Businessday 13 may 2018

BDSUNDAY BUSINESS DAY

Sunday 13 May 2018

Market & Commodities Monitor Brent Oil

5yr Bond

$77.48

0.05 13.48%

Gold

10yr Bond

$1,321.50

0.15 13.39%

Cocoa

20yr Bond

$2,805.00

0.10 13.20%

inside INEC voter registration centres in Lagos

Vol 1, No. 217 N300

Morbid fear ahead 2019 Presidential aspirants lie low till July/August ZEBULON AGOMUO & CHUKS OLUIGBO

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ith the 2019 presidential election barely nine months away, and with many Nigerians increasingly expressing disenchantment and frustration with the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, expectations are that the polity would be getting bubbly with

We are in a dangerous time when people can no longer speak their mind

Opposition politicians shun interviews more credible candidates who want to take over from Buhari trying to make themselves known to the electorate.

Much of this, however, is not happening and BDSUNDAY has authoritatively gathered that this is because a good number of prospective presidential aspirants are keeping their ambition close to their chests for fear of being persecuted.

Informed sources said that some of those who are secretly nursing the ambition believe that they may be fishing in troubled waters if they should declare their

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Nigeria is like a mother whose breast has dried up and can’t feed her children – Bishop Osagie p. 18

Rights Issue, new customers propel Union Bank’s 2017 full-year profit to N25bn p. 35

L-R : Lamidi Adeyemi, Alaafin of Oyo; Rilwan Akinolu, Oba of Lagos; Sikiru Kayode Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland, his wife Olori Oluwakemi Adetona; Yetunde Onanuga, deputy governor of Ogun State and Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland at the 2nd annual lecture of the Professorial Chair in Governance at the OOU, themed, Civil Society and Governance in Nigeria’s Evolving Democracy 1999-2018 held at Ijebu ode Ogun State .

Benue bloodshed: Unanswered questions …and what indigenes think Ignatius Chukwu (Who Covered Makurdi For 22 Years)

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he ordinary Benue man (or woman) thinks the world is coming to an end.

Yes, they witnessed (or heard) of the Biafra or the Nigerian Civil War

that raged between 1967 and 1970; yes, they have witnessed several inter-communal clashes that took lives; and yes, they have had skirmishes with Fulani herdsmen that even led to bloodshed, but never in their existence have they faced such massive invasion and such level of fighting on their soil.

Look, the Benue man is pro-centre, and pro-North, and pro-Army. They have demonstrated this severally over the years. They have always demonstrated this in politics and even if they found themselves in the opposition, they would ‘correct’ that in the

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IssueOfTheWeek Will Oshiomhole right Odigie-Oyegun’s wrongs?

CHUKS OLUIGBO

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arring any last-minute change of mind by the kingmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole will emerge as the party’s national chairman when the ruling party holds its national convention in June or any other time it decides. The convention, which was initially fixed for May 14, was later put forward to a yet-to-be-announced date in June.

Given that the labour leader-turnedpolitician has the full backing of President Muhammadu Buhari, APC national leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the APC state governors, political observers say he would emerge as surely as daylight chases away darkness, and would be the one to lead the ruling party into the next elections.

Long before Oshiomhole formally declared his intention to vie for the position, word had travelled far that he was the anointed one who would be used to edge out John Odigie-Oyegun, the current national chairman.

Indeed, since he began to mend fences with Tinubu, Buhari has learnt to dance to the tune of the Jagaban. Some political analysts have said that Buhari’s rejection of Odigie-Oyegun and support for Oshiomhole was a way to please Tinubu, a national leader of the party who has never hidden his wish to get Odigie-Oyegun out of office.

On April 24, Buhari held a meeting with state governors elected on the platform of APC where he reportedly asked them to support and work towards Oshiomhole’s emergence as the next national chairman of the party.

“The president called this meeting with the progressive governors to ask them to back Oshiomhole’s candidature.

That’s the purpose of the meeting. That is the president’s position,” a presidential source told journalists on the night of April 24.

Similarly, some party stakeholders from the South-South zone endorsed Oshiomhole, a position which seemed to have divided the party, especially in Edo State, between Oshiomhole’s supporters and Odigie-Oyegun’s supporters. Both men are from Edo; both are former governors of the state.

While one group celebrated Oshiomhole’s endorsement, saying he was the right man because “we are going to war next year and we need a warrior in the form of Oshiomhole to lead the war”, the other group marched in protest against the endorsement.

Until the tides turned against him following Buhari’s sudden about-face over tenure elongation, Odigie-Oyegun was already euphoric that he would retain his position beyond the 2019 election.

After the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) on February 27 took a decision to grant one year extension to party executives at all levels, Odigie-Odigie had mocked those who predicted that he would be removed, calling them prophets of doom. Buhari’s shocking change of mind, however, had shattered Odigie-Oyegun’s daydream.

Buhari said his withdrawal of support for the tenure extension was to avert legal tussle and that he acted on the legal

Oshomole

advice he received from the Ministry of Justice, citing a breach of relevant sections of the party’s constitution as well as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

But while Buhari’s bombshell sealed Odigie-Oyegun’s fate, it paved the way for Oshiomhole. Although Odigie-Oyegun is free to re-contest, as are Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of science and technology, and Ken Nnamani, a former Senate president, who were earlier said to have shown interest in the APC national chairmanship position, political analysts say the battle is as good as won and lost.

So it was that after months of groundwatering, Oshiomhole finally declared his intention last Thursday, saying he was not contesting because there was failure on the part of the current leadership, but rather because the infusion of new blood and new ideas from time to time makes democracy work better.

Commending Odigie-Oyegun for the kind of leadership he has provided for the party over the years, Oshiomhole said, “Whatever anybody wants to say, I believe he chaired the party to victory in the 2015 election and history will record that in his favour along with other laudable things he has done to keep our party afloat up to this moment.”

Rochas Okorocha, Imo State governor and chairman of APC Governors’ Forum, described Oshiomhole as a dogged fighter, a man who can face challenges, and one who would strengthen the party if elected.

“I have no doubt in my mind that Oshiomhole when elected will show the way.

Oshiomhole’s coming in as national chairman of APC is bad news to other political parties,” Okorocha said.

But despite Oshiomhole’s charitable disposition towards Odigie-Oyegun, the APC national chairman has not had it easy as he has had to survive many banana peels along the way.

The national chairman had been severally accused by key party figures of lacking in transparency and accountability as well as engaging in financial indiscretions.

For instance, in a strongly-worded memo to the party’s National Working Committee dated January 17, 2018 and sent through the party’s national chairman, the six APC zonal chairmen raised four key areas of indiscretions against Odigie-Oyegun, which included the lack of transparency in the finances of the party, formation of ad-hoc committees, abandonment of the zones, and unilateral change of party structures.

Timi Frank, a former deputy national publicity secretary of the party, had also severally accused Odigie-Oyegun of mismanaging APC funds, saying the only way for the party to move forward was for the chairman to resign.

Odigie-Oyegun’s emergence as APC national chairman in 2014 had the full support of Tinubu and Oshiomhole, then governor of Edo State. In fact, Tom Ikimi, a former minister of foreign affairs and then top contender for the national chairmanship position with Odigie-Oyegun, while announcing his withdrawal from the APC after the convention that produced Odigie-Oyegun, had described the convention as a charade and accused Tinubu of hijacking the party. He had also accused the party’s governors of colluding with Tinubu to truncate democratic process at the national convention.

But Tinubu and Odigie-Oyegun were soon to fall apart following APC’s victory in 2015. Top on the list of Odigie-Oyegun’s sins is the allegation by the Tinubu camp that the party chairman sidelined their leader in the party affairs.

Subsequently, Tinubu and Odigie-Oyegun disagreed on several issues, including the election of principal officers of both houses of the National Assembly on June 9, 2015, where Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara emerged as Senate president

and House of Representatives speaker, respectively, as against the party’s preferred candidates Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila.

Both men also disagreed during the Kogi State governorship election crisis which propped up Yahaya Bello, who apparently had Odigie-Oyegun’s imprimatur, as against James Faleke, who was said to have had Tinubu’s support.

But it was the Ondo State governorship election of November 2016 that clearly defined the deep-seated acrimony between the two gladiators. While Tinubu rooted for Segun Abraham as his preferred candidate for governorship, Odigie-Oyegun had other plans. Eventually Rotimi Akeredolu, who did not have Tinubu’s support, emerged as the APC governorship candidate in Ondo.

Following this, Tinubu kicked against the primary election process that saw the emergence of Akeredolu and launched a scathing attack on Odigie-Oyegun, demanding his resignation.

“Oyegun’s comportment regarding the Ondo State primary will become the textbook definition of political treachery and malfeasance of the basest order.

Oyegun and his fellows seem to be on a different wave length. They are the cohort of Unchange,” Tinubu wrote.

And, most recently, after his appointment by President Buhari in February to head a committee to reconcile all warring factions in the APC, Tinubu wrote a letter to Odigie-Oyegun and copied President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Saraki and House of Reps Speaker Dogara.

In the letter, Tinubu accused OdigieOyegun of undermining his (Tinubu’s) efforts to reconcile aggrieved party members as assigned to him by the president.

He said “instead of being a bulwark of support as promised”, Odigie-Oyegun positioned himself “in active opposition to the goal of resuscitating the progressive and democratic nature of APC”.

He alleged that the national chairman was making efforts “to undermine my mandate by engaging in dilatory tactics for the most part” and breached the spirit of their discussion by taking it as a personal ambition “to thwart my presidential assignment”.

It was, therefore, not surprising that Tinubu would quickly commend Buhari for standing against tenure extension for Odigie-Oyegun and other members of the APC NWC. Now the die is cast, and even though Umar Ganduje, Kano State governor, has said President Buhari’s choice on who becomes the next national chairman of APC is his personal opinion and not an imposition in any way, political observers say if hindsight is anything to go by, Oshiomhole’s victory is a done deal.

The questions now are: What will Oshiomhole’s tenure as APC national chairman be like? Will the former Edo governor lead APC to victory in 2019? Will he be able to reconcile and unite all the warring factions in the APC, which many today still refer to as an agglomeration of strange bedfellows? Will he enthrone party discipline, internal democracy, and transparency and accountability in the handling of party finances? What will be his relationship with Tinubu? In short, will Oshiomhole right all the wrongs that Odigie-Oyegun has been accused of?

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Cover

Morbid fear ahead 2019 Continued from Page 1 intention now.

They alluded to the perceived intolerant disposition of the current administration which they allege has seen some members of the opposition moving in and out of courts over allegation of corruption.

A source who spoke with BDSUNDAY on condition of anonymity said many more presidential aspirants would join the fray in the months of July and August when politicking ahead of 2019 would be getting hotter.

“I am aware of some presidential aspirants who are yet to publicly declare their intentions for the simple fact that they may be hunted. Some of them have told me that we shall be seeing many of them as we enter the months of July and August.

Their fear is that should they declare now, they could be a subject of state attack and persecution in order to put them out of circulation,” the source said.

BDSUNDAY can also report authoritatively that many politicians, particularly of the opposition, are no longer willing to grant interviews. They allege that they could be subject of attack, especially with the Federal Government’s stance on the so-called hate speech.

Some prominent opposition politicians in the country contacted for interview by our correspondents over the past few weeks refused to talk. Indeed, a prominent politician of the opposition told our correspondent that Nigeria is passing through a dangerous phase and that it is worrisome that people are being muzzled to the point that they cannot air their views in a so-called democratic dispensation.

“We are in a dangerous time when people can no longer speak their mind.

Freedom of speech as enshrined in the constitution is no longer guaranteed,” said the politician.

He said the only reason a government would be so fearful and intolerant of criticism is simply because it has failed woefully and to avoid being criticised, it is employing the instrument of coercion and intimidation to whip everybody into line.

He added, however, that the government in power seems to have forgotten that no amount of intimidation can cow people; that the only way to stop people from talking is by doing what is right.

“The more you try to gag people, the more voracious they become in their criticism. My advice really to the APC government is to face governance by giving the people what they want. If the people begin to see and feel good governance, they will stop to criticise; but when you continue on the pathway of mediocrity, no amount of intimidation will stop them from verbalising their frustration,” he said.

“This administration is even lucky that Nigerians are not the rowdy type. We read and heard about the Arab Spring some years back, what started it was just a minor thing – in some cases, a slight increase in price of bread and all that. There are too many reasons for a Nigerian brand of that type of ‘spring’ here, but our people are very tolerant. But my candid advice is that the current government must not over-stretch its luck,” he added.

But outside of the political class, palpable fear has also pervaded the entire polity, akin to the 2015 scenario. Many Nigerians, BDSUNDAY gathered, are

President Buhari

not very optimistic that the 2019 elections would be free, fair, credible, and violence-free.

Those who spoke with our correspondent point to the apparent desperation among politicians – those who want the incumbent administration out of office and those who want to retain their seats by all means. For many, 2019 may well be a do-or-die affair.

Recall that the 2015 general election had generated so much fear and tension that many were almost very sure that there would be post-election violence.

The apprehension was borne out of the 2011 experience where over 800 persons, including 10 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), were reported to have been killed in the North during the violence that trailed the 2011 general election.

Human Rights Watch, an international non-governmental organisation that conducts research and advocacy on human rights, had reported that deadly election-related and communal violence in northern Nigeria following the April 2011 presidential voting left more than 800 people dead, adding that the victims were killed in three days of rioting in 12 northern states.

According to Human Rights Watch, the violence began with widespread protests by supporters of the then main opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, “a northern Muslim from the Congress for Progressive Change, following the re-election of incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the Niger Delta in the south, who was the candidate for the ruling People’s Democratic Party”. It said the protests degenerated into violent riots or sectarian killings in the northern states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara, with relief officials estimating that more than 65,000 people must have been displaced.

“The day after the presidential election, held on April 16, Buhari’s supporters launched demonstrations in the streets of northern Nigeria. The protests turned vio-

lent in 12 northern states as mobs burned the homes, vehicles, and properties of ruling party stalwarts, most of whom were Muslim, and traditional leaders who were seen to have backed the ruling party,” Human Rights Watch reported.

“The rioters also began targeting and killing Christians and members of southern Nigerian ethnic groups, who were seen as supporting the ruling party, and burning churches across the north. As the riots spread, mobs of Christians in predominately Christian communities in Kaduna State retaliated by killing Muslims and burning their mosques and properties,” it said.

Corinne Dufka, then senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, had also said the presidential elections were heralded as among the fairest in Nigeria’s history, but they also were among the bloodiest.

“The newly elected authorities should quickly build on the democratic gains from the elections by bringing to justice those who orchestrated these horrific crimes and addressing the root causes of the violence,” Dufka had said.

Indeed, the Federal Government Panel on the 2011 Elections Violence and Civil Disturbances headed by Sheikh Ahmed Lemu had, in its report submitted in October 2011, identified provocative utterances by many individuals as part of the causes of the post-election violence.

“Provocative utterances by many individuals and the widespread charge by prominent politicians, including the CPC presidential candidate, to the electorate to ‘guard their votes’, ‘appeared’ to have been misconstrued by many voters to include recourse to violence which they misconstrued,” the report had said.

Buhari had, however, denied making inciting utterances, saying that the panel and the government were executing a pre-determined agenda since PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan had earlier accused the CPC of being responsible for the mayhem even before the panel was raised.

With such nasty experience, therefore,

many politicians, company executives, top businessmen and other Nigerians with the means had begun to move their families abroad by late 2014 so as not to be caught up in the violence that they feared would erupt after the elections, even though many of them cited medical check-ups, short vacation, among others as reasons for their trips. Some also seized the opportunity of the 2014 Christmas holiday to move their families abroad till after the elections. In the same vein, many foreign investors, particularly portfolio investors, had also pulled out of the country, negatively impacting the Nigerian stock market.

To douse the tension, leaders of the country’s major political parties and their presidential candidates, including then President Goodluck Jonathan of PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of APC, had in January 2015 signed a peace pact committing to avoid actions that could promote violence during and after the polls – at an event that was attended by Kofi Anan, former UN secretary-general, and Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth secretary-general.

As 2019 approaches, with reported cases of small arms proliferation, high rate of hard drugs consumption particularly in the North, and widespread killings all across the country, the fears are back that the violence this time around could be worse than ever experienced.

“With the widespread killings by the Fulani herdsmen, the situation is worse now than in 2015. The herdsmen can decide to go on rampage to frighten prospective voters. I am not very optimistic that we are going to have a violence-free election,” Patrick Aghuo, a public relations practitioner, said.

“Remember that prior to 2011, Muhammadu Buhari had allegedly threatened that the dog and baboon would be soaked in blood if the elections did not go his way and we knew what happened then. Now that he has the instrument of power, he may decide to wield it in order to forcefully return himself to power. So, I am not very optimistic, really,” Aghuo said.

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L-R: Ramesh Biswal, assistant governor, Rotary District 9110; Kola Sodipo, incoming district governor, Rotary District 9110; Mary Beth Growney Selene, Rotary International President’s Representative; Adewale Ogunbadejo, district governor, and Funmi Ogunbadejo, first lady of the district, during the visiting of the Rotary International President’s Representative to Nigeria held in Lagos.

R-L: Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi , Ooni of Ife; Felix Mujakperuo , Orodje of Okpe Kingdom; Richard Oghenevwogaga Ebelle, Ovie of Agbarha Kingdom, and Cecilia Ibru, co-founder/president, Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, during the commissioning of projects and launching of Ten Billion Naira Endownent fund at Michael and Cecilia Ibru University at Agbahra-Otor in Delta State

L-R: Oluseyi Soremekun, National Information Officer, United Nations Information Centre, a pregnant mother, Helen Oboniye and Bamigbaye-Elutuyi, Marketing Manager, Home & Hygiene, RB West Africa, during Mortein Grassroot and Community Sensitisation exercise towards malaria in Akodo community, Ibeju-Lekki Lagos.

L-R: Israel Obatunde, director, Art; Olasunkanmi Atolagbe, head, HR; Adenike Odutola, team Lead, brands; Steve Babaeko, group CEO/chief creativity officer, and Folahan Salam, head of finance, all of X3M Ideas with the 12 African Cristal Festival Medals won in Marrakech, Morocco.

L-R: Anya O Anya, guest; Uganze Eze, founder/CEO, Fitnessfair; Inyang Anya, and Kalu Eke, group managing director, First Bank Nigeria Holdings Ltd, at the opening ceremony of Fitness Fair and launch of its website ‘fitnnessfairng.com’ held in Lekki, Lagos.

L-R: Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, general manager, enterprise marketing, Mtn Nigeria; Adekunle Adebiyi, sales and distribution executive, Ibrahim Sulaiman, The Man In The Box, Ferdinand Moolman, CEO, MTN Nigeria, and Lynda Saint-Nwafor, chief executive business officer, MTN Nigeria, at the unveil of MTN’s new business solutions focused campaign themed Man In The Box in Lagos, recently.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

L-R : Adebisi Okubanjo, Obiri of Aiyepe Ijebu; Sam Amuka, publisher, Vanguard Newspapers; Ayo Adebanjo and Biodun Shobanjo, chairman, Troyka Holdings Limited. at the 2nd annual lecture of the Professorial Chair in Governance at the OOU, themed, Civil Society and Governance in Nigeria’s Evolving Democracy 1999-2018 held at Ijebu ode Ogun State , recently.

L-R Olatunji Ayanlaja, chairman, board of trustees, ; Ayo Olukotun, chair holder, , Folu Aderibigbe of Globacom, Stella Olukotun ,and Anthony Asiwaju ,chairman of the occasion, at the 2nd Annual Oba SikIru Adetona Professorial Chair Lecture of the Olabisi Onabanjo University sponsored by Globacom on Thursday in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

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Abia govt advised to involve youths in SMEs policy draft committee UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia

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biaStategovernment, particularly Ministry of SMEs Development, has been advised to involve youths actively in the on-going SMEs policy draft committee as they are identified as key stakeholders in this sector.

The advice was given by participants in a one-day workshop tagged ‘Abia Youths’ Dialogue with Government Agenda’ in Umuahia, organised by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), South Saharan Development Organisation and supported by DFID and OSIWA. In a communiqué raised by participants at the end of the workshop, participants collectively formed a youth

advocacy group to take advocacy to the Commissioner for SMEs Development and other policy makers in the state on the need of involving the youth process in planning process and implementation of Abia state programmes to ensure holistic participation of youths and transparency in selection of beneficiaries.

It noted that this move would ensure that merit remains the standard of selection and also discourage using SME programmes as political patronage as many beneficiaries not be able to pay back the loans.

It also observed that the development of hubs and incubation centers should be seen as sacrosanct to SMEs growth in Abia State.

That Entrepreneur training, education and financing should be seen as key in capacity building of SMEs.

That Government should reduce and harmonise revenue collections and taxation, especially start-up businesses.

That Loan interest rates for startup businesses should be subsidised. The issue, such as the power sector, should be addressed to enable SMEs thrive in Abia State.

It further stated the need for creating strong institutions that are key to achieving credible SME development in Abia State while government must provide service-oriented marketing capacity and efficiency.

It also advised government to build a data-base to capture new and old SMEs in the state and develop clusters from development agencies in different areas to monitor the quality and standard of goods churned out and also develop a plat-

form where they can access loans at 1percent interest rate, among others.

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trange larvae have invaded over five thousand cocoa farms in Irruan area of Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State, eating up virtually all the green leaves of the plant and killing most of them.

The infestation which started about a month ago has defiled all known insecticides by farmers to destroy the larvae stage of an unknown insect.

Our correspondent who visited some of the affected farms in the area observed that hundreds of thousands of cocoa plants no longer

have green leaves as they have all been consumed by the larvae which were seemingly hyper active at night.

Apart from the leaves being consumed, the green pods as well as the okra stages of cocoa have been seriously affected.

Also destroyed were pear, mango, plantain, cola nut and other economic trees inhibiting fruiting and destroying the ones with fruit.

Consequently, cocoa production in the area has dropped drastically from over thirty thousand metric tons to less than twenty percent affecting the cocoa farmers in most unprecedented manner.

Emmanuel Enyia, who is a major cocoa merchant in Boki, said that the disaster has affected his business as he could no longer meet up his stock. He lamented that most farmers who got soft loans from him for cocoa beans may find it difficult to repay the loans.

A farmer, Thomas Bisong said that he had lost virtually all his farms to the disaster and that it may take him up to four years to recover.

Charles Akpere said that the aggressive larvae seem to defile all chemicals and that an urgent study must be done to curtail the menace.

Michael Akan said ten of his cocoa farms of several acres have been destroyed

by the infestation and that the trees were dying rapidly. He appealed to the state government to urgently intervene and attract national and international attention to attack the larvae.

Kate Okpata and Thomas Osang called for relief such as fertilizer and the right insecticide to combat the caterpillars.

Assessing the disaster, the Director-General of Cross River State Emergency Management Agency SEMA, John Inaku said that the governor’s attention as well as the National Emergency Management Agency would be drawn to the crisis with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem.

‘Nigerian leaders are spiritually poor, not helping economic growth, development’ BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA Osogbo

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Professor of Economics, L a b o Po p o o l a has described as “spiritually poor” many people elected into positions of authority in the country, hence why many of them have failed to make a difference.

This is he said as he also condemned purported portrayal of graft as normal way of lifebymanyNigerians, especially the less-privileged.

Popoola spoke in Osogbo while delivering a paper entitled: “Public Lecture on Promoting Prosperity and Eradicating Poverty”, at an

event organised to mark 72nd birthday of chairman of Tuns Group, Tunde Badmus.

The Vice Chancellor, Osun State University (UniOsun), Osogbo, shared his recent experience with a roadside corn seller, who, openly glorified ill gotten wealth and wished her daughter had opportunity to steal public funds, posited that those stealing public funds are spiritually unsound people.

“The country is in this mess now because spiritually poor people are the ones giving opportunity to rule.

Whoever is spiritually poor will steal public funds.

“Another case is that of spiritually poor followers, who will see nothing wrong in stealing of public funds. I witnessed one recently when

I wanted to buy corn by road side.

“The corn seller, while I was waiting for her to roast those ones I selected, was praying for a young school leaver. She prayed that God would enable her steal public

Popoola

SMEs Development, various youth organisations, CSOs as well as the Media.

L-R: Justice Mikhail Oyafajo, New Customary Court of Appeal judges; Justice Tajudeen Abdulganiyu; Justice Abimbola Olatunji-Daniel; Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; and Chief Judge of the state, Justice Munta Abimbola, during the inauguration of the new judges, at the Governor’s Office, Ibadan... on Friday.

Photo: Governor’s Office

Lavae insets invade 5000 cocoa farms in Cross River MIKE ABANG, Calabar

In attendance were participants drawn from Ministries of Youth Development,

funds without being caught.

I was shocked to hear that,” the university don said.

To revive the nation’s economy, Popoola called for revitalisationoftheeducation sector, total rehabitation of infrastructural amenities, to reduce cost of living in the country and massive investment in agriculture.

HealsocalledonNigerians to spend less on frivolities, while they work more to earn honest, commensurate pay.

“Many people c o n d e m n e d Pr e s i d e n t Buhari when he said recently that some Nigerian youths want everything free. The president said nothing but the truth. Nigerian youths must work very hard to earn honest, commensurate pay,” Popoola concluded.

World Safety Day: BEDC urges compliance to safety standards

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enin Electricity Distribution Plc. (BEDC) has supported the celebration of the 2018 edition of World Safety Day with call on organisations to ensure strict compliance to the highest safety standards with a view to reducing occupational hazards.

Speaking as a panelist during the Safety Day celebration marked at Oba Akenzua Hall, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin recently, Gilbert Nweke, BEDC safety manager, listed some key responsibilities any organisation owes its workers in promoting a safe working environment.

This he said were providing a safe working environment for the workers, the needed tools and equipment to carry out the job safely, ensuring actions are taken to correct cases of hazardous conditions, making available the safety policy to workers and enforcing compliance with the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

According to him, safety measures adopted by BEDC includes collaboration with state governments to drive the campaign on the dangers of residing or performing commercial activities under power lines, enlightening the public on the need to imbibe safety culture while using electricity, substation fencing especially those in the commercial/public areas and residential quarters, on the job training of young graduates in partnership with Elizade University, Ilara Mokin, Ondo state and procurement of safety tools i.e. grounding

kits, earth mats, operating rods, neon testers, discharge rods among others for technical staff.

Valentina Okeigbemen, consultant pediatric ophthalmologist, UBTH, who also spoke, stressed the need to focus on the young worker because “our youth are our future generation and what affects our youth, affects our generations.”

Okeigbemen stated that the way forward was to create an ideal work environment- with safety measures in place, well designed work stations; adequately ventilated, appropriate lighting, provide safety gears for those working with dangerous machinery and proper tools for the job, give training on safety, safe work practices, work place hazards in the language they understand, teach safety and health skills and age appropriate tasksadding, “giving a drilling job to an individual below 18 years is not acceptable.”

Soji Olalokun, director, World Safety Organisation (WSO, Nigeria), in his opening speech, said: “As an international professional health, safety, security and environment organisation established to help assure healthy and safe working conditions for agencies, organisations, individuals and the general public as well as provide training, education, research and information related to the field of occupational, environmental, safety, the World Safety Organisation has keyed into this annual event as a way of promoting the objective of making safety a way of life worldwide.”

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News Rising oil price boosts Nigeria’s economy

New Imo CP reads riot act to politicians

ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

SABY ELEMBA, OWERRI

16 finalists battle for Goldberg’s Ariya Repete 2018 …As Mobil announces N13bn investments in A/Ibom ultimate prize SEYI JOHN SALAU

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6 finalists battled for the ultimate prize of the Goldberg’s Ariya Repete 2018 talent hunt focused on promoting indigenous Yoruba type of music genre called Fuji and Juju. Actor Odunlade Adekola announced the finalists selected by the Judges in Lagos after a rigorous screening process which lasted hours, as fans went agog in celebration.

The grand finale of Ariya Repete 2018 which held at the Trans Amusement park in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital yesterday, saw the winners of the Fuji and Juju categories walking home with a cash prize of N2 million each while the Winner of the drum and dance got N1 million only.

The 32 up and coming acts who slugged it out at the Lagos semi-final had emerged from a keenly contested quarter final round at AdoEkiti. They were all taken through the Ariya Repete Academy where they were groomed and mentored by some veterans in Juju and Fuji music, as well as drumming.

Of this group, five Fuji and Juju musicians, and six traditional drummers are progressing to the grand finale in Ibadan to compete for the N2 million cash prize for each category.

Goldberg’s Ariya Repete talent hunt is an initiative of the premium lager beer to develop and promote Yoruba traditional music including Fuji, Juju music and traditional drumming.

Emmanuel Agu, Portfolio Manager, Mainstream Lager and Stout brands, Nigerian Breweries said Fuji and Juju music are up for a rebirth with the quality of talent witnessed in the competition.

“For a long time in the 80s and early 2000s, Yoruba music enjoyed considerable global acclaim; however the emergence of Afro hip hop and other new wave musical genres being widely accepted by young people in Nigeria has negatively impacted Yoruba music in some ways.

Nevertheless, with the introduction of Ariya Repete which already is in its second year, the glory days of Yoruba music are here again and we at Nigerian Breweries as a pro-Nigeria brand are glad to be leading this resurgence,” said Agu. The successful contestants include Ayegbayo Oluwaseun, Bukola Ahmed, Ode Ayomide, Abiola Oloto, Asafa Oluwanisola, Wale Crown Femi Bright Ayotunde, Saheed Akande, Muhammed Adewale Sualimaon Ajao.

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he rise in the price of crude oil may have signaled a boost to Nigeria’s economy as Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), an affiliate of ExxonMobil and the operator of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC/ MPN) joint venture, has announced an investment of N13 billion in Akwa Ibom State.

The investments are in the area of community health, economic empowerment and education and are considered to be one of the largest community investments by any company in Nigeria.

It was gathered that the projects had been on the drawing board since 2014 and are being made possible by the rise in the price of crude oil which according to industry sources has resulted in optimism in the oil sector.

Specifically, the three projects include a technical skills centre in Ikot Akata, a trauma centre at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital and an engineering complex at the University of Uyo. Paul McGrath, chairman and managing director of

Ian Livesey, CEO, the Institute of Risk Management (IRM), and Robert Mbonu, CEO, Risk Management Consulting Resources (RMCIR). IRM recently announced the accreditation of RMCIR as the first licensed Fundamentals of Risk Management training provider (FoRM) in Nigeria.

MPN who announced this during the ground breaking ceremony at Ikot Akata in Mkpat Enin local government, said it was part of the company’s commitment towards a long term development of the state.

“These investments will provide long-term health, education and economic benefits to many in our communities. “We continue to work closely with the government of the Akwa Ibom State as part of our

commitment to communities where we operate and helping to improve quality of life,” McGrath said.

According to him, technical skills centre will consist of a three-block training complex for critical skills required in oil and gas careers, such as pipeline fabrication, welding, electrical works, chemical lab works, civil works and engineering design explaining that the centre is expected to train more than 100 students annually.

Group donates beddings, others to prison inmates in Abia UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia.

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n a bid to ameliorate the unpalatable health and living conditions of inmates of Nigerian prison, Joint Heirs Limited in partnership with Elegant Foam and Chemical Industries Limited has kicked off what it tagged ‘Prison Inmates Comfort and support Service Initiative’ (PICSSI), donating mattresses, bed sheets, pillows, toothpastes, and detergents, among others to inmates of Federal Prison, Umuahia, Abia State.

Adanma Ogumka-Ekeji, managing director of Joint Heirs Limited and the coordinator of the project while speaking during the hand-

over of the items said the ceremony was the commencement of a nationwide special care programme for inmates in Nigeria.

She said the project was targeted at ameliorating and improving the living conditions of prison inmates in Nigeria especially those awaiting trials.

“We believe that the dignity of every life must be preserved and the basic rights of every human being must be protected especially for those who for one reason or another found themselves behind bars, they must not be treated less or allowed to live like animals in cages,” Ekeji advised.

Emeka Maduka, managing director/CEO of Elegant

Foam& Chemical Industry Limited thanked the Assistant Comptroller-General, Nigerian Prisons, Obizue Valins for giving his group the opportunity to contribute to the welfare and wellbeing of the inmates under his care adding that “We are all stakeholders working together to improve the living conditions in Nigeria prisons.”

He noted that it was a common knowledge that government could not do everything, especially with the current economic situation in the country noting that those who were outside the prison walls were finding life very difficult let alone those behind the bars.

“Our intervention today, with the facilitating company, Joint Heirs Limited is to flag off this special Nationwide Prison Care Programme called PICSSI as an integral part of our Corporate Responsibility,” said Mmaduka.

Obizue Valins, the ACGP, Abia state thanked the donors on behalf of Comptroller General of Prisons for their kindhearted gesture for the inmates.

Furthermore, he said the trauma centre, which is to be housed in a two-floor medical complex, will help reduce mortality rates in major medical emergencies adding that the centre will include a resuscitation and burns room; a theatre suite; helipad; ambulance bay and triage area; high dependency and radiology units; mini labs; wards; pharmacy; administrative offices; library; and doctor, call and seminar rooms.

he new Commissioner of Police, Imo State, Dasuki Ga l a d e n c h i h a s warned politicians in the state to stay away from any action capable of breaching law and order in the state.

Galandenchi gave the warning at Police Headquarters Owerri while briefing a cross section of journalists in the state.

“I will not tolerate any nonsense or favour from any politician who causes breach of peace and order in the state,” he said.

Galadenchi said that as a seasoned police officer that he would work within the ambit of the law to protect lives and property of all citizens in the state.

The police boss said that he would introduce community policing in the state in line with the directives of the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.

Galadenchi, who said that he would protect all human rights in his activities however, sued for the assistance of all Imo citizens to actualise his visions and missions in the state.

Committee shifts Oyo APC LG congress to Sunday (today) Akinremi Feyisipo, Ibadan

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ue to the local government scheduled for Saturday May 12th (yesterday) this year, Oyo State All Progressives Congress has shifted the local government congress to Sunday (today).

The Congress Chairman, Musa Halilu-Ahmed, who disclosed this at a press conference on Friday, said that the shift became inevitable following the clash of the congress with the local government election being conducted by the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) the same day.

The press conference was attended by the State Chairman, Akin Oke; and other state executive committee members, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu; and other party leaders across the state.

He further explained that the restriction of movement during the LG election would pose a serious logistics challenge for the officials involved in the conduct of the congress, as well as candidates and delegates participating in the APC congress.

The chairman said that all the stakeholders, including the party’s leadership and security agencies agreed to the shift in the date of the congress Halilu-Ahmed said “We decided, backed with the decisions of the party stakeholders in the state and security agencies, that the local government congress should be postponed till Sunday. The restriction on movement on Saturday is a major reason if we are not going to infringe on the right of members to exercise their voting rights.

“We first called on the Commissioner of Police (Abiodun Odude) to intimate him about what we met on ground. He has related with his men and other sister security agencies and they said they would be constrained to provide manpower and other required components for the two events on the same day.”

The chairman urged party members interested in obtaining forms for the local government congress to visit the APC state secretariat, in Oke Ado, Ibadan, where he said that adequate security has been put in place for a hitch-free exercise.

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News

Fallout of APC Congress: Abraham begs Ondo supporters not to leave party YOMI AYELESO, Akure

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he runner-up in the September 3, 2016 governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Olusegun Abraham, has appealed to his supporters and stakeholders who were aggrieved over the outcome of the Ward Congress in the state, not to dump the party.

Some party members across the 18 local government areas of the state have threatened to dump the party because of what they called unfair treatment during the last Saturday ward congress in the state.

They also accused the Congress Committee led

by Hon. Komsol Longgap of conniving with the leadership of the APC at manipulating the exercise in favour of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu loyalists at the detriment of other party members.

But in a statement issued to journalists in Akure, the state capital, Abraham described the congress as “another show of shame and another form of corruption that has become the Iroko

Abraham

tree in Ondo State.”

Abraham said, “We can see from the last election that these people are so timid and know that they are unpopular to the extent of running away from democratic process of electing officers into our various wards.”

According to him, “They didn’t allow the forms to get to those that have paid. Only one or two people in their midst paid for the forms and began to writes names of their people into it to fill the wards positions.

“It is a clear cut indication that they are not on ground.

It shows that they are fake and their administration is fake. They think they have conquered now, but I tell you, Comrades, leaders, that we should not be weary and lose hope because when the wicked prosper, it is for their destruction.”

Abraham, who is challenging the emergence of Akeredolu at the Federal High Court in Abuja, however, urged the party supporters not leave the party, assuring that he would soon retake the party at the appropriate time.

His words: “Do not leave the party because, we shall retake our party at appropriate time. We know that God will give us victory at the appropriate time. Stand up for God. “Those who stand up for justice can never be disgraced but those who embrace injustice would become the foot note of history. One with God is majority. I appealed to all our supporters in the state and outside the state to be law abiding.

“These people have the brawl but we have the brain, they have the power but we have God. Our God is a God that pays back those who sow bitterness into the society.

Experts seek private sector partnership to harness demographic dividends Josephine Okojie

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ith a population of 198 million people, growing at 3.2 percent, Nigerian experts are seeking the partnership of private sector players to harness the potential of the country’s demography.

Nigeria’s population is rising rapidly, characterised by young demography, but marred by high unemployment and dependency ratios that continue to slow economic growth and development.

To accelerate changes in the age structure of the Nigerian population and reduce the dependency ratio, experts want private sector partnerships targeted at investing in the youths to enable them reach their full potential.

Investments in good health and education are among the most significant factors in ensuring transformation from this demographic change, the experts say.

“The population of Nigeria is increasing rap-

We are determined to teach people how to fish for themselves – Omotola Chinwendu Sunday

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etermined to pull out many Nigerians from the abyss of hopelessness and poverty, by training them to fend for themselves and become financial independent, ebootCamp Company, specialist in skills development, has said it had scheduled entrepreneurial training programme, targeting one million Nigerians.

Speaking at a media event in Lagos to announce the birth of the programme, Lai Omotola, chancellor/ CEO, e-bootCamp Company, said it has become very imperative for Nigerians, especially the youth to think entrepreneurship.

Omotola noted that it was no longer fashionable to depend on handouts from paid employments, particularly at a time when companies themselves are struggling to stay afloat. He said he had all it takes to teach people how to fish for themselves rather

than being given fish.

“Announcing the theme of the training ‘Think Entrepreneurship’, the CEO said: “This is the target of the think entrepreneurship training programme we are introducing today to get 1 million people to commence entrepreneurship and in the next 10 years produce businesses that are in billions turnover. We will demystify entrepreneurship

and make it friendly. Our belief is that if we can positively change the mindset of the Nigerian entrepreneur then we can build the most robust economy.”

