.

Eletu, an event planner, packages celebrities in the entertainment world.

–Victor Udoh

andidly, I did some naughty things when I was young.

When I became an adult, I continued. Adulthood to me means when I had already reached 18 years of age.

The naughty act I want to share with you is still etched in my memory. Whenever I remember it, I laugh wildly. It happened when I was 20 years old; already an adult.

There was a young lady, about 18 or 19 years old, that I was dating then. We were deeply in love. That was my first time of falling in love with a girl. I wouldn’t want to mention her name here.

One day, she came to my house with her bosom friend, a pretty damsel. Three of us sat in the living room and watched the television and chatted happily. My girlfriend was sitting close to me as I told her stories and admired her friend in the process. Whenever my girl went to fetch something, maybe, from the kitchen or any part of my house, I would passionately kiss her friend and she would reciprocate. My girlfriend did not know what we were doing behind her. Indeed, those stolen kisses were so exciting that I needed more.

We later fell in love and I started dating her secretly. I enjoyed dating two friends at the time. The relationship lasted for a while before we parted ways.

36

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

African Look NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Foluke Daramola

Beads surely embellish African styles ADAEZE AMOS

A

n African style without beads is comparable to a cake without icing. African beads such as coral, angel skin, tiger eye, acrylic, glass, crystal, bugle, fire-polished, spacer, Pandora style, fresh water pearls, ravioli, seed, wooden, among others, can actually pep up your native attires. There are many to choose from, so there is no room for boredom or monotony.

Choose that which is suitable for you and your dress and carry your neck with style. Ensure you put back your beads in its case or any good jewellery case where playful hands would not tamper after use.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

WHO INVENTED WHAT? Nobutoshi Kihara created Walkman

W

alkman is actually a Sony trademark and was the name used for portable tape or cassette deck players. These were meant for the listening pleasure of a single person and the trademark was later expanded for other portable Sony devices for audio and video entertainment. The term Walkman is also given to a range of the Sony Erricson range of mobile phones which also became immensely popular. Walkman was a device that was designed and created by audio engineer Nobutoshi Kihara who worked for Sony.

TONGUE TWISTER

Growing Up

Sunday, November 2, 2014

“I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream...”

“Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear.

Fuzzy wuzzy had no hair.

Fuzzy wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy, was he?”

“How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood”

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

FAIRY PUZZLE

37

YOUNG FASHION Socks

A

sock is an item of clothing worn on the feet. The foot is among the heaviest producers of sweat in the body, as it can produce over 0.25 US pints (0.12 l) of perspiration per day. Socks help to absorb this sweat and draw it to areas where air can evaporate the perspiration. In cold environments, socks decrease the risk of frostbite.

The modern English word sock is derived from the Old English word socc, meaning “light slipper”. This comes from the Latinsoccus, a term to describe a “light, lowheeled shoe” worn by Roman comic actors, and deriving from the Ancient Greek word sykchos.

Do not wring dry, just squeeze them, and hang them to dry.

WORDS ON MARBLES

People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.

John C. Maxwell

RIDDLES

Q: What has a foot but no legs? A: A snail Q: Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it? A: Nothing Q: What comes down but never goes up? A: Rain Q: I’m tall when I’m young and I’m short when I’m old. What am I? A: A candle Q: Mary’s father has 5 daughters – Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono. What is the fifth daughters name? A: If you answered Nunu, you are wrong. It’s Mary!

Q: How can a pants pocket be empty and still have something in it? A: It can have a hole in it.

Q: In a one-story pink house, there was a pink person, a pink cat, a pink fish, a pink computer, a pink chair, a pink table, a pink telephone, a pink shower– everything was pink! What color were the stairs? A: There weren’t any stairs, it was a one story house!

Q: A dad and his son were riding their bikes and crashed. Two ambulances came and took them to different hospitals. The man’s son was in the operating room and the doctor said, “I can’t operate on you.

You’re my son.” How is that possible? A: The doctor is his mom!

Q: What goes up when rain comes down? A: An umbrella!

Q: What is the longest word in the dictionary? A: Smiles, because there is a mile between each ‘s’ Q: If I drink, I die. If i eat, I am fine. What am I? A: A fire!

Q: Throw away the outside and cook the inside, then eat the outside and throw away the inside. What is it? A: Corn on the cob, because you throw away the husk, cook and eat the kernels, and throw away the cob.

Q: What word becomes shorter when you

add two letters to it? A: Short Q: What travels around the world but stays in one spot? A: A stamp!

Q: What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment and never in one thousand years? A: The letter M Q: What has 4 eyes but can’t see? A: Mississippi Q: If I have it, I don’t share it. If I share it, I don’t have it. What is it? A: A Secret.

Q: Take away my first letter, and I still sound the same. Take away my last letter, I still sound the same. Even take away my letter in the middle, I will still sound the same. I am a five letter word. What am I? A: EMPTY Q: What has hands but can not clap? A: A clock Q: What can you catch but not throw? A: A cold.

Q: A house has 4 walls. All of the walls are facing south, and a bear is circling the house. What color is the bear? A: The house is on the north pole, so the bear is white.

Q: What is at the end of a rainbow? A: The letter W! Q: What is as light as a feather, but even the world’s strongest man couldn’t hold it for more than a minute? A: His breath!

Q: What starts with the letter “t”, is filled with “t” and ends in “t”? A: A teapot!

Q: What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it? A: Silence.

Q: You walk into a room with a match, a karosene lamp, a candle, and a fireplace. Which do you light first? A: The match.

To be continued

38

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

& ovies M usic M Edited by Adaeze Amos 08023012293 e-mail: adaezeamos@gmail.com

Regina Askia volunteers to fight Ebola in U.S.

E

x-actress and beauty queen, Regina Askia Williams, has announced on Facebook that she will volunteer at the U.S. Ebola Centre to help her colleagues fight the deadly virus.

The mother of three who was born in Lagos and is currently working as a nurse in New York, the United States said no female had volunteered, and that her male colleagues demanded $200 per hour for the job. “My job was looking for nurses to volunteer for the Ebola Centre which was moved from our building to another location. My male colleagues said they would do it for $200 per hour...C’mon Regina, gotta get on the team…they said. I was not smiling (I am captain of my 3 kid team). Not one female nurse volunteered. We all had to demonstrate proper use of PPE equipment and be proficient with the Ebola protocol. I was full of thoughts as I watched the display, hoods, masks, gowns, boots….almost like a nightmare,” she disclosed.

Regina is a graduate with a degree in Biology at the University of Lagos. She now works as a healthcare and educational activist in the United States where she relocated in 2001 with her family.

A fearless Regina now gets into the battle against Ebola virus, which has just sneaked into New York, where the first EVD case was confirmed recently.

Askia

Behold 2Face’s Versace shoe collection

H

ennessy Artistry 2014 headliner, 2Face Idibia, gave us a sneak peep into his amazing shoe collection during his stay in Accra, Ghana for the first ever Hennessy Artistry international concert.

The pop icon has proved that he is a great lover of Versace as he was spotted hours before the concert with black Versace loafers. He later stormed the concert rocking a black sleeveless-strapped jacket with a Versace belt and high top sneakers to match.

...Thrills fans with Wizkid at Ghana concert

2

Face and Wizkid have definitely left a mark in Ghana with their first ever international performance of their collabo track, ‘Dance Go – Eau De

Vie’.

The Hennessy Artistry 2014 headliners gave fans and party lovers a run for their money as they performed the Hennessy Artistry 2014 theme song along with a number of their hit tracks.

2Face who performed monster tracks such as ‘African Queen’, ‘Spiritual Healing’, ‘True Love’, ‘Implication’, among other hit tracks, called out StarBoy, Wizkid to the stage as they both performed ‘Dance Go’ amid loud screams from excited fans.

The concert which held at the Accra International Conference Centre later saw Wizkid close the show with label mate, L.A.X as they performed hits, ‘Ginga’, ‘Caro’, ‘Show Me the Money’, among other songs.

The duo moved to Lagos this week for another edition of the Hennessy Artistry club tour. 2Face and Wizkid will party with fans at popular comedian, AY’s new club, MVP at Lekki, Lagos. Other performers for the night are supporting acts, Wande Coal and Lil

I

Tuface and Wizkid

L-R: Mummy Bosco, Ozzybosco and Kehinde Bamigbetan, Chairman, Ejigbo LCDA

Ozzybosco bid

t was indeed a memorable day when OzzyBosco Wonderkid and team paid a courtesy/farewell visit to Kehinde Bamigbetan, who completed his tenure last week as chairman of Ejigbo LCDA, in a colourful reception held at the LCDA secretariat.

Bamigbetan who is a Federal House of Representatives aspirant, his Executive Committee members and indeed all the staff of the LCDA were on hand to receive OzzyBosco and officials of the OzzyBosco Smile Foundation (OSF).

The impressive crowd present to honour the outgoing chairman alongside the African youngest entertainer was made up of school pupils drawn from various schools in the LCDA and of course the media

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

39

Sunday, November 2, 2014

W

inner of the KOGA Open House, Zayo, has released the video for his new single ‘Basia’.

More than anything he has done or something done by Clarence Peters, the director of the video, the film has been generating conversations.

‘Basia’ is a fusion of danceable beats, distinct lyrics and instrumentation, all combining to make the song an irresistible dance tune.

The video which is said to be the Nigerian version of Nicki Minaj’s ‘Anaconda’ video was directed by ace music director, Clarence Peters. ‘Basia’ video is said to be the most daring that has been shot by Peters. It features heavy flash of flesh, butt and dance moves that make ‘Anaconda’ come second in rating.

The singer who is a 400 level student of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ogun state has released three singles so far since he came into public consciousness after winning Koga Open House Competition. The three singles are, ‘Colored’, ‘Ewomo’, and the just released ‘Basia’. He is signed to KOGA Records.

Speaking on his ‘Basia’ video, Zayo said: “The video is lovely even if I say so myself. When we got the idea for the video, we played around with it and decided that it is nice; we paired a great idea with a great music director and the ‘Basia’ video is the result. There are still more great things to come from KOGA and Zayo; the sky is not the limit but our point of view.

And ‘Basia’ isn’t raunchy at all, it is an expressive video, the song is all about backside so we need to show enough backside to illustrate our points’.

Zayo believes that he has what it takes to compete favourably in the industry.

He stressed: “The industry is all about delivering the kind of songs that can stand the test of time.

There are songs that when you hear them a few years down the line, you can still relate and connect with them. Those are the kind of songs I want to create and I know that with God, nothing is impossible. I look forward to working with a lot of talented people in the industry and with time we would be releasing other songs.”

Zayo showed his lyrical dexterity at the KOGA Open House Competition, proving to the judges, Masterkraft, DJklem and Licious Crackit, that he has what it takes to be the next big thing in the music industry.

Zayo who says he looks up to Fela, Oritsefemi, Shina Peters and 2Face had worked with Masterkraft, DJklem PuffyTee, LiciousCrackit, Htee and Coded.

Osu

Zayo drops new video, Basia

Zayo

Stolen Lives hits cinemas soon

J

ide Kosoko, Ruth Kadiri, Beverly Osu, Bukky Wright, Kunle Coker, Toyin Alausa, Alek Ekubo, Ik Ogbonna, Owumi Ugbeye, Tayo Sobola and other Nollywood stars shine in a new movie entitled ‘Stolen Lives’.

It is the story of four girls from different backgrounds and with different stories to tell. The story revolves around Amarachi, Janette, Jumoke and Anita. Amarachi who is the lead character in the movie was raped at a tender age, while her cousin Janette ended up being HIV-positive. Jumoke fell in love with a cult member and Anita found solace in the arms of old men.

According to one of the producers of the movie, Nelson Jombo, “Stolen Lives unlike every other movie is a story we all can relate to, how the world doesn’t always have a fairy tale happily ever after. It’s a movie we can

say yes it’s actually true, this is what happens out in the world today. Young girls living a life they can never be proud of, engaging in different activities just to take their minds off the actual problem. ‘Stolen Lives’ is a must watch movie, I can only tell you bits and pieces but I can assure you the writer of the movie definitely nailed this one.”

Speaking further, Emmanuel Williams, one of the producers said, “This movie is a must watch, the actors’ excellent portrayals of the characters bring the acts to life, it’s a movie that would keep you interested for the duration. It’s worth watching. It tells the story about youths of today.”

‘Stolen Lives’ which was directed by Emmanuel Eme and produced by Emmanuel Williams would be in cinemas across the country soon.

Osu

Salvage

ds farewell to Bamigbetan community was not left out as WonderKid’s presence almost always attracts the entertainment press.

In his remarks during the reception, Bamigbetan highlighted his numerous achievements in the last six years and his plans towards repositioning the children in the LCDA and extending same to the entire Lagos State. He could not hide his excitement on the achievements and talents of this kid star at such a tender age of seven, describing him as a rare gem, role model and motivator for children of his generation.

Highlight of the ceremony was characterised with presentation and decoration of Bamigbetan

with special souvenir from OzzyBosco Smile Foundation by the LAWMA Ambassador, OzzyBosco. He proudly displayed this apparel to the admiration of all present. Then came the moment of great expectation when the kid dynamite and his dance crew dazzled the crowd with his new single ‘You Reign’ featuring the legendry flutist, Dr Tee Mac & Midnight Crew.

Coincidentally, the video of this inspirational gospel masterpiece was dropped a few hours before the event. As a farewell gesture, OzzyBosco presented his branded educational materials, video/audio CDs to the children and others present on the occasion.

Tiwa Savage, others nominated for The Headies

N

igeria’s big and innovative awards, ‘The Headies’ has revealed this year’s nominees.

The unveiling which premiered on Hip TV recently was also revealed at a press briefing at the Hip TV office in Allen, Lagos with some of the nominees and senior media representatives in attendance.

This year’s nomination is based on the years in review, July

2013 and June 2014. Some of the nominees include 2Face Idibia, Davido, Mavins, Timi Dakolo, Sheyi Shay, Wizkid, KCee, Phyno.

“This year’s nominees have shown hard work and zeal with their music and we wish them good luck at the awards,” says head of the jury, DJ Jimmy Jatt.

Personalities at the press briefing included KCee, Orezi, BlackMagic, and Ruby, among others.

40

Lessons of Life

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ADAEZE AMOS Adanneamos@gmail.com 08023012293 (sms only)

TRUE LIFE STORY ON MATTERS OF THE HEART NOVEMBER 2, 2014

‘Jide wants me pregnant before marriage’ W hen Onyinye was in the university studying History and International Relations, she dated no one and had nothing to do with anyone as regards love in the same institution.

“Maybe, because guys who approached me never appealed to me, so, I didn’t miss it anyway. But that didn’t mean suitors weren’t coming to ask for my hand in marriage. I wasn’t ready to settle down then. I didn’t want to be engaged because I dreaded getting married as my mum’s hellish marriage affected my psyche, and I later developed a serious phobia for marriage.

“My mum got married at 22 years of age to a drunk who, of course, was my dad. I could remember then when I was a little girl how dad used to punch her at the slightest provocation, and mum would cry and cringe like a baby before me,” she recalled.

Onyinye wasn’t actually ready to marry anyone even when Johnson, one of her suitors, came asking to marry her.

He promised to sponsor her university education and relieve her mother of the huge task, but marriage always seemed a high risk and she warned men who longed to have her about that. Marriage was never an option for her. Her mother’s pain had been hard enough to convince her never to risk that kind of hurt for anyone. Her father later abandoned her mother when she was 25 years old.

“I was barely three. She had attempted two more marriages to men I hated, because both were drunks as my father had been,” Onyinye said, tears rolling off her cheeks.

She never saw her father again after he left his family. She only knew that he had died when she was 14 years old.

“My mum died of cervical cancer when I was through with my degree examination awaiting my NYSC posting. Her death was a serious blow.

She really suffered to see me through

school and when it was time for me to take care of her, she was no more. The only person I had left was Auntie Felicia, mum’s younger sister, a widow, who never had a child of her own. She found it difficult to conceive. So when her husband died, the late man’s relatives chased her out unceremoniously,” she recalled.

She left Benin where she was livingand relocated to Lagos.

“I was living with her. When I was through with my youth service, I was employed in the same company where I did my primary assignment. I was indeed retained with a big increment in my salary. Life seemed a bit easier,” she said.

It was in the course of work that she met Jide, a dark, tall and powerfully-built man. He was as smart as she, which she loved. He studied Economics in the university. He was as conservative as she was flamboyant. And she used to tease him that he studied how to be conservative and stingy in the university in the name of Economics.

“At first, we were just platonic friends, although I admired him a t lot.

His office was a walking distance from mine, so when we closed from work, I would follow him in his company’s bus.

But at a time, the platonic relationship blossomed into a sizzling affair, especially when he bought a car of his own.

We started cruising in his car. While we dated, I gradually started changing my opinion on marriage. The more I loved him, the more my fears concerning marriage fizzled out, coupled with Auntie Felicia’s advice that I wasn’t meant to be alone through ut my life; that I should give marriage a try,” she said.

“At 26, Jide, my first boyfriend proposed marriage to me. I accepted his engagement ring and for the first time in life since mum died, I was happy that I could see someone I truly loved. I listened to Jide in everything he said to me. I respected, looked up to him and dreamt of when he would walk me to the alter. When he told me to get pregnant for him first, before the traditional marriage, I didn’t hesitate, although I confided in Auntie Felicia who gave a nod to that based on her experience of barrenness,” she said, softly.

At first, pregnancy seemed difficult until “I went to see my doctor who calculated my ovulation period and within a space of eight weeks it clicked.

When I told him, he seemed joyful. He promised coming to my village for the traditional marriage first before the church wedding that would come up a few weeks later. I crossed my fingers and waited for Jide to fulfil his promise, I kept my cool, even as my tummy got bigger. When my pregnancy was six months, my tummy was already obviously bulky and I was becoming desperate because my belly was beginning to show. That was what I loathed.

My auntie too was disturbed. She told me to invite him home so that she could hear from him what was delaying him.

I agreed and set off to his house one Saturday morning. When I got to Jide’s house’ I met the shocker of my life!

Continued next week.

RESPONSES

Re: ‘I have baby out of wedlock because of my wife’s barrenness’ Dear James, You obviously betrayed the love and trust Nancy, your wife has for you. You have been married for six years, without her being pregnant and both of you manage the company. You could have discussed and agreed with your wife to have a child out of wedlock. In the Bible, Sarah was barren and she counselled Abraham to sleep with their maid, Hagar, probably she will conceive and bear them a child. He did and Ishmael was born. In my place, by tradition, barren women usually encourage their husbands to have children out of wedlock.

Civilisation and Christianity abhor this practice. I would advise you to pray and open up to Nancy, she will forgive you and even allow Patience to live with

you as your second wife, believing also that God will open her womb to bear her own children. Formalise your relationship with Patience, so that the son will be yours. In addition, repent and ensure that the household attends the same church service with Nancy.

Patrick Adiasor, Surulere Lagos, 08033452087.

James, Your decision on this matter is faulty.

Don’t get swindled up with Patience and her greedy mother because of a baby. Be wise, team up with Nancy your wife and pray for God to give you both a child.

God can do that for you if you could be

patient. Leave Patience alone.

Apeji Onesi Lagos, 08060504740.

James, The best bet is to collect your child from Patience at the right time while you concentrate on your real wife, Nancy.

You can still beg God to give you a child.

Remember, with God all things are possible.

Apeji Pat Eneyeme Badagry, 07044445550.

Dear James, I know it is not easy for you to tell Nigerians about this, but I like your courage. Are you really sure the baby is your

child, I mean your blood? I started being suspicious when Patience’s mother started becoming over-demanding because her daughter had a child for you and she is threatening to delve into your marriage. My advice is that you should watch it. Wait on God and He would not forsake you. When Patience missed her flow, it did not occur to you that she got pregnant from someone else?

After all, you have been sleeping with your wife for close to seven years now and nothing has happened. Don’t break your wife’s heart and please don’t leave her in the dark concerning this. She has the right to know all your escapades.

Rebecca Dauda Surulere, Lagos, 08100739461.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

From the Pulpit

Sunday November 2, 2014

41

Obtaining God’s mercy, by Prophet Oloruntimilehin T

he faces of many people are yearning and asking for the mercy of God but not all the people that request for mercy receive it. This is based on what the scripture says in Exodus 33:19 “…I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”. The above God’s expression is so powerful and implies that a person’s request for mercy does not guarantee his or her receipt of God’s mercy. Many blind people were before Jesus Christ but the one that was shown mercy and the sight restored was recorded in the Bible. Mark 10:46 – 52 says, “And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way”.

Similarly, many barren women existed but the ones shown mercy and who bore children were recorded in the scripture. A lot of people were with problems but few that received the mer-

General Overseer of Omnipotence Mission of God, Prophet Joshua Daramola Oloruntimilehin, in this admonition, harps on the mercy of God. Excerpts:

HOW MANY WOMEN CAN THINK THE SAME WAY AS SARAH WHO GAVE HER MAID SERVANT TO HER HUSBAND IF SHE COULD THROUGH HER HAVE HER OWN CHILD? IT IS NOT COMMON TO FIND SUCH WOMEN BECAUSE THEY DO NOT WANT THEIR HUSBANDS TO HAVE ANOTHER WIFE cy of God were saved. All these people could be saved but which soul was ready to receive mercy? The soul must be firstly prepared to receive mercy before he or she could be shown mercy.

The Bible says in Mathew 7:7, “Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you”.

In the same vein, the Bible says you ask but it was not given to you because if you receive, you would use it for the lust of the flesh (James 4:3).

The two Bible verses encourage and discourage people from requesting from God. These two statements are working but then who could God have mercy on? Who deserves the mercy of God? What work do people do to warrant the mercy of God? Who are people that can receive God’s mercy?

There are some people that have pure heart, they do not jealous, they bless and embrace good things. These

kinds of people prevent the destruction of good things to happen no matter the physical and financial involvement. They would go extra miles to mend things. Imagine Sarah, sister and wife of Abraham, left all the affluence to follow Abraham on his journey. She did not discontinue the journey with her husband despite the problems they encountered in their journey. In the course of the journey, she discovers that the house of wealth could be destroyed if there is no child for them.

She had been crying for child bearing but to no avail. So if her husband and she die, then their calling and existence would be in vain. These are the kind of people God shows mercy on because they always think about tomorrow or the future. I pray God will show us mercy in the name of Jesus.