He further explained that Nigeria is blessed with intelligent individuals who can make a mark if they decided to take up their own businesses, but were held back by fear.

idly and we need to control the size at which the population is increasing and improve our life expectancy. The government cannot do it alone; the development partners cannot do it alone ,” Sylvia Adebajo, country director, Population Council said at Nigeria’s first Private sector Conference on Demographic Dividend in Nigeria held yesterday in Lagos.

“We need to engage the private sector to contribute to the development of our human capital to achieve demographic dividend,” Adebajo said.

According to the experts, the barriers of the country’s demographic dividend start from the transition of the population.

“The shape of the population of any nation determines its level of development and demographic dividend is not automatic, it has to be planned for,” Osaretin Adonri, assistant representative, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representing Diene Kieta, country representative, said.

“We must create the

population structure that we want and that structure must be the one that has more of our population working than the percentage that is dependent.

“To be able to increase the population that is working and reduce the dependent population we must start from planning the population and that is where family planning is very important,” Adonri said.

Also speaking, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, headsustainability, Access Bank said “Demographic dividend is a deliberate thing. It has to be planned, invested and harnessed.”

“The public sector and the private sector both have their roles to play.

So it is important that there are collaborations to achieve demographic dividends,” Victor-Laniyan said.

“About 65 percent of our population are youths, they are the future so investing significantly in them while supporting them to maximise their potentials clearly would result in economic growth,” she added.

Nigerian goods are not inferior to foreign goods - Bidemi Kosoko Omotola also lamented that many people have had their fingers burnt by approaching their businesses in wrong way.

“Finally, with the potentials we have in our country if we are able to liberate the entrepreneurial spirit in this country then in the next two decades Nigeria should be number 5 largest economy in the world,” he said.

The Chancellor/CEO, e-bootCamp Company, Mr. Lai Omotola (middle); flanked by the General Manager, General Services, Emmanuel Malagu (left) and the Marketing Officer, Alara Kazeem, during a media briefing by the company on entrepreneurship seminar, at the company head office, in Lagos

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idemi Kosoko, acting as Jumoke in the wave making television sitcom, Professor Johnbull , has said that made in Nigeria goods are not inferior to foreign goods. In another interesting episode to be aired on Sunday 6.00 p.m. with repeats on Tuesday and Friday by 8.30 p.m., Professor Johnbull will lampoon the attitude of Nigerians who believe that goods produced outside the shores of Nigeria are superior to those made in the country.

The drama series, sponsored by telecoms firm, Globacom, is aired on Sunday on DSTV Africa Magic Family, GOTV Channel 2 at 6.00 p.m., NTA Network, NTA International on DSTV channel 251 and NTA on StarTimes at 8.30 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday. Anambra Broadcasting Service airs the same episode at 8.30 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday.

The new episode, entitled Made in Nigeria, calls for a change of attitude

towards made in Nigeria goods and services. Using humour and satire, the cast of the drama showed that made-in-Nigeria goods are not inferior to their imported versions.

Globacom encouraged all television viewers to watch the thrilling episode.

Those who tune in will find out if the price of a product determines its superiority?

What made Jumoke to storm out of a party and what does her action have to do with Nigerian made goods and foreign goods?

What is so gripping about Jumoke’s closing remarks and her new intellectual chemistry with Professor Johnbull acted by veteran Kanayo O Kanayo.

The new episode features Professor Johnbull, acted by Kanayo O. Kanayo, Jumoke (Bidemi Kosoko), Elizabeth (Queen Nwokoye), Flash (Stephen Odimgbe), Jeroboam (Osita Iheme), Ufoma (Bimbo Akintola) and Abadnego (Martins Nebo).

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Perspective

APGA: The odds favour Frank Nneji

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AMANZE UBOCHI t appears Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State is already catching the joke. Yes, Okorocha is getting the inner feeling that the era of cluelessness as his regime exemplified in the nearly eight years reign in Imo State will soon be over.

He is already feeling that despite the grandstanding and desperation to have a surrogate take over the reins of power from him in 2019, it may not be a walk over after all.

Okorocha is getting the message very succinctly that not even the huge amount of money he has stashed away for the 2019 election, which many Ndi Imo believe is their money, will buy succession and continuity for him and his stooges as the governorship election draws closer.

Forget that Okorocha has mischievously (but I think it is more of foolishness) allocated elective positions to some equally desperate persons ahead of even his own party primaries, all are indications of what is about to befall the team – political doom and damnation.

Except Okorocha’s co-travellers lack understanding of what the governor had done, raising people’s hands as his preferred choice for certain elective positions in Imo, Imolites are daily getting wiser about the fraud that is their number one man and will respond at the right time. Soonest too.

But interestingly, Okorocha is suddenly beginning to see the hand writing on the wall. He is coming to terms with the awareness that the political gerrymandering he has been instigating among some politicians from Imo, mainly those in the National Assembly and some in his cabinet, will come to naught when Imo people decide next year.

Why do I think so?

Recently, while Okorocha was admonishing the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Diocese, Anthony Obinna for rebuking him over bad governance and subtly advising Ndi Imo to reject him and his front in 2019, Okorocha accused Bishop Obinna of plot to install an All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate in Imo. As I read Okorocha’s accusation against Obinna, I almost fell down laughing out. Reason: Okorocha seems to have forgotten a popular Igbo adage that says the hand used in preparing chicken dish is also the same hand that will be used to prepare the dish of guinea fowl.

The question is: Why is Okorocha afraid of APGA, the same party that brought him to power in 2011 when all his political calculations, in the past, to reign in Imo had failed before APGA adopted him and made him governor?

Well, this is not the time to talk about the politics of Okorocha’s choice as APGA candidate for 2011 Imo governorship election.

Today, Frank Nneji is the issue because it seems God’s light is shinning so bright upon him as the man he wants to use to rescue Imo from the clutches of wicked, greedy, corrupt and politically exposed thieves masquerading as their Excellencies, Senators and Honourable members from Imo as we saw them recently when Okorocha unveiled them, raising their filthy hands up as his preferred candidates to continue with the systematic pillage and thievery.

Many people have heard about the man, Frank Uzoawuotu Nneji.

Yet, a lot more are familiar with him as the figure behind amazing successful companies – Rapido and ABC Transport (otherwise called The Associated Bus Company Plc), among others.

For me and for so many others, Frank is the front runner aspirant in APGA for the Imo governorship contest in 2019. He, from all indications, will emerge the APGA candidate for that election next year if the leadership of the party obeys the voice of reason. I will return shortly on APGA leadership and voice of reason.

There are other APGA governorship aspirants though – the politically-ambitious, not-too-serious, pretenders and stooges – but the credential which Frank parades, and coming into the race with, is obviously what Imo State which has fallen into the hands of criminallyminded politicians over the years needs today to reclaim its glory.

Perhaps, the time has come for Imo to be brought out of the deep cesspit it has found itself as a result of the pillaging that all manner of persons who called themselves governors consigned and subjected the state to since the return of democratic governance in 1999.

Many think that no time is better imagined to have a Frank in the saddle than now. Even an Okorocha would have loved to field a Frank Nneji were the latter to be in the same political camp with him. As far as those who know what good governance means are concerned, there has not been anything of such in Imo since 1999.

What those who reigned over Imo thought of governance was nothing but farming where they saw the state as a farmland and they all invaded it with their different implements and used same to pillage as much resources as they could lay their hands on. Some were so dastard and ruthless in their style that they even had the effrontery to vandalise existing infrastructure put up by the likes of former governor Sam Mbakwe.

To say that the situation progressed from bad to worse is an understatement. In fact, events came to a head with the coming on board of the Okorocha era with its deceptive mantra – Rescue Mission – that actually imprisoned, castrated, impoverished and psychologically devastated and devalued Ndi Imo instead of rescuing them.

But it appears God wanted Ndi Imo to learn the hard way first, before unveiling to them a man with what looks like a divine mandate, and who has the capacity, humility, industry, perseverance, tolerance, and integrity to help bring the state back on track and on the trajectory of development in line with the dream of the her founding fathers as ably demonstrated by late Mbakwe, the first civilian governor of Imo when he was in the saddle between 1979 and 1983.

A brief profile of Frank who holds the Federal Government of Nigeria, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) as captured by Bloomberg is quite apt and revealing of the man jostling for the APGA ticket.

Bloomberg wrote: “Frank serves as the Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director and Director of ABC Transport Plc (a/k/a, Associated Bus Company Plc). Mr. Nneji served as the President of Owerri Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OCCIMA) from 2000 to

Okorocha 2003 and has also represented the transport sector as a pioneer Member of the Board of Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).

“He has won many awards for his innovation and successful business initiatives, a few of which are the Outstanding Young Person of the Year award in 1997 from Nigerian Jaycees; 2001 Fate Model Entrepreneur of the Year Award for creating excellence and ethics in business from Fate Foundation; Silver Jubilee Award from the Imo State Government for distinguished contribution to the development of Imo State also in 2001.

“Mr. Nneji is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), UK, and a recipient of the National Honour of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON). Mr. Nneji holds a B.Sc in Zoology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1982. He passed through the Chief Executive Programme of

from his campus business (a huge sum at the time), which he saved and invested in another venture.

Frank was one of those who tapped into the purchase of student rebate ticket sold then by the national carrier – Nigerian Airways – and with that travelled to Italy to buy items like T-Shirts, belts, jeans, and a lot more, which he resold in Nigeria to make money.

Frank married his fashion and education business together while in the university and by the time he graduated at age 23, he already had some money with which to go into the world of business, full time.

Rapido which today is an household name in the country and outside with regard to audio-visuals and other educational materials, was the product of deft business sense that saw Frank saving money on campus and during his National Youth Service Corp (NYSC).

Like Rapido, ABC Transport that Frank founded was a product of observation of the poor manner public transportation was being carried out in the country when he was jumping from one bus to the other trying to grow his business. From poor management to mannerless, illiterate drivers, conductors and staff, and to completely disorganised transport system, Frank thought he could offer Nigeria a better deal. And he did as his ABC transport ushered in a system that was alien but summarily helped to set the agenda for would be transporters in the country.

All that Frank needed was a loan of N1.5 million from Diamond Bank and he got it because the bank

Frank Nneji the Lagos Business School (LBS), Nigeria, and Wharton Business School, USA.” Born in April 30, 1960 in Kaduna to a retired soldier and retired nurse from Ezuhu Nguru, in Aboh Mbaise Local government area of Imo State, Frank started early to show signs of independence, industry and entrepreneurship.

His business acumen actually showed up as an undergraduate.

Frank would collect past questions of courses being taught from the records office of his university, UNN, repackage them, and sell for a fee to his co-students. As a student union official, he also used his car on campus to ferry students to places of choice for a fee.

At a time when money had value, Frank in 1980 was able to raise N500

was impressed with his comprehensive business proposal on how to turn the transport system around using ABC. Today, ABC Transport has become a conglomerate multi-million dollar business with no fewer than 1,200 people in its employ. It is on record that ABC is the first transport company of its kind to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with subsidiaries like ABEX services and City Transit (hospitality for travellers), and a 50 per cent stake in Transit Support Services (a trading company engaged in the importation, sales of vehicles spares, installation of motor vehicle speed governing devices, and the assembly of heavy duty trucks).

ABC Transport is known both in Nigeria and the West African Coast and has attracted the attention of

equity investors, with Capital Alliance Private Equity (CAPE) acquiring a 30 per cent stake in 2004.

The above narrative on the business acumen of Frank is a necessary guide to the leadership of APGA that will soon play a critical role in who flies their flag in 2019 for the Imo governorship race.

If feelers coming from the APGA leadership camp is anything to go by, they seem to be torn between Frank and other aspirants like Okey Eze, Uche Onyeagocha, Steve Nwoga, Nick Oparandudu, among others. Many even say some of the aspirants have “pricked the conscience” of the APGA National Chairman, Victor Oye. Truth be told, there should be neither controversy nor guessing about who ought to be picked as the APGA governorship candidate for Imo. Yes, the party in Imo has become the beautiful bride as many unprincipled politicians in the state like Oparandudu and Onyeagocha of this world who want to use APGA as a platform to re-launch themselves into political reckoning have defected to the party, but the Oye-led National Working Committee (NWC) of APGA must be wiser now.

Not even Okey Eze believed to be very close to Oye and has boasted with that relationship, and as the one funding the party in Imo, should be compared with Frank at this point in time.

No time is better than now for Oye to put on his thinking cap. He should be reminded that aspirants who are leasing vehicles to flag off their intention and those buying and distributing vehicles in their numbers just to impress the APGA leadership and their followers will go the way of Okorocha that APGA brought on board in 2011 that Imo people today want to get rid of for his colossal failure.

Many Imo leaders of thought have sighted Frank Nneji’s comprehensive plan on how to pull the state out of the wreckage Okorocha and his team of opportunists caused it and they are satisfied with what they saw.

All that is expected from Oyeleadership of APGA is to respect the voice of reason. And a lot of us make bold to say that the other aspirants may not be as prepared as Frank and should not be trusted with the APGA ticket now, else it would be counter-productive.

Success they say only comes to those who are prepared to take on challenges. Frank is fully prepared and the least the APGA leadership should do is to be a cog in the wheel.

Frank is set to take on the next big opportunity. He is seeing solutions where others see challenges and disappointments on Imo predicament. He wants to try something new regardless of what it will take.

Those who genuinely mean well for Imo are pleased with his agenda and would be glad to see APGA leadership field their best of bests for Imo. For me, it won’t be bad to trust Imo in Frank’s hands today going by his business journey that is replete with remarkable successes, his austere background, humility, resilience and sense of responsibility.

Any APGA candidate lacking in these characteristics for the governorship contest in Imo will spell doom for the party. .Ubochi, a political analyst contributed this piece from Owerri.

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News Feature

Modupe Oyekunle group leads Rivers’ market women to fight off revenue violence * Charter of demand submitted to Gov Wike * Lawyers file out to fight for women traders * Male traders beg to be protected too * Market women remember the days of Mary Odili, say nobody cares anymore for them IGNATIUS CHUKWU

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arket women in Rivers State have cried for long over alleged incessant attacks and violent ways of extracting levies and fees from them, with bloodshed often the outcome. Now, they seem to have got a defender, a national figure in the person of Modupe Oyekunle, national president of the NECA Networkwork of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW).

Recently in Port Harcourt, Oyekunle joined hands with other top women in the society to present what has come to be known as the ‘Charter of Demand’ to Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State emphatically demanding an end to violent collection of levies in market and an end to multiple taxes and general violence against market women.

The NNEW national boss said the aim was to create the environment for women to pursue entrepreneurship and improve from micro and small to medium scale businesses.

NECA is the National Employers Consultatives Association and it formed NNEW to create a powerful women’s wing that tries to mobilise in the micro, small and medium scale businesses (MSMEs) around Nigeria.

The national boss lined out with others to read out the demands. The first is a demand for the Rivers State government to step down the electronic colletion of levies up to local council fees and enthrone a cashless method. She explained thus: “We want them to streamline levies and fees collected from the informal sector. We want them to eliminate the activities of illegal internal revenue agents so that the women would know who collects what. There are people that want to know what to do and comply. We are talking to the executives of the market women to show good examples.”

The charter also demanded for the passage of the Tax Harmonisation Bill of 2017.

“We want the Government to put in place an administrative procedure of dealing with incidents of harassment of women in their business premises. This should be domiciled in the Ministry of Women Affairs and National Human Rights Commission. The last is, we want them to domesticate the Violence

Top women reading the Charter of Demand

Against Women Act as recommended by NNEW and their collaborating clusters.

These are the four critical demands we have placed on the Rivers State government, with the aid of USAID, PIND, Lawyers associations and other groups that have come together to demand for this. This is a call for action to the action governor,” she said.

In an exclusive interview with BDSUNDAY, Oyekunle, who energises NNEW offices in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Ogun, said the body was glad with what is happening in Port Harcourt especially in raising generations of successful female entrepreneurs. “We are here to do advocacy on BEE, meaning Business Enabling Environment for the women in the informal sector.

We also advocate for women to support other women, and we also call for policy change. We are saying, let women not be harassed, and there should be no multiple taxes. The reason someone is selling pepper is because she wants to survive. We want them to go from the level of survival to medium scale enterprises but if taxation is too much, how would they survive? Let the government streamline these things so that the women can survive.”

She went on: “We are also talking to the women to obey the law. We are not raising lawless women but we are training them.

L-R: Modupe Oyekunle, national new president and Temitayo Ojesanmi, Port Harcourt NNEW chairperson.

We are telling them, look, if you want us to go talk to the government, you must also do what is right. Anybody that goes to equity must come with clean hand. We are calling on the government to say please, look in this direction because if you train one woman, you train a nation. The women say the only time government people recognise their existence is during electioneering campaigns.

We want that to change. We want a sustainable relationship.” She assured of measures to regularly evaluate achievement made in the campaigns to improve the fortunes of market women in the state.

Top lawyer to the rescue: In her lecture, Cordelia U. Eke, leader of the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) in the state, unveiled a team of female lawyers ready to take up defence of the women should violence continue in the markets.

In her lecture, the guest speaker said; “The issue to be discussed here strikes at the core of our society and its effects reverberate through all spheres of our daily life, including security. This is because anything affecting means of livelihood of a family certainly affects their accommodation, feeding, education, security and the quality of persons that make up part of the society. In every society, there are a set of persons that drive the economy; operators of the micro, small, and medium enterprises in the state, often called the petty traders. We in AWLA have come to the realisation that a woman who is not economically empowered is a woman who cannot enforce her rights. As such, she clings to her abuser who continues to beat her up daily until the situation becomes critical’.

The lawyer called for special classification for those selling with as small as N1000 capital. “We ask that more efforts be made to consult the women and get their input in the formulation of policies as they affect the women. Do not impose policies on them which they may not be able to cope with. It is not enough to advertise public hearing but to specifically request market women to attend and submit their inputs. It is totally unacceptable to hunt down women like thieves, beat them up and throw their wares into gutters, dumps, and even set them on fire without any form of procedure. These are offensive

actions under the criminal code.”

She said it was sad that those who abuse women traders were being protected by the security agencies. “You cannot cure illegality with another illegality. That is why we are calling on the Rivers State House of Assembly to hasten the domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act of Nigeria (VAPP Act) which is a more detailed provision concerning criminal activities in the society. The criminal code has some loopholes for offenders.There is often the complaint that some of these women are selling at illegal places. That is actually a fact; but have we asked why that is so? Is there any woman who would refuse a good thing if offered to her. From what I have gathered, many of them cannot afford the expensive market stalls built by government as such would require a somewhat smaller category. Some that have managed to pay for stalls have suffered the problem of double allocations and even cancellation of allocations upon a new administration. Nobody wants to lose their hard earned money when there is uncertainty about the situation. It is therefore, necessary for the government to address the fears of traders in the markets on such issues.”

She made it ckear that the women must know that as Nigerian citizens, they have rights that were guaranteed by the constitution and we shall subsequently try to educate them on those rights. “I must tell those overzealous government officials to remember the story of the Beggar’s Strike, the overzealous government official who want to be secretary to the government and flushed beggars off the city. Now, his marabout urged him to give meat to beggars at the four ends of the city to realise his ambition, but lo and behold, no beggar anywhere to accept his meat. He traced them to a hideout but they refused to collect his gift. The next day, the name of his rival was announced as the next secretary to government. Learn this lesson, everybody.’

She noted that everybody is now doing business and that graduates are now doing the businesses you do. “It is an offence for you to throw out your spouse or throw his/ her things out of the home in the name of sack or divorce. Most market stalls are very expensive; women cannot afford them. Ensure that stores allocated to market women or traders would not be taken away from them by new administration. There must be a law to protect traders from change of administration. PVC: Don’t put your power in your pocket. Make use of it. Legal team has been set up by women lawyers in Rivers State to fight for female traders and all women in the event of maltreatment and violence. They are to fight for women entrepreneurs, but make sure you are within your rights at all times.’

Voices against market violence Some activist women professionals who investigated the market violence series testified at the Charter of Demand event at the City Hall (Phalga). Njideka Ebisi (PhD) a university lecturer, gave account of her experience at the notorious Oil Mill Market near Eleme Junction. She said: “It is hell there.

Touts throw goods into gutters. I even wit-

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News Feature Rivers APC factional crisis turns to fracas in court - Wike calls attack at the court a ‘coup’ IGNATIUS CHUKWU

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Guest lecturer and top lawyer; Cordelia Eke of AWLA

nessed one and I felt like crying. You will see a woman rolling on wet ground; that her entire life has been thrown into the gutter by these boys. In some occasions, I called the police. In some other instances, I had to pay for the lost goods just to console the affected women.

Something must be done and quickly.”

A female lawyer, Ajaegbo, shared what she saw in Rumuokoro Market; “This is another hell in Port Harcourt. The Mobile policemen (Mopol) there throw items into the canal. The police raid there always and destroy goods. The canal swallows wealth of the women”.

Nancy Iheduru, USAID NNEW SACE project manager, demanded for an enabling environment for market women. She said; “We have investigated the incidents that take place in various markets in Port Harcourt. We have recorded testimonies and evidence of women being flogged, stripped, etc.. Our advice is: women must learn to come together to protect one anther.”

We remember the days of Mary Odili – market women Janet Udaze Ngogo: “Enough is enough”.

Janet is the chairlady of the Creek Market Women and sells dry fish.

“Our troubles are too many: bad road was the issue but now, it has been repaired.

Our headache now is roadside traders who have become a menace. Also, many touts are collecting levies, and women are made to pay up to N2000 in one day. Many groups troop to the market and some even slap women in the name of forcing them to pay. They beat us up. Enough is enough. Now, we say, no more.

“Politicians are flocking the markets again, making promises as usual. We do not believe them. It was only in Odili time that women and female traders had good time. They promised and we saw it. We got real things. Now, it is empty talk. We say, no more,” she said. * Chinedu Binyotubo: ‘We are merely struggling’ Chinedu sells women’s inner wears at the New Layout Market.

Tall buildings do not support sales for those staying far up. Why cant they build low houses? Women are merely struggling in the markets. No customers any more because women find it difficult to climb up to buy things. Light bills are high too in the face of dull business environment caused by tall buildings. How then do we meet up all these bills and still pay taxes and levies when we do not sell much? * Ebere Ezeka: Police pour kerosene on our goods Ebere sells at the Rumudamaya Market.

Says, women are suffering too much. Touts (boys) harass us daily. Mary Odili remembered women in her dealings. Now, not any more! The worst is that the police pours kerosene on our goods at Rumudamanya Market

(on Airport Road). They beat women any how. * Mile One Market: A women was beaten to death recently over levies. The new stores are high in prices. The real market women cannot afford them. * Men: Vice president of New Layout Market Men too suffer. Always include the men in your advocacy plans to rescue the markets.

The stalls are empty and too expensive, thus traders flock to the roads. The stalls are put in the hands of House of Assembly members who put the prices very high. The whole thing is lopsided against the trader.

Government reacts * Carmeliita Agborubere: ‘Women who hawk have no dignity’ The first to respond from the government side was Carmelita Agborubere (PhD), the Director of Women Affairs, representing the Rivers State Ministry of Women Affairs. She said: Women also have their issues. Some women manhandle other women. Government has built shops and given to traders but they chose to hawk on the roads. This does not give any dignity to women. Hawkers do not attract self esteem. Stop staying on the roads, then you can ask for your rights.

Solution: Markets should be structured so that each item must have a section.

Maybe this is the area of demand you should be looking at. You must know that government needs funds to operate and govern the society. So, pay your taxes and levies.

Government should be able to roll out official taxes in markets. * BCN Thom-Otuya (PhD): Action soon on Oil Mill touts Special Adviser to Governor on Civil Society Relations; The Rivers State Government has heard much about the happenings in the Oil Mill Market near Eleme Junction in the state capital. Action will soon be taken to restore sanity in that market. We realise that most of the touts terrorising in that market are not even indigenes but strangers. I assure you, we will take action.

Rumuokoro market issue: We will meet the DPO there on this matter. Harmonised Taxes Bill: The State Government will appeal to the House of Assembly to move faster on the Bill. It is good you admit that you too have issues and things to change. Government gave loans to private hospital owners but most of them have refused to repay. This has affected plans to give to other worthy beneficiaries. When we extend loans to the private sector, endeavour to improve your businesses with it and pay back. It makes for a better relationship with the government.

We support women and traders and we know that if taxes and levies are too high, the cost would still be passed back on members of the public. We will do our best to support NNEW to support the women more.

hugs attacked a Port Harcourt high court Friday, May 11, 2018, ostensibly to stop an injunction against the Saturday, May 12, 2018, congress in the state.

Youths numbering almost 100 stormed the high court where the injunction was to be granted.

They destroyed court properties and ransacked libraries, turning the place to a war scene. The thugs were believed to have come from the main faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State loyal to former governor and minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

Amaechi is being opposed by his long term loyalist, the senator, Magnus Abe, who wants to be the next governor of the state whereas Amaechi wants a repeat of 2015 bid led by Dakuku Peterside, another loyalist for years. This has caused deep divide in the APC in the state, something that threatens to scuttle their 2019 bid.

Though both groups had denied existence of any faction or crisis in the state, the last week ward congresses have proved it.

Whereas Abe said there were no congresses, the party said it was held and have ratified the results.

Those elected were to proceed to the next level but the Abe group was said to have gone the high court to stop it. Sensing that Abe may get help from Gov Nyesom Wike in the courts, thugs units moved in to thwart the injunction opportunity. The court however still issued the injunction after all the fracas.

Others said it was the police that took the action.

Gov Wike has reacted to the incident and declared that the attack on Rivers State Judiciary is an attempt by the Police and the APC to overthrow the Rivers State Government.

The governor spoke immediately after he inspected the Rivers State High Court Complex destroyed by the Police and supporters of the APC from the faction of the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

He said the APC and Police damaged several courtrooms, ransacked the court library, destroyed vehicles and looted shops.

Hundreds of expended bullets were said to have littered the High Court Complex.

Governor Wike said it is unfortunate that the Nigeria Police connived with leaders of the APC to close the courts and stop it from dispensing justice to Rivers people. He said: “This is very unfortunate. Do not trivialize this invasion by saying it is just an attack by the APC on the judiciary. This is a complete coup by the Nigerian Police and the APC to

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (m), Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Adama Iyayi-Laminkara (2nd R), Attorney General of Rivers State, Emmanuel Aguma (SAN) (2nd L) during his inspection of State High Court Complex destroyed by APC and Police on Friday.

Damaged vehicle at the Rivers State High Court, Port Harcourt

Damaged areas of State High Court Complex on Friday.

overthrow the Rivers State Government.

“We have said it before and we have been vindicated by this callous joint invasion of the Rivers State Judiciary”.

Governor Wike noted that it was the immediate past Rivers State Governor, Amaechi that potted the attack on the Judiciary on Thursday on behalf of the Federal Government, pointing out that the plot was executed by a former Local Government Chairman already standing trial for murder.

“We must defend ourselves and the nation’s democracy. We cannot continue to rely on the police. Remember, it was the police that kidnapped a sitting governor,” he said.

He commended Rivers’ youths for rising in defence of their mandate by mobilising to open the courts, despite the shootings by the Nigerian Police.

APC fighting for survival as bickering cracks up party Continued from page 22 the building of the faction of the APC in the state, a faction linked to Inuwa, the demolished building was said to belong to Inuwa.

Officials of KASUPDA demolished the building, while the politician was in Abuja for a party meeting Expressing shock over the incidence, Inuwa said he wondered why the state government would carry out the demolition when the issue was in court, adding that the demolition was a personal threat.

“The demolition of my house is a personal threat by the governor, we are in court over the issue, the matter is still in court, and they

should have waited for the court to decide.

Inuwa further said the disagreement between the duo was because of political differences, adding that he could not be intimidated by the governor.

“It is a personal matter because of our differences in political views and opinions. He wants to intimidate me because of political issues and I cannot be intimidated. I am not a bootlicker.

“We are in the same party. I am a leader of the party, my role is to ensure fairness and equal treatment of party members.

“If he thinks he can fight me by attacking my property, so be it. That will not make me change my position.”

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Feature

Steps to poverty eradication, the TellCo Europe Nigeria initiative ZEBULON AGOMUO

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magine if all the welders, tailors, barbers, salon operators, shoe makers, and other owners of small businesses have constant supply of electricity to do their work; imagine if there were reliable power supply in the country, some youths, holders of university degrees, who are bus drivers and ‘Okada’ riders, and those who may have been forced to take to crime, would have considered owning their individual businesses, and poverty would have drastically reduced.

For many years, Nigeria has been in the dark. Efforts by successive governments to break the power jinx have yielded no positive result. A country of over 190 million people is still struggling to constantly generate 5000 megawatts of electricity for distribution for domestic consumption.

The major problem is infrastructure as experts have said that although generation is indeed a big issue, a bigger issue is distribution as there is no infrastructure to accommodate the amount generated.

The power issue in Nigeria has negatively affected every aspect of human life in the country and quality of life is reduced.

The situation appears to have worsened today with the increasing number of youths roaming the streets without job. A few of them who have begun their private businesses are not faring any better as cost of doing business, particularly power, has continued to frustrate their efforts.

Experts strongly believe that constant electricity supply would take many youths off the streets and encourage idle hands to go into meaningful and rewarding ventures. Those already in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) would begin to positively impact the society by not only creating employments but also removing prospective criminals from the unemployment circle. With constant supply of power, an army of unemployed youths would most probably go into different trades using their skills.

It was this yawning gap that TellCo Europe Nigeria saw and determined to end the life of misery which many Nigerians had been consigned into. They insist there is no reason whatsoever Nigeria should remain in the dark and in poverty.

In an event that attracted people from all walks of life last Tuesday, TellCo Europe Nigeria Limited, in cooperation with TellCo Europe Switzerland, in a glitz, introduced into the Nigerian market, TellCoSol Off-Grid Solar Power System, a Swiss technology that aims to electrify the country without stress.

The product, unveiled at a Green Conference, themed: ‘Climate Opportunities & Green Entrepreneurship’ held inside the Lantana Hall, Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, has been described as a ‘new dawn’.

Chairman, TellCo Europe, Rudolf Fiedler, in his presentation said the coming of TellCo Sol into Nigeria was “a stepping stone to a brighter and less worrying life. No more dark nights and days without electricity.”

Fiedler promised that his organisation would enhance the quality of education in

L-R Wale Omole, chairman, TellCo Europe Nigeria; Olawale Akinwumi, chief executive officer; Victor Meju, senior special assistant to Anambra State governor on Power, Energy, and Water Resources, and Maiden Ibru, publisher, The Guardian Newspapers, during the inauguration of TellCoSol off- Grid Solar Power System in Lagos...

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

the country through the release of innovative children education packages.

Pledging to assist in making learning in Nigeria more interactive, he said: “Instead of a traditional classroom setting, we will deliver education packages for children through a USB stick which is designed to be interactive for the children and the parents. On learning through the app, we will let them access the information when they need it most. Different modules will be applicable for e-learning and for each client a tailor-made solution will be made.”

He also promised that the innovation would make for better access to information “which is real-time for both the youth and their parents, and information is presented in an easy-to-use and useful format for the respective user.”

Explaining the benefits of TellCoSol, the chairman said: “They reduce CO2 emission, do not use poisonous materials such as mercury; zero greenhouse gas emissions; Easy to install solar public safety lights for remote places; reduce vehicle thefts, burglary robbery and vandalism, and reduce dependence on traditional forms of energy.”

On the 10 goals of the collaboration with TellCo Europe Nigeria, Fiedler said: “It would end energy poverty in Nigeria; create jobs and skilled workers; makes for leadership of off-grid solar in Africa; power independence at local level; technology transfer by training; grow of SMEs and entrepreneurships’ green technology to reduce CO2’ encourages asset and financing; empowerment of local communities; TellCo Sol units affordable within households, SMEs, clinics, police and workshops.”

Catch Energy, group chairman, United

Kingdom, David Collett, expressed the optimism that with the collaboration between TellCo Europe and TellCo Europe Nigeria Africa was on its way to compete with the world.

His optimism stemmed from, “youthful, willing labour force eager to learn about green energy” and willingness to leverage on a “growing industry that already employs 8.1 million worldwide.”

He however, listed some disadvantages of Africa to include, “precarious grid infra-

They reduce CO2 emission, do not use poisonous materials such as mercury; zero greenhouse gas emissions; Easy to install solar public safety lights for remote places; reduce vehicle thefts, burglary robbery and vandalism, and reduce dependence on traditional forms of energy structure; reliant on costly diesel generation, frequent power cuts” which he noted put Africa at an economic disadvantage to the rest of the world. These are indeed what the collaboration aims to correct.

Speaking on getting better energy solutions which TellCoSol system tries to achieve, Collett said: “Storage is the key in realising the true social, financial, and environmental potential of renewable energy generation, as well as solving grid issues that can result from demand and generation incompabilities”.

Listing some reasons consumers in Nigeria should embrace the new technol-

ogy, the Catch Energy group chairman, said: “Do these problems sound familiar?

Are your electricity costs going up? Is electricity on/off or weak voltage? Is maintenance and repairs more complicated?

Labour expenses moving higher? Are your lighting systems old technology, less efficient and shining ’yellow’ beams? Are you seeking ways to reduce your carbon footprint and reduce CO2 emissions? Is there pressure to adopt renewables yet you are unsure about which technology to choose? What are alternatives for financing capital expenditure (CAPEX)?”

In his presentation, ‘Welcome: The Future is Now!’ Omar Clark Fisher, cofounder and financier, TellCo Europe, emphasised the business side of the product.

He said willing individuals could cash into the opportunity either by paying cash to get the system or get into the lease-toown model (arrangement).

Fisher said that getting the product was a way to ‘go green’. According to him, it will guarantee low CAPEX, reduce operational expenditure (OPEX); eliminate maintenance costs, he urged prospective customers to make haste to “adopt new technologies now and start saving money, reduce carbon emissions and footprint”.

He also emphasised that there was no “need to tender, order direct”.

In her keynote address, Aisha Abubakar, minister of state, ministry of industry, trade and investment, represented by Francis Alaneme, said: “We believe that supporting small businesses by promoting green MSMEs is essential for increasing productivity, creating jobs and boosting our economy by mitigating the effect of climate change and epileptic power supply in the country. This is why govern-

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Feature ment is working with stakeholders across all sectors to ensure that MSMEs have the support they need to grow now and in the future. This can be witnessed in the milestone being achieve by the Presidential Council on the Ease of Doing Business.”

At a media briefing to unveil TellCo Europe Nigeria and the inauguration of the off-grid solar power solutions for MSMEs in Nigeria, the previous day, Wale Omole, a professor and chairman of the company, said: “When we consider the fact that about1.3 billion people are presently living without access to electricity with the basic benefits and opportunities it pointed to this statement as the reason for poverty and unsustainable development in Africa. Furthermore, with over 2.6 billion people using wood charcoal and traditional biomass for cooking fuel, which further worsens the situational challenges driven by energy poverty. Thus, you will agree with me, the close linkage between the exploitation of energy sources and global climate change scenario as obvious.

“You may wish also to recall, that the EU, as a key partner in the energy sector has made Energy a special priority in the portfolio of the EU’s poverty alleviation and eradication strategies for many years.”

“It is important to highlight here that power is a critical component of the nation’s infrastructure and renewable energy is an inextricable growing pathway of the future supply mix now disparagingly needed for Nigeria, without which future sustainable economic growth and development will be a mirage.

“Furthermore, electrification has also the added advantage of opportunity to make work more productive, living safer, more gratifying, and promote higher standard of living in an enviable developing economy that will soon be seen as continental envy among African member states, through this unique partnership with TellCo Europe,” he further said.

Omole also noted that “electric supply system also supports other critical infrastructure systems such as transportation, healthcare facilities, water supplies for cities and farms, manufacturing centers and business ecosystems.

“According to a publication on off-grid potentials of Nigeria, “Nigeria presently has the biggest and most attractive offgrid opportunity in Africa, and one of the best locations in the world for mini-grids and solar home systems.

TellCo’s Macgine

L-R; Rudolph Fielder, CEO, Europe TellCO; David Collett, group chairman, Catch Energy; Wale Omole, chairman TellCo Europe Nigeria , and Omar Fisher, co-founder, Tell Co Switzerland at the world press conference preceding official launch of TelCo Europe Nigeria and inauguration of off-grid solar power solutions for MSMES in Nigeria held in Lagos recently.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

“Added to this, Nigeria has the largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa (GDP of $405 billion), has over 180 million people, and a flourishing economy.

“However, it is sad to note that, significant amount of the economy is continually powered largely by small-scale generators (10–15 GW) and more than 50percent of Nigeria’s population have limited or no access to the grid.”

On the day of the launch, he reiterated the need for Nigerians to embrace the new technology.

Victor Fodeke, managing director, TellCo Europe Nigeria, was very passionate about the introduction of the system into Nigeria, which he believed would revolutionalise the country.

“I believe this is a historic moment.

The solution is here, the solution is now and you are part of what will make that history,” Fodeke said.

TellCo Europe Nigeria is a renewable and clean energy Solutions Company incorporated in Nigeria under the Companies and Allied Matters ACT. The company was established as a vehicle to providing Off-Grid Solar Power Business Solutions to MSMES in Nigeria, Solar Homes Systems to households, and Solar Electricity Generation for a greener and sustainable urban future in Nigeria and Africa.

The previous day, at the world press conference to announce the new company preceding the formal unveiling of the TellCoSol off-grid power solution, The TellCoSol system is a Swiss technology, a 1200W Solar power system. Some of the unique features of the Solar System include 7’’ LCD touch screen, Radio with MP3/ MP5 Player; Light up to 5 rooms and more at the same time; charge 2 mobile phones at the same time; Remote Control; Camera; Speakers; complete with solar module, gel battery, and cables (plug and play); three years warranty; and available in three colours - black/grey, white/grey, red/grey.

The system has some fixed options: Two AC standing fans; AC TV (32 inch) and AC refrigerator (70 litres). Its daily use is from 18 to 24 hours. It is insured for two years – which, the company said has never happened in Africa and its installation attracts no extra cost.

TellCo Europe Nigeria is the only TellCo franchise in Africa for now.

A statement signed by Olawale Akinwumi, executive vice chairman and CEO, on behalf of the company, to announce the events had said that the move was to bridge the energy gap in the country and to ensure that miseries associated with lack of access to electricity were mitigated.

“Energy is at the heart of most critical economic, environmental and developmental issues facing Nigeria today. Clean, efficient, affordable and reliable energy services are indispensable for Nigeria’s prosperity. So, ending energy poverty in Nigeria, and indeed, in Sub-Saharan Africa, is a Green Movement!” Akinwumi said.