If God shows you mercy, then you have gotten everything. Anyone that receives God’s mercy, also the mercy is

extended to the children, wife and husband. He or she does not need to worry about anything because the mercy of God is following him or her and such a person is satisfied and contented.

How many women can think the same way as Sarah who gave her maid servant to her husband if she could through her have her own child? It is not common to find such women because they do not want their husbands to have another wife who might bear them a child till the end of their life (Genesis 16, 17, 18). The maidservant, Hagar, was not a compassionate woman; she wanted to dominate the husband alone. She had forgotten the woman that invited her to be part of the family.

Hagar was unpleasant and intolerant with Sarah.

Then Sarah ill-treated her and she fled from her mistress. It was the angel of the Lord that instructed her to return to her mistress and be submissive. On her return, Sarah accepted her.

Based on all the thinking and deeds of Sarah, God showed her mercy and she had her own son called Isaac. Sarah had portrayed a woman with love and compassion. Brethren, some people are suffering now but they are not supposed to suffer. Another person’s suffering is being suffered by another person.

Some people are suffering because of their country or town. I pray you will not suffer another person’s suffering in Jesus name.

•For more enquiries call 08023020108, 08058110288

‘Approaching great things with shallow mind’

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24

was at stake decided to go and meet the king without appointment. She told the delegates sent her by Mordecai to go and gather the Jews for a three-day fast and prayer while she and her maidens will also give themselves to prayer and fast, and after 3 days, she would go to the king, and if such action would cause her to perish, so be it, she would accept to perish.

Esther 4: 15- 16 says, “Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, 16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish”.

Having understood the plight of her people and the need not only to put her life on the line but also to act quickly to save her people, Esther said, ‘If I lose my life in this attempt to save my people, I shall lose it cheerfully. I see it as my duty to make attempt to save my people; and, come what may be, I am resolved to do it”. She put her life in danger and referred the success to God, seeing it is for His glory and the deliverance of His people.

That was the attitude of one who had known what was at stake and decided to give it what it took to get a win. This there-

fore should be the kind of attitude of people that can fulfil the commission of God to go into the world to preach to all creatures. If you are there and your own duty is to tell your spouse not to do the work of God or you are among those that complain of who will take care of your children if you accept to do the work of God, then you are not yet ready to be a follower.

The fact remains that whether you do the will of God or not, you will still take care of your children. However, if God is not with you, you cannot afford to take care of your children. Without God, you can do nothing; so, why should you pursue project that has no grace? If I were you, I will do something that has grace so that when I cry to heaven, God will answer me, than doing something that will cut off the grace of God from me. It is better to do the will of God and prosper in it than for you to walk against it.

Esther decided to go and die if her action would amount to that. But she didn’t die and yet saved her people. That is the quality of those who approach great things with great mind. It is a perfect example to ensure what we fear doesn’t come to us. If we do the will of God, we will be flourished and exalted.

So let us not approach this great mandate of evangelising the world with a shallow mind. Let it not be that we want to go and win the war and at same time

we are afraid to go to war, or are thinking about our family, future, business and material things of the world.

The great task and its requirement Our heavenly Father has given us a clear threefold vision to fulfil. The visions are as follow; 1. Grassroots revival all over the world. That is turning everyone from sin such as adultery, ignorant, fornication, robbery, wickedness of all manner, etc, and exposing them to the knowledge of the true God- the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

2. Revival of the apostolic Christian experiences among the body of Christthat is ensuring the experiences of the apostles such as genuine salvation, sanctification, Holy Ghost baptism, zeal, love, evangelism, humility, compassion, faith, fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit are instilled in the people, and above all, ensuring that those qualities of life that are missing in the body of Christ are restored.

3. Heaven at last. That is reviving the heaven consciousness in the heart of believers all over the world.

It is a well known fact that before the emergency of our ministry, the focus of heaven mindedness has been missing in the lives of believers in their various categories ranging from General Overseers, Pastors, workers, evangelists, etc, in the

church. Many of them have derailed in their commission; many have engaged themselves in the affairs of this world, while many have joined same rat race with the people of this world before but all these changed when God gave us the threefold vision and the ten billion souls’ mandate.

In fact, church leaders hardly emphasise on heaven before the emergency of this ministry and it requires one who has forsaken all, one who is pure, who possess all the virtues and one who has heaven in mind to emphasise on these things and even to make it at last.

And if the case is so, I want to let you know that we have to give the commission what it requires. If we must bring back this consciousness of the apostles of old, we must forsake all, we must have heaven in mind.

That is why God called us and gave us the vision for this ministry which was established by Him. So for us to be properly fitted into this project of causing revival all over the world, we must give it what it takes, and what it takes is forsaking all. What it takes is taking the position of Esther who said if she perished, she perished. What it takes is matching the vision and mandate with seriousness. So if we must achieve this, we must have heaven in mind.

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From the Pulpit Learn with Kunle

Macaulay Email: profkunlemacaulay@ yahoo.com (08023032698, sms pls)

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‘’

ible is said to be the Word of God but I always say that it is the mind of God. The major aim of theology is to interpret the Bible for human application. It is said that God speaks to human situations therefore people should be able to apply the Word of God to all their situations. Theology is a subject that requires teaching and learning. Many pastors especially the untrained interpret the Word literally. There are many instructions, promises and advices of God, Jesus and great men of God in the Bible that are situational and cannot be applied to the present human situations. But unfortunately, many pastors claim that since these words are in the Bible they must be applied. In order to understand the Word of God properly, Bible must be studied historically, biblically, theologically and exegetically.

I want to clearly explain the non-resistance doctrine of the Bible – the reasons why Christians do not carry guns or fight in any human war, prove its source and confirm that even though it is in the Bible, it does not refer to human world but to spiritual world. The words ‘’non-resistance’’ are deduced from the words of Jesus Christ, when he said, ‘’But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person…’’- Matt 5:39.

Some Christian leaders preach that Christians are not to carry arms or be involved in any warfare because Jesus forbids his disciples to resist evil.

I want to make it clear here that there are two kingdoms in this physical world, one is of the followers of Jesus Christ which we call the kingdom of heaven – the kingdom that is controlled by the Spirit of God and the other is the kingdom of man which is called secu-

Desti Destiny Hour with Pastor Femi

Lanre-Oke

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hild of God, you play too much defense on the field of life and destiny, and the kind of defense you play is the unorganised, un-prepared and panicky type.

We have so much arsenals of war at our beck and call but we wait until the enemy has made a strategic and calculated move and hitting us hard in the process before we begin to fight back. We wrestle against spiritual wickedness in high places but most times we decide to concentrate on the flesh and blood we see all around. We decide to put up our fight against our bosses in the office, those who offend us, our in-laws, our friends or supposed enemies and our spouses- Ephesians 6:12.

We have allowed the enemy to cause so much division, dissention and distraction in our midst and we are not sensitive to these devices of the enemy. We wake up in the morning, and say a brief word of prayer and off we go not minding the heavenly cautions and instructions graciously dropped in our spirits by the Spirit of God. And while we so lackadaisically do our things, the enemy wakes up midnight, the gate to the new day and begins to speak destruction, division and havoc.

He stands up in the morning and places

Sunday November 2, 2014

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

The battle is of the Lord

lar kingdom controlled by man. The spiritual kingdom which is of God does not in any way need army, navy and air force to survive. Jesus once said, ‘’My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place’’ - John 18:36.

This kingdom is not maintained by taxes. It is a kingdom that is composed of believers of Jesus Christ who behave like him in their daily character and conduct.

The teachings of Jesus Christ are about the kingdom of God and the place and position of believers after the end of this world. The Spirit of Christ dwells in believers who though live in this secular world but do not behave like the people of this world. The Bible confirms that the Spirit of Christ does not belong to this world and as such believers are being prepared for the arrival of Jesus Christ who will come back in glory to take his own away to a specially prepared kingdom where ‘’ there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain……’’ Rev 21:4b.

In the early days of Christianity, Christians practiced non-resistance doctrine.

It was believed that people with the Spirit of Christ must not be involved in the use of arms or found shedding human blood.

Paul said, ’’For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds’’- 2 Cor 10:3-4. Christians are warned in the Bible never to use carnal weapons for defense.

The weapon of Christian is prayer. This has been tested and proved powerful. When Peter was imprisoned by the Roman government, the Bible said that when ’’Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him’’ - Acts 12:5.

People prayed for him and this was placed against the power of the armed might of

the Roman Empire. The result was that the iron- gate opened miraculously and Peter was set free. The weapons of Christians are spiritual. The doctrine of non-resistance is based on the kingdom of Christ, the presence of Holy Spirit in believers of Jesus Christ and the methods which are spiritual and not that of this world.

Many people who do not understand Bible said that after all, God in the Old Testament of the Bible ordered Israel to fight and kill; why will Christians not fight and kill those who trouble them. Note importantly that Jesus commanded his followers to ‘’resist not evil’’. The knowledge we need to gain here is that Israel is a nation of this world, located on earth with human government, while the church is a spiritual nation that does not belong to this world.

It is a community of people called out of this world from every land and every nation and it has no geographical location or boundaries to maintain.

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament recognize the authority of human government to maintain order by the use of force. It is clear that the unconverted human hearts sometime do not understand anything but the language of force. The state that has the right to carry the sword also has the right to enforce the law and punish hard hearted and greedy people. The New Testament of the Bible teaches non-resistance, discourages Christians from participating in warfare and warns that every battle against people of God is of God. Many modern Christian leaders object to war not because they want to maintain the non-resistance doctrine of the Bible but because of fear of death and destruction of worldly materials they have acquired over years.

The Bible confirms that there will be ‘’wars and rumours of wars’’ but our hopes

for changing the world lies in the coming of Jesus Christ who will usher in ‘’the kingdom of God and its righteousness’’ Matt 6:33. It is a sin for any Christian to support, encourage, sponsor or even participate in any war. Considering carefully our theological, anthropological and biblical understandings, encouraging and participating in any war is forbidden for believers of Jesus Christ. Christianity is about love towards God and fellow human beings. It discourages hatred and war.

Our present experience in Nigeria is caused on one hand by our political leaders who are selfish and insensitive to the needs of the masses and on the other hand by our religious leaders who have not demanded for a national prayer day from the people in government. The realities of the present situation in Nigeria today are that jihadists do not give up until they achieve their aims, the present political storm is becoming more violent as we move towards 2015 and lastly the human situations are becoming unbearable and these may lead to more increase in crime.

Nigerians are more concerned about Chibok girls but there are others who have lost their sources of living and many members of their family to the deadly actions of Boko Haram. These people deserve help from the government and kindhearted Nigerians to start a new life again.

As far as I am concerned, any war – physical or spiritual can be won if we learn to go on our knees and pray. Christianity has proved that prayer can destroy any evil force, turn negative life to positive and glorious life and confirm the livingness of God. •Prof. Kunle Macaulay is the Director of Studies of United Bible University, Lagos. Phone: 0802 – 303 – 2698; email : profkunlemacaulay@yahoo.com; Twitter. com/Kunle Macaulay1

Take spiritual responsibility

curses on unsuspecting people, organises vessels of abuse, of irritation and many more in the path of his victims for the day.

He laces his waist with powerful charms, he defiles his body with unsightly marks of power, he empowers his tongue to give instructions and commands that cannot be refused and also puts an extra jar, powder of protection in his bag, on his wrist or any other place he sees fit and then steps out.

Man of God, woman of God, you are more powerful in Christ than all the demons in hell. Christ in you who is the hope of glory has taken total victory over the powers of hell and death Colossians 1:27.

Sir/Ma, indeed you now seat with Christ at the right hand of God (Ephesians 2:6) and that is where you operate from. O what a joy to know that God has given unto you all that pertains to life and godliness - 2 Peter 1:3. But the reason why we still suffer casualties and disappointments here and there, set-backs in daily endeavours, unexplainable events and much more is because you are not as prepared for the day, the week, the month or the year as the much as the people of the world.

Understand this; God has placed responsibility in your hand to take charge of your life and all that happens to you.

Indeed, Jesus overcame the enemy and gave gifts and power unto you - Ephesians 4:8. He has strengthened you to trample on serpents and scorpions and ensured through His power that they cannot hurt you -Luke 10:19. But, oh child of God, until you take spiritual responsibility to domi-

nate your world, you will remain a victim of circumstances. Until you decide to begin to play calculated offense and not unorganised defense then you have not started dominating. Listen to this: the strength of the enemy is not in his power over you, his strength is in his refusal to give up despite the knowledge that he has lost completely and that his time to wreak havoc is short - Revelations 12:12. His strength is his ability to weigh your spiritual strength and know how ready you are per time to his numerous attacks.

Do we need to be afraid of the power of this toothless lion? No but we need to be sober, vigilant and cautious of his calculated attempts at undermining our place and our birth right in redemption. That is why I have brought you this message today; the first day in a new week, the second day in a new month, indeed the second to the last month in 2014. I am here by the Holy Spirit to ask you to go offensive and prepare your arsenals of war. I am asked to tell you to make all the arsenals at your call through redemption work for you. I am asked to tell you to put up a calculated offense and push the enemy away from your home, your career and your health this week, this month and for the rest of this year. For someone who the enemy is determined to take this year by car accident, if you will believe and say amen, you shall be preserved in Jesus name. For you who the Doctor told that you may not see the end of 2014, right now, I ask you to believe in the report of the Lord, He who has promised to satisfy you will long life and

good health has torn that report of death and destruction and has given you a clean bill of health in Jesus name.

How do you take spiritual responsibility and fight back? Practically, for every day, take time to speak good into the day; for every week, take a day to pray and fast and keep the enemy at bay; for every new month, take at least three days to settle all that concerns you and for every new year, take quality time between twenty one and forty days to understand the mind of God for you and undo the bands of wickedness targeted at you. The last attack you saw will be the last forever in the name of Jesus. You are blessed.

If you want to join the house of the blessed, favoured and privilege, today is the day to give your life to Jesus and the process is simple: • Believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary paying the price for your sins and rose from the dead the third day to establish your victory • Confess with your mouth that Jesus is lord and saviour.

• Repent of all sins before the Lord and forsake them.

• Welcome into God’s family.

Please locate a Bible believing church and share you new- birth experience with the church leaders.

•For further prayer & counseling, Please contact: Pastor Femi Lanre-Oke, Jesus Praise Evangelical Ministries International, Plot A22 Power Crescent, Arab road, Kubwa. Abuja, +2348030752799, +2348053695097, Email: femi_lanre01@yahoo.co.uk

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Sunday November 2, 2014

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C& S Church leadership tussle: Judge returns case file A

Federal High Court in Lagos on at the weekend returned a case file in a suit filed by an elder of the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Church against other members over leadership tussle.

The suit, which was originally slated for continuation of hearing, could not go on at the resumed date as Justice Ibrahim Buba informed parties that he was transferring the case file back to the court’s registry for re-assignment.

No reason was however given for the transfer as the parties will now await details of the transfer.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a plaintiff, one Prince Adepoju Arogundade, had filed the suit in February 2009, seeking an order reinstating him as the rightful leader of the C & S Church in Nigeria.

The Registered Trustees of the C& S Church, and one Elder Adebola Adewuja were joined as first and second defendants.

The other defendants are two members of the church, Remi Beckley; and Mary Oshode, while the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is also joined as the fifth defendant.

In his statement of claim, the plaintiff averred that the C & S Church was founded in 1925 by late Capt. Abiodun Emmanuel and registered in 1930.

He averred that the church had a constitution which clearly stipulated the mode of leadership succession. ``The constitution provides that after the death of a leader, the oldest in the church is to assume position as the

next leader,” he said.

According to the plaintiff, after the death of his father, he became the oldest member of the church as of right to be appointed leader.

Arogundade stated that rather than appointing him as the successor in line with the C & S constitution, one elder

Adebola Adewuja was appointed in his stead.

He, therefore, wanted the court to declare the appointment a nullity, since it contravened the provisions of the church’s constitution.

In addition, Arogundade was seeking an order re-instating him as the right-

ful leader of the Church.

He also wanted the court to restrain the defendants from further appointing a leader of the church, adding that the tenure of Adewuja had expired.

The plaintiff wanted further appointment stayed until the substantive matter had been decided by the court.

Cleric urges women to pray for their families

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hristian women have been called upon to pray for the nation and the families.

Superior Senior Lady Apostle Dayo Daramola Oloruntimilehin gave this advice recently during a chat with Sunday Mirror on the upcoming Harvest celebrations of the church which she said kicked off with a revival on Wednesday, October 29 to Friday,

October 31, 2014, adding that the revival will end today, Sunday, November 2, 2014, with a thanksgiving service.

The thanksgiving Sunday service, according to her, is to appreciate and show gratitude to God for his goodness and wonderful works this year.

She noted that God has been good to the nation and Church throughout the year, the reason, she said, “We must celebrate God with praises and thanksgiving”.

On the rate of divorce among Chris-

tian families and clerics, she said: “Christians should seek the face of God before they enter into marriage. If they enter into marriage with God in it, they will be able to endure when they face challenges because God will give them the enablement and guidance that will ensure that the marriage is a success”.

She also called on women to fear God and respect their husbands, adding ‘’they should take care of their children their homes and their husbands because these are the bedrock of the nation’’.

BSN, others set to launch Sign Language Bible ODINAKA URUAKPA

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he Bible Society of Nigeria in collaboration with Door International, the Presbyterian Church and the Christian Mission for the Deaf Church, Nigeria, is set to launch the first Nigerian Sign Language Bible CD for the Deaf.

According to a release made available by the Deputy Manager, Church/ PR Manager of the Bible Society of Nigeria, Benjamin Mordi, the Sign Lan-

guage Bible, which is in CD format, is a fresh initiative designed to meet the scriptural needs of those with hearing challenges.

Expected at the event which holds on November 8, 2014, at the Presbyterian Church in Yaba, Lagos, are the Prelate of Presbyterian Church, Most Rev. (Prof.) Emele Mba Uka and representatives of Door International for Africa, Kenya, Christian Mission for the Deaf Church, the Bible Society of Nigeria and the general public.

Cardinal Burke: Pope can’t change Christ’s Ebenezer Obey, Wale Oke, Prophet Oyelami teachings on marriage Lady Apostle Dayo Daramola Oloruntimilehin

storm Ogbomoso for revival

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he city of Ogbomoso will bubble with manifold spiritual blessings from heaven come Monday, November 3 – Sunday, November 9, 2014, as Christ Zion Prayer Ministry (a.k.a. Aaye Ni Jesu Wa) is set to host the cream de la cream in Christendom in their ‘Revival 2014’ episode with the theme “Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me” at Fountain Area, OkeAnu, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

In a statement signed by Pastor Mark Debo Taiwo on behalf of the host ministers, Sakin and Funmi Akinloye, several notable men and women of God are coming to minister to the spiritual needs of the people of Ogbomosoland in a way that is unprec-

edented in the history of the ministry.

The guest ministers, among who are Prophet Gabriel Oyelami of Ori-Oke Alasepe, Ikire Osun State; Bishop Francis Wale Oke, Christ Life Church, Ibadan; Evangelist (Dr.) Ebenezer Obey, Lagos; Evangelist (Dr.)Bola Are, Ibadan; Evang. (Dr.) Bisi Alawiye,Akure; Prophet Amos Oluwafemi, City of Joy, Ibadan; Prophet Muideen Kasali, Ori Oke Alaseyori, Ibadan; Evangelist J A Adelakun, Akute, Lagos; Prophet Evangelist J. O. Adeniji, CAC Ilorin DCC revivalist and Evangelist Titilola Showunmi, a.k.a.

Everlasting Joy, Ogbomoso, are gathering momentum to make those who attend have a fore- taste of heaven on earth and divine encounter with the living Jesus.

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ardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the highest court in the Catholic Church, has said that despite recent murmurs that the Church’s views about marriage and divorce are evolving, the Pope does not have the authority to reinterpret Christ’s teachings against divorce.

“It is not within [the Pope’s] power” to change Jesus’ teachings about the nature of marriage, Burke told CNSNews.com. “This is very clear in the teaching of the church that if a marriage has been validly celebrated and consummated it cannot be separated. It cannot be ended by anything except death itself.”

Earlier last month, Cardinal Walter Kasper made waves after he said he believes a “growing majority” of the Pope’s recent synod on the family was in favour of his proposal to allow some divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion.

The move would be unprecedented for the Catholic Church, with critics arguing it would significantly change the Church’s 2,000-

M

year teaching on marriage.

Cardinal Burke said at the time: “I do not know how I could accept such [a change] in the Catholic Church. I just could not.”

One expert later said that despite the reports, the question of a change in doctrine was never being considered.

“In fact, there never was on the table any doctrinal reconsideration of divorced and remarried Catholics receiving communion,” said Dr. Robert Royal, editor-in-chief of The Catholic Thing and president of the Faith & Reason Institute.

A document produced during the meeting, however, suggests that the Church’s position on marriage may be open to change.

“There is a need to look carefully at cohabitation, civil marriages, and divorced or remarried persons,” said the document. “In such unions it is possible to grasp authentic family values or at least wish for them.”

Courtesy: Newsmax.com

Muoka loss mother

ama Esther Urujabia Muoka, mother of General Overseer/ Founder of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, is dead.

L-R: The General Secretary of The Bible Society of Nigeria, Dare Ajiboye; The Most Revd. [Prof.] Adebayo Akinde, Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos and Lady T. Chikwue Ochiagha, Registrar, Diocese of Lagos Mainland during a courtesy visit to Prof Akinde recently.

According to a release by the Church Council, Mama Esther Muoka died on September 24, 2014. She was aged 102.

Burial arrangement will be announced soon.

Late Mama Esther Muoka

Brief

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From the Pulpit

T The Voice of wisdom o

with Dr. David

Oyedepo

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elcome to your regular column.

When I started this teaching last week, I told you that the Bible is God’s most authentic Dream Book for man, waiting to be discovered. We also understand that the Bible is full of dream seeds.

Remember, from the “Parable of the sower” in scriptures, the seed is the Word of God. If the Word of God is the carrier of God’s plan and purpose for our lives, and God’s Words are seeds, then the Bible contains God’s dream seeds for our lives (Luke 8:11).

Having discussed what a covenant dream is, in my teaching last week, I will continue this week by considering, The Proofs Of Authentic Dreams. May God give you understanding! What are the Proofs of Authentic Dreams?

• Every authentic dream confers Joy Unspeakable: When we encounter God’s dream for our lives, it stimulates joy unspeakable (Hebrew 12:1-2; Genesis 39: 1-5, 21).

The bride voice with Pastor Moses

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Alu

ut on your TV stations and you will notice that almost every church is on TV with many having their channels.

They spend millions monthly to retain the channels, but you as a Christian who is desirous to go to heaven, wanting to be a good Christian and prepare yourself for home going, listen to them; there is nothing they are saying that can affect your life, nothing that can make you go to bed in the night and take an inward look at your life and offer the prayer, ‘Lord, have mercy on me’.

And to worsen the situation, some of these churches attract the largest crowd of worshippers. When they have their programmes, the roads are closed with tens of thousands of people trooping there. I have sat down to listen to some of them preaching at these programmes and I keep asking, ‘What is the attraction in these programmes?’ Certainly, some of the people that throng there; even if you meet them and show them from the Bible simple truths, they will never accept. Show them correct water baptism; the Godhead, etc, they will never accept. There are some of them that carry their churches on ‘their heads’. And for some of them, their pastors have taught them that if they are travelling on the road and they run into robbers, they should say, ‘I am a bride’.

That is not Christianity! If you carry your church on your head, you and your church will perish! Why? The Bible tells us God’s chosen place of worship is not in any church.

Something funny happened during a worship service recently. It is personal but I can share it to my shame. I was in the spirit and I faced the chair on the altar and I was saying, ‘Lord, I know you are seated there, release your blessings’. A voice spoke to me, ‘That is idolatry!’ I turned immediately and started saying, ‘Lord, have mercy’. God is not sitting in any particular place. “God is a spirit and they that worship Him must

Sunday November 2, 2014

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Breaking barriers through the power in His Book!

It confers Peace: Every of God’s plan is accompanied by divine peace (Psalm 85: 8).

•Tireless pursuit: Every authentic dream injects us with grace for tireless pursuit (Philippians 3:12-14; 1Corinthians 9:16-17; 2Timothy 4:6-7; Genesis 40:14).

•Unstoppable declaration: We can see it and not declare it, the prevailing circumstances notwithstanding (Genesis37:1-19; Acts 4:20).

•Sustainable focus (Genesis 39:9; Genesis 42:18; Acts 20:24; Romans 8:35-38; 1Corinthians 15:58).

• Every authentic dream is highly protected by the dreamer (Philippians 1:21; Philippians 3:7-14).

Having established that God’s plan for our lives is in the Bible, we must understand that the Bible is sealed and only accessible to the redeemed, for unto the redeemed it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. But to unbelievers, no matter how learned they are, they cannot access them.

Also, we must understand from scripture that it’s one thing to be saved; it’s another thing to be committed to discovering and pursuing God’s plan and purpose for our lives, from His Book (Isaiah 29:11-12).

It is also important for us to note that every picture that we discover and believe of ourselves from the dream Book called the

Bible is deliverable, realizable, and actualizable, if we meet all the requirements stated therein (Isaiah 14:24; Malachi 4:2; Acts 20:32; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Joshua 1:8).

What, then, are our pictures from the Dream Book?

• Every child of God is a child of destiny: Redemption guarantees us a glorious destiny. Therefore, shame and reproach are not part of God’s plan and purpose for our lives (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:5; 2 Peter 1:3).

• Every child of God is ordained the salt of the earth and the light of the world: Salt is an essential commodity of universal and global relevance. Therefore, we are redeemed, sorted after and ordained to be positive influences in terms of preservation, restoration and taste. As lights of the world, we are also ordained to lead and be the envy of our world (Matthew 5:13-14).

As you continue in this ‘Ember Season’, your hidden treasures shall be open to you, as the Lord will remember you for good.

Your movement and family are blessed in the Name of Jesus. No evil is permitted to come your way this month of November and in the rest of the year. You are blessed in Jesus’ Precious Name!

Friend, breaking barriers through the power in His Book, is the preserve of those who are born again. You can be born again

by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. You can do so now if you haven’t, as you say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan, to serve the Living God. From today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You for saving me. Now I know I am a child of God.” I will be with you again next week.

Be Blessed!

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get my books — Walking In Wisdom, Ruling Your World and Understanding Divine Direction.

I am glad to inform you that from December 9-13, 2014 at Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Idiroko Road, Ota, many destinies will be transformed to higher levels of greatness at SHILOH 2014, tagged, Heaven On Earth! SHILOH is the annual prophetic gathering of the Winners’ family worldwide. Be there!

•I know this teaching has blessed you.

Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

‘Deceived’ by God (3)

worship Him in spirit and truth.” People didn’t know what was going on but I told the Lord I can never be an idolater. That seat on the altar is symbolic. God is everywhere. He is where you are. And the Bible says, “Where two or three are gathered, He is there in their midst.” And the Bible says the only place that our sacrifices can be accepted is where He (God) has chosen to place His name. And God did not place His name in any building or in any ministry. He placed His name in a man and all worship must be through that man- in words and in deeds. Whatever you do should be in the name of that man. He said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”.

So where did God place His name? In the man, Christ Jesus! And unless you are in Christ Jesus, your worship is in vain.

And how are you in Christ? It is not joining a church. It is by coming to Christ. You can join a church and may not be in Christ.

Make your calling and election sure!

How do you become a member in Christ?

It is the same way you become a member of your earthly family. Why are you bearing the name of your father?

Look at this interaction I had with a brother recently: Pastor: What is your father’s name?

Brother: Eleazar Pastor: How did you become a part of that family?

Brother: By birth Through birth you were born into the family. You did not join the family. In the same way, you cannot join Christ. If I had a choice as to the family to join, I won’t have joined the kind of family I come from.

I would simply have joined an American family. I will go to the Queen of England and join her family. Unfortunately, you cannot join and be part of the family. That man can never be your father because you joined. No matter how kind the man is and you decide to join his family because of the love you have for them; drop your name and adopt theirs, you can never be part of that family. You must be born into that family. 1 Cor. 1:13 says, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized

in the name of Paul?” Unless you are born again by the baptism of the Holy Ghost into the body; that is, you are spiritually born, you are only a church member. It is only church members, instead of carrying Christ on their heads that carry their churches on their heads. ‘I am a Bride’. And you are proud. You are more proud to be identified with your church than with the savior of mankind. And unknown to you, there is no Bride Assembly, Catholic, Redeemed or Chosen in heaven. So no matter what position you occupy in your church; Knight of St. anything, it has no bearing with your recognition in heaven! The only thing that gives you recognition in heaven is, “If the spirit of Christ dwells in you”.

And in Rom. 8:9, Apostle Paul says “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” If you do not have the blood of your father flowing in you, he is not your father. You must have his gene.

So thousands of people gather and they are wasting their time. Show them from the Bible the truth and they will refuse.

And you are wondering as to what is happening; go to 2 Thess. 2. I know I am not just talking to this crowd in the church this morning, but to the Bride of Christ worldwide. I spoke about a sister that called me from Tchad sometime ago who said she has stopped going to any church; that her church is in her bedroom; that when it is time for offering and tithe, where should she pay? This is because she has been following our broadcast and she locks herself and partakes in all that we do until the service is over.

A brother also called me from very far away at Ajah-Lagos and told me that he will not be at the service but that he will be connecting. And all over the world, people are connecting so it is not about location but what we are saying. People are yearning to hear us. They want to hear the truth.

From the 23rd-25th, I will be in Europe ministering. Tell your people over there.

Pastors and prophets have been visiting them and giving them prophecy but they

want to go beyond prophecy; beyond miracles because the Bible says, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”.

Let’s look at 2 Thess 2. I will read from verse 2 to 10 so that you can catch what Apostle Paul who was deep in revelation had to say. “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

Verse 10 tells us that those that will be deceived are those ordained to perish. You cannot deceive an elect. You cannot use any gift of the spirit to deceive an elect.

Verse 11 says, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. God will do something; He will send them a delusion; something that will make them believe a lie. God will deceive them with a lie! Why? It is because they have no love for the truth. They are the ones that will gather and anything goes.

•Pastor Moses Alu; The Bride Assembly, Odofin Park Estate, OshodiApapa Expressway, Ijesha Bus stop 08033524903 : Email: pastormosesalu@yahoo.com

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any who see the subject of the ransom only imperfectly are inclined to dispute the matter and say that they cannot see why God could not have saved the world in some other way than by the death of his son, as man’s substitute or ransom price. We answer them that they are taking an improper view of the matter. The question they should ask themselves is not whether God could have adopted some other way than by the death of his son, as man’s substitute or ransom price.

We answer them that they are taking an improper view of the matter. The question they should ask themselves is not whether God could have adopted some other way, but did he adopt some other way, or did he adopt the plan of the ransom?

Unquestionably, the divine wisdom could have adopted another plan of salvation for mankind, but we may just as positively set it down that no other plan could have been devised that would have been better, and so far as our judgment and knowledge go, no other plan could have been devised, even by the almighty, that would have been so good as the plan he has adopted, all the connecting circumstances, conditions and desired results being taken into consideration.

The fact that God did adopt a different plan in dealing with the fallen angels proves, we may say, that he could have adopted a different plan in dealing with fallen man. He could have done with man as he did with the angels, but, as we have seen, this would have been no more favourable, perhaps less desirable, in the judgment of many.

Even if we should suppose that a similar number of the human family would be blessed and untimely restored by such dealing on God’s part, we should

Let’s go

BIBLE with Favour

Tioluwani Email: letsgobible@gmail.com

Am already twenty (20) years old but why are my parents stopping me from travelling with my fiancée? He is the one I intend to marry; we’ve even done our introduction of which both families were in attendance. He is not a stranger, and the trip is just for two weeks, so why are they stopping me? Please, what do you advice l do; should l leave with him or not?

What wonderful parents you have! Parents that are still doing that which God commands them to do; parents that are bent on maintaining honour and dignity in the life of their children. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Why most youths are failing today is because they lack training expected to have been given to them by their parents. Let me quickly answer the question: why are parents no more training their children?

1. Career: Many parents because of their career or business or let’s say their work schedule find it difficult to give enough time for their child’s training. There is this general believe that ‘money answereth all things’ and if they can go looking for money, spend more time in getting money, it will go a long way for the child’s growth or development. They are too concerned about physical pursuits.

In Luke 12:15, Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” He then told of a man who obtained

From the Pulpit

Sunday November 2, 2014

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Jesus is the only way of salvation for mankind see other disadvantages in this method, viz: (1) how much more terrible would have been the moral degradation of our race, had it been left in possession of its complete mental and physical powers, and merely permitted to break down morally! How much of sin can be thoroughly learned in the short period of ten, twenty, fifty or a hundred years, and what depths of wickedness might have been explored and exploited had mankind continued to live with unimpaired powers for six thousand years, separated from God, but now condemned to death!

(2) Such a plan of salvation even if it should reach, eventually, as large a number as the plan God has adopted, would never have revealed to us to the same extent the qualities of the divine character- (a) we see God’s justice in the infliction of the death penalty, even upon those who “did not sin after, shapen in iniquity, brought forth sinners, by heredity. (Rom 5; 14, 12; Psalm 52:5) he has revealed to us thus a justice which will by no means clear the guilty, and will recognise nothing short of absolute perfection. (b) He thus reveled to us a love, far greater than we could otherwise have conceived of which followed us, and which laid hold upon us ‘while we were yet sinners,’ at the cost of the great ransom price for our recovery. (c) the adoption of this plan of sentencing man to death, redeeming him from death and subsequently, in due time, restoring him from death by a resurrection, furnished an opportunity for the display of divine power far beyond anything connected with the work of creation, grand and wonderful as all that was; for unquestionably it requires

a greater power to accomplish the divine promise of a resurrection of the millions of being who have lived – to bring them forth, identically the same as they were before, even in their own consciousness – than was required for the creation of the one man. (d) this divine plan, when fully consummated will show forth divine wisdom in a way in which no the plan could have shown it, so far as we are able to consider other plans, it will show how God knew the end from the beginning, and how he has been working all things according to the counsel of his own will, even while the fallen the angels and Satan supposed that they were frustrating the divine will being demonstrated beyond per-adventure that God is able to cause all things to work together for good, for the accomplishment of the divine purpose. In the end it will be demonstrated that the word that goeth forth out of his mouth does not return unto him void, but accomplished that which he please, and prospers in the thing whereunto he sent it - Isa. 55:11.

Furthermore, in adopting with man the plan pursued with the angels who sinned, or indeed in any other plan that we can conceive of, there could not have been so grand an opportunity for the election of the Gospel church to be the body of Christ; for there would not have been the same grand opportunity for the testing of the loyalty and obedience of the Logos to the heavenly father, and consequently of his exaltation to be a particular in the divine nature-nor an opportunity for a little flock of the redeemed to walk in his footsteps. And finally, we note that these lessons are

not merely for humanity, but also for all the intelligent creatures of God, on every planet being; and not only for a few countries, but for all eternity.

‘O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his decisions, and his ways past finding out. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor? For of him and through him and to him are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen. “ - Romans.

11:33-36.

Pastor Ade-David

•Your Steward: Pastor Jacob Ade-David can be reached at No. 54/56 Okesuna Street, Lagos Island Lagos. Tel: 08023535110, 08023539857,, 08034078158, Email:jacobpastordavid@yahoo.com

Why singles need to heed their parents’ advice in relationships

great wealth but neglected God (vv 16-21). When the man died, what good did his wealth do him?

Matthew 16:26 says, “What is a man profited if he gains the whole world and lose his own soul? Likewise, what profit are we to our children if we give them all the world has to offer, but they are eternally lost?

Many parents spend long hours working to provide physical things for their children, but they are so busy working that they neglect to give their children time and attention.

2. Background: Some because they are from a poor background before getting their breakthrough, they have determined that their own children will never taste the kind of experience they passed through and as a result they tend to spoil the children with money. Some not because they were poor but maybe because they were maltreated or abused, decide not to be hard on their children and also instructing people around them never to beat or touch their children thereby allowing them to get away with so many naughty and evil deeds, when the Bible says in Proverbs 22:15, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” Proverbs 23:13 says, “Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.” Proverbs 29:15 says, “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” All the verses above are all saying the same thing. For your parents to avoid shame and death, they must apply the rod.

3. Tradition: Some culture or families believe that a child must spend the early stage of his /her life in the family house with the grandparents, to return to the parents after their primary or secondary school education. There is no way you can bend a dry fish without breaking it, you can only bend a fresh one. The more the child grows, the more it will be difficult to

train and form the child the way God wants the child to be.

However, it is expected of the parent(s) or guardian to train the children. A child that has a good moral training will always do things right and at the right time. Proverbs 29:17 says, “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.”

4. Worldliness: Some other parents spend many hours with their children in physical or material pursuits: sports, clubs, school functions, music, etc. They are constantly on the run, but the emphasis is material, physical, and social.

I know one lady in the church whose daughter was named high school homecoming queen. The mother said this was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to her. When success in temporal things is our greatest joy, no wonder our children don’t serve God! And sure enough, that woman’s daughter never became a Christian.

The result of these approaches is exactly what we see in society: children who have hosts of physical advantages but are neither godly nor happy. Without God, your good is zero, the best is train them in the ways of the Lord. In Genesis 18:19, Abraham commanded his children to keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice. This should be the goal of all parents who are truly faithful to God. Parents listen to this: Suppose our children grow up, get good jobs, have happy marriages, and are good neighbours and citizens, but do not live as faithful Christians. Then they are failures, and we have failed to accomplish our purpose as parents.

On the other hand, suppose our children don’t receive college education, live below middle-class American/Nigerian standards, and are not particularly athletic or outwardly beautiful, but they serve God faithfully. If so,

they are successes, and we have been successful parents. Although, you guys have done your introduction, you are yet to really formalise your coming together. Before God and even before the law, you are not yet qualified to be together, so why travel together for fourteen (14) days? Is it possible for two of you to travel together without staying together?

James 1:14-16 says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin:and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.” It all starts in stages, always having a bad ending, why start the process on the first place?

We are in a generation where value, honour and importance are no more attached to virginity, but if you like it or not, virginity is still a great priority for eternal life. 2 Timothy 2:19 says, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

Even apart from that, there has been thousands of examples of ladies that believe their travelling or staying the weekend with their to-be partners will solidify the relationship but were disappointed. Eighty prcent of the men after staying together and getting what they want do come up with flimsy excuses of not being able to continue with the relationship. Your parents want the best for you, it’s just a matter of time, the two of you will be together for life. There is an adage that says, “Don’t be in a haste to take a hot soup, give it some time and you will have the whole bowl to yourself.”

•You can send in your QUESTIONS and the Holy Spirit will be set to give you the ANSWERS. Barr. (Mrs.) Favour Tioluwani Tel: 08050272259 or 07062738213. Email: letsgobible@gmail.com

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From the Pulpit

Sunday November 2, 2014

God speaks for animals (I)

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uman beings are of critical importance in the creation account of Genesis 1-2, but we are not the whole story. God pronounced His utmost pleasure in each creation and creature, pronouncing them “good” each day and summarily: “God saw all that he had made, and they were very good” (Gen 1:31; see 1 Tim 4:4). Both humans and animals were created on the same day (Gen. 1:24-26), with animals being older by hours.

Both humans and lower animals have “the breath of life”-nephesh (Gen 1: 20-21, 24, 30; 6:17; 7:22). In common with the beasts of the field and birds of the air, human beings were made by hand, out of the soil (Gen 2:7, 19; 3:17, 19, 23). This is perhaps as a constant reminder of our common origin with the other animals!

God blessed human kind (Gen 1:28), but also blessed “every living and moving thing” and birds of the air all of which are part of the animal species (Gen 1:20-23).

Human dominion over the lower animals is a God- Given “priestly function “to nurture and protect, rather than exploit them (Gen. 1:28). During the flood, God put humans and animals in the same boat of safety for months (Gen 7-8). In Job 38-41, God speaks with a glorious Pride about his animal creatures in a manner that greatly overwhelmed, bamboozled, and humbled Job and his hearers and readers. Job responds: “I spoke of things I did

(The Coach) Pastor Moses A Omogbehin

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hirteen ingredients for decision-taking 1. Surround yourself with godly people who give good counsel. Don’t make the mistake of Rehoboam- 1Kings 12:1 – 16.

2.

Always fellowship and have relationship with God’s spirit (Holy Spirit).

3.

Have a mentor, father and godly leader.

4.

Always be sensitive.

5.

See ahead.

6.

Implement decisions that have been taken.

• David asked for the weapon he used to killed Goliath in 1Samuel 17 when the war arose again.

• Solomon asked Shimea not to cross to brook Kidron. He told Shimea that if he crosses the brook, that will be his last day on earth.

When the information came that Shimea had crossed the brook, Solomon implemented the hard decision that he had already taken. The decisiveness of Solomon was at work.

7 Be a protective thinker.

8 Increase the intensity of your creativity.

9 Increase the intensity of your capacity.

10 Increase the intensity of your character.

11 Live by example.

12 Consider the consequences of failing to take a decision.

13 Be brave - 1King 2:2.

31.

Strive for excellence. Excellence is not expensive; it is ignorance and foolishness that is

not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. . . Therefore I despise myself” (Job 42:3b, 6a).

God’s providence in human life and history is akin to God’s providence for animals.

The wondrous designs of animals bring happiness, pleasure, and delight to the hearts of man. The appealing Zebras’ stripes, behavioural strategy of bees, and killy-loo bird’s flight are marvellous for life. God loves animals too. God cares for and about them.

God declares His exclusive possession of all animals (Job 4:11; Psa 50:1-12). God cares for animals (Gen 7:2-4; Psa 104:10-30; 147:7-9; 148:7-10).

As part of God’s identification with them, the Psalmist addressed God as “Shepherd” (Psa 23:1) and Isaiah described Him as lamb and sheep (Isa 53:7). Human beings are the “sheep of His pasture (Psa 100:3).

God “preserves both people and animals” (Ps 36:6). He opens His hands to “satisfy the desires of every living thing” (Psa 145:16). God’s benevolence to animals is a beautiful graphic picture of a benefactor-Father “stretching out his hand to distribute to the animals their food.” God, as it were, literally putting the food into our mouths, supplying each kind of animal with food according to its wish. [John Calvin and James Anderson, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, vol. 5 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 279.] God is depicted as the generous and homely Owner who sets food before the hungry animal (Hosea 11:4). The heartless treatment of birds is forbidden, promising long life to those who don’t abuse animals (Deut 22:6-7) . The welfare

of farm animals is to be guaranteed (Deut 22:1-4, 10; 25:4).

Human sin and fall brought suffering, not only to humans but also to other animals and the environment. It destroyed the peace and equilibrium within creation.

Alienation occurred between humans and God as Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:23); between men and women as Eve was subjugated (Gen 3:16); between parents and their offspring because of birth pain (Gen 3:16); between fellow human beings as seen in the murder of Abel (Gen 4:8); between humans and their environment as seen with the thorns (Gen 3:17-19) and between humans and animals as animals now become human clothing (Gen 3:21) and food (Gen 9:3). Ultimately, man’s cruelty to animal breeds man’s cruelty to man.

Behaviour of human beings affected the lower animals. Adam and Eve were clothed with skin of a slain innocent animal (Gen 3). In Egypt, Pharaoh’s obstinacy caused the death of first borns of animals (Exod 12:29-30).

In the destruction of Canaanite nations because of their evil deeds, their animals were not to be spared (1 Sam 15:3).

Humane treatment of animals is a characteristic of godly living. Part of the litmus test in choosing compassionate Rebekah as wife for Patriarch Isaac included her attitude toward animals (Gen 24:10-22). Patriarch Jacob was always concerned about the peace of his animals as part of his household (Gen 37:14).

“The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel” (Prov 12:10). The righteous diligently takes care of people as well as animals. They

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should have adequate knowledge of the state of their animals (Prov 27:23). The character of a person or a people is revealed by the way they treat the helpless, the vulnerable, and the animals.

When the people of Israel grumbled for thirst in the wilderness, they were concerned for their whole families and livestock. Although the animals might still find foraging food, they could not survive without water, therefore God supplied them with fresh water from the rock (Exod17:2-7).

God would not take it kindly when an animal falls into a carelessly dug and uncovered pit (Exod 21:33). You must take adequate care of the animals in your possession, even if they do not belong to you (Exod 22:10-14).

God speaks for animals. His voice is a clarion call for their humane treatment as part of His creation. We must stop treating them callously. By so doing we debase our humanity and transfer aggression to other humans.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in God! Act in godly fashion towards His creation as a good steward!