He explained that the parent company, TellCo Europe Switzerland, had given its commitment to work with TellCo Europe Nigeria to succeed quickly.

The statement also added that TellCo Europe Switzerland was already arranging funding support for 1,000,000 Units of Off-Grid Solar Business Solution for Barbers in Nigeria. The barbers are the initial project off-takers. A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed with the National Association of Barbers and Salon Employers in Abuja, in 2016.

Present at the event were many dignitaries from within and outside the country.

In attendance also were Ayo Oni and Ayo Opadoku, both directors of TellCo Europe Nigeria; representative of Akinwunmi Ambode, Lagos State governor; representative of Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari; Victor Meju, senior special assistant on power, energy and water resources, to Anambra State Governor, among many others.

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Focus Benue bloodshed: Unanswered questions …and what indigenes think Continued from page 1 in the subsequent election. So, they had no reason to fear the North, to fear the centre, or to fear the Army. They pride themselves as people of the Army, a people with military heritage. They say, each time they find themselves against the Army, that people should ask questions. The Tiv people will never forget the likes of Joe Akaghan and Victor Malu (all chiefs of staff) of blessed memory; Mark Inienger, John Atom Kpera, Joseph Akaageger, Gideon Orkar, and many more. They have a proud military heritage. Their Idoma brothers also want to outshine them with Army Generals such as Geofrey Ejiga, Lawrence Onoja, and David Mark.

Ordinarily, the Tiv man would side with the Nigerian Army. What went wrong? Why is the Tiv man now scared of men in uniform?

Three reasons seem to account for this. The Gideon Orkar coup! The Tiv felt targeted after that episode and felt purged out of the Army thereafter. They also felt they deserved some grace and not that size of reprisals. Next was the October 2001 military invasion of ZakiBiam in Tongov area, the hometown of a then serving Army General, the former Chief of Army Staff, Victor Malu, allegedly killing 100 persons. This was in retaliation for the killing of about 19 ‘soldiers’ during inter-communal clashes. This was due to prolonged fighting

President’s burden

between the Tiv people of Benue State and the Jukuns of Taraba. The Tiv people felt that the Army was partial. They claimed that the fighters they killed were enemies that turned out to be soldiers. They felt that those fighting the Tiv were no longer civilian enemies but soldiers. The straw that may have broken the camel’s back seems to be the present fighting between the Tiv and Fulani or herdsmen. The Benue people say soldiers were also fighting or killing the Tiv. The Nigerian Army has denied this, saying they only went in to make arrests or quell fighting. This piece is about the thinking of the ordinary Benue people.

Right now, what they think is that soldiers are killing them. So, that long tradition of love and trust between the Tiv and the Nigerian Army has been stained. The Tiv man now flees the moment he sees soldiers. Not just that, the Tiv man runs away when he sees those he used to run to; Army, North, FG. What is not clear is where they now run to.

A perilous time!

The Tiv may now be running to Aondo. Aondo is God and they love God deeply. They do not have ‘Young Alhajis’ but they have pastors young or old; they have bishops and reverend fathers. Just recently, two of those reverend fathers were attacked and killed right in the church, in fact, at the altar, along with morning mass goers. This means, ardent Catholics were massacred. The Tiv repulsed at this, saying

Fulani herdsmen have done the worst. Now, silence greets the latest development, which is about the accusation against a Tiv man who goes by Hausa name. The Army is resolving that, but do the Tiv trust the Army anymore?

This singular massacre, the killing of revered and reverend fathers with their loyal parishioners, has caused cold and when the Tivs are cold, the nation catches fever. The danger is that their cold causes anger and their anger wears ‘anger’ cloth and this scenario once caused ‘Aten Tio’ or operation kill the enemy which snowballed into Nigeria’s bloody civil war. (Aten Tio is like Wetie of the Western Region. The two violent rebellions in 1965 forced the Army to strike in 1966 and the matter degenerated into a civil war). Now, we have got to the point of Operation Akpetuma or Cat Race launched by the Army, and anger is subduing ‘anger’. (Many Nigerians immediately point out a Tiv person through dominant black & white hand woven cloth. That cloth is called ‘anger’) The Tivs have dropped the ‘anger’ and put on anger. Now, Makurdi, the state capital, is at the verge of war. Every other night, families will run away from home, and later return.

Tiv habours anger, Hausa habours fear, and Fulani have disappeared in the state. Those that reside in the heart of the state capital such as High Level or Barracks Road still sleep

The belief of the ordinary Benue man is that the president is their enemy and would not fight the Fulani Mass burial in Benue

with both eyes closed but those in North Bank area keep vigil while those at Ankpa Quarters, Wadatta, Apir, etc, are in perpetual fear. Shops are more closed than open; businesses are in peril, while the 1966 feeling is back.

The latest but most gruesome killing is the massacre of Morning Mass goers at Saint Ignatius parish in Ayar, near Ikpayongo area, in Gwer West LGA, not far from the Seminary School at Apir, on the road to Aliade, where you get another famous missionary school, the Saint Michael’s. Look, there is this linear Catholic High Education axis: There is the reigning Mount Saint Gabriel’s Makurdi, Saint James Seminary Apir, and Michael’s Aliade. These great institutions of secondary learning have over the years helped to put Benue State far ahead of all other northern states, academically, such that Benue is the first northern state to get a state university. It now boasts of the foremost University of Agriculture, to add to a private university in Mkar and a strong polytechnic in Ugbokolo that may become Apa University. This is why Benue is no longer an academically disadvantaged state though it is in the north. Its admission cut off point into federal unity schools is 111 for both boys and girls, as high as any in the south. Bauchi is 35. It was in this Catholic parish soon after the Seminary school that killers went early in the morning to kill almost 20 ardent worshippers; being that Morning Mass goers are often the most ardent Catholics.

While the masses were wailing and hurting, a Tiv man, Teshaku Aliyu, was arrested by the Nigerian Army, accused of being the mastermind of that slaughter. Could the Tiv have turned on the Tiv? This has opened inquiry into the personality and character of Teshaku. The state governor washed his hands off this man.

The Army knew him as Aminu Yaminu. He was once arrested and accused of being a Boko Haram commander. He came out to become an aide to a governor. He headed the Cattle Guards for Benue State. The Fulani union, Miyetti Allah, hates him much, and always accused him of being a Tiv militant leader killing the Fulani and being a supplier of arms to their killers. Now, it gets scary! Could Teshaku Aliyu Aminu Yaminu be Tiv, Hausa, Boko Haram, Tiv Militant, or Herdsman, all at the same time?

Investigations will answer these questions, if

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Focus he lived to the end.

The governor said last week that only three local council areas of the state were so far unaffected by attacks or invasion. Gboko may be one of them. Gboko is the traditional capital of Tiv ethnic nationality. The Tiv control two senatorial zones. It is also the seat of the Tor Tiv. What puzzles the Tiv nation is that Fulani ravaging is most in the MINDA or Makurdi zone of Tiv land including Makurdi, Guma, Gwer and Gwer West. Some sources say many saboteurs have compromised in this zone. Tales abound about persons believed to have betrayed the cause or collected money to reveal things against the state. For instance, it is believed that it is money that makes some persons to reveal the antidote of the fighting charms possessed by some Tiv fighters. It is believed that it is money that makes some persons to hide arms and assets for the herdsmen but when the invaders arrive, they allegedly wipe out their collaborators first and then move into operation to kill all. This is the greater danger with such wars; the rumours that kill more than guns.

Tales also abound of how the killers move from community to community and wipe out anything in sight. Refugees say these invaders turn the yam barns to cows to feed and feast on; they slaughter stray goats and fowls to make a feast. Almost everybody in Tiv land is now a refugee; and those not on the run are habouring relations fleeing from the rural areas. Makurdi and Gboko are brimming with people.

Gboko, the Tiv stronghold, seems impregnable to attackers. They are said to be fiercely angry, looking for any provocation to go to war. It was in Gboko that a car load of travellers was wiped out. This led to the arrest of the DPO there. It was gathered that the driver conveying the travellers squealed on his passengers and next, they met death.

What is reigning on social and traditional media is attack by herdsmen. It is not true that the Benue people or the Tiv are innocent. It could not be that herdsmen are killing the Tiv and herdsmen are not being killed. Between the Fulani and the Tiv, there is no innocent tribe in this matter at the moment. It’s just that the herdsmen do not do social media. They do not post their losses. The killing is two-sided; the outcry seems to be one-sided.

Role of the Army questioned What is not clear to the ordinary Benue man is the role of the Army. T Y Danjuma seemed to have provided a working theory, but there is more to this. When the Army invaded Tondov (Victor Malu’s) area in 2001, the Army said the Tiv fighters killed 19 soldiers sent to stop the fighting. The Tiv made an important explanation; that the Tiv ex-soldiers fighting to defend

Tiv land believed they killed Jukun opponents.

They said they met these opponents right in the thick of fighting in the jungle. They were surprised to hear they were soldiers. They wondered if the ‘soldiers’ were fighting for the Jukun in military uniforms. That time, the Tiv openly accused the Army of helping Danjuma’s Jukuns to fight the Tiv. Now, it is Danjuma accusing the Army of helping the Fulani to kill Jukuns. Now also, the Tiv are accusing the Army of helping the Fulani to kill everyone else.

There must therefore, be something strange about the role of the Army in these inter-ethnic fighting or about the way the Army engages in intervention such that the losers usually see the hand of the Army in the killings.

Many bizarre but unverified accounts abound in Benue of how ‘soldiers’ were caught posing as herdsmen or how herdsmen posed as soldiers. What is verifiable is that a soldier was killed in Naka and this led to storming of the area by soldiers, leaving a trail of death and blood. The agony was going on when the massacre in Ayer (priests) took place. Sense of siege took over.

Back to history Dispute or violence between the Tiv and the Fulani did not start today; what has changed is its frequency, consistency and intensity.

In 1983, the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) launched its national election campaigns in Gboko, Benue State, called ‘Gboko ‘83’. JS Tarka, the longest and strongest political leader of the Tiv, did something that says a lot. He presented a cow to Shehu Shagari (then president). He said by that, the Tiv had repaid the debt of a cow their tribe owed the Fulani, a debt that was believed to be the cause of endless skirmishes between the two ethnic groups to that time (or to this time). The story was that in the beginning, a Fulani herdsman was grazing across Tiv land and at a point gave a cow to his Tiv friend to rear for some years.

On his return journey, the Fulani man had asked for an account, hoping that it had multiplied to a herd. The Tiv man was said to have replied ‘Munchi’, meaning that he had eaten it. This created perpetual enmity, and Tarka wanted it to come to an end. Shagari played a quick one.

He said if such a matter existed, it was between the two monarchs, meaning Tor Tiv and Sultan of Sokoto, not by two political leaders. So, the cow has not been repaid to this day.

This story sounds funny but it has deeper meanings. The cow-refund and the rejection that followed it gave a seal of authenticity to what was merely a fable. Two, it means a debt still remains. Three, it means that the bitterness between the two tribes did not start today and has not ended. It also shows that it cannot be solved by political people who only see exploitation in the whole episode. It shows

that, as Shagari advised, the traditional leaders both the Tiv and Fulani know the key to any meaningful resolution. Dialogue is important; politics is an anathema in this matter.

To buttress this point, a highly respected federal minister once hinted while in Port Harcourt in 2016 in a private chat that the problem in the Benue matter was that the Fulani had already shared kola nut. This was later understood to mean that when the Fulani pastoralists meet serious harm in any place.

They would report at home. If considered unpardonable, the elders would share kola nut in baskets to their various hamlets across West Africa. This would trigger a mobilisation process and eventual war. It is usually bloody.

So, it is like the shared kola nut is speaking.

The only way to stop it could be a traditional approach of finding out how to ‘unshare’ the kola. It could mean secret negotiations and payment of compensation to all losers in both ethnicities. The other option is for the FG to fight it out.

The power to fight by the FG can only be backed by higher fire power such as procurement of air fighters of the latest grade equipped to see at night and take out sneaking elements. The belief of the ordinary Benue man is that the president is their enemy and would not fight the Fulani. This is where the FG has a big propaganda battle because their opponents seem miles ahead. Here too, the political class will never be united in fighting problem in Benue because Buhari’s opponents need the crisis a lot for 2019.

By focusing on the political side, the real enemy is free to hide. By 2014, a journalist in Makurdi, Hope Abah, did extensive investigations for Daily Trust and interviewed many IDPs from Tse-Ucenda, a Tiv settlement in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, who said they had been on the run for six months and that the attacks began two years earlier. They, as at 2014, wondered why the

herdsmen attacks were too much and consistent. They said they had lived with the Fulani for ages and did not understand this new surge. It was not Buhari or Fulani that was president then. It is left for the presidency to figure out why this time around, it is vociferously stated that because a Fulani man is president, herdsmen attacks have come. It is thus made out to appear that immediately a non-Fulani or non-Buhari becomes president, the herdsmen worry would disappear in Nigeria or in Benue.

Miyetti Allah’s utterances Again, the group called Miyetti Allah seems to be enigmatic. They speak as if they were doing the presidency a favour but their utterances and activities cause more harm to the presidency than anyone else. They openly laid claim to ownership of the Benue Valley, saying they were the original settlers and that Tiv people should go to Congo. This automatically casts all Fulani especially Buhari in deadly light. They also persistently shriek about the grazing law in Benue as their sole grievance but the killings in Kogi that did not enact grazing law and even openly accepted Cattle Colony betrays that fact. It is clear that the grazing law is not the real reason. So, what has Miyetti Allah done to show that they could create peace where their people were allowed to graze?

What actually is happening to Benue?

For the Benue people and other political activists who insist that there is a specific agenda to destroy Benue and install a Fulani reign, how can they explain the killings in other northern states? Is Benue still an isolated case? Does this not give hint that there is something bigger looming behind all this? For now, the political gimmick seems to be working. None of my contacts across Benue State wants to hear about the governor or the president. There is

Continues on page 16

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Focus Benue bloodshed: Unanswered questions agencies arrived. This fuels a conspiracy theory in the minds of the ordinary Benue people. In fact, they mentioned genocide. Makurdi shut down last the other Friday and the following Monday. That is the new Makurdi, the capital in panic; the city where run breaks out any time; mothers go looking for their kids at school.

The attack in Okpokwu and death of between 26 and 40 persons, an Idoma enclave, is still a surprise to many. Many wonder if the Fulani now want to take on their former traditional ally. The elders said in a press conference they did not believe the FG had plans to protect them. This may show that the ISWA is the one at work, not just Fulani. Besides, we would need 198 million people to protect a populace of 198 million.

Continued from page 15 total anger in the land. Some blame the governor for introducing the anti-grazing law which has brought this trouble but say he has not fought hard enough to implement it. Some think the MINDA zone has not been strong enough to protect the Tiv ethnic nationalities and thus may end the zoning formula. This may mean that those eyeing the governorship seat from the other Tiv zones may use this as excuse, just as they found the right excuse to deny the Idoma (zone C) of the seat. Samuel Ortom is the first real Makurdi (MINDA) man to sit there. George Akume is from Zone B but is not from the first son of Tiv. Ortom’s headache The governor however, seems more preoccupied with how to save his people from this menace than how to return, because there may be no throne to return to, if this threat is not stopped, now. Can anybody even conduct elections in all the wards in the state as it is today?

Islamic terrorists on the prowl?

Is it not time to consider the theory that the international Islamic terrorists have entered Nigeria and are using different strategies in different regions? They used ‘no to education’ in the North East; they are using herdsmen to enter the Middle Belt. Who knows what they will use to enter the East or the West. The study of this group globally is that they plan for many years before they strike in phases. They merge into the environment of the region they want to take over. In the absence of caves and crevices

Way forward?

The ordinary Benue person sees no way forward, but only a way backward. They look forward to when herdsmen carried only sticks and sometimes knives. They say so and boulders (as in Afghanistan and Pakistan) they have found herdsmen as moving targets and have merged into them. Libya has endless land areas or desert; this was put to use by the terrorists who now rule the area abducting Nigerians travelling to Libya. The East and West have forest canopies; let the people there take note. There is an obvious route from Benue to Kogi, to Edo, to Delta.

From there, East and South-South are easy. Another route is Kaduna, Kwara, to Oyo, Osun, Lagos. When will we think beyond politics? There is something called ISWA (Isis West Africa). This project is hugely funded

globally in a bigger project called the ‘Rise of the Caliphate’. This project was predicted many years ago by US experts, the same time they predicted the ‘Rise of the Dragon’ to signify the likely overthrow of the US economy by China. Are these not happening now?

Collective survival Fighting the Islamic Terrorists takes money and sophisticated weaponry, and none is easily available in Nigeria. We are quarreling over $1billion; we may beg to spend $10billion. The FG in the past was not allowed to purchase weapons and armoured helicopters (under Jonathan). The present FG has had to first break that unseen ceiling to start getting fighting choppers. Special training is just coming on stream because the terrorists are very tactical. Everybody or every political party has erred in the past. Everybody and every political party have to help this time around; else, everybody and every political party would sink. It’s about collective survival. When the Muslims hailed as Christians perished in Borno years ago, they never knew the original plan had them and

Peace of a grave yard

A section from the intellectual side fears that the Dino Melaye syndrome was possible in Benue State

their mosques in mind. Today, it is obvious. When the APP/ANPP/APC laughed in Maiduguri years ago, they never knew that both PDP and APP would fall to Boko Haram.

Division is the first weakness of the opponents and victims of the Islamic terrorists. Understanding them early and taking positions is usually the best defence. In Nigeria, this is hardly the case.

Saving Benue Back to Benue, my Benue! The war at hand is heavy. This one is bigger.

When the killers enter Makurdi, they cause segregation; Fulani, Hausa on one side; Tiv and all others on the other side. The ordinary Benue man thinks the killers are not afraid. It is believed that they take off from Nasarrawa and enter Agatu route and to Kyena and Torkura communities in the Benue side. They overrun Lokobi and Guma, up to the fringes of Makurdi the state capital. In many instances, they move in over 250 motor bikes and carry up to four persons each with ak-47s.

The day they were encountered, the security agencies seized over 200 motor bikes. The ordinary man thinks there were no arrests but bikes, wondering what happened to the owners of the bikes. The killers were said to be celebrating their successes when the security

because, they would tell you that the government was helpless. They even hope for change of government, just as they hoped in 2015.

Only few persons point to the fact that the herdsmen menace defies such hopes and goes beyond regime change because it is older than the regime and deeper than those we think are the issue. On the other hand, if herdsmen now carry guns, could they be reacting to something we do not know; threat, attacks on them and their docile flock?

A section from the intellectual side fears that the Dino Melaye syndrome was possible in Benue State.

Thus, they fear that any important Benue man that takes up the matter could be framed up and broken up, just like Melaye. That, too, seems to be a dangerous logic, borne out by political thinking only.

This article is on the mindset of the ordinary people in the state, not a news report of incidents that would require official reactions and clarifications. This commentary is expected to educate the officialdom on the real thinking of the ordinary people so the government could address their fears. Ignoring these fears (not facts) would be to the peril of this country because history shows what happened once when this region’s mass violence was ignored or mismanaged.

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Comment Frank Aigbogun EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Prof. Onwuchekwa Jemie EDITOR Zebulon Agomuo

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On Lagos’ fresh impetus for tourism development

PUBLISHER/CEO

DEPUTY EDITOR John Osadolor, Abuja

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TAYO OGUNBIYI Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

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n contemporary time, tourism can be clearly defined as the new socio-economic game changer. The economic potential of tourism is remarkable, with direct and indirect impact on wealth creation. It is a good public relations device through which a city, state or country could attract needed foreign investments. African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt and South Africa are vigorously tapping into the expansive global tourism market. However, in Nigeria, tourism is still in its infancy.

However, in Lagos State, the Ambode Administration is creatively making efforts to tap into the State’s enormous tourism potentials. In a renewed bid to engender a tourism driven economy, a 15-20 years tourism master plan that will steer the tourism potentials of the State has been developed. The master plan that was designed by Messrs Ernst & Young focuses on culture and heritage, film, art and entertainment, business tourism, nature and adventure, medical and wellness and beach and leisure.

Similarly, with a view to resourcefully explore the tourism prospects of the State, State government recently organized a

first-ever Tourism Summit with the theme, “Destination Lagos: Towards a Sustainable TourismDriven Economy”. As fallout of the Summit, a 2018 tourism calendar has been developed for the State.

Also, the State government recently held the 2018 Boat Regatta at Lagoon Waterfront, Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi. The festival, an annual cultural and entertainment funfair highlighting the State’s aquatic splendours, promotes Lagos’ aquatic custom and tradition. Equally, Lagos has continued to host a number of first-rated entertainment events such as Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) which it hosted in July 2017, Nigeria Beer Festival held in 2017.

The Lagos Street Carnival, which was supported by the State government, also took place last December along the popular Oba Akran Road, Ikeja. The event, which is an improved version of the Lagos Street Party which was held in 2016, showcased the tourism and economic potentials of concerts and leisure in the State as over 1000 accredited vendors had huge sales.

The creative content of the event was provided by over 22 artistes.

In 2016, Governor Ambode hosted an Evening of Jazz in commemoration of 2016 International Jazz Day. Equally, the City of Lagos beat other major African cities to the hosting right of 2016 AFRIMA. Lagos also recorded a remarkable showing at the 2016 and 2017 editions of Nottingham and Toronto Carnivals. At the Toronto Carnival

in particular, eight films by Lagos State-based filmmakers were selected for red-carpet premieres and screenings. This has given local filmmakers a great mileage in terms of publicity, business opportunities and exposure.

Also, the scope of the annual Lagos Countdown, an event with which the State Government ushers in the New Year has been broadened. Now renamed One Lagos Fiesta, OLF, subsequent editions of the event which is now one week affair, had clearly lived up to expectations. A major unique trait of the last two editions of OLF was the profound participation of the private sector.

Equally, the State government has continued to build, maintain and manage monuments such as Tinubu Square fountain, King Ado statue, Ma’ami statue (Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island), Awolowo, Fawehinmi and Fela busts among others. Likewise, the JJT Park which was conceptualized to become a prominent tourist site as well as relaxation hub in the state has since become one huge recreation hub in the State.

Perhaps, more importantly, there is no better way to promote tourism than current efforts aimed at improving infrastructure across the State. Infrastructure is quite essential to the growth of tourism as any visible defect in infrastructure will surely dissuade tourists.

Hence, on-going efforts to change the face of public transportation through the provision of more

jetties as well as expansion of access to waterways, construction and rehabilitation of roads and bridges, construction of modern bus terminals among others we are principally engendered by the need to build and sustain the needed infrastructure upon which enduring tourism pillars can stand.

Cheerfully, the State government’s investment in tourism is progressively paying off. For instance, in 2007, the activities within the tourism sector contributed about N800 billion to the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).With the infrastructure and resources currently being expended in the sector, it is expected that this figure would progress in the next few years.

However, in order to entirely optimize the potentials of the tourism sector, it is crucial to train personnel such as tour guides to enhance their professionalism.

In Israel, for instance, tour guides are so efficient, passionate and so enthusiastic that they make tourists feel immensely excited and somehow fulfilled. Also, we need to produce well researched and competently produced tourists guidebooks which prospective tourists could find handy when they plan or decide to visit. This could be made available at major international and local airports across the world as well as other channels.

Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

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TheWorshippers Nigeria is like a mother whose breast has dried up and can’t feed her children – Bishop Osagie For Bishop Lawrence Osagie and the entire members of Powerline Bible Church, Lagos, last week was a season of double celebration for the church as the presiding bishop marked 30 years in the ministry and 60 years on earth. SEYI JOHN SALAU was there as Bishop Osagie bared his mind on some key national issues. Excerpts: You have been in the ministry for 30 years; how has it been and what is your plan for the future? hirty years in ministry has been a good journey. Like a whirlwind; rough, tough, but I have absolutely nothing to regret. Every day we hear people’s testimonies and those testimonies are the things that make us go on; that there is a God who answers prayers. That God is real, that his word is real, and that God is who he says he is – that is all that make us continue in ministry. We have had it for 30 years and he has given us the opportunity of life and health, and we will spend it serving him and serving the people – that is the joy. It’s been beautiful and there is absolutely nothing to regret in the past 30 years of the ministry. God has blessed me.

Do you have any succession plan for the ministry?

That is a very simple thing because I do not own the church and have on several occasions disowned the church openly, and that is still the same situation. God is the one who raises people and puts them in authority and God is the one who brings people down from authority. I believe that God is grooming somebody to replace me; as far as I am concerned, when I started 30 years ago, my plan was that when I hit 55, I would step out from pastoral office and probably do teaching and ministry across the country.

But, unfortunately, I came to 55 and found that ok, I had not even scratched the surface yet, and now I am 60. But as far as I am concerned, I will continue to serve God and serve the people for as long as he gives me the opportunity. And, when he tells me and names the person to me, I will call the person and hand over to him. For my children, none of them has told me personally that they are interested. In fact, they don’t show interest and I am not that type of person who dresses a David in the armour of Saul and says, ‘Go in this might’. No, I do not have time for that. I did not pick a career for any of my children, but I am just curious to know what direction their lives are going and what God wants to do with them, but to tell any human being, ‘You look like a pastor’, I am not part of those who do such things.

Nigeria is supposed to be a country

T

Osagie

flowing with milk and honey, but looking at the economic situation in the country, the reverse is the case. What is your thought on this?

Few days ago, I got a text message from an elderly man, a retired person I have never met in my life before. How he got my phone number I do not know. He said since he retired from service he has not been paid his pension and his family is depressed, hungry and suffering. And then he opened up to me: ‘I am a Muslim; I am begging you to help me because of the God you serve, don’t look at my religion’. That is what we were saying then, and the thing is still on till tomorrow.

Kogi State where they are looking for Melaye, people are spending billions on political security and for months you cannot pay your workers; people are dying, families are packing up, somebody will faint all because he

works for government and the government can’t pay him; and you still see the people running such government living callously.

That is the mother whose breast is dried up and can’t feed her children; that is what Nigeria is, and that kind of a situation can only create crisis. This country is blessed enough to be able to create the environment; I am not even saying distribute money to your citizens, but create the environment for these people to be able to help themselves.

In line with the socio-economic challenges bedeviling Nigeria, some persons have argued that there might not be election in 2019 if the killings across the country continue unabated. What is your position on this?

Well, there has to be an election in 2019; they can’t use the herdsmen situation to hold the entire nation hostage, except they want

to break up this country. We are in the 21st century; therefore, people should stop living in the Stone Age or in darkness. People have moved forward, Nigeria should not continue to move backward. It’s time enough for someone to unmask the Fulani herdsmen and tell us who they are, where they came from and what their mission is. But, as for the election, it should hold and must hold come 2019; nobody can unleash mayhem on the nation all because they want to frustrate the elections to elongate their stay in power forever. There will be more chaos when they try that, because even the sand, sun and the earth will cry out. There came a time when Pharaoh and his people tormented Israel enough, and God began to use everything to fight them. Don’t push God to that level, because God will arise and what will be the outcome will be a sorry state.

What is your message for Nigerians?

My message for Nigerians is for every one of us as individuals to imbibe the fear of God as a way of life. It is lack of fear of God that is making the situation like this. Anywhere you push God aside, God will leave you to yourself, and anything that is left to itself will grow weed. A place where nobody cares for with nobody in control, it is weed that carries it – that is how Nigeria is. We have a government, but that government is not sincere; the result of their insincerity is what is going on in the country now. Buhari told Trump that herdsmen don’t carry gun. If a president of a nation can lie from both sides of his mouth, and then feel comfortable to fly in the aircraft of the nation, what do you except? It will be chaos, anarchy and the likes. So, how do you say you are fighting corruption when the head of the government is lying to the nation? All of this is happening because God Almighty has been put in a situation where he is not fully in charge of this nation. The people in government need to demonstrate their fear of God – it is not even for them to be born-again Christians; but their acts and actions must demonstrate some level of reverence and fear for the God of heaven. You do not own the earth nor Nigeria, and so when you push God out, he pushes you to yourself, and crisis is what you get, which is what is going on here in Nigeria.

UI Baptist Student Fellowship in Nigeria marks diamond anniversary SEYI JOHN SALAU

T

he Baptist Student Fellowship in Nigeria has hit its diamond anniversary; this was announced by the National Executive of the University of Ibadan Baptist Student Fellowship Alumni Association led by the President, Dapo Ipadeola in Ibadan recently.

According to the National President of the UIBSFAA, Ipadeola, “It is 60 years since the Baptist Students Union which is now called

Baptist Student Fellowship was formed at the University of Ibadan, the Premier University, the sweats and investments of God’s messengers who acknowledged it was needful to have a campus-based student’s ministry has grown tremendously across the nation.

“We appreciate God for nurturing the fellowship and also having brought forth many more fellowships, both church-based and campus-based, under the body. As pioneers, we would be rolling out the drums to celebrate with the theme: ‘Celebrating God’s faithfulness- 60 years’ from May 17- May 20 2018 at the University of Ibadan,” said Ipadeola.

The Baptist Student Fellowship, which was formerly called the Baptist Students Union, is an umbrella body of all students, especially those in the tertiary institutions of the Baptist faith, started in the University of Ibadan in 1958 by American Missionaries including Mary Frank Kirkpatrick.

The first Baptist campus-based fellowship created an avenue to meet the spiritual needs of the students who have similar background in the faith as well as hone character skills for excellent living.

Within its 60 years of existence, BSFUI has had several leaders and produced re-

nowned ministers; some of these are Gbile Akanni of Peace House; Isaiah Ademola; Deikola Abiola; Musa Zekeri; Bolaji Ajibola; Layi Oladapo and many others.

Speakers scheduled for the anniversary include Emiola Nihinlola, President of the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary; Deremi Atanda, Executive Director, SystemSpecs, Lagos, and Toun Soetan, an evangelist. Some of the activities scheduled for the celebration include symposiums, worship sessions, homecoming activities, colloquium and capacity building workshops for effective leadership in the society.

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Inspirations The Holy Spirit PASTOR I.S JAMES KEY TEXT: JOHN 14:15-17

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y coming to earth in the form of man, it wasn’t God’s intention to make life difficult for us. It was actually to make it easier for us. We knew nothing of abundant life, life to the fullest before He came. We could never attain the fullness of our potential outside of his help. Indeed, he said somewhere in the Gospels that we could not do anything without him. He is our abiding help. Praise God! But remember, he came to earth by his own free will. He offered to come and be our help seeing how helpless we have been and ever would have remained without him.

But why do many think the life of a Christian isn’t easy? Remember the old song we used to sing? “It’s not an easy road when traveling to heaven…” Who told us we have been saved to make our way to heaven in our strength and by our will? Who says attaining heaven is by might or by power?

Does not the scripture say somewhere that by the strength (human effort) shall no flesh prevail? Of course, we are making our way to heaven on God’s terms and his conditions, one of which is that we must trust him to lead us and not we ourselves.

When we accept Christ, we are meant

to be dead to the world, its desires, likes and preoccupations, but many of us are not dead to the world yet. Why is this the case?

We are meant to mortify/kill the part of our lives that desire the things of the world through the help of the Holy Spirit.

If we are struggling to live our lives as Christians, it is because the One Who is meant to help us live according to God’s plan is not present in our lives in the right measure. Remember, it is written of the Lord Jesus that he had the Spirit of God without measure. Jesus had the Spirit of God in overflowing measure. How much of the Spirit of God do you and I have? The degree to which a person is led by the Holy Spirit is proportional to the measure of the Spirit in him/her.

Since Jesus ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit has been in charge of this dispensation. From the Day of Pentecost when officially His dispensation began.

The Holy Spirit is here with us now, but many people treat Him like He does not matter. That was the same way some people related to Jesus when He was on earth.

We are finding life difficult because we rebelled against God’s orders and we are refusing to accept His help to get better.

God desires for us to be better, it breaks His heart to see us suffer.

God has never forsaken His creation and he is looking to help us get back to the place he intends for us to be but we keep ignoring the Holy Spirit.

A major part of the problem is that we want to have the Holy Spirit’s gifts, but we reject His person. God wants us to desire the person of the Holy Spirit. Failure to desire Him with heart, intent and consistently, is why we suffer and struggle in life.

According to John 14:17, we are meant to know the Holy Spirit & He’s meant to dwell in us.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

He is the Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counsellor, Strengthener, Standby and the Spirit of Truth The Holy Spirit is meant to monitor and regulate your behaviour as a Christian. But we so often do not give him room.

There is a unique difference between the Holy Spirit & the other Members of the Trinity. That’s why we call Him the “Holy” Spirit, God wants us to have a special level of respect and regard for Him. He is a Person with feelings just like you.

The things that hurt you will very likely hurt the Holy Spirit as well.

What’s the purpose of the Holy Spirit’s coming into our lives?

1 Cor. 2:7-12 If you can count all that God does for you, then you can list the purpose of the Holy Spirit in your life. Whatever is important to and for us is important to the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit’s purpose is to let us

know the things the Father has freely given us.

These things might have been given “freely,” but they are not cheap and should not be handled with levity.

There are many things God wants us to know and have but many are not ready for them yet. It is the Holy Spirit’s purpose to lay hold on what’s being made freely available and lead us into those truths.

There are two ways we can do this: 1. We can believe it and lay hold of it through faith (as we have been taught for long) 2. We can yield to and become intimate with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead us into the things that will make life easy for us.

3.

How does the Holy Spirit speak to us?

Man, just like God is tripartite. We communicate/interact with the physical world with our bodies (using our feelings). Our souls communicate with the mental world (with our reasoning). We communicate/ interact with the Holy Spirit with our spirits.

The voice of our spirit is the conscience.

Dr. Iruofagha James is the Founding Pastor, Glory Christian Ministries, Odo-Olowo Street, Apapa/Oshodi Expressway, Ijeshatedo, Lagos. www.isjames.org Tel: 08060599144

Untapped asset DEBO ATIBA www.spiritonomics.org

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hen they say ‘’wonders shall never end’, that is exactly what this is all about. How on earth anyone could have an ASSET and yet refuses to tap it? Absurd isn’t it?

This usually is due to ignorance gone on rampage. An asset is a defence, it could contain various substances of immeasurable value. When people work, they work to create ASSET that they can fall back on. In fact the whole idea of living and working is to set up assets to fall back on whether both for you and your loved ones.

One of the greatest ASSET that God has given to us is His WORDS. They are infallible, highly invaluable on earth and have great value for eternity. God is not a man to leave for us money or material riches. He is a Spirit (John 4:24). Scripture is agog with the potential that His words carry. We have come to realize that the existence of life is dependent on the spoken word of God, and also activities that govern life are run through the agency of spoken words amongst men. The Scripture says “the WORD

became flesh and dwelled amongst us and we beheld His glory John 1:14. Another scripture says, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and in Him all things consist” Col. 1:17.

The good, beautiful, and enjoyable things of this life are created and sustained by the spoken WORD of God. So how is the WORD of God an ASSET that is UNTAPPED? If truly life came as a result of the spoken word of God, it must be true also that all that we can see, touch and enjoy are all a product of the word of God and they are called ASSETS. The picture we have in our minds when the word “KING” is mentioned is wealth, influence and affluence.

The children of Kings and Queens are “MADE” in life by merely being princes and princesses. They are left immeasurable wealth and material possession.

The word of God is the great treasure, the King of kings and Lord of lords left for us as an inheritance. There is nothing said in His words that is not an actual possession if we believe them. They are not supposed to remain on the pages of the bible, they are meant to be lifted out of the pages, believed and lived because they possess tangibility of what was spoken by God. The WORD that

became flesh is our present help, not a help for the future. This truth remains effective throughout all ages.

Troubles and challenges are akin to us. The fallen world we live in is bedeviled with challenges and troubles, with the aim of snuffing out our lives. So when and where is the WORD of God going to serve as an ASSET? When we are dead?

When we are having it well or when we are confronted with challenges of life?

The best timely and consistent solution to the problems of our lives is in the asset of the spoken word of God. Where and when can Ps.46 (God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…) be applied? When we get to heaven or here on earth? The scripture says ‘’Come unto me all ye that labor...

Are their troubles in heaven or there is great laboring there? Of course not!

The WORD of God says, “little children sin not, but if you sin we have an advocate with the father Jesus... even went ahead to let us know when we confess our sins He God is faithful to forgive us and would ensure we are completely cleansed. Wow!!! To further buttress the ASSET that is resident in the WORD, it is said in Romans 8:1 That as a child of God, the days of condemnation are over forever, it doesn’t matter what you have ever done?

If you never recognized the purpose of the WORD you will abuse it, you can never see it as an asset. It will never ben-

efit you. The sole purpose of the WORD of God is to bail us out of every problem or challenge that can ever confront us in this life. The word is our DEFENSE. Jesus the WORD that became flesh said: “I have come that you may have LIFE and that you may have this LIFE in abundance. Whatever makes for death that is operational in our life’s presently, whether we caused them or they came by themselves. Your bail out is the WORD of God. It is your UNTAPPED ASSET. Is.43:2 says: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

In whatever situation that you may find yourself, however horrible or terrible it may be, there is a WORD waiting for you to bail you out. That is the purpose of the WORD, to build us up and to GIVE us an inheritance amongst them that are sanctified of God. When you take God at His words, you have LIFE in your hands.

Whatever has come to discolor your life, or whatever you did that discolored your life, tap into your ASSET, the WORD of God and you will be surprised how easy life could be despite all the challenges you are faced with.

Remain blessed as you tap into your ASSET. @spiritonomics.org

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Sunday 13 May 2018

The changing face of Oshodi JOSHUA BASSEY

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or decades, Oshodi has been a breeding ground for social deviants, which explains why there are 17 different motor parks that exist within the vicinity.

It will be difficult to imagine that Oshodi, a riotous area in the heart of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial and economic hub, will be what it is gradually transforming into today. The emerging scenario in Oshodi speaks to the power of vision.

As often said, without a vision a nation and its people perish. The Lagos State government is running with a vision it caught three years ago to recreate Oshodi.

The aim is to give the area an ultra-modern outlook, away from its degree of chaos, lack of organisation and poor sanitation.

This filthy, noisy and crime-prone part of Lagos is also known for being overcrowded with both human and vehicular traffic. Oshodi in its present state is estimated to accommodate about one million pedestrians and over 100,000 passengers accessing the several parks and garages daily.

About 76 percent of the area is dedicated to transport and commercial activities. As a result, the place is challenged by heavy traffic congestion and other environmental issues.

Wale Adesina, a resident who deals in local textile materials in a market around Oshodi says he’s been a victim several times to the insanity in Oshodi, and cannot wait to see the emerging transformation.