•Tunde Ojewole, PhD, is the Babcock University Pastor in charge: Division of Spiritual Life. Get your copy of the newly released book: GOD’S FOOTPRINTS. For enquiries, contact: ojewolea@babcock.edu. ng or call/SMS 08058299434/08060376577 Answers to 26/10/14 Quiz 1. Sick people do. Matthew 9:12.

2. The Pharisees.

3. On the Sabbath.

QUIZ FOR THE WEEK 1. Whose name is the longest in the Bible?

2. What Bible passage is the shortest in the Bible?

3. What’s the name of Moses’ eldest sister & where in the Bible?

Truth every leader must know and apply (4) expensive. Excellence is the attainment of the highest level of quality and perfection. Being excellent means becoming a person of distinction.

A true leader is someone who wants to distinguish himself in his field. The blessings of the Lord are to make you the head and not the tail - Deut. 28:13.

Excellence is not an accident. It is something you must strive for. Don’t be lazy. Excellence demands hard work. Excellence in ministry, government or business does not come by osmosis.

It comes by diligence.

To become excellent, you must study and emulate people (leaders that had gone ahead of you). Life is too short to discover everything yourself. Life is too short not to learn from your fathers.Be humble and depend upon the discovery of others. God does not want you to be mediocre. Insist on the highest standards. Your ministry, church, business can be the best in the city.

Decide today for excellence. Read the book that excellent people have read or written. Listen to the tapes they have listened to and also being preached by them.

32.

Every leader must know that everything depends on the leadership - Isa 3:1 – 7 12.

Leadership is everything. In the scripture, God predicts a mighty judgment on Jerusalem and on Judah.

God had determined to punish and destroy those nations. How was he going to do it? This scripture makes it very clear. God was going to take away all kinds of leaders from the community. The community was going to be lead leaderless. No leader, no progress! No leader, no development! No leader, no blessings! No leader, no deliverance! God knew that the community wound fall into judgment if he removed leaders from their midst. This is because everything rises and falls on leadership. Sometimes when God wants to punish a community, he will give them bad leaders. Anywhere without a true leader is

lifeless including a nation, home, church, ministry, etc.

Ten decisions taking by the Almighty 1 He created the earth and the heaven alone.

2 When the earth was without form, void and covered with darkness, God took a decision to create Heaven and Earth - Gen 1:2.

3 When God saw that all of this creation was going to be lost through sin, he took a decision to send his son to win them back.

4 When God realised that the Israelites did not want to be ruled by a prophet, he took a decision to change the style of leadership from judges to king -1Sam 8:7.

5 When God saw that Lucifer was rebellious, he took a decision to cast him out of heavenEzek 28:17,18.

6 When God was taking the children of Israel out of Egypt into Canaan and they began to complain, God immediately took a decision to keep them in the wilderness for forty more years - Heb 3:9 – 11.

7 When God saw the homosexuality in Sodom and Gomorrah, he took a decision to eliminate that city forever -Gen 18:20,21.

8 When God realised that man was lonely, he took a decision to create a woman - Gen 2:18.

9 When the Earth was full of wickedness, God took a decision to kill all the human beings and leave only Noah and his family alive - Gen 6: 5 – 7.

When God saw Noah’s sacrifice, He took a decision not to destroy all living things anymore - Gen 8:2.

Sixteen steps to rally people around you 1.

Always appreciate people around you.

2.

Always pray and prophesy into their lives as you are doing in the closet so also do in the public. It is not eye – service, it is God’s service and wisdom.

3.

Show interest in people’s personal lives such as their vision, home, career, ministry, business, etc.

4.

Offer food and drinks to visitors whenever you can.

5.

Respect people, no matter who they are or their present situation.

6.

Sincerely admire people’s cars, houses, furniture and clothes.

7.

Call people by their names soon after you met them.

8.

Never tease someone who does not like being teased.

9.

Study people and deal with them according to their level of understanding and maturity.

10.

Listen to people’s problems.

11.

Listen to people’s suggestion yet never allow sentiment, only allow God’s spirit.

12.

God is a partial God. Act in wisdom when there is need to be partial.

13.

Whenever there is an opportunity, give a gift.

14.

Mourn with people who are mourning and rejoice with them that are rejoicingProv. 18:16.

15.

Go the extra mile to help someone when there is need.

16.

Be friendly, greet people in a pleasant way.

17.

Always be concerned in all their affairs.

•I know this teaching has blessed and imparted you. Please, write and share your testimony with me through: Covenant and Fulfillment Ministries, 10, Onuwusasoigwe Close, Hostel Bus Stop, Egbe, Ikotun, Lagos.

Email: omogbehin31@yahoo.com or Call: 08034980921, 08054120540

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Priesthood House with Pastor Bola

1

Bello

Kings 16:31 says, “And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him”.

The importation of strange gods through marital alliance was the major set-back to the people of Israel and, the beginning of idolatry in the Church of Christ since. We will discuss the story of Nebat and Jezebel at another time. It is without iota of doubt, that the alliance with paganism in any of its pretentiousness is an attack on our common faith especially, to the name of Jesus Christ. The name of Jesus Christ is so efficacious and effective in operations than all this ads which the people bring in to the Church. When certain things are given partisan honour to take pre-eminence with the name of Jesus Christ in our mode of prayers, it is nothing but paganism. Paganism appears in a subtle nature and it is a transgression against God. The Bible says, “as if it had been a light thing for Ahab to walk in the sins of Jeroboam…”

Co-habiting any image with the name of Jesus Christ is a grevious sin and a mentality of Gentile people. All these emblems brought to the Church are aliens to apostolic operation of Apostles and does not have any bearing with our faith in Christ.

What Ahab did was to allow and permit

Endtime Revelation with Bishop Bernard

Ojemeni (JP)

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oday, we shall be considering the division of the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy i.e. the last 7 years of this last 2000 years that will be terminating in 2040 A.D. If you have followed my prophetic analysis of 6000 years Man’s Earth Lease, you will understand that the calculation started from A.D 33 when Jesus Christ was crucified.

And by the time you add the 7 years difference from the change of the Bible or Jewish calendar of 360 days (Revelation 11:3; 13:5) to the Gregorian or Roman calendar of 1582 of 3651/4 days including the leap year, the last year 2000 will terminate in 2040 A.D. And the actual time the last 7 years will commence is in 2033 A.D. So the thought of anybody that we are already in new millennium is not true.

The new millennium begins with the government of Jesus Christ on earth with His saints. This is what some people commonly refer to as the golden age of the earth that will begin after the 6000 years man’s earth lease.

In Matthew Chapter 17, we read the account of the transfiguration of Jesus. Matthew 17: 1 – 2. Note: After 6 days which prophetically means after 6000 years of man’s earth lease, God will usher us into this glorious state in the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Now let us look at the division of the last 7 years. The 7 years is divided into first 31/2 years and second 31/2 years. In today’s write up, we shall be examining the events that will characterize this period. When the antiChrist signs the 7 years peace treaty with Israel and the Arab nations following the last sign before the rapture of the Church which

From the Pulpit

Sunday November 2, 2014

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Church as God designed it – This man so loved by God (9) other operations in the representation of God, things that cannot adequately depicts God, represent His son or His Holy Spirit. When Aaron heeded the demand of the Israelites in the camp and crafted a graven image for them, several thousand of Israelites were slaughtered in one day. Jeremiah 10:14 says, “Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. The works of error is becoming so propounded and so pronounced in the Church as a result of distorted knowledge or lack of it at all. To be bereft of knowledge is better than the distorted knowledge. The major reason why people perverts the truth is because of gain, greed and love for the things of the world. These are what Paul called, lust of flesh, lust of the eye and pride of life. The natural miracles which man require in his walk with God is the enlightened mind.

Having a revelation knowledge of what God demands from Church pilots the Church to a save worship and relationships. Coming into ministry without the revelation knowledge of what Church is called to do would wreck people and turn the so called priest to a vicar of Satan. It is so easy to slip into error than to stay with the truth. We must have an insight to the original meaning of certain things we pick from the scriptures before we turn it into doctrines and practices lest we will turn people into idolatry.

I will give you an example of mantle or handkerchief and the entrance of such usage into the Church. In Acts 19:13, God called this usage a “special miracles”. This is an uncommon miracles wrought by the hands of Paul

specifically because of the magical influences of the Ephesians upon the people. This agency of apron or handkerchiefs continued, accordingly, for a space of two years as a result of the hardened and unbelieved people of Ephesians. Verse 9 of Acts 19 says “But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spoke evil of that “way” before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus”. Paul efforts to spanner the heart of Ephesians yielded no result until God began to wrought special miracles of handkerchiefs through his hands. The effect was the diseases departed from them and the evil spirits went out of them- Verse 12. It was noticed that there was certain attestation of divine approval for such operation for a space of two years only amongst the Ephesians not even in the Ephesians Church. This was one off mention of the usage of handkerchiefs in the New Testament Church and it was for two years.

Handkerchiefs or apron as being used in the Church was an external agency and it has its roots with pagan practices and is commonly used by magicians even in our contemporary days. I grew up from such lineage, where handkerchiefs are tied to enforce certain needs, such as finances, protection and healing. This is pure idolatry and it has no bearing with the teaching of Christ and His disciples. After the mentioned of it in Ephesus, it was never permitted again anywhere in the Church. The reason is understood as it was traced to the practices of Gentiles. A truth is not established with a witness. Truth is established through three witnesses. A practice, doctrine or truth must be rooted from testimo-

nies of three people either from the Old Testament or from the New Testament. This is how teaching or doctrine is measured as truth.

Emblems are external instruments and they are not supposed to become norms. When Paul used handkerchiefs, it was amongst the unbelievers not even amongst the followers of Paul. We cannot continue to distort the scriptures to gather people who are already beaten and battered by the devil with tricks and the instruments of the devil. What we need to give to people is the sure word of Christ which is able to save soul and bring true miracle of salvation. Hear what Peter says, about sensation and paparazzi of seeking for miracles. 2 Peter 1:19 says, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day down, and the day star arise in your hearts”. The word is doubly sure to fulfill itself in our lives because of the scope which is wide, spoken by many, witnessed from the Pentateuch to the Prophets and to the Apostles. The word of God lacks its mate.

Other external elements would surely fail and let people down because of perversion and infiltration but not so with the word of God. It is sure, certain and incorruptible. Mark this, those who through their own errors and greed corrupts the word would eventually become oblivious, irrelevant and stray away from the faith. The word of God is sure. We must stay with the word rather than external agencies.

This is the design of Church.

Pastor Bola Bello – The Priesthood House bolabelo@gmail.com 08033704564

The division of the last seven years Bishop Bernard Chukwuma Mbamalu Ojemeni, General Superintendent of Endtime Believers’ Ministry Inc, in this piece, teaches on 70 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy. Excerpts: is an event that will shake the whole world as we are going to see in the subsequent write up, the whole world will embrace the coming of the anti-Christ. He will exercise his authority for 42 months i.e. 31/2 years. Revelation 13: 5.

The people of the world will look at him as the one who has solutions to the world’s numerous political, economical, social and religious upheavals. Even Israel will also embrace him as their Messiah to bring about peace in the Middle East, which has been the focal point of major world crisis is a great feat, what America as world power could not achieve despite several efforts made in the past and recent years. During the first 31/2 years, the antiChrist will advocate for a New world Order (N.W.O.) in which United Nations (UN) will focus its attention on the eradication of poverty, inequality, diseases, wars and other social vices. To achieve this, all the Heads of States or Presidents and Governments must come together and work in unison. This is to enable peace reign in the world. No wonder the Bible made it clear that the anti-Christ will dangle the carrot of false peace to the World- Daniel 8: 24 – 25. He will say he wants a situation where men, women and children, in cities and villages around the world will have a better life, giving every one opportunity to share in the dividends of democracy which have eluded many citizens of the globe.

His policies will be a welcome development to the people of the earth (especially the poor people who have suffered under bad leadership of their various countries). His policy will be so fascinating on the face value because this is what the people have been yawning for. Remember that there has always been a yawning between the rich and the poor people.

It is unfortunate that this tentative relief is coming from the anti-Christ with ulterior motive to destroy humanity at last. He will come to implement these laudable programmes we used to hear like food, health, education, shelter, etc, free for all by the year 2000. He will list the following as the benefits of his (N.W.O.) or globalization as follows: (1) Faster economic growth (2) Higher living standard (3) Accelerated innovation (4) Diffusion of technology (5) Management skills (6) Economic opportunities.

To enjoy these privileges and amenities, the condition is that one must receive a mark of identification in their right hand or fore heads, his name or number 666.

Failing to do so, the person will be termed a rebel and will be arrested and killed. But, accepting the mark is like signing ones eternal doom. The only way of escape is to give your life to Christ and have your name written in the book of life so that when the rapture takes place you will be among those that will be taken to Heaven.

The children of God who miss the rapture will not have the privilege to operate in the N.W.O. System; they will not have access to banks, schools, markets, etc - Revelation 13:16-18. They will be arrested and killed and their souls will go to the altar of God in Heaven to rest - Revelation 9: 11.

This is when cashless society will be fully implemented and so you cannot even make use of the little cash in your hand to buy food.

Today many children of God find it difficult to fast. Don’t worry the time you will fast for many days inside the bush where you will be hiding to escape being arrested as a rebel by the anti-Christ Global Police

which will probably be your local vigilante groups that know you in and out is coming.

Christians or children of God who missed the rapture are known as five foolish virgins or tribulation saints. Eventually all of them will be arrested and killed and their souls will go to altar of God in Heaven to rest- Revelation 6:9-11. And so while the children of God are being tortured to death, the people of the world will be rejoicing and enjoying the goodies of the anti-Christ. But their enjoyment is for only 31/2 years - Revelation 13:5.

The second 31/2 years will begin when the last born again child of God (apart from Israel as a nation) will be killed. The second 31/2 years will be the great tribulation period when God will descend a total of 21 punishments or plagues to the inhabitants of the earth, with the worst of them lasting for five months - Revelation 9: 1 – 6.

Definitely other 20 plagues will last for 4 months 3 months, 2 months, 1 month as the case may be. In fact, the whole world will be in total disarray. Governmental activities all over the world will be totally paralysed. Even the seat or the throne of anti-Christ himself is not speared. That is why it is obvious that the rapture of the church will take play before the commencement of the reign of anti-Christ in the first 31/2 years.

•For further information, contact us at: Endtime Believers’ Ministry Inc.16/18, Johnson Street, off Kajola Street, Yakoyo, Lagos.

Tel: 08023261219, 09095268897, 08036116881; Email: bishop.bernard@yahoo.com

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From the Pulpit

Divine Encounter with Pastor DSA

Adegoke

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he purpose of your life is far greater than your own fulfillment, your peace of mind, or your happiness. It is far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions.

If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. Notice what God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Placing God in the centre of all you do is the first step in knowing your purpose; then you must be willing to invest your time and resources.

There are three questions to ask on living life of purpose. The first one is a question of existence. Why am I alive? Ephesians1:4 says, “He chose us in Christ even before the foundations of the world.” The reason for your existence is that God picked you out from billions of people when He

Chapel of Holiness and Testimony with Pastor K. I.

B

Bona

eloved, since this teaching began, how prepared are you or rather how ready are you getting prepared? Have you reconciled with the Lord Jesus? Have you decided to draw nearer to God in holiness? What manner of a person have you become since then? I believe that the Holy Spirit led this teaching in our heart to quicken you up. Not only you but all the believers’ worldwide who are cold in faith because of the challenges and pressures from the world.

1st Thess. 5:4-6 says, ”But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day; we are not the night nor of the darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober”. It is the awareness the Holy Spirit creates in us through this teaching that gives us light about the end time. Such light through the revelation of the Holy Spirit help us to know some of the likely events that should take place preceding the coming of the Lord. This type of revelation gives us an edge to the people of the world. This is why the Bible says we are not like the children of the world who is void of this revelation, but we are the children of light. Being therefore the children of light, we should be sober, not careless or carefree, but watchful, studying the time. And that is exactly what we are doing now.

Signs of the days of Jacob’s trouble, perilous time or tribulation period Perilous time or the days of Jacob’s trouble are the events that would happen within the Christian fold signaling the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. While the Christians experience these events as perilous time or the days of Jacob’s trouble, the world experiences it as tribulation period. Tribulation is not the experience sampled out for Christians; rather it is reserved for the world, signaling to them the end of age. This is seen in Matthew 24 & 25 where Jesus gave the longest detailed answers concerning the close of age, and His second coming. Contemporary Bible scholars belief

Sunday Mirror Sunday November 2, 2014 www.nationalmirroronline.net

Living life with purpose

could have picked somebody else. You are very important to God. Have you ever felt like you were a mistake?

Have your parents told you they wished you had never been born? Are you a child whose parents told, ‘I wish you had died when you were a baby.” You may have come into this world as a result of rape; your mother may have hated you in the womb because you remind her of a man she wished to forget. But the fact that you were conceived is more important than how you were conceived.

People go around dealing with how things happened, but God is simply concerned with the fact that he allowed your conception to happen. You may be bastard, conceived out of wedlock but being omnipotent, God had the power to prevent your conception. Yet God allowed it because He wanted you to show up. How you came isn’t important, what matters is that you are here. And if you are here, God created you to excel because of some certain purpose.

He saw something in you that pleased Him and He picked you to be His son or daughter.

The second question is the question of significance. Does my life matter? The fact that you were born tells us that you have

something to contribute to this generation. Proverbs 16:4 says, “The Lord made everything to contribute to its own end and to His own purpose (Amplified version). Your life matters because it contributes to God’s ultimate purpose. We are part of God’s plan for humanity. There is a purpose for our existence and it is much larger than what we see here.

The third question is a question of intention. What is my purpose? Discovering God’s purpose for your life gives meaning to your existence and something to look forward to every minute of the day. What is purpose? Success is not purpose. Many people in the world are successful and have millions of dollars but they live a miserable life because they have no purpose. You were designed by God for a specific purpose. Some people are short, some tall, some skinny, some chubby, some have one eye, some have two. No matter what, God loves you and will use you the way you are. You are not a mistake. You have talents that came with the package. You have at least one thing you can do better than anyone else. Use it for God’s purpose.

There are gifts that God has given to us to be used in the church for God’s glory and purpose. Your purpose defines who

you are. Your purpose will drive you.

Your purpose will give you determination to conquer.

How zealous are you to reach your potential and fulfill your true purpose in life? Are you hungry for Christ? It will take the passion and commitment on your part to keep growing, learning and progressing. The Bible promises in Proverbs 3:6, “In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success” (the living Bible).

“God has saved us and called for His purpose” (2Tim:1:9). Shall it be said for us as it was recorded in Acts 13:22, “God raised up David to be their king; of him He bore witness and said, I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart, who will do all my will and carry out my purpose!” God’s purpose for David was to do His will as it is with us. David never disappointed God. What about you?

•For further prayer and counseling, please contact: Pastor D.S.A. Adegoke.

Christ Apostle Church Kings Chapel, 2, Ogunwoye Street, Mowe, along Redemption Camp, Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State. Tel: 08028275896, 08142302342

The end-time (3)

and teaches that the prophecy of Jesus in these chapters were not for the end of age, but it was a warning of the nation of Israel about the final collapse of the kingdom. They argued that it has nothing to do with the end of time.

However, they forgot that the coming of our Lord Jesus was in response to the answer God gave to Daniel, when he prayed concerning the exact time of the release of the children of Israel out of the land of captivity in Babylon. In other words, Jesus coming into this world was the fulfillment of Daniel’s revelation, after the final collapse of the nation Israel. So I wonder which other final collapse of the nation Israel, they are anticipating. The revelation of Jesus, in Matthew 24 & 25 is nothing but about the close of this present time. As I had already said, Jesus took special time discussing about this revelation with His disciples because he knew that it is a very important matter, both for them and those who would read it. The end of age or the second coming of our Lord Jesus is characterized with a lot of significant events. These events are what we call the signs of the end of age. They are itemized as follows: (i) It will be a time of great deception within the Christian faith. Matthew 24:4-5 says, “And Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceived you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ and shall deceived many”. The Greek word for taking heed is “Blepo” meaning beware, be watchful, be cautious and perceive well. In John chapter 10:11-14,it it written, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. But he that is a hireling and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep and fleeth and the wolf catchet them and scatereth the sheep. …. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine”.

Today, it is only among few pastors you would see true passion for the Lord’s sheep.

Many men and women of God today have lost genuine passion for the sheep of our Lord Jesus Christ entrusted to their care. They are only after self, pride, materialism and fake power. Many have actually hazarded the sheep of the Lord and made them a cheap prey for

ravening wolf. That is why Jesus admonished that we should take heed. Whom, do you call your pastor? Who is he? How does he behave? The Bible says from their fruit we shall know them. Their fruit are their life styles, characters, habits, attitudes and general behaviours. Is your pastor able to manage his home well? Is he divorced or is she a divorcee? What led to this divorce?

These are facts you should try to know about your pastor. What do people say about him? What does his family members say about him? I tell you the truth, I am not lying, many so called men of God, irrespective of their social standing and influence are agents of darkness, destroying the work of Christ and leading many to hell. 2nd Pet. 2:1-4 says, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that brought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words, make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment”. If those angels could receive such severe judgment, how much more fierce judgment would we receive if anyone of us should trample under feet the spirit of grace. So be warned.

2.

In the world, there shall be wars and rumours of wars. Nation shall rise against nations, famines, pestilence and earthquake. Matthew 24:6-8 says, “And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famine and pestilence and

earthquakes in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows”. All these are events that Jesus said shall happen in the world signaling the end of age as He prophesied. Are they not happening now? Just take a look at the series of news coming from every corner of the world, are you not hearing of wars, pestilence and natural calamities?

Today, we are talking about confronting ISIS, US air strikes against Islamic militants. The Iraq war with the Islamic militant, Libya’s unrest, Syria internal squabbles, war in Central African Republic. Somalia, Hong Kong protests just to mention but a few. In our country, Nigeria, there is the Boko Haram insurgency in the North. Talking about the pestilence, Jesus prophesied about it. We have H.I.V and Ebola which is the most deadliest disease in the world now. The famine Jesus prophesied about is happening. For example, we have high rate of unemployment in our country today, inflation on high increase, the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer. What other signs are we looking for that has not been fulfilled?

To continue next week, God bless you!

Pray like this That hidden hand waiting by the corner at the beginning of every week using magical broom to sweep away my expectations for the week be roasted by fire in the name of Jesus Christ.

Testimony An excruciating pain ceased I am testifying about what God of CHTMI did in my son’s life. He was having a boil under the ridge of his tongue which caused the jaw to swelled-up, the pain was so excruciating. So I brought him to the man of God. After the prayer of the man of God, the boil dried up and he was healed.