He expresses concern about possible losses by owners of properties demolished in Oshodi, but adds that payment of compensation by the government will ease the pains.

James Odiki, another resident and banker with one of the banks which fence had to be demolished to align the project in Oshodi, says the sheer determination to change the story of Oshodi from that of confusion and chaos to a modern business centre with complementary world-class facilities is encouraging and fascinating.

The Oshodi Transport Interchange project, coming with ultra modern shopping mall, three-star hotel, standard bus terminals with connecting skywalk, expanded road network that connects the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja among other facilities, is set to change the landscape of the area forever.

Perhaps, for the first time in many years, a foreigner visiting the Africa’s largest economy, upon the completion of

the project later this year, will drive through Oshodi without passing uncomplimentary comments about Nigeria.

And, from the testimonies of Odiki and Adeshina, it’s obvious that not only a first timer in Lagos will be enthralled by what Oshodi is becoming. Indeed, those who know Oshodi and have at one time or the other fallen victims of the activities of the swarm of criminal elements who take advantage of the chaotic scenes to rob and maim, will also be excited at what is being accomplished.

A visit to the project site shows that what started as an idea is rising into a reality. At the unveiling of the project in 2016, not a few had wondered how it will be actualised given the initial resistance by traders, residents, commercial buses operators, business and property owners, and the onerous task of getting them to key into the vision.

Today, the state government has done the ground work, persuaded and convinced the initial dissidents to see beyond their temporary gains from the chaos and with assurances of compensation payment on properties to secure the right of way; the Oshodi transport interchange and its ancillary projects are expected to be delivered before the end of 2018.

The visionary, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, during a recent visit to assess the scope of work at Oshodi, said: “I will like to appeal to Lagos residents to bear with us. As much as possible, we will try to reduce the stress the reconstruction might generate, by completing the Oshodi Transport Interchange by December 2018. This, we hope to present as Christmas gift to Lagos residents.”

But the contractor, Planet Projects, seems to have positioned itself to beat the governor’s deadline. Abiodun Otunola, managing director, Planet Projects, believes that

the interchange will be completed in October this year.

Otunola hinges his conviction on the fact that work on the project is already at 70 percent completion stage. He told BDSUNDAY during a visit to the site last week that the project would be a cynosure of all eyes upon completion.

The contractor who gave a further insight into the project and what Lagosians should expect says the transport interchange will aggregate all 17 intra-city and interstate motor parks in Oshodi into three multi-storey bus terminals. The three floor terminals, which are 30, 000 square metres for each terminal will take care of the parking and passengers’ demands.

The terminal one will be for inter-state transport activities while terminal two and three will cater for intracity transport activities. The terminals are being built to have standard facilities including waiting area, loading bays, ticketing stands, drivers lounge, parking areas, rest rooms and many more.

The transport interchange change is coming with accessible walkways and pedestrian bridges and a state-of-the-art sky-walk to link all the three

terminals. In addition, there are lanes, tunnels, lay-bys, green area to soften the environment as well as proper waste management system.

“Also, we will introduce fencing, street lighting and a dedicated security team for Oshodi including surveillance tower, CCTVs, etc.”

Upon completion, the Ambode administration would have transformed Oshodi into a world class CBD with business, travel and leisure activities conducted in a serene, secure, orderly and hygienic environment. Essentially, it will be an organised transport system that will ensure free flow of traffic.

Otunola says the project, when operational will serve at peak hours an average of one million people daily with an exponential positive impact on public transportation in Nigeria’s commercial city.

According to the MD, about 300 buses will be departing the three terminals hourly to various intra and interstate destinations.

“The idea is to make available access to efficient and effective transportation to most Lagosians, especially those in the lower and middle income brackets who cannot afford

to fund their own private cars every day.”

Terminal 1 will serve those travelling outside Lagos and the west coast. Terminal 2 will service commuters heading towards Abule Egba and beyond and places like Mile 2, Okokomaiko and beyond, while terminal 3 will serve commuters going to Anthony, Ojota, Lagos Island and Ikorodu.

According to him, the interchange was conceptualised to solve problem, reason he said his company is not a general contractor. He added that Oshodi had been neglected, as if it does not matter, but the governor is giving it a new face.

“People can hardly pass through Oshodi unhurt, especially at the wee hours of the day while many at peak period struggle to enter a bus in a chaotic environment after a hard day’s work. All that will change,” says Otunola, whose company also built the recently commissioned ultra modern Ikeja Bus Terminal To enhance passengers’ comfort, the MD says the three terminals, with multi-layer floors will have elevators to ensure commuters move easily from one floor to another.

To ensure that there are enough buses on ground to pick passengers at any given time, Otunola says two layover parks are being created with the capacity to hold 70 buses.

This way, passengers do not have to wait endlessly for buses on operation to arrive from outside for them to board.

Also to ensure that buses coming from the layover do not obstruct free flow of traffic around Oshodi, two underground tunnels had been incorporated into the project, through which the buses from the layover will connect terminals one and two easily.

He says because the interchange is built to attract tourists within and outside the country, a three-star hotel and shopping mall have been

factored in, to serve the leisure of passengers and the tourists.

According to him, 1000 light will be installed around the interchange, to create effects, to reflect the mood of a celebration like Christmas and Independence Day celebration, beaming the green and white national colours.

More importantly, the transport interchange, according to Otunula, will showcase national pride and signpost the fact that Nigeria has come of age in engineering design, given that the project is being handled 100 percent by an indigenous company and engineers.

Kehinde Bamigbetan, the Lagos State commissioner for information and strategy, says the project reflects government’s undying commitment to the development of modern infrastructure.

“About 168 people enter Lagos per hour and we cannot drive them away. This administration is thinking ahead.

Others may see problems but Ambode thinks solutions.

This is what is reflected in the Oshodi Transport Interchange and other projects going on within the state.

Bamigbetan says the government wants to build a Lagos that can be internationally benchmarked. “We want situation where whoever arrives Lagos can get a bus conveniently to his or her destination without spending hours at the bus stop.”

The commissioner says that the governor is passionately committed to building on the legacies of his predecessors in office, and that when Oshodi is completed, there will be no space for street miscreants who makes the area unsafe for members of the public.

On sustainability of the project, Bamigbetan says “Lagos has run on the basis of continuity and consistency in policies and governance based on a long-term development plan. Therefore, there is no fear about the future of Oshodi Transport Interchange.

“No government will take this away from Nigerians, particularly Lagosians who stand to benefit in many ways from this iconic project,” says Bamigbetan.

According to the commissioner, the project is also about promoting local content as it is being executed by an indigenous firm that has ensured that all the workers are Nigerians, thereby, preventing capital flight.

“If you look around the site, you won’t see Chinese or Germans or Lebanese. All you see here are Nigerians, and this is also a strategy by the government to create jobs locally,” Bamigbetan says.

Sunday 13 May 2018

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Politics Contemporary Nigeria does not need the leadership of Buhari – Senatorial aspirant Ogana Lukpata is the deputy chief whip Cross River State House of Assembly and also a senatorial aspirant in the state. He is doing his second term.

The lawmaker said that President Muhammadu Buhari has no good intention for Nigeria and that he should be voted out in the 2019 polls. Lukpata also said that Lamido is the only presidential candidate in the 2019 election who has the capacity to salvage Nigeria from the deep holes which Buhari has put the country. He further said that state House of Assembly has confidence in the leadership of the house and that of the governor and that the house is in support of Governor Ben Ayade to do his second term. Our Cross River State Correspondent, MIKE ABANG brings you the excerpts.

This is your second term in the State House of Assembly; may we know your contributions in the first tenure and now that you are a principal officer? the first Assembly, I was the Chairman Judicial Service and Public Petition Matters.

As a Chairman Judicial Service and Public Petition Matters, I held many public petitions that touched on the lives of people, some of whom were cheated, some wrongly dismissed from service or firms and those who bought contaminated drugs from firms. I made sure that justice was done. That role gave me a lot of passion because it has to do with the lives of people. It touched on the souls of people.

We were also involved in over sighting judicial matters and we worked well with the Chief Judge.

We were able to father the lower courts and the customary courts that were constituted for long.

I would use this opportunity to call on the government to do something about the customary courts. They cannot continue to function without sitting. This could be why we are having conflicts all over the land. Customary courts have jurisdiction of title to land. We have too many conflicts over land.

Right now I am in the leadership and a Principal Officer in the House and I cannot access myself.

I believe that it is only the public that could give a correct assessment of my office. But I believe that we have been having robust house. We have been stable and peaceful. In Cross River State we are united. We have remained as one family and we have confidence on the leadership of the house and the State Governor.

I want to advice the social media to stop peddling rumors that the house went to impeach our Governor. Why should we impeach our governor? We will never do that and we stand with the governor and encourage him to deliver service to the people.

That is the only way we too can deliver.

The House of Assembly in Cross River State does not have financial autonomy. Our budget is tied to the budget of our governor. People should not distract us and creating the impression that we do not like our governor. I was part of the struggle for a governor to come from the Northern Senatorial District and it is the right of the zone for the governor to his

process I would ensure that my projects that would benefit are included in the budget.

I

There must be issues in your state constituency that should be addressed but have not been tackled, then, why go the Federal and leave those issues unattended to?

Governance is a continuum.

What I failed to do I could still come back and take care of them even those that I did not start.

At the federal I will have more capacity in terms of funding and operations. My people would be better and I would deliver qualitative services over there because there would be much on the table unlike where it is little.

Lukpata

second term.

How do you see the 2018 Budget of N1.3 trillion Governor Ben Ayade signed into law recently and do you think that budget is realistic?

Yes. We have taken it out of the envelop from the Federation Account and the internally-generated revenue. All these put together cannot deliver that budget. We have two levels of poverty, the poverty of the mind and that of money. The worst poverty is that of the mind. If you are rich in mind, you can create that money. We do not have money but we have rich minds. His Excellency has a rich mind; he has a rich vision to make up the difference. He does not depend on the Federation Account and the internally-generated revenue. He knows how to go about it. He is the one presenting and implementing it and he knows how to go about it. What we need to do is to encourage him source for the funds and make up that difference. The budget is reliable. It may appear unrealistic but it is realistic.

People have different gifts.

Some flourish in the executive setting. You seem to prefer the legislative setting. Is that where you think you could excel?

Yeah, yes; people have different gifts but some people have multiple gifts. My colleagues say I am an asset to the House of Assembly and that they admire my legislative skills. It encourages me in leadership when my colleagues in the house tell me this. When I am upgraded it would enlarge my

scope and capacity. The Federal Government is larger and I would make laws for the whole country Nigeria. I have passion for service and not to make money. My joy is in touching the lives of people. At the national level I would touch lives better. My young people would be empowered which is not by coming to town hall meetings quarterly to give them money. That is not empowerment.

Empowerment is when you give people jobs. There at the National Assembly, I would leverage with the parliamentarians, customs, prisons, police and immigration.

When these organisations do their employment, I would assist and get my people employed there. I have had a lot of federal content. I have operated as the National Legal Adviser to the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). My friends in the execution would open their doors when I approach them. In the budget

I have passion for service and not to make money; my joy is in touching the lives of people

We continue to hear of killings in the Middle Belt, in the North and partly on the south by herdsmen. It has come to a situation where it looks as if there is no government in place. Is there a government in place to provide security for the people?

There is government in place. The government we have is false government. The APC government is that of deceit and traitor. What they campaigned is not a positive change but a negative one. There is no positive decimal about this government. The killings are still going on in Benue, Taraba, Kogi and Plateau states. But beyond the killings, Nigerians are suffering.

There is hardship and unemployment of our youths; no quality in our currency, our currency has become tissue paper and cannot compete well internationally. The currency has been totally devalued; some families cannot meet their needs. They can no longer feed. There is no food and people are dying of hunger. What we hear is burial ceremonies.

We cannot say that there is no government constitutionally. The question is do we have a government that is well-meaning for the people, whether we have a government that thinks well for the people, whether we have government that has vision or capacity and is capable of delivering services? The answer is No. The APC government is not competent; it lacks the ability to take care of Nigeria.

There is suffering in the land in terms of youth unemployment, hunger and security challenges.

In your opinion, who do you think can salvage the country?

Sule Lamido is the answer to Nigeria’s problems. I know him over 30 years ago. He is very courageous and visionary. Thank God, he has been tasted as a governor.

As a governor, he transformed Jigawa State to a model city. If you go to Jigawa State you would see good roads, constant electricity supply and other development indices. From that alone we can judge him. He would deliver in terms of youth employment, good electricity power supply, railways would return, the road network would improve significantly and a lot of good things would happen in this country.

The rural people would have potable water to drink. I am speaking from my relationship with him. The Cross River State Government and all those that would go for the PDP convention would vote for him.

Recently, in US, President Buhari said that Nigerian Youths were not educated and that they were lazy. What is your take?

First of all, Buhari has not been able to produce his School Certificate result. So, we would understand why he said so. He thinks that the youth of today are the same with his own days when they were totally unproductive and could not pass examination.

He does not know that Nigerian youths of today are of different levels and have gone digital. They compete favourably among the youth in the world. They are doing well all over the world.

Buhari is talking out of ignorance. He lacks the capacity to assess what Nigerian youths are.

He lacks the ability to assess the youth.

Secondly, it is an admission of failure that he has failed to provide employment for the youth many of whom are graduates. It is Buhari’s duty to provide employment for the youth; then coming out to say that they were lazy or idle is very unfortunate.

He cannot blame Nigerians. He is painting Nigeria in bad light to the world. If the Trumps administration in America hears this and begins to lock up boarders against Nigerians, what would he say? The American government appreciates the quality of Nigerians in the United States even in other parts of the world. Nigerian youths are hardworking, educated and what they are looking for is an opportunity to demonstrate their God-given talents.

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Sunday 13 May 2018

Politics APC fighting for survival as bickering cracks up party the risk of losing Kano state or a large chunk of votes, if the current face-off between the two political gladiators is not urgently resolved.

INIOBONG IWOK

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he All Progressives Congress (APC) is facing its biggest hurdle of survival since the party was formed in 2013, in a merger which involved four political parties; the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

The party subsequently won a historic election and emerged majority in all elective positions across the country, defeating the then ruling party; the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) including the presidential election, in which Muhammedu Buahri defeated then incumbent President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

However, since assuming power, the APC has been plagued with prolonged internal squabbles, and divisions among leaders in several states, largely due to tussles for control of the structure of the party or disagreements with the governance policies and political ambitions.

While there has also been a general opposition and antagonism among APC members, especially the federal law makers to some of the Buhari administration policies and programmes.

This squabbles and divisions have spread to several state chapters of the party, pitching several chieftains and leaders of the party against one another.

This crisis is threatening the chances of the party retaining these states beyond the 2015 general elections.

Recently, President Muahmmadu Buhari set up a reconciliation committee headed by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the party, saddling it with the task of reconciling aggrieved members across the troubled state chapters.

The states Imo The crisis in the Imo State chapter of the party started early this year, when the state Governor, Rochas Okorocha was said to be making moves to endorse his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, for the 2019 gubernatorial election on the platform of the APC, as Okorocha’s second term in office expires in 2019.

Okorocha had subsequently publicly endorsed his Chief of Staff, Uche Nwosu as next Imo governor in 2019.

However, this development has not gone down well with political leaders and the people of Imo state, including fellow leaders of his party, the APC , who had asked the Governor to jettison such ambition and allow his successor come naturally from within the ranks of the party.

Over the last few months, the crisis in Imo APC has further degenerated due to the interest of the Deputy of Governor of the state

Oyegun

Okorocha

El-Rufai

Bello

Ganduje

Tambuwal

Eze Madumere in the Governorship position.

The internal wrangling took a different twist last week, after the ward congress, when the Deputy Governor defeated the Governor in the ward congress in several local governments, resulting in fresh reports of moves by Rochas Okorocha to instigate the impeachment process against the deputy Governor through the state Assembly.

Okorocha and his group are said to be accusing the Deputy Governor of having led the onslaught that resulted in their loss in last Saturday’s wards congress in the state.

Sources said an aid to the Governor had allegedly met with some key member s of the State House of Assembly to carry out the plot of impeaching the Deputy Governor for reasons such as his refusal to enforce his son-in-law and forming an alliance with the opposition to humiliate him.

As the current impasse in Imo intensifies, what is obvious is that the current succession battle in the state may tear the APC apart, while several actors in the current imbroglio, including the governor, may be consumed.

state, and the long history of rivalry between Christians and Muslims, have fueled the crisis.

The crisis however aggravated recently, when a new faction formed by members loyal to the two APC senators, Sulaiman Hunkuyi and Shehu Sani in the state, recently opened a new state party secretariat in Kaduna and appointed interim leaders to run its affairs.

Responding, the El-rufail controlled faction also suspended Hunkuyi and expelled 28 others from the party for alleged anti party activities, they were alleged to have been involved in creating a parallel organ outside the state working committee and conducting themselves in a manner that is not in accordance with the party’s constitution and manifesto.

However, in their response to the suspension, members of the faction met and announced the suspension of governor El-Rufail from the party for six months, over what they described as unilateral imposition of candidates for the forth -coming local government election.

The acting Chairman of Hunkuyi Faction, Danladi Gwada, said Hunkuyi and other members of the new faction during the meeting insisted that their camps were the duly recognised factions by the APC National leadership and that they cannot be said to be suspended by the other group.

Reacting to the suspension, the governor ordered the demolition of Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi’s house whichwas usedas the headquarters of the faction of the party.

Speaking recently on the floor of the Senate on the demolition, Senator Sani said the governor was acting with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said: “Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has said repeatedly that he has the nod of President Muham-

madu Buhari to do whatever he likes. I recall that my constituency office was attacked 11 times and unfortunately, military and police personnel were used in these attacks because we set up APC office outside El-Rufai’s personalised office, he demolished it”.

However, there are moves by the Tinubu’s reconciliation committee to resolve the lingering crisis in the state after meeting with the two faction’s severally in the state.

Kaduna The All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kaduna State has for some time, been embroiled in an intra- party crisis which has resulted in the fictionalisation of the party in the state.

The crisis, which started just after Nasir El-Rufai assumed office as governor, resulted in the suspension of Senator Shehu Sani from the party by the El-Rufail controlled faction since 2016.

While it is generally believed that the control of the APC structure is the reason for the current crisis, some of El-Rufai’s administration policies, like the controversial sacking of hundreds of teachers in the

Kano In Kano, the immediate past governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, is locked in battle with his predecessor and long-time political benefactor, Abdullahi Ganduje.

Both men have made it clear that they would never work together again politically. In fact, the feud between the two leaders has transcended the political to the personal.

Since he left office in 2015, Kwankwaso went to Kano only once, and that was to commiserate with Ganduje on the death of his mother.

His second attempt to return to the state after he left office was twice aborted by Ganduje, prompting the presidency to summon the duo for a meeting with Abba Kyari, the chief of staff to the president, to avert trouble in the state.

However, as the general election approaches, the relationship between the duo is still tense and getting more bitter; Kwankwaso in a recent statement to his supporters, after the wedding of Ganduje’s daughter to the son of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state, said those who attended the wedding of Ganduje’s divorcee child had wasted their time.

Also recently, there have been rumours of Kwankwaso defecting to the PDP, but it is however instructive to say that the APC faces

Kogi The crisis in the Kogi State chapter of the APC has been raging for some time, with the incumbent governor Yahaya Bello and controversial Senator Dino Melaye and the party executives.

Recently, a faction of the party loyal to the state governor had sacked the chairman of APC in the state, Hadi Ametuo and other excos, while the purported sack was announced by Ibrahim Ahovi, who claimed that he was now the state acting chairman.

The claim was countered by the zonal executive of the party who revealed that neither the state nor the zonal executives constituted in whatever name or form, could expel anyone from the party, adding that only a convention of the party was empowered to do such.

However, the feud between the governor and Senator Dino has taken a twist over the last few months; Governor Bello is being fingered in the current ordeal of Senator Melaye, having been accused of spending large sums of money in the botched move to recall Melaye form the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

The governor is also being fingered in the current attempt by the Nigeria Police to prosecute Melaye, for several alleged crimes.

Recently, Senator Dino Melaye had claimed he had uncovered an alleged plan by the Nigeria Police and the Kogi State Government to assassinate him, using lethal injection, adding that it necessitated the moves by the Police in prosecuting him in Kogi rather Abuja, a position that was denied by the Kogi state government in a statement by the Director General, Media and Publicity to Governor Bello, Kingsley Fanwo.

“He should face his problems and leave Governor Bello out of the issues surrounding his face-off with the Police. The governor is a law abiding citizen of Nigeria who would not involve himself in such criminality. Home or abroad, no organisation has ever indicted the governor of such crime”.

However, as the battle between the two gladiators intensifies, what is obvious is that the APC in Kogi cannot likely work in accord, meaning the APC faces the danger of losing Kogi state soon.

Sokoto Upon resumption as the head of the reconciliation committee of the APC; among the first states, the leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu visited was Sokoto state, the battle is between the Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufail and the national vice chairman of the party, Inuwa Abdulkadir.

The governor had pulled down

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Politics Cabal behind Buhari’s second term bid - Salvador Moshood Salvador, chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State and a former member of the House of Representatives, in this exclusive interview with INIOBONG IWOK, assess the state of the party and its chances of winning the state in the 2015 general election, among other issues. Excerpts: How would you describe the recently concluded Southwest rally of the PDP? he recently concluded Southwest PDP rally was a huge success, because we realise that large crowd of party members came from different parts of Osun and other south west states, and it was also attended by other structures of the party. We also saw all the party leaders, Secondus, Makarfi, Sule Lamido all presidential aspirants of the party, and they were all looking elated, warmly greeting and exchanging pleasantries among themselves; it means there would not be problem after the party’s presidential primary.

baffle me, that make me so sad and I wonder where we are going in this country? I travelled to Osogbo last weekend; and I saw houses without doors, they use palm fronds for their roofs and there is no police stations; that means; anyone can just come and take people’s lives without anyone noticing or knowing what is happening.

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What is the state of the PDP in Lagos State now?

The party is doing well; and we are following the constitution of the party to guide us in whatever we do; we would not do anything outside of the constitution of the party, in our dealing with the people that is what I said.

Immediately I was elected as the chairman of the party in Lagos, I realised that you cannot have just about 30,000 members in the state; you need more than that to guard the pooling units and I said we have to raise our membership strength, especially in a general election. And I immediately set out and embarked on membership drive and mobilised members across the state; I opened a site www.PDP.com and people are registering and we are attending to them; I can say we have more than 3000, 000 members of PDP in Lagos state now; but that is not up to my target; my target is to have more than a million members in Lagos State; that is why you saw the large crowd at our state rally last time, even our secretariat could not accommodate us again for our rally because our number has increased.

Some people still think PDP is dead in Lagos?

PDP is not dead in Lagos State, we are more alive than APC; tell me, when did APC hold ward, state meetings? The chairman just stays at home and they are not doing anything; it is only PDP that is working; APC is not doing anything.

In the 2015 general election, the PDP won several positions in Amuwo Odofin constituency; are you confident of retaining them now?

Salvador

We still have our two House of Representatives members in the party; the two assembly members in Oshodi that defected to the APC would not be given ticket to return to the House by the APC. I have that information; so it would not affect us much but you cannot sit down and say that, you have to keep on working.

They defected because they were not properly managed; if they were properly managed they would not have left. The House of Assembly member in Amuwo-Odofin that defected to the APC is now struggling to come back to the party and I said you can come back if you follow the right procedure, because the constitution of our party says you can come back, but you have to start as a beginner; but there is power in CWC to give a waiver for him to remain a leader, but you have to be able to deal with the issues and we are doing that.

There were echoes of endorsement of elected political office holders of the party for second term in the last state rally; is this the position of the party?

Did you hear that from me? I never said any member holding public office has been given automatic return ticket. I can’t make such pronouncement; it must have been made from other people and these are people creating problems for the party, but I can assure you that we are doing everything possible for the party to get peace.

Is there a problem between you and Bode George and some of his loyalists; they were holding programme somewhere else during your last state rally?

They were holding a meeting in

Bode George’s house and they said they would join us when they finish, I don’t know what they were also doing there again.

We don’t have problem here in PDP; if you say some officers don’t come to meeting we have CWC, we meet regularly and it was three that use to be absent, but now they are four; our own is to send notice of meeting if you don’t come that is your own, we don’t have problem with any of them, they may have their issues.

Imagine, one of them said he was given a small office and I told him go and use my office. The office was allocated by the organising secretary with my approval, the party is moving forward, we don’t operate like before, things have changed.

One of your chieftains, Segun Adewale, is contesting in Ekiti as a governorship candidate of ADP; would your party take disciplinary action against him?

How can you call him our party member; when you see him contest in Ekiti State on another party? However, if he comes back to the party, we would accept

It is not Buhari that is seeking re-election it is the cabal; Buhari’s name is just being used

him, it is his constitutional right; and you can dump your party and go elsewhere to actualise your ambition, even the Nigerian constitution guarantees that.

The issue of defection among Nigerian politicians has become worrisome; does it bother you?

You have to take as part of politics because an average Nigerian politician has lost integrity; lying has now become fun. Our integrity has gone completely. Elders lying and when you leave they said I had to do it to hide my face.

Presently, you see pastors; Imans lying; so it is deep-rooted.

Are you concerned about the kind of individuals holding elective positions nowadays?

The calibre of people going into politics in the country; do you want to blame them? It is because decent people are not going into politics; even you would not vote for them; you would say they don’t have money. How do you expect a businessman to invest his money in your future and not expect anything in-return?

Even in advanced countries, whose democracy we are copying; it is not because you are rich that you go into politics, it is only in Nigeria that such occurs.

It is only when Nigeria changes that culture that they should expect good leadership in the country. You eat your cake and you still want it back. The orientation has to change if we want to move forward in this country.

How would you assess the Buhari administration?

Buhari is a failure; he is a complete failure; every right-thinking person would not be happy with the death of human beings in the country; I see many things that

But the President said he wants to seek re-election?

It is not Buhari that is seeking re-election it is the cabal; Buhari’s name is just being used.

The way he is doing, how many documents can he sign? He is an old man; they are only using his name like they used it the last time. Why would they persuade him to contest, if not that the cabals are benefiting from him?

The president said he was not corrupt and the vice president said he was even giving his salary to the less-privileged; then where are they putting Nigerian money? We are not seeing new universities, roads, hospitals, etc, they are selling oil every day and we are paying tax. Even in Lagos Ambode is over-taxing the people; businesses are closing down and relocating to other neighbouring countries; even Michelins had to leave for Ghana because of the difficult environment for doing business here.

You can see what happened in Ekiti, they cannot even conduct a common primary.

We have not seen anybody come out to declare intention for governorship of Lagos State?

It is too early; all these people just coming out now are comedians; the real people would come out six or seven months to election.

Look at the people just coming from abroad and giving people $10, 000 thinking Nigerians are poor and they want to get the ticket; but what I am saying here in Lagos is that they should join the party and build the party with us; it is when you do that you can know how we operate.

What’s your impression about the Ambode administration?

Akinwunmi Abode is a failure in Lagos State, look at what he is doing; taking money to develop Epe, an area that has no value to the state, just because they said he was from their ward. He said he built 144 local roads, but those roads were built by the local government areas and the state is claiming them; It seems they have forgotten the LGA is a different tier of government.

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Politics

Politics

I am seeking justice for my people - Ortom Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on return from leave interacted with the media community in the state at the Banquet Hall of the Benue People’s House. He spoke on various issues including the institution of criminal proceedings against the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore who he said were sponsors of the killings in the state, pledging that he was determined to get justice for the Benue people. BENJAMIN AGESAN was at the session. Excerpts:

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h ile y o u w e re away, some of your security aides were transferred and prior to that you alleged that there were threats to your life. Some have linked this action to a plot to eliminate you; what’s your take on this?

Let me appreciate all of you.

Thank you for the support and for standing with me and my government in this trying period. Words are not enough to express my inestimable appreciation to all of you for your advice, your constructive criticisms and support that you’ve given to us especially the siege that Benue State is fighting today.

Thank you for the support that you gave to my deputy in my absence and for the achievements that we’ve recorded. I always say that right from first of January, 2018, you’ve not left us. You’ve stood with us, you’ve stood with the people and this, to a large extent, has cushioned the pains that this government and the people of Benue State are going through. It is appreciated that you’ve through your pen, made it possible for the outside world to appreciate what we’re going through in Benue State. We’ve gotten tremendous support for our IDPs and this is also attributed to you for making people understand, telling the people the pains that the people of Benue State are going through even beyond the shores of this country. People have tried to reach out to us and it’s based on the information that you’ve been giving out.

So you’re deeply appreciated and I pray that God will continue to keep us and will continue to help us. Like I always say, the Bible says whatever you do, do it as unto God and when you do that, it is God that rewards, not really minding what you get today, but the outcome of what it will be tomorrow. Above all, we’re talking about our own state, we’re talking about building a state that posterity will ever remember that we went through the leadership; we’re talking about building a state where there’ll be justice, equity and fairness for all; we’re talking about building a state that will stand on a very sound footing so that the pains we’re going through today as a people, our children will leverage on whatever foundation we’ve built and then effect better development more than the way we’re witnessing today. So it’s col-

IDP camp in Benue State

lective, it’s about all of us working together to achieve it and I remain committed and open to all forms of ideas that can add value to the development of our state. So, while I welcome you, I also thank God for meeting all of you safe despite all the challenges that we’re passing through. I believe that what has a beginning must also have an end; so I believe that very soon, we’ll have cause to smile because the Federal Government too is deeply concerned about what’s happening and the steps it has taken in the last few days will definitely bring an end to this siege that we are in.

Now, to the question about the transfer of the immediate security personnel attached to me by the police; Of course, I was on vacation and I also heard and saw it, but I did complain through the Commissioner of Police here in Makurdi that this was not right. In the whole country, you have the right, as governor, to select your immediate security personnel that work with you, and I think the attention of the authority of the Nigerian Police was drawn to this and it was corrected the following day. So to me, whether it was made in error or by mischief or whatever means, the important thing is that it was corrected and today, all my aides are with me because I also saw the letter that was written that cases of transfer of police officers, as far as Benue State was concerned, should be suspended indefinitely

One thing that was identified was that areas that were attacked were not yet safe and while the committee was going round, despite the fact that they had adequate security personnel with them, they were also attacked in several places and thank God, the security personnel were able to repel all the attacks that came upon them and no one was hurt till they finished their assignment and went back

Ortom and I have all my aides. So I don’t want to read meanings into that for now. As you’re aware, I had to come back and I resumed today, so if there are any other things, I’ll still let you know but for now, an error was done which I drew the attention of the management of the Nigerian Police and it has been corrected. So that is where we are.

What steps is the state government taking to prevent further attacks on Benue communities by the invaders?

Since the invasion from January, we’ve not rested. As governor, my deputy and members of the executive council and of course,

as members of the security council in Benue State, we’ve been working very hard; we’ve been very proactive because we have agents in the 276 council wards, in the 23 local governments and we’ve been meeting very frequently to assess and analyse the situation with security agencies in the state.

And to complement the security agencies, we’ve also empowered the Vigilante Groups and Livestock Guards to complement what they do. And we’ve identified all those flash points that these invaders come and attack our people and we’ve adequately made presentations to the Federal Government

and as I speak to you, there’s already a reinforcement going on by all security agencies to ensure that we’re able to surmount this challenge especially of attacking our people because Mr. President, in my last discussion with him, was deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis that we’re facing today in Benue State.

A committee was set up to assess the damage and to see how these IDPs can be rehabilitated to go back to their various communities. But one thing that was identified was that areas that were attacked were not yet safe and while the committee was going round, despite the fact that they had adequate security personnel with them, they were also attacked in several places and thank God,

the security personnel were able to repel all the attacks that came upon them and no one was hurt till they finished their assignment and went back. So Mr. President had indicated that he wants a rehabilitation of these homes because even when they go back, how are they going to stay in these places? So we raised the issue of security in these areas and he did assure us and that I’ve seen the sign. As at today, some of the personnel, the top senior people are already in the state and by tomorrow, the Chief of Army Staff is visiting himself just to try to also address this matter. All the security apparatus are augmenting their personnel to help curtail these attacks and I believe that within the shortest possible time, it’ll be done. Of course, you know

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that though I am “Chief Security Officer,” of the state I don’t have the authority backing me to order the police or soldiers, that is why we will continue to ask for state police to ensure they are adequately trained and equipped to have the capacity to take care of the security of the state. But for now, it is the responsibility of the Federal Government. They too, they have their deficiencies in terms of capacity, numbers, equipment, funding and this is why I will continue to call on my people to continue to support them because the insurgency that is going on, as at today, out of the 23 local governments, you hardly count five local governments that are not under siege. So you can see the enormous challenge. So there are several ways that individuals, groups, communities can come in to support.

We have the Vigilante Group, we have Livestock Guards but these are not armed people so it becomes very difficult and when it comes to funding, you discover that the security personnel in the state are grossly underfunded and ill equipped. We need to support them. Where individuals or groups or corporate organisations have that kind of support, you can pass through government, you can pass through anybody or to them directly by way of mobility, funding or whatever that can be available to support the security agents to work. On our part, we’re working very hard and that is why I had to reschedule my trip to come back earlier than I had planned because of the continued attacks.

So I’m here putting heads with the Deputy Governor and other members of council and security agencies and I believe that this will definitely have an end. The efforts of the security agencies looking beyond the issue of grazing is also a welcome development. I think by the grace of God, we’ll soon surmount this challenge.

What’s your reaction to the military invasion and massive destruction in Naka, vis-à-vis the failure of the military to react in the same manner when Fulani militia killed their men like it happened in Yogbo years back and Tyulen recently? Will Benue seek redress?

I condemn the invasion in its totality, this is unwarranted. I must also condemn the killing of the

After killing my people, they’ll not be allowed to go free. I’ll continue to say it that these people must be arrested because they’re responsible for killings in the state. The evidences are there; very clear for everyone who wants to see to see

army personnel in Naka and that was why my deputy who was then the acting governor, swiftly took action by directing the chairman of the local government and the traditional rulers of the Gwer West Local Government to ensure that the perpetrators were arrested and brought to justice. And this was done. Even while I was away, I was keenly following up until these suspects were handed over to the Commanding Officer of 72 battalion; and so the action of government was very clear.

Five people were arrested and brought, it was not the military that arrested them or police. The chairman of the Local Government and the traditional council came together and arrested these people and handed them over. And so there was no basis whatsoever for an invasion.

We’ve reported this to the Chief of Army Staff and he has already directed an inquiry to be made and they assured me that anyone found wanting will be dealt with according to the laws and so I’m waiting for the outcome.

I don’t want to preempt what will be but this is not right and I’ll continue to tell our people that criminality in all its forms is not allowed.

Reprisal or revenge of any type will not be accepted by this government. We are a government that believes in the fear of God and God respects human sanctity and it is important that whatever happens, blood should not be shed even when you are attacked, reprisal is not the solution, it’s not the answer.

The answer is the rule of law.

That is the only thing that can guarantee safety for all. When you allow lawlessness to prevail you are calling for anarchy; and when there is anarchy no one will ever be safe.

And you don’t know the extent that will take us to. So at all times we must be law abiding.

The security agencies are there, don’t think that they are slow. Justice may not be gotten that same day but if you follow due process, justice will definitely be gotten. And I want to encourage our people to at all times appreciate this. And so until we have the report of the Chief of Army Staff then we’ll know exactly what other steps we’re going to take.

Don’t you think the Benue Anti-open grazing law should be adopted and enforced nationwide?

You know that Nigeria is a federation comprising of 36 states and Abuja. And of course, the 36 states are federating units and these units are independent of each other. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria mandates each federating unit to make laws for good governance of their citizens. This is what we did as far as this law is concerned.

You’re aware that this challenge between herdsmen and farmers in Benue State and other parts of the country preceded the current administration whether at the federal level or Benue State. The steps we took were to forestall crisis finally for farmers and herdsmen and we remain committed to this in Benue State. We cannot talk about any other state. But I must congratulate the Benue people, I must congratulate all of you – the media for standing with us in defence of this law. You appreciate the fact that since May 22, 2017 when we signed the bill into law, it became so contentious. There were several schools of thought and several agitations from several quarters. So for the National Economic Council, NEC, coming to adopt that truly, ranching is the right way to go, for us in Benue State, it is congratulations to all of us and we appreciate God. And for other states adopting this, it is left for them to decide. There are various Houses of Assembly, there are various governors and the processes of making laws for their good governance. Mind you, out of the 36 states, we have our

peculiarities.

What is peculiar to me here may be different from my colleague here in Nasarawa, Ebonyi and other states. So it is now left for them to decide if they so wish. We’ve always said that the prohibition of open grazing in Benue State is a product of the people themselves.

You were all here and you saw that in the process of making this law, the people were in a hurry to the extent that Benue State House of Assembly was occupied more than three times. And you had people coming, old women, young and so on coming in to protest and ensure that this law was enacted.

So the Assembly was not spared.

Several times, the people came and occupied the Assembly. So even as I speak to you today, before I went on vacation, I had cause to tour the IDP camps. I visited the eight of them and in spite of the hardship and the pains that the IDPs were going through, in each of the camps, I did pose a question ‘do we find a way of repealing this law?’ and unanimously they said no; they believe that this is the way to go- from the old women, old men, young men and girls and even children. They were all unanimous, so for me, it is a plus to us for National Economic Council (NEC) to have taken that decision.

I commend the wisdom of the Vice President for setting up that committee that went out to assess the situation and the entire members of National Economic Council (NEC) coming to adopt this. Like the northern Governors, some weeks go met in Kaduna and adopted that ranching remains the only option to stop the challenge of herdsmen, farmers crisis. Like they did say, by 2050, the total population of Nigeria by projection would be 415 million and if we have approximately, 200 million and we are having this challenge, by the time we double that population, where are we going to be? Where would you have the land for open grazing? So I commend NEC for taking this bold decision.

Individual states are at liberty to decide what is good for them. I’m aware that sometime ago, my colleague in Kano State called on all herdsmen to go to Kano that they have enough land for them to do open grazing. That is the kind of thing that I’m talking about. For us here, it is impossible because we don’t have the land; our land is for crop production, which is the main occupation of our people. Even within our population here, that land is not enough for farming.

So I appreciate God that ranching remains the best global practice It’s what is obtainable in India and other parts of Asia, in Europe and in America. In fact, it may interest you to know that the total herd of cattle we have in Nigeria is estimated to be less than 20 million. But you have over 200 million in India; you have over 250 million in Brazil; you have over 300 million in America and they all ranch and you don’t hear about farmers, herdsmen clashing at any time.

So, ranching is the right way to go.

I commend NEC and I believe that with this position of NEC we will finally have peace. Those insurgents that are still going about killing our people are not out for cattle business or cattle rearing. They are out for a different agenda and we are not going to allow that agenda manifest in Benue State.

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From the Red Chamber With

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE

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n my last week’s column titled: ‘Rising spate of strongmen in Nigerian politics,’ I reviewed the dominance of strongmen and continued existence of weak institutions in the nation’s polity.

I submitted that while South Africa is blazing the trail in Africa in building strong institutions with the resignation of former President Jacob Zuma and his subsequent corruption trial, Nigeria, the supposed ‘Giant of Africa’, is leading from behind as it is replete with strongmen who have shown by their actions and inactions that they are bigger than our institutions.

On Thursday last week, I was stunned by the submissions of the Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie,

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AssemblyWatch As we await Senate’s funeral who poured i nvective on a fellow radio guest on Kiss FM Abuja, for urging Mr President to throw in t h e t ow e l o n g ro u n d s o f ill-health. She didn’t stop there, she went further by calling the guest, a legal practitioner, ‘irresponsible’ and ‘ignorant’. How low can t h e P re s i d e n t ’ s h a n d l e r s go in defending their principal?

Last week’s snubbing of the Senate by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, for the third consecutive time and his response to Senate’s resolution describing him as an ‘enemy of democracy’ and ‘unfit to hold public office within and outside Nigeria’, clearly indicates that the police boss has the strong backing of the powers that be.

Otherwise, how can you justify the fact that the leadership of the National Assembly had reported the chief law enforcement officer to President Buhari, yet nothing was done about it?

This goes to show one thing: if Idris could flagrantly disrespect the directives of the Commander-in-Chief on the incessant killings in Benue State, much less the Nigerian Senate.

I can’t agree less with the submission of a dis-

tinguished colleague, Fred Itua, who described the Senate as being ‘officially dead’. What is left now is its funeral.

On the other hand, the Saraki-led Senate is the architect of its own misfortune. Where is the report of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters on President Buhari’s payment of $496 million to the United States Government for the purchase of twelve Tucano military aircraft without National Assembly approval?

This report should have been submitted a fortnight ago. What happened to the report of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs on the alleged harassment of the Chairman, Senate Public Accounts Committee, Matthew Urhoghide, for asking his colleagues to invoke Section 143 of the 1999 Constitution against the President? What about the report of the Aliyu Wamakkoled Committee mandated to investigate the allegation of $25 billion contract scandal levelled against the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mai kanti Baru by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu? The nine-

man panel was inaugurated since October 2017.

Truth is: when your sense of judgement is clouded by political consideration for a President that wants your funeral at all cost, you become an object of ridicule to his aides. Nobody takes you serious any longer.

This explains why the IGP, in a swift response to Senate resolution, described it as a “deliberate blackmail, witch-hunting with mischievous motives to hand-twist the IGP to pervert the end of justice...”

The statement was silent on the spate of killings across the country, which formed the second leg of his invitation by the upper legislative chamber.

As it stands, the Senate President has only succeeded in digging his own grave. Like former Roman general and statesman, Julius Caesar, who was assassinated by a group of nobles in the Senate, Saraki h a s a l s o b e e n b u t c h e re d by the Executive on the slaughter slab, as we await his interment.

M e a n w h i l e , w i t h t h re e months to the commencement of party primaries for the 2019 general elections, most senators nursing reelection bid may most likely

Lawmakers and the need for accountability

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t is saddened to note that at such a time when everybody is canvassing for legislative and institutional framework and policies that will help boost the Nigeria’s socio-economic fortune, some committees saddled with the responsibilities of handling such all important national assignments seem unconcerned and complacent!

A vivid example of such is the Ad-hoc Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill which has outstanding three bills to handle. I expect that even if those on the side of the Executive do not see any reason for the needed reform in the oil and gas industry, the Parliament should take it more serious for the sake of over 190 million Nigerians. For those who benefit so much from the public fund, they should know that all the largesse come from the poorest Nigerians who earn less than N18,000 national minimum wage yet are compelled to pay taxes. For crying out loud, most graduates employed in most private schools earn less than N25,000 per month while lawmakers. Considering the percentage of Nigerian youths who are currently under-employed, one should appreciate how frustrating the economy

Sunday 13 May 2018

is to such families! But for how long are we going to depend on such meagre funds accruing from taxes if such a bouyant public enterprise fail to function effectively? To be specific, salaries and huge emoluments and other pecks of office including the quarterly constituency allowances being enjoyed by political office holders come majorly from taxes of the poorest in the system. One could imagine, several billions of naira worth of revenue and investments being lost daily in the oil and gas industry due to lack of effective legislative framework and policies. Of course, the oil and gas industry remains one of the most promising sector with high potential of employment. But as of today, Nigeria is getting little or nothing from the sector which has not added any value to us.

But with such legislative and institutional frameworks and policies, Nigeria stands to unlock the huge potentials for not only this generation but those yet unborn. With the slow pace of things and knowing fully well that it is another election year, the three bills may also not be passed by the time the 8th Assembly winds down. Taking stock of the lawmakers in this

Assembly, it is evident that some of them were part of the system since the sixth Assembly but only talked about it but never consider it as important to end the jinx!

Also during the week, the House Committee on Public Account during one of its sessions, engaged top officials of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over the queries raised by the office of Auditor General of the Federation (AGF) bothering on non-submission of audited financial reports to the AGF as provided by its Act. It was a grievous infraction which could jeopardize the well-being of the entire country if such an institution does not comp!y with standard financial regulations, yet it’s been a yearly affair.

According to the records, the need to screen the record of the Corporation from 2010 to 2017 is germane to the Auditor General. If the oil and gas industry in United Arab Emirate can function with such hi-tech facilities, what stops Nigeria from engaging the same experts to help out? But I guess we lack the tink-tank. We lack the vision, while every other nation is alive and advancing we enjoy sliding back to days

of colonialism. We are still dependent and remain beggarly about everything! A country so blessed with human and natural resources, yet imports everything and emabrk on spiral borrowings while the little income are being filtered away to enrich other nations! What a shameful nation our leaders preside over!

But we can do something drastic to change the narrative if we really want to take this country our of the woods.

I strongly believe, things can change and we can bring to fruition and learn from other progressive nations. I keep wondering whether all those privileged to tour developed countries learn from their successes. What makes it impossible for Nigerian leaders who go the way of the China and Malaysia in order to be part of the ongoing revolution?

Why can’t our lawmakers do something different by forcing it down the throat of the Executive by ensuring that Ajaokuta works for the people? Nigeria will forever remain a laughing stock if this administration fail to get it right before the next general election! That is the true change we desire and deserve!

not return.

The just-concluded - or maybe not - nationwide ward and local government congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have left most lawmakers with bloody nose, having failed to install their loyalists as ward and local government party executives.

From Cross River, Oyo, Ogun, Rivers, Kaduna, Bauchi, Zamfara, Kogi, Ondo to Kano States, lawmakers have opened the Book of L a m e n t a t i o n s t o ex p re s s their displeasure about the exercise. The victims include: Rabiu Kwankwanso, Monsurat Sunmonu, Magnus Abe, Isah Misau, Kabir Marafa, John Enoh, Suleiman Hunkuyi, Shehu Sa n i, A d e o la O la m ile k a n , Ajayi Borroffice, Yele Omogunwa, Dino Melaye among others.

Since the bulk of automatic delegates at both levels to elect Senatorial and House of Representatives candidates during primary elections are from there, the implication is that any federal lawmaker that has been shut out at these levels, is as good as not securing a return ticket - except of course he defects and flies the flag of another political party.

From the Green House With

KEHINDE AKINTOLA I recall the poser from one of the lawmakers who was part of the investigation into the multi billion naira spent on Turn Around Maintenance of the four refineries. He queried where NNPC which argued that there was no money to do stipulated two-year TAM, eventually gets money to pay trillions of naira as subsidy from? That tells us about those saddles with the responsibilities of managing our economy and lives! But we can change the narratives, we can get this country back from those who are hell-bent on frustrating Nigeria if only National Assembly is ready to live up to its responsibilities.

2019 Watch Sunday 13 May 2018

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Uncollected PVCs: FCTA to partner INEC on voter education LAIDE AKINBOADE-ORIERE

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uhammad Bello, minister of Federal Capit a l Te r r i t o r y (FCT), has assured the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of his readiness to partner on sensitisation of residents of Abuja for collection of Personal Voters Cards (PVCs).

The FCT Minister made this declaration when he welcomed the newly appointed FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Yahaya Bello, saying that Abuja is prepared to showcase Nigeria’s democratic testimonials to the world in all elections.

This, the Minister, noted is because of its strategic position as the Federal Capital Territory and consequently the window unto the rest of the country from the outside world.

The FCT Minister, who was represented at the occasion by the FCT Permanent Secretary,

Yakubu

Chinyeaka Ohaa, assured the Electoral Commissioner that the Administration was willing to collaborate with the Commission to sensitise the populace on the ongoing Continuous Voter

OYSAA warns politicians against irresponsible way of pasting posters AKINREMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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o ensure clean and attractive environment, the oyo state signage and advertisement agency (OYSAA) has warned that all political aspirants and other stakeholders should henceforth desist from irresponsible way campaign and religious posters are being pasted in major cities across the state.

The Director General of the Agency, Yinka Adepoju while speaking with journalists in his office, stressed that the Agency set up by law and saddled with the responsibilities of controlling, regulating and administering outdoor advertisement structures such as signages, branded buildings branded vehicles, banners posters, billboards, road shows and business activations will not relent in its effort to santise the environment and make it safe for all and sundry..

Adepoju observed that posters were being pasted indiscriminately on fence walls, highway roundabouts, public buildings monuments and land marks.

Whereas banners and billboards are not well positioned, some are torn and dilapidated; unfortunately many of such billboards did not receive his Agency’s approval before such advertisement structures were installed.

He added that recent inspection

exercise conducted by the Agency revealed so many illegal billboards were put up by political aspirants and other advertisers.

He however, reiterated the fact that all such billboards would be removed and seized without recourse to owners as they have flouted the guidelines of the Agency.

He further advised that political aspirants and their agents should make it a point of duty to register their interests and intentions with the agency at the 3rd floor of water corporation Building, Secretariat Agidi, Ibadan before pasting any campaign posters, displaying promotional banners or erecting any billboard.

The Director General however, called on individuals corporate bodies, religious organisation, schools, petrol stations outdoor advertising practitioners and other users of the outdoor medium owing the agency to pay up their debts to avoid their structures being removed and confiscated by agency’s enforcement team.

According to him, advertisement tax is a civic responsibilities that must be fulfilled by all to enable the government plan adequately for its citizens and carry out other infrastructural/development for the benefit and sustainable economic growth of the state.

?????????????

Registration Exercise.

According to him, “We are going to work with all the stakeholders : the Area Councils, Traditional Rulers as well as faith-based and community or-

ganisations to ensure that people take advantage of the ongoing exercise to register, in order to be able to vote in the forthcoming elections.”

The FCT Administration, he said, was committed to ensuring that there is effective voter education to check apathy as well as adequate security for the purpose of delivering free, fair and peaceful elections when the time comes.

To this effect, the Permanent Secretary assured the REC that the Administration would do all that is necessary to mobilise the residents to go and collect their PVCs and to prepare to participate in the actual voting process when the time comes.

Earlier in his briefing, the new REC Yahaya Bello, said he came to signify his arrival to assume office in the FCT. He revealed that FCT electorate, from what had has observed since his assumption of office have demonstrated clear enthusiasm towards the forthcoming polls.

According to him, “New per-

sons, especially those who have just attained the voting age of 18 as well as people coming for transfers have been coming forward to register.”

B e l l o h o w e v e r, l a m e n t e d that the Commission still has many uncollected PVCs (a backlog of over 246,000 arising from the 2011, 2014 and 2016 exercises) and called on the residents to come forward to collect these cards in order to be able to perform their civic obligations.

The REC, while commending the FCT Administration for their past support, appealed for greater collaboration in the coming years, especially towards mobilising the citizenry to use the opportunity of the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration Exercise to register for the elections.

Bello until his appointment as new FCT REC was a former Commissioner of Information in Plateau State and former Regional Manager North of the Daily Times of Nigeria.

Oyo lawmaker, Dapo Lam Adesina, alleges Ajimobi, wife after his life, petitions IGP AKINREMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

A

member of the House of Representatives, representing Ibadan North East/Ibadan South East in Oyo state, Adedapo Lam Adesina has alleged an assassination attempt on him by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state and his wife, Florence.

To this end, Adedapo is the son of the former Governor of Oyo State, Lam Adesina, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and asked for necessary security cover.

But, in a swift reaction Ajimobi declared that the lawmaker was linking threat to his life to him in order to gain cheap popularity.

Adesina who is allegedly not in group of Ajimobi in a petition addressed to the IG titled ‘Petition Against Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the Executive Governor of Oyo State and his wife, Florence Ajimobi for threat of life and planned assassination on my life and other honourable colleagues of mine’, declared that he has been hiding himself from hired assassins sent to terminate his life by the Governor of the state, Abiola Ajimobi.

The lawmaker said “as I write this petition, my life is under serious threat and I have been hiding myself from the hired assassins sent after me by the Executive Governor of Oyo State.”

Adesina while urging the Police boss to give his petition the utmost attention it deserved, however, alleged that the major plan of the governor was to take him out of circulation.

According to him, at the moment, there is a palpable fear and grave yard peace in Oyo State, I am aware that the Governor had activated some members of the NURTW to assassinate me and they also have an alternative plan to charge me and others for frame up charges.

“The major plan is to take me out of circulation by all means either by assassination or frame up but then urged the IG to treat the petition with deserved attention.

“Dear Inspector General of Police, it is my fervent hope that you will give this petition the utmost attention it needed,” he added However Ajimobi in a statement by his Executive Assistant, Political, Morounkola Thomas urged the lawmaker and his colleagues to

come up with a more believable tale.

The governor, while promising not to fold his arms and allow any group or individual, irrespective of status, to take the state back to the dark era of political brigandage and violence, declared that the State Government had uncovered a plot by a group, “Unity Forum” to burn down the state secretariat of the party in their desperate bid to scuttle Saturday’s local government election and party congresses.

Ajimobi said that the government received intelligence that members of the group had been holding clandestine meetings at different locations in Ibadan to perfect the plot by recruiting thugs to carry out this hatchet job.

“Oyo State is peaceful and will remain peaceful with the support of every law-abiding citizen. The governor has been a peace-loving leader and chief promoter of peace in the last seven years of his administration.

“The protesting members of the House of Representatives and their leaders are all beneficiaries of Governor Ajimobi’s generosity and should be grateful to him, instead of biting the fingers that fed them.

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Report ‘Official corruption, impunity, widespread killing reign supreme under Buhari’ Being the concluding part of the 48-page 2017 Country Report on Human Rights released in Washington DC penultimate Friday; a very damning assessment of Nigeria by the United States Department of State under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari since 2015.

F

or more information, see: data.unicef.org/resources/ female-genital-mutilationcutting-country-profiles/.

Other Harmful Traditional Practices: According to the VAPP, any person convicted of subjecting another person to harmful traditional practices may be punished with up to four years’ imprisonment, a fine not exceeding 500,000 naira ($1,590), or both. Anyone convicted of subjecting a widow to harmful traditional practices is subject to two years’ imprisonment, a fine not exceeding 500,000 naira ($1,590), or both. For purposes of the VAPP, a harmful traditional practice means all traditional behavior, attitudes, or practices that negatively affect the fundamental rights of women or girls, to include denial of inheritance or succession rights, FGM/C or circumcision, forced marriage, and forced isolation from family and friends.

Despite the federal law, purdah, the cultural practice of secluding women and pubescent girls from unrelated men, continued in parts of the North.

“Confinement,” which occurred predominantly in the Northeast, remained the most common rite of deprivation for widows. Confined widows were subject to social restrictions for as long as one year and usually shaved their heads and dressed in black as part of a culturally mandated mourning period.

In other areas communities viewed a widow as a part of her husband’s property to be “inherited” by his family. In some traditional southern communities, widows fell under suspicion when their husbands died. To prove their innocence, they were forced to drink the water used to clean their deceased husbands’ bodies.

Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment remained a common problem. No statutes prohibit sexual harassment, but assault statutes provide for prosecution of violent harassment. The VAPP criminalizes stalking, but it does not explicitly criminalize sexual harassment.

The act criminalizes emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse and acts of intimidation.

The practice of demanding sexual favors in exchange for employment or university grades remained common.

Women suffered harassment for social and religious reasons in some regions.

Women’s rights groups reported the Abuja Environmental Protection Board took women into custody under the pretext of removing commercial sex workers from the streets of the capital.

According to activists, the board then forced women to buy their freedom or confess to prostitution and undergo rehabilitation.

Coercion in Population Control: There were no reports of coerced abor-

Buhari

tion, involuntary sterilization, or other coercive population control methods.

Estimates on maternal mortality and contraceptive prevalence are available at: www.who.int/reproductivehealth/ publications/monitoring/maternalmortality-2015/en/.

Discrimination: Although the constitution provides the same legal status and rights for women as for men, women experienced considerable economic discrimination. The law does not mandate equal remuneration for work of equal value, nor does it mandate nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring.

Women generally remained marginalised. No laws prohibit women from owning land, but customary land tenure systems allowed only men to own land, with women gaining access to land only via marriage or family. Many customary practices also did not recognise a woman’s right to inherit her husband’s property, and many widows became destitute when their in-laws took virtually all the deceased husband’s property.

The 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, the most recent data available, found that only 30 percent of births of children under age five were registered

In the 12 states that adopted sharia law, sharia and social norms affected women to varying degrees. For example, in Zamfara State local governments enforced laws requiring the separation of Muslim men and women in transportation and health care. In 2013 the Kano State government issued a statement declaring men and women must remain separate while using public transportation.

The testimony of women carried less weight than that of men in many criminal courts. Women could arrange but not post bail at most police detention facilities.

Children Birth Registration: Children derive their citizenship from their parents.

The government does not require birth registration, and the majority of births were unregistered. The 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, the most recent data available, found that only 30 percent of births of children under age five were registered. Lack of documents did not result in denial of education, health care, or other public services. For additional information, see Appendix C. Education: The law requires provision of tuition-free, compulsory, and universal basic education for every child of primary and junior secondary school age. According to the constitution, women and girls are supposed to receive career and vocational guidance at all levels, as well as access to quality education, education advancement, and lifelong learning. Despite these provisions, extensive discrimination and impediments to female participation in education persisted, particularly in the North.

Public schools remained substandard, and limited facilities precluded access to education for many children.

Most educational funding comes from the federal government, with state governments required to pay a share.

Public investment was insufficient to achieve universal basic education. Available estimates for public investment in education ranged from 1 percent to more than 7 percent of GDP. Increased enrollment rates created challenges in ensuring quality education. According to UNICEF in some instances there were 100 pupils for one teacher.

Of the approximately 30 million primary school-age children, an estimated one- third were not enrolled in formally recognized schools. The lowest attendance rates were in the North, where rates for boys and girls were approximately 45 percent and 35 percent, respectively. According to UNICEF, in the North, for every 10 girls in school, more than 22 boys attended. Approximately 25 percent of young persons between ages 17 and 25 had fewer than two years of education.

In many regions social and economic factors resulted in discrimination against girls in access to education. In the face of economic hardship, many families favored boys in deciding which children to enroll in elementary and secondary schools. According to the 2015 Nigeria Education Data Survey, attendance rates in primary schools increased to 68 percent nationwide, with school-age boys continuing to be somewhat more likely than girls to attend primary school. According to the survey, primary enrollment was 91 percent for boys and 78 percent for girls; secondary enrollment was 88 percent for boys and 77 percent for girls. Several states in the North, including Niger and Bauchi, had enacted laws prohibiting the withdrawal of girls from school for marriage, but these laws were generally not enforced.

The Northeast had the lowest primary school attendance rate. The most pronounced reason was the Boko Haram insurgency, which prevented thousands of children from continuing their education in the states of Borno and Yobe (due to destruction of schools, community displacement, and mass movement of families from those crisis states to safer areas). According to Human Rights Watch, between 2009 and 2015, attacks in the Northeast destroyed more than 910 schools and forced at least 1,500 others to close.

Child Abuse: Child abuse remained common throughout the country, but the government took no significant measures to combat it. Findings from the Nigeria Violence Against Children Survey released in 2015 revealed approximately six of every 10 children

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Report under age 18 experienced some form of physical, emotional, or sexual violence during childhood. One in two children experienced physical violence, one in four girls and one in 10 boys experienced sexual violence, and one in six girls and one in five boys experienced emotional violence.

In 2010 the Ministerial Committee on Madrasah Education reported 9.5 million children worked as “almajiri,” poor children from rural homes sent to urban areas by their parents ostensibly to study and live with Islamic teachers.

Instead of receiving an education, many “almajiri” were forced to work manual jobs or beg for alms that were given to their teacher. The religious leaders often did not provide these children with sufficient shelter or food, and many of the children effectively became homeless.

In some states children accused of witchcraft were killed or suffered abuse, such as kidnapping and torture.

So-called baby factories operated, often disguised as orphanages, religious or rehabilitation centers, hospitals, or maternity homes. They offered for sale the newborns of pregnant women-mostly unmarried girls--often held against their will and raped. The persons running the factories sold the children for various purposes, including adoption, child labor, child sex trafficking, or sacrificial rituals, with the boys’ fetching higher prices. For example, in February the army’s Special Task Force in Plateau State arrested 12 suspects for allegedly running a baby trafficking ring in Jos. Early and Forced Marriage: The law sets a minimum age of 18 for marriage for both boys and girls. The prevalence of child marriage varied widely among regions, with figures ranging from 76 percent in the Northwest to 10 percent in the Southeast. Only 24 state assemblies adopted the Child Rights Act of 2003, which sets the minimum marriage age, and most states, especially northern states, did not uphold the federal official minimum age for marriage. The government engaged religious leaders, emirs, and sultans on the problem, emphasizing the health hazards of early marriage.

Certain states worked with NGO programs to establish school subsidies or fee waivers for children to help protect against early marriage. The government did not take legal steps to end sales of young girls into marriage.

According to an NGO, education was a key indicator of whether a girl would marry as a child--82 percent of women with no education were married before 18, as opposed to 13 percent of women who had at least finished secondary school. In the North parents complained the quality of education was so poor that schooling could not be considered a viable alternative to marriage for their daughters. Families sometimes forced young girls into marriage as early as puberty, regardless of age, to prevent “indecency” associated with premarital sex or for other cultural and religious reasons. Boko Haram subjected abducted girls to forced marriage. For additional information, see Appendix C. Sexual Exploitation of Children: The 2003 Child Rights Act prohibits child prostitution and sexual intercourse with a child, providing penalties for

train indigent persons with disabilities.

Individual states also provided facilities to help persons with physical disabilities become self-supporting. The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities served as the umbrella organization for a range of disability groups.

Idris

conviction from seven years’ to life imprisonment, respectively, for any adults involved. Two-thirds of states adopted the act.

The VAPP criminalises incest and provides prison sentences for conviction of up to 10 years. The Cybercrimes Act of 2015 criminalises the production, procurement, distribution, and possession of child pornography with prison terms if convicted of 10 years, a fine of 20 million naira ($63,500), or both.

Sexual exploitation of children remained a significant problem. Children were trafficked for sex, both within the country and to other countries.

Displaced Children: In July the IOM reported there were approximately 1.8 million persons displaced in the states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe. Children under age 18 constituted 56 percent of the IDP population, with 48 percent of them under age five. Many children were homeless and lived on the streets.

International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at travel.state.gov/content/childabduction/en/legal/compliance.html.

Anti-Semitism An estimated 700 to 900 members of the Jewish community, who were foreign employees of international firms, resided in Abuja. Although not recognized as Jews by mainstream Jewish communities, between 2,000 and 30,000 ethnic Igbos claimed Jewish descent and practiced some form of Judaism. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

Trafficking in Persons See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state. gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/.

Persons with disabilities No federal laws prohibit discrimination

against persons with disabilities, but the constitution (as amended) does prohibit discrimination based on the “circumstances of one’s birth.”

Some national-level polices such as the National Health Policy of 2016 provide for health-care access for persons with disabilities. Plateau and Lagos states have laws and agencies that protect the rights of persons with disabilities, while Akwa-Ibom, Ekiti, Jigawa, Kwara, Ogun, Osun, and Oyo States took steps to develop such laws. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development has responsibility for persons with disabilities. Some government agencies, such as the NHRC and the Ministry of Labor and Productivity, designated an employee to work on issues related to disabilities.

Mental health-care services were almost nonexistent. Officials at a small number of prisons used private donations to provide separate mental health facilities for prisoners with mental disabilities. All prisoners with disabilities stayed with the general inmate population and received no specialized services or accommodations.

Persons with disabilities faced social stigma, exploitation, and discrimination, and relatives often regarded them as a source of shame. Many indigent persons with disabilities begged on the streets.

The government operated vocational training centers in Abuja and Lagos to

Some national-level polices such as the National Health Policy of 2016 provide for health-care access for persons with disabilities

National/racial/ethnic minorities The ethnically diverse population consisted of more than 250 groups. Many were concentrated geographically and spoke distinct primary languages. Three major groups--the Hausa , Igbo, and Yoruba--together constituted approximately half the population. Members of all ethnic groups practiced ethnic discrimination, particularly in private sector hiring patterns and the segregation of urban neighborhoods. A long history of tension existed among some ethnic groups. The government’s efforts to address tensions among ethnic groups typically involved heavily concentrated security actions, incorporating police, military, and other security services, often in the form of a joint task force.

The law prohibits ethnic discrimination by the government, but most ethnic groups claimed marginalisation in terms of government revenue allocation, political representation, or both.

The constitution requires the government to have a “federal character,” meaning that cabinet and other highlevel positions must be distributed to persons representing each of the 36 states or each of the six geopolitical regions. President Buhari’s cabinet appointments conformed to this policy.

Traditional relationships were used to pressure government officials to favor particular ethnic groups in the distribution of important positions and other patronage.

All citizens have the right to live in any part of the country, but state and local governments frequently discriminated against ethnic groups not indigenous to their areas, occasionally compelling individuals to return to a region where their ethnic group originated but where they no longer had ties. State and local governments sometimes compelled nonindigenous persons to move by threats, discrimination in hiring and employment, or destruction of their homes.

Those who chose to stay sometimes experienced further discrimination, including denial of scholarships and exclusion from employment in the civil service, police, and military. For example, in Plateau State the predominantly Muslim and nonindigenous Hausa and Fulani faced significant discrimination from the local government in land ownership, jobs, access to education, scholarships, and government representation.

Land disputes, ethnic differences, settler-indigene tensions, and religious affiliation contributed to clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers throughout the Middle Belt (the central part of the country). “Silent killings,” in which individuals disappeared and later were found dead, occurred throughout the year.

In June the northern Arewa Youths Consultative Forum issued a so-called “quit notice” demanding ethnic Igbos leave 19 northern states by October 1 or face forced eviction. Federal actors, inContinues on page 30

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Report ‘Official corruption, impunity, widespread killing...

Continued from page 29

cluding the acting president, quickly denounced the quit notice and condemned divisive rhetoric and hate speech. Statelevel actors also condemned the quit notice and opened criminal investigations against its purveyors. In August the group withdrew the quit notice.

Conflicts concerning land rights continued among members of the Tiv, Kwalla, Jukun, Fulani, and Azara ethnic groups living near the convergence of Nassarawa, Benue, and Taraba States.

Acts of Violence, discrimination, and other abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The 2014 Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA) effectively renders illegal all forms of activity supporting or promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) rights. According to the SSMPA, anyone convicted of entering into a same-sex marriage or civil union may be sentenced to up to 14 years’ imprisonment. During the year the government brought formal charges under the SSMPA for the first time. As of November a hotel owner and two staff were awaiting trial on charges of aiding and abetting homosexual activities in violation of Section 5(2) of the SSMPA. The offense carries a 10-year sentence if convicted.

Following passage of the SSMPA, LGBTI persons reported increased harassment and threats against them based on their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. News reports and LGBTI advocates reported numerous arrests, but detainees were in all cases released without formal charges after paying a bond, which was oftentimes nothing more than a bribe. In a report published in October, HRW found no evidence of any SSMPA-based prosecutions. According to HRW, however, the law had become a tool used by police and members of the public to legitimize human rights violations against LGBTI persons such as torture, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, extortion, and violations of due process rights.

In the 12 northern states that adopted sharia, adults convicted of engaging in same- sex sexual activity may be subject to execution by stoning. Sharia courts did not impose such sentences during the year. In previous years individuals convicted of same-sex sexual activity were sentenced to lashing.

In July police in Lagos arrested approximately 70 individuals, including 13 minors, at a hotel party where police stated homosexual activities took place. As of November, 27 adults and 13 minors were still awaiting trial on lesser charges under the Lagos State Penal Code. The hotel owner and two staff members, however, were charged with aiding and abetting homosexual activities in violation of Section 5(2) of the SSMPA. The offense carries a 10year sentence if convicted. It was the first time formal SSMPA-based charges had been brought.

Several NGOs provided LGBTI groups with legal advice and training in advocacy, media responsibility, and

Buratai

HIV/AIDS awareness, as well as providing safe havens for LGBTI individuals.

The government and its agents did not impede the work of these groups during the year.

HIV and AIDS social stigma The public considered HIV to be a disease and a result of immoral behavior and a punishment for same-sex sexual activity.

Persons with HIV/AIDS often lost their jobs or were denied health-care services.

Authorities and NGOs sought to reduce the stigma and change perceptions through public education campaigns.

Other societal violence or discrimination Various reports indicated street mobs killed suspected criminals during the year. In most cases these mob actions resulted in no arrests.

Ritualists who believed certain body parts confer mystical powers kidnapped and killed persons to harvest body parts for rituals and ceremonies. For example, in April police in Ogun State discovered a shrine containing the body of a man allegedly killed for ritual purposes.

Persons born with albinism faced discrimination, were considered bad luck, and were sometimes abandoned at birth or killed for witchcraft purposes.

Section 7. Worker Rights a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining The law provides all workers, except members of the armed forces and public employees who are classified in the broad category of “essential services,” the right to form or belong to any trade union or other association, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively; some statutory limitations substantially restrict these rights. Trade unions must meet various registration requirements to be legally established. By law a trade union may only be registered if it has a minimum of 50 members and if there is no other union already registered in that trade or profession. A three-month notice period, starting from the date of publication of an application for registration in the Nigeria Official Gazette, must elapse before a trade union may be registered. If the Ministry of Labor and Productivity does not receive objections to registration during the three-monthnotice period, it must register the union within three months of the expiration

of the notice period. If an objection is raised, however, the ministry has an indefinite period to review and deliberate on the registration. The registrar may refuse registration because a proper objection has been raised or because a purpose of the trade union violates the Trade Union Act or other laws. Each federation must consist of 12 or more affiliated trade unions, and each trade union must be an exclusive member in a single federation.

The law generally does not provide for a union’s ability to conduct its activities without interference from the government. The law narrowly defines what union activities are legal. The minister of labor and productivity has broad authority to cancel the registration of worker and employer organisations. The registrar of trade unions has broad powers to review union accounts at any time. In addition the law requires government permission before a trade union may legally affiliate with an international organisation.

The law stipulates that every collective agreement on wages be registered with the National Salaries, Income, and Wages Commission, which decides whether the agreement becomes binding. Workers and employers in export processing zones (EPZs) are subject to the provisions of labor law, the 1992 Nigeria Export Processing Zones Decree, and other laws. Workers in the EPZs may organize and engage in collective bargaining, but there are no explicit provisions providing them the right to organize their administration and activities without interference by the government. The law does not allow worker representatives free access to the EPZs to organize workers, and it prohibits workers from striking for 10 years following the commencement of operations by the employer within a zone. In addition the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority, which the federal government created to manage the EPZ program, has exclusive authority to handle the resolution of disputes between employers and employees, thereby limiting the autonomy of the bargaining partners.

The law provides legal restrictions that limit the right to strike. The law requires a majority vote of all registered union members to call a strike. The law

By law a trade union may only be registered if it has a minimum of 50 members and if there is no other union already registered in that trade or profession

limits the right to strike to disputes regarding rights, including those arising from the negotiation, application, interpretation, or implementation of an employment contract or collective agreement, or those arising from a collective and fundamental breach of an employment contract or collective agreement, such as one related to wages and conditions of work. The law prohibits strikes in essential services, defined in an overly broad manner, according to the International Labor Organisation (ILO). These include the Central Bank of Nigeria; the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, Ltd.; any corporate body licensed to carry out banking under the Banking Act; postal service; sound broadcasting; telecommunications; maintenance of ports, harbors, docks, or airports; transportation of persons, goods, or livestock by road, rail, sea, or river; road cleaning; and refuse collection. Strike actions, including many in nonessential services, may be subject to a compulsory arbitration procedure leading to a final award, which is binding on the parties concerned.

Strikes based on disputed national economic policy are prohibited. Penalties for conviction of participating in an illegal strike include fines and imprisonment for up to six months.

Workers under collective bargaining agreements may not participate in strikes unless their unions comply with legal requirements, including provisions for mandatory mediation and referral of disputes to the government.

Workers may submit labor grievances to the judicial system for review. Laws prohibit workers from forcing persons to join strikes, blocking airports, or obstructing public byways, institutions, or premises of any kind. Persons committing violations are subject to fines and possible prison sentences. The law further restricts the right to strike by making “check-off” payment of union dues conditional on the inclusion of a no-strike clause during the lifetime of a collective agreement. No laws prohibit retribution against strikers and strike leaders, but strikers who believe they are victims of unfair retribution may submit their cases to the Industrial Arbitration Panel with the approval of the Ministry of Labor and Productivity. The panel’s decisions are binding on the parties but may be appealed to the National Industrial Court. The arbitration process was cumbersome, time consuming, and ineffective in deterring retribution against strikers. Individuals also have the right to petition the Labor Ministry and may request arbitration from the National Industrial Court.

The law does not prohibit general antiunion discrimination; it only protects unskilled workers. The law does not provide for the reinstatement of workers fired for union activity.

In 2013 the ILO ruled that many provisions of the Trade Union Act and the Trade Disputes Act contravened ILO conventions 87 and 98 by limiting freedom of association. While workers exercised some of their rights, the government generally did not effectively enforce the applicable laws. Penalties Continues on page 32

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Report were not adequate to deter violations.

Inflation reduced the deterrence value of many fines established by older laws.

For example, some fines could not exceed 100 naira ($0.32).

In many cases workers’ fears of negative repercussions inhibited their reporting of antiunion activities. According to labor representatives, police rarely gave permission for public demonstrations and routinely used force to disperse protesters.

The government reported to the ILO that unionization in the EPZs had begun, citing the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, and Technical and Recreational Services Employees organizing members within the EPZ. Collective bargaining occurred throughout the public sector and the organized private sector but remained restricted in some parts of the private sector, particularly in banking and telecommunications. According to the International Trade Union Confederation, the government and some private-sector employers occasionally failed to honor their collective agreements. b. Prohibition of forced or compulsory labor The law prohibits most forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children, although some laws provide for a sentence that includes compulsory prison labor. The law provides for fines and imprisonment for individuals convicted of engaging in forced or compulsory labor, and these penalties would be sufficient to deter violations if appropriately enforced. Enforcement of the law remained ineffective in many parts of the country. The government took steps to identify or eliminate forced labor, but insufficient resources and jurisdictional problems between state and federal governments hampered efforts.

Forced labor remained widespread.

Women and girls were subjected to forced labor in domestic service, while boys were subjected to forced labor in street vending, domestic service, mining, stone quarrying, agriculture, and begging.

Also see the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at www. state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/. c. Prohibition of child labor and minimum age for employment By law age 12 is the general minimum age for employment. Persons under age 14 may be employed only on a daily basis, must receive the day’s wages at the end of each workday, and must be able to return each night to their parents’ or guardian’s residence. By law these regulations do not apply to domestic service. The law also provides exceptions for light work in agriculture and horticulture if the employer is a family member. No person under age 16 may work underground, in machine work, or on a public holiday. No “young person,” defined as a person under age 18 by the Labor Act, may be employed in any job that is injurious to health, dangerous, or immoral. For industrial work and work on vessels where a family member is not employed, the minimum work age is 15, consistent with the age for completing educational requirements. The law

private sector, particularly in access to employment, promotion to higher professional positions, and salary equity.

According to credible reports, many businesses implemented a “get pregnant, get fired” policy. Women remained underrepresented in the formal sector but played active and vital roles in the informal economy, particularly in agriculture, processing of foodstuffs, and selling of goods at markets. The number of women employed in the business sector increased, but women did not receive equal pay for equal work and often encountered difficulty in acquiring commercial credit or obtaining tax deductions or rebates as heads of households. Unmarried women in particular endured many forms of discrimination.

Several states had laws mandating equal opportunity for women.

Dambazau

states children may not be employed in agricultural or domestic work for more than eight hours per day. Apprenticeship of youths above age 12 is allowed in skilled trades or as domestic servants.

The Labor Ministry dealt specifically with child labor problems, but mainly conducted inspections in the formal business sector, where the incidence of child labor reportedly was not significant. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons has some responsibility for enforcing child labor laws, although it primarily rehabilitates trafficking and child labor victims. Victims or their guardians rarely complained due to intimidation and fear of losing their jobs.

The government’s child labor policy focused on intervention, advocacy, sensitisation, legislation, withdrawal of children from potentially harmful labor situations, and rehabilitation and education of children following withdrawal. In an effort to withdraw children from the worst forms of child labor, it operated vocational training centers with NGOs around the country. Despite the policy and action plan, children remained inadequately protected due to weak or nonexistent enforcement of the law.

The worst forms of child labor identified in the country included: commercial agriculture and hazardous farm work (cocoa, cassava); street hawking; exploitative cottage industries such as iron and other metal works; hazardous mechanical workshops; exploitative

Boys worked as bonded laborers on farms, in restaurants, for small businesses, in granite mines, and as street peddlers and beggars

and hazardous domestic work; commercial fishing; exploitative and hazardous pastoral and herding activities; construction; transportation; mining and quarrying; prostitution and pornography; forced and compulsory labor and debt bondage; forced participation in violence, criminal activity, and ethnic, religious, and political conflicts; and involvement in drug peddling.