Glory be to God! Sis. Pamela

•Pastor K. I. Bona is General Overseer of Chapel of Holiness and Testimony Ministries, 6 David Egbetuyi Street, Fagbile Ijegun, Ikotun, Lagos.

Tel:08038206508, 08023404926

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business FRESH BUSINESS NEWS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Sunday November 2, 2014

Ixaris to deliver Nigerian Breweries to acquire UBA, e-commerce payments Consolidated Breweries Dec 4 N U JOHNSON OKANLAWON

igerian Breweries Plc said at the weekend that it would seek shareholders’ approval, for its planned merger with Consolidated Breweries Plc on December 4.

Nigerian Breweries, listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, is expected to be the surviving entity after the merger, a move which is widely seen as acquisition.

The company made the

announcement in a notice to the shareholders.

According to the notice, the company is planning to exchange four of its shares for five shares of Consolidated Breweries Plc. It said that the shareholders, at the meeting, would be asked to consent to an order of a court sanctioning the merger to allow the actualisation of the deal.

Heineken, the major-

ity shareholder in Nigerian Breweries in 2005, acquired a controlling stake in Consolidated Breweries. The company intends to merge both businesses to take advantage of Nigeria’s growing market for beer and malt drinks.

Nigerian Breweries recently won the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval for the merger.

The company said that

both companies would continue to operate as usual until regulatory and other approvals were obtained.

“The proposed merger of both companies is expected to create value for all key stakeholders, particularly shareholders and drive benefits from increased economies of scale, enhance operating and administrative efficiencies,” it stated.

L-R: Head Operations, Globacom, Mr. Bisi Koleosho; President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr. Femi Adesina; Regional Director, Marketing Communications, Globacom, Charles Jenarius, and Editor, BusinessWorld, Mr. Nik Ogbulie, at a Globacom Media Executives Forum in Lagos, yesterday.

Swagga Bitters returns to market HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

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rand Oak Limited, GOL, a leading producer of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks last weekend added to its stable by re-launching its bitter variant brand popularly known as ‘Swagga Bitters.’

Speaking during the unveiling of the new Swagga Bitters in Akure, Ondo State, the commercial director of the GOL, Fatai Odusile, said the launching of the product was one of the initiatives of the company to strengthen the

leadership of its product in the market.

“We are doing this relaunch not because the Swagga was not known in the market but to further boost the market leadership of Swagga which had gained acceptance and popularity amongst the social economic groups with discerning taste for quality”, Odesile said Swagga brand was positioned as a value-brand with international standard production and branding to attract low end consumers and stressed the efficacy of the bitters.

nited Bank for Africa has announced a deal with Ixaris and its Nigerian partner, ‘Ojapay’ to deploy a virtual card platform across its 20 African markets.

A statement from the bank said it would use Ixaris payment server to deliver innovative payment options for individuals and corporate bodies .

According to the statement, e-commerce market in Africa is predicted to reach $75 billion by 2025 and many consumers and businesses across the continent currently lack a secure, convenient and low-cost means to make purchases online.

It explained that to take a share of the market opportunity, the bank selected Ixaris to quickly and cost-effectively deploy payments programs based on virtual prepaid cards.

“We have partnered with Ixaris and Ojapay to make this convenient payment option available to customers because virtual cards are not only easy and convenient to use but also protect users against online fraud. They will offer our customers across Africa a

new layer protection and security for their online transactions.” said Kennedy Uzoka, Deputy Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, UBA Africa.

Complementing its range of physical card products and mobile banking applications, he stressed that new virtual card option will enable more than 10 million customers across twenty African markets to make safe and easy online purchases at any online merchant worldwide.

According to him, the new virtual payment card will also enable the bank’s corporate clients to take advantage of the wider range of goods and services available on the Internet, while also enhancing internal controls through full traceability of purchasing and payments activities.

Virtual cards work in the same way as plastic payment cards but are issued in electronic rather than physical form. They have now become the payment instrument of choice for a range of flexible solutions for payments-related problems faced by consumers and corporate organisations in many regions of the world.

‘Support entertainment industry through stock market’ JOHNSON OKANLAWON

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takeholders in the nation’s financial sector and entertainment industry, led by the former Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Mr Ben MurrayBruce, have called for the support of the nation’s entertainment industry through the capital market.

Murray-Bruce, who is also the Chairman of Silverbird Group and other stakeholders made this submission during annual conference organised by the Chattered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) with the theme: “The

Capital Market: The Key Catalyst to the Development of the Entertainment Industry in Nigeria”.

According to him, the entertainment industry in Nigeria developed on its own with bad government policies coupled with inability of some key players in the industry to explore potentials that abounds in the creative sector of the economy due mainly to financial constraints.

He added that the success of the Nigerian content in the creative and entertainment industry is felt across the globe; hence there was need for the sector to be included in the

capital market for uttermost productivity.

He noted that there were growth potentials in the industry, especially with the crop of genius in the Nolywood.

“We need to implement a global standards content measurement system in order to maximise revenue commensurate with the current trend, “ he added.

The institute’s President, Mr Albert Okumagba, expressed confidence in funding the sector, adding that: “We are going to have a larger market with the inclusion of the sector because the industry has linkages to other places of

value changes.

“The industry has the strength and capacity to contribute meaningfully to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It will also help to enhance the capital market.”

Speaking on the efforts being made by the new administration of the institute, Okumagba said consultations were going on with the market regulators on the issue of recapitalization, demutualization of the Nigerian stock Exchange, making commodities exchange active and how to attract the companies in the telecommunication sector to get their shares listed on the market.

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Civil Service

Sunday, November 2, 2014

FG engages states on improved strategic planning TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

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he Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to continue to engage and work closely with states’ Planning Agencies in order to ensure accelerated improvement in strategic planning at the sub-national level for broadbased national development.

Giving the assurance in his remarks during the opening session of the meeting of the Joint Planning Board, JPB, last Wednesday in Ibadan, Oyo State, Acting Secretary to the National Planning Commission, NPC, Bassey Akpanyung, said the Federal Government expected that the states’ planning commissions will also cas-

cade the experience gained to other MDAs and local government areas in their respective states.

Akpayung, who was represented by the NPC Director of Macro, Tunde Lawal, explained that such a move would pave way for accelerated transformative development at the sub-national level.

He pointed out that as part of the efforts toward enhancing strategic planning, the NPC was also working with the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, NISER, to improve capacity of Permanent Secretaries, Directors and officials of department of Planning, Research and Statistics, DPRS, in the area of research.

The Acting Secretary said that the theme of the JPB meeting - “Enhancing Strategic Planning for Transformative Development and Building Resilience” - was very timely, as it is also consistent with the aspirations of the Transformation Agenda and Vision 20:2020 blueprint, particularly now that nations and states have been advised by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, to develop contingency plans in response to the declining of oil price and slow recovery of the global economy.

In a remarks, Secretary to the State Government of Oyo State, Alhaji Ishmael Olalekan Alli, commended the NPC for its effective co-

ordination of planning activities and also pledged the support of the state government for the NPC and other stakeholders in their bid to build a better future as well as create conducive environment for investors.

The meeting of the JPB, which was attended by members of the JPB, senior level officers of Federal MDAs responsible for planning, Permanent Secretaries as well as Directors of states’ planning agencies, was organised by the NPC to provide platform for stakeholders responsible for economic planning matters to review strategies, interact and share ideas with a view to enhancing the development of strategic planning in the country.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Imoke presents N149.4b budget for 2015 RICHARD NDOMA CALABAR

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overnor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State at the weekend presented a budget of N149.4 billion for the 2015 fiscal year to members of the Cross River House of Assembly.

The budget which is christened, ‘Budget of transition,’ would commit 60 per cent to capital development while 40 per cent would be used to service recurrent expenditure, stressing that economic sector would gulp 47 per cent of the budget.

Gov. Imoke maintained that the state hoped to achieve this projection by generating over N25.54 billion from internal sources, N43 bilion from the federal account and N80.84 billion from capital receipts. ``In this estimate, the recurrent expenditure of the budget is made up of the

following, personal cost, N24.97 billion, overhead expenditure-N16.18 and statutory expenditure-N17.14’’, he said.

He said that Social Services received N34.87 billion, representing 23 per cent, Regional Development, N11.46 billion, representing seven per cent, and General AdministrationN32.81billion, representing 21 per cent. ``The economic sector has the highest allocation in the 2015 budget proposal. This is understandable as the sector is expected to stimulate the entire economy of the state and create jobs for our unemployed youths. ``The budget focus for the agricultural sector for 2015 would be on youth employment through value chain development, and using the sector to provide a source of livelihood to our women as well as wealth creation.”

700 reject polio vaccines in Sokoto

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L-R: Chairman, Lagos State Medical Guild, Dr. Biyi Kufo; Vice Chairman, Dr. Saliu Oseni, and the Chairman, LASUTH Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Moruf Abdusalam, at a press briefing in Lagos, recently.

Unpaid salaries: Lagos Medical Guild seeks public intervention ODINAKA URUAKPA

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he Nigerian Medical Guild, Lagos State chapter, has called on people of the state to intervene in the ongoing crisis between it and the state government, stating that since the suspension of the last strike by doctors in the country on August 25, 2014, the state government has refused to pay salaries of members of

the guild for some months.

Chairman of the guild, Dr. Biyi Kufo made the call while addressing newsmen in Lagos at the weekend on the anti-doctor posture of the Lagos State government, adding that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) embarked on a strike recently involving public hospitals across the nation to address certain challenges in clinical governance.

He said: “The action com-

menced on the 1st of July 2014, and we returned to work on the 25th of August 2014 after suspension of the action. All correspondences regarding the strike were sent to the authorities before commencement of the action. The action cut across all federal and state run public facilities in all the thirtysix states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

“Following the suspension of the action, the La-

gos State administration set about victimization of members of the Guild by withholding salaries. The State (Lagos) is the only one in the entire federation that has taken this step and the administration cited a ‘no work, no pay’ policy for its action. Our investigations have revealed that the state’s ‘no work, no pay’ policy is currently being applied to members of the Medical Guild only.

bout 700 cases of rejection of the Polio vaccines were recorded in Illela Local Government of Sokoto State during the September 2014 round of the National Polio Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs).

The Acting Director of Health in the area, Alhaji Abubakar Akoda, disclosed this in Illela yesterday while briefing members of the group -Journalists Against Polio.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that members of the group were in the area to monitor the November 2014 round of the NIPDs in the seven high risk local government areas of the state.

The high risk areas are: Illela, Gwadabawa, Kware, Wamakko, Sokoto North, Sokoto South and Isa. Akoda said that 45 per cent of the rejection cases

of the polio vaccines or noncompliance were recorded in Illela, the headquarters of Illela local government, Garu, Tozai, Kalmalo and Runguma-Gati. ``The cases were amicably resolved and the children had since been immunised against the debilitating disease.’’

Akoda stated that about 98,000 children aged five years and below were being targeted during the ongoing four-day immunisation.

He announced that 540 health officials were conducting the exercise in the area, with another team of 79 officials conducting it in some communities sharing boundaries with Republic of Niger.

The communities are: Jema, Araba, HunguwarJa’o, Bulke, Tabanni, Bakin-Dutse and Gidan Customs.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

IIn the Patio

Kayode Fasua

kayfasua@yahoo.com (08034101207; SMS only, pls)

A

riveting incident occurred in the street of Akure, Ondo State a decade ago. A woman in her early sixties was subjected to a mob attack at dawn on a Monday morning, with the blood hounds almost killing her but for the early arrival of policemen. What offence has this languorously built and mentally inchoate woman committed? A chirpy, female member of the lynching volunteers offered me an explanation: yes, she is a witch.

A driver saw her change to a cat and after a while, she changed back to a human being.

But the police, brandishing the penal code, were not amused by the mentality of the mob in its attempt to kill this woman.

Explaining off the guilt of the mob to newsmen way back then, the police image-maker had quipped, “Yes, what is the business of the crowd with the matter? The woman has every right under the law to become a cat; in that wise, she will be seen as an animal and she will enjoy animal rights. Again, this woman can under the law change back to a human being, as she will also enjoy human rights.” That laughable recapitulation aptly captures the raging hoopla in social circles today as to what becomes the fate of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential poll if he stands to contest. In the cat-woman analogy as lain bare by the then Ondo police spokesman, if Jonathan as a contestant wins in the election, the law will recognise him as the President and Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces, and if he fails, the law will also see him

DELE AGEKAMEH

Opinion

Sunday November 2 2014

Of 2015 and the war drums as a member of the public, though a former president.

That should actually solve the fret among those given to the mob mentality, who are now divided into two camps of war drummers over the 2015 presidential election.

If anything, that President Jonathan finally ended months of puzzle and incertitude as to his next ambition is encouraging. Last week, the President picked (or is it bought?) his party’s nomination form to stand in next year’s presidential election.

Though others are at liberty to similarly pick the PDP presidential nomination form for a fee, to seek to defeat Jonathan at the PDP primaries will be no more than seeking a virgin among nursing mothers.

As for the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, the contest promises to be keen, provided a candidate is neither imposed nor produced by consensus. Already, former Head of State, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Kano’s Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso have thrown their hats into the ring, seeking to be the party’s standard-bearer.

The APC, as it is currently composed, is an amalgam of Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change, All Nigeria Peoples Party and a part of All Progressives Grand Alliance, which were later buoyed by defectors from the ruling PDP. The latest big catch for the APC, House of Representatives’ Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, has no doubt rankled feelings in the PDP and the Presidency in the manner he dumped the party to contest for the governor of Sokoto State, on the platform of APC which he considers a more sellable party in his homestate.

Though the APC has boasted that it will effectively challenge the dominance of the PDP in 2015, that really should not be a problem. If it realises its dream, it will become the

ruling party, and if it fails to succeed, it takes the place of the opposition party but in the real sense of the word, a loser.

Assuredly in Nigeria, failure to achieve a political goal under this presidential system of government, or a simple foreshadow of an electoral failure, instantly brings crisis of unimaginable dimension, to the extent that two siblings could be at daggers-drawn. For instance, in 1983 in the old Ondo State, there were sad reminders that classified that year as annus horribilis (terrible year).

At the period, Governor Adekunle Ajasin of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and his estranged deputy, Chief Akin Omoboriowo who defected to National Party of Nigeria (NPN), had gone for a governorship election, in which the then electoral body, the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) declared the latter as winner. A man in Akure, the state capital, who was in UPN, simply led political thugs to the home of his younger brother in the opposition NPN, supervising his killing. Elsewhere too, political goons of the NPN were seen packing fowls from the poultry of a UPN man, throwing them into a blaze. Did the fowls deserve death? Were they politicians? These were child’s plays though, considering how hundreds of persons were burnt to death while countless houses were torched.

The contemporary political situation in Nigeria is particularly benumbing, as it has become not just stiffened but patently convoluted. In the North, owing to what is largely perceived as political disaffection from some northern elements who feel thrown into political hiatus, and perhaps as a result of other factors peculiar to the zone, the Boko Haram insurgency has in the last four years shaken the country to its foundations.

In the South, while the Yoruba in the West lament poor representation in the Jonathan government, the Niger Delta region from where the President hails are also demand-

The enemy next door

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t appears there is no truce in place between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Boko Haram terrorists who have been waging a fierce war against the state especially in the Northeast part of the country.

Now it is increasingly getting clear that what we have been treated to in the last couple of weeks are half-truths, denials (that are not even subtle) and mere propaganda – all designed to achieve pre-conceived political agenda. At any rate, the release of the abducted Chibok girls from the hands of Boko Haram has since assumed some level of desperation in the form of a hurriedly-concocted ceasefire agreement. The agreement, if there was ever anything like that, collapsed even before the ink had dried on the paper on which it was signed.

The concern of this column is not whether there was actually a truce or if the truce ever worked. It is about the characters that engineered the truce. The public is not availed the opportunity to identify those involved in the negotiations. Therefore, it is difficult to decipher the real intention and motive behind the (supposed) ceasefire. Nobody knows whether it is for the sake of the country, for political aggrandizement or any other reason in the interest of certain groups or individuals for that matter.

However, we are aware of the involvement of neighbouring Chad and its President, Id-

51

riss Deby, a former military leader and now a politician, who has been presiding over the affairs of his country since he seized power in a military coup in 1990. He has been actively involved in the ceasefire talks. Deby was born into a family of the Zaghawa ethnic group in the Ennedi region of northeastern Chad, one of the many ethnic groups holding on to power in that country. He joined the army in the early 1970s and went to France in 1976 to train as a pilot at a time the country was in the grip of a long-running civil war.

He returned to Chad in 1978, in the heat of the conflict and threw his support behind Hissène Habré, the leader of one of the rebel groups, who was then serving as prime minister. He rose rapidly in the army. He later emerged as a leader of Habré’s forces and helped Habré to seize power and become President in 1982. Habre made Deby, who had then become widely recognised as a brilliant military strategist, Commander-in-Chief of the Chadian Armed Forces. Deby moved against Habre, his Principal, in 1990 and became President.

From his background, Deby is a veteran of several conflicts between the various rebel groups vying for control of power in Chad.

His long years of experience in the intrigues and internecine conflicts that have plagued his country in the past, must have come in handy for him in trying to resolve the conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian state.

But the peace talk between the Nigerian government and the terrorists, which is being mediated by the Chadian government, has been called into question since it was announced

by the military following the refusal of both parties to respect the ceasefire deal. Though, Boko Haram is yet to make an official comment on the ceasefire, its fighters have continued to attack villages in the North-East prompting many people to wonder whether, indeed, a peace talk had taken place at all.

The terrorist group has been responsible for the killings, abductions and the displacement of many Nigerians in the North-East.

In spite of these horrors, the Chadian government maintained that Nigeria’s deal with the terrorists to free the Chibok schoolgirls would still go ahead. The emergence of Chad as a peace negotiator between Boko Haram and Nigeria did not come as a surprise. As far back as the late 1960s and the early 80s, alien bandits suspected to have their base in neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroun, had been pillaging the Northeast part of the country where Boko Haram now holds sway.

Thousands of villagers in Nigeria’s Northeast zone had been sent packing by these criminals mostly populated by itinerant rebels seeking for means of livelihood after being displaced from their own countries especially Chad.

Banditry by Chadian hoodlums along Nigeria’s North-east region is an age-long problem. If it is not harassment of Nigerians, or forceful occupation of Nigerian territory, it is armed carnage in which innocent Nigerians are maimed, killed or their properties seized.

The irony is that most of the time, the Nigerian government seems helpless over the situation because the government regards Nigeria as a ‘big brother’ to other African nations. But

ing to be in control of their oil resource, which is the mainstay of the economy. In the East, however, there is this pervading feeling of total alienation from the scheme of things.

The cocktail of Nigeria’s socio-political dissonance seems endless.

Where insurgents are not throwing bombs and kidnapping girls, professional kidnappers are abducting heavyweights for ransom. And armed robbers too are busy terrorising defenceless citizens.

The other time when the United States’ authorities were alleged to have foreseen a break-up for Nigeria come 2015, there were cries of blue murder, with self-confessed federalists tagging the US a kettle calling the pot black. They particularly cited the grim spectre of American civil war of the 1860s, which despite its terribleness, still left the Union intact.

But in Nigeria’s case, the indices are indubitably different, and classy. Nigeria’s recurring strife of attrition has failed to abate, such that it recently necessitated a return to the round-table with insurgents who were initially regarded as common criminals.

Glaringly, the presidential system of government which ordinarily should serve our good has rather, created deaths, disaffection and seething polarisation. Therefore, should we continue to live an abnormal life under what we see as a normal political arrangement? The solution, still, lies in self-liberation, by facing the reality of fashioning out a tolerable form of governance as may have been prescribed in the report of the recent national conference.

Forging ahead giddily, wonkily and of course pretentiously, therefore, is a metaphoric recast of a man who chose to walk on all fours, in neglect of the healthy use of his legs.

This Nigeria, methinks, needs no longer go through further horrors.

all along, the fear of those living in Nigeria’s northeast had always been that the rebels may one day declare that Nigeria’s Northeast belongs to them. A number of people had expressed dismay over the nonchalant attitude of the Federal Government over the Chadian miscreants’ atrocities which continued to grow beyond control in many cases. The activities of the miscreants had resulted in a lot of victims been scattered across different parts of such towns as Baga and other neighbouring towns in Borno while others were forced to migrate outside Borno State.

In spite of this, the government had consistently treated with levity, information given to it by the people directly affected by the banditry of Chadian criminals, putting faith, instead, on wrong data that do not paint the true picture of the situation on ground. This body language from the Nigerian government obviously encouraged the Chadian charlatans who had ceaselessly, continued to unleash terror on Nigerians. The Chadians’ atrocities could be traced as far back as the 1960s. But with the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war in 1967, either owing to fear or other considerations, coupled with the tension within the country then, the Chadian atrocities reduced with many Chadians vacating the shores of Lake Chad.

The end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970 coincided with the outbreak of hostilities in Chad which resulted in the bloody coup that terminated the life of President François N’Garta Tombalbaye. As a result, many of them fled into neighbouring border towns and islands within the Northeast region of the present-day Borno State and environs.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 57

52

Wellness

Wellness

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

YOUR HEALTH AND HEALTH RELATED ISSUES NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Govt should provide resources to fight maternal mortality –Expert PAUL EREWUBA

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edical practitioner and human rights activist, Dr Abiola AfolabiAkiyode, has stated that the maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria stands at 576 per 100,000 live births despite global efforts aimed at accelerating progress.

A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report on ‘Trends in maternal mortality: 1990-2013’ classifies Nigeria as one of the 10 countries of the world that contribute about 60 per cent of the world’s maternal mortality burden.

Afolabi-Akiyode who is the Executive Director, Women Advocates, Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), and a law graduate from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ife, also has a Master’s degree in law and PhD in the same subject, with specialty in gender and armed conflict in Africa.

The expert, during the Quarterly Civil Society Organisation-Media Forum on Maternal Health Accountability powered by Development Communications Network (DEVComs) in Lagos recently, said death of pregnant women while giving birth is a discussion of human right and their right to life.

According to her, the essence of giving birth is to have more lives and not to lose one.

“Health is about medical, social and human right. Every woman who goes to labour is interested in living and cutting short her life in the process is a violation of their right to life.”

She therefore urged government at all levels to make resources available in addressing maternal mortality and morbidity in the country.