Many children worked as beggars, street peddlers, bus conductors, and domestic servants in urban areas. Children also worked in the agricultural sector and in mines. Boys worked as bonded laborers on farms, in restaurants, for small businesses, in granite mines, and as street peddlers and beggars. Girls worked involuntarily as domestic servants, street peddlers, and commercial sex workers. Near Lafia, in Nassarawa State, children broke up large pieces of rocks, stacked them into piles, and carried them on their heads. Children also engaged in this work in Bauchi State and the FCT. In Zamfara State, children worked in industrial facilities used to process gold ore, where they were exposed to hazardous conditions.

Also see the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/ child-labor/findings/. d. Discrimination with respect to employment and occupation The law does not prohibit discrimination in employment and occupation based on race, sex, religion, political opinion, gender, disability, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV-positive status, or social status. The government in general did not effectively address discrimination in employment or occupation.

Gender-based discrimination in employment and occupation occurred (see section 6, Women). No laws bar women from particular fields of employment, but women often experienced discrimination due to traditional and religious practices. Police regulations provide for special recruitment requirements and conditions of service applying to women, particularly the criteria and provisions relating to pregnancy and marital status.

NGOs expressed concern concerning discrimination against women in the

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work The legal national monthly minimum wage was 18,000 naira ($57). Employers with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from this minimum, and the large majority of workers were not covered. There was no official estimate for the poverty income level. Implementation of the minimum wage, particularly by state governments, remained sporadic despite workers’ protests and warning strikes.

The law mandates a 40-hour workweek, two to four weeks of annual leave, and overtime and holiday pay, except for agricultural and domestic workers.

The law does not define premium pay or overtime. The law prohibits excessive compulsory overtime for civilian government employees.

The law establishes general health and safety provisions, some aimed specifically at young or female workers. The law requires employers to compensate injured workers and dependent survivors of workers killed in industrial accidents. The law provides for the protection of factory employees in hazardous situations. The law does not provide other non-factory workers with similar protections. The law applies to legal foreign workers, but not all companies respected these laws.

By law workers may remove themselves from situations that endangered health or safety without jeopardy to their employment, but authorities did not effectively protect employees in these situations.

The Ministry of Labor and Productivity is responsible for enforcing these standards. The Labor Ministry employs factory inspectors and labor officers, but its Inspectorate Department stated it did not have sufficient staff to properly monitor and enforce health and safety conditions. The department is tasked to inspect factories’ compliance with health and safety standards, but it was underfunded, lacked basic resources and training, and consequently did not sufficiently enforce safety regulations at most enterprises, particularly construction sites and other nonfactory work locations. Labor inspections mostly occurred randomly but occasionally occurred when there was suspicion, rather than actual complaints, of illegal activity. In addition the government did not enforce the law strictly.

Authorities did not enforce standards in the informal sector.

Concluded

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SundayBusiness Caverton Group records 328% profit growth, rewards shareholders with 15k dividend Obinna Emelike

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averton Offshore Support Group Plc, (COSG), Nigeria’s foremost indigenous offshore logistic services provider, on Tuesday declared a dividend of 15kobo per ordinary share of 50kobo each for its shareholders during its 9th Annual General Meeting in Lagos.

Caverton, which was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) four years ago, grew Profit after Tax (PAT) by 328 percent from N612.28million in the financial year ended December 31, 2016 to N2.62billion in the review financial year ended December 31, 2017.

Profit before Tax (PBT) increased

by N2.81billion or 256 percent from N1.10billion in 2016 to N3.91billion in 2017.

The management of Caverton was shrewd in cost management in the review financial year to achieve a robust bottom-line as revenue only grew marginally by 6.4 percent to N20.54billion in 2017 compared to N19.31billion recorded in 2016.

Over the years, the group has positively impacted the socio economic development of the country through various stakeholders; client, employees and communities alike. Its global workforce has equally grown remarkably with just below 700 employees in West Africa. With its rapid expanding fleet of aircraft and vessels coupled with its acquisition of key offshore assets and strategic partners, the group is able to provide a diverse range of services to its clients ensuring objectives are completely fulfilled, offshore to land.

COSG also takes pride in putting safety and quality at the core of its business and has been rewarded for this by its growing customer base.

In September 2014, September Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) awarded the company the Shell ‘Safety Conscious Award’ recognising its safety conscious effort.

Welcoming stakeholders to this year’s meeting, Aderemi Makanjuola, chairman of Caverton Group, said the impressive record of the company’s increase in revenue was due to stability of exchange rate, Nigerian economic growth courtesy of the massive government intervention in the agriculture sector and a ramp up oil production.

He also gave a pass mark to the company’s financial performance in spite of enormous challenge of eco-

nomic environment in 2017. This,he attributes to continued effective execution of his team strategy as they innovate and break barriers to boost bottom line in building a client-centric group and generate sustainable long-term value of shareholders.

As he professes a prosperous business future in 2018 and beyond, Makanjuola seized the opportunity to thank the ‘Cavertonians’ for their value contributions and deep commitment to the company.

Thanking their esteemed shareholders for their continued support, the Chief Executive officer of the company, Mr. Bode Makanjuola assured them that the company would continue to wax strong. “In 2017, throughout a period of profound political and economic change around the world, our company remained

steadfast in dedication to our clients in the host communities we serve while earning a fair return for our stakeholders.

Also, our financial results for year ended in 2017 displays positive performance confirming our company’s ethos to deliver a cost effective and efficient service to our customers”.

He concluded, “Our desire is to continue to be a strong and financially sustainable group that puts our stakeholders at the heart of everything we do.”

Though shareholders of Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc expressed the opinion that their company could do better in the years ahead; they were unanimous in applauding the Board of Directors of the group for paying a dividend of 15kobo per share in the review financial year.

L-R: Amaka Obiora, company secretary, Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc; Remi Makanjuola, chairman; Bode Makanjuola, chief executive officer, and Mallam Bello Gwandu, a director, during the company’s 9th Annual General Meeting held at Civil Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos .

International Breweries restates commitment to Nigeria’s economic development

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nternational Breweries Plc, a proud part of the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, (AB InBev) has reiterated its commitment to the Nigeria project and pledged to actively support the attainment of the country’s developmental aspirations.

The company said after taking into account the country’s huge market, a young population, the resilience and entrepreneurial drive of the people as well as the abundant human and natural resources, it does not doubt the country’s huge economic potential.

“Nigeria’s potential for growth and development is enormous,” said BU President, International Breweries Plc., Annabelle Degroot, speaking in Onitsha, Anambra State, at the unveiling of a red crown cork of Hero lager beer.

The Obi of Onitsha, His Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, oversaw the official unveiling of the cork during which Hero, a favourite lager of South Easterners, was ceremoniallyknightedand awarded

the title of “Mmanya ejiri mara Igbo.”

In his remarks, Igwe Achebe commended International Breweries Plc. for its investments in Nigeria, especially the introduction of Hero lager, which drew its philosophy from the enterprising spirit of the Igbos who are the dominant ethnic group in the South East. The adoption of a red crown for Hero, he added, demonstrates respect for the cultural heritage of the ethnic group.

Degroot, said International Breweries Plc., would continue to grow its investment in Nigeria, enabling the country to capitalize on the enormous opportunities for economic transformation. A demonstration of the company’s investment drive could be seen in the $250 million brewery in Sagamu, Ogun State, its largest brewery in Africa, outside of South Africa, that comes on stream later this year. Via the new plant, more products would be introduced in the country, providing Nigerians

with more options to choose from while creating employment and livelihood for many and revenue for the government.

She said as Nigeria continues to address such challenges as power supply, infrastructure deficit, insecurity and policy reforms and continuity, among others, the ease of doing business will record incremental improvements, which

would drive investor confidence and attract capital inflow into the country.

Hero lager was introduced as a rallyingpointforpeopletorecognize and surmount whatever challenges they face to realize their potential and become heroes and models of achievements. The red capping of Hero will run as an integrated marketing campaign during which people, and Nigerian men in particular, would be rewarded in recognition of their efforts and mission to “Go! Be the Hero.” As sponsors of the FIFA World Cup 2018, Hero will be wishing the Eagles farewell as they leave for Russia with the unveiling of the world’s biggest football message written with people-“Eagles Be Fearless, Go Be The Hero.”

In attendance at the event were businessmen, government officials, community leaders, traders and artisans. The guests were entertained by performances from cultural groups and bands from around the South East.

Airtel shines at African Cristal Awards 2018

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eading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, got a standing ovation at the 2018 Africa Cristal Awards after receiving the biggest award of the event (grand prix) and three other accolades in the telecoms category for its SmartRecharge campaign.

Ai r t e l ’s S m a r t Re c h a r g e campaign themed Prayer Warrior (Amin) won the grand prix, grand Cristal and a gold medal while Monitoring Spirit (Whatchu Doing?) bagged a Silver award.

Ac c o r d i n g t o t h e Ch i e f Commercial Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Ahmad Mohkles, the awards reflect Airtel’s passion to connect with its major stakeholders in an emotional, tasteful, creative and innovative manner.

“As a key stakeholder in the society, we keep looking for innovative and creative ways to celebrate our customers, join in their successes and victories as well as empower them to fulfil their dreams and realize their full potentials.

“Airtel will continue to inspire narrative that will enthrone customers as kings just as we will continue to offer innovative and bespoke value offerings that will make life simpler, better and more enjoyable for telecoms consumers in Nigeria,” he said.

The Airtel SmartRecharge campaign relived love and childmother bond through a storytelling approach. In the Ad, Iya Rainbow discovered that her son, Segun had sent her a Christmas hamper overflowing with goodies that gladdened her heart.

Knowing that her phone had been recently recharged with Airtel SmartRecharge – albeit secretly by her son – she called him at the earliest sign of daybreak and pours her heartfelt prayers on him, never minding the ordeal this puts on Segun from dawn to dusk.

The African Cristal Festival rewards the best advertising campaigns created and broadcasted over the African continent, on any media. More than 400 professionals of the integrated marketing communications and the media were present at this year’s festival which was held in Marrakech, Morocco from 2 to 5 May 2018.

At the last edition of the event, Airtel Nigeria won three awards. The telco’s television commercial, ‘Data is life’, created to drive its mobile Internet value offering , placed Nigeria on the continental creativity and innovation map with the haul of three awards in the categories of African Cristal Awards film for the ‘Moments’ TVC and two r eg iona l c a teg or ies of Nigerian Cristal Awards: film — ‘Moments’ and Integrated.

The 2018 jury include: Michael Zylstra, Chief Strategy Officer Ssa, Dentsu Aegis Network, South Africa; Steve Babaeko, CEO & Chief Creative Officer, X3M Ideas, Nigeria; Ilham Bensouda, Chief Strategy Officer For Ssa, Mim, Morocco, South Africa, among others.

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SundayBusiness Lessons from the 2018 Food West Africa exhibition Food & Beverages With Ayo Oyoze Baje

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he third edition of the 2018 Food West Africa Exhibition which was organised by Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions, a global exhibitions division of Informa PLC, has come and gone, but not so the lasting lessons to learn from the impact making event.As scheduled, it heldbetween 8th and10thof May, 2018 at the Landmark Centre, Lagos, Nigeria.

The food exhibition which featuredabout 150 companies from the food and drink industry, food and drink equipment manufacturers and dealers from across West Africa providedthem with a veritable avenue to showcase their business products and services to potential buyers and investors.Other companies which availed themselves

the opportunity included the food services and hospitality industries.

The first vital lesson is that food and a good one at that has a global appeal, cutting across differences in age, gender, region or religion. As such it is a clarion call on families, educational institutions, corporate organisations, private investors and governments across all social strata to have collaborative efforts to improve and sustain food security and safety.

Secondly, food provides not only nutrition to consumers from across the globe but business opportunities to capitalize on and make a living by it. This benefits the value chain from the farmers through the retailers, marketers, processors as well those who engage in preservation, packaging to the exporters.

As such, the exhibition made it possible for entrepreneurs to synergise with other related companies, manufacturers and other stakeholders to share important information to discover the latest trends and launch new products into the market.

One other aspect, which is also significant, is the imperative of applying modern technological knowhow to all aspects of the food industry.

These include increased production of raw food, assisting in pest control, reduction in food wastages and improvement on preservation techniques. Others are the modes and methods to come up with faster, more efficient processes that would eventually bring to the family’s table food items that are wholesome, safe and yet affordable to the consumers.

And to succeed at these, the

enabling environment should be provided.This critical issue was brought to the fore with the topic of: “Thriving Business Environment Great Backdrop for 3rd Food West Africa Event”. This was published on 27th March, 2018. As Nigeria continues to dominate the retail sector in Sub Saharan Africa, Food West Africa organisers,took a look at it, because itaccounts for 16.7percent of GDP. It also remains a lucrative investment opportunity on the back of a large and rising population with a rapidly increasing rate of urbanisation. Nigeria has also seen the development of a market for luxury goods.

The country’s burgeoning middle class is expected to have consumer spending in excess of $25 billion by 2020. According to a KPMG report titled “Fast Moving Consumer Goods in Africa”, the FMCG sector on the continent stands to benefit immensely. With food, always being a necessity, there’s an increase from basic staple foods to a wide range of products.

According to Ryan Sanderson, Exhibition Director, Food West Africa: “Nigeria’s household market is experiencing strong urbanisation, creating good opportunities for many sectors, particularly fastmoving consumer goods. Now in its third year, Food West Africa has firmly demonstrated its effectiveness as a medium for regional and international companies to raise their profile in this competitive industry sector. As well as promoting supply chain partnership, along with imports and exports, the event has become a must-attend for F&B industry professionals from Nigeria

and wider Western Africa looking to capitalise on the best opportunity in the industry.”

Bestway, the largest independent cash and carry operator in the United Kingdom, and supply partner to over 70,000 independent retailers and 40,000 catering and foodservice operators, exhibited at Food West Africa 2018 once again. With a UK turnover of £2.5 billion and a comprehensive logistical infrastructure, the company has the scale, purchasing power and expertise to help their customers compete in an ever-changing food and drink sector.

Once again, local representation from Nigerian companies is strong with key exhibitors such as Just Food Limited, ABX Food, AgroNigeria, Graceco, and Sona Agro Allied Food Industries present for the three-day event.

Education is high on the agenda at Food West Africa 2018 with a two-day free-to-attend conference that focused on current issues in food supply chain management. As Sanderson explained: “The conference has been crafted to determine challenges and help improve current systems and procedures in doing business in the West African F&B industry. All industry segments are represented – from domestic and international large-scale food companies, governments, local agencies and associations – to give their insights into improved technologies and advanced measures to consolidate and implement best practice in food distribution retail in West Africa,” The event continues to enjoy firm support and backing from the As-

sociation of Food Vendors in Nigeria (AFVN), the National Agency for Food and Drug (NAFDAC) and NASON. Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions, the world’s leading publishing and Exhibitions Company, wants the trade event to impact on more than 4,400 industry professionals from 25 countries looking to make new wholesale, retail and food service contacts in the industry.

Spanning more than 3,000 sqm of exhibition space, Food West Africa has again hosted over100 local and international exhibitors showcasing exciting new F&B products, services and equipment from across the globe.

The other lessons Nigerian stakeholders should glean from this is to provide answers to these questions.

When will our local food entrepreneurs showcase our processed food items to the wider world across Europe, Asia and America? Instead of fixating on Asian brands such as indomie, sphagetti and macaroni why can’t we promote our local delicacies such as pounded yam, amala, akpu, pepper soup and kpomo to other countries? What is wrong with that?

In addition, when will Ajaokuta Steel Company take off top assist our local machine fabricators to also exhibit their brands to the cities of the so called technologically advanced countries? When will the state and federal governments come to the realization that we stand to make more revenue from our local products when we process them here before their export?

Baje is Nigerian first Food Technologist in the media

When HELWEI takes ‘wash campaign’ to IMF/World Bank Christy Asomba

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anitation and Hygiene are critical to health, survival and development. Many countries are challenged in providing adequate sanitation for the entire population, leaving people at risk for water; sanitation and hygiene (WASH)-related diseases.

Th r o u g h o u t t h e w o r l d , an estimated 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation; more than 35percentoftheworld’spopulation.

Basic sanitation is described as having access to facilities for the safe disposal of human waste (faeces &urine), as well as having the ability to maintain hygienic conditions, through services such as garbage collection, industrial/hazardous waste management, wastewater

CEO at HELWEIs boot

treatment and disposal.

Withoutimmediateacceleration in progress, the world will not achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) sanitation target.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that 36percent of Nigerian children have stunted growth and are under debilitating status. This is strongly linked to malnutrition, pneumonia and diarrhoea which are the leading global killer diseases with roots in poverty, environmental, nutrition and lack of awareness on personal hygiene. Inadequate sanitation leads to nutritional deficiencies and contributes to poor mental development in children.

In response to this gap, HELWEI designed the ‘KICK DIRT, HUG LIFE’ project to sensitise and promote best hygiene and

sanitation practices among schoolage children and other stakeholders on sanitation, personal hygiene and nutrition for a sustainable healthy life and optimum performance.

Hygiene is related to set of practices associated with the preservation of health and healthy livingwithfocusonpersonalhygiene (body& clothing) while sanitation refers to waste management particularly management of human waste (household waste and liquid waste.)

Safe hygiene and sanitation practice include a broad range of healthy behaviour, such as hand washing before eating and after cleaning a child’s bottom; avoiding indiscriminate defecating in the environment/safe faeces disposal.

Although, Nigeria is committed to the global SDG of universal

Ebere and Davina world bank staff

access to water and sanitation by 2030, the country index has decreased from an alarming rate of 29percent in 2013 to 23percent in 2017(MICS Report 2017) and has been declared an emergency status. Even with the existing government efforts at national and state levels towards addressing the water and sanitation challenges, the deplorable state of rural and urban communities calls for action. There is, therefore, need to mainstream issues affecting sanitation and hygiene in Nigeria.

More so, concerted effort by all stakeholders such as health, nutrition, environment, education and civil society is essential if the universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030 would be attained in Nigeria.

Healthy Living and Women

EmpowermentInitiative(HELWEI), a community-based NGO, in the course of our interactions with communities observed a vacuum hinged on lack of knowledge of the relationship between environment and health, non -existence of basic toilet facilities, lack of effective management and ownership.

KICK DIRT! HUG LIFE! is a project of HELWEI aimed at addressing the challenges of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene through participatory engagement of community members.

HELWEI at the Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Innovative Fair held during the IMF/World Bank Spring meetings in April 2018 at Washington DC, USA, advocated for improved funding for WASHrelated interventions. Responding to World Bank interviews on her project, KICK DIRT, HUG LIFE, Ebere Okey-Onyema, executive director, HELWEI, explained that their project shows that expected outcome is attainable with effective engagement of all stakeholders.

Community members can be made to take ownership of their environment as well as their health given the necessary education and enabling environment.

“Can we have the global attention on WASH just as Malaria and HIV/AIDS?,” she asked. She proposed a distribution of bin bags and waste drums to households and creation of dumpsters. On the sustainability, it is her conviction that adequate sensitisation of everyone is needed beginning from schools to households and communities to entrench the culture of sanitation and hygiene.

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Sunday 13 May 2018

SundayBusiness What role can mortgage play when economy is diversifying?

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he question frequently asked when the mortgage industry is highlighted as economic growth enabler is what role the industry can play when an economy is diversifying.

In Nigeria today, diversification is a major economic discourse where agriculture and manufacturing come handy as low hanging fruits. Perhaps, other growth sectors also being considered, but not mortgage, not even real estate which is the fulcrum around which the mortgage system revolves.

This is surprising because mortgage and economic growth are almost synonymous. Giving out mortgage to home seekers means encouraging house suppliers to develop more houses In advanced economies, the mortgage industry makes significant contribution to economic development. In Nigeria, this is not the case because no consideration is given to its potential. This lack of consideration explains why mortgage as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), till date, remains low at 0.5 percent, leaving it several steps behind other emerging markets such as Mexico, Malaysia and South Africa where mortgage contri-

Property Logic With Akhigbe Dominic

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he responsibility to set a convenient business space is that of government. Government may not have business in business though this should not create alibi for government to abdicate its responsibilities in regulating the business environment. The enabling environment allows the small and big players to co-exist. The coexistence leads to very healthy competition which in turn leads

butions to GDP are as high as 10 percent, 25 percent and 29 percent respectively.

Mortgage has all the potential to stimulate the economy, but for it to do that, all the obstacles to its growth have to be tackled.

The relative ‘newness’ of the industry, lack of understanding of its dynamics and operational models by many Nigerians, and poor appreciation of the need and the ultimate benefit of keeping money in a mortgage bank are some of the militating factors.

Finance experts are of the view that a flourishing mortgage banking industry is an effective tool in the hands of the government as the industry will help in pushing the economy in the desired direction.

Presently, the Federal Government is talking about diversification of the economy to stir it away from the current challenges, but attention doesn’t seem to be paid to the mortgage sector. If government really wants to stimulate the economy, a reduction in the interest rate on mortgage loan will be a master stroke as, all things being equal, more people will embrace mortgage loan to buy houses, leading to increased activities in the construction sector.

Because of the identified ob-

stacles, many primary mortgage banks (PMBs) are going through very difficult times, such that some are still unable to meet up with the capital requirements in the industry. “If government pays a closer attention to the PMBs by removing some of the obstacles that they have such as the drawbacks of the Land Use Act of 1978 which essentially vests land ownership in the hands of the state governors; the right to easily foreclose on delinquent borrowers, ease of creating a legal mortgage and perfecting titles and the ease of falling back on their collateral to recover bad loan etc, this sector will surely improve tremendously”, a mortgage operator observed recently.

The operator who did not want to be named, insisted that until all these issues are resolved in a way that encourages the provider of capital, in this case the mortgage bank, the sector will not grow as desired and he hopes that when these obstacles are removed, the supplier of mortgage will allocate more funds towards the provision of home loans while home buyers will better appreciate the implication of prompt interest and capital repayments as well as ensure discipline on the part of the people.

A realtor who pleaded ano-

Talking Mortgage with CHUKA UROKO (08037156969, chukuroko@yahoo.com) nymity affirms that the capital base of the PMBs is inadequate, dismissing the idea of a fixed capital base for mortgage institutions. “Saying that a mortgage institution should have a fixed base of, say N10 billion, is wrong because that amount is not enough, not even N100 billion, given the size of projects they finance. The federal government needs to come in, look at what is happening in other civilized world and copy”, the realtor advised.

In the civilized world, according to him, there is secondary market for real estate financing where commercial banks or individual brokerage banks lend money to people and thereafter sell the securitized certificate to the secondary market and come back again to lend to individuals.

Given the size of Nigeria as a mortgage market, the growth of this industry is possible if the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) plays the role of a regulator while the federal government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), empow-

ers the PMBs more.

The Nigerian mortgage industry needs more well established and well funded PMBs. 10 in each state of the federation is not too much and Meckson Innocent Okoro, an estate manager, explains that this is to discourage the concentration of these institutions in urban centres.

When this is done, access to housing finance will be increased; the PMBs must be positioned to champion the whole issue of affordable or social housing for the low income earners in the country. Anything the country wants to do without a functional mortgage system that can guarantee homeownership for a good number of people will not succeed.

Talking about mortgage is talking about housing which is capital intensive and so must have capable institutions to finance it.

Increased homeownership will, one way or another, contribute to the country’s GDP which translates to economic growth that diversification seeks to foster.

Affordable housing and the run away cost of building material; a convenient paradox to a better consumer marketer.

Unfortunately, this government has practically politicized every aspect of our lives. The will to take decisions that benefit the majority of Nigerians is totally absent. To buttress this postulation, I have decided to share this empherical historical evidence with my teaming readers with credit to the Society for Business and Management Dynamics“…1999 An ambitious housing policy was launched by the then military government in 1991 with a slogan “Housing for All by the Year 2000A.D’’. The goal was for all Nigerians to have access to decent housing at affordable cost before the end of year 2000 A.D. The housing needs in the country as at that the lunch of the policy stand at about 8million units including projection in meeting the policy target in both rural and urban centers in response to united nations advocacy which calls for housing for all by the year 2000A.D (Ogunrayewa and Madaki, 1999).This is through adequate involvement of the private

sector in infrastructural provision and to serve as the main vehicle for organization and delivery of housing Business Management Dynamics Vol.3, No.2 Aug 201, pp.60 -68 Society for Business and Management Dynamics products and services (Yakubu, 2004; Aribigbola, 2008).The policy estimated that 700,000 housing units are to be built each year if housing deficit is to be cancelled of which about 60percent of the houses are to be built in urban centers. The policy restructured the financial routing of accessing housing loans by way of creating a two tier financial structure, which is the federal mortgage bank of Nigeria as the apex and supervisory institution and primary mortgage institutions as primary lenders. However, in 2007 the FMBN conceded supervisory functions to CBN (Yakubu, 2004; Aribigbola, 2008).The FMBN nevertheless was empowered through decree no. 82 of 1993 to collects, manage and administer

contributions to the National Housing Fund (NHF) from registered individuals and companies. The National Housing Fund is the product of the 1992 Housing Policy of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

According to The Nigerian Economist (1992) Decree No. 3 of 1992which was packaged against the background of the National Housing, Policy (NHP), is a legal instrument for mandating individuals and government to pool resources into the National Housing Fund (NHF). The NHF can be seen as the ultimate culmination of the previous efforts of governments in Nigeria at housing provisioning. The policy establishing the NHF emanated from recognition of the severe housing problems in most of Nigeria’s urban areas (Anugwom and Anugwom, 1999). Therefore, the policy took cognizance of both the qualitative (existence of substandard housing,) and quantitative (severe housing shortages) nature of the problem. The 1992 Decree more or less pursued the original

objectives outlined in the National Housing Policy: (1980); the main objectives of which were: a. To ensure that the provision of housing units are based on realistic standards which the house owners can afford; b. To give priority to housing programmes designed to benefit the low income group; and c. To encourage every household to own its own house through the provision of more credit or fund (this specific objective more or less crystallised into the NHF).

Apart from these previous objectives, the 1992 policy aimed at keeping in line with the enabling objective of the United Nations Commission on Human Settlements.

Thus, it was geared towards mobilising resources for effective house ownership by workers while at the same time de-emphasising the intrusiveness of government in the housing sector. The NHF was initially meant to facilitate the now discarded vision of housing for all by the year 2000A.D which was long being over taken by events…”

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Equity Market Rights Issue, new customers propel Union Bank’s 2017 full-year profit to N25bn ... as UBN shows low risk appetite for agric, transport, education sub sectors

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Stories by TELIAT SULE nion Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, one of the nation’s oldest and reliable deposit money banks, announced its audited financial statements for the year ended 2017, as many of its financial ratios showed significant progress was made in the year that just ended.

Gross earnings for the year rose by 26.42 percent from N129.61 billion in 2016 to N163.84 billion in 2017. Interest income was up by 24.90 percent as UBN earned N124.55 billion in 2017 compared with N99.72 billion in 2016.

Net interest income and operating income were up by 2.51 percent and 4.30 percent, indicating that UBN realised N66.67 billion and N80.36 billion as net interest and operating incomes in 2017 in contrast to N65.04 billion and N77.05 billion in 2016 respectively.

The increase in the above ratios has been attributed to oversubscription of rights issue, launch of bespoke products and appetite for UBN services demonstrated through upsurge in new-to-bank customers.

“Following an oversubscribed rights issue that raised approximately N50 billion at the end of 2017, Union Bank now has a strengthened capital base to support business growth and maintain regulatory capital requirement”, UBN stated in a note to the Exchange.

However, a spike in interest expenses to the tune of 66.89 percent

saw this indicator rise to N66.67 billion last year compared with N34.68 billion in the previous year. Total expenses rose by 5.05 percent to N65.13 billion in 2017 up from N62 billion in 2016.

Consequently, the profit before tax (PBT), profit after tax(PAT) and total income for the year recorded a marginal decline of 1.39 percent, 5.09 percent and 3.02 percent respectively.

PBT in FY 2017 stood at N15.52 billion as against N15.74 billion in 2016; PAT was N14.61 billion in 2017 as against N15.39 billion in the previous year.

Total income for the year was N24.6 billion in contrast to N25.4 billion in 2016.

“Strengthening our capital base through the Rights Issue was key for the Bank in 2017. Notwithstanding

Bears hold sway as equities lose N71bn ...Infinity Homes, Newrest ASL declare final dividends

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he bearish sentiments continued on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today following the inability of different corporate actions to encourage investors to hold on to their equities as against selling them off to make profit.

As at the close of business, the All Share Index (ASI) closed week to date at -0.48 percent. ASI closed today at 41,022.31 points as against 41,218.72 point last week Friday.

Year to date, the indicator closed higher at 7.27 percent.

Similarly, the market capitalisation of listed stocks ended today’s trading session at N14.86 trillion compared with N14.93 trillion last week Friday, representing a loss of N71.14 billion. The market capitalisation week to date closed lower at -0.48 percent and year to date at 9.19 percent.

Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank and Newrest ASL Nigeria have declared 2 kobo and 18 kobo final dividends per share for shareholders whose names are in the registers of members as at the close of business on May 9, 2018 and June 11, 2018

respectively. Infinity Trust will pay its dividend on May 30, 2018 while Newrest ASL Nigeria will pay shareholders on June 28, 2018.

Meanwhile, Studio Press has announced the appointment of Davis Onifade as a non-executive director to fill the vacancy on the board of the company. Also, Zenith Bank announced the appointments of Mukhtar Adam as the chief financial officer and his appointment has been approved by the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN). Similarly, A.G Leventis has appointed Adebola Ayobami Adebisi as the company’s secretary effective from April 3, 2018.

On the other hand, eTranzact has announced the resignation of Cecilia Akintomide from the board of the company. Also, Livestock Feeds has notified all the stakeholders that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) initially slated for Thursday 31st May 2018 has been postponed. A new date will be announced in due course. Portland Paints and Products will no longer hold its AGM scheduled for Wednesday 30 May 2018. A new date will be announced by the company.

the challenges a tightened economy presented, the rights issue was 20% oversubscribed. This overwhelming success is credited to strong shareholder and investor confidence in Union Bank’s immediate and longerterm plans. With sufficient capital buffers, we are now in pole position to execute our growth agenda from 2018 onwards.

“Operationally, we continued to focus on growing our retail customer base and optimising customer experience with simpler, smarter banking solutions. We launched an upgraded suite of digital channels including UnionMobile, UnionOnline and our unique USSD banking code *826#, driving an increase in active subscribers above 100% on the mobile app

and online banking platforms”, Emeka Emuwa, GMD said in a note to the Exchange.

The bank’s loans and advances as well as deposits grew by 1.95 percent and 21.86 percent respectively. Loans and advances rose to N517.1 billion in 2017 up from N507.2 billion in 2016.

As a sign of renewed confidence in UBN, deposits from customers were up to N802.4 billion last year from N658.4 billion in previous period.

Meanwhile the analysis of the distribution of UBN loans and advances by industry reveals its risks appetite last year. Sectors such as agric, oil and gas, consumer credit, transportation, communications and education got lesser loans in 2017 compared with the 2016 levels. In 2017, a total of N19.44 billion

loans and advances were given by Union Bank to players in nation’s agric sector, representing a decline of 38.7 percent when compared with 2016 level. Oil and gas sector got N209.82 billion in 2017 and that was lower than N235.97 billion players in this sector got in 2016 by 11.08 percent.

Consumer credit loans fell by 25.15 percent to N17.97 billion in 2017 from N24.01 billion in 2016. Transportation loans fell by 37.68 percent to N1.9 billion as against N3.05 billion in 2016.

Communications loans fell by 10.4 percent to N17.08 billion from N19.05 billion in 2016 while the players in the education sub sector received N5.76 billion as loans and advances last year in contrast to N7.66 billion in 2016.

On the contrary, loans to real estate and construction rose by 16.8 percent from N55.1 billion in 2016 to N64.4 billion last year. Power sector players got N50.18 billion last year, representing 37.94 percent increase over N36.38 billion obtained in 2016. Other loans rose by 60.52 percent from N7.21 billion in 2016 to N11.56 billion last year.

“We continue to tighten our credit risk management and loan monitoring processes while pursuing an aggressive strategy to continue to grow our low-cost deposit base. We closed the year with the Regulatory Risk Reserve at N71 billion, which exceeds the expected impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9 adoption in 2018”, Oyinkan Adewale, UBN’s CFO said in a statement to the Exchange.

GREIF Nigeria announces restructuring plan

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ncreasing complexity of local economy, decreasing aggregate effective demand, increasing infrastructural deficits, multiple taxes and charges have all contributed to lower productive capacities and volumes, thereby increasing cost of doing business and decreasing profit margins.

Specifically for our business, we continue to experience declining volumes and lower productive capacities, loss of a major customer especially in our branch network, in addition to escalating operational costs and decreasing margin. With the ever increasing need to satisfy our customers with supply of quality steel drums/products, earn a commensurate return on investment and improve shareholders value, it is imperative to carry out a restructuring of our entire business in order to deliver on targeted key performance indicators.

Against this backdrop, and in order to reposition GREIF Nigeria to better provide efficient customer services to its customers in Nigeria vis-à-vis the supply of quality drums/products through seamless and safe operation and

at competitive pricing, the GREIF Nigeria Board of Directors and management in consultation with the larger GREIF Sub-Sahara Africa and EMEA management team have approved a total business restructuring plan for the local operation as follow: * Strategic consolidation of all volumes and production capacity in our Apapa, Lagos factory site only and supply quality products out of the factory to customers in Nigeria; * Closure of the factory branch network in both Koko, Delta State and Kaduna, Kaduna State and commencement of complete evacuation of all machines and equipment during current accounting year; * Embark on Apapa factory site improvement, capital expendi-

ture and overhaul to meet minimum standard of GREIF operation worldwide in terms of safety and operational excellence.

Gross revenue at the end of the first quarter ended January 2018 declined by 57 percent from N333.07 million in January 2017 to N144.7 million in January 2018.

Profit before taxation fell by 92 percent from N26.36 million to N1.99 million during the reference period just as the profit after tax declined by 87 percent from N20.46 million to N2.62 million during the reference period.

Meanwhile, the cost of sales trended upward by 56 percent from N284.59 million in January 2017 to N125.1 million in similar period in 2018.

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Sunday 13 May 2018

BrandsOnSunday SPOTLIGHTING BRAND VALUE

PZ Nigeria’s Cussons Baby products gain Sona identifies factors for group’s successful brands in Nigeria mileage over promotion initiative DANIEL OBI

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he connection between PZ Nigeria’s Cussons Baby products and consumers has continued to ramp-up as the promotion initiative targeted for this purpose has sustained its growth trajectory.

The international company has five years ago introduced Cussons Baby Moments Competition. The competition which allows mothers to take a picture of their baby (0-24 months) with Cussons Baby product and upload the picture in a particular website after filling necessary forms aims to reiterate the product’s brand promise of creating beautiful moments with mothers and babies as they grow together.

The initiative has also created traction to the product. This year alone saw over 4,000 participants enter the race to win the prestigious Baby of the Year award1 million naira educational grant and

a year’s supply of Cussons Baby products of N1m educational grant and a year’s supply of Cussons Baby products.

There were over one million votes received from family, friends and the members of the public who were interested in the competition, during the voting stages.

Tobi Oyenekan, Brand Manager, Cussons Baby, agreed that Cussons Baby Moments has defied all odds to remain consistent over the years, creating magical memories with amazing families across the country and “we will continue to do so for many more years to come”, he said.

At the end of the 5th edition this year, baby Zoe Ekwegh was crowned Cussons Baby of the Year 2018. The event which was hosted by popular comedian, singer and actress, Chigul, took place in a tastefully decorated venue that featured a children’s play zone, adult game centres and a beautiful magical themed ambience.

This year also saw the introduction of an award statuette for

the winner which was carefully designed to represent the bond shared by mother and child, supported by the Cussons baby brand.

The 1st and 2nd runners up were Chiemezikam Royalty Mackalunta winning 750,000 naira education grant and a year’s supply of Cussons Baby products and Busolami Odugbemi who walked away with 350,000 education grant and a year’s supply of Cussons Baby products.

Speaking on this year’s competition and the achievements of the Cussons Baby brand, PZ Cussons Nigeria MD, Alex Goma said this year’s event provided a unique opportunity for the Cussons’s Baby Moments Competition to further establish itself as the most recognised Nigerian family competition.

“The Cussons Baby Moments Competition has grown with each year and today you can see how much, we have not only expanded to include the families, we have also created an award statuette that symbolises the bond the brand has helped these families build.

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he Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Sona Group of Industries, Ashok Manghnani has identified the factors that enabled it to build successful strong brands in the Nigerian economy, in spite of economic challenges.

He identified the group’s belief in the Nigerian project, local sourcing of materials and its motivated Nigerian workforce.

Speaking at the Nigeria Manufacturing and Equipment Expo (NME Expo) held recently, where the group participated, Manghnani said, “The promoters of the companies under the group are Nigerians by hearts who have spent many years in Nigeria and who believe in Nigeria.

“Most of the people in our management team are people who have spent many years in the country to know what Nigerians want, that is why for many years we have operated in the country building products sourced with local materials.

“We started with about six breweries and now we have diversified into packaging, power and gas, manufacturing as well as in real estate. We are also into manufacturing of biscuits.

We also have wine, soft drinks all made in Nigeria. We produce

sorghum in large quantity which we get from the north” he said in a statement.

Sona Group of Industries started operations in Nigeria in 1994 and later on diversified into different sectors. It has within its group 10 subsidiaries which include Sona Agro Allied Foods Ltd; Euro Global Foods and Distilleries Ltd; Food, Agro & Allied Industries Ltd; Shongai Technologies Ltd; Shongai Packaging Industry Ltd; Techblow Nigeria Ltd, Coronation Real Estate Development Ltd, Coronation Power & Gas Ltd; Sona Industrial Gases Ltd. Asked of how challenging it has been doing business in Nigeria, Manghnani said in Europe, the government subsidizes their industries and would want to see the same situation applied in the country.

“Some of the challenges we face here is high cost of manufacturing coupled with poor electricity situation and high interest rate which revolves between 22 and 26%. You find out that importation is always cheaper compared to growing locally, however, we have found ways to get our materials locally, though expensive but available.

After production we export our products to Ghana and other African countries,” he said.

Honeywell promises customers improved performance

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L-R: Joyce Coker, group HR director and Ekwegh; parents of Zoe Ekwegh; Winner, Cussons Baby of the year 2018 and Alex Goma, managing director PZ Cussons, at the PZ Cussons Baby Moments Season 5 Grand Finale in Lagos

LG says innovative products guaranty quality family time

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he current trend of technological advancement in helping to improve the living conditions of human beings is quite remarkable. As at today, technology seems to be taking over the lives of people all over the world, adults and kids alike. For most families sitting in the living room with each one glued to their respective devices cannot be regarded as having good family bonding together, rather quality family time should include the element of communication among families with necessary feedbacks achieved.

Using today’s technology most families can conveniently see a movie outside their homes with family members using projectors that can be attached to phones using a simple white cloth hung up in the backyard can become a movie

screen. This obviously would create an enabling environment for family and friends to spend quality time together enjoying their favourite movies in a relaxed homely setting.

The company said in a statement that its lineup of OLED and Nano Cell TVs are leaders in making cinema-quality viewing possible in the home. “ These TVs boast of wider viewing angles that allow for more people to experience images at peak resolution ideal for gamers. The LG combined advanced sound bar and home audio system technology makes the home entertainment solutions perfect for families seeing a movie together, the newly extended ultrawide monitors makes it easier for parents to game with their kids “As part of its commitment to improving and encouraging more quality family time for

consumers around the globe, LG believes that it has a responsibility to produce technology that has a positive impact on not just the environment alone but also promote better bonding in families. The company has received numerous awards recognizing it as a leader in green technology which has obviously stood the company out for many years”, it said.

Managing Director, LG Electronics West Africa operations, Taeick Son said: “our products are beyond satisfying the needs of our esteemed consumers they are also deliberately designed for friends and family to share quality time together thereby promoting family value system in the society. For instance, the LG OLED TV with its beautiful and strategic viewing angles can provide the ambience for family to have nice quality time together.”

anaging Director, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Lanre Jaiyeola has assured customers of better service and performance, saying the company has put in place processes to ensure that it meets and even surpasses their expectations.

Speaking recently at the company’s annual customers’ forum in Lagos, Jaiyeola said part of efforts to meet customers’ demand was the establishment of the new Honeywell’s pasta plant at Honeywell Food and Agro Allied Industrial Complex in Sagamu, Ogun State which consists of two spaghetti lines and two macaroni lines with annual capacity of about 140,000 metric tones. According to him, the plant, which is the largest and most sophisticated pasta plant in sub-Saharan Africa, is able to produce pasta using both wheat and local grains.

Besides the Pasta plant, he said the site will accommodate over 10 additional factories all producing food products with the central theme of utilizing locally available grains and tubers to provide more

affordable high quality food for Nigerians and in the process creating thousands of jobs and guaranteeing food security in the country.

At the colourful ceremony where Opeyemi Raji, Managing Director, Opeyemi Bakery, emerged winner of Business to Commercial category, with all-expense-paid trip to Dubai, Jaiyeola said “the complete satisfaction of our customers remains our priority and we are very cognizant of the roles that our dealers and distributors play as critical stakeholders and actors in the value chain”.

He assured that they will further experience improved customer service, saying “we are upgrading our technology platform to make transactions with customers pain-free and seamless, we are expanding our fleet cover to make sure that your orders are fulfilled in good time and most importantly, we are improving product quality to ensure that customers demand more and more of Honeywell’s products rather than competing brands”.

Despite current economic challenges, he assured that the economy will continue on the path of growth to the advantage of the company and consumers.

“We expect that the economy will continue on the path of growth despite the challenge of delay in the passage of the 2018 fiscal budget. We anticipate an increase in government and consumer spending as its typical ahead of an election year.

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Arts Connecting the Dots, Olumide Onadipe’s thought-provoking new works Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

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rom Monday May 14, 2018, the general public, especially lovers of visual art, will be thrilled as Connecting The Dots opens at Temple Muse in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The exhibition, which is in celebration of Temple Muse’s tenth anniversary, is a solo outing featuring paintings and sculptures by Olumide Onadipe, Nigeria’s fast rising visual artist.

Curated by SMO Contemporary Art, the exhibition reflects over 40 of Onadipe’s thought-provoking works, which show amazing artistic dexterity, sensitivity, and breadth in tackling urgent issues of global consumerism against the backdrop of daunting environmental pressures facing millions of Africans everyday.

Some of the works include; Conflict of Thoughts, Letter Series, Pyramid Scheme, Inverted Series, The Watchers, among others, which give viewers the impetus to be more open to self-discovery and experimentation.

His signature sculptures, made from up-cycled and re-purposed plastic shopping bags, water sachets, juice packs, cement bags and newspapers are presented alongside his paintings, which are a continuation of his eclectic palette of rich materiality and textural freedom, showing human forms emerging out of intricate tangles of roots and leaves.

Connecting the Dots exposes the different layers of Onadipe’s artistic

Inverted Series - We are not the same but the same II

personality in which he grapples with identity and migration vis-à-vis a universal yearning for global citizenship and communication across a world of bold color. Onadipe’s interpretation of these universal themes are presented through the tying, knotting, folding and melting of vibrant re-purposed materials used to create striking sculptures with life size legs and geometric shaped torsos and heads. They are a powerful counterpoint to the delicate brushstrokes of his paintings depicting human forms yearning towards emotional harmony and environmental balance.

Explaining why the exhibition is a must-see, Sandra Mbanefo Obiago,

artistic director of SMO and curator of the exhibition, said, “In Connecting the Dots we see an artist who boldly questions the status-quo, and whose art has swept him to the very cusp of the rising tide of contemporary art coming out of Nigeria. His expression is in-sync with the aspirations of millions of Nigerian youth trying to seek better livelihoods within a totally overburdened natural and political ecosystem.”

According to Onadipe, whose work is referenced against Africa’s rich history, “The materials I explore, polythene bags, newspapers, jute and cement bags, electrical cables, ink, paint, wood, and metal reflect

Interlocked Man

“ordinary” Nigerian life and question our consumerism,” It surprises the artist that Africa, a continent that supports the economy of the rest of the world, now has need for support and her citizens; a people of earliest inventors and inventions, have become consumers.

In seeming appraisal of Onadipe’s work, Jess Castellote, art critic, noted that, “For those of us who have followed him for more than a decade, his new works do not present themselves as a surprise or a rupture, but as an evolution and deepening of ideas and formal solutions.”

“He is finding an aesthetic vocabulary and a formal language that allows him work with ideas and meanings in a much more forceful way.”

Onadipe graduated with a Bachelors’ degree in painting from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 2008 and earned his Masters’ of Fine Art in 2012 from the University of Lagos. He has taken part in numerous exhibitions in the United Kingdom, Ghana, and Nigeria and is in important local and international collections.

Connecting the Dots is supported by VeuveClicquot, and runs through August 30, 2018.

Veteran artists to lock horns at Mydrim Gallery’s The Master Exhibition …as gallery recounts feats at 25th anniversary

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bout 12 veteran visual artists, who are masters in their own rights, are set to lock horns in The Masters exhibition, which hopes to feature recent works of the living art legends to art lovers, especially collectors.

The veterans include: El Anatsui, Abayomi Barber, Jimoh Buraimoh, David Dale, Nike Davies-Okundaye, Bisi Fakeye, Yusuf Grillo, Gani Odutokun, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Kolade Oshinowo, Muraina Oyelami and Jimoh Akolo.

The exhibition, which holds from June 3-4, 2018 at Desiderata, on Plot 5A Abuja Street, Banana Island, Foreshore Estate, Ikoyi Lagos, is one of the activities marking the 25th anniversary of Mydrim Gallery, established in December 1992.

Speaking recently at a media parley heralding the exhibition at Mydrim Gallery at 74B Norman Williams Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, Sinmidele Adesanya, director and founder of

the gallery, noted that the exhibition is aimed at recognizing the sacrifices of the pioneer artists who against all odds sustained the visual art calling to the enviable height it is today.

Citing a Nigerian proverb, which says, “A river that does not know its source will soon run dry”, Adesanya explained that, “This exhibition is a display of the works of 12 of Nigeria’s masters, such that art lovers, artists and art students know the source”. Some of those artists, according to her, steered the course and remained committed and focused to developing the visual arts in Nigeria in the face of monumental challenges. “They made sacrifices for the present generation of artists, hence young artists today need to know the history of those who paved the way for them”, she further said.

Going down the memory lane, Adesanya said that she founded the gallery when art profession was not regarded as one of the noble profes-

Sinmidele Adesanya, director and founder of the gallery, explaining Abayomi Barber’s work; Ali Maigoro

sions and the society did not accord much importance to the artists or their works.

Despite the challenge, she enthused that the gallery went ahead to rectify the anomaly, creating a platform for educating Nigerians about the importance and the value of art. Today, she assured that Mydrim has done well in the gallery business.

Explaining the journey and feats achieved so far, the gallery founder/ director, said, “It has been an extremely challenging journey. But 25 years later, Mydrim Gallery has contributed significantly to the development of the visual arts in Nigeria. The promulgation of art as a great store of value has been established and artists are now held in high esteem. The works of Nigerian artists are now sought after all over the world”.

Enumerating some of the feats, she said for the 25 years, the gallery has organized more than 70 exhibitions and events, including a series of nation-wide public lectures on contemporary arts and culture,

inaugurated the Living Masters exhibition in 2007, and also organized Nigeria at Fifty, a photo exhibition for Nigeria for Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary on behalf of Lagos State government.

Others include; representing Africa at the modern art section of International Art Dubai Fair in 2015, collaborated with Terra Culture to organize an annual art auction for discerning collectors, curated the Eko Art Expo for Lagos State Government in 2017, as well as, rendering acquisition, collection management, curatorial services and advisory for clients.

The gallery founder and director also noted that beyond the June exhibition, Mydrim Gallery would host other events that would climax in December 2018, when the gallery turns 25 years.

Also, Templars, a Lagos-based law firm, is supporting the exhibition by hosting and sponsoring the preview of The Masters’ exhibition.

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Arts When TNC, Canon collaborated to inspire, empower photographers ...as 3 winners emerge in maiden mentorship programme CHUKS OLUIGBO

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ednesday, May 9, 2018 will remain etched in the minds of Dauda Idris Abiola, Rebecca Nwose and Olasubomi Adeyemi, three young Nigerian photographers who emerged winners of the maiden edition of the Canon & TNC Photography Mentorship Programme in Lagos.

This is as each of the three winners, who were announced at the just-concluded The Now Collectives (TNC) photography conference in Lagos themed ‘Bigger and Better’, got an EOS 1300D Canon Camera with EF-S 18-55mm & EF-S 50mm1.8 lens with camera bag and memory card.

In addition, each of the winners will work with a mentor over a period of one year to develop ideas and concepts for a project that they will work on for the duration of the programme, and will also receive financial support towards their project. At the end of the one-year programme, each mentee will have a body of work that will be exhibited at TNC19.

TNC, an initiative of Segun Olotu, UK-based multiple award-winning photographer, is an annual

Participants and speakers at the 2018 The Now Collectives (TNC) photography conference in Lagos, recently.

Pic by Marius Tudor

gathering for photographers to connect, share, learn with other colleagues in the industry, be inspired, enlightened and broaden their skills. The conference, which debuted in Lagos last year, came bigger and better this year as Canon, the world renowned manufacturer of imaging and optical products, stepped into the game to throw the weight of its support behind the annual event.

The Canon & TNC Photography Mentorship Programme, an endeavour geared towards fostering

young and talented photographers at the beginning of their photographic careers in developing their skills in visual storytelling, comes as a part of Canon’s collaboration with TNC. Katie Simmonds, Canon Miraisha programme manager, who announced the mentees on behalf of Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA), alongside Taiwo Adediran, Canon channel account manager, and Amy Anaiz, photographer & TNC ambassador, said the goal of the mentorship programme was to attempt to give the

L-R: Segun Olotu, founder and convener, TNC; 3 winners of the Canon & TNC Photography Mentorship Programme; Katie Simmonds, Canon Miraisha programme manager; Amy Anaiz, photographer & TNC ambassador, and Taiwo Adediran, Canon channel account manager, at the TNC18 conference in Lagos.

Pic by Marius Tudor

young photographers an all-round idea on how to run a photography project from start to finish with the endgame of having a body of work that can be exhibited, thereby helping to push their careers further.

Simmonds described TNC as a platform which “showcases, celebrates and connects the rich and diverse industry” which Canon works in, saying it was a momentous occasion for Canon to join the photo and video community in celebrating the massive pool of creative talent across Africa.

“We stand here today affirming our commitment to this region, as partners of The Now Collectives,” Simmonds said. “As the budding new generation of creatives meet here to be enlightened by all the wonderful speakers who have passed through the conference, who are broadening our mindsets, giving us new ways of thinking, and sharing technical skills, whilst enthusing your creative juices to take you to the next level, Canon is here to say that we see tremendous potential in Nigeria and we highly value our involvement in this growing market.”

Leke Alabi Isama, documentary photographer and filmmaker, Nyancho NwaNri, visual storyteller, photographer and filmmaker, and Segun Olotu, TNC founder and director, were

also announced as mentors to guide the mentees through the one-year journey, while David Ajayi was also picked as a dedicated business mentor to work with the mentees.

“The mentors will help to guide the mentees through researching and writing proposals and grants, through to advice and guidance when shooting, to making crucial edits and understanding print workflows,” Simmonds said.

Speaking to newsmen on the sidelines of the event, Segun Olotu described TNC18 as “great and successful”.

“Last year was just a tip of the iceberg. This year has been huge. We have had a lot of support, we have had a lot of feedback which we will be sharing out on our social media platforms soon. And also the collaboration between Canon and TNC has been great. We are looking forward to an even bigger and better TNC19,” Olotu said.

On how the winners of the mentorship programme emerged, Olotu said ahead of the conference, TNC had put out a call for photographers to submit an image in order to be selected as a participant. A panel of judges assessed over 500 images that were submitted and selected 20 participates who attended a Canon training workshop on camera skills

and creativity. Based on their portfolio, enthusiasm, and engagement, TNC and Canon then selected the three final mentees.

For Rebecca Nwose, one of the mentees who said she didn’t have a camera to work with before now, it was a euphoric moment as she expressed heartfelt gratitude to Canon and TNC, saying the camera and the mentorship programme would spur her to greater heights.

“Initially that was my first challenge. I didn’t have a camera and I kept borrowing other people’s. But now I have one, it means I am going to do better, I’m going to put in more effort and more work,” Nwose said. #TNC17 saw many speakers coming from other parts of the world, including professional photographers Christelle Rall, Chad Pennington, Gabriela Matei and Marius Tudor, Beena and Anil Tohani, Amy Anaiz, Richard Beland, and Mauricio Arias.

This year, speakers were also carefully selected from a vast pool of internationallyacclaimed photographers from around the world. They include Tom Saater, Nigerianborn documentary photographer and short-film maker, who spoke on “Project Development and Ethics”; Andra and Marius Dragan, who spoke on “How to Develop Your Business Photography”; and Keith Major, one of New York’s most talented and productive commercial photographers, who spoke on “The Marathon: Be in for the Long Haul”.

Other speakers include TY Bello, Nigerian vocalist, song composer and photographer; Kevin Ouma , Kenyan-born photographer and specialist in wedding photography and NGO photography; Sergio Kurhajec, editorial, commercial and advertising fashion photographer, Segun Olotu, convener, TNC, and Sabina Miladin, who spoke on “Shoot the Moment”.

The two-day event also featured live shoot demonstrations, moments of inspiration and critique sessions, all designed to spark deep inspirations and connections among the participants.

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Kiddies Expert counsels children on hygiene

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Stories by NGOZI OKPALAKUNNE

hildren are expected to cultivate good personal hygiene routine always.

Besides, they are also supposed to maintain clean environment wherever they find themselves as it will aid ward off certain diseases.

In doing this, parents have a vital role to play. It is part of their responsibility to teach the children good and healthy habits; this will certainly help their children in the future.

Speaking on how children can cultivate a general healthy behaviour, a medical consultant at Divine Grace Medical Centre Mafoluku Lagos, Dr. Obafisoye Dayo defined a general healthy behaviour as the ability of an individual to maintain a balance ecosystem designed to prevent ill-health.

Obafisoye noted that parents have essential role to play in ensuring that their wards cultivate a healthy habit as they are growing up.

“Parents especially the mothers should ensure their children are protected from germs and they can only achieve this by educating them on good hygiene habit.

“After defecating, proper care should be taken, the child should be properly washed especially the hands to avoid such a child from putting the dirty fingers in the mouth, this could be dangerous as it causes typhoid and other infections,” he noted.

Also, he stressed the need for children to brush their teeth twice daily and added that such will prevent them from developing mouth odour and tooth decay.

“School uniforms and oth-

Story of the lucky bird

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here was once a poor Woodcutter. One day, while working, he became tired and sat down under a tree to rest for a while. A little bird flying about happened to see the woodcutter and felt sad at his miserable condition. “I must help him,” thought the bird, and perched beside the woodcutter.

As the woodcutter dozed off, the little bird laid a golden egg near him and flew away.

When the woodcutter woke up, he was surprised to see the golden egg. He quickly picked it up and slipped it in his pocket.

Then he bundled the logs he had chopped that day and carried them to the shopkeeper to whom he usually sold his wood. “Such a small bundle today?” asked the shopkeeper.

“You bring big bundles everyday; it seems you didn’t work very much today!”

The woodcutter then told him how he had dozed off and that he had found the golden egg when he woke up. The shopkeeper, a cunning man, lured him into exchanging the egg for a single gold coin. The innocent woodcutter accepted. The shopkeeper also told him that if he could bring the bird that laid the golden egg, he could get five gold coins.

Promising to bring the bird, the woodcutter went home.

The next day, he went to the same tree where he had found the golden egg and sat down, pretending to sleep. The little bird came again and perched

A cross session of students at Royal Exchange PLC leadership conference

er clothes when dirty should be removed immediately to avoid the transfer of bacteria from the dirty clothes to their skin,” he advised.

According to him, it is also a good habit that a child takes his birth twice daily,

in the morning and at night before sleeping.

This he said would not only help the child sleep very well at night, but also wash off the dirt he contacted during the day.

The medical practitio-

ner also advised children to take care of their hair to avoid infections like lice or dandruff, adding that they should also trim their finger nails so as to avert bacteria from penetrating into their finger nails.

Short story

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ne day, a baby girl

The Mother Bird and the are greedy.” The woodcutter beside him. went to shopping Just then, the woodcutter Si s t e r Bi r d s t h e n b r o u g h t cried, “I have lost you because with her mother. The sprang up and caught the bird. some green leaves and grass of my foolishness!” “Don’t be shop keeper admired the “Now I shall sell you to the shop- that could raise the dead, and disheartened, friend!” said the smile cute child and showed keeper for five gold coins!” said stuffed them into the Lucky Lucky Bird. “You have helped her a bottle filled with chocothe woodcutter. “But one golden Bird’s beak. In no time, the me, and so I shall return to you lates. He said to her, take some once again. But you will have to chocolates. But the child did egg is a hundred times more valu- Lucky Bird opened her eyes.

The woodcutter was ec- wait for that time.” able than five gold coins, don’t not take the chocolates.

The woodcutter returned you know that?” screeched the static to see her alive again.

The store keeper was surbird. “The shopkeeper has made The Lucky Bird then spoke, home with a heavy heart, but prised, such a small child she “Luck appears and disappears; with the hope that the Lucky a fool of you!” is, why did she not take chocThe woodcutter realised his and so do we Lucky Birds. But Bird would return someday. olates from the bottle? Again, we don’t stay with those who mistake. “I am sorry I got greedy Refrigerator - Free Word Search Puzzle https://www.puzzles.ca/wordsearch/refrigerator.html he said; take some chocolates. and harmed you,” he said, and Now the mother also heard released the bird, Free Printable Word Search Puzzles that and said; “take chocoBut the bird fell to the ground. lates my child.” Yet she did “My end is near,” she moaned, “I Refrigerator not take any. When the shopcome from the family of Lucky Find and circle all of the refrigerator items that are hidden in the grid. keeper saw that the child did The remaining letters spell an additional item found in many refrigerators.

Birds. We bring luck to men, but not, he took the chocolates we are destined to die if ever and gave to the little child by caught by humans.”

The woodcutter heard this himself. and wept bitterly. He asked, “Is The child was happy to get there any way I can help you?” two hands full of chocolates.

The bird said, “When I die, pluck On their way home, the motha feather from my wing and er asked the child, “Why didn’t show it to the fire; you’ll be you take the chocolates when transported to my home. Give the keeper asked you to take? my feather to my family and tell The child replied! “Mummy, them the truth.” Saying this, the my hands are very small; if l Lucky Bird died. took the chocolates by myThe woodcutter did as he self, l could only have taken a was told. few, but now that uncle gave In an instant, he found himme by himself, see how many self amidst the Lucky Bird’s more chocolates l got”.

APPLES DRAWERS LETTUCE ORANGES family. He showed them the BACON DRINKS LIGHTBULB PEAS Moral lesson feather and narrated his story BANANAS EGGS MAGNETS POULTRY When we take, we may BREAD GRAPES MAPLE SYRUP PRODUCE to them. “Oh, we must act BROCCOLI ICE CUBES MAYONNAISE SHELVES take little, but when our Fafast!” said the Father Bird. He BUTTER JAM MEAT SPINACH ther in heaven gives, it is beCAKE JUICES MILK STRAWBERRIES kept the Lucky Bird’s feather CARROTS KETCHUP MUSTARD WATER yond our expectations, more on the ground and began to hop CHEESE LEFTOVERS OLIVES YOGURT COLD LEMONS than we can think of. Always around it. After ten rounds, the ask the Lord what you want Father Bird touched the feather.

Did you enjoy this puzzle? Visit: https://www.puzzles.ca/word-search And lo! The Lucky Bird’s lifeless and wait for the Lord to give Copyright © 2018 Puzzles.ca body was transported there. you more.

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Sunday 13 May 2018

THINGS TO DO IN LAGOS Premium Saxophonist Abolaji Banjoko also known as Beejay Sax is back with the second edition of his concert “Beejay Sax Live,” holding today at the Eko Convention Center, 5pm. The event will feature other gospel artists including Nathaniel Bassey, Big Bolaji, Frank Edwards, Onos, Bukola Bekes, Tim Godfrey, Laolu Gbenjo, Kenny Blaq, Woli Agba and many more.

Make it a date!

Breaking In Movie Date In honour of Mother’s day, Breaking In is now showing in the cinema. Take your mom, grandmom, wife or female friend to go see this movie. You’ll be amazed how your womb will leap for joy seeing how much a mom is willing to fight and go for her children.

All That You Might Not Know About Smoking Shisha

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ight just when you thought it was absolutely safe to smoke shisha, this pops up. Well the truth is everything in life has got positives and negatives. And yes shisha isn’t exempted.

The whole idea of smoking shisha originated from the Middle East and South East Asia and has now started becoming popular in the UK, the USA and everywhere else on the globe for that matter.

Unlike the usual cigarettes that contain industrial chemicals and artificial additives, shisha (also called sheesha) is made of only natural substances that are endowed with appetizing aroma and flavour. The fact that people actually think that shisha is harmless since all the “harmful” ingredients have been filtered through water, got us to do some research and write this article. We care for the health of our readers.

It sure gives you the relaxation feeling, sometimes you want to do two pots, but the following points will help you understand why you might even be doing more harm to yourself, than the next man smoking a Benson or Vogue.

According to World Health Organization, study has shown that the smoke that comes from the water pipe in the shisha pot contains numerous substances responsible for causing lung cancer, heart diseases and other respiratory diseases known to tobacco users.

Although the water in the shisha pot absorbs some of the nicotine, smokers are still exposed to a great percentage of nicotine left. This

leftover is capable of causing addiction. Which clearly explains why some of you just love love to smoke shisha and you will say cigarettes are the addictive ones.

WHO further revealed that a single session of shisha smoking yields nicotine that is equivalent to one pack of cigarette. So when you do two pots of shisha, you have indirectly done 40 sticks of cigarette.

We just have to say that all the problems and health challenges a cigarette smoker is liable to face, a shisha smoker sets himself or herself in line for them.

To top it up for you, if you can’t stop smoking shisha even after reading all these, then atleast don’t share a pipe. Communicable diseases can be contacted whenever you share a pipe with someone who has any. Ranging from cough, flu, tuberculosis, mouth ulcers, sore throats and bad breathe (if you constantly share with one who has).

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My candid Avengers:Infinity Wars Opinion (Spoiler Alert)

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his is probably the shortest movie review you’ve ever seen but this is just because I’ve been short of words after seeing Avengers: Infinity Wars (1).

Here goes nothing – It’s safe to say that the Marvel superhero kingdom will never remain the same again after the shocking “death” of Loki, Gamora,

Vision, Heimdall, and the disappearance of Iron Man, Hulk, Dr Strange as well as many other heros. This movie will take you to a place most superhero movies don’t like to take you, somewhere you would certainly hate to be taken.

Luckily there’s a part two billed to come out next year, so hopefully they can answer all our pressing questions and relieve us from all the sadness and frowns on our faces.

20 Mind-Blowing Facts About Gratitude Being grateful may not always be easy — but it sure is good for you

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t’s the season for those warm fuzzy feelings: Love, friendship, peace and, of course, gratitude. And turns out, there are a lot of good reasons to feel, and express, thanks — many of which benefit you.

Below are some things you may not have realized about gratitude, from its health benefits to need-to-know tips to maintaining a positive attitude. We hope they’ll inspire you to say “thank you” to a loved one today!

1. Writing down what you’re grateful for — yes, with a pen and paper — has been linked in research to a multitude of health benefits.

2. Materialistic people may have all the tangible “stuff,” but research shows they’re low in well-being. The reason: They lack gratitude.

3. Writing and delivering a thank you note can actually make you happier.

4. If you’re a manager, saying “thank you” to your employees could actually increase their motivation.

5. For teens, gratitude could mean better behavior in school and higher levels of happiness and hopefulness, according to one study.

6. Gratitude could also have a positive effect on teens’ GPAs. 7. Keeping track of what you’re grateful for could make you feel more optimistic about the week ahead.

8. Having a grateful outlook on life could also help you be a better support to those in need.

9. Being appreciative of the little things your partner does can help your relationship thrive.

10. A good way to increase your feelings of gratitude is to embrace the setbacks you experience in life, according to leading gratitude researcher Robert Emmons, of the University of California, Davis.

11. In addition to keeping a gratitude journal, use visual reminders to help you remember to count your blessings.

12. Gratitude makes you a better team player and could even have effects

against athlete burnout.

13. It will help you better manage stress (and even protect you against negative effects of stress).

14. You can turn your mindfulness meditation into an opportunity for gratitude by focusing on what you’re thankful for.

15. Gratitude has positive effects on the brain, including mood neurotransmitters and hormones that are key to social bonding.

16. It helps us go against our natural tendency to let the “bad” outweigh the “good” in our lives.

17. Gratitude can also help you sleep better.

18. Even though a grateful temperament is, to some extent, genetic, you can cultivate gratitude through experience and behavior.

19. If you want to boost your gratitude, think about your lifewithout something — chances are, you’ll then feel more grateful for that thing.

20. Vow to be grateful, as it will increase the likelihood you’ll actually do it.

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Sunday 13 May 2018

Life&Living

The mystery ‘Man in the box’ has been revealed JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

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ocial media has been buzzing about the mystery ‘man in the box’ sitting in a nice cozy looking box, decorated to resemble a corporate office. I remember seeing a video on instagram where somebody was trying to take a picture of the man in the box but was unfortunately disrupted by a bride, fully dressed in her bridal gown trying to cross the express road. I really don’t know what was funnier, the distressed bride or the guy trying to take a picture of the man in the box.

However, the video got me laughing me head off.

For the past week, Lagosians have engaged in lively conversation about the smartly-dressed gentleman spotted in an intriguing display elevated along Lekki express way, just next to the Oriental hotel. The so called Maninthebox was working day-and-night, come rain and sunshine; in what appeared to be an office-in-a-billboard displaying the phrases - “We know what keeps you up, let’s talk’ and #Maninthebox.

A few days ago, it was revealed that this was another MTN campaign. This announcement was made at the formal relaunch of

MTN’s Enterprise Business Solutions arm, otherwise known as MTN Business, after days of suspense, speculation and social media chatter.

MTN says that through this campaign, it hopes to raise public aware-

What chocolate does to your skin JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

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re you one of those people who craves for a bar of chocolate every other day and so you seem to always ask people to buy you boxes of chocolate from duty free whenever they travel or you just anticipate valentine’s day or any occasion where chocolate can be given as gifts, and then you feel guilty after eating it, attributing your weight gain to all the chocolate you have eaten?

Well, it is interesting to know that chocolates, especially dark chocolates have incredible benefits to the body.

According to Ava Shamban, a Dermatologist in Los Angeles, USA; “The high cocoa content of dark chocolate also means high amounts of two flavonoids, catechin and procyanidin, which are chemicals that act as antioxidants within the body. Antioxidants protect the body’s cells against free radicals.”

Apart from the high fatty content of some types of chocolate which could cause weight gain, you may have also heard that eating chocolate can cause

pimples. The good news is that this is a myth that has been passed from one generation to the other, as scientists and researchers around the world have tried to find a link between eating chocolate and breakouts but there is no evidence to support the claim. In fact, no specific foods have been proved to cause acne. Cocoa is full of potent antioxidants and contains various essential nutrients which help you to stay healthy and beautiful.

Some of the skin and beauty benefits of dark chocolate include the fact that it has great sun protection properties that shield your skin from detrimental ultraviolet (UV) rays, so you don’t need to worry too much about getting sunburns or skin cancer.

Regular consumption of dark chocolate can help you achieve a problem free, healthy and smooth complexion, as well as keeping it moist and well nourished. Health experts say it promotes blood circulation in the scalp which leads to increased growth of healthy hair.

Have you ever felt the need to detox your skin? Dark chocolate makes an excellent skin-detoxifier in combination with caffeine. It sloughs off the dead skin cells and allows the newly exposed, fresh skin to breathe freely.

I found out a few years ago that the solution to a lady’s monthly cramps and pains is not necessarily paracetamol or any other strong pain relieving tablet or drug. Eating dark chocolate can actually make you fill much better as dark chocolate boasts wonderful stressrelieving qualities and work wonders in getting you a glowing skin by reducing elevated stress hormones.

ness about its ability to cater to the communication, collaboration and connectivity needs of all businesses – start-ups, small medium and large scale enterprises, and public sector organisations.

Speaking at the launch event

which held on Thursday, May 10, 2018, at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, Lynda Saint- Nwafor, MTN’s chief enterprise business officer, explained that the #ManintheBox campaign symbolises MTN’s unwavering dedication and desire to

help support business growth and transformation - no matter the time or day – using a wide range of worldclass business solutions, backed by cutting-edge technology.

“Our ambition is your success” she said, adding that; “we understand that business owners see technology as a distraction, many times with good reason. But we know that the right connectivity solution is a game changer and the foundation for future success, and so we would like to change that mind-set, by making technology and digital transformation decisions easier and more personal.

Our aim is to be a true partner for success, delivering high impact right-sized connectivity solutions. Helping you become more agile and efficient, expanding market access and making them more competitive. We do this by listening and consulting to gain a clear understanding of what keeps you up, your circumstances, painpoints, ambitions and priorities. In addition to several other benefits, companies that get in touch with MTN through its campaign email; letstalk@mtn.com, will enjoy some visibility, as their products and services will be displayed on MTN LED boards free of charge,” Saint- Nwafor said.

Castle Lite concert revives rap culture in Nigeria ESE GRAGE

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hen the organisers of the Castle Lite unlocks musical concert announced plans to secure multi-platinum selling American rapper, J.Cole as a headliner for the show many people thought the decision was flawed. Flawed because for so long Nigerians have paid little or no attention to hard core rap, favouring instead RnB, street, Afro-pop and alternative music.

While there have been a few fresh attempts to revive rap by artists like M.I Abaga who recently bagged the Headies award for Lyricist on the Roll for his single ‘You Rappers Should Fix Up Your Lives’, an ode to former Nigerian rappers, there seems to still be a wide gap in the rap music industry in Nigeria – or is there?

BET Hip Hop award winner, J.Cole’s visit to Nigeria facilitated

by AB InBev for the Castle Lite Unlocks concert was not only entertaining but proof beyond a doubt that there is a fan base for rap in Nigeria.

The 6,000 capacity hall where the event was held was full with lovers of rap and beer. At first glance it was easy to presume most of the crowd had come because of the heavy weight local artists like Tiwa Savage, Wizkid and Davido billed to perform, a misconception

easily dispelled by the wild reception J.Cole received.

There was no question as to why the crowd had come as they instantly morphed into hungry eager rap enthusiasts matching J.Cole lyric for lyric.

Performing songs off his debut Cole World, 2014 Forest Hills Drive and 4 Your Eyez Only albums, the rap maestro could not hide his shock at how much his music was being appreciated in this side of West Africa.

The crowd’s reaction to his music was so intense; J.Cole completely went off script deciding to perform songs off his latest album, KOD. KOD made music history by recording over 64.5 millions streams on Apple Music and 36.7 million streams on Spotify setting a new record on Apple Music for most album streams, eclipsing Drake’s views by almost a million streams.

It is safe to assume several of those downloads came from Nigeria because the crowd came ready, as they lit up like fireflies on a cold night, spitting lyrics to songs released only a few days before J.Cole’s trip to Nigeria.

According to the rapper, his intention when deciding to perform songs off KOD was as test run.

He wanted to feel the pulse of the crowd, so he could gauge fan reception to his new sound.

“One week ago I put out this album it’s called KOD. Y’all heard it?

I know you don’t know the words yet,” he assumed on behalf of the crowd. “I probably don’t even know the words yet. But can I just press play on one of the songs and see what happens? I just want to see how it sounds at the shows. I can’t promise you that I know all the words.”

To his utmost surprise, the audience knew every word, a reality that further thrilled the super star.

“Never forget,” he said. “The first time I’ve ever performed any song from KOD was on Nigerian soil.”

Who would have thought Nigerians were so in love with rap music? Not Kel, former Nigerian rapper, who expressed her shock and excitement on social media.

“After last night, you can’t tell me Nigerians don’t like rap music, cos this album was just released about a week ago. And then he (Cole) performed some old stuff, which people sang along to as well with just as much, even more enthusiasm”.

It might have taken an international act and Castle Lite’s progressive move to remind Nigerians of their love affair with rap music, however it happened, the movement has begun and like M.I said to former Nigerian rappers who have now switched to singing “to get popular”, “You rappers are under performing” “This is your general calling to check with the troops”.

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Women’sWorld Ihemefor: Fashion designer who quit mouthwatering jobs to make women’s dresses Jane Ifeoma Ihemefor is the CEO of IZOYAWOMAN, an outfit producing quality, unique and elegant ready-to-wear clothes for women. The Mbaitoli, Imo State-born Ihemefor speaks to Ifeoma Okeke on her passion for fashion designing and how she finds joy doing what she does despite the numerous opportunities she had to get a white-collar job.

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Tell us about the Izoyawoman brand? zoyawoman started in September 2016 and today produces quality, unique and elegant ready-to-wear clothes. We bring out the confidence and beauty in all classes of women. In Nigeria we have diverse cultures from different ethnicities. The name Izoya, just as it is pronounced, you can call out languages from the major ethic groups in Nigeria, I (Igbo), Zo (Hausa), Ya (Yoruba), making our brand a one-Nigeria brand.

The name (IZOYA) was initially gotten from a Danielle Steel novel.

She is a very stylish and fashionable woman. The brand is focused on Afrocentric, Afro-European ready-to-wear outfits and bespoke dresses. In IZOYA we understand that decent dresses are more valuable and comfortable on our everyday women’s attire.

As a young lady, why did you decide to go into clothing business?

Clothing has been a sensitive aspect of me since I was six years old.

Earlier when my parents asked I and my siblings what we wanted to be in future, I shouted, ‘Daddy, I want to have all the clothes in the world.’ I would always catwalk with my Cinderella kid outfit to show my dad how good I looked in them. I was first introduced to clothing and textiles in Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos; that’s where I gained my first knowledge of sewing. I am a very handy person, even while at the University of

cause they now realize that Nigerian fashion industry has improved and we are exporting to different countries and this industry can compete with any foreign industry in the world. Hollywood stars now wear Nigerian designs. If you check the market well, people hardly buy these imported clothing now, because it’s either they are too expensive for their worth or the substandard ones are too inferior. So Nigerians have found it safe to patronize our own. Customers can also share ideas with the designer and describe what they want, but one can’t do this with the foreign market, you only buy what you see.

Ihemefor

Nigeria, Nsukka, I would never let any friend of mine work out of my presence in bad clothing. You must look right and decent. These little things give me joy seeing the impact I made. Then my lecturer, Anorie, noticed it and said, “Ifeoma dresses very attractively yet knows how to cover herself.” During the times I worked in Nigerian Breweries and Beloxxi Industries, I always told my colleagues that my dream is to be a fashion designer, and I really thank God today am doing what makes me happy.

What are your motivations and aspirations as a fashion designer?

My motivation comes from Nigerian leaders that have tried to carve a niche, created job opportunities, and produced the best goods and services in this difficult

economy. I am also motivated by people who have struggled to bring out quality goods in the toughest situation, thereby creating a better life for many Nigerian youths. These types of leaders give us hope and every reason to keep pushing. I would always remain grateful to Beloxxi Industries, a company where I learnt a lot while working for and even having left there, they have been my strong support; I make most of their staff outfit till date.

How has the government policy on promoting Made-in-Nigeria products impacted your business?

The government policy has helped in promoting Made-in-Nigeria clothes. Today many people buy Made-in-Nigerian clothing be-

Where do you source your materials?

I source my fabrics in Nigeria and abroad.

Most women in Nigeria have been relegated in various spheres of life. How have you succeeded in pioneering a huge business idea as this?

Women are now leaders in almost every aspect of life. There would be little progress in the world without female impact. Izoyawoman works with seven female seamstresses currently. In the past we have had some male staff, who were not patient and were very domineering.

Women work with love, patience and try to understand each other.

It’s good team spirit that yields good results, but men don’t feel comfortable working with their fellow men, mostly with jobs like this that tests

their skills every second. Fashion keeps evolving with new trends, so no one knows it all; you just have to keep your mind open to learning and sharing ideas every day. Most men have this ego and I-know-it-all attitude and it will be difficult making progress with someone that is not willing to learn because of pride.

What advice will you give women seeking to expand their business operations and employ people just as you have done?

Nigerian women should see themselves as help-mates, not competitors. They should be humble enough to take criticism from their customers and learn from it.

Making good relationships with customers broadens opportunities; you never know who can be of help to you tomorrow. Our customers don’t just patronize us because we are the only one rendering this particular service but because they trust our services and want us to be better.

What are your objectives for your business in the next five years?

In the next five years, I want IZOYA to be a household name, not just making clothes, but making quality and affordable wears that satisfy its customers. This brand will become a proud brand that can always stand the test of time in every Nigerian woman’s wardrobe. The style of IZOYA is that the brand can be worn to different types of occasions and still blend in.