Delivering a paper at the forum entitled; ‘Human Rights and Maternal Health’, Akiyode-Afolabi said that right to wellbeing can be construed as a right to health care and to conditions that promote good health which includes access to timely, acceptable, and affordable health care of appropriate quality.

Said she: “There is no single cause of death and disability for men aged 15 to 44 that is close to the magnitude of maternal death and disability.”

She observed that as a result of the failure to give adequate attention to maternal health, maternal mortality and morbidity continue to exact a terrible toll on women, and especially impoverished women, in many countries worldwide. She explained that an estimated 287,000 women died of maternal causes in 2010, and between 10 and 15 million suffer debilitating complications annually, which severely affect their wellbeing.

“For a long time, maternal health was treated as an issue addressed from the medical and public health angle with little or no thoughts on the human rights implication and little engagement from the human rights community. At a point, it began to be recognised as an issue of development as set out in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Millennium Development Goals. Goal 5 calls for 75 per cent reduction in maternal mortality ratios from 1990 levels and universal access to reproductive health by 2015. Recently there has been a drive to situate maternal health in the context of the right to health,” she said.

Describing maternal health as a necessary human right which every woman is entitled to, Akiyode-Afolabi explained further that it could be said to be “the right to health which is guaranteed under various international and regional human rights frameworks convention which puts an obligation on states to take particular measures in relation to pregnancy and childbirth, including the provision of reproductive and maternal health care.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women establishes that ‘States Parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, granting free services where necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation’.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Art (ICESCRA) 1966 also requires the provision of reproductive and maternal (pre- as well as postnatal) health care,” she stated.

She, however, agreed that despite these policies put in place to ensure maternal health, women still encounter so many challenges and obstacles which include financial, infrastructural and institutional problems. She explained that some policies which are put in place in some of the hospitals like compulsory spousal blood donation also militate against the accessibility of proper health care by pregnant women and should be looked into.

According to her, “Financial barriers include a system of user fees that prevent low-income or disadvantaged women and adolescent girls from accessing antenatal and intra-partum care. Accordingly, there are wide disparities in access to antenatal care among women based on their education, wealth quintile and geographical location. Among women aged 15-49 who had live births in the five years preceding the 2013 NDHS, only 47 per cent of those living in rural areas received antenatal care compared to 86 per cent living in urban areas.

Only 36 per cent of women with no education received antenatal care by skilled

IFC improves pharmaceutical, personal care services

T

he International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank Group has approved US$5 million as loan for HealthPlus Limited and CasaBella International Limited, for the expansion of pharmaceutical and personal care services in Nigeria.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of HealthPlus Limited and CasaBella, Olubukunola George, the project is aimed at supporting Nigeria’s drive for delivery of quality phar-

maceutical and personal care products, job creation and improvement of health and wellbeing of citizens.

She said: “Under the agreement, IFC will assist HealthPlus and CasaBella to establish a central distribution center in Lagos and expand their combined retail business network from 38 to 120 stores across Nigeria within the next three to four years.

“At HealthPlus and CasaBella, our strongest drive is to help people achieve optimum health and vitality by providing quality pharmaceutical and

personal care products. Partnering with IFC will help us expand our reach and will give us access to global industry best practices. With support from IFC and our other stakeholders, we will be able to achieve our vision of bringing quality health and wellbeing to more Nigerians.

She further said that World Bank health reports has it that African health expenditure will keep growing rapidly, with the private sector playing a key role in the delivery of quality health and personal care services to the urban poor and rural dwellers.

providers while nearly all women with secondary education received such care.

Also, 95 per cent of women in the highest wealth quintile received antenatal care, while only 25 per cent of low-income women were able to receive similar care and nearly 50 per cent of these women did not attend the WHO recommended four visits “Because of high user fees, pregnant women risk being detained in healthcare facilities if they are unable to pay. This practice leads women to avoid care if they are unable to afford it, or to endanger themselves by leaving the hospital before treatment has ended to avoid the hospital fees.

“In addition, the practice of compulsory spousal blood donation continues to be a great impediment to their access.

Although the Nigerian policy on blood donation requires that all donations be voluntary, women who attempt to access maternal healthcare services at many public or government hospitals are often required to bring their husbands to donate blood. While patients may sometimes opt out of this blood donation requirement by paying a fee, this option is not always made known and has a discriminatory impact on the poor who may prefer to pay—but be unable to afford—a fee in lieu of blood donation. Compulsory spousal blood donation can have multiple negative consequences on pregnant women who are unable or unwilling to compel their husbands to donate blood, including husbands’ refusal to permit their wives to access antenatal, intra-partum, and postnatal services and women’s exposure to domestic violence if they attempt to compel their husbands to donate blood. The blood-donation requirement also disadvantages pregnant women who are unmarried, including those who may have become pregnant due to sexual violence, or whose husbands become ill, abandon them, or pass away during the course of the pregnancy.

“Tax certificates are also requested in some states as a precondition for access while the discriminatory impact of the fee on poor and single women includes diminished access to reproductive health services, inferior care, and worse health outcomes.”

HEALTH NEWS

Why mortality rate it high –Stakeholder

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resident, Association of Resident Doctors, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (ARD-LUTH) Chapter, Dr Omojowolo Olubunmi has attributed the increasing death rate in Nigeria, to lack of universal health coverage in the country.

Olubunmi said this in an in an interview he granted recently in Lagos.

According to him, lack of universal health coverage had pushed many seeking

medical treatment to quacks because they did not have the financial means to consult the professionals.

He said: ``Universal health coverage for Nigerians is very abysmal because most of them are still out of pocket in payment for health care.

This has made quality health service to be out of the reach for many; a lot of Nigerians patronize quacks and unqualified people, and this has led to unnecessary and avoidable deaths.”

He said the poorly regulated and structured health sector allows quacks to thrive in a profession that is expected to subscribe to high ethical standards at all times. ``We have all kinds of people parading themselves as doctors because of the poorly regulated sector; you see people without the qualification performing surgical procedures. As a result, we see the complications of some of these mismanaged cases in the hospital every day.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Sunday, November 2, 2014

53

segun, may defect to SDP

Adesegun

til he completes his term along with Amosun in April 2015 or be impeached from office by the state House of Assembly.

Impeachment option As the game plan to render Adesegun politically inactive progresses, rumours of the likelihood of his being impeached have continued to dominate the political space in Ogun State.

While many are advising the Ogun deputy governor to resign and avoid being disgraced through the instrumentality of impeachment, others have maintained that Amosun does not possess enough number of the lawmakers that could impeach Adesegun.

Unlike what obtainable in April 2003 when Chief (Mrs.) Akerele Bucknor was impeached as the Lagos deputy governor during the tenure of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as well as Senator Iyiola Omisore’s impeachment as the Osun State deputy governor during the tenure of Chief Bisi Akande, analysts declared that getting the Ogun House of Assembly to impeach Adesegun looks a difficult task.

This is because, in the Ogun House of Assembly, lawmakers loyal to Amosun are not in the majority. The entire House has 26 members, shared equally. Amosun’s support base in the Assembly is 13 members, of which the Speaker does not have a vote.

Aside from this, getting the House to impeach the deputy governor would require two-third of the lawmakers. This invariably means that the pro-Amosun lawmakers would require a total number of 18 legislators before it could meet up with the constitutional requirement for impeaching the deputy governor.

While analysts have concluded that attempt to remove Adesegun through the instrumentality of impeachment may not scale through, they have also warned that such attempt would spark off crisis in the Ogun Assembly as the anti-Amosun lawmakers who require only a simple majority, could impeach the Speaker.

It is against this backdrop that Amosun’s deputy maintained that he will not resign or leave the government no matter the degree of injustice he may be facing.

Sources within the corridors of power in Ogun further told Sunday Mirror that Adesegun was only waiting for a reply to his

letter from Amosun before he opens a can of worm if such reply is not favourable. The embattled deputy governor, who threatened to reveal more about Amosun’s administration, lamented that he did not expose much in his letter because he never pre-empted that it would stray into the hands of pressmen.

Shopping for Adesegun’s possible successor Given the current situation in the Amosunled administration, it is certain that the incumbent governor would not run for another term with his estranged deputy. Our correspondent gathered that Amosun had already begun shopping for his replacement among members of his cabinet who are from the Ijebu axis of the Ogun East Senatorial district.

A reliable source in the Oke-Mosan government secretariat confided in our correspondent that Amosun was already contemplating on the trio of the current Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, that of the Ministry of Agriculture, Barrister ‘Ronke Sokefun and the Chairman of Sagamu Local Government, Funmi Efuape as the likely successor to Adesegun in the event his tenure terminates in April 2015 or he is impeached.

Recent developments in the state according to our source, however, said that the Sagamu council boss, Efuape, is highly favoured to vie alongside Amosun if Adesegun is booted out or during the governor’s re-election bid in 2015. Whichever way, it was gathered that Amosun has made it clear to members of his political family that he was no longer interested in fielding Adesegun as his running mate again.

think may be a next line of action against Tambuwal.

On Wednesday, the President, arising from that meeting, ordered the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, to withdraw Tambuwal’s security details.

The IGP justified the decision at a press conference in Abuja, where he said by virtue of section 68(1) (g), the Speaker ought to part with the condiments of office, including his entitlement to security because of his defection to the opposition APC. But Tambuwal, through his press secretary, has reacted, saying the police chief only displayed his ignorance of the law and contempt of court.

The Speaker explained that since the issue of defection was already in court, it was prejudice to sidestep the court and act on a matter pending a final adjudication.

The security detail of the Speaker was withdrawn while he was preparing to embark on a journey to Benue State to attend the burial of the father of Barr. Harris Ogbole, a governorship aspirant in the state on the platform of PDP. Consequently, principal officers of the House in separate reactions have condemned the glaring show of what they term irresponsibility and rashness on the part of the Police.

Deputy Minority Leader, Abdulrahman Kawu, described the decision of the government as “undemocratic”, while the

Minority Whip, Samson Osagie, called it “hasty”.

Sunday Mirror learnt authoritatively at the weekend that arrangements are in top gear to provide a private security for the Speaker.

The PDP through its spokesperson, Olisa Metuh, had earlier advised the Speaker to quit his office in view of his defection to the APC. The Speaker may have anticipated the plot against him, hence his smart decision to block every loophole in the Rule book of the House that would have allowed for his removal after his defection.

Tambuwal, a skilled politician, emerged the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives in 2006, after the radical Dr. Ahmed Salik from Dala Federal Constituency of Kano State was booted out by the opposition members, for his recalcitrance.

He defected to the PDP in 2007 after the fallout of an intense battle of supremacy involving the present Governor of Sokoto State, Aliyu Wamakko, and his predecessor, Attahiru Bafarawa.

Tambuwal’s shortlived leadership of the opposition in the Green Chamber, notwithstanding, he was elected as Minority Whip of the House to represent the majority PDP in following. Patricia Etteh’s failed leadership. A few months into that leadership, Etteh was removed on account of alleged corruption. Etteh’s successor, Hon.

Adesegun’s next political party With the recent development in the state, Sunday Mirror gathered that the entire members of Osoba’s Ma T’agba Mole group which include the incumbent Ogun deputy governor have concluded plans to move to the newly resuscitated Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Our correspondent gathered that their decision to move en masse to the SDP followed the persecution which they have suffered in the hands of the incumbent governor and their unsuccessful efforts at getting the Action Group (AG) registered.

Source close to the Osoba camp explained that all political allies of the former governor were founding members of the SDP during the glorious era of the Third Republic which secured the electoral victory for late MKO Abiola in the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was annulled by the General Ibrahim Babangida-led military junta.

While some of Osoba’s closest political allies, such as Remi Bakare and others have defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the source, however, emphasised that Osoba has refused to move to the PDP or any other party because of the progressive politics he is known for.

“But Osoba has always been a progressive politician and he has chosen never to be in a conservative political party. Again, all the Ma T’agbamole members were in SDP before the military proscribed it in the aborted Third Republic. That is why Baba Osoba would never go to PDP; all of us have resolved to return to our base and that is the SDP,” the source emphasised.

defection, in the days ahead

Adamu Muazu, PDP Chairman.

Surprisingly, the Deputy Leader of the House, Hon. Leo Okuweh Ogor (PDP-Delta) has reacted to Tambuwal’s defection, cautiously.

Mr. Ogor in his reaction said the Speaker did not breach the law, and according to him, the issue of moving against him was, therefore, yet to arise.

President Goodluck Jonathan had on last Wednesday met with members of the PDP in the House in the Villa on what political observers

Bankole, retained Tambuwal as Deputy Whip.

Following the overwhelming support President Jonathan got from the SouthWest to win the presidency in 2011, he decided it was fair to reward the area with the fourth position on the protocol of State leadership. The House however thought otherwise. They did not want to be given their leader by an outsider. Although, the lawmakers did not have problems with the South-West, they had issues with the candidate from the area.

After a close watch of his leadership qualities and because of the decision of the different camps of the PDP to settle for Hon. Ajibola Muraina and Mulikat Akande-Adeola, who were less popular candidates, the House opted for Tambuwal and damned the consequence.

Leading the charge for Tambuwal was Hon. Leo Ogor, a staunch member of the PDP from Delta State and Hon. Emmanuel Jime, also a then staunch member of the PDP, but now an APC member from Benue State.

Political observers believe that Tambuwal has led wisely and has been a leader for all parties in the House, thus it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to even destabilise his leadership as he moves on to contest for either the governorship of Sokoto State or the Presidency.

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Politics

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Lagos 2015

AYO ESAN

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agos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Wednesday, last week, used the opportunity of the party’s extraordinary convention held in Abuja to make a positive move in resolving who emerges as its standardbearer in the 2015 governorship race.

The party at the convention announced the postponement of its gubernatorial primaries from November 15 to December 2. The leadership was said to have used the occasion to meet with the gubernatorial aspirants and pleaded with them to ‘pick one among them that would be able to win the election and carry on the good work being done by the incumbent governor, Mr. Raji Babatunde Fashola (SAN)’.

Nine aspirants, it was gathered, have paid the N500,000 fee for the expression of interest forms. Those who have purchased the forms according to reports include Dr Femi Hamzat; Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon; Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji; Mr. Supo Sasore; Comrade Kayode Opeifa and Hon Lanre Ope. Othera are Dr Femi Hamzat; Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, and Dr. Leke Pitan, These aspirants are believed to be the frontrunners in the race but it was gathered however that elders of the party at the convention worked on a peaceful way of initially reducing the number of aspirants and later arrived at a consensus candidate. The move which is said to have been mooted by the top hierarchy of the party in the state is said to be aim at ensuring that the governorship primaries is devoid of rancour and if possible lead to a consensus.

Among those who were said to have championed the move for consensus candidacy which would lead only to an affirmation vote on December 2 is the party state chairman, Otunba Henry Ajomale and Cardinal James Odunmbaku.

It would be recalled that in 2011, the incumbent governor , Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, was given the ticket through an affirmation as he remained the only aspirant that showed up for the primaries which was held at its secretariat on ACME Road Ogba Lagos. The party leadership wanted a repeat of such action as they believe that going for elective primaries may trigger rancour and disaffection among members, which may in turn mar the chances of the party in winning the governorship race.

The elders were said to have after the meeting persuaded other aspirants to give the former Accountant General of Lagos State, Mr Akinwumi Ambode, the opportunity to carry the flag of the party. They are said to have cited the fact that he paraded good and intimidating credentials and that he had worked in almost all the local government areas in the state. They were also said to have looked at his successful career in the civil service and laid bare his experience which led to the successful administrations in the state.

They also recalled that when he retired from the Lagos Civil Service he was given a letter of commendation by

APC leaders move for consensus candidate THE PARTY LEADERS AGREED THAT THEY DON’T WANT A CONTROVERSIAL CANDIDATE THAT WOULD BE EASY TO BE

‘DESTROYED’ BY THE MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY IN THE STATE, THE PDP. THEY DESCRIBED AMBODE AS TRUSTWORTHY AND PLEADED WITH OTHER ASPIRANTS TO GIVE HIM A Ambode

Gbajabiamila

Hamzat

Ganiyu

Governor Fashola.

“The party leaders agreed that they don’t want a controversial candidate that would be easy to be ‘destroyed’ by the main opposition party in the state, the PDP. They described Ambode as trustworthy and pleaded with other aspirants to give him a chance by stepping down for him, assuring them that victory for the party was paramount at the general election in 2015,” the source said. They were also said to have told the camp of other aspirants to present candidate for the Deputy Governorship among other positions, with a pledge that none of the camps will lose out totally in the scheme of things.

It was also gathered that the party top hierarchy said the other aspirants’ camps would be compensated with other elective positions both at the state and at the federal level.

It would be recalled that Ambode while publicly declaring his bid to contest the Lagos governorship seat on the platform of the APC penultimate Friday at Onikan Stadium in Lagos, promised genuine leadership that would be inclusive, and accountable with all the principles of good governance.

He said he made the declaration for the governorship with the highest sense of responsibility saying, “ I am putting myself forward because I believe I have

CHANCE.

the qualities required to continue the giant strides which our great party, All Progressives Congress, has achieved in Lagos in recent years.”

Ambode stated that he was seeking the governorship seat in the spirit of continuity of excellence that Lagos is known for, adding that, ‘My vision and mission is to create a clean, secure and prosperous Lagos State, that is driven by a vibrant economy and supported by quality service, equity and justice’. The aspirant disclosed that Lagos is the most cosmopolitan state in Nigeria and that there is no room for discrimination .

“Whether you are Igbo, Efik, Ijaw, Hausa, Fulani, a foreigner, whoever you are, so far you live or work in Lagos, our government will work for you and you will be adequately represented “We want a Lagos that will protect Abdullahi; that will address the issue of Chukwuma and uphold the wellbeing of Yewande. We want a Lagos that will not deny any Nigerian citizen the right of political participation and access to services. It is not about sectionalism.

This is the new Nigeria that we want to build and Lagos is the focal point from where we would build the Nigeria of our dreams,”, Ambode affirmed.

He said come February 2015, Lagosians will once again elect a governor that will not only continue the great works of great patriots such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo; General Mobolaji Johnson (rtd); Alhaji Lateef Jakande; Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Mr Babatunde Fashola, whose respective and remarkable contributions to the development of Lagos, he said, “make us all very proud”.

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Interview

Sunday November 2, 2014

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‘Jonathan has no preferred candidate for Lagos’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 body will come and cover up here. We will expose all of them to you the media. You will fire questions at them and you check out on them.

The president didn’t endorse anybody. You know when he was given the valedictory speech at the Federal Executive Council Meeting, he said let me advise you, those who want to go should think deeply, look at it dispassionately.

You still have room between now and Monday to submit. So if he is endorsing, he would have just said well done my ministers, you have done well, go.

People are saying Chief Bode George has endorsed this one. The same thing is on the street of Lagos that I have carried Koro (Obanikoro) on my head.

That I have endorsed Koro. But I can’t endorse anybody; the people will endorse who they want very soon.

Among those that have come out as aspirants, does any of them possess these qualities you set up as mandatory?

Oh yes!

Also, is the party going to set up a committee to screen these aspirants?

Yes, the first thing is you get the form and fill it. They will appear before a screening committee and the qualities I mentioned earlier are the things they will look at. Even if they go and cover, will the media cover them? Like f acts can be verified just with a punch on your computer or handset.

They will do screening, thorough screening. This is because INEC rules are very clear. The opposition too is waiting for you to bring a wrong man, so that they can have an easy win. When you go through that screening process, there would be an appeal also. Then you now go for the real thing. And what I have said now include those vying for the State

House of Assembly, House of Reps, Senate, the governors and the presidency.

There is this clamour for a Christian governor in Lagos in 2015. Will your party be toeing this line? Will your party zone the governorship to a particular zone in the state?

You know the beauty of Lagos State; I tell you, is that you find people whose parents came from Epe or Ikorodu and they have lived on the West Senatorial District for years. Lagos is big in population but it is very compact. What are you zoning, the fluidity of the people is not as serious as if you go to the next state, Ogun. In Ogun, the Yewa people are Yewa; the Ijebus are Ijebus and the Egbas are the Egbas. Then you go to Ogbomosho, Oke Ogun and then you come to Ibarapa area. The areas are well defined.

But Lagos is a melting point. And we have had to accept that. Because on the flip side we enjoyed the economic activities. In the last registration exercise Lagos had 5.8m

registered voters. That is the highest in the country. If you look at the number, how many are indigenes? But the population is high because it is the commercial nerve centre of this country. This story about zoning the position to this place or that; you will just be getting into more trouble.

Pentecostal, the Catholic, and the like, if they are demanding for it, whatever it takes, you follow the wakes. Don’t swim against the tide. And we didn’t start it.

The Emperor in Bourdillion too quickly anointed somebody. Ambode’s father was a Cherubim and Seraphim member. It is just like what the Number One was advising when he came. He said anywhere he goes, this is the name he is hearing and if you remain deaf to it, you remain deaf to it to your detriment. So if they said that is what they want, everybody will comply.

Though it is not like a Berlin Wall. But it is a strong parameter in the equation and we must follow it if we want to win the minds of the people.

I’ll industrialise Benue if elected governor –Chenge Dr. Rosalyn Ada Chenge is the first Managing Director of Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority. She is aspiring to succeed Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State come 2015. In this interview with Henry Iyorkase, she pledges to industrialise the state if elected governor, among others.

Can you share with us what you plan to do if elected the governor of Benue State?

The first thing I will say is that I am a Benue child who grew up in the state and so I understand the structural, administrative and political problems of the state. Benue is actually an agrarian state but most of the agricultural products are in their raw state. As a mechanical engineer by profession, with a master’s in production engineering, and then as a mother, I’ve also discovered that Benue has a lot of human resources that have not been tied together in the proper perspective that will produce the required development, I have a feeling that I can provide the leadership.

The human resources available in the state needs what I call greasing effect to be able to get united to do the work because Benue is made up of Tiv, Idoma, Igede, Etulo and other silent tribes within.

As a person that will be able to harness the different tribes and bring them together; that has been the major driving force.

As a mother, I have experience and weaknesses as a child growing up in Benue that is lacking.

And so that is the root of my continuous desire to give Benue that leadership that will be able to grease the tribes together in

terms of human resources, process the agricultural products and usher in industrialisation. I will say, the sky will just be our starting point in Benue State.

It is believed that issues of governance have been dominated by men, how prepared are you to bridge this gap?

I want the press to score me 100 per cent in terms of a woman who excelled in a male-dominated world. I have been asked this kind of question several times but I want to say that the question is not for all women because some women are born naturally endowed to take tasks that are not feminine in nature.

As a young girl, I read sciences; I mean the core sciences where you talk of physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics.

Then as an undergraduate, we were only two female students in the midst of 70 male students reading mechanical engineering. So, that tells you that, yes, I have been in the male-dominated world. In terms of those who graduated as and when due in mechanical engineering department; I think those of us that graduated were very few and I was the only woman among those who started the course together and graduated as and when due. What I mean by that is that no extra semester, year, carry over or whatever; it was a

Chenge

clean result.

And then in 1998 as I keep telling people, I was a commercial pilot student of the SP22 Course in the School of Aviation Zaria. But before then, in 1996, I graduated as the first female mechanical engineer of Benue origin. That means there had never been a female mechanical engineer in Benue State before I graduated.

If you take the proper indices of my personal achievements in the perceived male-dominated world, you will discover that I am equal to the task. In 2006, I was still the only female who contested in the PDP governorship primary. This was before this present contest coming up soon.

We are the ones that brought the women to start saying give us our

rights.

This was in 2006 and we are talking of 20104 (laughs). If in 2006 I contested, I think what the press should help me to do is to say this woman has been on it since 2006, give her the chance; the men should leave her to do something. Let us try her and see what is it in her that makes her keep wishing to do this.

If you scale through and become the flag bearer and eventual winner as governor, what would you do to enhance the already existing structures?

If you were in Benue State eight years ago, you will discover that Benue has grown tremendously, infrastructure-wise the roads, water, electricity and other critical infrastructure.

The state government has done a lot of work in terms of infrastructural development.

If you take Makurdi as example, you can see that new roads have been opened and wherever roads are open, structures come up, commercial centres and so on. So if you take statistics of what was and what is now, you will discover that the state has moved ahead in terms of infrastructure.

But then, what I plan to do which I have said earlier is because I am an engineer and I have what I call triple experience. I worked in the private sector rising from engineer, sales engineer through to project manager and then branch manager of the firm I worked with and then contested governorship election. I became the general manager of the Benue State Water Board which was the utility all over Benue State.

As a first female general manager, I worked there for three and a half years understanding the whole working, budgeting system of state government.

Most of those contesting with me actually do not have the kind of experience I’ve had as a chief executive officer totally responsible for both the security, performance and the failure of such a place.

Take the array of the contestants and weigh them on this note. I was there as the chief executive officer of a Benue State parastatal gaining experience in the state government sector and how it works. Then by the grace of God, I was moved to the federal government by President Goodluck Jonathan and then became again the chief executive officer of a river basin.

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NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Day Mc Next Africa Intellectual Properties launched book ADAEZE AMOS

D

ignitaries from all walks of life were present at the launch of a book written by Mr Mark Orgu, the founder of MC Next Africa Intellectual Properties, entitled, ‘Nigeria In The Global Perspective, Where Are We? Venue was the Yaba College of Technology On the occasion were Ambassador David Solomon, General Dr. Oviemo Onaje, a renowned skin therapist, Mrs Ayodele Jaiyesimi, a banker, Marie Ejime Akpenyi, dean school of Liberal Studies, Yaba College of Technology, Omobayo Raheem, dean Students’ Affairs, among others.

Hon Ogbutopu (lefft) and Dr. Solomon

Gen. Dr. Oviemo Obadje (right) receiving award

Hon. Charity Ogbutopu

L-R: Hon Ogbuitepu, Amb. Dr. David Solomon and Gen. Dr Oviemo Ovadje

Mark Orgu and Hon. Ogbutopu

Joe Ejiofor

Omobayo Raheem, dean students affairs, Yabatech.

Patrick Ajogwu

Marie Ejime Akpenyi, of School of Liberal Studies, representing the Rector

Mark with Amb. David Solomon

L-R: Orgu, convener, presenting certificate of grandmentor to Mrs Ayodele, Head, HCMD First Bank. With them is Fidelis Obinna

Marie Akpenyi giving Dr Solomon award

Orgu, with dignitatries, showcasing his book

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STORIES THAT TOUCH YOU Sunday November 2 2014

Lady with recurring leg cancer needs N3m to survive

•Says, ‘I’m ashamed to beg but I have no choice’ VICTOR UDOH

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few months ago, Motunrayo Adegbenle’s story broke and within months, benevolent Nigerians came to her rescue and she underwent a surgery to remove her leg cancer and her joy knew no bounds.

But now, Motunrayo’s joy has been cut short as the killer leg cancer disease recurred, threatening her life.

Before her earlier surgery, medics at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, had said Motunrayo’s leg cancer might lead to amputation if urgent attention was not given to it.

“I was told that I need to undergo surgery which will cost N450, 000 excluding drugs and post-medical treatment. The

whole amount then was to about N700, 000.”

She was also placed on some antibiotics and pain relief drugs to ease her condition pending the time the surgery would be performed. “At first, I was struggling to buy the drugs but at a point, I could no longer afford it because the sickness had affected my movement.

“I thank Nigerians for their benevolence the first time and I am displeased to come back again to Nigerians, seeking help. My son from my marriage that collapsed way back in 1981 is now 31 and jobless, he can’t even cater for himself not to talk of assisting me. That’s why I am seeking assistance from well-meaning Nigerians again,” she said in-between sobs.

Now Motunrayo Ololade Ad-

egbenle needs N3 million for the new surgery following the relapse of the leg cancer ailment, to save her life. And she is pleading with Nigerians “to kindly come to my aid.

“I am ashamed to come to Nigerians again, but I am left with no other option than to come to Nigerians cap-in-hand again; please don’t let me die like this,” she pleaded.

To this end, a dedicated account has been opened for Motunrayo detailed as follows: Account number: 3065983617; First Bank and account name, Adegbenle Ololade Motunrayo. A non-governmental organization, Lady of Africa Empowerment and Advocacy Foundation bas4ed at Ayobo, Lagos, which is currently fending for Motunrayo, can be contacted on 08093287614.

Boko Haram ceasefire: Greek gift and gullibility CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 The Chibok girls are still in the Boko Haram cells. There has not been any ceasefire from the sect.

Only the Nigerian military ceased fire and just few days ago, 100 of the soldiers were reportedly feared killed in an unanticipated Boko Haram onslaught.

Also, the group has rather resumed their old suicide bombing mission and from all indications, the ceasefire was a trick to retreat, get a breather, regroup, reinforce, re-strategize, and return for more battles ahead. The Federal Government had been tricked. The military too has been lured into a catalytic duel and fears are that Boko Haram might have used the two weeks of successfully selling a dummy to the Nigerian authorities to move around unnoticed into different parts of Nigeria to hatch their deadly mission. That was why Gombe came under attack. The new strategy is to dismantle their Caliphate Republic and return to the guerilla warfare which did incalculable damage to Nigeria for four years before their foolhardy establishment of a kingdom.

This had made them vulnerable and that was the reason they lost grounds, first at Konduga and later in the entire Northeast.

The Boko Haram ceasefire is thus a Greek Gift. It is never meant to end the war. But Nigeria is too filled with intelligent people not to have known that terrorists do not sit down to negotiate away what they have vowed to die achieving. Islamists (extremists) prefer to die for the cause of realizing their Eldorado Sharia State, even if it is clearly unrealistic. Dying in the course of it is considered a privilege to them as it is preferable to become martyrs for extremist Islam. As they are martyrs in the world, they are part of the nobility in Aljanah (Islamic paradise)where they have variety of damsels from who to pick as many virgins as they desire to cater for their insatiable libido. It is a cause for which they are ready to hit their heads on the walls and die, than for a soldier to capture them alive and force them to humiliatingly renounce their belief.

Government had been warned too many times that dialogue and negotiations do not work with terrorists. These guys are “terror-

ists”; only they can change their orientation and mind. Terrorist, as the name suggests, is someone who derives satisfaction from the pain of his target or victim. What makes him sad is when his targets are happy or free from calamity. He will not negotiate his joy away for your own happiness. Let government stop fooling itself and pull out of the negotiations. Moreover, the Nigerian State was already on the verge of total victory over Boko Haram before some enemies within again urged it to accept the ceasefire (Greek Gift) of the terrorists. Soldiers and warriors I have read about, do not retreat when they are about just giving the knockout punch. They ensure the jab crushes the enemy and then after a well advertised victory, they can now begin to do some post-conflict placation PR of “No Victor, No Vanquished”.

This is when it is clear who the winner is.

• Dr. Folarin, an Associate Professor, is the Immediate Past Head of Department of Political Science and International Relations, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State.

Adegbenle

The enemy next door CONTINUED FROM PAGE 51 Since then, they have not looked back. At a point, their atrocities became so worrisome that series of reports were forwarded to the Shehu Shagari civilian government between 1979 and 1983. Consequently, in 1982, General Muhammadu Buhari, who was then the General Officer Commanding, GOC, 3 Armoured Division, Nigerian Army with headquarters in Jos, stormed the affected zones and chased the miscreants out.

But if Nigerians thought that was the end of the matter, they were dead wrong. No sooner had Buhari withdrawn his troops from the area, than the rebels started to make a comeback, this time, in full force.

Today, many of the villages have fallen under the control of the Boko Haram terrorists who are mere offshoots of the Chadian rebels. Due to the incessant violent eruption in Chad, most Chadian nationals, including their displaced troops; have found Nigeria a haven where everything is available, including uninterrupted harassment of the citizenry. While their women take to prostitution in several parts of Borno State, a greater number of

their men find in banditry, a lucrative business which has now become properly structured and entrenched by Boko Haram .

Successive governors of Borno State including the late Mala Kachalla, who was governor of the state from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2003, raised sufficient alarm through several security reports warning that unless concerted efforts were made, several towns and villages along Nigeria’s border with Chad may be occupied

by Chadians. One of the reports advised that in tackling the Chadian-Nigerian situation, “dialogue through diplomacy would be the best option but without prejudice to our ability to resort to military action to flush them out”. Since then, nothing has changed. The situation has only gone from bad to worse, resulting in the current situation where Chad, a country that appears to have inadvertently let loose bandits to prey on Nigerians, is now trying to rescue Nigeria from the holocaust. What an irony! What a pity!!

•Agekameh is a Lagos-based journalist.

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Silver Jubilee remembrance of High Chief Zechariah Ifeloju Enigbokan

t was pomp and ceremony yesterday as the children and family members of High Chief Ifeloju Enigbokan marked the 25th year remembrance of their father at Atijere, Ilaje Local Government area in Ondo State.

L-R: Children of the deceased: Mrs. Adunni Ipinsokan, Mrs. Fola Solomon, Comrade Segun Enigbokan and Mrs. Lola Jedo.

L-R: Children of the deceased: Mrs. Ibukun Adefuwa, Otunba Olatunji Enigbokan and Mr. Ebimomi Enigbokan.

L-R: Mr. Felix Aiyenuro, Prince Edward Olorunwa Edema and Prince Yemi Lepe.

L-R: Children of the deceased, Ms. Itunnu Enigbokan, Mr. Bayo Enigbokan, Chief (Mrs.) Nike Mafo and Engr. Oyewole Enigbokan.

L-R: Chief Aiyetoba Akala; General Overseer, Prophetic Church of Nigeria, Rev Ifedayo Ikudehinbu (JP) and Ajiboluwarin of Zion, Most Rev. (Dr.) Aseph Oyetakin (JP).

L-R: Grandchildren of late High Chief Zechariah Ifeloju Enigbokan: Doyin, Tolu, Wale, Seyi, Bolaji, Tosin and Ladi.

Cultural performance by Lady Tale Asiko and Obele Band.

L-R: Prince Jemibola Olumide, Pastor Abimbola Joel and Engr. Bolanle Gbadegesin Hamza.

Family and friends during the candle light procession of the 25th year remembrance anPHOTOS: YINKA ADEPARUSI niversary of late High Chief Zechariah Ifeloju Enigbokan.

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Sunday, November 2, 2014

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Echoes of Kosofe PDP exco’s tour of LCDAs in Lagos OBASOLUYI TELEWA

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kosofe Exco, last Tuesday completed its tour of its LCDA. The events held at Ifako (Kosofe), Kassim Juction (Agboyi-Ketu) and Ikosi-Isheri areas of Lagos State, has further given the party leadership high hopes that the 2015 general elections in the state will be won by the party, according to the LGA Chairman, Hon. Muftau Dada Babalola. He gave cash donations to the chairmen of the LCDAs on behaif of the party as running expenses. In attendance were state party leaders, aspirants, party faithful and well-wishers.

Kosofe PDP LGA Secretary, Bola Bakare, P.R.O,Mr. Onanuga and Alhaja Sherifat Olusola Hassan at the Ifako, Kosofe tour.

R-L: State Deputy Chairman, Mr Apena; LGA Chairman,Hon. Muftau Babalola, and Bola Bakare at Agboyi-Ketu, during the PDP Kosofe Exco tour of the LCDA.

Alhaja Hassan with PDP Kosofe women during the tour of the Council by the Exco.

Hon. Muftau Babalola (middle) Alhaja Hassan and others on the occasion.

Kosofe women with Alhaja Hassan

PDP women at Agboyi-Ketu, with Alhaja Sherifat Hassan

Some councillorship aspirants at Ikosi-Isheri

Alhaja Sherifat Hassan on the occasion.

Lagos State House of Assembly aspirant, Kosofe Constituency 2, Pastor Francis Adebayo (2nd left) and others.

PDP members at Ifako, Kosofe LG.

Mr. Bola Bakere, Hon. Muftau and Mr. Apena

A cross section of PDP faithful on the occasion

Lagos East Senatorial aspirant, Oshinowo ’Gbenga.

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Sunday November 2, 2014

I want to be world’s best player –Pogba P. 62

Sport

Ambitious Courtois targets double

KEEPING YOU ABREAST OF SPORTING NEWS November 2, 2014

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Remains of Bafana Bafana captain laid to rest in Durban

Thousands pay tribute to Senzo Meyiwa at Durban funeral.

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n estimated crowd of 30,000 turned out in Durban for the funeral of South Africa captain Senzo Meyiwa on Saturday.

The 27-year-old goalkeeper was fatally wounded after being shot by an intruder while visiting his popstar girlfriend at her Johannesburg home last weekend.

Government officials joined Meyiwa’s club and international team-mates in mourning during an emotional service at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, which was broadcast live on national television.

Durban mayor James Nxumalo led the addresses at the ceremony before Meyiwa’s coffin was taken to the nearby Heroes Acre at Chesterville cemetery for a private burial.

“Death is a thief that has stolen a bright shining light from the nation,” Nxumalo said. “The entire nation is crying. We have all lost. Our condolences to Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana. Our hearts are bleeding.”

South Africa sports minister Fikile Mbalula added: “We’ve got every reason to be angry about Senzo. Justice is grinding and we will find them. We will never rest until we find all of them.”

Meyiwa had been in superb form for South Africa during the recent Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, keeping clean sheets in their win over Sudan, and victory and a draw against Congo Brazzaville and a goalless clash with defending champions Nigeria.

Johannesburg police have charged 25-year-old Zenokuhle Mbatha with Meyiwa’s murder, and he is scheduled to appear in court on November 11.

Ayoze Perez (2nd from right) scored the only goal that gave Newcastle maximum points against visiting Liverpool yesterday.

Newcastle’s Perez shoots down unlucky Reds A

yoze Perez scored the winner for Newcastle United for the second Premier League match running as Liverpool were beaten 1-0 yesterday.

The Spaniard netted the decisive goal in the 2-1 triumph at Tottenham last Sunday and came off the bench at St James’ Park to earn Newcastle’s fourth win in a row in all competitions and move them to within a point off Liverpool.

The Premier League’s highest scoring fixture - having yielded 129 goals before this meeting - looked set to be heading for a goalless draw until Perez’s 73rd-minute strike, which condemned Liverpool to their fourth top-flight defeat of the season.

Both clubs progressed to the League Cup quarter-finals in midweek, with Newcastle having further alleviated the pressure on manager Alan Pardew by producing a shock 2-0 success over holders Manchester City.

It was two much-changed sides that lined up yesterday and Pardew reaped the rewards from having rested several key players for Wednesday’s trip to the Etihad Stadium.

Pardew admitted that the weakened team he named against City was a nod

towards the importance of this fixture, with five players - Tim Krul, Steven Taylor, Moussa Sissoko, Sammy Ameobi and Papiss Cisse - returning, while Mehdi Abeid earned a Premier League debut.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers also made numerous changes from the League Cup success over Swansea City, and Mario Balotelli was rewarded for his equalising goal off the bench in that 2-1 triumph as the Italian was handed a start, with Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling coming back into the side.

The hosts had appeals for a penalty waved away by referee Andre Marriner in the 10th minute when Sissoko went to ground under a challenge from Joe Allen, with replays suggesting they had cause to feel aggrieved following the 1-0 final loss to Newcastle.

Liverpool offered little in the closing stages and, with a trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on European champions Real Madrid coming up on Tuesday, Rodgers was left with plenty to ponder.

Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is paying the price for not strengthening his backroom staff, according to former Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen.

Liverpool are nine points off league leaders Chelsea and have lost their last two Champions League group games.

Meulensteen, first-team coach at Manchester United for five years, says Rodgers has made mistakes.

“Brendan Rodgers’s biggest failure is that he’s not invested in his staff,” Meulensteen told reporters.

Meulensteen, 50, was a key member of Sir Alex Ferguson’s backroom team at Old Trafford.

He helped United win three Premier League titles, one Champions League, two League Cups and one Club World Cup while first-team coach between 200813.

The Dutchman, who was in charge of Fulham for just two months before he was replaced in February, believes Rodgers should have strengthened his backroom team after the Reds secured a Champions League return after finishing second in the Premier League last season.

Colin Pascoe is Rodgers’s assistant while Mike Marsh is first-team coach.

Meulensteen said Rodgers should have appointed someone with Champions League experience before the start of the season.

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Sport

Sunday November 2, 2014

NSF: Cross River will host memorable sports festival—Amadi Andrew Ekejiuba

Knockout IFEANYI Eduzor with

08055829770 ifeduz24@yahoo.com

T

he Director of Sports in Cross River State Sports Commission, Jude Amadi has assured sports fans in the country of the readiness of the state to host a memorable National Sports Festival this year.

Speaking exclusively to Sunday Mirror the highly experienced and well travelled sports administrator revealed that Cross River State is ready to provide first class sporting facilities for the visitors to use during competition and added that a warm reception awaits all athletes and their officials to the Paradise City when hostilities for the event commences.

“Our preparation for the forthcoming National Sports Festival is on course and we are working round the clock to meet the deadline set for the commencement of the event.

“Already, work is in progress in our Olympic-sized swimming pool and very soon the facility will be

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OSABA fetes Alaafin of Oyo over boxing The Olympic-sized swimming pool under construction at the James Esuene Stadium Calabar.

ready. The hostels and accommodation venues for the 17,000 athletes and officials who will be in Cross River State for the festival are ready,” he said.

Amadi also confirmed that 20 sporting events are going to be medal scoring, while 5 others are going to be optional sports. He further stressed that venues for the events are spread across the state.

“We are going to have events spread across four centres, namely, University of Calabar, James Esuene Stadium, Cross River State University of Technology and College of Education Akamkpa which is between 20-

Amadi

30 minutes drive from Calabar.

“Like I assured you earlier we are going to host a memorable sports festival that will linger on in the memory of all who will witness the sporting event.

“Here in Cross River, we are known as hospitable people and we are going to be at our best at the festival,” he stated.

On the issue of security, Amadi stated that though Cross River State is not known for crime, but affirmed that no stone shall be left unturned in giving all the visitors a good security cover before, during and after the competition.

Oyo State Amateur Boxing Association (OSABA) has described the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi as the main pillar of support behind the recent restoration story of the game of boxing in the state.

This was contained in a statement by the Chairman of the association, Baron Akintunde Opaleye to felicitate with the respected Yoruba monarch on the occasion of his 72nd birthday celebration.

“We are writing on behalf of the boxing family in Nigeria to congratulate our mentor, source of inspiration and a great boxing enthusiast on the occasion of his 72nd birthday. As we pray to God to grant him many more

years in good health.

“The Kabiyesi has demonstrated his undying love and support to sports in the state especially to the game of boxing and we cannot but join other millions of well wishers in celebrating Oba Adeyemi who added another year recently, ” the statement read.

Meanwhile the association has announced plans to commence its proposed monthly boxing tournament programme with the first edition dedicated to the first class traditional ruler who has also reiterated his intension to help the body sustain the boxing developmental programme.

Danagogo recommends Super Falcons Obaseki urges NFF to for Hall of fame embrace peace port their coaches and the Nigeria Andrew Ekejiuba

M

inister of Sports and Chairman National Sports Commission Dr. Tammy Danagogo has called on sports loving Nigerians, stakeholders and the media to project the image of the victorious Super Falcons positively in the same manner as their male counterparts.

While receiving the Super Falcons in his office on Tuesday, the minister stated that they were stars worthy of emulation, having won the African Women’s Championship trophy for a record seventh time.

Aside commending them for distinguishing themselves as heroines, Danagogo thus recommended their names to be registered in the country’s Hall of Fame.

Danagogo was full of praise for the girls whom he said were disciplined, passionate and patriotic and assured them that all their entitlements would be duly released to them. He affirmed that the National Sports Commission (NSC) will sup-

Football Federation in all areas that will enhance better coaching of the team.

Earlier, the Director of Grassroots Department Alhassan Yakmut in his remarks emphasized that the Falcons since the inception of the AWC, have been supported by the NSC and encouraged them to intensify efforts towards lifting the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015 in Canada.

Head Coach of the Super Falcons Edward Okon, attributed their victory to God whom he said has used the Falcons to sustain football in the country.

Okon, also disclosed that the team was willing to make sacrifices, to achieve victory for the nation and solicited for the prayers of Nigerians for continuous victory.

Captain of the Super Falcons, Evelyn Nwabuku, in appreciation to the glamorous reception given to her team by the Hon Minister and the NSC, revealed that their victory in Namibia marks the beginning of a new dawn in female football in the country.

L-R: The Marketing Manager, GOtv, Oludare Kafar; fast rising artiste, Oritsefemi Majemite Ekele; General Manager, GOtv, Mrs. Elizabeth Amkpa and the Chairman, Lagos Football Association, Mr. Seyi Akinwunmi, during opening ceremony of the GOtv Hood to Hood Football Championship held in Lagos, recently. PHOTO: SAMUEL ADETIMEHIN.