30DaysFitnessChallenge: When Three Crowns inspired mothers to healthy living

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here has been a rise in the level of health consciousness among consumers as Nigeria’s urban population grows. People are more interested in nutrition and fitness, leading to substantial growth in the health and wellness market in the country over the last decade. A number of top Nigerian brands have tapped into this growing demand for better nutrition to develop programmes and initiatives that help consumers satisfy their desire for healthy living.

One of such brands is Three Crowns Milk (Nigeria’s leading low cholesterol dairy brand) which in the last two years has positioned itself as a health-conscious brand; supporting this with campaigns and initiatives that not just persuade people to patronise it, but also adopt healthy lifestyles.

The just-concluded Three Crowns 30DaysFitness Challenge is one of its exciting health-based campaigns.

The FitnessChallenge is de-

signed to encourage Nigerian consumers, especially mothers, to create fun ways to live a healthy lifestyle by cultivating the right habits into every moment irrespective of what they do and what they take.

During the event, consumers were encouraged to work out with whatever materials they had, like buckets, kegs, or do simple routines that do not require expert supervision to accomplish. They were also encouraged to share their routines and meal plan for 30 days on Three Crowns social media platform, which was part of the challenge.

Consistent participants were rewarded for their commitment.

The campaign ignited a carnival of activities across the country as thousands of fitness enthusiasts sent in short video clips in a bid to claim the goodies on offer. But the biggest motivation for most of the participants was not the offered reward, but the desire to challenge themselves to attain a healthier and more beautiful body, which of

course aligns with Three Crowns overall objective for the project.

Omolara Banjoko, senior brand manager, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, said that as a leading low cholesterol milk brand, Three Crowns Milk cares for the health and well-being of its consumers, especially mothers, who are the strength of the family.

“Three Crowns Milk has since

recognised that mothers are the foundation of any family and as such they need to stay fit and healthy,” Banjoko said. “This is why we strongly believe in supporting mothers to provide the care needed for the development of the home.”

The 30 day fitness challenge came alive during the cardio dance sessions held in three different

L-R: Adedotun Owolabi,nutrition manager, Friesland CampinaWamco; Jesufemi Ololade, junior brand manager, Three Crowns; Oluwakemi Longe, 2017 Three Crowns Milk Mum of the Year; Omolara Banjoko, senior brand manager, Three Crowns Milk, and Seyi Olusore, fitness instructor, during the Three Crowns cardio dance session at Police College, GRA ikeja, Lagos.

states. Fitness instructors were dispatched to Ibadan, Uyo as well as Surulere in Lagos, to guide participants through a series of workout regime, this time around in a proper fitness environment with proper workout instruments.

Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, one of the venues for the #TC30DaysFitnessChallenge, was a beehive of activities as more than 100 consumers thronged the venue. They were all excited about the opportunity that Three Crowns Milk provided them to strive for health and wellness.

TC30DaysFitnessChallenge was not just about exercises.

Three Crowns Milk also seized the moment to educate Nigerians on the need to eat healthy.

Seeing that workout alone was not adequate, mothers were educated by nutritionists on how to get the most from their culinary adventures to keep them healthy and fit so as to continue to play their roles as pillars of support for their families.

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Travel

Lagos eyes tourism driven economy …as Tourism Ministry recounts feats

…offers discount on flights to London

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Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

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agos State Government has recorded remarkable achievements in the area of Tourism, Art and Culture growth and development in the last one year.

Efforts at making Lagos State a sustainable tourism driven economy and top destination for business and leisure in Africa are beginning to gain grounds, especially under the new leadership at the state’s Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture.

As well, the last one year has been eventful in terms of tourism infrastructure development, arts and culture promotion, recognizing and use of entertainment as new draw for visitors instead of business.

According to Steve Ayorinde, Commissioner for Tourism, Art and Culture, Lagos State, in the last one year, 153 hospitality establishments were registered in addition to the 767 captured as at December 2016.

The commissioner, who spoke at the 2018 Ministerial Press Briefing at Alausa Ikeja recently, said about 920 hospitality and tourism establishments have been registered in the state so far, though some are still unwilling to regularise or register with the ministry despite numerous persuasion and issuance of notices.

He said final notices have been served on the operators, upon which enforcement exercise will be carried out on those that failed to register or renew their facilities.

Ayorinde stated further that over 92 establishments mostly located around Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki- Ajah axis, International

Freedom Park, Lagos

Airport Road, Ajao Estate, Igando and Iba Road have been served contravention notices.

He disclosed further that the year-long activities marking the celebration of the creation of Lagos State in venues across the five divisions of the state was a unique opportunity for the Ministry to test the water on how to structure programmes across all genres of entertainment, culture, events, dance exhibitions, comedy, children literary, and art exhibition and carnivals.

Ayorinde noted that the over 50 events of the last 50 days have turned Lagos into a Mecca of fun and entertainment with numerous creative ideas holding across cinemas, open spaces, parks and event centres.

Also, the commissioner listed some of the notable performances held across the state to include: the successful hosting of the Lagos

State Tourism Summit, Wakaa, the Musical, Fela on Broadway Musical In Concert, Jazz Meets Fashion, Lagos Loves Cinema, Lagos Dance Exhibition, Lagos Laughs, Lagos Carnival/ Parade of Colours, Eyo Festival, Kakadu, the Musical, among others.

He listed the arts and culture events the state has endorsed and supported to include: Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA, Nigeria Beer Festival, Akwaaba African Travel Market, Children Summer Cultural Fiesta, Unveiling of new Obafemi Awolowo Statue, Lagos debut at World Tourism Conference, celebration of World Tourism Day, Nottinghill Carnival, Lagos Street Carnival, One Lagos Fiesta, Lagos Grows Talents, Lagos Boat Regatta among others.

Ayorinde said the need to prepare the state ahead in terms of ideas, long term investment, top notch infrastructure, and human

capacity development necessary for the expected competition among tourism destination all over the world requires a long term strategic Master Plan.

He noted that similar strategy has helped the state in fashioning an economic strategy at the advent of democracy in 1999 under Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He listed other areas the Ministry has made considerable impact to include the areas of films and videos censor board, monitoring and enforcement, films censorship and classification, film shot and photography permit, participation in international film festivals among others.

In Cinema Licensing, he said the Ministry has licensed three new cinemas in different locations which bring to 14, the total numbers of licensed cinemas in the state.

Minister assures UNWTO/CAF meeting will put Nigeria, tourism on world map …solicits support of tourism media

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s the hosting of the 61st UNWTO/CAF Meeting in Abuja June 4-6, 2018, gets closer, Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, has said that the meeting is a great opportunity to put Nigeria, and the nation’s tourism industry in particular, on the world map, apart from the socio-economic gains.

The minister has also solicited the support of Nigeria’s tourism journalists and writers to further the campaign for successful hosting.

“We are aware that we cannot host a successful UNWTO/CAF Meeting without you,” the minister said during At a meeting with members of the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism (ANJET) in Lagos on Monday, the minister noted that the tourism writers are critical stakeholders in the tourism development in the country and hence needed for success of the biggest tourism meeting in Africa, which Nigeria is hosting. ”I am therefore using this occasion to solicit your support for the

Travelstart Nigeria, Virgin Atlantic partner for the Royal Wedding

success of the 61st Meeting of the UNWTO/CAF,” he said.

Mohammed described the tourism writers as Nigeria’s foremost brand ambassadors, whose writings go far beyond the shores of the country and influence the opinions of foreign tourists, adding: ”With that tag (of brand ambassadors), a lot of responsibility is placed on you.”

He said the UNWTO/CAF Meeting is a great opportunity for Nigeria. “Apart from the socioeconomic gains, the event will put Nigeria and the nation’s tourism industry in particular, on the world map, attracting foreign research experts and promote the necessary network that will form the basis for future cooperation”.

The Minister described as apt the theme of the Meeting, which is: ”Tourism Statistics: A Catalyst for Development,” because ”it will give us the opportunity of strengthening our tourism data gathering and analysis, which is an area in which we have been relatively weak.”

He said with participants com-

Lai Mohammed, minister of Information and Culture (middle), flanked by his two Special Assistants, Williams Adeleye (left) and Segun Adeyemi (right), during a press briefing on Nigeria’s hosting of the UNWTO/CAF meeting in Lagos

ing from the 51 African countries that are members of the UNWTO, as well as, representatives of the UN agency, other international organisations, local and international media, experts and stakeholders from the public and private sector, the meeting will provide a good opportunity for Nigeria to showcase itself to the world, especially in the area of its culture and tourism.

Mohammed also said that Lagos State will host the Technical Visit aspect of the meeting, which will be used to showcase Eko Atlantic City, which on completion, will boast of the largest shopping mall in sub-Saharan Africa, vast amenities for entertainment, such as food courts, cinemas and playgrounds, and a canal that can be used for water transportation and water sports, among others.

ravelstart, Africa’s leading online travel agency, has announced ‘The Royal Wedding Promo’ with discounted flights from Lagos to London. In partnership with international airline, Virgin Atlantic, the promo is a fun way for both brands to celebrate Nigerians love of weddings using one of the most popular weddings of the season, the British Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

‘The Royal Wedding Promo’, which will run from May 7-21, 2018, offers customers the opportunity to book cheap flights on Virgin Atlantic on travelstart.com.ng. The exclusive fare from Lagos to London and to any of Virgin Atlantic’s US routes is available on all three cabins, Upper Class, Premium Economy and Economy.

Speaking on the campaign, Philip Akesson, country manager, Travelstart Nigeria, reiterates the online travel agency’s promise to make travel affordable and convenient for its customers. He said, “We are proud to partner with Virgin Atlantic to fly Nigerians, who love weddings, for the summer. The promo shows our laser focus in satisfying our customers as well as highlights our fun brand essence. We are confident that this partnership will strengthen the already existing relationship our company has with Virgin Atlantic.”

Speaking on the partnership with Travelstart, Samuel Lindfield, country manager, Virgin Atlantic, said, “We are proud to work with Travelstart Nigeria on this initiative. They are a top online travel agency and we, as a British carrier, align on how to make our customers feel special.

This is why we’re always coming up with innovative ways to make them feel comfortable and provide value for money. Our three new ways to fly Economy showcases this as well“.

Lindfield also noted that the partnership with Travelstart is in line with the company’s commitment to continually create excitement for its customers, which will no doubt give them an experience and create memories as they travel.

Also speaking, Bukky Akomolafe, commercial manager, Travelstart Nigeria, addressed the lifestyle angle of the promo; “We love weddings! We recognize that our customers love weddings, even more now that it is a Royal Wedding. At Travelstart, it is about creating lifetime experiences that go beyond the act of flying. We provide our customers with an affordable means to get to their destination, regardless of their budget and/or lifestyle, so that they can focus on what is important to them during their trip.”

Customers who purchase tickets during ‘The Royal Wedding promo’ will be able to travel from now until July 1, 2018 and after September 15, 2018.

It will be recalled that Travelstart recently celebrated six years of doing business in Nigeria. Since their launch, they have catered to more than half a million Nigerians.

The company has also won several awards as the Best Travel Blog at the Nigerian Tourism Awards 2017, the “Best Online Booking Platform in Africa” and “Top Travel Company in West Africa, 2016” in the Akwaaba Africa Travelers Market event.

Sunday 13 May 2018

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Travel

Gov Abubabar commends Arik’s operations into Bauchi State Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

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auchi State governor, Mohammed Abubakar on Wednesday applauded Arik Air for commencing flight operations into

the state.

Abubakar gave the commendation shortly after the airline touched down at Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi in Bauchi State for the inaugural flight.

The maiden flight, a Bombardier CJ 900 touched down at about 12: 40pm amid cheers and excitement from the Bauchi Airport community.

Applauding the airline during an interview with journalists, Abubabar described the Arik Air as an instrument to further facilitate tourism growth in the state.

He stated that there is no way tourism can be properly developed without having steady flights in the state and has described Arik Air’s foray into the Palace of Tourism as a fantastic development.

He said “Outrightly the coming of Arik is a fantastic development in the right direction and we assure Arik that we will collaborate with Arik. I am very confident that within.

Short period of time. The route will take root if you like. It will take care of itself”.

“The others are agriculture for very obvious reasons, we occupy one-fifth of the total land mass of Nigeria in bauchi state with over 80per cent of Bauchi state practices one form of agriculture or the other.

We have too much cultivatable land that is lying fallow so for our enlightened self interest in addition to all this we have a teeming population which we use to gainfully employ them”, the governor Others area the state is looking

at, according to the governor is agriculture because the state occupies one-fifth of the total land mass of Nigeria with over 80per cent of Bauchi state indegenes practicing one form of agriculture or the other.

He also said that Bauchi State has too much cultivatable land that is lying fallow, adding that “so for our enlightened self interest in addition to all this we have a teeming population which we use to gainfully employ them” .

He equally added that there is no mineral known to man that does not exist in one part of the state or the other and that is why the state is trying to develop that aspect in a scientific manner that has never been done has not been done before.

On tourism development in the state, Abubabar said that the state now has an airstrip in the Yankari Game Reserve which he built.

He also said the state has already commenced the building of an 18 hole golf course in the game reserve

to bring it up it up at par with resorts all over the world.

Speaking on the maiden flight, Hamza Bukar, Associate Vice President, Abuja and Regional Domestic North, said that Arik coming to Bauchi will bring great development in the state. Bukar said with their entrance, the airline will partner with Bauchi to potentially improve tourism in the state. He pointed out that those who, before now, travel from Bauchi to Jos before flying to Lagos will find it easy to travel with Arik coming to the State “Bauchi has beautiful tourism and you cannot achieve tourism anywhere without airline; that is why we have a kind of synergy with Bauchi State to help them showcase their tourism potentials”, he said.

He affirmed that there were fears when they started Gombe but today the airline has been able to sustain the route consistently since 9 years when they commenced operations the state.

Benjamin Omobare, captain, associate vice president, Abuja and Hamza Bukar, regional domestic north; Mohammed Abubakar, Bauchi State Governor; David Aribi, station manager,Bauchi and PR and Adebanji Ola, Communications manager, all of Arik Air at Sir Tafawa Balewa International Airport during the airline’s inaugural flight to Bauchi, Bauchi State

L-R: Olalekan Alabi,The managing director of Parkhust group; Ololade Abuta executive director of Parkhust group and Kamal Ayeni, board member of Parkhust group

Etihad aviation group honours winners of Fikra university competition

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tihad Aviation Group recently hosted its Pitch Day and awards ceremony to celebrate the winners of the second edition of its Fikra University competition.

The programme, run in partnership with Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), aims to foster entrepreneurship and innovation among university students across the UAE and provide participating students with the opportunity to put forward solutions for a range of challenges facing the aviation industry.

Held at Etihad’s Training Academy in Abu Dhabi, the ceremony was attended by the senior leadership teams from Etihad and ADAC, as well as students and representatives from a number of major universities in the UAE. There were four winning students this year. The first winners were a team of three students from the American University of Dubai

who developed an innovative fast boarding process utilising unique algorithms. The final winning student was from the American University of Sharjah who developed a cargo-tracking device that can significantly increase efficiency of the cargo monitoring process.

The winners will be awarded with career defining opportunities for internships at Etihad Aviation Group, ADAC, or one of their select strategic partners.

In its second year, the programme has seen 44universities participating in the competition, up from 18 in the first year, with 2,850 students registering to take part.

Over 400 ideas were submitted with the winning ideas selected by a panel of experts who then provided mentoring and advice to the students to help them develop their ideas. The students then presented their ideas to a panel of senior management team members from Etihad and ADAC.

ET, Air Côte d’Ivoire enter Codeshare on routes between West Africa, USA

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thiopian Airlines, the largest Aviation Group in Africa and SKYTRAX certified Four Star Global Airline and Air Côte d’Ivoire, the national flag carrier of Côte d’Ivoire, have entered into a codeshare agreement effective May, 2018.

Under the new codeshare partnership, passengers originating from West African countries, especially from Lagos, Bamako, Cotonou, Accra and Lomé will board Air Côte d’Ivoire flights and enjoy fast and seamless connection to Newark on-board Ethiopian direct service to Newark via Abidjan.

Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines, said: “We are very happy to partner with Air

Côte d’Ivoire with a view to connect passengers from West Africa to our new flights to Newark via Abidjan.

I wish to thank the Côte d’Ivoire Government and the Minister of Transport in particular as well as Air Côte d’Ivoire for making this partnership possible. Ethiopian new Abidjan flights to Newark will be operated in complementarity to our existing Newark service via Lomé, which is being availed together with our strategic partner, ASKY Airlines. Such partnerships among sisterly African airlines are crucial for African countries to fill the connectivity vacuum in the continent and for African carriers to regain their market share in their home market.”

René Decurey, CEO of Air Côte d’Ivoire said: “Few months ago, Abidjan airport was certified to carry out direct links with the USA. It is now time to launch theses direct flights and Air Côte d’Ivoire is very happy to carry out the operation in codeshare with Ethiopian Airlines.

This agreement will allow Air Côte d’Ivoire to sell the flights as well.

We will therefore be able to offer passengers on our network, flights to the USA via Abidjan with a single Air Côte d’Ivoire ticket. We are convinced that this partnership is the beginning of a long collaboration that will fully benefit our two Airlines and African passengers who used to pass through Europe to travel to the USA.” Ethiopian currently flies to 58 cities in Africa and more than 112 destinations globally.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Airlines is also proud to announce that it has been recognized by TripAdvisor, one of the largest and most reputed global travel sites, as “The Best Business Class in Africa and Indian Ocean”. TripAdvisor has evaluated the world’s top carriers

based on reviews and ratings gathered from travelers worldwide over a 12-month period and recognized Ethiopian for its outstanding service, as well as the quality and value in its service delivery.

Tewolde GebreMariam, said: “We are highly honored to receive this award from TripAdvisor, the most prestigious global travel site. I wish to thank the TripAdvisor community for their resounding vote of confidence in our premium class product and service. We offer the best value proposition to premium travelers, whether corporate or government, thanks to our operational excellence, convenient and seamless connectivity, superior on-board product and top-notch end-to–end customer service. We will continue to invest in the latest the technology aircraft such as the B787 and A350 thatofferunmatchedon-boardcomfort and to enhance our premium on-ground and on-board offerings with a superior level of service so as to meet the high expectations of premium travellers and remain their airline of choice.”

“We’re thrilled to recognize the

global TripAdvisor community’s favorite airlines and shine a spotlight on the carriers around the world that provide the very best flying experiences, including Ethiopian Airlines,” Bryan Saltzburg, senior vice president and general manager for TripAdvisor Flights, said.

Saltzburg added that “As the airline industry introduces new fare products and a widening array of inflight offerings, consumers continue to seek out the carriers that deliver value and a quality experience. The Travelers’ Choice awards for airlines recognize the carriers that exceed passenger expectations and receive top marks from travelers.”

Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline. On November 8, 2017, SKYTRAX, the most prestigious international air transport standards and quality rating organization, has certified Ethiopian as Four Star Airline. SKYTRAX has also awarded Ethiopian as SKYTRAX World Airline Award for Best Airline Staff in Africa, two times, and earlier in 2017 Ethiopian has received SKYTRAX World Airline Award for Best Airline in Africa.

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Sunday 13 May 2018

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Health&Science NHF, UNAN collaborate to promote tobacco control ...Organise essay competition for secondary students ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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n a bid to control the use of tobacco in country, the Nigeria Heart Foundation (NHF) and the United Nations Association of Nigeria (UNAN) are organising an essay competition for secondary school students in Nigeria on the danger of smoking.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco kills more than seven million people each year globally, with six million of them from direct use and the others are due to the exposure of smoking.

“Despite Nigeria making progress on tobacco control in recent years, people continue to die and become sick needlessly, and the costs to society from tobacco use continue to mount” said Olufemi Mobolaji-Lawal, chairmanexecutive council, Nigerian Heart Foundation.

“We believe Nigeria can still do more to make the proven tobacco control tools work for its citizens’ wellbeing and this is defining concept for the essay competition,” MobolajiLawal said.

Yearly, May 31st is being set aside to mark the ‘World No Tobacco Day’ sponsored by

WHO, to highlight health risks associated with tobacco use and encourage governments to adopt effective policies to reduce smoking, smokeless tobacco and other form of uses.

To mark this year World No Tobacco Day, NHF and UNAN have organised an essay com-

petition for students across the country.

“As part of activities to commemorate the day, Nigerian Heart Foundation in collaboration with the United Nations Association of Nigeria is organising essay competition among students in secondary schools in Nigeria,” the chairman- executive council said. “ The topic which is ‘Hazards of Tobacco to the Heart: Role of Stakeholders in Nigeria’ should identify the problems, and provide recommendations for stakeholders in combatting tobacco spread with maximum of 2500 words typed in Times New Roman, 12 size font and double spaced” he added.

We believe Nigeria can still do more to make the proven tobacco control tools work for its citizens’ wellbeing and this is defining concept for the Essay competition.

In Nigerian, the Federal Ministry of Health stated that

about 4.5 million Nigerians consume tobacco, on an annual basis, estimated to be about 20 billion sticks of cigarettes.

According to the both organisers of the essay, May 15th, 2018 is the deadline. All submission should be made to info @nigerianheart.org and copy info @unanigeria.org.

Students with entries are requested to use their full names and name of school as the subject of the email (Femi Uche – Federal Government School College Lagos) and entry should be submitted as an attachment in .doc or .pdf file formats.

Also, other details to be included in the submission are: Class, Age, Contact Telephone and Contact Email.

The winners will be awarded prizes ranging from laptops, tablets, mobile phones, and smart wrist watches and will be notified on the 22nd of May, 2018 against the event on 31st of May, 2018.

Kwara Assembly makes case for constitution of task force to curtail sales, consumption of codeine SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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equel the ban on Codeine Syrup by the federal government, the Kwara State House of Assembly has urged the State Government to constitute a strong Task Force to checkmate the production, sale and consumption of cough syrup containing codeine in the state.

This followed a Motion titled the Federal Government Ban on the indiscriminate consumption of Cough Syrup containing Codeine substance in Kwara State, raised by Mashood Bakare, a member representing Omupo Constituency.

The Deputy Speaker, Chief Mathew Okedare while reading the resolutions of the House, said the setting up of the task force became expedient to salvage the future of the younger generation in the state.

The Legislature also directed its committee on Health and Environment

to invite all Pharmaceutical Companies and Patient Medicine Store Association in the State, with a view to harvesting information on the status of production and sale of cough syrup containing codeine and ensure that the affected companies comply with the federal government’s ban on codeine containing drugs.

The Legislature which blamed rampart drug addiction among youths to joblessness, enjoined the state government to intensify efforts by creating more jobs for youths in the state.

The House urged members of the public to report any person or group of persons, suspected to be illegally involved in the production, sales or consumption of codeine drugs or any related substance to the nearest appropriate authority.

The Parliament while enjoining the State Ministry of Information and Communication, National Orientation Agency and religious leaders

to embark on sensitisation on dangers inherent in the abuse of codeine cough syr-

up, called on Traditional Rulers in the state to collaborate with law enforcement agen-

cies towards enforcing the ban on sales and consumption of the cough syrup.

Sunday 13 May 2018

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BDSUNDAY 47

Sports

Gov. Ambode, Mikel, Moses, nominated for Nigeria Pitch Awards ANTHONY NLEBEM

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or the purpose of rewarding excellence in Nigerian football, the Nigeria Pitch Awards in last five years have recognized and rewarded individuals, corporate organizations, Nigerian players (home and abroad), for their contributions in the growth and development of Nigerian football.

Super Eagles stars Mikel Obi, Victor Moses, William TroostEkong, Leon Balogun and Wilfred Ndidi as well as Super Falcons striker Asisat Oshoala have all been nominated for accolades at the fifth edition of the 2017/2018 Nigeria Pitch Awards coming up in June in Lagos Other nominees for the 5th editions of the awards are Ikechukwu Ezenwa of FC Ifeanyi Ubah , Leon Balogun, FSV Mainz 05, Germany, Wilfred Ndidi – Leicester City FC, England, and Carl Ikeme of England’s Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Dele Ajiboye of Plateau United FC of Jos, William Troost-Ekong of Bursaspor, Turkey, Shehu Abdullahi of Anothosis Famagusta FC, Anthony Okpotu – Lobi Stars FC of Makurdi and Odion Ighalo – Changchun Yatai.

The rest are Stephen Odey – MFM FC/FC Zurich, Charity Rueben- Ibom Angels, Rasheedat Ajibade – FC Robo and Amarachi Okonkwo – Nasarawa Amazons.

Fidelis Elechukwu of MFM FC, Gernot Rohr of Super Eagles and Kennedy Boboye of Plateau United were nominated for the Coach of the Year Award.

Lagos, Rivers and Delta were nominated for State with the Best Grassroots Development programme.

Governors nominated for the Football Friendly Governors of the Year are: Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo state, Gov. Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom and Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State.

Also for the Sam Okwaraji

L-R: Segun Arinze, Nollywood Star; Ituah Ighodalo, Managing Partner, SIAO Partners; Asisha Falode, Chairperson, Nigeria Women Football League; Shina Philips, President, Nigeria Pitch Awards and Edwin Nwachukwu, Senior Editor, NAN.

Award for Commitment to Nigerian Football, Amaju Pinnick, President, NFF, Shehu Dikko – 2nd Vice-President, NFF and Chief Ifeanyi Ubah, Chairman, FC Ifeanyi Ubah were equally nominated.

Commenting on this year’s award, Shina Philips, President, Nigeria Pitch Award, said the awards had continued to grow to become a significant part of the football calendar in spite of challenges of securing sponsorship and partnership did not deterred the organisation’s resolve to make the awards an essential part of the nation’s football culture.

“The Nigeria Pitch Awards is a platform for recognising, rewarding and celebrating talented and industrious footballers and other stakeholders in Nigerian football.

“Since the introduction of the awards five years ago, it has continued to grow to become a significant and essential part of our football society,’’ he said.

Philips added that organising a credible and transparent reward system for Nigerian footballers and stakeholders would help youths to imbibe the culture of hard work, patriotism and honesty.

The president of the award added that he was grateful for all partners and all corporate bodies that had identified with the award

since the project began.

“We thank the Federal Ministry of Sports and Nigeria Football Federation for their immense support.

“We thank SIAO Partners, Nigeria’s foremost accounting firm for being our independent vote collation body for displaying professionalism in the collation of results and the entire voting process.

“We are also buoyed by the responses we have received from sports journalists, Nigerian footballers and administrators,’’ he said.

Aisha Falode, Chairperson, Nigeria Women Football League congratulated the organisers of the award, saying that it would build the confidence of young people in the nation’s football.

“The Nigerian youths can be engaged through entertainment and sports with football being the most enticing when it comes to sports,’’ she said.

Falode urged sports journalists and stakeholders to support the award because of its credibility and assured that the awards get the necessary support to expand in scope.

Buri Olugbami, an official of SIAO Partners, said that SIAO recognised the potential of football and its impact in providing youth development.

SO Nigeria holds novelty match to mark World Malaria Day

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pecial Olympics Nigeria (SO Nigeria) through her ExxonMobil Foundation sponsored Skillz For Life initiative, recently hosted a day filled with activities and fun to commemorate the 2018 World Malaria Day themed “Ready To Beat Malaria”.

In a novelty match to mark the day, four teams; Team Doctor, Team malaria, Team Mosquito and Team Agbo where group in two.

In the first match played, Team Doctor outclassed Team mosquito 5-0 to reach the final.

In the second match,

nities by driving vital conversations that challenge stereotypes and encourage acceptance and inclusion of PWIDs. In the last three years, the Skillz For Life initiative has been implemented in three geopolitical zones in Nigeria with over 6,000 PWIDs participating and graduating from the programme.

Across these three regions – South West, South East and South South – nineteen (19) interactive family health forums (FHF) have been conducted with about 3996 family members and 4000 athletes in attendance, and over 4500 treated mosquito

Team Malaria defeated Team Agbo 2-0 to book a final match with team Doctor.

Team Doctor emerged winner after edging Team Malaria 3-1 on penalty shot out.

In collaboration with Grassroot Soccer, the Skillz for Life initiative uses football as a learning tool to teach about the prevention and treatment of malaria.

The programme also engages families and commu-

nets have been distributed as well. About 90% of participants, family members and community members have reported a high level of adherence to the health information they received during the programme, mentioning specifically, the consistent use of the treated mosquito nets in their homes.

This year, Special Olympics Nigeria plans to implement in the North Central and South South regions of Nigeria.

MultiChoice brings LaLiga Club Atlético Madrid to Nigeria

…to play Super Eagles in Uyo, Akwa Ibom in maiden GOtv MAX Cup

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eading video entertainment company, MultiChoice Nigeria and provider of digital terrestrial television platform, GOtv, is bringing leading Spanish LaLiga club, Atlético Madrid, to Nigeria for a special visit and to play in the maiden edition of the GOtv MAX Cup. The topflight club from LaLiga will be visiting Nigeria for the first time and play against the Super Eagles on Tuesday, 22nd May 2018 at the Godswill Akpabio stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

“We are delighted to bring one of the three biggest clubs from LaLiga to Nigeria in what we believe will be a historic visit”, said Martin Mabutho, General Manager, Sales and Marketing,

MultiChoice Nigeria.

“As you all know Atlético Madrid is one of the top clubs in LaLiga. GOtv customers and indeed, football fans in Nigeria, will have the rare opportunity of watching the stars play the Super Eagles right here on Nigerian soil”, he said.

Speaking further, Mabutho said: “MultiChoice is undoubtedly the continent’s leader in sports and we have repeatedly shown this not only by the exclusive content we broadcast, but also by the way we support sports in Nigeria and put the country on the global sports map through exciting initiatives like the GOtv MAX Cup”.

Founded in 1903 in Madrid, Spain, Atlético Madrid are one of Europe’s most successful football

clubs with 10 LaLiga and 10 Copa Del Rey trophies. The club, which currently sits second in the Spanish topflight, are also three times UEFA Champions League finalists.

In his remarks, the President of LaLiga, Javier Tebas said: “This is a historic announcement and we are excited to share this news with our Nigerian fans: Atletico Madrid, one of LaLiga’s greatest clubs, will come to Nigeria and give our fans the chance to enjoy watching their stars up close. Africa and Nigeria in particular are very important for us and have a lot of love for Spanish football, something we are proud of”.

The match will air live on SuperSport Select 4 on GOtv MAX, which is the home of the best

L-R: Mallam Shehu Dikko, vice president NFF; Amaju Pinnick, NFF president; Martin Mabutho, GM, Sales & Marketing, Multichoice Nigeria; Javier del Rio, LaLiga delegate in Nigeria; and Felix Awogu, GM, Supersport Nigeria.

Spanish footballing action. With only 3, 800 naira, GOtv customers can catch the Atlético Madrid versus Super Eagles match and all LaLiga games LIVE, and they

can also watch other quality entertainment content on over 60 exciting channels including Sony Max, CSB Reality & Fox Entertainment.

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NEW YOU CAN TRUST

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SUNDAY 13 MAY 2018

Ebola outbreak again? Let us be proactive now!

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oming at a time that Nigeria’s health workers, under the aegis of Joint Health Sector Unions are on strike, the recent warning of a likely Ebola virus outbreakgiven by Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo must be taken seriously, by all and sundry. Precisely duringthe week’s meeting of the Federal Executive Council the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole disclosed that another outbreak of the deadly virus has been recorded in a particular district of the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC over the past one month.

Sad to note that out of the 19 suspected cases 16 have so far died of viral haemorrhagic fever! Furthermore, it was discovered that the blood samples of two out of the five patients taken recently tested positive for Ebola virus.

This vital information has informed the Federal Government’s directive of the surveillance of the country’s land and sea borders. What makes this worrisome are the facts that we have several porous borders, many of which are unmanned as well as the parlous health status of the country when even Mister President is off to Britain for another medical checkup!

Something urgent has to be done.

Taking proactive measures is one, as prevention is cheaper than cure.It would be recalled that yours truly raised an alarm over a related issue through an essay titled: ‘Ebola virus-a clear and present danger!’ as publishedin Daily Independent of 26th July 2014. As at then the deadly Ebola virus had already killed 660 people across the West Africa Sub-region.And it made inroad into Nigeria when a 40-year old Liberian, Mr.Patrick Sawyer boarded a plane to the country despite having a high fever. He was said to have vomited during the ill-fated flight before dying in Lagos, Nigeria.

Unfortunately, he came in contact with Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh. She was the lead physician and endocrinologist at the private hospital in Lagos, who was able to diagnose, contain and resist pressure from officials to release Sawyer, in July 2014. However, because the health system was not prepared for an outbreak at the time, she contracted Ebola and died.“ Her heroic efforts prevented a major outbreak in the most populous African country and served as the catalyst for successful government action”.

According to the then Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu it was the first case of Ebola virus to be confirmed in Nigeria.Back then the virus had already hit Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, infecting 1,093 people. The

Ministry of Health had raised an alarm on July 22, 2014 about a suspected case of Ebola Virus. It was commendable that a laboratory test was carried out on the victim at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) to confirm the presence of the virus and prompt action was taken to decontaminate the corpse before burial.

So, what should the government be doing right now, beyond giving out warning? It should borrow a leaf from what transpired during the Jonathan-led administration. Immediately the first case was reported the Federal Ministry of Health, working with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Health Regulations ensured that global standards were upheld.

Besides, all the airports and sea ports were put at Red Alert.

There was a proactive synergy between the Lagos State government under Barrister Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) and the federal government, not minding political differences.

There was sustained public enlightenment. Nigerians, both at home and those traveling from the neighbouring West African countries were kept abreast of the preventive measures to take as well as the symptoms to look out for.

Not a few Nigerians got to know that so deadly is the virus that both oral rehydration therapy and provision of intravenous fluids to victims cannot mitigate its potency. The disease has a high rate of death possibly up to 90% of its helpless victims. It typically occurs in outbreaks and in tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. About 1000 people a year have been infected between when it was first identified in 1976 and 2012.

The disease was first identified in the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Efforts are ongoing to develop a vaccine; however, none existed as at 2014.What is alarming is increasing spread in the West African Sub-region as well as the escalating wave of deaths associated with it.For instance, the only infected person in Zaire back in 1977 died recording 100 per cent.

Gabon was hit in 1996 with 68 per cent casualty.

In 2002, 97 out of the 124 recorded cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo died. That was 78 per cent. It was Gabon again in 2003 with 128 out of the 143, representing 90 per cent of the victims kissing the dust. In 2008, 15 out of the32 people infected in the Democratic Republic of Congo went into their early graves. From Kibaale in Western Sudan in 2012 with 71 per cent deaths of the 24 victims, it has ravaged Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia hitting an average of 60 per cent deaths.

The increasing fear about its spread is traceable to some salient factors. One is that our borders are porous. Infected persons may therefore, find

AYO OYOZEBAJE Baje is Nigerian first food technologist in the media and author of

Government must be proactive in ensuring that Nigerians are made aware of the dangers posed by this virus, its symptoms and preventive measures even in the local languages

easy access into the country. The second reason is that of decrepit infrastructure combined with lack of qualified personnel, effective drugs, state-of-the art equipment in many clinics and hospitals across the country. Another source of anxiety is that of self- medication amongst a largely rural populace where the twin evils of poverty and ignorance prevail.

And looking at the symptoms, from all available records, Ebola virus disease (EVD) or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is the human disease caused by Ebola viruses. Symptoms start 2 days to 3 weeks after contracting the virus with a fever, throat and muscle pains, as well as headaches. Next comes nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea simultaneously with decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. At this point some people begin to have problems with bleeding.

Monkeys and fruit bats are the vectors that carry and transmit this deadly virus. Any contact with their blood or body fluid leads to infection.

It is intriguing that the fruit bat which carries the virus is not affected by its potency! Once infected the disease may be spread from one person to another. Men who survive may be able to transmit the disease sexually for nearly two months.

According to information from Wikipedia, “prevention involves decreasing the spread of the disease from infected monkeys and pigs to humans. This may be done by checking these animals for infection and killing and properly disposing of the bodies if the disease is discovered.

Properly cooking meat and wearing protective clothing when handling meat may be helpful, as may wearing protective clothing and washing handswhen around someone sick with the disease. Samples from people with the disease should be handled with an extra degree of caution.”

For now, government must be pro-active in ensuring that Nigerians are made aware of the dangers posed by this virus, its symptoms and preventive measures even in the local languages.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Off the Cuff

Quick Takes

IGP and the gospel according to Senate

T

he frosty relationship existing between the Executive arm of government and the Legislature is seriously hampering governance. And the Nigerian masses are bearing the brunt. Up till this moment, the 2018 Appropriation Bill is yet to be passed. A few days ago, before he jetted out of the country to London to tend to his health, President Buhari had met with Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, Senate president and House of Representatives speaker, respectively. Sources said it was part of the lobby to get them pass the budget. Those who watched the three men shook hands and threw banters would have thought that the acrimonies had been buried.

While the President was lobbying the legislature, his men, his trusted allies, were still in their trenches shooting dangerous arrows at the National Assembly, or how else

would anyone explain the constant refusal of the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to honour a simple invitation given to him to appear before the Senate to explain what he has been doing in the area of security amid worsening security situation in the country.

The IGP’s action is being seen as a slap in the face of a federal legislature struggling to bolster its reputation among Nigerians.

The Senate was so incensed at the largerthan-life posturing of the IGP that it concluded that Idris’ conduct “amounted to a great disrespect to the legislature and to constituted authority.”

Conveying the level of the frustration of the senators, Saraki said: “The Senate views his persistent refusal as a great danger to our democracy. The Senate has, therefore, resolved to declare the IGP an enemy of our democracy and not fit to hold any public office within and outside Nigeria.”

The IGP has since explained why he has not been able to personally honour the invitation. But to many right-thinking Nigerians, nothing justifies the police boss’ action. No amount of excuses would be enough to justify the impunity.

What the IGP has done is a “normal” experience in government nowadays, when people do anything and everything, and get away with it. Many other people with link in Aso Rock have at one time of the other declared themselves above the law.

Nowadays, even ‘Okada’ riders (commercial motor cyclist operators), particularly of the Fulani stock in some cities, appear so confident and emboldened to break traffic laws and no one dare arrest them. They see themselves as untouchables. Unless this is corrected, things are likely to get messier. Talk of a banana republic!

15% This is the percentage being proposed by Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta State, as a way of addressing the plight of oil producing communities

The gathering storm With the adoption last week of former Olusegun Obasanjo’s Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) of African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the political platform to be deployed against the All Progressives Congress (APC), it has become the battle of generals. A straight fight between President Muhammadu Buhari and OBJ. If Buhari returns to power, it would amount to a serious slap on Obasanjo’s face. The Ogun State political juggernaut would sure lose relevance if APC makes it back to Aso Rock. We are watching.

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