Ifeanyi Eduzor

F

ormer chairman of Nigeria Premier League Board Chief Oyuiki Obaseki has charged the country’s sports administrators to put in place modalities that would uplift sports in the country rather than pursuing personal ambitions.

He told our correspondent that the protracted crisis that has engulfed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is based on personal ambition which if not checked, is capable of drawing the country’s football backwards, even as he urged the warring parties to sheath their swords.

“The crisis we are witnessing in the NFF is the longest so far in the football house and it is based on personal ego of the combatants.

“Their personal ego and ambition has continued to fuel the crisis instead of abetting it and it is a shame that the present sports administrators have allowed their personal interest to over ride the general interest of the country.

“The present crisis has given the gladiators bad name as well as created terrible image for the country.

It is unfortunate that the interest and passion which forms the bedrock of football administration in the country has been sacrificed for bickering, name calling and utter disregard for integrity and purposeful leadership,” he said.

Obaseki also noted that the Super Eagles failure to reach the quarter- finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup was because of administrative problem s which reared its ugly head in Brazil.

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi (left) and Chairman Oyo State Amateur Boxing Association, Baron Akintunde Opaleye (right) during a press conference ahead of the four states boxing tourney in honour of the monarch recently.

z on Dec 6 Afolabi to face Hernande British-based Nigerian cruiserweight boxer, Ola Afolabi (21-3-4,10Kos) will challenge for the IBF title held by Cuban Yoan Hernandez (29I, 14 Kos) on December 6.

The title fight which will be held at EWE Arena in Oldenburg, Germany will be the fourth for Afolabi who has lost twice and battled to a draw against champion, Marco Huck.

Afolabi, 34 who last fought in July where he recorded a third round knockout over Anthony Caputo Smith that represented his second consecutive win since losing by majority decision to Huck in June 2013 will be up against 29-year-old Hernandez

who retained his title for the fourth time by split decision against former champion, Firat Arslan on August before the mandatory fight against Afolabi was ordered as his next title defence.

Hernandez’s winning streak includes consecutive decisions over former RING 200-pound champion Steve Cunningham by sixth round technical decision in October 2011 and by unanimous decision in February 2012.

Although that fight was not an official eliminator, Afolabi is getting the shot because Hernandez’s mandatory defence is due and Afolabi is the IBF’s leading available contender.

er Pulev Klitschko hints at early win ov World heavyweight boxing champion Wladmir Klitschko has strongly dismissed Kubrat Pulev’s chances of becoming a real challenge.

Speaking ahead of his forthcoming title defence against Pulev, the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO champion noted that Pulev will be a weaker opponent than Alex Leapai whom he defeated in round 5 in his last title defence in April 2014, insisting

that he plans to knock out Pulev earlier than expected.

“Pulev is a serious and credible challenger and he ranks very high among the rest of the contenders, but I am sure I will defeat him earlier than people expect.

“I have watched most of his fights and his team has done a good job positioning him for the fight, but I hope to knock him out earlier than I did to Leapai,” he said.

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Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sunday November 2, 2014

I want to be world’s best player—Pogba game and your ambition.

The France team still has significant room for improvement. Can it reach its peak for UEFA EURO 2016 and win the tournament?

I hope we’ll be at our best in two years. Right now, we have a very good dynamic. We’re progressing well and we need to continue in this direction. We have to always want more. For now, we’ve managed to earn our place back in the hearts of the French public. Winning back the love that we’d kind of lost will help us a lot in the future.

I think the only obstacle that might stop me from continually

reaching high-

Pogba in action for Juventus

If there is one line that crops up in almost every conversation about Paul Pogba, it has to be: “And he’s still only 21.” The type of player to set tongues wagging, the young Juventus and France midfielder has been backed far and wide to reach stellar heights, with admirers pinpointing his superb technique and fearsome physical presence at 6’3.

Crucially, though, Pogba also has the self-belief and ambition needed to fulfill those lofty expectations. With two Serie A titles later, he is more important than ever to La Vecchia Signora, decorating his consistently excellent performances with moments of genius.

Pogba’s rise has been just as eye-catching at international level, with the youngster forcing his way into the senior team soon after helping the U-20s clinch the global crown in 2013. He then stood out during France’s run at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, where he earned himself the Hyundai Young Player Award. Picking up the trophy in Paris, Pogba spoke exclusively to FIFA.com about his pride and burning ambition to get to the top of his career.

For several years now, almost everyone has seemed convinced you will have a great career. Do you see this trophy as proof you are on the right track?

This is the path I need to follow, in any case. Football is all about consistency. You can get to the summit very quickly and drop back down again just as quickly. This prize is a very good thing to have, but I need to keep progressing and perform well in every game. I can’t predict the future, but I’ll do everything to win many more trophies.

I’ll continue working hard.

My goal is to be the best player in the world.

You have joined a select group of players to

Pogba

win this prize, including Michael Owen, Thomas Muller, Enzo Scifo, Pele and Franz Beckenbauer.

What does it mean to you to see your name alongside such great talent?

It’s not that I don’t feel like I belong in the same category - it’s just that I want to be even better than them (smiles). That’s one of my goals and winning this prize allows me to take another step.

But, like I said, this is just the start and I think the only obstacle that might stop me from continually reaching higher is myself. I need to keep progressing and I have to always want more.

Who do you see as currently better than you in your position?

I think there are lots of players still better than me, but it’s not up to me to worry about this sort of comparison. I try to do my job and be the best I possibly can. There are lots of midfielders I admire and watching them helps me improve. I could mention, for example, Yaya Toure, who has a similar size and physique to me but more experience. We have more or less the same playing style, even if he’s a bit more attacking than me.

Do you sometimes wish you could press pause and savour

er is myself.

I

need to keep progressing and

I have to

always want more

where your career has already taken you?

No, on the contrary. I’m able to savour it by winning trophies like this one and winning titles.

That’s the way I am: I always want more. It’s never enough; you have to keep going. I’m a winner and I don’t like to lose. I always set myself new objectives and new challenges. That’s what makes me progress and I need to keep that mentality. That’s just the way I am.

What are the differences between the Paul Pogba of today and the Paul Pogba from before the World Cup? The difference is a Paul Pogba who has grown up. A Paul Pogba who saw… not the World Cup slip away, but a childhood dream. The loss to Germany reinforced my desire to win a title with this France team, with my country. I felt myself grow up and I now have new goals and more ambition.

You play in a position with a lot of responsibility and people expect a lot from you with both club and country. Does knowing you have so much responsibility at the age of 21 influence your way of playing?

To be the best, you need to have pressure. At the moment, players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are always under pressure.

Sometimes you see that they’re not happy even when they score a goal. It’s that attitude which allows you to raise the level of your

What were the key moments in the development of the player you have become today?

Each change of club has been important: firstly Le Havre, then Manchester United and after that Juventus. The fact that I got to discover high-level football and share a dressing room with great players was a turning point. That gave me the desire to be one of the greats.

Which qualities and failings steered you towards the position you now play in?

Well, I know about my failings. I sometimes take risks that I shouldn’t. I also need to be able to manage my game over the full 90 minutes. I mustn’t play uniquely by instinct. Those are the things I have to pay attention to in my position, because it’s in midfield that you control the play, get the most touches on the ball and where you can change the rhythm of a match. We’re the engine of the team to an extent and we can’t afford to fall short.

Your former Juventus coach Antonio Conte and current France boss Didier Deschamps both played in midfield for Juve, like yourself.

Do you enjoy a special bond with them? Has either demanded anything specific from you?

Yes, without doubt. I’ve progressed with both of them. Didier Deschamps, for example, knows me very well and knows how to manage me. He helps me improve every day, whether it’s in training or in a match. He gives me the desire to give my best. He always gives me good advice and he’s very honest with me. As a player, you really appreciate getting trust and encouragement from your coach. What he tells me most is to “stay focused and keep things simple”, the way he used to do so well (smiles).

Is there a side to your personality that people do not know about?

The people who know me know I’m someone who likes to laugh, make jokes and get the most out of life. We have a great life and a wonderful job. We’re able to walk, and eat and drink to our heart’s content, which isn’t the case for everyone. We can’t complain. I’m just happy and content with everything that happens to me.

Sunday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Sunday November 2, 2014

63

Ambitious Courtois targets double

C

helsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has set his sights on a domestic and European double in his first full season at the club.

The Belgium international came agonisingly close to the feat last season in Spain with Atletico Madrid.

Courtois played a key role for Diego Simeone’s side as they defied the odds to beat giants Barcelona and Real Madrid to the La Liga title.

A famous double was on the cards, with Los Rojiblancos coming within seconds of winning the

Champions League against Real – only for Sergio Ramos’ stoppagetime header to level proceedings and allow their city rivals to go on and win 4-1 in extra-time.

Since his return to Stamford Bridge, which brought an end to his three-year loan spell with Atletico, the 22-year-old has helped Chelsea make a blistering start to both their domestic and European campaigns.

The Blues sit top the Premier League, unbeaten after nine games and four points ahead of second-placed Southampton. They also lead their Champions League group with seven points from a

possible nine.

Courtois, who has established himself as Chelsea’s first-choice keeper since his arrival, believes the double is achievable for Jose Mourinho’s runaway league leaders - citing their strength in depth as justification.

“We have the quality to reach the Champions League, and to win it but there’s other strong teams - Bayern, Barcelona, Madrid - so you need a little bit of luck not to play against them before the final,” Courtois said.

“We have the team to win the Champions League. So hopefully we could win both. Obviously, we

I’m not jealous of Man City, says Van Gaal

L

ouis van Gaal insists he has no reason to be jealous of Manchester City’s squad and says he has a “good feeling” about today’s derby.

Van Gaal has invested more than £150m of Manchester United’s money since succeeding David Moyes at Old Trafford in the summer.

But City won their second title in three seasons last May on the back of years of squad-building, and Manuel Pellegrini can call on two established internationals in almost every position.

All the same, speaking ahead of today’s clash van Gaal said: “I am not jealous of the squad of Manchester City.

“I am proud of my players and that is the most important thing

Van Gaal

and when we play like a team then we have a big chance to win.”

United have Wayne Rooney back from suspension as they aim to build on the promise of last weekend’s late draw against Chelsea, but they remain 10 points behind Jose Mourinho’s leaders and van Gaal admits his side are in need of a morale-boosting win.

“We are waiting on that boost because that can give you more than only the result,” he said.

“We have played very well

against West Brom and we played a draw against Chelsea, nobody expected that result but for me it was not enough and maybe the result against Manchester City shall give us that boost.”

City go into their home derby without a win in three games, and van Gaal will take United across town with a “good feeling” about the outcome.

“It is not the greatest moment of Manchester City,” he said.

“What we have seen of Manchester City in the last matches was not so good.

“We have a good feeling about this match. Our spirit is unbelievable. I think we shall grow and develop ourselves. We need a good result and it could be against Man City.”

have a very strong team to do it, not only 11 players but a very strong bench and even players who fell out of the team sometimes.”

Asked for which trophy he would prefer get his hands on, Courtois would not be drawn on his choice and instead challenged his team-mates to claim the most coverted prizes in the English and European football.

“The Premier League would be really nice to win. I played the Champions League final last year so I want revenge for that defeat and win the Champions League,” he added.

EURO BRIEFS

Menez: Milan must sharpen focus

Menez

Zubizarreta

A

ndoni Zubizarreta has rubbished claims Barcelona’s squad is too old and Coach Luis Enrique was not their first choice.

leaving the team to grow old, although admittedly the players we signed in the summer were experienced ones, with the exceptions of Ter Stegen and Douglas.

“But we are building a team for a season, not just one match.”

Enrique had led Barcelona to a brilliant start to the season before the Clasico defeat, as they went eight games unbeaten without conceding a goal.

The Catalan club remains top of La Liga with 22 points, ahead of second-placed Sevilla on goal difference, while Real Madrid (21) are third.

Rojo relishing Aguero clash

Rojo

M

arcos Rojo is bracing himself for a tricky afternoon when he attempts to nullify the threat of Sergio Aguero in today’s Manchester derby.

United defender Rojo knows all about Aguero’s prowess in front

of goal as the duo are international team-mates with Argentina.

Aguero has scored nine times in nine Premier League outings this season for defending champions City and Rojo is well aware that stopping the 26-year-old from adding to that tally this weekend is a big task.

“It’s crucial to defend well against Sergio,” Rojo said as he prepares for his first taste of a Manchester derby.

“Everyone knows he is a very fast player who can inflict damage.

“He’s very good at getting into dangerous positions. You need to be very focused and concentrated on his movement and be very

aware of where he is and where he might put himself.

“You need to do throughout the 90 minutes.”

A victory at the Etihad Stadium today would hoist United one point behind City.

Meanwhile, Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria has admitted that any friendships he has with Manchester City’s players will be forgotten during today’s derby.

The British-record signing will face Argentina team-mates Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis and Sergio Aguero at the Etihad Stadium as he looks to help the Red Devils to their first away win of the season.

AC Milan striker Jeremy Menez believes he and his team-mates must sharpen their focus to get back to winning ways in today’s home match against Palermo. The Rossoneri have lost just once this season and are riding a six-match unbeaten run.

Jardim: Monaco are not clinical enough

Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim was left to rue his team’s wastefulness in front of goal after Reims snatched a 1-1 draw in the principality. Jardim bemoaned another performance by his side where they were “not clinical enough” and called on his young forwards to take the next step in the absence of last season’s star attackers Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Emmanuel Riviere.

Jardim

Drogba’s form excites Mourinho

Zubizarreta unconcerned by ‘ageing’ Barca Enrique’s starting line-up for last week’s El Clasico included five players in their 30s and an average age of 28.7, but Zubizarreta was keen to underline Barcelona brought in 22-year-old goalkeeper Marc-Andreter Stegen and 24-year-old full-back Douglas Pereira in the close-season.

“It’s a temporary issue because if we had played the likes of Ter Stegen, Marc Bartra, Sergi Roberto and Rafinha then the average age would have come down noticeably,” he said.

“We have players in different age groups and we are not just

Courtois

Drogba

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is delighted that the club’s Didier Drogba gamble has reaped instant rewards. At 36, Drogba is very much in the twilight of a glittering career that has seen him become a Stamford Bridge legend after winning a cluster of silverware – including the UEFA Champions League in 2012 courtesy of his crucial goals in the final –during his first spell with the Premier League leaders.

Rummenigge ascribes Bayern’s success to Van Gaal Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says the club owes much of their current success to former coach Louis Van Gaal. The current Manchester United manager led the Bavarians for two years from 2009, coming within a Champions League final of sealing a famous treble, but he was sacked in 2011 following a third-place Bundesliga finish, however Rummenigge believes his impact is still being felt at the Allianz Arena.

Rummenigge

Marseille boss plays down players’ row

Marcelo

Marseille boss Marcelo Bielsa has insisted ahead of today’s Ligue 1 clash with Lens that his squad’s unity has not been affected by the controversy this week involving AndrePierre Gignac and Brice Dja Djedje. A bust-up is reported to have occurred between the two OM players during Wednesday’s 2-1 Coupe de la Ligue defeat at Rennes and continued the next day, with forward Gignac said to have punched defender Dja Djedje.

Gotze is every striker’s dream –Lewandowski Bayern Munich star Roberto Lewandowski says every striker in the world dreams of playing alongside a passer of the quality of team-mate Mario Gotze. The pair developed a profitable understanding at Borussia Dortmund before both departed the club for the Allianz Arena over the past two years, where they have resumed their partnership.

Gotze

N5

Vol. 4 No. 45

Sunday November 2, 2014

Back Page

Comment E-mail:

nwaunah@yahoo.com Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Dean, School of Languages and General Studies, The Premier University of Sao Tome and Principe

with Jim Unah

P

olitical prostitution borne of the desire for self-perpetuation in office is the rightful description for the spate of party defections involving politicians of most of the visible political parties—from the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Peter Obi; the Labour Party, LP, Olusegun Mimiko; to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Aminu Tambuwal. No one in the lot has advanced the proposal to improve the state of rail, road and power infrastructure in the country to promote rapid economic, industrial and technological development of the Nigerian State as the motivation for defecting from the party that brought them to power to the new political parties where they now stake their political destinies.

Differently stated, there is no evidence that the desire to improve the lot of the average Nigerian and promote the wellbeing and happiness of the citizenry is the motivation for jumping from one political party to another. It is rather either that the former political party that brought them to office could no longer guarantee their future electoral success and victory or that those had been schemed out of relevance in their former parties. Either way, the interest of the Nigerian public is not served by the

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N150

N I G E R I A

m, amount the New Agenda Group (NAG) donated for the office complex to support the gubernatorial aspirant in Cross River.

I N

F I G U R E S

N144

m, money the Federal Government earmarked for Agriculture equipment.

Beyond the Tambuwal defection

spate of party defection now disgustingly pervasive all over the place. This proposition is not new.

What is new is that the Tambuwal defection from PDP last week to the All Progressives Congress—APC—is generating so much hullabaloo and panic in the ruling party that caution appears to have been thrown to the wind by the law enforcement machinery of state. The Acting InspectorGeneral of Police has, according to reports, withdrawn the personal security details attached to Honorable Tambuwal’s office as Speaker of the House of Representatives; when indeed he had not been removed from or vacated that office. The panic in the PDP over Tambuwal’s defection to the APC is uncalled for. If the Speaker is wrongfully treated, it would amount to persecution and it could make him to begin to acquire undeserved national popularity; given his antecedents as ardent protector of corrupt legislators and self-serving legislations, often waging endless battles with the executive arm of government over Appropriation Bills and thus stalling the capacity of government to execute capital projects specified in the budget.

Besides, the APC is adjudged to be the most popular party in Sokoto State under which any serious politician seeking public office as governor could easily win election if nominated as flag-bearer. Thus, running true to type, Tambuwal’s political future as governor depends on his joining forces with the popular party in his state. This is not to suggest that personal survival as politician against loyalty and commitment to the party that brought him to limelight is proper and acceptable. The point rather

is that, if Aminu Tambuwal wishes to live like the Joneses, if he desires to join the bandwagon of survivalist politicians, why should he be persecuted; seeing that the ruling party now crying wolf had reaped bountifully from the nauseating spate of party defection making the rounds in the country?

Why is it right for a Mimiko to defect from Labour Party to PDP and retain office as Governor as well as his security details and wrong for a Tambuwal to defect from PDP to APC and lose his entitlements in office, including his security details? Why should the PDP even lose sleep over his removal as Speaker when indeed the other defectors to the PDP are not under pressure or being persecuted to leave office and lose their entitlements? What is bad should be roundly condemned by all, not rationalized because it serves our narrow group interest. That party defection is allowed under certain conditions by the 1999 constitution thrust upon the people by the military does not mean it is salutary to healthy democratic development. It is merely indexical of idiosyncratically wayward way of living and a manifestation of a characteristic national depravity of faithlessness, lack of commitment and political syncretism.

Now, beyond the Tambuwal defection, it is important to look at larger ethical issues involved in the emerging political culture.

Ethics is about the right social conduct. But the non-circumspective student of political conduct often celebrates superficial Machiavellianism in the false assumption that there is no morality in politics. To state that you can achieve an enduring political culture devoid of a sound ethical anchorage

is to juxtapose two things to laugh at each other. When the political master is done with his craft and cunning after throwing morality overboard, he returns to cry wolf when he is given the same dose of his political poison.

That is why the ethicist insists that there should be a concourse between politics and what is adjudged to be the right social conduct. You cannot throw morality overboard in your political manipulations and complain when other politicians apply the same tactic to out-wit or out-manipulate you. It is six the one, half a dozen the other.

What is good for a Mimiko or a Peter Obi should be good for an Aminu Tambuwal.

Once you have allowed that people can defect from one party to another, you cannot begin to cry wolf or adopt strong arm tactic to deal with those who apply the same rule against you. It is either that our constitution is recast to instill discipline in the political parties by making them to develop strong ideologies on which to induct members with accompanying disciplinary measures to keep them in check or you allow the present dispensation and apply the same rule to everybody who defects from one party to the other.

Honorable Aminu Tambuwal should be allowed to function as Speaker of the House having been elected by the House and not the PDP as a party. By being elected Speaker, Tambuwal has transcended ordinary party membership to the realm of statesmanship. He should be allowed to be with all his entitlements including security details; lest he should be transformed into a giant killer by the persecution of the PDP.

Setif crowned African champions • As Swiss footballer bags 50-year ban for attacking ref Newcastle’s Andrew Ekejiuba WITH AGENCY REPORT

A

lgerian club ES Setif got their hands on a second star after beating Congolese team AS Vita on the away-goals rule in the 2014 CAF Champions League Final decided yesterday.

After the first leg in Kinshasa ended 2-2, it was the North Africans who were crowned kings of African club football for the second time in their history after a 1-1 draw in Blida.

Setif adopted a cautious approach in the first half, knowing that the Congolese are good away from home.

After a goalless first half, Setif took the lead five minutes after the break through Younes Sofiane as he scrambled at the far post to turn home a cross from the right, but just four

minutes after that, Lema Mabidi pulled Vita level again with a cracking strike from 20 yards out.

Vita still had to score another goal to avoid defeat after Setif scored two away-goals in the first leg, but were unable to do so as Setif survived a tense final few minutes, meaning the Algerian side won on the away-goals rule after a 3-3 aggregate score.

It is the second title for Setif after their first African Cham-

pions Cup win in 1988. They are also the first Algerian club to win the competition since rivals JS Kabylie in 1990.

Setif will receive $1.5 million and represent Africa at the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco in December.

Meanwhile, in a separate game, a fourth division player in Switzerland has been handed a 50-year ban after kicking a ball in the referee’s face and then spraying him with water.

The defender Ricardo Ferreira of Portugal Futebol Clube was an unused substitute in the 1-0 defeat by SC Worb in the local Bern league. But it was not until after the match that he entered the fray, kicking the ball in the referee’s face and then hurling insults as the official made his way to the tunnel before squirting him with water.

Ferreira will be free to return to footballing activity on June 5, 2064, by which time he will be 78.

Perez shoots down unlucky Reds P. 60 PREMIERSHIP RESULTS

Newcastle 1 - 0 Liverpool Arsenal 3 – 0 Burnley Chelsea 2 – 1 QPR Everton 0 – 0 Swansea Hull City 0 – 1 Southampton Leicester 0 – 1 West Brom Stoke City 2 - 2 West Ham Today’s Matches Man City v Man United 14:30 Aston Villa v Tottenham 17:00 Monday, November 3, 2014 Crystal Palace v Sunderland 21:00

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